A Pirate's Past

Rain dripping through a canopy of green, graceful spotted cats, graceful green bamboo stalks - surely I didn't always live in this fish village. The memories are too vivid, too real. I can feel the steam rising from the damp forest floor, hear the animals calling to each other and I know what each call means. Yet, as long as I can remember I've been serving swill and sweeping floor for Arnyld. I know I was born for greater things. I long for open spaces, fresh air and freedom.

Sometimes sailors would visit the Chuggler's Lair. Their tales of the open sea and other lands fascinated me. I began planning, knowing the time to make my move would come soon. One day the opportunity presented itself. I dodged out the door when Arnyld was busy in back with a merchant and made my way to the city of Thrace. With my small stature and the aid of clothing snitched from a backyard line in Thrace, I was able to pass as a young boy. I headed to the docks of Thrace, intent on finding my way to the freest space in the realm -- the ocean.

Captain Bartholomew Moody signed me on board the Hemisphere Dancer as his cabin boy. Mad Moody raided the coasts of Thrace and Qetesh and smuggled goods to Sable. I loved the free feeling of the sea and flourished over the years, growing stronger and surer and maturing from cabin boy to crew. But when my eyes were closed it wasn't the sea calling to me. Trees bent and whispered to me in my sleep, calling me home.

Moody grew quite fond of me over the years and considered me his adopted son. He instructed me on the finer points of life. I could drink a grown man under a table and seldom lost a hand of cards thanks to his tutelage. Next to him, I was best at guiding the ship through treacherous waters in the dark of the night. I had an ear for the sound of water on rocks and saved the Hemisphere Dancer more than once from the rocky shores of Qetesh.

Celebrating a successful run, I was drinking in the Chuggler's Lair with my shipmates, acting like one of the lads. I could chug swill with the best of them and let out mighty belches. In a dark corner, a game of poker was being played. I anted up and soon had a pile of coins in front of me. A common thug accused me of cheating and lunged at me. I was quick on my feet, but the thug's dagger found it's way between my ribs. I left him on the floor of the Lair, my own blade dripping with his blood. The crew carried me back to the ship and with a needle and some cat gut attempted to tend to the wound. They were aghast to discover not just a girl, but a dryad under the masculine clothes.

All eyes turned to Mad Moody. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, then slowly a grin crept upon his face. Moody chuckled heartily as he realized he'd been conned. He was thrilled with the idea of having a daughter. I let my hair grow and ditched the baggy clothes. My skill with a dagger discouraged many an amorous man.

The rustle of branches haunted my dreams. Even by day I thought I heard my name whispered on the winds of Thrace. My fortune made years ago, I parted ways with the Hemisphere Dancer and the only family I knew. The Nyormai Forest would wait no longer. I slipped between the bamboo stalks and faced my past.

I'm a sailor by trade. A former bar girl turned cabin boy. People always ask me if I smuggle stuff. Duh! If I did do you think I'd tell you?