QUEST: Voyage for a Gem, chapter 2 [Samheen 4th]

[Guest]

Rylas leaned in to listen to the dying man's words. "More of you? Your dear mother really was a busy woman," he began, speaking more to himself than anything. "Well, I do look forward to meeting her." He hefted the sword he had taken from the man and looked it over. Then in a sudden movement, his face expressionless, he drove it into the sternum of the pirate. "May as well...I hate leaving unfinished business."

Rylas straightened and stepped in towards the rest of the crew, giving an idle glance around the deck for anything of mild importance like money pouches or jewelry. "Heh, maybe there's a little something extra around here for my trouble," he said with a sigh.

Though it was far from chief on his analytical mind, Rylas would overturn the pirate's words in his mind later. He was hardly a superstitious man, but he also remembered his earlier experience with the elder gypsy. He'd be checking over his shoulder even more than usual when next he departed from the deck of the Lady Rose...

[Med]

Daenus went to the washing area. Steadily he took out the sharpening stone and mirror, The latter just supposedly to make sure his expression would be in tact. It wasn't right now as he began wetting the stone, his lips actually quivered.

I have to... This is the way of the world..... The method...

He told himself that over and over inwardly until his face began to snarl in the mirror.

And he didn't want it.. Any of it! He had no reason to be here, though a member of the assassin'sguild he fealt no allegiance... Daenus couldn't even recall how many people he had killed today. It was simply a red blur that played fastly in his mind.

He put the whet stone back in place and studied the edge of the knife. One man's life hung upon this blade. Would he do it?

With a blade sharpened to perfection he strolled slowly to where the captive was held. He hesitated once outise the door. Then opened it slowly. His eyes raised to meet the other man's with a glance of the winter wind.

[BardicPup]

The man made no reaction to Rylas's words. He appeared to be in a trace. Even the pain of the sword impaling him did nothing to his focus. He died in a meditive state, seemingly sending a message along the long known of, and little understood, bond that only twins could share.

Rylas found little of note. This was a millitary craft, not a merchant vessel. The only visable loot was weapons, and the armor of the fallen, some undamaged, but most bored the wounds that had killed their wearers.

The aged sea dog looked up as Daenus entered. "Ah, you have returned. You'll be wanting information, no doubt. Tell the guards to leave. I will speak to you alone, and only if you are alone. "

[Raven Darkheart]

It took a few moments for Raven to wake from his bloodlust. Slowely the feral grin turned back into the arrogant, amused look of the elegant captain, despite the blood splattered all over his white shirt.

Looking around Raven checked if there were any other ships "Check the Lady Rose, and this tireme as well. I need to know if they are still seaworthy. We should take full advantage of this oppertunity." He also made sure to send a few of his crewmembers below decks to check out what was down there.

He turned around, looking the prisoners in the face "Listen up. Those of you who are not officers and have not pledged their lives to Her Evilness may chose to join my forces. My rules are simple. You will obey without question, and fight to the death if necessary. You will receive a place to sleep, food and when there is booty to be had all receive an equal share. Our quartermaster here ensures that everything is fair. For now you will be placed under the command of my crew, but when trust has been built you will be given your old positions back."

Raven turned to Rylas "Where is that gypsy? I have need of him."

[Guest]

Rylas furrowed his brow. "The elder one with the golden eyes?" he asked, turning and looking around.

In truth, he had no idea where the gypsy was. He hadn't seen much of him since he had come on board. In fact, he couldn't even remember the old man's name to call out, just his eyes and face.

Rylas shrugged, and was about to start looking for him when he remembered...the gypsy was telepathic, wasn't he? His demonstration to Rylas was still often a subject of pondering for him.

On the odd chance that he was "listening," Rylas thought hard about him, also thinking in his mind, 'HAIL...THE CAPTAIN HAS NEED OF YOU.'

[Guenhwyfar]

Now that the fighting was over, the rush of adrenalin that had sustained her had faded as well, leaving Guen feeling empty, tired... and a little bit ill, although she strove valiantly not to show it.

She felt the moisture running down her cheek and rubbed it away with her hand, looking at her fingers dully. She rubbed the blood between her fingers numbly, then brought her hand back up to her cheek. Again...she thought, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The sound of banging caught her attention, and she wiped her hand and cheek on her shirt and stared at the door, then looked around to try to catch another crew member's eye. "I think there are still people down here," she said, striving to be as loud as possible, but her voice sounded flat and tinny in her ears.

[BardicPup]

The tripped man was the only one that did not join Raven instantly, and with good reason, he had not yet awoke from his ill advised nap. One of the cannoneers from the Lady Rose came forward. "They barely hit us, we could yet make three weeks at sea. But I'd advise repairs none the less, if we do battle with the pirate wench again. "

The gypsy with the golden eyes made his way from the Lady Rose slowly, eying Rylas. "If your gona call me, DON'T SHOUT! "

The same cannoneer as made the report on ship's condition overheard Guen. "Oh really? What a chance to test my newest toy. "

The cannoneer nearly ran right into Raven in his rush to advise a test of his toys. "Captain, there sounds to be people on the other side of that door. I would advise against a direct assualt, and offer instead a chance to test a new weapon. "

The man holds up a leather sack, filled with powder, from the smell of it. A fuse exited the tightly tied top of it. Raven could no doubt guess that it was filled with grapes. The rile little balls of iron could chop down fifty men with only three cannons full, imagine what one sack tossed down a trap door could do. The cannoneer beamed with inventor's pride, knowing full well its capabilities, and quite proud of them as well.

[Med]

Daenus kept far distant from the man, standing in the distance like a shadow. His hood drawn up to shadow a mask of rage. His hand moved up slowly to motion the guards to leave without a word. Dead silence bathed the room.

His dark eyes focused with widened pupils, dialated by rage. A hatred for himself, for anything to strike out at, for being born. It curled and twisted it's way through his stomach and chest like a writhing snake that throbbed inwardly inside of himself. His breath drew in and out shallowly as though he was standing on an icey peek in mid winter..

"Yes.. It is time to talk." his words were cold, lacking every bit of malice hanging but a thread away. His meaning quite clear upon producing the mentioned information at this moment.

[BardicPup]

The guards look at eachother, then Daenus, then at the prisoner. They inspected the knots holding him firmly to the chair. Both nodded, then left, though they were undoubtedly within a good shout's distance.

The aged sea dog looked Daenus over, noting the repressed rage within him. "Aye, the time for knowledge is at hand. Too long have you followed orders blindly, with no knowledge of the ins and outs. That is why I wish to speak to you alone. Now, to business. We are members of a total of four ships sent out to scout for the Than and any ships headed towards the fortress. We were sent out with little to no equipment and a skeleton crew. We were told to work seperately, to cover more ground, but I knew it was a trap. We were sent out to be killed. I managed to convince the captain, and he managed to get one other ship to work with us, to try and escape. But we found you, and you fired on us. She's setting a trap for you. I don't know how, but she knows to the battle. Ever since that damn mage came, she's known everything. She wants you to come. She wants the Than. And she will get him. I don't know what she'll do to you and anyone else with him, but I would rather neither of us had to find out. "

[Med]

Daenus still clung back to the darkness. Not letting the first part of the man's words sink too much in.

"Is it not better to be on the stronger side? Why would you leave her if you thought she would defeat the Thran so easily?" the question was simple, but also hid the fact that he held to no sides in this conflict.

"I am sure personal survival is a valuable thing. We all think so, but giving up allegiances can be costly or born of fruit."

The hooded man shifted a little stepping just slightly forward. One foot placed out in a balance of forces.

"How much do you know of this mage? And what do you think she has in store for us?"

[BardicPup]

The aged sea dog looks at Daenus questioningly. "Do you not see it? She sent us to die. Many on the ships were her enemies, after a fassion. We were covert, stealthy, to the point of putting even a master assassin to shame. But, she knows now. Every crewman and officer on those ships were either her unspoken enemies, or expendablely green. She's using the Than to destroy those she hates, until she has him in her grasp. "

Sighing, he continues. "I know little of her. She is a master of mind magics, and can see anything she wants. Other then that, she has not displayed her powers. "

[Med]

Daenus pondered. His finger drew under his lower lip as he thought about it all and began making the calculations of odds. It had never seemed very likly that they could simply suprise this Pirate Queen, Her forces had to at least match those of the Thran's own. The Thran himself seemed to be basing many of his decisions upon an emotional sense.

For what? One woman? Even a sister or other rumors is not worth putting such a position of power into danger. It seems this queen has played his weakness to the hilt and he has fallen for it and rushed in blindly. The others I tried to warn of these matters, but most don't seem to have the mind for this scale of things. And what of me?

Daenus looked back up. Knowing the guards may have been an ear shot away, but convincing a prisoner sometimes could call for lies. All of his excuses seemed there and protected what he was about to ask. There would be more than a few ways of explaining if things went wrong. If not blood would be shed again.

"So why not lure the Thran into this trap and try to get advanced message to the Pirate Queen? Why not let them destroy each other and choose the winning side. I may be on this boat, but the pawns of life can be moved to the other side. For this is no game."

[Guest]

Rylas looked undaunted. "Well, I do apologize. I didn't even expect it to work."

Rylas observed the fellow bringing on his new toy, but he wasn't interested. If anything, he thought the fool thing would blow a hole in the side of the ship, and they'd all have to make a hasty retreat.

So, Rylas made his way to the deck of the Lady Rose, intent on getting himself cleaned up and putting away his armor and lochaber.

As he left the deck of the ship, he took a final look over his shoulder at the body of his last opponent.

[BardicPup]

The aged sea dog frowned. "Changing sides might be a good idea, but what makes you think she'll take you? What could you offer her? The Than is already hers, and she wants for little. Think carefully on this. Anything else you want to know? "

The gypsy smiled. "It's ok, this time. Try to remember it in the future. "

The body of Rylas's last opponent lay still, with a calm look on his face, dispite the grusome way he died. Rylas couldn't help but remember the dead man's threat. How powerful was this twin sister of his?

[BardicPup]

Raven nodded to the man, and allows him to test the new toy. With a smile, he has one of the crew open the door as two others cut down the man inside. Imidiately after, he tosses the device down into the hold and calls the men back. They close the door and run back to where the rest of the crew is, turning just in time to watch several small iron balls shoot through the deck. The damage to the ship appears minimal, but the groans of the dying below decks speaks of its effectiveness against human flesh. It seems like now would be a good time for any that would like to loot the meager belongings of the crew and captain to do so. A few of Raven's crew open the door and rush down, killing the dying out of mercy.

[Guenhwyfar]

Guenhwyfar stood there with her usual scowl on her face, watching the aftermath of the battle unfold. She was not one for looting or for mercy-killings, so she stood aloof from the goings-on, green eyes narrowed, and looked around to see how the others had fared while they all waited to see what would happen next.

[BardicPup]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, thought I had posted, heh.

IC: With the looting done, and the dead tossed overboard, Raven ordered the new ship moored to the Lady Rose. That done, he returned to the Rose, and called a meeting in the galley.

The galley was a simple affair, when compared to the location of their last meeting, but it would serve their needs well enough. A handful of tables were bolted to the floor, and benchs, similarly bolted, ran along two sides of the tables. A chair was bolted to the floor at both ends of the largest table. While simple, its being one of two chairs gave it a sence of power and command, only accentuated by the figure seated there, Raven Darkheart himself. On the right hand bench, beside him, sat his firstmate, and, to his left, the quartermaster. The other chair held the omni-present Thran. The others could sit anywhere they pleased on either bench, there was room for all.

[Guest]

Rylas was among the first to enter the galley, being very anxious to receive information about the next undertaking in their operation. It seemed to him that far more was known about what was happening that was being revealed, though this feeling could've been based more on his nature rather than his having any proof.

Rylas took a seat on the bench directly to the Than's left. Other than the occaisional apprasing glance at the captain of the Than, his gaze stayed down at the table surface as he waited for the meeting to begin.

[Guenhwyfar]

Guenhwyfar entered the room a little bit late and rather sullenly, as was her wont.

Her sullenness was exacerbated by the wound on her face, which, though it stung fiercely, was irritating to her more as a badge of sloppiness -- especially so close to her other scar, her other badge of sloppiness -- than as an actual injury.

She had unbraided her hair, its waviness amplified from the salty air and from having been braided so long, and had parted it to one side in an effort to hide the cut from view somewhat.

She took a cursory look, half-veiled by her hair, around the room, and then without saying anything to anyone, without making eye contact with anyone (some more pointedly than others), she sat down next to Rylas and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest.

[BardicPup]

OOC: For the sake of getting things moving again, I'm gona write everyone else as here, but not very talkative. Feel free to jump back in.

IC: Raven looked around the table. Everyone had arrived and found a seat. It was time to get started. Raven shot a silent question to Thran, and his answer was a barely visable nod of consent. Pulling out a map, Raven spread it across the table for everyone to see. Raven also spread out a second piece of paper, not as well drawn, of several barges moared together.

"Thanks to our run-in with the two ships belonging to the so called pirate queen, we have a location as to her base. We also have a rough sketch of what that base looks like. The base is currently... here, taking shelter in the natural bay formed by these two small islands. This... channel here is narrow, and mostly deffended from make-shift turrets on the islands themselves, whereas this enterence is wider, and patroled by some of her ships. Both are used by her own ships in order to dock with her base, so it is really a matter of taste and tactics as to which we use. There is also the matter of the trireme. Do we take it as a prizeship? Use it as part of a tactic against her? I leave the floor open to ideas. "

[tanoshimi]

Tayknot took a seat wherever available. He was rather exhausted by the battle, his leg muscles were jittery and sitting down was a relief, above all else.

He peered at the maps trying to make out what he could from where he was sitting, and listened carefully to Raven's words. Bits of ideas sprouted in his mind but he waited to see if anyone more eager would reply first.
The halfling fumbled for his pipe and slowly started stuffing it with a generous lump of tobacco.

[Guest]

Rylas eased back in his chair, giving a thoughtful sigh. "Well, I believe the trireme to be valuable. If this...base is as well defended as we all expect it to be, then we should use everything at our disposal, even if it means manning one or both of these ships with a skeleton crew."

Rylas hesitated, seeming to debate something with himself for a moment, then continued. "Of course, an obvious course of action lays open to us, that is to use the trireme to attempt infiltration. With some forces already inside to begin an attack, the Lady Rose could swoop in closely thereafter. Having a front of battle within and without would put her at a disadvantage, even if there are more of them."

Rylas shook his head and eased farther down in his seat. "But, I must admit I have no more than cursory confidence in such a strategy. We have no knowledge of any callsigns they might have. Or perhaps the ship is not expected at this time." Rylas considered a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps...perhaps it would be expected, and that is the problem."

Rylas looked the captain in the eye. "Given the nature of who we are dealing with, who is to say that we weren't meant to capture the trireme? She knows we're gunning for her, so why couldn't this just be a welcome mat laid over a tiger trap?"

Rylas stopped and smirked, and looked increasingly amused. "My apologies, but I seem to have spoken in a circle. But, these are all things to consider, at least."

Rylas laced his fingers on the table and looked around at those present for their reactions.

[Guenhwyfar]

Guenhwyfar listened to Rylas speak, without turning to look at him, but nodding slightly as he made his point.

"Rylas is right. We don't know enough about her defenses, about her strategy. Any attack we made now would be foolhardy. And weren't we told that she used some kind of magic to protect her stronghold as well?"

"Any attempt at a pitched battle, whether intended as a suprise or as a charge, could go horribly wrong if we were outmanned or expected or... it could just go horribly wrong. We need more information. Charging in guns blazing is just going to get a lot of people killed. We need someone on the inside, someone to get captured, or to say that they want to change sides, so we can get information fed back to the rest of the crew somehow. No sense in going in blind when a little advance effort could save a lot of time, trouble, and lives.."

She winced slightly as the motion of speaking tugged on the healing wound, then realized that perhaps her tone was a touch inappropriate for the assembled company. "I think. That is. That's my opinion, at least."

She scowled more deeply and tried to seem as if she was ignoring everyone, while checking for reactions out of the corner of her eyes.

[BardicPup]

Raven rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I agree we mustn't underestimate her, but to overestimate her can be just as fatal. If indeed she sent the ship to be captured, how could she know it had worked? Her inteligence isn't infalable. Guen, your idea of a spy has merit.... but how to do it.... And how to get word out? "

[Guest]

Rylas was undaunted, an eyed the captain determinedly. "With all due respect, I fail to see how being overly cautious will prove fatal. Indeed, it seems to me that such is only a detriment in the pursuit of women in port." Rylas nodded at Guenhwyfar. "If you will excuse my saying so."

"As far as spying, we do have one of the men from the trireme in holding, do we not? Perhaps he has some information that would be of use? Why don't we...bring him up here, and see if he has anything to add?"