O’ thine heart be hearty!
O’ thine trade be true!
Captain Karro-carry us a-Way
Out into the blue!
Artirian O-Ren, for the life of him, could not get the rest of the crew to stop singing. His Deck Swabbie stumbled around like he was actually on the roaring waves of the sea. O-Ren watched as the Captain himself hung halfway out the only window in the messroom. Captain Cassius Karroway was also singing the drunken song written about himself. He knew every word because he wrote it. If you caught him sober though, he probably wouldn’t even be able to remember the first line...
O’ thine Damning Darling!
What good we’ll be to you!
Captain Karroway, carry us away!
The Darling and her damning crew!
A couple of the other crew members swatted at young Artirian as he walked by them. He would sometimes try to sneak a drink when they got like this. The rum this week, however, was a little too dark for O-Ren’s taste, and he never cared much for the fuzzy feeling of being drunk anyways. If some skyship full of pirates saw them flying with the wrong Flag of Codes, he would be the only sober one to defend the Damning Darling. Well... There would be one other sober person…
But she’s slightly more annoying than the crew at their worst.
O-Ren quickly collected his thoughts and tried to keep close the more positive ones.
I mean, she could have run away from her role as a princess because her father is corrupt. Dude just sets up a whole kingdom for his daughter then decided to leave it all to his highest appointed general. She acts like she doesn’t even want to rule the kingdom anyways, I guess.
Yet she was all he had right now. The burly men of the ship loved to indulge in their completed quest parties, but O-Ren and the aforementioned annoying young lady liked the peace and quiet of the skyship’s small library. The cramped wooden room had one tall shelf and one small holo-desk.
“You can’t even call this a library.” Were Kinner Katar’s first words upon entering the cramped space many weeks ago. Back then, she ridiculed the oldtech, paperbound books. Now, O-Ren found her already halfway through a thick-spined leather book. She used the light of the holo-screen in front of her to help her see the words more clearly. Her hands flipped her dark hair back, but every time she did it would fall back down onto the book after a minute or so.
“How long?” Kinner’s voice was stern and impatient. The words in the book kept her eyes’ attention when speaking to Artirian. She had only just begun to lighten up after nearly a month of barely speaking to any of the crew besides Artirian and the Captain.
“Just a couple more hours probably. They never go too long into the night. Cap’n is hanging out the window so maybe less time if he falls from this height.” Artirian sat upon the empty space on the other side of the holo-desk. He unhooked a section of the screen’s projector and flipped through the on-screen User Interface. His dark skin was tinted a dim green from the glow of the device. “I still think we should wait until tomorrow... But you don’t pay me extra to think, do you?”
“You won’t get paid at all unless you find me that info.” The book she was reading snapped shut and she gently placed it back in its place at the shelf on the opposite wall. “I know there’s someone in that Plot of the city that can help us.” Her repetitive pacing was distracting O-Ren now.
“We’ve got all day tomorrow to start the search.” O-Ren went back to his holo-screen and shuffled through some forums and message boards.
Plus, no one is going to advertise that they know where a lost King would be hiding. Anyone with that information would probably a trusted, wealthy man of importance. Not some back-alley dude, probably glowy-eyes looking to ambush any desperate buyers.
The skyship rocked with some minor turbulence, sending a stack of books to splay across the floor. The two young crew members worked together and made sure each book went back into its correct space. O-ren had noticed he dropped the holo-screen. When he picked it up, the first article on the interface got his attention.
<100 INFO PACKS FOR 1,000 BITS(no less)!!! TRAVERSTHRONE? MOAR LIEK traversOWNED>
“I don’t think we have the money for this, but they’re the only ones sellin’ info in Karnicio Town right now.” O-Ren saved the advert and passed it to Kinner. “Karnicio ain’t a bad place to sneak around. The security isn’t as tight as the other, larger plots around it like Adornwood or Halfwood.”
“I contacted them.” Kinner handed the device back to O-Ren with a toss. “We are meeting them tonight. It’s just one informatent, maybe a guard or two, I think we can handle it.”
“Well, yeah we can handle it,” The device snapped back into place on the holodesk. “But If we practice that one move again, we might stand a better chance.” The pair could hear the singing and chanting from the other end of the main hall and decided to take the airlift to the captain’s bridge.
With the flip of a lever, the two became cramped in a small wooden lift that carried them upwards with hast. O-Ren tapped his foot awkwardly to the funky muzak that filled the tiny vessel. The silent roar of muffled wind covered the lift’s arrival tone as the pair stepped into the Top-o-room. This was the place where they kept their physical maps and quest receipts. It was an obstacle course designed by laziness and maintained by drunkenness. This was the room that Captain would make Artirian organize if he stepped out of line (He so-far has only had to clean the room once in the many years aboard the Darling, though).
“There’s a better screenshot of that Plot in here right?” Kinner was not ready to dig through this mess. “We just need the street layout since I’ve never been.
“I think so. Yeah, I don’t know my way around Karnicio. I just know a few spots that Cap’n let me in on.” The first mate had begun trudging through, relying on his balancing skills to not knock over the largest tower of papers. The captain said that that particular stack was his customer complaints. He said he kept every single one because they meant so much to him. “I kinda know how this stuff is organized. Should be right over here.”
The holodevice flew threw the air and right into Kinner’s hands. She powered it up and saw the file for the map of Karcinio Town. It was a big plot of land in the massive, circular city of Traversthrone. She zoomed in on a few downtown blocks by the time Artirian had made his way back.
“Guess I could have just thrown this one too.” He connected the small device that contained the job info to the device containing the map and honed in on a specific sector of the town. A small green blip appeared on a corner of the main drag in town. “Might be… Potema’s Pub? Cap’s been here before, for sure. Either that or maybe it’s Lotso’s Lounge and those dudes will definitely serve us a drink. Shady place.”
“Shady is good, remember?” Her smile grew as she tossed him the info device and pocketed the map device. “Speaking of the Captain, let’s see if they’ve had enough to drink yet.”
“There’s literally not enough rum in any kingdom on Haethrone that could be enough for them. You haven’t learned that by now?” Artirian didn’t follow her into the lift. “How about this, since you’re in such a hurry, I’ll go get the skyraft ready and pack our stuff for the night. I’ll also drop anchor real quick so we know how to get back if things go sour as they did with that last info-broker. Let’s avoid touching the Nekocats of strangers this time.” She blushed but nodded with a smile.
The hum of the lift zooming downwards faded as the First Mate headed to the Darling’s bridge. He sat at the helm and loaded up the holodesk controls, hitting the button to drop anchor. Slowly, the Damning Darling came to a halt. Another button showed the words
It’s jagged, circular walls formed a semi-circle at the southern base of Halenguard’s coast. Each city or village within the kingdom was separated by another wall to outline each Plot. There was a central port that cut deep into Halenguard like a man-made river leading from the sea to Traversthrone’s central city Plot; Aetherwood. All sky or sea ships using this entrance will be protected by the Royal Aetherguard for scanning of ships and fair docking processes. It has become the most popular form of entering the massive city. If you find yourself being chased by anyone hostile or even the Aetherguard themselves, just slip on down that river and anything bad usually stops once it sees that Aetherguard Mothership. They are obsessed with processes and that makes them unable to legally attack a vessel seeking refuge in its port.
“So we’ll just get a nice escort for this job? Wouldn’t they alert the authorities as soon as they scanned us, we’ll get fried before we even make it to Karnicio”
“That’s why we’ll be avoiding that entrance.” O-Ren laughed and agreed with Kinner. They climbed into the cockpit of the skyraft and set off by freefalling the vessel to kick start it quietly. Only a few minutes went by as they flew high above the sparkling lights of the massive kingdom. “There, that’s where Captain likes to set down.”
A row of towering stockhouses helped hide their landing which proved to be difficult in the dead of night. Luckily the fog had just rolled in across the rural hills on the outskirts of town. Once they touched down, the pair struggled to move the compact skyraft but ultimately did manage to hide it pretty well near a forest.
Kinner called a cab and gave the nearest address. Within minutes, the steam car had arrived and was hauling them straight to the center of town. Most of the shops were made of steel and brick while the older housing was all crafted from darkened oak contrasted against now-faded white walls. There was such a strange mix of old and newtech that it reminded O-Ren of his days with his father, who loved finding new ways to make oldtech still useful.
The lights all buzzed but did well to illuminate the cobbled drag that stretched for miles. The cab driver thanked them for the spare bits when he dropped them off at the corner of Potema’s Pub.
The young princess and first mate stared at the lavish, yet classy building. It’s neolight sign sparked a rainbow of colors at the smallest drops of rain that began to fall. They rushed inside and were greeted by an overpowering wave of smoke and foul stench coupled with bustling patrons of varying volumes.
In the center was a holotron screen that you could hook your personal device to and watch whatever you wanted. Next to it was the Info-Corner, with Kinner and O-Ren at the front of the line. They were looked over by the receptionist, a large woman with even larger, curled up multi-colored hair.
“Let’s see whatcha got, Sweetums.” She took the device out of Kinner’s hands and hooked it to the Datawall behind her. From within the great depths of her hair, a small and spiky Skreet rat waved to the O-Ren and Kinner. The lady behind the counter ran the device over hundreds of job-slots until the device and its corresponding slot began to light up and beep. “There she be- Ah, Ol’ Veebo. I thought that be him. He’s not here actually. You want the place across the street.”
“Oh, Lotso’s Lounge? That place is so nice.” Artirian smiled at Kinner then nudged her subtly with his elbow. “We might be in luck tonight.”
“Yeah, afraid not, Sweetums. Place you want is gonna be behind Lotso’s.” She pulled a piece of paper out and penned out a map. “Gotta take the back door and then it’s just through this little nook here. Veebo’s Vacation, some call it. I don’t know if there’s a sign or anything. Actually, now that I think about it, no one has ever left a review about his info or went through him more than once.”
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“Great... Well, you’ve got your shadiness, Princess. Must be some great things this Veebo has to offer. Probably something along the lines of certain death. Yeah, this is our luck: the shady bar has an even shadier place out back.” Artirian sighed as they left Potema’s Pub. In the short minutes they were inside, the rain had gotten heavier and heavier. By the time they snuck a drink at Lotso’s and made it through the back door, it was a full-on downpour. The neon signs had their reflections warped against the sidewalk because of the rain.
“Can we go back in for another drink?” Artirian cursed the black-clouded skies. “I don’t know how you managed to convince me to do this tonight and not tomorrow, during the sunniest day of the entire cycle.”
“Oh, I’m sorry?” Kinner flipped up her hood and thumbed the visor button to keep her vision clear. Unfortunately, the visor was made of a thin, hydrophobic film that was mainly for small storms and not the torrential downpour that impeded them now. “I guess I’ll just have to go fatherless for the rest of my life. You’ve been under Karroway’s wing for so long have you forgotten why you ran away from your father?”
O-Ren shook his head and pushed her forward in an attempt to moot the point.
“The Cap’n only wishes I was his son and not the son of some rogue Emperor hellbent on destroying his own kingdom.” Artirian trudged through the small river that now engulfed the alleyway.
The water came up to their ankles in the small corridor they were told to go to. It was just small white-bricked shacks with tin roofing on either side.
“Little bit creeped out right now,” O-Ren had to shout because of the rain. “Any of these shacks look great to me. Oh, except none of them have doors. Yeah, this is where you want to die?” Then he spotted a set of red glowing eyes further down the nook.
Kinner walked slowly with one hand on her dagger’s hilt and the other grasping the map device. She held up the holodevice and activated it. The red pair of eyes did the same with its own holodevice which made both screens glow green. The info was accepted and the Bit transfer was a success. The Princess wiped the screen but the rain made it impossible to keep the screen in focus long enough to read it’s contents.
When she looked back down the nook, the pair of glowing eyes had vanished.
“Did you see where he went?” She asked, her vision focusing up and down the corridor frantically.
“Looked like he jumped onto that roof, but I lost him after that.” Artirian instantly gave up, sloshing his way back out of the alleyway. A wave of water completely drenched him when he made it to the sidewalk. Artirian saw the red-eyed, hooded figure keeled over across the street, laughing at him. He used the distraction to quickly aim at Veebo with a handheld bola-gun.
The gun was silent but resulted in a whole mess of noise. Just as Veebo was tied up with the bola shot, a pair of burly Plotknights rounded the corner of the block and witnessed Artirian’s perfect aim.
“Boy, you are making this really easy.” Kinner put a hand on O-Ren’s shoulder from behind him. She released her grip on the dagger and instead drew her sword, which glowed a dim dark purple to match the color of the blade itself. The two armored Plotknights had their pistolblades drawn and were on the advance.
“Well! I got the guy!” Artirian hesitated in drawing his steel.
“Hey, I’m no guy!” Veebo was yelling from across the street. When the Plotknights heard her voice they immediately turned to her. One of them seemed to squirm when he looked her in the eyes.
“Oh… Hey Fran, I think we can leave this situation to the higher authorities.” The man in armor was nearly visibly shaking now, stumbling over his words. “I-I don’t wanna be like, uh- A coward or anything. I just am more inclined to keep my soul. Can’t have another Kevin-like accident can we?” The other knight wasn’t so sure, as he was already an arm’s length away from the captive Veebo.
“Who is Kevin- AGH!” He got too close to Veebo. She apparently didn’t need her arms or legs to incapacitate people. The young pair watched as the man’s face was drained of color and began to wither. His skin dried up and began to crack upon his face. An ethereal film began to condensate on the man’s skin, making it look like he was becoming a ghost. His skin began fake off and mix with the puddles among the sidewalk.
“Okay, let’s just calm ourselves- And he’s now a pile of clothes and weapons in the street.” Kinner was frightened but almost intrigued. Quickly, the intrigue was swept away by pure terror as Veebo began to grow out of her clothes. Kinner knew exactly what kind of beast they were dealing with now. “She’s a Dire, we really gotta go.” Kinner.
“What?” Artirian couldn’t stop watching the horrible event. Veebo’s darkened cloak split and ripped from the sheer size of its inhabitant’s new form. “...What is this.”
“This is what happened to Kevin! NOOOOO!” The remaining Plotknight was panicking.
“THIS IS WHERE WE LEAVE, O-REN!” Kinner was already halfway down the block screaming for Artirian to follow her. “PLEASE!”
Karroway’s first mate took a short second to look one last time at Veebo, who finally stopped growing at about twice the size of one of those big Plotknights she just ‘disintegrated’. Then he saw the wings.
Veebo’s back protruded a large pair of leathery, bat-like wings. She looked at the remaining Plotknight and then at O-Ren. With one swift move, Veebo forced her wings forward and sent a gust of hard-hitting wind towards both targets.
Artirian tried to jump out of the way but was sent spiraling through the air like a ragdoll into a thin light fixture. With the breath knocked out of him, he struggled to maintain his consciousness. He saw Veebo’s winged silhouette pass over the block and out of sight. He heard a few cannons and gunshots ring out for a moment and then nothing. Even the rain died down enough to fall silently.
Artirian felt a hand on his shoulder as Kinner helped him stand again. The duo shakily held onto each other as they walked back to Potema’s Pub. After explaining what just happened, they watched as the infobroker pointed to a large, red “NO REFUNDS. EVER!” sign. The glow of the sign reflected off their soaking clothes on their way out.
“If you say one word-” Kinner was staring down the darkened road, waiting for their cab to arrive.
“No offense, Princess,” The First Mate kept shaking the water from his boots and duster. “But if Cap’n were to ever find out that I lost a thousand dollars and lost the fight to get it back, I’d become the Last Mate aboard the Damning Darling.”
“That’s not a real thing. You’ve just made that up.” She smiled but it didn’t last long. They did just lose a thousand dollars. “Wait… Did we just lose a thousand dollars? There’s gotta be at least some truth to the ad she put out. Pretty sure the holodeck didn’t take any water damage. Let’s see. Hey! She actually sent us a message- Oh she thinks she’s funny. What a little-”
“The Infopaks are there right?” O-Ren grabbed the holodeck device from Kinner’s hand. He discovered there weren’t a hundred Infopaks. Not even half. They’d make about a quarter of their money back with this Info. He sighed and passed the device back. “Well, back to the grind, Princess. We’ve still got a couple of hours before the crew gets their hangovers in check. Let’s do a job, grab a drink, and… No way is she that stupid.” He pointed across the street to a familiar cloaked figure scurrying into Lotso’s Lounge.
“Artirian, my friend,” Kinner rose to her feet and drew her sword. “Watch the professional go to work.” She grinned back at the boy before entering Lotso’s. Sure enough, she returned after only ten minutes with Veebo cuffed and wrapped in bola wire. Of course, Veebo tried to make a break for it, but the bola wire shined a bright blue as it zapped the girl’s upper body.
Artirian threw his hands up.
“That makes me in the lead by, what was it again? Oh right, now I’m three jobs over you, I believe?” The princess smirked just as the cab pulled up to take them back to the skyraft. They made Veebo pull the craft out to a proper take-off spot and climbed aboard. The fog was nearly dissipated as the morning sun showed a sliver of shine.
As Artirian drove, Kinner began to search the strange girl who robbed them. She found a holodevice and transferred their original thousand bits back. A massive wave of relief washed over O-Ren when he was told they were a thousand bits richer.
“Can’t believe you went back there so fast. Do you live at Lotso’s or are they the only bar left who will serve you? Ya know, Veebo, you seemed to be pretty popular with those Plotknights. I thought I saw that one guy soil himself as soon as you spoke.” O-Ren leaned back but kept his eyes on the sky.
“Yeah, well,” Her voice sounded raspy yet had the pep of a teenager. “Thought you were gonna do the same when I got all big and bad.” Kinner gave her a smack on the head but it only made her laugh even harder.
“What are you?” O-Ren couldn’t help himself in asking.
“She’s an Underling.” The stare between Kinner and Veebo was intense. “A Dire one, at that. My dad knew one and I was young so I could never mind my own business with him and his friends. I’ve seen a man get his soul sucked out before and he turned to dust just like that Plotknight did.”
“That’s a hundred percent horrible and we should throw her out the window right now before she sucks our souls next.” Artirian knew they couldn’t do that but thought it was certainly what she deserved. Who knows how many souls she’s put out.
“I’m not that stupid. I know exactly who you two are.” The Underling flipped her head back so her hood fell to reveal the blue-black hair that frayed and knotted into a short and spritely style. Large dark tan ears that sprouted from her hair flopped about from the minor turbulence of the storm’s aftermath. “You didn’t even encrypt your holodata. I’ve got everything I need to take over the ship once we’re aboard. I even know your rich and royal backgrounds. What the hell would a runaway prince and princess be doing on Karroway’s drunken skyship? That dude’s got a sack of potatoes instead of brains.”
“Nice, now we have to kill her.”
“Well, Prince, don’t you suppose we could just make her clean the Top-o-room?” Kinner’s grin matched that of Artirian’s.
“Now that is worse than death, let’s do that.” The skyraft smoothly slipped into its docking pad and the three of them made it to the entrance of the Top-o-room. Kinner motioned for them to stop and she pressed her ear to the door. She had heard a raising voice.
“Cap’n ain’t happy I think. We’d best hide her before-” Kinner backed away just as the door swung open. The massive figure of Captain Karroway blocked the trio from seeing into most of the room. Kinner had just barely made eye contact with the other person behind Cap’n.
She squeezed Artirian’s hand to the bones.
“That’s… I know that man. That’s the Dire my dad knew.”
“Dad?!” Veebo struggled under the pressure of the bola wire for a second, then hopped her way past Karroway. She dropped to her knees at the sight of him. His face was withered from age but there was a clear resemblance between the father and daughter. The man was an Underling for sure, but he was far more imposing than his daughter even during her transformative Dire form. “Dad, I swear I never meant-”
“Captain,” Veebo’s father did not let her finish. His tone became sharp as He turned his back to the Underling. “If you intend to show off your-” He looked back at his daughter with disgust then quickly glared at Karroway. “Unsightly crew, then I suggest you find superior specimens to pique my interest. Take this filth from me, or mayhaps my Incomebits shall be taken from you. I’ve made it very clear in the past that those who reject their royalty also reject their right to live.” For a second, the man’s eyes seemed to dart back and forth between Artirian and Kinner. Although the gaze lasted less than a split second, it pierced the two like a chilling blade pressed against bone.
“Davos, ye haven’t seen nothin’ yet.” Karroway could tell that the man had long ago disowned his offspring. “Gotta tell ya that I’ve no idea what business my First Mate and my new financier have with this Underling... But I bestow upon you, my wealthy guest, the option to decide the fate of their captor-”
Davos began to button up the deep-purple royal garb that fit firmly to his skin. Each golden button that clicked into place made Veebo almost flinch. There was another strange clicking sound as Artirian fidgeted with a random holodeck upon his nearest stack of unfiled customer complaints. He flashed a weak, awkward smile. The captain rushed around to grab the man’s overcoat for him.
“I shall decline. Let them proceed.”
“Sir, we were just going to make her clean this room, actually.” Artirian finally gained the courage to speak, even if his voice was a bit frail. He unlatched the bola around Veebo. The small Underling took a few dizzy steps towards her father.
Davos forcefully held up his palm, to which Veebo reacted immediately. She knew to stop dead in her tracks. Her father whispered an incantation that created tiny glowing symbols upon the flat of his palm. The symbols grew and stretched across his skin until their shapes were heavily distorted across his face. The glow became too bright for anyone to see what happening until it happened.
Davos had vanished into thin air, leaving behind a strange golden aura where he once stood. The Captain slowly and menacingly turned to his First Mate. Artirian quivered in his Captain’s shadow, while Kinner slinked out of the doorway with Veebo in tow.
“Oh, me boy, I’ll allow you exactly one guess as to whose job it is to keep this map room looking spiffy. And if ye answer incorrectly…” Artirian swore his Captain’s eyes began to glow a dim red, although it may have just been a side effect produced by the mane of fiery red hair that surrounded nearly every inch of Karroway’s face. “It’ll be curtains for you and not the gently wafting kind.”
“Sir, I don’t get the reference-”
“ANSWER ME NOW OR FACE THE PLANK!”
“We don’t even have a plank!” Artirian dropped his gaze in defeat. He slowly began to shuffle around a few holopads and thick rolls of maps before his Captain slammed the door on his way out. A slur of muffled curse words came from beyond the door for a moment. Then all was silent aside from the quiet duties performed by the First Mate.
Artirian let another handful of minutes pass before he pressed his ear to the door. When he thought it was safe, he pulled out his own personal holodeck and opened up the user interface.
The green glowing screen revealed a video thumbnail with Davos’ face front and center. The video played out the scene that just happened, but Artirian paused the video just as Davos began to move his lips to perform the teleportation spell. The First Mate studied the incantation at high volume while he sorted through a small stack of expired jobs.
Finally, he placed his palm up and open, just as Davos did, and recited the words. Artirian felt a brief moment of pressure from within his stomach.
Nothing happened… but then, he let out a massive burp which stunk of the drink he snuck from Lotso’s. The boy sighed and continued his duties.
When the air escaped his mouth, the tiniest, most unnoticed speck of gold flittered from beyond his lips, dissipating into the air around him.