| abstract
| - Poseidon's Sorrow It's hull encrusted with barnacles, the Poseidon's Sorrow is most definitely a pirate's ship. It's of medium size, complete with a main mast which sports two black sails, a crow's nest and a Jolly Roger flag flying at the very top. Rope rigging appears to be the only way up to the crow's nest. A door aft leads into the Captain's stateroom, while a hatch in the floor leads downwards to crew quarters and storage. The ship sports three cannons per side as armaments and has the stylized figure of a scantily clad woman as the figurehead. The Poseidon's Sorrow is still in preparation now, with crew members heading back and forth, making sure everything is in order for the voyage (food, rations, rum). Everything has to be in its place, especially the cannons. Linnael is here as well, sitting on the prow and looking out into the ocean. He is... apparently not too worried. The mage has foregone his usual clothing in favor of beachcomber's gear - shell necklace, board shorts, T-shirt and sunglasses. The mage grins and stretches his arms above his head, kicking bare feet out to feel the wind. "Mm!" Shafi boards the ship, dressed in her usual garb. The Elf scratches the back of her head absently and yawns, her mood somewhat bright as she makes over towards Linnael. "Well, someone's a bit laid back," she remarks with a smirk, seating herself beside the mage, "Thinking of replacing Mr. Rum as our first redead this time or just cocky?" Amanda clost her perfectly shined boots over to the ship, itself, looking at it with a slightly disgusted eye. Her weapon, a Sten, and an Enfield, are slung across her back, dirt and blood-covered face panning about. "Wonderful. A Bloody sailin' frigate. Why, where's Admiral Nelson, ehh? Th' least I could do would be to get a ride on th' Victory, now that /everyone's/ dead in that area." She moves toward the gangplank. "And people better not call me a /fuckin'/ RM." Overhead, a burst of light presages the appearance of ...a somewhat ruffled-looking angel, the albatross wings somewhat less neat and tidy than usually the case. Cephas spirals lower, toward the ship, and hovers near the bow...eyeing said ship with the sort of distrust usually reserved for tax collectors. Linnael looks over to Shafi with a grin. "Come on, I can handle this," he says. "And hello Cephas, long time no see. And you two, foul-mouthed lady." Blake and his crew are indeed going about their business loading the ship up with provisions. The pirate Captain glances over to Amanda, "Well hello there missy, ye be coming to join me crew?" he asks, before a glance up at Cephas, "Ahoy me lads, lookee here, we've got ourselves an Angel," The redhead straightens at the cursing, and steely grey eyes Amanda. "Oh, Light," she grumbles, "It's the perpetually dirty lunatic woman..." Shafi scoots away from Amanda warily and glances over to Cephas, "Hey, Cephas! Do ahead and land, these boys don't bite! They're actually not that bad, but they have no backbone I've been able to identify." Amanda looks up, just /sighing/ at the arrival of that so-called angel. "Oooh, ahoy! A bloody pompous ass with excuses for /everythin'/." She looks back to Blake, already heading up the gang plank. "Yeah, I'm joinin'. Name's Wheatly. Amanda Wheatly. I prefer Warrant Officer, howevah. I shoot things I'll repeal or board whatever th' fuck needs t' be. Just feed me an' make thing's interestin'. A quick look to Shafi, and a glare. "Can't help th' first, an' what th' bloody hell do you /expect/ me t' be, in th' second?" She waves a hand dismissively, as she starts sniffing around for good tobbacco. Cephas waves an acknowledgment to the greeting, but says, "I can't. Feet not allowed to touch earth, it's in my contract. Don't worry, though, I can keep up. I just need to, you know, be around this time." He flicks his wings, settling the feathers, and calmly informs Amanda, "Play nice. Or I'll make sure any article of clothing you try to put on for the next ten years automatically transforms into bright pink Hello Kitty underwear." Linnael slips off of his post on the prow and starts walking toward Cephas, lowering his sunglasses to look up at him. "Can't touch the ground? Never heard of that contract before. You'll have to explain a bit better, now." He slides his sunglasses back on and smiles to Amanda, extending the hand not holding onto his jackal staff. "Linnael." Blake chuckles a touch, "I think ye'll fit right in with me crew, Warrant Officer Wheatly," he states. As for tobbacoo, well a few of the pirates seem to smoke, but Mr. Rum comes up to Amanda, a bit drunkenly, and offers her a flask of rum. The ship is still in port, just getting loaded up to set out for sail, the last of the pirates with crates and barrels are moving to get onboard. "We're not boarding anything, nutjob" Shafi says flatly to Amanda, "This is an /exploration/ trip, not a pillaging or raiding trip. Worst that'll happen is we get attacked by something. Which happens a lot, but we might get lucky this time." She stands, then, and gives Linnael a look, "Don't touch her, she might attack you for no reason. Really, the woman's a loon." Amanda steps forward to Shafi, a rather distatsful look on her face. "Nah. If I was a loon, I'd have ta be Canadian. Th' word you're lookin' for is 'bonkers'. Thank you." A quick, swift look around to the crew that Blake mentions, scanning the deck, briefly, and shaking Linnael's hand as he offers it. "Wheatly. You one a' those mages, Mr. Linnael?" She says, eyeing the staff. Mr. Rum get's a fierce look, and then a glance back to Blake. "One a' your men is drunk on duty." She snaps the flask from his hands, and takes a good swig of it, before thrusting it back. "/Moderation/." She mentions, almost leaning forward, right in his face. "Or else ya gonna fall off th' deck. Sharks'll eat ya." And, finally, up to Cephas. "Ya fuck with my uniform, I'll spend th' next century or so findin' just th' right type a' rusty machete t' slowly saw those wings a' your's off. We got an' understandin'?" Alexia approaches the ship and starts her way up onto the deck. She's silient, just watching the goings on of the people around her, waiting to see what will happen, and not making much of a fuss about her being there just yet. Cephas shrugs. "What's to explain?" he asks Linnael. "Ravus can touch the ground, I can't. Different concessions, different responsibilities. It's not so bad. My shoes never wear out." But to answer Amanda...the angel just waves a taloned hand, and her clothes...are suddenly very sparkly. They couldn't be sparklier if she were a Vegas showgirl. The sparkles are, in fact, *radiating* from every square inch. Pretty pink flowers, it looks like. Linnael gives Amanda a raised eyebrow, before he laughs out loud. "Cephas? For an angel, you are a bit of a prick, you know. Not that that isn't great." "That's Mr. Rum," Shafi points out to Amanda, "He dies every time we go out. It's sort of his thing. And I think most of the crew's dru-" ah, but she starts laughing before she finishes her thought as Cephas makes /lovely/ changes to Amanda's wardrobe. "By the-," she tries to choke out, but no more words are attempted for the time being. "Mateys, let's be civil, aye? Wont have fighting happening amongst my crew, aye?" Blake says to Amanda, Shafi and Cephas. He looks to Lexi, nodding, "Well, I believe that be everyone, Al, take us out," he says to the mute Tauroid boson at the wheel, who nods and begins to take the ship out from port, once the anchor's been raised that is. Mr. Rum, well, he staggers backwards a bit from Amanda, eventually falling down on his backside. "If he drinks enough maybe he won't feel it when he dies this time," Lexi offers. "It is the way it seems to go, even when Shafi's tried to protect him." Amanda looks down at her clothes, and just scowls. "You're lucky I got a hundred years. In th' mean time, there's pro'aly iron rods 'round here. Why don't ya find one, an' go fuck ya'self, ehh?" She moves on deck, to sit down, over at a barrel, before looking to Blake. "Suppose ya got a Master a' Arms t' enforce that? Ya might get a few fights, if not. Some a' us can' take lashin's, ya know." Mr. Rum is just tched at. "See? /Moderation/. 12 steps. Read 'em." She points to Alexis. "She seems t' think you're a scientist, testin' somethin'.. So, why don't I help." With a swift, smooth motion that must have been practiced before death, she draws a Webley revolver from a holster at her hip, cocking the hammer back, and firing one round, towards Mr. Rum. It's aimed so that it'll cut some hair and lodge itself into the deck /juuuuust/ to his left. "Well. I seem t' be off, t'day. What say we keep th' drinkin' respectible so that I suddenly don't find my aim improvin', ehh?" Cephas sighs. "Pirates. I never could stand pirates. Oh well, at least people will see that one coming in time to duck." A slight flick of feathers, and the angel floats to a more conversational distance with Linnael. "I'm good. I don't bother trying for 'nice'. People tend to equate that to 'doormat', and...honestly? Not in the mood for it. Too much will be happening soon. Long time no see, by the way. You're looking well." Linnael grins at Cephas, ignoring the gunshot for the moment. "Mm. I thought I might as well enjoy this trip, even if I do have to take out another giant squid," he says. "Also, Nodhi and I have just been doing well in general, even if we do spend some time apart. How's Whitefur?" Shafi's eyes widen at that shot, and then narrow, their steely grey depths shifting like dark smoke from a kicked up flame. "That," she starts, glaring dangerously at Amanda as her right hand fingers the bullwhip at her hip, "Was uncalled for. Who do you think you are? Put that thing away and find somewhere to wait out the trip. And remember that a very powerful bitch with a very short temper is /very/ close to throwing you into the water right about now..." Which is evident by the body language, as it certainly looks like she's making an effort not to carry out her threat right now. "Aye, that be Al," Blake replies to Amanda, pointing to the Tauroid boson at the wheel, who's still taking the ship out of port. The Captain does however step forward, looking to both Shafi and Amanda, "Ye, go up in the crow's nest and watch," he says, pointing to Shafi, before looking to Amanda, "And ye go meet Al," he says. Mr. Rum well...he just puts his hand to his head where the bullet took off some hair, and scurries as best he can below decks. Closing her eyes when the gun's fired, Lexi jumps slightly, "That wasn't quite what I meant," she comments, one hand reaching for her silvery braid, her fingers picking at it nervously. But when Shafi starts with the threats she moves to her side, a hopefully calming hand placed on her arm, "She just hasn't learned how things work with us yet, give her a chance, hm?" Cephas sighs as shots ring out. "Pirates," he repeats sourly, noting that at least no one was hurt. "Whitefur is quite well, thanks. I gave him a house to look after and now I can't pry him out of it. Very domestic streak he's had going for a while now." Amanda meets the flaring eyes of Shafi with smoldering ones of her own. The weapon's flicked out, an expended shell hopping from a chamber, and another one put in it's place, before it's snapped shut. "He was drunk. Ya want him that way when danger hits? What, ya gonna talk it through t' him in soft words? Maybe boosts his self-esteem?" She says this latter stuff in a bit of a mock pout. "We don't have time for that. We /never/ have time for that. I want t' fix it so that, if /I'm/ on deck with 'em, he ain't gonna fuck up an' cause /me/ t' recorpolize or whatevah." She shurgs, and reholsters the weapon, noting with approval Mr. Rum's scurryin'. "An', ma'am. Ya havn't learned how things work with /me/." She turns on her heels, and starts stepping toward the bosun, giving an informal saluate. "Aye-aye, skippa'." Linnael quirks a smile. "Well, he /is/ a cat," he notes. "Cats are stubborn as all hell, from what I remember." He shrugs and starts walking toward Lexi, beckoning for Cephas to follow. "Know her?" he asks the elf woman. "Aye, Captain," is all Shafi says, turning away from Amanda and wearing a disgusted scowl as she climbs the rigging to take her post in the crow's nest. The voyage is long, longer than any trip Blake and his crew have taken so far, and nothing happens, giving Amanda plenty of time to socialize and get to know the mute Tauroid Boson. Elven eyes might be able to pick out a rather unnatural glinting along the horizon, as if the sun is striking some large shiny object and reflecting it back Alexia shakes her head at Linnael, "Nope, but if she's for herself and not for working with the rest of us...that's not going to work so well," she says with a lightl shrug of her shoulders. "She'll learn," she adds and moves toward the bow of the ship, watching out over the water quietly. "Oi!" Shafi calls down to the crew, mostly to Blake, "There's something shiny along the horizon off that way." She points, "It's strange. Definitely not just the water." Amanda has had a lot of time to use Al as a silent therapist, it seems. She's on some sort of rant about... what was it about. "Now, now, th' bloody /American's/, Yanks, would say that their pulse weapon was better than th' En-Heck, which is utter /rubbish./ Ya would know if ya fired one. I'll have t' find two a' 'em. Anyway, /Rubbish./" She's silent, for a moment, then sighs, moving toward the railing. "At least th' /last/ long trip I had /paperwork/ t' do." Cephas rises up, form altering from 'winged human' to 'shining gull', which at least seems to please the more superstitious sailors; a holy albatross circling the mast. His voice whispers along the breeze to those he talks to; Linnael hears a laughing, "Alexia? Of course I know her. She's looking quite well." And Shafi gets a pleased, "Hello," too. Linnael nods to Cephas and Alexia both, before he blinks and looks up to Shafi. "See something?" he asks, before jumping, assisted by magic, to land in the crow's nest next to the elf. "Shiny? That ones new, at least." Blake looks up at Shafi, nodding, "Aye," he replies, before nodding to Al, who turns the ship towards the direction Shafi pointed in. The Tauroid also lets out a puff of air from his nose to Amanda at her rant, perhaps his way of communicating, what it means is anyone's guess though. The elven eyed might be able to see a dark smudge grow underneath the shiny thing. Land. Those without, might be catching a glimpse or two of said shiny. Alexia smiles at the sight of the dark smudge, "Aye, there's land there too," she calls back from her place at the bow, "Although...shinies and land aren't always a good thing," she adds possibly remembering previous adventures with this ship. Shafi nearly jumps at Linnael's arrival, "Light, Linn, can you at least /pretend/ you can't do things like that?" Ceph-Gull gets a wave in reply to his greeting, and then the redhead looks back to the shiny. "Lexi's right, there's land," she calls down, "Should we prepare for cannibals?" That question seems to have been posed as a joke. Amanda gives a mildly annoyed look at the elves, for seeing something she can't see, reaching into her pocket, and withdrawing a pair of field glasses, to which she scans the area. "I don' see anythin' but th' shiny... but who am /I/ t' argue, ehh? We're gonna go over there, anyway." She mildly looks to Shafi, and yells up. "What? Ya aren't?" Cephas sends Alexia a soft, "hello," too, but circles a bit higher as the elf women spot land. Linnael hmms. "If it's shiny, it's at least probably not a third-world village," he notes, before grinning at Shafi. "Now, if I did that, I'd be a liar now. I'll be ready, just in case." The smudge of land just continues to grow, some of it becoming visible to the others. To those with elven eyes, the landmass seems enormous compared to everything encountered before and then...sails, more than one. The shiny thing is still there, but it appears to be elevated from the main landmass, significantly taller than ground level. Alexia looks up to the Cephas-bird and smiles, "Hello, wingy one," she offers brightly, hoping he isn't too high up to hear yet. "Careful, last time we ran into Harpies...wouldn't want one of those to get ahold of you...or something worse," she adds, a hint of concern there, and her eyes go back to the mass of land, "Oi, a ship," she calls out. "More than one, maybe?" Shafi questions down to Lexi, "And that shining thing is kinda... high..." The redhead smirks down to Amanda, then, "Bite me." Amanda looks back up, and shakes her head. "I ain't that kinda girl, an' ya say that t' th' /cannibals/, ya gonna have problems!" She looks through the field glasses again. "A... ship? Somethin' that big? C'mon. Can ya see any flags?" Cephas' laughter is quite human, coming from the avian form. "Don't worry about me. And I'm so glad Whitefur didn't hear you call me that, I think that cat would just explode with pride." The angel seems somewhat detached from the moment of discovery, at present. Linnael hmms. "Huge place," he notes. "And if they're sending ships out, definitely a bit more advanced." He lowers his sunglasses to take a better look. "Not a pirate ship now, is it?" No flags fly from these ships, but when the sails get closer, and they're moving /fast/, a blue three-pronged trident seems to be eblazoned on the white sails. The elves, if either of them could recognize them, would realize that these ships look remarkably similar to Triemes, ancient Greek warships. There's two of them heading for the Sorrow, but they break to the sides to turn around, leading the Sorrow between them perhaps. They're still too far off to make out the crew, though. Amanda looks to the two appproching ships. Frowning, and reaching behind ger to pull out a wodden-stocked, pumpaction shotgun, loading shells into it. "Don't like this. Don't like it a' all. Anyone know if those things a' armed?" Alexia giggles softly, "Aye, I haven't seen Whitefur in a while," she replies to Cephas, "He does love ya though," she adds, her eyes going back to the view ahead, "Aye, ships," she replies to Shafi, an emphasis on the 's'. "I think they want us to follow them." Cephas flies a bit higher, and just for a moment, puts on a full angelic sunray effect above the ship. "Watch for weapons," he says pleasantly, though all the crew below him hear his voice at a conversational tone. "Usually people that want to strike down angels aren't people into peaceful negotiations." Just *slightly* wry there. Linnael hmms, then dashes forward, leaping off of Poseidon's sorrow and falling down toward the sea. As he does so, a surfboard materializes beneath his feet, and an absurdly localized wave picks up. "Don't shoot them unless provoked!" he calls up to the ship as the absurdly localized wave carries him away in from of the Sorrow, and toward the triremes. "I'll try to work out what's up." "Mandy, put it away or Light help me, I /will/ come down there and hurt you," Shafi barks down, "We don't need to be the aggressors here. We might have run into someone /peaceful/ for once. And if not, you can start killing /after/ they attack us." She watches Linnael's antics with an air of irritation, merely rolling her eyes and rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "I will /laugh/ at him out of /spite/ the day one of his spells fails while he's doing something stupid like that..." The landmass finally stops growning, but more and more sails are popping up on the horrizon, dozens, then scores, then hundreds of them. They all seem to be clearing a path for the Sorrow and it's two escorts, though. The triremes themselves are easily outpacing the Sorrow, but the direction is still clear, straight towards the landmass. The shiny resolves into a tower at this point, and there seem to be more towers as well, none of them nearly as tall or with the shiny on them, though. Alexia's eyes just stare at the tower in awe, everything else ignored for now. Amanda grumbles something about being too outnumbered, anyway, before reslinging the shotgun. She looks at the towers that appear, no matter how shiny they are, and tchs. "Pro'laly weapons installations. Those always look pretty 'till they kill ya." "Well, we'll find out, won't we?" Shafi calls down to Amanda brightly (through gritted teeth). She does marvel at the beauty of the place, but apparently she does share at least a small portion of Amanda's cynicism, and as such her eyes continue to look about as though hoping to catch a double-cross before it goes into effect. Cephas widens his circling, the ship now the center of a wide arc. The angel seems preoccupied with something - at least, all that can be heard from the shining bird are snatches of poetry: "Great city, fabled isle, were you at the far end Of the world, across the starry ocean, As some aver? Or Krete's sister, Now only a dead volcano's crater?" "Seems like it to me, too!" Linnael calls up cheerfully to Cephas as he starts veering toward one of the triremes as he surfs, trying to get a look at the fellows on board it. "Hey there!" he calls up cheerfully. There doesn't seem to be anything in the way of a double cross, at least not yet. The Sorrow heads straight into the path laid out for it. More of the city is revealed, for a city it is, with building and towers and all, and finally, their destination is there, a massive harbor with docks and jetty's, capable of docking all the hundreds of ships being passes. Linnael probably doesn't get too good of a look at any of them, and they don't respond to him either, as getting close to the triremes would be hard with the oars and all, but there's the apparent captain if Linn wants to look at thim, barechested, the man doesn't look like anyone from around here. For he's /blue/ and he glints in the sun. Currently, the Poseidon’s Sorrow and her crew are in the middle of the ocean and moving towards what appears to be a very large island, complete with a massive city on it, including towers and various buildings. They're currently in a literal /sea/ of ships, hundreds and hundreds of sails on either side, making a corridor to the harbor. Mizuki ... _was_ exploring and fell asleep belowdecks. She awakens, getting to her feet, "Hungryyyyy..." Then stumbles, catching herself against a wall. They're moving! Are they at sea? She rushes to a porthole to check. Going by other ships... She's gotta get a look above decks. She climbs up to peeeeek out over the deck... Amanda continues looking toward tha approching city, not too happy about going ashore somewhere this unfamilar... but, hell, this entire place was untamed backwoods. She unslings her Enfield, when... something catches her eye. She angles, just a bit, walking toward the underdeck, and idly chambering a round. She pokes Mizuki with the barrel. "Ehh? What're ya doing, sneakin' 'round?" Cephas swoops down, as the ship enters port, his humanoid form reasserting itself in a brief burst of light. "It *has* been a while, he says, with good cheer and a hint of something else - sadness, regret, possibly anger, it's very hard to say. "Okay, blue, but still hot," Linnael notes to himself, before he diverts his surfboard away from the trireme to land in port, near the Poseidon's Sorrow. "AMANDA!" Shafi bellows (never said she was watching the /strangers/ for double-crosses). The redhead swings out of the crow's nest and descends through the rigging with incredible grace and speed, hitting the deck slightly hard, rolling, and then striding for the human woman, "Do you have to pull that thing on /everyone/? Never heard of asking nicely? Put it away." As the ship nears port, a group of those blue men come running up along the dock the Sorrow is going to. They're carrying large shields, all emblazoned with that blue trident on a white background as well as actual tridents, except for one. He's clad only in a blue robe, and he seems to be leading the group of soldiers. Docks-Atlantis Constructed primarily of a light grey stone, the docks of Atlantis are almost always busy, regardless of the hour of the day. Space for hundreds of ships to berth is provided along the stone jetties, but most of the ships filling these spaces are of the merchant or fishing variety. Various small, side streets lead off from the docks to the main city, but the most often used road is the main thoroughfare down the center of the docks, leading into the main plaza. The tall towers of the city are easily visible. The robed person and guards following him stop along the pier once the Sorrow has docked. This close, its easy to see that they arent like normal people. Theyre a bit shorter for one, but what stands out the most is that theyre covered in scales from head to toe, mostly light blue. Further oddities include webbed hands and feet, as well as what look like gills at the sides of their necks, theyre obviously breathing air though, as their chests rise and fall with breaths. The robed fish-man bows nearly in half to those on the ship, speaking when he rises again, "Welcome travelers, I am Anatole, aide to King Alkinoos. Welcome to Atlantis." Mizuki eeps when the gun is pulled on her. "Don't shoot! I was exploring and I fell asleep below decks! ...What's going on?" Amanda looks up to the falling elf, calmly, before looking back to the cat creature. She sighs, and slings the rifle behind her again. "We're on a trip. Got somewhere. Ya wanna go back t' sleep, I ain't stoppin' ya." She looks over to Shafi, as she stride over, shruging. "Ya know, maybe /ya/ should ask nicely, ehh? Two-way street, ya know." She whistles some nameless tune as she moves back over to the railing, then moves back down when the dock, going /after/ the angel and the Captain. Probably more respectible than her, in her strange uniform, dirited, bloodied face, and weapons. Yes. /And/ sparkles, though hopefully those will be fading, by now. Linnael blinks, his surfboard disappearing as he lands on the docks to get a better look at the fish men. If his assessment of their looks has changed, he keeps it to himself as he pushes his sunglasses up to the top of his head, smiles, and returns the bow. "I'm Linnael, mage of the Heavenly Chorus, and we're the crew of the Poseidon's Sorrow, sailing out of Port Poxy. Thank you, for your hospitality." Alexia seems to ignore the antics of her crew mates as she makes for the ramp to head off the ship. Her eyes stay on the blue scaled men and when she draws close enough she offers a rather formal bow, letting Linnael's greeting say it all for now. "Amanda, would you be a darling and go walk the plank? Please?" Shafi asks of the human woman sweetly, before heaving an irritated sigh and following along with everyone else. Mizuki climbs out, evidently ignored now. Well... Fine, ignore her and don't tell her what's going on. She decides to follow the fishman, out of curiousity. Cephas hovers just a bit above the decking, as close as the angel can apparently come to touching down. He offers Anatole a little wave of a taloned hand. "Hello," he says pleasantly. "Kind of you not to fire on us. You've put together quite a fleet." Anatole nods, "We feel we have learned our lesson in that regard," he replies to Cephas simply. He nods to Linn as well, "We did not know there were other ports beyond our own, you will have to tell us where it is," he says, "But for now, the king wishes to meet with you," The rest of the pirates follow after the others, including a still partially drunk Mr. Rum who states, "It's not possible..." and then? Nothing, no dying, nothing. Amanda cocks her head. "I'd pollute th' ocean. 'Side, sharks are scared a' me. They like /you/ however. Maybe ya should cuddle up t' one." She says this in a low tone, as not to be heard by the fishmen. "Atlantis, ehh? Looks /nothin'/ like th' movies." She does, say aloud, turning toward Mr. Rum. Her hand hovers near her pistol... but she decides aganist it. He /wasn't/ as drunk, was he? Linnael smiles at Anatole. "We'd be delighted to speak with him," he says, stepping forward to follow the Atlantean. "I've heard many stories of this city - and I have to say, it does look quite amazing." Mizuki follows. Not really stealthily, but not trying to draw attention to herself either. Just acting like she's supposed to be there. Alexia just follows along silently for now, letting others do the talking and all, but she lets her eyes roam the place taking in everything she can, even wandering back to the amazing tower. Cephas slants a look at Alexia, and reaches up to tap the outline around his eye with the tip of a taloned finger, before moving to follow the group. "I think meeting the king would be a very interesting way to spend the evening," he remarks. Shafi merely shakes her head at Mandy and smiles politely to the fishmen. She bows, like the others but more practiced, and remains silent. Although she does, noticebly, scoot away from Amanda. Anatole nods, and turns towards the main thoroughfare, indicating the others should follow as the guards do as well, "Oh?" he remarks to Linn, "There are stories about us?" Central Plaza-Atlantis The center of the great city. The plaza is constructed with the same light grey stone as the rest of the city, large slabs of it used as pavement across the city's central plaza. A large, circular foutain is set in the middle of the plaza, five stone fish placed at equal intervals around the circumferance spout water into the pool in the middle, while a statue of a man with a trident and a helmet dominates the center of the fountain, water pouring out from his mouth. A prominade lined with statues of men, woman and fish, all bearing tridents, leads to the palace, one of the tallest towers in the entire city. The plaza branches off to thoroughfairs leading to the residential district, the merchant's tower, and the docks. Amanda might be conspicious as one of the few people of the delegation, besides the suspicious catgirl, who doesn't bow. She just keeps a hand sternly on the strap of her rifle. She looks toward the Atlantis delegation leader. "Big island off th' coast a' portugal... or France, or somethin'. Sank underwater after somethin' else happened. I didn't read much up on it. "Mm, it was thought to just be an allegorical tale," Linnael says with a nod as they walk along. "Plato described his utopia, and how it fell." He smiles faintly. "People have always wondered if it's real or not. I don't think... anyone has ever guessed about the gills, though." Tra-lala-lala. The redheaded healer elf follows along and remains silent. Shafi apparently has nothing to say, although her eyes do go back to taking in the sights, with an air of absolute awe now that she has relaxed a bit. Mizuki takes it in herself. She's heard the story of Atlantis, but... This is a world of ideas. It's probably not the 'real' atlantis, right? She thinks to herself. Rather, it's an idea of atlantis formed from the thoughts of those here and perhaps the living... But she's not going to put this theory forth to any of the inhabitants. She hasn't died yet... wel,, again I mean... and is in no hurry to experience it! Cephas - floating along otherwise silently - remarks, "Poseidon happened. In a manner of speaking. Hence, gills." He smiles a bit. "But that's all past, right? Not like the Shining Ones at all." Alexia looks up at Cephas and nods, but remains silent, her eyes on the blue men now as she simply follows along with. Anatol nods a bit to Cephas as he continues on towards the palace, "Yes, Poseidon happened, but the king shall explain our story in time," he looks to Linn and to Amanda, "Yes, we sank, and we did not always have gills, but we have for some time now, we used to appear like you did. In fact, we thought there were none not like us in this place," Shafi continues to follow along, looking at all the shinies and listening to all the conversation around her, and being a generally quiet yet attentive guest. Linnael keeps padding along barefoot next to Anatol, looking rather curious. "Like the Shining Ones?" he muses, before worrying at his lower lip. "Well... I look forward to hearing what your king has to say." Amanda looks toward Anatol, frowning. "There is, Alot a' us. Most a' use dead, ya know. Some a' us are a bit paranoid, too." She says, making no mention of /who/, but... come on. "A bit wary 'bout this whole situation. Be glad t' hear from your King, a' course. Suppsoe that'll be ever'thin' laid bare." Alexia smiles politely, "Whenever you are ready, sir," she offers to the blue scaled man, "I will follow, whether anybody else does or not," she replies, her hands clasping lightly behind her back. Anatol nods, "Well, to answer all your questions, follow me," he replies as the blue scaled mane heads up the prominade into the palace. Throne Room-Palace-Atlantis Completing the rest of the circlular tower from the entrance, and more, the throne room is still vast. A red plush carpet travels the distance from the doorway to the throne, set on a raised dais. The throne is made entirely of pearl, with ornate carvings of waves and fish engraved into the sides. The floor, walls and ceiling are made of the same gray stone as the rest of the city, and the walls are again lined with paintings, statues and busts, mostly of fish and various important looking figures. Anatol leads the group into the throne room, and there sits King Aliknoos on his throne, waiting for them it seems. Multiple guards using the same shields and tridents line the walls. Linnael looks up at the king, and walks forward, dropping to one knee before the Atlantean to show respect. "Your Highness." Alexia follows along into the throne room, and coming to a stop slightly behind and to the right of Linnael she too kneels and bows her head as a sign of respect, "Majesty," is the only word she offers. Amanda looks to Linnael's action with... it's hard to place the look on her dirtied, bloody face. But she won't make a complete set. Instead, she unslings her rifle, bringing the butt down on the ground with a sharp /THUMP/. In four, even motions, she brings the rifle across her, then in front of her, lowering it in a salaute with a weapon, then, after a few seconds, bringing it back up, and then, in another four motions, placing the rifle back down to the floor with another sharp sound. The king himself rises, "So, they spoke true, a ship from elsewhere has come to our shores. Where do you hail from?" Linnael quirks a smile as he stands. "All sorts of different places... but directly? From Necromundus, and through Port Poxy to explore the seas of Atrum Viscus." Alexia remains where she is, her head coming up so that she may look up at the king, but she lets Lin be the spokesperson this time. Amanda jerks a head toward Linnael. "What she said. I got there through Granale 4, China, Japan, Russia... complicated. Th' first answer she gave's th' best." Akinoos titls his head to the side about, "Tell me more of this Necromundus and it's port, how do we get there?" he looks to Amanda, "...and of Granale 4, china, Japan and Russia? How do we get there?" Linnael closes his eyes. "You can't get to Granale 4, China, Japan, or Russia. Those places... are all alive." He takes in a breath, giving Amanda a rather sharp look at the misrepresentation of his gender. "Necromundus is the realm of the dead... and all the places connected to it are inhabited only by the deceased." He looks to the king with a faint smile. "Even here has to be, unless I've somehow misunderstood the rules." Alexia moves to stand, "Begging your majesty's pardon, but...may I ask why you would want to go to Necromundus?" she asks. Amanda gives a slight nod back, and a look that says, 'Oh, I made a mistake. But you /look/ like a girl.' "I wouldn't suggest headin' t' any a' those places. Even if ya could, they'd probably shoot at ya. We're a bit edgy. Necromundus, howevah, I'm sure someone can draw up a' chart." She looks over to Alexia, and nods. "Same question. Trade?" "We have everything we need here but...you see, we've thought for the longest time that we were alone here, which is why sighting your ship caused such a stir," the king says, moving off the dias and towards the group, "We were once a proud people, and greedy at that. We had everything we needed, riches, food, supplies, everything. But we wanted more, we were greedy, and so we decided to take it for ourselves, what we thought was ours. We attacked our neighbors, but they threw us back." he looks up at this, "Posseidon was angry with us, and awoke The Kraken. Try as we might, we could not defend ourselves against it, and our fair city as you see it now was utterly destroyed, Posseidon made me watch as every stone was undone. He banished us here, in this form. We've had a /long/ time to think about our mistakes," Linnael lowers his sunglasses, frowning a bit. "I see," he says. "That might be why that thing attacked us last time... We've been mapping Atrum Viscus on our voyages. I don't think it would be too much trouble to establish official contact between our homes. I can provide you with directions." "You can guarantee then that this greed you had will not become an issue again then?" Lexi asks, "Not meaning to be disrespectful, but...we can't be too careful, now can we," she adds. Amanda doesn't have much more to say on offical contact. She just simple frowns again. "Well. That was a bit of an arrogant war. But a' least ya didn't go t' war when ya had nothin'. That's worse." She says this with conviction. "Glad ya thought 'bout it, though. Guess we'll go back an' roll out th' red carpet, ehh?" Alkinoos looks to Linn, shaking his head, "The Kraken is not here, if this is truly the land of the dead as you say, the Kraken is not dead, or else the world is dead," he replies, before looking to Alexia, "We have repented, and we can assure you that it is no longer an issue, we wish to coexist with others in peace," and finally to Amanda, "Red carpet?" Linnael blinks - not that it's really visible. "That... certainly seemed like a kraken, though," he says softly. "Though, I suppose it could have just been an oversized octopus." Alexia smiles and nods, "Aye, if y'are friendly then we can show you the way," she agrees, "And we were attacked by a Kraken not too far back, made calamari of it too. It was very tastey," she admits with a giggle. "Peace. Well. /Lovely/ sentiment. Everyone says that, too." She says... and nothing more. Just in the tone that she thinks it's quaint they beleive they can do it. "Ani't my decision weathe o' not ya go with us. I'm just muscle. But I'm 'ganist it. An' th' red carpet. Means... welcomin' dignataries. Movie Stars. Those sortta people." Amanda said that. "Ah, you must've ran inta /a/ Kraken," the king replies with a nod, "Not /the/ Kraken," he looks to Amanda, "Movie stars? You speak of strange things," he replies, before he looks to the group, "You must be famished and exausted, may we provide refreshments?" Linnael turns to look at Amanda. Quite calm and everything. Granted, a searing red light flashes through his sunglasses once, but that's gone in a flash as he turns to look at Akinoos. "We would be grateful for the hospitality, if you would have us, I'm certain." Alexia looks over to Amanda, "A test ya think?" she asks, "Or perhaps a trade situation set up, but so that we bring them the goods and all the trade happens here?" she asks, "See how that goes and go from there?" she looks back to the king at his offer though, "Aye, food does sound good." And Amanda sees such a flash. And doesn't seem to care. Hey, when you remove death as the ultimate punishment, some people become... untethered. She looks to Alexis, and shurgs. "My job hasn't been diplomatic, or trade. Maybe they wanna test us. Maybe this is a ritual. My job has been, an' will be, t' kill things. Bad things. Things that we don't like." She does perk at the mention of food. "But that's gettin' on my good side. Maybe they'll have halfway decent fish an' chips." The king nods, "Then we shall head to the dining hall to eat," he smiles a bit, "And if you need rest we would be more than willing to provide quarters, although if you wish to return to your ship that is perfectly understandable," there's a smile, which reveals multiple sharp little teeth, "Do excuse the people though, word of your coming has spread rather quickly, and they will all be wanting to meet you," Linnael folds up his sunglasses, tucking them onto the collar of his shirt. "I believe that shouldn't be any real trouble," he says confidently. "And thank you, again. I look forward to being able to learn more about your city." Alexia waits quietly now, letting Lin go back to being the spokes person, and when they move on toward the food she would follow. Amanda shurgs. "Everythin's salted on th' ship. I'll eat here. Ya probably aren't gonna kill us." She says, matter of factly. She... probably doesn't want to meet a lot of people in a crowd. She, at least, goes behind Lin, acknowledging he's in charge. For the moment, at least. "Then let us eat," the king states as he moves towards the great doors, followed by various aides and guards. Linnael nods and smiles, just following everyone else out. Alexia falls in behind Lin and Amanda, bringing up the rear of the group.
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