Receiving Ms. Aristeas' approval of how they handled the Grimm was a much needed confidence boost for the huntsman. While they had successfully fended off the Nevermores, he couldn’t help but feel the close call with their unluckiest member might have given the inspector cause to doubt their skills. Nevertheless, she was more impressed by Violet’s sharpshooting than she was displeased with Roberts short flight. The Atlesian guards felt the same as Sand was given a rifle to award Violet.
Not everyone was willing to overlook that slight mishap with the large Nevermore, however. As soon as they were alone Sand practically called out Robert for his lack of situational awareness. Those who didn’t know Sand might have misconstrued her words as a scolding, but Trad could tell this was just her voicing concerns, even if it was a little blunt. Though as they continued their flight, Trad couldn’t help but think that maybe blunt discussions with Robert were necessary. He knew the hunter was never intentionally getting himself into trouble, but he certainly had a knack for it. And often wasn’t able to get himself out without one of them to aid him. Something would need to be done or else the next time things might not work out in the red head’s favor.
Now was not the time for such things. Just as Sand said this was not a training exercise, they were on a mission and had to remain focused. The last thing anyone needed was the team doubting even one of their members. Trad did his best to bury his thoughts as they stepped off the ship. Eerily that would be easy enough as the landing platform for ICE CreAM felt… Wrong. While he wasn’t expecting a welcome party, it was odd that only one person would be greeting the inspector; and with no security at that.
The biggest red flag was raised by the lack of ships on the landing platform. True traffic through this location would be light at best, but what about emergency situations? This team had seen first hand how fast the Grimm could swarm even a well prepared base. There should have been at least two or three airships ready just in case. Yet it seemed the researchers here would have no means of escape should such an event take place.
His curiosity got the best of him. While he let the inspector answer the white haired man’s initial question, he quickly spoke up after any introductions.
“You must have a lot of faith in the defenses here. Not many facilities operate without some means of evacuation.” He stated glancing around at the empty area.
With the goblins routed and the ship fire extinguished, it was time for the group to take care of any wounded they had. After formally introducing himself to the ragtag group Sid had now found himself apart of, he agreed to help guide the fugitives the mystical healer to tend to Corday and the other wounded. In truth Sid had never actually been to see her, but he did have a knowledge of this islands layout. This combined with their Dhirom companion Zendrith, who seemed to know a little more about the exact location of the healer, meant that she could point them in the right direction while Cadye kept the caravan together. All Sid would have to do is take them along the safest path that lead to their destination. A task he thought would be rather easy, until about halfway into the woods a pink haired knight bearing an unfamiliar insignia blocked their way.
Cayde seemed to recognize the insignia and immediately called her out as a “Soldier of Niflhelm.” Sid’s eyes widened and he too placed his hand on his weapon. He had only heard legends of the fearsome knights from the tundra, but it was enough to keep him from even setting foot there. If she was truly here for a fight, then a lot more people would be needing to see that healer.
“Haven’t even been here an hour and you lot are drawing attention from as far as Niflhelm? The villagers are not going to like this.” The pirate said under his breath.
Sid coiled his weapon with a chuckle as his new ally came up and complimented him. “Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, private.” He replied with a thumbs up. “Glad to see you're not one of those knights afraid to get their armor scratched.” Though he jested with the soldier’s rank, he genuinely applauded Cayde for willingly putting himself in harm's way. It was a rare trait to see in people now a days.
With no other enemies coming for them, Sid too noticed the plumes of smoke slowly filling the room. He had assumed his fiery friend’s magic had been the source, but with none of those flames lingering and the dark clouds building it was all too obvious what was going on. Cayde was the first to assess the situation and inquired if Sid would be able to repair the unstable engine or see if someone above deck could. The soldier probably didn’t think their chances of evacuation looked good and the pirate had to agree.
“Sorry, mate.” Sid shook his head. “A leaking pipe or a broken belt I can do, but this? We need someone more experienced and fast.” As he heard his own words out loud, an idea popped in his head. “Actually, I think I can buy us some time.” Unfurling his kusarigama once more, Sid stepped in front of the smoking machine while twirling his chain to build up speed. Once it was going fast enough, he turned the swirling weapon towards the engine and unleashed a stream of wind onto the engine. With any luck his makeshift fan would be enough to snuff out the flames and regulate the temperature without cooling it too drastically. If not it would at least keep the heat from rising faster than it had been.
“I think I’ve got this.” He called to the soldier. “Now get up there and see who you can find!”
Trad only had time to nod to acknowledge his teammate’s replies before the elevator doors slid open. Immediately Trad stepped out with the others and took a starboard position. Dropping to a knee and aiming down the sights, he watched as the Nevermores came closer. He assumed everyone would be holding fire until the birds were in range, but to his surprise a shot rang out and tore through the Nevermore he had lined up.
“Whoa! Nice shot!” Trad called out to their newest member. He then watched in awe as Violet downed twenty nine more before he could even pull the trigger. “Maybe you should have given her both rifles.” He yelled to Sand who also had yet to fire a shot.
Looking back down his sights, the hunter realized the Nevermores were still fast approaching despite half their numbers being erased. Ready on the trigger, he and Robert opened fire almost simultaneously. Keeping his shots in a tight burst he made sure six of the Grimm wouldn’t be making it to the ship; and one more regret ever reaching it. His numbers weren’t what the other’s had, but as long as he was keeping his team safe he was doing his-
"Guys! Someone help!"
His eyes snapped to his friend being lifted off from the ship. Aiming his gun at the large Grimm, he cursed under his breath as he couldn’t get a clear shot. Even if Robert's aura absorbed the shots, Trad didn’t want to risk weakening it in case they weren’t able to catch him. “Violet!” He shouted as loud as he could to be heard over the wind rushing passed them, “Take that thing down! We’ll hold the others off.”
I'm back! Sorry about that hiatus. As @The Irish Tree said I was in an accident awhile ago. No one was hurt luckily but my car was totaled and I had to divert all my free time into dealing with that. Things are back on track though so I should be able to return to a regular posting schedule again. Starting now!
Hearing the bard’s thrilling tale of their exodus from prison brought a sly smirk to the pirate’s face. “My my, quite the adventure indeed. And all to escape Ziggurat? You’re either incredibly reckless, or stupidly brave; my favorite kind of criminals.” Believing the situation to be non hostile, Sid took his hand off his weapon and began to raise it so he could properly greet the fellow outlaws.
The introductions would have to be cut short, unfortunately, as a trio of goblin riders descended from the hatch above. Instinctively Sid dove out of the way before the first volley of rocks came towards him, leaving Cayde and Perkeo exposed instead. The poor bard pleaded for peace behind his instrument before his family jewels were shattered. Once negotiations were off the table, the soldier took his place front and center defending his ally with his body while advancing on the enemies.
Back on his feet after his tuck and roll, Sid quickly unhooked his kusarigama ready to join the crimson soldier. The human had already managed to burn out one of the goblins and it’s steed, now it was time to blow the rest away. Keeping his circles tight, Sid began spinning the weighted end of his weapon as he took off towards the goblins. Sprinting past Cayde it looked as though the Erune was going to run head first into the snarling wolves, only to drop down at the last second and slide under the gaping maw of one. As he slid, his chain wrapped around the wolf’s front legs while his sickle dug into its stomach. Once Sid emerged behind the monsters, he yanked the chain and gave a swift kick to the wolf’s hid quarters toppling the gutted animal on its face and tossing the goblin to the ground near Cayde.
With a quick whip and pull the chain came loose and flew back towards it wielder. Keeping the momentum, Sid pivoted and redirected the chain towards the other goblin’s head. A satisfying crunch could be heard as the weight collided with the green monster’s nose. Pulling the chain back to him yet again, the pirate this time decided to have a little fun and refrained from following up on his attack. “What do you think, mates? Should we finish these greens off or leave on alive to tell the tale?” He called out staring at the last mounted goblin with a devious grin.
As the team sat (or paced in Robert’s case) waiting in the back, Trad opted to pass the time with one last equipment check. First he tested his shield, expanding and collapsing it a few times to make sure all the parts moved smoothly. Once he was satisfied he switched to his sword and continued the process, as well as checking his sights and clips. He wanted to make sure they were ready for anything. Last thing they needed was a repeat of what happened right out of the gate last mission.
After he completed his gear check, he joined in the others in anxious silence. His mind no longer distracted began making up scenarios in which things could go wrong. Luckily that wouldn’t last long as they were suddenly alerted to over sixty Nevermores approaching. Wow. Either they were giving off lots of negative emotions, or they picked a bad flight path. Either way, Trad stood up and immediately equipped his shield while changing Gram into its rifle mode.
Sand momentarily split from the group, but came back just as quickly with some new hardware for her and Violet. Already thinking ahead of the fight. There was a reason Sand was put in as the team’s new leader. After they entered the elevator and Sand explained her plan, Robert requested that Trad kick things off with a “cool one liner”.
“Wait, when did I become the one liner guy?” Trad asked. ”Uhh, looks like we’re having chicken for our on flight meal… No that was terrible." Trad dismissed his attempt at wit and scratched the back of his neck trying to think of something else. “Why don’t you come back to me in a few minutes and I’ll have something else.”
“So it was one of these dreams, eh?” Sid thought to himself as he fell endlessly through the sky. He’d had dreams like this before back in the day. A common nightmare really; being pushed off the ship and falling to what would seem to be his death only to awake just as he entered the fog. This time, however, there was no fog, or ship for that matter. It was just the sky and a voice in the back of his head.
Before he could analyze anything further, the source of the voice made itself known. The bound dragon appeared before him and began asking questions. Questions Sid felt compelled to answer with the full truth.
The Dragon opened with a statement about destiny, and warning of the conflict to come. This brought a smirk to Sid’s face. “I'm quite familiar with conflict. If more is on it’s way then bring it on!” He replied without hesitation.
Then came the first question. What will he do with those destined to fight with him? “Heh, a pirates gotta have a crew, don’t he?” He asked back looking to the figures falling with him, “And I think I've gone too long without one.”
It wasn’t until the third question that Sid lost his smile. The dragon spoke of failure. More accurately, that he already had. “That...That wasn't my fault! I wanted to fight but she…” the words caught in his throat. He couldn’t finish the sentence, but could tell the dragon already knew what he was going to say.
The final question came. What was his drive? Why did he keep going when he had already lost everything? The answer was simple. “They gave everything for me.” Sid said through gritted teeth holding back tears. “I won't let their deaths be in vain. I won’t their dreams die too!”
With that final statement, the world went dark, and the dream ended.
Sid’s mind snapped back to reality. He felt like he had just come out of sleep, but in truth he was wide awake. The wind rushing past him as he ran must have been what sent him back to that dream. As the plumes of smoke came closer into view, began to wonder why that dream was still sticking with him? It was only a dream after all. It didn’t really mean anything, did it?
Whatever. Prophetic vision or not, Sid had a job to do. Those people in the village he’d been staying at had been practically robbed by that tax collector before the pirate drove him and his hired thugs off. They would need some help getting back on their feet, and a large shipment of Zweite goods could do just that. And hey, if he managed to make a few coins in the process then what’s the harm?
Soon the endless view of trees obscuring the ship gave way to the full wreckage. At first glance Sid sumized no one could have survived such an impact, but he wasn’t too worried about the crew. It was the goods aboard he cared for. Unless heavily secured any valuables would be damaged or worse. Only one way to find out for sure. Climbing quickly to the deck, Sid boarded the beached ship just in time to catch another Erune run inside the cockpit. Competition, eh? Well he picked a poor place to start. Everyone knows the best stuff is kept inside the ship.
Without another thought, Sid kicked open the hatch that lead below deck and jumped down. Instead of riches or other cargo, the swashbuckler found himself among a good number of bodies. At least, he assumed they were, but in reality most were simply unconscious. No doubt placed in that state from the crash they just experienced. Scanning the room, Sid began questioning what kind of ship this was. There were almost no guards and none of the present company had been restrained. Was this a stolen ship?
As he sat there wracking his brain over what had transpired here, Sid heard a voice coming from the edge of the room. A closer look revealed a draph man waking up a human soldier an a fellow erune but of the tailed variety. Just his luck. Seemed Sid wouldn’t have to play twenty questions with himself after all. He could just get the answers from them.
“Well ahoy there.” Sid called out casually strolling towards the three. “You lot seem to have had an awful landing. Now normally I’d be robbing the Zweite blind, but something tells me the colors on this ship don’t reflect the crew. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.” He spoke the last part looking directly at the soldier clad in recognizable crimson armor while placing his hand on his kusarigama. ”So tell me. Is this ship yours, or are you ‘borrowing’ it?”
Hidden behind the bandana is a pair of black and yellow lynx ears. His left ear is missing the tip and the right has a small gold earring.
Name: Sid Lofton
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Race: Erune
Element: Wind
Dream: Take back The Sunrise Bounty, then use it to claim the riches of Estalucia.
Home: The Sunrise Bounty. A Galleon style ship suspended by a large white balloon with a skull and crossbones painted on either side. Commanded by Captain Dawn Tydes this notorious pirate ship has terrorized the skies of tyragrande for years. At least, that’s what most people in the inner islands believe. In reality the crew of The Sunrise Bounty acted more like Robin Hood and his merry men. They would target ships or supply lines of highclass islands, then find an island or town in need and give their haul to the local populace boosting their economy. Sure they would keep some for themselves, but a pirates gotta make a living, right?
Gimmicks: Well versed in Kusarigamajutsu as well as basic wind magic, Sid’s style of fighting focuses on keeping his opponents off balance and at a manageable distance while he dances around them. He can create gusts of wind by swinging the ball and chain to push his enemies around. Then when he has a clear chance, he strikes quickly to disarm or bring them down and use the kama to finish the job.
His air control doesn’t stop there, as Sid has excellent maneuverability in the air. He can perform a number of acrobatics as well as jump to extreme heights. If he needs extra leverage he will often use his Kusarigama as a grapple to swing or pull himself even higher. This is especially useful when he needs to close the distance on long range opponents or even escape a bad situation
Personality: To put it simply, Sid is optimistic and adventurous. He looks at every challenge with a big grin on his face no matter how dire. He can be a bit on the impulsive side. Rarely thinking ahead before jumping into things. But that doesn’t mean he won’t watch his step. He’s been in enough jams to make him cautious, just not enough to make him stop. People are a different story. Sid can be a bit too trusting, especially with those who claim to sail under a black flag. He was always taught about “honor among thieves” and does his best to live up to such creeds even if others don’t. The only exception to this would be to anyone who was once part of the Zweite navy. After what happened to him and his crew, he has a hard time even being around anyone associated with them.
When it comes to Sid’s mannerism. He could use an etiquette lesson or two… Maybe three. He doesn’t mean to come off as being rude or slobish, but being raised by pirates doesn’t exactly make for the tidiest or well mannered of folk.
Background: Sid’s life before piracy is all but a distant memory at this point. Maybe he was rescued by them, or maybe he was abducted or sold into them. Whatever the case, Sid found himself aboard The Sunrise Bounty at the ripe age of 5 working as a cabin boy. His duties consisted of mostly scrubbing the deck and maintaining the crews equipment. He didn’t mind the work too much, however, as the crew treated him well and would often regail him with stories of adventure on the high skies. This was especially true for the captain herself, a Draph by the name Dawn Tydes.
Tydes took a shine to Sid who in turn idolized the fearless swashbuckler. Taking him under her wing she began tutoring him in combat and skyfaring while Arlon the navigator taught him how to read and write. He took to the lessons quickly and by age 13 he was boarding ships and plundering loot like a real pirate. The crew saw him as one of their own, and Tydes saw a true successor to take up her mantle when the day came to hang up her coat. Of course she didn’t plan to retire until they succeeded in the ultimate quest; Finding Estalucia and taking all it’s vast riches.
But we don’t always get what we want.
A few days after he turned 18, the crew went after a small cargo ship. It wasn’t heavily guarded and was flying at a lower speed. An easy target. Almost too easy. Once they had caught and boarded the ship, they found it had been deserted, and the only cargo was black powder. It didn’t take a genius to realize it was a trap, but before the crew could escape, an entire Zweite Junta fleet descended upon them and opened fire on the cargo ship.
The ship exploded taking everyone aboard with it and leaving only a handful of the crew left. The Sunrise Bounty was heavily damaged as well making it impossible to escape. Knowing it was their last stand, Tydes lead Sid below deck claiming she had a plan to turn this around. She knew he would have stayed and fought to the end with her and everyone else, but she couldn’t let him die like this. So instead she shoved him into a lifeboat and sent him off to the nearest island. Once he was off the ship Tydes and the remaining crew put on a hell of a show distracting the Zweite navy long enough for Sid’s boat to escape.
For the next few years Sid wandered alone. He heard through the grapevine that the attack was a bloodbath with no survivors. Aimlessly he travelled hopping from ship to ship, island to island trying to find out what he would do in life. Until one fateful day he laid eyes on a sight that shook him to his very soul. It had a new paint job and it flew new flags, but it was unmistakably The Sunrise Bounty flying over head. He couldn’t believe it. Those Zweite Junta bastards had salvaged his ship and were now using it for who knows what!
Filled with rage and flooded with memories of every soul on that ship, Sid swore on Tydes’ name that he would retake The Sunrise Bounty and accomplish what she couldn’t.
Inventory: Kusarigama. Knives in both boots. Flask of rum (currently half full)
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