Chapter 10: The Tempestuous Captain
Anyone who was remotely familiar with a weapon was armed, and holding back at the entrance to the lower decks. Any cannons the ship had were out of commission following the attack from the siren and Kraken, so it wasn’t as if exchanging a broadside was going to go in their favor. Furthermore, Atma and Alice were the only ones still in any condition to fight, Balthazar and Locke were still far from fully recovered. They might have been skilled enough to take on any of the pirates individually, but not while protecting everyone, or being overwhelmed. Their best move was to huddle down, and hold a choke point, better able to handle the combat ready pirates that likely outnumbered any fighters on the Daybreaker. Atma cautiously peeked out of a window in the door that Balthazar was too short to see out of. He held up a hand, signaling everyone to hold their position and stay quiet. The pirates shouted loudly as the ships lined up side to side, some barking orders to others as they dropped planks for crossing over.
“How many?” Locke had the point position next to Atma, ready to take up a defensive stance as soon as he needed to, armor or not. He’d had no time to equip himself, instead wearing a simple tunic, alongside his sword and shield.
“Ten right now, but there’s definitely more still on their ship.” Atma took another quick glance. “One more coming over.” He ducked back down, readying his shield to try and wall the entrance with Locke.
The pirates on the ship seemed to go quiet on the new person stepping aboard. “Oh don’t go playing dead on me now!” A woman’s voice, proud and commanding. “Most of my crew doesn’t bite, now it’s a little rude to not greet your rescuer, isn't it?!”
Atma and Locke glanced back and forth between each other, not sure of how to respond.
“We’re not exactly too keen on trusting pirates, much less one of the Tempests! Go away ye’ she devil,” a sailor cried out.
Balthazar didn’t have to know who this pirate was to know insulting her was probably a bad idea, and he let the sailor know, glaring at him. “Please don’t make this worse.”
“You want to come out here and say that?!” Her tone dropped to be a bit more ferocious.
“Sorry…” The sailor murmured, barely audible.
“For the record, he doesn’t speak for us!” Balthazar tried peeking through the window as he responded to her, but had no luck, with Locke and especially Atma towering over him.
The pirate outside scoffed. “Then who is? Because I’m getting real tired of talking like this real fast.”
Atma paused for a moment. “Your crew goes back to the ship, then we talk.” It was a lot to ask for, and that much was painfully obvious. Atma wasn’t exactly in a position to negotiate, but he knew that this was going to be his first and possibly best shot at trying to gauge where the pirate actually stood on raiding the ship.
“I’m keeping two of mine with me. That’s more than generous enough.”
Atma sighed in relief. “Deal. But I’m taking two with me up top.”
“Fine.” She whistled a command to her crew, who retreated back to the Vermillion Bird, their footsteps audible against the deck.
“Well, she’s willing to talk, we’ve got that much going for us.” Atma looked over his companions. “Balthazar, Locke, I need you two with me. I know you’re not in the best shape, but I need you two by my side in case something goes bad. You’re also my bluff. Alice, I need you to stay on guard here in case things go south, you’re our best bet in that worst case scenario.”
“Are you sure about this?” Alice looked back nervously to the cowering people behind her.
“Doubting this won’t help us, so-” He glanced out of the window again. “Let’s go.” Slowly, Atma opened the door, Locke and Balthazar flanking him. He still held his spear and shield, but held them up to show he wasn’t trying anything. A plethora of pirates, male and female both, lined the Vermillion Bird, sitting rather nonchalantly, standing about lazily, or a few sitting on the handrails kicking their feet about. The pirate who had been in charge eyed them over, her eyes stern, focused as they stood before her. A pair of pirates flanked her, keeping an eye on Locke and Balthazar, but they hardly seemed that concerned. Atma's eyes met the captain's. “That sailor called you a Tempest?”
“That’s Captain Tempest!” One of the flanking pirates growled, her captain silencing her with a nudge of her elbow.
“That’s right, Sienna Tempest, so you’re not confusing me for one of the others.” She was tall, between Alice and Atma in height, just over six feet. She had a steadfast confidence to her, relaxed, but keeping an eye on the trio all the same. She rested a tall battle ax against her shoulder, carrying it with ease despite its clear weight. She wore a black tank top under a red duster coat that draped down past her knees, and a pair of bracers. Her boots were on the shorter end, cutting off above the ankle, with thigh high socks and jean shorts. She was fair skinned, though slightly beige with a life in the sun. She had a white forehead band, holding back some of her very long brunette hair that hung down nearly to her waist, similar in color to what her name suggested. Her eyes were a similar color, a warm, almost chocolatey tone to them.
“To be honest, I can’t say I’m all that familiar with you." Atma bowed his head slightly. Atma was well aware that now would be a terrible time to give out his full name, defaulting to his middle. "As for myself, you can call me Sigurd.” He pointed up to the flag her ship was flying, gray, and speckled with smaller insignias. “You’re flying the Mist Alliance’s flag, you mind telling me what that’s about?” As the name suggested, the Mist Alliance was not a single nation, rather, a conglomeration of allied city states scattered about the western half of the continent referred to as The Land of Mist. Individually, they were a bit larger than Linia, and networked, they were lesser in size and strength compared to Deponess, a powerful alliance all the same.
“Privateering contract. They keep me paid, I don’t have to raid them. You get the picture? I’m a pirate, not a monster.”
“Something like that.” Atma relaxed somewhat. “But I take it, you still want something?”
“I’m a pirate, not a monster.” She spoke tauntingly, with a bit of smugness on her face. “Call is a fee for my services. I’m taking what you don’t need, and we haul your ship east with us on our way back to port.”
“I’m going to need you to be just a bit more specific on that.”
The captain tapped her foot impatiently. “Let’s call it… I’m taking your money, your weapons, a quarter of your cargo, and any miscellaneous treasures you may have on board.” One of the pirates at her side got up on his toes to whisper something into her ear. She groaned and rolled her eyes. “And your spices.”
“Not a deal I can make.” Atma was quick to shut her down.
“You know I can always just sail off, right? Probably stay just far enough away to wait you all out. I’m giving you an out here.” She smiled with gritted teeth. “One that sounds pretty generous to me.”
“We’re not giving up all of our weapons. Insurance to see to it you hold up your end of the deal. I help keep them held back from attacking, and you do the same for yours. And the spices? These merchants won’t be getting off their feet if you take their money and spices.”
“Oh, not so fast, you’re losing the weapons, I’m not risking any of your people going out of control. Besides, what guarantee do I have that you can reign them in? For all I know, you’re just some guy they sent out as a scapegoat. If you’re going to be adamant about it, I can always take it by force.” She placed her free hand on the handle on her battle ax, and put her foot forward, as if she were about to lunge. “Try me.” Locke and Balthazar tensed up, getting ready to fight, with the pair of pirates at Sienna’s side ready to do the same.
“How about there being no point to you trying to take them? I have a few mages on board, and you should know that there’d be no point in disarming them.” He didn’t break his non-aggressive posture, Balthazar seeing this and easing up. Atma held his arm out in front of Locke, signaling him to back off. “The only guarantee I have worth anything is my solemn vow and my life, if it gets them back home.”
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“That’s a bold claim, Sigurd.” She straightened out her posture, her expression lightening. “You get some of your weapons. We’re taking half.” She sighed. “Do you know how many idiots always try to pull something when I let them keep any of that stuff? Always with the, ‘oh I can’t trust you even though you’re trying to help, let me try and stab you!’” She waved her free hand about, then stopping, her eyes dead serious. “Your people behave, or I’m making you intimately familiar with the ax, blondie.”
“Then let me pass the conditions on to everyone.”
“Well then, make it quick.”
Atma bowed, and signaled for Balthazar and Locke to hold position. He made his way back below deck, as Balthazar and Locke stared down the horde of pirates. Balthazar counted twenty, including the Captain and the pirates flanking her, thinking more were almost certainly below deck. They seemed to be a bit more relaxed, though Balthazar could still see hunger in the way one or two paced back and forth, like an animal getting ready to pounce. His eyes turned back to Sienna, trying to gather his thoughts on her. Certainly, she seemed reasonable enough, but the whole exchange had felt like walking on eggshells. As his mind settled a bit though, he found her more off putting to look at. Not because she had any deformities, nor anything she wore, rather because she seemed all too familiar to him. Hair, eyes-
“You got a problem?”
“No!” He blurted out, before turning his attention elsewhere. He wanted to sigh in relief as he heard Atma return, noticing a red mark on his cheek, someone obviously having hit him.
“One or two weren’t too happy about giving up part of their cargo, but when I told them it was that or us being left behind, they lightened up to the idea.” He turned to face the captain. “You have a deal, miss Tempest.”
“That wasn’t so hard.” She clapped her hands together, smiling. “We’ve got a new job folks, clear the masts, and get ready to tether. Sooner, the better. I’d rather not be stuck out here with that storm’s still hanging nearby.”
“Did you not run into it?”
Sienna raised an eyebrow. “The storm? Of course we did, blew us off course, it’s how we ran into you sorry bunch.”
“No, no, there was something else, it wasn’t just the storm that wrecked this ship. These masts weren’t exactly snapped by the storm alone. We ran into a giant Siren, and a Kraken.” The pirates, lackadaisical or not, snapped to attention at this, murmuring amongst themselves.
Sienna’s jaw didn’t drop, but her eyes gave away her shock and confusion. “How the hell are you all still alive?!”
Atma pointed his thumb back towards Balthazar. “That would be more of a story for these two to tell you, they were the ones who scared it off.” Balthazar wasn’t sure whether to feel pride at Atma’s praise, or fear seeing a few of the pirates trying to size him up.
“Captain, we should ditch these guys and make a run for it,” one of the pirates at Sienna’s side half-whispered. “If that thing’s still in the area, I imagine it's pretty pissed and looking to finish the job. Getting paid doesn’t matter if we’re dead.”
Sienna shot her subordinate a glare, where he instantly backed off. “Can it Archer, I doubt that thing’s stupid enough to try for something it knows bites back. Storm’s clearing anyhow, and last I checked, you don’t exactly hear stories about them attacking when it’s clear out.” She paused for a moment, before announcing to her crew, loud and clear: “Double time it, and I’ll see to it the kitchen gets you something real nice tonight.”
“My apologies, I didn’t intend on concealing any information.”
Sienna rolled her eyes as she turned back to face him. “You too blondie, get your people up here helping, it’s going to get us out of here a whole lot quicker.”
“Understood.” He paused, as the two began stepping away from one another. “And Sienna? Thank you.”
She paused, and looked back over her shoulder. “I told you before, didn’t I? I’m a pirate, not a monster.”
***
Balthazar found himself manning the bar and kitchen of the Daybreaker, rowdier than ever as the crew of the Vermillion Bird came in after finishing the tethering and getting the ship in motion again. Night had already fallen, and everyone had long since been burnt out. The pirates still had some energy to them, bringing some of their food and booze over to cook with, Balthazar working alongside people from either ship to dish out food and drinks. Alice had certainly told him to rest, but he found cooking to be his best way of doing so, apron and all. “So you’re telling me, you ran out of everything?” He passed a clean plate back to a cook from the pirate crew.
“Archer left our stuff out, and we completely lost our stash of spices, everything but our salt and pepper.” The cook groaned in frustration.
“And you had nothing else to work with?”
“Not really, maybe a bit of mold on old bread, but that’s hardly seasoning.”
“So when spices were a term in negotiation-.”
“You speak of this to no one. It was embarrassing enough that Archer had the captain ask.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Balthazar stepped out to the bar counter, grabbing plates with hot food on his way out. He passed one to the near end of the counter, before heading towards the center, where Sienna sat waiting. “The prime rib you brought over I seasoned with spices from my personal stash, alongside some rosemary, and baked in a salt shell. Rare cut, like you asked. Roasted the potatoes in oil and herbs, and your greens are high in vitamins to prevent scurvy.”
“You cook, you tell crazy stories, and you can use magic. You know, my crew could definitely do with replacing one of the last people we trusted in the kitchen.” She cut into the meat on her plate, biting into it, and closing her eyes as she savored the taste. “No, I have to insist. Name your price.” She raised her mug to him, which he took, refilling, and passing back, alongside a wedge of orange.
“Sorry, but I’m otherwise occupied.”
“Shame.” She took a sip of her beer before turning her attention to her crew, roughhousing a bit in the corner, over what, she couldn’t quite tell. “You got a nice find?”
“Can’t tell Cap’n, no one knows what the damn thing is.” Archer held up an aged contraption, one Balthazar immediately recognized. Faust’s core.
“Hey, that’s mine!”
The pirate scoffed. “Not anymore, that’s the price you agreed to, weren’t it?”
“Yeah, well, I want it back.”
“Try and take it from me.” Archer laughed. “Oh right, you can’t. Captain’s orders.”
Sienna shrugged and returned to her meal. “Oh I have no intention of stopping him, Archer, and the food’s damn near good enough, I might just ignore everything else.”
Archer seemed to lose face for a moment, but walked up to the Dark Mage as Balthazar did the same. To Sienna’s left, her first mate, a woman named Peony, closer to Balthazar in height, eyed the two up as they stood face to face, or at least, Balthazar’s face to Archer’s neck. “100 on Archer, you know he never fights clean.”
“100 on the little one.”
“I’ll match that.” Alice sat at the bar next to Sienna, leaning over to see the two about to fight.
Not that it was much of a fight. Archer dropped like a stack of bricks right as he had tried moving to drive his knee into the mage, his clothes singed from a bolt of flame that had blasted him in the chest. Balthazar made a motion of blowing on the finger that he’d fired it from like a candle. “He’ll be fine. But I’m taking this back.” He walked up to the table Faust’s core had been placed on, ignoring any of the pirates sitting there, before returning back to work behind the counter. It dawned on him what he’d done as he turned to face away from the crowd of sailors and pirates, rowdier than ever, slowly turning back to Sienna and murmuring an apology. “Sorry.” He felt himself shrink as he worked his way back into the kitchen.
“You just won me money, don’t apologize for a thing.” She turned back over to Peony, who rummaged through her pockets for money. “For the record, Archer also couldn’t read who he’s fighting to save his life.”
“Realized it a bit too late…” She patted herself down. “So, I may have left my stash on the Vermillion Bird…”
“Oh no, you’re paying up.” Alice leaned forward tauntingly.
“She’s right on that one.” Sienna grinned as she reached out across Peony’s shoulders, before pulling her suddenly into a headlock. “And I know damn well you have the money to pay us.” She let her first mate go after a moment and patted her head. “Be a dear about that, would you?”
Balthazar stepped back outside of the kitchen, somewhat recomposed, placing a plate in front of Alice, and another in the spot next to her. He took off the apron he’d been wearing in the kitchen, about to step out from behind the counter to eat his dinner. There it was, the dots connected. Hair, eyes, body type, made all the more obvious with the two right next to each other; Sienna was like looking at another version of Alice. He tried shaking off the idea, thinking it just an odd coincidence. She was a Tempest anyways, some pirate family, as far as he understood.
“You’ve got a mark too, huh?”
“Sorry?” Balthazar snapped back into focus, meeting Peony’s gaze. She pointed to his shoulder. “We don’t see ‘em too often in our line, maybe for a few people who can run an engine, but most don’t exactly stick with our line of work.”
“Peony-”
“Captain’s one of the few I’ve seen with one.” She received a more forceful elbow to the side from Sienna.
Balthazar paused, and turned to Sienna. “You’re from a mage family too?”
Sienna scowled. “I don’t exactly like talking about it, but-” She took off her coat partially, her right shoulder plain as day to see.
There was a loud silence as Balthazar and Alice read her mark. The center design was reminiscent of stairs from head on. Tarot of VII. Family name: Nocturne.
“What?” She glanced back and forth between the two. “What?!”
Alice pulled down her coat on the left side, revealing a mark on her shoulder. A black wing, Tarot of XIII, Family name: Nocturne.
“Oh.” She slowly turned back to her beer, downing as much of it as she could. “Oh shit.”