Dania Steffanson's Story

The smoke-filled tavern was busier than Kieran had ever seen it. Dirty bodies lined the walls and ruckus laughter bellowed from all corners. Whores clung to men as much as the men clung to their rum.
“Ok, people, places your bets,” he said as he dole out the cards to the other people at the table. Gambling was his favorite thing to do while docked. And the Bitter Hag Tavern in Mrackia always had the most colorful clientele, and the most interesting opponents.
“It’s busier than usual,” he said to his friend, Vishtor. “Is there a ‘free whore with every drink’ deal that I don’t know about?” Kieran heard a grunt of approval nearby.
Vishtor snorted. “Unlikely. It has to do with that Stone Goddess being stolen, I’d imagine.”
Kieran rolled his eyes. “Of course. I’d have to be death not to.”
Vishtor raised his eyebrows. “And going after it is not something you’d be interested in? I hear the reward is life changing.”
“Yes, well while those idiots are going off looking goddess-knows-where, for something that might never have existed at all, much less been stolen, and incurring the wrath of the king, I’m going to do the smart thing; raid and loot the merchant ships without competition from other raiders and looters. And why is there no competition?” He tapped the side of his head twice for effect.
Vishtor huffed. “You have no ambition.”
“No, I have a will to live and not waste my time.”
Suddenly, the man behind Vishtor stripped and dropped his drink on Vishtor, drenching him.
“Blast!” he said.
Kieran burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell back in his chair. “You can’t beat the Bitter Hag!”

The ship swayed gently below his feet as he looked out across the water. They were anchored and most of the crew had gone into town. Benedikt remained aboard the ship. He took stock of everything. Sails had been checked. Ropes counted and checked for fraying. The crew had made sure to carefully coil them.

He was proud of them. They were an efficient team and as such the Dragon’s Greed sailed better than most ships of her kind.

His arms were crossed.

“You should let me braid your hair. Going to get it caught one of these days if you let it just blow around like that.”

Benedikt turned to see his sister. He had not heard her footfalls. She was smiling at him. Dania approached her brother and stood beside him. Until like Benedikt, Dania leaned on the side of the ship.

The man grunted a little. “I tie it back sometimes but we aren’t sailing so what does it matter?”

Dania rolled her eyes, “Aye you are right we aren’t sailing at the moment but you look a fright standing there like that. I can just imagine the knots you have.”

He scoffed, “Why should I care about knots? They comb out.”

Dania turned and pressed her back to the railing. She regarded her brother with amusement in her eyes. “True but anyone of the female persuasion who might be looking out at you from the dock might find you scary instead of handsome.”

Benedikt laughed. “I will give you that but my beard never fails to make them swoon.” He scratched at the mass of curly blonde hair.

Dania laughed. It was a light and easy sound that travelled on the wind out to sea.

“Sing for me Ben.”

She slid down to sit on the deck, her legs tucked up so that her chin rested on her knees.

“Demanding aren’t we?” He smiled down at her and began to sing. It was a song that was often sung to them as children. It was the story of the man, a warrior and how he bested a beast in the water.

Dania sighed and listened to her brother’s soothing voice. When that finished she demanded another. He nudged her with his foot in good nature and began a new one. He now leaned on the railing and sang more to the sea than anything.

Beside him Dania closed her eyes and relaxed.

After the card game was over and the other players walked away, Vishtor leaned close to Kieran.
“Now listen,” he whispered, “You always said that you wanted to be rich and famous. This may be your chance to make history.”
Kieran put a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I will. As a pirate. Not as a fake hero like my grandfather. I will become a legend as raiding, powerful pirate. I don’t want to die in my twenties chasing rainbows for pots of gold.”
Vishtor smiled deviously. “What if I told you I knew where the Goddess was?”
“I’d probably believe you. Somehow you are all-knowing.”
The old man’s eyes twinkled. “In Paedon.”
Kieran scoffed and leaned back in his seat. “Now I really don’t want to go. I’ll die broke for sure.”
“Come on. Your grandfather went there.”
“My grandfather was a drunk who exaggerated. More likely he got lost at sea and got so drunk he imagined it all.”
Vishtor sighed in exasperation, but otherwise did not acknowledge this comment. “Look, I’m going to go straight to my point. I have a contact who’s with the Sisterhood. They’re worried that the King’s threat will hinder the process of finding the Goddess. So this person, who trusts me, asked me to find someone capable of going to Paedon and retrieving the Goddess. Now don’t say anything!” Kieran had opened his mouth to protest. “Just go back to your ship and wait for me. I’ll bring my contact there in an hour. She’ll explain everything and then you can decide.” With that, Vishtor rushed out of the tavern before Kieran could say anything.
Kieran huffed in annoyance and banged the table with his hand as he stood up. “Well,” he said to Ellie, “I guess we’re going to have to hear the old coot out. Maybe we’ll get lucky. If not, we can use his head as our banner.” He winked at her to show he wasn’t serious. “I suppose we should go back to the ship and tell the crew. Alois,” he said, spotting the boy,” Go see if you can tear Eric away from his fun and catch up with us.”


As he boarded the Dragon’s Greed, Kieran shouted, “All right everyone, get off your lazy hides and gather around me. I have an announcement. Vishtor is coming with a priestess to send us on a suicide mission to retrieve their deity from an uninhabitable island. I’m not going to make the decision to stay or go myself, however, it must be a unanimous decision. We’re going to hear this woman out, and if we don’t like what she’s got to say, we’re going to rob her blind, and send her on her merry way. Sound good?”
After an hour passed, Vishtor and a woman appeared and boarded the Dragon’s Greed. Vishtor was wearing his famous black hooded cape that he used as a disguise. The woman was obviously a priestess, as she had on the signature white priestess robe and blue jewelry.
“My name is Shyla,” the stern woman told Kieran immediately. “I hear your grandfather was Dievan Vulgo. I wonder what happened that his grandson would be such a scoundrel.”
Kieran temper flared, which usually happens when strangers bring up his grandfather. “Look lady, he was just as big a scoundrel as me, only he got lucky!”
Shyla gave a laugh devoid of humor. “Well, maybe you’ll get lucky, too. I know all the information regarding the stolen Goddess, and I’m willing to double the reward for you. Will you hear me out?”
Kieran’s temper evaporated instantly. 200,000 gold was the kind of money only nobles possessed. He would be set for life, even divided among the crew.
“Alright,” he said, “Get on with it.”

Alois does as he is told with a quick, "Y-Yes Sir!" He returns to the ship one he has done as he is asked. Once he sees the woman there, he shrinks back into the shadows and watches quietly from a distance.

“All right everyone, get off your lazy hides and gather around me. I have an announcement. Vishtor is coming with a priestess to send us on a suicide mission to retrieve their deity from an uninhabitable island. I’m not going to make the decision to stay or go myself, however, it must be a unanimous decision. We’re going to hear this woman out, and if we don’t like what she’s got to say, we’re going to rob her blind, and send her on her merry way. Sound good?” Elsa smirks at Kieran's words and drapes an arm on his shoulder with a laugh.
"I say we rob her blind regardless!"

When the priestess finally shows up, Elsa eyes her, as she does any woman, and makes sure she doesn't get to close to her Captain. She's pretty, not pretty enough, but pretty. Her robes are pure white and Elsa questions if this so-called "Priestess" is the same. If she's on a ship with a bunch of pirates, the "pure" thing doesn't really make much sense. When the woman speaks, it becomes clear to Elsa that she is definitely not-so-pure.
"I hear your grandfather was Dievan Vulgo. I wonder what happened that his grandson would be such a scoundrel.” Elsa is officially finished playing nice with this lady. She steps forward from her spot next to Kieran and pulls a pretty, small blade from her thigh.
"Listen, Princess. I don't care who you are, but if you talk like that again to my Captain, I'm going to show you what that pretty little tongue looks like from the outside of your pretty little mouth." She twirls the blade's tip on her finger and stares with fire at the priestess.

Benedikt and Dania were still in their spots on the ship. He was still singing and she relaxing on the deck when the captain returned, shouting for everyone to gather up.

Dania looked up at Benedikt questioningly. He returned her look with a shrug and a hand out to help her up. The pair moved closer to where Kieran stood.

Benedikt crossed his arms as he listened. He simply nodded at Kieran. Hearing someone out was never a bad idea. Decisions made in haste typically had a fault to them. Benedikt could do nothing but shake his head and smile amusedly at Elsa’s comment of robbing the priestess regardless of the outcome of the meeting.

The siblings waited out the hour until Vishtor and the priestess arrived. Dania regarded the woman’s robes. It reminded her of home, snow white and bright. She was thrown by the woman’s tone however. Stern and a bit harsh she addressed the captain. Dania frowned.

Benedikt remained stoic as the little exchange went down. She was offering quite a lot and he couldn’t help wonder why she was willing to double the reward.

His keen eyes did not miss the hunter as he returned. The deer over his shoulders though would make it hard to miss him.

The siblings looked to each other and then back to the scene that was unfolding. Elsa had a knife out and was threatening the priestess. Benedikt looked to Kieran trying to gage his reaction to the threat. There was a lot of money on the line should Elsa act rashly. It did not do to have the priestess speak to the captain that way but Benedikt knew Kieran could hold his own and had. No one would fault Elsa for standing up for Kieran but if she did cut out the priestess’ tongue then she couldn’t tell them where to find the Stone Goddess.

Benedikt weighed the options and waited to see what the priestess and Kieran might do. Dania began making a mental list of what she would need to stop the bleeding and maybe sew the tongue back on if Elsa followed through.

Kieran laughed at Elsie’s threat, delighted to see the sneer on the priestess’s lips. “Now, Elsie, your haggling skills are much to be desired,” he said.
Shyla huffed, but started her story, somewhat reluctantly. “I’m afraid that this whole incident is my fault. I placed my trust in the wrong man, and now the church could fall apart. I hope that doesn’t happen again.” This she directs at Kieran, who just rolls his eyes.
“This man is my twin brother, Shaine,” she continued. “As you probably know, there are very few men within the church, as men are corrupt by nature. But he was allowed in as a guard because of his attachment to me. I was in charge of guarding the Stone Goddess, but since it was in an underground vault it seemed like a boring job, so I handed it off to my brother. Which was a grave mistake. One day he just disappeared, the same day as the Goddess. At first we didn’t know how he got her out, it’s a big statue and no one had seen him with it. Then we discovered a hidden passageway that lead out to the coast where he undoubtedly boarded a ship and escaped.”
“So why us?” Kieran asked, taking advantage of the pause in her story.
For the first time, the priestess donned what could be passed for a kind smile. “As children, my brother and I were fascinated by Dievan Vogul’s adventures. We knew every tale from the land beyond the sea, and even play acted them together. Shaine always dreamed of going to Paedon. And you remember your grandfather’s tale of the monster in the volcanoe?”
“Of course,” Kieran said, “It was his favorite. He used to say how he spied this great red creature made of lava coming out of the volcanoe. It was like a human, but not quite. After studying it for a while, he found that this creature thought itself a god, and it’s power like none he had ever seen. Hogwash.”
Shyla nodded. “Yes, well whether it is true or not, my brother believes it. It was his favorite story. He talked about it all the time, and often wondered aloud what kind of power it could possess. That’s where I believe he has taken the Goddess, to sacrifice to this creature in hopes of gaining power. You must know something about your grandfather’s travels that will aid you.”
Kieran thought about the journals’ that had belonged to his grandfather that were still in the Captain’s Quarters. “I might,” he said mysteriously.
Suddenly, fear shone in the woman’s eyes. “There’s more. He has also kidnapped one of the orphan’s and taken her with him.”
“For an additional sacrifice?” Kieran pondered.
Shyla shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe he took her as leverage in case we found him. She’s the queen’s eight year old daughter. Mayley was given to us when she was a baby to hide her mother’s indiscretion. And since Rowena has become queen, we’ve been getting bribes and threats to keep the girl’s identity hidden and to keep her safe. That’s why we’re doubling the reward for you. To keep your mouth shut. If the queen finds out that her daughter is gone, the church is ruined. If we can’t get the Stone Goddess back, we’re ruined. I need you to get them both back safely.”
At the end of her story, Shyla looked hopefully at Kieran.
“For 200,000 gold? Why not! We’ll get pack up the ship tomorrow and set sail in the afternoon. As long as the crew is up for it.”
Their business done, Vishtor and Shyla left for the night.

Dania shifted her weight back and forth between her feet. The fact that her own brother, a twin at that would betray the priestess saddened Dania. Her eyes looked to Benedikt and she knew he would never do such a thing to her.

For his part Benedikt was listening closely to the story the priestess told them and what the captain had to say about it.

The siblings came from a land of many legends. Tales of creatures and gods who walked among the people. It was not hard for him believe that there were creatures in volcanoes. He was disappointed to hear that someone would be willing to betray his family for a quest. Surely there had been a better way to do that.

The talk of a child, an orphan was troubling. That this child was the Queen’s daughter even more so. The product of an indiscretion or not this was still a child that had been taken.

Both Benedikt and Dania were frowning but turned to look at Alois when he proclaimed the child needed to be saved. He slipped away but the siblings looked at each other. They shared his sentiment. Regardless of everything else the child was an innocent and it was not right that she be caught up in this.

The captain accepted and the visitors departed. Both Dania and Benedikt remained in their spots to see if the captain had any orders for them.