“Before us lies the Golden Age of Piracy, sea-spray and sunlight on our skin, the tang of gunpowder and salt in our noses.”
Wolfi paused, glancing up from the rolled parchment to make sure her listeners were paying attention. @Glitch0Ghost2024 and @Leya were nodding solemnly, and she was happy to see @soundofmind with her chin tipped sunward, eyes closed, taking in a deep breath of that salty air.
Rocking gently, the Blue Pearl’s cobalt blue sails were slackened in the still wind. It was a beautiful day, and for Wolfi, that felt like a good omen.
“We may be pirates in the literal sense,” Wolfi continued, “but we’re a far cry from your average peg-legged buccaneer. Believe it or not, we actually know how to read and write.”
“Insert gasps of admiration here,” @SilverNight said, leaning cross-armed against the mizzenmast.
“Literate pirates??” @Messenger mimicked, wiping his forehead in feigned surprise. “It can’t be! They lie!”
Smiling, Wolfi looked back down at the parchment. “Pirates of the Y.W.S. Blue Pearl joined forces to spread the joy of literature and poetry across a world ravaged by unimaginativeness.”
“Oooh, that’s a big word,” @avimoon whispered.
“They’ll like that.” @RangerofIthilien agreed.
Wolfi read on. “We’re still caught up in the occasional buried treasure thing, sure, but our legacy, first and foremost, is to write stories and share them with the world.”
With it being such an innocent mission, Wolfi was puzzled that the Royal Navy still persecuted them so. God willing, this speech would help change their minds.
“Armed with quill, ink, and parchment,” she continued, raising the unfurled scroll for added emphasis, “we scribble out adventures and seal them up in empty bottles. When night falls, we lay anchor and sneak into coastal cities or other ships to leave our stories behind. Sometimes, we grab some food or coin as payment on the way out - it’s only fair!”
@pixels raised a fist. “Hear! Hear!” they cried. “Starving artists deserve their due!” @daisyletters, @Lael, @ThatOneGuyRonin, and @Omni joined in with murmurs of agreement.
Wolfi cleared her throat - she wasn’t used to projecting her voice this much. “All in all, we hope you can come to see that we are nothing like the other pirates that rule the seven seas, pillaging innocent villages and wreaking havoc on your ships. We are a peaceful, agreeable bunch, and all we want is to spread the magic of stories.”
After a pause, Wolfi awkwardly added, "That's it."
The crowd clapped.
"Good work, Wolfi," Quartermaster @Spearmint said. "Could use a stronger call to action, though. We'll workshop it."
"How about this," @eulogy piped in. "On behalf of Captain @DungeonMaster, we humbly implore the Royal Navy to withdraw its hostility toward the pirates of the Y.W.S. Blue Pearl, and allow them to fulfill their honorable mission in peace."
"Write that down, write that down!" @winterwolf0100 shouted.
Scrambling for her bottle of ink, Wolfi was suddenly thrown off her pedestal on the quarterdeck as the ship lurched to the side.
"What was that?!" @NovemberCrow cried.
Everyone rushed to the starboard railing, scanning the water to see what had struck the ship.
@Z00KI3 leaned over as far as they could. "I don't see anything."
Indeed, the water looked calm, and the horizon was clear. But then, gradually, a dark shadow emerged from the depths of the sea, becoming larger and larger...
WC: 561
