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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 23, 2018 18:51:09 GMT -5
"I haven't thanked you yet," she said to him, her eyes looking around the scene. "I hope it isn't too much trouble to sneak a Ranger away from the Castle." Emily said.
Tony shrugged, “you are welcome, but you may be a bit early on that Thank you. We are not out of the woods yet.” He looked over to the banks, but it was too dark to make anything out. They had the lanterns hooded, but anyone on shore would be able to tell there was a ship moving downriver. “Trouble? No more trouble than my setting foot in Araluen is going to cause me and that was my own doing – more or less.” Tony replied. “You don’t know about that, do you?” he asked her.
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Post by Jordyn on Jan 1, 2019 14:40:26 GMT -5
Emily seemed to shrug softly. "Not much. I knew that you setting foot in Araluen was risky, of course. But I didn't have anywhere else to go. No one I could really trust, so to speak."
She sighed and looked back down the river, a frown on her face. "I'm just glad to be out of that place. Although, I'm nervous too. About what would happen if we got caught, what would happen if we don't. What's even in the Mountains...I just, I don't know. And I'm scared I'm following the same path my dad took. Running away, hiding."
She paused and smiled ruefully at him. "You don't know about that, do you?" she asked, before continuing.
"When I was little, I'd always admired the Rangers. Though my dad was trying to weed them out, replace them with his own followers...there were a few that stayed. Helped the King, and me, escape. And then, I'd always felt like freedom had been given to me, only to be taken away again." She laughed quietly, scornfully. "I never felt like I really belonged. I didn't have a place. I don't have a place. I'm just the rebel's daughter, to one day follow in his footsteps. Another threat to be eliminated."
She wondered to herself why she thought so low of herself. She'd tried to prove over and over again that she wasn't her father's daughter. That she was nothing like him. Still...
"I guess that's all I really am. My father's daughter. A rebel in my own right."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 2, 2019 20:40:42 GMT -5
Emily seemed to shrug softly. "Not much. I knew that you setting foot in Araluen was risky, of course. But I didn't have anywhere else to go. No one I could really trust, so to speak."
“Trusting someone is why I have issues with the King of Araluen,” Tony answered, almost bitterly. “I trusted a woman who told me she had some cargo she needed to get out of Araluen immediately. She paid me a good sum just to carry it and her across the Channel to Galica.” He explained, staring down the river. “I didn’t think anything was amiss until she came aboard with this really big fella who was carrying an unconscious person wrapped in a cloak so his face was hidden, over his shoulder and set the big guy to guard her cabin. Come to find out it was King Duncan himself she’d kidnapped and wrapped it all up nicely for me to take the fall for it.” He clenched his fist. “She still owes me for that one, and one day I will collect.”
He paused, glaring at the horizon as if he could make the betrayer appear. “Anyway, she was working for some Baron who ended up “rescuing” the King from me, and then offering me a deal to work for him in exchange for convincing His Majesty that I was not that kidnapper.” He winked at her, “needless to say, King Duncan still does not trust me and so I stay out of Araluen as much as possible. I don’t fancy ending up in the King’s Dungeon. The damp air would curl my hair.” He laughed at his own stupid joke. “Anyway, the moral is – you can only trust someone up to the point you can’t trust them anymore. The trick is to figure out what that point is.”
She sighed and looked back down the river, a frown on her face. "I'm just glad to be out of that place. Although, I'm nervous too. About what would happen if we got caught, what would happen if we don't. What's even in the Mountains...I just, I don't know. And I'm scared I'm following the same path my dad took. Running away, hiding."
She paused and smiled ruefully at him. "You don't know about that, do you?" she asked, before continuing.
Tony shook his head, “I have heard some rumors, but no, I don’t know the real story.”
"When I was little, I'd always admired the Rangers. Though my dad was trying to weed them out, replace them with his own followers...there were a few that stayed. Helped the King, and me, escape. And then, I'd always felt like freedom had been given to me, only to be taken away again." She laughed quietly, scornfully. "I never felt like I really belonged. I didn't have a place. I don't have a place. I'm just the rebel's daughter, to one day follow in his footsteps. Another threat to be eliminated."
Tony looked at her thoughtfully and after a moment he declared, “So if you don’t have a place, make a place for you. Figure out what your place should be or where you want it to be, and go after it. Only you can change your life. If you don’t like the way it is now, then change it.”
She wondered to herself why she thought so low of herself. She'd tried to prove over and over again that she wasn't her father's daughter. That she was nothing like him. Still...
"I guess that's all I really am. My father's daughter. A rebel in my own right."
“Only if that’s what you want to be. My father is a Royal Cortier in Cortona. I am a pirate – er, I mean, an acquisitions engineer,” he grinned and winked at her again. “I was destined for a life of court intrique and endlessly boring royal duties. I made up my mind one day that it wasn’t the life for me. So I left. I hired on as a plain ole deck hand and worked my way up to Captain of my own ship, through no help from my Father. In fact I did that while a fugitive from Cortona.” He bragged. “Confidence, my girl. What you lack is confidence in yourself. Believe that you can do anything – really believe it, and then you can make your life anything you want of it. With a lot of hard work. Nothing worth anything comes easy.”
Tony steered the ship around a large sandbar in the middle of the river. “Besides, if a rebel you are, then what’s wrong with that? Rebels have a way of changing the world – usually for the better in the long run.”
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Post by Jordyn on Jan 22, 2019 22:54:53 GMT -5
“Trusting someone is why I have issues with the King of Araluen,” Tony answered, almost bitterly. “I trusted a woman who told me she had some cargo she needed to get out of Araluen immediately. She paid me a good sum just to carry it and her across the Channel to Galica.” He explained, staring down the river. “I didn’t think anything was amiss until she came aboard with this really big fella who was carrying an unconscious person wrapped in a cloak so his face was hidden, over his shoulder and set the big guy to guard her cabin. Come to find out it was King Duncan himself she’d kidnapped and wrapped it all up nicely for me to take the fall for it.” He clenched his fist. “She still owes me for that one, and one day I will collect.”
He paused, glaring at the horizon as if he could make the betrayer appear. “Anyway, she was working for some Baron who ended up “rescuing” the King from me, and then offering me a deal to work for him in exchange for convincing His Majesty that I was not that kidnapper.” He winked at her, “needless to say, King Duncan still does not trust me and so I stay out of Araluen as much as possible. I don’t fancy ending up in the King’s Dungeon. The damp air would curl my hair.” He laughed at his own stupid joke. “Anyway, the moral is – you can only trust someone up to the point you can’t trust them anymore. The trick is to figure out what that point is.”
"I hope you're not that telling me this story because you've already lost your trust in me!" Emily joked, a small smile on her lips. "I heard about that. It was a story told around the country. I had to laugh a little, the King himself, being foolish enough to be kidnapped!" She shook her head. "I'm sure he doesn't. It takes ages to get that man's trust."
Tony shook his head, “I have heard some rumors, but no, I don’t know the real story.”
"Well, to make a long story short, my father was a rebel Baron who fled into the Mountains of Rain and Night. He lead two attacks that turned into wars, and died in the second. I was...five maybe six or seven when I was rescued from his castle by two Rangers, and so I became one...and gained the weight of what my father did. I've heard whispers that I was the unlucky one. That my father got off easy because he was killed in combat instead of hanging. I'm not so sure..."
Tony looked at her thoughtfully and after a moment he declared, “So if you don’t have a place, make a place for you. Figure out what your place should be or where you want it to be, and go after it. Only you can change your life. If you don’t like the way it is now, then change it.”
"That's what I'm hoping to do with this voyage," Emily admitted. "I'm hoping to turn it for the better, then maybe change the world in my own stubborn way."
“Only if that’s what you want to be. My father is a Royal Cortier in Cortona. I am a pirate – er, I mean, an acquisitions engineer,” he grinned and winked at her again. “I was destined for a life of court intrigue and endlessly boring royal duties. I made up my mind one day that it wasn’t the life for me. So I left. I hired on as a plain ole deck hand and worked my way up to Captain of my own ship, through no help from my Father. In fact, I did that while a fugitive from Cortona.” He bragged. “Confidence, my girl. What you lack is confidence in yourself. Believe that you can do anything – really believe it, and then you can make your life anything you want of it. With a lot of hard work. Nothing worth anything comes easy.”
Tony steered the ship around a large sandbar in the middle of the river. “Besides, if a rebel you are, then what’s wrong with that? Rebels have a way of changing the world – usually for the better in the long run.”
She laughed at the wink and listened to his story carefully. "I'm sure I could. Maybe with a crew like yours..." she paused and looked at him for a moment before considering. "Maybe we could join together, give Duncan a bloody nose." She smirked playfully. "Maybe I could go dark and finish what my father never could." She said those last words in the most menacing voice she could. She looked at him, question in her eyes. "I know you only agreed for safe passage for me to the Mountains, but I can pay more. I have some coins hidden in my pack I could give you."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 23, 2019 18:52:55 GMT -5
She laughed at the wink and listened to his story carefully. "I'm sure I could. Maybe with a crew like yours..." she paused and looked at him for a moment before considering. "Maybe we could join together, give Duncan a bloody nose." She smirked playfully. "Maybe I could go dark and finish what my father never could." She said those last words in the most menacing voice she could. She looked at him, question in her eyes. "I know you only agreed for safe passage for me to the Mountains, but I can pay more. I have some coins hidden in my pack I could give you."
Tony stared at her for a long moment, assessing her determination. He figured she was only partly joking. “An interesting idea…” he turned back to the river and ran a few scenarios in his head. Finally he shook his head, “I don’t think the timing is right. Let’s say you pull it off: Duncan is dead and your forces have taken the capital. Then what? You still have 40 some rangers running around that are loyal to Duncan, not to mention pretty much the entire Royal Scouts and Couriers, even if you did manage to get the battlemasters behind you somehow.” He looked back at Emily to see how she was reacting. “The people love him and the Princess. It would be civil war and unless we found a lot more troops someplace, we would not have the manpower to win in the long run.” “Besides all that, saying we did succeed by some miracle, who is going to be the next ruler? Me? I certainly don’t want the job. Are you ready to be a Queen and run the entire country?” He shook his head again, “No, running a coup to take over a country is something that is years in the making, as your father well knew. Its not something you can pull off at the drop of a hat.” He turned and winked at her again, “but you were just joking, afterall.” He said with a chuckle.
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Post by Jordyn on Jan 29, 2019 21:07:18 GMT -5
Tony stared at her for a long moment, assessing her determination. He figured she was only partly joking. “An interesting idea…” he turned back to the river and ran a few scenarios in his head. Finally he shook his head, “I don’t think the timing is right. Let’s say you pull it off: Duncan is dead and your forces have taken the capital. Then what? You still have 40 some rangers running around that are loyal to Duncan, not to mention pretty much the entire Royal Scouts and Couriers, even if you did manage to get the battlemasters behind you somehow.” He looked back at Emily to see how she was reacting. “The people love him and the Princess. It would be civil war and unless we found a lot more troops someplace, we would not have the manpower to win in the long run.”
“Besides all that, saying we did succeed by some miracle, who is going to be the next ruler? Me? I certainly don’t want the job. Are you ready to be a Queen and run the entire country?” He shook his head again, “No, running a coup to take over a country is something that is years in the making, as your father well knew. Its not something you can pull off at the drop of a hat.” He turned and winked at her again, “but you were just joking, afterall.” He said with a chuckle.
Emily was biting her lip and nodding slightly. "I know that..." She said softly, looking away from him for a moment. She shrugged unhappily after a moment, and agreed with Tony.
Although...
"'Have you heard the rumors lately?" She asked him, more just wanting to start small talk more than anything. "They say someone was going to use the plague to try and destabilize the country." She paused and smiled at him. "If I'm honest I can't say I can blame them if they did. Seems an interesting plan, if not risky. You run the risk of catching the plague yourself, unless you already know the antidote, and even then..." She paused once more, thinking. "Even then, there's a good chance people find a cure themselves, and then you'd have to act fast to take over..."
She shrugged once more, then turned to face him completely, her back to the shoreline. "So, I have a feeling you have a lot of questions. I'll answer them if you want me too. Might pass the time. Maybe we can get someone to open that cask for us."
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