Chapter Four Hundred and Sixty-Four - Welcome Aboard

Calamity and Awen were still gone, as was the non-Scallywags portion of the crew. Calamity and Awen would be returning soon, though, and the boys did deserve some shore leave, so I didn't have anything bad to say about them being off the ship for the moment.

The rest were all lounging on the nicer of the ship's two decks. The padded seats were probably a lot comfier, and the view was nicer since this side was away from the main section of the docks and overlooked the mountainside.

"Everyone," I said as I bounced to my feet. "I want you to meet someone I met this morning. This is Desiree Chartreuse! She's... uh, a fox-person, and my new friend!"

I almost jumped as Friendmaking triggered right then and there. How had I not used that yet? Then again, I guessed that I hadn't really asked her to be a friend, it just sort of happened--as most good friendships did.

Desiree Chartreuse
Desired Quality: Someone kind and fun to be with.
Dream: To gain many tails and return home a hero.

"Greetings, plebians and noble friends of Broccoli Bunch, I am Desiree Chartreuse, though on account of your ongoing alliance and friendship with Captain Bunch, I will allow you to use the name Desiree alone when addressing me." Desiree bowed at the waist a little, her two tails swishing out to either side of her.

She seemed very confident in the moment, but I suspected that it was a bit of a front. Mostly because as soon as she was done with her bow, both of her tails swung to the side and tried to hide behind me.

Her tails were a great deal more honest than she was, sometimes.

"Hello, Miss Chartreuse," Amaryllis said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Then her attention snapped onto me. "Did you really find her? The guild called off the search just a few minutes ago."

"Oh? Did you just get here? And yes! We found Booksie! She was way out in a bandit camp, away from the city. Actually, it was kind of a huge coincidence that we discovered her. We got very lucky."

"Indeed!" Desiree said as she puffed out her chest. "Who are these friends of yours, Captain?"

"Oh, right! This is my best friend, Amaryllis Albatross, she's very prickly but she's also very nice and caring and she's smart and the best caster I know."

Amaryllis rolled her eyes. "I'm the first mate on this old rustbucket. And the quartermaster. And the poor bird in charge of all the paperwork. Actually, I do most of the work, I think. Broccoli, why is it that you're the captain?"

"Moving on, this is Caprica, she's a stowaway."

Caprica gave me a look. "Broccoli, I'm... not a stowaway."

"Actually," Amaryllis said, a birdy grin spreading across her face. She had that look in her eyes, like someone about to do some expert teasing. "You don't have a specific role on the crew, and you never technically paid for a berth. By all accounts, you're still a stowaway."

Caprica glared, then she reached down to her belt and undid a small pouch which she flicked to Amaryllis. "There, now I'm your most precious and best-paying passenger."

"Why thank you," Amaryllis said. She sounded pleased with herself. "This is the first bit of money we've earned in a while."

"Is this ship not profitable?" Desiree asked.

"You can't imagine how unprofitable it is," Amaryllis said. "We do have some cargo to offload. Odds and ends we picked up along the way, but it'll just cover the cost of fuel, repair, and crew wages."

"Ah, I guess we never really spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to be profitable, huh?" I asked.

Amaryllis huffed, but it was a huff that suggested that she didn't mind so much. "We're predominantly an exploratory vessel. Once this whole wedding fiasco is done, we should see about picking up a few proper missions from the guild, maybe haul some cargo at the same time."

I nodded along, then gestured to the Scallywags. The three of them were off to the side, doing their own thing, but they'd stood to say hello to Desiree. So I introduced the three, Sally and Joe and Oda, but they were quick to scamper back off. It looked like Sally had bought a big knife somewhere and was showing it off to the others.

"So, this is your ship and crew. It seems quite luxurious for a vessel that brings in no money," Desiree said.

"It's not that bad," I whined. "Money is nice, but it's not what's most important."

Caprica and Amaryllis gave each other a look, and I have the impression that they were agreeing to disagree with me.

Desiree nodded though. "That's right! Power is far greater than mere wealth! With sufficient strength, gold is no longer a barrier."

"Uh, I guess," I said. "We don't do all of this to be strong, we do stuff because it helps our friends!"

"Speaking of friends," Amaryllis said. "How's Booksie?"

"Yes, how is she?" Caprica added.

"I think she's okay," I replied. "We put her to bed back in her shop. There's gonna be some things to fix, but we helped clean what we could."

Caprica frowned. "Will she be safe? I can have some guards stationed around her house."

"I think she'll be alright," I said. "I saw city guards around, and some of Cholondee's people. Plus Rhawrexdee is sleeping in her back yard."

"That'll be a deterrent," Amaryllis said. "It'll take someone both brave and stupid to try and kidnap her from the clutches of an adult dragon. Did she have any idea who took her in the first place?"

"We overheard the vile bandits mention a leader, one who Broccoli seems to recognize the name of," Desiree said. "Rainnewt! A no-doubt disgusting being to have organised such despicable acts!"

"Oh, you were captured as well?" Caprica asked with a gasp. "Goodness, that must have been terrifying."

Desiree nodded. "I was most frightened! Though I kept my wits about me and was more than ready to fight the moment the opportunity arose."

"Desiree isn't a local," I said. "She's far from home. We don't know why Rainnewt wanted her, but I can't imagine it was for good reasons." Desiree mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'tail scarves' but I wasn't quite sure. "Anyway, in exchange for her knowledge of Rainnewt, she'll be travelling with us for a while, at least until she gets her feet under her."

"The captain has been tremendously generous," Desiree said. "She has given me new clothes and a place to stay, neither of which were within her remit, and yet from the kindness of her heart... do creatures like you have hearts?"

"Uh... yes, I think so," I said. I could feel mine pitter-pattering away, though I wasn't sure if my insides had been changed around much by becoming a bun. "Do foxgirls have hearts?"

"Of course!" she said with a nod. "One for every tail."

"Huh." Well, that was weird. "Where are your hearts?"

Desiree stared at me, then blushed. "That's not a question to ask a lady."

I raised my hands in surrender. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"I'm sure plenty of people will be curious about your biology, Miss Chartreuse," Caprica said. "After all, you're the first two-tailed person I've ever met."

"I'm only two-tailed for now," Desiree said. "Soon enough I'll conquer another dungeon and earn my third! I can taste it."

"Is that why you're here? I mean, away from wherever your home is?" Amaryllis asked.

Desiree nodded. "Indeed! My home islands only have a few sparse dungeons, and all are guarded jealously. I earned my second tail after conquering one of them, but without any opportunities beyond that, I'd be eternally stuck at a mere two! No! I will not allow myself to be so weak! And so I boarded a merchant's vessel to another isle, and then rode with some fishermen to yet another island where I discovered some grenoil from this continent who allowed me to board their flying vessel all the way to a port to the south."

"Fort Tempete?" Amaryllis asked. "It's the only Deepmarsh city straight south from here, I think."

"That is what the locals named the place," she replied. "An ancient and venerable fortress along the coast. Though this city seems far grander still!"

"You'll have to tell us more!" I said. "Ah, but maybe while we eat? I'm really hungry, and it's past lunch. Oh, and we can show you around at the same time."

"I'll go fetch some extra blankets and the like," Amaryllis said. "I have a few things stored away."

"We'll have to find a place for her to sleep. Unless you're comfortable with a hammock in the crew quarters?" Caprica asked.

Desiree shrugged. "I slept on the floor of a cavern last night, though that was through no choice of mine. A hammock is palatial in comparison."

***