The Countess! A Walk-In Airship Role Play

On route to Yevnestrel Mountain Pass

Breezy, Cold Twilight.	100.0%	[ 22 ]
Total Votes:			[ 22 ]

[ZA3B0S]

After the explosion shook and rattled them all, Zae wearily forced herself to her feet and slowly limped over the Dark who was busy trying to pick itself up with it's only working arm. She picked him up and began walking to the cabin but stopped when the machine asked her to take it to the railing, letting out a weak sigh as she did so. Dark look intensely out at the mountains the missiles came from, slowly scanning the horizon. "I think... we might be in the clear for now but.. It's still best we get out of here as quickly as possible." it said, looking up at the sky and giving it a quick scan as well. "Let's go have a talk with the captain, we'll need her help getting back to the capital."

A couple moments later, they found themselves in the helm surrounded by the people who saved them. Zae had propped her friend up in a chair while she quickly plopped on the ground, sitting up against the wall. Dark glanced around the room, looking at the motly individuals before giving it's full attention to the captain who was still waiting for answers.
"We can't begin to thank you from the nightmare you helped us escape. Without your intervention, I fear we wouldn't have been able to last another 24 hours. My name is Dark and my companion is..." Dark said, pausing as it turned and looked down at Zae who was fast asleep. It shook its head and continued.
"This is Zae and we're special exterminators for the capital. We handle jobs that take us all over the kingdom and deal with "Specialty Pests"." It continued on, explaining how they were in the middle of a job when they stumbled into trouble and started running from the giant war machine.
"That's about when you picked us up and saved us from being scattered all over the mountainside. Again, we can't thank you enough but...Ahk! Please stop screaming at me, It's hard for me to understand..."

That's when Dark noticed the glowing orb just slightly peeking out of the captain pocket. It had no idea what it was but at the same time, seemed to almost remember what is was. It continued to whisper to it but all it could make out was garbled nonsense, never ending questions, and a series of numbers, all of it repeating over and over again. Nobody else though seemed to even noticed the strange rambling which made things even odder.
"I don't mean to be rude in anyways but that thing in your pocket... Where did you come by it?" Dark asked the captain

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

Captain Rememiere had a special seat in her helm. It swiveled. And not just to the left and the right, but full circle. So, as the Countess drew higher and higher into the clouds before settling in a direction east-bound, Reme was hard at work swiveling in her little circle, a singular boot pressing upon the floor at each round, continuously speeding her spins again and again.

It was the only childish antic about her at present, for her face was pressed against her gloved knuckles, and her brow was knit firmly in place as she thought long and hard. And every time she made a pass at her two new companions, Reme's gaze lingered until she could look upon them no more in her rapid maneuvers.

So they were mercenaries of a sort? Intriguing. And, this time, they'd gone and bit off more than they could chew. The question was, what had they gone and choked on? And how involved had Reme gotten? She listened carefully to the mechanical one, while its friend got some shut-eye. Finally, when Dark had finished his briefing, his musing turned a little odd. Until he'd caught sight of the very item that had brought Reme to them in the first place.

"This?" She responded, pulling the orb from her pocket and putting a stop to her swivels. The item was no longer crimson, but a very translucent shade of yellow. She stood up from her chair, stalked over to Dark, and knelt before him, carefully holding the item in place before his gaze.

"I purchased it from a seedy merchant weeks ago. It was supposed to be leading me to treasure. Instead, it led me to you. Now, why is that?"

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

Zae had slumped down to the floor now, snoring lightly, while Dark looked at the orb with great intrigue. It felt like he should know more about this item, it seemed oddly familiar but at the same time entirely forgein. It reached up it lightly touched it. To everyone else in the room, they saw the machine begin to twitch and rattle but to the machine, the world around it began to unravel. Whatever the orb was, it began a system-wide cleaning on the machine. Decades apon millennia of corrupted memory began deleting, unearthing very old memories and forgotten data. The orb was also downloading locked files that the machine couldn't open except one which was just a series of coordinates.

After everything finished processing, Dark went limp and began emitting a low humming noise. The hum started low but began rising in tone until the machine jerked awake. It seemed confused at first, looking as it forgot it was on the flying ship. It looked at the captain and then back at Zae who was still soundly asleep.
"I-I don't quite exactly know what just happened... but whatever that little thing is, it seemed to clear my head quite a bit. I can remember things now... like that machine that was hunting us, I think it's called a Basilisk... and what we woke up... Epsilon." It said, thinking deeply.
"If you could help me find a suitable place for my friend sleep, afterwards I think we need to talk. Something bad has been set in motion and time isn't on our side."

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

Well. No one had ever said that a Captain's life would be dull.

Rememiere watched closely as the bot twitched, hummed, and then, quite surprisingly, went dead. Oh, had Reme's eyes gone wide at that point. She looked over at the girl. Would Zae blame her? It wouldn't be the first time Reme was convicted of killing some sort of electronic. It was why she left certain operations of her ship to the experts of their fields. But as her fingers made to smack him, albeit gently, on the side of his metal cranium, Dark sprung back to life.

"Ah. Basilisk. Epsilon. Right." She replied slowly, mulling the words over and again in her brain as much as she did in her mouth. "

Standing back up, she turned to a young officer nearby and nodded.

"Take the young lady, with Dark's permission of course, into the lower cabins and have one of the female attendants from the kitchen watch over her with a tray of food ready to go when she wakes up. I doubt she's eaten recently."

When Reme turned back to Dark, she looked him over carefully.

"My top mechanic is out at the moment, but we can see about finding you some...parts so that you can function a bit better. In fact, there's a town only a day's ride from here we can drop into. On the way, you can tell me more about what's going on. Especially what you just learned. I need to know if we're equipped to handle long-term problems from this, or if we should take you to someone who can..."

Her head tilted.

"Do you happen to need a power source as well? I doubt you've recharged in quite some time out here."

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

"You don't have to be gentle with her, she could sleep through the end or the world." Dark said to the officer and watched them wrestle to pick up the sleeping woman. "As for myself, I'll be okay for a couple more hours before I need to power down until Zae wakes up. I don't mean to be rude to you or your crew but she's the only one who knows how to connect the wires without shorting me out." Turning his attention back the the captain.

"You should make yourself comfortable because this might be a long story."

The machine began to explain what had happened just before they were chased all over the countryside. They had been given a job to clear out a cave full of troublesome pest that had been encroaching on villages in the area. They had just cleared out a small side passage when the stumbled into a forgotten ruin deep under the mountain but commented on how it looked hundreds of years more advanced than anything around and at the same time, looked abandoned for thousands. While exploring the ruins, they accidentally woke up something horrible. They were chased out of the mountain by the giant war machine and had been running ever since.
"I'm more than sure that was a Basilisk chasing us down. Let me see if..." Dark said. It's left eye began to click and sputter before erupting in a bright blue light. A second later, the light died down slightly and a technical hologram of the Basilisk appeared in the middle of the room. The hologram showed very detailed images, videos, and technical layouts of the design, weapons, and armor.
"I remember there were four that originally chased us but only one continued after we left the mountain. That means there's still three of them roaming around. Thankfully for us though, they are falling apart and their armor is incredibly weak. Hopefully we don't run into the others anytime soon. Atleast... until I can get a body."

"Oh dear, I think I did that rambling thing that she's always talking about. I'm terribly sorry if I inconvenienced you."

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

Evening had turned to night as the Countess made her gentle glide above the heavens. Reme's feet had tucked themselves under her in her swivel chair, but her attention was rapt as Dark's holograms and data paraded across the floors of the helm. Technology such as this was advanced. More advanced than this world ever held, and of that Rememiere was certain. When she'd skipped a dimension or two, on very brief travels with her phoenix friend, she'd seen worlds that held power such as this.

It never bode well for those being restricted by its might.

And as Dark wrapped up his discussion with an apology, the Captain raised her hand and shook her head.

"You're fine. More than fine. What you've been able to show, in such detail, gives us a clear advantage in one sort of way. We know what we're dealing with. At least, a small chip of what I'm not sure is an iceburg. We may not be equipped to handle this on our own, but you have my ship and my crew at your disposal until we find someone who can better provide you with the assistance you sorely need."

"Captain?"

A young woman had wandered into the helm. Mina from evening watch. A good lass. As she saluted her commanding officer, Reme waved off the formalities.

"Are we almost to Frostpuilt?"

"Yes, Captain. Will we be making a landing?"

Reme turned to Dark.

"Here's that town I was talking about. If need be, we can stop to gather equipment that you and your friend Zae can use to better help you get around. Or, if you'd prefer, we can continue our course and find one of the larger capital cities. That will be a few days ride."

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

"Hmm...." Dark hummed to itself, taking a moment to think. It was doubtful that Zae would wake up anytime soon as they had been running for almost three straight days and given the situation, they'd need a small army with a lot of artillery or something along those lines. They did have connections were also doing a job for one of the larger merc groups in the nearby capital. Then again, it wasn't going to be much use to any as just a torso with one barely functional arm. It would live but was going to be a burden to anyone having to haul it around.
"I'll leave that decision up to you. Zae could use some more sleep and I'll need atleast a couple days to decipher these files and figure out what all these new memories your little friend downloaded into me." It said, looking down at the captain trinket.
"Yes, I'm talking about you. I also want some words from you later as well."

As the crew began to go back to their jobs around the ship, Dark asked the captain to be taken to the cabin that his friend was sleeping in. "She might freak out a bit when she wakes up and I'm not around. She gets... skittish around new people so I'm sorry in advance if she acts a little funny and reclusive at first. When she does wake up though, we'll both be more than happy to help you in anyway we can for rescuing us. We'll also make sure you get paid well afterwards."

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

If Reme was being honest with herself, the pay truly had crossed her mind. She had a crew to feed, clothe, and pay, after all. If she couldn't provide those things, what sort of captain would she be? Her lips pursed, her mind meandering over the options that weighed before her, and then she sighed.

"If your friend is as skiddish as you say, we ought to keep going for now. We shouldn't separate you from one-another until she's awake and moving. I don't want her taking any aggression out on my crew. I suppose you'll have to wait for the parts, then. We'll pass up this town and head to one of the capital cities."

Reme turned and relayed the information to Mina who then nodded and stalked off. The captain then waved down another officer who briskly walked over.

"Carry it. We'll be taking the bot to the girl's quarters for now."

As they departed the helm, Reme continued their conversation.

"We'll be riding straight through the next few days and into the hold of Lanart. It's fairly well known around these parts as a major importer for goods from the East cities of the continent. Have you heard of it? Will there do well for you and Zae?"

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

"That would be splendid. I'll ask Zae when she wakes up if we have any connections there we could use. If we could get an audience with either the one in charge or their general, we might be able to get the help we need... Hopefully"

When they entered the cabin, Zae was sleeping soundly in the bed. As they walked into the room and their footsteps grew louder, she woke up and sat up. It took her eyes a moment for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings but was started to see three people in the room with her. She was about to give herself a panic attack but started to calm down when she saw one of them carrying her friend who didn't seem to worry about them. She looked at the maid in the corner and then back to the captain and officer.
"Wh-where am I? How'd I get here?" she asked, looking around at everyone in confusment.

"We were saved at the last second by the captain here and her crew. You passed out as soon as we got up here. We're safe though so there's nothing to worry about." Dark replied, afterwards asking to be placed in the chair close to the bed.

"So it's over then? No more running?"

"Yes but it's not over yet. We can't just forget about the other ones and that.. thing.. we found in the cave. Epsilon... Why does that name sound so familiar to me?" The machine asked itself, thinking heavily on the name.

Zae turned her gaze back to the captain and her officer. "T-thanks for saving us. I seriously thought we weren't gonna get off that mountain alive."
She tried to get up from the bed but her body was still completely drained from their ordeal and ended up collapsing on the floor.
"It's okay... I'm fine. Just a little weaker than I thought right now..."

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

Reme grinned. She could still remember a time when she ran herself ragged to that hilarious degree. In fact, she still did from time to time. The captain crossed the room and looped her arms under the young woman, helping her back into bed.

"A little? You look like you need at least a few more days tucked into your pillow. Take it slow. So long as no one takes aim at us now, we'll have smooth sailing for the next few days. We're heading to the Lanart. Dark here says you may know of someone we could converse with there."

Rememiere sat on the side of the bed and wiped a hand over her brow.

"I could exert my...connections to some of the authority there, but we truly should save that as a last resort. They're pests, for the most part, on my end."

Tucking her hand into her pocket, Reme pulled out the small, curved sphere. She glanced over its surface momentarily, then sat it on the bed.

"Would you like me to leave this here with the two of you? Now that I've been guided to your aid it isn't..." She chose her words carefully. "Well, it isn't tugging at my thoughts as it used to. Like it's done its purpose. For now."

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

What Reme said was true, Zae was in no shape to be moving around so soon. Every muscle in her body burned, even the slightest movement causing her some pain. After the captain helped her back into the bed, she layed back down. "I think we know a couple people there... Dark is really good at making friends as you can tell." she said wearily, trying to laugh afterwards but stopped because it hurt to much. A couple moments later, she feel back asleep, snoring lightly.

When Reme pulled out the orb and commented it wasn't tugging at her anymore, it reached forward and asked it see it. She handed it to the machine and it began to inspect it. It was now a dull grey color, allowing the center to be faintly seen. Inside the smooth orb was a even smaller orb, barely visible to the naked eye. Dark scanned it a couple times but couldn't get a good read off of it.
"Hmmm... This is quite the oddity you've acquired. Supposed to lead to treasure... but lead to us... and then everything it forced in my head.. If you don't mind, I'd like to do some simple tests on it. I promise you I won't damage it, I just want to.. Talk to it some more. Also if it wouldn't trouble you, do you have a spare map of the region? Preferably one that details longitude and latitude. I want to see the place it keeps saying over and over again."

Lunderly

[Lunderly]

Reme watched Zae a moment. The youngster could grow on you, that was a fact. She looked back on Dark when its request had been made and nodded.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I've plenty of them for these parts and more. But you say it's repeating coordinates?" The captain drew closer, her eyes rounding over the curves on the little sphere. "I'm glad we have you. It could have been clucking that for days and I still wouldn't have heard it. To be honest, I'm surprised in many ways that it led us all the way out here."

She turned to one of her crewmen who dipped out of the room, returning not ten minutes later with a map in tow. He lay it out on the nearby desk where Dark would have a perfect view, complete with parchment in quills lest it wanted to make any marks.

"Besides coordinates, is it saying anything else?"

ZA3B0S

[ZA3B0S]

While Zae slept peacefully while Dark asked to be taken over to the nearby desk. When it was placed down in the chair, it laid the small orb on the desk and began going over the map in great detail. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised you were able to follow it at all. I can barely make out what it's saying." It didn't take it long to find the spot the orb told it about, taking a quill and circling a small spot. It was in the middle of a large and thick forest, in an area known for dead woods and strange occurrences.

Dark looked up at the orb which was still being quiet for the time being and then turned its attention back to the captain. "Not a lot I'm afraid. Most of it is either garbled static or broken binary... There were a couple words I was able to make out before it linked to me, one of which repeated a couple time. Luna... I don't know what it means though."

Lunderly