The four of them were gathered around a table in the back of O'Nives. It was still early in the morning but Theo had ordered a myriad of foods just like usually did. Meats, cheeses, wines, fruits, starches. Every time they were on land they ate like nobles. Ava would feel bad about the amount of money spent on food if they hadn't been eating stale bread and fish for all their time at sea. That and the fact that every plate was wiped clean made it easier to sleep at night knowing they dropped over 15 gold on food at O'Nives.
Ava figured soon after they arrived that it was more than just a feast, it was yet another meeting. As they ate their food they discussed what was going on. She wasn't totally clued as to what was happening until Theo explained the letter was calling a mandatory pirate meeting to discuss the disappearances. Whatever was happening with the pirates was bad, she didn't think she had ever seen Theo that anxious about anything. The others had been going back and forth with theories for a few hours but ended up getting nowhere with that. Ava kept to herself, knowing that nothing she said would be helpful.
"It's just not possible that no one has any information," Cooker groaned, head in her hands.
"It's useless to try and figure out what is happening. We are clearly not meant to know. Whoever or whatever is behind this knows what they are doing," Theo waved her hand to drop the conversation.
"So what now?" Xyra asked.
"We continue with our previous plan," Theo said.
"Shouldn't we head to Corinspe now instead of later?" Cooker tilted her head.
"For what? The meeting is not for another 40 suns. Regardless of a mysterious pirate killer, our situation is still the same. Money is going to get tight and this might be our last chance to secure a consistent stream of anything valuable," Theo reasoned but her hand was over her mouth and she looked unsure, "Easy and peaceful raids are going to be nonexistent in the next two lengths and we need to take advantage now."
Theo sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
"What if we come face to face with whatever this pirate killer is?" Ava asked, speaking up for the first time in hours.
"Then we hope we've trained our crew well enough to handle it," Theo said, offering no reassurances with her tone.
"If that is your decision, Cap, I'll stand behind it," Cooker poured herself another glass of wine.
"Aye, but if at any point I feel like we are vulnerable I will pull us from the shipping route and we'll head to Corinspe early," Theo said, this time firmly and confidently.
"What is considered vulnerable?" Ava asked again, wanting to clarify what the plan was.
"Sick crew members, too many injured, major damage to the ship, low on supplies, series of unsuccessful raids," Xyra listed off a few conditions and Ava nodded in understanding.
"Is that agreed upon then?" Theo looked around the table, "We continue with the raids and get to Corinspe when we had planned all along?"
"Like I said, fine by me," Cooker said.
"Aye," Xyra nodded, "our hands are tied so why not."
The table was quiet for a bit and everyone looked over towards Ava.
"Red?" Cooker prompted
"What?"
"How do you stand on the matter?" Theo asked again.
Ava wasn't aware she had a say or the right to an opinion during the conversation. She kept forgetting that she was the quartermaster and with the job title came the responsibility of having the Captain's ear. She forgot her word actually mattered now.
"Aye," Ava crossed her arms in front of her and tried to appear resolute and tough, "as Xyra said, it's our only option."
That was all Theo needed to hear. She quickly got up from her chair and began to walk out of the restaurant.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Ava muttered to herself but Xyra heard it and laughed. They each got up and followed Theo. Ava wasn't sure where they were headed until the ship was in sight. They were returning to let the others know of the news, presumably.
Upon arriving though, three men wearing expensive clothes and leather armor stood on the gangplank to the ship. Morgana was back from shopping and she stood at the top of the plank, arms crossed in front of her. It looked as if she was in a staredown with the other men and she was unmoving in her glare. Theo broke out into a brisk walk upon seeing the exchange and made her way up the gangplank, the other three of them waiting on the docks below.
"Mor?" Theo called her attention to get a read on what was going on.
"These three claim to be with the Tuskeri traders. Said they are coming to inspect the shipment," Morgana answered and Theo motioned for Morgana to step aside and let the men onto the ship.
Theo walked on with the rest of the men and Ava followed once the path to the ship was cleared. Theo turned to the men once they were on the deck, "My apologies for being absent and for making you wait outside the ship. As you can understand my crew is under strict order to not allow anyone on board without me present. What can I help you with?"
"We've come to inspect the shipment and then bring you back to our manor for your allotted payment," one of the men said, tall and large with a gruff voice.
Theo glanced at Morgana and then at Xyra, giving an unspoken command to be ready to go, even Ava picked up on it, "Our delivery date is not until tomorrow. I have plans made for the rest of the day and this would be terribly inconvenient.
"Boss heard you were in town and wants his shipment now," the gruff man said, "Don't want no prying eyes inquiring about the cargo."
"That is fair," Theo gave a charming smile, "I will rearrange my plans but your boss should know my flexibility comes at a price."
"I'm sure you can work that out with him," another man spoke up, shorter and noticeably squeakier in his tone than his partner.
"I'm sure I can," Theo said with a smile and then called over two deckhands, "lead these men down into the storage room. Miss Yurwa should be down there and she can show them the shipment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was not expecting to make a long journey today so I need to change my shoes."
The women began to lead the men down into storage and Theo's polite smile fell into one of disgust the second the men turned away. She jerked her head towards her quarter's and the rest of them followed. No sooner was Theo through the door, her movements became quick and rushed.
"Mor, send out the vanguard now before the men come back up. According to the map, their manor is about 20 feet on all sides from the treeline. Have them sneak into the woods and camp out there for us. Once we arrive, if we are not out in a half-hour then they are to infiltrate the building," Theo instructed and jogged over to one of her large trunks then began to toss things out it.
"Aye," Morgana agreed, "I have Oceane leading the charge on that. Iona is coming with us," Morgana relayed who she had chosen to lead the vanguard in her absence.
"Good call, we'll need an archer on the outside if things go south," Theo agreed with the decision, and with the confirmation that the plan was set to begin Morgana left the room to give out commands.
Theo began to put out straps of leather and weapons from inside the trunk and Ava watched from the corner as Xyra and Cooker transferred them from the floor to Theo's desk. Ava felt as if she should have been helping but she wasn't told about anything that was happening. Xyra must have been a bit too vague in her teaching of the quartermaster procedures because Ava was lost as to what they were doing. Theo called Ava over to the desk and she obeyed, standing over the variety of handheld weapons on the table.
"Xy, you take the rings and the walking stick," Theo said and pushed a long stick and a series of rings in Xyra's direction, "Cooker, you'll have the throwing stars and a dagger. Ava, you're going to have to make due with dual-wielding these daggers-"
"I understand we are in a rush but I have no idea what the fuck is going on," Ava splurted out, unable to go any further without a bit of guidance.
"Secondary weapons," Cooker said.
"They'll more than likely take our weapons at the door so we've got to hide these on our body in case they try and hurt us," Theo elaborated, "You aren't used to any of these other weapons so you'll have to make due with daggers only."
"That's fine," Ava said but she was nervous as all hell. She had been training quite often with her cutlass but had let her work with the dagger fall behind. If they did take her cutlass she would be at a disadvantage.
Theo reached into her desk and pulled out a small wooden box. After opening it, she pulled a dark vial and a small bowl. She opened the vial and dropped some of the liquid into the bowl.
"Poison," Xyra explained before Ava had to ask, "Dip your blade in it. It will make it easier to kill if it comes to that."
"I've never seen you do this before," Ava commented but did as she was told and dipped the tips of her daggers into the bowl.
"It's a painful death. Paralyzes you as you burn from the inside," Theo said, "We reserve it times like these when we are going in without recon, only when it is necessary. We might be outnumbered and we need every trick in the book."
"Plus, if they turn on us and renege on a deal then they deserve it," Cooker said.
"No one deserves suffering," Xyra interjected and Theo and Cooker fixed each other with looks.
Morgana made her way into the quarters followed by Iona. They were handed their weapons to hide, dipped in poison already. Theo made quick work of strapping the dagger under her shirt and expertly hiding another dagger in the boots she had changed into. Ava noticed that Theo also clumsily stuffed another dagger into her other boot, a distraction if she was searched. Theo then walked over with Ava's daggers and a large piece of fabric.
"Up," Theo motioned to Ava's shirt and Ava lifted it up to her ribs. Theo wrapped the fabric around Ava's stomach and nestled the sheathed daggers on either side, "If they take our weapons, act surprised. Make it hard for them to take the ones that are visible. And if something happens and you don't have your regular weapons, you reach up this way and grab the spares, okay?"
Theo showed Ava the quickest way to retrieve the daggers without getting caught on her clothes or accidentally nicking herself with the poison blade.
"Okay," Ava nodded once she had practiced it a few times.
"I'm sorry I made it seem like I was forcing you to come yesterday. Are you sure you want to?" Theo rushed out, hand reaching out to grab Ava's for a brief second.
Ava could sense the panic in Theo's eyes at the thought of Ava going into potential danger. Ava knew because she was also feeling the same tightness and panic in her own chest but she couldn't back down. This was what she had been asking for the entire time she had been on the ship, to be on the front lines. Plus, she would never know if she could stand up to the test of piracy if she never gave it a try. The worst that could happen was she could die, what a comforting thought.
Ava squeezed her hand and smiled, trying to hide the nerves that were coursing through her veins, "Aye, Captain. I've got your back."
Theo gave one last tight grip on Ava's hand before letting go. No one had been paying attention to them, all absorbed in their own preparations. Theo walked away from Ava and towards the window, she peeked out to see if anyone had emerged from the decks and whistled over to the girls in the room.
"Let's get going before they have a chance to wait around. Can't tip them off to what we were doing," Theo said and then walked out. Everyone filed out after at their own pace.
It was a while before the men emerged, Miss Yurwa following behind them with a scowl on her face. Theo glanced over and raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what was going on and Miss Yurwa raised a nasty sign in the direction of the men that were now walking away from her. Theo tried to hide a smile and a laugh but failed and a small chortle escaped. The gruff man approached and fixed her with a dagger-filled stare.
"I hope you found everything in order down there," Theo smiled.
"We'll take you to the boss now," the gruff man said and led them off the gangplank.
Theo took up the front of the pack, walking silently alongside two of the Tuskeri men. Iona and Cooker were right behind them, followed by Ava and Xyra and Morgana taking up the rear with the last Tuskeri. They walked silently and for a long time. They walked for even longer than it took for them to traverse the island during their raid against the army camp and Ava's feet were aching halfway into the journey. No one but Cooker and Iona made any noise, the both of them snickering between themselves about something. They would receive the occasional glare from Theo which would shut them up for a while but they would start back up shortly after.
Ava and Xyra walked together, keeping a good pace. Xyra used her walking stick as if she had been trekking with one her whole life, using it to help her maneuver up and over branches but Ava could not remember a time she had seen Xyra with one. Everyone else got good secret weapons but Xyra hadn't gotten anything but a bunch of fused together rings and a stick; Ava wondered how she would fare if things went badly. Ava had never seen Xyra fight before as she was always the one left in charge when Theo went off on vanguard duty.
Ava glanced down to the rings Xyra was wearing. There were four of them, fused together on the sides. Each of the rings had a thin metal chain that connected it to another set of four rings, not fused together, sitting up higher up on the fingers. Ava stared at it wondering what good a bunch of rings fused together would do except not allow her to freely move her fingers. Xyra caught Ava staring and chuckled a bit but said nothing and looked back to the path. Ava continued to stare and after a few minutes, she saw Xyra clench her fist. The top rings tugged on the chains and at the motion of closing her hand, four spikes appeared. One on each of the larger rings.
If Ava were any better at hand-to-hand combat she would have asked for some for herself. Unfortunately, she had been told that her skills were in other areas and she was stuck with daggers. Pointy, dangerous, and embellished, sure, but nowhere near as cool as spike rings. She kept walking forward. The hilt of the sheathed dagger began to rub at her skin and it irritated her. By the time they arrived at the manor, she was afraid her skin had been rubbed open. It stung with every step she took and she almost didn't notice as they left the woods and came into a clearing. They had arrived at the manor.
Looking around, she saw none of the vanguard women in the surrounding forest. They were well hidden or just not there, Ava couldn't tell. Walking up to the manor, Ava saw that it was surrounded on all sides by a 15-foot high wall. The manor was a single stone structure peeking out from the middle of the wall. She looked up to the top of the wall to see the six men on watch raise their crossbows at the incoming noise. One of the Tuskeri men said something in Nefritian and the weapons were lowered. As they approached the wall, large wooden double doors opened for them and they were escorted inside.
Her stomach turned to steel and her hands began to tremble ever so slightly. Her knees were weak with each step they took but Ava made sure to school her expression to not show fear. She was expecting the worst but nothing was going to happen. They were going to get in, do the exchange, and then walk out without a scratch. The precautions they had taken had gotten her nerves so frazzled she failed to account for the fact that they were preparing for the worst-case scenario.
The Tuskeri men that had guided them that far walked into the multi-level stone building and up a large set of stairs, the group followed. They were escorted into a great hall, ornate and lavish decorations lined the room. In Ava's opinion, they needed to seriously reconsider the gaudy interior. It looked more like a creepy lair than a room for feasts but there was still a luxurious array of food laid out on a large table in the middle of the room. The table was low to the floor, pillow replacing chairs. Inside the room, there were guards. One in each corner of the room and then four additional Tuskeri men sitting on pillows by the feast.
One man, tall and thin with a black beard, stood up with a sly grin, "The crew of the Scorned Woman, I presume? Welcome."
"Aye. I am Captain Theo," Theo walked over to the man and extended her hand for a shake.
Two of the guards walked forward but the man put his hand up, signaling them to back down. With that same hand, he reached forward but instead of shaking Theo's hand he turned it over and kissed it, "Villhelm Tuskeri. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Pleasure is all mine," Theo answered with a tight smile, pulling her hand away from the man as quickly as she could.
"Guards, men," Villhelm called, "Please relieve our guests of their weapons and coats."
Each of the guards and some of the other Tuskeri men in the room descended upon the women. Ava did as she was told and begrudgingly handed over her own weapon, the black cutlass. The guard patted her legs down but as he came up towards the daggers on her torso she feigned a gasp and stepped away.
"Sir, I do not know who you think you are but you do not touch a lady in that way," Ava held a hand to her chest in shock and the guard was scolded by Villhelm.
"I'm sorry about him. Please! Sit! Feast with us," Villhelm sat back down on his cushion and motioned for the others to do the same.
Theo looked over and gave a small nod to the women, allowing them to sit down, "We have already eaten but we will sit with you for a bit. Not for long though. Not that I want to rush business between us but we have other arrangements for the evening."
Ava took Theo's cue and sat down on a cushion. Xyra had sat down next to Ava, her walking stick still in hand. She had been able to keep it by telling the men that she needed it to stand up and sit down. They were sitting far away from any of the Tuskeri men. If there was anyone that would say something wrong or cause the deal to go south it would be Ava so she wanted to stay out of sight. The trek had made Ava hungry, despite the large meal they had eaten in the morning, and she reached towards the low table full of food. Xyra reached forward and grabbed Ava by the elbow and subtly brought Ava's arm away from the table. Ava looked at Xyra who leaned in a bit and whispered.
"Never take food offered to you. Poison."
Ava's hand rested on her lap without any further instruction. It made sense. She felt like maybe someone should have briefed her on that at some point though. Cardinal rule of anything having to deal with unknown people and food, poison is always a possibility.
Villhelm was regaling them with a tale about how he came to be in possession of the manor they were in. Ava hadn't been paying attention. The arrogance and grandstanding dripping off of him were too much to handle. She felt like she had been transported back to Aubermasse and a noble was visiting them, trying to play up their importance to her father. She doubted anyone else in the group was paying much mind either, Theo was absently nodding along with a polite smile.
"I would love to hear more of your stories, they are truly fascinating, but may I inquire about the state of the cargo so we can agree upon a price to be paid before we continue?" Theo asked after Villhelm had finished speaking.
"Ah, yes," Villhelm motioned the three Tuskeri men that had gone to check on the cargo over towards them. One of the men got up from their cushion and walked over, Villhelm turned to him and asked, "how were the state of the barrels and the crates? Any compromised material?"
"Few scrapes and scratches but nothing we can't overlook, boss," the gruff man said.
Ava heard alarm bells ring at that. Hilda, their contact from before, had said that they were known for haggling on smaller things. Wanting to just hand over 15 thousand gold and not dispute even a few hundred off due to damages, not likely. Agreeing upon 15 thousand gold because they didn't plan on letting the pirates see the light again, highly likely. It seemed like this raised flags for Theo too who glanced around the room and took stock of all the people in it. Xyra tensed up next to her as well which told her she wasn't the only one that.
"Then 15,000 gold pieces it is," Theo said and stood up, "We will be in town until tomorrow night. You can bring the payment by the ship when you come to retrieve your cargo."
"Can you not stay a little longer? At least until you are hungry enough to eat," Villhelm stood up as well, stepping in front of Theo blocking her way around him.
"I am afraid we have other arrangements, like I said," Theo said, tone a bit more on edge than previously.
"Arrangements that cannot be pushed back to spend time with a new business partner?" Villhelm gave a slick smile.
"Afraid not. It's a long trek back and I'm expected in town soon. See, I am a businesswoman and as such I make sure proper precautions are in place before meeting with any unknown partners," Theo smiled politely and took a step away from Villhelm, "There are a group of pirates awaiting me in town and if they do not see me return within a few hours then I am afraid we will have a bit of a situation on our hands."
Theo was threatening Villhelm but not revealing all her cards. The vanguard was just outside and if Ava's calculations were correct there were only about 15 minutes before they infiltrated. If Villhelm was truly going to honor his end of the deal then they needed to get out of there quickly so as to not incite any unnecessary violence.
"What I have heard about you is true," Villhelm hummed and glanced over to his right giving a nod and two of the guards left the room. It was something they all noticed, Xyra shot up out of her seat as Villhelm continued, "you are very smart and accomplished.
Ava stood up now at seeing everyone else around her do the same and the tension in the room was palpable. Ava was not an expert but it seemed like the Tuskeri's were turning hostile and any move made needed to be done right then, without the two extra guards in the room. Who knows who they could come back with.
"Thank you, Mister Tuskeri. I hope you have found our business arrangement favorable and you reap the benefits of this deal," Theo stated with a slight bow.
"I have," Villhelm grinned, almost villain-like in the way it curled around his face, "it is such a shame that it will be your last time dealing with me."
There was a pause.
"Well, your last time dealing with anyone for that matter," Villhelm stepped away from the table and cleared his throat, bringing his hand up and flicking two fingers up, "Seize them."
Had they not been expecting something of the sort to happen the reaction would have been a lot slower but Ava felt the moment the room shifted. As soon as Villhelm uttered the word 'seize' all of them had their hands on their weapons. Ava had no time to strategize or take in what was happening. She spun so her back was facing Xyra's and she looked at her options, two armored guards and a handful of lightly armored goons were all running towards them. Were they going to run or fight? Tie up and let live or leave no survivors?
"Keep some to question but kill the rest of these fuckers!" Theo commanded and that was all the instruction Ava needed.
Being on the defensive never helped her much during training so if there was ever a time to try and be on the offensive, it was then. She let out a scream from deep inside her chest and charged forward, sliding the daggers out from under her shirt. She wielded each of them differently, one facing backward and the other facing forward. The first man she met face to face was the skinny, lean one that had been on their ship earlier. Ava thanked whatever gods the girls on the ship prayed to for giving her an even matchup to warm up.
The man grabbed his sword that seemed too long and too heavy for his frame and swung wide, missing as Ava sidestepped it. With ease she managed to kick his hand, making him release the sword and with the dagger, she sliced it across his neck and left him gagging on his own blood. Ava had no time to think about her next move because a strong fist collided with the side of her face, knocking her onto the floor. Luckily she hadn't dropped her daggers and she quickly scrambled away and back up to her feet. Looking at her attacker it was Gruffy, who she had affectionately named on the trek over here.
Fuck her.
The first matchup might have been even but this was so far from fair. He wasn't armed but he was rushing towards her and she did all she could think of which was to slash at his incoming swinging arms. She managed to get a few cuts in, blood splattering on the floor below her.
"You fucking bitch. I think I'll keep you just for fun," the man spat out and rushed forward to try and grab her and Ava ducked out of his reach and drove the dagger into his stomach.
She tried pulling it out but it was stuck and the man was still standing. He shot out an arm and pulled her up by the shirt and reached his other hand up to grasp around her neck. The shock of the movement caused her to clatter her other dagger to the ground and her breath began to constrict. Both of his hands were now on her neck and he began to lift up. Ava felt her feet slowly lift the ground and her vision was blurred with black dots. She kicked out her feet helplessly before remembering her kicks could do some damage.
Ava wrapped her hands around his arms to get leverage and kicked at his chest and stomach until she reached what she was looking for, the dagger. She kicked it in further and the pain caused him to release her. She clattered to the ground and had enough time to grab the dagger that had fallen. He was on her the second he shook his daze and in his blind rage, he missed that she was wielding the dagger once again. As he tried to climb on top of her, Ava drove the dagger into his neck.
The man let out a yelp then went limp in her lap and she had to struggle to push him off of her. Once she did, she pulled one dagger out of him but her attention was called before she could retrieve the other one. It was Xyra who had someone choking on her walking stick.
"Red! Come help me get him to the ground," Xyra yelled. Ava ran over without thinking and tackled the man to the ground. Luckily, Xyra had seen it coming so she stepped out of the way and allowed Ava to tumble the man to the ground. She took out her dagger and went to slit it across the man's neck before he even had a second to protect himself but Xyra stopped her.
"We need some to interrogate," Xyra reminded, hand wrapped around Ava's raised wrist. Ava nodded and kept a tight hold on the man she was on top of, "Stay on him."
Xyra ran off and Ava looked down at the man who was looking for a way out. He struggled against Ava's grapple but Ava tutted her tongue and put the bloodied blade to his throat.
"I wouldn't put up a fight if I were you. One nick from this blade and you'll die a slow and painful death. Wouldn't want that, would we?"
He stopped squirming. Ava didn't know she had the words in her but the second they left her mouth she felt both dirty and invigorated. She spared a glance up, trying to see if there were any incoming threats to protect herself from but there wasn't. The doors had been closed and barred to keep any of the other Tuskeri men in the manor from entering. The windows had been shattered and Ava had remembered from Xyra's lectures that when the vanguard was separated, a loud noise was their cue to fight. Looking around the room, the fight was coming to a quick end.
There were dead bodies littering the floor, none of them from their crew. Each of the women had someone held down or tied up already, everyone except for Theo who had handed off Villhelm to Cooker. Cooker had finished tying up the man she had been holding and took a hold of Villhelm. Theo stepped over the mess and the bodies with her hands behind her back and made a round of the room once the fighting stopped. She peeked out the windows and then turned back towards the room.
"Your wall guards have either scattered or been killed," Theo informed, "should be relatively easy for the rest of my vanguard to get to us now."
Theo made a few more rounds around the room, picking up ornate decor pieces along the way, inspecting them, and putting them back down. She finally made her way over to where Cooker was holding Villhelm Tuskeri, his face trying to hide the fear he was feeling but it didn't work. Theo nodded to Cooker and on command, Cooker pushed him to his knees. Theo squatted down and brought Villhelm's face up to hers with the point of her dagger.
"Who hired you?" Theo asked and Ava wondered how Theo knew it was a hit job and not that Villhelm wanted to keep the gold for himself.
Villhelm just swallowed, his Adam's apple hitting the blade, and he looked away. Theo reached out and gripped Villhelm's long hair tightly in a fist and turned his face so he was forced to look at Theo.
"You said you had heard about me but clearly not enough," Theo said with an eerie calmness to her voice, "I have been known to cut down those who cross me with no mercy. Torture is in my top three favorite pastimes after fucking and finding gold so I can make this easy or I can make this hard. I will ask you again and advise you to answer truthfully, who hired you?"
Villhelm just blinked, staring blankly at Theo. Theo's grip on his hair slackened and Ava watched as Theo stood up, still as calm as ever. If she was frustrated at the lack of answers, it didn't show. Theo began to walk about the room again and instructed those that were holding men face down to stand them up. Once they were all at attention Theo spoke.
"There are two things I know for sure. One, someone hired you to try and take us out and two, most of you will not make it out of here alive. Now, anyone who wants to be a part of the small minority that will walk out of here will have to do what their fearsome leader had refused to do and give me some fucking information!"
Theo yelled that last part and the man under Ava's watch made a small whimpering sound. There was silence and Theo walked up to the man that Xyra was holding and stuck just the tip of her blade into his left arm. A few moments passed and his veins began to grow black around the site where the dagger was. He began to scream in agony, the sound piercing Ava's ears. Xyra let him go and he dropped to the ground writhing and crying out. After a minute his screams subsided and he went limp.
Theo kicked the dead man, confirming he was in fact not alive, and then stepped away. She continued her walk slowly around the room.
"Tell me who hired you and the details to the job and you will be spared from such a wretched way to die," Theo coaxed serenely, speaking to the room at large.
"I do not know his name or who he was associated with but he came to me five cycles ago," Villhelm spat out and Theo spun around to face him.
Ava was not expecting Villhelm to give up that easily but glancing down at his light blue pants, he had wet himself. Villhhelm was focused on saving his own ass. The spectacle Theo had put on was enough to scare him into speaking and what better source of information than the leader himself. The room was silent as the echo of Theo's footsteps resonated throughout, she stopped in front of Villhelm and yanked his hair so he looked up at her.
"What was the job?" Theo asked.
"H-he offered us a job. Said that there was a certain pirate crew that he needed dead," Villhelm choked out slowly but it wasn't fast enough for Theo.
Theo reached up with the hilt of her dagger and brought it down to strike against his face, a large gash forming at his cheek where the impact had hit. He yelped a little and Theo returned the grip she had on his hair and brought his gaze to hers once again, "Be quicker. I would not spare a single detail, good sir."
"A man came to me, he was short and wore a hood so I couldn't get a good look at him. He said he needed me to kill the crew o-of the Scorned Woman. If I did he would pay me 30 thousand gold and allow me to open up my route into all of Efriti by eliminating my competitor for me. I knew of you and I knew that one of my contacts works with you often, Bavar," Villhelm's eyes were darting around the room, refusing to rest on Theo. He looked shaken and like he just wanted the nightmare to be over. Any sense of arrogance in his voice was gone and replaced with terror.
"Did Bavar know?" Theo brought the dagger back to his chin and threateningly pressed it in.
"No! No- I don't know!" Villhelm tried to struggle away from the blade, knowing there was poison at its tip, "I just asked him for someone with large cargo space, trustworthy, and able to deliver on time. I-I know Bavar usually deals with lowlives and there wouldn't be many that fit my request. I figured the job would go to you," Villhelm explained.
Ava didn't know if she believed him. The same person that hired him could have hired Bavar to make sure the job was given to Theo. Theo seemed to think the same thing.
"And if I didn't get the job?" Theo prompted.
"Then eventually one would. I had no time limit. Payment would be given upon completion of the job," Villhelm replied.
"This job, were the instructions to bring me here and kill me?" Theo asked.
"No, we didn't have specific instructions. Just to eliminate your crew and your ship however we saw fit," Villhelm finally met Theo's eyes, "We were going to go back to your ship for the ugali and then sink it once we were done."
Theo glanced over to where Xyra was and flashed her a look Ava couldn't make out. Xyra just shook her head and Theo turned back to Villhelm before letting go of the death grip she had on his scalp.
"Very well, I do quite appreciate your honesty," Theo said and walked away from Villhelm and towards the fireplace where she picked up a sharp poker, "and as I am sure you have also heard, I am a woman of my word."
Theo slowly walked back over towards Villhelm and then spouted off a command to Cooker in Aelizan which Cooker followed. She dragged Villhelm over to a large wooden cabinet and Ava watched as Theo followed behind. Ava looked on intently as to what was going to happen, she was barely breathing. She hadn't seen Theo ever act this way, terrifying did not behind to describe the edge in her voice or the sharpness of her movements.
"You will be spared from the poison on my blade, as promised," Theo stated more to the room at large than to Villhelm, "but I can't bring myself to just let you walk. See, I am not fond of disloyal people, and while maybe I could have forgiven you for trying to maim me and my crew I just cannot forgive you for turning your backs on your men."
Villhelm was impacted by the gravity of Theo's words and he began to struggle against Cooker grip and scream out. Theo raised her dagger and struck him again, harder this time and he was left stunned.
"Cooker," Theo said and then jerked her head to the side and Cooker stepped away from Villhelm.
Theo reached out and wrapped a hand around his neck and held him against the cabinet, "Mister Tuskeri, I do wish you would have had the capability of understanding that just because I am a woman does not mean I am easily captured and killed. You've heard the stories about me and my crew but thought you would be the one to finally take us down? The arrogance of men like you never fails to baffle me."
"Please!" Villhelm choked out as he struggled against Theo's vice grip on his neck, "Please, I will do anything, Captain Theo."
"A trader's begs are music to my ears, Mister Tuskeri. Please, do continue," Theo teased, sadism dripping from her tone. Vilhelm's pleas died down and Theo gave a small pout, "guess the song is over. I do wish I could have heard more."
Theo's arm retracted the poker and then shoved it into Villhelm's stomach. The force and the strength of Theo's thrust caused the poker to pierce straight through his stomach, come out of the other side, and lodge itself into the wood behind it. He was effectively held in place, still alive, screaming in pain at the killing blow. Ava jumped at the action, not expecting Theo to do something of the sort. Villhelm was going to bleed out slowly and in pain and while Ava knew it was something he had coming, she wasn't sure she could continue to watch him suffer. She looked down at the man she was holding and he seemed to stop shaking; whether he had resigned himself to death or expected release at the death of Villhelm she didn't know.
Theo turned her back to Villhelm, his screams dying down as his breath was struggling to come to him. She stood in front of one of the men in the room, the one Xyra was holding. Well, 'man' would have been a generous way to describe him. He was a boy, he had no weapons on him and no scars from fighting. Theo looked him up and down, said something to Xyra in Aelizan, then moved along. One by one she tilted their faces towards her by jerking their chins to her and she silently finished her round.
"Now under normal circumstances, I usually let those employed in the service of someone like Villhelm go but these are not a normal circumstance are they? You are all ugali traders and each of you has played a role in this little plan to see my crew's demise. Neither of those things I take lightly so I am not inclined to provide mercy," Theo said and the person under Ava tensed up and struggled against her grapple.
The speech served not only to let the Tuskeri's know what was next but to let the crew know what the next move was. Theo paused in the middle of the room and gave a nod. Morgana drove her dagger into someone's back and Cooker returned to the man she had tied up during the scuff and lifted his head back to drag her dagger across his throat. Morgana had let the man she killed slump to the ground and began to walk towards Ava. She was going to kill Ava's man for her but Ava wasn't going to let that happen. She was the quartermaster now and that came with the task of doing unpleasant things at times. Ava brought her dagger to the man's throat and slit it, letting him fall to the ground.
The person Xyra was holding was released from Xyra's grasp and Ava was relieved to see him spared, too young to have had a large role in this. Theo walked over to him and knelt down to his level where his head was bowed towards the ground.
"We're going to keep you around, just until we leave so you don't go running your mouth. But once we leave here, make sure that anyone willing to hear a story knows about what occurred here today. How the crew of the Scorned Woman was backed into a corner yet prevailed. How no mercy comes to those that cross me," Theo leaned in to say into his ear.
There was banging on the door and Theo got up and turned towards it quickly.
"Cap!" Oceane yelled from the other side, "Are you okay?"
"Open the doors," Theo instructed.
Ava and Iona rushed to the door and lifted the heavy wood that was keeping it shut. The doors opened without help as Oceane and the rest of the vanguard pushed them open to see what was happening. Upon entering and taking in the scene Oceane turned back and yelled to the vanguard that they were in the clear.
Theo walked forward and brought Oceane into a quick hug then pulled away, "All the rooms have been checked?"
"Aye, no one left alive," Oceane said, "tried to persuade some to just put the weapons down but you know men. They see a woman with a bow and think they have a chance."
"It was a setup," Theo caught Oceane up, "better for us. We get to loot all their shit. Gather a group to go back to the ship to round up more help. I'm pretty sure I saw some stables on the way in, get some horses to go faster."
"Alright but Cap?"
"Aye."
"We lost Hop," Oceane looked crestfallen all of a sudden as if the adrenaline from the fight had blocked it out and she had just remembered. Ava saw Theo's face flash with an unidentifiable emotion before going stern again.
"Make sure to tell Xyra too," Theo's hand went up to cover half her face, blood smeared across her cheek by accident, "Fucking Hops."
Theo took a second to gain her composure then she turned over to Morgana, "Oi, gather the girls and start going through all this shit. Anything of value, we are taking with us."
"Aye, Captain. You heard her, girls! Spread out, let's get to work," Morgana yelled and walked out of the room.
Theo turned to Cooker, "I need you to go and see if you can find any important documents the Tuskeris kept or anyone they did business with. See if you can find any information about who hired them. Keep anything we can use for blackmail."
"What do we do with the manor?" Cooker asked.
"We'll put it under my name, just for the sake of it. Oceane, when you go to the ship, bring back Liline she knows how to forge. Cooker, write up a deed in my name and have Liline sign it when she gets here," Theo instructed and Oceane nodded, "Xyra, before the sun sets make sure to visit Hilda with the deed. Let her know the manor can be used by anyone she knows that needs it."
Theo was listing off things so fast and figuring out their next moves so quickly that Ava had a hard time keeping up. Theo finally paused, thinking of any other things she needed to say.
"We shouldn't stay here any longer than we need to. Whatever isn't collected by nightfall stays. Coins and gems are the priority. Oceane, when you get to the ship make sure to assign a group of people to dump the ugali. I think that covers it," Theo clapped her hands together, "I'll see you all on the ship later."
Without warning, Theo walked to where the weapons had been collected, sheathed her falchion, and walked out of the room. Everyone watched in silence as she left and then they all went about their business. Oceane finally caught sight of Ava and she barreled forward and pulled Ava into a hug.
"You're safe, I was so worried," Oceane mumbled and Ava laughed a bit and hugged her back.
"I'm safe. Managed to survive it all," Ava said, "I don't have a job. Can I ride back with you to help?"
"Red, we've been over this. If nothing is assigned to you, run with it and do nothing," Oceane flicked Ava's forehead, "but fine, I would be delighted if you came with me."