sanquin

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Sorry it's taking so long again. I let my motorcycle stall while parking, and I fell. And my foot got caught between the bike and the ground. So had a sprained foot, which resulted in me feeling crappy for a few days for some reason. But it's almost over now. Should be able to post today or tomorrow.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

(Sorry it took so long. And it's a bit short... ^^;; )

The other ship had noticed them already. So it was starting to turn to get the smaller ship into firing range. Cannons were being prepared, and...bows? Ceres could clearly spot several sailors on the other ship getting bows. But it soon became clear why. When the arrows were nocked, they were on fire. A dirty trick in her opinion, but definitely effective...against any ship but this one. Six arrows were fired, and came flying at the ship. But with two streams of water from her arm, three arrows were already stopped before they hit The Albatross. (you renamed the ship, remember? :P It's no longer the Duchess Gambit.) She then aimed her pipe, and with several small, but precise bursts of water the last three were also put out before they could do any damage. "Not going to happen..." She mused with a grin before turning her attention to the Powder Keg again.

For now things would be pretty boring for her though. The Albatross was too fast for the larger ship, so the cannons had trouble getting into range. And all Ceres could do was wait until either they did come into range, so she could stop the cannon balls. Or wait until they were going to raid the ship, rather than just circle around it. Putting out fires seemed to be all she could do until then.

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

"Hmm, can I first smell the spices? I won't stick my nose in of course." Alakai asked, not wanting to offend. The woman looked confused once again, but nodded slowly. "I guess...but why would you need to do that?" "You'll see..." He replied with a smile. The man started going through all the spices available, and picked out 4 different ones that smelled familiar to him. They didn't look anything like the spices from their world, but as long as the smell was similar it should work. He then also gathered himself some lamb chops, peas, and potatoes.

Once everything was ready Alakai explained as much as he could to the woman. Though he still did everything himself. As he figured the npc's would also be used to the game style of cooking. He peeled the potatoes, spiced the meat, and got a pan and a pot ready. It took about 30 minutes to prepare everything after that. Lamb chops with potatoes and peas, and plenty of gravy. He divided everything in four bowls, and served them up on the table. The wife had already prepared the rest of the table, so they could sit and start eating.

Alakai had already tested the taste by then, so he knew that it tasted, well, like it should. It actually had teste, for starters. So he couldn't wait to see the npcs' reaction. Cooking was more fun when you could see other people enjoy it as well.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

(Nah it's fine.) Ceres decided that she might as well. So she ate her own bowl first. Then she took over the wheel as she handed the larger plate to the captain. She didn't care about Octavius scoffing her meal down like it was dog food. A balanced diet was more important than enjoying the meal. He would come to enjoy it eventually, she was sure. Though the calm didn't last long. As soon, the captain spotted something and immediately began giving orders. First, one to her. She had a basic idea of everyone's capabilities by now, so she rushed to find the right man and bring him over. It took half a minute at most before the sailor was standing in front of the captain. Ceres herself was out of the picture for a little bit. But she remained on the sidelines anyway, as she knew what her role would be. She would have to focus on fighting. "I'll get my pipe~" she spoke, running towards the kitchen to get her weapon. She wondered how strong these other pirates were. Would they be able to even hurt her? Normal weapons didn't work after all. Though then again, even she had heard stories about the Powder Keg. Maybe the captain had managed to find himself some seastone bullets. Or maybe he could even use this mysterious power she had heard very few reumours of. A power that could allow you to hurt a Logia user like her with any weapon, even with ones fists. Then again...those stories were vague, and they all came from the Grand Line. No way anyone would have them in one of the four seas. ceres ran back outside and back to what she had decided her post would be while not cooking. To the side of the steering wheel. As she wouldn't be surprised if Octavius decided to shove more tasks on her like issuing commands and making her steer the ship.

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Alakai awkwardly followed inside. He welcomed the meal of course, but to just be invited into a strangers' house... Once inside though, a large part of that awkwardness disappeared. The family didn't have a lot and the house was small, but it was cosy. And they had a very lovely kitchen. And for the first time today, he had an itch he had every day when he was in the real world. The man loved cooking and eating good food. Ingame cooking didn't work like real life cooking. But this world...well, he wasn't even entirely sure if it was indeed the game world, or something else. And some things seemed to work like the real world. Alakai had planned on waiting with this little experiment until they were back in the city, but with such an opportunity he couldn't pass it up. "Miss, can I ask a different favour? I'm actually a cook myself, and I'd like to try a...special kind of cooking. I haven't been able to try so far, since we don't have the money or a kitchen. So...ah..." The woman looked confused, then chuckled softly. "My aren't you awkward. No need, make yourself right at home! We'll be eating together after all. But...are you sure? I want to thank you for bringing back my husband..." Alakai chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his arm. "Well, consider me borrowing your kitchen as a thank you then? It's okay if I can't..." The woman thought for a little bit, then finally nodded. "Well, okay then. But I want to watch. Because now I'm interested in what kind of meal an adventurer will make." Alakai then looked towards Kali, smiling a little. "I'm going to try how we cook where we come from. Maybe I can recreate some of the flavours." Both npc's now looked confused, though they didn't say anything as they only saw it 'weird things adventurers say'. In the beta the players also referenced the real world a lot. And to npc's, it pretty much sounded like a different language at those times.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

(Sounds like a plan. Wouldn't be fun to spend AGES on just getting a crew together. xD) Ceres was done about 45 minutes later, grinning like she was very satisfied about something. "Dinner's ready! Too many bowls to carry so everyone come in and grab one yourself!" Each bowl was the same. Seasoned potato and carrot bits with a piece of pork in the middle, all topped with gravy. There was one exception though. A plate with the same ingredients, but with several pieces of meat instead of just one. The captain of the ship should get the best meal after all. Taking one small bowl for herself and the large plate in her other hand Ceres headed up to the captain's cabin. She wasn't going to eat there, as Octavius clearly didn't want her there. But she figured he might want to. "Cap'n, dinner is served." She spoke as she held the plate in front of her. "Where would you like to eat?" The woman was acting a little odd, though. With a gentleness that you'd normally expect from a woman, rather than her usual rough self. ((To give you an idea: Crew meals: http://www.foodasaurusrex.com/media/2010/09/pot-roast.jpg Captain's meal: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--dl4SSFKPcE/TwInB3UOl0I/AAAAAAAACo4/EupW7BpkOhA/s1600/Pot+Roast.jpg ))

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

After a while Ceres decided to have a seat herself. She kept her back against the wheel so it wouldn't turn on it's own, as she wasn't sure if this ship could lock it's rudder's position though. There was someone in the crow's nest to keep a lookout, so she'd hear it if something was up. And it was unlikely for them to encounter another ship any time soon. If you wanted to cross the entire north blue, as their part of the sea had come to be known, it would take at least a week. So she wondered where exactly the captain planned on going. And she wondered what kind of ship this Powder Keg was. Though asking Octavius wasn't an option at the moment, most likely. She annoyed him just by being there. It was quite obvious with how he acted when he came back on the ship. But that didn't matter to her. "As long as I can keep on sailing, and aren't treated like some token mascot, I'll be fine." Ceres thought to herself as she looked up at the sky. Good weather for now, with a strong wind. Almost as if she gods themselves wanted to spur them on. The day went by uneventfully. And then evening fell. The sea had become more rough, but nothing Ceres couldn't handle. Still no sight of land, of course. Most of the crew was playing a game on deck. But it would soon be time for dinner. Quite a few people to cook for, but she had the experience to do that too. So she grabbed the nearest sailor she could find and put him behind the wheel. "Keep it going straight. I doubt any of you can cook so I'm making the food." She spoke as she walked away. The sailor didn't even have time to protest. Ceres headed to the kitchen, opening the locks on her cabinets and started to collect what she needed. Cooking for so many with such poor equipment meant a simple meal. So potatoes, pork basted with rum, carrots and gravy seemed like a good way to go. It would be easy to make such a meal in quantity, so she'd have more time to focus on quality. She had her pride as a cook after all. (I figured Octavius might be in the captain's cabin at that time or something.)

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Alakai was more reserved when they finally went outside again. Though he too was glad they were. This whole quest had been an experiment. To see how this world worked, and how far they could go if they treated it like the game. So far, though seemingly 90% similar, some things were more like the world they had come from as well. Like the npc's, whom were far more like people now. And Kali agreed with him as they started walking back to the small village. "In my opinion, anything that can show honest emotion like that is sentient, and should be treated with respect. So until proven otherwise, I'll treat them as such. It still feels strange though." Once back at the village there was a happy reunion between the husband and wife. Alakai nodded, wondering what to do in a situation like this, besides just standing there awkwardly. "Ah, yes. I think it's highly likely that we're the first of many more adventurers. Though I'm not sure why others haven't come here yet..." "So you really are adventurers! The village saw you two riding through earlier, but we were unsure. Ah...my apologies, I'm just so excited to see my husband back." She bowed respectfully, then motioned towards their house. It had a stand standing next to the front door, though nothing was being sold at the moment. Probably because the wife was the merchant. And logically, who would be able to keep their shop open when they're worried about their husband? "Please, come in! Luckily I still have some clothing from before the other adventurers disappeared, so I can give you a reward of course. Though I'd also like to invite you to dinner, as a special thanks for being the first to return to our aid again." Alakai glanced towards Kali, as he still hadn't gotten much further than 'awkwardly standing there.' The npc's treated the two of them with so much respect, and apparently saw it as normal to give a reward when an adventurer did something for them. Not that he would complain, as they needed the items. But it still felt weird...even if you'd expect such a thing from npc's.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Ceres started working on getting the ship dislodged again, moving to the front of the deck. There, just as she did when they escaped from the marines, let her water go into the ocean to control it. With enough water beneath the two ships and in between them, the ship would dislodge itself soon enough. The captain seemed to be having a lot of fun, so she hoped he would feel a little better once he returned. Slaughtering random people was just so...wasteful. The ship started moving just as everyone was climbing aboard again. Perfect timing, in Ceres' mind. This was probably the fastest raid she had ever seen or heard about. As it hadn't taken them more than 5 minutes in total. And before the sailors of the other ship had properly realized what happened, the Albatross was already on it's way again. "Back on our way I take it?" The woman asked as Octavius came back to the back of the ship. Though she was already steering into the right direction again. And the sailors were all quick to head back to their posts as well. It had probably already occurred to them that slacking off under Octavius' command, with an Albatross as his first mate, would not be tolerated.

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Okay. :)