forum "Bloodstained Gold" (Pirate Group RP) {Closed}

Started August 25, 2022 by @ScotchTapeWorm group

tune

The Captain breathed a deep sigh of resignation as Pyria came streaking out of the forest like a manifestation of all his grievances with the world. The goblin had followed them. Yay. Rubbing the bridge of his nose the Captain listened as even more of the men groaned, more money getting shuffled back around.
He'd be checking in with a few of his plants, keep an eye on who said what and when. Make sure even more gold circulated in the ships ecosystem to loosen a few tongues and keep even more hands in check.

A few of the oarsmans on the tug sat up, watching Inez retrieve her sword. The man who'd been cut shied away from her like he had gotten burned just by the girls presence. Nervous by the loose swordswoman some hastily exited the raft, no one wanted to loose an ear. They came over to Axel, staring at Juan on the ground. The man was still eh- Clothed mostly by nature and was now coated in sand like an unfortunate gummy bear in a sandbox. The men looked to him for direction, uncertain what to do with their questionably valuable prize.

Axel gave them a sort of half shrug and pointed vaguely in the direction of the Deceit.
"Get 'im on the ship. Maybe some clothes. Food? Eh, just throw 'im in my cabin and I'll figure out what to do with 'im later." He said it casually, more worried for the fruit platter in his room than the avian mans health.

Hopefully the raft would survive its return trip to the bigger ship. Silver-Tongue didn't particularly fancy a dip in the ocean today, he'd already gone through two good shirts this trip. And Siren blood was proving to be a real pain in the ass to remove from cream colored fabric.

He ambled over to the pull boat, getting in and working on his hair. The jungles humidity had made the already curly hair a mess of black springs. Pulling a face he tied it up in a loose ponytail, too unbothered to fix it. He glanced at Inez, head cocking to the side.

"Before we get back on board. Lass, watcha think of our catch? Still thinkin' on what to do with 'im." Violet eyes twinkled with amusement, the corners of his lips pulled into its customary Cheshire cat grin. He seemed genuinely curious what Inez thought. The little chef was blunt and strangely insightful at times.

Inez noticed a few specks of blood on the blade. How'd it get there? She furrowed her brow then looked up at those who were in the boat. It dawned on her that she might have injured someone while throwing the weapon. She laughed, considering they could have been the same people who'd bet on her demise. She didn't know, but it was funny to her anyway.

Inez thought on Silver-Tongue's question for a moment, looking back at Juan. "Hm." She looked back. It was unclear what kind of job he could serve on the Deceit as of now, if that's what he meant.
"I guess… I could make something for him. Maybe that'd help." She suggested. "And probably also keep Pyria away." She says, glancing back at the goblin.
It was unclear to Inez whether or not the captain would go through with her idea. But no one should have to starve, ever. That's something Ren said often. She generally just hoped Silver-Tongue wouldn't jump right into interrogating Juan- in his state right now, it would probably be one of the least compelling reasons to join the Deceit (aside from a goblin trying to take the metal wings from your back), but it wasn't like he had a choice at this point anyway.

The Captain breathed a deep sigh of resignation as Pyria came streaking out of the forest like a manifestation of all his grievances with the world. The goblin had followed them. Yay.

(Omfl, I laughed for a million years XD )

Axel mused over her reply. Food might do the thing good, gods above sometimes he knew he could barely think without food in him. And living on an island probably didn't give a steady stream of nutrients. He thought it over for a couple seconds more, then shrugged again, waving at the oarsman to pick up Juan and bring him in the little raft, they needed to get back onboard. Else they'd need a safe place to stay the night, the nightcrew couldn't interact with the people at Harpsford Bay. It wouldn't go well.

Glaring daggers at Pyria and clearly wishing he'd wrung her scrawny neck like a startled chicken the minute he saw her, waited for her to get in with them before giving the order to return. Or.. However else the daemon decided to get on the ship. He shaded his eyes, looking up again at the deck of the Deceit. He saw Kavo was waiting for them, which was good. He knew his men schemed and plotted against him constantly. It was expected, welcomed even, but taking over the ship was impossible without people who knew what they were doing when it came to run the thing. And an uncooperative helmsman was one of the surest ways to sink a vessel.

The crab man was new, but he had a sense of strength and loyalty around him. It made the Captain uncomfortable, how was anyone supposed to keep others in check when they weren't tempted by gold or threatened by steel? Loyalty was such a strange concept. Axel hated it. Which made it even more annoying with how blasted useful it was. He'd have to do some digging, no one joined a pirate crew with a squeaky clean record, but everyone had something they were ashamed of. Hell, even family to threaten. Some dirt or piece of information to be leveraged, a secret to dangle over their heads. And if they didn't have one? One could usually be manufactured for a simple sum.

The Captain heaved a deep sigh, lost in his thoughts. He'd been doing this for years now, it never got.. Boring per-say. Just repetitive. He craved something new. Maybe 'loyalty' was a new taste, one he didn't particularly like, but it was something. The tall pirate hardly noticed as he got back to the deck of his ship, he was busy thinking and picking stray bits of crushed leaf from his coat.

Pyria scuttles over to the ship like a demented furry crab that can hop forwards, scaling the wooden side with ease, not bothering with any other way of getting on the ship.

She hops over to Kavo, hands him a shard of coconut, hisses at the rest of the crew - besides Inez - and climbs up to the crow's nest.

Not one actual word had escaped her lips the entire time.

Kavo watched as Axel returned to his ship. The Captain looked like he was mulling things over, and that was… never a good sign. Silvertongue was the kind of man that only mulled things over when he was scheming. Otherwise he trusted to his instincts.
And scheming made Kavo slightly nervous. Predicting a man's instincts was not a difficult task; trying to worm your way inside a man's thoughts and discern his plotting was much different.
The Karcaon watched as the party dragged the bird creature down to the rowboat, watched as they crossed the water. He chuckled to himself at the continuing saga of Inez and her blade. The cook was going to take off someone's nose or fingers or put an eye out or something, and Kavo had every intention of backing her up when some angry pirate came after her. If Kavo was the clearest head in the crew, then Inez was the purest heart, and Kavo wasn't about to let their one spark of good be threatened just because she liked to handle her sword dangerously.
He shook his head as Pyria dove into the water and swam the distance. Why she wouldn't use the boat was beyond him, but then the goblin was definitely the most distilled form of madness on the ship. She'd clearly taken up hating Kavo as a hobby, and if it meant she kept her distance, he couldn't be totally disappointed.
The Karcaon was shocked, then, when she scuttled straight up the side of the Deceit and right up to him. He just stared at her as she pressed a gift into his hand, before turning and wordlessly scurrying up to the crow's nest. A small piece of coconut shell, soggy from the swim, but symbolic of something nonetheless. Well. Interesting.
He glanced down at the boat again, and caught Axel's eye, which was concerning. The reptilian Captain's eyes were still calculating, except just now he was looking directly at Kavo while doing it. Silver-tongue could be counted on to do the unexpected and sometimes the unwanted thing, but Kavo had been open with him intentionally, inhopes of curbing that trouble early. A man without secrets was a man without chains, and Kavo had told the Captain his entire history when they'd met. He knew he unsettled people, being bigger and stronger than most. More heavily armored, quicker, and just generally more unassailable. It made people uncomfortable, but he knew his honesty and loyalty made it worse. Big, strong people are bullies; finding someone who didn't fit that mold put people in new territory, and the unknown brings fear, or at least discomfort.
So the fact that Axel Silver-tongue was plotting in his direction, after Kavo had shown him loyalty and honesty, was not surprising. What exactly he was planning, though, was sure to be very surprising.

The crew hauled the rowboat our of the water, the Captain alighted on the deck, and Kavo stepped over. He nodded at Silver-tongue, who ignored him, before turning to the bedraggled looking individual in the boat next to Inez.
"Can he walk?" the Karcaon asked the cook.

(i love how kavo interacts with the other characters he balances everyone out so well)

Inez wasn't sure whether the captain agreed or disagreed. Whether or not he did, she would find a way to get something to Juan. When Kavo addressed her, her eyes immediately drew to the coconut shell in his hand. Did Pyria give that to him just now? She wasn't paying attention.

"Can he walk?" Inez took a moment to look at Juan. It's not like there was anyone else Kavo could be referring to.
"He could." She replied vaguely. "He's stunned right now. But he might be able to later. He could run, a few minutes ago. I think we startled him."
This reply was vague, and she was aware of this. That was the most informative kind of answer she knew how to give. With a few exceptions, everything was said warily, which was in Inez's comfort zone; But even if she were as loose with her words as her weapons, in this circumstance, there was no better way to answer- given her vocabulary.
"Did Pyria give that to you?" Inez asked, laughing and gesturing at the shell in Kavo's hand.

(Thanks! He tries)

Kavo nodded, a confused and amused look on his face. "Yes, she bestowed this gift upon me. Do you have any idea why?" He briefly examined the cocnut shard, not willing to miss anything that might clue him in to why.

As for Inez's answer, the critter/person could move, so that was a good sign. They hadn't totally destroyed it, and it wasn't entirely dead yet, so there was hope.

Juan couldn’t walk right now, and yet he wasn’t stunned. All he was, all he could be, was defiant of the constraints of his own body. In a way, doing nothing was doing everything to him. But he quickly regained a sense of sense, and put his head up. “Food. Do you have food?” A simple question, but not one a person could trust coming from someone they didn’t know. For all the crew knew Juan was a cannibal, and while that was only a one time thing, he still liked the air of mystery around his circumstances. And if he could get his hands on some citrus type fruits (they had nothing like that on this island) he might regain a semblance of sanity. He might even begin to remember what he was doing and where he was, miracle of miracles that would be.

"I can't say." Inez answered. "I guess she just doesn't hate you a lot?"

Inez turned, having heard Juan. This was expected. "I've got it!" She called, already making her way to the pantry. It was still unclear what Juan was. Some human-bird-metal… person? What he was didn't really matter at this point. Inez glanced over the shelves and crates for a few seconds, then grabbed whatever came into view. It was a fruit of some kind, common enough. She'd seen it everywhere. It would be good for now, she thought, returning.

(whatever she just grabbed is up for interpretation lol)

(Juan, critter/person extraordinaire. More critter than person at the moment lol.)

(Have him figure out Pyria for the crew then XD)

"I can't say." Inez answered. "I guess she just doesn't hate you a lot?"

(Nah, she just kinda acknowledges his existance; sine the coconut isn't a shiny thing it's a peace offering more than a token of friendship)

Pyria muddles around up in the crow's nest for a while before leaping down once more, waltzing right up to the man with metal wings.

She looks him in the eyes for a moment, and tilts her head, sniffing him.

"Get him citrus." she says shortly, disappearing in a flash of dark teal fur into the depths of the ship, rummaging around for various chemicals.

The Captain was trying to shake off the thoughts that were surrounding him, schemes layered upon schemes, but utterly useless without initial action. Some part of his brain must have been paying attention because he could recognize that a conversation had happened. His head had jerked in the groups direction when Juan spoke and with an effort he drudged up that the man was talking about food. Inez, bless her heart, had skittered off to find some. Probably. He'd tuned out everything else, it wasn't important. Probably.

He stared hard at Juan, the wings were fake.. But he still had nubs on his back that the metal attached to, a characteristic that were nonhuman. Perhaps a better give-away was the feathers scattered around the sides of the mans face, a bit like hair. Avian, definitely. There was something there.. A forgotten thing that annoyed Silver-Tongue, staying just out of reach of his thoughts. Screw it. The man they'd picked up was a chimera with avian traits. That would do for now. The Deceit had atleast half a dozen of them. Popped up like wildfire in illegal bands. The Captain himself had been mistaken for one a few times, much to his ire.

Pyria waddled into view and Axel swore his blood pressure spiked into unhealthy levels. The friend sniffed Juan and announced 'Get him citrus." The Captain narrowed his eyes to slits, opening his mouth a fraction, the tip of his tongue sliding into view for half a second as he breathed in. He grimaced at the taste of unwashed bodies, sand, and salt. Whatever Pyria had smelled eluded him. Their new friend Juan was bird-like. But they had no way of knowing his tastes. Perhaps he was a carrion bird rather than a seed eater.

The Captain looked up again when Inez returned, holding a small fruit. A little sweet lime. He cocked his head to the side, giving the scene his full attention now, crossing his arms as he watched. His eyes flitted from each crewmember like anxious birds…. Where the hell did Kavo get a shard of coconut? Mysteries upon mysteries..

Juan devoured the fruit, eating every last shred of peel and not caring much about the taste. He licked his lips and looked up at all the people staring at him, it would take a minute to digest but he was already feeling better if only because he wasn’t so hungry. He could even feel his voice coming back, and he moved to stand up. Once he stood, albeit on shaky, malnourished legs, he spoke. “Hello. Eh… I don’t know why I’m here or who you all are, but I…” even his vocal mannerisms sounded increasingly sane, yet he wasn’t fully there.

Inez watched Juan devour the fruit. Even if his quick movement made her flinch, she was no stranger to the effects of starvation, and this response wasn't too uncommon. It gave her a bit of nostalgia for her hometown, even if it was a bit of a strange thing to be happy about. There was a lot of unexpected familiarity in Juan. She smiled. Her grin was always one or the other- mischievous and mocking or a genuine warmth. Sentimentality aside, the recruit was now functioning, as far as Inez could tell.

“Hello. Eh… I don’t know why I’m here or who you all are, but I…”
Inez waited for Juan to finish his sentence.

Kavo watched as Inez got the creature some fruit. He'd asked for food, and Pyria had doen the sniff test nad proclaimed he needed citrus.
His vitamins and nutrients are obviously way out of whack. the Karcaon thought to himself. Hopefully he'll become more normal once we feed him and get him on a normal diet.

The Captain was watching the whole affair with laser focus. Kavo wasn't sure if the man was on guard, or angry, or just plotting. The helmsman made sure to plant his feet, so that if anything did go down, he was ready.

The creature spoke, after wolfing down the fruit, and Kavo glanced at him.
"You're here because you called for help. We were on a route that took us past you, and heard cries for rescue. So here you are." He kept his voice even, polite, not wanting to provoke this thing. If it began to regain its mind, and decided to try to attack, he hoped to be able to nip that in the bud by just being nice.

Didn't always work, but it was worth a try.