World Tree MUSH

    Once again it seems the Caribbean seas are in peril. If it's not sea witches it's sea monsters of some stripe, and the various lawful trading companies and ship captains have put out the call for adventurers to join them on their voyages.
    Once again the Blue Dutchman and her crew sit at the San Juan docks on the Caribbean gem known as Puerto Rico; waiting for the nee additions to her crew to help fend off foreign attack.
    Word of ghost ships have been running rampant, and Captain Morris is taking no chances after nearly losing his ship and crew to a hag on the rocky waterd off the coast.
    Once again the party is met with warm tidings and hearty welcomes from the crew... And their newest addition.
    "Ugh! Guh! Ghhuh!"
    Leviathan seems pleased to see returning faces. Or excited. Or maybe agitated as she points off the side of the ship, one finger aimed in the direction of the sea hag's rocks. But now she's at least wearing a pretty blue dress decorated in bright red flowers that match her eyes.

    Having confirmed that bullets do work on satans, Dante's pretty confident on this. Still dressed for a tropical vacation, even if he's visibly sunburnt, the son of Sparda ruffles Levi's hair as he boards the ship. "Heya Sharky. I got somethin' for ya." He kneels down before producing a fancy shiny jade pendant. "Got it off a merchant in town. You might like it." He says with a grin.

Itana swears she's going to become a sailor at this point. There are worse fates. She might need to take a ship someday to reach Baron if she's ever to kill that Golbez bastard.

She didn't bother with a seat coat this time; Puerto Rico's warmer than she expected, and she got used to the sea air quicker than she thought. She keeps the hood of her usual patterned cloak up, but not so deeply so that her face is unseen. She boards quickly enough, but pauses to look towards a familiar figure rocking with agitation near the shipside.

"Do you see something out there?" Itana moves to the rails and peers off towards the distant rock, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand.

"The hag lived there, if I remember...."

    If most people asked Lian Kamoya how she decides where to be, her answer would be 'wherever the wind takes her'. The more honest answer, the answer to those who know her well, would be 'wherever the Force takes her'. But the end result is the same; she is still in the Caribbean, still in Puerto Rico, and still available to deal with the ghost ships plaguing the nearby seas. Her intuition told her she'd still be of use here, and so, she is here.

    Dante's also not the only one who brought Leviathan a present, it seems. After their little discussion, she'd kept a few things in mind; and soon after the Son of Sparda has given her his present, she steps in to do the same, favoring them both with a soft smile. "Leviathan, Dante. Good to see you both." Her present for the ocean-dweller is a shiny little copper ring, which she seems to have taken extra time to polish up for her.

    Scavenger is here again. She walks up without fanfare or ceremony and waits for Dante to be done with his little gift before placing a hand on Leviathan's shoulder for a brief moment.

    Yellow eyes look out to follow where the finger points and she nods in agreement with Itana. "Perhaps she has unfinished business with the hag?" she surmises.

    Ther mercenary doesn't have a gift for the water nymph, mores the pity.

Well, Holly tends to attract ghosts so she's either perfect for this mission or the worst person to have on the boat. It depends if they're trying to find the ghosts or not. Then again she already has Servis and Lavaux so the more the merrier. "Hi everyone!" She doesn't have anything shiny for Leviathan but she has sea salt chocolate candy to offer her along with the others if they want any.

 "Well, that might be difficult if she got blown up! Unless she's a ghost now too." That would certainly explain the ghost pirates after all.

    First and foremost Dante presents Leviathan with a pretty shiny rock pendant. Jade is not only gorgeous when made into jewelry but also matches the hue of Leviathan's scaled skin, and naturally the sight of the pendant has her attention instantly, scarlet eyes fixating on the trinket before the hunter hands it over. With a pleased chuff the sea-nymph slips the necklace around her neck, flashing a grin of shark's teeth.
    Then a ring! This, thankfully, takes Leviathan's attention off the possibility of being distracted by Lian's lightstaber.
    "Kuh!" The nymph croaks as she slides the ring onto a finger and holds it up to the light of the sun looking pleased as punch with her new shiny gubbinz.
    But then something else has her attention; as Scavenger sets hand on her shoulder. This is not what sets Leviathan off. It's what Itana and Scavenger deduce that earn a "Hssssss!" from the girl, scowling with those shark like teeth as she re-points to the rocks off the coast and stamps her foot.
    The hag lives there indeed. And unfinished business... Yes.
    "Ah, I'm glad you lot could make it back." Captain Morris says as his men prep the ship to set sail. "The crew's taken a real shine to our new mascot since last time. We're settin' sail here in a minute but we know to avoid the rocks this time. But there's bad news. Ghost pirates have been looting in these waters as I'm sure you no doubt heard. We'll do our best to avoid them too but well. If we can't that's what you lot are here for, yeah?" He says as the ship pulls out of port, sails billowing with the winds as they carry the boat to sea.

"I can only assume she knows the neighbours better than we do," Itana concedes with a cant of her head towards Lian, resting both hands on the ship's rail. "The shot I fired may have frightened the hag off, but I doubt she's dead."

Indeed, the little nymph starts pointing, and Itana squints out over thhe rail once more. She looks on for a moment before turning her gaze to Captain Morris again. "Ghost pirates?" she murmurs with a frown.

After a moment's thought, Itana crouches to bring herself closer to level with Leviathan. Her elbows come to rest on her thighs. "The ghosts out there... are they with the hag? Is she the one causing all these problems?"

    "You too, Lian. I think Sharky likes your laser sword." Dante teases with a grin, noticing Levi's intent gaze at the Jedi's weapon. To be fair, it's pretty friggin' cool. "Honestly, where could I get one of those?"

    He gives Holly a huge laugh as he produces Ivory, cocking the hammer back. "Good thing I brought these. I recently found out they work on ghosts." He says with a smug tone, stowing the pistol. "Aye aye, capt'n, we be here to kick some spectral booty!" Yes, Captain Morris isn't a pirate but it's funny as hell to do the voice.

    "Ghosts, huh?" muses the Zalak, moving to an out-of-the-way area to roost in, making herself as scarce as possible and stay out of the way.

    She does aside to Leviathan. "Conceal yourself, so the enemy won't find you."

"Ehehe." Holly looks a bit uneasy as Captain Morris says that.

 "We're going to end up crashing into a ghost ship aren't we?" Lavaux knows what's coming.

"Wow, you picked that up surprisingly fast." Servis doesn't like their odds avoiding the pirates either.

 "I just hope she can't control ghosts..." The witch wants to avoid friendly fire here and it's unlikely she'll be able to hijack them.

    "Indeed, that's what we're here for," Lian replies, giving the captain a light nod. She does similar towards Itana, a pleasant and cheerful greeting, only to turn her attention to Dante with amusement. "Oh, I made the mistake of showing her my lightsaber once. I'm very proud of her holding herself back from taking it," she adds with a smile at Leviathan. "I've yet to test my blade against ghosts, per se, but if the pirates find us, and aren't amenable to reason... well, I suppose I'll find out how effective it is."

    As the ship sets sail again, she gives Scavenger and Holly both a pleasant nod as well, before taking up a position near the bow.

    Lian's lightsaber sure is a shiny gubbin. But Right now Leviathan seems pretty pleased with her new pendant and ring, excitedly showing them off to anyone that will so much as pay her attention. But now the ship is in full sail, and as Captain Morris said-- it's not in the direction of the rocks. It's safely away from them in fact as the Puerto Rican coast is soon vanishing on the horizon.
    "Can't rightly say for sure." Captain Morris replies to Itana first. But then the man purses his lips. "There haven't been any survivors... Yet."
    That yet is pretty poignant. He's counting on the party for the safety of his crew. "But if we do find anything out..." He trails off. "Well let's hope she can't control ghosts, eh?"
    Leviathan has slithered away somewhere to well. ... She's building a small hoard of junk in her secret little space on the boat. She's likely gone off to be scarce and add her new gubbinz to her collection.
    It's not long however before the sun dies down. And a chill takes to the air as a mist and fog rolls in out of the blue, a light drizzle starting to patter on the deck. Despite not going anywhere near the rocks... A haunting voice floats over the water.

    "Cruel and cold like winds on the sea...
    Will you ever return to me?
    Hear my voice sing with the tide...
    My love will never die...

    Over waves and deep in the blue...
    I will give up my heart for you...
    Ten long years I wait to go by...
    My love will never die..."

    It's already hypnotizing the crew into veering into the beginnings of an oncoming storm.
    And in the middle of that storm is a ragged old ship, timbers splintered and slicked greasy with time, seaweed, and barnacles; the ghost ship looms in the distance for a moment before it swoops upon the boat, bringing the storm with it and pitching the sea into a wild tumult as hooks and ropes begin to launch from the phantom ship to the Blue Dutchman!

    As the ysail, Dante sits on the edge of the ship. He finds himself joining in with the shanty, almost like it was a nursery rhyme that-

    "Mom? Is that you?" He says aloud suddenly, oh so tempted to jump into the water for a second until a grappling hook reaches the ship. Jarred from his memories, Dante draws one of his pistols and begins to fire on the ropes!

Itana pushes a lock of pale hair back into her hood. "Really my biggest hope is that ghosts die when they are killed," she asides with a glance at Holly.

As the sun begins to fade, Itana shivers in spite of herself. She looks up towards the sky, obscured now by the rolling fog. With a frown she closes her eyes and centres her thoughts. What happened last time they encountered the sea hag sticks in her memory: The crewman going over the side, even her own willpower feeling barely up to the task of resisting the voice.

The voice that comes floating over the water right this moment. Itana draws a slow breath.

On comes the phantom ship, roiling out of the storm with hooks grasping and clawing for them. The archer snaps her arm up. There's a sharp *twang* as she releases an arrow, sending it snapping across the distance between the Blue Dutchman and the ghost ship to try and hit something on the phantom vessel's deck. A second, third and fourth arrow follow as she starts rapid-firing quick shots, as though to try and suppress anyone from actually /crossing/ the ropes. At least, some of them. Maybe.

If ghosts can die when they're killed, anyway.

    Scavenger is somewhere, likely in a similar place to wherever Leviathan found. She doesn't hear the song until the grapples cause the ship to lerch violently. This brings her up from one of the deck hatches, ears perked, before pinning flat at the song. "The Hag again." she snarls as she hauls herself up onto the deck.

    She has a single minded focus, but even she comes up short when an apparition appears to her. 'Hamelin~ Come home dear... I made a fresh pie for us.'

    Anyone nearby that still has their wits would see a confused expression, morphing into a fiery wrath. "YOU. DO NOT. GET TO USE HER FACE!" she bellows, charging through whatever she saw, and leaping across onto the ghost ship. "SHOW YOURSELF YOU WRETCHED WITCH! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW CRUEL I CAN BE!"

>> SUMMARY[Scavenger] >> Caution! Caution! Large Enemy Battleship is approaching fast!

    As the rain starts to fall, Lian Kamoya is already drawing her hood up. By the time the voice begins to ring out, she's fully on her guard. Once more, does the seer step to the middle of the deck, and once more does she rap her staff against the wood. Once more does the elder Jedi speak, letting the Force itself reverberate through her words. "Awaken." A powerful command, words to bring the crew back to themselves.

    But this time, there is more than just an awakening to touch off. The cloaked wanderer steps to the side of the ship in a rush, cloak billowing with the speed of the movement - and one of the hooks flying towards the ship is abruptly bisected by a bar of sky-blue light, the cyan blade bathing the deck in clear, calm radiance. A Jedi's lightsaber, a beacon of hope amidst the dark of the storm.

"Oh new friends!" Holly's entranced by the music as the ship approaches them and grabs one of the ropes to pull it in closer. She doesn't see anyone in particular, she already considers ghosts her friends after all. 

 "Holly snap out of it, they're not here to be friendly!" Servis wonders if he's going to have to possess the witch to make her come to her senses.

 "We're already dead miss, I mean I guess someone could exorcise us but that's not quiet the same as dying." Lavaux repsones to Itana's comment.

    "Awaken."

    It is a powerful command from a Jedi, especially one with such mastery over herself and the Force. It takes a beat but the crew and captain come to their senses.
    "Ah hell... That ship." Morris mutters, drawing his blade. "It's Captain Storm...! PREPARE TO REPEL BOARDERS!"
    With that command the crew draw steel; swords, daggers, pistols flash as more grapples latch to the side of the boat and...
    Scavenger leaps onto the phantom ship. The deck is slick with grime and plankton, as though the very ship itself had been dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. And she is definitely not alone. From the mist skeletal pirates surge forth with rusted weapons, ragged and decrepit flesh hanging off their bones, several with arrows already embedded in their bodies, sticking into the spaces between ribs while others have lost limbs from Dante's fire. While the Zalak is beset with the phantom crew, more start to leap across, starting a fracas and showing how very UNFRIENDLY they are with weapons bared. And what's worse is that the song continues... Harsh now and full of malice, threatening to shake the crew's newfound resolve.

    "Come my love be one with the sea...
    Rule with me for eternity!
    Drown their dreams so mercilessly!
    And leave their souls to me!

    Play the song you sang long ago...
    And wherever the storm may blow...
    You will find the key to my heart...
    We'll never be apart...!"

    With a heavy THUMP the largest of the zombie crew lands aboard the Blue Dutchman, a ratty beard hanging from his face and a jaunty hat upon his head, his greatcoat is motheaten and he exudes an aura of menace as the storm itself seems to swirl around him.
    Captain Morris valiantly meets Captain Storm blade on blade, but the undead pirate's strength is too great- if no one comes to his aid, Morris will be cut down in cold blood.

    As Dante takes limbs off with his bullets, he keeps firing to repel boarders of all kinds. "Come and get it you spooky bastards, let's go!" He spies some of the zombies aboard the ship, a massive zombie pirate lumbers on-board.

    Boss fight. Got it. Dante stows his pistols and leaps onto the deck, drawing Rebellion as he rushes Captain Storm directly. "Capt'n!" He throws himself at Storm, bringing Rebellion out to stab the zombie pirate captain.

    Scavenger draws her own blade, the shining steel of her cleaver shining in the dim light. She grits her teeth, a seething hatred burning in her yellow eyes as she meets her attackers. Skeletal sailors are cut asunder with the sheer weight of the blade swings. Mouldy plants crumble from the impact of the wrathful strokes... and even now she's perking her ears, trying to locate where the singing is coming from... a huntress on the prowl, even in the midst of combat.

Itana glances at Lavaux for a second, shoulders tensing slightly before she reaches for another arrow. "I admit to having never exorcised ghosts with arrow. I hope shooting them can be... adapted. Not shooting you, though."

She is really, really glad Lian is around to help clear her mind. The voice ringing in her ears sounds entirely unlike her mother - she's not sure /who/ it sounds like, but it's enticing. But Itana is nothing if not disciplined and controlled. This time she was expecting the bait. That in itself helped.

The arrows land, though as the shambling dead begin to cross, it's not clear to Itana if she's actually stopping any of them with simple shots. As the deck lurches under her, she vaults backwards as the rotting captain makes landfall. Her legs come up over her head as she flips in midair, aiming to make her landing on the far rail with balance that seems entirely unreal for a non-sailor.

Even before she lands, on the tips of both feet and balancing expertly, she's snapping an arrow to her bowstring. "Sanchir!" she barks before letting the arrow fly.

It leaves her bowstring with a sonic boom loud enough that the shock rattles the Blue Dutchman's sails. The arrow is across the deck seemingly instantly, smashing the sound barrier as she tries to just pulverize one of the larger zombies crossing the ropes. Aiming for Captain Storm is totally non-viable here; she'd have better odds of hitting Dante or Captain Morris in the back.

The least she can do is thin the crowd.

    The very next heartbeat after Captain Storm alights on the vessel, Lian Kamoya is there to greet him as well.

    There is only one word to describe the way Lian Kamoya moves. The Jedi flows. Her movements are smooth, contant, as if she knows precisely what her next step will be at all times. Her technique is precise, efficient, no wasted movement, every strike graceful and controlled. As Dante moves in, the Battlemaster seems to flow around him, her lightsaber blade weaving a curtain of sky-colored light as she strikes with power and precision at even the most narrow, split-second opportunity.

"Holly, they're just mindless undead. If you want to save them, you need to find the sea witch and smack her around." Lavaux tries to get the witch's attention as she continues to hold the rope. She shakes her head a bit with that.

 "The question is if's she on the ghost ship or underneath it. I wouldn't go diving in the water to find out." Servis advises her to stay on the boat. "Maybe try getting her attention?"

 "Hmmmm, I have an idea! Jongens!, Meisjes, word je snel bang!" She begins singing off-key at the top of her lungs.

    It's chaos. All hell has broken loose aboard the two ships. While undead pirates flow onto the Blue Dutchman, a certain Zalak holds off more of their number at bay aboard their own ship.
    "Scupper that rat!" One snarls and they swarm Scavenger. For every one she cuts down another seems to emerge from the decks.
    As the song continues... That siren voice emanating from up in the crow's nest of the phantom ship.
    An arrow goes off like a sonic boom- the sheer force and speed applied by the projectile evaporates the zombie it impacts, bone shards and dust going everywhere as Itana finds a means to thin the swell.
    "Mindless undead?!" Another pirate growls bearing down on Holly, sword drawn, several of his cohorts joining him. "Keel haul the wannabe witch!"
    But whatever Holly is doing- that off key singing...
    It only seems to anger the singing hag, a figure in the rafters of the ghost ship stamping and flailing as her song grows more intense trying to drown Holly out.

    "Wild and strong you can't be contained!
    Never bound nor ever chained!
    Wounds you caused will never mend!
    And you will never end!"

    Captain Morris is batted down by Storm, and it's as the undead pirate is about to deal the killing blow that Dante and Lian lunge in, the hunter's great blade resounding as the pirate lord's sword barely parries, drawing another to fend off Lian, her lightstaber flourishing and putting the dread pirate on the back foot and defensive as he struggles to hold off both hunter and battlemaster, resorting to using his great strength to try and fend them off with vicious swipes and swings.
    It is now, that a sudden snarl sounds out amid the battle...
    "Shaaaaaaaaaa!"
    Leviathan has emerged from hiding, and the delicate looking sea-nymph full body tackles one of the pirates approaching Holly, tearing the dead man apart with sharp claws while croaking and wheezing up a fit.

    "Death can have me when it earns me. Will you be able to pay his price?" snarls the Zalak as she grasps her cleaver in both hands, and sets her feet. She sweeps it around in a full 360 degree swing to clear space then looks upwards at the crows nest. "Found you."

    She takes a moment to sheath her greatblade and starts to scale the mast to reach her target.

    They'd do it together, take the pirate down side-by-side. Dante has to admit, he's impressed with Lian's technique. Whereas Dante is reckless and aggressive, Lian is in no hurry. She moves like water, seemingly at peace but fearsome when provoked. Dante's greatsword parries and strikes at Storm with shocking speed and agility. Eventually Dante tries to find an opening, and he thrusts deep into Storm's midsection.

Captain Storm is huge and Itana el-Zayl has about as much armour as the Knights of Victoria's Secret. She's in no hurry to join the melee. One of the zombies, at least, splatters on impact - in that sense, she deciides, they're able to be exorcised.

There are enough bodies between herself and the zombies that none of them seem to be converging on her. They're coming at Holly more than anyone else. Darting along the rail, Itana holds a hand up and frowns as she tries to look across the gap between the two ships, tracking her sight by the sound of the continual singing.

She can /see/ things now. The more intense singing makes the song easier to track. Lian's Force command leaves her mind clear enough to pay attention without being sucked in. Her eyes fix on a point in the rigging of the ghost vessel.

Itana takes another jump, this one less acrobatic - just enough to boost her onto the yardarm of the Blue Dutchman. She dashes along it with startlingly poised feet before balancing herself on the tips of her toes again, drawing another arrow and taking aim. Lip bitten, she narrows her eyes and aims as intently as she can. It's a challenging shot. The range is long, both ships are rolling and everyone is moving. In her mind, she does actual calculations, less with numbers than with visualizations of angles.

"Angarag," she murmurs before letting her arrow go. It arcs high into the air, innocuous at first.

At the apex of its flight, the arrow takes fire like a brilliant signal flare in the haze... before plummeting towards the rigging of the phantom ship. She's aiming to land the shot square in the rafters, around where she can see the singing shape moving.

As soon as it lands, the arrow will burst into a fiery bomb of an explosion.

>> GAME >> Itana el-Zayl spends an Edge for: Bow Mastery: Long-range bomb shot into the other ship's rigging.

"I think that got their attention..." Servis can't help but to notice the ghosts enraged at Holly. At least she managed to draw the sea witch.

 "How do my ears hurt when I don't even have ears...okay enough singing Holly, time to bring the smack down on some ghosts." While the witch is distracted with her song he slips behind her before entering her body.

 "Okay, which one of undead punks wants to hit the mat first!" Her booming yet feminine voice has suddenly got a lot more masculine as she decks one of the ghosts in the face.

    And this is where Lian Kamoya truly shines.

    A heavy blow comes down from above, and her lightsaber changes its course by just a hair; a stab drives towards her abdomen, and her center of gravity shifts just slighty. She never meets strength with strength, she makes no exaggerated movements; but every shift, every parry, is just enough to guarantee that Captain Storm's blows do not reach her.

    And the Force itself flows through her lightsaber's crystal, and thus through the blade itself. Even a phantom is not safe from the Jedi's counterblows, and they come steadily, frequently, with deadly precision. Especially when Dante strikes; every time he swings high, the older swordswoman strikes low. Every time he slashes horizontal, she comes down vertically.

    When he strikes for the ghostly captain's midsection, Lian surges upward, flipping into the air and using that moment of distraction to lash downward at his head.

    WHAM.
    That is the sound of a zombie pirate getting decked in the face so hard by Holly, that his head goes flying clean off his shoulders and rattles to the deck.
    The battle rages as the song grows violent and spiteful, but the crew of the Blue Dutchman are valiant men all and with the rallying sight of Dante and Lian fending off the dread pirate, it redoubles the men's fighting spirits.
    Leviathan picks herself up from the shredded remains of the pirate she's hacked to ribbons, ear-fins splaying as she lunges-- for the dread pirate.
    "Gyaaa-- GH!"
    Her attempt to aid Dante and Lian however is met with a vicious backhand that sends her tumbling to the deck with a squeak.
    But it is while she is down, clutching her face that she draws a deeeeep breath.
    The temperature *plummets* in a plume around Dante, Lian, and the pirate captain as Leviathan breathes a gust of frigid ice breath onto the deck beneath Captain Storm's feet. With his footing so precarious now he struggles, Rebellion embedding in his middle, Lian's blade of light and hope bearing down- shearing through the rusty old blade of the pirate's sword and down to his shoulder, severing his sword arm entirely with a snarl of... Pain? Frustration?
    "Damned dragon!" Storm growls.
    The singing though... Is brought to an abrupt end.

    "Cruel and cold like winds on the sea...
    Will you ever return to m- gyaaaaah!"

    Itana's arrow flies true, the explosive force flinging the figure in the crow's nest from her perch as Scavenger climbs, resulting in the Zalak meeting the 'hag' half way up as she lands on the rigging, she...
    She looks like another sea-nymph, green-hued scaly skin, dark hair matted and wet, malicious cold blue eyes locking on the Zalak where she lays amid the ropes and rigging.
    "... Kill me now and that one will *never* get her voice back." She warns.
    But with the song now over and the Blue Dutchman's crew repelling the undead... Captain Storm looks to Dante and Lian.
    "... Parley...?"

Itana watches the path of her arrow. Her lips hang open by a few millimetres in anticipation.

The arrow lands exactly where she wanted it to. She allows herself a tiny, satisfied smile before reaching up and taking ahold of the rigging ropes, boosting herself into them to stand with the arches of her boots snugged firmly into a loop in the ropework and a free hand gripping the rope proper. For now she holds her fire and takes stock of the situation, spotting Scavenger on the other side of the gap in the area she's fairly sure the hag landed.

Itana looks down towards Captain Storm and the group fighting him, considering a moment. She can't actually hear anything being said down there, much less anything the hag is saying from even further away.

Sometimes being the artillery support has its drawbacks. This is one of them.

    As she comes down on the other side, Lian's posture is already somewhat relaxed. As if she knows the fight is more or less over. She flourishes the lightsaber around herself once, and then shuts it off, the blade disappearing smoothly. She carefully steps around Captain Storm, falling into place beside Dante - and the ghost asks for parley.

    "...It is not the way of my order to slay a surrendering foe, even if that foe is already dead," the woman says, glancing briefly at Dante. She folds her arms behind her back, though the gesture is somewhat defeated by her cloak. "I'm listening."

    Scavenger stops as the nymph lands on the rigging next to her. Yellow eyes glare balefully as she reaches over and grabs the wounded nymph around the throat. "I don't need to kill you, but that doesn't mean this won't hurt like a bitch." she states, picking the creature up and climbing down toward the deck again. Even with only one hand, she's nimble on the descent, and if any of the ghost pirates try to attack her, they'll find her off-hand blade just as sharp as her main weapon.

    She hurls the wounded nymph across the gap between the ghost ship and the Dutchman before leaping across herself, giving the 'hag' a sharp kick for good measure once she lands beside her prey.

    Dante meanwhile would finish this pirate off and go home for drinks. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut-

    Lian's look has that sort of unsaid threat, even unintended, and Dante sighs in annoyance like a child being denied ice cream. "Fiiiiiiine." He does keep the captain at blade-point. "Parley."

It's good thing that Lavaux's in control at the moment, or Holly would feel bad about knocking the zombie's head off. "Do any of the rest of you want to lose your head?" Hearing the ghost pirate surrender he sounds a bit disappointed at how short the fight was, but lets the witch have her body back.

She shakes her head a bit that, "Um what happened, I think I lost my place in the song..."

 "You finished it!" Lavaux doesn't want her to start singing again.

    Parley it is then. And with his plea for clemency accepted, Storm sheathes his remaining blade, hand setting on his hip. Though he glances over his shoulder at the felled hag and Scavenger treating her... Not so gently. The hag herself squirms and snarls, trying to bite at the Zalak with sharp shark-like teeth before she's hurled aboard the Dutchman and silenced once again with that stunning kick.
    "Was fine singin' lass." A winded Morris says to Holly when she regains herself from being possessed.
    "That be the sea witch Calypso." Storm says indicating the battered witch who-
    "Graaaagh!"
    Oh- oh dear Leviathan is on her, screeching. The mute nymph claws at her and growls until the hag draws in a breath... And lets out a SHRIEK.
    The sheer force of her voice carries for quite the distance and the sonic scream stuns the crew and sends Leviathan backwards in a sprawl.
    Anyone who's ears aren't ringing will hear the small splash as she goes overboard.
    Storm waits a beat.
    "Me an' me crew be bound into her service... But we be wantin' out." He says, trying to put his arm back together at his shoulder.
    This doesn't exactly work as the lightsaber made such a clean cut, and he grunts with frustration.
    "We'll lead ye to her true lair- not those rocks she haunts but a cave elsewhere. Defeat her. Free me crew, and maybe ye'll get yer little mermaid's voice back in the process. Heh."

Itana's in no position to dispute what to do with the hag. She didn't even hear the thrust of the negotiations. With the fighting dying down, she releases some of the slack on the rigging rope and lowers herself towards the deck, eventually hopping off to listen in from the rear of the gathering. Folding her arms across her ribs, she presses her lips together and narrows her eyes.

Until the hag shrieks.

There's a second, larger splash after the first one. A few seconds later, Itana bobs to the surface, floating on her back with an expression of flat displeasure.

 /I don't like sea,/ Itana decides miserably. /It's wet and sloppy and it gets everywhere./

    Scavenger has had worse from far more dangerous creatures. Not that she allows the witch to break skin. Even she's not nasty enough to infect another with her tainted blood... though she does wince and cover her ears with the sonic scream.

    "Tch..." she grouses before looking over at Storm... then notices Itana going overboard.

    She grabs a rope, tosses it in to the choco-khan and helps haul her back aboard... freehand, without an anchor.

    Just how strong is this waifish rat woman anyway.

The scream sends the ghosts reeling back and even Holly seems to be a bit phased by it before coming to her senses, "Is that your mother, Leviathan?" She couldn't help but notice how much alike they looked.

 "Why would she steal her own daughter's voice?" Servis's quick to point out.

 "It could be one of those messed up relationships like Rue and her mom." Lavaux knows not everyone has a good relationship with their parents.

    Dante listens to the pirate's side of things, and reconsiders his disappointment. "Hmm. I was thinkin' killing you would free you from her curse. But I guess that works too. It's time to-" Leviathan attacks the hag, and Dante's about to try and pull Levi off as the hag's screaming puts a metaphorical screw in his eardrums. Blood trickles from his ears, but the wounds heal.

    "Gnnngh...Oh FUCK, Itana!" He rushes to try and hel Itana aboard, pulling on the rope with Scavenger. "We gotcha, c'mon!"

"I'm fine," Itana calls up. She is not fine. She does right herself, but doesn't grab the rope right away, visually searching for handholds on the hull. There are none.

Itana takes ahold of the rope and lets herself be pulled, trying not to look as miserable as she feels.

Itana /hates/ needing help. Her lone-wolf instincts run deep.

    Itana goes over the rail. But between Scavenger and Dante there's no worry of losing her as they hoist her back aboard.
    Leviathan slowly picks herself up, clutching her ear-fins painfully.
    She stares absolutely owlishly at Holly at the witch's musings.
    Leviathan starts violently shaking her head.
    "Guh! Guh!"
    That doesn't seem to be the case.
    "The witch be able to take on different forms." Captain Storm explains. "Just as she gave that little one the form she has now." He says motioning for Leviathan. "That ain't her true form I'll tell ye that."
    That said, he waggles his severed arm. "Regardless... Defeat the hag for us. Free us from our servitude. ... And when ye do. Tell yer little mermaid to sing the song. It'll call us to yer aid. She'll know the one."