A Sea of Secrets [Alexander x Sera]

[xXSeraphinaXx]

“The Phoenix,” a raspy voice hissed to their companion at the bar. “I hear she’s in Sanctuary prepping The Burning Seas for another hunt…” An old man, bones visible through his thin skin held his beer in a shaking hand. “That one is a feisty lass...I once questioned her on her directions to that poor crew she holds captive and the look in those eyes about turned me to ash!” The old man’s companion chuckled and shook their head, “I hear she’s on the hunt for some valuable cache to the East...Nasty seas that way...The Phoenix may not rise this time…” The two continued their drunken banter, unaware that the red-head which they spoke of was within earshot.

Sanctuary at Devil’s Refuge was a hidden little gem for all sea traveling folks to make Port. It had bars aplenty and merchants to satisfy a Pirate or other traveler’s every need. Luciana always stopped at Sanctuary because of its convenient location to her hometown. A two days journey north would land her on her family’s island, where her grandmother was always looking to direct her for a new journey or hunt for valuable treasures. She was known for her vibrantly colored hair and the mysterious adventures of her ship. The Burning Seas. Another way her nickname was developed, Red hair and a connection to fire had given the Port all it needed to give her a moniker. She didn’t mind it, it was better than people calling her Luci. She hated being called Luci. One person in her life had been able to call her that and he was gone. She didn’t intend to be fond enough of any soul for them to ever gain the privilege.

Long red locks cascaded down her back as she pushed through the bar, leaning forward on the bar-top beside the two men that had been speaking, her sizable bust an intimidating statement that seemed to rest on the bar of its own accord. The bartender quickly took notice, his gaze focused on her chest before her icy blue eyes. “Whiskey,” She stated, her eyes rolling when the man struggled to respond for a moment. Her breasts were barely contained within the dark leather of her bodice, the laces pulled tight to support the extra weight of the voluptuous globes. Ever since she’d blossomed as a young girl her chest had garnered everyone’s attention, paired with her unusually bright hair and striking eyes she was very easily remembered. When the bartender finally returned to her, he passed her the drink and took the coins she held out for him. “Thanks,” She muttered, turning to the old man beside her. “Watch what you say behind people’s backs, old man...You might end up becoming ash yourself if you’re not careful…” She purred pleasantly, watching as the man turned rigid. With a delightful laugh she turned away, walking to a darker corner of the bar to drink her whiskey. The following morning The Burning Seas would depart Sanctuary to make a direct course for The Raging Isles. For several months the island chain had been victim of terrible winds and storms, destroying many a ship and killing dozens of crews. She had a good idea of what was causing the turbulent seas and she had a plan to stop them. She’d get her prized treasure and help the other crews in the process. A win-win for all.

Luciana “Phoenix” Grimsbane was not a cruel person, nor was she a stuck-up woman. She simply had missions she needed to complete and ran a no nonsense ship. Was she the Captain? No, but she might as well have been. When her Captain didn't do as she said, she simply took over. But when he did do as her directions indicated she usually locked herself away in her room, keeping a mysterious aura about the ship's crew. Much of what she did behind closed doors involved the invoking of powerful magics that kept her crew safe when the seas got harsh. Another reason sea folk called her the Phoenix was her ability to mysteriously rise from the worst of troubles. If they were all to know the truth she would surely be hung from the nearest cliff. But her crew had learned long ago not to question her or try to learn more about her. They knew they were safe with Luciana on board and they didn't do anything to jeopardize their safety. It was often times bad luck to have a woman aboard a ship, but The Burning Seas' crew knew that their luck charm was Luciana.

While she sat alone in the corner she listened to the other sea gossip, learning where other ships were headed and which Captains were having drama or trouble around the nearby waters.

 

[Alexander]

It was never wise for any sailor to boast about a ship's plans, for a loose word could see to it that their ship was headed towards the floor of the sea. And yet, any captain worth their salt knew that a reputation was worth far more than a little extra danger and trouble. If you didn't say you were going to capture part of that caravan, or go toe to toe with a troublesome frigate, it might as well never have been you to do those deeds at all. A whirlpool could swallow a ship whole with nary a trace at any time, and a storm could wallop an unfortunate hull until it looked worse than it ever had in any dry dock, so sometimes it was that the sooner that these lords of dread placed a stake upon their claim, the better. How else could one say that it really was their hand that struck the sinking blow to a vessel, and all the fame and glory that accompanied such conquest? By now there were murmurs throughout the whole building about it being best to stay far from The Burning Seas, and any merchant ships set to point eastward might do well to delay their trip by a day or two.

Of course, for men such as Darvan, one of the Devil's dogs, such chatter mostly devolved into a round of boasting at the local bar. No, not the Devil of Devil's Refuge, that man was of an age past, savage enough to seafarer and landlubber alike to earn his title. Darvan had his own monikers, of course, though they weren't so common to hear here, having been earned in other oceans. He himself preferred Arctic Fang, earned in duality for seemingly freezing ships in place in cold waters, a trick that he would refuse to reveal even to his first mate, and in his firefight with Majesty's Blossom, where instead the ice gathered upon the Mad Dog's hull and held his ship afloat when by all rights in should have fallen into the frigid waters. There was also Chattan's White Wolf, earned from sinking his fangs into a rival when his wayward vessel, destitute of supplies for days, had been boarded. Darvan himself was so sun-struck and dehydrated that his hair had become nearly as pale as his skin, and seemed to have developed the rage of a starving animal. He was lucky to escape the curse of being called vampire, from that one. Perhaps to be more accurate, he was lucky that Chattan didn't slay him right then and there, for Darvan's own men were in no shape to put up a fight, but it wasn't a gesture of generosity. Chattan was the Devil of Kippory, the sea far to the northeast, and now Darvan served him.

He was still a captain, however, part of a larger fleet than his own ship now, but master of his domain. He proudly declared as much with the two-pronged hat he wore, covering up the short curls that would inevitably grow out once he struck at the seas for too long, though whether it remained balanced upon his head was determined quite heavily by how much he had to drink, or perhaps more accurately, the variety. At sea, one tends to acquire a taste for rum, and gradually also a resistance to its effects. There weren't many things that could delight the man more than a land-side fine wine and whiskey side-by-side, much as there weren't many things that could give him more pain in the morning. Darvan wasn't so far gone that he would need to worry about that, yet, but such a person also loved to be the center of attention. With a bang of the fist against the table, a number of gazes fell upon the man, returning the glances with his hazel eyes.

"I've been further east than any man here! Past Pike's Pit." He spoke of the foul whirlpools, of course. "Beyond the Raging Isles. I'll tell you, you won't find the like of half my cannons anywhere but Kippory. Do you know why a man would come this far west?" Besides having little choice in his servitude, but fewer men on his ship knew about that than old Jackson had fingers left. "There's nothing but trouble out there at those two. Traders stay away now, and even scavengers don't trouble the beaches to pilfer what washes up from wrecks. In fact, the only good thing in that damned archipelago is the Card King's fortune". The man clammed up when he realized how much he was letting slip, and poorly tried to cover his tracks. "Jackbar never even left a map to its location. Nobody knows which of the blasted islands the thing is buried on!" Darvan slunk back into his chair, grumbling to himself about his short temper, and lifted a mug to his lips. He sounded more and more like a drunken fool. His eyes began to light up, however, when he pondered his statement. You don't need a map to find a treasure. You've just got to, well... happen to be wherever it is. And there were only so many small parcels of land... if he couldn't X the spot, he could at least start X'ing them off of a list.

 

[xXSeraphinaXx]

The bang of a fist on a table pulled Luciana's attention, her blue hues narrowing on him for making a ruckus. He was speaking of how he'd successfully traveled past the Raging Isles. Her lips pursed, annoyed immediately at his boastful tone. Men. Regardless of how annoying his chatter was while she tried to relax, she listened. Card King's fortune. Luciana perked up, leaning forward on her table as she listened more intently. The man seemed to quickly realize his slip of tongue and backpedaled. Luci smirked, hiding the curve of her lips with her glass. Despite her amusement at his slip up, she was irritated. He appeared to be going in the same general direction that her ship was set to sail in. That didn't bode well for either of them. Luci couldn't afford to have anyone else messing with her plans.

She took a slow sip from her glass and sighed loudly, "Only a fool would go after the Card King's fortune..." She mused, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious. "Death sentence for all travelers to go that way.." She added with a sharp nod. A few sailors in her general vicinity nodded in agreement, their gazes wary as they shifted between Luci and Darvan. Luci finished her drink, tilting her head back and then slamming the glass down hard on the table. She slammed it so hard that her breasts bounced from the recoil. "Sounds like a suicide mission to me...." Slowly the pirate lass stood and crossed the room to where the man in question was still muttering to himself. "The Card King's Fortune is a myth best left unexplored..." Luciana said in a low voice. "Or else a ship might find themselves dealing with unnecessary heat from their misfortunes…” Regardless of what treasure cache he thought he was chasing, Luci couldn't afford to have him anywhere near her destination. If she could throw him off the trail, they would both be safer.

Her journey was going to be tricky enough and she already knew she would have trouble controlling her own ship within the Raging Isles’ storm surges. If she had to worry about other ships making the same journey she was going to be mighty irritable. Luciana rolled her eyes and continued past the man's table, trying to decide if perhaps she needed to leave for the Raging Isles a bit earlier than planned. Several bar patrons watched her as she left, though she knew it was for her curves and generous assets more so than her obvious irritation. Luci was used to stares, normally she used them to her advantage. This time she didn't have the luxury of playing with the emotions of stupid men. She needed to make new plans. The woman exited the bar with an extra force to her movements. Determination. She was going to make it to the Raging Isles before anyone could step on her toes.

Luciana was back to The Burning Seas shortly after her departure from the bar, the heels of her boots loud against the wooden deck as she made her way to the Captain's quarters. The Captain, Edward, was already on his way out of his room as she approached. "We're leaving tonight..." Luci stated harshly. Edward looked at her with wide eyes, "Tonight? Why, Lass? Nobodies departs this swiftly.." His brows knit together and he gave her a look of disbelief. Luci cursed and crossed her arms, "Do we have the provisions we need?" When Edward nodded she smiled, "Then stop complaining and simply make it happen..." Edward was given no other chance to respond, Luciana walked past him and headed to her own quarters of the ship. It would be here that she settled herself down to look into the mysteries of the Raging Isles. She would know the legends and horrors of the island chain better than anyone else traveling. She would make it to her treasure.

For the remainder of the afternoon, The Burning Seas was prepared for it's early departure. Ship hands ran about to collect last minute provisions that they wanted to make sure they hand, making sure to keep their extra goods a secret from the highly irritable Luciana. It was as the sun started to set that she slipped from her quarter to check on the status of their departure. She was informed that they were going to be leaving within the hour. The race was on and she was going to win.

 

[Alexander]

The Card King was a legend, equal to the Devil in whose town they stood. He won his fortune on land, gambling with men who held little restraint over their coins and jewels, and practically bought the sea right out from underneath them. A pirate who was successful was also one who bled wealth. There weren't many tales of a privateer who hit it big without making any enemies, and then slinked away from the world into a quiet retirement, after all. The King was different, with warehouses that held far more than a ship's hull might carry. Everyone from thieves, to enemies, and even tax collectors hounded his treasure vaults, and so the largest merchant vessels that could be constructed were ordered, and then loaded their entire berths with his riches. Decoy ships were sunk mid-voyage, and the crews of any bearing the real goods were staffed with slaves, and sent to distant corners of the earth after their cargo was buried and hidden, never to spread word of its location.

Darvan turned to his second mate, a tall and lanky man. The second of the two Andrews on the ship, and so his name was given the 's' at the end to distinguish them. "Who the grog was that? Such a wretched..." he paused, as he struggled to actually remember anything about the girl. It was crowded enough that most tables were filled, and there was no way he could have stood up straight enough to have spied his verbal opponent across at the other side. He was quite clearly nearing the point of having filled the tankard in his belly. "...Wretched voice" he finally managed to finish meagerly, the only thing he really had to go on about her. His mate rolled eyes. "You might best wait on that until morning. Get too close to that one, and knowing you, you'd end up inviting her onto your lap like a barmaid, and then I wouldn't have a captain anymore, but be left with a body to bury." Grimsbane had an appearance that could gather a lot of attention, and yet equally a reputation that would likewise scare any honest and sober men away. Darvan lacked the fortune to have either of those two qualities, right now.

And under such conditions, are stupid ideas born. "I think she might need a lesson." Darvan's finger stretched out, wrapped in a silver band, and it wagged and wavered, the tip wandering across the table as he tried to pick a man for a job. Finally, it settled, aimed at a fresh-faced boatswain. Miraculously, he managed to correctly recall the proper name. "Holston, follow her today. I want to see where she might pop out her head this evening." Andrews could only silently wave his hand back and forth, palm out, motioning for caution, that whatever was about to spill out Darvan's mouth should be avoided. "Then we'll give the strumpet a little scare, a pistol shot into the air from beside her head in the dead of night might set her attitude straight." The crewman stared blankly back at him, but a hand onto his chest and a heavy push sent him on his way. Holston didn't have quite the same head as Andrews did for knowing people and locations, and barely caught up with her trail before she embarked upon The Burning Seas. Hustle and bustle overtook the vessel, but no matter how many hours he paced the docks under the summer sun, Grimsbane did not emerge. Strumpet, indeed, it seemed to him.

A fist banged against the captain's table, when Holston returned empty-handed. "What do you mean, you *lost* her?" He exclaimed, startling the young lad. "I didn't lose her," the boy tried to explain once more, "I know exactly where she is. On that ship, and now far away from any pranks that could be pulled on her." A wince appeared on his face once he listened to that last part he just said, and wished he could take those words back, belittling the captain quite like that. "It would be just my luck, to have a man like you on my crew. I ask you to chase a woman, and instead you chase her out of the whole damned city." Darvan may not have been pleased by this turn of events, but with the time passed and his wits back about him, even he could see his foolish boyhood antics for what they were, so perhaps best to use humor to draw attention away from his own folly. Besides, once he had learned who exactly he had so poorly intended to mess with, no ordinary girl enjoying a simple mug of grog, even he had to swallow his breath with a gulp. Andrews spoke from his side. "Are we settled with this matter, then?" The captain waved the boy away, with a curt "Yes."

Holston had nearly made it outside of the captain's office, when a contradiction beat him in escape through the doorway. "No." Curiosity had struck Darvan. "Who in their right mind sails out of port with only a starlit sky?" There wasn't anything to hit in the middle of a sea, the odds were astronomical, but one slow turn from the captain's wheel could send a ship into the docks, the coast, a sand bar, almost anything, when so poorly illuminated. "I wouldn't be able to hazard a guess, sir." The taps of fingers rattled the desk, as Darvan mused out loud. "That girl... we don't need to do anything to *her*. That would just stir the hornet's nest. But to snatch what she wants, right out from under her... Andrews, I want information. Tomorrow, find out what shops she's made purchases from. If any dock workers loaded crates into her hull, I want to know what they know. Even women that her men may have visited, somebody must have been bragging." It would be an awfully late start on his part, but he had caught the whiff of something big, and probably at least ten times as valuable as any of the meager leads they had so far, along with probably half the rest of the town.

 

[xXSeraphinaXx]

Luciana sighed, slipping out under the dark sky to assess the readiness of the ship. Spotting Edward near the stern of the ship, she headed across the deck to speak with him. "Edward..." She called out, her voice soft in the night breeze. The man turned, regarding her with weary eyes. "Aye..Lass...There is no way for me to discourage you of this eve's embarking?" He asked in a defeated tone. The look in her narrowed eyes was enough for him to immediately understand and then sigh. "Edward...we'll be fine...Have faith in me...Have I failed you before?" She asked him, showing him a brief glimpse of her more likable qualities. When she wasn't facing enemies or rivals, Luci could be very kind and understanding. Edward was actually the only man on the ship that had any idea what went on behind her closed doors. He had vague ideas as to what exactly it was that protected their ship in some of the worst times. "The last thing I want to do is see this ship or it's crew in harms way..." She insisted, resting a slender hand on Edward's shoulder. "Come now...off we go..." Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she turned to leave him. As her footfalls faded from his hearing, she heard him start shouting to the crew. They were setting sail. Despite the dangers that it presented to them all.

The night was actually eerily calm, the water that lapped up at the edges of the ship was dark, almost black as Luci stared over the edge of the deck. Things would work out in their favor. They had to. She had no other options. Luciana was given the task of bringing back a valuable family heirloom, and she would do it. If she didn't, her grandmother, the matriarch of their family, would not be happy. Luci visibly tensed, thinking about what would befall her if she failed in her mission. Her grandmother's directions had been clear. She wasn't to fail.

Even without her grandmother's orders, the journey would be one that would give the entire crew and Luciana something to be proud of. Few made it past The Raging Isles alive, and even fewer had walked it's sandy shores and left sane. If she succeeded, she would be even more fearsome in reputation.

Above her, the sails were loosed, and Luci glanced up as the night breeze caught them pulling them out of the dock where they had been previously anchored. "Until next time Sanctuary..." Luciana murmured, tipping her head towards the currently quiet port. She hoped her head start would keep her at a suitable distance from any of the other ships and their Captains. It was rare that she had a problem with other ships, but it did occasionally happen. How else would she get her name? Many a Captain had been caught off guard by her appearance or the fact that she was a woman. While they doubted her abilities, their ship sank around them. Now, Luci didn't enjoy destroying that which belonged to others. But she had a crew to look out for. If someone dared threaten them- they would suffer for their mistake. Luci paced across the deck, watching the crew run to and fro as they made sure that the Burning Seas made it out of the Port and onto the open sea. "Keep up the good work, men..." Luciana shouted, smiling as the wind caught her hair.

Once she was sure things were going as planned, she headed below deck to check their stock of goods. They had stocked up on rum and whiskey, knowing that there were no Ports between Sanctuary and The Raging Isles. Now that they were leaving Port, they would not see it again until they were successful. The only other fate was death. Heavy rations of food had been stocked below deck as well, Luci's intention to rely on the ship's stock even after landing at the Isles. Horrid rumors surrounded the state of the Isles, some saying that food was scarce or even nonexistent. While the Isles looked lush from a distance, it was said that everything had some degree of poison within it's chemistry. With such information in her back pocket, Luciana had made sure her men had purchased easily triple the amount of stock than a usual trip would require. They couldn't afford to take any chances. If they were weak from starvation, they wouldn't stand a chance in the Isles. But at the same time, holding so much on the ship would slow them down some in their travels, as well as make them a bigger target from enemies. The liquor alone was valuable in the quantities they had stored. And a crew at sea would be eager to dig into their food stores. Luci was known among her own crew for having a very hefty medicinal stock as well, something she warned them to keep to themselves. Her ability to keep her crew healthy wasn't exactly natural and she didn't need them mouthing off to strangers. Some men were more superstitious than others, and while her crew usually kept their thoughts to themselves, she didn't trust anyone else. Sometimes she didn't even trust them- not if they were drunk at least.

Edward appeared behind her and Luci turned with a grin, "Everything looks good...The men did well getting everything...Even with my new timeline..." She crossed her arms, her arms forced to rest beneath her ample breasts. "I'm going to retire...If you need me...You know where to find me. Just be sure to knock first..." Luciana explained, walking past Edward, her lips still curled in satisfaction. Things would go well. She was certain.

Once within the confines of her quarters, she stripped down until she could relax in a simple white shift. The stresses of the day melted away as she sat in her window, sipping a glass of whiskey, her eyes fixated on the darkness outside. By daybreak they would be in the middle of the ocean, hopefully without anyone behind them.