Things had been slow for several days following the taking of Prince and Admiral Victorious and his ship. After a night of revelry, where Captain Orc has forced his crew to get so drunk that several of them were still missing and presumed dead, work had started for the pirates on making at least one of the ships seaworthy and detaching them from each other. To the surprise of no-one Captain Orc had claimed the flagship of the Red navy as his new vessel, renaming it 'Captain Orcs New Ship' (he really didn't like complicating things) and had stripped his previous vessel apart to repair the new, it had taken time but the pirates were surprisingly good and quick about their work, for all his many, many, many weaknesses Captain Orc seemed to be a great motivator and his people did seem to respect him, although there was definitely a lot of fear mixed in there as well.

Alayne and Raven had spent their time speaking with Victorious. The Greys had left in their unexplainable way once the prisoner had been contained and Captain Orc was busy with his crew for the time and it had been left to the two of them to argue over how best to extract information from the prince. They had done this in front of the man, now tied to the main mast, and the crew working around them.

"We are not torturing him Bard, it is barbaric"

"You cut people down with a sword, what's the difference between that and cutting bits off with a knife?"

"This isn't a battle. We can talk and reason with him, we are not monsters" Alayne was annoyed and impressed by his ability to justify killing and maiming in certain circumstances and not others.

"No. No torture please. I will answer anything you would ask of me. Please"

They'd both forgotten the former admiral was standing barely a few steps away from them and they shared a look for a moment.

"Right then lads, the crew be to work so let's stick this little piggy" Captain Orc burst from his new quarters with a thick serrated dagger in his hand and not his usual pirate appropriate cutlass.

"NONONONO" Victorious tried to retreat or fall to his knees but he was well tied and just sort of shuffled a bit and sobbed as the pirate announced himself. He'd barely met the men and the fear was ripe in him, Alayne's song must have done it's trick.

"That won't be needed Captain, you can tend to your crew and pirate matters. Victorious here is willing to cooperate fully. Thank you" Raven seemed more than a little smug that he was able to brush Captain Orc aside for the moment. Alayne assumed he saw it as a victory after he'd been at a loss after the battle.

"Feel like I keep raising me sails as the winds drop. I brought me torture knife and I'll be honest boys I was looking forward to using this as a bonding moment"

"You have a knife just for torture?!"

"Well..No, it's just a nice knife but once you use it for torture it becomes a torture knife, can't be using it to cut ya meat after it's been inside a fellas giblets can ya" he tilted his head in a manner that suggested a wink but used his missing eye and whispered "I do though" and smiled a very feral looking smile.

Alayne could sense that everytime Raven asked a question of Captain Orc thousands more branched off from his answer.

There was a pause where Captain Orc stared at them both unblinking and even Alayne was lost for words

"Right I'll be off and leave you to ya none torture filled conversation. I'll just go stab some meat or a corpse or something, got the itching to use the knife now and ya all know how it be"

Again silence was the response and he sulked off and climbed below deck shouting obscenities at his crew as he did so.

They turned their attention back to Victorious and Alayne saw the man for what he was. A coward, it had been hidden by the insolence he'd felt at been caught after the battle but now it was plain as day on his face. He was terrified, not just of Captain O but of everything that was happening. He'd been thrust into a position and put on a good show and his stories had spread just like Alayne had spread the Dread Pirate C, telling the world of the High Admiral that enslaved and conquered wherever he went.

"My companion and I would like to know everything and we have plenty of time to here it"

Alayne came to regret that opening statement as Victorious had gone into great detail about his harsh upbringing, his brothers both those alive and dead, his sisters who he had never so much as set eyes on since birth and their father who had been so cruel all his life. He painted a terrible picture of things for himself, Alayne could feel sorry for the poor man, a true victim.

But as he had described over a meal to Raven over a meal who had begun to have sympathy for their captive; Victorious was the 2nd born; born when the Emperor had crushed the minimal defences of the Taurosi and conquered the Greenlands to the west and enslaved any who were not killed in battle. Every man, woman and calf was in chains and good old Vic, currently tied to the main mast and belted by the thin icy rain had been named to reflect this great victory. Victorious had spent his youth and early adult years hunting Orcs to near extinction, burning elves at the stake, drowning wizards in oil and ensuring any Taurosi that ran from their owner was captured and rebranded.

He had committed atrocities by the score and even now the main purpose of the Navy was to hunt down the flotilla, the last evermoving elven city floating in the middle of the ocean, to ensure the all non-human races were ended.

"Your father didn't love you and so you killed millions, leaving what's left to live in constant fear all in his name? We don't need your pitiful tale Vicky."

Alayne had said this after hours of him rambling about how he had suffered like no other, they took turns listening just to see if something interesting came out of him, but little had since the first day. His tales had proved that Alayne's plan to use him to draw the emperor out was a foolish one, the man cared not an ounce for his ilk, Addy was right they would need to go directly to him, but Alayne was sure there was a use to man. He had been dropped almost in his lap, there had to be more to him than sorrowful tales and a pathetic fake admiral with daddy issues hiding behind tall tales.

Vic's information had confirmed what was known by the group so far, the Emperor had shut himself off from the world, his vassals and sons ruled their areas with the same iron fist as always but with even less oversight. His older brother and true heir Ascendious, named after their fathers attention which bothered Alayne as it seemed lazy and even Captain Orc picked better names than the current ruler, currently resided on Cornostus as Alayne had expected; he'd been gifted the lands early by his father and had run the former prosperous islands into nothing. He had an old score to settle with the man if he was honest, he hadn't picked him as the original target by accident.

Divinus still resided in the city he founded, the city of the faithful, the only place in the empire where worship of anyone but the emperor himself was permitted. Its gates had opened around the same time Alayne had been born if his age was correct. He'd never been and had no intention of visiting, the thought of so many religious folk around him made him uneasy.

Prosperous was the twin of Divinus and the only daughter heir who had been publicly named but she had disappeared along with any other sisters she may have. Women rulers were not unheard of in any race in the land but the Emperor had taken a strange and outdated method of only having male heirs although if he got his wish of immortality then it didn't matter either way.

Conquerous had died trying to take Rha'Vander when he was a boy and the king had drowned his newborn and killed 1 of every 10 soldiers who dared return, cursing the rest to be branded cowards and wander the lands nameless and honourless. The boy had been called Decimus to forever remind the land of the cost of failure.

Of course his last born, The Unnamed, was still presiding over Rha'Vander and having an easier time of it thanks to the farmers intervention in the Forgotten Valley and he would be of no interest to the Emperor and have no interest in anything going on here in return.

"I fear me may be to late" Alayne had mused one night sat behind the helm of the ship, he could hear the late night helmsman, a portly middle aged man with large mutton chops and to many tattoos with no real skill or detail in any of them, gently turning the large wheel behind them.

They stared into the night and watched the clouds and stars. Alayne in the middle, Raven to his right picking at the wooden railing and Captain Orc to his left smoking a hefty cigar that smelt like blacksmiths forge and Surrich sat on the railing with Alaynes hand gently on top of the skull to stop it been lost forever

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"How can we be late lad, we've not even started"

"Addy and Educai are nervous and impatient, it may have caused them to miss things."

"The nights not that long Alayne, what do you mean"

The Emperor committed the decimation less than 30 years ago because he lost a son in battle. He was so worried about saving his image and ensuring no weakness he killed his new-born boy. Even then he must've been old, he's been ruler for over 80 years and didn't take that crown in the cradle. Why shut himself away now?" There was more than few thoughts in there and they'd been swirling around his head for awhile and he was struggling to put them together even for himself

"You think he's already found what he's looking for? But why hide away"

"He might not be like the Greymen, he could be like Surrich, not able to heal or maybe he still rots and ages"

"I was an early exp...exp..exp"

"Experiment. I'm sorry that happened to you" Raven seemed genuine in his sympathy, Alayne still wasn't comfortable with him but he couldn't begin to imagine been trapped as he was.

"Just glad to be out of that to..to..tow"

"Well the good news is Surrich, if we are to late then maybe we can get the Greys to figure out how to undo it and get you shuffled off to death"

Alayne was trying to be comforting, he'd dropped a lot of negativity on them, a doomed quest now more doomed, and he thought offering Surrich a way out would make the skull more positive

"NO. Came back from there once. Never want to go ba...ba..bac"

There was a moment after he said that where Alayne knew all 3 full bodied men had the same thought. Raven stopped scratching the wood, Captain Orcs steady stream of smoke stopped and a cold shiver went through Alayne as he contemplated asking about what he meant.

Luckily Captain Orc loved breaking tension like a child laughing a fart during a funeral.

"Right lads, early rise in morning we back in motion, get to bed and don't be playing with ya selves, get sleep."

The orc had really no social filter at all.

Come dawn they were gathered on the deck as the sun was breaking over the horizon, the entire crew stood before Captain Orc, who stood before Victorious still soaked from the previous night's stormy waves and hail like rain but he wasn't the focus anymore. Alayne stood back from the crowd alongside Raven who had decided to bring Surrich along this morning, Alayne was struggling to remember the skull in all honesty.

"We be gathered here and now, secondly because I said so and firstly because we be honouring our new vessel"

The sailors in the rags soaked in salt water and sweat stamped their feet as one and gave a quick roar to Captain Orcs glee.

"We lost some and gained more, new crewmates leaving the monstrous ways of the empire behind and starting a life of freedom and lawlessnessnessness. But there be one final thing we need be doing."

He reached behind his back and under his coat and pulled a large square of black cloth that he unfolded slowly.

With a whistle a pirate, Alayne had not been at his best at learning names on this journey in his defence though he had been preoccupied with other things for most of it, in a leather vest that didn't cover his belly and tan trousers with only one leg ran over and gently took the flag from the captain and climbed the boarding net and handed it off to another pirate sat in the crows nest.

After a small amount of time fighting against the wind which tested Captain Orcs patience considerably the flag of the infamous pirate was finally fluttering back and forth from the mainmast of the Ship.

It was the usual black square but Captain Orc had adorned his with a single yellow circle.

"Why is the yellow bit off centre? " Raven leaned in and thankfully kept his voice to a hush

"It's his eye on the left and his eye patch on the right" Alayne remembered the conversation when he had first boarded the Captains vessel many years ago

"I don't see an eye pa..pa...pa"

"No you won't" Alayne held back a laugh and a sigh "it's black, same as the background"

He heard Raven hold in a laugh as well, it was good to hear humour from the man, he'd been struggling for a time but this maybe wasn't the best time to find his laughter as Captain Orc fixed him with a hard stare with his single eye and Raven quickly turned his back and tried his best to swallow his laugh.

"There we go lads, a true pirate vessel this be. Captain Orcs New Boat. AHAA!"

The crew cheered.

"Now get back to work, this isn't a tavern ya can rest when I kill ya"

The deck was alive quickly with the sound of a 100 feet running up and down the wood, scampering down up and down stairs and finding something to do urgently.

It wasn't long before the ship finally restarted its voyage and their journey to Cornostus continued over the next 12 days or so. Raven spent most of his time amongst the crew, he liked to be busy and he could take on more work as his wounds healed quicker and quicker. He did simple tasks such as carrying barrels or dragging heavy things from one side of the ship to another, busy work really but it freed up a more experienced sailor for something more useful and allowed him to move past his own guilt as he focused on the tasks at hand.

He lost track of Alayne for most of the days, he'd found a cabin for himself in the back of one of the many decks aboard and was rarely seen during the day, he would come to the main deck at night to drink and entertain. Playing many verses of 'The Dread Captain C' over and over more than he'd played at the Ravens Nest and the crew loved him for it. He slipped in some others so there could be dancing and fighting but he always returned to the tale of the Captain. Despite the moonlight revelry that kept the spirits of the crew up Raven couldn't help but grow worried for the bard, it had been months since AJ died but they'd both been on the verge of death for most of it. The wound was still raw for Alayne he was sure, he never mentioned the boy by name and a far away look would come over him if Raven brought him up or something triggered a memory of him.

He'd been around grieving parents before and watched helplessly as they battled the grief. He wasn't sure if Alayne could fight it, he was a pampered man who Raven assumed wasn't used to loss, but he wasn't sure what to do about it or if he even could do anything about it.

Raven had confessed his worries to Surrich who'd he'd taken as his own for the time being as Captain was distracted easily and Alayne was clearly uncomfortable around him. To Raven he was a strange thing in a pile of strange things that had been dumped on him, he could take it in stride as best he could or just get crushed under the weight of the new experiences he was having.

"Talk to Captain Orc, they have his...his...his"

"You think that brute can help with matters of the mind?"

"Better than noth...noth...noth"

It was a short argument and Raven had to admit he had nothing to lose from seeing what the Captain could do, although it was a testing conversation as all seemed to be with the man...orc...man orc.

He'd managed to bump into the Captain when he'd been inspecting one of the 3 floors of cannons he now had, large metal bests that forced heavy balls across great distance, the same things that had tore his old ship apart and 'killed' Adeline and Educai.

"Captain, can we talk?"

"Usually...Unless we've been drinking in which case I don't know about yaself but I be more likely to slur"

What?

"Can I talk to you now I mean?"

"Do you think I can carry one of these around to fire at people?"

Raven tried to remain calm and on track

"I wan - What? No they look like they weigh as much as a horse"

"I think I could do it, save time on cutting people if I could just be blasting holes in them"

"How would you carry the projectiles...." there was a look of confusion for a second before Raven sighed "the big balls"

Captain Orc looked for a moment at a stack of solid black metal balls sat on the wooden floor and then to his own red coat, more specifically his pockets. He looked back and forth several times before admitting defeat

"Argh they wouldn't fit. Damn shame. Good talk lad"

He turned to walk further down the long deck flanked on both sides by long lines of cannons and crew men studying them inside and out.

"No, Captain, I want to talk about Alayne" he chased after him and had to walk a step behind his shoulder to continue the conversation.

"What about him boy?"

"He lost his ward when we was injured in Rha'Vander and I fear he's taking it poorly"

Captain Orc finally stopped around the midpoint of the deck and rounded on Raven

"I know about the boy. Let him cope how he copes, he be fine once we get moving. Always suffers when stuck in one place that one. Needs his mind occupied."

"How sure are you? We have important things to move forward with, if he can't cope..." Captain Orc hunched over slightly to meet Raven eye to eyes.

"He plays his cards close to his chest but I know the fire hidden far behind those eyes. Trust me lad. Let drinking bards lie."

Once again he walked away and this time Raven did not follow.

If this was one of his flock he'd have to step in, take control and dig into the root of the problems. But he'd left them behind, and he wasn't the leader here, here nothing was expected of him really. Maybe he should trust the mad aged pirate with less sense than eyes and allow things to happen as they will.

Against his better judgement and after a lengthy conversation with Surrich who was a wise man despite his appearance, which shouldn't be a surprise given his unknowable age, Raven left Alayne to drink and hide his pain away. They spoke briefly, on the topic of the emperor or associated things, but otherwise Alayne kept to himself or his cups until at last word came, shouting down that Cornostus was finally in sight.