[IC]Clockwork Voyage

[WriggleRid3r]

Jefferson North Dock, Skylands Republic

---

"'Ey, 'erbert. Ya 'eard about w'at 'appened to Verdelion's crew?"

"No I haven't, Olson. What happened?"

Two skyfarers were chatting by, next to a hot dog stand, their conversation audible to both Miriah and Troy. North Dock of Jefferson was the most populated of all docks in the city of Jefferson, full of travelers wandering around looking helpless, soldiers of the Air Force gathering around before and after their patrols, and skyfarers, an equivalent of sailors to the realm of the sky, busy readying their ships for takeoff or unloading the cargo. One, named Olson, had the classic look of a farer: wearing crisp white sailor outfit with black ties and black suede shoes. He had no hat, and no hair, and his beard was large and impressive. The other, named Herbert, looked more like a scribe, with brass goggles resting on his forehead, indigo-colored robe, and copper prosthetic arm.

"Most of t'em died. Murdered, t'ey say. T'ey don't know w'o's be'ind it or why t'ey're dying, but people are reckoning t'at the killer is after t'e treasure." Olson said before he chugged on his bottle of rum. He was leaning on a heavy box of cargo he was carrying.

"Verdelion's treasure? If Verdelion's crew are murdered, then the treasure's location could be lost forever." Herbert sighed. While Olson's voice and gestures were loud and obnoxious, Herbert's were the direct opposite: quiet and withdrawn.

"A 'andful still lives to t'is day." Olson, finding that he drank all of his rum, smashed the bottle on the wooden dock floor, shattering it. He then proceeded to reach behind the box he was leaning on to get another bottle of rum. "And Verdelion 'as 'is log that 'as everyt'ing about t'e treasure. T'e location, t'e details of w'at's in it..."

"Come to think of it, aren't the military searching for the treasure as well? I heard the famous sheriff of Piltover is also close to finding it as well..." Herbert went off into a solitary muttering as Olson paid no mind and kept drinking. Conversations like this were the topic of interest to many explorers, but these two sounded like they knew about something that others did not.

[Major Mario]

Jefferson Docks, Skylands Republic - (@Wriggle, slight mention of TRXD)

---

It soon became apparent to Troy that these docks weren't well-suited for a myriad of uses. They were primarily used for the Air Force and those affiliated with them. For Troy, this meant that he stuck out like a sore thumb with his modest robes. There were a few other 'sore thumbs' unloading cargo here and there from all corners of the world, and for that Troy felt reassured. He looked for any robes that matched his own, anything that showed someone who hailed from Namishima, but no luck. No worries though, Troy thought with a small smile on his lips.

A great airship had docked in the distance. Judging from the machinery and weaponry on board, it was some kind of battleship or patrol craft. Troy cared little for war and its instruments, but even he understood that for there to be peace there had to be war. This ship and its crew were there to safeguard the city and act as deterrence. An amiable goal to be sure given how many people resided in Jefferson. With the crew coming down from the ship, possibly on leave, Troy figured it would be a good chance to speak with one of them to figure out his next plan of action.

However, before he could seek out one of the crewmembers of the Heisenberg, Troy overheard a few sailors discussing Verdelion. This caught his attention in an instant and he had to stop to listen. After getting his fill of information he approached the two sailors and introduced himself.

"Pardon me, but I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your conversation," Troy interjected. He looked between the two and gave a small bow of his head and hands. "I too have heard of this Verdelion's treasure, but like you, I have no idea where it could be. Buried at sea, stashed in a cove, left on his person, or perhaps it isn't a physical treasure... Oh, forgive my musings. "

In many Galest texts and mantras there was talk of finding a sort of treasure that resided inside each and every human being. This treasure would be many things at once. Compassion, sympathy, wisdom, enlightenment, mudita, and more. This was spiritual in nature, but perhaps this great Verdelion's treasure wasn't spiritual else someone would have 'discovered' it already. Was it some kind of value, something that can't be easily exchanged? If that was true, then Troy was certain that the treasure was some kind of ancient knowledge or wisdom.

Troy could not deny that he felt a desire for this treasure, and hearing these two skyfarers talk about it only worsened it. He would not succumb to greed, but he would not turn down the opportunity either. There had to be a middle path. So far Troy was walking on that path to the treasure, as were many others. This middle path wasn't wide enough to fit the might of all the military and the reputation of a sheriff. One of these two, or another party, was bound to find the treasure in good time, and Troy was willing to bet they wouldn't mind a humble monk minding his steps by their side as they walked the path to the great treasure.

"You say that the military and a sheriff are looking for the treasure? Wouldn't the military be concerned with other things?" Troy asked.

[WriggleRid3r]

Jefferson North Dock, Skylands Republic

---

"Well hello there." Herbert greeted Troy with a bow. "You can join in on our discussion if you'd please."

"'U', you look like you're one of t'ose Namis'ima people. I've been t'ere once, t'e ladies were lovely." Olson chuckled heartily.

"The military is concerned that the treasure of Captain Verdelion, a legendary pirate who plundered the seas and the skies, building a criminal syndicate 20 years ago, may fall into the wrong hands. They say they want to make the treasure secure for everyone to use... bah, it's nonsense." Herbert explained to Troy about the reason behind the military's involvement.

"I bet t'ey're in for it because of t'e ric' corrupt government fools trying to earn t'emselves some fame." Olson mumbled under his consumption of rum. "Bloody aristocrats... it's all about t'e money, e'?"

"The sheriff of Piltover... well I heard she is a very exemplary peacekeeper..." Herbert began, but Olson rudely cut him off with a guffaw and a comment.

"S'e's t'e best s'ot I 'ave ever seen! S'e can paint a black dot on a w'ite piece of paper, send it out on a blimp, and s'oot it down from two miles away! And s'e's t'e most 'eartstoppingly beautiful woman I've ever seen!"

"Well... as I was about to say..." Herbert groaned as Olson went into a drunken frenzy of laughter. "Rumor has it that the sheriff of Piltover is searching for the treasure to improve her citizens' lives. I would believe that she is one of the pursuers of the treasure that does not have ill intention of use."

[Major Mario]

Jefferson Docks, Skylands Republic - (@Wriggle, slight mention of TRXD)

---

Troy gave a small chuckle at Olson's statement. Namishima did in fact have plenty of lovely ladies, but the same could be said of every country. There were beautiful women everywhere in the world. All one had to do was to look carefully. Namishima women were of a plainer sort than other women in the world because they hardly used makeup or dressed up in fancy robes. Everybody led a minimalist life there, although if you had a good eye you might be able to spot a lady whose features were much more defined and welcoming than others.

It seemed that both of these sailors had good sets of ears to pick up all this information on Verdelion's treasure, but they didn't seem to have a high opinion of the military or politics. Troy didn't blame them, but his opinion didn't carry much weight given that he didn't put much stock in politics. He did, however, find the idea behind the military's involvement to be of good intentions. If the military secured the treasure, all the wealth would be equally divided amongst the various branches or citizens given how many voices were involved. Corrupt or not, a government run by many able bodies would be more able to spread the wealth than a lone sheriff.

Then again, the efforts of one man or woman could do more than an entire government in some cases. If this sheriff of Piltover indeed had a mind to help out her citizens then she could easily do so. After finding the treasure, any other problem would seem much smaller in comparison and easily rectified. Troy's interest was peeked on this subject, and it showed in his character. He leaned forward and hung on Olson's words, however hard they were to understand with such a rich accent.

"Do any of you happen to have a picture of this sheriff?" Troy asked.

[WriggleRid3r]

Jefferson North Dock, Skylands Republic

---

"I took a picture of her performing the feat Olson mentioned using a steam-powered photo capturing device." Herbert said as he flipped several pages from a large, thin book he was holding with his prosthetic hand. It was a sort of a photo album, hosting pictures of various subjects from portraiture to landscape to studio. The photo that Herbert showed Troy was a dark-haired woman either in her late 20s or early 30s, holding a custom-built copper-embellished sniper rifle, firing a single shot at an unknown target: most likely the black dot on a white paper planted on a box that was being carried by a blimp 2 miles away. She was wearing a short strapless purple dress with two leather belts, one supporting her chest and one on her waist.

[Amaterasu no Akane]

Moroz Drakon

"Got it, Lia," replied Thomas. He sat down on one of the chairs in the piloting room. He took the belt attached on the seat and then strapped it on. Ah, that feeling in my stomach is back, he thought. He didn't particularly like the take-off phase of aircrafts, as he is not used to the sudden propelling upwards. Either way, he shrugged it off, then proceeded to attempt to sit back and relax.

[Kristia]

Moroz Drakon


With the flip of a switch and the pressing of a button, Lia started the engines and started working on the pedals to synchronize with the ship "I hope you guys are prepared because we are taking lift off" she said putting her goggles and pushed the main lever.

The sky Fox at first started to float as it went slowly forward, it´s thrusters releasing energy as the forward movement got stronger. The speed of the ship gradually grew and it´s pilot pulled the control to make the ship rise calmly. She eyed the boy and knew he wasn´t used much to ship traveling, so she went calmly, the real lift off would be used when needed.

Lia looked at the altitude and speed sensors (idk the name of the speed, fuel or whatever checker on car dashboards) and was glad that they were at good levels "We are now flying people"

[SUSTIC]

Moroz Drakon

As the ship began to take off Mard stumbled a bit as he was in the cargo bay of the ship. Almost immediately Mard began to stumble back and forth before finally grabbing onto an iron support beam. Mard after grabbing the steal support beam wrapped both his arms and his legs to it while slowly sliding to the floor. Now he was sitting on the floor, with his arms and legs wrapped around a single iron support beam. "Oh do I hate flying..." Mard said as he continued to hold onto the iron support.

[Amaterasu no Akane]

Airspace

Rii gripped to the seat as if his chair was about to be blasted into the sky. Thankfully, it didn't and it went more smoothly than expected. "Oh crap," he muttered, "It went more smoothly than I expected." At first, he thought that the airship would rapidly go straight up, but instead, it steadily went forward while going up at the same time.

[Kristia]

Airspace

Lia couldn´t help but smile at his reaction "It´s ok Thomas, when there is no deadline or hurry, this guy is smooth" she spoke while tracing the route on a map at her side "But know that this thing can blast off in seconds if we need to. That is when you will really hope to be secure on a chair"

Noticing that the vessel was going to be ok, the pilot made some adjustments and took off her security belt. Leaving the controls in automatic, the redhead got up and put her goggles back on their original position "Now it is time to make some special ammunition, can´t bring those toys on civil areas" she made some emphasis with the civil part flexing her fingers while heading to the armory. Her rifle cannon ammunition was like a small bomb as also the grenade launcher´s. but atleast her shotgun and revolver ones were ok.

(pills kicking, brain hazy, and pillow comfy, goodnight ^^)

[Luna Pixu]

Jefferson North Dock, Skylands Republic

---

The Jefferson air had a familiar yet strange feeling to it. One that reeked of smoke and steam and yet gave vibes of something else. For the numerous times that Miriah had been forced to work in and around Jefferson, one would assume that Miriah would be used to such a thing. But for Miriah, her port of call was out in the open. In the field. On ships. Not confined to a tight metropolis or a guard's post. She craved for two things. For adventure and for gunplay. And in a city like Jefferson, neither were feasible. Sure, Miriah could explore the city but she would most likely get lost or be promptly called up for duty once more. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. Miriah liked her job and the twists and turns it may provide. But she wanted to forge her own path instead of having to be forced to work with stern or ignorant captains. And from what Miriah could see, the Air Force had more captains with sticks up their asses than easygoing ones. It was a shame to see how it was more of the lower ranking operatives and shipmen that seemed to take it easy compared to the lieutenants and captains.

While wandering through the docks, Miriah began to hear a three-way conversation nearby. As Miriah looked to find the source of the voices, she found a dock worker or a shipman, a scribe, and... some other person talking at a hotdog stand. While Miriah wasn't necessarily the one to be nosy or the one to barge into every conversation, Miriah did love a good chat. And even further, it appeared that the three individuals were letting on to something bigger than just idle chit-chat. Whatever it was, it had Miriah interested.
"Excuse me, good sirs!" Miriah called out as she approached the hot-dog stand. "May enquire into what you may be discussing about?"

[Major Mario]

Jefferson Docks, Skylands Republic - (@Wriggle and TRXD)

---

Troy craned his neck to look over Herbert's shoulder and get a look at the picture. Back in Namishima it was a rarity to find pictures of people or pictures in general. Most Galests didn't hang pictures or paintings up in their houses because they believed that it was no use to pin down and capture a moment when others would come. They believed that all of life's beauty was to be experienced and cherished before it vanished like sand in the wind. This is not to say that some people kept lockets and photos of their loved ones, as nobody could take away a man's sentimental feelings.

The monk's eyes widened in wonder when he gazed upon the strange woman with a superior weapon. He reached for Herbert's picture after assuring him he would be mindful of it and examined it more closely. The woman pictured there had dark hair, long legs and a shapely figure that was no stranger to labor. Her clothes were foreign to Troy and somewhat provocative, but the detail and appearance was intriguing. Suffice to say, the monk found himself smitten with the picture of the woman. He rubbed his chin and searched her face for some emotion other than determination, yet he could find none. Before he could ask for a name, a spritely-looking young woman came about and attracted Troy's attention.

She must have come off of that ship, Troy thought as he noticed the sailors coming off of the Heisenberg. He blinked twice and stared at the playful hairstyle of this young woman for a moment before answering her.

"Oh, greetings," Troy said with another bow. "These two men and I were interested in the topic of Captain Verdelion's treasure. They were talking about the military and an independent sheriff, both of which had a strong interest in finding the treasure, but for different reasons. Both sides have their strengths, weaknesses and ideals. Given the might and size of the military, especially here in Jefferson," Troy said as he gestured to the airship the blonde-haired woman got off on, "I was compelled to believe they would find it first, but after seeing this picture of the sheriff, I may just have to swing my support over.

A friendly smile graced Troy's lips as he returned the picture back to Herbert.

"Are you an aviator or scholar like these two men?" Troy asked the woman.

[Katrix]

Near Oceanside

Kathryn was getting closer to the city known as Oceanside. She didn't know much about the other cities around the world, not even the ones in her own country. The only thing that she was 100% sure of with Oceanside was that it was a seaside city. Anything else was either speculation, or she was a bit unsure about it. She hoped that she could find something interesting in the city. What she did not know, although she did have some gold that she had found in the airship, or more prefearable, she could just steal it if there was something she wanted. One thing she did notice when she got closer was that the weather seemed pretty nice at least. Back in Baratone, it had always felt so dull, as opposed to here.

Upon getting closer to the city, Kathryn decided it would be a good idea to leave the airship a bit away from the city, so she wouldn't have to answer a a lot of questions when she arrived, like "What is someone at your age doing on an airship" and "Where is the rest of the crew?" She found a nice place to hide the ship in a forest nearby. It wasn't too visible either, which was a good thing. Most likely, no one would find the ship here. Just to be on the safe side tough, she loaded everything she didn't want to lose and hid it in an area around the ship. That way even if the ship disappeared, she would most likely have her things. Once that was taken care of, she set off towards the city. She didn't know what to expect, she just hoped it would be fun.

[Luna Pixu]

Jefferson North Dock, Skylands Republic

---

Captain Verdelion... Miriah hadn't heard such a name in quite a while. The only real times she had heard of such of a man was amongst the several crews that she would assigned to. Rumours circulating of a mysterious pirate who disappeared not so long ago. And with him, he supposedly left a huge bounty of treasure. Of course, that was all that anyone really knew. Just some skyfarers' tale. And from what Miriah had picked up from this man, the man in robes, it appeared that it was more than simply crazy explorers who were investigating into this. Not only was some sheriff of town rumoured to be taking up the case but so was the military. In that moment, Miriah gave a look of confusion and curiosity. The military was after the treasure? As in... the Skylands Military? If that were the case, Miriah wouldn't mind the opportunity of being assigned to such a task. But it only served to raise questions. The Military. Air Force, Navy, and what little infantry was available. They were primarily formed for the purposes of defending the Skylands and to ensure that nothing goes wrong. If there was a division dedicated to this little treasure hunt, wouldn't Miriah have been made aware of it already? Very few ships leave the docks of the Skylands unnoticed. If a ship assigned to this kind of work had left a Skylands dock, surely someone would have noticed and reported it.

"Me?" Miriah responded before giving a light laugh. "Well, you could say that I am the sort that likes to be out in the open sky. But I myself don't really do the flying or navigating so to speak. Gunplay is more my thing. Cannons, gatling guns, rifles, revolvers... Those are my instruments of work. I'm certain you can understand where I'm coming from with this, right? Now... As for this little thing about the military and this sheriff. The military does have its fair share of power. A strong Air Force and a good navy. Saying that, it's rather doubtful that a single sheriff could outdo the force of an entire nation. I mean, it's a single sheriff! What kind of person is this sheriff to say that they have the right to seek this treasure on their own? In competition with the Skylands' own military, no less." Picking up on what the robed man had said to Miriah, she was very curious as to who this sheriff was. To make such claims and take such actions found Miriah even more intrigued over the identity of the sheriff. Remembering that one of the other men had a picture of the sheriff, Miriah then turned her head away from the robed person and began to direct herself at the goggles wearing scribe. "You say you have a picture of this sheriff. If it isn't too much trouble, may I take a look at it?" Miriah asked in a friendly tone.

[SereneGrace]

Drake's Workshop - Clockwork Town

Carina looked at Drake for a moment before facepalming. "I put the containers on the top shelf under their proper labels. After all before you had both containers in the wrong spot." Carina replied in a slightly annoyed tone, completely losing all fear of the situation. After all it was Drake's fault for putting them on the wrong shelf.


Jefferson Market - Skyland's Republic

Meanwhile in the Jefferson Market Place, Kaiden was at the booth he had set up for the day. At his booth was a wide variety of valuable antiques from other cities. Though this time there was mostly only paintings and some jewelry, but other than that nothing else important this month. Due to the lack of more interesting stuff at his booth this time, the amount of customers he has is much smaller than the last time he was here in Jefferson. "Wow... I can't believe I only had 2 customers so far... Last time I was here I had at least 7 by now..." Kaiden said as he yawned while leaning back in his seat. "If I don't get a customer within the next 30 minutes I'm going on break..."