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Their Adventures Continue

Scene details

  • Start date: Aug. 22, 2021, noon
  • End date: Aug. 22, 2021, 6 p.m.
  • Location: Cosmopolis - Floating Piers
  • Participants: Reize Seatlan, Ivo Galvan, Priel

Setting: After the events of First Flight, canonically, Reize and Lily set sail for adventure from Cosmopolis while Ivo and Priel stay behind. Ivo is reappointed to his father's rank and assigned the governorship of a mid-tiered district and he hires Priel as his bodyguard to help him survive Cosmopolitics (TM), which she accepts I guess because he has some money now and the sealed city is pretty interesting. Since we don't have a Lily, I figured our MUSH twist is: Lily goes into Homunculus Sleep Mode and the magical scientists of Cosmopolis can't make heads or tails of what's wrong with her. But (bullshit I just made up incoming) according to some ancient records kept there, among the many lost civilizations that once dwelled in Granse, one was ruled by people called the Star-Crowned who were depicted with forehead-crystals like Lily's. Reize leaps at this thin lead and prepares to depart on a ship for Granse. Ivo and Priel swing by the docks, ostensibly to bid him farewell. But Ivo's district has been perfectly fine without an official governor for some time. And he's curious about the lands of which he's only read...

Log

"The view from the gondola's incomparable, don't you think?"
  The young noble's blue cloak swirls as he steps onto the creaking wood of the docks, speaking over his shoulder to Priel. His tone is characteristically light and playful, but with new undertones of warmth and pride. When he looks out at this teeming place, he feels at home.
  "I'm sure Reize got my message," he continues, blithely ignoring an impatient dockworker shouldering past him as he sedately strolls. They've been separated from the young adventurer for at least a couple weeks in the chaos following their return with the villain Vivian in tow. "There's only one little tavern with a green roof, so even he can't get lost... probably."
  What Ivo calls a tavern is clearly just the dingy converted warehouse he's now approaching, the most this busy place has to offer in terms of comfort.
  "I sent him a ticket for a gondola ride, of course. I wanted to share the view. And," he adds, pausing briefly with a note of worry before he pushes open the door, revealing the humble tables and chairs and few occupants within, "I *hope* he didn't take the stairs."
  There are a lot of them.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

Priel walks just slightly behind said young noble. Clad in her telltale fur collared, orange and black ensemble, she stands with her arms crossed over her chest. She similarly ignores the obvious ire of the dockworkers as they try to do their jobs while these two fools stand in their way. "Hm. Well, y'know. He's not an idiot. Usually. I'm sure he can make it over without too much of a problem." The tone in her voice suggests that she doesn't even believe her own words, looking away with an obviously amused smirk on her face. A tavern with a green roof.
  Well, 'tavern' anyway.
  But being in the line of work that she is, Priel is pretty used to dives like this, so she doesn't bat too much of an eye at the place. Stepping inside with her current employer, the redhead laughs. "Hah! Want to place bets on it then? Did he take the stares or did he take the boat? Step right up, winner take all!" Except there's nothing to take. Well, except the knowledge that one was wrong. Hm.

After they cleared the crisis that plagued Cosmopolis for a century, it was looking like things would turn out for the better. It is him and Lily all the way.
  Until she wasn't.
  It seemed that Lily had been affilicted with a condition where she could not wake up. The good news is that Lily was not dead. However, the bad news is that Lily is in some sort of deep sleep. The doctor, who seemed well-versed, recommended that Reize should seek the Star-Crowned, who were depicted with the same gem that Lily has on her head. They suspect that Lily is a remnant of that civilization.
  First, Reize needs to meet Ivo and Priel at the tavern.
  "Now where was I supposed to meet them again?"
  Don't worry, luck will help Ivo and Priel.
  On the backside, there is some sort of experimentation with the cannon going.
  "Okay, we can do this. This will propel a person up and..."
  *KABOOM*
  "Oh shoot, we hit it too early!"
  Reize turns around, "Huu---ACCKKKK!" Reize is swept off from the ground.
  Back onto Ivo and Priel's point...
  It is soon that there is a loud crunch and crunkle as the roof of the warehouse busts open. It's like watching a meteor crash.
  Reize lands quite hard on the table on, frightened patrons looking in horror. Reize lying flat on his back.
  "....I'm okay," replies weakly.

As he saunters over to the tavern's makeshift bar, Ivo responds to Priel's lively proposition with a smile that's a little too pleasant, replying in a voice a little *too* bright.
  "Ah ha ha! It's funny that you'd mention a bet. You see, after paying your bodyguard fees... at your eminently justifiable price, of course, of... course..." He clears his throat. "I neglected to mention that I've made a small purchase that has caused me to be... how should I say... temporarily financially indisposed. I've been meaning to tell you, but I..."
  He trails off. Several moments of silence follow. Ivo glances toward the door, then around him, before it becomes clear he's hoping to be conveniently interrupted by some dramatic event. Nothing happens. Ivo looks back to Priel, staring in silence for a few beats.
  "...didn't."
  Smooth as ever.
  "Look, I--"
  *CRASH*
  "Oh, come on!!"
  Ivo's plaintive cry is lost in the cacophany and shower of dust and debris. Shaking his cloak out with a flourish, he composes himself and approaches, offering Reize a hand up with a sincere smile.
  "How was the view on the way down?"
  At this point, they're used to stuff like this.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

Priel narrows her eyes as Ivo gears up to say something, only to artificially trail off, as if expecting to be conveniently interrupted at just the perfect moment. But alas, the perfect moment does not come. Instead, there's just an awkward gulf of silence, the redhead resting her hands on her hips and tapping a foot on the floor pointedly. "But you didn't...?"
  CRASH
  Never mind. There goes Reize. Crashing in through the roof. While other taverngoers express shock and surprise at this sudden turn of events, Priel just neatly takes a step aside, and looks up at the fresh hole in the roof, a hand raised above her eyes as she appraises the sight.
  "Well. I guess neither of us won that bet anyway. Who could've accounted for air travel?"

"Don't remember, everything was so fast."
  After all, that cannon blast swept him off his feet. Literally.
  Reize is staring at the hand that's offered his way. Once he comes to, he does reach over to take the hand and he finally adjusts himself. Dusting his clothes off, the Boy with the Yellow Scarf winces, "...Well, I made it."
  He closes his eyes, "Lily won't be coming with me, I'm afraid." With a frown, he runs his hand over his right shoulder. He looks at the two, "She didn't wake up... The scientists said that she has some type of condition, but are uncertain to make heads or tails of it." He looks over to the side, "... So, it looks like I'll be traveling on my own."
  He muses, looking at the two, "Would you two be able to check up on her on occasion, since she'll be remaining here?"

Ivo's smile fades. "I heard," he murmurs. "I've pulled some strings with my old colleagues at the Lyceum." Every magical engineer graduates from the city-state's military college, even the foppish and seemingly unreliable ones. "She'll have only the best treatment. I guarantee her condition will remain stable." He's not typically one to make promises. But, once a knight in name only, Ivo has slowly begun to change. "You two are my friends."
  As if instinctively, he reaches up to touch the phoenix brooch that serves as his cloak's clasp, retrieved not long ago by the young adventurers from a cursed and forgotten battlefield. For Ivo's father, it had represented the undying flame of his resolve and ambition; for Ivo, in turn, the conviction and passion he felt himself to lack. Only now does he notice that, in the hectic time since their adventures, his long-nursed sense of inadequacy has been receding. What he has to offer, his curiosity and flexibility, is also valuable.
  "On that note..."
  And he's capable of fighting for what he treasures, too.
  "I wanted to show you something. Come on."
  A flicker of that smile returning, Ivo gestures back toward the door. Though his demeanor is calm and casual, he occasionally casts a very brief glance over to the tavern owner, a beefy man who has emerged from the back to stare outraged at the new hole in his roof.
  "Right this way..."
  When his companions follow him a few steps out the front door, Ivo will point toward a small ship docked nearby. Though it doesn't stand out at first, brief examination shows that it appears to have been freshly painted in vivid blue and white to match Ivo's own garb, and affixed to its side are odd large cylinders and some complex metalwork which none of the other ships in the harbor possess.
  "You'll need a means of travel, right?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

Priel's typical blithe manner of being fades a bit at the news of Lily's condition. "So it's like that in the end after all?" It's a bit regrettable. It definitely would be different without Lily's brand of silliness brightening up the place. She raises a hand and scratches the side of her head lightly, before lowering it and crossing her arms. "Right. Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on her. And if anything happens, we'll let you know." A teasing smile forms as she walks over and throws an arm around Reize's shoulder. "So you just go out there and do what you do best! Getting lost!" Pause. "Did I say get lost? I meant exploring! Yes. Definitely exploring! Tee hee~" That fake giggle at the end tops things off before she lets go, and moves to follow after Ivo as he says he has something he needs to show them.
  That, which turns out to be a ship.
  "Oho, fancy."

It looks like the news already got to Ivo. Reize smiles ruefully. It always seems that Ivo had a good grasp of what goes on quicker than Reize could anticipate. In a way, that is a good thing.
  He looks at his friend with a warm smile as he explains the measures that had already been taken for Lily's current state. "Thank you, Ivo..." He runs a hand to his shoulder. It is a bit of an embarassed smile. He smiles at Priel for a moment as well, "Thank you, Priel..."
  To think that he had gotten so close to Lily in this short time. It will be tough without his traveling partner that he had to survive throughout the new region --- wait a second.
  Getting lost?!
  Reize shoots a glare at Priel, his antenna hair flicking up menacingly, "Oooi! I don't get lost! I just have a unique way of finding my way!"
  "Hrm?" Ivo wanted to show him something and Reize is not the one to keep him waiting. He decides to follow his friend after the door is gestured. Following through the front door, he stares out at the dock, "Whooooa!" His gaze hones in at the small ship that's docked.
  Sure, it may not stand out to many people, but Reize is definitely a person to appreciate such decorations. "...A ship for me to travel in? This will help in getting out to Granse!"

"It sure is," Ivo replies gamely to Priel, and then to Reize: "It sure will. Here, let embark and I'll show you what it's got." Despite his debonair demeanor, Ivo can't stop the excitement from creeping into his eyes and voice, his words quickening as he launches proudly into exposition. "You see, after the opening of Cosmopolis and the sealing of the Gate of Creation--" Which our protagonists may have had something to do with. "--access to the harbor was expanded but access to concentrated aether was restricted. Before Proliferation took Aediograd, our research was fueled by the Gate's inexhaustible energy, and the nobles always chattered about reclaiming it somehow, someday. But they're all in a tizzy now that this seems impossible."
  He chatters on as he turns about the main deck, now smiling dazzingly. The ship seems standard in most respects, but the prow is unusually narrow and the helm, rather than being a simple steering wheel, involves a dizzingly complicated set of levers and buttons.
  "All this resulted in quite the underground racing scene." Of course it did. "Precious tanks of liquified aether smuggled through the Warrens down to the docks are being used to fuel skimmers for high-stakes races. You'd be amazed what some of the engineers who flunk out of the Lyceum get up to. Why, one's even building some sort of cannon to shoot people down to the docks." He approaches the helm and casually begins to manipulate it, the sounds of powering up echoing from beneath the party. "I happened to observe some of these races--" Right. "--and developed a prototype skimmer engine of my own. Behold the cutting edge of high-speed sea travel: the Romancing SaGa!" He spreads his arms wide, openly grinning.
  So this was that small purchase he mentioned.
  "HEY!!" a rough voice shouts, that beefy tavern owner bursting from his own front door, glaring venomously toward them. "WHICH OF YOU PUNKS BUSTED MY ROOF!?"
  "Shall we take it for a spin?" Ivo says as though nothing were amiss, flipping one of the levers. "I should at least show you how it works, yes?" And before anyone can reply, they're off, at a speed that risks hurling one to the deck if not over the side railing.
  "It's fast," a random observer breathes, watching them go.
  "And furious," another replies, nodding.
  "Too fast," the tavern owner growls. "*Too* furious."

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"A cannon that shoots people out to the docks..."
  Priel looks back at the tavern.
  Two and two are put together.
  "Ah."
  A look of amusement crosses her face. Well that explains that. She won't ask how they handle the whole 'not breaking all the bones in someone's body' thing.
  ....Best not to think about it.
  Priel is only sort of half listening to Ivo as he rants and raves about underground races and engines and such. Until he gets to the name of this ship. ".... Romancing... Saga?" A hand claps over her mouth, and she has to try valiantly not to burst out laughing uproariously.
  And then comes the tavern owner.
  "Oh crap." Priel hops right on deck, and soon, they're speeding off. While they go, Priel looks back and waves a hand with a sweet smile on her face. "Bye!"
  This will eventually come back to them, won't it?

Reize's chipperness returns as they get closer to the ship. Listening to Ivo's explanation, he brightens considerably, "So everything is opening up again! That's great!" The chatter about reclaiming it earns a frown, "....Hopefully, they don't open up the Gate again," He shudders.
  He looks at Ivo, "Adrastus is not 'killed', he is still sealed in there." Reize, however, remember that HE was nearly killed until his uncle saved him in the nick of time.
  ... And something else.
  % Thinking about that, he looks over towards his pendant. His expression becomes more lost in thought.
  ~ "It is not your time.... there is still much for you to do..."
  He squints as he looks at the pendant, "...I wonder who that voice was." He snaps back when he realizes that they are at the main deck.
  he comment about the cannon earns a 'wait a second' glance from Ivo, squinting. That is interrupted as the ship powers up. The protoype skimmer, the Romancing SaGa! "Waaahoooo!"
  Not noticing the angry tavern owner, Reize chimes out, "Yeah! Let's give it a go!" Off at great speed!

"Ha ha ha!"
  Ivo laughs boyishly, tousled dark hair whipping in the wind, as the Romancing Saga, a ship with a very cool name that is not funny, sets off. Engines hidden within the bowels of its slender frame roar, the ship's prow lifting above the waves from their sheer power, the wake left by its sudden lurch crashing against the docks as our heroes flee the scene.
  "We're riding a revolution!" he calls, eyes sparkling, heart soaring with the possibilities. "Well-maintained and supplied, a ship like this reduces a journey of weeks to days or even hours. Of course, concentrated aether can be hard to come by unless it's extracted from the remnants of eidola," he adds, grinning, "but adventurers have a way of acquiring those, yes?"
  His grin softens into a smile as the docks disappear in the distance. Though his eyes remain trained attentively on the ship's trajectory, his voice softens.
  "The only catch is that you'll need a pilot who can handle the controls," he continues. "There's much I want to accomplish in Cosmopolis and, as much as I trust my colleagues, I won't leave Lily unattended for long. But... as much as I treasure my home... there's nothing like an adventure with friends, don't you think?"
  The sea winds are fresh and clean.
  "Shall we aim for Granse?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

It's only after they took off that Priel realizes something. ...Oh, right. They're on the ship. Them. Who were supposed to stay back at Cosmopolis. And now Ivo is just running with it and suggesting they head for Granse.
  "We're really just taking off like that, huh?" She says aloud as the wind whips through her hair. "I didn't even get to take anything with me." She shakes her head and sighs. "Looks like this'll be coming out of your wallet, Mr 'Goes on an Impromptu Journey Without Preparing Anything'.
  % She thinks back to the tavern.
  A bad feeling wells up inside.
  "...Actually, what were you going to say back at the tavern before our lost boy crashed in anyway, huh?"

"Really?!" Reize looks quite amazed at Ivo when he explains about the Romancing SaGa. "It's really that fast?!" This is great! They are going through a fast ship on water...
  .... a fast ship on water.
  ..on water.
  fast. on water.
  Reize's face stares to pale and turn into a different color. He starts to look sick and he murmurs, "One moment...."
  In an instant, he is on the other side of the ship.
  BLEEECCCHHHHHHHHH!!!!
  It looks like the poor explorer is already sea sick.

"Ha ha ha!" Ivo repeats his boyish laugh with the exact same intonation, which isn't suspicious at all, as he continues to deftly handle the ship's helm. "Well, I was *going* to say that the cost of the ship wasn't all I'd had to pay for. You see, I was so focused on designing the blueprints that I didn't think of how parking the Saga in a public space would attract the attention of the racers I was imitating. So I had to hire guards to make sure the engines weren't simply stolen in the night by those who could recognize them for what they were."
  Ivo seems blissfully unaware both of Reize vomiting over the side of the ship and of the small dark dots that have appeared behind them, emerging from the shadows of the Cosmopolitan cliffs.
  "Fortunately, as you can see, I got my money's worth. The Saga is safe and sound and so swift that none but a professional racer could catch her."
  He's silent for several moments. Those dark dots are getting closer.
  "What I'm trying to say is--"
  Only now are those dots revealing themselves as two small ships built much in the same manner as the Saga, painted black with red death's-heads, masked figures upon the deck of one preparing what looks like a large harpoon gun.
  "--I think they've been waiting for us to leave."
  Ivo, mercilessly from Reize's perspective, turns a hard left, such that the Saga just narrowly avoids a harpoon tied to a long cord fired in their direction, clearly meant to pierce the hull.
  "Do discourage them, won't you?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

".........."
  Priel listens as Ivo explains the whole deal with how he sunk most, if not all of his income into the design and development of the ship they happen to be on at this very moment.
  While one hand idly rubs Reize's back as he hurls, her other hand lifts to her face, palming it in an exasperated manner.
  "I want a divorce."
  They're not married.
  But putting that aside it seems like they have guests coming up on them fast. Priel cracks an amused smirk at the sight. "Heeeeh.... Well, looks I can use them to blow off some steam, I guess." Her hand lowers from her face, and she clenches it into a fist. Flames burst from it, forming into a glowing red sword.
  "Perfect timing."

Reize's poor stomach cannot take this trip right now. As Ivo and Priel share knowledge or whatever, Reize is just losing what he had for lunch. Probably breakfast, too. He hangs at the side of the ship.
  "...Wh--wh..."
  Priel does offer a bit of comfort to the seasick boy, so that is a small comfort. He would thank her, but... he's not exactly hot at the moment. On the corner of his eye, Reize can see that two small black painted ships are noticed. Red skeleton head.
  ....Sudden hard left.
  BLEEEECCCCCHHHHH!!!
  Reize is now suffering. He hangs onto the ship, dropping onto his back. "Uggh."
  Why are we still here? ...Just to suffer?

Ivo's grin could split his cheeks.
  "Wait on that divorce," he shouts over the roar of engines, "until you experience the thrill of my piloting!"
  Uh oh.
  "This'll jumpstart your heart--"
  The first pursuing ship has fallen back somewhat while the harpoon-wielding churls upon it struggle to reload. The second has approached within boarding range but, when Priel manifests her blade, the three propsective boarders clearly hesitate, their masks doing little to disguise their uncertainty. The largest finally shouts something inaudible and clambers upon the railing, drawing a cutlass and flipping a switch upon it that suffuses the blade in an aetherial glow. He looks all ready to jump--
  "Now!!"
  Ivo slams two levers in opposite directions, disengaging one cylinder and hypercharging the other, causing the Romancing Saga to suddenly spin 180 degrees. He then engages both, sending the Saga rocketing towards rather than away from their pursuers, the would-be boarder standing baffled next to his frozen companions as Priel is brought within striking range for a split-second. Of course, one would have to possess inhuman skill and reflexes to exploit such an opening.
  And, you know, not be throwing up.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"Those are big words for someone with no money!"
  Priel shouts over the roar of the engine, and the clamor of the sea and the pursuing ships. And then Ivo guns it, sending the ship into hyperdrive. ... She's not going to look and see how Reize is doing. For her own sake.
  Instead, she focuses and grips her held sword, grinning as the Romancing Saga spins around. And in just that moment, when the Vanguard is brought into range, she unleashes a horizontal strike, causing a blast of flame to expel from the trail of the slash, aiming to send the would be boarder flying back to where he came from.
  "Hey, Lost Boy! You might want to get your life together for a second or two! Y'know, pirates and all!"

At this point, Reize is reaching into his satchel to procure something. Anything. He finally starts to clamber back up against the ship, getting a few tiny gummies. Stuffing them into his mouth, he starts to chew them to help aid in getting his mind off of the sea sickness. He glances back towards Ivo and Priel as they discuss...
  Getting his life together.
  "Working that..." He grits his teeth as he finally staggers up to his feet. He draws both of his boomerangs to his arms. Twirling them in place, the boy is already taking himself for a spin as he winds up.
  "HAAAA!" He twirls the boomerangs around as they ricochet from the hull, then they fly out towards the other side of the ship, likelyh towards the path of the would be boarder and their gang.
  Given how fast the boomerangs are flung, will be bouncing walls until they return to Reize's hand.
  "So this is what dealing with pirates is like!"

"What a woman," Ivo remarks, not for the first time.
  As the boarder is blown back by Priel's blazing slash, cutlass flung from his grip by the explosive impact, the blast of flame catches on the tarred wood, sending the remaining two goons upon the deck into a panic. One lunges for a bucket only to be knocked flat on his face by one of Reize's whirling boomerangs, the other just barely ducking in time. He then can only watch, saucer-eyed, as the second boomerang slams into one of the cylinders on the side of the ship, quite similar to those affixed to the Romancing Saga. The metal dents until it rends, liquefied aether spurting forth in a prismatic fountain, at the very moment that Priel's trailing fire reaches it.
  And so the Romancing Saga rockets onward, the three would-be boarders leaping for safety into the sea as the racing ship behind explodes into a fireball.
  "Now, allow me--"
  Ivo guns it again just as a wave caused by the blast crests, cutting the engines at the very moment the Romancing Saga soars impossibly into the air, hurtling *over* the other ship. With the engines goes the defeaning sound, such that in the ensuing silence, the chatter from the goons upon the second ship, who until moments before had been preparing the harpoon gun for a second shot, can somehow be heard.
  Goon 1: "Did they just call us pirates?"
  Goon 2: "Sure did."
  Goon 1: "I'm not a pirate. I'm a racer."
  Goon 2: "Well, this is an act of piracy we're attempting."
  Goon 1: "... *existential crisis*"
  Whereupon the metal-hudded rear of the Romancing Saga slams upon the upper frame of the pursuing ship's stern, causing the wood to splinter at the very moment that the tidal wave of the other ship's explosion hits them. The Saga zooms on as the foes behind slowly sink.
  "It worked!" Ivo shouts joyfully. "I mean, of course it worked."

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"Phew..."
  The sword in Priel's hand vanishes in a plume of flame and she just stares off at the racers-turned-pirates as their whole ill-timed operation falls apart. "So. That went well." Apparently unconcerned with the state of their pursuers, Priel turns away and shrugs her shoulders. They'll be fine. Maybe. Perhaps.
  A glance is given towards Reize and she grins, mussing the top of his head. "See? You can do it when you try!" And then she walks back over to the helm, her grin much less cheery. "As for you... Correct me if I'm wrong, but did I hear 'It worked!'? Hmm?" Her hands rest on her hips as she fixes Ivo with a look. "Were you just winging that!? No winging things here, okay? My valuable life is at stake here, you know?" She goes on and on while poking at Ivo.
  Yep, just another day with these dorks.

Cool guys don't look at explosions.
  Reize... sadly isn't cool.
  As the pressure builds up and the ship detonates in blazing glory, his eyes widen at the sight. "Whoooaaaaaa....." He cannot help but to stare in awe. Once the boomerangs return to his hands, he slips them to his side. He grins at Priel as she musses with his head. "Thanks!" He brightens cheerfully.
  He looks over at Ivo, squinting a bit. There he goes with the winging again. At least they made it through.
  Nevertheless, Reize is cheerfully approaching the front. "Onward, to Granse!"