Pursuing A Dream! Mummies On The Ocean!

[Kami-Gaz]

Warm sunshine, the taste of ocean air and a gentle spray of sea water was all that Alphonse wanted on this trip on the Wellerman, a decently sized trading vessel owned by one Willard Wellerfellar and soon to be passed on to his young first mate Johnny W. Hiskey. The young red head man whose life was on a short counting clock was taking life as it came, shooting for his dream and wanting to enjoy every damn moment of it because it was all he had. Part of that enjoyment was leaning against the railing of the ship and just basking in the moment.

Alphonse had recently hired a bodyguard to keep him safe and be the muscle he needed to keep himself and his robots safe. What she had also done was, despite being only meeting Al the day before, was act like a real friend and treat Al like a human and not some sad sap.

There was another splash and the young man chuckled as he used his free hand to wipe the water away from his face. “In another life, maybe I could have been a sailor.” Alphonse spoke as he looked over to the bulbous head of his first reliable creation. The steely humanoid robot shifted to show his drawn-on face to Alphonse and tilted it. It had just come back from placing Al’s things in the cabin that the captain had provided for him to use as a place to rest and a small workshop to carry on his tinkering.

“Roooooy!” The robot declared with an exaggerated nod. “Ro roy roo roy roy!” It chattered on and struck a pose as if it were holding a cutlass and a pistol before prowling around for a few steps to play out being a pirate.

“Oh Roy!” Al laughed before spluttering out a painful sounding cough that hunched him over the railing for a few moments as he went to catch his breath. They were getting close to Reverse Mountain, and it was the reason the young man was up and about so early. The mountain wasn’t close yet, but by the afternoon they would be upon it and the excitement had gotten to Al already.

“Al! If you need to go and sit for a bit you can! I’ll send someone to get you and Danielle when we are nearly there!” The older captain of the Wellerman called from his place at the helm, having noticed Al’s coughing fit and genuinely looking out for the boy who had given him the lust for one more grand adventure before retiring.

---

Post: 1

Alphonse: c81212

R0y: 818181

Willard Wellerfellar: d8b000

Johnny W. Hiskey: efff9b
AnDRW: 7f5004

[Bobbie]

Danielle lingered in her cabin for a bit. She didn’t have many things to unpack while on the ship, but the items that she did have were of value to her and she wanted to make sure that everything was safe. That, however, was not the reason that she needed more time.

The last night of sleep was spent in a hotel with Alphonse, where she slept on a couch. It wasn’t a bad sleep at all, but she didn’t feel comfortable removing her eye-patch when she wasn’t alone. This tended to cause some discomfort, as the tension lines marked her skin in the shape of the piece on her face. In the privacy of her room, she took the time to take care of her eye socket, cleaning it and rubbing some of the soreness away with a soothing gel that she brought with her.

Emerging, her eyeless socket concealed properly again, she watched Alphonse, the VIP that she was here to protect and be bodyguard to, with one of his robots. Standing by the cabin door, she gave him the space to enjoy the moment and be with his thoughts, but kept herself within earshot, just in case.

Being on a ship again made her think of the friends that she left behind, causing her heart to ache for them in a way that she wouldn't admit or allow herself to reveal. She was determined to see them again, but Rosalina had to come first… true love always comes first. She only hoped that her letters reached their recipients as her mind wandered to her brother as well, hoping that he was keeping safe.

As the captain approached her employer, that was her cue to make her way over to his side, not in distrust but simply precaution. A frown appeared on her face for two reasons - firstly, the man referred to her as Danielle; secondly, while she knew he meant well with his concern, it was condescending in her eyes. “If a cough had the power to knock this guy out that easily, he wouldn’t be on this ship right now, sailing across oceans to pursue ambitions of a captain thrice your stature.” Danielle cut in, offering the best smile that she could muster, which really wasn’t much of one at all. “And it’s Danny, Captain Wellerfellar.” Of course, she didn’t have an issue with being referred to by her full name, but she would rather reserve that for more private settings.

Resting her elbows on the railing, she crossed her legs at the ankles to get comfortable and looked at Al for silent confirmation that he really was alright. If he needed help, she would offer it; anybody else’s intrusion was unwelcome.

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Vio]

^{……… #1}

---

Medicine. The marvellous practice of curing one’s ails and striving to defeat that which the body could only fall prey to. Doctors the world over made a living based on this simple premise, yet the intricacies of what seemed to most like such a mundane thing were so numerous and interwoven that the average man would be baffled. It was science. To some, it was magic. And yet some of the greatest scientific discoveries in the medical world were entirely accidental. One such beast resided, unbeknownst to Captain and crew, in the holds of the Wellerman, a phenomenon soon to be uncovered and yet never to be repeated.

Grrr… Timbers groaned lightly, discussing amongst themselves the coming challenge to many a vessel that dared such a venture, as well as the whispers of secure ropes and the chatter of chains as they conversed of curious contents and whimsical wares holed up within the lower decks of the tradeship. A collection of items and artefacts secured by commercial finagling, business exchanges and the like. Amidst them, a stone box a little over two metres in length, a metre in breadth, and just shy of the same in depth. No obvious markings adorned its smooth facade, just polished—if very lightly scratched—and smoothly finished stone kept secured to a wooden pallet by a number of thick ropes…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
In the cargo hold of the Wellerman sits a strange stone box…

---

NOTE: N/A

---

Sobek Neferure | #1034a6

[Kami-Gaz]

The young engineer nodded at the captain’s advice but as his faithful bodyguard and best friend arrived Danny offered a rebuttal. The captain had used the wrong name and it got the bodyguard to bare her fangs. Defending him and his determination to not let his health hinder his life and how she should be referred to.

Captain Wellerfellar smiled and bowed his head in apology to Danny. “I was not insinuating that a cough could knock Alphonse down more than the rocking seas could capsize this ship. I do apologise for using the wrong name though.” He spoke, his voice calm and easy as he did. Though behind him a few of the sailors were snickering away at the fact their captain got told off in such a sharp manner.

Al waved his hand and shook his head. “It’s fine Danny, I wanted to explore the ship a little before we got to reverse mountain.” The young man explained, already shuffling himself to the door to the cargo hold that was below. R0y hurriedly bumbled along to follow the young mechanist and opened the door for him, but due to a wave rocking the ship at an awkward timing he tumbled down the steps. “RooooOOooooOOoooOOooy~!” He called with each bump on the way down increasing and lowering the volume of his plea for help.

As the accident-prone robot finally crashed at the bottom and rolled further into the bowls of the ship, Al made haste to get down the stairs, using a determined look and will power to get himself down the stairs at a speed that betrayed his frailty. “Danny! Help! He might have broken something.” Al called as best he could as he descended the stairs, his cane thudding down hard as he made his way down.

The robot was in one piece and at the back of the trade vessels cargo space, his form splayed on the large stone coffin that had been secured to a pallet by rope. The metallic being having impacted it with enough force to knock the stone lid only slightly ajar. “Roy…” it droned, laying in a heap against the side. The robot had no stomach, otherwise it would be evacuating its contents as the drawn-on face stared to the heavens.

“You’re in one piece!” Al spoke softly as he hobbled over, not waiting for help as he genuinely treasured R0y as his first creation and his best friend in this whole wide world. “Roy, are you okay?” The worry evident in his voice as he knelt down to inspect the robot.

---

Post: 2
Alphonse: c81212
R0y: 818181
Willard Wellerfellar: d8b000
Johnny W. Hiskey: efff9b
AnDRW: 7f5004

[Bobbie]

As the captain put forward his apology, Danielle offered a nod of acknowledgement, but said no more on the matter. There wasn’t much time to as R0y went tumbling down the stairs toward the cargo hold only moments later.

With a sigh, the blonde’s attention shifted toward him and she shook her head. “What’s that silly robot doing now?” She muttered, grumpily, as she made her way over to the stairs before Al called out to her.

“I’ll get him.” She replied as she slipped past him to descend the stairs quickly. The stairway was not very wide, and from the bottom, she would be able to catch Alphonse if he fell too. Turning some of his limbs over, Danielle was gentle, but clearly lacked the understanding that Al had in his own design - she wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for in order to assess the damage, but everything looked like it was in tact. Once he arrived, she stood and moved out of the way for him to take over.

In the meantime, her focus was allowed to wander onto the large stone box that filled up a large space in the room. Wondering if it held anything of value within it, she couldn’t stop her prying eyes from trying to peep through the crack, now that the lid was slightly open.

“Your robot might be in one piece, but it looks like this might have been damaged.” The bodyguard uttered, keeping her voice low so as not to attract the attention of the captain above, whom she assumed would be its owner.

Danielle glanced toward the top of the stairs to check if he was up there and could see them before she turned back to the large sarcophagus.

“What do you think is in it? Captain Wellerfellar didn’t mention transporting anything like this when we spoke to him, he only sounded happy to get to sail again… which means making such a delivery couldn’t have been on his to-do list.” As she thought out loud, she eyed the box from all angles, shifting and turning as necessary, but she didn’t dare touch it, no matter how badly she wanted to.

She was getting a significant payment from Alphonse once this mission was done, after all… chasing after any additional treasures along the way would be greedy. At least, that’s what she told herself, though she didn’t necessarily agree with her own statement.

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Vio]

^{……… #2}

---

Some people could work miracles. Impossibilities often took them a little longer. None would have expected what was about to happen next—even some of the world’s greatest minds would have been baffled. All because a clumsy contraption had taken a tumultuous tumble and knocked his iron noggin upon the casket, shifting it just enough to create a gap through which outside air could seep more readily than the stone seal had previously allowed.

Blub– Bubble… A small but surprisingly significant increase in the amount of oxygen would be enough to reignite a flame that had been dimly smouldering for far too long. Most uncannily, those who dared to peek through the crack would only be welcomed by the darkness of such curious confinement, save for the slight break of a dull golden shimmer that seemed to saturate every possible corner of the container, suggestive of liquid contents.

^{—— … ——}

^{Mama, echoed the voice of a young girl:
…I don’t feel so good…}

^{Aya…? Aya?!}

^{How can we, Doctor? Another voice recited:
…We’re not sure how it’s even spreading…!}

^…Mama…

^{I failed you all, an echo of the self:
…I’m sorry, my precious Aya…}

^{—— … ——}

“…Gleck,” came the sound of something spluttering through liquid. The sound of something once quite viscous sloshing subtly as something struggled against the sludge and tapped against the stone interior. Darkness—physical and mental—clung to a being stirred from a slumber that had sealed away the torments of life, but was just as swiftly banished by that golden glow as the liquid within broke to a coughing, spluttering gasp and another, slightly firmer push against the reluctant and heavy stone lid.

Fingers somehow poked through the small crack in the corner, apparently ignorant of the fact that the gap was a little too tight for most adult digits to squeeze past, latching onto the lid and apparently pulling while something pushed upward from within. The stone lid scraped against the edges. Far too heavy for any one person to remove—let alone from such an angle as this attempt was coming—it was a miracle of its own that the gap was made just a half-inch bigger before the fingers retreated within once more.

^{“…Ah– Nyon,” a long-unused voice struggled:
“Hulb… hpen…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Now opened by accident, the curious contents of the mysterious stone box begin to stir…

---

NOTE: N/A

---

Sobek Neferure | #1034a6

[Kami-Gaz]

Al was scanning over R0y, inspecting for any missing parts or breakages on his outer plating. There didn’t seem to be any. However, there were several new dents on his torso and few on his bulbous head. It made the drawn-on eyes pop just a little, they could be pulled out and polished away though. If anything, bad happened to Roy, he could just rebuild him and improve him, that had happened multiple times over the last few years.

The young engineer almost missed his companion’s question as he finally widened the scope of his attention to the wider world around him. The large stone slab on a trade ship was a strange thing indeed. “It looks ancient, I didn’t think Roy had that much power in him to crack stone like that… It must be some sort of storage.” He muttered, now putting effort into standing. His cane being put to full use.

“Gleck”

Al looked into the darkness of the minor crack revealed as the sound came out of it. Roy stood up tall and rigid in a heartbeat of hearing it. “Roy!” He chimed, his modulator giving a sense of fear in his tone. “Roy roy roooy.” He spoke, his drawn-on face moving between Danny and Alphonse.

“Don’t be scared Roy…” Al said as he moved closer to inspect. “There’s nothing in there that will melt you down.” He said to alleviate the droid’s fears. It was at that moment that fingers shot through the crack and made the gap just that bit wider. Al’s eyes widened in response to the happenings, he was not expecting fingers to just appear and wretch the stone lid of this container open further.

“ROY!” The bot yelped before spinning around on the spot and charging up the stairs to the main deck. “ROOOOOOOOOOOOOY!”

“An ancient language?” Al asked? His heartbeat returning to a somewhat normal rhythm as he controlled his mental state and forced through an analytical mind. Engineers were used to jump scares, they had to be with how things they created tended to explode if not done right.

---

Post: 3
Alphonse: c81212
R0y: 818181
Willard Wellerfellar: d8b000
Johnny W. Hiskey: efff9b
AnDRW: 7f5004

[Bobbie]

Danielle was quite taken aback by the sudden sound that came from the sarcophagus that was now between her and Alphonse. Roy’s outburst that followed shortly after prompted her attention to dart back to the robot, whose cries of fear quickly filled the air.

Before she could say anything to try and calm him down, not that she really knew what to say, Al did that himself.

“It was probably just a reaction to the sudden exposure when the lid got cracked open,” She tried to rationally explain the situation. It made sense and was very possible, especially considering the bubbling sounds from within that clearly indicated some kind of liquid within the box. Surely all the rocking on the boat could have stirred up whatever mixture was in there, begging to release some chemical reaction. She didn't know much about science and chemical compounds, but she had heard her brother mention something about reactions with oxygen.

The fingers that peeped out through the gap, however, were more difficult to explain. A shiver ran down the treasure huntress’ spine as she continued to walk round the antique-looking container to join Al on his side of it, just in case there was any threat within.

“What the hell?” Confused, her gaze never left the spot that mysterious hand was last seen before it retracted back into the darkness.

What Alphonse perceived as an ancient language simply sounded like a stifled plea for help to Danielle… however, the unknown was a potential threat to the man she was there to protect, and helping whoever - or whatever - was inside the sarcophagus could have catastrophic results. She wanted to push that lid open and peer into the dark viscous abyss inside, but was too aware of the dangers that could be hidden within to do so.

“Roy?” she called up toward the stairs where the robot had recently disappeared. “Maybe bring the captain down here… I think an explanation as to why this is on the ship and what it is would be a good place to start.”

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Vio]

^{……… #3}

---

So dark… Heavy… Barely the strength… Thoughts from within the stone container resonated silently within a mind still wrapped by the haze of having been comatose—perhaps something stranger than that. Despite the confines of the shadows that clinged to body and mind alike, whatever was trapped within instinctively knew that the commotion outside of their prison was being made by people. Lungs long since dormant and a heart that had beaten so, so slowly were being completely resuscitated, though not without the unfortunate sensation of fluid needing to work its way out of a respiratory tract.

“An ancient language?” a voice said, in an accent unfamiliar.

“Maybe bring the captain down here…,” another called. Eardrums beat to the rhythms of their voices with a numb slowness made worse by partial submersion, drowning out inflections and bending pitch into a woozy distortion as everything—even unused inch of flesh and blood, bone and muscle—was gradually roused by an increasingly more conscious nervous system. Everything was numb. Even thoughts felt numb. Animal instinct and the painful engravings of past traumas into the folds of a brain intermingled as logic and wisdom were gradually shaken into a groggy state of awareness.

“Caph…thain…?” More fluid was regurgitated with mysterious ease, passively refreshing a stiff throat and vocal cords, and dully stinging taste buds with an inexplicable sourness. It was like floating in a bath of vinegar with the consistency of watered-down corn syrup, just without the scent of either, though what plagued a waking mind at first were images of a distraught man and a young girl. It was a bittersweet jab to the heart that made it beat loud as a drum, energy spreading through every numb joint and muscle and reinstating dormant strength. Enough to raise a weakened body from the suspension and give one more push against the lid, dislodging it somewhat and increasing the gap by a few inches, allowing the light from outside to pierce and be met by an equally dim glow.

^{“Noth throng… unough to… litht,” they hacked out:
“Thomebovvy…? Gith meh ah hamb? Bleathe…?”}

What an abnormality this was trying to crawl its way out of a coffin: A woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, had been sealed away within a stone block. Attractive, sleek and curvy, with a deeply golden complexion to peachy skin that contrasted the circumstances of her finding. Eyes of deepest royal blue and hair of an equivalent shade, decorated with horizontally banded highlights of gold, gave an exotic aesthetic as she managed to evacuate the last ounces of what now seemed to be a clear brown slime from her insides. Such ooze clung to her body with mild viscosity, lightly foaming in parts as a response to an abundance of sea air…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
The stirrings of the curious contents of the mysterious stone box find strength…

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NOTE: N/A

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Sobek Neferure | #1034a6
Alphonse | #c81212
Danielle | #fffd17

[Kami-Gaz]

“ROY!” The robot called from the distance as the door slammed closed behind him, leaving Dannie, Alphonse and the ancient alien alone in the cargo hold of the Wellerman. The young man backed up slightly as everything moved.

“I don’t know what it could be…” He spoke softly. Then he noticed the fingers and moved forward to push against the stone lid with all of his weight and strength. It wasn’t much but it was enough to help the hand that was trying hard inside to push the lid just that inch or so it needed to peer out of its confinement.

“Whatever it is, it’s alive and that means we have to help it.” He spoke altruisticly, for a man who was dying all life was sacred and the thing trapped in a stone sarcophagus would get the love and respect that a friend would… that a wounded enemy would. The young man started panting as his cane clattered to the floor and he did his best to push, the effort he was giving was far more than his frail body could put up with.

“C’mon Danny, lets help them.” He finally wheezed out, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

Upstairs Roy charged around the ship and bumped into the captain, “Roy! Roy roy roooy!” The sentient machine chattered as he waved his arms around excitedly and in fear to the captain who was keeping his eye on the horizon. “Roooy!”

Captain Wellerfella stopped his long meaningful gaze and shifted his attention to the robot and raised an old greying eyebrow. “What’s that my boy?” He asked, obviously not understanding the robot in the slightest. “Alphonse is stuck down a well and you need my help?” He cracked a smile and shook his head before shooting a glance to his first mate. “Johnny, you take the helm I am going to see what is going on in the cargo hold.”

---

Post: 4
Alphonse: c81212
R0y: 818181
Willard Wellerfellar: d8b000
Johnny W. Hiskey: efff9b
AnDRW: 7f5004

[Bobbie]

Danielle frowned and wanted to stop Alphonse, but it was too late and he had already made it his mission to rescue whoever or whatever was within the sarcophagus, it seemed. Watching him struggle put her mind at rest that he wouldn’t succeed on his own, but she inevitably huffed and moved to be beside him, pushing the sarcophagus lid.

“This is a bad idea, you know… we have no idea what sort of creature could be inside and I bet it’s trapped in here for a reason!”

Nevertheless, she pushed with all her might to help him slide the heavy slab aside and reveal the opening to the stone structure, as was his wish.

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Vio]

^{……… #4}

---

Light and air poured in and, in a rather maddened dash for freedom, something popped out of the now open object. A rather strange stone box, large enough to fit a person inside, had done just that. But where one would have expected a mummified body of some ancient nobleman from a faraway land, they would instead get a much more unusual specimen.

The odd solution in which the woman had been suspended began to steadily foam up and thicken, creating a frothy film across parts of her body as she hoisted herself into a sitting position. Coughing up the last ounces of fluid that had lingered in her lungs, doing her best to wipe away some of the film that clung to her eyes and nose, she gazed forwards into a blur of what lay beyond her tomb.

Eyes took a fair moment to adjust.

Amidst wooden planks and boarding, splashes of colour that came into focus revealed themselves as figures—alien individuals encountering an equally alien oddity. The fog of hazy memories didn’t even consider what these people were feeling at first, compassion concealed beneath a veil of confusion as she tried to shake away the groggy feeling of what had felt like a far too long and far too deep night’s sleep.

“Hh… Hello,” she spoke, throat, lips, and tongue all still a bit numb and so starving the greeting of more crisp enunciation. She shook her head as vigorously as she could manage, casting off splodges of froth from gilded hair of royal blue as hands gripped the edge of the glorified bath tub. Strength too remained somewhat dormant, understandably so as muscles could not quite find the power to haul an entire body’s worth of weight over the lip with any form of grace, instead causing her to roll over the edge and onto the floor.

“I… I thought I was going to drown,” the woman uttered idly, crawling across the bare floorboards of what she assumed was some kind of building with an unsteady slipperiness that probably made her look like some sort of lagoon-dwelling beast rather than a human being. A hand grasped a linen sheet that had been previously placed over another object in the ship’s cargo hold—perhaps to prevent moisture or dust from getting to it—and steadily pulled it down, using it to dry herself and dislodge the frothy goop as best she could…

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
The unusual cargo escapes her confines and starts to recuperate…

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NOTE: N/A

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Sobek Neferure | #1034a6
Alphonse | #c81212
Danielle | #fffd17