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Isabeau and the Stowaway (Dragonsong)

Started by Whim, January 31, 2016, 12:48:27 AM

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Whim

Ainu

Ewan did feel a little guilty over the Wavethresher, though it was partially the captain's fault. The man kept badgering him to use his sorcery to conjure some apples. It worked fine. But, some of the apples carreid a nasty worm which made short work of the Essryni rugs due for Connlaoth. Suffice to say the was no longer sailing on the Wavethresher. He even resorted to tears (Ewan wasn't quite sure if it was an act to gain sympathy or real). The captain pointed him toward a man who paid children to collect shellfish and left him on the dock.

Yoreiqi, of course, did not pay in coins. A good meal and ripe mango was his reward. A taller boy had also taken a liking to his clothes and snatched them while he was in the ocean; kindly leaving behind a colorful loincloth. Private property was anathema in this strange communal isle; the concept of coinage new even to its most cosmopolitan port. The best Ewan could hope for was passage back to La'raana, he thought ruefully as he ate his mango in the corner of a groghouse.

A particularly eclectic, and rowdy, Le'raanian crew was drinking and dicing. From what little he could pick up of their boasting they planned to sail up the Tuor ocean near Niahi. Ewan didn't quite get the gist of what their cargo was (or that they were pirates) but it was at least a way back home.

Finding the ship amidst Ainu's sparse docks wasn't difficult. The boy just followed a smaller sailor who couldn't hold his liquor. The ship was the Poison Storm. It was a sleek and well-looked afer vessel. That was reassuring. By then the sun had set and the posted sentry, a great mountain of a man smothered in kraken tattoos, was busy giving one of the locals flirty looks. It wasn't hard for someone small and quick to scamper aboard.

After that it was just a matter of finding the store room. Surely the boy could find a hiding place and nick what food he needed. Or try his hand at conjuration. And if he were caught, well, he was just a kid. Surely they'd not throw him overboard while in transit! It hadn't occurred to him how fanciful his ideas about stowaways were. Nonetheless, Ewan found a suitable hidey hole behind some barrels of salted pork. He laid out a blanket and prepared for the journey back to Le'raana.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

"Gangway!"

"Hoist the mainsail!"

"Mizzenmast!"

"Anchors away!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Isabeau smiled, a hard, thin smile, and took the wheel. "Hard to port," she called, and the order was passed through the ship with a few quick shouts. The Poison Storm pulled away from Ainu and into open water, her captain standing resolute at the helm.

At least until the first crises hit. Two newbies they'd picked up in port were squabbling on the deck. Isabeau sighed, snapping her fingers at her acting first mate, a massive man covered in ink who went simply by "Crag". He nodded and stepped forward to take the helm while she went to deal with the argument.

"What's the problem here?" she asked, not even bothering with the steps that led down to the main deck and instead simply swinging herself over the rail, landing briefly in a crouch before she straightened up, folding her arms and glaring.

They two new sailors- young men perhaps a few years older than her- seemed to be clashing over some sort of bet that they'd made. Some idiotic drinking contest that had left them both staggering back to the ship in the wee hours of the morning. Fed up, Isabeau ordered one t swab the deck and the other to work on cleaning barnacles off the side of the ship.

That dealt with, she'd barely turned when another of her crew, a tall lanky midshipman most of them called "Tiny", needed her attention. Something about the supplies, the cabin boy they'd had in charge of counting had jumped ship at port, so they weren't sure how long their rations would last.

Isabeau groaned. This really wasn't captain's work, but everyone else had a job to do getting the ship through the choppier waters close to port. Dismissing Tiny, she made her way down into the storeroom.

"Gods damned tourist," she muttered to herself, weaving her way through the barrels and crates. "Not a fucking cruise boat, we don't give free rides-" Her voice choked off and her eyes went wide as she peered around behind some barrels of salted pork.

Then she frowned. "Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing here, lad?"

Whim

Ewan's peaceful sleep was interrupted by loud, angry shouting. With a frightened yelp the boy scrambled to his feet, tangled in the scratchy blanket. A snarling girl towered over him. She might not have looked so scary if not for the mossiac of tattoos and piercings, and the big hat. This probably wasn't a sleepy merchant ship.

"I-I'm sorry! All my coins got taken!" Ewan raised his hands defensively, as though trying to calm an angrily dog. he felt quite naked. Probably because of the Yoreiqi garb. "I just need to get back to Le'raana. I'm really sorry. I'll go back to the dock!"

He didn't know they'd cast off.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

With a frustrated noise that was basically a growl Isabeau reached forward and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet.

"I've half a mind to make you do just that," she spat at him, "But I'll not have you make a child killer out of me." And gods knew making him swim back to port would certainly be the death of him. Damnit.

"Alright." She glowered at him. "Who are you, and the hell are you doing on my ship?"

Whim

"I'm Ewan. Ewan ap Rhys." His mind raced, there needed to be a plausible explanation for all this. That he was hunting for the mischevious faerie who'd made him eternally young, albeit too young, wasn't quite plausible. So he lied, averting his eyes and trying to look as cute, innocent, and sympathetic as possible. "I-I'm a sorcerer's apprentice. My uncle, um, my master and I were in Kishahn but he's sent me home to La'marri.

"I Just overheard you were going there. I need to get home and I... I hadn't much choice!" he chewed his lip, "I'll not eat much and I won't be in your way."
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

Isabeau wasn't buying the innocent act. She'd been a port urchin herself once, and knew from experience that children even younger than this boy would say and do just about anything if they thought it would get them passage on a ship.

"Uh-huh," she scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him. Tightening her grip, she turned around and started yanking him through the storeroom toward the stairs that led back up to the deck. "Where'd you hear we're headed to La'marri? And what else did you hear?" she demanded.

Whim

So much for his natural defense. Isabeau was likely dwarfed by most of her crew members. But her grip may as well have been steal as far as Ewan was concerned. (He didn't want to know how she managed to keep her rough-around-the-edges crew in line.)

"It was in that Groghouse! I don't know the name. I didn't hear nothing else. I'm not a spy!" he yelped indignantly as she pulled him along. "I said I was sorry! Where're you takin' me?"
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

She didn't bother to answer, dragging the little urchin up on deck and shoving him out in front of her while maintaining her vice-like grip on his arm, casting her eyes around the deck.

She gave a sharp, piercing whistle that had each and every member of her crew wincing to some degree or another. "FALL IN!" she bellowed, the sheer volume of her voice utterly at odds with her near dainty stature.

The crew scrambled to obey, those who could leave their work doing so to cluster around her in a semi-orderly mob. Their eyes fell on the boy and she saw some of the brighter ones begin to work things out.

"Seems we have a stowaway, lads," she told them conversationally when everyone was assembled. She drew the boy in front of herself, ruffling his hair in a way that would have been affectionate in any other situation. "And what I'd like to know..." Her eyes narrowed, scanning through the crowd. "Is which of you utter eejits let him slip past you last night, hm?"

Silence.

"You, lad." She shook his shoulder. "Point to the lout who was on guard last night." She knew very well whose job it had been, she'd put only two men on guard last night, but she wanted to see which of her men the child had actually made an effort to sneak past.

Whim

Ewan shrunk from the gaze of the motley crew, cringing as his hair was ruffled just a bit too hard. Was it really such a surprise he slipped by these... these roughnecks. But gods, he didn't want to get anyone killed! Rven if the failed sentry lived he was liable to have a rough tike aboard the ship. Ewan's gaze fell briefly on Crag. Was it him? He was big and inked.

"Well he was big... uh, dark hair...?" Ewan murmered vageuly. "It was night. Didn't see his face."
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

"Me, Cap'n." Crag spoke up but didn't step forward. "I take responsibility for it."

Isabeau nodded sharply. "Gally duty, one month," she told him, and he nodded, a flash of relief showing in his eyes. She gave a hard smile. "He seems to be a slippery thing, can't entirely blame you."

"What're you gonna do with 'im then, Cap?" That came from Floren, a man who was near ancient for a pirate- almost thirty- with salt and pepper hair and a face weathered by wind and sun.

"That's an excellent question," Isabeau said. She took the boy by the shoulders and turned him to face her, eyeing him in a calculating sort of way.

"We got a plank that never gets used," someone offered from the back of the crowd, and there were a few chuckles. Her own lips twitched slightly, but she ignored it.

"Tiny," she said abruptly, "Our last cabin boy jumped ship back in Ainu. I'd say that leaves the position open, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, Captain."

She grabbed the boy's chin lightly. "Hear that? Fair's fair, lad. No free rides here- you work hard enough, maybe I won't toss your ass overboard. We clear?"

Whim

It was the the best Ewan could hope for, but from what he knew of sailors their lives were grueling. He was sure things wouldn't be comfortable at the bottom rung. The boy chewed his lip nervously as Isabeau leaned closer. "I'll help out. You're awful kind to give me a chance miss, um" he chattered nervously, "-Captain. Though I'm afraid I don't know much about ships. Or being a cabin boy. Or what to call you."

"Captain Isabeau, lad," Crag gave a feral grin. "Lip my boots clean. Swab up Floren's vomit when he don't make it to the rail. And we'll be throwin' you to the kraken if it comes looking for tribute."

Ewan gave a sour look, not quite daring to roll his eyes he turned to Isabeau, "Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

"Oh-ho! Gonna be lickin' my boots with that enthusiasm, kid," Crag jeered, the rest of the crew letting forth a low chuckle.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

Isabeau spared a brief, hard smile for her crew's ribbing. "For now, lad, you can start swabbing the deck," she told him briskly. "Oi, Finn, Neal, bring the new cabin boy a mop and a bucket and show 'im how it's done."

She gave Crag an arch look as the junior members of her crew leaped to obey. "I wouldn't be such a smartass if I were you," she said mildly. "The lad managed to sneak past ya easy enough."

A few of the men chuckled at that, but she ignored them. Looking down at the boy again, she told him, "While you're on this ship you will call me Captain or ma'am, clear? You got any questions- bother someone else with them."

Whim

"Yes... m'am." he hated being so servile but had no choice. Ewan scowled down at the Yoreiqi garb. The boy really did look like a dock rat in it. Though he regretted the stupid question immediately as the answer was surely no. "Do you got anything better than this to wear?"

Finn effortly lifted a hefty bucket of brine and a mop, setting them beside the boyas the rest of the crew resumed their duties. He looked about Isabeau's age; tall and strong but not yet weathered by the sea. Ewan figured he'd either be sympathetic toward the next youngest crew member; or meaner and lacking the paternal drive of an older man. "Suppose you know how to use this kid?"

"Its a mop," he replied dully. He never had to mop anything in his life, really, but how hard could it be?

"Don't get smart," he clapped a rough hand on Ewan's shoulder, making him flinch. "You've gotta be thorough. Get the salt and birdshit off the deck. Wet the planks with brine so they don't rot. Reckon you'll lose that baby fat in no time, runt."

Ewan spent much of the morning swabbing the deck. The wet mop was heavy, and his arms were small. He supposed the job was originally Finn and Neil's, as the rambunctious recruits spent a good hour arm-wrestling under the pretense of supervision, until one of the seasoned raiders set them to work. They were pirates, that much was plain, though more disciplined than he'd expected. The crew deftly navigated the sails and rigging trying to catch the calm breeze. Neil shouted at him for stopping too long. He was already sweaty.

By midday most of the crew had migrated below deck to break. Ewan's work wasn't done, but no one else was around to notice. It was probably good enough. Besides that, a cold fog was beginning to roll in. It was an unusual thing for the Yoreiqi tropics, more suited to Niahi's and Connlaoth's shores, but the youthened-adult wasn't an expert in maritime weather. The boy wandered below deck to find the crew crowded around a long table. He skirted the room in search of a seat.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

Isabeau watched the new cabin boy with interest every so often as she made her way around the ship, taking care of her various "Captain-like" duties. Around noon she made her way down into the gally where the ship's cook- affectionately called "Cookie"- was preparing some sort of lunch.

The first few days at sea were always the best as far as food was concerned, and soon most of the crew was below decks, talking and eating and roughhousing. At the head of a long table, Isabeau simply watched them, shaking her head once in a while.

Her position afforded her a good view of the whole room, and her eyes caught on Ewan when he crept in. "Oi, cabin boy." Her voice wasn't necessarily loud, but it carried. "You finished up top then?"

Before he could answer, a muffled clanging sound echoes through the ship. The crew went quiet for a moment- then everyone stood, moving toward the stairs that led back up on deck as the clanging of the warning bell continued.

Sighing, the captain rubbed the bridge of her nose. Gods, what now?

Whim

There were no seats at the table. So the cabin boy had to settle for a barrel in the corner.

"I, um-" Ewan chewed his lip; certainly not as invisible as he thought. And three hours seemed far too long to mop the sleek deck, "-it's almost done, m'am."

Before Isabeau could admonish the boy a bell sounded above deck. The men rose in unison, clutching knives, cutlasses, and falchions. Ewan toddled after the mob which filed above deck.

The mist was cold and thick, blotting out the sky. It made Ewan shiver.

"Captain! Ship off port! Don't look friendly!" a wiry sailor bellowed from the crow's nest.

The silhouette of a longship, intricately carved into a serpent, loomed out of the fog. A hulking figure stood at the helm of the ship as it approached Isabeau's vessel. Was he preparing to board? Parley?
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

Following her crew up on deck, Isabeau immediately sensed something unnatural about the fog that seemed to have so quickly settled around them. Her hand went to the cutlass at her hip and she shot the lookout a quick glance.

Shouldering her way to the port side of the ship, she peered into the gloom. Her eyes widened a bit. She'd never seen a ship like that. "Ahoy!" she called. "You there? Do you mean to come aboard?"

Dropping her voice, she murmured to Crag- who'd appeared at her side somewhere along the line- "Man the guns, and get the lads on guard." He nodded with a grunt and slipped away.

Whim

The fog had allowed the longship to slip beneath the range of all but a few guns as the crew scrambled to re-position them.

Ewan could smell sorcery in the air. It was a primal sort of magic, not the alchemy and parlor tricks of mortals, but eldritch power involved by faeries and found clinging to artifacts from Fell. Could this rowdy crew possibly prevail? He tugged at Crag's tunic, the nearest sailor who seemed to know what he was doing, at least, "There's sorcery at work here, you know. It feels powerful."

But that was surely obvious.

The crew of the approaching ship was pale and silver-haired, wearing hide and scrimshaw. They carried blades forged of a strange, many-hued metal; many held grappling hooks. at the helm stood their captain, grizzled and cruel, wearing a dragon's skull. "I am Gulbrannd! Thane of Hoarspeir! I seek the daughter of Idunna the thief and traitor!

His milky eyes met with each and every man, "Bring her to face judgment and your lives are your own. Stand against us and die."
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

Even if she hadn't been the woman currently on board the ship, Isabeau would have known they meant her. Idunna. It had been a long time since she'd heard her mother's name- neither she nor her father spoke it expect in rare moments of reverence to her memory.

But...thief and traitor? What the hell was he talking about? Her mother had been a good, kind woman, a simply seamstress.

Mouth twisting in a snarl, she stepped up onto the rail and drew her blade, holding onto the rigging with her free hand. "And what justice would you have me face?" she called down to this Gulbrannd. "What crimes does Idunna stand accused of, and who are you to bring them against her daughter?"

Crag gripped Ewan's shoulder and put the boy deliberately behind him, muttering, "Take cover, lad. Things are going to get ugly."

Whim

"The guilt lies in the blood since Jarl Audunn was named unworthy." Thane Gulbrannd was stony faced. "My eyes do not lie. You are hers and you return in chains.

"OR NU'THUN!" he bellowed. The most grew so thick the longship seemed to vanish.

There was a dull clank as a half-dozen grappling hooks gripped the rail. The Poison Storm was being boarded.

Ewan rolled his eyes at Crag's recommendation. All the same he danced back toward the cabin in fright.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

DragonSong

"FIRE!"

The guns went off, hopefully hitting the enemy ship. They'd been aimed in that direction when they could still see the other ship, anyway. Leaping backward off the rail, Isabeau started barking orders to ready for attack, dashing toward the wheel.

Pistols and cutlasses were drawn and the pirates gave warning shouts. Sprinting up the stairs that led to the upper deck, the captain didn't even pause as she grabbed Ewan's shoulder and towed him with her, tossing him into the small space under the wheel with a curt, "Keep your head down, hide here."

Gripping the wheel, she gritted her teeth and put all her strength into a turn, trying to bring them about to starboard, put some distance between them and the enemy. All the while she was murmuring softly under her breath, a nonsense chant to the sea and sky, begging their aide.

It wasn't much, but a small swell rose up between the two ships and the mist lightened a bit. Just enough to make out shadows in the gloom.

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