Previously, on Pirates In Love...

He didn't answer and just rolled over. I got bored and started humming, quietly enough that no one would hear me. It made me a little more comfortable. Eventually, a couple guards came by to relieve the first shift of their post. They talked about what there was for supper. Russell was right. It made me hungry listening to them. I had crawled over to the cell bars and peered out down the hallway. I could barely see their backs. Two of them walked out and the door slammed shut behind them. I looked around at the other cells. Some of the other prisoners had also come up to the bars to see what was going on. One of them looked familiar. I gripped the bars and pressed my face up against them.

Alex - "Hey, you!"

The man looked at me, surprised.

Alex - "Yeah, you! You're a merchant, right?"
The man crawled closer to the bars and whispered. "Yes… How do you know?"

I looked over at Russell before answering. He was sitting up against the wall, snoring.

Alex - "Back in Hoenn, you sold a map piece to my friend. Do you remember?"
Merchant - "Hmm… I remember that a little. He was quite rude."
Alex - "Yeah! Did you find out anything about where it came from? Do you know of any more maps?"
Merchant - "Do I work for you? No, I don't know anything. I just sell it to anyone who'll believe it's worth something.
Alex - "... So, you're a hustler."
Merchant - "What's it to you? But that stupid map is what's got me in here."
Alex - "How? We have the map."
Merchant - "You have a piece of the map. I bought another one off another… merchant. Hoping someone would pay as much as your friend did for it."
Alex - "That doesn't explain why you're here."
Merchant - "Ok! I didn't buy it. I took it from the Duke. And now he's caught me and he took the map."

I thought about it for a moment. We needed to get that map, and we were already within the grounds…

Alex - "Do you know where the Duke is keeping the map?"
Merchant - "... I might"
Alex - "Ok, how well do you know his place? Enough to sneak us in and out?"
Merchant - "Why would I do that for you?"

I looked over at the guards. They were loudly talking about whores at a nearby brothel.

Alex - "We're gonna break out soon. I can take you with us and in return, you help us out in the Duke's mansion."

The merchant thought about it for a minute.

Merchant - "I could be a dead man either way… Fine, I'll do it."
Alex - "Perfect!"

I noticed a symbol stitched onto his breast. It was awfully familiar… Thomas' keepsakes!

Alex - "Hey… Are you from the Reiz?"
Merchant - "... Does it matter?"
Alex - "It does! In a good way! You seem to be a map savvy man, can you tell me about any maps in Reiz?"
Merchant - "There's plenty of maps, usually in the possession of upper class men. You gotta be more specific, girl."
Alex - "Any treasure maps, ones that would be hidden or buried somewhere?"
Merchant - "Did you pop out of a fairytale? You want some stupid rumours about maps?"
Alex - "Yes! Tell me!"

The merchant sighed. "There is one rumour about treasure maps being hidden on Prica Island. It borders Moldor and Reiz, doesn't really belong to either empire no more what with no one livin' there. Used to be a place of great commerce, lots of rare stuff passed through. Maybe yer dumb map's there."

Alex - "Really… Thank you for telling me!"

I remembered Thomas' story. Would he even want to go back there? Ultimately it was up to the Captain, so it didn't even matter if he wanted to go… Should I even tell the Captain about Prica Island? Maybe I should tell Thomas first… I battled with my thoughts for a while before giving up on making a decision. I kept getting distracted by my rumbling stomach anyway. I shook Russell awake.

Alex - "Should be the next shift change soon. And, I got some info about the map."
Russell - "What?"
Alex - "That merchant over there, Eduardo and I met him in Hoenn. I promised to let him out with us so long as he helps us steal the map from the Duke."
Russell - "We already got the half that's here in Moldor. What map piece are you talking about?"
Alex - "It… uh… the Duke! He came back from the Reiz with a map piece. The merchant stole it and got caught, and that's why he's here. He knows his way around the Duke's mansion, he can help us!"

I hated lying to Russell, especially after he saved me, but I couldn't betray Eduardo either. I felt that I needed his permission before telling anyone else about his other motive. I was hoping Russell would believe me.

Russell - "... Alright fine. But we need the rest of the crew. We'll take him back to the ship."

I really wanted to get the map tonight, we were already here, but this wasn't an operation for a wounded pirate, a girl, and a merchant. I agreed with Russell. He told me his plan for breaking out and then we waited for the guard to change.

As the guards were busy chatting with the new shift, Russell took a pin out of his boot and picked the lock. He clicked it open, but left it as is as if it were still locked. We waited for the old shift to leave. He nodded at me.

Alex - "Hello? Excuse me?"
Guard 1 - "What?"
Alex - "I'm so thirsty… Could you spare a cup of water?"
Guard 1 - "Ya can wait!"
Alex - "Please, I'm so thirsty, I'll do anything!"
The guard walked over. "Anything huh?"
Alex - "There must be something I could do…" I reached out and traced a finger down his chest. I looked into his eyes like I had done to countless men at Sirens. The guard smirked.
Guard 1 - "Maybe there is…" He grabbed my hand forcefully.
Guard 2 - "Hey!" The second guard walked over. "You know she's tricking you, right?"
Guard 1 - "Ah, so what, not like she can get out, right?"

He flicked the lock on the cell door which popped open.

Guards - "Huh?"

Russell busted out and grabbed the guards, throwing them into the cell. I ran out and he slammed the cell door behind me, locking it.

Guard 2 - "You idiot!"
Guard 1 - "They're the idiots, we have the keys. We can get out easy!" He patted around his waist for a bit before realizing he didn't have them.
Alex - "You mean these keys?"

I held up the ring of keys I had nicked off the first guard. They charged at us angrily, reaching through the cell bars trying to grab the keys from my hand.

Guard 1 - "You won't get away with this!"
Russell - "Yeah, we'll see 'bout that." He punched the guard in the face.
Guard 1 - "Argh! Bastard."

We unlocked the cell the merchant was in and let him out. Walking past the other prisoners, I promised we'd be back to let them out as well. We found our weapons in a small room in the corner of the jail. We had just finished putting them on when the door to the jail burst open. The merchant hid behind both of us and we readied ourselves. Someone must have heard the stupid guards yelling. A pair of boots, a red coat, and a feathered hat came into view.

Alex - "Captain!"

The rest of the crew came in, dragging in some unconscious guards.

Morgan - "Haha, looks like you didn't need our help after all!"
Alex - "Actually, we do! There's a map piece in the Duke's mansion."
Morgan - "Hm? We already got a map piece in Moldor… who's this?" Morgan pointed at the merchant behind me.
Alex - "This is the merchant Eduardo and I met back at Hoenn."

Eduardo looked up at me. I hoped that he'd get the hint.

Alex - "I mean, this merchant says it's valuable. Maybe it's part of another map set, for more treasure? Worth a look ain't it, and we're already all here."

Morgan, Eduardo, and Christopher all looked at each other.

Russell - "I thought you said -"
Morgan - "I like a good midnight raid. Let's go!"

Russell looked at me suspiciously. I avoided his gaze. We formulated a plan where half of us would head back to the ship, helping the prisoners escape along the way, and the other half would infiltrate the Duke's mansion. We had to be quick about it and finish before the next shift change, or else the alarm would be raised.

Thomas, Russell, and Nathan were to take the prisoners out where they could return home. Russell argued with the Captain, but Morgan said that this was his punishment for getting himself in this mess in the first place. He wasn't allowed on the raid.

Morgan - "You got yourself injured, and put Alex in danger! You can hold your own fine, but you know she's not an experienced fighter!"
Russell - "I could handle them for her!"
Morgan - "Really? Doesn't look like you did a good job."

He prodded Russell's shoulder. Russell winced in pain, looking ashamed.

Morgan - "Head back to the ship. We'll meet you there."

The prisoners headed out and followed the trio back to the gate that Morgan and the others had originally gotten through. Eduardo, Christopher, Morgan, the merchant, and I headed to the southwest corner of the mansion. Along the way I explained what the merchant had actually said to me now that I was with Eduardo's confidantes.

I decided to keep the information about Prica Island to myself. I'd decide later who to tell first. It wasn't important right now anyway. We entered into the mansion through a grate at the bottom of one of the towers. We landed in a basement storage area. Feeling our way in the dark, we found the stairs and started to ascend. We eventually came out into an empty hallway. The walls were decorated with ornate crown molding, expensive hand painted pictures, and a red carpet that stretched all the way down the hallway. It was brightly lit with crystal chandeliers. If this wasn't the house of an arrogant Duke, I might have admired it more.

Eduardo - "And where could this map be in the mansion… merchant? Do you have a name?"
Merchant - "Of course I do, it's Martin!"
Eduardo - "Alright Marty," Eduardo spun his gun around in Martin's face, "Where's the map?"
Martin - "Don't call me Marty, boy. And I don't know! I just know how to get in and out, I don't know where he put it."
Morgan - "... Where is it Martin? Where do you think we should go in the mansion to find it?"
Hm? I thought he said he knew… well, that he might know. Why's he being such a dick now?
Martin - "I said I don't know! I got you in, now can you let me go?"
Eduardo - "It's a little odd you wanted to go so quickly… you're confident you can get out of the grounds without getting caught, huh?"
Martin - "Like I said, I took the map from the Duke, I been 'ere before."
Christopher - "Hmm. You have. And why did the Duke take you prisoner again?"
Martin - "Cuz I have his map! Er… had it."

The three Sirius pirates stared Martin down.

Eduardo - "Give us the map Martin."
Martin - "Never!"
Christopher - "Then we can just wait here until the guards walk by and we'll hand you over and escape on our own."
Morgan - "We can help you out, Martin, just give us the map."
Martin - "..."

We heard a door open and close and footsteps coming from around the corner. The murmur of voices were coming closer. Martin started to panic.

Martin - "Fine! Here!" He took a parchment out of the folds of his clothing and thrust it at Eduardo who had a gun up to his face. "I'm outta here!" He ran back the way we came.
Christopher - "So are we! Let's go Alex."

We all started running down the hallway. We could hear the guards yelling behind us, "Hey! Who's there?" They rounded the corner and started chasing us.

Christopher - "We're only on the second floor. Out that window!"

He jumped and crashed through the stained glass windows. Eduardo and Morgan followed suit. I ran right up to the window then stopped. It was a lot farther down that I thought it'd be. I couldn't do it. I looked behind me to see the guards running at me. I looked back down. Morgan motioned at me to jump.

Morgan - "Just jump!"

I took a deep breath and jumped out the window just before the guards reached me. I closed my eyes, which was stupid, but I was scared. The feeling of falling made my heart skip a beat. I landed in someone's arms. I looked up to see Morgan.

Morgan - "You know I'll always catch you."

I was so relieved. It was the first time I felt comfortable and safe in his arms. The moment was cut short, though. He threw me over his shoulder and started running.

Alex - "Captain?! Captain! I can run on my own!"
Morgan - "This is more fun!"

Bells started to ring out all over the Duke's grounds. We ran through the still unguarded gates and went through the side streets to lose the guards. We headed straight back to the ship. It was time to leave Moldor. Even though we had lost the guards, they'd eventually find our ship.

Morgan didn't put me down until we had reached the deck. The crew quickly pulled in the ropes and the sails caught the wind immediately. We were out of Moldor before the guards even reached the shore.

Alex - "How'd you guys know Martin had the map?"
Eduardo - "You learn to recognize the signs of a weasel."
Alex - "A weasel?"
Christopher - "He agreed to help you didn't he? But he backed out as soon as he was out of the jail cell. Kept asking us to let him go while we walked to the mansion. A man like that has no honour, and is most likely lying."
Eduardo - "We heard about the Duke around town. Martin probably just got caught up in this Duke's imprisoning spree. Also, the Duke immediately hangs anyone that steals from him. Martin just lied to you to get out of jail."
Alex - "Oh…" He hustled me. And I even said that he's a hustler! "I feel stupid."
Christopher patted my head. "Don't worry. You'll learn these things with time."
Nathan - "Oi. What's this nonsense 'bout anotha' map in Moldor?"
Russell - "Thought you said the Duke got it from Reiz…"

Russell was looking at me with his arms crossed. I ignored him and looked away. Balls. He's not gonna be happy 'bout this.

Eduardo - "I suppose it's about time you know…"

Nathan, Russell, and Thomas listened intently as Eduardo recounted his past and his current goals to them. He had kept his Ullr side a secret because of the discrimination they faced in Moldor. They didn't care about that though. They're all throwaways, scum at the bottom of the barrel, the worst of the worst. They didn't care that Eduardo was part Ullr. But they did care about one thing.

Nathan - "... So, you knew?"
I tugged at my skirt, feeling guilty. "Uh, yeah. I found out. It was by accident really…"
Russell - "She knew and we didn't?!"
Eduardo - "Don't drag her into this. It was my secret, you should be mad at me."
Russell - "Ya told a random woman 'bout somethin' so important to ya, but ya didn't care to let us in on it, huh? How many times have I saved yer ass?"
Eduardo - "It's a moot point. She was with me when I bought the first map piece and I said I'd put a bullet in her head if she said a word of it to any of you. It was none of her business."

Eduardo had never said that to me… Is he protecting me? I looked at him, puzzled. Russell was still angry, but he looked more hurt and sad than his usual ferocity. He had opened up to me when we were in the jail cell, only to find out about this… I felt awful.

Eduardo - "Nathan?"
Nathan shrugged. "Eh, I had an inklin' ya were hidin' somethin'. I'm okay with it."
Eduardo - "Thomas?"
Thomas was silent this whole time. He looked to be in deep thought. Finally, he said, "Eduardo… You have my full support!" He smiled.

With the matter cleared up, everyone started to go off and work on their own duties. Eduardo wanted to piece together the map and restore it. Morgan wanted to drink. The rest started to walk away. I looked at Thomas and Morgan. I looked at Russell. I reached out a hand, about to speak out, but I didn't know who to call out to. Should I make sure Russell is okay? What about Eduardo, Thomas, Nathan? Everyone is so cold and tense. Should I tell them both about Prica Island right now? Should I tell Thomas later tonight? Should I tell Morgan first? He is the Captain…

Who should I go to… Who needs me the most right now?

I cause so much trouble around here, I have to do something.

But I didn't know what to do.