The drums were beating slowly in the row deck and the twenty slaves rowed at the same pace. Among them was a large man with strong muscles and long black hair. Like his fellow, Gou Jira was only clad with rags and his powerful body was marked by whip's scars.

As the galley sailed in the warm water of the Bay of Fire, the sun slowly set behind the western horizon, and the crew lit lantern around the deck.

But suddenly, a shout was heard from above.

-Pirates!

Gou and his comrades exchanged a glance. They all knew stories about pirates who freed slaves, but other stories were not as nice, and it was without counting the ones about the demon worshiping Lintha.

The drums began to beat faster, and the slaves rowed with it. But as the minutes pass, the beat accelerates, and Gou was savvy enough to know what it means. The pirates were gaining on them. Several news shouts were heard, this time in Low Realm, a language not talked by the slave.

PUM-pum-pum-pum.

The pounding of the drums resonated within him like an external heartbeat. Gou didn't know what the shouts in Low Realm were saying - or even that it was in a language called Low Realm - but he knew the rhythm of the beats.

"W-what's happening?" a young man said from beside him. His name is Drifting Ray, a new addition to the galley's crew to replace Sand Star, who had passed away from overwork. The man is frightened and it triggered Gou's big brother instincts.

"When the drums pick up, it means that the masters want speed, and the masters only ever want speed when it comes to battle."

"S-so, we're going to fight?" Ray muttered nervously.

"No, we're going to row," Gou replied. "They won't give us weapons and whoever's on that vessel is probably going to enslave us too, so better the devil you know and all that nonsense."

He doesn't add that even if they tried to make a fight of it, everyone would probably end up dead. While there was a certain nobility in dying free, living free is better, and everything would be over once you were dead.

Gou is going to wait, and hope.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Wed 24 Mar 2021.

As the slaves rowed with all their might, they could hear the commotion and the shouts from the deck of the galley. They were in Low Realm but every slaves could recognize an order when they heard one.
The shouts were replaced suddenly by whistling sounds followed by cries of pain. News orders were shouted followed by more whistling sound.

-What happening? Asked Drifting Ray with a shutter.
Gou never had the time to respond when a whip lashed out at the young man.

-No talk! Row! Barked an overseer.

Before he could add something, a cry was heard, and a crash shook the galley sending several people on the ground.
Above a war cries were heard followed by the clash of metal against metal.

-Go back on your bench slaves, bellowed the senior overseer as he rose on his feet and drew is sword. He began to ascend the stair to the deck but a kick end in back and three men appeared. They were tall and dressed in leather armour with cutlass.

But what froze Gou’s blood was their pale green skin and the bronze tattoos. These men were Lintha, a race of demon-blooded pirates. One of them gave a cruel smile before cutting down the senior overseer as the other began to attack the other overseers barking in a strange tongue.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:32, Tue 30 Mar 2021.

The death of an overseer should have been a cause for celebration, but Gou knew the invaders. They were Lintha, the infamous green-skinned demon cannibal pirates of the seas, and while they had killed the taskmaster holding him, Gou was fairly certain it was only so that they could visit some other cruelty on them.

"Don't move," Gou whispered to Ray. On his part, he was planning his next mov, probably some variant of getting free and jumping overboard so he could swim to shore. But it would be hard to do that if those three Lintha chopped him to bits first.

The overseers in the rowing deck were dead less than one minute after the appearance of the three Linthas, and the battle sounds on the deck above were more and more quiet.
The leader of the three pirates gave a toothy grin to the slaves who were chained at their bench.

-Rejoice slaves! He spoke. You are now the property of Lintha T’Narr. Obey and you will be feed. Resist and your death will be painful like couldn’t imagine.

[Instil Fear: 7 dice > 2 success. Success against slaves (Resolve 1), Failure against Gou (Resolve 3)]

The slaves were silent, fear written on their face. Each of them heard rumours of what the Linthas would do.

-But since some of you could doubt of our greatness, I will make a little demonstration.

His eyes watched the slaves for ten long seconds before he pointed his sword toward one of them and Gou could sense his blood freeze. The sword was pointed toward Drifting Ray.

"No. You will not have him," Gou said as he moved in front of Ray as best as he was able. Even chained, he was a big man, and the interior of the rower's cabin seemed to get dimmer as he took up the space within.

Almost immediately he cursed his rashness, but he knew that if he let Ray die, then there would be no point in escaping. Besides, if the Lintha would kill to make an example of people, then they would kill them for any number of infractions.

Gou waits for the Lintha to approach him. When the time is right, he will attempt to have him bring his blade down on the chain holding him, and if that works, he'll be a step closer to freeing everyone.

-Oh, said the Lintha with amusement. It seen like we have a rebel here. Then I will have to show you what happen to rebellious slaves. You and your friend will be an example for everyone else.

He approached Gou slowly and pointed his sword toward his neck.

[The action is a Strength + Athletics, 2 dice stuns, difficulty 3. You can expend a point of willpower. If you succeed you can roll initiative and launch a surprise attack against him. The Lintha will roll initiative for the second round.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:11, Wed 07 Apr 2021.

The entire ship trembled all of a sudden. The other slaves flinched, wondering what was going on and one of the Lintha boarders had a curious look on his face - was someone else attacking them?

No, the source of that sound was not a ship, but a man - Gou Jira had stomped down so hard that it shook the entire vessel, and even that was only part of the mighty effort he was using to tear his chains loose from their moorings. His muscles bulged as he strained to break the metal, forged by other slaves so the sympathetic resonance would further bind their prisoner.

But even the mightiest chains could not hold against the power of hope, and these ones only put up a moment of resistance before they creaked and tore apart.

Before the shards of metal could even strike the Lintha, Gou's eyes narrowed and he threw himself forward, bringing his massive fists down on the Lintha's head like a battering ram of meat. A sudden shadow spread over the pirate and he realised his previously-bound target was now loose and lunging at him like an angry gorilla...

OOC:

Str 5 + Ath 3 + Spec 1 + Stunt 2  = 6 sux

08:32, Today: Gou Jira rolled 6 successes using 11d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7.  Gou: Mighty Strength.

Join Battle is Wits 3 + Awareness 3 + Fast Reflexes 1 + Stunt 1 = 5 successes

08:46, Today: Gou Jira rolled 5 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7.  Join Battle.

HE rolls Dex 2 + MA 3 + Stunt 1 for his (decisive) attack, spending 1 WP on it = 3+1 = 4 sux.

08:47, Today: Gou Jira rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7.  Attack.