City of IF

[Mad Hatter]

Fabled Island, Ep. 14, Hostile Takeover.

A tremor shakes the ground and all upon it and the waves slap the shore pensively, as the island begins to stir. It lasts several seconds, just as everyone begins to think it might not end at all. The wary treasure hunters stop holding their breath and look back into the dark trees. They grip their weapons tightly, grab their torches, and burrow into the trees.

“Keep checking the trees!” Thomas says urgently, but they don’t want or need orders. They expect the shadows to come to life, and they’re itching for a fight. But where are they? The signs of their passing are everywhere, but not a single mundie.

“Over here,” Jenn says nonchalantly. The others approach and stand over the devastated body of Ethan Gerry. Besides the claw marks all over his body, he is covered in leaking boils. His eyes have melted, it would seem and his mouth twisted in pain. “Poison?” Jenn asks.

“He’s plagued,” Jim says grimly. “It must be some sort of disease. We shouldn’t stay here.”

Ross doesn’t hesitate to take the Carlisle Sword, which even in death, Ethan clings to.

“Don’t touch it!” Jim yells. Ross pays him no mind, and ties the sword to his belt.

“We should keep looking for Jeremy,” Thomas says. “No point in being here if we can’t find him. He probably found more freebooters.”

“What makes you so sure?” Aspi speaks up defiantly. “It could be natives, and we’re not exactly on their good sides now. I don’t wish to be eaten alive.”

“Are they cannibals?” Jim asks incredulously.

“Probably,” Aspi says confidently.

“We need to find out. We might even be able to bribe--”

Thomas cuts himself off when the others look pointedly into the jungle. Several lanterns, like beaming eyes, appear and shine in the treasure hunters direction. They duck behind trees, but they know their torches have given them away already and no one wants to traipse through the jungle without light.

“Stay down,” Thomas says. As he takes aim with his musket. “I’ll go talk with them.”

The continue to approach, but their lanterns do not disclose their numbers on account of the fact that they shine through a hole in the front only. The light goes only where they want it to. The treasure hunters prepare to charge, or to retreat, waiting to find out how Thomas’ diplomacy goes.

Thomas squeezes the trigger and a bullet blasts through one of the lanterns, extinguishing it.

“Stop right there!” Thomas yells out. The lanterns vanish as the doors to them close. And all sight of the targets is lost. “I demand to speak with your leader,” he says, pretending he can still see them. They can hear nothing. Thomas switches muskets, ignoring the nasty faces some of the crew are sending his way.

On an impulse Aspi decides it’s time to figure out how many there are out there. She jumps into the open and runs from tree to tree, there’s no gunshots, but she feels like they’re thinking about it. Then she throws the torch, which gutters as it spins through the air, but stays lit till it lands amidst the figures. There’s perhaps 8 of them, at least, but they’re not people. Moss and plants grow from their muddy bodies, a creation of the jungle. They shrink away from the light, except one, who snuffs the torch out in the dirt.

The group is speechless, though plans scurry through their minds. Charge before the creatures get their bearings? Snuff out the torches? Run back to the ship?

But the group will not allow themselves to be pushed around.

“Plant the torches,” Thomas says. “Back up and sneak around.”

Ross has already slipped away, and Aspi and Jenn soon follow. Juan, the quiet guide who’s services haven’t been necessary, speaks a few words to Thomas.

“They’re men,” Juan says. “They have guns and lanterns… monsters don’t carry weapons.”

Of course they’re men, but then again, so much was put into question when the roc came back to life. Can anything be assumed anymore?

The ambush in the darkness fails. When the hunters circle to where they saw the figures before, they find only the lantern with the hole in it. The only sound they hear is the movement of each other and it makes them nervous enough to stab or shoot and ask questions later. They sneak back and regroup. The crew quickly begins to argue.

“They’re gone, probably retreated.”

“If the mundies come back, we’re dead.”

“We should take the ship out of here.”

“No. We don’t run from anyone.”

“Even if they’re just men, there’s more of them than us.”

“We can sneak up on them.”

The smell of sweat is strong as the tension grows. Ultimately, they decide, rather than argue till they are ambushed themselves, that there is only one thing that can be done. They extinguish the torches. Luckily the lantern they acquired seems workable. So they just cover the hole and close the door… and the entire group sneaks into the jungle, but not together. It is not for stealth that they separate but a growing distrust that makes each member feel their backs are not safe with a treasure hunter behind it. They’re as likely to be backstabbed as they are shot or ripped apart by claws.

Surprisingly close, a ring of fire is seen through the trees. The camp is a small open space, very well illuminated throughout with torches and fires, with 4 small tents, at least 14 armed men, and a large cage. The cage rocks with its ferocity of its contents: a large albino mundie.

Most of the men are covered in moss and plants as camouflage. They stand in miserable heaps of mud, as a robust grey bearded man barks orders at them. The report he just received does not seem to please him at all. The hunters carefully eavesdrop, except Aspi, who is too busy sneaking up on a man patrolling the rim of the encampment.

Then Jeremy is spotted, tied up and held in position on his knees. In the fire beside him, a red hot knife waits for the leader of the camp to return to the interrogation.

“Go back and find them or don’t bother coming back!” the leader yells at the 8 men returning from their reconnaissance. They turn back to the jungle quickly. The leader picks up the red knife and turns back to Jeremy.

“I have a few burning questions to ask you,” the leader says jeeringly. “Let’s start with ‘How many of you are there?’, then we’ll move to ‘Where is your boat?’ and we’ll go from them there….”

[D-Lotus]

I don't see much difference in style...

Umm. I think a coordinated surprise attack could work. We definately can't let them know where the boat is.

Wait, do we even know where the boat is? I'm losing track...

[Chinaren]

Yes, remarkably similiar style there Mr.Hat.

Anyhoo, wait a little while for the other men to get further away, then attack the camp (quietly). Then grab any useful stuff and get the poop out of there.

[Mad Hatter]

Well sure it's similar, but look what I had to work with! You can't expect miracles in 1000 words, it's simply irrational. Soon enough it will shed its familiar odor, you shall see.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must vent out my frustration on a very trusting puppy I found this afternoon. But I think I'll give him a name first... perhaps Chinotus.

[Kalanna Rai]

I'd say it's a pity about Ethan but then my mother always told me not to lie...and I try to follow that advice on occasion. Can't say I'm impressed with any difference in the writing style Mr. Hatter, save that the chapter was shorter.

I'm not overly fond of the idea of attacking their camp...I'm in favor of bushwhacking those eight sent to find us however. I'm pretty sure if we get some camo ourselves we can pick them off rather neatly...probably using the crossbows to cut down on noise.

Then we can consider attacking the camp with the knowledge that those particular men can't suddenly arrive in the midst of it all and turn the tables against us...

[Mad Hatter]

Perhaps it is fate. Perhaps nothing can be done to change this story without catastrophic results. It would be like playing basketball in a hockey rink, or ending a lullabye with a heavy metal electric guitar solo.

Actually, that sounds pretty cool.

Oh look! The Poll is Up!

[D-Lotus]

I love it! This poll was awesome. Maybe all polls in IF should be like this from now on! Or at least a lot of them...

[D-Lotus]

I love it! This poll was awesome. Maybe all polls in IF should be like this from now on! Or at least a lot of them...