The Island of Many Fates

OOC:So this is where the actual adventure that got started in the "Sign of the Blue Sailor" thread happens. To my knowledge, we have all five of my characters, plus Bane's David and Richard, Artemis's Artemis Fowl () and Axelle's, well, Axelle. I won't object to any stowaways or unexpected arrivals, but once we're on the island, the only way to run into us is basically by getting shipwrecked, 'cause it's virtually impossible to find the island without the right charts (i.e., Kasam's).

Kasam stood waiting outside. His dark hair was being blown gently by the night breeze. Behind him, a massive figure appeared from the darkness. His skin was the color of rich, dark copper, and he wore little clothing, only a vest and shortened trousers. He slip the one-handed axe he carried through a loop in his trousers and stood behind Kasam, arms folded. Across from them, a beggar with a blindfold across his useless eyes stood, his cloak slipping a little to reveal the oiled leather fighting clothes beneath. None of them said anything, but it was clear that they were a group. They waited in silence.

Kryoni emerged from the pub building. When she came out, the breeze blew her hair sideways from her face, clearly displaying her fine features against her dark skin. She automatically touched her sword hilt when she saw the blind man, then nodded in recognition and relaxed. Cora moved out from behind her, took a deep breath, and let it out audibly. She shook her head as if clearing it, swinging her white braids, then joined the blind man. He didn't look at her--he couldn't--but he moved to allow her to pass behind him.

They waited in silence.

"Come on, Axelle. It won't do to keep them waiting." Artemis steered Axelle toward the door. "Ready?" he asked sardonically. "Oh, wait. You're always ready, aren't you." He stepped outside, the wind ruffling his hir slightly. "Ready, oh commander!" he yelled loudly into the darkness.

[[ Hmm, stowaways it is. ^^ ]]

"That one looks good," Indigo whispered from his spot, crouched behind a stack of crates. "The people all look like adventurers, so they must be off somewhere cool. You could write a song about it, bro." Alistar heaved a sigh.

"Look, Indigo, I'm not so sure we should be going through with this. I mean, if you really want to go with them, we can talk face-to-face, but stowing away--"

"Aww, it's not like we're gonna be stealing their food," Indigo retorted. "We've got plenty for ourselves."

"How do you know that? You don't even know how long they'll be at sea!" Alistar hissed. He turned around to look at Elsa, who had remained silent. "Come on, you'll back me up in this. It's a bad idea."

"Er... I think you might want to keep an eye on your brother," Elsa said, pointing. Alistar whipped around.

"Oh, for the love of... gahh." He heaved a sigh of frustration. Indigo had snuck around to the opposite side of the ship and used his whip as in impromptu rope to climb on. Alistar just caught sight of him heading down to the cargo hold. "Well, guess we're going after all," he said grudgingly. "Come on, let's see if we can get them to take us too. Legitimately." He stood and began to make his way toward the strange group, smiling despite the fact that his face was concealed by his mask.

David and Richard stepped outside, both wrapped in cloaks. David used his staff as a walking stick, and Richard was buckling his sword to his belt.

David jerked his head at the alley, and Richard ducked into it. A few seconds later he walked back out, and stood waiting to leave for the ship.

Axelle pulled her arm away from Artemis.

"Shut up." She hissed, glaring at him. Her eyes moved to the others, but she didn't say anything, merely stood, tapping her foot and allowed her hair to be whipped around by the wind. She closed her eyes, not caring what happened.

Artemis looked at Axelle, shrugging. "You should never close your eyes around people you don't know. Didn't your mother teach you that? Plenty of cruel, indecent, mean people out there." He smiled laconically. "Oh my, I just described myself, didn't I..."

Axelle opened an eye and looked at Artemis through it. "You? Please, you don't scare me." She caught her breath, and closed her eye again.

"Ah, but that's because you don't know me." Artemis chortled, looking at her. "You wouldn't like to..." He trailed off.

"I know what I need to know, coward." She muttered, rolling her eyes beneath the lids. "Besides, you know nothing of me, either."

Artemis' eyes narrowed into venomous slits. "Coward?", he hissed. "How dare you? I've done things you couldn't imagine, you foolish girl..." He attempted to recover, but his facial muscles seemed to be ignoring him.

Axelle felt quite accomplished. She'd managed to piss off Artemis, master of the piss off. Her body moved swiftly in front of the boy, her lips pressed against his neck, her arms wrapped around him despite his struggles. Lips parted, she began to speak, blowing hot air against his neck.

"Foolish? Hardly." She whispered. "I'm older than you, boy. Watch yourself." Stepping back, she smirked, and turned around to find something fun to do.

Artemis, quite literally, froze. He attempted to to reply wittily, but all he managed to say was a very unimpressive "Gah..." WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Artemis still didn't move. That was uncomfortable. And fun. Artemis shook his head, finally clearing it. "You...you may be older, but I have certainly more experience in the world than you, you...you..."

Axelle turned, striding back over to Artemis. Her finger tapped his chin and she smiled. "I...I...I what?" Her face moved dangerously close to Artemis'. "And what do you know? How do you know my experience?"

This isn't happening. "Oh, if by experience you mean..." Artemis laughed shakily, distracted by the small amount of space between their faces.

Axelle giggled. "No, that's not what I meant." She whispered, moving back. "Now, tell. Please, I'd love to know of your oh-so-intriguing experiences. I'd love to know." Her eyes narrowed.

Artemis released the breath he'd been holding. She smells sweet. "My experiences?" he leered, for some reason slightly dizzy. "There have been so many...Would you like to hear about the men I've killed? Or the men I've made cry, before killing them? Or the men I've tortured, then made cry, then killed? Or the job I had as a pizza delivery boy? Or the times I've..." He grew silent, and looked away. "The fact remains that you should not judge by appearance, foolish girl."

Suddenly, there was another face between Axelle's and Artemis's. The blindfolded man had appeared without warning or any apparent motion less than an inch from their faces--or so it seemed, anyway.

"Are the two of you done? We are waiting."

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and strode off into the dark, leaving them to follow as they could.

As soon as Richard left the alley, another man stepped out behind him. Despite his blindfold, he seemed perfectly at ease with the world, not feeling about himself at all.

"We await you on board the ship." With that, he walked past them, disappearing to the deck of the ship.

As soon as Kryoni saw a man in a mask, she moved to intercept him. She blocked his way with her body, her tight grip on the hilt of her sword a clear warning that she was not in a trifling mood. She stepped aside to admit Artemis, Axelle, David, and Richard.

On board the ship, with the copper-skinned giant looming behind him, Kasam leaned quite comfortably against the lone mast. It was a small ship, with only three sleeping rooms and a cabin. In a pinch, it could have been sailed by four or five. Personally, he thought it was a magnificent little vessel, the Siren Queen.

"Welcome, my friends. My name is Kasam von Fenris, and I am your employer. You haven't been told much about where we're going, so let me fill in the gaps in your knowledge. We are going to a little island to find something that has been lost. On this island there is a great deal of wealth, if you know where to look, and as far as that wealth is concerned, it may be split any way betwixt the four of you. Your job will be to help search, and to make sure that any threat we might run into is dealt with accordingly."

He clapped his hands together, stepping forwards.

"Any questions?"

Axelle rolled her eyes at Artemis. "Oh, I'd love to! And at the same time I can tell you about my drunken father, my clinically insane mother, my dysfunctional sisters, and my disturbed brother. Ultimately, I could tell you of the encounters I had with multiple bandits as a young nine year old, the men that tried to take advantage of my on my trip into the city, and the people I had to kill to protect others from them." She laughed. "You remind me of some of those men."

As soon as the blindfolded man appeared, she jumped, but followed
him. She listened to Kasam, but didn't really have any questions. She
smiled to let the speaker know she'd heard.

Artemis laughed. Oh, such endearing problems. He raised his hand. "Why is this so boring?"

"Ah, ma'am," Alistar said, stopping when Kryoni moved between him and the ship. He held up a hand, showing he meant no hostility. "If I'm not mistaken, you seem to be a group of adventurers, yes? I was wondering if, perhaps, you might be willing to allow my partner and I to accompany you on your voyage. We're performers, you see, searching for a group to travel with, for inspiration."

Kryoni stared at him for a moment, then grudging turned aside and wordlessly ascended the plank to the ship.

Kasam shrugged. "I have no idea. Personally, if I had a beautiful woman climbing over me like a spider-monkey, I think I would be suitably entertained, but perhaps you don't, ahem, lean that way."

Axelle's eyes widened, and her face turned bright red. She tightened her lips, trying not to laugh. Pretty soon, though, she couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, doubling over from the pain in her gut because of it.

Kasam walked past her (absolutely straight-faced) towards the new, masked arrival. "Greetings--Cora, get her a drink of water--is there a reason you're on my ship?"

Artemis smirked. "Woman? Who are you- oh, you mean, that. " Obviously, I took pleasure from that. "Please, I've enjoyed the company of many finer specimens." Artemis walked towards the doubled-up Axelle, and furtively pushed her, making her lose her balance.

Axelle stopped laughing long enough to catch her balance. She stood up straight and stretched, her back aching from being hunched over. "I'm sure you have. I'm not about to say I'm gorgeous, but whatever." She smiled, not being fazed at all by Artemis' rude comment. She was getting used to him already.