Moving across a rocking boat seemed much harder than she expected. It was similar to walking down or up a slope only the ship looked flat in all directions. Besides dodging scampering passengers who were shoving as much as they were screaming, it was about all Mirrah could do to stay upright.

And then explosions sounded. It shouldn't have been surprising that pirates would have gun powder but still she didn't expect it. A gust swept clear through Mirrah, sending a faint swath of warmth that was soon consumed by the ocean winds. She could smell the gunpowder in the air even though the wind began to sweep the cloud of smoke off the ship. She didn't have time to glance around to find the explosion. By the time she looked up, someone had blocked her path towards the stairs. A blade gleamed into her face.

At that moment her instincts clicked. Finally, an opponent she could see and fight head on. She didn't even bother slowing down. Instead, she pushed forward just a bit faster, almost into a lunge at the pirate before her. One fist was drawn, fingers curled and ready to deliver a knock out punch into the man's nose.

At least that's what would've happened if she were standing on solid ground. Only she wasn't and the boat lurched in some direction, maybe from a wave lapping the side or the neighboring ship scraping another inch across the boat's hull and Mirrah lost her footing. Her gaze jerked from the man's blade into the planks of wood beneath her and she was suddenly reminded of how queasy she felt.

One hand dropped to the deck, bracing her fall but the other never came down. Someone took hold of her gauntlet and began to twist it into a rather uncomfortable position behind her back. Even as she turned her head to find her attacker, her vision was eclipsed. The smell of earth filled her nostrils and loosely woven fibers let light filter in. But soon that didn't matter. A sharp pain struck the back of her head and Mirrah gave a shout as the flickers of light faded altogether. Rather than feel the dank wooden planks beneath, someone caught her in descent. Voices reached her rapidly escaping hearing.

"Dammit, Dusk, don't kill her!"

~~~

Below deck was a writhing mass of bodies pushing against each other, trying harder to squeeze deeper into the ship and away from the stairs. Just about everyone was running as fast as they could downstairs, squeezing into other people's rooms to hide in among the dozen others that must've already been in some rooms. A literal human river was coursing across the opening of Wilhelm's room, blocking any means of escape with a slow moving wall of flailing arms and screams. It almost seemed like Wilhelm was directing this flow from moving into his room though his scanning eyes said otherwise.

Just as he found an opening and began to move to be swept away by the stream of people, a hand latched onto Wilhelm's wrist. Lorena's face emerged from the crowd. Her voice could hardly be heard over the screaming. "Wilhelm!"

People began to swarm her, almost dragging her away if she didn't push Wilhelm back into the room. She slipped through the crowd and stepped into the room as well, one hand still locked on Wilhelm's wrist. She wasn't panting as must as she should have if she were screaming and pushing as much as the others were. Lorena cast one look around the room before speaking at Wilhelm in a rapid-fire voice.

"Where's your bodyguard?"

"Mirrah? Isn't she above deck?! I thought she was with you!"

Lorena spun on her heels. "Shut the doors!"

"What the hell is going on up there?!"

The stream of people didn't even slow to a trickle before the screams suddenly changed into shouts. Pirates began to filter through the stairs, the screaming escalating to higher pitches which only added to the din. Before Lorena could reach the door, one of the pirates emerged from the crowd, instantly blocking her path.

"Get down on the ground!" His voice topped the screaming mass behind him by far and it almost seemed like the sheen of his blood splayed scimitar increased the volume of his voice tenfold.

Lorena did the only thing she could think of. Wail. She threw one arm around Wilhelm, wrapping the cloak around both of them and began screaming in a shrill pitch that matched the man's voice. "My baby!!!" She pushed him back towards the middle of the room but didn't go any further than that. Her other hand, though seemingly grasping Wilhelm tightly like a child to his mother, was in actuality drawing one of her many daggers on her person, masking the metallic shing with another wail. "Don't hurt my baby!!!"