Burning Rudder, Cont "You know what the sun's all about"

[Yarik]

Erinne laughed at Mako's offer, which he thought to be odd, before taking him by the shoulder and offering a few words. "Aye, I agree. This calls for a few drinks. However, the only request I make is that we maybe get away from the burning ship before we get too comfortable below deck?" Mako smiled and waved it off, glancing back at the flickering husk as it grew closer and closer to the horizon.

"Serrah, let us forget about that, now! It is behind us, and we should look forward, to the incredible adventure and profit that await us!"

Before he could do the flourish with his hands that he was going to use to embellish his micro-speech, Alton walked past, and bade Mako walk with him. He followed, up to the top deck, where Alton turned, his face as stern as the wind was cold.

"Mako. I understand why you're here. I can hardly believe I'm here myself, really. You never really lose the skills...But maker. You found me... From our respective ships, we were doing quite well, weren't we? You know of me, you know my strong points...maybe you know my low points. I can't hold our finances. Ever. And I mean that," he said. with a tone of deadly seriousness. Mako smiled.

"Messere captain, I-... err... ah ha." He replied, and then waited for Alton to finish.

"I can't do it. So you're the treasure holder, alright? And unless it's a straight up payment, you never tell me where it isi, alright?...I don't need to tell you what happens if things go south. So you keep it to yourself. And don't you dare tell Erinne or the elf...cuz I'd get it from 'em, you understand?"

"I, uh.... yes, messere captain. I will endeavor to responsibly maintain our finances! But surely now is not the time for such drab talk, messere! Our crew grows by one, and that is a cause for celebration in Rivain! I will get the drinks!" Finished, Mako returned to the lower deck, where Vhen and Erinne remained, and passed them on his way below the decks and the cargo hold. He returned a few minutes later, his arms full of various types and makes of alcohol in a haphazard assortment.

[Erinne]

Erinne leaned up against the stern and watched as Mako and Alton left to talk to each other. Shaking her head, she looked to Vhen and shrugged. "Well, I'll take this as a good sign!" she laughed, nearly getting knocked over as he ran below deck.

"Our crew grows by one, and that is a cause for celebration in Rivain! I will get the drinks!" he had shouted before disappearing.

Well, that makes four. she smiled slightly, reaching out and taking a bottle from Mako and popping out the cork, bringing it to her lips and watching the other three. Granted, she hadn't known them very long, one less then an hour, but it was kind of nice to see the immediate bond between some of them. It was refreshing.

She took another drink from her bottle, sitting against the edge of the ship and dangling her bare feet off the side, watching the ashes off the burning ship float to the sky and fall back into the sea, staring at the flames. She waited a few moments before turning back to Mako. "How nice of them to leave us a stockpile of ale, eh?" she laughed, raising her bottle to her mouth and taking a deep drink.

[Yarik]

Patiently, Mako waited while everyone grabbed their drink of choice from what he had grabbed from the hold, then perused what was left to find something for himself. He settled on a bottle of Orlesian wine. It wasn't very strong, but then Mako felt he was drunk enough already, and it had a nice taste to it. All delicate and flowery and... Orlesian.

He set the rest of the bottles on the deck as gently as he could, which, it turned out, wasn't very gently at all, and then took a long drink of wine, and Erinne caught his eye as she dangled her feet over the edge of the ship. She was a firm reminder of how far from home Mako was; he didn't care much if his crewmates were the least bit attractive, but there wasn't a woman in Kirkwall who's skin held that deep, earthy tone they had in Rivain that he found so lovely. The people of the Free Marches largely looked to Mako like they needed to get out a bit more often. Of course, when they did, their skin turned to leather, and that was even less attractive than their usual sickly pink. And their hair- well, suffice it to say, Mako was not a fan.

"How nice of them to leave us a stockpile of ale, eh?" Erinne said, perhaps feeling his stare. Mako laughed, and replied with a stupid smile on his face.

"Indeed- their farewell gift to us, serrah. Truly they were noble souls to have left such treasure for those who would undo them! I can only hope that whoever does the same to myself receives his just reward."

[Erinne]

Well this certainly wasn't how Erinne had planned on spending her evening; signing up with pirates, murdering an entire crew of sailors, commandeering their ship, rescuing an elf from almost certain death, and following it all up drinking? No, she definitely hadn't planned on THAT happening when she had crawled out of bed that morning. She brought the bottle to her mouth as she looked over the crew. Alton had, so far, turned out to be a fair captain, Mako was a natural-born follower and made a good second in command and though she knew very little about Vhen, he seemed a cheeky elf, pretty funny also.

Overall, she felt good about it all. She had originally just been looking for a job, but this...this was turning out to be more of a lifestyle, and she liked it so far. Of course, they still hadn't done a single job yet, but judging from how they had handled the sailors, she had no doubt that they could handle the challenge. She felt comfortable, and that alone was a miracle. Enough for a celebration, anyways. Holding another bottle of ale with her foot as the other extras rolled around the deck, she raised her half empty bottle.

"Gentleman, I propose a toast. To the Rezanaut, still a pair of hands short and a few screws loose, may she bring us fortune."

[Alton Brant]

"To the Rezanaut!" Alton toasted, his mood lifting as he smashed his jug of rum against their drinks in turn. After helping himself to a generous swig, he let out a satisfied breath and plunked himself down in a chair. He grabbed Erinne as she walked by and pulled her into his lap.

"My arm says thanks. You're pretty good at taking care of a man," he said with a smirk. "Without you'd I'd probably have to chop it off, which'd be a shame. I'm quite fond of this one."

He began to drunkenly sing a song about a whore who fell in love with a qunari, and who would never have the love returned. After about halfway through the song he trailed off, as he forgot the rest of the words. Then he continued on louder with the ending that he knew.

"So business," he said aloud, sitting up and moving to the side to look at the rest of the crew. "We need 'nother pair of hands before we're at good speed. I say we stick north and make for the next port. If we're lucky, we grab crew and a job in one go. But right now I'd take either. Thoughts? Anyone have someone in mind?" he asked, taking another swig of rum.

[Yarik]

"So business. We need 'nother pair of hands before we're at good speed. I say we stick north and make for the next port. If we're lucky, we grab crew and a job in one go. But right now I'd take either. Thoughts? Anyone have someone in mind?"

He wracked his brain while he took another drink of his Orlesian wine, of which he found he was rapidly running out, but Mako couldn't think of anyone. The contacts he'd made in Kirkwall were entirely of the civilian sort, and not the type who would be useful on a fishing boat, let alone a raider's vessel.

"An agreeable plan, messere captain. Perhaps we will stumble upon another burning ship on the way, and find ourselves in need only of work! The way our luck runs, it would hardy surprise me," Mako replied, finally turning away from the horizon, beyond which Vhen's ship had finally disappeared.

[Erinne]

Erinne jumped slightly, for a moment thinking that she had slipped and fallen till she felt Alton's hand on her. She blinked a few times until realizing what had happened before she smirked back at him. "Tell your arm he's welcome," she nodded before standing up, walking to the edge of the ship and propping herself against it, taking another swig.

"An agreeable plan, messere captain. Perhaps we will stumble upon another burning ship on the way, and find ourselves in need only of work! The way our luck runs, it would hardy surprise me."

Erinne shrugged, she didn't know many people outside of Kirkwall that would be of any use to their ship, but then, that wasn't her department. "As for the extra set of hands, I'm not going to be much use to helping you find someone. As for a job, on the other hand, there are a few that've stood out for me in the area. Granted, they'll be a lot easier with five then four, but I'm sure we can manage if we don't find one more before that. At any rate, they're further north then the port. Plus, I'm sure we could use to stock up the ship and I could keep my ear to the ground and see if there are any more jobs up there."

She sat crosslegged on the wood of the deck, holding her full bottle between her knees as she topped off the first, already a pleasant buzzing feeling tapping at the back of her head. "It's your call, Alton."

[Alton Brant]

"We don't have much choice," he said after a moment, "we need to stop in Ostwick anyways. They have people there, and decent prices on supplies. I have some unfinished business in Bastio, but that's far north and it can wait. There's money in it, but I'm hoping we'll have more coin after our stop in Ostwick."

Alton produced a map of the Free Marches and laid it flat on the wall, pinning it in place with two daggers.

"We're going to work our way north. If we keep moving we shouldn't have a problem with the guard, especially with how times are now. Now, there's a lot of coin for apostates...but I'd rather we avoid the whole business. They're too risky, and I don't trust the chantry neither. We keep our heads down and sail straight. We're a craft of many talents. We can make the impossible happen if the coin is right, and we may have to. We may have the chance to do some honest work, and maybe a lot of other kinds of work, but we'll get by however we can, and if I have it my way, it'll be smooth and with heavy pockets," he told them, tapping Ostwick on the map.

"By morning we'll be here. I want everyone to use your ears. Yours especially, Vhen. I hear knife ears can hear grass grow," Alton said cheerfully, "and look for what we need in crew. You should all have a general idea, and I'll give the yay or nay, but I'll be honest boys and girl, people have surprised me. Some take to the ocean, some don't. Might be hit or miss. So, is it all clear? Can I go pass out now?" he asked, glancing at everyone.

[Ghost]

Vhen grabbed a bottle of what initially seemed to be wine, but had had the label torn off and been filled with brandy. The most wonderful surprise of the evening. Besides being rescued and such. He wasn't really in a position to discuss plans in great detail, having literally only been dragged aboard a few moments ago. Regardless, he chinked bottled and cheered for the boat he was now part of. That is what a good sailor becomes anyway. Part of the boat.

"North is as good a direction as any. If we happen upon a small band of Orlesian pirates in dories, though, can we deal with them? I believe I owe at least one of them a puncture wound." Vhen turned back towards where the ship had been. You could only see the faint glow of the fire now. It would be in the ocean by daytime.

He took another swig from the bottle and moved so he could have a decent view of the map. "Not just grow, sing. All the elves in the woods need to dance to something and they certainly aren't singing it themselves." He took another drink "I may know a few people in Ostwick. I'll see what I can stir up. Now I have had a very eventful day. I think I will follow our captain's valiant example and cease to be conscious for several hours." He turned to head towards the cabins. "Wait, where are the cabins?"

After a few moments he just shrugged and went for the nearest door. Then fell asleep in that room. Whatever room it was.

[Erinne]

Erinne nodded to Alton as the decision was set and watched as Vhen meandered into something similar to a closet and did not return back out. Lightweight she smiled, looking to the other two. Mako was definitely drunk, he had been before they started celebrating, and Alton...the fact that he was still standing was a miracle.

She stood, along with her new bottle, and handed it to Mako to bring back down below deck. "So it's settled then, we head to Ostwick. I'll see what information I can find, till then keep your heads low--" she blinked a few times at Alton's request to go pass out, and tried not to laugh. It was only a matter of time, she supposed.

"Alright, I'll keep first watch, you two aught to get some sleep. You especially, your arm needs to heal." Erinne scratched the back of her head as she nodded to Mako. "I'll wake you in a few hours to take the next watch, then." She looked to both and patted them on their shoulders before walking up the creaky wooden stairs to the high deck, leaning up against one of the masts, watching the horizon where the last ship had disappeared.

Looking up at the moon, it would be at least a few hours before dawn, hopefully that would be a long enough time for Mako to sober up, alcohol has a tendency to slow reactions, and other then those already on the ship, they weren't making a lot of friends on the way. They needed to be sharp.

[Yarik]

"Ostwick, eh?" Mako said as the name of the city caught his ears. He hated Ostwick. "A lovely place, that. If you have never seen the sunset in Ostwick, I've always said, then you have never truly lived!"

"Can I go pass out now?"

Mako nodded to Alton, and, finishing the last of the wine that he cared to drink before letting the bottle fall to the deck, began to climb the shroud up to the crow's nest.

"Alright, I'll keep first watch. I'll wake you in a few hours to take the next watch, then," he heard Erinne say as he began climbing. It took a moment for the words to sink in, and for him to stop and think for a moment.

"Ah.... very well then, serrah. I shall pass out in the Crow's Nest, then, for I fear I won't be in any state to get to it when I next awake! When you have need of me, simply toss something up to me, serrah, for I am perhaps the lightest sleeper I have ever met."

That said, he continued climbing, until he was level with the top of the crow's nest's rim. In the transition, he nearly slipped and fell back down to the deck, but caught himself, and managed to pull his body over the ledge, to fall asleep staring at the starry sky.