Beyond the jostling of the boat, Pieter hardly moved, his focus on the turtle. His eyes narrowed when Uban hastily emptied the contents of the flask into the frothing waters. The turtle dipped its head into the water, and though it didn't seem to drink, when it lifted it's head to look at the sailors, a slightly glazed look had come over it's eyes. Pieter judged that the time was right, and spoke, "We're looking for someone." The turtle lowered it's neck slowly, bringing it level to Pieter's head. The difference in size was so astounding, it became hard to recognize it all as a single thing. The shell jutting out like a rock, the endless neck, the gleaming eyes, and the terrifyingly sharp beak. A nip from that beak would be enough to kill them. Pieter put his hand gently on Uban's chest, a silent instruction, [i]Shut the fuck up, let me do the talking.[/i] "Everyone's looking for someone." The turtle replied in it's deep voice. "Aye, and we're asking you to tell us where the people we're looking for are." The turtle rolled its eye in- playfulness? Was it humoring them? If it wasn't, they'd soon be dead. "There are too many human ships for me to remember now. Not like how it used to be." Pieter nodded deeply and pulled at his beard, understanding the difficulty of his request. "Aye, we understand. It's important we find them, so we'll try and jog your memory." He gestured to Uban to dump one of the barrels into the water. It bobbed in the water before the turtle gently grasped it in it's mouth. Tilting it's head back, it bit into the barrel like a man would a grape. Rum gushed down the turtles throat, and splintery wood fell around them into the water. Spitting a scrap of wood the size of Pieter's hand from it's mouth, it returned to the conversation with an amused air, "I may be wiser than everyone on land, but I still need to know who you're looking for." "Barizians. Men with ships drawn by oars. There's one, but there might be more." The sea grew abruptly still, and the turtle withdrew it's head, studying them. The muscles in it's neck tensed. Pieter's heart hammered in his chest. "What." The turtle said softly, "Do you want with them?" "They have done unforgivable things, and must be punished." He answered. A great plume of steam came out of the turtles nose. Tilting it's head, it looked pointedly at the barrels. A hurried nod from Pieter to Uban told him what to do. They watched with relief as the second barrel was dispatched as quickly as the first. "The one's you look for- they stink. They smell like blood and rot, and they stain the waters as they pass. There are nine of their ships, though one of them is much bigger than the others. Only the small ones sail about, the large ship has not moved since it arrived five moons ago." It paused pointedly, and another barrel was rolled out. After it had drunk, it continued, "I know where they hide, and something else that would interest you." The last of the barrels were rolled out, and finished in quick succession. Had a reddish hue come over the turtle's scales? Sweeping it's gaze over the boat, it remarked, "Well, it seems that you have nothing else to offer me, so I'll be on my way. Come again with more barrels, those are always a pleasant distraction." The water churned noisily as it sunk into the waves, turning it's head away from the two sailors. Pieter sighed to himself, gave Uban a brief pat on the shoulder, and called out, "Knowledge for knowledge! A secret of mine for a secret of yours!" The water stilled immediately. Only the turtles great head was still visible. Swinging it's head so it was up against the boat, it said, "I don't want a secret of yours, priest." An immense eye fixed itself on Uban, staring into him. "I want one of his." --- Hana expected to flinch at Berlin's touch, but instead relaxed. The tension locked in her shoulder eased up. The buzzing in her head went away, and she was able to bring her attention to what was going on. She trusted him. She wanted to impress him. She could be herself around him. She looked back into his eyes and said, "You're not the first pirate I've treated- but you're the first I've joined." She could do her job. She'd do it for Berlin. And Pieter, and Rohaan, and Uban and Wheel. --- Wheel watched coolly as the boy threw his tantrum, ignoring the oncoming headache the curse was bringing. Finally, after seeing the chip in the gunnel, he spoke, "Right now, you're pathetic. You're scrawny, you can't win a fight without turning into a beast, and you think that if you don't know how to use something, it's useless." He lifted his shield, "You're still small, so it's going to be hard for you to learn how to use this properly right now. Later, I can fix up a better sized one for you. You're going to work with the size it is right now, however, because I want to see you struggle." Wheel continued, demonstrating exercises with the buckler and sword that would build strength and make it easier to use. Lifting it, holding it in place, slow, steady circles. All of it slightly dull, unexciting, and very painful.