Fantasy Are you tired of sipping Crab Coladas? (Pirate RP) (Always Open)

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Navigation Room​

Sebas looked over at Orabelle and spoke in perfect Piscean. Ora, having been sitting around and studying all the blips and blinks in the navigation panel without interrupting anything, walked over to the door and opened it. In stepped Elaina. "I got a confession to you. Elaina is the only other one that knows" Sebas said seriously, "If you see some weird stuff from me, like my speaking perfect Piscean all of a sudden, this is why." To demonstrate his point, he held out is arm and grew scales and turned a violet-blue, and grew fins. This was an arm that, to the trio who encountered them closely, was that of a Viperfish. Webbed fingers, finned arm, sharp claws. Then it turned back human as if nothing happened. "Aligning with that Goddess was

"With this in mind, I agree with Borgum. Too much crazy shit," Sebas said. Magic complicated things heavily....especially since Baroness and Ora came along. "My stupid-ass mouth has quite literally cost me my humanity. Luckily, it won't affect my ability to lead. That, and being turned into a viperfish keeps my home at sea until I die." If nothing else, if the Basenjis collapsed and Sebas's plans to lead his own crew failed, Ora's home was also the sea.

Sebas shook off the thought, as it was a bittersweet one. If nothing else, at least he had Ora.........and this sentiment had begun drilling itself into Sebas's head, to a large degree against his will. The sort of ferociously protective nature he had over Ora was always just like a dual nature: Him protecting a child and he would die if she died. There was always a hands-tied business approach to it.................until that commune. Almost in an instant, when Marianna confirmed that he was indeed becoming one of Her children, the feeling morphed into an extreme unconditional fatherly love for Ora. "On to business."

Sebas brandished a bunch of posters. "Suspect #1: Ietoq," Sebas said, eyes narrowed.

Suspect #1 Ietoq (EE-Tock)​

Ietoq was known to keep his weapons dipped in a strong toxin. A single cut is enough to kill 5 people within the hour. The toxin in his arrows had a special property that amplified and doubled the toxicity of other toxins present in the body. An arrow, if you're drunk enough, can amplify it enough to cause death via alcohol poisoning. A toxin that can kill in a day, when shot by one of those arrows, can reduce it down to an hour.

Sebas got to the reports on why he is on the suspicion list. "This goblin is part of Kersact's crew, yet according to Kersact, he had been having problems with him. Reports indicate that Ietoq was seen potentially messing with one of the cannons, one of the first ones to misfire and need to be replaced. There was also the undeniable report that Ietoq was NOT present with the rest of Kersact's crew when they deployed."

Being MIA and reports of messing with cannons? Ietoq had a few things to answer for if he weren't messing with those cannons.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Suspect #2: Cherlaynth, The Magnificent." He slapped the next picture down

Suspect #2: Cherlaynth, The Magnificent
​

Cherlaynth, The Magnificent, also called Cheryl, used to be a pure-blood dragon. However, she was hungry for power and began taking on experiments to gain more power. It turned her into this grotesque chimera-esque frankenstein of multiple different reptilians. Snake, Dragon, Goblin, Basilisk, Human. Probably more. Sebas shrugged. She could've added more by now. When this happened, she was stripped of her divinity status due to her tainted blood and cast away due to her taboo methodology.

Cheryl, like most with dragon blood, is ridiculously prideful. Due to the circumstances of her being here and her lack of deserved divinity status, she is known to be very bitter. She is a very fast mover and the most notable type of magic is her basilisk tail, which can inflict the target with a curse that eventually turns them to stone.

On to the report, courtesy of Sebas. "So, this one is under suspicion due to her irrational actions in the wyvern raid. It did lead to wyvern deaths and delayed assistance to both the primary and secondary raids. The question is if this was done in sabotage." He put a down some of the written reports, "Reports say some of those wyvern squads charged directly into anti-air fire and some of them didn't take on their primary objective overall, which is to save falling wyvern riders." That lack of swooping for riders WAS something Bogrum could attest to seeing before he got on with the secondary raid on the little ship.

"Be careful of this one in general. As you can tell, she is absolutely batshit insane. Probably worse than Kersact. She can be very cunning. We just question if she's playing the long game against Adonis, or if this is just a case of the wyverns being spooked or some crap."

-----------------------------------------------

Suspect #3: Lostrogret Whitcoat​

Looking at the next page, Sebas winced, "Oh boy......Lostrogret Whitcoat..........." Sebas hesitated a little. Clearly he didn't want to talk about this one........but this one was personal. "Lostro is a walking case of why you want to leave the Basenjis the moment you make enough cash or serve your contract," he began, passing her picture around "Lostro is the daughter of a Gorgon and Dwarf. Nice child. The snakes that made up her hair all had different personalities so it helped regulate her emotions." Sebas thought long about what he was about to say next. "You both know the cliche of the ultra powerful child who struggled to control her power." A moment of pause. Of course everyone knew that cliche. There was that one story about that one woman with ice powers who shot her sister in the face. Then she plunged her kingdom into an eternal winter. "Lostro is one of those types, and I don't need to go any deeper than that. I kept an eye on her so she never got into too much trouble."

Sebas continued the backstory. "The issues begin when Lostro was kidnapped from the group she was with. One of our jackasses let her out of our sight. We think it was a cult who took her. Ash and I led the search party to a cave. Lostro was found there. This 9 year old girl assaulted and throat slit. Ash and I demolished every living being in that cave." Sebas said, a sorrowful anger in his voice, "We carried her out. Adonis was always impressed with her magic, saying she would be an incredible asset when she learned to control it..........a goddamn weapon I found out when he ordered her revived instead of buried. Laylah and Fatimah flat-out refused, so Adonis did it himself. The unholy way. The Pet Sematary way." As everyone knew, there was more than one way to bring back the dead. Only one way actually brought them back though. "Lostro was alive, but the snakes in her hair aren't, which means that Lostro isn't all there." The captain couldn't withhold disdain from his voice. "Now he keeps her isolated in her own room. Grey hair of dead snakes, an immense amount of darkness. Walking evil made out of an innocent child."

Sebas had to give a word of warning. "Lostro is a teen. She's 15 but stopped aging at 9. No memory of her death as far as I know..... I myself had to start avoiding seeing her. Seeing the dead snake hair was too much for me. Along with the sort of........I don't know......braindead or zombified trances she goes into." Sebas was gesticulating at this point. "Shit's hard. I think she's hollowing." Sebas realized he was rambling. Clearly that case was a little more personal. A Gorgon Dwarf girl who was supposed to be dead, yet clearly not revived properly. "I know how to interact with Lostro. That girl is still inside there. There's also whatever it is Adonis brought back to inhabit her body."

"If you wanted to know, Fergie, why I opted to save Orabelle........Lostrogret is why." It wasn't something that Sebas had ever even considered until just now. Maybe that conclusion came to him as this was the most he had spoken about Lostro in years. "I'm gonna tell you now, Lostro isn't the rat. Her name is just on the list per Adonis." And per that list, they would probably need to investigate regardless

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Suspect #4: Duradel
​

Duradel is a tiefling guy who is most seen in the armory. He is one of the ones who gives weaponry to pirates looking for munition, or loaning out weapons that were expected to be returned. The guy was one of those types who was always at the ire of his betters, yet always kept around. The type of man who was very punchable, but not the ABSOLUTE worst presence around the ship. Maybe he just struggled to fit in or whatever.

Duradel's page was slapped down with a scoff. "Duradel is a weasel through and through. He's conned my boy Avery plenty of times. He's a lot more annoying than Avery as well. Anyways, Duradel currently works in the armory supplying weaponry. Inventory shows missing weapons and evidence of tampering along with what's there and weapons that were returned by some of our injured. Also........." Sebas's eyes drifted over to Fergie, narrowed, "He has a gun with the Ballast Insignia on it, yet can't explain how he got it."

"He's been working with us for a while, and while his annoyance shouldn't constitute suspicion on my part, Ballast equipment is always investigation-worthy. We haven't fought Ballast anything in years." Sebas tapped the desk a bit about what even to say about him. "He's not dangerous on his own. No noteworthy magic, normal pirate stuff besides that Ballast gun..........unless that Ballast gun is some relic I don't know anything about."

"He can be a conman. Lying is not above him. He's a conman but I doubt that, if he's a rat, it's for simply wanting us dead. More likely, he could've been brute forced into the role. Still. Investigation."

-------------------------------

Sebas let his raid captains look over it. "We can split up the investigation or tackle it together. There are more, but these are the names that seemed to pop up the most.........besides Lostro, who was given to me by Adonis himself."
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Mariana's Blessing(?)

When Sebas splayed his arm out, revealing his newly acquired Piscean form, Bogrum leaned back in surprise. "Ah. So I see." His numb tone and slow nod were unsuccessful attempts at masking his startled reaction at this development.
Fergie, on the other hand, had nothing to hide. "Figured that's what the glowy eye shit was about."
"Glowy eye... I didn't notice," he lied.
"Heh. Lucky bastard, I say." Fergie was ready to give a congratulatory clap to Sebas's back, but withdrew her hand in a split-second decision, instead burrowing it into her pocket. "Got a free pass from Davy Jones, Dead Man's Isle, an' a whole ocean to fuck off to." A place inaccessible to most of his enemies, in the case he needed to leave this life behind? She was starting to envy him, too.


Rats Among Dogs

Pictures of the suspects were passed out. When Ietoq's was first set down, Fergie's face set in an ugly scowl. "Wee shit stole me coin." He had been one of them, the gaggle of goblins who robbed her while under the Ord of Misfortune. No hesitation once her Basenji status was voided by that angel, despite her presence on board being well-known at that point.
"I hear plunderlust's one hell of a drug."
His attempt at making her laugh succeeded, but she still said with notable bitterness, "Damn kelpto's 'll steal all they can, plunderlust 'r not."
"I guess we all know who you're NOT interrogating." Too personal. Fergie has shown surprising restraint when it came to maintaining poise for the sake of her position, but playing it safe entailed keeping her from people who already pissed her off.

Next was Cherlaynth. "The Magnificent," Fergie sneered, sarcasm hissing through her teeth.
Bogrum's own sarcasm manifested in a tired sigh. "Maybe it would be beneficial to NOT have contempt for every suspect on the table?"
"Please. Sentiment's mutual." Her arms folded as she recalled their brief interactions from the past. "Dragon blood. Always think they're above talkin' to a mud-blooded mutt like me."
Bogrum had to process, a bit stunned at the irony. "I wouldn't think someone who mixed her own blood with other races-- willingly-- would have any room to talk."
"Hah! Dragons ain't known for bein' smart."
Well, that was another to cross off her list. Besides, from what little he knew of Cherlaynth, she was maniac with her own volatile tendencies. Putting her and Fergie in the same room alone read like a recipe for disaster.

When the topic of Lostrogret came up, both had fallen silent. They'd hadn't known much before this story from Sebas. Fergie was slightly more aware of the zombie girl kept hidden away, yet another card up Adonis's sleeve to get him out of a bind in bad raids. Bogrum only was aware of the dark presence that hung heavy outside of her door, and it only took one time passing by for him to avoid that hallway indefinitely. Knowing the context behind it rendered him in silent shock.
Fergie, however... "Don't surprise me."
"Fergie." There was warning in his tone, a direct reaction to the anger he sensed building up in her. "Now's really not a good time to show open dislike of the captain."
Her gritting teeth prepared him for a retort that, to his surprise, never came. She seemed to take his advice for now, but he knew he'd be hearing it later. He always did. "You have my sympathy," he said to Sebas. "Both you and the child. I can't imagine."
Fergie added nothing beyond a nod of agreement, her silence here out of respect for the troubled circumstance.

Lastly, there was Duradel. While Fergie snorted at Sebas's description of the man, it was Bogrum's turn to express his displeasure. "He's a prime reason why I get my own weapons." Tolerating the tomfoolery of pirates was a headache enough, without adding on the annoyance that was Duradel. Navigating his ploys, and just his overall energy. Fergie could be frustrating to be around, with her combative spirit keeping her walking that thin line, but that didn't make her unlikable to him. But there was something about Duradel that ground his gears, which wasn't something he could say about many. Perhaps it was his eagerness to take advantage of his own allies.
"I want to see that gun," Fergie was quick to declare. Maybe said combative spirit would aid her here, getting that conman to spill. Bogrum wasn't going to convince her otherwise. Ballast stuff was hers to contend with; that, and he'd rather not deal with that sleaze.


The Course of Action

The raid captains looked over their options. "We don't got much time. Splittin' up will cover more ground. I'll look into Duradel." She waved a hand. "Prolly send Ash to beat around Ietoq 'til he talks."
"You mean metaphorically." Bogrum hoped.
"As metaphorically as I'll beat around that sweaty-ass tiefling if he pisses me off." Which... could go either way, with Fergie.
"I guess that leaves me with Cherlaynth. Maybe I can get through to her." His calm disposition did have that effect on a lot of the more confrontational crewmates. That, or they were just nervous around the square-bodied orc man.
But Fergie was shaking her head. "No. Not alone. She's a fuckin' madwoman, an' I'd know."
"From personal experience? Or..." he motioned at Fergie, "personal experience?"
"Har har. I mean she's bloody dangerous, 'specially if she's got it out for us."
"Then maybe I'll have a hands-off approach. Watch her from a distance, see if she does anything suspect."
"Be slick about it. She's crazy, but smart. Worst combination. If she catches ye, she'll be onto ye like a damn barnacle. Then ye better pray she's just shit at her job... if she's got it out for us, ye might find yerself thrown overboard as a statue."
"It's safe to assume that about anyone, at this point," he reminded her. "Duradel might not dangerous in general, but anyone can be when backed against the wall. And Ietoq's a loose cannon."
"Aye, I know. Just... gods' sake, be careful. Ye just got out of the medbay."
"So did you."
"Ye almost fuckin' croaked!"
"So did you?"

Their staredown predicted an argument, so Fergie tore her gaze and looked to Sebas. "Dunno if this helps, but somethin' happened when I was gettin' attacked. The guy had some freaky blood magic, conjured a dagger from his blood after I stabbed 'im." It was why she herself ended up in the medbay herself, her poor preparation for the unusual. It still stung; not just the blow to her gut, but to her pride.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Navigation Room
"Blood Magic? Oh boy........"​

"Ya both almost croaked." Sebas said, breaking up their bickering before it turned into an argument. "Ya both know your limits. Last thing I need is Ash and Naka replacing either of you in full." Not that they're bad as raid captains, but Ash was simple-minded and Naka has a particular role she likes to stick to. Ash may have mellowed out a bit, but Sebas didn't exactly have experience working with Mama Bear-Ash, only the delinquent Baby Bear-Ash. They were CO-Raid Captains for a reason

When Fergie brought up blood magic, Sebas wanted to face palm. If there's one thing he hated dealing with, it was blood magic. "Blood magic........ That doesn't bode well at all." A taboo in its own right, but a telltale sign of a vampire. Blood magic is almost exclusively a vampire thing. Sebas flipped through some of the remaining notes. "Vampires are something not even Adonis fucks around with. Hmmmm........Blood Magic is obtainable only by associating with demons, or being infected with Vampirism." Something that like would put all of Basenji leadership on high alert. "Vampires onboard are like stop the mission urgent." Maybe the rats have contracted vampirism? Vampirism will have the entire crew eating each other. "We're talking getting out of the air and doing full blood analysis courtesy of our resident Werewolf leader." Everyone takes some of their blood for him to taste and, since he's a werewolf, if it tasted off, he would maul you to death on the spot. While he could smell vampirism, that sense doesn't kick in until someone is far enough into it to cause damage. It didn't allow him to catch and kill while at the early stages

"I'm gonna investigate the blood magic myself." He wanted to keep this at the lowest level. If it seemed like there was a vampirism spread, then he'd get leadership involved. Anyways, their plan of action sounded good. Despite their bickering, they seemed to be in sync in terms of what to do. "Send Ash to interrogate Ietoq. DO NOT let anyone else hear, especially if they're part of Kersact's crew. If Ietoq is a rat, more of that crew is." In that case, it could be an easy case of trying to mutiny against an old crazy goblin.

"Bogrum on Cheryl. She's batshit and with a fiery temper. Don't be afraid to slam her ass. Go request an antidote from Elaina before confronting her, should you choose direct confrontation. DO NOT get a Poison-X from her." Poison-X was an injection that'd make you immune to poison for 24 hours. "If Cheryl smells that in your blood, she will go berserk if you try to speak to her." Cheryl was sounding more and more unhinged by the minute. "Contact me if you feel like you need to put her down." Which shouldn't happen unless Cheryl tries to kill Bogrum. "I'll give my approval, but it's to keep YOU from being a suspect."

Lastly, "Fergie on Duradel. Beat his ass. I don't care." The amount of nonchalance drove that point home. "The Ballast stuff is on you. I just want to know what he knows about the rats, and/or if he is one." Duradel was someone Sebas would bully to high hell if he weren't so busy all the time. "He's a fast healer. I forgot to mention that." as it wasn't really noteworthy magic. It was "use me as a punching bag" magic.

"As for Lostro, one of you are coming with me when it's time. She's playful. Bicker about it and then give me one of you when it's time. The other will lead the ship as the stand-in."

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fergie and Bogrum could dispel their own quarreling just as well, but in the case they kept at it, Sebas stepping in would silence them in an instant. Neither of them dared go against the captain's orders, spoken or implied. And the implication was easily, "Shut up so we can focus on the matter at hand." So they did. For now, anyway. Plenty of time to argue about who ought to be more careful after logistics.

Talk of vampirism quickly made Fergie worried over being argumentative. "Fuck me," she whispered, glancing down at herself. "He stabbed me with a blood dagger. Does that mean I could've gotten...?" Her arms crossed over her chest defensively. "Shit, I can't do the vampire crap! I'm an early riser, it'll fuck up me sleep schedule!"
"Is that seriously what you're worried about when it comes to--?" The piercing look Bogrum was returned with told him that was a bad response, so he quickly switched to reassurance. "I'm sure if you did contract it, Doc would have noticed. She had a close eye on all of us." He wondered if Dr. Laylah's status as an angel would cue her in on a vampiric presence, but vampirism wasn't specifically demonic in nature. Otherwise she or Evangeline would have said something, surely. "It couldn't hurt to check in with her, I suppose."

Given Sebas's descriptions and warnings of Ietoq and Duradel, it would be a piece of cake. That is, in comparison to Cherlaynth. Duradel just needed some smacking around, Ietoq possibly a more transactional persuasion, if his love for gold trumped whatever secrets he might be keeping. Cheryl, however, sounded like the type to snap at any provocation.
"I'll stay on my toes. I won't let her get the jump on me," he said, more for Fergie's assurance, but she could still see the tension in his shoulders.

At the mention of Lostro, they both looked at each other.
"I ain't good with kids."
"You get along fine with Orabelle."
That... was true, she supposed? The girl didn't hide and cry at the sight of her, at least. Though she supposed a Piscean girl who lost her parents by violent means would hardly be shaken by her fucked up face.
Sensing her uncertainty, he waved a hand. "We'll figure it out later." He shrugged at a thought he would voice. "Though I suppose if Cherlaynth turns me to stone, that would settle that."
Fergie promptly swatted him in the arm. "If ye let that happen, I'll beat ye within an inch of yer afterlife once we reach the damned Spirit Seas."

Bogrum might have had more to say on that, but glancing at Sebas, he thought better of it for now. "Unless there were any other concerns, we should get to it."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

The duo set off to do their things. Fergie had to get Ash to Ietoq and then deal with the conartist Duradel. Bogrum had to deal with the absolutely crazy Cherylanth. Sebas was left to investigate Vampirism and then reconvene to go speak with the ominous zombie gorgon Lostro. All of this had to be done in a timely manner as they were to land soon. Fergie sent Ash to deal with Ietoq

Results: Ietoq, under the effects of Plunderlust, messed around with the cannon to grab a sack of gold coins placed near it. Before he was mauled to death by Mama Bear, Ietoq expressed that he was cursed to do so and showed evidence of a curse. However, per Adonis, ALL traitors were to be killed. No exceptions. As such, Ietoq was ripped limb from limb as demonstration for what would happen when the rest of the rats were caught

Sebas Deadeye
The Canine- Deck​

After seeing Ietoq publicly executed for his crimes, Sebas could only shake his head. One rat down..........or was it? If Ietoq was cursed, that meant he wasn't a rat but a puppet. Nonetheless, Ietoq probably should've come to him so he could get Adonis or some other leadership to trace it back to the source. Plus, Ietoq couldn't specify WHICH curse. There are likely THOUSANDS of curses. Saying "a curse" is like Sebas saying "a man did this"

Anyways, Ietoq was down regardless and while Ietoq's close colleagues were mourning the goblin's death (not that there was a body to mourn. Mama Bear ate all of it. Bones, weapons, jewelry and all), Sebas approached them. "Oi!" he said gruffly

Immediately, the group got to arms. However, Sebas's death glare and their emotional vulnerability broke that down. "If you want to threaten me, I can call Mama Bear back over. I bet she's still hungry," Sebas said, looking down on his short-stature teammates. "Ietoq sabotaged a cannon during a raid. He deserved death. If any of you disagree, tell me now so you can join him." Silence

"Thought so." Sebas needed to get them talking. "Now ALL of you are under suspicion. I want words with this group. I suggest heavily that you tell the damn truth or you will be damned indeed." Liars would be considered traitors and they all just watched what happens to traitors.

Kersact's female companion stepped forward. Like when Fergie handled Kersact, she seemed the most level-headed. "We will, as humans say, speak the truth and nothing but the truth."

"Ash! I want interviews with this group. Sniff out liars and maul them on the spot."
Ash looked at the group, some of them trying to stifle fear at the much more intimidating grown grizzly bear padding alongside her. "Can do. I don't want Mama Bear eating who should be fellow dogs. That being said, rats are always on the menu."

The group receded into a private room.


That left Fergie and Bogrum to deal with their particular suspect. Fergie would find Duradel in the Armory, bored out of his mind and practicing alchemy or enchanting on a wooden dagger. Cherylanth would be found in the Beast Wing of the ship. This was where the stables were kept. All of the battle-animals on the ship went here. It was a place Bogrum never really had a need to go into, save for maybe a tour when he first got on. The door had a muting spell on it, which told him that where he was stepping would be annoyingly loud.
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

News traveled at lightning speed on a smaller ship like the Canine. Before either could reach their targets for questioning, Ietoq had been ousted. Bogrum witnessed the execution, Fergie arriving just in time to see the bloody aftermath.
"Yeesh." What else was there to say to such a violent ordeal? Bogrum was no stranger to it, but that didn't make watching once-allies be torn to pieces in retribution for their crimes any less unpleasant. Still, he wasn't going to complain. Many more of their own could have been saved during the Golden Guns raid had there not been sabotage. As far as he was concerned, Ietoq had blood on his hands, and when it came to a life of endless war, blood demanded blood in return.
Moving on from that... "I thought we were going to keep one alive to scan them?" he asked Fergie in a hushed tone.
"She's sendin' a message."
Remembering what Sebas had said about the previous rats found, he retorted, "I think that message's been well-established by now."
"Just wait for it. If Sebas don't find one, we will."


"He better have somethin' worth saying. Or I'll carve it outta 'im."

Well, she herself would find one, Fergie figured. If Cheryl turned out to be a rat, that was a loose cannon that was better off thrown overboard. Duradel, on the other hand, she was sure she'd get talking like a little bitch. She marched to the Armory with intent, but once she reached the door, slowed her entry. A hunter mustn't startle her prey before she could land a hit, so she didn't make her presence known at first. A quick scan of the room told her where Duradel was tinkering in the corner, as well as another important note that it was otherwise unoccupied. She locked the door behind her to keep it that way.

If Duradel wasn't too engrossed in his practices, her heavy boot steps would alert him as she closed the distance. Once he turned around, it would serve as the moment of truth. It had been some time since she and him spoke in person, key aspect being that it had been before she'd obtained her Illusion Relic. The insignia on his gun was enough reason for suspicion alone, but if he didn't recognize her, that would tell her immediately where his loyalties laid.


"Maybe if I asked really nicely, she won't try to murder me?"

Meanwhile, Bogrum was entering the Beast Wing, with about the same caution Fergie had. Only here, it was less like tracking down a small rabbit, and more like poaching a big wildcat. His senses were immediately bombarded with all that came with big stables: snorting and growling, an animal musk that hung heavy in the nose, wyrverns and the occasional pegasus wandering about in their pen.
For a brief moment, it took his thoughts back years ago. He could visualize himself tending to the war steeds of his battalion, unease making his hands unsteady as he brought buckets of water. And he could almost hear the laughs of his fellow soldiers after a war pig brandished its tusks and startled him enough to make him fall backwards on his ass, buckets flying in the air in dazzling arcs of grainy lake water. Hilarious in hindsight.
But there was nothing remotely funny about the most threatening thing in these stables not even being an animal.

"Hello? Miss Cherylanth?" he called out past the rows of pens. "I need to have a few words with you."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Duradel
Armory​

"One drop......." A small poof of purple smoke and a big "HA!" indicated success. Duradel picked up the dagger and watched it turn from wood to a shadowy black steel. Who knew what it could do besides Duradel, but the man's thoughts were shattered when he heard characteristically heavy boots on the floors of his armory. By shattered, it meant he jumped like a cat and bristled at the sound of those boots. "Fergie!" Duradel said and immediately filled the room with a nervous chuckle. Yeah, it was absolutely her in all her brutal glory.

"Heh.....what brings you here?" The man was very itchy and almost visibly starting to sweat now. "Need a dagger? Cloak? er......." he picked up something random, "........a rock that I can turn to solid authentic gold?" NONE of his interactions with Fergie had been good. Her generally pissed off nature and quickness to act on said nature had gotten him booted and chewed out plenty of times. Weird enough though, Fergie stopped appearing for a while. Either that or he was just so intent on avoiding crossing paths.

The big issue here was that........well Fergie didn't borrow weapons. She had her own and she CERTAINLY wouldn't come to him with a question about magic weaponry. Magic didn't seem like something too up Fergie's alley, given her past boredom with the subject. Plus, Kylesar is lowering the magic level, so it's not really important.

Cherylanth the Magnificent
Animal Stables- Cherylanth's Lair​

A queen on her throne, researching what it is to gain more power through ancient script. Human, Basilisk, Dragon, Lizardfolk. Fire Breath, Acid Breath, Basilisk Stare, Scale Manifestation, Powerful Bite, Super Strength, Super Agility, Flight, Prehensile Tail. Fire Magic, Poison Magic, Earth Magic, Transformation Magic, Sonic Voice. So many skills in her repertoire, and so many more to get. The ancient script found in her lair was her horde, script that are quite literally one-of-a-kind and nonexistent outside that room.

Cherylanth was different from a lot of the other animals here. She had enough sentience and free will to not be here, so it peeved her to no end to be in the animal wing of the ship. She kind of had no choice. Sebas said there was no actual way she was being allowed with the rest of the crew, per Adonis's order. Since she had attacked an ally in the past, Adonis deemed her no different and every other beast sent to fight. She was allowed to lead the beasts and that would be the extent of her influence. She would be given a modified room, but she would be in the stables with the beasts, with that damned collar that physically prevented them from leaving it without the release spell. Cheryl spat, too animalistic.......I'll show that bastard an animal when eat everything down to his pathetic human soul. It was embarrassing. While Wyverns were a distant inferior species cousin to her, it still kind of ticked her off to know they were essentially in Basenji servitude.

The stable doors opened and she craned her extra long neck from her position in order to see who it was. Bogrum, and he wanted words with her. "What do you want, Bogrum?" she growled. Bogrum could clearly see that her neck was loosely attached to her body, very serpentine. "I am a very busy dragon, so it better be good." Should she be talking to a raid captain like this? Who gives a shit! He was a co-appointee of an appointee of the actual captain. He's 1.5 hops too removed for her to care.

As someone speaking to a dragon, hopefully Bogrum brought some sort of tribute
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"Don't need yer fool's gold 'r toothpicks," Fergie told him, curt and blunt, with just a hint of bite. She looked down at him as if he were a young shark pup hooked to her line, sweating enough to bear resemblance to seawater if he were hoisted out. Not exactly with disgust or disdain. Disregard, if anything. A waste of time, effort, and bait, all better spent on a more gourmet catch. A bluff on her part.
Either the bastard's clean, or he's smart enough to figure it out.
Even without her oddball appearance, there were things about her that were distinct enough. Her voice, the way she spoke with it, how she carried herself. She was very... "her", so others have said in the past. Even if she tried masking it, someone who knew what they were looking for could flag her down if they focused. Duradel was intelligent, and he had to be, to survive his methodology. Or, hypothetically, to be a traitor and survive.

"Recent inventory check came back with some holes. Missing weapons. Tampered gear." It was listed off in a robotic fashion while she stood at-attention, making no movement to further encroach on his space. Yet. "Since this be yer domain, you will explain." Not could. Not might. Will. And if he tried dancing around the issue, she'd be encroaching that space pretty damn quickly.


---


Walking down a long carpet of straw, Bogrum was led into the presence of the dragon, the Queen of the stables upon her throne of hay. He would have laughed to himself if he were inclined to mock the misfortune of others... unless this was her preferred lair? He knew little of Cherlaynth, this being his first in person meeting with her. All he knew was that she was kept down here away from the crew for a very good reason.
Maybe splitting up wasn't such a good idea...
Though he was inclined to trust Fergie, he still wondered if the woman before him really held disdain for her. He supposed they weren't exactly alike, in how their blood was mixed. If you looked at any part of Fergie that wasn't mushroom, you would see elf and goblin. Her face, her hands, her eyes. Through-and-through, she was both. Cherlaynth, though, was an amalgamation. Look at an ear, elf. A foot, orc. A limb, dragon. Or basilisk, he couldn't tell. The parts of many sewn together with forbidden magic, a Mythical Prometheus of a creature. A creation of her own making and choosing, while Fergie was simply a product of her given genetics. He supposed in that way, she was still the god she believed herself to be, above those mortals who were slaves to their own biology in comparison.

Bogrum held back a sigh at the way he was being talked to. She certainly seemed to act like it, despite her circumstances. "We have a few questions to ask," he said, not giving her the satisfaction of a groveling apology. "There were reports of the wyrvens behaving erratically during the last raid, flying into the line of fire and disregarding fallen riders. We thought you could shed some light on this, having first-hand experience with them."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

(Skip Duradel this post. The Cherylanth one is long enough)

-------------------------------------------------------

Cherylanth, the Magnificent
Animal Stables- Cherylanth's Lair​

"Erratic?" Cheryl spat. Barge into her domain and then demand an explanation? And not even bring a tribute?! "As if one of you can comprehend what is and isn't reasonable for me and my kinfolk." She broke into a maniacal laughter. "Tell me Bogrum, what would be considered 'erratic'? Who's to say what is and isn't reasonable?" Cheryl was put in charge of the wyverns. Her reptilian eyes narrowed. "I. Commanded. My. Beasts." A huff, which blew fire out of her nose in that instant. "We secured victory for your foolish battle, and my fallen kinfolk still haven't gotten a funeral or so much as a vigil." If Bogrum could recall, the names of the mourned fallen were all pirates, soldiers on the lines. Not a single name of a beast was on that list. "I bet you can't even name 3 beasts even when my name is included." From what Cheryl saw, Bogrum didn't so much as linger his eyes on one of the names on a stable.

Like cattle the beasts were treated, to Cheryl at least. A flock of nameless wings used to draw fire. "How DARE you insult the actions of the beasts that fell on YOUR behalf?!" Cheryl was getting worked up, "Your dumbass riders don't know how to conduct themselves in battle. I told my beasts to stick to the plan, DAMN the riders!" She was pretty much shrieking at this point. "THEY stuck to the plan regardless of YOUR dumbass riders trying to deviate. And no, riders who tried to deviate didn't deserve to sit their swamp-asses on the backs of my kin."

Cheryl stood and flew to the ceiling and pushed in a rock. The wall behind the stable slid open, revealing an entire cave lair. Of course Cheryl wouldn't claim some pats of straw as her actual throne. Like most dragons, a massive hoard of gold. However, a bunch of tables and pools of green liquid told him that this stable pen wasn't where she spent the bulk of her time. That would be an insult.

When the door slid entirely open, Cheryl spat again and growled as she stepped into the cave. "Neither my beasts nor myself did anything wrong. Insist on such slander again and I'll turn your ass to stone." Without awaiting a response, Cheryl walked into that cave and, since she talked to Bogrum here instead of in that cave, stepping into that cave constituted hostile intent towards her hoard.

Overall though, Cheryl defended her flying comrades with enough vehemence that it could turn into actual venom if pushed any further. Cheryl insisted that her beasts stayed the course and the RIDERS were trying to deviate, with THOSE riders being the ones the beasts didn't save. It could make sense. A scaled beast probably wouldn't care to charge into human gunfire as their bodies were scaled with magic to protect their eyes. A RIDER, however, didn't have such luxury. If made to heel, the beast would expose the weaker underbelly and wings to anti-air gunfire, causing them to be shot down. The beasts had reckless firepower and mobility. The riders had adaptability and control. Any discord between rider and beast would get them both killed

Cheryl was unpleasant to all 5 senses. Hideous, Unevenly scaly, stinky from her room being in the stables, loud and haughty, and to the point of gag-inducing.............but was she lying? Did she command her own beasts to die? Were the RIDERS the traitors who, having plunged from the heavens, got their due comeuppance? Was discord sown in the beasts? Or was discord sown in the riders? Did Cherylanth even want to associate with mortals enough to be a rat in the first place? Her anger at how the beasts were treated by the Basenjis at large, having not even their names written down, much less that name being paid a semblance of respect for their sacrifice in a battle they had no say in fighting in, angered the woman to no end. It seemed no one went to bat for the beasts aboard this ship moreso than Cherylanth.

The conclusion about the truth was up to Bogrum to draw. If he stepped into that cave though, he was fighting to the death regardless of his stance. He clearly wasn't welcome anymore

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Diplomacy was hard, Bogrum knew. All it took was one wrong word to send the entire discussion spiraling. Granted, Her Magnificence didn't give him the chance to have anything close to a discussion, but once he was questioned for his use of "erratic", his stomach dropped, and expected the rest. He couldn't get a word in edgewise even if he wanted, and frankly he didn't want to, if she was getting this worked up from one statement-- a poorly-worded one, admittedly.

But by the time she'd finished, thankfully lurking away into her cave having given nothing worse than a verbal lashing, Bogrum started to think he didn't need to give his piece. Cherlaynth had already given him plenty to work with from her angry spiel. The information presented to him had painted a picture of badly-behaved beasts led by a maniac, but now he saw that it wasn't so simple. Her rage was real, openly disgusted by the lack of respect the wyverns were given for their unwilling sacrifice. If she got so heated on their behalf, she wouldn't dream of throwing them to the snapping jaws of wolves for her own gain. It seemed to be much more likely the doing of the riders, which oddly to him, hadn't even been questioned in the slightest. None of the files of suspects he'd been shown were riders, at least.

Cherlaynth was a dead end for now, clearly finding his presence overstayed and unwelcome. It was a bridge to either burn or repair later, but for now, he knew what he had to do. Her disappearance into the darkness of the cave told him it was time to go, so Bogrum left as well, quickly and gratefully putting the stables behind him, the captain being his new destination.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

(Likewise with Fergie's interaction, we'll skip Bogrum's for this post)
------------------------------------

Duradel
Armory
​

Not that he EARNESTLY tried to distract her, but the way she spoke nipped at him. This wasn't going to go anywhere positive, as was every interaction with Fergie, and this was proven when she brought up missing weapons and tampered gear. These were things that Duradel weren't familiar with.........right? "Missing weapons?" he thought for a moment. "I mean, maybe I gave out more weapons than I should have. I was running this place alone when we got attacked. I didn't have time to go through the usual protocol." The protocol in question was a written record of who had what for the purposes of accountability of the stronger or newer weapons. Some rusty sword wasn't worth keeping track of. An enchanted axe was. A blunderbuss stolen off a dead Gun wasn't worth keeping track of. A mounted death laser was. "I'm sure if you ran this place in the midst of an attack, you wouldn't tell them to jot their name or give a blood seal on the dotted line. You give them a weapon and tell them to kill." That much would be undeniable to pretty much anyone on the ship. formalities had no place when shit hits the fan and lives are on the line

Duradel leaned on his desk. Tampering was a bit more complicated, as the word entailed a lot. It would help to know some things specifically, but to broadly say "tampering" was a bit vague. Everything from wrapping a cloth around the hilt of a blade, to turning it into a god-eating sword, could qualify as tampering. Hell, pouring poison on the blade counted as tampering. "As for tampering, that's........ a different thing entirely. As an alchemist, I can see the structure of these weapons and I can tell if it needs to be altered and improved. He leaned on his desk, "I'll tell you this, Fergie, I only tamper with throwaway weapons. Rusty blades, guns that have misfired, weapons people aren't exactly begging me for. Part of my job is repairing unviable weapons. I don't mess with weapons worth signing for." That made sense. If he was in charge of repairing or improving bad weapons, tampering was literally part of his job. Why make weapons bad if it would just get brought back to him to repair again?

Were there specifics given? WERE weapons actually tampered with? Or were crewmates unnecessarily blaming their battle woes on weaponry and not they themselves? Were magic weapons not working? Were metals downgraded? Were freshly prepped weapons misfiring? Or were they using their own crappy weapons thinking they were given by Duradel? It's not hard to lose a blade in battle and pick up another crappier blade because a bad blade is better than no blade.

However, there was a potential cause for concern somewhere in his words. If Fergie could find it, she could possibly pry. However, if she couldn't point it out, all she had to go on was Sebas's warning that the guy was a known conman..........but was Duradel conning Basenjis out of their lives with weapons he doesn't even SELL? What benefit would he even gain from doing that? There wasn't a reason to doubt Sebas's word...........it was just a question on if it was being put to use HERE

All of that is on Fergie to believe/disbelieve, but she had to confront the business with that and then her business with the Ballast equipment, so this interaction was nowhere near over, unlike with Cherylanth's flippant dismissal of Bogrum
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fergie's heated stare narrowed, exuding skepticism at Duradel's recounting of the matter of missing weapons. Unfortunately, he was making sense here. Weapons disappearing from the records wasn't uncommon, for all of those reasons. Furthermore, she knew they were hardly as accurate as they were made out to be. The number of crewmates she caught carrying undocumented weapons grew so long that eventually she stopped caring. It was just the nature of pirates, really. If it were simply a matter of that, she wouldn't have even been bothering Duradel about it.

But when paired with tampered weapons in the middle of a rat hunt, that created an entirely different issue. "Tampering meanin' sabotaged," she elaborated, not letting him wave this one away. It hadn't been Sebas's exact words, and it very well may be exactly what Duradel said it was. But if it wasn't, he'd be forced to explain himself further, possibly even fumble along the way. Tell a lie to catch a lie. "The injured turned in weapons with clear signs of intentional damage." Not rust or general wear and tear. Things like key components having specific issues despite the weapon in question having been serviced. The writer would elaborate if she knew anything about guns, let alone old flintlocks. "If them weapons went under the radar, and ye were the only one overseein' the whole thing, that puts suspicion on ye." This would force him to detail his alibi. Of course, he could just claim ignorance, which would be better than being outed as a rat. But it still wasn't good, and she'd still kick his ass for letting that shit go unnoticed, especially when life or death depended on a weapon not misfiring or falling apart on the battlefield. They had an inspection of every piece of armor and weaponry on that ship before the raid, so to her, there was no excuse.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Duradel
Armory​

"If a weapon hasn't been signed off on," Duradel replied to her, "It does not have ANY guarantee that it is good." Duradel shrugged. He seemed far more concerned about his own well-being than the lives of the compatriots in question. "Not saying they deserve death, but if they grabbed a weapon from under me, and that weapon wasn't ready to be used yet, is it MY fault? Or theirs?" There was a difference between grabbing a weapon from under the armorer and signing off on a weapon given to them BY him. "If someone steals your blade and then the blade breaks in battle, is Fergie to blame for sabotage? Or did the thief get what was coming?" The answer to that was obvious and undeniable

"If someone is trying to pin some blame on me, what they would need is a weapon that HAS been signed off on with those signs of damage." his eyes narrowed, feeling confident in what he was saying. "Otherwise, every weapon I assigned and signed off on IS my alibi. I can't be made responsible for malfunctions in weapons being utilized by unauthorized users." As PR as this response sounded, it did make sense. Why was HE under suspicion if the weapon shouldn't have been in their hands in the first place?

The entire point of signing off on these weapons was twofold

1. To track the best weapons- The relics, the magic weapons, and the popular weapons which Adonis didn't want to lose
2. To ensure quality- Duradel's job was ensuring weapons were good to fight with. Signing off on it was effectively saying that HE, the armorer, approved of the weapon being used in life/death battle.

So as it stood, there was little Fergie could do in terms of concluding it was Duradel. A hunch or general suspicion wasn't enough
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

She was bristling now. Not from anger, at least not purely. Her rigid stance and clamped jaw weren't much to go by, but there was a distinct air of discomfort surrounding her the more Duradel went on. She felt it was a clear attempt at misdirection, but whether that was the case or not, what he was saying was still making sense. It nagged at her that something was amiss about his words, but for one, she couldn't pick apart just what it was, and two, something more pressing pricked at the back of her mind and told her that bluntly announcing her suspicion of him had been a bad move. Originally Duradel was sweating bullets at the sight of her, but now he was almost being smug with her, and it was pissing her off. Not because she preferred him cowering before her, she just felt really stupid now.

Gods, what was I thinkin'? He was a known conman, speechcraft was kind of his thing. Fergie felt lucky to know what words even were. Duradel could make anyone think anything with a single sentence, while it seemed everyone got the wrong message from anything she said. Should've had Bogrum do this. Well... actually, she and Cherlaynth would probably be killing each other right now, so maybe her awkwardly fumbling this encounter was preferable, even if embarrassing.

"None of that's the point, Duradel," she spat sternly. Maybe her brashness could return some form of control over the conversation. "Aye, aye, very convenient, all the paperwork shit an' whatever clears yer name. Good for you." Damn, if only Cass was here. She'd tear right into this arsehole, she's good at the legal crap. They made a good team, she and her old Ballast accomplice. Fergie played into the intimidation factor, Cassandra had a knack for negotiating her way through trouble, and she would sic her on whoever when said negotiation needed more persuasion. But it seemed that her skills never rubbed off on Fergie, because now she doesn't know when to be civil or when to break out the fists. Or how, for the former.
"The issue's that there's sabotaged weapons in the first place. Everythin' on this ship should've been documented at the first inspection. The raid wasn't even an hour after takeoff. So that means either someone was very prolific after inspection, or someone didn't do their job during inspection." She considered leaving it at that; had Cass been around, she'd be pulling her down to her dwarf's height by the scruff so she could smack her upside the face, for the fool she was making out of herself. But curiosity led her to ask, "What do ye remember of it? Anything out of sorts?" Not that she trusted anything that came from Duradel's mouth. She just wondered what would be omitted and what would be added, for when she cross referenced his testimony later.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Duradel
Armory​

He could see her getting worked up. Clearly she came in with the intent to implicate him, but at least had enough reason to not jump straight to kicking his ass. For that reason, this was already going better than say if he talked to Sebas or god-forbid Ash. Still, he wouldn't provoke her. He had to attempt to set her mind at ease, or at least introduce enough doubt to force her mind to cease its laser-focus on him.

When in a court, your job isn't to find the truth, it's to keep your ass from getting convicted. He wasn't guilty...... That he knew, but no one else was Duradel. "Have you considered that maybe those weapons were stolen BEFORE we boarded?" Duradel asked her. He whipped out a piece of paper and began writing while continuing to talk. "Inventory was taken at board, but remember: We were on a sea ship, and the crew had to move everything onto the airship by the next morning. That's a whole half-day of time I wasn't around. They could've been stolen at ANY POINT before the raid, including before we even got on the ship." He leaned in, his smugness gone and now replaced with a bit of genuine seriousness. "In that case, weapon inspections were taken of the weaponry that were moved to the armory, not the stolen ones. I can't inspect weapons I don't have." In other words, if there was sabotage, it could've happened before they even boarded this ship. This corroborates the fact that none of the weapons deemed to be sabotaged were weapons Duradel signed off on as approved.

"What I'm saying is this: The weapons I signed off on are not the ones deemed sabotage. You think it's convenient of me to cover my own ass, and it was.......but the sequence of events are important." He showed her the paper. It was a sequence of events. Sea-ship, dock, we get free-time while crew loads the ship, we load up, set sail and inspect, then raid. "I don't come back into the picture until we set sail and inspect. Anyone could've taken any weapon at any point before then since we were dividing up which weapons goes on which ship." If someone wanted to steal a weapon or sabotage a weapon, they could've done it then, then just pawned it off on someone else.

He wanted to bring his point home with a simple summary. "See, what YOU'RE saying is 'Weapons are sabotaged, therefore Duradel is suspicious.' What I'm saying is that it's weird that there isn't a single weapon that I signed off on that is sabotaged. The only weapons that are sabotaged are weapons that SHOULD'VE been in the armory for inspection, but WEREN'T."

He thought for a moment. "How about this? Let's see if it happens with Basenjis on the other ships.......or we can launch a weapons inspection on the other ships before we land. If weapons come up sabotaged, then Duradel is clearly off the hook as Duradel didn't work in the armory until we got on this ship. If not, well.........then I'll have my day in front of leadership." Duradel was now dead serious and speaking with an air of confidence about his own innocence. What better way to prove his innocence than to prove that this happened before they got on the airship?
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fuck me. She felt like an idiot now. Fergie was starting to realize that she'd rushed into this whole investigation, and the worst part of that was that it hadn't even been her realization. The person she'd implicated on the spot had to be the one to tell her. "Have you considered?" Why no, course I haven't, 'cause 'pparently I got the brain functions of a sunfish. She hated feeling condescended whatever the circumstance, but the fact that it was almost justified here wounded her. The heat in her glare was maintained only to hide the mortification she was experiencing when Duradel showed her his writing, as if she needed things spelled out for her. The paper at table-height conveniently let her head tilt to hide her stinging cheeks behind her hat, her mind filling with static to the point where she couldn't comprehend what she was reading for a few seconds. An inner voice soon cut through it.
Swallow it.
What Duradel was saying opened a lot of possibilities. Her previously narrow view of the matter having been shattered, her thoughts wandered even further back. If her stalker from before had been on her tail for a week, then there's no telling how much longer this hidden operation had been under works. A more in-depth inventory check would only scratch the surface at this point. It was something to discuss with Sebas after she was done with Duradel.

And she was far from done with Duradel. He'd made the right call, getting her to see reason. But it had the double-edged sword of slashing her pride, and now she was determined to get something out of this encounter other than a sick weight of embarrassment in her gut.

"There's one more thing," she began in a low voice, peeking up at him with a razor gaze. "There was a gun with a Ballast insignia found in yer possession." Getting right to the point, she turned her head up so she could look down at him properly. "I need to inspect it."


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

"A Ballast Insignia?" Duradel looked genuinely confused. "The BRONZE Ballasts?" He pulled out his gun. "This isn't the Ballast insignia. I thought they were long dead." He gave Fergie the gun. Sure enough, it was the Ballast insignia........ For the most part. It was, but it wasn't EXACTLY. Like it was an altered version of the insignia, altered enough to look different, but there were enough core components to make it recognizable to those with experience fighting the Ballasts, of which Duradel was not.

The thing to take note of was that if this was altered, the Ballasts may not be dead. Either that, or the crew who originally commandeered these guns were engaging in a form of mimicry. Who knew how far these guns spread, especially since those guns have since been serviced and cleaned. One thing for certain though was that insignia was 100% more recent than the late insignia. Perhaps it could be an alternative insignia, in the chance that they needed to obscure their easily recognizable primary insignia

"This gun was found in one of the merchant ships we raided while we were at sea." he showed her another gun, one used by one of the Golden Guns. The same insignia. "I thought this was a manufacturer insignia, since the Golden Guns used weapons with this insignia as well." That didn't bode well. Did the Ballasts decide to manufacture weapons for extra funds to rebuild? Did they work directly with the Golden Guns? Was that guy who was hunting Fergie carrying something with that insignia as well? Was there a connection between the merchant ship and the Golden Gun shop? Could Duradel not see the resemblance between the insignias?

Fergie needed knowledge. While Sebas would support her efforts, he had no dog in that fight and he definitely couldn't reroute Canine pirates into that line of effort. He'd already told her that. Unless Fergie had enough knowledge to blow the lid and show that they were alive and well (in other words, information worth taking to Adonis), they had to investigate in the background

All she knew now was that the new enemy they made were associated with the insignia of an old enemy
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

The guns in question piqued her interest, looked over with an investigative eye as her previous discomfort was nearly forgotten. Honestly, she had been willing to bet that it was just a matter of Duradel finding an old, repurposed model and not knowing the history, but this was definitely more complex. Why would this symbol even exist? Mimicry did come to mind. The Golden Guns certainly had the firepower to rival the Ballasts, but with extra flash. Though that theory fell flat at the existence of the merchant ship gun. Could those mercenaries have been Ballast-aligned? She doubted it. More likely a case of stolen/second-hand weaponry.

She had a hunch. Not that her hunches were always accurate, but one possibility made more sense than the others. It wasn't just the insignia that jogged her memory. She couldn't place exactly what it was, but something in the form of the guns, their structure and shape, struck her as frustratingly familiar. It was in the craftsmanship... "Dwarven crafted," she concluded, bringing it closer to her face so she could eyeball the markings etched into its wooden handle. It didn't really narrow it down, as there were hundreds upon hundreds of styles taking after many creeds and cultures. Most she couldn't pick apart even if they were right next to each other. But she knew THIS design.
Speak of the fuckin' devil.
But could it have been her? Cassandra was just one of the many dwarven gunsmiths enlisted by the Ballasts, as they were often top-notch when it came to tech. Many had stuck around with the Ballasts after the internal collapse, her included, but it could still be anyone manufacturing these guns. Not even a dwarf necessarily, just anyone emulating the style. It had been many years since she saw her work, so she couldn't point out differences.
After the fallout, Cass had disappeared off the face of the earth along with the Ballasts. Fergie didn't agree with her choice to stick around, but her own beef with the Commodore wasn't Cass's. She had her own aspirations... one of them to start her own weapon manufacturing company. As much as she enjoyed the pirate life at the time, she'd been open to Fergie about wanting to put her skills in business to work. More subtle and stable methods of gathering wealth, as opposed to shooting some guy and looting his corpse and home, essentially. But the more illicit nature of her work would keep her from gaining a complete foothold in "polite society" as she'd call it, so one had to wonder if she was still in the game, if not out in the field...

The pieces seemed to go together, but did they fill the gaps completely? It was all conjecture at this point. It made sense in her head, but there was no tangible proof or lead to back it up. All she had was this not-Ballast insignia to go by, and that both the Golden Guns and the merchant ship were involved in some way.

"I'll need to confiscate these for further research," she told him. Egh. Course I gotta run by her again. Since Elaina was the only one who could reliably detect hidden markings, it wasn't like she had much of a choice. "Assumin' we find nothin' of concern, we'll return 'em. If not, ye'll be confisc-- compensated." She added, "Any others like this? Any of the traitors' weapons down 'ere?"


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Captain's Office​

So the results of the the vampirism "investigation". Sebas was about to overthink into oblivion, but he decided to rule out the occult before jumping to vampirism. Thank the seas that, upon asking Baroness about it, it turned out that Fergie's attacker asked for power since he felt powerless to be able to beat Fergie. While Baroness gave him immense power due to her dislike of Fergie, his own cowardice made that power null. Thank the seas that Kylesar has the sense to not introduce a third mystery element atop the mystery of the Bronze Ballasts and the mystery of rats on board a ship of dogs

Ash did her interrogation of Ietoq's group. Another one was mauled to death, but it seemed that the rest knew what's up, if not from Ietoq's death, it was from Ash's display of not-bluffing and making an example of the other confirmed traitor.

It seemed like the investigations were going well. Traitors going down. Fergie sent to take care of Duradel and Bogrum sent to take care of Cherylanth.
His crystal rang. "Yup?" Sebas answered. It was the voice of their illustrious captain Adonis
"Sebas. Lostro anticipates your audience. She wants to talk to you directly."
Sebas immediately felt uneasy. Lostro was NOT the source of good vibes, but he had a job to do, whether it was interacting with someone he liked or not. Plus........he loved Lostro, and it was for that reason he didn't want to interact with her as she was. A necessary evil. If not for Lostro's downfall, the hand of the child he was currently holding would probably be bobbing lifeless in the ocean depths. The hand of the child he used to hold was corrupted
"Her here or me there?"
"She's anxious to leave her room." Too many words for "her here."
"Right........" Guess there's no avoiding it, Sebas thought. Lostro would definitely want to talk about why her "best friend" had been avoiding her. Such a sentiment seemed 1000% more creepy when coming out of the mouth of what was essentially a possessed child. "Send her to the Canine."

Duradel
Armory
​

The fact that Fergie knew on sight that it was dwarven crafted actually surprised Duradel. "Quite the eye," It didn't SCREAM Dwarven crafted from its outer appearance, but she managed to pick out the very few visible dwarven crafting tendencies present in this weapon. "Indeed it is dwarven ingenuity. Interesting thing is that all of the ones with the insignia are in excellent condition. There aren't a lot of these though, so it doesn't seem to be standard issue." He picked up a rifle with that same insignia, "These are newer weapons, extremely high quality and likely expensive. There weren't a lot of them. Out of the 11 or so weapons brought in, only like 2 of them are by this manufacturer. Or this insignia" Meaning that they were either bought individually or given to higher ranking pirates

He flipped his gun and unloaded it to hand to Fergie. He was obviously a gun nut, but with this flourish, he could seem like a bit of a gunslinger. Then again, all that flourish was useless if he couldn't hit his target, and Fergie had never seen the man pop a shot. "This was the only weapon with this insignia on that merchant ship, so it was probably given to the captain of that ship or the leader of the mercenaries on that ship." Duradel was fascinated with the weapon. A shame he wasn't able to take it apart before Fergie wanted it investigated. Plus, there weren't even enough to justify destroying one of these high quality weapons for research

He gave the insignia engraved pistol to Fergie. "You can take this one yourself. I'll bring the 2 rifles to Sebas."





Warning

An announcement panel hit the ship at large. "Lostrogret Whitcoat is coming to the Canine in 10 minutes. Take appropriate measures. Anyone that ISN'T leadership is prohibited from speaking to Lostrogret Whitcoat unless she speaks to you first." God, he sounded like a PR firm. Lostro sounded like God Himself. It said a lot that Lostro's imminent appearance was warning material. "Meet not her gaze without eye protection. those sensitive to dark magic need to stay away at any and all costs. Do not acknowledge her unless she acknowledges you first. If she asks you for something, you are ordered to report it to me or Ash......and ONLY me or Ash, and to report before attempting to fulfill the request." There was a big reason why it was Ash instead of either Raid Captain. Ash, like Sebas, knew how to handle Lostro. Lostro was one of those forces that required different handling. "These are life and death orders. Break them at your own peril." Lostro was a scary enough force by her appearance alone. An undead possessed dwarven gorgon girl wasn't something to play around with.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Newer weapons, then? If they were in such good condition, they couldn't have been brought far from the source, Fergie surmised. Purchased by mercenaries and pirates, they'd be put to use immediately, instead of tucked away in a reinforced chest for leagues and leagues. Since the merchant ship had only been a few days away from the city, and the Golden Guns ship hovering not far from above, she wondered if Andouphe was where they'd been purchased. It was more likely that they were imported goods, rather than where the manufacturer was stationed. Assuming it was THE place, but it was a good candidate, based on what she knew thus far.

Fergie took the given gun and set it in an empty holster when Sebas's voice sounded from the intercom. She withheld a disgruntled noise, but a frown of concern was plain on her face. "That'll be all," she told Duradel. The arrival of Lostrogret spared Duradel from any additional questioning, but the finding of the insignia was his greatest savior here. Her aforementioned laser focus had shifted to the mystery of the guns, so he wouldn't have to anticipate a beat down or chewing out. This time.
She strode her way towards the door, slowing her pace at a thought. "Word of advice," she said over her shoulder, "with the investigation goin' on, best find a buddy to keep each other tabs on. Don't wanna be caught alone." A warning either way, but whether it was a veiled threat or an awkward apology was for Duradel to interpret.


Touching Base

New focus or not, Fergie hadn't fully forgotten her earlier frustration. Fuckin' hell, what was that all about? Never mind the shitty outcome; she knew she was bad at interrogation when it had more nuance than "intimidate and/or beat the shit out of target". Why did it... get to her so badly? Keep fuckin' up, that's why. Can't I get anythin' done without needin' help, like a godsdamned child? She sucked in a breath, deep and slow in and out. There wasn't time to get worked up over things; she had an infiltration and an upcoming battle to contend with, on top of her personal troubles. Sebas's warning to not add more woes rung true here.
Seeing Bogum leaning against the wall just a ways off from the armory was the perfect distraction. "What's the verdict?" he asked.
"Eh..." I'm a dumbass, that's what. "Take me to yer quarters. We'll talk there."

Behind that closed door, she would tell him, "Duradel seems clean. Claims the bad gear wasn't on the list, so it had to be smuggled in. Needs double-checking, though." Not that she could imagine him lying blatantly about that. If he was hiding something, it would take a lot more digging. And someone who actually knew how to creep past his defenses.
Bogrum gave a snort. The miffed kind, arms folding. "At least you had a back and forth. Cherlaynth shooed me off the moment I opened my mouth."
Maybe it was selfish of her, but she felt a little better knowing that she wasn't the only one having trouble. "That all? Thank gods. Thought ye'd have to put down her ass."
Me too, he didn't say aloud, but his equally relieved expression said it for him. "But she did provide me with a different perspective," he went on. "I don't think she's to blame for the wyrvens' performance. I want to run an inspection on the riders, surviving and fallen. We might find a better lead that way."

"I might have one. But not on the rats." Fergie showed him the gun in question, drawing a curious look from the orc. She explained the not-Ballast symbol, what it could mean for her and her search. "Could just be a mimic. But if not, I might finally have an in." She drew a set of fingers over her chin. "Problem is, even if it is her, she prolly don't go by "Cass" no more. We all changed our names aft' the fallout." Well, the loyalists had. Fergie herself wasn't "Fergie" until after her trip to Dead Man's Isle, hopefully cementing the Ballasts' assumption that she was dead. Assuming they were assuming still, that is.
"What's the significance of it being Cassandra?" Bogrum wondered. "If she's loyal to the Ballasts, wouldn't that still pose an issue?"
"I know her. She's loyal to coin over all else." Like a true pirate, that woman.
"If she's loyal to coin, she's loyal to who has the most of it."
Hesitance drawing silence between them for a few moments, Fergie eventually huffed a sigh in a resigned fashion. "We go way back. She wouldn't have reason to rat me out, bounty 'r not."
A skeptical scowl lined his brows, but he'd trust her here. "I hope you're right on that one."
"I hope that it's her at all. I need to look into it more first." The sour note in her next words wouldn't go unnoticed. "Gotta see if Elaina can uncover anythin' from this gun."
"If she's your next stop, then don't worry about Lostrogret," he told her, waving a hand. "I need to talk to Sebas anyway. Might as well take up the task."
Relieved at that, Fergie nodded her gratitude. "Let's get to it."


The two parted ways again here, Bogrum heading for the captain's quarters, and Fergie to wherever she last saw Elaina.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Captain's Office​

A knock at the door. "Come in." Sebas called out.

It was Bogrum, ready for an update on his side of the investigation. Cherylanth was incredibly rough around the edges, and he was actually a bit concerned that the update would be that he had to put her down........so it came as a surprise that Bogrum looked completely unharmed. No way in hell he would come out scratch-free from a fight with Cheryl. However, there seemed to be an expression on his face that was hard to read. "I see you're unharmed. That means you didn't have to fight to the death."

"Before you update me, take these." He passed Bogrum some shades. He took care to size them up because.....well Bigger beings than humans required larger eyewear. "Wear them when Lostro appears. Absolutely do not look at her without those shades. PERIOD. Ash and I are the only exceptions to that rule, as we have her favor." Sebas rolled up his sleeve to show a gorgon tattoo. "It makes you immune to Lostro's influence regardless. For those who DON'T have it, her Gorgon stare is stronger than most, her being a Pet Semetary child and all." Should I even explain it to Bogrum? The why seems more important to Fergie than him, he thought. More words to type. "Lostro's Gorgon Stare doesn't require eye contact. If you're looking in each other's general direction, it'll activate. That's why you wear the shades. There's no coming back from Lostro's petrification." Your soul was stolen alongside you turning to stone, and good luck getting it back from Lostro

Sebas shifted the paperwork on his desk. On to the next urgent matter. "Now, your report. What'd you get from Cheryl?"

Elaina
Canine Deck​

Elaina would be easily found out on the deck, directing traffic in anticipation of Lostrogret's appearance. Immediately upon seeing Fergie, Elaina knew they were about to talk. Why else would Fergie walk directly up to her with that look on her face. That look of "damn, I gotta talk to her again." Oh well, it wasn't like they had to make small talk. She'd opt to keep it short and.......well not even sweet. Short and short.

"Get to your rooms! Don't come out if you're sensitive to darkness. No looking at Lostrogret without shades. No speaking to Lostrogret unless she speaks to you first. Act like you don't exist around Lostrogret!" she yelled. Ahhhh, the feeling of ordering these drunks around with some delegated authority, and NOT some manipulative use of sexuality. Even if it were ordering them to get prepared for Lostro, it was still exhilarating. Speaking of Lostro though, she would be quite the specimen to study. An overwhelming amount of darkness too much to control. A walking beacon of unholiness. The knowledge she could gain from studying the girl would propel her studies forward YEARS. However, she was too damn frightened of Lostro to justify getting close to her in any regard. Use of her sight magic towards Lostro put her at risk of that Gorgon stare regardless of shades. Plus, last time she tried it, she saw things that gave her accursed nightmares. Like staring into an abyss of endless depraved horrors night after night, getting worse by the night. It got so bad that it took Dr. Laylah having to perform an Ordination of Cleansing to get rid of them. It gave her a shudder to think about. Anyways.......

With Fergie close enough, she may as well initiate. May as well stow the greeting, Elaina thought. "You're back......and with a weapon I guess you want me to inspect." I mean, it's not hers. If it were, it'd be holstered on her waist, not in her hands being held in an inquisitive way. One glance was all it took. "There's illusion magic in that weapon's insignia. That weapon is a piece of worn down crap."
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Bogrum wasn't about to question, despite the look of muted horror on his face as Sebas described the gorgon child's uncanny abilities. Not because he was uninterested, he would just rather NOT know. Not only was it incredibly upsetting, the fate of this undead child, it brought up a boatload of existential dread that he didn't want to contend with right now. A being that casually could, and would, absorb the souls of anyone who had the misfortune of looking her way shouldn't be permitted near the crew. Hell, it shouldn't even exist in this realm, period.

But it wasn't his place to say any of this. He took the shades wordlessly, gladly moving onto the next subject. "Cherlaynth was angry, but didn't resort to violence," he confirmed. "On behalf of the wyrvens. She already seemed irate that the fallen were given no recognition, so to be implicated was the final nail in the coffin for her." He never told her directly that she had been, but it didn't take a genus to know that when you're being asked questions, you're probably on that list somewhere. "Her anger seemed genuine to me. Unless she's a damn good liar, I can't see why she'd throw the wyrvens under the bus, only to get up in arms on their behalf after the fact." He was no animal lover, but even to him, it seemed cold to use anyone like that, animal or not. "And she highlighted another issue I hadn't considered. If there's any discourse between dragon and rider, then there could easily be breaks in formation, or unpredictable behavior."

That all being said. "I'd like more information on the riders. Surviving and fallen. If Cherlaynth is right, we might find a better lead that way." And if not... well, someone else could go bother her about it, to be honest. He had a feeling that if he pressed her anymore, there would end up being a fight.


---


Fergie would have loved to be one of those lucky crewmates, being ordered to stay in her room to avoid Lostro. As raid captain however, that made her in charge, so alas. At least she didn't have to be in the same room as her; though that gave her a pang of worry on Bogrum's behalf. She trusted Sebas, but she'd never trust those dark energies that surrounded the child.

Elaina reading her and taking the initiative brought her attention back to the gun in her hands. Her subsequent words were like a punch to the gut. A worn down piece of crap, disguised to be high quality? Well, that immediately booted Cass out of the picture; gold was God, up until it interfered with the quality of her work. She'd never sell crap, even if there was a lucrative reason for it. Not because she was above tricking her clients, but you can't exactly be known as a master gunsmith if you're selling shit.
"Goddamn." It didn't rule out Ballasts, though. Money was money to them, at large. "This was looted from the merchant ship we plundered 'fore docking at Andouphe. Duradel claimed." Had he done this? "Tampering" with weapons was kinda his deal. But he had claimed this very gun for himself. If he knew it was crap, why would he claim it? "Guessin' this illusion spell be strong enough to get past 'im." But not an expert sensory mage. "What else can ye tell?"


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Captain's Office​

Bogrum had a damn good point. If there was one good thing to say about Cheryl, it was that she gave a crap about the beasts. It made sense that Bogrum questioning almost turned into a fight. As much of a mutation incarnate Cheryl was, she did still have some form of intellect within that air of insanity. With Bogrum wanting to shift to the riders, Sebas found no reason to doubt it. "Cheryl? Lie? Nah. The day she lies is the day I'll bow to whoever she feels a NEED to lie to." If Cheryl had done it, it would've been a fight on the spot, as she would've admitted it and it was Bogrum's job to put her down if she did. "Discord between wyvern and rider or not, the riders absolutely have a problem with Cheryl regardless due to her domineering nature and her passion for her ideals." For that reason, if there is discord between dragon and rider, it could be a clash of ideals between the leader of the riders and the leader of the beasts...........or perhaps a clash between Cherylanth and the sentiment of the Basenjis at large. "If beasts feel more a kinship with Cheryl than their riders, that isn't Cheryl's fault. That is the fault of the riders for being negligent on their beasts while Cheryl remained diligent about their care."

With that in mind, it seemed this case was closed......well, the case Sebas sent Bogrum in for was closed. Cheryl wasn't a rat and Sebas could conclude that none of the riders masterminded a squad-level suicide charge, or that Cherylanth would mastermind a suicide of her beasts. There were issues to address, but no one to put down for traitorous action. Maybe Sebas would force them into a come-to-jesus meeting, with the threat of death if it happened again. There should NEVER be discord between rider and beast.

Elaina
Deck​

"I can tell that the insignia itself is the illusion magic." Elaina wiped her finger over the gun. And now? The genuine Ballast insignia. With the insignia changed back to the actual Ballast insignia, the gun itself shifted back to the standard issue Ballast pistol, a sight all too familiar to Fergie. "HE'S suspected of having a Ballast Insignia, yet it's not....yet it IS because it's an insignia INSPIRED by......." She gesticulated to indicate "so on and so forth" or "yada yada." She wouldn't go into condescension mode. Fergie swallowed her pride enough to leverage her expertise so no need to condescend to her.

Elaina looked around for people to hear her before continuing. No one. Oh right, they've cleared out for Lostro's imminent appearance. Convenient. "If he's forging an insignia, that means what he's forging does indeed make high quality weapons and DOES use this insignia." Duradel did try to pass off that weapon as high quality, which meant that the genuine article was high quality. "He just wanted to pass off THIS Ballast weapon as part of THEIR non-Ballast weapon line with the convenient yet truthful excuse that there is indeed a genuine Bronze Ballast-inspired manufacturer." That seemed pretty logical to conclude, correct? "With that in mind, you can simplify this: Where he got it is irrelevant to the fact that he tried to hide it. He could've just said 'yes I got this weapon from the merchant ship. I wasn't aware that it was the Ballast Insignia,' and everything would've been resolved just by you confiscating the weapon." The weakness of the conman is someone with eyes like Elaina, who looked down on Duradel as someone whose word could only be trusted when written on parchment and certified with a soul-binding blood signature as true.

"If there's any doubt, I'll drive it home with this: The report on Duradel says 'he can't explain how he got the weapon.' I know because I wrote the report." You're welcome by the way, Elaina thought. Rats onboard present an issue for me. "Why did he just spit out an explanation all of a sudden? Of a convenient merchant ship and a convenient manufacturer that HE, the resident armorer of this ship, for some reason didn't know about?"
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Relief was evident in Bogrum, who nodded and breathed out some pent up nerves at Sebas's agreement. "One less person to worry about." At least when it came to the matter of the rats. But still, he didn't particularly view Cheryl as a threat now, despite the myriad of other warnings Sebas and Fergie had given him about her. Maybe she was crazy and violent, but to Bogrum, that read as someone who was hurt and lashing out. If the wyrvens seemed to answer to her more than their riders, that told him that she must be the only one who showed them proper respect and care. He knew what it felt like, to have one's troops disrespected. Animal or not, it didn't matter. He felt for her.

Though that was to be addressed another time. For now, he asked, "I presume it's still a matter of "don't speak unless spoken to" with Lostrogret?" He hoped. How does one strike up a conversation with a possessed child, anyway?

---


This just wasn't her day, was it? Needing things explained to her TWICE. Fergie's initial confusion soon melted away when things clicked together, under the heat of billowing rage that made the hairs on her neck bristle. That motherfucker conned her because she was stupid enough to believe it, and now Elaina was seeing just how stupid she was, Jesus FUCK--

Outwardly, she looked off in the distance, breathing in deep and letting it go. "That's it. I'm kickin' his ass." Why she hadn't before, it didn't seem like a good enough reason to. Assumptions and accusations on her belt weren't weapons to beat him with physically. But being lied to? Officially poking the bear.
Throwing the gun back into her holster, she told Elaina, "Call me if anythin' gets out of sorts. I got some more questions for 'im." Here she would have swiveled around and marched towards her destination, irate determinations fueling her, but something kept her locked in place. Her mouth parted, then shut again with thin lips. It took an inward push to get whatever it was stuck in her throat to come out. "Elaina... er... thanks."
Good enough, now fuck off.
She didn't, legs still locked. "I..."
Bitch, don't do it--
"I owe ye one."
Idiot.

Finally, she was treading off, if only to hide her self-directed disgust. Fucking, fucking, dumbass idiot! Throwin' favors like that around?! Now she's gonna make ye--
She shook her head. Make me what? Drink some weird potion shit? Beat up some horny idiot for her? What's the fuckin' deal? She ain't... she's not...
Her gait slowed. She's just a... A bitch? That wasn't fair to say. Fergie was a bitch too. She sighed. Competent and a team player. That's all that matters. So put this petty shit aside.

It was easy to direct anger towards anyone who'd wronged her. Difference was, it was more useful when directed at Duradel. And boy, was he about to get it. Assuming the sweaty bastard hadn't high-tailed it out of his station already; that had to have been him buying time, misdirecting her like that. But the armory was still the first place she'd check. If unlocked, to be peered inside of carefully before setting foot.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Captain's Office​

It was a good question indeed. The answer was immediately made obvious to Sebas though when Bogrum asked it. Clearly he wanted to back off and let him do the heavy talking. That was the plan indeed. "Aye. Better to stay back, as mistakes don't have much margin for forgiveness. Lostro may take to you more than she would Fergie though." In other words, Bogrum was likely better with kids than Fergie was. Then again, if they were all pirates, how good with kids can they possibly be? Sebas himself was good with kids, which was why he's gotten himself involved with 2 of them at this point, but was Bogrum the same way? Not that Sebas WANTED him to do as such, but in this case specifically, he didn't need a pitbull like Fergie

"But yes, when in doubt, don't speak unless spoken to. Just know that she WILL speak to you if you're with me." It does Bogrum no good if Lostro showed up and didn't speak to him. There's a reason Kylesar didn't have this interaction go through Sebas and Ash, 2 people who know how to handle Lostro. Mostly, it's because the other player needs to be involved. "She's............lonely. Who would've known that a child that is isolated from the only family that she's known would have feelings of loneliness." It was about the only thing Sebas could think of to why Lostro would suddenly request to come aboard the ship instead of Sebas and Bogrum coming to her. "Being possessed by whatever the fuck Adonis did didn't erase the fact that she's a child and thus desires attention." She's just too unstable for her needs to be met safely

Duradel
Armory​

Shit, shit shit! Duradel thought. Since Fergie was an IDIOT, He managed to buy himself some time, but he already knew Fergie was taking that weapon to Elaina. Few else on the ship could see through that illusion and few else were as so willing to do it and spout nerdy nonsense as Elaina. The moment Fergie left, he got to work on a mass illusion spell. So long as Elaina didn't step foot in the armory, something she had no reason to do unless Fergie asked her, Fergie wouldn't be able to find anything in this room, including Duradel himself. This was gonna be a doozy

Duradel inhaled deeply. This would be a two-folder. A double spell. The first cast was easy and the second would be a bit harder but still achievable before Lostro makes her appearance. Duradel looked around, the spells both prepared. "እነሆ አሁን ኦ ሎኪ" He muttered with a calm exhale. A glow, and then a bright flash of light.................



The Child of Darkness

....................which was sucked out by a sudden dark presence. The immediate dread he felt was undeniable. She was making her appearance now. "L-L-L"
"We weren't ASKING you, Duradel." The voice sounded like 3 at once. One was that of the child Lostro. Number two was a deep voice of a demon. Number 3 was a legion of voices all speaking in unison. "Surely you didn't ignore the little miss, didja?" 2 voices this time. This one without Lostro's own voice.
Duradel scrambled to get his shades on. "I-I thought you still need a b-b-bit more time.......hehehe-haha" Duradel had to pee before this and it was about to be unleashed. His pride meant little when his life was on the line. This wasn't nervousness. This was utter fucking terror. Through his shades, he could make out Lostro's figure
"We wanted to give the little miss time to get pretty........but when she rang to ask for time, a cat caught a tongue."
Ya damn right it did, Duradel frantically thought. There were eyes appearing all over his armory, on his swords as if they were all being turned into demon blades. Be not afraid? I've never been more scared in my damn life!!
"♬Fergie's coming♬. I've wanted to meet her. He's mentioned her name a lot." THIS one was Lostro's voice and her voice alone. It sounded like a possessed child. Now eerily clear of the demon and the legion of freaking souls or whatever, it had this weird hollow echo to it, but the voice itself clear as day, yet utterly emotionless. Even the sing-songy way she said the first few words came out eerie, especially since there wasn't a single expression of joy on her face. Just........nothing. A glued on poker face. "Mr. Dura? Can you let me meet Fergie?"
What in the fuck am I experiencing? "AAhhhahaaaha," Duradel laughed, now ready to empty his bowels on top of all this. Already didn't tell Sebas about her wanting to enter through the armory, He thought. Fuck, I'm gonna die here. "Sebas commanded us to run any requests you have by him......."
"Little Miss didn't ask Sebas though, did she? She asked you!"
You? Her? You're speaking from the same body! Duradel shivered. This was getting confusing




As Fergie was about to open the door, her communication crystal rang. "Fergie! This is Elaina. Lostro has made her appearance in the Armory. Take caution!" Fergie can either turn the fuck around and nope right out of there, or proceed with opening the door. With her hand on the door though and the knob turned (but the door not beginning to open just yet), she could absolutely feel that devil child's presence within. Hopefully she remembered her shades, or her life would be cut short in the next few seconds........and these souls weren't going to the Spirit Sea. They were going to Lostro, to add to that voice of hers.....or theirs. Whatever
Fergie could hear the voices though. "Oh, she's opening the door. Did I really need permission?"
WayfaringWaaksian