forum "Bloodstained Gold" (Pirate Group RP) {Closed}

Started August 25, 2022 by @ScotchTapeWorm group

tune

Aria nodded and stayed quiet. 'you can't lose this,' she thought. She sat straight and retracted her sword, watching intently, eager to learn more about the recruiting process. She could hardly remember stepping onto the ship for the first time, sleep-deprived and probably a bit drunk. She looked between the two, their contrast, then looked behind her to the others. Some kept staring, most backed out and continued their chatter and drink, though not without a sense of caution. Likely derived from the captain, a stand-out in any crowd. As Captain Silver-Tongue leaned in closer to the Karcaon, she recognized the stare he shot. Again, looking behind her, the young woman could feel the change in the air, the weight.

Kavo relaxed a little when the girl put her sword away, and smiled a little more freely at the captain. The man was good, and Kavo had a lot of respect for a man who knew how to keep his crew in check and still make it clear that they were under his protection.
"Well, I'll give you the short version. I've served on 4 different ships since I was 9. I've been cabin boy and bookkeeper on a military vessel with a crooked captain running arms shipments. I've been hired muscle on a merchant galleon. I've been the helmsman, chartman and mapmaker on an exploratory vessel, mapping the sections of your map that still say 'Uncharted waters'. And most recently, I was one of 2 gunners on a smuggling vessel." He held his hands out wide. "I enjoyed it all, but if you've ever had to lash yourself to the helm in the middle of a gale to keep a ship on course, then you know the thrill that makes me love that job most." His face darkened just slightly as he remembered that the helmsman of the smuggling ship had not been willing to put his body on the line… and Kavo's brother was dead because of it.
"So tell me, captain." His smile was back. "If I shake your hand, what can I expect to do onboard the Deceit?"

Eyes burned Axel's skin, from all sides, friendly eyes, envious eyes, respectful, angry, or curious. He lapped up the attention as he always did, brightening up like a plant receiving sunlight or a cat who caught the canary, he was especially pleased that Aria had responded well to his command. It was heartening to see for the tall man, it would be a shame to have to feed the sharks their finest current cook. She was here to feed them, not the sea. His eyes never left Kavo, watching him and his expressions as he spoke.

Silver-Tongue whistled appreciatively at the track-record. On the sea since age nine, the Karcaon clearly had an affinity, which was a good trait. Obviously, the man was happy enough to do illegal work, seeing how he was even speaking to a known pirate captain and had worked on a smuggling boat. He ran a few calculations in his head, tallying the numbers and considering how much he liked his current helmsman.. The answer was, not very much. A mischievous glint grew in the Captains eye, it was slightly dark and amused.

"Well, I'll give you the job of the helmsman, but.. Well, let's say the role is occupied, what do you do? I'll throw in a signing bonus of a months 'wages' if yer willing..?" The Captain trailed off curiously. Pushing forwards a few gold coins, he smiled again, a tad bit more slyly this time. Wages weren't how pirates were paid, so this was clearly a bribe, if they captured any treasure they were given shares, rather than steadily paid for labor over time. The Captain was curious to see if the Karcaon would do it and how. He wanted to see if he would go for murder, suggest a plan to leave the old helmsman behind, or simply refuse out of principle. It told the violet-eyed pirate a lot about the person and how they would fit in. If the Karcaon refused, Silver-Tongue wouldn't assign him to any combat based roles in addition to helmsman (since he was getting rid of the current one no matter what), if he planned it made the crab-man a tempting option for a promotion to first mate, since he was in need of someone clever, though preferably not as physically strong as Kavo, it made the Captain paranoid. Straight to violence would be interesting as well, making him a reliable wild-card in battle situations.

Captain Silver-Tongue crossed his arms, head tipped to the side curiously. To break the tension he leaned back, waving at someone in the tavern to get him a drink, his intense stare diverted from the crab person momentarily.

"You've got the job no matter what, mind. If yah want it that is. Just curious." Axel lowered the stakes a tad, he didn't want to drive off any new hires per-say, but this made things more interesting. A little bit of fun, and if Kavo didn't like it well, he'd be bloody miserable aboard The Deceit.

Aria was surprised by the bribe, considering being on the ship to be a payment in itself. Though, that is the thinking of a vagrant. Although she disapproved of the money, it wasn't her place to judge and she wanted to be more aware of things like that. She had become bored by not stepping in or shaking anything up, but interested to see how things would play out by themselves.
"You've got the job no matter what, mind. If yah want it that it. Just curious." No surprise there.

Kavo thought carefully for a moment. The attention the captain was drawing wasn't an issue, but there were several stares in his direction that were less than friendly. One man, a bounty hunter, was actively sharpening a knife directly in line-of-sight to Kavo. Not a subtle act.

They all quickly lost interest when he picked up a gold piece off the table and proceeded to effortlessly crush it to powder in his claw.

"Just examining the purity. You know how it is." He said casually, trusting the captain was smart enough to know that show of strength wasn't a threat for him.
"If the spot is full, I'm happy to do gunner work. A pirate crew is always in need of gunners. You've been generous enough with your offer, I've got no reason to say no." It was a calculated answer. Kavo had of course heard of Axel Silver-tongue, but how much was myth and how much was the real man, he didn't know. If the captain was the type to get rid of a helmsman, or any sailor, just because someone better came alone… well, Kavo valued loyalty very highly, and that would be a blow to his impression of the man.

Axel's grin widened even further, perhaps his fathers genes made it possible to smile beyond the normal bounds. Perhaps not, and he was breaking his skin. It didn't really matter either way. He watched as Kavo crushed the coin, amused by it. Neither the mercenary nor the crab-man were subtle, but the silent conversation was highly amusing nonetheless.

He understood the hesitancy, he really did, who would want to serve under a Captain who would replace you? What ever happened to job security for the gods sakes! The Captain's smiles didn't fall, the tone of it changed. He looked.. Satisfied. The Karcaon really did seem determined to exceed all of Silver-Tongue's expectations. Strong, smart, and loyal to boot.
It.. Was a very, very good deal.

"No, no, you misunderstand me. We were talking in hypotheticals you see? I have been without a helmsman for.. Gods, a moon now?" Axel was a good liar, he'd been told it was all in the eyes. That wasn't the truth however, people watched far more than just the eyes. People watched your face, watched your eyes, even your hands when you spoke, trying to figure out the truth.

"I'd be glad to have you on my ship Kavo. You'll be a fine addition, keep the gold. And the dust if yah can collect it back into that lil' pouch, hm?" Silver-Tongue was a good liar because he always spoke in half-truths. Not quite a lie, not quite the whole truth. So his speech stayed the same constantly, no matter the weather or the validity of his words. Sure, they had a helmsman, but the man had been dead for a while now. Axel had called in a favor with an old friend, necromancers were useful people to know, if a bit odd. The Captain shivered at the memory, it really made his skin crawl, but one couldn't deny its usefulness. The old man was an odd duck

"You know where to find us. Lass, introduce yerself as well! Do whatever you want." Silver-Tongue's last two comments were for Aria, the girl looked antsy. He turned, looking around the tavern, and was greeted with a sea of eyes, many of which looked down at their drinks after he met their gaze. He sighed, shaking his head at the sorry lot, looked like Kavo was the only one of interest. He paid for everyone's drinks again and got busy chatting up some of the locals, place fillers for better crew.

Axel pulled hair away from his face, loosely tying to back to better show his face, people said seeing the whole face made people look more trustworthy. He snorted, he honestly wished some people would cover their faces more often.

The tall man leaned on the rickety bar, violet eyes flashing as he laughed, speaking to a particularly drunk man. Politely ignoring the smell of stale beer on the mans breath and the offensive way he existed. He held out a hand, still smiling, he'd often been told he looked like the Devil, making deals with mortals that they never really quite understood. Axel liked the comparison as he shook the man's hand, getting him to sloppily sign some scrap of paper he'd found for insurance. He liked it quite a lot.

Given her opening, Aria stood up quickly, knocking her chair behind her. She set it straight again and sat down. "I am Aria. And you're Kavo?" She asked, then tried to think of something else to say. "Helmsman, eh? And- all that other stuff you said, too. You must be pretty experienced." She continued to stall, waiting for something to happen. Everything for her was always fleeting, chaotic, and a gamble. Sometimes literally. It took her a hefty bit of control not to grab a deck of cards and place a bet- not even addicted to the money, just the rush of a solid win- or a cheated one, neither mattered to her. In any case, the returned air of slowness caused her to halt.

Kavo couldn't tell if Silver-tongue was rolling with the punches and lying through his too-wide smile, or if he'd just passed some kind of test from the captain. Either way, the man was crafty, and clearly much smarter than Kavo.
Traits he could admire in a captain.
He smiled and nodded as the man wrapped up the negotiations. "I do indeed know where to find you." The captain departed, and Kavo was left with the girl.
He glanced at her as he gathered the gold, dust and all, into the pouch, before stowing in one of the deep pockets on his vest. She was young and seemed very eager in her role as a pirate. Clearly she wasn't used to these things, but she was trying, and Kavo liked her immediately. Despite the fact she'd started out by drawing a sword.
"Aria. Lovely name. How long have you been with the Deceit, friend?" He asked, keeping the same smile.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw somebody moving towards Captain Silver-tongue at the bar. The same blasted bounty hunter from before, knife drawn.
"Excuse me a moment." he said politely, before surging out of the corner.

Karcaon are 6 legged creatures, which means no matter how they move, it always looks vaguely arachnid. Either the legs rippled, or they scuttle. In this case, Kavo rippled out from under the table, before making a leap over the next table full of customers. He got to the bounty hunter before the man got to the captain.
Of course, 6 chitin covered legs that come to sharp points make a lot of clatter on a wood floor, and the bounty hunter heard him coming. The man turned and jabbed his long knife at Kavo's eyes.

Kavo responded by catching the blade in a pincer, and snapping it off clean from the hilt.

There was a still moment in the pub, before Kavo backhanded the man with the other pincer, and sent him ragdolling out the front door. There was a faint splash, and the room settled into awkward throat clearing and murmering.

Kavo turned to Captain Silver-tongue and smiled. "I'll be down by the dock helping your men load provisions, Captain. We can shake on our deal once I've had a chance to look over the Deceit. I've heard good things." He turned and scuttled out the door, not swaggering, but not hurrying either.

( Aww- Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Everyone's doing incredible. :D )

Silver-Tongue had just finished up "negotiations" if you could even call them that, with another man, when his scales started to feel itchy. It was an old superstition among Sefksins that you could tell three things with your scales. Weather, health, and danger. The first two had grains of truth in them, as you could often tell how healthy the snake-like people were from the shine of their scales or the vibrancy of the color. The last one.. It was always dismissed as rumor, but sailors are known for being a superstitious lot and as such the Captain never disregarded the feeling. He heard the clatter of legs on wood and began to turn around, his hands immediately went to one of his pistols, Avarice, which was closer to his left hand at the moment.

His other hand had just closed around the hilt of his saber when he saw the action happening behind him. Eyes narrowing he watched the mercenary stare at the remnants of his sword with a shocked expression. The man was clearly ill, and this case of stupidity was likely to be terminal for this particular man.

The faint splash made his eyes widen, sure the tavern was close to the water, but not.. That close. That was a throw. Axel couldn't help but stare at Kavo appreciatively, very glad negotiations had gone well. His guns were strong, but the Karcaon was a skilled fighter, in a fair fight the Captain would never be able to take him on. Which didn't particularly worry the tall man. His last fair fight was when he was eight years old. He'd learned better. Violet eyes flashed with amusement as Kavo spoke to him and left, making quite the exit. The crab-man had style and showmanship, two traits Silver-Tongue highly appreciated.

Just to be sure, Axel slipped a coin to one of the women standing by the bar, nodding at her. Delilah did good work and she walked slowly out through the back door, or rather, the gap in the wall that was never really fixed and people used as a back entrance. She'd make sure the man in the water was dead, one didn't get away with something like that and live. Unless it was funny. Then maybe.

The silence was deafening inside of the tavern, so he decided to break it, the Captain started to laugh uproariously, slapping one of his thighs, and using the other hand to prop himself up. A few nervous chuckles followed him, before he slowly stood, still smiling, but dangerously this time. The surviving chuckles were quickly extinguished, and silence once again reigned. He wiped a fake tear from his eye, staring at all the people. He pointed a thumb in the direction of the door, the way the Karcaon had went. Silver-Tongue pulled his hair into a full man-bun now, shaking his head.

"Welp. This had been fun boys.. But.. Business is business, hm?" He waved at the people he'd gotten to restock his crew and most of them could reasonably stand and walk, which was reassuring. Giving a few basic instructions to go to the ship and who to talk to all sorted, Axel needed to finish up his real business for being in this town. His smile fell, he had a tiny scar on the top of his lip, almost never seen unless one knew what to look for. It was a small detail, but as the mirth drained from the pirate Captain's face, he touched the scar thoughtfully.

This shouldn't take long.

She'd make sure the man in the water was dead, one didn't get away with something like that and live. Unless it was funny. Then maybe.

(I'm at work, you can't make me laugh like this!)

Walking through a city like this was always interesting, people crowded the streets with the arrival of all the ships. Some people had family here and were reuniting after a long stint at sea, others were hurriedly getting things together, trying to get hired or hitch a ride. Venders called out their wares in the street, holding shiny glass jewelry out or fresh produce, trying to make sales of the new arrivals.

The back alleys were just as busy today, beggars held out their bowls piteously and people were running back and forth, often for similar reasons as the people on the main roads, except they were meeting with old mistresses, getting hired for less legal jobs, or trying to sell wares that couldn't be shown in public.

It was the back alleys that Axel took himself down, stepping around a man collapsed against a wall, he made a face at the smell. He wasn't sure if the man was dead or not, but he was not going to stop and check. Making dead bodies was easy, dealing with them after was.. Uh. Gross. The Captain grimaced, heading further down the shady alley, and stopped for a moment, amused.

Even if it was an alley, it shouldn't be this comically shaded, it was the middle of the day and light should be able to get through. Yet the alley looked as if it were deep into the twilight hours and looking up, someone had set up a few fabric tents, propped up against the neighboring building to create this effect. Cute. Silver-Tongue passed this one, skirting along the edge of another building, doing his best to keep his coat from snagging on any of the abandoned trash and refuse.

The tight squeeze proved fruitful however as he emerged into a little cove, nestled into the sea of buildings. It wasn't visually impressive, just a door embedded on the side of a building but it was exactly what the Captain was looking for. His usual resting smirk disappeared and a serious expression crossed his face. He approached the door slowly, walking in measured steps. Glancing about, he finally.. knocked. The door slid open, no password or special knock required. He knew if he wasn't who they were expecting he'd be killed, why bother with measures that could be easily bypassed if you could go for the more straightforward option.

Inside of the dimly lit room was a small man hunched in the corner, the one who had so kindly opened the door for him, he had beady little eyes and stringy hair. The little goblin-looking creature gave Axel a toothless smile and motioned for him to go down, and he obliged. The room at the bottom of the stairs was a large one, with a desk in the center with a gold filigree pattern covering the edges. A plush rug made the floor soft and the walls were covered in a maroon colored wallpaper. Sitting at the desk was a woman with warm gold hair and sharp eyes. The Captain smiled, but differently than how he had this morning, with none of the usual mirth, it was almost polite, but he couldn't resist a cheeky bow to the woman.

"Ah! My Lady. Always a pleasure to lay eyes on you! How have you been? It really has been too long!" Axel said with infuriating politeness, all hints of his pirate accent gone. The woman before him was simply known as 'The Lady' and she ran this town. She kept the law away from them and the little cove hidden and friendly to pirates. All for a price.

"Captain." She had a cold voice, and her eyes looked like they'd never even heard of an emotion. Silver-Tongue didn't particularly like dealing with her, she was absolutely no fun and was too important to be messed around with. Normally, people like her he liked to poke and prod until they broke their stony exterior, but experience has taught Axel that The Lady did not take kindly to it. He tossed her a bag of gold, which landed with a satisfying clink on the table. She swiftly pocketed it into her robes the coin purse simply disappearing off the table, he'd never figured out how she did that.. Apparently it was a good enough tithe, because she nodded at him.

Walking backwards he left the little room, letting out a breath that he disguised as a yawn. It was high time he got back on his ship, any repairs should be done and he'd paid The Lady enough that she would even repaint the ship, making it look more presentable. It helped intimidate the merchants they ran down. It had been a long enough day, and hopefully everyone would be in place, they didn't wait for stragglers. Axel walked with a spring in his step now, he whistled as the door closed behind him, today was good.

Aria jogged up behind the captain. "Wow. Can we talk about Kavo, though? That was…"
"I mean, I wasn't paying attention, but he's hired, right? Like- that- I couldn't even-" She finds herself at a loss.
"Also, who was that lady? What'd you pay her to do?" Aria asks, showing more how new she was to this. "You were being so-" Aria looked confused. "polite to her."

Isla was already on her way back to the ship pushing through crowds of people shoving whoever didn't move on their own she naturally didn't look like a happy person the scar over her eye not helping that at all she climbed aboard and got back to work

Kavo, true to his word, had gone to the dock where the Deceit was moored. He'd given it a good look, even going so far as to submerge himself and get a good look under the waterline. It was a fantastic ship, seasoned and well built, with scars to prove its worthiness, and new boards to show good upkeep. He eventually was satisfied. This is it. I'm doing this.
A smile tugged at his face.
He joined the line of loaders, who by this time were loading supplies onto the ship. He noted that the line was handling the easy stuff, while 2 or 3 big, burly men were carrying the heavy stuff on board. He got out of the line and joined the carriers, easily hefting what took 2 of them to carry. They worked for a while longer, the crew generally looking like a well oiled machine, with a few squeaky cogs.
The very last thing was a new cannon, a big 12 pounder. The men had taken it off the mount, using half the crew to lift it carefully and set it on the ground. They'd gotten the mount set in place, and were having trouble lifting the cannon. Kavo couldn't blame them, a cannon that fires 12lb shot would have to weigh over half a ton.

He nudged them out of the way, squatted, and grunted in effort as he used all 4 arms and all 6 legs to lift the thing.

He scuttled up the gangplanks, carefully, and down into the hold, the crew not bothering to stop him from getting on. He managed to get the cannon on the mount and pointed the right direction, with a lot of grunting. It was only as he was wiping his brow that he realized some of the crew members were staring at him in abject fear.
He smiled good naturedly at them and stuck out a hand. "Name's Kavo. Your captain just hired me."
He wished he could paint a picture of the look on their faces.

Aria stepped back onto the ship, having seen what'd happened. "wow, wish i could carry bags of flour like that." she commented. as he turned, she approached him, sword drawn. "you've gotta tell me how to do that sometime. with the whole, like, throwing a guy out of a pub thing." she laughed. she looked at her sword in hand, and remembered it being "common courtesy" as she'd heard someone say, to, say, not have a sword drawn whilst with allies. she tosses it haphazardly to the side for the time being. Aria holds out her hand. "anyway, welcome aboard."

Kavo smiled at her, eyeing the sword briefly before she dropped it. "Just hit him pretty hard, that's all." He shook her hand, before reaching over and picking up the sword. "Maybe don't throw this around. Just stick it in your belt and it'll be fine."

Inez nodded as she shook Kavo's hand. "Ha! Just that?" She laughed casually. "I'll figure it out one day." She took her sword and sheathed it. "Anyway, until the captain gets back, I'm gonna set something up. You hungry? Any requests?" Inez strolled towards the small crates of ingredients. "I mean, I guess there're some limitations." She mumbled. "I can steal some stuff later."