Chapter 14: The Tightrope
Arrien sat on her bunk, looking rather detached. Murgle was sprawled across her lap, purring contently, and Tilanne was busy scribbling something down on a piece of parchment. Giles had already turned in for his night's rest, although it was not even midnight yet. A day had passed since the encounter on what was now on Plunder Isle, and Duke Falrevere was quite pleased with his daughter discovering what would soon become Bloodsail Hold. Tilanne had remarked on the pirates' remarkable creativity in naming their base.
"Are you all right, Arrien?" Tilanne asked, not looking up from her parchment as she scratched at her chin in thought. "You haven't really been very talkative since you got back from the island."
"Just... thinking, is all," she murmured, "I didn't want to believe Giles, but on that island, they really did slaughter every man, woman, and child in the village. I watched them do it... and what's worse, I helped them."
At this, Tilanne placed the pen down on the desk and looked at Arrien, a very disturbed look in her eyes, "What do you mean by 'helped'?"
"I killed trolls... and I had fun doing it, too..." the mage trailed off, a bit of a sparkle in her eye as she reminisced about the troll-sheep that was still lying dead on the island.
"The children? Did you..." the elf's eyes grew wide, terrified of what Arrien's answer would be.
"No! Nonono... in fact..." Arrien glanced around as if checking for someone concealed in the shadows then crossed the room to Tilanne, whispering in the woman's pointed ear, "I helped one of the children escape..."
Tilanne nodded and smiled warmly in approval, "That's what I would have expected for you. You're not like them, Arrien. You have a heart, you have mercy... but that doesn't mean you don't also enjoy adventure and combat. Do you think I didn't have any fun on that goblin ship?
"Well, you looked like you did," Arrien let out a soft chuckle, "but these trolls never wronged me... or anyone, as far as I'm aware. The goblins were ruthless."
"They're not as bad of a group of people as most try to let on, but you're right... those ones were right little buggers." Tilanne laughed, brushing her long blue hair off to the side. "I plan on sticking around on this ship for a while, though... despite some moral problems with the majority of the crew."
"But why?" Arrien asked, her head tilting to the side a bit.
"Because everything happens for a reason... I don't believe in destiny and that our entire lives are doomed to go one way or another," Tilanne let out a sharp sigh, "however, I believe that events happen in life, good and bad, open doorways that may not be readily apparent."
"It seems like my life is steadily set on a rail of late," Arrien grimaced, "I'm stuck on this boat, stuck with people of very questionable morals."
"What are morals, anyway?" Tilanne asked, "Not to say that they aren't without merit... but they're rather objective. Sure, most people will agree that simply killing someone in cold blood or for revenge is evil... not everyone, but most. But what if you have a righteous cause for killing someone?"
"Well, if you have a righteous cause, then... it's okay, right?"
"But what's righteous? Is it okay to kill an evil duke's guards to get to a treasure and distribute it to the poorer masses?" The night elf smiled a bit, "there's really no right or wrong answer... personally, if someone is willing to kill me for their cause, I had better be ready to kill them for mine... or, if you look at it in a different light, make them die for theirs." She chuckled.
"But should I have fun doing it? In setting people on fire and the swordplay and daring?"
"As long as the pleasure is in the adrenaline and not seeing the life drain from someone's eyes. I take pleasure in the fight, but never in killing. It seems contradictory, I know... but I think you completely understand... the destructive capabilities of your powers fascinate you, and you love watching them go through their natural courses and manipulating them in creative ways." the night elf shook her head slightly and hugged the mage, "Listen, my young friend... we shall stay with these people as long as need be. Some good will come of it eventually, whether we can see it or not. I have no loyalty to them, though, nor will I pledge such... did you ever really pledge loyalty?" The mage shook her head in a negative answer, "Then you are free, as well... we can aide them as long as it doesn't offend our moral principles. We walk a thin line, though, Arrien, between good and evil on this ship..."
"I understand that," the mage replied with a gleam in her eye, "and sometimes I think that it's that tightrope walking that makes this life that much more interesting."