3. Byron Sterr

Byron Sterr


  • Character: Byron Sterr
    Account: sciolist
    –

    The dinghy drifted to a halt as the sail was furled. Byron's hands working smoothly from many years of practice. He sat back down in the stern and looked at the children, grinning. 'Right. Y'all got a rod, you got bait. Let's fish.' The orphans looked at each other and then back at Byron. 'Fishin's boring! - Tell us about being a pirate and fun stuff like that!'.

    "I always been a sailor, not a pirate. Weren't much older'n you when I started. Used to live at an Inn in Candlekeep, long ways away. Me mum was a… lady who worked there..."

    "A whore?" piped up one of the kids, to a few sniggers from the others. Byron shrugged and grinned.

    "Considerin' that this's background and you wanted a tale of Pirates and fun stuff... An' considerin' we're on a little boat and at the mercy of the Queen herself out here... Is that important? She was my mum, an' she worked at the Inn of the Green Wyrm and when I was old enough I helped, wipin' tables an' the like.
    "That was pretty borin'. As I grew I started to help out in the kitchens too, sweepin' up, makin' food, runnin' errands. 'Til one mornin' I was clearin' out the fires and this man comin down from the rooms, one of the folks as was stayin', stops and looks at me. Me, I don't pay any attention, get on with the sweepin' and clear off out back.
    "Come that evening he's back again, talking to me mum and looking pretty fierce. She's looking a bit upset til he dropped a pouch'f gold on the table and that was that. He dragged me by my ear down the docks and chucked me aboard the Grey Lady. It sailed next mornin' with me as its new boy, and no sign of that scary sailor that hauled me away from home. No more wiping tables for me!
    "Instead I got to scrub the decks, tidy away ropes, keep out'f the way of the Mate's fists 'n feet, help caulk the seams in the hard to reach bits of the hold… On top o' that, come the end of a hard watch, I get to go sleep in the chain locker 'cos no-one else'd fit in there to sleep. Course, most'f you know what a hard day feels like and there's good bits as well. At sea there's not much worse than a bored sailor, but when you're working it all comes together. Was hard but good sailing up 'n down the Sword Coast, honest trading.

    "A couple years pass by and I'm a bigger lad, stronger and I know my way 'round a ship. That scary sailor comes aboard as we're docked in Waterdeep and goes to speak with the Captain. Crew's all muttering a bit and they say he's this famous pirate, Deacon Sterr. Now I've heard a few things over the time on the Lady and sounds like he's def'nitely making a name for himself out there. The Hells he want with me? Same again, drags me off that old tub and a few piers down to a much tighter ship. Says to me: 'Byron, lad. Pay attention. Too many of you little bastards about to worry over. You make your own way, then you come look me up.' Then he's off again, boots shining, silk shirt flapping in the wind and I think to myself… Why the Hells not?

    "Reefkisser wasn't a trading ship… Shallow draft, slim, lateen sails, not square-rigged. That ship could damn near sail upwind, the crew we had on her, and fast too. Spices from Chult, silks from Calimshan - luxury stuff, high value. Most of it we could get ashore in a quiet cove or rivermouth, didn't draw enough to need a decent port like a lot of the merchant ships. A good ship, outran all the trouble I ever saw her close to. Was us that let her down in the end, being a bit free with our money in the port of Tulmon. Must've upset someone to rouse the Guard and worse to get the duty we owed. We'd been planning to stay in port, seen the storm brewing out on the lake, but came down to leaving or having some nasty stuff to answer to. Made it through the straits with inches to spare, and out into the open sea and the storm. We'd unloaded, hadn't time to reballast and were too high in the water for sea like that. Rain lashing, wind howling, waves as big as houses. Never forget this is the Queen's domain. She suffers us out here if it pleases her an' that's it.

    "One of the fastest ships I sailed on, heeled and smashed to flotsam. A few of us washed up in the Border Kingdoms, some of them went back towards Tethyr and the Sword Coast. I headed up here, see something new. Mostly I try to stay out of the fighting and what you'd call proper piracy... Nasty business, folks trying to kill you like that. Then I heard that Captain Sterr was in Narfell, took my money and spent most'f it on passage to come up here.

    The children looked at each other. "That's boring! We wanna hear about killing and money and mermaids and swords n'stuff!"
    Byron grinned, trying to remember why he'd agreed to take some of Ocean's brats out on the Icelace.

    "Next time…"


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