WAVEBREAKER CHAPTER 5: Davie
The tavern was a sea of noise. Navigating it left most of it as background sound, the crashing of waves of a hundred conversations. Suddenly being pulled into a conversation made that noise my noise; a dozen voices resolved at once.
“Deal.” A man spat from across the table. His voice was ice, his accent foreign.
My eyes locked onto him as I spun about in my chair.
“A minute Davie. Damn.” The man who had begged my attention said.
“Yeah. I rode in with Silver.” I replied, looking over the table.
They were playing poker at the table, a half dozen faces now directed my way in want of a reply, some drunk and swaying, others bored or attentive. Piles of coins sat in front of the poker players. One snored asleep on the table, nothing but a silver coin before him. Davie’s gold towered high, a practical pile of coins toppling over, along side a —
“Bones?” I asked. “Is that a pile of bones?”
The man who had begged my attention snorted, turning back to Davie.
“Well? You going to show him the party trick?”
Davie locked eyes with me. His face seemed lock in a perpetual scowl. Lamplight danced in his ghostly blue eyes, the shadow of the massive tricorne on his head casting his face in shadow. He raised a hand over the pile of bones.
Mist fell from his fingers, dancing through the pile. A bone rolled across the table to join the pile as it rose and assembled itself, clicking into place and being held together by chains of translucent blue energy.
The bones took the shape of a bird, translucent light filling in the place of feathers, giving it wings closer to a bat’s than a gull’s. The undead bird turned its head sideways and squawked at me. Then it turned to my left and squawked at a woman dressed in a captain’s decorum.
She wore layers of mismatched and ill-fitting clothes in gaudy colors; rich silk blue ran through with glinting silver filigree for her inner-wear, while her outer jacket was a rusty red-brown, adorned with golden buttons and pins. All expensive, and likely all stolen.
Multiple swords hung from her waist, and when she leaned back, it revealed muskets dangling from inside her coat. Just enough weapons to leave me without a guess to her class.
“I’ll smash it again you get the thing near me.”
“You going to stay aboard the Silver for the privateering trip?” The man who had pulled my attention to the table asked as he picked up a deck of cards.
“Like leaving is an option?” I asked.
“If you are going to talk, then take a seat and play. You look like you have money.” Davie said, looking directly at me. His parrot flapped its wings, stepping around the table and staring at the players with sockets glowing with pale blue flames.
I leaned to look over the table again, then dug a single silver coin from my pocket and slapped it on the table. Swinging my chair around, I took a seat at the table.’
Davie made a dismissive noise at me when I profferred a single silver coin. I didn’t have money to waste; I was here for information, not games. He took the coin and pushed bronzes across the table to me, throwing the silver carelessly into his own pot.
“I’m Decker.” The man dealing said. “This is Davie, and she’s Liss.”
“Captain to you.” She said, leaning across the table.
The rest of the table wasn’t paying attention to the game as cards were dealt out.
I looked at mine. Seven and two. The big blind was two; I was already in for one. The risk was tiny. I called, setting the cards back on the table.
The skeletal bird walked in a circle around the cards in the center of the table, squawking in a way that made my head hurt. I touched my hand to my head as it squawked again, the pain growing until it was piercing. The bird looked at Davie, calling out a few times.
“Ow.” I said, rubbing my head. Davie stared at me, then waved his bird off.
“Caw.” The bird pecked at my carts.
“Knock it off.” I said, pushing the skeleton back. The pain in my head snapped and disappeared.
[Subclass (Wildspeaker) Leveled up] [Novice Wildspeaker I -> Novice Wildspeaker II]
[+1 Wisdom, +1 Int]
“—he has concealed his hand too well. His cards are shrouded in darkness.” The birds cawing changed. Even the way it sounded changed. It went from screeching tone to rich baritone, bassy, echoing voice reverberating in the dim. I felt my eyes widen as it spoke.
Wild speaker didn’t level. I had tried it with the gulls; I had bought them in cages and tried to speak to them for ages. Other animals were too expensive for me. I had caught other birds, caught fish, talked to turtles. The skill had never leveled.
That stunned me for so long that it took extra time to realize that Davie was cheating at poker. Pirates cheating at poker was nothing extraordinary; it’d be more surprising if no one here was cheating. Not that Davie looked like a pirate. His hands didn’t have callouses. They were soft and smooth. His complexion had no scars.
Only his eyes looked like a pirate’s; he wore his expression in a way that said he had always worn it, in a way that said he had been angry so long that the anger had simmered out and all that was left of the emotion was the memory of being angry. He was leaned back, arms held close, guarded, glaring.
The bird squawked again and walked around the table, pecking at the hands of the captain. She swatted it away.
“Control your pet ‘fore I disassemble ‘em again.” The captain said, taking a swig. The bird’s eyes turned.
“Disassemble me? Foolish mortal! Your bones hang heavy with useless flesh! I’ll disassemble you!” The bird proclaimed, biting her finger hard this time. The captain slapped it across the table, sending the bird rolling. It rose, shaking its head and flapping its wings. “King and a two. Pair. Squawk. Winning hand. Squawk.”
The bird said the word squawk. It didn’t sound like a squawk to me. I was still staring, wide eyed.
“Fold.” Davie said, setting his cards down.
I dragged my eyes away from the bird to stare at the cards on the table. Nine. Jack. Two.
I had a pair of twos, Jack high. Liss had a pair of twos, king high. The pot was already stacked with eight coins; I could double before I walked away. Or I could stay here and level wildspeaker. Even now I could feel the progress growing. What was different about this bird? It was more intelligent; how long had it lived, being raised from the dead over and over?
To my right, Decker raised the bet by two pieces.
“Raise.”
The bird let out a laugh.
“A foolish bluff; we can all see through him. He is a man of glass!” The bird said, ambling forward. I stared at Davie, who stared at the bird, spinning a ring around his finger.
“Call.” I said, putting two more pieces forward.
“Call.”
The next card came down. A seven.
“His luck is as vast as the sea. Far better than yours.” The bird said, stomping over to me.
I swatted at the bird.
“Maybe you can get some to rub off on you.” It said, still stomping forward.
“That’s enough, Blight.” The bird paused. “Come back.”
The bird angrily stomped back towards Davie, who scratched the top of Blight’s skull. The bird cooed.
“Yes, mortal… fawn over me…” The bird thumped its leg on the table.
“Check.”
“All in.” I said, pushing forward my coins.
Liss looked at her cards, then at the table.
“Call!”
“Call.”
The last card came down. An eight. Everyone revealed their cards. Liss slammed the table with an open palm.
“You got a fuckin’ gambling skill too?”
“No.” I said, still staring at the bird.
“What’s your born?” She asked.
I turned to look at her. It was highly rude to ask someone their born class; in the era of the Endless Sea, most were born with classes that were beyond valueless. I stared down Liss. She rolled her eyes, sending her cards across the table to me. I shuffled.
My skill didn’t make any progress. Maybe I had to talk to the bird for it to work.
“Shit.” Decker said, burying his face in his hands. He rubbed his eyes. He looked at his cards. His eyes lit up. Blight pecked his way over.
“Pocket aces. Our enemies are dangerous today.” The parrot rumbled, stumbling over to me.
“You said his name is blight?” I asked, feeling the pressure as I talked, directing it at the bird. The bird stepped backward. I reached out and scratched its skull in the way Davie had.
The bird preened.
“Yes. Worship me.” It said before stumbling back. “He has nothing good. Let us see if he bluffs as poorly as Decker.” The bird said.
“Call.” I said, even though I had nothing.
“We’re trying to get some people together.” Decker said. “Enough money to pay a fleet to take us back to the Steel Isle’s. Didn’t sign up for piracy… privateering.”
“Not interested.” I replied.
“Not interested?” Decker looked surprised. Davie stared.
“Call.” Liss said.
“Fold.” Davie said.
“You can’t fold! You’re the blind!” Liss hissed.
“Fold.” Davie said again, sending his cards sailing to me. I blinked.
“Sore loser.” Liss said.
“Can’t always win.” Davie replied.
“I’ve got a family back home.” Decker said. “I need out.”
“I don’t run any charities. You signed up.” I reminded him. He was staring at the coins laid out in front of me.
I called again, then we all checked. A few coins were gained, a few were lost. The bird didn’t give into my harassment, but I kept at it. It wouldn’t acknowledge me beyond petting. Eventually, Davie started staring at me during my attempts to talk to the bird.
I played another hand and cashed out, a silver coin richer. Maybe I could make a career out of poker if I had a talking bird of my own.
My back burned with the feeling of someone staring at me as I made my way back to the ship.
