Private - Aye for an Aye | Page 2

Libitina's first thought to get the chest was to go and tell the men she wanted it. If they behaved like little bitches, she would just beat them up. Fighting some intoxicated men who would most likely have bad body coordination didn't sound like something she couldn't handle, even if said them were well large and well developed. She was about to walk up to them until @Marcus Caine spoke.

She was surprised at his acting skills. He was good, at least better than the time she had another male playing a role as her elder brother. Still thinking back to that incident makes her shake her head in disappointment. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, wondering whether she should go along with his act or not. It did make sense to start behaving like a noble right now. If that happens, news will spread and it would be easier to be their target. They would likely attack a much more bright and cheerful girl because human nature. When things shine, people are more attracted to it and want to destroy it.

"My apology Sebastian. My intentions were not to get you into trouble. I just find this place so interesting. I'll make sure to be by your side next time" The corner of her mouth twitched as she made herself smile. It looked slightly forced and made it seem that she was nervous.

She nodded. "You're right. Last time I upset mother, she increased my dance lessons. I would not want another chapter of that playing out"

Like the good little obedient girl she was acting to be, she followed the male. When people were out was sight she dropped her formal posture as she tilted her head, watching him with narrowed eyes. "What gives Grinch? I thought you were against the idea of taking me for dress shopping" she raised an eyebrow. "I did tell you I have a dress in my inventory. There was no need to physically go and get one" She frowned, not understanding what was up with the grumpy male. Just like he said, she entered the shop and glanced around, looking at all the beautiful clothes. She knew she couldn't spend much time searching for clothes since they did have other tasks at hand.

"Ah miss. May I help you?" The shopkeeper asked, making his way towards her. She gave another smile, a much more natural and kind one. "Yes, I have to go travel via water to meet my fiancee. I was wondering whether you can provide me with a dress that is suited for such an occasion"

"To meet your Fiancee?! Well, we need to dress you up completely. Hair and all" he clapped his hands
"I'm in a bit of a hurry so that is not-" he didn't even let her argue as two women entered. "No worry dear. I promise you will be ready in a few minutes" With that said, the long haired girl was taken away.
It took approximately 10 minutes for her to come out, completely ready. "Stunning!" He said, proud with the final result and honestly, even Libitina liked it. The sleeves were wide enough for her to conceal the dagger she carried but it was hard access to her swords. It was a pity the stunning gown would be completely destroyed by the end of the mission.

Hidden: Dress

"Thank you so much for the outfit" She thanked him with a smile before handing the male a brown bag with gold coins. "I believe this is appropriate enough. We need to hurry Sebastian" She said to her "butler" and left the shop. The smile instantly dropped and she turned to her teammate and folded her arms across her chest. "Alright genius. What next?" she inquired.

@Iván Carl @Madison Freebird

 

"And so the guy screams at me, 'this is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught...'" The tall blonde crew member, dashing and obviously a ladykiller, figuratively, Iván wouldn't really know if he enjoyed committing murder on his own time, cut himself off and made a splashing sound, obviously implying that the guy screaming at him ended up in the sea, somehow. He laughed and the rest of the crew laughed. Iván didn't find it hilarious, so he instead took another swig of ant juice from his bottle. When the tall blonde crew member, Billy, saw him drinking, he was elbowed in the gut, which Iván did not appreciate but had to pretend was okay.

In the midst of his illusionary field, meant to trick most of the crew members, the ones present at least, that there was nothing wrong happening anywhere on the ship, that there was only merrymaking to be had, Billy started to pull him into his life stories. Now, Iván was a fan of stories, especially from people he just met, mostly because stories were a way to extend one's life, to know about things you have yet to know, experience experiences you have yet to experience, but Billy's stories were mostly of him being some sort of pirate hunter or something. The guy screaming at him from his story? Billy said he was a crazy drunk pirate captain of some ship called Ebony Quartz. The screaming was moments from Billy scalping him. Iván did not want his scalp to end up in Billy's hands.

"'My spirit will live on!'" Billy continued laughing and joking, mocking the crazy drunk pirate captain of the Ebony Quartz. The entire thing was making Iván uneasy, especially when Billy put an arm around him. They weren't close. They were associates at best, strangers, yet Billy seemed completely taken to him like they were long-lost college roommates. Or maybe this was a pirate hunter thing, get close to your target before you scalp them? Iván swallowed air as Billy turned to him with a wide grin. "You okay, buddy? You look a little nervous.

Iván cleared his throat a little, stashing his bottle of ant juice back in his coat, "Oh, uhm, I'm good, I'm good. Probably just the rum. But, I mean, uhm, why scalp that pirate, man? Like, uhm, why fight when you can negotiate, am I right?" Iván turned to the other crew members for support but got nothing. It seemed the merchant ship wasn't a fan of pirates, each and every one of the crew eager to punish them, scalp them, hunt them down like the dogs that they were supposed to be. Not all pirates were bad, but technically, they wouldn't be called pirates if they weren't terrible or something. Still, even bad guys didn't deserve to get scalped, right?

An awkward sort of silence took control of the ship's deck. It was palpable, but mostly of confusion. While Iván was thinking about his scalp, rather the terrible treatment of human scalps everywhere, pirate or not pirate, the crew members were caught curious by his non-enthusiasm at the prospect of scalping a pirate. Pirates were bad. Why wasn't he enjoying the idea of punishing the bad people? It took him a few seconds before he realized the gears in the crew members' heads were beginning to turn. It wouldn't take them any longer to turn on him.

"If you choose to lock your heart away, you'll lose it for certain," Iván blurted out to the crew who could only continue to stare at him in confusion. A few seconds later, and after turning to each other, everyone erupted in laughter, everyone except Iván who knew in his heart of hearts that he was so close, oh, so close, to getting his butt handed to him by a bunch of stinky men aboard an equally stinky ship. Billy tightened his hold around him, grabbing him closer, shaking him, as he laughed with the rest of the crew. When the bigger man turned to him, Iván knew there was only one thing to do: laugh, awkwardly, with them. "You guys get it, you all got it, I was worried for a second there."

Billy jerked his head back, surprised, "Worried about what, Carlos?"

"...about ruining the whole fun atmosphere," Iván narrowed his eyes at Billy as he turned away to shake his head. "I wouldn't want to get thrown overboard just because of a bad joke, you know."

Billy turned to him, still not letting go, his entire face obviously confused, "What? We would never throw you overboard, Carlos. You're the life of this party, our treasure, and as my grandma used to say, not all treasure is silver and gold, mate." Finally, after a final pat on his shoulder, and an eye-to-eye stare that went on for far too longer than was comfortable, Billy let his entire being go. The crew member, seemingly the crew's favorite member from the looks of things, went to laugh with others of his own, before going for a bottle of rhum that was actually someone else's empty piss bottle. "Why is the rhum always gone?"

Before Iván could explain anything to Billy, mostly why the empty piss bottle was empty and did not really smell of rhum, the captain of the ship came strutting out of his quarters, some sort of weird parrot on his shoulder. Weren't pirates the only ones with parrots? What was up with the captain? Iván only had a few moments of peace with his thoughts when the captain turned to his place, his spot, his position. At first, he thought the captain was looking through him. Or at least at something behind him. But there was nothing else behind him. And he shouldn't have been anyone familiar to the man, so Iván shrugged and walked up to the man.

"My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are in trouble," Iván smirked, a finger stroking the parrot's head. He wondered if he should flick that parrot off the captain's shoulder. He wasn't a pirate. Why was he trying to look like a pirate? What a poser.

"The seas may be rough but I am the Captain," the captain whispered to him, under his breath, and Iván quickly realized something was up. It helped that the parrot on his shoulder tried to bite off his finger and stared at him in a familiar, memorable way. The captain turned to the parrot then to him, not even pointing or anyone, just moving his head, "No matter how difficult, I will always prevail."

Nodding, Iván took his place beside the captain, the parrot on his shoulder between them, and looked out onto the deck full of celebrating crewmen, gesturing towards them, "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?"

The captain weighed Iván's words for a few seconds before firmly, through gritted teeth, responded, "I regret nothing, ever."

They locked eyes once more, the captain and Iván, before the captain motioned for him to give him space. Shortly after, as Iván indulged the man, knowing full well that with that parrot on his shoulder and whatever @Madison Freebird was cooking up, things were going according to plan. But just in case the opposite was true, Iván leaned against the railing of the ship, planning the contingency of jumping into the sea, just in case the opposite was true. The captain, however, ignored him and addressed his crew, "We will be welcoming three more people into our ship, as per...request of an old friend. They're...affiliated with the Merchant Guild, so know that with your favorable treatment, comes the possibility of your equality favorable treatment by the merchants back home. That is all."

The captain turned to Iván one last time with a scowl, and Iván blew him a kiss. Why not? The man deserved a reward, after all. Now for the rest of their crew to come on board, so their plan could work. What was their plan again? Iván really needed to start writing things down. He wasn't allowed to die anymore. He should really write things down.

@Libitina Cerin @Marcus Caine

 

As the captain has his hand on the door leading back to the deck, Madison stopped him with a quick peck to the temple. She flapped off his shoulder, hit the floor, and spun back into her human body.

"Shit, wait, hang on--"

Furiously tapping at her UI, she finally sent the coordinates of the ship to @Marcus Caine and @Libitina Cerin. The mission was going to be a massive failure if they couldn't find the damn thing in the first place.

"Alright, let's go," the druidess said with a final press of an invisible button and a quick switch back to birbform. Perched back on the captain's shoulders, she flapped her beautiful sapphire and emerald wings a couple times to get her feathers in order, and then with a push of the door they were back outside.

Madison immediately sensed the captain's trepidation as he strode across the length of the ship, making a round of inspections in order to keep up appearances, conversing with the crew as if he hadn't just been forced into the prospect of leading them to their potential doom.

Because that was exactly what was happening here--for all her bluster and menacing tones, Maddy wasn't entirely sure what the hell they were getting into. The mention of the serpent and sword flag shut everyone's mouths back in the tavern. Were they really that dangerous of a pirate crew? What did they have, a full battery of magical pyro-cannons and arcanamancy crossbows or something? A team of Beast Tamers and a kraken on speed dial?

Meanwhile, they were four players; surely nothing could stand in their way!

...Right?

Eventually, the captain made his way towards @Iván Carl. The two had a brief exchange of words, during which that idiot illusionist tried to brush his hand against Maddy's head. She immediately let rip with an angry squawk and tried smacking him in the face with her awkward wings (but failed critically).

While the captain addressed his crew, Madison sent a telepathic message over to Iván. "Hey fucknut, if you try to pet me again I'm coming over there and shitting in your hair."

She let the threat hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "Here's the plan. I've already sent a ping to the others letting us know where we are. When they board, we'll push out. We're gonna' sail around for a bit while Flattie Mayonnaise and Libbie stand somewhere visible. Once these snake and sword nerds show themselves, you and I are going to ruin their day. I don't care how--as long as we have a couple survivors to interrogate. Sound good to you?"

Madison didn't need his affirmation--that was the plan whether he liked it or not.

 

The long haired girl had entered the shop with Marcus and she knew she had walked out with the tall male but when she turned to ask him his next plan. Poof.

She didn't know where he was anymore. She had lost the tall male in the crowd. That sounded weird. How does one lose a tall male in a group of people? He was tall so it shouldn't have been a trouble to spot the male. Unfortunately, the amethyst eyed girl was short and couldn't see him in the crowd of tall people who basically looked like giants. A sigh left her lips. Once again her height proved to be an inconvenience. Well, no reason to regret her previous choices anymore. Now, all she had to do was search for the male and then get some chests, then they could all sail. Unfortunately, that idea soon dissolved when she got a message in her UI by Madison stating that they got the ship ready.

She had no time to wait for her butler. The young, pretending to be aristocrat,female had to leave. With a sigh she left to get the empty chest. Only problem was. How?

She couldn't just go over to them and force them to give it to her. Rumours would spread about a lady wearing a dress, beating men up and she couldn't risk it. She had no choice but to ask politely. That is what she thought but luckily, the men were no where to be seen , leaving, what she assumed to be empty, chest behind. In fact, no one was there so if she "borrowed" the chest ,there would be no witness. She looked left and right and grabbed the chest, taking it away.

The treasure chest was bigger than her so it made it difficult for her to carry it, especially after wearing the gorgeous, movement restricting dress, which was why had also stolen a trolley looking machine and wheeled it away. It wasn't a surprise that people stared at her. It was weird for a noble woman to carry her own stuffs. So weird that a man decided to approach her.

"Oui sweetheart, why is a lady like you carrying that big ole thing all by yourself?"
Normally, she would glare and probably spit at the man for calling her by a generic bullshit name but as a kind ,gentle noble , she couldn't. So instead she offered a smile
"You see good sir, I am off on a trip to make an exchange for my father's business. He did not want t
Others to meddle with the transaction, since he feared that along the way people might take away his hard earned money, so he had intrusted me and my sister with this chest. We am to carry it and make sure no one gets a hold of it, especially since this is a large amount. Oh my, I need to take my leave. The ship is about to sail" she said as she brushed past him, not even letting him speam. The male would not have noticed the smirk that played on her lips. This was better than she thought. If the male does spread this news, there were more chances of them getting attacked. She knew her lie would have a risk though. There were chances some other pirate comes to attack them but that was fine as well. Her main objective was to beat pirates up, whether they were the ones they were looking for or not was not exactly her concern.

It didn't take her long to enter back into the tavern to meet the blonde girl who had stayed put, just like Marcus had ordered her. "Sister Madivan's, we need to hurry or we will be late" her voice came out gentle and soft, a tone she despised. It made her feel so weak and vulnerable , it sickened her. But that was the plan right? (Not getting Libitina sick but to be a damsel to trick pirates into stealing from them)

"Wha-who are you?" The woman questioned, surprised to see the rude mouthed female speak with such lady like softness. "No time for games sister. Honestly, for someone who is elder to me, you certainly act immature. What person in their right minds would start playing such a game when they are late "

The easily offended woman narrowed her eyes at Libitina. She felt like she just got insulted but she wasn't too sure either. She sighed and followed the girl.

Within a few minutes, they reached the location Madison had sent her. ' The dog and I reached. Is grinch with you two?' She sent a message to her teammates.

@Iván Carl @Madison Freebird

 

At the first sound of that disembodied voice in his head, Iván jerked backwards, unsure how to deal with the invasion of his privacy, a breach of his personal space. Then a second or two later, he realized it was just @Madison Freebird. Who else could sound that threatening and at the same time hilarious? Besides, she was the only one he tried to pet, her parrot form at least, so either she was using some sort of Illusion Magic or something else, something more powerful, to control the captain. Somewhat. The captain wasn't that fully controlled, to begin with. Threatened maybe, left with no choice, but fully controlled wasn't an appropriate description of the complete fuckery that he was wallowing in.

With a grin on his face, Iván listened to the rest of what Maddy Freeparrot had to say. It was a pretty impressive plan, simple but effective. They would sail as bait, lure the pirates that the blonde girl said attacked her family's ship, looted them, and take back what was rightfully hers, with a commission of course. Iván had no doubts that he could still take one or two of those pirates. Illusion Magic, Aeromancy, Summoning Magic, even Bludgeon could handle a couple of no-good sea rogues. However, he was intending to play the full support role with his Chronomancy. He had been waiting to try out the new toys of his newest Mastery. There was no better time than this adventure.

He was about to reply to Maddy when he realized he could not. At least, not the way she had communicated to him, as he found his lips started to move, signalling that the thoughts in his head, the ones he wanted to relay to the parrot, would not be relayed through telepathy but rather through words, which anyone else could hear, including the captive captain. So instead, he just simply nodded at her, its direction, a grin on his face.

That grin was eventually, a few moments later, replaced by disappointment. If he only still had access to his user interface, maybe he could've been the one to tell the others of their current whereabouts. Maddy had done everything else. Iván felt like he had not contributed as much as he wanted in this part of their quest. Thankfully, before he could drown in those feelings, the darkness that was trying to eat him up, regress to his edgy Iván self, @Libitina Cerin arrived with the flat-chested blonde girl.

At first, he thought the other crew members were just mucking around. But then Billy, good old dependable Billy, yelled the truth of all that commotion from near the ship's bow, "We've got more people on the dock. Two. Two girls." He turned to the captain with a confused look, "I thought we were welcoming three? Is one going to be late?"

While the others, Madison and the captain, could by themselves deal with that little question, Iván moved towards the ship's bow, making sure he was close by to welcome their two friends. He even reached out for Libi's hand, helping her get on the ship, as well as the flat-chested blonde girl's, though the latter gave him a massive scowl in return. "Well, you two look adorable. Welcome to the Phantasma! Where's our other friend?" Iván looked behind and beyond them but could not find @Marcus Caine. Did he die already?

 

Libitina looked up when she heard sound of people murmuring only to see some men on the boat. She was about to ignore them until she noticed the unmasked illusionist @Iván Carl but the clothing stealing woman was no whete to be seen. 'Hey @Madison Freebird . Where are you?' she inquired using her UI while she put on a smile and waved at the Ivan's and the crew members. She looked all happy and gentle but if one looked at her closer they could see the corner of her lips twitching from time to time. She definitely disliked the persona she had to create.

"Why thank you Mr Ivan's. We apology for our late arrival and as for our butler, I'm afraid we were separated during our trip to the market. I was hoping he would be here " Normally she would have preferred to get onto the ship by herself but a normal noble woman would not decline a hand, so she held onto his hand. After the blonde got onto the ship, she nudged her. "Now, dear sister. Would you stop glaring at the gentleman who is helping us out? It is rude manners" She really did dislike the woman. She had met with a few aristocrats in Terrasphere and by far she found her to be the worst. At least many of them had power to back up their cocky attitude. This woman was an absolute nobody and if they decided to not hand her her family treasure, she would remain like that. 'It would be better we didn't hand her that treasure. That will straighten her personality'

"The chest sure is light, isn't it?" a man said as he carried the chest Libitina had brought with herself. She mentally cursed as she realised that she left the treasure chest for someone else to carry. Of course it was light. The only thing inside the box was her two swords which she had kept for better access. "Ah. Mr Ivan's is probably using his magic to make the chest lighter. He certainly is a very caring man. I am sorry you had to go through the trouble of carrying our things as well" The man laughed and patted the short girl's head. "Do not worry little miss. I do not mind helping a sweet lass like you"
"We should leave now if we want to reach early" one of them announced. 'Great. Where is Marcus??' she wondered as she looked around to see where her teammate was but no sign. "It seems we will have to leave without him. It is a pity he could not come along with us" The men looked at the captain who nodded at the idea of leaving. And just like that, they set off

The weather was perfect for travelling. It was not too sunny but wasn't cloudy either and a nice cool breeze was being generated. Although Libitina was not enjoying herself. "Can we just sit inside the cabin or something? This is boring" Their employer whined like a little baby as the two "sisters" stood at the edge of the ship. Libitina shook her head in disappointment at the woman who kept whining beside her. She regretted agreeing to stand and look pretty beside the blonde girl. If the pirates did not show up quick, she might end up ruining the mission by throwing Madivan's into the water. "Jeez. You are so boring."

"Listen brat"She said in a low voice as she got closer to the blonde so her words would only reach the intended person. "I am here for a fight. Not for your entertainment. Would you shut up and do one job properly?"
"I am jealous of you two!" One of crew members came towards the two girls. Libitina stepped away from the blonde and looked at the male who decided to strike a conversation with them. "What do you mean sir?" She asked. "You two seem so close after all." He said. The girl stiffen at the thought of being close to the annoying blonde. Nope, she rather die than become chummy chum with Madivans.

Before she could reply to the man, another individual announced on the top of his lungs. "CAPTAIN! THERE IS A PIRATE SHIP AND ITS HEADING OUR WAY!"
And indeed there was. It was getting closer and closer to the point that Its flag was seen clearly and it seemed like the symbol Madivan's had described in the tavern.
Before she could even inquire with the employer, she screamed out. "THATS THE ONE!"

Finally. The fun was about to start.

 

Perched on the captain's shoulder, Madison heard the blond heiress's screams and their perfect dissonant chords loud and clear. She cocked her head to the side to see the pirate ship coming in hot around the backside of the cape. The druidess flapped her wings to keep her balance while the captain rushed over to the railing, producing a spyglass from inside his coat.

"What's their flag, Cap?"

His only response was a growing frown and the awful sucking sound of his tongue running across his teeth.

Madison asked again, her telepathic voice even more impatient than usual. "The flag. What are they flying?"

The captain lowered the device and collapsed it with a deafening click. His gaze remained firmly locked on the ship as it closed in. A wheezing breath escaped between his lips. "It's the serpent and sword."

And with that, the druidess hopped off his shoulder and morphed back into her human form before her boots hit the deck. It was incredibly hard to sport a bloodthirsty grin with the limited facial muscles of a parrot, after all. "Neat," she said as she adjusted the fit of her tricorn hat. "Your crew good in a fight?"

He nodded. "You don't sail these waters without knowing how to run a pirate through."

Madison clapped him on the back and flashed a devilish smile. "Great! Have them prepare to be boarded."

The captain blinked, then spun around and stopped her before she could walk away. "Whoa now, lass. That was never part of the deal! I will not put the lives of my crew on the line--"

Madison spun around and slapped his hand away. "You can, and you will, mate." The woman, a furious light in her eyes, got inches from the man's face. She lowered her voice so only he could hear over the panicking of his crew and the crashing of the waves. "You stand in the presence of the Dark Druid of Dunnstads. The Briarheart. The Plagueslinger."

Motioning over his shoulders at @Iván Carl and @Libitina Cerin, she continued, "The goofy fucker in the white is a master Illusionist and Chronomancer. The girl with pink hair can beat every single one of your men in a sword duel." She paused for a moment, glancing downship for any sign of Marcus. "The blonde is useless, I'll admit--but we had a fourth..." She held a hand up over her eyes, hoping that it was the sun playing tricks on her.

"It looks like he didn't make it," Maddy said with a frown before resuming her hellish glare and scowl combination. "Point is, don't worry about your crew. They're in good hands."

Madison whipped around without another word and made her up the stairs towards the helmsman. Behind her, the captain stammered for a moment, but quickly collected himself and began shouting orders at his crew. The druidess leaned in close to the scruffy man and barked at him, "Stay on course. Don't try and outrun them. Let them catch us. We'll take it from there."

Thankfully, he was to pants-shittingly frightened to do any arguing. Come to think of it, a lot of the crewmen seemed to be scurrying around with a little less guts and a lot more fear. Were these sword snake dudes really that scary?

As the rest of the boat prepared for battle, Madison found herself a nice, wide, open space in the aft end of the vessel. She had to guess that she was above the captain's quarters. Flicking open her UI, she sent a quick message to the others.

I'm up by the helmsman. We're going to be boarded. I'll need some time, but I'm going to rot out a hole in their boat and sink them. I figure, their captain will panic and jump over here. Kill or disable as many pirates as you please--but leave him alive for questioning.

Let's fuck shit up, kiddos!

A quick couple presses of her palm menu and the confirmation beep sounded in her ear, telling her the ping was successfully sent. Madison quickly produced the deck of corrupted playing cards from her inventory, gave them a good shuffle, and began to build the ritual circle needed for her work.

 

Druuk Island, home to all manners of lawless criminals, including pirates, has never been associated with safe seas. Near this area, pirates did as they wished, with little to no repercussions. Still, inspired by either greed or sheer stupidity, some merchants came to the place to trade, merchants with influence, merchants backed up by certain powerful factions.

This one, the Phantasma, was supported by not only the Merchant Guild but also by the Aristocracy, which meant that anyone who tried to board it, claim it, harm it, would find themselves targeted by not only the Merchant Guild but also by the Aristocracy. Despite the pirates' fearsome reputation, most of them held a rather honorable code to their crew. That and the fact that they also had some dealings, more or less a few alliances, with a few members of both factions meant that a lot of them did not want to find themselves on the crosshairs of both factions.

But how does a pirate ship know the kind of merchant ship it should not mess around with? The same way anyone was able to tell the difference between a merchant ship and the pirate ship: the kind of flag it sailed under. Iván knew all this by way of his own dealings with both the Merchant Guild, through the Curry House and a few friends he had made during a certain meeting, and the Aristocracy, the latter of which he should have no real reputation with if not for a man named Richard Milleore who personally took a liking to the Phantasma. He's not going to like any of this.

Using the small mirror embedded in his tinkered pocket watch, Iván stole a glimpse of the flag that the Phantasma was currently flying. While everyone had gotten themselves distracted by either the illusory celebration or each other, specifically the captain and @Madison Freebird , the chronomancer was able distort the flag, specifically its color, to make it seem that their merchant ship wasn't the kind of merchant ship protected by two powerful factions, and he didn't even have to use his magic.

See, the Jolly Roger, the flag the pirates bore, was black, the color chosen to identify a ship's crew as pirates, striking mortal terror in the hearts of their intended victims. The color of the flag denoting a merchant ship protected by both the Merchant Guild and the Aristocracy, on the other hand, was purple. Or was that blue? Either way, either color. They were very similar, anyway. With just a really powerful dye concoction, purple turned to white.

Iván was grinning, proud of that achievement, when @Libitina Cerin mentioned his name. He was caught surprised and unaware, and it did not change when he turned to Billy who showed him an equally confused face. Iván had not introduced himself as a magician, a sorcerer, to the merchant crew. For all his courtesy shown towards the two girls, he received a blunder that threatened his very existence. Well, maybe not. Iván did, after all, learn illusion magic from Alphabet Chocolate. To an extent.

"What did she mean by that?" Billy muttered under his breath to Iván, having discreetly approached him, still wearing that dumbfounded look on his handsome, tall, blonde face. "You a magician, Carlos? I thought you were just a crewman like us."

Sighing, Iván turned to Libi and the blonde girl with such disappointment before showing Billy a smile, a hand on the crew's favorite member's muscular back, and guiding him elsewhere, away from the girls with terrible comprehension of what was happening around them. Adventurers or not, they were outnumbered by the crewmen, innocent workers, all of whom they should not harm lest they want to sully their reputation. If Iván was on his own, things would've been easier. Either he successfully got the job done through unsavory trickery or he died. Easier. But he wasn't on his own. He was with other people, people he could not control, thus he had to adapt.

"Ah, well, you know little girls. Puberty hits and they're all attention-seeking liars making up exaggerated lies to compensate for their boring lives. You know what I'm talking about, right?" Iván made sure to talk fast, keep his lips moving, to further confuse Billy into submission. These men, innocent as they were, weren't as learned and educated as the rest of them were, truth be told. They were merchant crewmen for a reason, and that reason didn't really inspired the idea of having been educated well enough. "In any case, best not to take what they say seriously. Little girls are extremely prone to scurvy and seasickness. They'll vomit on you if you're not too careful."

Billy, still without a clue, just stared at Iván who flashed him the brightest, kindest, smile the chronomancer could muster. All Iván needed to do was win the man over, and the rest of the crew would ask no questions. He could do as he wished, flying under the radar. Illusion magic, after all, worked best when no one suspected it being anywhere near them. But then someone yelled something about a pirate ship approaching, the flat-chested blonde girl who hired them yelled back about that pirate ship being the pirate ship they needed to get close to, and Billy, a father of two young girls, didn't seem quite convinced with Iván's excuses.

Defeated, Iván could only sigh, bowing his head as he felt the heavy burden of having lied to a good man for a gold coin. Wait, no, a lot of gold coins. Iván suddenly felt relieved. Billy wasn't a friend, anyway. They just met, after all. Chances are, Billy was going to die when all hell broke loose. Iván was certainly going to survive. At least this around he was sure of that. While Billy... When Iván turned to Billy once more, the confusion on his face was replaced by a scowl. Iván did not expect for Billy to understand his trickery right away but then again he did not expect for Billy to not punch him right away. As soon as he heard the truth. "I can explain..."

Before Iván could explain, however, Billy cut him off, angry and hurt at the same time, "No need, master Illusionist. You should focus more on those good hands of yours and your friends. Ratonhnhaké:ton has come for us." Billy took on a more serious demeanor, looking away from Iván and towards the approaching pirate ship.

"Ratonwhatnow? I'm just going to call him Ratatouille. After my sister's pet rat," Iván turned to look at their Ratatouille's ship and immediately felt a foreboding darkness, despair, and just a tad of danger and death combined. Or maybe it was just the ant juice. Regardless, the vast expanse of salty sea did not seem like a familiar and fair battleground for the unmasked chronomancer. Ah, well. No time to learn new things than the present. "You guys can fight, right?"

Billy ignored Iván and began to rally the screamin' seamen, the crew of the Phantasma. They did not look like the fighting bunch, and Iván surmised that some of them might end up dead before this kerfuffle was over. Still, Billy did not seem fazed. Maybe he had faith in his friends. Maybe he was just that stupid, "All right, men! It's time to put up or shut up. We're scalping us some pirates tonight. Let's make Mr. Milleore proud!" The other men, some of which obviously scared, yelled their ayes in response. If the captain of the ship died right then and there, Billy could pretty much take over with relative ease.

"Archers at the ready!"

"Man the sails, the rigging!"

"Heave ho! Heave ho!"

Things started getting intense on that ship, the likes of which Iván never expected. Crewmen were running around, doing their thing, playing their roles really well, some even picking up weapons to delay their deaths. Iván, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the pirate ship. Whoever Ratatouille was, he seemed to inspire a great deal of fear and uncertainty with the crewmen, including the captain himself. And perhaps for good reason, as his ship, the pirate ship, was able to close the gap between themselves and the Phantasma.

"Sir, they have began firing!" one of the crewmen yelled out.

Iván turned to where that crewman was but his eyes were quickly averted by the rip in the mainsail of the Phantasma, "That can't be good." Quickly, the chronomancer took his stinky red mask from within his coat and put it on. It was showtime, bay bay, and he needed all the protection he could get. After all, it was his first time fighting out at sea.

Utilizing his time magic, Iván localized its effects on the rip in the mainsail, turning back time to how it was prior to the unseen attack. Iván grinned at his contribution, proud of his work, but his celebration did not last long, as an explosion caused one side of the ship, closest to where Ratatouille's ship was, to lose a good chunk of its railing, with the men around it to go flying away, either into the sea or to the other side of the ship, not of their own accord. Iván gritted his teeth and began using his time magic immediately on that localized part of the ship, trying to undo the damage. "Any time now, Maddy!"

Any time now, the pirates under Ratatouille's banner could board them. Unbeknownst to the adventurers, there was a reason why a lot of the people they've come across seemingly feared the man known as Ratonhnhaké:ton, his own crew included. One of the most ruthless pirates to ever sail around Druuk Island, the man was no mere pirate. He was also well-versed in both the martial arts and the magical arts. Legend has it that no ship he has ever come across has survived his terror, his infamy. How that legend spread, or who spread it in the first place, considering no ship Ratonhnhaké:ton has ever come across has survived his terror, his infamy, is as mysterious as the man himself. He also had nine-pack abs, apparently.

 

Libitina heard Ivan's comment about being a lying kid which did bring a frown on her face. The lying part did not upset her but rather, how he called her a kid.How old was his character suppose to be anyways? but now was not the time to confront him over this topic. After all, they were on a job.

She turned to their employer. "Your work here is done. Now be a good girl and do not come in the way" the girl instructed in a small whisper. She heard the sound of a new notification and opened it to see it was from none other than @Madison Freebird . 'Oh so she is still here..I do not see her anywhere though' she shrugged, finding the detail of her teammate's unnecessary. As long as she was contributing to the work, it did not matter where she was.

The long haired girl noticed how on edge the crew. The pirates were going to be tough, at least, she hoped that would be the case. Libitina held onto the railing tightly when she felt the ship shake due to the impact of firing by the pirates. She was not worried about their ship sinking (although she should have been) , she had enough faith on the physically weak but intellectual illusionist to come up with something to insure the ship did not sink.


The girl stared with amethyst eyes, watching their expressions turning from excitement to confusion then urgency. It seemed that the clothes stealing female did as she said and got their prey right into the trap. The pirates were the typical stereotype, shabby looking with unwashed hair that looked like a diy hair cutting gone terribly wrong. Teeth so yellow and rotten it reminded her of the song "black and yellow"

"Come on young miss! These men are most likely after you and your money. You should be hiding in a corner, not standing by the edge of the ship!" One crewman scolded the adventurer, trying to get the girl to safety. Libitina obediently nodded and started to make her way to the treasure chest, not to escape the battle that was to come, but to join in after she got her weapons out. The idea of seeing their companions drop their jaws when they see her (a supposedly noble girl) fighting, was going to be amusing. Yup, that was something she would love to see.

The crewmen tried to make sure the pirates could not step foot onto the transportation but the pirates were one step ahead and came in like tarzan. It did not take long for the pirates to land onto the ship and begin their attacks. Libitina was just in front of the chest. One more step and she would be able to open the box and get out her swords. Unfortunately for her, one of the pirates got a hold of her, wrapping his arm around her neck while the other held her wrist. "Ohhh~ I got a bonus treasure. Wonder how much a noble girl would be sold for in the market" Libitina cringed her nose. Not only because of the man's word but the awful smell that entered her nostrils when he opened her mouth. Compared to him, @Iván Carl 's smelt like roses and dandelions. "Who said anything about being a noble, you scumbag" She hissed as she took out her dagger with her free hand and stabbed the pirate in the arm. He let her go and lost his focus on the girl because of the pain. Enough time for her to get her swords and start fighting, at least that was the plan.

THUD. That was the sound of the young girl falling face first on the ground, all because of the beautiful damn dress which restricted her movements. She cursed at herself for the stupid blunder on her part "Why you little brat!" the angry pirate took out his sword and stood behind her, about to stab her. In a quick motion, Libitina rolled out of the way which resulted in the sword stabbing the floorboard of the ship. "Lucky miss ,girly. You won't be so lucky the next time" venom dropped from his words, obviously pissed that she managed to hurt him.

"Do not go around stealing other people's line, ugly" Libitina used her blood covered dagger to cut the hemp of the dress to increase her mobility. "Ciel!"She called out for her familiar to distract her opponent. The cute white plushy seal appeared to aid his master.

"PFFTT! hahaha! You think that thing could protect you! What a joke!" The man snickered and reached his hand out to grab her pet. The illusion creating seal did its trick and made the male watch a mini illusion. "What the fuck!" He cursed after he snapped out. "He is a special fellow" She stated as she finally got her weapons and in one swift motion, stabbed the man in the heart to knock him down instantly.

"Help me!" the loud screech of their employer reached Libitina's ears. The amethyst eyed girl turned to see blonde got captured by a pirate. She could have saved Madivans. Just a surprise attack from behind and the flat chested woman would be safe. But Libitina had no intentions of saving the spoiled rich brat. Not only because of how stuck up she was, but also because men who targeted weaker people, tend to be weak as well. Besides, someone would save her...eventually.

With a shrug , the long haired girl went ahead to fight other pirates. "AH! How could you leave me like that!" their employer cried out as she watched Libitina leave.

 

Breathe in.

Count to ten. Find your center.

Open your mind's eye underwater.

Try not to think of how it's filled with pirate piss, algae, and fish guts. Definitely don't think about how that shit's soaking into your mind's eye's retina now.

Gonna' need some drops after this, for sure. Make sure it gets nice and clean.

Look for the bottom of the pirate ship.

Really, you can't miss it. It's long, it's brown, and looks like its begging for a good dose of rot magic.

...There it is. You found it. Hey, good job not panicking once you caught a glimpse of the dark depths below!

Breath out.

Now that Madison knew where to aim the spell, she cracked her knuckles and set about the task. All around her, the chaos of battle had erupted into a full chorus of shouting, steel clashing, and the pained screams of the injured. Every few seconds, she also caught the whizzing flash of a spell being cast by one of the pirates or merchant boathands.

Maddy's brow creased with annoyance. "Can you keep it down out there?! A girl's trynna' work, here!"

Predictably, everyone ignored her. Oh well--it was good that they did. It meant that she could sink a boat without any awkward questions.

The plagueslinger adjusted her tricorn hat and the cuffs of her royal blue jacket before making sure her spread of cards was correctly arranged. Around her, a circle of alternating clubs and diamonds began to hum with energy. Madison poured mana into the cards, and they responded in kind. On the deck underneath her, dark violet lines began to etch into the wood, feeding off the woman's mana.

She closed her eyes once more, her lips quivering as she silently mouthed the incantation. More and more, the ritual lines began to glow. Before long, the hem of her jacket and her pant legs turned a soft amethyst from the intensity of the magic.

Breathe in.

Find your center.

See the boat.

Now see it on the ocean floor, a big ol' hole in its hull.

Make your will manifest.

Breath out.

Madison's concentration was on the spell. The din of the battle on deck had faded away to a dull roar she could barely make out. Somewhere around her, the thudding of footsteps echoed like the skipping of a stone along a calm lake. Shouting. The clash of weaponry, then a cry of surprise. The thunk of the rock breaking the surface of the water and sinking to the bed below.

The woman cracked an eye open to see the imposing form of the helmsman, bloody saber in hand, glancing back at her to make sure she was alright.

"Cheers," she said with a soft nod.

Madison closed her eyes again and went back to her spell. Moments passed--could have been seconds, could have been minutes; she wasn't quite sure. But she knew she was successful when a thunderous crack! resonated from below, along with a massive pocket of bubbles breaking the surface of the sea.

The helmsman also heard the noise, and looked at the witch hysterically. "What did you do?"

She collected her cards, rose to her feet, and casually brushed the dirt and dust off her backside. Across the water, she could make out the muscle-fat figure of a man in a coat much like her own, but as black as night. Confusion and anger were etched on what little of his face wasn't obstructed by a salt and pepper beard. Must be the pirate captain, she concluded.

Madison met the pirate's eyes, and gave him a big, toothy grin and a giant wave that soon morphed into a middle finger.

"I sunk their battleship," she finally said to the helmsman.

 

As chaos consumed the Phantasma, Iván could do little else but make sure that the ship wouldn't go down anytime soon. No one else could do it. The merchant crew were mostly physical fighters, @Libitina Cerin was busy taking care of the pirates trying to board the ship, and @Madison Freebird was channeling some sort of curse or hex against the other ship. Everyone else had their hands full with the fighting to provide support. That was where he came in. With his time magic, the illusionomancer localized his spells, preventing any real damage, staving all of what he could, from adding to their side's concern.

Then it happened. Iván wasn't sure what it was but the other ship suddenly found itself in more terrible shape than the Phantasma. From where he stood, Iván heard the screaming and the splashing and the creaking of a ship about to go down but not willingly. Ratonhnhaké:ton's ship was legendary for a reason, but perhaps, that legend has just not met its match, which now it has. The ship and the pirates fought the turn of the tides with as much effort as they could spend. Someone yelled for them to abandon ship, which many took to jumping to the sea. Others, however, the warriors who did not know the very taste of defeat continued to board the Phantasm, Davy Jones may care.

There were many of them, though Iván wasn't quite sure which side had the numbers advantage. It might not even matter. At the end of the day, the fiercer warriors would live, regardless of how many they were. At least, that held true in fiction. This was technically fiction, wasn't it? Iván tried to debate with himself whether that was true but was interrupted by a woman screaming, their patron. Through gritted teeth, Iván bolted to the sound of the scream and seconds later, after jumping over pieces of wood and almost slipped on the deck, found the blonde girl who was cornered by a raving pirate.

"Someone please help me!" the girl screamed but no one else could hear her. Everyone had battles to fight on their own, on their time. She was pretty much helpless, ripe for the gross-looking pirate's taking, a huge quiet man with long greasy hair, big muscles, scary scars, clearly someone Iván couldn't take on his own. Yet he had no other option. The girl was their meal ticket. If she dies, it wouldn't end well for his wallet.

Future Shock

Brandishing his hammer, Iván channeled lightning through it, beckoning the future to unleash its fury on their patron's aggressor. The charged lightning shot out towards the pirate, zig zagging in the air, before making contact with his back, blinding light and the sound of thunder revealing the impact that the spell had wrought on the man. Yet as the dust cleared, the pirate remained standing, his back unscathed, smoke wafting from it. Slowly, carefully, he turned towards the direction of a surprised Iván, an annoyed glare aimed at the illusionomancer.

"Nice try, boy, but magic does not work on Ratonhnhaké:ton," the feared legendary pirate growled, gripping the blonde girl's throat while his eyes remained on Iván.

The first word that came to Iván's head? Shit. Three times. Shit, shit, shit. Maybe if they had taken the time to consult with the brigands in that bar, perhaps they would've come across this very helpful information. But then again, who needs brigands when you've got Billy?"Try your party tricks! That's a different kind of magic, right?" the charismatic pirate scalper yelled out towards Iván in the middle of bludgeoning a tiny pirate man unconscious.

Billy was right. At least with the difference between direct magical attacks and illusion magic. The spell Iván had directed at the pirate captain was a magical attack, physical in terms of substance, material, which meant it had to make contact. Illusion magic didn't really need to. Illusion magic attacked someone's psyche, so unless he had some sort of powerful barrier against it, that maybe their best bet. For now, anyway. Turning back to Ratonhnhaké:ton, Iván grimaced at the sight of the blonde girl turning purple at being suffocated just by one of his massive hands. It would not do. He had to get her away from him.

Time Remnant

"Hey, Ratatouille! Let's see if this one works!" he yelled before immediately channeling his magic, beckoning versions of himself throughout time to appear to aid him in his plan, to deceive and confuse Ratonhnhaké:ton, at least for a short little while. A least three versions of himself appeared from throughout time, resembling him at this exact point in time, running towards the pirate captain at the same time.

Caught surprised, Ratonhnhaké:ton let the girl go and brandished his cutlass, slicing two of Iván's time remnants in one go. As quickly as they had appeared, they vanished back into nothingness. All that was left was one version of Iván, not the original, just another time remnant. Ratonhnhaké:ton narrowed his eyes, a little confused. There should've been at least two of them left. Unless... He turned to where the girl was and found nothing on where she stood. Ratonhnhaké:ton roared in fury just as the final time remnant charged towards him, right into his sword.

While the legendary pirate captain was busy with his remnants, Iván used the confusion to speak past him and grab the girl. He dragged her away from the chaos and right inside the captain's cabin, immediately shutting the door behind them. The girl was panting, clearly having difficulty breathing, perhaps from the shock of almost dying. She had witnessed her family die before, at the hands of the same man. This was something she shouldn't have been exposed to. "Stay here."

The girl stared at Iván before she nodded. He nodded back at her and put a finger on his lips. She understood immediately and closed her eyes. To have faith in him at a time like this wasn't something she had the luxury of debating with herself. It was her only option. She could nothing else.

As soon as she seemed stable, Iván made his way to the door. He quietly went out but not before placing a small thingamajig near the doorknob. It was a security measure he had been working on with a couple of tinkerer friends. While it latched on to a door or any sort of opening, no one would be able to pass through, not unless they offered either their magical essence or a drop of blood. This small thingamajig was tinkered to only accept Iván's essence or blood, which meant no one else but him would be able to open the door. Not even the girl who was safe on the other side.