An Age of Sails and Free Men

Khalista: "Suit yourself. They pay well."

Gideon: "Not surprising, largest empire in the world n all. So what on earth made you choose the privateer's life?"

Khalista: *she shrugged* "I acquired a ship. Trading just doesn't seem my style."

Gideon: "That's not too different from me"

Khalista: "But i have permission. And i hunt pirates..." *she raises an eyebrow*

Gideon: "To the Elves and you I'm a pirate, to the Dwarves I'm a rebel to arm. And to men it depends who you ask"

Khalista: "Do you have a letter of marque?"

Gideon: "I'm not a Privateer. My permission comes from the people I swore to protect, and the land I swore to defend. I will raid and sink Elven convoys until the day they free my home, or the day I take it back"

*His tone is deathly serious and she seems to have hit a nerve*

*she raises an eyebrow* "Lawful conquests? Really thats what your vendetta is about?"

"They declared war and then enslaved the populace. They toil away in mines because we dared to increase the price of our exports. My people were slaughtered because Elven merchants didn't like the prices of gemstones"

OOC oi matt

*she spreads her hands.* "Such is life. The strong grind the weak to dust."

OOC: Sorry! Family called

OOC steam?

Gideon: "The strong take what they want because none are willing to stand against them"
*He straightens up and looks at her*
"I know it's suicide. But I can't just stand by and let them destroy my home"

*shrugs* "Not my problem."

"I know. Back to our initial topic, yeah I guess I am a pirate"

"Wonderful. Truly wonderful you've had such a self discovery."

*He rolls his eyes*
"So what are you going to do about it? You hunt pirates but you've fought alongside me"

Khalista: *shrug* "Hunt is a strong word. More... Opportunistically prey upon."

Gideon: "You kill them when it takes your fancy but you won't go out of your way"

Khalista: "Exactly. And with this new fifth rate, im in a good mood. And i mean a really good mood."

Gideon: *He chuckles* "Hkw good are we talking?"

Khalista: "I might open a bottle of wine. One of the good vintages."

Gideon: "Is it a good enough mood to share the wine?"

Khalista: "Perhaps. Is this another attempt to make me share something else?"

Gideon: *Shrugs* "Whether you share it or not is up to you my dear" *And like that his tone has switched from serious to friendly*

All of the sudden both hear a loud snap of fingers and a firey flash of light kazz appears "good I see you both survived ,I do hope I'm not ruining anything but I was thinking I should let the girls run my business for a while and I should go adventuring again " she smiles warmly "so what do you two say?"

*Gideon stifles an extremely long sigh*
"Kaaaaazz! How the hell did you find us?"

" if I told you you'd try to stop it " she giggleda a bit before sitting down and opening a bottle of wine she brought with her " do you two want any?"

"Not yet..."

Khalista: "And there goes that idea."

*A random crewman walking past* "Cockblocked."

She grinned devilishly knowing what she did especially when the crew members yelled out cockblock " I'm not stopping you though I will say you are way to good for him but if you insist ,I wouldn't mind joining in " she winked at Gideon and opens the bottle summoning a demonic chalice made of gold and gems and dragons teeth pouring the wine into it before placing the demonic wine bottle on the table.

"Eheh... no. Absolutely not. I have some level of class. Now, please ask permission to step foot on my deck, or i'll have you thrown off it. Formality i know, but call me a traditionalist." *she makes no attempt to hide her displeasure, sharp teeth flashing*

" oh I like you " she smiled back with her toothy grin "very well I'll respect your rules but know he will try to get under your belt " she looks at her ring " I kinda regret turning into a full demon" her mind trailed off for a sec before snapping back " I do apologize ma'am for making you angry"

*Eyebrow raise*
"You full well knew what the changes would do when you accepted them"

*inspecting the talons on her right hand, scraping a little dried blood of the short hooked claws with the claw on her thumb* "Well... Certain pacts aren't well advised."

She looks at him with a confident smirk " and you don't know shit Gideon ,after all you weren't there when it happened you never knew what happened in the dark lands so how can you judge " she said calmly sipping her wine . She still cared about Gideon she just didn't want to say it out loud .

"Well, i rather feel as if i'm standing between some sort of domestic dispute. If you wouldn't mind taking this... i dont know. Off my ship?"

"Kazz, you're staying in the crew quarters"
*Gideon quite 'calmly' turns and leaves, his bootsteps thumping heavily on the oak planks as he walks*

She puts a bag of gold on the table " for your time ,and I apologize he just doesn't understand it wasn't my choice , you'll understand this soon enough young one " she gets up leaving the bottle.

*Ya wot face. Opens the bag, and looks at her back* "The fu...?"

OOC: Time skip to haven? Or something

*By time Kazz boards the Huntress Gideon will have locked himself in his quarters and lost himself in decade old battle plans, maps, books, and so on*

" no not for sex just for ruining you fun with my ex but I'll be honest you can do way better " she says with a serious tone "and try the wine it's made for teiflings"

"I.... Don't think i'll  be doing that."

OOC: ye, skippity do dah

/Fort Haven, an Elven fortress island that has been 'liberated' by a confederation of pirates and other free men. Literally an island castle, Haven is well defended with no real way to approach unseen. Her walls are lined with cannons, and her towers carry mortar batteries. Inside the walls is a bustling town, full of tradesmen, inns, pubs, stores and the like. The docks extend all around the Fort allowing for a small flotilla to dock to resupply.\

*Our trio have arrived and docked with no issue, with the crews immediately setting out to purchase supplies and sell loot. Feel free to just place your characters somewhere and come up with stuff on the island.*

*Gideon is standing on the Huntress' forecastle, looking to be in a much better mood than he was when Kazz appeared*

*Khalista is standing in front of the "Jenny's bitch" Arguing price with some rich looking fellow*

*Gideon watches her for a few minutes as he contemplates his life. Is it worth fighting the Elven Empire? Is it worth condemning 400 souls to oblivion to sate his lust for revenge and make up for his perceived guilt? Is it time to put old prejudices and wounds to rest and start anew? These are questions Gideon alone cannot answer. He would have to ask his crew and the men who followed him from the mines. As the minutes pass, Gideon grows suddenly aware that he's just staring at Khalista's arse and immediately sets to putting a plan in motion. He first walks into his cabin, and returns wearing what looks like an old uniform, tailored to fit him perfectly.

A dark green tunic punctuated with 2 rows of silvers buttons down the middle and a pair of white straps form an X across it, running under the epaulettes to his waist. The boots are a cleaner version of his normal ones, knee high, with a slight heel and a thin but long cuff that extends down a few inches from his knee. The trousers are jet black and are tucked into the boots. All in all he looks like he belongs in an army.

Gideon then leaves his ship, walking into town and toward a gunsmith*

*After a while, he gains the distinct feeling of being followed*

*He turns down on of the many streets and ducks behind a corner with his sword drawn, waiting to see if the feeling can be trusted*

*A voice echoes down from above him* "Its me you damn fool. Although i am impressed."