"What do you mean he's not here?!"
As far as Daud had been concerned his literal God given mission had been simple and rather straightforward from the start:
Ensure Samuel Beechworth stays lost.
"He boarded a boat heading for Redmoor early this morning, Sir."
He was an Assassin blessed by the Outsider.
He's easily slaughtered hundreds; peasants, Lords, Noble Women, Empresses. He fought toe to toe with the Royal Protector himself; Corvo Attano, and managed to escape with his life and no critical wounds.
With his unnatural abilities it should have been child's play to keep the boatman secured. Yet somehow, despite all his natural advantages he had lost Corvo's Boatman...
Good Gods, he would never be able to live this down should word get out.
He's quick on his feet and a hard worker.
Nothing could really change that, Samuel supposed as he moved around deck; securing lines and hauling nets. When at sea one couldn't afford to be anything but. If you slowed, if you hesitated; you would die and likely many others.
"We need more men on the Starboard!"
It didn't help when freak storms flew in out of nowhere attempting to sink them. If the boatman listened he swore he could hear the delighted laughter on the wind. Though he doesn't voice it, Samuel is quite certain Erland is behind this; The Deity had never been one to make things easy, especially when they went against his plans.
The boatman finishes securing his line before boot cladded feet rush over the slick, water covered wood.
"That was just petty."
The emerald eyed man informs the amused looking Deity floating around his cabin room as he strips out of his saturated clothing. The Deity just chuckles in response, void filled eyes following the other man around as he rung the water from his clothes into a wooden bucket before hanging them on a thin wire to dry.
"No," Erland finally speaks as the boatman collapses onto his cot, "Petty would have been sending the Leviathan."
The boatman's shoe barely misses his head but the curses that follow brings laughter to the Deity's lips.
Levithan:
The Twisted Serpent.
Destoryer of Dreams.
Abomination of the Sea.
The Outsider's Pet.
This was the third time in his life Samuel fount himself staring up at the maginificant beast.
"Now I'm being the petty."
The Outsider laughed from his spot next to the boatman, ingoring the sharp glare directed his way.
"I hate you."
The boatman clings to the portside railing as hurricane like waters ponded against the deck and another tidal like wave rose only feet away. He barely has a moment to curse before the ship is once more thrown under the harsh waves for what feels like hours before breaking its way back to the surface. Its only because of some divine miracle they haven't sunk yet.
The harsh waters sweep upon the wooden deck, slamming all caught in its grips into the railings in hopes of throwing them out into the sea. As it is, the Boatman just barely manages to snag the cabin boy- a lad of sixteen summers- by the neck of his jacket before the other is thrown overboard to sink beneath the current.
There's terror in the younger's earthy brown eyes as the boatman grabs a rope from the railing next to them and wraps it tightly around the younger's waist before attaching the other end to his own.
"We're going to die. We're going to die. "
The younger keeps mumbling under breath even as the boatman pulls the younger back onto his feet and places him firmly between his own body and the railing with but his arms to keep the other trapped in place. Moments later the ship tips dangerous close to capsizing as something- likely Erland's pet- slams into the port keel. For a moment, Samuel could see their reflection perfectly within the water's surface before they're suddenly highly in the air as the boat rocks like a infant's cradle before stabilizing.
There's a shadow, Samuel knows all too well looming over the boat; the leviathan has grown board of playing with its food. The Boatman's mind has only but a moment to register the thought before the wood just centimeters from his exposed back is shatter under teeth, the force throwing both him and the Cabin Boy airborne with debris. There's a sharp pain in the back of his skull before the world fades into the darkness.
At times, Samuel couldn't help but ponder wither he's the luckiest bastard alive or the unluckiest. When the boatman comes to once more, they are no longer out at sea but on the edge of a forest with the sound of fresh water beating upon a shore nearby. The Cabin Boy is looming over him, relief in his eyes as he speaks but all Samuel could hear was static. Something must show on his face for the younger is suddenly gesturing to his head and twirling his pointing finger in the air in a continuous circle that the elder recognizes meaning wrapping.
A hand moves upward, fingers carefully prodding at his skull only to feel fabric under his fingers; diffentally wrapping. He has to the other off as he sits up, ignoring the dizzy ponding rushing through his skull.
"Thank you."
He'd have to purchase the lad a new scarf when they manage to get back to civilization as a proper thank you but for now words was all he could offer.
The Cabin Boy, Demarcus Santiago, wasn't much to brag about when out at sea but now that the younger had firm, solid land beneath his feet Demarcus was a natural survivalist. He didn't dally like most teenagers, instead choosing to go out and do was necessary as soon as possible. The Boatman had tried to follow and aid the younger but Santiago was insistent he stay put, citing that he wasn't medically inclined and didn't know wither or not the head wound was worse then it appeared and to wait till the morrow 'just in case'.
Samuel easily read between the unspoken lines.
If morning came and he was dead the head wound was diffentally worse then it first appeared; if not... Well it could still be worse but they would need the extra hands and he was likely to be placed upon a 'light workload'. As Samuel suspects, upon dawns first light, Demarcus places him in charge of gathering things such as herbs, eatable plant life, and fishing. The Cabin Boy takes the heavier workloads for himself- Samuel pretends not to notice that all their route are close enough so that the younger was within hearing distance- causing the Boatman to mentally sigh.
He didn't even look his real age yet he was still being treated like a fragile package.
"What do you mean you sunk the ship?!"
"He was getting too close. Not to worry, Samuel survived along with the Cabin Boy. "
Daud could feel this fingers twitching with the sudden urge to strange deity before him as the other just floated slightly out of reach. He had been hoping to track the ship down once it made port but now...
How the Hell was he supposed to find Corvo's Boatman without so much as a clue to where he rushed off to and better yet, why didn't the Outsider just grab the Boatman while he was there and save them both the trouble?
"It wouldn't have been as entertaining that way."
The Assassin could feel his eye beginning to twitch at the other's response and 'even an idiot would know that' expression. Entertainment, of course. How could he have even considered anyone would ever consider doing something logical over something entertaining? Hell, why not just grant the older man invisibility while they were at it?
"I considered it but Samuel inherited an Invisibility Cloak so it would have been rather useless to him."
Of cour- wait...
"What?!"