Chapter 3: Familiar faces

As the moon finally took its rightful place on the night sky, shining its bewitching light over the islands of Winchesia, Fel'Kaira's crew finally docked onto the port of the main island Faramerpor in the revel and rejoice of the inhabitants. 

Men, women, children, all poured out onto the streets from their stone and brick houses to welcome the victorious plunder trip of the left hand of Vivani.

Fel'Kaira, the Vermillion Vulture, the most just pirate of the isle, had brought back a whole vessel and its crew, alongside its many goods.

A feat most impressive, subduing a whole merchant vessel without even firing a cannon ball.

Stack and stack of fox pelts piled onto horses and mules, sailors turned slaves chained together from the hips, hopelessly dragged their feet along the parade. The residents of the island gathered on both sides of the road leading to the palace of the master of the island, cheering and roaring in joy, for the Vermillion Vulture had brought back wealth great enough for the people of Winchesia to feast three days and three nights.

"There he is! The prince of the sea!" One yelled out

"Long live Fel'Kaira! Long live Fel'Kaira!"

The captain of the victorious crew led the parade, on his shoulder the body of the unfortunate merchant captain. He smiled and waved, greeting the people welcoming him back home.

And the parade finally stopped in the grand garden of the palace.

Bushes and tropical flowers filled the stone paved yard. Their smell was so sweet one could mistake them for a loaf of freshly baked bread.

A fountain painstakingly chiseled from a whole block of whitestone, shaped into a giant dragon head with water flowing down from its gaping mouth.

And the palace, made of white marble and black ebony, stood tall before the convoy of Fel'Kaira. 

A man, in his late sixties, cladded only in a fur coat, smiled proudly on top of the stairs between the giant pillars. He was bald, but his beard was long, white and magnificent, proving great care had been made to the facade of the man. 

He had a big belly, unavoidable for a man his age, but his body no doubt was once well-toned, forged by the high sea that he had conquered many years ago.

Vivani Dragonbreath - a legendary pirate, who was now retired on his own private island.

Behind him stood a drow outfitted in black robe, his hair pure white and undamaged, unlike the hair of most sailers of the sea. His hand weaved together and placed over his stomach as he stared uninterestedly at the convoy.

"Hemmingway, my dear son! My marvelous boy! Come here, come to me!" Vivani opened his arms and embraced the pirate captain as if he was one of his own. "Oh what have you brought back to me, to our island, my dear child."

"It's good to see you healthy, my master. Oh my savior, I have acquired a worthy vessel, in good condition and ready for innovation before putting her to good use. On it, fox pelts and supplies. Tons of fox pelts we can pawn off to the smugglers for gold, and of course, slaves for us to bid and put to your service." 

"Marvelous! Marvelous! I have no doubt that Besmara herself has blessed you, my son! And… what else?"

"O' my master, how can I forget the mission you bestowed upon me?" Fel'Kaira returned to the parade, removed the corpse stowed on horseback and respectfully kneeled and placed it under Vivani's foot.

"I have delivered justice to this fool, to the mangy dog who dared to disrespect our water, attacked our vessels and smuggled slaves in our territory."

"Hmm… swift justice huh, my child, like you always deliver. I would have preferred you to torture him, but that I can look past. Good work my son."

Vivani stepped over the corpse, placing his palm onto Fel'Kaira's head and walked to the parade. "Well done my children! Now we feast to celebrate my child Fel'Kaira, for the blessing of Besmara is still upon us!"

The pirate crew reveled in joy.

"Well done, son." The drow smirked as he casted his red eyes onto the pirate captain

"I ain't your son, and I don't need your praise, Mafrong."

If Fel'Kaira was the Vermillion Vulture and the left hand of Vivani, Mafrong 'Shadow of deceit' was the right hand. 

A drow, ebony of skin and white of hair, his ears long and pointy, similar to that of the elves. Incredibly evil and willing to kill anyone in his path to his own goal, Mafrong was picked up by Vivani more than twenty years ago on a conquest Vivani himself led to pillage the drow nests south of Mosia. 

At first a slave, but quickly, turned trusty servant and dependable accountant.

Vivani was a man of many talents, but managing the wealth he amassed in the most efficient way was not one of them. 

For that he entrusted to the drow, who had planned the raid of the Winchesia islands, exterminating the previous residence and built the town of Faramerpor - meaning White pearl in the tongue of Manch. 

Mafrong also exhibited immense charisma when needed, which was proven by the uncountable amount of connections he had around the world. Inhabitants of Winchesia would frequently see owls and eagles and bring letters of intelligence to Mafrong, which would most likely lead to a raid soon after, by Fel'Kaira or other trustworthy pirates.

The left and right hands of Vivani.

"Oh come now…" Mafrong showed a creepy smile on his thin lips "I just wanted to congratulate the Red Demon on his fruitful excursion…"

"Well thank you, for the information, Mafrong." Fel'Kaira roused from his knees and stepped back to his crew, not one gaze at the drow as Vivani led them back to the square where the whole town was bustling with preparation work for a feast. Music and wine and food ushered out on carts, blocks and blocks of goat cheese, whole roasted hog coated with honey and seeds, exotic birds and fishes on sticks, warming up on the many fire pits scattered around the town square.

It was truly a festival, a feast fit for pirates.

"My son, Fel'Kaira, my son…" Vivani placed his hand on the pirate's back "I ought to reward you for your excellent work, what is your wish, my child?"

"Dear fearless leader Vivani, oh I only wish to serve you loyally, forever." Fel'Kaira replied immediately. A charismatic smile of unknown intention bloomed on his face but Vivani did not notice that.

"Now now, modesty aside, I insist." Vivani said, satisfied with the young pirate's answer "It is my duty to be fair to all of my children. Those who sow shall reap their rewards, Besmara teaching, my child."

"Oh I thank you from the bottom of my heart, the dragon of Winchesia. Yes, it is as you said, lady Besmara has commanded, 'For a loyal pirate, be not afraid to take slaves for your own. Make them work and feed them as you will.', Psalm 26. If you shall allow it, I would like to claim the elf and the tiefling slave for my own."

The expression on Vivani's face could only be described as overly happy, for he was a religious man. He would never impose his religion on others, even his servants and slaves, for his religious teaching forbade such action. 

But his left hand had always proved to him that he was also a religious child, a believer in the great herald Kelpie's Wrath and the Pirate Queen Besmara.

"Good! That is very good, my child! You read, and you learnt her greatness words by heart. A feat worth celebrating!"

A disgruntled voice raised instantly behind Fel'Kaira. Mafrong snorted: "Isn't that strange, isn't that strange… Fel'Kaira Hemmingway… Asking for slaves… From the very first time you step foot on Faramerpor, you have avoided bidding on slaves, let alone order one around. So why are you interested in some… third rate slaves now?"

For but a blink of an eye, Fel'Kaira face darken in anger, obviously well-hidden from the prying eyes of Vivani and Mafrong. He quickly composed himself and answered.

"Oh Mafrong, why are you interfering in my reward choice? Our Master Vivani has generously offered me a reward for my excellent servitude, so can't a believer pick his slave in peace? Besides, I have never interfered with your rewards. I know that Master will grant you a fitting reward for the excellent information you have provided us with."

"Don't mock me, Fel'Kaira!"

"Children. Children!" Vivani spoke out, immediately stopped the argument going from bad to worse. "Fel'Kaira is right, Mafrong my son. You can choose what you want, that is my will, that is my order. So stop with the silly bickering, so unfitting for men of such positions."

"I thank you, my revered master. If that is so, may I have the elf that Fel'Kaira is asking for?"

"Mafrong!" Fel'Kaira placed his hand on the hilt of his rapier "Are you trying to piss me off, you unhinged drow? Know your place."

"What is it with you and elves, human? The elf you rescued and shared a house with last year, and now, an elf slave? Is it a kink? A preference?"

"That is none of your business." Fel'Kaira backed down, but his hand still laid on the pommel of the rapier.

His forehead slightly turned blue.

"Go figure… oh Vivani my respected master, aren't you curious why this human kept taking elves for his own?"

Fel'Kaira turned around, but before he could answer the drow with a slap, his master chuckled and placed his hand on the pirate's shoulder.

"Oh my children, my silly children. I understand, Fel'Kaira, I understand. The allure of those elves. Male or female, they all looked the same, but the feel is different, oh so different. I remember back when I was a wee lad…"

Vivani then vividly recalled a story of when he pillaged many villages on land, carting goods and treasures and slaves back to the ship, he had taken many a slave with him. And of course, his favorite slave to humiliate and to relieve himself with was elves. 

The master pirate told the story so descriptive, of how he used tools in such ways to bring the utmost pain to his victim, while he himself would get on with that.

Fel'Kaira was visibly agitated by the story, but Vivani mistook that for excitement fortunately.

"Well, two slaves might be too much for a reward anyway. Alright, I will grant Fel'Kaira his elf, and Mafrong, you are welcome to pick the tiefling or any of the others." Vivani chuckled as he finished recalling his golden age "Ah… the feast is coming together. Are you staying for a drink, or are you going to rest, my son?"

Fel'Kaira bowed his head before his master deeply.

"Oh my savior, I thank you for your generosity. I wished to stay up with you, to share a jug of wine with my allies and my friends, but I must now retreat back to my house and sleep, for tomorrow I have to oversee the ransoming of prisoners, if you would allow it."

"That is okay, my son, I understand. Don't tire yourself of the elf too quickly!" The man rudely laughed out loud before joining his minions.

Fel'Kaira immediately approached the slaves, who were nervously gathered behind the mount of goods.

They did not know which would befall their fate.

But the appearance of the young pirate captain caused them to cower in fear.

He brought out a crude key and quickly separated an elf out of the bunch. And he could hear some of the human slaves sighed in relief.

"Why… why me? Where are you taking me? I do not know anything… please… I have no connection with the captain! Please!"

The elf cried out in common as Fel'Kaira led him by his wrist cuffs chain uphill toward a two-story house with a small garden. But the human pirate kept quiet and quickly escorted the unfortunate man inside the residence before shutting and locking doors and windows.

The house was dark, but the unmistakable warmth of the hearth, still burning with ember, showed that someone was recently there.

A ringing voice called out from the second floor, a female voice, speaking elvish.

"Charlie? Charlie, are you back? Oh… who's this… a slave?" A female elf, long white hair tied into a bun and held in place by two long silver hair pins, walked down from the stairs.

"Yes." Fel'Kaira replied to the elf woman "Please light a candle, and clean him up, give him some of my old clothes. I'll be right back."

"Certainly,... Are you hungry? I saved some food for you in the pantry."

"Thank you, Ayen. I'll have some later with our guest here. And…" The human pirate looked at a worried and confused elf, still in cuffs and ragged outfit " Eltaor Fenhana, you might not remember me, but we have met before. Don't worry, you are safe. I had to act tough in front of my men to snuff out any attention. We have to talk, my friend."

The elf slave was visibly agitated and anxious. He hasn't spoken of his birth name to anyone, not even to his fellow sailors. Yet, this pirate, mysterious and imposing as he was, called out his name and spoke in elvish with another elf. 

Half an hour later, on the dining table of Fel'Kaira residence, warm rice, pickled vegetables, roasted birds and fried pork was laid out. The elf named Eltaor ate cautiously at first, but quickly regained his energy and quite literally stuffed his face with food, unsightly for an elf, but Ayen and Fel'Kaira only observed in sympathy.

Washed them all down with a cup of herbal tea, cleaned his hands in a bowl of lemongrass infused water,  Eltaor sighed satisfyingly and, for the very first time of the night, looked Fel'Kaira in the eyes.

"I… I thank you… You said that we have known each other before… but I have not traveled to this side of the world that much… So unless you are a slave trader, we might never have met before."

Fel'Kaira nodded, crossing his arms.

"I understand. My appearance might have been very different from whence I was still an adventurer, almost 3 years ago now. But… please, tell me how you became a slave on that merchant vessel. And… Is your child, Elauthin, safe?"

"You also know my son? An adventurer?… Wait… you are…No… There is no way… Charleston Fogsorrow?" Eltaor trembled from his realization. Was it happiness that he had finally found someone he knew and trusted? Was it fear? That, no one knew.

"The world is small, indeed." Fel'Kaira smiled