The spell casteramong the Five ws was the first to falter significantly. A particrlyrge pirate broke through the defensive line, bringing his cuss down in a vicious overhead strike. The mage managed to dodge at thest second, but the movement disrupted his casting, leaving him vulnerable.


    A second pirate took advantage of the opening, his de finding flesh and drawing a cry of pain from the spell caster.


    This moment seemed to turn the tide decisively. With their magical supportpromised, the Five ws found themselves fighting a losing battle.


    The pirates pressed their advantage, their confidence growing as they sensed victory within their grasp.


    Cara shouted something to Hegdal, her words were lost in the din of battle, but her desperate tone was clear. Hegdal nodded grimly, then bellowed an order to the rest of their group.


    The Five ws began to fall back, forming a tight defensive circle around their wounded spellcaster.


    Throughout all of this, Jaegar had remained still, watching the battle unfold from his position near the ship''s railing. His hand rested on the hilt of his wand, his muscles tense with the effort of restraining himself from joining the fray. He had survived this long by choosing his battles carefully, and something told him that this conflict was moreplex than it appeared on the surface.


    His presence was masked by the night, and he didn''t yet join the fight as he could feel something about the pirate captain. To point out, there was invisible, dark energy around him, which made Jaegar cautious.


    All the members of Five ws, as they called it, are mid level warriors, and they would be able to fend themselves off, and though it seemed they couldn''t win, they wouldn''t die.


    As the Five ws were pushed further back, hemmed in by the press of pirates, a new figure entered Jaegar''s field of vision. The pirate captain, who had been observing the battle from his own ship, now stood on the deck of the Blue Horizon.


    He had crossed between the vessels with a casual ease that spoke of immense confidence or foolhardiness—or perhaps both.


    The sh of steel and the cries of battle abruptly ceased as a sinister ck haze seeped across the deck of the Blue Horizon. It slithered around the feet of both pirates and defenders alike, an unnatural mist that seemed to drink in the light.


    An eerie silence fell over the ship, broken only by the gentlepping of waves against the hull and the creaking of wood.


    Every person on deck stood frozen, as if caught in a spell.


    Jaegar felt the dark energy strapping his legs to the ship, so he chose to stay still and didn''t break free immediately, as he didn''t want to draw attention yet. He was trying to gauge what the dark energy was.


    From the corner of his eye, he could see the others simrly affected: Cara with her sword half-raised, Hegdal''s axe suspended mid-swing, and even Captain Thorne''s usual smirk reced by a look of confusion and rm.


    The silence was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps echoing from below decks. All eyes turned towards the ship''s entrance as four figures emerged from the shadows. They were rough-looking men, their clothes tattered and stained with the grime of long sea voyages.


    But it wasn''t these pirates that drew gasps from the onlookers—it was the woman they escorted onto the deck.


    She stumbled into view, blinking in the moonlight that broke through the clouds overhead. Her long, dark hair whipped about her face in the sea breeze, and her eyes darted frantically from person to person, a mix of fear and defiance in her gaze. There was something mystical about her, a grace that seemed at odds with her current predicament.


    The Five ws were the first to break free of their stupor.


    Hegdal''s face contorted with rage, his beard bristling as he barked, "You bastards!" His charge forward was halted abruptly as the point of a sword pressed against his throat, drawing a thin line of blood.


    From the shadows stepped the pirate captain, his stride confident and menacing.


    As he came into the light, Hegdal''s eyes widened in recognition, a single word escaping his lips in a mixture of shock and fury: "YOU!"


    The other members of the Five ws tore their gazes from the captive woman, drawn by Hegdal''s visceral reaction. Cara, still struggling against invisible bonds, managed to turn her head towards him. "Hegdal, do you know him?" she asked, her voice tight with tension.


    Hegdal''s grip on his axe tightened, and his knuckles were white with strain. "Cara, we might have gotten ourselves in deep sh*t," he grunted, his eyes never leaving the pirate captain''s face.


    His reaction sent a chill through the group—Hegdal was not a man easily shaken.


    "Who is he?" Cara pressed, sensing the gravity of the situation.


    Hegdal''s voice was low and dangerous when he replied, "Of course, I know. He''s a fucking member of the Darkskull pirates."


    The pirate captain''s lips curled into a cruel smile, revealing teeth that gleamed unnaturally in the moonlight. "Oh, you seem to know about me," he mused, his voice smooth and cultured, at odds with his rough appearance.


    "Of course," Hegdal spat, wincing as the sword at his throat pressed deeper. "How could I not know the most wanted member of the Darkskull? I could just retire with the bounty ced on your head."


    The pirate captain, Durwin Starbeeze, grinned wider, stepping closer to Hegdal. The air seemed to chill around him, and Jaegar felt a familiar tingle of dark arts. "Well, why don''t you try then?" Durwin taunted, his eyes glinting with malicious amusement.


    Hegdal''s expression twisted with impotent rage as Durwin turned away, striding towards the captive woman.


    The pirate captain circled her slowly, like a predator sizing up its prey. His brow furrowed as he studied her features. "Wasn''t she a half-breed?" he asked, ncing back at Hegdal. "Did you get the wrong girl?"


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