DISCLAIMER: This story is a roleplay between myself and a friend
Bellidge, the sea port was bustling as usual. Ships were coming and going, loading and unloading their wares. The ever-present smell of fish was made stronger by the bright midafternoon sun beating down upon it. In other parts of the world, it was winter, but here in the southern lands, winter hadn't shown her face full force yet. The green was off the trees and out of the grasses and there was a crisp bite to the warm air, but beasts of Bellidge did not notice, as there wasn't a tree in the cramped city, nor a scrap of grass grew there. The Red Barrel was full as usual, the crowd being a motley assortment of rats, foxes, weasels, stoats and ferrets. Loud, raucous laughter burst out from one group, who were gathered around an enormously fat old rat who was telling funny tales. At the bar, several beasts talked over ales or beers and most of the tables were full. It was a place where you could find good company, a bed for the night, or work, as captains were always hiring more crew. Slave deals went fast and quick here. The average life on an oarslave was very short so they were always in high demand. If you didn't watch yourself in this town, you might wake up after a wild night of drinking and gambling and wake up as an unwilling crewmember on some vessel... or worse... an oarslave.
Longeyes sat in the crow's nest, watching the land loom closer and listening to the singing of the rigging and creaking of the vessel, the splash of the oars as they pulled the ship forward. The young rat took in a deep breath of the salty air, reveling in the joy of life on the high seas. Forget about the family she left behind, this crew was her family now. She enjoyed the solitude of being the lookout, up here, with the nest all to herself. This late fall hadn't been as profitable as they had hoped and now they were running low on supplies and crew. The last merchant vessel they had attempted to rob turned out to have more fight in her than they had thought and they had had no choice but to tuck their tails and flee. They had lost several good crew that day, invaluable beasts. Their healer, many a good rat or stoat, their steersbeast and their carpenter. Hopefully, Bellidge had what they needed.
"Ty, you scoundrel! We know you're in there, you thief!" The male pounded on the door, and sent the vixen that had been asleep sailing into the air. She was only wearing her blouse, and trousers. She quietly cursed to herself as she donned her black overcoat, and quickly pulled on her boots. Next to come was her gloves, and belts. The bellowing of the male pounding on the door got louder and louder, but she deftly moved about the room to make it seem like she wasn't home. Her idea was to just go out the window, but before she could finish her makeshift ladder made out of sheets the brute flung himself through the door. He was a large rat, one that she had had the audacity to tangle with. He had his saber drawn, and used his oversized arm to knock her off her paws. She hit the wall hard, and before she could catch her breath he had her by the throat. "Thought ye could skip town wit' 'ut payin', did you?" The rat spat, and raised his arm to finish her. She clawed at his arm with her paws, and kicked at him with his boots but nothing phased him. "I-I cain get yer money!" She rasped. He laughed, one that sounded as if he didn't believe her. "Wut gud am I to ye if I am deed?" She asked, her accent thick. Her origins were unknown to her, but she knew she had a thick accent that was not from this place. The male eyed her, and then dropped her like a sack of potatoes. "Yu have a fort night, lass. If I don't have my money by den, I will hunt you down like de dog yu are, and spill yer guts." And just as his threat was spoken, he disappeared.
The female sat there for a few moments to catch her breath before snatching up her hat that that been knocked off her crown in the scuffle, and gathered every valuable she had. She had to skip town, and fast. She hurried down the narrow hallway, and jogged down the steep steps of The Red Barrel. The crowds here were boisterous, loud, and rowdy. She could hardly hear herself think. She headed over to the bartender, and squeezed herself in between two fat rodents. One was a squirrel, the other one was a raccoon. She paid little attention to both. The bartender eyed her with sympathy, but sternly said "You know he vill kill you 'f you don't pay 'im." Ty just nodded, and withdrew a few coins from her pouch she kept safe in a boot. "I cain handle it." She responded. It smelled musty in here, and a lot like sweat. She had to leave this dirty town. But where would she go? Her emerald eyes scanned the crowd, but she saw no salvation. Would this be the end for the thief?
The oars creaked, then went silent as the ship pulled to a stop at the docks. Longeyes scurried down the mast as the crew set about spreading out in town to find supplies and repairs. Captain Frit Franzburg the fox had decided they would berth here for the winter and Longeyes kind of wished they could stay out to sea all the time. As soon as her paws hit the deck, she lined up with the rest of the crew that hadn't been given specific tasks. Their first mate, a marten called Rint paced in front of them. "A'ight, Cap'n sez yew lot kin go out on tha town. Yew lot-" he pointed out several beasts. "Yew'll stay 'ere an' watch th' ship, awright?" They chosen saluted smartly "Yessir, Aye, aye sir!" though, by their dejected looks, they were less than pleased with the arrangements. Longeyes let out a breath, seeing she wasn't picked to stay aboard. No matter how much she loved the ship, it was good to go about town every once in awhile, and she had a few ideas of the mischief she could get up to...
The day wore on and Longeyes scuffed a stone in an alley. She paused, hearing sounds up ahead and stopped in the alley mouth to watch what was going on. A crowd was gathered as several beasts were dragged forward, bound paw and foot. They were led up a platform, the youngest of them, a rat, couldn't have been more than six seasons old. The wide-eyed young rat was howling in terror. The other two wore fearful faces but made not a sound. Longeyes felt drawn by some strange fascination to see what would take place. A stoat spoke some words but Longeyes couldn't hear over the crowd, then, one by one, the young rats were led to a block. Their right paws were stretched across it and the executioner raised his axe high, bringing it down with a sudden thunk. Each rat screamed, blubbered and pleaded as it was his turn to lose his paw. Thieves. Longeyes, along with any beast there, knew the punishment for thievery. She slipped back down the alley, the screams of the young thieves ringing in her ears.
She had been wandering aimlessly around since she left ship and now it was nearing nightfall. She stood outside a bawdy tavern, listening to the loud sounds inside. She was about to enter, when a drunken weasel was hurled out the door, several choice oaths hurled after him. Stepping around his prone form, she entered. The first thing that hit her was the heat. Unlike the crisp chill outside, the tavern was warm and toasty. A roaring fire crackled in a large hearth and the babble of conversation filled her ears. She made her way up to the bar, squeezing herself in next to a vixen and a squirrel. "Oi, barkeep! Oi'll 'ave a pint o' brown ale, over 'ere!"
The vixen didn't dare leave the tavern because it was the only safe place she knew of. There was plenty of beasts here that would protect her - even though she would insist she didn't need it even to her dying breath - but there was also beasts who would love to kill her. So they were watching her. Many were friends of the rat that had threatened her, and they were all watching her to see if she would skip town. So she sat right there on her bar stool, and watched for a way out. It wasn't until about nightfall did she see a way out. She was beginning to get a splintering headache when she watched a rat scamper up, and squeeze between herself, and the squirrel. She didn't turn to speak to her, but listened closely to what was said. She had to strain a little bit to hear her over the loud drunken laughter of a table that was nearby.
"Oi, barkeep! Oi'll 'ave a pint o' brown ale, over 'ere!" Out of the corner of her eyes she could see the bar keep snap to attention, and nod. "Aye, tis com'n 'ight away!" The barkeep grabbed the appropriate utensils to prepare the drink, and slid it down the bar to where the rat was sitting. There was something odd about this rat... She just couldn't put her finger on it. "'Ey, mate. E'cuse me curiosity, but oi havn't seen you 'round dese parts." She greeted, and glanced at her from under the brim of her hat.
The young rat shrugged "Ya don't see th' same beast very often round these parts, now do yer, unless 'e's a barkeep, aye? Why d'yer ask?" Longeyes took a long swallow of the ale, her eyes roaming the room. She spotted Gnarledtooth, Bisky, Burrot and Riggin, a marten, ferret, rat and weasel, respectively, grouped at one end of the bar, then her pale eyes shifted back to Ty.
The vixen shared the shrug, and then turned to face her head on. "Aye, ya don't see th' same face v'ry oft in t'ese parts. 'Nd no reason... Do ya see th' rodents ey'in me?" She asked, and flagged the barkeep down herself for a drink. The barkeep slid her a mug of brown ale as well. She threw her head back, and took three very big gulps before setting the mug down. She wouldn't admit it, but she was pretty rattled up by all of this. "Oi need a way out, mate. Oi be been look'n fer a crew to join. Per'aps a crew t'at is 'n need of another hand. Per'aps a crew that could use me capabilities." She spoke, her eyes facing the front of the tavern. This was the closest she would ever get to admitting she needed help, and couldn't handle it herself. "Ya kno' of a crew 'hat mi'ht b' 'n need?"
Longeyes shifted her eyes. "Aye, Oi see yer problem there, mate. Me own crew's suffered a loss at th' cruel paws o' Fate 'erself on th' 'igh seas. If'n yew've got a skill we need, Oi c'n speak t' the lads fer ye." She finished her ale and yawned. "We'll be winterin' 'ere. Our lady's the Sea Maiden an' no finer ship ever sailed these nor any other waters, mate, tis a truth!"
The female couldn't help but a slight grin at the rodents words. "Aye, tis a shame 'bout yer shipmates. T'ey were brave souls, th' lot of t'em! I cain tell, tis a truth! Tew go d'wn sailin' o' th' 'igh seas is somethin' on'y a few can bare." She declared, and took another swig of her drink. She could feel the beady stares of the henchmen, and wished she could go pluck the eyes from each of their sockets. "Aye, oi got many a skill. Oi ken tie knots, am sea savvy, and oi is good wit' me sword. Oi 'm not proud 'f it, but oi 'ave had t' turn t' thievery 'nce er twice." The female then chuckled as she declared the ship to be the finest that ever roamed the water. "Aye, mate! I would naught dare declare th' truth t' b' anyt'ing but t'at!"
Longeyes got up. "Oi've got a few mates yer may want ter meet." She jerked her head in the direction of the four at the end of the bar, her fellow crewmembers. Burrot was waving his paws wildly, no doubt embellishing on some tale of daring do, in which he was the main character, of course. Several of the Sea Maiden crew snickered, knowing the truth of these tales. Burrot was a good-natured fellow and they all knew he could make any story into a tale of epic proportions.
Ty turned her crown to get a view of the four who crowded the end of the bar. She viewed the one who waved his arms around wildly, and raised an eyebrow for a few moments before finishing her drink, and got up. Her boot heels clicked against the hard ground as she followed Longeyes. Just before she reached Longeyes mates she took another glance about. "T'ey 're watc'ing us v'ry close, mate." She warned, but kept her tone cool, and collected. She was a bad ass wonder. There was no need to fret. Or was there?
Riggin scooted over to let the two have a spot and Bisky eyed the newcomer. "'Ey Long, wotcher got there, mate?"
Longeyes looked at Ty. "Wha's yer name, then?"
The female glanced up from under the brim of her hat, and looked Bisky in the eye. "Names Ty. Jus' Ty. An', who b' you, mateys?" She asked, her paws in view so they knew she wasn't up to any funny business.
"Bisky, tha's Burrot, Riggin an' that 'an'some devil's Gnarledtooth." Bisky gave a light chuckle at his own joke. Longeyes waved a paw over the bunch. "An' that's about it fer th' useless landlubber part o' the crew. Name's Longeyes, but yew kin call me Long. Firs' Mate Rint should be hereabouts somewhere. Oi'd 'spect at some other tavern. 'Bout time fer me watch so Ty, yew just pop by th' Maiden tommorrer an' Rint c'n 'ave look 't ye. Pleasure meetin', Oi'm sure, mate. "
A small grin flitted across her snout at the joke Bisky made, and then glanced toward Long as she spoke once more. The vixen propped her foot up on the stool, and draped her arms over the raised knee. "Tis a pleasure meetin' all ye, tis a truth. An' ye kin b' sure t'at oi'll be t'ere tommorrer mornin', so's keep yer eyes peeled. Ill see ye mateys 'n th' morn'. Take care lettin' yerselves out." She touched the brim of her hate, and turned away from the five of them to briskly trot upstairs, and into her new room since the door to her previous one had been all but obliterated.
Longeyes nodded and the five crewmates left the tavern and headed down toward the docks. They met the watch on their way back and smiled and the exultant grins of the three ferrets. Once back aboard ship, Longeyes scuttled back up the mast. The night had cloaked the city and a cool, salty breeze drifted in from the sea. The young rat leaned back, propping her feet up over the rim of the crow's nest and settled for the long night's watch, lulled by the rocking of the ship and the sound of the city.
