“Oi! Keep it down!” Jack put his quill aside and glared at the door of his room, as though it could silence the banging on the door down the hall. It was likely some drunkard that had the wrong room and would soon learn that he was mistaken and that would be the end of it. He began to write his notes again and the banging intensified. This time he stoppered his ink and carefully closed the small ledger so the ink would not smudge and then went to his door. By the time he had opened it, the door to Saria’s room was slammed open. “Oh for the love of the gods,” the ex-soldier growled and he turned back into his room to retrieve his saber. He dragged the heavy sword from its sheath and stalked into the hallway with a candle in his left hand and the sword in his right. Saria was screaming by the time he stepped into the pitch dark room, and the light of his candle surprised the attacker. The man looked up and Jack recognized one of the rangers he had known in passing while in Mamlak. The soldier sneered at Jack, still holding Saria down.

“You want second, or should you like her mouth instead?”

Jack took a menacing step forward and made sure his blade glinted in the candlelight. “Let her go. You’ve got silver enough to pay for it without taking it, mate. No sense in bringing the law down on us before we’ve at least gotten paid proper. She’s our bloody golden goose.” The man chuckled and hiked up Saria’s skirt higher.

“Aye, but you can’t tell me it don’t feel the best when you’re taking it either way. Paying just ain’t the same, not like it was back in Mamlak. Don’t preach to me, Jackie boy.”

Jack prodded him in the chest gently with the tip of the saber. “Be careful, mate. You’ll say something you won’t have the chance to take back if you keep talking like that.” The man laughed and turned back to Saria, ignoring Jack and his sword.

“Well, if you don’t want her, more for me. Just be a dear and close the door on the way out, yeah?”

Jack looked directly at Saria, seeing the fear in her eyes. “Close your eyes, lass,” he bent over and whispered until her eyes were squeezed shut. As he straightened up, he thrust his saber hard, up through the former ranger’s guts, higher into his chest, until the hilt was pressed hard against his stomach. “Go to whatever hell you’d like, you raping bastard,” Jack growled. He twisted the blade and the man gave a gurgling gasp as the light left his eyes. Jack yanked the blade out and wiped it clean on the man’s tunic. “You can open them now, lass,” he said softly as he cut the man’s purse and belt away. “And this is yours,” he said, tossing the purse onto the bed. “Now get your things. You’re staying in my room and there’s no argument. I promised to protect you, so that’s how it goes now. You don’t leave my sight.” He sheathed the sword and helped Saria with her possessions, carrying them into his room for her as much as she would let him.

“Put them wherever for tonight. We sail in the morning, after all. And the bed is yours; I’ll have the chair here.” He collapsed into the chair at the small writing desk and sighed heavily. “I know you’re not much of a drinker, but there’s wine in the pitcher on the sideboard. It’ll help you sleep.” He smiled at her a little. “I’m glad I got there when I did. You’re… you’re alright, right?”

For a brief second, the attacker’s hold on her let up as his attention turned to the doorway. It sounded like Jack was in the door? He seemed to be trying to reason with her attacker to not continue on with his assault, but the man continued to hold her down. The two grumbled back and forth, Jack urging the man to be rational and the man saying some words which were enough to make one scream… that is, if she weren’t already screaming. His hold tightened on her as her skirts were lifted.
For a second, Saria’s mind vacated the moment, perhaps to save her from the impending fate that seemed inevitable. She flashed back to her time in Aelle’s hold, maybe two months ago, when any time she didn’t spend with Aelle she had ended up spending hiding from that dog, Leofric. His smug grin was more than just sinister, it was as if she were looking into the face of some demonic creature whose sole purpose was to bring her suffering and pain. She remembered all of the times she’d have to duck into a crevice or sprint to the main hall to avoid his advances, all of the times he’d actually caught up to her and tried to violate her, all of the times Aelle had randomly (and unknowingly) come to her rescue. Hopefully Aelle was doing well and recovered from his illness, but hopefully he was not doing well enough to send his crew looking for her…
Saria snapped back to reality as a heavy weight bore down upon her, and Jack telling her to shut her eyes. She did so, until the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor forced her to open her eyes from fear. Jack handed her a purse (of what was most likely her own coin) from the attacker’s belt, which she accepted with shaking hands and teary eyes. She exhaled deeply and straightened up. Jack directed her to get her things and started to try to help her put her things together, but she rushed over to the satchel with her book and made sure she was the one carrying it to his room. She didn’t want to risk any sort of issue given its strange nature.Besides, she had little intention of carrying that hulking monstrosity of clothes, so he could carry that for her and she wouldn’t argue about it. Anytime she picked it up she nearly toppled over, so it was probably for the best.
Once they moved all of her things out of the room with the dead body, Saria stashed her satchel and book under the side of the bed by the sideboard, as the adrenaline in her veins finally stopped pumping, and she suddenly felt exhaustion catch up to her. Jack remarked about having been in the right place at the right time and asked if she was okay. Her back was still turned to him when he asked, so she tried her best to suck back the tears as her emotions overcame the anxiety and fear of the moment and she nodded, silently, biting her lip and exhaling sharply.
“Yeah, I guess… I guess I am alright…” She clenched her fists and tried again to fight the tears back, to no avail, as they rolled down her cheeks. She tossed her head slightly and tried to take a short breath to quell the emotions, but it ended up having the opposite effect. As she turned, her teeth chattered from nerves and her voice broke. “It’s… It’s as if every nightmare I escape leads me to a new, worse nightmare…” Her last words were nearly gibberish as she devolved into a sobbing heap. She draped herself onto him in some sort of dilapidated, exhausted embrace as she heaved and cried. Within minutes, she cried herself into a deep slumber from all of the stressful events of that day.
Saria awoke to the light of the late morning sun slipping in through the cracks of the closed blinds. Jack must have carried her to the bed after she’d fallen asleep, as she found herself neatly tucked in under the blankets. Her eyes still stung and her throat was tight, but she presumed those were just the after symptoms of the horrible thing that had almost happened yesterday.
Jack had been so kind as to leave some food on the bedside stand for her; he must have known she would sleep through breakfast. Saria took a sip of water and for once, ate a handful of food, before she became anxious about her book. Luckily, it had remained tucked against the side of the bed where she left it originally, so she plucked it from its resting place and began to go through the pages. Unlike yesterday, the typography on the front was back to its usual coloration and resembled regular ink. It must have meant something, that the ink was glowing how it did, maybe it was a warning? Saria shook the thought from her mind, though, because how could a book know if danger was approaching? It was no cleric, no psychic… However it did have incredible magical properties to it. Maybe the magic of the book itself was enough to warn of some prospective dangers.
The answer would remain a mystery, at least for now, Saria thought while she flipped through new pages and worked on deciphering some of the information. Even if she could not access magic herself, she could still start going through the book and make herself familiar with everything within it as best she could until she could free herself of the wards. Saria was focused on reading now, and focused enough that she didn’t hear the sound of steps up to the door and the handle turn as Jack let himself back into the room. When she looked up, she was startled and closed the book immediately, dropping it back down the side of the bed so that it stuck between the bed and sideboard.. She began yammering instantly, hoping to stave off any questions regarding the details of what she was reading..
“Jack! I must thank you so much for your valiant deeds yesterday! You have quite possibly saved my life!” She leapt up and hugged him, “I am in your eternal debt, sir, you have already shown yourself to be a far more righteous man than I might have ever thought! If there is anything you need of me, please do not hesitate to ask!” Saria smiled, as she was truly thankful for his help yesterday, but also so worried about the book. Hopefully it would be forgotten, at least for now.

“Nothing to worry about, lass. I just did what needed doing. Man was a rapist, or near enough, and that sort of thing isn’t accepted, even without the army to tell us so. Man that does that, he gets what’s coming to him,” he said guardedly. He was surprised by her excited words, but he was not about to complain about the hug that came with them. “And I’ll be sure and save that favor for something serious, lass, and so I will.” He nodded toward the book wedged at the side of the bed as he started packing his belongings for the voyage that day to the pirate city. “Didn’t know you could read, lass. You’ll have to share it with me sometime. I haven’t read anything new since Mamlak, so I haven’t, and even then, it was absolute shite. Don’t tell the lads, but I read for more than work.” He laughed, thinking what the other men would say if they thought he was reading for the joy of it. But it had always been his escape, whenever he could get his hands on something that drew him out of himself. Shaking his head, he made sure all his heavy arms and armor were secured in leather to repel any sort of weather they might face on their voyage.


“You know you have enough clothing to dress an entire company for a week without them having to wear the same thing twice, by the weight of it,” he laughed, moving on to help secure her clothes as well. “Though if I were you, I’d get a blade, something…” he smiled and took a small dagger he had purchased in the market that morning out of his tunic. It was Highland work, not the most refined, but the steel was excellent. It was barely five inches long, equally split between hilt and blade, held in a leather sheath on a leather thong. “Something like this.” He handed it to her and smiled crookedly. “Got it for you this morning. Good steel they made up here, it’ll stay sharp even if you aren’t sharpening it every day. I won’t be with you every second like I’d want to be, after last night, so I want to make sure you’re safe, lass.” He handed her the dagger. “You wear it around your neck, see, front or back, whatever suits, and that means you’ll be having something at hand no matter what. Don’t want to leave you vulnerable, you know?” He shifted his foot a little, smiled again, and went back to his work with the bundles. “Meet me down in the main room when you’re ready. Us, I mean. Meet us down there. I have to talk to the lads anyhow.”


Jack took both of their bundles down to the taproom where the rest of the men were assembled, looking quizzically at each other. Most had seen the shattered door and the body of their former comrade gutted on the floor. When jack threw both his bag and Saria’s on the floor next to their table, one of the men stood up and was about to speak before a harsh look from Jack cut him off as he drew in breath. “The rapist up there decided that it was smart to try and fuck our patroness without her permission. Not only is that morally reprehensible, even for us, it’s bad fucking business. So now there’s new rules here and anyone that don’t like them can leave with what you’ve been paid and we can meet again back in the south with no hard feelings. One: Rape will not be tolerated. Two: No getting drunk without my permission before a fight. Three: Never steal from your comrades, only from the enemy. And four: Fight like the professionals you are when it’s time to fight. Are we clear?” Jack stood uneasily with his hands on the hilts of his saber and dagger, wondering if he had overstepped. The men were silent for a few seconds and then nodded their approval. Even with men like his, hardened killers that were bent on a rebellion against a sitting monarch, there were rules and they accepted his. “Good. Let’s finish this food and get to the quay. We have to get sailing before the tide ebbs near midday.”


Saria arrived a few minutes later and Jack waved the innkeeper over. “There’s some mess in the lady’s room that needs to be cleaned up. Here,” he pushed a large purse over to the man, “this should cover the cleaning fees and the like.” The innkeeper, already appraised to the situation, nodded and slipped the purse into his apron.


“That will cover it for sure, Mister Kerr. Have a safe voyage. The hostler has your horses already about your ship. I look forward to seeing you again when you return.”


Jack nodded sharply and took one of the loaves that was untouched and pushed it into his bag for the voyage in case Saria was ill at sea. “Thank you. We’ll be on our way.” He stood and motioned for the rest of the men to follow as he left the inn and headed down to the docks where Querin’s ship was waiting for them. There were still bales of goods being hoisted onto the deck so the ship’s master was on the dock supervising the process. “Master Querin, the men I told you about are here. Can we get aboard?”


“Aye, up the gangplank and into the hold. Your lass can have the cabin in the stern by mine.”


Jack nodded and motioned for the men to head up and make themselves at home on the ship. “So Master Querin, how big is that cabin? Because last night, someone tried… well, I had to kill a man to protect my patroness here and I would rather be close in case it’s needed again.”


Querin smirked. “It’s big enough for the two of you, but it will be tight quarters. I’m sure you won’t mind.” One of the winches that was loading cargo jerked suddenly and Querin forgot all about Jack and Saria as he began to roundly abuse the man that had lost his grip on the rope.


Jack ushered Saria up the gangplank and over to the cabin next to Querin’s, cursing as he pushed open the door and saw the size of the space. There was a single proper bunk and a small folding table with a lantern hanging from the bulkhead and about enough space to turn around without hitting the bulkhead walls. “Well, the bunk is yours,” he said and tossed her belongings onto it. “I’ll be here at the door,” he continued, putting his bag against the bulkhead so it could serve as some sort of pillow. “This way, they have to come over me to get to you. Keep you safe and all.” He smiled a little and then sighed through his nose. “I’m always a nervous sailor, so if I seem a bit jumpy, it’s nothing that should worry you. Maybe I could borrow a book, if you’ll keep it a secret?”

It seemed the book and the hurried manner in which she’d risen hadn’t caused much alarm on Jack’s part, as he simply replied to inform her that he could also read and joke that she should share the book with him at some point. For a brief second, the text had a faint glow while he spoke, but it subsided quickly as they started to prepare to trek out to the ship. Querin would be taking them to the next destination where Rixxan might be, so she packed quickly and full of excitement that their journey might come to a close so soon. Jack joked about the amount of clothing she had, and she exhaled heavily at the reminder of that whirlwind adventure through that crazy woman’s shop, and suggested she get some sort of weapon to protect herself with. She noted that he must not have caught onto her hidden blade yet, as he handed her a small dagger that was worn like a necklace. She thanked him and put it on hastily. It sat in a weird place amidst her bosom, but she was happy to have another form of protection that might be easier to use. Plus, she’d rather have something up her sleeve (literally) in case of a real emergency.
Jack left to talk to the men and Saria began to pack the rest of her things up, which was really just putting her book into the satchel and starting to drag her oversized luggage down toward the stairs. The process itself took about half an hour and at that point, she gave up and just kicked the bag off the stairs. The risk of accidentally slaughtering someone under its weight as it tumbled dangerously down a flight of stairs was real, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Saria met up with the rest of the crew and Jack paid the innkeeper for something to do with her room. She remembered the dead body that was probably staining the floor in her room and leaving it permanently reeking of death, and nodded to herself as that was probably a good reason to pay people extra.
The room itself was not exactly what she’d thought… Querin must have been extremely sarcastic and also must not have understood that some sort of inflection is typically expected with sarcasm, as when Jack opened the door to the cabin they were supposed to share, it was clearly not a room made to fit even the closest of friends. Saria grimaced, but Jack said he would take the floor, and though she felt a bit poorly about that, it was fine with her. For a moment she wondered if the bunk would be even more comfortable than the floor, or if she was perhaps getting the short end of the stick without knowing it. Either way, she followed Jack into the room. There was just enough room for them to not knock into each other constantly as long as they paid attention, but either way, she was grateful that she wouldn’t be sleeping in a cabin alone on a ship full of untrustworthy seamen and veterans. They dropped their things before Jack made a comment on reading, which left Saria stifling a nervous laugh at the thought of Jack borrowing a book, as she only had one and he likely wouldn’t be able to read it considering it was written in some ancient magical language that she herself was still deciphering. Jack suggested they grab something to snack on, as the ship creaked in the telltale way to indicate they’d set sail. Saria could already feel her stomach becoming upset, but nevertheless followed Jack down to the galley.
The next two days passed without much excitement. Jack tried to educate her on some things to do with ships and all the like, but she wasn’t terribly interested. Out of respect, she feigned an interest and did truly try to pay attention, but the occasional tossing of the ocean was enough to keep her focused on not heaving. When the sun rose on the third day, Saria somehow woke up earlier than Jack… Possibly because she was in dire need of getting to the side of the ship to vomit, as the ship must have hit a bit of choppy water while they slept. She snuck past Jack without waking him, hoping she could also sneak back in the same way, and closed the door quietly. Though it was still early morning, there were still plenty of deckhands working and moving about the ship. She grasped at her stomach and felt the heat of sickness spread throughout her body as she trotted toward the side of the deck near a few cargo crates and barrels, so that she might retch secretly.
After a few minutes, of which Saria was sure actually measured closer to all of eternity, she finally picked her head up and groaned, her stomach entirely emptied onto the crashing waves breaking up against the hull. A few of the deckhands cast her disappointed looks, so she avoided eye contact and snuck down to the galley to get some water and half a piece of bread. A few people from Jack’s crew were down there already imbibing, so she nodded to the ones she recognized, slugged down some water and grabbed bread from the cooking area, then headed back up toward the cabin. She could hear shuffling from inside the cabin when she got to the door, and cursed lightly under her breath. She pushed the door open while whispering, “Hey, it’s me, sorry, I wasn’t feeling well…” so Jack would know it was her. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, then turned around quickly to a noise that was either a bull crashing through the sidewall of the cabin, or Jack partially falling over. “Ahck, Jack are you—–” Saria started to ask if he was okay, but was caught off guard by the fact that Jack was apparently not decent. Saria’s face turned bright and rosy as she clutched at her heart out of shock. “I um… I’m…” She covered her face and turned around, “I’m so sorry… I didn’t even… I should have knocked… Oh my gosh… I’m so incredibly sorry…"