Joyride

Safire is in the process of leaving the Gilded Mirror, having lost a little bit of money on the gambling tables when she hears her name from the drow sitting alone at a table she just passed by.

Looking over, a grin spreads over her face. “Well, if it isn’t Lord Vandree. I seem to have wandered up here for work on the Plane of Water, but have ended up getting caught up in all sorts. How are you?”

Jaezred is dressed in a scarlet sport coat over a loose-fitting white linen shirt — unbuttoned halfway to accommodate for the balmy weather, showing a glimpse of the toned body underneath — and beige slacks. He smiles approvingly at Safire’s new metal-reinforced corset and the sabre that hangs from her side. “I am well, thank you. Getting into some dangerous business, I take it? Well, you’re certainly going at it with style.”

“Well, you could say that. Between sailing the sea, trying to find answers for The Seafoam Queen, and apparently fucking over several criminal organisations in this fair city, I’ve been busy.” She shrugs. “An encounter with a rather impressive temple prompted a small change.”

“Care to tell me over a drink? I believe you did make me promise to buy you rum. Or are you off to retire for the night?”

“Well, I was going to find somewhere cheaper to drink. But if you insist…”

A wicked grin crosses her face as she turns to look at the top shelf, debating with herself how much money she could make Jaezred part with.

The grin fades into a warm smile as she glances down and sees a bottle of dark spiced rum, commonly sold in Athkatla. Much cheaper and well within her own budget. It brings back warm memories of drinking with crewmates, friends. Glancing at the bartender to catch their eye, she points at the bottle, holds up two fingers and gestures to the table Jaezred is sitting at.

Walking over and sitting in the chair opposite him, she asks, “So, how’s the nosing in other people’s business…business?”

“Oh, it’s been quiet these days. Much fewer world-ending plots and ill-advised heists and messy breakups as of late. Which, I suppose, is why I'm bothering you tonight.”

A waiter sets two glasses of spiced rum on their table. Jaezred sniffs the cup and raises a brow, like it’s not what he’d expected Safire to choose. Nevertheless, he smiles his thanks at her as he takes a sip. “So what's this about a temple? Did you go on a journey of self-discovery?” His eyes peer down at the mark of the anvil on her cleavage. “Perhaps found out that dwarves are your type?”

Safire picks up her glass, but just before taking a sip, pauses in confusion at his question. She takes a moment to follow where his eyes are looking and looks down to see the mark. She laughs a little, as if she’s just remembering. “Oh, that! Aye, that feels like ages ago! See, I died! Some demon spider summoned from Hell by a Lolthite. Thing got my right through the chest, it was pretty instant. Next thing I knew I was in Mendal’s home being brought back. Was quite an experience. This is Moradin’s mark apparently. Pretty cool, and an excellent conversation starter, it would seem.”

“Oh, I suppose that’s one way you could wake up in a stranger’s house with a tattoo,” Jaezred says, sounding amused. “I do apologise for my compatriots— Well, former compatriots. They can get a little bit obsessed with eight-legged beasties. I hope dying wasn’t too bad for you? And you must forgive me for mistaking it as a tattoo you’d gotten on purpose. The placement is quite…strategic.” He takes another draught of rum and then politely aims his gaze upwards.

Safire waves off his apology. “Now, now, no need for that ‘guilt-by-association’ thing. Dying wasn’t that bad. Sure, I guess some people would be traumatised, but I was just…” She raises her fingers and clicks them with a shrug. “Anyway, the placement may be a little obvious but let’s be honest, I can’t really complain. And whilst I am, of course, grateful to Moradin and Mendal, I’m afraid my holy journey has found me squarely between Umberlee and Talos.”

“Yes, hard to complain when it marks such a divine sight. So, stuck between Umberlee and Talos? What’s a sailor to do in that situation?”

She raises her glass for a toast and smirks. “Raise a little chaos.”

Jaezred’s brow arches higher on his forehead. “What in the world are you planning to do, Safire?”

“Long term? Take out the bastard creature that took out my ship, and Ishmail’s, and everyone else who found themselves as crew of The Waveskimmer. And in the meantime…whatever I fancy!” Safire pauses for a second and tilts her head in thought. “Ideally, not pissing off any more hags in the process.”

He chuckles and clinks his glass against her. “Sounds like a plan. Well, if you’re up for doing ‘whatever you fancy’, then I’ve got one for you. And no, I’m not about to say ‘me’…even though I’d like to.”

“Ah, a shame. What do you have in mind instead, then?”

Jaezred downs his glass, slams it on the table, and spreads his arms wide. “Get your own ship! Get your own crew and be a captain of the seas! That way, you can hunt down that bastard creature that sank your old ship and take me for a joyride.”

Safire laughs at his enthusiasm. “A joyride? Aye!” She downs her own glass before catching the eye of a nearby waiter and requesting two more. “Listen, it’s not like I haven’t thought about getting my own ship one day. But this thing is bigger than just me. There’s a whole ship, full of sole survivors, all wanting the same thing as me — revenge! And I don’t want to let my crew down. Say what you want about pirates, but I am loyal.”

Jaezred puts up both palms. “Fair enough! I can’t claim to know much about pirates, after all; being a wealthy lord, I’m sort of your natural prey. Should I ever step foot aboard The Waveskimmer, you’d probably tie me up and force me to walk the plank or something. Not that I’d mind getting tied up by you.”

Under the table, his knee brushes slightly, playfully, against Safire’s.

The wicked grin once again crosses Safire’s face. “Oh yes. Natural prey. You’re definitely my…type…”

Seeing this as a signal to be more forward, Jaezred hooks his foot around the leg of her chair, slowly reeling her in. “You should’ve said so earlier,” he murmurs as he inches closer. “I would’ve let you take me for a joyride.”

Safire smirks and leans forward, propping her elbow on the table and leaning her head into her hand, also making sure Jaezred can get a good look at the symbol of Moradin. “‘Would have’? What a pity. I wouldn’t have minded rocking the boat a bit.”

His eyes travel downwards to that valley once more, this time enjoying the view in full. “Well, every time I’ve thought about fucking you, I’ve always imagined it on the deck of a ship, with the sea wind at our backs… But as it happens, I’ve got a room at the Winds just a few blocks away.”

Safire raises her other hand and, using her Storm Guide powers, directs whatever air movement there is in the room directly at Jaezred’s back. “Will that do?”

He looks up in surprise at his ponytail being whipped around by the sudden gale. Then he smirks, a devilish glint in his crimson eyes. “Perfect,” he says, and pulls her in for a kiss amidst the small windstorm.

Safire kisses him back before pulling back and locking eyes with him. “Just to be very clear, this is just a casual thing, no strings attached?”

“Of course. Though please do stay for breakfast. Cooking is my hobby.”

She shrugs and smiles. “Well, this just keeps getting better and better.” She stands abruptly, completely forgetting about the second drink order. “Lead the way, Lord Know-It-All,” she says with a wink.



Aside from the eggs royale in bed the next morning, as Safire goes to pick up her clothes from the floor, she finds a small bottle of Navyman’s Rum in the pocket of her jacket — one of the top-shelf rum brands she was eyeing last night at the Mirror.

When she looks over at Jaezred, he simply gives her a wink, but the message is clear: You deserve to enjoy the finer things in life whenever you can.

Safire thanks him, and leaves. Wondering what new trouble she could get into today.