The Bargain

Lysandra

The docks at Athkatla were chaotic — seagulls dive-bombing for scraps, sweaty sun-soaked sailors, and shouts from the fish market. I had a politician half-convinced that duck fat prices would decide his reelection when someone barreled into me hard enough to jolt the untruth right out of my mouth. I turned, ready to assert correction on the behavior — and froze. It was Vellik. Weather-worn, older, and wearing that grin I’d never forget — still sharp enough to split the world in two. Our eyes locked and we just stared, then laughed — loud, ridiculous, unguarded. We wrapped up our tasks and met later for a drink. We traded stories, catching up as best we could — it had been almost twenty years. He asked about the family, and I asked him why he didn’t come back. He told me what happened, and I told him the truth that mattered: most of the family was gone. His eyes went quiet, the grin dropped, and for once, he didn’t have anything clever to say. After a while, he asked if there was any way to find them. I told him I hadn’t tried — Lucinda took me away and hid us. He seemed angry at that, but then his resolve set in. He looked me in the eyes, determined. He said he wanted to find them but was committed to the crew of The Impolite North and indebted to Captain Helis.

This was too important, at least to Vellik. So I suggested he go back and see what he could do. We agreed to meet again here, at this tavern, in a year. He was determined — and I was just glad to have him back. I’d been so sure he’d died. So, I have a year. Maybe there’s something to this. Maybe we’ll find what’s left of our family.

Vellik

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d see my family again, and of all of them, Lysn. We were thick as thieves, a lifetime ago. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her until I saw her standing there. But the news of the family… It broke me. Dead — all of them — impossible. How could she not have tried to find them?

No matter. I will. And she’ll help me. I’ve got a year to figure out what to do and how to make it happen.

—

I returned to the ship after picking up the supplies Helis asked for. If he noticed my distraction, he didn’t say so. That night, though, I tossed and turned. I’d been promoted to first mate just last year, could I really leave? The sea is everything to me; my whole life, my identity. My loyalty is to the crew. I owe Helis everything; my life, my success, my purpose.

—

It’s been three months, and I can’t keep putting it off. I have to talk to the Captain. Some of the crew have started to notice my distraction, muttering that I’ve been withdrawn. They’re not wrong. My heart’s pulling me toward the land. I need to find what’s left of my family.

Just like always, after a raid, Helis and Red-Eye will be counting the plunder over a lavish meal and too much drink. That’s when I’ll talk to him — when he’s deep in his cups and high on victory.

Dinner was a feast by anyone’s standards, especially at sea. There was roasted game glazed in honeyed rum, soft bread still warm from the galley oven, and several jars of Mossroot’s famous spiced wine passed between the three of us. The air was thick with salt, cigar smoke, and Helis’ deep rumbling laughter, the table cluttered with coins and crumbs in equal measure. When the bones were picked clean, the jars emptied, and only the butts of our cigars left smoldering, it was time. Red-Eye saw himself out to sleep off the haze of food and drink. I leaned back into the chair and sat in silence, long enough that Helis knew something was up. He turned to me and stared, “alright, tell me.”

He practically raised me and was the closest thing to a father that I'd had out here. So, I took a leap of faith and I said, “Remember when we were docked in Athkatla? Well, I ran into a cousin of mine. She was the closest thing I had to a best friend back before you found me on the ship. She said our family was gone. Apparently one of my cousins got in with a thieves’ guild and double crossed them. They slaughtered the family to erase the insult. Any of the family that was left, scattered to the wind. But Lysn said she heard of a harengon that might be one of ours. I want… no… I need to follow this lead. I have to find what’s left.” He stared at me and I stared back, I tried hard not to give him the bunny eyes that would betray my weakness.

He stood up slowly, walked to the door that led from his private dining hall to his quarters. Without turning back to look at me he said, “so everything we’ve been through hasn’t been enough to prove that we are your family.”

The betrayal that I could feel coming from Helis was a tangible thing. I sat there in the dining hall until the candles burned out. Riding a roller coaster of emotions as the shock set in. I mean, he was right, 19 years on this ship, working my way up the ladder, becoming one of the Captain’s most trusted leaders on board. I was nothing when he found me, and would be nothing still without him. I got up from my seat, and wandered out and across the deck, not sure where to go and not being able to leave. The night was clear; the stars shining high in the sky, the water calm, and the moon full. It was suffocating and yet, the pull to seek out my harengon kin had never been stronger.

The days that followed were hard. I did my duties and carried out the tasks that were needed, making sure to avoid Helis, though I didn’t have to try too hard. He made certain to ignore me. But as the weeks and months passed, the awkwardness between us faded and routine set back in. Things weren’t the same, and yet they were. He didn’t treat me as a friend anymore, but he still gave me the space to lead.

Then, after a particularly tough raid, we sat down for our post-raid dinner — more strategy session than celebration, focused on how to do it better next time. As the meal wound down, Helis turned to me and said, “Vellik. My first mate. My trusted ally. You are indebted to me, and this crew depends on you. But you’ve changed these last six months,” as he looked straight through me, reading me like a book, he continued, “you want so desperately to leave us, and it shows. You’ve disappointed me. You’ve broken the trust of the crew. Your failure today is proof.” I was taken aback — where was this coming from? “I… I’m… it’s…” The words died in my throat.

Helis stood, glanced at Red-Eye, and gave a small nod before walking out of the dining hall. The door closed softly behind him. And then Red-Eye was on me. I’m quick, always have been, but shock rooted me in place. The first blow landed before I could even react. Then another. And another. Pain cracked through me but, I said nothing, I wouldn’t give Red-Eye the satisfaction of a sound. I remember being dragged, half-conscious, down into the hold, and locked away in the musty dark, where the salt air smelled like rust, rot, and dried blood.

The only measure of time was the scabs and the color of my bruises. A chunk of stale bread, cold porridge, and a cup of water sat right inside the door. I knew I was fucked. Helis is brutal, he is known for it, but I'd never been on the receiving end of his wrath. I’d always been treated like, well, like family. My stomach growled and I gnawed on the bread and washed it down with water. I laid there in silence as my wounds healed and the occasional crewmate brought me food. Silence became my only friend. They went on raids and post raid dinners were had, without me. I wonder who Helis would promote in my place. Thoughts, sleep, time all blurred together. Until one day, Helis stood in the doorway, towering over me, larger than life. His wavy salt crusted black hair fell just past his shoulders, and his shadow swallowed the already dark room. At his hip hung his sword, one that I had become so familiar seeing everyday.

“Come.” He turned and walked away, leaving the door open.

I followed him out of the hold, up the ladder, up on the deck where the sun was shining bright. I blinked and righted myself and walked the length of the ship. My crewmates tried not to stare but I saw them and heard their mutterings. I followed him into his private dining hall, past the table where Red-Eye and Zel. I guess that answers my question, Zel took my place… then we walked into his private chambers. He sat at his desk and gestured for me to sit. I sat in silence as he straightened up his desk and when he finally looked at me I saw it. His eyes were sunken and rimmed in red. Something was wrong.

Breaking the silence, “Betrayal doesn’t look good on you Vellik. And it doesn’t look good on me.” I cleared my throat, trying not to break eye contact but I was that small harengon again, the one from all those years ago, scared, broken, and weak. So I looked away. He stood, crossed to the other side of his desk and picked me up by the scruff and stood me on his desk. He did this sometimes when he wanted to get eye level with me. “Look at me!” He spat the words at me. So I did. “You were my ally, my partner, someone I considered family, but I am your captain and you made it clear that I was not any of that to you. So, I made an example of you. I hope you learned your lesson. But I am not so heartless as to turn my back on my family. So, I am willing to give you what you want, to leave, but you will make a pact with me that you will come back. You’re a good pirate and, well, it has been hard without you, but I’ll get over it.” I wanted more than anything to tell him that he was everything to me but that would have been a half-truth. He wasn’t everything, he was almost everything, Lysn was the rest. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out, “I didn’t… I… I love being a pirate and it is who I am and it has given me purpose. And I wouldn’t have any of that without you. I’ll do whatever it takes.” I wouldn’t cry, I couldn't. I had failed him and I would do anything to earn his forgiveness.

He walked behind his desk and lifted a small item out of an intricately carved wood box on the shelf. Setting it at my feet on the desk he said, “This is how you will make it up to me. Take a hold of it and repeat after me.” I took the small smooth black stone, it was both cold and hot in my hand. “By tide and storm, by coin and cutlass, I, Vellik Jadecape, will find my way back to you and The Impolite North. That’s my word as a pirate. Even if the depths claim me, I’ll return, the sea itself will carry me back.” And so I did, I repeated the words and as I said the last of them, I felt it, the invisible tether snap into place, now bonded to my captain and this ship. “It is done. You are free to go at the next stop, which is in three days. Go clean yourself up and return to your quarters.”

-

And in three days I did, I left The Impolite North without knowing when I would return, only that I would.