Note: This SL is closed. Only open to a certain group of characters, that group being the one who've signed the Articles of the Tanar'ri Alus, and are an official part of Captain Watercress' crew, you know who you are.]

Out to sea, the wind was always stronger, always cleaner, held crispness to it as it carried the scent of the salty ocean in from all directions. A myriad of sounds, sighs, and smells assaulted one's senses all at once. The sound of the waves all around, lapping up against the sides of the ship, the sound of men shouting as they worked, gulls crying overhead as they swooped by. The sight of the sea, the way it moved the ship with impunity, the way the sun's rays reflected off its constantly rolling surface. The smell of salt and salt water, the most predominant and refreshing scent he had ever known. The captain stood at the bow of the ship, leaning out over the sea, and smiling his first genuine smile since coming to Rhy"Din.

"Ah"be good ta be out ta sea again," he mused quietly before turning to face his ship; the Tanar"ri Alus, not the largest vessel, not the smallest, but certainly, one of the best, one of the most elegant and dependable ships around. He watched his crew at work at that moment, and nodded in approval at their overall effectiveness, while some of them were new to sea travel, they were faring rather well.

The heavy clunk of leather against wood sounded off as the captain walked toward his cabin, and retreated into it. In the middle of it, was a large map of the neighboring lands and sea, pinned to a table with chairs surrounding it. He sat down at the table, and started reviewing the map, thinking over their plan and target at the same time.

They were tailing after a merchant's vessel, a frigate class ship, filled mostly with various exotic herbs and spices. Sue's idea, if he recalled correctly, she said she knew of some place where such items would fetch a good price, and it was less guarded than the ship carrying all that tax money. He'd done some snooping before they set out, read charters, ledgers, list of the crew, etc. Most of the crew was either able-bodied-sailors, or merchants. There was a single mage on board, from what he'd heard, the man was just a minor illusionist of no real power, Mordekein could handle him with now problems if that was the case. Then twenty guards total, all hired mercs.

He wasn't surprised, there was loads of criminal activity on the mainland, but he hadn't heard a great deal about pirates in these parts, so naturally, the ships wouldn't be all that cautious over something they perceived so simple. "Still think we shoulda gone after the one with all that gold?" he muttered to himself as he reviewed all the gathered information once again.

Watercress knew very well that his crew would be hard pressed to take on that tax money shipment, but he also knew that this raid would be a cake walk, nothing to it. A few merchants, a few hired swords, and an illusionist, Mordekein and the Jester alone could probably handle this. It really was a shame, but his fresh recruits needed some experience before they went after the bigger targets.

"Oh well"least ye're out ta sea again," he mused while casting a glance toward the partially open door, getting a glimpse of everyone at work. He spotted Audra walking about on the deck, bellowing orders left and right, and smiled. "Just like old times," that image seemed to appease him a bit, reminded him of when they had first started, when things were good, when their crew was experiences, strong, and trustworthy.

"Oi Audra, go easy on"em, they're new remember?? he called out as he rose and started for the cabin door.

<Delete>

"I like this plan. Explosions are grand distractions."

Sue was seventy different shades of excited over her first pirate adventure. So much so that she was listening in on the planning invited or not.

"I can go with Dex and mind her back. Way I figure she and I work well enough together that might just be the best place for me." The elf had forsaken her normal performers garb in favor of linens and leather with so many hidden pockets containing little surprises they might actually appear magical.

"Worst comes to worst I'm a deft hand at putting out fires." She grinned and gave her friend a wink. "And I know which spices to save first if all goes to hell."

Sea of Troubles Proving Line

"There's no one there to guide you No one to hold you hand but with faith and understanding You will journey from boy to man." —Phil Collins; Son of Man







It was said to him once that the life of a mariner — any kind of mariner — was a hard life.

A hard one, but ultimately, a good and fulfilling one.

Renne was finding this life something between hard and exciting.

For days since the Tanar'ri Alus had set sail, Renne had been diligent — perhaps too diligent — in learning what even the ordinary seamen had to teach him. He knew his own skills well enough, knew his own nature but this ship was a new ground. At least in this, he was not stupid enough to think himself wise in it.

The ship herself was a beautiful thing — the hard, clean lines against the graceful curves and the sharp sound of sail in the wind. he loved the nights as well; listening to the low, creaking groan of the hull. It went so well with the whisper of wind, snap of sail and the roll of the sea beneath.

On this night, Renne found himself in contemplation.

He'd been down in the galley again with the door locked. The past few weeks had been both wondrous and disastrous — really, he didn't wish to think about this. Still, the necessity of Analysis proved itself yet again. With that....princess, Susan. With the hothead, Audra. And with his own perceptions.

He knew why he locked the galley door. He accepted that fact — if a life-form was so xenophobic as to shy off at a thing without asking questions, then it didn't deserve respect in return. Right" Audra's voice filtered through his head again and Renne almost cursed.

Renne thought of the antagonistic woman who drank too much for her own good. He shuddered, recalling the verbal fencing matches between them and the one that led him to foolishly go out onto the 'sprit, thinking it a quiet place to think. His swimming skill wasn't close to par. Words whispered inside again as he remembered Audra's hand snatching him, plucking him from the sea he couldn't even tread water on.

And why had Captain Watercress so readily taken on a greenhorn such as he"

He was useless as a lookout, obviously. He didn't know the first thing about sailing except a few punishments, superstitious rituals and vocabulary. It all confused the daylights out of him and if Renne dared to look further down, he knew he'd hear a sinister voice echoing from a shadowy depth. "You've too much to prove to these Humans..."

He did have much to prove.

—————————-

Quietly, after a brief supper of ship-biscuit and lime-juice, Renne slipped aback, wanting to hear at least part of the plans as the Tanar'ri Alus neared her quarry. What he heard sounded all right until Audra's idea came forth. It scared him. Infuriated him. Puzzled him. Did that spitfire have a death-wish? Still, she did outrank him — bloody everyone did on this ship. But that didn't matter.

He was there to learn.

They had to prove themselves to him and he to them.

Renne slipped away without a sound, crawled above-decks and scratched his head. He smelled the spice-ship — they were gaining on her quite rapidly. He also knew he couldn't tread water that well, let alone swim that distance.

In a span of twenty minutes, Renne crawled down to the galley, found a light, shallow but suitable dish and back up-top again. The dish across his back was a coated metal flat-pan used primarily for the ship-biscuits. He was thankful the metal was a matte rather than a shine.

In another half-an-hour, the imp was in the water atop the dish like a boogie-board and quietly kicking toward the floating quarry ahead.

Proving worth was hard enough already with him.

He only prayed it wasn't impossible.

"Aright Sue, s"our time tae shine," Dex chirped happily as she ushered her friend out of the captain's quarters.

Though the captain had been forced to deal with an excessive amount of eye-rolling from The Dagger, she ultimately decided on giving him his way. Besides, it seemed that Dex had taken quite a fond liking to Sue, and Watercress could already tell they were going to make a good team once the elf was trained up in the horrible, terrifying art of Audra Dawkin. He couldn't help but pity the blonde lass. God help anyone who flew under the redheaded corsair's wing,

Chris watched the door of his cabin close silently and once again pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, attempting to loosen the pain nodule that The Dagger's presence had seemed to implant there on a regular basis. Looking blearily at Mordekein, the captain nodded once, thereby giving the mage a firm go-ahead. Assuming there would be no more snags, the plan could officially be carried out tonight.

—-

Meanwhile, Dex marched toward the faithful dinghy with her nose rather contemptuously in the air. Nothing made the woman's heart light or her features glow like the aspect of battle.

"Ye ready fer this, Sue?" she inquired of her elven companion, offering her a toothy grin.

Sue merely smiled and hooked her arm in her friend's.

"More than ready. It's about time I see you in action," she replied musically, winking once for good measure. The corsair to her left couldn't help but emit a throaty, uproarious, and less-than-feminine laugh.

"I BE the action, lassie. Speakin" "o' action, Renne hasn't seen me fight either?" she trailed off, then, her tarnished optics scanning the moon-stained decks for some sign of the sensitive, trouble-magnetizing empath. The blonde goddess at her right frowned ever-so-slightly, but sighed softly through her nostrils and joined in the ocular search. Sue didn't want to always be at odds with the creature called Renne, but she wasn't ready to accept that she was the only one in the wrong. She wasn't the only one being provincial aboard this ship, and the sooner the empath could acknowledge that, the better. Still, she made the effort for Dex's sake'she knew The Dagger wanted the crew to get along.

Dex peered around the warm, salty air bearing down on the two of them, her expression growing increasingly more stoic. She dropped the elfess's arm and made several quick strides to the top of the stairs, listening intently for any sound coming from the galley. Head whipping around back to Sue, it became apparent that Dex had lost a substantial amount of that confidence she'd only a minute ago.

"Sue. D"yer elven ears hear 'im anywheres?"

Another soft sigh, and Sue closed her eyes, listening intently. Sounds of the surf crashing against the ship; the rudder parting the water beneath them; seagulls far in the distance. Her expert sense of hearing even picked up the captain's mumbling from inside his study. Talking to himself" Now, now, captain. That was the first sign of madness. But of the empath, Sue heard and sensed nothing. She opened her eyes and met with her friend's unhappily, shaking her head.

Immediately, Dex pitched half her body overboard, scanning the waves below for any sign of the creature. He was smarter than hanging so precariously off the side of the ship"Dex knew that he had learned from their last incident. He had to have learned. If he fell to the waves, the redhead would never forgive herself. No. It wasn't possible. Even Renne was smarter than that. But then why was he absent"

No.

Oh no, no, no.

—-

From his cabin, the captain heard the most earsplitting shriek followed by a string of hysterical, livid curses. He immediately proceeded out of his cabin, knocking the door open with such force it dislodged one of the hinges.

"What is it!?" he asked breathlessly, desperately trying to visually take in the situation. Dex was throwing equipment around the deck of the ship and cursing with some rage even Watercress wasn't used to while Sue stood patiently to the side, watching with a docile, albeit irritated look on her face. The elfess glanced at the captain and mouthed the imp's name. Watercress's brow furrowed.

"Where is he?"

"GONE!" Dex shrieked back, her face bright red. If looks could kill, everyone on board the ship of the Alus and within a fifty-mile radius would have been a victim of genocide. The Dagger was fuming, breaking things, and screaming at the top of her lungs so fiercely her voice cracked every other curse.

"THE RAT IS GONE. ALL BY "IMSELF. I'll KILL "IM, WATERCRESS! I'll WRING "IS SCRAWNY "LIL NECK!"

Before The Dagger turned her back on him, though, he could see, amidst the rage, the hysteria and the disappointment (who could blame her" If Dex didn't get her way, it was hell for everyone. Everyone!) was the faintest, most peculiar sentiment. Panic? No.

Fear. Fear for the creature's life.

And regret for feeling that way.

Thump, thump, thump.

Muffled voices, sounds from miles away. Underwater" No, because it was becoming clearer. Something hard and flat pressing against the balls and heels of her feet from below.

More muffled sounds. Thump, thump, thump. Who could hear anything over that racket"

Suddenly, a sharp, rousing pain in her palms removed the cotton from her ears.

"Dex?" Dex" Are you all right?"

A soft voice. Sue" The corsair's eyes finally opened to find where all that pain was coming from. Her knuckles were white from gripping the lid of an ammunition barrel. Suddenly, Dex was extraordinarily lightheaded, and violently ill.

"Fine," she snapped, and released the barrel to storm down the stairs to the galley, slamming the door behind her. She would not reach the sink in time. Instead, the redhead crumpled over the nearest copper soup pot and was fiercely sick into it. Pushing away the red-tinted slush in disgust, she moved a hand to the small of her back, only to snatch a silver flask from her waistband. Unscrewing the lid, she chased the awful taste and tamed the violent trembling with a healthy swallow or three of peppermint schnapps. At long last, her pulse left her ears. Gods bless whoever invented alcohol.

"Idiot," she murmured harshly to herself. "Stupid, stupid creature. What did "e honestly think?" "E could set "em off, "e could get hurt! I'd never forgive?"

She paused, amazed at herself. Suddenly, the hostility was turned inward. The hotheaded corsair snarled to herself.

"F**k 'im. "E c"n die, and it'd be one less crewmember tae boss around. Stupid, $(*)!@* fool. They're all "o' "em fools. I don't care "bout nobody but meself," she hissed bitterly. Soon after, she hunched over the pot again, though much more quietly.

Wiping her lips, she rose, slipped the flask back into her waistband, and smeared the perspiration from her forehead. As Dex made for the stairs, however, her vision became obscured, blurred. Blinking furiously, her fingertips met her eyes. As she pulled them back to ascertain the cause, she balked at the traitor tears that glistened there.

From the sickness, she reassured herself inwardly, but added verbally: "Idiots," before she stomped up the stairs and threw the door to the deck open again.

Watercress and Sue's heads turned toward her obnoxious entrance in interest.

"The hell with it. I dun" care if "e's gone. We go on with the plan.?

"Now hold on a second, Audra. What if Renne's already there" Ye can't go blastin" on out when yer so pissed?" Watercress barked at Dex authoritatively as she raced to the dinghy and began to unbuckle the harnesses.

"I don' care. I'm goin"," she hissed back, her fingers expertly flying over the ropes and tangles to prep the boat for launch. She could virtually feel the captain fuming behind her. Before she knew it, Watercress was at her side, holding the last line hostage. He glared at her, his face drawn tight.

"I'm the bloody captain, and I say ye wait," he issued through his teeth. Dex's seething hostility did not wane once. The ropes in her palms gave a mighty creak as she twisted them vigorously.

"Ye have ten seconds tae give me the order, or I'm f***ing SWIMMING there." Her words were flat. Dead. The captain merely looked on stoically, daring her. Dex may have been stupid, but she wasn't that stupid.

"Fine," the corsair said at last, dropping the ropes and running fluidly to the other side of the deck. Before Sue or Watercress could protest, she'd tugged The Scorpion out of the sheath at her ankle and slipped the blade between her teeth. The next second, and she launched herself with feline, expert agility over the side of the Tanar"ri Alus in a dive. She met the ocean below with a soft splash.

I can do it myself. To hell with all of them. I don't need anyone. Anyone!

"I love ye, 'sis." The baby-faced ginger voice of Dex's namesake somehow was clearer than the surf. But then" another.

"Renne love yeu."

Why was she getting those two so mixed up"

To hell with them. She could be alone. She had been alone for longer than she could remember.

I won't go through it again. I'll be alone.

I'll stay alone.

Dex may have been a stubborn drunk, but she was also one of the best sailors this side of Rhy?Din, so the fact that she was an expert swimmer was just a given. Indeed, before she knew it, she was not forty-five feet from the spice ship's rudder. Hours must have passed, but the hotheaded corsair was fueled on hysteria, rage, and some sort of desperation. As she neared, she slowed her freestyle progression to a silent breaststroke.

She wasn't thinking straight. Even she knew that. But the anger had so clouded her mind the corsair had only one thought:

Get inside, and kill as many as humanly possible before Ciana could arrive. Dex wouldn't let the healer interfere with her fate. Caution didn't matter. She would get the damn cargo for her crew to bank on, and then she'd be done. To hell with them. All of them.

Sue perched herself on the railing Audra had just jumped and followed her progress out across the waves.

"Well don't that beat all." She sounded just a mite concerned as she turned her eyes on the Captain. " Sir, was I mistaken when I got the impression that pirating worked best as a team effort' I can't damn well watch her back if she imitatin' a fish like that now can I?"

She slid off the rail back onto the deck. " We'd probably best be following her quickly or we'll miss all the fun."

The surf was in Dex's ears long enough to miss anything but the boisterous clamor of the spice ship's crew. From out her waistband, the corsair pulled out a pair of leather handclaws and slipped them on over her knuckles. Metal, barbed spikes drove into the side of the ship as she heaved herself out of the water and up toward the banister with a startling amount of upper-body strength. The wood was smooth, but Dex's escalation was smoother, and in moments she'd an arm looped firmly around the base of the bowsprit. She moved noiselessly to where the prow met the forecastle deck and swung with a soft thud behind a generous stack of canvas-covered ammunition crates. Her entire body stiffened upon impact, fearing to breathe as she listened for any signs that she had been discovered. Much to her delight, the drunken revelry of the tradesmen seemed to proceed without interruption. As such, The Dagger slid off her hand instruments, shoved them back into their home, took Ruby from out her teeth, and an ivory-hilted, serrated hunting knife from a leather strap at her ankle to arm both hands. Legs bending lithely like a feline, she skirted the deck, keeping to where lantern-light was absent, and ably slithered down to the hull like a snake.

What she found there was far from disappointing. Crates, barrels, and bottles of all names and smells of Mediterranean spices were stacked to the ceiling and roped down securely. Even if Dex blew the ship in half, they would still be able to make it out of there with the majority of the loot. Even more exciting, however, were the nine crewmen milling about the confined space, with at least a half dozen of the backs to her. Adrenaline surged in the corsair's veins, filling her with a delusional ecstasy she could only equate to diving headfirst into the glacier-filled Ross Sea of Antarctica. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a hummingbird's, but rather than turn her joints to a loose bunch of bolts, she tensed and stayed her entire person, statuesque and stoic as the dead; the shadows swallowed her figure like the soil burying a corpse in a mass grave.

Stealth, or openness"

The whole point of this mission was to cause a ruckus below deck. The Dagger would take out as many as she could from behind before she was noticed, and then draw the other crewmembers below; the narrow stairway would serve as an advantage in that instance. A silent, deep breath expanded the good Dawkin's lungs.

This was what she lived for.

Razor-sharp hunting knife in hand, Dex moved silently up behind the first crewman, who was a good six feet from the others. A calloused, slender hand clamped firmly over his mouth while the blade's tip struck true into the man's carotid. Only a mute shuffling ensued in protest as the man's blood pulsed out in liters through Dex's fingers.

The feeling was intoxicating.

The Dagger carefully laid the man's limp body at her feet and glided inaudibly to her next victim. Unfortunately this one was much closer to his friend. She would have to meet both of their throats instantaneously. If only she had waited for Watercress"

No. No time for that now. She was here, and she was going to continue with the mission.

Another deep breath, and she readied herself for the next onslaught. After this, she wouldn't remain concealed. Daggers in hand, she gripped tightly. The wind whistled musically as steel parted it and met the pair's throats in a dual, decent maneuver. Guttural, gurgling noises ensued as they bled out, followed by loud thuds of hapless bodies. The remaining half dozen all turned to face her.

Dex grinned.

?"Ello, boys."

"Ye rotten wench! Have at ye!"

Crashing. Screaming. What the hell was going on down there" Sven was tired of having to calm down his shipmates when a poker game got too out of hand.

Wait a minute" wench' That was a little over the line.

With a sigh, the bald, tattooed navigator maneuvered his way through the crew on the deck and made for the stairs down to the hull. The boisterous yelling and screaming had not abated.

"Listen tae me, ye filthy?"

Was that blood on the stairs" Sven stopped in his tracks and peered into the dimly lit room. The clamor had been reduced to a soft shuffling. His breath caught, for before his eyes was a nauseating array of bloody, lifeless bodies scattered across the floor.

And in the corner, the murderer stood strangling the last of them with her back to him. The privateer on the stairs very quietly slid a serrated workman's knife out of his waistband and threw himself across the room with a speed he wasn't sure he had. Blade poised at the villain's back, it connected, and he felt the reassuring tear of flesh as it slid home. The redheaded corsair shrieked and gagged on what he could only assume was blood.

Very slowly, he was met with a dangerous set of blue-grey eyes.

"Yer goin"a wish ye never did that."

Sven would not free his blade in time. He knew that much. Seeing the foe's dagger coming at his throat, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"VILLAIN HO!"

And then? nothing.

Tsk. You think he was showing off enough' Perhaps the mighty Watercress had failed to note the ten, still bodies that lay in pools of cold blood around the room.

Daft' Braindead" Captain Christopher Watercress: These men were single-handedly done away with without so much as a scratch to show on The Dagger's person.

Well....until that fool of a scallywag had gone and ruined her spree.

Dex was more than willing to blame herself. In her frenzied upset, the corsair had broken the number one rule— Never show your back to an enemy. She may not have been a born predator, but this human being could certainly feel bloodlust. All that rage and stir-craziness bubbled over, and she just' snapped.

Until the captain's arrival, adrenaline had proven to be a powerful ally. As Dex watched him take out sailor after sailor, however, she became more and more aware of the dark threatening to take her consciousness.

The captain's movements were so fluid, so fast. Was he always so fast"

Move it, Dex. You're not making money standing around.

Move, feet. Move.

Why are you not moving"

The corsair was suddenly aware that Ruby lay on the floor at her feet. When had she dropped her weapon' She needed to pick it up.

" Why was she on the floor"

A loud clanging brought her to her senses.

"Audra! Are ye bloody drunk!" Get yer arse up and help me!"

Her heartbeat sped. The floor seemed so comfortable. All she wanted to do was sleep.

But she had a job to do.

With great, painstaking effort, The Dagger heaved herself off the ground. The wood was slick and warm beneath her fingers. Ruby and The Scorpion in both hands, the corsair growled at the good captain and made to back him up.

"Im"ma comin" ye bleemin" lecher. Keep yer pants on??

One day, probably not far in the future the imp would learn for himself that Sue could be a bit of a hustler when it suited her. While she hadn't outright lied to him about what pirating entailed, she had glossed over the less savory parts. Like the fact that people got hurt.

That's what they had a bloody healer on board for after all wasn't it'

Sue was a bit miffed to have been left out of the fun on the spice freighter. She had been serious about watching Dex's back. The cranky old bitch was growing on the elf.

Too bad Sue had skipped out on her swimming lessons when she was younger. She could swim well enough in a pinch, but she wasn't a bloody fish like Dex or Captain.

So instead she was perched on the ship's rail with a spyglass, just waiting for the two ships to be close enough that she could do something.

In response to her inquiry, several loud, thunderous crashes sounded from the upper deck, along with the frantic cries and shouts of the crew as they realized they were under attack.

"Pirates!" one man shouted at the top of his lungs. Like a frightened herd of animals, the crew sprang to life, their footsteps pounding away on the deck above Audra and Watercress' head, like some giant stampede was taking place above them.

"The mage, is distractin' 'em," Watercress replied with a smirk, all smug as he listened to the havoc that took place overhead.

Then the good captain's eyes turned to his red headed companion.

"Audra..." he started toward her. "Turn 'round," he commanded as he twisted a finger around in a gesture that mirrored his words.

Sea of Troubles Veracity

"Time makes a liar of all men."







They spoke an Untruth.

The hated, familiar voice whispered in his mind no matter where he went.

Below, in the constant near-dark of the companionways or above in the salt and open air; it made no difference. The voice whispered to him of betrayals, lies told and fallen places. It always spoke out when it sought to drown off all other things.

The black-turned, white-eyed beast made it up above first and upon scenting both magic and the stench of some that had caused Audra harm, he froze. Nine folded wings half-flared like a warning some reptilian beast shows off when threatened. The sting-ended tail whipped this way and that. A predator sought out its prey. They said no harm would come. Time makes a liar of all men. The dual polarities sought again to spar with one another. They whispered inside his head incessantly — one was low, cynical and drowned in anger; the other was defiant, innocent and clung to the hero-worship of a dwindling, precious few.

When the Beast singled out a scent, it sprang forward.

The skirmish yielded no roar, no battle cry from this nightwinged-thing. All it did was latch onto its adversary and not let go. It whispered of shadowy things in the man's ear; it used pure terror like no Human terrorist could begin to imagine. The chosen man with Audra's scent on him went down in a crying, shuddering mass of flesh and bone.

Some men stared on, terrified into white-faced confusion.

Their comrade didn't have a scratch on him.

Justice. -Defence.- Why let it live in only some darkness" -Mercy.- For a Human" -Defence need not take...- Nothing is owed to those that speak Untruths. -And those few that rise above Human nature?-

Two voices whispered in his mind, diametric opposites of one another yet a part of him. One, he faced down and wanted to be rid of — the other, he knew inside and out. The ebony, white-eyed thing turned and followed its scent back below before it was tempted to kill the man left cringing on the deck.

————————

Audra.

Renne kept his nose to the floor as his wings folded in, accommodating the confines of below-decks. He didn't release this hideous appearance in case any fool Human dared cross him. he wasn't in any mood for Human antics. The piratess's scent came to him as clearly as it always did since he'd come to know her. It stank of alcohol and the growing, alarming tang of Human blood. Idly, he wondered how Vampires could drink the stuff. It really couldn't taste all that pleasing.

Darkness was a friend of sorts to him. Below-decks, when most men needed lanterns, Renne went easily without. He moved steadily more quickly as this ship became etched into his memory and his scent was lain through his tracks. It didn't supersede Audra's at all — he doubted anything could overpower that woman's scent.

When he drew nearer, the little beast hesitated. His first instinct was held back by a thread; honestly, that instinct was a raging lion, trying to release itself from the chains of his own Tenets. And his own distance.

He wanted to remove the marring injury he could smell off of that brick-headed woman. Yet he knew better not to follow through. Renne remained quiet for now, forcing a proverbial scalpel through his own thoughts.

He wondered if Time was teaching him how to lie. he wondered if his own neurological makeup was designed to handle such concepts as lies. And other things.

Time was not going to make a liar out of him.

"Audra you dope. This is why you don't go rushing about without me." The elf scolded gently as she moved deftly to prop up her dear friend from the side opposite the Captain. "You leave me with nothing to do but mop up and play merchant. Where is the fun in that?"

"You smell of saffron. Good haul?" A quick look at the lady pirate's wounds had her tsking softly "Shall we be finding that healer lass while you tell me about it lovely' Time she earned her keep I think. Perhaps she'll have a way of making that a lovely scar."

The captain could only blink as Audra fell limp in his and Sue's arms. "Audra!" he cried out as she lost consciousness, bending down to raise her up with his other arm, freeing Sue from the burden.

"Mage!" he shouted angrily, even as he walked toward the wooden planks that would take him to his ship. "Find Renne, Ciana, 'n' this 'ere ships surgeon, 'n' bring 'em all tae Audra's quarters, y'hear?" the captain ordered as he moved to board the Tanar'ri Alus.

"Aye cap'n, I'm on it," Mordekein replied, even though the captain had already left and was quickly out of ear shot. Turning, the mage went on his search, but paused by Sue.

"Listen lass, best ye c'n do right now, is tae round up 'n' prepare the loot tae be split up, let me know when ye've got it all counted, then I c'n help ye take it tae the Alus. If ye see Renne, a surgeon, or Ciana along the way, send 'em tae the Alus," he informed her before starting off once more to complete the task given to him.

Meanwhile, Watercress was carrying a limp and unconscious Audra to her quarters on the Alus, laying her down on her stomach, and gingerly inspecting the wound that had been the cause for her loss of blood. ((This ends the SL in the forums. From here on out, it is once again, a Live Chat thing. Thank you all for participating.))