To Orr and Back
Vale Dontess-
You may of never even guessed that this ship was heading for Orr. By the looks of it, this had become a merry band of men that were sailing to some location looked forward to. The Merry Susan was full for the first time since they had stolen her from the port of their old employers and put her to the sea. That had been mostly the work of the trips benefactor. A mysterious sort of man that rarely spoke to anyone of the ship or her make shift crew that had little to no experience working together. It had become a motley arrangement that nearly promised half of these souls would never make it off the risen continent. Simply though, they pay had been to large to look away from.
Pipes, drums, and fiddle made joyful sounds on deck. These harmonious noises mingled with the stamps and claps of those that didn't have the talent or the equipment to join in proper. The amber eyes of "Captain" Dontess scanned over those at their merry making. "Fools.." He had mouthed softly to himself. All he could think back to though was his beautiful blonde standing at his side in his mind. This had been the longest they had ever been apart, and all the while his thoughts drifted over her nude form in the moonlight the night before he had set out on this "suicide" mission. "Know I love you.." He spoke to the wind. Eyes drifted from lantern light to gaze up at the moon. He hoped against hope that some where, she was staring at the same moon. "I'll be home soon.."
That was when the man that had said barley a word to him stepped up besides him. As of this far, he had no idea what to make of the Lord Dayne. He carried himself with an uncanny precision and never showed a flicker of emotion or gave hint as to what was behind those eyes. It made him near impossible to read, and for Vale that was something he was not used to. Gathering information at a glance had been how he survived, but this trips sponsor had thus far eluded them all but completely.
"Captain." Lord Dayne's tone was formal, lacking the comfort of familiarity and friendship. "I trust the winds are fair and will arrive on time?" The two spoke without looking, Vale's head bowing softly. "Aye, Lord Dayne. If this wind holds, though I suspect it not to be so easy south of Sparkfly. I have counseled these men as best I could, but only the first fight will let us know how they fight and work together."
It was at that point that his eyes drifted over the giant human that seemed to be the bridge that spanned the two Lord's to working together. It was not like the Butcher to be quiet for very long. When there was music and booze to get in on, you could normally count him as one of the first to join in. Yet there he was, leaned on one of the rails, staring at a flat, magical stone in his palm casting out some projection he could not make out in the darkness.
"Alls well Butcher? Token from some lady love?" Vale called out, thinking he understood something about what the big man may of been going through. "Something like that.." The man spoke in a huff, then pushed himself to stand, letting the stone slip into one of his pockets before his armor less frame strode over to meet them. "Expect it to be half a bitch to get them the way you want them to fight. Half will die, the other half that remains of that will run. Two of them may fight with any merit.." The large man crossed his arms over his chest and the three at the same time turned their gaze over the lot they had "put in" with.
"It's going to be a rough one, isn't it..?" The Lord Dayne asked in a way that suggested that they did not need to answer, but as if practiced, Vale and the Butcher spoke in unison. "Yup."