[Redd]

"Hello?"

A polite voice and a single tap on the shoulder pulled your attention away from the docks and back to a tall Aqua Tengumi. His face was almost  impossible to read but he seemed happy to have your focus at the very least. You shift your glance from the seemingly well-to-do Tengumi and onto the ship that was behind him. Well-built, solid but... you recognized the flag at the top. That belonged to a-

"I am Captain West, are you here maybe looking for work?" he continued, drawing your attention away from the vessel that was most definitely a pirate ship.

How did such a mild-mannered pirate end up owning a ship with one of the worst reputations in Nodia?

"Strange right? Pirates recruiting in a civilian port. But alas, we have a... certain need and ah, this isn't anything unsavory, not to worry." He fanned his wings in a dismissive manner. "I'm in a rather unique position. I've lost half my crew in a freak boating accident. There was no current, no riptide, no strong wind even, but a group of dark colored creatures grabbed my ship and dragged it into shallow waters and destroying part of my ship, tentacles drowning anyone who fell overboard."

He sighed, decorative feathers drooping a little at the memory, before he continued. "We made it out but, I wish to recruit a capable team to go out and investigate that area again, see what exactly happened, and see if anyone survived."

---


"Hey. Hey! OI YOU THERE."

You snap to attention, turning to the rather bristly and irate looking Hollow Sygriff who definitely had been the one trying to get your attention. She'd been sitting up tall, weight shifted onto her hindlegs and had even flared her layered wings out in an attempt to catch your eye.

"Don't mind that stuffy prick, c'mon 'ere." She made a beckoning gesture with her paw, before dropping back down onto all fours and folding her wings up. "I'm Capt'n Piper. We got a better job for you. Bigger job. You like huntin' big monsters? We ain't talking about your pitiful... tuskow or anything like that. Think bigger. We're hunting the Leviathan herself, sweetheart, and we need extra hands because..." she coughed and turned her head to the side for a second. "That beastie, that big black, red and white behemoth, tore my last ship right in half, it did. Barely made it outta there."

The Cobalt Hydrolisk next to her made a not so subtle attempt to jab his elbow in her ribs. He got a withering glare and flattened ears for his effort, but he was diligently pretending not to pay attention.

"As I was gettin' to saying - thank you Quoll - got a better ship now though, lookin' for more capable crew to hunt her. Bring her in. Gut the monster. She ain't anything anyone's ever seen before and we gotta show her to the world." She grinned savagely, claws raking the ground in her enthusiasm. "Go in, grab the beast, get out, get paid. How's that sound?"

Seems you had a choice here. Go with the calm Tengumi pirate to investigate the shallow waters of the Nodia Sea or go with the scary pirate  to Rewhister Ocean on a hunt for a mystery beast!

---

This event will run from the 22th of July to the 18th of August. This event is of the same sort as the past events, and is hunt based. This one does not have a mandatory theme, however you must roleplay in either Nodia or Rewhister, depending on what team you picked (more below). Prizes will be rewarded at the end of the event.

There will be two teams in this event, and for every post you make and turn in, you will earn 1 point for your team. The winning team will influence the participation reward!

Once again, we're trying an art based alternative as well. In addition to a hunt thread, you can also submit one art piece per week for an extra hunt & ten points. It must depict at least one character or pet (partial body is okay) with at least noticeable shading of some sort. For 5 extra points, you can also include a background (can be something simple like a pattern).

Please Roleplay your post in this thread to state what side you're joining!
Once again, your choices are:
The Blue Team
Captain West, Investigating a strange colony of creatures in Nodia
The Orange Team
Captain Piper, Hunting for the Beast of Rewhister

Rule Recap:
Time Frame: Monday, July 22nd 12:01 am EST to Sunday, August 18th at 11:59
You can however join up and start your threads earlier for a head-start (must be started in July though).

The prizes that can be received from submitting up to a maximum of eight (between art & RP) hunts are as follows:

Hunt #1 - Monday, July 22nd at 12:01 am EST to Sunday, July 28th at 11:59 pm EST - A random Ocean/Sea/Coastal Region Wild Pet
Hunt #2 - Monday, July 29th at 12:01 am EST to Sunday, August 4th at 11:59 pm EST - Something sandy?
Hunt #3 - Monday, August 5th at 12:01 am EST to Sunday, August 11th at 11:59 pm EST - A Beast of the Sea, but not what Piper's looking for.
Hunt #4 - Monday, August 12th at 12:01 am EST to Sunday, August 18th at 11:59 pm EST - Maybe you'll find that pet your Captain was looking for, finally?

If you complete at least two different hunts, you'll be eligible for a Participation Prize, and that will be determined by the winning team of the event. These prizes are... special. In a sense. No more spoilers than that :D


- For RPS, once per week, users are able to post a hunt in the Lone Saloon, using the new Event item, Sea Shell. Please also make sure you post the image in your thread (we'll include a form in the Saloon) so we can differentiate it from other hunts!
- Threads must contain a minimum of 10 posts (15 posts for cooperative roleplays) to qualify for a prize.
- All threads for this event must have been started in July or August 2019.
- These do count towards your weekly hunt limit.
- In addition to one hunt, a user may also submit an artistic piece per week. It must depict at least one pet/character with at least noticeable shading of some sort. Background is optional for extra points. We are currently preferring DeviantArt as the upload medium but it's not required at this point. Turning art still must be roleplayed though.
- If you're wanting to do a collab piece, it must depict at least two pets/characters with at least noticeable shading of some sort and in an OOC comment, state who did what. Background is still optional.

((I apologize for the overabundance of events in this style, I promise I'll try to shake up the format for the next one))

[Freezair]

It had been a long time since the sisters had had cause to go near a boat. Despite growing up in a fishing village, life in an inland ranch didn't present many opportunities to go sailing. Sure, there was a small creek nearby, but it was too shallow to support even a tiny dinghy. (The fishing wasn't bad, though.)

But the stories told by the Tengumi had awakened something within them. With a nod at one another, they knew what they had to do. It was time to dust off their sailing knowledge and head out into the seas to find out exactly what was lurking down there. Ailbhe couldn't resist the thrill of the challenge and the promise of adrenaline. Ciara craved the knowledge, and the possibility she might discover a new species tantalized her.

"We wannuh sign up for this little expedish," Ailbhe said. "Put us down for Blue Team! Off to Nodia Sea!"

[Indigo]

Moss was not precisely impressed by Captain Piper. She had, in her longish and relatively storied monster hunting career, encountered quite a few people of this nature, and had found them to have about equal odds of being incompetent blowhards or the real deal. That Piper was willing to bring in outside help when she needed it was a point in her favor, though, and it was good to know they'd have a certain amount of backup out here; she'd already been planning to use the next job as an opportunity to work with Arabella, get her up to speed and learn her strategies, and it was best to do that in an environment relatively unlikely to get her killed.

Though relatively unlikely was, well, relative. The sea could be a pretty dangerous foe all by itself. If Moss had seen this coming she'd have discouraged Asher and Argent from taking that mission out on the plains. But nothing for it now.

She extended a hand for something like a handshake. "I'll be happy to throw in with the Orange Team, Captain. My colleague and I will meet you off the Rewhister coast."

[Redd]

((Small note! If you're partnered up with someone from the other team & RP in their area, you'll still get the prizes and points for your team!))

[Kylo]

He just wanted a summer vacation on the beach. A simple vacation with no loud obnoxious pirates vying for his attention at the port. He wanted to relax on the beach not whatever it was these degenerates wanted.

Ceres sighed as he tried to walk past them only to be followed, and prodded, and poked until he gave up and threw up his hands.

"Fine! Fine! I will join one of you! Now if I join will you shut up!?" He shouted in exasperation.

Ceres pointed at the tegumi and scowled. "I'll join you since he seem the least insufferable of the two. Team blue or whatever you call yourself."

[Silver]

Why was he always the one doing beach related missions? He supposed that it did make sense, but he did sometimes wonder what more variety would be like. Maybe next time he could bring those kids along, then they could learn how to take his place when he wasn't feeling it.

Buka didn't get much time to mentally plan his training regimen before he was stopped by not one, but two strange bird creatures. He took a level step back from both of them and considered their offers. Usually missions didn't just jump out at them like this, so he was quite taken aback.

After a few moments of considering it, he turned to the first person who spoke, the leader of the blue team, and said, "My team and I would love to help you." The story of the mysterious monster in the deep gave him a few ideas, none of which he was too excited about. He felt the need to do something about it, even if he wasn't too sure yet what that would be.

[SpringsSong]

"So am I ever going to learn who was responsible for deciding that I was the cannibalistic captain of a cannibalistic pirate crew?" Xyshari asked as she looked between the two captains. Lana chuckled.

"My idea was much more subtle. A notorious pirate gang, known as the Howling Tempests," Lana said. "Theron said that that would work well and fine for a Sith... but someone from the Republic coming to Rishi needed a more fearsome reputation."

"So... Theron. Lovely. He's already been through enough, so I'd feel bad about giving him shit about this," Xyshari said, sighing. "Anyways, who should we throw our 'hat' in with?"

"It's been a while since we faced something big. Let's see what's in this... Beast of Rewhister is," Lana said, approaching Piper. "Ahem. The crew of the Red Hulls will gladly assist you, Captain Piper," she said, marking their names down for the orange team.

[Adelie]

It's when she reached the docks - greeted by the unexpected and most certainly unwelcome sight of not one, but two notorious pirate ships and their captains - that she realized she has been played.

In retrospect, it all seemed so obvious. A flourishing port city, and yet all the streetside storefronts were shuttered, curtains drawn; a well-known seaside tourist destination, and yet the streets were deserted save for the occasional scampering ocal. Even the most idiotic of idiots would recognize something was off.

But the first clue had come to her attention long before she even set foot in the city. She should've recognized trouble the moment her best friend - although she was seriously reconsidering that designation right now - had, completely unprompted, suggested she take a vacation.

You've been so busy recently, he had said. And I hear Rewhister Ocean is really nice this time of year.

She's been skeptical then, but clearly not of the right things. Isn't the weather there really temperamental in the summer? she had responded. I don't really feel like dealing with a hurricane.

Absolutely not, he had scoffed. Certainly no storms this time of year. Certainly no sea monsters or pirates, either, so don't worry about any of that.

Yeah, in retrospect - if there were a class lower than the most idiotic of idiots, she would be the founding member.

Given that she had fallen for the trap, given that she had already eaten the sunk cost of fifteen minutes of listening to two wordy pirate captains pontificate on why she should join them, given that she honestly had nothing better to do and 'monster hunting' sounded like a fun vacation activity anyways - all she could do was follow through. "Sounds great," she said, in a tone of voice that suggested it was anything but. "I guess I'll join the Orange Team, then."

[Sarah]

Noel didn’t care much for the ocean air, nor did he care particularly for walking aimlessly. However, he did know how happy it made Asa to be near the water and secretly he liked to watch her gaze out across the docks. She took on this content look that he was not so familiar with when they were working in the hospital.

He jumped at the unexpected contact and when he turned towards the voice he was already glaring. He didn’t even give the Tengumi time to finish his little speech. “No,” he said dryly and walked on. Asa was up ahead engaged with some Sygriff who looked to be about as much trouble as the well-meaning but ignored Tengumi. His glare went away only slightly as Asa turned to him with big imploring eyes.


“Can’t we join the orange team? Can’t we please,” Asa was begging, and Noel raised a questioning brow. She never begged for anything - ever. Her intense expression did not let up even with Noel’s clear denial.

After a moment longer he shook his head minutely and sighed. “Fine,” he relented curtly. There was a hospital near the shore of Rewhister. It wouldn’t hurt for him to put some feelers out, and he knew the administration of his own hospital would be pleased as he rarely voluntarily cooperated with other hospitals.

There was no way he was searching for any sea creatures, giant or otherwise. As they were walking away and Asa was bouncing along and praising him, he wondered how much trouble he'd be in once Wilhelm found out he'd agreed to this.

[Kyrit]

Bags in arm, Kyrit had been making her way back to the docks after buying a few supplies. She carried what she could, though she'd had to pay to have the larger things delivered to the ship. Probably could have saved a few Keystones if she'd brought anyone along, but honestly it was just easier to pay someone off and have them bring it all in a wagon or something. Before she could make it back to the ship though she felt a soft tapping on her shoulder, which was followed up by the Tengumi's obviously well thought out speech. She'd seen that flag before and knew who they were, not that she had any room to judge. If anything she was simply more curious, that is until another voice cut through the air and she turned to see the Sygriff.

She hadn't come to town looking for a job, but they both certainly had her interest. After some time thinking it over, she turned to the Sygriff. "Well.... So long as you wouldn't mind us following with our own ship, I think we could tag along and help out. Always enjoy finding new critters, but I ain't leaving my ship and crew behind."

(Joining Captain Piper, Hunting for the Beast of Rewhister)

[Mousen]

Monster hunting. How Jess had managed to talk them into this one they'd never know. They were paranormal investigators for gods' sake. That meant crumbly houses and ghosts and occasionally violent and terrifying poltergeists and certainly came with its own dangers-- most of which they'd suffered through already-- but this was the ocean. The deep, dark, endless ocean, and in the ocean were not only lots and lots of ghosts for J.P. to be bothered by, but an abundance of things with sharp teeth. Potentially large things with sharp teeth. That'd look on J.P and Jess as an aperitif. Oh why were they such a pushover?

Jess, bursting with energy, announced, "Sign us up for the Orange Team, please!"

[Redd]

"I thought I could smell desperation." Hawke grumbled to herself, "and money."

Well, it was sort of a difficult choice here. Both of her options were pirates, so pay and not getting a knife in the back after a job well done was always going to be a risk, despite how mild-mannered the Tengumi was. As far as quarry went though, it was a choice between something small but numerous or something big. While she was liking Captain Piper's moxie, and she'd fought big - like, dragon big- she wasn't entirely ready to play Captain Ahab on the high seas. Or really, anywhere she'd risk drowning. At least Nodia had more shallow waters to search in.

Plus, she could see Piper getting more attention than West, so in her mind, that meant if she went with the Blue Ship, she stood to get a larger cut. And money here was the number one priority.

"Hey, bird. Put me down for the Blue Team." She sighed, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt and starting to do a mental inventory of what she had on her. "Maker help me, if this isn't a task that can't be sorted out in a day."

[Jaykobell]

Hm, what fascinating reports. Some sort of mysterious creatures in the seas of Evelon, was it? It sure sounded like something they would be interested in. He had an idea as to what could be causing trouble in those areas. And even if they weren't the main cause, surely they would be using the current mayhem to their advantage. One way or another, it would be worth it for them to check it all out.

Upon being offered different teams, he tilted his head. In his mind, though, the choice was an easy one to make. "We would be happy to help," he said, and then turned his attention to the Sygriff. "Help the Orange Team, that is." He nodded confidently. "We'll clear up that problem for you."

[crow]

An almost entirely naked child was an odd sight at the docks--- or anywhere, really--- but one piped up as the captains made their speech. "Leviathan?" he said, staring up at the Sygriff. "Sign me up! I've got a thing or two to say to that guy for sending me overboard last time." It was clear pretty quickly that he hadn't listened to much of the captain's actual speech, but he was willing, and beggars couldn't exactly be choosers, could they? At the very least, he was a chubby little guy, good for bait if nothing else.

"Team Orange! Let's go team!" said the child. "Let's get this murder party started!"

[FrostWynd]

Being no stranger to having requests being made on a fairly regular basis, the dragon that had taken on a more humanoid form to walk among the locals at this port today wouldn't be completely annoyed by the presence of these pirates coming up to him out of the blue. Though the scowl on his face and crossed arms brought on by the unsolicited nature of their recruitment made it pretty clear he wasn't particularly happy about it either. Besides the fact that maybe, just maybe, he was already preoccupied with something else right now, there was still a certain process that needed to be followed first to employ him, y'know?

The only reason he didn't just walk away right now, would be thanks to the tidbits of info that would make the jobs seem even remotely interesting enough to him to let things slide and actually consider it.

Consider just one, that is.

Midnight wouldn't really call himself much of a 'team player'. Working together with other individuals always brought about hassles and complications that, quite personally, he'd rather do without. It made jobs go over significantly easier if he just worked by himself. So despite being intrigued with the potential challenge of hunting a massive creature that Piper suggested, he was quickly put off by it, partly due to the teamwork thing.

The other part was because they were friggin' pirates. You could never trust them. Not with money, or your life.

Greed could have also been fueling his decision making in this moment when he approached the Tengumi, as Midnight saw a better opportunity in working with the captain of the Blue Team. "Captain West, was it?" If all that was needed was some information, and whatever was left of his crew, the dragon could easily take care of that.