She sat still, with her feet planted on the table in front of her. She was looking down at some old documents, reading them over and making sure that everything was in order. She was sitting inside the captain's suite inside the Black Dagger. Most of her crew was off somewhere in town, enjoying their next few days off before they once again set sail somewhere new. Erika didn't particularly spend a whole lot of time off the ship. She could find as much pleasure here as she could anywhere else, she figured.
Her bow was standing leaned against her chair and her dagger neatly placed along the inside of her booth. She never went anywhere without it. Even though few people knew of her and what she was, one could never be sure. This world was dangerous.
She heard the door open and without looking up, she knew who it was. The gentle shuffling noise told her everything she needed to know; it was subtle, though she had been around him enough to just know. "It's a little late for you to be out here, isn't it?" she asked, finally, lifting her eyes to look upon the familiar face. A coy smirk formed on her lips and she put the documents on the table and leaned forward, arms folding as she did so.
Trevor did so enjoy venturing out of his estate and wandering about the darker areas of Goldcrest. He never truly felt at home among the wealth and affluence he'd attained over the years, rather he much preferred to walk amidst the 'common folk' who made up the backbone of any society. In truth, Trevor didn't put much stock in the machinations of nobles or royals. He found most of them to be disconnected from their people and intent on furthering their own agendas at the expense of the men and women who worked their fingers to the bone to build the very empire the nobles laid claim to.
But Trevor's political beliefs were neither here nor there. Even though he portrayed himself as a man of the people by hiring from the ranks of refugees and those of lesser family lineage, he was out to serve himself above all else. This was why he had made the trip all the way from the Palladium Square down to the docks where the Black Dagger was moored. He hadn't seen the ship, or its captain in weeks.
"It's always in my benefit to keep close tabs on my investments." Trevor remarked, a smirk of his own having already been spread across his face. He glanced around the captain's quarters, but only just briefly. Very little had changed since the last time he had been inside. "I take it your latest excursion was... successful?" He inquired curiously, his eyes falling upon the ship's captain. "I have associates who are interested in what you may have stumbled across during your journey."
"Investments," she mused with a nod. "Can't argue that." Erika's brown eyes never once left the older man standing in front of her. It was a habit of hers. She didn't really see him as a threat, but still. Keep your eyes forward at all times. Her former captain had taught her that. At the next question, the brunette's smile strained. Only a little, though. "I'm not sure successful is the word I'd use, but I suppose it'll still benefit us."
"As do I." Her smirk returned then as her eyebrows rose. She wondered briefly if Trevor had already gotten the news about her new "shipment", though she figured it didn't matter one way or another. After all, he knew what kind of business she took part in and what kind of missions she picked up from the thieve's guild.
"Excellent." Trevor rarely let on that he didn't know more than everyone else in the room and this was no exception. He was all too aware of what Erika was referring to and, while he didn't dabble in such endeavors himself, there wasn't much that happened in the shadows of Goldcrest that he didn't know about. "I trust it wasn't too difficult to secure your cargo?" He chuckled lightly. "You always did have a knack for getting into places you weren't supposed to be."
The merchant crossed the room and slowly, almost cautiously took a seat across from the table where Erika sat. He issued a low sigh and shook his head. The cold of night was aggravating an old injury. "I am curious." Trevor said after a moment's deliberation. "Is the reward worth the risk?" The smirk had fallen from his face, replaced with an expression of genuine interest and, perhaps a faint trace of concern. "If we're referring to the same 'cargo' I think we're discussing, I hardly need to tell you the punishment for such transgressions go far beyond liberating a trade ship of its shipment of Astilonian royal's undergarments."
The brunette's smirk widened and she shrugged lightly. "You would know, wouldn't you?" He was clever, she had to give him that. It was rather ironic in a way, but she had proved herself in more ways than one. "Well, if you look away from the fact that I got the wrong cargo, I'd say it worked out rather well." In a way, she could work this deal out as well. It wasn't exactly what had been asked, but it could potentially end up being even better.
Erika fell quiet at the man's words, contemplating them in silence. He had a point; a point she'd considered more times than one. It was a risk. A risk neither of her crew members could afford, though, if worst came to worst, she'd take full responsibility. Perhaps it was a little naive of her. "What's a life without risks?" she finally returned, her head tilting in equal amounts of curiosity. "Sometimes you have to bet on the lesser horse to make a change."
Flattery tended to get someone everywhere when it came to Trevor. Erika's comment was met with a light chuckle and a shrug of his shoulders. She wasn't wrong. He really was far more clever than most people realized. He would never let anyone know that, of course. It would ruin the surprise when he proved to be more clever than them.
"Wrong... cargo?" Trevor didn't like the sound of that at all. In spite of Erika insisting circumstances were actually better because of this, Trevor couldn't help the frown that pushed aside the smirk for the time being. All Erika's talk of risks and betting did little to ease his mind. There was a reason he stuck with the thieves guild and didn't dare venture beyond the scope of their operations. He was already a wealthy man. Rumors of his involvement with liars and thieves could be easily dismissed. Accusations of more serious crimes such as murder and kidnapping weren't so simple to make disappear. He wasn't desperate enough to risk being executed just to make a few coin.
"Oh, believe I understand the concept of risks all too well." Trevor said thoughtfully. He paused then, his brow furrowing before he shook his head. "I'm sorry. Before we get further into this, if you don't have the targeted cargo in your hold as we speak, how, exactly, can this situation be working out... better?"
Erika was still young. She knew that. She still had much to learn about this world and the business that went about within it. She was still a naive twenty-four year old. As much as she wanted to prove how well she could do this and prove her former captain right by picking her, she often got ahead of herself. She could talk about risks all night long, but it still wouldn't change the fact that she had no idea how all of this would turn out.
"Simple," she replied, all signs of humor gone from her face. "We have his daughter." They hadn't announced the fact that she'd been kidnapped yet. She figured she'd let the cluster die out before they asked for a ransom. Perhaps even show the girl the live she and the other nobles forced upon the less fortunate. Erika had no plan. At least, not a well-thought out one. That much was obvious. "Whether I request a ransom or ship her off to anyone willing to pay a lot for her, I'll still get more money for her than the man himself." It bugged her and her moral compass; but in a world like this, could you survive with a moral compass?
She felt more torn now than ever before. They were supposed to get the girl's father, an adult, full grown man and not a young girl, barely having started on her life.
Trevor sat, dreading the answer before Erika had gotten the chance to speak the words. When she did, he visibly winced, cringing as his mind instantly began to spin. There was so much that could go wrong. So much that could find her contending with the wrong end of a hangman's noose and him at her side simply for having knowledge of the crime. Trevor may have understood the concept of risk, but only when the rewards of success outweighed the price for failure. This was certainly not the situation where the best case scenario came close to justifying the risk of the worst case.
"Are you insane?" Trevor blurted the words out with an incredulous laugh. It was one thing to kidnap a man of wealth and affluence, another to kidnap his daughter and something wholly different (and mental, in Trevor's opinion) to talk of selling the girl. "Would you really see that girl shipped off to the Coterie?" Trevor wasn't chastising Erika in the slightest. He trusted her possibly more than he should which made his opposition to this entire debacle a bit of a contentious subject with him. "They're the only ones you could possible sell this girl to that wouldn't immediately turn you into the Guard."
The mention of the Coterie had the brunette tightening her jaw. The idea of meddling with them, not only because of her heretics, but in principle was enough to make the brunette cringe. It was a low blow and Trevor knew it. She could tell him over and over again that this hadn't exactly been her plan and now that things had happened, she could only make the best of a already terrible situation. But she figured that would only prove fruitless.
Instead, the brunette issued a sigh. "No," she replied then. She had no plans of selling the girl to the people she had spent so much time keeping a distance to. Rising to her feet, the brunette walked over to the window and looked outside at the town covered in darkness. The only visible lights came from the nearby inns and torches marking the streets.
Trevor exhaled sharply, his eyes glancing down to stare not at, but through the table in front of him. He hardly wanted to evoke the name of the damned mages that had brought about such destruction and bloodshed but sometimes reality was a harsh mistress. No matter how prepared Erika was to do what was necessary to dig herself out of the hole she'd fallen into, Trevor knew she couldn't do it alone. She was talented, of that he was sure. Skilled beyond her years at what she did best. But Erika, for all her abilities, was not as adept at handling the business side of things as Trevor and he had made a pact to himself that no financial gain was worth risking his neck for.
"If you'll allow a couple of your men to remain here I can hide the girl in one of my warehouses until we can arrange a ransom." Trevor said after a long silence. "I'd go to the Marauders or the Union to watch her, but the fewer who know about this the better." He chuckled softly, mostly to himself as he could scarcely believe the words that were passing through his lips. "We can send a courier to present a note with your terms with the girl's estate." Slowly Trevor's eyes slid across the room and settled upon Erika's back. "But what will you do if they refuse?"
She remained still, staring out the window as Trevor spoke. She didn't want him to get involved. She was stubborn and could feel the words rise in her throat, wanting to tell him to stay out of it as much as possible. After all, this was her problem. She'd gotten herself into this mess. "You shouldn't get involved in this more than what you already are," she said as she turned, her eyes meeting his. "This is our problem, not yours."
"We're setting sail in a few days and until then, the girl is somewhere safe where no one can find her." Well, no one of great importance, anyways. "She and we will be much safer out on the open sea." She didn't particularly like having the girl tucked somewhere in a dirty warehouse. The girl had yet to see any of their faces; they'd made sure to keep their identities as concealed as they possibly could and would keep doing that. "And if more problems arise, we'll just have to deal with them the best way we know how to."
Trevor knew damn well he shouldn't get involved. Just sitting here and being privy to such talks went against every rule he'd set for his business practices. It was foolish to meddle in these dangerous games and he'd seen the falls caused by the hubris and pride of those who saw themselves as untouchable. "I know." He said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. Slowly, using the chair he had been sitting on to help, Trevor pushed himself up to his feet. "But the simple fact remains you can't see this through safely on your own."
He gave a shrug of his shoulders as he crossed the room to stand beside Erika, pausing long enough to take in the outline of the city through the window. "It's not ideal, I know." Trevor said with a nod. "Time isn't your friend, Erika. Your best course of action is to move quickly." He cast he a short glance. "And if the family should come through, how will you manage to get word of the family's compliance and return in order to make the trade? Your ship pulls into the harbor just in time for a ransom to be paid?" His head shook again. "It could raise suspicion. I can keep her safe while you set sail." He said. "I can charter your ship to deliver a shipment I have waiting to go to Westwind. You can make some easy coin all the while relieving yourself of any possible suspicion."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Erika pursed her lips. "You're getting too soft for your own good." There was a small smile playing on the brunette's lips, but it didn't last long. "No, you're probably right." She supposed she'd ought to feel grateful she had someone looking out for her, though, she wasn't entirely sure why. She wasn't about to ask. He had his reasons and she had no right to ask for them.
"At some point I have to learn how to fix my own mistakes," she continued as she glanced over at him. "I can't expect others to do it for me whenever I screw up." She held up her hand then, as if to stop him if he wanted to shoot in. "I know the risks are great and that I'm toying with things I shouldn't. I know the possible and likely outcome of this, but I have to go with my gut feeling here." She didn't expect him to understand or agree with her, but it didn't change the fact that she had to make the decision that involved less people. "She'll remain on the ship until I decide how to proceed."
"I wouldn't call it soft so much as merely offering to do what I do best." Trevor chuckled and cast a short glance in Erika's direction. He tended to keep his true motivations hidden and this was no exception. While he trusted Erika and, in many ways believed in her ability to handle herself in situations he'd find himself lost there was no denying having someone like her owing him a favor was a precious commodity worth far more gold than he could hope to gain from this endeavor.
At least Erika knew when she was in over both of their collective heads. Trevor nodded. Even though he didn't agree that he was bailing her out so much as lending his expertise to the situation it was apparent she had the confidence to continue pushing forward with her plan. Of course he'd assumed from the beginning she had outlined a course of action and now, upon hearing the stern way in which she insisted on seeing it through, Trevor had no choice but to concede. "Very well." He said. "I should have trusted you'd have it all figured out."
Trevor paused, but only for a moment. A bit of a chuckle escaped then. "So I take it you'll be accepting my offer to charter the Black Dagger anyway?" He asked. "Unless you plan on travelling in a circle while you wait to figure out what to do with your cargo."
Grinning, the brunette walked over to the cabinet at the other side of the room and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Of course," she replied without missing a beat. "You know us pirates can be awfully clichè." She winked at him as she placed the glasses and the bottle on the table. "Life doesn't stop simply because you're stuck." And it would be good for all of them to have something else to have their minds on than what to make of the girl they'd gotten their hands on.
She poured the liquid into both of the glasses and offered one of them to Trevor. "You should join us sometime. Unless you're afraid your land legs won't bear the sea." She couldn't really picture it, though, Trevor hanging out with pirates out on the sea. It didn't really seem fitting, though, she'd surely enjoy the company. Her crew wasn't exactly the most refined of men. They were pirates, after all.