< Big Slow River | Ex Pulplogs | Talks In The Dark >
ST It's been getting close to the time when Corve will have to leave the rest of the party to make sure that he arrives in Great Forks on time for his "duel" with Falling Darkness. And after much discussion, Carmine has decided she will go with him and then, while Myrrh and Xar are studying Sorcery with Rivers, the other two will go South to uncover Carmine's secret past.
ST Or at least die in the attempt!
ST As a result of these conversations, Xar and Corve are up late one night, watching the river slide past in the darkness as their stolen slave barge moves down the river lazily.
ST They both notice it at the same time, a river barge moving fast towards them, without lanterns or any kind of illumination. Against the night and the dark water, the boat is almost invisible but the keen eyes of the Exalted and xar's strong sense of smell pick it out easily.
Corve "... anyway, like I was saying. I'm hesitant. This whole duel thing seems like a divers- hey," his voice drops to a whisper. "See that?" He nods slightly, flipping Judging Thunder from over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes to get a better look.
Xar blinks and focuses on the boat, feathered ear-tufts twitching. "No lights..." he says in a low rumble. "Pirates?"
Corve shrugs. "Not sure. Maybe."
Xar "The others are asleep, I think we two can deal with this... good practice for your duel, yes?" He grins toothily.
Corve "Kind of small for pirates..." he says, grinning at his scaled friend's comment. "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem." He flicks the switch on his rifle that moves it into silent mode, which helps in keeping the ruckus to a minimum.
ST The other barge is closing fast on the Circle's stolen ship, then slows at it approaches to a few yards
ST Xar and Corve can see people on the decks clad in dark colors, blues and greens and browns to better hide themselves.
Corve sneaks slowly away from Xar, moving back along the ship, waiting for the barge to pass up his position so that Xar is in front of them and he behind.
Xar folds his arms across his chest, and steps to the edge of the boat, looking for all the world like a gargoyle as his flame-colors shift to stony grey-white. This is mostly just to surprise the hell out of them, since he finds such things to be amusing.
ST Xar can smell a woman's perfume wafting across the water along with the scent of poisonous flowers, polished wood and sinew. He hears a stretching noise and a soft affirmation. Corve's name, he thinks, too.
Xar "A bow-woman. Corve, beware."
Xar places himself directly between the bow and his friend
Corve raises a brow at Xar and nods slightly, ducking down further. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine," he whispers low, knowing that Xar will hear him.
ST Xar gets his warning out just in time as a darkened arrow streaks across the waters, aimed directly at Corve's heart. Xar is still moving as the arrow races towards his friend!
ST The arrow that strikes Corve is magically enhanced for by the time it enters his stomach it has grown from a normal broad-head arrow into a small tree limb nearly three feet long. And it's well stuck in the Night Caste's middle. A Wood Aspect must be working with these pirates!
Xar glances over his shoulder for the barest second, "Fine?" then promptly lobs a fireball back at the woman's bow. And her face, since it happens to be behind said bow.
Corve cries out- though not very loudly- as the arrow transforms, and buckles. Bastards. "Xar, get this thing out of me, will you?" he says, as a flare of Essence reaps through him.
Xar , at nearly the same time, reaches back and yanks the tree limb out of Corve's guts.
Corve grunts again, this time a bit louder, and holds his stomach growling almost animalistically as he looks over his shoulder. "Alright... first blood to you," he says softly.
ST The archer woman does something in the darkness with her arrows, but Xar can't truly see what. However he does notice that the majority of his fireball has now transformed into a collection of smoldering, sweet-smelling ashes.
ST The woman curses softly as the fireball burns her hands and scorches her bow badly.
Xar sends more fire coursing along the length of the bloody tree limb, and hurls it after, across the silent river, which reflects their battle impassively in its ripples.
Archer shoots an arrow at the oncoming branch. As they collide, the branch bursts into verdant life, its quickly growing mosses sucking in moisture from their surroundings and putting out the fire. When it hits, the branch is a rotting mold fest instead of a flaming projectile of doom.
Archer fires once again, sending another arrow towards Xar. This time the air around the burned
Archer woman flares into brilliance as flower petals dance around her. The arrow expands as it moves, growing barbed limbs and becoming gnarled with roots and leaves.
Xar snorts, and crosses his arms in front of his chest, waiting until the last second before it hits to split them apart, curving iron claws shredding the little tree aiming for him
Xar looks down as his mildly inexpert parry is denied, only to have the branches shatter against his stony chest. He laughs.
Archer The little tree is shattered indeed, but its viciously splintery shards penetrate Xar's stone skin to reach his fleshy insides. Ow!
Xar grunts, and brushes the shards of wood away from his chest, which is leaking... sand?
Archer "Will you surrender the ship, theives?" The woman's voice is high and harsh as she calls across the water.
Corve mutters under his breath as he sees Xar get hit- and hurt. The Solar hisses and rises, full of fury and righteousness, his arm extending downward to bring the barrel of his rifle quickly into line with the Dragon-Blooded's body. His eyes, sharp and concentrated, narrowly trace the passage of the bullet that is to be fired, mindless of such things as arrows in the air or armor on her flesh, as the bullet will ignore all such inconveniences. The tip of his rifle seems to suck up his anima for an instant, glowing a radiant and powerful silver and white. "Surrender this." Then the bullet leaves the barrel, cutting through the air with utter silence and perfect trajectory.
Xar "Not until we are done with it."
Xar "If you wish to join us on our quest to save Creation from the Black Viper cult, you put your bow down, and we will no longer fight. If not, then you cannot get in our way. This is too important."
Archer chokes off a scream as Corve's bullet shears through the hull of her ship and cuts a messy hole through her leg, dropping her to her knees.
Corve snorts. "I knew we should've just kept the damn pirates in their rooms..."
Xar takes two steps, pushing off the railing to leap into the air! At the apex of his leap, he curls into a spiny ball, hurtling through the air like a stony cannonball of FIRE. FIRE!
Archer deftly springs aside, moving away from the flaming stone dragon as it falls towards her. In a flash of sparks the woman is at the stern of the boat, a good distance away from Xar, and taking aim at Corve for REVENGE!
Archer shouts to some of the other men, now visible in the flames as other mercenaries and some of the original slave-barge's crew. They start throwing water upon the flames of their ship as well as several unsheathing blades and advancing on the Dragon-King
Corve has the fleeting thought that, 'hey! she started it!' and goes with that, opening fire on the woman in a deft movement much like the one he performed before. With both hands this time, his rifle licked by white and gold flames.
Xar tumbles to the deck, bouncing off, and landing on his feet, leaving a scorched dent behind himself.
Archer staggers away from the fight, dragging herself below decks to where she can, likely, use some sort of healing magic on herself. Corve's last bullet was a near thing, but it still took away a chunk of her and left her bleeding badly, gasping for breath.
ST The former crew and their hired help attack the Dragon-King as soon as he lands on the ship, hurling themselves towards him with swords and spears!!
Xar laughs as the mewling humans come at him fiercely, reminding him of the pygmies with their spears. He deftly knocks the first's spear aside as one rushes at him, and lets the human's own motion cause him to run into his flaming body.
Art Badger One of the men is, indeed, set on fire and dives into the river screaming, but the other two actually do hit Xar...with no result
Xar chuckles. Really, it's no wonder he has a reputation for setting villages aflame. They just keep putting flammable stuff near him!
Corve turns his rifle on the men attacking Xar- and the others as well. They really should know better than to try to take back a ship from people of their caliber. He raises the rifle to eye-level, and begins to shoot, carefully picking off slavers and hired help with a shot each. Some may die, some may only be badly wounded... he doubts any of them will stick around for more after this.
Art Badger Crove's killing spree is somewhat effective, taking out four of the men aboard the ship
Archer is still crawling into the ship's belowdecks and, while Corve is distracted, makes it under cover.
ST Something silent and dark moves behind Corve without the Night Caste ever being aware. A lean man walks across the dark water wearing midnight blue armor and slips aboard the ship. Only at the last moment do Corve's avoidance instincts kick in and give him warning as the hidden man's arms wrap around him at neck and chest, pinning Corve's limbs against himself.
Xar doesn't really notice Corve's predicament, so focused he is on finding the archeress, and he follows hot on her heels, brushing any interference aside like the gnats they are.
ST "Dragon-King! I have your partner!"
Xar 's head comes up, and his eyes narrow. He lunges for the Dragon-Blooded before him, wrapping his massive arms around her, and lifting her from the ground.
Water Aspect waits for the Dragon-King to re-emerge from the ship. "Come out, Lizard!!"
Xar "And I HAVE YOURS!" He emerges shortly from belowdecks, with the captive woman struggling against him.
Water Aspect eyes Xar from above a mask of dark river mud obscuring his features. "Well then. What do you propose?"
Xar kindly has extinguished the flames that were engulfing him before - no use for a dead captive. "We are not pirates. We are on a mission to save Creation. Let us go, as we let the crew of the ship go when we took it. Do not send more against us. We will return the ship when we are done with it - we have no need of such a thing."
Water Aspect "You are thieves that stole the livelihood of a crew! But for my partner, I will let you go this time."
Water Aspect probably hears all the time that people are trying to save the world. Who DOESNT have that excuse? People from Gem?"
Xar "You are wrong - we are not thieves as I said. We will give the boat back. but the crew stole the very lives of the people below, so their livelihood is stealing itself."
Xar "I hold not only your partner, but your ship as well. With a thought, I can make the flames grow and destroy it. You are on the ship with others like us. Even if you kill him, you will not live after."
Xar gestures, and the flames go out.
Xar "Leave us alone. Do not send more after us. I will fix your ship.
Water Aspect "I can swim very well. We will trade hostages and go away from eachother for now. That is what I offer."
Xar "You swim, but so do we. It is your life too that we trade for."
Water Aspect "I've made my offer, Dragon-King. Give me my partner and I will return yours. Then we will go away."
Water Aspect tightens his grip on Corve's neck
Xar "You will go away and not return."
Xar "And no others."
Water Aspect "We will go away, Dragon-King. That is the offer."
Xar "That is not a good offer."
Corve hangs, silently, from the Dragon-Blooded's grip, pretending to be knocked out. The Terrestrial doesn't really have a good look at his face, being as he grabbed him from behind, and so the Solar parts his eyelids slightly to look at Xar on the other ship. Not enough for anyone to notice in the darkness, though.
Xar flares his crest, the better to look imposing, and shifts the girl to one arm, using the other to lift her bow from her nerveless grip. With a single flick of his thumb he snaps the bowstring in half. "Make a better offer."
Water Aspect "Your companion's life is on the line here, Dragon-King!"
Xar shrugs a bit. "I know this already. Both yours, and hers are, too."
Water Aspect "I've said we'll sail away. But the crew might hire us again, or someone else. And that, I won't be saying anything about."
Xar "You are for hire. What if we hire you?"
Water Aspect looks amused. "You think you can afford us? You, ship theives?"
Xar "How much did they pay you, the crew with no livelihood?"
Water Aspect "Their sponsors paid a great deal."
Xar "Who were they?"
Water Aspect "That's their business, not mine or yours."
Xar snorts.
Xar looks over the scorched ship and the decimated crew. "You are worth less now than you were when you were bought."
Corve suddenly moves. It's a fluid motion, and like sunlight bursting through a cloud, the Solar rips free from the Water Aspect's grip, rolling quickly and sharply away from the Dragon-Blooded and lifting his rifle up to aim at him. "You'd be amazed at what we can do."
Water Aspect blinks a few times at the formerly knocked out and well-secured Corve. Grunts. "I'm sure. Well then, it seems we're back to fighting."
Corve "I wouldn't even try it if I were you."
Water Aspect sets himself to attack Corve again, this time to be sure the Solar is well and truly out of it
Xar "I still have your partner. Touch him and she dies."
Xar holds her up by the throat
Water Aspect eyes his partner...
Water Aspect "Fine then. Let her go and we won't be back."
Water Aspect "I might still be able to kill your friend here. I at least don't have holes through me."
Xar "Corve, how much do men like this cost?"
Corve "You will if you take a single step towards me." He slowly stands, moving back a few steps, the rifle still trained at the dragon-blooded. Looking at Xar, he shrugs. "Depends. These two? Probably a pretty penny- but they can't really be trusted. If we can pay them off, someone else can pay them off to betray us..."
Xar looks thoughtfully at the woman, then across at the man. "Is that true, then. We cannot pay you enough to keep your loyalty, even when you see how we are doing good?"
Water Aspect "Lots of people say they're doing good. Even demons. But it depends on how much you can pay."
Corve "See, Xar- their word is worth as much as the pocket that pays for it. That's how people like them work. Good and evil to them doesn't matter. They'd help the Black Viper Cult bring down Brume over all of Creation if the bastards payed them enough."
Corve "Pure egotism manifested."
Xar "You would be hired by people you knew were to do evil?"
Water Aspect shrugs, not confirming or really denying.
Water Aspect "Depends on the pay and the evil. I'd not help the Deathlords or such."
Corve "If I distrusted my natural instincts, I'd be tempted to see if you're telling the truth- but frankly, I think you're full of it. Anything that's good for you, is good enough to get you on anyone's side."
Xar "We fight the ones who destroyed Abundance, island of Brume. You are skilled fighters. If you will swear an oath enforced by the Gods, to do us and ours no harm, then I will offer you a true Peach of Immortality."
Water Aspect "Some sides aren't good to join.....you will now? And how'd you get one of those?"
Water Aspect looks interested. Most certainly interested.
Xar "I share my life with a God."
Corve doesn't trust them, and it shows.
Xeth comes to the fore, and Xar's stony countenance changes, the eyes of the god showing through, his skin turning to molten metal with veins of lava. He speaks, and it is clear that his timbre and patterns of speech are that of another. "This one is not worthy of a peach." he says disdainfully. "Possibly a single bite, if that. Riff raff."
Water Aspect glares at the Dragon-shaped God, but keeps quiet. Even one bite of a peach would be worth this job.
Corve smirks a little, tilting his head at Xeth and then looking at the Dragon-Blooded.
Water Aspect "For half a peach for both of us, we'll do what you say. I'll consider this job..terminated."
Xeth "A quarter. And you will swear the oath."
Corve snorts a little, taking more steps back, until he's far away enough so that he can shoot the Dragon-Blooded several times before the man even comes near him.
Xeth "Both of you will swear." he looks down at the woman in his grip. "Won't you?"
Water Aspect The woman grunts an affirmative around Xeth's hand. "Let her go and we can talk about this job. On our ship."
Xeth "Come over, then." He sets the woman down reasonably gently, but keeps the bow.
Corve "I think we're fine on this one. It's bigger."
Water Aspect The bow, being one made of wooden Essence only, disappears as the woman lets its Essence go. It puddles to the deck in a pool of sap and a faint trace of blood.
Xeth "Yes, but this one I can burn if he lies."
Corve "We've been talking fine like this. I don't want to be on their turf with both of them."
Water Aspect glares at Corve and shrugs, seating himself on the side of the boat easily. "Well then."
Water Aspect checks occasionally on his partner, who glows more strongly as she uses some of her remaining Essence to finish the majority of her healing.
Xeth produces a Peach from the depths of somewhere or other. It is perfect, almost glowing.
Xeth "Swear, first." He uses his claw to neatly section a quarter out of the fruit, and splits it in half, the juices running down his fingers, glistening.
Water Aspect "That isnt what we agreed on, Dragon-God."
Xeth "Isn't it?"
Corve "Sure it is."
Water Aspect "A bite each. That's only one.
Xeth "For a full bite each, you must swear to serve us for your whole lives."
Xeth "We will provide for your needs, of course."
Water Aspect laughs. "And long lives they'd be indeed doing such. A season."
Xeth "A decade. It takes so long to grow a new Peach."
Water Aspect "There are plenty in Heaven, Dragon-God. A season and calibration."
Corve "A full year, with Calibration."
Water Aspect "Three seasons and calibration."
Xeth "I do not see you able to enter Heaven."
Xeth "If you wish to find your own, go on your way."
Water Aspect squints at the Peach and at his partner. He is clearly the leader of the pair, but he still seeks her opinion. She makes a small head gesture. "A year and one day of Calibration."
Water Aspect "For a full bite each and the pit."
Xeth "Each step after this, the term will increase. Make no mistake, a year and calibration is an excellent deal. If you serve well, you will also get pay."
Corve "And the condition that you will not break your contract with us for any price. Any at all, and will not ever attack us or ours after the contract is over."
Water Aspect considers. "We will not break the contract for any price short of our lives nor attack without similar reasons. We can't be expected to die for you, after all."
Xeth "But you WILL fight for us."
Xeth "You are mercenaries after all."
Xeth "And you could have died today."
Water Aspect "Yes, but we don't fight to the end. Not for you or them or anyone else but us."
Xeth nods.
Xeth "That is acceptable. We cannot guarantee your safety, but we will not ask you to fight to the death unless you wish to."
Corve "If you have any sort of honor, though, you probably will after you see what we face."
Xeth "This crew. Do they come with you?" he gestures to what's left
Water Aspect shakes his head.
Water Aspect "Not our boat either."
Xeth eyes them dubiously. "If we send them back, they will return with help, won't they." He sighs.
Water Aspect shrugs
Water Aspect "Possibly."
Xeth addresses them directly, "Fine then, you can choose. Come with us, or we will be forced to kill you. I apologize."
ST The crew look at each other and then at the largest remaining that isnt on fire. He reluctantly steps forward. "We would prefer to just go. We will not trouble you...but...the slaves, we bought them! We are ruined if we do not get our money back!"
Xeth "That is not an option. We let you go before, and see what it brought us?"
Corve "Why are you trading in slaves anyway? Don't you have any respect for other people's lives? Maybe we should just let them go and enslave -you.-
Xeth "That is another option. I hear the fae are hungry."
ST looks at Corve as if he's daft. "They're just barbarians."
Xeth "And you are just humans."
Xeth "You do not speak their language, so you think they have none?"
Corve smiles at the men on the other boat, still keeping an eye on the Dragon-Blooded. "And? They had a different fortune than you, raised in a different type of land. You're just mortals- should that give me the right to treat you as slaves?"
ST looks unhappy. "But..their own folk sold them!...nevermind, if you'll let us leave we'll not come back. I swear it for all of us."
Corve "Maybe we should ask the rest of your crew if they'll sell you to us..."
Xeth "You have nothing to bargain with. Your services are worth nothing to us."
ST glares at the rest of his crew as their faces brighten.
Xeth "We give you a choice because we are not cruel people."
Corve "It's more than you gave these poor people."
ST "We won't be any help, Master Dragon-Lizard, honest we won't. We'll just bleed and die and piss ourselves."
ST "Can't we just go home to our families?"
Xeth "But my friend has suggested a better alternative. You can join us, or you can be enslaved instead of dying."
Xeth "You can return to your families in the same year plus calibration that the mercenaries have agreed to."
ST Another crewman, one with a heavy scar across his face that makes him somewhat hard to understand, speaks up. "Can we just sell him off and go free?"
ST The large man looks furious and takes steps toward the scarred one, raising a fist
ST Three of the others, seared and singed all, point spears at the big man.
Corve raises a brow at the man speaking up. "Hit him and die." Now, he holds his rifle in one hand at the Terrestrial, and a six-shooter in the other, pointing at the man.
Xeth "None can leave until our mission is over. It is too risky."
ST The smaller man speaks again. "Please, not all the crew wanted to trade in slaves but we didn't have a choice!"
Corve "There's always a choice."
Xeth "Stay with us for this year, and I will provide funds for you to start a new trade. We will teach you along the way."
Xeth "So long as you keep me in your prayers."
Corve "You'll end up better off, probably. In a much more favorable position to feed your families and live honest lives."
ST gulps. "Lord Dragon-God we'll build you a shrine, each one of us, if we can but go free... please, no man's the same once the Guild gets hold of him. They've already got those in the barge, drugged and such! Please!"
Xeth "Who said anything about the Guild?"
ST Another man steps forward from the crowd "I'll be going with you, rather then be a slave. Might as well die in battle. Me and my friends. We'll go."
ST The short man that spoke nods, along with six others.
Xeth "I offer you a new trade, a better way through life, and I suppose some healing since you could use that... fragile creatures..." he shakes his head. "How can you turn it down?"
Corve "Finally, someone with brass instead of dust for balls."
Xeth reaches down, and runs his hand across the deck of the ship, and it mends itself beneath his touch. "We hold more than destruction and threats." he says solemnly. "We fought only because you attacked first."
ST Another three men step forward too, nodding. "Well to be honest, you did steal our boat. But we'll be putting that behind us. We'll go too."
Xeth "We were going to give it back, as I said."
ST "That wasn't mentioned as we were thrown off."
Corve "We offered for you guys to keep sailing. All we wanted was to go faster and for you to deviate a little, if you'll recall."
ST That was the largest man, still looking terrified of all his choices.
Xeth shrugs. "We should have mentioned that, yes."
Corve takes a step to the edge of the boat, putting away his six shooter and looking at the men. "You know... my father was a cop. I'm a cop. All we ever wanted was to help people. He did it as one of you- a mortal in a world full of gods and creatures more powerful than can be imagined. I got off lucky- but the glory is all that much -yours- if you can fight alongside people like us. You can be more than what you
Corve *are- go back to your families with honor on your backs, glory in your eyes- not with shame and self-disgust. A great evil threatens to drop Brume- ALL OF IT- on your heads. My daughter, my friend's wife, all my friends and acquiantances... are on Brume. You can help save millions of people- you can be -heroes- for the gods' sake! Who wants to pass up an opportunity like -that?- Even if I weren't what I am... I'd still take a wea
Corve < don't defeat this evil... you'll die horribly anyway. Help us defeat it... save yourselves, if nothing else."
ST The scarred man and the one he wanted to sell are the only two who don't eventually nod agreement. Everyone else finally decides to follow the Circle for a year.
ST The two holdouts snarl at each other, both refusing to follow if the other does, both looking ready to leap into a fight at any moment
Corve smiles as they load up back onto their ship. He looks at Xar and nods to the other two. "They're coming with us. We'll lock'em up so they can stay out of trouble."
ST The big man finally registers that comment. "Lock me up? With the slaves?"
ST He looks startled, terrified
Corve "Did I stutter?"
Xeth takes one man in each pawlike hand, and leaps into the air, landing easily on the other ship.
ST They struggle but without success. "Please! Not with the slaves! What if they wake up!"
Corve "What are they going to do? Drool you to death?"
Xeth "It was your choice to deal in slaves."
Corve "Maybe some time with them will teach you what it's like, and you'll find a new appreciation for life."
Corve "... and freedom."
ST "If they wake up! They can get violent if you don't have the drugs for them and there aren't more, we were going to drop them off at the plantation before they woke!"
Xeth "I feel no pity for you. You have made your choice."
Corve "You're a big guy. I'm sure you'll be fine."
Xeth "You chose to carry slaves, you will see what they think of you now."
ST The man seems terrified...after all, some of the slaves are bigger then he is.
Xeth "It is, as they say, just desserts."
ST The second, smaller man, is still in shock.
Xeth looks at Corve, "I will see what we can do to cure the slaves of their addiction. Carmine might know better how to help."
Corve makes sure everyone is settled and then turns to the Dragon-blooded after nodding to Xar. "I think it's time we finalize our deal." As a measure of (somewhat) good faith, he puts his rifle in its holster.
Water Aspect "It is final."
Xeth "For a full bite each, you will serve our Circle and no others for a year and a full Calibration. You will cause no harm to us and ours, and you will fight for us when asked, although we will not ask you to fight to the death. Upon the end of the term, we will pay you a fair amount in accordance with the services you provide. Is this agreeable?"
Corve raises a brow slowly at the Dragon-blooded, both of them.
Water Aspect "Yes, for both of us."
Corve "She has to say it too."
Water Aspect looks to the archer, who nods in agreement.
Xeth "Speak aloud, please."
Archer "I agree."
Corve "Right then... I suppose introductions are in order." He falters a moment, holding his stomach. "Assessor Corve, of the Law Enforcement Bureau of the Floating Plutocracy of Brume..."
Xeth "I sanctify this oath. Know that Heaven will be greatly displeased if you break it, and you will forever chase after wealth and never catch it."
Corve **
Xeth "And you, the crew, speak aloud your agreement to our oath. That you will serve us for a year and a full Calibration, causing us and ours no harm, nor betrayal. and in return we will feed and pay you, and teach you a new trade."
Corve perks his ears at the crew's answers.
Archer The crew, sullenly and reluctantly answers in en masse with the affirmative.
Xeth "Thank you. I am Xethlixocoatlculbialik, God of the Volcano and the Forge. My other is Xar`Rex.
Archer The men look cowed, where as the Exalted are not quite as impressed, but still respectful.
Xeth sighs. "I'll take these two below. I might be able to find a place for them where they will be reasonably safe."
Archer looks at the Solar. "I am Silver."
Water Aspect shrugs as if giving up something for free. "Currents."
Xeth looks at Corve to see if they're lying
Xeth "Those are your names?"
Xeth "They seem short."
Water Aspect "They're what we go by."
Corve nods. "Right then- I'm going to go see a beautiful woman about a hole in my stomach." He looks at the woman. "I suggest, when you meet her, you keep your distance... she won't be happy." He smiles a little and then shrugs, walking off into the lower decks, murmuring under his breath. "Nice shooting, though..."
Archer "Just business, you know."
Xeth puts someone in charge of organizing their new crew, and heads below to chain up the two idiots. It is in its way a test of their loyalty to leave them alone so soon.
Corve stops for a moment and turns his head. "Oh, -I- know. She might be hard to convince. Just don't push her buttons, everything'll be fine. Trust me." He smirks and then walks off again, into the shaodws of the lower deck.
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