Two weeks passed by since that talk with Gramps. Killian was ready to set sail, but before Darius could leave, he had to make sure his grandfather was situated. A man of his word, the Don set away one of his summer mansions for Jerimiah; one filled to the brim with many beautiful maids and gorgeous scenery.
Before Darius left Jerimiah, his grandfather left him with some parting words, “Damien… Your Grandfather will be just fine!”
Jerimiah said that with a straight face and a thumbs up, the lecher. Though vulgar, Jerimiah’s words and deposition made sure to calm Darius’s worries.
“The Don is scum, but he still wants me as a part of his family, so he’ll take care of Gramps, I’m sure of it. All there’s left to do. is tell Killian that it’s time to go. Time to set sail across the Torrential Seas.”
“Killian, a pleasure to see you once again,” Darius said while shaking hands with him.
“Sir Darius, the pleasure is all mine. This trip is likely to last more than a month, maybe even two, so I hope you have some sea legs.” Killian responded while giving an extremely exaggerated bow. “Allow me to introduce you to some of the crew.”
“Our helmsman, Ricardo Chavez. Fair warning, do not touch the helm or he will break your arms, I’ve seen him do it.” He’s about average height, with light brown skin, and short spiked brown hair. He didn’t wear a shirt, which exposed a bunch of lash marks on his back.
“You can just call me Ricardo, the Captain seems to have taken a liking to you since the last time we met, you probably saw me as one of the drunks passed out that day.”
“He seems pretty nice, though I think I’ll take Killian’s advice and avoid touching the helm.”
“Our quartermaster Gordon Johnson. He may seem like a hardass, but after a few days of going hungry because you’ve upset him, you learn to love him.” Real big guy, a good bit taller than Darius and very muscular, with such dark brown skin that Darius almost would just call it black. Gordon was completely bald, missing an arm, and one of his eyes.
“You come to me when you need something. I handle all equipment, shipments, and ship resources, our Captain here may be a bit of an idiot, but he’s a good man that will get you where you need to go.”
“He seems to be the type that keeps mostly to himself, so unless I need something, I won’t really get the chance to talk to him much.”
“Our navigator Kent Suzuki, a master at reading the winds to the point where it seems like he’s controlling the seas” He’s a short guy, probably even shorter than that major chick, very light brown skin, and bowl cut black hair.
“Before you ask, yes, I do believe the weather down there is nicer than up where you are, because obviously you are not getting enough oxygen to your brain. Other than that, our Captain is an idiot, and you’re lucky to have me here to guide the ship.”
“Nice guy, hope I won’t have to talk to him any time soon.”
“Last and most importantly, the most beautiful ship at sea, the Lion Khanum’s Blade. You’ll never find a ship more reliable than her. Through every battle, every chase, she’s kept us all safe. The Torrential Seas will be no different.”
These guys were obviously pirates, no way they’re normal sailors, so Darius felt like this is going to be a long journey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all, now that we’ve been acquainted, I feel that it’s about time to start sailing.”
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Killian put a hand on Darius’s shoulder, “True, it’s about time, onward to the Torrential Seas!”
Two more weeks of travel had gone by, and it turned out being the captain of a pirate crew was very different from being the captain of a military or merchant vessel. Just because Killian’s the captain doesn’t mean he really gets any privileges, at least not when it comes to everyday activities.
The crew kept a changing schedule of jobs that each member had to complete, or risk being the target of the quartermaster’s ire. This included the captain and Darius. Swabbing the deck, hoisting sails, weighing anchor, all kinds of jobs based on their skillset. Unluckily, Darius was taught a bit about weather patterns and oceanography years ago, so he spent a lot of time alongside Kent. A relationship akin to the one Darius shared with Johannes quickly formed.
“Oi, Darius get over here and move this equipment.” Kent as the navigator spent most of his time, and by extension Darius’s time, reading maps and checking on the wind using equipment that Darius was pretty sure went obsolete over 30 years ago.
“You know Kent, you may be short, but I’m sure you could help move some of this equipment.”
Kent stopped and looked up towards Darius and responded, “You’re right I could help you,” he then proceeded to turn around and continue walking.
“You’re the worst, you know that.”
“Of course, I do.”
Kent has known Killian for the longest time out of all the crew members, being friends since their childhood. Over time, Kent was discovered to be a genius among geniuses and sent to study at the University of Intelligion. However, stuck at the university, Kent felt that his true calling was the sea and did his best to be expelled from the university. Destroying property, embarrassing staff, and even usurping the Dean for a week, each attempt only cemented his status as an important asset for the university.
Just when Kent had given up on ever living on the seas, one night seemingly out of nowhere Killian reappeared and offered him exactly what he wanted. Other than Kent, everyone else got along well with Darius.
The helmsman became Darius’s favorite drinking buddy. The life of a party while drinking, it was only after he got drunk that his true self was revealed. A crying drunk, it was then when Ricardo openly talked about his past.
His mother was kidnapped by slavers in Powercene, and he was essentially born as a natural way to increase their cargo. All Ricardo knew was forced labor since he was a child. He never met his father but was luckily able to be raised with his mother, or rather whatever was left of her, being kidnapped and forced into slavery tends to take a toll on the mind.
Rebellious by nature, he knew the whip well, nowadays he flaunts the marks, calling them battle scars. At 15, he was to be sold as a slave to a noble family, and in a moment of blind luck he saw that his captor’s key ring was broken. Seeing his chance, he managed to sneak his key off the ring.
The slaver, however, noticed that he was holding his hands uncharacteristically tight together to hide the key. He was told to open his hands but refused, the slaver took the opportunity to brutally beat him, but Ricardo kept his hands closed refusing to let go; the slaver eventually got tired and chalked up the item in his hand to be an acorn or something that he could eat later.
Once the noble family purchased him, they set out on the long journey back to the mainland of Powercene. After they went to camp for night, Ricardo took his opportunity to escape, running over 25 miles back to the town he was sold at, before passing out in a bar. He was found there the next morning by Killian and asked to join the crew, with no other options he accepted.
Gordon was actually quite the softie when you get to know him, just like Killian said. Initially extremely anti-social, he started to open up to Darius due to their shared interest in the bow. Before he lost his arm, he was an extremely skilled marksman, the eye was something he was missing since birth, unfortunately the accident that made him lose his arm also took his wife and unborn child.
Left with nothing, he joined the Church of the Leviathan as a scribe in Devotime. Craving any form of support and stability, Gordon quickly became wholly invested with the church. Darius was already familiar with the Church of the Leviathan; some odd years ago they were prosecuted for the ritualistic sacrificing off their members. A fact that Gordon was intimately familiar with. Taken as a sacrifice, he was stabbed multiple times and had a large amount of his blood drained before being discarded on an uninhabited island to die.
Unlike Ricardo who carried his scars with pride, Gordon hid the puncture wounds that covered his body. He miraculously managed to survive for a year on the island before being found by Killian. Darius reason that this experience was the root of his amazing ability to manage resources.