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Chapter 03 - Booty Plundered

Vaulix commanded the wheel while Storm and Lethias stood by. Though Talba and Vaulix were supposed to be below deck and sleeping while the quartermasters piloted, the situation called for a bit of urgency. Both of the quartermasters headed to the bow to keep an eye out, helping Zean from a different perspective. With all eyes on the source of the smoke, it was full sail ahead.

They approached with caution, wondering if perhaps this was a trap. There were a handful of islands nearby that could have been hiding an ambush but they were all far enough away that Vaulix deemed them tactically irrelevant. Once close to the ship, they could see that it flew a flag of black with a tri-glaived symbol on it that was double stacked. A familiar symbol that both Talba and Vaulix recognized but nobody else on the crew did. It was hard to tell beyond that, given its destroyed state with its middle appearing to have exploded from the inside.

Once they were close enough, they weighed anchor and got a boarding party on a skiff to check it out. It was partially aground in a cove, right next to some trees and a very stubby cliff. The island it had wrecked upon was no bigger than a kilometre squared, and aside from a few birds and crabs it seemed to be entirely deserted. Well, aside from the pile of charred corpses they saw on the beach around the beach. That part was something that wasn't easy to see at first given the black of night.

The boarding party consisted of Talba, Storm, Katsumi, Lexi, and Chiryn. Enough to fight if need be, but mostly good for exploration. Lethias, Zean, and especially Vaulix remained on deck.

In the skiff, they paddled up to the beach, gagging a bit as they got close. The remains of the crew were still fresh, the sizzling of skin and fur filling the air with a stench not unlike a bloated corpse. Fortunately, Talba's sense of smell was not the strongest so it didn't bother her as much as it could have. Same with Storm. Sadly, Lexi, Katsumi, and Chiryn all got the full brunt of it.

They landed ashore, pulled the skiff up to the beach, anchored it to a nearby tree, and began to survey the situation. Talba held her cutlass to her side as she got a good look at the ship from this angle. Shockingly, it wasn't just ashore but it looked like it had exploded right at the base of the main mast. The sails were burned in patchwork patterns, the wood of the mast was splintered and blown out, and the rest of it was a heap of wood, debris, barely held together. The aft and the bow were mostly in tact, but everything in between was a mess. It looked like the powder kegs in storage were ignited.

None of the charred corpses could be identified. The sizes ranged from a meter tall to a full two or three, depending on the individual. No real linking sizes or shapes to get more information.

"We have to board the ship." Talba commanded. "Storm, you come with me. Lexi, you see what you can do on the half-submerged hull. See if anything sunk to the bottom nearby. Katsumi, Chiryn, you two keep an eye out, see if there are any signs of folks nearby or if this is just an attack."

Storm stepped ahead, content to put himself in harm's way first. His dominance translated in this way as well; he'd never let anyone else go first. Admirable, and useful. "Not much to explore." He said as he reached out and grabbed a nearby, twisted plank of wood that was jutting out from the hull. "I don't expect to find much, but come on." Once he was perched half on the destroyed remains of the ship, he extended a hand for Talba so he could help her up.

She didn't need the help but accepted it nonetheless. She took his talon and hopped up into the ruins of the ship, her massive feet digging into the wood for balance and stability. While the ship had run aground, it was half still in the shallows and the tiny waves rocked it gently. It was pertinent to keep a firm grip and maintain control. All around them, the embers of burning wood glowed and spewed smoke into the sky; they had to be careful as not to burn themselves on the ash. "Just keep a watch out, See if you can find anything of note."

Once they were both inside, they split up, with Storm investigating the bow end of the ship while Talba focused more on the stern and the captain's chambers. Both of them were able to peel away layers of twisted wood to get to the storage deck, where they found that all the remaining barrels were emptied of food and supplies while the only remaining chests were broken and empty. The chests that held loot and other materials such as fabric or weapons were clearly taken before the explosion that split the vessel nearly in two.

The steady creaks of the wood and the sloshing of the waves continued outside, rocking the boat and shifting the wood beneath their feet. Talba stepped on broken wood and splinters and shattered bits of glass, her night vision eyes scanning the rooms to catch anything of note. Unlike the others, the scene was well illuminated for her. She had the eyes of an owl, with night vision that lost no detail in the dark. She scanned the rooms and found nothing aside from wreckage until she made it to the captain's chambers. There, she saw that the cabin had been ransacked, emptied of all valuables.

Except one desk that was was emitting a subtle hum in the corner of the room. This drew her attention, but the entire room was at a slope and half submerged in warm water so she had to be particularly careful not to slip and fall. The wreckage was still pretty fresh, no more than a day old, so there was no moss or algae build up. She used her toe talons to dig into the wood as she side-walked down the room towards the humming desk. All the while she kept glancing around the room to see if anything else stood out. Any glimmering treasure or papers.

As she got close to the desk, the grip of her foot snapped a board and made the desk's leg fall into a hole, jerking it free of its precarious position. Panicked, she leapt out and grabbed one of its other legs and then grabbed a nearby plank of broken wood, stopping it from slipping into the water. She had no idea what the source of the hum was, and thus didn't wanna risk it.

Magic could be volatile and she needed to investigate further. So she went to open up the drawer that seemed to be the source of the hum, but found it to be locked. The key hole was scratched, like someone tried to open it to no avail. She would need to work a bit to open this desk, since it appeared to be the one thing that wasn't plundered.

However, just as she was pulling up the desk into a position to examine it more, Lexi emerged from a hole in the hull, emerging from the water with a dagger in her maw. She threw her hair back, plucked the blade, and emerged onto a nearby floating barrel. "Nothing." She said, balancing precariously. "No treasure at all. Some cannonballs and blades and stuff, but nothing of value."

"I didn't think so." Talba said with a huff. She hoisted herself up, sure to not let her feet get wet. The last thing she needed was to lose grip in a room with jutting out boards and twisted wood splinters all over. "Help me out here, there's something in this." With Lexi's help, she dragged the desk up to the door of the personal quarters, ensuring it was in a place it could be pried open.

Storm saw what was going on and joined Talba and Lexi. "I didn't find anything, but it seems you did. Anything interesting?"

"Don't know yet. Seems to be stuck." Talba explained, then drew her blade. She jammed it in to the crack between the drawer and the desk, wrenching up to see if she could pop it open. It just tore off a chunk of wood, leaving it a bit of a twisted mess. Similar to the rest of the ship. Undeterred, she jammed the blade's tip in deeper and tried again, only this time the blade tip snapped off, nearly having her fling her cutlass up against her own chest.

Lexi stepped up and motioned for Talba to give her some space. "This might require a more delicate hand. Let me try." She reached into her satchel and dug around inside until she found a bit of wire and what looked like a small knife without a handle. She got down onto one knee and slipped the wire and the blade into the keyhole, twisting gently. A few clicks later and the wire snapped, the blade melting instantly and leaking out, burning a hole in the wood blanks beneath them. Lexi stepped back and flailed her hand. "Ow."

"I don't suppose you found a key while swimming, did you?" Storm asked.

"Nope. Nothing at all." Lexi confirmed. "Even if it did fall, it'd be lost to the sand.

"Well, I'm not going to let a lock and some wood keep me away from whatever's inside." Storm took out his sword and held it up high, bringing it down with all his might.

Talba had to leap in front of him to stop him, hand on his wrist. "What are you doing? We don't know what sorts of spells are protecting this thing. For all we know, something like this is what caused this ship to explode. Did you see what it did to Lexi's lock pick?"

"I'm no fool, captain. I took aim at the middle of the desk, not the drawer itself. If we're goign to be taking this to investigate further, then it'd be better to not take a full desk on the skiff." He gently pulled Talba's hand off his wrist and then slammed the blade through the table, the noise attracting Chiryn and Katsumi. A few chops later and only the bit of the desk housing the drawer remained. Nothing else was humming, so he was proven to be right.

All five of them sat on the deck of the shipwreck, staring at the chunk of desk as a faint teal glow and hum crept out from between the cracks. Talba held it, staring intently at it to see if her keen eyes could catch sight of anything inside the drawer. "I wonder what happened here."

Storm sheathed his sword and leaned against a twisted, snapped mast. "My bet? One of those farshores saw this ship, ransacked it for everything it had, then ignited the powder stores and left it to run aground. Only thing they couldn't get in time was whatever's in this drawer."

"That much is obvious." Lexi said. "The question is, who ran this ship? Are they a merchant? NLF? Anyone you know, Talba?"

Talba shook her head. "Can't be sure. I think the best chance we have of figuring out what went on here is to extract whatever's in this drawer. IT's all we have, and it's not even guaranteed." She stood up straight and held the chunk of the desk up to her face, still trying to get a glimpse of what was inside. "Collect anything you can. Any well-kept boards or metal. Our ship doesn't need it yet but we might need repair materials if we end up in conflict. I'm not convinced that whoever did this isn't nearby. Be quick, but careful. We'll take a few trips back to the ship if we must. I'll get this to Vaulix, he's the best mage on the ship. He should be able to figure out whatever's going on and bypass it."

And with that, each of the five members of the boarding crew gathered what they could, piling up planks and boards and black metal in the skiff. The ship's materials were all but plundered, so there was no treasure to be had. The ship itself could be utilized, though.

Once they returned to the ship, Talba immediately gathered Vaulix and took him below deck while Storm, Chiryn, and Lexi collected the supplies and took them into the storage deck. This left Lethias at the helm. He would take care of the ship while Talba and Vaulix were busy.

"What have you got there?" Vaulix asked as Talba shut the door behind them. This left the pair of them alone in their quarters with the chunk of desk on the table between them.

"I don't know. It was the only thing on the ship we could find that had any value. It had been completely plundered. No fabric, no leather, no food, nothing. Just corpses and splintered wood." Talba explained, clawing at the wood around the lock. "We assume it to be farshores attacking a merchant ship but we can't be certain. Our best bet of learning the truth is in that desk."

Vaulix held it up, doing his best to scan it. After a moment, he laid it back down on the desk and started running his hand over it, the teal glow seeming to bend around his hand wherever it went. "Gonna do a bit of a scan. Physical magic. Like echolocation." A series of pitched chirps emanated from his palm through the wood, reverberating off the innards of the desk. "Seems simple enough. The glow is nothing. It's just a gemstone, I think. Here." He wrapped his hand around the side of it and crushed it, destroying the desk in an instant. Once he brushed away the splinters, only a handful of items were left on the desk.

The first was a small, locked chest. There was also a key for the chest, a single glowing ademane gemstone, a few jade coins, a locket, and a compass. He held up the gemstone. "This right here is what caused the humming and the glowing. From what I can tell, it's not enchanted. Pure crsystal. Insane amounts of magic inside it. Very valuable, but also very dangerous in the wrong hands." Talba and Vaulix were both well-versed in magic and its surrounding studies, but of the two Vaulix was the expert. She was talented naturally but not knowledgeable. "Fortunately, it's currently inert. Could toss it in a forge and hit it with a hammer and it'd be fine. But enchant it with fire and it could easily eat through a ship. There's a chance that's what happened. Maybe they had other equally pure stones on board. If so, whoever plundered that ship will be filthy rich."

Talba knew pure, charged ademane crystals were valuable, affected by level of purity. The way Vaulix was speaking, his maw agape and his eyes wide, it was clear this was something special. "And that's why it's glowing? It's pure energy levels, activated when one of us got near it?"

"Yeah. This is the sort of crystal that could turn the tide of war if it fell into the wrong hands. The sort of crystal only a handful of people ever could have made, and I'm one of them. We should probably see who ran this ship." He used the key to open the chest. Inside were two scrolls. One was a map showing the entire Ijimulian Archipelago with a series of symbols on a series of islands. The other was a writ of passage. They carefully read over both and came to the realization of what had happened.

The shipwreck was a highly valued potion-merchant ship. The cargo was thousands and thousands of potions, all highly potent and specifically meant to be shipped to the NLF headquarters, which was in a cave system carved out of what looked like a volcano. The merchant ship was travelling from the Koluma shores and was going to deliver the potions to a kaiju that resided in the volcano. Most notably, the one who wrote the writ of passage was Ceylon, a good friend of Talba and Vaulix's. That was one of the only others who could concentrate a gemstone with that much purity and that much power. At the end of the note it was signed by the NLF seal.

"So Ceylon's part of the NLF, as we suspected." Talba said, her hands still down on the scroll that was a map of the Ijimulian. "We going to do anything about that?"

Vaulix shook his head. "No. There's a lot more going on here than we know. Right now we're just outsiders in this region. However, I do think it's important to request a meeting, one way or another. According to this, those potions had incredibly destructive power and there were at least three gemstones of equal strength on that ship. If some farshore pirates got ahold of that, they could use it to wreak havoc on the NLF and other merchants and locals."

Talba nodded. "Can't disrupt the balance, but it's still worth investigating farther."

"We knew something was about to go down, that's why we came out here. We knew about the NLF, and how they just wanted to be peaceful treasure hunters; we also know that the other pirates aren't conforming to their peaceful ways. But a shipment of potions like this sounds like it's preparing for war. Against the farshores or the navies, we can't possibly know. Yeah, we really do have to consult with Ceylon, see what they have to say. It would be foolish to be rash, to assume ill intent of them. But at the same time, this doesn't look good."

"So what's the plan?" Talba asked, thumbing through the jade coins. "We could go to the NLF headquarters, but that would look far too hostile, wouldn't it?"

"I think we should sleep on it. Things are somewhat tense. We're sailing eastbound, I trust Storm and Lethias to lead us through the night. We need not do anything rash. Come." He rolled both scrolls back up, put them in the chest, and put it all in his own personal drawer to look later. Once that was done, he finally took Talba by the hand and guided her to bed. It had been quite the eventful night, he was supposed to be asleep in the first place, and they'd both have to be at the wheel once more come sun-up. They needed to get as much sleep as they could.

Talba and Vaulix slept well that night in spite of the looming danger and uncertainty. The first thing they did upon waking and relieving Storm and Lethias of their post was to summon Foxifly to the helm, where they inquired about conveying a message. And that was where things got a little strange. They knew that their loyal fox-moth was more than just a singular individual, that she was actually a part of a hive mind. While they weren't familiar with how it all worked, they did know that she could get messages sent over long distances, including one to Ceylon and Leera - the captains of the ship that summoned the wrecked merchant ship.

"Good morning!" Foxifly buzzed as she came down from up on the mast with Zean, allowing Red the smaller gryphon to take his place during the day. Foxifly never slept. She rested and napped a lot, but didn't need actual sleep. "You summoned me?"

Vaulix had the wheel and was piloting the ship so Talba spoke. "Yeah, we were wondering if you could use your power to get a message to Ceylon and Leera."

Foxifly's antennae twitched. "Really? I didn't know if you believed I could do that."

"It's a bit farfetched, I confess, but you've gotten information you couldn't possibly know any other way. We just want to know if you could maybe open up communications with Ceylon to see if they or their ship want to meet with us, to discuss some potentially urgent information?"

"You're going to have to give me more than that, captain." Foxifly said with authority.

Talba and Vaulix shot a glance to each other before returning to Foxifly. Talba nodded. "Alright. So, we found some information on that shipwreck last night. Orders from Ceylon to the vessel that had them picking up some potions and delivering them to the NLF. Enough to start a naval war. We just want to make sure that's not the intention. We want to keep peace in the Ijimulian."

Foxifly's compound eyes flickered a bit. "But peace has already been shattered by the farshores. Is it not pertinent to defend ourselves?"

Her sudden change in demeanour elicited another casual sidelong glance between Vaulix and Talba, who hesitated a bit before speaking. Talba was cautious. "Yes, of course. We just want to set up a meeting to discuss matters. To make sure no war breaks out, or to at least work together."

"I will convey your message, and we'll get back to you when we have an answer." Foxifly said, then her compound eyes flickered and she was back to her more chipper attitude. "Sounds good to me!"

It sounded good to them, too. But they were curious. "What was that all about?"

Foxifly huffed to herself. "Oh, right, I never did tell you how any of that worked, right?"

"No, you always played it coy." Vaulix said from behind the wheel. "Care to explain?"

"Sure!" The fox-moth then hovered up to the banister in front of the wheel, perched and squatting down so that she was at Talba's face height, but still lower than Vaulix. "Well, I'm everywhere and always. I don't wanna explain too much, but this body is an extension of the real me. The real me is far away, you might never meet me. But all my drones, they're all over the world. It takes a bit of time but we're able to communicate with each other, because we are one. It's somewhat complicated. This body, it has its own memories and some autonomy, but we're all linked to the real me, so we're constantly sharing information and commands. It might be a bit much to take in."

Talba nodded. "A bit, yeah."

"Think of it like this, pretend you had a bunch of little Talbas. And you could control them all with your mind. You could see through their eyes, feel what they feel, but you - the real you - are in control at all times. Think that, but on a global scale."

Vaulix blinked a bit. "And you didn't think to tell us this before?"

"You were at war. I didn't want you to think I was a spy or something. I'm not, but I am everyone's ally, you see. We don't like war. I don't like war. So yeah, I'll be sure to send the message to my drone on Ceylon's ship, and we'll get back to you. Could take a few days, but in the mean time, you two need to calm yourself a bit. Based on what I know and remember, I'm pretty sure there's no plan for war, but there might be now if what you say about the ship is true and the farshores got a hold of all the potions. In fact, as I think about it, I definitely have to expedite that message."

"And how exactly do you send the message?" Talba asked, genuinely curious.

Foxifly huffed to herself with a side-cocked grin. She waved her hands in a silly, erratic way. "Maaaagic!" With a bit of a laugh, she used her gossamer wings to balance on the banister. "But seriously, it's an advanced psychic link. Very hard to maintain over a long range, but worth it. Ever since Ceylon discovered the bountiful booty here this place has been a hotbed of treasure-hunting activity! But you knew that already." She hopped down off the banister to give her wings a break.

"I didn't know it was Ceylon who did it." Talba confessed. "I assumed they were involved, but-"

"Oh, you should know that burd starts most things. I know you have a very long history." She winked, but then fluttered away, leaving Vaulix and Talba to stew in confusion.

Vaulix took in a deep breath. "That was strange, but I think she's right."

"So what's the plan now?"

"If that map is correct, we have a long way to get to the Nautical Liberation Force headquarters, so I suppose we just sail east until we get word back. In the mean time, we really should look into perhaps meeting up with The Northern Frost of Unity and the Grail of Knowledge. You know, Yelena and Sanfrit's ship as well as Keran and Satierra's. Those two are other flagships of the Yelfritian and Kerolioan navies. They would serve to get us connected with the other navies, just in case this sours."

Talba agreed. And as the sun continued to rise over the horizon ahead of them, they had a lot to think about on route to their destination. They had a meeting with Ceylon and Leera to discuss the intentions of the NLF, and they also intended to meet up with other ships from local navies to discuss forming a coalition of the land.

The trek to the Ijimulian was mostly empty and devoid of any significant events, but once they arrived things went from criminally boring to a bit more stressful than they'd intended. What was meant to be a peaceful excursion meeting up with their friends and maybe joining in on some pleasant treasure hunts was turning into a three-way battle for dominion over the Ijimulian. They just didn't know how bad it was going to get. Not yet.

Chapter 04 - Casual Detours

Just like before, the trek from the merchant shipwreck to their next destination was expected to take an exceptionally long time. According to the map, getting to the middle of the archipelago where the volcano-hidden headquarters resided, they needed to weave through literally thousands of islands that dotted the ocean. Tens of thousands, even. The Ijimulian Archipelago stretched from the eastern shore of Koluma all the way to the western shores of Sosemma, Kaidu, and Saff'Rald. This left a huge open gap of nothing above it. The Ijumulian ocean was one half archipelago, one half vast emptiness.

Nobody dared sail the northern wastes of the Ijimulian. While the archipelago was relatively shallow, where ships were able to lay anchor pretty much anywhere between the thousands of islands, the northern region was deep. So deep that the bottom had never been discovered, not even by the Nolse - the aquatic hybrid race. They called it The Depths, and was said to be where souls went to languish until they had been cleansed and could ascend to the skies.

True or not, it was not an area that people often survived sailing across. The handful of survivors that did make it across spoke of shadowy figures the size of mountains displacing the water beneath them, of tentacles taller than trees erupting and clutching any hapless ship that passed through.

Talba and Vaulix would not be sailing The Gem of the Ijimulian there. So instead, they weaved through the countless islands of the Archipelago, deliberately doing their best to not interact with any other ships they saw on the way. They had no way of knowing if the people they met would be the friendly, treasure-hunting NLF or the cutthroat farshores. Or if it was a merchant vessel or a member of one of the navies of the nations surrounding the Ijimulian.

The Gem of the Ijimulian was the biggest, best-defended ship according to their architect, but that didn't mean they wanted to invite conflict. They would win, but they didn't want to be seen as the enemies to potentially harmless folk just seeking treasure and riches.

In their quest to avoid others and explore the Ijimulian Archipelago, they noticed that they were getting remarkably close to one of the islands that was marked on the map they found. An island that had a distinct gemstone and the image of two trees draped over the top of a waterfall like an X on it. Clearly this meant something, so Talba and Vaulix were going to do a bit of a detour to see if the treasure map gave them anything of value.

Foxifly hadn't come back with an answer about the potential meeting with Ceylon and the other leaders of the NLF, so they figured it wouldn't hurt to explore a bit.

Once they found a nice place to weigh anchor, they took a boarding party ashore on a trio of skiffs. Vaulix and Talba were on the first one with Nib. Zean, Lexi, and Runa were on the second. Chiryn, Palusa, and Melodion were on the third. Three parties, each heading out to a different part of the island to see who found the waterfall with the crossed palm trees first. It was a bit of a game. Whoever won or came back with a pile of loot got a prize.

They had no idea what the prize was; Vaulix joked that the winner could bed himself or Talba, so Talba joked that it was a low-value prize since everyone had done that at one point or another. When Vaulix tried to counter her, he was shocked to realize there wasn't a single person on their ship who hadn't had some sort of intimacy with one of them at one point or another. Many had enjoyed their company multiple times or had been with both.

"Huh." He mused as they rowed ashore. The other two skiffs had found different places to land. They had ended up on a small little peninsula where the beach was shallow, and the gnarled grassy roots of the dunes were right up next to the surf. "So are we actually going to be doing this or what?"

"Searching for the treasure? Sure, I guess. I don't really see the point but we can." Talba shrugged, completely nonchalant. She didn't care one way or another. The beach was nice, the sun was just coming out, the air was warm and the skies were clear. More than anything else she just wanted a bit of time on land. Aside from their brief investigation of the merchant shipwreck and one small stop to resupply at a port on one of the westernmost settlements, they had been on the ship for a month.

The moment the hull of the skiff scraped against sand, Nib the donkey leapt off and pulled it up towards a nearby tree, anchoring it there. He offered a hand to help Talba and Vaulix off the skiff as well. "Captains." He said in a cordial tone. But neither of them needed help getting up.

"Thanks mate." Talba said as she hopped out of the skiff and got up to stretch. She bent over to each side, shook off her legs, flagged her tail a few times, and bent over to touch her toes. When she did that, Vaulix lifted her captain's jacket to show she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She smiled back at him, noting that Nib also got a good look at her peachy flesh.

Vaulix glanced back at Nib as well, making sure he got a very good look. "I think we know what Talba had in mind." He joked before letting her jacket flop back over her rump. "So I guess this is where we make with the hunting of the treasure, eh?"

And so they were off. The three of them took a mental note of where they left the skiff and headed into the thick jungle of the island. It was a pretty large island, compared to the others around. Most of the archipelago's islands were only a few kilometres square at most. This one was the size of a small town or large village, easily ten times the size of most. From what they could tell with their pre-landing survey, it was somewhat elongated with two points on a crescent moon heading northeast while a third one was connected at the middle pointing southwest. Talba, Vaulix, and Nib landed on the southernmost peak of the two that were pointing northeast. They were likely the last ones to land.

They also were the only one that had a copy of the map, so it balanced out a bit. The others had copies they made prior to departure. This allowed Talba to keep an eye on the parchment as she scanned wherever she could, eager to find the waterfall marked by the two crossed trees. They knew that one of the first things they had to do was find some running water. If there was a waterfall, that meant there was a lake or geyser up top the cliff and a stream at the bottom. They didn't immediately see any water billowing out, so they had to scan along the shore along the eastern edge of the map.

Finding running water didn't take long at all. In fact, all three of them were quite happy to have found it since they brought some empty flasks and bottles so they could take some back to the ship. Not a lot of clean, fresh water on the open seas and distilling it by boiling water and collecting the steam was not pleasant. They drank their fill, collected what they could, and followed the water upstream.

The trek didn't take long at all, but what cut their travel even shorter was that once they got to the bottom of the cliff where the waterfall landed in a pool, they were greeted by a wonderful surprise. Rather than having to scale the fifty-meter-tall cliff or find a way up, there were just two huge chests at the bottom, one on either side of the waterfall. Not buried, not hidden, just out there and exposed. There were some hats and skull-and-crossbones flags on them, but for the most part, completely free.

"Careful, it's probably a trap." Vaulix cautioned, wings out to keep either of them from getting too close. "Let me check first. If I get hit with something I have the best healing skill."

Talba leaned on Nib. "Sure, go ahead, captain."

Vaulix left the two of them to carefully toe his way closer. He did dainty little half-steps, brushing the sand around to make sure nothing was going to come out and stab him or that he wasn't landing on pressure plates or something. That would have been bad. He also was careful to scan the treeline and make sure there wasn't anything or anyone watching. Nothing, so he got in closer.

Once he was within arm's reach of the first chest, he waved his hand over it, lightly tapped it a few times, then went to undo the latch that kept it shut. Not only was it not locked, it popped open a crack, revealing to Talba and Nib that it was in fact full of goods. Vaulix froze in place, waiting for something to happen. A few seconds later, with no response, he slowly lifted the lid to reveal all the coins, gems, and relics inside. Still, he paused again just in case, but nothing happened. Eventually, he reached into the case and brushed aside a few layers of the treasure to see if anything was buried.

Nothing. No pop-up weapons, no gases, no magical traps. Nothing.

"I think it's safe." He said, still burrowing in the treasure with his one hand, the other keeping the lid up. The others joined in and all did the same, making a mess of coins and gemstones around the chest. Once they were certain there were no traps, they walked around the pool that the waterfall landed in and checked the other, smaller one. It, too, was devoid of traps and equally stuffed.

"So what do we do with it?" Nib asked. "Does it count?"

Talba tossed the few errant coins back into the large chest, closed it up, draped the black flag over its top, and motioned for Vaulix to help her out. "Don't care, let's go." In truth, it was getting her more excited than she wanted to let on. The thrill of having found so much treasure just sitting there waiting for them was somewhat suspicious but still exhilarating. She just wanted to get it back to the skiff and carry on with her plans.

While all three of them were in fact quite cautious about the serendipitous circumstances surrounding their luck, they all went ahead and carried the two chests as best they could back to the coast and down to their skiff. Vaulix took the small chest while Talba and Nib took the large one, each one getting a side.

Upon letting the chests go, Nib offered to head back into the heart of the island to see if he could find the others. "Hey, mates, I just was thinking, if we got the treasure, we should go let the others know so they can head back to the ship."

Talba sat on the chest, leaning back with her beak to the sky. "Absolutely! You go do that, we'll be here waiting for you." she kicked her feet out, splashing sand all over. Clearly, she was having a bit of fun, enjoying the beach.

Nib bowed to her and headed out to get the others, disappearing into the jungle and leaving both Vaulix and Talba alone on the beach nestled in between the grassy dunes and the surf.

She used her toe claws to grab one of the nearby black flags with the skull and crossbones, flapping it like a bed sheet to get all the sand off it and gently placing it down like a blanket. She smiled over at Vaulix and slowly unbuttoned her jacket, revealing her chest plumage while peeling the collar down over her shoulder. "We're all alone, you know. Probably for a solid hour or so." She enticed him with a particularly sultry voice.

His tail pumped behind him, flicking the sand from side to side. "Someone's in need of a booty plunder." He tossed his jacket to the side next to the chest Talba was sitting on, then leaned into her with one knee on the lid. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck feathers and locked his beak with hers, tongue sliding out to tangle with hers. He grabbed her mane and wrenched her head back to expose her neck, which he bit down on with enough force to almost make her bleed. Once he had her there, he ripped her jacket off and forced her onto her back, straddling the chest lid with him standing over her, cock slowly emerging from his sheath.

"Oh no, captain, what are you going to do to punish me for my insolence?" She cooed at him, back of her hand to her forehead. She spread her legs with her knees up, tail draped over the side of the chest to ensure everything from clit to tail hole were fully exposed, the late day sun reflecting off her plump lips.

Vaulix crawled over her, pressing his chest down to hers while nuzzling up into her neck. "Come on Talba, you know I don't do the punishment roleplay. I mean, okay, sometimes I do but not often. Not today." He pressed his beak crest up against her chin and nibbled her all the way down to her chest plumage, both hands on her torso with fingers caressing her flesh through the feathers. He gave her a bit of an abdominal rub as he ran his beak down her breast, combing through her feathers and preening her before ending with his head between her legs and his hands cradling her thick haunches.

Talba's pussy winked; she knew what he was planning and she couldn't wait. Excited, she slid a hand between her legs and pressed a pair of fingers down on the anterior crook of her lips, rubbing her clit from outside her vulva. This, mixed with her anticipation, coaxed a bit of slimy mess to emerge.

He wasted no time burying his beak in her, tongue probing to taste her flesh while his snout stretched her open. He was far larger than her, but she had beautifully large lips and his beak was well tapered, so he was able to nuzzle and force himself into her while her clit winked between his eyes.

Her depths lost a bit of control, spurting some creamy slime down over either side of his beak crest, a mess he happily licked up before it reached the chest. Talba then grabbed him by the ears, then started rubbing as she bucked into him, grinding her hips against his beak. The sensation of his snout easing its way deeper and deeper into her as he used the crest of it to grind against her anterior wall - the pleasure button or the turn-on switch, as some liked to call it - drove her wild beyond compare. She kept a firm grip on his ears, forcing herself down against him as he pushed back into her, his beak parting and stretching her out so that he could taste her depths.

Talba found herself nearly lost in the moment when Vaulix pulled out and lightly pecked her clit, then worked her way up her belly to her chest to once again press his beak to hers. When he offered another kiss, she got a taste of herself on his beak and tongue, something she didn't often get to enjoy. The flavour was delectable, so much so that she couldn't help but wink her clit again. It was a natural reaction to arousal and anticpation.

Just as she was getting comfortable again, Vaulix stood up, grabbed her by her thighs so that her tail was drooping off the side of the chest, and he let his fat cock emerge and grow onto her belly. This smeared his fluids all over her as her clit winked some more, caressing the base of the underside of his shaft where it met his belly scales. He pushed into her, letting his member slide between her lips, each ridge and bump grinding against her flesh to tease her a bit.

"Listen here, you-" she growled at him while hoisting up her feet to press her talons against his chest. With one foot on each of his breast muscles, she dug her claws in and pulled him up close, her knees to her chest and her hand between her legs to guide him into her.

His girth slipped into her with ease, parting her lips and hilting him in the process. He was still growing, each feature stiffening up inside her and teasing her walls as his cock expanded inside her, inflating like a bulging knot. She winked, he clenched, and the two locked together, at least for a bit.

With him still inside her, Talba used all of her might to kick him away and push herself off the chest in one fluid motion. He fell back, bursting from her depths only to land on his back on the black flag with her squatting on top of him, her pussy drooling all over his midsection. Without a second's hesitation, she grabbed his member, aimed it just right, and sat down with all her weight, comfortably taking it all to the base while a tiny little bulge formed in her lower belly. She played with it a bit, stroking his member through her walls while lightly bouncing on his lap. His girth didn't shift very much while inside her - he was quite large and there wasn't much room - but the tiny little movements felt quite significant to her.

She spun around so that her back was to his chest and she leaned into his plumage. All at once, she pushed down on his member like she was laying an egg, bending it in half before having it plop out of her and come to rest between her inner thigh and plump lips. Fortunately, his member was malleable even when at full mast, so this didn't hurt him. Once he was out, she started winking again, her clit twitching and her walls constricting around nothing, grinding walls against their opposite to pleasure her as best she could.

Vaulix leaned into her nuzzled her on the cheek, held her on the shoulder, and reached over her thigh to gently caress her lips, parting them and digging his fingers in between her vulva and clit. This was incredibly intense for her, since she was plump and tender, everything from clit to pucker swollen with arousal, blushing red outside and in.

Talba leaned into him and better got into position with her knees up on his thighs, her loins fully exposed and eager for whatever he had for her. To her delight, Vaulix was actually focusing more on nuzzling into her cheek and neck while purring his raptor churr, his entire chest and body resonating against hers with gradually increasing intensity. He nibbled her plumage, preened her mane, and held her down with his one hand on her shoulder while his other slipped away from her lips and cradled her.

He then took his other hand and did the same, both hands cupping each of her rump cheeks with his fingers probing her lips and tail hole, prying her flesh to the side to gape her and let her plop back closed, bits of air escaping both holes every time she winked. Before long, he couldn't help but force two fingers from each hand in each of her openings, two in her rump and two in her pussy. He tugged her open, gaping both entrances, creating a pair of caverns of flesh that dilated her all the way to her womb and beyond.

"I see how it is." She cooed at him, still nuzzling into his chest plumage. She reached down and grapped his cock with both hands, slipping two thumbs into his opening to do the same to him. Since his cock was just as much an ovipositor, its flesh stretched as much as hers. She saw his soft, pillowy inner walls pulsating against his dilated flesh, so she collected as much of their combined fluids and soaked her hand before wriggling it into him, fisting his cock. The bulge in his shaft was incredibly well defined, even moreso than the bulge he gave her belly when he mounted her.

She could feel down his urethra that the crest of a thick, white eggshell was threatening to be pushed out, so she balled up her fist, pumped in and out, twisted from side to side, and then splayed out all her fingers within him all while also stroking his shaft from outside. She caressed his urethral walls, kneaded his member as best she could by squeezing her palms together, all while he kept tugging and tickling her inner walls with his fingers and talons. Every thrust of hers pushed that egg a bit farther down his length and back into his torso, where it would have to wait to be pumped into her.

While they both loved this, there wasn't anything quite like a cock. Fists and fingers were amazing and she'd never say no to a good insertion, but Vaulix's cock filled her so nicely she couldn't wait any longer. She slowly pulled her hand form his urethral passage, encountering a bit of resistance when his entrance squeezed around her wrist, before yanking it out with a pop. Then, once she'd found herself once more, she wrapped both hands around the thickest part of his bulge and guided it into her, purposely tugging herself down with her foot-talons to slide down to his base, kissing lips to scales.

Talba let out a long, drawn-out whimper and grunt as she clenched tight, clit winking and walls constricting around him. She was happy to just lay with him, partially tied to the bulge of his shaft as her passage massaged him and milked him from his very core. But then, as she was subtly grinding against him, he returned both hands to her lips and wormed his claws into her between her lips and his cock, continuing to pry her open even hilt-deep within her. As he explored her lips, a lurch deep within him pumped the egg beyond his base and into his shaft, making it just a bit tighter inside her before he forced his fingers in deeper, happy to knead his own shaft and massage that egg into her.

This wasn't that new, but the bravado he offered her that showed that he was eager for more. He wanted to stuff her good and proper, to really get in there and have some fun. So she leaned back and reclined properly on his chest, closing her eyes so he could have his way with her without any limits. She loved him best when he did that. The pair of them had been testing their limits for years.

While hilted inside her, his bulging tip against her cervix and egg crowning between them, he leaned over her with one hand up under her and the other over her. The hand that slid over her belly curled all his fingers into her pussy so that his palm was cradling her clit, while his other one started prodding and plunging a few fingers into her tail hole. There was a lot more room in her booty, so he was able to shift himself and force his entire fist into her, the back of his hand pressed tight against the wall that lined her pussy as well. He could feel every distinct ridge and bump of his cock inside her, each throb and each twitch and each pulsation.

Unfortunately, the angle was quite a challenge for the pair of them, which meant that he couldn't thrust much but the pressure of that egg about to pop out of him and into her was on the edge between getting swallowed back up into him and bursting into her. She was sitting on his lap, so her rump was in between his shaft and belly. She was angled a bit to the side, having purposely altered herself so she was more accommodating, but it wasn't quite enough. The pressure was enough to push the egg into her. With a glorious pop, it emerged from his cock tip deep inside her and forced its way into her womb, its thick girth dilating her cervix before having it rest in her womb, cervix sealing off,

Talba sensed this and pushed off his chest, grinding on his cock and fist before landing in front of him on all fours, her pussy still clamped tight around his girth and her tail flipped up over her back. There were no obstructions, but she the position meant his fingers were no longer in her pussy, squeezed in between his flesh and hers. This also meant that the egg in her was forming a subtle bulge in her lower abdomen, a bulge that hung comfortably beneath her.

So what did he do? He couldn't just ignore his other hand, so he wrapped both his legs around her thighs, made sure her lips were pressed tight to his base, and he returned to her tail hole. By pressing his fingers tight against his wrist, he was able to twist back and forth, gradually forcing himself in deeper until her pucker pushed out and swallowed him to his second wrist. An audible squelch erupted form between them as his two hands opened up a pair of tiny cracks between them, her cavernous booty loose and eager to suck him in even more.

He interlocked the fingers on both hands and balled up both fists as one inside her, emulating the sensation of a knot or an egg. By flexing, he also made his hands feel firmer, so they wouldn't come out. The combined pressure of his cock throbbing in her cunt and both fists balled up like a knot in her tail hole made her entire body constrict, pushing down in a contraction. It was like she was laying an egg, a very large one by comparison. The flesh around her holes distended and pushed out, extending to smear against his belly scales and swallow up more of his forearms, the rims struggling to not burst.

During all this, the egg in her womb kept shifting and grinding against her walls, the firmness of it pressing down against her pussy walls from beyond her cervix; he could feel it, she could feel it, but they both know her womb had sealed itself off and it would not be coming out until it was ready.

With her insides rolling over themselves and caressing his hands and cock, he felt the urge to get a little rough. He kept his fingers interlocked as he pushed in deeper, rotating both arms from side to side to twist inside her, knuckles grinding against his own cock through her walls as he did so. The amplification of sensation made her grunt and continue to push down, only this time she did so with so much force that her cunt forced his cock out of her alongside a vaginal contraction and wink.

His member ended up popping out and squeezing between his wrists, leaking mess all over his belly while her pussy sealed shut thanks to his fists up her backside. She gasped and smiled back at him, grinning while her depths oozed a combination of his and her slime.

Before she could act, Vaulix pulled one of his hands half out of her pucker, allowing just his thumb to pop out before his knuckles burst from her depths. He used his thumb to hook into his own cock hole, guiding it into her rump with his fists. She caught onto what was happening and arched her back with her tail flagged up high, eager to help him.

Unfortunately, they may have reached her anal limit. No matter how much they angled and shifted and tried to find better positions while applying as much leverage as possible, his cock just didn't fit. Not with his wrists and fists still lodged deeply within her depths. She saw this and accepted it, pushing out with another abdominal contraction and grunt. Vaulix resisted at first, feeling her guts caress his knuckles a bit before unclasping his fingers and sliding one hand out after another. This left her gaping, her rippled, dark red inner folds pressing out against her dilated, opened pucker. He used a thumb from each finger to pry her open and keep her gaped, palms on each of her haunches as he buried his snout in her, opening his beak to gape her like a speculum.

She grunted and pushed down, forcing her bowels to extend into his open maw through the crook in his beak, her depths folding out against him. Then, before he accidentally bit down, Vaulix pulled out, licked up her slit from clit to the base of her tail, grabbed her by the hips, and flopped onto his back, pulling her down on top of him as he did so.

Talba landed on his lap with his cock between her legs. Her position meant that, to her, it looked like his member was hers, so she stroked it and squeezed the tip and slipped a few fingers into his opening a few times like she was exploring her new anatomy. He twitched a bit, bucking into her and letting loose a torrent of gooey slime all into her belly fur.

Though she was happy to play with him a bit, to use that mess to explore his cock hole a bit more, Vaulix was ready to finish up. He hoisted her up with one hand, his arm strong enough to lift her entire body off his for a second, while he grabbed his cock with his other hand, aiming it at her tender and partially gaping tail hole. With a bit of adjustment, he was able to slip his bulbous tip into her before she pressed down and took all of him with a squelching lurch.

Again, she found herself with her flesh pressed tight against his belly scales, that massive cock of his completely swallowed by her depths. She grunted and curled her toes as her pussy lips peeled back in a series of winks, her depths erupting with a slimy, clear mare ejaculate all over her tail and his inner thighs. Her pucker twitched at the same time she winked, clenching and sucking him in to force a series of micro-thusts through her bowels. He could feel the firmness of the egg deeper within him, the curvature of its shell grinding against the underside of his cock while her belly remained bulged.

It was all remarkably intense for the pair of them, and she was tender to the point every tiny little motion sent another shock of pleasure through her. Fortunately for Talba, her equine half was prone to repeated and prolonged orgasms. Every wink put her on the cusp of climax, and every squirt or body-rocking motion cascaded a warmth of pleasure throughout her that kept her on the plateau a bit longer. Sure, the brief moments in between penetration cooled her off a bit, but the more she felt Vaulix inside her, or felt his fingers caressing her or his ridges and bumps swelling inside her, another shot of pleasure coursed through every bit of flesh within her.

Eventually, she had no choice but to lean forward and get a grip. Her knees shook and her tail flagged a few times as she stood tall, his cock slipping out of her with a lurch and a juicy squelch. It took her a few moments to get her balance, but once she did she grabbed the pirate hat off the nearby chest and put it on. Once she was completely stable, she reached around her rump cheeks to emulate what Vaulix had done to her, two fingers from each hand in each hole to spread herself open.

Once gaped, she winked a few times and pushed down with all her might, forcing her inner walls to fold up and breach her opening. She winked, her tail hole twitched, her tail flagged, and her passage undulated to really give him a good look at the passage he'd just exited. He could see all the way to her cervix, which also gaped and showed the crest of a pure white egg deep inside her.

The image made his cock stiffen back up, the tip leaking mess all down every side and in between every bump and ridge. He reached out to grab her and maybe pull her back down onto his cock - the image of her undulating walls teasing him in all the right ways - but she pushed his hand aside as she continued to grunt and push down.

As he watched, the dimming of the evening light giving him less and less to see inside her aside from the subtle glint of moonlight reflecting off the water and her plump pussy walls, he could see her cervix dilate a bit more. The egg shell pressed against her opening and she continued to grunt and push down until the thickest part burst through and the entire egg slid through her gaping cunt with little resistance, emerging with a fleshy, guttural plop and landing directly on his belly. The egg was even thicker around than his cock, something that made him very proud of her.

She whimpered a bit as her gaping holes throbbed and pulsated, the pleasure from the egg passing through her forcing more shots of orgasmic warmth to course through her loins. Her beak chattered and her chest heaved as her tunnels slowly sealed up, forcing what air and fluid had been caught to spatter out and onto him.

Then, once she gently pulled all of her fingers out, she found herself a bit too exhausted to go on. She was halfway through falling on her face in the sand when Vaulix reached up and grabbed her, ensuring she fell back on him. His cock was still hard, but he was careful enough to make sure she landed on his chest with his member between her legs.

She smiled and nuzzled into her. It had been a very long day. From the landing, the exploring the island, and the fun on the beach, she was spent. Which was why she was a little irritated when she heard some nearby bushes being agitated.

Out popped nib, standing tall with another small chest overflowing with coins. "Quite the interesting predicament I discovered when returning to look for the others. Turns out they were the ones wh-" He stopped when he saw a spent Talba, spread-eagle on Vaulix's lap with his cock between her legs and her pussy exposed and soaking wet, an egg on the flag next to them. "Ah, I see you're busy. Shall I head back to the ship?"

Vaulix and Talba glanced at each other with a grin. Talba reached out to him. "Naw, come here, we should probably offer your reward." She spread her knees apart and pushed Vaulix's cock to the side so Nib could get a better look.

Naturally, the donkey jack's trousers bulged against the back of the treasure chest pretty much instantly. "As I was saying, I'm not sure we 'won' since the others actually found the chests and put them where we found them, but I won't complain." He stepped over the sand, placing the chest next to the two larger chests while removing his scabbard with the blade in it. He disrobed fully, his equine cock flopping down over the pair of captains. "But if you insist."

Talba grabbed him by the tail base and made him kneel next to them, his cock hovering just over top of Vaulix's, leaking donkey precum onto her lips. "Go ahead, I'm very tender."

He wasn't going to decline an order from the captain.