Soul Sliver Smackdown

"KEEP'EM COMING TREZLAN!" The hold smelled of sulfur and smoke. We had been firing the cannons as soon as we could at the pirate ship, amazingly the shots were hitting and damaging it, but they were also taking their toll on us. Hanlon's ship was leaning heavily to the right, and I could hear the sloshing of water into the ships hold. With each pass we took on the Trezlan The Red's ship we came all the closer to being sunk ourselves. But I and the crew with me kept the cannon's firing, how or why wasn't immediately clear, but we kept firing even when it seemed like it was a futile effort. Where they got the ammunition or powder from I have no idea, but they crew kept ramming shot in and firing shot off. For my part I shouted and pointed well enough (my usual management style).

"I don't think we're winning Hanlon!" A shot ripped through our left side and blew a large hole through our right highlighting that we were not in fact winning this battle.

"You can't see what I do Trezlan, trust me they are more hurt than we are." I didn't believe this sentiment, especially not while the decks of our ship was filling up with water. Fearing we were about to be annihilated I came up with a plan that seemed to stupid to work, but you know those are the best type! So I instructed the men to keep firing (not like they needed me to say that, but you know I had to to feel useful!) and ran up to the cabin to get the soul sliver. The boat was rocking more now, each shot we took causing wood to groan and snap as the ship tried valiantly to stay together. The glowing object in hand I returned to the cannon deck and worked some blood magic into the soul sliver (I had no idea if it would work mind you, as I had no idea what the soul sliver really was at all, this was one of those lets add blood magic to something awful and see if it works out!). My enchanted device in hand I got to one of the cannons currently pointed at the other ship and loaded the soul sliver in. Now I didn't know proper powder loads or any of that crap, so I just threw some of it in with the soul sliver and hoped for the best (why should this be any different than the rest of the way I do things...)

At first I thought maybe I missed, or that my attempt to do something had failed, because nothing happened. And then all of a sudden Trezlan The Red's ship was engulfed in purple flame and the sea went deadly calm. Like one minute we were in the middle of a huge storm and being fired upon, and then the next dead sea and a huge bonfire of purple flame. And then nothing. The ghost ship and its pirates were gone, the soul sliver was still in tact though (Hanlon somehow reacquired it from the ocean floor later, how I have no idea and prefer to not know).

So there ended my attempt to help ghost pirates. I never did get to hear what Hanlon's plan was for the soul sliver, or what it really was to begin with. But he was moderately happy with the outcome and most of his pirate crew made it home safely, so all in all a horrific trip I was immediately thankful was over!