ITT: We Are All Pirates' Revenge

The Zenpance

Bright Eyes perked up. "Yes, that's a good idea!" she said. "That Rolfen fellow should be trustworthy enough, an' he's got to know what will give us an edge dealin' with the rest of the church." She scurried over to take the wheel again. "I think I speak for everyone when I say I'd rather not go back to Barhaven. Settin' course for Abasta whenever you're ready."

"Straight to Abasta sounds like the best way to go now, yeah," said Mikaela. "I'm ready as ever."

(Esmeralda breathes an inaudible sigh of relief as the ship gets ready to move out, knowing that they won't be heading back to this Barhaven place after she just told Cleo and the others to go to Abasta.)

Cleo's Ship; Nighttime

(It's very late in the evening. Cleo is in the captain's quarter's of her boat, lying in her bed. Her sister and Melody have long since been asleep, but Cleo remains awake. She has been tossing and turning all throughout the night, thinking about this whole situation and now also her concerns about Melody's anomalous abilities as a Psydon. Feeling that she needs some way to relax, she reaches under her bed and pulls out her diary.)

(Cleo has kept a diary since she was around Melody's age, and it goes as far back as the first time that Cleo and Ira first met. After reading over the entries she wrote about that for a bit, Cleo closes her eyes and sighs as she reminiscences on these happier times when she and Ira were friends and she wasn't trying to stop him from using the Legendary Egg.)

Zzzzz...

Years Ago

(A young Cleo is sitting behind her house in Scale Cove, crying distraught tears. Her crying gets the attention of a young Ira as he passes by the house. Wondering what could be wrong on a day like this, he leans against the fence.) Hey, what's wrong? (He asks Cleo.)

(Cleo is briefly startled upon hearing someone speak to her, and her slender eyes get as big as saucers when she sees that the person who walked up was none other than the chief's son.) Wha-...you're...I... (She stammers, trying to stop crying.) Oh, how embarrassing...I don't want you to see me like this!

Sorry, I just heard you crying and was wondering what was wrong. (Ira says, shrugging.)

(Cleo starts to stand up, but pauses.) Well...uh...wait, why is this any of your business?

(Ira shrugs again.) My mom and pop always tell me to lend a claw if someone looks like they need it. I though might have wanted help, so I came over.

I dunno what you could even do about what's going on. (Cleo says, rubbing her eyes.) My parents just told me that they are going to go to a council meeting tonight.

(Ira looks confused.) So...they're going to a council meeting? That's i-...OH...oh, it's the one over in Rialon my mom and pop are going to, too, isn't it?

(Cleo nods.) Tonight's my sister's graduation from Psydon training and our parents are going to miss almost all of it! (She says.) They're always going to meetings, and it makes my sister sad, and when she's sad, I get sad...

(Ira frowns.) Oh...that really stinks. I'm sorry.

(Cleo nods.) Yeah...I mean, again, I dunno what you could do about that. (She says.)

(Ira thinks for a moment before coming up with an idea.) Maybe I could pull some strings and convince your parents to go to your sister's graduation after all?

(Cleo looks shocked.) How could you even do that?

I'll just tell my dad what's going on and maybe he'll tell your parents that they don't have to go. Then they can go to your sister's thing. (Ira says.)

(Cleo isn't sure what to say.) I mean...um...you really don't HAVE to do that...

It's at least worth a shot, isn't it? (Ira says, turning to go.) I'll tell you if it worked!

(He pauses as he starts to leave.) Hey, what's your name by the way?

Cleo. (Cleo says.) It's...um...it's an honor to meet the chief's son.

(Ira waves good-bye as he heads back in the direction of the chief's mansion. Cleo finds herself feeling both giddy about getting to meet the chief's son in person and a bit uneasy about what said chief's son plans to do for her and Jasmine at the same time...)

Edited by kablammin45 on Aug 18th 2020 at 8:49:58 AM

The Zenpance

"Rolfen..."

Flicking back to the relevant part of the book, Sennen clicks her fingers with a satisfied "a-ha!"

"Whaddaya know? There's multiple mentions of a Brother Rolfen in here, too. And guess what? It says he has a reputation as Rosamund's personal confidante. Our Captain isn't just old friends with any old Aquinist priest - he's old friends with our mark's right hand."

Zenpance

No way? Then that would mean—yeah, we might have our ace in the hole to find this Rosamund, wouldn't we?

Zepence

Sounds like it to me! (Ira says. He turns to Melvin.) Think maybe your connection with Rolfen could help us get this Shard?

Scale Cove (Years Ago)

(To her surprise, Cleo and Jasmine's parents did end up showing up for her sister's graduation that night. However, Cleo finds it strange that Ira never showed up again to tell her that it did actually work beforehand. The next morning finds her en route to the chief's mansion to thank Ira for what he did. She walks up to the large, bulky crocodile guards standing in front of the door.)

Is there a problem, miss? (One of them asks.)

No, I just wanted to see the chief's son, Irawaru. (Cleo explains.)

Sorry, honey, but Chief Keoni is not currently allowing Irawaru to see anyone. (The other guard says.) Young Irawaru is grounded.

Grounded? (Cleo says, her horns glowing in shock.) What did he do?

He disrupted a town council meeting by entering while impersonating a postman. (The pink guard says. Then she looks at Cleo.) Say, aren't you one of Jake and Joan's children?

Yes! Irawaru was just trying to get them to attend my older sister's graduation. (Cleo says.) I didn't think he'd do something like that. How did he actually fool everyone into thinking he was a postman?

Oh, miss, you do know the chief and his family are all a species of shapeshifting dragons, right? (The male guard says.)

Really?? (Cleo says. She wasn't aware of this at all.) So Irawaru TURNED INTO a postman?

Oh, yes, honey. (The pink guard says. Before she can explain further, a small group of turtles and lizards walk up to the mansion gates behind Cleo.) Oh, honey, these fellows coming up behind you are here to talk to the chief about the festival this weekend. You wouldn't mind moving out of the way, would you?

No, I had to go, anyway... (Cleo says, walking off.)

(Cleo still wants closure on all of this and wants to talk about Ira about what he did, but how? She looks up the wall surrounding the chief's mansion.)

Zenpance

Melvin brightens up for the first time in a while. "I'd be honored to!"

The Zenpance

"So it's settled, then? We're heading to Abasta?"

Zenpance

"It's settled. Let's depart, posthaste!"

The Zenpance

"Right on it."

Bright Eyes took a quick look at the sky to get her bearings, then steered the ship out of port in the direction of Abasta. She kept an eye on the weather, both to turn the winds to her advantage and to be ready in case they were caught in another storm.

Zenpace

Jerrid settles in for now.

Zenpence

(Ira settles back down as well, picking the Scale Cove book back up and continuing to thumb through it.)

(Pablo dozes off. The Sharkazil seems a bit restless and doesn't go to sleep immediately like it usually does when the crew starts moving. "Estelle" just sits there and stares ahead of the ship.)

Scale Cove (Years Ago)

(Ira sits quietly in his room, reading a book when he suddenly hears someone tapping on his window. This confuses Ira because his room in the chief's mansion is on the second floor. He whirls around to see Cleo in front of it.)

Wha-? Cleo? (He exclaims, running over and throwing the window open. He then sees that Cleo has lifted herself up off the ground and to his window with her psychokinesis. Suddenly, her being at his window makes more sense.) What are you doing here?

The guards in front of your house told me what happened. I just wanted to know what you did. (Cleo asks.) I mean...thank you for helping my parents show up, but why did you do what you did?

Do what? You mean turn into Mr. Patterson and give them a letter from you two? (Ira asks.)

Yes! (Cleo says.)

Well, first I tried to tell my pop to postpone the meeting because of what you had going on, but he said that yesterday was the only day this month that he could have it and if it was your parents' decision to go to the meeting, then that was that. (Ira explains.) I almost threw in the towel there, but I remembered how upset you were so I made a fake letter from you, transformed into the mailman, and tried to deliver it to your mom and pop in while they were meeting with your parents before heading out for the meeting. I gave myself away because my mom recognized my handwriting, and I got in big trouble. Now I can't go to the spring festival and I have to wear these until I'm ungrounded. (He shows Cleo some bracers he is wearing. They are lined with bright blue jewels.)

Why do you have to wear those? (Cleo asks.)

Because the jewels on them keep dragons like me from transforming. (Ira says. To demonstrate, he tries to copy Cleo's appearance, but all that happens is that Ira's scales turn a slightly purplish tint before turning back to normal, and nothing else.) But at least your parents still showed up, right? After they looked at my letter, they left a few minutes later to go to your sister's graduation. I heard your dad talk about feeling guilty.

(Cleo has mixed feelings about this.) Well...thanks for your help anyway. Last night was wonderful.

No problem! (Ira says.) Hey, you wanna hang out or something once I'm out of here?

Sure. I'm sure my parents won't mind. (Cleo says.) Now I'd better get out of here before either of us gets in trouble.

Okay, see you later! (Ira says, looking more cheerful than he did before.)

(Cleo starts to float herself out of Ira's window. She is just out of it when-)

BANG BANG BANG

(Startled, Cleo loses her concentration and starts to fall down toward a pit of sharp broken egg shells that have replaced the courtyard.) AAAH!!

WHAM!

(Cleo wakes up on the floor of captain's quarters. She realizes that she had fallen asleep and dreamed about when she and Ira first met while reading her diary.)

BANG BANG BANG

(And someone is banging on the door to captain's quarters.) Maaaaa, can you make them go awaaaay? (Melody drowsily mumbles.)

(Cleo groggily walks over to the door and opens it to find the lizard navigator Fernando.) Got a message from Esmeralda, chief! (He says, giving Cleo the finely folded up letter.)

(Cleo looks it over. It says that Ira and his companions are en route to the island of Abasta.) Is this place far? (She asks.)

Eh...not especially, but there is that storm up ahead we might need to avoid. (Fernado says, pointing to some lightning flashes lighting up the night sky a ways ahead of the ship.)

Well, tell everyone to keep at it. (Cleo says.) We're running out of time.

Edited by kablammin45 on Sep 2nd 2020 at 8:33:52 AM

Mikaela found a spot to sit down on deck and held Yurlungur in front of herself, meditating as she held the sheathed blade up against the floor beneath.

Around two days' sailing later...

It's mid-afternoon as the Zenpance finally draws near its destination.

The mood surrounding Abasta Island couldn't be more different from Klaer. It's a calm, cool day, with minimal clouds and no wind to speak of, leaving the island clearly visible the moment it passes over the horizon. In contrast to Klaer's harsh appearance, Abasta has a sleepy, pleasant look, with small villages dotted across a landscape of gently rolling green hills. There is, however, one slightly imposing feature. Positioned near the exact centre of the island is a vast cathedral, its gleaming spires towering so far over the rest of the landscape that even from this distance, it completely dominates the skyline. On the beach the Zenpance is approaching is a small, rustic, but clearly manned harbour, with a few small fishing boats docked beside the stone pier.

Approaching Abasta

Finally... ("Estelle" says, a bit weary of being on this ship for so long. She briefly glances behind the Zenpence. No sign of Cleo and her ship yet. She shrugs.)

That's the biggest church building I've ever seen. (Ira remarks as the Zenpence approaches Abasta.) I'm guessing that's where Rosamund is gonna be.

Probably going to be like finding a shrimp in a field of seaweed in a building that big. (Pablo remarks.)

Approach

Jerrid answers Pablo’s musings with a musing of his own and then a question.

If that building is that big...we might need to split up into a few groups to comb that entire building, up and down, you know?

"Certainly looks cozier than Klaer, at least," said Mikaela, standing up. "I wouldn't worry too much about finding her. If this lady is as big a deal as those books made her out to be then I'm sure we just need to do a little asking around."

Abasta Port

Bright Eyes stared up at the cathedral in wonder. It had been a while since she'd seen a building so large and majestic, and she expected the view from up in the spires would be spectacular. It took a minute for her to get her mind back on the mission.

"Yes, splittin' up could help," she said. "Just remember it's not just her we're lookin' for - in fact, we should probly keep our distance from her 'til we've got a bargainin' chip or several. I volunteer for scoutin' out the upper floors."

Kauri looks at the island, knowing for sure that Old Silver is strapped to his back this time. And the island looks like such a nice place that he wonders if he even needs his sword.

Abasta Port

I'll also go to the upper floors.

Abasta, nearing the port

Sennen joins the rest of the crew in admiring the cathedral's sheer size.

"Y'know what I think we should do first? Find that Rolfen bloke. If they think we're just here 'cuz the captain wanted to see his old friend, they'll let their guard down. From there, the rest'll be easier."

Makes sense to me. (Ira says.)

Yeah, but where would we find this guy? Would he be in that huge building, too? (Pablo asks.)

Abasta

No idea. But if he is, we'd need all we can get to find them both.

Abasta Docks

As the boat pulls into the docks, the crew will notice the harbourmaster and around half his associates are clad in white and cyan clerical robes, much like what Rolfen was wearing back at Barhaven. Further ashore, among the small crowds of the port village, even more robed figures can be seen, mingling with regular townsfolk without so much as a passing glance. Clearly Aquinist clergy are a major presence here. As they disembark, the harbourmaster even greets them with a cheery "Aquinos bless you, travellers!"

(Ira gives a friendly wave to the harbormaster as he steps off the Zenpence.)

Uh, right back at you? (Pablo says. " Hope that was an appropriate response...")

("Estelle" comes off the ship as well, which leads to the Sharkazil remaining on the ship.)