Loran peered out of the castle's tallest tower. The sky was packed with clouds. From horizon to horizon not a single bit of blue sky remained to be seen. The clouds were rain laden, their deep black and purple colors forecast lightning and thunder in the near future. The winds howled around the old stones of the castle and kicked up hefty waves out at sea that smashed themselves tirelessly against the shore. All in all it was the worst sailing weather you could possible want. Loran's forehead furrowed as he thought furiously. How could he use this to his advantage?

He'd been elected to scout out and destroy some of the forces now encircling the island. He had accepted it with his usual willingness but when he found out just what he was up against he became much less enthusiastic about the whole thing. Some thirty odd ships were circling the island. From his vantage point he could only spot six or so but he knew there were plenty more out there.
He looked again at the darkening sky as a ghost of an idea began forming in his head.

Three hours later Loran stood in the middle of a sea of wet bodies as his crews struggled to ready the three ships under his command. Rain poured down in sheets, darkening the sky and cutting visibility down to just under 200 yards.

He smiled cruelly as he surveyed the scene. 'Yes.' He thought. 'This will work!' He leapt down from the boxes he'd been standing on. All activity stopped as he held up one of his twin scimitars. "Vickum, Sunback, Crageye, Truearrow! Are we ready to go?" Loran yelled over the wind. "Aye Captain." They barked in unison. Vickum, Sunback, and Crageye commanded the three small scout ships Loran would be using for this mission. Falcon's Eye, Sea Plunder, and Wave Sprint respectively. Seth Truearrow was Loran's hand picked second in command. A master archer and famed woodsbeast, Truearrow was Loran's logical choice to command his largely bow equipped force.

"Stick to your duties and be sharp. Keep your minds clear. If you find yourself walking through black gates, don't be afraid. Its Black Forrest and you're already dead!" A scraggly cheer went up from the gathered crews.

Loran nodded once. "Lets go yea lazy lay abouts, unfurl those sails, lets move!" His words created a mad rush to get aboard and get moving. Loran hopped aboard his chosen vessel, the Wave Sprint and began pacing up and down the deck, giving orders in his loudest voice. "Let go lines fore and aft. Rudder hard ta starboard, get us clear of the wharf. Lookouts to their posts and keep a clear eye out for enemy vessels. Bowbeasts, have your bows ready with a shaft handy incase we have a close encounter."

The wind caught the ships' sails and stretched them taunt, sending them speeding out from the jetty. They formed up in a diamond pattern, Wave Sprint leading with the others back and to each side. The lookouts strained to spot any objects that might appear out of the gloom.

They had been sailing for about an hour, trying to keep sight of the coast through the rainsqualls as they headed northwest around the top of the island when they made their first contact. Two low shadows appeared to port of them headed in the opposite direction. Loran was at the helm in a flash. He spun the wheel to starboard and immediately opened the distance. His sudden move was the signal to the other two ships. Falcon's Eye reversed course to get around the front of the shadows while Sea Plunder shot off directly at them. Loran's idea was to come at them from three different angles, catching them in a three pronged attack with as much speed and firepower as possible. "Truearrow! Get yer beasts ready!" Loran called over the whipping wind. The deck became alive with dark moving masses as Truearrow's Bowbeasts readied themselves. Bowstrings were attached, quiver straps tightened, and last minute arrow checks were completed. Truearrow surveyed his troops then turned gave his captain a salute. They were ready.

Suddenly a red glow shot up into the rain sodden sky. The fire arrow looped down and expired in the roiling sea. Loran swung the wheel over to port and sped back along his last course.

Two minutes later they were before him. Two low slung, single mast vessels of unfamiliar make. Loran had counted on the storm driving their hunter groups apart and it looked like his hopes had paid off. Between the two vessels and even now passing aft was the Sea Plunder. There was a small fire amidships and as Loran watched he saw two more spring up on the enemy vessels. A muffled shout, a twang of thirty bows, and a whistling of arrows announced that Truearrow had commenced the attack. Return fire whistled past and two of Loran's crew beasts fell clutching arrow wounds. A second volley left his ship followed closely by a third.

Now they were at such close range Loran could make out creatures running around on their decks. They seemed to be a mix of otters and squirrels. Loran ducked an arrow that came to close and looked back at his own beasts. More of his crew were down now but they were exacting a heavy toll on the enemy. But all was not going well. The fire on board Sea Plunder had gotten out of control and Loran could see her standing just out of range while her crew tried to put them out. One of the two enemy vessels had managed to get its fire under control but its mate was a blazing inferno.

A fourth vessel appeared. This was Falcon's Eye coming in from the opposite direction. Here beasts poured volley after volley into the remaining vessel. A sudden pain caught Loran and he staggered back as he saw the arrow protruding from his right hip. He bared his teeth and took a closer look. "Not very deep, no real harm done." Came a voice from his right. Seth stood there calmly firing off arrows off and inspecting his hip. Seth smiled as he saw his arrows go home then turned and with one swift snap he removed the arrow. "Not bad now Captain?" And ran off forward. Loran tightened his sash to stop the flow of blood and reminded himself to kick Seth up one end of the ship and down the other when this was all over.

Loran looked up from his wound just in time to see the second enemy vessel slip beneath the waves a flaming, sizzling wreck. The second vessel had somehow managed to avoid catching fire again and send grappling hooks across to the Falcon's Eye. "Bring her up on the other side!" Loran shouted to the beast that had taken his place at the wheel. The Wave Sprint came about and nearly rammed into the other vessel.

There was already fighting going on onboard and Loran's arrival had just turned the tide in his favor. Loran headed a boarding party of fifteen cutlass armed crew onto the aft end of the vessel. Most of the original boarders from Falcon's Eye had been killed but the few who remained, including Captain Vickum, had been pressed forward. Loran's attack slashed into the rear of the enemy. At the same time Vickum launched his final attack. Within a few short minutes Loran and Vickum clasped paws over the dead body of the enemy commander. The few prisoners that had been taken were thrown aboard the Wave Sprint and taken below. By now the storm had slackened and Loran could see sun breaks off in the distance. He looked around at his remaining crew and raised his scimitar up high while yelling at the top of his lungs. "Sampetra!" The answering yell was music to his ears.