A Dark and Stormy Night

[Ceutinde]

"It wasn't just that. I had a silly plan, double-cross some slaving whoremongers and free their victims. Plenty of those that came after us were theirs, I'm sure of it. Trying to kill those I'm traveling with because I wanted to do some good." She sat on the bed, nearly in tears. "I'm not suited for this."

[Kjell Ó Raghallaigh]

"Oh." That explained all the pirates and the afterparty everyone had ran to after telling her to go home. She stood there for a moment, hesitating. Felt kind of weird to change your pants in front of someone on the verge of tears.

She crossed over to the cabinet and picked up the bottle, then went and sat down next to the healer. After a while, she spoke up. "It's going to take a lot more than some slavers and pirates to kill anyone on this expedition," she said, fairly confident in her words. "Hell, I've met boglops that had more fight in them than these pirates we fought out there."

She offered Ceutinde the bottle and looked at her feet, thinking about how many people she'd actually gotten killed this morning with half the cause. "Good intentions are rare. You shouldn't feel bad."

[Ceutinde]

The nearly-crying ceased with a rather unladylike snorting inhale and laugh as Ceutinde wiped her eyes and took the bottle. She gave it a sip, then stood and hugged Kjell. "Thank you." Stepping back, now smiling just a bit, she told her, "Change your pants, let's go find the rest of them."

[Nigel Thornheart]

Nigel poked his head in, rainwater dripping down his waxed mustache, looking absolutely delighted with the evening's events and unconcerned if he was interrupting anyone's state of undress.

"The pirates are dead and the whores are safe!" he announced, proudly. "I got a half dozen settled in on the Tranquility and the rest will be down when the storm passes. Huzzah!"

[Ceutinde]

"What?" Ceutinde's head whipped toward Nigel, she let Kjell go, and stormed for the door. "My word, Thornheart, welcome though that news may be, you could knock first!" She shoved him back and shut the door behind her, calming with the divider between Nigel and a quarter-naked woman. "Is it wise to put them on the Tranquility? The seas can't be doing them any favors."

[Kjell Ó Raghallaigh]

Kjell patted Ceutinde on the back a little awkwardly at being hugged.

She looked up at Nigel when he appeared in the doorway, about as unconcerned about her state of undress as he was. "And the party memb-?" She didn't get to finish the question as Ceutinde slammed the door. Shrugging, she went to change her pants.

[Nigel Thornheart]

“Some of them were eager to brave the hurricane and ride it out in the Tranquility rather than spend one more night in that prison. I can’t imagine why,” he deadpanned. Nigel didn’t tend to stick around long after rescuing the damsel in distress to see the aftermath or concern himself with the logistics of piecing together their shattered life. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a slumber party at a brothel that demands my attention.” He paused, only to see if he could expect a similar measure of gratitude from the madame rather than having to trek back through the storm.

[Ceutinde]

"I...thank you, Nigel." Ceutinde reached forward and patted him on the cheek. "It's easy to forget that there's an actual hero deep down in there. But I should join you; no doubt they could stand to get checked up. And I'd like to see that hellhole, now."

[Nigel Thornheart]

"All in a day's work for the Adventurer Extraordinaire!" Nigel struck a heroic pose. "Play your cards right and you could end up with an actual hero deep down in you. Aha!"

He gallantly offered Ceutinde his arm and raised his shield above their heads to act as a makeshift umbrella to brave the storm and trek back up to the tavern. It would not do much against the hurricane, but would be better than nothing.

[Ceutinde]

Ceutinde poked her head back into the cabin to tell Kjell they were heading to the brothel before drawing up the hood of her cloak and taking Nigel's arm. "It wasn't too terrible a fight, was it? I was just weeping at poor Kjell about how worried I was."

[Nigel Thornheart]

"You have a big heart, but it was barely a skirmish, practically a kerfuffle, just a bit of hurly burly with some brigands," Nigel assured Ceutinde, waving it off. "The first of many victories for the Mighty Thornhearts!"

[Ceutinde]

Ceutinde laughed at that. "Well, if it hardly even a dust-up, I shouldn't have been hiding back at the ships. Ah, well. Next time I can heal from just behind the team instead of far behind the team. But to your second point, Nigel...could we have a bit of a group discussion regarding the name?"

[Nigel Thornheart]

"Excellent, isn't it?" Nigel replied, not seeming to register that the suggestion was a criticism. "Big shoes to fill for you lot, standing in the boots of legends, but the marketable name brand recognition is a thing of beauty. My next book will fly off the shelves with the tag line 'The Mighty Tornhearts Ride Again'!" He was ecstatic at the prospect, not just of the coin, but the rebirth of his old adventuring crew. Not even the pouring rain could dampen his spirits.

[Ceutinde]

Best to try a different tack. "Well, I was just thinking. I wouldn't want to be seen as stealing the glory of your former comrades in arms. What they - and you - did was exemplary, of course, and no doubt we would all love to live up to that example. But ultimately, we're a different group. What reputation we make should be our own, not from standing on the shoulders of late heroes like Konrad's father."

[Nigel Thornheart]

"Hmmm a fair point," Nigel allowed, brow furrowed, deep in thought. "And I would not want to confuse any dim wittered readers."

"I've got it!" he exclaimed. "The New Mighty Thornhearts! It honors the old while emphasizing the new." If adding an adjective worked for the Avengers, why not the Mighty Thornhearts?