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by Xeynar on Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:56 pm
After being marched out of the front entrance of the Fort, the soldier gave Rayn a shove forward for good measure. Nope, they were definitely not his biggest fans around here. What the hell did that imposter do to piss them off so much? Sure, they'd said something about a stolen ship, but they already had a fleet of those. What was so important to them about one more?
"You heard the Commodore," said the soldier, who then gestured for Rayn to get moving, "Forty eight hours. Tick tock, pirate."
"Hey, hold on! What about transport? If he's got one of your ships then I need one of my own to chase him with!"
The soldier just shrugged, "Not my problem." he said dismissively. After that he disappeared back into the Fort, and Rayn was alone.
"Well that's just terrific." Rayn muttered to himself as he began the trek back toward town, "What did I just get myself into?" it was a tough conundrum, alright. 48 hours to catch the imposter and he wasn't even afforded the luxury of transportation to do it with. The Gummi Ship would be far too inconspicuous to be a viable option for this. At any rate, after some time Rayn finally found himself back in town. His group weren't hard to find, none of them really blended in particularly well in this world.
"Rayn!" Jessica was the first to speak and sprinted to him, throwing her arms around him in an embrace."
"So what'd you learn, Blondie?" asked Odie, having walked up alongside Thomas. They were all curious to know what their next move was.
"We have to find the imposter, and do it within forty eight hours." Rayn said, eliciting incredulous expressions from the team, "Oh it gets better. We're on our own as far as transport goes. They won't even give me a rowboat, much less a ship of any kind."
"Can't we just fly the Gummi Ship?" asked Thomas. Sure, it seemed like an obvious option, but he was still inexperienced at the whole 'keep a low profile' thing.
"Not an option. We need to blend in, and not advertise the fact that we're from another world." Rayn gave an exasperated sigh, "I... honestly have no clue what to do. I think I may have gotten us in over our heads with this. I don't even know where to start." he rubbed his temples. Who knew being the responsible leader would be this stressful? Was this what it was like for Jason all the time? They were all sitting around a table within a tavern. They'd kept their conversation as low volume as possible, but apparently at least one person had still managed to overhear them.
"Sounds like you need a ship, sweetie." it was the voice of a young woman sitting at another table nearby. She'd stood up and was now approaching them. She... didn't dress at all like the other women on this world. In fact she dressed more closely like the men did. And more importantly... she looked like a pirate of some description, "Oh, was this meant to be private talk?" she asked when she noticed the surprised looks everyone had, "Apologies, it's just that I have such an incredible knack for listening, you see. Well never mind that. You lot are in need of a ship, and I just so happen to be in possession of one, as it were."
"And you're just going to offer us transportation out of the goodness of your heart, right?" Odie responded with deadpan incredulousness.
"Don't be silly," the pirate said with a wink, "what I'm offering are terms for a trade. There's something here in this port that I need to... acquire, but I can't collect it all by me lonesome, savvy?" she hinted, her idea becoming rather clear now.
"You want our help getting this thing you're after, and you'll give us passage on your ship in exchange. That about the sum of it?" asked Rayn, cutting right to the chase.
"Wonderful, you catch on rather sharply there, sweetie." she said with a seemingly flirtatious wink that caught a subtle glare from Jessica, "So what say you?"
"Not a good idea, Rayn." said Jessica rather quickly, "Look at her, she's obviously a pirate. Most likely she wants us to help her steal whatever it is she's looking for."
"Oh you're breaking my heart, dear." said the pirate, "But it seems to me that you're dear Captain here has already been branded a pirate by Northcott and his men. That, I believe, is what we like to call 'being out of options', aye?" she looked to Rayn once more, even holding out her hand to shake on the deal, "Well? Do we have an accord?"
Unfortunately, she was completely correct. They really had no other options. Catching the imposter would be impossible if they had no means of transportation, and the forty eight hour time limit afforded them no luxury of being picky right now. And so he reached forth his hand and shook hers. The agreement was now official.
"Oh, wonderful!" said the pirate with a look of delight on her face, "My name's Kate, by the way. Captain Kate Sparrow, if you please."
"I'm Rayn. And this Jessica, Odie, and Thomas." Rayn responded, trying to keep the introduction as possible, "So what exactly is it that you need our help finding... Captain?"
"Why, only the most precious treasure to be found on this otherwise ordinary port." said Kate, "A compass to be exact."
"How is a compass a treasure?" asked Odie, unsure what Kate was talking about. They were all unsure, actually.
"The compass itself isn't the treasure, it's the thing it points to that matters." Kate responded, "The compass can lead me to the actual treasure I seek, and that compass just so happens to be housed right here in Port Royal... in the Governor's Mansion."
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