Advent of Eternity- Chapter 21 (Patreon)

“She was calling you the beggar, you moron,” Stix snapped. “And your clothes aren’t that much less revealing than mine.”

“I have the muscles to back it up,” the pirate said with a smirk. “You look like a newborn.”

Knell raised a finger. “I hate to interrupt the posturing, but could we skip to the part where you help us?”

Kalunga let out an amused snort, drawing annoyed glares from both Stix and the pirate woman.

“And what makes you think I’ll be doing any helping? Kalunga is our resident beggar that’s just slightly entertaining enough to keep us from tossing him in the sea. Somehow, I doubt you share similar qualities.”

“You had a few seconds to realize we were coming when Kalunga went through the door,” Knell said. “But you were spinning your dagger around and reading papers when we came in. Seems like you were trying to make an impression.”

Her eye twitched. “What was your name again, cripple?”

“Knell. And yours?”

“Captain Sorfina,” the pirate replied, rising from her desk and leaning forward to loom over Knell. “You asked me to cut to the chase, so you can do the same. What do you want from me?”

“That depends on what you have to offer,” Knell replied. “I want to establish a crew. I’ve got the bodies, but I need a ship and I’d like access to the Gold Court’s resources.”

“You already know a fair bit about us,” Sorfina said, raising an eyebrow. “We’re more than happy to induct new pirates, but the ship is a bit of a bigger problem. Who told you about us? They knew enough that they must have been a pirate at some point, so why not get a ship from them?”

“He’s dead,” Knell replied. “That tends to make it difficult. But my request doesn’t come at that great of a cost to you – I’m not asking for a galleon here.”

“That’s assuming you don’t sink whatever ship I give you in the first day,” Sorfina said. “And even the smallest ship is still worth a good amount of gold. Something tells me you aren’t interested in joining one of my crews, are you?”

“Not even slightly,” Knell replied. “Kind offer, though.”

“It wasn’t an offer yet,” Sorfina said, crossing her arms. “You realize that you’re trapped on Blackfoot Bay if you can’t get a ship? You don’t have much ground to argue from. I could just refuse you.”

“Then I would go to another captain.”

“And if they refused you as well?”

“Steal a ship, probably,” Knell replied. “I’d rather not break the laws of Blackfoot Bay quite yet, but you aren’t the only Gold Court outpost, and I’m trying to make a name for myself. Getting banned from one outpost isn’t the end of the world.”

Sorfina smirked. “Big talk, but can you really back it up, boy? Every pirate-to-be that walks into my office speaks with equal bravado, but you don’t have the stature of half of them.”

Knell met her gaze, his eyes unflinching. “There’s nothing that I can say that will change your decision at this point. Come to a decision and stop wasting both of our time.”

Kalunga’s grin flickered. Knell’s grip shifted on his staff and his eyes lit with a dull yellow as the door opened behind them. A young woman swept in, her dark hair tied back behind her head.

A captain’s hat was perched atop her head and a confident smirk was plastered against her pretty, sun tanned features. She wore a flowing coat that would have looked more in place on Sorfina rather than her.

“I’ve considered your offer and decided to accept it,” the woman said, brushing past Knell and shoving him out of the way. The glow faded from his eyes and he staggered back, tripping over his bad leg. Stix caught him before he could fall and steadied him.

The moon elf’s eyes narrowed and her hands went to the dagger at her hip, but Knell stopped her with the end of his staff, shaking his head slightly. His spine tingled and he pressed his lips together. She was a Scion, but of what God’s Shard, he had no idea.

“Ah, Maya,” Sorfina said, her eye twitching slightly. “You should have knocked.”

“We’re past such things. Unless you really wanted to keep me waiting for rubbish like this?” She nodded at Knell and smirked. “Your standards must be dropping if you’re really considering someone like that.”

“He spoke a good game,” Sorfina replied with a shrug. She grabbed the captain’s hat from Maya’s head and tossed it onto the table. “You aren’t a captain anymore, girl. Welcome to my crew. I’ve got need of your talents at Mount Bloodwater.”

“You can leave,” Maya said, flicking her hand in Knell’s direction. “I can’t believe someone like you would even have the gall to show up in Captain Sorfina’s presence. I don’t think I’d offer you a job cleaning my latrines.”

Cyll drummed his fingers on his knees, his face impassive. He flicked a glance to Knell, who didn’t respond. He just turned his gaze to Sorfina, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ve got no need of you. You might have had it, but Maya is right. I can see your level, and you’re the lowest out of your entire party,” Sorfina said, shaking her head. “You’re no use to me.”

“You know, I think I’ll change my mind,” Maya said. “If you grovel in front of me right now, I’ll let you swab the deck. It’ll be the closest you ever get to a pirate ship.”

Knell turned, not gracing her with a response as he headed toward the door. Stix followed after him, her hand on the hilt of her dagger. Cyll winked at Maya as he walked by. She grimaced, stepping back in disgust.

“Wait,” Sorfina said when Knell was halfway out of the room. He paused and turned back to her.

“Didn’t you say you’d go right to another captain if I refused you?” Sorfina asked. “Why shouldn’t I kill you on the spot?”

“To avoid staining the floor with blood,” Knell replied, tapping his staff on the ground. He started his mental clock, counting the seconds they wasted of his time. “You’ve got such a nice office. It would be a shame to ruin it.”