It was already midnight when Lucious arrived to Bloodstone. The streets of the town were filled with low-life people everywhere he looked: several prostitutes wearing revealing dresses flirted with dirty-looking pirates, drunkards shouted senseless words and some men fought, sword in hand, probably to settle some kind of quarrel.
Lucious headed directly to The Leper's Arms, where he had agreed to meet with Captain André and the rest.
The tavern was really crowded and Lucious had trouble finding his friends amongst the dozens of noisy pirates. Finally, he spotted Captain Andre's hand waving at him from a dark corner of the room.
- "Yer late, kid"- said Silver holding a jug of dark beer.
- "I'm sorry"- said Lucious joining them- "I came walking all the way from Oakvale".
- "Don't worry, we aren't leaving for another two hours anyway"- said Captain André after taking a sip from his drink.
- "Oakvale? Ye were again in that blasted town? - said Silver frowning- "Why the hell are ye so damn interested in this place? Did ye go to yer old house to cry fer yer dead mommy and daddy?"
- "Don't you dare mention my parents again, you scum!"
Lucious got up and approached Silver threateningly.
- "Stop, Lucious!"- said Captain André pulling his arm- "He's just drunk, pay no attention to him".
Silver laughed, showing his dirty mouth filled with gaps and silver teeth.
- "Come on, Captain! Let our little pirate Reaver show me what he's got!"
- "I told you never to call me like that!"- said Lucious angrily.
- "Silver! That's enough!"- shouted the Captain- "If ye go on insulting Lucious, ye'll not come with us in our next adventure".
Silver smiled and went on drinking his beer.
- "Alright mates, who's thirsty?"
Morgan approached the table holding four jugs of rum. He spotted Lucious and smiled.
- "Hey, Lucious! Welcome back, my friend. You don't know what you have missed. We have really enjoyed our little holiday in Bloodstone".
Lucious smiled back. Even though he would have preferred it if Silver was not there, he was really happy to see Morgan and Captain André again.
- "I'm glad you had fun, Morgan. I would have liked to join you, but I had to go somewhere important".
- "Captain André told me that you went to Oakvale. What were you doing there? I can't imagine what fun things someone can do in that town".
Lucious hesitated before replying. He wanted to tell everyone about Dainara and how much he loved her, but he was not sure it was such a great idea. He was a pirate after all, he was bound to have enemies. What if one of them tried to hurt Dainara out of revenge? He couldn't risk it, he couldn't involve Dainara in such dangerous affairs.
He looked at Morgan, who awaited his answer with curiosity.
- "Well, Oakvale is my hometown so the day when we really make it big and become rich, that's where I'll retire. So I was looking around the town, planning where I'll build my future manor".
Morgan and Captain André laughed.
- "It's a little early to start making such plans, Lucious"- said the Captain- "But I'm happy to see that ye have so high expectations".
Suddenly, Silver got up and left his drink on the table.
- "This lovely display of friendship is making me sick. I'll see ye on the ship".
The three men ignored his remark and went on talking cheerfully while they enjoyed their drinks.
- "Well, I think it's time to get down to business"- said Captain André after a while- "Morgan and Silver already know the plan, so I'm going to tell ye too. While the crew enjoyed their holiday, I have been making enquiries about trouble around Albion so that I could find a nice opportunity for us to get a juicy reward".
Captain André looked around to make sure no one else was listening and went on explaining.
- "I have heard that there's some trouble in Brightwall. Apparently, they got more mercenaries that they can handle".
- "But I thought Brightwall was a garrison town. Can't a whole army defeat a bunch of mercenaries?"- said Lucious.
- "It appears that most of their soldiers are on a mission in Samarkand, so the town isn't that well guarded anymore. Probably this is why the mercenaries are attacking them just now"- replied Morgan.
- "The thing is that they don't want to ask fer help. Something to do with their soldier's honor and all that…so no one is helping them"- continued Captain André- "But I'm sure that if a group of skilled pirates show up suddenly and help them in secret, they'll be more than willing to give them a big reward to keep their mouths shut".
Lucious crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.
- "And what makes you think they are going to accept our help?"
The Captain smiled.
- "Oh, they will, lad. If what I've heard is true, some soldiers are already dying".
Lucious remained thoughtful for a moment. It sounded like a good plan and not too difficult for them. The crew had been fighting mercenaries for years, and with the help of the soldiers, it was going to be an easy job.
- "Alright, so when do we leave?"
- "I have to pick up an item before we leave. Finish yer drinks and meet me outside"- said Captain André getting up and making his way towards the exit door.
Morgan looked at Lucious and smirked.
- "Hey, now that the Captain left, what do you say I ask these two minxes to join us? They can't take their eyes off us".
Lucious looked at the direction that Morgan was pointing and saw two women smiling at them. They looked classier than a prostitute but their clothes were equally revealing.
- "We must leave soon, Morgan"- said Lucious- "We don't have time for this".
Lucious had always liked flirting with women he met on his trips along with Morgan. But now things were different: he was deeply in love with Dainara and he didn't even want to look at another woman ever again.
- "Oh, come on! Just for a moment, to take some drinks with them".
- "Haven't you had enough women already? I'm sure you have been quite busy these last few days"- laughed Lucious.
- "You can never have enough women, my friend!"
- "Such a gentleman you are! But in any case we can't, I'm sorry".
Morgan looked at him with disappointment.
- "What happened to you? What happened to the man who would sneak into women's chambers to see them change clothes? Or the one who would bet with me about who would get the girl first?"
Lucious smiled.
- "I guess he matured"- he replied.
- "No! Come on, Lucious. You love women as much as I do! What happened?"
- "Maybe you should reconsider it too and start treating women as ladies instead of objects".
Morgan frowned and remained silent for a few seconds.
- "Oh, by Avo…"
- "What?"- asked Lucious, also frowning.
- "This can't be…"
- "What can't be?"
- "You are in love! You have someone special in your life!"
Lucious got pale suddenly. He smiled nervously.
- "What are you talking about?"
- "That's why you are rejecting this flirting opportunity. You would have never said no, you know it!"
Lucious could feel the palms of his hands wet with sweat.
- "That's ridiculous. I'm always travelling with you, where could I possibly meet a nice lady to fall in love with?"
- "In Oakvale! That's it! That's why you went there instead of joining us!"
Lucious was speechless. He wanted to convince Morgan that he didn't have any girlfriend, but his mind was blocked.
- "I…"
- "Lucious! Can I talk to ye fer a moment?"
Captain André approached the table holding a big package on his hands.
- "Of course"- said the young pirate, feeling so relieved that the conversation was over.
- "Morgan, head towards the ship. We'll meet ye there".
The Captain sat down next to Lucious.
- "I still remember the day when I found ye in that barn, so young and so scared. I took ye in out of pity, but soon I realized that ye would be a fine pirate one day"- he paused and smiled proudly- "I was worried about Witchwood Island, ye are a nice swordsman but ye don't have a lot of real fight experience and I didn't know how well ye would handle the situation. And trust me when I say that ye exceeded my expectations. Killing the troll with a single shot, fighting all these balverines by yerself…ye were better than most experienced pirates I know".
The mention of the balverines made Lucious remember his fears.
- "I have been training a lot, that's all. But even with all these skills I was still about to die".
- "But ye didn't die…and ye saved us all from this troll"- Captain André placed his hand on his shoulder- "There's something special about ye, lad. I don't know what it is, but yer fighting skills are way too good, almost like one of those legendary heroes!"
Lucious chuckled.
- "I'm not a hero, Captain. Just a pirate with some skills and a lot of luck".
- "I really believe what I said. That's why I want you to have this"- the Captain gave him the package he was holding.
Lucious opened it with curiosity and found a polished pistol inside. It looked quite rare and probably quite expensive.
- "This pistol belonged to my mentor. I've been guarding it since the day he died but I haven't been able to use it myself. This is a very powerful weapon, only meant fer excellent marksmen. This is why I'm giving it to ye".
- "But you are an excellent marksman, Captain! I have seen you in battle".
- "Not good enough fer this pistol, lad".
Lucious hesitated.
- "Keep it, son. Ye deserve it".
- "Thank you, Captain".
Captain André smiled proudly.
- "And about this mission…I know that mercenaries will be no match fer ye, but I know that ye have never killed a fellow human…Will ye be alright?"
Lucious hadn't thought of that. He was so used to stay behind or just go to steal something while the rest fought that he hadn't realized that now he was supposed to fight them too.
- "Well, I don't like killing. But as you always say, if the lives of innocent are at stake, we must protect them".
- "Or if yer own life is at stake, lad. Ye must save yer life at any cost".
Lucious smiled nervously.
- "Yes, of course. I will save my life…at any cost".
Captain André patted him on the back.
- "Alright, lad. Let's go".
When they arrived at the ship they found all the crew already waiting.
Captain André briefly informed the rest of the crew about the mission.
- "We'll sail until Greatwood, from there, we'll go on foot. And I want to make an announcement too. Since Balker is no longer with us, I have to choose another second in command. These last few days I've been thinking so much about this and I've reached a decision. My new second in command will be Morgan".
The crew cheered happily.
Morgan bowed to the Captain.
- "Thank you, Captain. I promise I will not disappoint you".
Silver got up from the barrel he was sitting on and left angrily.
Lucious was really happy for Morgan. He approached him and patted on his back.
- "Congratulations, Morgan. You deserve it".
- "Thank you, Lucious. As you can see, I'm beating you again"- he teased.
Lucious smirked.
- "We'll see about that, my friend. Who laughs last, laughs best".
The ship set sail for Greatwood. The trip was long but the waters were calm and they enjoyed the journey.
Lucious spent his time examining his new weapon and talking to Morgan, the Captain and other crew members. He was really happy that Morgan didn't continue his enquiry about his girlfriend.
Everyday at sunset, Lucious would look at the horizon and think about Dainara and how much he missed her. He would reach for his pocket to touch the medallion she had given him. He wished he could wear it, but pirate life was way too dangerous to be wearing such expensive jewels.
Five days after they left Bloodstone, they reached Greatwood.
- "Listen, mates!"- said Captain André- "Morgan, Lucious and me will go to Brightwall, but I need half of ye to come with us. This mission may prove dangerous, so I won't choose who's coming, I want volunteers".
- "What about me?"- Silver appeared among the crew members shouting- "Ye told me ye'd have me in the mission!"
- "Ye'll stay behind and be in charge of the ship while we are away".
- "This is not what ye told me, Captain! Ye said…"
- "Shut up, Silver! I've had enough of ye today! Do as I say!"
Silver left the scene angrily, bumping into the pirates on his way.
- "Well, who wants to join us?"- repeated Captain André.
The members of the crew looked at each other and hesitated. Finally, a tall bald man who had a jolly roger tattooed on his arm, stepped forward.
- "I will go with you, Captain"- he said firmly.
- "Thank ye, Skull".
After that, more pirates joined Skull and soon Captain André had enough men to carry on his mission.
- "The rest of ye will stay here and guard the ship until we return. Silver will be with ye".
The group of pirates walked across Greatwood Forest. Crossing the forest was easier than they had expected. The only enemies they encountered were some giant wasps, a couple of nymphs and some lost hobbes, which they dispatched quickly.
A few hours later, they spotted Brightwall's walls in the distance. They got as close as they could and stopped.
- "Alright, lads"- said the Captain- "I will go with Morgan and Lucious to talk to whoever is in charge here. In the meantime, find hiding places around the wall and wait for my signal. We can't all go there together; they'll attack us for sure".
Everyone went to their positions while the Captain, Morgan and Lucious approached the main gate. As they were approaching it, Lucious felt uneasy. Memories from his previous mission invaded his mind.
"It won't happen again" he said to himself "You are a skilled pirate. You won't die…you won't die".
He took a deep breath.
- "Are you ok?"- asked Morgan, looking at him with a worried face.
- "Yes, I'm fine"- replied Lucious faking a smile.
The gate stood in front of them.
- "Who goes there?"- someone shouted.
The three pirates looked up and saw a soldier on top of an outpost, right outside the town's gates. He was holding a shotgun, which was pointing at them.
Lucious and Morgan unsheathed their weapons immediately, but the Captain asked them to sheathe them again.
- "Good day, sir"- said Captain André- "We mean no harm; we just want to speak to the man in charge of this town".
- "What do you want from him?"- said the soldier, still holding his shotgun.
- "We've heard about yer problem with the mercenaries. We want to help".
The soldier frowned.
- "We don't need any help. Go away!"
Captain André smiled.
- "That's not what I've heard, sir".
- "You are pirates, aren't you? What makes you think we want the help of some outlaws?"- said the soldier, looking at them with disdain.
- "What's going on, Wilkins?"
A man appeared on top of an outpost behind the walls. He was dressed as a soldier but the colors of his uniform were different and he had dozens of medals attached to it.
He looked at the pirates.
- "Who are you?"
Captain André stepped forward and bowed.
- "I'm Captain André of the Intrepid, sir. I've heard about the problems ye are having with the mercenaries and we want to help ye".
- "Sir, they are pirates. I have already asked them to go away, we don't need their help".
- "I'll be the one deciding that, soldier"- said the man firmly.
He went closer to the wall and looked at the pirates suspiciously.
- "And why would you want to help us?"
- "Well, a nice reward for our efforts wouldn't hurt".
The man remained silent for a moment and sighed deeply.
- "I'm Major Marshall. In normal circumstances I wouldn't allow pirates to help us, but we are really desperate. In any case, don't expect a big reward, Captain. Only the three of you won't be much help".
Captain André laughed.
- "How about this?"
He whistled loudly and the rest of the crew left their hiding places.
Wilkins took his shotgun and pointed at them again nervously.
- "Put this down, Wilkins"- said the Major.
He looked at the group of pirates and smirked.
- "I see you came prepared".
- "So, do we have a deal?"- said Captain André.
Major Marshall hesitated for a moment.
- "Sir you can't really be considering…"- said Wilkins.
- "Alright"- the Major turned around- "Open the main gate! We have reinforcements!"