Orders
Food Supply Stores to Starboard Med Bay
After telling her about the port side med bay, Captain Conway spent the next few minutes ignoring Sigrun before leaving the room with the blonde-haired man in tow. Even the sailor with the red mustache, Supply Officer Gante, walked out. The Ysmirod suddenly found herself standing alone in the food supply stores. Unbelievable. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell anyone about Danzig and Rast's potential mutiny. Well, if Captain fucking Conway couldn't listen to her for more than five seconds at a time then he could figure it out himself.
Suppressing an irritated sigh, Sigrun stomped out of the supply room and started squelching through the Garrloch's partially flooded corridors, her pale blue eyes scanning for anything that might help her get back to the starboard med bay. Hopefully, Lucille had cleaned the place up a little and found something to make the grizzled warrior sleep so Sigi could decide what to do with him. Moving the unconscious Bronson, not to mention the medical supplies, from one side of the ship to the other would be difficult enough without an armed stranger loitering around. As the stormborn medic trudged past yet another unassuming metal door, the sound of someone whimpering made her stop. Was there an injured crewman in there?
Blinking, Sigrun laid one hand on the wooden hilt of her dagger and pushed the door open with her shoulder, revealing a scene that would've given Supply Officer Gante a heart-attack. Especially since the ship was down one refrigerator thanks to the difficult journey through the Ring.
A pale, chubby boy in an ill-fitting DOC uniform was perched on a bed surrounded by empty aluminum wrappers. His dark green eyes were bloodshot and tears streamed down his pudgy cheeks. There was also a visible ring of chocolate around his mouth. Sigrun wordlessly reached down and picked up one of the yellow and red wrappers, a confused expression flitting across her angular features. The words "Dr. Morrison's Meal Bars: Make Hunger Back Off!" were printed on the wrappers in purple font, and the remnants of at least twelve meal bars were scattered around the room. Arching one blonde eyebrow at the wide-eyed boy, Sigrun closed the door behind her and folded her arms across her chest. This should be interesting.
"Oh...I mean, this isn't...uhhh...oh plummet," the lad moaned, dropping the half-eaten meal bar he'd been cramming into his mouth. Brushing his hands on the front of his uniform, he opened his mouth to speak, but Sigrun held up a pale hand to silence him. Maybe she could use this repulsive
helgus child to get a message to the captain? If the boy had nothing better to do than stuff his face then he obviously had time to spare. Time was a luxury Sigrun didn't have right now.
"Tell me something, boy," the Ysmirod said, her voice calm and polite as she leaned against the closed door. "What would Supply Officer Gante say if he saw all these empty meal bar wrappers? We lost an entire fridge when we passed through the Ring, did you know that? I have a feeling the Supply Officer wouldn't be too pleased if he saw this."
Gulping nervously, the boy, who couldn't have been more than fourteen years old, said, "Well, miss, kn-knowing my father like I d-d-do, he'd probably say, "Keenan, you fucking a-ass! You ma-ma-make me sick!" Then he'd kill me then find s-s-s-some way to bring me back to life so he could k-k-kill me again. Then he'd go get Ca-Ca-Ca-Captain Conway." The lad looked like he was about to wet himself, though the acrid odor permeating the room indicated it wouldn't be the first time.
Sigrun tapped one finger against her chin and said, "I see. Well, allow me to offer an alternative. I want you to take a message to Captain Conway for me, and I promise I won't tell your father about this. Is that acceptable?" The boy, Keenan, nodded rapidly and the Ysmirod smirked. "Excellent. Tell the captain to keep an eye on two sailors, one named Danzig and another called Rast. I overheard them talking about mutinying before we left the DOC. He should take whatever precautions he deems necessary. Got it?"
"I got it, miss, and I'll go find the captain right now," Keenan said and he got up, scattering meal bar wrappers everywhere. He sloshed over to the door and Sigrun stepped aside so he could open it. The boy paused before going out into the hallway, a look of intense fear on his round face, and said, "Yo-yo-you promise you won't tell my dad, right? He'd be s-s-so angry with me. I was just so sca-sca-scared so I started eating and-"
"Give Captain Conway my message and your father will never know," Sigrun said and she practically shoved Keenan into the hallway. There. She'd done her part to ensure the
UIS Garrloch's mission continued without any unnecessary interruptions. The stormborn waited a few seconds then left the room and continued her journey through the maze of featureless white corridors. Every now and again, she encountered sailors with looks of excitement and anticipation lighting up their weathered faces. Obviously, the crew was overjoyed to have survived the Ring of the Thunder, and Sigrun could certainly understand their elation. A small part of her was still amazed she'd emerged unscathed. Shaking her head and trying to recall if she'd taken a left at this particular junction or a right, the medic trotted down the left hallway and pushed open a heavy door.
Sigrun blinked. She'd ended up outside somehow and was now staring at a bright blue sky. A bright blue sky without the Ring of Thunder looming in the distance. For the second time that day, Sigrun's mouth fell open, and she slowly walked over to the ship's railing, her gaze never leaving the breath-taking view. A warm breeze tousled her hair as she peered over the side of the ship. Blinding rays of honey-colored sunlight reflected off the water's glassy surface. A pang of intense loneliness hit her out of nowhere, and Sigi gripped the railing tightly to keep from sobbing. If only Svanrige could see this. He'd been so happy for her when she'd shown him that clipping from the Highwall Herald, the clipping that had convinced her to leave the city and travel to Canth to join the Garrloch's crew. All to find a worthwhile
avallach so she could return home to Ysmir. He'd held her tightly and told her she was always welcome in his clinic. What would he say if he saw this, a horizon of pure, unbroken blue? Something few people had ever seen. God and ground, she missed him.
Running a hand through her hair, the field medic took a calming breath and tried to distract herself by glancing around at the sailors celebrating their successful crossing. Knots of mariners were bunched together, laughing and gesturing wildly at the white clouds drifting across the sky. A few of them were looking back, shouting insults at the endless storms and one man even decided to moon the Ring of Thunder for some reason. A mirthless grin slid across Sigrun's lips, and she resumed her journey towards what she hoped was the starboard med bay. She'd never been good at making friends and past experiences had taught her it was better to keep people at arm's length. She trusted herself and Svanrige. It was safer that way. As if responding to her thoughts, an image whizzed through her head. A scrap of paper with the word 'vrykul' written on it in blood.
Sigi's smile faded and she stood up straight, adjusting her bloodstained clothes, before continuing her trek across the deck. While it might be nice to get to know the rest of the crew, there could be no trust until she found the person responsible for that note and dealt with them. Gritting her teeth and pushing past a sailor weeping with joy, Sigrun stopped when she spotted a door with a blue cross on it a few feet ahead. Was there another door to the med bay she didn't know about? This wasn't the port side of the ship. Opening the door slowly, Sigrun barely managed to hop over a pile of leechwood cuttings that had been leaning against the door.
She'd made it back to the starboard med bay.
"Louisa, why didn't you clean up the...?" Sigi started to say to the nurse, but she stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the injured warrior from before sitting in his chair. His rifle was propped against his leg. And he was very much awake. A look of barely restrained fury slid across Sigrun's angular features and she wheeled on Luna as she said, "Why the fuck is he still awake,
helgus?!"
"Listen, miss, I..." the man said as he rose slowly from his chair, but the stormborn interrupted him.
"No, you listen,
buca. Clearly, I can't trust my own nurse to follow simple instructions. I'll remember that. But I have no interest in hearing what you have to say," Sigrun snarled, and her hand once again darted to the handle of her knife while her eyes skittered across the floor. Where was it? Where was the pouch with the purple thread? Each of the Ysmirod's pouches had its own color thread keeping it closed, which made it easier for her to quickly identify what was what. Purple thread was powdered dreamweed. Sigi spotted it lying by the injector table and walked over to it, narrowly avoiding the pile of supplies her idiotic nurse had gathered together.
Picking up the pouch and hefting it in both hands, she said, "I want you out of my way,
buca, but I still want to keep an eye on you." As she talked, she gradually loosened the thread and stared at the pouch, splitting her attention between the fighter and the powdered dreamweed. If she inhaled even a little bit of this it would knock her out for about three hours. Plus, there was the internal bleeding to consider. Shooting a quick glance at Bronson, who was still sleeping on the other side of the room, and deciding there was no way he'd be affected by this, Sigrun said, "I wonder how I could do-?" before lobbing the opened pouch of purplish green powder at the stranger's bearded face.
The pouch hit the man, sending acrid-smelling dust everywhere and Sigi covered her face with her sleeve. The fighter spluttered incoherently for a few moments before grabbing his rifle. He slowly brought it up, but a low moan slipped through his lips and he fell bonelessly to the ground, his face covered in colorful powder. No sedative worked faster than powdered dreamweed, though dalamud oil mixed with warm water lasted longer and didn't have any side-effects. Already, thin streams of blood were oozing out of the bearded man's nostrils.
Taking a breath, Sigrun turned back to Lupita or whatever her name was and said, her voice hard and uncompromising, "My name is Sigrun Alfhild of Ysmir,
helgus. There are...certain individuals that would be very interested in killing me. I believe this man might be one of them. So the next time I tell you to do something I want you to do it or you'll be the next person I put down. Do you understand?"
