Through the Aether

[HottieKatie]

Rosamund wouldn't know her way around, so she kindly accepted Ormon's offer to accompany him.

"Of course, captain. I'd be glad to join you." She was thinking about returning the funny courtly bow, but thought maybe Charlotte would be offended so she let it go.

"Lucky for us you seem to know the place around.", she grabbed his arm. "Lady Charlotte, are you joining us? Or do you have your own matters to attend?"

 

[Faye_Skylark]

Charlotte looked around airily, cooling herself with a fancy oriental fan as she struggled in the heat. She was dressed spectacularly, but her tight corset combined with the heat made it an uncomfortable arrangement.

Charlotte was almost envious of Rosamund for a moment, dressed comfortably in her casual attire.

Still, appearances mattered most, Charlotte reassured herself.

"I suppose I shall join you two," said Charlotte. "I have been craving good coffee, and the Turks are legendary for it I hear. Lead the way, Captain Ormon!"

 

[DirkPitt06]

He clasped Rosamund's hand for a moment and let go, leading the pair through the bustling streets. They were thronged with swarthy skinned natives, clad in voluminous robes and wraps. Vendors shrieked and beckoned, city guard kept a keen eye for pick-pockets, and the smell of spices was redolent.

Ormon steered them towards a small cafe, pressuized stone slurry set into sturdy walls. Diaphanous hangings covered the doors and as they entered, svelte women in silks led them to a table with reclining cushions scattered about it. Ormon placed the ladies orders and obliged himself to the customary hookah, as much a matter of preference as it was custom.

Their server slinked away and returned shortly. Ormon reclined with the first pipe, another two waiting at the other two's pleasure. "I thought we might take the time to get to know each other. I pride myself on knowing the names and pertinent personals about all my crew, let alone my newest specialist and benefactor. Where were you ladies born?"

He drew deep and puffed out a single perfect smoke ring. His eyes glittered and he quickly tried to blow another through it, but his quick breath dispersed the first. A single grunt of annoyance prefaced another deep draw.

 

[HottieKatie]

Rosamund took one of the other pipes, eager to know how it would taste, as she started talking.

"I was born just near where you picked me up. I haven't been such a good traveler. I found it easier to find jobs in the city, where my reputation was well know, so I didn't have to prove myself everynow and then. But I was born in a little town in the outskirt, you may not know it, it is quite small. I was there until I came of age, when I decided to test the skills my father and older brothers had told me. Luckily for me I had been taught quite well and it wasn't difficult to earn my living catching thieves and other rascals. But I easily get bored, so when I heard about your ship I didn't think twice".

She stopped to get a taste of the hookah. It was a strange feeling but it was nice.

"Nice...", she said tasting it again.

"And that has been basically my life. Not that much interesting I think..."

 

[DirkPitt06]

"What about your family? Are they still around?"

 

[HottieKatie]

"I think so", she said.

She hadn't seen any member of her family for a couple of years. She used to send and receive letters, but they were always quite concise.

"We are not a very close family, you know. Our house was always more like a training facility than a loving place.", she was a bit sad about it, but she had to admit her parents way of taking care of their children had helped her quite a lot in her current career. She had learned not to get too close to anybody, and thus it didn't hurt her when some people were "lost in battle". She had grown to be a cold woman.

"And what about you, Miss Charlotte? I guess you have quite a lot of interesting stories to tell about yourself". She didn't like much talking about herself, as it made her aware of her weakness.

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon sat quietly throughout the rest of her story. It was a tale repeated throughout many of the old houses of the world. A master's awkward love was still genuine though, which spoke more than many other places.

 

[Faye_Skylark]

Charlotte puffed on her hookah with a dreamy look, as if not quite there. She was still lost in her thoughts on Lockwood's journal that she hadn't been following the conversation very clearly.

The sudden question had thrown her off guard. She felt comfortable, as if she were in a smoking parlour with her friends back home.

"Hmm? Oh, quite a few I dare say," mumbled Charlotte around her hookah pipe. "I'm not sure whether you adventurers would find them very interesting, but I do know my fair share of gossip! I could tell you all about the little dirty secrets of the wealthy and powerful... On the understanding you didn't hear it from me, of course."

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon just nodded sagely. "Please, enlighten us," he said remarkably straight faced.

 

[HottieKatie]

"Yes", Rosamund added. "I'd like to know more about the outer world."

 

[DirkPitt06]

Charlotte's long pause elicited a quiet laugh from Ormon. "Light constitution," he winked at Rosamund, "very lady like."

He looked up and around the bustling cafe. "Rosamund, I'm going to take a quick breath of cooler air. Don't watch me, but cast your gaze 'round to the door, the booth adjacent to the hanging beads. Do you remember seeing the same men at the kebab vendor earlier?"

Ormon stood and stretched, limping his way towards the patio out back, surreptitiously laying a hand across Bedlam at his hip.

 

[HottieKatie]

While Ormon went outside, Rosamund kept an eye on the people in the place, paying special attention to the men Ormon had pointed out. She didn't look at them directly, not wanting to let them know she was watching them. After some quick glances, she could tell they looked familiar, but she couldn't tell why, from where or when. BUt that was something her mind did. It gathered lots of information without her knowing and then she had to connect the dots by herself.

Just like Ormon, she started to mover her hand next to her firearm, in case something would happen. She like to be prepared for whatever was to come.

She started thinking and racking her brains. What did she knew those men of? Had they been following them? Had she seen them on another mission too?

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon stretched again, lightly thumping the heel of his palm across his hip. Damned thing. He'd paid more than a fair bit for it too.

He caught the attention of a passing servant and called for a drink, watching over her shoulder as he spoke. Two figures, swarthy and bulked, with their heads wrapped in the Bedouin fashion. Discrete daggers were tucked into the sash at each man's waist.

Alone, they were unworthy of mention. Coupled with the fact that he'd seen them three times that day and always together, in a city the size of Constantinople, was alarming.

He accepted the drink from the servant and made a few desultory passes, the facade of the perverted older man firmly in place. He pinched her bottom with a wink and went back to the table, sliding in between Rosamund and Charlotte.

"I think we'll be leaving sooner rather than later, my dears. Rose, keep your steel ready, I don't want unnecessary attention. Charlotte," he paused and just shook his head at her blank stare, "well, keep close at any rate."

 

[Faye_Skylark]

"Apologies, Captain," said Charlotte, finally snapping out of her hazy reverie. "I think the shishah went straight to my head. I'll keep close and quiet."

 

[DirkPitt06]

He nodded and stood, leaving a pile of coins for their bill. He staggered a bit, weaving drunkenly and placing his arms around both the lady's shoulders, taking his weight on his gimp leg.

They made their way through the streets, weaving a path back to the Hydra. The milling doxies around the wharf's entrance parted to reveal two figures clapping billy clubs in against their off hands. At the same time a voice behind them called out. "Captain! Leaving so soon? We've not even shared confidences!"

The pair from the cafe pulled around, steel glittering in their fists. One of them with a delicate filigree of silver hued thread worked into his head wrap spoke again. "It's been many years since the Hydra breathed these airs, captain. Many years since you and your crew wrecked the Egyptian destroyer gunning for your fine ship." His voice dropped to dangerous levels and his dagger flashed in the moonlight. "Many years since the wreckage you wrought destroyed an innocent home and the poor family within it. My daughter and bride will taste you and your's suffering this eve."

The four men moved in, treading the dirt swiftly.

 

[HottieKatie]

So this was going to be Rosamund's first fight for her new captain. And she kept aneye for Charlotte too, not wanting the men to get hold of her, hurt her, or kidnap her while the battle took place.

Rosamund stared at the men, and thought it would be an easy. They seemed enraged and that always diminished one's abilities, so they should be easy to beat just by making them angrier.

She didn't know about the event they were talking about. Neither she cared. She would let the captain do the talking, and she would just deal with the closest of the two men. Unfortunately, it was not the one doing all the talking, which would have been the easiest to knock down, him being only paying attention to the captain. The other man was expectant, just as Rosie, so he would be more difficult to catch unaware. But Rosamund just had to wait for the perfect moment. In the meantime, she slowly moved forward, wherever the shadows would cover her slow and almost unnoticed movements, her hand already on her dagger, ready to unsheathe and kill.

 

[DirkPitt06]

[[Katie, and Faye, if you feel so inclined to "dirty your hands", I figure we can just take one or two each and describe how we settle things. I'll be taking two.]]

Ormon lurched free of the two women, his hand flying to Bedlam.

http://www.tcookelondon.com/navfrenchcut.jpg

The blade flew out of it's sheath and Ormon twisted it to en garde, parrying the leading man's dagger with a slap of his wrist. The second took advantage of the opening and came in hard. Ormon rotated his hips, letting his weight fall back onto his gimp leg and neatly swinging himself out of the man's line of attack.

He punched out, the heavy basket of his guard cracking across the second man's skull. His eyes went loose and he rolled into the dirty gutter. The first rolled and retrieved his companion's blade, looping arcs of steel in each fist.

Ormon turned again, favoring his injured leg as he cast a quick glance at his two companions.

 

[HottieKatie]

[[I'll take one while Faye decides. If she wants to stay aside, I'll get the other one too. Dirk, do you want to kill the men or just injure them?]]

When Rosamund saw her captain attack, she moved towards the nearest attacker. She had been looking at him from her position and was aware of his weapons, size and body. She had been studying him, she always did that before attacking. It wouldn't do her any good to attack without knowing her opponent. But now she knew where to hit him and how.

She run the three steps that separated her from him and hit his inner shin with her thick right heel. Those boots had always come handy when starting a battle. She had had a hard time learning to walk with them. They were heavy and not at all flat, and as she had always walked with boy's shoes, it had been a double challenge But after a while, she learned the wonder of thick high heels: a good blow to the leg, and the opponent would be less dangerous in the battle. Her second hit went to his flank as she finished getting her dagger out. But he was quicker and grabbbed her empty wrist. Luckily her dagger was already out and she sank it in his hand, making him instantly release her hand.

But he was a tough one, and quickly got his weapon out. It would be a nice fight.

 

[DirkPitt06]

[[As you see fit.]]

 

[DirkPitt06]

The issue with paired weapons of any kind, Ormon had learned through life lessons, was that they invariably came in at expecting angles. Either a double thrust or opposed vectors. A dagger from the left was typically matched by a dagger from the right.

So when they swarthy man threw the left hand blade into his gimp leg, he was understandably pissed.

The man came in hard. Ormon tried to regain his footing and failed rather spectacularly, almost tripping backwards and ending the duel preemptively. He banged the thrusting weapon away with the basket of his saber and tried to riposte, only to see the other man squirrel away from the long blade.

Ormon set himself as best he could, feeling the blade grate against the core of his leg. Fluid, dark and rank, stained his trouser leg. He held himself up by force of will alone. His age was getting to him, he thought grimly.

The would-be assassin came in again, thrusting at Ormon's throat. The saber flashed up and beat it aside, hard enough to jostle it from the other fighter's grip. The same flash resolved itself a moment later as it buried in the man's throat.

Ormon withdrew the blade and knocked the blood free. He turned quickly, prepared to lend as much aid to the ladies as they required.

 

[HottieKatie]

Rosie stabbed the man in the back with a quick move. he little body allowed her to turn and spin very quickly, often misleading her opponents. As he had tried to use his sword on her, she quickly turned around him on the other side, sank her dagger under her left arm and took it off with the same subtle movement. Now hit in her both sides, the man was hurt and confused, which allowed Rosamund to give him the final blow to the head with the tough handle of her dagger, which left him lying on the ground unconscious.

She looked around and notice there was just one last man standing who was running towards her injured captain. She was sure he could handle him by his own, but there was not need for it. She run after the man, hoping to get a better dagger ball from that one.

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon tried something foolish that he hadn't been able to perform since the accident: he lunged.

It was dirty and awkward, nowhere near the level of expertise he'd once possessed, but it worked. Leaving his off-leg behind, he threw his blade out point first and sank at the leading knee. The tip took the man through the gut and he howled as blood stained the street. Ormon withdrew slowly, not from cruelty, but from simply that his hip couldn't take the movement.

"Rose, dear," he gasped, "I think I may actually need your shoulder now." He looked down and then to the alleys, where the painted women could just be seen in the shadows. "We should leave. Now. To the Hydra."

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon tried something foolish that he hadn't been able to perform since the accident: he lunged.

It was dirty and awkward, nowhere near the level of expertise he'd once possessed, but it worked. Leaving his off-leg behind, he threw his blade out point first and sank at the leading knee. The tip took the man through the gut and he howled as blood stained the street. Ormon withdrew slowly, not from cruelty, but from simply that his hip couldn't take the movement.

"Rose, dear," he gasped, "I think I may actually need your shoulder now." He looked down and then to the alleys, where the painted women could just be seen in the shadows. "We should leave. Now. To the Hydra."

 

[HottieKatie]

Rose helped the captain and started walking back towards the vessel. They were hurring so it made her think that he must have some more unfinished business at the town. Maybe he was into more messes than she had thought at the beginning. Or being they were just in the wrong time at the wrong moment.

She would have to ask him later on when they were safe in the ship. She would need to know about this kind of things if she was going to protect him and his business. That was the kind of information that prevented her from getting into trouble when she had to go on any mission by herself. The kind of things she didn't like to ask about, but rather preferred people telling by themselves.

She always found it funny how people would always get into trouble. Through her life, she had learned to stay aside and let the world fight with itself while she took advantage of it. It was the bright side of looking like a helpless girl instead the dangerous assassin she really was.

Once they were at the ship and Miss Charlotte leave to her apartments, Rosamund addressed the captain.

"So, Sir, would you let me know what that was all about?", she asked him, in a kind of casual way.

 

[DirkPitt06]

Ormon held up a hand, trying to catch his breath. Every part of him shook save his gimp leg, who's knees and thigh were stained with a dark fluid.

"I...I really don't have any idea, Rose..." he gasped. "The last...last time we were in port, there was an altercation, yes...but I didn't think anyone had perished or been harmed. We were over the gulf."