>>32809063
"In actuality, it is a cube made up of twenty-seven interlocking cubes that can be shifted and turned until the proper configuration is attained to yield a star chart to a presumably valuable location. To be more precise, it is a hypercube made up of twenty-seven interlocking hypercubes that can be shifted and turned until the proper configuration is attained to yield a star chart to a presumably valuable location."

"Second Empire technology." Texaport adds. "Rare. Valuable. Data within more so."

"Well then what’re we waiting for?! Lets crack that box open and get us some shiny new swag!"

You shake your head. "You’ll need a Charter Dais if you want to do more than just twist blindly and hope for the best. Good thing for you lot of ruffians I know where to get one." You raise the Charter Block above your head and shout out "Gentlemen, we head for Skarra Bay!"

A triumphant shout punctuates your declaration. But what you are going to do when you get there, captain?
>Business first, see to the Charter Dais. You never know when that old coot will finally up and kick it, so you better hurry.
>A well fed pirate is a dangerous pirate. Procure some vittles, and then see to the dais.
>Writein

>>32809068
>>Business first, see to the Charter Dais. You never know when that old coot will finally up and kick it, so you better hurry.

>>32809068
>Business first, see to the Charter Dais. You never know when that old coot will finally up and kick it, so you better hurry.
oh so it's a treasure map then

>>32809068
>>A well fed pirate is a dangerous pirate. Procure some vittles, and then see to the dais.
Can we at least look for vittles on the way?

I meant to rob some vittles from that cargo ship, but it exploded, and was full of robots. Robo-vittles aren't good.

>>32809068
>Business first, see to the Charter Dais. You never know when that old coot will finally up and kick it, so you better hurry.
Fuck, just as I gotta leave. Ah well, hopefully there will be enough anons around to vote.

>>32809355
Same. Just happen to have stuff to do today, will probably miss the rest of the thread.

Skarra Bay. Nestled in the neutral space between the Gatoran Empire and the Federation of United Bankers, this hollowed out cluster of asteroids sees plenty of action from those looking for somewhere a little more off the books. It’s no pirate capitol of the multigalactic sprawl, it’s got everything any pirate needs: food, repairs, entertainment, and most importantly for you, information. While the rest of the crew splits off to take care of their various errands and desires, you and your trusty first mate pay a visit to an old friend. The streets are as crowded as you remember, full of vendors plying their wares, tourists taking in the sights, and pickpockets preying on the unwary. You tighten your grip on the Charter Block a little tighter as you press through the throng until they give way to emptier and emptier streets. By the time you reach the ramshackle hovel built into the very wall of the main asteroid, you two are the only ones around. Cernu reaches out to knock gingerly on the prefab door before you cut her off with a pounding of your fist.

"Get on out here, you old coot! I know you aint dead yet and we got something to show ya!"

As two angry eyes appear at a slot pulled open in the door, Cernu gives a slight nod.

"Relic Hunter Jefferson Slick, we humbly request audience."

A series of latches and clicks gives way to an open door, and standing within a half-crazed looking old man sporting a frayed jacket and hair that has long since outgrown his head and face.

>>32809778

"You could really learn a lesson or two in politeness from your friend here, you overgrown garden snake."

"Don’t gotta be polite when I got exactly what you want."

You slither past him, depositing the cube in his hands and taking glee in watching his eyes bulge.

"A Charter Block?! But…how?! Where?! I've spent my whole life lookin for one of these!"

>"I tore it out of the wicked, steely clutches of a terrifying machine army!"
>"I just kind of bumped into it, really."
>"Nevermind that, just show me how the damn thing works."

>>32809810
>"I tore it out of the wicked, steely clutches of a terrifying machine army!"

>>32809810
>"I just kind of bumped into it, really."
>"Nevermind that, just show me how the damn thing works."
Priorities!

>>32809810
Machine army. But

>"Nevermind that, just show me how the damn thing works."

>>32809810
>"I tore it out of the wicked, steely clutches of a terrifying machine army!"
>"Nevermind that, just show me how the damn thing works."

"I tore it out of the wicked, steely clutches of a terrifying machine army and claimed my prize after daring single combat with their leader; now just tell me how the damn thing works and if it’s the one."

"Well, according to the runes here…I’ll be damned. Your first damned relic hunt and you find it. The-"

"The Lost Treasure of Scaly Dan, Scourge of the Second Empire!" Your hearts dance in your chest and you can’t help but interrupt. Every pirate dreams of that score! "Now, how does this old thing work so I can get me treasure?"

Jefferson ushers you and Cernu into his main and only room, shoving some relics and papers off of two chairs. "Come, sit down. Tea?"

"Just tell me what I need to know or I’ll-"

"I’d be delighted." Cernu interjects.

Jefferson comes back from behind mountains of junk carrying three cups of tea and dragging a hollow circular rim standing on three legs.

"This, is a Charter Dais. Insert the block into the middle of the reading rim and…" as he demonstrates his words, the dais begins to glow and the block floats freely in the empty space, also glowing. In the air above the two, a star chart projects itself. "…and you have your star chart."

"So all I have to do is stick the block there and I got me treasure?"

"It’s not quite that simple, I'm afraid. The dais and the block work in synchronization, true, but they usually have to resynch and reconfigure at several waypoints in space so that you can’t just jump straight to the final destination and take whatever’s waiting there. Those Second Empire folks were a paranoid bunch."

>>32810517
"So you're tellin me I'm going to have to traipse all across known space listening to some old cube on the vague hope that it leads me to the lost treasure of Scaly Dan?"

He takes a sip of his tea "I'm afraid so"

Your tail thrashes with excitement. "Well then we can’t stick around in some dusty old dump. Cmon, Cernu, we got an ancient treasure to pilfer! We’ll return your dais when we’re rich, old man!" You shout out behind you as you grab Cernu’s arm and take off out the door. Oh, but first!

>Vittles. You really do need to eat.
>Go find the rest of the crew and celebrate over a drink
>Writein

>>32810537
>Vittles. You really do need to eat.
Time for celebratory meal!
Also we might want to do a little research on this stuff before heading off. Even if it appears against our MO.

>>32810537
>>Vittles. You really do need to eat.

>>32810537
Our whole crew needs to eat. Remember how we were entirely out of grog?

Let's secure vittles for us and maybe a bulk supply for the crew.

>>32810537
>Vittles. You really do need to eat.
>>32810650
I agree, though I assume they could feed themselves if it came to that.

With block in hand and dais strapped to your first mates back, you make your way back to the more crowded sections of the asteroid. Immediately, your nostrils are assaulted by dozens of conflicting but equally delicious aromas from all the stores and stalls around you. You go straight for…

>Something hearty. There's a lot of you to fill and you need a meal up to the task.
>Something spicy. Mealtime is just another battlefield for you to conquer!
>Plants like sugary things, right? Go with that.
>Custom

>>32810748
>>Something hearty. There's a lot of you to fill and you need a meal up to the task.

>>32810748
>>Something hearty. There's a lot of you to fill and you need a meal up to the task.
We're fucking huge. We need at least an entire animal. In whatever way the local culture prepares them.

>>32810748
>Custom
Ask Cernu where she'd like to go.

>>32810748
>Plants like sugary things, right? Go with that.

You usually have a policy against buying stew from a cart, especially stew made out of an animal you’ve never even heard of, but your stomach isn’t giving your brain much room to argue right now. You buy two buckets of the stuff and settle down at a nearby cart with Cernu to gorge yourself while she savors a snowcone you bought her. The stew tastes odd, but delicious. The broth is thick, the what you hope are potatoes are large and filling, and the blue, pulsating meat has a vaguely tangy aftertaste. You're halfway through your second bucket when Cernu sidles up next to you and rests her head on your shoulder.

"Someone is watching us."

"I noticed. Why do you think I was cramming my food down my gullet so fast?"

"You always eat like that."

You’ve been watching them out of the corner of your eye. One man and one woman. Clean black suits. Shades. Couldn’t be more out of place in this grungy hole. What’s your move, captain?

>Confront them. Victor goes to the one who strikes first.
>Try to lose them in the crowd.
>Bolt! Few things alive can keep up with a naga in full sprint.
>Writein

>>32811138
>>Confront them. Victor goes to the one who strikes first.

>>32811138
Finish your meal and let her finish her snowcone, then either
>Confront them. Victor goes to the one who strikes first.
or
>Bolt! Few things alive can keep up with a naga in full sprint.

Aint no way we're losing suits in a crowd. That's like their element.

You think up a plan as the two of you finish your respective meals. Fleeing would be hard in this crowd and it’s pretty difficult for a naga and a dryad to blend in a crowd, no matter how eclectic it is, so all that leaves is fighting. You and Cernu amble past the two as if you never noticed them, leading them down a less crowded street to make for an easier fight. Your second and third tails get bolder as the streets clear out until they finally get within striking range of your first tail. You slam your tail into the woman’s gut, sending her scrambling and wheezing for air. Tailless always seem to forget that the giant lump of meat behind you is all muscle. Before the man can react, you curl around yourself and extend your length as much as possible, towering over him and bearing down on him with your twin cutlasses. Unfortunately, as you go for your first strike, your blades bounce off ineffectually. Damn! Those suits are made from Crystonium Weave!

>Doesn’t matter! Just bludgeon him into submission!
>See if your pistols don’t rattle him at all.
>Your tail worked well enough on his partner, just smack the bastard.
>Writein

>Writein
Cloth is cloth. No matter how tough it is it has to remain flexible. Squeeze them into submission.

Then steal their clothes. Gotta be worth a fortune.

>>32811727
>Doesn’t matter! Just bludgeon him into submission!
Inform them that thugs don't work, and they should instead try bribes. Then beat them into unconsciousness and let them tell their bosses what we told them.

Then wait for the bribes.

>>32811727
>>Doesn’t matter! Just bludgeon him into submission!

>>32811762
Squeezing is close enough to bludgeoning, I'm fine with that.

Undaunted, you continue your assault. You rear up and snap back down upon, much like a cobra striking its prey. You focus on his hands and feet to prevent any sort of retaliation and hopefully to eventually incapacitate him. You may not be cutting through him, but you're still hitting him hard enough to leave some marks. When you think you can afford it, you glance over at the other suit to see her wrapped up in thorny vines crawling down from Cernu's arm. The dryad, however, isn’t even paying attention to her captive, much more content to watch you fight. You're beginning to realize that you will likely tire before your target does when you hear the entangled woman call out to you.

"Just return what you stole from us, lamia, and we all walk away with our lives."

Lamia? Oh no. No no no. You may not have much species pride but it will be a warm day in space before you allow yourself to be mistaken for one of those swamp-dwelling, brother-humping, overgrown toothless slugs. Fury consumes you as you toss your cutlasses aside and surge at the man. He uses the brief window to try and pull his gun on you, only to find himself engulfed in your quickly constricting coils. With one target taken down, you wrap up the woman and position yourself above her struggling form. Cernu had wisely recalled her brambles and retreated to a safe distance once she heard the word 'lamia'.

>>32812751
"You and your bosses made three fatal mistakes. Well, fatal for you anyways." You lecture the struggling woman. "First, you tried to kill me instead of bribing me. You wouldn’t have gotten your cube back, but I wouldn’t have had to kill you like this. Secondly, you wore those silly suits of yours. Sure, weaving Crystonium into the thread was all fine and good, but it doesn’t exactly defend you against blunt weight or getting constricted like you are right now. And lastly, you called a naga a lamia. We," With a sickening crunch, you deposit their limp forms on the pavement. "We don’t much care for that."

"Did you really…" Cernu starts to ask

"Nah, just crunched a few ribs and maybe some arms is all. That death talk was just to scare em, seeing as corpses aint the best at spreading legends. Now help me take all their stuff, I could use some Crystonium lining on my jacket."

Finally back on your ship with some fancy new duds, you set up the Charter Dais and insert the block as you ship off from Skarra Bay. Before you can make the jump to the first coordinates, a fleet of Gatoran warships apparates out of hyperspace in front of you, spearheaded by an ornately decorated cruiser, its bow shaped like the head of a lion. Your viewscreen flashes to life and is dominated by the bulk of a Gatoran so huge he looks out of place in his naval uniform. His hair and beard are equally massive, puffing out around his face like a mane and nearly obscuring his large, catlike ears.

"Outlaw Valdessa Atroxius, this is Fleet Admiral Kytan Graveside. You are wanted for the assault and destruction of a merchant vessel in Gatoran controlled space, an offense seen as declaring war on the Gatoran Empire itself. Surrender now and your execution will be swift."

This is going to be a long treasure hunt.

END OF THREAD TWO

Sorry for the short thread today, guys. I guess Im still recovering from my trip, but I really wanted to go ahead and get another thread in. On the bright side, I should be able to get another thread in a lot earlier. I'm thinking Wednesday if everything works out. Keep an eye on the twitter!

>>32812774
Oh come on, that was hardly a merchant ship. It was made out of robots!
I mean I have no idea what you are talking about!

Anyway, thanks for the thread.
>>32812830
Twitter will be eyed. Think this is long enough for an archive?

>>32812869
>Think this is long enough for an archive?
Done