What Say You?

[Alithea Moon]

Somewhere off the coast of Buc's Den...

"Perfect!" Moon announced as she studied the myriad holes in the hull of the other ship. Half of that whimsically painted name, the Indigo Wave, had been shattered into the waters with the impact of a cannon ball.

She patted the still smoking belly of a cannon, admiring her handiwork. "I couldn't have made that first shot with the other cannons. Would have lost her around the rocks if the first volley had missed. These are much stronger, much more precise."

"Aye," added her tiller, "but we're going to lose the cargo to the waves if we stand about preening over new cannons, Captain." He was seaweathered and past his prime, but still sharpeyed and quick on the maneuvering involved in steering the Harvest at her Captain's increasingly risky demands.

She sighed and wafted a hand at him, turning to the occupants of the Indigo and her captain. "Will yeh unload your cargo willingly? Or let your ship sink under its weight? I promise you I can have the wreck dredged faster than your bodies will wash ashore. Not that your... benefactors care for your hides. They just want the cargo. Must be quite the haul to be riding so low in the water -before- I poked a few holes in yer hull."

The crew muttered and shifted uneasily before their captain silenced them and stared hard at the gleeful looking smile on the face of the Harvest's Captain.

She leaned on the rail, exuding confidence in his eventual choice. The Indigo shuddered, its sails fluttering like a downed dragon as it took on more water.

"Well? What say you?"

 

[Alithea Moon]

late evening in the Pirate's Plunder...


Moon stared moodily at her mug of ale. Not knowing what it had done to offend her so ..and being an inanimate object.. the mug did not respond to this accusing look. She blew out a sigh and thumped the mug down on the bar top, summoning the barkeep.

"Whiskey, make it a double." she muttered to him. He nodded, poured her drink.. and waited. Moon tossed it back and grimaced as it burned it's way down her throat. "Leave it." She said, sliding a generous amount of gold to him. He swept up the gold and set the bottle down, moving off to tend other patrons.

She turned in her seat to survey the crowd gathered in the Pirate's Plunder. The tavern nestled in Buccaneer's Den was her favorite establishment, aside from the baths, of course. Sun and sea weathered sailors and pirates, men and women alike, filled the few tables, brashly bragging of their exploits. A handful of *****s wound their ways around the patrons, trying their luck. A few had already approached Moon, but she had merely shaken her head and tossed them a few gold coins for their trouble. They were working women and men, to be sure, but she encouraged them to keep their hands to themselves. Like the ale and the whiskey tonight... the thought held no interest for her.

The person she waited for was late. Twice now their bi-weekly standing engagement for drinks and news had been a bust. Most unusual. And with the activity on the seas off the normal pattern of late, it meant trouble.

She snarled quietly, turning back to the barkeep. She gestured to the still untouched bottle and ordered, "Pour drinks for the room, on me. And don't ye go double dipping." The barkeep smirked to her, then held the bottle aloft and yelled into the din. "Whiskey on the Moon!" A garbled cheer and a few grunts wafted into the air as the taverns patrons stumbled forward to get their fill.

She looked to the back room, those doors wide open. The players at the gaming table unruffled and still concentrating on their game. Pushing off her stool, Moon swung towards the front doors and paused an imperceptible moment before continuing on. They flew open as a pirate, drunk and accompanied by two *****s, laughed loudly and stumbled into the streets. She ducked down, squeezed past a barmaid with a billowing skirt and through the half open door to the storeroom behind the bar. She quickly pulled a rune book from her pack and flipped through it. Looking a long moment at one rune before frowning and choosing another. Quietly mouthing the words "Santum Viatus", she gritted her teeth against the magical pull that would set her on the deck of the Harvest offshore.

Her tiller, unruffled by her abrupt appearance, simply arched an eyebrow at her. "Set sail.. East. Fast" Moon told him, looking back to the docks. A figure appeared at the end of the dock, the dim and flickering lanterns refusing to reveal his face. A second figure joined. She nodded to herself as the Harvest moved through moonlit waters to the East. Last night's conversation had been convincing enough, but this confirmed it. She'd been a thorn in the sides of the smugglers and pirates in Tokunonese waters long enough to finally warrant attention. Could the timing be simple coincidence?

Moon cursed quietly under her breath. "Better be.. or the chum just hit the water.."

 

[Alithea Moon]

*The Silver Crows were successful in their endeavor to deliver the Book of Light to Nujel'm, despite encountering resistance. Captain Norrar made his escape with his crew while Captain Moon and crew made emergency repairs on the Harvest for the slow trip back to the keep.

Buccaneer's Den, several days later...*

"She'll be ready in the morning, Captain."

Moon nodded to the shipwright and returned her pouch of heavy coins to her pack. She moved to the door, glancing back at the shipwright's indignant splutter to add, "Then so will the gold. .. and for this price, she better be -perfect-." before stepping out into the late morning sun and heat.

Buc's Den wasn't the ideal place to moor the Harvest for repairs, but there were precious few safe choices at the moment. She swore quietly to herself as she walked along the path to the archway that would take her to close to Vesper. All the meticulous planning she had done was now worthless. She paused to stretch, and surreptitiously glance about the area. So far, no trouble, but one never knew. The bruising had healed, but the force of the hit was still vivid in her mind....

For a moment, she thought they would leave off the Harvest for the greater target. Even as the two approaching ships had flanked the Harvest, blocking her from the open ocean, she had hoped they'd simply think her in pursuit of Norrar. She was a renowned pirate hunter, after all. For a moment, there was calm as the crews studied each other. "Captain, they're not firing yet.." Clive quietly stated to her as they spotted faces they'd talked to as friendly acquaintances, if not friends, not too long before that day. She turned to the other ship to see a grim, furious expression directed at her. She turned to yell to her first mate, but the blast of cannon fire was deafening. Volley after volley hit the Harvest as Moon tried to swing her around to slip between the two ships and the rocky shore of Nujel'm. Cannon fire rang out from the Harvest. Powder and smoke hung thick in the air.

"Clive!" She yelled. No answer.

"**** **** ****..." Moon growled. The rigging sagged above her. The Harvest listed as she fought the wheel, willing it onward. A solid *thunk* of an arrow sinking into the wood of the wheel, narrowly missing her hand. She dove to the side but a heavy punch to her back knocked her to the deck. Wheezing for breath, she reached back, finding the shaft of another arrow lodged... into something solid in her pack. A hysterical giggle burbled up at the thought of telling off the next person to make fun of how many rune books she carried. "... gods be, woman, get a hold of yourself.." She rolled and reached for the wheel again, fingers just curling around it before the world exploded.

Everything hurt. A hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her.. a muffled voice.. "...ou ok, Captain?!" Clive. He pulled her to her feet, staggering a moment with a violent tremor of the deck. They were sinking. Smoke still hung in the air. Cannon fire echoed far off. They coaxed the Harvest closer to shore, slapping boards and pitch to the largest of the holes. "It'll have to do, till I can get her to the yards.. " Moon grumbled. If she got the chance.

Moon stepped into The Magical Light in Vesper and approached one of the mages. "You sent word the books are done?" He nodded and retreated to a back room, motioning for her to follow. Her old rune books were splayed across a desk in the corner. Broken pieces of arrow shaft were piled neatly in a jar next to them. The mage handed her a stack of new books. She stowed them in her pack after flipping through each of them. "They're all there, if that's what you're looking at." The mage stated simply. "We had a bit of a time getting them out, but rest assured, they're all there. Your old books, however.." he glanced to the stained, smudged and all-around abused tomes now sporting a single hole, wide enough to see through, through the middle of each one. All but the last. Only a tiny pin point of light could be seen through one side of that one.

That one arrow had pierced 4 books clean through. The last, its razor sharp point had poked through the cover and into the skin of her back. Barely a scratch, but she felt it keenly all the same. When she had attempted to use her rune home, the magic woven into the books themselves had lashed at her and spat sparks. A warning against another try. She rubbed a hand over her back again with a grimace. The mage only smiled faintly and intoned, "Might I suggest that whoever did this would be best avoided in the future. Next time, the aim might be better." Moon adopted her usual cheeky grin and winked at him. "Ah.. but so might mine."

Back in Buc's Den, Moon settled high up in the crook of a tree to watch the work being done on the Harvest. She'd not let it out of her sight until she could sail out of here. Plans blown to hell, she had to roll with the punches now. Between the lanterns engraved with her ship's name left at the invasion point to the inability to back out of the bargain with the Nujel'mite man.. the whole thing reeked of a setup. Pirates.. and now she had to play along. ****. This wasn't supposed to happen, not yet. She'd be seen as firmly against the crown now. She'd needed the alliance, the legitimacy needed among the pirates to get to her targets. She'd gotten their attentions already.. and stomped on a few other toes along the way. Regrettable but unavoidable collateral damage. But now.. She sipped whiskey out of her flask, welcoming the burn in her throat and waited for the warmth to spread. This was what she'd wanted ...and demons in the details that she'd run out of time.