Chapter 14: What Friends Are For

The boat trip back went in silence. The whole time Castorius stared at the back of Roggie's head, thinking how stupid it looked to him right now, how he would just like to pick up one of those oars and give it a good clout.

Exercising utmost force of will, he kept his hands on his lap, and focused instead on not retching over the side. The wind was picking up still, and even this close to the shore the waves were making him feel queasy. Especially after such a big meal.

Two men from Malaney's crew accompanied them. The one rowing was the same one that had picked them up. Not a talker, him. Castorius hadn't heard the fellow utter a single word the whole time, and found it refreshing. It was possible the Captain had cut the man's tongue out on account of some more or less imagined offense. Or could be he was one of those rare types of men Castorius had heard of, who loved other things over the sound of their own voices.

Or, possible still, this was one of those men—even rarer in fact—who were wise enough to know that more often then not running one's yap served little but to get one in as deep a shit as imaginable.

The other man said nothing either, but wore the suggestion of a self-satisfied smile that made it obvious he was less likely to possess the sufficient self-restraint to keep his mouth shut indefinitely. Castorius had not see the man aboard the Brinerunner, and supposed he must have been a less important member of the gang. This was also perhaps hinted at by the fact that, unlike the other pirates, he was actually dressed in a proper shirt. Otherwise the man, with his long and flowing blond hair, was pretty much the picture of a Nord. In truth, Castorius thought that if there was an illustrated book of different races, this man would probably have his picture under the entry for that dominant race of Skyrim.

Castorius found he did not particularly care for this one either.

He stifled a sigh boiling within him; there was already plenty of moving air blowing about.

When the boat's bottom scraped at the sand, it was not a moment too soon. Castorius was anxious to get on shore, but had to wait for Roggie and the smug northern fool to exit before him. When his feet finally touched solid ground, he made a solemn vow to never again leave it, only to have his heart subsequently fall out at the realization he was more than likely to return to that floating house of misery real soon.

The rower, as soon as he'd managed to dispatch his cargo, made no needless courtesies, and just detached his boat from the shore as Castorius had barely gotten his feet out. He watched the man gain distance for a few seconds, unable to keep himself from admiring the man's efficient mode of conduct. He wished he could shake off this whole disaster as nonchalantly but, alas, was stuck with his present company. Which, apparently, now also included this shirted pirate oddity. Did the other fellow forget him?

Not likely. The Nord was smiling at the wind-ravished, murky beach as if he'd never seen a prettier piece of land in his entire life. On the other hand, he was from around here, so that probably didn't land too far off the mark. And even though the man had to squint his eyes to keep the wind from blowing sand in them, his face was beaming as if warmed by the loving caress of the early afternoon sun.

Who is this moron, and why is he here?

Roggie apparently had no pickle with the man's presence. He looked at the fellow and then Castorius, like they were all part of the same happy pack, exhaled in satisfaction, and said, "Well, this started well, don't you think?"

The shirted Blood Horker opened his gap to reply, but Castorius cut in before the man had a chance to make his insipid contribution.

He pointed his finger sharply at Roggie. "You and me, we need to talk."

Roggie, smiling, looked at the pirate, and shrugged.

"Oh by all means," the man said, smiling also.

Castorius was getting tired of seeing people with stretched out lips and bared teeth. Started to look more like an insult—or perhaps a warning, like that of a wolf or a dog about to bite you. Why did everyone have to act like animals? What ever happened to good old civilized, dignified solemnity?

He shot a glare at the pirate, trying to establish a sort of "I don't recall asking your damned permit"-look, but it clearly went unheeded. The man nodded cordially, like what he'd read into the look was just the opposite.

Castorius walked Roggie out of earshot, gave him what he supposed was a hard glare. "Explain. What's going on here?"

Roggie sighed, and shook his head softly. "Simple, dear Castor. We do a little favor for the good Captain as an exchange for his loyalty to the Stormcloaks."

"Uh huh. I'm sure it'll be real simple. What sort of favor?"

"Oh, nothing illegal," said Roggie. "Well, too illegal anyways. At least not from a moral perspective."

"Out with it!"

Roggie shrugged. "We're going to steal a ship."

"I see." Castorius honestly didn't even know how to react anymore. Probably he should have been shocked. Oddly, he was not. "Well that shouldn't be too hard to do."

"Sarcasm isn't really very becoming on you, you know?" Roggie clapped a hand on Castorius' shoulder. "Don't worry, we've got a solid plan." He grinned. "One, in fact, in which you have an important part to play."

"I'm not killing anyone."

"Fear not," said Roggie, laughing. "Most likely it will not go that far. I should think."

"Roggie . . ."

"Don't worry, no need for you to get your hands dirty." Roggie hesitated, then added, "Well, at least not in that way," grinning like the bastard he was.

Castorius narrowed his eyes. "Pretty fast you come up with a plan."

"Oh, Castor. You know me better than that. It's obvious this was already settled some time ago."

"So all this," Castorius said, gesturing towards the Brinerunner bobbing up and down in the waves, "just a ruse?"

"No, not exactly. The Captain did want to personally meet you before accepting you into the plot. He doesn't exactly extend his trust freely, that man."

That hardly came as a surprise. "Then what was the point of having Skald come in the first place?"

"Well, for one, to humor him. To make him feel like he has an important part to play, and thus confirm his loyalty." Roggie scratched his chin. "Second, to intimidate him. Figured talking to the Captain himself would take care of that. And once he's realized what sort of people he is dealing with, he won't dare to back down. A good way to confirm a man's loyalty."

The shaken look in the grumpy old Jarl's eyes had certainly been worth seeing. "Clever," Castorius said.

Roggie tapped his forehead with a forefinger. "Don't let anyone ever tell you I don't think of everything."

Castorius looked at the ship, sitting ominous in the mist, and shook his head slowly. "So this was all your idea. Is Ulfric behind you on this?"

"Well," said Roggie, stretching the word. "Not exactly, no."

Castorius' gaze was drawn off the ship, back to Roggie. "Guess I should have known," he said. "What then?"

Roggie's smile was like that of a little boy caught in a lie, and who did not care. "Ulfric would not exactly condone any criminal action to forward his goal."

"He is looking to hire pirates," Castorius pointed out.

Roggie shrugged. "Desperate times, desperate deeds, and all that. But he made it clear he would not allow for soldiers under him to break any laws. Ulfric has all the intention to take power lawfully, I believe. So that makes him very particular about his conduct, and the conduct of his underlings."

"For all the good that's doing him."

Roggie shrugged again. "What you don't know can't hurt you." He flung his arm around Castorius, gave gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Listen, this has very little to do with Ulfric. This here? This is for us."

Castorius raised a brow. "Oh, so it's us now, is it?"

"Indeed it is. The future of Skyrim may be Ulfric, or it may be the Empire still, but one thing's for sure—men like you and me still got to live in it. So we have to think about ourselves."

"Uh huh."

Roggie gave no sign of picking up on Castorius' skeptical note. "Ulfric gets the idea that he'll have the Blood Horkers at his back, he'll be too content to figure out we have business of our own with them. We get paid, no one gets hurt." He spread his arms. "What could possibly be wrong with that?"

Castorius had a couple ideas at hand about what could be wrong with that—what likely was wrong with it. And, based on his experience, when the words "no one will get hurt" were said, it usually meant that somebody was most certainly about to get hurt. Badly hurt.

"What makes you so damn sure I'll go along with this?" Castorius had about had it with being pushed around by this or that person. Time to at least appear to have some backbone.

Roggie's expression of pitying amusement conveyed no sense of taking seriously this newfound defiance. "Come, now. I may be just the best friend you've got. The only one, for all you know."

That's horse-crap! Castorius wanted to scream. Surely it was not true, was it? Was it?

Might have been.

Having given Castorius a while to reply—or, in this case, not to—Roggie pushed the matter further. "It is like I said, I don't really know what either Torygg or Ulfric have in store for you. I have no real idea how they really see your role in all this, but I'm ready to bet neither would shed many tears should you die in unclear circumstances." He paused, probing for a reaction. "And, in fact, at least Torygg may even be counting on it."

Ignoring the uncomfortable connotations, Castorius narrowed his eyes. ""Is that a threat?"

Roggie threw up his hands, eyes wide. "By no means! What do you take me for?" A conniving, possibly back-stabbing, and positively honorless bastard. "I'm simply making an observation here, my friend."

"And somehow you're going to help me out of this, is that what you're saying?"

A shrewd, mischievous expression spread on that irritating face. "No, it's not. I don't work miracles. But what I am saying is you have take matters in your own hands." He put up his hands, stuck out his lower lip. "Or not. It's your choice really. The way I see it is you can either count on that whatever the big men have planned will end up working for your benefit . . . . " He smirked. "Are you a betting man, Janus?"

Now more than ever Castorius wanted to sink his fist into that face.

When he made no reply, simply stared at the man sullenly, Roggie gave a soft laugh. ". . . or you can do something to better your own chances." His smirk melted away, and he grabbed Castorius by both shoulders. "I can help you, Castor. To help yourself. And we can both help each other, and—more importantly—we can help ourselves."

Castorius couldn't help the question escaping his lips as he studied the supposedly earnest features of his so-called friend. "Do you believe in anything?"

Roggie pulled away, as if he was for first time during this whole outing mildly affected by what Castorius had said. "Interesting question," he said. His hand went to a chain hanging around his neck, and his expression became vacant. "I think so," he muttered. "Used to, anyway." He pulled at the chain and took an amulet out of his shirt. He looked at it, frowning softly. "I do carry this around."

"What is it?"

"Amulet of Talos. My sister gave it to me once. Sort of carry it for good luck. Or something."

"Didn't take you for the pious type."

Roggie's smirk returned. He tugged the thing back into his shirt. "Well, I'm not." He looked at the sea and took a deep breath. "More than anything, I believe in opportunities." His eyes fixed on Castorius. "And you have to admit that Ulfric has a pretty good case. Things he says, they make sense in their way. The Empire, in many ways, has run it's course. People, and that also goes for provinces, have to look ahead. Think about the future. Cause it's coming, no matter what."

"Didn't take you for a political philosopher, either."

"That, either, I am not. I don't claim to know a whole lot about these things. But what I do know is how to look after myself. And I know that you do too. And I have a strong feeling that men like us would be better off with Ulfric as High King, with Skyrim independent, than we are now with the Imperials in charge."

"Imperials, you say?" said Castorius. "Roggie, I am an Imperial."

Roggie wagged his finger. "Uh uh," he said, "you're a Cyrodiilian. That's different."

"I see," said Castorius. "And you think the people of Skyrim would see eye-to-eye with you on that one? That if Ulfric somehow managed to throw the Empire out of Skyrim, that the people here would not see me as just more Imperial scum? As a remnant of the supposed tyranny they just disposed of?"

"Oh, they probably would," Roggie conceded. "But if you played your cards right, you could be rich imperial scum. And that makes all the difference." He slanted a knowing leer at Castorius. "The womenfolk would probably like it."

Try as he might to resist, that familiar feeling was slowly starting to take him. That nebulous mix of trepidation and exhilaration in the face of some choice he knew he was going to take. A choice that might land him flat on his face in dung-heap, or alternatively allow for him to stride right up the hill, and to rise above the stink.

Make it or break it.

Gold. Prestige. He could feel that sweet promise again, as if Roggie was dangling it right in front his face. The old fantasies sprung up, the ones that had kept him up so many nights. Wealth. Respect. Adoration. Men, with sheepish faces, sucking up to him. Women, their worshiping eyes, lining up to—

"I can see my words have struck a resonance," said Roggie, smirking like a thought-reader.

Castorius found he was chewing pensively on his lower lip. He made himself stop, and tried to dispel the greedy thoughts arisen in his mind. Instead, he creased his brow into a wrinkle, doing his best to narrow his eyes to hard slits, not entirely sure it was working. "I can see you are trying to appeal to my vanity."

Roggie shrugged. "You've got to work with what you got."

Oh, touche. "You're still going to have to do better that that."

"What, keeping you alive, rewarding you with riches, and offering a way to better yourself not good enough? You're one tough customer!"

"Oh, yes. You've been a true friend. Such an ungrateful wretch I am!"

"There's that sarcasm again," Roggie said flatly.

Castorius let his gaze linger on Roggie's eyes a while, then switched from the ship to the pirate waiting for them, seemingly whistling. He fixed his eyes on his would-be partner in crime. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Roggie spread his arms. "Do this one thing with me. If everything doesn't work to your liking, just say so, and I'll get you your compensation. Then we go our separate ways, never to bring any of this up again. That sound good?"

"And if I decide to back off, there won't just be a knife in my back?"

Roggie gave an amused sniff. "My friend, that knife could be coming no matter what you do. It's the nature of this world. But in any case, it won't be coming from me."

"Or from our Captain?"

"You met him," said Roggie. "Saw what sort of man he is. And he knows you exist. That's all I can say."

That did not do anything to soothe Castorius, but he had a bad feeling that this had already gone too far for second guessing. Plus, the promise of finally getting to better himself tickled his insides. He certainly had made no progress on his own so far. His efforts, it had to be admitted, had been downright pitiable. And, as little as he may have liked it, he was ready to admit to needing some help.

Not to mention, that besides wanting to more or less bash the man's head in himself, Castorius could not help thinking of what Malaney had said about Roggie. Should he be warned? "You know . . . " he started, not knowing how to continue.

"Yes?"

"Do you, um, trust the Captain?"

"What?" Roggie let out a raucous laughter. "Trust him? A good one, Castor!"

"Well . . . "

"Ha!" Roggie slapped this thigh. "Trust him, you say? That's real fresh."

Castorius decided to try and get past the possible ridiculousness of his original question. "Doesn't it concern you at all if you also find him so untrustworthy? I mean, to be working with him and all?"

Roggie had that look again, like teaching a particularly dense child. "You don't always get to choose those you work with. You just have to do your best, look after yourself and all that. Ultimately, it comes down to a certain amount of luck. Can't factor in every single risk."

Every single risk like, say, being disposed of by a deranged pirate captain? Still, Roggvir had a point. You couldn't play games with criminals and expect nothing but smooth sailing. Castorius wanted to say more, but bit his tongue. Every sensible bone in his body told him to back off now, to tell Roggie he wasn't going to be part of it. Go back to Ulfric, and hope for the best.

He scratched his chin, the stubble on it having grown long enough to be itchy. "So, what, we steal a ship?"

Roggie smiled, and thumped him in the back. "You're making the smart decision, are you? I knew you would."

"We'll see about smart," Castorius muttered.

Roggie started to shove him back towards the Nord pirate, who was in the process of casting small stones across the water, trying to make them skim the surface—mostly failing. "I don't want to give away too many of the details of the job. It might, you know, ruin the surprise, if you will."

Castorius was not a friend of surprises. "I don't know about this—"

"Worry not, my good man. There will be plenty of time to go over it come tomorrow morning."

Maybe I could still get out of this, Castorius thought, though he knew that to be mere wishful thinking. Suddenly he felt really irritated. "So what's with the pirate?" he asked, gesturing at the man, his annoyance rising past the point where he could care less that they were back in earshot.

And, sure enough, the man appeared to have heard him. He turned to face them, and grinned at Castorius. "Oh, I'm no pirate."

Castorius frowned, stopping in front of the man, his hands on his hips. "No? Then what are you?"

"I'm just like you: an adventurer."

"Uh huh."

Castorius had some idea of what his role in the great scheme of things might have been, but he decidedly did not concider himself anything like an adventurer. Adventurer of pleasures if anything, but any other kind of excess excitement he considered to be nothing but unnecessary nuisance. How foolish it was, to be asking for any more trouble than one was due by the sheer fact of having been born into this world of woe and idiocy!

At that thought, the fiend of self-reflection threatened to rear its ugly head, but Castorius stomped it down with firm determination.

The no-pirate had the smirk of an unruly dog that had just pissed on your favorite pair of boots. Castorius was weighing sufficiently firm words to tell him to wipe it off his face with, when Roggie stepped between them.

He clapped a hand on the man's shoulder. "This here is Radd. He's good people, I can tell that from experience."

The two shared a grin, and Castorius was stripped of all doubt these were indeed two great minds alike. Oh gods, just what I needed!

"That's right," said Radd the Adventurer, putting his hand in turn on Roggie's shoulder. "Old partner in crime, so to speak."

"And to speak truly," Roggie added, and they chuckled, making Castorius want to stick his fingers in his ears.

"So what is he doing here now?" Castorius made no effort at all to cover up his true feelings, nor did he care to direct his words straight to the man himself.

Roggie seemed content enough to speak for him. "Well obviously he's going to join us for our little commission."

"That's right," chimed in the man himself, "I'm here to help you fellows out."

"I got that," Castorius said, deciding not to even look at the man. "I meant what was he doing on the ship in the first place if he's not one of them?"

Radd the Adventurer just shook his head softly, looking more amused than annoyed at being ignored.

"Works for them, of course," Roggie replied.

"I see," said Castorius blankly, not really seeing it.

"You see, the Blood Horkers are something of a loose collective, and they employ those they have use for at the time, even work together with other pirate gangs where it benefits them. And though they do have a leader, the captain of each ship has a relative amount of autonomy. That allows for men like Captain Malaney, men with their own way of conducting business, to thrive while continuing to serve the general purpose of the Horkers at large."

"Opportunities all around, then."

"Yes, my sarcastic friend," Roggie said, pointing his finger. "In fact that's exactly the thing here. And nothing brings more opportunities than war. Even the possibility of one!"

"War and crime—the perfect match."

Roggie grinned. "As inseparable as whorehouses and gonorrhea."

As, I'm sure, you're very aware of. Castorius sighed, jerked his thumb at the Nord. "And let me guess: even he has a more or less clear idea of the details of this gig. Am I the only one left in the dark until the very last minute?"

Roggie looked to be thinking about it for a while. "Yes," he said.

"Oh." At least he's honest about it.

"Don't take it the wrong way. It's just I think I have a very good idea how your mind works, and it would only make you over think it, had you all the details in advance. Trust me, you'll, uh, perform much better if you don't spend all night thinking about it."

Castorius kept silent a while, then nodded. "Alright, I trust you."

Roggie's brows shot up, and it was almost as if he just stopped himself from saying something like "really?" In its stead he also nodded. "I'm glad."

Radd the Adventurer stepped between them then, and placed his arms around both of their shoulders. "There now, isn't that better. I'm glad we're all getting along now."

Castorius vacillated between punching the man in his grinning teeth and grabbing his arm to try to break it, but instead feigned the most strained little smile in the history of forced simpers. He even made himself look at the man briefly in the eye. "Indeed."

Radd turned to Roggie. "I still have business to attend to. Shall we meet you at the Solitude docks, then?"

"That we'll do. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, don't be late."

Radd put his hands up. "Would I ever?"

Roggie snorted, and the man gave the briefest of bows of courtesy, and took his sneering self elsewhere.

Once Radd was gone, Castorius frowned at his friend. "We're stealing the ship from Solitude?"

Roggie shrugged. "Yeah. Something wrong with that?"

"Something—" Instinctively Castorius lowered his voice and looked around. He realized then they were still out in the wilderness, and the Horkers and seagulls were unlikely eavesdroppers. "Yeah, I'd say there's a little something wrong with that." He spread his arms. "The most guarded place in the whole of Skyrim?"

Roggie smiled. "Don't worry your pretty little head with that. There's no reason for us to cause any fuss. Nobody will ever even notice."

Castorius fought the very strong urge to argue any further, but managed bite his tongue. He knew by now it would have been useless anyway.

Roggie yawned. "Any more questions, or can we head back to tell Ulfric the good news? I don't know about you, but I for one would like to also get some sleep tonight still."

"You go on ahead," said Castorius. "I also have some business to attend to."

Roggie raised his brows and smirked. "Yes, of course. I know you do."

"Not what you'd think."

"I'm sure it's not. Just don't use up all your energy, if you know what I mean. You'll be needing it tomorrow."

Castorius waved away Roggie's innuendo, and they went back to their horses.

It was true Castorius would have rather confirmed Roggie's suspicion, but he did actually have something else on his mind now besides fooling around. Something he needed to do.

"Meet me at the camp, then?" Roggie asked.

"There, or if I take longer, at the docks. Ten was it?"

"Ten," Roggie nodded.

Castorius ignored the look Roggie gave him, and gave his horse the spurs. "Alright, then."

He hoped he wouldn't have to see Skald's furrowed face upon his visit to Dawnstar. The mugs he hoped to see there were ugly enough on their own.