Pirates of the Sorcerean: No Peace on the Rock

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Mister Fabian scrambles to his feet and hurries to Tanya. At the sight of her pale, panicked face he raises a ward strong enough to shimmer faintly in the night air then sinks down next to her. "I'm here, Tanya," he says gently, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I'm here. What is it?"

 

"It's cursed! This place is cursed.." she pants, obviously shaken.
"What's it doing to me.. you're the hocus pocus master, what is going on here?"
she looks at him, hoping for a sign of understanding.

 

"Yes, it is cursed. It's dredging your deepest fears out of the recesses of your mind and creating demons just for you. They're illusions, Tanya, that no one else can see and no one can help you fight.

"But remember this. There's nothing here that you haven't faced before. Tanya, Tanya, you have the strength to win this battle. Defeat your demons here and they'll never be able to frighten you again."

 

Nimue is still sitting on her rock, staring into the darkness. However, she is no longer as alert. The energy of the island sang to her, and her blood-filtered Othersight made her normal vision blur and sway.

She got up and moved towards Fabian, as if hypnotized. "Fabian...." she said, and her voice seemed strange to her ears. It had lost the song-like quality that her childhood in the slums had given it, it was almost a chant...as if something were speaking through it.

"Fabian, they come, the King's men come...we must enter the Rock. They cannot find it first, for there is one amongst them who is more than ruthless...he is Circle. We must...."

She blinks. "This place feels strange.... Fabian, it feels like blood. We have to go on...we have to." Softly, "I think St John belongs to the Circle. We have to do something about it." She turns to Tanya. "You may not be a Mage, but you feel it too, don't you?

 

"But they're so real, Fabian! So very real... and true.." her voice fades and she hides her face in her hands, gritting her teeth. So true...

As Nimue joins them, Tanya looks puzzled up at her, "What? Feel what?"

 

"It. Here. It's wrong," Nimue replies. "We can't stay, and we must not. Whatever it is in here...it's calling us in."

 

Mister Fabian scans the camp. The evil is at bay but it lurks too close to the surface for his liking. As more of the crew fall into their dreams, what sort of hell would be released? As he had just told Tanya, the only way to defeat the illusions was to meet them head on.

He stands, dropping the ward and pulling Tanya to her feet. "Grab your things, men," he says heartily with a wolfish grin. "If the treasure's inside, what's the point of us being outside, eh? Just be prepared to face your deepest fears to get it."

 

Nimue shoulders her small pack and heads to the point where the temple's stone floor slopes downwards into a steep flight of stairs. "This is it," she sais, as she takes the first step down. Meanwhile, she is thinking, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I don't fear anything...I've already seen it all. ...Right?

 

Tanya collects her gear in silence, but seems awfully alert. No way in hell was there anything on this bloody island that was going to sneak up on her.

"Let's go, and quick."
Entering the dark corridors from the temple, Tanya pulled forth her dagger, constantly keeping check that everyone was with them. The slimy walls covered in dust, moss and old branches, appears as the perfect place to put traps and vile curses.

"So what do you expect to find down here?"
She looks at the two stewards, then at dark corridor ahead of them.

 

"Illusions and glamours, mostly," Mister Fabian replies, "but illusions can be powerful enough to kill, especially when they've been fed by such a powerful place." He raises his voice to the crew. "I meant what I said about your deepest fears, men. You'll each face a battle to reach the treasure, one that no one can help you with. Remember, 'Only the strongest of will and heart, Shall with the Captain's treasure depart.'"

 

Meatloaf shudders. He was sure, before tonight that he'd already witnessed his deepest fares when he kitchen, his life, was burnt down back home. But after tonight he wasn't so sure.

"What could be worse than tonight? What could be worse than tonight," he muttered to himself. "Nothing could be. It's impossible."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back on the Ariel everything had gone according smoothly. The ship was now secure, with the surviving pirates locked away down beneath the deck. His numbers where now increased to 31, thanks to George who had been placed on the ship with instructions to keep watch of William's daughter.

George had told them all that had gone on aboard the Ariel, and that they were only half a day or so ahead. Most of this of course, William could have guessed. The one thing that did catch him by surprise though, was the bit about The Pride. How could it have exscaped his look outs. He made a mental note to have a word to his lookouts about that once he got back, but that was later. The most important thing would be to take over the next ship.

Summoning John and George to him William told them of his plan. "It will be hopeless for us to try and hold all three boats until the other ships arrive. Our best bet would be to sink it."

It was the only way he could think of. They would turn the Ariel towards the Pride and then fire at it with the cannons. It would alert everyone to their presents, but they would have guessed sooner or later anyway.

 

"Lemme out the damned bastard!" yelled Peyweth from his position at the top of the ladder leading onto the deck. He was spoiling for a fight, having only been captured without one because he was busy eating, and the sailors of the other ship had locked the trapdoor. Why his lookout had seen nothing, or reported nothing, he wasn't quite sure, though he didn't have the time to investigate. And as his lookout was probably dead anyway, there seemed little point.

 

Mister Fabian lets Nimue lead the way into the catacombs, preferring to watch over the entire group from behind. It is part of his duties as Steward to keep them all safe and he feels each death as a knife in his gut, an aching reminder of his failure. No matter what comes, he has to protect them all, has to get them through this at any cost… Stewards serve the sea, and all who sail her…

He sees Jackie about to be crushed under a falling boulder. A quick spell deflects the rock and it splashes into the sea, causing a wave that sweeps away two other men. He retrieves them, but while his back is turned Desmond falls into quicksand… Wherever he looks, whatever he does, he can’t keep tham all safe. Every action to protect one man leaves another open to harm. And what of the crew left on the Ariel and the Pride? How can he do his duty to them when he is here, watching his shipmates die before his eyes, helpless to change anything? Over everything looms the threat of the Circle. If he can’t reach the Lorebooks and keep them out of St. John’s hands, all he’s ever known will be lost… His steps slow, then stop completely, paralyzed by fear and indecision. He cannot fail, but there’s no way he can accomplish it all, and one piece without the others is still failure.

“Mister Fabian? What is it? Are you alright, sir?” Desmond’s voice shakes him from the waking nightmare. It all melts away as he looks into Desmond’s eyes – the boulder, the wave, the quicksand… The weight of responsibility is still heavy on Mister Fabian’s shoulders, but he knows that he can manage it, as he always has.

“It’s begun, Desmond. The testing. Be on your guard…”

 

Before heading further into the catacombs, Tanya remembered well enough the stories of her childhood. Unsure of the glooming way ahead of them, she tied a bag of rice to the top of her boot, letting them leave a trail that might be pursued on the way home... if that would ever be.

Looking around as they passed further down another corridor, a left, a right, the maze went on and on, she heard that same voice from the back of her mind as her eyes fell upon Fabian. This time it was not a whisper, but a sort of primal scream of judgement.
Betrayer! He betrayed you.. took away the lives of your men... Leonard is safe here, but he calls out for vengeance. Not on you, he knows you did all you could do, but calls out for vengeance... on the betrayer!

She felt as in some timeless void, staring intently at Fabian with her cold observing steel eyes, and could feel her knuckles whiten around the dagger. How easy it seemed to strike that moment! No, he did the best he could to save the men, at least so he said.

No! He betrayed you! Only the strong will survive here, he abandoned you, and you survived. Test him!
Then she heard the voice of Leonard.
He let us die! My cursed soul linger here! Bring me peace, Tanya! Were you not my captain, my protector... my friend?"

She stood alert as if covering their backs as the men slowly passed, and with Fabian trying to keep check on them all he would only be a step and a jab away. A tear ran down her cheek and she turned to face the wall, leaning against the clammy surface of stone. Under her heavy breath, she mutters hardly coherent.
"You were my friend.. but there must be another way.. no more death, please..."

There is, but you must come...

She gritted her teeth, but screamed away the voice in her mind. Then looked at Fabian, and recalled how little rest she actually had in this cursed place. She wiped away the tear, and spoke in a calm voice, "Fabian.."
Unconsciously, her right hand fingered the golden ring of Leonard that she wore on her belt.

"Do you suspect some creatures might be able to live here? I mean, if even the ground itself here is cursed, wouldn't it be wise to assume we might find some old.. pirates still guarding their treasure?"
She looked questioningly at him.

 

Mister Fabian is slow to answer, as though he is pulling his attention back to Tanya from a far distant place. The strain in his voice is reflected in the deep circles under his eyes.

"I've never heard tell of a Captain who didn't leave a few crew members behind to guard his treasure," he shrugs. "I would expect Ruthbarb to have done the same. Ordinary ghosts might be a welcome relief from fighting those of our own making..." His voice trails away. When he looks back to Tanya, fatigue is replaced by sadness in his face. "What this place has done to corrupt their spirits, I can't guess. I pray we were able to save our fallen shipmates from joining them."

 

Kassandra stood on the deck, apart from the celebrating navy men. They had just taken over one of the pirate's ships, but they were naive to think that it would all be over soon. Pirates were a tough lot, she would know, she was born from the toughest of them.

Luckily, she had not been ordered to participate in the capturing, for she didn't know if she was able to fight well, or even if she could kill another pirate without just cause. An order wasn't good enough for her, she didn't care if it was from the Admiral or not.

Maybe she had joined the wrong crew, she thought to herself. But, no. If she were on the Ariel, she'd be a prisoner, just like the rest of them, and maybe even worse for the wear because she was a woman. No, Kassandra was happy that she wasn't in the damp brig surrounded by a dozen or so sweaty, despondent pirates, but she still felt a pang of guilt. Weren't they her kin? She had grew up on a pirate ship, and now, her serving on a navy ship, did she betray herself?

She shook her head in denial. "No, girl, you didn't betray them, they rejected you." She laughed out loud to herself. Let them rot for now. Kassandra sighed contentedly as she left the deck of the Ariel and made her way down to the brig. Maybe if one of them had what she needed, she would work out some sort of arrangement, just maybe.

[ November 08, 2003, 09:09: Message edited by: DarkGoddess ]

 

Trudging on for what seemed hours, going in circles several time in the maze, the pirate treasure party finally reached what seemed a greathall with many tables, chairs and apparently a very very old kitchen. A few skeleton bodies lay scattered across the room with broken bones, molden clothes and rusty cutlasses at their sides.
Three corridors went into the beyond, and it seemed to be a fine place to camp and count their supplies.
Tanya walked into the middle of the great dining hall of the pirates and looked at the three exists, then turned around to face the party.
"Well, I'd suggest food and rest before we decide on any course of action. Nimue, please make secure that no threatening magic forces are posing immediate threat here. Fabian, you go a round and see if everyone is ok and haven't suffered ill effects from the trip down here. Meatloaf, could you check the kitchen and see if there is anything at all you could use? And perhaps make one of the stewards assist you to tell if it is safe or not."

 

Even though the place seemed safe enough, Dante was still tense. He was unsure of the skeleton's, they were dead for sure, but why, there seemed to be no reason for their deaths. All of them seemed to have been doing something when they died. He voiced his unease to Tanya,
"These men" he said "They've just died where they stood, suddenly, as it were. I can see nothing that would make tem do so."

 

She looked to Dante and summoned a warm smile as she tried to calm his tension.
"They could have taken by the curse, starved, stabbed by other pirates. For all we know, someone might already have taken the treasure. Be on your guard however, till Nimue or Fabian has made sure what's lurking evil and what's just the remnants of time."

 

Dante nodded in reply, but still slipped the handaxe from his belt.