Private Ilmea's Lament A Pirate's Life for Me

[Ilya]

(the image a bit big. but look a pirate ship. its epicccc)
​

Ilya had spent the past week gathering up as many people as she could to aid her in her quest for adventure. She had started out making a few posts at the Adventurer's Guild. It wasn't just Adventurers that looked at the board after all. Besides that, Ilya had also spent her time meeting with a few of the non-players that she had done favors for. Whether it had been to save their cat from their roof, slay a few goblins, or do everyday chores. There was a list, and she had redeemed every favor she was owed. She wanted the word spread, that she was looking for a crew. So that was why she had arrived at Ilmea's Lament, waiting for people to start showing up.

For as long as Ilya could remember, she had wanted to be a pirate. Much like all of those fantasy movies and books she had read and watched in the real world, she would become the true Captain Jack Sparrow of this game. Ilya wasn't the only one that shared in this dream, and that was why she had reached out to her best friend @Zelrius before even beginning to advertise her need for a crew. He had readily agreed to join her of course, and she would share the ship she would hopefully obtain with her friend. They were in this together.

The breeze of the sea brought along a number of different feelings through Ilya. The taste of salt heavy in the air, making her forget that this was even a game at all. If it wasn't for the fantasy features, this would honestly feel just like real life. The gentle lapping of the waves sounding below the dock that she stood on made her happy she didn't make the meeting place somewhere stupid, like on the beach. Ilya hated sand and the sand would surely somehow find its way in places she didn't want it to be.

It was around early morning, right after dawn, and Ilya only hoped that her postings and rumor-spreading skills had done well enough to bring enough people along to take down the crew of pirates she had been wanting to take on for quite sometime. So there she stood, waiting patiently.

@Zelrius @Sol @Madison Freebird @Crimson Ruby @Kaminari Arashi @Tetsunosuke @Ru Ning @Harukami @Ueno Mizuki

Spoiler

This thread will be made similar to the ways that DM threads are ran. Order doesn't matter, but each post I make will be done after everyone has posted once. There isn't a time limit, so there is no need to rush your posts (Though please post within 7 days of my post, if you can't, then please let me know). Once we get on Tetsu's ship, it will make it hard to exit the thread due to being over water. If at some point you wish to leave, you can do so after the Pirate fight. By joining this thread, you agree to me making a request to DM Spice our thread when we get to that point.

 

[Harukami]

She had been surprised when Zelrius got in touch with her so soon after their first meeting, asking her to help a group going out to sea. It was lucky she had the day off from classes offline- it meant she could meet the group in time. With any luck, she'd make more friends, and even prove helpful as a supporter! While she had gotten some practice in with her two magic classifications, Harukami always preferred to be able to lend a helping hand than to fight. So, while she could certainly protect herself to an extent, she was glad to take a background role instead and just heal people as the fight grew fiercer.

Running to a patiently waiting woman, Harukami smiled brightly. "Are you Miss Ilya?" Yes, she hadn't stumbled over her, albeit short, greeting! She internally cheered herself on. "My name is, er, Harukami. Zelrius invited me to act as a support. I like playing support, so... Is it okay?"

The woman looked around eagerly, only to realize she was the second one there. Unsure of how large the party was going to be, Harukami could only begin to sweat around her neck a little bit, as well as her palms. "Sorry, I'm honestly a little nervous...But! I'll do my absolute best to be helpful! So... Please rely on me, as I'll be um... relying on you..."

 

[Madison Mortiere]

After the commercial had interrupted her work at the bookstore, literally nothing else in the world mattered to Madison. New inventory to stock? Prices to mark down? E-reader test models to boot up and display? Payroll to manage? Nah--fuck all that. The only itch she had was to run home, throw on her headset, and dive back in and see her friends again.

Portia. Lucia. Vivian.

Ezra, who had been stuck in the game at the time of the disconnect.

...Okay, so she didn't have very many. And the questions never really crossed her mind--why was the game back all of a sudden? Why had something so shady and illegal made itself known so publicly? Where did they get the balls to interrupt what turned out to be every single computer, phone, VR headset, smartwatch, baby monitor, car navigation screen, doorbell camera, and tablet around? All Madison wanted was to take that risk of throwing herself back into a world where she actually felt like she had some control over her life--and hope beyond hope that her friends had done the same.

Of course, the quest of friendship was quickly put on hold once word got out about another pirate ship hijacking.

That's what she was in the middle of when the disconnect happened, wasn't it? Storming a ship with a group of players, throwing everyone overboard, and commandeering it for themselves? Just to say they did! There were no achievements, no titles, no fancy gear for doing such a thing. Just glory and treasure and the freedom of the open seas.

Actually, the necromancer did manage to steal the captain's coat. But, much to her disappointment, it wasn't in her inventory when she re-logged.

Now, Madison Freebird is a lazy bitch. But when she is moved to action--hoo boy, watch out. The pure furiousness at remembering that she never fully did get to the helm and say something piratey about bringing them the horizon, yo ho ho and a dead man's chest drove her with a sense of immediacy, with a sense of newfound purpose (for the afternoon), to this Ilya person who was looking to assemble a crew.

"Hello there, I understand you're looking for a crew to take a ship." The ravenette inclined her head an inch, her hands clasped firmly behind her back. "Madison Freebird. Necromancer, archivist, and--believe it or not--shipjacking veteran."

@Ilya @Zelrius @Sol @Crimson Ruby @Kaminari Arashi @Tetsunosuke @Ru Ning @Harukami @Ueno Mizuki

 

[Tetsunosuke]

From a distance, it would seem an aircraft carrier had found its way to Terrasphere. From the flat shape of the top which then tapered sharply towards the bottom, to what seemed to be a small tower near its stern, one would wonder if there was a massive gate from Terrasphere to the real world at the end of Ilmea's Lament. But in reality this was quite a small ship: the dimensions of the wide top was just 14 feet wide and 20 feet long, and the safe area to lounge which was the viewing deck was a rectangular area which spanned 10 feet wide and 14 feet long excluding the elevators. The ship looked like it have been made from patchwork metal, but under close inspection these were actually joints.

The ship then moved towards the shore, then docked at the nearby harbor. A door then opened from the backside, and then what looked like a boy scout with a red uniform came out of it, wearing a jetpack as he flew towards the beach, the door closing after he left. He then hovered over the beach, and then landed gracefully on it. He then looked at those who were present at that time, and then said, "I will be the captain for this trip, the name is Tetsunosuke. Well, until we hijack the pirate ship for ourselves." He then looked at his ship. "I think you might get cramped within there if the numbers would swell, but please bear with it, as our journey with this ship will be going to be quick. There will also be refreshments at the lower floor, so please help yourself with those."

 

[Ru Ning]

Swim trunks? Check. Flippy floppies and shades? Check. Fishing rod and bait? Check. And of course there had to be a large brim straw hat, small holes cut into it for his ears too. Eager and raring to catch some fish, Ru had appeared at the docks raring to go. His delight was quickly replaced however upon realizing the miscommunication between the two. The lepis' ears drooped ever so slightly. When Ilya had asked for his help regarding a ship, the activity that came to mind hadn't quite lined up with what he saw. "Oooi! Ilyaaa! (@Ilya) Ready to fi-- Oh… Not a fishing trip… Oooh..." Though hidden behind his sun glasses, the lepus' eyes widened with shock upon hearing something about hijacking a pirate ship.

Ru let out an awkward cough before shunting the supplies back into his player inventory, leaving out only an ice chest for beverages and a foldable chair. After opening the top, he'd rummage through it for some water before tossing a few bottles to the others (juice, water and carbonated drinks of all sorts). After resecuring the lid, his posterior then plopped onto the seat beside it as he waited for the others to arrive. "Sooo… who exactly are we 'requisitioning' this boat from? They surely deserve it, right?..."

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Getting to the spot, Ruby was quick and straightforward to go present and introduce herself.

"Crimson Ruby, ready to slice and dice." She said to Ilya, looking around to find herself a bit overwhelmed at the number of people that were around. Of course, she should've known that a quest like that would need and attract a lot of people. And by a lot of people, it meant that Ruby was going to have to socially interact with some of them at some point.

There was oooone... Two familiar faces she could see, and honestly, she should be wise and glue to them as quickly as possible so she would ensure a remotely nice social circle in the middle of that chaos of many people, but-

Really.

She wasn't going to do that, instead, she was going to be dumb and go to a corner where she could take out a fish stick that she was keeping and start to nibble it relentlessly, waiting for their time to go--

And bracing herself in case someone decided to approach her.

@Ilya @Zelrius @Sol @Madison Freebird @Kaminari Arashi @Tetsunosuke @Ru Ning @Harukami @Ueno Mizuki

 

[Sol]

Sol had been itching for places to go, new things to see, new horizons to explore- And so, when she saw a post from none other than Ilya, someone she knew, about hijacking a pirate ship? She quickly sent her a message of her interest. Not that Ilya and her were particularly close, but it was nice to be travelling with someone that she was at least familiar with. After getting herself prepared and ready for the day and for a long trip ahead of her, she set out, heading towards the meet up spot they had designated.

Upon approaching closer, Sol noticed people had already arrived- A lot of people she didn't know. One had a weird metal ship, one a more timid personality, and one with a more darker appearance. But the other three she did know to be @Ru Ning, @Crimson Ruby, and @Ilya, to which she approached the latter, "Looks like you were able to grab a fair amount of people for the job," she commented, looking at the others as she nodded in greeting towards those she was familiar with, "Hopefully it'll make it easier for all of us." It's not like the pirates even stood a chance against a bunch of actual, real players, anyway.

Glancing back towards Ruby, she looked at Ilya for one more moment, "Just let me know when you're ready to go." she nodded towards her as she said so, and then headed over to approach the small Beastkin, giving her a small smile as she approached. The two had interacted a couple of different times already, and Sol felt like she was the right one to talk to in the moment. Mingle a little, make some friends. They might as well as they kept bumping into each other, right?

"Nice to see you again... Crimson Ruby, right?" she asked as she approached, raising an eyebrow at her fish stick as she noticed her nibbling on, "Those good? Seems pretty yummy." she asked fairly bluntly, and although it might have been a silly question, Sol looked fully interested in what was so interesting about said fish stick, looking at it for a moment as she waited for the felines reply.

 

[Ru Ning]

Upon spotting the arrival of two more familiar faces, the ice chest would pop open once more. Blindly selecting two more beverages from his collection, the Lepus waved amicably at the pair while heading over to greet the two. "Here, catch! I bet you're thirsty, it's too hot out…" A single drink was gently tossed towards each person (@Crimson Ruby (coconut water) @Sol (carbonated grapefruit juice) ) as he'd crack open his own for a sip. Finishing several gulps in one go, a satisfying 'ah' sounded, lips smacking in approval.

"I didn't expect to see you two here. Small world, huh? Was I the only one that missed the memo?... Or did you two think this was a fishing trip too?" He'd scratch his ears in an embarrassed manner while looking around to get a head count. "Sheesh, there's a good number of us here, huh? How many were we expecting in total?" Ru's attention diverted back to @Ilya in hopes of an answer. Though not particularly pleased at the prospect of being crammed into the dingy like canned sardines, he had to admit that the excursion as a whole did sound rather entertaining. Having extra numbers on their side would go a long way too, a small price to pay for their safety.

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby continued to nibble her lovely fish stick, now getting distracted enough to relax for a moment. But suddenly a voice was aimed to her and she jumped slightly, the heart skipping a beat and making her hold her chest. "A-Ah, hey!" Her tail swayed sheepishly. Okay, it was one of the people she knew, less bad. God, why she had to be like that in crowds.

With a nod, she confirmed her name. "Yes! Crimson Ruby. And you are Sol." Her words sounded like less a question, and more like an awkward statement.

Before she could say anything else, another familiar voice caught her attention, and at the very least she had the agility to pick the coconut water before it was too late. She blinked surprised at it, looking up at him and smiling with rosy cheeks. "Thanks Ning." She said with a small smile, glancing at @Sol. "Yes they are tasty, I have more if you want one..." Ruby said, then glanced at @Ru Ning again. "D-Do you want too? All I knew was that we were going to sail, so I thoght it was appropriated."

 

[Ilya]

More people continued to meander their way over to Ilya, the first arrival being a cute girl a few inches taller than herself. "Yes ma'am, that be me." She gave a slight wave towards @Harukami "It's lovely to meet you Harukami, a friend of Zelrius' will always be a friend of mine. He's actually down that way, waiting for everyone to show up skipping some rocks or something... Ilya pointed her finger in the direction where, sure enough Zelrius stood... Skipping rocks. "I honestly don't know with him anymore, but whatever makes him happy." Ilya gave a lighthearted laugh before continuing, "Glad to have you on board, we always have room for a support like you!" Ilya reached out to clasp Harukami's hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze before letting go.

"I've got your back, and i'm sure everyone else will feel the same!" Ilya then offered a thumbs up, their conversation being expanded as another face showed up. "Welcome, Madison Freebird, pleasure to meet you. My name's Ilya and i'm a divine martial artist, glad to know you've got some experience. I'm certain it's gonna be useful, so if you ever have any advice for us, please don't be afraid to speak up and let me know. I could use all the help I can get." @Madison Freebird

More and more people then began to show up, and introduce themselves. The next giving an entrance that was worthy of a five star on yelp, actually managing to fly towards them. "Eyy! The man with the boat! Thanks again for offering to give us a lift. I very much appreciate it!" @Tetsunosuke

Catching a drink that had then been hurled towards her, Ilya smiled at the sight of her friend. "It's lovely to see you again Ru Ning. I'm sorry about the miscommunication though, I should have been more blunt about it..." Ilya opened the bottle and took a swig of the water, giving a sigh of relief as the cold liquid made its way down her throat and into her stomach. "Ahh, i'll give the details when everyone gets here. I believe i'm expecting... A few more...." A speak of the devil, more people began to show up. "Hello Ruby. Thanks for joining us!" Her welcome greeting was cut short as the girl meandered away to munch on a stick alone. Not everyone was a people pleaser. @Ru Ning @Crimson Ruby

The sight of another familiar face pleased Ilya, and the fact that Sol had reached out to her, made her even happier. "Thanks again for offering to come Sol. I just want to be prepared in case anything bad really does happen." Ilya was busy greeting everyone that had shown up, so she was relieved when Sol made her way over to Ruby to start up some conversation. @Sol

Being asked more questions, Ilya turned towards the direction that @Zelrius was in. "Oi! NERD! Come over here, people have started to show up! You can't just be a gloomy boy forever y'know!" She would shout towards her dearest friend before waving him over to come up to the party. "As for everyone else, I'm just waiting on two or three more people that reached out to me. Once they get here we can head out. If they don't show up soon, then i'll just shoot them both a message and we can leave regardless. I'll talk more on who exactly we're gonna be fighting momentarily, so everyone grab a drink if you'd like. Ru Ning was kind enough to bring enough to share!"

**This is not the start of the next cycle, feel free to interact with people while we wait for the rest to show up and post**

@Ueno Mizuki @Kaminari Arashi @Ajax

 

[Ajax]

Ajax raised his shield to the sky, filtering out the blinding light that pierced through his helmet. He looked up at the girl ahead of him who was meandering from one guest to the other. He waited until she finished her conversation with the blonde boy before he approached. "I has't hath heard thee wast seeking crewmates f'r thy voyage." Ajax lowered his shield, twisting his body just enough so that his eyes wouldn't be further irritated by the morning sun.

It was awfully bright today for such an early morning, but Ajax suspected that it foretold good luck on the quest ahead of them. "Mine own name is Ajax, Hero of Rome. T would beest an hon'r to square 'longside thee and defend the helpless and feeble." He stretched out his arm in greeting. "T seemeth thither's much green blood hither, like me. Would this beest thy first sail?"

Ajax felt anticipation roaring within him, the flames burning high. An opportunity for adventure means dangers on the sea, beasts and vicious humans alike to defeat. Lives would be saved and, as Ajax glanced around the ship and crew, he thought back on the stories of yore; the Greek argonauts and their hero's journey.

 

[Ueno Mizuki]

Mizuki wouldn't have guessed that one of her first experiences after returning to Terrasphere would have been to try and steal a pirate ship. She'd imagined herself meeting up with old friends, running free in the wilds, and enjoying the wind as she turned into a bird once more just to enjoy the gift of flight. Stealing a ship, however? Not on the list of expectations.

It also reminded her of something. She was quite certain that before the four-year-long break something similar had occurred. She definitely remembered fighting a ghost pirate or something while on a ship on the waters, even if it was long enough ago that she didn't necessarily remember all the details correctly. Well, four years had passed, so maybe repeating the experience wouldn't be so bad.

At the very least it meant she'd see some familiar faces once more. The wolfess made her way to the edge of the land, the coast from which she would join the rest of the crew and embark on an adventure to find some pirates, beat them up, and steal their stuff. There was something ironic about that, but it was entirely justified: bandits and pirates alike had little to complain about if they ended up on the wrong end of the stick. Or the wrong end of the claw. Anyway, Mizuki wasn't about to feel sorry for them.

It looked like she'd arrived relatively late compared to all the others who'd been invited to this journey. A group had already assembled, along with a ship that Mizuki was quite certain shouldn't exist in this world. The work of a Traveler, no doubt. Honestly, if they had such a ship available, why did they need to steal a pirate ship? Probably because of style points or something like that.

She recognized only two people from the crew that had already gathered. Ilya, the golden lioness who was spearheading the campaign. And Madison, the lady who... well, Mizuki couldn't exactly say she could understand her, but at least it was good to know there were two other veterans here to ensure that everything would proceed smoothly. Not that she doubted the eagerness of the new Travelers, but, well... it was better to be careful.

Especially because Zelrius had seemed a bit... off... when he contacted her through in-game messaging. The conversation hadn't been very long or covered any topics beyond the main request for her to join the expedition, but Mizuki still felt like she should talk to the man and figure out what was going on.

As she joined the group she heard @Ilya mention that Zelrius was a bit further down the beach. The black-and-white wolf placed a hand on her hip and looked in the direction of the blonde man, then looked back at the lioness.

Greetings to all of you. I'll go talk to Zelrius, see what's up with him.

There would be time to socialize and familiarize herself with the others later. With her tail swishing behind her she turned and walked over to where @Zelrius was, moving silently so she could tap him on the shoulder before he noticed her.

It's been four years Zelrius. How've you been?

Wouldn't exactly be a good idea to have her very first words be "What's wrong?"

 

[Sol]

Turning towards the familiar voice as it spoke to her, Sol caught the drink in her hands that @Ru Ning had tossed towards her, nodding in thanks towards him as she cracked it open herself to take a sip. Mmm... Refreshing, not too sweet, not too sour. Grapefruit? Good choice on his part. She looked up at him and shook her head. She came into the situation knowing exactly what she was getting into.

You might just be, I knew full well Ilya's plans when I signed up to help. I'm just glad it'll be a faster way to explore new places easier, which is something I know you both understand.

All of them being Explorer's League members and having worked together before she knew they would as least somewhat get her thirst for new horizons. Throwing her head back as she took another swig of her drink, she glanced around at the rest of the group once more as even more people showed up to help out Ilya and Zel. She kept quiet though, uninterested in really introducing herself at the moment as she turned her attention back towards @Crimson Ruby, tilting her head to the side as she thought for a moment about her offer, before nodding slightly.

... Yes, actually, it would be nice to try one.

Try something new everyday, right? That's exactly what Sol's whole experience on Terrasphere was, trying something new and pushing herself to be around new people. She looked expectantly upon the small cat girl, waiting with an outstretched hand for her to pass her one of those fish sticks when she had the chance.

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Madison wouldn't have known if she hadn't caught sight of her stats and loadout in the corner of her visual UI. Don't those numbers seem... a little too low? And aren't there supposed to be icons in those little boxes? Her face contorting with annoyance as she stared off in the distance (real G's knew what's up, though), she flipped open her palm interface and began tapping away. Everything was empty.

All of it.

The game forced a respec on her after logging back in after four years. All her time and effort, gathered up and put into neat little piles of skill points ready to be spent anew. Madison tutted; but maybe this was a blessing in disguise. A time for change, really. Being the "we have a necromancer queen at home" variant of Lucia Mierz never really sat well with the jealous little raven. But what would she become, with this fresh slate she was given?

"I'm sorry, did I say I was a necromancer?"

Tak tak tak-tak-tak tak tak tak-tak tak tak.

A fresh set of icons filled her skill bar, and her HP meter jumped exponentially. "I meant gunslinger."

A pair of six-guns conveniently materialized in holsters on her hips--don't ask where they came from. It's best not to think about these sorts of things. "Doesn't change that I've still got shipjacking experience. We figured out pretty quick that a full-frontal assault against pirates prepared for such things would've been a bad fuckin' idea. So we snuck aboard. Hiding in cargo crates as they were being loaded, that sort of thing. Wait until they're out to sea and busy with their duties before springing out and catching them by surprise. Or, if any of this lot here has any good illusion magic? Pirates are a superstitious lot and easily spooked. Just a couple of things to think about."

Madison looked out over the assembled squad, the crack team of absolute randomness before her gaze fell on someone a little familiar. If it wasn't the ears that triggered the memory, it was definitely the two-color eyes. "Holy shit," the necroma--the gunslinger muttered to herself as she drifted on over to @Ueno Mizuki. "Hey there. Aren't you the one who helped me learn how to druid shift years ago?"

@Ilya

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

It was early morning and Kaminari was skipping class for this. For this! she could hardly believe herself. Skipping class to raid a pirate ship in a videogame with total strangers. Her eyes flitted from one person to another as she approached, her patchwork robe fluttering around her in the breeze, one hand firmly holding her oversized witch hat to her head. Maybe this wasn't the proper attire for sailing. Still, if their boat's sail somehow malfunctions they could always hang her up on the mast to get some propulsion that way.

She frowned, catching sight of a familiar face among the sea of people. Zelrius. She quickly looked away, not wanting to draw his attention. Out of everyone in this game he was one of the few she had little interest in being social with.

There was one person who seemed to be in the center of the group, and talking to the most people. Having finally arrived Kaminari thought it best to introduce herself to their leader. As she started to approach closer she changed her mind almost immediately. There was a lot of chatter and she didn't feel like interjecting herself into that. That would be too much effort, plus many of the people seemed to know each other which didn't do anything to abate the feeling of being on her own little island. Well, if she was going to be a lonely island, she would be a confident looking one. Finding a more open spot a short ways away (and making sure to steer clear of Zelrius), she got comfortable and started going through her UI to make sure she was fully prepared for whatever was to come.

 

[Ru Ning]

With the group still preoccupied, the lepus began to curiously move about. The ship presented was rather curious, appearing to be a patchwork conglomeration of scrap organized oddly into functional form. Not sure what to make of the design, Ru paced back and forth several times before nodding as if he'd come to a decision. Hopping aboard the ship, his toes raised up and down several times, gingerly testing out the effect of his weight versus the vehicle's balance.

"Seems steady enough? Where exactly did you find one of these anyway?"

After traversing the entire length of the ship, he'd nod with approval descending to the lower floors. Peering about his surroundings, he'd glance around for the aforementioned refreshments. It was indeed as the captain had warned. Though the interior was rather small considering their numbers, the arrangements were at least short of wretched.

"Guess I'll take a seat over here. Starting to feel a nap coming on. Someone wake me up before we start please?"