Chapter 1: First Meeting

The soft, spineless rakasta in question narrows his eyes at that, considering his options. He needs to get aboard the Whisker, he decides, preferably without being spotted and blasted to bits with a ballista. He fishes the invisible potion he found in the Nightmare’s hoard out of his pocket and gives it a speculative swirl. As before, he can hear the sloshing of liquid, though the vial appears to be empty. It stands to reason that drinking this potion would make him invisible too, he figures, though he has no way to know for certain. Before he can reconsider or lose his nerve, he yanks out the stopper with his teeth and, after a heartbeat’s hesitation, downs the invisible liquid inside.

Admiral Above Deck
Admiral downs the imperceptible liquid. He feels it do something to him, but he's not completely sure what. While he's drinking and pondering the potion's effect he hears, now more clearly, more of the argument occurring on the Whisker.

A voice that he recognizes as his treacherous former first mate Tarron says, "I am the captain of this ship and I say we get the ship back on route. We have circus cargo to transport to Elegy."

He then hears Sherwood's gruff protest, "You mean to say you would have us pass on the plunder of that fat ship out there!? For the peanuts promised by the circus fools!?"

Tarron retorts, "Yes old man, that's what I say. Unless you are prepared to captain this ship..." Tarron puts his hand on his sword hilt, "...I suggest you get to work!"

There is a moment pause and Sherwood says with a tinge of nervousness in his voice, "What think you all? Follow our fearless captain away from the booty at arms length, or throw him and his purple dressed cargo overboard and take to plunder ourselves?" He says 'fearless captain' with sarcastic disgust.



Tasya Below Deck
Mischa, Petalwing, and Tasya remain in the hold listening for signs of what is going on and occasionally peering through the small windows below.

At one point during the wait, Mischa says to Tasya, "Tasya...I still must unlock your mother's memories in you." She is going to say more when Petalwing, who perches in a scuttle window in the hull, exclaims:

"Look-look. Big-big boat close-close!"

When Tasya looks up to see through the window she sees that their small ship is coming along side the large Whisker. Her eyes make contact with Helleena's; the Fortuneteller also looks through a window below deck on the Whisker. Her eyes go wide upon seeing Tasya.

Admiral grimaces at the now-empty vial and tosses it aside. Uncertain what effect the potion had, if any, he cautiously leans out from behind the crate of ammunition. "Psst! Skeev!" he whispers to get the goblin’s attention. "Am I invisible?"

Skeev looks in the direction of Admiral's voice. "Huh? What? Captain?" the goblin whispers back. "I can't see you. You doing your teleporting tricks again?"

...

There's no reply to Sherwood's question--Admiral can deduce that he addressed the rest of the Whisker's crew. The silence of the crew is followed by Tarron's order:

"Take the old peg-leg to the brig."

The sound of the crew bustling about on deck follows and Sherwood's voice is heard shouting, "Ahh!...you ALL are a spineless lot of blaggards. To the locker with you."

A strong, calm, resonant, and hypnotic voice, unfamiliar to Admiral enters the mix, "You and your crew have made a prudent choice Captain. There is certainly no wise reason to be distracted from your task of sailing to Elegy and delivering my troupe safely, as you agreed. Remember you will be paid in full only when we are delivered safely."

Upon seeing Helleena's face below decks of the Whisker as proof her troupe are aboard, Tasya looks at Mischa and pulls the hood of her cloak up over her head. She instantly vanishes. "I have to get aboard that ship so we can reunite with the rest of our troupe." She whispers to the snakecharmer.

Tasya sneaks up on deck and quickly searches for the easiest way to jump or swing over.

When Tasya pulls the hood over her head and disappears, Petalwing gleefully says, "Yes-yes. Me too. Fun-fun." The sprite goes invisible, but with her cloak on Tasya can still see the faint outline of the sprite as Petalwing hops along after her.

"But Tasya.." Mischa starts to say then stops when she realizes Tasya has dashed away in her invisible state.

Above deck Tasya sees the crew working quietly to finish lowering the sails. She also sees the goblin looking puzzled in the direction of what she sees as the faint outline of Admiral. Admiral's figure leans out from behind an ammunition barrel. To Tasya his ethereal outlined form appears identical to the way Petalwing looks in her invisible state.



Tasya's Invisibility Cloak, Time Worn: 1 min
Admiral's Invisibility Potion, Time since ingested: 30 seconds

Realising that he’s got to hurry up if he wants to get aboard the Whisker before it leaves, Admiral darts across the deck, vaults over the ship’s railing, and jumps down into the water between the two ships, briefly disappearing beneath the waves. A moment later, he surfaces, hissing at the icy temperature of the water, and paddles over to the Whisker, where he latches onto the hull with his claws and begins clambering up the side of the ship.

With barely ten foot separating the two vessels, Tasya takes a running jump—a long practiced feat for an acrobatic circus performer, and makes for the Whisker's deck, with a final spring off the slave ship's railing.

Admiral, chilled by the icy water, remains below the water surface immediately after making his audible splash. When he surfaces he covertly paddles to the ship and uses his Cat's Claws to climb the ship's hull.

Latched onto the outside of the ship, just below the railing, Admiral can clearly hear a conversation just over the rail above him.

"Yes, there is no wise reason to be distracted from our task of sailing to Elegy and delivering your troupe safely," Tarron repeats in a somewhat monotone manner. "...as I...agreed," he continues with a rather puzzled inflection to his last words as if he wonders why he says them.

"Yes," says the other voice. "And I am glad the majority of your crew shares your sentiment."

...

Tasya see's Admiral's ethereal form make a leap off the deck.

As Tasya readies to take a running jump off the slave ship's railing herself, Petalwing--whose small form had been desperately trying to keep up to Tasya's long strides--dogmatically lunges at Tasya, attempting to latch onto her as she leaps. The determined sprite manages to catch up and latch on with ease and grace, just as Tasya leaps.

The leap feels exhilarating and like home to Tasya, as if she is wowing a crowd when making a running leap to a trapeze bar far away from her at the top of the circus tent.
Tasya's Invisibility Cloak, Time Worn: 1:30 min:sec
Admiral's Invisibility Potion, Time since ingested: 1:00 min:sec

When the splash occurs in the water, one Whisker crew member notices. He stops his work coiling excess rigging rope near the rail and shifts to peer over the edge to see what could have made such a big splash. He peers over the rail near where Tarron and Jin are speaking. He doesn't see anything except the disturbed water, but keeps looking for a moment to be safe.

...

When Admiral surfaces he sees Mad Dog Morgan, expert rigger, peering over the rail. The pirate seems unaware of Admiral's clawed climb that follows. Admiral climbs and ultimately hangs onto the hull just a few feet away from the man peering over the edge, pausing directly under Tarron and Jin's conversation. He is still invisible.

Clinging to the side of the ship, Admiral reaches up and seizes Morgan by the collar of his shirt, yanking the pirate’s head down so Admiral can whisper in his ear as he pulls himself up onto the railing. "You open your mouth and I run you through with Ebzer’s sword before you can so much as squeak, understand? I’ve got business with my first mate and if you get in my way, I won’t hesitate to decorate the deck with your entrails."

Morgan all but pees himself. Shaking, he whispers, "Admiral...be it yer ghost, come to settle a score on us?"

Tumbling forward, then up and onto her feet away, to lessen the impact of her landing and slow her movement, Tasya grabs the railing at the steps leading onto the higher deck and climbs up them until she can see Admiral's ghostly outline and waits to follow his lead.

Tasya, climbing up the stairs to the upper deck, sees Jin speaking with a pirate she presumes to be the ship's captain. Slightly beyond them she sees a pirate peering over the rail into the water. Then Admiral's outline emerges and yanks the pirate’s head down as he pulls himself up onto the railing.

Jin looks up at the pirate that seems to suddenly jerk downward, while Tarron, still feeling mind fog from the conversation with the circus master, does not notice the awkward shift of the pirate Morgan. Curious, Jin takes a step toward the rail and looks out; Tasya sees that he notices the slaver ship off the Whisker's stern. Jin says with a sarcastic tinge, "I am glad my troupe is in the hands of such fine sailors who let nothing go unobserved."
Tasya's Invisibility Cloak, Time Worn: 2:30 min:sec
Admiral's Invisibility Potion, Time since ingested: 2:00 min:sec

Admiral rolls his eyes. "Just stay out of the way, Morgan," he says, as he hops down onto the deck. Drenched in seawater, his invisible footsteps leave puddles on the deck as he steps in close behind Tarron and (attempts to) drive Reaver into his back and out the other side. He presses the Defender’s shortsword to the half-elf’s neck. "Not much of a captain, are you, Tarron?" he snarls. "Can’t even capture a ship that wants to be caught, and now you’re letting a bunch of circus clowns push you around." He pauses, glances at Jin over Tarron’s shoulder. "…No offence."

Tasya begins to load her crossbow and notices Petalwing clutching onto her cloak. She plucks the little fairy up and settles her back on one shoulder. 'Shhhh!' She whispers and readies her crossbow, to back Admiral's play in case one of the miscreant pirates got any funny ideas.

Morgan whimpers quietly, but doesn't move any other muscle.

Tarron's fogged mind pays no heed to the sound of Admiral's sloshing steps as Admiral slips behind him and places The Defender blade at the mutinous pirate's neck, simultaneously pushing Reaver out his chest through his back. Tarron's eyes goes wide. He gasps at realization of Admiral's words as blood erupts from his mouth and his body slumps to the deck.

The helmsman by the ship's wheel notices Tarron fall and utters, "Cap'n!?...What!?" He immediately calls out, "Cap'n be down! The circus ringleader skewered 'im proper."

A pirate on the starboard stern, tending to some rigging, hears the shout, draws a rusty blade, and runs up the stairs onto the poop deck. He sees Tarron's bloody body slumped on the deck at the bottom of the opposing staircase. He glares at Jin and keeps moving toward the other staircase.

...

When the helmsman shouts, the pirates tugging the peg-legged man to the brig are almost at the lower deck hatch with him. Tasya notices two of them break from that task and hasten her way toward the stairs she is on. Tasya hears Petalwing's quiet gasp in her ear.




Tasya's Invisibility Cloak, Time Worn: 3:00 min:sec
Admiral's Invisibility Potion, Time since ingested: 2:30 min:sec

Admiral raises his voice so that it carries across the entire ship, "Drop your swords, you witless pack of traitors! It’s just me!"

He looks down at his fallen first mate and, after a moment of hesitation, kneels down beside Tarron’s body and places a hand over the wound in his back, drawing on Reaver’s power to stem the flow of blood. Sherwood was right, he thinks, bitterly. I am too soft.

Tasya (and Petalwing) back up the steps and make a turn toward the center of the ship, still with readied crossbow. If either of the three notices pirates move in to attack Admiral, she will fire on them.