Nighttime.
The stars are bright, but the moon is brighter, illuminating the sparkling ocean's surface and giving the cloud-spotted sky a midnight blue hue. A lone ship rocks quietly on the water's surface, banking right... then left... with the same rhythm and continuity. A brightness of fire and the shouts and hollers of the sailors can be heard, accompanied by gay music and melodious tunes. Waves crash upon the shoreline cliffs, not far from where the ship is anchored, as the clouds remove themselves from the moon's bold face.
A figure stands upon that cliff.
Her cape flutters flamboyantly behind her with each whoosh of the sea's winds. Her gaze seems to rest on the ocean. More accurately, her gaze seems to rest on the ship which resounds with celebrations of some sort. Lowering her hands from her hips to their respective sides, she takes a small step forward. A few small rocks drop from the cliff's end, eventually splashing into the surf below. A group of clouds moves over the moon, and our lovely heroine jumps off the cliff.
A large wave hits the ship and rocks it violently; the sailors cease their celebrations. The shouts of gayety and merrymaking are replaced by shouts of panic, the captain taking command and barking orders like your typical sea dog. A few men climb up each mast of the ship, that of which there are three. Once the three men reach the top of the masts and into the crow's nests, one shouts out, "No storm, cap'n!" The captain ruffles his thick beard, biting into the pipe in his mouth. Smoke curls around his head and he mutters. "Arg... might it be a sea serpent?"
An explosion occurs near the stern of the ship. A charred sailor lands in front of the captain and stands up shakily, the captain looking rather surprised. "EhHh... wE're UndEr aTtACk... cap--" he blubbers before he passes out. The captain barks to the crew on deck. "RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!" The crew gives a resounding "Aye-aye, cap'n!" A black flag with a skull and crossbones goes up to the tops of the main masts. "Man the cannons, damn the torpedoes! Lookout, where be the enemy vessel?!"
The lookout seems to be sweating, his voice heavy with anxiety. "Cap'n, sir? There... there IS no enemy vessel..." The captain cacks. "WWWHAAAAT?! That be impossible, Mr. Rogers! Thare MUST be an enemy vessel! Now do yer job right, ya' limey bilge rat! FIND IT!!" The clouds move from the moon's heaven, and the ship is clearly visible. "Hey... who's that?" The captain blinks. "Who's that? What kind of trick are ye tryin' ta' play on me, boy?!" The watchman answers. "Some flat-chested wench in a fruity getup!"
Flat-chested? How DARE he make shameless, unawarranted comments about my chest and fashion sense?! "WHAAAAAT?! YOU'LL REGRET THAT COMMENT, SERPENT-MEAL!!! FIRE... BALL!!" I make a swinging-arm motion and fling a ball of flame at the main mast. The captain dives for cover and the fireball explodes, showering the deck in the red-hot flames of my anger! Such is the just desserts for anyone that crosses the beautiful sorceress supreme, Rina Erris! Oh yeah. That's me, by the way. The fireball did a good job. Here comes the main mast... down like a big ol' tree! It does nothing but fuel the little bonfire I have going on-deck.
I look down off of the second deck. Well well... it looks like Captain Krunj has managed to get up and away from the flames in time... Here I smile wickedly. About now, the crew members are scampering around and dropping their lifeboats. Embers dance about the night air, a few landing on the sails which are curled up on the cross-mast. Those soon go up in flames as the abandon ship continues. I keep my smile and float down to where Krunj is. He gets up and backs himself as far as he can: about three feet. Heheheh... He looks pretty scared. I guess all that fire behind me does make me more than a little scary. I grin impishly and stoop close to him. "Aww, what's the matter? I thought you were the toughest buccaneer on the Demon Sea."
He stutters and his breaths come to and from in broken arrangements. "I-I-I...*gulp* I a-am, lit-little girl! Ar-argh!" I stand and smile. "Then I suppose you won't mind me killing you. It'll only make me more popular!" The captain erks and scrambles. I let him while I laugh a little... before chanting an incantation. "Ya' limey bilge rats! Help me ouuuuuut!!" Too late, brave captain! "Fireball!" BOOM! He gets toasted by my fireball and falls into the sea, probably fish food by now. Thus was the end to Captain Krunj.... felled by the great sorceress, Rina Erris! Yay!!
I turn around and cringe at the flames. I don't want this ship to go down, not with all the treasure it's probably got in the holds! I snap my fingers and point to the sky over me. "Aqua Create!" Like magic (hee hee), a good amount of water splashes down and ousts the flames quickly. I clasp my hands together, for I am now very happy, "All mine!" Now that the flames of my anger are quelled, it's time to get to business. As expected, I go down into the holds through the captain's quarters. Heh... he seemed to live the good life, for a pirate. All this stuff would sell high on the free market! I'll come back for the select pieces later. Right now, on to the holds!
"Lighting!" My palm heats up, per usual, and a ball of light forms in my hands. Ah, jeez! I could've been blinded! "Whoa, look at all the gold... how did the ship not sink?" I grin as a go to picking out my share of the goods. This stuff was much too good for those lowlife bandits! They've got lots and lots of gems, so I'll just take a couple sackfulls. I know a way I can put these flawed rubies to use, but I can't do it here. No, it would be too risky...
Ow well. Looks like I'm loaded down for tonight! The mighty Rina does it again! Getting off of this ship will be a piece of cake and finding a place to stay will be even easier since money talks. Loudly.
"Heeey! What's going on up there?!" Huh? I didn't it mean seriously! "Helloooo? Somebody let me out!" Oh... apparently, I missed one. Well, wouldn't it be rude of me if I didn't help him out...? Of course it would be! So, with a smile, I blow down the door. "Diem Wind!" The door splinters at my wind spell, and what do I see?
Well, this boat must've also been a fishing boat because he's quite a catch! The ball of light which resulted from my lighting spell was following me, so I could see him clearly. He certainly wasn't a pirate; he's too well-kept... well, for a prisoner, like it seems he was. Right now, all he's wearing is a red tunic and black pants. His boots are down on the floor beside him, and his bright blonde hair looks as if he was asleep (bedhead, y'know), save for the long part which is tied in a ponytail at the bottom. I start to wonder what's up with him, since all he does is stare at me for a little while. I soon grow curious and speak up. "Hey, what's the matter?"
"Hm?" he answers me, a look of confusion on his face. Not long thereafter, he comes out with "What are you doing on a pirate ship, little girl?" I facefault in his wake, almost falling over as I feel my knees go weak after that slight surprise. I raise a brow and give him an annoyed look. "Little girl?" He nods and looks side to side as he stands... wow... he's pretty tall. I'd say he's around six feet, maybe more. His voice breaks my thought: "It's dangerous around here!" He is starting to annoy me a little, now... and we've only known each other for.... less than a minute. "Wha--?" He had already rushed by me, boots and all on and buckled. Jeez he's fast.
"Um... what are you doing?!" The jerk is picking me up already! "I'm gonna take you out of here, little girl. Don't be afraid now..." he tells me. Yeah, I'm sure he means well but... "Put me down! I can take care of myself, you know!" He just sorta' blinks... then he puts me down. At least he got the point the first time. But, before I can say anything to help my case, he starts his well-meaning heroic talk again. "Shhh! They'll hear you..." He sneaks across the hallway and down to the captain's quarters. Uhh... right. Maybe I should tell him that I caused all the pirates to jump ship...
"Um, hey guy... maybe I should tell you that--" He interrupts me. He seems to be in a world of his own. "The captain's right up here...--" Now I will interrupt this message! "Hey--" he interrupts me again. "I'll distract him and you can steal one of the lifeboats on the ship...--" I narrow my eyes and burst, "CAN IT, YOU DOPE!" He looks at me with a kind of hurt expression. I only scowl. "Everyone on this ship has left! Got it? There was a fire and they all jumped ship!" He scratches his temple and looks up at me with his green eyes. He suddenly lunges at me. Instinctively, I shuffle off to the right so that he misses me. I only hear a couple of thuds before I turn around. Whoa. Pretty boy floored two guys that I somehow missed in one hit.
He gets up and dusts his tunic, "Phew. That was pretty close there, little girl. Maybe I should keep you safe until you get home to your mommy and daddy." I can feel my eye twitch. Mommy? Daddy? Does he have any idea where I live? Well... obviously not. Now I have to thank him; it's only common courtesy and it's the way I was raised. I'll have to suppress my frustrations at him a little bit, though. "Hey... um... thank you... for saving me." He smiles and starts going up to the captain's cabin. "Ah, don't mention it! Was I going to stand by and let them kill a cute girl like you?" Now that's more like it! At least he's taken notice of my irresistible charm!
Well, now that we're on the deck of the ship, I guess we can take one of the leftover lifeboats to go. In fact, that's exactly what Mr. Bodyguard goes to do. Come to think of it, I start to wonder if the guy has a name. He drops the boat into the water and lowers the ladders, insisting that I go first. It's rude to refuse someone else's generosity, so I went ahead at his request. Heh. He came after, and almost fell because the rope of the ladders was partially singed and broke, but he came down just okay... although he did rock the boat a little when he did.
"So..." he started, "... where are you going? I thought for a second. Although I hadn't really decided, I was pretty set on going to New Zoana from here. I guess that's where I'm headed then. "Me? Uh, New Zoana.." He hmms for a moment and mutters, "... New Zoana, eh? That's pretty far from here." Uh, yeah. You aren't planning on going with me there, are you? Well, let's find out... "Eh heh... why?" I smile slightly, feeling my forehead become cold with sweat. He picks the oars up and starts rowing steadily. "I can take you there!" I grit my teeth and moan in panic. Big brother, here, with me, all the way to New Zoana?! Ohoho noooo... "Ehhh! Can we talk this out?? I can get along on my own, you know!" He nods, "Yeah, I know, but it's my duty to keep you safe until you get there!" Oh boy... I just go along with him. I can see that arguing'll get me nowhere. "Ohhhh alright..." He looks up, smiling widely, "I'm Kari Nobil. And what's your name?" Oh? An introduction now? I smile and answer; I can't just give him the cold shoulder after letting him "save" me like that. "The name's Rina. Rina Erris!" This is gonna be a loooong journey... but hey! It might not be so bad, right?
