So Many Questions

[Ashley Logan]

Ashley hadn't intended on doing anything more than stand idly by and keep an eye on the wealthy merchant who had hired her.  She wasn't fond of ships or long distance travel but the coin was too good to pass up and contracts such as this were few and far between.  While the ship was out to sea there wasn't much she could do.  Her employer was in no danger, or so he claimed, leaving her to her own devices.  She explored the ship a little and struck up an unlikely friendship with the boatswain, whom she'd learned was a veteran of the war.  All in all, the entire trip so far had been uneventful and, Ashley had to admit, a little boring.

The angry shouts coming from the mess room changed that.

Ashley didn't know who the blonde woman brandishing the knife was but she was quickly able to figure out at least a few things.  First and foremost, it was obvious the blonde didn't belong on the ship.  Her clothes were finely crafted and not befitting those of a seafarer and the clumsy way in which she handled the blade, taken from one of the angry crew members no doubt, made it clear she was no warrior.  Ashley didn't believe for a moment the woman was a threat of any kind, but she couldn't very well allow a cantankerous, knife wielding lady to rampage around the ship.

The ensuing melee lasted mere seconds and a well timed strike with Ashley's bow opened a nasty gash above the blonde's eye.  Ashley had deftly relieved her of the knife and handed it back to its rightful owner, allowing the crew to swiftly take hold of their captive and drag her back to her room.  Ashley couldn't help the small pang of guilt that came with the scene.  Ashley didn't know this woman or why she was there.  It was apparent her employer had left out a number of details leading the mercenary to question the real reasons she'd been hired.

Ashley waited for the crew to calm down before making her way to the room with the blonde woman locked inside.  After giving a quick glance down the corridor, Ashley undid the latch and carefully pushed the door open.  She peered in for just a moment then slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.  "Hello?"  She asked hesitantly as she shrugged a small, leather satchel off her shoulder and held it with both hands.

[Ellen Orland]

Ellen has had a lot of life experiences being on this boat, The first time she’s been on at sea. The first time she’s experience, living in squalor. The first time in her life she ever felt truly dirty in her life….


And she can add being punched in the face to that ever expanding list.


Oh, she’d admit. The captain had been more than hospitable to Ellen in the last few days and made her living quite a lot more simple… but instead of being grateful for the slightly lessened captivity Ellen had the exact opposite viewpoint. He saw it as a weak point she could freely and expertly exploit, when the time was right. All Ellen had to do was to exercise patience wait until defences were lowered. Wait until her presence on the boat wasn’t considered all that unusual until it got to a point where she became just another passenger on the ship and then?


Then Ellen took advantage


Ellen couldn’t say she didn’t get some amount of enjoyment out of snatching the knife from his belt...Finally. After so long she felt that she was finally taking the power back. She was in control of the situation at last….and that lasted until he got smacked in the face with a bow and the world went dark.


She sat there in her room. Cold. humiliated and her eye-smarting , she knew full well there was a nasty discolouring around her eye, but she didn’t want to bring herself to looking at the mirror. This was a new low she was mad. So mad and the worse part of it was that she was powerless to do anything about that.


She didn’t even bother looking up when she heard the door creak open. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, she knew what was coming anyway. It was just another pirate come to gloat or maybe if she was lucky she would be privileged enough to listen to another of the captain’s sermons “Get. Out” She snarled in a sharp warning tone

[Ashley Logan]

Ashley was, most certainly, not a pirate. While hardly dressed in the fine silks of a noble she wasn't prone to wearing clothing usually attributed to a mariner. Unlike the Dagger's crew who opted mostly for loose fitting attire suited for moving quickly about and climbing, Ashley made use of light armor to afford her some manner of protection in martial combat. She had only recently suspected why she'd been instructed to wear her usual equipment despite being hired for a ride on a ship. Unfortunately, that reason had little to do with the cantankerous noble she was visiting.

"That was quite a display." Ashley said, not bothering to acknowledge the noble's demand. She wasn't angry in the slightest at Ellen's sudden outburst, rather she was quite impressed. It wasn't often she met any member of nobility with that sort of edge. It was refreshing and, Ashley had to admit, more than a bit intriguing. "You got tunnel vision, though." She leaned against the nearest wall, crossing her arms over her chest and watching the blonde woman. "You lost focus and that's why I was able to sneak up on you."

[Ellen Orland]

No Ellen wasn’t looking at the….Well, it seemed to be a woman who had the pleasure of addressing her this afternoon. Not that Ellen was giving her any real notice, after being hit in the face and humiliated once again. Ellen decided not even extend these pirates the courtesy of eye contact with these people. She didn’t even want to even acknowledge their existence, they REFUSED to give them the satisfaction of thinking any of them better to Ellen for even a moment.


It was the little things that cheered Ellen up.


So Ellen just sat there on the edge of her bunk gingerly pressing her hand against her bruise, winching under her breath in pain, what does one do with a bruise? Should she put something on it? Or just let it heal. She’s never had such a massive bruise on her face before and nor did she have any intention of ever being hit…


Despite her silent vow not to acknowledge the girl, she tensed noticively once she revealed that she was the one that actually hit her, she mulled this over in her mind a little once again prodding her bruise once more “When my father gets here...and he will” She began between prods “I’ll be sure to tell him. To give special attention to you.” She paused letting her words linger in her visitors ears “You can go now..”

[Ashley Logan]

Ashley stayed quiet for a long while as Ellen finished her threat and subsequent dismissal. Brilliant, azure eyes dropped to the wooden floorboards beneath Ashley's feet. Ellen's words carried more weight than she knew. That's what all this was about. The entire reason the ship was barreling through the darkened, chaotic waters of the Shattered Isles was to escape the ire of a father attempting to rescue his daughter. It must have been a force that would rival the most powerful mages of the Enclave if these fearless pirates were risking a horrific death in order to escape Admiral Orland's vengeance.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your father's fleet stopped giving chase over a day ago." Ashley lifted her gaze now and studied Ellen. Her brow furrowed then and moved forward, crossing the room with a sort of curious intent in her motions. "By the gods that's an ugly cut." She said, wincing as she drew closer, leaning in a bit in an attempt to get a closer look at the gash above Ellen's eye. "I'm... sorry." She sighed apologetically and glanced down to the satchel she was carrying. "Here." She opened the flap and started rifling around with the bag's contents. "The least I can do is... tend to it."

[Ellen Orland]

On the admittedly large list of things that Ash could have said to gain Ellen’s attention that would be right at the top.



Ever since Ellen had found herself unfortunately in the lovely “Black Dagger” despite her clear front she put on she was afraid. Of course she was, she defied anyone not to be afraid in the same situation but she managed to keep herself calm, she didn’t have fate in well...anything in this life, but what she did believe that her father would move heaven and hell to make sure she was safe. Ellen piece of mind purely came from the fact she was secure in the knowledge that her father would be coming for her in a matter of days, she would be ok and this nightmare would be over sooner rather than later…



….and this girl just ripped that safety net from her.



A cold streak of dread went down her spine and her face slightly lost colour as she finally turned her head and examined the girl’s face trying to figure out if she was bluffing or not...eventually she shook her head “No…” She muttered before repeating it with a lot more force. “No, you’re lying. He would never turn around. He wouldn’t leave me here.



He wouldn’t abandon her..Right? No, he couldn’t….



Ellen was still wrestling with this news when she noticed this girl start to approach her, getting way closer then she would have liked she instantly flinched back with her lips curled never one to enjoy someone getting too close in her personal space as she leaned back slightly “You’re done enough” she snarled almost instantly like a wild dog growling when someone goes to pet it “I don’t need ANY tending”