The Island of Many Fates

Kasam nodded, not turning from the window.

"Kasam von Fenris, captain of the Siren Queen. The girl on deck is Kryoni, the girl who should be joining us shortly is Cora, the tall man is Tason, and the blind one is Anris. We're all pleased to make your acquaintance, and we hope that your stay on-board will be pleasant and relatively uneventful--and that once we reach our destination, you will leave alive and without having lost too much of your mind or your body."

He turned around, pointing an accusing finger at Artemis.

"As for you, you're a fool. You cannot call yourself a fighter, for the first tenant of the fighter is to survive, while you fight to die. You cannot call yourself a warrior, for the first tenant of the warrior is to fight with honor, and your hatred consumes your honor. You cannot call yourself a soldier, for the first tenant of the soldier is to follow orders, and you follow none. You are nothing but a blind fool with a sword."

Axelle waved two fingers in the air. "My name is Axelle, and this idiot is Artemis." She said with a smile. Her eyes moved to Kasam as she heard him burst out at Artemis. She stared, but spoke no words. Turning to Artemis, she waited for his response.

Indigo's jaw dropped, and he started incredulously at the captain. "... Ouch," Alistar said simply, eyebrows raised. But then again, seeing how he's been acting... he'll probably just brush it off.

"Fool with a sword, Master Kasam? Well, why not. I daresay many fools have had more fun in life than all those people you just mentioned. Let me see...I never wanted to be a fighter. I fight with honor and hatred; no matter how much I despise the person in front of me," and here Artemis looked directly ahead of himself, at Kasam, "I never battle unhonorably. I would rather go back to living my bastard of a father. But if honor means loving your enemy, then I suppose I have none. And a soldier I could never be, and don't want to. I suppose I am a fool with a sword, then; for apparently one can only be one of four things if one carries a sword. Therefore, I choose the only one you say I can be."

"Do not judge others if you do not know them, O Great and Exalted One. If you just want an excuse to insult me, then say so. For if not, I will take it as an insult, and one of the both of us will die. I don't judge prematurely; there is a great possibility of you being stronger, better, faster, more skillful than me. But I will not judged by anyone else without my permission." Artemis looked at Kasam cooly. "Either you know too little about,the world, or you think you know too much. Please do not disappoint me...I do not wish for my employer too merely be another one of the great quantity of idiots that inhabit this pathetic world." Artemis closed his eyes, then turned Alistar and his siblings, his eyes shining.

"Why, yes, I suppose you could say that. The morphine and the Vicodin are the only two that could be described as the 'Pink Floyd' kind. A good time to meet," he said, in greeting. He then turned to Axelle. "Idiot? Well, what does that make you, then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Or was that endearing?" he smirked.

Kasam smirked derisively. The swaying of the boat was now a violent tossing that kept the instruments on the captain's desk constantly sliding.

"No one escapes my judgement, Artemis. No one ever escapes my judgement, and I am never wrong."

He pointed his finger at Artemis again and an pink glow started to build up beneath the skin of his fingertip, like the light of a lantern covered by a pair of hands. Heat filled the cabin, radiating from his outstretched finger.

"...and I never lose. Never."

The door slammed open and Kryoni stumbled in, cursing under her breath. When she saw Kasam's threatening pose and the person whom it was aimed at, her hand went instantly to her swordhilt. Behind her, Anris walked in, curiously stable on the unstable ground, followed by Tason, supporting Cora.

Kasam glanced at them, and grunted in irritation. He snapped his fingers, and the glow disapated in a brief red flash. Smoke trailed up from his fingers, but he paid it no heed. Kryoni relaxed--a little bit.

Artemis' rage built up and he stood. He ignored the people who had just entered. his hand twitched towards his katana's hilt. "Do you want to fight me? Or better yet, just kill me?!" He grimaced horribly, then sat down again. Calm down, calm down, damn it! LEAVE ME ALONE! He held his had in his hands, looking unlike a small child who has been abandoned. "Please," he whispered, so that only Axelle could hear him, and that had been unintentional. "Stop." He reached towards his morphine.

Axelle's breathing cut short. She reached forward, intending to hug Artemis, but stopped. No. You aren't friends. But.. "Artemis." She breathed, tipping up his head. "Don't." Her other hand reached for his in an attempt to keep him from grabbing the drug. "You can't run." She whispered, and pulled him into a hug.

Kasam sneered scornfully, and turned back to the porthole. Kryoni came
to his side, standing close to him. He could feel her body heat, her
warm breath against his ear. She spoke quietly.

"Will he not break quickly once we reach the island?"

Kasam glared out at the storm for a moment, then shook his head.

"No. His soul is weak and tattered, but his body is strong. The madness
of the island will not affect him so much as us. He may even like it. I
know none of the rest will."

A mirthless grin twisted his lips. Kryoni frowned, and lowered her voice even further.

"Kasam...will any of them survive?"

He shrugged his shoulders and grimaced, then he turned to face her.

"Maybe. If they do we'll take them back where we found them with the
reward they wanted. That's not your problem, though--you just stay
alive, Kryoni."

Cora crouched and laid her hand on Artemis's arm, breathing out slowly.
She sent a cool rush of numbness through his body, dulling his senses
and slowing his mind. She stood again and walked to one of the cabin's
corners. There she huddled, waiting patiently for the storm to end.
Kasam glanced at her, and let out a soft, dark chuckle. Cora amused him. It was why he kept her.

Artemis felt Axelle's embrace as if it wasn't being given to him, but rather o someone far away. His eyes, dull no, looked up at her, and ceased struggling for his drug. "Can't run away? I've been running for my entire life." His dead eyes stared at her for a few more seconds, then he collapsed into her embrace. Eyes glistening, he looked directly into her eyes. "This is too hard. I shouldn't have come. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

Then Cora touched his arm, and he felt his senses deaden. He managed to retain most of his cognitive functions, but they seemed sluggish. He looked at Axelle, with his dull and glistening eyes.

Axelle held Artemis close. "It's fine." She muttered, looking up at Cora. "Why did you do that?" She asked calmly, her eyes showing no signs of pain or fear. Merely wonder.

Artemis could only look at Axelle's face. He seemed to lack the will to move his body. "Don't let them...hurt me..." he whispered. His entire mind was focused on conveying the simple fact that he wanted nothing else bad to happen. But he felt no shame anymore.

David and Richard stumbled into the cabin, obviously late. They completely missed the drama. "Why can't we stay in our cabins?" Richard asked.

[[ Erm, "sibling," Artemis. Singular. Elsa's not related. =P ]]

Cora shrugged her shoulders silently, and stayed in her corner. Tason looked at Richard from the corner of his eye.

"Because it's safer here, little man."

The Phantom Squee wrote:

[[ Erm, "sibling," Artemis. Singular. Elsa's not related. =P ]]

(Whoops.)

Several loud thumps sounded from below. Kasam lunged back towards the porthole, peering intently through it. Kryoni darted to his side, hand on her sword. Tason pulled the door open and stuck his head outside. A moment later, he drew his head back, a grim expression on his face.

"Kasam, we've got company."

Kasam lurched outside, fighting the violent rolling of the ship, and gripped the cabin's outside railing. He stared down at the deck. Three amphibian creatures stood there. Their backs each had a row of spines down them, webbed between spines to look almost like a dorsal fin. They were covered in scales, their fingers, toes, elbows, knees, and even underarms were webbed, and their hands ended in long, slender needle-like claws. Their features resembled those of a giant frog more than anything else, other than the spiny crests of bone behind their heads. Kasam's lips tightened.

"Sea Folk."

Hearing the name, Anris tensed--he could not see the enemy, but he knew what the name meant. Kryoni's face was pale, but not surprised. She stepped forward, and prodded Artemis with her toe.

"Get up. Now's the time to prove me right in choosing you for this trip. Get out there and fight."

She looked up at David and Richard. "You two as well. If we don't get rid of those things, they'll rip apart the ship. Get moving."

Sea Folk (x3)
Level: 2
HP: 30
MP: 0
ATK: 8
DEX: 8
CON: 6
INT: 6
WIS: 6
CHA: 4

(Go for it, folks! Other judges: feel free to judge this battle too with me.)

Artemis felt his numbness wear away instantly. This was something he could do. The probably one thing he was good at. The problem was, he wouldn't feel any joy as he killed them, seeing as they weren't human. He stood up, extracting himself from Axelle's hug, then drew his sword. It's blade was a dull red-brown; evidently, Artemis did not waste time cleaning it.

He looked at Axelle, all traces of his recent weakness and pain gone. "Stay here. This shouldn't take long." He glanced at Richard and David. "You coming?"
He strode over to the door, past Kasam, and stepped into the doorway, being drenched in the storm's spray. Ugh, the ship's lurching may make it a bit more difficult...but if I time it right... Artemis' mind had forgotten about everything else; his focus was now only on his enemy and the battlefield.

He stepped out onto the deck carefully. "Hello there," he said, calmly. He then raised his katana horizontally, and charged the Sea Folk.

(OoC: This is technically my first RP battle, so hopefully I don't do it that badly. If there' anything wrong, correct me, by all means.)

David sighed. Richard spoke, saying "Sea People? Why would they want us?" Smirking, he continued,"Still, it'd be rude to ignore them."

Again, David sighed. "Come on Ricky," he said, and the two traipsed into the storm. David held his staff in front of him, readied for battle, while Richard drew his sword.

"Rick, take the left one," David said, and he took three steps to the right, ready to engage it in battle. He looked around. His magic would be useless here. He'd just have to outsmart it. He smacked his staff on the ground three times, as if in warning.

Richard stood where he was while David moved, and at the first clatter made by his staff, he lunged at his target, reaching out for it's heart.

(((Artemis, I just kinda gave you the middle one. Hope you don't mind.)))

After discovering that his employer was the queen of Venierre, Worell returned to his own room, rather overwhelmed by the whole idea. He still had little knowledge of what this adventure was about.

He heard a loud noise that seemed to come out of nowhere, and sounded quite like an explosion. Boyd pulled open the door and called to Worell, "We've got company!" And he was right. Worell ran out onto the deck, and saw a little ways across the water, another large ship was firing cannonballs at their ship.

The pirate ship was getting closer, almost within range to board the royal vessel. The queen ran out onto the deck with Geneva and Madame LaFonte following. "Madam, what should we do?" Geneva showed a frantic side of her that Worell had yet to see. Yet the queen seemed the same as always, calm, almost serene.

The sailors were trying their hardest to retaliate, but the royal galleon wasn't made for thwarting pirates. Soon, the pirates boarded the royal galleon and began to attack the crew.

Meanwhile, Worell, the queen, Geneva, and Boyd had run into the cabins. "Well, let's not waste any time. Follow me!" The queen said, leading them down a hidden trapdoor under a rug in her room. The followed the wooden steps down to a chamber that had a smaller ship within it.

"This ship is our only hope," the queen said. Worell looked around, asking, "Where is Madame LaFonte?" A look of realization came over the queens face, but she quickly ushered the three into the boat. After she got in, she closed the top of the ship, explaining, "This is a rather new development, called the submarine. With it, we'll be able to travel underwater. By opening the hatch to let ourselves out, we will be sinking the ship. That means, there's no going back."

On the deck, a bag of gold was exchanged between the captain of the pirates and a certain black lace-covered hand. "Now, all we need to do is find the queen and were little crew of adventurers. Then it will be a done deal." Two pirate grunts ran into the cabin area. Madame LaFonte then crossed the plank onto the pirate ship, calling behind her, "I'll be waiting."

She was now on the pirate ship, and turned with a smirk that was soon wiped away; the huge and grand galleon was sinking into the sea. The captain and a few grunts were able to make it across the plank, but the ship soon fell under the surface, taking several of the pirates with it.

"They got away," Madame LaFonte said, annoyed. "We'll have to go after them." The pirate captain gave her a look. "Oh, don't worry; we're going to an island with riches beyond your dreams. There will be plenty of gold." And the pirate ship began to sail.

In the submarine, Geneva pulled out the chart which she had, wittingly, grabbed from the cabin. "It looks like we're on course," she said, relieved. "Well then," the queen said, "We'll be seeing them again before long." And Worell then seemed to know what she meant. And with that, the small, streamlined underwater boat sped along towards their destination.

(((No problem, Bane)))

Artemis heard David's words. He changed his direction slightly, and slashed at the Sea Folk in the center. He felt the bloodlust rush through his veins.

After a second of thought, Alistar shook his head. Indigo attempted to run onto the deck to battle, but Alistar put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"No you don't. This is more than you can handle." Indigo looked about to respond, but changed his mind at the last second and shut up, scowling.

"Monsters, my specialty," Elsa said, reaching up for the sabre sheathed across her back. "Alistar, you should probably keep an eye on Indigo. I'll go help the others."

"Just what I was thinking," Alistar responded, nodding.

Elsa stepped onto the deck and grinned, drawing her weapon. It was apparent that it hadn't been very well taken care of; the blade was rather rusty and beat-up. Otherwise, however, it had obviously once been a high-quality weapon. Cape swirling around her, Elsa moved closer to the man with the staff--David, was that his name?--and threw him a glance to let him know she would help, then circled around behind it and lunged.

OOC: Dammit. I just realized that only the main characters actually have a list of stats. >_> If we're gonna use the system with the entire party, I'll need to go through and write up stats for all the characters. Ain't that just loverly. I'll try to finish that tonight. Give me a bit.

EDIT: Make that tomorrow.

Tason mounted the railing in one bound and leaped out over the deck, snatching his axe from his belt and pulling it over his head with both hands. He landed before Richard's opponent, bringing the axe down with a crash. The Sea Folk fighter's scales deflected the very worst of the blow, but it still staggered back. It swiped at Richard as he came at it, but missed entirely. His blade, however, scored it deeply. It backed away, bleeding profusely.

Richard & Tason vs. Sea Folk
Richard attacks: (17+3)-(8+4)=8 damage
Sea Folk: 22 HP left
Tason attacks: (17+3)-(8+2)=10 damage
Sea Folk: 12 HP left
Sea Folk attacks: (8+5)-(11+6)=no damage

Within the cabin, Cora's eyes were closed. She was concentrating intensely, seeking out her target. She felt the slippery touch of the aquatic mind and struck. Artemis's opponent reeled, clawing at its head in agony. Kasam, standing on the balcony, pointed his finger at it and furrowed his brow. The pink glow started to build under his fingernail again until, with a blast of smoke, a fist-sized bolt of fire erupted from his hand and struck the Sea Folk in the chest. It fell back, shaking its head, then sighted Artemis. It charged him and was knocked back by his sword.

Cora & Kasam & Artemis vs. Sea Folk
Cora attacks: (14+3)-(6+6)=5 damage
Sea Folk: 25 HP left
Kasam attacks: (8+3)-(6+2)=3 damage
Sea Folk: 22 HP left
Artemis attacks: (17+4)-(8+2)=11 damage
Sea Folk: 11 HP left
Sea Folk attacks: (8+1)-(11+5)=no damage

Kryoni vaulted over the balcony, followed shortly by Anris. The blind man showed remarkable agility on the uneven deck, racing towards David's opponent and scoring a heavy blow across its thigh. David's staff caught it on the chest, then Kryoni's sword cleaved into its scales. It staggered back, straight into the path of Elsa's sword. It jerked around and swiped at her, but missed completely.

Anris & David & Kryoni & Elsa vs. Sea Folk
Anris attacks: (11+6)-(8+2)=7 damage
Sea Folk: 23 HP left
David attacks: (8+6)-(8+1)=5 damage
Sea Folk: 18 HP left
Kryoni attacks: (17+5)-(8+3)=11 damage
Sea Folk: 7 HP left
Elsa attacks: (11+6)-(8+6)=3 damage
Sea Folk: 4 HP left
Sea Folk attacks: (8+6)-(11+3)=no damage

OOC: please keep in mind that your stats are used according to the way in which you attacked. If a mage attacks using a physical attack (as David did), the ATK stat will be used. If a fighter attacks using a magical attack (as Kasam did), then INT stat will be used. Keep going, guys! One or two more hits each and they're D.E.D.

Artemis threw himself at the Sea Folk again, his blade crying out for blood. He laughed as he slashed it, intense joy flowing through his veins.

(OoC: I'm not sure how to calculate stats, so...)

OOC: (your ATK+1d6)-(enemy's DEX+1d6) Is the damage done. There's a list of character stats that I put up in the character creation subforum.

Kasam sighted along the length of his arm, then released a second fireball. He lowered his hand, surveying the deck with intense displeasure. The fireball hit the Sea Folk in the face. It clutched at its eyes in agony, and was nearly sliced in half by Artemis's blade. It fell to the ground, bleeding feebly. Slowly, the light left its eyes.

Kasam & Artemis vs. Sea Folk
Kasam attacks: (8+5)-(6+1)=6 damage
Sea Folk: 5 HP left
Artemis attacks: (17+1)-(8+1)=9 damage
Sea Folk: no HP left
Sea Folk is defeated!

Kryoni skidded to a halt and charged again. The Sea Folk heard the pounding of her footsteps and turned to meet her. She whirled into the air, snapping her sword around and up. The frog-like head sailed overboard, falling into the raging seas with a splash.

Kryoni vs. Sea Folk
Kryoni attacks: (17+2)-(8+3)=8 damage
Sea Folk: no HP left
Sea Folk is defeated!

Tason charged the last Sea Folk in a blind fury, smashing aside its weakened attempt at an attack. He grabbed it by its neck and lifted it into the air. He pulled it to him, crushing it against his chest. Anris heard its agonized squeals and darted to Tason's side. He plunged his dagger under the amphibian's chin, silencing it for good.

Tason & Anris vs. Sea Folk
Tason attacks: (17+2)-(8+1)=10 damage
Sea Folk: 2 HP left
Anris attacks: (11+1)-(8+1)=3 damage
Sea Folk: 0 HP left
Sea Folk is defeated!

+60 EXP to all
+30 gold to all