Disclaimer: You probably have guessed that nothing in this story is MINE!
Enywho, on with the story...
Chapter 7
The yacht had been going on for a little more than an hour, and everyone had settled in comfortably. Liriel stood on the outer bridge deck, watching the brightening horizon. She had been studying a line of black silhouettes visible against the rising sun for over ten minutes, and noted that they seemed to be getting larger.
Frowning, she turned to Fyodor who stood beside here, apparently seeing what she saw and sharing the same concerns. "You see them too?" She asked quietly.
Fyodor nodded. "They can't be more escape boats." He motioned to the other escape craft that were keeping speed alongside them. There were at least fifty others surrounding them.
"What would they be?" Liriel asked aloud. She decided to talk to Yen'rathe. She walked into the bridge and stood beside Yen'rathe who was staring forward and tapping the steering controls. "It seems that we are being followed," She whispered into his ear.
Yen'rathe nodded without taking his eyes from the windshield. "I've seen them as well. Jan, what have we got?" He turned to look at his friend who sat at the radar console.
"Sending out a probe now," Jan replied as he tapped a panel in front of him. A dull thump echoed through the hull, and three windshield panels flickered to life, showing a camera view from the probe. At first it was all water rushing by, then the probe broke the surface.
"What is that?" Jan whispered aloud. A ship like nothing they had ever seen came into view. It consisted of four hulls linked together by thick pieces of wood that were covered with carvings of spiders. Both center hulls sported their own masts with a full set of sails that had been painted with black and blood red stripes. Other ships of similar design came into view around the center ship and the whole armada sped up.
Jan zoomed the camera in on one ship and everyone in the bridge got a good look of what was on it. "Drow," Liriel whispered.
Yen'rathe saw it too and yelled, "What's their speed Jan?"
Jan tapped a panel and waited before replying, "I have readings of 50mph and steadily climbing!"
The Drow ships were easily visible now, and there wasn't even time to raise an alarm as a fireball rocketed from the center ship and blew a hole in one of the escape boats. The forward momentum of the craft pushed the bow into the water and flipped it over. The boat sank rapidly.
"Let's see what she can do Jan!" Yen'rathe yelled as he grabbed the throttle and pushed it fully forward. The other escape craft had similar engines and quickly followed suit. A gout of water sprayed up from the back of the yacht as the engines revved and pushed the yacht up to 55mph.
"Incoming!" someone on deck yelled. Another fireball hit just behind the yacht, extinguishing in a gout of steam.
Liriel had an idea for fighting back and closed her hand around the windwalker amulet while she closed her eyes and held her other hand out towards the attackers. She muttered an incantation and every light and screen on the boat flickered as the power was stolen from them and gathered in the palm of her hand. A colossal ball of electric energy sat at her fingertips, ready to be released, which she wasted no time in doing.
The energy ball hit the oncoming ships at blinding speed, setting a few of them on fire and electrifying the crews. More ships moved in to take their place. "They're still gaining on us!" Jan yelled.
Fireballs were now thick in the air, joined by flaming ballista bolts. Yen'rathe saw an opportunity to lose some attackers up ahead. Sharp rocks stuck up out of the water, an area Yen'rathe had navigated many times. Grinning, he gave the engines a short burst of nitrous oxide to test them out, then held the trigger down, grinning even wider as the engines screamed!
The other escape boats had recovered from the shock of the attacks and were firing their own weapons. Bullets flew through the air and managed to take down several of the enemy craft. Magical shields were quickly raised on the surviving boats though, rendering the guns useless.
"Here we go!" Yen'rathe yelled, resting his right hand on the bow thruster controls and putting the engines on diesel again as the yacht entered the rocks. Several thinner drow craft followed, dodging rocks with amazing agility.
Yen'rathe concentrated fully on navigating the yacht through the rocks. Not an easy thing to do at 60mph. Everyone else on board was forced to hang on for dear life as Yen'rathe fired the bow thrusters rapidly, occasionally giving a squirt of nitrous oxide to the engines.
"Incoming!" Jan yelled. A ballista bolt sailed through the air with deadly accuracy. Yen'rathe didn't expect the attackers to take his driving into consideration though. He threw the engines into reverse right as they came up on a column or rocks, while firing the right bow thruster and spinning the yacht sideways. The ballista bolt flew over them and hit the rock column, breaking huge chunks out of it.
A Drow craft with a steel enforced bow ran at the yacht's exposed side with the intention of ramming it. Yen'rathe was ready though, and gave the engines a full dose of nitrous oxide. The enemy craft didn't have time to change course as the yacht moved away. It smashed into the remains of the rock column and sank.
"There's no end to these guys!" Yen'rathe yelled as he chanced a look behind him and saw more coming. The rocks ended up ahead, giving him a chance to relax a bit since he didn't have to concentrate on driving as much.
The other escape boats had gone around the rocks and were still being pursued by the Drow attackers. "All boats come in," said a voice on the radio. The escape boats gave a "go ahead" one by one. "Form a line in front of the attackers and drop an anti-magic mine, that should slow them down a bit."
"Jan!" Yen'rathe yelled, "You drive for a while, I need to load the mine. Fyodor, I need your strength! Come with me!"
Fyodor and Yen'rathe ran swiftly down the stairs and Jan took a seat at the controls. Liriel followed them down to the engine room, not knowing what else to do.
Yen'rathe ran over to a large steel cylinder that sat on its side against the far wall. "We need to move this into the launcher!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. The engines running full speed literally drowned out any noise.
Fyodor understood even though he couldn't hear Yen'rathe, and bent down, grunting as he lifted one end of the cylinder. Yen'rathe got his diamond hand under the other end and lifted it easily with the aid of the motors in his arm.
An explosion outside rocked the yacht and Fyodor lost his balance, dropping the heavy cylinder. "What was that?"
**********
Sorry that took so long to update but as I may have said before I am a serious procrastinator. So anyway, read up, and review.
Enywho, on with the story...
Chapter 7
The yacht had been going on for a little more than an hour, and everyone had settled in comfortably. Liriel stood on the outer bridge deck, watching the brightening horizon. She had been studying a line of black silhouettes visible against the rising sun for over ten minutes, and noted that they seemed to be getting larger.
Frowning, she turned to Fyodor who stood beside here, apparently seeing what she saw and sharing the same concerns. "You see them too?" She asked quietly.
Fyodor nodded. "They can't be more escape boats." He motioned to the other escape craft that were keeping speed alongside them. There were at least fifty others surrounding them.
"What would they be?" Liriel asked aloud. She decided to talk to Yen'rathe. She walked into the bridge and stood beside Yen'rathe who was staring forward and tapping the steering controls. "It seems that we are being followed," She whispered into his ear.
Yen'rathe nodded without taking his eyes from the windshield. "I've seen them as well. Jan, what have we got?" He turned to look at his friend who sat at the radar console.
"Sending out a probe now," Jan replied as he tapped a panel in front of him. A dull thump echoed through the hull, and three windshield panels flickered to life, showing a camera view from the probe. At first it was all water rushing by, then the probe broke the surface.
"What is that?" Jan whispered aloud. A ship like nothing they had ever seen came into view. It consisted of four hulls linked together by thick pieces of wood that were covered with carvings of spiders. Both center hulls sported their own masts with a full set of sails that had been painted with black and blood red stripes. Other ships of similar design came into view around the center ship and the whole armada sped up.
Jan zoomed the camera in on one ship and everyone in the bridge got a good look of what was on it. "Drow," Liriel whispered.
Yen'rathe saw it too and yelled, "What's their speed Jan?"
Jan tapped a panel and waited before replying, "I have readings of 50mph and steadily climbing!"
The Drow ships were easily visible now, and there wasn't even time to raise an alarm as a fireball rocketed from the center ship and blew a hole in one of the escape boats. The forward momentum of the craft pushed the bow into the water and flipped it over. The boat sank rapidly.
"Let's see what she can do Jan!" Yen'rathe yelled as he grabbed the throttle and pushed it fully forward. The other escape craft had similar engines and quickly followed suit. A gout of water sprayed up from the back of the yacht as the engines revved and pushed the yacht up to 55mph.
"Incoming!" someone on deck yelled. Another fireball hit just behind the yacht, extinguishing in a gout of steam.
Liriel had an idea for fighting back and closed her hand around the windwalker amulet while she closed her eyes and held her other hand out towards the attackers. She muttered an incantation and every light and screen on the boat flickered as the power was stolen from them and gathered in the palm of her hand. A colossal ball of electric energy sat at her fingertips, ready to be released, which she wasted no time in doing.
The energy ball hit the oncoming ships at blinding speed, setting a few of them on fire and electrifying the crews. More ships moved in to take their place. "They're still gaining on us!" Jan yelled.
Fireballs were now thick in the air, joined by flaming ballista bolts. Yen'rathe saw an opportunity to lose some attackers up ahead. Sharp rocks stuck up out of the water, an area Yen'rathe had navigated many times. Grinning, he gave the engines a short burst of nitrous oxide to test them out, then held the trigger down, grinning even wider as the engines screamed!
The other escape boats had recovered from the shock of the attacks and were firing their own weapons. Bullets flew through the air and managed to take down several of the enemy craft. Magical shields were quickly raised on the surviving boats though, rendering the guns useless.
"Here we go!" Yen'rathe yelled, resting his right hand on the bow thruster controls and putting the engines on diesel again as the yacht entered the rocks. Several thinner drow craft followed, dodging rocks with amazing agility.
Yen'rathe concentrated fully on navigating the yacht through the rocks. Not an easy thing to do at 60mph. Everyone else on board was forced to hang on for dear life as Yen'rathe fired the bow thrusters rapidly, occasionally giving a squirt of nitrous oxide to the engines.
"Incoming!" Jan yelled. A ballista bolt sailed through the air with deadly accuracy. Yen'rathe didn't expect the attackers to take his driving into consideration though. He threw the engines into reverse right as they came up on a column or rocks, while firing the right bow thruster and spinning the yacht sideways. The ballista bolt flew over them and hit the rock column, breaking huge chunks out of it.
A Drow craft with a steel enforced bow ran at the yacht's exposed side with the intention of ramming it. Yen'rathe was ready though, and gave the engines a full dose of nitrous oxide. The enemy craft didn't have time to change course as the yacht moved away. It smashed into the remains of the rock column and sank.
"There's no end to these guys!" Yen'rathe yelled as he chanced a look behind him and saw more coming. The rocks ended up ahead, giving him a chance to relax a bit since he didn't have to concentrate on driving as much.
The other escape boats had gone around the rocks and were still being pursued by the Drow attackers. "All boats come in," said a voice on the radio. The escape boats gave a "go ahead" one by one. "Form a line in front of the attackers and drop an anti-magic mine, that should slow them down a bit."
"Jan!" Yen'rathe yelled, "You drive for a while, I need to load the mine. Fyodor, I need your strength! Come with me!"
Fyodor and Yen'rathe ran swiftly down the stairs and Jan took a seat at the controls. Liriel followed them down to the engine room, not knowing what else to do.
Yen'rathe ran over to a large steel cylinder that sat on its side against the far wall. "We need to move this into the launcher!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. The engines running full speed literally drowned out any noise.
Fyodor understood even though he couldn't hear Yen'rathe, and bent down, grunting as he lifted one end of the cylinder. Yen'rathe got his diamond hand under the other end and lifted it easily with the aid of the motors in his arm.
An explosion outside rocked the yacht and Fyodor lost his balance, dropping the heavy cylinder. "What was that?"
**********
Sorry that took so long to update but as I may have said before I am a serious procrastinator. So anyway, read up, and review.