Sypherkhode822

In Dark Seas We Sail

The smell of food enveloped the assembled party, and Wheel lowered himself onto a coil of rope that had been pressed into service as a makeshift chair as he looked around at the other dinner guests. Both leaders had taken both ends of the table (A workbench that was similarly forced into a new role), and everyone rubbed elbows as they settled in.

Pieter served everyone their first plate of food, setting the leftovers on a nearby barrel for anyone to take. Wheel noticed the too casual cordiality of his first mate as he placed down the shallow pewter bowls filled with steaming fish and potatoes. Something had rattled him recently, and from how long Rohaan had spent downstairs, it didn’t take much to connect the dots.

Even still, the sense of light giddiness that had overtaken him couldn’t be shaken, and he playfully asked Millie, “Have enough room there?”

Squeezed in between Wheel and Kaga-Met, the woman’s tentacles were curled and pressed tight against her back to leave room for the others. With a deadpan look one unfurled and stole around Wheels side, lifting away his mug and bringing it to her lips. His lips quirked as she returned it to him, replying, “Plenty.”

Kaga-Met, sitting across from Hana, had moistened a handkerchief with scented water he took from a flask and wiped his hands clean. Hana stared in a reverential shock before saying in a soft voice, “I haven’t seen anyone wash their hands in months.” The chiurgeon silently soaked the rag again and handed it to her, which she gratefully took.

Pieter finally sat down, and glanced at Berlin with the cool look that Wheel knew as, “Well, what next?’

In Dark Seas We Sail

An icy coldness gripped Pieter, “I promise you that none of us will be taken by the slavers, and I promise that the ones we hunt will perish.” The smell of harsh brine filled the air as he spoke, overwhelming the scent of cooking food. The Salt had chosen to take note of his promise, and Pieter shuddered at the thought of what would come, regardless of what happened.

The smell faded from the room, and Pieter straightened roughly, smiling weakly at the boy before turning away. He packed his pipe with small, cautious movements and only faced Rohaan after it was lit, the smoke making the priest’s eyes water, “Well, the fish is ready. I’ll bring it up, stay with the potatoes for a minute more, if you’d like you can have a nip of the rum just don’t tell the Cap’n.” Lifting the platter with the fish, he left the galley with the pipe clenched between his teeth working up and down as the muscles in his neck jumped.

——-

Hana nodded excitedly, a half dozen ideas tumbling in front of themselves as she talked with him, each one starting to spill from her mouth before he asked his next question, overturning the whole cart and replacing them with new lines of thought. The one constant was a desperate, needy feeling of keeping him next to her, and a giddiness as they kept talking.

When he pointed at her staff, a fresh jumble of emotions welled through her; pride for her craft, shame for leaving the Academy, and of course, the reassurance that any mage feels when looking at their tools.

She looked at the rune Uban touched, three sets of downward sweeping lines through a central vertical line and a horizontal line across the top. She traced her own hand along it, her fingernail lightly scratching the dark wood. A small smile quirked her lips and she said, “It’s the rune for goats. It helps me connect with goats in particular and farm animals in general, but I can also call on it for help with digestion, and ah well,” she withdrew her hand and put it back in her lap, “Goats are known for their fertility.”

——-

Wheel and Millie stood up, looking each other in the eye. Wheel spoke softly, but his words carried across the deck, “If what you say is true, then we have unfinished business in Vyrm, don’t we?” Millie tapped her foot on the deck, her heavy spear held casually, “My business is here, and so it’ll stay until I pay off my debts.”

Both turned and faced the stairwell before Pieter’s head came up, carrying the platter of fish. “Supper’s ready!” He called almost cheerfully.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter held the trembling boy silently as he processed Rohaan’s revelation. He’d figured that the crew of the Swift were from the Southern continent, but would never have guessed they were Barizian. They’d have their reason for hunting the slavers, and Pieter was fascinated to hear their story. The words of the turtle, warning about the bloody eel.. The path they were taking was leading to one place, and he was worried they’d need all the help they could get to see it through.

Looking down at Rohaan, he could only start to guess at the pain and fear he was reliving. The time Rohaan’d spent with them wasn’t an ordinary way to raise a child, but he’d still made progress. There was a sinking feeling in his gut as he thought about the possibility of him reverting to his previous self, so shortly after the horrors he’d been put through at the hands of the slavers.

Kneeling so he was eye to eye with Rohaan, he said, “It’s because we want to stop the slavers that Berlin decided we’d work with Kaga-met and his crew. They’re monsters that need to be put down. And I don’t know where the remainder of the Vokurians from your island are, but I’ll promise you that we’ll make sure no one else is taken.”

——-

Hana flexed her hand as the shock of Uban’s lightning left her arm full of pins and needles. Relieved at the slow return of feeling, she was sure that anything larger would have left lasting damage. She relaxed listening to Uban’s playful banter. She’d kept to herself during her travels, and was relearning what it meant to share laughter with someone. She admired the smooth curve of his jaw under his full beard. He fell silent, and she looked up at his golden eyes, locked on hers.

Hana’s breath caught in her throat as he softly spoke, “I… I can feel your heartbeat.” His broad face, normally creased into a cheery smile, was gentle and filled with reverent wonder.” Before she could speak, he had leaned suddenly back and he was laughing again.

Shaking her head quickly, she exhaled, and started to explain more magic to

“Unfortunately, a tattoo would be dangerous, if a hostile mage knew about them they could exploit them, putting me in danger. A ring is possible, but that’s what my staff is for,” she gestured at the wooden staff at her feet, it was slightly shorter than her and partially carved with runes, while much of the wood was still bare, “A mage is only as good as their tools, and a fully fledged weather mage has a staff carved with the runes they need, letting them accomplish their work quickly.”

She looked at her staff, turning it in her hands. It had a few runes, mostly for water and simple changes in temperature, elementary building blocks of a weather mage. Had she stayed in school longer, her staff would have had more runes carved into it, giving her greater mastery of the elements she sought to conquer.
“Of course, a ring or another piece of jewelry works perfectly well, and has the benefit of being portable, easily hidden, and lets you use it a moments notice. I know that the weapons of the Elbish Expeditionary Corps are enchanted, and lets them cast their spells in the heat of battle.”

Rambling about magic to Uban felt safe, and let her ignore what she really wanted to talk about, which was asking him what her heartbeat felt like.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter had turned to prepare the rest of the meal, small potatoes boiled in water that would be chopped in half and served with butter, a treat for anyone on board long enough, as he spoke to Rohaan. Whenever he wanted to have a serious conversation, he preferred to have something to do with his hands. When the boy cried out he stopped and focused on him. “Lad, what’re you talking about? Berlin’s many things, but traitor he ain’t.” His understanding of Rohaans language was poor, but he could pick out a few words and knew Berlin’s name. He paused, removed the potatoes from the boiling water, and spoke plainly to the boy curled up on the barrel. “I could use your help mashing the potatoes for dinner.” It wasn’t the original plan, but there’d be satisfaction in turning potatoes into mush. He made a wry face to himself as he took out the butter- oh well, these slavers ought to have enough goodies they could help themselves to.

——-

Hana felt lightheaded as she looked at Uban. Since she’d gotten on board the Borealis it felt like she’d been thrown into the air and hadn’t had a chance to touch the ground. Maybe it was time to learn to fly. “Uban… Thank you.” His kindness towards her had helped her adjust to this new reality, and she felt comfortable being herself around him. Impishly, she concentrated and traced the same grounding rune that she used on the bullets with her finger in the air, and with a zwoosh, the little arc of lightning diverted and leapt to Hana’s forefinger. Gasping slightly she looked into his eyes, lit up by the crackle of lightning connecting them. Carried along by her newfound freedom she coyly asked, “So, how often do you do this with other girls?” Her smile faltered when she realized what she’d said and Oh seven virtues she just fucking said that

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter leaned against the bulkhead as the boy raged and flung the rag. It struck the leg of the table with a slightly damp splat and clung for a second before it fell.

“Do ya think that we can’t take care of ourselves, Rohaan? You don’ get to be a pirate this old if you ain’t got vinegar. They’re a tough crew, aye, but nothing we can’t handle. Uban can shoot lightning and Wheel would eat a thunderstorm for breakfast and ask for more!” His voice softened as he continued, “I know the Borealis is home, she is for me too. It’s not fair you’re asked to let strangers in.” He fell silent, thinking.

——

Uban’s laughter, normally so welcome, made the hairs stand up on Hana’s neck. The sinking pit in her stomach started to overwhelm her, and she shakily sunk to her knees. She looked out at the empty sea around them- devoid of any friendly Elbish Expeditionary Corps vessels willing to step in and take care of the problem.

It was just her, the crew, and a band of rogue Barizians.

She could either help them, or she could get in their way, but she wasn’t getting out.

When Uban took her by the arms, something in her caved and she impulsively flung herself around Uban in a tight hug. She held on for a moment, and withdrew, “You’re right. This is what we do.” She looked conspiratorially at Uban, “So, how about we work together on making a light show?”

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter took the proffered shortbread, picked some lint off it, and took a bite, enjoying the sweet cookie. He couldn’t remember anyone making the desert recently, so he had no idea when or how the boy had some. Leaving the rest on the counter within easy reach of Rohaan, he covered the tuna with a terracotta lid and smoothly unlatched the oven and slid the tuna in. As he closed the oven, he said, “It was kind of Hana to give us these limes, she’s only been with us for a short while and she’s been very helpful to have around,” His lined face was tense around the eyes as he looked at the shifter, “Working with new people is what brought us this meal. Do you understand me, boy?”

——-

Kaga-met rubbed his face, although he preferred to keep it bare, it’d grown stubbly since he’d last shaved. “Nine to eighty and hundred. We’ll go down as hero’s taking 20 of them for one of us.” He looked wryly at the pirate, “Yes, I don’t think attacking them directly will get us far.” He spoke slowly, picking his words as he thought, “The Swift can fly above a galley for a long while, and we could carry more of those bombs than what the shifter could manage in his dragon form. If the shifter drove a galley towards us, we could drop bombs and try and destroy it safely from the sky. It’d be difficult to know if there were prisoners on one of their ships, the last one we destroyed was leaving the flotilla to go on a raid, but there’s no telling what has happened since. Your ship could be close on hand to board, defeat the remaining scum and rescue any prisoners aboard.”

His voice had picked up confidence as he spoke, “So long as we can isolate each galley and destroy it in turn, our control of the sky means that their numbers will be worthless. What say you, Berlin?”

——-

Uban’s nonchalance tripped Hana’s anxiety to such an extent that she wrapped around into being calm again, and she blinked confusedly, now more focused on explaining the justifications of her fear than feeling it directly herself. “Well,” she said, using the same tone she’d had when describing how the sigils that channeled Uban’s lightning, though with an edge of panic underneath, “We’re certainly outnumbered, and it would only take one lucky shot on their part and we’d be in serious trouble. And what if they have some hidden monster like the dragon floating next to us on their side? How are we supposed to do this? Why can’t we go into port and tell the authorities?” She squeezed her hand on Uban’s arm, feeling his reassuring bulk. When she realized what she’d done, her cheeks went hot and she stepped back, cradling her hands in front of her.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Hana watched as Kaga-Mets mouth pressed into a thin line as Rio snarled in his strange tongue and slit open his hand with the knife. Accepting the blade, the Brazian did the same, mixing his red blood with silver. He was silent, and watched the boy go belowdecks. Even after he’d gone, there was a far away look in his eyes that was only broken once Berlin asked him a question. Inhaling deeply, Kaga-met blinked rapidly like a man waking up from a slumber.
“Yes. We’ve been hunting them since they left Old Bariz for 3 weeks now. The Swift is a fine ship, but she needs rest, unlike the galleys the slavers use. The oars are pulled by arms similar to what she has,” he gestured to the jaundiced human arms that grew in invtervals along the side of the Swift, “That only pull the oars. They never tire, and it allows them to move faster than should be possible and gives them room for their thugs and victims.” His voice grows tight as he says, “There are four smaller galleys like the one we fought today, each carrying about 50 to 60 fighting men. They’re the vessels used to make their attacks and collect victims, and one large galley they use as a floating refinery and center of operations. It’s heavily armed, and best we can tell carrying around 80 mean, but its slower than the rest. If you catch a strong wind you could gain on them, but if they can keep their distance long enough they can slip away the moment the wind turns against you.” He smiles savagely, “They’d had five of their raiding galleys before we destroyed one of them.” He fell silent again and looked out at the waters.
Hana was overwhelmed by a sense of dread, and approaching Uban, grasped his arm and quietly said, “What are we going to do?”

—-

Pieter whistled to himself as he finished squeezing a lime over the fish, swaying in time with the rocking ocean to make sure none spilled on the deck. It was a great catch, and he’d felt justified in using some of their precious spices and ingredients to make the meal stand out for their guests. If they wanted to seal the deal it’d pay to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Short, heavy footsteps made him turn, and the question that had been forming on Pieter’s lips about why Rohaan was visiting him died when he saw the bleeding. He nodded once to himself and set to fixing the boys bandage silently. Taking a (now precious) bottle of rum, he splashed a little on his cut and wiped it away the edge of a rag. After he finished dressing the bandage, he said plainly, “I’ve a lime slice that I was going to suck on, would you care for some?”

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pouring more wine into his and the captain's mug, Wheel listened to Uban's playing. Of the crew, he'd had the most fun with the nine fingered fool. He was a good gambling partner, and his cheeriness helped smooth over situations, and when words failed he was good in a brawl. Uban would know how to deal with Millie coming back into his life. He didn't know how to feel, and it was hard to think about what this meant or what would happen. Handing back the wine to Berlin silently, he set the mug at his feet and started rolling a cigarette, his eyes fixed on the paper.

---

Millie studied Hana curiously as she mopped at her brow with her now purplish sleeve, "You're Elbish, right? Never met a bald Elbish woman before." She said bluntly. She noticed Hana suppress a flinch, and smoothly answered, "I'm a hedge mage. I know enough magic to earn my keep with my knowledge, and show that by shaving my head, but I don't have the right to wear a wig like a proper mage." Millie nodded, satisfied at the moment with the answer. Hana inquired, "That's a rather impressive spear, how did you acquire it?" Millie smiled with pleasure, and hefted the spear to better display it to Hana, "Pretty great, huh? It was a gift from Kaga-met's family, I saved his life enough times that they thought it'd be good to make my job easier." Tilting the tip of the spear so Hana could look at the sides of the blade better, she noticed the short barrels that grew flush out of the shaft. "You can shoot with it too. You won't believe what it does after you've stuck somebody with it," she laughed, "no magic to it, but it's worked for me." Hana murmured something in agreement, her head spinning. Maybe Uban was right about having more wine, she felt like she needed it.

---

Pieter was in the galley, filleting the fish and humming to himself when he heard the door to Berlins cabin slam open hard enough to rattle the pans and sent some flies aloft. "Tevira's tits," he said to himself, then resumed filleting the fish silently.

---

Kaga-met ended his conference with Yawar when Uban asked them a question. He'd hesitated, trying to articulate an answer that would thread the needle between honesty and tact when Berlin cut in. During the short silence that fell as the pirates processed what that fully meant, Yawar grasped Kaga-met's arm and hissed, "Trouble. Shifter." and alerted Millie through a fly tapping out the warning code on her hand. As Uban weakly asked his follow up question, the Barizians were already in motion, Millie crossing the deck on her tentacles as Yawar drew his pistol. By the time the angry man burst out of the door, Kaga-met stood with his feet planted, arms crossed a look of cool determination on his face. Millie to the side of Kaga-met, resting on her tentacles with her spear held defensively, while Yawar stepped behind him, a cloud of flies buzzing around the group, keeping them partially obscured and giving Yawar total vision of the deck. They'd done this before, and were in position before Uban finished his question, his mouth moving despite what he say happening in front of him. As Rio stormed towards Kaga-met, Millie started to raise her spear but stopped when Kaga-met raised his hand as Berlin's closed on the shifter. Play this right and the pirates are ours. He didn't let himself think about the alternative.

Lifting his chin, his dark brown eyes locked with the bright blue of the shifter. He uncrossed his arms and said, "What my kinsmen have done is a crime, and must be punished. I believe this, my crew believes this, and my Path believes this. Since you think the same, we'll bring them to justice easier if we work together. Hurting you and your crew not only takes us away from our goal, but means we'd lose your help when we fight the slavers," he reasoned, "I'll promise that me and mine won't hurt you and yours, but only if you can agree to the same. We don't need to be friends, but we must be a team." He stepped forward, extended his hand, "Alright?"

In Dark Seas We Sail

The other pirates and dragon riders recovered their balance faster than Hana, and she stumbled when Rio roared below decks. When she'd first lost her balance,her leg shot out, heel hitting the wood deck hard and jarring her but keeping her upright all the same. Pinwheeling her free arm to keep steady, it worked almost like a pump as the hand that held the mug of wine, jerking up unconsciously as if by raising it above her it'd be safe from the treacherous shifting of the deck. She exhaled in relief now that she'd stabilized, and started to think, Well that was a close one! When the weight of the ship righted itself again and her newly found balance was thrown off completely. Her outstretched leg buckled, and the rest went with it. As she went down, the wine sloshed out directly onto Hana's face. She lay on the ground, spluttering wine and hoping nobody had seen her. A shadow crossed over Hana's face, and she heard a woman call out, "Yeah, y'know The Shifty Goat an' The Goose Girl?"

"Need help up?" Millie asked as she loomed over her, fish in tentacle. Hana closed her eyes and groaned. So much for impressing the new people.

---

Kaga-Met and Yawar stood together, and after offering polite noises in response to Berlin playing the role of temporarily embarrassed host, held a quiet conference with one another, Kaga-Met briefing Yawar on what he and Berlin had discussed, while Yawar asked questions and supplied information about what he'd seen of the pirates so far. The two had worked together for a long time and had the close professional rapport that let them strategize together and come out of any situation ahead. They were relieved to have the firepower of these strange pirates, but as Kaga-Met told Yawar about the shifters past, the flies looping around Yawar's head lost their orderliness. Still, these potential allies had fallen into their laps and they'd turn the tide in their favor, if only they could make it work.

---
Wheel looked coolly into Berlin's eyes for a long moment. Some would have taken it as a threat, but he knew Berlin wouldn't be phased. He broke eye contact and drank from his wine, looking up at the white sails before he spoke. The curse had gone silent, it was like it wasn't there at all. When he spoke, his voice was flat, calm, "We were kids together. Grew up together, trained together, dealt with the same shit. After uh," He fumbled for words, "After a while I left Vyrm for some work. Stayed on the coast, fell in with you, you know the rest. Hadn't seen her or the rest of them in years. When I knew her? She was a mean bitch in a fight. Bookies loved whenever she went in the ring with a man twice her size. After she got the curse with the rest of us, well. Now? No fucking clue. She's still cursed, and those tentacles sure aren't for show." He drained the mug, looked at Berlin, asked, "Want me to top you up?" And went to get more wine.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Yawar's estimation of Uban went up with his quick apology for the misunderstanding. Not everyone he'd met on his travels had been as accepting of supposed differences, and he was more comfortable working with these pirates knowing he wouldn't have to deal with snide comments and suppressed hostility. It was at this point that the two captains spoke, and the alliance was sealed. After the speech there was a mild confusion as people milled about, leaving to attend to their tasks or striking up conversations. Millie strode across the deck and unfurled one tentacle to prop against the wooden deck, lifted herself from the ship to the Swift, another tentacle reaching out and grasping a boney spur. Pulling herself down onto the dragon, who lazily paddled it's arms to keep steady with the ship. She disappeared from view as she went to retrieve the fish.

Yawar gave Uban a smile and went to join his captain, he wanted to sort things out before going ahead.

---

Kaga-met bid Berlin farewell with a dip of his head, and looked up to see Yawar approach, "All things are well?" He asked the chiurgeon softly, "No problems, the sailor, Uban, has been friendly, though the shifter has been watching me intently. It might have been for my glasses." Kaga-met replied, "Good. The shifter has a grudge against Barizians, he'd had a run in with slavers. Berlin left to work on it, and knowing what he can do I have confidence in his abilities. Millie's friend, Wheel, is also a berserker. The Path of Prosperity bastards won't know what hit them." They'd been huddled together for too long, it would be important to get to know the rest of these new allies, "Alright, let's make new friends, we'll all talk this evening." He clapped a hand on Yawar's shoulder. Taking the cue, Yawar moved away, approaching Hana and saying, "Your friends say that you're a weather mage?"

---
Pieter left the group to go below decks and get the wine. Walking down the stairwell he could hear the muffled voices of Rohaan and Berlin. The two wine barrels were stacked next to an emergency crate of hardtack, and when he lifted the stout oak barrel it sloshed promisingly. He carried the first barrel to the foot of the stairs and went back for the second. Rohaan shouted, "Traitor!" and Pieter stopped for a moment, listening. The boy had trouble trusting strangers, but this was a rather strong reaction to the Swift riders he thought. Hunting the Barizians had been unearthing a lot of bad memories, especially for a child who had just started to come out the other side of the terrors the slavers inflicted upon him. Nothing he could do about it this moment, Berlin was with him and he'd have to trust that would be enough. He'd help get dinner ready, so even if Rohaan was still hurt and scared, at least he'd be able to have something nice to eat.

Going to the galley, he opened the copper bellied stove, gently stoked it with a few puffs of the bellow, and added a few sticks to the fire from the woven basket that sat next to the clay bricks that the stove rested on to keep the wood beneath it from getting too hot. It was a good thing he liked fish, since they ate it almost daily.
Looping back, he carried the wine to the top, calling out, "Alright, finish whatevers left in your mugs so we can put something good in them." Whatever Rohaan was going through, it'd pass.

---

Wheel stood to the side, silent with a small smile resting on his face.