2020-09-08 Sail the Open Seas
Sail the Open Seas
Participants: Chryssa Crow Hafsa
Storyteller: Victoria
Location: On the seas of the Near Dreaming off the shore of Point Vicente
Date and Time: September 8th, 2020 10:00AM
Summary: A brief struggle with pirates brings our intrepid crew one step closer to finding the hidden shipyards!
< Victoria >----------------------------------
It is a bright, sunshiny day in the beautiful oceans of the Near Dreaming, and you have just set off on an adventure. The ship is a beautiful double masted schooner, captained by a short, bearded Boggan with thick bead tufts on his cheeks that make him appear almost like his craggy face is furry. Ragged ears, the left with a hole chewed out of it, do not do much to offset this estimation. He walks around with a pipe in hand and a tricorno n his head, squinting at everyone as he parades about.
Twelve sailors are aboard, handling the sails and stowing goods. There's one nocker-built cannon as well, of which the captain seems incredibly proud. "So! We've seen pirates to the west of here. If we sail out from the coast toward the islands chances are we'll see a ship or two hiding out among 'em. They're bigger'n us but we've got a cannon. But the Baroness has said our goal is to get you lot onto the shore so you can scuttle the dockyards if we find 'em, and report back if we can't. Seems easy enough, aye?"
As the Captain speaks, the wind begins to pick up speed, the ship almost leaping through the waves. "I am Captain Avarosa and this here is the Lightning Glory. We'll show them the glory of her lightning, by Gods!" He lifts the pipe and points upward theatrically toward the sky as his Bunk is complete.
"So, I wanted to talk to ye three about something the others ain't to be knowing. Aye?" The Boggan lowers his voice as he comes close. "It's about Phil, the Baroness's kraken. He's been acting a wee bit strange. There's a horn in my cabin fer calming him, but don't... Feed him or nothing. Aye? Used to be we'd use that horn to get him to come after pirates. Not so sure's such a good idea now."
< Crow >------------------------------------
Crow has stowed what little she brought along for the trip already and is simply appreciating the sun on her face and the fresh sea air. It says something about the Sidhe that going on an adventure to stab pirates is what she is calling a holiday from her usual duties of.... going on adventures and stabbing Darkborne nasties. She nods amiably to Chryssa with a beaming smile, to aspen, she is less forthright, offering a simple greeting and another nod. Her presence in the dreaming here having confirmed her theory about the Woman. She raises an eyebrow at the Boggan, replacing her own tricorn atop her head as she does so. "Strange how, if you don't mind my asking?" Probably for the best they not summon him. She really didn't want to have to explain to the Baroness why her sea beasty was down a number of arms when she returned to the shore.
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
Aspen is out here looking like a purple penguin amongst the suit-and-tie kind. Jeans and a t-shirt, rounded ears, and no tricorn hat. Absolutely out of her depth in every way imaginable, except for the way she is eying that prized cannon. She nods slightly to the bearded Boggan, trying to stay out of the way of the crew as they scurry about the ship. How did she end up here, aboard an imaginary vessel called the Lightning Glory? Right, lost that bet at the pier to a Pooka.
Anyway.
Crossing her arms against her chest, the kinain perks up at the mention of an underwater leviathan. Because of course. A kraken, named Phil. She rubs at her eyes, momentarily wishing she was stuck in LA traffic instead. Her husband was going to kill her. Well, if she makes it back, that is. The only familiar face is Crow, and that's a stretch to even say so; she inclines her head to the Sidhe.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
"When did he start acting up?" 'acting up' Chryssa says, as if the gigantic creature is a misbehaving puppy or recalcitrant child. "Could it be connected to all the quakes and upheaval since Dulcinea....?" She leaves the question open, the memories of friends covered in blood and running for her life still too fresh to really want to think about. Still, she grins at Crow's greeting and throws a mock salute at the Sidhe. Her voile today looks like nothing less than a classic pirate shirt from the golden age of hollywood swashbucklers - huge puffed sleeves, lacing at the throat, and long enough to almost be a short dress on her. Sparkling white for now, that state of affairs is unlikely to last. Her red hair is braided and relatively well tamed for once, how long that will last is up for debate but she has certainly tried.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
"He's been, well, angry. Phil is normally a nice gug, toss him a net of fish sometimes..." Captain Avarosa shrugs his broad shoulders. "Can't explain it. Ever since things started going-" He points the pipe at Chryssa and nods. "Aye, lass. Seems that's the way of it. The Trods failing, Phil becoming vicious... All seems to be connected, not that I would know the way of it. Still. Let's keep an eye out for pirates and enjoy the waves." The Captain begins to walk away but then he pauses and flashes Aspen a brief grin. "Go on, check out my cannon. WE can go look at it together, in fact." So saying, the Boggan gestures for the jeans-wearing kinain to follow him with two stubby fingers and heads over to the purple barreled seaborne artillery piece.
You soon leave Point Vicente behind entirely, and are out among the emerald waves of the Dreaming. Green and blue seagulls circle overhead and schools of flying fish follow in the wake of the ship. A few seals, too, are out in the water this far. Otherwise, the world seems... Almost a little too peaceful?
< Crow >------------------------------------
Crow lets out a sigh at the news, but can't bring herself to be too surprised, either. These days, everything seemed to come back to the Fall of the Caer and the Trods ceasing to work as they should. She nods firmly as the Captain suggests to enjoy the waves, moving towards the front of the boat. Her medium were blades and armour, and while she had a familiarity with modern firearms, she wouldn't know enough to appreciate anything beyond the cannon beyond that it made a big boom and would probably save her life before things were done. Her gaze flicks over to it. Or maybe kill her. Definitely one of those two. As she settles towards the front of the ship, standing at the railing, she squints forward with a "Huh." she nudges one of the passing sailors, nodding towards the patch in front of them. "What's the story with that?" looked almost like light off of a fishes scales, now she thought of it. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, cause surely someone else would have noticed it if it were a problem, but even still.....
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
The Satyr has been unable to stand still since they set off, shifting from one rail to the next trying to take in everything from the fish to the seals to the exact way the sunlight glints off emerald green water. Now however she pauses, one hand shading her eyes as she looks upward and frowns slightly. Chrys glances around the deck to see whether anyone else is noticing the shift in the quality of the light beating down on them. "Captain Avarosa..." It was probably painfully gauche for some landlubber to be pointing out a possible change in weather to a seasoned captain, but that had never stopped Chryssa before - apparently picking bitch fights with the Baroness's wife was not appropriate on first meeting either...
She gestures upwards once she has the Boggan captain's attention, that bank of darkening cloud being indicated by her pointing finger as it drew nearer.
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
The auburn-haired woman glances at Crow and Chryssa, shrugs, and follows right after the Captain towards his heavy artillery piece. A little dated by about 200 years, give or take, compared to what she was used to, but beggars couldn't be choosers. As she tracks over and pulls aside it, Aspen takes a long look from cascable to muzzle, noting the vent on the monstrosity. Also, the gunpowder looked like a pile of Pixy-Stix powder, not anything she had any memory of ever seeing resembling gunpowder. Her hand runs along the barrel, noting the lightning bolt etched in the side. Did this belong to Harry Potter? "Where is the shot?" she asks, walking studiously around the thing in quiet contemplation. The whump-whump-whump of water against the wooden hull feels misleadingly soothing.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
Avarosa, as it turns out, is pretty distracted, chattering about the history of his cannon to Aspen now that she has joined him in examining it. "And that dent is from when my great grandpappy used this 'gainst the Ottoman Fae after Gallipoli-" He seems to be pretty invested in this cannon of his., to be sure. He does at least stop when the young woman asks questions. "Ah. Shot? Lass, there's no shot for a cannon like this. Tis a lightning gun!" He points at the the 'pixie stix' powder. "Lightning grains. One pinch in the pan and a flame to kick her off, then... Boom." He spreads both hands and grins.
Avarosa looks like he might be about to launch into another line about the history of his cannon when Chrssa and Crow call out to him. He tips his hat to Aspen and begins making his way back across the ship. "That's a good catch on them clouds. They're acting strange, for sure. Shouldn't be coming up so fast. As for the water..." He leans over and squints at it a bit.
"Seems like it's just the fish getting riled up. Usually, they're pretty calm but they're all swarming about the ship, see that? ...Hm." The Boggan inhales deeply, through his nose. "And the air is changing. Maybe they're spooked."
< Victoria >----------------------------------
A dull chill is settling over the ship. The cawing seagulls have taken off in all directions save for a single steely-eyed bird who seems to be landing on the taller of the two masts instead. Only one of the seals is nearby still Sailors in the rigging near Chryssa have stopped to stare as well. The cloud has expanded slightly, becoming more obvious as the storm starts to settle in and block out much of the light from the sun.
"Captain, what are we going to do about this weather? We've still the wind at our backs, but..."
"Aye, I see it." The Captain is raising his pipe again, and the breeze once more picks up... And then it falters. The ship starts to slow. Avarosa arches a brow and looks up, frowning. "My winds?" He sounds more annoyed than confused.
< Crow >------------------------------------
Staring up at the gathering clouds, Crow can't help but lament her current inability with certain magicks. While she has no doubt the captain himself is versed in the relevant arts, a smattering of Primal or Skycraft would have likely been a great help in augmenting his own abilities. This, though. This felt like intent. Her hand fell to the top of the blade belted at her waist, her lifelong companion. She had a feeling they would be dancing again before long.
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
"A lightning gun," Aspen says flatly, because she isn't sure she heard the Boggan correctly. At his earnestly proud posture she relents, taking it at a regrettable face value. Her eyes flick to the weapon, a new consideration forming there. "It shoots lightning. Of course it does." Her eyes flash over the lumpy chop of the sea and she shakes her head as if to clear it. Collecting some of the raspberry blue powder isn't hard, and it sure does smell like candy, but here she hesitates when enough is piled into the flat of her palm.
She isn't really paying much attention to the frenzied fish or water, content to take up an ancient iron funnel to pour the blue coolant-colored crap into the bore before tamping it down with a skinny wooden pole through the business end.
"Anyone have a torch?" she inquires, patting her pockets, checking for a Bic lighter. Cursing that moment when she realizes all too late that smoking would have been a good habit to have, at least now, Aspen casts about for a flame source. The ship is noticeably flagging; she spots a nearby lantern on a hook and makes a quick jog for it.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
"That's not a regular storm..." Chryssa's voice rings out from somewhere high in the rigging, the nimble satyr scrambled up the ropes and spars with an ease that matched the most experienced sailors and is happily leaning out over nothing with only one hand wrapped around a rope for balance. "Smells like Skycraft, someone knows we're coming and isn't too happy about it." She glances down towards the deck. "Captain I think we're in for some 'fun'...Buckle up everyone!"
< Hafsa >-----------------------------------
There's a clatter from belowdecks, and a stone statue of a woman wearing golden armour comes up the steps. Hafsa is buckling the chin-strap of her helmet as she steps on deck, and she brings fire with her; her eyes are flickering flames, bright in the lowering gloom.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
When Chryssa announces for people to batten down everything immediately goes to chaos. The wind picks up with a roar, drowning out much of the shouts from the crewmembers in the rigging. The ship rocks on waves that hadn't been there in moments past, and the emeral water laps up onto the decks, soaking eveyrthing in moments. More clouds are forming, and they are heading toward the ship with an unerring speed and accuracy. Among them is what appears to be a ship about the schooner's size.
The newcoming vessel flies a black flag on the first mast, a handful of Fae on the decks with swords and crossbows pointed toward the Lightning Glory. There are only about six of them but they seem to be pretty sure of themselves. They are led by a tall, dark-haired, dark-skinned Eshu woman with braided hair and cold eyes. Before much more can be seen, the ship lurches wildly again.
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
Aspen's gaze swiftly darts over to Chryssa, something akin so a slow worry worming its way into her expression. She works faster, opening the glass lantern and peering inside to discern if the light is faerie or not. Out of nowhere comes an armored woman with flaming hair and blazing eyes. Cursing herself for taking up that stone skipping contest with the Pooka at the pier for the 419th time that day, Aspen finds a stockpile of unlit torches in a barrel nearby along with some greasy whale fat. Going OG 1800's on this number, yep.
Within the blink of an eye, Aspen is holding onto the back of the cannon and getting hit with a hard wave of water. Sputtering, shaking the wet lengths of sodden hair out of her eyes, the kinain squints past the itch of brine on her pupils to regard the encroaching skull-and-bones vessel with belated horror. Clapping a hand over her mouth to recall the sudden onset of nausea, she grips her lantern and continues to quickly work on lighting one of the torches.
< Crow >------------------------------------
As things fall to shit, Crow lets out an excited cheer, riding the suddenly bucking deck with little in the way to denote effort. There's little she can do in the meantime till the ships close distance, but her blade clears it's scabbard in anticipation. All that was left was to dodge the crossbows till then.
< Hafsa >-----------------------------------
Hafsa, capitalising on circumstance, finds herself thrown against a wall; she cushions the impact with an arm, then reaches up to grab one of the props of the railing. Being soaked doesn't seem to have put out the fire of her eyes, but she's not looking overly happy about it, and getting wet when you're made of sandstone is always slightly gritty.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
Chryssa grins, she might have been far happier to get through this without having to fight anyone but since they've come to her...For now she is simply keeping watch, working out whether her elevated position can give her any insight to be shared with those on deck. One arm is wrapped around the slender top of the mast and her feet are fixed firmly to the spar beneath her, idly she wonders how the pirate vessel would react should its own mast suddenly become a mass of writhing foliage. Best wait until they are a little closer for that though.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
More water splashes over the deck as the ship rocks agian, but somehow the adventurers have kept their footing. The crewmen are much the same. Grimly determined, they all seem to be used to the wiles of the ocean. Many are braced on walls or have grabbed a stray rope to keep themselves in place.
There's a scream and a redcap falls from one of the sails, crashing into the deck with a crossbow bolt feathering his leg. He might be dead, judging by the blood stain, but you can't tell just by looking at him, splayed at an awkward angle on the boards.
Aspen struggles with lighting the torches, hampered greatly by the rocking and the water. Whale oil will hold a blaze even in the ocean, but first one needs a spark, and regular flint might be a hard sell right now...
Chryssa neatly dodges a crossbow bolt, as does the Dame of Swords, and then the opposing crew is reloading their weapons. A motley assortment of dangerous looking Changelings. All save the Captain are ragtag and scarred, clearly ready for a fight.
"Surrender any cargo, and especially that cannon, and I'll let you go!" calls the Captain in an unnaturally booming, powerful voice. "I have no desire to sink you and no need for another ship. Let us aboard. You have my word that I will not harm anyone else provided they comply!"
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
She has all the components needed, technically - one unlit torch, whale oil, and a lantern still flickering merrily. Aspen douses the end of the wooden touch in the thick fat and sticks it through the open hinge of the glass lantern, hoping to transfer the orange-yellow flame inside the lamp. Another wall of water engulfs her from the waist down as it surges over the handrail of the ship, and she wonders again what kind of sick cosmic joke landed her in this sordid play.
A pitched squall has her head jerking left as something hits the deck heavily; ever expanding eyes float over the the embedded crossbow bolt. From there her vision track down the bloodied leg and the wet, twitching muscle exposed through the gaping wound.
The torch catches fire just then, redirecting her desperate attention back to the flambeau in her hand. "Thank god," Aspen breathes, wet and cold and wanting no part of any of this. With no cares left to give, Aspen prepares to light the 'lightning' cannon.
Here goes nothing.
< Hafsa >-----------------------------------
With the grappling hooks starting to fly, the deck is a lot easier to ride; Hafsa steps clear of her wall and draws the greatsword from her back. Holding it before herself two-handed, with the point uppermost, she starts to chant - and it's not English she's chanting in. Sparks and smoke start to flicker around her as she her voice rises higher, spiralling upwards towards the clouds; flames rise to engulf her as she just about shrieks the words, then die back to flicker over her form as the sword lowers to point at the other ship, her voice dropping to a gravelly growl. One doesn't need to understand Arabic to understand the promise of violence to any who stand against her.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
"Funny," Chryssa yells back, "You don't look like a Pooka and we've got a man down already!" A broad smile spreads across the Satyr's face, spelling trouble with a capital T for anyone who knows her. She draws in a breath and begins to...sing? shout? Something. It's a British punk track cum sea shanty but the Sex Pistols, "Ahoy scurvies, listen to this then!
It was on the good ship Venus
By Pan, ya should've seen us
The figurehead was a whore in bed
And the mast, a Kraken's penis
The captain of this lugger
He was a dirty bugger
He wasn't fit to shovel shit
From one place to another
Friggin' in the riggin'
Friggin' in the riggin'
Friggin' in the riggin'
'Cause there's fuck all else to do!"
It went on in a similar vein describing the Captain, his first mate, and his wife...All the while Chryssa is pulling in glamour and eyeing up the planking of the opposing ship's deck.
< Crow >------------------------------------
Crow oofers the Eshu an Elaborate bow, the Crossbow bolt that had been sent whizzing their way whizzing harmlessly by overhead as they do so. "I'll have to beg your forgiveness, I'm afraid we're presently discinlined to acquiesce to your request." she gestures grandly towards the crew of the Pirate vessel "In return for your kindness, allow me to rejoin in kind. Surrender. Now. Any who do will be brought back for a fair triel, and no harm shall befall them from our hands on the Journey. Resist?" here she pauses, theatrically. "Well. You may not need a new boat. But I wouldn't say no to one."
< Victoria >----------------------------------
Aspen gets the cannon lit and the purple barreled monster begins to crackle and seethe as it ignites. She feels static in her fingertips and hairs stnad on end. The weapon is ready to fire.
At the same time, grappling lines are tossed across, the enemy shouting battle cries and invectives as they ready their swords. Captain Avarosa lifts his pipe again and shouts, "Prepare to repel boarders!" Crew members with swords and cross bows are streaming up onto the deck from below. It seems like you outnumber the enemy handily.
"If you'll not surrender it's the sword then!" The enemy captain calls as Chryssa's song echoes across the field --- and then the deck of her ship erupts into clusters of slimy seaweed and vibrant red sea floor flowers. It clings to people incessantly. Several slip and struggle with it, unable to join in the initial assault.
Still, it looks like four of the pirates, and the captain herself, are jumping across! The seaweed never even touches her, in fact. She jumps as it arises and crosses the distance between ships without ever being touched. Avarosa retreats a little, sword in hand. He is *old*, after all.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
Having not accomplished all she might have hoped with the wild growth across the pirate ship's deck, Chryssa is resigned to having to get into actual combat. For all her talk she has a soft heart and doesn't like killing, it's one of the reasons she went vegetarian early on. As she slides down the rigging hopping from position to position with ease, something catches her eye, another patch of sparkly fish and...."Heads up folks, grapples to the rear. Attempted ambush!" Then the cannon goes off and the water sparkles with more than just fish scales, one of the grappling hooks vanishes again and Chrys winces.
< Hafsa >-----------------------------------
Hafsa's greatsword is a blur of movement. Fast and brutal, the fire-eyed statue with the golden glow pivots, her sword smashing down on where she anticipates the pirate will be - but they aren't there, they're right where they started without having moved. Hafsa, rather surprised by this, changes the angle of her swing; the flat of the greatsword's blade hits the pirate instead of the edge. Hafsa stares for a moment, then shouts, "Pay attention!"
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
There isn't much to do but to light the antiquated iron lung before her. The grappling hooks digging into the side of the Lightning Glory were reason enough to not fail in this endeavor. The kinain throws her weight into aiming the cannon at the offending starboard hull of the pirate ship before stepping swiftly to the side. From there Aspen brings the torch down to the vent at the top of the wheeled weapon, waiting for the catch.
Dark smoke begins to fissure up like water spouting from a whale's blowhole, warning enough for her to step back and clap her hands over her ears. Bombs away - er, lightning. As the cannon .. crackles .. Aspen watches expectantly, one green eye cracked open while the other is clenched shut.
< Crow >------------------------------------
As one of the Pirates jumps overboard rather than facing the Scathach with her blood up, the Woman in question just turns to her remaining opponent. "Huh. So he was the smart one then?" before she lunges forward, blade singing in her hand. The pirate is almost frozen in place, trying to process his comrade abandoning him and the Psycho woman in front of him. He barely has a chance to twitch as, with a flick of her wrist, she opens his arm from wrist to shoulder. Say what you will, he probably wouldn't be picking up a sword any time soon.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
Aspen's cannonry is more useful than she might have anticipated, as fish rise to the surface... Only for Chryssa to call out that there are people, in fact, boarding the ship from the schools! Maybe that miss was a stroke of luck? Avarosa has a crossbow out, which he aims at one someone trying to climb the rigging. He squints and puts a hole right through their chest, puffing his fuzzy cheeks. Like the pirate, a crewmember leaps off of the ship to avoid the enemy Captain. She finds herself confronting Crow with a cold stare. "Sidhe filth. That's a nice sword... I'll enjoy its use after we're done here."
And Hafsa has to deal with a pirate covering his head and crying. The guy next to him kicks him once muttering, "Dude! Stop embarrassing yourself..." The second pirate confronts her with a raise blade.
< Hafsa >-----------------------------------
With a grimace of disgust, Hafsa turns from her cowering target to the pirate next to him; her sword descends on the left hand of her new foe, and they spin away screaming. With two enemies who aren't being very enemy any more she turns away to head to the back of the ship. Rather than spoil Chryssa's fun, she casually brings the greatsword down on two grappling hooks, smashing them and denying the people at the other end of the ropes the chance to climb aboard.
< Chryssa >----------------------------------
Having spotted the group preparing to cast grapples at the stern of the ship, Chrys had moved to deal with the problem, two down and one...She drew back her fist to plant one squarely in the face of the potential boarder - it might have worked just a little better if she had accounted for the solidity of a boggan's jaw... The enemy grinned in her face as Chrys shook her fist out, until Hafsa strode towards the pair and started hacking grappling hooks to pieces anyway. Between that and the fact that he seemed to have noticed that Crow's duel with his Captain was not going so well for his side he was hopefully rethinking his life choices.
< Crow >------------------------------------
As she is confronted by the Enemy captain, she merely offers them a small beatific smile. "If you think you can take it, by all means; come and test your luck." What follows is a rapid exchange of blows that see's the captain recoiling, a thin trail of blood splattering the deck. The Scathach Errant, on the other hand looks completely unruffled by the exchange, the slight smile she'd been wearing since the combat began growing maybe an millimeter the only visible sign of contentment.
The Captain snarls as she notices, going in for another pass as the two circle each other, swords carving glittering arcs through the air. And yet, even then, as they seperate once more, Crow remains visibly unhurt by the exchange, her attention focused utterly on the Eshu before her. The final pass ends no better, as with a deft twist, Crow disarms the Eshu captain, sending the sord careening to embed in the main mast, the Eshu has a brief moment of fear before, with a lunch, crow's blade takes her clear in the throat, piercing through the back of her neck. She Sidhe lets out a long breath through her nose. "I offered you clemency." she closes her eyes, withdrawing the sword, leaving the Eshu to fall like a puppet with it's strings cut. "May you have better fortune in your next life, that we might cross paths on more friendly terms." She deftly flicks her blade, sending a spatter of blood from it's length, before resheathing it.
< Aspen >-----------------------------------
Aspen grabs more of the neon-blue powder, races to the end of the cannon's muzzle, and uses the iron filter to shove more of that sickly sweet sand down the hatch. Using the stick to tamp it down, she moves back to the front and uses the torch to ignite the vent again. The cannon crackles with electricity and then recoils at an arc of blue frisson leaps between the two ships.
Time slows, slips, and then burning wood and a strange BZZZT sound hits the air. A large, glaring black hole in the hull is a result, along with a great intake of seawater as the pirate ship lists towards the starboard side where it took the square impact.
The cannon recoils, knocking Aspen to the ground. Staggering to her feet, the kinain watches in muted wonder as the smoking void catches fire, the hungry conflagration roiling up towards the cloth sails. The ship is sinking quickly below, burning up at the top.
< Victoria >----------------------------------
With the Captain in custody, bleeding out but soon to be saved by the determined magic of a Faerie healer, several pirates captive in the hold, and the ship remarkably no worse for the wear, they set off into the ocean. On the way, they would interrogate the captives and seek the secret Pirates' port while the ship behind them sank beneath the waves.
