The Greed of the Seven Seas [M] [IC]

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V pulled herself up easily from the side of the ship. Her figure was in full nudity as she began to dry and shifted from mermaid form into her human form. She had spent her early morning in the depths of the sea fishing for her crew. She dropped the sack that was around her back ono the deck and numerous fish, crabs, and squids fell out. Captain V snapped her fingers and one of her crew members hastily came and collected the food bounty. He also came with a bag of clothes for her. This was her normal morning routine after all. She was always up before first light; she was never one who could sleep. “Bring these to the cook. Have him ready them for first meal.” Her requests of her crew were always clear and concise. She always expected to be followed. It was an easy price to pay on her ship. Always follow captain orders and have loyalty for the crew, and the spoils would follow soon after. Any crew member that crossed her would be sorry. Her temper was everchanging as the undulating sea. The crew member gave a firm nod. “Yes, Cap’n V…”, he muttered before scampering off to the galley.
The sun rays were just coming up over the horizon as she dressed herself.

The new day’s light reflected off the gold hoop in her left ear. Captain V wore black, tight birches with matching knee-high boots. Her shirt was a loose white shirt held in place by a black vest. Her doublet was a navy blue with shiny silver seashell buttons for embodiment. To top if all off was her oversized hat with a blue feather in it. Her belt she tied around herself held her cutlass, a small hand axe, waterskin, and pouch. She pulled out her compass from her coat pocket and saw they were due west at 20 knots. She gave a firm nod, knowing the Siren’s Song was right on course. By day’s end they would be at the island marked on the map, hopefully with piles of treasure awaiting their arrival. She was itching for some adventure and was also hoping this treasure would be guarded. Her cutlass was thirsty for some blood. Speaking of thirsty, V pulled her waterskin from her waistbelt. This waterskin rarely saw water, it usually was tucked away with rum or vodka. As she took a giant swig of vodka tainted with sea water it slid down her throat easily. The burn of the alcohol was like a warm hug from an old friend. “Now I will be ready for the day. Hmm I wonder where Blackfin is. I’ll need him to go over defenses with prior to anchoring offshore.” Captain V tended to talk to herself. She never expected anyone to respond, it just helped her to organize her thoughts.

Blackfin was her First Mate and most trusted companion after his few years of service to her. She knew his first name of course but stuck to calling him by his nickname. He seemed to have a troubled past, but she never bothered to ask. She would let people share what they want with her. It was not her business to pry. What mattered was Blackfin always had her back in battles and helped her with proper strategy.He also helped to keep the crew in check when others rarely questioned her. Captain V also asked his advice on many matters, he was a true confidant. She always rewarded him handsomely with funds for his service. V did find it humorous that he tended to squander most of his spoils to gambling.

As she made her way up the stairs to the helm of the ship to keep it on course, she saw the main deck come alive. Her crew members were startling to bustle about with their known duties. All different kinds of creatures tended to sails, rigs, and clean the deck. A small smile crept its way upon her tanned skin at the sight. Her face held a few scars. There was a diagonal scar across her mouth, a few knicks on her cheeks, and one at the bottom of her right eyes. The rest of her body held even more scars, showing the many sea battles she has fared. She was proud of her tally marks. A true captain fights along with the crew to build bonds and display strength.

Captain V now stood peacefully as the ocean breeze brought some of the sea’s mist upon her skin. “Ah, nothing but the pirate’s life for me…” she began to sing to herself in a low tone. Her voice was mesmerizing and had the power to enchant. She made sure not to sing too loud as she did not want to put anyone underneath her spell. Captain V was strict about never lulling her crew members into a trance. Anyone that was here was because of their own free will. They could also leave when they wanted. This helped to stop mutinies from happening. Despite being a ruffian, she had a small code of honor just for her crew.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Deep in the belly of the ship, Blackfin awoke at the same time every morning. 15 minutes before the rest of the crew, Blackfin maintained the idea that he was always ready to fight or dish out the punishments the captain saw fit. He snapped on his belt and the leather straps that held his swords. He always slept with his boots on. That was one thing he was always ready for. With a quiet shing, he pulled the blade of his cutlass out of his scabbard to inspect it. The metal dully gleamed in the little morning light that made it belowdecks. Perfect. Finally, he slipped on his hat, the single red feather moving lightly with the shifting of the waves.

Around him, the crew stirred from their sleep. He watched them for a moment, before striding up the stairs to the middecks. On this level, he could hear the cook begin the stew. From the smell, nothing new. As he reached abovedecks, the powder monkey called for him.

"First Mate Blackfin!"

"Aye powder monkey?"

"During our last run-in with The Mary-Ann, we used quite a bit of black powder. We'll need to pick up more if we plan on surviving our next fight with them."

"I'll pass on the message to the captain. Everything functional?"

"Aye First Mate!"

"Very well." He nodded, before continuing forward. He blinked in the harsh morning sunlight and cursed the fact he couldn't make use of an eyepatch. Most pirates had both eyes, but keeping one eye in darkness helped them see when they transitioned between decks. In any case, he needed to talk with his captain.

As he walked across the upper decks, the ship came alive about him. Crew of all shapes and sizes began tending to the ship, cleaning, rigging, tying, untying, pulling this, pushing that. They worked in easy, fluid motions like they had done hundreds of times. Finally, he climbed the last few stairs and stood beside his captain.

"Mornin' Cap'm."

[Enigma]

Dragon sniffed and stirred where she laid on top of the mizzen topmast yard like a cat. She had her breakfast following the midwatch, diving off the deck into the sea where she found a nice big tuna. The first time she brought her catch back, she'd landed in her natural form, the large fish in her mouth, and ate it before returning to her human form.

The captain and the crew were upset, they had to scrub the deck down, and they threw buckets of water on her, too. Since then, she made sure to eat her catch before returning to the ship, swimming just ahead of it before snagging the hull in her human form so as not to make the ship roll too much. The barnacles didn't bother her much, they were crunchy and slimy.

She crawled out from under the topgallant top, rubbing her eyes with one hand, while the left snagged the starboard backstay, just in reach. Curling her leg around the cable, she slid down to the rail, pausing to make sure nobody was trying to claim the spot when she hopped off onto the main deck.

Blackfin was coming, heading for the starboard ladder to the aftercastle, there to make words to the captain. They had so many words, it made her head spin sometimes. She cocked her head and wrinkled her nose as he approached, making sure to keep out of his way.

She followed him up the ladder, pausing on the top step and stood there, waiting.

[Lu321]

Lola groaned softly as she woke up, peeking her eyes open to look around. Most of the crew was still fast asleep, although some were quietly hauling themselves up from their bunks and starting to get ready. It was a comforting sight. She could only remember a few times when she had woken up without a crew around her.

Sitting up in her bunk, she yawned, brushing her messy black hair out ofher face. Winding it into a tight bun like she did almost every morning, She dressed in her usual baggy pants and loose shirt before turning her attention to her right foot. Making sure the metal was clean and the straps that kept it attached to her leg were tight, she slipped her boots on. Grabbing the belt that held her rapier, she put it on before heading above deck.

Cursing as she opened the door to the bright sun, the area around her grew darker. She cursed again, letting herself get used to the brightness before releasing her grasp on the light around her. Continuing up the stairs, she noticed some of the crew scrubbing the deck and quickly joined them. Her day had started, and she couldn't wait to see what it would bring.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V stopped her singing as soon as she heard the familiar footfalls of her first mate approach her. As he addressed her she nodded back, her hat slightly falling foraward on her face. She easily pushed it back up. "Mornin' Blackfin? How did ya sleep?" This was their usual place to meet and catch up with reports surrounding the crew and the ship. Also to discuss battle tactics and navigational routes. "I wanted to discuss today's adventure.", she said as she shot him a toothy grin. She turned to him slightly and noticed the red colored child that was stowed away on this ship before Captain V had stolen the ship a few years back. V was fond of the girl and let her do her own thing. Little thing didn't talk much, but V liked it that way. The child was still fierce and had the spirit of a pirate. Not to mention she was a great weapon when needed since she could turn into a dragon. V also nodded to her to acknowledge her presence. She wasn't too sure how the child felt about her, but it didn't matter.

"We will be at this island of Lost Haven by mid-afternoon. It is a few miles off the coast of al-Andalus. This is where the treasure will be, according to the map I scored from our last sea battle." She smiled, remembering them defeating the Mary Ann. Although they did not come out of that sea battle truly unscathed. A few crew members had died "There is a chance they are racing there as we are now. I need to know how well our defenses are holding up from our last skirmish." She gestured for a trusted crew member to take of the helm and steer the ship. V also motioned over to the small, red child. "Dragon, if you wish to learn how to steer the ship under supervision I would be happy to teach you or have Jimin here can show you while I tend to ohter matters." She simply left it at that before leading Blackfin into her Captain's Quarters.

Inside was a mess with random bottles and clothes spilled about. Some of her favorite treasures laying about, shimmering from the day's light from some of the port holes. In the center of her room was a large circular table with numerous maps unfolded. Captain V made her way there to show it to Blackfin. There she pointed to the island they were headed to. A smaller map lay beside it showing the path to the treasure.

"I want your thoughts on defenses for land battle in case we run into indigenous people. There is also the matter of taking on another battle with the Mary Ann or another ship that might cross paths with the Siren's Song." She looked back up at him and awaited his report.

On the main deck the bell rang out to announce first meal of the day. The ship's cook was a small dwarf woman named Claudia. She had messy red hair she kept in a bun atop her head. One of her legs was also missing, replaced by a wooden peg leg. Her closest companion was a black cat named Jude, that always was close by her.

Claudia grumbled loudly. "Come get yer slop!" She stood by a fresh boiling pot of seafood stew that she and another crew member had carried out. Crew mates were expected to line up with their bowl and get one sloppy serving each. The crew were also responsible for keeping track of their own bowls and cutlery.

[Enigma]

"Dragon," the captain said, summoning her and pointing at the ship's wheel.




You
I
here


How
Happy
Show


Steer
You
You


Ship
Jimin
I




Dragon smiled, showing off her teeth - which wasn't a challenge here - usually. She shared her smile with Jimin, who gave her a funny look and shook his head at her, making her frown. as the captain and Blackfin left to go below. While the captain's cabin was okay, it wasn't as dark as below deck.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

"I slept fine, Cap'm." He listened as she talked, watching the crew go about their duties. He also watched the little red girl scurry about. He didn't mind her or pay much mind to her, but she seemed to be careful to never cross paths directly with him. It was strange, but he couldn't fault her.

As his Captain got onto the topic of defenses, he frowned slightly. She said something to Dragon, then turned on her heel and led him to her Captain's Quarters. The air smelled heavily of booze and clothes were tossed about the room with no real rhyme or reason. Just how it always was.

He studied the two maps she had pointed to, making a mental note of any changes in elevation and any illustrations of monsters. Many times they weren't simple illustrations. He thought for a moment, before replying,

"In terms of defense, the powder monkey says we're low on black powder. We'll need to pick up more if we plan on surviving another run-in with The Mary Ann. For any natives, I suggest we put on a show. If we show them we're an unstoppable force, we can cow their defenses without a single drop of blood being spilt," he paused, then continued, "from our crew of course. Worst case scenario, we'll have to show them how powerful we really are." He chuckled, a smile revealing his industrial-grade blender teeth.

Elsewhere, Claudia called for breakfast, and the crew briefly left their duties in segments. For them to all leave at once, the ship would be unmanned and vulnerable, so they went in shifts. By the time the first was done eating, the second had started.

[Lu321]

Lola smiled as she heard the call for breakfast. She was unlucky enough to be in the last segment, but she didn't mind. She could see the Captain and her first mate heading towards the Captain's Quarters, which wasn't unusual. She didn't know much about where they were headed to, but she did know that they were following a map stolen from the Mary Anne.

The thought of the other ship disgusted her. It had been a well earned victory, but the ghosts of the crewmates who had died seemed to haunt her, as did the ghosts of her father's long gone crew. Even though the Mary Anne was not the ship she had been searching for, that ship was on her top ten most hated list.

Smiling as it was her turn to get food, she grabbed her bowl from her bunk and went to the back of the line, patiently waiting her turn.

[Enigma]

At the ringing of eight bells, the next watch took their places, while the relieved watch standers went to grab their bowls, spoons, and cups to join the mess line. Dragon went over to the rail and climbed on top, watching the various creatures that made up the crew eat.

One particularly caught her eye - Lola. She had an elegant face with long pointed ears. Her right stroked her own ear, feeling the human-style curve. She glanced down at the metal foot, impervious to splinters. As always, she wonder why the elf wore it?

Still, she noticed that Lola moved with a certain grace, even when the ship rolled and pitched, she just seemed to flow her body in some curious way, always upright. She was not the only one to notice, either. Many of the crew, no matter what the species, seemed to enjoy watching her, especially from behind.

But there was a look in her eye, a sort of darkness. It grew before a fight, then faded away, only to build anew over the course of days, sometimes during the course of a watch.

She wondered where the elven girl would sit today?

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V grinned at Blackfin. She liked that they both shared a bloolust. Him so more than her. She did not mind though. It was one of his most useful attritbutes. He always got the job done, no questions asked. Her only rule was that he did not hurt any of their crew. If anyone on this ship had a problem with another crew member the rule was clear: It had to be settled with a duel. Just between those two crew members, clean fighting and no weapons. If someone died, they would still be given an honorbale burial. The duels also livened things up with longs days upon the open sea. Sometimes it was even fun to bet on the stronger crew member, to see if you could predict who would come out of the skirmish alive.

V studied the map some more. "We would lose time, but in two hours time we could land at this port." She pointed at the map. It was the country of al-Andalus (modern day Spain). "I want to set up a small crew and bring them on land with us. This time I would like to take Lola with us. Please arragne for a few others to come with us. Until then let's ask the crew members what supplies they need whether it be personal or professional." V liked to try and keep moral up in anyways she could. Landing at this port would also allow the crew members who felt their journey with her was over. It would also grant the oppurtunity to recruit new members. "Thank you again for your input, Blackfin. We will go with the idea of giving the local people of the island a big show. If that doesn't work, well then we will cut through them until the treasure is ours." The greed shown in her eyes.

After their discussion Captain V went back out on deck. She saw Jimin was ignoring Dragon, and the red-child stood next to him looking disheartened. This made V very anrgy. It was a simple request, teach the girl how to steer the ship. Her blood boiled over in her veins until it erupted like a volacano. "WHAR"RE YOU DOING?!" Her voice rang out loud from atop the helm, some crew members on the deck below stopping to watch the show. Probably wondering what set the Captain off again this time.

"I clearly asked for you to teach Dragon how to steer the ship. I come out here and see ya igrnoing her? I was very clear in my orders." She had a cold tone to her voice and her eyes were blank, almost blinded by rage. Jimin, the poor human, was shaking in his boots. She quickly backhanded Jimin and the slap reverberated in the open air. "Now be gone with ya. You better listen to me next time or it'll be the plank!" Her breathing was heavy and as she pulled out her waterskin and took another swig of aclohol.That seemed to do the trick. It was back to normal. V turned to Dragon as if nothing had happened. "Dragon, come here if you'd still like to learn.", she gently motioned for the child to come over with her hand.

Jimin mumbled a quick apology and then scarmbled off. He was one of the newer recruits. He still had to learn that Capatin V's word was final, no matter how small the request. At this point Claudia had served the last scoop from the bottom of the pot. As Jimin tried to scurry past her she swaddled his bottom with the ladle. "Capn' might seem tough, but it is just that she cares. You better make sure this is a crew you want to be a part of. You disrespected that little girl and in doing so disrespected the Capn'." Jimin gave a small nod, contemplating his actions as he went to his cot below decks.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

"Aye Cap'm, thank ye Cap'm." He nodded as he took note of her commands. They would be at port in 2 hours' time. That gave him enough time to talk to the crew, round up a few people, and get some dried meats from belowdecks. He took one last glance at the map before heading out the door after his Captain. He walked out just in time to see her unload on Jimin, the newest. Tsk. Served him right for disobeyin' the Captain's orders.

After she cooled down, he walked around her and down to the main deck. The one time he hadn't given her some room after a yellin' session she had given him a whack on his nose (or rather, where one would be). After that, he always gave her a wide berth until she could gather her composure. His Captain was short-tempered, but a great Captain nonetheless. In fact, she had such an anger about her that he swore on his life that she had once dried a man's shirt just by yellin' at him. That man had promptly needed the same treatment on the front of his pants.

As he passed by the Captain, he brushed near Dragon, who watched him with those same yellow eyes she always did. He couldn't read any emotion in those eyes. He walked down the stairs and made a beeline for Lola. It was curious, how she managed to keep her elven grace with that metal foot. Of course, it was probably some elf magic that made the foot so unobtrusive. Even the fact that it was a foot was elven in nature. If Blackfin had lost a leg, he'd have just worn a peg leg, not some enchanted metal foot.

He waved to grab her attention.

"Lola!" he called to her. She was one of the quieter crewmates, never causing too much trouble. Blackfin couldn't think of a single time he had needed to talk to her on behalf of the Captain.

[Lu321]

As Lola moved forward in the line, she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her. Glancing around, she noticed Dragon's yellow gaze resting on her. She gave the child a smile before returing to waiting in line. She had always been curious about the girl, but never had a chance to talk with her. She had heard that the girl didn't really understand much, but she was a member of the crew like the rest of them.

She winced slightly as she heard the Captain start yelling at Jimin, one of the newer recruits. She felt sort of bad for him, but he had directly disobeied orders. That would never go down well in the Captains book. She was just glad that she wasn't in his shoes.

She had just sat down with her breakfast when she heard someone call her name. Looking toward the voice, she saw the first mate heading towards her. After a moment of panic, wondering what she had done, she managed to calm herself down. If she didn't remember doing anything wrong, there was no reason in acting like she had. Standing up with her bowl in hand, she smiled. "Yes, sir?" she asked, wondering what he wanted with her.

[Enigma]

Dragon turned when she heard the captain's voice yelling angrily at the man at the wheel, then saw her strike him. She then turned to her and spoke softly, beckoning to her. The captain wanted her.

Dragon hopped off the railing and walked over to the wheel, staring up at it.

"Box," she said, trying to keep her voice high so they couldn't hear the deeper tones. She pointed towards the binnacle that housed the compass. Standing on her toes, she still couldn't see the compass card inside.

Boggs appeared on the starboard ladder, holding a small tea chest.

"Capt'n," the graying bearded human said, tugging on his forelock. "She be needin' this ta see the compass."

"Box!" Dragon grinned, her voice more gravelly. She ran over to the human and took the tea chest from him, and brought it back to the wheel, then climbing up on top to grasp the handles on the wheel. "Points?"

"She knows her points, she does," Boggs grinned. "Iffen you tell her the course, she'll do it. Mind you, she's a bit fuzzy between points, you gotta point at the card where you want the needle ta be iffen it's between."

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V smiled as Dragon went up onto the tea box to be able to see the binnacle. She also turned to Boggs and smiled at him. "Thank you for that Boggs. You are always very helpful." He used to be hire up in the chain in his younger years. When Blackfin was placed as first mate, it moved Boggs down to third mate. He never seemed to be angry about that and V was thankful for that. Positions changed all the time. Heck one day she might not even be Captain. As a mermaid her lifespan was long and she was still in her prime, but you never know what could happen. Either way she was very happy for his loyal service. He was one of her favorites.

She had one more order for the third mate. "Boggs, would you mind setting up a table with parchment and ink for me? I will be taking requets from the crew before we head to port. I want to make sure everyone is supplied with what they need. I will take your request first."

After he was gone she put her full attention onto Dragon. "See this binnacle? This is where we refernece where we are and set the course to where we want to go." Nagivation took a certain skill, but she would start with the basics for Dragon. "The wind is strong today and blowing our sails, helping us pick up speed, so we need not worry about that today." She paused as she looked down at the compass. "So all we need to do it set course." She pointed her finger at the northwest marker for Dragon to set it at. They were currently going west and only needed to slightly alter the path to be able to reach the coastal port. Captain V waited patiently for Dragon to set the course and man the steering wheel. Their speed of 20 knots was fine for now, they would slow the closer they approached.

[Enigma]

The captain pointed at the compass card, one of the 32 points on it, so Dragon turned the wheel to ease the ship onto the new course. The sails luffed for a moment, then caught the wind.

Mr. Boggs appeared, holding several sheets of paper and a silver inkwell set.

"Beggin' yer pardon captain, but did you want the table on the main deck, or up here on the aftercastle?" he asked nodding his head respectfully.

Behind him, the heads of two deckhands can been seen, carrying a table between them.

"Iffen I be so bold as to put in a good word for Jimin," he added, after receiving the order, "Beggin' yer pardon, but when Jimin was on the night watch, I'd have him on with the girl, side by side as it were, so he could get a feel for the wheel. He was confused since she taught him, you see."

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

"Yes sir?" she called. For a moment, she looked confused, but she quickly replaced it with a smile.

"Lola, we'll be goin' to port soon, and the Captain wants you to come along. We'll be dockin' in two hours, so be ready by then. That's all." He waited for her reaction for a moment, then turned on his heels to find some of the other crew. He went between the decks, choosing people seemingly at random. Siobhan, a human woman, Gaelan, an elven man, Meriadoc, a halfling man, and Cutthroat, a half-orc woman.

He turned to gaze up at Dragon, who was steering the ship while barely peering over the top of the wheel. He gave a quick glance to the nearby ocean, just to see if there was anything that the ship could run aground on. Nothing. Above him, a seagull wheeled around the masts, probably looking for some scraps to steal.

[Lu321]

Hearing the Captain wanted her to come along, she nodded. "Yes sir. I'll be ready." She waited for him to walk off before sitting down and quickly eating her stew. She thought it was odd that the captain had wanted her to go. She had never really gone to port before, and she didn't remember saying anything to anyone on the ship about her past. "My lucky day, I guess..." she muttered to herself, getting up to wash and put her bowl away.

Once she had returned to the deck, she noticed that Dragon was now steering the ship. It was a surprise to her, but she knew the captain knew what she was doing. Getting back to work, she climbed up to a few knots and retied them, knowing that the wind was working them loose. It was a little odd, climbing with her metal food, but after she had learned to walk, she had spent the next year learning how to navigate on a ship again with her metal appendage. By now, it felt like second nature, and if she had put boots on both of her feet, people probably would have forgotten all together about her prosthetic.

She continued to work, waiting until the captian gave the order to go to port.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V listened to Boggs words carefully. "If Jimin was confused he should have never taken the chance to steer the ship on his own in the first place. Boy needs to speak up and let me know what his incompetencies are. Going forward I will train him myself, just like I am Dragon here." V smiled seeing the small child take her insturctions well and set the new course for The Siren's Song. It was also comical to see her small stature just barely over the wheel, but easily steering the ship. V took another swig of her waterskin, fixing the ache for alcohol from her body. "Thank you for the input. I will take the table here up on the aftercastle."

Once the table was set up V sat herself down and insturcted the crew to form lines of 10 to swap out for requests. The ship still had to be maintaned and duties to be fulfilled. Everyone would get their turn in time. V lazily wrote down the crew member and their request for materials. She also collected their coin to cover the expense. Change would be given if needed. V started to think about what she wanted. Probably get some poultry, some more spices, and herbs for her bath. Even though she loved the salt water, there was nothing like a fresh water bath to scrub away the grime from the rough life of a pirate. V would also keep a look out for a brothel at port. V did not have much luck in the way of compansionship romantically or physically. Most found her too intimidating to approach in that manner. Also, she was sure it would not be wise to partake in carnal or emotional pleasure with a crew member. She would just have to take the oppurtuniry when it presetned itself. Not that she was actively looking, her love life was the open sea and The Siren's Song. However, the toughest of the pirates still suffered from loneliness.

Captain V snatched herself back from her wandering mind and paid attention to the last remaining requests from the crew. Blackfin should be returning shortly with a crew as requested. They were probably an hour out from port. Soon The Siren's Song would need to reduce speed and be deftly manuevered by her hands to land at port safely.

[Enigma]

"Incompetencies?" Boggs repeated, astonished, then his eyes grew large and he ducked his head. "Er, forgive me captain, no disrespect, just wasn't familiar with the word as much. Don't remember seein' that in no bible before." Looking behind him, hands full, he glared down at the deckhands holding the table and yelled, "What the devil are you two waitin' on! The captain wants that table up here smartish!"

He tried, but the captain was damn well determined ta train someone, Jimin would have ta do. He'll have a word in his ear, explain that the captain had much more experience that a young man such as himself possessed and should be pleased she'd be willin' ta teach him herself. And try ta convince him that having trained under a dragon, a captain wasn't so bad. Should get him through the first night, and if he survived that, all the better.

And best not to complain about it ta the First Mate. Blackfin had been known ta bite a man's head off what had complaints about the captain, and the blood went everywhere - the overhead, the deck, the bulkheads, even stained the hammocks.

The table though, most of the hands would understand that right enough. Captain was going ashore with a few less-reprehensible crewmen so they could bring back the supplies ta the ship, and not have ta hunt them down or free them from any jail or the hangman's noose. There may be action that night, the pirate kind, and she wanted a crew to be ready for it.

As he laid out the paper and the ink well set, he figured he better pass the word there were ta be no griping, less a few hands find themself put off or worse.

"Well, captain," he said as she readied the lists, putting down some silver, "I'd be most welcome ta a couple jugs of rum to help me comfort me bones, a new shaving soap for my mug, and some boiled sweets for the Dragon, ta pleasin' her mood while she's stuck aboard and don't go arovin', curious beastie she is."

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

After wrangling a crew, Blackfin returned to his Captain's side. He opened his mouth to address her before a thought struck his mind. He briefly considered it and decided in favor of it. He watched Dragon steer the ship for a moment, then finally spoke.

"Captain, I've assembled a crew to go to port. Siobhan, Gaelan, Meriadoc, and Cutthroat will be accompanying us. And if she'd like as much, I was thinking Dragon might as well. If you're in the business of teachin' her, there's more to the sea than, well, the sea."

He flashed a quick smile, before continuing.

"If you'd rather her stay on board the ship, I'll gladly get one more for our landing party. I'll stand by any decision you make Cap'm." he looked at Boggs briefly out of the corner of his eye, considering him for the landing party if Dragon wasn't the last.

[Lu321]

Lola had just finished retying most of the knots, done by someone missing an eye for detail, when she saw Blackfin had returned to the captain. The line for the supplies list was getting short, so she figured that she should climb down and wait for the take off order. The only reason she wasn't in the line herself is because she didn't need anything this trip.

As she climbed down onto the deck, she glanced around the ship. They were nearing the port, the sun shining brightly against the sea and making the city seem to glow with it. This would be her first time going to port. She wondered what it would be like, but she didn't have much time to daydream. She pulled her gaze away from the city, forcing herself to do something useful while she was waiting for the order.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V reviewed her list as the last of the sailors made their requests. She wanted to make sure everyone was on there. At the top of the list was Boggs' request for items: rum, shaving soap, and boiled sweets. She nodded to herself and was happy with her work. V stood and stretched out her legs. She would never fully get use to her human form. Most of her youth was shaped by the depths of the sea. She preferred the power of her mermaid's tail propelling her through the water. Now the deep ocean was a place to explore. She wished she could bring her crew down there with her. Problem was they would all drown, except for Blackfin since he was a sharkfolk. She might have to bring him to the sunken treasures of ruined ships one day. That would definitely be a delight for a pirate.

Captain V walked over to the crew members Blackfin had assembled: Lola, Siobhan, Gaelan. Meriadoc, and Cuthroat. She walked slowly by them and closely evaluated them with her stormy-eyes. Many were intimidated by her and could not make eye-contact. A couple where even shivering in their boots. V kept a straight face, but inside it made her happy that she could still scare the crew. It helped to keep people in their place. She was the Alpha and they better not forget it. The only one who could meet her eyes was Cuthroat. She gave a nod of approval to her. Cuthroat was loyal, but not eadily frightened. Good, that was what they would need this trip, some muscle in case the locals took unkindly to pirates in the neighborhood.

"Good selection as usual Blackfin. All right here is what we are gonna do. I am going to be taking Cuthroat and Lola. with me to obtain the items on the list for the crew. Blackfin will be tasked with getting what is needed to fix up the ship and strengthen her defenses. He will be taking Gaelan, Meriadoc, and Siobhan." Captain V paused at Blackfin's suggestion to take Dragon along. "Yes she can come, but you will be responsible for her. I will be busy with other matters."

That was the cue that V needed to gently tap Dragon on the shoulder. "Dragon, I am going to be taking over for now. Thank you for helping." She gave her a genuine smile. V took another swig from her waterskin to get that liquid corage she would need to socialze with civilians. Her voice bellowed out to the maind deck. "Drop the sails! Port is in sight!" The crew took her orders well and easily prepared the ship for docking. The Siren's Song used the push of the water to propel her to the docks. She slowed enough for Captain V to easily bring her safely into port. "Anchor and set her to the pier! And prepare the bridge!" The crew members anchored the Siren's Song to her position at port and the piece of wood was lowered to connect the Siren's Song to the dock for her and her crew to come and go. A few members stepped off and began tying rope to the dock to keep the ship in place.

Captain V was satisifed with her sailing skills again. Now that they were safely at port, Captain V turned and gave sacks to her crew that were coming with her for the items they would be collecting. She also addressed the rest of the crew. "No one else is to leave this ship besides myself, Blackfin, Dragon and our chosen crew. Anyone else that steps foot on land will be left behind and will no longer be a part of my crew." She looked over the lot one by one to let them know she was serious.

Once that was out of the way Captain V led her First Mate and their small crew from the ship onto the pier. The first few steps on land were strange. V was use to having to compensate for the waves and sway of the ship.
"OK everyone meet back here once the sun sets. That gives us about 5 hours."

Captain V then turned on her heel, expecting Lola and Cuthroat to follow after. This port city clearly survived on fishing boating, and trading. The smell of fish and saltwater filled the air. by the docks. Fisherman were unloading catches from the days and other ships were unloading cargo to be sold at market. As V left the port and moved toward the inner city toward the market, many people bustled about their day. In the market there were numerous stalls of people yelling the worth of their wares and the prices. The atmosphere was welcoming with the aroma of spices and cooked meats. The hutsle and bustle showed this was a large city with wealth. This place was used to many people coming and going and this meant not many were staring at them. Not all places they stopped at were nice to non humans. V was happy that was not something she would have to deal with here.

As they strolled through the market, V pulled out her lists and gave some to Lola and Cuthroat. "Please get these supplies. Take a sack and fill it. Here is some gold to cover the expenses." V kept close to her two crew members. The market was big, but easy to navigate and it seemed all of the supplies would be obtained. About an hour in the city, V was done with most of her list. She enjoyed haggling with the locals.

Captain V appraoched Lola in the market to see how she was doing." So Lola tell me... do you enjoy being a part of the crew?"

[Enigma]

Boggs goggled a bit when he heard Blackfin wanted to take Dragon ashore, but kept his mouth shut, lest Blackfin decide to shut his mouth on Bogg's head. Still, captain wanted Dragon with the first mate, and he didn't see any complaints standing up to him. Lest, not for long.

"Aye, captain," Boggs replied when the captain had said her piece. "We'll be ready ta sail when you return."

Plan for disaster, Boggs did. if they left and the village here was still standing and friendly, he'd be a mite surprised.

The village burning in an hour's time? He'd be giving orders to get the ship underway and to deeper water to keep her from burnin' or bein' overrun. By the time they'd reached it, the captain and Blackfin wouild be catching up and Dragon would already be at her perch on the yard.

The rest would have to make their own escape.

"Lookouts ta yer posts, I want no surprises! There a hint of red coats, pirates, or insurrection, you best be reportin' it! And get one of the powder boys on the signal gun, just in case we need to make a warnin' should the Royals come a'callin'."

[Lu321]

As the Captain looked over each of her men that she had chosen, Lola found that she could not meet her eyes. It wasn't so much out of fear as it was for respect. She knew that a few people were afraid of the captain, but she was not in that group. She would do what she was told, no questions asked. Lots of people would have told her she might as well be a slave, but the ability to be expected to listen was one she took comfort in.

Once the captain had given the responsibilities of each member, she went back to helping the crew prepare for the docking. Not wanting to climb up to prepare the sails, she waited for the order to lower the bridge. Putting the plank of wood down with the help of Jothan, a fellow crew member, she grabbed one of the ropes and tossed it to him so he could tie the boat to the port. She got back just in time to receive her sack and to her the departing speech from the Captain.

Following the Captain as she made her way to land, Lola had a rare moment of clumsiness as she stepped onto the land. Being on land was foreign to her, having grown up on boats. It was weird not to have to correct her stature at every moment. She followed Cuthroat and the Captain into the market.

Receiving her orders, she took her list and the gold that was given to her then almost immediately started looking around for the items. After an hour, her list was finished, and she had even managed to save some gold by bartering the prices down. She was just looking around when she heard a voice beside her. Jumping, she turned to find Captain V beside her. "I enjoy it very much, Captain. Will you permit me to ask why you are inquiring?" She replied.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Blackfin nodded. As the ship pulled into port, he waved his group over.

"We've got three stops to make. The woodworkers', the blacksmith, and the black powder shop. We're not stopping anywhere else, so if you want something, steal it quietly. We're not sticking up some jeweler's, because we're not getting our ship banned from this port. That is all." He turned back towards port followed the Captain off the ship.

As they walked through the town, he kept a close eye on Dragon. He wanted to make sure the little red girl wouldn't wander off.

[Moonlit_Fae]

V started looking at the stand that they were in front of, it was selling fruit. V took a plump pear and then threw a silver coin to the seller. The seller bit down on the coin inbetween his teeth to make sure it was real. The seller nodded to V and then handed her three more pears for her coin. V smiled and pear, then bit into the ripe pear, enjoying the satisfying crunch.

Captain V addressed her crew member, the graceful elf, inbetween bites. "I like to get to know my crew members. You are newer and I have not yet spoked to you. Tell me, how do you think I am doing as captain?" V was looking for honest feedback. Constructive criticism was good to hear, as long as her temper allowed it. But at this moment, V felt pretty good being on land and eating something other than fish at the moment.

[Enigma]

Dragon followed Blackfin, but taking full opportunity to look around. Typically, she only went ashore after nightfall, so as not to scare people.

They went to some sort of carpentry shop, much larger than the cabin the carpenter had. He had been fun to watch until the cannon ball. She wondered if they were going to take another carpenter from this shop?

This shop had a large treadle wheel with people walking inside, while chains on the axle led up to a pole in the overhead and made all the other tools work. One machine was like the carpenter's brace, going around in a circle and making these long curls of wood....

[Lu321]

"You are doing very well. Second best captain I ever had, but its really unfair to say since my father's the first best." Lola smiled before continuing. "You run a tight ship, the crew respects you and your first mate, and you never try to cheat us out of our plunder. I've known plenty of captains who would, even though you could easily do it with your song."

She simply glanced at the items from all of the booths, not having brung any money for herself. She usually only bought what she needed, and her needs were few. She thought she could see Blackfin and Dragon in the crowd, but they had disappeared into a shop before she could double check to make sure her eyes hadn't deceived her. Glancing at the captain again, she wondered if there was any more to be said.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V smiled at Lola as she said that. It reminded her of her own father. He was the best pirate captain she had ever known and had learned from. Her father was taken from her at a young age, but that vengance had also sent V into the pirate life. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thanks, Lola. You can be on your way now. I have some other business to attend to." V then disappeared into the crowd. She made her way to the unspoken part of town. Where shady deals and the uncivilized and roughest of soicety slept. There was an area like this in every town. It was always easy to find especially if you were cut from the same cloth.

A scantily clad woman waved V over. She had on a corset, spilling her bossom over the top like an overfilled glass of water. "'Ello love, lookin' for some companionship?" V nodded and the woman led her into the small business. There were few candles lit to set a certain atmosphere. Red seemed to be the main color of decoration. Women and men lay about all over furniture, barely dressed. "I'll take one man and one woman." She handed four gold to the woman, way more to pay than needed. But this would also buy silence. "Also, I was never here if authorities come looking." The woman nodded in understanding. "Yeah they don't tend to take kindly to pirates around here." The brothel woman then waved over a man and a woman. The man was a graceful and handsome elfe with green eyes and dark hair. The woman was a blonde haired and blue eyed dwarf. "This is perfect. Thank you." V then went into a hidden room in the back with the two.

An hour later V was back on the streets like nothing had happened. Her crew at this point should be finishing up their appointed tasks. The sooner they get on the ship the closer they will be to that hidden treasure on the island. They will be getting to the island at night now, but a sneak attack might do them some good. V's blood pulsed for some adventure though. Something exciting better happen soon. V took a few more swigs from her waterskin.

As if the universe heard her plea, V heard some yelling. A few local gyards were surrounding Cuthroat, circling her. She could just hear the end of the yelling match.
"She stole my jewelry, a silver broche! Check her pockets!"
The half-orc woman just smiled, towering over everyone else. "Lady if I wanted yer broche I would have just killed you and been done with it."
The guards looked shock and the fancy noble woman pretended to faint.
The three guards looked Cuthroat up and down, not wanting to start anything, but they had to defend the lady's honor.
"Ma'am, just let us search you and then you can be on your way. We need to prove your innocence."
As the guards approached Cuthroat took an offensive stance. As one of the guards came toward her to grab her, she knocked his hand easily away like one would an annoying fly. This caused all the guards to draw their swords.
"You should not have done that.", the lead guard said.

At this point Captain V made her presence known. She came up from behind, with her short sword drawn. She was not planning on cutting anyone down, but she wanted to give Cuthroat a fair fight. A diversion might be what the woman needed. V easily hit one of the guards in the shoulder from behind, making him drop his sword from the surprise.
"Hey!" The guard cried out, which turned their attention onto her.

The lead guard recognized V for what she was. "Pirates! I knew it. You will regret landing at this port today." With that the lead guard pounced toward V in a defensive stance. He drew his blade on her hoping to catch her off guard. V was ready as she swung back to counter his blow. The sound of metal against metal blades scraping carried through the air. She hoped the rest of her crew made it back to the ship safe.

At this point Cuthroat was fistfighting the unarmed guard so he could not get back to his weapon. The halforc woman was holding her own easily enough. The second gaurd with his sword decided to come to the aide of the leader who was already entangled in a sword fight with V. He drew his sword upon her and the two had her on each end. V had stamina and did her best to block each blow of their swords as the fight continued on.....

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Blackfin was nearly finished haggling with the black powder merchant when he heard the familiar sounds of a fight. A slight grin tugged at his lips as he tossed a few coins onto the counter and swiped a bit more than he paid for. He pushed out of the shop, nearly knocking the door off the hinges as he surveyed the scene. The guards had started a scrap with Cutthroat and the Captain, the poor fools. He rolled his shoulders as he readied himself to join, before a thought tugged at his brain.

He turned around and addressed his landing party.
"Gaelan, if this goes sour, take anyone who can stumble back to the ship and leave. Me an' the Captain can take care of ourselves, and I'll answer to her if you leave us."
He flashed a toothy grin.
"But for now, awaken your irons and fight not for coin or glory, but for your ship!" With that cry, he leapt into battle, his crew with him.

He rushed forward, ready to draw his blades, when a guard had the mistake of grabbing his shoulder to stop him. He wrenched the guard's hand from his shoulder and yanked him forward. He turned his head sideways, opened his jaws, and sank his teeth into the guard's forearm. He twisted his head, and with a sickening crunch, he was left with the guard's arm in his teeth. The guard screamed, clutching his bleeding stump. He spat the arm out and turned to face his aggressor, drawing his swords.

He swung his blades into the guard's shoulder, splitting his arm from the rest of his body. Blackfin's vision was rapidly turning red. As he dispatched the guard, the crowd screamed. They began to rush away like frightened animals, not caring who they trampled underfoot. He rushed towards another guard, knocking aside the guard's attempts to slash at him with his own blades, and shoved his swords through the guard's torso. A gurgling shriek issued out of the guard's mouth as Blackfin lifted him off the ground with his swords, then slammed him into the ground, slicing through ribs and organs as he wrenched his swords sideways out of the guard's body.

The scent of blood filled the air as it seeped through the streets. Blackfin laughed as he locked eyes with another guard and began advancing on the armored sap. Behind him, Gaelan was firing crossbow bolts into the fray, Meriadoc was holding his own with his chain-whip, and Dragon had disappeared from Blackfin's view.

"Not how this trip was supposed to go, eh Cap'm?" He called over the screams of the crowd and the squeals of swords clashing. He laughed.

[Lu321]

After the Captain had dismissed her, Lola continued to look around the stalls, admiring the beautifully crafted objects and delicious looking food. She hadn't been in a port for a long time. This was the perfect getaway from the ship. She had considered using some of the money she had saved to buy a fancy compass, but decided against it. After all, she wouldn't allow herself to steal from her own crewmates.

Everything had seemed perfectly normal until an hour later, when screaming and running could be heard throughout the streets. Lola sighed. Looks like one of us got caught... so much for a break she thought to herself as she made her way through the crowd, darting between bodies. Finally making it to the action, she stopped. The guards had evidentally figured out about them, leading to at least one dead guard and more to come.

Lola thought about jumping in to fight a guard making his way towards Meriadoc, but she knew better than to get in the way of the chain-whip. Deciding that holding off any reinforcements would be the best move for now, she dodged a crossbow bolt as she drew her rapier. She made it down the street without much opposition before facing a guard eager to break up the scuffle. Swinging at the man, she clipped his arm with the blade, drawing blood but leaving him very much alive. The guard drew his sword on her, starting to attack her with skill. Not enough skill, however, because in a matter of moments the tip of her sword connected with his side, leaving a fatal wound. She stepped back as the man crumpled to the ground, looking around for any more guards. Satisfied that none were coming this way, she ran back to where she had seen her crewmates last.

[Enigma]

"Sir! I can..." a crewman came running up to Boggs, but he held his hand up, shaking his head. "I can hear it too. Well then, lads! We're gettin' underway! Musketmen to da rail, in case they try ta rush us."

"Shame, that were a nice port, too," Boggs muttered to himself as the ship exploded into sudden activity.


Dragon crouched on a roof, watching as the captain and Blackfin fought the guards. Violence always confused her, she wasn't sure why people fought. They weren't hungry, and they'd been peacefully enjoying the territory for a while.

From the direction of the ship, she could hear the bellows of the crew as they made ready to head out again. Curious, if they were going to fight, why were they getting ready to run?


Maybe they needed a distraction?

Dragon leapt into the air and transformed, taking on her natural form. While she was larger than a wagon, she was still small for a dragon. Not that anyone below would know the difference. She bellowed and flapped her wings, watching to see what the humans would do.

[AngelDellaNotte]

Walking down the street Baez could smell everything that was cooking in the vendor stalls. It all smelled so wonderful. She stopped and pulled her money pouch off her belt looking inside it to only find four copper coins, barely enough to get a meal. She had been stuck in this port for six weeks now and was quickly running out of money. Prior to this she had been on a privateer ship. A mistake she wouldn't make again. While privateers weren't as strict as a military ship there were still many rules. She had only been on it for a couple months before she had been caught with the Captain's gold pocket watch. When she took it she knew it was a bad idea but couldn't help it. They had been cruising up the coastline when the first mate caught her admiring the watch. She had tried to play it off that she found it on the deck but he hadn't bought her story. Before he had a chance to arrest her Baez luckily had been able to jump into the air and fly to shore. From there it was a two day trip to the nearest village which happened to be this port. Baez checked the harbor every day looking for a ship to join but all that seemed to dock here were fishing trawlers and that wouldn't get her anywhere as they went out caught their haul and came back. Her hope was that she would eventually find a merchant ship but had no luck so far.

Four copper coins was all that was left, she had even sold everything of worth in her collection. Too bad the first mate had snatched the watch back she would have plenty of money if she had sold. Now all that was left in her pouch of treasures was stuff that was worthless to anyone but her. An abalone shell, six brass buttons and small mirror. She paused to hear her stomach growl and was nearly knocked over by a half-orc woman. “Duguruk!” She muttered under her breath realizing she said it aloud. She paused hoping the woman didn't hear her. The fact she kept walking meant she didn't or she chose to ignore it. Baez turned and started walking the other way stopping to look at the vendors realizing her four copper weren't enough for anything.

Baez dropped down on a crate trying to figure out what to do. Watching the crowd she noticed there were a lot of unusual people in town. “A ship!” She said, thinking there finally was something other than fishers in port. She spotted a elf woman and a shark man. Between the orc woman and the shark man they looked pretty rough. It made her think pirates. A frown crossed her face. Baez didn't have a problem sailing with pirates but she usually liked to watch them a while and find out what they were like. Mostly the captain you could tell a lot about pirates by their captain. Was he a man that ran his ship through fear or did his crew respect him? The best pirate captains used a little of both. At this point Baez wasn't going to be picky. If all else failed she could hide out on the ship until they made port again.

She jumped to her feet and started heading toward the docks, on the way though she noticed the mayor's wife out for a stroll. For weeks Baez had been focused on a brooch the woman wore. Her better sense told her to leave it alone but today sense didn't win out. The closer she got to the mayor's wife she also saw the orc woman who had almost knocked her over. A wicked smile came to her face the two were walking toward each other. Baez got up behind the orc woman and right as she passed the mayor's wife Baez bumped into the orc pushing her into the mayor's wife. While all this happened she zipped past them both grabbing the brooch on the way. She was halfway down the block with the mayor's wife shouted and the guards confronted the orc.

In the commotion Baez grabbed a couple crab cakes from a distracted vendor then flew up to the roof of a nearby building. She sat eating her cakes watching as more pirates filled into the street and a full out brawl began. She had to admit they were good. Baez wanted to watch and see how it ended but once she finished her cakes she started flying to the docks. This brawl could end two ways, the pirates would be arrested and most likely the ship would leave without them or they would win and rush back to the ship to get out of port before more guards showed up.

Not having to wind through the streets Baez made it quickly to the docks and spotted the pirate ship right away. It kinda stood out among the fishing boats. The crew must have heard the brawl and were preparing the ship to leave. Baez would have to get aboard quick. She flew wide around the docks so she could come at the ship from the sea where she would be less noticeable as those crew members not completely focused on their tasks were looking to the land for the rest of the crew. She saw the ship had two crow's nests but one of them looked damaged from a fight. That is where she aimed for and by the grace of the gods she was able to land inside it without being seen. From here she would be able to watch the crew without being seen and find out what kind of pirates they were. She sat down on the floor of the crow's nest looking at the brooch a wide smile on her face. Today was a good day she was getting away from this port and got a new shinny.

Orcish translation - Duguruk! - Orc filth!

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V held off the two guards easily. It wasn't until she was backed into a wall that one sword hit her side. Blood spilled and stained her shirt, but it was not a fatal cut. She tsked at the two guards. "Really, two men ganging up on an innocent woman?" One of the guards scoffed. But engaging them in dialogue left them pause to address her, which was the opening she was waiting for. V ducked quickly and came up between the two, using her cutlass to swing hard in one swiping motion. The blade cut deep enough into one guard, disembowling him as he fell to the floor. The other blade just barely cut into the other guard's stomach. V easily stood up and turned just in time to have her cutlass blade meet with the remaining guard's sword. They were in a parry, easily blocking eachother swings.

"Give up now, wench! Even if you cut me down, you cannot take on the whole city!"
"Wanna bet?" V said with a smirk. At this point she heard cries and saw out of the perohperal Black fin and the group he had with them engaging in battle. She was very proud. "You don't know my crew. We will fight till our last breath. Can you say the same for your guards?" Some of the guards were advancing to the scuffle of pirates in the market, others went pale in the face at the savagery and ran with their tails between their legs.

V just laughed as she fake coming at the guard from the left with her blade. He took the bait, at the last minute she changed the blade's driection, and charged from the left, cutting his throat. He gurgled blood as the life ebbed from his eyes and he fell next to his dead comrade upon the ground.

"Yes Blackfin, this is not the way I expected the day to go. But it sure is more exciting." She shot him a toothy grin as she joined him in more guards that were advancing them. She used her cutlass as if it were an extension of herself, cutting down guard after guard. Blood splattering upon her making her look like a mad woman. She was reveling in the violence though, this is what a pirate captain lived for after all. "We should probably start making an exit though. Boggs will know to leave the port, we can easily escape." V took out her hand aze with her free hand and with dead accuracy chucked it toward a guard that was trying to take on Cuthroat from behind. The axe hit him in the back of his head, splitting his skull and he fell. Cuthroat nodded to Captain V for appreciation. Cuthroat then continued her assualt upon the guards that dare try to take her down. She was holding her own with just the brute force of her fists, easily crushing skulls against stone walls, or round house kicking guards so fast their necks spun and snapped like twigs.

Captain V also noticed Lola holding her own. She gave her a nod of approval. V made the right choice in letting the graceful elf join. She might look dainty, but she was just as much of a killer as the rest of them. At this point V was back to back with Blackfin, helping him to hold off guards. She smiled, reminiscing of their old days killing for fun and riches.

People started to scream and look up, pointing at the figure of a something upon a roof that struck fear into them. V looked up and recognized Dragon instantly. She shouted to her, hoping her voice carried over the other screams. "Unleash your fire!" More guards were making their way down alleyways coming for the commotion at the market. V and her crew could only hold them off for so long. Dragon was her trump card, hopefully making a crisp of some of the guards gave them a better fighting chance.

Some guards were also making their way toward the dock and the pirate ship. They were upon the pier, about 10 of them trying to make their way onto the ship from the bridge that connected the two. Their swords drawn at the ready...

Jimin was upon the ship's deck, mopping it up again to try and finish his chores. He wanted to please Captain V given his mistake this morning. He had a colored bruise upon his cheeck from where she had slapped him earlier. He had thought long and hard and realzied he wanted to remain with this crew. Even though Captain V was tough, she was fair. He had nowhere else to go anyway. Jimin was running these thoughts through his head when he noticed something fly up quickly and land on the crow's nest. He raised his hands to cover his eyes from the sun. Looking at the damaged crow's nest he did not see anyting out of the ordinary. He had flawed human eyes after all and just shrugged, assuming heat exhaustion was plaging tricks on him.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Blackfin laughed. It certainly was more exciting. He cut through guards like they were made of paper. They screamed as they went down, their eyes wide in fear as Blackin's toothy smile etched itself into their brain as the last thing they'd ever see. He and his Captain were back to back, spinning in place. They were a whirlwind of blades, slicing anyone who came near into ribbons. As his Captain gave the order to make their way to the ship, he nodded.

"Siobhan!" The burly redhead was cleaving muscle and bone alike with her massive longsword. She looked up at Blackfin and the Captain, her broad shoulders heaving with every breath. "Cut us a path back to the ship!" he called, and pointed with his sword to the dock, where ten guards advanced upon the ship, blades drawn. Jimin was standing obliviously on the deck, looking up at the damaged crow's nest. Siobhan gave a curt nod, and charged towards the ship.

Blackfin smiled and returned to the fray. He had his Captain's back, and she had his. It reminded him of adventures past, when they'd challenge anything that dared be in sight of the ship. On those adventures, he had proven himself, both to Captain and crew. It had been their very first run in with the ship that would go on to become their rival: The Mary-Anne. After a fierce gunfight that ended with both ships smoking, filled with cannonshots, and scurrying away, each staring at the other, he had been made First Mate for his prowess and wisdom in battle. It had been the most climactic day in his life.

As he and the Captain, spun, they moved towards the docks. The rest of the crew followed. Gaelan fired bolt after bolt into the unarmored spots on the guards' bodies, Cutthroat shoved, punched, and kicked her way through the crowd, and Meriadoc brought up the rear with his chain-whip. It wasn't a pretty sight to see the aftermath of the chain-whip, even for Blackfin. Dragon soared overhead, as her name suggested. Lola made mincemeat of any who came near with her rapier.

[Lu321]

Lola continued to cut through every guard who crossed her path. Looking around, she was glad to see Blackfin and Captain V fighting back to back, and the other members of the crew holding their own very well. She saw how Siobhan rushed back to the ship, starting to attack the guards trying to take the ship.

Running ahead of the group, she started to thin out the guards closer to the ship. Swinging her rapier, the blade collided with bodies and blades alike. A guard swung at her, the blade knicking her leg before her rapier plunged into the guards stomach. She cursed, looking down at the blood before continuing to strike the guards.

[Enigma]

"First cannon," Boggs ordered. "Fire!"

The portside cannon near the foc'sle fired, the grapeshot exploding from the muzzle in a cone of thumb-sized pellets, each buzzing through the air like giant angry hornets. Some fisherman's skiff, tied up in its path, shuttered as its mast exploded into splinters.

"Back it up, me buckos!" Boggs yelled in the sudden silence on the dock. "Next man I see take a step close, his mates will see what happens close up!"


"...Fire!" the captain was yelling. Mr. Boggs told her no fire, not aboard ship...! But this wasn't the ship.

Dragon inhaled deeply, feeling the whizzing in her stomachs, and belched a fireball the size of a man's head, shooting over the heads of the people in the streets, the heat prickling skin and scorching hair.

[Moonlit_Fae]

The people in the market began to scream as the warmth of the flames melted their skins. Those that were further away from the fire breath felt the heat upon their skin and their hair was singed by the remainded of the flames that billowed out. Many of the townspeople's lungs began to fill with smoke. They all coughed as they ran about, their market day ruined. Chaos and destruction had come to this port city. It was not what Captain V wanted, but when they provoke her crew, they recieve unforgivable wraith.

Captain V and Blackfin, along with their small crew, were now huddled together cutting through the guards. V's open wound on her side was beginning to bleed more, seeping further into her clothes. She cursed to herself as she felt slightly dizzy, but she would not stop. At least not until her crew were safe on that ship. As they approached the docks they appeared just in time to see Boggs firing upon the squad of guards that were trying to overtake the Siren's Song. Of course they were not a threat as the Siren's Song was well defended and Boggs was the next best defense they had with his battle tactics. Some of the guards fell, eyes lifeless, falling over the dock into the water below.

The remainder of the guards were now sandwiched between Captain V's small crew and the ship that would probably take out the rest with another round of firing. There were about 15 guardsmen left.
"Let us pass and get upon our ship and we will not bother you anymore! You have already seen our strength. I doubt you can lose any more of your fighters."

Some of the remaining guards looked at each other confused, wondering if they should give up their defensive position and just walk away. That was until one brave guard screamed and charged toward V. This seemed to rally the rest of the men and some headed toward V and her group, the rest toward the ship.

V sighed as her blade cut against the metal of the guard's blade who charged her. They were easily dancing around eachother's blades. "Any of you who can ge to the ship, do it! Blackfin, Dragon, and I can take out the rest of these scoundrels and find our own way back to the ship!" It did pay to be able to transform into a mermaid and be able to breathe underwater, made for an easy get away. But with her bleeding wound, she was sure some predator of the sea would come after her. That would be a problem for after though. She was very swift in the water though. She would be able to outswim an aquatic enemy, hopefully.

Captain V's used her blade to disarm the guard, deftly maneuving his blade against oppositeo of his holding power. The blade swung from his hands and fell to the ground. V then took her cutlass and brought her blade down into his skull. There was a harsh cracking sound as bone crushed beneath her blade. Blood from the cut sprayed her across her face, a smile upon her face the whole time. The fight continued on....

Meanwhile on the ship Jimin found Boggs. He tugged on his arm gently. "Uh Sir....." He did not make eye contact, he was still scared of most of the crew after his embarassing run in with the captain this morning. "I think I saw something fly above us into the crow's nest..." He wasn't so sure if it was the right time to bring this up with the fight going on and all..but who knew if the enemy's had a spy to infiltrate their ranks...

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

The crew nodded as they made their way to the ship. Siobhan shoved a man off the dock as she rushed forward and onto the the deck. Cutthroat followed suit, then Gaelan and Meriadoc. Gaelan was bleeding heavily from a gash on his shoulder, and Meriadoc had a crossbow bolt embedded in his ribs. Blackfin whirled around as they jumped to the ship, keeping any of the guards from following. The sun flashed on his blood-covered blades, which he swung with deadly accuracy.

Blackfin slashed his swords across the chest of one of the guards. He staggered for a moment before his innards became his outtards. Blackfin spun to the next, giving him a gash down his sword arm and kicking him squarely in the chest. With a burst of speed, he sliced the throat of the man. With one more push, the guard fell into the water. A sharp pain raced across his back. He spun to meet his aggressor, a light-haired elven man carrying a saber. He swung his sword towards the guard, who stepped to the side. The guard returned a blow, which Blackfin parried.

Blackfin made to disarm the guard, but he countered the move with a strike that sent Blackfin off-balance. Sensing a weakness, the guard sliced Blackfin across the chest. It wasn't deep, but it hurt. With a cry of rage, Blackfin began his relentless attacks. He hacked and slashed at the elven guard, who parried each blow. Even so, he was forced backwards and couldn't get a blow in. With a twist of his swords, Blackfin tossed the guard's saber into the water, now turning pink. A savage blow mangled the man's right hand. Another reduced his left arm to a stump. With a strike that seemed a blur, Blackfin buried his blades into the man's thighs. He fell like a sack of potatoes upon the deck, trying to crawl away with the remains of his hands.

Blackfin snarled and descended upon the man. He flipped the guard onto his back, whimpering with pain and fear. The last thing the man saw was Blackfin's eyes rolling back in their sockets as his jaw extended. Blackfin buried his jaws in the man's stomach, ripping it open with his teeth. He stopped feeding only momentarily, and only to breathe. After nearly a full minute of feeding, he stood. The entirety of his front was soaked in blood, and bits of flesh danged from his jaws. He tipped the half-eaten carcass into the sea with his foot and moved on to the next guard. His second moniker became apparent: "Galak-turai", Orcish for "Butcherer of men".

"Captain! We should make haste!" he called over the sounds of clanging swords and dying men. He kicked another man into the sea after slashing his throat. Sharks were beginning to appear in the water, drawn by the blood and sounds of struggle. He could deal with sharks, but not for long. And not if they formed into their feeding frenzy, which was becoming more and more likely with every passing moment.

[Lu321]

Hearing the order to return to ship, Lola wasted no time. This simple port stop had become a bloodbath. The water was tinged with red as the sharks came in. A shiver ran up her spine. This was going to get a lot worst before it got any better.

She ran towards the ship along with her crewmates. They certainly looked beat up, but the spirit was not anywhere near gone from their eyes. Tearing off a piece of cloth from her shirt, she bandaged her wound before getting to work, preparing the boat to set sail. She wasn't to worried about leaving the Captain and First Mate behind. They would find a way back, she was sure of it.

[Enigma]

Baez sat in the crow's nest waiting for the ship to push off. She figured it'd be any minute now as she could see crew members running back to the ship. Briefly she wondered how many had gotten off and how many would make it back. She noticed the shark man and the orc heading to the ship along with the elf. Behind them was a slew of guards running after them. Figuring they were about to push off she leaned against the wall and pulled out a wine skin full of rum meaning to take a swig from it. The skin had barely reached her mouth when the entire ship violently shook. "What the hell?" Baez asked aloud, she was high enough up and the battle below loud enough that nobody would hear her. Baez peaked through a crack in the crow's nest just in time to see a skiff docked next to the ship explode it's crew jumping into the water. "These guys are crazy. I like it." She continue to look out wondering what was going to happen next as she drunk her rum, wishing she had grabbed some candied corn from one of the vendors in the market.

Dragon whirled overhead the streets of screaming people, wondering if she should do more. The others acted so strangely, fighting when they had plenty to eat. What's more, they seemed to enjoy it!

Still watching the commotion below something in the distance caught Baez's eye. It was flying above the market. She couldn't fully make out what it was but it was too large to be a fairy or some other kind of winged humanoid. She squinted to try to see what it was but the sun made it hard to focus. What sort of defenses did the city have? She hadn't noticed anything like this before. Unless whatever it was belonged to the pirate ship.

The crew were heading towards the ship, shore leave was over, and not the happy drunken singing kind. Ahead, she could see a handful of soldiers, so she lobbed another fireball in their direction, above their heads to send them running.

She saw a burst of fire but still could not see what it was. Her attention was brought back to the ship as several cross bow bolts sunk into the wood of the crows nest causing Baez to realize she had stood up to watch the battle. The soldiers below must have seen her and thought she was a sniper. Baez quickly dropped to the floor not wanting to draw attention to herself be either the pirates or soldiers. Hopefully whoever shot at her would think they landed a hit and focus their attention elsewhere. Baez in the meantime would just have to sit on the floor and ride out the escape.

Some men below fired at the crow's nest. Now it made sense, these were hunters! With a quick tilt of her wings, she turned and fired another blast of fire at them, rather than over their heads before reeling away, back towards the ship. The screams didn't last long.

Slowing her approach, the small dragon hovered over the sterncastle, then transformed back into the white-haired red-skilled girl in mid-air, dropping lightly to the deck .

"I take it the captain and the rest of the shore party are right behind you?" Boggs demanded, turning towards her. "We need to be gettin' underway here and the tide's against us and there's not a breath of wind."
"Wind?" Dragon asked, tilting her head curiously at the third mate.
"Not just yet, but if you need ta warm up, do it quickly."

She sat there listing to the battle below wondering how long it was going last. Hopefully the rest of the crew would be back to the ship soon. Baez wanted to get the hell out of this port but she wanted to get out in one piece. She felt the crow's nest rock as another round of arrows hit it. "Really what the hell are you shooting at!" She growled, as another arrow burst throw the floor nicking her thigh. It cut her pants and made her bleed a bit. Not enough to be serious but it did smart. "Oh curse the gods." Baez muttered pressing her hand to the cut. She was frustrated to be in this situation dispute that she technically was the engineer of this battle. If she hadn't stolen the brooch and framed the orc. Baez didn't really want to focus on that.

"Axe the springer lines," Boggs yelled. "Gunners, be ready ta fire when our people are in the clear!"

The center cables to the pier were cut, the ends falling into the water, leaving only a single cable forward and aft holding the pirate ship to the pier.

"Muskets, cover our people as they reach the pier!"

[Moonlit_Fae]

At this point Captain V stopped and looked around. The soldiers were retreating and the remaining were falling thanks to Blackfin, Lola, and the rest of the crew they had brought with them. V could feel her heart swell with pride. She would die for any of her crew members. They had such spirit and loyalty. There were no other people she would want fighting beside her. She also noticed the ship was holding its own with Boggs yelling orders and using the cannons and archers to keep the soldiers from taking over.

At this point V noticed Lola lead the way for the others as they made their way to the ship. She heard Blackfin's warning as she looked into the water and noticed all of the sharks appearing. V was fast in the water, but not fast enough to escape frenzied sharks with the thirst for blood. Her hand clutched her side and as she pulled it away she saw the fresh blood upon her skin. She was starting to feel dizzy. "Aye! I hear ya! Blackfin, let's take the chance now! The soliders are retreating anyway!" V resheathed her cutlass and took the chance to use the rest of her energy to sprint for the ship. The plank from the ship to the pier was already taken in by her crew, but that did not stop V. She used all of her might and the strength of her muscles to push off from the pier and jump to the ship that was slowly pulling away from port. V just made it as she clutched onto the side and her crew mates pulled her over. V stood and easily gained her footing. "I need the doctor now! Have any of the crew that came with me seen to first for injuries. I will be up at the helm." V made her way up the stairs of the deck. She unscrewed her flask and downed the alcohol within to give her strength, She then poured some of the alcohol onto her wound. Her face winced slightly, but she mostly held her composure.

Now that V was stationed at the helm she noticed there was no wind. She sighed, they needed to leave port fast, that meant she would need to sing them out of port. "EVERYONE PLUG YOUR EARS WITH WHATEVER YOU CAN" V warned her crew. She did not want anyone to be underneath her siren's call, but she had to call forth the wind to save their asses. She opened her mouth and the sweetest of songs sprang from her lips, to anyone's ear it was the voice of the person closest to them calling them to listen to any of V's commands.

"Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my sails and lead my crew to safety! I command the winds for these short moments with the sound of song! Lead my beloved crew into the ocean blue!"

As she finished her song a rush of rabid winds came and pushed at the sails from behind, pushing the Siren's Song further from port in a fast pace. The waves helped with the rest, lapping at the ship and propelling her forward. This gave them enough time to escape port and to head back out to sea. V the whole time at the ship's wheel steering it right on course to the island of treasure they should be at by night's end. The sun was just setting upon the horizon.

When a few mintues had passed the called upon winds dissipated and the natural winds took over. V had stopped singing and raised her hand giving the trained signal for her crew to unclog their ears. At this point the ship's doctor would be tending to the crew's wounds. She could wait it out a little longer, as long as she had her alcohol. V took another swig. "Boggs, please help set up so we can hand out the supplies to the crew. The sooner we get this handled we can regroup and think about our attack upon the island for the treasure tonight."

That was just like V, keep the business going and not stop to let emotions catch up to her. There were more important things to focus on, like glory and treasure. "Blackfin," she winced as she called him over, the pain from the gash in her side finally catching up with her. "How did we fair in this fight? I know our original goal was to obtain more gun powder so we would be ready for battle in the open seas. Please make sure the Siren's Song is up to full fighting potential. This is just the start." She then placed her hand gently upon his shoulder. "Thanks again for having my back. It was great to fight with you and knowing I have your loyalty." She gave him a genuine smile, then she downed the rest of her flask of alcohol.

[AngelDellaNotte]

Sitting up in the basket of the crows nest Baez could feel the ship rock as it pushed off from the docks. They must finally be getting away. She looked through the broken boards seeing some of the people she had seen on the street. One she hadn't seen before was a woman that seemed to shimmer, Baez thought it must be some kind of trick of the light. The woman looked to be barking orders, Baez was too high up to really hear was she was saying. What's more is the crew seemed to have been listing to the woman. Could she be the captain? Interesting was all Baez could think. She had never sailed with a woman captain, in fact it was rare that she even seen women on the ships she had been on.

The captain started shouting something with quite a bit of urgency though she still couldn't hear what she was staying. Then Baez heard the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. It was loud and she was able to clearly hear her but she wasn't focusing on the words coming out more so just the melody and the beautiful sounds. She found herself staring at the woman through the cracks in the crows nest but it wasn't enough, Baez felt like she was being pulled toward the woman. She stood up to look over the edge of the basket just staring at the woman. At least until she felt a strain on her leg and sharp pain as well at something wet dripping gown her leg. The wound her leg must have been worse than she originally thought. That was all she needed to pulled her from whatever trance she was in. She looked away from the woman noticing that she was standing up where anyone looking up might be able to see her. Baez dropped back down to the floor of the basket hoping that the fact she was barely tall enough to see over the edge of the basket and the glare of the sun would hide her enough.

What the hell was it that the captain had done? The ship was rocking like there was a hard gust of wind but the wind had been mild that day. Baez was always aware of the wind using it to glide with her wings. She could travel much further with a good wind but the winds had been barely stirring at all. Flying over to the docks she had used only her own strength to get there. What the hell was this woman? Still afraid to look at the woman thinking she would be sucked back into a trance, Baez forced herself to look through the cracks in the basket at her. She wasn't human or any of the usual races, but just what she was Baez didn't know. She still felt the pull of the woman even through she wasn't singing anymore. The gust of wind seemed to mellow out to a normal wind. Not pulling her eyes from the woman Baez watched her wondering what she was. Could she be a siren? Baez had heard stories about sirens and the songs they would sing but she had never heard of a siren sailing on a ship. She just sat there staring at the woman thinking she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

[Lu321]

Hearing the captain's order, Lola quickly plugged her ears, humming lightly to block out any sound. She had only heard the Captain sing once, and that was an experience she didn't want to repeat. Thankfully, no one knew that she had, otherwise she would probably be bombarded by curious crew mates wondering what it sounded like. Yes, the Captain's voice was beautiful, but it was beautiful like a deadly serpent waiting to strike.

Her thoughts were interupted by a strange sight. For a fraction of a second, she had thought she saw something up in the crows nest. Her eyebrows furrowed when whatever it was disappeared. She wondered if dragon had made her sanctuary up there, but that though was quickly dismissed. Dragon was with Boggs on deck. Suddenly, the boat jerked away from the shore, interupting her thought process.

Pulling her fingers from her ears, she glanced up at the crows nest before walking above deck to find the Captain. Seeing that she was busy with her first mate, she let them be. Whatever it was up there would be stuck for a long while if it didn't have wings or fins to get back to shore. She could tell the captain later. Lola looked around for a moment before going to tend to the ropes, making sure they were all correctly tied before continuing her job like normal. She didn't even bother to head to the healer. Not that she had anything against her, she just didn't see the need to get stuck with fangs for a simple cut.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Blackfin nodded as his Captain called for the departure. He turned, sprinting after her. As he ran, he pushed another guard off the dock, who screamed as the water turned into a frothing pink storm around him. He watched her leapt back onto the ship, pulled by the crew. He pistoned his legs, crunching the end of the dock as he kicked off. He stretched his arm as far as it would reach... and grabbed the end of the railing, his fingers cutting trenches into the wood. With a grunt of effort that made his back scream with pain, he hoisted himself back onto the ship.

He was barely on the ship when the Captain called out for everyone to plug their ears. He pressed his palms over the two small holes that were his ears. Even though he couldn't hear her, he could see the way her chest swelled and the way her hair seemed to come alive the way it did when she called wind for their sails. She stood in that pose, singing wind until the port was a dark line on the coast. On the highest deck, the Captain gave the hand signal that it was safe to unplug their ears.

The Captain called him over, and he passed Tanit on his way up. The pale, bald woman gave him a fanged smile as she walked past, already readying her healing venom. He nodded to her, his pain dulling slightly with her presence. He walked up to his Captain who was already draining her flask.

"We suffered minimal losses, Captain. None of our crew was killed, though some were injured. We got most of the items the crew needed, including plenty of gunpowder." Behind him, Siobhan was giving two barrels of the stuff to the powder monkey.

"Of course Captain." he replied as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'd fight through hell for this crew, and back for you." He gave a smile back as she finished off the rest of her flask. "Now, we should see Tanit about our wounds."


Tanit meanwhile, was talking up a storm while administering her healing. She had her fangs deep in the back of Meriadoc, who had gotten a nasty cut up his gut.

"Anh sho anywaysh, I towd himh to get losht-" she was saying to all that would listen. Meriadoc's veins glowed bright teal, before he hopped off the stool and scuttled away, rubbing the bite mark that was rapidly disappearing. She continued her conversation to no one in particular, all the while talking around the necks, backs, arms, and legs of crew. People were eternally grateful for her healing, but after a while her fast, accented voice became tiresome, especially if you were the one she had to move her mouth around to speak.

As she saw Blackfin and Captain V coming, she finished repairing Jimin, who had managed to break his toe in the panic of the fight. She shooed him off of the stool and gestured for Captain V to sit. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of the alcohol.

"Captain, what have I said about the pouring the alcohol on the wounds? Not everyone likes the stuff, and more often than not I can get to you before infection sets in." She waved a hand. "No matter. Now then, tell me about what you got yourself into this time." She said as she inspected the Captain's wounds. Eventually, she found a good place and sank her fangs into the Captain's shoulder. As she listened, bright blue light spread through the Captain's veins, before reaching her wound.

Blue light spilled from the gash, but it began to sew itself together, months of healing going by in moments. After a minute, the only evidence of the wound was the cut, bloody clothes and a pink line. Tanit removed her fangs from the Captain's shoulder.

"Now then, it will still be a bit tender, but you shouldn't feel any more pain. She waved Blackfin onto the stool and repeated the process, his back stitching itself back together. There was a new chunk missing from the back of his fin, but Tanit let it stay. She remembered the last time she had tried to repair such a scar. Blackfin had put up such a fuss, something about "honorable scars" and "marks of a warrior". Whatever, it sounded like Blackfin's problem.

[Moonlit_Fae]

As Captain V sat to have her wounds tended to by Tanit, she enjoyed watching her ship come alive and flourish again. The crew continued along their duties meanwhile Boggs was setting up the table and handing out the rations according to who ordered what from port. The proper change was also divied up among the crew. Most items were able to be had before the skirmish broke out between her small land crew and the local guards. Captain V smiled again, happy to have finally have a taste of a battle and some blood. Life on the ship was chaotic and full of adventure. She would not have it any other way or have any other crew to share it with.

Feeling the pinch of Tanit's fangs made V jump slightly, but not in a bad way. It was the type of pain someone could get addicted to. It riled up feelings within V's stomach she would never verablize to others. As she felt the venom work from within stitching up her muscle fiber and flesh, she smiled with satisfaction. Then she answered Tanit's question. "Oh you know just roughing up the locals a bit. We did want to play nicely, but they forced our hand. I still am not too sure as to what happened. Either way we made away with as much items as we could and we got a warm up battle in." As she finished up V looked into Tanit's eyes and sincerely expressed her garitutde.
"Thanks again Tanit. You really are a treausre. Although, sometimes I wonder if you are too classy for us. Always dressing up in fashions and what not. I hope you can put up with us heathens for as long as you can tolerate." V was going to take another sip from her flask but realized it was empty. "Damn it. I need to get this thing filled. Till later." She said to Blackfin and Tanit as she swapped places with him now that it was his turn to be healed.

V went above deck into her quarters and found a cask of whiskey. She greedily opened her flask and plunged it under the amber liquid until her flask was filled. She then took it out and poured half of it in her mouth, causing some of the liquid to drip down onto her ruined shirt and exposed flesh. The liquor burned her throat and soothed her emotional ached. When she was finished she let out a satisfied sigh as she filled the flask again and corked it, replacing it at her side. In the meantime she tore off her wrecked shirt and replaced it with another loose white shirt, this one lower cut than the one before.

Coming back out onto deck, she spotted Lola who was tending to the ropes to make sure they were secure. V casually rested upon the railing of the ship, her stormy blue eyes taking in the graceful elf. "You did good out there today. Your fighting skills are well refined and you cut through the soldiers as if they were minor insects to you." She paused, continuing to study her. "So, earlier it looked like you wanted to tell me something, what is it?"

Before Lola could answer Jimin was standing above deck and shouted. "I THINK SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IS IN THE CROW'S NEST!" All of V's hairs stood on end as she looked up into the crow's nest that had become damaged from their battle. She wondered if there was a spy in their ranks, or someone sent to sink their ship.

"OY! If someone is up there I command you come down now, or face the wraith of my crew!" V withdrew the axe at her side and sent it hurling into the crow's nest. Enough to hit just above someone's head if they were there, a warning shot to scare them out of hiding. Then she withdrew her cutlass to get ready for another battle. There truly was never a dull moment on the Siren's Song.

[AngelDellaNotte]

The axe landed just a couple inches above Baez's head causing her to slide down against the mast she was leaning on. The people below shouted at her to come down. Well that didn't last long, Baez thought about laying low for a couple of days. She looked around the crows nest seeing they were too far from land for her to fly away, even if she knew which direction it was. Even still she wasn't sure she would be able to avoid any shots from the people below. Baez knew she would have to come down or the next shot might not be a warning shot or with a bullet not a blade. She reached down to remove her spear from her belt, dropping it on the floor of the crow's nest thinking it would be better to come down unarmed. She needed a story to tell them knowing it wouldn't be a good idea to tell them she had used the half orc woman to steal the brooch. Baez ruffled up her clothes and hair a bit to make it look like she had got messed up in the commotion on the harbor.

Before standing up she took a quick swig of the rum from her wine skin then hooked it back on her belt. “D-d-don't shoot I'm coming d-d-d-own.” Baez said stuttering intentionally, slowly standing up and holding her hands up. She looked over the edge seeing the crew on the deck looking up at the. “Well here goes nothing.” She muttered to herself then jumped up on the railing of crow's nest then jumped off dropping down. She dropped until she was a few feet from the deck when she extended her wings using them to land lightly on the deck with her hands still up.

“P-p-p-lease don't hurt me.” Baez said, looking around trying to look like she was scare. “I didn't mean to sneak aboard. I w-w-was flying through the harbor when the a-r-r-ow started flying. I t-t-t-ook cover wherever I could then the ship started moving.” It wasn't a complete lie, she had been flying in the harbor, just her goal had been the ship.

[Lu321]

Lola looked up as she heard the Captain start to speak to her. Smiling as she praised her fighting skills, she nodded in thanks. Of course, Lola knew that she was an amazing fighter, but it didn’t make the captain’s opinion any less valuable.

Opening her mouth to answer the Captain’s question, she heard Jimin shout about something in the crow’s nest just as she was going to explain what she had seen. So she wasn’t the only one who had seen whatever it was! It was a relief to the elf to know that she hadn’t been on the sea to long. She drew her sword as the Captain threw an ax, easily hitting the area just above the crow’s nest.

She watched as a Fae of some kind flew down, clearly frightened. Lola’s eyes narrowed a suspicious frown on her face. She had never had much experience with the fairy kind, but what she had heard didn’t give her any reason to like them. She looked towards the captain, waiting for instruction despite her urge to cut down the fairy then and there.

[Enigma]

Dragon frowned as this strange creature appeared and began to draw breath - only to pause, sniffing the air.

What was that fragrance? So strange, yet so... familiar? It was like a long, distant memory had suddenly come alive as an enticing smell. Closing her eyes, she shuffled forward, chasing the scent, the howls of the other crew members a distant memory as curious odor drew her in.

She bumped into something... no, someone. Dragon opened her eyes to stare at the stranger, then took another whiff of air - and smiled broadly. Using her head, she nudged at the hapless Baez's middle, hoping to gently urge the creature to sit on the deck.

[AngelDellaNotte]

The crew looked at her a mixture of hostility and gods know what else. Baez was beginning to wonder if she should risk it and take flight hoping she could get away from the ship and find land. It was risky, getting off the ship without being shot would be hard enough then guessing which way was land and hoping she had the strength to fly that long. Something small moved through the crowd of people, a little red girl with white hair. Baez recognized what she was right away, the dragon from the harbor. She had figured the dragon was young based on the size but hadn't expected it to be this young. She watched as the girl came closer sniffing the air. What was she smelling? It couldn't have been Korasz could it? Some many years had passed since she escaped from the dragon. She had heard stories about how the sent of a dragon could linger on people who spent a long time around them.

When she had still been a slave she had traveled with Korasz a couple of times and remembered once when she had been running errands for him she had bumped into another dragon who had been furious at her and ready to kill her until he smelled Korasz on her. The dragon had only been a green and didn't want to incur Korasz's wrath by killing one of his slaves. He shouted at her to get out of his sight and Baez ran faster than she thought she could.

The little girl moved closer to Baez drawing a deep breath and for a moment she thought she was going to get flamed and closed her eyes not wanting to see it happen. It never did and a few seconds later she felt something bump into her stomach. The dragon girl seemed to be trying to get her attention. Strange. Baez thought as she knelt down next to the girl seeming to forget for a moment she was surrounded by armed pirates whose ship she was currently trespassing on. Baez reached up and lightly touched the girl's cheek. It was very hard to tell a dragon's age as they didn't age like normal races, Baez could tell though this one was young by dragon standards. She may be much older in years than some on this ship but still very much a child. “Ava'yorn moxt ir.” Baez said, in draconic to the girl.

Ava'yorn moxt ir – Hello, little one.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V clapped her hands mockingly toward the young gentleman who flew down from the crow's nest. At least that's how V interpert this lanky and scrawny stow away on her ship. She knew from experience when people pretended to be something they were not. She couldn't help but to cock half a smile. "Bravo, great performance. I do give you credit for making yourself look weak so we underestimate you " She then removed her flask and tipped it toward the stranger like she was toasting to him. Then she took a nice long swig

"Now I'm going to ask you once and don't bullshit me. It will be you versus me and my crew. Although I'm sure Blackfin could easily take you and eat you as a snack." She then took her cutlass and pointed the sharp edge very close to the individual. "Why are you on my ship and why shouldn't I kill you?"

Before V could get an answer it seemed Dragon was acquaintced with this individual. The small child had flown over to her and bumped into her, as if greeting an old friend and trying to interact with her. This was the most animated and happy V had ever seen Dragon. V was about to drop her cutlass and accept this person until..

The half orc woman instantly recognized this thief stow away as the one who had set her up. "Hey cap'n this is the person that bumped into me in the crowd and framed me for the broach! That little runt is what started the whole fight back at the docks!"

V would never stand for someone trying to set up her crew to take the fall. This individual wasn't too smart to hitch a ride on the pirate ship they tried to frame.

A low growl came from V's throat as she shot a warning. "Dragon get over here NOW! I do not care if you know this person. They framed my crew and tried to get away with it !" V felt her blood boiling and her temper was about to go off, already itching for another fight.

[AngelDellaNotte]

“Ah well shit,” Baez said, looking at the blade of the sword. She scanned the ship knowing there was no way she could fight or flee her way out of this. Which meant she was going to have to talk her way out of it and the odds of that weren't very good. At this point she knew she was screwed. He judgment had been off all day so why change now? “Is there an answer that doesn't get me run through?” Baez said, reaching out and touching the tip of the sword feeling that it was quite sharp. The captain took good care of her blade. “Cause frankly you aren't going to like the truth but what the hell here we go. I've been stuck in that god awful port for the last six weeks after getting thrown off my last ship. Moral of the story a privateer ship is not a good place for a thief. I've sold off anything of value while waiting for some kind of ship other than a fishing trolley to come in. To be honest I'm going insane in that backass port. It wasn't until that walking mountain practically ran me over that I realized there was a ship in port.” Baez said, knowing insulting the half orc woman probably was a bad idea but things didn't seem like they could get worse.

“So I figured I could sneak aboard the ship and get the hell out of there. I started to head to the docks when that damn woman came by with her jewelry that was beyond temptation came by. The mountain of a woman happened to be there and I thought two birds one stone. I could get a little prize and a bit of revenge for being stepped on. You really should watch where you are going, it's rude not to.” Baez said, turning to the half orc woman then back to the captain. “Really I didn't think it would go that badly. A woman of your size and no doubt brute strength I thought you would lay a couple of guards out and make your way back to the ship. The entire city guard freaking out like that came out of nowhere. But hey ya all got out of there relatively unharmed.”

She looked around the crew trying to see how her story was going but she couldn't judge the mood. Baez had a feeling this might be the end of her yet continued on. “So that's what happened. What can I say except today has turned out to be a very bad day mostly of my own making but that seems to be my life story. Why shouldn't you feed me to shark boy? I don't know but I could be use to you. A flyer can be useful on a ship. I can get places you can't reach without a lot of risk. I'm not half bad in a fight either. And I'm fluent in multiple languages. But whatever it's up to you.”

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Blackfin watched the winged boy flutter down on insectine wings. He looked ruffled, but only in the way an intentional ruffling would produce. When he spoke, his voice was higher than Blackfin anticipated, and he had a mighty stutter. The Captain questioned him, brandishing her cutlass. He gave roundabout answers, never telling a lie but never giving the whole truth and statement. A faerie. Jus' what we need, Blackfin thought.

Suddenly, Dragon darted forward, nearly bowling the faerie over. The faerie uttered something in a hissing, guttural language Blackfin could only guess was Draconic. The Captain seemed to be at ease, until Cutthroat roared.

"Hey cap'n this is the person that bumped into me in the crowd and framed me for the broach! That little runt is what started the whole fight back at the docks!" Instantly, both the Captain and Blackfin reacted. Captain V growled, ready to cut the throat of the faerie. Blackfin stood quickly, knocking over the stool. Tanit made a small shriek, more of anger than fear. She leaned away from him, nursing her now-aching fangs.

"Watch it! I need these." She glared at him, but he only waved a hand over his shoulder. While the faerie relayed his tale and attempted to talk his way out of his predicament, Blackfin weaved through the crew. His bootsteps were the only ones beyond the shuffling of feet as he circled the faerie. Finally, he was on the other side of the faerie as the Captain. If he tried anything, he'd have to make a choice. And that choice would cost him time, and most likely his life.

He seemingly parted the crew on his side as he strode towards the faerie. They shuffled in behind him. He leaned forward towards the faerie, the gills on his neck flaring as he took in a deep breath of the faerie's scent. Nothing special, although there was the lingering reptilian scent of dragonscales on his clothes.

"Cap'm." He said without removing his eyes from the faerie's face. "He doesn' seem like much. Not even worth a bite. But somethin' tells me he'll work mighty hard. An' we may jus' have to make him prove his loyalty t' the crew if we let him stay on." He smiled a toothy grin.


Tanit watched the whole debacle with interest that drained by the moment, until Blackfin started making thinly veiled threats. She perked up, interested to see what she could get away with. She strode forward, moving through the crew like water, until she was just off the Captain's right side.

"Captain? I think I've got a job he could do, just to earn his keep." She smiled sweetly at Vivienne, hoping to win her over. "I've been needing somebody to help me sort all my things and keep my room in order." To her side, Jimin rolled his eyes. "With all my herbs and things, I can never keep it organized." Everybody dimly remembered the time they had needed her in the middle of the night, only to have make their way through a precarious maze of objects and chests. Her room did need some organizing.

[AngelDellaNotte]

The shark man circled around her and she could easily tell he was someone important. It was obvious the woman was the captain so perhaps he was the first mate. Baez had spent enough time around dragons to know how to behave around a predator. It was best not to make eye contact but you couldn't shrink away. The best idea was to stand firm but not to seem hostile. It was a very fine line to walk. He didn't seem to want to eat her or anything else equally unpleasant. The snake woman came next and Baez was perplexed by her. She had seen the snake woman with her fangs in the shark man but couldn't figure out what she was doing. The woman suggested Baez work in her rooms to keep them clean.

After tidying up after a dragon how bad could it be? Dragons after all were the biggest hoarders out there. But Baez didn't like the idea of being indebted to anyone. “I'll earn my keep but I want to make it clear if you want me be your slave you can kill me now.” She said, unconsciously touching her wrists right where the scars left from a lifetime of wearing shackles were, though to anyone watching it looked like she was fiddling with the hem of her gloves. Baez meant it too, years ago after fleeing to freedom she had vowed to never be a slave again.

[Lu321]

Lola watched as the scene unfolded before her. Based on first impressions, she didn't like the boy at all. After all, he had managed to frame Cutthroat, initiate the destruction of a port, and anger the Captain all in less than an hour. She grimaced. Nothing about this looked good. Despite that, she knew it would be unjust to run him through now.

"Captain, if you would permit, I could watch this scum while he's not working." she said, stepping forward so the captain could see her. She knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn't make her like it any more.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V watched as Blackfin circled the faerie boy. The boy seemed defiant even in the face of fear. Even appeared to be clever and able to hold his own in a fight. His excuses were sorry though. Framing someone for his own crimes was not of worthy character. Not that she should speak of moral code, but she did protect her own and she did not like that this boy challenged her and her crew.

As Blackfin requested he stay aboard, she was going to reply to him but others chimed in before her. Tanit had a job for him and Lola would watch him. It seemed agreeable enough, until the faerie boy spoke again.

"Loyalty is our highest honor in this crew. No one is here against their will. Loyalty also gets protection. All of us would give our lives to protect the one fighting besides us. Something I do not think that you posess given you would easily throw someone to blame for your cursed actions. I'm not sure I'd want you beside me. How do I know you wouldn't stab me in the back?"

V did not wait for a response. "You are lucky I am not in the killing mood. You can either fly off and take your chances on the open waters. Or you can earn your stay by following Tanit's every order as she will be putting you to work. Lola is going to be your shadow wherever you go, even to the chamber pot. If she reports to me of you scheming or stabbing one of my crew mates in the back, I'll kill you myself. The next port will be within a week."

V then sheathed her cutlass and took another swig. "Oh and before we continue I want you to give a sincere apology to Sibohain, the one you got into trouble in the first place."

[AngelDellaNotte]

An elf woman offered to be her guard and Baez thought little of it. If this elf wanted to follow her around it didn't matter to Baez, it sounded boring if you asked her. Without the element of surprise just about any member of this crew could easily beat her in a fight. She knew if any sort of fight broke out between her crew she would be fleeing rather than fighting. Baez didn't intend to start a fight while here but the crew seemed so touchy. It was a little hard to believe they were pirates. Usually they were crude and fought with each other every chance they got. Most of the time just for the fun of it. The Captain made a comment about stabbing her in the back, Baez almost quipped back with some smart ass comment about them doing nothing but threatening to kill her since she revealed herself. However the best way to get out of here was to just keep her head down until they reached port and hopefully it would be better than the last port.

So she held her tongue and turned to follow the weird woman back to her rooms to do whatever cleaning needed done. The captain spoke again demanding a apology. It took every ounce of will power not to shoot some kind of insult back, refusing. Who did this woman think she was? One of Korasz's governesses? Baez thought of Eugenia, the old woman who took care of the dragon's children and often looked after the slaves kept as playmates. The woman had hated Baez and was one of the few people actually employed by the dragon rather than enslaved. She always acted like she was leagues above the slaves. The woman had gone out of her way to make Baez's life hard. Again Baez resisted the urge to tell the captain to go fuck herself and take her chance flying back to shore. “Sorry,” She muttered not very sincere but not defiantly either. It was more like a sullen child caught taking tarts from the kitchen.

[Highland Sniper]

how many days had it been? two? three? it was hard to keep track with a throbbing head and an empty stomach. No matter. soon she'd be found and she'd be able to eat to her hearts content until she burst. but thinking about the stories some of her old mates told about survivors that gorged themselves to death almost made her heave the non-existent contents of her stomach. she groaned.
if it had already been three days, she may be dead soon. no one can last without water much more than three days. And drinking too much salt water is suicide, with it drying you up about as much as give you the water needed.

She was already weak from the cuts and bruises sustained in the fight a few days ago when brigands attacked her ship. and her days were spent clinking to this still floating piece of drift wood from her ship. and the gash on the head didn't help matters.
her clothes were torn to shreds, so much so it was almost a wonder they stayed on, even exposing half her breast.
it was hard to keep her eyes open, but she knew she had to stay awake. more old tales.
on top of that, she was so cold she couldn't feel her legs. it would be little surprise to find them nibbled off by whatever fish decided to try her out.
by the end of the day, she could only hope for rescue.

Then she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. a ship.
'please let me not be hallucinating.' was the one thought that came to mind before she started weekly kicking over to the ship.
she thought she moved, but it was hard to tell with stiff legs you couldn't feel. but she felt the effort it took on her already week body, so she must have been doing something. but it would still take a while and her breathing was already getting very labored and her eyes were already so heavy.
She grit her teeth. she had to keep moving, stay awake.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Everything had seemed to settle down again. Lola was watching the newcomer, the fae boy closely. Everyone else had gone back to their duties among the ship. Captain V stayed sturdy at the helm, keeping a close watch. The hours went by as the ship plotted her course for the island, where treasure would be had. Despite the excitiement from earlier in the day at the port, this crew was ready for more adventure and lavished riches. V took the glask from her side and took another swig. At this point her alcoholic addiction didn't even get her drunk. She needed the alcohol to sustain her. Just like the sea water brought life to her mermaid lungs. Speaking of, V was itching for a swim.

That thought brought someone from up in the crow's nest to call her attention. "Cap'n something floating in the water! Looks like a body." V instantly grabbed for the telescop at her side. She quickly brought it up to her eye and looked out at the open waters. There was something! A body floating a top debris, possibly water logged wood. Her heart beat fast. yes she was a savage priate, but she still honred the dead that was found at sea. V knew she should go out to the wreckage and investiagte. This person would need a proper send off at least. It was the way of the waters, priates paid their respects to the dead. But wait...what was that? It looked like something more was propelling the person in the water besides the slow current. Yes! V could see through the lense that the person was weakly wading in the water toward the ship. She had to help.

"Dop the anchor!" V commanded as she began to undress, preparing her body for the water. "Blackfin gather a row boat nd meet me out in the water!" That was all V commanded as she ran for the edge of the ship and dove into the water. Instantly her body transformed. Her skin became illuminescent blue and green scales. Her eyes grew large and red, resembling fish eyes. Her gills came to life breathing in the salted water. V's legs were replaced with a strong mermaid's tail that propelled her through the depths. Fins sprouted along her arms and back. She had fully transformed into her other self.

V made it to the person swiftly, in a matter of minutes from the ship. She gently popped her head out of the water and took in the poor stranded soul. "Hello." she said softly, as to not startle the person. She wasn't too sure if this stranger had even seen a mermaid before. Most believed her kind to be sea folklore. "My name is Captain V. That ship over there is mine. It appears this is your lucky day. We will have you aboard shortly."

[Highland Sniper]

Her head was swimming, she might be hallucinating at this point. She was gaping at the mermaid in front of her.
She started to slip and she instantly closed her mouth and held her breath as he fingers ached as they held onto the wood.
"Alright." she said quickly, yet weekly. "just don't eat my legs."
She knew she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. that small swim took a bit out of her.

[Enigma]

Dragon watched as the new person with the strange scent was led away below decks. With a scowl, she climbed up the stays and took her usual perch underneath the main top.

Who was this odd person? Why did she smell like that? She wanted to smell her some more, but that would mean....

Smoke shot out her nostrils as she curled up, miserable.

[Moonlit_Fae]

V took in the poor soul upon the board and studied her. She let out a laugh though with the strangers request. "Don't worry, you are not for my taste pallet. I prefer fish." She then went and supported the stranger's body as she waited for help from her ship. "I would swim with you back, but I'm faster under the water and I doubt you can breathe under there. So what's your name?"

[Highland Sniper]

Romalia was really having a hard time getting a grip on things. where those black rings around her eyes?
"Romalia." she said weekly. her lids were really getting heavy, but she tried to to keep them open. "I need to stay awake." she muttered.

She thought she saw a small rowboat lower from the ship.
"please, keep talking." she strained.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

As things settled down, the crew began to go back to their various duties, tying things, untying things, the like. Tanit could barely tie a bow line, let alone any of the complicated knots that came so easy to the rest of the crew. Then again, she never needed to. Her position aboard the ship was patching up the idiots who broke their arms falling from the mainmast and blew out their eyes trying out the cannons on a drunken night.

As the crowd dispersed, Tanit placed a firm hand on Baez’s shoulder and steered her to her portion of the hold. Inside was a veritable hoard of seemingly random knickknacks and papers. The walls were covered in shelves, chests, some open, surrounded the entire room, and every open space was cluttered. Only one thing was perfectly straight, a saber in scabbard hung in the wall next to the dresser covered in various jewelry.

“Welcome to your first day on the job!” Tanit beamed. “You’ll spend quite a bit of time in here, cleaning and organizing this blasted mess.” She swept a pale arm across the room, still beaming. “I’d be careful though. I know everything I keep in this room, and if I find even an errant scale missing, I’ll make sure you die an excruciating death.” She was still grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, and picking through my medicinal herbs can result in a variety of results.”

She picked up a small glass jar with a yellow flower inside. “See this? Ragwort. Deadly poisonous to animals, and will give you a nasty gut ache.” She put the ragwort down, and picked up another with a cluster of red berries. “This is faranduil. Cures frostbite when made properly, burns like fire when prepared improperly. Such as raw.” And so she went, giving orders to Baez for hours.


Blackfin snapped to attention when the Captain called his name.
“Aye Cap’m!” He called before dashing off to the side of the ship. Already the crew were lowering a rowboat to the water. He dove off the ship, pulling himself into the rowboat as it reached the waves. He grabbed the oars and began to pump, skidding over the water as Captain V reached the unconscious person.

He reached the duo moments after V, reaching into the water to life the figure with powerful arms. Working with V, he pulled them into the rowboat.
“Aye lass. Me name’s Blackfin, this here is Captain V, and you’ve had the fortune of being rescued by the Captain and First Mate of The Siren’s Song. Where are ye from, lass?” He offered a hand to V.

[Highland Sniper]

She stared at the shark-man for a moment as she lay in the boat. "not the legs." was all she could manage before her eyes shut involuntarily and all was black with inconsistent images as she came in and out of consciousness. If anyone spoke within that time, it was too muffled for her to understand. Her senses drifted in and out as she did, giving her the sense of bobbing across the waves in the boat, being lifted up onboard a ship and being dragged down bellow.

She muttered a few things on the way back to the ship as her vision shifted to dreams. Muttering about her old captain and someone named Tavian. Memories of the past that bubbled up with her working on a ship or running through the streets with Tavian.

[Lu321]

Lola simply followed as the healer on board led the boy to her part of the ship. She had never been to fond of her, but there was no particular reason why. Maybe it was the woman's extravagant manner. Maybe it was the talkativeness. Or maybe it was the way she sunk her fangs into the people she healed. Nevertheless, she was not eager to be spending time in Tanit's room.

She boardly leaned against the wall as Tanit explained the instructions to the boy. This was going to be a long wait... what was that running down her leg. A quick glance revealed that the bandage had bled through, starting to seep into her pants. She didn't move, for fear of attracting attention and being Tanit's next victim.

[AngelDellaNotte]

The day had seemed to drag as she was below decks stuck sorting all the oddities Tanit had collected. Each one she picked up she looked to the healer to find out what it did. From there she sorted the herbs, spices and god's know what else by purpose. She felt like she would be in here for weeks. There was so much stuff in here. Hopefully they would find a large port soon that she could get off at then find a better ship where the crew didn't hate her. Least they hadn't killed her or thrown her over board. So for now she would bide her time. Baez picked up a jar and froze at seeing it, she didn't need to ask Tanit what the little red shiny disks in it were. She knew exactly what they were though she had no idea what use they had. Staring at the jar Baez was both mesmerized by the glow of them and terrified at where they came from. Dragon scales, specifically from a red dragon. Baez knew they weren't from Korasz, they couldn't be. She had seen what happened to a slave who tried to make some money by selling his cast off scales. The poor slave had barely survived the beating they received. These scales no doubt came from the little red dragon she had seen.

Tanit had her nose buried in a long-forgotten book when she realized Baez stopped. Her yellow eyes flashed irritably before she realized what the faery was holding.
“Ah, you’ve found my dragon scales. I’ve been looking for those for a while.” She looked around the room, which had barely changed. “Hmph. You want to know where those go, ey?”

“I suppose first you’ll have to know their use. Dragons are heavily magical creatures. Similarly to how my venom can heal or kill, nearly every aspect of a dragon has a dual use. Blood is useful for rituals, or a deadly poison if drunk. Wings can be used for fire-proof cloaks or potions of flight. Scales can be used to create fire-proof armor tougher than steel and lighter than leather, or it can give you a disease that turns your skin to scales. These ones came from the little girl outside. She’s an odd one, but dragons are useful to have around, no matter the reason.” She swept an arm to a shelf containing other animal bits, like dried newts, bat wings, cat eyes, and spider hair. “They go over there.”

Once again, she looked around the room. “I suppose that’s enough for today. Tomorrow see me after breakfast.” She opened the door. As Baez left, she leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I know you may hate us, but stick around. Desert is another word for betrayal to the Captain. Now get!” She laughed and closed the door.


Baez was so glad to be released for the day. She hated being below decks, it reminded her of being in Korasz's castle. Like most dragons his castle was carved into a cave by some of the finest Dwarven craftsmen. Since fleeing from him Baez slept outside whenever she could. She loved the open air and over the years the smell of salt water became the most soothing smell in the world. Right now all she wanted to do was get up in the crow's nest and let the wind blow through her hair, inhaling that scent. She practically ran from the healers quarters nearly knocking into Lola, not having realized that the elf had been with them the entire time.

Lola had almost fallen asleep standing there, watching the fae boy work. Nothing interesting had happened for quite a while. She regreted taking the job of watching him. She would much rather be up on deck working like usual. She was relieved when the boy started moving away from the room, almost running into her in the process. She winced in pain, having to use her leg to stop herself from running into him.

As she was leaving the cabin Baez collided with something and stumbled into a wall barely keeping herself from face planting into it. She looked back seeing Lola standing there with her leg out. "Was that really necessary?" Baez said, not really snappy but more matter of fact like. "You could have just said something. Besides I'm not doing anything, just trying to get some fresh air. You can't say you don't want to after spending so long in there. That place has a funk to it doesn't it?"

Lola narrowed her eyes. "Well if you would have watched were you were going maybe you wouldn't have tripped." She did nothing to prove that she hadn't meant to trip the fariy. After all, that was hard to do, and not worth it. She frowned noticing the slightest bit of blood had rubbed off onto the fairy's leg.

"Whatever," Baez said, as she moved around the elf. She resisted calling her a bitch aloud not wanting to stir things further. Damn things really had gotten off to a rough start. She wasn't sure there was anything she could do to make it easier. It seemed the crew had already made up their minds. Baez walked away from the elf not bothering to look back to see if she was following but she was sure the elf was there. The aroma of the sea hit her the moment she stepped on the deck. Leaning her head back she took a deep breath, then bent down stretching her back and wings. She didn't have enough room in Tanit's quarter to extend them and had to keep them folded. While looking down she notice a red splotch on her pant leg. Had something of Tanit's leaked? She didn't recall seeing anything. Reaching down she went to brush it off coming back with a red smear on her hand. She sniffed it smelling iron. It was blood. She wasn't sure where it came from, the crossbow bolts had hit her other leg and wasn't hurting. She turned to see Lola standing there with a fresh blood stain showing on her pants. Not my problem, Baez thought to herself meaning to fly up to the crow's nest and maybe take a nap. Something stopped her though and she said to the elf, "You might want to have the healer look at that."

Lola rolled her eyes. Things were not going well. She brushed hair out of her eyes, following the fairy outside. Why was he so... she wasn't even sure what rubbed her the wrong way. She sighed. Would every day be like this? She noticed when the fae stopped, stretching. Lola followed suit, rolling her shoulders back and closing her eyes as she breathed in the fresh air. She opened her eyes when she heard the fairy speak. She almost laughed. "I'd rather not be stuck with a pair of fangs, no matter how magical they are." she said in return.

"Yeah, that's pretty weird. Never seen anything quite like that." Baez said, recalling how Tanit had healed the crew with her fangs. "Well you need to do something unless you want to bleed all over the deck. I rather not have to mop it up later. Come on I'll help you wrap it up. Is there somewhere we can go unless you want to take your pants off up here."

Lola frowned, looking at him. Did he really think she would be willing to take her cloths off on deck? She knew for a fact more than a few of her crewmates would like that, but she wasn't that kind of pirate. "If we go down to the supply room, we might be able to find some bandages. That would probably be the best place." She still held a look of annoyance, but it was less profound. Why had he offered to help her? She figured it wasn't because they were on friendly terms yet.

Baez followed her down to the supply room where they did find some bandages. She laid them out on a crate tearing them to the proper size. In her time both as a slave and on ships she had learned how to dress a wound. More so during the former. It was quite often that slaves would anger their master and suffer a beating. Baez knew she had the scars on her back to prove it. She turned to Lola seeing her standing there still in her pants. "Well come on take them off. You ain't got nothing I haven't seen before."

Lola watched as the fairy started to prepare the bandages, silently wondering how this would all go down. Hearing her words, she couldn't help but smirk. He was a bit impatient, but she douldn't blame him. She slipped the blood soaked pants off. She frownd as she inspected the cut. It was located on the lower half of her thigh and went quite a bit deeper than she had initially thought. No wonder it had bled through. She glanced down to her metal foot and cursed yet again. Blood had gotten into the gears, and she knew from experience that it would be hard to clean. "Go ahead, what are you waiting for?"She asked the fae, looking up.

As Lola took her pants off Baez couldn't help but stare. Her eyes caught sight of the metal foot and took her by surprise. Nothing about the way the elf moved gave way that she had a fake limb. When she spoke it caused Baez to shake free from her musing and she glanced to the wound. It was worse than she had thought. Baez moved closer to take a better look. Deep. She thought. "This really should get stitches or that bite thing." Baez said, though she knew Lola didn't want that. She reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled out a small jar. "I didn't steal it from Tanit." She said, before Lola could accuse her. That isn't to say that it wasn't stolen. She had taken if off a merchant a couple ports back. She held up the jar showing Lola the yellow substance inside. "Kolrobian honey. Excellent in teas and good to pack a wound. This might sting a bit." Baez said, opening the jar and spreading some of the honey on the wound. "You know I'm not as big of an ass as you all think I am. Don't get me wrong I am an ass just I'm not that big of one."

She frowned as the fae pulled out a jar. Was he stupid enough to use one of Tanit's jars? She wasn't entirely convinced that his explaination was entirly true, but she let it go. It would ge embarrassing if any of this got out to the crew. She winced as he smeared the honey on the wound. He wasn't kidding when he said it stung. "Well after you push blame onto one of our own, everyone pretty much assumes you are one." she paused. "So am I going to get a name? Or are you just going to be known as a big ass who single handedly started a battle that almost destroyed a town?"

"I really didn't mean for it to get that out of hand." Baez said, taking one of the bandages and folding it up to fit over the wound. "Mind holding this?" She said, moving Lola's hand to hold the bandage in place. "You guys really know how to wreck havoc. No one bothered with introductions but the name's Baez." With the bandage being held in place she wrapped the other tightly around Lola's leg. "Care to share yours?"

She held the bandage, silently listening. The fairy, or Baez, seemed to be nice enough now that they had talked, but for all Lola knew, it was a cover. "Lola. Lola Fox." she responded, watching Baez as she wrapped the bandage around the room. "Dragon there seemed pretty interested in you."

"Yeah, I grew up around dragons. She probably can sense it." Baez said, trailing off and not really wanting to go in detail. She rarely talked about her life before escaping. Both because it wasn't memories she wanted to remember and she still was an escaped slave. If someone found out they could sell her back to Korasz. He paid nicely for runaway slaves. If she was forced to go back to him the punishment she received would be brutal if he didn't kill her out right. Though death might be the easier way out. "How did you end up with a youngling on your ship?" Baez said, wanting to change the topic away from her. She tied off the last of the bandage and stood up. "That should hold for a while. If I start anymore fights try to stay out of them."

Lola wanted to ask about her exposure to dragons, but she had a feeling that Baez didn't want to talk about it. She was glad she didn't mention her foot. She had told the story enough to last a lifetime. "I don't actually know. I haven't been onboard that long. If you try asking someone else on the ship, they might know." Slipping her pants back on, she gave her a small grin. "No promises."

"Considering you are the first person to talk to me without making some sort of threat I doubt anyone will answer me." Baez said, putting the jar away. It was kinda nice that someone was being nice to her. She wouldn't say she made a friend but there was at least one person aboard not being hostile to her. Baez turned away from Lola and started walking to the stairs to get that fresh air and maybe find somewhere to sleep doubting they would give her a bunk. Which was fine with her, she preferred sleeping under the stars anyway.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V gladly accepted Blackfin's hand as he pulled her out of the water. V flopped into the boat, her strong and long mermaid tail swashing around. It was hard to climb into a rowboat with out legs, she was thankful Blackfin had helped her. She tried her best to sit up, it was hard at the moment though. Slowly as the scales hit the air and realized she was no longer in the water, did they revert back to skin. Her long tail split into two study legs. V was now naked on the rowboat as they made their way back to the ship.She was not modest nor was she embarrassed. It was nothing the crew hadn't seen before.

V gently nudged their cast away. "Hey you will be all right. We have the best doctor on the ship. Just stay with us now Tell us antyhing, just keep talking Romalia." Soon enough the rowboat was back to the Siren's Song. V helped to steady Romalia's body as her and Blackfin helped to carry her onto the main deck. The rest of the crew worked on resecuring the rowboat.

V spotted Lola up on deck. "Lola please get Tanit. We have someone in need of medical attention. Cast away, unknown lengeth of time at sea." V then looked up ans saw the newcomer up on the crow's nest. The gears in her mind began stirring. The small fae boy might actually come in handy. She wondered if she could use his rogueish attritbutes of stealing for the good of the crew. Although after their bad start, she wouldn't blame him for leaving. After all her temper did get the better of her, one of her downfalls. The distraction of the cast away had calmed her though.

"'Ey lookin' good cap'n!" A crew member sounded and a few others whistled. V laughed and then did a bow. She then went to retrieve her clothes she had taken off before diving into the ocean below. She redressed and then made her way back to the helm of the ship, to finish plotting the ship's course to the island.

It had already been a very intersting day, she hoped finding treasure would be the cherry on top..

[Highland Sniper]

Consciousnesses came slowly.
It was only a soft buzz at first, but then it was the lapping of the waves against the hull of a ship.
Vision came slowly as she opened her eyes and found the underside of a deck above her.
It took her a minute to realize what was going on and yelped in pain when she tried to sit up.
"Ow." she moaned as she finally managed to sit up and looked around. "where am I?"

[AngelDellaNotte]

After helping Lola, Baez returned to the crow's nest to enjoy the wind in her hair. She looked around the water noticing they had a boat in the water. Looking a little closer the sharkman was pulling the captain into the boat. There also was a woman she hadn't seen before. From the look of her she had been strained at sea. That was a fate Baez never wanted. You slowly died of thirst while floating in the water. If you tried to drink it you got sick. All the while your sanity slowly slipped from you. Nope, Baez was glad she could fly. At least she could fly away as far as she could.

Watching the captain she saw that where her legs were there were fins. A mermaid, that explained the song that entranced her. As her fins turned back to legs Baez wondered if it hurt or if it was natural to the captain. The sharkman moved the boat closer making Baez realize the captain was naked. A few minutes later the three of them were on the deck and the crew were making jokes at the state of undress the captain was in. It would seem this was a normal thing. Baez watched the mirth of the crew a smile coming to her face. Seeing the crew like this was an interesting thing and a turn about from the hostility of before. She didn't know what over took her but Baez let out a wolf whistle, thankful excitement of the crew cause it to blend in.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Tanit shook her head. She handed a dark brown bottle of unknown liquid to Romalia.
“It’s just like them to rescue somebody in the same day as a raid.” She looked down at Romalia as she struggled to sit up. “You’re on the Siren’s Song. A pirate vessel, scourge of these waters. This will punch just a bit.” Without waiting for a response, Tanit opened her jaws and slid her fangs into Romalia’s neck. Instantly, she began to feel better. “Not much I can do about the dehydration, but I’ve cured your sunstroke and whatever other injuries you’ve got.” She pointed to the bottle. “This’ll help get you rehydrated, drink all of it.” With a quick twist, she uncorked the bottle. A foul-smelling green smoke wafted up.

“My name’s Tanit. I’m the medic of this ship. If you’re still feeling bad after that, come see me again. There’s isn’t much I can’t fix. After you’re feeling better, look for Captain V. She and old Blackfin are the ones that saved you from a watery grave.” She helped Romalia sit up, and pulled a bucket over with her foot. “If you’re gonna retch, do it now. Can’t have you throwing up my potion. Waste of root and all that.”

[Highland Sniper]

Romalia gasped at the fangs in her neck and help still thinking that she might be dead after everything, but gained strength. In a bit of wonder she allowed herself to be helped up and felt her neck.
"Uh, thanks." She croaked, a little glad she had nothing left to retch from not eating anything for a few days. She smelled a little worse than the rum and other liqueur she drank. After a tense moment for her, she swallowed before chugging it and spluttering afterwords and wiping her mouth. "Well, I'v had better." she groaned. "Thanks."

It did come to her that Tanit just said that they were pirates, but they couldn't be all bad if they took the time to save her and allow her to recover, along with seeming roaming the ship free. "I assume the captain will be on the top deck?"
She stood up a little shakily, but thankfully found her footing and put a hand to her head as it spun. Must be some residual problems resolving themselves using the woman's venom and her strange concoction.

[Lu321]

After Lola had gone to get Tanit as commanded, she returned, looking curiously at the newcomer. She was glad the crew was back to their teasingly irritating selves. She felt a lot more secure knowing that she wasn't going to bleed out. And if anybody asked about the blood, she could always say it was the guards. She wondered what had happened to get the poor woman into this situation.

Lola couldn't help but grin as she heard the whistles directed towards the captain. She couldn't help but join in on the fun. Everyone knew it was all for fun- anyone who tried to make a serious advance on the captain would find themselves without a head. No one, however, could deny that the captain was a sight to see.

[Moonlit_Fae]

As V was steering the ship she noticed the cast away coming up the stairs. V went halfway to meet her and steadied her with her own body.
"Easy now lass. Hey Kip get me a stool and table. Also have Claudia come up with some food and water."

Kip, the gnome nodded and did as he was told. Within moments he brought over a stool. V helped to rest the newcomer there. " Now tell me your story. How did you end up at sea?"

As she awaited answers Claudia came from down below with a jug of fresh water and some light broth she had used by steaming bones from a chicken they had got at port earlier. "V we are all gone starve if you keep adopting anybody you see. I keep a tight kitchen. This is the only meal this runt will get until they earn their keep."

V just rolled her eyes as she watched Claudia descend back down to the kitchen. "Don't worry her bark is worse then her bite.'

[Highland Sniper]

Romalia slowly swirled her broth with her spoon.
“How far back do you want me to go?” She
asked. “Do you want why I’m on the ocean, or why I was found on that godforsaken piece of driftwood?”

Captain V continued to steer the ship and kept her eyes on the ocean. But she remained focused on the conversation. "I would like to hear it all. If you have good skills maybe we can use you in the crew. But I need to know about you first."

She sighed before taking a sip of the broth. It hurt to eat. “I was born off the coast of spain.” she said. “We lived on the streets, my brother and I. And then he left to join musketeers. I haven’t seen him since.” She took another sip before continuing. “I joined a merchant ship’s crew. Won’t say I didn’t get into any mischief, but I pulled my own weight. And then... “ She gave a shutter. “They came. Pirates they were, though more…” She gave another shutter.

V shrugged her shoulders. "We are a rowdy and cruel bunch. Some more so than others. You are with pirates now, how do you feel?' she then paused. "Do you know the name of the ship?"

Romalia shook her head. “No.” She said simply. “Though I figure you’re decent considering you took the time to care for me and haven’t thrown me in the brig.”

"Well you don't know me that well yet. Maybe we saved you just to use you as bait later when we go and steal some treasure." She remained serious for a few moments. Then she let out a laugh.

Romalia couldn’t help but smile. “Well then, I’ll try and look convincing.” She said, though her heart wasn’t in it. “Thanks. If you hadn't been soft enough to rescue me, I’d be fish food.”

"Don't mention it. Just don't complain when we do have to hurt people. That is what a pirate's life is. You happen to be our good deed for the day. But earlier we took out a port city's guards. Tonight we will raid an island. Probably kill all the people and take their treasure." She snapped her fingers and another crew mate came over to take the helm. "The course is set. Stay on the path and I'll be back." She turned to face Romalia. "Now how about a change of clothes and a bath?"

Romalia finally took the time to look at herself and realized that her torn clothes were quite revealing, and she grew quite red in the face. “For the love of-” She said quietly before cutting herself off and purposefully folded her arms over her exposed breasts. “Uh… Lead the way Captain.”

"No need to be modest here. This crew has seen a lot. Hell they just saw me naked not too long ago." Captain V opened the double doors to her room. Her bath was already full with steaming water. There were simple pants and a tunic laid out, probably too big for her. But it was all that they had. "Well have at it. Come out when you're done. If you can be of use on the ship let me know."

“Uh, will do.” she said before stripping herself bare. Exposing yourself in front of men was one thing, but women already knew. Once all her torn clothes had been removed, she gingerly placed herself in the Captain’s hot bath and she took a sharp intake of air as her still cool body touched the hot water, but then started to sigh soon after as she settled herself. She sat there, contemplating everything that had happened and the role she could play on this ship. This would be structured almost like any other ship, though maybe more unruly. She felt like it may be best for a few reasons. They may actually decide to toss her back into the sea, or tie her up and use her as bait as they said if she refused to help them. But she had never forgotten her time on the streets. It was practical hell if you weren’t careful, having to steal to live, even fighting with others just for a choice spot to sleep or a crust of bread. Being a pirate, as much as she knew, probably wouldn’t be much different except that you had more people watching your back. Besides, maybe she’ll get a chance to meet the pirates who killed her last crew. She may not have liked the lot, but they were never unkind to her.
She finally scrubbed herself down after some of her thoughts and got dressed. The Tunic hung loosely on her shoulders and still showed considerable cleavage, though she was more comfortable with it’s coverage than her torn clothes. The breeches were a little big around the waist, so she started to look around for a belt. Once she found one, she belted down her loose tunic and pants and walked out barefoot, since she had nothing else.

As the doors opened V nodded to Romalia. "Better already. Now take this." V threw a short sword with a sheath to the new girl. "This is all we have. As for shoes maybe you can look in our lost and found. It's all the left over gear from any of our crew that have died. We throw the body overboard covered in a shroud. The earthly possessions have no meaning after passing. It's down below next to the kitchen."

Romalia wasn’t really expecting a sword to be thrown at her, but she had little difficulty catching it. “I hear you.” she said and turned to the ocean in thought.

"One thing you need to know about this crew. The only thing that matters to us is loyalty. Everyone is here by their own choice. Make your decision wisely if you want to stay with this crew. Everyone is family and you fight to protect whoever is beside you. Cross me or the crew and I'll kill you myself." V then turned and went back to shouting orders at her crew. She then took a huge swig from the flask at her side.

Romalia turned back to the captain to listen. “Aye.” She said softly and watched V and the rest of the crew for the minute. “Sounds like some crew.”

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V now back out on the deck looked up at the crow's nest. She wanted to have another word with the small fairy boy. She could not have bad blood before an upcoming land battle for treasure. V let out a loud whistle to get their attention. Then she shouted. "Hey come down here. We need to talk."

She took another swig from her flask, feeling the liquid courage in her veins. She hoped she did not sound threatening and hoped this encounter would be more peaceful then the one before...

[Enigma]

At the captain's whistle, Dragon's eyes slid open and she stared down at the deck below, looking for the captain from her perch on top of the spar. But it didn't seem to be her the captain was looking for. With a sigh, she settled back down. Midnight would be along soon enough.

What was the purpose of going there, she wondered? And where were they going next?

And why did that new person smell so familiar?

[AngelDellaNotte]

After the commotion on deck with the cast away things quickly went back to normal. Or at least what Baez thought was normal. She hadn't seen enough of the crew to know their baseline but they were behaving as normal sailors would. With her tasks done for the day Baez stood letting the wind blow through her hair and her eyes closed just enjoying being back at sea. She had missed it being stuck in port. A whistle caught her attention but she didn't open her eyes until she heard the captain call out to her. Great what was it now? Had the captain picked out her whistle among the jeers? Or did she just want to drill into her again about how she wasn't trustworthy. Maybe a few more not so veiled death threats.

At first Baez thought about not coming down but that would only make things worse. So instead she knelt down took at drink of her flask then leapt over the edge of the crow's nest gracefully drifting down. "Aye captain?" Baez said, realizing she didn't know the captain's name. Hell she only knew the names of two people on the ship, Tanit and Lola.

"The full name is Captain Vivian but Captain V or Cap'n is fine." She said when the fae boy had landed in front of her. Off to a good start so far. "I'd rather not call you scoundrel so what's your name?" She waited for the response. V would be as civil as she could be this time. Her anger really was her worst enemy. She acted first and asked questions later. As captain she could sometimes afford that pleasure. She just wanted to make sure her crew were safe and her ship ran smoothly.

"Baez." She said, noticing the captain seemed a little different this time and it wasn't just that she didn't have a sword to her throat. It was like she was trying to keep something under control. They had gotten off to a bad start but perhaps it didn't have to stay that way. Baez kinda hoped so it would nice to be on a ship again and this one seemed like a nice one. The crew was a mixed lot so if things worked out she may be able stay a while.

"Well Baez,I have a job offer for you. As long as you can promise to never cross any one of us again." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a pouch. She tossed it to Baez. It jingled as it soard through the air. As it landed Baez would have felt the weight of the coins. Inside were 10 gold coins. "Now that is just a small pay out. Everyone on this crew gets paid for the work they put in. The more you do the more you get paid. I could use someone like you. A rogue type to scout out areas and steal things. Gather information. Think of that as an upfront." She paused and took the boy in. "So whay doyou think?"

"You want to pay me to steal?" Baez asked, wondering if she had heard right. She hadn't sailed with many pirates but the few she had, she kept her sticky fingers to herself. It was strange to think she would allowed and encouraged to steal. Not crossing the crew wasn't an issue with the exception of her shinny obsession. "I can work with that but I should be up front with you, fairies have a slight tendency to be unable to resist shinny stuff. I might slip up from time to time. To be honest that's what happened in the market." Baez said, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the mayor's wife's brooch.



Captain V let out a laugh at seeing the brooch. "Well yes I do want you to steal and be paid for it. If you steal for me I don't mind. I'll try to keep that in mind. Also one thing to note, I have a bad temper. Sometimes that gets the better of me. Just a fair warning. You like shiny things and I like to yell." She unhooked her flask again and downed some more. She then offered a sip to hopefully her new long term crew mate.
"Can you fly while carrying someone?"

Baez looked up at the captain who like most people was quite a bit taller than her. She was used to this usually she was the shortest person in the room unless there was a dwarf or halfling. "Nope, not unless you got some halflings I haven't seen. Dwarves are usually too heavy. Built like little boulders if you ask me." Baez said, not intentionally being a smart ass. It was just the she was, another thing that often got her in trouble. She took the flask from the other woman and took a drink, it was strong. "I'm limited by my strength. I can fly a fair amount of time but not if I am weighed down."

"Ah shit I was hoping for a ride. A strong young lad to carry me off into the clouds. Ah well." She said returning the smart add comments she wanted Baez to know it was ok to not be serious all the time and she preferred banter. "That is good to note. Mostly I'll have you be scouting ahead and memorizing placement of enemies and where treasure is. Now what do you have for weapons ?"

Was the captain flirting with her? Boy she would be surprised if she found out Baez was a woman. Or would she. Captain V laid out what would be expected of her, it was easy enough. Then the mention of weapons. She had been keeping her spear in the crow's nest not wanting to set them off. But the captain wasn't an idiot, she knew Baez had to of been armed. She jumped into the air without a word flying up to grab her spear then was back in front of the captain. Baez held the collapsed spear before her then opened it up extending it to full length.

Captain V watched Baez fly off. She was impressed with his speed and dexterity. She eyed the spear as he landed back in front of her. "I am impressed. I hope you are good with that. Now if you want another weaopn I have some down below. Mostly swords and daggers." V paused and looked back to the wheel and eyed the map. They were strong and steady on their course. In about an hour they would reach the island desitnation and be able to look for treasure.

"Trust me, I know how to handle it." Baez said, spinning the spear around. On one of her early ships a older sailor had taught her how to use a spear. He always said, A lad needs to know how to defend himself. They had ran through a number of different weapons before they found the one Baez was best with. She was pretty handy with a pistol but it took too long to reload that she preferred to use a spear. It was easier to drop down stab someone and bounce back in the air ready to strike again. "Where we heading anyway?" Baez asked, as she hit the button on her spear to collapse it.

Captain V gave a slight nod of approval watching Baez with the spear. Her hands still on the wheel guiding the Siren's Song along. The salty breeze from the ocean coming up and spraying at their faces. There really was nothing like life at sea. She couldn't imagine being stuck on land and not being able to enjoy the freedom of open waters. Baez's voice brought her from her thoughts. "We are headed to a small island off the coaat or Spain. There are bound to be locals to contend with. Possibly other pirates. But I will kill anyone who stands in my way of glory " Her voice was serious and her sapphire eyes were hardened with determination.

At the mention of Spain Baez froze though she tried to recover quickly hoping the Captain didn't see her hesitation. Baez was from Spain and had only been there a few times since running away and usually found an excuse to stay on the ship. Captain V mentioned they were headed to an island and the only islands were off the Southern coast. Koraz and her homeland were in the north. The odds of running into anyone from her past was very low. "Right, well I will be up in the crow's nest if you need me. Best to get some rest if you want my to scout around the island."

V noticed Baez reacted weird to the word Spain. She shrugged her shoulders. It was not her past to be bothered with. All that mattered was the now. And right now the island was on the horizon. Captain V rang the ball. "Land ho! My crew prepare to set sail for land. Treasure will be ours !"

Well it looked like Baez wasn't getting that nap. How had they got so close to land without her noticing. She guessed it was talking with the Captain that distracted her. Not knowing if she was going to get run through, the surprised at being made part of the crew. She jumped up and flew to the crow's nest to get a better view. When they got close enough she would fly ahead and get an idea of what they were looking at.

[Highland Sniper]

"Uh, Capt'n?" Romalia started, "You said we're going to an island off the coast of Spain?"
Growing up off the coast of Spain, she wasn't really sure how she felt about raiding her old home. She also didn't want to run into her brother and have to kill let alone fight him. But she did want to see him again, it had been so long.
She straightened after asking her question.

[Enigma]

Mr. Gibbs appeared from the hatch. "Land already?"

The booze had been very welcome, but he'd hoped to get a night of drinking in before arrival. Now they'd need to stand a good watch if they wanted to avoid the Spanish ships sure to be patroling the coast, every man jack among the crew keepin' a wary eye out.

"Man yer stations," he bellowed. "Man the yards and be ready to reef sails, lest we wind up on da rocks!"

Captain was a mermaid, surely she's know a safe course.... Of course, iffen the harbor was full of her kinfolk and she intended to break the ship, there weren't much he could do about it other than to find the highest point and keep his ears plugged.

[AngelDellaNotte]

She watched as the sea grew closer and she was able to start making out the harbor. When they were close enough for her to fly to the shore Baez jumped from the crow's nest cutting through the wind. Something caught her eye and she noticed the little dragon sitting on the spar of the ship. She flew over to her, “Hey, you want to stretch your wings and take in the sights?” Baez asked, then without waiting for an answer. On her way off the ship she also noticed Lola on the deck thinking the elf would not be happy about her just flying off without a word. She pulled out the pouch the Captain had given her took a few coins then buzzed by Lola dropping the pouch in her hand. “I'm not jumping ship, just going to take a look around. Hold onto that until I get back okay?”

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V nodded as she steered the ship off the coast, getting the ship as close as she could without beaching it. Then she addressed Romalia's question. V could sense her hesitation, but it was not her place to judge."Yes the island is here off the coast of Spain. The treasure map I have shows the buried treasure from recently deceased Cap'n Crosley 'Mutiny' Sabre. He was ruthless and known to double cross anyone for loot. Unfortunate his demise came quicker than expected. Luckily for us, I was able to snag this map. Now let's hope there are no other ships about. We are already going to have to slaughter the locals to get what we want." V then paused and turned back to Romalia. "If you want to sit this one out you can. Just watch and see how things are done." She then shrugged and made her way over to Blackfin.

The sun had set and the disguise of night was falling upon them. The anchor dropped and as that happened it looked like Baez was going to head out to scout ahead. She gave a nod of approval and hoped Dragon would join her. V took out her telescope and looked through it, trying to see any activity upon land. She did not have nightvision, but she could make out some shadowy figures upon the horizon. "So Blackfin, what do you think for a game plan? Sneak in and or goin swords a swingin' and take out threats early on?"

[Highland Sniper]

Romalia thought for a moment. She would hate to meet blades with her brother. But she needed to do something.
she set off to where the armory should be to grab a crossbow, whoever else looking for this treasure or protecting it would likely be better trained than she with the sword. She should probably get some armor on if there was any to be found, though better to have something light like leather than bulky steel plates in her case.

[AngelDellaNotte]

Flying away from the ship she didn't look back to see if the dragon was following her. She didn't really know the dragon and wasn't sure the little creature would feel comfortable enough to fly off with her. Dragons weren't known for warming up to people fast. If the dragon didn't come after her Baez wouldn't take offense. She knew their nature. Staying up in the clouds Baez moved closer to the shore, seeing a small settlement. She was always cautious when flying into new areas. You never could tell how they were going to take to fliers. Sometimes she was shot at other times people wouldn't leave her alone far to curious for their own good. She took a couple laps around the village then found an alleyway to land in. Walking toward the mouth of the alley she grabbed a cloak off of a laundry line throwing it over her being sure to cover her wings and her head.

From there she found herself walking through the marketplace and started walking around taking in what the village had.

[Enigma]

Dragon uncurled when Baez appeared hovering next to the spar, it was unclear what the invitingly scented being was saying. Still, it swooped down to have a word with Lola, then took off towards the island.

Dragon climbed out from underneath the mast top and stood up, then with the grace of a cat, she ran to the end of the spar and leapt into the sky, transforming as she fell. Working her wings furiously, the tiny dragon followed Baez as she flew towards the island.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

“It’s probably be wise to go in quiet-like, as not to have the town guard on us before we can say ‘argh’.” He said. He couldn’t see the people on the island, but he could just get their scent on the night breeze. “If it comes to it, we could take ‘em.” He watched Baez and Dragon flutter off to the island.

“What’ll you do with yer share of the loot, Cap’m?”

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V was proud her crew were ready to take on the local folk for more glory and treausre. It would also be nice to have a new drunken tale to tell at a tavern when she came to shore next. Her exploits with Blackfin and her crew were infamously known. He was a great first mate and an even better friend. She was so happy to have all creatures fighting beside her she knew she could trust and that would share in the pirate's life.

"I agree we should start of quietly. Then again we said that at the port earlier today and look what happened. We can't help but get into trouble." She gave a wide grin. Captain V started to row the boat towards a cave towards the side of the coast. The tide was low enough they could hide out in there and gather the crew before sneaking in and picking people off one by one. V would also want a report from the small fairy boy to get a lay out of what was to greet them. If they were spotted they already had aerial coverage, which was a plus.

"Well buy some more ale of course." As she said that she took a moment to take a break from rowing and toss back a few slugs from her flask. She offered some to Blackfin. "Other than that probably make sure the ship is in tip top shape for the next sea battle. What about you?"

As their conversation lulled across the soft breeze of the ocean, a soft crunch was finally heard as they had made land. V left the boat and when everyone else was out pulled it out of the water so it would not drift away. "Now we wait for Baez return with report."

[Highland Sniper]

Romalia had gone down to the lower decks to look for a crossbow to go with the sword she had received. She looked around, belted a case of bolts around her waist and went back on deck, and hopped into the boat before departure.

She was silent as they rowed to shore, thinking about what she was about to do. She hoped that she didn't run into her brother on this raid with this new crew that she didn't know.

She hopped out when they landed and kept an eye out as she loaded the crossbow, but stayed low. She knew how to act in situations like this. Growing up on the streets had thought her the importance of patience and surprise, and she learned of teamwork and command when she worked with her last crew. She was still new here, but she wanted to be ready. But she was still... hesitant... nervous. God, let Tavian be at a different posting.

[AngelDellaNotte]

Before leaving the alleyway Baez looked back seeing the dragon flying toward her. “If you are going to look around with me, it would be a good idea to shift to your other form. We don't want to draw attention.” Baez said, gesturing at the cloak she had stole. She walked into the market looking at the stall. It was your standard village market nothing really standing out. You had vendors of all kinds. Being a port town there were plenty of fish mongers. She walked past a small girl maybe seven or eight years old pushing a cart filled to the brim with cockles and mussels barking out her wares in a sing song voice. At first Baez walked past the girl thinking nothing then she turned back to the girl, “I'll take a basket.” Baez said, the girl scooping a fair amount into a small wicker basket handing it to Baez. She reached into her pocket pulling out one of the gold coins the Captain have her.

Baez held it up in the air looking at the coin as the sun glinted on it. Wealth wasn't really a priority for Baez, she only took what she need to survive. She never understood how Korasz was obsessed with money. It was shinny though and she couldn't look away from it. The girl started say that she couldn't make change for a gold coin but Baez put it in the girl's hand closing her fingers around it. “Keep it.” Baez said, knowing it was worth more than the girl's whole cart. She didn't really need the money having a place for now on the ship and had a few more of the coins which would keep her going a while if she had to leave the ship.

The girl tucked the coin into a pouch around her neck and ran off with the cart. Baez picked up one of the mussels slurping down the meat inside. “Do you want one?” Baez said, having a feeling the dragon was nearby. They should be meeting up with the Captain soon but she wanted to look around a little more.

[Enigma]

"Town?" Mr. Gibbs grumbled from the quarterdeck, giving voice to his misgivings as the captain's gig rowed towards shore. "What treasure could someone have hidden here, of all places? You never know who might be watching as you bury it!"


Dragon frowned as she spotted the town ahead. Why did they come here when they just left a town?

People would panic. With a sigh, she tucked in her wings and settled down in the alley, shifting her from as she reached the dirt. With a shake of her white hair, she followed after Baez as she bought a basket off of a cart of mussels.

“Do you want one?” Baez said, offering her one.

Dragon took the offering, sniffing at it curiously. Her tongue, more dragon than human, slipped out of her mouth and liberated the seafood from its shell and bringing it back to her mouth to chew. It was different - typically she dined on fish, perhaps she should try the barnacles on the hull?

[Moonlit_Fae]

Captain V waited quietly with Blackfin, Mr. Gibbs and the rest of their small crew. It would be up to Baez and Dragon to scout out the area and report back. V then glanced over at Romalia. "You seem pretty quiet, you OK kid? I'm sure you have killed before, what's got you so down?" She hated to wait and stall for time, but treasure was on the line and they had to this right. V gently touched the rolled up map in her pocket, hoping no one would try and take it during their battle.

At this point Dragon and Baez would fly ahead to see a few small campifres as locals sat about. Some were talking quitly amongst themselves. Others were eating dinner and a few playing games to pass the time. The locals had a nomadic look to them. Even though they were on an island it appeared this might not be their native land. There were more ships off the other side of the island, a small fleet of them. Most of them were men, dwarves and humanoid cats. Probalby also here for the treasure or just resting upon the island until they were strong enough to keep sailing. It was hard to tell.

[Highland Sniper]

"I have a brother... we... went differnt ways. He's probably still stationed here unless he's had some sort of transfer." Romalia said a little reluctantly, "I'll just say I hope I don't run into him like this."

This was her new crew... or at least it was for now. They saved her and she felt like she owed them, but she didn't feel comfertable with telling everything about herself just yet. She just hoped that the Captain didn't press.
she'd been around long enough to know that her concern was probably more for her ability to help out getting the treasure rather than her personal well being. Despite knowing this and not feeling comfertable with talking about it, it still felt nice to know that someone was taking notice of her feelings.

[AngelDellaNotte]

After a bit of walking around Baez thought there wasn't much to the town except the people didn't fully look like they belonged though she wasn't sure what it was about them that seemed off. “Perhaps we should he back to the Captain and the others.” Baez said, when they were on the edge of town. She looked down in the basket seeing two mussels left handing one to Dragon and eating the other. The cloak she had stolen was a nice one that she didn't want to just discard so flipped it around so it didn't impede wings and tucked it into her belt. A couple beats of her wings and she was in the air. She flew up high enough that she could see out into the harbor. Looking around she noticed the ship was anchored up the coast where it wasn't visible from the town. On the shore she couldn't find the row boat thinking they must have done a good job of hiding it. Now where had they gone. It would have been a good idea to find out a meeting place before leaving but Baez hadn't thought about that. She flew in the direction of the ship hoping Dragon would follow. As she got closer she noticed the small row boat on the shore and the group of people around it. Flying towards them she circled around a few times to be seen by them before landing. She didn't want to startle them and meet one of the Captain's blades. “Not much to be seen there Cap. Though something seems off about the people that I can't quite place.” Baez said.