Private Tales After the storm

[Ivan Skender]

The Cortosi Coast - Aboard the V.A.S. Arnim

His posture hardened, his stance tense, as a faint glimmer shone off of the blade of his sword; its glow was that of a dimmed grey, mirroring the still darkened sky it reflected.

Across from him, a veritable army of coarse-looking bandits opposed him, while by his side, his fellow initiate Lachlan Irwin faced off against the same distressing sight.

This was supposed to have been an easy mission.

At least that was what those pricks back at the Academy had told them: A simple assignment of escorting prisoners from Coraliv, out on the Cortosi coast, back to Vel Anir. While, truth be told, it had mostly been this way, their fortunes had quickly changed when their small convoy of Anirian ships had been caught up in a vicious storm off of the coast of Cortell. The last thing he remembered seeing of the rest of the fleet had been the V.A.S. Warhammer being swallowed up whole by a giant tidal wave, before his own ship had been violently swept off-course.

The separation from the rest of the flotilla though, had not been the only thing of note to have happened on-board the Arnim however. Somehow, during the storm, as the rains swept through the deck, and the hull was whipped non-stop by the raging Sea, the locks of the prisoners’ cells had been compromised. Something which the convicts had shrewdly waited until after the storm had passed to reveal.

And it was so that they now found themselves in this mess. Their superior officers had been the first ones to go, stabbed in the back by their former captives, while the rest of the crew had succumbed in a matter of minutes to the criminals' surprise attack.

Only him and Lachie remained.

Ivan gritted his teeth, anticipated the combat which he knew was to come.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

He could use his magic... if they weren't standing around like fucking idiots. They were in close quarters, that's for sure, but Lachlan rolled his shoulders and stood tall. Nah, he wasn't gonna whip that out just yet. Why deprive himself and his comrade, Ivan, the glory of fighting off the impossible?

Dual swords, broad and manageable for their wielder. Lachlan stared down those closest to him.

"Fuck it." He sighed, giving no room for the closest two to think as he stepped forward, swinging with strength. Steel met, and Lachie could feel the tremors that transferred down the arm of the first bandit. The broad Initiate did not allow any breathing room, no remorse on their poor souls if they could not chew the large bite they had bitten into when they thought to square off with the best looking boys of the Academy.

"We doing this to kill, Skender?" Asked the Vel Odren native, deflecting and wearing down his current opponents. "Or are we throwing them back in the cells?"

Ivan Skender

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "Cells?!" - He asked, as he deflected a blow from a massive axe that had been thrown his way. His opponent, a towering colossus that stood over 2 meters tall and seemed to be in-charge of the mutineers, was a low-life ruffian from Coraliv, whose days had seemed fated to be spent wasting away in an Anirian prison cell just a day ago. With providence having interceded on his behalf, the man was now hell-bent on cleaving his way through whatever stood in the way of him and his freedom.

Erik Hessern was his name, though among the bandits, he seemed to go only by the moniker of "Hess".

Wielding his axe with astounding dexterity for a man his size, Hess cleaved his way through the deck, while Ivan could do little more than to dodge his opponent's attacks - as well as those of the other bandits that supported Hess.

As he jumped around, dodging here, and counterattacking there, a black mist seemed to envelop his sword. Though it soon receded, the impact of this conspicuous mist soon became clear as Ivan's sword once again made contact with Hess' weapon during a parry. In a moment, tiny black veins, eerily similar to a spider's web, seemed to spring forth from the point where the initiate's sword had made contact with its opponent. Within a few seconds, the axe's head had been tinged orange with a seemingly sudden rust, while the decay spread further down towards the hilt. Using this, Ivan shattered the axe with a well-placed blow that crumbled the by-now brittle blade.

- "Let's fucking kill th--" - He bellowed towards Lachie, before being knocked over by a surprisingly well-coordinated attack by five of the bandits, accompanied by a now-unarmed Erik Hessern. Knocked off-balance, and with his sword slipping from his grasp, Ivan conjured his decay powers once again, willing and ready to corrode the bandits to oblivion.

That though, was when a scream rose from the stern.

- "A ship!" - It cried. - "There's a ship on the horizon, Hess!" - Though at first convinced this new arrival to be a lost member of the Anirian flotilla, Ivan's spirits soon sank as he saw the solid crimson flag that flew off of the strange ship.

Pirates.

As if on-cue, a flaming ballista bolt was launched from the pirate ship, landing on the water, just a few meters away from their ship. Panic ensued, as the mutineers rushed to and fro on the deck, unsure about whether to confront this new threat, or deal with the old one first.

Hessern though, did not seem to have any doubts about where the most pressing danger lay.

He motioned the men assaulting Lachlan to pull back, while taking a step towards the two initiates.

- "Truce?" - ​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Even as his opponents stood down, Lachlan had not. He got one good jab into one bandit's side with the pommel before shouldering them and knocking them off their feet.

"HEY! Stand down!"

Lachie pointed his sword at the other, breathing heavily. A warning.

He looked to the other ship, to the ringleader of the bandits, then to Ivan.

"Well, if we aren't killing this lot, we might as well kill those other fuckers." He shrugged, wiping the barely there sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove. "Are we agreed, Skender?"

 

[Ivan Skender]

"Are we agreed, Skender?"​

He sheathed his sword back in response.

Agreed, they needed to take the new threat first.

- "Those pirates are better armed than we are." - He said. The Arnim was not, after all, a proper military ship, but rather a simple schooner meant for transport. - "At a distance, they have the advantage with their artillery." - He continued, speaking now more to the bandits than to Lachie. - "But in close quarters, well... pirates are nothing more than armed thugs." - Indeed, corsairs had never been known for their discipline, nor for their ferociously courageous temper.

- "Just like us." - Hess chimed in, a big smile on his face as he picked up an even heavier blunt weapon than before.

- "Man the sails." - Ivan bellowed. - "We sail to battle!" -

Somehow, the bandits obeyed, and within a few minutes - after narrowly dodging a handful of ballista shots - they came face-to-face with the pirates, the two ships' sides facing the other.

It was time for a fight.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

"Aye aye, Captain." Lachie grinned, watching as the previously imprisoned bandits began to work. He was useless on a boat, but in the water? He was sure of himself in those depths than up on deck.

He whistled low, watching as the other ship loomed before them. "Persistent fuckers they are." And he winced, sucking in air through his teeth as he watched as they escaped by little margins.

"I am no enthusiast... but they got a better ship than us. Pretty... ships can be pretty, right?" Lach rolled his shoulders back, preparing himself for whatever may come to pass. "Either way, I say when we succeed, we ditch this poor bastard."

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "Prettier than your girlfriends, for sure." - He quipped. - "But yes, we could use the upgrade." -

He turned to the rest of the crew.

- "So, let's take this bitch!" -

A loud cheer erupted from the bandits on the Arnim... a rouse that proved short-lived as the pirates came face-to-face with the Anirians and let out a salvo on the wannabe-sailors.

- "Cover!" - He bellowed, narrowly avoiding a bolt that scratched his leather armour. Some of the former prisoners though weren't so lucky, and a number of Anirians fell on that first volley.

A second salvo was loosened, taking a few more of the unarmoured criminals with it. Then the boarding began. In the blink of an eye, the deck of the Arnim was crawling with pirates.

Ivan erupted from his cover, his two-handed sword firmly in his grip, and hacked at the closest corsair, cleaving him in two before the man even had a chance to retaliate. Pirates, being pirates, wore little-to-no-armour, which made it easier to land a killing blow.

- "Rally now, men!" - He cried out, as he turned to face a second opponent. - "Let's send these shits down to the abyss!" - ​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

"My gir---" but his retort never came, not when they scattered quickly to avoid the onslaught from above. Irwin saw men fall, and all jovial antics came to an abrupt stop. He tightened his jaw, the muscles straining a moment before having to relax as he let out a heavy sigh. This was supposed to be an easy seafaring adventure, but when prisoners turned on the two remaining Initiates, and now stood beside them? Shit was fucked.

Another volley of attack came, followed by the sound of onboarding. Ivan called out, rallying the men to stand against the pirates that made the wrong decision to come against their ship. Two strapping young lads among them, possibly the most dangerous on deck.

Lachie circled around the barrels he took shelter behind and charged straight towards the first pirate he saw. He towered above, instilling an insecurity in the bastard before Lachlan's blade slice across his abdomen, the other blade ripping against his chest and nicking the flesh at his neck. He did not stop until the pirate staggered backwards, already in the motions of falling before Irwin turned his might onto another oncomer.

 

[Ivan Skender]

Not too far from Lach, Ivan was engaged in a fight of his own. After felling the first pirate, the blonde quickly found himself facing yet more hostiles, coming to exchange blows with a couple of corsairs that had landed on their deck not too far from him.

Much like predicted, his two enemies fought like pirates: sloppy, undisciplined, and over-confident. Indeed, soon enough, he saw his chance when one of the pirates left himself open after a particularly unsuccessful attack. Ivan cut his way through the corsair's feeble defence and buried his sword on the man's chest, the blade coming out bright-red through the pirate's back.

He dodged the second man's attack, narrowly avoiding the hostile strike. Then, projecting his left arm towards the corsair, Ivan conjured an arcane sphere of black mist. He clenched his fist, causing the dark fog to leap towards the corsair, as though it were a rabid beast. The magic corroded the pirate's face, the man's screams carried by the wind, as he fully felt his flesh decaying away from his bones, before leaping onto another corsair, and repeating this sequence a number of times.

The charm did not have the intensity to kill, though - through the excruciating pain inflicted - it was well enough to cripple the pirates, while Ivan followed-up with his blade, cleaving through half-a-dozen enemies in quick succession.

Soon enough, it became clear the corsairs were on the back-foot, clearly having bitten off more than they could chew.

- "Forward men!" - He bellowed. - "Let's take the fight to them!" - ​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

"I will hold them back before I follow!" Lachlan bellowed, dropping one sword and letting his hand fall to his side. A silver blue tendril fell from his hand, and his fingers curled around it. With a sharp movement of his arm, the tendril was made into a weapon, a sting none can escape from.

Lachlan ensured the pirates that remained on their deck were wrapped up in his magic, a sting that debilitate them all and have them writhing in pain. Lach rarely used it in the open, it was an attack anyone could see coming, but in the water, it was unavoidable.

"Oi, Skender!" Lachlan kicked a screaming pirate away, having been hit with Skender's magic and Lahclan's too. "Not all of us have sea-legs like you." He grumbled through gritted teeth, moving to follow the group onboard the other vessel.

 

[Ivan Skender]

He would have chuckled if he could.

Instead, Lachlan's call about sea-legs nearly got Ivan hit by a close-call sweep by a pirate with a spear, as it drew his attention during that crucial split-second. With a rather clumsy parry, the initiate turned the tide though, and brute-forced his way past the pirate's defences.

- " What???" - He cried back, through gritted teeth, as he parried a second opponent. Slowly but surely, more and more Anirians seemed to be jumping on-board the pirate ship. - "I thought you Odrenites were more fish than people." - He taunted. - "What would your nana say if she heard you whine about some choppy water?" -

It was all friendly banter, of course. He knew well how lethal Lachie was with that whip of his.

He was just waiting to see it in practice again.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Lachlan came through with a heavy boot landing on Ivan's opponent's chest, not at all kind in the force he used to kick them back and wind them. He grinned at Ivan, winking in the few seconds they had of reprieve. "Nah, I meant not all of us are pretty and light on their feet like you." The pirate began to rise to their knees, springing upwards and towards the boys, but Lachlan flicked his wrist and watched the stinging tendril wrap around his throat. He didn't scream with pain until his hands desperately tried to pry the whip free from his throat. "Besides, my Nana would have told us both to stop fucking around and cut some throats." He withdrew his whip, fingers weaving around it as his eyes scanned for the next bastard to bring down. "If you ever meet her, ask her how to gut a fish in five seconds."

It was his Nana's spirit and fight he had inherited, his good looks from his father. With another grin, the Vel Odren boy pulled a pirate by the shirt and towards Ivan's way. "Heed my Nana's words, Ivan!" He laughed, already plunging his sword into the gut of a pirate that swung at his neck.

 

[Ivan Skender]

"Nah, I meant not all of us are pretty and light on their feet like you."​

- “Careful now,” - He quipped, his brow furrowed, his arms crossed, and a bemused look on his face as he watched Lachlan use his magical whip to get rid of the pirate that had tried to attack him just moments before. - “you're starting to sound like Quinnick.” -

Once again, this banter was interrupted as another corsair tried to hack him in two. As Lachie continued to talk about his grandmother though, it soon drew the attention of more of the members of the Anirian crew, with some of the bandits listening in on the tale of the ancient Odrenite matriarch, as they slashed the pirates into multiples of themselves.

Their excitement became obvious, and their inspiration clear.

- “HEED NANA'S WORDS!” - They bellowed in unison. - “Gut them like fish!” -

- “Huh, will you look at that,” - He said, as he buried the blade of his sword in the chest of yet another pirate. - "Looks like someone's having an impact on the crew." - He said, the last word slipping out of his tongue, even though them and the bandits were not exactly a proper crew.

By now, the pirates had been thinned to about half-a-dozen, held up in the stern ship around their captain, a huge colossus that towered over everyone on deck. He wielded two monstrous dual-headed axes, and seemed capable - and willing - to hack anyone that tried to reach him in two.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

The utter disdain that washed over his facade at being compared with that snooty girl, his expression going unseen by his brother-in-arms. Quinnick?! She had poor taste! And not because she refused his advances!

But his outrage, his will to bite back a snappy remark to Ivan was drowned out by the men being encouraged by his Nana's words... that may or may not have been taken out of context, but the sheer bloody fury spurred them on.

"Yeah, I'm not going to correct them." He grinned, stowing away his sword and handling his whip in both hands. His eyes followed the steps of those that remained, spying the man responsible for his crew and vessel.

"Oh, he looks like he wants to dance with a pretty boy... or two if he's greedy." Lachie chuckled, joining the crew of bandits in their advancement.

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "I've always known pirates to be greedy." - He replied, slyly.

Hess came then to a halt besides them, watching on as yet another one of the Anirian bandits got its skull caved in.

- "What should we do about this one?" - He asked, clearly reticent to send more of his followers into that final meat-grinder. Ivan just smiled.

- "Don't worry, my friend. We got this." - He turned to Lachie, again tightening his grip on his sword.

- "Shall we?" -​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Lachie grinned like a fool, or perhaps a winner knowing their victory was soon and near.

"Always ready to whip a sea bitch." As if they had been fighting their way to this point... which he guessed they actually achieved without knowing.

With that said, he was quick to follow Skender's approach, deciding to deliver his stinging whip to the nearest pirate to his right, who raised their blade against his brother-in-arms. The pirate used his bare hand to attempt to loosen the magic whip, sending painful stings from palm, traveling up his forearm and eventually debilitating his entire body in something excruciating.

 

[Ivan Skender]

He watched as Lachie immobilized that pirate with a mix of smugness and pride. Let the petty criminals see how real men fought.

As the pirate became debilitated by the attack, Ivan unleashed own his magic on the unfortunate soul. There was no real need for it. Their weapons would've been perfectly capable of cutting down the man where he stood. It was truly an indulgent display.

This time, the arcana took the shape of a swarm; of a thousand, small, back dots that really did resemble a throng of non-descript insects. The magical horde made straight for the pirate's face, going up his nostrils.

Those next few seconds would be pure, agonizing pain for the corsair as the magic corroded his brain into oblivion. The man's screams, as the swarm torn down his mind from the inside, were enough to cause shock even to the other Anirians themselves.

Once it was over though, only the captain remained.

- "Care to do the honours?" - He asked his fellow initiate.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

This is what is meant to become a Dreadlord.

They were two young boys, blessed with magic that could cut down numbers normal armies dreamed of achieving with simply twenty men.... a hundred.

The captain did well in putting on a brave face, but Lachlan recognised that shift of panic in any pair of eyes he looked into before a killing blow.

"Might as well." He answered, eyes not leaving the frozen captain. Lachlan walked forwards, closing that gap until he was almost within reaching distance.

And that was when the Captain moved, throwing himself towards the closest railing that would take him to the choppy waters below.

Lachlan swore.

"Well... it sucks for him." He sighed, undoing the buckles to his armour and shedding them. Lifting his head a little, he spied the man overboard, gasping as he surfaced and began to swim away from the boat. Lach groaned and finished with the last of his gear. He hoisted himself onto the rail, giving Ivan one last grin. "Bet he didn't know I am a strong swimmer. And that my magic is practically inescapable in the water."

The boy saluted his friend before diving for the waters. It was icy, as he expected, but the current was working with him. His magic spread, forming a formidable net that only floated before him. Lachlan began to get some steady strokes in before angling himself to breach the surface, flicking his head and sopping wet hair out from his eyes.

His water was undetectable in the water, an invisible net that would never be detected until it was much too late.

 

[Ivan Skender]

As was predictable, the Captain did not get very far. Lachlan's magic took but a few moments to envelop the poor bastard, and soon, the pirate was completely caught in Irwin's web.

Ivan watched all of this unfold from the main deck, with a smug smile on his face. Easy.

Behind him, the newly-minted Anirian crew seemed to entertain itself with looting anything of value the pirates had had on-board, as well as slaughtering mercilessly any straggler corsairs that might have been left in the lower deck.

- "You're doing great!" - He bellowed to his friend from up-above. - "Bet let's wrap this up." -

They had bigger fish to fry.​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Hearing the Captain scream and flail in the water only brought a grin to his face. Lachlan turned his head upwards, saluting his friend from above before diving and swimming towards the larger ship. Rope had been thrown down for him, and the Odren boy took hold of it, wrapping it around his hand and wrist to begin scaling the side as they pulled the rope.

Minutes later, a soaked but grinning Lachlan came to approach his classmate. "Fuck. I have missed swimming. The poor bloke had no clue of the dangers in these waters." He pinched his soaked shirt and pulled it away from his chest, looking around at the fallen pirates. "Shit. We got blood on all of them. Am I to stand around naked or make do with dripping clothes?" Lachlan should have gone in the nuddy and avoid this conflict.

"Right, my Captain. What next? The ship is yours, the crew is yours, I, however, am spoken for." He grinned. It was half true. There were girls back at the Academy he liked to keep company, but none had gotten as far as winning his affections... besides Natasha. Maybe. He was still unsure of settling for an Initiate girl when graduation was just so near enough. "But my swords and are yours."

 

[Ivan Skender]

"Shit. We got blood on all of them. Am I to stand around naked or make do with dripping clothes?"​

Again, a furrowed brow over an amused expression would be the first reply Lachie would get.

- "Well, if you're that opposed to remain soaked, I'm sure there'll be some dry clothes in the Captain's cabin." - Whether in this ship, or back in the Arnim, if Lachlan preferred the austere style of the late Dreadlord that had claimed such garments. - "Though I'm sure no one here would be opposed to see you in your natural glory." - He added smugly.

The question about the path forward though, did draw Ivan's attention... and he wasn't alone in his interest.

- "Aye, what next Captains?" - Hessern approached the two of them, flanked on either side by a handful of newly-liberated criminals. Looking around, the importance of this moment would not be lost on anyone. Though the initiates and the rogues had defeated these pirates together, neither Ivan nor Hessern had forgotten that, just moments beforehand, they had been - quite literally - at each other's throats. - "You two are tough, I'll give you that, but there ain't a way in Arethil I'll go back to Aniria." - The crook tightened his grip around the hilt of his blunt. - "I'd rather die a free man, than live in chains." -

A loud cheer erupted from Hess' goons, which caused Ivan to roll his eyes. He was fairly sure the two of them could take on the remaining criminals, and still be able to sail the Arnim back to safer waters, however, with a new vessel under their command, and a freedom-yearning battalion before them, the blonde sniffed an opportunity.

- "There won't be any need for any of that." - He replied slyly. - "You see, my friend here does raise a pertinent question." - He continued, clasping Lachie's shoulder. - "The way I see it, we have two choices: the first is, we fight, the two of us win, we keep our heading and sail North." - He leaned his head, as though he was effecting a complicated calculation. - "At which point we'll soon run into another Anirian vessel, which will take those of you who survive this back to prison, and the two of us back into our boring old routine." - Through the corner of his eye, he could see the thugs tensing, their weapons made to be at-the-ready.

- "Or," - He said, breaking the momentary silence he'd let fall over the deck. - "we sail the opposite way. Away from Vel Anir and past Cortell." - He let a few moments pass to let his words sink in. - "We ravage and plunder throughout the Southern Seas." - A sly smile unfurled across his features. - "And we stay together until all of us become rich beyond our wildest dreams, at which point you drop the two of us at the closest port of call and move on with your life... aaaand your ship." -

His words produced the effect he desired. With a grin missing a few teeth, Hessern gave him the answer he'd wanted.

- "Well then," - He said, sheathing his weapon. - "I think I can speak for the crew when I say we just got our heading." - A loud cheer confirmed the statement. - "The ship is yours Cap'tn." -

With a slight nod of his head, Ivan acknowledged the change in command. Over the next few moments he would instruct a portion of the criminals to return and staff the Arnim, so that the smaller ship would sail together with their newly acquired prize under the command of Erik Hessern. Him and Lachie would remain in-charge of the main vessel.

- "Now that it's ours," - He said, turning to Lachie. - "I think this ship needs a new name." - He raised his brow. - "Any ideas?" -​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

Lachlan lingered to hear his friend speak, laying out the options ahead of them. The mere mention of returning to routine made him scowl, making his thoughts known by scoffing and rolling his eyes. That would just about be the thought to end him. Things at the Academy were not entirely working out for him as he had hoped, but this mission, becoming such fast friends with Ivan? It was the most thrill he had in the year he had almost been among the Initiates in his year.

Then the idea of setting sail across the Southern Seas appealed to him.

Ivan had turned to him, asking about naming their new vessel, but Ivan chuckled. "Not to be that guy and ask, but what will the Anirians think of our extended time at sea? They will be looking for us, right? Once word gets to my Nana, fuck me, there will be people looking for me to drag me home. Dead or alive."

Lachlan shrugged, his clothes sticking to him still as a chill found him. "And I need sufficient time to think of a name. Anything I think of now would be shithouse. All I can think of right now is The One but that is some name Natasha would come up with." Which meant it wasn't growing on him despite how concentrated his mind was on the idea.

"We need to leave something behind, to make them... cease efforts in looking for us. If they even honour us with a search in the first place." They could very well be written off. "We can start a rumour, two Anirian boys were spotted near a shipwreck, only they were not to be found after someone went to retrieve them..."

Even that idea wouldn't make his Nana rest.

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "Or," - He mused. - "we could try something else." - Lachlan did raise a good point. Even if they'd become separated from the rest of the Anirian fleet, the Guard was still bound to send scouting parties back to look for them.

He glanced at the Arnim just a few meters away from them. It had not been a good ship; it was small, not particularly fast, and it was starting to tear at the seems, as the aged wood rotted away from prolonged exposure to salt water. Vel Anir could have repaired it, but for a ship meant to transport criminals, the rewards wouldn't have been worth the effort.

Ivan signalled Hess, as the bandits were about to leave. As he explained the plan he'd thought about, the thug had been surprisingly understanding.

- "We'll set fire to the Arnim." - He told the crew. - "We'll pile the dead pirates onto it, and dress two of the corpses with our Anirian armour." - He said motioning to himself and Lachie. - "That way, there'll only be a bunch or unrecognizable charred corpses on board; Vel Anir will find the ship and think us all dead. They won't send any further parties to locate us. after that" -

He looked around, to both the crew and Lachie.

- "Agree?" - ​

 

[Lachlan Irwin]

To pass off that he was dead was.... an odd feeling for him. He couldn't stop thinking about his Nana, could care less of his father, but the matriarch had taught Lachlan all he needed to know in order to control and work his magic. To swim, to understand how it worked.

But he had nothing to offer in terms of his future.

He met the icy cool gaze of his friend, giving himself a few seconds to decided.

"Alright then." With a death, the family would get a compensation, not that money could replace him. For weeks, perhaps even months, Lachie hadn't felt right with the world, his purpose. But he became fast friends with Ivan. Perspective had been put into place, and if he truly wished to explore the rest of his life, this was the best opportunity to learn about it.

"But you gotta help me with the name of this beauty. Otherwise I will stay firm on Irwin & Skender." He grinned.

 

[Ivan Skender]

He chuckled at the suggestion.

- "Well, since your nanna did such a great job at rallying the crew, why don't we name it after her?" - He asked slyly. - "The Matriarch?" - No no, too pompous. - "Odren's Revenge?" - Kress no, too obvious. The second Vel Anir heard there was a ship named the Odren's Revenge plundering the South Seas, they'd know something was up.

- "What's her name again?" - He asked, leaving over the ledge at the deck. Beyond, still aboard the Arnim, the thugs busied themselves carting off anything of value out of the ship, and getting ready to set it ablaze.​