Lunamaria Hawke

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

In the stink boat's captain's quarters

The wine bottle was either half empty or half full, depending on how one looked at it. Margot gazed at its delicious dark liquids swirling left and right in tune with the ship's toss and turn above the waves. The wine bottle felt warm in her arms, like a cherished baby, while she laid herself on the captain's hammock -- her tired yet restless eyes wanting more... always wanting more.

With one dangling foot touching the wooden floor, and another foot caressing the captain's muscular chest, Margot was all aware that she had committed a pretty serious crime. But who would know?

"Wine, wine, wine, you and I were made for one another. Life is so boring. Luckily, you are my best friend. Well, my second best friend," said Margot, as she took another chug from the wine bottle. Its sweet, sour, and salty flavor swirled in her mouth before she swallowed it. Quality wine that only a ship's captain could afford!

"Are you talking to yourself, again?" said Captain Tedreus.
"No, only to your wine bottle," said Margot, smiling. "Your collection is the best! We should try all of it!"
Captain Tedreus grunted. "The occasion?"
"Well, wasn't that fun?" said Margot. "Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it."
"I did," said Captain Tedreus. "Do you feel guilty? Having done this with a married man?"
"Well, if you hadn't noticed, I have no morals," said Margot, smiling. "Isn't all is fair in love and war? What about you? Do you feel guilty?"
"What we did... my wife would be mad at me."
"No one has to know. We shared something special," replied Margot.
"Why choose me?"
"Well, the short answer is there was no one better. I love leaders."
"How many boyfriends have you had?" asked the Captain.
"Steady ones? Three, but I wouldn't count you as a boyfriend. This is still just a random fling," said Margot, grinning.

The Captain rolled his eyes. Inwardly, Margot felt extremely satisfied. The Captain was another notch on her list of social conquests. It had not been easy, but she had wanted to experience him.

"Let's do it again!" said Margot
"So soon?" said the Captain. "I’m not sure if I’m ready."
"I promise it'll be quick this time," said Margot, as she took two mushrooms from her time weed bag and began the process of making joints for both of them. As a magic user, she was able to create shared dreams with another person, and time weed made the best dreams. She was ecstatic.

When she was done, she offered a joint to the Captain, which the Captain meekly took.

"Flame," said Margot.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

In the ship's sleeping quarters, present day

"Flame."

A small flame lit up the white joint of time weed. Margot laid her back on her bunk, crossed her legs, and put one end of the joint to her mouth, then sucked on it. The smell was delicious. She kept the smoke in her lungs for over 10 seconds, then exhaled upward. The smoke gushed out of her mouth and moved in the direction of the wooden ceiling.

Wow! It's as amazing as the first time I inhaled this stuff!

Well... these few days have been some amazing moments of my life. It was also undeniable. She was a weed-head. She was born to be a weed-head. She had no doubt that she smelled of acrid weed smoke, which was apparent to anyone she encountered -- not that she had visited many parts of the ship.

What can I do? The world on a ship is so boring. Nothing happens. Luckily, I know exactly what to do to pass the time.

The first day at sea, she had ate and smoked time weed.
And... on the 2nd day, she had also ate and smoked time weed.
On the third day? Well... anyone could figure that out.

Yet, these three days had been some of the best moments in her life. The trips just keep getting better and better!
In all these mental adventures, she dreamed of so many different places and experiences. They were all happy trips. Her childhood at her hometown... the school... her parents... and her best friend. She had visited them all.
Time weed is awesome! She could explore different areas of her life, both past and future. She had amazing mental experiences. Every time she lit one up, it felt like she could leap out of her body and into the past or into the future or different timelines altogether.

Sometimes she wondered if she should give up on her real life dreams and just smoke time weed for the rest of her life until she died as an old woman. Should I even go after the money, or just the time weed? Difficult question. Both are equally great.
Naturally, she didn't care about the rest of the world. Monsters are invading? Whoooo cares if monsters are invading? I just want my money, so i can buy a boatload of time weed. This is greeeaat. Life is greeeat. I would rather have a boatload of time weed than a boatload of husbands.

The real world is so boring. I'd rather explore the world of my imagination. And I have the best way to do that, don't I?

When she opened her eyes, she saw that her joint had dwindled to nothing. She tossed the depleted joint away. Then, she sat up on her bunk. She grabbed a mushroom from her bag, grounded it into powder with her hands, slid the powder onto a piece of paper, and rolled the paper up into a joint.

"Flame."

She laid back, inserted the new joint into her mouth, and took another puff. She closed her eyes. Forget the past! Time to explore the future! This time, she dreamed about her future husband, the king of Faroth-En, and the sex -- the amazing sex.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

On the ship

"Thanks for the offer but I gotta say no at the moment. Plus Sam, the nice girl who just walked away from us, gets sea sick really easily so I need to stay of sound mind for the voyage ahead." Kav put his hands on his waist and laughed heartfully. "Find me later though."

Wait, did this guy just temporarily reject me?

Margot was stunned as she watched the guy do a backflip. Then, Kav shouted to everyone else, "Hiya everyone. Looks like its gonna be just a short moment before we are ready to go. Everyone here looks so intriguing and I was hoping for a bit of a roll call for this little party we have here. I'll start..."

Margot did not know how to do backflips, so she had to walk to where all the people were gathered. Meanwhile, she heard Xara walk next to her and say, "By the way, there's so such illness, hormones have nothing to do with casting."

"Um, my hormones? ... are um.... all over the place today," smiled Margot. "They may not be messing with my casting, but they're definitely messing with my mind."

Margot looked at Xara. At the same time, she reached into her pocket and thought about offering Xara some of her rare time weed mushrooms, but on second thought, Xara did not look like the type person who was interested in those type of things. Plus, there were too many people nearby. So she retracted her hands and left her time weed pouch alone.

Her mood entirely changed when she reached where the rest of the group was gathering. So many people! So many opportunities! Rich, poor, classy... and low lives like her? Yeah! There were all the sorts of people she could meet! friends, lovers, allies, maybe even... enemies?

Instantly, she came to the decision that she had done the right thing by coming to the capital despite not having any money in her pockets to begin with.

First, the really pretty blonde woman in a white gown -- named Aleria Lancaster -- spoke briefly about her reason for being here, which was that Aleria was tasked by her church to help everyone on this mission. Why is she really here? Do we really need a white mage?

Wait! I should be glad that she's here, regardless of why she's really here. If i get injured -- Margot shuddered -- I'm gonna need Aleria's help!

Then, Captain Dark Hair spoke. Margot was utterly amazed by Dark Hair's introduction, which was that she -- Ashley Wydcliffe -- was an extremely well off, sophisticated, socially embedded, and highly skilled individual. However, the overall impression Margot got was... well... Margot could not help but notice how much Ashley wydcliffe really really liked herself. Still, I wonder if Ashley has some rich male friends that she can hook me up with!

Margot could not resist the urge to introduce herself as well. "Hi all, I am Margot Frete, and to be honest, I don't really care about the southern islands. I just wanna make money and become fil-- rich! And um, i've never been on a boat either, but i figure that if it doesn't hurt you, you'll come out of it for the better! The same for the mission we're all on. I want to gain experience and go on exciting adventures and grow."

And get famous -- famous enough to marry a wealthy man -- while having my adventures glorified in the history books... Margot grinned.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

yes, i think we're still looking for players. go ahead and join the discord and we'll catch you up! the gm is very friendly to newbies. i had no knowledge of the game, either

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

Near Kav and Sam, at the bow of the ship

"What do you wanna do until we take off?" said the shirtless man.

"Heeey!" Margot approached the two near the bow of the ship. "You're Kav, right? And you're Sam? Sorry, but I overheard your convo. Here."

Margot looked left and right and seeing no one else nearby, she pulled out a mysterious brown bag from her pocket. Then, she put her hand in the bag and pulled out what appeared to be a fragile brown mushroom with lots of red dots.

"You gave me candy so I thought I'd return the favor." She held the mushroom for both Kav and Sam to see. She whispered, "This is canas Cabillas, and it's totally cool. It's a rare type of mind weed that can give us all happy dreams even while we're awake." Margot looked at Kav and Sam to see if they wanted her to continue. She continued whispering. "Last time I took this, I thought i was sleeping with the king! You have to go somewhere safe tho, because since you don't know what's real or not, you can totally harm yourself if you jump off a bridge or something while you think you're still dreaming. Because of that, it's banned almost everywhere -- but that's exactly what makes it cool! The trips are amazing!" She stopped to look at the two. "So you two wanna join in on the fun? I'm thinking of finding some secret place and lightning one up. I haven't a good trip in a while, and I'm graving it. Anyway, like it?" She pushed the mushrooms forward in front of Kav's and Sam's faces. "The mushrooms are very frail. You grind them into powder and then you smoke them. Both of you will have to pay me, of course! I'm not giving this away for free! They're pretty expensive.... for commoners, anyway."

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

On the docks

"if you're half the mage you say you are, then beating the Captain of Whoever the fuck's knights should be a walk in the park no? I'm sure everyone else here would be interested in seeing these abilities of yours as well, gotta see it to believe in it is the motto I live by"

Margot looked at Captain Dark Hair, then at the big giant woman with one arm, then back at Dark Hair. The idea of physical confrontation scared the shit out of her, and so she panicked. Margot replied to the one-armed woman, "Uh, excuse ME??? I am uh... FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I am currently experiencing a type of uh.... sugar relapse disorder and it is incapacitating my ability to physical harness my magical prowess, but....... uh.... REST ASSURED! I can kick anyone's butt anytime! UH... when I'm not currently incapacitated, I mean!!!!"

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

On the docks

Margot quietly followed the group. Ah, the beach. The ocean. The warm winds. Everything is so peaceful. I like the beach even though I don't even know how to swim.

Someone approached @dabombjk. This shirtless man walked up to the group, and...

Wait, why is this guy naked??

Margot examined the guy. Nice body, so thin and shapely, but... he looks.. poor!

However, everything changed when the man offered everyone snacks. "Hello, wonderful to be here. I'm Kav, does anyone want a piece of candy?"

"Me! me! i love sugar!" replied Margot.

When Margot received the candy, she didn't even think too much about it. She put them in her mouth and the sweetness delighted her. She ate another, and another.

By the time she was done, she had eaten quite a bit. Almost instantly, she got a sugar high. Omg, i feel so much energy! i feel so happy!

Margot smiled. She looked up at the sky and her mind raced with energetic thoughts.

Too bad where we're going, there's going to be no sugar. Or anything for that matter! What am I going to eat?

She couldn't wait to go on glorious adventures, and face nail-biting danger.

I'm not afraid of anything! I'm fearless!
And the money. And when all this is over, I'm going to be ... somehow, some way... agonizingly rich! No, filthy rich! then, I will make babies with the best husband I can find.
I'm on my way to getting famous!
I can't wait!
... But you know what's an even better way to become famous? Leading the group that accomplished the mission by the king!

She looked around, hesitated a bit, but then she went for it. "EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!!! No doubt the adventures we're about to go on will be harsh and merciless as well as DANGEROUS. No doubt some of us will die!!! Now, is the time for all of you to choose! As your new leader, I PROMISE all of you that I will create a just and equitable society, a team that will accomplish our mission and make us all ff-- RICH!!! I am fearless! I am powerful. I cannot be corrupted. I am wise. I am successful! Choose me, nowww!!!!!!"

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

In the Tavern's bar

Everything was dark. That was because Margot's eyes were closed tight and her hands were covering her ears from all the noise. Her head was tucked between her ankles and she was scared like shit.

For a full ten minutes which had felt like an eternity, she had completely forgotten about the world and everything that happened around her. She only cared about her personal safety. In her mind, she pretended she was back in her bed at her mother's house, with all her stuffed toys, not out in this cruel world with all its sharp scary sounds -- which frightened the crap out of her. There was no other way to admit it... she was extremely afraid. She only wanted to get away from it all -- all the sharp clangs and the screaming and the people and the shattering and the violence.

As much as Margot consciously wanted to believe she was not, it was undeniable.

She was a coward.

From the first moment she became consciously aware of the sharp noises, she had somehow 'inadvertently' crawled underneath one of the tables in the corner furthest away from all the danger. For the past 10 minutes... which had felt like an eternity, she had been hiding underneath this table.

Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, please! Please! I don't want to die. I'm not part of your fight. This isn't me! I'm not here to hurt anyone! Don't hurt me! I just want to be rich and happy and --

Suddenly, she thought about the 250,000 gold coins that was rightfully hers. Uh... uh... the money! Right! The money!

I want the money! But how do I get the money if I'm underneath a table? A sudden realization dawned upon her. She had an epiphany. If she wanted to join with mister dark and mister blond hair, she had to assume the role of someone she was not. She had to be someone she was not. She had to be someone stronger... better...

Omg, is it over?

She opened her eyes and uncovered her ears. Her head peeked out from underneath the table. She heard... Everything is so quiet, now. I think it's safe!

She crawled out from underneath the table and looked around. She saw... calmness. Everyone was so calm. The giant woman, Mister Blond Head, Mister Dark Head, the thiefy girl, the book guy, all the soldiers, and the guy in the armor.

I'm saved! Help has arrived. The soldiers are here! Margot tried to put on her best confident smile, adjusted her clothing, and pretended to everyone in the room that she hadn't gotten underneath a table the entire time.

Gosh, I hope no one saw me.

Then, she saw Mister Dark Hair crying with the guy in the armor. Crying???? And Mister Dark Hair... has so much hair! @Emeth

What? Mister dark hair is actually miss dark hair???? Is Mister Blond Hair also Miss Blonde Hair?? What are my eyes seeing? Wait... is Miss Dark Hair talking to me, now???

She was too shaken to hear properly. She heard miss dark hair say something (was it to Margot??) and then Mister Blond Hair said something as well. “You too mage girl,” said Mister Blond Hair. “Looks like it’s about time to head out.” @TheDemonHound

"R-r-r-right on! I'm with you, mister blond hair and miss dark hair!" said Margot, as she pretended she was a normal person who had fearlessly watched the fight without hesitation. She puffed her chest high and followed all the others out of the tavern.

I can do this. I can do this.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

In the Tavern's bar

Margot heard the following:

“What a coincidence, we were also heading to Irinoth. Perhaps we could bring you along if you can prove to us that you’ve got a skill valuable enough to warrant it. Of course, if my companion here is also alright with that,” said Mister Blond Hair. @TheDemonHound

"Hm?" said Mister Dark Hair, who smiled. "There are several ships departing soon. I suppose you'll need to pay your fare?" Pause. "I suppose it can't be helped, can it? Safe travels." @Emeth

Suddenly, a purse of... COIN??? ... was handed out to Margot from Mister Dark Hair. Margot grabbed the coin purse and tried to feel it's weight. It was HEAVY! Without hesitation or fear of embarrassment, she looked into the bag and her eyes opened wide!

That's 200 gold coins, right there!!!

Immediately, several thoughts flashed through Margot's mind, all in quick succession:

First:
Wow, that's a lot of time weed money! She licked her lips and thought about all the mushrooms she could buy from the black market at her home town. She could visualize all the "trippy" experiences she could attain from smoking all that time weed.

Second:
I can finally afford a good place to sleep for the night! Yay me!

Third:
Mister Dark Hair just gave me 200 gold coins without so much as talking to me for more than 10 seconds! What else can I get from him?

All three thoughts unraveled in her mind, until something else clicked in her mind: Wow, these guys are loaded!!! And I LOVE rich men! I wonder how much Mister Blond Hair and Mister Dark Hair are worth? How RICH are they?

Now, she glanced at Mister Dark and Blond Hair and saw them differently, as well as an irresistible opportunity. Didn't Mister Blond Hair offer me to go with them? That's exactly what I wanted before they even spoke. And after all this, I'm pretty certain that's exactly what I want after. She licked her lips, thinking about how her chances of obtaining the 250,000 gold -- and maybe even a rich husband -- suddenly improved right in front of her.

She spoke. "I am a great element mage of incalculable caliber armed with an immeasurable number of destructive spells in my arsenal and I assure both of you that my participation in your group will result in vast profits for ALL of us. Both of you want me on your team, Mister Blond and Mister Dark Head. Um... what are your names, again?" Margot flashed both of them a grin that for once was actually genuine... because she really, really wanted the money from both the 250,000 gold reward and from whatever both rich guys had in their networth, and she really wanted to go on the adventure.

She was so excited to go with Mister Blond Hair and Mister Dark Hair that she didn't even notice the bar fight.

Fire Emblem: Sunken Flames

Margot

In the Tavern's bar

Margot sat up. She felt something. Something strong within the magical currents. She had spent years cultivating a sort of detection skill that enabled her to "feel" when another magic user was nearby, and now this sense was tingling. It felt like... a tension so tangible she could cut it with a knife.

It gave her energy when she had none. What is that? Who is that?

She searched around the bar. She saw two grown men standing next to the bartender. Her eyes focused on these two men. One of them had very little magic, but the other one.......

Whaaaa....???
No.... it's not possible.

She sniffed it. That is some serious magic!

Even without the magic, she knew she was in the presence of nobles. Just look at what they're wearing! Those are some seriously well dressed commoners. They look like fashionistas, or some type of costume showmen!

As her eyes took them in, she labeled them as Mister Dark Hair @Emeth and Mister Blond Hair @TheDemonHound. She could not tell which one was better dressed. They all looked like showmen! The only difference was that Mister Dark Hair had a lot of magic, whereas Mister Blond Hair had little.

Hmm.... nobles, huh? She smiled devilishly. Maybe if I mix with them well, they might pay for my trip to the southern islands? Maybe they'll pay for my night at the inn so I don't have to sleep in the stables or somewhere dirty? It never hurts to try.

Maybe they're adventurers, too! Adventurers with deep pockets!

Margot didn't consciously think of it, but she was well aware that it was necessary to band together with all sorts of people in her quest to earn all that money -- because she couldn't do it alone, even if she wanted all the money for herself. She was also well aware that she did not care about the world or the southern islands. She just wanted to go on exciting adventures and become famous.

Even before she got up, her eyes already sparkled with the idea of glory, fame, and honor. Because of all this, she suddenly formulated a plan... to use these two guys so that she could get what she wanted in life, and to get paid for most of the 250,000 gold reward that she knew she deserved.

Time for some serious sucking up.

She tidied up her clothe, put on her best innocent expression of a young woman who just wanted to get help and to help others reach their goals -- whatever those goals were -- and said to the two men near the bar, "Hi, maybe you two know a way to get to the southern islands?"