"Aviz has one as well. Oh his palm... which happened to be over where my mark is now when I woke." She explained. "Or at least I think it was, seeing as he acted like it was."
"...Why would Besmara need a champion?" Esmrelda asked as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "What do you believe I'm in for? Also, do you think I should cover this up... I mean it wasn't something I had to begin with and well, I tend not to keep my head down and if people did stare at my rack... they will be now!" She laughed.
Eskilline comes bouncing into the quarters. "Hey Es! Whoa! Nice rack." He stops short to take a better look. "Does this mean that Aviz is your eidolon? Hmmm?" He regards the rack critically.
Esmarelda let out a playful laugh before she crossed her arms under her breast in order to push them up just enough. "Eidolon? I doubt it honestly. Though I was just talking with Sandara here about my new mark." She smirked as she let her arms fall and placed her hands on her hips.
"Sure sounds pretty nice."
G'nosha looked down, seemingly recalling something:
"Funny you mentioned Port Peril. I grew up there. Spent all my childhood in a s***** tavern, mopping the floor and bringing their drinks to shady rogues. All tohelp my drunkard of a mother to earn a few coppers. But I had enough. First time I embarked on a boat, I was thirteen."
She shook her head as if to ward off those thoughts:
" So how did you ended up in Kroop's crew?"
Aviz shakes his head, taking a step. Oh, s+&$. Oh s~+@. I'm going to get wrapped up in this. Either I'm the snitch or the mutineer. "Alright bud let's calm down, let's talk about this." He says, stalling for time.
Sandara laughs at Eskilline as he comments on the girls rack before grinning. "Yes yes it is lovely but back to the topic at hand. I am not sure exactly why the salty b!@+! would need champions, maybe to return balance or bring about something she wants done. Who knows really? But I am sure it will all become clear over time. Hell maybe it is just to mess up the balance of things a little!"
Kroop frowned for a moment before sighing. "Well I fell in with his crew when he began to frequent my reataurant and we became "friends". Little did I know that I'd wake up drunk and sick and owing him a tonne of money. Only way to pay it off was to take up work here. Not that I had much choice when I was half way to Bonebreaker Isle alredy..."
Ratline hiccups back a cry and rubs his eyes, the knife dropping down to rest by his side. "W-what am I g-gonna do man?" He sobbed softly, sitting down in to the brackish water and clutching at his shirt.
Aviz looks down at the body. S%+&. S!@* s+$$ s#%#. He makes sure the hatch is closed and looks down at the little halfling. "Alright, take a deep breath. Panicking never helped anybody." He went against the law of the ship...but it's unfair...but killing is too far...but is there any other way to win in his situation? Aviz swears a few more times under his breath, then takes his own advice and takes a breath. Alright, focus. What was it that that women did when she killed her husband and made herself look like a victim?.. Aviz checks the body for any weapons, keeping one eye on the halfling.
Esmarelda laughed slightly at Sandara's words before she nodded. "Yes, for all I know she just wanted to put her mark on my t$+!!" She joked before she took a seat next to her friend to watch the game she was playing.
Eskilline looks over in some interest.
Ratline struggles visibly to calm his shaking and subsides in to silent tears, staring at Aviz as he riffles through the mans pockets. Aviz finds a cutlass strapped to the mans belt, along with a club. And buried in the mans back, a shortsword, sized for a very small man. In the pirates pockets Aviz finds a small coin purse and a key, along with a set of thieves tools.
"I-I was gonna cut him up and d-dump him overboard. The s-sharks can have the bastard!" Ratline murmurs, tossing the bone saw down on top of Japes chest. "I h-hope he burns in the pits of hell."
Aviz shakes his head. "They'd notice he went missing, people would start asking questions. Questions have a way of getting answers. We need to control the answers." Aviz grits his teeth. This won't be pretty... He takes the cutlass out, then hands it to Ratline. He flips the body over and scowls, then gives the corpse a few good punches about the face and chest, like he had been in a fist fight. Then he turns to Ratline. "Alright, this is what happened. Jape and I got into a scuffle, throwing fists. Was nothing serious till he pulled his blade and tried to gut me. You saved my life." He grasps the cutlass. "Now give me a few good licks, then a nice long cut." Aviz steels himself.
Ratline frowns, lifting the cutlass, hand shaking slightly. He looks up at Aviz, before nodding slowly, his eyes suddenly turning to steel. "I'll hit you a fe-few times then run find Sandara as loudly as I can. I won't keep it quiet. Thank you Aviz. I d-don't know what I'd have done if you didn't find me."
With that he draws back his arm and proceeds to do his best to convincingly gut Aviz.
His work is a little too good however and Aviz collapses to his knees, most of his lifeforce draining away in to the brackish waters. He manages to keep conscious however, if barely.
Ratlines face pales and he helps the man sit back against the hull of the ship. "I'll be right back. Don't move or it'll get worse. I owe you a lot Aviz. I swear, you can count on me, anytime, for anything!"
With that the little man heads back upstairs, running and shouting for Sandara and Plugg, or Scourge.
"Sand!" Ratline shouts as he breaks in on the conversation with Es and Esk. "A-Aviz has been hurt. He and Jape were fighting and... and I had to kill him Sand, he was gonna kill Aviz!" He looks at the woman pleadingly. "G-go save Aviz, I'll go get S-Scourge!" He runs away as fast as he can before anyon can stop him.
Aviz grits his teeth. Damnit, stop thanking me and get on with- "Unff..." Aviz doubles over and goes to a knee. Damn, no wonder he gutted this poor bastard to easily. He takes a deep breath and gives an angry snarl. He simply nods in silence at Ratline talks to him and heads out. Damnit Aviz, you're no good at lying. Can't even well defend yourself now.
Esmarelda's face goes pale when she heard the words come out of Ratline's mouth. "Aviz..." The varisian woman jumped from her seat and bolted below deck to find Aivz.
When she finally found the strix she hastily knelt beside him and cradled his face in her hands. "Aviz... handsome, what happened?" She asked, panic in her eyes.
Aviz grunts and holds his bleeding stomach. "Bastard...gutted me..." Aviz feels his vision flicker. Maybe I can just make myself pass out to avoid the lying.
"You're gonna be okay." She told him. "Just... just be still. Sandara will be here soon... You'll be okay." She said as she ripped the lower half of her shirt off, balling it up and pressing it against Aviz's wounds.
Eskilline stands aghast at Es destruction of perfectly good, billowy, white couture.
He rushes off to find Scourge and Ratline.
Sasha and Scourge manage to make it to the Bilges at the same time, climbing down past Eskilline and bringing him and Ratline with them in their wake.
"What the f~#$ is this...?" Scourge asks, walking over towards Jape, kicking the corpse and turning to gesture at Aviz, before stopping. "You really have been almost dressed haven't ya chicken?" He coughs and grins at his own joke before darknening again. "F+*% happened then?"
Sand at this point drops to her knees in the bloody water, grabbing her holy symbol in one hand and laying the other gently on Aviz chest, before beginning to call her magic. There is a bright flash of golden light, blinding bright, and when it subsides Aviz feels amazing.
Sand looks sort of dazed and confused and sits back mute. Scourge looks slightly afraid, but pushes the question from earlier. "Well...?"
"Ratline said Jape and Aviz got into a fight. That Jape was going to kill him if he didn't step in. And when I got here Aviz was able to tell me Jape gutted him." Esmarelda said as she looked up to Scourge. "With how bad of state we found Aviz, I'd say his story rings true." She commented before looking back to Aviz.
Aviz hears Scourge coming down. S&+#. You never think things through. He gets ready to exert himself, then feels the flash of magic. His fear is shoved aside by the laughing as he turns confused.
Aviz grits his teeth and gets up, flexing his healed skin. Never ceases to amaze me. Aviz staggers a bit; he may have been cleaned up, but he had still been drinking quite a bit. "That's about the full of it." He says with a grunt at Es.
G'nosha frowned. Maybe it was because of the liquor, but she had the nagging feeling that she wasn't thinking quite clearly.
"Sounds like you've been through hard times. But hey, look: it can't be all that bad. Besmara always keep a few aces up in her sleeve. Whenever we have an opportunity to improve our situation... We grasp it! 'Cause that's how it works!"
She paused for a moment:
"Anyway, you know the seventh rule of the code: when we're ruled by tyrants, we stick together. And if ya need something, you can ask me."
Scourge frowned down at Aviz and Es before seeming to deflate, "Bloody idiot should have..." He growled before glaring at them and storming away. "Fine I'll inform the Cap'n!" He spat over his shoulder as he stormed away.
Sand relaxed back against the bulkhead, sighing, "Just coz you aint dead now, dont mean you won't be tomorrow. Right... Let's get you to bed..." She stands slowly and offers Aviz a hand up.
Kroop listens to G'Nosha speak for awhile before he sits there frowning slightly. He shrugs and offers her his hand, smiling brightly. "Aye, I will do at that. You are a rough one no doubt but I can see you have a good heart under all that. Just mind your own self girl. Plugg do be looking for someone to go off at, mark me he is."
Morning comes bright and early as you roll from your hammocks to the sound of the morning bell. Your wounds have been swept away from the night before by the careful touch of Sandara, who herded you all together before bed. You stand now, full of vigor, on the Main deck of the ship, being stared down by Scourge.
Scourge paces up and down before the group, eyeing you with a mingled expression of hatred and anger. He is sporting a thick welt over his left eye and wears a cut on the accompanying cheek. He stops pacing in front of Aviz, staring daggers at the man before glancing away. "Get up to the rigging. Cap'n wants more speed and needs all hands above. Get the f#!@ out of my face!" He waits till Aviz has moved away before turning to Esmarelda.
"You take the big walking pile of rust," he gestured at Hodge, "and scrub the f%*% out of the deck." He skips G'Nosha, before moving on to Eskiline.
"Rat Catching. Go clean up. Some one spotted a nest in the middle hold." He stands with his arms crossed over his chest, till everyone but G'Nosha has retreated.
When G'Nosha makes her way in to the belly of the ship, she finds two men already working on the pumps as a bucket and cleaning supplies rest nearby.
A glinting from the lamp in the darkened waters leads your eyes to a worn but serviceable looking shortsword seemingly discarded in the tussle from the night before. Your eyes also pick out the faint gleam of steel coming from the mens gear where it rests close by them. You spot two cutlasses.
"Thanks for yesterday mate, I really appreciate it. Again, if you need anything I am here. You can count on me!" With that he moves off to not draw any more attention to himself.
The Main deck is alive with the hustle and bustle of ship life. As you walk towards the lockers at the back of the ship you are met by Rosie, who smiles at you both pleasantly. "Swabbin the deck today too huh? Well it is good we are not alone then. Least we can chat an get to know eachother better!"
As nothing seemed to be out of ordinary, G'nosha went to work right away.
"Yeah, if we can ever get this deck clean." Esmarelda said with a slight smirk. Though the rogue noticed the argument, and the halfling's shifting nature. "What do you think that argument up there is about?" She asked the woman beside her.
*Buk buk buk buk*
Aviz rubs at the new scar on his belly. Just another one on the list... As Scourge gets in his face and barks, Aviz nods and shuffles off. Wasn't the first time he's had orders barked at him, and it won't be the last.
Aviz gets to work, listening to Ratline from the side. After a minute he growls. "Stop talkin' bout it. Talkin' is what gets people caught."
Aviz notices the conversation but doesn't make much of it. He just keeps going on, getting his work done and keeping his head down and his mouth shut.
Aviz stands up to straighten his back and wipe a line of sweat from his brow, then squints. After a moment his heart jumps and he twists around, shouting down to the deck.
Hodge grabs the bucket, following Esmeralda. He mutters as he passes scourge. "Av et ayaw vesheek ob Besmar'a. Av et vus yekvu av."
Hodge chuckles when Rosie says they can chat, and begins scrubbing the deck vigorously.
Hodge senses Rosie's anxiety, but believes it's coming from the main deck. He stops scrubbing, and taps Esmeralda's forearm.
"Eh. Besmar'a. Fobzya vus r'odee peegnee?" as he points to rosie.
Esmarelda gave a small sigh as she looked at Hodge. "I cannot understand what you're saying. I don't speak your language. Did you just call me Besmara?" Then she remembered he cast something earlier today. "Can you understand me?" She asked.
Hodge nods vigorously, laughing and almost jumping with excitement. "Yar'a! Anue av, uhhhh, et vusssss..." He tries to continue, but trails off; the language issue was only half solved. He thumps his hand on his chest plate. "Yar'a, yar'a. Besmar'a, et vus ob 'Hodge Podge'."
He points again to Rosie "Peegnee?"
A slight smile came over the varisian's lips as she pointed to the man in the armor and said. "Your name is Hodge, my name is Esmarelda. Not Besmara." She settled back on heels as she looked at him. "Peegnee?... does that mean nervous?" She questioned.
Hodge barks out a laugh. He puts his hand horizontally to his forehead, and in a deep voice says "Rowya."
He leans down, lowering his hand to about Rosie's height. In a higher pitched voice says "Peeeeegneeee", and proceeds to giggle again.
Aviz stands up to straighten his back and wipe a line of sweat from his brow, then squints. After a moment his heart jumps and he twists around, shouting down to the deck.
A head pops up from below decks! "Bah-BUK!?"
Esmarelda couldn't help but laugh a bit herself. "Peegnee means short! I got it. Rosie is a halfling. They are one of the shorter races, like gnomes. Is that what your where asking about?" Esmarelda asked as she placed her hand on her hip.
One of the men pushed past G'Nosha, making it quite clear that he fully intended to push her in to the wall, just as he had. He turned to glare at her, his fingers cracking threateningly. "Time to learn a lesson you green b&@@@!"
G'Nosha is whirled on the spot by a sharp, stinging pain in her ribs, as the other man draws a cutlass across her chest, drawing blood.
The other man moves in from behind, trying but failing to wrap up the womans arms in his own.
Rosie laughs softly as Hodge rests his hand on her head, before pushing it away and ruffling her hair to set it back in to place. "Gerrof of me ya big rusty menace!" She smiled up at him, though she pretended to glare. "Aye I am a Halfling, though we have been around for a good few years now. What are YOU is the question big man?"
"That! That is a good question Rosie. I have no idea what he is..." Esmarelda said as she looked to Hodge. "But at least he understands us now... It will make this a lot easier. Only I have to guess what he's saying!" She laughed. "Though I'd be careful, did you see what that armor did to the last person who was aggressive towards it?"
The half-orc gritted her teeth in pain; she could almost feel her blood boiling with rage.
"Nice one," she grinned. "My turn."
Aviz stands up to straighten his back and wipe a line of sweat from his brow, then squints. After a moment his heart jumps and he twists around, shouting down to the deck.A head pops up from below decks! "Bah-BUK!?"
G'nosha quickly picked up the shortsword, and counterattacked:
G'Nosha slams the shortsword to the hilt in the man's stomach before wrenching it free in a spray of blood and thicker things. He stumbles back, clutching his gut but not dropping his guard. He lashed out at her again, seeking to return the favour, as his friend throws a punch at her from behind.
Though the swordman misses, the unarmed man slams a fist in to G'Noshas back, followed by another soon after.
G'nosha felt something hit her back, but didn't really felt the pain. It would take more than a few punches to take her down anyway. She turned around, and attacked the unarmed pirate:
Rosie frown, nodding and taking a slow step back. "That is very true, I don't wanna lose my fingers. Can't play Fiddle very well with missing fingers!"
"Though I'm sure he wouldn't do that to little old me!"
G'Noshas blade lashes out and the man moves, ducking the blade and coming up swinging. He managed to land a solid blow, pushing her back, on to the waiting blade of her second attacker.
"I don't think he'd hurt you so long as you don't attack him." She told the halfling. "You said you play the fiddle? That would be wonderful to sing along with at night. Would you mind playing while I sing?" She asked.
Infuriated, the half-orc tried to attack the boxer a second time.
Rosie laughs softly and glanced at Hodge before shaking her head. "I don't think I'll be attacking him any time soon."
When Es mentioned her fiddle, Rosies face fell slightly. She looked down, sighing. "Truly, I would love to but... my fiddle was taken when I have. I think it is still in the Quartermasters store, maybe, I do not know. I miss it so..."
G'Nosha managed to connect, driving the boxer back in a fountain of blood. Both men were now hurt, and considering their options, they began to circle her slowly, before darting in, seeking to draw her out while the other attacks.
The swordsman misses his mark, G'Nosha managing to turn aside just in time, but putting herself directly in to line with the flying left fist of the boxer. The blow connects, hard, rocking G'Nosha back with a massive hit.
"Well, why don't we go see Grok?" Esmarelda asked as she placed a hand upon Rosie's shoulder. "I'm sure we can work something out, and I have some coin thanks to my songs. Perhaps we can use that to get your fiddle back?" She asked with a smile.
G'nosha was weakening. The last punch had left her dizzy, and only her stubborness was preventing her from losing consciousness. In an attempt to take one of the men down, she suddenly attacked the pirate with the cutlass:
Rosie stares up at Es and shakes her head softly, smiling bemusedly. "You are a wonder aren't you dear? You barely know me and here you are offering to buy back my most precious personal item for me." She laughed softly, staring down at the deck beneath her feet. "Thank you. I would not take your money but I would appreciate the help getting it back, for sure I would!"
G'Nosha spun on her heel and lunged forward, driving the blade up to its hilt in the mans chest. He stood there, eyes wide, blood running down his lips. He coughed once before collapsing backwards, tearing free from the blade in a hot welter of blood.
The boxer darted after her with a loud cry but missed completely.
G'nosha didn't wish to let the boxer have a second chance.