Voyage of Vengeance

[Wolfsong]

Just saying, I hope none of you do this in real life...just saying...not sure why.

Soback...a tiny island in the middle of the Citnalta (get it?) ocean. Its people are strong in the way of their craft. Namely, anything to do with the sea. They are a reculsive people, engaged with their own customs and loathe to meet with the outside world unless truly necessary. All are friends with their neighbor, and all is peace.
And then...they came.
From out of nowhere pirates came and sacked the village, taking many captive and leaving only the dead behind.
Or so they thought.
Some of the people remained, alive, after evading or escaping the carnage in varied ways. only a handful remained, but they were filled with the strength of anger, and the desire to rescue those held captive.
The people on the Steadfast also hold the strength of desire, the wish to return home. They must stand together, if they hope to get through this. For now, they must wait to meet the captain, and learn what he intends their fate to be...

Some of you may remember this, and I hope you remember it fondly. I'm hoping to successfully finish it this time, so we'll just see what happens, eh?

Character Sheets:
Name:
Age:
Personality:
Ability: Be creative; its one of the reasons you're on this trip, and it might save your life. however, if you don't want to, I'll give you something. that should be a good incentive...
Where: Basically are you on the ship, or the island

And that's that. A max of four people allowed for everyone. Also, no characters under 11, please. Now for my sheets.

Name: Barret Soback
Age: 21
Personality: Wild and a little thoughtless sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.
Ability: He can transform into a massive water dragon, also known as a sea serpent. He is strong when in a water environment, but fire and massive amounts of ice can drastically weaken him.
Where: On the ship

Name: Aldis Heiss
Age: 25
Personality- Cold and brooding, he will hold a grudge to the end of time. single-minded. Some believe he's mentally disturbed. At the same time, he can show a surprisingly gentle side, though such moments are few and far between.
Ability- He can control people's minds, perfected to such a degree that he can control multiple minds at once. The longer the time period and the further the victim, the weaker his control his and the more likely the person to escape.
Where- On the ship

Name: Aliera Fae
Age: 16
Personality: Light headed, but kind and gentle. Cares about her friends, and won't back down when she makes up her mind.
Ability: She can create illusions that are real if the person seeing them believes them.
Where: On the island

[Oddood198]

Didn't want to just copy/paste, but there wasn't much to do, so here goes.


Name: Erin Teralin

Age: 16

Personality: Erin is a quiet kid, you could say it's just shyness, though. He doesn't often speak to people he doesn't know, and has a tendency to sit around in empty corners of a room rather than around others.

Ability: He's magnetic. It's a passive thing, he can't turn it off, though he can control, to a certain degree, how powerful the effect is as well as focusing it more on certain parts of his body.

Where: The ship.

[Wolfsong]

Kinda understand what you meant, but I had so little time, I just did a little fine-tuning...
Anyways, accepted and welcome back. Find yourself a spot and hold on tight.

[Mullet Death]

First time trying anything like this >_<. Go easy on me. I wasn't sure how detailed to get.

Name: Maximilian N. Cobalt

Age: 27

Personality: Max didn't really belong with the pirates-- piracy had just been another job to him for booze money and to meet women (even though he never actually met any), and eventually the actual piracy, or rather everything that goes with it, wore on his conscience. This wannabe womanizer spends more time lazing around drinking rum and trying to hit on women than doing whatever his job happens to be. Actually kind of a shy dork in social situations. Though guilty of many things, he's too good-natured and meek at heart for his line of work.

Power: Can make people mysteriously forget about him and what he was just doing by wearing his mask. Doesn't appear to work on people who know his full name. Incidentally, if relevant to this, he is otherwise rather skilled in the sneaky arts like pickpocketing and lockpicking when he can be bothered.

[Wolfsong]

This....looks pretty good Mullet. Alright, I will accept the character sheet, and welcome aboard!

[Wolfsong]

Hey guys, head's up, the plan is to start this next Sunday. There will still be time for new entrees and players, I'll let you know when the door closes.

[DecooPunk]

Name: Eowyn Evinere
Age: 17
Personality: serious and sort of naive. Is basically friendless, but is on good terms with everyone she knows. The main reason doesn't have friends is because she is rather awkward and feels like no one would want to be her friend.
Ability: she is able to shoot ice out of her hands and form things like swords and what not. She is also stronger than the average human. Like a Asgardian.
Where: The Ship

(Just realized I left where out.)

[Wolfsong]

Great character Decoo! Welcome aboard!

[Mullet Death]

An addition:

Name: Kristina Azukanuu
Age: 19
Personality: A typically gloomy, distant, and quiet girl. She buries herself in her horror and thriller books and quickly becomes hysterical when forced to engage with strangers in public or enemies in battle. Usually refers to herself in the third person as "The Dark Lord" because she thinks it's cool. Cares deeply about the few people close to her but would never admit or allude to such a thing.
Power: Can open up portals to a pocket dimension that drags in seemingly anything but herself within a small radius. This severley damages all aspects of her health when used succesively with no healing or cooldown time. The ill effects are random, but, again, become worse during extended periods of use, ranging from a severe rash over her entire body to bleeding from her eyes, ears, and throat, hair falling out, or even infarctions for example.
Where: The ship

Edit: A second addition!

Name: Elizabeth Azukanuu
Age: 69
Personality: Incredibly and unnaturally bubbly and energentic for her age, but she is not to be crossed, lest you take a boosted ladle to the top of the head. This warm, friendly, motherly grandma will do anything to help out her family and neighbors and makes a pretty mean stew. Her only current concern is to protect the people of Soback in every way she can and help them rebuild.
Power: She can amplify her strength and/or size to monstrous, even ridiculous proportions for short periods. Such boosts last about five minutes and require ten minute rests. Between boosts she is just a very spry 69-year-old. When sverely out of energy from repeated boosts and/or when wounded she is a typical frail elderly woman.
Where: The island

As before, if anything isn't very lore- or canon-friendly let me know, and I will happily try to make it better.

Second edit: In case there was any confusion, these are two different characters, not a reimagining of the same character. xD Elizabeth is Kristina's grandmother.

[radical edward]

I haven't done this in a long time.

Name: Zephyr Lewis
Age: 17
Personality: Zephyr is a fun-loving person who dreamed of adventure and wanted to pursue a career as a musician.
Ability: Flight
Where: ship

[Wolfsong]

Wow, I almost never see older people in the rpgs. Good character Mullet, and she's on the island too. Great, I was starting to think I'd play that one all by my lonesome.

Accepted Rocky - or should I call you Rad now? Either way, you're both in!

[Wolfsong]

-Barret - Aldis -
When he first opened his eyes, Barret was instantly struck by an incredible headache. The light was painful so he closed his eyes again. He focused on listening, soon placing the sounds around him. Loud creaking and the sounds of waves. Familiar sounds, well known to him. He was resting on wooden planks, he realized, and something bound his arms to his sides. He wasn't in a position to check his legs. He was confused. Why was he tied up? Had he done something to offend Boatmaster Regal again?
Then, slowly, the pieces started coming together. A raging fire, fighting in the streets, a man coming at him with a sword, trying to change, trying to fight, and explosion of pain on the back of his head, blackness, a sea of darkness...
Why was he even still alive?
He sat up, wincing as his entire body ached in protest. He opened his eyes slowly, staring about himself. He could just see the still forms of his people around him, some he knew well and others no so well. He could make out Aldis next to him. Aldis was awake, staring at the ceiling through half-lidded, tired eyes.
"Aldis?" he croaked, his throat dry and voice hoarse. "Where are we?"
"Aboard their ship, obviously.'' Aldis turned his gaze to Barret, continuing. "The pirates have taken captives for themselves."
Barret groaned, blinking heavily as his eyes painfully adjusted. "Great. How many?"
"I have counted five of us here. We are a poor force to turn against the pirates."
"But we have a different strength," Barret replied with sudden vigor. "We have powers, while they are ordinary men! We can take them down and take the ship for ourselves!''
"We can't let others see our powers," Aldis reminded him forcibly. "You remember what our elders have said. In old times we had many instances like this, where people attacked and tried to capture us, force us to use our powers for their desires. We had to move to a new island, our home now, as you should know. We can't let them find us again."
Barret slumped against the wall. "Great. So what do we do?"
"Wait for everyone to wake," Alis answered, laying back against the floor. "Then we can plot together of how we'll take the ship, and keep our identities secret."
Barret looked sharply at him, but the red eyes of his neighbor had closed. HE glanced at the ceiling, then leaned back against the wall. "Wait, he says," he murmured. "While we get how much further from home?!"

OOC- I'll post for islanders later. If you post before I do Mullet, they're in hidden passages built for such occurrences.

[radical edward]

Zephyr was awakened by the commotion. He got up from his bed and came out on deck. He listened silently, hoping no one had seen him yet.

[DecooPunk]

'Ow,' Eowyn thought, 'Am I sick?' Eowyn blinked and shook her head, sitting up, She looked around the room at the several other people laying on the floor of the ship she was in. 'Oooh, right. Pirates. Attacking. Yay.' She turned to the only awake looking person. "Hey. This is interesting yeah?"

[radical edward]

Zephyr looked up at Eowyn. "Huh? Um, yeah I guess. Beats my life before I got aboard, at any rate."

[Mullet Death]

A girl sat with her head buried in her legs in the corner near Barret. She didn't initally react to the stirring of the others. After Zephyr and Eowyn's attempts at humor she lifted her head away a few inches. Her face was completely obscured by her oddly straight locks of deep black, but one of her jade green eyes burned through the veil. "The Dark Lord shall make them pay," she croaked, not bothering to clear her throat.

She returned to her previous state, prompting a few puzzled looks to be exchanged between the other captives. She gave no indication that she was listening as everyone jumped slightly at the arrival of voices across the hall. A pile of rags in the opposite cell causally pleaded with a disinterested guard.

"Now, have a heart, Fondswerth! The rum's run totally dry up in here, see," the rag-pile whined, lifting his filthy, empty bottle. "Now, is this any way to treat... a former crew member-- nay, a valued guest?" He groaned and hiccuped a little as the guard howled with laughter, banging his own bottle aginast the bars before taking a swig.

"Back off it! I reckon you're only still around because Cap'n's got summin' REAL special lined up for ya," the incredibly fat Fondswerth jeered before biting into a greasy chicken leg in his other hand. He washed it down with another swig and gave another hearty laugh with his mouth full.

"Worthless drunk," he muttered audibly as he turned toward the other cell. He made eye contact with Aldis, giving him a wicked chicken-filled grin.

[Wolfsong]

-Aliera Fae-
She stood there beside the listening hole, her ears perked for any noise. Finally, she said, "I think its clear," to the people with her, and opened the mossy trapdoor. She squinted as the sun shone in her eyes, then climbed out. The wind blew through her sapphire hair, filling her with emotions she had not felt in hours. She also felt heat, and anger, as she stared at the remains of their home.
It was a ruin, a mass of burned buildings and charcoal. Whatever was still standing was either still burning or smoking.
"The light have mercy on us," she murmured. "What has happened?"
She stepped from the hole, going further down the hill. There had to be other survivors, other people besides herself. There were multiple ways of hiding that they had devised years ago, in case of such things happening again. Her father had told her about all the hiding places, and made sure she knew them by heart. Now she had been forced to make use of the forest one.
Something caught her eye, and she looked out to sea. There, she could see the bright red sails of the ships that had attacked her hometown. Three of them, and all probably carried members of her people. She knew they had, she had seen several captured herself. She felt a pang as she remembered seeing her fiance, Barret, struck on the back of the head. The only thing that had kept her from leaping to his aid was the forceful hand of her father pushing her away.
"I will save you," she whispered. "Barret, and everyone else they have taken. I will not let our people be enslaved again, no matter what it takes!"
But for now, she knew she needed to find others. Everyone knew of all the different hiding places. She would just have to search each one until she had found everyone left. As she started out, she prayed it would be an ample number, or the rescue mission would be much harder.

-Barret Soback -
The village was burning. Everywhere you turned, sparks leapt out at you. The sky was blocked out by pillars of smoke. Trees collapsed, houses crumbled, and all around him people rushed about in panicked frenzy. Their screams filled the air. Dark shapes bearing torches and weapons ran with them, killing, so much killing.
Barrett couldn't get his bearings. He knew instinctively he had to fight, but in the maddening chaos he couldn't get through the haze in his mind. He heard a scream directly behind him, someone calling his name, and he turned just in time to catch the falling woman, a babe clutched in her arms, blood streaming out the open gash in her back. The infant screamed, and Barrett's own cry merged with it. "MOTHER!"
Clutching the child to his chest he charged at the man behind her, his body beginning to transform. He was suddenly struck from behind and he collapsed. He found his gaze locked in the dead woman's own. The child was snatched from his arms, though he tried to hold it. His vision was going black, he felt hands on him...no, no, NO!

Barret sat bolt upright, waking from the frightful nightmare. The force of his momentum carried him forward and, without his hands free to save himself, he landed on his face. Grimacing, he withheld from groaning and worked himself upright.
"The Dark Lord shall make them pay," a voice croaked nearby him. He turned quickly, startled, then saw the girl in the corner. She seemed untied, and...a little odd. Perhaps groggy from a blow or something was Barret's guess.
"Hey," he said. "Care to help me out a little here?"

-Aldis Heiss-
Aldis ignored Barret's plea for help, noting with interest everyone's position in the cells. He, Barret and the odd girl were in this cell, and three others occupied the one next to them, judging by the voices. The one just across housed a rag-pile of a figure, who was talking with the guard currently. Asking, nay begging, for a jug of rum. Aldis's lip curled in some revulsion, and he met the jailer's eyes with a dark one of his own. Fortunately, the man moved on, carrying his stench with him. Aldis glanced at the man across, who seemed to be grousing about being deprived.
He stood, using his hands which he had worked free a time ago, and walked over to the bars of their cell, glancing down to see if their jailer was out of the way. The passage being clear, he glanced at the rag pile with some degree of condescension and disgust.
""Former crew member" eh?" he repeated. "And just why in Hades are you down here? Did you get dead drunk on watch or what?"

[Mullet Death]

--Max Cobalt--
Max let out the awkward but sincere laugh of a drunk as he replied "Ah, see, it's not quite like that all that. It's... complicated," he said in a manner that made Aldis wonder if it was only complicated for an idiot.

"These guys didn't take a liking to me gettin' in the way of their b'ness, ya know?" he offered with a clumsy wave of his hand. For a second, he became eerily serious as he hinted, "They really didn't like me interfering with the bussiness involving you."

Without missing a beat, he resumed his previous stupor with: "Anyway, I suppose we're all in a bit of a pickle-- the whoie lot of us down here eh?" he chuckled, as if the idea of captivity mildly amused him.

"But, you know... that hypocrite Fondswerth should hold on to his belongings a little better....pffft!" he said, pulling something shiny from his ragged overcoat and snorting in the way that only drunks laughing at their jokes do.

--Elizabeth Azukanuu--

Elizabeth had never felt anything like this in all her many days. She scambled about every pile she could find. She was exhausted but didn't dare stop tossing remains in her desperate search for even a moment. Stopping meant facing what she had known as soon as she had crawled out of the tunnel with the others. Stopping meant acknowledging that she had failed as a grandmother. Stopping meant that Kristina was gone.

With the adrenaline fading and her power wearing off, Elizabeth tossed a charred piece of building much too large for a grown man to lift to the side. She slumped against it, shaking, and clenched her chest in wonder at the oddly tangible pain of loss. She pushed back off the ruins of her home, fighting back dry sobs and turned to face her approaching neighbors.

"Aliera! ALIERA! Kris-Kristina! Is she with you!?" she screamed, but she knew she was grasping at straws.

OOC: I'm sincerely sorry for not posting earlier! >_< Not to make exscuses, but I can reply in this rp pretty much every day from now on if need be; my last day of school for the semester is tomorrow, so I'll have lots of free time to write this and some other personal projects I've been cooking up. Honest!

[Wolfsong]

OOC - I'm so sorry for disappearing again guys. I...I feel terrible.

-Aldis Heiss-
He snorted, glaring down at the rag pile that was supposedly a man. "Your involvement, eh? Or your lack thereof." He shook his head, disgusted with the drunk...former pirate. His next statement made Aldis raise an eyebrow.
"We? What, you're taking our side now?" Even as he spoke, he was considering. The man had light fingers, and foreknowledge of the ship, its occupants, and its cargo. Of course, he was a pirate and undoubtedly a liar, cheat, backstabber, and crook. A fool too, perhaps, though he had his suspicions about that.
"Alright," he said slowly. "We it is. When we escape, we may save you from your crew mates' mercy, if you prove useful that is."

-Barret Soback-
Barret glared at Aldis and dark-lord girl; apparently neither intended to help him. Grimacing, he struggling with his hands, eventually managing to get them in front of him. He leaned forward, once again almost face-planting against the floorboards, and began tearing at the bonds with his teeth. Even in human form, his teeth were unnatural sharp, and he shredded the rope in minutes. Managing to shrug off the rest of it, he gratefully stretched his cramped muscles.
"I would imagine your 'dark lord' is the one who engineered this," he remarked sourly to the girl. "Honestly, those tales from the mainlands are so stupid. Why do you bother with that crap?" Without waiting for an answer, he raised his voice and asked, "So who else do we have here, besides Mr. Stuck-up, dark-matter-for-brains and the pirate?"

-Aliera Fae-
She glanced about, a little dismayed at the destruction surrounding her. her mind was struggling to process all that had happened. Sow hen she was suddenly grabbed by someone frantically asking about a loved one - Kristina, Aliera thought she heard - she had no clue how to respond at first.
"hey, its okay, she probably took shelter. There were plenty of other hiding places," Aliera reminded her, somewhat weakly. Her dad, was he still alive? "My dad...you haven't seen Boatmaster Regal, have you?"
After a moment, she took Elizabeth's hand. "Come on," she said softly. "The ocean hideaway is near here. Lets check there next."

[Mullet Death]

OOC: Good news everyone! I'm still technically alive!
Wolf, if I don't reply in here when I should for a day or two, PM me lol. It'll force me to pay attention. I'm being serious; it helps. I can easily forget to browse a forum, but I never ignore an email notification.

-Max Cobalt & Kristina Azukanuu-

Barret and Aldis were clearly disgusted by his very existence, but if this discouraged Max at all, he didn't show it even a little. He stood up and brushed himself off, coughing and hacking. He held the newly pickpocketed shiny object where Aldis and Barret could see it more clearly, letting out a toothy grin and a "tee-hee." Sure enough, it was the key that was going to get them out of their cells without immediately stirring their captors elsewhere on the ship. Looking to the left and right in a way that deceptively suggested he had no idea what he was doing, he reached through the bars and let himself out. As he headed for Aldis' and company's cell, he noticed Kristina for the first time.

"Hoho, who's this little cutie now?" he said, jumping a little. Kristina turned her head ever so slightly but said nothing.
He leaned awkwardly against the bars of their cell and continued: "So uh, yeah. What's a nice girl like you doing in a cell like this, sweet cheeks?"
"Uh," she stammered for a moment, then managed: "An idiot comes to harass the Dark Lord."

[Wolfsong]

OOC - okay, now that I have your permission....XD

-Aldis Heiss-Barret Soback-
Aldis watched as the man came over, and just happened to lean on the bars near him. But, naturally, he was distracted by the girl behind him. Aldis's taut mouth took on a deep smirk as the man talked, or tried to talk, with the girl.
"You," he said slowly, his hands moving fast. "Are an interesting, but unfortunately human, person." Suddenly, he slammed the door open, but only enough to bash the x-pirate in the back of the head. In a second he was out and had him by the collar, forcing him back against the bars. Grinning, he held up the key in his hands, the key he had snagged while the pirate was distracted.
"There. That's your warning," he said, releasing him. Smiling, he dropped the key back into the man's hands. "Now, you need a name. What do you call yourself?"
He jumped when Aldis was moving, and stared in surprise, particularly when he gave the key back. "Are you mad?!" he gasped, stumbling to his feet. "He's a pirate!" His voice rose in volume as he continued. "We should just be done with him! The worthless son of a-"
Aldis promptly leaned in the doorway and slapped him, sending him crashing back. "Silence, child!"
Barret glared at him, then blinked as he saw something interesting. "Aldis...you're wearing a collar."
Aldis blinked, hand reaching up automatically, fingering the smooth steel. "What..." But then there were noises from beyond, and he moved quickly. "Here," he said, shoving the x-pirate to his original cell. "Hold the key - we'll need it later." Diving back to his cell, he got the door closed just in time.
A ragged three-some walked heavily, their stomping steps shaking the floorboards. One of them, a nasty guy with a scar over his forehead and two on his cheek, glanced at the cells's inmates till he located Barret. "There's one," he said to his companions. "You do it."
"Why me?" the one he spoke to complained. In his hands was an iron collar. "I'm not going in there with him! Did you see what he did to our mates?"
"Sissy, give me the collar I'll do it!"
Barret, his face and pride stinging and anger building inside, suddenly snapped. Roaring like a crazed animal he suddenly lunged at the bars, his body beginning to transform. His body undulated, then began to grow and lengthen. His arms, grown scaled and strong, smashed through the cell bars in minutes. Roaring, his head taking on a serpentine shape, he lunged at the pirates, his body still growing.
Aldis, finding the room growing smaller as Barret grew larger in taking his form, grabbed the darklord-obsessed girl and squeezed past him, retreating back into the hall. "Barret!" he shouted. "Stop! You're going to destroy the ship and us if you merge completely!"
But Barret was beyond hearing. Having torn into the commanding pirate, the taste of blood drove his dragon blood wild. He dove at the next one, when the second pirate suddenly made a desperate lunge onto his back. Barret reared, or tried to, almost smashing the pirate against the ceiling. Aldis watched as the pirate, shaken, reached frantically forward with the collar, and snapped it around Barret's neck, where it barely fit.
Barret suddenly screamed, and his body reacted in a surprising way. It seemed almost to crumple, then to ripple with uneven lines. He screamed again, then collapsed on the deck, completely human.
The pirate, trembling with his knees knocking, turned to his companion that Barret had nearly torn into. "Y-y-you okay?" he gasped, reaching to him. That one nodded, shaky himself, and rose quickly. They glanced at Barret's crumpled form, then at Aldis and the girl. The pirate who'd collared him watched them a moment, then said, "We can't let them roam loose..."
"Until we fix the cell," the other agreed. "Come on, lets get some help.." and they walked off.
Aldis watched them go, his fingers tracing the collar on his own neck. Now that he looked closely, he realized they all had collars, save the x-pirate, but that kinda made sense. "What is this," he murmured softly. "That can silence even Barret's mad strength?" He glanced at the x-pirate, then as a test attempted to reach his mind. He felt a sharp pain and was jerked back to his own. His smile turned bitter and dark.
"Interesting...you." He glanced at the x-pirate. "Lock your cell, just in case. What are these collars? I assumed they were just slave collars, but to stop the serpent..." he shook his head. "What is this?" he demanded harshly, tapping the iron on his throat.

[Oddood198]

Erin awoke to the sound of a roaring beast and steel being torn asunder.
Scrambling up from where he lay into a sitting position, the boy pushed himself back as deep into the corner as he could manage, trying to avoid so much as coming close to the giant monster that was wreaking havoc in... where was this? He didn't recognize the rough wood he was pressed against, or the dim room he had been sleeping in. He could still smell the salty wet air of the ocean, but other than that, nothing was familiar.
As he took just a moment to dwell on that thought, something happened and the beast fell to the ground, and Erin now realized that it was just Barret. Once he was subdued, two rough-looking men had a brief exchange and then left.
Aldis was there, too, he realized, and he was talking to someone he couldn't see. asking about a collar on his neck. Subconsciously, Erin touched his neck and found that he had been collared, too. Oh, yeah. The boy though, Pirates took us. We're all going to die.

[Mullet Death]

-Elizabeth Azukanuu-

At first, Elizabeth just let herself be led away by the hand with Aliera. It didn't matter to her where they went or what they did. Nothing mattered any more. Nothing at all.

As they entered the rock that split open to reveal the hidden entrance to the ocean hideaway, however, her thoughts began to shift. Even if Kristina... she didn't want to think about that anymore. Even so... even with so much gone, there was still so much left to do. She couldn't afford to keep falling to pieces now. Even if it wasn't much in the scheme of things, there was much that she could do in the coming days. The villagers could lean her; they needed her. She regained a measure of her composure as anyone who has not yet escaped crisis must do to survive. There was not yet time for grief.

They stepped down the staircase leading beneath the seafloor aquarium that served as the ceiling for the central lobby of the ocean hideaway, eager to see who had escaped notice here. As they entered, all manner of fish, rays, dolphins and the like schooled and played amongst the reef above them, all evidently blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had befallen the humans at the surface. A surprising number of villagers had hidden in the base. A quick search in the lobby and the siderooms and bunkers, however, revealed that Kristina was not here either. Elizabeth had wisley not gotten her hopes up in the least; though Kristina had loved this place, she would have been on the other side of the village during the attack, performing her chores. Before they came to the tiny office which served as one of Shipmaster Regal's hideaways, the man himself flung his arms around Aliera, a trace of tears in his face.

-Max Cobalt & Kristina Azukanuu-

More than a little unnerved by what he had just witnessed-- or rather been subjected to-- Max had trouble hiding his inner turmoil completely. His voice shook just slightly as he said,

"Y-your friend there-- he sure has a temper, eh?" Max had certainly heard about the powers these islanders had, even had dealings with one or two power holders in his time, including himself. That's what this business with the collars was all about, after all, and his grandfather had been a power holder, giving Max his own ability. But he hadn't dealt with anything quite like THAT before, and he had the stinging suspicion that that had not even scratched the surface.

When Aldis demanded an answer about the collars, Max hesistated. He didn't know what this lot was planning to do when they were totally free to go about their business, and these bloody pirates... He felt it best to play the field for now, trying to help these guys out, but... At the very least, these collars seemed like good insurance. Preventing this Barret fellow from becoming the Kraken in the middle of the overcrowded ship could only be a good thing, if and until they had need of such a beast. He decided to play dumb for now.

"Hmm, looks like something this lot's cooked up since they unceremoniously housed me in here. Who can say, but looks pretty troublesome, huh?"

Kristina actually stood up and glared at him with cold, dead eyes and gritted her teeth as if about to object, but said nothing. As Aldis began to respond to him, the sounds of several more pirates reached the cell.

[Wolfsong]

-Aldis Heiss-
"Fine, I'll accept that for now." and then the pirates appeared.
The original two led the way, the with who had collared Barret was still shaking. He bent down, grabbing Barret by the shoulders, while another one grabbed his feet. They threw Barret in the cell with the other islanders. Aldis hid a smile as Barret landed face-first on the floor; probably a good thing he was asleep. Heck...probably a good thing for the collar. With a short-tempered fool like that....he wondered if he could find a way to keep one, when they escaped.
"Hey, where's the key?"
He glanced up from his thoughts, watching the one pirate fumbling for the key that was no longer there. One of the other guys rolled his eyes expressively.
"Idiot. You lose everything the cap'n puts into your hands!"
"Just get the bloody spare. I'll find it later."
Aldis kept his face smooth, his eyes now taking the time to study the girl beside him, the one who kept piping up about a dark lord.
She didn't look like much, he thought. Yet, there was the possibility of strength in those eyes. He found himself curious at her powers, and what she could do. Heck...as he glanced back at the others in the opposite cell, he wondered what they all could do. Even if they could not apparently rely on their powers at this given time, surely they had other strengths? Even he, with his gift, had never focused entirely upon it. He hated the thought of weakness, after all, and had spent much time focused on improving himself in every way.
So what were their gifts?
"Got it."
Within a span of seconds, he and the dark-lord girl were shoved into the cell with the x-pirate, whose name Aldis still had yet to learn. The cell was relocked, and the pirates left after checking to be sure the islanders were all collared.
Aldis glanced after them, making sure they were gone. "So," he said, loud enough that the occupants in the cell over would here. "Shall we tally and see who all's here? Or is everyone still in shock?"

-Aliera Fae-
Even as she greeted the survivors hidden in the ocean hideaway, her mind was clearly elsewhere as she scanned the faces for any sign of her father. As she and Elizabeth searched the multipurpose rooms of this place, her hopes dropped further and further. Her final hopes rested now in the office rooms, or the hideout on the mountain beyond the village.
However, the door to his office opened up to reveal the man himself. He was tall and imposing, not the sort you'd want to cross, but even he could not contain his joy at seeing his daughter alive, and he caught her in a huge bear hug, overjoyed. Aliera burst into tears.
"Father....father!"
For a few minutes, they were both completely separate from the outside world. Then Regal finally raised his head, his eyes resting on Elizabeth.
"How are you?" he asked, his eyes conveying a different question. He recognized the look in her eyes - the expression he'd seen in his own just a few minutes ago, when he wasn't sure his own child was alive.

[Mullet Death]

-Elizabeth Azukanuu-

Elizabeth paused, unsure how to respond. She shook her head and looked at the floor as she opened her mouth slightly.

Words weren't really necessary. Regal knew. Elizabeth was like a grandmother to the village itself. She was always cooking, baking, and cleaning for all, and reprimanding children and adults alike. Her hand was cold and stern-- and usually held a frying pan she weilded with a deadly accuracy-- but her smile was warm and understanding. Yet even compared to her strong bond with the island, Kristina had been her entire world, especially since Kristina's parents had been lost at sea half a decade before.

"For now, we must all do our part," Regal said. It seemed like a rather cold thing to say, but he had an idea of what she was thinking. She would bury the dead when the pirates could no longer create more. She'd resolved to block everything else out for now. Perhaps that was best.

"At any rate, Shipmaster, as you know, the restaraunt has been destroyed, as has every other building on the surface not hidden... I can manage with the little kitchen here, though. I trust this counts as an emergency? A bit of our rations will make for a fine stew for the whole lot of us. Should be no more than an hour." Her face was still quite wearied, but her tone suggested this was little more than business as usual.

She took her leave, and Regal turned once again to Aliera. "In the meantime, we have much to discuss," he said gravely, gesturing towards the office.

[DecooPunk]

"Um, I'm Eowyn... Evinere." Eowyn said in reply to whoever asked who all was in the ship.

[Wolfsong]

-Aldis Heiss-
Aldis waited, but it soon became obvious Eowyn was the only one responding. The others were either still stunned - though Barret's outburst should have woken everyone up - or despairing. Either was unacceptable. "Thank you for responding, Eowyn," he said. "Please check on the guys in your cell. Call when you're done." Turning back to the occupants of his own cell, he studied the pirate and the dark-lord obsessed kid with disguised disgust.
"So...a reject and a brooding reader. This should be interesting," he muttered. Aloud he said, "I'd like your names as well, since we're going to be working together. And no 'darklord' stuff, please." He gave the girl a direct look. "If you really want to be called that, fine, but I need to know your family line. And you." He looked hard at the x-pirate. "I need your name simply because I need something other than x-pirate to call you." He smirked slightly.

-Aliera Fae-
"So you've been to the ocean hideout?"
She nodded slowly. "Still, there's not much. Very few seemed to have the sense to hide." She shook her head, looking thoughtful. "But then, neither did I, till you shoved me at one." She bit her lip. "Father, was there any sign of...of Barret?"
"No. There has been no sign of the Soback line, except for..." He glanced away. "Amina Soback was found dead near the edge of the village. There was...blood in her arms."
"That baby?!" she gasped.
"No sign."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she broke down sobbing. "The child! That poor thing!"
He let her cry. He knew she was emotional, particularly right now. She did cry a long time, before finally asking, "W-what else?"
"I think we've been reduced to barely a third of our original number. Considering ours was not a large people to begin with, that is a small number."
Aliera thought about that, then asked, "I seem to recall seeing people being dragged off...were they taken as prisoners, do you think?"
"Most likely. This happened in our past." His eyes rose slightly to the ceiling, his mind returning to the past. "Long ago, these were almost common occurrences. We knew what to do. Then we found an island that was unknown to the mainlanders, where we could live in peace. They didn't know where we were, and we became legend, out there in the mainland. So either this was just a pirate raid, with us the unlucky victims, or history is repeating itself." He smiled slightly. "If its just the former, I pity the rogues when they discover what kind of cargo they picked up."
Aliera stared at him, then said, "Is there any way to find out who they took?"
"We're doing our best to figure out who's even alive."
"And our friends - we will rescue them, right?" she demanded quickly.
He nodded. "Though we will have to repair the ship...they burned it pretty badly. It could be days, a few weeks before we go."
"We don't HAVE that long!" Aliera cried. Leaping up, she declared, "I'm going to find help! We've surely woodworkers and metal benders around!"
He watched her go, then sighed. "I certainly hope so," he murmured.

OOC- Decoo, you've got Erin and Barret in your cell.
Also, I think rocky's not finishing with us. What shall we do with his character? Any opinions, or is it up to me?

[Mullet Death]

OOC: Now that the site works again, I can write! I think we can use rocky's character as an npc and pretty much have free reign with him, so if you can think of anything in particular you wanna do-- Wolf or the you other two even-- then I say go for it.

-Max Cobalt & Kristina Azukanuu-

Kristina looked ever so slightly put out as she managed, "The islanders call the Dark Lord Kristina of Azukanuu," apparently burdened by this reality. She wasn't going to let out her thoughts on the situation, much less what, if anything, they should attempt to do next. She sat down in the cell and hid her face once more, hoping she didn't look too uncool, and secretly prayed that none of the others would need much more out of her. She felt they'd pry a lot more before the night was through, and that frightened the "Dark Lord" quite a bit. Even more anxiety in what was clearly already a nightmare. But she still wasn't going to show that kind of weakness here. Not one iota. Still... she was no leader, so certainly they wouldn't expect too much out of her, right? Wait, she thought. The Dark Lord? Not a leader? Perish the thought! These fools will be my underlings! Of course, those lines in her head did nothing to silence her true feelings, but she kept waving them away anyway.

"The name's Maximilian N. Cobalt, at your service, Boss," Max piped in eagerly after Kristina had sat down. He even awkwardly offered his hand, but quickly retracted it when Aldis made no movement towards him to shake it. "So uhh... what exactly's up your sleeve, Boss, if I may be so bold?"

[Wolfsong]

-Aldis Heiss-
Kristina Azukanuu. He remembered that line, vaguely. Still, she was quite obviously a child, however, with her mind apparently lost in some fantasy. She would be a difficult piece to work with.
"The name's Maximilian N. Cobalt, at your service, Boss."
Aldis glanced at the outstretched hand, then raised his eyes to meet Max's. This one might be a little more useful, but there was nothing yet that made him trustworthy. He wished he could just take over the thief's mind. Life would be so much easier.
"So uhh...what exactly's up your sleeve, Boss, if I may be so bold?"
So, boss, was it? Well, if that's how it was going to be.
"Give me the key, Max."
Unlocking their door, after checking to make sure the jailer wasn't about, he motioned Kristina and Max to follow and moved out of the cell.
The place proved larger than he first thought. There were a couple more cells further down, also housing islanders. Some appeared damaged, while others just sat in shock. Some wept. All were in a sorry state.
Shaking his head, Aldis opened the cell housing Eowyn, Barret, and a kid in the corner. "I hope someone here knows how to doctor injuries," he said. "Eowyn and Kristina, I want you two to do what you can, even if its just bandaging things. We need to save as many as we can. You!" he pointed at Erin in the corner. "Help them out if they need it."
Barret was still out, Aldis noticed with disgust. That boy was going to make life quite difficult. "And you." He turned to Max. "You've the skills of a thief. I want you to find some clean water we can use."

OOC - you know, I just remembered Max has no collar. I wonder if I can fix that...

-Aliera Fae-
After hours of walking, Aliera found herself in the kitchen, where she found Elizabeth hard at work. She wandered over, sighing.
"Mrs. Azukanuu?" She sat down on the floor, sighing heavily. "I've been running up and down this island but those who could help rebuild the ship won't help me yet. I don't know what to do. They're getting further and further away and we'll never find our people they've taken ever again."
Eyes filled with tears, she looked up at the older woman. "What do I do?"

OOC - Oh, and guys? Don't be afraid to interact with the npcs, they're everybody's toys for sharing. Don't be afraid, just have fun with them. That's why they're there.
Just be prepared, some might die...

[Mullet Death]

OOC: And suddenly, another thread revival!

-Kristina Azukanuu-

Kristina couldn't respond. This guy expected her to touch these people-- to tend to them? And with what? Who had designated him the master of their company? And then there was this Eowyn chick she was supposed to work with. She didn't look too pleased at the prospect of their assigned task either, nor indeed with the idea of working with the Dark Lord. She did offer an awkward but polite half-smile when she caught a glance of Kristina's eye through her bangs. It irritated her a bit for some reason.

Despite her many misgivings about this plan, Kristina soon silently complied with what this Aldis had ordered anyway, heading to the cells filled with the worst of the captives, Eowyn in tow. Gramma-- er, no, Elizabeth!-- had shown her how to fashion a tourniquet out of some ripped cloth and other such basic things once, after all. Perhaps she could do this. Most of the islanders seemed more emotionally damaged than anything, but a few were quite hurt.

She gritted her teeth and creeped hesitantly toward a man who weeped near stains of his own dried blood. The pirates had clearly done a number on him while putting him away. She slowly extended a hand out to his heaving back. Kristina could not completely contain her revulsion. She had read about far more gruesome scenes in a few of her novels. Scenes of men tortured, with limbs and fingers slowly removed. Scenes of women hunted like animals and savagely beaten and murdered. But it had all been fantasy, whatever she might say; all utterly disconnected from her daily life. Before her was a man who had truly been treated with cruelty and violence. There was nothing in Kristina's repertoire of forced social interaction for dealing with this scenario.

The man groaned, and Kristina forced herself to not jump back in alarm. She had to do this.

"The- the Dark Lord and her servant will help you, so be grateful," she offered, and forced herself to grab the man in what she evidently thought was a congenial manner.

The man jerked around out of his stupor, unsure what to make of Kristina. He could think of nothing to say as she ripped off a piece of her low-hanging skirt and began tending to his wounds as best she could. Kristina's heart was beat rapidly. Parts of the man's body looked almost disfigured. Had one of the pirates been whipping this man purely for thrills? She desperately hoped Eowyn or one of those boys would come over and say something.

-Max Cobalt-

Again, Max hesitated. There was only one place with salvageable water in this whole forsaken ship-- plenty of rum in every cabin, but not much water! He wasn't quite ready to confront what he would find there. Nevertheless... maybe he could work something out and keep the peace in this situation for a while longer.

"Ehehheh, about that, Boss...I'm not exactly against it, but heheh (hic!)... There's only one place where a man might scrounge up some fresh water 'round here." Max bowed his head and looked uncharacteristically grave. He paused before adding: "And our Honourable Captain won't be too happy with anyone caught in his quarters."

-Elizabeth Azukanuu-

Elizabeth was finishing up another enormous pot of stew, her face still somber, but oddly calm, almost serene. Cooking had always relaxed her. She neither looked up nor said anything in response to Aliera at first, but instead pushed a small bowl of stew into her hands, waving away her protest in a "just eat it" sort of way.

Elizabeth turned back and rested her hands on the counter while Aliera gobbled it up-- she was probably quite hungry, even if she didn't feel at all like eating. Elizabeth looked up at nothing in particular, as if the ceiling would give her words with which she could comfort Aliera.

"Hmmmm The others villagers won't help you yet, eh?" She closed her eyes pensively. "Hmmmmmm...AH!"

Aliera jumped a little, nearly spilling her stew down her front. "I know what we'll do, and it's what we should have done in the first place, really. It can't be helped dear. If the other villagers won't help you, then I'll help you, and help them help you." Elizabeth's upper body suddenly bulged in a flex that would make a bodybuilder envious. She made a fist into her hands and cracked her knuckles with a wicked grin and a passionate fire in her eyes. Aliera wondered for a moment if this was the same person she saw a few hours ago.

Elizabeth was still hurting. But a new hope had recently entered her heart. Kristina... could be... She wouldn't think about it more, she would just work. Work even harder than she ever had all these many years. She'd convince everyone she could to delay the village reconstruction efforts in lieu of Aliera's ship. She'd chop down and carry every single tree for lumber herself if she had to; and she guessed she would be doing quite a bit of that before it was all over.

"Done?" Elizabeth asked, grabbing Aliera's hand a little too tightly.

"Uhh-"

"Let's go!" And they were off.