Chapter 10: Ale and Order ------------------------- "Passage for one to Doma." The merchant furrowed his bushy brow as he sized up the boy. It was no more than a mere child, barely old enough to shave. Still, the merchant was no fool, and did not miss the pair of shortswords strapped to his back in an cross formation; they were quite evidently not for show. "Hold it just a minute there, son. You know," the merchant shoved his hands into his pockets roughly for effect, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not sure if I can get those for you. You see, Doma Castle's occupied by the New Empire right now, if rumours be trusted..." "I know. Just give me the tickets and I'll make it worth your while." In his mind, the merchant cracked his knuckles. It was time to make his profits for the week, at the expense of this arrogant child. The grin on his face began to slide outward. "Well, I *do* have some tickets, wink wink, but they're very hard to get a hold of. Still, if certain parties "donated" some funds to feed my starving wife and children, I'm sure I -" The merchant's spiel was never finished. A hard, low roundhouse knocked his feet out from under him, and a punch to the gut threw him back onto the hard stone ground with a wet thud. He rubbed his head mournfully for all of five seconds before the boy was upon him, one thin, keen-edged blade dangling loosely over his oh-so-tender neck. He could feel a lone drop of blood weaving its way down from his adam's apple, leaving a sickly warm trail behind it. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," said the boy. His eyes seemed entirely black, and the harsh gray cloak wrapped about his shoulders made him seem larger than the sky. "Oh, you were clear of course you made yourself clear I mean it's not like there was any misunderstanding of course not don't be silly not that you are a silly individual by any means which isn't to sayUUURK!" The lone drop was joined by another river of crimson lava. "You want passage to Doma? Leave it to me. Really. There's no reason to be hasty about this, as I'm sure you're very busy but still have time to deal with an ignorant little lowlife such as myself." "Shut. Up. Hand me the ticket." "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Let me see here." The merchant carefully reached down into deep, ash-stained pockets and rooted around carefully, barely resisting the urge to crane his head to watch what he was pawing through. The flow on his neck was becoming regular now. His deft fingers, sensitive from years of manipulating gold coins, rolled over item after item, feeling for indents and shapes, paper textures and edges... "I think this is it," he finally announced, eyes beginning to water. The boy didn't blink. "Show it to me." The paper was raised before the boy's eyes, clutched in shivering hands the shade of new paper. There was a long, tense silence, as the boy surveyed the card put before him, and the merchant tried desparately not to swallow. His throat was filling with wetness now, and the bubbles were beginning to form. Just as the merchant though he could bear no more, the blade was pulled back sharply. He clutched at his throat, feeling the rough point of the forming scab. Rolling onto his stomach, spitting his mouth dry, he looked up for his customer, and saw the boy calmly sheathing the shortsword over his shoulder. It slid in as if into mere water. Then, the boy whipped about, adjusting his black, glossy vest tight about his shoulders. "Nice doing business with you." There was a whisper, a swift mirage of shadow, and the boy was gone. "Yeah," the merchant intoned. "Likewise." *************** As Seb approached the docks, he let out a long sigh of relief. As he saw the majestic galleons' prows reaching up to the sky, fingers of sail flaring out in the wind, something inside him said "this is right." And he was not about to dispute it. The vest he'd bought two hours earlier hung over his shoulders, the shimmering length of it dripping long and ebony down over his clean gray shirt. His boots clattered on the stones below, alerting the sailors of his approach. Many turned to face their new visitor. Seb walked past them and to the edge of the docks, looking out at the small collection of ships at harbour, all of them bobbing up and down, tiny rowboats in a god-child's first bath... "Are ye looking fer somethin', lad?" called out a rough voice. Seb turned to it, and found himself with a large, grease-spotted man. The big man's face was spread wide into a glittering gold, toothy display. "I'm looking for the Wyvern's Bane. Headed for Doma." "Aye. I might have heard of it. What do ye think, lads?" the big man cocked his head towards the group of sailors behind him. "Do ye think we should tell this pompous little landlubber where the Bane be?" The sailors were about to chorus a grand "NO!", when they were interrupted. Seb went on the move. Before their mouths were open, he was upon the big sailor. Despite his tiny frame, his momentum bowled over his opponent, and soon Seb was perched on the large belly of the sailor. "Where is the ship?" he asked again. His voice was a dead monotone. The pirate laughed heartily. "I could squash you, you little bugger, with my bare hands." Light flickered over Seb's back for a moment, and in a blink a shortsword has hovering millimetres over the pirate's belly, tip down. Seb barely blinked. "Let me reiterate. If you do not tell me where the Wyvern's Bane is right now, I will personally remove your spleen. Discussion?" The pirate lifted one heavy arm and motioned towards a small, dingy ship docked nearby. His jaw shook as he spoke. "It's there. My ship, the Bane. The two lads wearing blue are my lads." "Good. Isn't compromise fun?" Seb nodded his head. The pirate nodded his spasmodically. Seb grinned. "Good." Seb calmly stepped off the pirate's barrel chest and cleanly sheathed his sword. The pirate rolled over, then pushed himself to his feet heavily, grunting with the effort. Seb crossed his arms over his chest, watching interestedly. "You know, being heavy like that can only be a liability out at sea," Seb commented wryly. The pirate smiled quietly back. "Aye. Still, did ye know that fat floats on water?" "I wasn't aware of that." The pirate, sensing a weakness, threw his arms wide, and glanced back at the other pirates, who still resembled living linen. He shrugged slightly, showed Seb his full set of gold teeth, and bowed low. "I suppose, then, that compromise IS fun." At which point he collapsed on the ground in hysterics. It only took the other sailors a few more moments to figure out the joke, and they promptly began to laugh in earnest as well. One corner of Seb's mouth twitched upwards. "Touche." ************* The boards all around creaked wildly, the floor rocked back and forth madly, but Seb and the Captain Gavin couldn't have cared less. They sat below deck on the small Wyvern's Bane, facing off over a table, one half-empty bottle of gin before them. Gavin was staring at Seb, rather shocked that he wasn't seeing pale green. Seb barely even blinked at the scrutiny. "You're an odd one, boy. That's for sure," Gavin said finally, then grabbed the bottle roughly. He took a long drink of it, and then slammed it down on the table, looking no more drunk for the wear. "How so?" "A few things. First off, you still haven't taken a drop of my finest gin." "I don't drink." "Why not? Did yer mummy tell ye not to? Or perhaps," the captain giggled. "It's the devil's drink! Blasphemy!" Gavin laughed a tad more at his own joke, then took another swig from the bottle. Seb pointed at the bottle. "Two shot glasses of that stuff and I'd never walk again." "Yer probably right. Fine stuff, though." "So how else am I odd?" "Well, then there's the whole Imperial thing. The badge on yer chest- it's from the Old Empire, if I've ever sailed a mile. Not many of those things left, even less people that'll wear 'em. 'Specially not of your age. You're what? Fourteen?" Seb narrowed his eyes irritatedly. "I'm seventeen. And the old Empire had generals not much older than me, just before it collapsed. General Chere, for example." "She's a cold one, that Chere. Never, ever, annoy her." "How do you mean?" "I was at Maranda when she came, along with the rest of the Imperial army. Coldest woman I've ever seen. 'Course, I wasn't stupid enough to resist, to put up a fight, but lord almighty, did I see some sights that day. I swear to the Goddesses that she must have killed twelve dozen that day, all face-to-face. Still, can't really hold a grudge forever. She's reformed since then." "Defeating Kefka, you mean." "Exactly. People can change. Still, that's enough about her." Captain Gavin shifted in his seat, taking another drink as he did. he wiped his mouth clear with his sleeve, then leaned forward, tapping his finger on the table. "You still haven't told me where you got that badge. More importantly, why you're heading to Doma. It's a homebase for the New Empire. Why would you want to go there?" "I'm joining the Empire," Seb said plainly. "Please say you're joking." "'Fraid not." "Now why would you want to do something so stupid as that? They're bad apples, those Imperials. The lot of 'em. Believe you me, son, you'd be better off as a pirate." Seb smiled slightly at the last comment. "Somehow I can't see myself as a raider of the high seas. I'd have to put on too much weight." Gavin glared at him mock-angrily. "Anyhow, the Empire isn't all bad. Really, it's just that people panic too easily. All you have to do is accept a few changes, and not try to kill anyone, and you do fine under Imperial rule." "So you believe in slavery, boy?" "No, not slavery. Government that isn't based entirely off of one person's whim. It all crumbled at the end, with General Kefka, Gestahl losing it completely and everything. But earlier on, things were okay. There were some loose cannons around, like Kefka, Celes, and Brokengulf. But, for the most part, everyone was doing fine. General Leo was the finest General of the past century. Where did he serve? The Empire. Cid, the famed engineer, not to mention brilliant. He served the Empire as well. Figaro did fine collaborating with the Empire, until they revolted. Do you see the connection? "The Empire is not, by definition, evil. It's just that sometimes a few psychos come in, and screw everything up. It doesn't have to be that way, and I'm joining the New Empire to make sure that they do what they're supposed to: give order to people's lives. Do you understand?" Seb finished, panting slightly at his rhetoric. Gavin paused for a moment, mouth slightly open, then snapped it shut and shrugged. "It's your decision. Whatever you think is right." "I can't say I was expecting philosophy from a pirate captain." Gavin rose from his seat slowly, turned about, and began to plod towards a door marked 'Captain's Quarters: Stay the hell out!'. Seb kept his field of vision centred on the pirate, and absent-mindedly reached his left hand up, resting it on the bottle of gin. Gavin was opening the door to the room when he jerked slightly, then turned to Seb, one finger raised in question. Seb grinned and tossed the bottle at him, which was caught easily. "You read my mind, boy. Good night, then." The wooden door clumped close heavily behind the departing captain, and Seb was left alone, now fingering the tin badge on his chest. He sat lazily in his seat for a few long, quiet minutes, before rising and wandering off towards his own quarters, singing softly to himself. "It's a pirate's life for me..."