ITT: We Are All Pirates' Revenge

Encouraged by Nephenee telling her horribly tragic story, Melvin clears his throat.

"Eh... maybe it's about time I told my story. If you don't mind. It's kind of long..."

Hey, I don't mind at all! (Ira says.) I'm used to long stories anyway. My dad told 'em all the time.

"Pour your heart out as much as you feel you should", Nephenee encouraged the captain, "That's the point of this, to open up."

Kauri tries to say 'Go ahead,' but doesn't even manage to speak and simply mouths it.

Parada leans in closer in lieu of telling him to go on.

Melvin sighs. "Okay. Let me see..."

"When I was just a kid, I wasn't really happy. My parents couldn't afford for me to go to school, so I just lived with them and worked on their farm. We had a tight knit neighborhood in the town of Readville... but we were always kind of the outcasts. Even in a village where many different creatures lived together, most of them wanted nothing to do with us "dirty rats." The kids bullied me all the time. My parents kept reassuring me that things would get better, but... I just couldn't take it. One day, after getting picked on by Chad Goldiron..." Melvin grits his teeth at the name. "I didn't come home. I just ran out of town, all the way to the tavern on the coast where they said the pirates come. And that's how I met Flamebeard..."

"Ol' Captain Flamebeard. He seemed like such a great guy when I first met him. He had this cool metal arm, and he told me all about how people made fun of him too for it. He said he needed another carpenter on his crew because the old one 'fell off the ship', and he thought a rat like me would be perfect for the job. I, of course, fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and so I went off with his crew."

"But once we got out into the sea, well... I won't go into it too much. He and the crew didn't really care about me... except Clara. Clara was Flamebeard's personal attendant, and she was the only one who was really nice to me on the crew. Considering our jobs, we stayed on the ship while the rest of the crew did the actual pirating, so we got to see each other a lot. She helped me when I made mistakes, stood up for me when Flamebeard yelled at me... and gave me a little chest to store whatever miniscule amounts of treasure I got."

"Flamebeard himself, he was... strange. Very grouchy, very aloof... constantly muttering things about revenge and sea serpents, and he got mad whenever I asked him what he was saying. Still, thanks to Clara, I was able to tolerate him. Until one day..."

"One day Flamebeard and his crew successfully raided the island of La Sangre, and they came back with this... strange gemstone. Flamebeard took it into his quarters to 'study' it, and he didn't come out for hours. I was dying to know what the gem was."

"So that night, when the ship was quiet, I snuck into Flamebeard's quarters. There on his desk was a lump with a cloth over it. I was so excited, I crept up and took the cloth off... but it was just a rock. So I turned around, and Flamebeard was standing right behind me, holding the gem. I can still hear his deep, growly voice. 'So, you thought you could steal from me, eh? I always knew you were nothing but a dirty rat!' And then- and then..." Melvin is getting choked up. "I tried to explain, but he wouldn't listen. He led me to the edge of the ship, and then... he slashed me across the face. With the carved tip of the gem."

Melvin finally takes off his mask. He has a nasty scar across his face and eyes. Both the scar and his eyes are glowing bright green, and his eyes are blank with no pupils.

"This is what happened to me."

Once Melvin takes off his mask, Victor is so horrified that he cannot hold back a gasp.

"C-Captain!" he says. "Y-your eyes...!"

Kauri gasps and stares, mouth agape.

(Ira gapes at Melvin's slashed face for a moment as he takes the story in.)

W-Wow...that's terrible. (Ira says.) Man, this Flamebeard guy sounds like a real piece of work, tricking you and messing your eyes up like that... I hope we never meet him! Or...maybe we SHOULD meet him so we can all give him a piece of our minds for putting you through all that...

Melvin smiles faintly. "Yep. After that, he kicked me off the ship, but Clara made sure to throw my treasure chest off for me before they left. That's where I had been keeping the mask."

"Anyway, I eventually got a ride back to civilization, and luckily enough, it turned out to be the town where Duane was living. I hadn't seen him in years, but I was able to find him, and we've been together ever since."

"Thank you, guys. I know that was a mouthful."

Edited by DrNoPuma on Apr 10th 2019 at 12:13:09 PM

After the initial shock wears off, Victor realizes that he is crying. He tried to dab his eyes, but the tears are already rolling down his face and onto the deck.

"How could he do that to you?" he says. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Captain... It... it must have been horrible..."

Melvin starts to tear up too. Eventually, he can't help himself, and he moves forward and hugs Victor tightly.

Victor is not sure what to say, but he returns the hug, sniffling a bit.

"S-Sorry..." he says. "I just got a little emotional..."

"It's okay..." says Melvin. "Thank you, I needed this..."

Gabrielle breathes in sharply, gazing at the captain's scarred, unmasked face.

"...D-damn. I'm sorry..." is all she can reply.

The uncomfortableness continues to grow as she slowly withdraws a little more...

Kauri curls up, now hiding his face completely. Why are people like this?

"I'm sorry.." Parada stares at Melvin's eyes, hands to her mouth concealing a gasp.

Tom says nothing, still silently steering the ship. He's somewhat thankful that he can't see what's being discussed down below, though. He knew not to let curiosity get the better of him. That was the sort of thing explorers and adventurers did. Explorers and adventurers ended up more dead than famous. Tom just wanted to stay alive and able to work.

Speaking of work, the storm is now well on the port side of the ship, and they seem to be skirting around the roughest patches of the water, riding the strong winds from the weather system towards their destination.

Duane listens to the story, with a sort of worn familiarity. He winces in preparation of the difficult sections, and he ends up staring at the ground. They sounded like a bunch of assholes anyway, Cous’. His voice has picked up a gravelly cadence since rehearing the tale.

"Darn right they were." After letting go of Victor, Melvin puts his mask back on and sighs.

"Well... sorry that was such a downer. Anyone want to go next?"

Nephenee seems somewhat disturbed by the mark Flamebeard left on Melvin, but she can only sigh in disappointment at the thought that anyone would do this. It isn't the first horrible mutilation like that she's seen, and she knew all too well it wouldn't be the last.

(Ira sympathetically puts a claw on Melvin's shoulder as he waits for someone to respond.)

"..."

"I guess now is probably the best time... To mention that there are people chasing me..."

"Chasing you? Oh, my. Please, go ahead."

You too? (Ira asks Parada.)