Chapter 1: First Meeting

Tasya wipes her hand off on her clothes and pulls out a waterskin from her pack. She uncorks it and pours some fresh water into a cupped hand and holds it down for Petalwing to drink and splash in. "There, little one. I will need to replenish our food and water soon."

________________________________________Petalwing, relieved at the sight of water, happily jumps into Tasya's hand. She playfully splashes for a moment and then drinks the water up fully.

"Ahhhhhhh, thank-thank you nice-nice friend."

________________________________________

Admiral curses. He’d been hoping to intercept the Whisker while she was at port. Now that she’s moving, their chances of catching her seem vanishingly slim. The Whisker’s fast and has the advantage of an experienced, well-rested crew. The handful of former slaves Admiral has to work with are surprisingly talented but they’ve already been working for hours and Admiral doubts they have the constitution to keep at it for much longer without a rest. He curses again for good measure.

"Hoist the sails! Weigh anchor!" he calls out, though there is a note of panic and uncertainty in his voice that wasn’t there a moment prior. "We’re following the Whisker!" Hopefully, his former crew make good on their promise to Tasya’s troupe and make port at that island she mentioned.

Admiral collapses the spyglass and glumly confides in Briya, "I don’t think we’re fast enough to catch her."

As the crew begin preparing the ship to sail again, he stares out across the water, watching the distant shape of the Whisker glide across the harbour, elegant and swift. He sighs wistfully. There’s no hope. A ship like this is meant for carrying cargo, not chasing down other ships…

Suddenly, his eyes light up....

"That’s it!" he says. "I have an idea!"

He gathers his makeshift crew, along with Tasya and Mischa, at the aft of the ship to outline his plan.

"We can’t catch the Whisker," he begins. "But maybe we don’t have to! Maybe we just have to let them catch us." He goes on to explain that they’re going to follow the Whisker for a while, at a distance, until they’re well away from the Jahore harbour (no pirate would be stupid enough to attack another ship in a friendly harbour). After that, all they have to do is bait the Whisker into pursuing them.

"We can fill any empty barrels we find belowdecks with seawater to slow us down and make the ship sit low on the water, like it would if it were carrying a lot of cargo," he explains. "We’ll be an ideal target for piracy! They won’t be able to resist."

While Admiral is busy, Tasya looks over at Mischa. "I'm feeling a lot of anxiety at the moment. What are we supposed do to on this slave ship? Its not ours and neither is the crew."

"I don't like at all being trapped on a slaver ship either," replies Mischa. "We did need a ship though. Maybe this thing is it. Jin hopefully is taking the others to Elegy to renite with our circus ship. And on that island Lady Oceana's ability to see the power of other realms may give us some insight in to your mother's circumstances."

Petawing excitedly says, "Yes-yes! Lady Oceana love-love the sea fey too."

Suddenly, Tasya hears Admiral exclaim from the aft deck standing next to the tiller woman. "That’s it! I have an idea!" He calls out to invite everyone to the aft deck to outline a plan.

...

When all are gathered he proceeds:

"We can’t catch the Whisker," he begins. "But maybe we don’t have to! Maybe we just have to let them catch us." He goes on to explain that they’re going to follow the Whisker for a while, at a distance, until they’re well away from the Jahore harbour (no pirate would be stupid enough to attack another ship in a friendly harbour). After that, all they have to do is bait the Whisker into pursuing them.

"We can fill any empty barrels we find belowdecks with seawater to slow us down and make the ship sit low on the water, like it would if it were carrying a lot of cargo," he explains. "We’ll be an ideal target for piracy! They won’t be able to resist."

"What about all the cages?" Tasya asks pointing them out on the deck. "Assuming they have the means to see aboard this ship, they'll see it is a slave ship, right?"

"Good point!" says Admiral. "We’ll have to move them below decks. Or cover them with something if they’re bolted down."

"They would also know you if they saw you, as would any of our troupe know us, if they are aboard and allowed to view this ship through a spyglass. Would they not?" Tasya asks Admiral.

"Yes, I’ll have to hide when we get close," Admiral agrees, enthusiasm undiminished as Tasya points out the many holes in his plan. "You can too, if you think your troupe would point you out, though I can’t imagine my crew would be letting them use the spyglass. The illusion only needs to hold up from a distance anyway. Once they’ve boarded the ship… well, I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, aye?"

"Captain Admiral." pipes in Briya in a desperate but stern tone. "What if they jump aboard with their swords flying? You just saved this battered crew from the clutches of The Iron Ring and fate of slavery. Now you would have them face pirates?"

"We’re going to raise the white flag as soon as they raise the colours," Admiral answers. "Pirates will respect a surrender. It means they get what they want without having to risk their lives. It’s the whole point of the pirate flag, you know? To give folks a chance to give up before things get, er… messy." He clears his throat awkwardly. "Now, when they find out that I’m aboard, that’s a different story but I don’t expect any of you to fight them, if it comes down to that. You can hide belowdecks before they board, if you like." He hesitates, then continues, "But… if you still don’t want to do it, then I can’t make you. It’s everyone’s decision, not just mine."

Mischa interjects a point, "If our troupe is indeed aboard that ship, our leader, Jin, wouldn’t allow the pirates to attack a helpless ship."

The tip of Admiral’s tail flicks back and forth as his patience begins to wear thin. The Whisker is slipping further and further away while they stand here quibbling over details. "Look, these are all very good points but we’ve got to get aboard the Whisker somehow. If any of you have another idea, I’m all ears."

Mischa leans in toward Tasya and says quietly (as to let only Tasya hear her), "This plan of the Racasta captain may just work out for us. If Jin thinks the pirates are doing something underhanded he’ll use Ganesh’s charm to gain control on the ship."

Tasya listens to the confidential words of her friend, and nods. "As you wish, Captain Admiral." She concedes.

"Fantastic!" says Admiral. "Briya?" He needs the whole crew’s cooperation to make this work and Briya seems to have taken it upon herself to speak for the rest of the crew.