Cassandra flinched as he ripped the map from her and unrolled to explore its contents. She spent weeks coping every detail as closely as she could from the book and granted, she didn’t know much about the seas or the proper measurements for measuring but despite all of that, it was a carbon copy of what was in the book even if the measurements by be a small bit off. Obviously an amateur in the distance measurements; however the placement and design of the markings was spot on.

However, as he pulled out a coin and asked if she was gambling person; she felt her stomach turn. Oh god was her life really going to be left up to chance!? Her sea-green eyes never left the coin until it disappeared behind his back. Her gaze never broke from his, looking for any signs of tom-foolery as he brought his hand forward and folded it open for them both to see, their gaze turned downwards in unison to see…

Tails.

She lived for now.

The announcement of ‘hands off the lass’ allowed her to breathe a shaky breathe of relief. [color=silver][i]Oh thank god.[/i][/color] She mused to herself as he tipped it hat to her. Unsure of how to respond, she did what she was taught… which may have not been the best response but it was more automatic than anything else. She picked up the front of her tattered dress a bit from her heels and gave him a small polite curtsy. It didn’t last long before she dropped the dress fabric and quickly fell into step with him; she was in the belly of the beast and the teeth seemed safer than the claws. 

By claws, she meant the crew and she took a minute to take them all in as she followed, perhaps too close to the captain as she gently thumped into him as he stopped and took control over them men again. She peered over his shoulder, a bit difficult as he stood a good head taller than her, to see the two men spring into action. The ability the young captain had to control the ship was impressive to say the least but… teeth can bite and she needed to be careful. The playful finger felt more like leading a pray into a trap but she didn’t have much of a choice. Following closely in step with the captain she kept her observations minimal but were surprised to notice the handful of women among the crew. They weren’t any better off than the men and they didn’t seem to care that she was in the situation at hand; of course no one would. It’s her fault she was here anyway but she found herself wanting to talk to them despite their lack of wanting to talk to her… however she had matters to attend. But for now, she was safe.

The inside of the ship… surprised her to say the least; and she didn’t hide her shock as her mouth fell open to find an interior far from what she had been expecting, her eyes instantly finding the library section with books; books being her only means of escape for so long they do hold a special place her heart, and a small, [color=pink]“Wow…”[/color] Left her full lips as her pace slowed as the heavy door shut behind them and she felt the weight of the man behind her. 

A small cough left as she ventured further inside in an attempt to put some comfortable distance between them… then again the ocean wasn’t big enough to make her comfortable in this situation as the more she realized she was no longer in the frying pan, she also realized she might have been thrown into the fire with just one man. [color=silver][i]No, no fear. No fear Cass! You have to be strong.[/i][/color] Pushing her fear to the back of her mind, knowing it will only escalate the situation worse, she pulled herself upright and stood talk and sure of herself for she was speaking to something she knew.

[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/7LWhcHPb/00235816.jpg[/img][/center]

[color=pink]“My name is Cassandra, Captain.”[/color] Seemed pointless to give a fake name. [color=pink]“And my story is I need money.”[/color] Feeling as though that was a good enough answer, she backed up until she felt the table behind her. Not taking her eyes off of him, she walked around it to insure there was some space between them and placed down the book. Her hand stayed firmly on the cover as she gestured towards the open spot on the table. [color=pink]“The map?”[/color] For he still had it in his possession. [color=pink]“I’m curious to see how well it lines up to other maps, and you would know the seas better then I. I can just read the book.”[/color]

Taking in a deep breath, she decided to elaborate a little more. [color=pink]“With your knowledge of the seas, Captain,”[/color] Sure he seemed like he could be an arrogant prick but right now she needed this arrogant prick to work with her. So her use of ‘Captain’ was presented in a respectable tone. [color=pink]“And my knowledge of Latin, we can find the island, get safely through the temple and, more importantly, back out. The map is jibberish to me, for the most part. But this…”[/color] Her palm lifted from the hard cover as she pointed on it with a firm finger, the thump causing specks of dust left the pages in a puff. [color=pink]“this is as clear as fine gin to me.”[/color] Pulling her finger off of the book, she flipped it open to the first page. [color=pink]“[i]Et Thesauri Balidor; Nauta Verum Sale Est Scriptor[/i] ---- The Treasures of Balidor; a Sailor's True Tale.”[/color] To prove her point, she picked up the book and flipped open to the first page. [color=pink]“[i]Ad incipiam te itineribus. Et caput satus sicco per Fiore Septentrionalis Portus ab oriente et North ante petere debitum rudem nodis 3.5 ad 6.5 Oriente vorticibus de Cove Farmore transiens off per I nodum iter ante Septentrionalis iterum[/i].”[/color] Taking in a deep breath, she translated, [color=pink]“To begin your travels. Start out in Fiore Port and head North by North East for 3.5 knots before heading due East for 6.5 knots passing Farmore's Cove for 1 knot before traveling North again.”[/color] Keeping the book open, a palm supporting the back of the older looking book and her hand between the two pages, she turned the book from across the table to show him the hand written text inside. [color=pink]“I don’t quite understand what tying ropes has to do with North and North East, but I know where Farmore’s Cave is and I feel like I marked it on the map properly.”[/color] Turning the pages for him to see, there were about 10 pages of a drawn out map that was, at one point, cut into book size pages and placed inside the bindings for safe keeping, however all the text visible was, in fact, in Latin. 

Feeling as though she might not be able to ask him any personal questions since… she wasn’t in the position to do so at this point in time, she asked a non-personal questions. [color=pink]“What do knots have to do with directions? Do you have to tie rope a certain way to get the ship to go in a different direction?”[/color] And you wanna know what’s sad?  Her question was an earnest one as she turned her gaze from the book up to him.