Fantasy &nbsp; Skypirates of the Pink Pearl

Mykinkaiser

Mykinkaiser · Jul 21, 2019

Bastien Jaeger

Location: Underground Reformation Center
Interactions:

. D O V E

Bastien had been a good soldier, of this he was sure. He had been loyal, efficient, and had never so much as complained during his service. He even went as far as specifically volunteering for operations during his leave, despite wanting to visit his sister. He had been awarded commendations for his service and distinctions for his skill at arms. He had even been a special instructor at training camps and academies, teaching cadets how to arm and defuse bombs. All of this pointed to him being a good and valued soldier. Yet despite this here he was, sitting in a cell in the infamous Underground Reformation Center, framed for treason.

The guards had been nervous when they marched him to his cell, and so had the prisoners. The sight of the tall man, his face as expressionless as stone, coupled with his reputation had kept all but the most foolhardy and the furthest gone silent. It wasn't that his silent anger overwhelmed them, but the opposite. It was the lack of emotion they felt from him that scared them. Everyone showed something when they came down here, be it madness, anger, or despair. They would beg, cry, scream, shout, or, if nothing else, mutter to themselves with hollow eyes. Bastien, who showed nothing and offered no form of resistance, was something new to them, something they didn't know how to react to, and that unsettled them.

Bastien's mind was brought back to the present by the sound of the small window in his cell door sliding open. He looked up to see the face of one of the guards peering in at him. "What're you in for then?" The guard asked with a sneer, his voice rough and hoarse from shouting at prisoners, "Finally snap eh? Want something more that the army won't getcha huh?" Bastien simply gazed at the man in response, his icy blue eyes locked on the other man's, giving nothing away.

"Start blowing up little kiddies or something huh?" The guard continued, his face cramping slightly when he didn't get the response he'd anticipated. He began to get visibly unsettled as Bastien's silence began to stretch on, eventually turning and spitting on the ground so as to have an excuse to look away. "Creepy bastard, no wonder you're in here," He called over his shoulder as he began to stomp away from the cell, moving a little faster than he normally would.

Not long after the guard left, Bastien sprang to his feet as he heard the sound of an explosion, or rather of a large amount of fire being released in an enclosed area to be specific. He was not alone in noticing this as the other prisoners began to clamor too, he could hear shouts echoing from other parts of the prison, people begging to be let out of their cells too. In short, it would seem that Bastien was witnessing a prison break. His suspicions were confirmed a short while later when the door to his cell was opened, revealing the figure of Captain Cassandra Robin Breaux, who had been arrested before Bastien, also on charges of treason.

As soon as she began speaking Bastien stood rigidly at attention, his right hand snapping to his forehead in a crisp salute. "Understood," He replied curtly to her order to assist her group, which he was inwardly surprised to hear included Crown Princess Regina Victoria Honora Serana Lavinia Euphemia Alexandria Celestina Gwenllian y Emhyr IX of Therone, to escape. Wasting no time, he followed her out of his cell and to the armory, ignoring the shouts and pleas of the inmates on the way. His admiration of the Captain and the military mannerisms that had been drilled into him meaning that the thought of not helping her never even crossed his mind.

Once at the armory Bastien stopped and knelt in front of the Princess in accordance with military etiquette for meeting royalty, "Bastien Jaeger, former specialist to the Theronean Armed Forces, at your service your Majesty the Crown Princess." His introduction having been completed to an appropriate degree considering they were in a hostile environment, Bastien stood up, retrieving his belongings and relieving the Princess of the burden of the person she was carrying. Easily slinging the unconscious pirate over his shoulder, the tall man moved with the group towards the main gate, utilizing large-caliber revolver he had conjured in his free hand to dispatch those guards that tried to stop them with machine-like efficiency.

Upon arriving at the gate Bastien set the woman he'd been carrying down and banished his revolver. "Please get to cover," he cautioned briefly, before beginning to create several large satchels of explosives, setting them at various points on and around the gates. With this done he conjured two massive tower shields with spiked bottoms before returning to the group and driving the spikes into the ground, using the shields to create a protective wall between them and charges.

"Detonation in 3... 2... 1..."

No sooner had he reached one when a massive explosion ripped through the air, a wave of concussive force slamming into both shields as Bastien held them, driving him back a few inches in the process. Once things had died down Bastien released his dented shields, causing them to dissolve into the air as he did so, revealing a gaping hole where the once-sturdy main gate had stood.

Ambiloquous · Jul 25, 2019

The Junkie and the Lady
A collab between

Athanas and I

The rhythmical clanging had been going on for well over an hour now. Every five minutes, he would stop hammering away at the hinges and check to see if the door budged enough for him to fit his crowbar through. Yet the damn thing was proving much sturdier than it’s appearance gave it any right to be. It looked decrepit, any components found on the outside torn and battered beyond belief. Yet for some god-damned reason, this door appeared to have been spared the wrath of the elements and looters. “Just my fucking luck.”

The man currently banging on the hinges swore loudly and paused for a moment, trying to gauge if they had weakened at all. He cursed at length over not having the foresight to steal a few lockpicks from somewhere prior to trying to explore this abandoned building-the lock appeared simple, and he could’ve opened it within minutes. But no, instead he was condemned to trying to bust through the door like some half-witted ogre.

He stopped this train of thought-after all, it was not taking him anywhere- and refocused on the door. In a stroke of luck, it appeared that his continuous hammering had paid off. The door hung somewhat more loosely now, and he could finally use the crowbar to pry it open. A few more taxing minutes later, the door gave way with a satisfying CLANG, Letting him through to the building. He gave a silent thank-you to whatever Gods looked over techies such as him, and lit his three lanterns (Experimenting requires plenty of light, and whatever little could slip through the dust-caked windows just would not do). He set them on a workbench and tried to get a feel for what equipment was still functional in there. His heart missed a beat as his eyes took in the sight: Clearly, the strong door was a blessing in disguise. For while it had been broken into, It had also kept the many simple-minded looters away. Wherever he looked, tools, heavy machinery and blueprints. Quickly, he stuffed as many of the tools as could fit in his pack. Several kits for chemistry, maintenance and enchantment were also retrieved, and he squealed in delight. This place was definitely shaping up to be exactly how he wanted it to be.

Finally, the high starting to fade, he picked a bench that looked not as dusty as the others, set several of his tools on it, and began putting together the base materials: He was going to create a special brand of firearm, one that fired electricity! This was an idea that had been floating around in his head for a long while, yet only now could he truly begin seeing it through. He sang a happy tune as he worked, his cheerful attitude having returned fully.

On that same delightful summer day, ashy clouds floated across midnight blue as streets below spewed smoke and chemical fumes, covering the whole city in a dreary haze. Breaking the picture of the industrial revolution in action was a girl, no, a woman dressed in a skirt, looking very out of place in the sooty environment she strolled in.

Lace tapped the end of her umbrella against her metal-tipped oxfords, humming a discordant children’s song as she studied the grimy surroundings. It was a novelty to her, seeing how people worked and worked in these unsanitary factories without ever gaining anything of importance in return. She slowed down her brisk pace and smiled at the passing workers, not minding their dead eyes and unresponsive attitudes. She knew their minds were muddled after living so long in the toxic gas produced, so she didn’t take their disregard of her personally.

It wasn’t long before the sounds of metal clanging and machines whirring faded away and she ended up at the outskirts of the manufacturing district. There were no labourers walking to and fro here, only the silence of buildings long left unused. She blew a hair that had fallen in front of her eyes to the side, back to where it framed her heart-shaped face, spotting a building that seemed less weather-beaten than the rest. Curiosity beckoned her closer, logic telling her that the least dilapidated one must have more to see than the rest.

Lace skipped towards the crumbling exterior of the building, hoping it wouldn’t take much work to access the insides of the steel behemoth. Maybe her luck was good today since the dented door had been forced off and sat beside its bent frame. She whistled in appreciation and proceeded to saunter into the building until she noticed a man at a bench, hammering away at a hunk of metal under the light of three lanterns. Inching closer, she noticed it was somewhat in the shape of a firearm. Her eyes gleamed as she scanned his surroundings and her lips curved in a nefarious smile.

The dark-haired man was hunched over, so she couldn’t tell exactly his height, but she knew he was tall. Likely taller than her. He was dressed plainly, if one ignored the red gloves he wore, and seemed rather built. There were two holsters by his sides and the same number of hilts sticking out of his back, not good signs for a future thieving going well. The man didn’t look like one to be messed with, so her just-made tactic was to take his attention away, grab her item and skedaddle. It wasn’t much of a plan, sure, but there was really nothing else she could do without resorting to gems. Worry niggled at the back of her mind about being hacked to bits and pieces but she brushed it away, firming her conviction that he wouldn’t find out about his missing possession. Well, at least until she was far, far away from firing range.

“Good day, gentleman.” Lace put on what she believed was her most charming smile, walked towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Forgive my overstep of propriety, but I couldn’t help but peek at your work. What skill and ingenuity you have to make such a uh, creation!” She batted her lashes.

Jake was starting to grow really, really happy with how his project was turning out. This workshop was all he had been wishing for, and more! The contraption itself was building up to be quite the marvel! Oh, the mayhem he could cause with this! His cheerful song increased in tune and vibrance, and his feet had began to shuffle in a joyful manner.

“Good day, gentleman”. The words came from behind him, and they were followed up by a light tap on his shoulder.

Maybe it was the fact that Jake really, really didn’t get to talk to people very often. Maybe it was the fact that Lace was a goddamned blonde beauty. Maybe it was her flirtatious tone and behavior. Whatever it was, it made Jake’s mind have a total shutdown.

“Wha..How… uhhh…” was all his addled brain managed to muster. He took a few seconds to regather his thoughts. Luckily for him, she mentioned the tech he was working on, praising his skill. His heart did a little dance over getting praise by such a fine specimen. “Oh, you like it? This is nothing compared to the stuff I’ve uh… compared to some of my other projects!”

His mind buckled again as she batted his lashes at him. He was most definitely not used to this. Desperately trying to get some words out, he asked: “I don’t, uhh, I don’t usually see many people around workshops. What brings you here?”

Normally, he wouldn’t be anywhere near this trusting with someone, especially in such a loot-rich area. But there was no way this beautiful creature meant him any harm!

Lace cocked her head and felt a little bit bewildered. Did he have a speech defect? An aversion to talking with strange ladies? No matter, this only needed to distract him for long enough. Lace turned around with a quick one-two so her back was blocking his sight of the workbench.

“Yes, I do very much like it so! Oh, I would absolutely adore seeing some of your other projects another time. That would be such a dream come true,” Lace flattered, buttering him up as much as she could manage. “Maybe we could have a cup of tea at this lovely cafe I know of then.” She gave him a coy look and curled her hair around a finger. While her mouth was spewing enough sugar to give one cavities, her finger was steadily inching towards the man’s tools behind her skirt.

“Oh, I’m here because… I was taking a walk in the area and heard some noises coming from this building.” She giggled, trying to cover up her incompetent excuse. Her brain worked quickly to think of another topic to converse about. “How was your day?” Basic, classic, so, so boring but also the obvious go-to when a discussion was dying. She felt a smooth handle under her fingertips and her smile got a few watts brighter. Almost there. Freedom was literally at her fingertips.

Suddenly, Lace’s eyes lit up and she looked down at her wrist. “Oh my. I have a meeting I must attend that I am quite overdue for. I must be going, do have a wonderful day!” Carefully stepping around the debris littered on the dusty floor, she waved goodbye and started for the door.

Jake was bewildered when she said she liked it. Oh, why couldn’t more pretty girls be like that? Most just made up excuses to leave when he tried to explain the intricate machinations behind his contraptions. “Yes, I’d be delighted to uh, show you the ropes! Any time you want!”

His heart did a little dance as she gracefully leaned against his bench. As if though she intended to somehow stress him, she gave him a playful look, curling her hair in just the cutest way imaginable. He felt his mind locking up again. He turned his eyes to the ceiling, trying to avoid a complete shutdown again. Her next words about getting coffee, however, pleased him to no end. He smiled sheepishly. “Of course! You know what? I live in that small inn, “The Squire’s Choice”, at the north outskirts of the city. How about we meet there at dusk? I’ll be… I mean, it will be a pleasure to get to.. To get to know you!”

He cursed silently when Lace mentioned she had to go. No matter, he reminded himself. He’d see her soon enough. He waved at her as she stepped out the door. It took him several seconds after she vanished out of sight to get his mind back to working order. Who was she? What on earth was she doing here? And could he really be so lucky? Well, clearly she meant him no harm, or else she’d have simply attacked him when his back was turned. Maybe she wanted information? Schematics and the such? Jake would happily divulge that information, should he realise it was worth his while.

In the end, he simply decided to wrap up his project and go from there. It wouldn’t take that long and it would give him plenty of time to go back to his room and make himself more presentable. He looked in dismay at his extremely plain clothes, some dry blood still on his black combat pants, while his tank top was stained with several splotches of oil and grease.

He returned to his tinkering, now practically brimming with excitement. First the workshop, then the girl… It was glorious! Maybe his luck would change from here on out! Months of failures, scraps, and pointless would finally come to fruition! He would—

He suddenly stopped. His hands usually went on autopilot when he worked, unless he was making something really complex, so he needed a second to understand why he had stopped. He then realised it. His pipe wrench was missing. He had no clue why. He quickly checked his tool belt, where he kept all of his basic tools- nothing. And then it dawned on him. That little one-two she had done at the bench—she must’ve taken it. He groaned loudly as he began packing all his tools and the unfinished contraption into his backpack. Of course, she’d only flirt with him because she wanted to steal his stuff! Why else would she? A damn idiot he was for thinking otherwise. With haste, he donned his mask: There was probably going to be violence, and he didn’t want his face to end up on posters all over the city. Then he broke into a full sprint, taking to the rooftops with inhuman speed. There was no way she could’ve gone far.

Lace hummed a lively tune while she skipped, looking forward to what she could use her new treasure on. She hadn’t seen the likes of this wrench before, but she thought it looked interesting enough and pretty useful. Pausing at a street corner, she laughed gleefully at her thieving success.

It had barely been 5 minutes before he spotted her in a stroke of luck, although his position from a vantage point definitely helped. Wanting to make his appearance as flashy as possible, he continued stalking her for some seconds, before she reached a street which was pretty isolated, by all means. Then, with a leap, he landed behind her, softening the fall just before impact, and in a split second had tackled her to the ground, a hooksword at her throat.

“Think you can steal from me, huh?”

“Wha--?” She had just started to take a step when she was unceremoniously tackled to the ground and heard a question that froze her in a familiar voice. How did he get here so fast? Lace wanted to strangle her luck by the windpipe and toss it down a mail chute.

SweetRose · Aug 2, 2019

A subtle hum in the distance, all but imperceptible, yet there. It was a hum of a very particular origination. Old navy soldiers talked about it sometimes, the hearing of it almost more an art than a scientist. Oddly enough it was rarely the sharp-eared scouts and lookouts that heard it, it was almost always the grizzled old gunners and engineers, the ones almost more attuned to the machinery of a ship than their own heartbeats. It was a valued trait because it was one of the only mundane ways to detect a Witch Queen ship.

The ship that dropped out of the sky at a slightly worrying speed was somewhat strange to say the least. To the inexperienced eye it was still an intimidating ship, all solid runesteel with obvious and sizable twin cannons. To a more experienced eye the Pink Pearl showed rather more of its age, as well as signs of a significant period of neglect. It was battle-scarred, scraped and dented. The lightning cannons, while exceedingly impressive tech even now, were also clearly offline, and from the debris visible even at a distance would remain so short of repair work. The stranger part was the dirt. The ship had clearly flown at some speed, and through clouds at that, and yet there were still unmistakable marks of dust and dirt as if it had lain still for a number of years before it had been.

Perhaps more worrying was the way it landed, which wouldn’t be recommended by any sane pilot. It shot past above the gate with no sign of slowing and simple dropped, coming to a landing best described as barely short of a crash right outside the gates. With a slightly rough grinding sound a door at the base of the ship opened, revealing a dimly lit corridor beyond. Beyond that corridor, invisible to the exterior, lay a relatively small gray room that opened off the end of the corridor. It was about seven feet across with plain metal benches built into the walls and no visible way out other than the corridor behind it.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Aug 4, 2019

ALREEN

on the interior of what would be considered an utter hunk of junk when it came to airships, was one room that seemed better maintained than most it lacked any dust or grim form the vessel long period of inactivity, there was going reason for this however wasn't imminently clear, however the contents of the room was strange, in the center a large pile of gold and silver coins as well as other trinkets made of said metal laid there surrounded by smaller piles of assorted trinkets, polished stones, and gems, as well as a few bones... picked completely clean... whatever they used to be was impossible to tell now, but the likely culprit sleeping half-buried in the central pile was a woman, she seemed normal side from a few distinguishing features such as a set of horns protruding from her red hair... and a rather long scaly tail ending with what appeared to be a pincer-like protrusion.

the sudden jerk of the vessel moving woke the woman up as the contents of the room shifted with the sudden forces applied. "what the heck? how did? what? right..." the woman when form surprised, confused and then to annoyed within the span of a few seconds. finally deciding to get up out of the pile of valuables, it became apparent that the woman wasn't wearing too much overall. taking a moment to stretch she then left the confines of the rather clean inventory room into the dusty hall of the once-grand vessel down to its beating heart the engine room, the woman looked around at the arcane device following some unseen force around it seeming to almost analyses then thing running her hand gently over parts of it as the vessel continued to its unknown destinations she sighed appearing incredibly annoyed with the current goings-on "great.. how did someone? perfect... just perfect" the woman said to herself, as her scaly tail seemed to retract itself into her body, as she noticed the sudden drop of the ship assuming that perhaps it was finally getting to its destination? no, looking out at small viewport the ship was going over a city with what seemed to be a huge hole on one of the structures what was that all about? moments later the ship practically crashed into the ground... that would leave a mark on the hull. with that one of those big doors on the base of the vessel had opened, the sound was a dead give away things where practically rusted so much the door merged with the damn ships hull great... visitors then? the woman rolled her eyes grumbling to herself, as she walked down toward where these visitors would probably be coming in waiting just inside the ship so once the did get past that small gray room that in all honesty, she didn't really understand they it was there. but it was, and in the woman's mind, it was a convenient place to wait outside of as she leaned against the wall hoping to get this over with, perhaps just eat them? or maybe keep one or two of them...for later.

Ambiloquous · Aug 5, 2019

Lace

Being pressed into dirty cobblestones would garner a complaint from most, especially from one who's only clothing was the set on their back, but Lace had no time to care about the state of her future attire. She was almost absolutely sure she was going to die within the next few moments if she didn't do something drastic, so something drastic she did. She squeezed a few tears out and started wailing.

"Oh, woe is me!" Speaking a dramatic line from a script she had managed to locate in her panicking mind, Lace looked up at the man above her through her eyelashes, remembering to bat them twice at the last second. Her mouth, like it was taking a hint from that line, started spewing nonsense from stories she had once read. "Please spare me, kind sir, I have young siblings to care for and a sick mother I must attend to. I only took your wrench to gain a feeble bit of coin for her medicine."

Reaching into her back dress pocket, she pulled out the stolen item and shoved it into his empty hand. "Please, take your tool back. I realize now I shouldn't have done such a morally depraved thing, it was only a moment of desperation, believe me." As an added precaution, she gripped his hand in a beseeching sort of way while hoping her strength stood a chance if he decided to cut her down right then and there.

Athanas

Athanas · Aug 6, 2019

Jake was a second away from slitting Lace's throat when the suddenly an entire wall exploded into debris and shrapnel. A ragtag band emerged from the hole, piquing his interest. Convicts? Revolutionaries? Criminals? Whoever they were, they clearly were against the authorities, a fact that was made readily apparent by the guards that had begun to converge on the location. This looked like it would be quite the thrill! He refocused his attention on the pretty blonde, pressing his blade further against her throat... But abruptly stopped when she started crying. Jake was no stranger to murder, but contrary to what his overall appearance suggested, he was far from a cold-blooded murderer. Sure, he'd killed plenty, but he wasn't really thinking about it. They just happened to stand in his way while he was trying to get his fix. Lace clearly understood that, and so she piped on, batting her lashes once again in a manner he found absolutely adorable and began telling a tragic tale about how she had to provide for her sick mother and younger siblings. Dazed as he was, Jake was able to tell this story was utter bullshit. A pipe wrech is a relatively common tool. It would barely buy the day's food for her, much for her "family". No, this was clearly a half-assed ploy to get him to spare her. Still, what harm could there be in doing that? She had returned his wrench, and for the most part seemed harmless: If she had any magic, she'd already have used it.

Just then, an airship that appeared to have seen it's fair share of battles landed-no, crash-landed on the street near them. And just in cue, too! This must be what this ragtag band was planning to use in order to escape! However, there definitely seemed to be plenty of enemies between it and them. And none of them really looked like the fighting sort. In a second, he knew what to do. He stowed his wrench and helped Lace to her feet. "There's about to be plenty of crossfire here, darling. Get your ass inside that ship and stay there until the screaming has stopped. Run along, now!" He emphasized this last statement by shoving her towards the newly opened corridor. Time for a little fun!

With that, he drew his pistols, and turned towards the big opening. Guards were beginning to surround it, but they weren't expecting there to be help. The gunshots rang out in quick succession, two guards dropping to the ground, one clutching his stomach while the other gurgled blood and tried to cover the fresh hole on his neck. Jake willed himself to speed up, feeling the magic course through his body. Before the third guard had even managed to turn properly he had lunged on him, hooksword directly to the mouth. A second guard tried to stab him in return, but Jake was too fast. Expertly, he dodged to the side, delivering three rapid stabs to the man's sides using the blades on the hilts, who joined his friend in collapsing on the ground. Two more blocked his way, as he piroueted around the first one's swing while deflecting the second one's lunge. Using the one blade to pin the guard's blade, he used the other to slash him in the chest, the hook getting stuck inside. With a strong twist of his body, he sent the now-heavily bleeding man crashing on his friend, throwing him off his feet and landing on him. The man barely had time to look up Before Jake gleefully stomped on his skull, turning it into a bloody mess. Two more Archers appeared further down the road, Aiming their bows at him, but he did not fret in the slightest. He extended his left arm, a black tendril suddenly shooting out of it and attaching to the ground mere meters from the Archers. Jake began rapidly soaring in the air, as if though the tendril was reeling him in(which it was). Near the end of his leap, he somehow impossibly propelled himself a few meters in the air, the sudden change of position causing both Archers to miss. With a gleeful laugh that could probably echo all across the street, he threw one of his swords, impaling the first Archer's face. Then. while still in midair, he brought the other down in a rapid motion, Lopping off his arm and causing him to drop the bow. The man took a few steps back, shock and pain causing his expression to switch from determination to panic. Jake just laughed at the spectacle: "Oh my! How're you gonna use a bow now? Dammit man! You'll have to request a crossbow!"

Much to his surprise, the man actually fixed him with a look of hatred, pushing past the pain and trying to stab him with a dagger. Jake easily sidestepped his clumsy attack and lopped off his other arm as well, kicking him to the ground. "Holy shit, man! You even know what giving up is? You're like, a berserker!"

He felt his heart pound in his chest, the thrill of danger exciting his spirit to no end. Ah, how glorious! Just half an hour ago he was tinkering away at an old workshop. And in such a short span of time he had met a gorgeous little thing, threatened to end her when she stole his stuff, and was now killing Theronian guards while helping a bunch of escapees. What an amazing day!
He noticed more groups of guards coming down the street. As much as he wanted to charge them, the little bit of logic that somehow still existed in his mind advised him against it: There was plenty more of them, and they had at least two mages-he figured as much when two firebolts flew inches from his mask. Therefore, it was time to make his exit. He had helped clear a path, after all. The posse of escapees would be fine. And if they turned out to be hostile? Well, more thrills to be had! With that happy thought, he turned over to the group: "Come on, ladies, get a fucking move on! The Airship can't stay here forever!" And with that, he turned and bolted towards the door.

AI10100 · Aug 6, 2019

Cassandra knew that she had made the right decision of bringing Bastien along as the doors proved to not be an insurmountable challenge but rather a mere pebble in the way of the bombardier. Once the smoke had cleared, the door had a sizable hole in the middle of it. Wonderful. She placed a hand on Bastien's shoulder and gave him a nod. "Good job Bastien." She complimented before gesturing for them to follow as she pushed forward. Due to the explosion, a lot of the guards had scattered and were trying to recover. Of course, by the time they reached the door, a lot of them had already filed up once more to take them out.

As Cassandra prepared to fight, the loud crash of something accompanied by a rather heavy magical presence resounded among them. In the distance, she could see that the Pink Pearl had docked - the exact ship she had sought out for, to either find Kate for information or to apprehend her. She hadn't seen that ship in years and now here it was, somehow. But Cassandra couldn't let herself dwell on the questions any further as Heliora hurled a ball of flame in the middle of the formation and watched as the men scattered to avoid it. She was making a straight path towards the ship for easier access. The chaos didn't stop there as gunshots from beyond the wall of soldiers sounded off and Cassandra could feel another burst of magical energy from what seems to be a man who was running at a speed faster than regular.

He was... helping them? Well, more like killing the Theronian guards but...

"Go, go!" She shouted as she unsheathed her saber and headed towards the charred path left behind by Heliora who kept on hurling fireballs to prevent the guards from even getting close. Keeping herself behind the princess to control the royal's pacing, Cassandra kept the ground heading towards the ship where the mysterious, speedy man had gestured towards.
Alreen was now facing a group of people who seemed worse for wear - three who were wearing what seemed to be prisoner's clothing with one of them being carried by the man, two who radiated an aura of elegance and richness one would expect from those human nobles or whatever they were called, and the last one seemed to be exuding an aura of pure mayhem. The door had closed behind them of its own accord, locking the mob that had been chasing them out.

One of them, the female prisoner, stepped up for a moment - looking at you in the eyes. "We need to go, now." The ship seemed to rumble as it began its preparation to move before it gets serious maimed by the guards who were trying to tear their way inside. Despite giving orders, the prisoner kept her eyes only at you as if expecting that you would let them pass. From what you can see, they were obviously some form of danger - to what extent, you aren't quite sure yet but you know - call it your instincts of self-preservation - that they meant trouble if there's a fight that would happen. And yet, you still don't know who you are nor do they look like they had any intentions of introducing yourself first.

"Now if you'll excuse me-" Despite your intimidating presence, this particular person seemed to not care about what you are. She seemed aware form how tense she looked, or maybe that was from the escape earlier. Still, your home for a couple of years just suddenly jumpstarted as is now being commandeered by this human prisoner. You're unsure why the ship had responded this way so some part of your gut is telling you that this group was meant to be in the ship.

Huntertabbysandshark3

Athanas · Aug 16, 2019

Jake continued sprinting merrily towards the open ship, pausing for a split second to deliver two quick shots to their pursuers. As soon as everyone was inside, the opening slammed shut. Much to his surprise, the rust bucket of a ship they were currently occupying managed to take off, and at decent speed too. Normally, he would want to analyse this, to see how on earth such a feat was possible, but currently he couldn't focus at all. His heart was pumping, his mind was racing, and there was blood on his blades. He grabbed Lace from the hip, dragging her as he hastily twirled around for a few seconds, like an excitable, clumsy and deranged dance.

"Lace darlin', I have not the slightest clue who you are, why the fuck you wanted my wrench, or what you're doing here. But by God I'm so fucking grateful you lead me to this! This. Is. AMAZING!"

He continued holding her for a few moments more, just letting his energy vent in the movement. Then, as if snapping back to some semblance of reality, he realized that everyone else was staring at him. He must've seemed a bit weird. However, they most certainly weren't ones to judge. An odd bunch they were, for sure. A lady with glowing eyes and surprisingly little clothing, that would probably cause him severe discomfort if he wasn't pumped up to eleven. A black-haired woman, wielding what appeared to be a blood-splattered saber and who looked awfully familiar. A man with some of the coolest-looking firearms Jake had ever seen. A burning(?!) lady, who somehow appeared to be on fire! Another black haired woman, who seemed to have an injured arm and a serious case of Undernourishment. And a Whore-no, that was far too much jewelry for a whore to have on her. What was she, then? Daughter of a Noble? She did sport a Tiara, so that was probably the case. He thought for a few long seconds about what he should say to all these strange people. Clearly, violence was still entirely on the table, but he didn't mind at all. The women all looked weak, the man with the awe-inspiring firearms was probably perfectly dodgeable... Maybe the fiery woman would give him trouble. Wanting to however at least make a chance at a solid impression, he tried his best at expressing his questions.

"Welll, Quite the band of misfits aren't we. I, uh, am too confused currently for proper questioning n all that, so! Answer these in any order:
One: What are your names?
Two: Why in the Blazes were we killing Theronians? I mean, I'm not complaining. Fuck the Theronian guards, most of em are on a power trip anyway, but why today and here in particular?
Two: I think I know you, Saber-Lady. Have we met?
Three: Why are you two dressed like you came straight out of a brothel, although definitely brothels of varying qualities
Four: How did you make these AMAZING weapons?
Five: Do you need some food, skinny lady? You look right about ready to drop dead
Six: Lace, were you part of this...coup? Plot? Conspiracy?
Seven: Are we going to fight now? Cause like, I wouldn't want to kill you guys, you seem cool, but at the same time... Eh. I could, if I needed to.
Eight: What in the nine hells happened to you? What experiment turns people into living torches? I must know!"

He paused and took a deep breath, as he had been asking these questions in rapid fire. He couldn't resist a joke at the saber-lady's expense first, though.
"I suppose I should introduce myself first, too. Common courtesy."

In a blink of an eye he was right in front of Cass, one of the Hooksword hilts at her throat. "I am..THE DOOM-BRINGER. I AM THE END, I AM THE BUTCHER OF NEWHARBOR. NO MAN HAS EVER SCORNED ME AND WALKED AWAY, AND YOU'D BE WISE TO REMEMBER THAT, SCUM!"
He managed to keep the act for a few seconds before he retreated, laughing heartily at her shocked expression. He raised his hands apologetically: "Nah, Nah. I'm fucking with ya. I'm Jake, just a speedy lad of no real importance."

He noticed something alarming as he laughed, though. The jewelry-covered woman seemed to be terrified of him-no, not him. Her eyes were instead transfixed on his mask. He couldn't blame her, honestly. It was a rather intimidating design. Admittedly, he felt bad for causing such terror on a helpless woman like that. Trying not to think about how unwise that decision was if he and the others came to blows, he unlatched and removed the mask from his face, revealing his features and exposing it to harm: "Hey, Hey! There's no need for that! It's just a mask, see? I'm not some steel-faced monstrosity, though admittedly it would have it's uses. It's fine! Just calm down, ok?

. D O V E

Mykinkaiser

. D O V E · Aug 21, 2019

[class name=title] font-size:20px; text-align:center; color:#ff4d4d; [/class]
[div class=title]The Princess[/div]
Who would have thought that the princess’ impulsive idea would lead to a chain of catastrophic events.

The streets of Therone immediately turned into a battlefield as soon as the group of misfits managed to get out of the prison. Chaos plagued the night as the Theronian guards chased the escapees. The sounds of gunfire resonated throughout the area in the same way that the smell of fire wafted through the air while both parties fought with fervor. In the middle of such mayhem was the short-haired woman in a revealing nightwear with dozens of exquisite band and jewelry on her possession. Each gems were shining in the light of the fire but all of them paled in comparison to the tiara sitting on her head which only signifies one thing.

The Theronian soldiers called for their princess in alarm but all of their cries fell into vain. The princess has her hands pressed against her ears and her eyes were shut tight all while she was letting out a banshee screech. Behind her was the former captain of the royal guards, making sure that she was going in the right direction and occasionally giving small pushes to encourage her tiring legs. Needless to say, it wasn’t far-fetched to mistake the whole scene as the former captain abducting the crown princess.

After what seemed to be an eternity of blind running and screaming, the princess picked up an unfamiliar voice calling for them to hurry up and get inside of an airship. She managed to make it to the aircraft thanks to Cass before she heard the sound of the ship’s metallic door shutting behind them.

Slowly, the princess removed her hands from covering her ears and opened her eyes. Emerald eyes wandered all over the room while she took in her new surroundings. The metallic walls were a drastic change to the Underground Reformation Center’s creepy interior yet she spent no time to linger her gaze since she found herself in the presence of many strangers. She knew Cassandra, of course. Then there were her three friends: the hot elemental, the prisoner with nice muscles from earlier, and the male prisoner with the explosives and bomb body who helped them out. The rest, however, were completely alien to her. One of them was a female with horns sticking out of her messy red locks, fashioning an outfit which was equally as skimpy as hers. The next one was another woman with long blonde hair, letting out an aura similar to the fancy guests visiting the castle some days. The princess can’t deny that everyone in the vessel were up to her standards. She would have jumped right into action if not for the masked man.

The princess let out a sharp gasp upon seeing him and automatically hid behind Cass. Her entire body trembled as she peeked over the captain’s shoulder to watch the scary man dance with the other blonde lady in a weird manner. He was saying something but none of them registered into her mind. She could feel the sweat dripping down her forehead and the way her heart was racing faster than it did when they were being chased. She was absolutely frightened.

It certainly didn’t help when he moved with great speed and appeared in front of Cass, pointing the hilt of his sword against her neck before proclaiming that he was the doom-bringer. The princess squealed in fear, losing her grip on Cass and stumbling backwards before dashing to Bastien. She hid behind his bigger frame and tightly clutched on his garb. “I-I’m scared!” she squeaked out, tears welling out of her eyes whilst her mind feed her with fragments of broken memories she couldn’t understand. She continued to sob until the masked man claimed that he was just ‘fucking’ with them and his name was Jake.

Reluctantly, she peeked out from behind Bastien and saw Jake remove his mask. He explained that it was just a mask and urged her to calm down. “J-Just a mask…?” she repeated with a sniffle before wiping her tears with the back of her hands, “...Okay…” she choked out. She carefully stepped away from the former guard’s back with a shaky: “...Please don’t hurt me…?”

Nevertheless, the royalty evidently felt better upon seeing his true face, and she found herself somewhat calming down. So it was all a joke, right? Perhaps it was how peasants joke nowadays? Yes, that must be it. She half-sobbed and half-laughed as she said, “G-Good one, my citizen. You got your princess good there.” she forced a smile although it was obvious that she wasn’t entirely fine yet.

Damn, she could use a hug… or something even better.

“I am Regina Victoria Honora Serana- um,” she paused before silently counting her names, “Euphemia… Lavinia..? Wait, I think Lavinia goes first, then Euphemia… then…” she trailed off, looking very lost, before ultimately giving up and pointing at her tiara with a grin, “I am the crown princess!”

Mykinkaiser · Aug 21, 2019

Bastien Jaeger

Location: The Pink Pearl
Interactions:

Bastien nodded slightly at the Captain's praise, signalling to the soldier that he had adequately performed his duty. He did not revel in the feeling though, as the Captain immediately pressed through the opening, with him following close behind. Due to the fact that he was still carrying the unconscious woman over his shoulder Bastien was unable to summon his rifle, instead being forced to rely on his revolver to return fire at the guards that attempted to prevent their escape. Interposing himself between the hysterically screaming princess and the Theronian regulars, he opened fire, dispelling and re-summoning the rounds so as to keep up a steady stream of fire. He of course noticed the unnaturally fast man cutting his way through the guards as well, but given that his primary objective was to get the Princess to safety and the man was not yet obstructing that, he chose to focus on the guards rather than the man.

Once aboard the ship, after the doors had closed, Bastien set the woman he'd been carrying down, leaning her up against one of the walls of the small space they now occupied. As he did so, he turned his attention to the masked man from earlier, who was now ranting at the group, clearly in the midst of what appeared to be an extreme adrenaline high. Either way, the man was clearly a potential threat. As such the soldier kept himself on alert, and his gun out.

This designation that proved to be correct as the man abruptly brought the hilt of one of his blades to the Captain's throat, prompting Bastien to whip his revolver up to level with the man's head, ready to blow it off at the slightest movement, his other hand reach out to shield the Princess who took refuge behind him. In fact, the sole reason he didn't open fire was that the Princess was near, and he feared the concussive sound in such an enclosed area might damage her eardrums. Fortunately, the man relaxed after a brief moment, the whole thing appearing to be some form of deranged prank rather than genuine hostility. Even so, while Bastien lowered the gun, he did not dispel it, his evaluation of the man, who he now knew as Jake, as a potential threat remaining unchanged.

Still, the Princess, while she still appeared quite shaken by the ordeal, forced a laugh to smooth over the tension, offering her own name in repsonse to Jake's introduction. However as she did so, she stumbled over the order of her many names, and forgot some.

"Regina Victoria Honora Serana Lavinia Euphemia Alexandria Celestina Gwenllian y Emhyr IX, your Highness," he said quietly, leaning down to correct her before straightening back up.

"I am Bastien Jaeger, formerly of the Theronian Armed Forces," He said, snapping to attention and speaking with the tone of a soldier reporting to a commanding officer, his face devoid of expression all the while.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Aug 22, 2019

ALREEN
interactions:

The assortment of people that stumbled into the room where interesting but loud bunch... first there was the scared female that wasn’t wearing all too much she definitely had a lot of jewelry that was for sure the tiaras looked like it would make a nice centerpiece so this female was definitely a keeper, she smelled like one of those nobles, although there was something slightly off about her smell alreen really didn’t know what probably just some sort of weird perfume. There was another one that had a similar noble look and scent to her, she seemed a good deal more believable than the first one as she lacked the odd scent the first noble had. still promising but it was very disappointing that she lacked the amount of treasure the first one hand. Then... there was the male with the mask, god did he smell bad like engine grease mixed with sweat and adrenaline... and there was the same strange smell from the first noble... where the related no, he seemed to scare her way too much, interesting but very very annoying. There was another woman that honestly there wasn’t much to say about her seeing she was unconscious seemed to be sporting one of those prisoners style outfits... whatever a prisoner was to be alreen never really cared enough to listen to although she had the vague smell of some pirate and different weird scent she couldn't pin down . There was another male who appeared to be protecting the first noble, his scent gave away little as did his expression, alreen could respect that, although he did sport similar prisoner outfits to the unconscious female, and he wasn’t too amused with the action of the masked male, in fact, his comment about brothels annoyed alreen enough for her to growl slightly she was a dragon not some half-witted damsel although the two nobles could probably be considered that, so they perhaps they could agree on getting rid of him later, there was a fire elemental well that is was they looked like she smelled slight of burning flesh rather pleasant and would probably be nice to curl up by. Last but not least was the conscious female prisoner she was staring at alreen then talking to her like she expected her to do something for her it was cute. but, in general, seemed like they would be extremely tiresome to deal with and alreen was already tired as is, in fact, even the female that decided to order alreen around also appeared tired and fed up, maybe a bit of intimidation might get them to leave? spitting a small glob of acid to the side of her letting it sizzle on the floor not really doing any damage, during this her pincer tipped tail re-emerged form the base of her back making it clear the wasn’t human just in case the group though that her expression turn to one of grumpy disapproval “Right I don’t know who you lot are, and what your doing hijacking my home, but I don’t care right now I’m tired and I want to go back to sleep and when I get up you better have a good explanation. unless you lot actually have one a good one now, because I'm not in a good mood at all" her voice held no anger or hostilities only the sound of a tired and fed up sounding creature.

Athanas · Aug 25, 2019

Jake's was so engrossed in his joke that the fact that Bastien has put a gun next to his head failed to register for a few moments. Once it did, however, he slowly turned, looking incredulously at the big man. In but a moment, he was overtaken by laughter again. Once his laughter had subsided somewhat again he began mocking the soldier. "Wha-Did you just point a gun at my face? That is just... Maybe one of the stupidest things I've seen all month!

So let me get this straight: You see me have this incredible speed, okay? That you also see me use to avoid projectiles with ease. So when you see me threaten your friend, your masterplan is... to throw ANOTHER projectile at me? Like, I couldn't dodge it like I dodged all the other ones? Dude, come on. You need to work on adapting strategies for different opponents, different situations... Gah. At least you gave me a good laugh!

His attention was promptly shifted as the attractively-dressed blonde stepped forward from behind the big man, still clearly shaken at his mask. Rather bizarre. He looked intimidating, sure, but nothing to the point of causing panic attacks of such scale. Of course, he could not dwell on this matter much more as his brain now seemed wholly focused on the female's form, a form she, unfortunately for him made no real effort to conceal. It took him a moment too late to realize that with his mask off, his sudden shift in attention was wholly visible to the others, and he managed to refocus on looking aloof. He cursed the ease with which anything pretty was capable of distracting him. He would need to find a way to counteract this somehow.

"No, no. I'm not going to-Why would I- No, I won't hurt you, I have no reason to! And-hold up, my princess?" He paused in confusion. As he heard the blonde go on to explain that she was, as a matter of fact, that Tiara was not just some gift from her daddy for her birthday. No, that actually signified that she was Theronian Royalty. Given the nature of their encounter, it was clear that the princess, for one, was not being dragged off against her will. And since the other guy with the amazing weapons introduced himself as a soldier of Therone, that would make the Raven haired one.... oh no.

Rapidly, his mind put together the most logical outcome: "Oh wow. It all makes sense now! You orchestrated your own kidnapping at the hands of the former captain, who would have a reason for such a grudge due to her imprisonment. Along the way, you will be "Rescued" by the Monarch of another country, who will use your presence in his court to justify his invasion of Therone. He will depose of your parents, and put you in the throne, and in return you will give him... Uh... okay I admit the plan kinda falls apart here but this is REALLY nice! Holy shit. Never thought I'd manage to be a part of a plot like this!

He changed his stance, turning to attention-or more precisely, a mimicry of a soldier's attention stance. "So, Devious scheming captain, what is your first order? Where shall the staged "Rescuing" take place?

Ambiloquous · Aug 26, 2019

Lace

In a whirl of gunfire and debris, Lace had somehow gotten on a ship with the help of the one who had just put a blade to her throat just the moment before. Then for some godforsaken reason, the man who changed personalities like the flick of a switch also decided to grab her and fling her around like a ragdoll while thanking her with much zest. She was weak to the spinning motion, so she steadied herself in the corner while the drama starring her fellow passengers unfolded.

The leading actress was a princess, no surprise there. Her knights in shining armour seemed to be, surprisingly, from a prison, guarding her ever so tightly. Has national propaganda brainwashed even criminals? Then there was the fire elemental and a lady that didn't seem so human, though Lace was unsure what role they played. Perhaps suitors for her hand? And then, of course, the man with dissociative identity disorder portrayed the classic crazy villain. She would've given a standing ovation if she weren't in the same situation they were in, which was unfortunate for such a theatre devotee.

"Ahem, excuse my interruption to the delightful discussion taking place." Lace raised a hand. "First, may I say that know nothing of what is going on here?" She arched a brow at the talkative tinkerer who had almost made her heave her lunch. "So no, I am not part of this 'coup' you speak of."

"A question to the one who owns this ship, are we airborne? Because I would love to go up on deck, see the view, hear the birds and such and not get shot to bits and pieces." With that said, Lace rummaged in her skirt pockets for a wrapped slice of cake. Once she found one, she took a bite and prepared to watch whatever show came next.

Athanas

AI10100 · Aug 27, 2019

There were only so many things that Cassandra could focus on right now. She did want to be able to somewhat man the controls to steer where they could go - they have quite a number of neutral territories they could go to and she'd rather have a place that was far away from Therone just in case they mobilized quick enough to send elite squads to them. Knowing Aveline and Cassius, they would have already been preparing to chase them down. Thankfully, Kate's ship was faster than any ship Therone can offer. It would be a while before they can chase them down. They do have a problem of Therone sending bounty hunters after them but that was a problem she'd have to deal with when they're on land. Because the first problem seems to be the fact that they're locked in the room and even the woman on the ship didn't know how to operate it - that or she hasn't noticed that all the doors seemed to have closed on them.

And the fact that the guy who was killing Theronian guards earlier who's speed was above anything she's ever seen was belting out questions at the rate of a machine gun was not helping. There was a spike of magical energy and the next thing she knew, this man was already in front of her with a hooksword against her throat. Her hand was already at her sword, ready to strike. The princess had switched from her to Bastien and she saw the gun pointed at the man's head. This man - Jake - had laughed and told him that he wouldn't be able to hit him with a gun even if he tried. She begged to differ. Magic had its limits and she doubted a closed, cramped space would be his ideal environment. Cassandra repressed a heavy sigh as she felt an incoming headache forming. But, at least she knew they were safe. Somewhat.

"I don't believe we've met before. You may know me as the Former Captain of the Royal Guard, Cassandra Breaux." She responded as she brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off the building stress. "As for whatever sort of... scheme we're running here, I'm afraid you have it wrong." She made a dismissive wave to Jake, a gut reaction to him standing in attention even if it was an imperfect mimicry of it. She then turned to the well-dressed woman who was with Jake to signal that she was going to answer her question too. "The princess just busted us out because she wanted an adventure. Then, here we are. Simple really." It was the stupidest reason ever, Cassandra was well aware of that. But who was she to say no to their princess? Bastien couldn't either for the life of him. "As for what we're going to do, Sirvat seems to be the better option. Enough distance from Therone."

She turned to the inhabitant of the ship - the woman who seemed more than a bit peeved that they were there. She had made a show of intimidation but she doubted it had much effect on anyone really. Nevertheless, Cassandra did sympathize with the dragon. Suddenly disturbed from a peaceful life isn't exactly the best thing in the world. "The ship is owned by Captain Kate over there." She made an idle gesture to the unconscious woman on Bastien. "We needed a way out and it looked like she managed to summon her entire ship here. We're heading off to Sirvat to complete the escape. I don't know who those two are-" She pointed at Jake and the well dressed woman. "But it seems like they're along for the ride and by this point, I don't really care anymore as long as no one gets into fights with one another."

"We are airborne. Unfortunately, the doors aren't opening." Cassadnra pointed out as she knocked on the metal door that was separating them from the rest of the ship. "And from what I remember from chasing this very same ship, unfortunately, they don't have an open deck." She shrugged. It was a choice in their design that Cassandra guessed was essential for a certain feature or whatnot. She didn't really know any of the specifics considering their... volatile and dynamic relationship.

Heliora, who had been silent for the most part, had let out a puff of smoke. "Ah yes, with this crew, whatever could possibly go wrong, Captain?" She then turned to Jake. "And no, I'm no experiment. I will take a gander and guess you haven't met a fire elemental - or any elemental for that matter before." Her fire flared for a moment before settling back down. "My name is Heliora." She finished.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Aug 30, 2019

ALREEN
interactions:

And just like that, the man that smelled like engine grease went off on another tangent like some hatching digging through a pile of treasure expecting to learn how every bit of gold was obtained. It was incredibly annoying especially this his line of thinking didn’t make much sense to being with, at least alreen learned one thing, that tiara-wearing one was a princess and the tired-looking female was apparently the guard captain, who was kind enough to give alreen that explanation she wanted, and introduce herself as Cassandra. Through the disjointed stream of answers alreen tail tapped agents the wall it was more of a tick than anything really important, but there was that second noble how apparently had absolutely no idea what was happening.. but also cake some cake did sound nice about now... or anything to eat really that was if alreen wasn’t going to be allowed to get some rest, then again it seemed like all of them aside from the overlying energetic one, its name was jake right?, could use some. “Right so let’s see if iv got this right, the reason your here is because that princess wanted to go on some grand adventure and that Kate lady there being the owner of this ship, that I would add, is still my home decided to drag it all the way here to pick you lot up? And two of you don’t even know why you tagged along with you just did?” The tone used was still one of a grumpy tried creature alreen tail tapping sounded more annoyed now as it seemed to speed up, running her head down her face she sighed before continuing “well ok that explains a few things, like how I couldn’t get this place running at all, the engine was keyed bound to that Kate lady.. and I suppose it’s a half-decent reason still not a good enough one to excuse you waltzing in here buuut not much I can do about it now can I? Oh and since you all haven’t been on this ship, few thing you should know one, most of the ship been locked up for year so no maintenance or anything means those places are probably run down or got skaven damage, two, there are definitely some big skaven somewhere on the ship ya can hear them sometimes, and three, no one touches anything in the cargo bay, this might not be my ship but I’ll be damned if you lot expect me to give up my hoard just because your friends with the person that decided to abandon this ship got that?” Alreen voice was mostly calm until she got to the point about the cargo hold her voice had an authoritative tone mixed in with the grumpy dead up nature she had been this entire time. “Oh and if we are going to be here for a while and we all introducing ourselves names alreen..” she had a slight smile on her face only to just take the edge of the whole situation, maybe things wouldn't be so bad.. although alreen really doubted it.

. D O V E · Sep 4, 2019

[class name=title] font-size:20px; text-align:center; color:#ff4d4d; [/class]
[div class=title]The Princess[/div]

The princess felt as though a thorn was picked from her side when another person followed her and introduced himself. She was glad that the misunderstanding was resolved peacefully and that the formerly-masked man doesn’t intend to hurt her. A sheepish smile graced her face after Bastien whispered her own name, in its correct and complete order, to her ears. What a sweetheart! Perhaps she should just have him introduce her to the people she’d come across with during her adventure. “Regina Victoria Honora Serana Lavinia Euphemia Alexandria Celestina Gwenllian y Emhyr IX, the crown princess of Therone!” she repeated, with conviction this time, for the others to hear after the former soldier was done with his.

It was then when she picked up a new voice. She turned her attention to the redhead with horns who sounded beyond displeased with the odd bunch’s apparent ‘intrusion’ to her home. However, there was no room for explanation since Jake piped up once again. He seemed surprise with the fact that she was a princess yet he was quick to spout an entertaining theory surrounding the royalty’s presence with them. It wasn’t long before the noble lady raised her hand, a few points, and a question.

The princess stifled a laugh and allowed Cassandra to explain the actual situation and introduce herself and Kate, before giving the chance for Heliora to introduce herself. The princess decided to speak after the red woman was done was done talking.

She stepped into the centre of the room, pressing her hands against her chest while a dreamy look crossed her features. “It’s not just an adventure. It’s a grand adventure!” she corrected, excitement present in her voice, “I’ve been dreaming about it for years. I have read hundreds of books and heard countless of stories about it ever since I was but a child, yet I have never truly experienced one except whenever I lie on my bed.”

“But more than that, I want to help people just as my father did. I’m sure you have all heard about him: the legendary champion of Terra, King Fuir!” she revealed before staring off into a distance while looking like head was over the clouds. While it was true that she was upset that her father (and mother) was being difficult after the little incident with the captain, she couldn’t deny that he was still a big inspiration for her. She sighed as her mind continued to wander over to a future where statues are being built in her honor, where bards sing songs about her heroic deeds, and where she has proven that she was more than a damsel who should be cooped in a castle.

The princess then turned to look at everyone in the room with wide, credulous, and glimmering eyes, “Will you help me make that dream a reality, pleeeeaaseee?” she asked, albeit it sounded more like a plea.

She twirled around until she bumped into Jake, causing her to look up at him with the same doe-eyes, “It’d be really fun and exciting, I promise.” she said, addressing everyone although she was staring at him. Then she drew back and moved to the next person who the horned-lady with reddish skin, leaning into her personal space so that their faces would be in close proximity, “We can share a home!” she added with glee, and laughed when she received a boop on her nose. The royalty then skipped to the other noble blonde in the room and took her hands, “We can all go anywhere!” she squeezed her hands. The princess then withdrew herself and grinned at Heliora before bouncing over beside Cass who was near the metallic door. She didn’t see the need to appeal to her and Bastien since she was under the impression that they'd do anything for her if she asks them to.

With both excitement and optimism rushing into her system, the princess put her hands on the door and began to push- only to realize something that Cass already said a few minutes ago.

“Oh fuck, we’re locked.” she muttered underneath her breath, “Not again!” she whined as she repeatedly banged against its metallic surface in a futile attempt to get it open.

SweetRose · Sep 17, 2019

Kate was flying again for the first time in half a decade. At first she had struggled to manage the physical switch, losing all sense of her body and becoming something entirely disparate. It didn’t take too long after she first took off to relearn how to be one with her ship. It had been far too long since she had melded with the ship that was her home and her heart. As she sank into her awareness she felt the damage her absence had done, various mechanical systems not responding to the return of energy. Some of the magic had dulled as well, but the system of enchantments that was the ship’s lifeblood sharpened itself as the core warmed up.

Kate had basic visuals online before she ever took off, but now she was waiting for the part she never enjoyed. The ship was above the cloud layer and approaching where she could feel her body in the distance when the web of enchantments became whole again and the last piece reactivated. She felt her mind reverberate and twist as again it’s essential parameters shifted. Her tidily contained visuals dropped away as her senses became the ship’s.

Suddenly she could feel the wind against her hull and taste the clouds she skimmed over. She felt the unmaintained systems aboard her like persistent aches in the back of her head. More importantly she Knew the shape of the clouds around her and the emptiness above her almost intrinsically, could just taste the edge of the empty air beneath the clouds, at the outer edges of her range. She was surprised to feel a few living things already aboard, although the lack of birds where she currently flew was less surprising.

She removed her attention from adjusting when she realized she was entering the approach range for where she suspected the prison was. She dived below the clouds and reactivated the long range visuals now that she was less likely to overload herself. The prison was where she had thought it was and her trust in the Captain was well-placed. She could see fighting in the distance as a small group moved away from the prison. She dropped into a dive towards the prison. It was her turn to keep her word now.

She executed a maneuver she liked to call crashing without any of the explosions, landing in front of the gates and opening the quarantine gate. She kept her visuals on the sky around her for any enemy ships as she felt a group of people approach her. The people and weapons behind her weren’t going to be doing meaningful damage to the pearl unless they had a seriously potent mage, but if they had sent a military ship already, that certainly could cause problems. She had chosen the quarantine gate because it was a contained space with an inherent choke-point and in a pinch there was next to no way for the fighting to break through into her hold.

As soon as the group seemed to be properly aboard she took off. A small part of her kept track of the lives she could feel on board in case any of them changed, but for the most part she focused on getting clear of Therone. She dropped all major diagnostic and defensive measures as she maximized speed. Five years ago there wasn’t a single ship in Therone’s navy that could contest the Pearl in a direct race and she doubted that had changed, but it was better to be safe. She breached back up above the cloud layer as soon as she could and pushed for distance to the east. In case of a long chase a rising sun wouldn’t affect her but an old or traditional ship that used base sight or spy-glasses might have problems. She was well over the ocean without signs of pursuit before she began to wind down her mad dash.

She turned her attention back to the quarantine gate outside her main hold as she began to prepare to return to her other body. Unsurprisingly no life signs were gone or different. She would have sensed it if they had changed. She slowed the ship as much as she could without switching over to hovering instead and reestablished sensory access in her old body. Then with a moment of hesitation she left the Pearl behind and woke up. It was always an aching, vicious sensation to rip herself away.

Kate opened her eyes to see a room full of somewhat tense people. She was leaned against the wall out of the way of everyone. For a brief moment she considered speaking up, but quickly discarded that idea. Moving with a mildly worrying soundless grace she slipped through the group without speaking at all. When she approached the door the princess was pushing at, she only slightly rolled her eyes. Ignoring the local royal she stepped to the side of the door and put her hand against it. With a click it smoothly slid up. She leaned against the wall and spoke, her voice a dry, rusty thing, “I don’t know who most of you are but the Captain over there hasn’t seen fit to kill any of you so I’ll follow her lead. This is my ship, the Pink Pearl. On that note, I presume you have a plan for this mess Cap? We are a long way east of Therone, out over the ocean. Nobody tracked us thus far and nobody is going to be able to trace the Pearl from the prison by now. We should be in the clear for the moment.”

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Sep 18, 2019

ALREEN
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alreen smirked somewhat at the princesses title did it really have to be so long? what was the point in that anyway? leaning against the wall she watched the princess reiterate what she said with a bit more pizzas on the GRAND part it was cute, but she really didn't have much of a clue who that king was probably cuz she was a dragon... buuut alreen couldn't really care any less, as the princess continued to with her speech and it the way she did it couldn't help but make the dragon smile it was cute but compelling and besides she had jewelry so win-win, as the princess hopped between each person to try and convince everyone, the princess getting right into alreens face, she couldn't help but boop her on the nose with her tongue of course.. not enough to get a good taste. sharing a home... well, she guessed there is no choice at this point. once that was done she tried to open up the door making alreen laughed a little "that's not how you get a door open" swinging back around it seemed that the pirate lady had woken up and opened the door for everyone, then as the captain had already informed everyone she was owned the ship, although atlest alreen knew the name of it.. the pink pearl.. interesting although the part about not killing anyone made alreen roll hers she really didn't wanna deal with any more bullshit and she could actually get back to sleep now, turning to everyone again, "right im going back to sleep don't you dare touch what's in the cargo hold got it?" she said before walking through the doorway.

Athanas · Oct 3, 2019

Jake's excitement dimmed slightly when he heard the captain's response. Ah, some things in life are too good to be true, it would seem. However his mood recovered just as quickly when he realized the context of her words.

"So you mean to tell me...That the reason plowing through half the Theronian garrison, the reason we have the crown princess with us, the reason we're on a notorious pirate's ship and most likely will be hunted down by the entirety of the Theronian military AND bounty hunters...Is because the princess was bored at her castle. I-I"

He barely managed to finish his sentence before breaking out in a vigorous fit of laughter. The situation was so absurd that it could give his wildest fantasies a run for their money. Once he had managed to recover his breath, however, the quite attractive horned lady spoke up, informing them about the situation with the Skaven infesting the ship, while the flaming woman informed him that she was an elemental. Without missing a beat his mouth had already began blabbering again. "Woah, an actual elemental? Like, from the stories? Holy shit! I always thought you fuckers didn't exist. The mere cost required to sustain so much...primordial energy! So much to find out, yes! I am most pleased to meet you Heliora. I am sure you can provide a useful insight into the nature of energy!"
His eyes stared deep into her form, like a sculptor admiring his work. He was about to begin taking notes when the princess started speaking, cheerily informing them that her intention was to make like her dear ol' Dad. Of course, she seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that adventuring usually involved plenty of violence, if one was to judge from her earlier reaction.
Alas, her speech had such a vibrant energy to it that he found himself sharing in her enthusiasm. He smiled at her and was about to interject a comment into her speech-probably a remark about her father's glory being drenched in the blood of whatever poor sod stood on his way when she bumped into him, her gaze boring right into his own with those adorable doe-eyes. His words got stuck in his mouth mid-sentence, and he stammered furiously while an idiotic smile was plastered on his face. After a few seconds he managed to recover, although he guessed it was pretty hard to miss.

But the surprises of the day were far from over, as the raven-haired woman, whose name was apparently Kate and who was supposedly the captain of this ship went up to a door and opened it with but a touch of her hand. In a daze, he approached the door, performing a small invocation to be able to see the runes that put the construct into operation-a very basic trait of someone who dabbled in magitech. What he saw astounded him. The magic holding the entire thing together was old and complex, way beyond anything he had ever seen. He'd have to study it in depth at a later date to even begin to have a glimmer regarding it's nature. Soon, his attention was whisked away once again, this time onto the proposed location. "Oooh, Sirvat. I'd love to visit that place, but I hear it's quite dangerous. Demons are fickle bastards with more magic than sense, and they don't die that easy. Of course, I'm not some sorry quitter. I think from what I've seen that we just need some better equipment and then we'll be able to royally fuck up their shit. I mean, that's the endgame here, right? From what I've seen, at least."

He pondered upon this for a brief while before managing to refocus on the initial problem: Skaven on the ship. They'd need to deal with that soon, as they fed on powerful magics and grew in size and power accordingly. A ship this powerful? The Skaven here would definitely be ogre sized, at least. In a few quick movements, he had reloaded his pistols and was holding the mask up to his chest, getting ready to put it on again. "Aight, captain" he said, clearly spitting the title, "This deckhand is of the opinion that we go hunt down the Skaven, and that he is then pointed towards the nearest engine room for inspection. We can talk about ranks, studying elementals, stirring trouble in demon land and the implications of having the crown princess with us later."

. D O V E

Mykinkaiser

AI10100 · Oct 5, 2019

GM

Cassandra watched as the events unfold before her. She had turned to Alreen and gave her a small shrug. "You would get used to it after a while." Unlike Cassandra and Bastien who had been trained to follow the royals' orders, these other people did not have the innate need to follow the princess's whims if they choose not to. However, despite this, they seem to be interested in this grand adventure that she was speaking about. Whether it was out of excitement at the prospect or forced to join for even a while because of their closed space, these people seemed to go along with the idea.

Heliora cocked her head to the side as Jake continued to blabber on. "Then you should leave Therone more, boy." She stared back at him as he began to probe her with his eyes - trying to understand what made her tick. But as Jake continued to stare, he would find that Heliora's form seemed to continually distort. Fire seemingly starting to escape the given humanoid form - licking across the ground. When Jake blinked, Heliora is back to normal. A trick of the light? "Be careful what you wish for. Playing with the chaotic forms of nature do not go well for people of your... ilk."

As this was happening, Kate seemed to have woken up. Despite her tired disposition, she had managed to work with the ship quite well and opened the door without trouble. Cassandra gave her a small, dismissive wave. "First to Sirvat. Then..." She made a cursory glance towards the princess before looking back at Kate. "We'll make a plan there. We just need to get to neutral territory for now." She looked at Jake, who went on a spiel about the demons of Sirvat. "I'm sorry but I think you're misunderstanding something here. After the fight and the condition of this ship, not only would making trouble in Sirvat be a horrible idea but their forces are more well equipped for war rather than Therone."

She took a step outside the door, mulling something over her mind before continuing. "Even I would hesitate to take on their elite forces." She had muttered under her breath.

"I agree. We should get rid of the skavens first and foremost." Looking for where they would be nesting would be their first priority, of course. Hopefully they hadn't gotten too big yet but with five years of stagnancy, she was expecting them to have grown a lot.

Ambiloquous · Oct 5, 2019

Lace

Lace lifted a hand to her mouth and mocked a surprised expression. "Oh my, Skavens on the ship? How horrid." But her face begged to differ. Her eyes twinkled and the corners of her mouth behind her fingers turned up, creating an almost comical contrast with her inauthentic flabbergastment. She had never seen a Skaven in real life before, having only read of them in books, so her enthusiasm for meeting a living, breathing one had rocketed to the roof.

"Oh yes, how rude of me. Everything has been so exciting that I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself." Curtsying with a flourish at exactly three-sixteenths, she formally made her acquaintance with her future shipmates. "Greetings to you all, my name is Lace." Unbending from her curtsy, she beamed a smile that although was charming, had an air of being somewhat off her rocker. "Now, if you will excuse me, I fancy taking a look outside." Without waiting for anyone to speak up, she skipped remarkably quickly to the open door and brushed past the owner of the ship to go outside.

Stepping out into the corridor, she paused at a what sounded like... chittering gurgles? Her curiosity lit, she started sprinting towards the indistinct noise. Down the hall and around a bend a grotesque, black creature with a mouth full of glowing, cyan teeth turned its head to meet her.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Nov 1, 2019

ALREEN
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