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The Great YWS Treasure Hunt



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Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:06 pm
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Mageheart says...



The Great YWS Treasure Hunt

A YWS Tagbook

Storybook Month 2020


Image


Starting Note: Tagbooks are a special kind of storybook. Instead of making a character profile, the character you write for is yourself - and other members of the site! Your goal is to tag as many users as you possibly can in your posts, while also telling a story. In this case, you're telling the story of the Great YWS Treasure Hunt, which was hyped up last month with a Captain's Challenge requesting additional ships/storybooks to be built!

Tagbooks are usually wacky, random and filled with fourth wall breaks - if you're lucky enough to be tagged, or just want to pop in with a post of your own, you're in for a treat!

( Here's an old tagbook, if you're still confused. :)

And here's the link to the YWS Birthday tagbook from last November! )

-

As Mage looked out across the seven storybooking seas, she tried to remember the last time she had done a tagbook. It felt like an eternity ago, but she was fairly certain that it had just been in November - back during the peak of the #Classified vs. #LongLiveBigBrother debate. Doing a tagbook always gave her a fresh wave of nostalgia - it reminded of her of when she was a brand new YWSer.

But fourth wall breaks and reminiscing aside, Mage was excited. This was going to be the greatest adventure the SB Crew and its many allies had ever embarked on. Armed with a ship of her own and a trusty crew, Mage was prepared for the treasure hunt that they had finally set sail on - even though the month was already a third of the way through. Her gaze swept across her ship as she looked down from the crow's nest. First mate @soundofmind (a title sound claimed for herself during the first storybook month write-in, but one Mage wasn't going to dispute), falconer @Featherstone, navigator @AstralHunter, gunner @ScarlettFire and Mage's recently returned brother/boatswain @sheyren all were eagerly awaiting the first sign of their treasure.

They were almost there. Mage was sure of it - they had the best map-maker of YWS on their side. Though the greatest treasure in the seven storybooking seas had only been heard about in myths, @LZPianoGirl had used her mapmaking skills to draw the most trustworthy of all - and @ShapeOfVoid had provided some great editing where needed.

Her gaze turned to the other boats sailing alongside them. A few ships away, @Bullet was holding an impromptu writing session to keep the ship from getting bored. @alliyah and @Arcticus had a similar idea, but they had decided to start serenading the crews on the ships they were on with some beautiful poetry. Even without looking through her spyglass, Mage knew their audiences would be teary-eyed.

Mage climbed down from the crow's nest, landing on the deck of the ship with a resounding thud as she jumped off of a few ladder rungs from the bottom. As Mage started to head over to her brother to do some good-natured teasing to kill the time, @Elinor climbed out from below deck - she must have been working on the script to her next amazing movie.

Mage gave a wave and opened her mouth to say hello, but there was suddenly an enormous rumble of thunder and the brightest flash of lightning Mage had ever seen. Maybe she should have looked at the sky instead of just straight ahead - the skies were almost pitch black with storm clouds!

The waves started to roughly slam against the hull of the ship.

Mage gulped - it looked like they were in for a rough one!
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Sat Jul 11, 2020 3:02 am
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soundofmind says...



"Reduce sail! Secure the rigging! Batten down the hatches!" Captain @magebird called out over the roar of the incoming storm. Sound was quick to work, pulling the ropes of the mainsail so that they wouldn't get tossed and spun in the whirling winds. The rest of the their experienced crew knew what to do. @Sheyren took care of the rigging, @Featherstone secured the booms, @Elinor set out a sea anchor, and @AstralHunter and @ScarlettFire made sure all of the hatches were closed before running to secure things below deck. Anything that wasn't tied down was definitely going to get lost (or broken) in the storm, and they were on it.

Things were already looking dark in the sky, and they only had a few precious minutes to prepare.

As Sound finished tying off a knot, securing the sails, Captain Mage crawled down from the crow's nest and ran up to her. As Sound looked up at Mage she could see in Mage's eyes that something was wrong. This storm was not just any storm.

"I need you to tie me to the wheel," Mage said in earnest. "Someone needs to pilot the ship in case things go south."

Sound's forehead creased with worry, and she tugged at her sleeve, rolling it up to her elbow. "You think the waves will get that bad?" she asked, worried eyes flicking to the rolling waters around them.

"I saw something up in the clouds," Mage said. "This isn't just a regular storm. The waters will soon be raging mercilessly when the worst of it is upon us."

Sound felt her heart sink into her stomach. Thunder roared in the heavens, drowning out Mage's next few words. Mage grabbed Sound by the shoulders, her grip firm and her gaze intense. Sound stared into her eyes, seeing the storm brewing behind them was just as tumultuous as the one ahead of them in the sky.

"There's something up in the clouds. I don't know what it is, but I have a terrible feeling in my gut that the laws of nature will not have mercy on us today. We need to be prepared for the worst."

Sound nodded, understanding the gravity of a Captain's intuition. She hurried to follow Mage to the mast, footsteps hammering against the wooden deck in her haste. Sound grabbed two ropes - one for her own safety and one to secure Mage to the wheel. When she'd tied a rope around her own waist so she wouldn't be lost to sea when things got rough, she took Mage's hands and secured them to the wheel.

Mage gripped the wheel with a grim determination and a focus set ahead of them. If anyone could wrestle the rudder through this storm, it was Mage.

"May the gods of the storybook seas have mercy on us," was Sound's last wish before she hurried off to the side of the ship to look out at the rest of their fleet.

Before Sound could see much of anything, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck and she saw a brilliant, blinding light strike down on the newest ship of their fleet (gods bless Captain @alliyah's boat), splitting the mast of the mainsail.

@LZPianoGirl hurried up beside her, pointing out into waters, behind them.

"Avast ye! Captain @LittleLee just send up a signal flare of distress!"

Sound's eyebrows furrowed, and she followed LZ's pointing finger into the sky, where the sparkling flare was alight. Her eyes trailed back down to Little's vessel.

"Blimey!"

A pirate ship of another allegiance was shooting fiery projectiles at the very start of a storm?! Not only was that cruel, but it was foolish on their part. Storms - and the fearsome crew of Captain Mage - were not to be messed with. Curse the cog that fired on their own - and a new crew, no less! @LittleLee had bravely set sail for the first time with their crew of @HarryHardy and @Lulon. Sound knew they had a little help on that ship - she'd assigned the experienced @TheMulticoloredCyr and @Lael to their vessel to ensure they would be able to keep up with the rest of the fleet - but still! She was worried!

As sound ran to the back of the ship to see what was going on, she could barely make out the color and symbol of the flag on the distant attacking ship.

Curses!

It was the ship of the Dread Pirate @SirenCymbaline - once a part of their crew, but now Captain Mage's sworn enemy, the ever vengeful - and yet poetic, charismatic, and entrancing Siren was on their tail.

Sound couldn't help but wonder if some of this sudden supernatural storm was Siren's doing.

Sound took in a deep breath. They needed backup.

She closed her eyes, uttering the words to a long-distance telepathy spell she'd mastered long ago. There was a reason she was called "sound of mind." Sound recalled the image of an old crew-mate who'd gone on a voyage of her own.

Miles away (but perhaps not too far for the magical Wolfical to rush to their aid), Captain @Wolfical heard the voice of an old, familiar friend.

"Wolfie. A powerful storm is threatening to sweep us up into the sea. We desperately need your help!"

There was a pause of silence before Sound heard back:

"Trouble threatening my friends?" A confident laugh. "You know I'll be there. Wolfical to the rescue!"

A complimentary wink was implied.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sat Jul 11, 2020 4:30 am
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alliyah says...



"Ahoy and a hum
and bucket of rum,
sailing sailing sailing we gooo,
where are we sailing, well
no one really knows,
ahoy and a hum and away we gooo!


Captain Alliyah sang this little tune to herself as she rowed her little boat alongside the veteran vessel captained by Capt Mage. She had initially been commissioned as a boat bard to compose pithy poems and lyrics to entertain Mage's crew on the journey to the treasure, but when reviewing the ship's no pet policy, and the news that the treasure would be split up evenly among the entire crew, Alliyah schemed she'd rather brave the waters in her own boat with her dear friend the raccoon, @ReviewBuddy, with the chance at finding and claiming the treasure before Mage's team did. She had sent word to a few poets she knew lived close to the island the treasure was located on, like @starlitmind, @Liminality, @Whatchamacallit, and @Lavvie in hopes that they would set sail and also join the search. Poets seemed to always have knack at deciphering treasure riddles after all.

Still, considering that @LZPianoGirl was the only one with a map, it didn't hurt to follow their tail to the treasure until the rest of the poets joined her.

SUDDENLY a great burst of light shook the air around the boat, unsettling Alliyah quite a bit. She fastened her life jacket and told @ReviewBuddy to take a seat.

She looked up towards Mage's ship and saw @soundofmind and @LzPianogirl in a great commotion pointing towards ... another boat!

SUDDENLY (again!) another burst of light shook the little boat, this time crashing waves over the sides of the boat. The sea crashed around the poet and the raccoon, and in a great lurch the boat turned over.

Alliyah frantically grabbed her satchel that held her now water-logged poetry journal, and with the other arm grabbed the raccoon, thankful for her life-jacket but now without an operational boat.

A voice called from above, "Grab on to the rope! We'll pull you up!"

Quickly climbing up, Alliyah found @EditorAndPerks holding the rope at the top. "Perks!" Alliyah shouted glad to be alive and to see a familiar face. "I didn't know you'd be on the treasure hunt!"

Perks responded, "Well it's not every day a treasure hunt happens, so the Squills editors are here to catch the story! @EternalRain and @CaptainJack are somewhere aboard too. We should go find them and see what they've been able to find out about these other ships on the horizon!"
you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now
but i have promised to return





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Sat Jul 11, 2020 6:08 am
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Wolfi says...



Wolfie flung open the door of her secluded seaside cabin in the woods for the first time since March. She squinted, expecting to be blinded by the sun, only to find that the world was dark and gray, with clouds swirling angrily in the sky.

"Wow. @soundofmind wasn't kidding."

She stumbled back inside to switch off her record player, lace on her boots, and don her pirate hat. As she was about to leave, something on the mantle caught her eye: next to the wolf bookends from @AstralHunter and the cat mug from @AvantCoffee perched a beautiful blue porcelain monkey, a gift from @Nate many years ago. "You are to save it until all hope is lost," he had told her. "Keep it safe for now, but when the time comes, deliver it to @alliyah, @Magebird, or one of the other admirals. They'll know how to... control it."

Wolfie glanced out her window, where the pine trees were being whipped back and forth as easily as seaweed underwater. Taking a deep breath and whispering a prayer that they wouldn't need it, she pocketed Nate's monkey.

She trudged through the sand all the way to her secret abandoned pirate cove, where a small but trusty skiff salvaged from the Sea of Seven was docked. Little did she know that @mellifera was also in the cove, closely investigating an ancient barrel of rum.

Once she got over her initial surprise, Wolfie stood at the mouth of the cove and crossed her arms. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh!" mellifera said, whirling around. "Hi Wolfie! I was just doing some research for my untitled pirate novel. What about you?"

Wolfie shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, I dunno. Just about to save the world, that's all." She cracked a charismatic grin, and a moment later a giant wave from the increasingly tumultuous sea rolled into the cove and doused her generously.

"Sheesh, it was a joke!" Wolfie said the ocean. "But also kinda not," she muttered under her breath, dashing aside as the water tried to spray her again. Looking back at mellifera, she gestured to the skiff with a dripping arm. "Anyway, care to join me?"

A minute later and they were seabound, battling the raging waters. mellifera's pirate knowledge proved to be quite useful as she expertly manned the sail and instructed Wolfie at the rudder with which ways to turn. The ocean was monstrous, however. Increasingly so. Wolfie hadn't gotten this much exercise in months - well... years, probably. Ever since the YWS Writing Olympics where she was neck and neck with @Mea and @Rydia on the triathlon.

With their little skiff on its last legs, Wolfie and mellifera breathed a sigh of relief when they spotted a large ship on the horizon. It disappeared and reappeared with the rocking of the waves and the tide of the low-hanging clouds. Desperate to keep the ship within view, they strained to reach it, and it wasn't until they were right next to it when they realized their mistake. Frantically, they tried to paddle away, but there was no use.

Looking all the way up the towering hull of the warship, they saw the Dread Pirate @SirenCymbaline, aiming a seahook gun at their skiff. She fired and the hook latched onto the stern, trapping them.

Laughing, she stretched out her hand. "I'll take that monkey now, Wolfie."
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.





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Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:30 am
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SirenCymbaline says...



Once upon a time, a witch had transformed an army of men into a cursed forest.

At the same time, continents away, the breath of a dead star was woven into a sail.

For decades, undecorous men, women, and individuals beyond classification would terrorise nations with the unholy vessel that was borne from these frightful components.

The Dread Waltz.

Siren clopped fabulously across the cursed deck in her thigh-high leather boots, and jaunty yellow raincoat.

"Aight, my kiddies, gimme a roll call." she ordered. It was unclear what Anglo-Pacific mishmash accent she spoke in, but whatever it was, it was uncompromisingly thick.

"@EditorandPerks." called Siren.

"Ed's on Mage's crew." @JustJasper interjected helpfully.

"Oh." said Siren. "Aroight. Well." she coughed, and resumed her clopping strides.

"@Wolfical." called Siren.

"Sorry, Captain, they're on Mage's crew, 'swell." said Jasper.

Siren stopped in her tracks, her face frozen mid-oh. "Oh."

"Oh, I see."

She turned around to look at Jasper.

"Not even @theMultiColoredCyr? @LZPianoGirl?"

"Nope."

"DAMMIT!" Siren kicked the nearest kickable object, which happened to be the mast. It was not designed to be kicked.

Visibly wincing, Siren grumbled, "Well, who th' heckity have we got, then!?"

Jasper recited blankly, already used to the song and dance that occurred every rolecall.

"Myself, @SebiGhoul, @starlitmind, and @Kazumi."

Siren boggled. "What about @ShadowVyper?"

"ShadowVyper left to captain the Shady Bladey last Wednesday." said Jasper.

"Damn. They did, indeed. Uppity ratbag." Siren shook her fist. "Aight, then."

She strode authoritavely up and down before Jasper, Starlit, and Kazumi.

"I want you to get out your finest crayons, your coolest animal stickers, and I want you to send out invites to every loosely-aligned scallawag in the ocean, and beyond! Send them to @SubculturalGhoul, to @Lia5Giba, to @Traves! Send them to @winterwolf0100, to @Oxara and @Amnesia, to @AlmondEyes, @PrincessInk, and @Chaser! @Omnom! @StellaThomas! @Ventomology! @Hattable! @wakarimasen! Send them to your cousins, pick up some ruddy hitchhikers, I don't care, we're gonna drag @Magebird into the ground, so get me more people!"

"Aye, Sir, Miss Captain, Sir." said her crew in perfect sync, crayons already in hand.

___

Siren popped down below deck, and headed to the Ghoulswombe Laboratory. The door had no less than ten locks on the inside. She knocked the secret knock.

"Oi, Sebi." she said. "That monster yer cookin' up, howsit hangin."

"Oh, tis a beautiful baby," came Sebi's voice, amidst various chitters and clatterwauls, "It only needs a few more weeks to mature-"

"I need it tonight." said Siren. "Give it the Cliffnotes version."

And she headed for @Arcticus' cell, just across the hall.

She kicked the door.

"Oi. Arcty. Give me the secret to controlling the monkey." she said.

"With time, my friend, and faith, even a crab can hold the wind within its claw." came his voice from within.

Siren peeped through the bars, and found Arcticus sewing clothes for mice. Threats, imprisonment, they had not perturbed his spirit in the slightest.

"The heck does that even mean!" shouted Siren. "Tell me, you slithy gibbet, or no crumpets for you!"

"On the rugged sea of life, the real crumpets," Arcticus said wisely, "are the friends we make along the way."

Siren turned her back.

"Oh, you're good." she seethed.

____

Wolfical wrote:Looking all the way up the towering hull of the warship, they saw the Dread Pirate @SirenCymbaline, aiming a seahook gun at their skiff. She fired and the hook latched onto the stern, trapping them.

Laughing, she stretched out her hand. "I'll take that monkey now, Wolfie."


___

Something lonely and chitterous rumbled hopefully below.
Last edited by SirenCymbaline on Mon Jul 13, 2020 4:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bad souls have born better sons, better souls born worse ones -St Vincent





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Mon Jul 13, 2020 3:34 am
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PrincessInk says...



PrincessInk had been quietly napping under the sea when an invitation bonked her on the head. Ouch. She wasn't quite sure how she had ended up beneath the waves - but it was peaceful, and it had been a good opportunity to sleep.

Peeling off the hummingbird sticker, she opened the invitation and read, "@SirenCymbaline has cordially invited you to join her crew. Please eat this animal cracker to join her ship. There will be roll call in three minutes and you are expected to be punctual."

So much for invite, Ink thought with the weariness of a person who had lived through a lot (and she hadn't).

"There is a treasure hunt," the invite read on, "and we are determined to beat @Magebird and @ShadowVyper and the other captains to this legendary treasure."

It sounded vaguely swashbuckling but she remembered the last time she joined a treasure hunt she had dug up a coin that decided to bite her. Plus if there were competition there would be cannons made of cake flying around and she didn't want icing on her face. Hm.

She picked up her Young Writers Smartphone and dialed in @Tuckster's number. Advice from the resourceful and all. But it seemed as though the call was not transmitting because she was underwater.

The cookie had a glowing number imprinted on it. 59...58...

She gulped, dropped the invitation, and ran even faster than when she was cramming homework, tumbling right over another figure lying on the sand and writing what looked like poetry.

"Ah, I forgot what I was about to write!!" @TheBlueCat, the poet, exclaimed. "I know is that it should rhyme with stack!"

"You were about to write treasure cracker!" Ink babbled. (The narrator would like to mention that it was very silly of Ink to suggest something that did not rhyme, but, after all, she was panicking.

Something exploded and BlueCat and Ink found themselves standing on a pirate ship.

"Excellent!" said Siren. "Nice work, Ink!"

"Sorry. I had no idea this would happen," Ink told BlueCat, who was blinking, startled, then asked, "No biting coins?"

"No biting coins," Siren promised. "And if they are, I will destroy them with my thigh-high boots."

"Good."
always daydreaming, always clumsy





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JoyDark says...



"Dude, I'm gonna throw up!" Lia5Giba yelled, her hand clenching the side of the boat like her life depended on it. "DO YOU HAVE A BUCKET?!?"

@IamI, holding onto the wheel of the small fishing boat, looked behind him. "I'm not sure," he replied, looking back and forth between the water in front and the girl behind. "Do you want me to stop the boat and help you look?"

It took all of Lia's willpower to not barf while she nodded. "Yep, that would be great."

She hated that she had a weak stomach. She didn't get motion sick a lot--on airplanes and most car trips, she was golden. But apparently the ocean had a vendetta, or something. It wasn't even that rough. The sky was an immaculate blue and there was a breeze. But Lia still felt like she was going to upchuck at any moment.

IamI stopped the boat and left the steering wheel to come over. It was his boat, and he had asked Lia if she wanted to come along on a ride. They were friends, and Lia had never been out on the ocean in a boat before, so she said yes.

"I'm sorry, IamI," she wheezed, slowly letting go of the edge of the boat. Another wave sent the ship diving, and Lia immediately clamped onto the side again. "I'm making this miserable."

"You're fine." IamI smiled at her. "I should be the one apologizing. I didn't realize that this would make you so sick."

"No, it's--" Another wave raised the boat and then dipped it. Lia's stomach heaved, and she felt bile coming up her throat. "Oh god," she said, whisking herself to the side of the ship and leaning over. If there wasn't a bucket, the ocean would do. Lia pulled back her hair and waited for the vomiting to begin--

But nothing came. The next wave going under the boat was much more calm, and Lia's stomach settled. No yellow volcano, Lia thought, relieved. Her heart was pounding. Yay.

Then her eyes caught on something in the water. It was an envelope, wrapped in what must have been twenty plastic bags, all gallon sized, even though the envelope inside of them all would have fit fine in sandwich baggies. Lia reached down and managed to grab it without falling over or, worse, vomiting all over it.

"You okay, Lia?" IamI asked, rushing to her side.

"I didn't throw up. So that's something. Look--" Lia brandished the envelope weakly "--I found a letter!"

After a minute or two (and several more times Lia thought she would puke) they reached the envelope in the plastic bags. Lia looked at the back. "It's from @SirenCymbaline, addressed to me."

She tore open the envelope, which was embellished with exactly thirteen rainbow stickers. The letter inside was brief.

"@SirenCymbaline has cordially invited you to join her crew. Please eat this animal cracker to join her ship." (There was a small, stale animal cracker inside the envelope as well.) "There will be roll call in three minutes and you are expected to be punctual.

"There is a treasure hunt," the invite read on, "and we are determined to beat @Magebird and @ShadowVyper and the other captains to this legendary treasure."


Lia stared at the letter for a moment before looking up at the sky. "AM I IN A FRIGGIN' ROLEPLAY RIGHT NOW?!?"

IamI took the letter from her hand and read it. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we were."

Lia slapped herself in the face. "Welp," she said to herself, "congrats. Wanna bet @soundofmind, @LZPianoGirl, and @TheMulticoloredCyr are there too?"

"Of course they will be," she said back to herself. It was a game she liked to play, like she was two people instead of one. "Probably more, too."

Lia sighed. "What the crap. Let's do it. Hey, IamI, do you want to come with me? I bet Siren wouldn't mind."

IamI looked up at her and shrugged. "Um, sure."

Lia tried standing up and nearly barfed again as the ship tumbled down a wave. "If this is a roleplay, Mage, I had better get an anti-seasickness charm," she muttered. "I bet that @silverquill12 would love this--"

Something exploded, and IamI and Lia found themselves on another ship, and a very jaunty figure wearing a yellow raincoat and thigh-high leather boots stared down at her. Lia knew instantly that it was Siren.

Lia raised her hand. "Hey. Um... so. I'm Lia5Giba." Her mouth formed what could be called the awkward grin of a nervous wreck. "What's up?"
she/her

woah
i actually made a post
pretty radical if you ask me





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Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:33 pm
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Plume says...



"And, so, if you do it correctly, like so"-- Silverquill dragged her paint-laden string across the paper in front of her --"it should make a nice pattern." She displayed her finished product, a paper with a singular line of red down the middle. "I'm not very good yet."

@Tawsif and @Liberty , who had taken up her string art tutorial somewhat reluctantly, now clapped.

"Looks great, Quill," Liberty said, though her tone conveyed that she wanted to be elsewhere.

"Ah, no it doesn't." Silverquill tossed it over her shoulder. "It doesn't matter. Hey, I could also show you all some of my tea-leaf reading!"

"That't ok," Tawsif said, placing a hand on Silverquill's arm. "We really should be going. I don't want to take up any more of your time, so..." He motioned to Liberty, jerking his head towards the door with a plain message of let's get out of here.

"Nonsense," Silverquill said, grabbing them by the hand to make them stay. "I'll go put on a pot now."

She started to head towards the kitchen, when a loud sneeze interrupted her.

Then the sneeze came again.

And again.

"Bless you," Liberty offered, somewhat confused. You see, the sneeze hadn't come from Silverquill. Or anyone at all in the room, for that matter.

"What was that?" Tawsif asked, equally confused.

"Oop. Sorry." Silverquill turned and brushed a curl of her hair behind her ear, cheeks red with awkwardness. "That's my pager. Sorry."

She took it out of the back pocket of her shawl and read the message across it.

"It's from @Lia5Giba. She says there's this treasure hunt thing going on, and wants to know if she should stop by. She said she can try to get Captain @SirenCymbaline to reroute if I want to go." Silverquill looked up from the small screen. "Shoot. I wanted to make tea."

"I mean, you still could. I bet the crew will be thirsty if they decide to come," Liberty pointed out.

"That's true," Tawsif said. "I think you should prepare a whole feast. And Liberty and I- well, we'll just kind of... hang out...?"

"OOH! Ok, so I know the message was only directed at me, but... do you guys want to come too? I think it could be fun. You never know." Silverquill opened her arms, awaiting their answer. "Oh, and Tawsif, you're right, a feast is a stupendous idea."

Tawsif and Liberty exchanged glances. Neither of them were sure if they wanted to go or not, but they supposed it could be fun.

"And you don't have to decide now," Silverquill called from the kitchen. She had already made it there, somehow. Various pots were banging. "You can always decide when they show up." A humongous clatter sounded, accompanied by a gasp. "OH! That's right. I don't even know if they're coming! I should reply to Lia. But this pager is only one way."

Silverquill stuck her head out of the kitchen. "You have any ideas?"

"A carrier duck?" Tawsif suggested.

Silverquill snapped, eyes alight. "Brilliant." She strode over to a cabinet and pulled out a magnificent silver sculpture of a duck, wrought with (you guessed it) silver quills.

"I'll send Bethany," Silverquill said. She stroked the duck once, and it shuddered, its wings rippling with life.

Silverquill walked over to the window and threw Bethany out. She called after her, "tell Lia she's welcome anytime!"

Silverquill turned away. "Now!" she said, clapping her hands and addressing Liberty and Tawsif. "Let's start the meal prep! Even if they don't come, I'm craving some arugala and beet salad with green tea."
I was born to speak all mirth and no matter.





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KateHardy says...



A new ship appeared out of the murky depths of the storybook sea. The darkened oak of the ship gleamed in the faint sunlight that shone through the angry hurricane currently churning up the ocean. The ship's name: SSS AVATS shone brightly. It had been painted on only a few days ago.

The captain @HarryHardy, manning a ship for the very first time, stood by the wheel, scanning the horizon. Looks like an actual war is breaking out there. He could just about make out Captain @Magebird, @LittleLee and what appeared to be @alliyah although the last one he couldn't be sure. They appeared to be on one side. On the other side, @SirenCymbaline appeared to be manning another ship that was busy attacking the rest. Well...I guess we get right in there. Who to support? @soundofmind, @alliyah,@LZPianoGirl, all nice people. Yaa obviously I should support then. Even @Arcticus is there and I heard them mention @whatchamacallit. If we support them we'll certainly get nice poetry. And @ShapeofVoid could probably help us with our own map. She's such a great editor. Yes. I have made my decision. Harry looked towards his loyal crew. @Shadeflame, @kattee, @FlamingPhoenix and @Gravitem. All very reliable and trustworthy.

"Kat, lash the rigging and make sure we're ready to sail!! Shade, get the sails. Flames...I want you in the crow's nest. Myth man the canons."

"Whoa slow down, what on Earth are you talking about," asked Shade," Sorry. This is my first time sailing."

"Aye, that be alright," said Harry," my pirate speak is limited to what I picked up from Pirates of the Carribean so....sorry readers."

'How does that answer the question?" asked kat.

"Oh I was talking to someone else," replied Harry," anyway what I meant was, kat go tie up those rope things hanging out there, shade unroll that giant handkerchief looking thing, flames, get in that basket on the big pole, and myth...well I think that was pretty self explanatory."

"Aye, captain. I understood the first time," said Myth and ran off. The others repeated the same and ran off to do their jobs.

Harry continued to watch the horizon. The skies were getting ever darker. This treaure hunt would be difficult. That much he knew. Their ship continued to plow through the water.

"Hey Harry, why are we using sailpower again?" asked Shade," I mean we could have just as easily come in a destroyer or a battleship."

"Well you see, that would be kind of unfair on the rest. I mean looks at the boats that @Lia5Giba, @Wolfical are riding. A destroyer would plow right through. Also because we kinda have to stick with the theme. Although if I could I would use an airship like the ones @mellifera is writing about, or maybe one of @ExOmelas' spaceships.Now that would be cool "

"Too bad I guess," replied Myth," a laser gun would be way more useful than this ancient cannon ball nonsense."

"Come on, guys...I mean guy and girls we must stick to this one for now."

"Gaaahhhhh...also hey why are you just standing there are giving orders. Can't you like help out?" suggested Kat.

"I'm thinking," Harry replied," I think we should summon @Liberty, the fearsome libala to our cause, maybe even @Necromancer14. As much of a nuisance as he is those zombies could help out immensly against the likes of @SebiGhoul, @starlitmind. They seem pretty strong."

"Well, that does sound nice," commented Flames from the crow's nest.

"Swords, all we need are swords," shouted Shade, heroically posing on the bow of the ship. "To infinity and beyond!"

"Uhh..Shade..might want to continue to look at those handkerchiefs. If they tear in the storm we are going down," pointed out Myth busy behind a large cannon.

"Right," said Shade, stopping her pose.

"Alrigh, crew, we shall prove that we are the saltiest scallywags of these oceans," shouted Harry raising his arms for dramatic effect.

"I'll absolutely not," kat whispered to herself. "I'm sure I got on the wrong ship." Flames and Myth both cheered. Shade didn't appear convinced.

"Did you steal that from Percy Jackson?" asked Shade suspiciously.

"Absolutely not!!" said Harry, flushing," now let's get this party started. Full speed ahead."

"Uhh...hate to break it to you but this is a sailboat. We don't control the speed," called out Flames from above."

"Dang it!"
Last edited by KateHardy on Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:43 pm
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SirenCymbaline says...



"No." said @Wolfical.

"What?" yelled Siren, from the towering deck of the Dread Waltz.

"I said no!" yelled Wolfical.

"Oh." Siren called out. "Well, how 'bout if I shot you with my harpoon gun, then?"

"That could scare me," Wolfical yelled, "if you had more than one shot."

"Smarmy varmint," said Siren, and handed the harpoon gun to @zaminami.

"Start winching. Don't stop." she said.

Zaminami winched, so hard they had to call in new recruits @PrincessInk and @Lia5Giba to help them hold the weight- for together they pulled Wolfical's ship up so high that it hung vertical in the air.

Anything not affixed to the deck slid down, and fell into the water.

The crew held fast on to whatever they could, and cursed in WingDings.

Wolfical grabbed on to the sail.

Siren jumped down, and landed stylishly on the mast with a weighty THUD.

She whipped out her sexy pistol, and crouched down to grin smugly down at Wolfical hanging below her.

"Your monkey or your dinghy, dingo. Think about yer crew, 'woncha?"
Bad souls have born better sons, better souls born worse ones -St Vincent





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Necromancer14 says...



@Necromancer14 traveled through a worm-hole in time in his undead-laden ship.

"@EditorAndPerks, how are the sails doing?" he called down.

"Still as tattered as ever, captain!" came Editor's reply, who was editing a review draft. @lulon then wandered in. "A zombie used my makeup to make himself look like the joker!" she complained. Necro sighed.

"I'll tell him to apologize," was his answer. "You know, we have way too small of a crew. We should hire @Que, @Magebird, @LZPianoGirl, and @Hkumar so that I don't have to rely on zombies who aren't very reliable."
Dumbledore: "Now, it's great that you've been saving the school and all Harry, but unfortunately your grades have been a tad low, and, well... perhaps Gandalf could explain it better... hit it, Gandalf!

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keystrings says...



Perks didn't especially enjoy pickles, but they felt that some things were best described with vegetables, so calling their current situation a pickle seemed fitting.

Ah, they were in a bit of a pickle, alright.

After pulling @alliyah onto the large boat captained by @Magebird, Perks contemplated on where to go next.

Squills hadn't been published in a few weeks amidst the chaos of organizing for an actual Possibly Dangerous but Certainly Exciting Treasure Hunt with Ships, (a possible for an upcoming article), so they definitely needed to stoke out all possible theories and rumors coming from all the different crews currently nearby.

They sneezed. Odd. Maybe someone was talking about them again.

Perks had lost sight of their fellow editors, something they had all sworn not to do immediately upon arriving at the ship.

@CaptainJack had spent plenty of time during past journeys of their own over the last few years, so they weren't too worried about how they'll fare, but @EternalRain was a little less experienced, much like Perks themself, so that was probably the person they should find first.

With a quick glance, alliyah seemed fine if a bit wet, but that will probably inspire some wonderful poetry once she can find a non-drenched book. Maybe she could meet up with a few people at the library further into the ship. They thought someone like @Kassiani had been there, doing research on her next project.

Maybe some of their fellow journalists chose to travel on the smaller ships, so as to attract more people for their eventual publication of Squills. These brilliant people might just bring them to tears one day.

Should they try to find @Liberty first, or maybe @LZPianoGirl?

Or maybe they would come across the writers who hadn't been to the weekly meetings in a while.

"@Asith or @ScarlettFire! Now, wouldn't a reunion be grand?"

With that thought, Perks jumped onto a nearby ship. They had been using the ropes quite a lot recently, so it become more fun than anything to catch themself while swinging aboard.

Oh, was that @HarryHardy? There were quite a lot of people to catch their faces on this ship, but they seemed fairly well-armed with a few writers, reviewers, and some in between. Always good to see.

The next ship carried so many zombies they knew it had to belong to @Necromancer14. Although they fell into an odd practice of looking over the sails, which looked not too great, but the ship was still moving fine, which made sense when dealing with the powerful necromancer.

Curious.

A rather scary-looking ship could be spotted a distance away making them gulp, even while that crew seem engaged in a fight of sorts with other ships. Oh dear.

Perks whistled for as many pigeons as they could, scribbling out frantic notes to as many captains as they knew were around:

"Hear ye, hear ye! We're gonna have to decide which side to fight on by tonight."

Perks headed for Mage's ship once more, to get a better bearing on the situation. They couldn't wait to see what happened next.
name: key/string/perks
pronouns: she/her/hers and they/them/theirs


novel: the clocktower (camp nano apr 24)
poetry: the beauty of the untold (napo 2024)





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KateHardy says...



The SSS Avats thundered forward. Her gleaming wooden bow split the mighty waves with impunity. The ship rocked in the gale force winds. The sail was stretched tight as it rapidly approached the main gathering of ships.

"Ahoy there mateys, we approach the center of the storm," called out Captain @HarryHardy but seeing the confused looks on @FlamingPhoenix, @Shadeflame, @Gravitem and @kattee's faces repeated himself," Uh guys, we are about to charge into the middle of this fight. Maybe a bad idea but YOLO."

"Did he just say YOLO?" asked Shade.

"I think so," said Kat.

"YOLO!" Shade echoed, and the rest of the crew joined in, their voices ringing out above the crashing waves. It was a strange battle cry indeed as they charged towards the ship manned by Captain @Magebird. Several more ships include one's captained by @sheyren, @SirenCymbaline (whose ship was doing some weird maneuvers with @Wolfical's ship) and many others were clustered nearby.

A smaller ship manned by @LittleLee was valiantly attempting to stay afloat, having taken heavy fire. @TheMulticoloredCyr and @lulon were frantically attempting to keep the ship afloat.

"I see trouble ahead," shouted Flames from the basket on the pole...ahem...crow's nest," we should ready the canons."

"Myth get a cannon ready!" shouted Harry.

"Uhh, just a cannon," said Kat, looking worriedly at the many canons that lined most of the larger ships.

"Well...I have only two hands," pointed out Myth.

"Valid point," agreed Shade.

"But we can't go in there with only one canon ready," said Kat.

"Lemme fix that," said Harry. He snapped his fingers and the air around the ship distorted. A large computer console appeared in the center of the ship. "Okay, that should be able to aim and fire all twenty canons at once. I assume you can handle a computer."

"Totally..." said Myth although he didn't sound very convincing with his head nodding a little too vigorously.

"Shade how are the handkerchiefs...I mean sails?"

"The handkerchiefs are holding strong," Shade reported.

"Kat, close the hatches!" he ordered.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Honestly I have no idea...but people mentioned them so I'm mentioning them," he answered.

"What people?" she questioned.

"Some people, that's not important really, come on let's get this ship battle ready," he said lifting his arms for effect.

"Hands on the wheel," reminded Kat.

"Maybe we should sing a song or recite a poem?" suggested Shade. " @alliyah, @whatchamacallit, @Arcticus, they're all doing it."

"Or we could catch, @LZPianoGirl, @Liberty, @EditorAndPerks, @EternalRain and have them write an article on us," suggested Flames" I don't really do poems to be honest."

"We could try," said Shade.

"I'll star...." began Harry but had to grab the wheel as the ship crested a particularly large wave, the water drenching everyone on board.

"AHHHHHH," screamed Kat.

"It's all part of the experience Kat," said Myth," loosen up."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she shot back.

"Why don't we do that poem?" said Shade before a war broke out.

"Let me attempt one," said Harry," We sail...oh damn. Hard Starboard!"

"@starlitmind?" asked Shade, confused.

"I mean we're turning right!" Harry yelled.

"On your left, Harry," shouted Flames as Harry turned the wheel frantically.

They all looked to the left and saw nothing.

"No you're other left!" she shouted.

They turned again and screamed. @soundofmind's ship was barreling right for them.

"FRIENDLIES!" screamed the crew. Harry waveh his hand along the steering wheel as if that would slam it into reverse.

"Do something, Harry!" shouted Kat.

"Drop starboard anchor," he shouted," Hard to port. We can swing this bad boy around."

They just stared at him.

"Drop the giant metal hook thing on the right and I'm going to turn the wheel left. It should swing us around like a car drifting except this is a ship on the ocean."

"That somehow managed to make less sense," said Myth, scrambling for the anchor, followed by Shade and Kat. Harry sighed.

In the nick of time, they managed to drop the anchor and Harry turned the wheel violently. The ship swung like a pendulum, and the other ship sailed past.

"This is why you always bring a battleship to a uh...pirate fight....sailboat fight...whatever," remarked Shade.

"We can't cheat," said Harry, tactically avoiding the fact that they had a computer console that controlled their canons for them.

"Come on...let's get behind Captain Mage's ship already," said Myth," full throttle."

"A sailboat remember," reminded Flames.

"We're nearly there. How are the canons Myth?" Harry asked.

"The Canons are loaded and ready to fire," he replied.

After plowing through another set of giant waves, the ship finally swung into position behind Captain Made. Navigator @AstralHunter gave them a wave.

The SS AVATS was ready for battle.
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Necromancer14 says...



@Necromancer14 steered his ship towards the SSS Avats, which was commanded by @HarryHardy, with @FlamingPhoenix, @Shadeflame, @Gravitem, and @kattee as crew members.

"Hmm, maybe I should also get a cool name for my ship," Necro thought to himself. "Hey @lulon, what should we call our ship?"

"I have no idea!" came the reply.

"Okay! I'll just call it the SS Ghost then. It is a ghost ship after all," he said, noting the fact that the whole ship was glowing green, and that the wood making up the ship looked remarkably like a ship skeleton, if ships had skeletons.

He frowned. It looked like @Editorandperks decided to get his own ship. He summoned @Hkumar, who was for some reason glad to be suddenly teleported onto a strange ghost ship.

"@Liberty was hitting me with a pan," he explained.

"Ah," Necro replied. "Anyway, load the cannons. We're approaching my rival, the one and only Prince of Darkness."

"What do I load 'em with?" asked Hkumar.

"There should be some flameskulls in that bucket over there."

"But those are alive!"

"Exactly."

Just then Necro heard a loud caw. "Ooh, goodie! @Ravenlord is here to help us defeat @HarryHardy. That is why you're here, right Ravenlord?"

"No, I was seeing if you knew where @TheMulticoloredCyr, @Gravitem, @LittleLee, and @ShallowHouse were."

Necro summoned TheMulticoloredCyr Gravitem, LittleLee, and Shallowhouse.

"They're right here. About to join my crew. RIGHT GUYS?" asked Necro.

"Uh, sure," replied @ShadowVyper and @ShapeOfVoid, who Necro had accidentally summoned along with the others.

Just then they came within range of the SSS Avats. "OPEN FIRE!!!!" roared Necro, and the zombies all began firing the cannons that @Hkumar had loaded.

"Hkumar, why do you look all burnt?" asked Necro.

"Let's just say those flameskulls are not very friendly, especially when they learned I was going to load them into cannons," answered Hkumar.

"Well, they aren't going to be very friendly towards @HarryHardy either when they land on his ship," said Necro maliciously.
Dumbledore: "Now, it's great that you've been saving the school and all Harry, but unfortunately your grades have been a tad low, and, well... perhaps Gandalf could explain it better... hit it, Gandalf!

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KateHardy says...



"Guys incoming!" shouted @FlamingPhoenix.

"Wait what?" shouted Captain @HarryHardy," incoming already came in."

"No its @Necromancer14," spat @Shadeflame, looking thoroughly disgusted.

"It's some skull things that are on fire," yelled @kattee.

"What?" yelled Harry turning to see the fiery projectiles about to impact the ship," HARD TO PORT!!!!"

"Uhhh...you have the wheel Harry," pointed out @Gravitem.

"Right. Thanks for the reminder Myth," replied Harry, frantically turning the large wooden wheel. The ship turned but it was slow moving. They wouldn't be able to avoid the projectiles in time.

"Shade!!! Need some of your magic," Harry shouted. Shade nodded and jumped into the air, the air around her twisting and turning. She harnessed the shadows of the night, a cool breeze blasting across the length of the ship. The flaming skulls were instantly extinguished. Harry took his hands off the wheel.

"Myth, you're driving...I need to help Shade. Only the magic of the dead will be able to hold of @Necromancer14 and his gang. Honestly, @Hkumar, I thought he would support us. Pity."

Harry did a front flip off the platform he was on, doing a three point roll and coming up standing.

"Was that absolutely necessary? You could have just jumped," asked Kat.

"It it is unbecoming of a pirate captain to not resort to cool maneuvers for the simplest of tasks," he answered, before he turned in the direction of the incoming skulls and snapped his fingers turning them to ash.

He turned towards Necromancer. @ShadowVyper, looking confused along with @ShapeOfVoid at having been dragged there stared at the ship.

"You ask for The Prince of Darkness, Necro?" asked Harry," I'll show you the darkness. Sorry Captain @Magebird, @AstralHunter, @soundofmind. It's going to get a bit hard to see. On the bright side @Wolfical might be able to get away from @SirenCymbaline. Not even @starlitmind can light up this darkness."

He raised him arms and the temperature dropped sharply. A inky black darkness spread out from Harry's hands. It spread out over the ocean. "@EditorAndPerks, @EternalRain, @LZPianoGirl and @Liberty all dropped their quills. They couldn't see their scrolls. @Arcticus, @whatchamacallit and @alliyah stopped their poetry. They couldn't see a foot in front of their faces. The entire region had been plunged into the perpetual darkness of hell.

"I can't see a thin!", yelled Flames and promptly turned into a flaming phoenix lighting up the ship.

"Thanks Flames," yelled Kat," we unlike you two dark lords/ladies or shadow whatevers are not capable of seeing in the dark."

"Sorry Kat, but there was no other way," apologized Harry.

"Myth, fire the canons!" he ordered.

"I'm driving remember," he yelled back.

"Right, Kat, do you know how to fire them?"

"I come from a video game. Of course I know genius," she shot back before stalking over to the computer.

"Right, I forgot that," Harry said.

"Okay, come on guys, look sharp. We have a battle to win."

"Aye, Captain, that we do," agreed Shade.

"Since when did you figure out pirate speak?" asked Myth and Kat in unison.

"Two seconds ago," replied Shade.

"Uh huh," said Kat," now dow we fire or do we wait?"

"We wait for an appropriate dramatic sign from the YWS God @Nate."

"Wait who?" asked Shade.

"Not important," replied Harry. As he said this an especially loud clap of thunder echoed across the darkened seas. A blinding flash of lightning lit up the entire sky.

"FIRE!"
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