FicWad

Chapter 3 Lunch 'n' laughs

The time was around noon. A huge ship was sailing towards Nasrad. The vessel's name was Delphinus. It was a Valuan cruiser but everybody thought of it as a pirate ship, which it was. Its captain was none other than Vyse The Legend, and he wasn't in a very good mood. The day had begun well, though.

It all started two days ago when Aika had decided to bring over former-admiral Vigoro to a dinner at Crescent Isle. The plan was, however, to make Vigoro drink a certain liquid which would make the one who drunk it fall asleep and live through his or her worst nightmares. Due to some mishaps, it was Aika who got the drink, although Vigoro got some serious wounds during the evening. The day after, which was yesterday, Vyse and Fina set out on a trip to get an antidote for their redheaded friend. The trip led them to Nasrad and then Maramba. While they were there, Vyse got in a tangle with some brigands who had been in touch with the Black Pirates. It seemed that Vyse had a price on his head, and the Black Pirates were on their way to make an advancement. Luckily, on their way home with the antidote, they ran into and bagged Baltor (with a little help from Gilder), so at least one trouble was out of the way.

With Aika cured, the three friends set the course for Valua the day after. Enrique had welcomed them personally. Vyse and his friends told Valua's new emperor both of the potion dealer in Nasrad and of the Black Pirates. Enrique had wanted to put a stop to the man as much as them. But relations between Valua and Nasr had never been good even before the war twenty years ago, and the bombing of Nasrad some six months ago hadn't been of much help, thus he feared that a direct arrest would lead to more tensions between the two nations. So Vyse had given a suggestion, of which Enrique approved. He had sent a group of six guards along with Vyse's friends to Nasrad. Four of the Valuan guards travelled in a separate ship, in a distance just enough out of range of the Delphinus. It would be unwise of them to show that they were in liege with the Valuan ship, especially because of what their business in the city was. Vyse thought again about the plan. It wasn't what he had hoped for, and neither Aika, but it was the only way. This would have to be taken care of discreetly. He felt a little sad of the fact that people and countries have such a hard time trusting each other. Of course, this wasn't a regular time. But now, when the world's two superpowers were on their knees and Yafutoma slowly began to take part in the world, stability was needed. He shook his head to clear his mind. This wasn't his arena. He preferred Black Pirates, that was something he could do something about...

"Hey, you awake Vyse?"

Vyse looked up from the navigation panels. Today he had let Aika take the helm of /Delphinus/, leaving himself and Fina to take care of the navigation. It was Aika's first time, but she was doing well. Already, as he heard her voice, his thoughts shifted from slight minor scale to big major. As long as they all were together, nothing would bring him down. Ever. And especially not today.

"Yes?"

"We have reached Nasrad."

"Got that. How do you like the steering so far?"

"Great. It's a bit different from the Wave Line though."

Wave Line was the relatively small ship Vyse and Fina had used to travel for the antidote. During their fight with Baltor, the ship had been damaged. Right now, it probably rested at the world's bottom. Maybe someone would find it one day, after many, many years. If people still looked for discoveries, that is. Vyse nodded, then turned to one of the guards.

"You all got the plan?"

"Yes. The guards will go and get the salesman. They may need some time for this, making it seem real enough."

"No problem. We have some errands we need to take care of as well."

xXx

So, where in all Arcadia could Vyse be? Even if I hated to work with others, I had no choice but to find him and talk him into this treasure hunt. I had decided to start at the last spot I'd seen him: Nasrad. Soon I'd be there...

xXx

Vyse, Aika and Fina stood in Nasrad's harbour. Two of the Valuan guards (dressed up in Nasrean clothes as was their friends) made their way to the bazaar while their companions waited behind. As usual, the air was hot and damp. All sorts of smells were in the air, emanating from the crates that were about to be loaded onboard the ships and transported all over Arcadia. The cargos were everything from salted fish, khale and bittermelons; another sign that the world wasn't perfect, at least not according to Vyse's senses. But the dominant overlying scent was sweat. The red moon made sure no one escaped its scorching heat, but the local people seemed unaffected, or at least un-troubled by it.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" said Fina.

"Simple," replied Aika. "Do what comes to three Blue Rogues who have relieved Nasrad from a highly illegal salesman."

"And what is that?" asked Vyse.

"Have a well deserved lunch. I haven't eaten anything since that dinner."

Both Vyse and Fina nodded in agreement.

"Just don't expect too much, Aika," said Vyse. "I only have 1000 gold."

"Only? That should be enough... hey!"

Aika gave Vyse an acid look to which he just sniggered.

"Couldn't resist. Sorry."

"Yeah yeah. But say it one more time, and I'll tie you up and put braids in your hair!"

Fina laughed slightly to the imaginary sight of Vyse in braids. Vyse took a step back and quickly laid his hands on his head.

"No never! My hair!" he said.

"Gotcha!" Aika said and punched Vyse's exposed guts.

Actually, it wasn't that hard, it was just unexpected. With both hands on his stomach, he put on a face of pain to make sure he wouldn't get another one.

"Sorry, but I couldn't resist," Aika said with a hearty grin. "I guess we're even now, huh?"

"Guess... so. Did anyone say anything about lunch?"

"Yes. Shall we try Hamed?" Fina suggested.

Vyse shrugged.

"I don't know. How does it taste?"

Aika and Fina laughed. Vyse looked confused.

"Silly. Hamed is the guy who owns the tavern Fina and I worked at."

"Aha, tempting, but I'll save him for the cannibals." Vyse grinned. "Alright, I'm in."

xXx

I was just about to dock when I spotted a particular Blue Rogue. I remembered the Air Pirate from the day before, who apparently was Vyse. Right now he was in a group of a total of three people including him. One of them was the girl who had been with him at the bazaar, the other one was a red-haired gal with some of the weirdest braids I had ever seen. And then, as if they had sensed my presence and just wanted to annoy me, they went into the city, where it would be downright impossible to keep track of them. I groaned slightly.

Don't worry. Just take your time and don't mind me, waiting in this damn heat!

I could only hope they would be back relatively soon. Not that I missed them, no way in deep sky. All I needed from him was his ship, nothing else.

xXx

Finally, Vyse and his friends reached the tavern. This was one of the places that had been not only rebuilt but expanded as well, although it kept its familiar look. The bar-counter had been taken away at the expense of more tables. Now it looked more like a restaurant than a pub. They chose a table near the door, next to the wall. From their chairs, Aika and Fina had their faces turned towards the door and their backs towards the kitchen, Fina sat closest to the wall. Vyse sat down at a comfortable chair in front of the gals. The air was cool and nice, a welcome change from the outside. Aika let her gaze sweep across the room.

"Well, it looks like they're still up and running, although it's been a while since we worked here," she said.

Vyse swallowed a teasing response. Then he spotted a man coming towards them from the kitchen, carrying three menus. He was in his late thirties, or maybe early forties, halfway between bald and hairy, a small black beard crowned his chin. He had a heartily smile on his face, making it impossible for anyone to dislike him.

"Welcome. And hello, was it Aika and Fina? It's been a long time," said the man who apparently was Hamed.

"Hello, Hamed," greeted Fina. "It's good to see you again"

"Hiya! How's it going nowadays?" was Aika's greeting.

Hamed smiled briefly.

"As good as it can be, for the situation that is. The economy is still a little bad, but I hope it'll change soon." He shrugged. "Oh well, I shouldn't bother you. What would like to order?" He reached for a small notebook.

The group quickly looked through the menu. It offered a wide selection, mainly Nasrean dishes but also some Mid-Oceanic.

"I'll have the Kabal skewers menu," said Aika. "Double please."

"One double, and what about you two?"

"They'll have the same," said Aika. "You'll need it guys, none of us ate anything for breakfast."

The only time Aika wasn't hungry was during raids. Being as energetic as she was, a lot of "fuel" was probably needed, although she would probably let Vyse get a taste of her boomerang if he said it out loud.

"It's settled then," said Vyse. "And since I presume I'll be the one who gets to pay for the whole party..."

"You will really? Thanks!" said Aika.

No! This wasn't how he had thought it would be! He rolled his eyes.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why I pay your salary."

"That's because you don't pay any salary," Fina said and smiled.

Vyse looked at her with a mock-hurt face.

"Hey, two against one isn't what I call fair!"

"So you mean that we won, huh?" Aika smiled.

"I didn't say that."

"But you meant it."

"I didn't say anything!"

Vyse decided that henceforth he would need to wear a muzzle, at least when he was around his friends. Aika and Fina high-fived in victory. Hamed shook his head, but kept smiling.
"Women. Can't live with them but can't live without them, huh? And what will you have to drink?"

Vyse and Aika settled for Nasr-cider while Fina ordered mineral water. It was seldom she tasted something strong like loqua. Just as Hamed turned to walk to the kitchen, Aika stopped him.

"By the way" she said. "can we have some hot sandwiches while we wait?"

"I'll see what I can do," Hamed said and returned to the kitchen.

Vyse and Fina looked at Aika in an odd way. She raised her eyebrows.

"What? No breakfast and I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday. I'm starving over here!"

"That's right," said Fina. "I remember missing both breakfast and lunch once."

"Yeah, and then you were ill for one whole week before you recovered. Never travel or work on empty stomach, that's what I say. Especially in hot climate."

"I guess it's the only words of wisdom you ever listened to," Vyse said with a smirk.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Say, how was it to finally steer the /Delphinus/?"

Aika lightened up.

"Awesome. Just some more trips, and I'll get the hang of it."

"That would be good, wouldn't it? Too bad it'll have to take such a long time to set her up."

"Maybe we could get in touch with the old crew. At least some of them would like to return, right? If the Black Pirates escalate even further, it would be much safer to take 'em on in the /Delphinus/."

Both Vyse and Fina nodded.

"Hopefully. She's really hard to manoeuvre and supply with just the three of us. She's a good ship, and it would be great to take her out more often."

"I've always wondered about that," said Fina.

"About what?" Vyse almost added 'this time' but he decided to skip it. Fina hadn't said something like this for several months.

"Why is a ship always talked about with a feminine pronoun? And why does it always have a women's name?"

Vyse was about to speak when Aika leant forward and said:

"This time, don't go through the whole list!"

"Well, mean tongues assert that there are some similarities between them both." Vyse grinned. "Like, 'If you let go of the control she'll take the power', and 'She can drag a man with her when she's going down'. These are the least worst I knew of."

Aika muttered something about "The weaker gender, yeah right". Then a new voice was heard:

"And she needs to be steered by a man, and as the years go on she'll break down. Plus, she changes name as she gets a new owner."

The Blue Rogues looked up. It was a surprising sight, but not a pleasant one.

"What are you doing here?!" Vyse said, not really expecting an answer from Vigoro.

The former admiral came towards their table, carrying a service-tray with their sandwiches and drinks. He was dressed just as he had been last time, but he wore a blue apron. He glared at them.

"If you gotta know, I got in trouble with the harbour guard. If you had just taken me to Nasrad directly, I would have got away! And now I'm stuck here!"

"Actually, we didn't think you would notice the difference," Aika replied. "And you needed quick medical attention. By the way, how's the injury?"

"Which one of them?" asked Vyse.

Vigoro frowned and showed his teeth in a grim face. The aslant nose was the most visible wound of course. He had got that when he fell down the stairs at Crescent Isle just after he had fallen down from the lift while it was at its highest point, after he had been stabbed in a place that really hurt, all because he had tried to seduce Aika using a love-potion. Well, only the stab. The rest were accidents.

"You just don't know what trouble you have got yourself in!" he said with just a small amount of menace.

"But please, it's our job to create trouble," Aika said with a smile. "Can we have our food now?"

Grumbling, Vigoro put the tray down on the table with a clang. He made his way back to the kitchen.

"Really impressive, I must say," said Aika.

"The sandwiches, or what do you mean?" Fina asked, a bit puzzled.

"Him. Six months ago he was third admiral in the armada. Now he's been promoted to waitress."

Vyse and Fina managed to hold back a small laugh. Vigoro went in to the kitchen and slammed the door.

"Maybe you should quit it now," Fina said, although she still had to choke back a giggle. "Before he really gets upset." She was the only one who thought of the danger of upsetting Vigoro.

"He won't," said Aika. "If he wants to keep his job, that is. He is after all a Valuan in Nasrad. I wouldn't like to be in his shoes. The only thing he can do is to stick needles in dolls that look like us."

"Wait here, don't tell me you actually believe in that voodoo-stuff?" Vyse said and grabbed a sandwich.

"...No. Not very much, that is."

"Not very much? I almost liked it better when you, among other things, thought my hair would burst into flame."

"But Vyse," said Fina. "It was only a tale. You do know that, do you?"

Vyse stared at her with a mixture of frustration and slight insanity.

"Why you.../of course/ I know! Look, I've never ever believed that would happen!"

"It didn't sound like that," she giggled.

Vyse's head fell against the chair's back. He closed his eyes, as if to gather himself together.

"Great," he sighed. "Stuck together with two complete loonies. I wouldn't change this life for a million."

"Nor we either," Fina said, smiling.

"I meant" said Vyse. "that I'd do it for free."

The eyes Aika and Fina gave him could've looked foreboding, but Vyse knew it was just a part of the verbal swashbuckling.

"Ye are so going to get braided when we get back to Crescent!" said Aika.

"We'll see about that," Vyse said with a disarming smile. "But for now, let's dig in, shall we?"

"Finally you say something good," said Aika.

As they all had taken their glasses and a sandwich each, Vyse raised his stout in the air and said:

"To make it official: Great to have you back with us!"

The group slammed their glasses together in a toast. Actually, Aika had only been "away" for one day, but it had been a horrible day for her. Stuck in a long series of nightmares; Vyse had feared it would leave scars in her mind for a long time. But she had recovered quite well. As she had put it: "It was just dreams." And the recent meeting with Vigoro had also gone well. She hadn't boiled over with anger or put his head through the table. It was clear that Aika had left it all behind herself.

xXx

I had waited for about an hour. I was hungry so I had the meal of the day. Dried dabhu-meat, bread and water. It didn't taste of much, but it was filling, and that was what counted. I kept an eye on the window, ready to rush out at a moment's notice if they came back.

xXx

The lunch was over. The juicy kabal skewers were served with deep-fried potatoes, garlic sauce and fresh vegetables. For dessert, they shared an ice-cream dish to cool of their tongues after the hot food. All in all, it was a splendid meal that could make the sense of taste and the stomach praise its owner and with great joy renew their lifetime contract. Aika had finished both her food and half of Fina's since the silvite felt too stuffed. Vyse had managed to finish his portion but it was hard. He leant back, and said:

"Man, that was really tasty."

"See? I told ya you would like it," said Aika.

"Yeah, but now it feels like I won't have to eat for several days."

"Good. That will save us some supplies."

"Heh, that really came from the right mouth. You know, one of these days I'm going to padlock the kitchen."

"You'd better let me keep the key then," Fina said.

The three friends laughed. Aika always had a huge appetite, especially since she hadn't eaten for almost two days. But she always managed to keep her figure. They all did. Being an Air Pirate, exercising came naturally.

"Alright, we've kept the men waiting long enough," said Vyse. "Let's go back."

"Already?" Aika said and leant back against the chair's comfortable back, laying her hands behind her head. "Haven't you heard of resting on food? Not literally, if you think that. Surely they can wait."

Vyse stared at her.

"You mean, let six heavily armed Valuan soldiers wait in scorching hot Nasrad only for us to 'rest on our food'?" He quickly looked around the tavern, but as they were alone, no one had heard him talk about Valuan guards. "We have enough enemies as it is."

"Speaking of enemies," said Fina. "We haven't checked if Baltor was jailed."

"Oops, I almost forgot about that," said Vyse. "I always assumed Gilder would hand him in at Nasrad."

"If he had the time for it. Clara is probably after him right now."

During the battle against /Blackbeard/, Baltor had been taken prisoner aboard Claudia. When Gilder had taken Vyse and Fina back to Crescent Isle he had ran into Clara, who had watched over Aika while the two Blue Rogues were away. The last they had seen of him was when he had rushed to his ship to escape Clara.

"We'll ask him whenever he shows up again," said Vyse. "Right now we have something worse than Baltor to face."

"What?" Fina and Aika said at the same time.

"The bill."

He raised his left arm and wiggled his pointing-finger. Immediately Vigoro showed up, carrying a big tray to put their plates on and a small round bowl with a written out bill. Vyse grabbed the note and made huge eyes at the sum.

"How much is it?" asked Fina.

"Only one-thousand two-hundred! No wonder you could buy your own ship after just two weeks."

"Well, at least it's cheaper than at Gordo's," Aika said and started to dig in her blue waist-bag. "I think I took some money with..."

"No, no." smiling, Vyse held up his right hand against them both. "Don't worry about that, this one's on me."

"Thanks, but wasn't it you who 'only had one-thousand'?"

"Dang. Fina, would you maybe..."

Fina had already picked up her own small cloth-pouch and counted out two hundred gold. Since Vigoro would deliver the money, a tip would be wasted, as they saw it. Vigoro started to gather the plates and glasses. Vyse and Fina laid the collected money in the small bowl and put it on the tray. When all the plates had been put away, Vigoro said:

"Thanks for stopping by. Come again." And then he leant forward and said with a low voice: "And I hope your ship will malfunction just above the Vortex, so that your ugly corpses will be torn to shreds."

Without waiting for a reply, Vigoro took the tray and went of, grinning happily for himself with his nose up in the air. But he didn't get far. Had he looked down, he might've seen the foot that was stretched out in front of him, but he didn't. For a moment he seemed to balance on one leg and then the tray he held fell down to the floor. The momentum made him to take some stumbling steps forward, causing even more damage for the plates. Unfortunately for him, he put his right foot on the small round bowl that was now turned up side down. If he had been more agile and less bulky, he could very well have done a backflip. Now he just fell, wildly flapping with his arms, down on the floor. Luckily he managed to keep up his head so he wouldn't crack his skull. The coins lay all across the room as well as the plates, what remained of them that is. The loud crash made Hamed rush out of the kitchen. He sighed heavily at the sight of the mess.

"Alright, I know it's your first day at work, but try a little harder."

"But it wasn't my fault!" Vigoro said and pointed at Aika, while he tried to get up. "That damn redhead tripped me!"

"Vigoro! Don't talk crap about the guests while they hear you. And especially not those three."

At this moment, "those three" were almost screaming with laughter. At least Aika and Vyse. Fina managed to keep herself together, but just partly. Her red face made it look like she had eaten a mouthful of khale. Vigoro started to pick up coins and plate-shards. The bill was written out and signed by Hamed so it would be impossible for him to snatch parts of the payment as compensation for his accident. His fourth one ever since the day before yesterday. Hamed went over to the three guests.

"I hope you won't be disheartened. He is new at this job, actually I hired him just some hours ago."

"No problem," Aika said, through her laughter. "It's nice of you to hire people even if they're from Valua."

He shrugged.

"I don't judge anyone by his nationality. Sure, there are a lot of people around here who finds it suspect, but I don't mind."

Prejudices were something that scored quite high on Aika's "Things I don't like-list". In times of crisis, it was easy to be influenced by racist propaganda. Sure, it wasn't that bad, but still. She could partly understand Nasr's aversion against Valua. But no, people were better than that. Take the Delphinus during the Crystal War, for instance. The whole crew were a mixed bag of people from all over Arcadia. Everybody had been able to work together towards one common goal and they had made it. They could only hope it would work again, globally.

"Anyway," said Aika "We'd better get moving. Thanks for a delicious kabal."

Hamed smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine. You are welcome back anytime. Maybe as a new waitress if you get tired of pirating?"

Aika laughed, but not in a jeering way.

"No way in your life, but thanks anyway." She picked up her leather-pouch. "Here, compensation for the broken plates."
Hamed held up both his hands as if to protect himself.

"No, no. You won't have to pay for..."

"Take it as a gift, or for the entertainment if you will. Or else we'll send all Black Pirates we ever encounter right to your tavern, and you know how rough they can be."

He smiled.

"Oh well, never mess with an Air Pirate," he said and took the money Aika gave him.

The three friends left the tavern, leaving an unhappy Vigoro behind them. As the door was closed and they thus were out of range, Vyse said:

"I hope Hamed didn't suspect you for tripped him up."

"Why should he?" answered Aika. "You've never seen me be stuck for an answer, have you?"

"Yeah, apart from that time I asked if you really threw gunpowder in your fireplace at Pirate Isle."

"You know, you actually make it sound like it's a bad thing."

For some reason, that line triggered of a wave of uncontrollable laughter for them all. Aika thought that it sure felt good to be back with Vyse and Fina, alright! Together with her best friends, nothing would bring her down.