RP:The Labryinth Comissioned to War
Part of the Liberation of Rynvale Arc
Synopsis: Drake proposes raising the dread ship Labryinth from her captivity to captain into war as part of Leoxander’s fleet.
Characters: Arien, Drake, Leoxander, Reece, Caedan, Daein
Location: Cenril; The Rocky Shore
Drake was on that rocky shore, not on the peak of stone he'd used lately as a lookout to watch the waves crash on the hull of the sundered wreck. but on a pile of ironwood planks stacked on a patch of sand between jagged rocks. The beach showed no sign of the former horrors that plagued it, aside from the black-timbered frigate that lolled to one side where the reef had torn a hole in her belly. The sailor's eyes were as ever fixed in the ship, his elbows resting on his knees, shoulders slumped in resignation. The stack of expensive wood was not enough to even repair the warped planks on her upper deck, let alone the gaping wound she'd taken. The wind blew colder here than is should, and the sky was somehow duller blue, almost as grey as the water. Gulls scree'd above, unsettled by something further along the shore.
Leoxander walked along the rocks in silence, the wind tossing the hair in his eyes aside to give a clear view of the ruptured ship in the distance, perched upon the reef. It was like a black void to a horrifying abyss beyond, that wound, and he rubbed the goosebumps from his tattooed arms as he continued in the direction Drake was seated, with the start of his repair supplies. He didn't need to point out the Labyrinth to the avian who had accompanied the rogue, as this dark vessel was a centerpiece in a gloomy, mournful environment. Leo would only slow to a stop, arms folding over his chest to stare.
Reece quite literally hovered a short distance behind the lycan, his gaze drawn inexorably toward the hulking wreck which wallowed offshore on the reef. Once she may have been a beauty but that time was long past. He could feel it though, through the light touch of his feet on sand he could feel it exuding through the ground and into the air. The ship was indeed cursed. As Leo stops the illusionist continues to travel forward, just in front towards the water's edge before finally pausing, "Whoa...."
Drake followed the ascent of the gulls down to where the others stood, but it was a brief glance before he pulled to his feet and stepped over jagged stone to stand on his lookout point. "Thar she lies." As if he needed to say it. "Me beauty." In his mind, she was not this pathetic wreck but a full three-masted frigate, sails blooming fat with wind and her decks gleaming, cutting through the waves like a black knife.
Leoxander muttered under his breath. "How the hell're we gonna do this in the time we've got left..?"
Reece releases a long whistling breath, "I'm no expert in ships but I can't say I can see her sailing to our aid in just two days."
Drake heard the avian's comment, if not Leo's, and snapped his head around to retort, "I'da paid a crew te salvage her, an' th' shipwright te work night an' day, if it weren't fer.." A dirty look was bestowed on the cause of his lack of funds.
Leoxander had to agree with Reece on that note, but he wouldn't say it out loud. His gaze dropped to the daydreamer, who somehow believed that cursed thing could be beautiful, and sail for a reason. "Now's the time to explain your plan, Hank."
Reece says nothing, listening to the two pirates but staring out at the ship.
Arien and Daein appear from the north.
Arien was fully aware of the location of her Round Guard, she had, after all sent him upon his mission, and she could only assume that his presence at the Labrynth meant that the commander had made up his mind upon the matter. She would arrive under the escort of one of her colonels, trusted in his own right, if newly restored from the most bizarre of misadventures. "This is the ship of which we speak Daein, a regular frightmare.." emerald gaze would seek the eyes of each male present, a brisk nod proffered. "So..somebody fill me in."
Reece remains transfixed on the ship, he knows Arien is here but he figures Leo'll probably enlighten her soon.
Drake said to Arien, "Stop yer gabbin' an' let a man speak, will ye?" His temper was shorter today than usual. He cleared his throat, and went on, eyes shifting back to Leoxander and the avian. "Me plan were to sail 'er in black, and wi' her black timbers she'd be near-invisible at night." He'd pause, in case anyone else was going to interrupt, after adding, "I thought te fill skiffs wi' black powder'n set em adrift among the fleet. Fire 'em wi' arrows once she'd clear o' them."
Daein strolled up at Ariens side, looking hagard as ever. Although his clothes were clean and fresh, his weapons clean, the mans hair was oily, from lack of bathing. This was not from refusing to hygene, but from a total loss of time over the last month. He adjusted the strip of cloth that covered his missing left eye and kept his mouth shut. He might be in league with the others in the area, but he didn't know them, so he was wary for any threat. Arien was once his lover, and he would do anything to protect her, especially now that he had been gone from his duties for so long. His right hand rested on the handle to the saber at his hip, left hand hanging limply. He had been in good humor for the night, but now was a time of business and war making, and so it served for him to keep his wits about him and his tongue still.
Leoxander was not really the talkative type. The red head knew that, if no one else could expect it of him. The Captain stood solemnly upon the rocky shore, a worn leather jacket protecting him from the gray winds that caressed like a corpsely hand. He was lost in memory, but listening to the noise of the present, and Drake earned a slow look. "You want to repair her to destroy her?" As ludicrous as that seemed, it was the best idea he'd heard in a while. His attention was turned back to the bleak horizon, and as he listened to the mercenary's plot above the high pitched gull song overhead, he would envision the Labyrinth on the waters again...
Reece breaks away from his staring to address Arien, "Are they not quite mad?" Turning from the ginger elf to the pirates he says, "I see but one flaw, you still don't have enough ironwood to repair her."
Leoxander tried to pretend as though he hadn't heard Reece. Though he would expect another filthy look from the mercenary for the cause. Silent in his deliberation, the rogue continued to stare toward the wounded ship, slowly burying past visions and ill thoughts deep into his mind. A calloused hand raised to scratch the stubble on his jaw. "I know where to get the wood." More importantly, his handy quartermaster did. Heterochromatic eyes squinted to reveal laugh lines at the corners, never used for mirth.
Arien darted a glowering stare Drake's direction, but for once, stills her tongue. The oppression that rests upon her spirit, still clearly emanating from the ship looming upon the rocks continues to give her pause. "It looks as if it should be destroyed..feels it, I suppose taking out the Imperial minions at the same time is as good as any a way to go." She swept her gaze past Leo to the avian upon the shoreline. "You will find Reece, that these men are quite comfortable with insanity." The emerald gaze drifts in Drake's direction again. "If you can get her afloat, you have my blessing-but be aware, the feline Noemi is the only one who has the formula for black powder. It cost me twenty thousand pieces of gold for seven barrels of the stuff. It sounds like tons are needed for this to be effective, can you afford the munitions?"
Drake snarled, under his breath, "She ain' goin' nowhere, she's mine." Louder he said, "Men. We'd need stout 'uns te bang nails through tha' wood." He dared to allow himself hope, with the talk goin on, that his mysterious new mistress may see the open ocean again.. but would he be at her helm? The circular scars on his back and chest tingled, as if in warning. Someone had to know what kind of witchery she held.. and whether it could cancel out the curse on his own head.
Leoxander heard the price of this plan continually increase. Greed was one of his more important traits (or sins), so the more cost, the less likely he was to agree or contribute to the cause. The Captain allowed them to speak and argue amongst each other for the most part, somewhat rolling his eyes at Drake's attitude. When it got to that point, he turned away from the water and the wreck, pacing along the rocks to look away from his past, in the direction of Cenril city lights. The lycan filled his chest with a deep breath that still reaked with the memory of death, and sighed it warm, fogged in the cold atmosphere. He stood there in silence and for a moment... he seemed to be waiting.
Arien said to Drake, "*A slender finger raises* Further..have you considered that this assault is likely to happen in the day? her black timbers will not be to advantage then, though perhaps Reece may be able to help in that regard."
Caedan is a sloshing sound from afar, before a curly-haired apparition on the coast. She tugs her rowboat far enough on shore that it won't be lost to the tide and gestures for it to stay, just in case. She doesn't venture near the group, and instead seems content to wait by her skiffy and watch the waves tickle the rocks.
Reece almost chokes, "Lady, you flatter me but I cannot do everything." Lowering his voice he says only to Arien, "I will have my hands full disguising Leo's boat and concealing the others. Another 'special case' illusion could put the entire fleet at risk."
Leoxander would note that he would probably see the Elf to her doom early, if she tried.
Arien said to Reece, "If we do this, The dark ship will get the cover. If the fleet is decimated there will be little need to hide our own."
Drake saw the shift of the rogue's features, the decline of his agreeable expression at mention of cost. "I go' another twenty grand comin' in. Ye can have it." He'd turn slowly to Arien then. "I weren't planning on sneakin' up on two hundred armed ship in daylight, innit? There's night afore day. I'd thin their number by dawn."
Reece said to Drake, "That gives you less than a day to make her seaworthy."
Drake said to you, "Best we ge' crackin' then."
Leoxander knew, particularly by Drake's generosity, but furthermore by Arien's earlier words, that the decision rested upon him. That's why he held his back to the crowd for the most part, staring down the shoreline where he heard the slosh of Caedan's oars, but wouldn't look in that direction, yet. If he'd been a wolf, his ear might have flickered as he caught a ghostly scent on the wind. Suddenly, decisively, he moved through those gathered on the rocky shore toward the water, where he would grab the edge of Caedan's dinghy to drag her and the boat ashore, if she came into shallow reach. Maybe she was exactly what he'd been waiting for.
Leoxander said to Caedan, "About damn time..."
Drake had done the math. "Another ton an' a half o' ironwood plankin', three tons of powder, two dozen stout men for carpentry, and a salvage crew to get her off the rocks. Twelve light skiffs, te load th' powder in."
Daein sighs while listening to the plan. In his mind, they would surely be massacred if they took one ship against two hundred..."I have some resources...Perhaps I could cause some mischief of my own during this little battle of ours? He speaks in a raspy tone, the scar across his throat damaging his voice. He pauses, waiting to see if anyone will pause to listen to him.
Arien said to Daein, "We will hopefully by the time of engagement, have a working fleet. This.." pale hand flutters, "Is but a means to ensure the resistance we meet will be less than would otherwise be the case.""
Arien said to Daein, "But..mischief?" She is curious. "
Caedan eyes her dinghy sidelong, as if it would up and leave of its own accord. She's happy, then, when Leo drags it firmly ashore, and she'll gingerly use his shoulder to balance as she exits. "Cap'n," she greets quietly, reaching back into the rowboat to shoulder a small knapsack. Eyes the color of the ocean travel to those gathered farther up shore. The psychic briefly worries her lip, then shrugs.
Drake 's attention was taken by the arrival of 'Curly', though he'd learned better than to say the nickname out loud.
Arien 's gaze tracks the lycan captain down the shore to where he assists Caedan with her arrival. She has met the navigator a few times before, and curiosity is tickled by the fact that the captain seems to have anticipated her presence.
Leoxander heard Daein, and on another moment he might have wondered what the tall human could do for a distraction, but his eyes moved back to Caedan after following hers toward the crowd. "You know what they're here for." Specifically Drake, but that was the great thing about having a psychic for a crew member. He didn't have to go into all those details. "I just need to know one thing." Keeping his voice low, he paused on the sand with the teenager to look her in her haunted eyes. It was very rare that he would take such advantage of her to ask her specific questions.
Daein sighs again, passing a hand through his hair. "Well, I have some old friends left, with older favors and debts I've sure they would like to settle with me. I could lead a small strike force, using a few of the skills of my team, to board the enemy ships long enough to draw some blood in a distraction..." He was not happy with the idea, but he really had no way to contribute otherwise. "We likely couldn't make any decisive strikes, but we could kill a few. Leave a thousand cuts, while you mount your end of the attack..."
Arien said to Daein, "If you and your men are aboard those ships, we risk collateral damage. We risk your lives. Our captains will not be selective in their assault. It would have to happen before the main engagement, before the Imperial fleet started taking fire. And then there would be the question still of approaching them undiscovered. I fear the cost might be too high for the benefit." shadows flitted across her face. Was ending the empire worth the price in blood and men that seemed set to be accumulated?"
Reece said to Daein, "You would serve better as part of the land assault."
Daein lofted an eyebrow, "You've misunderstood, Ari. We would step in during the main battle. Let me be the one to worry about the collateral damage. I'll get my men out safely, none of our blood will be on your hands."
Arien said to Daein, "Reece is correct. Lasarus has been called away unexpectedly, I will be without my Guard, if you wish the job again." Her face was carefully neutral."
Daein said to you, "I know little about this whole mess. Where will the land assault take place, what are the details?"
Caedan turns back to the captain, though her eyes settle on his visible ink, as if the answers were contained within those pictures. Reluctantly, she pulls her gaze upward, dark blue meeting mismatched. She won't poke and prod for the question; unusually pale lips part to murmur, "Ask." Wide eyes flicker back to the group restlessly, as if taking inventory of their characters, strengths, and weaknesses.
Arien said to Daein, "*She nods in Leoxander's direction* Leo is handling the naval assault. If he has a means to use you I am sure he will. I believe I will heed my own advice and allow the commander his command. I will be taking my men on the ground."
Daein said to Arien, "If you are leading the ground assualt, then that is my place, to be your shield."
Reece shields his mind, it did not do well to allow strangers in.
Drake, this whole time, is staring at his 'salvation'. "Sprat. What's yer word?"
Leoxander would have been relieved to finally hear Arien admit that, but as it were, he were a ways toward the shore, standing with the teenager in her oversized sweater. Reluctance was there, in his held breath, his eyes, even if the rest of his expression was as illegible as his black mask. "Tell me nothin'll happen to him. That he won't be harmed by this..." No need to look toward the Labyrinth, surely she could feel that angry tug at her soul. He felt it, and he wasn't gifted with magic or knowledge beyond in any way.
Daein said to Arien, "Very well. My sword will be at your side, Arien, and my life will end before yours, if need be. For now, it is my time to retire. Good night. (With this, the elf walks into the shadows, to begin his preparations for war.)"
Arien nods in acquiescence to the ranger's desire, and falls silent, observing the communication between the rogue and his navigator. It was, ultimately, his decision if the dark ship would sail.
Caedan takes a single step forward so she is closer to the captain, perhaps closer than she's ever been before, with the acception of the night they engaged in a battle royale with eating utensils. She peers at him from behind unruly strands of auburn, studying both his eyes, separately, engaging blue, then red, until they've become a muddled purple in her mind's eye. "It will take something. She will not be resurrected without an offering. I cannot tell you what she will take from you, Cap'n." Normally flat tone hold apology as she speaks, and after a few seconds have passed and she's allowed time for her words to sink in, she'll add cheerfully, "But I'll look after him, Cap'n. We know our way around afterall."
Leoxander found a risk he wasn't sure he was willing to make, for perhaps the first time in his life. He wasn't disturbed as much by the teenager's closeness as he was by her words, which somehow, he'd found himself to have known, all along. Jaw set tense, he had nothing to respond with, and instead tore his mismatched eyes from hers to look up the shore, first at Arien and whoever should remain at her side, then aside to Drake, who he couldn't find any reason at all to sacrifice a part of himself for. But then again, the rogue wasn't exactly fighting a war for the sake of the Blackheart, was he..? "Elf." His gaze moved to Arien, and he paused upon the rocks. A hand flexed at his side, until knuckles cracked. "I'll need your assistance getting that rubbish into working condition again. If I supply the wood can you supply a few pairs of hands?"
Caedan , as if the exchange never happened at all, waves amicably to Arien and scowls at Drake.
Drake 's eyes lit up, and one corner of his mouth twitched in momentary joy. But this would not be evident when the big sailor turned to face his rival. "I'll man the salvage crew." He had a buddy from Frostmaw owed him a favor or two, and who better than a twenty-foot giant and company to get the frigate free of the rocks? His gaze deadened then, somewhat. "If tha's alright, Sprat."
Drake said, "Ahoy, Curly."
Leoxander looked at Drake, and his eyes were entirely serious. "You'll refer to me as Captain, from now on."
Drake was every bit as serious. "Make me."
Leoxander said to Drake, "Then that ship can rot in her well deserved grave, Blackheart."
Arien had taken the effort to read the body language demonstrated between the rogue and his navigator, and though she had not been able to hear, she had felt that whatever he had asked, and whatever answer had been given, did not bode well for the captain. She struggled for a moment between her desire to keep Leo safe, and her desire to gift Hank is vessel-and herself her ability to sabotage the fleet. She met dual toned gaze with turbulent emerald ones. "I can get you the hands Leo..if you're sure..if you're positive its worth it to do this." She didn't know why she was almost suddenly sure that it wouldn't. What evil did the vessel hold?
Drake said, "Then ye can stick yer fleet up yer arse, an' I'll take th' Parasite's gold fer yer skin." He'd been pushed about as far as he was going to be pushed, in one turn of the sun. "Sprat."
Arien said to Caedan, "Hello Caedan , of the pretty name.." She smiles slightly."
Caedan said to Drake, "Hello, 'lubber."
Leoxander more or less ignored Arien in the time he held a challenging stare toward Drake. He wasn't sure, but this was definitely not the time to back away. His half blood might have damn well been another rogue wolf, snarling for dominance.
Caedan said to Arien, "Good evening, courage."
Leoxander was not about to be pushed over. He'd been far too kind to Drake, considering their past. With that answer, the rogue would turn and walk in and past the Elf's location, speaking clearly to her. "Forget it. I'm not wasting my time and effort with this. You'll have your fleet and whatever you want to do with him..." A thump back in Hank's direction. "Keep him out of my way."
Leoxander offered Drake the finger where the empire's ring sat.
Arien spared a glance for the two males, and surprisingly, held her peace. She was still troubled by what she sensed could be the potential outcome of this decision. She turned towards Caedan. "Oh dear...they're going to fight again. And I do not feel so very courageous at the moment, try..overwhelmed." And the squabbling sailors weren't helping any.
Drake too was blind to the women, even to the ship now. He'd stand there, glaring back at his sibling, not willing to back down any further than he'd been made to already. Even the scurviest dog will bite, when kicked hard enough. "I'll give Vuryal all yer regards.
Caedan begins to push her dinghy back into the water.
Arien said to Drake, "Don't you do it Sailor.. It will be my death." If he cared. She cast a pleading look to the rogue. All would be lost if Drake betrayed them.
Leoxander just walked away.
Arien said to Drake, " He has not told you you cannot salvage her..You can conduct your operation without the need for his support, can you not? You did say it was a predawn strike.”
Drake did the same.
Arien was evidently talking to no one. She frowned, suddenly chilled with dread. This was what she got for trusting pirates. Drake knew every aspect of their plans. They would have to abandon their mission unless they verified that he would not betray them.
Caedan calls to Arien as she rows up the coastline, "Boys will be boys and brothers worse."