Chapter Text
The rowboat crashed ashore. A heavy pirate foot planted itself on the dry sand as The Dread Pirate Gaelug took the first step onto the island. More rowboats and pirates followed as their captain stood admiring the thick jungle just beyond the sun-kissed beach. She dramatically placed her fists against her hips and puffed out her chest as she breathed in deep.
"Uhh Cap’n..." Gaelug looked down at the halfling lass addressing her. "Might I ask what we're doing here? Don't look like there's any plunder about, can't believe anyones even set foot on this island 'fore us."
Gaelug took off her long coat to enjoy the fullness of the burning midday sun against her dark green skin. "It’s all in the air, Ducky. Sometimes, you can just smell adventure on the wind." She said, a twinkle in her eye as she handed Ducky her coat.
Ducky sniffed the air. It was little more than a salty sea breeze. "Oh yeah, I think I smell it." She said turning to the rest of the crew and handing the captain’s coat to the next person along. "Hey guys, smell this, it's adventure!"
The rest of them all turned their noses skyward, filling their noses with adventure as their captain's infectious enthusiasm spread around. Gaelug drew her cutlass. "Come on crew. There's treasure here and I'm not leaving till we're swimming in it!" The crew cheered as they followed their orcish captain, clamouring over one another to get into the action.
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Gaelug fiercely slashed her way through vine and bush alike as they trodded single-file through the dense jungle. They'd been walking for a couple hours, long since losing the sound of the shore as the jungle grew dark around them, light barely reaching through the canopy. But morale never drooped. Any time it threatened to; Gaelug seemed to notice something, a track, an ancient old rock, possibly from a lost civilisation? Possibly one with a love of gold? These were answers they would surely find out!
That is, if they weren't being watched.
The pirates trudged on through the jungle a little longer until Gaelug halted them. "What's up cap'n?" Ducky whispered from behind her leg, as the crew fell silent, suddenly on edge. The sounds of swords being unsheathed and guns being drawn made its way down the line of pirates.
With her own sword Gaelug prodded at the ground in front of her. A trap was sprung as a rope flicked upward, wrapping around her sword and wrenching it from her grasp and, before she was able to grab her spare knife, a group of elves leapt out of the trees. Swords drawn they surrounded her and Ducky, separating them from the rest of the crew. Finally, Gaelug felt a knife at her back.
"Tell them to drop their weapons." Said a familiar voice. As the rest of the elves tried to create a bulwark against encroaching pirates.
"Captain Alina?" Gaelug said as she felt the knife press slightly harder against her. "What's in it for me?"
"Seriously?" Alina said, bewildered.
"Yeah, tell you what. I'll come peacefully if you let Ducky go." Gaelug was nothing if not confidant. Even when it seemed the odds were against her, and they absolutely were, she always seemed like she had a way out.
"Who?" Alina asked. Gaelug looked over her shoulder and Alina followed her gaze and was surprised to see a sword pointing up at her. Ducky had drawn her weapon and was scowling as fiercely as she could manage at the elf, despite two other officers each with a blade at her throat.
"I'm not leavin' you cap'n." The halfling said.
"We have a deal, Alina?"
"Fine, you're all I want anyway." The elf agreed. "Let the little one go." No one moved as the halfling kept her sword raised. Ducky Stubborn should've been her full name.
"Don't worry Ducky, just sail away." Gaelug murmured, flashing her a knowing wink. “Crew!” She shouted over the elves. “Turn around and don’t wait for me.”
A couple of soldiers parted to make way for the halfling, they didn’t have to move much, but they kept their swords up, as did Ducky while she begrudgingly backed away. She vanished off just behind a tree, watching while the elves took Gaelug one way and the pirates went the another. Not wanting to be left behind she hurried after the rest of the crew with one last look as her captain was taken away.
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Gaelug had tried to waste the time making jokes as she was marched along but to little response, elves weren’t known for their sense of humour. After much walking they did eventually break free of the trees and onto a beach. Gaelug saw a ship anchored off the shore, flashing the garish blues and golds of the Royal Elvish Navy. She was prodded forward with point of a sword to where a series of smaller rowboats had been beached.
Alina walked her up to the furthest one. The rest of the soldiers quickly and efficiently got into the boats and set off back towards the main ship, content that they were safe. Except one who walked alongside Alina. He got into the boat first, sword still at the ready. His eyes never left Gaelug.
“Get in.” Alina said, pointing at a particular seat in the middle.
The Dread Pirate did as she was told, stepping into the boat. She met the soldiers gaze and gave him a grin. He didn’t have time to brace before she sat down with a considerable force, causing the boat to bounce and practically launching him out of it. Gaelug laughed heartily, slapping her knees as he tried to recover his dignity, pulling himself back into his seat and putting his helmet back on. Satisfied with herself she looked around and noticed how Alina covered her mouth with one hand deliberately facing away from them, pshe turned back around with a curious cough.
“Alright, don’t try anything else now, Gaelug.” Alina said seriously, positioning herself behind Gaelug. Somewhere in the distance, thunder cracked. “We’d better get a move on Gelwyn.”
“Yes captain.” Gelwyn scowled at the pirate before, cautiously sheathing his sword and picking up the pair of oars. They were amongst last small boats off the shore as Alina pushed them into the water before sitting down.
Gaelug shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. “Nice weather.” She noted as she looked at dark clouds quickly coming in from the horizon.
Gelwyn leant around Gaelug so that he could see his captain. “Why do we keep her alive?” He said with no regard for the pirate.
Alina didn’t look at him, choosing instead to watch the clouds. “The Crown wants her alive. They like to make a public spectacle of the most dangerous criminals.”
Gaelug held her head up proudly.
“But surely they wouldn’t mind if she was just killed. I say she’s more trouble than it’s worth!” He scowled at the pirate, wanting the beast to know his disdain for her and all the harm she caused. Gaelug smiled back at him.
“Well I say we’re taking her alive. Is that clear Lieutenant?” She said in her most authoritative tone.
“Yes Captain...” He said, shrinking away as he returned to rowing.
Soon they reached the ship and tied the rowboat onto dangling ropes. “Hoist!” Alina yelled up to deck and they were lifted out of the water. She sprang into action as soon as they stepped on deck. “Raise the anchor, lower the sails, I want to be out of here before the storm comes and we’re dashed onto the rocks!”
Gaelug watched, slightly jealous at the efficiency of a proper crew. The Lieutenant stood by her side, with his sword out again and holding onto her arm. Before long they were picking up wind as they started out into open sea, however not before the rain started to fall and sky began to blacken. The ship was knocked about as the shallow island waves crashed against the hull. Thunder continued to boom.
Alina returned with some rope, stumbling as the ship rocked. They were just clear of the island reefs, but the storm was getting worse. “I’ll take her from here Lieutenant Gelwyn.” She said.
“Yes captain.” Gelwyn seemed happy enough, for an elf at least, as he saluted the captain and ran off to assist the rest of the crew.
Alina held up the rope. “Hands.” She ordered.
Gaelug held her hands up obediently and leant down as Alina began to bind them. “Do you trust me?” She whispered.
“What?”
“Wait for my cue.” She said with a wink. At that moment lightning struck, nearly blinding the crew and hitting the main mast of the ship. Wood splintered as it snapped and began to topple over. Alina and Gaelug both stared in shock. “Never mind that’s a much better distraction.” She said and before Alina could argue she wrenched her hands free of the rope, grabbed Alina and dragged them both over the edge of the ship. Alina just about had enough time to get a gulp of air before they crashed into the violent sea.
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“You could’ve warned me about that you know?” Alina said as she tried to wring out her clothes. Much good that it did as the rain was still coming down hard. They had managed to swim their way back to the island despite the choppy seas, both of them panting with exhaustion.
“Oh yeah? Well, how about the trap?” Gaelug pointed a finger of accusation at the elf as she crawled onto the beach. “You told me it was going to be a pit.”
“Sorry, did I pull one over on The Great Dread Pirate Gaelug.” Alina grinned smugly, which would have had more impact if she wasn’t drenched from head to toe. Gaelug couldn’t have been more proud.
Thunder cracked, bringing them back to reality. “You didn’t spot any shelter while you were waiting for me?” Gaelug asked.
“You didn’t spot any while you were loudly stomping along?” Alina responded, with much more snark.
“You know you could’ve let me at least grab my coat...” Gaelug muttered leading the way as Alina made some comment back and they continued to argue as they searched for shelter.
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Back on the Dreadcruiser, Ducky paced back and forth on deck. They’d managed to get away from the storm and just about save the ship from being crashed into the rock reefs. Now the crew mostly lazed around with no captain to order them about.
What would Gaelug do? She scrunched her face up trying to imagine but she couldn’t. No one ever knew what Gaelug was going to do, that was part of her charm. But as she walked back and forth a shadow loomed over her. She stopped, her eyes lighting up with hope, before she spun around to look up at a human.
“What’s ya pacin’ for, little un?” The human asked, her thick accent disguised her contempt, but Ducky knew No Good Therese; she was less than trustworthy, even as far as pirates went. “Watchin’ ya is makin’ me seasick.” The surrounding crew stopped doing nothing to watch, hoping for a fight. Pirates were always eager for a good fight.
“I’m tryna think of a way to get cap’n back!” Ducky stood up to her full height, which was still only half of the human’s. “Someone’s got to.”
“Oh ya was? Who put ya in charge, then?” Therese said, mockingly.
Ducky knew Therese was just putting on a show for the rest of the crew, but she couldn’t help herself. “Cap’n did!”
“She did? I didn’t hear her say anythin o’ the sort.” Therese smirked as she looked around them at the bystanders. “Anyone else hear anythin?”
The crew muttered generally in the negative. “She implied it.” Ducky said, clenching her fists. “Whatever you say, I’m in charge and I say we gotta get cap’n back!” The halfling tried to be stern as she looked about at the crew hoping to get their support, but they all just stared back haplessly.
“Who’d ya think ya are?” Therese bent down to prod at Ducky’s chest. “Ya think ya tough like Don’t-Call-Me-Shorty?” This did get a response from the crew as they laughed all around Ducky.
Embarrassed and defeated Ducky spun round and went below deck to cool her head.
The halfling continued to pace around inside between the hammocks and snoring pirates, still unable to think of any kind of a plan. The Captain would’ve known what to do. If Gaelug was around she’d have known how to save Gaelug. Ducky began to wander absentmindedly towards the captain’s quarters, deep in the bottom of the ship. Maybe Gaelug had stashed some special magical weapon or secret plan or just a note that might give Ducky some inspiration.
Less than hopefully, Ducky descended the stairs and opened the door where she was met with a couple of surprised faces. Lum the orc and Jared Jurns the dwarf stood frozen in place. Lum was wearing the Captain’s coat and Jared seemed to be trying on her rings. “Oh.” Lum said. “It’s just Ducky, false alarm.” As he continued to rummage around the captain’s room.
Jared mumbled something but it was impossible to make out, his face mostly consisted of beard which muffled anything he said. His pink, round nose poking through was the only thing that revealed he wasn’t actually some kind of hair monster.
“What in the hells are you doing?” Ducky was furious but, like everyone else, they didn’t take her seriously.
Lum shrugged. “Just, uhh, having a look around. What with captain gone and all.”
Jared mumbled something else, assumedly in agreement.
“Come on guys, when Cap’n gets back she’ll have your bloody heads and Jurns, you’re already on her shitlist!”
Jared Jurns had the good grace to look ashamed. Maybe. It was hard to tell. But he did start to take off the rings and put them back where he got them.
But Lum just crossed his arms. “Yeah, well, Gaelug’s not here.”
“She’s coming back!” Ducky said as assertively as she could manage.
The orc just waved a hand at her dismissively. “You said the exact same thing last time.”
“And she came back.”
“So?”
Ducky stared at Lum. Lum stared at Ducky. Jared glanced between the two of them as they both forgot what point they were even trying to make.
“Just bugger off, little one. If you want to kiss the captain’s boots, she left a pile of them over there.” Lum chuckled to himself as he turned his back on Ducky.
Any other day, she’d have probably let it go and gone and screamed into a blanket somewhere. But this was becoming a day.
Above deck the crew had returned to laying about. Until they started to hear a thumping below deck. It got louder as one by one they all looked to the back of the ship where the noise was coming from. The thumping got louder and louder, one thump at a time getting closer to the door down below deck. With a triumphant bang the door was kicked open.
Ducky emerged wearing Gaelug’s coat, it was much too big for her so it trailed on the deck, but no one dared laugh as she dragged the body of Lum the orc behind her. With a final thump she dropped his head on the deck and climbed on top of his limp, unconscious body. “We’re getting Cap’n back!”
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Gaelug and Alina struggled through the brush, much more difficult without their swords. The trees gave them some cover from the storm but not enough as rain still dripped down through the leaves and branches. Gaelug did her best to shield Alina, arm wrapped over the elf’s shoulders, despite the fact she was far less suited to the weather, having nothing more than a thin shirt and trousers compared to Alina who still had her full captain’s uniform. They’d long got tired of bickering, weather managing to dampen even their tempers as they instead focussed on finding somewhere to hide out the storm.
“Cave!” Gaelug yelled over the storm and thunder.
Alina squinted through the greenery. “What? Where?”
Gaelug ran off just ahead, pushing her way through and, sure enough, there was a cave. How she spotted it through the storm and the jungle, Alina had no idea. But they both quickly ran inside.
”Shelter, thank the gods…” Alina patted down her hair as she looked back out into the rain with a sigh. “It’s madness how quickly that storm came in.”
“Yep.” Gaelug said, reaching into the back pocket of her trousers. Alina watched as she pulled out some glistening shards and tossed them out the cave.
Alina’s eyes narrowed. “What was that?” She asked.
“Storm Crystals.” Gaelug said, wincing as she rubbed her bottom where the shards had been digging into her. “Get them off a sea witch, only costs me my first born. Or an equivalent amount of gold.”
Alina shook her head and spotted something in the corner of her eye. “Hey, there’s something back here.” She called out to Gaelug walking cautiously towards it.
“What is it?” Gaelug said from the entrance.
“It looks like some sort of crate.” She ran her hands along the wood, it didn’t seem like it had been here for very long. With some fumbling she managed to lift the lid of the crate up and slide it off to get a look inside.
She felt Gaelug walk up behind her and place a gentle hand against her back as she too leant to have a look inside. “Oh wow.” She said as they eyed the box, stuffed with bread and fruit and supplies. “It looks like someone must have come to this island a week ago and left a few days' worth of supplies here.”
“How convenient.” Alina said with clear suspicion.
“Very convenient.” Gaelug said innocently.
Alina looked around the rest of the cave, it wasn’t particularly large so it didn’t take long. Besides the one crate there wasn’t anything else here. “It’s too bad whoever left this here didn’t leave us anything by way of fresh clothes, or perhaps a bedroll.” She said as she looked hopefully up at Gaelug.
The pirate bit her lip as she looked straight ahead. “...Fuck.” Gaelug looked crestfallen, clearly realising her own stupidity. Thankfully it wasn’t for long, she perked up as Alina started to laugh. It didn’t matter if it was at her own expense, she adored that laugh and it was contagious.
Alina reached in and pulled a bottle out of the box. “Sommerwig wine.”
Gaelug eyed up the bottle. “Hm, it’s supposed to be very good.”
“I know I ordered a shipment myself some weeks back.” Alina said as Gaelug watched her, smiling. “It went missing.” Gaelug still stared. “Stolen.”
“Was it now?” Gaelug barely even tried to feign ignorance. She plucked the bottle out of Alina’s hands and got to work on the cork. “Well, no sense leaving it. Not like we’re going back out there any time soon.”
Alina found the comfiest rock she could and sat down in the cold dark. Gaelug stopped wrestling with the bottle for a moment. “Could do with some fire or light.” She prompted.
Alina folded her arms together. “Oh sorry, I forgot to grab my tinderbox when you yanked us off my ship.”
“Can’t you just snap your fingers and fwoosh or something?”
The elf rolled her eyes. “I’m not a fire mage Gaelug, the most I can do is tend to a couple of minor wounds or a maybe make a loud bang.”
“I’m starting to think this wasn’t very thought through.” Gaelug said, Alina nodded as she was handed the bottle of wine. Gaelug picked up the crate lid and studied it. “At least this is dry.”
Alina watched her brace before she broke the wooden lid over her knee. The elf winced and Gaelug groaned, sucking air through her teeth. “Are you alright?”
Gaelug tested her leg, stretching it out. “Nothing a bit of wine won’t fix.”
Alina shook her head and watched as she broke apart the rest of the lid, this time using her boots at least. When she was done Gaelug piled it all up and began rubbing two pieces together, hoping to catch a light and using some straw from inside the crate as kindling.
It took some time but eventually they sat down and watched the fire together. Alina had managed to open the wine in the meantime and passed the bottle over before scooting closer, resting her head against the Gaelug’s arm. “How long’s the storm going to last?”
“Dunno.” Gaelug took a swig and Alina could feel her shoulder’s relaxing. “Usually crystals make day long storms, but I may have had two or three in my pocket.”
“Your arse ok?” Alina wrapped an arm around Gaelug’s and eyed up the wine again, little else there was to do.
Gaelug smiled, dutifully handing over the bottle. “It will be, I’m sure.”
“Good.” Alina snuggled close while watching the fire. “I’d hate if anything were to happen to it.”