Years of friendship and collaboration were undermined with just one stunning revelation. If not for the fire-witch prisoner, Moira’s covert hoarding of the suppressant tea would still be hidden on the ship. Elisabeth ground her teeth and rubbed a hand over her face, frustration with the situation created tension into her muscles. She pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to relieve the pressure building in her face. Waiting for Moira to join her for the conversation they needed to have was putting stress onto a moment that would otherwise be pleasant. She resented the quartermaster for the loss of comfort that her ship normally provided. With a sigh, she rolled a worn coin over the backs of her fingers, the repetitive motion meant to calm her thoughts.
When the spells woven into the Silence alerted her to Moira’s approach, she felt as close to calm as was possible given the situation. She rolled the coin one more time, then tucked it away into a hidden pocket of her shirt. A sharp knock sounded a moment later, and Moira stepped into the room without waiting to be called. She didn’t pause to close the door behind her, either, simply stormed into the room, leaving Cressia to pull the door closed behind the quartermaster, shutting the two women into the cabin with each other. Elisabeth knew the bodyguard was listening carefully on the other side of the wooden planks, and would be in the cabin in an instant if she felt her captain was threatened. It was a comfort now that she wasn’t sure she could trust the one-armed woman who sat down in the chair opposite from her at the table. They nodded at each other.
“Captain.”
“Quartermaster. What’s our status?”
“Our course is set for Driftwood Bay. Helen predicts we’ll be there within the week, depending on weather.”
“Good.”
Moira shifted in her seat, a sign she was uncomfortable with her captain’s reserved responses. “The Jester is sailing a few leagues ahead, always close enough to be within sight.”
“Did you make arrangements to have Leni brought back before they moved to that distance?”
“No. Captain Mortimer declined.”
Elisabeth’s jaw popped with the pressure she exerted in grinding her teeth. “I see.” The words were forced between her lips. She didn’t like that the quartermaster failed at the task. “Tell me about the spellblock you hid on my ship.”
The quartermaster thumped her hook on the table, careful not to score the wood, nervous energy rolling off her in waves. “It’s a precaution,” she said. “And clearly one that’s needed! That fire-witch would have burned us up.”
Elisabeth dismissed the justifications with a sharp bark of laughter that held no mirth. “But it was on board before we ever brought Roger onto the ship.”
“Aye.”
“Why?”
“As a contingency.”
Elisabeth sighed in frustration at the woman’s answers. She needed to hear Moira say the words, to speak the truth, but the quartermaster was refusing. Elisabeth leaned across the table towards Moira, hands flat on the table top. “Why was spellblock on my ship without my knowledge?!” The words were quiet, but forceful. The two women glared at each other. After a long, tense moment, Moira looked away, dropping her gaze.
“In case you lost control. It’s here in case you let the spirits take you over.”
The sentence sat between them, its implications rolling through the cabin with the weight of a boulder. Elisabeth remained silent, watching the other woman fidget under her solemn regard.
“It’s my responsibility as quartermaster to ensure the safety of the crew,” Moira paused, meeting Elisabeth’s eyes. “From all threats.” She gestured with her hook. “You’re too powerful to not have a plan if your magic overtook your reason.” She glowered. “You know that. Can you imagine what you might do? I can. I can see you taking the life from every sailor on this ship to fuel your damn trinket just so you won’t ever have to know true death.”
The vehemence of the response felt like a slap across the face. Elisabeth scowled at the judgement underlying the statement. It took her a long moment to compose her thoughts and control her emotions. After a few deep breaths, she leaned back in her chair.
“I understand your reasoning, Moira, but you should have discussed it with me. All of it. My life-charm won’t harm the crew, you know I’d never allow it. Your concerns should have been brought to me. And we could have come up with a plan together. Instead, you went behind my back and brought a magic suppressant onboard. And you know my feelings on spellblock.”
“Aye.” Moira hung her head. “Aye, mayhaps I should have.”
“Is there more on the ship?”
“There is.”
“I want Cressia to control it.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Captain, your bodyguard…” Moira raised her head to meet the captain’s eyes again.
“No, Moira, you lost my trust. Cressia will control the spellblock.” They glared at each other for a long, tense moment.
“Aye, captain,” the quartermaster acquiesced beneath the captain’s glare.
“Good. Then we have an accord.” Elisabeth held her hand toward the other woman, and after a slight hesitation, Moira clasped her arm. Their compact was settled. Time might restore trust between them, but for now, Elisabeth felt the need to keep her plans to herself.
“I’m sure you have duties waiting for you.” She dismissed the other woman with a lazy wave of her hand.
“Aye, captain.” Moira rose from her chair and paused. “I…I’m sorry that I kept this secret. I truly thought it was for the best, and that I was protecting the crew.” She didn’t wait for a response, but left the cabin without a backwards glance. As was the case when she entered the captain’s cabin, she also didn’t close the door on her way out onto the deck. Cressia did that when she stepped inside the room, then leaned back against the wood.
“Did you know?” Elisabeth asked her bodyguard.
“I didn’t. But I’m not surprised. She’s responsible for the crew, and you know you frighten some of the women.”
Elisabeth considered her companion’s words. She was the She-Wolf, notorious for her necromancy, and her ruthlessness. Instilling fear in her enemies was her intention, and the crew’s feelings were collateral.
“You weren’t here, because you went in the water to release us from the Sargasso, but it rattled a lot of the women. Between the ordeal of being becalmed, to the sacrifices, to you going into the sea and finally breaking the curse…the crew is unsteady.”
Elisabeth thought about her companion’s words, about the hardships they’d undergone. “I hear you. Things are only going to get worse as we keep going. The crew’ll either pull together, or they’ll shatter, but I’m not here to coddle them. They’re sailing with the She-Wolf.”
“Aye.” Cressia didn’t argue, just shrugged. “A ship is like a court in many ways. Show your face while we sail to Driftwood Bay. Remind them you’re here. Remind them you’re with them. You were gone a while.” She pushed away from the door, opened it and paused before leaving. “Be their captain for a few days. It’ll settle them. And take some power back from Moira.”
“Thank you for your counsel. I’ll consider it.” The door shut with a soft thump, and Elisabeth tipped the chair back onto its back legs, thoughts tumbling through her mind like a rockslide down an unstable mountainside. Where was the line between fear and respect? And did it matter to the captain of a pirate ship? How important was trust between a quartermaster and a captain?
“Fuck.” She allowed the chair to drop back to the floor. Sitting and ruminating wasn’t going to solve anything. She rummaged through her trunk of clothing, and pulled out sailor’s pants and a lighter shirt. She put on the simple garments, left her coat and boots behind, and made her way up on the deck. Cressia was right about one thing: the crew needed a reminder that their captain was home.
Driftwood Bay was on the horizon, and Elisabeth washed sweat from her aching body. The last few days were spent hauling rope and climbing in the rigging, rebuilding her relationship with the remaining crew. Cressia’s advice had been sound. The mood on the Silence was markedly improved---the women calmer, the men loaned to them from the Jester integrated within the short time. But they were about to enter the town and it was time for the She-Wolf to be a captain again, not a pirate working alongside her compatriots. When she was clean and dry, she put her captain’s garb back on, and by the time she pulled her boots onto her sore feet, she was Captain Wolf once more---arrogant, powerful, and terrifying.
Unlike Skull Island, Driftwood was an open port and a pirate haven. It swore allegiance to no nation, and no king. Not even the Skeleton King held sway in the raucous town. The bay was wide, shallow on the north end, deep on the south. The tall ships berthed on the south side, and piers, jetties, and a shipyard sat on the side of the town. The beach was filled with tents and ramshackle structures that housed a variety of its denizens---shipless crews, or a landbase for crews that enjoyed townlife between their hunting. Beyond the shipyards and beach sat warehouses and taverns. At a point on the far side of the settlement, a place Elisabeth had never seen, there were farms and orchards, a community of people trying to build an honest life. A few retired pirates lived there, enjoying the spoils of their adventures. It was a place she never wanted to call home.
Captain Wolf stood at the wheel guiding the Silence into the bay. She slid the vessel into a spot next to the Jester. They had watched the other ship round the corner of the archipelago that sheltered Driftwood Bay and knew that their allies arrived in the town a few hours before them.
“Drop the anchor! Secure the ship!” Elisabeth ordered, stepping away from the helm, leaving it in Helen’s capable hands. She walked up to where the quartermaster was overseeing the preparation of the longboats. “Moira!” She called her name to draw her attention. “I have business in town. I trust you to get the mast replaced. And we’ll need to recruit.”
“Aye, captain. I’ll visit Halbert. He’s the best with wood. He’ll have us back to sea in a few days, but it’ll cost us.”
“Pay him extra if he can have us sea-worthy in two days. I don’t want any further delays. The yoke chafes.” The quartermaster nodded in response. The first longboat lowered to the water.
“I’ll take this one across,” Elisabeth declared and swung over the side of the ship to climb down the rope ladder. She needed to visit the town’s Sanctuary, and she wanted news of Henry Mortimer. With their trust broken, she didn’t share her plans with the quartermaster. Only Cressia knew, and her bodyguard shimmied down a rope into the longboat as it launched from the ship and toward the shore. Elisabeth hated leaving her ship, but the visit to town was necessary. She needed to replenish her trinkets, and to formulate a plan with Henry to get them to Rowan’s Shroud. She watched the Silence recede as they rowed toward the pier.
The longboat bumped against the jetty, and the two women jumped to the pier, allowing the sailors rowing the boat to return to the ship to bring the next party across. Elisabeth rolled her shoulders and straightened her coat. The sound of music drifted from one of the nearby taverns. It was early in the day, but she knew from past experience that the rum was always flowing in the pirate town. The place never slept, and never slowed its pace.
“Captain Wolf! Captain Wolf!” A sailor ran up to them and Cressia moved to block his path, knife in her hand in a motion that not even Elisabeth caught.
“Stop!” The bodyguard hissed and the young pirate skidded to a halt, hands held up and away from his body to indicate he wasn’t a threat.
“Captain Mortimer asked me to deliver a message when you arrived,” he explained, peering over the bodyguard’s shoulder.
“What’s the message?” Elisabeth asked, stepping next to Cressia.
“He’ll be at the Sailing Pig and hopes you’ll join him for a drink.”
“Tell him I’ll be there later. I have business to conduct.” The She-Wolf pushed past him and made her way into Driftwood Bay, Cressia in her wake, a deadly shadow.
Dragon Keeper: And the Eternal Quest for Rent Money
by Wyatt_Wriots
Stuck out of place.
Stuck out of time.
You really f’d yourself now, Ike.
Alone.
Forgotten.
Dragons-eye. Just beneath its silver surface, an ancient being slept—now awakened by a portal leading to another world.
? What to Expect ?
- [+] Weak → Strong → VERY STRONG!
- [+] Portal-hopping to different worlds.
- [+] Powers, powers, and more powers.
- [+] A S*** talking Dragon.