Lady of the Winter Sea - Part 01

Ursa Blacksong - Mid-Autumn of 113 YSTR

The Northern Sea

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One year later ...

For some reason, Ursa found the whole situation depressing in a way. The idea of being attacked by pirates of all things on the open sea seemed oddly absurd. The idea of the villains from her childhood storybooks made flesh proving a disappointment in many ways. The romanticized caricatures of fiction that she remembered from her youth proved to be nothing more than half-starved old men play-acting at being an able fighting force and failing at that miserably.

There was a sharp cracking sound of breaking ribs from the dead man's chest as she pulled her blade free of the corpse. The foul smell of rot and disease assaulted her senses but failing to do much more than annoy her given that she had smelled far-far worse in her day.

Collecting a worn cloth once used as a sash from the corpse at her feet she clean the blood from her blade before tossing the rag aside.

The pirates had been trailing the merchant ship for the past 3 or 4 days waiting to attack until just after nightfall hoping to use the cover of darkness to use surprise to their advantage. An advantage that as it happened had proven to be their disadvantage given that nearly half of the crewmen aboard the merchantmen were half-elves and nearly all having been gifted with night vision by their elven forbearers. What followed was a slaughter as the attacking pirates were butchered down to the last man and their ship was taken as a prize in just under an hour's time.

“Are you well my Lady?” One of the marines she kept company with asked joining her at the rail.

“I am a bit disappointed to be honest.” Ursa mused softly, staring down at the corpse at her feet. “ Another childhood fairytale ruined by reality it seems.”

Kristov nodded his understanding. “ As I child I used to spend hours playing the role of a pirate hunting for buried treasure and fighting anyone who dared challenge me. I never really saw myself as the knight in shining armor type.”

Ursa gave a light-hearted laugh. “ Indeed knights are boring. For my part I used to enjoy playing the part of the innocent young maiden captured by the pirates who would fight one another over me.”

“You an innocent young maiden… “ Kristov joked. “ Forgive me my Lady but that is a picture that I cannot imagine.”

Ursa gave the man an evil smirk. “ You dare sir.”

Kristov for his part couldn’t help but laugh. “ No offense my Lady but you are a priestess of the Order and I am a simple soldier. I cannot dare to imagine you as anything other than what you are in the here and now.”

Ursa frowned. “ Sad isn’t that we can be nothing more than what we are. “ Her gaze falling to the corpse at her feet once more, staring at it for several long moments in silence until her gaze fixed on a gold chain around the corpse's neck.

“And what is this?” she found herself asking aloud as she kneeled down and opened the dead man's shirt exposing an oddly familiar pendant attached to the chain.

Kristov for his part simply shrugged. “ A good luck charm perhaps. Most pirates are superstitious by nature and often adopt little trinkets and trophies in the vain hope that they will offer some kind of protection or aid.”

Ursa collected the pendant in hand and pulled it free from the dead man's neck breaking the chain. “ I’ve seen this somewhere before I just can't recall from where.”

Kristov looked at the pendant for several long moments as well before he too shrugged.“ It is pretty enough a thing to be sure but unremarkable at best. My wife would box my ears and call me a fool if I dared to trade coin for such a thing.”

“ I seriously doubt that.” Ursa couldn’t help but smirk. “ Your much too pretty for that to happen.”

Kristov smirked “Well it's yours if you want it my Lady.” He noted rising to his feet. “ I doubt any here would be fool enough to challenge your claim on anything found here today.”

“Just so let the Captain know that I have taken this trinket ...” Ursa said raising to her feet as well. “ I won't have it be said that I took more than what I was my due.”

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