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Post by Zoilus on Jan 9, 2018 18:38:46 GMT
Bellona did her best to watch Rackham's ragtag crew assemble, but the southern woman was certainly making that difficult. Where did Rackham find such a creature? Some people were born with the most absurd and undeserved luck, Artis damn them. But Bellona was a professional, and she wasn't going to make a fool of herself in front of this scum over a pretty face: there were plenty more where she came from, no?
A cold bath might be necessary later, though.
Bellona began her inspection with the conscripts. Sea dogs and sailors that had flouted Alendronian law or ended up drunk in the wrong place at the wrong time, it didn't matter. They had purpose now, and most of them were even standing up straight. Of particular interest was the smuggler, Vigo. He's been a tricky one to catch, and the constables hadn't wanted to give him up....but they didn't have any other Talcaer sailors. They tended to resist Alendronians to the bitter end.
The commodore moved on to Rackham's recruits. A more dangerous and talented bunch, certainly, but they were of a kind with the conscripts. Just lucky enough that they hadn't been in the cells instead. But for the plan, they'd do. That left Rackham himself, his disgusting first mate, and Artis's poor lost angel...
Bellona approached the captain, "Rackham, you've put a crew together faster than I expected. They're a," she eyed the girl, "diverse bunch, but that should make your story more believable. You have my leave to to begin your mission, and I expect you to set out by tomorrow morning, at the lastest. Understand?"
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Vigo stood in line with the Alendronian pond scum while the lady-officer eyed them all up. He knew Alendronians were cowardly fools, but letting women fight for them and putting them in such positions? He had to stop himself from laughing.
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Post by Fyremage on Jan 9, 2018 19:17:47 GMT
"When there's a will, there be a way as the saying goes, aye?" He almost gave Belonna a slight nudge, but thought better of it considering she very much seemed the type of woman to perhaps prefer gelding to hanging as a punishment. Instead, he gave her a wink and a smirk, and continued: "If oi 'ave yer leave, Commodore, I believe we be ready to set off within the hour. Maybe two or so."
James glanced over to Smitty to indicate he expected his words to ring true once they were all dismissed, but otherwise remained silent. It did not go unnoticed the looks stolen by the Commodore in the general direction of Saharadiezelady, and frankly the ol' seadog could hardly blame her. In fact, the implications of such were rather... interesting to contemplate for Rackham as he cleared his throat, tactfully clasping his hands in front of him to hide the change in volume of his pants.
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Post by Retrograde on Jan 9, 2018 19:31:12 GMT
Nawida looked at the others, and she came to a conclusion. Her work could bring her back up to Alendron again sometime. It was within the realms of possibilities. Which meant that she needed to make herself some allies, and who better than a Commodore of the Alendron Navy? After all, she probably heard all sorts of things from her sailors and could provide her all sorts of good information. Not to mention she would probably have some protections from those nasty little murder charges. Yes, it was clear now that it was absolutely essential for her to make inroads now, just in case. She would be a fool not to.
"I apologize if I speak out of turn," she said. "But I am not from 'ere, and I must say you are very fascinating, Commodore. In my homeland, we do not have female naval leaders."
She moved to approach the woman. "I am Shaharizadi, and I would like to say I am honoured to meet such an esteemed woman." She extended her hand, expecting a handshake. This is what people did here in Alendron, right? They were all kind of confusing up here. Hopefully the Commodore wouldn't take it as an insult. It was then that the she realized she was still wearing her signet ring, marked with the Roq of her clan. She wondered if that would help at all.
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Post by Zoilus on Jan 9, 2018 21:49:43 GMT
Bellona took Shaharizadi's hand: soft and...manicured, can she really be a sailor? And then she noticed the ring. It fit together now, she was a runaway from the south, the daughter of a noble house or of a great merchant. "Shaharizadi," Bellona pronounced the name perfectly, "the honor is mine. The Alendronian Navy is always interested in gifted foreigners, if you want to prove your worth at sea in a more...official capacity. We could discuss that at your leisure, of course, or even when this mission is done, if you're committed to it. Remember, Commodore Bellona de Nemaine, if you you're interested."
Bellona backed away. "Sailors, dismissed. Rackham, you can leave whenever you're ready." She marched off to the gangplank with her marine guards, right up to her carriage, and gave the Beetle one last look, shaking her head. Artis's luck to you.
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Vigo wasn't sure which part of the ship to go to, as navigator. They couldn't leave without him setting a course, could they? He approached the ship's supposed new captain, "Rackham, we could start moving south, but I'll need time to start laying a proper course for the Talcaer coast."
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Post by Fyremage on Jan 9, 2018 22:09:03 GMT
"Captain." James snapped back almost instantly, staring Vigo in the eye with a resolute air. "That's Captain Rackham, Mr. Vigo. Oi do recall I stated as much earlier, aye?" Belonna had since departed the ship, where it was just James and his ship now. When the Commodore announced they were dismissed, to the majority of the Crew's credit most of them at least waited on breaking ranks for the Captain's word. And with James' higher tone in this instant, it seemed everyone was content to observe what was happening between the two men.
James merely stared at the man, his usual smirk absent from his normally lax demeanor. His face was nary a few inches from Vigo's as he said the next word in a surprisingly stern and insistent tone which was primarily addressing Vigo, but also addressing all within earshot. "I'll 'ear you say it now, before we set course anywhere."
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Post by Retrograde on Jan 10, 2018 19:43:11 GMT
Nawida watched the Commodore depart with interest. What a thoroughly fascinating woman she thought to herself. She wondered what paths in life had lead her to that moment, that position.
She looked back at Vigo, and smirked at him. "You know, you should play nice wit' our Captain. Zhis is his ship, after all. He could easily toss you off."
She giggled, and then walked away, wigglimg her hips.
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Post by Zoilus on Jan 10, 2018 20:29:45 GMT
Vigo gave the southern wench a nasty look. She'd pay. He looked back up at Rackham, the thief parading Vigo's ship like he'd owned it for the last century. Fine, if it meant soothing this blowhard's precious ego...
"Oh, my apologies captain. Didn't know you were running this ship like a damned Alendronian, my mistake. We're all the commodore's slaves, but if she picked you to be the chief, fine, sir." Vigo gave Rackham a little mock bow, to complete the picture. "Now, captain, if we can move on to something that matters? That is, navigation? I need all the time I can get to chart us a proper course, so I need to know where you're keeping your maps and charts."
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Post by Fyremage on Jan 12, 2018 14:28:14 GMT
James affixed Vigo with a long, drawn out, potentially awkward stare - his eyes meeting Vigo's for a while and more. Finally, James' face cracked into another smile, clapping Vigo on his shoulder as he said: "Very good then. Wi' that business settled, I agree: we shou' make way and be quick about it, eh?"
James turned to Smitty and shouted gruffly: "Smitty, you have the deck!" At that, he led Vigo into the Captain's quarters, which had hastily been put together to suit James' needs by way of bottles of rum, a cot to the side, some chairs and a series of maps and charts adorning the table in the middle. The grizzled pirate extended his hand indicating for Vigo to get to work, with the ol' seadog moving with him to the chart to look over the maps with him.
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Post by Retrograde on Jan 12, 2018 18:50:40 GMT
Rutgardt nodded to the Captain, and moved to the helm. He had captained a ship a few times himself while James was either in prison or indisposed and it felt natural to go back to steering the ship. His eyes scanned over the rslest of the crew. He knew he could trust twenty of them, but what about the rest? They presented to him a measure of danger. He had no doubt they resented him and the Captain.
An angry crew was a dangerous thing. He had been marooned on an island before and would have died if not for a lucky moment of catching a passing ship's attention. He had also seen a large crew desert their captain once they made it to shore. He'll, he had been a mutineer once.
Hopefully they would be able to be calm for however long this mission took. Otherwise he had no doubt that he and James would sorely regret taking on the work.
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Nawida found herself helping the crew, if only because it would look strange to join up and then do nothing. Part of her was eager to go and kill Rackham, but him having Vigo in the room made that too risky a proposition at the moment. She was going to have to wait until the Captain was by himself. She knew she wanted to get it done before they made it to Bashny, however.
Sailing was something she had gotten used to over the years. Her time on her father's yacht had introduced her to the sea, and she came to understand the inner workings of most ships in her journeys in the north. It did much for her, adding a lot to her skillset, giving her another avenue of escape, and building her contempt for sailors.
She could see some men leering at her. She assumed they thought they had a chance of wooing her or failing that, getting her drunk. Sailors were often desperate folks, looking to lay with whatever woman would take them. It did make her wonder what sort of person would want to be a sailor full time. It didn't seem to a particulaly rewarding job. Terrible food, nowhere to go and the sanitary conditions were less than stellar. She imagined many simply became sailors because they were forced to, either by poverty or by the government of whatever nation they served under.
She sighed, lost in thought as she made sure the rigging was tied properly.
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Post by Zoilus on Jan 12, 2018 21:04:55 GMT
Vigo sat down and got to work, pouring over the maps, and drawing out routes and charts. For him, navigation had always been a solitary task, so Rackham's presence was a bit unnerving, especially in what had been his old sanctuary, his quarters...
Vigo looked at the brass lamp, hammered into the wall. He kept something special under there, something the damned Alendronian seemed not to have found...he couldn't very well let some drunk find it either. "*Captain*, I work best alone. Once I have a workable chart, I'll come get you. The conscripts need to see you in action, get a feel for you, to start trusting you, aye?"
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Rouzhana, called Zoz, was having the worst week of her life. Sure, there'd been doozies before, but in her years with as Vigo's first mate (and wife, but that was secondary), they'd never been so easily found out, so easily captured, and now, made into the the slaves of Alendron on their own boat! She'd helped steal this boat! She'd lived on it for years!
Vigo. Vigo. He'd never missed the mark like this, and she couldn't even go and give the bastard a piece of her mind because their drunken slavemaster had dragged him up into the Captain's quarters, probably for something unspeakable. She doubted either would satisfy the other though, so served them both right.
She got to work on the rigging, and nearly screamed. She hadn't been born for this.
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Post by Fyremage on Jan 17, 2018 2:33:23 GMT
James leaned against the hearth of the captain's quarters, polishing his nails in the span of time between Vigo entering the room and addressing him. His toothy grin returned. "Oh, Oi'm sure you work best alone. But you see lad- " He took a few steps forward, grasping an apple that lay atop a plate nearby. He shined it on the cloth of his seemingly clean jacket, waiting on biting into it until he finished his statement: "Oi'm not too keen on 'aving men I don't know work alone inside me quarters. Let's just say Oi've been around long enough for life to teach me the 'ard way, savvy?"
James was no idiot, despite Vigo's private thoughts on the subject. He gave the former smuggler a nod and wink as he then bit into the apple with a loud snap, juice running into the hair of his beard. He chewed greedily upon the morsel of fruit, speaking in between chews. "Besides - Oi've been aroun' the block long enough to know a good cap'n stays aprised o' the courses set on 'is ship. You never know when a disconten'ed ol' chum may lay a course into the maw o' danger in the 'opes of shoving it to the ol' Captain. Oi' sure yew wouldn't do as much o'course, but pardon an ol' seadog his ways, eh?" James sighed as he took a seat at the table, leaning over and peering down at the maps as if he were oblivious to whatever look of disdain Vigo had opted to fix upon his captain.
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Post by Retrograde on Jan 17, 2018 3:42:14 GMT
Nawida found herself adjusting some knots, tsking to herself at the shoddy workmanship of whoever had last tied the rigging. It was perhaps one of the most vital parts of the ship, and the slightest slip could be disastrous, leaving the vessel stranded in foreign waters or worse. She couldn’t imagine the sort of incompetence that would go into doing a half-assed job on something so very vital. She’d seen people flogged to death or keelhauled for less.
Her eyes wandered over to the new arrival, and Nawida stuck her tongue in her cheek as it became clear that the woman was clearly half-way to a tantrum. She looked sea-worn, so she was clearly some sort of sailor, but she also didn’t look Alendronian. Perhaps she was some sort of criminal. Her skin tone suggested an Ettin heritage.
“You look about ready to cry,” She said, realizing that she could very well be attracting the woman’s ire. Still, it was worth it to see if the woman knew anything. Apparently, a lot of the people on board were the former crew of the ship and could probably provide some sort of useful information. If not, she could at least amuse herself by causing a little meltdown.
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Post by Zoilus on Jan 17, 2018 3:59:56 GMT
Zoz heard a lilting, foreign voice ask if she was about to cry. To cry. What had this foolish girl been thinking what was her job, that she could go around asking the crew about their emotional wellbeing, what- And then she turned around and saw her. She was dressed in see-through gauze, was exquisitely beautiful (for a southerner), and looked like she'd just crawled out of some king's harem. What in the name of of the Divine Empresses was this woman doing here? Zoz felt her eye twich.
"Am I to be the slave of not just the Alendronians, but some harem girl too?" she began, pointing a finger at the foreign girl, "Why am I upset? Because fools like you can dictate their idiotic questions to me, like some common laborer! Shouldn't you be upset, so far out of master's golden cage? Forced to serve that stinking drunk the Alendronians sold this ship to? Leave me be, prostitute, and give thanks to your southern demons that I'm feeling tired."
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"Well, captain, that is your prerogative. Putting something proper together for Talcary's coast is more than one afternoon's work, but this," he slide over a map, "should do for most of Alendron's." Rackham did have a modicum of intelligence, but unfortunately only the most annoying kind. Dealing with him would take longer than Vigo had anticipated.
"And, do you have another apple? Been eating slop in the Orleons lock-up, would taste nice." Best to build bridges, even if they were, ah, not the most stable.
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Post by Fyremage on Jan 18, 2018 18:12:07 GMT
James took another loud, crisp bite of the apple and chewed on it pensively as he looked at the map. When Vigo made his request for another apple, James smirked and reached over to the small bowl which had a few more apples and tossed one to the smuggler. Thereafter, the old pirate's attention returned to the map. "To moi knowledge, Talcary's coast be lined with all manner o' treacherous obstacles aye? Parti'larly around the northern coast. I can' say Oi 'ave navigated those waters enough to know 'em like the back o' moi 'and, but I've been through enough to know it be no small task. Which brings anovver concern, Mr. Vigo."
James swallowed the piece of apple in his mouth and cleared his throat. "Wouldn't it be ravver odd to your kin if'n we be sailing from the north? Surely they know the likes o' Alendron wouldn't allow right ol' pirates to pass unmolested. Unless we approach from the east like we be coming around the patrols." For now, James was content to keep the conversation directed towards the task at hand. He aimed to get the measure of this man, especially since something seemed a tad... off to the Captain regarding him. Perhaps it was because he was Talcaer, which James had to admit he hadn't had an abundance of experience in dealing with men hailing from the proud nation. Or perhaps it was due to his overall disposition and bearing. Say what you will, but James was convinced that the way a man carries himself tells you the type of man he is. And James wasn't quite sure what to make of Vigo's gait. At least, not yet.
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Post by Retrograde on Jan 18, 2018 19:05:24 GMT
A wild, cruel grin split Nawida’s eyes as the woman ranted at her. Malice swirled in Nawida’s eyes, and she knew then that she would get very little out of her in the way of information, but a veritable bounty in the form of entertainment. Little did the woman know that in the assassin’s eyes, she had validated any and all forms of torturous cruelty and spite and that Nawida was never one to hold back.
“Oh my my my,” she said. “Such a mout’ on you. Someone’s clearly got some frustration zhey’ve dealing wit’.”
She stopped, and drew close to the woman. “You know, actually, miss, you remind me of a song, oh yes.”
She leaned back and began to sing. “Zhe Captain’s wife was Mabel
And by God was she able
To give the screw zheir daily screw
Upon zhe galley table!”
She threw back her head and cackled, and it was clear the rest of the crew knew the song because they joined on in, adding in their verses by singing about the many illicit sexual deeds of the captain and his family. Nawida’s eyes glittered as she leveled her gaze upon the woman who had ranted at her.
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