Chapter 20

The rest of the evening Talia spent drinking through Minnow's stocks of alcohol and lecturing Alister on the rights and wrongs of slave trade. Mostly the fact that it was wrong. Alister agreed for the most part.

"I only did such a thing to fund the crafting of my new ships. I was hopin ta get outta this damnedable port before that swine of a King shut it down. Cason already had them at the time of our contract, it was supposed to be simple..."

"Slaves ain't simple Alister. I thought you'd know that of all people." Talia snapped at him harshly, drinking deeply from her mug. They had spent a great deal of time together once upon a time, it was Alister who captained her first and last voyage across the seas after all. He spent weeks coaxing her from her cabin and teaching her the basics of sailing despite her dislike of it.

In the months they sailed she got to know him quite well, and he got to know her. He was an outcast amongst his own people due to his love of men. He was kicked out of his home village as a teen leading him to a life of nomadism until he stumbled across a deep love of sailing. Of course becoming a successful captain for a reputable shipping company was difficult all on its own, becoming one as a gay man was impossible. So naturally he turned to piracy and it turned out he was rather good at it.

"Yer right, I won't argue with ya there. I know it was stupid now, Cason's nothin but a caramel skinned snake. Nothin but trouble. Ain't makin partnerships like that again I can promise you that. And as for you girl, I truly am sorry for the events that you and your had to go through." He turned to the woman who was now sitting next to Minnow, her eyes wide and attentive as she soaked in every word that was spoken amongst them.

"You paved the way for his greed." The woman snapped, her thick lips pulled down into a severe frown. She had a similar shade to Cason, her skin wasn't as sun-kissed honey as his but Talia knew that would quickly change. Were the others like her? Where had they come from?

"I had hoped he would dump you lot off on an island somewhere for cheap so I could use his cargo space for somethin more lucrative. I ain't in the slavin business, so his contracts were his own to keep. He needed guns, I needed cargo space. It weren't supposed to go this way. An turns out I couldn't stomach the idea of him sellin ya off here, this ain't like yer homeland. Most of you an yours won't do well in this place." He had the decency to at least look guilty as he pulled his gloves off. Talia leaned back in her chair with a sigh, there was nothing to do now but help him dig himself out of trouble.

"You know you owe me right? I didn't do this entirely out of the goodness of my heart." She eyed him harshly, though he met her gaze unwaveringly.

"You can say that but you didn't do it for money either kid. But I won't deny ya, what is it yer after?" She didn't expect him to agree to her hard-balling so quick. Absentmindedly she traced her fingers along the strap of the satchel wondering what her demands would be. Truth be told she was mostly just hassling him to be an asshole, she had more than enough money to cover anything she wanted to do.

"If you're wanting cargo space my ship is available for hire. She needs repairs and she's no fighter so if we came up against something big we aren't of much use." Minnow offered suddenly. Talia watched in surprise as he pushed his mug forward as an impromptu business deal. Alister leaned back in his chair, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

"Talia always did make such interesting friends." Minnow scowled at him,

"I don't do slavery though. I'll steal, murder, and sink any ship in the deep so long as we're after goods not people. Hell, I'm even down to rescue princesses and turn them in for reward money. But I draw the line at trading people like livestock." Alister groaned as he pulled his hat off to set on his chair.

"It was a one time mistake believe me. I was going to set them all free one way or another! But if it's deals we be makin, consider those terms agreeable and agreed to. My Jackdaw's a fine ship, swift and deadly in the waters. She's never come across an adversary she couldn't well sink." Alister pushed his mug up to meet with Minnows. If Talia remembered correctly to captains it was a binding contract, an agreement to do business. Minnow and Alister both grabbed their mugs, pulled back, and then slammed them together aggressively causing most of the liquid to slosh out and mess the table. They then drank the remains until the mugs were empty, slamming them onto the table with deep sighs of contentment.

"Alright, consider your deal with Minnow my demands. I'll pay for ship repairs and whatnot and you two can sail under my flag for a time until you've paid off what you owe me. After that I'll let you make something of it on your own." Alister looked to Minnow, Minnow looked to Talia, everyone seemed to agree that it was a good deal. Both men slid their mugs forward again after calling for a refill.

"How about for this we shake on it, I've already got to wash my pants and shirt now because of you two." Talia held her right hand out with a grin. Both men accepted her gesture willingly and eagerly, the deal was done.

"What about me? What am I supposed to do now?" The woman raised her scarred hands into the air. Talia had nearly forgotten her presence, now that she was freed from her wrist-cuffs and her bondage to Cason she figured the woman would strike out on her own. Though she had to remember that the woman, and likely the other slaves that had been with her, had nothing to their names and no idea where they even were. They were like stranded turtles.

"If you want a job, Alister and Minnow are both likely looking for crews. Are you any good at sailing?" She turned her icy gaze to the woman, whose name she had learned to be Lotus.

"I was... Not a sailing woman back home. I was a thief, I was a performer, and I'd do anything and everything in between. But I've never even been on a boat until they captured me and brought me here." She wrung her hands nervously as she said it. Talia sighed, of course she didn't have any seaworthy experience. They didn't need greenhorns on their crews, so that was out.

"You can stay here for a few weeks free of charge until we figure something out for you and the others that were brought with you. Anyone with sailing experience or fighting experience we can draft onto our crews. Anyone else we shall have to see. I'm full up on waitress staff right now but I could use some cleaners, cooks, and supply runners." Minnow traced a finger on the table top as he thought. Talia hummed, staring into the golden liquid sloshing in her mug as she thought. How much would it cost to float the two men and their next trips? How would she get them out of Amethyst cove so that they could actually try to make profits elsewhere? She had gotten herself into a mess of trouble yet again, though considering her three week minimum stay she had plenty of time to figure something out on paper.

"So that's all settled, lets get something to eat and catch up yeah? I'm tired and I would prefer this day end on decent terms all around." She waved her hand for the nearest waitress.

Two weeks passed in relative peace, Talia spent most of her time working with Alister and Minnow to set up the basics of their newest business venture. She found carpenters able and willing to do the brunt work of repairs and a smithy willing to outfit both rigs with iron-cast protective reinforcements. She paid to have each sail replaced with heavily treated canvas and even went as far as to have her crest painted onto each one. That was for her own ego more than anything, she liked stamping her mark onto things for the fun of it.

As for the slaves they were all paid for and released to Talia's care. Alister did his best to take notes on each individual, marking who was who and what state they were in. He also noted their basic abilities, previous professions, and age. To Talia's surprise most were quite young and in decent enough shape considering their months of poor treatment. There were a few older slaves, though it seemed that whatever land they had originated from did not gray them with age.

Talia was sitting in the private portion of Minnow's inn with a ledger splayed before her. She tapped the quill on the page irately, Minnow and Alister sat across from her arguing when the best time to sail was and where the best places to go were.

"I say we follow the Gold Coast northward until we hit Carthall. From there we turn west and follow the winds to Digby where we can stock up on victuals. From there we follow the coast down until we come up on Roma, there we can watch and wait for a trade ship to set sail. We follow them out to the deep and sink them." Minnow offered while bent over a large map. He pointed out his favored route though Alister shook his head, a look of pure disdain on his face.

"That won't do this time of year! Roma's in the midst of their hurricane season, we'd be lucky to get to their ports without severe damage. Not to mention that route would take us right through the breaks, even my best lookout can't call out every rock outcrop there." Minnow scoffed,

"Then you need a better set of eyes up in the crow's nest. But fine, you have a better idea?" He slid the map over to Alister who smiled smugly, leaning over to point southward. He drug his finger down the coastline on the map,

"Why don't we go to Lothrak and then head up to Edibrea. There we can hire a few sea-elves before heading to the deep and across to Pearlian where we can shore up for a few weeks. That'll put us in the area of Roma and we can wait out the worst of the storming season. We can take a few transport jobs and unload any cargo we have there. Once the storms subside we can head into Roma." Minnow scowled but he didn't disagree. Finally he caved after Talia insisted Alister's plan made more sense.

"Fine, but we're going to run into the Dragon's Breath this time of year trying to get to Edibrea. If your spotter can't get you through the breaks there's no way he can get us through the Dragon's Breath." Alister crossed his arms and stroked the tip of his beard thoughtfully.

"You're not wrong. But some of our new hires from the freed men and women are magically gifted, perhaps one of them has an affinity we can put to use." Talia grunted,

"You're going to have to teach them how to use their magic properly if you want to use them aboard your ships. I'd suggest investing in some reading material for your crew and setting aside time for practice as the next few weeks pass." She offered dryly.

Hours passed in that manner as they debated the best ways to proceed. Talia took detailed notes on what it would cost and how long it would take. By her best calculations the expedition could take up to two years depending on weather. Most of the newly freed men and women were eager to start their training and new lives, most of them had nothing to return to even if they had wanted to.

"Well, that's that. Let's get the crew situated and ready. Alister why don't you see to stocking up on food? Meet back here tomorrow evening and let me know how it's going. I'll have Nico help me find some literature for your gifted crew members and then we can work out some sort of training regimen. Find your most skilled gifted and have them teach the less sure ones." Talia slapped her book closed and stood, noon had already passed but there was likely still time to make it to a few book stores. Alister and Minnow nodded along.

"I'll ask my lady to start setting things up here to run themselves once we set sail. She'll be very excited to finally take to the seas again." Minnow took his leave quickly then and disappeared into the normal midday crowd that frequented his establishment.

"I'll see what I can find for long term food. We should invest in fruit jams and pickled vegetables." Alister spoke more to himself than to her so she ignored him as he too disappeared into the crowd.

"You are far too kind you know." Nico growled from his corner. He closed his own book to shoot her a scathing look, his dark eyes full of annoyance and barely repressed rage. Talia rolled her eye,

"Minnow's a long time friend. Plus I was looking for a business venture." He scoffed while gathering his things into his satchel.

"Right, and it totally wasn't because you felt bad for the slaves and you were bored. Don't pretend to be some sort of savior, you're just filling your time with something that interests you."

"Is that really such a bad thing? You're filling your time with books. I'm filling my time with..."

"Funding a pirating expedition." Nico cut her off sharply. She rolled her shoulders, pushing her way through the crowd and out to the streets of Amethyst Cove.

"Well, yeah." There was no arguing with him.

"Sometimes I truly think you were dropped on your head as a baby. Come on then, lets get that literature for those ex-slaves." They picked their way through the streets quickly as the night crowd started to permeate in.

They managed to visit three book stores, each one only providing them with a few measly beginners books. Talia held three in her hand up in front of her good eye to scrutinize them. Why was it so hard to find books to teach about using magic? They were barely the thickness of her hand. Would they even do any good?

"Here's one that might work, though it deals more with constructs and that sort of thing. If they're new to magic this might not work for them." He held up a thicker book with a few rudimentary constructs drawn on the cover. Talia raised an eyebrow at it as she grabbed it from him.

"Well, magic use is magic use. We might as well give them what we can so they can develop their skills. They want people who can help them navigate the breaks and Dragon's Breath, so as long as they learn enough to do that it'll be fine." She walked up to the clerk and deposited a few silvers and coppers for the lot.

"I repeat, you astound me with your idiocy." Nico deadpanned as they stepped back onto the streets. By then the sun had long since departed leaving only a glittering night sky and a bustling night market. Talia marveled at the colorful lamps along the main street and the jovial street performers dancing to their hearts content.

"Well, you came with me and helped me pick these out so what's that say about you?" She ignored whatever retort he may have had. Instead she focused on the sudden increase of guards showing up. In the two weeks she had been in the city it was a rare occasion to see them, the heavily armored men tended to stay closer to the castle to deal with disgruntled sailors and merchants feeling the impact of the Kings new rule. Now they were pretty far into the city and they looked like angry bees.

Amethyst Cove's official guard wore shiny metal armor, usually iron. They were adorned in purple and blue cloth, though the captains also wore a red sash around their chests to draw attention to their rank. Talia eyed each one as they passed them though they ignored her for the most part.

"What is going on here? Do you think there was a crime or something?" Nico muttered from her right shoulder. He was sticking to her like a burr now that he noticed them too. Talia sniffed the air carefully for any indication of blood or gore, though she found nothing but the scent of rotting eggs and fire-powder.

"I don't know, but I've suddenly got this feeling..." She rubbed her midsection nervously. Her gut instincts never steered her wrong and she was certain big trouble was looming. Nico grabbed her elbow tightly as they squeezed through a crowd of nervous dancing women. The guards were growing thicker the closer they got to Minnow's inn. Talia managed to peer past the crowd and over to the thickest huddle of guards only to see them pushing people away from a wrecked cart.

"What is that? Did someone ruin their cart full of goods?" Nico muttered, squinting into the crowd as much as he could. Talia gripped his hand harshly as she spotted the seeping fluids falling from the broken barrels.

"We need to get the fuck out of this city now." She whispered into his ear. She wasted no time in rushing forward and pushing through the crowd like a bull.

"Wha... Why are we running?! What's going on?" Nico yelled as she dragged him behind her. Gritting her teeth she could feel the sweat starting to drip down her brow, her heart was racing. It almost felt like she was facing a dragon again, and should the gods turned a blind eye it would be awfully similar.

"Dragonfyre! And those dumb fuckers spilled it on the road. One stray ember, one little spark and this whole fucking city is done for."