Sea of Dreams: Chapter 4

An hour or so later, Brogy and I were getting along just fine. The massive man was a pretty good conversationalist and I was certainly enjoying drinking with him.

“...and I lined her up just right, then BOOM! Straight through the port side and out the starboard. Those bastards didn’t know what was coming!” Brogy laughed loudly, slamming his tankard on the counter.

I nursed my drink with one hand while the other clenched my knee in disbelief at his tale, “Okay, you might be big but I call bullshit on that. There's no way you just carry a cannon around as your main weapon! How would you even carry the ammo?” I demanded.

Brogy just gave me a grin, flexing his arms that were as big as I was, “Oh I promise you lass, I’ve got more than enough muscle to carry around a couple dozen cannonballs. And it normally only takes one.”

“...That's metal as fuck.” Was all I could say.

Brogy laughed and slapped my back, nearly sending me forward into the bar. I recovered quickly, giving him a grin as his laughter echoed in my ears, before raising my tankard to take a long drink.

I pulled away with a satisfied sigh, “Ahh! That's some good shit. Beats just plain water by a mile!”

The beer honestly tasted like slightly cool piss, but after an entire life being raised around the stuff as well as my little three day excursion on the sea, it was like a little taste of home every time I took a drink.

“You know lass, you must have a powerful constitution to be putting all that drink away like you have. At this point you've drank more than me and you aren't even red in the face!” Brogy expressed his disbelief as I downed the rest of my tankard.

I just shrugged, wiping my lips free of beer froth, “I was raised in a tavern. I think it'd be more weird if I couldn't hold my alcohol at this point.”

“Ha! True enough.” Brogy tossed back the rest of his drink and immediately signaled for another before turning to me.

“So you said you're looking for a crew to join?” He asked curiously.

“That's right.” I nodded as I polished off my own drink. The bartender had gotten my number by this point and immediately refilled it along with Brogy’s, “Probably gonna ask around here to see if there's any openings."

“Why don't you just make your own crew?” He asked, “You'd probably find some townsfolk willing to join up. Might even snag a few from the crews around here.”

I actually laughed at his words, “Ha! Me? A captain? My massive friend, you have no clue how bad of an idea that would be.”

He raised an eyebrow and I explained, “I'm introspective enough to know how I am and how I am is definitely not captain material. I don't put up with idiots and I can be overbearing as hell. Add into that the fact that every member of my crew would have to be put through the helI I called training, and I'd give it a week before they mutiny and tie me to the mast or keelhaul me.”

I looked down at my tankard, “Besides, I'm not much of a leader anyway. Not like that at least. I'm more suited to follow orders.”

“Nah,” I shook my head, tilting back my drink, “I'll just stick to my current plan. Find a crew that isn't full of complete assholes or psychos and ask to join up. Hopefully I don't get hazed too badly.”

Brogy stroked his beard, looking thoughtful, “So what makes you think one of these crews would take you on? What do you bring to the table?”

I gave him a grin, “Apart from my good looks you mean? Well, I know how to rig a sail and read a compass. Got some pretty good knowledge of the area too. Better than most I'd say, good enough to be a navigator at the very least.”

I reached into my coat, “But most importantly, I've got this.”

I pulled out the slab of seastone that had been hidden in my grandfather’s bandana, setting it on the bar for the man to view, carefully keeping my body in between it and the tavern proper just in case any onlookers decided to try and sneak a peek.

It may have been a mistake to show Brogy the map, but he seemed trustworthy. And besides it was only a small part of it so it wasn't like he would really be able to get anything out of it.

Brogy’s eyes widened as he took in the slab of seastone, pulling his goggles down in front of his eyes as he leaned forward to get a look at it, “Well I'll be. That's…”

“A seastone map.” I finished for him with a wide grin, “Part of it at least. I'd wager that the other parts could probably be found on those islands with the X's. How much do you wanna bet a captain would be willing to take me on if I showed him this little puppy?”

Brogy had an interested look on his face as he stared at the slab, “Quite a few, id reckon. As a matter of fact-”

We were interrupted by the stench of alcohol and body odor wafting towards us. I startled as an arm was slung around my shoulders and whirled my head around to find a dirty man grinning at me.

I gave the man a wary gaze, stowing the map back into my coat just in case this guy got any bright ideas and tried to rob me for it. Though, judging by the alcohol on his breath and the way he was staring at my tits, I had a feeling he wasn’t interested in that kind of treasure at the moment.

He leaned in real close, giving me a yellow smile, “Hey there, I was watching you from across the bar and couldn't help but notice that you don't seem to be having a good time with this giant here.” He openly lied, “Why don't you come with me and I'll treat you to some real company?”

I gave him the stink eye, shoving his arm off of me as I took in his rats-nest of a hairdo and stereotypical pirate attire, “And who are you?” I demanded.

He looked surprised at my question but recovered quickly, “Who am I? I'm Liam the Squall! Captain of the Squall pirates! I have a bounty of over seven million beri, you must have heard of me!” He laughed.

I had heard of him actually. A small-time pirate who was most well known for getting into a fight with a Marine Commander while raiding a port side town. From what I recalled, he ran from that fight with his tail between his legs.

His somewhat large bounty was purely due to the sheer amount of property damage he had caused during the bout, firing several cannonballs through the town and destroying numerous important buildings and causing hundreds of millions in damages. The man himself was… less than impressive, all things considered.

“What do ya say? Wanna ditch him and hang with a real captain?” The man leered at me, “I'm sure I can find a place for you on my crew with the right… motivation.”

In response to his question, I reached out and gripped him by the collar of his shirt, leaning in real close so that there was no way he would be able to to misunderstand what I was about to say to him, “Listen, friend,” I smiled sickly sweet, “I was trying to enjoy the first pleasant conversation I’ve had in three days when you interrupted us.”

I nodded at Brogy who was watching what was happening with an amused smile. I winked at him before turning back to the man in my grip, “Now I don’t know what your mother has been telling you, but most women don’t really appreciate a limp-dicked drunk trying to coerce them into doing something they don’t want to do. I’m going to have to ask you to fuck the hell off before I decide to do the fucking off for you.”

In response to my not-at-all veiled threat, the man just gave me what he no doubt thought was a charming smile, “Aww, don’t be like that doll. I’m sure that whatever you and him were talking about can’t be any more interesting than a good drink and better people back on my ship.”

He gave me a sloppy wink, “Unless it’s women who catch your fancy? I know a broad or two who are always up for a good time, if you count me in at least. I’m always down to get between a couple of dykes having a good time.” He eyed my tits openly and I was struck silent by his statement.

Did this asshole just… Alright, that was it.

“Guess we're doing this the hard way.” I growled. Liam gave me a confused look that turned to panic as I reached forward to grab him firmly by his shirt, my fingers clenching into the scratchy material.

With a grunt, I raised the screaming man over my shoulders, holding him above my head like the boulders I used to carry back home. I turned, eyes searching, before finding what I was looking for.

“Take this as a lesson, one someone should have taught you a long time ago,” I said to him as I reared him back. He flailed in my grip strongly but I easily kept a hold on him as I checked my aim one last time, “NO MEANS NO!”

I hurled him out the window with incredible force. He flew several feet and shattered the glass with a crash flying out onto the street beyond as screams of surprise came from the people walking in front of the tavern as he no doubt nearly bowled them over.

I dusted off my hands, “Prick.”

The bartender stared at me as I sat back down in my seat, and I gave him a sheepish grin, only just realizing what I had done. I reached into my coat, pulling out a large stack of beri, around a fifth of what I was carrying, and tossed it towards him.

“For the window. And my drinks too. Sorry about the damage.” I apologized as he caught it, clutching it to his chest. He looked at me then to the money in his hand, then back to me, before he reached out and slowly put it underneath the counter.

I sat down, grabbing my drink once more, and it was then I noticed how quiet it was. The cacophonous noise that had been filling the tavern was gone, leaving an eerie silence in its place.

I looked around, finding the entire tavern staring at me, open-mouthed in apparent shock.

“Why’s everyone staring at me?” I asked the man, “I thought this was a pirate bar. You telling me they’ve never seen someone throw a man out a window?”

Brogy just stared at me for a moment before breaking out in laughter, loud and boisterous enough that it echoed throughout the silent building.

“Get this woman another drink! On me!” He shouted to the barkeep with a wide grin, slamming my back hard enough to shake my chair.

That caused the noise to come back up as everyone went back to what they were doing. I grinned as the barkeep followed Brogy’s instructions, immediately pouring me another tankard beside my still half full one, “I should toss people out windows more often if that's all it takes to get a free drink around here!” I laughed.

Brogy gave me an odd look, “Lass, most people around here couldn't lift a man that size onto the shoulder, much less throw him out a window.”

“I've got a feeling you could do it.” I said coyly, gesturing to his muscles. He barked a laugh at that.

“Aye, I could. But that's a bit different- *Slam!*

Brogy was interrupted as the doors to the tavern slammed open, smacking into either wall with a loud bang and drawing everyone's attention.

“Hey! No slamming my doors, you hear!?” The barkeep yelled angrily.

I turned curiously to see who had caused the racket, and was met with a short, brown-haired woman making her way into the tavern.

She was dressed a bit oddly compared to the pirates in the tavern, almost tribal, wearing a cream collared shirt with a necklace of orange beads hanging around her slender neck. She was wearing armor, if you could call it that, with a single leather pauldron on her left shoulder that was attached to a bandolier. Underneath the pauldron was some sort of animal fur that was being used as padding and the same fur was wrapped around the wrists of her sleeves.

She was also armed to the teeth, with said bandolier utterly full of dozens of small gleaming knives. Two long daggers were sheathed at her hips, probably her main weapons, and a wooden bow was slung around her chest, resting against the quiver on her back.

Her yellow eyes scanned the tavern intently, surrounded by blood red face-paint that exploded outwards like claws along the edges. Her eyes locked onto the giant beside me and she immediately made a beeline for the bar, completely ignoring the catcalls of the various men and women around her.

She glanced at me briefly as she reached the bar before completely ignoring me, instead turning to Brogy. He smiled at her despite her stoic expression, “Ah, Nera! What's the word?”

She tossed something to the man which he caught with fumbling fingers, “Rachel’s been captured. Seems her plan worked.” The woman said as I looked over to what Brogy had caught curiously

It was the same pistol that had been attached to the red-headed woman's hip. Seems that Rachel was their captain.

Brogy looked the pistol over in his massive hand, “I can't believe that worked. Hell, I didn't think she'd actually go through with it.” He marveled.

Nera snorted, “It's Rachel.” she said simply, as if that explained everything.

Apparently it did, as Brogy didn't bother questioning her further, instead stowing the pistol into his coat, “Alright then. I suppose that means we're on to phase two.”

“I'll grab your cannon.” Nera said simply.

Brogy looked over to me as he stood from his chair in one lumbering motion, “Thanks for drinking with me, Irana. It's been a real good time.”

I raised my once again full tankard in his direction, “Of course. No better way to make friends than with a drink.” before shrugging, “Least that's what my dad always says. I've made more enemies in bars than I have friends, I think.”

Brogy smiled, “That's how most pirates are I think. We're a rowdy sort, that's for certain.” je shook his head, “Anyway, when everything is said and done, you should come find us. I think my captain has something that might interest you.”

I raised an eyebrow, that certainly sounded like an invitation of some sort. Was he asking…

Guess I'd find out if I stuck around for whatever they were planning to do.

“So what's going on? You guys about to make some noise or something? Bust your captain out of the clink?” I asked curiously.

I was taken aback as Nera turned a narrow glare towards me, “That's none of your business.” She hissed out, “Go back to your drink and forget you ever heard anything. You’ll live longer that way.”

I raised my hands in surrender at the thinly veiled threat, “Alright, alright, damn. Don't bite my head off girl. I was just asking a question.”

She stared at me for another second before scoffing. She did an about-face and began stalking out of the tavern much the same way she came in, leaving me confused and a bit annoyed at her attitude.

“She's as cheery as always it seems.” Brogy laughed, before giving me an apologetic glance, “Sorry about her. She's not exactly a people person.”

I just shrugged, “Eh, it’s fine, we all know someone like that.”

In my old world that person was me, though here I’d been making strides to actually socialize with the people around me. I had met some interesting individuals that way, with Brogy just being the latest.

Brogy laughed, “I suppose that's true. Anyway, I'd best be going before Nero decides to drag me out by my ear.” He gave me a wave as he turned to leave, “You take care, Irana. And don't forget what I said.”

I raised my tankard up in farewell, “Will do. Stay safe out there.”

As he left through the doors and soon disappeared from view, I turned back and slammed the tankard back on the counter, looking towards the barkeep as I was left alone once more, “Another! And make this one a bit stronger will ya? I'm not trying to get drunk but I don't want any piss-water either!”

I grinned happily as he refilled my tankard with what was clearly a much more potent alcohol than before. The bottle had three X’s on it and everything! This shit had to be strong!

“You know,” I froze, my tankard inches from my lips as a thickly accented voice came from the seat Brogy had been sitting in, “When I said to make things entertaining for me, I didn’t mean to take part in a nineteen year training arc without leaving your tiny little island even once.”

I slowly swiveled my head to the side, eyes widening as I took in the person now sitting where the giant man had previously occupied. Grey eyes twinkled as they met my own, and a white-toothed smile slid across the man’s face.

It was the same man who had sent me here. He was still wearing that same overcoat and still had that goddamn cigarette in his hand!

He nodded his head towards me as we met eyes, “Hey kid, how ya doing?”

In response to his question, I stood from my chair fast enough to send it flying backwards. One hand came to the axe on my back, pulling it free even as my other hand fisted into the man’s trenchcoat, pulling him out of his seat and slamming him on the bar.

He kept that same smile on his face even as I slid my hand up the shaft of my weapon to the head and placed the razor-sharp edge of my axe to his throat. I leaned in close enough to smell the smoke on his coat, smiling sharply, “Oh I've been just great. Peachy really. Though for some reason, I’ve been having trouble sleeping because of the goddamn NIGHTMARES OF MY DEATH AND LOSS OF MY FUCKING FAMILY AND EVERYTHING I EVER KNEW!”

I was screaming in his face by the end of my little tirade practically steaming with anger as I pushed him further into the wood of the bar.

“Now I want you to tell me something you bastard,” I growled lowly, pressing my axe into the skin on his neck, “Are you the one responsible for my death? Did you tell that man where I was going to be that night?”

“I didn’t do anything other than ask for a lighter.” He said in response, utterly unconcerned with the steel at his jugular, “Your life was predestined, always meant to end in that alley one way or another. I just tweaked a few things so that it wouldn't be lights out forever for you.”

As he finished speaking, I couldn't help but notice just how silent things were, even more silent than they had been after I threw that creep out the window.

I looked around and my eyes widened at what I saw, “What is this…?” I muttered in shock as I took in the tavern.

Everything was completely frozen. People stood mid drink or drunken stumble, completely and utterly still as if someone had captured the moment and superimposed it over reality. The barkeep was in the middle of pouring a patron a drink, the unmoving stream of liquid flowing forth from the bottle clutched In his frozen fingers.

I looked back to the man in my grip, much more wary of him than ever before. I slowly let go of his coat, allowing him to fall back to his feet. Even as I did, he never lost the smile on his face, merely brushing off his coat where I had grabbed him.

I clutched my axe in a sweaty hand, gripping it hard enough that the sturdy wood creaked under the force of my fingers as I stared at him, “Who are you?” I asked simply.

He looked surprised, then pleased at the question, “Who am I?” The man chuckled, “Girl, that question has more answers than there are islands on this ball of water. A god? Maybe. A spirit? Possibly. An eldritch being hellbent on the destruction of humanity? Sometimes. But for the sake of not melting your little mind with things it shouldn’t know, you can call me One.”

I snorted derisively as I put my axe back into its holster. I doubted it would do me any good anyway. Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t gonna give a shit about a sharp hunk of metal, “Wow, cryptic. So what? Are you the Q to my Piccard or some shit?” I asked sarcastically as I sat back down in my stool.

One smiled coyly, “I suppose you could call our little relationship something like that. Though I’m in it for the entertainment, something you are doing a fantastic job of failing at unfortunately.” He sighed.

A laugh bubbled up in my throat at the audacity of this man, this being, “You really thought I was going to live a whole new life just for your entertainment? You must have really misread me when you fucked with my soul or whatever you did.”

The grey-eyed man just laughed, taking a drag of his cigarette, “I didn’t do a damn thing to your soul, except prevent it from being destroyed by the shadows of that place you found yourself in.” He exhaled a large cloud of smoke, “You mortal souls aren’t nearly as durable as your religions would have you believe. Not even I could survive more than a few hours in Oblivion before being torn to pieces and scattered across the cosmos.”

I was silent at the revelation, a sick pit settling in my stomach. The idea that the afterlife was a myth, that my family and friends had nothing awaiting them after death but oblivion was… horrifying and sickening.

“What do you want?” I asked the man before I could dwell on it for too long, “I haven't seen you for nineteen years. There must be a reason you decided to show your face now.”

One just shrugged, “I'm just here to make sure you remember the reason you're in this fantastical world in the first place. You're my entertainment girl, and I hate to say it, but I'm not feeling very entertained.”

He pinned me with a stare, “If I were you, I'd start causing some mischief. I'd hate to have to step in and change the channel as it were.”

“...I'm leaving.” I stood from my stool slamming down the rest of my drink before turning to give him a glare, “I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m trying to enjoy my new life without some wannabe god fucking things up. So if you'd kindly fuck off, that'd be great.”

Despite my blatant disrespect, One didn't seem mad. Instead he looked amused, lips turned up in a small smile as he watched me stand.

“Here, kid.” As I turned to leave, he tossed something at me. I just barely caught it, clothing it to my chest awkwardly, “A bit of a thank you for lending me a light that day.”

I looked down, stunned to find the familiar metal shell of my grandmother's lighter in my hand. I ran my finger over it, lightly brushing the familiar engravings before looking up at One in confusion, only to find him gone once more.

I huffed shoving the lighter into my coat, turning to leave once more, “Whatever.”

As I exited the taverns, I immediately oriented myself towards the docks. Time had resumed again and I scowled down at the unconscious form Liam as I passed him on the street. Seemed that nobody had come to collect him yet. I gave him a swift kick between the legs causing him to groan, before turning back towards my destination.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay on the island after that shit. I'd figure it out after I got to the dock. I was hungry and I'd already spent more beri than I cared to think about drinking with Brogy. Guess it was dried meat again for me.