Private Tales A little taste

[Karric Grey]

With having recently joined the crew of, The Salty Bitch, Karric knew sooner or later that he was bound to get involved in stealing and other activities that pirates did. In fact, it was actually a blessing and he recommended to Talia a noble merchants estate, a mansion set by a waterfront, and providing easy access for them to at least approach it. It was wealthy and would no doubt hold some expensive items inside it but the real reason he suggested it was a tome that he had discovered. Karric had worked for the merchant before as an escort for one of his caravans and had been permitted inside when he enlisted for the job. From memory, there was an extensive library inside and he was able to feel the magic that pulsed from it, almost calling to him. Ever since then, the merchant's home never left Karric's thoughts and he was finally making a return.

Karric sat in the front of a small rowboat, Talia and a few others of her crew rowing them up a small river as they started to navigate through a quiet march. It was nigh time and there was a single lantern hanging from the front of the boat to illuminate the way. Karric's gaze remained forward, as his eyes scanned from left to right amongst the trees with his arms resting on his knees. A couple of the pirates gave pointed glances at the mage before looking back to their captain, much rather trusting a simple raid on a ship then the word of some mage that had recently joined them. One of the pirates spoke quietly but out loud so everyone could hear, "From what you described, we sittin' ducks in this water. How we s'pose to get in this place?"

Karric turned his head slightly to peek at the man out of the corner of his eye, "Let me handle that." As they continued up the river, he gave a simple wave of his hand, the fire in the lantern extinguishing instantly and blanketing them in darkness. Next, he put one of his hands in the water, the fingertips dragging along the top and barely breaking the plane of the water as he closed his eyes. One of the elaborate runes on his arm glowed a faint green and a few seconds later, a wall of fog followed behind the small rowboat before completely enveloping it. The fog spilled through the trees and continued up the river, masking the boat completely. The same pirate from before grumbled, "Nothin' good when there be magics involved." The glow of the rune slowly disappeared as Karric opened his eyes again and murmured, "Keep heading upriver. We're almost there."

 

[Talia Frost]

There had been a lot of bitching and moaning about having a mage aboard. However, when the man spoke of a mansion with lots of treasure, the crew promptly shut up. Talia wasn’t too keen on trusting him, but he had little to gain from leading them into a trap.

He had earned the name ‘Grumpy Gills’ on account of not smiling very much. Talia remained silent in the boat as they made their way towards the mansion, despite not being thrilled about the tricks he was pulling. As the fog crept closer, she kept blowing it away, not trusting it to touch her.

“How much further, Grump?” She called out quietly, unable to see much beyond the fog. As she spoke, she glanced up to see the outline of a house. However, it was up on a slight cliff. Talia turned back to the mage with a scowl.

“How do you suppose we scale that? We ain’t got wings.”

 

[Karric Grey]

"Not too far." He replied back, his gaze still outward and toward the marsh but he peeked back to see Talia doing her best to avoid the fog. It made him smirk under his hood as he added, "It doesn't bite." The boat traveled smoothly along the black water and it was only a few minutes until he was able to see the outline of the house as well. Karric immediately got out of the boat and got into the water as quietly as he could, it reaching up to his waist. He pulled the boat to the side and onto shore before tying it to a nearby tree to keep it there.

When she asked how they were supposed to scale the cliff toward the house, she would be able to hear him chuckle lightly, "Are you sure demon wings won't sprout from your back captain?" It had only been a few days since he had joined the crew but he already knew of Talia's ferocity and how she retained her helm as captain of the ship. When the knot was done, he turned towards her, "There's a passage on the cliffside. It leads to the basement of the estate, that's how we get in. Beyond that, what will be in there to face us, it will be new to us both." There would obviously be guards but a lot can change in a short span, especially in this world.

Karric led the group first more out of necessity, the rune on his arm still glowing faintly as the group could see the fog continue some feet in front of them, slithering like a snake through the trees as it masked their approach. They could sometimes hear the sounds of hooves and men speaking but the fog was practically impenetrable and it made their trek resistance free as they just slipped by.

When they finally approached the cliff, the rune along Karric's arm ceased to glow and it made the fog halt in its tracks before finally dissipating. The group would be able to see the pathway carved out of the cliffside that led up it. "Our merchant is quite fond of his consorts." It was a fact the man willingly told Karric when he hired him.

 

[Talia Frost]

Talia couldn’t help but stare uneasily at the runes on Grump’s arms, more than a little unnerved. She was always suspicious of unnatural things, and while Kivren ranked the top of her list, shady mages were up there too. This one was about as shady as it got, and he wasn’t bound by some oath like those dreadlords or whatever the hell those things were. This meant he could do whatever he pleased and had strange powers at his disposal.

When he quipped about the demon wings, Toothless Bill audibly gulped in terror. Talia, to his surprise, remained silent and gazed ahead, deciding not to give him a piece of her mind when they had to rely on him. She had to admit that the mansion looked expensive and ornate, and she could only imagine the treasures that lied within.

As the fog cleared, she and the others began to quickly climb out of the boat. When they began to walk up the path and Grump mentioned the consorts, Talia paused.

“Wait, do you mean to tell me someone has to disguise themselves as a woman to distract the merchant?” She asked with a hiss, “Because then I volunteer Billy.”

Toothless Bill squealed and looked helplessly at Grump. Talia ignored him and kept going up, coming to a crouch a short distance away from the mansion. The coast looked clear from the back, but the group didn’t know that the man was having company over for the evening that was meeting him up front...

 

[Karric Grey]

Karric glanced at Talia and then over to Bill, "I don't think he would be fond of the merchant's taste." Bill gave him a curious look but the mage didn't explain further and watched as Talia dashed forward and behind some cover. He would silently appear beside her, his eyes scanning the mansion like her. When it was determined clear, he flicked his head in a certain direction and was indicating for the crew to follow. Karric led the way as the group would be able to see the light of torches and it growing as more people joined from the front.

As the group moved through the shadows, there was a dip in the ground that they slid down and would eventually arrive at a thick wooden door that was embedded into a stone wall. "Here it is." Billy was the first one to approach as he grabbed onto the latch and yanked with all his strength. The door made what sounded like its own form of a laugh at the attempt. "The son o' bitch is latched. How the hell we supposed to get through without some powder?" Karric stepped forward now and used a slight motion of his head to tell Billy to back up from the door.

The mage placed his right hand in the center of the door afterward, a few moments passing until one of the runes etched onto the back of his hand glowed brightly. One by one, the group could hear each lock disarm behind the door as his hand slowly slid down the wood in a vertical line. When no more clicks happened, Karric opened his eyes and finally pulled his hand back, the familiar burning he felt whenever he utilized one of his runes present as the glowing started to cease. He opened the door and held it there for the others, revealing a massive basement with barrels bigger than them. Just from the amount of alcohol the merchant had stocked, he had some money to waste. Karric brought his gaze back over to Talia, "I believe this is where you take over, captain."

 

[Talia Frost]

Talia watched as he effortlessly unlocked all the locks, looking up at him curiously, “Where’s the thrill of danger if you can waltz in anywhere you please?” She couldn’t imagine having powers to where she could loot and steal without ever suffering consequences. Would there still be the pleasure in it that she sought now?

She made her way into the lower chambers of the mansion, her eyes widening at everything that was neatly arranged for the taking. Talia clapped Billy on the shoulder and grinned, “Damn, we have to pick just enough to carry back in the small boat!”

Talia walked over to break into the loot, counting on Grump to do his magic tricks. As she stuffed a few gems into a bag, she withdrew to spot several of her men tapping into the drinks.

“Keep it together!” She hissed at them, watching them rapidly work on becoming useless. After a moment, there was commotion and movement upstairs. Talia motioned for everyone to stop what they were doing.

“I thought you said the coast was clear,” She said with a scowl as she looked at Grump.

 

[Karric Grey]

"Where's the thrill in doing everything mundanely?" As Talia couldn't imagine what life was like without the applications of magic, Karric couldn't imagine what it would be like without it. There had been fragments in his head, times where he hadn't been covered in the runes but it was foggy at best and didn't reveal anything.

Karric let everyone in first before stepping in after them, the door closing lightly behind them. They were what appeared to be the wine cellar but there were enough trinkets around that the men could slip into their pockets until they went in deeper. Karric silently followed behind until he was needed to unlock the door, using the same trick as the rune on his hand would glow again and allow them access. As the pirates started to pack away some of the loot, he made his way to the foot of the stairs that led up and kept his gaze locked on it.

There was a brief sound of a door opening as ends of rays of light peered over the top of the stairs. He heard the captain's comment and turned his head to peek at her, a questioning look on his face, "No I didn't." The footsteps from above got louder and Karric stepped into the shadows quietly as he waited.

"Why the hell are we the ones getting the drinks? He has servants for a reason."

"Cause he drunk and acting like a fool for tha ladies and now we sufferin'."

The two guards had reached the bottom of the stairs and that's when Karric stepped out, his forearm slamming into the back of the neck of one of the guards while he brought out his sword with his other hand and brought it to the front of the neck. "Shhh." The other guard snapped in that direction, "What the?" He was about to pull his sword out but that's when Billy shoved a pistol in the man's gut and had a dagger pressed at the side of his throat. "Calm down, ye?" Both of them dropped their weapons slowly and put their hands in the air.

 

[Talia Frost]

“Billy!”

“Aye!”

“Good work!”

The toothy man beamed brightly, promptly removing the blade he had in place because he was distracted. As a result, one of the guards quickly whirled around and tackled him. Talia cursed as the second guard tried to launch himself at Grump.

Her men were already inebriated and dropped the bottles they were holding, resulting in a loud crash. Talia pulled the guard off Billy, jamming her knife up into the fleshy underside of the man’s chin. She dropped the body and heard more people shuffling downstairs from above. With fear in her eyes, she quickly turned to Grump.

“Find us an exit!” With all the noises she heard outside, she was convinced their path in was blocked off.

 

[Karric Grey]

Bill seemed to have forgotten he was holding a man against his will and dropped the knife from his neck. The guard didn't hesitate and flipped around to fight against him. The guard under Karric's blade saw the commotion and tried to spin around to attack him. He just grabbed the man's collar and held him in place before dragging his sword across the man's neck and pushing him to the side. Karric just shook his head as he pressed himself up against a wall.

More light started to appear at the top of the stairs and the sound of voices was growing even louder than before. Talia shouted at him to find an exit and the group could easily leave out the way the came. But Karric was here to get his own loot as well and he wasn't going to leave that quickly. The sound of footsteps grew louder and he readied his left arm as he opened his hand. One of the larger runes started to glow green and he stepped out from the corner to face the group of guards in front of him.

They all stopped in their place on the stairs, the one in lead holding the torch as they stared at Karric. They weren't expecting someone to willingly show themselves and it was a moment of hesitation that would prove lethal. His arm shot forward and was aimed at the torch the first guard held in one of his hands. It was only a second before the fire seemed to let out a scream before shooting in a stream and igniting the entire hallway on fire and cooking the guards that all stood behind the first one. All of the guards dropped their armaments and screamed out in pain, either touching the burnt parts of their bodies or still trying to put out the flames.

The building would have caught fire but the walls were made of stone and instead gave it a charred look that continued all the way to the door. "There's more here, we can't leave yet." Karric sword was still drawn in his right hand as he made his way up the stairs, stepping past the charred bodies.