Private Tales Ships That Do Not Return

[Alistair Wren]

Theme Music​

Alistair sat on a dock on the coast of the Allir Reach, a huge ship docked behind him. Gulls cried from the mast and sailors loaded food and supplies on board, the sun bearing down on them in all her glory. Hands wrapped around his knees, Alistair sat on the edge of the dock and stared plainly into the harbor, his big, string bag by his side. He had nothing to do since he had arrived and he was bored. He looked around for something he could help with, but the sailors seemed to be handling themselves alright, and he was too shy to ask.

Leaping to his feet, Alistair waved a hand at two sailors who were carrying a huge crate as he walked by, but received only a grunt in response. Withdrawing, he stammered and looked away.

"I wonder if the Captain is around anywhere," he thought to himself, scratching his head, "oh well," shrugging, he turned around, got on his hands and knees and started doing tumbles along the dock, which he always did when he was bored.

Laughing to himself, Alistair rolled and rolled, getting dirt in his hair and on his robes as he bowled over himself in a little ball. He had got quite good at it, and liked to show people, although they were not always appreciative. Rolling over, he giggle, not realizing how far he had tumbled. He rolled straight into the feet of a man who was walking down the dock. Mortified, Alistair quickly sprung up and brushed dirt off his backside. He tousled his hair hair, shaking out the dust and straightened his brown robes. Eyes the colour of the sea widened and he looked up to see a man holding a large map under his arm.

He was the Captain of the Calypso.

"Captain! Danny! Sir!" Alistair stammered, recoiling into the capelet of his robes.

An awkward pause followed.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I don't like floating around like a spare part here, heh," scratching the back of his head, Alistair stifled a chuckle and looked at the dock. When he raised his head, he saw the map that Danny was carrying, "is that a star chart? I'm very good at navigating," the young mage chimed.

Alistair's father had been an astronomer who mapped out safe passages for ships when he had grown up on the Aberresai coast. He had fond memories of helping him chart the stars, but always missed him when he set sail. Danny had recruited Alistair on board the Calypso to help out as a healer and navigator, but there was a more sinister presence lurking beneath the depths, one which would require his skill in the arcane arts.

A sailor on board called and the sails were lowered. His attention drawn to the mast of the ship, Alistair turned around, truly in awe by it's grandeur. Hands on his hips, he raised a hand to his forehead to shield them from the sun.

"Are we nearly ready to set sail?" Alistair asked, turning to face Danny.

Danny

 

[Danny]

The small dock on the coast of the Allir Reach was the latest stop in Danny's sea voyages. A needed bit of rest after yet another successful contract, and lots of prizes taken. The Calypso was in need of some rest and repair herself, and the tiny village a few legs from the dock provided some good beds and food for the crew for the past two nights. But now, it was almost time to get back on the sea to chase the latest gossip, and that one intrigued the young Captain Reed very much so.

Many things had happened in those last couple of months, actually. From brazing through waves of murderous thieves in defense of a local farmhold, to helping a siren after he got played by a few corrupt merchants who enjoyed acting as smugglers into delivering bodies, alive and dead, for illegal experiments in Elbion, and now he even had some fresh blood aboard his ship. A very odd yet intelligent prodigal healer, which certainly could come in handy for his travels.

The Calypso's crew were well versed in many arts needed for survivals, from cooking to cleaning and healing, but none had any magical talent besides himself, and he didn't even know how to use it except to shoot his magic pistols. A healer of that young man's caliber would be such a great addition that even with his childish exterior, Danny just couldn't pass up on the opportunity, even if it was a temporary one.

The sun was falling and the night had almost been upon them when Danny arrived from the village carrying a map and a small pouch of coin, overseeing the last of the supply crates being loaded on his beloved ship. He opened a short smile as he admired its mighty sails and the black flag carried high above the main mast, the banner of Captain Reed. It had put the fear of God in many men's hearts ever since he started using it -- a red shaped skull with two pistols crossed underneath it, his own unique identity.

Danny walked to his quartermaster's side as the brutish half-orc gave a few instructions to the men as they prepared the Calypso, now fully cleaned and repaired, for travel.

"Are we all set?", the captain asked, smiling as he watched the men working with always a smile on their faces, started their chanting of sea shanties that they enjoyed as a good luck charm before every travel.

"Aye, captain. Just a few more crates and a last check of the sails and we'll be good to go. Any word on that map?", Rhondon barely finished his question before Danny walked past him, jokingly waving his newly acquired map in front of him. The red coated captain climbed aboard the ship, closely followed by his best mate as the last of the working sailors finished their preparations.

But before any further planning could be made, Danny got surprised by the rookie, as playful as ever.

"You're a weird one, aren't you mate?", Reed said, contorting his face as he yet failed to fully understand that young man's mind. He certainly was very bright, but sometimes as dull as a rock.

After some small talk, mostly greeting and trivialities, Danny eluded the now formed party chasing him full of questions about his map and stepped hastily through the deck towards his quarters, leaving the door open as the rest of the men - the healer, his Ship Master and Quartermaster - entered shortly afterwards.

Rhondon closed the door after entering, saying that the crew waited orders to set sail, as Danny opened up the map over his beautifully carved wooden desk and started trying to read it, before the healer got in the way, mumbling all manner of strange words as he gloated about being a navigator.

"Are you sure this... 'treasure' even exists, captain?", asked Mr Declan, the Calypso's Ship Master and Helmsman, curious himself about Danny's latest planned undertaking. The young captain merely smiled as response, waiting for Alistair to speak up some good news for once.

 

[Alistair Wren]

Springing to his feet, Alistair brushed himself down and beheld the captain. He seemed nice, and hadn't even minded when the young mage had roly-polied into his feet. Raising a hand to the back of his head, Alistair scratched it and laughed, looking at his feet as he did so. His eye on the captain's map, he wondered what was on it, a chart of the stars or perhaps a passage to the treasure they were seeking.

"That's what the Dreadlords of Vel Anir told me before they shoved my head in a chamber pot," Alistair laughed.

Once all the supplies were loaded onto the ship, Danny, Alistair and the rest of the crew boarded. Hand on a railing, Alistair looked up at the black sails in awe. He had been wary about lending his abilities to a pirate crew, but if one of them was injured at sea, he would be the first one to lend a hand, and the chance of uncovering the secret to a dark presence beneath the sea wasn't one he would pass up. Clutching his the hem of his robes, Alistair stepped onto the deck.

The young mage looked around, clearly awestruck by the sight of the ocean in all her glory. As Danny walked into his quarters, Alistair and the rest of the crew followed.

Smoothing down the front of his robes, Alistair joined the crew around Danny's desk, where he lay out the map. Intrigued, Alistair gripped the edge of the table and peered over, fascinated by all the tiny details. Gulls cried outside the ship, the smell of salt filling the cabin. Sailors and pirates who were larger and more muscular than Alistair stood around the desk, the young mage standing in the center. When one of the sailors asked a question about the treasure, Alistair piped up, eager to be of some use.

"The treasure exists, for certain," withdrawing his hands from the desk, he stood up straight and spoke, his tone changing all of a sudden. He spoke softly and contemplatively, like a Professor of the College of Elbion far beyond his years, "it's located in a cove at a coordinate between these two stars, but be wary sailor, for it is guarded by a monster," Alistair looked up and said, tapping his chin with his finger.

He pointed to the map, running his fingers between the two stars which would guide them to their destination, then stood at his full height.

"Well, not a monster in the typical sense, but rather a fallen god that once ruled the sea," finger held in the air, Alistair spoke with the weight of a warning, "the god takes the form of a beast that feeds on the souls of sailors," he stated.

"It takes their prizes, and entombs them in it's own body of treasure, which in turn, fuels it's power," Alistair nodded, speaking sternly.

"The treasure is the bond which binds it to the sea, but if it is taken, the bond will be severed and the beast will become mortal," eyes shifting between the sailors, Alistair spoke softly, the nature of warning made more unsettling by the gentle tone of his voice. With his help, Danny's crew could dispel the beast from the cove and collect the treasure, without having their souls fused to it themselves. The ends of Alistair's mouth drew back and he smiled, his cheeks dented with huge, distinctive dimples.

Danny

 

[Danny]

There it was again. All the magic and mythical blabbering, spinning tales to keep some of the more susperticious men on their toes, looking over their shoulders as if there was some kind of evil presence lurking next to them, just waiting to take over their bodies. Danny had been there before, and it wasn't as cool as the common folk make it out to be. In fact, it sucked having a demonic spirit inside him, since its annoying voice was on the captain's mind many hours a day, which explained his sudden mood swings every now and then.

But the more Alistair talked, the more frightened and somewhat curious the other people at the meeting, mainly Rhondon and Mr Declan, became. It was like the boy had them all on strings, while Danny kept in silence, just glancing between them and having a few laughs with their faces after all that talk of fallen gods and stuff. The only thing that captured Danny's attention was the mention of a treasure, and he was in mad need of one. Talks of myths rarely paid for maintaining a ship like the Calypso and its crew, and with fear for a mutiny, Danny started resorting to fairy tales and gossip talks on taverns like the one he met the young Alistair, jammering to the innkeeper about a map and a lost treasure it pointed to.

Lucky for Reed, he had found both the map and the man to lead him to the treasure and whatever sort of fallen god that guarded it.

"Fallen gods, is it? I suppose they don't have anything fancy to do these days, aye?", Danny spoke up after Alistair finished his tale, being the loner in taking the piss with all that situation, until the glooming mood took over again, and Danny did his best to focus and put on a serious note now.

"All right, all right... What exactly is that treasure? And can we even take it? I don't think fallen gods leave their chests just floating about somewhere", the captain added, after being severely reprimanded by Declan and Rhondon's stares.

Danny put both his hands on the desk, towering over the starred map and doing his best impression of someone who understood what all those instructions were about. He had never seen a map like that before, and prying it from the hands of a elven collector of antiques wasn't exactly a quiet stroll. Good thing he had the weird Alistair by his side that time, to help lead him to that treasure that already lit up Danny's eyes with just the thought of holding it. Maybe would even be enough to outfit the Calypso with more guns, turn it into a real terror of the seas, enough to put the whole of the Black Bay on hold each time he passed near it.

Would certainly do well to keep the annoying bounty hunters off his back, especially after that business with the evil cult back at Elbion.

"Alistair, mate, just point Mr Declan to the spot and I'll point these beauties to your fallen god", Danny slightly pushed aside his red leather and gold embroidered coat, revealing one of the magical pistols hanging on his waist.

 

[Alistair Wren]

Hands on the desk, Alistair looked up as Danny spoke, dark blue eyes wide and serious. At Danny's joke, he withdrew his wrists and sighed, chuckling slightly. He folded his arms and cupped his chin in thought, his long sleeves hanging to his thighs. Sure, Alistair had studied gods of the sea and their properties in books while he had been at university, but he had never dealt with them face-to-face as many of these sailors had. What he read in his books couldn't prepare him for what they had faced.

"They've lost a good deal of their divine power since their fall, so they can be slain by mortal men while assuming their physical form," the young mage noted.

Danny then cut to the chase. When he asked about the treasure, Alistair's eyes brightened and he clicked his tongue, leaning back over the desk. Muttering aloud to himself, he ran his finger across the map and performed a quick calculation, drawing a line between the two stars with his finger. Chin cupped, he leaned back and stood at his full height, his eyes fixed on the map. Thinking to himself, he tilted his head to the side and pointed, a few strands of chocolate hair falling in his eyes.

"The treasure is located in a cove between these two coordinates," he pointed, "the beast comes out of a blowhole at the presence of anybody who might take it," leaping back, he made an eruption in the air with his hands, mimicking a huge tentacled beast coming out of a blowhole in a cave.

"Whheeuughw!" The eccentric young mage expressed, gestures and all.

The ends of his mouth straightened and he retained his composure. Brushing back the hair that had fallen in his eyes, he planted his hands on the desk and breathed in, eyes turning towards Danny as he asked if they could even take the treasure.

"We can when the god assumes its physical form, only then can it be slain," Alistair nodded. He pointed to the map, "the cove between these two coordinates, it's uncharted, only the stars may lead you there," a nod, and he stood at his full height, hands clasped behind his back.

"Are we ready to set sail, captain?" He faced Danny asked, eyebrows straight as line.

Danny

 

[Danny]

Danny's fingers covered his mouth as his head went up to the clouds, his mind filled with stratagems and thoughts about the storm to come. Everything he knew about that so called treasure were alcohol driven rumours in nearby taverns and these far fetched stories of fallen gods by Alistair. Part of Danny wanted to believe in them, but he also needed to make sure they weren't sailing towards the abyss, he couldn't just risk his ship and crew like that.

The young captain paused, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as the room around him went silent after Alistair's question, everyone in that small but important gathering just waiting for Reed's next words - be they of approval or not.

"Mr Declan...", Danny finally spoke. "Set a course to this mysterious place. We have a godly treasure to plunder", said the Calypso's captain as everyone else started buzzing up and smiling. The Ship Master was the first to leave the room, taking the star map with him and signaling the young Alistair to follow him. Danny supposed that those two would soon get together well, or be at each others' throats. Navigation was a rather tiresome job, and Danny preferred to leave that in the very capable hands of Mr Declan, only taking the helm when he saw fit. The crew needed his leading figure to be seen every once in a while, after all.

The rest of the people there slowly left the captain's cabin, leaving only Danny and his quartermaster, Rhondon. Reed reached out for a small bottle of rum on his desk, enjoying a quick sip of the drink that was left there as the half orc walked the room, itching to bring forward his thoughts.

"Go ahead. What's on your mind, mate?", asked Danny, breaking the silence.

Rhondon stopped on his tracks and turned to face his captain, arms crossed and with a rather not really amicable face, as customary. "Can we trust this kid, captain? I've heard of no such tales of star maps, fallen gods and their treasures. Sounds like walking into a foolish trap, if you ask me."

Danny laughed, drinking the last of the rum in the stylish glass bottle.

"What, a sea monster waiting from his hole to grab us while we try to pry off a magical treasure from him? We've been through worse, mate!"

Alistair Wren