Uncharted Waters [IC Thread/ R16]

[SV]

Armand "The Skull King" Roberts- Pirate Council Island

Armand burst open the same doors he had used to make his grand entrance with his cape moments earlier. Of course, it wasn't with the same grandeur as when he had first arrived, but those moments had passed. There was work to do. Well, not exactly work, because this "occupation" of his was far too fun to be called work. It was more like a hobby. A hobby that paid very, very well. As Armand made his way through the streets, his mind filled with the thoughts of the coming adventure. There was a range of emotions that filled in his mind as he had these small daydreams as he rushed through the town. The most notable was excitement, for obvious reasons. But with it also came a bit of anxiety, and, dare he say, even a tad bit of fear. Fear for the unknown. He had gotten these feelings some time in the past before setting off on huge adventures. He welcomed these feelings. It usually meant that he knew, not only in his mind, but in his heart, that great ventures were about to be partaken. But it was never like this. This was, without a doubt, going to be the Shattered Skull Pirates' biggest adventure yet. They'll tell tales of the 'Crazy Three' for all time, he was sure.

After a while longer, Armand reached the ship. He was certain Dexter and Glaedr were behind him, as they always were, as he gave orders.

"Raise anchor, lower the sails! It's time to move!" He commanded, as he untied the ropes that connected to the docks. As he did this, he heard to the side of him shouting coming from a nearby ship. He took out his telescope and zoomed in onto the sail, recognizing the insignia of The Phantom and his crew. On the ship itself, he could see Tylor shouting back at Armand. Armand smiled.

"Initiating a challenge, eh? We wouldn't be pirates if we didn't accept! On the double, lads!" Armand said to the two of them. They took longer to get ready to sail than Tylor's crew probably did, mostly because their ship had only the three of them, while Tylor's was fully stocked with other pirates, making it easier to sail. But the Immortality was specially crafted with the help of the master crafting of Dexter. It was small, but it was also sturdy, and could outrun almost any other ship. Once it got going, it was hard to catch. And it made for easy catching up with other ships. Armand wasn't certain he'd be able to catch up with Tylor's ship, but he thought he'd at least give it a try. For the fun of it.

Armand headed over to the wheel, taking out a map of the area, seeing their path before him. Armand called the others over to take a look at the map with him. "Lads! See here. The path to the Iris Island Range seems pretty direct if we go the same path the Phantom's ship is going." He said, pointing to the area on the map they were going to. "OR...we could take this route..." He said, pointing to a significantly route on the map marked with a red slash on it, signifying that there were much rougher seas there. "I say we take this little shortcut here. It'll be a tougher path, but it'll be quicker! Come on, lads! We have our heading!"

True to the style of the Shattered Skulls and Armand, they'd head the shorter, more dangerous path. Armand would use the excuse that he wants to beat Tylor there to the island, but really there was another reason he wanted to head down this way instead.

This path would be more fun.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Dexter Aroughs
Pirate Council Island​

As they left for their ship in a rather quick pace, Dexter glanced over his shoulder to see The Phantom and his crew disappearing down another street, rather hurriedly, as they tried to get to their ship before them. Dexter simply snorted to himself, not wanting to pay them any more mind than they deserved. Instead, he was going to focus on their upcoming adventure! Finding the Essences and taking down the Forsaken. Now –that- was an adventure that people would keep in mind through a lot of years. Just the thought of the journey alone caused Dexter to grin brightly, as they moved out of the town, sailed across to their ship and boarded it.

"Raise anchor, lower the sails! It's time to move!" "Aye aye cap'n, 'm on it!" Dexter called out, leaping onto the rails before crawling up the rigging and fiddling with the sail, letting it drop eventually. As he was doing so, The Phantom sailed by near them, ending with Armand accepting their challenge. Dexter smirked, happy that his captain was a brave, adventure-loving guy. If it had been him, he would've just told them to piss off, simply due to the fact that they didn't deserve their time. But this would indeed be a lot more fun.

After finishing up with the sails, he slid down the white cloth and landed on the deck with a "Hup!". As he did, he noticed all of the damage that Madman had done to the ship. A large frown spread on his lips, especially at the door to the inside, which had been broken down. "… This's why we can't have nice things."
Before he could think about repairing it however, Armand called both him and Glaedr up to him. He sent another glance to the door, his resolve about beating the Phantom to the finish line only rising.

As they both stepped up next to their captain, Dexter peered down at the map, listening to Armand's explanation. "OR...we could take this route..." Dexter's brows raised a little, before setting off in a snicker, nodding his head eagerly. "Y'got it cap'n. Old Immortality here doesn't have t'name for nothin'! We can beat any wave back to t'depths, no sweat. So yeah, let's do it. Show those would-be pirates what t'Shattered Skulls can do!"

He gave his captain's back a smack, grinning brightly. "Either way, looks like they did a number on this gal, 'n I better go and get her fixed up. Want her t'look pretty when we arrive 'fore everyone else."
With that, and a wink, he went down the stairs to the deck again, heading into the cabin and even further down, into the room where they all three slept, moving over to his hammock and pulled out his tool belt from under it, strapping it to his waist, as well as heading into the hold and fetching some planks. He had to repair the door, first of all. Then the lock on the chest… and then the various scratches here and there. He took in a deep breath and tugged his goggles in front of his eyes and set to work, leaving Glaedr and the captain to the navigating.

 

[Greiger]

Tylor "The Phantom" Grubas
En route to Iris Island Range
​

Tylor cried out in glee as their ship began to move out. He glanced over at the Skull King's ship to see it too was also heading out. "Crew! No sleeping or laziness 'till we get to that island! We're going to pull double duty! I want to see the look on Armand's face when we get there before him!" Tylor burst into laughter as Damon just sighs, "The crew needs sleep Tylor."

Tylor glares at him, "No they don't! They can be relied on to go through the night even!"

Damon just rolls his eyes, "Tylor, be reasonable."

The Sableye just growls and continues to look at the map before his head snaps up, "Oh yeah!" Tylor went down below and came back up with the sack full of gold coins. "Pay day!" He shouted as he grabbed out gold coins. "Let's see... Thomas!" He poured a good two hundred into a pouch and handed it to the Machop. Thomas hugged it to his chest, "Just stay away from gambling." The Machop murmured to himself.

"And... Mandman!" Tylor poured another two hundred into another bag and tossed it at his crew mate. "Now, that's done. Madman, how much did you pick up?" Tylor leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. In truth, he was still slightly angry that Madman hadn't been able to get the Jewel, but if his gold intake was any good then it would work to soothe him over.

Damon just smiled, "Hey, don't worry about that Jewel. We got some gold, so no hard feelings!"

Tylor just sighed as he waited for Madman to show his contribution.

 

[Mr. Mammoth]

Alabaster "The Pseudo Psychic" Zol
Towards Iris Island
----------------------------------------

As Alabaster and his crew reached the place where the ships were, they noticed something. Seemingly all of the other ships had gotten out to the ocean before them. For once, Alabaster wanted to be first. The thought of being kept away from the knowledge of the awaiting Essence and The Forsaken was irritating to say the least. He just had to get his hands on that artifact...

"Takko!" he exclaimed, "We're setting sail now, no time for replenishing our supplies!"

"But captain!" Takko said, "How are we going to survive if we have neither food, nor something to drink?"

"First of all, we aren't completely out of supplies. We just have to ration them carefully." the Mankey answered, "Second of all, this is a quest of knowledge regarding mythical items and one of the biggest troublemakers in pirate history yet! I would be a fool to let anyone reach it before me!" after that, Alabaster turned around and got on the ship. Takko sighed a bit, sometimes his captain's hunger for knowledge worried him. He started to wonder how hard his father's death really had hit him...

---

It was a clear day as several pirate ships sailed across the ocean towards a great target. A bit further away from the two first ships was a ship sailing in lonlieness, it was The Burning Ape. And in the very far front of the ship its captain, Alabaster Zol stood and tapped impatiently with his foot. This was very unlike the Mankey, but regarding what was at stake, he just couldn't keep calm.

"Can't you make the ship move faster Takko?" he asked.

"Captain, you do know that it is the wind, not I, who moves the ship forward?" the Aipom answered.

"I know!" he exclaimed, "But I still can't stand the thought of the other pirates taking that knowledge away from me!"

Takko could understand his captain's reasoning, but the "getting knowledge"-talk was getting kinda repetetive now. He just held the ship steady and started to hum a jolly tune, letting a "We are!" escape his lips every now and then.

 

[Ray Maverick]

Taz Jr. Nautilus Morrigan "The Madman of the Seas"
North West Sea Zone​

"Crew! No sleeping or laziness 'till we get to that island! We're going to pull double duty! I want to see the look on Armand's face when we get there before him!"

"Aye cap'n, don't ye worry 'bout that!"

Shouted Nautilus, laughing with his captain. He felt whole with this crew, and although he was a pirate, grateful feelings wrapped his heart. He dashed to the wheel to set the direction, dazed by the thought of the incoming adventure, not feeling sleepy one bit.
He headed towards the huge lantern that was hanging on the back of the ship, grabbed a match from the little box he kept on his belt, lit it and threw it inside the lantern. The wick immediately caught fire, breaking the night's embrace by lighting the area around the ship, which was flowing through the dark waves.

"Pay day!"

The Croconaw, hearing those two magical words, abandoned the wheel and rushed down the stairs of the poop deck towards Tylor who was holding a pouch. His greedy, big smile was almost scary and he panted heavily like a dog as he stared at the pouch containing his reward.

"Let's see... Thomas!"

Grubas gave Thomas his share, "Just stay away from gambling." The Machop murmured to himself, Nautilus chuckling.

"And... Mandman!"

Tylor threw him a bag full of two hundred coins which he caught with his smiling jaws, then grabbed and opened it to see the gold inside. His eyes had opened wide, reflecting the glow of the valuable metal. He quickly hanged the pouch on his belt right after, thinking there was enough time to stare at it later.

"Now, that's done. Madman, how much did you pick up?" Tylor leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. Nautilus looked at his captain, still lost in his gold. He shook and scratched the back of his head, snapping out of it.

"Cap'n, I took a chest full of gold from their ship! It's around seven hundred, me thinks."

He thought about hiding the pouch on his neck which was full of the share of that gold, but he decided againist it. They were a team, after all.

"I grab'd me share, three hundred's, so ye needn't worry!" Nautilus stared at his captain with his large, red eyes. "Yeah, three hundred's! I did all the work, no?" Then he started laughing.

 

[Greiger]

Tylor "The Phantom" Grubas
En route to Iris Island Range​

Tylor just stared at Madman as he told about the amount he had grabbed and began to laugh at his own statement. Damon smirked at him, "Well, it looks like one of your crew managed to gain dominance!" He chuckled, "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Tylor glared at him, "Well... it's okay if he does take some. He did get the gold and took the initiative after all." Damon just giggled, "Well... someone is very easy to please today. Tell me, will you let him keep all the gold and treasure when he finds a chest all by himself?"

Tylor crossed his arms and frowned at Damon, "He did the work. He deserves the pay. Right Madman?" He asked as he looked at the Croconaw. Damon just chuckled again, "Oh, needing your crew members to verify it. That shows bad leadership you know." His face soon grew serious, "Listen, unless you lay down some rules right now he'll stomp all over you. You need to be more assertive and not layed back."

Tylor just sighed, "You know what, perhaps I want to be laid back. Maybe that's my thing. You don't know how to run a ship, because I run it. I'm the guy who shouts out orders, you don't. I tell everyone where to go and what to do. You don't. So there!" He stuck his tongue out as Damon growled at him, "Well, I give you the luck so nah!" He stuck his tongue out as well. Tylor turned away, "That's enough of that!" He quickly formed his grin again, "Besides this is small potatoes! We need to get to the island!" He ran back up to the wheel and looked down at Madman, "How soon before we get there? We need to make sure that we have a grand entrance! Crew! Start brainstorming, now!"

Thomas looked down, "Uh.... we... shout our name out as we go in?" Tylor sighed, "Madman, come up with a grand idea! Don't disappoint!" He crackled with laughter as Damon sat on the railing, "Yeah, you're right. This is small potatoes. Once we get over there then we'll busy showing how great we are!" Tyrlo and Damon joined together in laughter as the Sableye continued to steer the boat.