Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Gold running through our veins. (1x1x1)

Surabi snarled at Bender's disrespect. "Yer lucky yer meeting me alive. An old man like you is of no interest to Lord Ubungu, so you better eat those words before you eat my sword." The crewmembers tensed a bit as Bender moved towards their captain but she wasn't phased, her eyes lit up visibly when he threw down and in a swift motion she swept the clay mess up and looked it over.

It obviously didn't make a lick of sense to the lady captain although she certainly tried to crack the code, as she looked it front to back, folded pieces, turned and twisted the map, unaware she didn't have all the parts of this puzzle. "We could just make you tell us..." Surabi said casually as she handed the map to a nearby lackey after Bender had said his piece.

"But you are willing to bargain with us? All the riches in return for the lives of your crew guaranteed, that does sound like a great proposition." Surabi then slowly turned her eyes on Flavio, and then back to Bender as she slipped a dagger from her belt and held the handle out towards Bender. "I'd like you to stab the gnoll, and we have ourselves a deal."

"S-Surabi wh-" Flavio began but a sharp look from the cheetah-like cat-lady shut him up fast. "And the gnoll will not adress me, or speak at all. Lest I stop resisting the urge to run him through myself." Her lips curled up. "But how could I, he was of such good help to me today..." At that she tapped the map a few times with raised brows, smirking cleverly at Bender.

((Hahaha oh lord.))

As usual, Steve was quite silent during this exchange. Drawing much attention to herself wouldn't result in anything good, she assumed, especially since she still managed to smuggle that gun along with her.

The halfling's eyes went wide when he tossed the partial-map at the floor in front of Surabi. "Yer not serious, are you...?" she whispered up at him. Last time they went, it wasn't exactly a happy walk in the park. Sure, they made out with a bit, but they only barely made it back in one piece.

She groaned uncomfortably. This was cut short by Surabi's reply and the proposition she gave. It seemed awful at first, but an idea struck Stevie. She tapped on Bender's leg and whispered up to him, "Stab 'im in the arse! She didn't say where, n' she didn't say to kill 'im."

Yeah sure, let's play semantics with a pirate! Good idea, Steve.

At first Bender couldn't believe his ears. Stabbing his own crew so these pirates could get treasure!? These pirates were cocky to say the least. You'd think just offering to lead them to the treasure in trade for safety was a good deal! But at Surabi's last comment the old captain suddenly realized what was going on.

'He was of such good help to me today...'

Flavio betrayed him.

He had been after the map all along. He used the trust and friendship he and Bender used to share and turned it against the old man! Flavio never cared to meet up with Bender again. All that talk of leaving Hubungu's crew had been a lie! And now his sketchy allies turned on him! Bender turned pale. He just couldn't believe it. The urge to stab him got greater.

Bender heard Stevie but just looked down at her. Forlorn. As if all hope had been drained from his face and was quietly calling out to her for help or aid. Who could he trust now if he can't even trust an old ally? The old man took a deep breath and eventually spoke to reply to his young companion."No... No she did not, did she." He dropped the dagger to the ground and walked up to Flavio, dead silent.

Even his crew was distressed by the sudden silence of Bender. They have never seen his captain like this."C-Captain... Are you alright?" Hooke asked, worried. If Hooke was worried, everyone else must've been twice as confused and fearful.

The old man stood over the Gnoll, still quiet but clearly seething with rage. Moments of silence were upon the ship until Bender broke it."GRAAAGH!!" Out of nowhere he reeled back his mechanical fist and smacked the Gnoll in his gut at a tremendous force! The old man took heavy breaths as his fist seemed to malfunction from the smash, indicating he did not go easy on Flavio. It wasn't a lethal punch, but a terribly painful one. The captain then turned around to Surabi.

"I 'ave a counteroffer, lass. Give this traitorous swine to me. A stabbin's too easy fer scum like 'im. Give 'im to me 'n I'll show 'im the meanin' o' pain. He'll beg fer me ta kill 'im, 'e will. I promise ya that. Give 'im up 'n I'll lead yer captain's fleet to the 'oard." His voice was calm. Eerily so.

Flavio would've ran but his arms were grabbed and twisted to hold him into place, the gnoll saw immediately that Bender had caught on... "It, it was complicated. I didn't mean t-" the gnoll got cut off as the mechanical fist punched all the wind out of him. The gnoll was unable to talk from the strike, instead coughing, groaning and gasping desperately for air.

Surabi's watched, gritting her teeth and wincing as Flavio got punched, she could tell that hurt. "If you've got any sense you'll throw him overboard." She flipped the dagger into the air with her toes, snatching it in midair and sheathing it again in one fast motion. "But sure, you can have him! If he feels up to another round of treason or desertion it'll be your crew that'll be held accountable however, for as long as our arrangement runs."

The lady captain narrowed her eyes. "So we have our understanding? You lead us to the hoard, help us claim it, pay tribute to Hubungu with the prize and in return we'll promise to leave your crew alone from then onwards..."

Steve didn't seem to catch on. Nope. At least, not for a while. Bender's behavior prompted the same concerned curiosity Hooke displayed, and she backed away so she could better blend in with the rest of the crew. Hooopefully, anyway.

"Oh," she said abruptly when she finally understood. Her brows knit together and she frowned something fierce, feeling less guilty now for suggesting he be stabbed in the butt. She didn't even wince when the punch landed!

She looked up at whoever was closest, then back down again. So this fella was the reason why they were standing in front of Surabi right now? Oh dammit.

Bender looked down at Flavio, wincing from the punch."Get up." Bender said to Flavio with malice."Hooke, Ambras, cuff 'im. I want 'im on me ship 'n tied to the main mast before th' sun sets, do I make meself clear?!" Hooke and Ambras knew better than to dispute Bender when in this state."Aye, cap'n!" Ambras said as he hurried over to Flavio like a meet kitten."C'mon now, big guy. Let's get you on your feet before the captain gets another one of his fits." He said as he grabbed some rope from his belt and used it to tie Flavio's paws together behind his back.

The old captain turned to Surabi while Flavio was being carried back to the dhingy."Aye, aye, I couldn't care less right now. 'Ubungu'll get 'is prize. I promise ye that. All ya 'ave ta do is follow me ship. The trip'll take a couple o' months, so make sure yer prepared fer the trip. I ain't sharin' any provisions with the likes o' yerself." Bender retorted as he turned back around, waving his steel arm in the air."Come along, lads. We're done 'ere."

The trip back to the ship was... awkward at best. The captain remained silent and Norin's attempted jokes about farts and burps did nothing to lighten the mood. Even on The Moneymaker itself the mood hadn't improved much, though most of the crew was just glad to be out of Bender's sight.

No one was looking forward to giving up their treasure to Hubungu The Claw. They had an understanding as to why Bender did what he did, but they still disliked the idea.

Meanwhile Flavio would be tied on deck to the main mast on the top deck. Ropes would be tied tightly around his waist and his paws would be tied up as well, keeping his arms up and in a stretched formation as if on a cross so the Gnoll couldn't try to escape or even cover his face should someone try something funny on him. That was his punishment. To dry out on the ship while everyone around him ridiculed and hurt him.

News of Flavio's crimes against Bender and his crew spread like wildfire, and he soon became the blame as to why they had to give up their treasure. The crew didn't take kindly to this and Bender had allowed anything except killing him or cutting off any bodyparts. As the sun set, some crewmembers would be flinging their dung at Flavio or punch him some more in his gut. Even Norin joined in, kicking the Gnoll in the shins and calling his mother a 'rug fit only for the lavatory'. The only one who refused to take any part in this was Solst who sometimes looked as though he felt sorry for Flavio. But in the end he did nothing to stop the ridicule. Only when Hooke pulled out a dagger did Solst intervene. The Firescale had given himself a duty to make sure Flavio wouldn't die by the hand of any other than the captain himself.

Bender had retreated into the captain's quarters and didn't come out again, not even for supper. Only after the sun set and The Moneymaker was sailing along did Bender make himself get heard through Ambras. The Drow went down to look for Stevie, and when he found her he'd relay a message."Hey, lass, the captain needs ya in his quarters. He wants you to hurry."

Flavio tried to resist and escape a few times although he failed. Stripped from his weapons he was quite helpless and easily overpowered by Bender's crew. At first he tried to toughen up and laugh himself through the abuse but that only made the punches harsher and angrier. A trait of his people was laughter when they got nervous as well, so even when Flavio stopped messing around it didn't stop.

Near nightfall a small dhingy from Surabi's fleet bumped into the boat, a few men had a brand new flag for Bender to fly, the flag of Hubungu the Claw. They had to fly it as long as their arrangement ran, the men would make sure to mention that it was an honour, few pirates would be brave enough to mess with a ship flying this flag.

Stevie tried to keep her distance from Flavio's location, simply because she both felt bad he was stuck in there, receiving all that punishment and torture and whatnot, but also because she couldn't stomach seeing it.

Ambras' words were a surprise to the Halfling, but she gave a nod and scrambled for the Captain's Cabin. When she arrived, she'd give a hearty (as hearty as her tiny fists could manage, anyway) knock. If there was an invitation spoken through the door, she'd welcome herself in and shut the door behind her. If there were no words whatsoever, she'd call out, "Cap'n, it's me? Steve?" And if there was still nothing, she'd crack the door and try to slip inside.

((Xinon is on vacation right now so we don't need to wait for him for the time being))

Stevie would find there was acitivty within the cabin. A familliar screechy voice would suddenly yell 'Pickles!' at Stevie's knocks."Can ya keep yer bloody bird down, Norin?!" Hooke yelled. Looks like both Norin and Hooke were inside of Bender's quarters."How 'bout ya both keep it down? Come on in, Stevie. Door's unlocked!" Bender called out.

If Stevie entered, she would find Bender's quarters had improved a lot. Furs of various animals hung from the walls and the captain had replaced his desk with a much bigger and fancy one. On it were various maps, a globe of the world and a sextant (it measures angles). Behind the desk sat a seemingly troubled Bender Of Iron Will, using his mechanical arm to flip a few silver coins in between his fingers. Behind the old captain was a large painting of him as a younger captain, comissioned recently. It featured a young long haired and handsome Bender Of Iron Will on the bow of a ship looking out in the distance at a setting sun. That was back in the day Bender had both his regular arms and wasn't burdened by his steel one.

"Ah, there ya 're lass. Come on in, close the door behind ya." Hooke clearly wasn't happy with Stevie being here, but then again, when was he ever happy? Norin however was glad to see Stevie and patted her back.

Bender was less amused as he looked over the charts. Then when the door was closed the captain leaned back."What's bein' said 'ere is confidential. No one's ta know 'bout this. But b'fore I say me say. This day was nothin' but steppin' from one dunghole into th' next. I don' know, lads. I handled as best I could, but I feel it wasn't 'nough." The old captain sighed."What would ye've done in me stead?"

The pair of pirates looked a bit confused towards each other."Why cap'n, what can ya do? Yer judgement was fair ta me. Ya put yer crew before wealth. That's a commendable thing ta do if ya ask me." Norin answered. His parrot agreed as it squawked his name a few times. Hooke didn't agree."To hell with The Claw and to hell with Flavio. I'd have killed that Gnoll mutt the second I learned of his betrayal and I'd have fired upon that Surabi whelp as well. Better to be dead and free than alive but under a pirate lord's thumb!"

Bender nodded at both explenations. Now their eyes were set on Stevie. She had a say in this too.

Steve came in when invited and would stand along the others. She gave Norin a little grin but otherwise wouldn't say much. Instead, she listened. Bender was worried he did the wrong thing? Hooke want paid much mind anymore. She won against him with that barrel and she remained smug because of it, so those little looks didn't do too much.

After everything was said and eyes were on her, she cleared her throat some and shrugged. "Well um... I think I agree with Norin a bit. But thinkin' about it, they dun even know what's on that island, right? Let 'em believe it's safer than it actually is. They get ambushed, they're not prepared, we have the upper hand." All confidence faded within a second or two of her finishing, and she sheepishly added, "Er, I think anyway. Not the best idea. Eheh."

Bender nodded. Norin smiled at her answer, but of course Hooke just rolled his eyes. It was not like he was going to get any support from Stevie."I see. This's just a situation in which ya can't win. If I were younger I'd take ya up on that, Hooke. But I like livin'. I'd prefer to do it as long as I can." Hooke nodded. It was just a stupid ideal, really. But leave it to Galgahar Hooke to make it worth dying over.

"I also prefer we end with 'Ubungu once 'n for all! That basterd ain't gettin none o' our treasure if I can't 'elp it!" He smashed his steel fist in the table as he stood up."I like yer plan, lass. But Th' Claw 'as a huge fleet. They could deal with Giants 'n weird tribal critters. It'd cost 'im 'alf o' 'is fleet, but 'e'd manage it eventually. No. We need ta lead 'im somewhere more dangerous. Where ships go ta die."

Norin didn't like that idea."Cap'n, if we're to see a fleet die, we'd probably ourselves! Ships crumble in places fer a reason! What makes ya think we'd survive!?" Bender shrugged."I dunno, lad. A fleet that massive needs ta crumble under its own weight! I don't see any way we could do it withour riskin' our own hides. We try 'n take out them ships one by one, we'll get blamed. Anythin' suspicious 'll come back to us. No, it needs ta be done in one fell swoop. But I'm at a loss as how ta do it..."

It got a bit quiet in the cabin after that. The map on Bender's desk had a few possibly deadly areas marked on it. One was a seemingly dead island called The Knives. It was filled with jagged rocks and thick coral reeves, a ship graveyard for any who got stuck on it. Another was up in the Frozen North where the ice and snow could surely trap a ship and make its crew freeze to death. Another place was in the middle of the sea between four mainlands, it was marked with a skull.

So she was right! Sorta anyway. Her plan was associated but it would no doubt fail. She didn't think his fleet was that big, but then again she hadn't seen it.

As the conversation continued, Stevie became concerned. "Is there a place like that on the way? Maybe we could swing by 'n let it do the rest? Or are uh... are you worried this ain't gonna work?" What if one awful place wouldn't do it?

((Short sorry haha just woke up and on phone lol))

The captain shook his head at Stevie's question."Oh no, it'll work lass. Problem is it'll work on us 's well. So far we found us three options." Bender explained as he beckoned Stevie to come closer."I promised these basterds we'd get there in a few months. Any longer 'n they'll get suspicious." The map showed The Moneymaker's and the Fleet's possition, close to Giantsport at the mainland.

"Th' Knives 're right 'ere. Them's close." Norin walked closer together with Hooke, overlooking the map again."The Knives' a dead hunk o' rock. We get them boats out there 'n they ain't survivin' fer long. Even if they make it inland them's doomed." Hooke seemed to disagree though."The reefs won't be enough to take out the entire fleet, even if we ourselves manage to stay out of harm's way. Besides, The Claw probably knows about The Knives. It's common knowledge that sailors stay away from it due to those jagged rocks." Norin shrugged."The Claw ain't from 'ere though. I think it's our safest best on takin' out a good chunk o' that fleet, guaranteed."

"Right," Bender spoke, wanting to move on."Yer suggestion, Hooke." The orc pointed for the Frozen North."Aye, the cold will do our work for us! You didn't tell them anything about the whereabouts of the treasure, and neither did our crew. They will not be prepared for cold weather and his fleet will freeze to death!" Hooke sounded very excited. But Norin was the one to criticize the Orc this time."Aye, 'n our crew will too. We ain't prepared fer cold weather either." Hooke shook his head."We've a few furs, sure not for everyone, but hey, we can always skin Flavio if we end up short on blankets. Besides, I know those wastes. I can make sure we don't get stuck in the ice!" Bender nodded at that."I kinda like Hooke's plan better, lad. More risk 'n reward to it."

Norin seemed to be taken aback."Ya can't be serious, cap'n! Ya went out o' yer way to safeguard our crew's safety 'n you'd risk them again like that? I respectfully disagree, I do." Bender nodded, seemingly not mad at Norin disagreeing. This was clearly a counsil after all. The captain just needed the ideas and approval of his most favoured crewmembers."I know ya like playin' the odds, cap'n. Is that why ya want to go to the bloody Maelstrom?"

Bender nodded yet again, this time with a devious grin on his face. He pointed at the skull on the map, looking at Stevie. She probably didn't know what the Maelstrom was."Ya know all o' them seamonster stories like the Sea Serpent 'n th' Kraken, lass? Them's origins 're right 'ere. It's some sort o' breeding ground fer big fishies. We ain't sure what's under there but ain't many who passed th' Maelstrom 'n got out alive. Ya want ta get rid o' a fleet? Lead 'm through there." The captain grinned as he explained.

Hooke shook his head as he leaned on the desk."Captain that is simply mad! Do you have any idea how easily we'd get pulled down under?! I won't do it!" Bender nodded, still grinning."Aye, lad. 'Tis madness. What else's madness? Takin' on an entire bloody fleet by ourselves! Both o' yer ideas would require us ta fire upon the survivors! All alone without backup! The Moneymaker ain't a warship! We can't take on a fleet! Even if most o' it is gone. Ya want ta leave Th' Claw in shambles? Then ya make sure nothin's left but splinters!"

The room got quiet again. All of these options had their their good points as well as bad ones. Going to the Knives was a sure way of getting part of Hubungu's fleet to sink, but there'd still be a large fleet to contest with. Hooke's idea was a good way of causing many casualties among the fleet, but at the cost of their own crew. And Bender's idea was just god damn insane. But if the odds were in their favour and they make it out alive, Hubungu's fleet wouldn't.

Strangely enough no one had mentioned persuading some of Hubungu's pirates to change cause. Surely a fleet as big as his had a few unhappy sailors ready to switch sides? The promise of a larger cut of the treasure could grease a few palms. But making sure pirates were loyal to your own cause was difficult when being outnumbered in the first place.

This would have to come down to a vote.

Steve's frown deepened as she listened close. She stepped a bit closer to them and the map, gazing at it on her tiptoes, fingers grasping the edge of the desk as she did.

After all three gave their suggestions, she groaned and sank a little, no longer looking at the map. "We're gonna get ourselves killed either way, looks like," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "N' if we fail, no matter what we do, and we get outta there alive, we're gonna have the rest of the fleet on our tail n'... buh."

Now Steve began to pace a bit, thinking. Now was when she wished she had Sar's disembodied voice to give her advice. The woman seemed sagely, wise... and as a result, made Steve seem wise. Kind of. Right now, she felt foolish and at a loss. "We might jus' hafta let 'em have what they can carry o' the treasure... S'much as I dun wanna say that. Seems like it's either our lives or our gold."

The halfling groaned a bit and began to mumble irritated bits to herself as she started to pace a bit again. "Or we could find a way to kill Sarabi n' Hubungu discreetly, buuut I doubt we can pull that off." Cue a dismissive shrug and yet another sigh.

After that sigh the three pirates got very quiet and had a surprised look in their eyes as they look at Stevie."Kill... Th' Claw?" Bender repeated. Hooke seemed to be in deep thought at that."...Cut off the head of the snake... The body will die..." The tree pirates looked at each other.

"That... That might just work! These pirates follow Hubungu The Claw because they believe him to be some sort of immortal warlord! We show them he dies like any other, the crew will lose heart and move on. And if not that, there will be infighting on who gets to control the fleet! They will be too busy to take heed of us! Good work, Stevi- ... Street rat." Close call on the compliment there, Hooke.

Bender and Norin seemed to like the plan as well."Aye. It will be a tough 'n near impossible task, but so 's fightin' an entire fleet on yer own. Lass ya might've just given us our best chance yet!" Bender laughed."Ta think I'd 'ave actually let ya run off. Yer provin' ta be invaluable!"

"It'll take some time to figure out our best approach, cap'n. We don' know which ship's that o' 'Ubungu. Not to mention how any o' us will manage to kill 'im without bein' seen. We ain't on land 'ere. They see our ship closeby, they'll blame us." Norin added. The old captain sat back down as he peered at the door."Hmm... Leave 'Ubungu's whereabouts ta me, lad. As fer the killin', I don' think we'll need ta do it quietly. Best the fleet sees 'Ubungu die lest they won't believe th' news o' 'is demise. All we need ta do is absolve any suspicion o' our involvement. If we could put th' blame on Surabi we'd hit two seagulls 'n one shot."

Stevie almost ducked her head when Bender repeated her, but when the other three exchanged glances, she felt a little more relieved. Wonderful!

She smiled proudly, straightening up to appear triumphant. "Maybe Flavio would know which ship was his? Could ask 'im. Dunno how cooperative he'd be, but it's worth a shot. Worse thing that happens'd be he dun give us no answer."

She gave Hooke a look though, making it oh so obvious she caught his near-slip.

"How're we gonna frame Surabi if we're killin' 'im out in the open?" she asked. Steve kept on a'thinking, narrowing her eyes at her feet as she did, her chin in hand.

Hooke looked flustered, embarrassed even when Stevie had caught on to him. He just looked away from her and tried not to make eye contact with er again like he was some sort of tsundere.

"I don' want anythin' to do with Flavio. What's the gnoll gonn' tell us anyway?" Norin retorted."He's a traitor! He clearly don' value Bender one bit. I've 'eard him laugh. He doesn't care one bit what's happenin' to him!" Bender took a deep breath. Clearly Flavio was still a touchy subject for him."We'll find out one way or 'nother where 'Ubungu 'is hidin'." That's all the captain wished to say about this.

"If we could cause a couple o' cannonballs ta get fired from Surabi's flagship 'n simultaniously cause a couple o' explosions on 'Ubungu's ship, people might believe Surabi's causin' a mutuny. ah, we still 'ave some time to plan this out, lads. I'm just glad we managed ta get an idea o' what ta do. Yer dismissed. 'N don' forget, this talk never happened. Fer all we know we're still handin' over our treasure ta 'Ubungu 'n ol' Bender is still on the losin' side." Norin and Hooke nodded as they walked out.

"Lass. Not ye. I 'ave need fer ya. Go wait outside o' me cabin. I need ya ta see what's comin' next."

Ooh, mysterious.

Steve actually snorted at Hooke's bashful behavior, but didn't actually say much of anything. Instead, she was taken aback by the dwarf's rant, causing her to cringe a bit. But he wasn't yelling at her, so she wasn't frightened.

"Okay, okay. No asking Flavio. Got it."

The explosion thing seemed like a really good idea, actually. "Wait, that ain't a bad idea! We'd just need t'figure out how to cause the explosion on his ship."

Though when the conversation came to a close and they were dismissed, she stayed to walk with them. Though the moment Bender told her to stay, the tiny thing turned on her heel and approached again. "Uhmmmm... what exactly's comin' next, Cap'n?"

"An old man going senile, is what. Just wait outside if ya will."

Moments later Bender Of Iron Will walked out of his cabin, in his steel arm was a bucket of water. In his other arm was a package wrapped in white linnen."Come with me, lass. I need someone ta be me moral compass. When others don' believe me, ye will." With that he walked to the main mast in the dead of the night. The sea always looked so tranquil at night, despite it being so much more dangerous than during the daytime. The old captain took a deep breath and walked up to Flavio. Should the Gnoll be asleep, the captain would slap him awake.

No one but Flavio, Stevie and Bender were on the top deck right now. The cold winds cut like blades."How's it feel, lad? How's it feel ta be all 'lone, with 'veryone wantin' ye dead? Have ye lost hope yet, or 're ya still holdin' on? ta whatever lil' hope ye've left?" The old man asked, placing the bucket right next to him.

((former post order has been initiated))

If the gnoll was asleep Flavio woke up before Bender was in front of him, his fur was matted and shaved at places and his once fancy clothes were now tattered rags. It was mostly his instinct that his lips curled to reveal fangs and growl as Bender neared, but when the old man spoke Flavio just sighed. "Same as every other day really..." said the gnoll in a tired voice. "Then again, everyone's been wanting me dead for a while now, only the number has increased."

Flavio looked at the bucket. "What've you come to do? Beat me to death with a bucket? A unique death at least. Kehehehehe..."