Duty Session 510: A Pirate's Life For Me

    Vafrum at last has found a duty that has caught the man's attention and there he waits, with the impatient captain, for the rest of the 'crew' to show up. While the Captain makes his remarks and heads back up to his ship, the Dire Raptor Were Fang, hiding as a man, waits almost-- almost-- impatiently as that captain.

After all, timing was everything and the undead are always causing so much trouble! However, that loot-- That loot is what the capitalist man has his eyes on. He wants a piece of that pie. Curse or not. ... That and making more allies with the locals for his eventual own little (large) project.

Schneider has missed a lot of the goings on within his Alliance lately, his timing has been poor. It's not deliberate, it's just this and that circumstances hitting him at just the wrong time. There's not much he can do abouy circumstances, though, they're circumstantial, but he'd like to get a thing or two done that's useful just to show he isn't slacking off.

So when a party invite went out in the area, he quickly jumped on it, and he appearss, nodding a greeting to Vafrum. "Hey there!" Not wildly creative as greetings go, but it's a start. "Need some bad guys set on fire?" he asks with a grin. He dresses like a dandy, with a bishounen look about him, but he is completely serious about setting bad guys on fire.

There is a distinct power difference between those from the Palace Lands and those who have lived their time in Yamato. Tian is still struggling to catch-up. Even in the best of circumstances, they simply lack the raw strength and the unique techniques that the Yamato Adventurers have developed.

That doesn't mean that the Cait Sith isn't up to trying. Besides, there is always the lure of unique materials that might be able to be turned into new accessories. That appeals to their interest.

The masked individual is wearing their usual armorment, wolf mask, and face paint, hands resting upon their daggers after taking a place on the ship. There is a curious glance cast to Vafrum. The two didn't exactly hit it off on their last meeting, but that doesn't seem to dissuade the Cait Sith.

They simply raise both hands, crossing middle and index fingers together, then crossing the gestures in front of them. The system translates this as: "<Ready.>"

    "Ah, Tian--" Vafrum remembers her. "-- Good to see you again." Is all the Were Fang man has to say, before his primal, golden eyes look over to Scale who comes to join them. "And you as well, Schneider is it? And yes. Fire. Murder." Vafrum hand waves as he goes to walk up the ramp so the ship can start on its journey. "You know, all that adventuring stuff."

He peers over his shoulder at the two, "How much do you know about our task on this little voyage, hmm?"

        ---------

    The ship makes its way as everyone is onboard. It's a bit of a journey, but they eventually reach the skull island. As they get closer, they are asked to enter the longboats and they are lowered for the three to make their way to land.

Once they arrived there, they needed to find that hidden entrance. Which might be a problem for someone like Vafrum. He was a merchant, a sly-dog, and a silver spoon singer. The concept of finding pirates lairs is what he hired others to do. Yet, the man was willing to put his own work in. So he sets out to see what he can find, by roaming around where they have landed, while leaving the others to do what they do best.

Schneider smiles to Vafrum, and when asked what he knows, he says, "There are undead pirates, are there not? That need to be incinerated before the situation with the Palace Landers gets too complicated?"

He looks around as the captain drops anchor and drops us off on the island. With nothing obvious to indicate that this is a pirate lair, it will take some searching to maybe dig up a few clues. Schneider is famously short of clues. He usually makes do with overwhelming firepower, but just now, there's no one to set on fire.

"Come out, come out, zombie pirates," he calls, to no avail.

Tian's head tilts slightly, giving only a momentary consideration and a serious expression that seems to give away little of their true thoughts. Yet, Tian inclines their head towards Vafrum, one ear twitching.

As the boat gets on its way, the Cait Sith spends most of the journey leaned against the edge of the ship, tail swaying slightly and hair blowing back in the breeze. Like a canine, it seems that the Cait Sith enjoys the wind in their face. It casts the ombre locks away from their forehead slightly.

When they arrive, however, Tian seems to be all business. Their hands lay flat, moving up and down in a way that implies shambling, "<Zombies, huh?>" This is followed by a quirk of their head questioningly. Nose twitching, Tian begins to look around, as if trying to find sign of such prey.

However, they seem to come up with relatively little. A closed fist is brought to their chin, extending the thumb to flick it off of their chin before both hands extend the index finger only, tapping them together. "<Something is not right.>"

    After some searching around by the group, with no avail to the hidden entrance, Vafrum does at last spot a cave. He gives it a questionable look, before making his way back to the others. "Any luck on your side of things?" He asks them both, before he gives a thumb over his shoulder, "As I found a cave, that could help us lead us perhaps, maybe, in the right direction."

He then looks over to Tian who seems to 'voice' that something isn't right, "And I do agree. For undead they are being fairly intelligent and intelligence is not something I wish to see from a pile of bones and rotting flesh." He scuffs to the side.

        -----------------

    It is here shortly after their little trek, that the team make their way to the cave, it is dark and fairly long. Drips can be heard deep inside the cave and who knows what could be lurking in its depths. There also seems to be some areas that makes it fairly difficult not to go knee deep, and thus stay dry. Something that caused Vafrum to rub his chin a little in thought. "Undead don't breathe right?"

In this he makes a few hand gestures, as he calls up an orb of blue magic, before moving his hands to the side in order to try and move the water aside. Either to give a safe path of travel in some places or at least make sure no one is lurking in the depths of the water.

Tian points at their nose as well, taking a deep breath and then shaking their head. Even without signing, it's an obvious signal that the Cait Sith can't smell any sign of the Zombie presence, either. That suggests that they may be very well hidden.

The cave, however, is something they can explore! Tian nods and follows after Vafrum, heading into the damp cave. Being a canine, there is little fear of the water, and based on the constant twitching of the Wolf-Fox's nose, there is still no sign of zombie presence whatsoever.

They approach the edge of the water, looking into it curiously for a moment. Then, seeing Vafrum's pushing the water away using magic, the Cait Sith begins to do the same. However, their spells are quite a bit more unusual. Drawing out their twin daggers, Tian slices them through the air, creating blades of wind that cut through the water and seem to hover there, rotating in mid-air and holding it back.

Only then, do they sheath their blades and motion a hand forward towards the Were Fang with an 'After you' type of gesture.

Schneider has had no luck with the searching, and says as much to Vafrum and Tian when asked. "If you ask me, zombies and such generally have lairs in crypts, not caves, but not in hidden crypts, that I've seen."

But he nods about the cave, and is forced to admit, "I don't have anything better than that." Following into the cave soon leads to underwater because what would make a cave super dangerous? Water. Luckily, Schneider is a wizard, and wizards are often not bothered by such mundane needs as air or sky. Not while their magic holds out, anyhow. With Vafrum's control of the water, saving him from the worst of the battering, and Tian's intimidation of the water, as near as he can tell, he can maintain a little helmet-like bubble of air while we rush along in the underwater.

    The team work together to clear the way to their destination. Vafrum can't help but grin a little at Tian, "You know--" He moves past her/him/whatever they may be, "--We make a fairly good team." Beat pause, "All of us that is."

He looks over to Schneider, "Just stay ahead of our alteration and if you see anything! Blast it!" Not that they would find anything, but they didn't know that!

        ------------

    As they continue to go ahead, Vafrum at last remarks to Schneider's words regarding crypts and lairs. "Honestly, this place we are trying to find could be an old crypt of a pirate ship stuck within these very confines. As such, they are trapped here with their bounty for our taking!"

He then comes to a pause as they find rubble that has come crashing down that blocks their path. "Such as this. This could be why the ghost ship is here and the crew forever trapped to never move on."

Vafrum looks over the rubble and hrms gently. "I could try to forcefully move this, but if we do so-- we might cause it to get worse." He looks around. "Though I don't see anything that could be used for leverage. Mayhaps if you, Schneider use your magic, alongside Tian, we could move these rocks and I could put something under the rest to keep it from crashing back down." It was the best he got-- and he could only hope it might work.

Vafrum was /NOT/ in the mood to were fang out.

Schneider nods about blasting any enemies he sees. This includes a few innocent cave walls that do not give anything up under fiery duress. He continues along, looking for zombies, old crypts, mysterous monsters or, y'know, anything. He will attempt to incinerate the crashed down rubble, but it does no good, either.

When called upon to use his magic, he summons an elemental of earth. It is quite tiny, and can carry only a very small amount at a time. It will take a while to be cleared at this rate. Schneider checks his inventory for a shovel.

Tian's head tilts in response to Vafrum, their ears flopping to the side as if they weren't quite sure what to make of the comment being offered. There is a slight tightening to their lips, just barely visible beneath tha makeup. The whole mask and makeup thing makes the Cait Sith quite hard to read at times.

Tian makes a gesture that almost looks like someone opening a chest. "<I was just hoping for some treasure. Things I could make into accessories to se-->" The signing gets cut off by the sudden falling of rocks that seems to alarm the Cait Sith. Their ears flatten, their tail puffs up, and their hands move into a defensive posture almost immediately. They also yelp, which is likely odd for someone who has never experienced them making any sound whatsoever.

Then, seeing the rockfall, the crafter lets out a huff, blowing dust out of their nose. They rub one arm across their nose, slightly smearing the makeup in the process before sneezing.

Looking at the task before them, Tian shakes their head and just moves forward, joining in with Schneider's elemental. The Cait Sith is reasonably strong, despite their lithe build, and they start to heft up rocks, moving them out of the way.

    The plan to move the rocks with ease comes crashing down to be a mess and one that takes far longer than it really should. Maybe Vafrum /should/ have just transformed and brute forced his way through instead of being crafty. Oh well! At least they were all in this together.

As they move the rocks, the privateer looks over to the Cait Sith, who's makeup is now a little rubbed and sneezes a bit from the fust. He doesn't bring any attention to it, instead focuses on what she was gesturing about earlier. "You said something about accessories? What types of accessories?"

He also looks over to Schneider, "And what about you my fellow, any plans?"

        ------------

    At last they break beyond the crumbled cavern wall to find a very, very thick forest. Vafrum moved a branch aside, then another. He growled lowly, one could almost swear his eyes looked like they were becoming reptile-like for a moment. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

He grit his teeth in some frustration before he went to take off his silk lined vest. "Fine. Fine! This time, I won't play nice!" With that, the Were Fang transforms into his much taller, seven foot dire raptor, humanoid self and tries to use his claws, teeth, and whatever else he has to rip at the trees. Including at times spitting out leaves.

This probably won't end well, but he was trying!

By the time the rocks are mostly moved, Tian seems to be breathing relatively hard. Sweat has run some of the makeup and they briefly pull their mask off to wipe at it before placing it back upon their forehead. Apparently, waterproof makeup hasn't been invented yet, so Tian has to work with whatever products they have available.

Dusting off their hands between rocks, Tian motions at their ears, touching the array of earrings there. Each seems to be handicrafted, and anyone with Appraisal would note they are made by Tian, themselves. "<Jewelry.>" The sign they use looks like someone noting necklace, rings, braclets. "<Headgear. Adornments. Trinkets.>"

After a pause, Tian rolls their shoulders, "<I was a crafter before the Palace Landers turned on us.>" After that, the Cait Sith returns to moving rocks.

From one task to the other, though, Tian lets out a sigh at the sight of the trouble before them in the shape of the seaweed forest. There is a sort of resignation as they reach for their blades, ready to try to cut through. Then, as Vafrum changes into monster form, their gold eyes widen slightly, momentarily giving pause at the sight.

Flipping a dagger in one hand, Tian exhales and then steps forward to help, slicing at the foliage and trying to stay out of the way of the angry raptor.

Schneider has grown bored directing his tiny earth elemental, and when vafrum addresses him, he huhs? "What? Did I do something?" He looks around, ohs. "Plans? You're kidding, right? I had plans, but then I decided to play this video game. And now here I am." He's only a bit salty about that. "I was going to get a good job in a big company, get rich, and have a hot wife. Now I cast fireballs at goblins for a living." He sighs.

When confronted with foliage, it's fireball time. But they're far too wet to actually burn, so it just singes the jungle a bit and the rain forest remains intact. He searches through his inventory for the defoliant, but is all out of Agent Orange. That stuff would be brutal here. He wishes he had some. "Okay, what's Plan B?"

    Vafrum spits out a few more leaves and 'ucks' at the taste of it. Those glowing gold raptor eyes peer at Schneider who asks what they should do, "Just keep moving forward the best we can-- and trust me," He tries to use his clawed hands to cut some more of the foliage. "Romance and corporations don't mix." Another frustrated slice of the foliage. "The higher you are on the food chain, the less you have to give."

Vafrum pauses with a heavy huff, "...and the more it devours who you are-- and sometimes-- you don't even know how to live a life without being /that/ person they force upon you." He shakes his head before he laughs, "But ha! We all have some crazy dreams hmm?" He says showing off those rows of sharp, curved, choppers.

    As they continue to struggle, he turns his attention to Tian, "Yes, I remember now. I think I made note of your craftsmanship. Perhaps should my plans succeed, I could give you your own space to sell your wares." Another slash of the claws, "But, that could be still some time off before such a facility would be ready."

Vafrum pauses, looking over to her. He does something on the game ui, unseen by them, before he makes a handkerchief appear. "Here. To wipe away the makeup a little better. That way you don't risk it getting in your eyes." He looks away, "Nothing more painful than that--" Pause, "-- Urm, so I have heard anyways."

        -------

    At long last the group painfully make it to the clearing, only to find that a very large crab has claimed their treasure as part of its shell. This makes Vafrum tap his finger claws together, with a very deep inhale. "... Oh... how this game teases me so.." Before he opens his eyes. "Right-- Lets murder a crab and have some legs alongside our gold!"

Then before anyone could get in edgewise, the Were Fang was already taking off, using his accelerated speed to swiftly move on the crab, before leaping into the air, and wracking his large claw against the shell, before leaping off the wall and coming back in. "Die you overgrown seafood platter!!!"

Tian gives a curious look towards Schneider. Tian had obviously been referring to their in-game plans and profession, rather than whatever existed outside of the game world. In fact, Tian rarely, if ever, speaks about their life prior to ending up trapped in Elder Tale Online. But, for now, they do offer up a small, tired smirk: "<I did nothing like any of this in the real world.>"

Now and again, Tian seems to look in their direction, likely listening to the words of 'advice' being offered, but they offer no comment in that regard. Whomever Tian was in the real world, they don't seem that interested in discussing the matter in the middle of a dungeon.

Tian pauses, looking at the damage to their daggers, not really seeming to pay much heed to their own physical appearance when a handkerchief is thrust into their direction. Their eyes take a moment to focus before taking it, giving a nod. The mask is lifted and the handkerchief is dutifully used to smear the makeup even further, but at least it isn't running anymore. It is handed back to Vafrum, looking like a painter upchucked a grayscale pallette onto it. Tian, of course, is as blank a canvas as ever behind that mask.

Upon walking in to see the boss, there is definitely a look that passes Tian's expression. Treasure! The perfect sort of thing for a crafter! Dulled as Tian's daggers are from fighting the seaweed patch, they charge into combat, utilizing the last of their mana to throw themselves upward in a spinning dervish, air swirling around them as they strike again and again at the giant crab.

Schneider shrugs about his dreams. "Might as well want to be a fighter pilot or an astronaut. Stuck here for who knows how long? Who knows if my body is in any shape for anything?" As far as doing anything like this in real life, he says, "I didn't, either. Though I did play basketball in highschool." He grimaces, but finally we get through the foliage, and Dark Schneider is not in any sort of mood to deal with crab monsters at this point.

"Deep Doomsday," he chants, and a miasma fills the air. This is going to be ugly. "To the spirits of land and air, bound by the pact, fulfill your obligation now." He takes a slow breath, then intones, "MEGADETH!"

There is a thunderous explosion, and if he didn't hit the monster squarely, well, they say 'Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,' and this is kind of like a collosal hand grenade, incinerating a couple health bars in one go.

    While it seems Vafrum's attempts were in vain, it does allow for the others to shine! Between Tian's skillful use of their daggers with their magic and Schneider's own mystical powers. They bring the giant crab to its aqua end. It crashes down letting out a final chitter, as the treasure then scatters around them.

While they didn't find the pirates themselves, at least they found some of the bounty. Vafrum being /very/ tempted to keep some of it for himself. It was almost clear on his face as he looked at one of the pieces of the treasure. His clawed hands clacking against the gold. "Do you think they would miss one chalice? ... And how cursed do you think it is?"

That said, he does pick up one of the dismantled crab legs, "And this!" He holds it up. "Will be my supper!" Before he looks back to the others, "Also fantastic work, the both of you," He then points the leg to Tian. "I also never got a response from you about that shop. I will get an answer out of you yet and it won't be a no." He waves the tip of the crab leg at her, he, them. We will go with them, given how they make it niegh impossible to sort what gender they are, if any!

    Le Gasp! Vafrum actually has a silly side!

"But yes, treasure back to the crew." He looks around for a chest, "... once we find a means to carry it all back at least..."

At the end of the fight, Tian's daggers are certainly looking more than a little worse for wear. They are going to need quite a bit of work to get back in fighting shape. Even so, Tian sheaths the blades and looks at the remains of the crab and the 'cursed' treasure.

Oh, there is a part of the Cait Sith that really wants to take some of that back with them. Thankfully, Tian knows well enough not to set a bad example for the other Uncrowned. If they are going to make a good name for themselves, they should behave themselves.

And then a crab leg is being pointed in their direction. Tian looks over it towards the Raptor and raises a brow. It seems that, just to be contrary, the Cait Sith is going to intentionally not answer. Instead, they simply push the Crab leg to the side with one hand. Then, grabbing one for themselves, Tian begins to gather up the cursed loot to bring back to the crew, intentionally ignoring Vafrum just to get under their scales.

Schneider tucks a crab bit into his inventory, and as much of the cash as can be prised out of the shell. It's not a huge amount. "Let's just get moving," he suggests. "Treasure that's hard to get seems like it's not intended for players. If it's just decorative treasure, it's probably not worth actual loot." He watches the byplay between Vafrum and Tian, and shrugs. "Whatever you two have going on, drop it, it's not important."