"Well... you see... I'm already married." Ixrul hurries on, saying "Even if this is a more, ah, casual arrangement, marriage is especially sacred among elves do to our long lifespan. Which raises the second issue: I do not like to risk attachment. Should I become... emotionally involved... well, I cause unnecessary suffering to everyone involved as, well, you grow old and die while I live on."
Lady Smythee sees your insecurity and pounces on it, like some sort of big cat.
"An eternally young boyfriend sounds like quite the catch to me." she purrs.
"And if one of us fails to satisfy the other, we can break it off at any time..."
"Well, I'd need to know the exact conditions, but... very well."
"We can hash those out at out leisure. The gist of it is that it is, in all respects, a true marriage, albeit one made generally for alliance rather than love, and with a set time limit built in. It forces you to give up nothing, on either side, though compromise needs ot be met, just as with any relationship."
"You mention taking cut of our profits. How much cut?"
"As much as you pay your officers, at least. A steady income is hard to come by on this island."
"That's...fair enough, I suppose. You're okay with this, Ixrul?"
"I suppose I don't have much of a choice, so yes."
"Doo ittt"
"Excellent! It's settled then. By our mutual agreement, we are bound in marriage, until one year from now, where we may choose to dissolve or continue the arrangement."
She looks at Ixrul with sultry eyes.
"Now, there is simply the matter of sealing the deal..." she says.
Jrahk smirks at the elf's discomfort, revealing the chunks of crab wedged in his teeth.
Smythee gets up and saunters to her new husband's side.
"Come, dear, I'll lead you upstairs."
"I promise I won't bite...unless you like that sort of thing."
Cyrdic shares a look with Jrahk and is barely able to keep a straight face. "Ma'am, in my experience there's really only one way to find out what someone likes...always better to ask forgiveness than permission, eh?"
She give syou a smile and a wink, from behind Ixrul's head.
"You're a wise man Mr. Forthill." she says.
She leans in and starts nibbling on Ixrul's ear, arms wrapped around him from behind.
With a slight crack of his neck, Ixrul follows Lady Smythee upstairs.
This just won't do...
"Relax, darling, it won't be as bad as you think. You might even enjoy it!" she calls out, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Well, that was...unexpected. Now what?"
"This is our base now. Should walk around, get familiar with it."
Ace casts detect magic on the area.
The dining room appears to be non-magical.
Cyrdic waves over the nearest servant. "Show us around a bit, will ya? Looks like we're going to be staying around here for a while, we'd like to get acquainted with the place."
One of the servants, an older man, approaches and introduces himself.
"It would be my pleasure. My name is Albers Siggs. Is there any particular place you would like to start?"
"You've been around here longer than we have, I trust your judgment. I think for now, we'd really just like an overview of just what we've gotten ourselves into."
"Well, I'll just hit the highlights then." he starts leading you around the place.
"Up here we've got just the Feast Hall, and as you may have guessed, Lady Smythee's quarters."
He leads you down the stairs.
"On this floor, my and my wife's quarters, the kitchen, and that little room there where we store the water, as well as a privy should you need it."
He leads you down one more flight.
"And finally, we have the guardroom, the bunkroom, and the workshop down here."
"Battlements are on the roof, and the first floor is just a defensible entryway."
"Not much to see, really."
Ace starts wandering around after the mini-tour, casting detect magic whenever nobody is around.
"Your wife, you say? Sounds like you've been here a while then."
"We're Lady Smythee's first retainers. Been here as long as I can remember, now, though my memory isn't exactly what it used to be!" he grins widely.
"Wait, whats with your memory?"
"I'm getting old, son. It was just a joke."
Cyrdic is momentarily startled by a loud *thump* from upstairs, followed by an incredibly high-pitched scream. It's impossible to tell what gender it's from. He looks at Jrahk in bemusement, eyebrows raised, then continues.
"Well then...anyways...Mr. Siggs, how often would you say people like us come along here?"
Cyrdic is momentarily startled by a loud *thump* from upstairs, followed by an incredibly high-pitched scream. It's impossible to tell what gender it's from. He looks at Jrahk in bemusement, eyebrows raised, then continues.
"Well then...anyways...Mr. Siggs, how often would you say people like us come along here?"
"You're the first in a long while, actually. Not many people trying to 'crack the Rock' these days."
Well, that was awful...
Hurrying up to Cyrdic, Ixrul says "I think it's high time we leave, Captain. The sea won't sail itself."
"Erm...we just got here, you've been upstairs less than 10 minutes. What's with the rush? This is our place now..."
"Surprised you lasted that long," Jrahk chuckles.
Cyrdic absentmindedly fistbumps Jrahk.
Quietly taking Cyrdic aside, Ixrul removes his mask to look Cyrdic in the eye. "I do not have the patience for mortals and am, in most respects, a sociopath. Is everything as clear as can be?"
"This place bites anyways, I'll be waiting on the ship."
"Actually, is there weapons or other things for sale?"
No law, but good luck with that.
Cyrdic stares impassively back at Ixrul. "Is that supposed to scare me? Because news flash-we're all a little crazy here. We're bloody pirates, for Besmara's sake. Jrahk is almost certainly a cannibal, Ace hasn't stopped smiling since I met him, and I've literally come back from the dead and grown a new body from my old pinky. So you'll excuse me if I don't immediately drop everything and rush to your aid because a woman actually wanted to touch your no-no parts."