Author's note

Well, true to the reputation of my home country, I am currently sitting in the middle of a frigid Canadian summer. Seriously, it's freezing outside. At least I find myself with more time to write, since most of my time is spent indoors now.

Disclaimer: Guess what? I own nothing in this story except the OC. Shocking, I know.

Chapter 15

Sienne

It was a long ride into the harbour as our boats wound their way through the busy waters. All manner of ships were coming and going, from fishing boats and trade cogs to nimble frigates and great, looming battleships. It was a cramped and occasionally nerve-wracking trip, but it was worth it when after what felt like an eternity at sea I finally stepped off the rowboat and onto solid ground. Well, solid dock, at least. The important part was that ground was only a few dozen yards away. Understandably eager to get back to land, I took a hurried step forwards, only to have the whole world sway under me and send me stumbling into a nearby dock worker.

"Watch it!" he snapped irritably when I nearly knocked him into the water.

I mumbled an apology and tried walking again, slower this time. Sure enough, the world kept on swaying, and while I kept my feet under me I must have looked thoroughly drunk to anyone watching. I glanced back to see Boyd and Ilyana were having similar difficulty with this whole walking business. We were all so used to the constant rocking of the ship that solid ground actually felt like it was moving. It was a little frustrating, but the sensation faded with time. Several more boats reached the dock behind us, and the rest of the mercenaries wasted no time disembarking. It took a few minutes, but we all adjusted to the unmoving-ground-feels-weird business, and stumbled our way off the docks. A group of Holy Guards, complete with their pegasi mounts and a squad of mounted knights, awaited our arrival. Their leader, a tall, blue-haired woman who looked like a valkyrie straight out of Norse legend, urged her mount towards our group.

"Princess Elincia of Crimea, I presume," she stated when she was close enough. Elincia nodded and curtsied politely. The valkyrie before us continued. "I am Sigrun, Commander of the Holy Guard. I understand that you desire an audience with my lady, and she is most eager to grant your wish. If you would come with me, I will take you to meet with the Apostle and the Senate."

"Let us not waste any more time, then," Elincia said with a severity I had never seen from her before. "My people suffer with each delay."

Sigrun and her knights led our little procession through the cobble streets of Sienne. The city was clogged with people, and peddlers and merchant stalls lined the streets. Contrary to the picturesque city shown in the game art, the buildings and people around the docks and harbor were shabby and quite obviously poor. The streets were home to as many beggars as rats, harlots leaned enticingly out the windows of several inns and taverns, while the shadowy forms of pickpockets and thieves loomed in every alleyway. Despite all that, our progress was not hindered in the slightest by the throngs of people in Sienne's streets; Everyone scrambled to het out of the way of our procession, looking upon this group of heavily armed, blood-spattered foreigners with a mix of horror and curiosity while lowering their heads respectfully to the knights of the Holy Guard.

As we drew further inland, things began to resemble the Sienne of the game a bit more; The streets were wide and well maintained, the buildings grew larger and more opulent, the fishwives and peddlers were replaced by merchants selling exotic foods and expensive clothes, the brothels were fewer in number and much classier, and the rank stench of the poor districts faded to only a vague hint of manure from passing horses. There were still hundreds of people in the streets, but they kept to the sides so that the carriages of the rich could pass easily. It was there, at the center of Sienne's richest and most extravagant district, that we finally reached the Mainal Cathedral, a towering structure that dwarfed the nearby buildings. Only the princess and Ike went in the front entrance, and our escort led the rest of us to a servant's entrance in the east wing. We were greeted by a pompous and somewhat frazzled steward, who bustled about frantically trying to get everyone to their rooms while complaining bitterly about the short notice and the smell of our bloody, sweaty and unwashed group.

"Goddess, this place is fancy," Neph whispered in awe as we followed the unlucky steward down a spacious hallway on the second floor.

"I know, I feel all rich and pretentious already," I chuckled. One side of the corridor was covered with beautiful tapestries, while the other held dozens of windows looking out over a courtyard below.

"This is not fancy, you fools! These rooms are merely extra barracks to house the knights and retainers of visiting lords. Only your princess is of high enough station to stay in the guest rooms. Goddess, what was the Apostle thinking, letting these peasants and barbarians stay in my precious wing!?" the steward moaned when he overheard us. "Oh, surely it will smell like a pig sty in here before the week is through!"

No matter what the steward said, these 'barracks' were some of the nicest rooms I had seen in a while, certainly the nicest I'd seen in Tellius. My room wasn't huge, but the bed was soft and devoid of bugs, there was a large basin to bathe in, a mirror on the wall above a smaller basin for rinsing hands, as well as some chairs and a chest for personal belongings. Servants came to fill the basins with steaming water, and I wasted no time depositing the contents of my pack into the chest and then hopping in the tub. It was the first real bath I'd had in weeks, and the water felt great on my sore muscles. I nearly fell asleep, it was so comfortable.

As soon as I was clean I hopped out, towelled off, pulled on a simple tunic and pants, and made my way over to the small basin on the wall. I had to pause when I saw my reflection in the mirror; The face that stared back at me was not one I recognized. My hair, once cropped brutally short, had grown long, and my face was covered by a short beard. I mean, I had always been aware of these changes, I'd taken to tying my hair back with some twine about a month or so ago, but that knowledge had not prepared me for how... different I looked. Come to think of it, there was something more than just the hair and beard. I looked... older, for lack of a better word. Nah, it has to just be the beard. What I wouldn't give for a razor right now! Right on cue, there came a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called, tearing my gaze away from the stranger in front of me and turning my attention to the visitor. It was one of the servants, a young girl no older than Rolf.

"Wit th' seneschal's regards," was all she said as she handed me a straight razor and a pair of scissors. She excused herself hurriedly, leaving me alone again.

I smiled inwardly at the none too subtle hint to tidy up my appearance, and set about tying to cut my hair and shave. I cut myself several times, but once I got used to the straight razor the shaving part was easy enough. I had a somewhat tougher time trimming my mop of hair down to its usual length, and while the end result was not very pretty, at the very least it was short again. A few dabs of salve from a spare vulnerary to heal the razor cuts, and my face was once again recognizable. I was just putting the razor away when my door was thrown wide open and Boyd came barging in.

"C'mon, Adam, you've been in here for ages! I want that drink you owe me!" he bellowed.

"Yeah, sure, come on in, don't bother knocking," I grumbled in response. I'd hoped Boyd would forget that bet. "Fine, I'll be out in a minute. But this time, let's pick some place that's not really sketchy."

"Yeah, no problem, I saw a great place on the way here," Boyd replied innocently.

Somehow, even though we were in the richest and nicest area of Sienne, Boyd was able to pick out the seediest tavern around. And he had to look hard for it, too; The entrance was halfway down a dark side street, sandwiched between an inn that charged by the hour and some sort of apothecary that, judging by the number of armed guards, looked like a front for some less-than-legal business. Fortunately, we made it into the tavern without incident, and as per our agreement, I went straight to the bar and bought the first round of drinks while Boyd went looking for a table.

"What is that?" Boyd asked when I got back, looking incredulously at the drinks.

"Milk. It's good for you," I said nonchalantly. Boyd sputtered incoherently, so I smiled evilly and explained myself. "You never specified what drink I had to buy, and I like milk. So there, I bought the first round of drinks, and my debt is paid." The milk was cheaper than ale, too.

Boyd grumbled unhappily as he took his glass of milk. "Well, fine. Help me find a table, this place is packed!" Sure enough, every chair and stool in the house had at least one person sitting on it, and it looked like we would be hard pressed just to find standing room. The majority of the clientele were massive sailors, easily a head taller than Boyd and I, and boy were they drunk!

"Weird time of day for so many people to be out drinking," I commented. Someone nearby heard me and turned to explain.

"S'not weird, we be celebratin' our victory on the high seas!" the sailor proclaimed proudly, slurring his words. "None can stand against th' Chimaera an' live ta tell th' tale!"

"SEND'EM TO TH' BOTTOM!" the man's friends cheered heartily, slamming their flagons of ale together before draining them in one gulp.

"Wait a second, isn't the Chimaera that ship that-" Boyd started to say, but he was interrupted by a yell from the middle of the tavern. There, seated around the largest table, sat none other than Captain Nedata himself, the very pirate- sorry privateer- that saved our hides earlier that day.

"Fancy seein' ya here, lad!" He bellowed as he waved us over. "C'mon, ye sea slugs, clear outta them chairs an' make room fer our guests!" He snapped to the crewmen sitting at his table. Two of his crew jumped right out of their seats, and motioned for us to sit. Boyd sat down in the chair furthest from Nedata, clearly uneasy to find himself surrounded by pirates twice his size. I took the seat closest to the burly pirate captain and nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks for the seats," I said graciously to our host. I elbowed Boyd, and he mumbled something more or less grateful. I returned my attention to Nedata, curiosity getting the better of me. "So, you said you would tell me one day how you got so successful; Now seems like a good time."

"Indeed I was, but I gots one condition, a trade if ye will; I'll tell ye me story, but only if ye tell me yers in return! From the looks o' yer companions, I'm bettin' it be a good one!"

"We've got time, don't we Boyd?" I said, snickering a bit at Boyd's obvious discomfort. After all, he wasn't used to being one of the smallest people in the room, and these pirates- sorry privateers- made even Boyd look puny. "Lighten up man, these guys are good people, trust me," I murmured to him.

"We've an accord, then!" Nedata exclaimed. "Bartender, another round!"

I quickly lost track of time as we swapped stories with Nedata and his crew. Once Boyd had a few drinks, he relaxed and proved to be a capable and animated storyteller. I was content to let him do most of the storytelling, adding in bits whenever he missed something. I even heard some stuff from before I joined the mercenaries, including a battle at the Gallian border where, according to Boyd, he single-handedly held off a force of Daein soldiers, and then proceeded to kill their commander and receive much praise and adoration from the other mercenaries. Not sure that one was entirely true, but I wasn't there so I kept my mouth shut.

Nedata's story was as good as our own. It seemed that he and his crew came to Sienne and made enough money as minstrels to fix up their ship and even add some improvements, such as the naval ram they used just hours ago to sink one of the Daein ships. But more importantly, they learned that Begnion, and Sienne in particular, was the biggest center of illegal slave trade in Tellius. Now, Nedata hates slavers with a passion, that much is clear. Why, I don't know, and he wouldn't tell, but it was obviously a hate he'd been carrying around for some time. Naturally, when a former pirate finds himself with a fast, battle-ready ship and his most hated enemies all around, there's only one course of action; He and his crew returned to the sea, and began hunting slaver ships. The pirates would disable the slaver ship, board, slaughter the crew, liberate the slaves, and take all the money and loot. Half the earnings were given to the slaves so they could buy food and passage home, and the pirates kept the rest. In just a few weeks, they'd liberated ten shipments of laguz slaves, sank another seven ships before they could pick up their living cargo, and even located and subsequently burned a few hidden outposts used to to hold slaves until they could be shipped off for sale. Naturally this drew the attention of the Begnion authorities, and it wasn't long before the Apostle, known for her stance against slavery, sent her Holy Guard to investigate these vigilantes. One thing led to another, and soon enough Nedata was officialy employed by the Apostle herself as a privateer. In fact, he'd just returned from an attack on a slaver outpost near Phoenicis when he came across our battle and rushed in to assist.

"Wouldn't do fer th' wee Empress ta be sent ta Shanty Pete's locker. She's a fine young lass, an' one o' the few good'uns in this durned city," he explained. "Y'know, once she finds out yer group's a bunch o' mercs, she'll likely be puttin' ya to work. After all, she gots enemies on land too."

I remembered that in the game the next battle was against a slaver caravan, but I feigned ignorance in the interest of conversation. "You don't say? More slavers?"

"Oh yes, tons o' them, but there be others too. Small groups o' rebels an' bandits be all over this country, and then there's them damned Senators!"

"The Senate?" I asked incredulously. In Path of Radiance they were all a bunch of fawning sycophants and useless politicians. Certainly none of them would be a threat to their own Apostle.

"Aye, they're the worst. They act nice an' loyal in public, but they're power-hungry cutthroats, one an' all. The Empress an' them don't see eye t' eye on most anythin', so they're always workin' against her behind th' scenes," Nedata said, lowering his tone and scowling. "If they were on me crew they'd get the lash fer goin' against their Cap'n, don't ye doubt, but here, they're slippery devils an' none can put a stop to 'em!"

"Well, as long as their ambitions don't get in the way of Princess Elincia's goals..." I said, making a mental note to warn Ike and Elincia about the ongoing power struggles. It could affect negotiations.

"I hates ta say it, lad, but they just might," Nedata replied darkly. "Bah, enough o' this morbid talk, we'll worry 'bout enemies an' politics later. This here's a celebration, so let's get to celebratin'! Here's ta one more ship sent to the deeps, courtesy o' th' Chimaera an' her crew!" Nedata bellowed, drawing cheers from all his men. He drained his ale and unleashed a hearty belch. "Bartender, another round! An' keep the ale comin'!" A few drinks later the whole night turned into a drunken blur, and I have absolutely no memory of what happened (although Boyd claims it was epic).

I woke up in my room the next morning with a splitting headache, severe nausea and no idea how I got there or why a half-eaten meat pie was sitting next to my bed. "I am never, ever, drinking again!" I vowed before retching violently into a bucket.

A/N

Sorry that took so long, but at least it wasn't three months. I have good news; I plan on increasing my update speed for the summer, hopefully updating every one or two weeks. Oh, and the next chapter will be a little longer and less stale, I promise. This one was more to introduce Sienne and set the scene for the next series of chapters. Okay, review response time.

Archsage12: It is a huge relief to know that I am writing Al right, because she is currently one of my favorite characters to write. Thank you for all the extra detail on the character template, I just hope I can continue to do Al justice.