Thread: The Elementalist (Lady Nefrodiel)

All of a sudden, Hyam was finding it hard to keep his resolve. She was just so provoking! He wasn't a man to ignore ideological debate when it came up, being one of the few members of the crew who knew how to read and actually had an informed opinion about things. He might not have the grand education of a noble, but he considered himself far higher in intelligence than all the men on the ship combined. Including the Captain. 'No harm to anyone'? he asked incredulously, gearing himself up for a rant. Um, excuse me, but I beg to differ on that point! You're a magic-user, with powers above those of normal people. You could probably cast a spell right now that would cause me and Mutch a lot of harm--and you're probably even thinking about doing so too. With the power to do whatever you wanted throw people around like dolls without touching them, create fires out of thin air or-or call storms out of a blue sky, you want me to believe that your kind hasn't been seduced into hurting people when they felt like it or it benefited them? He looked at her pointedly, taking a break from his quick speech, his tone agravated and his tongue running a mile a minute, to shake his head at her before continuing on. Bullshit. And as far as leeches goes-- leeches? he laughed sardonically at the term and like he couldn't believe the irony in her using it to refer to him and his fellows. You might want to take a look in the mirror, doll-face. You magic users are the worst when it comes to throwing your weight around and getting what you want through intimidation. I don't know what family you're from, but they're all corrupt. Every last one of them. Pirates may be no better, but at least we don't pollute ourselves with the taint of magic. Which really, when you compare us to normal folk, it's like we're cats and they're mice. When you compare you and yours to normal people, it's like mice and tigers. Hyam flashed his eyes at her haughtily as if to say 'Take THAT!' and said in somewhat calmer tones but no less self-important than before. Things are exactly the way they have to be. There will always be those in the world who seek to take advantage of others without doing any work of their own. And he shrugged at her and smiled proudly, confident that he'd won the argument--so confident in fact, in his mind, there hadn't even been an argument and there was nothing she could say, after all the points he made, to refute or deny. It was then that he'd realized what he'd done and he glanced at Mutch who was sitting with his mouth hanging open staring at him, the bottle of liquor halfway to his lips still. Hyam...wow... he muttered when he'd found his voice. Mutch, what the fuck did I say? Hyam said angrily at the other man. Shut up! You're going to distract me! And then when she gets free, I'm going to pin the whole thing on you! Then he turned away from him, folding his arms and shaking his head irritadedly. Really, he was just trying to cover his own blunder. He was definitely not going to be lured into talking with her again! Or at least he'd try not to be... ------------- Jaichim frowned at what she said about the other girl and started contemplating NEW new plans for her. Maybe a ransom wasn't such a good idea afterall, if she wasn't wanted. Blast! Why'd he have to capture someone who was practically useless? He could only assume by what she said, that the 'one who has the most say' was the head of the family, and that DID make her valuable. But he had a feeling that the way things were was a little screwy no doubt they'd want the heir of the family back most but she was the one he wanted to keep and the other one he intended to sell back to them for a high sum was someone nobody even liked. Fuck! His frown deepened as he thought these things over, rubbing his stubbled chin with his hand. He could go for the risk and ask for the amount he'd planned before and possibly they wouldn't pay it--especially if he showed no intention of returning the other woman and the medallion. Or he could ask for a smaller amount and hope they'd just take the one girl and be happy with it. But that really burned him. He'd taken the girl as a consolation prize for not having gotten any loot from their attack today and she wasn't going to rake in as much as he wanted. He'd lost about 30 men today and all for a half-assed ransom attempt and a piece of jewelry that was ruled over by a testy God and owned and operated by an inexperienced magic-user. Fuck!Fuck!FUCK! It might just be easier to make her walk the plank and be done with her. But it also would make the men happier if he actually broke his No sex with captives rule and gave her to them to use as they wanted. Yes, that was the new plan. No messy trouble with risky money ventures and the crew would still feel rewarded. He'd have to do better on the next ship they attacked to make it up to them.... Having settled that, his face cleared and he looked over at the woman again. I am Captain Jaichim Chuliandred. Perhaps you've heard of me? He looked at her arrogantly, confident that she'd heard of his name before. He was pretty renowned for attacking magic-user ships and being ruthless when it came to battles. They said that The Atropos sent fear into men's hearts when they saw it and when she bared down on a vessel, she cut the threads of life with her abhorred shears. It was poetic in a way and something he himself started, but people had picked it up willingly enough.