[It's DOOM and GLOOM in the Seas of Malta. The good ship Gryphon is on a steady course to the side of a mysterious island of mystery. An island that by all rights shouldn't be here. An island of your doom. Or your salvation. Or maybe just beach front property. Who knows?] [The mist seems to thin a little further in along the island. Along the rocky shores that the ship coasts along, through hopefully not-so-shallow waters, the traces of a forest can be seen. Due to the mist, it's difficult to get a full take on the island but it seems rather quiet. And no one can see any indication of sirens along the coast, so that's hopefully a good sign.] [As for your crew, the females are, of course, okay, but the males are a little worse for wear. A lot of the crew is knocked out. Alar and a few good crewmen are up. Exactly where Enzo is is still unknown. Naiya went below deck soon after looking rather pale...as for the rest of you...] [Session Start!] * Nasira sheathes her knife with her one good hand and wavers a little, breathing still shallow. She glances towards the cabins, then winces and turns, stumbling over to where her saif skidded to on deck. * Shan looks out over the island. "It's so quiet..." She shudders a bit, and electricity races along her arms. * Jake curses. "Damn it." He turns to Alar and the rest of them. "I want every able hand to work on manuevering this ship. We're dead otherwise." * Virgil looks around. "Where *are* we? This isn't on any of the charts or maps at all..." How the bleeding gills should I know? *You're* the navigator. * Jake points to the coast. "All I know are those rocks are real. Now if ya don't wanna smack the ship into them, take a rope and get to the sails! * Nasira reaches her burned hand down to pick up her saif, actually growls when her fingers refuse to close on the hilt, and just snatches it up with her left (and good) hand. She storms back to the others. "She's still in the cabins?" she snaps. Can't be helped. Silly lubbers get sea sick from time to time. I'll be sure to have a talk when all this is through, but for right *now*... * Shan tilts her head. "Hm? Oh, Naiya. Haven't seen her." Or Enzo, for that matter. Enzo's probably passed out or something. I was just thinking we could use Naiya for an anchor, with all the armor she carries around. Lad probably got hit hard by the sirens...we'll look for him after we're in calmer waters. * Nasira looks at Shan. "Can you grab my sheath for me?" She gestures with her bad hand. "I can't pick it up." * Shan nods and picks it up, fortunately not frying it. * Jake thinks. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." He looks at everyone able. "Get one of those suits. Fill it up with whatever you can get. We'll use that as an anchor." The rest of you, get to those damned sails! * Nasira is thankful for that, let me tell you. She slips her saif into it, then grabs it with her left hand and tucks it into her sash. [Alar snaps to attention. "Aye, Cap'n!" He heads towards the rigging.] Do you, er... require any medical attention? * Virgil thinks. He raises his staff and uses the wind as a guiding force to keep the ship from, ya know, hitting rocks. Which would suck majorly. * Nasira blinks at her sash, while she's at it. "Huh, ripped." And soaked with blood, but she didn't mention that part. Blink, gaze turned to Shan, nod. * Shan nods and goes to her pouch. She produces needles. STABBY TIME!! XD * Jake marches off towards the bow of the ship to steer this bloody boat. * Nasira eyes the needles, but once again, she lets herself be turned into The Human Pincushon. * Shan moves up to Nasira and kneels down. "Hold still. This will only take a moment." Go ahead. ( "This will hurt you more than it hurts me.") [Nasira gets STABBED! And for once, actually feels a little better as a result.] * Shan also applies a few bandages to stop loss of blood. But that's less important than stabby stabby. [The waves crash between the rocks and the ship. There seems to be a narrow margin as the sails creak away from the coastline. A little too close for comfort.] * Nasira is poked and bandaged. She brings her right hand up a bit and tries to flex her fingers, then shakes her head when it still doesn't work. * Nasira repositions her saif so it can be drawn left-handed. * Shan looks back towards the island. "We're... not really going there, are we?" [The whole ship rocks and the deck shakes. Fortunately, everyone manages to keep their footing. There's a yell from the bow. "Dammit, I said get to the sails! Now!" Looks like. * Shan frowns, looking back towards the island. The ship might have shaken, but she barely noticed. * Nasira shifts her weight, handling the shifting with ease. * Alar calls out to Shan and Nasira. "Hey! The captain means you too! I don't know if we intend to reach that island, but if we don't get away from these rocks, we go there whether we wish to or not. Help me pull." * Nasira looks over to Alar with her one eye. It flashes, and for a moment she almost looks like she may attack him again, but instead she heads over to help as best she can. * Shan keeps her gaze on the island. Surely Alar couldn't have been addressing her. She's a government official. * Alar looks at Shan for a moment before tugging hard and mumbling something about lazy bureaucrats. * Virgil concentrates. "Shan, get over and HELP THEM. It's not like they have enough to run the ship right now." * Shan turns her head towards Virgil. "I'm sorry?" * Nasira grabs the rope Alar's yanking with her left hand and steps back, bracing herself and pulling. [Alar pulls back hard and backs up a little with the rope. The part that Nasira's pulling on frays and snaps, sending her backwards with whatever force she was putting behind pulling said rope.] * Nasira goes stumbling backwards, catching herself on the rail behind her. She gasps, putting her burned hand to her head. [The wind picks up around the sails. The ship starts to pull away from the shoreline but the crossmast grinds a little against the rock. Alar grits his teeth. "More! We need more people!" * Nasira shoves herself off the rail and runs back to grab the rope. She grins. "You and an army, huh?" Tug! * Shan blinks a few times at the futility of the rope pulling and goes over to help. * Alar pulls back and hmmphs. "Army. What do they know about sealegs?" * Virgil glares at Shan. Navy, then? [Everyone pulls again. Nasira doesn't quite have a firm grip on the rope, but fortunately Alar and Shan manage to redirect the sail. The ship starts pulling away from the rocks.] * Alar lets out a sigh and wipes his brow. "Good work. Now we just need to anchor her while we figure out what to do..." * Alar lashes the sail once he gets it in position and frowns at the frayed rope. "That's no good. Frayed ropes are bad luck on vessels." I should think that would be the least of our worries. * Nasira mutters something about bad luck, vessels, and a certain armor-wearing female in Caladeem. She heads cross-deck to look at the island. * Alar sighs and looks at the island. "What would you suggest?" I haven't any idea. Perhaps you can tie the two ends in a knot? * Alar thinks. "I'm not worried about the rope. It is simply an ill-omen but it may be replaced." * Shan nods. * Alar looks to Virgil. "What's your take?" Could we not just use Virgil's abilities to sail away from this wretched place? * Virgil looks about. "I'm not sure if the seas will let us. I can always try, though." * Alar nods. "I shall tell the captain. We shall try to head back for port then?" * Virgil takes a deep breath. "Do we have the crew to do that?" We shall make due. I imagine some of the crew will come to once we are out of range. They ought to get better once we're far enough away. * Alar stands slowly. * Alar turns to look at the island one last time. "An island in the Veil." He shakes his head and walks towards the bow, where the cap'n be at. * Virgil takes a deep breath. * Nasira stays right where she is, watching the island. ( /me pulls out a cell phone. "Let me contact our orbital sattlite, and it won't be for long." ) I'm going to make sure this place is charted. If we get out, it'd be a good thing to know so we can avoid it. * Virgil walks off to his room. * Nasira squints, then turns so she can see who's still around. "Shan!" Hm? * Nasira waves her over. "There's a light coming from the island." * Shan pales. "What... kind of light?" She crackles. Fzzt. (That orbital satelite you were talking about. What else?) Maybe a fire or something. * Nasira points through the mist. * Shan goes over to look [Shan can make it out too, now that Nasira points. The mist obscures what it really is though. It flickers as the mist shifts through the air.] * Shan frowns. [It's a fairly small point of light though.] I'm not sure... * Nasira grins suddenly. "Whatever it is, it's probably not good." ... We'd best ignore it. * Virgil opens his cabin and walks out. "Hey, what are you looking at?" The light that may or may not spell our doom. Again. * Shan fans herself with her fan. * Virgil looks for the light. "Lovely." [Shan feels a cool breeze.] So, is there anything else interesting going on? Not in particular. Mist, water, boats. Same thing as every day. Sounds like a blast. * Nasira laughs. "And you're livin' it. Don't you feel lucky?" [The island is getting smaller as we speak. The ship keeps turning until it starts on a steady course away.] * Shan exhales. "Some people would be happy to expect the same thing every day. Good thing you're not one of them, right? * Nasira watches the island fall into the distance. [The island fades as the mist gets thicker behind you. It's barely visible now.] * Shan just fans herself and watches the island. * Virgil breathes a sigh of relief and looks around for the rest of the crew. [Some of the crew starts to come to. Most of them are disoriented and confused. The mist is quiet so far, it's only your crew making noise.] * Shan finally turns her gaze from where the island was, at that. "I'd better see to them." She goes around and makes sure they're alright. * Nasira nods absently as she does that. * Alar comes walking back from the bow. He inspects the side of the ship, one foot on the lower railing. * Virgil smiles. "We're back on track. That was quite an experience." * Alar then rubs his chin and then turns around. "Did that girl...Naiya wasn't it? Did she ever present what she found from the wreckage?" No, I don't believe so. Not yet. Perhaps we should ask her. * Nasira glances back. "You go and ask her." She's lost the grin, and her voice has regained its harder edge. What are you waiting for, then? * Shan shrugs. "Very well." She goes to do that. * Shan does big important stuff off-screen [Time passes...] * Nasira spends most of it standing, pacing, and looking not at all like her usual grinning and insane self. * Virgil taps his staff. "So." So? * Virgil has spent his time reading. That's what he does. "Think there's anything special in what we recovered?" * Nasira shrugs. She turns to look at Virgil. "Probably, yeah." Small grin. "Can't have this adventure ending that fast, right?" * Virgil adjusts his glasses and reads s'more. "Never ends that way." * Shan comes back, holding a fancy-schmancy box. ( Actually, less fancy, more plain ) That it? [Yes, the box is relatively plain. And green. And metal.] So it would seem. It's locked. * Nasira smirks. "Then unlock it. I can give it a shot." * Shan hands her the box. "Be my guest." Just don't break whatever's inside. * Nasira nods, drawing her knife with her left hand. "Sure. Hold it steady." She grins as the knife glows molten. "Don't want to cut through the whole thing." Well, I got the box from Naiya, so... Virgil, you hold it. ( I've got my needles on hand in case she cuts your arms off. ) * Virgil sighs. "Nice to see you trust your hired bodyguard so much." * Nasira snickers. * Virgil takes the box and holds it in his hands. [The knife cuts straight through the lock like, well, a hot knife through butter. It looks as if the blade barely even touches it.] * Nasira slices through with ease, flips her grip so the knife blade is opposite, and sheaths it again. "That should do it." Right, open it. * Virgil opens it! Dun dun DUN! o/` [Virgil opens it, thus triggering an explosive trap that destroys the whole ship. Or so you would think. But it's just a leather-bound book.] * Virgil takes it out, carefully, and inspects it, carefully. Dusty, waterlogged, what? [The book seems to be kept in fairly good shape and surprisingly not very water- logged. The box must have been pretty air-tight.] Good box. Who wants to read it? Well, seeing as it doesn't look like a Chu-Lin book, I believe I'll pass. * Nasira snickers. "You're the bookworm. Worm the book." * Virgil opens it! And probably has some horrible fate befallen on him, or something. ( [Virgil turns into a nerd!] ) (... So, what, my glasses just broke and are taped together with electric tape now?) (You now have suspenders and a pocket protector.) (What color?) (RAINBOW!) [Virgil opens to a random page! The writing appears to be in Maltan script. From first glance, it looks like a diary.] * Virgil hmmms and starts paging through it quickly, skimming the pages to figure out who the writer is. * Shan yawns and idly practices Kung Fu. Chances are, the crew's seen her do this at least a few times before. * Nasira draws her knife again, checking the edge before idly twirling it. [Virgil flips through from page to page. Most of it seems general day-to-day stuff. Apparently the author is an archeologist and a scholar of ancient history by the name of Reginald Horn. Virgil also manages to land on an entry that seems to sound like it's talking about the Veil.] * Virgil hmmms. "It's a diary, written by a scholar with the name Reginald Horn. Some mundane stuff, but here's something about the Veil..." * Virgil mutters to himself in Maltan, reading over the lines carefully so he can translate them properly. * Virgil clears his throat. "It says: In order to know for certain, I have to see it for myself. The Veil is just one such anamoly and seems to be closest to our current position. I only pray that our captain and crew are ample enough to proceed through this voyage. This too is part of my work, my livelihood. But what does it all mean?" That's rather vague. * Virgil comments back to Shan in Maltan as he's reading. "[I'm getting there...]" I'm sorry? * Virgil keeps reading and muttering in more Maltanese. * Virgil again quotes. "The area has been getting restless of late. The mists seem thicker than I have heard. I am uncertain whether the key trully lies within. The guild...the guild shall search for us if we fail..." "I'm being traced...they cannot know what lies within! They come after me...I swear they are close by..." Ah, there it is. "If they get their hands on the key, all is lost. I must report this to the guild...but...I cannot abandon my research now! I am so close! If they find this, they shall finish my work. The magic of the old world...." * Nasira stops her twirling. "Magic of the old world?" She looks at Shan. * Virgil closes the book. "And that's all he wrote." * Shan sighs. "That tells us next to nothing." It does tell us why they were out here. Not really. It mentions a key. WHAT key? * Virgil thinks. "Mmm, I'm pretty sure he speaks of Aquainis, and the magic that they used. Although most of what we know today of their magic isn't very solidly based..." So, what? It sunk here? The mist would indicate that, wouldn't it? As would be the reason they were searching here for the key. Mm... Damn. Guess we'll have to check out that island after all. Still... It doesn't make sense. No way Aqanis could be here. Accounts tell of it being much further away... Well, for some reason this man though it was. * Nasira shrugs. "Magic this, magic that. Maybe there's a key here and the city's somewhere else." ( Not even a token penguin or parrot? ) Obviously. Like I saidm it's very vague. I'm going to be taking a better look over it when I have more time. But it says what they were out here for, and should say what they found. The 'key' could be metaphorical, for all we know. * Alar goes wandering off. Silently. * Nasira glances at Alar as he does that, but she doesn't follow. I'd be surprised if it wasn't. [It's over!]