Chapter 04 - Stories to Tell

Bace gets to listen to the drunken tales of Rayn.

Chapter 04 - Stories to Tell

 

“… And when the dragon bit my leg, I punched ‘im! Square in the nose!” Rayn boasted to the crew, “And you know what he did?”

The crowd of pirates hushed to listen dramatically to the rest of the story. They had heard this story a hundred times before, each one more extravagant than the last. Looking at their faces, however, Bace could clearly see the respect they had for their captain.

“He started bawling his eyes out! Can you believe it? A dragon. Crying. Never thought I’d see it in my life!”

Bace interjected, “I don’t think that dragons are that--“

“Sssshhhh!” the crew hissed.

“And with that, the dragon flew off! Its tears fell to the ground like raindrops!” Rayn continued, “He started throwing such a tantrum that he made a huge storm of fire! And that’s how I got my name. Rayn Firestorm.”

And with that, the pirates cheered as if it had been the first time they had heard the story. The setting sun lit the sky with a pink hue and dressed the faraway clouds in orange and purple. Novar was already asleep below deck, but Bace stayed up top to listen to Rayn’s stories. He noticed that one crew member was apart from the rest of the party. Not only in distance, but also in apparel and poise. From what he could see against the horizon, it was a woman, but her hood masked her face. Bace was ignored in an attempt to ask who she was, so he got up and walked delicately over to her. She jumped in surprise when Bace placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, what’s your name?” he asked politely.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does,” he told her, “You’re a crew member, aren’t you?”

“I was. Until I wasn’t good enough for him anymore.”

“What?”

The woman turned to look Bace in the eye. Her bangs glowered a deep crimson beneath the hood, her intense eyes contrasted with a combination of viridian and gold. Even with her hood casting a shadow on her face, there was no denying the fiery personality that resided within her gaze. Her lashes were longer than any Bace had ever seen, but that’s not saying much seeing as how he grew up with Orcs. She had a dainty nose that led to a fine point and a chin to match, trapping her thin lips between them. As she spoke, they moved in tight formations, almost like a dance, occasionally revealing her pearlescent teeth, “I stopped wanting to kill innocent people, so I’m not good enough for him. I’ve been thinking about killing him and taking the role as captain.”

“He kills innocent people?” Bace wondered aloud, “But he saved me, why would he do that?”

“Because you’re worth something to him.”

Bace shook his head, “That’s not right.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

“My name’s Bace, by the way.”

The woman turned back to face the sunset, saying, “Telling me your name won’t get me to tell you mine.” There was silence for a moment before she said, “Gwenevaine.”

“What?”

“My name. I’m not saying it again,” she pivoted on her heel and started towards her quarters, “But you can call me Gwen.”

There was nothing special about the way she walked or how she avoided the other crew members, but Bace watched her stalk away regardless. Innocent people? Bace thought, That can’t be right…

Returning to the crew revealed yet another story about how Rayn did something impossible. Only this time, he did it twice. According to him, there were two Trolls, not just one. Three stories later, and the crew was either too drunk or too tired to pay attention (each story was nearly an hour in length, and no matter how exciting the speech is, people still get tired after a long day), so they decided to call it a night before they were too hungover the next morning. Bace took this opportunity to confront Rayn about Gwen.

“So what’s the deal with Gwen?” he said, in a somewhat more snarky tone than he intended.

Rayn blinked, visibly shocked by the question, “Who?”

“Your crew member? The one in the hood?”

“Oh, you mean Gwenevaine?” Rayn laughed heartily, “I don’t know who told you that you could call her that. She hates being called that. Says people don’t deserve to.”

“Huh,” Bace wondered why she’d tell him to call her by that name, but kept it to himself, “Anyway, why’s she so upset?”

The captain stretched, yawning obnoxiously, “Oh, I dunno. Some stupid reason, I guess. Why does it matter, sweetie?”

“”I guess it doesn’t…” Bace muttered to himself, then accused, “Do you kill innocent people?”

“Nobody’s innocent. Not adults, anyway. I refuse to kill children.”

“But you’d kill a child’s mother?”

Rayn’s face crinkled in disgust, “Oh stop fussing. You won’t see me doing any of that business. Gwenevaine just likes to… exaggerate some of the things I do.”

Bace remained silent.

“Anyway, I’m going to my cabin, and you should too. You and your brother have a long day ahead of you.” Rayn opened the cabin door and waved at Bace.

In an attempt to resolve the misunderstanding before the captain was gone, The Brawler raised his voice, “Novar isn’t my brother, he’s my informant.”

“You’re what?”

“You probably wouldn’t know,” Bace rolled his eyes, “It’s an Orc thing. Has to do with the Tournaments.”

“Oh, I see,” Rayn cooed, entering the cabin, “G’night, sweetie!”

Bace grumbled, “Yeah… Sweet dreams.”

Author's Note

This one's a bit shorter than the others :/