Mag Paget, Shotgun Knight (clippedwing) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-07-13 21:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !narrative, magnolia paget |
& I said no, no, you're not the one for me
Who: Mag & others (OC NPC)
What: Introduction post, or why Mag returned to Emillion
Where: Mag's ex-lover's airship.
When: Today
Rating: PG-13? Narrative, btw.
Status: Complete.
Fury simmered in Mag's gut as she cast her eye over the mess of decimated bodies that littered the deck of the Reveler. Good crewmen she'd known for almost two years, all killed – by fucking sky pirates. It was small consolation that they'd managed to take a few of the bastards down with them, though certainly not enough. Their captain ordered a couple of his brutes to bind Kamon's hands and legs and pointed a gun at her lover's head to discourage resistance on his part. "Allow me to introduce myself. Jean Verrar, sky pirate." Mag would have loved to introduce his face to the maintop mast, but the blade at her neck left her no choice but to limit her movements to the fall and rise of her chest as she breathed in and out, lest the owner of said blade carry out the threat. "And you two, I suppose, are a couple of wise merchants who value your lives more than any valuables you may be carrying." Mag darted a look at her shotgun where it lay on the deck, a couple of feet away from her and completely useless. There was no way to recover it, and if she attempted it, she would surely be killed before she could put it to good use. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the captain – Verrar – said, turning to her. He must have noticed the movement of her eyes. "It wouldn't work, and I'd hate having to kill you. I don't kill beautiful women." "A well-timed compliment, and may you take it and shove it where the light of the sun does not shine." She spat at his feet. Verrar's eyes hardened. "If you have no use for pleasantries, let us cut to the chase." His tone had been pleasant, almost playful, moments ago. Now, however, he showed the face of a man who'd just killed half a dozen innocent men and women and felt no remorse about it. Without taking his eyes off Mag, he spoke to Kamon. "This ship we stand on now belongs to me. She looks to have her belly full. Tell me the location of every last scrap of gold she's carrying, or I will take this woman and make an exception to my rule." Mag cursed under her breath. The Reveler carried the (quite hefty) payment for their last two deliveries. Most of that gil was meant to pay off a debt to a smuggler Kamon had worked for before; if they paid, they would never need to deal with him again, and one unlawful associate less was a good thing. Would that wicked man believe the Reveler had been sacked by pirates? Kamon protested; he seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Mag. "I can't give you the gold. I'll be in trouble if I do." "She'll be in trouble if you don't." Yet there was nothing they could do to stop the pirates from taking the money, outnumbered and threatened as they were. They would simply have to acquiesce, and find some other job to make up for what they'd be losing here. Well, it would work out somehow. It had to – "Take her," Kamon said. She thought at first she'd misheard. Kamon couldn't have just said what she thought he'd said. He couldn't possibly have agreed to hand her over to a bunch of sky pirates. Sure, she knew he could be selfish at times, but he was not without honor. Was he? Mag was convinced she had misheard. But she saw the look of surprise on Verrar's face, and then looked at Kamon, and he looked down at his lap and refused to meet her eyes. "You backstabbing piece of shit. You're serious, aren't you." Kamon sighed, but still he would not look up at her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. If I give them that money, I'm dead, and you know that. You'll be okay. You can look after yourself." "Damn right I can." Mag turned to Verrar and his men. "I will give you your gold, Jean Verrar. Every last gil. When you're done counting it, you will be so thankful, you will agree to let me go at the next city we reach." A brief smile flitted across the pirate captain's face. "Or I could just kill both of you, and find the gold myself, then sell your ship." He set about reloading his gun. "Why should I need your help? I'm running out of patience dealing with the two of you, but once you're dealt with, I will be able to search your ship at leisure." "Only some of the gold is hidden away in places your men could never access. So if you kill me and sell the ship, and the buyer finds sacks of gil when breaking her down for parts, you'll feel like a right idiot, won't you?" Verrar met her eye, calculating. He was trying to break her; to see if she was bluffing. Mag held his gaze, and finally he nodded and signaled her captor to put away the blade. "So you're beautiful and smart." The captain's tone was light again. "You can lead my men to those sacks of gil, then, and I'll wait here and decide how I'm going to deal with this rat." He kicked Kamon in the side, eliciting a pained groan. "You'll play nice, of course, or I might kill you after all." Mag led the men belowdecks, and showed them where the money was. Not much of it was hidden away, as she'd led Verrar to believe. There were a couple of coffers she had to open for them with a key she'd received from Kamon some time ago, but the locks were humble enough that she had no doubt they would have been able to pick those themselves. She felt disappointment as the men took away the gold, but that disappointment wasn't directed at the pirates; if anything, she was thankful to them, for allowing her to see Kamon for the rat he was. When they moved to the captain's cabin, Mag made sure to grab a couple of trinkets she knew to be valuable, though they looked insignificant. Kamon had purchased quite a few antiques over the year and a half she'd been travelling with him, and she would be damned if she wasn't going to pawn those off and get something good out of this whole mess. When they got back to Verrar, carrying the last of the gold, they found him and one of his men laughing heartily. They seemed to be making fun of Kamon for some reason or other, but Mag found she couldn't bring herself to care. "Ah, my dear, welcome back. Your friend here was just telling us all about how you're going to kill all ten of my men and myself, and then rescue him." Verrar shook his head. "Well, if you're done cleaning this baby out, we can be on our way. The nearest city is Emillion; you can come aboard our ship and we'll drop you off there." His eyes travelled to the sacks of treasure that the men were now transferring to his ship. "As a gesture of thanks for your cooperation." "I thank you for keeping your word." She nodded, and spared a disgusted glance for Kamon. He expected her to risk her neck against a dozen heavily armed men for his sake? Perhaps he'd hit his head during the fight. "Let's get gone, then," she said to Verrar. "Only one other thing," Verrar said, pointing his gun at Kamon's head. "What do you want to do about him?" "There's no need to kill him," Mag replied, though she felt tempted. Kamon began to thank her, but she cut him off. "Shut your mouth, or I'll make you swallow your teeth and see if I can pull them out through your ass." She was about to turn her back on him and make her way to the pirate airship, but an idea gripped her then. She wouldn't kill him, but he wasn't going to walk away with his dignity intact, either. "Take off your clothes." "Mag, what are you—" "The lady said to take off your clothes." Verrar thumbed off the safety on his gun. "Do as she says." A number of Verrar's crewmen were watching the exchange, and they began to laugh and shout jabs as Kamon undressed. "At least let me keep my smallclothes on," he said, once was down to those. "C'mon, Mag. For old times' sake." "I thought I told you to shut up." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Give me your smallclothes too." He looked as though he might protest, but at a look from Verrar, he obeyed. Verrar's crew roared with laughter. "Do you have some ink I could borrow?" One of the crewmen produced a small ink bottle for Mag and then continued to watch eagerly to see what would happen next. Mag unscrewed the cap, dipped her finger in the ink, and, taking Kamon's smallclothes, wrote the word SCUM in capital letters over the back. Then she returned them. "Put those on now, if you wish." She bent down to bundle up the rest of his clothes and, when he reached out his hands, expecting her to return them too, she walked over to starboard and threw them over the rail. Verrar's men cackled like hyenas. "We're good to go now," she said. Verrar allowed her to recover her shotgun, though he asked her to unload it and give him the ammunition. A couple of his men remained on the Reveler to steer her, and the rest returned to the pirate ship, the Rebel Queen. Mag was locked in the captain's cabin -- so you don't try anything foolish, said Verrar – until the ship reached Emillion, and she spent the hour the trip lasted hiding behind the door, not trusting the pirates to keep their promise not to harm her. If anyone came in, she was ready to use her shotgun. It may have been unloaded, but it could also be used to clock someone over the head. True to his word, Verrar let her disembark once they arrived in Emillion. "A pleasure doing business with you, and good luck." He took his hat off and curtsied from where he stood atop the gangplank. "Unless, of course, you'd like to stay on as one of my crew. I saw you fight before; we could use someone like you on the Queen." "No, thank you." She shook her head, and couldn't help asking, "Kamon's still on the Reveler. What will you do to him?" Verrar shrugged. "Oh, drop him off somewhere crowded. He'll be humiliated, but he'll live. And in the meantime, he'll entertain us all." With that, he motioned a couple of his men to draw in the gangplank and make preparations for departure. "See you around, beautiful. Don't get dead." Mag watched until the Rebel Queen was a dot on the horizon. Then, she let out a breath and looked around her. Back in Emillion. She hadn't imagined she'd be back in such a way, but as she began to walk toward the Bazaar, she felt a smile fight its way through the anger to her face. She navigated the crowds, and seeing all the familiar streets and buildings cheered her up somewhat. Finally, she reached The Armory, and lifted a hand to knock on the door. Back in Emillion. Home. |