Vincent couldn’t help but to cock his brow towards her. What sort of sick game was this? It hadn’t been very long since he ordered the destruction of her ship, with her on it. And now she was trying her damndest to seduce her. What the hell was wrong with her? Gods knew that if he ever needed a drink more than ever before it was now. “What…NO! That’s not what I meant, woman!” He knew that she was trying to mess with his head further, and so far it was working. His eyes glanced over to her feeling her attire before looking away in shyness.

Things got only more awkward and he took another shot of brandy. “Please…and then I end up with a dagger in my back…NO! I won’t even consider it…” She was a beauty, but she was also a criminal to boot. And the one he was instructed to hunt down. He sighed and gestured for her to come and have a glass, whether he liked it or not was no longer an option. “Break him? You sleep with pursuers  for the hell of it?” Another shot was taken and he felt the burning of the alcohol become more duller for him. “No, the details were spared from me, likely as to not discourage me from going after you”, he explained. Among all the tales, he hadn’t heard that one, so it meant one of two things- either Furtuna was lying or his commanders wanted this information to be kept secret for whatever reason. “A code of honor, right” By now, he was on his five or six drink. “So what’s your game? You don’t seem to flat out kill, but you like to screw with people’s heads?” Vincent could feel himself becoming more blunt as the liquid courage took form in him.

What was the point in her being here, really? Was it to gloat that he had failed in his attempt? If so, then he had some disappointing news for her. “I’ll take your word on it.” He said as she came closer to him. “Just because you are here and free doesn’t mean I’m giving up. I will not rest until I do catch you, so you know.” He placed down his glass and was about to pace back to his bed when she grabbed him and made him feel her body. WHAT THE…” He froze up, sensing that there was something disturbing about her and it threw him for a loop. And if that was capable of doing so, then the kiss she gave him made feel like he was drowning in it. Pulling back after a moment, he backed away and just stared at her. “Quit fucking with me”, he said in a low voice. “You came with for a reaction, didn’t you?”

She was testing his patience and his resolve. Vincent, even for a second, was starting to question his own resolve in this situation. The alcohol was doing more harm than good for him as he looked angrily at her. He went to fetch his glass and then grew hesitate and suddenly lash his hand out towards her neck but held back from squeezing it. Deep breaths were taken as his mind still felt like it was swimming before he looked at her again and moved in closer to her. “And how do you feel about people coming this close to you then?” The man wasn’t sure what he was going to do from here. He wanted to capture her and lock her away underneath, but he couldn’t very well do that with the state of mind he was in. He felt like just ending the game here and walking. He felt like simply caving into her whim. A tempest brew within the captain before he pulled her over to him and brushed his lips against hers, denying her a full pledge kiss.      

“I live for the thrill of the chase… and it turns me on too. It’s a win, win… Besides hate sex is some of the best sex out there. Trust me I’ve gotten my fill of Egjora Captains over the years. They just don’t tell you about it. Though the one in the Madhouse is the first one ever to take what I say to heart.”

Green eyes stared at him as her lips parted. “Dear Vincent… The world can’t hear even though it’s so blind. What you consider an honor code is just a way to cover up the atrocities your government does when you don’t look or watch. The world is blind even though it can see. Once you become awakened to whats around you… You can’t ever look at things the same way again. The harrowing screams of the dying and the raped still haunt my memories. You are too young to remember it though.”

Her words were so soft and delicate. They were serious as was the look on her face as she spoke about it. The nightmares that brewed in her head. Still, though she pushed them aside and moved on to mess with him some more. “I kill when I have to kill. I save when I have to save. The atrocities of the world have yet to be answered for.” That was her game and now he knew. He knew a little too much but not enough to figure out just who she was.

His voice was so quiet to her but she gave him a smirk. “No, I came here to let you know about who I am and what I do. I don’t do this for the treasure… for the glory. I have a very real reason to do the things I do. I just happen to find the thrill of getting a captain to unbuckle his pants for me a bit too much at times.” She rolled her shoulders in a shrug.

Vincent took her neck and she gave a smile, he wouldn’t do it to her. Furtuna took his kiss with stride and smiled. “The fire from earlier is missing in you. Don’t give up so easily Vincent Gloreaver.” Her hands moved up his as she took his hand off her neck. Pulling him in she wrapped herself around him and kissed his neck softly. “It’s not fun when you just give in.” She was about ready to busy herself as her fingers played with the edge of his pants when a grumbling noise interrupted them. There was an agitated shy as she looked up over his shoulder.

“This better be good Xeria.” There was a tiny fey looking girl behind them as she pushed him off of her and slid off the perch she had been on.

“Wouldn’t be interrupting you unless it was something important, Princess.” The Fey gave a smirk and Furtuna rubbed the back of her neck.

“Don’t go spouting that princess bullshit around people who are on a need to know basis. We’ve talked about this.” Furtuna’s playful attitude left.

“We found Sturgeus. He’s in the middle of the Nylea Ocean off the coast of Vilpamolan. Looks like he was plundering some of Arri’s ships.” The Fey was standing there with a confident look and a rather military style stance as Furtuna frowned.

“Teleport onto the ship and get me Sturgeus… Then blow up his entire fleet. Kill them all but save Sturgeus for me.” Furtuna rubbed her neck some more as she looked back at Vincent. “Why is the world so deaf when they can hear? I got asked that question once… It’s a phrase to live by. We’ll play again… For now, Xeria prepare Sacab to launch… We’re going to pay Strugeus a visit.” They were gone after that.

Off the coast of Vilpamolan a huge pirate fight took place. It lasted but a couple minutes as an entire fleet was blown up. There were a man's screams as a body was flung into the air as a high altitude. His body was filled with holes from air magic, nice and clean. He had suffered before he was thrown off. His body washed ashore not long after that.

Was he to really believe anything that poured out of her mouth? He suspected not yet he was willing to hear her out at least. There wasn’t much else he could do; besides he could use this time to find any sort of kinks in her armor. So he would let her speak her piece. “I believe in justice first and utmost. Just as I do not know you, you do not know me, Furtuna. What I do is for my home, regardless of who is put in charge. If they were a threat, then I would deal with them according.” How much more was she going to mess with him? It was uncertain whether she even was doing that or not. Still, he had to constantly remind himself that they were enemies and to watch what she was saying to him. “You are right about one thing- I am young and haven’t seen what you have in your days. That said, I won’t yield to an opposition or injustices.” Some of the pirate’s words still haunt at him but he tried to shake it off. “What atrocities do you mean?” He had to admit that she stroke his curiosity, mainly because she could justify her own actions while condemning others.

“Then while don’t you share with me the reason you are who you are?” Vincent crossed his arms in waiting, perhaps a futile one but it didn’t stop him. “So you take justice into your own hands? Is that it?”  The thought alone was bizarre- a self righteous pirate pillaging and taking from the evil? He didn’t think he was drunk enough to believe it.

“I’m not going to give in. I’m going to capture you, mark my words. If it’s the last thing I do, you will be turned in and charge.” He was slowly regaining himself from this high and even the alcohol’s influence as his hand loosened even more. Furtuna wanted a challenge, then he would give one to her. “I will take you and your captains down, one by one if I have to…” She wanted to play that game, then so be it. Hopefully he would be able to accomplish this far before she broke him like she did the others. He felt her hands lowering onto him yet didn’t move until he heard another voice and spun around to see another of her captains from earlier.

Great.

 He was moved away and poured another glass for himself as they talked. Princess? He looked Furtuna over again, not believing what they spewing this time. It was unbelievable to think of her as royalty after everything she put him through. Must have been screwing with him still. But he did overhear their next location and decided to head there after his ship was fixed. Downing the drink, he watched as they departed and he sighed before scratching the back of his head and stumbled over to the bed and collapsed into it. Unfortunately it still had her scent on the sheets and pillows, making sleep a bit difficult to obtain. “I’ll get you, Furtuna…”, he mumbled.

They arrived in Kairth in a little under a day’s time and the crew were off to collect supplies and enjoy their brief stay while Vincent occupied himself. He recalled that Captain Furtuna’s ship was able to great distances under a few moments, making it somewhat difficult to keep tracking. He would need something to counter it firstly if he wanted any hope to capture her. The second would be to dispel her defenses, as great as they were. Third would be systematically taking down her captains before heading to the head in charge herself. Fourth would be to withstand any and all games played by her in order to get a rise out of him. So far, that had been going on poorly for him. Sipping at his tea, he searched along the excesses of his mind for such answers but was coming up blank. Once he had heard word of The Fellshield’s completion, he ordered his forces back onto the ship and set sail for Canelux. Even if it was too late to catch up with her, he would still likely find out word on where she could be popping up to next. The young man sighed as he watched the sunset over the horizon as they sailed through the air.

The mixture of the sun, sea sky colors against one another would usually bring comfort in him, but instead Vincent found himself bothered by her cryptic words about how the world worked. While he couldn’t say that his home was perfect and that Egjora did have its share of  ne'er-do-wells, he wasn’t going to be convinced that they were the evil she spoke of. It sounded flat out ridiculous to even consider. He found himself pondering though what was her end game. Some of the men urged him to not let what she said when they first saw her get to him, lest he’d end up like the others. But Vincent was sure he was much more different and nothing would change. He was selected for this and he would see himself through to the end.

When they reached Vilpamolan, he was sure that she would have at least stopped at the pirate’s sanctuary for a bit but they also had to be cautious since the people around here didn’t like authority much. Instead, he elected to go along in disguise and traverse the city. Searching through his trunk, he dug out some wares that resembled that of these dirty sea rats. A flowing dark coat  and pants and a cream shirt, complete with thick back boots and a crimson hat that he felt silly in. He said his piece for the night to the rest of them before he headed out on his way over to one of the tavern inns. The moment he stepped inside, he looked around for any sight of the woman before heading over to the bar and ordering a Black Oyster Rum.

Furtuna stared at him for a bit. “It’s too early to tell you everything to my story.” There was a smirk as she left him there.

Everything leading up to the fight with Strugeus had her on edge. She needed some time off away from her ship and crew. So to keep them safe she had told them to go back to Baltil and wait for her after the assault was done. Vilpamolan was like her home away from home.

The Genasi had been asleep for a few days up in her tavern room. She needed all the energy after the adventure she had with Vincent and Strugeus. Once she was awake she made her way down the stairs while tying her corset up.

“Captain Furtuna, that was a glorious display.” The bartender slid her a drink and she grumbled as she sat down at the bar and drank. “But you were asleep for some time… Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it’s just magic deficiency. All magi go through it.” She downed the drink after that and frowned a bit more. “Why are you here?” Vincent would think it was him she was talking to but no.

“Furtuna, please don’t do this.” It was Angela, the goddess of life and earth.

“Get away from me.” Furtuna lost her cool with the woman. “What the hell do you want?”

“I was just hoping that we could talk.” Angela frowned at her.

“I ain’t ready to talk to no goddess who abandons her people.” Angela winced a bit and Furtuna sighed. “I know you didn’t abandon us but please leave. I ain’t in the mood to deal with your self-righteousness today.”

“Furtuna, whatever did I do for you to act like this to me?” Angela frowned deeply. “You are one of my beloved children. Yes, you scare me sometimes but you do it out of fear of what happened. You try to hide behind your jolliness. It’s the real reason your crew isn’t with you right now. You haven’t changed a bit… Not in all these centuries.”

Furtuna held up her glass. “You shouldn’t be in Vilpamolan. You know how they feel about you. Go home, Mother.” It was the first time she called her mother in a long time. “I’ll come see you soon. I just got thinking I got to do before I go around telling everyone my business. You know I don’t like that.” Angela gave her a smile.

“The world is blind even though it can see.”

“The world is deaf even though it can hear… You said those things to me once upon a time. I live by them. Now get the hell out of here… I hate it when people eyeball my damn mother like this.” Angela sighed a bit and disappeared. “More,” Furtuna chugged it down.

“You know everyone in this pub knows about who your mother is… You could talk to her a little. Your secrets are safe here.” The bartender tried to give the pirate lord some advice. “She loves you Furtuna.”

Furtuna gave a frown and sipped on the drink a bit more. “And I love her but she can’t be associated with me. The last thing people need is a reason to hate her guts more than she gives them.” The Genasi said it stubbornly as she rested on her propped up elbow.

The drink tasted even rougher than what he had imagined but Vincent stomached it somehow. There was definitely a fire in his belly due to it and he poured some more into his glass when the bartender addressed someone, the name was as familiar to him as the first ray of sunlight was to a waking man. He didn’t turn quickly, instead he watched from the corner of his eye as it was Furtuna coming downstairs and joining the bar. Vincent kept his presence low, drinking his rum and occasionally munched on some of the peanuts on the counter. When he heard of what had spun on her, he kept the magic deficiency in mind to jolt down for later. Sounded like the sort of thing he was hoping to get from her and he would have to discuss this with his mages later on.

Sipping at his drink, he nearly spit it out when he thought that she knew that he was here. Just as he was about to speak up, he looked again to see that it was another woman that was there. Apparently one that she didn’t want to talk to. Biting his tongue, he simply fell back into his own privacy and merely listened.

Learning that she was a goddess was one thing, but that Furtuna was one of her children was something that through him for a loop. How the hell did she get like this then? The discussion simply got worse and he felt awkward about it even though he had nothing to do with this. Simply put, she ran her off and the drinking would only really begin for her tonight. 

Sighing, he down the rum and let it burn down his throat and stomach. “Probably could have handled that better, but it’s none of my business.” By then he turned full towards her and watched her with a narrowing look. “That said, perhaps peace will be made once you’re behind bars.” He wouldn’t very well reveal himself out in the middle of pirate territory, that would be right out foolish. Instead, he held back for the moment and poured some more rum. “So she’s the one that gave you that bloody saying you kept throwing at me. I have to admit its getting annoying since I can’t figure out what you lot mean.”   

Furtuna was less than amused that Vincent was there and she knew his voice by now. She got up and moved over by him. “All our drinks are on me.” She patted Vincent on the back and tilted her head to him. “It is none of your business. Ma has her own problems and doesn’t need mine added to them. Her problems escalate in the hundreds thanks to my siblings… A Terrible little bunch that they are.”

The Genasi watched him for a bit and thought about it. “I once asked her why the people who are supposed to be protecting us the most are often the people murdering their own kind. That was her response to me. See Ma was a Death Goddess when I was born. She was depressed… We fought a lot. Bad blood and rebellion. Blah, blah, blah. Typical young adult stuff, we Genasi tend to be considered children and young adults even after centuries of being born so I can’t say my attitude was fantastic back then coupled with hers.”

She shrugged as she got more to drink. “One day, her spheres changed and she got Fertility and Earth. Gods she was so strong Vincent. I actually started to look up to her. I wanted to be part of Arri’s Royal Fleet. I wanted to be a soldier and help them all out. I could do it, I am an Air Genasi. Then one day… I was with my grandparents in Sularia.” Her face got grim. “Egjora and Adeluna had attacked us. The soldiers were murdering and raping our women in the streets. Lots of people died…”

She shivered a bit. “Grandma had me hidden with her up in a tiny space in the castle but we could still hear the screams. The royal army was able to come in and get them and soon my mother came back and destroyed their left over forces… Turns out she had been forced into a Conclave meeting to deal with something that would be called… The Godslayer. At the time it was just rumored and they didn’t think something like that existed until the Godslayer War not long ago. You asked what that saying meant. That’s what it means. Sularia screamed and no one heard us…”

She drank the rum down and sighed. “So I decided to do what any good daughter would do. Denounce my last name of Rose, ask my father to build me the ultimate ship, and I became a pirate.”

He didn’t flinch when she moved over right beside him. Instead he stood his ground, or more remained on his barstool and leaned onto the bar. “Fair enough.” He didn’t want to get involved into family disputes if he could. Those got too messy for his taste.
He only turned towards her again as she started to explain the deal with that saying of hers. He had heard of Angela the Goddess in passing here and there, much like how he learned of the rest of the pantheon, but he didn’t know just to the extent of her spheres or family in this case. “You, a problem…can’t see where she would get an idea like that”, he spoke, sarcasm  lingered on his tongue similar to how the rum was right at that moment. But he dropped it once the conversation got more personal for her. For all her troubles, she was talented and he could see her doing good as a soldier and such but then something changed. It was when she told him what happened with Egjora and Adeluna and her home. Vincent looked at her with shock, eyes widened as he couldn’t imagine his home doing something so atrocious to another land, let alone women and children. He looked down to the ground and silently sipped at his drink.

It must of happened long before he was born, and yet he couldn’t shake the words she spoke. He couldn’t picture those that were taught by the Academy to partake in such horrors. Adeluna made sense to him because of its former king, but Egjora? He didn’t think she was lying this time, but it was all too surreal. It took a while before he found his voice again and summoned the urge to be able to look at her direction. “I’m sorry…can’t imagine how much you had to endure during that time.” Perhaps it would just be best to give up the ghost and say that she disappeared on him. It likely wouldn’t reflect on him kindly in the eyes of his superiors, but he didn’t feel like trying to capture her like this anymore.

“So you pillage and fight the wicked…my only thing is why was Egjora, the Academy even in cahoots with whoever you were…” He started to think about something as he cupped his chin. Were the merchants in charge of the city involved in seedly deals with those of ill content? He didn’t want to believe such was a case, or else what was the point? Why was the Academy made if not to defend the defenseless?

“And you do this so that your mother doesn’t have this reflected by to her as well, I take it?”    

Furtuna looked frustrated for the moment as she looked over at him. “I still smell the decay of their bodies… Even right now. I had to help bury everyone that got killed. We all did. I remember finally being able to leave and finding my great grandmother on the roads. My other one had sacrificed her life to provide a barrier large enough to keep the larger lot of forces out of Sularia. Most of the royal family was dead by the dawn of the final day.

They had run out to save as many as they could but they got overwhelmed. My grandfather was the first one to find his mother… He changed after that you know? Everyone did. Sularia became a force to be reckoned with. We began to train harder… master magic faster. We became a powerhouse country. Our people are among the strongest now all to protect the sacrifice of those who died before us.”

The rum tasted a bit bitter now but she knew it was her senses making it that way. She closed her green eyes and shrugged a bit. “I do to protect Sularia.” She quieted down so he could figure it out by himself.

“Do this partly so I can sleep at night. I still wake up in the middle of the night screaming my damn head off. I remember everything so vividly. Not even the potions my mother brews help keep the nightmares away. She says I was traumatized by the events in Sularia. She might just be right but I try to do the best I can. So I get boozed and high to avoid the nightmares.”

After a few moments, she tilted her head. “You wanted to know my game… my story and now you do. What are you doing to do with it Vincent Gloreaver?”

This was a rather difficult subject to swallow. He was instructed to capture and bring the pirate in, and yet he felt sympathy for her plight. No one should have gone through what her and her people had, and to make matters worse, it was by his people’s hands, no matter how long ago it happened. That couldn’t be explained to those that remembered and were changed forever by it. There was no justifying the cruel actions taken during that time. He couldn’t find anything to say or how he felt about learning this. In their history not once had he even heard of something like that taking place, but then again why would they speak it? It was far better to let it be in the darkness than to bring it to the light and own up for the actions of the past.

Hell, had it never happened, then those like Furtuna would of had a better and more promising future. Picking up a handful of peanuts, he let them drop right back into the jar before picking them up and repeating the action several times while he thought about everything. “If that’s why you do these things, then that’s that. I can’t very well stop you in good conscious if the reason you do this is to protect your people and keep your sanity. I became a soldier to protect those too weak to defend themselves, been wanting to do that since I was younger. Surely there are a lot of people like that back in Egjora thanks to the class division. It’s just that I don’t know what actually goes on there then. I know the merchant families are far from trusting at times, but if they were involved with Arri’s pillaging or have these ties with the wrong people, then I don’t know what I’m fighting for or for who.” Perhaps she was right in saying that he blindly followed where they pointed him towards, with no regard for him or those in trouble. Maybe they were just there to line their pockets and fulfill any disgusting desire they had.

“The thing is…I have no idea”, he admitted as he took the rum bottle and brought the head to his lips and chugged a good deal of it. He then looked to her and shook his head. “The game was far more complex than I realize, even now I want to say that it’s not so, but it is.  All I know is that I want to help others in trouble. I suppose the first thing would be to let you go and say that you can’t be caught. That would hardly be lying given your reputation”, he shrugged.

Furtuna smiled at him and leaned over biting his ear. It was more to mess with him than anything but it was also to show him that she was alright. “You are a good man. I can see that you wouldn’t betray me, however, I can’t trust your crew. If you want to know about what I’m doing to Egjora… Come alone to the foothills of Baltil five nights from now. Just you. Tell your crew whatever you have to get there. Drop them off in the Old Forge Tavern if you have to. I’ll pick you up in one of my airships there and show you the truth.”

“You are a good man Vincent… You deserve to see the light.” She pressed her lips to his cheek and pushed herself off. She stumbled if only for a moment from the alcohol running through her completely.

“And Roger did then try to play his game,
But in pirate lands he was a man of fame,
So the working girl didn’t trust a word
And did not even give our man her name

Game, and fame, and naaaame!

And for the nameless girl Roger did so pine,
As he’d never met a girl so fine,
And then to him the girl was lost,
To a most heinous and brutal crime

Pine, so fine, the criiiiime

Roger Walker was ne'er seen again,
Some say he ne'er survived the pain,
But a part of Roger lingers on,
In three bastards he never knew he gained!”

Furtuna sang loudly as she danced around the tavern. She got the whole damn place riled up as they began to sing the famous sea shanty. She got up on the table and led them proudly in song. “Vincent Gloreaver! FIVE DAYS!” She held up her hand and with a bow she was gone with the whispers of the wind.

On the night that she was supposed to get him she had herself cloaked and sitting up on a rock. She was humming the sea shanty so he knew it was her. Her long legs kicked peacefully against the stones to the mountains. The foothills were always so pleasant this time of night.