Uh, Avery vanished, Rafe was on track to find something big, pretentious Latin, blah blah blah. He said Avery got a bunch of his pirate buddies together to take all their treasure and make their own pirate clubhouse. Nation, whatever. That's what he was looking for, I guess?
[ And despite everything that happened before or since, seeing Libertalia still might be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. ]
Problem is, Henry Avery? He invites pirate captains from all over the world, from the Barbary Coast to the Caribbean, but you can't just have a country with eight or ten people, right? There's other colonists, too, little guys--normal people, probably a lot of 'em rank-'n'-file pirates just looking for a fair shake.
[ As an aside-- ]
Pirate ships were the first real democracies, y'know. Everyone gets a vote, captains can be voted out, they paid out workman's comp, for God's sake.
Lotta sailing around the little islands near Madagascar. And once we found it...well, it was hard to tell exactly what happened--whole place was falling apart when we got there. But you got all these little guys, right? And then you got a dozen pirates who ain't exactly wild about sharing all that gold they got in the treasury. Everything from the Gunsway, whatever booty the rest of 'em brought...would've been worth hundreds of millions.
Avery and the rest of them, they took the money outta the treasury. When we get back, we gotta figure out where they went.
[ He doesn't nudge her back this time, just reaches for his long-forgotten glass. Taking a drink only delays the inevitable, but Sam's always been a fan of that, where he can manage it. ]
Lotta people in my line of work? They ain't exactly what you'd call good people.
[Kyna sits up fully, sucks in a sharp breath as she studies the scars. Before she can think better of it, she reaches out, fingers brushing against them lightly.]
[ His stomach tenses as he takes a hard bretah in, eyes on her fingertips. Surprise comes through his skin, along with a guarded sort of sure, go ahead.
It occurs to him that he can hardly feel it. The nerves over there never did heal up right. ]
Fulla questions. [ This time, his laugh's a little rueful. Dropping his shirt, he shifts a little where he's sitting, trying to get comfortable. Ish. ] It was for the Avery thing, actually. You remember that prison?
[ Hard to forget, he's hoping. ]
We go in, pretend we're prisoners, so we can get at the old part of the grounds--there was a lead we were tracking down, long story. [ Mostly, the details of the Dismas cross probably aren't going to be that interesting to her. ] Somebody, and I ain't gonna say who, but it wasn't me or Nathan, made it so we had to get outta there real damn quick. [ He's restraining himself from saying Rafe shanked our only ally in the entire goddamn prison for Kyna's sake, mostly. ] Prison guards got me in the back on our way out.
[ Which is to say, yep, there's definitely another pocked triangle on his back. He swallows the rest of his liquor. ]
They thought I was dead. Probably should be--[ better me than Nathan, but she'll want to know what that means ]--but I know who gave a damn about whether I was or not, and it wasn't Rafe Adler. We ain't exactly on the best of terms these days.
[ For related but different reasons! Don't worry about it! ]
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Where the hell'd you learn that? It ain't exactly Blackbeard we're talking here.
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All right, all right, how far'd Rafe get you in the story?
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[ And despite everything that happened before or since, seeing Libertalia still might be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. ]
Problem is, Henry Avery? He invites pirate captains from all over the world, from the Barbary Coast to the Caribbean, but you can't just have a country with eight or ten people, right? There's other colonists, too, little guys--normal people, probably a lot of 'em rank-'n'-file pirates just looking for a fair shake.
[ As an aside-- ]
Pirate ships were the first real democracies, y'know. Everyone gets a vote, captains can be voted out, they paid out workman's comp, for God's sake.
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[She thinks she might have heard that somewhere. It's one of those random pieces of trivia that tends to pop up.]
So how'd you find it? What happened?
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Avery and the rest of them, they took the money outta the treasury. When we get back, we gotta figure out where they went.
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[Come on, Sam, don't leave her hanging.]
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Eh, guns were involved.
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What's the deal with you guys?
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Lotta people in my line of work? They ain't exactly what you'd call good people.
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[Apparently she's not going to let this one go.]
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Shifting a little, he pulls up his shirt. Underneath, along with the all-I-did-in-prison-was-situps abs, are three bullet wounds in a nebulously triangular shape. ]
He didn't put 'em in me, but he sure as hell didn't stick around and make sure I wasn't dead after.
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Okay, I need more detail than that.
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It occurs to him that he can hardly feel it. The nerves over there never did heal up right. ]
What d'you wanna know?
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[ Hard to forget, he's hoping. ]
We go in, pretend we're prisoners, so we can get at the old part of the grounds--there was a lead we were tracking down, long story. [ Mostly, the details of the Dismas cross probably aren't going to be that interesting to her. ] Somebody, and I ain't gonna say who, but it wasn't me or Nathan, made it so we had to get outta there real damn quick. [ He's restraining himself from saying Rafe shanked our only ally in the entire goddamn prison for Kyna's sake, mostly. ] Prison guards got me in the back on our way out.
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[That's... a lot to take in, and Sam taught her enough that she knows how much damage a bullet actually does to a person. It's not like the movies.]
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[ Which is to say, yep, there's definitely another pocked triangle on his back. He swallows the rest of his liquor. ]
They thought I was dead. Probably should be--[ better me than Nathan, but she'll want to know what that means ]--but I know who gave a damn about whether I was or not, and it wasn't Rafe Adler. We ain't exactly on the best of terms these days.
[ For related but different reasons! Don't worry about it! ]
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How long ago was that?
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