HoloPirates: A Tale of Adventure

Portside market

    Ding ding! Ding ding! As we pulled into the port, the wind whipped at my hair, blowing it all over my face as I attempted to brush it behind my ear. I looked out over the bay, with the city of Wake nestled snugly between two gigantic stone  mountains. In the harbor, there were two stone walls that extended out, almost reaching each other to close off the bay, but there was a narrow space that allowed for ships to pass through. All along the top of the walls, there were cannons and fortified towers overlooking and watching the outside of the bay, and at the top of the two peaks, there was a set of fortresses, also overlooking both the outside of the bay and the actual harbor.
    "Man, they're a little bit paranoid, don't you think?"
    "They have to take precautions." Noel said.
    "Okay, so how is this gonna work, Kingdom Girl?" Marine said behind us.
    Noel readjusted her chest armor, then turned to face her, and I saw the gleam of resentment in her eyes.
    "Marine." I said, giving her a stink eye. "Lay off the comments. Let's just save Jansen and get the hell out of here, and keep heading towards the destination."
    I walked up to the guardrail, then grabbed a rope of the rigging and hoisted myself on top of the rail, looking out over the Bay Area. In the actual harbor part of the bay, there were a lot of ships, all in different sizes, but the biggest ones, like the man-o-wars, were anchored out of the docks, with tiny boats ferrying the crew and supplies to and from the ships. As far as I could see, we were the only steamboat in the harbor, which meant that we might be a target of either raids or questions.
    "Okay, we just need to head in. Even with the black flag, as long as none of the cargo you have is stolen, then you should be fine." Noel said.
    "What, did the laws change?" Marine said, her tone being much more calm after I reprimanded her. "Used to be, if you were even a pirate, then they would unload the cannon fire on us for approaching the city."
    "Actually, the laws did change." Noel replied matter-of-factly. "Especially around this part of the sea. Its a lot more profitable for the Kingdom to let pirates in, but we jail the ones that try to sell us stolen cargo, because then the nation that the cargo belongs to comes after us."
    Marine made an O face, then looked towards the captains quarters, where she kept the treasure chest we had found.
    "What about the treasure?" Marine asked.
    "Well, we found that. Its not illegal to have something that you found, so long as it isn't contraband. Whats in there, anyway?"
    "I don't know. We haven't opened it."
    "Wait, bring the chest out. Let's see what's in it before blindly charging into port." I suggested.
    She signaled to one of the crew members that was standing next to us, and he went into the captains quarters, looking around inside for just a few moments, and then, he came out, holding the treasure chest. He plopped it down in front off us, and then, Marine drew her sword and sliced it across the lock, breaking it and throwing it off the chest. I reached down and opened it, and the glint of treasure assaulted my eyes. The chest was filled with gold coins, jewels, and goblets of silver adored with gems and gilded with precious metals. It was so beautiful, and apparently, Marine thought the exact same, because she pushed past me and grabbed at the jewels, holding them into the light of the sun, her golden eye gleaming in the light.
    "Its so beautiful." She said. "Genuine jewels. We can get a lot of stuff for the ship with all this."
    She held up another of the jewels, and I recognized it as an emerald. An emerald literally the size of my hand, probably the biggest one I had ever seen. She grabbed at a pearl necklace and held it into the light like she did with the ruby, and she smiled. Finally, she pulled out a bag, and she began to scoop some of the treasure into the bag, while leaving the rest of it in the chest.
    "We can get some good upgrades with this amount, and it should be done by the time we find the doctor." Marine said, then turned to the crew. "Lower the topsails! Proceed to docking!"
    "Aye captain!"
    And with that, we proceeded into the Bay Area, passing up the walls that were protecting the harbor. Marine swung the ship to the starboard side, making one big turn in the bay, and we came up to the actual docking area, while the crew in the masts raised the sails to decelerate the ship. As we slowly sailed into one of the docks, groups of the crew grabbed these gigantic ropes and lashed them overboard, hooking them on the pegs of the docks. They then held onto the ropes and pulled as hard as they could, slowing down the ship and docking us successfully.
    "Alright, lets go ashore." Marine said, grabbing her sword and sheathing it.
    As she passed by me, I also saw her slip a flintlock pistol into a gap in her skirt, strapping it against her thigh. I decided not to say anything, and I followed her as Botan and the Storyteller grabbed Jansen's stretcher and brought it ashore, all of us walking along the piers and docks to get to the main town.
    "Wow." I heard Botan say.
    "What is it?"
    "Nothing. Ive just...never left the Isle before," She said. "I've seen the ships come and go, and I've heard of the outside world, but I had never seen it for myself."
    "Well, good thing is, at least your dream is coming true."
    "I'm, uhm, I'm not so sure that I would call it a dream of mine. How do I act here?"
    "Well, just don't talk to people. Let us do all the talking."
    She nodded, and we finally got into the town, all of our shoes and boots making clacking noises as they touched down on the cobblestone streets of the town.
    "Alright Noel." I said. "Where is this doctor of yours?"
    "Down Mary Street, next to the General store, where she always hangs out."
    "Okay, where is Mary Street?"
    "Down this way. All of you follow me."   
    We followed after Noel, going down the streets and trying to dodge all of the people of the town. Unlike the pirate town that I arrived in, the people of this town were much better dressed, with more vibrant colors than the standard black and brown of the pirate attire that was in the original town. Also, from what I could see, there were a lot of knights around, dressed in similar attire to what Noel was sporting. I decided to hang back a bit with Noel, just to stay way from the front of the group, which would be drawing the most attention, given that it was an apparently famous pirate captain, and a knight in the army walking together, with two other pirates, an unconscious Siren, and a half-lion lady. But, thankfully, as we walked through the port, no one seemed to even bat an eye at us.