Natalia held up her hands in mock surrender. "If we get lost," she said, amusement tugging at her voice, "I will accept full responsibility." She turned to Cobiah. "According to the legend, the monster has already been slain," Natalia said. "That's not to say we will not bring necessary precautions, but the real crux of the mission is to bring back the gold and gems and rare artifacts that the kingdom contains."
"If the monster's already dead, then why aren't we going now?" Jared asked. "Heck! The whole treasure could have been stolen already! Did you think of that?"
"We are leaving when we have the necessary materials, Jared," Natalia said smoothly. "This trip is going to be very dangerous already. No need to add any more peril. As for if the treasure has been stolen already, I daresay we would have heard about it if such an event had taken place. Even if that isn't the case, until quite recently, everyone believed this to be only an old legend. Certain scientific realizations, however have caused authorities to realize that there may be more to this tale than previously thought. I have connections in Edolier who have passed information to me before anyone else. I have no doubts that we will be the first to arrive."
"I'm all for it," Avice spoke, "I trust Natalia, and as she said we are ahead of the others so we do have a good chance. If it's actually real, that is." She seemed very agreeable this night, but it may also be the fact she had been drinking a bit.
Jared looked over at everyone eating and picked up the bowls that were empty. "All right then, Captian. If you're sure." He stopped before walking back downstairs. "You up for seconds?" He asked.
Natalia stood up, and brushed her hands together to get rid of imaginary dust. "Thank you, Jared, but I think I am finished. Not that it wasn't delicious." She turned to face her crew, and gave them a respectful nod. "If you wouldn't mind excusing me," she said. "I have some work I need to attend to in my quarters." She turned on her heel, and took the steps two at a time until she reached the top. She closed the door behind her swiftly, but quietly, and Jade stared after her. She knew from her long history with the captain that Natalia had just thought of something, and she was retreating to... align her ideas or something. When Jade had once dared to ask, Natalia simply smiled, and waved her hand idly, almost like conducting an orchestra. "I need to have an organized mind, Jade," she had said. She drummed on her cranium, going from pinky to pointer with a smooth motion. "Without it, the ideas fly around, causing chaos and confusion." Jade returned to the present with a shrug, and she turned back to the rest of the crew and held up her instrument. She never came to a dinner with alcohol without it. "Anyone up for some music and dancing?" she asked. Some of the more drunken members of the crew cheered, and there were a couple mumbles from the more sober ones. Some were retreating to their quarters, and some were preparing to dance. Jared's assistants were helping him clear the table, or serve those who had asked for seconds.
Jared kindly refused to dance and went down into the kitchens to clean up. He walked down the stairs and before stepping off the final step, he bumped a piece of wood above him and it fell. Jared grabbed the fallen piece before it hit the floor and held it before picking up a bottle of rum from the hidey-hole. Jared replaced the wooden panel and popped open the rum. He took a swig and sat down in the kitchen. "If the treasure is real, it'll be a godsend..." He picked up a nearby knife and twiddled it around in his hand. "Just a simple flick and thrust," He performed a stabbing motion, "And the treasure will be all mine..." He said to himself.
(what the hell jared) The bow on the string sawed faster and faster, until Jade finished the piece with a vibrating, sparkling note. The sound carried across the water, and it resonated before disappearing altogether. The dancers clapped and Jade gave a small bow. She put her fiddle in its case. After almost ten songs, she was tired. With a smile, and a backwards wave towards her peers, she began walking towards the quarters. She got to her room, and placed her fiddle neatly in the trunk. She set everything back in its place, and pulled her dark hair out of its braid. She combed through it with her fingers with one hand, and rubbed a crook in her neck with the other. Her mind was wandering, as it did right before she departed to sleep. With a small sigh, she dropped her hands, and removed her over armour, leaving a simple white tunic and linen pants. She supposed it was silly to wear the armour on her own ship, but it gave her a sense of security, no matter where she was. She heard a strange creak out in the hallway, and she cocked her head for a moment. Had her mouse gotten loose, perhaps? That wouldn't be good. People didn't know she had him yet. Quickly, she lit her bedside candle, and peered out of the room. The hallway was empty. She stepped out, and looked carefully at the floor, facing out towards the open deck. She could still hear some merry laughter from the rest of the crew, but she couldn't see the source. All she could see was the edge of the ship and the open sea. She took a couple steps, crossing her arms for warmth and peered at the crevices in the old wooden floorboards. She looked up at the sound of sudden footsteps. They were quick, moving towards her. And they were behind her. She tried to turn to look, but she was interrupted by a knife entering her back. She fell forward, and hit the ground face first, her hair falling over her face. Her vision was quickly going back, and she heard some moving around. Someone was stepping over her body. She felt a hand pick up her arm, and she felt someone's gaze upon it. She heard a whispered curse. And then everything went black. (DUN DUN DUN. Who's going to find her?)
Jared stood up and sighed. He put the bottle away in a cupboard and put the knife back where it was. He noticed some of the bowls were still dirty and gave them a wipe clean. The sound of laughter and conversation was faint. His throat was feeling weird and began coughing roughly. He shrugged it off any negative thoughts about it and decided to get to bed early. He went deeper into the room and pulled out a blanket and some old pillows that were on the brink of tearing open. He readied his makeshift bed in the corner of the room, out of sight, and lay down.
Two drunken sailors, one female and one male, were giggling as they made their way back to their quarters. They turned the corner, and stopped. * * * On the deck, the scream came suddenly. The next thing they knew, the girl came running at them, stumbling a bit due to her drunkenness, but none the less panicked. "It's Jade," she yelled breathlessly. "I think she's dead!"
(Agh! Sorry for not posting, didn't realize we started this back up! I caught up, so let's go! My ideas on Cobiah are a bit foggy, but I'll deal!) Cobiah ran towards the sound of the scream. Had the Seatone Corsairs boarded? No, it can't be, he thought. He called off their pursuit a while ago. Never the less, he ran for Jade, tearing off a large piece of his jacket to attempt to stop the bleeding. "We need a medic!" Cobiah yelled. Silence answered him. If he couldn't stop the bleeding, he might have to cauterize Jade's wound. "You two!" Cobiah barked, pointing at the drunken sailors. "Attend to her, apply fresh bandages soon! If I'm not back with a medic in 10 minutes, take that torch off the wall and cauterize the gash!"
Ellia entered the scene, and stared. Her heart stopped when she saw the inky black hair spread across the floor, and she thought for one terrible moment that it was Natalia, slowly bleeding out. Then she saw the color of the skin, not pale but a warm brown, and she took a deep breath. Then she thought about how terrible it was. Was she really that indifferent to others? She shook her head and noticed Cobiah leaving to go find a medic. She joined the sailors near Jade's body and saw them looking at each other nervously. She sighed slightly, and began to tend the wound as best she could. A brunette, green-eyed medic met up with Cobiah halfway. She had already heard, and there were bandages and other materials in her arms. "Let's go," she said.
Cobiah nodded, and led the medic back to Jade's body. "Is it fatal?" Cobiah asked the working medic, somewhat concerned.
The medic was quiet for a moment. She cleaned the wound carefully, working around the dagger and muttering under her breath. "No," she said finally. "I don't think it is. The daggers lodged beneath her ribs. This next part is tricky though. We need to remove it and immediately apply pressure to it. I'm going to work in the wound for a couple minutes, and I need you to keep as much pressure on it as possible. Can you do that?"
"Can do." Cobiah said, kneeling down, with a clean bandage press ready. "Tell me when to release." Cobiah said, ready to push down on the wound.
