Here's What Really Happened

The sun had set over the shining silver sea north of Trelle. Most of the crew of the Pahari had since gone to sleep or were wiling away the evening in the hold. Swapping tall tales over cups of rum or dice games while the unlucky lot who drew the short straws of taking on the night's watch milled about on the deck. The liveliest party though was happening on the raised quarterdeck, where a trio of revelers had assembled to recount the events of the day.

“So...” Hektor was the first to speak, leaning on the rail of the ship.

“So...” Chloe followed, perched on a barrel lashed to the aft mast.

“So...” Agnes finished, sitting on an overturned bucket between the two.

The three asked the same burning question at the same time, “What the heck happened?”

“I suppose I should explain first.” Said Chloe before turning away with a wistful look at the moon rising over the horizon.

Hektor offered her a bottle he procured from one of the sailors, “Actually, I don't think that's necessary, Lady Chloe. Though from what I have gathered sounds like you might need a bit of this.”

“Thanks.” Chloe replied as she took a big swig off of the bottle. “But I figure I should at least clarify. Yes, I was part of one of the big noble families in Trelle.”

“The heir of the biggest, I heard.” Agnes chipped in with her usual cackle.

Chloe rolled her eyes and took another sip off of the bottle. “Right...that. Father has a stick up his butt about tradition, even more than most of the family heads. Problem was he had three daughters, though when I came along he figured it would be more proper to lie about that than pass the reins to a woman.”

“Not that I'd ever want to pry, but that explains the way your dress.” Agnes quipped. “Now stop hogging that bottle.”

“Ugh. Dresses are way too restrictive.” Chloe offered in retort as she tossed the bottle gingerly to Agnes.

“Wasn't there an old story about that?” Hektor mused as he drew one of Max's cigars from his new coat pocket and enlisted Agnes's help to light it before blowing a cloud of smoke into the crisp night air. “Now, that explains your story. Mind telling me where the gaggle of burly men came from, Ms. Agnes?”

Agnes choked a bit on the rum before taking a long look at Hektor. “How about you tell us where the spiffy coat and cigars came from first?”

“Right...” Hektor trailed off as he looked for the best way to describe it. “Well, Cousin Max was always going to offer me and Agnes the ship.”

“And?” Agnes pressed, handing the bottle back to an eager Chloe.

“Only problem was it seemed like he had been pressured by the...what was the family name again Clo?” Hektor trailed off, punctuating his passing the buck by taking another long puff on his cigar.

“Taronite.” Chloe spat, though it was unclear if that was from the bad memories or the strength of the alcohol. “Sounds like the type of thing they would do. Probably had us tracked from the second we reached town. Maybe even as early as that village we sold the Little Pilgrim in.”

Hektor snapped his fingers with a pompous gesture. “Exactly! So I did what any good Tumlin would do and gave Cousin Max an out.”

“Funny way of saying you beat him and left him tied up in his office Tumlin.” Agnes cackled with a wink at Hektor.

“Ooh!” Chloe squealed. “So we stole the ship? Are we pirates now? You've grown so much under my tutelage.”

Hektor groaned as he snatched the bottle from Chloe. “Not quite. Way I see it, it's Baron Tom's ship and I have a good feeling he'd take my side if asked to ajudicate. I'll make it up to him next time I see him.”

Agnes made a show of covering her mouth and acting like she was gossiping with Chloe. “Hear that? The head Tumlin. Ooh-la-la.”

Chloe struck a theatrically haughty demeanor as she quipped, “Hmph, new money...”

“Hey you two...” Hektor grumbled, furrowing his brow. “Cousin Max was being a twit, but watch how you talk about the family.”

The two girls giggled before Chloe offered a truce, “Fine, fine...we'll stick to making fun of Taronites.”

Hektor took another draw off his new pipe. “Though honestly, I think I'd rather hear about Ms. Agnes's new cohort of musclebound men. And here I thought you were faithfully married.”

“Oh, that?” Agnes had reclaimed the bottle and was starting to look a little flushed. “That's actually pretty simple. They were the actors from the theater Chloe was snatched up at. They dressed as monks to get across town and had pirate costumes on underneath.”

Chloe laughed hard enough she fell off the barrel. “Hah! I almost want to go back to rub it in their stupid Taronite faces. Beaten by actors..and not even classy ones!”

“Hold up,” Hektor tried to get the words out around his own fit of laughter at Chloe's fall. “It wasn't just them, was it? What was that you were saying about Ms. Agnes?”

“Oh yeah!” Chloe shot up, studying Agnes closely. “What the heck was that new trick of yours Granny Agnes? Hope you never look at me like that.”

Agnes took a moment to ponder what they were referring to. “You mean the heat haze spell? Conjuring a flame is drawing heat from the body, I just shaped it more to give the impression of a larger, more commanding presence. That's all it was, trying to replicate that street musician. Glad to know it worked.”

The other two stared for a while at the elderly woman, breaking momentarily to mouth “heat haze?” at each other before another round of uproarious laughter. They continued to pass around the bottle of rum for a while longer, taking in the night air and salty spray of the sea. Each realizing how much this journey had changed them so far and how for the first time they felt like they just might end up being successful in a venture that once sounded so strange. The things they'd done, the things they'd seen. None of the three traveling companions could have imagined they'd do such things even just mere weeks ago, yet here they were. Swapping rum and stories about defying family and expectations on a stolen ship meandering to their next destination on a heroic quest. The stuff legends were made of.

At least for that night, the trio felt invincible. Like they could fell any foe or overcome any hurdle as long as they were together.