A Tale of Pirates and Drinks
Gallivan took a few moments to allow his wrist to take a rest. Ever since he took up the family tradition of keeping up the old pub, he devised a way to get in the gossip from the regulars. The missus always enjoyed hearing whatever they said, telling the juicier bits to her friends. They would never pay mind to the one in charge when he’s busy cleaning things.
Fortunately, with the many regulars he had, there were many strange men and women that would come in for a drink, all of them from different lands.
He glanced around tonight’s bunch. About a few hours ago, twenty odd men came marching in. The leader, a scrawny man, dressed in a frock coat and in one of those vest that looks like those rugs the rich folk like, claimed they were taking this place for the night. Aside from the scrawny lad, each man stank worse than the other, and they looked as ragged as the stench.
Gallivan continued the action of cleaning the spare glass. Within mere moments, the tall, lanky one stood up and raised his hand. The men-or his men, really-fell silent. The leader grabbed his ale and took a sip of it, milking the moment before he began to speak.
“My lads,” he said. His voice was loud and boastful, a complete turnaround from his appearance. “My lads, takes your sweet time-cap’n’s orders. It’s been quite some time since we’ve set foot on solid ground, so take your fill of the food, the drinks, and the finest women our haul can buy.”
The men showed their appreciation by shouting cheers and banging their mugs and hands on the table. Gallivan glanced towards the ceiling and winced at the sudden sounds. Surely, at this rate, the missus would be awake. If so, then there’ll be a storm coming.
“Now,” the leader continued and the room fell into a hush, to Gallivan’s relief. “Since you’ve been good to your ol’ cap’n, my lads, I’ll treat ya to a tale my old man told me once.”
Gallivan did not feel like listening. There could be many things he could do rather than this. But there was something about the young man that compelled him. It was his eyes, they drew Gallivan in. They were almost like green flames, the way they flickered and moved about. Gallivan shook his head, trying to break away from the spell, but he still felt compelled to watch.
“Now,” the captain began, “this was before my time, so I don’t know if my old man told me the truth or not, but he wasn’t always the great captain he once was. Back in the day, he told me, he started by being a stowaway from ship t’ ship, trying to get away from home.
“One ship, he managed to get caught by the captain within a few minutes from hiding. She was a fiery lass, he told me. But she must have had a heart of gold if she let him in her crew as a deckswabber.
“This lass, however, was special. Other than the fact she was a woman and the captain of a ship, but ‘cause she was the captain of the legendary pirate ship: the Athene.”
He paused to take another sip of his ale. Most of the men were whispering among themselves. Gallivan listened closely to them, hearing murmurings of a woman captain, but mostly of the legendary ship. He’d admit he heard his share of tales of the ship. Mostly about where they might be headed or the haul they have gotten.
The leader set his glass on the table and the murmuring stopped. “The Athene’s a special ship. They say that the wood and metal belonged in the age of magic, before twas all outlawed from being used by heretics. Some seafaring magicians decided to enchant the material, givin’ it a mind of its own.
“The ship, she steers towards where her captain desires. Sometimes, it will be towards the greatest riches of the earth, or towards the greatest pleasures they desire. But, there is an exception to be made, of course. She chooses her captain, only the one with the greatest virtues may take up her helm. ‘If ye be filled with a virtue she’ll never say, then you’ll be the new captain,’ my pa had told me. ‘But, if ye be filled with sin and malice in your heart, then she will find the greatest storm to knock you off the deck and to your death!’
“Aaah. And the captain she has now. Aye, as ya may have guess m’lads, she must been a virtuous lass in some manner. Some say that she was born from the helm of the ship, when she needed a captain during a great storm that even she could not handle without a captain. But she was a temptress too. With one look of her eyes, green like the finest emeralds, she could make any man sink to his knees. Or with the flick of her brown hair, she can have any man fighting to see which shall lie in bed with her that night.
“Still, no man would be able to take orders from a woman of all things. So she leads them by fear. She leads ‘em by magic.”
Every man in the room froze in place. The look of fear was etched in their faces. Magic folk are rarely mentioned, but Gallivan always thought it was superstition. These days, fear strikes them like a bludgeon smacking right in their faces.
“Great powers, she has. With one bat of an eye, she can make the winds catch in her sail at great speeds. With a flick of her wrist, the waves of the ocean can grow higher than the Golden Palace. And even just by lookin’ at a man, she can cause him to drop dead.”
No longer was there fear in the men’s face, but a look of utter terror. All their breaths caught in their throat and each man’s eyes were as large as their fists. Gallivan never saw a man looked so frightened in his short life. A chill ran down his spine.
The leader continued despite. “She ‘as a secret that she wouldn’t let any soul find out. But, before setting off to form his own crew, m’old man found it out. You see-“
His story was cut short from metal clanging against the cobblestone streets outside. The leader finally mirrored the same expression as the men. One of utter terror.
The door slammed open and a hooded figure walked in. Gallivan knew, as well as many bartenders, that those sorts never bode well. The figure strode towards the leader. With each step it took, the leader backed away, but with its long strides, it managed to catch up to him fast.
“Well, now,” the voice of a woman said. “What’s this about revealing some kind of big secret?”
The leader bowed. “Begging ya pardon, miss. B-But I was just telling some stories to my lads, a-and-”
“Save your stories!” With heels made of metal, her foot flew square into his gut at quick speed. He careened towards the back of the room at an even greater speed, crashing onto tables and several of the men along the way. A few men in the path were lucky; they jumped out of the way in the nick of time.
The hooded figure turned towards Gallivan, the looked back at the door. Men looking more rugged than the current bunch stood at the door, standing attentively. They awaited the woman’s next words.
“I swear,” she uttered, “they make me sound like if I’m some kinda mythical beast or something!”
The men chuckled. Some roared with a hearty laugh. Even Gallivan would admit, her comment was rather amusing. She pulled down her hood, revealing a smirk from her own comment. Eyes like green flames, and hair with the passion of fire mixed with the color of earth.
“Now,” her gaze returned to Gallivan. His heart wanted to stop, while his stomach felt like flipping over the wrong way. “M’name’s Eileen Adams, good sir. And this bar’s mine for the night. Ya hear me?”
Fortunately, with the many regulars he had, there were many strange men and women that would come in for a drink, all of them from different lands.
He glanced around tonight’s bunch. About a few hours ago, twenty odd men came marching in. The leader, a scrawny man, dressed in a frock coat and in one of those vest that looks like those rugs the rich folk like, claimed they were taking this place for the night. Aside from the scrawny lad, each man stank worse than the other, and they looked as ragged as the stench.
Gallivan continued the action of cleaning the spare glass. Within mere moments, the tall, lanky one stood up and raised his hand. The men-or his men, really-fell silent. The leader grabbed his ale and took a sip of it, milking the moment before he began to speak.
“My lads,” he said. His voice was loud and boastful, a complete turnaround from his appearance. “My lads, takes your sweet time-cap’n’s orders. It’s been quite some time since we’ve set foot on solid ground, so take your fill of the food, the drinks, and the finest women our haul can buy.”
The men showed their appreciation by shouting cheers and banging their mugs and hands on the table. Gallivan glanced towards the ceiling and winced at the sudden sounds. Surely, at this rate, the missus would be awake. If so, then there’ll be a storm coming.
“Now,” the leader continued and the room fell into a hush, to Gallivan’s relief. “Since you’ve been good to your ol’ cap’n, my lads, I’ll treat ya to a tale my old man told me once.”
Gallivan did not feel like listening. There could be many things he could do rather than this. But there was something about the young man that compelled him. It was his eyes, they drew Gallivan in. They were almost like green flames, the way they flickered and moved about. Gallivan shook his head, trying to break away from the spell, but he still felt compelled to watch.
“Now,” the captain began, “this was before my time, so I don’t know if my old man told me the truth or not, but he wasn’t always the great captain he once was. Back in the day, he told me, he started by being a stowaway from ship t’ ship, trying to get away from home.
“One ship, he managed to get caught by the captain within a few minutes from hiding. She was a fiery lass, he told me. But she must have had a heart of gold if she let him in her crew as a deckswabber.
“This lass, however, was special. Other than the fact she was a woman and the captain of a ship, but ‘cause she was the captain of the legendary pirate ship: the Athene.”
He paused to take another sip of his ale. Most of the men were whispering among themselves. Gallivan listened closely to them, hearing murmurings of a woman captain, but mostly of the legendary ship. He’d admit he heard his share of tales of the ship. Mostly about where they might be headed or the haul they have gotten.
The leader set his glass on the table and the murmuring stopped. “The Athene’s a special ship. They say that the wood and metal belonged in the age of magic, before twas all outlawed from being used by heretics. Some seafaring magicians decided to enchant the material, givin’ it a mind of its own.
“The ship, she steers towards where her captain desires. Sometimes, it will be towards the greatest riches of the earth, or towards the greatest pleasures they desire. But, there is an exception to be made, of course. She chooses her captain, only the one with the greatest virtues may take up her helm. ‘If ye be filled with a virtue she’ll never say, then you’ll be the new captain,’ my pa had told me. ‘But, if ye be filled with sin and malice in your heart, then she will find the greatest storm to knock you off the deck and to your death!’
“Aaah. And the captain she has now. Aye, as ya may have guess m’lads, she must been a virtuous lass in some manner. Some say that she was born from the helm of the ship, when she needed a captain during a great storm that even she could not handle without a captain. But she was a temptress too. With one look of her eyes, green like the finest emeralds, she could make any man sink to his knees. Or with the flick of her brown hair, she can have any man fighting to see which shall lie in bed with her that night.
“Still, no man would be able to take orders from a woman of all things. So she leads them by fear. She leads ‘em by magic.”
Every man in the room froze in place. The look of fear was etched in their faces. Magic folk are rarely mentioned, but Gallivan always thought it was superstition. These days, fear strikes them like a bludgeon smacking right in their faces.
“Great powers, she has. With one bat of an eye, she can make the winds catch in her sail at great speeds. With a flick of her wrist, the waves of the ocean can grow higher than the Golden Palace. And even just by lookin’ at a man, she can cause him to drop dead.”
No longer was there fear in the men’s face, but a look of utter terror. All their breaths caught in their throat and each man’s eyes were as large as their fists. Gallivan never saw a man looked so frightened in his short life. A chill ran down his spine.
The leader continued despite. “She ‘as a secret that she wouldn’t let any soul find out. But, before setting off to form his own crew, m’old man found it out. You see-“
His story was cut short from metal clanging against the cobblestone streets outside. The leader finally mirrored the same expression as the men. One of utter terror.
The door slammed open and a hooded figure walked in. Gallivan knew, as well as many bartenders, that those sorts never bode well. The figure strode towards the leader. With each step it took, the leader backed away, but with its long strides, it managed to catch up to him fast.
“Well, now,” the voice of a woman said. “What’s this about revealing some kind of big secret?”
The leader bowed. “Begging ya pardon, miss. B-But I was just telling some stories to my lads, a-and-”
“Save your stories!” With heels made of metal, her foot flew square into his gut at quick speed. He careened towards the back of the room at an even greater speed, crashing onto tables and several of the men along the way. A few men in the path were lucky; they jumped out of the way in the nick of time.
The hooded figure turned towards Gallivan, the looked back at the door. Men looking more rugged than the current bunch stood at the door, standing attentively. They awaited the woman’s next words.
“I swear,” she uttered, “they make me sound like if I’m some kinda mythical beast or something!”
The men chuckled. Some roared with a hearty laugh. Even Gallivan would admit, her comment was rather amusing. She pulled down her hood, revealing a smirk from her own comment. Eyes like green flames, and hair with the passion of fire mixed with the color of earth.
“Now,” her gaze returned to Gallivan. His heart wanted to stop, while his stomach felt like flipping over the wrong way. “M’name’s Eileen Adams, good sir. And this bar’s mine for the night. Ya hear me?”