Stories from RhyDin & The Rings

It had taken quite some cajoling from a few crew members to get Morgan out of his quarters, and even then there was a sour face that settled unpleasantly. He said nothing sharp, nor hurtful, but rather did not speak at all. In the tavern, he settled back and listened to the others, nursing the grog he’d had shoved into his hands. It took some time… But the captain eventually loosened up when he was forced to interject into stories from the others.

“A lie! You fell right on your ass in a bramble bush!”

A few more drinks, and he was freely laughing with others, distracted from the thoughts that had pervaded his mind as of late. Just as he was leaning over the table, pointing at a gnomish man with frazzled hair, his eye caught a flash of color. Red, and black, and tall. His gaze immediately followed the movement, and he stepped a heavy boot right on the table, lifting until he was above everyone else, pointing accusingly at a red tiefling skulking toward the door.

“THIEF! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Nearly the whole establishment went quiet, and black eyes widened and shot straight to meet a narrowed amber gaze. The tiefling immediately took off, and the captain was not far behind, nearly upending the table and stepping on the shoulder of one of his crewmates, ignoring the protest, to launch himself at the red-skinned rogue. It was too bad for Kymus, really… This wasn’t the acrobat’s first time throwing himself at a person, and he’d certainly always accounted for the movement of his partners. Willing or not. A thud of bodies was followed by the sound of the two scattering to the floor, and there was a struggle that ensued, shorter legs wrapping tightly around the other’s torso and tanned fingers curled into the black leather and fabric the tiefling was known to wear. Even if the tiefling could get up, he had a hard time prying the smaller man off of him, and eventually gave up… Maybe he had tired of the struggle. Perhaps, though, it was the glares and flashes of blades from a table full of the captain’s own people. Either way, he lifted both hands up, in defeat.

“Be fair. I won your clothes. Fair and square. You made a bet. How can you be angry I followed through? I even left you your hat!” There was a sudden grin, something like mischief flashing in those deep ebon eyes. Morgan pursed his lips, and his grip tightened… And then he jerked Kymus up, before slamming him into the wooden floor roughly. “Ah! Ow! Fine! Fine! So touchy!” The tiefling grimaced, and reached up to grasp at the captain’s wrists. He tilted his head up, and hissed something in that terrifying language that made Morgan's clench loosen just enough that he could push the captain off, and skittered on all fours up to two legs as the captain fell back into a stool with a clatter.

He couldn't let the thief go out into the night… he'd never find him for sure! Off like a shot Morgan went, and he burst out the door just behind Kymus, following the other. He was quick… but so was Morgan.

The tiefling tried to dip unseen into an alley, but just as he turned the corner, that delicate yet calloused hand snatched at a sleeved, and he slammed into the cobbles of the wall with a grunt. The smaller of the two swung around and yanked the tiefling's arm up to his shoulder blades, and he pushed him face first into the wall, snarling something back in that very language. The captain had been learning. The rough phrase tore a laugh from Kymus, and he again gave in, face scraping rough stone as he tried to look back and… down at the small but fierce little thing that had him pinned.

"Let me go, and I won't gobble you all up." He intoned playfully, flashing that grin.

"Where's the fun in that? That's the wrong threat to pull on me, you fucking-" but he didn't get to finish his retort before the tables had turned, and he had his back against those cobbles, and was left breathless on impact with them. The horned head dipped down, and a knee set itself against the wall between the captain's thighs, lifting just high enough to ensure his entrapment.

"So you want me to eat you up, little morsel?" Teeth nipped at a flushed throat, and his fingers spread over wrists, smoothing upwards to press palms to Morgan's, fingers entwined tightly. The captain gave a sort of wheeze, and couldn't help the tilt of this head that further exposed his neck to that terrible mouth. His gaze slid to the corners of his eyes before shutting, and lips pressed together before he spoke, his voice rough and breathy.

"You're… such a…" his words turned unintelligible with a swift shift of the tiefling's body against his, and the lion's roar he'd started the confrontation with turned to a mere mewl of a kitten. His hands were freed as the tiefling let his own wander, and one arm wrapped loosely around the man's neck. Surely, an alleyway wasn't the ideal place for the tryst that ensued, yet… it seemed fitting, somehow. Whispered words echoed louder in his ears, the salt in the air nearly washed away the smell of old liquor and much more unsavory things done in alleyways by drunks and those that gathered in gutters.

The two were left in a panting heap against the wall, tangled and wrapped and Kymus left laughing breathlessly. Morgan pushed the other away when he had the strength to stand, and stumbled a step away. Buttoning his pants, he grimaced at his own lack of self control, and grumbled unpleasantly. “I think it’s real funny…” he started, reaching into the pocket of his pants. He turned around, and strolled easily up to the tiefling, casual as you please, pulling out a pouch that jingled right up to the moment it settled in a red palm. “How you call me the whore…” He let fingertips dance up the other’s chest, exposed and glistening, to tap him on the nose with a sneering smirk.

“But you’re the one who keeps getting paid for it.” He stepped back, and blew a kiss, then stalked out of the alley with his chin held as high as he dared, leaving the stunned rogue behind as he pranced rather proudly back into the tavern, and rejoined what remained of his crew. A drink right now sounded lovely.

Gwen leaned against the railing of the stairs to one side of the Captain’s quarters, arms folded in front of her as she watched the crew hoop and holler outside of Morgan’s door. After a long while, when the cavorting and cajoling produced no tangible body, she gave a half turn of her head and ice blue eyes slid across the way. There, looking on with one arm propped up against the railing of those stairs, Bosun turned to look at the first mate with a sly grin and held up his other hand, thumb rubbing against index and middle finger as that grin split his lips to reveal teeth and tusks. Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes to tame the smile that would surely show itself otherwise, she looked back to the boisterous crowd expectantly. It wasn’t over until it was over.

A short while later there was a cheer that erupted from the crowd and Gwen’s brow rose curiously at the sound. Canting her head to the side, she watched and waited as a smile began to tug at the corners of her lips slowly. When she was finally able to lay eyes on the sour faced Captain emerging from his quarters begrudgingly, one of those slender arms unlaced from the other and went out to her side, palm up. Bosun, having seen Morgan first due to his height advantage, had already crossed the distance between them and slapped the girl’s hand in disgust, leaving a trail of bills in its wake.
“Thankssss,” she said with a grin.
“I’ll get it back, just like last time,” he grunted.
“We’ll see,” the girl added, leaning up to slip the money into her pocket.
Bosun stopped, turning to look over Gwen and the crowd at the Captain as he reluctantly emerged further from the confines of his quarters, sullen and silent. With a crooked, knowing grin, he looked down to the first mate and laid a hand on her shoulder, patting gently. “Yeah. We will.”
She didn’t look back over her shoulder when the pat was given. Instead, she squinted at the much tamer Captain as he was coaxed on by his excited crew and pursed her lips. As much as she hated to admit it, Bosun was probably right.

Off the ship and into the tavern the two followed, trailing behind the reluctant Morgan and his crew as they laughed and sang all the way through the door and found themselves seats at tables. Gwen flanked the gang, finding herself a spot against a wall where she rested her back and propped a foot up against it, again crossing her arms. Bosun flanked the other side, stopping by the bar for a moment to place an order with the wide eyed, stiff as a board bartender. Leaning his elbow on the counter as he waited, he glanced at Morgan for a moment before pale blue eyes hovered over him in search of where Gwen had made her perch. With a nod and a grin once he’d found her, he turned back towards the bar as two steaming bowls of stew were delivered. Sliding payment over, he took the bowls up and began making his way around the bunch slowly, keeping his eye on Morgan as he passed and then handing the second bowl to Gwen.
“Pretty sure they spit in yours,” he joked.
“Bitches,” she muttered, dipping her head as she brought a spoonful of the stew to her mouth. Giving a chuckle, Bosun took himself and his dinner and moved to another part of the tavern where they could both keep an eye on Captain and men to make sure nothing untoward happened for the remainder of the night. It took some time...But the Captain eventually loosened up when he was forced to interject into stories from the others.

“A lie! You fell right on your ass in a bramble bush!”

Another spoonful of the homemade stew stopped midway between bowl and mouth when Gwen heard the outburst and she smiled, remembering the incident. The rest of the crew laughed, throwing their heads back or pounding the table with a fist...except one. Cobalt blue eyes searched out that one, finding a pair of nervous brown eyes framed by blushing cheeks and she winked with a smile. She’d kept her promise not to tell how many thorns she’d pulled out of the crewman’s ass, and even neglected to tell any that she’d been the one to do it. With that, a nervous glance melted into an appreciative smile and the sailor went back to making merry with his crewmates and his now laughing and joking Captain.

When the crewman turned away, Gwen looked around as she blew on the still steaming spoonful and happened to catch sight of Bosun. Standing near the bar, his own spoon frozen halfway, he just stared at her with brow arched and head canted to one side a bit. Giggling at the sight, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was definitely not what he was thinking it was! That response only adding to the puzzled look on his face, Gwen giggled again and shook her head, mouthing the words, ‘I’ll tell you later,’ before continuing her sweep of the room and finally taking that bite.

No sooner had the spoon passed her lips than she spotted a pair of glaring green eyes on the other side of the tavern that stopped her still as a statue. The scowl on the boy’s face had his lips bunched up in an angry pucker and wrinkled his nose. If the look on his face and the way his nostrils flared and shoulders rose and fell weren’t enough, she watched as he slowly held up his right hand, the back of it towards her. With his other, he pointed to the four tiny scars that dotted the back of his right before turning his uninjured hand up and extending his middle finger, flipping her off. The look on Gwen’s face remained impassive for the show, those blue eyes simply watching as he pointed out the damage she’d done and then extending an added ‘fuck you’ in the process. When he was done, very slowly, the spoon in her mouth was turned upside down and she slowly withdrew it, making sure that the contents had been cleaned off of it before it pulled away from her lips. Once it had, she held it up beside her and that cobalt gaze slid over to the silver utensil for a moment, eyes going up and down the length of it before snapping back to him as her lips curved into a wicked grin and a slender brow arched maniacally.

She hadn’t forgotten her sabre this time, and she carried an extra dagger with her just in case, but that was all it took, apparently.

Seeing the spoon held with intent, the look on the girl’s face and the memory of what she’d done before, Billy dropped his hands at his sides while the scowl went slack and all of the color seemed to drain from the already pale boy’s face. When Gwen leaned forward from the wall just slightly and the already menacing grin on her face started to widen, Billy heard the thunk of metal in wood from the first time and the bile crept up the back of his throat. Gagging suddenly, he brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he made a mad dash for the nearest restroom. Giggling as she watched the boy make a run for it, she settled back against the wall and dug that spoon in for another bite. The small victory was short lived however…

“THIEF! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Morgan had yelled it out above the din.

A half eaten bowl of stew was sent to the nearest table with a clatter and Gwen froze, eyes wide as she gripped the handle of the dagger at her hip. Looking to Morgan first with the outburst, she followed his gaze until hers landed on a very familiar looking tiefling staring wide eyed back at him. Almost immediately, Kymus turned and tried to make a run for it. Before Gwen could even think about moving to follow, her attention was ripped back towards Morgan and the commotion as he nearly upended a table, stepped on the shoulder of one of their crewmates and launched himself at the red skinned devil before he could make it out the door. A thud of bodies was followed by the sound of the two scattering to the floor and Gwen flinched in that direction, hand tightening around the handle and tugging so that a sliver of silver peeked out of the top of the sheath. As the two struggled, she tensed even more, watching the tangle of limbs as the Captain fought to pin the other man down. During the scuffle, just to be sure, Gwen glanced over to Bosun and was surprised to see him leaned against the bar, watching on and lazily chewing on a large spoonful of stew he’d just shoved into his mouth. When those pale blue eyes finally slid over to the girl, noticing her confused and almost horrified stare, he pointed the tip of his spoon to the two wrestling on the floor and shook his head slowly at her. Seemed he thought Morgan had this under control. Gwen, in answer, pulled the dagger fully from its sheath and made a stabby motion while she pointed at Kymus with her free hand. Bosun, still calm, shook his head again at the girl and then pointed towards the pair. The first mate, pursing her lips and tilting her head at the too confident man, looked over at the two just in time to see Morgan slamming the larger man against the wooden floor roughly and she begrudgingly shoved the dagger back into its sheath.

Kymus lifted up and hissed something terrifying at Morgan, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd that watched on, then the Captain was falling back over a stool and the tiefling was up on his feet and out the door. Watching as the red skinned man bolted out into the night followed by their Captain, Gwen shot another cobalt blue stare at Bosun and raised one arm to point towards the exit. If ever a gesture could have been deadpanned, that was surely it. Catching the impetuous gaze of the first mate, a grin curved the lips of the half-orc as the last spoonful of stew was shoveled into his mouth and he turned to toss the bowl onto the counter along with a few coins for a tip. Dusting his hands off, he turned for the door and gave a sideways nod to Gwen and they both started in that direction. Having made it to the door that would lead them out in search of an acrobat and a devil at the same time she did, Bosun leaned down and whispered something into the girl’s ear just as they were about to pass through it. Looking back at him with a confident grin, she nodded once with a, “You’re on,” and the search began.

It took Bosun and the first mate quite a while to find the pair in the darkened streets of the little port town. Eventually though, after walking a bit, looking this way and that and peering down a few alleyways, they finally spotted them. When they did, Gwen could only make out the shadowy outline of the two, but it looked like Kymus had turned the tables and had Morgan pinned against those cobbles now. She started to take a step down the alleyway at the sight, but stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the rough, breathy voice of Morgan in the darkness.
“You’re… such a…,” he started.
“Bitch!” she finished for him, but only loud enough for her and Bosun to hear.
She only stuck around for a moment longer to stare in disbelief at the two shadows in the alley that were slowly beginning to blend into one. Shaking her head, she turned and started to walk away.
“I’ll be on the ship,” she said.
“Ahem!” came the reply.
Wincing at the sound, her shoulders bunched up and she stopped only for them to relax slowly and she stared straight ahead for a few moments. Turning around finally, she looked up at Bosun, seeing that shit eating grin on his face and then down to his open, outstretched palm that mocked her when his fingers curled back towards him a few times. Rolling her eyes and reaching into her pocket as she wilted, she smacked the bills in his palm reluctantly before looking up at him again, her lips melting into a smile. “I’ll get it back.” she promised.
“You always do,” he said with a chuckle, folding the bills up and pocketing the cash.

With Morgan and Kymus...busy, and Bosun more than likely going back to the Inn to check on the crew and spend some of that newly won money, Gwen took her time walking back to the Heathen. All in all it had been a good night and she, for one, hadn’t grown tired of the smell of salt in the air and the sound of ships and the ocean. The clop of boots on the wood of the pier heralded her near arrival home and she smiled at the thought.
“Good evening…,” came a voice from somewhere up above.
“Oh...hello…,” Gwen answered, looking up in surprise.

(To be continued)