Fantasy Set Sail to Shinier Days! | Main

[Dooplighost]

Oceans.

Oceans as far as the eye could see. The vast sea spread itself beneath Antonio’s comparatively miniscule ship with an equally miniscule crew aboard. Antonio, Scarlet, Nix, Ezra, Jaurim, Kumarie and Samson. The crew had literally been sliced, shot and drowned into a group of seven. Seven. That was about half the size of an average crew.

Antonio groaned as he stood at the Forecastle deck of the ship thinking about their position as a crew in terms of power and wealth. It wasn't high at all. Sure they had been doing better recently but that was hardly an achievement, somehow doing worse than before would have been an achievement. He sunk slightly behind the wheel of the ship, they'd been sailing for a few hours now. Antonio had insisted he took the wheel for the whole journey, mostly because he was still intimidated by a few of the newer members of the crew- this way he would be out of their way. That and he needed to plan out exactly what he wanted to happen on this expedition. He didn't look back at the crew he assumed were still on the main deck of the ship, he kept his eyes on the oceans. Though he had kept one person beside him.

“We're pretty close to the island aren't we?” Scarlet’s voice came from next to his ear, she was floating upright beside his head leaning on his shoulder, “I can feel the profit from here, ooh yes,” she then proceeded to make questionable sounds and laughed before continuing, “Ah I love the feeling of sensing treasure. It's like a massage but it's actually good, not like the ones you give. Ya know what I mean?” Silence followed. Scarlet got off his shoulder and stood on the floor of the ship beside him, mimicking his sunken posture and slightly aggravated facial expression. “You know something, you talk way too much, Antonio.” She commented with a sigh, Antonio didn't exactly appreciate Scarlet’s presence right now, to put it bluntly she talked a lot of crap when she got bored and, oh boy, was she clearly bored. He had to keep her here for the moment though, Antonio had been sailing to Rockpeak Island. The amount of treasure on this island was unknown by anyone as no one had actually explored it much. Luckily, a perk with having Scarlet was that she didn't need to explore it to know if it would be worth exploring because she could sense the treasure on islands. It meant Antonio didn't waste his time with non-profit explorations. Her sensing had never kicked in this far away from the island though, they were still at least supposedly a quarter of an hour off the island according to his map and the speed he believed they were going at. A good sign to say the least.

“Do you have an idea on how much money we are talking?” Antonio asked with renewed confidence.

“Oh yeah,” she floated back into her previous leaning position, “well, numerically? Nope, but I feel like it is maybe over like five or something times what we have on the ship right now. In any case it is freakin’ a lot for one island. Hm, Maybe even enough for conditioner for a whole week.” Antonio breathed a sigh of relief, they had an absurd number of Crowns on the ship at the moment due to not really having anywhere else safe to put it all at the moment. They were not rich because those Crowns were literally the only Crowns the crew possessed, other crews had huge amounts hidden away, it was just absurd to store it all on the ship due to raiding of other ships by other pirates. Five times what they had on board was a huge success for any expedition. Antonio looked out into the distance and finally saw the shape of a large mountainous structure atop an island with land high above sea level form before his eyes. That was it. It had to be. A quivering smile emerged on Antonio’s face, was this the expedition that would bring the respect he wanted from his crew members?

“Antonio, stop daydreaming you stupid human, look! I found it! What was it called again? Make-you-rich Island or something?” She was floating freely beside him now in a position as if she was laying on her front, one arm outstretched and pointing to the island and the other reaching out to his face where she was grabbing his cheek to guide his gaze to where she was pointing. Antonio didn't really have time or energy to put the effort into dealing with Scarlet, she had served her purpose at the moment. Right now he had to make sure absolutely nothing went wrong while he finished up sailing over there. Nerves began to set in.

“H-hey Scarlet, why don't you go over and tell the rest of the crew we will be boarding an island in fifteen minutes? I'd appreciate it thanks.” Antonio’s worried face and shaky tone gave his mood away to Scarlet at an instant. The Djinni sighed and felt herself stop floating, she thudded onto the ground landing on the side of her face and the front of her outstretched body. Despite her yelping during impact, Antonio took no notice, his mind fully focused on the task at hand. With a few inaudible grumbles about her lack of powers now, Scarlet picked herself up, off the ground and walked down the steps leading from the Forecastle deck to the main deck.

Seeing a bunch of the crew on the deck was enough for Scarlet to begin announcing what Antonio wanted her to say. “Hey Punks, we’ll be at some Island I can't remember the name of soon, okay? So get ready to board and whatever. Also prepare to stuff ya pockets cause there are Crowns over there, like enough Crowns to make an actual crown out of it. Got it? Good.” With that Scarlet sat down on the bottom step of the stairs she had just walked down and pulled a nail file out of her bandana before examining her hands.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra was sitting in his cabin talking to the most important person in his life.
"Look, I know you're not feeling well but you have to eat and keep up your strength."
His pet snake Elizabeth stared at him, then opened her mouth as he spoon-fed her fish eggs while stroking her head. There is no reason to believe this is due to her understanding him as opposed to her just being hungry and seeing food.
"There you go, good girl." Ezra finished feeding Elizabeth and gently placed her into his coat pocket. "We're going to head to the deck now, so be careful."


Opening his cabin's door, Ezra looked out and saw an island. Pulling out an iron needle, Ezra placed it in the bottom of a wooden circle he'd carved and used his magic to make the tip of the needle magnetic. With the makeshift compass he quickly got his bearings.
Walking over to where the other crew members on deck, Ezra was surprised when Scarlet came up behind him and started yelling. His surprise turned to cautious calculation as he heard that the island had a huge amount of wealth on it. If the Djinn was right then things were looking up. On the other hand she could be right and there was something so dangerous on the island that actually getting the treasure would be too hazardous to be worth it. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Quickly moving to the main deck, Ezra motioned to the captain.
"What do you know about this? Not that it's not worth it, but Scarlet is...to be polite scatterbrained."

 

[Neon Valkyrie]

Nix glared over the guardrail, down into the churning, rippling ocean. Stupid ocean. She was still adjusting to exile. The frowning mermaid downed the last mouthful of conspicuous, amber liquid from the bottle that rested between her fingers. She'd polished most of it off the previous night, and hoped that this small serving would ease her respective head and stomach aches to some degree. Peering through the glass to ensure she hadn't missed anything, she wound up and hurled the bottle into the water with a light grunt, the buoyant vessel making a ploop sound before bouncing back into the air. By the second landing, it had taken in enough water to begin sinking into the crushing depths ... the depths she was no longer allowed in. Stupid ocean.

It had been a week now. A week since they slapped her in coral and dragged her to the Atlantean courts. A week since she'd been told she'd have the right to plead her case, and instead was lectured and brow-beaten for hours on end. A week since she'd been cast out of her home, out of the oceans themselves. She heaved a doleful sigh. Nix would be the first to admit that things could have been much, much worse. She could have been beaten, incarcerated, even killed ... worse, she could have been forced to marry a merman. Still, it was hard to feel levitous about her situation while having to carry her weight around on two legs alone. While she was at it, the food up here wasn't very good either. Everything that came out of the galley tasted of salt, or smoke, of a can or a jar. The experience of eating there certainly left her feeling something akin to ajar.

The pout hadn't lifted from her face at by the time she turned to head back to her cabin. She'd been upgraded to her own private quarters after fate or misfortune claimed the lives of most of the crew. She'd stolen a water barrel from the galley and filled it with sea-water. It's where she went to sulk, somewhere no one could see or hear her, where she could sob or scream or just sulk in peace. No one seemed concerned enough to ask why she would occasionally appear from her room, fully dressed and soaking wet. It was probably her friendly, approachable glare. Out of the corner of her eye, Nix saw Ezra's tall, lanky, metal-veined form appear from below deck.

That's when she heard Scarlet addressing the group. Punk? She shot a glare at the impish little djinn. Who was SHE calling punks? The news that they were nearing plunderin-time did a lot to reverse her morning mood, and caused a smile to flicker at one corner of her mouth. She knew full well that one job would never be enough to satisfy her goals, but a big heist would be a nice start ... maybe she could even afford clothing that hadn't been stolen from a sunken pirate corpse.

Leaping past Scarlet, Ezra seemed rather keen on speaking with the captain. Nix was no such kind of excited. Every time she spoke with the man he cowered, gave half-answers, suggested that she should tell him what she wanted to hear first, and let him decide how hard he wanted to be hit ... but it WAS his ship, which meant he was the captain. Mutinies were so bothersome, and what were you fighting for but even MORE to worry about? Silly really.

 

[iijora]

Thud, thud, thud.

Jaurim rained blow after blow on the training dummy, callused knuckles alighting on wood loudly. Each strike aimed at an imaginary vital point, behind the ear, throat, solar plexus, kidneys. He didn't let up for a second, memories of that night fighting to the surface. He struck out even faster, giving his fake opponent no time to think -- giving himself no time to think as he transformed into a whirlwind of movement, claws, punches, and kicks. The ship rocked just then, throwing him off balance and onto his butt as he gasped for breath. His mind wandering to its usual topic. Revenge.

I'll kill him, I swear that on everything Father. I'll avenge you and everyone else. I won't stop until I make him bleed for every last--

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sudden call from above deck. “Hey Punks, we’ll be at some Island I can't remember the name of soon, okay? -", Punks? Jaurim scoffed aloud as he picked himself off the floor, breathing only slightly labored as he trudged his way above deck. It wasn't hard to spot oncoming land mass as he felt a rise of excitement begin to spark in his gut. He was itching to get off the ship now. The prospect of an island full of Crowns however wasn't what pulled his interest. The possible danger, the potential challenge on the island is what called out to Jaurim. Making his way across deck, his ears perked overhearing the conversation Antonio and Ezra. "Scared Ezra? Y'sure you don't wanna stay back and watch the ship?", he'd ask with a smirk.

 

[BFabulous]

Kumarie sat at the table,that she had fashioned and bolted down herself, writing in one of her many notebooks and sipping her self-made tea. She loved to write down her experiences and feeling on every situation. She even dedicated a notebook to every crew member, including the dead ones. Using one of many tails, she jotted down little extra details as she held a cup up to her lips and a saucer slightly below it. Kumarie looked at Antonio and Scarlet and instantly felt empathy for her fresh and inexperienced captain and slight disdain for the djinn reeking of arrogance.

At the announcement of a new island Kumarie's ears perked up,"Yay! What a joyous occasion….punk?" The saucer lit on fire and was sent flying slightly past Scarlet and getting stuck in one of the spokes on the ship's wheel,"I am slightly sorry." She said with a slight roll of her eyes as she made her way up to the deck with the rest of the crew, snatching the saucer out. Kumarie took a seat on the railing and went back to sipping her tea, chuckling at Jaurim's jab at Ezra,"Hehe, let us hope a grand adventure!"

 

[Dooplighost]

Antonio flinched slightly after Ezra had spoken, he was lost in his own mind thinking about the plan he had concocted for boarding the island, Ezra took him by surprise. He stumbled on his words slightly before answering the man. "Well, this is Rockpeak Island, it is kind of well known for uh, being hard to explore because getting onto the island is hard, and the wildlife supposedly make it harder," Antonio broke eye contact with Ezra, looking back at the island, "as far as I know about the treasure, Scarlet is my only source, sorry." Antonio resonated with what Ezra had said about Scarlet. Scatterbrained. That was as polite as he could've gotten, but before Antonio said anything about it, Jaurim had shown up beside them too. Antonio had known Jaurim for a while now, the scary memories of such a confident and intimidating child appearing on the ship five years ago. He had never felt at rest around the Asura back then, not much had changed ever since. Especially when knowing what he could become. Antonio completely shirked away from the metal infused human upon Jaurim's arrival.

Just as he thought he had avoided a pressurimg situation, a literal flaming disc piercied the wheel. Antonio stumbled back avoiding the fire, panic insued and he froze on the outside, his mind going at a million miles an hour on what it was. His eyes darted around the ship looking for some kind of attacker, only for them to settle on Kumarie coming over too to unwedge the saucer. Her apology was a bitter one, but it did calm Antonio down exponentially.
"T-that's quite alright Kumarie. I, uh, apologise for whatever caused...that to happen," he said still somewhat startled. Antonio, again, turned away from the ever growing group, hoping that it would stop growing and move somewhere else. Though that didn't happen, a familiar shriek pierced his ears. Too familiar.

Scarlet came rushing back up the stairs to the Forecastle deck and marched straight up to Kumarie. Antonio sighed and didn't dare look at the situation. The slight glimpse of irritation he saw on her face was enough to convince him of that.

"You! You idiot, You singed my ponytail!" Scarlet prodded her finger into Kumarie's chest when she said this. The Djinni then hurriedly reached behind her head, fumbling around and grabbing her ponytail. She shoved the end of it in the short distance of the gap between her face and Kumarie's. The tip was indeed singed, slightly burnt black in colour. Scarlet was clearly mortified by the overall minor damage, her face said that much. "Look at this! Look at it!" She said turning to anyone else in the group on the deck, her eyes reconnected with Kumarie's. "Why, Kumarie, why?" Scarlet questioned, looking more distraught than anything now.

Antonio felt himself losing more and more control as time went on, internally praying to any god out there that they got to the damn island soon.

 

[Theo713]

Do you know why he enjoyed being the crow’s nest so much? It gave him a chance to interact with the other crew members at his own leisure without interfering with their interactions with one another. He could watch over them and not be in their way. Wasn’t that the job of the adults? To watch over the younger generation just as he was doing now? True, he was the only one on board his own age, but he didn’t see that as a negative. If anything, it was a good thing. The fewer people they had on board the ship, the more room they had for their plunders. And the bigger their shares were from each haul. It made operating the ship more difficult, with each person having to pull twice their workload, but it was worth the larger cut. Samson would watch the scene below him unfold in silence, shaking his head. He remembered a time when he had been that hot headed. Thank the Gods that was behind him. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Samson would climb down from the crow’s nest, knowing he would be needed once they got to the island. It wasn’t until he was on the same level as everyone else did he speak, his voice rough from years of shouting on his family farm.

“All right children. That’s enough of that. We’ve been at sea longer than I care to admit. Getting off the ship will be a nice change of pace for everyone. Keep your wits about you another 20 minutes or so and walk it off.” Though it may have come off as an order, it was anything but. Samson wasn’t the captain and so had no such authority. All he could do was make suggestions to his fellow crew, and they could take it however they pleased. Turning his good eye’s attention to Antonio, Samson would again speak, this time in a lower tone but still clearly understandable. “Jaurim does raise a valid point though, captain. Will you be leaving someone with the ship, or are we all to join you on this expedition?” It was Samson’s opinion that they didn’t have the luxury of leaving anyone behind to guard the ship, but at the same time it would be unwise to leave the ship completely unguarded. Samson would follow the captain’s orders regardless.

 

[Neon Valkyrie]

Nix watched from the mid-deck as the fray around the captain grew in size and fury. Part of her, a very small part, felt sorry for him; a nice guy trying to please a bunch of villains and curmudgeons. Why had he even taken this position? He couldn't possibly have lead a mutiny. Perhaps, one day, when she could work up the patience to sit down with him, or if ever they were both sufficiently inebriated, she would have to ask him about that story. In the mean time, she watched with a growing scowl as a flaming tea saucer whizzed past the crew and embedded itself into the wheel. Not what you'd expect from someone as refined looking as Kumarie. Nix had been around her about a week now, to her it seemed perfectly in-character.

The frown lines of her face deepened as she watched the captain apologize for the situation, and she looked like her own grandmother by the time Scarlet's shrieking brought the cacophony to unbearable levels. Her head was throbbing. Maybe one of them should stay behind ... her ... in her barrel ... in sweet, sweet silence. Samson's boot-falls on the deck as he stepped down from the rigging made her wince. At least a voice of reason and authority was finally directing the situa-what now? Twenty more minutes of bickering on the open sea? Twenty more minutes before she could get in a quick swim along the coast, one of the few acceptable aquatic venues legally open to her while in exile? Nix's lips drew into a line as she peered up at the group from the mid-deck. Taking the step or two to the railing, she leaned out until she could see the island.

It looked rather formidable, even from here, rocky cliffs reaching up on all sides. Another scowl, how exactly was everyone getting up THAT? No ... no, not important right now. Important things list consists of swimming, treasure, and silence. Giving herself a little nod of approval, the young mermaid tromped her way to the back of the mid-deck, and up the steps to the poop deck. She stopped a few feet from the stern-most railing, planting her feet and taking a long, deep breath. Pressing her hands together in front of her chest, she took another deep breath, focusing on the sound of the water breaking against the bow, lapping against the hull.

Extending one arm straight up above her head, and one straight down at her side, she flattened her hands out. In a motion not unlike paddling, In a motion somewhere between air-paddling, staff spinning, and poi, Nix began to pinwheel her arms first on one side and then, twisting at the hip, on the other. It looked a little silly from an objective standpoint, but thankfully the others were all busy making a scene on the forecastle deck.

Funny looking or not, the ship began to pick up speed. It was barely noticeable at first, little more thrust than would be provided by a firm breeze. Within moments it felt like the ship had become caught in a current, and by the time they levelled out, the ship was skipping along like a skiff in high wind. What might have taken 20 minutes in the wind took only 5 with the mermaid paddling fiercely at the rear of the ship.

As they drew closer and closer to the island, Nix relaxed, slowing her arms until the ship was coasting along on momentum alone. When they were close enough to see the algae growing at the base of the island's vertical coastline, she gave the ship one final shove so she wouldn't collide with anything, and threw herself overboard.

She heaved a deep, bubbling sigh as the cool, refreshing waters rushed in to embrace her, her eyes drifting closed as, after what seemed like a very long morning, she ceased to feel awful.

(( ))

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra sighs. Right now he needs something to steady his nerves. After all the hits they've taken they need a win or it's over.
"So we're going onto an island that's known to be dangerous, to the point that even getting on it is dangerous, because your pet djinn says there is treasure on it?"
Scarlet's tantrum can be heard over the silence that follows.

Despite being 2 years younger Ezra seems to be taking the role of the mature adult. He places a metal-laced hand on Antonio's head.
"That djinn. I sailed with your father for 7 years because he got results. I'm not going to betray you, but if you're in over your head you need to let us know. We're down to a skeleton crew and one more bad loss will probably put an end to your father's legacy. Are you sure you know what you're doing."

Gesturing at the flame-haired djinn, Ezra covertly made the "cuckoo" gesture. "Are we sure she can be trusted if there is treasure? For all we know this is a trap. I need to know if we can trust her."
Unnoticed by Ezra, Elizabeth has slithered down his pants and across the deck, wrapping herself around Scarlet's leg.

Ezra continues.
"I'll follow you to the end, but I'd rather that not be today." His tone shifts to friendly. "Also if you see any eggs on the island please tell me. I want to give Elizabeth a treat, it's her hatchday tomorrow."

 

[Dooplighost]

The Forecastle deck was now occupied by pretty much everyone on the ship, Antonio nervously flickered his eyes around. He counted almost everyone, Nix however was not present. Instead he spotted her imitating a windmill or something near the back of the ship. Before he had the chance to question it, his ears picked up a sound other than Scarlet whinging about whatever else was bothering her, Samson had asked him a question. A voice of reason finally.
"Uh, yeah good point. I think I'd like everyone up on the island together though, this area is barren and pirates aren't common around these parts. Nothing to steal. So, unless anyone really wants to stay, I'd rather everyone else came." Antonio sighed, all these judgements at once, it was hard to be assertive about it all. The pressure of his role and this expedition in particular set in with the next question.

Antonio couldn't help but feel awkward being talked to by Ezra like that. Despite his words, it felt intimidating. Antonio believed a mutiny wasn't on anyone's mind at all right now, that was the problem. Right now. He didn't feel very secure whether that mindset would continue to be the case if this turned out to be a huge blunder. Antonio could already feel himself shrinking away from the conversation, until his father was mentioned. Hearing his name, Antonio stood up straight and looked Ezra in the eye for the first time of their interaction.
"You have nothing to worry about. If there is one thing I beat my father at, it is forming a plan. I have one. It minimizes any problem we would have getting on the island or climbing the peak." He paused for a moment, thinking about how to defend Scarlet who was currently so distracted by her hair she didn't even feel Elizabeth around her leg. "As for Scarlet. She's been with us for two weeks, this whole time her treasure sensing has been reliable. Even if she is a bit-" Antonio stopped talking as he felt Scarlet tug on his coat.

"We're here Mr. Talkative," she said unimpressed, "also I forget who's snake thing this is on my leg, but I've been brought up my whole life eating delicacies like it, just thought I'd let you know." Her gaze shifted to Ezra as she spoke, she pulled Elizabeth off gently before placing her on the foor of the deck. Antonio looked up at the towering wall of Rockpeak just a few feet ahead of them. It was actually smaller than he'd expected. The land being maybe fifteen feet or so above the ship. Antonio sucked up any fear he was feeling right now. This was it, do or die time. Time for the plan. He began to speak with as much confidence as he could muster:
"Scarlet, use your-"

"No." Scarlet replied beginning to float upwards, laying on her back with her hands behind her head. She managed to float about halfway up before she needed to rest. She quickly used her terrakinesis, motioning her arms to the side away from the wall and manipulating the formation of the wall, creating a stone step from it that she could lay on to recharge.

"We don't have time for this." Antonio called out as he saw her stand up on the step and resume floating up. His whole plan had been to get her to create steps from the wall so climbing would be easy. Unfortunately, he didn't take into account who he was dealing with. "Scarlet please, just make some steps against the wall for us like we discussed earlier."

Scarlet had reached the land now, she peered her head over the edge and looked down at the specks on the ship.
"Woah, everyone looks so small. Is this how it feels to be tall Sammy?" Scarlet shouted down to the crew, a panicking Antonio amongst them who wasn't finding any of thid to be funny.

"It is dangerous up there. Make the stairs! Please!" He continued shouting. Scarlet let out a very loud "fine" before continually gesturing a pushing motion several times, each time a new step formed. Antonio sighed with relief, believing he had just avoided a disaster.

"Anyone who wants to stay, with the exception of Samson, stay. But I'd like if we were all up there. Samson, you need to come with us, Terrakinesis is extremely vital to our success here." He said before he began his ascent up the stone staircase being formed from the wall.

"Once we're up there, we're heading straight to the peak." He said to them, watching the staircase finish forming. It wouldn't be long until they'd reached the top.

 

[iijora]

Jaurim rolled his eyes at Samson's words, but surprisingly had little to say after being told what to do, besides a snarky, "Whatever, old man.", before turning his attention elsewhere. Truth was, Jaurim liked the elder crew mate than he cared to admit and had more than a little respect for the man despite the weakness his age caused. He was probably the only one on the ship whose advice Jaurim would at the very least consider following, like now. Currently Jaurim stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the railing of the ship as he watched the landmass grow closer until his ears perked at the sudden appearance of Kumarie, followed by the sound of a loud impact.

Turning towards the sudden commotion, he'd feel his lip curl into a slight grin as he watched the chaos ensue between Kumarie and Scarlet. Silently he found himself wishing for a fight between the two. Disappointingly all the event warranted was a half hearted apology, a raised voice, and it was over. Jaurim sighed sadly, already bored of the current affair, Jaurim considered making his way back below deck. Until he noticed Nix split off from the general rabble that had suddenly appeared at the news of land. His eyes followed her as she made her way to the front of the ship. Interest piqued, he raised a questioning eyebrow as she suddenly started to pinwheel her arms.

However it wasn't long before his questions were answered as he felt the ship start to pick up speed. The waves pulling the ship along towards the shore. With the added boost, it wouldn't be long before they reached the island. Jaurim set about getting ready, which wasn't hard since he traveled light. Grabbing some provisions and haphazardly tossing them into his pack, before slinging it over his shoulder and stepping back out above deck as they arrived. Noting with some twisted delight as the Captain struggled to deal with Scarlet's attitude. But currently there were more important matters at hand. They were on land! Finally! Without hesitation Jaurim took a running leap off the front of the ship and scrambling up the steps. "No way I'm staying behind! Leave ship watching duty to the rest of the milk-drinkers!" Once he reached the top, he'd stand watching over the rest of the crew, obviously impatient. "C'mon, let's hurry it up."

 

[Neon Valkyrie]

Nix peered up at the ship from her back, though she could see little more than the hull; the waves had pushed her, feet-first, up against it. She could still hear the sounds of the crew's voices over the waves. Not what they were saying, just the sounds of their voices, like gulls. Then Scarlet floated up into view, partway up the wall when her powers of flight began to fail her and she pulled a stone step out of the wall the rest on. Nix smirked. She did seem to be tired of being the master key to all of their problems. She reached the top and vanished over the edge for a moment, soon reappearing to taunt the rest of her ship-mates. It was all fun and games for now, but if the little imp decided to run off with that treasure, the mermaid wouldn't be laughing.

Part of her wondered if Scarlet wasn't trying to coax some fire out of their wet blanket of a captain. That, at least, she could appreciate. Watching the rest of the steps push themselves out of the wall with a loud grinding sound. It hurt her teeth. She heaved a sigh, an ill-timed wave washing over her face as she did, filling her mouth with sea water and making her cough and choke once or twice as the wrong breathing organ met the wrong medium. Her throat now clear, Nix circled a few times to build up speed before launching herself out of the water and back onto the deck. The jaunt up the steps was easier, given how toned her legs were from years of LITERALLY the best workout ever.

Jaurim was already at the top, urging everyone forward. Starting second, Nix came in a predictable second, but didn't wait for Jaurim as she trotted past, headed for the summit ... although the rocky terrain proved both confusing, and a source of great foot-pain. While she'd started with enthusiasm, her pace slowed as she got higher, until she was easily overtaken.

 

[Theo713]

Samson would nod at the captain’s answer to his question, watching then as Nix headed for the back of the ship and began using her hydrokinesis to propel them forward faster. It was a thing of beauty, watching a fellow kinect use their powers to aid their group. Samson would take a moment to look over the railing at how much speed the ship gained before patting the railing, turning from the side of the ship then and telling their captain “Then I’ll be getting my supplies.” If they were going to be making headway as soon as they made landfall then he needed to get ready. While he was gone, Samson considered suggesting to the captain to give everyone a few free minutes away from the rest of their crewmates, so that he may have a few moments peace. It seemed that wouldn’t be the case however, because when he rejoined the rest of the crew they were already on land and starting their ascent.

Several of the crew members had already began climbing the stairs provided by their residential Djinn, Samson examining the steps a few seconds before shaking his head. “Cryin shame” She called these stairs? They were steep, uneven, and he was fairly certain more than a few of them weren’t level. Were he younger he wouldn’t have a problem climbing these stairs. But as it were, that wasn’t the case. As he climbed the “staircase” he would correct the unevenness of them all, thrusting his arms out to his sides so that his elbows pointed away from his body, then thrusting his arms forward until they were completely straight before repeating the process. He was slow to start, but able to find and keep a steady pace until he caught up to a slowing down Nix. He would walk a step behind her so he didn’t elbow her in the side, while at the same time correcting the step ahead of her so he wasn’t shifting the steps beneath her feet. “Gonna have to teach that girl how to make a proper setta stairs when this is over.” Nix would hear him say with a grunt, having no qualms about following behind the mermaid.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra quickly gathers Elizabeth back to himself. "Leave her alone!" His pet snake winds her way up his arm and disappears back into the layers of fabric of his coat. No sense scaring the captain given his fear of snakes.
He turns to his Captain. "There's no way I'm staying on the ship while you're all on the island."

Ezra goes and gathers up some sacks to carry whatever they find, iron spheres to fire using his magnetic magic, metal spikes in case something goes wrong and they need to climb the mountain the mundane way, and some snacks in case he gets hungry.

Right now Ezra needed this expedition to bear fruit. He was bored, the Djinn was obnoxious, and he still was trying to work out how to approach the mermaid they'd picked up. He moved to the middle of the group climbing the stairs that had been carved, if nobody else would keep an eye out for danger he would. Ezra payed careful attention to the sky, predatory birds could do more damage than you would think and might even knock them off the stairs.

Elizabeth chose this moment to crawl out of the neck of Ezra's coat and hiss next to his ear. He tickled her under her chin.

 

[Neon Valkyrie]

Nix might have been surprised by the voice behind her, if Samson's catching up hadn't been heralded by a choir of grinding stones as he straightened each step in turn. A grin fought to show at the corner of her lips as she heard him criticize Scarlet's half-hearted steps, though she quickly tucked it away. She glanced back over her shoulder, looking at the old man, but seeing Ezra lingering a ways back, scanning the skies above.

Though her plan was to try to say something smart to the only crew-mate she'd so far enjoyed ... or tried speaking with, she found her brow furrowing as she followed Ezra's stare upward. High above, dark shadows darted across the clouds, barely noticeable. Her eyes went wide ... something was up there, something big, and fast ... and maybe in multiples.

Her eyes a little wider, she turned her stare back to Samson.

"If she's willing to go first ..." Nix began in her husky tone. "Then she can make whatever kind of steps she likes."

The reached the top soon after, Jaurim waiting at the top to greet them ... or boast silently at being first after Scarlet to scale the peak. She cast him a flat stare, stepping up past him and peering up at the rocky peaks before them. It didn't look like Mermaid territory. She glanced back down at the water ... she supposed that wasn't her territory either anymore. Best get used to it. She heaved a sigh, leaning out to wave down at Ezra ... if he didn't hurry, they might find out what those fast shapes in the clouds had been.

 

[Dooplighost]

“And here comes the rest! Congrats, welcome to Big Mountain Island or whatever it’s called.” Scarlet said with a wink and a thumbs up seeing Nix, Samson and Ezra appear from the stairs. “Hope you all enjoyed transport up here by yours truly, ‘cause we’re probably gonna have to do something similar with the mountain you see over there.” She said with a laugh gesturing over to the moutain at the centre of Stonepeak island, it was formidable in size, even from this distance.

With most of the crew now on the island, Antonio began his ascent. He had very much appreciated Samson’s edits on the stone steps. As much as Scarlet bragged about her powers, she had done a pretty poor job here. Even still, Antonio’s footing wasn’t the best and his ascent was far from graceful- the small size of the steps not exactly being the easiest to walk on. Though he reached the island nonetheless.

“Took your time Captain, everybody is already here.” Scarlet said as she watched him scramble up the last step, laughing at him as he fell to his knees onto the island when he reached the top. Antonio didn’t comment, he was more relieved that he’d managed to make it up the stairs than anything. A few of the others were gazing upon the large peak that was visible even above the trees immediately in front of them.
“Scarlet, can you get a read on where the treasure is on the island?” He asked the Djinni, he was getting more and more nervous by the second. He needed this to go well so badly. To his dismay Scarlet looked over at him with a confused face.
“Not a super accurate one at the moment, just around the direction of the peak is all I’m gettin-“ Scarlet was promptly interrupted by a few screeches. Antonio froze, those screeches were recognisable from anywhere.

Three Fatalons swooped down from the skies above the small group of pirates. They had positioned themselves between the trees in front of the group and the group itself, each one flapping its wings and hovering above the ground, displaying their sharp talons and continuing their calls. Antonio placed his hand on the hilt of his cutlass, “looks like this Island is pretty dangerous aftera-“ Antonio was cut off by the loud rustling of the plant life behind the birds of prey, the sudden stomping and then swift growl that followed. To both his and the Fatalon’s surprise, another creature had jumped out from the plants and, unlike the Fatalons, it wasted no time trying to intimidate anyone.

This huge creature resembled a dog or wolf in shape, but it was covered in red scales and bony protrusions that resembled muscle tissue and bone. Its tail was particularly bony and club like. But its most distinctive feature is its double row of claws, each paw of the beast seemed to have ten talons each. The monster had already leaped from the bushes onto a Fatalon, it tightened its jaws around the neck of one of the birds, the other two immediately fleeing upon the red dog’s appearance. The bird had been dragged to the ground by the dog, it seemed to have died immediately after the bite. The beast stirred for a bit, softly growling before releasing the bird’s carcass and turning its head towards the group. It looked at them side on, slowly moving around them in a circle- occasionally making a bark at the group. The beast seemed to have his eye on a particular member of the group, it had already made up its next target’s mind.

Before Antonio or Scarlet could comment on the sudden appearance of this thing, it pounced into the air with open jaws once again- this time aiming to clamp its maw onto Jaurim.