Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

Oh Captain, my Captain

It had taken little time to find the ship he'd been looking for. He just asked a couple of people about the drunkard human from Clairval and they'd pointed him to the ancient Sea Sprite, where Oliver had been leaning against one railing of his ships, drinking something that smelled deliciously spicy, grimacing against the sunlight as his crew busied themselves in what Kethan could only assume were preparations to leave.

Oliver had recognised him and had agreed to meet with Corvin, though he'd bargained a hefty price for transport. It had frustrated Corvin to no end, but Kethan had felt himself relax a little more. The man clearly didn't care if they came with him, which was another sign that he'd chosen the right ship. It had crossed his mind that Oliver could be a plant of some sort, but the near refusal to transport them, and alter his own route for anything other than an exorbitant price, had reassured Kethan.

Kethan was finding it amusing, seeing the Lord Corvin follow the Captain around the old, but well ordered ship on the half-hearted tour. It had been built in a style that had been revolutionary a century ago, large and five masted, made for battle and transport, with scars along the wood from various excursions and fights that were so old that no one on the deck would have known how they were caused.

But it was clean, and the crew were silent, solemn, and somewhat withdrawn as the Captain, who was remarkably sober and slightly better kept than he was in cells the day before, offered them an explanation of where they would be staying.

Kethan didn't care about the ship. He wasn't one of those romantic fools who thought it was anything more than transportation, good only so long as it got him where he needed to go, as fast as he wanted to get there. But he was amused by how affronted Corvin was getting, at the explanation that the Peer of Clairval would be relegated to a small cabin, with a small window in the corner of the quarters deck. It wasn't an awful cabin, but it clearly didn't meet the standards of Corvin's self-inflated ego.

"And who stays in this cabin." Kethan was sure that Corvin was trying to be discreet about his pride, though it was unmistakable to Kethan, who could read the other man rather easily.

Though, for the Captain's part, the man didn't seem to notice, glancing with little interest to the main doors that led to the large captain's quarters, which seemed to only be used as a workspace.

"That is my office. Where all my work, maps and documents are. I spend most of my days in there when I'm not at the helm." Captain Oliver said simply, his expression bland. "I really don't like other people going in there. Only my second is allowed in there without my presence."

"So you have two cabins." Lord Corvin offered, giving the man a look. "The two best cabins on the ship. Either of which would fetch a great deal of coin for passengers interested in using one."

"I have my sleeping quarters, and my work quarters." The captain said dully, as if he wasn't willing to pick up on the heavy innuendo. "I am making enough coin to satisfy me, with the quarters I am renting out, and the journey I am making. But I do not rent out my two quarters. To anyone."

Kethan knew Corvin was about to lose his temper, so he stepped in, not wanting to have to find another human captain willing to go where they were going, with such a lack of morals. "So you've already gone through the inspections?"

Oliver turned and looked at him, offering a shrug. "Yes. I'm ready to sail. But if you bring too much cargo on, the City Guard will notice, and we'll be inspected again. I'd like to be gone by this evening. It'll make skirting the Royal navy vessels easier, cutting around south and heading clear of Clairval in the dark."

"You know. We learn about this in our history lessons, about the glory of Clairval, when everything was golden and promising. It was the jewel of Watersbreak." Corvin said finally, glancing around the ship. "This ship used to be part of the Royal Navy that you're so eager to avoid. It used to run smugglers and traitors down and wage battle against them, when it was new. The Admiral of Clairval sailed it himself. Still, I had always imagined something grander, something worthy of the flagship of the Admiralty. This thing seems like an old mare that should have been put out to pasture."

Captain Oliver looked disinterested in the commentary, giving Lord Corvin a blank stare for a moment, before shrugging, "Yeah, she's still good at running people down, and old though she may be, there isn't many in the Navy that can catch her."

He turned and called out an order to the crew, watching as they adjusted what they were doing with some ropes before he turned to look back at them, waiting.

"She'll do." Corvin nodded, glancing at Kethan. "Let's help the good captain meet his timings, shall we? My things are ready to be loaded on board. We have a journey ahead of us."

"Of course, my lord." Kethan offered a mocking bow and turned to make his way off the deck of the ship and onto the docks, gritting his teeth against the frustration and anger he felt building against his employer.

He needed patience, and he was quickly running low on it, involving the pompous man.

Kethan paused, glancing up to the higher city, towards where he could just barely make out the stone walls of the City Guard post, and the prison within it was. He wondered if he could make it back inside without getting caught, if he could manage enough time to kill the girl languishing within those walls, or perhaps even take her back out with him.

But then he shook his head and turned back to the task at hand, getting out of Rulin. He had seen their defences and layers of security around the guard post.

It would almost be harder to get into that building than it would be to get out of it. She would either be dead or broken by the time the world had come full circle, but she was out of his hands for now.