WHISPER- shadow and bone

Chapter 4

Ada lost every single round of cards. She was gracious in defeat however and eagerly jumped at the opportunity to walk away from the table with a shred of dignity left. The ships' course had changed and Alina was not satisfied which saw the sisters storming down to find Sturmhond.

"What are you playing at pirate?" Ada questioned as she burst through the door.

"Did Mal tell you to alter course?" Alina asked angrily.

"No, that would be your captain," Sturmhond pointed to himself.

"Why?" Alina questioned.

"It's a brief change to make use of an Eastern wind. We'll make better time. Your tracker wouldn't say why, but of all of the islands, he believes the Sea Whip is here. You want to explain that?" he spoke as he pointed to one of the smaller islands on the map of the Bone Road.

 "No," Alina shook her head.

"What's this about?" Sturmhond narrowed his eyes.

"I'm the client," Alina scoffed.

"No client of mine has ever made such demands," Sturmhond retorted and moved to pour himself a drink.

"No client of yours can do what Alina can do," Ada butted in.

"Well, fair enough. But that's not what this is about, is it?" Sturmhond spoke.

"What do you mean?" asked Alina, furrowing her brow.

"Trust is a tricky needle to thread for both of us. You need to trust that I don't have some ulterior motive, and I need to trust we aren't chasing a myth. The difference is you behave like somebody who's already been betrayed. And that puts you in a tight spot for the task ahead. You can't do it all on your own. You need me," Sturmhond grinned as felt the power balance slip in his favour. Ada rolled her eyes in the corner of the room.

"And you need me if you're going to get your money. We both know that's only as long as I remain valuable to you," Alina replied.

"Well, you are very fancy cargo, it's true. But do you really understand why? It's not just because you'll destroy the Fold. It's because you're a symbol. You're not just sunshine, sunshine. You're hope for the future. Seems it's not me who needs convincing of that. It's you," Sturmhond got closer to Alina as he made a point that seemed to hit home with Alina.

"We're close," spoke Tamar softly, as she broke up the awkward tension.

"Time for my favorite part!" Sturmhond spoke excitedly.

"Thanks to navigation from our Summoner's tracker friend here we've traversed the Bone Road to the island of Jelka. As for the Sea Whip, we have some storybook drawings, no telling what it really looks like. Rule of thumb for the unknown, come prepared!" Sturmhond grinned as he addressed the crew he'd gathered in the barrel of the ship. Pulling a cordon, he revealed a wall of weapons from guns to knives to crossbows.

"Are all pirates this well-armed?" Mal raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Privateer," Sturmhond gritted his teeth.

"I don't know the difference," Mal sighed.

"The difference is I have a license. And a healthy love for innovation. Gadgets, marvels, things that go boom. Anything pique your interest?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Mal spoke gruffly.

 "Well, take it, for our excursion," Sturmhond gestured towards the wall. Mal picked up the speargun in response.

"Fabulous choice. You have excellent taste in weaponry, Mal. The cable's Fabrikator-made. Tensile strength of 80,000. Yield, 50," Sturmhond boasted proudly.