Wait - there's more plot to John's story than just meeting Mistress's needs by seducing women left and right? I'm afraid so - it's time to get ready for his first adventure... or he thinks it's his first, he really can't remember.
Also, my sincere apologies for this being late. I've been buried in the day job the last few weeks.
John stood on the fo'c'sle with Red and peered over the waves. The wind tugged at the recently shortened sleeves of his robe, baring the hilt of the dagger on his arm from time to time and cooling him from the sun's warmth.
"How's the hand?" the captain of the
Red Witch
asked.
John flexed it and nodded. "Good. Cramps a bit if I use it too much."
"Right hand? Well, good thing you've got Steff and my sister. You don't need to use your hand."
John sputtered a moment before saying, "News travels fast on a ship."
Red winked at him and pointed off the bow. "See there, that's the Sunset Isles on the horizon. We'll be there long before morning, but I won't take us in until after dawn. No good maps of the isles, or at least nothing in the past hundred years."
"Because of Billy the One Eyed?" John asked. "According to the legends?"
She nodded. "Aye. And speaking of old one-eye, is it true?"
"Um, is what true?" John asked.
"What they say about you?"
"I've got two eyes..." John answered and shook his head. "I don't understand."
"For a mage you're awfully daft. I meant that spitting snake you've got down there. Is it as big as they say it is?"
He rolled his eyes. "Not that big," John said. "If I were too big then I'd need to seek out ogres and giants for lovers."
She grimaced. "That'd be a sight. One I think I'd rather not see, come to think on it."
John smirked. "One I'd rather not be a part of!"
Silence stretched a moment before she asked, "And my sister and second mate? They're all smiles and giggles since you took them in the armory yesterday. Steff doesn't giggle, she's mean and nasty. A foul-tempered bitch that keeps my crew in line. Except lately she's all but playing with butterflies. I half expect her to show up on deck in a dress with flowers in her bonnet."
John chose his words carefully, "Sounds like she needed a good time and a chance to let her hair down... not that she has much."
"More like she needed to be reassured that Little Red hadn't snatched you away from her," Red ventured. "The two of them was tight. My sister was crew, all the same, but she was the Captain's sister too. Plus she is who she is. That girl gets something in her head and she sees it through no matter what she's told. She saw something in Steff and kept at her until Steff let her in. They been tied at the hip since... at least until you showed up."
"I never meant—"
She waved him silent. "After what you three done this morning it seems they're back together again. All wrung out though, when will they wake up?"
"They'll be awake in the morning and feeling fine," John argued. "But don't worry, they're not together... Well, they kissed once, but only because I told Steff to do it and Little Red was—"
Red spun on him. "I didn't meant together like that! What's this then? Don't tell me Mare's got my curse?"
John swallowed. "Um... what curse?"
"Loving another woman," Red admitted. "Sasha's my one and only, but it's a rare person that accepts a woman can love a woman... that or a ready blade and a sharp tongue to keep a crew in line that thinks otherwise. I wouldn't change me nor Sasha for all the gold in the ocean, but I wouldn't wish what we got on Mare either, all the same."
John nodded. "I can see that," he admitted. "Not that she's... like that. I mean I can see how people wouldn't treat you proper. I'm not agreeing with that, but I can see how they'd be like that. For what it's worth, I could care less about who you love."
Red studied him and then nodded. "Good. For my sister's sake, I'd hate to have to toss your overboard."
John chuckled until he realized she might not have been kidding.
"So what's this about a kiss?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not my place to say... in fact, I said more than I should have already."
Red snorted. "A man not willing to kiss and tell is a rare man indeed. Fine then, tell me, John the Long, are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Fog and a sailing through islands looking for a ship run up on a beach? I don't see why not."
"They say that fog's not natural. Are you ready to help us against that?"
John frowned. He didn't know any spells that— no, he didn't know any spells at all. He had magic at his disposal, but how to use it against fog? The magic was ready inside of him, eager to be put to use "I'm not sure, I've never tried. I could spend some time practicing."
Red turned to the west. The sun was just touching the water without a cloud in the sky. "Should be a calm night. Make sure you get some rest before the 'morrow."
John smirked. "Yes, Captain," he said. "I'll figure it out."
"See that you do," she said. "I'd hate to have Steff and Little Red upset because you couldn't keep true to your promise to help."
His smirk faded at the threat. He nodded and waited. She studied him a moment longer before turning and walking away. She veered around the ballista mounted on the deck and then walked down the stairs to give him the peace he needed to practice his magic.
John took a deep breath and looked around. Some crates and barrels bound by ropes were the only thing on the deck aside from the ballista. He sighed and gathered his robes so he could sit down on the weathered planks. He steepled his hands and closed his eyes, drawing in a breath to center himself. He had a few ideas already, but magic had a funny way of turning a perfectly reasonable process and flipping it on its head.
When John opened his eyes again he blinked a few times to be sure he'd opened them. It was dark out! The only light was from stars overhead. He yawned and stretched his arms, then unfolded his legs and rolled onto one hip to get a foot under him. He rose up and stretched his body again, reveling in the way his young muscles moved without popping and creaking and aching.
More importantly, he'd learned a few things. He couldn't make the fog go away directly, but he could manage a gust of wind. Or, since fog was nothing more than water in the air, he could make a fire to dry it out. Granted, creating fire on top of water was going to need some oil spilled overboard... and then there was the issue of catching the ship on fire as it sailed through the burning waters.
No, some well placed wind would be best. He could do it too, but only one or maybe two before the magic would be too drained to do any more. He really needed to build up his reserves. The thought of spending a day locked away in a brothel wasn't without its appeal... but it was a day he didn't have. Not to mention there were no brothels on the
Red Witch
!
John wondered if he could even hold that much power. Steff and Little Red had nearly overwhelmed him earlier. Only the immediate need to put their energies to use mending his arm had kept him focused and able to handle the overload. He suspected he needed more training and to build up his endurance... or whatever it was that determined how much power he could hold before his eyes started glowing.
"Gets cold up here when the sun's down."
