faderift | [whooshing, explosions.]

WHO: Jack Rackham, some irregulars, and YOU.
WHAT: Jack shows up in Kirkwall and is very Jack about it.
WHEN: Harvestmere. Nowww.
WHERE: Kirkwall docks, Kirkwall proper, the Gallows.
NOTES: Kvetching.

[Please note: Anne Bonny

whatthefuckami is liable to threadjack nearly any of these at any time. You've been warned.]

a. DOCKS | ota.

That's a new face. And a new ship. The Lion has made port, and the black has been sequestered, making it look like just a normal ship, if of somewhat... Tevinter make. If you're one to spot those sorts of things.

Captain Jack Rackham, tricorn on head, well-dressed and perhaps a little rumpled from a long voyage, is arguing. Loudly.

"This is not bilking. I have been bilked. I have bilked others. I am an experienced bilker. These docking charges-- if you can call them that-- are nothing short of robbery. And I shall not be robbed."

Yes, yes, he knows. He's making a big deal of it so his crew can slowly slide off the ship, small caches of cargo along with them. It's a distraction.

Don't be a narc.

b. KIRKWALL | ota.

He is buying jewelry. He is six feet tall, somewhat well-dressed, immaculate facial hair, and he is buying jewelry.

"Baubles," Jack corrects. "You ought to call this Baubles of Kirkwall. Beads of pretty-colored glass? Ribbons? Your advertisement, ser, leaves much to be desired."

Never mind the fact that glass beads and ribbons are precisely what he's looking for. He's here to argue the price down. Help him. He turns to whoever's next to him, and holds up a tiny glass object, dark red with glass swirls of darker red within. "Now tell me, serah, would you call this a ruby?"

His Tevene accent prickles most when he's trying to put on a front.

c. KIRKWALL PUB | ota.

A loud conversation is happening with a wall. Well, it's between a rather flamboyant man and someone who looks like he'd prefer to be a wall.

"There's a what- a what on?" Jack shakes his head. "Of course I wouldn't know which finger Nevarra's stuck up its ass this time. I was at sea!"

Murmurs increase in volume. The pub doesn't really like this rabble-rousing lout. Not that it's stopping him. "Oh, for fuck's sake, another war. Just what I needed in this cesspit. Present company excluded, of course." He takes a long swig from a jar of rum.

d. GALLOWS MAIN HALL | ota.

It doesn't matter what time it is. Jack is bored and waiting on information or a report or you know what, don't question it. He's here. He's by the fire. He's got some rum.

He's dealing out cards, even if nobody's sitting in the seats across from him. One is rather near to you, though.

"Come now," he says, "I promise a good game. And my opening bet will change your life."

He hefts a pineapple onto the table.

LOCKED TO FLINT.

A pirate walks into the Gallows. The real joke will be walking out again.

What a terrible name for a building, really. Who came up with it? Oh, yes, southern Templars. What grim sorts they must be. All thoughts Jack muddles with while walking through the building with a pineapple under his arm and a tricorn on his head. The hat is for amiably tipping in the direction of anyone who questions his presence. He reassures quietly and with gentle confidence that, really, he's just here to see a friend; no, it's official business; yes, it's above your clearance level; oh, no need to worry about it.

It would probably be more believable without the pineapple, but he needs that.

Finally, he makes his way past guards and scullery maids to the division offices, and finds the one marked Forces. Knocking on the door, he considers saying something. Oughtn't there be something to say for old friends meeting again after years apart?

Well. Friend seems like a strong word.

He knocks, firm and demanding, and he waits.

LOCKED TO GWEN.

He's walking back down from the division head offices with absolutely no pineapple, but some stickiness of the juice left on his fingers. Well dressed but not particularly refined, he passes through the corridors while licking his fingertips. The tricorn is now under his arm.

All in all, he's got that jolly demeanor well suited for swiftly avoiding bothersome questions like why the fuck are you here. Sometimes literally. He ducks behind pillars where needed.

Ducking past one such pillar reveals the entrance to a library, and why not, really. Best see what they have. He pokes about, murmuring to himself and shaking his head, occasionally making an approving click of his tongue. Someone tells him to shhh. He waves them off. What is this, children's hour? Honestly.

But looking around to disregard someone in the right direct reveals another sight to see. A familiar one, though not quite as familiar as some. No, but he's seen pictures; the likeness is unmistakable (or a woman has a very unfortunate twin). He gets that canny look on his face, and in one smooth motion, sweeps his coattails aside so he can sit next to her.

"I've read your book," he says, and then makes a face.

"Mmh. That felt rather ominous to start with. How's this: Captain Jack Rackham of the Lion, lately of Nascere, less lately of a snakepit, how do you do, how pleasant, yes, yes, I've read your book." He holds out his hand for a shake.

He hasn't licked his fingers in at least fifteen minutes.

LOCKED TO SILVER.

Oh, goodness, someone is telling a story in a pub. It's so like home, Jack wants to brain himself with the nearest chair. Yet, he listens. A man needs entertainment, and the storyteller's voice is strong and commanding. That voice... that voice is familiar.

Motherfucker.

Never one to waste an entrance, Jack slowly saunters up to the head of the crowd. A little hard to do so subtly, being rather tall and wearing yellow, yet here we are. He waits for a good stopping point, and then-

"That didn't happen," he says, regardless of whether or not it did. He's smiling one of those smiles that says exactly what he's thinking. I'm doing this because it's fun.

"I would know," he continues, "I was there, Mister Silver."

LOCKED TO ANNE.

Walking through the crowd in a new shirt is a lovely feeling. He is, of course, holding one of his last remaining pineapples and a pleasantly large knife as well, so he's given fair berth. Not that he looks like an unhinged murderer, but when one is looking for- oh, there she is!

He's gotten quite excellent at spotting Anne Bonny in crowds. Stabbing his knife into the pineapple so he can hold them both in one hand (by the hilt of the knife), he walks up to her, lightly tapping her shoulder from the side. Four taps mean it's him. Any other number of taps generally means a beginner's course in anatomical research.

"Darling," he says calmly. He embellishes his words with the hand holding the knife hilt pineapple combo. Some of the juice runs down the blade. "Shall we find a place to eat? And chat? At the moment, there's nothing I'd like better."

z. YE OLDE WILDE-CARD.

[mix and match prompts. set something on fire. do something unexpected. i'm fuckin down for it. if youre not sure, feel free to hmu @ wehwalt. but bro. im probs down.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Athessa closes the book she was making very slow progress on--mouthing the words silently to herself and all--and looks not at the cards in front of her, but at the pineapple. The glint in her eyes might not just be that spooky thing that elf eyes do, but piqued interest at the sight of that fruit.

"That's your bet?"

"I'm in."

He has no idea what it is, but Barrow sees that there's a card game happening, and the more ludicrous the stakes, the more he knows he'll enjoy it.
Even if Fitcher isn't here to bet his clothing against-- no, probably not going to take it in that direction, not with a child present.

"That is indeed my bet. What are yours?"

He pats the pineapple thoughtfully, like an item of great value, which. Well. It is.

Lucky for everyone, she has a little rucksack with her so she doesn't have to go trotting off to find something of value to wager. From the bag, she produces a brick-sized parcel emblazoned with some tea company's logo. A pound of tea, in the midst of a shortage.

Barrow's eyes widen. The ante is already farther than he can reasonably go, at least with the tea now.

"...I don't suppose coin will do," he hedges.

As they're discussing the pot, a woman drifts into the hall. There's nothing especially purposeful in her silent footsteps, nor does she bother to acknowledge anyone beyond brief glances from beneath her hat; she could have ended up sitting alone at any table in the room. But the one she picks is the next table over, directly behind the flashy gent with the cards.

She leans back against the table, planting one of her feet on the bench along with her arse, and pulls out a dagger and a small whetstone.

Jack completely ignores this strange woman who he doesn't know at all. This is an old game, but with a fun new spin: no one knows who they are. It's, quite frankly, hilarious.

"I'd accept coin," Jack says, shuffling the deck. "A lot of coin."

Athessa says nothing, but glances sidelong at Barrow as if expecting him to produce a comically full sack of coins. Or wondering whether he has that much coin. She's very relaxed in this moment. Confident, not in her skill but in the nigh inevitability that she'll lose. No sense in worrying if you already know how it's gonna end.

"Define a lot," Barrow says, beginning to withdraw a few from his coinpurse, creating a short stack of silvers. "Never seen one of those things before, but I know what tea's worth these days, so that's the metric I'm using."
He's noticed the strange woman, but just offers her a pleasant nod in greeting and otherwise allows her her silence.

"Given the shortages and the rarity of tropical fruit, especially this time of year... yes, let's say one pineapple equals one brick of tea, roughly that size. Inflation being what it is, demand being high, supply being low-- and I am assuming that is serviceable tea at minimum, not some half-sawdust gruel-- I'd say seven hundred... what's Kirkwall's currency? Just gold? Seven hundred gold."

He waits for the reaction.

She laughs in disbelief, and looks at the tea she just produced. She definitely didn't buy the tea for that much, but she has it on good authority that it's decent tea, better than serviceable.

And there's no way that even something as rare as a single pineapple goes for that much. This man is gouging the price more than the worst merchant in Hightown.

"Pull the other one."

The wager yields a blank stare, Barrow's hand poised mid-stack.

"Seven... hundred." One of his eyebrows nearly disappears into his hairline. "Is it a bloody dragon's egg? Because I can go to the Bone Pit and get one of those for free."

Jack spins the pineapple into the air and catches it. "Since you," looking toward Athessa, "wanted to argue down the worth of your own bet, why don't you tell us what the fair price is?"

"How should I know?" She feigns ignorance almost too well. "How much could a pineapple cost?"

Like, ten gold? Whatever.

This is souring quickly, and Barrow is beginning to regret ever sitting down. He casts Athessa a glance that's almost scandalized; does she have any idea what she's doing?

Jack makes a face, sighs, and says, "whatever your tea cost, as we have decided it's an equal wager. You do know how betting works, yes?"

She shrugs. Maybe she does and maybe she doesn't, but to her mind the more important question is for Barrow:

"Can you really get a dragon egg?"

"If there's any left." He scratches at the stubble on his cheek.
He doesn't mind stalling the game, especially if the new fellow is asking 700 gold bets straight out the gate.

Jack groans and hangs his head. "We are never going to get to the playing, at this rate."

To Jack, dismissively: "Six hundred."

Then, not waiting for a reaction, she turns back to Barrow. "Can you take me with you if you go looking for one? I've never seen a dragon egg."

Barrow seems a bit thrown off by Athessa's question, but shrugs one shoulder. "S'pose so."

He's not actually going to go looking for dragon eggs.

"Sorry friends, but I think the odds are too steep for me," he decides-- if they've only gone down to six hundred, clearly this wasn't meant to be. He starts to get up.

[whooshing, explosions.]

d.

threadjacking, yell at me to go away if u want

sall good.

spends real ac points for this

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just setup 4 l8r, ignore me.

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