Sisterton burned. The air was filled with smoke and the screams of smallfolk as angry sea-men ran rampant, looting, raping and murdering, not always in that order. Amidst the carnage Jonos Sunderland sat in what remained of The Bloated Whale, once a reputable establishment for disreputable characters, now a charred-out wreck. He was sipping a bowl of sister-stew, the taste was bitter-sweet. No-one trusted a Sisterman, it was a sad truth brought about from a lineage of pirates turned crooked-lords. Jonos supposed if he declared his hair to be brown men would swear he'd dyed it and he'd heard a dozen lords had turned cloak when the sisters joined Blackfyre's cause. Only a madman would burn his own holdings though. You'd have to steal quite a bit of gold to justify destroying your largest port, Jonos wiped a blot of stew from his stubble with a webbed finger. [I]How many eyes does lord Bloodraven have? A thousand eyes and one.[/I] The saying sent shivers running up his spine. He'd had his first whore here when he was but one-and-four, over in the corner next to the now smashed in window. Jonos had taken her over the table like some dog, he remembered it like it was just yesterday, the whoots and cheers of his 'uncles', a collective term he used for those raised and advised him after his father died, pirates and smugglers all. He'd met many a good man in the belly of the Bloated Whale, a number of which were being slaughtered outside at that very moment, some part of him felt the old tavern deserved a final farewell. The sound of nearby fighting made Jonos shrink behind the counter before the combat ended with a sharp yelp and the sound of someone slumping down the side of the building, the Sisterlord felt a pang of guilt. Of course he'd done everything he could to get people out beforehand, fishing expedition, markets elsewhere, but saving too many would of caused suspicion which would of defeated the purpose of it all. [I]You're playing a dangerous game here lad,[/I] his fathers voice played through his mind, Jonos was not the first Sunderland to have dreams above his station. Next to the broth was set a roll a parchment, upon which was a plea to the king, or whoever it was truly ruled Westeros. The Sisters had been caught at unawares against a foe that was larger than them, the Black-dragon had risen once more. It was as much a warning as it was a request for aid. If things went to plan then no-doubt a hundred similar letters would be making their way to Kings-Landing within the fortnight, the grand tourney had caught most of Westeros' attention, with luck Jonos Sunderland would be the only one to report any eventual success against the raiders, the meagre fleet of the Sisters and its very capable lord would of course be at the crowns disposal. Jonos downed the last of the stew, rolled up the parchment and donned his cloak, it was past time he left. The Bloated Whale was no more and with it a part of him ceased to be, for the first time in his life he wanted something more than just whores and drink and he had the means to get it. He turned his back on the pub and his old life. Outside was chaos, bodies, fire and blood all done in his name, well, in Blackfyre's name, a final 'fuck you' to Bittersteel for dragging his family onto the wrong side. Jonos sighed uneasily, he was no true lord, a man raised by pirates and disreputable sorts, but his son he decided must be something more, for that the people of Sisterton and a score of others need pay with their lives. -------- Mace was a little young to be commandeering a pirate-fleet, but if his father had taught him anything over the past few days, you wanted something you had to take it. "Hold her steady!" The bastard shouted out to his first mate, careful to make sure his voice didn't crack, he had a lot to prove to these men and didn't want to seem like some green-boy. Right now he should of been half-way across the narrow sea, carrying a cargo Jonos Sunderland valued more than all the gold in Casterly Rock, his [I]trueborn[/I] son; the brat hadn't stopped crying the whole journey, who new babies could be seasick? Mace Stone turned from the stow and headed below deck, he made sure to give grim nods of approval to the crewmen he passed, he was young aye, but he'd seen more in his short-life than most grey-beards in all their years, he knew he had nothing to prove to this lot. Mace had been a gutter rat most of his life before coming to live with his father, leadership was new to him but he found he enjoyed it, hopefully this wouldn't end in mutiny. Within the dank captains cabin was a lone cot, the mewling squelch that lay inside had only been alive a few weeks but already Mace was intensely jealous of it. Jonos was starting a war for [I]that[/I], something that shit itself every other hour, Mace wasn't trueborn but he'd always been loyal to his father, a true son, even if Jonos had never been a real father to him. "I could end you right now." Mace murmured softly to his half-brother. "Snap your little neck and this would all be over, dad would go back to normal and I'd be his [I]only[/I] son." He knew that wouldn't be the case though, Jonos would hunt him to the ends of the earth, blood or no. The little squirt just stared back at him big-blue-eyed and stupid. "Fuck.You." Jonos trusted him though, that thought stayed with Mace, His son needed to be kidnapped by the Golden company in order for his father to justify his conviction to the cause, the only person he trusted to take him away was Mace. It was oddly comforting, also irritating that it landed him with the thing he hated most in the world right now. A cry of 'land' from above broke Mace's chain of thought and he quickly scrambled to get above deck. His father would be furious when he found out what Mace was doing, but he hoped the lord might also be impressed, his bastard might not be so easily disregarded after this, Mace thought as he climbed the stairs. Taking command of this portion of the fleet had been almost too easy, if you acted confident enough people just seemed to accept whatever you said and of course it was important to remember all of these men were motivated soley by greed. He'd announced to the group of captains that Jonos had an especially lucrative raid in mind for them, they weren't told with the others so as not to sow dissent, they ate it up. Now here they were about to bring fire and blood to- "Arbor's two miles out ahead!" Came the cry from the crows-nest. Mace smiled.