A Rose on the Waves
Tenth Day of the Seventh Month 293 AC
The clouds were swift and fickle as they raced over the face of the setting sun, its light a sly and tricksome thing more likely to fool a sailor's gaze than even pale moonlight. Still, the spotter aboard the Queen Rhaella was no common sort, none of the men who rode the great ship were, for they were the best in all the Stepstones, chosen twice over first by the captain and crew and then by the living ship itself, weighed by whatever arcane measure the spirit measured the souls of men by. Little wonder that that the nimble and sharp-eyed Little Valyrian called out ships to port long ere another might have. Strange, however, that they had found not one ship but three here of all places...
"Think it's an ambush?" Theon Greyjoy asked his elder sister. Truth be told he would not mind a decent fight, though he would never say so aloud lest half the men call it bad luck and the other half name him a beardless fool of a boy for wanting blood when they could have so much gold fit for the taking just by pulling it from the sea.
"It would take a fool to try and ambush the Rhaella, a blind one at that," Asha replied. "She's better armed than damn near anything in these waters, than anything outside the Braavosi fleet for sure. She can row herself out of trouble if it should come to it by some mischance, and that's not counting the Hunter's Moon. No, I'd wager these fine folk are after the same thing we are..."
"The Crown of Flowers..." the boy trailed off. "Do you think it's really down there? I mean... Moonsong has her whispering fey sprites, aye, but they are as likely to play tricks just for the fun of weaving a lie from truths."
The boards grumbled under his feet, making the young Greyjoy look down guiltily: "I didn't mean you, my lady. For sure and certain there's trustworthy fey just as there's
untrustworthy men. I'm just saying the sort of folk who sell rumors on the wind ain't..."
"Keep it short lest you shove your boot any further down your throat, little brother," Asha japed. The Rhaella was as even-tempered of a being as ever she'd met. If she could be said to have any fault then it was wanting to know everything at once. A few memorable occasions had led to the ship changing course mid-voyage to follow some sailor's yarn of a tale someone saw fit to unwind in her hearing. The crew had learned to be more careful with such things about her, and the captain had learned to keep a better watch on the heading, no matter that the ship knew the way.
"A Golden Rose! It's a Golden Rose on Green!" the shout called down from the top of the mast.
"Tyrells,
fuck!" Asha cursed none too softly, to which her bother could only agree. If the three galleys out there had just been Lannisters or Baratheons they would have taken these ships alongside whatever they fished out of the sea, but they had no orders to make war on the Reach which attacking galleys of the Redwyne fleet would be.
Once upon a time when he was still properly learning a reaver's craft, or corsair as they said in the Dragon King's service, Theon would have thought:
Who's to know if we do sink 'em? It would be between us and the sea. But he'd learned more sense than that since. The truth will get out likely as not like a log floating to the surface. If it were just a little thing, like say a Myrish ship carrying bow
staves instead of slaves, well a wink and a nudge would do one good. But this was too big by far, and...
"They've got a bloody claim to the crown right enough as much as they do the Reach," Asha mused, her thoughts rowing besides his. "Which is to say not very much, but it wouldn't be polite to say so in present company."
"You know I doubt they have magic to lift the whole ship," Theon interjected. "Even without the crown there's bound to be more treasure on that ship, even the enchanted kind. I mean, if I were running off to keep the oldest and most sacred things in the Reach from the hands of septons and 'sage kings,' I'd take as much gold and silver as I could find to do me well in my old age."
"So you think we should split the take. Clever lad," the commanding and unaccountably young voice of the Rhaella's captain interjected. Lothos Saan looked perhaps a year or two older than Asha's six-and-ten, but he still talked like a man who'd sailed the seas before even Balon Greyjoy had been a glean in his father's eye. "Trouble is these fine knightly sorts aren't going to have much to say for a bunch of Essosi pirates. Does either of you feel like having a talk?"
"What makes you think they'll listen to Greyjoy pirates any better?" Asha asked. "From what I heard they'd likely have more respect for the
fey. Maybe we should just send captain Moonsong."
"Captain Moonsong sound's good, it's the 'just' I have trouble with, lest she get creative with her deals, eh? I'd rather not agree to patrolling the waters off Oldtown for payment just because she thinks it would make for an interesting journey."
She had never been that bad about it, Theon thought, still loyal to his captain. Still, the old salt did have a point. If nothing else it would flatter the Reacher captain something fierce to be trusted with such as himself or Asha. And if he decided to do something stupid... then they would get those extra three ships after all.
OOC: An interesting encounter roll for your salvage expedition.
