| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think that you have the gist of it though for the flag. Colors are determined already as we are all agreeable to that. The wings on the skull in reference to the Erinyes is a tad obscure, but we will 'educate' those unenlightened about our symbol.
AT this point Variel gets more animated than usual. It seems that he has had an experience that has opened his eyes to the ability to dream and fantasize. It is a good start I must say. And start is what I mean. Not that we need to spend long hours discussing and revamping this flag's design, but rather, thinking ahead. Someday, we may each have our own ship in a united fleet. If that is the case then from here on, each of you gets to design the flag for your own ship. The Dread Lady may not always be our flagship, but its flag will be. The next ship we capture we may well keep if we have a berth for her to stay in. Once we get enough crew for both ships, then we can sail together to hunt prey. Then one of you will captain that ship and have his or her own personal flag to raise.
Imagine the sight of two or more of our ships bearing down on merchant ships and cargo ships. With Jiro and Rain at each helm our prey would be hard pressed to avoid both of us. Even if there was an escort, we would be able to engage both at the same time instead of worrying about the escort first.
Rain listened attentively to Variel's plan to amass more ships in their own pirate fleet. It was an unusual but intriguing idea. Jiro certainly possessed skill enough to pilot a ship and collectively they could scout, navigate and hunt the waters of the Shackles.
"The more crews who become aware of the tale of the Erinyes, the more fanciful our deeds and victories will become, growing from storyteller to storyteller. They will not know where fantasy ends and reality begins. I do like that. As I do the idea of our own ships and insignia. I am also certain Jiro and I can work well together with a ship each to pilot." Rain smiles at her kitsune comrade.
Rain keeps her voice low enough so as to not draw the attention of any listener outside of the officers. Occasionally she peers over to where Flynn is standing by the railing. That he is missing what is currently being said does not sit well with her. She calls out to him, "Flynn, come join us for we have other matters to discuss. And regarding the earlier conversation, you and I will have time enough later this evening to talk some more." She hoped that would appease him.
Seijiro smiles back to Rain while he contemplates the idea of piloting his own ship someday.
That's a novel idea. I'd never considered being a captain ever. Of course I'd never even considered being an officer before and here I am, among friends and fellow pirates. And here we are, speaking of building an entire pirate fleet. We might never build anything to rival the Zo, but still it is an interesting idea. Perhaps someday I should tell them of the Zo. But no, Flynn will just claim to know all about them already and spin some fanciful tale. I will let the reputation of the Zo be silent for now.
He sighs softly, but the smile remains on his face and he nods to Rain. "Aye, a small fleet of our own and we could take down any ship we catch alone on the seas easily."
Dhaavan smiles at his friends ambitions, I've had my worries, but these are exactly the kind I needed to run across. Damned lucky they was who I got pressed with eh? but he does give a chuckle and turn to reality, "But today we barely have crew to keep the lady going and money to keep us funded. There's a lot here that needs doing. But once it's done and we're rightly established our Dread Fleet'll be the terror of the shackles!". Yellow eyes glowing at this statement, dhaavan's concern for their imediate success and survivad do not at all dampen his spirits.
Dhaavan is right, one you dont really have enough crew to run two ships and two the potential upkeep will be difficult to maintain.
I think that you have the gist of it though for the flag. Colors are determined already as we are all agreeable to that. The wings on the skull in reference to the Erinyes is a tad obscure, but we will 'educate' those unenlightened about our symbol.
AT this point Variel gets more animated than usual. It seems that he has had an experience that has opened his eyes to the ability to dream and fantasize. It is a good start I must say. And start is what I mean. Not that we need to spend long hours discussing and revamping this flag's design, but rather, thinking ahead. Someday, we may each have our own ship in a united fleet. If that is the case then from here on, each of you gets to design the flag for your own ship. The Dread Lady may not always be our flagship, but its flag will be. The next ship we capture we may well keep if we have a berth for her to stay in. Once we get enough crew for both ships, then we can sail together to hunt prey. Then one of you will captain that ship and have his or her own personal flag to raise.
Imagine the sight of two or more of our ships bearing down on merchant ships and cargo ships. With Jiro and Rain at each helm our prey would be hard pressed to avoid both of us. Even if there was an escort, we would be able to engage both at the same time instead of worrying about the escort first.
Rain listened attentively to Variel's plan to amass more ships in their own pirate fleet. It was an unusual but intriguing idea. Jiro certainly possessed skill enough to pilot a ship and collectively they could scout, navigate and hunt the waters of the Shackles.
"The more crews who become aware of the tale of the Erinyes, the more fanciful our deeds and victories will become, growing from storyteller to storyteller. They will not know where fantasy ends and reality begins. I do like that. As I do the idea of our own ships and insignia. I am also certain Jiro and I can work well together with a ship...
Horatio turned from the gray seas and glances back at Rain.
”Aye – alright than,” he says with a grin.
Hopping down from the foredeck he walks back to the others; catching the suggestions on the possible flags as well as the idea of a fleet of ships.
”A fleet? That sounds good enough,” he interjects, speaking to Variel.
”But I reckon if we ever do get a fleet, we’ll need a set of docks – a place to refit and careen the ships if they’re beat-up. Maybe get a forge or foundry for weapons; a place to store gear and other loot – and lads to work that hash,” he muses aloud.
”But that’s a long way between here and now.”
”A flag will show folk who we are; to fear us – to respect us – to honor us... or to be mates with us.”
”Beyond that – well… like I said, there’s a lot of work to do between than and now.”
He considers the flags a moment – enjoying the idea Dhaavan gave out, as well as the renderings that Rain had drawn up. He nods, impressed with their work.
”They’re damn fine flags, I’ll grant you that,” he says appreciatively.
”That said; once we agree formally on the flag – what’s next?”
"Well, then next we work on actually making a flag. I guess you'll need the materials to make it from when we get to Blood Cove. I'm sure I'll be able to find red, white and black fabrics in the markets there for Piper to work with."
"So I guess our next order of business is just to continue on to Blood Cove, sell off our plunder and re-supply for our next run, whatever that might be. Wasn't there something about an island?"
"The one we ran into earlier with the dead? I think it may be safe to leave that one to itself. Ain't a healthy place. Or the Rock we want to crack, what Pegworthy mentioned? cause I figure we may be well off hunting the seas for a bit and making port at a few new places, ply our trade, as it was."
In the evening, after having decided upon the specifics of the design, Dhaavan can be seen with a sketch of the mark on the table next to him as he inks the design of a winged skull, slightly larger than a fist, into the skin of his inner arm, just below the elbow...
...the eye-less skull seems to stare out at the viewer, pierced by a blade appearing so sharp that it's about to cut into the sorcerer's flash. The intricate designs that form each feather of the wings leave room for more ink but are complete and almost move in the breeze around them.
He shows off the fine workmanship to his crew, telling them a little about the Furies, not enough to scare them off of it, but enough for the mark to be alluring, offering to do some work, saying "My needles are starting to get dull, and I need some practice eh?" He glances specifically at members of the Wormwod's crew that sided with them in the mutiny, inviting them to volunteer to get a winged skull.
FLynn got something to say to you later. jsut out of time right now...
"Aye - well, what I meant was - once we get into town; we offload the gear and swap out hash for decent loot. Anyone got a notion on what needs getting done?"
He turns a look to Dhaavan.
"I got this short sword - it's a good enough, but I'd rather an enchanted rapier than a short sword; I'm more a finesse fighter than a cleaver."
"You reckon by the time we get to Blood Cove you may be able to fix it up into a proper enchanted rapier - I'll pay you for the parts if you do," he adds agreeably.
"If not him - you reckon you can do it, Nightstorm? It's already handy enough for enchanting - if Dhaavan can't do it, can you?"
"You know, a flag shouldn't be that much of hassle," Horatio says easily to the others, pondering it a bit.
"Now that we know what we want, we do got a few days to get to Blood Cove; I reckon that's enough time..." he adds.
"Point is; we got bolts of silk left over for mundane crafting below from when we skipped out from Rickety's. Red dye is easy enough to make from certain berries and such that we got in the galley - and we can make black thread easily enough with bonding certain agents to silk as well," he muses.
"Get the design you want to me - and I'll have her stitch it up post-haste. By the time we slide into Blood Cove - it'll be done, sure enough," he adds with a grin.
Seijiro replies to Dhaavan, "Aye, that Rock thing, that's what I was meaning, the one Pegsworthy told us about. Aye there's plunder to be had on the seas, but having a safe base of our own would be a good thing, too. No reason why we can't head toward this Rock, and take advantage of anything we encounter along the way."
Rain listened to the back and forth regarding their next quarry.
"Mayhap, after Bloodcove, we can plot a course to Tidewater Rock. As Jiro said, along the way we may encounter other prey and give chase. It would not hurt to find out more about this Rock and its defences. It is true we require a secure base so we are not endlessly adrift on the sea except for the ports we stop and replenish our supplies and sell our wares."
"Flynn, if there is material and ingredients for the dye, then I would say let Piper have at it. I would see us sail into Bloodcove with flag flying proudly. Let us announce ourselves in a clear voice, my friends. They will wonder at the sight of it and we welcome it." There is a grin on her face in response to Flynn's.
Rain listened to the back and forth regarding their next quarry.
"Mayhap, after Bloodcove, we can plot a course to Tidewater Rock. As Jiro said, along the way we may encounter other prey and give chase. It would not hurt to find out more about this Rock and its defences. It is true we require a secure base so we are not endlessly adrift on the sea except for the ports we stop and replenish our supplies and sell our wares."
"Flynn, if there is material and ingredients for the dye, then I would say let Piper have at it. I would see us sail into Bloodcove with flag flying proudly. Let us announce ourselves in a clear voice, my friends. They will wonder at the sight of it and we welcome it." There is a grin on her face in response to Flynn's.
”Aye – Piper’ll get her done; and those basterds can piss themselves when they see that beauty flying from the masthead,” he says with a grin and a glance above.
Glancing at the waves, his eyes narrow, as if trying to remember the details on something...
”Now… what’s all this about this “Rock” place? Does anyone know where this is, or if it’s worth it? I mean – we got a few rumors on it, I guess… but I’d like to know more… anyone got knowings on it?” he asks curiously.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Horatio - recalling the news, apologizes that he forgot most of the details; chalking it up to too much drink.
"Aye - it sounds like this place is a good first start; once we offload this lot in the next town we can gear up and sail out. It may be that such a place is naught but rumor - but if it's more than that... well, either way we'll find out!" he says, slamming his fist into an open palm.
"Hmm... in that case, while we're in town, we may want to rustle up some rumors on this Rock - specifically on what we may want to bring with us."
He scratches his beard a bit.
"What I mean to say is; that last island we went up on was filled with undead - a few flasks of holy water would have right been handy."
"If this Rock is a real hard place we may want to grab some climbing gear - you know, that sort of thing; if there's cliffs to scale and walls to hop."
"Just something to keep an eye out for - you know, gather some information on the place from some locals and use the lore to amend any shopping lists we need to make as were," he says casually.
He turns a glance at Dhaavan sensing the lad had something to say to him and curious to know what it was.
He was also curious to know if Rain had other things to say, too.
Meanwhile, at this time he was content to listen to what the others had to say.
"There may be a few old sea dogs whiling their time away in Bloodcove who may be willing to share their stories of Tidewater Rock. Dhaavan can attempt his sweet talk after we ply them with a drink or two. We might try the local taverns or dockside. The more information we can gather about the Rock, the better, you have the right of it Flynn. I want us sailing to this secured bastion armed with weapons, knowledge and equipment. Who knows what manner of creature we will encounter en route also."
"Aye - equipment be the right way, too, I reckon," he responds, musing.
"That reminds me - Dhaavan lad, once we get the hash sold you able to craft me that bit we talked on before? Once we get the materials, that is?"
Sensing that - for now - Rain is focused more on business than other matters, he shrugs.
Eh - we got a whole week yet. If she's got something she wants to chat about - I'm sure she'll get around to it...
"We may also want to see if we can't rustle up some trusties on this place. It was a tight thing between last port and here - a few more mates aboard would ease things a bit for rotating watches and all that," he adds.
He glances at Rain -
"There's a couple of taverns we could hit for information, I reckon. But we got time to plan that out for sure," he adds with a friendly nod.
His eyes flick to Dhaavan.
Damn - looks like the bugger's nodding off. Well; whatever he wanted to tell me, I guess it will have to wait for another day...
"Aye, Rain. I'm sure some old timers'll be more'n happy ta share." Dhaavan nods, hoping he gets more than exagerated yarns from them.
To Flynn, Dhaavan nods as well, "Course I will, done some work on figurin' the design and such, so i know jest what I need, once I can get it."
Rain hears Flynn's muttering and walks toward him.
"What has you in such a dark mood tonight?" Rain looks about the deck, ascertaining which of the crew are above deck and on watch. She pulls her coat tighter about her, feeling the crispness of the breeze and warding off new anxiety.
Rain hears Flynn's muttering and walks toward him.
"What has you in such a dark mood tonight?" Rain looks about the deck, ascertaining which of the crew are above deck and on watch. She pulls her coat tighter about her, feeling the crispness of the breeze and warding off new anxiety.
Horatio’s eyes flick from the bay toward Rain a moment, than back toward the bay.
”Hmm? Oh – sorry,” he responds with a dry growl, his eyes scanning the water a bit before answering.
”It’s the bloody town there,” he says finally, his eyes appraising it slowly.
”I don’t trust it, and I don’t like it,” he adds grimly.
”It’s a lot more “civilized” than they seem to think,” he adds, pacing a bit, glancing around the waters ”and it won’t do well if they overstep their bounds.”
”They’ve an Imperial Embassy there, you know – from those bloody Diabolists in Cheliax, not to mention the fact that the town's run by a soddin' Admiralty and a formal town militia; never mind the folks from Aspis.”
”But that’s the poxing crux of it,” he continues with a grunt.
He turns his dark eyes toward Rain, his long hair hanging low over his face.
”A civil town is one thing; you got the law for protection. A town of thugs is one thing; if you’re fast with steel or magic, you’ll be alright – just keep your head down and your mouth shut…”
”But this? No – this is the worst sort, a lot like Rhadoum, I suspect…’ he adds with a growl.
”Out there is the pretended alliance, the stab in the back… there your enemies will come with smiles; do you see?”
”In such a town if our mates overstep the law they’ll be hip deep in it. Yet if another lad wants to draw steel and slaughter our boys outright… well, my thinking is that the law won’t help our gang if the other lad already paid a bribe or a has a deal.”
He turns back to the harbor.
”All such places are like this; we had our share in Sargava,” he mutters.
”In many minor baronies the law was powerful – but it was only as strong as the coin which bought it.”
”Now I’ve never been here before, but I got a couple of guesses... I already said that this place has an embassy for Cheliax. If my guess is right than that means a couple of things; a strong Imperial presence in town and possible Cheliax merchant or warships about… they got no trouble with having slaves, by the way, and their nobles make pacts with demons and the like… which is one of the reasons we broke away from them,’ he adds with a touch of nationalistic pride.
He glances around the harbor, as if seeking some of their ships even now.
Seeing nothing, he continues...
”They got offices for Aspis agents, too you know?”
He turns a moment to face Rain.
”We met that ship on the seas – you remember that it’s initial direction was westerly? I do – because it turned and ran before us; which means it turned to go back the way it came from.”
”That means the ship likely came from this very port; and if it was outward bound it would only be a few days out and the gear we got is likely to be marked and known. How do you think Aspis will react if we go back into town with gear they wanted to sell and try to sell it back to them – and they don’t even get their squeeze?”
He turns his gaze back to the bay, squinting a bit.
”Now, if our boys were smart they’d be pushing through quick and quiet to one lass in particular – I seem to remember her name being Milaka Fenn… she ain’t friendly like with Aspis and may be open to buying the gear we pinched from them; if for no other reason than because it would piss Apsis off," he says with a dry smile.
”But I doubt our lads will do that; chances are they’ll go to some tavern and ask a few questions... but who knows who is really listening at the tavern?”
”Because if it’s not Imperial Agents looking for a chance to sweep up… what did Dhaavan call it? Oh yeah “prey” – to sweep up a nice easy bit of prey with loot in her hull… that’d be us, I reckon; well, maybe it’ll be one of those blasted Bekyar folk who wants some fun and sport… hell, I'd not be surprised... My mother killed her share of those basterds and met her Patron at the hands of one of their gods cursed blades,” he adds darkly.
He spits into the waves and frowns a bit.
”But aye – they’re in that town with out mates – and all of it on account of the fact that they had to get this hash done sooner than later.”
His eyes move from the town to check the lie of the ship and to make sure that there was no boats sculling about their hull.
”Sorry about all the blather… it’s likely much less of a problem than my gut’s leading me to believe; but I gotta tell you… my blood’s up hot for some reason. I don’t trust this place and I’d just assume we offload our gear; pick up fresh supplies and maybe some new mates – and than sail on.”
His mouth curves into a tight smile.
”Oh yeah... that reminds me, I got a few things to get in town tomorrow – special things,” he adds, somewhat cryptically.
”When I get ‘em I’ll be happier,” he mutters.
Pausing a moment, his eyes continue to search.
”Now, as for you – you stayed on the ship. How come you didn’t go with Nighstorm? You can fight well enough if anyone drew steel on you; and you never drink so no worry about being rolled… So why'd you stay?” he says, turning back his shadowed gaze to regard her under the veiled starlight.
Flynn's voice was thick with emotion unlike she had ever heard before. What he said made sense and only aided in elevating her sense of dread and unease. As Flynn scanned the harbour and hull for boats and would-be boarders, so did she - two pairs of eyes were better than one. The nervous energy within her was making her skin tingle. If this Malika Fenn was indeed against the Aspis Consortium then she was their best choice to offload the goods they just took from the Kurstav.
Turning resolute eyes on Flynn, Rain quietly remarks, "Let us hope then they find this Malika Fenn before our friends cross paths with Aspis agents or worse."
When Flynn questions her about staying aboard the Lady, Rain raises her eyes to him once more and responds with the same degree of seriousness, "I believed going into Bloodcove at this hour was unwise - that we stood on firmer footing come morning when rested and full strength in mind and body. Also, I am the helmsman of this vessel and if we need to make a quick escape, then I am the best person to accomplish the task, with or without Sandara's tricorne. It would be mindless for both Jiro and I to go into town and in turn get taken. There are some on this ship who rush mindlessly into action, and I include you in this as well, Flynn. I cannot believe you dived in the ocean without a second thought after the Sahuagin took Reevah. None would call you coward if you stopped first to make a plan and consider the consequences. Because you do not risk only your life in the endeavour -- you risk all of us for we must follow or let you die. What befalls one, befalls all in a united group. So, I stay here and protect the ship, keep the helm from being taken by another, be ready to act when there are no avenues left to us but to raise anchor and make a run."
Flynn's voice was thick with emotion unlike she had ever heard before. What he said made sense and only aided in elevating her sense of dread and unease. As Flynn scanned the harbour and hull for boats and would-be boarders, so did she - two pairs of eyes were better than one. The nervous energy within her was making her skin tingle. If this Malika Fenn was indeed against the Aspis Consortium then she was their best choice to offload the goods they just took from the Kurstav.
Turning resolute eyes on Flynn, Rain quietly remarks, "Let us hope then they find this Malika Fenn before our friends cross paths with Aspis agents or worse."
When Flynn questions her about staying aboard the Lady, Rain raises her eyes to him once more and responds with the same degree of seriousness, "I believed going into Bloodcove at this hour was unwise - that we stood on firmer footing come morning when rested and full strength in mind and body. Also, I am the helmsman of this vessel and if we need to make a quick escape, then I am the best person to accomplish the task, with or without Sandara's tricorne. It would be mindless for both Jiro and I to go into town and in turn get taken. There are some on this ship who rush mindlessly into action, and I include you in this as well, Flynn. I cannot believe you dived in the ocean without a second thought after the Sahuagin took Reevah. None would call you coward if you stopped first to make a plan and consider the consequences. Because you do not risk only your life in the endeavour -- you risk all of us for we must follow or let you die. What befalls one, befalls all in a united group. So, I stay here and protect the ship, keep the helm from being taken by another, be ready to act when there are no avenues left to us but to raise anchor and make a run."
He turns from Rain back to the harbor, watching it with a dry expression.
”Ah… yeah, I figured it was something like that,” he mutters with a shake of his head without explaining his meaning.
”Well don’t worry much on protecting the helm, you got Sandy’s hat now, so you’ll be better to pick up Nightstorm if he needs it,” he adds with a grunt.
He listens to her talk, his eyes narrowing a bit.
”Yeah, I jumped after Rosie and Reevah - they're mates, so you it's what we ought to do for each other; not just officers, I reckon."
He takes a deep breath and pauses a bit.
”Look... I did what I did without thinking, aye. But I didn’t have time to think about the goods and bads, I just acted in the heat of the moment. I do that sometimes. I didn’t have all night to think about what was a better idea; you drown pretty fast when you’re bleeding out,” he mutters.
It’s sad but true – drowning rules are brutal.
If unconscious/asleep/paralyzed or whatever you roll a Con Check (nor Fortitude) DC 10 for first round – if you fail, you drop to -1 HP no matter how many HP you had and the next round you die. If you succeed the check next round you roll again – and the DC keeps going up by +1 until you die.
It was pretty stupid, though, I know. The first round she went under I needed to “Search” and my second round was to dive under and try to heal her and pull her out. I had to hope she at least made the first roll; because even than, it wasn’t very good odds I could grab her, heal her, and pull her out.
But I figured we only had one round to make the decision, so I gambled.
He looks around, glad that he had dismissed the men, and notes that the five crewmates on deck watch are spaced far enough apart that they can’t hear the conversation anyhow.
”But if you want to talk about foolish? First thing – I dived in to help a drowning mate in a pinch when there wasn’t time for a plan. Now – they spent twenty minutes of debate in front of the crew instead of talking in the quarters alee behind closed doors so we don’t lose face in front of the men; they ignore any suggestion on safety because they can’t wait eight hours until dawn; they insist on going but they make sure the party is the “captain”, the “first officer” and the “pilot’s mate” – all important positions on the ship, and bad business for the ship if they get chopped, never mind the fact that they’re mates with us; when they decide to leave they don’t take an armed escort of lads to back them, they don’t take nothing – nothing fancy, but maybe someone with skill in towns, like that foppish gnome Conchobar, I bet he knows his way around the town, or Owlbear – he may not be clever, but he looks scary enough, or Rosie, she probably knows her way around a bar or tavern, I’d warrant – or hell, even Sandy, on account of the fact that they may need healing – but anyhow – no lads to back them at all in a pinch – and all of this on account of the fact that they couldn’t wait eight hours to do this at dawn?”
”Look – I risk my neck for my mates – aye. But there’s a limit, see? If a lad is drowning in the ocean, I’ll dive in to fetch ‘em. If a lad falls in the fire, I’ll pull ‘em out – but I ain’t going to burn myself twice if he’s set on sitting in a fire. I figure if he really wants to burn, despite my help – I wont’ stop him.”
He shakes his head a moment, wiping his hands against his face and takes a deep breath.
”Maybe that’s not what you mean and maybe I’m misreading it, but I don’t have the tendency to “get” things very well. If I misread your intent, sorry on that,” he says, pausing a bit, pushing away his sudden ire, and trying to calm down his stress.
”Thing is – that Apsis agent was a Tian lad, and I’d wager a bloody mandarin boy, too – I don’t got much truck with their folk; and we let him live… I’d have liked to string him up. Meantime, we’re hauling in a bundle of their gear right back to the town they sailed from, likely as not – I think that can be trouble.”
”Next, they got Imperials in that place, too – an Imperial garrison in some backwater town... I don’t reckon an Imperial wants to be stationed here. He’s either looking for a soft job and a bribe – means corruption, or looking to make a name for himself – means he’s eager to hunt weak ships if someone comes to him with a complaint, like an Aspis agent who may bring a complaint to him about lads trying to sell back stolen gear… And that’s all we need – some Imperial folk to see us rushing out. I reckon we’ll hear them yell out to their men – Oye, stop that ship, blast them! – or whatever they do to stop us from running, if at all - right before they attack us, or move a few destroyers in, or something like that; and that's bad business.... but I expect you know a few maneuvers,” he adds, trying to force away his frustration and trying to be a bit light-hearted.
”But finally they got a lot of basterd folk from the Mwangi in that place – especially the bloody Bekyar tribe – they’re slavers and their tribe is the one who done chopped my mother – I’d rather see them all burn, but that don’t mean I want to take the fire to them with so few of us.”
He shakes his head.
”Anyhow – I think the idea to go tonight was stupid and I guess maybe I’m taking it out on you. I'm sorry about that,” he says, trying to apologize for any negative reaction the stress may have spurred him to.
Trying to move away from all the frustration, he takes a deep breath and glances to the waters a bit.
”Like as not it’s all a waste of time; they’ll wander in, meet a few people, chat it up and have nothing go wrong at all and I’ll look foolish for worrying,” he adds with a short laugh.
”Well – enough of all my stress and worry. And sorry again for snapping at you a bit; maybe I just misread stuff, if so – like I said – sorry.”
He sighs than turns back to her and attempts to be more lighthearted.
”Once we get our gear sold and split – what do you want to do next? This tidewater rock sounds okay to me; I said before I’d like a port to set up shop. If not that early island we were at – maybe this place would be better?”
”If so, you got any plans for it particular – not just getting in and out – but what comes next?” he adds, trying to be more relaxed and hoping to talk about more esoteric things rather than the tense back and forth they’ve been sharing lately.
"I can manage well enough without the tricorne for a night. Come morning I shall have it back from Variel."
He was always on the defensive. She had only remarked he was one among others who took mindless risks, not the only one. Yet, here he was again, talking at her like she was some unjust, ill-informed child. The man was learned but not good with speaking or listening.
"I heard you the first time about the Apsis agents and Imperial garrison but I cannot add to either for I do not know anything of value to speak of it to you. Aye, there is trouble aplenty in town, I understand, and three of our own have gone in and it bothers you they did not consider every risk, I understand that too. They believe they are doing this to benefit us as you attempted to save those taken overboard. There are justifications aplenty but when it comes down to it, more of you jump in than consider the consequences, whether you like to hear that or not. So, do not speak to me in the manner that you just did, ever again. I do not enjoy being lectured and berated for holding an opinion contrary to your own. I think we will get along better if you mind my friendly warning." Rain's voice is low for she does not want to cause a disruption nor have the general crew overhear two of their officers arguing.
He did apologise but his words seemed hollow in the face of her own elevated ire.
"Since you apologised, I am willing to forget the manner and tone of your words. The two of us arguing will not aid our mates nor will it make the hours pass smoothly or quickly."
Rain takes a few deep breaths as Flynn swiftly changes the topic of discussion. She is grateful for it and makes to answer his question in a steady and calm tone.
He sighs than turns back to her and attempts to be more lighthearted.
”Once we get our gear sold and split – what do you want to do next? This tidewater rock sounds okay to me; I said before I’d like a port to set up shop. If not that early island we were at – maybe this place would be better?”
”If so, you got any plans for it particular – not just getting in and out – but what comes next?” he adds, trying to be more relaxed and hoping to talk about more esoteric things rather than the tense back and forth they’ve been sharing lately.
"We need more information on Tidewater Rock before we go in and try to take it as our own. If we could find someone in town with that kind of knowledge, I would gladly pay for it. We have no idea how secure it is, what fortifications are there, weapons, artillery and so forth. To go in blindly, could mean we get the Lady sunk or she is lamed and our lot pressed again or worse. A proper plan should be made before attempting to claim the Rock. We need more hands on deck, both to work and to fight alongside us. We need more coin; perhaps hit another fat merchant or two before we contemplate the Rock. Some decent craftsmen to aid Piper would be advisable -- if we do secure a harbour port of our own, we will need people with the skill to build it up and secure it right and good. We must make the Rock inhabitable long term, a true bastion. Self-sufficient as much as possible in case others come to take what is ours and to save us time and travel -- We plants crops, have shops, we need our own network of spies throughout the Isles so we can stay abreast of news and information regarding uprisings, the other free captains and some such. We require magic, for it seems we must harness its power if we are to be superior among the other free captains. And we need a fleet -- most certainly more than just the Dread Lady to ride and plunder the seas."
"I can manage well enough without the tricorne for a night. Come morning I shall have it back from Variel."
He was always on the defensive. She had only remarked he was one among others who took mindless risks, not the only one. Yet, here he was again, talking at her like she was some unjust, ill-informed child. The man was learned but not good with speaking or listening.
"I heard you the first time about the Apsis agents and Imperial garrison but I cannot add to either for I do not know anything of value to speak of it to you. Aye, there is trouble aplenty in town, I understand, and three of our own have gone in and it bothers you they did not consider every risk, I understand that too. They believe they are doing this to benefit us as you attempted to save those taken overboard. There are justifications aplenty but when it comes down to it, more of you jump in than consider the consequences, whether you like to hear that or not. So, do not speak to me in the manner that you just did, ever again. I do not enjoy being lectured and berated for holding an opinion contrary to your own. I think we will get along better if you mind my friendly warning." Rain's voice is low for she does not want to cause a disruption nor have the general crew overhear two of their officers arguing.
He did apologise but his words seemed hollow in the face of her own elevated ire.
"Since you apologised, I am willing to forget the manner and tone of your words. The two of us arguing will not aid our mates nor will it make the hours pass smoothly or quickly."
Rain takes a few deep breaths as Flynn swiftly changes the topic of discussion. She is grateful for it and makes to answer his question in a steady and calm tone.
Horatio turns to Rain and looks at her for a bit after her words.
He glances at the mast for a moment, as if thinking, but says nothing for a while.
”I wasn’t lecturing or berating you,” he finally says.
”I was talking to you because I thought we could talk about stuff, that’s all I was doing. I have my opinions on what happened tonight; but I don’t want to talk about them anymore.”
He looks to the water, not searching for enemies, just looking away and thinking.
”We’ve journeyed together a long time, you and me. But I think that lately, every time we talk – all I seem to hear from you is ire and anger and impatience at anything I do.”
He continues to stare at the water, still thinking.
”I also want to say that I don’t think the way we talk to each other is how friends should treat each other. I think that if there’s a misunderstanding between friends, that a friend will give the other the benefit of the doubt instead of expecting the worst.”
He turns back to her and looks at her very carefully now, but says nothing.
”I don’t see that kind of relationship between you and me,” he says finally.
”I think – I think that every time I open my mouth around you, no matter what I say or do, I think it just ends up being a problem.”
”I told you about the Imperials and Apsis folk mainly because I just wanted to make conversation and share my thoughts and you say that I’m lecturing you.”
He looks like he might have said other things on that point, but he does not.
”I’m not a bad person," he says finally "and I don’t believe that I deserve anger, or impatience or ire or any of that; especially on account of the fact that I was just sharing my opinions. That was my thoughts – it wasn’t a “lecture”. But even if it was, does it deserve so much anger? It's how I talk - I try to change how I do things all the time; including talking. It doesn't always work - but that's who I am and I'm tired for apologizing because someone thinks I'm long-winded, or talk a lot, or share lots of details like a lecture."
"I was just trying to share information because you and I seem to have nothing to do until the others get back but talk to each other, so other than giving you a few words here and there, I thought I’d try to toss out a whole bunch of things and I’d hope some of them would be interesting.”
He looks back to the waves again – not toward the town, but the vastness of the water, and its limitless emptiness and says nothing for a while.
”You know, I’m a good man; I help people because they’re crewmates. Even if I don’t like them I help them, or at least try to.”
”I try to live life on my terms, but I try to be considerate of other people’s feelings all the time; I may not be good at it; but I try. I amend my speech – I amend how much I talk, or how long I talk, or what I say and how I say it. I don’t do that because I like to, I do it because I want to make sure the people I sail with are happy with me and are comfortable around me.”
”I change all the time around you all; but I only do that because I want the companions I sail with to be happy. And if someone I sail with tells me I’m doing something that upsets them – I try to fix it. I apologize for it, I try to make it right. I may not be good at dealing with people, but at least I try.”
He turns back to Rain.
”I think a friend is more patient with a friend. I think they forgive more and are willing to let things go easier than they would with someone they just work with instead of the way you and I interact. I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just stating what I feel about how you and I interact.”
”I thought we were friends; but I don’t think I really feel that way lately."
"Lately I feel like anything I say is just going to make you angry – no matter what I say. To me, that’s not a very comfortable life; being around people who you are constantly worrying that you will make angry.”
”That’s one of the reasons I sleep with the lads below – because I don’t want to be around people that I upset all the time without even knowing how or why that happened. Like I said – I do try; but I don’t do a good enough job, so I think it’s better to just avoid the problem altogether.”
"It doesn't have to be that way. I wish it would change - I'd like it to change, but I guess we'll see what happens."
He looks back at the water.
”Anyhow – that’s all I got to say about that.”
He sighs than turns back to her and attempts to be more lighthearted.
”Once we get our gear sold and split – what do you want to do next? This tidewater rock sounds okay to me; I said before I’d like a port to set up shop. If not that early island we were at – maybe this place would be better?”
”If so, you got any plans for it particular – not just getting in and out – but what comes next?” he adds, trying to be more relaxed and hoping to talk about more esoteric things rather than the tense back and forth they’ve been sharing lately.
"We need more information on Tidewater Rock before we go in and try to take it as our own. If we could find someone in town with that kind of knowledge, I would gladly pay for it. We have no idea how secure it is, what fortifications are there, weapons, artillery and so forth. To go in blindly, could mean we get the Lady sunk or she is lamed and our lot pressed again or worse. A proper plan should be made before attempting to claim the Rock. We need more hands on deck, both to work and to fight alongside us. We need more coin; perhaps hit another fat merchant or two before we contemplate the Rock. Some decent craftsmen to aid Piper would be advisable -- if we do secure a harbour port of our own, we will need people with the skill to build it up and secure it right and good. We must make the Rock inhabitable long term, a true bastion. Self-sufficient as much as possible in case others come to take what is ours and to save us time and travel -- We plants crops, have shops, we need our own network of spies throughout the Isles so we can stay abreast of news and information regarding uprisings, the other free captains and some such. We require magic, for it seems we must harness its power if we are to be superior among the other free captains. And we need a fleet -- most certainly more than just the Dread Lady to ride and plunder the seas."
He says nothing for a while, considering her words.
"That sounds pretty good," he agrees.
"I don't know if I'd want a fleet for myself; I think just having a ship would be nice. Just something that would let me feel like I could be free and happy; all I'd need to do is weigh anchor."
He says nothing for a while, just watching the water.
"As for magic?" he adds, suddenly thinking of one of Rain's comments "I don't know what to say. I don't think we'll have much help in that area for a long time."
"I think that Dhaavan would help out with making things, but he already put in so much of his own time investing in research that I think he's feeling a bit put upon - that his dreams will have to go to the wayside because if we ever want certain magical gear; he'll have to be the one who research's the ability to make it."
He looks like he would say more, but he doesn't.
"Oh well; bad luck," he finally says.
"I never once said you were a bad person. You speak of friendship and believe that I am no friend to you. You were quick to jump down my throat when I simply mentioned your reckless pursuit of Reevah. You are not entirely innocent in these misunderstandings. So be it. If we are only comrades, then that is all we are and I shall be mindful of it from this moment on." He turned the whole thing on her, yet again. He never saw how he put things into motion, how his tone and way of communicating was a major issue with all the officers on this ship, and not just her. Least she gave him a chance - attempted to listen to him and understand. But it was all for naught. He saw her as the antagonist.
"And from my observations, Dhaavan has no problem speaking his mind or standing his ground. If he feels put upon, he should advise us, and then we know we cannot expect certain things from him. When I mentioned magic, I was making no reference to Dhaavan. I was simply stating that magical armor, weapons, spells, potions and alike may be required the more we immerse ourselves into this pirate life and those things can be bought."
The wind pulls at her hair, knotting the strands and covering her face. Rain pushes them to the side and stands on deck, a little apart from Flynn now, watching the dark water silently. After a few minutes, she politely takes her leave and heads to the wheel where she stands, gently touching the weathered wood before making her way to the officer's quarters to try to sleep. Flynn seemed to have everything under control and he did not require or want her presence. Her ire was gone and in its place was a cold, numb acceptance.
"I never once said you were a bad person. You speak of friendship and believe that I am no friend to you. You were quick to jump down my throat when I simply mentioned your reckless pursuit of Reevah. You are not entirely innocent in these misunderstandings. So be it. If we are only comrades, then that is all we are and I shall be mindful of it from this moment on." He turned the whole thing on her, yet again. He never saw how he put things into motion, how his tone and way of communicating was a major issue with all the officers on this ship, and not just her. Least she gave him a chance - attempted to listen to him and understand. But it was all for naught. He saw her as the antagonist.
"And from my observations, Dhaavan has no problem speaking his mind or standing his ground. If he feels put upon, he should advise us, and then we know we cannot expect certain things from him. When I mentioned magic, I was making no reference to Dhaavan. I was simply stating that magical armor, weapons, spells, potions and alike may be required the more we immerse ourselves into this pirate life and those things can be bought."
The wind pulls at her hair, knotting the strands and covering her face. Rain pushes them to the side and stands on deck, a little apart from Flynn now, watching the dark water silently. After a few minutes, she politely takes her leave and heads to the wheel where she stands, gently touching the weathered wood before making her way to the officer's quarters to try to sleep. Flynn seemed to have everything under control and he did not require or want her presence. Her ire was gone and in its place was a cold, numb acceptance.
Horatio turns his dark eyes on her behavior and watches her walk away.
He turns back to the water and looks at the stars.
”I told you how I felt.”
”We can try to mend the friendship we once had; or simply avoid each other. I won’t force you either way.”
”If you want to try talking to me and work things out, we can do that. If you don’t want to talk to me anymore – that’s your choice. It doesn’t make me happy, but I’m not going to force you to do things.”
Horatio has no idea what she is thinking or feeling; he knows only what she said.
She may wish to be alone.
She may wish to not be friends.
As he does not know, he will not intrude on her privacy, unless she wants to talk.
She hears him, his voice carried by the wind. She lifts her head and turns back toward Flynn. The man was like a riddle.
"Aye, we could mend the friendship. How do you propose we do that, Flynn?" Rain's voice is steady and calm even after their earlier exchange.
He moves a bit closer, so she can hear him easier.
”Well – here’s the thing, I guess… people are pretty strange, as I see it. Everyone’s got their own quirks. Some people do things that a rub a lad the wrong way, and even when you ask them not to, they end up doing it anyway; not to be cruel – but on account of the fact that they make mistakes.”
”Between you and I – as well as the others – I see a potential for some good friendships, but I also see the potential for some big issues if we can’t get over everyone’s quirks.”
He thinks a moment.
”No – that’s not fair of me. For now, I’m just going to stick with my own issues, I shouldn’t speak for anyone else.”
”Now take you and me, for example. A couple of weeks ago we were trying to impress that other captain. What do I do? Well, I danced with you to impress him. I picked a dance that was sophisticated, challenging, unusual – but if it was done right it looks damn good.”
”Now maybe that wasn’t the best choice – but I didn’t do it to piss you off or make you angry. I did because I thought it would be a good choice to impress the guy and I figured that, being an elf, you'd know the dance well enough; but it didn't work so well, and you acted angry for a long time about it.”
”Later we talked about ideas for building stuff – you acted angry at me because I was more interested in science than nature. Again – I wasn’t trying to piss you off; I thought my ideas would be innovative and helpful for the company. But you seemed angry again.”
He takes a deep breath, and continues.
”Than there was the thing a while back when we came out of an officers meeting; I saw Sandy at the helm and the other pilots inside. I figured it would be better for crew morale to see a formal “officer” on the helm rather than Sandy. I figured my reasoning was sound – but when you came out and saw me there, you got angry at me.”
”Just now I gave you a whole bunch of news on Blood Cove – lots of stuff; a whole heap of details. I do that a lot – give a heap of details. That’s because I figure if I ask a person one sentence, and wait for a response – by the time we got through a normal few sentences it would seem like forever. With all that detail – I figured something I said would catch your fancy, you’d respond to it and talk about it. Hell, you may even respond to more than one question – and we could get more news exchanged a lot faster.”
”But again you got angry. Even after I apologized for being stressed, you told me – do not speak to me in the manner that you just did, ever again. I do not enjoy being lectured and berated for holding an opinion contrary to your own. – I mean, that’s what you told me.”
”But I don’t know why you said that. I wasn’t berating you; I wasn’t lecturing you. I was just offering my opinions on some information; that was it.”
He looks confused and frustrated, not sure if this conversation is going well, only clear that it is not going the way he had hoped it would.
”To me, it feels like every time I talk to you, all I see from you is ire, or frustration, or impatience.”
”It’s like you think I’m some basterd who’s trying to push your buttons, or something. That’s why I told you what I did about me being a good person; because I don’t believe I am a basterd. I believe I’m a good person, who maybe's got some bad habits that rub people the wrong way from time to time; but not because I'm trying to be nasty.”
”Do I talk a lot? Sure. Do I go on and on? Yes, indeed. Do my suggestions or ideas come off as condescending or obnoxious? They sure do – a lot of the times, at least.”
”But here’s the thing – I’m not trying to piss people off. That’s who I am. I’m a guy who talks a long time. I’m a guy who gives a lot of information at once. I’m a guy who will take an interesting story and turn into a somewhat dull lecture – at least, quite a bit of the time.”
”My tone can sound condescending, or rude, or obnoxious, from time to time. Not because I’m trying to be that way, but because I act that way without even realizing it.”
”Every time I do something that pisses folks off, and they tell me, I try to fix it.”
”Dhaavan says I go on and on; for him I try cutting it short around him.”
”Seijiro likes good manners and nice behavior – around him, I always say “san” and show him better manners than most, and even when I’m at a loss for what to do with him, I try to make things for the little monkey; because I may not be good talking to him – but I’m pretty good around animals, generally.”
”I don’t like Nightstorm – I’ll grant you that. I had problems with him since the beginning. Everything I did around him – he had an issue with. I’m not going to blame everything on him – I had a hand in it, too. But what did I do? I realized that for all of the issues we had – communication was probably a major problem. So I made sure I knew everything up front regarding what exactly he wanted and liked when we worked together.”
”I didn’t give a poxing damn about having things coded out for myself. Hell, if I want to torture someone – I will. I’m a doctor – I know how to do that real good, if I wanted to. But I won’t – because it would bother him and we’re crew mates. If I wanted to kill a man in cold blood – I would. Not because I’m evil; but because that’s a completely practical and logical way to deal with an enemy; without passion or prejudice. After all, a dead enemy is less likely to do you harm, and killing an enemy typically is the best way to deal with them.”
”But I don’t do that around Nighstorm on account of the fact that he doesn’t like that sort of stuff. So for his sake, I agreed not to do that sort of stuff.”
He looks at Rain.
”Now we get to you and me.”
”Around Dhaavan I try to cut down things; if I talked as long as I liked, and said all I was thinking – it would take up pages before I got it out of my mouth; he doesn’t like that, so I change how I’d act around him, or try to.”
”Seijiro gets bows, and a bloody domo ariagato from me, even though he’s just a kid and seems to butt heads with me a lot. It ain’t easy to say that stuff right, but I do it, because I think he likes it.”
”Nightstorm – we got our issues but now we got solutions worked out – I know what to do about it and how to act; cut and dry.”
”But as for you and me?”
He looks at her a bit.
”Well – the thing is; no disrespect - but I don’t have a clue what you want.”
”Like I said – even things I figure are fine and innocent just normally seems to piss you off."
"Hell, I don’t know what will piss you off next half the time. I mean – in other words, I don’t know if decide to jump over the ship now to rescue a friend – will that be acceptable, or will that somehow piss you off? Or if I talk and give you a lot of details – will that help you out as it is a lot of material to work with and think about – or will say I’m lecturing your again, or something?”
”Hell, I just don’t know,” he says a bit nervously.
”But it’s like I said before – I think friends give each other the benefit of the doubt. I think that friends wouldn’t think I was trying to lecture them, or be nasty. I think they’d figure I was trying to be helpful and nice, albeit a bit obnoxiously.”
”From you I guess I’m looking for the benefit of the doubt. If you think I’m going off on something, well – the fact is, yeah; I can be an ass. It’s not because I’m trying to piss you off, it’s because sometimes I act like an ass without meaning it,” he says a little embarrassed.
”If you thought I was trying to be mean intentional like – if you thought I was trying to rile you on purpose – that’d be something I could understand being mad at.”
”I mean – I don’t know."
"Meantime, I just gave you a lot of talk. I don’t know what you think about all that I said – but I know it went on for a while.”
But whatever you think; just know I’m not trying to upset you – I may be obnoxious – I’ll give you that. I may be long-winded; gods know it’s true. I may even sound like a condescending ass. And hell, I hate that about myself the most, as I don’t even know I’m doing it!”
”But it ain’t because I want to hurt your feelings, and it ain’t because I want to be nasty. It’s just the way I act – I try not to, but I have problems with how I talk. I’ve said sorry for it before, but it keeps happening; that’s why I end up keeping my distance – just in case I make a mistake. I know I do make them, so I figured I’d play the percentages and keep away from folks if I riled them by accident.”
”But anyway – that’s me going on and on. You’ve heard me talk – what do you think? Is there any way we can get past this stuff and be back like before?” he adds, genuinely hopeful that something can be done to fix things and move on.
But now, he sits quietly, and waits for Rain’s response eager to hear what she has to say.
Not sure as to what she may think; he hopes that they can at least work things out and if he unwittingly upset her again, she'll tell him where - and how - and he'll know what to do so he doesn't do it again.
He rubs the engraving on his mother's dagger for luck and waits to hear her thoughts.