The Story of Judius. 1: A Most Improper Burial

[Judius]

It was a day like no other for the sailors of Lordaeron's mightiest fleet. Their most elusive quarry had been cornered, and after eight months of dismal weather, jarring losses, and a multitude of other misfortunes, a sense of finality hung over the fifteen ships dispatched so long ago to track down this most cunning of seamen.

Captain Al'Daren, one of the few Quel'thelasians in Lordaeron's vast armada, had been charged with the duty of finding, and sinking, his Majesty's most notorious seaborn nuisance- The Cutter IV. More important however, was his charge of bringing back- dead or alive- it's Captain, the pirate Judius "Nobeard" Desant.

Al'Daren awoke to the now gentle rocking of his greatest pride in life- His Majesty's fastest ship, the Strider. He swung his feet out from his bunk, and guided them swiftly to the floor, planting them simultaneously with a loud snap. The Captain smiled , whilst rubbing the sleep out of his strikingly green eyes, as the low rumble of awakening sailors surrounded him. Sitting on his bunk, with his head at his knees, he allowed himself a moment to asess the day ahead of him, before standing sharply to face rows of his now statuesque crew, each sharply dressed in the lightly armored battle gear they had been ordered to prepare to use the previous night. Gazing down the length of the large Crew's quarters, he nodded- a nod his men knew so well- and set to walking to the deck, his men uniformly in tow.

The sky was a clear blue as Judius awoke in a drunken haze, wrapped cozily around the protruding front end of his ship. Opening his booze-sealed eyes, he immediatly snapped awake, startled by the sudden prospect of falling into the ocean. Sidling slowly down the mastlike protrusion that was the front ramming spike of his ship, the immense Cutter IV, he found his way to the deck, and surveyed it's situation. Bodies of drunken, filthy, sailors littered the grime encrusted deck, and a few hung limply from makeshift swings attached to the gigantic masts above- their final night as a crew been, indeed, chaotic. Filling his lungs with air, Judius proceeded to scream. "Wake up ye filthy bilgerats! Ye've hae yer wee bash, nae it be time te fight!" Almost in unison, a sea of a hundred hands, some holding blades, some bottles of ale, proceeded to wave him off, bitterly.

Laughing and grinning to himself, the Bald-headed, piercing ridden Captain walked up to his first mate, the Orc, Kor. Kor was, perhaps, more hung over than anyone in a five hundred mile diameter. With a swift kick to the back of Kor's strikingly green head, the captain had recieved the attention of all his crew. Kor stood up, not the least bit annoyed, and proceeded to bellow with a volume no human as Judius could hope to muster, and before long, the crew of the Cutter IV was at attention.

Al'Daren, and each of his crewmen knew the plan to take down their prey- all had studied the battleplan tirelessly, and nearly all had some manner of personal motivation behind tracking down this particularly loathesome Pirate. Fifteen ships had been sent to destroy the target, and Al'Daren knew he would need the full power of each to even hope to touch on the famous prowess and experience that comprised the whole of the Cutter IV's crew. As he walked out of the door from to Crew's Quarters to the main deck, he turned, and stopped. After a quick word with the Crewmaster, he walked swiftly to the helm, as his crew spilled out from the belly of the ship, taking up their stations. No speaches were neccesary today. A flare went up, as planned from the front of Al'Daren's flagship, and fourteen others followed from each of the ships in the perfect wedge formation that had been assembled during the night. In unison, fifteen ships dropped their massive sails, and each caught the wind summoned forth by the Armada's Archmage. His blonde hair flowing forward, Al'Daren smiled a smile of resignation.

The Greenskin, Kor, paced the deck back and forth infront the the row of surprisingly uniform, however dirty, crewmen, a viscous smile covering his face. Judius, his back to his ship, facing outward, finally caught sight of what he knew would be his undoing. He smiled and nodded proudly at the sight of fifteen gleaming Lordaeronian warships sailing swiftly toward him, across the horizon.

"Men!" Bellowed the mighty, muscle bound Kor to the crewmen. "You know, just as I, that death or imprisonment await you! We have terrorized these seas far longer than any before, and I dare say, any in the future!" Judius smiled at his friend's striking eloquence, for an Orc. He knew this greenskin like a brother- he had fought alongside him for so long. "This is something to be proud of my brothers! We, a humble, single ship, have forced the attention of Azeroth's mightiest military force, and now we have one last opportunity to injure those damnable power mongers!" A bellowous cheer erupted from the several hundred men. "Now then." Kor continued, "We have but to act on our most primal of instincts, to make this day what we must. This will be a slaughter, and an embarassment that will strike every citizen of Lordaeron deep down. They will win, there is no doubt, in the end. But, we will, and once more, there is no doubt, win an immortality most can never hope to achieve."

If only Kor knew just how ironic that statement would soon be to Judius.

Portions of Judius's crew had, in the night, rowed out to set their now famous mines in what their seer, the Dwarven Warlock Fud, had seen to be the position of the incoming attack force. Sure enough, with one of the crewmen at his side, Judius could see glinting in the bright sun, just beneath the calm waves, the huge, spike covered mines that would bring the casualties to a crippling level for his enemies.

As his men went about what would be their last proceedings on Azeroth, Kor and Judius made eye contact across the massive ship, and gazed at the massive attack force, which was now unavoidably close. They stared intently at the spot where they knew the first of the massive mines would to it's damage- about two miles in the distance- sure enough, Fud had been correct, it would strike as intended, at the very center of Al'Daren's formation.

The Crew of the Strider, and those of each of the ships surrounding it, were perched in their battlestations throughout the ships. The tension surrounding the battleground was immense, but none aboard the ships involved would fall prey to the demon of cowardice. Men primed their guns, fretted over personal mementos, and did whatever else they could to pass the tension. And then, to the grim realization of the Lordaeronian's, the battle had begun a mile before they had expected.

The Image of the side of the Cutter IV in the distance was suddenly shattered by a massive fireball erupting from the front of the ship positioned directly ahead of Al'Deren's flagship. Chunks of flaming wood and bodyparts flew high into the air, and before some pieces could even hit water, another explosion, and yet another had pierced the sound of the rushing tailwind. The Sea was suddenly ablaze with the wreckage of three enourmous battleships.

Al'Deren was shocked. Turning furiously to his tactician, he screamed. "You assured me their ship could not possibly hold any more of those damnable mines! You were -certain- no ship of that size could hold any more!" Stammering, the tactician was speechless. "No matter!" Bellowed Al'Deren. "We still have twelve ships." And with that, another two explosions erupted from the extreme ends of the wedge formation, as the once perfect formation was splintered into a usless grouping of ten ships. In the distance, the roaring of the Cutter IV's crew could be heard, and several bare pirate bottoms could be seen, sharply contrasting the grimy woood.

Judius and Kor could be heard cheering louder than any others upon the ship. The flaming hulks of five ships brought renewed vigor to the men. They knew three more mines would follow, yet they knew even this could not stop the Lordaeronians. "Prime the Cannons!" Belted Judius, as Kor ran eagerly down the length of the ship, encouraging the twenty cannon crews facing the oncoming ships. "Wait for the mines!"

Al'Deren knew his career as a Admiral was at stake. He could only afford so many more casualties before his very sanity was taken into question. One ship destroying five in a force of fifteen? This was shaping up to be a failure like no other. Casting the worry aside, he set to ensuring that his boarding crews were ready. The Strider was now a pace ahead of the other ships in what was the formation. The plan was for the frontmost ship in what was the formation to ram the Cutter IV, but due to the unexpected mines, Al'Deren's ship was the only ship capable of performing the duty in time. With the wind summoned by the archmage at their backs, the ships of Lordaeron's attack force began to encircle the Cutter IV, while the Strider closed in on the target.

With the Strider less than thirty seconds from contact and boarding, the final three mines exploded with a hellish fury, as the attack force was further reduced to seven ships. With no casualties, the crew of the Cutter IV had already destroyed more than hale of Al'Deren's taskforce.

Judius caught a musket tossed to him by Kor from the back of the ship, and from the frontmost point of his ship, he aimed at the man atop the Strider's crow's nest, which was now just ten seconds away. With a snap and a cloud of thick smoke, the spotter was sent flailing to the deck below. Suddenly a loud thud erupted from below , followed by a terrifrying creaking and snapping of wood that pervaded the two ships. The Strider's massive front spike had driven itself deep into the hull of the Cutter IV. Grappling hooks flew from from the Lordaeronian's hands onto the deck of Judius's chaotic ship. Gunfire erupted from both sides, as men fell all around. From across the two ships, Judius and Al'Deren exchanged respectful glances. Drawing forth his twin daggers, Judius leapt atop the side of his ship, ripped open his tunic, and menacingly drew both blades down the length of his chest and stomach. Screaming with a rage few had seen out of him before, he leapt across the gap between the ships and immediatly began to decimate the crew of the Strider

The sound of cutlasses unsheathing could be heard all around, as guns were made useless by the hand to hand combat taking place all over both ships. Kor, stone faced, drew his mighty battle axe from across his dark green back. Running up the steps to where he was, atop the Captain's deck, he could see two Lordaeronian crewmen heading toward him, fearful, but resolute, cutlasses drawn. With a roar, Kor leapt down the steps and over the men, with a swing of his axe. Without glancing back, Kor charged to the defense of his men, leaving two headless corpses rolling down the steps. Al'Deren turned swiftly, with a snap two his two best fighters, and walked swiftly, cape billowing, into his Crew Quarters. Judius, seeing this, worked his path of destruction steadily toward the door to where he had seen Al'Deren. Keeping his eyes upon the door, he carelessly planted daggers into faces, chests, and whereever else he found an opening. Behind him he heard a cheer, as Kor and his men had cleared the deck of the Cutter IV, and were beginning to board the Strider. A massacre was in the works.

"Take your positions!" Al'Deren shout sharply to his two guardsmen, who took positions behind the door outward. Judius, who had now reached the door, sensed a trap, but heedlessly headed inward, tracking blood as he walked. He entered the dimly torchlit room to the sound of two mighty halberds whooshing toward him. Extending both daggers outward, he caught the great blades in their elegant curves. With a deft flick of his blades, he let go of his daggers and grabbed the now flipping halberds. Two halberds in hand, he thrust outward with all his might as the twin poleaxes flew sharply back to their owners, leaving them impaled grimly upon the wall.

Picking up the daggers, he heard a low, smooth voice.

"Ever the showman, Judius?" Al'Deren spoke hatefully. "I do be hopin' ye been enjoyin' thar fireworkses, Elf." Judius spoke mockingly.

Al'Deren began to speak, but was cut off by Judius. "Cut thar ###### elf, this nae be no ones dramatic moment. Ye'll not be deserving o' it.". And with that, Judius charged down the space between the rows of bunks, toward Al'deren, who stood at the ready, his massive Greatsword drawn, but trembling. Judius's reached him with a long leap, and Al'Deren swung shakily, catching his blade in the floorboards. Landing silently behind Al'Deren, Judius let out a little chuckle, flipped his daggers once, and planted them squarely in the back of Al'deren's bent over head. He did not stop pushing until the once handsome elf was nailed to the floor of his own ship. "Nope.." chuckled Judius, as the blood flowed about the floor. "I nae be thinkin' I be affordin' ye any kind 'o honor whatseevers."

Outside, the sounds of battle were quickly replaced by the sounds of cheering.

And before long, the grim sound of cannon fire.

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That's part one. Stay tuned to find out more about how Judius became undead, about what happened to Kor, and precisely how the two are not at the bottom of the ocean.

By the way, I hope you got the Idea that, despite slaughtering the crew of the Al'Deren's ship, they were still surrounded by six ships which, needless to say, were move than capable of sinking Judius's ship.

If you like it, I will continue the long story of Judius

Edited August 23, 2005 by Judius

[Judius]

By the way, I still have yet to go through and spellcheck, or whatever. I also should probly go through and make its consistant and fix and flow problems I find... but you get the gist.

[muru]

Great imagination der Jud!!

Get 'em, Nobeard!!

Hhehe- reminds me of when my first son was 4 years old. We were playin' Pirates and I asked him what his Pirate name was.

"Huh", he said.

"Ya know, like Redbeard- every Pirate needs a name!"

"Ok- you can be Whitebeard , Dad, and I will be.... Pinkbeard!!"

I was rolling on the floor!! Ol' Pinkbeard would be the scourge of The Seven Seas wit' dat name!

I love that story! <ol' Muru grows misty eyed>

[Rhoach]

Helluva Story Jud!

And.. you said seamen. *giggles*

[Judius]

Egad, I'm just realizing that I accidentally made entire section italicized, instead of just the ship names. hehe

fix em later, screw it

Edited August 23, 2005 by Judius