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Captain Oteki sails! Though now that the course is set in and the sails have been properly tied off, "sailing" seems to mostly consist of sitting on the bow and whistling.
ST Xar has retired below decks and withdrawn into meditation to confer with Xeth about what course they may take next as well as to restore his own internal balance which he thinks might have been disrupted by all the insane traps and curses in the sunken island. Corve's seasickness has eased and he now walks the decks like an old salt with Carmine keeping an eye on him for vomiting.
ST Myrrh, being Myrrh, is prodding through the bags of loot they "aquired" in the column gallery while Oteki eyes some of the pieces with interest.
Captain Oteki continues whistling, and looking out over the ocean. He does seem somewhat interested in the aforementioned "phat lewtz", however. He seems vaguely disconcerted by the fact that someone else got to them before he had a chance to.
Myrrh is taking notes, letting snuffles cavort around the deck. "One pointed sphere, supposedly containing one ancient dragonblooded..." He jots down a description of the object, carefuly wrapping it back up.
Corve sits calmly on one of the benches. He suspects it was something entirely alien to seasickness that had him on his back, but he can't say for certain. All he knows is he was spent. Feeling better, however, he watches the horizon, and the occasional wave rise and fall in the distance.
Carmine continues lying back, ignoring the glances of people and enjoying the sun. This was certainly better than the D Bs? pokey little boat they sailed out on.
Myrrh "Bone...indeterminate origins. Found amdist 42 brothers and sisters..." he rummages some more. "Tuning fork...seemingly rusted. Might be related to ore found in same column."
Captain Oteki stops whistling for a moment, falling backward onto the deck to spend the next several minutes balanced on his hands, legs akimbo. "Ye've got one heck of a lot o'rather odd stuff, there, mate."
Myrrh "Well there was more but we were in a hurry. We'll have to go back sometime after I invent some sort of...Elsewhere storage container."
Captain Oteki frowns. "Ye may not be able to hear it, but there be a very large part o'me that be screamin' in anguish at the thought o'leavin' behind potentially profitable or at the very least interestin' loot."
ST As Corve stares out at the ocean speeding below them while the others are distracted by things on the ship he spys a small dark shape down on the water in the distance. The shape resolves into a small boat floating on the water, sails tied down and apparently anchored in place. As he watches the ship idly, thinking them fishers or some such thing he can see the blue-black-green flare of a trio of Animas aboard the ship.
Corve tenses, tilting his head as he rises from the bench and walks towards the side of the deck. "... Captain," he calls to Oteki.
Myrrh "Well I'd rather have what we have now then be stuck down there. That place needs an army of priests."
Carmine sits herself up "Corve, what is it?"
Captain Oteki 's boots make a pronounced thumping noise as he cartwheels to a standing position in response to Corve's summons. "Aye?" he replies, following the other man's gaze.
Myrrh "One Vase of blue jade..stoppered, was "dotted"
Corve points a finger at the small craft in the water, clearing his throat. "Think they're lost?" He's being sarcastic.
Captain Oteki quirks an eyebrow in response, a white-toothed grin on his face. "D'ye suppose I should call for all stop an' ask, mate?"
ST Though only Corve spotted the three animas below, everyone can see the effect of whatever Charm or power they are invoking in the skies above. The fluffy white clouds that had spotted a clear blue sky are turning dark and the stiff wind speeding them along is growing mean, grabbing at the clothes and hair of anyone on deck.
Myrrh looks at the weather and starts repacking artifacts and hurridly gathering the bags. "Rather sudden storm..." He whistles for Snuffles as he heads for the belowdecks to safely stash the many artifacts and geegaws.
Corve turns his eyes to the sky, and then looks at the captain, raising a brow. "I think we better get a move on, Captain."
ST Snuffles has anchored himself to the deck by some strange fungus-creature means. He makes mewing noises at Myrrh, unwilling to move in these high winds.
Myrrh secures the bags and the heads back outside to the poor frightened Stuffles. He probably has never seen a storm before...
Captain Oteki nervously slips a hand into the overly large gauntlet hanging from his belt, and peers at the growing storm for a moment, before turning, and with a series of bellowed orders that are surprisingly loud considering the growing din of the wind, orders the crew to "bring the Ill Omen up to full speed, me 'earties, for we're to be outrunnin' this here unnatural storm".
ST Though Ash gives it his best effort, the gaunt man is unable to bring the Ill-Omen onto a course that would steer them away from the fast-building storm. Whichever way he turns the ship, the storm suddenly begins expanding in that direction as if it were cutting off their escape. The black clouds are quickly covering the sky
ST And the wind howls like a thousand jilted mistresses out for revenge. The deck of the Omen is lashed with curtains of rain, soaking everyone to the bone in seconds.
Carmine activates magic against the cold and rain, instantly feeling better. "This storm ... doesn't look good."
Myrrh carries Snuffles along with the bags, looking a might overburdened. Still he presses on to the storage decks.
Captain Oteki utters a string of highly inventive curses in several languages, though he seems nonplussed by the amount of water he is covered in. "That be true, ma'am." he says to Carmine. "This sort o'thing only seems t'happen when I'm entertainin' passengers."
Carmine "Well, perhaps we should land."
ST Poor Snuffles is shuddering and making all sorts of pathetic noises and his mossy "fur" is blown around and soaked. He smells rather horribly bad at the moment, being essentially a lump of wet mold. Myrrh gets all green and nasty from hugging the poor creature as it panics.
Captain Oteki frowns. "Not an easy task, milady, in this sort o'weather. but... hm." he pauses for a moment. "AYE JIN!" he suddenly shouts over the wind. "Do ye think that there be anythin' ye can do about this 'ere bout o' unnatural weather we be havin?!!"
ST The little elemental flies toward Oteki, chirriping happily. He happens to be enjoying this storm greatly. He appears puzzled as to why Oteki wishes him to try to end it. After a bit of persuading and patting the small dragon lifts himself into the air and darts around from cloud to cloud, snapping and snarling at the storm to abate and disappear.
Captain Oteki smiles, and it's rather obvious how much he loves the little dragon. "I'll be owin' him a good storm once we're not flyin' through it."
Myrrh "It's alright. It'll be better once we get out of the sea and onto dry land again...although I don't think you've ever seen dry land since you've been at the bottom of the ocean all of your life." Stows away the artifact bags and tries to comfort the poor mossball.
ST Jin's efforts are instantly obvious as the black clouds turn grey and the rain becomes more gentle. The winds still howl, but now it's no more then a thunderstorm instead of a near-on hurricane. The small serpent returns to Oteki, looking very proud of himself.
Captain Oteki beams with pride. "Aye, a fine job, me boy." he says, softly scratching the tiny dragon's head. "I promise ye can bring down all hell an' high water on those boys in th'boat just as soon as we be safe an' landed."
Carmine smiles at the dragon. "He's cute. What was his name, Jin?"
ST It may be a bit early to mention safety as one of the animas, barely visible in the dark and rain, flares brighter and the thunderstorm's lightning bolts gain purpose in their strikes. As a great black glacier of light forms around the tiny boat down on the water, amazingly unaffected by the storm, a hail of lightning bolts arcs towards the Ill-Omen.
Carmine sees the hail of lightning bolts and springs to her feet from her sitting position, sprinting towards where they are about to hit and leaping up, letting the bolts strike her torso, channelling magic into her skin and disspating the energy.
Captain Oteki smiles. "Jin be me most trusted friend an' confidant, he be." he explains, before whirling back to shout at the crew once more. "The next order o'business be our survival! We need t'bring this... oh for the love o'pete!"
Myrrh is safely below decks, offering snuffles some more of the moldy bread from last time. "See? Nothing to worry about, just a little storm."
ST Myrrh's reassurance is somewhat less helpful as directly after that the bolt of lightning Carmine had lunged for jumps across her body and into the deck, leaving a smoking crater in the formerly highly polished wood. Carmine is fine, though now all her hair is standing on end and she appears to have prevented a hole from being made in the ship.
Carmine shakes her hair and watches it settle again. That was fun.
Captain Oteki "Bloody... hey!" he shouts over the water, though he's certain no one can hear him. "Stop blowin' 'oles in my ship!" he demands of no one. "Full speed ahead, lads!" he bellows to the crew, "Jin made ye a path, take advantage o'it!" Turning his gaze skyward, a sudden outpouring of Essence is willed into the gauntlet on his arm, which begins to throb with a blue. "Throwin' lightning at my ship. Bloody..." he mutters.
ST Carmine may get another chance because a second bolt of yellow-blue electricity is even now gathering in the clouds. A moment later the jagged fork sizzles towards the prow of the Omen
Captain Oteki is momentarily wreathed in blue-white arcs of light as the lightning bolt is rather suddenly diverted, the gauntlet's yellow jade discs flaring with luminescence. "Everybody's out to ruin a man's profit margin these days! Ungrateful wretches, the lot o'ye!" he bellows, raising the crackling gauntlet and taking aim. "Bugger off!"
ST A bit slow, no doubt from surprise, the attackers below take a moment to respond to their lightning being reflected back at them! But one of them does conjure a defense familiar at least to Myrrh, Carmine and Corve. A wall of ice raises itself from the ocean and interposes itself between the lightning bolt and ship. But it's too little, too late and the ice shatters under the bolt's assault. An orange glow rises from the ship for a moment until the
Myrrh sniffs the air, ozone over poor snuffles' mildewy smell. "I'll be right back I have to make sure they aren't going to get us all killed." He pats snuffles and then heads back above decks.
ST the flames are doused. It is clear that their ship has been damaged, but it still floats
ST Oteki notes that despite his orders, they still haven't managed to escape very far....then he sees Aki-Sen gesturing to him wildly that Ash isn't having any luck getting them out of the storm despite Jin's help in reducing it's fury.
Captain Oteki lets out an obviously irritated noise that can only be described as an exasperated roar. "Fine! They be wantin' me, they be gettin' me. Bring the ship into firin' range! I hope ye lads know how t'shoot!"
Myrrh walks above decks into the rain and notices the large scorch mark on the deck. "...what's going on?"
Captain Oteki "Those bastards in that there boat put a hole in my ship! If'n ye are capable of exactin' just retribution at range, me friend, I suggest ye do so!"
Myrrh "Ah...they're the ones who scared snuffles then." He gathers up his rifle and takes careful aim at the ship, trying to make it out in the storm. With the wind howling around him he pulls back on a lever on the Revolution. "I think the anti-armor option ought to do it!" The rifle starts to hum and the rain starts to sizzle as the barrel warms.
ST As Ash wrestles the Ill Omen down to firing range to avenge themselves upon the small boat Corve and Oteki have a bad feeling. This feeling is justified when Corve sees a dark shape rising from the oceans below them. In moments a ship made of shadows and cobwebs breaks the surface of the waves, surrounded by a sphere of black that holds back the water. As the shadow airship rises from the waves, the sphere disappears. But the black ship remains, han
Myrrh with one final glance back at the Omen myrrh fires at the attacking vessel, channeling his essence into accurately striking the other ships mast.
ST hanging in the sky not 200 feet away. Corve can see a familiar face leering at him from the deck of that dark ship. And a second figure, female, stands beside him.
Captain Oteki looks like he's about to have a brain aneurism. "What in the name o'the bloody blue shitstorm did ye people get me into?" he states flatly.
Myrrh "...I'd suggest taking the wheel before the mummy kills your pilot and your servant girl!"
Corve "You don't want to know," Corve tells Oteki, skidding his way along the deck towards Carmine. "We have a problem, love."
Carmine "I can see that. There isn't much I can do from over here..."
Captain Oteki does not need Myrrh's words explained to him. He takes off running to take control of the ship and order his harried and soaking wet crewmen into the hold. "Today is not addin' up to be a profitable day." he mutters as he takes control of the ship.
ST Myrrh's attack is met with one of Falling Darkness's blades. As the sword arcs through the air it cuts a hole in Creation and the bullet is sucked away into the Void. The bandage-wrapped pirate laughs.
Myrrh "As if this week hasn't been bad enough..."
Corve "Tell me about it."
Captain Oteki is pretty much just steering the ship and shouting curses at this point.
Xar`Rex pops his head up from the hatch, "What is happening?" He demands, as he pulls himself up on deck.
ST Over the still-raging storm, Falling Darkness calls to Corve, "You thought you'd escaped me, didn't you little lamb? Are you fool enough to follow me for your revenge?" His dark airship turns and starts to sail away, out of the storm and towards a blur of land on the horizon. An island on the Inner Sea.
Corve blinks a little. "... Escaped you? This is the second time you run away."
Myrrh "...we aren't fool enough..are we?"
Xar`Rex blinks in confusion, "When did The Black One get here?"
Myrrh "Well there was the ship with the lightning bolts and just as we were going to shoot back he appeared and taunted us...and he had a woman with him."
Captain Oteki steers the Ill Omen away from the scary evil-looking airship with the creepy people on it who deflected bullets with swords.
ST Around them the thunderstorm is abating and lightning no longer seeks out the Ill-Omen's deck or her crew. Looking below, the three animas have gone dark and their owners have disappeared from the damaged little ship.
Carmine scowls after the airship.
Xar`Rex "The island is surely a trap." He sniffs, shaking rain off his scales to little purpose. "I could go look..."
Myrrh "I rather doubt he's just going to stop chasing us though..."
Myrrh "Especialy since he seems to have a bit of a crush on Corve."
Corve "It's my charming personality."
Captain Oteki continues coaxing the ship away. "I don't know about the lot o'ye," he calls out, "but I'd much rather avoid any sort o'traps until after my ship be safely docked, aye?"
Myrrh "If you think we can avoid him and the storm tossers..."
Xar`Rex shrugs
Captain Oteki calls his crew out from their hiding places, and gives orders for full speed toward Brume where they were going in the first place. "We'll see about that, now won't we?"
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