Hunting for the Basilisk (Pirates and Lilan Navy)

[chase]

ooc:This is where we can start looking for this Basilisk in the mini-campaign... chances are it's moved on from here... especially if it can swim, but here is a better place than any to start hunting.

I'm assuming that the Lilan Navy would arrive in another ship to the pirates
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Chase leapt off the deck of the pirate cruiser he had arrived on. It was the first one he had been able to barter passage on, and he was glad to think that it was only he and a few pirates on this ship that were here to hunt for this basilisk. Chase had almost been beaten by this thing, and it had almost proven his crossbow useless.

But he had a score to settle, and this was his current mission as Amory had put it. He was ready...

Chase walked down the modest port walk, and waited at it's end for the rest of the pirates to arrive...

[Poker]

Poker walked elegantly off the ship with Archer beside him. He was wearing light armour, though he doubted it would do much it helped his morale.
Archer was walked happily, completely oblivious to the fact that danger lay ahead.
Poker had a more sombre mood. A whole boat ride from The Emerald Isle to Teer then back to The Emerald Isle having to listen to Chase talking about how good of an archer he was had put him in a fairly foul mood.
Poker walked straight past Chase into the Diamond City.
"You can stay on decks if you want." Poker said, without turning around. "But the Navy can't be far behind us and I want to go finding this bastard."
Poker walked into the town, assuming that the other Pirates wouldn't be too far behind.

[chase]

Chase looked back towards the ship. There was still a few pirates to come. But he could wait for them later.

Chase was wearing his oen armour now. Something that he rarely ever did unless he was going North. His sword was sharpened and he had a full quiver of bolts on his back. He was at his peak condition now, and he felt that nothing could stand in his way.

Chase followed Poker into the Diamond City, but soon lost him in the crowd. Chase made his way to the gates and walked up the hill just outside the city. From there he could see the mouth of the cave. It looked so small and insignificant from this distance, but he knew better. He briefly wondered if he could shoot that distance...

Seeing that he was the first one out here. He sat down on the grass and took his last moments of peace to ready himself for the task ahead. There was no sense in going in alone, they all had to be here, or they would all die...

[amory]

Amory had set off to the Isle of Emeralds early that morning, as she would familiarize herself once again with the city. She hadn't brought anybody with her, knowing that she would be just fine with herself as long as she didn't begin looking for the basilisk on her own. She stepped off of the ship, which wasn't her own. She does have her own ship, however, right now she cannot use it as it had been destroyed. She doesn't know the cause of the destruction, but something in the ocean destroyed it and now it is under construction. Sighing in slight frustration from the uncomfortable ride, she headed towards the Emerald City, waiting for the rest of her pirates to arrive.

Time passed, as boredom took over from roaming the area for so long. Much to her relief, however, she saw a familiar Pirate only a short distance away. It was Poker, and it looked like he had only just arrived as he was standing at the Gate. She walked towards him and only moments later did she see Chase close behind. "Poker, Chase! Great to see you two here." She looked and didn't see any of the Navy soldiers yet. She wondered if they were coming or not. Surely they had an interest in killing this beast as well. "I wonder if we should wait or get going. I, personally, want this thing dead as quickly as possible."

[Poker]

"We'd best be heading off now." Poker said looking around. "This isn't an overly friendly city for Pirates and we need to get out of here before the Navy arrives."

Poker rubbed Archer's head from where he was sitting on the ground, for once he was quiet.

"We should be going as quickly as possible, I'd like this thing dead too."

[chase]

"Yeah, I don't know how the Navy will react to us being here," Chase threw in his voice. "I still don't know what they want dead more, this basilisk or the pirate queen..."

Chase started walking towards the mines, with the other two close in step. Horus was flying high above in the air, but he soon settled down onto Chase's shoulder as a cold wind started to blow in. Chase felt snug in his armour though.

It wasn't long before he reached the mouth of the cave. It burrowed down deep into the earth, and he could see the horrible marks on the wall which had shown where the basilisk had come when it was chasing them before. The darkness in the cave was engulfing.

"I'm not sure if it will even still be here," said Chase, standing at the edge of the mouth...

[Poker]

"I can near guarantee it isn't..." Poker said. "But it seems the best place to look."

Poker began walking down into the cave. Archer close behind, not making a sound.

"Basic reptile knowledge," Poker said, "These caves must lead somewhere, like a tunnel system."

[amory]

Amory followed behind Chase and Poker, keeping a watchful eye out for any sight of the basilisk. Having not caught anything that fit its description, they entered the caves. She nodded in agreement with Poker. "If the Basilisk had been here before, it would need some way to get out. These caves have to lead somewhere important."

[chase]

"Maybe a small settlement somewhere? The Baslisk would need to feed after spending so long trapped down there with only the darkness as company."

Chase walked past the disembered corpses of the two guards which he had heard being killed from behind him while he was escaping... or what was left of them. He knelt down to see if there was anything of value left on them. A few coins scattered on the ground, a broken sword, shattered armour, blood everywhere. "This thing doesn't leave much does it," Chase said as he picked up the coins he could find. Horus sat alert on his shoulder, her powerful eyes piercing the darkness and scanning for a threat. If anything came, either she would see it, or Archer would smell it.

"How long do you reckon its been down there? And why?"

[Poker]

"Hibernation?" Poker fancied a guess. "Maybe a basilisk can spend much longer than a single winter in hibernation. Maybe this basilisk hasn't been awakened for an age."

Poker walked as quietly as he could with his hand on Archer's neck. It was getting darker and Poker's eyes were still adjusting. Luckily Archer could see well in darkness.

[amory]

Amory had continued to follow the two Pirates, wondering why no Navy soldier was in view, but she ignored the thought quickly when they began to question why the basilisk may have been down there in the first place. She looked around. "I'd have to agree with Poker. It seems that it's been here for a bit of time... But, what would make it leave so suddenly? At such an inconvenient time, as well." Amory made sure to avoid any scraps she found on the ground, and kept an expressionless face as she looked each piece. However, her insides were swirling as she refrained from showing signs of disgust.

[chase]

"Whats more... I want to know what made it go into hiding in the first place." Chase lead the way deeper into the mines. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, he was used to it far more than the other two were. He also knew the mines pretty well. He was aiming for the cavern where they had first seen the basilisk.

"Ages ago, there must have a been a terrible power on this island. Much stronger than this basilisk. Maybe it put many other creatures into hiding as well. But it begs the question as to how the power subsided. Maybe it grew old, and frail, or the world was so devoid of life that it died of that..." Chase continued to think aloud. If it achieved nothing else, it would keep the other two entertained, and it helped them to know where he was in the darkness...

[Poker]

Poker wasn't really listening to the ramblings of Chase.

"Old wives tales." He said curtly.

Poker jumped through the now gigantic hole in the wall into where they had first found the giant snake.

"Maybe we woke it up, I mean, Chase woke it up. It must have been here for ages. The ground has been worn completely smooth." Poker bent down to feel the cold rock.

"It could well have been here before humans. If that be the case...maybe we are the intruders, not the basilisk."

[amory]

Amory listened to Chase but didn't have much thought to what he had said. She looked at the ground and touched it herself, running her fingers across it. It was smoother than she would have ever imagined. She stood up and looked around the area. It seemed Chase and Poker had both been here before. Had they done anything to the snake? She looked at them both. "Did you two see the snake by any chance? Or... rather, why would you suggest Chase woke it up?" She didn't sound angry, but rather, she was curious. She thought about Yaser, who was most likely sleeping peacefully in Amory's home, but Yaser was much smaller than this snake. He was no comparison, and Amory knew that her 'snake taming skills' would not help her much in this case.

[chase]

"Poker woke it up! Not me!" Chase retorted. "It only started attacking when he went up to it!"

Before Poker could try and retort and start an argument, Chase looked around, trying to remember what had happened and said, "I shot at it when it woke. We both saw it, or at least it eyes and head. My bolt didn't go in very deep. It has extremely thick hide, so next time I'll aim somewhere softer..."

Chase then noticed a familiar sighting. "We found its shedding over there Amory. Take a look at just how large this thing really is..."