Strange Treasures

[Madeira Dusk]

Made credible by the symphony of destructive noise in the cargo hold, Madeira swindled Rorge back to bed with flattery of just how clever he was to see through the quartermaster's pranks, and promises of the kind of wrath she would bring about her misbehaving servant. Once the heavy door was closed and she had listened to his sleep-heavy footsteps fading away, she joined Jomi in the depths of the hold.

"That was easier than I thought", she whispered, wishing desperately for a lamp as her wide eyes tried to soak up the minimal light washing in through the portholes. "Thank gods they didn't put someone with more backbone on guard duty or-" she paused as she found Jomi. The ghost's face was rapt and intent as he poked away at something in a crate. Madeira's first thought was to tell him to back off before he got himself hurt by the potentially magical artifacts, but as she got closer she saw nothing but a very ordinary looking birdhouse.

She felt no pull towards it. Nothing even close to Jomi's fascination. She looked to her servant with worry.

"Jomi, are you okay? What is it?"

Tentatively, very tentatively, she also reached out a hand and very gently touched the birdhouse's weather-beaten paint. Nothing happened. Breathing a sigh of relief, she dug her elbows in and tried to lift the thing out of the crate to see what was beneath.

Suddenly a sharp, festering pain pricked her palm, and she was falling. She barely felt the rough, invasive bloom of possession as Jomi tried to keep her on her feet. She was spiraling down and down, her mind tumbling and a corrosive, burning pain fanning out from her hand. The dark hold flickered and faded as she passed out, held up only by the foreign soul in her body.

She came to a chime later, sweaty and weak as if she had just broken a fever. She did not remember sitting down. Jomi must had propped her up against the mildewy crates. She sputtered back to life with wild, bloodshot eyes.

"Wh-what was that?"

She looked to her hand, and found nestled deep in her palm a speck the size of a grain of rice. A splinter of wood was lodged deep in her skin, under a tiny scar that looked months old. She rubbed the pad of her thumb over her palm. It didn't hurt anymore.

Pulling herself shakily to her feet, she returned to the lip of the crate. The birdhouse was still nestled inside, battered and innocent and... No, not innocent. She leaned over the crate head cocked like she was listening for something. And suddenly, she knew exactly what had Jomi so fascinated. There was a thrumming through it, a kind of invisible, soundless pulse through its worn wood. And she knew, with unshakable certainty, that it was alive.

Swallowing her astonishment, she carefully moved the birdhouse aside. The only other item in the crate was a waterproof sealskin bag. She unwrapped its string with shaking fingers, brushing it aside. Inside was a book. A great tombe of embossed leather, dark with wear and impossibly old.

She read aloud its title, written in gold leaf and shining in the early morning dawn: "Architectrix: a Compendium of Knowledge"

[Jomi]

"Jomi are you okay? What is it?"

A deep humming noise lifted off the preoccupied ghost; an acknowledgement of his mistresses presence in leu of a proper answer. Jomi was barley more than a shadow with features, having fully given up on his materialization. Instead he focused his energy on activating his mists that swirled lazily around his hands, giving them corporal form so that the probing digits could trail over the flecks of peeling paint and scrubbed wood. The air was alive with the energy that centred on the birdhouse and Jomi was perfectly content to lounge in the hold and enjoy the warmth and welcome that radiated from it. The fact that Madeira couldn't feel the energies he did didn't even occur to the spirit.

Making the ghost all the more surprised when his mistress went to lift the structure from its crate only to recoiled as if it had bit her.

Jomi started in fear as Madeira staggered backwards and tilted on her heels, mouth gaped and eyes rolling madly in her head. Without thought the ghost jumped into his mistresses body, finding no resistance as he scrambled to entwine his essence throughout her body. The tiny blonde staggered, as limp and unsure as a newborn faun as the ghost seized the controls.

Madeira!? Maddy wake up!

The ghosts screamed his thoughts only for them to rattled around their shared scull, unanswered. Shock gave way to panic as Madeira's presence in their body began to flicker and fade. Jomi could feel the soul nestled beside the invading spirit begin to weaken as it surrendered its hold of the body. With growing dread the ghost realized why this felt so familiar, back in Alvadas he had murdered a man, and had been possessing him as he died, and this ebb as fade of the soul mirrored everything that he'd felt as it happened.

With renewed urgency Jomi stumbled forward and caught the rim of a crate, sliding them down to a sitting position as Jomi tore himself out of her body, ready to blink away to search for help.

"Wh-what was [I/]that?[/I]"

A startled high pitched yelp erupted unbidden from the ghost as his mistress sprung back to life. The prim and proper presence she obsessively maintained tossed aside and gave way to true and honest shock. Her skin shined with perspiration in the light of the portholes and her hair was plastered to her scalp as she inspected her hand. The ghost crept towards the tiny woman, brows furrowed in concern as he looked the suspiciously alert woman.

"Bitch you almost died." Jomi deadpanned, having no idea how to read a room. "I felt your soul nearly bail a chime ago. How the petch are you awake and talking right now."

Jomi watched his mistress warily as she lifted the birdhouse to investigate the package beneath. A great tome bound in leather and embossed in gold splayed out on her lap as she carefully read aloud the title to the unimpressed ghost.

"Thats great but we need to leave. The crew will be waking up any minute, and I think I've had enough of magic for one day." The rattled ghost hissed.

[Madeira Dusk]

“No, we have to stay”, Madeira hissed back. How was it that less than half a bell ago they were both arguing the other’s point? Agitated wisps of soulmist whipped around the unnerved ghost, but the spiritist’s eyes shone with discovery. Whatever this was, whatever that splinter and book were, it was important, vital, even, that they find out more.

The only magic Madeira knew that was invested in the creation of life was animation. Though she knew next to nothing about the craft, even she was aware that it was little more than an imitation of it. An elaborate form of mockery. But this was more. This was completely, truly alive. How was it that the dead man realized it before the living woman?

She would have to figure it out later. Jomi was at least right about the crew waking soon. She hefted the book from its wrapping and tucked it under her arm. She took the birdhouse too, hooking it with the fingers of her left hand. Now that she knew it was alive leaving it there seemed unbearably cruel. Just as her eyes were casting around, desperately looking for anything else with secrets she might take with them, there came a loud thump from above.

The spiritist froze, a sliver of ice imbedded into every vertebrae. From above came a scuffle, and another thump. A vibration of disjointed voices shivered through the planks, and were nothing but a discordant hum when it reached her ears. Whatever was happening, whatever they were doing, it was certain the sailors were awake.

“Petch”, Madeira hissed from between her teeth. How were they to get back to their quarters now? They would not leave their strange new treasures behind, that she was sure. But to be caught would be to label them thieves. She knew the punishment for thieves at sea. Would the punishment change for the passenger that paid for the trip? Would she be allowed to keep all her hands if she had promised to pay the crew with them?

A stomping of feet around their heads, and the rattling of the hatch over the stairs. Someone was coming.

Madeira dived between the nearest crates, and in a swill of panic dragged a wide piece of cloth from the nearest open crate. Black and thick, edged in muted silver thread, she recognized it as a hooded woollen cloak. Throwing it over her body and her prizes as a last and desperate attempt to conceal herself, she hissed at the unseen ghost. “Hide!”

WC: 428

[Jomi]

The creaking of the floorboards and heavy stomping of boots punctuated the certainty of their predicament. The sailors were awake, and they were trapped beneath them.

The hatch rattled and Madeira dived for the tiny sliver of space between the crates with her treasures. The awkward shaped birdhouse and book pulled tight to her breast as she drew up her knees and pulled a wide stretch of fabric over them like a child building a fort. Madeira settled into her pathetic attempt at hiding as the ghosts head whipped around franticly to find something more convincing to shield her with.

"Hide!"

"Who the petch do you think is going to...fall...for-"

Just as the word left the spiritist mouth the fabric of the cloak shivered and stilled, taking the colour and texture of the ships wall behind it. Camouflaging the woman beneath it with a perfect likeness.

The creak of hinges announced the presence of the sailors, who came trudging down the stairs with steps heavy from sleep. Three men, wearing the standard cotton and leather garb of the seafarers came stumbling into view. Their eyes cast about as if to make sure their loot was still there, as if half expecting the wreck they had witnessed the day before to be just some bizarre shared dream.

"You!"

A heavy booming voice and jabbing finger singled out the fully materialized ghost that was still standing, slack jawed, in the middle of the floor. The tall wind burnt man was towered over the ghosts form, his blue eyes shone beneath bushy blonde brows in a righteous furry.

"I'm talking to you, spirit." The man spat, hand on his cutlass that hung sheathed by his side. As if the blade would offer them any protection from a hostile ghost. "You best be on your way. Your witch cursed these blades after the shyke you pulled last night, so you best not try anything either." The grip on the mans weapon tightened to a white knuckled grip as the other two took the hint and took hold of their weapons too. A frantic sweeping gaze took in the boxes of stolen treasures, taking stock of any damaged or missing items, fully expecting the ghost to be up to some nefarious scheme.

A spark of inspiration lite through the ghost as he took in their nervous faces, a wide toothy grin split his face as he pulled his mists in tighter. Bringing greater definition to his face as he spoke in calm measured tones.

"Imbued."

"What?"

"Its called 'Imbuing'."

The ghost shot his mist forward without warning and tackled the soul of the large man. Twisting himself into the bones and muscles with haphazardness and haste, forcing himself into this new container aggressively. Jomi used the few ticks of shock from the violent possession to bend the mans knees and launch him backwards, barreling heavily into the two men behind him. Jomi was not kind as he rushed to exit the man, tearing away from his host before the blue eyes man could force him out.

Then the ghost, fading and exhausted, used the last few chimes of strength he had to pull up the energy from his core and activate the mists in his hand. Plunging them into the nearest open barrel in such of something small, light and precious.

"Aha!" Jomi pulled up two handfuls of glittering strings, diamonds and pearls dripped from his closed fists. Of all the shiny trinket and precious jems in his fists one piece stood out to the ghost. An intricately carved bone ring, polished to a shine, depicting some sort of animal. It had a wide sloping forehead and comically long noes framed by tusks like the ones Jomi had seen on the wild boars in Kenash, only much more magnificent. The eyes carved into the side of the ring stared back to meet his gaze. They were narrowed in anger and seemed to be challenging him, he knew at once that this ring was his. Jomi dropped one handful of jewels and palmed the bone ring, raising the other fistful of jewels up over his head triumphantly. "I'M GONNA THROW ALL YOUR SHYKE BACK INTO THE SEA!"

Jomi rushed past the sailors and out of the open hatch as they struggled to untangle themselves in their panic, cackling maniacally. Shouts and expletives echoed down the steps as the ghost confronted the rest of the crewmen and lead them out onto the deck with his sparkly hostages.

[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira's breathing slowed as the last of the footsteps thundered out of the hold. The shouting continued, slowly getting more muffled and distant as the owners and anyone awake chased Jomi to the higher decks.

Thankful for Jomi's bombastic stab at problem solving, the Spiritist poked her head out of her little hiding spot. The black cloak, which was not so black anymore, reacted slowly as her knee hit the misty light from the porthole, it's color diffusing with gold. At this point Madeira had no surprise left in her already limited supply to react. Instead her mind moved with logic as she tried to puzzle out the workings of this strange cloak. It was black until she threw it over herself. It wasn't until she whispered to Jomi that she could see color bloom across it's surface.

"Hide?" she tried again. The cloak didn't react to the trigger. "Off? Stop? Turn back? Oh, come on. I can't walk around with a color changing cloak. At least not outside Alvadas. Be normal? Be sane? Be black!"

At once the color started to fade, even out, and grow darker. In a few ticks the cloak was plain, dyed wool once more. Madeira's eyes shone with triumph.

"Hide", she whispered. The cloak bloomed with color instantly, taking a cue from the dusty, stained floor she sat on, and the speckles of light through the porthole. "Black", she whispered again, and the color vanished.

This was coming with her. Of course it was. As was the book and the living birdhouse. And it was not stealing, if it was stolen from a shipwreck in the first place. Visions of the black spire rose in her mind, and with it the disturbing unanswered questions it inspired. Mentally shaking herself, she rose to her feet, fastening the cloak around her throat, and making sure it covered the book and little birdhouse she carried. Jomi was doing a good job distracting them, she should not waste it.

With one last look behind her, at the hoard of mysteries she would never get to explore, Madeira tapped her way up the steep stairs and squeezed out the door. She would go back to her cabin and sit, she decided, and think long and hard about these strange treasures from this strange journey.

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

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Madeira Craven

Skills

• Leadership: 3xp
• Intimidation: 2xp
• Logic: 2xp
• Persuasion: 3xp
• Hypnotism: 3xp
• Negotiation: 3xp
• Weapon: Crossbow: 1xp
• Investigation: 3xp
• Subterfuge: 1xp
• Acting: 1xp
• Stealth: 3xp
• Architectrix: 2xp

Lores

• Lore of the mysterious black spear
• Lore of the mysterious shipwreck
• Scavenging: ‘law of the ocean’
• Persuasion: fear is a potent motivator
• Lore of the Gloves of the Spider Maiden
• Rosie: mysterious chicken
• Negotiation: convincing opponent they have the better deal
• Intimidation: threatening violence
• Lore of the Death Hand Crossbow
• Jomi: loves the chicken
• Jomi: gave the chicken a cutesy name
• Rosie: a gem-laying chicken
• Subterfuge: spinning a tale
• Architectrix: initiation
• Book: Architectrix- a Compendium of Knowledge

Awards & Retribution
+Birdhouse: a mysterious Architectrix seed
+Book: Architectrix- a Compendium of Knowledge
+Chameleon Cloak: a cloak that changes colour and pattern to fit into the environment with an activation word. +10 to Stealth
+Dead Hand Crossbow: a status affect applied to Madeira's existing weapon
+Gloves of the Spider Maiden: long silk gloves with unique hypnotism powers and a minor secondary affect to spiderwebs

Notes
Notes here.

Jomi

Skills

• Materialization: 5xp
• Soulmist Projection: 5xp
• Possession: 4xp
• Unarmed Combat: 1xp
• Endurance: 1xp

Lores

• Intuition: a sense of foreboding
• Lore of the mysterious black spear
• Lore of the mysterious shipwreck
• Rosie: mysterious chicken
• Lore of protectiveness
• Madeira: put herself in harms way for Jomi
• Madeira: on warmer terms
• Lore of resurfacing animal instincts
• Lore of the Death Hand Crossbow
• Spiritism: the importance of soulmist
• Rosie: a gem-laying chicken
• Persuasion: reasoned convincing
• Investigation: searching for treasure
• Lore of the mysterious birdhouse

Awards & Retribution
+Rosie the Chicken: a magic chicken the lays a rare gemstone every ten days
+Bone Ring: a bone ring with a +10 stat boost in Intimidation

Notes
Notes here.