Explosions, hearts and theft (Bjorn/Ri/Luth)

[Deleted]

Tomorrow was valentine’s day and Deva had been looking forward to it for weeks now. She’d hoped to find out if the poem she wrote Bjorn would even be featured in the article but in the end she’d packed up and left her home to be with Bjorn on the ship before she’d heard anything. She’d ordered the magazine regardless, just in case. They had fun enough things to read and if she had gotten her poem featured she could just show it off to Bjorn. She felt silly about being giddy about something that mundane with how crazy their lives were, but all in all she was glad he was in her life.

Bjorn had been up for a while already. She’d joined them on a short trip, as Bjorn had planned to make port for valentine’s day. From what Deva understood a few of the crew had their own people they wanted to see. Deva had been worried more often of late, especially after Bjorn had gotten poisoned in early January, although he was doing a lot better again by now. She was about to drag herself from the cabin to look for her love when the door opened and he came in. She instantly found herself smiling and rushed over his way.

“Good morning!” She said as she stood op tiptoes to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She’d been up a short while, mostly just reading some of his books. It had been a quiet day and the weather was quite nice. Not to mention they were closing in on the harbour ever so slowly but Deva was in no way ready to leave the ship behind just yet. It felt like she spent a lot of her time here, if she had the opportunity. But it didn’t matter, she liked it here and felt safe.

That was when the ship suddenly shook, a loud roar rushing over them. It was followed soon enough by another roar and tremble. It sounded a horrible lot like explosions and Deva felt scared. Were they under attack? She looked at Bjorn, biting her lip slightly. “Are we under attack?” She muttered in a small voice. She wasn’t that good in combat magic! She rushed over to the bedside table to grab her wand and look out the window. From here, nothing was visible. The ship shook and roared yet again and she motioned at Bjorn. “Go. I’ll hide in here. I’ll be fine.”

She took a deep breath, curling up at the bed as more explosions shook the ship. She heard the commotion outside, the shouts and confusion. No doubt they were trying to put out the fires, or fight back if they were under attack. The footsteps slowly started dying down, and she figured they’d gone to the other side of the ship. If she truly was in danger on her part of the ship Bjorn would come back to save her. Another violent explosion shook the ship, and Deva bit her lip in concern as she heard the yelling from a distance. It got worse and more, and she figured there was fighting going on.

She doubtfully walked up to the door. Up till now she’d kept it open, in case she needed to get out quickly but also to keep an ear out. If there were dangerous people on the ship it was probably better to lock herself in. She was about to close the last bit of distance when she heard footsteps, quickly followed by the door opening. Caught completely off guard, she had but a small moment to inhale in hopes of casting a spell, but long before she managed a word the world had gone dark.

@cashel
@bjorn
(and Luth but I aint tagging myself)

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

This year had been very different from years past. At the start of it, Ri had met Renfri, and his world had been turned upside down. He had spent a significant amount of time off the ship, spending as many nights as he could, with her, along with weekends. With the upcoming romantic holiday coming up, the two had plans, so he had been spending that week making his drink to send out to his customers. Many crates of jarred moonshine had been created and moved from the distillery to a storage location. He had been working hard so that he could enjoy his weekend with Renfri. As Friday came around, that was at the forefront of his mind. The man worked hard in the room. It had gotten quite hot, but he was used to it. All meaning of time was lost when he was in the room, working.

Lost in his thoughts and work, Ri had one more batch to complete before he could be off. He intended to complete it just as they were getting to dock. It wouldn't take much for him to change, and be off. But around then, the ship shook. It didn't feel natural. Five years on the Jolly Roger, Ri knew what the waves felt like. This shake wasn't from waves or weather. He didn't know what could have caused it and shortly after, there was another.. This distracted him. Before he knew it, he was thrown against the wall of the room, knocked unconscious. Something had gone wrong. One would think this impossible. Ri was very particular when it came to his moonshine. He was the only one who could make it from start to finish. Something wrong must have happened. Ri was the only one who worked the machine, while he had help preparing ingredients, he was the only one who could make it, Ri made sure of that.

Not sure how much time had passed, but Ri awoke to flames. The room was on fire, along with parts of him. Not worrying too much about the heat or smoke, the druid reached for his wand, wordlessly letting it spit out water. Trying to smother as much of the fire as he could, he knew that the distillery was done for. Alcohol burned, really well. Coughing as the small area filled with more and more smoke, he couldn't breath. He couldn't take it anymore, stumbling, he made it to the door. Through the shift, and the explosions, it seemed that the door was barricaded. Coughing, Ri moved and adjusted what he could. Soon enough, the door burst open, and Ri along with it. Breathing cleaner air for the first time in who knows how long, he coughed, choking on the action. No one was in sight, but he had to get out. HE stumbled down the narrow hallway, his right arm practically useless, from the shoulder down to his hand was covered in burns, he could feel the burns on his face and right leg as well, with a few other spots on his torso and left side. Coughing and hacking, he slowly made his way to anywhere.

With a sway of the ship, Ri's body was moved, unprepared by the action, his body slammed into the wall. Involuntarily letting out a gasp of pain, Ri crouched to the floor coughing, his lungs begging to be cleared of air.

@bjorn
@luthien
(And Deva for Reference, but not going to tag)

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026
@cashel, @luthien

The ships current cargo was relatively tame and almost legal this trip. It was why he'd let Deva join them for the few days. In hindsight, Bjorn should have known that there was nothing simple about this job. He should have seen the trouble starting. After a few hours work in the morning he finally headed back to his cabin and was greeted joyfully by his girlfriend. He grinned, leaning down to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Good morning," he gruffly responded, giving her a swift kiss. He would have been content to spend the next few hours with her, but that was when the ship shook and thunder roared in his ears. Immediately Bjorn stiffened, listening as he held Deva close. The hell was that? A moment later and the ship rocked again and he heard another explosion. That was definitely an explosion. But the way the ship had moved.... On the ship? If they'd hid something it would have been different. Immediately Bjorn mind raced. What on the ship could explode? Well, Ri's distillery, of course. But Ri kept that under control. They'd never had an incident. Perhaps, something in the cargo, that they were transporting. Deva, bless her, immediately jumped to the conclusion of them being attacked. He looked at her, giving her a soft look, though her suggestion wasn't out yet... It seemed unlikely in their current location. "Probably just an accident," he offered, hoping it might reassure her. Though she was right to assume he'd have to go investigate. He nodded, letting go of her waist. "Keep the door locked," Advice he always gave her whenever she was left alone, so it might fall on deaf ears. He turned to leave, glancing back at her briefly to offer a smile, before stepping out the door and shutting it behind him.

Clearly Bjorn wasn't the only one trying to figure out what was going on. Bjorn's first order of business though was to find Lotten. She was easy to find, as she'd been looking for him. Quickly they made a plan, dividing their efforts to investigate. There were more, smaller explosions as he searched. THe crew was in an uproar, trying to get the fires under control. Bjorn stopped as he went, helping where he could or giving orders where he couldn't.

Sabotage. That's what this was. While chain explosions could happen, it wouldn't be like this. These were calculated. Intentional. And that thought made his blood boil. While Bjorn wasn't a soft man, his more ruthless side was usually kept tightly under control. His crew knew it was there, saw glimpses of it, but never full on. It was like a switch had been flipped today though. Someone had sabotaged his ship. His expression was cold, almost emotionless as he stalked the halls, his eyes frosty and threatening violence. Many of the explosions, from what he could tell, were getting under control. But that didn't change the fact. Perhaps it was by luck that he finally came across Luthien. "Come with me," he ordered, his voice harsh and sharp. Daring her to refuse. As he walked, knowing she'd be following, he explained. "I want whoever is responsible for this found and brought to me. I don't care how you do it." He paused, to turn his head to her, his eyes still cold and ruthless. "And I want whoever helped these rats get on my ship." No, they couldn't be working alone. There was no way to plant so many bombs on his ship without help. There was a traitor in his crew.

(meh, Luthien can find Ri, or Bjorn will find him in my next post )

[Deleted]

It didn't take Luthien very long to get started the moment the explosions started. She wasn't overly fond of them or highly familiar but she knew enough about ships now to know these were not part of the journey. She cursed quite loudly and repeatedly even as she raced to her feet and started looking for the source of the explosions. It didn't matter where on the ship they were, as the captain himself was sure to make his way there. She'd been right of course and she wasn't surprised to meet him en route. She didn't offer banter or witty remarks, much out of character for her on a regular day, which this clearly was not. She nodded grimly for a moment as Bjorn tasked her to find the responsible party. Considering she'd likely be allowed to share in dishing out punishment later it did not at all bother her. Even with her latest affliction she managed, since it only made her more conscious of the borders people might have.

"On it." She simply stated before turning a corner, setting herself in motion as she ran and took charge. No doubt Lotten and Bjorn would be in charge of the fire management. Considering her people skills it made sense he wanted her on this specific job. She did rounds at a decent enough pace of course, threats and curses issues at just about every turn of the road. She hurried to the deck, expecting to find any in dire need to escape there. Somewhere a while off she saw a small boat drift afloat in the water, unmanned. Whatever, or whoever, had been in there was long gone by now. A pity, but she had a few guesses. She needed extra hands. Cursing once again she grabbed one of the pirates by the scruff. "Start making a list. I want all rooms with valuables checked and ever single crew member accounted for." She spat at him. She noticed his whimper and instantly narrowed her eyes. "Did you see anything?" She asked then, her knife having shot to her hand and now softly resting against the throat of the man. "No ma'am." He whimpered, fearfully attempting to look down at her little toy. "Janek, Wart, Kenny and Pryor all went to the fires with their mates. Donald went to the distillery with his squad methinks." The man blubbered out. "I haven't seen Brom and his friends about." Luthien dropped the man instantly and in a voice cold as ice she muttered. "Inventory, now."

The people that had been friends with the mutineer had not been seen of late, but the fact one group had headed for the distillery couldn't be good news. Once again cursing like a freight train Luthien sprinted down at full speed to the distillery. She was rather fond of Ri and his liquor. By the time she arrived she found Ri looking exceptionally poor. "Ri!" She rushed over, grabbing her wand and conjuring a patronus in seconds, whispering softly to it before it was sent off to Bjorn. He had to know everything she knew so far, as it would likely piss him off quite a bit. She then proceded to scowl at Ri. "You complete and utter idiot. Please tell me you have at least one conduit left?" She muttered as she roughly moved in slightly to assess the damage to his body. She could feel the waves of pain washing over her as she did. For once, it didn't really cause her much delight. "What happened?" She said, her tone oddly gentle for a moment before she pulled a face again. This was going to hurt him a lot. She instantly conjured yet another patronus, sending this one to the medical pirate on board. Ri needed more than whatever skills she had. Burns? Not exactly her speciality.

She looked around for a moment at the people scrambling about and around. Bjorn would likely be here soon and she didn't like the news she'd likely have to deliver. Not only had one of his best gotten badly wounded, something had been stolen. It had to be something very valuable considering the distractions they'd set up to steal it. It didn't make that much sense though, she realised, as several of the explosions would have been near the treasures. It didn't quite add up. What was she missing? She waited for the captain eagerly. Ri is badly injured, Mik hasn't seen Brom or associates. I suspect they fled. I'm near the distillery, please come. Please was a word she hated, yet she'd used it. It was easier to explain her suspicions to Bjorn from nearby but she wasn't about to leave Ri alone. She didn't have that many friends to begin with so she didn't want to risk losing one of the very small amount she did have. Not to mention some matters were better discussed privately, like the matter of missing treasure she couldn't manage to add up. What on earth had they been after that warrented such a huge diversion?

@bjorn
@cashel
((lemme know if I need to change anything <3))

[Deleted]

Ri wasn't just particular with his moonshine recipe, but with the equipment as well. He and he alone maintained, cleaned, and used it. No one went in, how was he to know that it had been sabotaged to blow? There were no signs, it had to be a professional job. The Druid didn't even see it coming.

Having left the still burning distillery room, Ri had collapsed not far from it. His right arm limp, his body supported by his left as he hacked and wheezed from the smoke that he had inhaled. He heard his name, but didn't move form his position. His hair, normally slicked back had fallen in front of his face. His wand, now charred from the experience was tucked into his boot. The more time he had to process, the more pain he felt. His body still felt like it was on fire, though the flames were out. He could feel flesh and fabric bonded together with ever cough and breath. Hearing the voice ask about a conduit, he nodded. "Cabin." He managed as he looked up to see Luthien. Ri forced himself up, though it didn't seem advisory. Not able to move much, he leaned his back softly on the wall, still wincing in pain. She had asked what had happened, and he took a moment to fully process things, his mind overloaded with pain, his naturally warm body, burning. He shook his head, breathlessly speaking "Not sure.... had to.." He stopped talking for a moment, letting the painful coughing take over for a moment. "Sabotage?" She seemed concerned, and oddly soft, compared with her usual self. He tilted his head up, allowing more air to enter his lungs, while still coughing, his lungs attempting to push out all smoke.

It hurt to move, but if he could just get to his cabin, he could numb some of it. Ri had spent many years making his product, and many attempts to better it. All attempts, with and without mushroom were stashed away in his room. Those tester batches, or what was left, were stashed in a small box, he hated to throw them out, many too potent, but he could take it, and perhaps it could help with his current situation. Though he could barely keep himself up. He slumped, still trying to stay up. He couldn't stay here, even now smoke continued to fill the pathway from the distillery, even with other crew mates rushing in to stop the flames.

@bjorn
@luthien

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026
@cashel, @luthien

Bjorn knew what each and every crewmember on his ship was capable of. They all had a purpose. Luthien happened to be one of the most ruthless on the crew in terms of violence, and she also had proven to be one of the most loyal. It might have to do with their history, of having known each other for so long. She'd been his sister's friend at Durmstrang so he'd known her since his teenage years. But she'd also proven herself in the few months since officially joining the crew. It also helped that she'd trusted him with her true identity, proving her own trust in him. So, in this situation? She was the best to do what he needed. To smoke out the rats. Luthien responded and left to do as he commanded, while Bjorn went to find Lotten and learn what she'd discovered. She'd been helping coordinate the efforts to put out fires on one end of the ship. He arrived just in time for a fire to be fully extinguished. "Move onto the next one," he ordered the crewmates. "I want all of these out now." The crew scurried off, and left him and Lotten for a moment.

Bjorn crouched by the charred wood and ran a hand over it. Thankfully this explosions damage had been superficial, and there hadn't been any reports of serious damage such as a hull breach. That was a good sign, but definitely foul play. What was the purpose of these explosions? He straightened and turned to Lotten. "I want you and those you trust down in the cargo. Check for any breaches." He ordered, finally switching to his mother language of Norwegian. She nodded, turning to leave, but he reached out to catch her arm. "When you're done, send one of them to update me and go to my cabin. Make sure Deva stays there and don't let her leave your sight for any reason until I come back." He released her arm and she left.

Bjorn didn't like this. These explosions had no pattern. They seemed to just be after mass chaos. What was he missing? What were they actually after? Did he have anything on board worth stealing? No, this had been a very minor smuggling job with little risk. There was nothing he was transporting worth this amount of effort to steal. So what? What was it? He was still consumed by his thoughts when the patronus appeared before him and relayed Luthien's message. He frowned. Ri was hurt? One of the explosions must have been near the distillery. Though as the words continued that frown turned to a snarl.

Brom. Brom had been on thin ice since he was poisoned. He'd backed another crewmate that had been the ring leader of an almost mutiny. Lotten had thankfully quelled it, but in retaliation Bjorn had kicked a man named Javier off the ship. Those that had supported Javier, like Brom, were permitted to stay but notified that any misstep and they'd be gone. Bjorn didn't like the idea that Brom and those he skulked around with were conveniently missing.

Bjorn headed for the distillery, and arrived quickly, assessing the damage and Ri's injured. Silent, he turned to the doorway of the distillery and waved a hand. Wordless and wandless, the room flooded with water. He'd always been good at water magic, for obvious reasons. Though while a few crew mates had been struggling to get the flames under control it had taken Bjorn a single spell to completely extinguish them. Bjorn grabbed one of the now few crewmates by the scruff of his neck and shoved him in Ri's direction, though not enough to make him collide with the druid. "Help him," he snarled. Then, he grabbed the other crew mate and shoved him against the doorway. His hand closed around his neck, though not enough to fully suffocate him, it was enough to make anyone squirm. "Talk. Where. Is. Brom." The crewmate immediately stumbled out a half suffocated "I don't know", but Bjorn narrowed his eyes. His hand squeezed. "I'm no fool." His crew talked. Whether they supported Brom, or Javier, they all would know at least a little of what the pair were planning. While Luthien had just accepted a "hasn't been seen", Bjorn knew better. The crew was too small, and the quarters close. There was no way something like this could happen without at least rumors circulating among the majority of the crew.

[Deleted]

There was a fair bit of smoke filtering into the corridor and Luthien was kind of annoyed by that. It wasn't all that dangerous all in all but it was clear that Ri wasn't doing too good. Still, the situation wasn't a disaster from what Luthien had seen so far. The explosions seemed to have been more for making fire than destroying things. She was still frustrated none of it added up. Frustrated and a little bit nervous. What had she been missing? She quickly cast a bubblehead charm on both herself and on Ri, mostly to keep the smoke out of their lungs. "Next time use a bubblehead charm sooner, bubblebrain." She muttered in annoyance to Ri. Annoyed because she was worried and insulting him was easier than somehow showing she actually cared. From her first assesment he'd likely be fine if he could rest enough and his wounds were well tended to. Luthien wasn't good at healing magic but she knew quite a lot about what would kill a person and how long it might take. She knew how many things she could heal and up to some point she could handle this, but she wasn't confident enough it would be good enough, or better than their most proficient healer on board. Her goal had never been to cure or heal but always quite the opposite. Torture or kill.

She nodded grimly as Ri suggested sabotage. "Likely. The explosions were random with no reason or rhyme. I suspect the one here was either out of spite towards you or merely to put you out of commission. In either case they had some luck." He wasn't going to die, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be brewing anything anytime soon. Nor would he be in a state to fly or fight any time soon. She momentarily considered the little boat on the open water. One couldn't apparate too far and whatever they took was likely close enough still that Ri could have managed to scout them out. She wriggled her nose. "I think they wanted to make sure we lost our scout." She said softly, her tone blunt and dead. This was starting to really annoy her. This wasn't something small, as this was far too well thought out. Too many details that made sense. Not the bigger picture, but she had a feeling that would fall into place all too soon.

Bjorn arrived and he was furious. Luthien hadn't really considered it much but when he picked up another man by the throat and half strangled him, a smile crept on her face. She'd always known Bjorn was attractive but well, violence and anger always appealed to her. She got up from where Ri was and stood next to him, fully aware that was never a safe place to be when dangerous people were angry. It was what drew her in after all. She looked over Bjorns shoulder at the man. "One second Cap." She muttered. Then she dived into the mans brain. She wasn't too happy with what she found and within seconds her face soured significantly. "You'll find out nothing from him." She told Bjorn in a flat and slightly annoyed tone. "Brom has only been waiting for letters. He wasn't in on the plan he was executing until this morning himself." She grumbled and grabbed one of her knives, ready to cut the poor unfortunate soul into pieces, even if he had nothing to do with it. She turned to the captain, her eyes on fire with anger. "Brom has been avoiding me for about week because he knows I can do legilimency. He wasn't aware of the full plan to avoid me discovering it. Whatever they planned they were meticulous. They took out the scout and made sure the mind reader couldn't get hands on the plan. The explosions had no rhyme or reason because they were supposed to keep you busy and distract you so they could freely do what they wanted."

At that moment Luthien saw a very pale Lotten turn the corner and a suspicion came over her. She instantly took a few steps back to avoid being too close to a bomb she suspected was about to burst. She knelt next to Ri and offered him a hand. "You need to get to your cabin." She said in a cold and clinical tone of voice. She glanced at Bjorn, but she figured it might even be better to set up council in Ri's room. He was still their leading expert on scouting so if they could get some people scouting on brooms they'd still need his expertise. They never counted on others for the scouting before because there never had been a reason. Now she didn't like that they had a reason. She dreaded the news that Lotten was about to deliver and part of her really hoped that her conclusions before Lotten came back were wrong. Whatever it was they took, by the look on her face it was going to be bad.

@cashel
@bjorn
((Luthy suspects but she doesn't want it to be trueeee))

[Deleted]

It seemed as though Ri just couldn't stop coughing. He knew that he had passed out when the explosion had happened, and wasn't sure how much smoke he had inhaled when he was out, all the way to leaving the room. Even now, there was still smoke in the area. Luthien cast a spell, allowing fresher air to enter Ri's lungs, with that, the coughing seemed to steady, and the druid could finally catch his breath. She suggested using the bubblehead charm sooner and he just glared at her. Now was not the time for this. Ri knew about healing magic and potions, if he could just focus. His burned flesh, the stink of every movement. Though he knew he was out of the room, he still felt like he was on fire.

She agreed with him, it must have been sabotage. The crew were careful who they let where, visitors were not aloud below deck, unless escorted and carefully watched. Only a crew member would have been able to get, and set everything up without raising suspicion. The thought that he specifically had been targeted upset Ri. He had never had a lucky life, but this was just ridiculous. He nodded though, it made since. His head still overwhelmed with pain and shock, but with what he had heard, it seemed that the explosions were just a simple distraction. He would be the perfect one to give chase, he could easily take to the sky and look for clues. But with him like this, he was quite grounded, unable to move, let alone transform. "Imma kill um." He muttered under his breath. Though it seemed like they were long gone, with whatever. If given the chance, he'd be sure to make them suffer.

After struggling to get up, Bjorn was there, tearing past them, extinguishing the fire. The captain commanded an underling to help Ri, used the man to balance him. The Captain was in a foul mood, and Ri, with his left arm, pulled out a dagger. Seeing an opening and throwing it, the blade glided past Bjorn and landed in the wall, near the man. Though it had hit further than he had expected, Ri was not in the mood to mess around, but he also didn't want to risk hitting Bjorn. After that, Luthien offered her assistance with the interrogation. Breathing the clean air had helped, and Ri now breathed deeply, glairing at the one accused.

Lotten appeared, and Luthien seemed to know something was up, even Ri could feel the tension. Luthien came over, mentioning his cabin and Ri nodded. He harshly shoved the other sailor aside, letting his arm move around the woman's.

@bjorn
@luthien

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026
@cashel, @luthien

Bjorn glanced at Luthien out of the corner of his eyes. They were still cold, and narrowed into slits. He didn't need her assistance, though at least she got the answers he wanted faster. Nor did he need Ri's own assistance of a knife through at the wall. The man would have spoken, all they'd done is speed along the process. He turned his eyes back on the crewmate. He knew the man wasn't involved in the scheme, just that he knew something. Most of the crew would know something to some end. Ships were a breeding ground for rumors. This man's knowledge, that Luthien mentally pried form him, was enough to confirm that this was pre-meditated. And most definitely had to be the work of Javier. Bjorn gave the man's throat another squeeze before releasing him. The man stumbled as he was suddenly able to break. "Get out of my sight and go put out fires," he ordered. The man gave a shaky not and scurried off.

Bjorn thought. Luthien's words didn't sit well with him. 'They were supposed to keep you busy and distract you", she'd said. Why him? What were they after that they needed Bjorn to be distracted fr-

Bjorn turned just in time to see Lotten appear around a corner. Pale and panic written on her face. The pit of his stomach dropped and he knew before the words came out what it was. What could they possibly need to distract him from? His own cabin. And what would be in his cabin?

Simple. It wasn't a question of what.

But who.

Bjorn was moving before he even realized it, his feet carrying him as fast as he could. He felt like time had slowed, and that he suddenly couldn't breath. Be wrong. He had to be wrong. Please. But as he ran to his cabin, and found the door open... No, it couldn't be. He entered the quarters. Nothing. Deva was gone. Gone

Lotten must have been right on his heels, because as he turned around he found her in the door way.

Bjorn saw red. His anger boiling and he could feel his shoulders trembling in rage. "I want her found NOW!" he yelled. Bjorn did not yell, but when he did? Everyone knew. The way the ship was laid out, a sound like that carried. His yell echoed, and a many of the crew flinched at the sound, afraid and unable to recall the last time they'd ever heard Bjorn yell.

(Meh, you guys have fun while Bjorn rages. he'll come back to ya in his next post but you definitely heard him yell.)

[Deleted]

Luthien turned out to be right, although she didn't exactly like it this time around. Uusually it gave an odd kind of satisfaction but this was different. It meant that she had somewhat failed in her self chosen parts of the job and had not been able to catch this plot before it managed to hatch. She realised that they had been aware of her skills and had worked around them as much as they could (which was quite a lot) but it didn't change the face it annoyed her. As Ri mentioned killing Brom and Javier, Luthien chuckled slightly. "I suspect there might be cue. I certainly would love to torture him a little bit. I don't like people that plot things under my nose." She said, muttering the last bit in pure irritation. It was stupid beyond a doubt and she knew, but it didn't stop her from hating every second of it.

Bjorn had shot off in quite the rush and Luthien had taken Ri and was walking him to his cabin when the roar echoed across the ship. It was oddly intimidating, even if it didn't really scare Luthien. It just caused her stomach to make a small little flip and she hated every second of that. "He sounds a little angry." She said dryly with a hint of sarcasm. Partially to Ri but more to thin air. She had issues, that much was sure. The more dangerous a man was or showed himself to be, the more attracted she was to them. It was either dangerous or chaotic, sometimes a mixture. As long as they were smart, which Bjorn also happened to be. If he was going to get angry like that more often it would pose a bit of a problem. She wriggled her nose in frustration.

When she arrived at Ri's cabin she pushed open the door and instantly headed in without a doubt. It wasn't like she'd been in there before since she and Ri had slept together a few times before he'd fallen in love. It seemed to be a trend that the men that fell in love on board got hurt. First Bjorn with his poisoning and now Ri with his burns. Best for her if she didn't end up falling for anybody or she'd run a risk like that too. She settled Ri down on his bed and then summoned a large bottle of oil. "Any parts where your skin and your clothes seem a little melted together? I can't promise anything will be less painful but I have enough medical knowledge to well..." She pulled a face. "Make it heal, more or less." Ri would probably realise what she meant. Her normal wasn't using her medical knowledge for healing but for keeping her torture victims alive. Especially the few times she'd needed to torture for information she couldn't allow people to die on her.

She looked at Ri again, her face wrung up in utter frustration. She was very clearly bothered by something, and it wasn't Ri or his injuries (though they didn't help either). "Would you like us to see if we can import your girlfriend?" She asked him with a straight face. She knew he wouldn't sleep with her anymore because he'd found somebody he genuinely connected with. Lucky man. Lucky her that she'd been spared that fate since her teen years. Infatuations, yes, but never love. That had been one of the worst mistakes of her life after all. "You'll be bedridden for a while by the looks of it. It's pretty bad Ri." She felt honesty would help, although it didn't stop her from tearing some of the cloth of his body. It had barely been attached. She felt a wave of pain ripple of her body, mirroring what she was inflicting on him. It was not helping her situation and her face got even more annoyed. She was in trouble.

@bjorn
@cashel

[Deleted]

The interrogation went quickly, though any one of them could have handled it on their own. It soon came out. The reason for all the explosions. They were all to distract from one thing. Bjorn's cabin. The man took off without a word. With help, Ri moved towards his cabin. Every movement was painful, his skin still on fire. As Luthien helped him along, he could feel fabric shifting against his burnt skin, many places where the fabric and skin had melded together. The pain was severe. For now, he focused on his breathing, keeping it steady, and moving slowly.

As they moved there came a roar. Ri recognized it. Bjorn was beyond anger. He had been on the ship longer than a lot of the crew, he knew what would come next. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help at this time. With these thoughts, his anger seethed beneath the surface. Ri was good at holding things in, but if given the chance, he would make them suffer. More than he had. He nodded "They've done it now." He winced.

It took some time, but the two finally made it to Ri's small cabin. Luthien helped him to his bed and he tried to hold back the pain, but it was hard. She mentioned starting to help his burns. He knew that she specialized in torture, and only used the knowledge she had to keep her victims alive, but he couldn't be picky. "Wait" He breathed. Moving his hand a drawer popped open and a jar marked in Brasilic flew over to him. Magically opening the bottle, Ri started to chug. This was the higher percentage moonshine that he had tested, variations of his drink either 85% or heighted alcohol content. All mixed together it was a mess of burning liquid. But it would help once the drink took affect. Ri didn't like throwing out tester batches, so if there was any left, he kept it. There were a number of these bottles, all marked differently. In reality, only he knew which was which. He stopped to breath a fourth of the way down. Hopefully the quick intake and the strong content would help numb what was to come next.

Coming up for air, he heard her ask about his girlfriend. He didn't want Renfri to see him like this, but they had plans for this weekend, and he didn't want to worry her. Further more, he knew that she had burns that were much worse than what he had now. With that, he nodded and continued through the jar. Once it was half way gone, he set the it down, breathing deep, letting the alcohol work him into a haze. The burn helped him stay more alert, but he could feel some of it working. "You'll be bedridden for a while by the looks of it. It's pretty bad Ri." Laying his head down he nodded, looking at her. "I know a potion." He winced with pain as his body continued to settle into it's newest position. "Plants from Hy-Brasil will work better." As a druid, he had a basic knowledge of healing magic and potions. He also knew that plants there were more potent, and therefore would work better, and hopefully faster. Ri took in a sharp breath as Luthien moved the fabric. He could feel it tearing away from where skin and cloth had started to become one. But it had to be done.

@bjorn
@luthien

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026
@cashel, @luthien

Bjorn knew he had to think clearly. Had to keep his head, and compose his thoughts to formulate a plan. He was still in his cabin with Lotten. He paced, that rage still boiling. He needed an immediate plan. Finally he turned to Lotten. "Interrogate the entire crew except Luthien, Ri, and Virginia." He started, pausing as he stopped pacing. "Virginia is to sweep my cabin and the entire ship," Virginia. Among the crew she was nicknamed the blood hound. Her deductive skills were unsurpassed. She'd also been on the ship long enough for him to trust. If anyone could find any clues, it would be her.

He turned back to look at his cabin. While his anger was still raging there was a sense of overwhelming dread. Javier had kidnaped Deva. He couldn't have Bjorn's ship, so he'd taken his woman. What Javier did... Bjorn didn't want to think about it, but he had to consider the possibilities. That very soon Javier would reach out. He had to get the upper hand first. When he reached out, he would have demands. "Samuil is to get to shore immediately put out a bounty on the traitors. 10,000 a head." That was not money people would overlook. It would immediately get every single bounty hunter and anyone else in the underground's attention. There would be absolutely no one in the underground that would harbor them. "Bernhard is to call in his contact with interpol and put out an anonymous tip." This was exactly why he always got blackmail worthy material on anyone that wanted to join his crew. If they betrayed him, he could make them pay. Now, there wouldn't be anywhere they could hide in the general. They wanted to play this game? Then Bjorn would play. And he would win.

Lotten left and Bjorn followed. As she went to round up the crew, he headed for Ri's cabin, no doubt where Luthien and Ri were. He'd arrived just in time to hear the suggestion of "importing" Ri's girlfriend. Normally, he'd shoot such an idea down immediately in such a dire situation. But, the woman was an old associate of Casimir. If Cas trusted her, then, he'd put his faith there as well. It would also ensure that Ri was taken care of without him having to delegate a crewmate to. They had better things to do then play nurse. "Fine, but she stays in his cabin. Understood?" He didn't need to worry about some stranger roaming his ship unattended. He looked to Luthien. While he wasn't yelling anymore there was a terrifying calmness to the man. Like the eye of a storm. Calm... but you knew there was a devastating force at work. "I need you to deliver a message to Cas once your done here." Cas had a firm hand in the black market. He'd get a letter written for her to deliver that called on Cas to blacklist all the traitors from the black market.

[Deleted]

Leave it to men and pirates to get wasted to stand pain. Not that she could blame them, she possibly could have done the same. Still, a little vodka might not have been bad to desinfect the wounds he had, but she had not time to worry about that now. She wasn't a healer after all and right now separating him from his clothes was her main priority, even if it wasn't half as sexy as it sounded. She grabbed a clean piece of cloth from a cupboard and douzed it in the oil she had. Oil would work about the same as it would when trying to scraped charred pieces of meat from a frying pan. It made things a lot easier. She walked back to Ri, her face a mask of bland indifference. This would be easier for her if she didn't care about him. It would have been easier if she didn't feel his agony with every touch. While it didn't affect her quite the same as it would others she knew that Ri wasn't the person she wanted to suffer for what had happened. She dabbed the oil soaked cloth against a piece of clothing that seemed to have seared against the skin as he drank. She felt the sting, but this was only the preparation. Burn wounds were really horrible and it was good to know for future reference.

She looked over at Ri for a moment as he mentioned a potion and plants from Hy-brasil. "Do you have them here?" She asked, purposefully peeling off the soaked cloth from his skin, which luckily did give away easier than the other pieces had. She'd have to clean those wounds rather thoroughly afterwards, which was going to be a pain, for both of them. She clenched her jaw slightly as she endured but a fraction of what he was going through. She hadn't exactly told anybody about this affliction, since she'd considered the option people might think she was less willing to hurt people because of it. That wasn't even a little true, but this? This got more complicated now. "Because unless you have them it might be a problem to get our hands on them. Unless you have a place of Hy-brasil I can get supplies...." She left it hanging. He was in no state to consider at the moment. Still she knew he had a point. She had a small collection of oddities from Yrisle in her cabin and a few plants were amongst them. Perhaps she could see if any might help. It was a risk, but one she'd try on herself or a victim Bjorn was willing to provide before trying it on Ri. She dabbed the oil at the next piece.

Bjorn came in as Ri nodded about his girlfriend and Luthien gave him a small smile. "Naturally. If she can't stick to the rules I'll steal her memories. I'd say kill her but I think Ri might disapprove." She was fully honest in both aspects. She'd literally lock the two inside the cabin and let them figure it out. They were supposed to be a couple so being locked together in a small cramped space for an unknown period of time shouldn't be a problem to either of them. Not to mention she didn't want anybody near them in case any crew members got some crazy ideas on helping out those that escaped by attempting to poison or further injure Ri. She'd tear them to pieces so tiny that identifying the corpses would be almost impossible, before throwing the remains into the sea.

She pulled another part of the shirt off, finding it came off easier with the oil. After that she grumbled for a moment passing her wand over the injured skin. It cleaned itself up and healed slightly, although not much. She wanted to do this at a steady pace since this wasn't the place for a rush job. She nodded briefly at Bjorn. "I'll probably be done with the first aid by the time we dock. I'll be back from Cas before the evening and if you want I'll make a pitstop at one of my personal criminal contacts. I might be able to buy a deal from him for information in case any of them or even rumours of them are heard anywhere. It won't be cheap though." She warned him, but considering the pay she expected him to put on the heads of the crew that likely wouldn't be much of a problem. Money wasn't the problem, the problem was completely in how far the kidnappers were willing to go. If they were willing to torture and kill the girl things could escalate rather spectacularly. She wasn't sure she wanted to be around if they were stupid enough to go that far.

@cashel
@bjorn

[Deleted]

As he drank, the woman prepared to tend ot his burns. It wasn't pleasant, and Ri did what he could to mask the pain he felt with every touch. He wasn't one to express his feelings, small grunts and moans for pain escaped him. This process would go a lot easier without him agonizing over what he felt. His body flinched from the pain, but that was involuntary.

He mentioned the healing potion and ingredients. She wondered if he had them here and he nodded. "Most." Or at least he should have most. He made a point to keep what he could from what his supplier in Hy-Brasil gave him. "Middle top drawer" There she would find a number of harvested plants, many dried or preserved. This was where he kept everything, except for the mushrooms, he kept them in a place he was sure no one else would get to. He was particular, since they weren't easy to get, and much more illegal than anything else in that drawer. He tried to not focused on the pain, his voice betraying the agony that he felt. Thinking of the ingredients of the potion, and what he remembered having. "Note what's missing" He breathed. He could message his druid friend Stan and ask for some ingredients. He would have to wright it out with his left hand, but perhaps his friend would note the urgency of the request.

Ri was not surprised that Bjorn had agreed to let Renfri come. Having her staying in his cabin meant that he could be taken care of, and the captain wouldn't loos anyone else. "Understood" He said a little week, and getting more drunk by the minute. He wasn't one to say he needed the girl with him, he could manage on his own. But it was nice to feel like he could lean on and trust someone to help him, while not distracting from Bjorn's newest mission. Renfri would know all too well the pain of a burn. In fact, hers had been worst than his would ever be. He ignored Lutinen's comment, Renfri would stay near him, he was confident about that. He would also ensure that she would stay in the cabin. He had yet to tell her the amount of illegal activity that he was in, and didn't want her to find out by wondering. He would tell her, but in his own time and way.

He let the two talk shop while she worked on his burned flesh. "They'd probably hold up somewhere isolated, but they'd need to still eat and have fresh water." He winced from the pain as Luthien worked. "If not for her, than for them. Somewhere where people wont ask a lot of questions. Probably not too far, but far enough they feel comfortable" With Ri out of commission, it meant that he couldn't look from the air. That meant that they potentially planed to keep her closer than they otherwise would be comfortable with. He wasn't normally talkative, but scouting and spotting things from the air was one of his specialties. Ri wasn't the type to just sit around and wait, he would much prefer to be out there in the action. Unfortunately whoever did this had ensured that he wouldn't be able to do just that.

@bjorn
@luthien

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026
@cashel, @luthien

Bjorn wasn't in the mood for Luthien's sarcasm, and his expression said it. He was giving her a look that told her to shut up before he strangled her. Not a normal look for him, even on his worst of days. No, this Bjorn wasn't putting up with anything past complete and total submission. It was like staring into the eyes of a predator that had already chosen it's target. Distracting it now would only cause that wrath to be turned on you. "You have one hour after you're done delivering my message to get her here. We aren't docking." Not docking would making getting off and off the ship difficult, but his words didn't leave room for argument. Docking would be too much of a liability. IT meant he couldn't control who was on, or off the ship. No, with Deva kidnapped he wasn't letting any one off his ship, or on it, without knowing in advance. Being docked gave to many openings to get on and off without his notice.

As for her suggestions of criminal contacts and Ri mentioned where they must be.... A dark smirk touched his lips. It was absolutely bone chilling. "Neither are needed. They'll come to me." That, he was sure. You didn't take a hostage like this and not intent to use them as leverage. There was no reason to take Deva, except to hurt Bjorn. They would use Deva as a bargaining chip. But he had his own now. Once those bounties were out, no place would be safe for them. He had a bargaining chip of his own.