Task Name: Paint the Sea Red! Crimson Blood Clan Arrive!
Tier: Tier 1
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Onyx Island
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: In the early hours of the morning, an unmarked ship washes up on the shore. From its deck rain a slew of pirates that have eyes on the temple! Allen and the other students of Obsidian Dragon Style must defend their new home, and save the temple!
Enemy Details: 15 Tier 0 Pirates, 3 Tier 1 Pirates
Boss: No.

Over the next few days Allen trained directly with Master Iro. He had no contact with Zeke or the other's who'd come there on the ship with him. He'd been pretty much in solitary confinement, but he was free to leave if he wanted. Thing was, he didn't want to. He wanted to train, and learn Obsidian Dragon Style. So that's exactly what he did. Master Iro showed him new moves, and then he practice them. Then he'd practice the one's he'd learned.

Allen once heard a proverb, something like 'A true master is an eternal student'. He very much agreed with the idea. If you want to maintain your master-status, you've got to train and keep tuned all of you abilities, even the fundamentals. It's easy to forget to keep your stance right, and to get lazy or relaxed after you've done it a million times.

Master Iro insisted perfect form and proper execution superseded strength in most situations. A warrior with good form could beat a warrior with more power. It was simple. Though it was tough for Allen to try and train with the old man. A few ribs had been cracked when Allen hit him with the Push, and now he was having problems even taking proper stance beside Allen. Instead he was just instructing the boy. Allen wouldn't have thought twice about it, but what happened that day because of it would shape the person he became.

WC: 255

It was still early morning. Allen had just finished washing up and was ready to head out and get some breakfast. However, his plans were interrupted when he poked his head out of the temple to see a ship nearing the island. It was flying a jolly roger, and Allen knew exactly what they were in for.

Cannon fire shot from the bow of the ship, splashing down onto the village soil, rupturing the peaceful morning and shaping it into a disaster.

As the ship made land fall, the acolytes were already mostly on the scene. There were more of them than Allen remembered. Must have meant more people had arrived over the last few days. None of them came to join Master Iro and Allen yet though, so they must not be ready for it yet. Though if Allen understood correctly, Zeke was hitting them hard with the basics of Ryusoken, as well as beginner lessons with Obisidian Dragon Style.

Even Allen, with all his training with Master Iro, didn't know if he was ready to really use the skills he'd learned in a clash with pirates. It was a chilling thought, some of the pirates Allen had heard and read about were nothing but ruthless killers with a thirst for blood only matched by their thirst for booze.

From the deck of the ship rained a battalion of battle-hungry pirates. Their numbers were a bit over a dozen, outnumbering the acolytes that weren't fighting fires, and Zeke who was there to help them. Allen looked to the temple, and thankfully Master Iro wasn't coming to fight. Allen was sure he'd get himself killed in his current state.

WC: 285
TWC: 540

The acolytes were doing their best to handle the devilish pirates. Allen grit his teeth as he sprinted towards the beach to join them. He cursed himself for asking that damn question, if he was with the other acolytes he might have been able to do something sooner. by the time he arrived, there were only a few pirates down, but about half the acolytes had fallen.

Zeke was in good shape thankfully, but that didn't mean he could really do much to save the others. He could only handle so many of the pirates at a time, so rushing all of them headlong wasn't going to be an option.

However, he did notice the beach was littered with a few broken blades, and the pirates were sort of avoiding Zeke. What the hell was he doing to them?

"Hey kid, I thought you were still sleeping. Well late is better than never. Think you could give us a hand here? There's a lot of them and I don't think I can take them by myself." Zeke asked. He was so calm despite the situation's intensity, and Allen admired that. If he could keep a level head about all this, then so could Allen. The white-haired boy nodded.

"Sure, I'll do my best." Allen promised. His chest stung, knowing there were bodies all around him. He didn't like death, but that didn't mean he was just going to stare at it and let more killing take place.

WC: 256
TWC: 796

Zeke rushed in, catching one of the pirates by surprise. He smashed him so hard in the nose, he looked like a blood propelled rocket as he slapped against the surface of the water. Allen laughed, following his lead. The other acolytes, nervous as they were, rushed behind them.

Allen was surprised they all seemed to be on the beach still. The acolytes and Zeke were able to keep them from storming up the hill and into the village. Though, the cannon fire caused enough damage already.

Allen dropped his right arm and shot a clawed-grip hand into the stomach of a particularly smelly pirate. Before he could withdraw his blow to strike with another, the man had curled into a ball and was writhing in the sand, curses spewing from his lips. The boy then turned his attention to a different pirate. He shot another strike forward, only to be met with steel. Instinctively Allen pulled his hand back, ready for it to be hurting like mad, but as he did he saw it was the blade that was hurting, not his hand.

Snap! A severed blade fell to the sand, little more than a butter knife worth left on the hilt. The pirate holding the sword looked a bit shaken by the display. Allen looked at him with a grim look. "Next one is coming for your head!"

"Like I'm gonna get beat by some kid!" The pirate retorted, lunging with the remaining sword.

Crack! Allen smashed his hand into the man's nose, sending him back a ways, though not quite as far as Zeke had. Allen smirked, taunting more of the pirates to try their luck. Rumbling from the deck of the ship however made the fighting pause. What the hell else could go wrong?

WC: 301
TWC: 1,097