Sam, Cain, Robert talk about things.
Mess Hall
Sometimes, the mess hall of the Fornacis was pretty empty, and everyone could sit at a corner of the room, brooding over their meals quietly. This particular time, though, was not the time, and as coincidence would have it, three individuals unlikely to sit together found themselves sharing the same table, the same pitcher of beer. And while lesser men may simply sit awkwardly, content on eating their meal in their corner of the table, Cain was neither lesser nor man. He was a greater superman, and he shirked not from sharing tables with strangers.
"Hey," he said, flashing a lopsided grin. "Name's Cain, who're you guys? Old crew?"
"Name's Robert James Morgan." A slight emphasis on each word of his name. The table shook slightly as his metalic right arm lay upon it, grasping a mug of beer. His voice deep and gravelly, no doubt from alcohol, smoking and bellowing orders. "An old sky dog, but new to the crew. Came to make my fortune, or what little of it I can before I kick the bucket."
Samuel tipped his hat up with a smirk as he got an eyeful of the other two at the table. He adjusted the collar of his leather jacket before speaking up. "Samuel, 'course y'all can call me Sam." He stated right before taking a swig of his beverage. "Been with this crew for a long time, wise choice joining on up; we're a reckless bunch." He chortled while he briefly flashed a crooked smile. "Welcome aboard."
"Thank'ee kindly. I suppose Cain is an old hand hisself?" He sipped at his beer instead, not following Samuel's example.
Cain took a swig of his beverage as well. It was just water though. "No no," he said. "New hire too. Used to work at the Karadez, over in eastern Yuncay. Pretty famous, think we were destined for glorious greatness, even. Alas...the honorable captain could handle the ship, but not his dick."
"Oh?" Sam, keen with interest, took another swig of his drink. "Sounds like you got some stories to share their friend."
"Oh, aye. That certainly sounds intriguing." Taking another sip, Robert pointed a finger at Cain with the hand grasping the mug. "How'd ya lose the ship? Had he a fling with the barmaid there? Heard she be the guard captain's daughter, last I was at port there."
"Pretty sure the ship wasn't ever lost or anything, but the crew...well." Cain grinned, before polishing off his own mug and calling for another. Non-alcoholic, lukewarm water, of course. "As young empyreans are wont to be, the crew of the Karadez had more than its share of beauties, from 'respectably' proportioned humans to 'remarkably' flexible sanyans to 'impressively' sized phuvatas. A treasure trove for the eyes, in a way that gold and barmaids aren't, y'see. And of course, correlations between leaderships and physical attractiveness, as I'm sure our friend Sam can attest to, certainly exist."
Cain paused, and his tone shifted, from relaxed to dark, a voice full of regret and world-weariness.
"My dear, former captain, Marcus Argonis, was certainly an attractive man. He's disarmed as many pirate crews with his charm as with his scimitar, and he's one of the men who I could say literally has a barmaid in every town. But on Karadez, his eyes were meant only for one: his fiancee." A sigh, a shake of his head. "He always kept his fiancee's identity a secret, of course, and damn did he not do it well. No matter how drunk we got him, he'd always make up some description to get us off his back, throw us off the trail. Terribly frustrating, at the time."
"Turns out though, that was the truth. What we didn't realize was that Marcus had courted not one, not two, not even fucking three. But somehow got his hands on a whole three-quarters of the fairer sex aboard the Karadez, with full knowledge of pre-existing relationships and even marriages. It was a hell of a scandal, but while it certainly lit the flame in the powder keg, it also shed light on an entire network of illict, clandestine trysts and relationships that crisscrossed more densely than a spider's web!"
At this, the minstrel took another sip.
"It was a bloodbath that I care not to remember. Friend turned to foes. Brothers by bond turned to brothers by hole. The emotional carnage wrought upon the ship was greater than anything that the beasts of the sky have done before, and in the aftermath, there was not a single person aboard the ship who could look another in the eye. Perhaps if we had been more mature, we could have talked it out. But we were a young crew. It was easier just to go our separate ways, than continue to air out our humiliations and dirty laundry."
"And thus ends my tale of woe," Cain concluded, with a melodic exhalation. "What dreary fate has lead you to this crew, dear Samuel?"
Sam nodded to attest to that, and listened to the story with interest. "My, well that is something." He chuckled. "Dreary? No friend, I sought this on my own. Back in my better years, I was a rancher. Most 'adventure' on my home island was just making sure the cattle kept in line and the occassional beast or bandit didn't cause trouble. It was dull, and I wanted more." He paused to refill his drink, taking out his own bottle of liquor from his side to pour into. "Though I will say, life as a rancher wasn't much easier. Met a nasty bear once, gave me this scar." He pointed to his right cheek that bore a claw-mark. "Fucker was twice the size of my horse, but I got it between the eyes with my side-arm." He boasted.
"Gahaha~!" Robert took a drink, listening to their tales. "Won't blame the poor bastard from legging it. Scorned women can be more terrifying than facing down a gun at ten paces."
Taking in a bit to take in Sam's tale, he raised his mug at Sam, nodding a little bit. "Aye them beasts can be a terrifying. Takes a whole lotta shot, more than one might think. Better than fighting pirates though. Beasts'll rend ye then eat ye; those unsavoury bunch will take every little bit from you, burn the rest, then have fun with your screaming body before throwing you overboard into the deep blue sky."
He seemed deep in contemplation at that, silent for the moment.
"Sounds like you've got quite the tale too, Robert." Cain flagged down one of the bartenders for another round of drinks. "Care to tell, or shall we all get a little deeper into our mugs first?"
"Why not both? Story goes great with ale. Going 'round the table, Robert, lets hear a tale on your end."
Finishing his own mug and gladly accepting the next one, Robert took another swig, pausing dramatically for effect. "Tis an old story, but one I'll always remember." Reaching into his overcoat, he pulled out a pistol butt first onto the table. It was an old gun, looking nicked, weathered, but still well maintained. It was a single shooter, taking some time to charge up between shots, but those who were familiar with these sorts of weapons knows it has a powerful punch due to that. "This pistol was taken from the very hands of the Dread Pirate himself, the captain of the Red Mary. As to how I got it..."
He leaned forwards onto the table, an intense look upon his face. "We was hunting for skywhales near Crinvellis, a small port'n the south of Araceli. Captain Hookman heard from a skifter there he spotted a great beast floating near the Belt, wellfed and studded with all sorta minerals. We raised anchors immediately, our engines sputtering in the fresh air. Too fresh. I recall telling my Captain 'Captain, I don't like the smell of the breeze. Me'thinks theres a storm a'brewing.'"
"Course, a storm was nothing new to whalers, but I'd a bad feeling about it this time. I made sure to mention that to the Captain, and he looked me straight in the eye and said 'Robert, this is the big one. We catch this one and everyone here can go home a rich man.' I didn't say much else fter that; bad luck to speak of accidents and incidents afore a hunt. But, when we finally found the beast, the storm was already hitting us, windfronts strong enough to throw one overboard and yaw the ship, the wind currents wild and unpredictable. Aye, twas only through my experience that I managed to even keep the ship straight."
"But we saw it," He gestured to emphasize his words, trying to convey its side. "The largest beast you'd ever see, back riddled with minerals and the likes, so fat and well fed it was twice the size of our ship from bow to stern. Worth a king's ransom." Robert sighed heavily. "Blinded us so much that I was the only one who noticed the red and black ship emerging from the clouds. The shots roared like thunder, barely did I manage to shout out a warning. I ran to the main deck as they boarded us, and faced down the Dread Pirate himself. His blows were like lightning, and twice as strong. I could barely defend myself, meanwhile the crew was getting cut down around me. He pulled out, this, very pistol, on me," he emphazied every word in that sentence. "but instead of cowering, I rushed him, pulling that pistol out of his grip, fore he kicked me straight in the guts, and shot me with another gun. Afore I know it, I woke up on one of the deserted islands in the Belt, gripping this pistol, and a bloody shoulder."
"Survived there for a few weeks before I made my escape." With one final swig he finished his drink. "Old tale that. Heard the pirate died and brough his entire ship and crew to haunt the skies now."
"A bastard for sure." Cain stroked his beardless chin, before spooning himself a big heap of spiced rice. "Usually the captain goes down with the ship, not the other way around. With any luck, Robert, you'll get your vengeance yet. 'magine killing a ghost with their own gun!"
"Skywhale hunting?" He scoffed. "That illegal aint it? Not that it matters too much here. Still that beast sounds like a fearsome foe, perhaps we might even see it on our voyage." He scoffed.
"F'course it aint! Jest need to find the right ports is all!" Robert shook his mug at the man. "Tis unlikely we'd find the thing ever again. Some drubbin anchor lumpet probably already pegged it and is living like a bloody king on some floating rock. As to shooting the old ghost with its own guns... Well, that might be a hard undertaking."
"Can't be as hard as reaching the ends of the sky and then returning alive, can it?"
"Well since we're a crew now we certainly can help you finish the job eh?" He leaned in forward, offering to clash mugs in cheer. "Looking forward to working with y'all."
With a raucous cry, Robert put his mug up, as they turned to other more trivial talks. It was an interesting crew so far, and Robert had yet to meet the rest. There was something more to be gained on this job after all. Perhaps next he should take a look at the bridge and see what he was working with.
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