Chapter Text
The morning was grey, and the sun was captive behind the clouds that hung overhead. The ship reflected the weather's mood. Our banners hung dark and ominous, like a mourning parade. The sails billowed in the wind; a second heartbeat to every crew member on the deck.
The gulls that usually flew in this area were nowhere to be seen, and even the waves lapped without motivation on the side of the bow. The stillness in the air was slightly unnerving, and only a single silhouette stood in the crow's nest.
I was at the prow, leaning on the railing. My salt-ridden curls whipped around my face, and the collar of my frock coat was pulled up to shield from the wind. The coat was dirty, and worn around the edges, but it served me well.
I knew we had to be nearing port, because we sailed this route countless times. I narrowed my eyes to scan the horizon, but without much success. The only thing I could make out was smoke lazily drifting up and away from where the port was.
Someone walked up to me, and I didn't even need to turn around to tell it was Branik - my first mate. "Cap'n, we're approaching port." He sounded a bit nervous, something he wasn't often.
"I can see that." I replied, "What are you up here for?" To polished nobles, our way of life sounded harsh or barbaric, but it was survival. Every single person on this ship had proved their loyalty, and in exchange, I protected this crew with every ounce of my being and power.
"The port...they ain't flyin' banners." He said.
"What?" I turned around, not quickly, but with purpose. "They sure as hell were flying banners last time." We came to this port often, because it fell between the cliffs and nothingness. No actual kingdom had jurisdiction over it, and so it was a hub for piracy.
It was too small to matter to kingdoms like Gondor, and it didn't even have its own ruler. It was a free trade center. They always had banners up of the top pirate crews, to shop they weren't going to turn with the kingdoms.
But Branik had heard word from Vale - our barrelman who was always in the crow's nest - that today Torrspan had no flags flying. We were still going to dock, because our ship feared no one, but this was quite the development.
"Tell Garrun to keep us on course. We'll see what we're dealing with when we reach land." He nodded, and started shouting orders at the burly man by the helm.
I decided to head on to the main deck, and prepare for landing. Sitting by the barrels were Marra and Varek, having an arm wrestling contest.
"Mornin' Cap'n." Marra greeted me, speaking through her teeth as she fought against Varek.
"You winnin', Varek?" I asked. Marra shot me a betrayed glance, but I just raised my eyebrow. Varek was the strongest of everyone on this ship without a doubt, but Marra was the quartermaster, and controlled everything like rations, discipline and supplies.
"Aye." Varek responded as he pushed Marra's hand closer to the barrel. I continued walking, boots thumping on the deck. Right above, at the top of the mast sat Vale in the crow's nest, looking at the horizon and reporting to Garrun who was at the helm with Branik beside him.
I walked up the stairs to speak to Garrun, and the wind was picking up, making my coat and small pendants sway.
"Cap'n," Garrun said, looking over at me, "We're almost at the port. What'll we do when we get there."
"We need to see why those bloody idiots have taken down the banners, but then -"
"Cap'n! You need to listen to this!" Nira shouted from below, interrupting me. Usually, it annoyed me, but from my crew, I knew it was only in extreme cases.
I leaned on the rail to look down at Nira nudging Selvarin. I hurried down the stairs, the metallic pieces of my clothes clinking together.
"The seas are too quiet, the port won't be alright." Selvarin said looking out of nowhere in particular. When he first joined the crew, we all made fun of his riddles and poetic way of talking, it was very different from other pirates.
At some point, a rumor started swirling that he was part elf, which wouldn't surprise me that much if it was true. He always seemed to be able to tell what nature was thinking, and always spoke about some fancy gods that created everything.
Maybe he was an elf, but he'd earned his spot aboard my ship, so it didn't matter.
"So what are ye saying?" Nira asked.
"We can't change it. Let's land and see what's wrong." I nodded, and motioned forward to Garrun. We kept sailing forwards, and I stayed on the lower deck to get a better view of the port. But as we neared, it wasn't the view that made my blood run cold.
It was the smell.
The stench of blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Living a life of crime and piracy meant I'd seen a fair share of fights and blood, but this was different. As we approached the coast, the water had a slight reddish tint to it, and even Marta averted her eyes
"Get into the rowboats. Now." I ordered, and everyone but Garrun - who always stayed with the ship - started rowing to the coast. Unfortunately for us, the closer you got, the worse it looked.
Now the red tint was nearly taking over the ocean's blue, and bodies littered the sand. I was the first to step into the shallows, and my boots got wet. The worst part was the soles were now bloody.
I finally made it to the shore, and it was horrid. Bodies lay everywhere, and the sand mirrored the water: dark red. I forced myself to look up and over the bodies, to the town. Everything was burnt, and it now made sense why they weren't flying banners. The place where banners hung were charred, suggesting they'd been burnt.
Selvarin knelt in the sand, looking over corpses. The sight of him looking at a young boy clutching his toy ship, even in death, reminded me why we worked on this shady business. These people were innocent refugees, trying to live a life away from kings and royalty.
"I want a check for survivors, and an indication as to which scurvy-ridden maniac did this." I shouted.
"Aye, aye!" Everyone shouted back, and they got to work. I walked among the corpses, and swore to hunt whoever did this.
As pirates, our life revolved around only caring about our own crew, and money. For the most part, that was true, but there was sometimes more to it. We controlled the vast majority of the sea. People trembled before our sails. I ruled the sea with an iron fist.
So when someone messes with people protected by us, that is unforgivable. I went towards one of the houses, and I took notice that the places to store valuables had been ransacked.
So we're dealing with fellow pirates. I thought to myself.
"Cap'n! Over here!" Vale shouted, and I turned around. He was behind a stall, looking upwards at something. I walked over, and saw exactly what had caught his attention.
The Corsairs crest.
They were pirates, but horrible ones. Clearly, they had attacked this place with intention. I mean, they had left their crest carved into an enormous wall.
"Why'd they do it?" Marra asked.
I sighed, because I unfortunately knew the answer. "To get to us. They knew this place was under our eye."
"So, they're trying to prove us weak?" Marra tried to guess.
"No. They've begun a battle. A battle for the ruler of the seas." I said. All eyes turned to me.
"So let's give these idiots a taste of our full power!" Rurik exclaimed, hand on his knife. I liked his ambition, but this was going to require finesse as well.
"Precisely." I looked back at the bodies. "We need to remind everyone exactly why the sea bows to us." I started walking back towards the ship, spine straight and head held high.
"Should we clean up?" Nira asked. She was our best healer, although that didn't mean she could be vicious.
"Yes. Clean up the bodies. We aren't like those savages." I was still walking to the ship, trying to ignore the smell of rotting flesh I knew all too well.
"When you've finished, prepare the ship." They nodded.
"The Drowned Crown sails at dawn." I said.