~~~ SET THE CRIMSON SAILS ~~~
[ Amra and Belit continue the fight...]
...The big reptile-Demon had screamed and was now writhing and lashing about as if in confusion and pain. Following their emergency plan, Belit and her archers had poured jars of special Argossian oil over their own main deck. the demon had just jumped across onto that deck and was slipping in the oil when it suddenly convulsed into the madness and screaming.
Then, Belit shot another hopeful arrow and was delighted to now see it pierce the scaly side of the monster! having lost the main magic-conduit from its dead summoner, now the demon seemed to be losing its powers in this earthly-dimension?
Amra armed himself with a fallen sword, and then signalled to a relieved and smiling Belit. then he disappeared to search below deck while his archers were firing gleefully into the distressed but now quiet demon. but any shaman would have recognised that the demon was now concentrating its remaining power...
Amra had entered what would normally have been a big cabin of the captain. but this room had all windows boarded up. the only dim light came from a redly glowing brazier in the centre. his nose was struggling because it smelled like a busy charnel house in here.
then in horror he saw 13 naked bodies of teenage girls and boys laid on the bloodstained floor. all their hearts had been cut out and burned in the sacred brazier as part of the unholy demon-summoning ritual!
His wide blue eyes were drawn to a nearby very beautiful girl who wore only a shiny necklace made from pearls and rubies. as he kneels to examine the jewelry his big arm brushes across a nipple...the corpse is still warm.
Suddenly she sits up with a rigid jolt!
Amra smoothly leapt back in surprise like a leopard startled from its slumber.
then he sensed something behind grabbing at his leg and swiftly swung his sword to behead a feral young girl before she could bite him! But no blood fountained from her gaping neck and her headless body continued to try to claw at him!
His natural revulsion was screaming at him inside his shaking, sweating head as all the other naked weird-walking-dead were lurching at him with teeth bared and staring dead eyes.
A wild-eyed Amra hacks 2 more undead out of his way and then kicks the brazier over. fire quickly burns as he scampers fast up the ladder like a scalded Kush ape.
While he frantically closes the deck-hatch and jams it shut with a boat-hook, he shouts across to Belit,
"BURN IT. Burn it NOW ! By Loki, burn 'em all!"
Raven haired Belit lights her fire-arrow from the flame inside a lantern. then she sneers with a wicked grin and shouts,
"Now YOU die vile spawn of festering Set-filth!"
as her flaming arrow hits the oil-pool it all ignites with a loud whoosh and a bright yellow flash. the demon is engulfed and vanishes behind a hot wall of fire and smoke!
Now the remaining crew relaxed and turned to the task of quickly abandoning ship. But suddenly 3 big long crimson Tentacles snaked swiftly out of the fire and wrapped expertly around their prey! 2 tough black pirates were pulled struggling back into the searing fire and screamed like little boys as they burned and melted.
the third tentacle had to travel further to reach Belit. She writhed and shouted and tried to reach her dagger as she was pulled nearer to the flaming new domain of the cunning ancient Demon.
Then a big Stygian sword-blade swished close past her terror stricken face and hacked into the strange tentacle! when it did not sever through a familiar loud cursing voice was heard,
"By Crom! This thing is tougher than living in Cimmeria!"
So Amra quickly hacked it again and again in a mighty blurred frenzy of barbaric desperation. finally the sword cut through the weird crimson tentacle-limb and Amra pulled his shaking lover from the edge of the boiling fire.
Then he had to dive across the deck with her to narrowly avoid another lunging tentacle! Now resigned to the deadly supernatural resilience of the demon-thing, Amra shouted to his crew, and then ran and jumped overboard with Belit in his big arms.
2 more chanting brave ebon pirates had distracted the tentacles with noise and spears so that their beautiful leader could be carried by Amra to escape. but the 2 trembling warriors were soon grabbed and sacrificed in agony on the demonic-altar of fire...
~~~
As the doomed tied ships became a huge flaming twisted sinking pyre
the swimmers heard unholy screams from the writhing dark thing in the fire.
the few survivors of Belit's crew swam together and gave a great cheer
when their Tigress war galley came from the horizon, and was soon drawing near.
Amra had to kill a hungry shark before they were safely all aboard,
when Belit emerged naked from the sea, her crew with mirth all roared.
"Where are your breast-plates?" Amra said and winked red-faced.
"You cut them off me underwater when we lustilly embraced."
From his pants he pulled the Necklace of ruby and pearl
and tied it round the neck of his favourite pirate girl.
while waiting for his kiss her ripe red lips were pursed,
Amra said with a wink, "I hope that it's not cursed."
Belit said, "Well, who wants to live forever?"
Amra thought about parting with her...never...
~~~~~
[ all story and poem parts by Buxom Sorceress c.2007.
fully inspired by the wonderful REHoward and his superb 'Queen of the Black coast' Conan tale.
in my 'version' of the legend: Amra and Belit had already plundered and sunk several big Stygian ships, taking some very valuable cargoes and treasures. so the rich owners 'the Stygian Princes' had got together and hired a very powerful, mysterious and feared Sorcerer-Priest to rid them of these deadly pirates.
so the secret lure and 'trap' was carefully set. but even the reduced [and expendable] Stygian crew had no idea what the dark Priest was going to do...]
--
i put a lot of effort and loving care into this new rhyme-tale.
please let me know if you enjoyed it?
best wishes to all Conan fans.
-----
thanks for your epic + inspiring poem version of 'tower of the elephant' part 1...Empowered by the jewelled Heart,
Old Yara worked his magic art,
On prince and king and lowly beast,
The offal for his devil's feast..
Cautious, with a sense of dread,
And moving with a panther's tread,
He peered within a room of jade,
And saw a thing no man had made.
i completely agree with IRONHAND when he says 'Kail, your poetry is masterful'.
~~~
'The tortured jumbo in the tower
feared the master of the lotus flower.
when rescued by the rhymes of Kail
beneath his trunk he cracked a smile.
but the final part of this woe-filled tale
may break your heart and make you wail?'
~~~
Edited by Buxom Sorceress, 26 April 2008 - 01:07 AM.
