Raw Winter

Epilogue

The Hades Revenge was a smooth and sleek ship with dark, dark wood. They built her for speed and to outrun even the most dogged pursuers, but also to move silently over the waves. She was a ship made for boarding other ships. They built her with pursuing The Red Liar in mind, but that wasn't her chief aim.

She was a comfortable ship, built to make it easy to grow fruit-bearing trees, and the cabins were comfortable and spacious. They built her to make it easy to sail, even with a small crew. There were sheep stalls below deck for transporting animals for the sake of trading. Her figurehead was a snarling dog, in honor of Hades Smith. He loved dogs and burning in hell.

Once Captain Derevi arrived, the courtyard had exploded into chaos and it wasn't long before his men and Catinol's were in a full battle for supremacy. Though the captain had come tracking Rawintr, Catinol's keep had been a location lusted after by many pirates. Most were previously afraid to risk crossing him as the prince of pirates, though he himself had never been on a ship. The moment he was dead, it was a free-for-all for power, and with such a lack of planning, there were heavy casualties on both sides. The only crew that remained intact was that of Rawintr Wlyfric, who stayed well out of the way when they knew their captain was beyond saving, so it was Rawintr Wlyfric's crew that benefited from the bounty and gathered the riches that remained.

It was enough to have a new ship built as their prisoner, Caronel Kaylis, a flagrant vagabond known for her disguises, took their old ship. The crew of the newly refurbished Hades Revenge got off the ship when she landed after destroying The Gold Fetcher. Kircan had gone back to get back up, realizing what was waiting was going to destroy them otherwise, but it was her idea to ram the ship. Though many of the former Gold Fetcher crew had perished, there were still many remaining, and they were more than willing to go with the beautiful new captain when she invited them. No one was there to stop her from taking the Red Liar.

She could have raided the keep, but her words from the deck of the Red Liar were, "all I need is this ship. If I want the riches, I could have taken them myself, and if I want them later, I'm sure I can take them from whoever remains." She then took the men that joined her and sailed away.

She had asked Yulsylus if he wished to join them and he refused tidily, having no interest in switching sides as he already knew what was to come, but Chef Marcal agreed as he was certain he would be out of a job and no one to pay him otherwise.

The few Gold Fetchers remaining didn't know what to do with themselves after they realized both their captain and ship were gone and they wouldn't go with the woman that destroyed their old ship. They were more than glad to stick around with the former Red Liar crew. Before long, they agreed to spend the money on building a new ship. As it went, Catinol didn't have many friends left and without friends there wasn't anyone coming to check on his keep. There was plenty of time for the newly formed crew to gather his gold to build the new Hades Revenge. There were one or two interested in keeping the keep, but the rest couldn't keep themselves from the sea.

"We're not so different after all," Josiah grumbled as he leaned over the railing with a bottle of whiskey in hand, swishing it around. "Makes it kind of funny to think we fought all this time."

"As long as there are ships there's going to be pirates and there's going to be people trying to kill each other out at sea," Whistle answered, looking out at the waves as he sipped his own bottle. "It's nothing personal. Now we're on the same crew. She sails like a dream, doesn't she?"

"She's a beauty, yeah," Josiah answered, running his hand over her rails, "and she's so fast I can bet on her not being taken by any Krakens. That's how my old crew went—the one I was on before the pirates of the Gold Fetcher plucked me from the sea and made me a proper pirate. It's a miracle I survived."

"Krakens? How many are there then?" Whistle asked, trying to hide his grin, but his face screwed up in pain and he gripped his shoulder. "Yulsylus said it would hurt for a good, long while."

They were quiet and after a while Whistle said, "It's great to have a captain that cares so much. I didn't expect her to get upset like that."

"It's a nice ship and a good crew and your captain should be proud," Josiah said as he took a drink of his whiskey and shook the bottle, contemplating throwing it over.

"Your captain," Chresher said as he approached the both of them. His arm was wrapped around Rawintr as she tired easily these days. She wouldn't be worn out forever, but dying a second time was bound to make a person tired.

"Captain! Are you sure you should be out here? You were told you needed to rest," Whistle said, grinning and then wrapping his arms around her. He let out a sharp noise, both because it hurt his shoulder and because an unexpected wave of emotions swept over him. He was so glad she was alive.

It surprised Rawintr, but not for long. She gingerly wrapped her arms around him. She still wasn't used to being touched and if the new crewmates tried she probably would cut them open, but for her second-in-command she was fine with it.

"I did plenty of resting in hell and came out the better for it," Rawintr muttered. "You don't have to worry about me. You're the one that got wounded, weren't you?"

"I can barely feel it," he muttered, burying his face in her new captain's jacket, made from the green silks and fine cloth they took from the keep and sewn haphazardly together. She could have made it nicer, but she preferred it this way. She had a lot of time to do it ever since emerging from the sea and pulling herself on deck. The former Gold Fetchers were unnerved when she arrived, but was met with great joy from her remaining crew.

"That's good," Rawintr said with a grin, her blue eye flashing in the light in a way that made Josiah notably avert his eyes, "we have plenty of adventures to have."

Kircan appeared, appearing sheepish, but regaining some of his confidence asked, "And what about your mother? Are we going to see her?"

Rawintr paused for a moment, her head resting on top of Whistle's as she considered it. She said, "I'm sure we still have plenty of time. I'll think about it."

"Mothers don't last forever," Josiah said. "You should do it while you still can...Captain."

She glared at him and for a moment seemed to contemplate throwing him over, but merely grunted and nodded, muttering, "maybe I should."

They stood in companionable silence, and then she said, "And Kircan?"

"What? Yeah, Captain?"

"You did a good job designing the ship."

'''

Dr. Windwell stood on the dock, staring out at the sea. She was certain by now that Winter was dead and she mourned for her, though she knew not what drew her to the sea. Maybe it was the babe in her arms that squirmed and whimpered, but seemed to grow calmer when hearing the waves.

She was a weak baby and would never be as strong as other children, but her will to live was strong enough and that's all that mattered to the doctor. Windwell would be glad to provide for her, no matter what that may mean and what it may cost. She wished she could have done more to save her mother, but sometimes these things ended this way.

"Amnesia," she said, her voice soft and lost in the bustle of the docks. It didn't seem to bother the girl. Windwell sighed, finding the name was interesting, but maybe not for a child. "Amy," she muttered. "Yes, that will do. You're going to grow up to be great one day, and one day I'll tell you all about your mother."

She felt a sense of mourning not only for Winter's death, but for not knowing anything at all about her, outside of the time she had known her. She hoped she was happy in paradise after all she went through. She was so brave.