Conquest of Avalon

Florette IV: The Initiate

“Would you like to help?” Eloise’s words hung in the air casually, as she weren’t offering Florette her future, even faster than she had dared imagine.

This was it! The moment she could ascend to greatness, pulling a caper worthy of Robin Verrou, with his very crew at her side. From an arrogant Avalon tied to the royal family, no less. It was utterly perfect, as if it had been handed to her by the Sun himself.

“Yes!” Florette bounced slightly on her feet. “Absolutely.”

“Excellent.” Eloise smirked. “Are you going to open that brandy? We ought to celebrate.”

“When the moment’s right.” Flicking her eyes across the darkened streets, Florette settled her hand on the stolen bottle inside her bag. “I was going to find a place to sleep, first.”

“Tired so soon? It’s only a few hours after sunset.”

“Uh…”

Eloise rolled her eyes, shining slightly green in the moonlight. “Here, follow me. I think I know a good place.” She stepped out ahead, continuing to walk north along the street.

Florette grinned as she ran to catch up, nearly tripping on the groove running down the center of the street. “Are you taking me to the Seaward Folly? I’ve always wanted to see it!”

“Ah, no. Currently, it’s at the bottom of the harbor.

“It sank?”

Turning to give her a withering look, Eloise shook her head. ”Not as such. Some prissy noble wanted it hidden from the bard, which seemed sensible enough to me. And it means I didn’t need to spend the whole festival babysitting it.”

“Why would a noble care? I wouldn’t think they wanted anything to do with pirates anyway.”

“You saw yourself that the bard is here, probably reporting everything he sees back to King Harold. It wouldn’t be a great look if a stolen flagship of the royal navy were found sitting in the harbor. Duke Fouchand doesn’t exactly want to publicize how much gold he’s put into buying stolen plans and prototypes from Avalon. Not if he wants to keep up that obsequious façade.”

Florette’s eyes narrowed. “Façade? He surrendered before the bodies from the Foxtrap were even cold. If he were truly against Avalon, he would have continued the war.”

“Ugh,” Eloise groaned. “You sound just like those revanchists from Villemalin. This isn’t about reclaiming the lost empire, alright? It’s about piling our pockets so full of florins that we’ll drown if we fall overboard.”

“Maybe for you.” At that, Eloise only rolled her eyes.

“Villemalin…” Florette continued.“That’s the quartier where people from Malin fled after the Foxtrap, right? Isn’t that the direction we’re headed now?”

“If you can call them people.” Eloise scoffed. “I can assure you, anyone who made it onto those boats was doing just fine. One of my first memories was seeing them escape. I was probably three years old, and could barely see with all the people packed against the pier, pushing and shoving to get a spot on the ships. Some blue-haired lady ordered her guards to push us back and one of them bashed my father’s head in so hard he didn’t wake up for half an hour. Never was the same again, according to my mother.”

“I’m sorry.” Florette reached out to put her hand on Eloise’s shoulder.

Eloise flicked the hand off with a snort. “Don’t be, he’s a prick anyway. The point is, all those people whining and crying about getting a free ticket out of Malin? They’re the nobles, or their guards, their servants. They had it the best of all of us before, and now they’ve got a whole section of this city to themselves. The rest of us had to stay behind and deal with what followed.”

“That must have been terrible.”

“Tch.” Eloise glared at her. “It was what it was. New tax collectors, some occupations shuffled around, and a brutal suppression of any suspected Imperial sympathizers. Aside from the schools they made us go to and the daily executions, things didn’t really change that much. Better than what they did to Refuge, anyway.”

Florette frowned. That was probably true, but the fall of Refuge was a worst case scenario—the total annihilation of a kingdom and its lands. Even a half century later, it was known only as a desolate wasteland; ‘better’ than that meant essentially nothing. “It’s still a perk of the job though, right? You’re earning money, but it’s at Avalon’s expense. Stealing their goods, their plans and prototypes. Like that music box! Magnifico said there were less than twenty in the world! It’s got to be a blow against Avalon.”

“They still have the schematics; it can’t be that hard for them to make more. A blow, maybe, but not much of one.” Eloise clicked her tongue. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter why you’re doing it. You’d hardly be the first idealist aboard the Folly.”

“Aboard?” Florette nearly jumped out of her skin. “Does that mean…?”

Eloise smiled radiantly. “If this job goes well, sure. Captain Verrou wanted some new blood anyway. We lost quite a few crewmates in the last heist.” She chuckled. “That’s the nice thing about piracy; there’s always new positions opening up.”

“Really?” Florette asked hesitantly.

“Well, not for the quartermaster. I’m sensible enough to stay out of the line of fire. I’m sure you could do the same, smart as you are. At least, if you learn to start doing things for the right reasons.”

“And if I don’t?” An existence that cynical and detached sounded rather bleak.

“Hah!” Eloise folded her arms again. “Do you know how long the average pirate career lasts? Five years.”

“Until they retire?” she asked hopefully.

“…In a manner of speaking.”

“Oh.”

Eloise laughed. “The profession attracts a lot of bloodthirsty idiots and would-be heroes. Don’t worry, the odds are quite a bit better with Captain Verrou. His reputation isn’t for nothing.” She pointed up ahead. “Here, we’re almost there.”

As they passed through an open gate, a large swath of tents and wooden houses came into view. Most were painted or dyed some combination of blue and red, splayed out before an enormous complex at the top of the hill to the right.

“Don’t worry. At this hour, there won’t be many people around.” Eloise turned to the left, where a wide wooden boardwalk stretched further north along the coastline, leading up to a large tower poking its way above the rocks. Piers jutted out from the side, maintaining their height as the beach sloped beneath them with stilts sunken into the sand, with nearly all of them attached to enormous ships.

Florette stood dumbfounded. An endless blue abyss stretched out beyond her, reflective like the streams, but a thousand times wider, each wave glinting white as it crested, sending foam against the shore below. “It’s beautiful.”

Eloise stepped up from the dirt, the wood creaking beneath her. “It’s a harbor. There’s one like it in practically every city on the continent.”

“Not all of them, surely?” Florette stepped up to stand next to her, keeping her gaze out over the ocean. “Not all of them are next to water.”

“Most are.” Eloise turned away from the view, beginning to walk up the boardwalk to the north. “It’s the best way to trade, far faster than roads. Of course, I’ve never been more than thirty miles away from a coastline, so that might be a biased way of thinking.” She shrugged. “Anyway, this isn’t what I wanted to show you. Keep following me, and stay quiet.”

“Quiet? Why––?”

Eloise put her finger up to Florette’s mouth with an exasperated glare.

“Right, sorry,” she whispered. “Why do we need to be quiet though?”

Leaning in close, the pirate whispered into her ear, her breath feeling warm against the cold of the night. “We’re passing by the Temple of Levian. The old sage is always there at night, and if we wake him he might drown us.” She stepped back and shrugged. “You seem fond of the ocean, but I assure you, it’s far less interesting when you’re buried half a mile under the water.”

She said that almost like she’d been there before. “What––?”

“Later!” Eloise led her to the very northern end of the boardwalk, up to a large canvas structure that looked almost blue in the moonlight. An orange light flickered from within, likely someone’s lamp. She pointed to the left, up a wall of rock spiralling out from the beach, then gripped a small indent as she placed her opposite foot on a grounded rock near waist-level. “Follow the path I take up.”

Up? Well, nothing for it but to go along. Florette watched Eloise carefully, taking close note of her slender legs as she positioned them in just the right way to maintain her balance. The rocks were fairly steep, but not without their hand and footholds, and it wasn’t terribly different from venturing off the path back around Enquin to get a better view.

Some sections seemed slick with water, but Eloise tested them with a fraction of her weight before choosing the ones to rely on, so as Florette followed after, those spots were trivial to avoid.

The view from the top was absolutely astounding. The rocks stretched out into the sea like a tail, narrowing to a point at the far end as they descended into the water, waves buffeting against them and spraying droplets of salty water into the air.

“Not bad, right?” Eloise positioned herself sitting on the rock, her back against the tower rising further behind them. “It’s hard to find spots to be alone in the city, but it’s even harder when we’re at sea. Manning the crow’s nest is the closest you can get, there, and there’s nothing relaxing about that.”

Florette sat down next to her, reaching into her bag for the brandy. “It’s amazing. Thank you.” She futzed with the stopper at the top, trying to rip it out.

“You should see it when it’s raining. It kicks up the sand at the bottom; even more striking. Of course, climbing up here when it is carries a high risk of slipping and breaking your neck.” Eloise reached over to grab the brandy, effortlessly twisting the top off. “And don’t thank me. I hate it when people do that.”

Florette raised an eyebrow. “What, give thanks?”

Eloise nodded, tipping the brandy back and taking a long sip. “I never say ‘thank you’. That’s part of what makes me so adorable.” Her tone was completely flat. “Everything I have in my life, it’s something I’ve taken for myself. I like to think everyone else works the same way. Except aristos, maybe. All their shit gets handed to them on a silver platter. But for the rest of us, there’s no point in thanking people for things that ultimately, you deserve the credit for getting for yourself.”

“Hmm.” She grabbed the bottle and tilted it back. The rush from the Singer’s Lounge had begun to wear off, so it was pleasant to rejuvenate it, especially in such an auspicious circumstance. “That sounds fucking stupid to me. No one ever really accomplishes anything alone.”

“Hah!” Eloise doubled over laughing, punding her fist against he wall behind her. “Here, give me that.” She took another swig. “My point, Florette, is that you’re selling yourself short by giving credit to other people for what you accomplished. Even people as amazing as myself. Take this view: I showed you the way, sure, but only because of how well you acquitted yourself back at the Singer’s Lounge.”

“You said I was sloppy.”

“Of course.” Eloise waved her off with a floppy hand. “You were a disaster. But you’re new. You’re learning. I was still impressed enough to take you up here. That’s you, not me. So you shouldn’t thank me. Thank yourself.”

“I don’t know about that.” She took another sip of brandy before passing it back to her companion. “I think if everyone thought that way, it would be unbearable.”

“Good thing it’s only the best of us,” Eloise said wryly, though the smugness sounded affected, like it was some kind of joke. But then, it was hard to tell with her.

“It seems to me like most people probably are sick of being around themselves. Think about it: you never get to do anything you aren’t around for. Like, you climb up here, and there you are. You drink this brandy, and you’re the one drinking it. Everything you experience, you’re there for it. There’s no escaping your own presence, no getting out of your own head.”

“Profound.” Eloise held the bottle up to the moonlight, examining the label.

“What are you looking for?”

“Checking for hallucinogens like marigold, or nightshade. You sound like one of those bug-eyed festival people talking about your prophecies and vision quests, so convinced of their importance.”

“Prick.” Florette stared at her unamused. “I suppose your philosophy does fit the pirate’s life pretty well. You’re stealing, taking advantage of whatever situation comes your way to better your own life… But even then you’re collaborating with your crew, right?”

“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes, shining an even brighter green away from the oppressive glow of the streetlamps. “The point isn’t to say, ‘fuck collaboration’, it’s to take credit for what you accomplish. Other people are useful, but ultimately where you go in life depends on you alone. Here.” She raised the bottle. “To Florette, initiate swindler, who didn’t do terribly, considering it was her first try.”

Since they didn’t have cups, Florette simply grabbed the neck of the bottle to hold it along with her. “At least it was good enough to impress.” There was an awkward moment when both of them tried to sip from it at the same time, but Florette aborted the effort and let go, allowing Eloise to drink long and hard.

“Are you going to be alright climbing down?” Florette asked as she took her turn grabbing the bottle.

“It’s fine. I’ll be sober by the time we climb down.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“How long are we staying up here? I have to meet my friend at the pier tomorrow.”

Eloise smiled. “You said you didn’t have anywhere to sleep, right? So I figured we could just stay the rest of the night here, climb down in the morning. It’s only a couple hours away anyway.” She patted Florette on the shoulder. ‘If you want to doze off though, I can watch you, make sure you don’t fall into the water.”

“I’ll be fine.” It would hardly be the first time she stayed up all night, and none of the prior ones had been for anywhere near as good a reason.

She didn’t realize she had drifted off until she felt Eloise shaking her awake. “Hey, Florette, didn’t you say you had a rendezvous to get to around dawn? The sun’s going to rise soon.”

“Ugh.” She shut her eyes tightly. “I said tomorrow, not dawn.” She lifted her head from the shoulder it had been resting against, reaching her hand through her bag to ensure that everything was in its proper place.

Eloise raised an eyebrow as she did, but said nothing.

“Fernan’s an early riser anyway. It probably would be better to see him sooner rather than later.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

“I told you, I don’t––”

“And I told you that was fucking stupid. You’d think a quartermaster would have a better memory.” Florette smiled at her as she stood, examining the light shining off the water beneath them.

“I’ll have you know that only yesterday, a noble called it charming.”

“Sincerely, or sarcastically?”

Eloise winked, then began climbing down the rocks, her feet testing each spot as she descended. Following the trail was a bit more difficult from this vantage point, but descending was easier in general, and the hand and footholds held just as firm.

“Meet me here tomorrow, around noon. I’ll have more for you by then.” Eloise patted her on the shoulder once they were on solid ground again. “In the meantime, I leave you to your meeting. I’m sure it’s terribly important.”

“See you then!” Florette waved at her as she began walking down the boardwalk.

She and Fernan hadn’t specified which pier to meet at, but the harbor was only so large, and she could afford to walk back and forth a few times. If he still weren’t there, she could find a café to wait in, or something along those lines.

Fortunately, Fernan was already there, leaning against the wooden railing of the southmost bridge out to the water. Mara seemed to notice her first, turning her head to face Florette as her mouth opened, presumably telling Fernan.

The fire in his eyes perked up as he faced her in turn, his eyebrows rising in tandem. “Florette!”

“Correst,” she said as she got closer. “Were you expecting someone else?”

He blinked. “I didn’t even know if I’d find you here. You just walked out of the bar with a wave, no goodbyes or explanations or anything!”

“Well, we said we’d meet here if I had to leave early. That was always the plan.”

“It was. I remember.” Mara flicked her tongue to her eye in an incredibly unsettling fashion. It was lucky no one else seemed to be around at this hour.

“Thank you, Mara.” Fernan didn’t sound particularly pleased at the correction. “I guess I was just surprised that you needed to. Things seemed to be going just fine! You got to meet Edith Costeau, you had that weird new drink, you…”

“I got invited to join Robin Verrou’s crew.”

“Yeah, you––What?” Fernan blinked, though the green glow still shone from beneath his eyelids. “When? How?”

Florette folded her arms, leaning against the railing. “I impressed his quartermaster. She said if I help her with one job here in Guerron, I’m a sure bet to follow them out to sea once the festival ends.”

He shook his head back and forth, as if shaking off imaginary water. “Well that’s good, right? You were always telling me stories about him, and talking about wanting to get as far away from Enquin as possible. What’s the job?”

“Uh…” She frowned. “Stealing something… a piece of Avalon technology…” With a sigh, she uncrossed her arms. “They want me to help steal Magnifico’s music box.”

“Well, you can’t. Absolutely not.”

“I can’t? Since when do you get to tell what I can and can’t do?”

The fire in his eyes burned larger, to the point that she could even feel the heat from it. “Since the livelihood of my entire village is on the line, and Magnifico is the best chance I have at saving it! How could you agree to that?”

“It’s my decision. It has nothing to do with you or Villechart. He’ll never even know it was me.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” Fernan clenched his fists. “Even if it’s a perfect crime, it’s going to distract him a lot. The more he has to deal with, the less time he has to help. I need him, Florette.”

“You don’t. He’s scum, directly serving the family that––”

“I know! I’m not saying I like it, but I don’t have a choice!”

Florette wrinkled her nose. “You never think you have a choice, Fernan. You always just follow the path in front of you, without any critical thought. You became a scout because it was expected of you; you became a sage by accident; you came to Guerron because of a plan your creepy alderman and I came up with! If Mara hadn’t burned you, you never would have seen anything more than half a mile outside the path between Villechart and The First Post until the day you died, because you’re that complacent..”

“Like you’re so much better? Charging off into the unknown, brazenly ignoring the risk that you’ll die, or worse? It’s not fair.”

“Learn how to make your own decisions!” As she shouted it, Mara wrapped herself protectively around Fernan’s legs. Of course.

Fernan took a deep breath. “Fine. Here’s a decision I’m making all on my own: If you try to steal from Magnifico, I’ll stop you. I’ll tell him, report you, get you run out of the city, whatever it takes. I have to save my village, and I won’t let you get in the way.” Mara exhaled smoke to punctuate the point.

Florette felt the anger bubbling in her, her narrowed eyes staring down his flaming green points.

For an agonizing moment, neither of them said a thing.

She thought of Eloise, and Robin Verrou, and then the smug bard enrapturing the very people that his dynasty had conquered and subjugated within living memory. The lives they had taken… It seemed like such an easy choice.

But Fernan was right. If this prick of a bard was the only way to save his village, she couldn’t jeopardize that. Even if it might cost her her future. “Fine. I’ll tell the quartermaster to wait until your business is done. She should listen to me, I hope.” And if she doesn’t? All hope of joining the crew could disappear in an instant. “This had better be worth it, Fernan.”

He breathed a long sigh of relief. “Thank you. I know what this means to you; I hope you know how much I appreciate it. I can already tell you it’s worth a lot, since I’m relying on Magnifico for a meeting in just a few hours. He’s taking me to the Spirit Quartier to see Lord Aurelien Lumière, High Priest of Soleil. And our best hope.”