Prologue

He stood tall at the prow of the boat staring long and hard at his distant prey. They were gaining on the small merchant vessel, it had been that way for the past few days, traveling down the Sword Coast, even with the ships resident wizard helping they had seemed to be gaining no ground until now. The other ship was close enough that the imposing pirate lord, even with out the aid of his spyglass, could see the many figures running haphazardly across the far away ship. Still staring directly at the distant ship, the pirate yelled, "Man your posts and ready for boarding!"

With a large rowdy cheer from his crew and an exasperated sigh from the wizard they all went scrambling to their posts.

As the massive galley closed in on the small merchant ship they raised their colors, a blue crescent moon with a blood red sword crossing through the middle, and a wicked grin spread across the pirate captain's face. He knowingly he understood that the fear the small crew of his most recent prey must be feeling, knowing that their ship is being hunted by the infamous pirate captain of the Sword Coast… Leon Filioski.

The galley, The Flayer, was now close enough that its crew could hear the panicked orders of the other ship's captain, which caused the pirate and his crew to cheer even louder at the prospect of loot and the spilling of blood.

"Prepare for boarding you lazy scoundrels!" Leon yelled and the crew let of a series of "Ayes" and then came the audible scrape of steel on steel as weapons were drawn and readied.

Grinning and laughing, the tiefling thought of the sums of plunder and blood to come from this one ship, he could feel his anxiety and excitement growing with the closer the two ships came to each other, but something else lurking deep within himself, what was it regret or fear? Either way, Leon knew that if he disregarded it, it would soon dissipate with the coming fight.

By now the ships were parallel with each other; grappling hooks were thrown over to hold the smaller vessel close to the imposing larger one, four gang planks were lowered, latching on the smaller ship like claws from a tiger. To everyone's surprise instead of the crew rushing over first, Leon himself leaped across the gap between the two ships drawing both of his glowing blades, eager for blood and the fight.

Striking down two sailors in quick succession, He dispatched them with quick ease and rushed eagerly towards his next victim, his crew quickly came charging over weapons drawn engaging the smaller crew in combat, while a few bolts of lightning were sent lazily from the Flayers' wizard. Leon swung his sword in a rhythmic pattern up, down, left and right in a dizzying blur that even the most skilled sailors aboard the ship couldn't dare to stand against.

Just as Leon killed his latest victim, a huge commotion near the aft part of the merchant ship caused him to look up and see a large and powerful looking man with a sword nearly as large as Leon was tall, a pile of Leon's crew dead at his feet, and one ready to be haplessly killed.

Leon came sprinting forward bring both swords to bear and even as the heavy great sword came crashing down ready to slice the pirate in two, Leon managed to bring his enchanted blades up in an X barely managing to stop the bone shearing blow and saving the poor pirate.

Using the brutes' blade's weight Leon slid his feet under him and pushed off, sliding under the behemoth of a man's legs, slicing the man just below the kneecaps as he slid between his legs. The behemoth fell, shaking the boat and all those around, on the other ship the Flayer's wizard launched a bolt of lightning through the merchant boats hull, causing a sudden explosion in the lower deck. Leon looked up suddenly, realizing what had happened as he put everything together. The boat they were on was a spice ship and that the first explosion was the beginning of a much larger one but too late, one moment there was a ship and the next Leon was in the water with rubble and fire raining around him. One moment there was fire and the next nothing…