[BWP] Blackwing: The Airship Pirate RP [Closed]

[Trobby]

The Blackwing Pirates

OOC Thread Here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162710)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxp4q65wlr1qzsl0bo1_500.jpg

If ever there was a group that could call the sky their home, it would be the Blackwing Pirates. A ragtag group of mercenaries banded together by the dreaded Captain Tobias Johnson. For years they flew from port to port – raiding, looting, and supplying the world with illegal goods. Their exploits are legendary.

And this is the beginning of their story.

~In the Sovereign Nation of Eagleland’s capitol...~

The sound of airships, docking, launching from port, unloading cargo and loading supplies to travel far across the sky, these were the sounds that Admiral Ike Hawthorne knew, day in and day out. The tall, impressively-dressed human stood in front of a large window, with his back to the door. His office was the closest to the sky port, and a more romantic mind would say he had a magnificent view.

Ike would tell them to shut the hell up and get back to work. He was not a romantic in the least, which is why it was always difficult for his men to address him. Most of the fresh hands thought of airship duty as a romantic, mystical, fascinating career that would bring them close to the magic of the world.

He would have none of that. To him, they were simple machines, constructed with precise clockwork parts and given a specific type of inert natural energy to propel themselves through the air. Cold, calculating machines like any of the other tools of war he was familiar with – tools which decorated his walls from end to end, what wasn’t taken up by the “magnificent view” he had been given to step down from his position as an officer of war.

”How I miss those simple days, when all airship Admirals had to know was which city was ripe for bombing, and how many airships they should expect to encounter. Why they put me here, in this office, with all of this blasted paperwork is anyone’s guess, really.”

Admiral Ike was not in the habit of speaking to himself, though he was in the habit of turning away from the man he was addressing; in this case, the small, dog-eared, romantic-minded man behind him holding the paperwork that Ike so dreaded.

”Sir, it is your duty to look this over…”

”Leave it on my desk, soldier. I will “look it over” when I am good and ready for it. Dismissed.”

”Y-yes, sir!”

The paper fell onto his desk, close enough to him so that by turning his head slightly, he could see the name at the top.

”Hold it!”

The sudden shout from the admiral caught the young man off-guard, and he nearly tripped over the still-functioning cannon in Ike’s office.

”Y-yes, si-“

The man stilled his tongue, as he caught sight of the admiral’s smile…an eerie smile that made the man shrink back and duck his ears away in fear. The admiral, his grin stretching out across his cheek, addressed the groveling boy.

”This…interests me.”

”Sir?”

”Stay for awhile boy...”

The admiral picked up a bottle of his favorite drink; a dark, sweet, and powerful Rum, and poured two glasses.

”Tell me…about the man on these papers of yours.”

[Trobby]

Rules

This game is Invitation Only, so if you were not invited to participate, please leave now.

Now, there are a couple of rules I would like to go over with everyone before we start.


Rule 1: No Power Gaming

We are all important to this airship, and we are all amazing air pirates, but that does not mean your character should be flawless. Please, do not put your character’s ability over any other’s unless it makes sense within the game.

Rule 2: No controlling another character’s actions (Unless they give you permission to do so)

Naturally, we want to keep this game flowing, and when your actions depend upon the reaction of another character, you might want to play out that reaction yourself.

If it is necessary to do so, ask the player first BEFORE you post your action, so that you are sure they will be okay with this. I don’t want anyone here complaining about having their character stolen by another player.

Rule 3: No OOC Arguments that span over 5 posts

OOC discussions, incidentally, should be made in double parenthesis. ((Like this)), and separated from your in-character actions entirely. That having been said, do not start a lengthy side-conversation Out-of-character inside this thread. If you need to discuss something with a player, take it to the PMs.

Rule 4: Be Patient

If you are trying to interact with a character, wait for their player to respond. Unless, as stated above, they give you permission to control their character’s actions, you have to give then the opportunity to react in their own way.

In addition to this, if two characters are already interacting with each other, and you want one of the character’s attentions, try to think carefully about how you can weave yourself into their interaction.

Rule 5: Be Polite

If something does happen that upsets you, don’t attack the player just because you don’t like the situation you are in. PM them to resolve the problem together, or PM me and I will try to resolve it personally.


Now, everyone make a first post to introduce your character. Do not do anything else until everyone has had a chance to introduce themselves. Take this time to start thinking about how your characters can interact together.

In particular, I know that Blue Ghost will be awhile before he can make his first post, so be patient, and if you have any questions about what is appropriate for this world, send me a PM and I’ll run it down with you. In general though, feel free to insert anything you would like into this setting, as long as it fits with everything else.

Now then, prepare ta’ launch off, lads!

[Trobby]

~A Nameless Town~

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/Introbulus/BlackwingPirateAvatar2.png
Captain Tobias Abraham Johnson
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 91 KG
Gender: Male
Race: Wolf Man
Country of Origin: Eagleland
Professions: Inventor, Airship Pilot, Soldier, Captain
Current Occupation: Retired
Last known location: In a bar in Cusper, Eagleland, believed to be the proprietor
Dangerous Posessions: One unlicensed flintlock pistol, one military issued cutlass.
Disposition: Unpredictable, believes himself to be invincible

Former Royal Captain Tobias Abraham Johnson, discharged in 1920, after 5 years of retirement, is believed to be planning acts of piracy. Be on the lookout for this man.

”Haven’t even started, and they’re already “on the lookout”, eh? Heh…and they think that people actually read these things.”

The wolf-tailed gentleman rolled up the piece of paper in his hands, and slid it into his pocket, grinning to himself.

”It makes a handy souvenir though, that’s for sure. I may have to start using an alias though. Hmm…Captain Aesop? No, that will never work. They’ll know it’s a fake in an instant.”

As he spoke to himself, the man walked down the long yard of airships. A converted naval dock, the airships themselves rested in the salty seawater. Large, powerful men lifted heavy wooden crates into the docked ships, while captains of various nationalities barked orders at them, usually to move much faster than they could.

”Johnson told me it was in perfect working order…Ah! There she is!

The wolf pirate smiled, with his tail wagging slightly as he gazed upon his own personal treasure. It was slightly smaller than either ship beside it, but the man knew it was fast and powerful enough for his needs. The massive hot air balloon that would lift it into the air was already inflated to near capacity, the tall masts holding up the sail that would drop down when they were ready to launch, and a small group of his own hired men loading unmarked crates into the hold.

He was early, for he was expecting a group to arrive soon, with “credentials” like his own. But he had time to wait, and so he sat himself down on a stack of crates, looked up at the blazing hot sun, and watched down the length of the dock, waiting for them to arrive.

[Watcher]

[A Nameless Town]

http://a.imageshack.us/img217/1747/avatarpirate.jpg
Greg Lightwatcher

Lightwatcher is an exceptionally pale dwarf on the border of adulthood, with several scars, red hair, and thin clothing. He usually lets people know only his real last name, or even just "Watcher" due to his hatred of his name. Watcher has some amount of magical ability, but none of it really shocks and awes those that see it. He is an outsider to these lands and has no reputation of any kind.

Name: Gregory Lightwatcher
Height: 4' 2"
Weight: 124 lbs.
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Hometown: Starside
Applying for: Ship Board Doctor
Weapons: Simple Dwarven Waraxe
Disposition: Quiet and Cautious
Benefits of recruiting: Some people have talent with healing the wounded of the crew, but few are able to magically heal them.

Watcher came from a dwarven town, Starside, in the north, but doesn’t have much of an accent. When people ask about what he did before he became a pirate, Watcher mostly just says "I was kicked out for practicing magic that others didn’t like." He then talks about how he couldn’t get a decent job anywhere due to his being a dwarf. Watcher needed to survive, so he became a pirate, and pirates pretty much took anyone, as long as they were able to pull their weight. People occasionally question his ability to heal due to how many scars he has, but he assures them, "I was not able to heal when the wounds had infected and scarred a long time ago."

He carries an axe from his homeland and a briefcase of restorative items and potions. Watcher is rather introspective and quiet around other people, especially since he’s considered an outsider to most people, though he is amazingly tolerant of another person’s oddities and unacceptability. He is pleasant to those that are pleasant to him, and ruthless to those that attack him. Watcher appreciates beautiful views, which he picked up with his habit to wake up at dusk and start his day by seeing the night fall, which is why the other dwarves called him a “Duskwalker” and excluded him from their reindeer games.



Watcher came to Nameless Town quickly, having been awake all night due to his intentional nocturnality. He never liked the sunlight, and wanted every opportunity to avoid it. Wearing a light grey cloak, he hid from the sunlight in the shade of the seaside buildings and looked around nervously, being sure that the dock he was looking at was the right place to go.

[Recaiden]

[A Nameless Town]


Name: Tikadora Bijoun
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 63 KG
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Country of Origin: Albland
Professions: Tinker, Soldier, Explorer, Cook.
Former Home: A bazaar in Red City, Eagleland, selling magic trinkets.
Weapons: One military issue long-range rifle, one antique revolver, one knife.
Disposition: Highly variable, generally aloof and suspicious. generous and friendly.
Other Information: So, I left Imperial service as a sniper following 'serious incidental injuries' or, as you might say, being attacked by a pack of werewolves. Hilarity ensued. And I ended up in a more illegal line of work. Still plenty good with shooting things, and a few spare skills.
Why are you right for this crew: Do you really get so many applications by skilled pirates that you can choose? I'm the best weapons expert you'll get on this short of notice and we both know it.


Several dockworkers carry a large, oddly balanced crate over near the Captain's new ship.
Within, another copy of the captain's wanted notice is read over by the little bit of light filtering through the cracks in the top of the shipping crate where Tikadora hides.
"Funny. So formal."
She goes down her application again, checking that it's right.
"Got it, though I was never a great chef. Or a good chef. Or really any kind of chef. But it was edible, though."
"Yeah, I did just skip Red City. That was a nice place."
"Werewolf, check."
"Tiny bit of magic, nothing worth adding. A charm or two, simple utilities, but I'll trust to bits of metal any day; that's what matters."
She sits back, wrapped in a thick overcoat, and peered out the broken corner of the box, waiting for the others to arrive.

[Dogmantra]

"My name is Tobias Manfred Johann Wolfgang Pyotr Frédéric von Stormravus. Oh go on, feel free to laugh. That's what everyone else does. Now, I could explain that my parents were fans of classical music and couldn't decide who to name me after, so they chose both my grandfathers and four composers. That normally doesn't stop people laughing though, so laugh if you'd like. I don't normally give permission either. But I really do suggest you pick a name and stick with it. That's my advice. I don't mind most of them." The 17 year old human appeared to be the first to actually speak to the captain. He stood at a round six feet tall with short dark hair, dressed altogether too casually for a short airship voyage, let alone becoming a pirate on one. "I thought it might be fun to be a pirate. I guess I could be a navigator. I found this place without really trying. Just sort of wandered around and got here. Oh, and I found these too." At this point, the young man reached under his jacket and pulled out a bag of gold and a flintlock pistol. "Would you believe they were just lying there? What good luck it was to find them, wouldn't you agree? So, unless there's anything else you'd like to know, that's me. I'd like to be a pirate, if you'd let me."

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 6'
Weight: Thin-ish
Age: 17
Appearance: Short dark hair, green eyes, pale skin.
Notable Talents: Very lucky... most of the time.
Other Skills: Not really anything else
Disposition: A tad eccentric but quite reserved at times.
Position Applied For: Navigator

[lesser_minion]

A nameless town, Dockside.

Cassie had arrived the previous evening, and gone straight to the dockside, finding a fairly sheltered spot beneath a wooden railway platform. While strictly speaking, vagrancy was illegal, most of the people who saw her there ignored her.

Normally, she'd have looked for a more socially acceptable place of lodgings, but she was still somewhat worried about being noticed. Even if she hadn't seen any wanted posters in the town so far, it didn't mean people didn't know she was there, and she was pretty sure somebody would be looking for her. And of course, running like she had was practically an admission of guilt.

She didn't sleep too well, however -- mostly, she was nervous about whether or not she'd be accepted. While she was pretty sure she knew everything there was to know about airships, and she was fairly comfortable she could survive in a fight, she wasn't too experienced at either.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be a problem. However nervous she was, the feeling of being near magical engines -- something she hadn't even realised many other people couldn't actually sense -- was strangely comforting.

Cassandra 'Cassie' Ironbridge
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 51 kg (8st.)
Age Range: 18-24
Appearance: Cassie has fair, shoulder-length hair, one blue-green eye and one blue-grey. She is currently wearing a light grey overcoat, over a poorly-fitting pair of trousers and a shirt.
Possessions: A few coins, her father's cavalry sabre, and a waterproof satchel containing some food, a few more specialised tools, a second outfit, a stolen flintlock pistol, some logarithm tables, and a naval architecture textbook.
Key Talents: Mechanical/Arcane engineering, Fencing
Other Notable Talents: Naval architecture, Magic Sensitivity, Singing, and Acrobatics. Also able to sew and cook, although she doesn't enjoy either.
Disposition: Fairly warm, and reasonably tough, but also quite shy.
Position Applied For: Ship's Engineer.
Possible Secondary Roles: Ship's Armourer.
Previous Location: Ironbridge, Eagleland
Background: Ran away from an incident that occurred in Ironbridge about a week ago. Came from a traditionalist family, but managed to study naval architecture in secret, at the same time developing a pretty decent understanding of practical magical and mechanical engineering.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily Millicent Crest
Race: Human. Probably.
Gender: Female
Height: 5'0"
Weight: 110lb
Age Range: 17-21
Appearance: Brown hair, very long, almost to her waist, held out of her eyes by a lilac headband, and brown eyes. a little way down her back. She tends to wear a lilac dress, split along the sides from the waist down for mobility. Over the dress is a light, beautifully made breastplate, and her side holds a sheath containing a pair of katana, while a bow and at least two quivers are upon her back.
Possessions: A pair of long, curved katanas, a longbow and several quivers of highly sharp arrows, various other weapons.
Notable Talents: Running a blody rampage through major population centres Fighting in honourable and heroic combat against large numbers of possibly dangerous beings, and winning. The ability to hide weapons on her person, even if physics claims otherwise.
Other Skills: Singing, balancing and acrobatics, especially as they relate to her main skills. She also has a family history of psionic abilities, but as yet she can't do anything notable-although she seems to have a sixth sense.
Disposition: As long as she's in a good mood, which is most of the time, she's flirtatious, friendly, cuddly and in most ways a lovable individual. If she's in a bad mood, she's quiet, sarcastic, biting and generally not so pleasant. If she's in a terrible mood, she's either hugging the life out of a close friend or crying in her bed.
In battle, she appears rather maniacal: In fact, terrifying, with a laugh and giggle that herald quick death for most.
Position Applied For: Weapon's Master
Previous Location: A small town-when asked, she tends to wave her hand dismissively and claim it doesn't matter.
Background: Emily's bow is a family heirloom-her two katanas and her armour not so much. She refuses to admit where they came from, avoids Cold Iron like the plague, and adds that she's not allowed within a mile of the Albland border.

Emily had no doubt she'd get on board. No-one could fight as well as her, it was easy from looking at her! she thought. Maybe she should clean that blood from her dress...
"Hey, you! Cutie!" someone called to her, from the other side of the inn. "Want some?"

In several seconds, the girl stood next to him. A dagger appeared to be in her hand, and it looked almost like it was pointed at his throat.
"The name's not cutie." she said, brightly, with a wide grin. "Hottie, maybe. Sexy, probably. And if I want some, I will ask you. Got it?"

The man nodded, scared.
"Good." she purred. She looked him up and down. "I've got an hour or two to kill. Want some?"

[EmeraldRose]

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/EmeraldRoseMN/pi-er.gif
Lady Rose Fairchilde

Age: 30
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 130
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Skills: fighting, appraising, diplomacy, bankrolling
Weapons: cat o' nine, two percussion cap revolvers
Description: A young noblewoman, bored with a life of running things while her husband is off fihting and gaining glory. Quick to talk her way out of any violent situation, but tough in a fight.
Hails From: Minusa Manor, Freehold
Position Applying for: whatever needs to be done, as long as it doesn't involve manual labor, besides fighting...fighting I'm good at...

The steward trails behind a tall young woman, muttering under his breath about the foibles of nobles. She completely ignores him, and looks up at the ship.

She's absolutely gorgeous, Frederick! This is definitely going to be worth the expense.

But, Madam! Is there nothing I can do to convince you to return to the manor? This truly is unseemly for one of your station...

Frederick, I'll hardly be gone any time at all, and Andre will manage fine without me. He probably won't even notice I'm gone after a few weeks.

Madam! You run the estates! Lord Fairchilde will be off at the campaigns for another year at the least. Who will manage the...

You'll say not another word, steward. I'm going and that's final. Andre will return before the harvests are in, and you and the others will take care of things while I'm gone. I needn't point out what will befall if you do not.

No Madam. Of course we will continue the businesses as if you were still there. But...

Wonderful, Frederick! I knew I could count on you! Have the men load my things, and I will write with news when I have any!

Without a backwards glance, the woman heads towards the gangplank, leaving the muttering steward behind...

[Madmal]

http://public5.tektek.org/img/av/1008/d05/2159/eff6490.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/38746115)
Name: Joseph “Chema” Villanueva
Height: 5'6"
Gender: Male
Race: “Enhanced Humanoid”
Hometown: City-State of Villarcova, Nazalén
Skills: cooking, chemistry, larceny, alchemy, contacts,some degree of common sense.
Dangerous Possesions: assorted stuff
Disposition: Gruff, slightly misanthropic.
Other information: May have the need to let out a maniacal laugther every once in a while. Prefers isolated places.
Why am I applying?: I need to get off this place. Some people complained about my cooking. Let’s see if my contacts were right about this guy.

[The Bushranger]

http://public5.tektek.org/img/av/1008/d03/1440/a2e0393.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/38686465)
Name: Erin O'Connell
Age: 24
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 65 KG
Gender: Female*
Race: Human (mostly)
Skills: Blowing things up, inflicting weapons-grade punnery, first aid
Weapons: Magitech Stunner (Little Magic Sleep Gun), spells in my head
Disposition: Cheerful, friendly, a bit shy, enjoys blowing things up.
Other Information: I used to be a guy, before some mad scientist's gender-change potion actually worked. So now I'm a girl. I think I've taken to it rather well, if I do say so myself. Oh, and I really, really like blowing things up...
Why are you right for this crew: Well, duh. Somebody has to blow things up with magic, don't they? And I can patch people up if I miss, too!

"Yeeeep, yep yep, that looks to be the ship I was told about." The fairly tall, white-haired young woman standing on one end of the dock crossed her arms over her ample chest, and huffed a bit. "Could be worse, I reckon. Wonder how big the crew is."

[Blue Ghost]

Name: Jacques le Bleu (but I go by Blue)
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 62kg
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Skills: Magic (mostly defensive), tinkering, cooking
Weapons: Spells
Disposition: Cheerful, friendly, shy, reserved
Applying for: Ship's cook and/or scribe
Why am I applying? Absolutely no idea.

Blue heaves a sigh as he walks down to the ship. Why in the world was he signing up for a pirate's crew? With any luck, his application would be rejected and he would be home in his own bed within a week.

[Trobby]

((And now that everyone is here, let us begin. :smallamused: ))

"Well Tobias..." the captain began, sitting himself down on a very specific box, containing a very specific person. "Being a pirate is not an easy life. You'll be tasked with grueling, hard work. And seeing how you don't have any experience as a navigator, you would have to take an assistant's position, rather than an official one. Would you be willing to accept that?" He asked all of this with an honest voice, not wanting a young man to get caught up in something so dangerous if he didn't know what he was getting caught up in.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I can't let you onto this ship." A mountainous, rugged man said to Lady Rose as she walked up the gangplank. "Captains orders are to only allow crew and supplies on-board, and you're neither."

[lesser_minion]

Nameless Town, Present

Almost on cue, Cassie arrived on the scene. She'd found an opportunity to change into her other set of clothes, which looked significantly smarter (or, at least, fitted better).

Seeing the conversation taking place, she walked towards the box, wondering how best to introduce herself, stopping a few metres away to let the captain finish the interview he was conducting.

Overhearing the last part of the conversation made her a little more confident -- she wasn't the only inexperienced person applying, at least.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily sauntered along towards the dock. She'd filled the time she'd had spare, and it was about time for the interviews!

She briefly wondered how hot the captain and crew would be.

[Watcher]

After seeing all sorts of people arrive at the docks oh-so-quickly, Watcher made a kind of "Egaaah!" noise and rushed up to the dock, after pulling his hood up. He spazzed for a while, figuring whether to talk to the captain, then decided to wait behind Cassie as if it was a line. He completely avoids eye contact.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily meandered over to the pale dwarf.
"Heya!" she said brightly, from behind him.

[Dogmantra]

"Well Tobias..." the captain began, sitting himself down on a very specific box, containing a very specific person. "Being a pirate is not an easy life. You'll be tasked with grueling, hard work. And seeing how you don't have any experience as a navigator, you would have to take an assistant's position, rather than an official one. Would you be willing to accept that?" He asked all of this with an honest voice, not wanting a young man to get caught up in something so dangerous if he didn't know what he was getting caught up in.

"Cap'm, I am not sure whether to be insulted or well, even more insulted. No experience with navigation? I got here, didn't I? I don't particularly want to be a pirate, but then, that's what I said about learning to read, and look where that left me!" The young man lowered his voice, "It left me here, if you're curious."

[lesser_minion]

Hearing Emily, Cassie turned around, seeing the dwarf and the girl for the first time. Nervousness welled within her, but she tried to suppress it, moving slightly so she was facing both of them.

"Hi." She spoke fairly softly. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Cassie"

Unfortunately, she'd never been good at introductions.

The interview she was overhearing worried her a little more -- after all, she was in basically the same boat, although she at least had the advantage of a fairly highly respected mentor.

[Watcher]

Meanwhile, Watcher freaked out and turned around quickly. He looked up to Emily. He then looked at Cassie. Watcher figured that the two were beginning to talk to each other, so he took a quick step to the side into the shadow of an airship.

[The Bushranger]

Walking the (gang)plank?

Noting the other apparent interview-ees arriving, Erin smirks, shook her head, and decided to eschew the small talk.

Stepping forwards to head directly to the gangplank, where the big, burly steward is blocking the way of an apparent noblewoman. Fully intending to use that as a diversion, to sneak past and aboard!

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm Emily." said the girl, brightly. "What about you?" she said, turning to the dwarf trying to edge away.

[Watcher]

"..." Watcher stared for a moment. "Sorry, what? Oh! I'm... uh... irrelevant. I mean...! Just call me Watcher," he said fail-tastically. Watcher then facepalmed, and started an internal monologue, slowly drifting away from the two and hoping they begin a conversation.

((I will be away from the computer for a few hours. Feel free to ignore my character or wait that long, whichever.))

[Trobby]

The Captain and "Tobias"

"...Lad, I understand that you are eager to make a name for yourself, but don't you think you're moving a bit fast? One trip, on land, does not an experienced airship navigator make. What's more, you're insulting my honor, and hospitality, offering to teach you everything I know about being an airship navigator. Now, how do you think that makes me feel?

[Recaiden]

[Box]

The lid will find itself trying to be lifted from the inside, and then whacked a few times in annoyance.

[EmeraldRose]

*snip*
--------------------------------------------------------------

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I can't let you onto this ship." A mountainous, rugged man said to Lady Rose as she walked up the gangplank. "Captains orders are to only allow crew and supplies on-board, and you're neither."

[on the gangplank, walking smoothly past the mountainous, rugged man]

Oh how delightful! You've mistaken me for someone who doesn't belong on board! Lucky for you, I happen to be paying you, at least in part, for this voyage. Now, do be a good man, and help Steward back there with my things, won't you?

Rose continues up the gangplank to survey the rest of the ship.

((BTW, what form of currency will we be using? Gold pieces? Dollars? Pounds?

Also, I work full time days, so my online time is usually very limited during the week.))

[Trobby]

The man knew better than that, and pushed the lady away from him, quite forcefully.

"Ma'am, this ship belongs to Captain Tobias, and he alone has funded this voyage. Unless you are trying to tell me he has had a sudden change of gender AND race I don't think-"

"Let her board, Boris."

"I ah...what? But cap'n, she-"

"Is our shipboard accountant. I asked for her services personally. If you don't mind, help her with her things, would you?"

"...Yessir cap'n sir."

The burly man sheepishly slipped by Emily, not noticing Erin on the gangplank as he went to help the steward load her things onto the ship.

"Now then, where were we? Ah yes..." The captain stood up off the crate, and pointed his gun inside the now-opened container, cocking the hammer back half-way. "Dealing with stowaways. Did you truly think you would go unnoticed, hiding in a shipping crate for MY ship? Really now, you don't give me enough credit."

[Dogmantra]

"Sir, far be it from me to intrude, but now's hardly a good time to be arguing about silly things like honour and hospitality and whether or not I'm a good navigator. I'll just go on board and we can talk about this later, okay?" With that, the young man attempted to slip past onto the ship.

[Trobby]

"...Ahh..." The captain sighed. "My navigator's a green horn, the accountant's a countess, and I've got stowaways before I've even left port. This is going to be a long, long trip.:

[Lix Lorn]

Wait, Mantra is using my colour! (Fake angry face) Aww, he can share. <3
Emily giggled. It looked to her like this was going to be one highly amusing voyage.

[Trobby]

The pirate captain sighed, turning to face the three remaining crew members. "And I suppose you three are here to join the crew as well? He inquired, his gun still trained downward into the box.

[Lix Lorn]

"Yep yep." said Emily with a grin, one hand idly tracing the bloodstain on the side of her dress.

[The Bushranger]

"Ah...excuse me. You'd be the captain?" Erin calls, from the base of the gangplank, eying the cocked flintlock dubiously. "I...came to sign up."
The white-haired woman straightens up - and salutes!

[Trobby]

"Hmm...well, if you're going to be part of my crew, you'll have to do a part of the work. Pick up a box and haul it aboard, would you? Not this one though. This one has a person in it."

[The Bushranger]

Erin's eyebrows raise at that particular bit of information. "...goodness. Somebody in a box? I don't suppose they were being shipped to Abu Dhabi?"

Looking bemused, she spits on her palms, rubs them together....then turns and faces a box.
"Ytterp my ylf!" she declares, holding a hand out torwards the crate...which lifts into the air!
And with a flick of her fingers, she sends it slowly drifting up the gangplank.

[Lix Lorn]

"Cheater." said Emily brightly, bending down to pick one of the remaining, unoccupied boxes and carry it up.

[Dogmantra]

Did NOT steal your colour! I'm using a darker shade! :smalltongue:
"Far be it from me to intrude again cap'm, but what is a green horn? Some sort of... bizarrely coloured musical instrument?"

[The Bushranger]

"Rule 31. Only cheaters prosper," Erin says brightly as she starts levitating a second crate up, while moving to ascend the gangplank herself. "I'm Erin O'Connell. Well, that's what I go by these days anyway. And you?"

[Trobby]

"...a type of cattle. Now help the others load those crates onto the ship, would you?"

The captain shook his head, wondering just what the girl in the box would have to say for herself.

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm Emily." she said. "I live by the simpler rules. For example. Close Air Support covereth a multitude of sins."

She grinned, carrying the crate past Erin. "That's why I'm here."

[The Bushranger]

Erin's face brightens a bit. "Ah, so you've read the Habits also? I find myself quite the fan of Rule 37, myself." She laughs cheerfully. "A pleasure to meet you, Emily. Need a lift?'

She winks, and looks like she's ready to cast another levitation spell. :smallwink:

[Lix Lorn]

"I do find them highly effective." she said with a grin, delivering the crate and going for another. "And thanks, but I can keep going just shiny as it is~"

[Watcher]

Throughout most of this, Watcher had tripped and fallen into the water with a quiet splash and covered himself in seawater. After he got out and used a simple spell to dry himself off, he rushed up the dock and tried to be confident. "Um. Hello, er... " Watcher then noticed he was still covered in salt. "So I should. Okay. I would like to join you as well. I should...help with the crates minus the person crate, aye?" Watcher looked between the crates and the captain and took small steps to the crates while waiting for the order.

[Trobby]

"Hmm...sure...are you a medic? He inquired. "I recognize that spell...medics used it during the war to keep our clothes dry on wet days. If you are, you'd be much appreciated aboard this ship."

[Recaiden]

The pirate captain sighed, turning to face the three remaining crew members. "And I suppose you three are here to join the crew as well? He inquired, his gun still trained downward into the box.

"And I am as well. Nice to meet you, Captain." crate-person replies, lifting a handgun up to awkwardly point at him too as she stands up.

[Watcher]

Watcher began to talk, but saw that the crate woman was doing something with the captain, so Watcher just kind of nodded quickly. He looked uncomfortably between them, but figured the captain could handle the situation. Watcher then shuffled over to the crates and watched for a second before aiding the crate-carriers.

[Trobby]

"Hmm...I see."

Tobias looked down at the gun. He analyzed it carefully, recognizing the make, model and manufacturer of said firearm at the slightest glance.

...That didn't help him much, except for telling him that it was an excellent make and that he still had a gun to his face.

"Brought your owns supplies, I see? Resourceful. Quite resourceful."

[lesser_minion]

"Yes, yes we are."

Cassie had felt Erin's trick, but she wasn't convinced it would be able to handle all of the crates -- some of them were, to put it politely, freaking heavy.

Like most berths, this one was provided with a simple manual crane which she could use to lift the heavier crates. Turning to Manfred,

"Would you mind lending me a hand with this?" She gestured towards one of the heavier crates. "We can use the crane to load it onto the ship."

[Watcher]

In his frantic rush to catch up to the progress the others had already achieved, Watcher absently grabbed the crate next to the heavier one Cassie mentioned and slowly carried it onto the ship. He seemed unaware of any verbal communication.

[Trobby]

"Can't be using the crane to load the ship, luv." The captain mentioned, still keeping his eyes trained on the woman with a gun pointed at him. "It's being used by another ship at the moment. Larger one. With U.S.A. funding and such."

((U.S.A., in this case, refers to the United Sky Alliance, the major world power in this universe, made up of all the countries of the world, even the former Great Empire. Though many resent the United Alliance, none oppose it outright.))

[Lix Lorn]

"Doing it the simple way is fast enough." Emily said brightly.

[lesser_minion]

"OK."

Cassie walked back over to the crates, checked the label on one ('Galley Utensils'), and lifted it. While it wasn't exactly light, it was easy enough to handle.

[Trobby]

As the crew members start loading crates onto the ship, they might notice that several of them are firmly bolted shut, and have no labels or markings on them at all.

[Recaiden]

"Thank you sir."

[Trobby]

"Right...you'll be helping us with these crates, now?" He inquired, deciding that downplaying the whole "gun" bit would probably be the safest bet right now.

[Recaiden]

"Yes." she says slowly, stepping out of the crate and waiting for him to put away his gun.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue looks oddly at the woman pointing the gun at the captain. Is this what I signed up for?
He sighs and helps the others carry the crates. He stops to look at one of the unlabeled ones, wondering what they contain.

[lesser_minion]

Returning from the galley, Cassie picks up one of the unlabelled crates, wondering what it might contain.

"Where would you like these taken?" she asked the captain.

[Trobby]

"Follow the lads. They know where it belongs." The captain gestured to the hired hands carrying the crates onto the ship, below deck.

As he put his gun away, the captain extended his hand to his would-be aggressor. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, lass. Captain Tobias Abraham Johnson always respects anyone that can handle their own dilemmas. If you don't mind, we'd like to get out of port as soon as possible. So if you'll just follow me..."

He trailed off, skipping over to the gangplank and up onto his own ship, should no one get in his way.

[Recaiden]

Aggressor? When Tobias pulled a gun first? :smalltongue:

"Likewise, though I speak of myself in the first person." She holsters the gun and lifts her own crate to come onboard.
"Of course, of course."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily, of course, being her, wasn't playing enough attention to notice the strange crates, and was humming something to herself as she transported them.

[Trobby]

((To be fair, SHE was hiding inside of one of his own crates. Far as he was concerned, she was plotting an ambush.))

"Right then! All of you who are going to be aboard the ship when we launch, meet me in my quarters at 1400 hours for an officer's meeting."

The captain grinned. It was an...awkward crew, but they would suit him well. He lifted a crate over his own shoulder, and stepped aboard with the rest of them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
((Going to do the scene transition now.))

Aboard the Blackwing Airship

The Blackwing Airship. Originally a striker ship from the war, bought by Tobias Johnson just before it was to be decommissioned.

Striker ships are naturally made to travel fast, with a smaller armament but a well-trained crew, a good ship could take the larger Galleons by surprise and blast them out of the sky before they even knew what was coming.

Normally, a striker would be a poor choice for a transport ship, but with a few modifications to the lower decks, space had been cleared out to hold more cargo than was thought possible.

A compliment of 20 cannons lined the striker’s sides. Cannons, naturally, designed to utilize the single-bullet principal of magic. That being that multiple smaller bullets could not contain as much magical potency as a single, large one.

What the Blackwing had in power and speed it gave up a bit in defensive capacity. No onboard magical shielding was available, though the clockwork engine at the heart of the ship was more than powerful enough to help it outrun any of the stronger battleships that the crew might encounter.

Crew quarters were small, to conserve on space for supplies, cargo, weapons and vital components. But a few luxuries were allowed aboard. An officer’s quarters gave a little more leg room, with a closet and a proper bed rather than a simple hammock.

The ship board kitchen, built very carefully to avoid any possibility of a fire hazard, was just enough to serve a full crew, with a long table set for the crew to eat at in the same room. The captain’s personal quarters had the luxury of being the next largest room on the ship save the cargo hold. Across from him, the navigation room held stacks upon stacks of charts, and just down the hall the medical quarters held all the essentials for a ship’s doctor.

The top deck, which would when in flight hold the billowing sails bearing the ship’s insignia of a silhouetted black bird, held most of the crates that were to be brought below deck before departure. Strong, tall masts held those sails up, while the hot air balloon that would lift the ship out of the water hung by powerful cords to the ship, and would lift it away if not for the powerful anchor holding it in place.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue sets about examining the ship. Pretty nice craft you have here, Captain, but I do notice it's a bit lacking in defensive capacity. I do believe I may be able to help in that regard. Mind if I take a look around and see what I can do?

[Trobby]

"Be my guest." said the captain, stepping down below deck in haste. "But try not to mess with her too much. The Blackwing and I have a history together, and I'd hate for her to change on me all of a sudden."

[Watcher]

Watcher took the first opportunity to drift away from the group and look through the airship's medical supplies and compared them to the supplies he carried with him at all times, and found that each one had many things that the other didn't. He kept time in his mind and reorganized the stuff in there. To occupy himself for the rest of the time left, he examined the wood of the interior of the airship.

[EmeraldRose]

Rose wanders back towards the Captain after looking the ship over.

Tobias! Captain, rather, sorry! It's wonderful to see you again! How long has it been? Wasn't it at that rather horrible party in Vanilla? I'm still amazed you got out of there in one piece...you'll have to tell me how you managed it some time.

Seriously though, you're request couldn't have come at a better time! Andre's been gone all season, and I'd just had enough sitting at home. I still can't believe he decided the Wars were 'too dangerous' for me. Me! Anyway, this is just the thing! Your ship is a real beauty.

So tell me where the books are and I'll get an initial accounting before we head out. Always a good idea to know what is there to start out with.

She looks around at the rest of the crew and smiles warmly.

Hello everyone! I'm Rose!

[Trobby]

"Wars? Is that what they're calling those pitiful things in the East? Pah, hardly a war when one nation, full of men in airships and steam-driven tanks, flattens out another because they have nice leaves for brewing tea. But if that's what he wants to call it, I don't mind one bit."

The captain smiled at her, bowing out of politeness.

"It's great to see you, Em. Come on down below. Room is a little on the conservative side, so we'll be sharing an office. I hope you don't mind. You'll have time to meet the rest of our crew at the meeting. Terribly sorry about Boris giving you a hard time. But well...you know I wasn't joking when I said I would be undertaking "piracy", right, Em? This really is going to be rather dangerous. For everyone involved."

[EmeraldRose]

Tob, I'm truly shocked. This isn't the first time I've run off to pursue my own interests, rather than run the family business. You do remember how we met, don't you? I seem to remember something about a vast treasure, buried in a vault 'unseen by mortal vision in a thousand years'. Isn't that how you explained the whole thing to me in that tavern? :smallbiggrin: That certainly was an adventure....

She grins at the captain.

And yes, you did mention piracy. That's what made me decide to come in the first place. I can take care of myself, you know that.

Don't worry about the space. This'll be just like old times!

[Trobby]

"That was years ago, Rosie..." He smiled at her, remembering fond times. "When I was more of a pup than a dog. It was before the war..."

And at the mention of that war, his figure sunk, weighed down by terrible memories.

"The war changes us, Rose...it may not have changed you, but it did change me. I'm no pup anymore."

[Lix Lorn]

"D'awww." said Emily, appearing nearby with little warning, seemingly very concerned for the captain.

"Would you like a hug? Hugs are good for the soul."

[Trobby]

"...I'll be quite fine, milady." The captain said with an extra air of formality. "Is the rest of the crew on their way here for the briefing?"

[The Bushranger]

As they set sail, Erin heads to the bowspirit. Setting one foot as far out on it as she can, and striking a rather jaunty pose, arms over her chest, hair streaming in the breeze.

And starts to sing in a strong voice...

"Off we go, into the wild blue yonder!
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun!

[Recaiden]

A head leans through the doorway to the room the captain's in.
"Briefing?"

[Trobby]

"Hmm...yes, speaking of which..."

With his off-hand, the captain grabbed hold of a large horn-shaped object, dusting off the inside and clearing his throat before speaking into it. In a loud, projected manner, his voice could be heard across the whole ship.

"Attention, attention, crew of the Blackwing Airship. This is your captain speaking. Officer meeting has been rescheduled for 2000 hours. That is all."

With that, the captain set the call horn down in its resting hook, and sat down at his office desk, pulling out several charts and navigation tools.

"Ah, if you would all excuse me, a few last-minute calculations are in order before we take off."


((Aaaaand now I'm officially in deadtime.))

[Lix Lorn]

"Okay! We'll be back for then, right!?" said Emily cheerfully, turning a perfect one-eighty degrees and (metaphorically) bouncing out.

[Watcher]

Watcher can be heard across the ship causing a great many things to clatter to the floor, which is quickly followed by a, "Ack!" of frustration and horror.

[lesser_minion]

Cassie had just climbed back up from inspecting the engine, ready to attend the briefing when she heard the announcement that it had been postponed.

Hearing the noise, she walked quickly towards the medical quarters.

[EmeraldRose]

Rose spends the extra downtime looking over the ship's books, then stowing her gear in the crew quarters.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue is carefully examining the nigh-nonexistent magical defenses of the ship, thinking about how he could improve them. The captain's unexpected disappearance has given him some extra time to work on it, but he's quite rusty at combat magic. He begins to weave some wards, praying that he doesn't mess up.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily, with nothing better to do, finds her room and unpacks a small bag, humming to herself.

Hooray! I'm going to have sporadic net! (hugs all)

[Trobby]

The captain, meanwhile, pulls out several large charts of various air current routes, and begins plotting a new course. He adjusts the "monocle" over his left eye, focusing on the map more carefully, and comparing it to other charts before making adjustments to his route.

Me too!

[Lix Lorn]

Hooray! (Fierce, merciless huggleglomps)
Upon finishing, Emily quickly became bored. She went looking for someone to bother.

Someone volunteer? XP

[Blue Ghost]

((I'd love to, but I'll have to deadtime very soon. If you're still here in three hours, maybe...))

Blue groans in frustration as a magical explosion blows a small hole in the railings. Drat. Did I mispronounce a verbal component?

[Dogmantra]

"♪Ra Ra Rasp- Wait. Am I disturbing something here?" He walked into the room where Emily had just unpacked, by accident, of course. "Sorry, I'll just be going... unless you wanna talk?"

[Lix Lorn]

She blinked in surprise, then grinned.
"Sure! Whaddya wanna talk about?" she said, sitting on the bed, patting it next to her invitingly.

Sorry Blue, Lessie. Mantra tops ALL. (inlove)

[Dogmantra]

"I did say unless you wanna talk, but I suppose I can think of something. What's your name for starters? I'm Tobias Manfred Johann Wolfgang Pyotr Frédéric von Stormravus. You can pick any name you like. I'm used to most of them. Just please don't call me Freddy. I had a reaaaally bad experience with someone who called me Freddy once. Lost an eye and both arms..." he paused, clearly having all his limbs, "Him, I mean. He lost an eye and both his arms. He sort of deserved it though, I mean, saying that to a drunk war veteran? That's just asking for trouble. I almost got killed by his actions, you see. The veteran shot his gun wildly at me, but the bullet happened to hit the exact place I have another bullet lodged under my skin, so it bounced off. He ran away a bit after that. I mean, a twelve year old who deflects bullets with his chest could be rather frightening. I mean. I didn't even have Mr Doll with me that day! Cor, imagine me without Mr Doll. I understand his fear... anyway, um, that's probably enough about me. How about you? What's your name?"

[The Bushranger]

Erin, meanwhile, trails off her singing at the bowspirit.

...primarily because she's noticed they're not going anywhere, just yet. :smalltongue:

Shrugging, she runs her hands through her hair, then turns and heads aft, looking for crewmates to annoytalk to.

[Watcher]

Watcher has, at this point, made several stacks of jars and boxes like carefully stacked piles of coins in a treasure vault. Muttering from him can be heard from several yards from the medicinal quarters that Cassie is, at this moment, wandering to.

[The Bushranger]

Erin, hearing the muttering, pauses, raises an eyebrow, then heads in the direction of said muttering with a cheerful smile/smirk...
"Fe, fi, fo, fum, I hear the voice of a crewmate. Hello there!"

[Watcher]

"Egaah!" Watcher knocks over a stack of jars and hastily replaces them on the shelves as if guilty of some horrible crime.

[The Bushranger]

Erin jumps back as well with a startled squeak!
Landing on her backside on top of a crate with a thump.
"Ow! Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

[Watcher]

"Oh! Sorry, I was just... What am I doing, anyway? Oh right! I was...just looking. It kinda fell over. Sorry."

[The Bushranger]

"No worries."
The white-haired young woman bounces up, and smiles.
"I'm Erin. And you?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily giggled at the rather excessive name.
"Isn't Tobias the cap'ns name?" she asked. "I'm gonna call you Manny.

My name's Emily. Emily... Crest. Yeah, that should stick... I'm here to help out with fighting, as you can probably see." she said, looking around. There seemed to be various weapons, not counting the two katana at her side.

The bloodstain on her dress likely didn't help.

[Watcher]

"Uh... Just call me Watcher," he says uneasily, looking to the side. "It's nice to meet you, Erin." While he looks up at Erin's odd hair, Watcher holds out his hand to be shaken.

[lesser_minion]

Cassie arrived just in time to hear Watcher's introduction.

"Hi... is everything OK? I thought I heard something..." She stopped suddenly, seemingly in pain, at about the same time as she heard the explosion from the top deck.

This passed after a second or two, leaving her panting and leaning against a bulkhead.

[Watcher]

Watcher doesn't seem surprised, but watches Cassie as she does this. "Umm... Huh. I can't really tell what that was. Do you have a migraine? Didn't seem like a migraine... Or maybe a--" Watcher stops in mid-sentence to pull a gigantic* book out of nowhere and look through it. He flips through a few pages, looking for what Cassie might have. "Can you describe what that was, please?" asks Watcher idly.

*gigantic in this case means about 2x1x½ feet.

[lesser_minion]

"No, it just started and then disappeared again." It took a short time for her to recover from what had happened.

This is just one of the downsides to being magic-sensitive

[Watcher]

"Uh... huh. Right. So has this happened before?" Watcher asks as he flips to another section of the book altogether. He seems to be extremely comfortable with this conversation as opposed to the introductory conversation going on a moment ago.

[lesser_minion]

"No... I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it's nothing..."

While it didn't hurt any more, she could still feel that something was... well, wrong. Her face drained of colour.

"I think we should check what just happened on the top deck."

She began walking quickly towards the source of the explosion.

Presumably this is just a particularly bad case either because of the surprise, or because of the fallout from the miscast. I think she'd be OK with gunfire, for example.

[Blue Ghost]

((I just noticed that Erin took my normal speech color. I'll have to switch to some other color then...))

Blue is still attempting to ward the ship when Cassie walks in. Oh, hi. Cassie, was it? What's up?

[lesser_minion]

"Heya. I'm not sure if I caught your name, I'm sorry. Did something bad happen here?"

[Blue Ghost]

My name's Jacques, but I go by Blue. Nothing happened here, just a small magical misfire. Nothing to worry about.
He notices the sickly pallor of Cassie's face. Is something wrong?

[Watcher]

Watcher stared after her for a while before bookmarking his book in several places and following her at a distance, holding the book like a shield held with both hands in front of him. He checks to see if Erin is coming with the chunk of people going to the deck and gives an apologetic expression either way.

Hah. Watcher always has pallor far worse than Cassie. :smalltongue:

[The Bushranger]

((Eep. I can change to Teal if you want, Blue?))

Erin takes Watcher's hand and shakes it with a firm grip...

...then, stuff happens. And she does indeed follow the others to investigate the magical explsion!
...which is something she appears to be quite fascinated by.

She also gives Cassie a smile and wave.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue gives a nervous smile to all the people coming in. Hi. Um, did I do something wrong? It was just a little mishap, no major damage...

[lesser_minion]

"No, things just went a little weird for a moment, that's all."

Being the centre of all this attention was a little uncomfortable.

"I'd better get this patched up..."

Cassie quickly returned to the lower deck to retrieve the tools and equipment she needed.

[The Bushranger]

"...wow," Erin says, staring at the epicentre of the magical blast. "Far out."

...yes, she's a few fries short of a Happy Meal at times.

[Watcher]

In the awkward silence following Erin's comment, Watcher looks uncomfortable and pretended to be watching the blast area. He decides to break the silence. "So, um. Blue, was it? You weren't injured or anything in the blast, were you?"

[Blue Ghost]

((Changing speech color again. I think this one may suit me a bit better.))

No, not at all. It was just a little accident, why is everyone looking at me like that?

[Watcher]

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't realize-- was I?" Watcher, having had a perfectly blank expression after the silence was broken, starts staring at the floor and scratching his face.

[The Bushranger]

Erin tears herself away from staring, and smiles.
"Er...what spell were you trying to cast?"

[Recaiden]

The crate-folk slinks up, having been drawn by the explosion.
"Hey."

[Watcher]

Watcher takes this opportunity to silently drift back inside and fix the medicine quarters before the time is up.

[Blue Ghost]

Erin tears herself away from staring, and smiles.
"Er...what spell were you trying to cast?"

I was trying to put some wards on the ship, since I have noticed that its defensive capacity is lacking. But I'm failing horribly. Can you help me?

[Trobby]

"Mmn..."

The captain sighed to himself, pressing his hand against his face as he tried to concentrate.

"They're not going to like this, getting their shipment so late.

He stood up, pushing his heavy wooden chair away from the desk slowly, dusting off his coat and heading towards the door. It would still be awhile before the official crew meeting, and there was someone he had to talk to.

Someone I never though I'd see again... He thought to himself, walking down the hallway, examining the woodwork in the way a man might examine something when actually having something entirely different on his mind.

Rose...

[Watcher]

The clinking coming from Watcher's crazy efficient placing of the jars sounds like a distracted person having a very good time with gigantic bubble-wrap. Except Watcher does not sound like he's having a good time.

[The Bushranger]

The crate-folk slinks up, having been drawn by the explosion.
"Hey."

Erin starts as she hears a sudden, strange voice, then looks around, and waves. "Oh, hello there. You're part of the crew too, I assume?"

[EmeraldRose]

Rose heads for the galley to see if there are supplies for coffee.

It's got to be time to eat by now... she thinks, as she heads across the ship. I'd better start up enough coffee for everyone.

((Sorry for my absence all week. Work was absolutely crazy. Should have more time to play this weekend!))

[Dogmantra]

Emily giggled at the rather excessive name.
"Isn't Tobias the cap'ns name?" she asked. "I'm gonna call you Manny.

My name's Emily. Emily... Crest. Yeah, that should stick... I'm here to help out with fighting, as you can probably see." she said, looking around. There seemed to be various weapons, not counting the two katana at her side.

The bloodstain on her dress likely didn't help.

"And I guess I'm just sorta... here. I think I am helping with the navigation? Not really sure. Hey, do you want to meet Mr Doll? He wants to meet you!" He shrugged off his backpack and began to reach inside.

[Lix Lorn]

She giggled slightly.
"Mr Doll? Who is Mr Doll?" she laughed. "Sure I wanna meet him!"

[Dogmantra]

After rummaging around in his backpack for a while, he drew out a small... thing, made of what looked to be scraps of cloth roughly sewn together. A crude face made of two loose buttons and a little thread adorned an otherwise misshapen and bare head. The limbs were uneven, and there was clearly more stuffing in the left arm than the right. "This," he said, "is Mr Doll. He's my friend and travelling companion. We go everywhere together. Have done since I was five. He calms me down, keeps me in check, encourages me. He's pleased to meet you, and I think for good reason too. I'd be pleased if a friend just introduced me to someone so pretty."

[Recaiden]

They wave back to Erin, just barely. "Oh, yes. I think I'm in charge of weapons and equipment of things. Dunno about all this piracy business, but what can one do?"

[The Bushranger]

Erin shrugs. "Well, I 'do' blowing things up, usually." She chuckles. "As long as I get to do that, whatever else goes on, well, it's not too much of my concern, y'know?"

[Recaiden]

Door, as it now chooses to call itself, nods. "I know."

[The Bushranger]

"And I know you know, and you know I know you know. Good."
Chuckling, she holds out her hand, in greeting.
"Name's Erin. Yours?"

[Recaiden]

They hesitate a moment before shaking Erin's hand. "Door. Nice to meet you."

[The Bushranger]

"You too." Erin grins. "That's a pretty interesting name. Any story behind it?"

[Recaiden]

A shake of the head and a sigh. "None."

[The Bushranger]

"...oh. Well, there's none to mine either." Erin shrugs, and smiles. "So. You know weapons and equipment? What kinda weapons?"

[Recaiden]

Now she smiles. "Whatever we have." Door says, overconfidently.

[The Bushranger]

"...wicked. Guess whatever I can't blast, you can shoot up, and vice versa then?" Erin's grin is worringly big.

Erin want big boom. :smalltongue:

[Lix Lorn]

After rummaging around in his backpack for a while, he drew out a small... thing, made of what looked to be scraps of cloth roughly sewn together. A crude face made of two loose buttons and a little thread adorned an otherwise misshapen and bare head. The limbs were uneven, and there was clearly more stuffing in the left arm than the right. "This," he said, "is Mr Doll. He's my friend and travelling companion. We go everywhere together. Have done since I was five. He calms me down, keeps me in check, encourages me. He's pleased to meet you, and I think for good reason too. I'd be pleased if a friend just introduced me to someone so pretty."

She giggled a little, and blushed too.
"He's very cute." she said. "I don't have anything similar, but there is... Kaylee? Kaylee? Where are you?"

Something pink poked out of a bag, and then a pink, crystalline object popped out from it and floated over.
"This is Kaylee." giggled Emily.
"Hewwo!"

[EmeraldRose]

*finds a large bell in the galley and decides to ring it*

That seems to be working ok. Anybody want coffee or food? We've got quite the supply in here. Mostly I just made coffee...didn't see a klah pot anywhere. Figured it'd be ok with just regular coffee...

*sips from a steaming mug*

*walks over to check out all the pets*

Awww! Those are cute! What's the litte crystal one?

[Lix Lorn]

Klah, klah, klah... Magician's Guild trilogy?

"Hm?" said Emily. "In theory, she boosts psychic stuff. In practice? I still can't do a thing."

[EmeraldRose]

((Brust- The Dragaeran series))

Ah, magic's one thing I don't do. I usually hire people when I need mages. So, are you more interested in mind magic or regular magic?

[Lix Lorn]

"I dabble." she said. "Mostly, I just fight straight and simple, but I'm trying to learn psionics. Cause it's cool. Oh, and then I can-"
She stopped.

It didn't look like she planned on finishing that sentence.

Kaylee the psicrystal gave a noise that sounded like a sigh.

[Trobby]

The captain's ears perk up at the sound of the dinner bell being rung.

"Hmm? Someone's running the kitchen, already? Well...I suppose I could head down there..."

His stomach growled a little, as he turned about, making his way down the ship. He took a quick glance outside, recognizing the position of the sun to the time of year.

Hmm...it'll be sundown soon... He thought to himself, making a mental note of that as he entered the room...

In an instant, his eyes met with Rose, pausing for a moment, then proceeding in towards the crew, tossing his duster back as he took a seat.

"Evenin', lads."

[Watcher]

Watcher has since fallen asleep on the floor in the medicine quarters. The jars are neat and tidy.

[lesser_minion]

Having finished repairing the railing early, Cassie had taken the opportunity to dress up a little for the meeting.

By the time the bell rang, she was wearing a red scarf, a silky white dress (cut slightly above the ankle, but with a slit up one side), and a pair of gloves. She'd also managed to brush her hair and hold it back with a hairband.

She carefully made her way up to the same deck as the mess hall, before quickly slipping on a pair of shoes and making her way inside.

Even if the end result might be a little much given the circumstances, Cassie had decided that it would probably be worth it, if only because she could.

[Lix Lorn]

"Heya Cap'n!" said Emily, waving cheerily from the other side of the room.

[lesser_minion]

Cassie glanced nervously around the table, before echoing the greeting.

[Trobby]

"Ah...Emmy, wasn't it? Found yourself alright around the ship?"

The captain noticed Cassie enter the room, raising a brow at her choice of dress, but shrugging it off. As long as they could do their job, he didn't care what the crew wore. He gestured for her to come over and join them.

"Any of you seen that spirited girl, Erin?"

[EmeraldRose]

She was around earlier, Cap. Hope everyone doesn't mind, I just made coffee and opened some biscuits. I'm not really much for cooking. Wasn't there someone else who was coming on to be the cook?

She raises an eyebrow and looks around at the others already gathered.

[Trobby]

"Yes, I believe so." he nodded, offering a smile to her. "A little bit of coffee would be appreciated right now though, if you wouldn't mind."

[The Bushranger]

Erin, meanwhile, makes her way to the briefing table. "Sorry I'm late, Cap'n," she says apologetically, as she slides into a seat, and...

"...is that coffee?"

[Trobby]

"Courtesy of our lady Rosaline. Help yourself."

The captain hid a smile, as her surveyed his compliment of shiphands. There was that doctor, still missing, and the mage elsewhere on the ship. He'd wait for a little while until they got here...sooner or later they'd be bound to show up.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue arrives at the table, his clothes covered with soot. Apologies, Captain. The task of warding the ship proved to be more difficult than I expected, but it is finished now. Jacques le Bleu, wizard, at your service.

[The Bushranger]

"Thanks, ma'am," Erin says, as she quickly pours a cup of coffee for herself...and starts adding a massive amount of sugar to it, nodding to the wizard as he arrives.

[Watcher]

Watcher walks into the room, out of breath, trying to hide the fact that he had most of the way to the room. He nervously sits in what might be an inconspicuous corner and waits for other people to do important things.

[Trobby]

The captain took a moment to survey his crew. It was...a far cry from his military days, that was for sure.

"Well lads...and er...lasses... He added quickly. "I suppose now's as good a time as any to let you in on the secret of this little "voyage".

As most of you know the cargo that we're carrying is...less than legal. Strictly speaking, it is entirely legal to own, in THIS country.

Out of his pocket, the captain pulled a plain-looking brown bottle. For any rumpot in the nation, it would be a familiar sight, bearing the royal crown and the insignia of the king. It was a bottle of Crown Royale Rum.

"On this side of the sea, we take this sort of drink for granted." He said, while casually unscrewing it and pouring a capful into his cup of coffee. "But our good friends from across the pond have outlawed it." He took a slow sip, surveying his crew as he savored the taste.

"Not just rum either...whiskey, gin, fine ciders, all of these...and we're bringing it to them. Every crate you helped load onto this ship is stocked with four years excess of the finest beverages we have to offer."

He put his cup down, leaning in so that everyone could hear him.

"Now naturally, the Kingdom doesn't want us just carrying this across the sea where it doesn't belong. They've got a heavy blockade on the east coast, and as much as I love this ship, I don't think she'd survive a direct run-in with the Royal navy.

So, we're taking a more Northerly route, up into the frozen ice lands, then back down the middle of the nation, where we'll hit the busiest underground moonshine racket int he continent. They're just itchin' for new shipments, and when we land, they'll pay top dollar for our wares.

We raise anchor at sundown. Once it's raised, I want the engine on a half-feed of magicite. We don't want to make a big scene with our departure. But once we're out in the open, give it a double. The longer we keep our clients waiting, the less likely they are to be 'hospitable'"

The captain took a brief pause, drinking from his cup, giving his crew a moment to process everything.

"Is everything perfectly clear?"

[lesser_minion]

"Yes, sir." Cassie seemed a little more cheerful than she had been before.

[Lix Lorn]

"All shiny, cap'n." said Emily with a sharkline grin, throwing a clumsy salute.

[Watcher]

Watcher nodded in silent agreement, figuring the captain wanted to get this over with.

[Trobby]

"Yes..." He smiled back at the girls, and shrugged at the doctor. "Are you sure you're good for duty, Watcher? You seem a bit over-exhausted."

[The Bushranger]

"Sounds good to me. Feels like we're missin' somethin', but I reckon that's what port-visits are for," Erin says, the fourth wall grumbling a ltitle.

[Watcher]

Watcher looked alarmed at this. "Y-yes, sir! I... I'm just..." Watcher pauses, trying to think of how to phrase the next thing he says. "I'm just usually active at... night. I usually...take night shifts..." Watcher says, saying only half of the truth to avoid looking stupid in front of the entire crew.

[Trobby]

"Hmm...I see...if you're better suited for night duty, you'll be given a night shift." The captain nodded. "Get your rest now if you need it though, because I wont' excuse you slacking off at night, if that is the case."

[Watcher]

"Oh! Um...okay, then. Sir." Watcher stands up, but hesitates, to see if the captain wants anything from him before he goes.

[Trobby]

"If we're missin' anything now, it's too late to turn back," The captain said, in spite of the narrative-driven necessity for other crew members.

He didn't seem to have any further instructions for Watcher. So chances are he was free to go.

[Watcher]

Watcher edged out and quietly left the room in an odd and unreadable way. He can later be found in the crew quarters.

[Dogmantra]

TMJWPFvS raised his hand. "Now look here, if we're going to be smuggling 'legal stuff, can we at least get some sort of extra compensation? Mr Doll will settle for some extra food. Personally, I don't mind, but it's a little rude of you to demand my services and then not compensate me. I mean, you were very insistent." he said.

[Trobby]

"Of course you will be well-compensated." The captain replied, leaning in a little closer. "Of course, if you don't want to be a part of this crew because of our cargo, you might want to step off the ship now, because I don't much tolerate disloyalty in my crew."

Very casually, the captain tossed his duster aside, revealing for an instant a well-crafted flintlock under his coat.

"And of course...if anyone should think about reporting our shipment plans to the law, I would be more than happy to introduce them to the 'finer points' of negotiation. So, Tobias, was it? I hope I've made myself perfectly clear on this matter."

[Dogmantra]

"Now, just you wait a second." said TMJWPFvS, raising his index finger rather patronisingly. He turned to his doll. "Do you remember me saying I was going to turn in the crew to the authorities? Because I don't remember saying I was going to turn in the crew to the authorities. Besides, he was so very insistent that we join his crew, I'm not sure I could leave him, even if I did disapprove of piracy."

[Lix Lorn]

"Oh, lighten up." interrupted Emily. "He said you'll be compensated, you're not gonna turn anyone in, kiss and make up already!"

[Dogmantra]

"Oh if you insist." said TMJWPFvS, shortly before walking towards the captain and attempting to plant a kiss on his cheek.

[Trobby]

"NOW WAIT JUST A MI-"

But it was far too late, as the captain and Tobias met each other at the lips for the briefest moment, causing the captain's ears to turn back, eyes to go wide, and tail to puff out in disgust.

When it was all over, he had to wipe his lips and take a big drink of coffee to get the taste out of his mouth.

((It was too funny for it NOT to happen. <.<; ))

[Lix Lorn]

"..." said Emily, in open mouthed amazement.

She decided to file that memory away for future reference.

[lesser_minion]

Cassie smiled. It looked like this was going to be a fun trip.

[The Bushranger]

Erin stares, eyes wide for a moment...then can't help but giggle.

"Didn't think he was gonna take you literally, didya?"

[Lix Lorn]

"Really no." she admitted. "Tho, not complainin'."

[Trobby]

"RIGHT." The captain declared, rather suddenly. "Now with that...business out of the way, are there any OTHER questions?

[Dogmantra]

"Um... cap'm? Where's the toilet? Can't hold it in much longer."

[Trobby]

"..."

So much for being a brilliant navigator. The captain thought. Though the life of a pirate was usually pretty rough, a military-grade ship, even a refurbished one like this, would have at least the basic "necessities" for its crew.

"Down the hall, down the stairs, third door on your right. Go on then..alright, so does anyone else have a question, pertaining to their duties or the nature of this voyage?"

[EmeraldRose]

No, Cap. Everything seems clear.

Rose grins and after filling up her mug with fresh coffee, wanders off again to explore the rest of the ship, heading below decks to start.

[Lix Lorn]

"Nope, everything's shiny." said Emily brightly.

She then cast her mind back to the kiss, and promptly said
"I'll be in my bunk," before leaving her for her room.

[The Bushranger]

"No real questions here, cap'n. Well, except one," Erin says, pausing to chuckle and wink at Emily as she departs. "...we meet up with unknown or hostile boats, we take 'em down hard and fast or try to slip past 'em like we're honest?"

It's clear she's hoping for the former.

[Trobby]

"Let me make the plan perfectly clear. I would really prefer to pass our ship off as a reputable trading vessel for as long as possible. In order to do that, every ship that we encounter must have a neutral or better opinion of us." He grinned at her for just a moment, before going on. "Anything else would be dangerous for our reputation, of course..."

[The Bushranger]

"Awww. I guess I can live with that." Erin grins back. "Hopefully things won't be too boring, though. I don't like being too bored. It bores me." :smalltongue:

[Trobby]

"Oh don't worry about excitement, luv." The captain grinned, and gave a nearly-imperceptible wag of his tail. "I highly doubt we will avoid any sort of conflict outright on our voyage. How about you and I go down below and check on our munitions supplies? I could show you all of the dangerous things that make big explosions when lit."

[The Bushranger]

Erin's eyes light up like an excited schoolgirl's, and she chuckles, nodding. "Now, then, you're talking my kinda language, Captain. I'd be quite happy to help in checking over our stores of Big Bangs."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily popped her head back round the door.
"Explosions?"

[The Bushranger]

Erin grins. "Oh yeah. Explosions. The bigger, the better." She winks at Emily.

[Lix Lorn]

She looked back and forth secretively, and then approached Erin, and whispered in her ear in a stage whisper.
"I like explosions." she confided.

Hooray for melodrama! :smalltongue:

[The Bushranger]

Erin giggles, and turns her head to whisper into Emily's ear, with a sly wink.
"So do I..."

:smalltongue:

[Blue Ghost]

Blue sighs. You people are weird.

[The Bushranger]

"Are we the weird ones?" Erin asks, smiling innocently. "Or are those who aren't the odd ones out?"

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm pretty sure I am weird." nodded Emily.

[The Bushranger]

"We're all quite mad here, right?" Erin asks, giving Emily a wink.

[Lix Lorn]

"Haha. That too." she giggled.

[The Bushranger]

Erin giggles happily. "So, aside from explosions and engineering," she asks, "what do you like? I'd like to get to know all my crewmates better."

[Blue Ghost]

Tweedledee and Tweedledum, eh? Well, I suppose the voyage would be a bit boring without some eccentricity. Blue grins.
I like engineering too. Explosions, not so much. I've experienced them a few too many times. Drat that stupid war...

[The Bushranger]

"Well, I'm sure explosions in engineering are no good," Erin acknowledges. "Attacking a target, though...seeing that blowing up is a thing of beauty..."

[Trobby]

"As a general rule, the direction of an explosion should be away from your own ship." The captain added to the obvious notions of war.

"By the way, Mister Blue, have you had a chance to examine the ship for defensive options?"

The older model ship, blue would note, was lacking the magical defenses of modern-day ships. The shielding capacities of capital ships were of course missing, but even the sidings were not protected with a magic-enhanced hull.

[The Bushranger]

"That would be a good idea, yeah," Erin agrees. "And torwards whatever you want to have blown up," she adds with a laugh.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue shudders. When you've been on an airship with enemies trying to blow you up on all sides, you may start taking explosions a bit more seriously.
Captain, I have examined the ship. Our defensive capabilities are severely lacking, and we would not last long in a firefight. I have tried to ward the ship to the best of my ability, but it would take an entire crew of wizards to get the defenses up to snuff. Are you sure that we will not be fired upon on our voyage?

[Trobby]

"No." .........

[Blue Ghost]

Um, it's too late to turn back now, isn't it?

[The Bushranger]

"Don't worry!" Erin chips in. "I'm sure that between you and me anybody who tries to fire on us will manage to find themselves blowing up long before they can launch a second volley..."

[Trobby]

"And if our engineer is any good, we'll be sure to outrun anything that tries to blast us out of the sky. Outrun, or at least outmaneuver."

He looked around at the ship, as if he had owned it his whole life.

"She'll keep us safe...she's never let me down before..."

[lesser_minion]

"Well, I hope I'm up to the task then."

It wasn't her speciality, but she knew easily enough about magical engines to keep it running.

"I'm pretty sure we can outfly anything we can't outfight -- well, with one or two exceptions, but I don't think we'll run into any of them."

[Lix Lorn]

"Don't worry." said Emily, chiming in. "If anything attacks us, it won't survive. Promise!"

[The Bushranger]

"And I'll...second? Third? that promise," Erin says with a grin, and a nod.

[Watcher]

Watcher pokes his head out from the nearby wherever. "And we will survive, no matter what," he adds on cue, and quickly returns to what he was doing. [sleeping]

Watcher decides to not suggest the possibility of crewmembers wanting to die. That would kill the moment.

[Trobby]

~A Nameless Town~

At the base of the ship, a long tether connected the Blackwing to the docks. A faint greenish glow emanated from this taut chain.

Oddly enough, it seemed to be pulled upwards...

As the sunset drew the last rays of light across the horizon, dwindling into the twilight, Captain Tobias arrived topdeck, and gave the man on the docks his signal. With a nod, he untied the chain from its post, and it withdrew into the airship with a whir and a click.

A fraction of a second before the chain was locked into place, the Airship started to move.

At first, it merely drifted across the water, as any ship would. But slowly, surely, with the hot air lifting it by powerful cables, it rose into the air, drifting away from the water, skimming it, then rising right off, picking up speed from the wind as it drifted from the harbor.

Within the ship, Tobias gave the order for the Magicite to be loaded into the ship's engine. When it was, the ship would being to accelerate to an even greater speed, beating the wind's pace, flying away from the harbor faster and faster, rising up until it was a shape in the clouds. Then a shadow, and before long, it would be but a speck in the sky.

And so the journey begins...

---------------------------------------------------------

~Andorium, Capitol City of Eagleland~

"Javor, report."

Admiral Ike had a penchant for names. He had learned the young dog-eared soldier's name in less than a day.

"Captain Tobias has left port, sir."

"And our man is in place, aboard his ship."

It was a statement of fact.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Good. As I instructed you before, send the message out at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes sir..." He nodded, and escaped through the door, not wishing to be in the Admiral's presence for long.

Admiral Ike kept his eye trained on a point in the horizon. It was by no mistake that it was the same point occupied by the Blackwing Pirates.

---------------------------------------------------------

~The Sky~

Beneath the Blackwing Airship, the sea stretched as far as the eye could see. Even as high up as they were, the air had the taste of salt. In the early hours of the morning, the opposite side of twilight, Captain Tobias surveyed the deck of his ship.

[Watcher]

Watcher had been on the deck since the nightfall twilight, watching the horizon and sitting quietly. At first he didn't notice the captain climb onto the deck; he was looking straight into the moon with an odd look of sadness no one had seen before. When Watcher noticed his presence, he quickly bowed a little to the captain, and looked to the western horizon, unaware that the captain had seen him staring morosely into the moonlight just moments earlier.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily was in her room, taking the oppurtunity to practice swordplay. Not, for some reason, with her real weapons, but with blunt wooden replicas.

[Trobby]

The captain approached Watcher, surveying the horizon alongside him.

"A quiet night for us, Watcher?"

[Watcher]

"I guess, yeah. Not much happened," said Watcher in a way that betrayed his dislike for the captain's choice of words. He glanced at the eastern horizon and noted, "Well, it's morning, I guess. Doesn't really matter..." Watcher then looked down at the sea.

[Trobby]

"...I trust everything is well then?" He tried, more directed at Watcher himself than at the state of the ship.

[Dogmantra]

There was a banging on the door. Someone was apparently shouting from inside. The noises were rather muffled, something that sounded like "Kelp", or perhaps "Health". Suddenly, the door burst down and TMJWPFvS, walked out of the toilet, triumphantly, clutching a pair of what appeared to be small golden figurines. As he walked past the captain, he tossed the figures over. "Did you know you had these? I was just tapping out the national anthem on the wall while I was on the toilet, and it turns out these were in a little hollow hidey-hole behind the wall. How fun! Maybe you could use 'em to pay for another door." He then grabbed the wheel and casually spun it. "We're going that way!", he almost shouted, seemingly picking a direction at random.

[Trobby]

"...How in the world did you come out THAT door if you were in the toilet?"

The captain inquired this, and quite reasonably so considering the toilet was below deck, and not above it. But he likely wouldn't get an answer. Fortunately for the other Tobias, the direction he had chosen would work for the Captain's orders...somehow, he seemed to know where they were going, so he wouldn't complain...yet.

As for the golden figures...he very carefully peeled the wrapping off of them, and offered one to Watcher.

"Not sure where he found these chocolate rabbits, but I've never been a man to pass up food that hasn't gone bad."

[Watcher]

Watcher looked at the chocolate, confused. "I guess not. I'm not sure I'm the one to ask, though. Maybe the cook could tell if it's something special," Watcher said in a way that suggested he made complete sense to himself.

He doesn't take the chocolate.

[Trobby]

"Probably some special magic to keep it preserved." The captain suggested, taking a bite of the chocolate rabbit, and leaving the other one in the wrapper in case Watcher decided to try it.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily bored of practicing, and came on deck just in time to see the golden rabbits.
"Ooh! I get the bells!" she said, appearing in a bound.

[Watcher]

Watcher stepped aside to let Emily into the circle of conversation, and drifted away from the group slowly and without notice to those who weren't watching him.

[Trobby]

"Ah? Oh, you can have this whole one." The captain offered the half-unwrapped chocolate rabbit to Emily. "Watcher didn't want it, it seems."

[Lix Lorn]

"...I just wanted bells, but chocolate is good." she said happily, before turning to Watcher.
"Why do you always back away? We ent gonna bite ya."

[Watcher]

Watcher had expected this, and did not flinch at the conversation. "Hmm? Oh, I just figure most conversations go smoother when I'm not too active in them. Easier to do when I'm not very...present, right?" Watcher stayed where he was and looked over the edge into the sea.

[Lix Lorn]

"Mmmnope. Talk about yourself. Where do you come from?" asked Emily mercilessly.

[Watcher]

Watcher flinched that time. "Wh-what? Where do I...come from? Well... I am from this town, Starside, on the side of the mountain, Frostpeak, in the dwarven lands. It has all the embellishments a normal dwarven town has, so... yeah. Where do you come from?" Watcher asked, hoping to change the subject so she doesn't press the subject.

I know what the town is like, it's not a problem.

[Lix Lorn]

"Er. Me? Erm..." she said, literally stepping back, eyes darting back and forth as she critically failed her proverbial bluff check.
"Um... West. Yes. West of the port." she nodded rapidly.

[Trobby]

"That would put you in the ocean." The captain noted, this ship having just launched from a Western Port. "Care to try again?"

[lesser_minion]

The Blackwing. Middle watch.

Cassie arrived just in time to catch the last part of the discussion.

"I don't think she really wants to talk about it."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily sweatdropped.
"Um. North." she said, changing her mind. It was painfully obvious that she was lying.

[Trobby]

"...North it is then." Tobias nodded, recognizing the wisdom in Cassie's words, and shifting the focus away from Emily. "So then, Miss Cassie, where is it that you hail from, if you wouldn't mind sharing with us?"

[The Bushranger]

"Hail usually comes from clouds," Erin says, speaking up from...

Wait, where'd she come from? :smalleek:

"...oh, that's not what you meant?" she asks, with a straight face.

[lesser_minion]

"Originally? A small town up north, called Ironbridge. And you, Erin? Where did you come from?"

While she wasn't so obviously evasive, she didn't particularly want to discuss things much further either.

[Trobby]

To be fair, Tobias knew that there were plenty of ship riggings she could be hanging from at this very moment.

Nevertheless, his gaze turned upward to see just exactly WHERE she was hanging from.

[The Bushranger]

"From up in the sky, of course."

Erin, who had, indeed, been clinging to the rigging, does a backflip and lands on the deck amongst them, grinning.
"Apologies for dropping in. What's under discussion, then?"

[lesser_minion]

Cassie jumped back a little when she realised that Erin hadn't been in the empty space to which she'd directed her question.

"We were just getting to know each other."

[Watcher]

"Yeah. Apparently, all of us hate out hometowns," Watcher added.

[Dogmantra]

"So I can still navigate this thing while talking to you guys, you know. Multitasking... in fact, do you mind if Mr Doll takes over for a while? He's always wanted to do this." With this, TMJWPFvS carefully placed the small doll on the wheel, and the moment he turned around, it fell off. He ignored this. "So cap'm," he said, "tell me about yourself."

[Lix Lorn]

"I don't hate my hometown!" said Emily. "I love my hometown down south!" she said, forgetting she'd said north.

[Watcher]

"Does this mean you live to the east?" Watcher asks.

[Lix Lorn]

She blinked, shrinking back.
"...no, not east. Anywhere but east." she said.

[Trobby]

"...Let's try something other than where we've come from. How about where we're going. Any of you ever been to the Frozen North?"

[Lix Lorn]

"Never." said Emily, glad of the change of subject. "What's it like? Apart from cold?"

[Trobby]

"That's most of it." The captain admitted, his gaze set on the point they were headed for. "Cold as far as cold can go. Most of the cold is pretty high up too, so we'll be in the thick of it all. I sincerely hope you all have something warm to wear."

[Lix Lorn]

"I don't really get cold." she said helpfully. "Not even in the snow. When I was young, we'd play in the snow near the lake, and-"
She stopped talking.

[Blue Ghost]

Blue decides to speak up. Well, if it's just the cold we're dealing with, some basic thermal magic should take care of that.

[Trobby]

"Cold is the main thing, but it is not the ONLY thing we have to contend with."

[Lix Lorn]

"Will there be stuff to fight?" she said, excitedly.

[Blue Ghost]

... I was afraid of that.

[Watcher]

"I'm used to the cold. Frostpeak was very close to the Frozen North. It will be a welcome change from this heat."

[Trobby]

"Mmm...well for one..."

The captain began, but stopped mid-sentence, looking out at the horizon. If any of the crew members followed his gaze, they would see the slow-moving shape of a dark speck far in the distance, drifting through the clouds.

Touching the side of his sighting device, he focused on the point in the distance.

"...Crap."

"Mister Blue, get below deck and charge our defensive runes! Emily, take Erin below deck and the two of you arm our cannons! Grab a few rifles while you're down there. Cassie, head to the Engine room! We may need a little extra Magicite soon. And Tobias, turn us hard to starboard. NOW!"

The captain gave his orders as he passed by the crewmembers, keeping his eye set on the point on the horizon.

Anyone who could see far enough would recognize it as the shape of another airship.

[Blue Ghost]

Yes sir!
Without hesitation, Blue runs below deck, eager to be of help, and not to be caught out in the open when the fighting begins.

[Lix Lorn]

"Awesome!" cheered Emily, pirouetting as she headed below decks. "Uh, I mean, oh no!"

[Watcher]

"What should I do, sir?" Watcher asked, to the point.

[Trobby]

"Are you any good with a sword or a gun?" the captain inquired, as the far-away ship turned towards them, closing the distance.