Karl nods, his expression bland. He recalled a few encounters of this sort from his past, most of them having an unpleasant ending for the other party. He hoped fervently that that would not be the case now. He followed Alexis, feeling glad that at least he had the advantage of metal arms for defense and a crossbow tucked into the back of his belt, covered by his jacket.
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Dolphuus looked up at the bandaged figure as he began his apologetic tirade, which also conveniently avoided an actual apology of any sort. But as odd compliments followed one after another, Dolphus could feel his shame slowly melting away under the heat of anger.
Who was this Mako, this pretentious oaf, to make a complete fool of him in front of Alexis for seemingly no reason, and only after such a snub to come try to make amends because he felt guilty about the exchange? Who was this Mako, who had snapped in his ears, who even now seemed to insult and degrade him with these manipulative words? These lies?
As Alexis and the newcomer left the hall, his eyes, which had watched the pair behind his scowling brows, turned back to the speaker. Donât hurt him. At least not physically. There can be more of that later.
His hand touched the hilt of his sword. He didnât have the commanding presence of his father, but he did have something very sharp, and Mako had a throat.
âLeave.â
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Mako stood silently, his expressionless mask still covering his ruined face, that wouldâve said something, unlike the void that covered it. Slowly, he turned and walked away. And again he spoke. But, unlike all the times before, it was not a sentence, a brand, a jeer, an apology, but a melody.
After he finished, one last sentence was spoken.
âFor there is not a soul on my island, whom would ever want me to return.â
And then he left.
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As Makoâs song began, Dolphus opened the door to Marinerâs cabin, stepped inside, and closed it behind him, the words muffled by the wood and the roll of the waves against the hull. And good riddance to you, too.
Dolphus sighed deeply, not quite comprehending that Mariner was still inside the cabin and more likely than not at least partially aware of all that was happening outside of it. I hope sheâll be alright.
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Karl turned to look at Alexis.
âYou must be the one in charge here, if that kid shows you such deference. You own this ship, right? Else you would have much less concern for whoâs on board.â
As he finished, he took a dart from his satchel, fingering it as one would feel a toothpick.
If a fight is to start, may as well be prepared, he thought to himself.
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Mariner looks around in vague surprise, âSome commotion in the passageway?â
He lifts the little bottle to the light. âIt is ready, hereâ he holds it out with one hand, with his other hand he retrieves a tiny thimble sized cup. âThis is your dose, 1 time daily with food. More may have⌠Adverse effects.â He said delicately.
Mariner then retrieves a small jar. Opening it and checking the smell. The pleasant aroma of Thyme and Lemon wafts out. âExcellent, still potent.â He offered it to Dolphus as well. âIt wonât speed up the healing, but it will clean your wounds. Have no fear, none of this is magical. I know youâre⌠Adverse to it as well.â
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Dolphus smoothed the feathers of his arm back down before turning around to face Mariner, having been suddenly reminded of his presence. Right. Out of the kettle and into the fire. I really should prioritize better the next time Iâm stuck in such a circumstance.
But the arrival of the new and extremely suspicious person was too much to ignore. âThere was-â
Blasted hesitation.
Dolphus accepted the bottle and cup with a slightly wounded expression, internally thankful that this was all he had to deal with.
Ah.
Thank the- uh⌠Nothing for pockets. He thought, quickly stuffing the bottle and cup in one pocket and reaching for the new container of strong, albeit delightful, scents. Hopefully thisâll taste about as well as it smells-
The relief at not having to swallow this as well was immediately hushed into a dark corner to be forgotten under the light of this new revelation.
Heâs being sly about it. Or at least he thinks he is.
With the subtlest of suspicious glares somehow added on top of his worry, Dolphus accepted the second strange bottle, and rather than pocket this one as well, he hooked the cane over his wrist instead. Itâs an extremely short walk to my room- cabin, whatever, I can manage this much at least.
The reminding thought of Alexis whipping the teeth out of the suspicious new fellow was a pleasant one. âNew fellow might need some of this,â He very slightly smiled, realizing mid-sentence that this joke might get him in trouble.
Or worse, it might imply he likes making jokesâŚ
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Mariner visibly stiffened. âWhat new fellow?â He began softly.âWhat happened Dolphus?â
Mariner drew himself up to his full height, revealing heâd been slouching slightly as he seemed to fill the cabin. His head, brushing the joists of the deck, slowly turned to look him dead in the eyes. âIs someone injured?â
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Dolphus perked up slightly. Finally, another opportunity to mention this newest arrival had appeared. With any luck, this could all be handled with extreme efficiency and never be brought up again.
âOh, the-â
Then the softness of the sentence hit. Uh oh.
He could feel his spine compress downwards as Mariner seemed to grow taller and taller, until it appeared the ceiling would give way under this monstrous figure growing up into the shadow of it, which was unnaturally enhanced in Dolphusâ mind.
âWhat? No,â Dolphus began, his eyes tearing away for a split second before he forced them back onto Marinerâs helmet, the glistening blue shining out of the darkness of it. âNo. Nobodyâs hurt.â
âI hope.â
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Mako sat in his cabin. He had done everything wrong. What a fool he was.
Dolphus would not care. He cared for little, except⌠for some reason, he had taken a liking to AlexisâŚwhich certainly meant something. What, he had no clue. He ripped off his mask, before rubbing his eyes. The night had not been forgiving. As was the rest of the day. He felt like he was going insane. No matter what happened, he would always fail. His eyes seemed to bore into the wooden planks. They began to feel heavy, as darkness overtook themâŚ
Mako couldnât breathe, he was stuck in a half breath, as his limp body fell down.
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downâŚ
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downâŚ
And then he felt it. A thousand hands, reaching out, dragging him into the abyssâŚ
He turned his head, as was rewarded with the sights of thousands of faces, crying blackened blood, jaws inhumanly agape, screaming, never stopping,eternally drowning⌠and he felt too, as if he were to join them.
And then, a horrific thought came to mind.
If He diedâŚ
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No one would remember him.
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No one would mourn him.
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No one would greet himâŚ
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Except the cold, cruel abyssâŚ
And all of his misdeedsâŚ
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And he knew⌠nothing would save him.
He screamed. Cried out⌠Begged. He hoped that his god would hear him⌠would free him⌠but he was gone⌠as was his sisterâŚas were all of themâŚ
Suddenly, his eyes flew open, his throat raw as he continued a bloodcurdling scream that echoed throughout the ship.
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Mariner looked down at Dolphus, seeing the fear plainly writ in the ladâs body language. He eased off his posture, remembering this wasnât a seasoned veteran he was dealing with.
âPlease then, tell me what happened.â This time he spoke calmly and evenly.
Tharos had finally earned the trust of the shipâs cat. Heâd fed it three mice heâd caught, and now it finally allowed him to get close enough to pet it. âYouâre a very nice kitty.â He said trying to mask his fear. âNot a daemon of death.â
âLiesâ whispered the hard voice in his ear. âUnnatural creature, must be destroyed!â
âHmphâ the soft voice exhaled sharply âThey bear a passing resemblance to house Daemons itâs true, but a cat is just an animal.â
Tharos nodded, âRight, just a regular animal, totally not a monster from another dimension.â
âTechnically that is youâ
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There was some kind of abominable noise off to the side, but Dolphus was too absorbed in the situation to pay it any heed. After all, what was happening right in front of him demanded all of his attention, or at least the vast majority of it.
It took a couple seconds for the intense storm of conflict in Dolphusâ mind to shut up and go away, the self-doubt intermingling seamlessly with the heart-to-heart moment shared on deck and its conflict with Marinerâs intimidating presence in the apparently too small cabin. Now, hopefully he could gets his thoughts in orderâŚ
âHe was-â Dolphus paused, a look of annoyance suddenly coming over him, looking down from Marinerâs eyes lest it seem as if he was annoyed with him. But a thunderous realization had occurred to him just then, one that should have been obvious the moment he met this mysterious stranger.
Given the position in the sea, the lack of nearby vessels, the suspicious place at which he had revealed himself, and his complete lack of knowledge on anything in relation to the boa- SHIP or its crew, it was physically impossible for this little miscreant to have clambered his way on board, slunk down to the cabins, and waited until just now to casually reveal himself in all his ineptitude.
It was magic. He arrived because of magic. Thatâs why he didnât know the context for anything he was told, not even Setroth. Dolphus had it all figured out.
âHe was a shorter fellow,â Dolphus resumed, a sudden confidence in his voice which was not there a moment ago. âHe had very dark attire and some metal on his arms. He claimed he rowed up to us, but believed me when I said this was an entire fleet and that he needed is papers put in order.â
âThere is no possible way this man could have stowed away at any point in time.â Dolphus confidently declared, looking back up at Marinerâs helmet. with blatant self-assurance. He had to mentally stop his fingers, which had begun to roll the bottle in his hand in casual superiority. âThe amount of noise he made exiting one of the cabins was what drew me to him. With so many honored dead, it would be impossible for him to sneak aboard, knowing so little about the mission.â
âAlexis went off to interrogate him.â His eyes had dropped to the bottle in his hand, but in spite or Marinerâs intimidating presence - or perhaps because of it? - they looked back up from under his dark brows, all manner of personality and ego cold and solemn, the bottle frozen in his fingers.
âI hope you have more of this.â
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Mariner stared at him in utter shock. His hands grasped instinctively at his belt, before he remembered the longsword was leaning against his table. He picked it up with a tight grip. An agitated clicking noise started to arise from him.
Mariner was, quite simply put, furious. The level of apparent incompetence surrounding this whole mission weighed on him heavily.
Personally heâd suspected Tharwyn was losing his mind when heâd seen the crew he was to escort. This seemed to be the final nail in the coffin.
âThis person, lead me to them. I will question them personally.â He looked at Dolphus, more curious than anything despite his rage. Wondering if the child was to blame or not for him not finding out about this sooner.
Another thing for certain. Alexis would need to be addressed, she had clearly overstepped what little imagined authority she had. That aggravated him almost as much as the presence of the interloper.
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Alexis led the stranger to her quarters, the more she thought about it the less she was sure she was making the right choice. Nevertheless the safety of the crew was paramount to her especially that of Dolphus and Nico⌠but then again why was that? Was it just so she could get the outcome she wanted? So she could fulfill what was asked of her and get the answers she wanted? What did she hope to accomplish if she was voted as captain? Surely itâs better than the alternative option. she concluded and not like I have too much of a choice in the matter either way.
âWhere are you from?â Alexis asked bluntly. if she wanted to keep this from escalating into violence leading in with friendly small talk might prove useful. On the plus side it gave her an opportunity to think about what her next move would be.
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The lookout in the crows nest was very concerned. There were ships surrounding the Caelinâs Hand, at first while they going through busy patrol lanes it had made sense, but theyâd departed those this morning.
Now 3 ships flying the colours of the Northern Fleet were closely tagging them. Keeping exactly 2 cables of distance, she could feel the eyes of their lookouts boring into her.
No time to dwell on that however, the skies to the east were clouding over. A squall if she had ever seen one, a sizeable one at that. Checking the wind sock, she breathed a touch easier, seeing the wind blowing due south. Still those seas were far to violent to trust in her opinion.
âSend word down to Mariner, 3 ships escorting us, Armada Flagged. Stowed for port.â After a moment, she added. âSquall to Starboard, wind holding due south for now. Updates every half hourâ more work for her, doubling her reports, but her Daddy hadnât raised a fool where storms were concerned.
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âThat would be quite a tale, if I knew where,â Karl replied. âIâve traveled to many places and have yet to know who my parents were, or where they are, if they still live. At present, all I know is that I spent my childhood living in a major port town, occasionally traveling inland for schooling. It was after I finished my studies that I first joined a shipâs crew. The captain was a friend of mine who thought I needed some hard work to improve my temperament.
Sadly, the voyage ended when he got drunk one night and thought about dueling several people. He got lucky on the first attempt, but his second target left him incapacitated. He had to sell his business to pay the physician who attended to his injuries.
So, that is why I came here. After a few years of work for another friend, I was told that I needed a better experience of seafaring. I did some searching, and this ship was recommended as a vessel with an expert captain and crew. But, as I explained a few minutes ago, it took some effort to catch up to your vessel.â
Karl stopped talking, his right hand gripping what appeared to be a toothpick. In reality, it was a dart tipped with a good narcotic that would induce drowsiness in a target. He hoped he wouldnât have to use it.
âHow about you? Have you led this ship for long? I assume it would be quite an interesting experience, to say the least,â he commented.
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In spite of Dolphusâ sudden onset coldness, there was an audible gulp from his throat at the change in mood. Marinerâs two glowing eyes were somehow much more dangerous, and the calm reply from the acting captain of the Caelinâs Hand did little to ease his worry.
Quickly pocketing the second bottle in his other hip pocket, Dolphus opened the door and quickly stepped out, his face immediately drawing an emotional blank as he realized he had absolutely no idea where Alexis had gone. Busy dealing with Makoâs slander, he had completely missed her presence and departure.
Idiot. He frowned. He wasnât sure if that thought was meant more for him or for Mako. Regardless, he had to pretend he knew what he was doing, or Mariner might assume he was stalling and unload his fury on him.
Okay. Dolphus exhaled, slowly blinking. They couldnât have gone far. Likely up the stairs or around the end of the stairwell. Iâm just going to pretend I know what Iâm doing and move further along so that it looks like Iâm not completely winging this if you think about that phrase for even a moment Iâm going to hurt you.
It didnât matter that Dolphus wasnât speaking to anybody, he would be defensive if he felt like it.
So saying, he took one, two, three steps, then four, nearing the stairs-
The fourteen-year-old swordplay prodigy slammed his shoulders into his neck before whirling his head around to stare in undisguised shock at Karl, before realizing Karl wasnât there. It was just the door to one of the cabins, and the shadows made it clear somebody was inside. A secondâs pause followed, with Dolphus finally relaxing his shoulders and adjusting his collar with a weary exhale.
Stepping forward, he tapped twice on the frame with his cane, hoping that he was out of the way enough in case Mariner decided to barge past him.
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Alexis rolled her eyes and opened the door to her quarters. absolutely bog standard, nothing about his background suggests anything on why he wouldâve been sent an invitation like the rest of us. she gestured for Karl to take a seat in her room. either way heâs lying about something. On one hand you have his entire background and on the other his method of getting on the ship. If I had to take a guess? Iâd go as far as to say heâs a stowaway. Maybe heâs here to sabotage the mission? Why does the thought of that make her so uneasy?
âAbout a week or two.â She responded simply putting on a coy smile. âI would prefer if we were to continue this conversation in private.â
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âThank you,â Karl replied, sitting down on the nearest chair. He relaxed slightly, his body sinking into any cushions the chair had.
âWhat, is a room with a closed door not private enough for you? And what would we have to fear on this vessel?â
Karl looked askance at Alexis, wondering what on earth had prompted her suggestion. She couldnât be contemplatingâ he dismissed the idea. Of course that wouldnât be it. A trap? Perhaps an rope around his neck, or a knife in the back?
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Alexis chuckled to herself. letâs see thereâs Mariner to name one, might even throw in rook there too if only for his⌠well whateverâs going on in there. she lit a fireball in her hand and extended it at the table to light the candle that rested atop it before planting herself on her bed directly opposite of the stowaway. âYou would think, as The Captain, I wouldâve heard about a ship coming to drop off a newcomer.â She folded her arms, she wasnât threatening him with this line of questioning, simply pressuring him into a confession, the over the top fireball to light a small candle on the other hand?
That most certainly was.
âPerhaps you can explain that to me. why I wasnât given any notice of your arrival?â
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