Land Of The Sky (IN THREAD)

[silvertongue217]

Welcome my friends so you've come to join the land of the sky have ye? Come to leave the trappings of the physical and float with us higher folk eh? Well the land of the sky don't take any one so here are a few things you'll be needing to know before you take the trip up.

The land of the sky is a place where the great minds retreated after the invention of the air balloon considered the pinnacle of steam powered technology. What was first a simple hot air balloon and whicker basket soon transformed into gleaming silver and bronze cities up in the sky. Of course there are ships as well ranging from small skippers to huge behemoths depending on who your lucky (or unlucky enough to run into).

Then there are the cities oh let me tell you about the cities glittering jewels high above the ground and founded by the best and brightest some our utopias where the artisans and inventors tinker away until their hearts content. Some cater to the rich offering the best luxuries one could ever hope to have. Then of course there are the ones where the adventurers stop in gearing up as they continue there search from El Dorado

You havent heard of El Dorado?! Where've you been mate? Living under a rock? El Dorado is the greatest treasure in the world or so the legend says. Belonging to the Mad King. When he was defeated it was said he took his castle to the sky carrying with him the greatest vault of treasure the world has ever seen. It is said that his treasure was so big it took ten of the largest air balloons this land has ever seen to get it off the ground. The other rebellious kings had not perfected steam engine yet and they were forced to watch as he floated away as if by magical means. Of course we now believe it was steam powered that allowed him to lift his huge castle of the ground.

But you never know eh?

Let's se what else is there to know? Oh be careful for birds as they can get mighty pesky when there air space is invaded. Roaming pirates and other unsavory characters have flocked up into the sky to search for the treasure so watch out, Ah and the golden rule!

Don't look down!

......................
The Cherry Rose

Chapter 1

SO HERE WE GO

“Tell me if you have ever heard this one before”

“A group of misfits and adventures stumble into a brothel in the sky run by a Chinese woman most of these guys couldn’t be more different. First there wash a dashing rouge a neredowell of sort who had just been given the biggest chance of his lifetime! Then of course there was his second mate a rather silent strong type. Not interested in the males? Well there was also the females the beautiful Pinkterton agent and her apprentice slash companion who were here to keep an eye on the others, there was also the brothels Madame the aforementioned Chinese woman who was as beautiful as she was dangerous and her silent companion Isa (who if you asks me didn’t need to be there in the first place), then there was the team of experts you wouldn’t believe who these guys got Scout who needed no other names or tittles, then a pair of crazy SOB’s only known as the brothers….”

“Any ways I’m rambling a bit…..so these guys stumble-“

“Why do you keep saying stumble?”

“Because it’s more hilarious now hush! Where was I? Oh yeah so they stumble in with this crazy world changing idea a quest of sorts like Author and his gents did so long ago! A quest for a mythical city….”

“You mean?!”

“Yes! Now hush boy before I bop you! A mythical city/ castle filled with untold riches and largely thought to be a myth well right before this some recent volcanoes popping their tops off had brought some new evidence to light evidence enough that the government down below decided to get serious about finding it poling their funds together to fund a little expedition”

“Serious enough to sign on the first crazy mother who volunteered himself to lead it”

…………………………………

ALEX


“You sure about this boss?”

“You worry to much Mr. Clean” Alex said glancing over at the large black man and adjusting his bow tie. He ran a finger through his unruly black hair making it stick up and gave a satisfied smirk before sliding on his brown vest and revolver.

“We are legitament now remember!” Alex said laughing at the thought and taking another pull from his cigar “funded and every thing which means we need help if we are going to find that sweet city”

“Still” Mr. Clean said crossing his arms “going alone is-“

“Your needed at the ship” Alex reminded him pointing at said ship behind him “The Aquilla is newly minted as is most of the crew besides the gang I need you getting them ready to go your the only one I trust with this” He said clapping his shoulders before turning to the door of the Cherry Rose.

“But Cap’n-“

“No butts!” Alex said snapping open his pocket watch and going through the air lock “The Pinkerton twins are already waiting for me inside as our the others if we are to get underway the Aquilla must be ready and our crew completed”

He stepped through cutting Mr. Clean off. He moved through the plush decorations and whistled softly to himself as he stuck his hands in his black pinstripe dress pants. He walked down the hall and ignored the woman plying their trade before he finally reached the meeting room.

“Wow” Alex whistled looking around at the opulent meting room “moving on up” he said softly to himself before spying the chair that would place him at the head of the meeting room.

“Dibs!” He said even though he was the first to come. He threw himself down onto it and kicked his feet up sighing and lacing his fingers behind his head before leaning back.

 

[amchentai]

The conference room was a sight to behold. Guests entered from the south end of the room, one of two doors, the other door being used to bring food and such up from the galley. The first thing anyone entering saw was the pair of split tables. The U shaped tables left a nice open space in the center of the room for Dancers and entertainment to walk about. about 6 to 8 chairs with lots of arm space sat around each table. The table and chairs sat on top of beautiful black marble and around it was short red carpet. The east and west of the room were covered in a soft rounded set of glass that let the people inside look out over the sides of the ship and into the beauty of the skies. On the other end of the room there was a door that lead elsewhere but only Lady Dagger herself used that, it was locked at all times. To hide the gears and inner workings beautiful asian silks hunk and at the 4 corners of the room large statue of woman in rather erotic poses stood, cut from the same marble that the table sat on.

Lady Dagger had spared nothing in hosting this and only her finest were on hand to her guests. Each guest was shadowed by one of her best, be it male or female depending on the gender or sexual needs of her guest. They would offer anything a guest would want or need. Also only wearing enough to not be nude, but little more. All were beautiful and all would see to their guests needs the whole time. While at the conference table they would stand just to the right and behind their assigned guest.

The Cherry Rose was a large ship able to dock with many smaller ships and most called it the height of luxury. The once pirate flagship was now something more, and although it still had many weapons, it was by no means a warship any more.

Lady Dagger knew that many of her guests were still on their way and had a little time before she needed to head to the meeting. In the mean time she dealt with her own problems. Deep in middle of the ship she stood looking into the cell at a man who had tried to sneak aboard during the last dock at port. The tattoo on his back left shoulder told her he was not just a simply man trying to sneak aboard to see the finer things in life, no, he was a assassin.

"I know who you work for... I am not sure why you thought you could sneak onto my ship, and try to kill me or one of my crew, but you have two options now. Tell me what you know or I kill you..." She said. Already having some idea of why he was hear. She knew he was not after the meeting as he had come about almost a month before she had even agreed to host it. But one never knows for sure. Still she had doubled her guard and the people she had shadowing her quests were also some of her best trained and could deal with most of them. That's not to say she didn't have her shadow guard keeping a eye out for trouble either. But the man remained silent and she simply shook her head and walked away. She needed to get ready for the meeting and had spent more then enough time on this nobody.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Scout was still in his room lounging in the bathtub. He was not used to this type of luxury and while he was being put up in it he was going to indulge. Hell, the bathtub was as big as his bed on board his own ship. He had filled it with water that was so hot he had trouble getting in it, and had added scent and bubbles. Now almost all the bubbles were gone and the water was almost cold. Ah well it was nice while it had lasted but it was time to get out.

He rose out of the water and then drained the tub, knowing it was flowing back to the recycling tanks deep in the bowels of the ship to be processed into fresh water again. He grabbed his towel and dried himself off then wrapped it around himself and approached the large bathroom mirror. What he saw made him smile. At just 22 years of age he didn't look too bad. He had tanned brown skin from being outdoors a lot and so near the sun, a lean muscular body from working hard most days, short cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a mouth that seemed to have a permanent cheeky curve on it. He would not call himself handsome in the classical sense, but he wasn't all that bad to look at, and at six foot five inches tall it was hard to miss him in a crowd sometimes.

Shrugging he smirked and chose a delicate scent from the many on offer and then walked back into his cabin proper. He had already laid out the clothes he was going to wear earlier so he just shrugged off the towel and began to dress. He had deliberately chosen to dress down for the evening. Let everyone else think he was nothing but a cloud chaser and he might learn a lot more about what was really going on. He was wearing plain leather trousers, a quality cotton shirt, A long full body length leather coat and boots. He usually wore several guns with the outfit but they had been surrendered upon boarding the Cherry Rose, and besides it would be rude to his hostess if he arrived armed to her party.

He gave himself the once over in the full length mirror in his room and then nodded. Good enough, it gave the right impression he was going for. He smiled and walked out of his cabin and towards the meeting room. Now maybe he could finally find out what this whole thing was about. The person that had contacted him had offered him a nice sum of money just to show up at the Cherry Rose and be put up for a few days all expenses paid while listening to a proposal.

The mere mention of a few days all expenses paid on the Cherry Rose had got him here, but he had been intrigued by this proposal angle as well. He had to admit he had been bored lately. He had basically scouted most of the known skies above all of the sky cities and charted all of the routes between them. He knew where a lot of the major wrecks were and had picked most of them clean, and had even discovered a graveyard of sorts where the air currents took any floating salvage too eventually. However the true scouting jobs were becoming rarer. Maybe this was going to be one of those that actually tested his skills and made him feel alive again.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Pilot House of the Cloud Nine

There were a half a dozen sites in each of the five floating cities to have this meeting, Alex grumbled to herself. Not to mention the Smithsonian Castle or One Saville Row.

So of course the first meeting of the expedition for the mythical floating city of El Dorado, supported in equal parts by the Smithsonian Institution and the British Royal Geographical Society, was meeting in the world's most famous brothel (or infamous, depending on your point of view).

Aleksandra Nicola Ginevra Tuttoilmondo (Alex to her friends and family, Miss Tuttoilmondo, Agent Tuttoilmondo or Detective Tuttoilmondo to everyone outside that tight circle, which would be everyone waiting for her on the Cherry Rose, or currently converging on the floating brothel) was grumbling as she flipped through various charts on her plotting table. Almost since the first airship was launched, treasure hunters had been seeking out the fabled floating city of El Dorado, just as treasure hunters in generations past had looked for the Fountain of Youth, the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine or King Solomon's Mine.

Alex herself had heard at least a dozen different descriptions of El Dorado, everything from a floating castle to a small city situated on a floating island. Outside of a few dozen ill equipped bands of airborne "adventurers," no one else in the air or on the ground took it seriously.

Then new life was breathed into the legend with the eruption of Krakatoa.

The giant volcano erupting in the Western Pacific had caused quite a stir in the world at large. Among other events, it seemed that almost immediately after the volcano's explosion, there were numerous sightings from people on the ground of El Dorado. There was no clear cut consistency of the descriptions provided of the mythical city, and most of the sightings (if not all) were discredited, with a clear pattern of the time and location of the sightings coinciding with the dispersion of the debris shot into the air by Krakatoa.

Still, public interest had been piqued, and the scientific powers that be decided to put to rest once and for all the question of the existence of El Dorado. To that end, they had decided to sponsor the most promising of the skyborne adventurers seeking the city.

Even if the city was not discovered, the money was still considered a good investment. New technologies would be tested (as they were being tested on the Cloud Nine, the two woman airship carrying Alex, as well as her partner and best friend, Mabel "May" Cooper), atmospheric discoveries would be made, and scientific theories in other fields would be either advanced or disproved.

Still, Alex mused, even though the reason that was given for having the first meeting of the expedition on the Cherry Rose was that some of the potential members of the expedition might be less than comfortable in more formal settings, Alex suspected it was because, now that the genteel heads of the scientific community had actually funded a more thorough search for El Dorado, they would prefer to keep the whole thing at arm's length.

The official opinion of May's employer, Alan Pinkerton (Alex was only the second woman to become a detective in the Pinkerton Detective Agency) was that El Dorado did not exist. Alex herself had no opinion. But neither her or her boss had been hired for their opinions. They had been hired to keep an eye on the expedition, and to ensure that the funds being provided to the expedition were being used for the purpose they were intended.

And truth be told, Alex had other reasons to be on the Cherry Rose. For one, the proprietor of that establishment might unknowingly possess information on the death of her partner's previous employer. And there were other mysteries that had been given to Alex to investigate as well.

So whether the quest for El Dorado was successful was immaterial to Alex. She'd go to the meeting, make some official noises in her official capacity as the official observer for the scientific powers that be. She'd try to ferret out some information on other cases while on board the Cherry Rose. And then she and the expedition would part ways. Oh, she and Alex would check on the expedition from time to time, but for now, Alan Pinkerton had bigger flying fish to fry, and in the realm of the sky cities, Alex was his head chef.

Finding the charts she needed, Alex set her new course, while wishing she had grabbed a cup of coffee from the galley.

 

[Lily_Wight]

Mabel Cooper bit her lip in concentration, as she called up every bit of her training as she crept painstakingly slow across the deck. She had removed her boots for this task, her light feel rolling as they distributed her weigh, knees bent. She controlled her breathing, taking long steady breathes. Her prey was cunning, and had proved very difficult approach unnoticed. May had left her belts and jewelry in their cabin as well, the only metal item she carried was in a flask, meant for her quarry, who was now only ten feet away.

"You brought me coffee?" Alex said. "You read my mind."

The younger woman relaxed her tense body and sighed loudly in disappointment.

"How did you know?" She asked closing the distance and handing her partner the vacuum flask filled with fresh brewed coffee.

"The scent, of course." Alex smiled as she took the coffee and embraced the sullen young woman.

May cheered up and returned the hug genuinely before turning her eyes to the charts on the table.

"What are you working on?" May asked. As her partner answered, May circled the table and laid down on the clear space next to the charts. She hung her head off the edge, watching Alex upside down.

"Continue, I'm still listening." May said, crossing her legs. Her feet wagged back and fourth as she listening like the tail of a contented cat.

 

[SomberBard]

"The Kepler is secured to the Cherry Rose, sir," one of the crewman said. "You'll be able to go aboard in a few minutes."

"Thank you Flynt," Kyle responded. The discussion was happening on the bridge of the Kepler, the research vessel of the Drummond brothers. It was the most remarkable and oddest looking airship floating in the skies. The same could be said of the brothers who commanded it.

Kyle Drummond, the older brother, was a tall, solidly built dark haired medical doctor and naturalist who spoke quietly with a soft Scottish accent. His even taller brother, Adair Drummond, a physicist, mathematician, chemist, engineer and inventor, has spiky red hair, moved and talked excitedly, and could sometimes be difficult to understand through his accent when he got excited.

Exiting the bridge, he sought out his younger brother in one of the ship's laboratories.

"Ready to go, brother?" Kyle asked.

"Just getting my papers together, brother," Adair responded.

"We should probably not discuss that one theory," Kyle argued, not for the first time. The brothers had been retained to organize and discuss the numerous speculations about El Dorado.

"Nikola doesn't think it's a crazy theory," Adair countered, not for the first time.

"Nikola believes the people in his imagination are real," Kyle sighed. "We'll see."

The two brothers were informed by their crew that they could go on board the Cherry Rose. With bags in either hand, Kyle and Adair boarded the Cherry Rose.

 

[Stalzyn]

"Cap'tn, do mind think this be a good idea?" Windy Jack first mate, Skurly asked. Windy Jack just nodded. He was tired of explaining to the man about the importance of sitting in this meeting with the petty clothes and white tooths.
"What if their's a hunter on board? Like the Pinkerton detectives?" reasoned the agitated fellow.
"Relax Skurly. This be the Cherry rose aye? Then ye have no reason to sweat. None comes with arms into a meeting where Lady Dagger sits." Jack reassured his friend as they headed up the stairs. "Besides, we need the information that'll be shared there. The paper brothers will be attending as well 'em mapper. Scout. There really will be enough to grab for our own expedition hmm." now turning towards the hallway, Jack for the umpteenth time tried to fix his tie properly to his neck. Which like before always goes back swaying and sagging.
"Blast!" he cursed. Then he smiled remembering the chinese girl Mia who will be standing by his side through the boring deligations.

 

[Stalzyn]

This wasn't the first time he was visiting the Cherry rose. Actually the pleasure ship was slowly becoming his second home. As he preferred to every port town and resupplying points.
He had gotten acquinted with the owner of the place, Lady Dagger over two years ago. And their relationship towards each other has always been business. He was one of her long time customers. He provided the cash, she provided the services. A mutual understanding.
Mia has come out of one of those services.
"Blast! Them scurrly triplin bucanterrs of a tie. Will neck be hanged before one is decent for them?" he cursed, then questioned. Then yanked off the tie.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Scout walked through the ship, taking his time to get to the meeting. He still had plenty of time to make it and did not want to arrive early, that was not his style. He might be first in the skies, but when it came to meetings he was punctual but never early.

He walked through the various gambling pits on board and watched the big shots throw away more money on the turn of a card, or the roll of a dice than he earned in a month. Shaking his head he moved over to the blackjack tables. Here he watched people play and loose and others win. Smiling he walked away. He could make a lot of money at these tables but then he would not be welcome here ever again.

He moved on to the poker tables and watched a very exciting game between several gentlemen. Two he knew from the cities and they were fierce competitors. The other two had the looks of grounders to him, one looking very sickly, yet they were seeming to hold their own. Scout had already picked up on the City men's tells long ago. They were minute but they were there. He examined the grounders and after several hands had worked out one of the men, however the sickly one gave away nothing. Oh his face moved, but he did not seem to have any cues. This was a true poker master.

Looking at the time he saw that he had tarried a little longer than he had thought and hurried towards the meeting room. He still had enough time to make it comfortably but he was disappointed now that he was not going to see the end of that match. Still if he was any judge of players he expected the sickly looking man to come out on top. Then again it was all in the luck of the cards. Good players lost simply because of bad luck. It was how he lived his life. No matter how good you were bad luck could hit you at any time so be prepared for the worst then over prepare.

 

[amchentai]

"Master Scout... There you are!" A woman shouted softly coming up from behind him. She was holding a small bottle of a amber looking liquid. The woman slowly walked over and offered it to Scout.

"My deepest apologies for taking so long to find it..." The Brunette said and bowed her head to him as she offered the bottle still. Being assigned to Scout since he got there the young beautiful woman had been at his side the whole time, up till she was asked to find this, a gift for someone maybe, she didn't know, but she went to fetch the item as soon as she was asked.

"Are you heading towards the meeting now Master Scout? I can take this to your room or hold onto it through out the meeting if you would like?" The woman asked as she stood up from her bow to him and waited for her answer. The woman had on very little, and left little for Scout or anyone else's imagination. In fact many men at the tables and slots looked on with hungry eyes as she stood there with Scout.


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Mai was one of the only women on board the Cherry Rose who could stand Captain Jack, but was also one of Lady Dagger's most skilled. For good reason, where Captain Jack went, trouble soon fallowed. Still the coin was good and he paid well, when he remembered to pay. Though Mai had her ways of making sure he did. And unlike most of her clients, Mai was more frank with Jack then any of the others.

"Come here!" She said, and spun the man around and grab the Discarded tie before it hit the ground and was in the blink of a eye putting it back on, so Jack didn't look like a total fool at this meeting. As she put a much looser hold on the tie around his neck she leaned and and whispered.

"If you can get through this meeting with out embarrassing me or Mistress Tantō... We can do that thing you wanted before you leave... We can even think about shaving off some coin too... " She tightened the tie till it was almost cutting off air.

"But only if you don't do anything stupid.... Got it?" She then loosened the tie so it was around his neck, but much more relaxed then before. She turned and walked on. Her short black hair and green eyes keeping a eye out for any trouble that might fallow Cap'tn Jack as he walks the halls of the Cherry Rose. Smaller breasts then most of the other working here but still large enough for Jack to get a handful later, if he was good anyway. Her short black hair was kept just below the ears. But she had a style of her own and kept the hair along the right front side of her hear slightly longer and kept it out of her face with a gold dragon head hairpin. The extra hair is also kept tucked behind her right ear, most of the time anyway. It also served to keep a very small needle in case of trouble, note if the eyes of the hairpin were red, it meant the needle tip was coated in poison. Today it was simply gold, no poison today.


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The moment the two brothers set foot on the Cherry Rose many sets of beautiful woman quickly took their bags, any there were not held tight to their person and taken off to Rooms there would be shown to after the meeting. However after the rush of bodies and the bags had been taken, two near naked woman stood in front of the brothers. The red head pointed to herself before speaking.

"I'm Sara, and my blonde friend here is Anna... Sadly only one lady per man, so don't fight too much over us ok guys!" Sara smiled and the two women waited to see who would be picked for which guest. They would fallow the brothers and show them to their rooms after the meeting, and stay with them and take care of any needs they might have. Lady Dagger was really pulling all the stops for this meeting.


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Each of the two U shaped tables had a head seat and be it luck or knowing better Alex had picked the one that was not most commonly used by Lady Dagger. She might not have shown it but the lovely lady assigned to Mr. DeWitt sighed in relief at him doing so. Like all the others assigned to the guests for the meeting she had almost nothing on, ready to take care of any need of Mr. DeWitt at any moment.

But being as Mr. DeWitt was the only one in the conference room at the moment not much was going on. Normally there was be Dances in the middle of the room, but due to the nature of the meeting Lady Dagger had opted not to have Dances there. There would be food and drink served. One of the guests, Jack more then likely, might have their way with one of the ladies, but other then that this meeting was more formal then others.

"Is there anything I can get you Mr. DeWitt?" The woman next to his seat asked, her name was Amy and her short red hair and blue eyes was a sight in and of itself. But the way she walked and was to dress gave everyone few reasons to look at her face.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Scout smiled as he took the small bottle from her hands and swirled the contents around while looking through them towards the light. A color as deep as the freshest amber met his gaze and he sighed. The contents oozed from one side of the bottle to the other, being of a thickness that did not exactly let it slosh around. He had only heard about this particular liquid, but he had never beheld it before nor had he had the pleasure of trying it out.

Placing the jar in one of the many pockets in his coat he smiled at the woman. "My thanks for getting me that my dear. I will be sure to put it to good use. Now shall we proceed to this meeting. It would not do for us to be late."

He offered her his arm and started walking again. He had no problems treating her as if she was wearing the finest of dresses and not clad in next to nothing. He didn't have the urge to ogle her or paw at her body, even though he knew she would not object if he did. He knew exactly what she was and had no qualms about it, however he also knew that for her to be assigned to 'special guests' she was also something more.

He knew the Madam of the Cherry Rose, Lady Dagger, was also an extremely capable fighter and gatherer of information and that her top girls were also highly trained. After all it would make sense for them to be able to defend themselves from 'Angry' clients. So he would treat his chaperon with courtesy and respect, but he would not be discussing anything of great importance at this meeting or giving too much of what he knew away.

He finally made it to the doors and walked into the luxurious room. He had arrived right on time and as he looked around to see who else was there he calmly walked towards the seat with the most shadows around it and sat down.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

As the mooring lines secured the Cloud Nine to the Cherry Rose, Pinkerton Detective Aleksandra Tuttoilmondo double checked the gauges on the Maxwell Board (named after the "father" of modern automation theory, James Clerk Maxwell) before she checked her on appearance. She was attired in a leather jacket that was becoming synonymous with the pilots and helmsmen of airships everywhere, regardless of nationality, along with a long sleeved dark gray blouse and trousers, and finishing off with a pair of black knee length boots. The outfit was meant to subdue her feminine curves, though it did not succeed in completely hiding them. In addition, Alex's long hair was tucked into a neat bun.

Checking the controls, she made sure that they were secured with both the Lovelace procedure as well as the Vucetich lock, two safety measures that ensured that the Cloud Nine could only be operated by either her or May.

Straightening her jacket, Alex presented herself to May for her approval.

 

[Stalzyn]

"Aye, surely i can do tha.." he replied but Mai cuts him off by tightening the tie to his neck so much so that he almost gagged for air.
He was relieved when she loosened her grip, sweet Mai, had it been anyone else and their charred trisected body will be falling down as rain right now.
"I do not understand your affections for this whore Capt'n." Skurly whispered behind him as Mai strode gracefully ahead. "See how she treats you like a common lad on biggatin shores."
Windy Jack gave a light chuckle, "Its be not afection Skurly seadog, think of her as special goods, one so expensed. One that meets my needs to the latter." his gaze became afixed on a man who from one of the corners nnear the edge of the hallway walked towards the door, lady in hand and into the meeting.
"Scout, you punctual line tracer." he exclaimed, his gold teeth at the middle dazzling from the illumination of the hallway.
He strode purposely to his lady for the night, for all night, and grabbed her rear "Not in the mood to kill anyone?"

 

[SomberBard]

Kyle and Adair exchanged looks as the two ladies introduced themselves.

"For now," Kyle answered, "Please show us to where there meeting will be."

 

[silvertongue217]

ALEX

“No no” Alex said tuning and flashing her a roguish smile “I am fine my dear merely enjoying the luxury your boss has offered us I don’t like to drink when on the job so a glass of water will be all I take today thank you though I count my self a lucky man to have such beautiful and alluring company” He remarked reaching over and kissing her hand before dropping it as Scout came into the room. He watched raising an eyebrow as he choose the most shadowed area in the meeting room and sank into it.

“I appreciate you coming Scout” Alex said leaning in regarding the man since they were the only two in the meting room right now “Your the best scout in the sky right now and we are going to need that if we have any plans on finding this mythical floating city my crew and I have made great headway I know of a few others who are coming with their own maps and I hope we can compare notes I have been searching for the blasted city for nigh on two years now so between us all we should have a region its more likely to be in” He said leaning back and sipping his water.

………………….

ISA

Isa sighed pacing the Madame’s private quarters and trying not to look furtively at the clock. Lady Daggers private room was off limits to most for an umber of security and personal reasons. Isabella was one of the few who could come and go as she pleased of course she was also her main supplier of every thing from food to weaponry (of which Lady Dagger had a very special interest in). Isabella spent a lot of time there so much so that she had a little office in the Cherry Rose in which she could work in.

And to be all the closer to her lover

Isabella still shifted a bit when she thought to hard on it her passionate affair with the Lady Dagger. What was a business relationship had become more than personal really fast, she seduced her preying upon her interest in woman (which Isabella blamed her dad for) and taking her into her world.

A world Isabella was addicted to

She sighed reaching over for her favorite whisky (a mans drink her father told her) and took a steady sip before crashing into the arm chair. She ignored the reports and signatures on her desk and instead looked out the window at her reflection. The dress she was wearing accented her tan skin and she had to admit her Ladies choice hadn’t been a bad one.

Even if she hated wearing dresses

She adjusted her boots reaching for her revolver touching it and feeling some small level of comfort. She knew Lady Dagger had the big meeting today and even though she was invited she didn’t see much point in going. A mythical floating city was interesting and all but it didn’t effect Isa or her business. Of course she had thrown in her own contribution to the Smithsonian outfitting the trip and taking the small amount of money to “curry favor”.

Even if she didn’t care either way about finding the blasted thing

 

[amchentai]

Sara and Anna smiled and each took one Brother and escorted them to the meeting room. Both with smiles on their faces at such wonderful guests, they both hoped this would be a long meeting that would last days.


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Mai leaned in once more to Jack as he entered the meeting room and whispered in his ear in such silk words.

"Remember, only if your a good boy..." She then smiled and held onto his arm as he went to greet the others in the room.


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Lady Dagger had a pair of men and a pair of women waiting for the two from the ship that just docked, the Cloud Nine. But she liked to keep her guests happy. Men it was easy, fine drinks and fine women, and find food when their lust ran out. But women were a bit different and far from the normal here on the Cherry Rose, but she kept enough men staffed to take care of the few ladies who did visit. But some women came to taste the same things the men did and so she offered the two visitors from the Cloud Nine both to choose from, they would escort them to the meeting room as well, as the meeting was about to begin.


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Lady Dagger had skills most women would love to have and the moment Isa looked down and felt her boot was the moment the towel dropped and she used her limber body so that the moment she saw anything and looked up she would have her mouth right over her clean shaven pussy. She looked down at Isa and smiled as she waited for her to begin.

"I don't have a lot of time, so I'd hurry if I was you Isa...." The softness of her voice rare, and the raw lust as well. Lady Dagger enjoyed having Isa around, but she worried she liked her a little too much. Both knew Isa's line of work had risks sure, but her own line of work was far more deadly and a lover could be a weakness. Still there was something about Isa that seemed worth the risk and she hoped she'd prove it quickly before Isa made her late to the meeting.


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As the guests filed in the staff soon kicked into action and meals and drinks were brought up as people took their seats. The finest cuts of stake and the best wine or other hard liquor the ship had to offer was on the menu and if any of the guests wanted something special all they had to do was ask.

 

[silvertongue217]

Isa wanted to retort back to her to tell her that she couldnt just demand her pussy be eaten. She was a strong independent woman for fucks sake! She didn’t just bow down to whatever any one asked her to do. It went against every thing her father had instilled in her. Yet Isa didn’t instead she leaned in moaning in pleasure as she buried her mouth directly into Lady Daggers pussy. Her tongue pushed out flicking across her folds hungrily lapping at the juices beginning to form. She teased her at first until he couldn’t take it any more shoving her tongue directly into her wet pussy and beginning to eat her out hungrily.

She moaned at the taste and her hands came up running up and down her lovers thighs before gripping them with feverish delight. She was an addict her one and only drug being this woman and what she did to her. Her smell wafted into her nose driving her further as she kept eating her out.

 

[amchentai]

Lady Dagger was trained well, but Isa always had ways of making her moan or breath too heavy or scream out in orgasm, she got a moan from the lady assassin today. Hands moving to grip the woman's hair as she pushed herself towards Isa's hungry mouth. She shifted and pushed herself towards the hungry mouth, moaning softly, it was almost painful for her. Breaking the silence she moaned for Isa, something no man or woman before her had been able to do. She needed this before the meeting, needed to clear her head before the cluster fuck that would be this meeting. Though in the back of her mind she always was doing work, the Cloud Nine had made a request of her and she would deal with it after the meeting. But for now she enjoyed the moment, enjoying Isa as she devoured her.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

So this was the infamous Cherry Rose, Alex thought as she walked through the passages of the floating...

Floating what? Alex mused as she followed the very attractive "attendant" assigned to her personally, to escort Alex to the meeting, and afterwards show Alex to the quarters assigned to her on the Cherry Rose. The attendant had also more than intimated to Alex that they would be there to "attend" to any of Alex's needs.

All things considered, Alex reflected, it was probably a good thing that May had remained onboard the Cloud Nine to attend to maintenance and upgrades that had to be fixed NOW, thankyouverymuch, and not after the conference was over.

But back to the problem of what to call the Cherry Rose. One could call the airship a floating pleasure palace, one as opulent as any den of iniquity in San Francisco. And that would be a good comparison, to a point. But the fact that the establishment was transient gave it certain number of not easily defined qualities. And there was the owner and manager of the Cherry Rose to consider as well, someone who Alex hoped to establish a rapport with. Neither her nor Alan Pinkerton were interested in some of the less "reputable" elements who might be in attendance at this meeting. In the big scheme of things, they were minor distractions. But there were others out there in the stratosphere who were causing real problems, as well as one or two old trails that Alex was following, and the owner of the Cherry Rose was in a unique position, one that brought her into possession of information that could help Alex in her hunt.

Hopefully the discussion Alex had after the conference with the owner of the Cherry Rose would bear fruit. But for now, Alex had to listen to hours of discussion on how this expedition for the mythical city of El Dorado was going to be different from searches past.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Scout nodded to the man and then settled back even further into his chair. Ah damnit, not another fool looking for the lost city. How many bloody expeditions had tried to hire him to go after that stupid legend. Oh he had no doubt it existed. He had found several clues to it's whereabouts over the years, but not enough to have a true sense of where it might be. Quite frankly if this was why he had been called here he might as well leave now.

On the other hand if he did, he gave up his room and privileges. Perhaps he could just sit here in silence and see why this group thought they were so clever and could find the city when no one else could. If they thought he was going to give up his charts though they were very much mistaken.

He had spent years and years building up his books of charts. He had sailed the skies all over the world and knew the languages of all the major sky cities and a few others besides. He knew shortcuts that no normal sky captain knew. Where the thermals would take you higher and allow you to catch a vortex that would carry you faster across the great oceans. Routes that avoided the usual storms in certain months and other secrets. Most were on his ship, the really important ones in his head. However if anyone tried to steal them they were in for a shock, literally.

He turned to the girl behind his chair. "Lilly my dear, could you please go and get me a fruit punch. In fact could you bring back a pitcher. I have a feeling this is going to be a long meeting."

 

[amchentai]

Lilly smile and quickly went over to a cart near the table and spotted a pitcher with a red liquid in it, she gave it a sniff just to make sure and she brought it back with a cup to Scout's seat. She poured a good amount in the glass and placed the pitcher on the table in front of Scout and offered the glass to him, making sure to not be in his way to view the table so she was standing off to his right side. She had thought about offering him a drink in a much more sexual way, but thought best not to just yet. She made note of who all were there and knew this meeting was something special just by the other ladies working it. And knew to be mindful of trouble when Mai and Captain Jack were around. Trouble always seemed to fallow those two, as did a rather large mess.


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The young man escorting Mrs. Tuttoilmondo smiled at such a lovely woman by his side. He quickly got her to the meeting room at her request and stood by her side like all the others working the meeting. Slightly off to the guests ride side.

 

[silvertongue217]

Isa was in heaven

Heavenly juices flowed into her mouth making her shiver and moan as she kept attacking her lovers cunt. She simply couldn’t get enough of It the taste, the pleasure, the way her lovers thighs quivered as she pleasured her. It was a deliciously intoxicating rush one that kept her coming back gain and again always wanting more.

She was just getting into it when the bell began to chime signaling that her guests were starting to come into the great meeting room. Isa gave a groan of frustration but reluctantly pulled away her face sticky with Lady Dagger’s juices.

“You have to go” She murmured pouting a bit as she leaned back “Are you busy afterwards?” She asked before wincing at how needy she sounded, “I mean I have some arms to show you a new shipment came in that I think you would be interested in” she said trying to save face.

 

[Stalzyn]

Windy Jack entered the luxurious hall. "Nice." he said to himself. As always Dagger has gone to great extent to make things perfect. Unfortunately they invited an inperfect personality.
"A pleasure to meet your acquintances all." he greeted with an i-don't-give-a-damn-wave.
He made for his seat and sat, he was a little upset when Mai stood beside him.
"Prior expectations were for your backside to be nestled on my laps." he whispered to her then placed both legs on the table waiting for someone to start the meeting.
A lady entered the room and he quickly recognised her. A Pinkerton. Jack wasn't sure if she recognised him, but not willing to test fate, his hand traveled to his shin where a dagger secretly rested. Disguised like the clothing he was putting on.

 

[amchentai]

Lady Dagger huffed, so close, and not she had to get through a meeting she had very little interest in. She made a more then good living now that she was no longer a sexual killer. Free to enjoy life in the skies on this wonderful ship. She slowly moved back off the chair Isa was sitting in. She slowly leaned in and kissed Isa, not something she does often, a Kiss to her is special. She might use her body to get close to someone, a target, but a kiss, well that meant something and weather Isa had learned this she didn't know. And a kiss on the cheek as a greeting didn't count in her book. But she let the kiss go on as the bell finished and enjoy her own taste and that of Isa in the kiss. She took but a moment to look into Isa's eyes before she finally did move away and picked out something for the meeting. Normally the leathers or nothing at all is what she wore, but this meeting had called for something more. She picked out a Kimono and with speed that baffled Isa she was dressed in record time by herself.

"No... I have to meet with one of the guests after the meeting... As for the weapons... Unless they are those new Steam Powered Guns you've been going on about I think I will pass this time..." She stood in the mirror a moment and looked at herself as she walked to her nightstand and grabbed her mask. The Green and Red lens of the half mask along with the gears gave her a interesting look to be sure.

"After that though... I hope we can finish what we didn't have time to here......" She said and headed to the meeting.


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Lady Dagger came through the room's north door. A click and the sound of gears gave away someone coming through and once open the two steampowered Automatons stumbled through first. The two were more for show then anything else as they were just beginning to be sold to people and it was meant to impress and intimidate people. Though she doubted that would be the case with anyone at this meeting. The two automatons stood guard at the door, one on each side of the door frame and made a soft hiss or puff of steam from time to time. Most of the info she had told her these were far from fat business men, but she still put on the show and dance for everyone. She said nothing as she walked in and took a seat at the head of the other table and waited and listened. A woman dressed much like the others brought her a glass of something that she took with out looking, brought to her mouth and paused a moment before taking a sip. What seemed like just one taking a smell of the drink was more her own trained mind check for poison. A simply thing that she didn't even think about when drinking something, years of training that just became every day back ground noise to her.

 

[silvertongue217]

Alex watched every one coming in noting each of their reactions. He could tell most if not all didn’t care much to be here. They had the look about them of some one about to sit through a long boring meeting. A part of Alex wanted to ask them where there sense of adventure was after all they were going after a floating treasure trove in the sky! Who knew what they could find or the trouble they could get into and if they did find it they would be infamous for it.

Of course most people thought it was myth

Once Lady Dagger came in Alex rose clearing his throat “Welcome mates” He said looking at each of them in kind “as you all know the Smithsonian and our friends across the pond have become mighty keen on finding the mythical floating city so much so that they have employed my crew and I as well as some of you lot if you choose to work with us to find it”

“For those of you that don’t know me the name is Dewitt me and my crew The Crows have made a reputation for being pirates as well as hunters I’ve covered the skies in length eliminating more than a few potential hiding spots though I make no boast that my skills compare to Mr. Scout” He said nodding at the man in respect.

“I do however have no intention of not finding the beast” He said “especially now that I have been tasked to even if I have to comb every inch of the sky itself” He said his eyes flashing intently.

“I leave the floor open to discuss or leave depending on your interest” He said sitting back down and waiting.