She tried to hold it back. Heavens and seas, she
tried. Sahar would be able to see it all across her face, cheeks turning red and eyes screwed shut.
All for naught.
"BHWAHAHAHAHAAAAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAhaaaa...!"Cordell's unbridled laughter drew the attention of the two mercenaries; with tears in her eyes and a stupid grin on her face she waved them off and the two sellswords went back to what they were doing. The pirate wiped her eyes, still chuckling.
"Yer
seriously naive, ain'tcha?" She laughed a bit more. "Y' just said, in th' selfsame breath, that I should'a just come'n asked ya,
AN' that we pirates're all lyin' thievin' heathens." She stood up and looked at imaginary people, putting on an act. "Oh
pleeeease mister guard sir, I knows I'm a dity ol' pirate girl an' ye's under orders t' lock th' like o' me up, but I jus'
REEEEEEAAALY need t' see that there famous future-seein' priestess about somethin'.
Pleeeeeasssee...?" She paused, casting a sideways glance at Sahar with a look that said 'I'm not that stupid' before spinning a full 360 on her heel and plopping back down.
"Bein' a pirate ain't
about lyin' and thievin', priestess -- them's just tools in th' arsenal. No," She leaned forward and pointed at herself with one hand's thumb. "A
pirate, lass, is someone who'll do
whatever it takes. We dun' 'ave th' benefits o' an
understandin', supportive society t' help us along -- that's why we're
pirates, not
shopkeepers. Because we chose t'
fight our lot in life rather than succumb t' it, t' make a
stand fer ourselves when no one else would. We're
survivors. An' if'n that means we gotta be vultures an' hyenas in th' process, so be it. That's th' way o' it."
"But even th' worst o' pirates don't be deservin' what me crew's been through." Her voice and gaze dropped. "Lemme tell ya a story, priestess. An if'n I be lyin'... well, y'll know in due time."
"Fer
this..." She leaned even further forward, voice just above a whisper. "The th' tale o' me ship."
"Th'
Red Corsair."
M U S I C A L S H I F TAnd so Cordell told Sahar the tale of the mighty ship with blood-red sails and jet-black hull. She spoke of how it pillaged the coastline of Thanatos hundreds of years ago, preying on any unwary craft to cross its path and a great many ports that had treasures ripe for taking. She spoke of a ruthless and terrible man, the ships captain of long ago, and how those who sailed under him did so forever in fear of him.
The pirate told the priestess of a passenger to a mysterious island -- a witch brimming with dark magic's power. Of how fear and paranoia brought down blood... and a terrible
curse.
" 'You who struck me down in fear an' greed, evermore shall you tarry upon th' watery wastes. Bound in service t' masters you shall not choose, t' continue in death th' work unfinished.' " Cordell quoted. "That be th' curse, as inscribed 'pon th' very deck o' me ship -- th' witch's parting 'gift' after she was betrayed. Th' Red Corsair's had her share o' captains 'afore me, t' be sure..."
Cordell looked at the distant horizon, seeing the stars gleam against the night-blackened sands. "I was but a child when they found me, shipwrecked. Th' ship chose
me, even then, t' shepard it's twenty-two souls. Dunno why. I 'ad 'em turn right back 'round an' head fer me home, but wasn't nobody left t' return t'. Father'd drowned in th' storm an' mum'd... well," Her gaze travelled down, full of meaning and burden.
"Couldn't cope."
"I know, it's absurd." The pirate woman sighed heavily and leaned back, staring at Sahar. "Raised by
ghost pirates, o' all things. But e'ry one o' them sods is kin t' me -- some like brothers, some like fathers. They's all deserve
peace, lass. Peace
at last."
She fixed Sahar with a steady gaze. "D'ya understand where I'm goin' with all this, then?"