Silver and Gold
A/N: Only two reviews? …Ah well. That's the breaks, I suppose. You're all looking forward to this chapter anyway…right?
Chapter Four: Prisoner of Few Words
"Defeated? On the sea? By who? Who else has a boat, let alone one that can defeat our pirates?!"
"Them, milord. The Adepts, and that Briggs from Champa. Barbaus says that the Adepts trailed the ship after it left Madra, and attacked in broad daylight."
"Barbaus has been more trouble than the entire crew is worth for six years and more, now. I'm tired of that arrogant would-be pirate."
"Begging your pardon, milord, but Captain Barbaus is one of the finest there ever was. And I haven't gotten to all of the bad news, anyway."
"There's more?!"
"There is, milord. You remember that young man who joined up, the one from Madra? Oh, what was his name…"
"Victor, you mean? That upstart kid?"
"Yes. It seems that the scoundrel Briggs has taken him prisoner. Well, they assume that—he's no longer on the ship, at any rate, milord."
"Well, well, well. See that Champa pays good for this, man."
"With pleasure, milord."
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The next morning dawned rather cold, and Sheba found herself shivering as she hurried down the stairs of the Inn and into the warm common room, choosing one of the tables and waiting for any of the others to arrive.
Picard came next, whistling a jumpy little tune as he grabbed a plate of food and sat across the table from Sheba. She grinned.
"You're in a good mood this morning," she said, and Picard paused with his next bite halfway to his mouth.
"I slept. Also, I did not spend half my night being harassed by a noble privateer about getting up and watching out for who-knows-what. I am in a wonderful mood." Picard nodded, then continued eating. Sheba giggled.
"Good morning everyone," said Mia, a smile on her face as well, as she joined Sheba and Picard. In her hands were a roll and a piece of fruit, and she set them on the table in a very cheerful way.
"Almost like old times, isn't it?" she asked them, grinning so much it looked as though it might start to hurt after a few seconds.
"You alright, Mia?" Sheba asked dryly. Mia attempted to glare, but of course she couldn't pull it off—she was in far too good a mood. Nothing let her sleep quite as well as knowing that they'd all be there in the morning when she went down for breakfast. Going down for breakfast was another nice thing—too often, it had been a matter of coming up, and no one really ever wanted to climb stairs in the morning.
Isaac came next, followed shortly by Felix and Jenna, and the six Adepts shared breakfast, with Sheba and Picard recounting stories of the previous day's battle, Felix sitting there wishing he hadn't missed it and Jenna looking increasingly more uncomfortable.
Finally, Isaac couldn't stand it. "Jenna, what's wrong?" he asked. Both Jenna and Picard stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. Then it clicked in Jenna's head, and she smiled.
"I was just thinking…why didn't we capture the pirates, too? Why did Briggs let them get away? What did he see…or know…that would make him leave them all behind?"
"Did Briggs truly make that call?" Picard asked. "There was a bit of chaos going on, and I was more concerned with dealing with the pirates."
"Apparently. Otherwise he'd have shown up to bite our heads off for cowardice, or something," said Felix, smiling for the first time that morning. "Speaking of that, why did our 'esteemed captain'—sorry Picard—remain on board with his wife and crewmen last night? It's not like he's incompetent on dry land."
"The ship, huh?" Sheba asked, standing. Isaac groaned. Sheba and Ivan might have been very different, but they were alike in a few respects, and this was one of them—both of them got that exhilarated look in their eyes when they were about to uncover something particularly intriguing.
"Shall we go?" Felix asked, looking much more enthusiastic. "I'm curious, as well. Briggs might be a decent seaman after all, but he was never one for secretiveness concerning…well, anything. What's so different about now?"
"Either he just didn't think it was important enough to bother us with," began Jenna.
"Or he knows it's something we wouldn't like," finished Isaac. There was a unanimous nod, and the rest of them rose, though Jenna grabbed a roll before following the others out the door.
"In honor of Garet's absence?" Isaac asked with a grin.
"In honor of missing dinner last night," Jenna corrected. Her face grew serious again as they walked out of Madra and headed for the beach where the boat was 'docked'. "Listen, Isaac, about last night—"
"Don't worry about it," Isaac said casually. "The only problem is that we have to teach you to be less violent." Jenna looked at him, appalled. Isaac laughed. "See. I was only joking."
They arrived at the ship to find it eerily silent—neither of the Champan crewman were on deck, nor were Briggs or Chaucha. However, the door to the hold was open just slightly—a soft wind from Sheba pushed it open wider. As quietly as possible, the Adepts crept inside and down the stairs.
Sheba got to the bottom first, Mia close behind, and the latter's hand closed around the former's arm to stop her from running forward. Instead, all in a line, they walked slowly down the hall and into the backmost room, where they found Chaucha and the seamen sitting on crates.
"What is it?" Mia asked quietly—even a normal-level voice wouldn't have felt right in this room, somehow. Chaucha looked up and shook her head.
"He's got some pirate in there," she said, gesturing to the room with the tightly closed door. "Apparently he took one prisoner. Trying to get the boy to talk."
"Boy?"
"Talk?" Isaac and Mia had asked their questions at the very same time. Isaac's carried the tone of general curiosity, though, while Mia's was definitely one of barely-controlled anger. "What do you mean, talk?"
"About the other pirates, their agenda, their attack style, anything," Chaucha began, but Mia had already walked up to the door and begun shoving. Soon, Felix and Jenna moved to help her. Sheba, Isaac and Picard watched for a few moments, all of them looking quite frightened when Jenna turned and demanded to know why they weren't helping.
Picard stepped up to the door, took hold of the knob, twisted, and pulled. The door swung open with barely a creak. "Oh," mumbled Jenna, her face red. Picard simply smiled, though his eyes sparkled with held-back laughter. "Watch it or I'll decide not to save your sorry self next time," Jenna went on, bringing to Picard's mind images of the battle on Sinelsol Island.
Mia had already continued through the door, fists clenching as though she was holding her staff (it had been left in the small room where she slept on the ship, unfortunately not the one she was currently in). The sight that met her eyes, however, was far from what she had expected.
Propped up against a small crate, his hands bound behind him, was a boy, perhaps only a little older than Felix, with sandy-brown hair pulled loosely back from his face and a very pitiful look about him. His face was to the floor—Mia couldn't see his eyes.
Still, anger quickly took over again. "Briggs!" she yelled, locking eyes with the sailor, drawing herself to her full height (never mind that she was half a foot or more shorter than he) and frowning. The temperature of the room dropped noticeably—Briggs's breath appeared as little puffs in the air.
"You're n-n-not making it any easier f-f-for him, th-th-th-there," Briggs said through chattering teeth. Mia, apparently not noticing the cold at all, continued her verbal assault.
"Well I can bet you aren't either! What business have you trying to make some kid talk?" Mia put special emphasis on that last word, wanting to make sure Briggs got the point. "He's only a kid! Well, granted, older than I am, but still! What are you, some sort of…common criminal?"
"Now look h-h-here!" said Briggs, rubbing his hands together to keep them from going numb. "I d-d-don't know what it is y-you think I d-d-d-did, but all I w-w-was doing was talking. Ask h-h-him. He'll t-t-tell you."
Mia looked down at the boy, frowning as though feeling rather stupid, and the room returned to its usual semi-warmness. She knelt in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and her eyes met a pair the color of spring's new leaves. His head nodded quickly, then his gaze met the floor again.
Mia took hold of Briggs's wrist in an iron grip that it was hard to picture her having, and led him very forcefully to the door. In fact, she led him through it, with a very serene expression on her face, and released his wrist, which he immediately grasped with his own hand, flinching.
Mia and the rest of the Adepts crowded into the small room, with Mia and Picard in front. Picard did much as Mia had just done, kneeling in front of the boy. This time, when he looked up, his eyes sprang open wide and he made to back away. He was against a heavy crate, however, and thus did not succeed.
"Picard scares him?" Felix asked. "That's odd. If anyone would scare him, I'd guess it to be Jenna."
"Very funny," Jenna said dryly.
"I thought so."
"Look," said Picard, unfazed by the captured pirate's attempt to get away, "we're not like Briggs back there. All we want is to help you. And if Felix is right and you are afraid of me, not only is it fear without cause but if Ivan hears about it later he'll get a real kick out of it. And I do so hate it when Ivan is one up on me," the Lemurian added with a grin.
"He's got you twice over, remember," Sheba said. "Once that time in Magma Rock and once just now, if he ever hears about it."
"So if you would not mind, perhaps you might stop trying to escape. You would not get far, even if Briggs were not right outside this door," Picard went on, ignoring Sheba as well.
Jenna pulled a dagger out of one boot, and the boy truly looked afraid for a few seconds, before apparently regaining himself and letting the defiant look return to his face. Reaching behind the boy, Jenna shook any other thoughts having to do with that particular dagger away and cut the ropes that tied the boy's hands. He instantly reacted, bringing both his hands out, one of them balled into a fist and catching Jenna right in the eye.
"Some way of saying thanks," Jenna muttered, blinking. "Leave it," she said to Felix, who was trying to squish between Isaac and a stack of crates to get to her. "He doesn't have enough strength in him to hurt anyone."
"Look here," Mia said, putting the ice-spire edge back into her voice, though only barely. "Whoever you are, you might want to tell us your name, it might help, anyway, whoever you are, you're not in any position to be trying anything aggressive because I have every right to just leave you here for a while and maybe even turn you back over to your pirate crew after they've been defeated how does that sound?"
"Did that scare you?" Isaac asked Picard.
"Why should it have, again?" the Lemurian replied.
"Mia doesn't babble. Nor does she shift into that voice in this sort of situation. If I didn't know she wouldn't hurt me, I'd be mortally terrified."
"I think he is, if it's any consolation," Picard offered. Indeed, the pirate looked as though he'd rather have let Briggs stay than had to put up with this. "Now there's an idea we should have had a long time ago," Picard continued, snapping his fingers. "Sheba!"
"That is the second time you've done that to me in as many days!" Sheba cried, rather shocked. "If you're going to yell my name, go on ahead, but not in that voice."
"I only have one voice."
"No. You have several. There's the confused one, which is now, and the determined, sea-captain mercury-attacker take-down-the-monsters voice, and the I'm-tired-don't-bother-me-voice, plus a few more, and this one. The we've-got-a-problem voice. And it isn't just you, Picard. All of you do it."
"I never knew you spent so much time analyzing how we speak."
"I get bored on that ship all day. And you were saying?"
"Read his mind."
"Picard!" Mia said, frowning at him. "That's…unethical."
"It's a good plan," argued Jenna. "After all, we can't get him to talk any other way."
While the rest of them broke into an argument about whether or not to maintain strict morals, Sheba held out one hand and cast Mind Read. What she found astonished her. She could barely stop herself from prying, though she managed to—this kid's life (some kid—he was nineteen) must have been beyond belief.
'Stop,' came Sheba's mental request. Because Garet and Ivan were absent, the arguing abated almost instantly. All eyes focused on her.
"First of all, asking him for answers will get you nothing. He can't speak." Someone—Sheba was betting on Mia—gasped. "Remember that voice that spoke in defense of Madra, a few days ago? That was him, and when they raided Madra and he tried to stop them, the other Venus Adept knocked him out, and when he came to they were sailing away from Alhafra and he couldn't speak anymore."
The rest of the Adepts looked at the boy, who, sensing his defeat, nodded. It was true. "Furthermore, and I know you'll ask, he has no idea where the pirates are from or who they're working for. He got on the ship in Madra, because they were looking for a Venus Adept to repair their ship."
"I knew the Champans put up some sort of fight," Felix said quietly.
"So they took him and didn't let him go back, and their captain—Barbaus by name—gave him his word that they'd not go near Madra again. So when they did, of course he argued. Thus, he is here, as you see him."
"Felix."
"Yes Jenna?"
"Hold me back, Felix. Don't let me get out there. Out on the deck. I'll hunt the pirates down and destroy the Adept that did this and his puny captain."
"Good," said Felix, true anger in his voice. For a moment, the others wondered if the siblings wouldn't be racing to the door to see who'd get to bash pirates first. Felix was disgusted, not to mention furious. No self-respecting Venus Adept would mess with another one, especially not by taking away that other one's voice.
"Shall I continue?" Sheba asked. Isaac nodded. "His name is Victor, and yes, he is a Venus Adept, though without his voice his Psynergy is a bit limited. And no, I didn't see anything else in your head, and yes I know you're disgusted with me for doing it, but now they'll all leave you alone." Those last two remarks had been directed at the pirate, at Victor.
"Picard," Mia asked as much as stated, meeting the Lemurian's gold eyes with her own blue ones.
"Let me guess," he replied, frowning. "It's not an easy idea."
"No, but then again things rarely ever are anymore. Worth a try, is it?"
"It'd take some real thought, and possibly Sheba's help. Maybe even Felix and Isaac. For that matter, we're all here, it may take all of us."
"They're talking in some kind of code," Isaac surmised in a very determined voice. "One I don't understand in the least. But we're involved, apparently."
"Should we wait for Garet and Ivan?" Mia continued.
"And risk the entire ship exploding?" Jenna threw in. Sheba giggled.
"Do you understand what they're saying, Jenna?" Felix asked.
"Not in the least. But when opportunity comes along, I might as well take it."
"Do you think we could pull it off?" Mia asked, a sparkle in her blue eyes. Isaac knew that look. It fell somewhere between excitement, fear and a desire to meet the challenge. Of course, this didn't enlighten Isaac any further as to the topic of discussion.
"As I said, it will require some thought," Picard replied, turning to head out the door. "I suspect that right now, we're all anxious to head back to Champa, which we will do," he added in a louder voice—he was correct in assuming Briggs was still just outside the door—"and hopefully Garet and Ivan won't prove useless." To this last comment he added a wink, just to make sure Jenna didn't attack him for insulting her 'boyfriend'.
"Uh-uh, Isaac," Mia said as he moved to follow the rest of them out the door and up the stairs. "You stay." Isaac made a sad face, to which Mia only shrugged, grinning. "You're the only other person he doesn't run from," she offered in cheerful explanation.
"In your element, are you?" Isaac asked sourly. As though on cue, the boat began to move. "I give up! They're all against me!"
"Look at it this way," said Mia, still smirking. "They're all against you and life isn't too bad. Think how terrible it would be if they were all for you."
"I can only imagine," Isaac said dryly.
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"Are we close yet?"
"How should I know? You're the one looking out the window."
"The window's all covered in sea spray. And it isn't a window, either, it's a pothole."
"Portal, I should think."
"I tell you, it's a mothball!"
"Porthole," said Shade in a very forceful voice. "It's called a porthole. But that one's probably an actual window. And yes, we're close to Champa."
"How can you tell?" asked Echo—he had initiated the question.
"The currents below us have changed."
On deck, the Adepts were discovering much the same thing, except they could see Champa as it came into view. Picard frowned, and after a moment of looking, the others could see why—his ship was nowhere in sight.
There was, however, a small figure on the beach, waving excitedly. Squinting, Sheba could make out Ivan, and soon enough he was joined by three other figures—Garet, Obaba and a Champan that she didn't know.
"Garet!" Jenna yelled happily as they got closer. Garet smiled and waved back excitedly. When the ship grounded itself in the sand, Jenna jumped of the ship and gasped, nearly falling over. "Garet!" This time her cry was one of shock and worry. "What happened?"
"Pirates," Garet said sourly, returning Jenna's tight hug with his one usable arm. He gasped quietly as Jenna hugged tighter. "Hey, don't squeeze so much. I'll start leaking or something."
"I knew there was something!" Mia said, snapping her fingers and silently yelling at herself for being so forgetful. "Oh well. Can't be helped. Ivan?" Mia looked at the Jupiter Adept, who smiled weakly back at her. "You're not supposed to be here," Mia guessed. Ivan's grin widened somewhat.
"Well, stories can wait, then," said Isaac, last Adept to leave the ship. With him was Victor, who still walked with a bit of a limp and, of course, said nothing, and behind him came Chaucha, the Champan sailors, and Briggs.
"Listen here," Mia said, turning to Briggs with that almost predatory light in her eyes. "I want no trouble from the rest of the Champans about Victor. None. If there is, it's on your head."
"And you won't like her when she's mad," Ivan added in a soft but mischievous voice.
"He doesn't like her now," Sheba muttered, giggling. "Out of all of us, Mia scares him the most."
"How did we get here, again?" Felix asked, as though it had just dawned on him that they hadn't come here on purpose.
"The Djinn blew us over here and wrecked the ship, so we went with Briggs to chase the pirates that had captured Kraden…Kraden!" Isaac repeated, slamming his forehead with his hand. "How could I have for..scratch that. Sheba…well, with his permission, of course, does Victor know anything about Kraden?"
Sheba looked at Victor, who nodded, and she used Mind Read, closing her eyes for a moment, then opening them and frowning. "Hard to say," was all she came up with, adding a shrug. "He heard things in his sleep one night about some annoying old man, but that's it. By the time he was awake there was no longer an old man on board."
"So they must have left Kraden in their hiding spot. Where do you suppose they come from?" Felix asked.
"Where is my ship?" Picard questioned Obaba while the others held their discussion.
"Farther along the coast, near the Ankohl Ruins. It's repaired—we'd just finished about an hour before the attack began. Ivan tested the wings and both of them work perfectly."
"That's good," Picard nodded in agreement, cocking an eyebrow at the old woman. "There is something you are not telling."
"There is indeed," she said, looking sadly at the ground and giving the sand a halfhearted thump with her staff. Picard then noticed that the staff had actually been broken more than once and was tied back together with some string. "However, I shall wait until Briggs discovers it for himself."
The entire crowd of them walked back to the main Champan complex, Chaucha generously offering the Adepts spare rooms in the cliffside for the night, instead of the Inn.
Mia saw to Garet and Ivan, muttering all the while under her breath about things that neither of them understood. Meanwhile, Picard found the map of Weyard that had been Felix's and spread it on a table in the adjoining room, the rest of the Adepts and Victor gathered around it.
"Makes no sense," Isaac said, frowning. "There was a pattern. Then they went to Alhafra and broke the pattern, but then they went to Madra and reestablished it. Yallam would thus be the next likely target, but instead, they return to Champa. It makes no sense."
"The things that happen to us rarely ever make sense, Isaac," Picard pointed out.
"No need to rub it in."
"How did you ever do it without us?" Ivan asked, walking into the room looking good as new, and grinning like his old self. "The arguments must have been insanely dull."
"You try convincing Felix to get off the ship at Daila," Isaac mumbled. Before Ivan could reply, there was a pounding on the door. Isaac stood and opened it, and Briggs rushed in, a dagger in his hand. He lifted Victor off the floor by his shirt and held the dagger at his throat.
"What have your people done with my son?" Briggs demanded. There was a general disapproval of these actions throughout the room—every Adept was out of his or her seat, and Jenna had even taken a few steps forward, flames flickering around her clenched fists.
"How can he know, Briggs?" Jenna demanded, her voice hard, its tone full of the impression of a volcano about to erupt. "He was with us. And what in the name of Mars are you talking about?"
"Obaba tells me the pirates came and took Eoleo away," Briggs said in a quieter voice. "And you!" he added, once again roaring, only this time dropping Victor and heading for Ivan, dagger point hovering over his chest. Briggs' free hand wrapped around his arm in a grip that Ivan thought might bend steel if given the chance. The Jupiter Adept flinched as the dagger came closer.
Mia and Garet chose this moment to walk in, staring with eyes wide, as Briggs continued. "Why didn't you protect him? Why didn't you stop them?"
"Briggs," Mia said calmly, the ice-shard edge and trademark temperature decline completely missing from her voice. The sailor stopped then, lowered his dagger and let Ivan go. "Shame for you to give me more work to do," she added quietly.
Briggs sank into one of the chairs, head in his hands. The dagger fell to the table, and Felix picked it up, looking at it. "Hey! This is the dagger the pirates got me with. It has the sign on the bottom. The A-B and the sailing ship."
Victor looked up suddenly, hurrying over and grabbing the dagger away from Felix. He looked at the bottom of the handle and gasped. Tapping his head with two fingers, he told Sheba where the dagger had come from as soon as he heard her ask.
"It belongs to him. Not Victor," Sheba continued, seeing the perplexity on everyone's faces. "To their captain. To Barbaus."
"A-B," Isaac whispered. "The B must stand for Barbaus, and the ship would of course be the pirate vessel. Might the A represent Barbaus's first name?" he asked Victor, who nodded. "So. Captain A. Barbaus. I wonder if it was him who actually threw the dagger."
"Can we not dwell on it?" Felix asked rather weakly.
"Sure." Isaac was about to continue, but was stopped by a peculiar sound. It wasn't a pounding on the door or a gasp of surprise. It wasn't the unrolling of a map or the turning of a knob. It wasn't even the crackle of the fire the Adepts were using partially for warmth and partially as a light source.
It was the sound of Briggs sobbing. Victor nodded and silently tapped the man on the shoulder, motioning for the noble pirate to follow him. Winking at the others, Victor led Briggs back to his room.
Upon his return, the Adepts talked long into the night, swapping stories first and then discussing exactly what they were going to do about the pirates, Kraden, Eoleo and Briggs.
"One thing really bugs me, though," Garet said, and the others all looked at him. "They're pirates. They've raided cities, towns, villages…taken hostages, and even permanently disabled a member of their own crew. Apparently they'll stop at nothing to get what they want."
"So what bothers you?" Jenna asked.
"What do they want?" The Adepts looked at one another. Try as they might, not one of them could give an answer.
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