It was about 4:38 P.M. The air was salty, and the ocean was even saltier. The soothing sound of the sea was interrupted by the wave-crashing of a nearby sail boat. The boat looked quite sturdy - it seems as though it was brand new. Another thing quite remarkable about it was the clean, white sails that hosted it - it looked relatively untouched. Who was sailing this boat, though? Well, it was none other than the members of the Pirates guild - also known as "the salty landlubbers", "those JACKASSES!", and most recently, "I love you pirate-guild-samas please don't hurt me...!". Of course, the pirates nowadays felt that the guild did not feel the same if good ol' Rachel, as her online persona, LGDClaw, wasn't on board to explore. She was, in fact on board this very ship, heading for god-knows-where.
"Hey, remember that old salt-fish on the fist market we saw?" one of the guild members, that looks like he chose a toad for an avatar, asked. "Wouldn't it be so good to chow down on it now?I mean, we can just wake up in the morning, and then OH BOY! We already have a fis so there's no need to go fishing!"
"The last thing I want is salt-flavored-anything, kid," LGDClaw explained as she was surveying the sea with a small, golden telescope. "Aren't you supposed to be eating on oranges or somethin' anyway? I heard you can get scurvy or... whatever it's called."
"Aye," another guild member, whose avatar looks like one of those dragons from a game series. He must really loves those kinds of games, LGDClaw once thought. "Scurvy is about as delightful as my mom when she signs a song from her pop albums."
"Yikes," LGDClaw remarked. "I prey for your soul, champ. Total nightmare fuel."
"Um, by the way?" the guild member with the toad head asked. "Where are we sailing to anyway? Nothing but water for the last 25 minutes..."
"Rumor has it that there's a mountain of silver coins just beyond the canon coast," LGDClaw explained has she ceased looking through the telescope. "I dunno about you, but if it's money involved, I'd sail to Hades and back."
"We almost did once too," the guy with the dragon body said. "But it was actually a punk who created a sign that read 'Hades Isle'. We showed em' a thing or two, eh fellas?"
"LAND HO!" shouted a stern voice on top of the mast - it was another guild member, who looks like a humanoid with fox ears and has about nine-tails. "I see a land about 32 degrees west ahead! We should arrive there in about... 5 minutes? Provided that Yungarian over there doesn't screw it up?"
"Shut up you," the fellow known as Yungarian, said as he steered the ship. "32 degrees; I've heard ya already, and steering that way now." The ship did just that - as it streamed through the waters of the wide sea. The fishes underneath the sea seemed to enjoy the ship's company - they were swimming beside the ship as if they were gliding and sliding through ice. Soon, the ship was docked
on the coast of the nearby island, where the first thing that LGDClaw landed on was the soft sand that surrounded the area. There was even cute little shells, but things like that were left for the hermit crabs.
"Alrighty," LGDClaw announced. "SlippieToady and Oryps, follow me; I've got a map riiiight here. Yungarian and Ihawtpink, stay here and guard the ship, okay?"
"Roger!" they announced. Their loyalty with LGDClaw was sound - after all, LGDClaw recently have gotten the second highest rank in the Pirates guild due to her skills of exploration and quick thinking. Perhaps waaaaay too much impulsive thinking. The crew of three marched their way through the sandy beach, all the way towards a clearing where they saw quite an impressive sight - it was a large canyon that seemed to go on for miles.
"This is the canyon island alright," LGDClaw said as she held the map. "Which means the treasure outta be around here!"
"Are you sure about this?" SlippieToady sort of... 'ribbited'. "I mean, what if this is just a blatant rumor?"
"I know what I'm doing," LGDClaw asserted. "You know my motto. No prey, no pay. I can sniff prey from a mile away y'know. When my whiskers itch, it means that great booty's on deck."
"If you say so," Oryps agreed as he surveyed the vast canyon. "But... where do we go from here?"
"Well, think about it," LGDClaw explained. "In a canyon like this, where would be the likely place of a legendary treasure to be at?" It was then that the pirate cat pointed down. "Down below, of course!"
"But... that's madness!" SlippieToady rebutted. "Do you really expect us to climb down a 50 foot canyon?"
"Well, I dunno about you, but cat's always land on their feet," LGDClaw said with a smile. "Why don't ya both hold on to me? I'm sure you'll land on your feet too."
"I don't think that's how it works..."
"Well, scrap that idea then," LGDClaw said as she got out the map again. "Let's see... how do I explain this - there was some sort of clue attached to the rumor, y'know? It went like... 'bing'! And there it was."
"Okay..." SlippieToad tried to grasp. "What's this clue?"
"It was more like a riddle," LGDClaw explained. "To find the fortune you must be hasty, or else you'll be nice and tasty."
"What?" Oryps questioned. "Blimey me LGDClaw, what on the seven seas does that mean?"
"It means that there's a monster here," LGDClaw explained as she tucked away the map by rolling it. "One that finds us quite tasty under specific conditions. Though I tried to avoid these conditions, it appears that we have no choice."
"Huh?"
"Well, SlippieToad," LGDClaw addressed. "Remember how you said that we should catch a lot of fish? Well, you were right. Let's round up as much fish as we possibly can..."
"And then do we get to eat them?"
"Actually, we're gonna rub it against ourselves," the pirate cat said as seriously as she could. Her two fellow guild members exchanged glances with each other. "What? I figure that we should make ourselves smell as tasty as we could to bring this guy out, y'know?"
"Yes, but I don't think it's very ethical..." Oryps said. "Not to mention quite risky indeed."
"Don't worry!" LGDClaw winked as she flustered her bright, scarlet hair. "Remember, I know what I'm doing."
☠☠☠☠☠
Pretty soon, the guild members were hanging bear the beach, with the smell of codfish swamping them with head to toe. It was a curiously disgusting sight, but according to LGDClaw, it was going to be all worth it.
"This is humiliating..." SlippieToady remarked.
"Oh, quit wining, it'll come right off," LGDClaw explained. Soon, the ground started to shake heavily. "Oh, and we have company just in time...!"
"Is it the monster?" asked Oryps. "It does sound quite big..."
His question was to be answered quickly as the crew felt something coming up from the sand. LGDClaw prepared her trusty silver cutlass, with her fellow crew members getting into a battle stance. Soon, the gutless foe showed it's face - it was about 10 feet long, as it showed it's menacing pincers.
"I've heard about this enemy before," explained LGDClaw. "This is an oceanic mini-boss; GEC as I recall? It attacks with it's powerful pincers; it's is quite the mean enemy indeed."
"What do we do?" SlippieToady asked. "Do we do the original PIRATE technique of switching party members during combat?"
"Not to worry kid," LGDClaw said with a smile. "Look at it's HP - it's way less than the aquatic mutant whale that I've fought and beaten 2 weeks ago. I've got this." As the mini-boss roared, the young pirate cat leaped into action. Her strikes were swift and strong, and her whiskers were sternly, and straight. Soon, at about 2 minutes, the foul beast was felled, and to the victor, the spoils. "Told ya I'd win. Hey look, I'm level 188 now. Niiiice!"
"Excellent work as always," Oryps complimented. "But... what about the treasure? Don't tell me this was just a baseless rumor all along..."
"My whiskers says otherwise," LGDClaw winked. "Look." Soon, something formed on the ground after the 'congratulations!' message was faded away - a giant red tail-like substance appeared on the ground, with a note: Giant Exquisite Lobster Tail. "There's the treasure! See, that thing is quite special - I heard that if you grill it, it'll be one of the tastiest meals you can eat! And I'll tell ya - I'm a cat that does enjoy her lobster tails."
"I see," said SlippieToady. "That'll be quite a feast! Say, can we make it in ALTO tonight?"
"Yes of course," Oryps agreed. "But for now, we should head back and report to the Captain--"
"Hold on," LGDClaw interpreted. "See that? There's another note with it."
"What does it say?"
"Hm, let's see..."
"Congratulations, young explorers! This is a reminder that on the first minute of 25th of May, 2025, CLOUD will revolutionize. Make sure you're online before then to claim rare anniversary items and to catch the live screening of the special announcement! We hope to see you then!" Then, the message faded away.
"Hey yeah, it's that other big rumor," said LGDClaw. "I'm pretty stoked about these rare items, y'know?"
"More importantly," Oryps said. "I wonder what the announcement will be? When we've first heard of it in the guild, the people in the guild have been speculating that CLOUD will never be the same again, but... I wonder if there is more to that?"
"Well, remember to set your alarm clocks," suggested LGDClaw. We're wakin' up bright and early to catch these rare items before they're all gone. Oh, and we'll stick around for that announcement too."
"Aye, Aye!"
"Good! Now crew! Let's moooove out, and head back home!"
