Private Waves Of Deceit

[Kimrisvik]

"But you are still a cub to me! So what makes you go soft and sign up for a legal operation as this? This cannot be the true Goldclaw!" Vashur and Jo'haráz laughed loudly, surely being heard by most people in the barracks. 'Goldclaw' took a few seconds to rush through his thoughts before he answered the old cat. "Aye. I might seem soft now that I've signed up for work from the 'law'." He said, almost with a bitter undertone. "But I didn't see any other way back home than this. It's not many fishers willing to sail someone to The Cursed Queen. And I can't blame them!" The khajiit started laughing again.

"As for the tales about my voyages, that will have to wait until we're out on the open seas. There will be alot of time for that then, and shanties of cause. If anyone here know any?" He looked around him to see if any of the crewmates responded. Many of the men were busy gathering stuff for the travel. Jo'haráz however didn't have anything to bring. He had been stripped for everything but his clothes when he were captured, and only managed to steal back his weapons when he escaped. He turned over to the Altmer sitting close to them. "So, lad, are you going home to the Isles? Or is the seas you're home, like mine?"

 

[DurableDiction]

"What will we name her?"
"Hmmm.... How about.. Viola?"
"Wasn't that your mother's name?"
Lysandre shrugged. "So I've heard. I wouldn't really know. Mother was a..." He stopped at Genevieve's stern look. "I just like the name."
The new mother smiled and turned her gazed back to the bundle in her arms. "I like Linley."
Lysandre thought for a moment, then smiled. "Linley Delecroix. Beautiful."


Lysandre jerked awake, tipping a half-filled mug in the process. The ale poured over the table and onto his arm. The drunk man stumbled out of his seat and nearly collided with a barmaid who angrily mumbled something Lysandre didn't understand. He stumbled to he counter and laid out some gold. The bartender look at him disgustingly. "I hope this is for a room." When Lysandre didn't answer, the bartender handed him a key and led him to a door at the back of the inn.

Lysandre plopped on the bed and groaned incoherently. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small brown vial. As he drained it, his intoxication lessened. When the vial emptied, the sober Lysandre chunked it against a wall. He sat for a Moment staring at the floor, thinking about his dream.
The man stood and walked to the wash basin. He gazed at his reflection in the water. His hair was unkempt an his eyes were puffy. Dried streaks of some liquid ran down his cheeks. "Tears..." He mumbled. He stood for a few moments staring at himself. Slowly he lowered his head beneath the water.

"I'll protect you, Gene."
Genevieve smiled. "We'll aren't a noble man."
Lysandre smiled for the last time. "I try."

Lysandre thrust his head back from under the water. He dropped to his knees and coughed up water all over the floor. Gasping, he wiped his hair from his eyes. He slammed his fist on the ground and swiped at the waters basin stand. The stand cascaded down, pouring water all over the floor. Lysandre stood and walked out of his room, hair still dripping.

The streets were calm, to Lysandre's liking. He walked aimlessly around the city. The capital was everything you'd expect it to be. Large manses and intriguing shops, traveling nobles and poor beggars, all manner of life existed on the capital. Lysandre paid little attention to his surroundings, focusing mainly on clearing his mind.

In his aimless traveling, he happened upon a building he had not noticed before. The medium-sized building sat secluded from the others not too far away from the docks. The seal of the East Empire Company blazoned the door. Lysandre recalled a conversation he had overheard in the tavern. Something about them seeking skilled persons for a crew. Without much thinking, Lysandre walked in.

 

[Khaotic3]

After Carina and Phinom had introduced themselves, Alex made a speech. He addressed the issue about women being on board, to which a wood elf gave some back talk. Alex's first mate spoke too, but Alex picked up again with introducing the Khajiit with one arm as the man who was funding the trip. When the elf again gave back talk, Phinom noticed an Altmer bully the wood elf a bit. Good. We may be troublemakers, but we don't need any rebels Phinom thought.
After Alex had stopped speaking, the two Khajiits began to horse around, much to Phinom's amusement. Alex approached Carina and Phinom.
"And you lads and lasses as well! What made you come set sail for the East Empire Company to distant lands? Wealth? Fame? Adventure and romance?"
"Why, I've missed life at sea!" Phinom laughed. "There is always plenty of adventure to be had. And as a merchant, I'm always looking for a shot at business." He now had a bit of a smirk.
Carina simply gave her usual grim, somewhat angry looking expression as Phinom spoke. If he gets us caught... Carina thought. She did not want to find herself in a Thalmor prison for skooma dealing.
"And you? How did you get to be captain of such a fine ship?" Phinom decided he and Alex had a bit of catching up to do.

 

[EpicVakarian]

"If you haven't noticed, lads, we got us some ladies on board." A mixture of noises met this announcement. Some groaned, some sighed, and some followed on from the pigs earlier and wolf-whistled. Thankfully, Alex held up a hand to silence them and continued. "These aren't your toys, they're able-bodied crew."
One man responded with "They're damn nice bodies, too." Abby rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and maintaining her gaze on Alex.
"I don't want to hear no nonsense of women being bad luck and the like, and if anyone makes unwanted advances on these ladies, I give them permission to kill you. Grognak!" An Orc by the door came forward. "I want you to keep the men in line. The girls say anything about the men harassing them, punish them as you see fit." The Orc laughed heartily.

Abby looked into Alex's eyes suspiciously. She had never met a man so chivalrous since her last ship had sunk. Something made her think that, for all the "no mistreatment", Alex was just doing it to get in her breeches. But, Abby forced herself to think, not every man was like that. It might well be that Alex was one of the few men that took a woman's comfort over his own. And hopefully, that was indeed the case.

Before that train of thought could go any further, a man stood up, beginning to yell out orders at the crew; make sure you're ready to go, make sure your stuff's on the ship, we're not coming back for anything, the like. Abby grinned, grabbing up her bags and waiting for Alex to walk by; she wanted to talk to him.

 

[DurableDiction]

Lysandre mingled a bit, listening to the many conversations taking place. He frowned a bit when an important looking man addressed the crowd about a couple of women joining their ranks. 'Women?' He thought. He gave a quick glance around at the others. They didn't seem too happy about it. They kept quiet when the man made it exceedingly clear that there will be no further trouble on the matter. The official, but orderly tone mad it clear that this man was the captain.

Quickly, Lysandre made his way over to the captain, but discovered that he was a busy taking note of supplies and the like. He noticed the woman mentioned to the crowd also seemed to be waiting to speak as well. Instead of inturrupting, Lysandre opted to wait until he walked back to the woman. He addressed her, intent on learning information. "Excuse me, ma'am. That man, what is his name?"

 

[Daryl Dixon]

The woman, Carina, didn't seem like the happiest of people. Alex was thinking about talking to her, but decided he would have to on the ship. Alex was brought out of his train of thought when his old crewmate spoke to him. "And you? How did you get to be captain of such a fine ship?" Phinom asked.

"Ah," Alex started, "That is a long tale and not a merry one. If you're that interested ask me on the ship, we have some catching up to do." By now Alex had gotten back down in his seat, but he got up again to leave the room. "I'll see you tomorrow Vashur." he said, and he got up to leave the room. He had some things to do on his ship, namely organizing things in the captains cabin.

He walked over Abby, she was eyeing him. Not in a suggestive way, nor a threatening one. She was standing by a man whom must have asked her a question, and he had either answered him or chosen not to by now.

"You shouldn't receive any trouble now, if you do, speak to Grognak. He isn't attracted to you, and don't feel intimidated by him." Alex looked over to the brute of an Orc as he spoke about him. Alex then turned his attention back to Pinky, then to the man who appeared to have just been speaking to her. "And who might you be?" he asked, extending a hand.
-
"What do you mean you can't stop!? Just sell the ship and move on with your life Alex!" Emily yelled, near screaming. "That ship is my life Emily!" was his response, much to her disapproval. "What about me?" she retorted, "what about your daughter?" Alex got up from the bed and walked a few steps away, not looking at her. A few moments passed like this, Alex didn't know what to say.
-

 

[EpicVakarian]

A woman walked into the barracks, the Orc grunted.
"Anybody know about the recruiting for some trading ship or such?" the woman asked.
"Yeah," Abby said kindly, pointing to Alex. "Ask him. He's the captain."

Before Alex got to her, a Breton about an inch taller than Abby walked over to her and caught her attention.
"Excuse me, ma'am. That man, what is his name?"
Abby paused, hesitating. She didn't know who this man was, and he clearly wasn't one of the crew. But, she supposed, a name couldn't hurt.
"Alex. He's the captain." She gave a polite smile to the Breton, looking to Alex himself as he walked over.

"You shouldn't receive any trouble now. If you do, speak to Grognak. He isn't attracted to you," Alex said.
Charming... Abby's subconscious thought. She ignored it.
"Don't feel intimidated by him." He glanced over to Grognak, then looked back to her, smiling. He noticed the Breton, holding out his hand politely. "And who might you be?"

Abby glanced upwards to Alex's face, a couple of inches above her own. She noticed, again, the connection that she was feeling with the man. It wasn't romantic, as far as Abby could tell. But she felt that she could tell Alex everything about her, and Alex would understand every part of her.

She let Alex finish speaking to the Breton, then tapped him lightly on the shoulder before he could leave.
"Hey. So, you're my new captain?" Abby smiled up at him, walking beside him toward his ship. "Judging from back there, you're a good captain. Even if you were a pirate." She winked. "Thanks for defending us. The women, I mean. The only reason I wasn't... taken on my old ship was because I was with that crew since I was eight. All of my crewmates saw me either as a daughter or a little sister. Obviously, that's not going to happen here, so..."

Abby suddenly stopped, brushing her hand against Alex's shoulder and hinting for him to stop, which, thankfully, he did.
"Sorry, I forgot to ask. Which ship is yours? All these ships look like they were made for combat, which I guess makes sense, but this is a trade mission, right?" She laughed, a womanly, high yet also fairly jolly laugh. The sailors on the fishing boat had loved that laugh. "So, which one of these beautiful ships is yours?"

 

[DurableDiction]

When the woman had eyed him hesitantly, Lysandre assumed she wouldn't tell him what he needed. She mumbled that his name was Alex and averted her attention.
The man in question was already walking towards them. He spoke briefly to the woman about her not recieving any trouble from the crew and to report any to the Orcish guard. Lysandre frowned. 'If she plays her cards right and can actually use that weapon at her belt, she shouldn't need protection.' He thought to himself.
He was brought back to reality by Alex's outstretched hand. Lysandre knew this test. To a regular person, a handshake was a simple greeting. But to a businessman, especially one dealing with mercernaries, it was a test of power and mind, to gauge the others aptitude for whatever purpose meant to be discussed. As Lysandre took his han, Captain Alex's iron grip was a silent sign of authority. Lysandre returned it with a firm grip of his own, signaling acceptance. "Lysandre, sir." He said politely. "I understand that you're leading this crew? Pardon the delay, but I only recently learned of this operation. I am interested in joining, if it please you."
Lysandre took note of the woman awaiting patiently for Alex to finish the conversation. "I haven't much experience on a ship, sadly. But I am a quick learner. I am adept at combat, should the need arise; and do not get seasick, even in rough water. Is there anything else you would like to know before deciding, sir?"

 

[Daryl Dixon]

The man Alex was about to know as Lysandre shook his hand firmly. "Lysandre, sir." He said politely. "I understand that you're leading this crew? Pardon the delay, but I only recently learned of this operation. I am interested in joining, if it pleases you, I haven't much experience on a ship, sadly. But I am a quick learner. I am adept at combat, should the need arise; and do not get seasick, even in rough water. Is there anything else you would like to know before deciding, sir?"

Alex looked the man up and down, sized him up, he looked capable. "We shouldn't be getting into any fights but you'll be a welcome addition to the crew. Speak to my first mate Jason, he'll tell you what work you'll be doing." Alex pointed Lysandre off to his first mate before adding, "And come speak to me later lad, we should get to know each other over some booze."

Abby tapped Alex politly on the the shoulder to get his attention as Alex went to leave for his ship. He turned to Abby, he didn't know why but he liked this girl. "Hey. So, you're my new captain?" Abby smiled up at him, walking beside him toward his ship. "Judging from back there, you're a good captain. Even if you were a pirate." She winked. Alex's stomach almost flushed with butterflies, what must she think of him and his past? Nothing good.

"Thanks for defending us. The women, I mean. The only reason I wasn't... taken on my old ship was because I was with that crew since I was eight. All of my crewmates saw me either as a daughter or a little sister. Obviously, that's not going to happen here, so..." Alex was glad she appreciated it, but he didn't do it to gain favor with the ladies.

Abby suddenly stopped, brushing her hand against Alex's shoulder and hinting for him to stop, which he did. When Alex realized she had stopped he thought something was wrong, until she began to talk.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask. Which ship is yours? All these ships look like they were made for combat, which I guess makes sense, but this is a trade mission, right?"

"Aye it is, but my brigs weapons and defenses have been heavily improved to make it much better pirate-" Alex hesitated, "Trading vessel."
Alex decided to clear something up. "Listen, when people hear the word 'pirate', it rubs them the wrong way. We just don't abide by the rules other mere men and creatures set for us. They are not higher beings, they are rich misers who think they make the rules. I Abby, am a gentleman of fortune. Known as a Pirate. That flag," Alex had been using some gestures, but now pointed to a black flag flying proudly above his ship. "Doesn't represent murder and debauchery, it represents the free men and women of the world." Alex realized he must sound like a fool, and he continued to walk toward his ship with Abby walking alongside. "As much as the Thalmor think they are better than us they are not, and I will not follow their rules." Alex was delivering to them, even though he hated them. The money was too important. "Forgive me M'lady for I have made a fool of myself, but if your plate isn't full and you want to talk don't hesitate to see me. I'll be at the wheel or in the captains cabin."

They were now standing at his ship, The Delilah. Alex was about to board before he turned back to Abby, "Care to join me?" he asked. He had hoped she trusted him enough by now to believe this wasn't to try woo or seduce her. "I want go get to know you better, you seem to be the more... Interesting type. I just need to fix some things up in the captains quarters before we leave tomorrow, you can join me for a drink if you like."

Alex boarded his ship via plank onto the deck, and walked into his quarters. There was golden trophies on the walls, pillaged and stolen, and there was something one wouldn't expect in the captains quarters of a pirates ship. There was a framed professional drawing, of Alex and a beautiful woman by his side. What was more surprising is there was a young child, barely one years old. Alex had one hand around the sitting child, and one around the woman. The left for the child, and right for the woman. It appeared to be a family photo.

Alex noticeably more than glanced at the photo as he walked in, then he went to pour some drinks.

 

[Jo'rak Vandeni]

Vashur had long left his fellow sailors and other crew members behind, and had sought refuge in his private chamber on the Delilah, the cabin was more than enough for his liking. The room was decorated with golden painted pillars, the walls were covered with paintings, elegantly placed symmetrically around the room, covering the dark brown unpainted wood walls behind them, the wood gave of a strong smell of nature, but enough air circulated for the smell of salt water and the scents of the district to enter the room, and mix these scents into a new, different sort of formula. The room was not overly grand, it contained a large double bed, with red silk sheats neatly placed on the bed, and a large brown bear fur placed at the end of the bed, Vashur was relieved it was not a cat, the message would be very plainly put indeed...
Except for the bed was a large desk, as well as a set of two matching chairs, on the desk was a finely detailed map of the south-west of Tamriel, the Summerset Isle, southern Empire, and Elsweyr, as well as many of the smaller islands and currents in the seas surrounding the regions. Vashur observed the map and planned different paths to Summerset, before he turned his attention to the rest of the room.
A large set of cabinets, filled with different clothes of different size and gender, covered the west walls, and a bookshelf and a wine-cabinet on the east, Alex had prepared Vashur to feel to content in his chamber to bother "disturbing" the crew above during the voyage it seemed, but maybe that was just Vashur being overly paranoid.

He opened the wine-cabinet, grabbed one of the bottles and a small tin glass with his functional arm, and sat himself down on the bed, and raised the bottle he'd grabbed. It was a large, green bottle of argonian Bloodwine, Vashur shrugged for himself at his choice of liquor, and he poured the dark red liquid into his glass. He raised the glass and devoured it all instantly, it had been a long day.

As he lowered the glass from his fanged mouth, he saw a set of tinted windows, giving him excellent view of any activity on the deck a few meters below.

Vashur laid down on his bed, and slowly shut his eyes, the bloodwine had gone straight to his head, and he slowly fell asleep, celebrations could be heard from the taverns and inns in the harbour, but Vashur couldn't think of anything else but the journey ahead.

This, was going to be the greatest challenge of his life.

 

[Tiaz Raydari]

Jaoan was still relaxing in the barracks, sitting with his feet on a table. He noticed a girl looking around, she then got to Vashur, Jason and Alex before she called out, "Anybody know about the recruiting for some trading ship or such?" And nobody heard except another women, The two seemed to chat for a bit before she seemed to have pointed in the right direction. Only moments later the three leaders seemed to have disappeared.



Jaoan groaned before getting up and walked closer towards the girl, the barracks grew rather dim in the last few hours, "You looking for the Delilah? the trading ship that going to Summerset?"
The girl turned around, her face meeting his, and Jaoan seemed to recognize her, "Yes, wait... Are you in charge of it, or something?" she said.
"Not quite, lets just say I have known the Captain for awhile, and to answer your other question, yes I'm part of the crew. Why don't you follow me?"
Che'anni looked at Jaoan, deep into his blue eyes before replying, "Sure, lead the way."

They both got out of the barracked, it was a long walk to the ship.
They finally arrived, Jaoan pointed at the ship, "There she is, the most equipped trading vessel in all of Tamriel. Perfectly capable of handling any hostile resistance, not that we expecting much." Jaoan said.
"Then why go to all that trouble to hire mercenaries, or guards, or whatever we should be." she asked.
"You should ask the captain about that. Let me just give you the grand tour, shall we?" Jaoan said before leading her onto the ship.
"Do I need it?" she asked.
"I wouldn't think so, but we should be safe shouldn't we?" he said before he carried on with the tour, showing her most of the ship.

 

[DurableDiction]

Lysandre nodded at the captain's orders. Making his way through the crowd, he located the First Mate, who was bust directing crew members to their posts and storage area. Lysandre walked up to the man and grunted. "I was told to come see you for orders, sir." He thrust his hand out. "Lysandre Delacroix. I only recently joined your crew."

Once the formalities and orders had been given, Lysandre boarded the Delilah. He hadn't any luggage of his own, save a set of leisure clothes tucked away in his satchel. It was all he needed, being on the move. Too many belongings slow a person down.
Lysandre jumped onto the mass and scrambled up to the peak.he plopped down and simply watched the others go about their business. He felt content atop the mast as looked out over the water. He had no idea wher they were going, but having a purpose for once was a welcome change.
Lysandre reached into a small, hidded pouch over his heart and pulled out a brilliant platinum ring. He fiddled with the band absentmindedly as he gazed of in the distance.
He went on like this for what seemed like hours before remembering what the captain had said. Lysandre descended from his spot and began his search for the captain.

 

[EpicVakarian]

"Aye, it is, but my brig's weapons and defences have been heavily improved pirate - erm, trading vessel." Alex seemed to break a barrier in his mind as he looked down to Abby. "Listen, when people hear the word 'pirate', it rubs them the wrong way. We just don't abide by the rules other mere men and creatures set for us. They are not higher beings, they are rich misers who think they make the rules. I, Abby, am a gentleman of fortune, known as a pirate. That flag," he said, pointing up at the mast of what Abby assumed was Alex's ship, "doesn't represent murder and debauchery; it represents the free men and women of the world. As much as the Thalmor think they are better than us, they are not, and I will not follow their rules." He paused. "Forgive me, m'lady, for I have made a fool of myself, but if your plate isn't full and you want to talk, don't hesitate to see me. I'll be at the wheel or in my cabin."

"Please, don't call me m'lady. I don't outrank you, and I hold no lands. I'm just a woman, and a sailor at that. But I'll certainly come see you if I need to talk." Abby smiled up at him kindly, looking into his blue eyes.

The pair reached the gangplank to Alex's ship, which had the name Delilah printed on the bow. Before Abby could comment on the name, Alex turned to her swiftly.
"Care to join me?" Abby looked at him questioningly. "I want to get to know you better, you seem to be the more... interesting type." Abby's cheeks flushed ever so slightly at the compliment, but she managed to keep eye contact. "I just need to fix some things up in the captain's quarters before we leave tomorrow. You can join me for a drink if you like?"

"Sounds great!" She grinned, her white teeth glimmering slightly, and followed Alex up the gangplank and into the captain's cabin. Abby glanced around the decorations when she entered behind him; a collection of trophies, as would be expected. But also a framed drawing, containing Alex's likeness with a beautiful woman to his right and a small baby cradled in his left arm. There was no mistaking that this was a picture of Alex and his family. Abby hadn't been expecting Alex to have a family, and her heart took a punch, though she didn't know why. She noticed him looking long and hard at the picture before looking away and pouring drinks, so she picked it up and examined it closely.

"Your family?" Abby smiled sympathetically, looking down at the drawing. "I didn't realize you had a wife and kid. They're... very beautiful." She took a cup from Alex to find it contained rum. Although it wasn't Abby's favourite drink, it was alcohol, and she drank it anyway. "My family was my crewmates. My mother and grandfather left when I was very young; they could be dead for all I know. Since then I was fishing with my new family to earn my keep." She locked her fingers together and rested them on her waist, looking straight at Alex intently.

 

[Kimrisvik]

Jo'haráz watched as the first mate, Jason, commanded the crew around. Vashur, Alex and Abby had left the barracks and went for the ship, so he got up himself to find a suitable sleeping spot for the night. He didn't care too much about where he slept at the time, since he didn't have any money to rent a room at an Inn. The air outside of the barracks was cold, and the city had began to fall silent. All but the dock. Here men shouted orders at each others and laughed.

The Khajiit scanned over the crates and barrels Alex' crew loaded the ship with until he could spot one that held just what he looked for. Rum. He walked slowly over to the crate and snapped a bottle, hiding it under his coat. The ship they were loading was a beautiful vessel, and well armed too. Somehow it reminded him of The Cursed Queen. Might as well sleep on the ship... He thought to himself as he boarded it. He looked up at the crows nest, wich seemed empty at the time, and smiled.

The climb up wasn't to hard, but the nest itself was small and not so comfortable. "Well, if i can fit in it, I migh as well sleep here." He mumbled to himself before he curled himself into a ball and closed his eyes, keeping one of his hands at his hidden dagger, just in case.

 

[Khaotic3]

Alex had left Carina and Phinom to speak with some other people who were eager to join the crew.
"Well, I figured I might as well make some friends before we set off. Care to join?" he said to Carina.
"Do I have a choice?" she glared at him.
"Not if you want to get paid."Phinom grinned. Carina sighed as she followed Phinom to a group of crew members.
"Oh look! Here comes the little guy and his girlfriend," said an Imperial as they approached. Phinom was by no means little, but he was probably referring to his young age. Phinom looked around as they laughed.
"Oh, you're referring to me? I must be blind, because I'm pretty sure I'm bigger than you, shrimp. Not that size really matters, since I'm pretty sure even Carina could take you." If they made friends by being fighting, then so be it.
"Don't tell me your puttin' you're woman in harm's way just so we'll think you're tough, lass."
"She's not my woman." Phinom began, but the man cut him off.
"Really? so you don't mind if I do this?" he said putting his arm around Carina and slowly lowering his hand.
"No, he won't, but I do," Carina said in a clear voice. She grabbed his arm and twisted it until he grunted in pain, and used her other arm to put him in a choke hold. "And if that hand touches me again, I'm going to cut it off. Understand?" She smiled as she said her last words. The man nodded somewhat pathetically. The other men were speechless. "Can't say I didn't warn you," Phinom told them as he and Carina left.

Outside the barracks, they could see Alex and Abby boarding a ship. A few more people followed, so Phinom and Carina headed towards it. Once on board, they were shown to their beds, and after placing their things, spent the rest of the daylight hours on the top deck.

 

[Daryl Dixon]

"Please, don't call me m'lady. I don't outrank you, and I hold no lands. I'm just a woman, and a sailor at that. But I'll certainly come see you if I need to talk." Abby smiled up at him kindly, looking into his eyes. "Someone put their sassy pants on..." Alex mumbled.

Abby looked at Alex questioningly as he asked if she would join him, but didn't seem to suspect anything bad. "Sounds great!" She grinned, her white teeth glimmering slightly, she followed Alex up the gangplank and into the captain's cabin. Abby noticed the photo, and picked it up examining it closely. Alex noticed this as he poured the alcohol, and he didn't know how to react.

Your family?" Abby smiled sympathetically, looking down at the drawing. "I didn't realize you had a wife and kid. They're... very beautiful."
She took a cup from Alex and began to drink it. "My family was my crewmates. My mother and grandfather left when I was very young; they could be dead for all I know. Since then I was fishing with my new family to earn my keep." She locked her fingers together and rested them on her waist, looking straight at Alex intently.

Alex listened carefully, she seemed to have a lot of experience onboard a ship. Her old crew also seemed important to her. "I was raised in that orphanage they have in Riften," he said before taking a mouthful of rum, "Well 'raised' is giving them too much credit. Hated it there, Grelod is a downright ass I'm tellin' ya. I left for the thieves guild, then left for the high seas." Due to the glass not being particularly big, Alex downed the rest of his rum.

"And that drawing, It's uh..." he began, he didn't know how to finish so he poured another drink, and silently offered to refil Abbys. "They were my family yes, but they're.... They're not anymore."

Alex sculled his remaining alcohol, but it wasn't enough. He needed to be ready tomorrow, but he needed to clear his head right now. The thought of the woman and baby in the drawing, it pained him so. He complained about his family failing him and leaving him at an orphanage yet he had failed his own. To keep Abbys attention away from Alex's visible pain he tried to distract her. "So how'd you get that hair?" he asked, "Its quite extraordinary. I've never seen anything quite like it before, and I've seen my fair share of madness. That's assuming it's natural, of course." Alex's tone and outlook seemed to improve drastically, light humored even. It was all an act. He was, however, quite interested in the color of her hair and whether it was real or not.

Jason was approached by a man telling him he was a new addition, Alex must have sent him over to receive what job he'd be doing. "You can man the cannons, above or below deck I don't care mate. Find yourself a cannon, claim as your responsibility. Whether or not it gets used doesn't matter, you still get paid. You don't know how to work one ha ask the guy beside ya, you fire when told to. You keep it clean. Ulu reload it after every shot, one cannon ball goes in at a time. Simple?"

The man looked a little confused, Jason pat him on the back and sent him off. Jason didn't hang around much longer before he went to the ship himself, he'd make his way to the top of the ship, where the wheel is.

He looked over the back of the ship, and at the city he was soon to leave.

 

[EpicVakarian]

"I was raised in that orphanage they have in Riften." Alex took a swig of his rum. "Well, raised is giving them too much credit. Hated it there; Grelod is a downright ass, I'm tellin' ya. I left for the Thieves Guild, then left for the high seas." He swallowed the rest of his rum. "And that drawing, its, uh..." He stopped, pouring himself another drink and refilling Abby's. "They were my family, yes, but they're... they're not any more."

Abby didn't know what to say. Before she could say anything, Alex spoke again.
"So how'd you get that hair?" Abby paused, confused. "It's quite extraordinary. I've never seen anything quite like it before, and I've seen my fair share of madness. That's assuming it's natural, of course."

This felt like a distraction to Abby, but she played along.
"It's natural." She sighed, considering how to explain it. "My mother was human, but my father was an Altmer. A pirate, who raped my mother. He had white hair, my mother had red hair. Apparently, this is a mutation; the chances of it happening are so small that there's no numbers to explain it." Abby reached up habitually, twirling a lock of hair around her finger and looking back down at the drawing. "So, this was your wife? Your kid?"

Alex gave a confirmation. "So they're alive? Or..."

 

[DurableDiction]

Lysandre was about to knock on the door of the Captain's quarters, but upon hearing voices, he stopped. The Ghost leaned against the frame and quietly listened.

"So how'd you get that hair? It's quite extraordinary. I've never seen anything quite like it before, and I've seen my fair share of madness. That's assuming it's natural, of course."
"It's natural."

'Sounds like the pink-headed girl at the barracks.' Lysandre frowned. 'Gaining power by turning in the sheets with the captain, eh? Clever girl.'

"My mother was human, but my father was an Altmer. A pirate, who raped my mother. He had white hair, my mother had red hair. Apparently, this is a mutation; the chances of it happening are so small that there's no numbers to explain it."

'Using a unique quality as a charm? Child's play. You'll need to try harder, girl.'

"So this was your wife? Your kid?. So they're alive? Or..."
This caught Lysandre off guard. 'Captain has a family? Yet he'd rather sail off to Divines know where and "have a drink" with random women? Scum.'

'Youre no better.' His conscience told him. 'You let yours die.'

Lysandre clenched his fist. 'Damn it! It wasn't like that!" He slammed his fist into the door. The converstion stopped abruptly. 'Damn it!' He swore to himself as he rolled to the side and fished in his sack for a potion. As he drank it, his form evaporated from existence. Quietly, he slipped below deck.

 

[Daryl Dixon]

"It's natural." Abby sighed, in response to his question. "My mother was human, but my father was an Altmer. A pirate, who raped my mother. He had white hair, my mother had red hair. Apparently, this is a mutation; the chances of it happening are so small that there's no numbers to explain it." Abby reached up habitually, twirling a lock of hair around her finger and looking back down at the drawing. "So, this was your wife? Your kid?"

Alex gave a slight nod and looked down. Before Alex could stop it, distract her further, she asked him. "So they're alive? Or..." Alex was a little surprised at the bluntness of the question, but it didn't offend him. Images of his daughter laughing, smiling, crying flickered through his mind as he realizes how he's has failed her.

By now Alex had made his way to the other side of the desk, opposite Abby, He slowly clenched up his fist against the table, his knuckles began to turn white. There was a singular thud on the door, Alex chose to ignore it, it was probably a mistake. Alex felt the back of his eyes swell up and his throat go dry, 'No, not here.' he thought to himself. 'I'm the damn captain I can't do this, I need to be strong!' He kept trying to distract himself in his mind, but it wasn't working.

He could feel the preassure building up, he knew it was going to come out. You can't keep things like this bottled up without bottling out, Alex was no exception to these terms. He just wished Abby would leave, he could express his anger and sadness alone then continue as if it never happened. Get the voyage over and done with, split the gold and sail home.

'Dadda?'

'What about me, what about your daughter!?'

'You said once our child was born you'd leave the ship behind and buy some land, have a real life, you promised me!'

'Just because we are no longer together does not mean you can disrespect her, you understand me? That is the mother of my child you're speaking to.'

'She didn't make it... I'm sorry captain.. I truly am..'

Alex remembers the stares, the eye contact and quickly looking away, everybody looking at him. He looked up at Abby, and managed to not get extremely violent in front of her. But he was tensing up, and he still had to answer to the question. "No."

 

[tdatapina]

Varian turned and walked out the room. Most of the soon to be pirates were packing up their things and getting ready to go and few were still sitting around talking and guzzling as much rum as they could. He found himself eying a bottle of ale and decided to go for a drink. It'd been a while since he had had something to drink, and on the ship there was no doubt he'd find anything good to drink.

Varian wandered the Imperial City in search of an inn of some sort. It had been a while since he'd visited the Imperial City and his memory was quite foggy. "Excuse me, could you point me to the nearest inn?" He asked, approaching a guard. "North east corner of the Market District, diagonally from the watchtower." "Thank you." "Good day citizen." The guard replied, and turned back to his post.

The Feed Bag eh? Varian read the sign. A small horses head was painted next to the name, with an elegant design surrounding the wooden makings of the sign. "Better than nothing I suppose." He said aloud, pushing the door open. It creaked loudly but nobody turned an eye to him as he entered. An Imperial sat at the table in corner of the room, and another at the reception desk. As he closed the door it creaked loudly once again. "Give me your finest room," he said, smiling at the receptionist. "And a bottle of Cyrodilic Brandy, if you don't mind." "Certainly," he replied, reaching under the desk. He pulled out a pink and purple bottle and handed it to him. The bottle was narrow at the mouth, and only slightly larger on the bottom. "On second thought, I'll take two." The man smiled and grabbed another one, handing them both to Varian. He took it gratefully and tucked them into his pouch. The receptionist watched Varian expectantly. "Ah, my apologies." He said. He reached into his other pouch and produced coins equaling a value 158 Septims. The man cleared his throat, keeping his hand outstretched and looking to the room and back. "Last I checked, you didn't charge for rooms." He grumbled to himself as he reached for the remaining Septims. "Thank you." Varian sneered at the man. "Are you going to show me my room, or do I need to go find it myself?" He knew where it was, but the fact that he had been charged agitated him. "Right this way."

Varian walked into the room and the man reached his hand out expecting a tip. "Not a chance." Varian said as he slammed the door shut. He turned the small knob and the lock tumbled shut. The room was quite large. A double bed sat centered at the southwestern wall with a small chest at the foot of the bed. A table sat opposite the bed with a plate of bread and cheese and two bottles of skooma. Could end up being quite useful. He thought, pocketing the skooma. Aside from the skooma, nothing interesting rested in the room. Varian sat at the table, reached for his dagger, and sliced the bread in half. He kept a habit of cleaning the dagger so it was sanitized enough to eat off of. He filled the bread with cheese and took a bite. Disgusting. He thought, forcing down the stale bread and dry cheese.

After finishing his meal he stood up and made his way for the bed. He sat, removed his boots and pulled out a bottle of the brandy he had just purchased. Popping the cork, he inhaled the sweet smelling aroma. It had been too long since he had some to drink. He raised the glass and tipped it. It ran smoothly down his throat. "Ahhh... Cyrodilic Brandy. Never disappoints." He said, throwing the bottle and falling back into his bed. He closed his eyes only for a moment, and before he realized it, it was morning.