Twisted Destiny

Taylor doesn’t really wait until her rowboat gets well and truely to the beach before jumping out, walking towards us with the water standing at about the middle of her leather thigh high boots. In the rowboat I also recognize Auguste, the ship’s cook and two sailors who also look familiar although I don’t think I ever asked for their names. 

“I could hear it was you from all the way over yonder.” Taylor laughs loudly as she approaches. 

“Sorry, that’s my bad.” Élise laughs. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“Aye, that feeling’s mutual.” Taylor reaches her hand towards my sister who does the same, they shake each other by the wrist. “We were just explorin’ the coast as we saw yer little encampment over here. I thought I recognized one of ye through my spyglass and I’m happy that I was proven right.” 

“Yep, do you like our camp?” My sister continues taking the lead in the conversation. 

“It’s a bit rudimentary but it definitely got charm.” Taylor continues laughing and then looks at me. “But it’s got to be said. I heard y’all pulled some big heroics back at the capital. Definitely paid dividends being known as a friend of yours.” 

“There were people in need so we helped.” I reply rather shyly. 

“And that’s why the entire lot of ya are heroes.” She smiles back, lowering her voice a little presumably to make me feel more at ease. 

“Did you get something out of it too?” Hilda asks, smiling interested at our privateer companion. 

“You bet.” Taylor’s grin grows wide. “Cheaper prices for trade, free upgrades to our ship paid by the government, even more so than we already had received. And just a whole lot o’ goodwill in general. Ain’t not that many privateer boats around and it’d surprise you how fast word has spread.” 

“I hope the theocracy didn’t give you too much trouble in the meantime.” 

“Just some more ships that we raided, all quickly stopped after we got the news from the capital though. There were some ships who hadn’t heard the news yet, but luckily we were there to tell them the good news.” 

“At cannonpoint?” Hilda asks. 

“We’d have it no other way.” Taylor winks. “There’s one thing I’m a bit sad about however.” 

“Which is?” It’s Sam who asks this time. 

“Y’all didn’t use the nice flare I gave you.” 

“Sadly enough the capital is quite inland.” Nikki chuckles. 

“Don’t underestimate us, lass. We’d have found a way!” 

“Over a mountain range or through a jungle?” 

“The ways of a pi… privateer can never be trifled with.”

“You were going to say pirate weren’t you?” Lise smirks. 

“I’d get yer ears cleaned, Élise, yer hearing things.” 

“But… wouldn’t that mean she wouldn’t be hearing things…?” I reply. 

“No, I think you got that all wrong.” Taylor returns my message back to sender. “Anyhow.” She changes subjects. “Auguste wanted to come ashore to look for some provisions. Wouldn’t want to get any scurvy on me ship. Would you know if there’s good food about?” 

“There definitely is some fruit you can collect. There’s plenty about and you don’t need to look too long to find it.” Hilda replies. “Probably a good source of nutrition for your crew too.” 

“Would you be so kind to show Auguste and the lads to look? They ain’t too used to land, y’see.” 

“Would be my pleasure.” Hilda gives Taylor a playful bow. 

“Stay away from oddly coloured trees.” My sister adds. 

“Yeah… you don’t have to tell me that twice…” Hilda wipes her forehead of some imaginary drops of sweat before calling over Auguste and the two sailors. 

“That’s rather… specific, ain’t it?” Taylor looks at us with a curious look on her face. 

“We’ll tell you the story.” Lise replies.   

“Aye. I do like me some stories.” 

 

We get around our campfire and sit down to tell Taylor what we’ve been up about lately. First a more detailed explanation of what had happened after we’d split ways, our search for treasure in the mountains, the siege of the Dwarger capital, our travels to this place and last but not least the poisonous trees. In the meantime Taylor had taken out a bottle of rum and was passing it between herself and any of us who wanted a sip. 

“That’s one hell of a story.” Taylor looks incredibly content about the story we’d just told her. “Although I still can’t believe that you actually went and destroyed the Bolasf cathedral. The center of faith of the Osvik theocracy. A symbol of religion for pretty much three quarters of the continent.”

“Well from what I heard he definitely deserved it.” Lise says as she chugs back the bottle of rum. 

“I agree with that.” Sam nods along. 

“Oh, I’m definitely not saying Osvik didn’t deserve every single bit of that. I’m just sayin’ that I can’t believe that it happened. I really wonder what it looks like now. And you said you practically lifted it out of the earth too?”

“Yeah.” I nod. 

“Damn.”  

“Have you ever been to Bolasf, Taylor?” Nikki asks. 

“No, why are ye asking?” 

“It sounded like you knew what the cathedral looked like when it was still whole.” 

“Ah, I do. There’s plenty of paintings of it. There’s very little people back on the continent who haven’t seen it like that, unless you live in a far-away desolate village of course.” 

My sister starts chuckling. “So all those people all know a building my sister has raised to the ground. That’s pretty funny. And it’ll definitely make you more notorious too.” 

“And when the word spreads about the misdeeds of the church. You might gain a lot more followers like that as well…” Nikki ads. 

“Oh no.” I pout. I have been deliberately avoiding looking at those numbers all this time. But I can indeed only assume that the line just went up and up… 

“Doesn’t really help complaining about it.” My sister smiles and hands back the bottle of rum to Taylor. “What has happened has happened” 

“I might need that bottle of rum soon too…” 

Taylor shrugs and offers it to me. “Go ahead. Still got plenty.” 

“I think she was joking.” Sam chuckles. “Ami doesn’t really drink.” 

“Ah. I see. Well, it’s here if ye need it.” Taylor smiles and gives me a wink. 

 

At that moment Hilda comes back together with the sailors and Auguste in tow. They are carrying big sacks, presumably filled to the brim with fruits. 

“This stock will last you a while.” Hilda smiles and sits down on the other side of me.

“And now that we know what to look for, we can resupply anywhere we want.” Auguste raises his hand in some kind of victory pose. 

“As long as you stay around this kind of biome, yes.” Hilda smiles. 

“But we do have to watch out for big uggly firebreathing birds apparently.” Taylor replies, to which Auguste looks at her with a terribly confused look on his face. 

“It can’t fly so you’ll be safe if you stay at sea.” Lise waves away Auguste’s concern. 

August and the sailors join us around the campfire for a bit as well. We chat with each other for quite a while longer. When the sun starts setting, Taylor finally gets up, with surprisingly steady legs for as much rum as she has consumed. 

“Alright, it’s about time we head back and raise the anchor.” She stretches her shoulder. 

“Are you going to keep exploring the coast, Taylor?” Hilda asks. 

“For a while longer. Then we’ll double back to port and load up with goods so we can head back to the continent and sell it for some good old profit.” 

“And she wants to see her sister again.” Auguste also gets up. 

Taylor nods. “Aye, I’m not going to lie. It’s been a while since I’ve seen me sister and this entire war business of ours has made me realize that I should try to see her more often.” 

“That’s surprisingly wholesome.” My sister gets up and gives Taylor another handshake. 

Taylor nods once more. “I admire the sisterly bond you two have.” She looks between me and my sister. “Cherish the time you have with each other.” 

“We cherish it all the time.” My sister looks at me as well and gives me a knowing look. “Goddess knows that we have been apart for way too long before.” 

“But we are together now so that’s what matters!” I reply. 

Taylor smiles and gives us both a nod. 

“Maybe you can convince your sister to start privateering’ together with you.” Nikki proposes.

“That’ll happen when the ocean freezes over.” Taylor starts laughing loudly. “No way my sister would ever do that. Chance’s higher that I’d join her in her town’s watch, and as the crew will tell ya, that’s not very likely either.”

“You can’t get a yes if you don’t ask.” 

“That’s true.” Taylor gives us a quick wave. “Ladies, I hope we’ll meet again.” 

“I’m sure fate will bring us back together one day, so don’t worry too much about that.” Hilda replies. “Because I’m sure that when there’s trouble around, you won’t be too far off either.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Taylor chuckles and waves us goodbye again. 

-And just like that, our privateer friends are back to sea. Although I do get the feeling that Hilda is right and that’ll meet again one of these days. Maybe not immediately or in the near future. But someday.-