The pirate leaned over the railing with a smug smile on his face as he looked down at their haul. He was a large man, standing at six and a half feet tall with a bulky build. His face was mostly obscured by a thick, poofy, rust colored beard that went all the way down to his waist, covering nearly the entire front of his torso. The hair on his head was cut nearly bald, too thin for lice to be able to live in. His skin was deeply sun tanned and his eyes were a dark red color. He wore a black coat that went down to his knees, white pants with a wide belt, and black leather boots. It was hard to tell at a glance if he was wearing a shirt under his coat thanks to his huge beard, but upon close inspection, he was not.

The net was heaved up onto the deck and surrounded by more pirates, their weapons drawn and ready. The large, rust-bearded man stepped forward and took a look at Tsarra and Hylltywyll. A Triton and a weird little hairy thing, maybe some kind of sea monkey pet of hers? And, the Triton was holding a strange book. He reached a hand through the ropes of the net and grabbed the book, yanking it away.

"Now this 'ere looks valuable! Where'd ye find it?" he boasted as he flipped through the book. It was definitely not your average book, the pages and cover being made of strange materials. He wasn't a mage of any kind, but he could tell something magic-y when he saw it, and magic-y was valuable! He tucked it into his coat and reached a hand into the net again, this time pulling out the limp Fairy by the scruff of his neck. "Wha's this ugly thing? Yer pet?"

Hylltywyll wanted to struggle and protest, but he was still completely drained by his spell. All he could do was dangle from the man's hand in exhaustion and scowl. The man scowled back. "Got a mean mug, don' it?" he said and held his sword up to Hylltywyll's chest.

"Captain! I've never seen a creature like this before. Might be a rare specimen. And rare means valuable." a woman stepped forward, addressing the large, bearded man. She had a much more refined air about her than the captain. Her hair was black and done into braids that emerged from beneath a red bandana and went down to her shoulders. Her skin was a dark caramel color and her eyes were like a hawk's, both in shape and in their golden color. Her clothing was equally more refined than the others around her, a red coat with golden embroidery along the edges that went down to her knees. Beneath it, she had on a white shirt, black pants, and brown knee-high leather boots.

The captain looked at her for a moment and then lowered his sword with a smile and tossed the Fairy at her. Hylltywyll ragdolled through the air before landing in her arms. "Alrigh then! Lock it up! An' 'er, too!" He pointed at Tsarra, still tangled up in the net. Without another word, the captain walked away, into his quarters at the back of the ship. The woman sighed in relief and put Hylltywyll into a small, empty barrel that another pirate brought over.

She walked over to Tsarra, the net being pulled off her by the other pirates, and held a rapier to her chest. "Let's go. No atempting to escape, and you may get out of this alive."

Tsarra scowls at the whole group of pirates as they haul the net onto the deck and surround her and Hyll. She has half a mind to blast them clean off the deck but there was a good chance she'd hurt Hyll if she did. The little fella looked exhausted and probably couldn't take any heavy hits. The triton woman bites her tongue and bears with the indignation.

She sneers at the man as he yanks the book away from her. "Give that back!" He ignores her, which just makes her more enraged.

When he pulls Hyll from the net, she only gets more pissed off. "Oi! Get yer grimy mitts off 'im!" Her demands fall on deaf ears. There's nothing more that Tsarra hates than being ignored. Water forms around her hands as she prepares to attack the captain, but she stops as his weapon is primed to skewer Hyll through the chest. 

Dammit!

Luckily for Hyll, someone else stepped up to spare him. The woman was gorgeous and had a commanding presence. Two things Tsarra was unfortunately very vulnerable to given her past...connections. In any other situation, the way she takes control would have made the triton's heart skip a beat or two. Too bad things were, well, the way they were currently. 

While Tsarra's relieved that Hyll will be kept alive thanks to the woman's interference, she starts to worry about her own fate at the hands of these pirates. The little fairy could make magic doors and shit. Once he recovered his strength, he could easily get away especially after they make port. Tsarra on the other hand? If she couldn't make a mad dash for the water then she was basically going to get hung out to dry. 

She glances around, trying to come up with an escape plan or some way to get the book back, but planning has never been her strong suite. 

As the net is dragged off of her, she glares up at the woman pointing a blade down at her. "A chance of it, aye? What kind o' odds should I expect?" She slowly gets to her feet with her hands raised above her head in surrender. 

The pirate gave a sly smile.

"Two possible odds. One hundred percent if you do what I say. Zero percent if you don't. And if you think those numbers are off, don't forget your little friend." she motioned her head toward the little barrel that contained Hylltywyll. Another pirate stuck the lid into place and wrapped some ropes around it to keep it securely in place.

Inside the barrel, Hylltywyll was cursing internally. This would be easy to get out of if they weren't so drained from using that spell! Now, all they could do was lie limply at the bottom of the barrel and wait for their strength to return. They hated it. They felt so helpless, and they absolutely hated being helpless. He listened to the conversation happening outside the barrel and only grew more worried about his situation.

"You, by some strange will, actually manage to get off this boat, the little sea monkey dies. It looks valuable, sure, but the captain values revenge a bit more than gold, I'm afraid."

Hylltywyll groaned in annoyance, his small voice made smaller by his weakened state completely muffled by the wooden barrel. He'd have to rely on the fish lady... This could be the end of him.

"Now, get moving." She motioned her head toward a staircase that descended down into the lower decks of the ship, her sword still pointed at Tsarra's heart. Her smile was gone, replaced a a one hundred percent serious expression.

"Not much of a choice 'ere." Tsarra glances at the barrel and frowns as they tie it up. Hyll was safe for now, but if they decided to chuck him overboard while he's trapped, that could be bad. She wasn't sure if her spell that let Hyll breath underwater was still working or not. The chances of the pirates letting her check were slim to none. 

The triton looks down at the blade again then back at the pirate woman. "Alright, I know 'ow this works. Down ta the brig an' all that." She keeps her hands raised as she carefully steps around the woman towards the staircase. 

Descending the stairs, Tsarra takes a glance over her shoulder to see the pirate woman following close behind as well as the other goon carrying the barrel with Hyll trapped within it. Well, that was good. They wouldn't be separated. Aaaand now the other guy is headed to the opposite end of the ship. Fuck.

"Stop your rubbernecking." The woman gives the triton a shove forward towards the brig. 

Tsarra huffs. "I'm just admirin' the ship. Looks very sturdy."

"Uh huh." She wasn't having any of it.

"Look, I'm a pirate too, and it doesn't take a genius ta tell that yer the one actually callin' the shots around 'ere. So what do I 'ave ta do ta get ye to cut me some slack?" Tsarra had no idea if this would work with the woman or not. It has never worked before but tenth time was the charm right? Sure would beat being locked up or skewered.

The woman smiled, but continued moving Tsarra toward the brig. It was just her and Tsarra now that the other pirate had gone the other way with the fuzzy thing in the barrel. They could have a fairly private conversation.

"You're lucky the Captain didn't hear that, or he'd have gutted you in an instant." She replied in a low voice so her words wouldn't carry down the hall to any prying ears. This Triton was more observant that she seemed. Maybe she could be useful. "Even if it's true."

The captain was a large, intimidating man. But she could control him. He was hotheaded and foolish, so he let her make most of the decisions. He commanded the crew and she commanded him. He commanded the respect and fear of the entire crew, something she couldn't do. That is, unless she proved she was stronger than the captain. And the best way to do that would be to take him out. But the other pirates on the ship were certainly more loyal to their captain than to the first mate, and she didn't think she could do it alone. He was too strong. She'd settled for her current lifestyle, being second in command in the crew's eyes, but controlling the captain subtly. But now a new factor had joined the equation.

The two stopped just outside of the iron bars of the cell. The woman grabbed the keys off the hook on the opposite wall, keeping her rapier pointed at Tsarra all the while. She looked to make sure no one was nearby. There was no one there to guard the cells since they all sat empty at the moment thankfully, so they could speak in private still.

"You know, I think we could be very beneficial to each other. You want to leave, I'm assuming. I want to actually be captain. Why don't we both get what we want? I just need you to help me kill the captain so I can take his place. Or, you know, you can stay in this brig until the Captain's in a bad mood. And just so you know, that happens often."

"Aye, I'd say I'm pretty lucky. Lucky ta be alone with such a pretty lady." She smirks at the woman.

The woman's unimpressed expression was easy enough to tell that lines like that weren't going to do the triton any favors. 

Tsarra clears her throat awkwardly. "Tough crowd. But aye, I'm up for cuttin' a deal with ye. Course that deal needs ta include my friend and that fancy book yer capt'n stole from us. Freedom's great an' all, but we still got our task to complete."

Mutiny wasn't that crazy to get involved in. This woman seemed to have ambition, which any good pirate captain needed to have goals to work towards. Being charismatic was like ninety percent of the job. She wasn't sure what the other ten percent was, but whatever it was this lady probably had it. 

"It might be a good idea ta let him get mad an' come down 'ere. Then I can ambush 'im without anyone else seein'."

Plans weren't the triton's strong suit. But it seemed like a reasonable enough idea to start with. She wouldn't likely get very far in leading a one woman raid on the captain's quarters especially if the rest of the crew wasn't in on the mutiny attempt. But maybe this woman wanted a whole big show of things. 

Another thought that crosses her mind while trying to come up with options is that this woman might not be trustworthy and may just go back on her word afterwards. If escaping was all the triton was concerned about, she wouldn't mind so much if the woman did turn out to be a double crosser. Hyll and the book were on the line though and she had gone through too much effort already to lose either. 

She considered it for a moment. The book and the small creature were valuable, but losing them would definitely be worth it if she could become captain. It wasn't a difficult choice to make. It was just a good thing she hadn't asked for anything more than her own stolen property back for her help. The Captain had quite the collection of valuables hidden away, and she'd get to keep it all for herself.

"Alright, you'll have your book and sea monkey back, but only after the captain's dead. It'd be too difficult to get the book back from him before then anyways and the monkey's my insurance to make sure you don't go back on your word." She shrugged.

"But the Captain won't be that easy to take down, even if we do ambush him. We need a solid plan, unless you've got anything hidden up your sleeve that I might want to know about." She said with narrowed eyes.

This woman seemed oddly confident in her ability to take out the man that was probably more than twice her weight. Was she just that good with a sword, or did she have something else on her to give her an advantage? Maybe the water around her hands earlier wasn't just some seawater. They'd need to come up with a real plan before taking him on, even if that was the case. The Captain had a bit of a hidden advantage as well.

"The Captain's, Captain Atolla, he's more than he looks. He's got powers. I'm guessing you do too though. I saw that water around your hands on the deck. Tell me everything you can do, and I'll tell you everything I know about the Captain and my own abilities." she said with the utmost seriousness. If this plan failed, they could both die. There was no time to keep secrets now.

"My name is Moraya, by the way. And yours?" The best place to start might as well be with their names.

"I got plenty up my sleeves, aye. Like my arms." She waves her hands a bit, still trying to get at least a smile out of the woman. It doesn't work. 

"Oh boy, lessee. I can create water, breath water, control water, detect things in water, call things that live in water, make water rain from the sky. Oh! And I have a sword!" She gestures towards her hip where there is an empty sheath for a blade. "Uh, right, had a sword. I lost it when we were attacked by an octopus shark monster."

The plan had been to maybe go back for the blade but that didn't exactly happen. She'll miss that blade, but it wasn't worth going back for at this point. 

"Tsarra. I would say itsa pleasure but, ye know, the circumstances could be better." She shrugs and hopes that Moraya will let her lower her arms soon, they were starting to hurt from holding them up. 

Hearing that the captain has magic is not good news. Depending on how strong he was, killing him off might not be as simple as just jumping him while he's alone and drowning him. Nothing could be simple could it? This whole adventure should have been simple yet they ended up getting attacked by a sea monster then scooped up by some crazy pirates.

She huffs and looks the woman up and down. "Yer captain has powers? What all can he do? Speakin' of which, what all can you do?"

The way the woman was talking, it sounded like she wasn't completely against getting her hands dirty. But mutiny was a pretty big deal and if it was carried out the wrong way the woman could easily find herself walking the plank for the betrayal. 

Moraya lowered her rapier from Tsarra's chest. At this point, she was getting tired of holding the blade up just as much as Tsaara was of holding her arms up. She had been cooperative enough to show her hand and explain her abilities, the least Moraya could do was show some modicum of trust by not silently threatening to skewer her at any moment.

She nodded her head. She would have to share everything she knw about the Captain's abilities and her own if she wanted the best odds of pulling this whole thing off. It had to be done.

"Water, eh? And you managed to beat an octopus shark monster with water magic? That's impressive. How'd you manage that? Whatever you did to beat that thing, maybe you could use it to beat the Captain. He'd be a tough one to drown since he can breathe water. He's similar to a werebeast, except his transformation isn't so complete. He turns a bit crab-like. Big, nasty claw, and real tough armor shell. On top of that, he's got a bit of water magic of his own, but not as much as you it sounds like. Can shoot water from his mouth that's hot enough to cook a seagull. Seen him shoot one out of the air and have it for lunch."

Moraya crossed her arms in front of her for a moment. She'd shared what she knew about the Captain, and now it was time for the more difficult part. Sharing her own abilities. She really didn't like having to expose herself in such a way. She'd always been careful to keep to herself on this ship, not show weakness. It was how she'd managed to get all the way to First Mate, but now she wanted to go even higher and it would take a moment of trust to do it.

"At least your water powers and mine could be a good combination together. I have a bit of lightning and air magic. Can shoot lightning, coat myself in lightning, electrify things, and walk on air. I'm also good with my rapier. I think we have something we can work with, don't you agree?"

Tsarra lowers her arms as Moraya stops pointing the sword of her blade at the triton. She was grateful for the chance to let her arms hang more comfortably at her sides. It was a sign that this conversation was at least going some sort of direction. Hopefully a positive one. 

"Oh, I didn't kill that beast, that was the little guy's work. If he weren't so tuckered out, all of ye would've been drinkin' from the briny blue."

Hyll was easy to underestimate. He was a small little fairy creacher. An adorable one at that. But it was clear the fairy was packing some serious magic in that tiny body of his. Tsarra would have never made it as far as she did in this mission without him, and she wasn't too proud to admit it. 

"He sounds like a pain in the arse. I don't have a lot of options beside the whole water thing...though if you can make things a little more shockin'..." she grins. "Maybe we can fry him up good."

It was a novel idea. The problem was the execution. Just how would they get both of them alone with the captain without anyone else rushing to his aid? From Moraya's description, it didn't seem like the bastard would go down easy. They needed some time.

An idea flickers in the triton's mind. She didn't know a lot, but she did know pirates and sailorfolk pretty well. What better to buy time than some good old celebratory drinking after making such a valuable catch?

"If ye can get yer crew sloshed, they will be slow to help their capt'n if they 'ear anythin' suspicious. Then if ye can convince the good capt'n ta come down 'ere, we can jump 'im."

"The little sea monkey? Now that's a good one." Moraya asked sarcastically, cracking a smile and shaking her head. That must have been another one of Tsarra's jokes. And honestly, it was her best one in Moraya's opinion. How could that fuzzy little thing kill an octoshark? It was too comical an idea for her to take seriously, so she just moved on.

"Hmmm. Getting the crew a bit sloshed might just work. It's not too hard to get them in a drinking mood, especially after getting some valuable loot. That book might be enough. It does look like it's worth a lot." she thought out loud, looking at Tsarra out of the corner of her eye. "Right. Then you get in the cell and wait for me to come back with the Captain once the crew's drunk enough."

Moraya stepped over to the key ring on the wall and took it off the hook. "I'll need to lock it too, or it'll be too suspicious if anyone else comes down here. The Captain will want to go in there anyways when I come back with him. He likes to get close and personal. We'll jump him then."

She pulled the cell door open and motioned for Tsarra to step inside.

Tsarra makes a face and looks at the cell. She's not thrilled about being locked up, but there aren't really that many other options and this was kinda her idea, wasn't it? She sighs and walks past Moraya into the cell, turning around as the woman closes the door and locks it. 

"Sooooo, guess I'll just wait 'ere." She looks around the brig. "Ye know, been in worse brigs before. This one isn't leakin' much."

Sitting down on the floor, she waits for the woman to set the rest of the plan in motion. Her patience lasts about...thirty minutes before she gets bored and starts looking around for anything to do to pass the time.

She finds some minor entertainment inside her bag in the form of one of her little sea urchins.^[1] Setting up the spiny critters in a line, she attempts to train them to do a coordinated dance. It goes about as well as one could expect, with the small brained creatures just meandering around aimlessly and without any coordination. 

Eventually, Tsarra gets bored enough to start counting the nails in the boards on the deck above her head. That holds her attention for even less time than the sea urchins.

She thinks for a minute and is almost tempted into summoning her turtle to at least have some more intelligent company, but she actually thinks better of it for once. The plan required the captain to underestimate her. If he saw she could summon a creature, he might be put on his guard and not actually enter the brig. 

Tsarra sighs and flops back on the deck boards. Maybe she could get a nap in the meantime. She closes her eyes and hopes Hyll will just sit tight until the plan can be enacted. 

---

[1] Sea Urchin Caltrops

The sound of something sleeping could be ever so faintly heard from inside a small barrel tied shut with ropes. The little Fairy lay, curled up like a cat at the bottom of the barrel completely unaware of whatever was going on with Tsarra. The exhaustion of using up so much energy at once hit him, and he fell asleep. He could just wait until he was refreshed before opening up a hole in the side of the barrel, but for now, he slept.

From inside the cell, Tsarra could eventually hear the sound of wood creaking the door opened, distance voices of celebration wandering in. More wood creaked as heavy footfalls came down the steps, and after a moment, the rusty red beard entered the brig, followed by Captain Atolla with Moraya close behind. He gave a gruff laugh as he looked at Tsarra through the cell door.

"So, yer not ready to talk about the book, eh? Well, we'll just see how ready ye are when I'm through."

Moraya was behind him, and went over to grab the keys off the hook just as the Captain would expect of her. She glanced at Tsarra silently nodded as she was in the perfect position to attack just behind the Captain. Her free hand went down to her rapier, ready for the ambush to begin.

Tsarra sits up as the captain and Moraya return to the brig. She slowly gets to her feet, careful not to make any sudden movements. 

"Didn't take ye for the type ta want ta talk literature, ye brute."

She glances back at Moraya, noting the woman's hand reaching for her blade. Go time.

Clapping her hands together, water gathered between her webbed digits as beads of water wick off her shimmering skin. She quickly forms a whip out of the water and lashes it out at Captain Atolla's ugly mug. 

The captain jerks back in surprise, but he isn't deterred for long. The whip splashes against his chest as if he was wearing armor, and he laughs heartily. "Oh, lass, ye done fucked right up, ye did. Moraya, open the door so I can turn this fish inta shark bait." He steps forward and rolls up his sleeve revealing a nasty looking crab claw. 

Tsarra backs up a little, trying to make sure he doesn't turn around to look at Moraya as she readies her attack. "Ye'll regret this mate, I won't go down so easy."

The captain laughs. "Ye don't know who yer talkin' ta, lass. I ain't some bleedin' heart ye can beg fer mercy from. I've killed dozens of folks. Women, children, elderly. If they stand before me, they all fall the same."

---

[1] Water Whip

The Captained grinned maliciously at Tsarra through the bars, eager to teach her a lesson as soon as the cell door was opened. But his grinned vanished when he suddenly felt a burning pain on his back! He turned angrily to see Moraya, sparks of lightning arcing between her outstretched fingers, between the braids of her hair, and across her rapier. She tossed the keys past the Captain and into the cell for Tsarra to grab.

Tsarra could see a black scorch mark on his back, the back of his coat burned to nothing. His skin was hard and reddish, layers of shell overlapping each other to form an armored shell like a giant lobster. Anger raged in his eyes and steam began to rise from the corners of his mouth. He tore off the burnt remains of his coat.

"I assume...!" He growled as began to grow, more of his skin hardening and cracking apart into armored plating across his body. His other hand elongated in a crab claw as his first claw grew disproportionately larger. "That this...!" His eyes turned entirely black. his already wide, muscular frame becoming truly hulking. The long, rusty beard morphed into a writhing mass of crab's legs growing from the bottom of his crustaceanal visage. "Means mutiny!" He roared.

The crabominable creature that was once the captain swung his massive claw at Moraya! She had hardly any time to react, the claw coming at her like a monstrous hammer of flesh and shell. She raised her rapier to block, but the impact was too much to absorb. She was flung to the far end of the brig, slamming against the wall and falling to the floor with a groan. But, the captain's claw was left burnt. The damage wasn't much, but it felt numb, the electricity sparking between his opened claw for a moment.

He turned back to Tsarra angrily. The steam rising from his mouth intensified as he opened it wide.

---

Lightning Bolt (Moraya)
Lightning Armor (Moraya)
Boiling Aqua Bullets (Atolla)