PIRATE HAVEN Abbegail Cummings & Jarvis Flint Tortuga 1642 A.D. ………. That same tingling feeling in her spine she felt around Francisco got stronger as the men appoached. Abbegail panics, turns the other direction and tries to run from the swampy waters. <><><><><> [jarvis] "It's neither, exactly", I respond quickly to Lucien. Then, mind working faster than ever, I continue... "Cover me, in case it's a trap". That said, I run out after the girl, first going sideways to clear the line of sight of my two companions. After a couple of steps, I slow to a quick walk for a few more, carefully stowing away the gun. Nothing like its going off by accident when I'm running through the muck, to ruin what is already a less than fine day. Then, it's time for a quick all-out sprint, to see if I can catch her quickly before we are out of sight. I consider shouting, but likely it would be a waste of breath right now. <><><><><> <> The girl can't run very quickly...she doesn't do much more than stagger at a hastened pace, actually. You catch up to her easily with several long strides. <><><><><> [jarvis] Good, she was well exhausted. She'd put up less of a fight, that's for sure, and I didn't need a fight before the fight. Making sure to stay at long arm's length, I reached out to try to grab her arm, preferably her upper arm. As long as I have a good grip upon her, she can't get away. And with my longer arms, all she can do to hurt me is kick me as long as I keep my arm extended... and in this muck, I doubted that she could do more than bark my shins with a kick. "All right girl, give up struggling now and you'll be less tired", I mutter. "There's snakes and stuff in the jungle that you don't want to meet, but we're not as bad as you think." <><><><><> "I have been in the jungle....the snakes here are far worse, they take the form of men!" She tries to pull free of your grasp. "Now please remove your hands from me and I shall be on my way." (If Jarvis knows anything about accents, he'll be able to tell that she's Brittish and seems fairly well educated.) <><><><><> [jarvis] I tighten my hold, not really caring if I end up leaving bruises. If she gets through today with only that, she can bloody well consider herself lucky. "Well, if you mean Francisco, I can't disagree. But I'm not him, more luck to you.", I reply. I take a quick glance off her and back towards Lucien and Magnus, to see how they are doing. <><><><><> <> Lucien is approaching, with his pistol at the ready. "Is that *woman*?" he asks. Further back, Magnus is still looking around, hefting his axe as if prepared to meet ambushers who might come charging out of the swamp. You aren't sensing any other immortals, though. <><><><><> [jarvis] "Yeah, the one that Francisco bought at the auction", I shout back. "I think she's alone." <><><><><> <> "Oh really?" Lucien comes closer to look at the struggling woman. "Well, she certainly looks a bit worse for wear. So you're Francisco's playtoy, eh? Do you know where he is?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I chuckle, shortly. "Heh, and Francisco didn't want to be here. Bet he's gonna regret that choice later. Especially if he's scouring the town looking for her." Not only is it funny, but angry as Lucien is right now at Francisco, I figure this is one good way to get Lucien to help me prevent Francisco from getting the girl back. <><><><><> If she hadn't been so exhausted...she might have had a chance of getting away, but she knew it was hopeless and she was only using up what little strength she had left, so she ceased her struggle. "I have no idea where he is, he had me tied up in a shack in the jungle..I escaped. I was afraid he was here...I got the feeling I had when he was near. I can still feel it. You should let me go, he's sure to know I am gone by now...he'll be looking for me. Please...he's insane, he tortured me in...in unspeakable ways.....do not get involved with him he is a mad man." <><><><><> <> "Oh, I hope he comes looking for you," the Frenchman says. "If you behave yourself, maybe we will not give you back to him. When exactly was the last time you saw him, and did he say *anything* about where he was going, what he was doing, and when he'd be back?" <><><><><> "He said he had arrangements for our departure to make and that he'd be back soon...that is all that I know. It was a couple of days ago...I think, I am not sure any more." <><><><><> <> "Departure?" Lucien chuckles. "So, it seems Francisco was planning to leave even before Belrung arrived." His eyes turn cold, and he raises his pistol and points it in Abbegail's general direction. "Now what do we do with her? I'm not about to leave her running around loose, and I doubt she'll be anything but a distraction when we meet our foes." He smiles at Jarvis. "Jarvis, perhaps you'd like to take your first Quickening?" There is something a little chilling about his smile, and Jarvis cannot tell whether or not he's joking. <><><><><> [jarvis] "No, thank you kindly, I would not", I reply with narrowed eyes. Getting the Quickening, whatever that might be, as a result of a battle to live, will be interesting. Getting it as a result of killing a woman in this way, seems rather despicable. No respect to be gained by it, that's for sure. "Can't leave her running around, so you'd kill her ?", I continue. "What could she possibly be, to us, a danger ? We know about her... I think the greater distraction might well be to our foes, who might spend time wondering who she is and what her presence means. Let's take her with us." "In any case, she's a fledgling, and the first immortal that I spoke with other than in a fight has given me a good example to follow in the dealing with fledglings. Let us take her, and she may well receive a lesson that will stand her in good stead." <><><><><> <> Lucien laughs. "Just a little sport, Englishman! I doubt she'd give off more than a spark anyway." "Tres bien, keep her then, but make sure she stays quiet or I'll put a bullet through her head to silence her and then you'll have to carry her." He turns away and gestures at Magnus, then looks back at Jarvis and Abbegail and beckons for them to follow. <><><><><> [Jarvis] Holding tightly to the arm of the lady, I wait until the others have taken their first two steps before pulling her forward. "Come, woman. And your own sake if not God's, do be silent. I have no doubt that a pistol shot will be louder than any scream you can raise, but even less doubt as to whether Lucien will shoot you if you annoy him. Probably because the pistol will only sound once." <><><><><> "Death would be preferable to what I have been through. I have intended no trouble to anyone...I wish only to leave here and get safe passage to the colonies. There I could find work as a nurse or a teacher...I am trained for both." <><><><><> [jarvis] I give the girl a chance to speak, but after some sentences I become uneasy. I lean closer to her, and speak softly. Perhaps Lucien won't hear, and if he does he may shrug it off. "Girl, keep silent, or at least your voice down. We go to a fight where we may die, and Lucien may well be nervous enough to shoot you if your voice disturbs him. If I survive, I will try to answer your questions. If we lose, go to the winners and ask them for shelter. Tell them that you are a fledgling, whatever that means. For certain, I don't think they'll be worse than Francisco, that bastard." <><><><><> Suddenly a light went on in Abby's mind. She whispers "You mean you are an immortal as well? I thought I was sensing Francisco all of this time. Do we get this damn tingling feeling from all like us?" <><><><><> [jarvis] "Yes. And, yes.", I reply shortly. "Look, all your questions will hopefully be answered by the winner of the duel. And since there is a good chance that I'm going to be involved in the duel, do me a favor and stop asking me questions for now. You're curious, while I'm worried for my life. I can well understand Lucien's view right now." <><><><><> Abby could tell she was getting on this man's nerves, which was the most fun she'd had in quite sometime. She giggles a little and doesn't say anything else, but wonders how long a duel between immortals could last...<<.they just come back to life again don't they, I should think it could get quite boring after awhile.>> She thinks. (She doesn't know that immortals stay dead when beheaded.) <><><><><> <> The Frenchman Jarvis calls Lucien turns his head back and snaps "Be silent!" He continues leading the procession, muttering in French "Damned women...no use for them at all! Giggling like children...." If there's anything in the situation to lighten Jarvis's mood, it's that Lucien also seems apprehensive about the coming encounter. The big bearded man with the axe seems familiar, and Abby now recognizes him as the one who came to Francisco's room in Tortuga, when he first brought her there, and argued with him. He makes brief eye contact with Abby, and seems to recognize her also, but neither smiles nor nods. The four immortals continue walking through the swamp, until they reach the large hill which Abbegail came down earlier, and begin climbing it. <><><><><> Abby *finally* remains quiet as she follows along with the men. <><><><><> <> At the top of the hill, Jarvis and Abby see the other two men before they feel them. Abbegail notices the buzzing in her spine changes in intensity, briefly. Both of the men are tall, muscular and bearded -- one is blond, the other sports a dark orange mane, more neatly trimmed than the first. They wear good quality clothes, though they've taken off their jackets to give them more freedom of motion. Both have large swords in their hands, larger than is fashionable. The blond looks at Abbegail and says in French, "You brought a *woman*?" Lucien smiles. "Do you want to duel her first?" The other man scowls, glaring at Lucien and Abby in turn. <><><><><> Abby just folds her arms and glares back at Lucien. "Dueling me would hardly be an equal match now would it." <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile at Lucien's sally, and consider continuing the insult. But there is no point in it... time to get on with the show. I respond in English, understanding French only well enough to gather what had been said. "The woman is a fledgling, as yet. And found on the side of the road, like an actual bird fallen from its nest. We didn't want to leave her there for snakes and other poisonous creatures to find, but she's not involved in this." While talking, I begin taking off my shirt, and loosening up. Some cards yet to play, are left in my hand. But the time for them, is not yet. <><><><><> <> The blond bearded man looks at Abbegail in surprise, then sneers. "Since when has Loki cared about an even match? What will you do, use her as bait like last time?" "You're living in the past, old friend," Lucien says. "Besides," he winks at Jarvis, "I think Jarvis has taken a liking to her." The other man snorts, and looks at the couple, then addresses Jarvis in English. "I saw you at the tavern when we arrived, but we have no quarrel with you. You can take the girl and leave in peace." <><><><><> [jarvis] I wink back at Lucien, and raise a shoulder in a half shrug. Let him think what he wants... but the desire to do spite to Francisco is far more in my thoughts than any care or liking for anyone. "A tempting offer, indeed...", I reply to the stranger. "But for the same reasons that we agreed not to fight amongst each other while on this island, we also agreed to defend as a group against others who come here to fight. Pretty clearly not all among us who agreed to the pact have the self-respect to stand by their word, but I do. If your quarrel were with someone else, probably I would stand aside... but as for Lucien and Magnus, I yet have faith that they would not stand aside were your quarrel with me. So, here I remain, for now." I wonder what would have been my reply, had the stranger spoken with me such before I had come. But I was here, and I had not wasted my morning in coming out this far, just to turn around now. This wasn't a duel that I wanted, but lots of men fought duels they didn't really want. I wasn't going to turn coward now, to try to hide under rocks like a reptile forever. <><><><><> <> "You have faith in Loki? You don't him very well," the other immortal says. "Lucien, please," Lucien says. "*Some* of us are living in the 17th century, not the dark ages. You and your petulant grudges. Well Jarvis, as Magnus has already volunteered to take Belrung's head--" Belrung smirks -- "Which of us will do the honors on his pupil?" His pupil smiles. "Either one. Or both. I've probably taken more heads than the two of you put together." "Oh, I doubt that," Lucien mutters, then says to you "But since I've had the privilege already, I think you should get the opportunity to experience your first Quickening, Jarvis. Never fear, I'll watch the girl." He winks at Abbegail. <><><><><> [jarvis] I look at Lucien for several long seconds, wondering if the other immortals have the right of it. Clearly, he is afraid, or at the least cautious, to volunteer me to go first. Should I ask for a toss of Lady Luck's dice, or go ahead after his suggestion. Yet, he has the right of it... if I'm going to live a while, it is clear that I'm going to have to take some heads. May as well start here and now, where I at least have a good chance of being avenged if I fail. If I ask Lucien to go first, I may be safer for now... but still clearly the weakest and least-feared immortal on the island. Not a good way to live, wondering when I'm going to be staked out as bait by Loki... or Lucien, because I'm weak. No, better to die here, or to gain respect and some slight measure of fear, that will protect me better in the long sail. Turning to the other immortal, I speak quietly... "So, I see that you and Lucien, here, have some history. Is it some problem if I go first rather than than him ? For I'd hate to prevent a meeting between two such old-time friends, but if we do fight I'm afraid that I'm going to have to insist." <><><><><> <> Abbegail had begun to get the impression that this men had quite unusuall tastes....<> (She's thinking to herself) Then she remembered a book on demonic creatures that a friend of hers that had been known to tamper with the black arts at shown her once. In it had discussed how to destroy certain demons... one of the examples had shown a decapitaton. Abby shuddered at the thought. Then she tapped Jarvis on the shoulder. "You have been kind to me so far....so I wish you good luck." <><><><><> <> The immortal who was identified as Belrung, and the elder of the two, looks at Lucien with narrowed eyes. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Hang back and let your comrades fight, and if they lose, take the head of the victor while he is weak from the Quickening? You might even take _their_ heads for that matter...." "Still paranoid, Belrung," Lucien scoffs. "Have I ever violated the Rules?" "Not and left witnesses to tell of it..." Belrung growls. "Now if you're that eager for me to kill your pupil, I'll stand in, though poor Jarvis may be disappointed at not getting to take his first head. But then, how do you know Jarvis won't do as you suggest I might, since you know him not at all?" Belrung starts shaking his head, looking increasingly irate. "Or if you insist on even numbers, I suppose the girl could fight on your side. I'll even let her pick which of us she prefers as an opponent..." It is becoming clear that Belrung is not a fast thinker, or that Lucien knows how to push his buttons. Or both. Magnus just stands passively by, waiting, and the other immortal looks at his mentor and back at the three of you, more impatient than anxious. After a moment of pondering, Belrung suddenly looks at Abbegail and smiles. "Mayhap you have an idea there, Loki." He gestures at her. "Come here, girl." Even Lucien looks taken aback at this. <><><><><> "I will come no closer to you or any of you than I am now. This is not my fight, I'm obviously weaponless. If I had come to fight do you think I would be standing here in little more than my shift?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I stand there, surprised, at Belrung's suggestion. What in the nine Hells were these fights, a tournament where all immortals attending were invited to join ? I'd thought that we had real reasons for fighting, not merely presence. But perhaps I was wrong. Still, I am getting angrier and angrier, almost enough to wish for the fight. All these maneuverings, and postures, making it clear that I was here to fight on Lucien's side, on a personal fight of his. Magnus no doubt enjoyed the opportunity, but I didn't exactly relish the idea of a duel so much that I would have been here were I to know more about it earlier. Clearly, the other two had had the right idea, much as I hated to say that of Francisco. "Is this a fight for real, or a circus, a gladiator's arena without the crowds ? Are we here only for the amusement of snakes and monkeys ? Come one, come all, let us duel and take heads, for the fun and pleasure of it ? Had I known, I wouldn't have made the trip here... fighting is serious business, not fun and games.", I growled. "But, by all means, if it's fun and games you want, take the girl on your side... though I don't know how she's going to fight, without a weapon." <><><><><> <> "Stop your whimpering, girl! Do you think I'm blind? You're not going to fight, and I'm not going to hurt you. Now come here!" Belrung repeats his demand stubbornly, while a slight frown creases Magnus's forehead, and Lucien watches the rival immortal suspiciously. Belrung looks at Jarvis. "I don't know why *you're* here!" he snaps. "We are here because we wish to occupy Tortuga, we are unwilling to cohabit with Loki or any who ally with him, and he is unwilling to leave. That makes for a problem with only one traditional solution, no?" He draws a very large pistol from his belt and holds it up, looking at Abbegail. "You, girl, are obviously not fit to fight, and as you say you have no stake in this, except for your disposition by the victors, I say you can serve as a second for all of us. I want you to take this gun and shoot anyone who tries to cheat." Lucien gapes, then throws his head back and laughs. "She doesn't even know the Rules, you great bloody fool!" <><><><><> [jarvis] I laugh with Lucien, though I remain chuckling for a little longer. "Sure. She's a fledgling, so she'll have little idea of what's cheating. And I don't even know if she can shoot straight, or hold such a large pistol properly. But I'm all for it. Let her be our second, it will be our honor, I'm sure." <><><><><> Finally Abby appoaches Belrung and takes the gun from him. "If I felt stronger I'd venture I could wrestle any one of you to the ground. But if you really insist, I'll be happy to use this." She aims it at Belrung's head. "Be careful what you ask for....you may get it." Then she backs out of the way. "Are you gentlemen going to argue all day or are you going to get this over with, I'm really quite hungry and could obviously use a nice bath very baddly." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Huh !", I snort. "If you think I'm going to rush into a fight to the death a little sooner so a little girl can have her bath sooner, ask someone to crack your head open so some sense might leak in." I'm starting to see Lucien's earlier opinion as rather wise. I've never seen such a spirited girl, and I can well understand why... they'd need to be Immortal to survive themselves. <><><><><> "Well you try being tied up to a post some hovel in the middle of the jungle and being murdered three maybe four times...... you just see how that feels and tell me if it puts YOU in a good mood!" <><><><><> [jarvis] "I don't care about your mood, woman, and I'm sure no one else here does right now, either. Just show some sense, or you might end up sorry." <><><><><> Abby lowered the gun. "If I didn't need the help of at least one of you to get off this bloody island.... Just finish this...I'll keep this gun for now for self defense. I know it won't permenantly stop any of you....but I'd wager it'll slow you down quite a lot." <><><><><> <> Belrung stares at Abbegail when she says she could wrestle the men to the ground -- then almost snatches the gun back from her when she points it at him. "You *are* a headstrong woman!" he says. "And a mouthy one. Heed the giant and mind your manners." He points at Lucien and Jarvis. "If anyone who is not fighting tries to attack one who is, before or after a beheading, shoot them." "If you fail to do so, be sure that someone will survive and take *your* head." "Now stand back, woman." He strides forward, brandishing his sword to meet Magnus. The other man looks at Jarvis and Lucien. "Well, which if you is it going to be?" he demands. Lucien nudges Jarvis. "I've taken heads before," he says. "I've paid my dues. Time for you to prove your mettle or die." <><><><><> "Agreed." Abbegail replies. "No one cheats." <><><><><> [jarvis] I turn around, and glare at Lucien for a second. "That almost, but not quite, managed to sound like a threat. I do hope that it was, merely, a poor choice of words." Still, my annoyance at Lucien's cavalier attitude doesn't last long. It's time to focus on the fight. Beginning to concentrate upon what I would have to do to win, I step back to where I left my shirt, and take off one of my pistol and place it upon the shirt. If necessary, that way I have one with me, and another in a place where it'll stay dry even if I take a tumble into the mud. Time to play, I say to myself, drawing my sword and turning to my opponent. I step sideways towards where the footing looks worst, letting him come to me so that I may see how smoothly and quickly he moves, and how strong he appears. The Dutchman has taught me prudence, in fighting others that may have been swinging a sword before I was born. In the end, though, one sword will be used to remove a head. How we get there doesn't really matter, now does it. "I am Jarvis Flint. Honored to meet you, though not necessarily pleased.", say to my foe, while he is still out of range. I'd hate to either win or to lose, fighting a man whose name I don't even know. <><><><><> <> "I am Dannell Snodhart," he says gruffly, stepping forward. He does not seem like a man inclined to chat with his mortal foe. Perhaps he's covering up nervousness, which would be a good sign. He has a simple, heavy broadsword with a thrusting point that looks crudely filed, as if he ground it himself, taking off a couple inches of the blade's length in the process. As he advances, he initiates the engagement, thrusting at you cautiously, but not showing as much caution as you did. He gets under your guard fairly easily, leaving you with the unhappy realization that he feinted you out, and slashes you across the chest. The wound would fell a smaller man -- you grit your teeth and know you're seriously in for it. Despite the flare of pain where your chest opens up and gushes blood, you manage to nick him as he backs away...he almost wards it off, but thanks to your choice of footing he's not quite fast enough to keep his feet _and_ parry the blow, and he chose the former. You give him rather more than a nick, actually, but while to Abby it looks like both men are now badly wounded in the first moments of the duel, Jarvis can see and feel that his opponent is less damaged than him. Jarvis hasn't the attention to spare to the other two. Abbegail watches while Magnus hefts his axe and he and the blond-bearded pirate come together in a mighty clash of arms, sword against axe. They swing at one another as if they were trying to chop trees, yet there is a deadly speed and precision that belies the apparent gracelessness of their duel. It definitely is not the elegant fencing of English gentlemen. Lucien watches both duels, arms folded, and looks up the slope at Abbegail and winks. <><><><><> Abby just watches....and waits for the final blows to come. <><><><><> [jarvis] I hiss through my teeth at the surprise of the blow, though the pain takes a second to be fully realized. **that's gonna hurt**, I have time to think, before a grimace appears on my face. At least, he's gotta be hurting, also. Neither of us is in good condition for an attack. Which all of a sudden causes me to think that it might be the perfect time to surprise him. His counterattack will likely be weak, and while I think he can cut me up in a dance of skill, if I turn this to a quick frenzy he may well make a mistake. Or close enough that I can knock him down. Suiting deed to thought even as I figure out why I'm doing it, I lunge forward hard. Another thought comes to me... Jeroen was also surprised to see me with a rapier. Certainly he's faced much more slashing than thrusting attacks in his life and practices. <><><><><> <> Your lunge certainly does catch Donnell by surprise. A sensible fencer would call it an exceedingly foolhardy thing to do, since if you fail to skewer your opponent, you are basically offering your head on a platter -- at full extension and throwing your entire weight into the thrust, you haven't a prayer of avoiding a counter-attack. Fortunately, you do strike. The knife in his other hand almost deflected your thrust, but he wasn't expecting such a long-range attack. The point of your blade sinks into his chest and almost comes out the other side. He looks startled, and tries to back away. He slides off your blade, coughs, and falls to his knees, looking dazed. Meanwhile, Magnus is whirling his axe at impressive speed, and the other Nordic-type has gone on the defensive, ducking and parrying for all he's worth. But Abbegail can see a couple of wounds where the swordsman has scored on his opponent. Lucien, or Loki, continues watching the fight keenly. <><><><><> [Jarvis] Lucky, I figure as I pull back my sword to normal guard. But then, I did figure that I might need some luck to survive this, if he has had a long-lived mentor teaching him how to fight for some years now. The shadows in the jungle don't fight back that well, and perhaps I'm regretting my decision that I couldn't trust any of the other immortals to train me. Still, luck is luck, and skill is skill, and sometimes the two will meet. And if they don't, I figure that being lucky is better than being good, most times. Now, though, is the time to be good. With Donnell on his knees and clearly dazed, I don't have to worry about him moving. I do worry about him swinging that heavy sword at my legs if I step into range, but fortunately the main advantage of a rapier and a long arm like mine is the length of our reach. Again, I lean forward and attack him, trying to puncture a lung. Or two. Again, if that's how the case is. ooc: All-Out lunge again, two attacks, both for the torso. <><><><><> <> You stab him twice, all the way through. He falls forward on his face and lies bleeding in the dirt. Meanwhile, the battle between Magnus and Belrung continues...neither seems to have scored a lethal blow, though right now, Magnus is bleeding and Belrung isn't. <><><><><> [jarvis] This fight seems to be over, and without meaning to I relax my tight body somewhat. Just to make sure, I circle around Donnell to his knife-hand side, giving him a few seconds to bleed nicely into the ground, then stab him a few more times. I have some plans, and they don't involve his getting up any time soon. After making sure that he stays down, I step in and begin my preparations... my knife into his left lung, take his knife away and stick it on the opposite site, then stab my sword through his heart and into the ground. And leave all the weapons there. His sword will do nicely to take his own head, if it comes to that. Then I look up, to see where the other fight is going. If this is truly my lucky day, then Magnus will soon be on the ground with his head still attached. <><><><><> <> "What are you doing?" Lucien demands as you proceed to stab the already-unconscious Dannell until you are both covered with blood. "Take his head!" Your wound is still a deep, profusely-bleeding slash across your chest, but you can feel it closing. The fight does not seem to be going well for Magnus, but he's a tough Scandinavian -- Belrung hasn't really landed a crippling blow yet, just a number of less serious wounds. It's probably helping that Magnus is wearing a very thick layer of clothes. And if he connects once with that axe, it should put his opponent out of the fight. Nonetheless, Belrung seems to be fighting defensively and getting in a slash or a jab where he sees an opening, either waiting for an ideal opportunity, or just planning to wittle Magnus down until he falls over with all his wounds. If you were a betting man, you'd have to consider your money would probably be safer placed on Belrung's head. Abbegail stands a safe distance away, holding the huge pistol. She hasn't seen bloodshed like this since the boarding of her ship by pirates. And these are the men who will hopefully treat her better than Francisco? <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile at Lucien, enjoying the fact that I'm at the moment ahead of him. All the time that he and the other older immortals have known more than I, and I didn't wish to reveal my ignorance by asking, come back to me now, and I fail to answer. Let him figure it out, if he's so much older and wiser. Or, watch and learn. With two knives in him and a sword through his heart, I figure that Dannell won't move again until I release him. If I do. Still smiling, I stab Dannell's sword in the ground in front of me, and take out one of my pistols. I check the load to make sure it's dry, then still holding the weapon, I wait and watch for the other fight to reach its end... either with Magnus winning, or Belrung taking Magnus to the ground. From the attacks, it looks as if my hopes are holding true, and Belrung won't win by suddenly taking his opponent's head. I should have time to intervene. And, anyway, if I don't, there's still a head waiting for me, not too far away. Heh, heh, heh... <><><><><> Abby considers drawing her pistol on Jarvis as it seems he obviously looking to intervene in the other fight. But considering the fact that Jarvis also has a gun...she chooses not to....not wanting to die yet again this week. <><><><><> <> "What ARE you doing?" Lucien demands, as you pull out your pistol. He draws his own. "This is no time to start playing your own games!" The girl, unless she's actually had practice with firearms before, probably would hit something beyond point blank range only by luck. Lucien looks as if he's quite willing to shoot anyone, however. Belrung swings a blow that strikes Magnus deeply, imbedding his sword in the other man's ribs before he yanks it out. Magnus staggers. <><><><><> [jarvis] "As opposed to playing the game that you've laid out for me ?", I reply. With a shrug, I continue... "Don't worry, I have no intention of breaking the Rules. Any rules of your own design for today, I'm afraid that I don't know about, or care for, either." <><><><><> <> Lucien scowls at you, but whatever he intended as a retort is cut off when Belrung hacks deeply into Magnus's shoulder. Magnus seems about to go down, and Belrung whips his sword around, ignoring a gash across his stomach that Magnus inflicts with his axe, and chops into the other man's neck. <><><><><> [jarvis] I fill my lungs to shout, but hold on. Perhaps the other fight isn't over yet. Better to wait too late and get nothing more out of the day than a head, than to intervene too early and make a mistake. Still, it looks like time to be ready, to give Belrung something better than another head. Perhaps. <><><><><> <> Belrung brings his sword down with a vicious slash, slicing halfway through Magnus's neck. Blood sprays far enough to spatter on the ground in front of Abby. Before Jarvis can speak up, the sword is already in motion again, and finishes the job. Magnus's head tumbles off his shoulders and the big man falls backwards. <><><><><> Even though Abby had somewhat expected this from the earlier talk of taking heads seeing it was more than she could take. Even though she was a nurse and had seen plenty of blood before she'd seen nothing like this. She bent over and started throwing up what little she had in her stomach. <><><><><> [jarvis] I shout once as the second blow is starting, but it's already too late. Shaking my head in disappointment, I throw my pistol a little way towards a slightly drier patch of mud, then pull out the second and repeat the process. If the flames and fire that Smith suggested come, I don't want to have to reload my weapons. That triggers another thought, and my powder pouch follows the two pistols. Glad I thought of that, things could have gotten really messy, otherwise. Well, time to do it, before someone interferes. I have a little disliking for the idea of cutting the head of Dannell right now... but no doubt he would have done it to me. I step to the far side of the body, so I can see the others, and hack at his neck with the heavier sword. The balance is unusual, but it's not as if he's going to duck away, and I do have time to finish the job after the first swing. <><><><><> <> Dannell's head comes off with rather less blood than you expected. Something makes your entire body shiver, and you look up to see that Magnus's corpse seems to have ignited, and Belrung is glowing. Then you feel a trickle of fire begin flowing through your veins, and that trickle grows to become a flood..... Abbegail has just finished doubling over with dry-heaves, having virtually nothing in her stomach to throw up, when she hears a sizzling, crackling sound, and looks up in time to almost be knocked off her feet by an explosion of sound and light. First a pillar of fire engulfs the two Norse warriors, victor and vanquished, and Belrung seems transfixed as he bathes in the supernatural flames that surround him. Magnus's headless body is rising into the air! Then lightning strikes Jarvis, and both giant swordsmen are riveted where they stand by a corona of electricity that surrounds the battlefield and lashes out in all directions. Tongues of fire lick at the bottom of Abbegail's dress, and she can barely see Lucien opposite the inferno. It is as if Hell itself is opening up to swallow the men! <><><><><> Abby slowly tries to back away from what seems to be the center of this activity. <><><><><> [jarvis] The light coming from the other battle causes me to look there, but I hardly have a second to gander, before a strange feeling comes over me. The hairs on my body stand up, and as I look down at myself, I see the body of my fallen opponent begin to rise. **Smith didn't mention this**, I have time to think, before the world is lit up from the inside, and the concentration required for conscious thoughts leaves me. <><><><><> <> The Quickening is nothing that Smith could have described -- you know that you will never be able to describe it in words. It is terrifying and exhilerating, making you feel like a god for brief moments, but also making you feel like a moth caught in a bonfire. You are being consumed in an inferno of pure energy, and are unsure whether you will survive. Dannell -- the immortal you just killed -- ascends, or descends, or goes wherever souls go when they die, brushing against you with his presence, painfully, his thoughts and memories impacting against yours and making you uncertain who you are for a confusing moment, then leaving indelible traces of his personality behind, little fragments of another man imbedded in your psyche. You also feel yourself grow incrementally stronger, though when the lightning playing across the killing ground finally subsides, you collapse like a puppet with its strings cut. For a long time, you cannot move. This must be another reason why immortals cling so to their Rules; you would be easy prey if Lucien or even that fledgling girl wanted to take your head right now. Steam rises from your body, and the grass is crisped all around you. You see the other immortal, Belrung, already rising to his feet, holding his sword. Abbegail, when the lightning show stops, is the first to notice that Lucien is gone. <><><><><> [jarvis] The feeling lasts forever, and for only moments, at once. I shudder all over as it hits me... or, at least, I believe I do. In truth, for all I am aware of, my body could be dancing a jig. And I could hardly care less. For a while. In time, this too, must come to an end. I lie upon the wet mud, thinking that I could remain here and remember it for hours. But, then, movement galvanizes me... I trust Belrung to be honorable. Yet, how far does trust go, when at stake is my life ? I lie still for one more moment, but then will reasserts itself, and I roll over and stand up. The ground has been partially dried, and the grasses burnt. It must have been quite a sight, I think, as I stand up. First thing, is this sword. I stick it in the ground, and place a foot upon Donnell's body, to pull out mine own from transfixing him. I hope he's gone to a better place... there was really no reason for us to fight, and I wish him well in the judgment hereafter. <><><><><> Abbigail takes a few steps towards you. "What....What was that?" She looks very nervous. <><><><><> <> Belrung glances over at Abby, but then turns back to Jarvis, ignoring her question. "Your friend has abandoned you," he observes, his eyes taking in the headless body of his late pupil. <><><><><> [jarvis] I yank out my sword, and a swatch of wool from my belt, to clean it with. Perhaps I can smoothly walk my way towards my pistols while cleaning. Perhaps not. More likely is that it won't matter, though. I do smile wryly as I reply... "Not a friend, and apparently less of an ally. It is rather strange that he is the reason why we're here, and runs away when his skin is at risk. Your warning about him was truer than I knew, and it's a shame I didn't heed it." <><><><><> <> "Loki will stick by his friends only until they start dying." Belrung glowers at you. "I suppose I should kill you to avenge Dannell, but you were just played for a fool by Loki." "You can leave...but don't let me catch you back on Tortuga." He turns and looks at Abby. "Now what about you, girl?" He grumbles. "Damned if I want to take on another fledgling....especially a woman!" He holds out his hand. "Give me back my pistol." <><><><><> [jarvis] I frown back, but fail to mention Magnus... after all, for all that I liked the big Northman more than any of my other compatriots, I could hardly claim to have been as close to him as Belrung might have been to his pupil. Quietly, I clean and sheathe my sword, then pick up and put away my pistols. There isn't much to say, after all... probably the only person who had wanted a fight here was Magnus, and Lucien was probably the reason we were even here, and he was gone, too. But a day of learning, at least, in many ways. And at least one person had a fine morning, I thought. <><><><><> She hands him his pistol. "And I have no intention of staying with either of you. If one of you would be kind enough to buy me some clothing and passage on a ship to the new world....I will be quite out of your way." <><><><><> <> The large Norseman (not so large as Jarvis, though), looks surprised yet again at Abbegail's outspokenness. "Why should I buy you anything?" he demands. He snatches the gun back. "You are going to get yourself killed if you keep acting like this. Do you have any idea what you are and what kind of game you're playing now?" <><><><><> "As a matter of fact I think I do....and I want no part of it.!" She screams at him. "Fine...I guess chivelry is dead after all. I'll take care of myself. Good day gentlemen." She turns and heads straight towards the water. "I'll swim to the new world...or the sharks will get me...it doesn't matter which." <><><><><> [jarvis] I laugh at Abbegail's stubbornness. If you look at it the right way, it is actually amusing. That is, if you're in the mood to be amused after two people have just lost their lives, and the one who may have caused it is gone and fled. Put that way, my laughter cuts short. And I tell the girl even more shortly... "Go ahead. But you're swimming in the wrong direction. That's south, you know, and there are some islands in the ways... Enjoy your swim. But I'd head back north to the town. And try being more polite, you might get more chivalry if you speak like a lady. Then again, you're on the wrong island for it, don't you know..." <><><><><> Abbegail turns back towards him. "Fine then...what would you suggest I do? Come with you? You don't seem to like me much more than I like you!" She comes back closer to you. Batting her eyelashes in an exagerated manner she says: "Oh...please sir, please help me, I am a poor helpless damsel in distress." <><><><><> [jarvis] I look at her, wondering if she was as cold in bed as she was on the muddy beach. "Girl," I say, wondering how to continue. "Girl," I start again... "I can't imagine that anyone you ever met has liked your tongue, with an edge like a rapier and a side like a rasp. But perhaps we'll get along if you learn to be quiet when it's better to be quiet. Right now, I'm happy to be alive, and sad that my friend it dead. I'm sure that he," motioning to Belrung, "is not that different in his feelings, also. A lady in distress seems like small trouble, and the more so when your distress is mostly caused by your tongue. For you'd receive better treatment from the either of us if you were more pleasing to the ear." I turn to Belrung. "Sir... what is the custom for the possessions of the losers ? For the girl needs a pistol. If the winner keeps the loser's weapons, then I have Donnell's weapons and she may have a pistols if he has one. Otherwise, I'll take Magnus' weapons, and she may have one of his pistols." <><><><><> <> Belrung has seemed distracted by Abby's outbursts, exchanging a glance with Jarvis at her last one. He shuffles his feet as she stomps around angrily, half-naked in her torn and muddy shift. He looks up at Jarvis. "I gave Dannell most of his arms. I want them back. You can have your friend's." "I plan to bury Dannell. I suppose I will bury him too," he jerks a thumb back over his shoulder at Magnus. "I knew them both much longer than you did." Then he folds his arms and sighs. "Just what will you do with the girl? Sharp-tongued she may be, but she's still a fledgling. And if what I hear about the Portuguese sadist is true, she probably didn't deserve that kind of distress no matter how sharp her tongue." The Germanic immortal seems curiously torn between a sense of responsibility and a desire to avoid any. <><><><><> "Forgive me gentlemen....you're right you don't deserve to be spoken to like this." Abby actually sounds sincere. "I've been kidnapped by pirates, sold as a slave, murdered several times by a maniac and may have starved to death a couple of times on my way out of the jungle trying to escape him. I haven't had a good few weeks. On top of that...it's always been difficult for me to admit it when I need help." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Sounds fine," I nod at his disposal of the weapons. I sigh at his last comment. "I hardly know enough to take care of a fledgling. Still, she needs someone to keep her quiet and perhaps to save her life when Francisco shows up. If he hasn't already left the island in fear, that is. You want me off the island, I suppose that the best thing to do is to find a ship to the colonies... there was someone there helpful to me. If I can drop her off on him, he'll take care of her." <><><><><> <> The other man cocks an eyebrow at you. "Another immortal in the colonies? Who would that be?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I grin sarcastically, and reply in a light voice. "And, why do you wish to know ? For he has been of help to me, and I have no interest in sending a hunter to his home, if he is even still there. In any case, he called himself 'smith'... but I believe that many men in the colonies use their trade as the name of their family." <><><><><> <> He grunts. "Aye....I've known a Smith or two." His voice is gruff, you can't tell whether the name actually meant something to him or not. "But I've no plans to go to the colonies. It's just a good thing to know where others are." He shrugs. "Take Magnus's weapons, then, and the girl, and go." He stands looking down at his pupil's body. <><><><><> [jarvis] I look at him for a long second, or a short pair of seconds. Too bad that I had to get involved with the others here first... Belrung would have been much better and more profitable to befriend instead. Well, one can rail at the seas, and at Fate also, but they will neither respond nor care. Better to save my breath. Giving Belrung a good berth, I walk past to Magnus, to see what he brought with him, that the girl could use. "Come", I say softly, motioning to Abbegail. Silence seems better now, with Belrung looking at the body of his pupil, and me still wondering about the feelings from the Quickening. <><><><><> Abbegail follows. "I don't want you to think you have to do this...but I do appreciate it. I don't think I introduced myself. My name is Abbegail Cummings....I am from London." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Your opinion is noted, of course. I have to do what I think I have to do, not what your opinion may be," I reply, rather harshly. Perhaps more so than she deserves, especially given her earlier apology. Still, I am on edge... my problems are hardly over yet, just because I've won this fight. Lucien... I don't even have the faintest idea what I'm going to do about Lucien. And Francisco. Him, I have an idea. And it's definitely enough to set me on edge. And Belrung. Deal with the others or not, unless he leaves soon enough that I can stay away from him while he's here, I'm going to have to leave Tortuga. Well, at least this time I have a little money put away, and a slightly better reputation. With a shrug, I check Magnus' firearms. For one point, they need to be loaded and with dry powder. For another, I want to see what the flames and fire of the Quickening have done to them. Information is useful, and always there for a man to see... if he's smart enough to know where to look. <><><><><> Abbegail decides to ask a question that she didn't get an answer to before. "Forgive me for my pushiness...I just need some answers...this is all so confusing...I asked you before, but you didn't answer me...what was that....that....lightning storm all about?" <><><><><> [jarvis] Finished with the Norseman's pistols, I rise up and extend one to Abbegail. After a look at Belrung's still figure, I decide that here is not the time for a discussion. And we do have to get back to town. I should have figured to bring a change of clothes, really I should have. Mud and blood all over mine, and a scene it will be back at the port. Still, sooner faced, sooner over. I start walking, remembering to slow my pace for the girl's shorter legs. "You are now an immortal, Abbegail. I don't know how much that Portuguese scum told you, so I'll take it from the beginning. Some of us are born immortal, and our powers appear after we die the first death. Now, any wound that you sustain, you will heal quickly. As you seem to know, if you really thought to swim to the Colonies... but drowning several hundred times and ending up god only knows where, was not a well-thought plan. There is one wound, though, that you will not heal. Decapitation will kill you permanently, and if your killer was an immortal, part of your essence will be taken by him. That was the lightning that you saw, since both of the immortals killed were killed by other immortals." "You have a predilection for losing your head, Abbegail. Try to see to it that you lose that predilection instead, and you will live a long time." <><><><><> Abby laughed a little. "My friends call me Abby....and I'm really not the shrew that you think I am. I've had a bad several weeks. I shall try to do better." <><><><><> [jarvis] I chuckled shortly as I walked. I had definitely missed the sense of humor of England, here among boisterous rowdies and dandies. And she did have a nice way with understatement. "Abby. And I am Flint, Jarvis Flint. At your service." "Somewhat, at least." I take a couple more steps in silence, then continue with a sigh. "Or perhaps more than somewhat. An immortal fresh from her first death is called a 'fledgling', for some strange reason . There are several Rules that we are supposed to live by, and one of them is that the first immortal to happen upon a fledgling, should give aid and knowledge. Teach them about what they are, what the Rules are, and how to live now. Your bad luck that the immortal you first met had no intention of that." "Actually, I was there at the auction when Francisco bought you. I figured he just wanted a girl, but one of the others on the island told me that Francisco had acquired himself a fledgling. I suppose there is some way of telling who is an immortal before they die their first death, but for now all that I know is that when you are near other immortals, you feel the strange sensation that you do now." <><><><><> Abby nodded. "I have figured out that much for myself. What I have not yet figured out is if this immortality is a good thing, or a bad thing....and what I did to cause God to bestow this upon me." <><><><><> [jarvis] "I imagine that like many things in life, it'll be what you make of it." After that, I fall silent for some steps. I think that I should be teaching her the Rules right now. But, there is good reason to wait upon it... if she happens to blow Francisco's head off without knowing that she's breaking some, it'll only serve the bastard right. So, really, there's not much to say. My plans don't exist yet, dependant as they are upon what the other immortals are doing, and more importantly, plan to do. <><><><><> <> Jarvis and Abbegail return to Tortuga, in both better and worse shape than they left. As the shanties and hunters' villages at the outskirts come into view, a large plume of smoke is visible further into town. There's been a large fire, apparently, not uncommon in a poorly-built town like this full of careless drunks with lots of gunpowder, alcohol and lamp oil. Abbegail isn't exactly dressed for public -- she's still wearing nothing but a torn and dirty shift that's plastered wetly to her body. <><><><><> "All I want right now is to get away from this damned island and that bastard Francisco." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Oh ?", I mutter, leading the way back down the trail. "And do you imagine that you are in a trading port ? Most ships that leave here, go out to risk their fortune, not to trade or carry passengers. I'll have to see if a ship is going trading to the Colonies, but who knows when that'll happen, or if they have room, or if they're willing to take a woman on board." Actually, things aren't as bad as I make them out... The colonies trade regularly with us, with them having regular access to goods from Europe, and us generally having the money to purchase them with. At ridiculous prices, but what can you do ? So likely a ship will be available reasonably soon, and as much money as I have will assuredly get a berth for the pair of us. Of more worry is having enough money to live on for a while in the colonies... I'm not about to argue with Belrung to his face, but I see no reason not to come back here in a season or two. <><><><><> "I do not think I shall have any problem finding a position in the colonies. One wouldn't know it from how I look now, but I come from one of the best finishing schools in London. I have worked for several years as a nurse, my papers were already sent to the Boston colony. (I think that's where she was going, I've forgotten now.) I have also had many years of schooling so if nothing else, I can be a teacher." <><><><><> Looking up at the smoke in the town Abby says: "I am going to have to find some clothing...I feel a bit bare at the moment." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Really ? I happen to think that you are very well dressed", I mutter ironically. "But there's no chance to get you across town without incident, dressed as you are." I look again at the town. How utterly coincidental, a fire started just now. I wonder, really I do, when it got started. "Come stand next to me girl, I need to see how tall you are. I'll go in and get you some clothes so we can walk without problems." Wildly optimistic, that is. Somehow, I foresee problem piled atop of problem. Which kind, depends mostly upon who has just died. <><><><><> OOC: I should have answered this in one post. But when Abby stands next to you she appears to be about 5'6" and weighs 115 lbs. <><><><><> <> Having gotten an idea of Abbegail's size (and another good look at her scantily-clad body -- mouthy or not, she's a damned fine looking woman, and a wet shift becomes her, though she might not appreciate that observation), Jarvis proceeds into town. The fire burned down the very inn where Francisco stayed. Someone set off some stores of gunpowder, or so those who saw the explosion say. It's not yet certain whether anyone actually died in the blaze. Most everyone got out when the place was set on fire, but it's now in ruins, and for some reason, no one wants to go near the smoking pile of rubble. You hear mutterings from people on the street that it looked more like an act of God than an act of gunpowder -- some are even claiming that lightning struck from a clear sky.... this all happened several hours ago, though.... *before* your duel, and in fact it must have happened when you and Lucien and Magnus were barely out of sight of Tortuga. <><><><><> Abby stops by a tree near the edge of town. "As much as you and the other...pirates might like it, I can't go parading back into town like this. I'll have to wait hear for you to bring me some clothing." <><><><><> [jarvis] Despite what I told the woman, her clothes are not the first thing in my mind. Well, for starters, they would certainly take second place to her body... but that, also, takes a distant seat in comparison to the fire at the inn. The description of the fire bears out what I had been all but certain of... but _who_ had fought, and who had died ? I leaned against a convenient wall, and watched the smoking rubble for some minutes, thinking furiously. Clearly someone had come after Francisco. Or was it after Francisco, or did they just come here for some other reason ? No, the only other reason would have been Abigail. And a cursory visit any time would have indicated that Francisco did not keep her with him. So, Francisco it was. But, who had come ? Was there someone else on that ship, who came here while Belrung pursued his conflict with Loki ? Or was it Lourdes ? I was inclined to believe the latter. Mostly because I knew for a fact about the existence of Lourdes, while another supposed immortal from the ship was still guesswork. So, then... Lourdes had come here, and he and Francisco fought inside the inn. Although I wouldn't have the opportunity to kill the Portuguese if Lourdes won, I hoped that the Frenchman had been the winner. Francisco was a complication that I didn't need at this time, on top of Belrung and the English woman. The thought of complication spurred me to action. Might as well solve one problem now, and see about the rest later. Time to get clothes for Abigail, something drab and loose. I didn't need the look of her body as a distraction, mighty fine distraction as it was, and I certainly didn't want her attracting attention. A hat would also be a good idea, and maybe make her harder to find if Francisco still breathed. <><><><><> <> There are few tailor's shops in Tortuga, even fewer dressmaker's shops (none, to be exact), but there is a small female population on the island, and they need clothes -- so there are a few merchants who sell women's clothing. (As much of their business comes from men who have taken the role of women as from actual women, according to rumor, and you've seen a fair number of "ugly women" in Tortuga...it's a common buccaneer practice that isn't much talked about.) So you have to suffer the knowing wink of the man who sells you a plain dress and large bonnet that's about Abbegail's size. At least he can't possibly think that you're buying the clothes for yourself. You are able to walk back out of town and find Abbegail without incident. <><><><><> [jarvis] Well, one problem down. At least partially, I think, walking out of town with wrapped up clothes in my hand. Underthings I didn't bother with... I didn't know what a woman would wear, other than a whore, and this would serve until she could pick some garments on her own. As I feel the Quickening about where I had expected it, I breathe a small sigh of relief. Someone could have found her, not even an immortal. Or she could have left... despite her quiet on the way back, she had seemed a little perverse, and not above causing trouble for the hell of it. Still, precautions rarely hurt. I slipped out one of my pistols, cocked it, and held it in my off hand, underneath the package of clothing. <><><><><> Abby is leaning against the tree when you get back. "Thanks...I wasn't sure you'd come back. Give me the clothes and turn your back...I'll change and then we can get moving." <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile at her 'suggestion', and pull the pistol out of the clothes, returning it to my belt. Handing the clothes to her, I maintain a grip on them to force her to remain looking at me. "Some questions, first. When you waited, why weren't you in hiding ? The quickening, as we call the feeling we receive from another of our kind, is a good warning. But we are not the only pirates on this island, oh, by no means. Someone could have sneaked up on you if they saw you from a distance. "And second, is your pistol loaded, with the powder dry, and ready to hand ? Because you can't tell me from Francisco by the Quickening, I don't think. And by the time he's close enough, it's too late to check the powder." <><><><><> "I was hidding, behind this tree...it's the only cover I saw without going into town." She takes out the gun and looks at it. "It looks loaded. I've never used a gun before." <><><><><> [jarvis] I let go of the clothes. "Good enough, I guess. I should have realized. Hmm, given the situation, I think the first thing we do is go back into the forest and you find out how to use a pistol." I grin widely. "Are you sure you want to scratch up your nice new clothes, taking them into the woods ? Perhaps you'd prefer to remain dressed like this rather than explaining incovenient tears." Without waiting for a reply, I turn around, chuckling softly and repeatedly. <><><><><> Abby scowles at you and gives you a hard shove on your back as you turn around. "One more comment like that and I may decide to try target practice on you." "Men...you're all the same..." She mutters as she changes into the new clothes. After she's done she says: "Ok...I'm ready. Let's get going." <><><><><> [jarvis] I take a step forward willingly, still chuckling. "But then, who would you have to tell you all the mistakes you just made in how you shot someone in the back ? There's an art to it, you know." I wait until her say-so, then turn around to see how good my guesses were. Then again, how far wrong can you be, with a shapeless shift and a bonnet ? <><><><><> Abby sighs.. "I am used to better. But this will do. I gave up what was left of my parents savings for my passage to the new world. I would have had to have gotten used to living as a commoner there anyway. Let us go now." <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile once I'm past her. Used to better, indeed... and did she think she had to tell me, after her airs ? But at least she seemed willing to put them aside and learn how to act properly here... and guts, at least, she had in plenty. She would need them, the first time the gun jumped in her hand. "Come. I've practiced in a clearing this way," I say to her over my shoulder. It's mostly around the other side of the town, and we'll have to detour, but perhaps the delay will be better. Entering the town in the evening will probably be simpler. <><><><><> Abby follows you into the clearing. "So I take it the name of this immortal game is survival, even if we have to kill others to achieve it?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I laugh, softly but at length. "The name of life, dear Abbigail, is survival. The Game has no name, but if you think of it as life, then you have it pegged." "If someone comes after you, wishing to take your head, what will you do ? Will you stand up and fight, or will you run away ? Will you kneel and wait for the afterlife ? Make no mistake, eventually you _will_ be in that situation." "And to help you then, let us see how to load and shoot a gun." I reach out a hand to her. "Give me the pistol. Best to take it from the beginning, loading to firing." "Or, actually, just point it towards the trees and fire. Give you an idea of what it feels before you try it at a target." <><><><><> Abby fires the gun...but misses the tree by about 6 inches. Not bad...but not that great either. <><><><><> <> The gun kicks unexpectedly in Abby's hand, along with a great blast of smoke and powder. She was somewhat prepared for it, but it's still more than she expected. Few people who have not fired a gun before realize just how much smoke one shot produces. Jarvis has seen a pair of buccanners in a bar-room brawl both pull pistols from their belts, fire at one another, then each pull a spare out and fire it, and standing no more than ten feet apart, neither of them hit the other. By that time, they were firing blindly into a cloud of smoke anyway. Of course intoxication could have had something to do with it also. Abbegail isn't too frail for a woman, though. She's able to handle the pistol, though a larger one would probably be too much for her. With practice, she may actually be able to hit something. <><><><><> Abby staggers back a step, not prepared for the kick the gun had. "Wow.....I did not expect...." A grin comes over her face. " I believe I am ready to try a moving target. Why don't you go stand over there....If I hit you I promise I shall wait here with you until you come back to life." If it weren't for the fact that you could see her grinning, you'd think she was serious. <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile back. "Well, now, dear girl. You have a problem... the gun is now unloaded, and I have the ammunition." "But, as to that, you make a good point. You've now seen the use of one end of a gun... it's time to see the other." As I speak, I draw out one of my own pistols, point it at her, and visibly pull the trigger, still smiling. ... Maybe next time, I'll even cock the hammer. But for now, the idea is enough... I don't want to douse her fires, she'll need them to survive, but she still needs to learn that her actions, and words, may sometimes cause unpleasant results. <><><><><> Abby kicks you hard in the shin and calls you a very unlady like name. :) "That's not funny. I have been dead enough times this week thank you very much." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Dead enough times ?", I echo, ignoring the kick after a step back. "So, when does enough change to too many ?" I shrug, before her answer... better to get on with the lesson, than to exchange banter. I have a feeling that I'll have enough time to impress her with my impressive wits, if that becomes a goal in the future. "Take your pistol. Make sure the pan is clear... blowing on it hard does the trick most of the time, but not in wet weather. Sometimes you'll have to clean with a rag or your sleeve, but a dirty pan is a good way to get half your face burned well. And regardless of how shortly it may last, it's quite painful. And it can lose you a fight, rather certainly." "Your gun fired, so the powder, wad, and shot are gone from the barrel." I sit down, and indicate to her to also sit, before handing her the horn and a couple of pouches, from Magnus' body. "This here is the powder horn. The cap on the tip holds the powder from falling out, and as you can see, the tip is measured... tilt the horn with the cap closed, and you get a measure of powder in the tip. Then straighten the horn, take the cap off, and pour out that measure. He only had one pistol, so the measure should be set for it. Looks like it, to me. Pour it into the barrel." "Then, you take out a ball, from that leather pouch, and drop it down after the powder. A wad from that cloth pouch, and place the wad in the barrel. Take out that stick from underneath the barrel, it's called a ramrod. Use it to push down the wad until it holds the ball and powder tightly at the back end of the barrel." "And now, it's loaded. Or, mostly so. You can walk around with it, and if you put the wad it right, it remains loaded for a long while. The powder might get moist, though, so don't be sure it'll fire if you keep it loaded for days. You need to pour a little bit of powder onto the flash pan, that'll ignite when the hammer comes down." <><><><><> Abby pays close attention to what you're saying. When you're done she says. "This is useful for self defense, but from what I've seen it won't kill an imortal. If I am to survive, I need to know how to do that." <><><><><> [jarvis] I shake my head somewhat... a good point, but she missed the obvious after it. "Bloodthirsty gal, aren't you? Good, that's what you'll need when things come to that. Belike it'll happen sooner than we want, for sure." "Any way, you can't beat anyone with a sword. You couldn't touch me, and I'm hardly a match for someone who's been fighting for a century, it looks like. So your hope is to take them down with the pistol, and then either remove their heads or run away, before they recover. Don't think of it as the weapon to kill with, but a weapon to either set up for a kill, or to avoid being killed yourself." <><><><><> "Mister Jarvis....when do plan on giving up the idea that I'm just another weakling little woman. I fully intend to learn to use that sword...if you won't teach me how, I will find someone that will." Changing the subject she says: "There's no point in standing around here all day. We need to get out of this town, and preferably to the new world. I need your help to do that. I have no means of affording it myself, and the only job I could get in this town is one I have no intention of taking. I'll pay you back however you want, but I really want to get out of here before Fransisco finds us." <><><><><> [jarvis] I smile at Abbigail's bravado, for all that she might think it merely fact. No use in facing it head-on, for certain, not if it survived days at Francisco's non-existent mercies. "We will remain here a while yet, until I'm satisfied that you at least know how to reload and shoot the gun, and well enough to do it in the confusion of a real fight, not just when you're standing here calmly shooting trees. We have enough powder and shot for that, I believe." "As for hurrying to get passage... ships don't leave from here to the Colonies each day, that's for certain. It will likely take me several days to find passage, and I also need to let my Captain know that I'm leaving. It's a good berth, and I'd rather that he knew to expect me back in a year or two. So we can wait until later in the day to see about passage." "And lastly, although firstly as you put it, you _are_ a weakling little woman. I wouldn't say _just_, not with your spunk, but try to get this through your cocky 'I can't be hurt' little head... I've been fighting for years, and I'm much bigger and stronger than you are, and I'd be worried about fighting another immortal. I was quite worried this morning, in truth. If you fight anyone with a sword, they'll be bigger, stronger, and much more skilled than you. I'll teach you how to fight, and you're lucky to have me teach you, actually, rather than someone who swings a broadsword or an axe like poor Magnus, but it will take a long time until you have hope of defending yourself with a sword. Months for sure, more likely years." <><><><><> "I don't expect to be good at it anytime soon, I just don't want you to go easy on me because I'm a woman. I'm tougher than you think Jarvis." <><><><><> [jarvis] "I'm going easy on you to save time... it's useless to spend a hard two days teaching you to fight with a sword, when two days aren't enough. Better to spend the time learning to shoot and load a pistol, that you _can_ learn quickly enough." <><><><><> [Abby] Abby sighed. "I suppose you're right. But just watch out for me a few hundred years from now..." She grins. "So what next. Shall we just stand here the rest of the day?" <><><><><> [jarvis] "Now ? Now, we keep shooting. Give me the pistol you loaded, and shoot this one," I reply, extending the one that I loaded as an example. "Wait a bit for the smoke to clear, then pick a target. On the ground. You'll miss, so you need to see which way you missed. The black bole on that root, there, might be a good target." Waiting for her to aim and fire, I look over the load she had on the other pistol's pan, and make sure that the wad is tamped down tight. <><><><><> [Abby] "Here it goes...." She aims....she fires.... <><><><><> <> Abby misses the tree this time. She manages to fire without flinching as much though -- she is a quick study, particularly for a woman. The two of you practice powder shooting for several hours, until Jarvis's supplies are almost run out. <><><><><> [jarvis] "Good enough, girl. That'll do for one day, and we don't want to be without weapons. Load them again, and let's go", I speak, trying for clear words despite a throat rubbed raw with the smoke of firing. It will pass in a minute, though, once we are out of the now-hazy clearing. <><><><><> Abby reloads the gun. She looks exhausted. "What I wouldn't give for a servant trained in the art of message. When I was little my parents were quite wealthy...I was quite spoiled. Then they were killed...and all there money went to send me to a snooty finishing school in London. I guess it was better than eating groul at an orphanage." <><><><><> [jarvis] I lead the way through the jungle, back towards town. "Put the gun in your belt, that's why I got you a heavy one. Thread the loops of the powder horn and those two pouches with wads and shot through the belt, on the other side, to balance it. Ugly, but better to look ugly and dangerous than pretty and defenseless, here." "Wealth... what I'll have is what I take, I guess. I hear there's lots of opportunity in the colonies for hard workers, and I guess that most who go there don't have edumacation like you. So you might do well enough if you pick the right place and if you're not too spoiled to work hard. And if your temper doesn't cause _too_ many problems," I grin to myself, at the end. Small chance of that, looks like. <><><><><> Abby sighed, mumbled a few curses about men and then said: "Well...you just stay on the good side of my temper and we shall have no problems at all. Ok?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I smiled to myself, leading the way into town. After a couple of moments, despite thinking better of it, I half turned and muttered... "Your temper _has_ a good side ? I was wondering..." <><><><><> Abby looks around briefly for something to smack Jarvis with. Finding nothing she just slaps him hard on the back. "And I take it you enjoy being beat upon by frail women like myself." <><><><><> [jarvis] I turn my head, still walking down the trail, with both eyebrows raised. "You know, you should watch that, once we're in town. Keep acting like that, and someone is likely to think that you can talk for yourself. Even in that dress, you're pretty enough that a lot of gentlemen of fortune are going to leave you alone only because you're with me. Make it clear that you have a mind of your own, such as it is, and you'll be inviting trouble. For certain." I hide a smile by turning back to face forwards... fun as it is, though, I'm going to have to stop poking needles in her. That temper will definitely be a problem, and right now it's more important to avoid more troubles than to have fun. <><><><><> Abby grins. "I think I can play submissive...for now. Just don't be enjoying too much." <><><><><> [jarvis] "Enjoy it?" I ask, with an incredulous tone in my voice. For some reason I doubt that I will enjoy anything to do with this woman, at the least for a while. Then again, after a while, matters could definitely improve... Improving matters are not, however, first on my mind. The question is, now and until answered, who did win the fight at the inn? And, perhaps, even who fought? Just because I assumed that Lourdes and Francisco were involved didn't make it certain. Two immortals on the new ship, but must there have been only two? Things to keep in mind. More so than a certain woman's impudence, or the way she would fill out a proper dress. Or her old rags, come to think of it. No, definitely other things more important to keep in mind. Rather idiotic, to lose one's head because of a fancy for a woman. In all senses of the phrase, of course. <><><><><> As we get into town Abby starts playing the act of the subserviant little woman quite well. She lowers her head and stays a pace or so behind you. None the less you here her mumble "Someday..." once or twice as you walk. <><><><><> [jarvis] "Long as you live to that someday, you'll probably be too thankful to remember old slights", I mumble back, rather doubtfully. Perhaps she remembers old slights forever. Still and all, not a major concern, not with the wind that's blowing into the sails. For now, I lead the way to Francisco's old inn... perhaps by now, there is more talk about what has happened. Actually, it's dead certain that there will be more talk, though separating the tuna from the minnows will be harder, belike. <><><><><> Abby hesitates at the entance of the inn. "We're going back in there? What if he's here...or what if he comes back? I can't fight him...not yet anyway." <><><><><> [jarvis] Looking at the smoking building, Jarvis shakes his head. "No, we're not going in... nothing there to be worth the risk. But we don't even know who survived and who died, and I'm very interested in that. Perhaps someone around here will be willing to talk, for a drink. Actually, someone around here will certainly be willing to talk for a drink, the problem is finding someone who knows the truth." <><><><><> Abby nods. "It's worth a try I guess." <><><><><> <> There are plenty of people milling around, and Jarvis and Abby hear snatches of conversation about the great fire that brought down the inn. Some say it was a lightning bolt, while others scoff, pointing at the relatively clear sky. Here Abbegail has a bit of an advantage, since most of the buccaneers in Tortuga speak French, though a bastardized form quite unlike what she learned in school. From the looks she's getting, plenty of men would be more than willing to talk to *her* -- though most would probably be just as happy to forego talking... No way of knowing who might have actually seen what happened at the inn. Jarvis can see that Abbegail is going to be an attention magnet, though. In fact, as he stands there, a rough-looking bearded fellow with a missing hand approaches him and says "How much for zee girl?" in French. <><><><><> [jarvis] I give the man a blank stare, and reply with a sharp "What ?!", in English. I can pretty much figure out what he wanted, and for a second I'm tempted to play along to see if the girl can control her temper. But only for a second, because I'm pretty sure that she can't, and because she does have a loaded pistol. So much for the ugly clothes. A mask would be necessary, I suppose, to keep her under wraps. So to speak, heh, heh, heh. I wonder if she is getting the same feeling that I'm getting, about trouble coming in to roost. <><><><><> <> "Ze girl....is she your wife?" The man switches to halting English, with a skeptical expression. <><><><><> Abby does her best to look meek. She lowers her head, and taps Jarvis on the shoulder, then whispers: "He wants to know how much you want for me." <><><><><> [jarvis] "The girl. No, not my wife. But not for sale," I reply shortly. I was already giving up the idea of looking for information. We could well get into trouble and not find out anything. And while I usually liked the idea of trouble, as in cracking some heads together, I'd had enough excitement in the morning to last me at least until later in the afternoon. <><><><><> <> "Eez too bad...she eez very pretty, good price." He grunts and shuffles off, looking unhappy. More men are eying Abbegail and Jarvis. Any one of them might have seen the fire, or not, and be willing to provide information (or whatever story they think you want to hear) if suitably enticed. <><><><><> "Show me, the way, to the next whiskey bar... ...for if we don't find, the next whiskey bar, ...I fear that we must die. ...I fear that we must die." [jarvis] I ignore Abbegail look up and down the street for a short while, but it's pretty clear that getting information here is more likely than not to give me a pretty tale, spun for coin or two. However, if I judge rightly, after the fire a lot of men would have gone to the nearest bar, to discuss the lightning and the fire. And anything else that they might have known. For a change, this time I feel that a barkeep's gossip may be more accurate than listening to tales, being itself a distillation of many tales shouted together right after the fire. Or perhaps I'm just being optimistic. I may have a tendency to do that, the afternoon after surviving a fight to the death. But it's still better than waiting here in the street for someone to again offer to purchase the woman. And for me to give in to temptation and ask how much... "Come, girl. We're off to a bar, mayhap there'll be a tale there that we want to hear. And I'm hungry, in any case." <><><><><> Abby follows you out quietly, but as soon as you're outside she says: "Come girl.....next thing you know you'll be calling me your wench." <><><><><> [jarvis] "No, because then I'd have to share you", I reply with a wide grin, while walking towards the next whiskey bar. <><><><><> Abby laughs. "And exactly what is it that makes you think you HAVE me to keep to yourself in the first place?" <><><><><> <> Abbegail's willful speech raises heads as you enter another den of ill repute (as if any place serving whiskey to buccaneers could be any other kind of den). Jarvis gets a respectful stare, while Abbegail gets more measured ones, and the offers, wagers and possibly challenges are surely soon to come. <><><><><> [jarvis] I refrain from shaking my head yet again... mostly because I'm getting the feeling that eventually I'll just shake it off, if I don't learn to ignore the girl's nature. But it's a cinch bet that if a week with that bastard didn't dampen her spirits, there's nothing that I can do or say to that effect. I saunter my way to the bar, calling for a shot of rum. Maybe I can get some distillation of the stories from the bartender, before other matters grab my attention. And, in a way, I almost anticipate with eagerness the trouble about to start. Perhaps if Abbegail sees where her tongue and willfullness leads in this town, she'll curb herself a little. And that sounds like a flock of wild pigs, flying overhead. <><><><><> <> The bartender, like everyone else, sizes you up first, then Abbegail. "Nice piece you have on display," he says, not having even glanced at your sword. He pours you your rum. <><><><><> [jarvis] I turn to Abbegail, following the man's gaze, and smile happily. "Yes, she is, isn't she," I remark softly. "Course, she'll disagree, but there you are." I pay for my drink, and for the next one in advance, and add a little extra for the man. "So, maybe you can tell me. Big fire down the street, which isn't a surprise in this town. But everyone says the fire was strange, like started by lightning and thunder from a clear sky. Now, we know for sure that God ain't watching this place, or it would be a smoking ash pile blown into the harbor. But it's early in the day yet for the story spinners to be drunk, so maybe something weird did happen. And I'm sure you've heard everyone's little tale already, while I hardly have the time to satisfy my curiosity by listening to the fancies of all the drunks on the street. "So then, what's the real story? Not that I really expect much here. Most likely he'll just pick the biggest whopping lie that he's heard all morning to pass along to me. But if I don't try because the odds are slim, I'll never have a chance to find out what happened. Besides, if I still hope that Abby will learn restraint, I can certainly hope for something much more likely, like that the barkeep will be helpful. <><><><><> Abby will just mingle with the crowd and see if she can overhear anything useful. <><><><><> <> Abby hears little that is "useful." Jarvis watches her "mingle," which immediately results in lewd comments and lewder groping. As every man within arms' lengths propositions her without the slightest pretense at introductions, the bartender asks her giant companion "Is she daft?", momentarily distracted from the question about the lightning fire. <><><><><> [jarvis] I also blink in surprise, and then close my eyes for a few seconds, trying not to see what is about to happen. So much for getting an advantage in information over the surviving immortal, though that was probably foredoomed to failure, with a girl like Abby in tow. And at that, I had been worried about her looks, even with those clothes on her... her headstrong manner, I had thought she'd leave behind with more people around. More fool me. Though not, by any measure, as much as her. I shrug at the barkeep's question. "Aye, I do believe she is. Though try telling her that." I sigh at that. If telling her about the fire wouldn't be enough, she'd just have to learn by getting burned. And I did doubt there was anything that someone would do in this room, that would even approach her memories of Francisco. <><><><><> Though Abby had always been a bit of a flirt, she was used to associating with proper young English Gentlemen, not a bunch of pillaging pirates like these. Though it may have looked like she was enjoying herself, she was very much aware that all that most, if not all of these men wanted was her body. Finally after being grabed, groaped and propositioned all she cared to be, she headed back to Jarvis. "It seems I am not the one that is likely to get any sort of information out of these drunken scoundrals at all." She smiles. "On the other hand, if I chose to, I could make quite a fair amount of money in this town. But believe it or not...I am not that kind of girl. Did you learn anything?" <><><><><> <> "So what kind of girl are you?" one of Abby's less easily dissuadable "suitors" asks, following her back to the rumbarrel on which Jarvis sits. He slaps an arm around her shoulders, letting his hand fall directly on her breast, and gives it a hard squeeze. "Ya feel like just the right kind of girl to me!" His breath is a noxious mix of alcohol and decaying teeth...clearly enough of the former that the near presence of a giant hasn't phazed him. <><><><><> Abby removes the man's hand from her breast. "What kind of woman am I? I am one that does not enjoy being fondled by men who's intellegence is less than a tree stump." She turns to the bartender. "Give me an ale...he's paying." (She indicates Jarvis) <><><><><> [jarvis] Two desires were in me, and unfortunately they fought together too long. The girl needed a come-uppance, and my fists hesitated, thinking that here was a good opportunity for one. After all, she would take no lasting hurt from it, nor could she get pregnant against her will. Or any other way, for that matter. But this punk was just a little too much, too forward in his insolence. She may be asking for trouble, but he'd have done better to have figured that he did need to also ask me if he could give it to her. A fight here would not be good, I thought distantly. I was here for information, not to become the topic of more stories. Better to have stuffed Abigail, tied hand and foot, into my room, and gone alone. Thought and wisdom, common sense, and even uncommon, are not as lacking in me as in most of my compatriots of trade, I have found. It's just that at times, their voices are a little too soft, a little too late. Turning to the bartender, I shook my head in a "no". "She's had enough already for now, give her none now." As for the man... he'd learn to keep his hands off my woman, even when she deserved it. If I had to beat it into him with a stick. But, for now, starting with my fists, would likely do. As I turned from the bartender to the drunk, I was swinging already, hoping that his attention to Abigail and my lack of warning, would make this a one-swing fight. For all the catcalls I'd get about swinging without even a threat first, if he measured his length before he even knew there was a fight, then the next eager bloody drunk would think twice, and perhaps even thrice, before placing his hands in the fire again. <><><><><> <> The man isn't so easily deterred by Abby, and roughly spins her about when she tries to slip free from his grasp. "Are you insulting me?" he slurs angrily, and the back of his hand has only glanced across Abbegail's cheek when Jarvis's fist slams into his teeth. The drunken buccaneer staggers back, but with the luck God gives fools and drunks (and he's undoubtedly both), remains standing, shaking his head and looking more annoyed than hurt, though blood and a couple of ruined teeth are dripping down his already stained shirtfront. Around the two of you, men are hooting and clearing a space, though not a very large one. The mismatch between a drunken idiot and a very sober-looking giant is so obvious, no one even seems to be taking bets. Jarvis hears the expected jeers, for his blindsiding the man. Someone cries out "If you didn't want to share, you shouldn't have brought her in here!" Clearly, thrashing this fool will be less difficult than doing so without incurring the wrath of the rest of the bar, who are a bit too numerous even for a giant to take on single-handedly. <><><><><> [jarvis] My teeth grind for a couple of seconds as the man refuses to go down, and the crowd forms. A quick knockdown would have solved my problems, or at least lessened them. As well as giving the lout a useful lesson. Now it looked as if my problems were just beginning. Regretting having stepped in here with every pebble of my body (and I'm twenty stone if I'm a pebble), I shake my head in disgust. Much of it at myself, but better if Abbegail and the fool think otherwise, and I put a heavy glower on my face. To add to the frown that was already there. "Girl, just sit out of the way," I scowl at Abbegail for a second. "As for you, bedamned fool of a drunk, I don't see a sign on her saying that she's a whore working this bar, so take your new lesson in behavior and your worthless body outside, so I don't have to teach you any more lessons today." Of course, this wasn't going to work. I had already figured out that the Devil was here on the island, and that he was here just to take this day and turn it into the worst day of my life, so far. It was already in second place, and gaining fast. <><><><><> For once, Abbigail did as she was told, realizing that though she was a strong woman, she couldn't take on a drunken pirate with her bare fists. "A swift kick with the heel of my shoe to where he obviously keeps what there is of his brain...that's what he needs..." Then she backs off to the side and sits down. <><><><><> <> The other pirate wavers for a second, glaring at Jarvis and then at Abbegail. He doesn't immediately charge Jarvis, though. Perhaps he's not quite so drunk as to be unable to size up his foe now that they're standing opposite one another. "She looks like a whore, and she acts like a whore!" he cries. "Why then, I suppose she's HIS whore," another man says with surprising reasonableness. "But you," he adds, turning to face you, "don't take very good care of what you seem to want to hold onto." You notice a small cluster around him, of men who stay close enough to be in his company but distance themselves just enough to allow him to stand out, a subtle but sure sign that he's a man of some status here, even if you don't recognize him. He looks over at the girl, now lounging sullenly against the bar, and grins. "She is a fetching lass," he says. "So tell me, why _did_ you bring her in here?" <><><><><> [jarvis] I ignore the man's question for a couple of seconds, glaring at the drunk who started this, and wishing him dead. Or at least beaten to a pulp upon the floor, the which I would be doing at this moment if there weren't this forsaken crowd here. Although perhaps saying that he started this would be a mite foolish. In the deed, it was the girl who is causing the trouble, and who likely has not a stone nor even an ounce of common sense in that pretty head. Well, glaring at her will not be of help, for certain. Nor is glaring at the fool. Better answer those less foolish, and head this off. Right now I wouldn't even mind letting them have their way with the girl.... well, at least not all that much... but it would be a fine tale to add to this morning's list of tales making the rounds, that Jarvis stepped back from a fight and let someone have his woman. "Well, of an indeed," I respond, not calmly, unfortunately enough, but I manage to keep most of my anger at least tolerably hidden, "I hadn't come to bring her here. But as we were walking past the bar, I saw the burned inn down the street, and I know it was fine last night. So I'm in here to ask what happened, for surely the tales shall grow wilder as I walk further away from the inn, and of my bad luck, I had nowhere to stash the girl. So she's in here cause I'm looking for some tales to tell, and as for taking care of her... I can't watch her each and every breath of my day, and she seems to attract trouble the moment I turn my back to talk to someone else." <><><><><> <> "Indeed, she seems like a woman likely to cause more trouble than most," the man agrees with a slight grin. "Is she really worth so much trouble? If so, a woman like that might be one I'd be interested in taking off your hands. And if not --" he shrugs. "Do you play cards, Mister....?" <><><><><> [jarvis] "I don't know if she's worth it, yet," I reply with a grin, "But I haven't known her for long. Perhaps I'll get used to her wayward ways, or perhaps I'll tire of them and get rid of her to anyone promising to beat her properly". "Aye, I play cards." <><><><><> <> The other man frowns slightly as you refuse the cue to give your name, but says "What do you fancy against her as stakes in a game of one-hand?" <><><><><> Abby gasps at the suggestion.