Zarkenis Ultima wrote:"It's technically not a lie, but I don't know how wise it would be to openly admit we consorted with pirates. Maybe instead of that, we could try to convince them that we sailed with these flags in order to avoid confrontation with other pirates? Though I'm not sure which story is easier to believe. In any case, I'm with you. This certainly beats ignoring their signals and waiting for them to get fed up with us." He nodded.
He then jabbed a thumb towards Eric and his thick aura of alcoholic stench. "I'm not sure they'll buy the story about us being diplomats if you take him along, though."
Katya curled a few strands of hair in her fingers, lost in thought. Tristan certainly had a point about the whole "consorting with pirates" deal. Perhaps it would be advisable to avoid that. On a slightly more positive note, it was good that the others were with her on skipping the signaling process and taking the action to them. And he was right about Eric - bringing him certainly would be inadvisable in his current position. However, she still wanted him along, despite his drunkenness. And while they were friends (to some degree), it wasn't because of that - it was because of Belle. Having an Angelle of the gods themselves with them was a useful failsafe - her wings could likely carry them to safety in a worst case scenario.
Serconas wrote:"Ke'Am will come with you if you want him to. He has still some problems with being on the sea, though. Telling them that we made a trade with criminals will not help us", he agreed with Tristan. "Maybe the pirates held us hostage after sinking our ship, but we were able to err... defy them?" he offered in return.
Katya nodded in response to Ke'Am. Despite his primitive weaponry and odd ways, he certainly wasn't dull.
"I prefer this story, Tristan. The Basilisk Pirates are quite vell known, even among my homelands. I'm afraid that the Devil's Luck may be recognizable, and if South Gallians catch us in a lie...vell, I'm not about to find out vhat they'll do. I think it's reasonable to say that our ship was damaged in battle with pirates, and we boarded this vessel after victory. Unless there are any objections?" she replied, leaving the suggestion open-ended in case one of them came up with a better idea.
She turned to Eric, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Eric, this may be quite a request, but could I borrow your holy sword for a few moments? You heard Tristan - unless you have some sort of cure for drunkenness in that satchel of yours, it'd be best if you...stayed and guarded the ship from sneak attacks. Because if this goes wrong, we're all a feast for fish."
Inwardly, she cringed a little bit. There was no way he was letting go of Belle. The two, despite their seeming hatred of each other, were surprisingly inseparable. But having a contingency plan was important, and it probably didn't hurt too much to ask.