Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Treasure Man (Finished.)

Hiro flailed and flopped as hard as he could in the water.

"Tatsukete!" he shouted. "Tatsukete!!" This wasn't an ordinary current. He constantly had to fight to keep himself afloat much harder than simply treading water. Was the water actually pulling him down?!

"Ro! Rogas-san! Help!" He began screaming other things in his native tongue over the sound of his splashing. Among the things he screamed were the phrases "I'm getting tired" and "I can't breathe" over and over.

"I thought you were asleep," he smiled, "I told you what to call me Hiro, don't play dumb with me." Rro was laughing as a mad man did as he turned to speak with Iveth, "Pig man still asleep?" He asked. He looked around and saw Hiro beginning to drown. He waited till the small fighter called him master before pushing the barrel over the edge for the boy to grab on to. "I cant begin training you until you learn to swim in these kind of waters."

Surprisingly, Scrauser were not nocturnal creatures despite the fact they normally lived in darkness. However, they usually had a hard time seeing in the light, but his X-Ray vision was a bit different. Currently, he was awake, but he was awake in his bed because he didn't feel safe around the others. "One day I will prove myself," Scrauser said to himself. "Then, hopefully, I will get the respect I deserve. And pigs don't have long noses. ...Nor do they have tusks or floppy ears or pale skin almost entirely wrinkled. And yet, everyone always stears towards pig. Is it the shape of my nose? I mean, pigs are kinda wrinkled, but not THIS badly. Maybe if I proved myself, the pig jokes will stop, too."

"Sensei! Tatsukete!" cried Hiro at last. His arms were beginning to tire, and his mouth constantly filled and refilled with saltwater. He tried punching the side of the ship to form a grip, but he couldn't make a dent the way he was. "Mastah!" he called again. "Help--" and he sunk into the water.

The captain's face for a moment was unreadable, but soon turned back to a scowl as she looked to Hiro who was having a very hard time keeping himself on top of the water. A shame.. Even Iveth could swim this, but he was still young and needed to be taught somehow. She most definitely frowned upon Rro's methods.

"Then why don't you get in there and show him yourself?" she shrugged off her coat quickly, shoving it into his stomach, map or not, before kicking out the first barrel in which the others followed. To her dismay the boy was already under and she dove into the waters that gladly sucked her in. For the time being she disregarded the cold along with the harpoon she caught a glimpse of in the first barrel.

The undertow happened to be working with her at the moment, bringing her down quick enough to reach the boy. She grasped the collar of his shirt and signal led him to attach himself to her back and quickly. The longer he took the more energy she would be wasting to swim against the water.

A knife hit the railing of the ship release ing the rope that was attached to the Harpoon. "Thanks for the ship," he smiled. They wouldn't drown of course because they still had the barrel to keep them afloat. And it had fresh fruit inside so starving before another ship found them would be less then probable. "Hiro!" Rro called back laughing, "first request, find me! Never stop searching, your training is not over!" If the boy really cared about this training he'd have to work for it.

As the ship sailed away the crew was still asleep, and Rogers would have a lot of explaining to do in the morning. Once they were quite a distance from the two of them, Rogers lowered a rowboat into the water taking out the oars. He released it and it crashed into the waves and floated backwards. He pushed a single Silver into Iveth's coat pocket and dropped the coat into the rowboat as it floated away. No oars inside for them to paddle with at least they wouldn't have to tread water forever.

"There is your payment Iveth," Rro whispered to himself. Now that the ship was rid of Iveth and Hiro all he needed to do was gain the loyalty of the pig man and the crew. But worse came to worse he'd toss little piggy over board too. As for the story teller, Rro wanted him aboard. If he discontented he'd be watching from the brig but either way new Captain Rogers wanted this story to be told. So the story teller was a valuable asset to him.

The ship sailed on until dawn and Skyra, Griffon, and the crew began to wake up slowly. Rro had personally watched Hiro and Iveth disappear into the oceans mist along with the small boat. 'Where is the captain?' Rro cleared his throat, it was time to try to bride the crew out of gutting him right there. "With two less pair of boots on the ship there is more room for gold. Pledge alliance to me for the next few weeks and gold and glory are both yours!"

Admiral Thorne had been chasing the treasure man threw the Falling Sea for days now. The men were ready for blood but they were also very tired from the trip thus far, navigating aqua voids and such. But as dawn finally brought light to the dark shadowy waters a crew mate called to the Admiral. 'Cap! There is a small row boat on the horizon!' The Admiral took his spy glass out and looked threw it. "It's the boy who landed on my ship in the battle before!" Could the other figure in the boat be Rogers? And why were they tossed over board?? But most important if all... How did they survive the seas all night in a small life boat?

Eventually, Skyra noticed something odd with the ship. He had a hard time sleeping cause he spent most of his time venting, so he ended up being the first up. When he got to the deck, that's when he realized that Iveth was nowhere to be found. "Iveth? Iveth?" Skyra noticed Rro as he said something.

"With two less pair of boots on the ship there is more room for gold. Pledge alliance to me for the next few weeks and gold and glory are both yours!"

This set off alarms in Skyra's head. What did Rro do to Iveth? Did Rro really think Skyra was loyal to him? Did he really think he cared about the treasure? Who did Rro think he was. "Where the hell is Iveth!" Skyra yelled. "My alliance is to her, NOT you! I don't care about your stupid gold and glory." If Rro wanted Skyra to be loyal to him, he wouldn't have an easy time making it so.

After several hours asleep in a hammock below deck Griffon was rudely awakened by the owner of his current sleeping spot. Having been kicked out he wandered some more before finding an empty bed. He soon discovered why it had been vacant, and plugged his nose as the man sleeping next to him had a loud, drawn out bowel movement. Griffon decided to find another spot after this, and hurried away before taking a breath again.

By the time Hiro was thrown overboard Griffon had temporarily given up his search for a sleep oasis. He was practicing his minimal magic in an open room. Sitting alone I the once dark room, a blue ball of light floated in his hands. Hardly bigger than an orange, the light cast eerie shadows around the room. Griffon tried, and failed, several times to maintain the light with just one cupped hand. Having no luck, he found the table and chair a preferable sleeping arrangement to the fiber filled sailor from before.

He woke with a crick in his neck the next morning. He stretched and worked at it as he made his way above deck. That is where he heard Rro speak. As surprised as he was as this, he was even more so when the 'pig' spoke up. Already he had a new respect for him. And this would definitely be an adventure for his stories. No way was he turning away now.

Most of the crew were enraged by the fact that their captain was gone, and left to die in the middle of the Falling Sea. If they so much as came within a mile or two of an Aqua Void they would be done for. But Rogers didn't care, Iveth had saved him but there was no honor among thieves and as for Hiro, if he was truly strong enough to learn what Rro had to teach he would be able to find his way back. "If you have a problem on MY ship," Captain Rogers smiled, he saw a few men were actually considering changing loyalties but most of them would most likely switch back as soon as Iveth returned. "Then you can get off at sunset!"

They would be passing a small island village called Orlan in about ten or so hours, "were not stopping but anyone who doesn't wish to sail for gold can swim for shore." The men looked around at each other as Rogers turned his eyes back to the open waters. "As for you pig man, learn how pirates work before you open your mouth." Despite different Pirates Codes, it was very common to have a ship change hands once or twice during a quest for treasure. It wasn't that he had anything against Iveth, just that she had something he wanted and do he took it.

"If wish to challenge me do so," Rogers smiled. In this world every pirate knew about the Parley Parry. It was a way for a crew member to challenge another over something. For example if a crew member was unhappy in the bed he slept in he could challenge the other to a Parley Parry, or if there were two islands ahead and half the ship wanted to go to one, and the other half wanted to go to the other. Each party would elect a swordsman to represent him.

Every pirate knew this law and followed it until death. The crew began to shout calling to the pig man to challenge Rro for the ship. They knew that even though he was an awkward, floppy eared, pig head, he would make a good elect captain and find Iveth instead of take it all for himself. Unfortunately Rro's swordsmanship wasn't very good as he focused on his blood magic and marksmanship. "If you are going to challenge me for the ship pig man then I elect the story teller to fight on my behalf."

Did he have faith in the bard? Not really, but at this point the story teller was the only one on the ship who wasn't completely at his throat. And Rogers knew if the bard pulled a victory out of his butt then the pirates would respect the code and sail for the jolly Captain Rogers, "what do you say bard?"

Iveth was no happy sailor the first few minutes of their trip to God-knows-where, cursing more than any man could and fuming to a point to where her own face could've gone red, but who was to blame for her acrimony? Rro. She knew he'd try and she was disappointed that she failed to notice her own mistake by jumping in the water to get the boy. Then again he could have lost his life to a ridiculous training exercise. One thought gave her ease, however. The ones she had spoken to in private were enlightened about Rro's plan to take over her ship and she knew that it would be chaos on board before they would be able to get anywhere. She'd get Felicia back one way or another.

As of now she came to a calm though possibly not permanent. Her eyes were focused in on Hiro as she bit into a fresh apple. "You really trusted him?" she leaned forward, grinning at the boy's stupidity. Even she were more trustworthy than that bastard of a pirate. Awaiting the boy's answer her attention drifted onto a ship in the distance that she could not make out. "Dammit," she muttered. "We'll have plenty of bribing to do.. Pretend you're my son," she commanded though she knew she and the boy looked nothing alike, but it was worth the try.

Hiro didn't answer, merely sending a steely, angry glare at her for a moment, then back at the sea. Shinobi could never be trusted, and Ro was truly Shinobi.

At being asked to pretend he was her son, he muttered to himself. "Anata ga sonnani kirai, obaasan." He considered for a moment how easily he could destroy her. He was probably must stronger and faster than she was, but no, his common was weak, and he would need her help.

It suddenly occurred to him to ask himself why he was so angry with her. She had done nothing to him, it was all Ro's doing. But did Ro mean what he said? Could he really trust him to continue training?

All of these thoughts kept coming in, pounding at his mind and there was no way to chaise them out. He grabbed an orange from the barrel and bit off the rind. He had to do something, something that would keep his thoughts clear, just something!

"Did I hear a duel threat?" Skyra asked Rro. "As in you guys want me to fight you for position of captain? Am I hearing this right, or do you humans work differently than we Scrauser do. But if it really is the case, then I accept your challenge."

But Skyra had a feeling there would be foul-play involved. He kept weary of his surroundings, hoping no one would cheat, not just for him but for anyone else. "Do you have a prefered weapon you wish to use?" Skyra asked.

As the navy ship approached the small life boat the Admiral cussed under his breath. The companion of the stupid karate child was a female, "not Rogers, but still prepare the chains." He would not let the little brat do what he did again. His men would chain the boy up to the mast and question him later, first Thorne would be tasked with finding out who the woman was. She was most likely a pirate, a dirty, diseased, sea rat who steals scraps to survive. Just the thought of what the woman was sickened the admiral, he expected this from sinful men like Rogers but hoped woman would have more class then that.

"What a poor excuse for a woman," he muttered to himself as he adjusted his spyglass. It focused in on her face and all of his hateful thoughts towards her left. It was still obvious that she was a pirate, but she was beautiful. The ships cannons were ready to fire as they approached the skiff, "hello my lady, he tossed down a thick chain and a lock, "tie up the Kung fu kid and you may board..."

"I'm to be your champion so soon?" Griffon called to Rro. "But we only just met," he added with a smile as he pushed through the crowed. "None the less, I guess I must accept. I presume this is not to the death, for I have nothing against anyone. The first to yield loses?" He offered up. "And before we start," he continued, "why don't the Scrauser and I have some drinks?" Lifting the stone cup he was carrying he took a swig of its contents. "Nothing would entertain these folks more than a drinking battle before a real one." Of course, Griffon would drink out of his cup as they refilled it, and the Scrauser would drink out of another as it too was refilled.

Before walking back into the crowed, and with a voice low enough only Rro, who was next to him could hear, he murmured, "T'yin Usstan orn nez."

"I doubt the pig face will get hammered before the battle to decide my friend," Rro laughed from the wheel, though it would be funny to see a two foot swine and a drunk story teller he knew two things. One the bacon slab wouldn't blow his only opportunity to prove himself, and two there was something strange about the bards cup. Why say anything about the cup now, if the story teller didn't think he would win this maybe a good tactic to try however he didn't believe even 'babe' would fall for these shenanigans. "But it would sure be a good show."

The currents were picking up, they would have to cross one more Aqua Void before they reached the edge of the dagger gates. And by the force if the currents were pulling the ship it may end up happening during the battle, "an antigravity fight may be interesting enough." Some crew noticed the current and began fixing sails still intently watching the bard and the bacon man. The rest of the crew began to chant Skyra's name once more, this would be a good fight.

In seeing that it was the goddamn admiral she scowled, knowing that they would recognize Hiro. Her earlier idea had to go and as they were approaching the ship she needed to formulate another plan. She didn't think they'd be so deceived if she claimed the boy as her son. She went into a brief state of pensiveness, her eyes casting out to the water before returning to the boy.

Suddenly her features became soft, but her voice differed. She had up a facade that she would be using as long as they were in the admirals presence and she was well aware that they were already being scrutinized. "You will listen to me and listen carefully," she began icily though her eyes expressed warmth and comfort, "They know who you are and if you don’t want to be forced down in chains then you need to let me do the talking unless you have something really really smart to say. I can easily turn you in, but since Rro screwed us both over I think it's safe to say that we want to return the favor. And you're a kid," she added begrudgingly, "That counts for something.." With a deep sigh she placed a gentle hand on his cheek to seem more plausible in the eyes of the admiral's crew. "I need you to comply," she finished firmly.

With a glance towards the approaching ship she snatched Hiro right out of his seat and cradled him- not quite literally- but close enough. Her chin rested on the crown of the boy's head as she glared up to the admiral, appearing protective. "He's a boy, he doesn't need to be tied up," she spat. Hiro shouldn't take this personally. It was all in vain.

"Sorry Mam' but that is a dangerous criminal, and assisting him makes you a criminal yourself," Sam knew she was a pirate but didn't want the crew to assume the same thing of a beautiful woman such as her just yet. "Chain him up," the crew loaded their guns and pointed them at the woman and ninja boy, "or we will be forced to kill you both." A crew approached from behind and opened a box showing the what was inside to Sam alone.

It was two spherical gas bombs with sleep agent inside if they didn't comply the admiral wasn't going to kill them, he needed them to find Rro. He looked from the box to the pirate woman's soft eyes, who was she? And why did someone so beautiful associate with pirates and small attack children. "The choice is yours..."

Hiro understood the nature of Iveth's lie, and seeing as how Common was not a language he had mastered, he kept his mouth shut. Upon seeing the admiral, his eyes sharpened. Hiro was a warrior, and he would not cower before anyone, not even for the sake of a ruse. If they wanted him tied up, they would have to fight for it.

Even so, Hiro held onto Iveth with a kind of half hug. Deception was not a skill he possessed, but he would do what he could.

Sam sighed, picking up one of the gas bombs and lighting it. He waited for the fuse to get relatively low before dropping it down into their life boat. "Them I'm sorry that it has to be this way ma' lady" the gas bomb burst purple gas and the life boat filled with the toxin. The crew heard two bodies collapse and three crew members in really old wooden looking masks climbed down and grabbed the two pirates bodies. They pulled the two into the brig but it would still be probably a handful of hours before they came to their senses.

They were locked in cells right across from each other. Hiro was eventually put in heavy iron chains with Cannon balls weighing him down to the edge of the cell. And Iveth was just in simple rope bindings, all weapons, items and other such were taken. And the two sat asleep into their individual cells, unknowing that the battle for captain was about to take place.

((OCC: Now fade to black as the battle between Griffon and Skyra is about to decide the ships captain. Skyra is up!))