The Storyteller: The Chain of Pearls

[annarti.livejournal.com]

Three years into living as the Orana’s crew, three more years into Tu’s impossible plan for the Pirate Isles, and Tu’s exuberance was only building.

( 1938 words )

The Storyteller: The Gift

[annarti.livejournal.com]

Twenty-Fourth Birthday

Sen didn’t tell Tu of her plans immediately, just in case she reacted poorly and left them stranded. Instead, she and Kaiji agreed to tell her when they were in Ryas, hoping she would be too distracted by her negotiations to want to deal with her rogue crew.

( 1997 words )

The Storyteller: The Ransom

[annarti.livejournal.com]

Twenty-Fifth Birthday

Sen and Kaiji used the full three months Tu had given them to find a crew for Red Cacao. The problem with crewing her ship with bastards, Sen found, was that none of them had any experience at sea. None had so much as rowed a fishing boat before. Even Kaiji suggested that they might bring experienced sailors on board, just until they were able to train some of their own, but Sen refused to compromise. They were experienced enough now to train new crew. What they did ask of their new crew, though, was fighting experience. That much they could learn on land.

( 1853 words )