Adventure of Ryrronken

Ryrronken flies just above the heaving ocean, his bronze wings casting broken shadows across the swells. Two ships ride ahead beneath the pale western sky.

The nearer merchant ship lists under the attack. Alongside it, a dark Northkin vessel cuts across the narrowing gap, its oars churning white water as ropes snap taut.

Northkin pirates swing over the rails and seize the lines. Their axes and hooked blades flash in the daylight, while the merchant crew scrambles among crates and rigging.

A gust drives salt spray across both decks. Several merchant sailors look upward, their faces tightening as Ryrronken's great bronze wings pass over the sun.

Ryrronken banks above the dark Northkin vessel. His bronze throat brightens, then a concentrated bolt of lightning tears downward through the salt-laden air.

The blast strikes the raiders' ship amidships with a thunderclap. The mast shudders, ropes flare white, and the vessel slews hard across the waves.

The Northkin Pirates abandon their attack and scramble away from the rigging. Several drop flat against the deck as smoke and splinters drift over them.

Merchant sailors hack through the remaining lines. Their battered ship swings free while the damaged raider wallows, its oars out of rhythm beneath the fading storm-light.

For a moment, both decks stare upward through the rain of sparks. Ryrronken's wings beat once, holding him above the crippled ship and the escaping merchant vessel.