“Avast,” Jeanne cried out the cutlass pointed out towards the vast ocean. She had one foot up on the railing of the ship, sporting an eyepatch over her right eye and a pirate hat firmly placed on her head. “Shiver me timbers, there’s a ship ripe with booty to be plundered off the port bow and sent to the dark abyss of the blue sea,” she said, imitating a pirate slang.

“It that how we sound like?” she heard one of the sailors ask another.

“I hope not,” said the other sailor. “But is she going to be doing this for the whole trip?”

“Aye, it is and if you get on my nerves, I’ll keelhaul all ya.”

Cid put his hand on Jeanne’s shoulder. “Jeanne, can we not antagonize the crew please?”

She gave a sullen “argh” before walking back where the others were congregated on the deck of the ship. Kveldulf leaned against the railing, looking out over the vast blue sea as the ship gently lifted itself up and down over the waves. He spotted Jeanne approaching them, and tilted his head up to her as she reached him. “Yo ho, yo ho, matey,” he said to her.

She grunted while shaking her head. “Ah, I can’t even say something in pirate to say how little I’ve been enjoying myself.”

“But you’ve got an eyepatch and a hat to make yourself feel all spiffy.”

“I just don’t feel spiffy,” she said, taking off her hat of plopping in onto Kvledulf’s head.

The two turned as they heard Leonidas leaning over the side retching loudly.

“Doing all right there, Doc?” Kveldulf asked.

“I forgot how much I hate sailing,” Leonidas replied. Leonidas waved his hand towards Kveldulf. “That wasn’t meant to offend.”

“You’re fine,” Kveldulf said as he chuckled. “Not everyone is meant to have sea legs.”

Leonidas let out a guttural burp. “I sea I don’t have mine.”

“Really, Doc?” Silvius sitting down and resting his head against a crate.

“You have your methods of handling this, I have mine.”

Jeanne looked around and asked, “Where’s Maeryn?”

Kveldulf turned his gaze upward and pointed to the crow’s nest. “I think I see our little elven archer.”

“Hi!” Maeryn called out as she waved from high on the crow’s nest.

Kveldulf and Jeanne waved back normally as Silvius merely lifted his hand.

Leonidas looked up, puffed his cheeks out and retched over the side once again. “That was a mistake,” he said groggily.

Jeanne patted Leonidas on the back. “There, there,” she said to him.

“Where is Cid and Hypatia?” asked Kveldulf.

“Probably with the captain,” Silvius replied.

“And Gabriel?”

“Down below,” said Leonidas, still hung over the railing.

“And I am not enjoying the show!” Gabriel replied from within the lower deck.

Leonidas let out an unintelligible gurgle.

“I think he was trying to say he’s sorry,” Jeanne said.

Leonidas gave her a thumb’s up, not bothering to lift his head.

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Jeanne looked up to see Mareyn in the crow’s nest spotting something in the distance. “Captain!” she yelled, “Captain Denis!”

Denis, Cid and Hypatia left the captain’s quarters and looked up at the nest. “Why are you up there?” the captain demanded.

“I figured I’d help your lookout with their, you know, looking,” Maeryn replied.

Denis turned to Cid. “Does she have good eyes.”

“Excellent,” Cid replied.

“I won’t even go over all the regulations she’s breaking being up there,” Denis said to Cid.

Cid pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand while waving his other. “We’ll take the responsibility for whatever happens.”

“What are you seeing up there?” Denis asked Maeryn.

“A ship, decent size, heading our direction.”

“Can you make out the top flag on their mast?”

“I can’t see any emblems, but it’s mostly black.”

“Oh, that’s not how I wanted my day to go,” said Denis.

“Should I ask?” said Cid.

“They’re pirates, ones acting outside of the guild.”

“I can assume they’re not on good terms with guild members?” Cid asked.

“Oh, gods no,” said Denis. “They’re just insufferable. Always acting as if they’re about true freedom of the seas and how you’re your own man.”

“But you have more rules than some religious orders!” Jeanne challenged.

Denis held his finger out towards her. “Most are for safety, and some are to keep the navies from coming after us as criminals … well … more criminal than normal. And, for the record, we have standards when we plunder.”

“How?”

“What’s the use looting a fishing vessel, or something barely staying afloat?” Denis replied. “Most of those poor bastards are just trying to make a living. And usually if you don’t mutilate, kidnap, or throw someone’s family member overboard simply because, they tend to send less ships to try to kill you.”

“Well, I guess we can have a wonderful discourse on the nature of piracy when these chaps get here,” said Cid.

“That’s one way to put it,” said Denis as he barked out the order, “General Quarters!”

Without hesitation, Jeanne saw the sailors of The Bellamy Blade rush around the deck. Some scrambling down to the lower decks, many shouting commands, everyone moving to their position for battle. Many returned to the upper deck with weapons and circular shields in hand. Jeanne and the rest of The Wolves readied their weapons for their oncoming guest.

Gabriel, her hood and mask covering her entire head once more, reached the others on deck. “What’s happening,” she asked Cid.

“Seems we have company,” Cid replied, unsheathing his blade.

Denis called back up to Maeryn. “Can you see anything new to their flag now?”

“There’s a coiled serpent around a cutlass and a skull,” she replied.

“Well, that might change things a little,” Denis said calmly aloud.

“What do you mean?” Cid asked.

“If it’s the ship I’m thinking of, we might be able to talk our way out of a fight. But that’s a long maybe.”

The ship gradually reached The Bellamy Blade on the starboard side and roughly the same size. Crewmen on the other vessel were on deck, their own weapons out and ready for a battle. The captain was gripping a rope as both ships were now matching speed. He was reptilian in his features. Red scaled skin, golden eyes with slitted pupils running down the length of his eyes.

He wore a long-tattered coat with a belt running diagonally across his chest, with three small daggers attached to it. Along his waist was a sword belt holding up a cutlass dangling off his left hip. He waved to the people on The Bellamy calmly.

“Ahoy there,” he said, “it’s been a long time, Captain Denis.”

“I’d say so Captain Storzen, though I doubt this is a social call,” Denis replied.

“Afraid not, a bit on a business errand you see.”

“How so?”

“We’re on the hunt for a woman about a head shorter than yourself, black hair, a wild look in her eyes and a temper to match.”

“Not sure if I should be flattered,” Jeanne said to Cid.

“Shh,” he hissed, “I don’t want to escalate things if we can avoid it.”

“What business is it of yours?” Denis asked. “You’re not exactly in the business of hunting bounties.”

“We’re not,” Storzen replied. “But there’s someone who is.” The captain turned to his crew, snapping his fingers and within moments, two pirates dragged a disheveled man, hair unkept for some time and his clothes dirtied to a heavy degree. As the two sailors released the man, he gave them a sneer and tried to straighten up his appearance.

“Sort of a rough way to treat a passenger, eh?” Denis asked.

“He’s been learning a lesson in proper manners towards his transports,” Storzen replied.

“And I’ll be sure to return the instruction, a hundred-fold!” the young man declared. The same to you lot over there!”

Jeanne saw the man’s face and felt her blood boil. Without hesitation she bolted towards the edge of the ship, grabbed the first rope she could see hanging loose and swung over the gap of the two ships and landed on the other side. Before anyone in Storzen’s crew could react, she tackled the man and slammed him against the ship’s mast.

She then threw the man over and, as she summoned her rockscales, smashed him onto the deck. There were no words to describe her rage while she roared into his frightened face and pummeled it with her fists. She gripped his throat tightly, watching him struggle to free himself as the life slowly began ebbing away.

Jeanne felt the satisfaction coming over her knowing another Kolville cur was snuffed out by her hands as she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She threw a clenched fist, knocking them out entirely. Only an instant later did she see Leonidas on the floor blood beginning to come from his head and a cold shiver crawl up her spine and terrified shriek from her lips.