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year 5, quarter 3
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Faris was so lost in the chaos of the battle that he didn't even notice what was happening lol
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Glug glug glug.
Faris had hardly spoken before he heard that strange noise. The ship rocked unsteadily and he hopped away from the approaching skeleton crew, trying his best to find his balance. His sea legs prevailed, but it wasn’t easy, and he saw some of the undead stumble. It was the perfect chance for attack, but Faris didn’t dare take it. He knew the way the ship turned. It was the same as when Syldra passed underneath, waiting to surface with a deadly wrath.
Something was coming from beneath the waves. Something big.
Chug-a-chugga chug-a-chugga CHOO!
There was a terrifying screech of a whistle and something materialized over the deck like a path made of iron and then he saw the beast, bursting from the waves with an explosion of salt and ocean spray. It had a skull-like face, burning with hellish flame, and a body like a great metal serpent. It charged over the deck, its path clunky and grasping over the bucking wood. It sent up splinters like the crash of the ocean waves, charging straight for its undead quarry.
Faris stood there, frozen and gaping as the great devil tore across the ship deck, leaving a trail of fleshless bodies in its wake. The more fortunate were flung aside like ragdolls, some hitting the deck and some tossed into the water. The less fortunate were pulverized beneath its massive weight. As quickly as it had begun, the hellish thing charged over the side, its horrid tail flicking behind it like a snake retreating to its hole.
Faris stared. He stared for a long time. Then the battle commenced.
”Woh!” Faris saw a flash of fire and he skipped backwards, turning to make himself less of a target, and then something grabbed him by the front of his armor and thrust him into the air with a force that he could only call superhuman. The fire burst below him into a hulking human figure. Faris twisted himself in the air, managing to right himself before he could fall into a heap on the deck, but he didn’t have quite enough time to take control of his imperfect launch. He felt the weight roll against his right ankle. He winced.
”Are you mad?” he cried at the hulking figure in front of him. The man was still flickering with the embers of the flames. It was a mad thing to do, taking that hit and throwing him off balance. Maybe Faris wouldn’t have dodged it in time, but maybe he would have. It was disrespectful was what it was. He growled at the staggered man, ready to help him put out the flames anyway, when something came behind the man and struck him straight through.
Faris didn’t really know what was happening. He was still too disoriented from being tossed around like a ragdoll. But a man was down and he felt a surge of rage overtake him as he charged forward, jumping up to bash the offending skeleton over the side of the head with his spear. It stunned the great thing, but didn’t send the whole skull flying like he’d hoped. He saw the other pirates crying out and struggling to get over to the deck, but Faris would keep the devil occupied until then. It had just run a man through. And Faris was on the offensive.
He soon found that the skeleton was more resilient than it looked, but Faris was seeing red. He hardly cared, and as his blood pumped harder, he kept on with a singular purpose. Revenge. Make it pay and keep it from raising a sword on anyone else again. Faris was a Warrior of Light, after all. A bearer of the crystals and traveler of the Rift. If he couldn’t do it then what chance did anyone else have?
He’d keep it busy at least.
The blood was pounding in his ears. He wasn’t one for conversation, and though he thought some sputtering words were spoken to him from the injured man, now wasn’t the time. He’d tend to him once the threat was good and done with. Soon enough, the pirates poured in to join him in his fight, but they couldn’t do much more than batter the devil about the shins.
”Leave it to me! You’ve got better worries to tend to!” Faris’ call went on deaf ears, however. The crew was determined. The bunch of louts.
Just when Faris thought he might be outmatched and outnumbered, the ship exploded.
”Augh!” The force of it knocked Faris out of the air from where he’d been angling his jump and he hit the deck hard, tumbling across the planks until he crashed into an arrangement of barrels. Faris winced, sitting up as spots dotted his eyes. There had been some kind of explosion, true as he stood. But where had they stored the gunpowder? Shouldn’t it have been soaked through from the rain?
Magic. That was as good an answer as any.
Faris staggered to his feet, ready to take on the behemoth and all its undead crew for another round. The pirates were fleeing now back to their own ship, maybe sensing the great frigate might sink. After an explosion like that, it very well might, but they’d need cover if they were to bridge the distance. Faris could make a quick retreat with his dragoon’s jump if it came to it. Probably.
So he squared off against the devils, the details of the last few events so chaotic that it was undoubtedly lost on him. None of it mattered. He’d keep fighting if it meant a distraction for the others.
There was still the princess and the ninja (as far as he knew). The rebel princess, at least, had sharp eyes and a good head on her shoulders. She’d take the lead while Faris did the rough and tumble work. Just like when he’d fought beside Lenna.
Faris shook the sea water out of his hair and made another jump. Now was no time to think.
Ah man. They've found something to bond over. Whiskey and dragons.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris nodded as Caius spoke of his drake. If there was anyone who could understand their connection, it was Faris. It seemed a strange thing to most, being so taken to a dragon. Dragons were the worst of beasts, most thought. They were fearsome and terrible and would tear apart a whole village using nothing but their teeth. Still, that wasn’t the whole of the story, and it wouldn’t be the last of it. Drakes were noble beasts, Faris thought. The kind too smart to take a liking to most men. Get on their bad side, and it would take a true warrior to survive. But win their hearts, and they were a friend for life.
Faris swirled his drink moodily. Well, a friend so long as one of them lived, anyway.
”It’s understandable, lad,” Faris said. ”We’ve got a way with drakes, but there’s a ton of beasts out there ready to rip a man in two. We’ve seen them ourselves. How’s this lot supposed to know you’ve tamed him right?”
Faris drank, draining the last of it down to ice. Then he set it down, plucked out a piece, and popped it into his mouth. The ice was hard and cold and made him shiver. In the heat of the tropical city, it was almost better than the liquor.
”I doubt there’s enough good in the world to be done for every man to see him for what he is. Aye, they’ll not have heard his name, most like. The good will have to be enough in itself. But who knows. Toting a blue drake around, you’re quite the sight. You make a strong enough name for yourself, and maybe you’ll take on a following.”
Faris laughed. He wasn’t wrong exactly. Caius might have had all the charisma of a dead fish, but you could recognize him in an instant, and that wasn’t nothing. He’d make a name for himself, Faris thought. He’d make a name and uphold it then become more of a hero than Faris ever had. Then again, Faris had never really tried. The word “hero” had never really fit him.
”Where are you keeping him, by the way?” Faris rolled the ice to his other cheek and bit down on it, relishing the satisfying crunch. ”Syldra could take care of herself in the ocean depths, but my sister had a family wind drake. She needed a lot of caring for and a whole stable to herself. I don’t imagine you’ve got one of those nearby.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris would have liked to growl back at the fake of a captain. He wanted to talk about starving families? About doing what he’s got to do? It was too late to play the victim, and it was a cowardly tactic aside. Faris had no room for cowards or curs and his crew’d have done better without him. Starting out of the gate with cannonfire? Setting the whole target ship ablaze? Seemed like a funny way to go plundering unless they all had gils to take their spoils from the depths of the sea. No, he’d been out to sink them from the start, and that was all there was to it.
He didn’t know why the captain bothered to lie. It didn’t matter when they were all under attack and about to set course for the depths themselves. He’d deal with that yellow-bellied captain later. Assuming they both survived the fight.
Faris landed, bizarrely, in a sea of fog. He blinked, looking around to catch his bearings. Was this some kind of spell? Another trick of the fiend? Smoke was already thick in the air, and it took him a moment to notice that his allies had set their foes ablaze. He hopped back, light on his feet and spear spinning at the ready. That was when he noticed a strange white glint through the fog.
Bone. The fire was reflecting off hard human bone.
Faris growled to himself. ”They’re undead!” he called back, hoping his captain’s bellow would be enough to reach them over the cannons. ”Cast your curing spells if you have it!” He didn’t have much more time to talk before the devilish things were on him, gathered around a fiendish malice. Their skulls burned with blue flame where the eyes should have been.
Was that the key to their cursed life then? If Syldra were here, she could have sent a wave crashing over the desk to extinguish every single flame. She wasn’t though, and she never would be again. Faris was alone.
One good thing about fighting the undead was their lack of smarts. While they could swarm just fine, they were clumsy and Faris took to the air without trouble. The problem was that his usual attacks were just about useless with the piercing effects of his spear. The bones made for narrow targets and would only splinter if struck. Faris instead elected to swing his spear like a staff, knocking them over the head with the blunt end and hoping to cave in the skulls and send them rolling.
Still, there was only so much he could do taking them one at a time. He’d have to rely on the others to end this while he kept their attention.
”Stop the cannons!” he called back between huffs of breath. ”We’re taking this ship! I’ll not have you lot sending it under!”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
The pirates may have been yellow, knuckle-headed louts, but apparently even they had an ounce of sense rattling somewhere between their skulls. There were calls to action and then the planks were lowered, allowing passage to the sailors of their doomed expedition for the water crystal. Between the pirates and this new hulking menace, it seemed like there were forces that would’ve rather kept the sea stormy and the Kraken raging.
Faris spun his spear between his fingers, landing it solidly on the ship’s deck. His eyes scanned the remaining sailors, pirates, and mages. Were there enough of them left to take the ship that bore down on them now? Maybe. If they played their cards right.
Faris didn’t have long to think it over. In less time than he’d have thought proper, the ship came charging like a bull through the waves, caving in the abandoned ship’s stern. Faris cursed and jumped back, hand raised against the wood debris sent flying through the space between. It made a horrid sound like a caving tunnel. Faris hissed between his teeth. ”What the blazes does that thick-headed cur think he’s doing?”
Ramming another ship like that? One that was already on a fast track to the depths? That was one way to wreck themselves while they were at it.
A man was beside him.
”Cap’n Erick Redbeard’s the name. And this is a fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.” It was a sailor’s tongue alright, and that sense of kinship only set his hackles raising higher. Faris turned on the man before him -- the dolt of a captain who’d gotten them into this mess to begin with. His eyes blazed.
”That’ll be your mess I hope you know!” He advanced on him, armor clinking menacingly. ”What kind of spineless cur goes about raiding in a gale like this? Are you daft?” At the moment, Faris didn’t care much about the leading or how the brigands intended to throttle them with it. ”As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t captain your crew out of a dull harbor! I only hope you’re better behind the cannons than the wheel! Or you’ll blow us all apart before they have the chance!”
With that said, Faris shook the wet locks of hair from his eyes. The foul ship was only just past spitting distance now. The men were taking to arms as their dolt of a captain had ordered, but it wouldn’t be enough. Anyone with eyes and half a brain in their skulls could see that. His thoughts raced with thoughts and ideas each more impractical than the last. This was exactly what the fiends must have expected. They’d practically invited the cannon fire on themselves.
But why?
Faris gave a sharp shake of his head. ”But they’ll not expect what we have in store.” That was the wildcard, he thought. Faris and Rinoa and that girl with the bladed wheel. They were fighters, all three of them, and maybe that would be enough.
”They’ll have a world of hurt coming their way.” Faris dodged his way through the crowds as close as he could to the action then prepared himself, waiting for the exact moment he might bridge the distance between the ships with a well-placed jump. Let the others man the cannons. He’d take them all on himself if that’s what it came to.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
”Caius? Getting along?” Faris laughed at the suggestion. ”I’ve seen stranger, I suppose, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.” Faris shook his head. ”I’ll take you as a friend any day. Though if it’d be a bother...I suppose I could give it a try.”
If it really was so important to her. This was the second time she’d brought it up. He supposed she was as much a friend to Caius as Faris was to Bartz. He’d have defended his honor against anyone who spoke ill of him. Even if Faris would throw in a few words of his own.
Like air-head. Or dolt. Faris didn’t know when he’d be ready to forgive for the lout for forgetting him.
Faris looked out over the water. It really was beautiful like this, all regal oranges and fiery reds. It was the reason he’d brought her out after all. Though now he was beginning to suspect that he’d had a more selfish motive of his own.
”What do you think?” he asked. ”The sea’s a lot more than its monsters. Do you think you could give it a chance?”
That was the least she deserved. After a life spent in fear -- after too long cowering from the ruin of the waves -- she needed something to bolster her spirits. Whatever had brought them here was a curse, Faris thought, but maybe it would do Yuna some good. She deserved to think of herself for once. She deserved a long rest.
The sun sank over the horizon, slipping into a violet blue. It would be dark soon. The sea might have been less unforgiving than it appeared, but that didn’t mean the night did it any favors. He didn’t want to scare her -- not even a little. Not even if it meant keeping this moment for a time longer.
”We should head back, I suppose,” he said. ”Wouldn’t want to lose our way.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
”My drake?” Faris paused at that, surprised for only a moment before he shook his head. Of course Caius would pick up on that part. He had a drake of his own after all. ”Syldra.” The name came with only a little pain. A little pain and a hard swallow of whatever it was that Caius had brought him.
It burned like fire straight from his tongue to his gut. He cleared his throat, grinning a little despite himself. ”Aye, you did good on this one.” His eyes sparkled as they landed on Caius. ”Don’t try to keep up. I’ll not have you drinking yourself under the table. That might land me in trouble with your friends!” Faris laughed. He imagined Yuna telling him off with that stern edge to her voice. Not to mention his fearsome partner -- whoever she was.
He’d heard tell of her though from asking around about these Dragonblades. She didn’t sound like someone he wanted to find himself on the wrong side of.
”Now Syldra…” He found himself sobering up for lack of a better word. There was a time when his drake would have brought a light to his eyes. Now he could only remember her howling cries as she slipped below the waves. ”I saved her when she found herself in a bind. She was taken to me after that and helped me take the role of captain. We were close as sisters, I thought. She’d have followed me to the ends of the world and back.”
She would have if she’d been given the chance. Faris had gone there, after all, on the back of a meteor. He supposed that Syldra couldn’t have fit on it anyway.
”She’d pull the ship along on days when the wind was low. And she’d take care of any ship of marauders that stood in our way. She was…” Faris trailed off, looking for the right words. ”Good. She was good.”
To say the least. The liquor had his head swimming.
”You’d best be caring for your drake the same as I’d care for mine.” Faris gave Caius a stern look. ”They’re brilliant creatures -- good as any man. You’d best be treating her right.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
There were many things that Faris could manage in a fight. Deflecting a sword, for one. Knocking a shield out of an armored man’s hands for another. What he couldn’t deal with, however, was being blindsided by magic from both sides. That was a lot trickier.
”Augh!” Faris had barely spun his spear around, knocking his target mage upside the head, before both spells launched, striking him with ice and fire simultaneously. Lights burst through Faris’ vision. He felt himself freeze and burn simultaneously resulting in a splash of scalding water taking him over. He stumbled and fell to one knee, teeth grit as he braced himself against his spear.
Get up! Get going!
Faris couldn’t handle everything, but he knew how to fight through what he couldn’t manage. His set of crystal armor armor did something to help with that.
”You’ll pay for that!” Faris growled and thrust himself upright, dodging to the side in case of any more spells and turning to face them. His head felt hazy. The storm did nothing for his balance. Still, he was ready to keep fighting. He’d fight to his last breath, and he’d be damned if this was where he fell.
”Try that again, you cowards! I’ll-” Exactly what he’d do was left to the unknown. His words were ripped away by a sudden, violent lurch.
Faris jumped on instinct. He jumped before his balance could be snatched away and he could be sent tumbling into the depths. He took to the mast again, looping an arm around it for balance, his other hand grasping his spear. He cursed, scanning the fight below. It wasn’t looking good. His own battles aside, their motley crew was made for sailing -- not fighting. The girls he’d left behind were plenty capable on their own, but it wasn’t enough. At this rate, they’d be the last three left standing.
And that was when he heard the sound of cannon fire.
The sound had never stopped, exactly, but this was different. This was louder. Booming, in fact, in a way that sent a shock straight down to his bones. He felt his stomach drop even before he saw that horrible shadow approaching from the horizon. He didn’t know what a ship like that was doing out in a storm like this. He didn’t know why it had thought to join the skirmish, but he knew one thing. Pirate or sailor -- none of them stood a chance. Not against a monster like that. Not alone.
The ninja girl got the idea in a snap.
Taking a ceasefire? Teaming up? Sounded like she had the right idea.
”Aye! We’ll not stand a chance alone!” Faris jumped down to the head of the ship, startling the helmsman who ducked away with a shout. ”That ship will plow straight through us if it’s not stopped! Sides be damned!”
His voice was as strong as any cannons, thundering out over the storm with a captain’s authority. It was a voice he knew how to use -- the kind that carried over any wind or waves or pirate skirmishes. He was a captain, through and through. If someone didn’t man this ship then it’d be the both of them going under.
”We’ll have to band together! All of us! Or we’ll not live to see another sunrise!” He gave them a fierce look only half visible through the stormy half-light. ”And if you don’t, I’ll run you all through then take that ship myself!”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Caius was a lot of things. He was a dolt for sure. Thick-headed for another and blustering and full of air. He had his own head up his ass, and he liked to think in terms of “good” and “bad” with nothing in between. That’s what Faris thought, at least, until he saw the way he nodded, listening to what Faris had to say. That was a first. Caius. Listening.
He didn’t say much about it. Not much at all except that he’d buy them both a round of drinks, and that there wasn’t much use in black or white. Caius wasn’t one to judge, he said, though Faris though differently. Caius had dedicated the whole of his life to helping people in need, and he seemed the type to take on certain cases without a cost to anyone involved. Yuna might have had a soft heart, but Caius had a strong one and it always pointed him in the right direction.
There might have been blood on his hands, but that didn’t make that equal.
Faris nodded, hard and short, before he snorted in laughter. ”Yuna’s a friend,” he said. ”A good friend. I’d throw myself into the maw of a behemoth for her.” Like he would for any of his friends -- even a certain wanderer with chocobo feathers for brains. ”And if you give her any trouble, I’ll knock you upside the head.”
That was something. Joking. Rivalry. That was something he could understand.
Caius asked about his drink, and Faris grinned, meeting his eye as he shot the rest what remained without even a grimace. It burned in his throat, through his lungs, all the way down to his core, but that was just the way he liked it. ”Do I look like I need any weaker?” He made a face. ”I’ve been handling my liquor since I was ten years old!”
He thought. It was hard to say as to ages when you couldn’t remember a thing about your past.
Caius left, and Faris leaned back in his chair until it tilted on to its back legs. He had his arms crossed, legs crossed, looking just about as rough as he could as he eyed the rest of the bar. It wasn’t the kind of place for fighting. He doubted there were many thieves here or shady dealings in the back tables, muttering under the swell of the surrounding conversation. Still, Faris liked to look like he was in charge. Maybe one day he would be again.
”And what’ve you got there? Not something weak, I hope.” Faris grinned as Caius returned, setting the glass of whatever it was in front of him. Caius raised his own drink, and Faris made a flourish to match. He didn’t know what they were toasting, but he thought it felt appropriate. His drink, as it happened, was about as strong as they came.
”What’re the odds you’ve got any exciting pirate tales to tell?” Caius settled down across from him, smiling. ”Ever had any big and exciting ship to ship duels with other pirates.”
Now that set a fire in Faris’ eye.
”Only loads of them,” he said. He sat forward. ”Now pirates, you’d think we’d get along -- call of the sea and all that -- but there’s just as many bastards on the water as there are in a noble’s court. The job of a captain is to sort the good lot from the bad. Some of them will wave right back as you go on your way. Others think that if one of us is going about stealing and looting then it’s easier to pick out the middle man than do the work themselves.”
Faris snorted his disdain. Those kinds of hawks were the worst kind.
”It helped having a sea drake on your side right about then, let me tell you. They think they’ve found an easy target then their ship’s getting struck by below.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris picked up his drink and took a long swallow. He’d said his piece, and now it was Caius’ turn for a tale. Faris couldn’t fault him for the long story. Faris had given him a lot to respond to.
He’d expected the mercenary to start thinking he was a better man. Maybe not expected, but it was a fifty-fifty chance at least. Faris wasn’t sure which would have bothered him more -- claims of his hidden goodness or condemnations for his piracy. Faris wasn’t either as far as he was concerned, and not a thing would change that. Though it was always nice to hear an apology.
”I’ll stop you right there, lad,” Faris raised a hand. ”I told you I’m no brigand -- at least not by my reckoning. I don’t go about spilling blood if I can help it, but I’ve no honorable trade either. I’ve done my share of plundering, and they’re not all of the bastardly persuasion. I said I’d take from those who can afford the loss, not that I’m holding them to some sort of moral account.”
He took another drink. It was a funny thing, defending his lack of honor, but he thought it was an important one. Faris would stand for his character, but only if that character was accurate. He knew what he was, and it wasn’t the kind of black and white that this mercenary seemed to see.
”I once took a princess for ransom,” he said. ”Now, I didn’t follow through, mind. She was my long-lost sister as it happened, but what kind of pirate would I be not to take advantage when a princess comes stowing away on my ship?”
He laughed. Now hadn’t that been a coincidence? Or maybe it was some kind of fate. Faris didn’t much see the difference.
”The world isn’t made of only good men and bad. Calling me either feels like an insult. One to my person and one to my trade. But you were a bit of a dolt to tell the truth.” Faris grinned at him, all tension gone. ”So I’ll take that round of drinks if you’re still of the same mind.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
He’d done it now. The moment was gone, ruined, and the girl was near tears. Faris looked at her in alarm, ready to say just about anything to have her smiling again -- a real smile, not the one she plastered on so he’d feel better about himself.
Stupid. Why had he panicked that way? Now he was swimming in the mess he’d made for himself.
”I didn’t mean...Now, lass…” He was talking over himself. Was there anything he could say to make this right? He didn’t know.
”We’ve only just met,” he said after her, and then sighed, nodding. That was true. No matter how well they got on, he didn’t know the first thing about her either. Or the second thing, at least.
There would be lots of time. The thought made his heart ache. How long would it be until he saw Lenna? Krile? Tycoon? He’d gone through all the effort to save it only to be banished to the far ends of the earth.
”I meant what I said,” he went on without looking at her. ”I might not know you well, but I know you’re one of the most kind-hearted women I’ve met so far. You have a fire in you and an eye for what’s right. I’ve had the best time I’ve seen in a while.”
How long had that been, exactly? He’d lost track.
”I’m glad you came with me,” he said. He looked up and tried for his own smile. He spoke the truth, and he wouldn’t have dreamed otherwise. ”I’d like to see you again if you’d have me. I know I’m a tad less than savory, and I’ve got a bone to pick with your friend Caius, but I’ve been needing a friend for myself.”
He touched at his hair, pushing it back behind his ear. "And if you get to know me, and you're not turned away...Aye. Perhaps we could give it a try then."
