| abstract
| - And so, none of the RedClaw Pirates knew what waited ahead north. They could only hope it wasn’t far, and that the Unforgiven Swords weren’t going to find them. Macabre stared the lonely sea and the red horizon from the front parto f the deck. His niece came later. Karen: How are you, uncle Macabre? Macabre: My chest hurts, but I can survive. Luckily it was only a simple wound... Unlike what happened to Naishi. Karen: He can survive too... if we find a real doctor soon. The fight with Hound couldn’t have end in a worse way. With several broken bones, great amounts of blood lost, their first mate would remain uncouncious for a long time. Macabre: And how are you, Karen? Karen: Well... Macabre: Calm down, I need to sit. Sit next to me, Karen. Karen: I’m not bad, to be honest. That girl could’ve hurt me a lot more if she had the chance. Macabre: Then it’s good she hadn’t... (thoughts) And if he had... Well, I don’t think I can predict how it would have ended. Karen, too, felt the same way, the same sense of incapability. Except, in her case, she knew she would lose the fight anyway. Aman Freel was practically begging to his captain by that time. Tem minutes passed, in which he tried as much as he could to prove he deserved another chance. Freel: Please, Wolff, I won’t let you down again. And so he kept repeating. They were inside their ship, talking, along with Hound and Lura, inside the captain’s chambers. Wolff: It was a mistake to recruit you, Freel. Freel: What? Don’t talk like that! Wolff: I’m serious. All that talk about “Furious Tiger” or whatever really made na impression in me. You even convinced me the marines were acting cruel towards you... Freel: But they were! Wolff: And you deserved it... You deserved it all. Only a few weeks ago I discovered, by contact of a friend of mine, that you weren’t stealing because you needed. Freel didn’t react. Wolff: That’s right, you greedy bastard. I have a contact in the marines, whom I asked to investigate you, on the island we first met. You’re only here now because I decided to give you some time to prove I was wrong. Freel: But, Wolff... Wolff: You’re no different than a weak pirate, despite your attempts to prove the contrary. Arrogant, cruel, selfish... You’ll get out of my ship before we sail to the next island. Freel: Just, please, give one more... Lura’s sword crossed Freel’s chest in the blink of an eye. The whole room got covered in blood, and soon the weakest of the Unforgiven Swords wasn’t among the living anymore. Locke Wolff sighed, looking to his son with the melancholic eyes, which seemed not to hold any more emotion. Wolff: You didn’t have to do that, Lura. Lura: He’s been annoying me since he first boarded this ship. Besides, shouldn’t we kill pirates, father? You said yourself he was no different than a pirate. Wolff: Don’t distort my philosophy like that. You know that’s not the point of it. Hound: “Maintaining order without following blind leaders”. I believe it is like that. Wolff: Exactly, Hound. To kill is just an act, to do justice... Why am I explaining this to you? Clean my room, Lura, until you can’t smell any more blood in it. Hound... Hound: I’ll get rid of the body right away, Master Wolff. Grainne also didn’t like Freel, so it wasn’t a surprise when she heard Lura killed him. She just looked to Kanpare, who looked back, and returned to the book she was reading. In fact, she’d have done it by herself if she was as crazy as her brother. Grainne: (turning a page) Where are we going now, Miss Nu? Hiruna: For what I’ve heard on the port, our Log Pose will point to Ver-Ashtra after two days. Grainne: Any chance we meet the pirates? Hiruna: The White Wolf’s crew? I highly doubt it, they’re blindly sailing north, and they probably don’t know it’s north, so it’s unlikely. Grainne wanted to ask her something, but eventually didn’t. The silence remained there, Grainne Reading her book and Hiruna painting her nails. Hiruna: You want to ask me something, don’t you? Grainne: Well... Hiruna: Just say it, you’re like a niece to me, there’s no need to feel embarassed or anything. Grainne: It’s just that... you see, my father keeps talking about this RedClaw people and I feel like I’m the only that don’t know who they are and... Kanpare raised her hand, meaning the girl should stop talking. Her expression was serious this time. Hiruna: That’s a complicated and very long story, my sweet Grainne. If you want to know it fully, you have to ask your dad, because he never told me nor Lura or Hound. All I can say is that the RedClaw family is a very powerful one, that fights a lot between themselves, and that your father have some old relation with them. Despite that, I wouldn’t know more. The daughter of Locke Wolff simply nodded and returned to her book. At night, she would keep wondering about who the White Wolf was. All they could see was blue during a long period of five days. Lots and lots of water, covering all the sides of the ship, without any sign of land or another ship close. And Naishi really needed a doctor. Macabre: Damn... I need to focus. The White Wolf was in his chambers, but he couldn’t meditate, knowing his friend could die anywhere on the next few days. Macabre: But to think he could do this sort of damage to Naishi... No, no, focus... I can’t do that. Macabre simply gave up and stood up. From the door, he could hear the sound of his crew talking, don’t sounding worried. Macabre: (thoughts) And they’re right not to be. Naishi is too stubborn to die like this. So he dressed his coat and went outside. To his surprise, entering the ship’s kitchen, Diarmuid the bard was massaging his niece’s shoulders. Karen: You know how hard it is to feel weak like that? A little more to the right, please. Yes, that’s it... In front of uncle Macabre... Macabre was hiding. He only saw a glimpse of what was passing inside the kitchen and didn’t like it. Alina’s face, in the short instant he could see her, revealed that the thief felt the same. Diarmuid: (massaging) Yes, yes, I know... You feel like you’re letting him down. Karen: Exactly! And he’s so serious all the time, so I don’t know what he thinks about and that’s horrible. Diarmuid: Just relax, I’m sure he loves you and never would feel like this. Karen: You’re the best, Diarmuid. Alina: (whispering) The best, sure... Karen: You said something, Alina? Alina: I think I heard Master Macabre calling you, Diarmuid. Diarmuid: Really? I didn’t hear anything. Alina: Yes, trust in my hearing, I’m a thief and spy, after all. Saying those words, Alina turned her eyes to the eyes of her captain, silently spying through the doorway. She smiled and winked. Macabre: (whispering to himself) I’m starting to love that woman... (Waits for Diarmuid to go through the door and grabs him) We need to have a little talk about my niece. If you scream, I kill you. Now, to my room. Without the alcohol he could’ve been drinking, Jon could actually do well his job as navigator. His conclusions weren’t the best, as he was going to report to Macabre. Before knocking, however, the door of his room opened and their bard left. Looking really alert. Jon: Are you fine, Diarmuid? Diarmuid: I just learned I can never do anything regarding our captain’s family. Otherwise he’ll... What am I saying, this has nothing to do with you. He left. Macabre: Get in already, Jon. Jon entered the captain’s chambers. Macabre: Don’t mind Diarmuid. I just told him some empty threats. Jon: I assume it involves Karen? Macabre: Yes, it does. But anyway, what are you doing here? Jon: Well, I was just looking through our maps and it seems I don’t know to which direction we are going. Macabre: Wasn’t that expected? Jon: Yes, but even so, it seems there isn’t any island much close. In neither direction, even if I knew in what are we heading. Macabre: (takes a bottle of sake and two cups from a drawer at his writing desk) Want one? I know you do. (fills both cups) You know these maps were made as our predecessors traveled, don’t you? Jon: What? Macabre: Yes, which means there’s a chance they simply don’t passed through any island close to here... Wherever here is. Jon: (drinks the whole sake in a sip) That’s the only alcohol we have on the ship? Macabre: Yes. Jon: This won’t last much... Macabre: Weren’t you talking about navigation? Jon: I’d rather drink. Macabre RedClaw stared Jon for a second. His blue eyes, the ones famous for giving him his “White Wolf” epithet, now didn’t look threatening. To the contrary, they seemed worried. Macabre: You’re right. There’s nothing much more to talk about. Give me your cup. Without saying a word, Jon handed the cup. It wasn’t always that someone could see fragility underneath the confidence of Macabre RedClaw. Jon: Everything is going to be fine, you know? Macabre: I hope so, Jon... Drink as much as you want, I’m going to see how Naishi is doing now. .
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)