politestpirate | OOM: Pearl Repairs

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OOM: Pearl Repairs

The sky is cool, grey, and occasionally misting, but that just means when you are working hard you can keep warm enough.

And there is certainly plenty of work to be done. The deck of the Black Pearl has been cleared off, with debris and pieces that are large enough to reuse stacked carefully. All over is the gleam of cut and exposed wood, the splintered edges cut and smoothed in preparation for patching sections. One mast has been cleared of charred and torn sails and rigging, the canvas and rope set in one area to work on before it can be sent back up.

One of the current priorities, however, is fixing the stern section of the ship, the back wall of the captain's cabin, that took some of the worse damage from the kraken-

Scottish autumn nights can start to get chilly, afterall.

Party thread style, slowtimes more than welcome.

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Wellard's eyes narrow slightly.

"He found out what they wanted in regards to Davy Jones and Captain Sparrow." Flatly.

"But then how is he here, and what did he do?"

'His door, it seems, is no longer visible.' They both know what that means. 'I have not spoken to him myself; I do not know the specifics of his arrival. But unless I greatly miss my guess, he will only be free to leave when the Black Pearl leaves this lake. Shortly before, or shortly afterward. He, too, will have a part to play in the story to come.'

There is another pause, as Merriman attempts to figure out how best to explain enough without explaining more than is his place to explain.

'You have seen how magic can work through objects, and thereby affect individuals who have a connection to those objects.' Again, there is no need to elaborate further -- the subject is sensitive enough as it stands. 'The closer the connection to the individual, the stronger the pull of the magic. There is quite a lot that can be done with something as small and fragile as a single strand of hair, for example.'

He runs a hand through his own wild white hair, almost without thinking about it. 'That kind of power is similar to what most men would consider malevolent magic. A connection can easily become a binding, and thereby a means of direct control. And I believe we have spoken before of the Company's interest in controlling the seas.'

A strand of hair-

Or a bracelet, hand-made and freely given. His lips purse in a faint frown, and Wellard nods slowly.

"With something... or someone who is magical, or of magic- the Wild, you said? Such a thing would be... even more so, wouldn't it? The connection, and binding and control?"

He bites his lip. "What could the Company get of Davy Jones to control him? Could they even, without having or knowing any sort of magic themselves?"

Yet another silence, rather more weighty this time.

'The connection itself would be similar enough. But the Company appears to possess something that makes a single strand of hair look insignificant. Consider the difference between trying to hold on to a man by a single strand of his hair...and trying to hold on to him with one of your hands encircling his throat and the other poised to drive a knife between his ribs.'

His mouth twists in a grim, humourless smile as he says, very quietly:

'To the best of my knowledge, Mister Wellard, they have his heart.'

As much as Wellard would immediately like to think such a thing would not be possible-

The Commodore would not lie about such a thing, no matter how outrageous it may sound.

"... Good God."

The more outrageous it sounds, the less likely he is to be untruthful about it. Simple logic, when one is dealing with Merlion.

'The heart of the sea. Literally, figuratively...but there is no need to argue semantics.' A slight shake of the head. 'Now consider this: in whose hands is a weapon most dangerous? A pistol, for instance. In the hands of a man who knows how to use it -- or in the hands of a man who does not?'

"Either man can still kill you." Wellard mutters, before taking a deep breath.

"Though the latter man is more dangerous, as he can kill you even if he does not mean to." He shrugs. "Accidents, mishandlings..."

He blinks, looking back to Merriman. "And someone not knowing anything of magic, with such an item that is-"

' -- far more powerful, and has a far greater potential to bring harm to those who are not the intended targets,' Merriman finishes, with studied calm. 'But do not forget that the Dark is involved in this equation as well. And the Dark has much better idea of the uses of such an object, and no qualms at all about wielding its power indiscriminately.'

They are out on the deck, and the lantern is nowhere nearby. But anyone who might have been looking at the lantern at that moment might have noticed that the unwavering flame within it burns a little bit brighter now, and a little bit taller...and a little bit colder.

'Mister Norrington, it seems, has provided both the Company and the Dark with the object of their mutual desire.'

"Davy Jones' heart." Wellard mutters, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Before he came here, and without whatever they needed Jack for." He sighs, quietly, then bites his lip and looks back to Merriman.

"Did he know? Mr Norrington?"

'Did he know what?' Merriman tilts his head a fraction of an inch to the side. 'What he was doing? What the Company wanted?'

"All of that, yes." Wellard nods.

"What it means for the Company and the Dark to have the heart, and what they may do with it. The consequences."

Merriman shakes his head, slowly. 'I do not know Mister Norrington well myself. I have little idea of the sort of man he is. I would hope that he knew nothing of the heart's true purpose, save that it was a means through which he could bargain his way to some form of redemption.' The word redemption comes out a little bitterly. 'I have some idea of what form that redemption might have taken -- the Company does have a bargaining chip that might appeal to him. But being here, it has no value to him.'

He is trying not to think badly of Norrington. Not to sit in judgment, not without other evidence. But he knows the sort of men who receive Letters of Marque, and he can think of none that he would trust with an object of such terrible and unpredictable power.

'If he knew the consequences, he might have reconsidered. But I do not know him well enough to know if they would have served as a complete deterrent.'

Wellard frowns, looking out over the lake. "Mr Kennedy and I remember him as an Admiral. One of the youngest ever, due to his involvement in the West Indies."

"I guess we never quite noticed what sort of 'involvement' that was... and I rather guess the East India Company is quite good at covering up details, if it wishes."

'This may be another instance of the future affecting the past, though,' Merriman points out. 'I cannot be entirely certain of that, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. Regardless, we shall see if that memory changes once events run their course -- once Mister Norrington and Captain Sparrow have left Milliways.'

"Odd to think of something as concrete as memory being changed." Wellard mutters, then looks back to Merriman.

"You believe that they will?" He bites his lip. "Mr Norrington's only bound, but Captain Sparrow and the Pearl, sir-"

'They will,' Merriman says, and his voice is firm and decisive. 'This story is not over. Somehow or another, it will continue. I have no way of knowing what the end result will be' -- he has no intention of going near the Astrolabe again if he can possibly help it, prophecy or no -- 'but this is not an ending.'

He looks round again, at the work that is going on upon and below the decks.

'Nor, I think, is it all that much of a pause.'

"Not with Mr Norrington here as well, and helping with repairs on the ship."

Wellard taps his fingers on the railing, thinking.

"Does Jack know what he did?"

'He knows,' Merriman says quietly, with a brief glance in the direction of Jack's cabin. 'Perhaps not the exact seriousness of the situation...but then again, who am I to inform him of how serious the situation truly is?'

Jack is the one who spent time inside the kraken, after all.

His lips twitch in a wry smile as Wellard follows Merriman's gaze.

"... and he's still letting Norrington work on the ship."

If Jack could do that, Wellard can certainly try to be more civil to one certain Spaniard on board as well.

Merriman looks a little uneasy at that, but only for a moment. 'Yes. Well, that is his prerogative.'

He has done what he can, in taking precautions. For now, that will have to suffice.

"He's doing quite well, though. And... if anything, maybe its a good idea to keep certain people close, so you know what's happening."

Logical perhaps, even if the... underhandedness does not sit well with him. Wellard shrugs, and gives Merriman a faint smile, trying to be reassuring.

"We'll just keep working on the Pearl, and keep an eye on things. Best we can do at the moment, at least."

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OOM: Pearl Repairs

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