The Logs of the TDFS Tindome

Chapter 10: Crouching Indian, Flying Pirate

Eric signs to Jakar Toka and the other Indian that they should go up the stairs, in search of Sam. Despite his intimation of danger, he leads off and the others join him. Up on the second floor, a human steps out, laughs under his breath, lifts a pistol, and fires it. The ball strikes the Indian, who staggers but does not collapse. Eric tosses a sleep-inducing paper dart, but the man slices it in half with his cutlass. J.T. throws one knife, which is parried, and a second knife, which hits with a satisfying "tunk." The shot Indian mutters in pain.

The Hremish dwarf looks for an orcish target. Finding none that are unengaged, he uses his second sight to locate the source of the sinister laugh. He spots two pirate-looking men leaving a front room on the second floor. He then turns to see Finwë running towards him.

Captain Ciryandil arrives at speed, and prepares to remove the crossbow bolt from Mandorak, while Eïr starts to work on Bay. "Don't move."

Eric runs towards the armed man, but is passed by the nimble Jakar Toka, who slips around both the wounded Indian and Eric, to take the lead. She flicks a third dagger into the man's throat. Unfortunately (but predictably) the man goes berserk, and lunges for Eric. J.K. throws wildly, slicing Eric's sleeve, but doing no damage. Eric thrusts a sheet of paper onto the man's face, where it remains glued, blinding him. The man swings his cutlass, but Eric parries the blow deftly. He swings blindly (of course) again and hits the wall. He bellows incoherently. "We're coming, Petey!" comes from elsewhere on the second floor.

Mandorak steps around the elven captain, rejecting his offer of aid, and trys to head for the second floor. Finwë turns his dubious attentions to Bavör, and fails to remove the quarrel from his shoulder. Eïr plucks the one from his belly, and starts to perform first aid.

Jakar Toka pulls yet another knife from her belt, and stabs their berserk opponent again. He swings blindly at Eric, who dodges. Then J.T. stabs him in the knee. He collapses against the railing, and falls down the stairs, just missing Mandorak. The other two, pistols drawn, turn the corner in time to see what happened. Eric runs towards them, then dodges through a door.

The first pirate shoots, and hits Eric. The second pirate hits only a doorframe.

Mannie arrives at the top of the stairs, joining a bleeding Indian in a crouch and our Indian princess with another dagger. "You healer?" she asks. "You a dwarf?" replies Mandorak. She actually focuses on him and the bolt sticking out of him, and her face falls.

Finwë enters the building, sees "Petey" down at the foot of the stairs, and shoots him.

Meanwhile, the tiny healer has finally pulled the second quarrel from Bay. She tries to heal him, and he stays very still while she works on him.

Jakar Toka dives into the room where Eric is lying unconscious. There is another maniacal laugh – and another pistol shot. Petey's two friends come pounding down the corridor and reach the wounded, crouching Indian. Mannie is right there as well, and plugs the one on the right. The pirate falls, through the hole in the banister left by Petey, and is shot, while still in midair, by Captain "Death from the Sky" Ciryandil.

The remaining pirate lunges for Mandorak. The dwarf tries to dodge, but is struck with the fellow's cutlass. He goes down. The pirate prepares to slash Mannie. The crouching Indian leaps upon him, only to be skewered by the pirate instead of the dwarf.

Finwë nimbly dashes up the stairs.

Eïr reduces Bay's wound. Bay thanks Eïr, shoulders his warhammer, and heads for the stairs.

Mandorak lobs ectoplasm at the pirate, but to no effect. Finwë shoots the pirate, who keels over. The captain sees that Mandorak is still conscious (The Hremish dwarf grabbed up his crossbow.), and spots Eric's feet in the room across the way. There is another blast, and splinters fly from the door of that room. Jakar Toka comes flying out of the room, grabs the railing, and swings herself upright on the banister.

Bavör steps softly up the stairs. Mannie aims at the open doorway from a crouch. Finwë slips around the corner, and waits, back against the wall. Bavör uses second sight to see that there are three men beyond the door in that room: a large man carrying two pistols, with two more in his scarlet sash, a man in a blue and white striped shirt (sporting an eyepatch) carrying a young woman over his shoulder (bound hand and foot), and a bald giant.

Bavör gets to see the large man step forward, aim at something near the ground (Eïr, who has distracted everyone except him) – and have a knife nick along his arm. He swings his pistol around and shoots at Jakar Toka. Simultaneously, she leaps backwards up, out, and over the railing. He misses. Finwë steps into the corridor, kneels, and shoots the large man, who shoots him in return. He still manages to toss his fired pistol over his shoulder, but nowhere near the bald man who he was expecting would reload it for him.

Bay sends out his warhammer. The tall man draws his third pistol. The hammer hits him square on the head. The shot goes wild, and hits the bald man. The bald man drew his only gun, but before he can hand it over, Mannie shoots the man with the loaded gun. As he keels over, he fires his last gun into the wall, and mutters, "bad show."

The huge bald man gives a shout, and lunges for Mannie. The two fall over the railing in a tangle of arms and legs. Once they land, J.T. grabs the pirate by his ponytail, and stabs him in the throat.

Finwë aims at the remaining man, and orders him, in Quenya, "Drop that human-woman, you filthy orc, and surrender." He looks blank. In Earthron, Finwë tries again. "Drop the women." Instead, the Smee-fellow, props the unconscious Samantha in front of him, as cover. Bay TKs the warhammer in his direction, but the pirate dodges. In doing this, he lets go of Sam, who falls to the floor. He hides behind her.

Down on the first floor, Jakar Toka drops the dying giant, and tries to tend to Mandorak, who has drastically jarred the quarrel in his shoulder. Deftly, she removes the bolt, and applies some salve to the wound. It seems to help. She binds his wound.

Bavör TKs Sam out of the room and into his arms. The dwarf lies her down, and tries to wake her by gently patting her cheeks and chafing her hands.

Eir awakes Eric Wright, and gets him out of the door of the room.

Finwë keeps his bow aimed at the cowering pirate. "Sit down on the floor."

The Smee looks at him with his one eye. "Sit up. I'm not good at prepositions."

The pirate manages the most horizontal "up" the elf captain has ever seen.

"We are looking for our friends."

"Slaves. In the barracks."

"No," Finwë correct him softly. "They are not Indians."

"Not Injuns? I don't know nothin'."

"Oh, that's too bad," says Finwë very gently.

"The cap'n would know." They both look at the body of the pirate captain.

Bay does wake Sam. Her eyes swim into focus. "What happened?"

Bay has a feeling of déjà vu. "We rescued you."

Sam starts to remember. "Oooh, the roof …"

Eïr starts checking the rooms. One is locked. Eric grabs the keyring off the captain's body. Eïr finds the right key, and opens the door. It's a richly appointed bedroom, with three young women cowering in the corner, clutching their bedclothes to themselves. She tries to reassure them, and get them organized.

Eric takes over the interrogation of Smee. He explains that his captain won the plantation in a card game, and that they were expecting to sell it the next day, to a man from the town, a man who will be arriving on the morrow. We find out that there are weapons in the captain's room, in the barracks, and in the guardhouses. We learn where the powderhouse is. The captain's room also has clothes, jewels, and other valuables. There is good food in the kitchen and pantry, downstairs in the back.

Eric binds him to a nearby chair.