The sounds of the busy port city were audible even in the tiny cabin. The dark priestess Kira turned away from the window, memories of her last week with Lucien on her mind. She had promised to meet him again at the same spot in a year. She sighed again, knowing that the time would go by slowly. The old man in the cabin was staring at her again. She sighed, wishing this trip would be over soon.
At least she had a purpose for going. The ship would return to port with one less traveler than it had started out with.

"Mingan! Wait for me!" the healer Phenal cried out as his entertainer comrade leapt from crate to barrel in an effort to board the boat before the other passengers. "I can't run that fast!"
Mingan turned to him, mirth barely suppressed on his face. "I think you should." he laughed, pointing at a angry-looking man behind Phenal. Phenal turned around as a dagger flipped by his ear. Instead of growing angry as he had used to, Phenal simply waited for the man to rush next to him, then shoved him into the river.
"What did you do?" Phenal asked him.
"You know how we don't have enough money to pay for the fare?" Mingan asked.
"Yes."
"Well, we do now."
The two walked calmly into the boat and paid their fares to a tired- looking man with a ledger. As they walked past, Mingan glanced at the man's wallet.
"Mingan!" Phenal scolded.
"Only looking." Mingan replied, amused. They walked down into the dark, smelly interior of the boat and opened the cabin door. The room, lit by the setting sun, had two other occupants- an old man and a tall woman. Mingan took the lower bunk by the door, while Phenal took the opposite bunk. One of their fellow occupants looked at Mingan.
"That's me bunk, sonny." he complained. Mingan threw his gear to the side of the bunk, laid down, and closed his eyes.
"Didn't you hear me?" the old man asked him. Mingan reached in his jeweled robe, pulled out his knife, and waved it at the man.
"Out." he growled. The man quickly backpedaled out of the room.
Kira had turned when the old man had started to complain. You! she thought, seeing Mingan and his white-robed comrade. It was apparent that he didn't see her standing there. After he had chased the man out of the room, she spoke.
"Imagine seeing you here."
Mingan turned. "It's you!" he cried out.
"Yes. Me." Kira replied evenly. "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Phenal." Phenal said shortly. "Is this your priestess, Mingan?"
Mingan nodded. "How rude of me. Phenal, this is Kira."
The three settled into affable conversation over some drinks for a while, until Mingan yawned
"I'm going to bed. Good night."

Kira waited until Phenal had fallen into a drugged stupor in his chair and Mingan had crashed into his bed. Then she got up and moved to get out of the cabin. Mingan watched her, eyes closed to slits. Like I wouldn't notice her slipping that powder in those drinks, he thought. Now, let's see where she goes.
He snuck outside and saw her sneaking off into another room. Intrigued, he followed her after a few seconds. He gently pushed open the door. Kira whirled around.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "Get out. Now!"
"Hey!" Mingan replied. "What's going on in here?" He managed to look and see another man tied up to the bunk. Frowning, he burst into the room. Items were scattered across the floor. "They truly do come in all shapes and sizes." he said aloud.
"What does that mean?" Kira asked him coldly. Mingan never had the chance to answer. Sailors and passengers burst though the door, diving at Kira.
"Now look what you've done, fool." Kira snapped at Mingan, fighting her captors. "Uhngh!" she gasped. She was too weak, and broke down, letting them drag her back in. She glared at Mingan, and submitted to the sailors, flinching at the roughness they handled her with. She was hauled up on deck, and the sailors tied her to the mast, not knowing what to do.
Minutes later, Mingan stepped up onto the deck, looking up at the flailing woman on the mast. "She seemed so serene in the cabin." he muttered. "Appearances can be deceiving." The man who was tied up in the room was standing on deck, gesturing to her calmly.
Kira listened to the men talk as she hung limply against her bonds. The man was saying something about cutting her throat. Put me in a fair fight with you, and we'll see who gets their throat cut, she screamed silently in her head. If only I could cut these ropes. She hung up there, shivering as the cold wind whistled against her bare skin. Her robe was lying in a heap on the ground, just out of grasp.
Mingan listened intently to the conversation between the sailors and the other man. He chipped in after a remark about cutting of the throat. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. What did she do to you?"
The man glared at Mingan. "She threatened to kill me if I didn't give her my money." Mingan looked at him.
"If she'd wanted to kill you, she would have done it." Mingan sniped.
Kira writhed against the ropes. The knots were on the other side of the mast, which she couldn't reach. She bucked and kicked, hindered by the ropes binding her harshly to the mast. "I'll get you!" she screamed at the man, who was taunting her just out of kicking range. "I'll cut your heart out!"
Mingan stared at her. This seems too harsh, he thought to himself as he watched her wrists start to bleed.
"Perhaps you should confine her instead of letting the dock birds peck at her." he said, walking to the man and several sailors.
"She'll have to be watched, constantly. And since you caught her in the act before, I'm giving you the responsibility." a sailor stated. Mingan stepped back. What have I gotten myself into? he thought.
"Fine." Mingan said. He walked towards his cabin, but first took a final glance at the woman on the mast.
Kira glared daggers at the entertainer as he glanced at her. He went belowdecks and she continued to struggle. Eventually, her strength began to ebb. She sagged against the ropes. The man continued to taunt her for a while, then went below decks as well.
Kira felt humiliated, as the sailors gave her looks of appraisal/pity. She spat at them, and they gagged her. Finally, a bell rang. Will I be able to go under now? Kira thought. The sailors clustered around the hold, brought out a long pole, and set it up against the front deck. A trumpeter came out and yelled for the whole ship to hear: "Five lashes for the woman!" The sailors herded her up against the pole, and the captain drew back the six-tonged whip.

Mingan struggled to wake Phenal up. Finally, despairing of shaking him, Mingan slapped him across the face.
"Wake up, Phenal!" he shouted. Phenal got up slowly, rubbing his eyes.
"What is it, Mingan?" he asked tiredly.
"Kira needs your healing outside."
Phenal got up and began to run towards the ladder as Mingan wandered over to the galley to steal some food.

Down in the galley, the ship's cook heard the bell clang. Trouble brewing. he thought. "Boy!" he yelled to the back room. "Leave off them peelings and go see what's agoin-on." He jerked his blackened thumb at the upper deck as the cabin boy scampered past. Torrent looked up from the vegetables she was sorting alongside the cook. She had booked passage on this ship without enough to pay in full. Cutting a deal with the ship's captain, she was working off half her passage by helping the cook. The captain, it seemed, was hoping for better fare than normal.

From his vantage point up in the crow's nest, Silver watched the commotion on deck, uncaring. A woman, apparently a thief, was being tied to a pole, about to be flogged. Silver shrugged.
"Five lashes is hardly punishment for the lass." he muttered. He turned his attention back to the thing that mattered- Mingan. He had to be sure that the entertainer would stay out of trouble. As he watched, Mingan returned belowdecks.

Kira lay limp against the pole. Her back felt like it was on fire. She was seeing red spots in her vision. "Help..." she whispered feebly, then faded into unconsciousness, slipping off her post to hang by her wrists an inch above the water. Phenal ran over to her, pulled her aboard, and began to heal her.
Next to him, he heard a loud thudding noise. He turned, distracted. It was Silver, one of the knights from the city he grew up in.
"Dost thou know what happened, Phenal?" Silver asked.
"Mingan woke me to get her healed." Phenal replied, getting back to work. "Excuse me." Phenal finished and strode downstairs, irritated that he would never get a chance to work on staying calm if he had to heal people all the time. As he walked, mice scurried away from his feet.

Torrent listened to the cabin boy in irritated boredom. A thief. Big deal, she thought. I've done worse than steal in my life. She focused back on her work, trying to regain her composure. After a few minutes of sorting vegetables, she felt better. She paused. The room was silent. Too silent. She spun around to see a man hold a knife up to her throat. He looked at her calmly, eyes never wavering.
Almost at once, there was the sound of footsteps from above. Hearing the sound of footsteps, Mingan quickly stabbed a large piece of meat on a nearby table.
"Ma'am, is there a platter that goes with this hunk of meat? The captain will not be pleased if his dinner isn't served on a plate." Mingan put on his best grin, waiting for a reply.
Torrent blinked. Did I misread the entire situation? Shrugging, she looked around at the now crowded galley and asked, "Gentlemen, is the captain expecting ALL of you for dinner?"
Phenal sat down at one of the tables. Not only does it take hours for this boat to go anywhere, the meals are slow! he grumbled in his mind.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Are we gonna be fed around here?" Several other passengers and crewmen agreed with him.
Mingan noticed the cook appear in the doorway, who said, "You there! The boy with the meat! Slice it up with that knife of yours and serve!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Mingan sliced up and passed out pieces of the meat, while shoving a few small pieces into his robe's pockets. Then Mingan approached the man who Kira had tried to mug. At his side was a large bag, presumably full of money. "Well, now I know what Kira was after. I've got to rob him while he's asleep, though. Maybe I should give him a little more ale." he muttered.
Torrent noticed the man watching the man chopping the meat. She had an eye on the meat-chopper, and he had an eye on the man he was serving, too. She looked at his target, noting the large bag of money. Now I know what that thief was after. Just have to watch the guy with the knife, she thought.
Finishing up his meal, Phenal retreated to a quiet corner, trying to ignore the fascinating sounds emanating from the male diners.
"The good priests were never this crude," he reflected, somewhat wryly. "Perhaps it is because they never lived life so fully as these men do." Hidden in his corner, he had opportunity to observe the unspoken interplay between them all. The man with the bag of money had one hand on his meal, the other on a dagger under the table. Mingan was fingering his halberd, hidden under his robe, wearing a smile that could only be described as 'satisfied' flitting across his lips. Silver was watching Mingan, trying not to be noticed. The cook woman seemed to be watching the other two with equal interest. Phenal sighed, sure that this would somehow blow up in his face.
Mingan kept serving up meals, until everyone was in the process of eating. He walked over back to the wooden bar, checked to make sure his halberd was still concealed behind his robe, and got a few glasses of ale. He passed two out to people who he didn't care even existed, and the last out to the man with the money. He set the glass down on the table, then turned around and headed back towards the end of the kitchen, where he sat and watched the man finish eating. He stood and left.
"The gods be damned, he didn't drink any ale." Mingan muttered. He sighed, and followed the man to his cabin.

Torrent crawled tiredly up the stairs to her assigned cabin, glad to be done with the work in the galley and looking forward to a peaceful, and hopefully restful, night's sleep. Staff in hand, she continued her stumble down the hallway, and found her door ajar with the man from the kitchen, blade drawn at the man's throat, presumably her cabin-mate.
Apparently, I did NOT misread the earlier situation, flitted through her mind with satisfaction. Enough is enough from this one! She swung her black oak staff clumsily, more surprised than the man when it actually connected with a resounding THWACK across the back of the young thief's head.
Mingan felt a large, heavy object connect with the back of his head. He fell to the ground with a groan. Torrent stood over the fallen thief, half in horror, half in jubilation that she actually managed to make a physical weapon work.

Silver had become restless. Pacing in his cabin, he suddenly heard shuffling nearby. He sighed and swiftly moved out of the cabin, seeing an open cabin door.
Please don't tell me I'm going to find a thief in there, he thought to himself with a touch of self-pity. He walked forward and poked his head in the door. Immediately pulling out his dagger, he saw a robed figure standing next to a sprawled out body with a woman in the background. Silver stormed inside, poised with his dagger.
The man's throat had a tiny nick in it, and Torrent saw blood trickling down his shirt. She grabbed a cloth and pressed it to the small cut. Moments later, it stopped bleeding. She looked at the youth laying on the floor, then at the new arrival.
Silver was ready to strike. He quickly threw back his arm as the robed figure turned to be a woman. Silver let out a frustrated sigh.
"What is going on in here?" he asked.
Dazed and confused for only for a second or two, Mingan slowly got to his knees. Once he remembered the situation, he lunged for his halberd. That damned woman hit me hard, but not hard enough! he thought to himself grimly. Mingan made a grab for the halberd, but dropped it. Quickly, he pulled out twin knives, ready to throw. His eyes open in a scream, but no audible noise issuing from his throat, the man pointed behind Torrent in a desperate attempt to warn her.
Silver instantly recognized the man with the newly drawn knife to be Mingan. Annoyed, he moved over to the man and pushed him onto the bed nearby. Forget saving the lad. 'Tis enough to make my hair turn grey, he thought.
Torrent ducked underneath the whipping knife, and countered with a swing from her staff. The man easily leapt out of the way, and stabbed at her, missing by an inch.
Phenal was walking towards the shared cabin when he heard the sounds of fighting from another room.
"Help!" he shouted, bringing several sailors running into the room. One nearly got brained by a stray swing from Torrent's staff.
Silver's eyebrows rose. What are these people doing in here? Using his best take-charge voice, he instructed the first sailor through the door to remove the rest of the crew back to the deck. While he was doing so, Mingan and the woman had managed to knock each other down.
"And send word to the captain, would thou please, that we have need of his wisdom, whatever that may be on this godforsaken ship." After watching the sailor scoot out the door, he made his way back to the fallen two on the floor, gingerly sorting limbs and separating the two fighters.
By the gods, that hurt! Mingan thought as he struggled to get up. He noticed that the woman got up as well. Mingan inwardly winced as pain came flooding into his brain. Tenderly getting up, he glared at the woman.
Silver noticed they were coming around. Disgusted at the wary glances they gave each other, certain they were about to begin fighting again, he turned to the dazed man on the bed and inquired gently, "Should we leave, my good man?"
Assuming he really wanted to go, Silver helped him out of bed and across the floor, guiding him gently around the fighters. He cast an intent stare of his own at Mingan, until he made it out the door with her charge.
The deck was alive with activity. Janden Settlement was in sight. Sailors scrambled once again with lines and sails and crates. Silver looked around gratefully, glad that he was soon to disembark. He steered his new friend over to a quiet spot, along the railing and watched happily as the dock grew closer, lines were cast and the few sailors nimbly crawled over to secure them.
I'm ready to get off this ship, he thought and then wondered about the man's belongings. Maybe I can find someone to bring them up for him. I do not want to go back down there again for another encounter. Wonder if they've killed each other yet? Thinking it was no concern of his, he prepared to move towards the opening, now visible with the lowered plank.
Torrent gingerly stepped off the boat, grateful that the whole ordeal was over. I'll never take another boat ride in my life, she thought tiredly. Ever.
Struggling to get off the boat, Mingan limped onto the dock. Boy, I'm glad I got that knife out of the wall before the captain walked in. Mingan grinned, noticing the woman as she walked off towards the local alchemist.
Well, I lost that battle. Mingan headed off in the direction of the dock hotel, as Kira and Phenal scurried to catch up with him. But I'll get you next time, lady.