#now that the us is solidly ahead of them in every medal count | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xxxgrianeatsendermitesxxx · 5 years ago

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Glass tower, Paper crown

Cleo was pouring a drink, a simple ale for one of the soldiers when the four came in. She instantly knew why they were here, she'd spoken to the doctor before. She waved them over, smiling as Doc nodded and brought the group over. She leaned into and smirked. "The usual?" Doc nodded, gesturing to his friends. "Same as last time if you please ma'am, for my companions as well." She nodded and lead them through into a back room, the captains quarters in what was once a glorious vessel. She lead the men in there and gestured for them to sit down, the black haired one took the largest chair other then Cleo's own. She was surprised they just let him, figuring he was higher ranking then them, was didn't question it. But instead smiled and leant against her desk, pushing her hair put of her face and tucking it back under her bandana. "Anything to wash it down with?" Doc nodded and waved his hand, gesturing for the usual like the lazy ass he was. The others blinked at her in confusion, she sighed, figuring she'd have to put it in simple terms. "Do any of you want a drink?" The lycanthrope, Ren, requested a simple ale with a smile. Iskall asked for a very specific brand, assassins always with their expensive tastes. The mustached fellow sat pondering for a while, Doc nudged him and asked him to hurry up, referring to him as Mumbo. Mumbo chuckled and apologized, smiling at Cleo kindly. "Sorry ma'am, I was just wondering if still get free drinks as a part of my title?" The pirate queen blinked at him in surprise and confusion. "Why on earth would you think you'd get free drinks?"

Mumbo stood, with a wave of his hand he was saluting solidly. "Captain Mumbo Oliver Jumbo, at your service." He took a low bow, hand on his heart and raised his head to look at her. "It's an honour to meet the acclaimed Queen of pirates." Cleo blinked at him blankly, she'd never met a captain before, let alone one who bothered to pay mind to her. While it was true that most taverns offered free drinks to the higher up people in the kings army, Cleo didn't offer such a deal. She was that Queen of pirates, why should she respect the king and his authority? She turned on heel and began to walk to the door. "We don't offer that kind of deal here I'm afraid Captain, you'll still have to pay." She watched in the mirror as the man straightened himself out and when to sit down, chuckling to himself. "Ah, my apologise then. I'll have a small bottle of the strongest whisky you've got if you please ma'am." Cleo nodded and left to fetch their drinks, leaving the hero's alone in the room.

Iskall chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Mumbo. "What was that?" Mumbo simply adjusted the ribbon around his neck. "She's the Queen of pirates." "She's retired." Doc countered, finding this hilarious. The captain sighed and shook his head, slightly annoyed by the idiots that surrounded him. "She's still a woman of standing, I simply gave her the respect she is due." They were rather surprised all in all, Mumbo had behaved like a tired parent the whole way there and then they saw him show that much respect to someone, it was a bit surprising. They sat in silence for a bit, just looking around. The first thing Mumbo noticed was the three painted skulls in the corner, gold silver and bronze, but Mumbo wasn't an idiot, they were clearly real skulls and to see them put out like decorations made him sick to his stomach. He scanned the shelves, looking for something to distract him and saw Cleo's collection of rare medals, taken from soldiers and naval officers she'd defeated in battle. He recognised some as medals he wore, for bravery, honour and for being a valuable asset in battles. For having the highest kill count, Mumbo thought bitterly. He was trying to resist the flashbacks to battle where he watched his fellow men being cut down like weeds when his eyes feel on the most beautiful oil painting he'd ever seen. Of the glass tower, standing pride of place in the centre, fauna and flora alike surrounding the shaft. Mumbo smiled blissfully at the sight, if it was that beautiful in a painting then he couldn't help but imgine how breathtaking it would be in real life. A few minutes later, Cleo arrived with the drinks, handing them to each hero. Mumbo took his with a nod and a smile, tilting it back and wincing at the strength. He took a gulp and sighed in relief, just the thing to calm his nerves. Cleo sat behind her desk and pulled out her journal, undoing the buckle that kept it shut. "So you're going on a quest for the crown? I'm not gonna ask why or anything but I am rather curious. What I will ask however, is what you'd like to know?"

Doc looked to the side of him to see Ren raise his hand slightly, Cleo nodded at the wolf boy and he asked his question. "What kind of monsters will we face?" Cleo smiled and chuckled, turning to a page in her journal and showing them all some sketches of the monsters. "They're all big and they're all tougher then you, there was a dragon but I've slain it." She paused for the nods and murmurs of praise before continuing. "They will be hard to take down but I'm sure you guys can handle it!" She grinned at them, they were unable to resist smiling back. "However if you find yourselves without weapons or gear then I do suggest you run." She sighed at Doc and Ren's offended looks. "I can guarantee that no matter what you are, you won't stand a chance against these monsters without your weapons and teamwork." She glanced over at Mumbo who had just finished off his drink and was now clicking his knuckles absent mindedly and rolled her eyes. "Or certain grueling training regimes." Mumbo perked up at that, an expected yet cautious smile on his face.

Cleo kept telling them about the quest ahead of them, answering their questions. Iskall kept asking about any creature he figured could have a price on it's head, Ren just wanted to know if there'd be food and Doc wanted to know if anything in the forest was worth money. Cleo noticed that Mumbo hadn't asked a single question and was curious beyond belief. "Hey Cap? Cap'in Jumbo? Got any questions for us?" The others looked at him then, realising that Mumbo had barely said a word. The captain himself looked at her at that and took an expression of thought on his face. "Well what's the tower like? Is it as tall as it looks in the picture?" Cleo nodded, gesturing to the painting on the wall. "Oh yeah, the painting's almost exactly to scale. You wouldn't be able to Rapunzel style this tower." She chuckled, tapping her fingers on her desk. "So it's pretty clear what your teammates want out of this quest but what about you Cap? What are you looked to get out of this?" This made Mumbo think, what did he want out of this? He wasn't really sure, he'd have to choose his words carefully. "Well it's an honourable quest for the King, my job is to serve him dutifully and that I'd why I plan to give this quest my all. I have no desire for personal gain and I live under the impression that the quest is praise enough." He finished with a smile and a nod, trying to ignore the mutters of "suck up" and "bootkisser" from his teammates. Cleo rolled her eyes, not making fun of him though because she understood what it meant for someone to be that determined to die for king and country. She didn't say another word to him, deciding to jot press the matter whatsoever. She continued to answer the questions that the party asked then offered to set them up with some books about the tower. The party refused, Doc saying that his arcana eye can tell him all he needs to know. She watched them go to leave, they were talking about where they should go to gather more supplies, Cleo noticed Mumbo telling them that he was going to hang back and would catch up with them later. He approached her nervously and asked if he could get some of the books she'd mentioned. Cleo chuckled, leading him through a door into the nabouring building.

The bookshop was a small one, the walls lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a little reading area, hidden by curtains, another thing hidden by curtains was a little doorframe, without it's door. The desk that sat at the front of the shop was a simple wooden table but had been adorned with little carvings from a pen knife and the wax drippings of a candle, a small locked box sat on top of it, clearly where the money was kept. Cleo whistled and Mumbo watched as the shop owner came from behind the curtain of the doorframe, a simple guy, the man wore a simple loose hanging shirt in baby blue, with a curious silver amulet, in the shape of a swirly 'a'. Mumbo figured it must be some sort of protection amulet, he couldn't blame the guy, he lived next to the undead after all. The shopkeep aproched them with a kind smile, a smile that warmed the young captains heart. The man had a nest of freshly combed brown hair and tiny square glasses sitting on his nose, he adjusted these glasses to look up at the man mountain that was Mumbo. "Well howdy friend, what brings you to my little shop? I got every book your little heart could ever desire." He smiled up at Mumbo and then glanced at Cleo before the captain could answer, beaming at the sight of her. "Cleo! You hadn't come 'round yet today, I was wondering when you were gonna. Who's this friend of yours?" Cleo chuckled and slapped Mumbo on the back, the shopkeep was clearly surprised to not see him even flinch. "This is Captain Jumbo, he's in need of some books on the Glass Tower. Think you can help him out Joe?" Mumbo smiled awkwardly down at Joe and blinked at him. Joe beamed at him, gesturing for the both of them to follow him. "Of course! Follow me, the books are right over here."

The captain followed Joe and Cleo into this little curtained off room filled with chained up books and locked boxes, Mumbo could see that most of the titles had been banned by the king. He felt unnerved, what kind of person was this that felt so unafraid to show banned books to a high ranking member of the kings military? That kind of confidence shook Mumbo to the core. He stood silently as the shopkeep pulled out five books in total, the titles enblazened in hold on the side; 'The history of the ancient kingdoms', 'Monsters and Humans: The forgotten history', 'Defenders of beasts', 'Souls and mirrors, the most potent magic' and 'Heavenly lands of old' were trust into Mumbo's arms. He stood stock still, like a statue honouring himself as Cleo and Joe informed him that he could borrow them and even take a little notepad to fill in. They trust this upon him too and bade him to bring them back should he return alive. He felt uneased at that, the truth to his quest fully setting in. Ever since his betrayal he had been questioning life and had found that maybe death might not be favorable. He nevertheless agreed and ran off to join the other members of the party.

They had been collecting more food to bring with them and had a house and kart piled high with their findings, they greeted Mumbo and asked if he was ready to leave. "Of course." He replied to their question, a curt smile on his face as he clambered onto the cart amongst the chests. The lycanthrope rode the horse, travelling towards the forest to begin their quest. "You picked up the books?" It was the doctor, peering at Mumbo with interest, Mumbo chose not to answer Doc, merely giving him a grunt as he took his jacket off, pulling it around himself in place of a blanket. He figured now would be as good a time as any for a nap.

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