Seeing Infrared suddenly go full alert, Cordell raised her hands reassuringly.
"Whoa, hold th' Scroll lass! Nobody's sayin' nothing about sellin' th' ship or th' crown... though, I think we can all agree, those historians'll owe us all one hellova finder's fee, plus hazard pay!" She chuckled, then turned serious.
"Nah... no matter what it's worth, I couldn't bear t' sell away an ol' piece of pirate history like this. Th' Howling Storm deserves t' live out its retirement as th' grand centerpiece of a museum, an' th' crown... well, no matter how much I may dislike th' kingdoms it's far safer in their hands -- least, I sure hope so."Hearing Akel's question -- and giving a deep, mirthful laugh at her remark about their meek historian tag-along -- Cordell glanced around.
"Some idea, yeah... though I doubt anyone in th' last hundred years has flown a Floatstone airship. I'll give th' ship a full inspection before we seriously consider whether t' move her, but fer now..." She gestured for the others to follow her before heading for the stairs leading below deck.
"Who wants a peek at th' Sorcerer's Crown, eh? Quizy better hurry along an' catch up!"
Below deck was dusty, and just as dry as the rest of the cave, but the old wood continued to hold up beneath the steps of the adventurers. Blue-glowing ropes the way ahead, illuminating crates, chests, faintly red-glowing barrels marked with the image of flames (no doubt containing fire Dust for the cannons), piles of rough iron cannonballs bound securely in nets... and, at the far rear of the ship, the door to the captain's quarters, swung slightly ajar. It was there that Cordell's "treasure sense" was leading, but even without such a sixth sense there was a palpable
thickness about the air, an invisible energy pressing in on everyone present that, while subtle, was also hard to ignore.
This, then,
had to be it. The door groaned on its hinges as it swung, revealing what was surely at one time a lavishly appointed, if surprisingly small, room. A small wooden desk sat off to one side, the long rotted away remains of a bed secured on the opposite side... and right against the back wall, a large elaborate metal treasure chest decorated with the howling Beowolf faces that were the ship's undisputed theme. Hesitating only briefly, Cordell swallowed hard before approaching the chest and cracking it open. She couldn't help the gasp that slipped out as she gazed inside: the contents included dazzling jewels, piles of gold and silver coins, ancient-looking tomes, richly embellished flintlock-style pistols, storage cylinders sure to contain maps... but right in the center of all of it was a small, undecorated steel chest. The chest had been fitted with reinforcing metal bands to secure it closed -- these now were broken around an empty hollow where a large central lock probably went, no doubt removed by the pirates of long past so they could get at their prize. With slow, steady hands Cordell reached down and lifted the lid, not even realizing she was holding her breath as she did...
The flickering dim blue light it gave off was ghostly, candle-like in a way -- it seemed to writhe and pulse like a thing alive, a source at once of soft radiance and deep shadow. If one looked closely at the intricately cut Dust gemstones there seemed almost to be wisps and whirls of color dancing within them, and the silvery steel ornamentation barely concealed dim pulses of light that traveled along the gossamer threads of some unknown material that bound the stones together. It was hard not to think of a Dust reactor, yet with this crown there were no safety barriers, no protective casing, no failsafes or mechanical systems at all. The thing
looked like it ought to be magic, even though it clearly wasn't. The more one stared at it, the harder it was to look away . . .
Hard to look away . . . . .Drawing in a sudden, sharp breath, Cordell snapped the lid closed and stepped away to take a slow, steadying breath.
"Okay... okay. That -- that -- is a lot of Dust energy." She realized her hands were shaking and quickly grabbed her own wrist to steady herself. Her Semblance had been practically going haywire the moment she cracked the lid open... and the really crazy thing was, she hadn't even been trying to use it at the time. The feeling was like looking at the sun with your eyes closed; even through senses that were "off", its presence was impossible to ignore. Put simply, the crown even
felt dangerous, and that was just from
looking at it.
Putting her backpack down and zipping it open, the captain reached in and drew out what looked like a flattened metal accordion. Pushing a button on the side caused it to expand into an open-top box shape.
"No tellin' if it's still stable -- best take no chances." Gingerly she lifted the small chest and placed it into the high-tech container, then pulled several tiny metal-hued pillows out and ringed them around the precious cargo.
"This be top o' th' line portable storage specifically for fragile or reactive Dust, best option I could find for storin' somethin' like th' crown." Adding what looked to be a heavily computerized lid to the top, the pirate turned a knob and pressed it down like a button; with a hiss of compressed air being released the entire storage device sealed and locked shut, displays flickering to life as it did.
"Hot damn... th' readings are nearly off th' chart..." Cordell's gaze went wide as she surveyed the readings.
"Y-y-you've found it, then?"Quisling seemed to appear out of
nowhere, rubbing his hands together with eager glee as he walked up to the group.
"Realy and t-t-t-truly?! The Sorcerer's Crown??""Geez! Where th' hells have you been?""Oh, surveying the vessel! It's amazing -- quite intact despite its age, a m-m-marvel of engineering! It seems they c-coated the w-w-w-wood they used with a thinned l-layer of t-t-t-tar, then resin to s-strengthen and pr-preserve it against high altitude exposure. Remarkable! But th-th-the crown?""... Intact, an' very much energized. Dare say it uses Dust in a way I ain't ever seen before. Quizy, this thing's dangerous.""Oh, no d-doubt. Prince Vasu did use it to keep the whole of Mistral terrified of him, after all, e-e-e-even though his r-reign was brief." He eyed the box like a schoolboy eyeing a jar full of candy.
"I assure you, it'll be k-kept most safe. I've made s-s-special arrangements to see to its care. All we need d-d-do now is make our way out of here, yes?"(OOC:
Artist credit for the original 'Frozen crown' design I worked with to make the Sorcerer's Crown.)