The Forsaken, part fifteen

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15. Ilaria took the initiative and drove her ship into the harbor of the old town, waiting for the royal guardsmen to arrive. Their arrival was nothing a little cannon fire could not fix as rows of soldiers were blown away along with large parts of the stone-built harborfront. When the ammunition and gunpowder aboard the ship had run out, Ilaria took an old cutlass, a flintlock pistol and a sack full of pellets as she jumped off the ship and ran to confront the royal soldiers head-on. Ennio too ran out of ammunition and decided to beach his own ship to join Ilaria in the fight. Meanwhile, Giancarlo stayed out of range of hailing cannon fire from the shore, but he had come prepared for such an occasion. He began to ram the Rosetta into the harbor after lighting a trail of gunpowder leading from the top deck to the cargo hold, where several large barrels filled to the brim with gunpowder were waiting.

 As soon as the last pirate ship drove into the old town, it exploded in a flurry of wood, fire and precious treasure that shook the immediate area like a small earthquake. As was tradition, the last pirate went down with his ship. Despite the loss of their pirate ally, Ilaria and Ennio continued their push towards the royal palace through the town, dodging swords and shots as they went. By now, much of the town was aflame when Ilaria and Ennio finally made their way back to the gates of the palace. 

They overpowered the guards, sword and musket in hand, then kicked through the doors of the building. In the eerily quiet interior, Ennio and Ilaria made their way through in search of Vico, but he was nowhere to be seen. They eventually found Vico on the palace roof with his associate the Devil, followed by a duel of three. Vico stood his ground firmly against his sister and Ennio, and despite his pleas for assistance, the Devil did nothing but stand by and watch the fight ensue. Kicking his sister out of the way, Vico battled and overpowered Ennio in one foul swoop of his sword, leaving him to fight Ilaria.

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