The Quest for the Celestial Aegis (@Nightcrawler)

[wandering_giraffe]

Elara sighed.
Nik was right, she shouldn't have brought it up on deck. That goddamn map was doing things. She needed to explain to Nik the latest development about the map, so she hastily told Nik to follow her, and walked to her office.
When they got to her office, she closed the door, and took the map and laid it on her desk, smoothing it out.
"Listen, I really tried to destroy it, I did..."
She rolled up her shirt sleeve, where a barely healed, grisly scar had formed.
"I tried to burn it, I tried to stab it, I even tried tearing it apart. Nothing is working, Nik!"
She sighed, sitting down in her chair.
"Things have been happening...I've been dreaming about terrible things...sometimes I'll think I'll see the ghost from the map."
"If...if something happens to me Nik, I'd like you to be the new captain. I can't think of a better person."


——————————————————————————————————————-


Fenris, meanwhile, was about to go search out the small tavern on the ship and see how good their liquor was.

She had just stood up from her cot when there was a knock on her door.
"Erm. Fenris? You there?"
Was that Fletcher? What does he want? Fenris went over to the door and opened it.
"Yes? What do you need? I was actually just about going to go to the tavern."

[Goldie]

Nik frowned, sighed heavily, popped another candy like an addict, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Where'd you get that scar, El? From the map? The fucking ghost map? The map that's clearly still trying to murder you?!"

He shook his head and started pacing, clearly agitated by the whole thing. The map, the mutiny talk, the fact that at any moment his vengeful siren ex could rise up and destroy them all...again.

"I'd be a terrible captain." He crossed his arms and glared at her, "Right fucking awful. It's a horrible choice. Horseman would be a better choice than me. So let's figure out how to keep you alive. And who the fuck is Fletcher and why is he here? Did the map conjure him too? Second map ghost?"

[Nightcrawler]

Fletch cracked the cabin door cautiously. "You, er...you decent?"

He slipped inside and shut it behind him. He ran a hand over his hair and paced with what little room he had. The more he thought about it, the worse it got, and the deeper his stomach sunk. They had to nip this in the bud before it got out of hand.

"The tavern," he echoed distractedly. "Yeah. Good idea. Erm..."

When he finally made eye contact, he looked a great deal paler and sicklier than usual, and the bags under his amber eyes were dark as bruises. "Look. Fen...Fenris. We have a problem. There's a mutiny brewing on this ship. Elara's panicking enough that she let it slip to the first mate right in front of me. This isn't the first one I've been through, but...stakes are a bit higher, right now."

Fletch gave her an imploring look. "She's your friend. She's in danger. Help me stop this before it starts. Yeah?"

[wandering_giraffe]

Elara listened to Nik talk, letting him finish before saying anything.
"No, Aikios would not be a better choice than you...I just...I want a backup plan in case something goes wrong."
Which, Elara figured, is very likely. For one, she didn't even know who the mutinous party were, or how many there were.
"I don't know who to trust, except for you and Aikios..." she admitted, frustratedly running a hand through her hair, her eyes worried.
She was so close to breaking down into tears, but she couldn't. She wouldn't.

"Fletcher is...someone Fenris is involved with...Problem with Fenris is she's too trusting..." Elara trails off...
"Oh Angsar how could I be so stupid?!!"
"I want Fenris and Fletch shadowed constantly!"

——————————————————-

Fenris incredulously looked at Fletch.
"A mutiny...you're joking! ...Right?"
But the more she looked at Fletch the more she was convinced he was serious.
"Oh you're serious...this isn't good."
"Sure I'll help you...but what do we do?"
She got Fletch a glass of water.
"Drink this, you look dehydrated."

[Goldie]

Nik ran a hand down his face and let out of string of curses.

"Elara. Elara! Just stop, take a moment and think for Gods sakes!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away from the door.

"Some of the crew have come to me with complaints. You were too busy and I thought they were minor - they don't talk to me like a friend so I couldn't know it'd gotten this far. They think you're erratic. They think you've lost sight of why they joined up in the first place. You need to get them a good haul, show them you still think about them. Got it?"

But Gods it might be too late now!

"You need to stop with the map for just a fucking second and see to your crew."

[Nightcrawler]

Fletch took the glass. He frowned at it. It seemed absurd...calling a dying man 'dehydrated' and handing him water. Like any of it made a damned difference. Like a glass of water would make him look any less like he had that mass all tangled in his insides. Besides, it wouldn't matter if he drank water until he pissed it out pure if they didn't get this situation under control.

"Thanks," he said. He set the water aside without drinking any.

Right. She'd asked what they should do. He sighed and scratched his nose. He set his hands on his hips. "Well," he replied, and did his best to sound like he knew what the fuck he was talking about. "I think, for starters, we scope out the rest of the crew. Maybe...buy some rounds. Play some cards. Make some friends. See whose loose lips start going with a few pints in 'em. Then, if we find anything, we sort out a way to get the message to Elara. Quietly."

He cocked his head at her and looked her over. Honestly, he wasn't sure if she was the type to pull this kind of sneaky operation. "We need to be subtle about this. Yeah?" he added. Then... "Right. Tavern, then?"

[wandering_giraffe]

Elara listened to Nik. Actually listened this time. She nodded.

"You're right." She sighed and went to her desk, looking over some charts.
"We'll be practically on top of the main pirate route in two days...we can find a straggler and attack. It's on the way to Essryn anyways."

————————————————

Fenris sighed.
"Right, to the tavern it is, then." They made their way to the tavern, and Fenris sighed, choosing a table kind of off to the right of the room, with the bar behind them and the door in front of them.
"This is as good a table as any."
There were three other tables occupied in the saloon...one table, Aikios and the werewolf fighter were talking intensely, heads together.
The other group had chosen a table far in the corner and were inebriated, laughing and downing shots.
The last table was occupied by a single occupant, his hood drawn over his face, his untouched beer in front of him, he was shuffling through the deck of cards.

[Goldie]

Nik groaned and threw both of his hands behind his head as he started pacing.

"We shouldn't fucking go to Essryn, El! That map is destroying you. It's destroying everything you've built! Please just...for the love of the Gods get rid of it and figure out your life, ok?"

What else could he say? She wouldn't listen. That had been the name of the game since he'd joined her crew. She trusted him for some stupid reason, which really should have been his first hint at insanity, but she never seemed to listen.

"I'm going to go get a drink. Talk to the crew. Figure out more about this mutiny if they'll talk to me. Just...don't do anything stupid, ok?"

And he stalked away to find the nearest tavern where he'd overheard some of the crew discussing earlier.

[Nightcrawler]

"What's your poison?" Fletch asked her, suddenly a whole lot more chipper. "I'll nab us something." In spite of how tense things had gotten, he was now in his element. The creak and rock of the ship, the raucous laughter of fellow sailors at ease, the smell of smoke and booze: this was as close to home as he'd been in this fuck-awful place. He winked at Dog Lady and swaggered over to the bar, digging around in his pocket as he approached. "Two whiskeys, neat. Er...please," he added as an afterthought.

As he waited for the drinks, he leaned against the bar and took in the scene. Cards Man off in the corner seemed a little suspicious, with his beer untouched and his face hidden. Either that, or he was an opium dealer. Fletch would have to come up with some way to wedge in and get him to talk. A wager, maybe, on a game. The loud table wasn't of interest. Mutineers weren't so at ease. His gaze slipped past them and landed on the table closest to where Dog Lady sat. He pulled a face.

"Eugh," he murmured beneath his breath. It was that damned horse monster again. He looked away in disgust, but not before noticing that the creepy thing was having a very in-depth conversation with a fellow sailor. Alright. They'd start there. He turned, grabbed the drinks, nodded a quick "thanks" to the barkeep, and headed back towards Fenris. "Bottoms up," he announced as he slid the whiskey across the table before plopping down on a stool and taking a sip of his own. He hissed and made a face. He knew he shouldn't be drinking. Hell, he didn't want to drink. But they had to keep up appearances for this little game. And the whiskey did burn awfully nice as it rolled down his throat.

With one ear towards the horse monster, he cocked an eyebrow at Dog Lady. "So," he began in an effort to keep the ruse up. "How d'you know her, then? The Captain?"

[wandering_giraffe]

Fenris took one drink of the whiskey and wrinkled her nose. This stuff was atrocious.
"Oh, me and the Cap'n go way back...her and some of the crew stumbled into my tavern oh, about 5 years ago...she didn't have this ship then, a much smaller one. They weren't the typical raucous group so I gave 'em their first round of drinks on the house. Well, I was wearing this old necklace, and she recognized it. Was from Thanatos. Long story short we became kindof close and she'd bring me random artifacts and the occasional cool weapon; and I'd give her and her crew a place to hide."
Fenris dropped her voice lower, much lower to where no one else but Fletch could hear and acted like she was showing him something on the table.
"Elara has never been like this...she's always been a bit reckless...but ever since that map...no, ever since that centaur joined up, she's gotten so much worse. Careless. Murdered her first mate. Selfish. I took a cruise once with her and the crew, before Aikios...the crew would have sacrificed themselves for her. But now...well, I think you get the picture."
She quietly looked around the room.
"Do you still have your pistol?"
She dug around in her pocket and drew out five bullets, which she quickly slipped to Fletch.
"I have a feeling you're going to need those."
Then Fenris put on the act again, downing the whiskey and setting the glass down with a thunk.

[Goldie]

Nik sauntered into the bar and looked around. He knew everyone here at this point, but he wasn't feeling particularly sociable. Normally he might sit with Aikios, the horseman was...well...a horse man, but he had always been the most welcoming of the lot. In fact, Nik owed a lot of his success on the boat to him. He knew everyone, offered good advice, and kept them all from dying.

All seemed like good qualities.

Even if he was a horse....man...

"You know what I want." He sat at the counter and waited patiently for his drink. Once it touched his hand he threw it back and banged it down for another, which was granted and, once again it went down smooth as silk.

He wanted to be drunk. He didn't want to deal with Elara and her issues. He just wanted to destroy the map and get on with his life.

"Fucking map." He muttered deep into his third cup. Ale this time instead of harder stuff. The kind of drink he could use to nurse his wounds. The first few took the edge off - got him on the other side faster. Soon the stories would start pouring from his mouth, the kinds that no one knew if they were real or not.

[Nightcrawler]

Fletch set one scuffed, dusty boot up on an empty chair and adopted his usual expression of casual disinterest — half to keep up the act, and half to keep Dog Lady at arm's length. But the more the woman talked, the more he couldn't help but lean a little closer, until he hung on her every word, his drink forgotten entirely in his hand. From the way she'd been holding it together, Fletcher never would have guessed that the Elara was about to break. She seemed tough, you know? No bullshit. Sharp as a tack. But what Fenris told him now painted a completely different picture. No ship could afford to indulge an unstable captain, least of all a pirate crew. It was no wonder she had a mutiny on her hands.

Of course, none of that mattered. Elara was the one with the map, and the map was his last chance at staying alive. Even if he agreed with the mutineers, his survival depended on siding with her. On keeping her going long enough for them to reach the desert. He sighed heavily and took a draught of his whiskey. As he set it back down, his eyes widened.

"Do you still have your pistol? I have a feeling you're going to need those."

He glanced quickly around the tavern, then hurriedly snatched the bullets up and stuck them in his own pocket. Was she crazy? This was hardly the place to show their hand. "Yeah," he murmured as he made another scan of the room just to be sure. "Me too." His gaze landed on her again. "Thanks," he said earnestly. "Normally I'm keen on a good fight, but...not here. Not now. You may have just saved my arse."

Fletch took another sip, still mulling over all that she'd told him. Suddenly, something clicked into place. "Huh," he murmured, keeping his voice low enough that the horse monster couldn't hear him. "Aikios. That's horse man, yeah?" He scratched at his stubble, deep in thought. "You said it started with him? And he's the medic, right? Something's off, there. Is there...any chance he's poisoning her? Putting something in her favorite rum, maybe?"

He caught a glimpse of the first mate and shut his mouth. Nik, was it? He didn't know the man, though he seemed honest enough — if a bit of a twat. "Fenris," he muttered. "Do you trust him? Should we bring him in on this?"

[wandering_giraffe]

Fenris nodded.
"We need to get into the medbay somehow...maybe we can find a poison there? If it is poison," She whispered.
"Somehow, we need to get into a fight."
Her tail flicked as she spoke, deep in thought.
"And Nik...I'm not sure about Nik. He seems trustworthy," she said, stealing a glance at him.
"I don't trust Aikios at all. The hard thing is going to be convincing Elara, if Aikios was the guilty party. Or getting her alone, without Aikios.
"We need more proof," Fenris whispered.
"Maybe we split up? I'll go talk to Nik and you to Aikios? See what we can figure out?"

[Nightcrawler]

They needed to start a fight. As soon as she said it, he flashed a wicked grin. It was risky, but she was right. It was the quickest way to get into the horse monster's sick bay. Besides...he really had no interest in talking to that horrible thing by himself if he could help it. "Nah," he murmured, his raspy voice turned dangerous. "I've got a better idea." He upended his whiskey, slammed the glass on the table, and stood. He swaggered and stumbled back over to the bar and leaned there next to the first mate. "Barkeep," he called, slurring his words together in an expert impression of drunkenness. "Another."

He looked up at the first mate and made sure to catch his eye. For one split second, he let the act down and flashed the man a deadly serious and determined expression. He winked. Had this Nik bastard seen it? Was he sharp enough to know what a warning looked like? Then Fletch was back to playing drunk again, and with the whiskey in his hand, that made for easy work. He downed his second dram and set it back on the counter. He was nowhere near a buzz, but nobody in this tavern — no one save Fenris, anyways — would know it.

He stood up as straight as he could and puffed out his chest. He took one wobbly step towards Nik, then another, until he was uncomfortably close.

"What's your problem, mate?" he began, making damn sure to let his voice carry. "You've had it in for me since I stepped aboard. You want to settle this like men, then? Hmm? Come on. Let's fucking go."

He gave Nik another pointed look. Throw a punch, you bloody moron, he thought.

[Goldie]

Nik was already feeling the effects of his first few drinks and was halfway through the ale when the new guy approached. He planned on ignoring him. They weren't friends. They weren't really anything at this point besides on the same bloody ship.

It was ridiculous that Nik was feeling so protective of this boat after the past few months, after Elara basically scooped him up from the bottom of a barrel. How bad could Fletcher actually be if Nik was just a wonderful delight? Maybe there was a method to her madness.

Or maybe she was just lucky.

But could she be lucky twice.

At first he buried his nose into his glass, expecting a drunkard and getting one, but then...

What the actual fuck. Was he winking at him?

"Sorry, mate, on'y date sirens." He slurred, about to turn back to his glass when...

What was his fucking problem! Now he was starting a fight? Gods he was too close. Super close. Uncomfortably close. Picking a fight close.

What? Why?

Nik stood, his chair toppling behind him with the force and stared down Fletch. He looked drunk. But he didn't smell drunk. And, actually, his eyes were too clear.

He frowned. He was an expert bull shitter and this guy was trying to bull shit him.

He took a step forward and pulled on Fletch's collar so they were nose to nose.

"T'fuck you doin'" he hissed. Either he was about to get beaten to a bloody pulp or something weird was happening.

[wandering_giraffe]

It was definitely a mix of both.

Fenris facepalmed, acting like she just really did not like her drink.
Fletch, you absolute twat.
She sighed and stood up, setting her glass down and walking over to Nik and Fletcher.
She took Fletcher firmly by the arm and pulled him away a little bit.
"I'm sorry, is he bothering you? We just got married like a week ago, and this like sort of a honeymoon for us. Fletch wanted to go to Serendipity but I thought it would be fun to go on a ship. As you can see," she gestured to Fletch, "He's still not happy about it."

[Nightcrawler]

Fletcher shot Dog Lady the sort of deranged, wide-eyed look that he typically reserved for people who ground his last nerve. Then he went right back into it, tearing his arm away from her grasp and tumbling back into the first mate. He grabbed a handful of the man's hair at the back of his head and stuck his face up close again. "We think it's the horse. I need to look around sickbay. Fucking hit me, you daft bastard," he hissed through gritted teeth. Then he took a breath, released his grip, and shoved off. "Come on!" he roared. "Let's go, Candy Arse."

[Goldie]

Nik was shocked. Truly, feet frozen for a few moments, surprised. What...had he just said? It was Aikios? The horse? What did that even mean?

And then, slowly, his drunken brain started to parse things together. Hazily. Was he talking about the Mutiny? And why would he care? The man had just come on the Midnight Marauder and had literally zero stake in this game.

But he was so earnest! That couples with the fact that he had had to walk all the way over to where Nik was sitting just to start this fight...

He fought every urge to look over at Aikios and the group that was huddle together. Instead he tried to remember who he saw sitting there and...oh Gods...at least two had come to Nik expressing concerns about Elara. That couldn't be a coincidence.

With a growl, Nik grabbed his mug and chugged the rest of the ale before grinning wildly at Fletcher.

"Don't tell me what to do." He commanded and then smashed the glass over his head.

[wandering_giraffe]

There was the sound of glass shattering, and then Fletcher collapsed to the ground.
Fenris sighed, acting annoyed.
"Thanks for that," she snapped at Nik, but before she could say anything else, a voice sounded through the room. Aikios's voice. He had gotten up as soon as he heard the glass break, and was concernedly glancing their way, a shred of nonchalance in his eyes.
"Is everything alright? Can I do anything?" He asked, begining to make his way over to them. The other patrons in the room seem unphased, except for the werewolf fighter that was with Aikios, him right on Aikios's tail.
"Hmm. No. He's been hit worse." Fenris said, pretending to be annoyed and impatient.
"Wait. Actually, You can let me borrow your medbay," Fenris finally said.
Aikios looked shocked.
"What, and let you just use all my supplies? I think not."
Fenris sighed, her eyes darkening alittle.
"A moment of silence, please, for this poor soul's intelligence."
She stepped up to Aikios, eyes narrowing at him.
"You listen to me, horseflake. I'm taking Fletch to your medbay. I'm going to tend to his wounds. Savvy that?"
The fighter next to Aikios bristled, a growl emitting from his throat.
Fenris turned her attention on him.
"You rescind that," the fighter ordered.
"Hmmm. No. I don't think I will," Fenris said, her canines glinting in the candlelight.
The fighter lunged for Fenris, and Fenris dodged to the left, grabbing a wooden chair and slamming it into the fighter, the chair shattering, and the fighter falling to the floor.
"Oops."
Aikios merely watched all of this unfold, eyes narrowed, but saying nothing.
"You can go tend to your fighter's wounds...after I tend to my friends," she said.
And with that, she picked up Fletcher and left.

[Nightcrawler]

He was there, and then he was out. And then he was back again, with his ears ringing, and everything was blurry. There were voices, but they were too garbled to understand. Someone carried him. "Lyssy?" he mumbled. Oh. Wait. No. Not the blonde. Now he remembered. He  blinked the blur away and slapped weakly at Dog Lady's arm. "Ungh. Pummedown, doggie, I can walk."