Private Ilmea's Lament Treasure Island

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The events of the previous night were a bit of a blur, as far as Brutus could remember. He'd been celebrating something, parted ways with Toko as she'd logged out, and continued the party going. Some refreshments were had, perhaps too many based on the throbbing of his headache and the clear memory of not knowing what had happened.

Getting drunk in game was a dangerous game, his blackout had followed him into the real world. His last memory was taking a drink as Brutus and then waking up as Olivier. He'd avoided the IRL hangover, but now he was paying the price.

His mouth was dry as sin, tasting like it was full of sand as he rolled over, finding himself on a beach. Water lapped at his toes as the time was coming in, sitting up, he found himself in the same red trunks he'd been fishing in and nothing else. "Fuckin hell Brucie, we gotta take better care of ourselves." Brushing some sand off him, he would take stock of himself.

His perfectly chiseled torso was free of any unplanned tattoos or fresh wounds. His skin was slightly sunburnt, but other than that he seemed mostly unharmed. Next up he would check his UI and glance over his need bars and inventory. Unsurprisingly his bars were dogshit, the only one doing alright was energy, the rest of them were dangerously low. He would pull out his waterskin and take a sip, browsing through his UI for some leftovers of Tokos meal from last night he'd saved.

Making a mental note to curb his drinking habbits, he paused as he stumbled across something unusual. Pulling it out of his UI, he found himself holding what could only be described as the piratiest treasure map to have treasure a map. Looking it over, he would squint a bit, he would need a compass to orient himself, and to know where the fuck he was.

Speaking of.

He would look around to find himself standing on the quintessential desert island. One singular coconut tree atop a small hill of sand poking out of the ocean.

"God damnit Brucie, we're about to quit drinking."

He would turn and scan the horizon, spotting a small ship.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!" He would shout out, trying to wave it down, after a moment it dawned on him that he could launch a flare with his pyromancy, raising his hand into the air like a finger pistol and shouting off a large ball of fire.

"I NEED HELP."

As the ship began to approach, he pulled out Toko's dish and began to eat. Might as well get that hunger bar up so he could deal with whatever was to come next.


@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

The cool sea breeze, the salt that could be smelled in the air, the sound of waves breaking against the ship. It really was all Charlotte had imagined it to be! Her very first voyage was already proving itself to be a major success, though perhaps in a different way than most would imagine. There was no destination, no goal. All the girl wanted to do was test out how well the repaired ship could hold against the merciless sea. It was doing great! Ronja's help really did end up invaluable.

It was perhaps a twist of fate then, that the winds would carry a desperate voice along with them, inciting a pause in the captain. She was the only crew as of this moment, given that Ronja and Delice were not online, and she did not manage to recruit anyone else quite yet. But whatever it was, the girl would surely manage by her lonesome self as well! Steering the wheel, she shifted the direction in which her vessel was going, quickly spotting the tiny island to the side. And a small figure atop it as well.

"Sheesh, who even—err— Blimey! A lost soul amidst the waves! A maroon..?"

She had to practice the proper lingo if she ever wanted to fit in the with the pirate likes of Goldbeard. It was a process, but she was slowly getting into it! As she arrived near the tiny patch of land, she'd eye the figure that appeared to be a stranded man. A hunk of a male, beastfolk as well. He'd made a fine sailor indeed.

"Ahoy there! Ye an abandoned Tar, perchance? Marooned by yer crew for being improper?"

She figured she would start with a bit of questioning. It was not wise to take strangers onto one's vessel! What if he tried to take over? While Charlotte hated to admit it, he did look strong and would likely steamroll her. She was still a newbie, after all.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Abandoned...tar?" The giant would blink twice stunned at the pirate lingo from the woman as the ship approached. "No, I'm a lost starcalled. I appear to have had quite the adventure last night..." Having put the treasure map away before she arrived, he would shrug a bit.

"Too much to drink after going fishing on the Petunia it would seem. Blacked out and I don't remember much. Next thing I know I'm waking up here on this island, stuck somehow. Not quite sure."

He would eye the ship, and then the woman atop it. She seemed small, tiny compared to him honestly, so he would need to play it careful. She might get spooked and fuck off, leaving him here on the island to figure out somewhere to go.

"Look, I'm a platinum rank member of the Adventurer's guild if that means anything to you about my character. If you give me a lift back towards the mainland I'd be forever in your debt."

To accentuate his point, he would equip his dog tags that would dangle in the divot between his two mountainous pecks. He was a bit out of his element, not used to feeling so...vulnerable.

"Whaddya say?"

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

He was a player, that much the girl figured on her own. She certainly wouldn't expect a Lander to be stranded in such a place and more than half naked. It might have been a pleasant sight, but it certain aroused suspicion. Which was never a good thing out here!

"A tarthreesheetstothewind, hah! Likely better than bein' marooned. Ye are not a wretched soul yet."

The whole adventurer thing did not really mean anything to Charlotte, she was too new to the game to be familiar with the different factions. That said, players generally did not have any bad intentions. Unless they'd mistake the girl for a crazed Lander, which was not out of the question.

"Eternal debt? Tis' a dangerous game ye are playin'! Are ye ready to pledge ye's very soul to Davey Jones?"

Her speech might have been ominous, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. She essentially didn't want to get scammed by a player that could make use of her ship and then run without any payment, never to be seen again.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Davey Jones?" The man would raise an eyebrow. "I don't think I'd do that, but tell you what..." He would reach into his UI and pull out the treasure map. "I did manage to somehow snag this in my stupor. I have no idea if it's nearby, if it's already been found, or if there's even treasure where X marks the spot buuut." He would give it a little waggle.

"We can go check it out if you know the area well enough to help me find where it is. If we find it I'll split the gold with you, forty five percent for me and the other fifty five for you eh? Payment for you giving me a lift and helping me out of a bind? Sound good to you?"

He was teetering on whether or not this was an actual player or not. He knew some people like to Roleplay, like his adorable little sister who was larping being blind, but most people would usually drop the facade enough to let another player know they were a player and not a lander. On one hand, he could just ask her, but if she were a lander and he asked the wrong way he ran the risk of giving her an existential nightmare.

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

Direct payment, now they were talking! Much better than being owed a favor and then having trouble actually collecting that favor in the future. Though it was hard to see how legit that map looked from a distance… oh well, she would demand some other payment if it turned out that it didn't lead to anything! Given the status of the man, she doubted he was capable of steering a ship, so she had the last say. And speaking of last say…

"Make it sixty to fourty, and ye got a deal, tar! And ye will behave when on me ship, else the fishes will get fed today!"

If he agreed, then he was free to climb up the side of the sea-borne vessel and get on board. The girl would even try to help him up, though that was quite unlikely. Not to mention their size difference would mean that lifting the man up would be near impossible for her, even with some physique-bolstering masteries.

Still, she was pumped! Her first treasure and she didn't even have a crew yet! Actually, if they were to find something, she could use it to pay some people or invest it back into her boat. Oh, it was all coming together now!

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The giant would eye the short woman towering above him on her boat as she took extorted a greater percentage from him. Sure, it was negotiation tactics, but really? An eyebrow would be raised as he would simply squat down and jump up, a jet of flame igniting under his feet to boost him upwards and over the railing of her ship. He would land with a thump, his bare feet smoldering slightly as he righted himself to tower over her.

"Sixty forty is highway robbery, but I'll agree to those terms on the understanding that if the real treasure if the friendship we forge along the way you won't go charging me an arm and a leg for the cruise."

This woman talked a lot of talk, but somehow he got the sneaking suspicion that if the two did end up trading blows it wouldn't be him feeding any fish. Still, he didn't intend to have to deal with her unless she intended to deal with him.

"That all being said, where the fuck even are we? How close is the mainland?"

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

As the man jumped, Charlotte would quickly take a few steps back to not risk being squashed by the giant quickly approaching her. That said, as he landed, his size was about the last thing that would intimidate her. Considering the method he chose to boost himself up, she had a whole lot of other trouble on hand at that moment.

"Ghaaa—what are you doing! Step, step, quick!"

Considering the trouble she had gone through to get this hip into working order, she was rather careful with anything that could damage it. And that did indeed include burning feet that could possibly leave charred marks. Putting her hands together, she would conjure a large bubble of water that she would quickly toss at the man's feet to extinguish them.

"Bah, what I get for allowing a sea dog like this on me ship… whatever. We be some few hours away from land at full speed. But now… the map! I need it to navigate us to… wherever it may lead!"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The water would hiss and bubble against his feet as they flash cooled, steam billowing off them. The giant would crack his neck, beckoning the map from his UI and passing it along to the short woman, taking the time to glance around the ship. He was impressed that she'd managed to run the whole thing seemingly by herself, but he'd seen crazier in this game.

"I wouldn't even call me a sea dog, more like...a fire cat. Either way, I'm not used to this whole sailor thing and sea shenanigans. I was out here for an event and things got a little..." he grimaced a bit. "Out of control. I don't even know how the hell I managed to get several hours off the coast in my stupor, let alone how I managed to get a treasure map."

He would let her glance over it and see if she could discern anything about the location of the treasure, giving her ample time to do any orienteering that may or may not need to happen.

"Any ideas?"

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

Charlotte certainly did not appreciate this man's behaviour. Sure, he might have been really large... muscular... probably powerful... incredibly sexy... but that did not mean he could act however he wanted on the girl's ship! she was the captain so her word was the law. And if he wanted to fight her because of it, then he'd have to swim back to the shore, unless he somehow knew how to operate the entire ship.

"Yer 'freshness' can be smelled miles away so ye better obey the captain's orders, or we will soon meet again in Davy Jones' Locker."

Hoperfully that was clear enough for him. As she snagged the map and studied it, she at least confirmed one thing. It did indeed belong to the Goldbeard crew. What a twist of fate that she would now be helping someone who obviously helped the pirates lose in the fishing competition! This would not stand! She should just leave him here to rot with whatever other skeletons were already buried on that tiny island! But then again...

Pirates lived free, unbound by common law. Giving up on a botty just because she wanted to avenge her fellow pirates? No, Goldbeard would surely scold her for such actions. She had to seize the oppertunity! And, as things would have it, when the fox was helping the pirates after the competition, they had taught her exactly how to interpret such treasure maps!

"Aye, should be able to find this here treasure. Do us a favor, help around the ship! The sails first!"

For a bit, she would run around with Brutus, instructing him on how he could help her run the ship so they wouldn't take forever reaching whatever it was that the map had marked.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The giant would watch her closely, squinting slightly as she threatened to meet him in Davy Jones' locker if he continued to be "Fresh" with her. "Aye aye captain." He would give her a salute and upon her command he would begin to work the sails for her. While medieval ships weren't exactly his thing, it wasn't like Brutus was flying entirely blind either. Between a couple years of sailing during summer camp with the scouts as a young lad, and the fact this his reenactment troope had a sister troope that did pirate battles that he was occasionally allowed to join in on when in the area had given him enough seamanship to be of assistance rather than be a hinderance.

"If you don't mind me asking." The giant would ask as he finished tying off a line. "Why are you out here running this thing by yourself? Where's all your crew?" He would raise an eyebrow at her. "I'm gonna take by the fact that your pirate lingo feels kinda stilted that you're starcalled too, did your crew log off for the day or..."

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

The moment Brutus addressed Charlotte as the 'captain', the vixen's entire behavior changed. It was as if a spark had been lit inside of her, stars of excitement now shining in her eyes. She was still awfully new to all of this, so having others willingly become part of her crew (even if this arrangement was temporary) made her happier than anything! Perhaps it would be okay if they didn't find anything, since now she at least had a fond memory to go back to.

That said, the line of questioning did manage to steal some of that wind from her sails, especially as the man managed to hit the nail straight on the head. Unsure how to respond right away, the girl continued fiddling with the wheel before their course was set correctly. Only then would she look to the left, then right, and finally back at him with slight rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Errr… yeah… one had to go and do something else… the other… our time zones don't align super well, so she's gone as well now…"

Well, this was embarrassing. She even wholly dropped her attempts and speaking like a true pirate. Still, she continued a bit more.

"Ship's freshly repaired from being a complete wreck, so I just wanted… to test her, experience the adventure of sea…"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Hey no shame in any of that." Brutus would reply, pausing to admire his ropework before turning to look back at her, leaning on the mast. "The fact that you found a ship like this and repaired it from being a wreck is pretty impressive." He'd give the mast a nice pat as if to accentuate that point before pushing off it and walking closer to her as she stood at the helm.

"And people come and go, it doesn't mean that they're not your crew or your friends, people have lives outside of this game oddly enough, and sometimes they're busy. Hell, I haven't seen my teammate Corsair in ages, but that doesn't mean we're still not Team Gundame. If you're new to this you will find more and more crewmates as time goes on, and you'll forge plenty of cool memories adventuring with them."

A warm smile would cross his lips as the wind fluttered this his salt crusted hair. "Now then, how long till we get to the booty eh? If this is the ships maiden voyage that probably means this is your first treasure hunt, which makes this a monumental occasion."

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

The praise regarding her ship was well taken. Even Charlotte had to admit how impressive Ronja's help was in terms of turning a near-wreck into a fully functional vessel fit for this sea. And with their ambitions and access to magitech, it could perhaps be fit for even more than just the sea one day. But that was all besides the point! The praise was appreciated, but the way he started talking after, it was almost as if he viewed the fox as nothing more than a mere child! Granted, her body was almost faerin-sized, but she was adult through and through!

"Oi! I'm well aware of how that works! It's obvious that people won't dedicate all of their time to the game and to my ship. Hmph, that'll change once I recruit some Landers. And anyhow, respect the captain or you'll be thrown overboard!"

She didn't mean the last bit, of course. Not like she would be capable of something like that, given the sheer difference in size between the two players. She just wanted to feel like she was really in charge, even if she currently just had a boat with no crew and one rescued Starcalled. As for their destination, they were getting close now. A small black dot in distance indicated that the island was drawing closer and they'd be arriving soon.

"Mm, it is a big occasion! If we continue at full throttle, we should be there in a few minutes. Don't remember how big the island was, though..."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Yes yes, whatever you say Captain." He would give her a wink and a mischievous grin that conveyed perhaps a hint of playfullness alongside the offered respect. "And once you get your landers you'll be a force to be reckoned with I'm sure."

He would watch to the dot that was growing larger and larger in the horizon as they grew closer and closer. "How big could this island possibly be? And how hard could it be to find the treasure eh? It's probably buried under a pretty obvious landmark, or like, thirty paces away from a landmark eh? Isn't that how this pirate stuff normally works?" He would turn back to the expert in all things swashbuckling and raise an eyebrow to accentuate the question. He hadn't really bothered to look the map over, so he didn't know what quite to expect honestly, and was hoping the woman had some light to shed on the nature of their quest.

Perhaps it was a little foolish, or even careless of him to put it all on her, but he was in fact nursing quite the hangover and honestly could care less about details of planning and plotting, and would rather worry about getting the job done on instinct alone.

@Charlotte Ann Marie

 

[Lily]

Becoming a force to be reckoned with was a given! Charlotte had some big dreams when it came to her new life in this game, and after witnessing just how close the match between a single crew of pirates and an entire ship of players was, she decided to become just as good as Goldbeard and his lads and lasses. It would take some doing, but she was more than willing to put in the effort. Not to mention that she and Brutus were already heading for a treasure of some description - a good start to such a journey!

That said, as much as the vixen looked the map over, she wasn't quite able to make out some of the details. It didn't appear to be in the best of conditions, to begin with, salted air causing a number of vital information to fade away, barely even recognizable. Thankfully they had the most essential info they needed - the location of the island.

"Err… looks to be on a smaller side? But pin-pointing the treasure might be harder… there is also a skull and crossed bones next to it. An animal skull instead of a human one, too. Wonder what that means."

Well, regardless of what the icon indicated, they were practically at their destination. Even if the island was on a smaller side, it was no pile of sand in the middle of the sea like the one Brutus had found himself on before. If an architect tried hard enough, he would probably be able to fit a whole small town on top of this thing!

Pullum Insula
✦ A lost treasure island ✦​

As soon as they were close enough, Charlotte would give the order to lower the anchor. Looking over the visage of the island, she got the strangest of feelings in her chest. Was it excitement? Nervousness? Fear? All of those combined into one? Possibly. Still, a grin adorned her face as she walked over to the railing and leaped over it.

The beach-covered sand was quite pleasant. With the sun shining and water sparkling, one could reasonably assume that this was a beach by some kind of resort. But outside of Charlotte herself, and Brutus, it appeared there was no other sign of life to be had anywhere around. At least until the fox made a few more steps ahead, looking over to ensure the large man was following her.

Bones. Countless bones would suddenly start jutting out from the sand and shaking a bit before they would expose what was going on. The island was cursed - as was the case with many islands that hid some kind of treasure. They were never just ripe for the taking! Picking a place that provided natural defense was just smart planning. And so, the two had now found themselves against an unlikely adversary… an army of undead chickens!

Undying Poultry
✦ True terror made manifest ✦​

"Um… I've not got heat stroke yet, right? Am I seeing this right? OW! One just pecked me!"

@Brutus Dahlgren