A religious zealot has been traveling through all the cities of Elyria and spreading fear and a warning. A great storm is coming, one even worse than then the one that destroyed much of their land. This one will kill the rest of the land, leading to their ultimate destruction. Warning them that if nothing is done they will all perish.
Is he right? Is there anything they can do to stop the storm? Or is he spreading fear in order to create chaos or even in an attempt to bring the people together as one as they work to survive?
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Post by Creighton H. Callan on Oct 4, 2018 17:36:32 GMT -5
Creighton Callan grinned as he made landfall upon Tartus. Surrounded by his crew he reveled in the clamor they brought with them happy to finally return to their port of call and euphoric from their latest haul. Nearly two hundred of his shipmates swarmed Tartus leaving behind a skeleton crew to safeguard their vessel. Vulgarities, cheers and jibes filled the narrow streets wherever they strode . For three and a half months the men and women who manned The Morrigan had been at sea.
They had faced trecherous storms, enemy opposition, and other dangers of the sea. They had not done so for naught. The Morrigan returned to Tartus with it's holds full and three newly acquired galleons to bolster the Guild Fleet. Its crew was overjoyed, to put it mildly and they wanted nothing more than to relieve the stress that had building all those weeks. It was unlikely that anyone would put a stop to their jubilus display and in fact many passerbys joined in.
Flocked by his officers and most trusted members Creighton decided to lay claim to one of his favorite drinking hole rather than carouse in the streets. It was an unfortunate circumstance for the patrons that had been there previously. They were all but chased from their seats, "gently" encouraged by the sailors, as the Guild Master of the Pirates Guild entered. The scarred figure simple beamed as people swiftly exited and he took up a seat in the center of the tavern. It wasn't malice that caused him to grin but sheer delight at how fruitful his endeavor had been. He wanted nothing more than to share a morsel of this wealth with his crew and the island he called home. His officers took up the remaining four seats while a young boy, no more than twelve stood beside the captain.
"Caleb," Crei said, grasping the boy's shoulder, "Please go and give my sincerest apologies to Miss Gothfraidh for spooking her clientele."He reached into his coat and produced a coin purse, a fraction of the treasure from his latest expedition. The boy nodded his understanding and took off, searching for the owner of the fine establishment. "That should be enough coin to let the lads drink their fill," Creighton called toward the cabin boy. "Hear that boys, drinks are on me this night! Let no one say that Captain Callan doesn't take care of his crew!" His gravelly voice was drowned out by the cheer that rang up in his name.
Creighton leaned back in his chair taking a quick stock of his companions and those left in the tavern. The man was a regular patron of The Ocean's Song, fond of it's owner, it's beverages, and the information he was able to purchase. It was a place of respite when he wasn't aboard his flagship and he feared offending the owner. Well, as much as Creighton could fear another. He prayed his restitutions and repeat buisness would ease the ire of the tavern owner. If not, Crei was sure he could offer up something that the information broker wanted.
There was little outside the man's reach and nothing he was afraid to seize if the desire overcame him. A voice roused him from his silent observations.
"What're ya havin', Cap'n?" It was his quartermaster who spoke. A haggard man old enough to be Creighton's father. Apparently his men had simply been shouting out orders to whatever poor soul was manning the bar.
"Usual, bottle of Allawain brandy," Creighton grunted as he shifted slightly in his seat, no longer concerned with surveying the tavern. He had hoped to catch the proprietress and barter for some of her ill gotten knowledge. Despite just returning home Creighton was already eager to plan his next voyage. He detested being off the seas for too long for many reasons. His crew wanted to stay on land at least for a few weeks. It was a fact Creighton detested but he had resigned himself to his fate. Besides, there was guild business that needed attending to that could not be conducted on the open sea. The sailor once more retreated into himself, turning his attention towards future prospects and forgetting the present. Harbor
Now Tartus was never a boring place and neither was the Ocean's Song Tavern, but in one sudden moment the entire mood of the place had changed as several other patrons hurriedly left to make room for the large crew of pirates who had just entered. Several of these people had yet to pay and Harbor managed to catch one man by the collar of his jacket. She looked at him sternly and held out her hand, flipping her fingers up in a 'give it up' motion. The man hurriedly placed some coins in her palm before scurrying away. "Coward." Harbor said under her breath.
The intensity of the volume and the large number of people suddenly in the tavern was enough to make it difficult to hear or have a conversation but Harbor thrived off of this kind of chaos. She was all smiles as she watched the joyous and rowdy expressions on these pirates. When the man in the center of the room told his men the drinks were on him, Harbor got her first good look at the man.
Even though she had been away for a few years, she certainly knew who he was. His reputation and the danger that inevitably surrounded him instantly had her attention. One of the other server girls looks frightened of him and refused to be the one to serve him. Another one clearly had her eye on him but Harbor stopped her as she started to walk towards him with the back of her hand against the woman's chest. "He's mine." Harbor might be the one most recently employed but she had already begun to make a reputation for herself and the other women were usually intimated by her and did what she wanted. The only person that Harbor didn't walk all over was Keiran, the owner.
So the other ladies began to work quickly to get the rest of the crew their drinks. Harbor saw the Captain speak to an older gentleman with his drink order and Harbor approached him so she could get said order.
Soon enough she approached Creighton with a confident and slightly sultry smile and set down the bottle in front of him. "Are you a drink it straight form the bottle sort of man, or would you like a mug?" She asked, a mug hooked from her index finger and held near her body as she waited to see if he wanted it or not before actually offering to him.
Post by Creighton H. Callan on Oct 5, 2018 16:18:20 GMT -5
From the corner of his good eye, Creighton watched as the lithe, blonde haired woman asserted her authority in the waitress pecking order. He let out a chortle so faint it might have been confused with a sigh. His gaze shifted entirely towards her as she made her way to them, confidently brandishing a mug and his beverage. Standing before him he was able to get a full look at her. Creighton looked upon the waitress unabashedly. He did not do so as most men would, his gaze too methodical and lingered too long in all of the wrong places. It was the same gaze he cast as he sized up a prize, the look he used before he decided that he desired something.
As Creighton analyzed her he had to admit that the woman was certainly a looker but that did not change the fact that she was a stranger to him. He afforded her more leeway than he did most. Possibly because of how brazen she appeared handling her cohorts. She had piqued his interest. If it had been any other day his first mate would have turned her away and called for a more familiar face. As if on cue the man to Creighton's left began to move and usher the woman back. Creighton halted him with a simple gesture, causing the man to sit back down.
Creighton liked the look of the confident woman and how fearlessly she had approached him. A sparse smile, little more than the upturning of the corner of his lip, lightened the stern look he had briefly maintained. "No love," he began in his usual rough tone, "I'm not sloshed enough for any of that. I just prefer to keep the bottle close at hand when I do get to that point." A few of the men and women laughed at that, knowing full and well that their captain would certainly need to be carried back home this night. "I'd certainly like a mug, thank you." He ignored the laughter perfectly comfortable being the butt of the unspoken jest. The large man leaned forward, resting his elbows upon the table and clasping his hands together. Before the woman had a chance to leave Creighton addressed her.
"You're awfully brave, miss. You see a man and his friends walk in, chase out your patrons and you serve him. You even have a smile on your face. Personally, I'd have stayed behind the bar and had one of the other girls serve the gent. Much safer back there. Well, marginally safer,"Crei shifted his gaze to the woman who had originally tried to serve him, a woman Creighton regularly had wait on him. She seemed to seethe with anger at being chased away. The fact that she hadn't tried to contest the girl's claim was a testament to the fear this petite figure had put in her and the rest of the staff. She instead attended to some of the other sailors casting venemous looks over her shoulder.
"Might be she doesn't know who you are. I think she's new around here, sir."One of Creighton's officer's offered up. Creighton shook his head in response.
"No, I don't get that feeling from our new friend here. I think she knows exactly who we are and who I am. Which, from where I sit, makes her all the braver." It wasn't every day one willingly walked up to a man with Captain Callan's reputation with a smile. It was a refreshing change, something that instantly put the woman in the Guild Master's good graces. "You are right on one count, Mal. She's certainly new."
Her eyes flickered over to the other man as he made a move to approach her before the man she was serving made a gesture and he stopped. She slowly smiled at the action, though she would have welcomed being forcefully removed from the situation.
The Captain said he wanted the mug and Harbor gave him a look as if she was considering whether she would give it to him or not before ultimately setting it down on the table and opening the bottle to pour the amber liquid inside of the mug, leaving the bottle on the table with the soft thud of the glass bottle against the wooden table. She didn't care how many people were paying attention to her or what they thought about her actions towards their Captain.
Her lips lifted into an adventurous smirk as he spoke about being safer behind the bar. "Who said safe was what I was looking for?" She asked, remaining where she was because he was speaking to her instead of walking away after serving his drink. In fact, it was precisely because he was not 'safe' that she had taken the chance to approach him. He was dangerous and she couldn't help but want to test that a little. Danger was one of her biggest driving forces in her life.
She listened as the other sailor spoke but kept her gaze one-hundred percent on the Captain, her tongue moving over her bottom lip to wet it without thinking about the gesture. She grinned to confirm that she was new. "Braver, or more stupid, Captain Callan?" She asked with a teasing grin, confirming that she knew exactly who he was. He asked her name and she was happy to oblige. "You can call me whatever you want, Captain. My name is Harbor." She took a half step closer and leaned down to be at face level and whispered. "Perfect place for a pirate to dock." She said with an amused wink and then started to leave wondering if he'd stop her or if she would simply come check on him again in a bit.
Post by Creighton H. Callan on Oct 7, 2018 20:17:53 GMT -5
Well, the lass was certainly forward, amusingly so. He had grown accustomed to men and women avoiding him because of his reputation and status. Simultaneously a small group did the opposite being drawn to him because of it. None of them had been quite as daring as the young waitress was. Her implications that she was not particularly bright had crossed his mind but he rejected the notion. Foolhardy was one thing, in Creighton's experience it presented itself in much the same manner, while Harbor's words and actions nearly bordered upon it there was something that nagged at the man.
Creighton took the mug before him in his tattered, ink etched hand and brought it to his lips, hiding a smile. When the women stepped forward the men around Creighton tensed, their hands moving to swords at their sides. The tension in their shoulders eased as Creighton chuckled aloud, lowering his mug. "Gods, you certainly are a bawdy one, Miss Harbor. You keep saying things like that and you're likely to make me blush. Can't have you doing that in front of my crew. I'll lose all credibility," Creighton jested. A flurry of quick hand motions followed as the captain relayed a silent order to his men. They exchanged looks of bafflement and muttered as they got up and scattered around the bar, joining their underlings and leaving Creighton and Harbor alone. His quartermaster remained at his side and gesticulated back
"Are you sure, sir? It isn't wise to be sitting out here alone with a stranger."
The mirth that had brightened Creighton's features vanished, replaced once more by the stony gaze he had originally given Harbor. "Quite sure, Mister Walker. Take your place with the boys. Besides, I'm hardly alone."Since entering the tavern six of Creighton's gunners had taken positions among the throng. Crossbows of various makes and sizes sat beside them and their eyes were trained intently on the center table. Creighton's bodyguards had much more discipline than his officers apparently as they had not made any threatening moves. They did not, however, try and conceal their presence or their purpose. The second-in-command nodded before taking his leave as well.
"Sorry about that, love. Not polite to have a conversation in front of others but... business. Now they can't see their dear ol' Captain make a fool of himself though." He gave a rather noncommital shrug to offset the word before gesturing to the seat beside him. "I know that you have your own buisness to attend to but, if my eyes aren't deceiving me, you're looking quite parched. Would you care to join me for a drink or two? I'm sure that the owner won't mind if you sat with me, just for a moment." He spoke with all the pleasantness and modesty that a gentleman could but there was something in the way that he held himself that made it seem like this was not a request to be refused. Creighton didn't wait for an answer, calling on his crew.
"Caleb, my boy," Creighton called out. In an instant, the cabin boy was at the captain's side. "Go and fetch another mug, you've been here enough to know where they are." Caleb nodded and darted off, weaving through the populace of the tavern to retrieve a mug for Harbor. He watched the boy depart before giving Harbor a sideways glance. "He's a good boy that one. Much better than I was at that age... Doesn't cause any trouble, no back talk, knows right from wrong. He'll make a good sailor one day, shite pirate though. It's a shame really. Find myself rather fond of the little raggamuffin." Creighton mused aloud more to himself than anyone nearby. Harbor
My my my, his men were touchy. She understood why of course but a little intimidation never bothered Harbor, in fact she craved it. She was kind of girl who went looking for more than trouble, she went looking for danger, she went out of her way to find something that might cause her actual harm. There was a limit of course, there were ways she could get mortally wounded but they were few and her pain tolerance was high. That meant that getting the adrenaline high from the danger was slowly becoming harder and harder to satisfy. "Well we certainly couldn't have that, now could we?" She said when he commented on making him blush. She wasn't naive enough to believe he was being truthful.
To her delight and intrigue he actually had his men leave them be and suggested she take a seat and join him. Well, implied suggestion anyway. She was fine with that. She liked a man who took charge and who better to take charge than the leader of a criminal guild. It was her lucky day indeed when it came to danger, a fact she noticed once the people around him dispersed and she got a peek at the crossbows all aimed in her direction. She was half tested to do something rash just so they'd fire one at her. She didn't though. "I'd be delighted to join you, Captain." She replied with an adventurous smirk on her lips.
She was about to get up to get herself a mug when he ordered the young boy to do it instead. She watched him walk away with Creighton spoke about the kid. "So what will you do with him then? Keep around until he's not useful anymore or find him another home?" Like a pet. She asked as she turned her gaze back to the Captain, leaning forward so that her elbow rested on the table and her chin in her hand, tilted slightly. Oh she was very happy to be here right now. What kind of fun...trouble...might she get into today.
Post by Creighton H. Callan on Oct 9, 2018 19:55:53 GMT -5
If there had been eyes avoiding the central table there certainly were none now. All around the pair Creighton's crew began to take notice of the waitress sitting beside him. The women attending to them paid note too. For a moment the chatter and activity in the clamorous tavern pattered out. Focus no longer on the celebration but upon the curious happenings in the center of the room. Much like his new drinking partner, Creighton paid little heed to the eyes. Sure, the large Toren had noticed from his peripheral and the quiet that it brought about was nearly palpable. The whimsical pirate found his crew's reaction amusing. He was sure that they thought him too trusting and their inability to stay their actions only lent credence to his assumptions.
"Would that I could," Creighton responded with a harsh sigh. "It would certainly be a kindness for the lad but I swore that I'd keep watch over him. So, unfortunately, he's stuck under my care until the hangman's noose catches up with either one of us or the both." Creighton took a sip from his mug and suddenly found it contents more interesting than his company but only marginally. "Teach me to go around making promises when I'm piss drunk." It was a lesson that Creighton had in fact not learned and a regular habit of his.
"Until then, little Caleb will be The Morrigan's little mascot. Maybe one day he'll grow up and realize what a bunch of louts we are and he'll abandon us on his own terms. That'd be the best case scenario for him. Worst case scenario, well, there's a lot of those... Ah, speaking of the pup," Creighton's young charge sheepishly approached, placing a mug before Harbor. Without being instructed he grasped the Captain's bottle of brandy and poured the newcomer a liberal dose of the sweet spirits.
Creighton gave the boy an approving nod before shooing him off to attend to the rest of the crews more ridiculous requests. He turned his gaze once more to Harbor. She was a curious figure this woman. Her mannerisms, her confidence that bordered on fearlessness, and simply the way she held herself; it was too hard for Creighton not to speak with her and try and wrap his head around why she was this way.
"So, Miss Harbor, how did you end up coming under Kieran's employ, hm? I don't recall you slinging drinks when I set out last and, trust me, I'm here often enough to know everyone under Miss Gothfraidh's roof." Creighton rested his hand top the rim of his cup as he spoke. "And you don't seem the sort who enjoys a career that's so... What's the word I'm looking for... prosaic? Yes, that seems fitting. You seem like you'd enjoy a profession that's a bit more thrilling. I guess being a server could have its own brand of excitement to it. Bar brawls, drunken arguments, guild masters waltzing in as if they owned the place. Things like that. There's certainly more adventurous lines of work out there." Whoever this woman was she seemed to be drawn towards a brasher side of life if her offhanded comments held any weight. They could have just been playful jibes, flirting simply to flirt but Creighton felt there was more to it.
More to Harbor and Creighton simly had to know. Harbor