Dragon Age + Other Vices

She sat up in her hammock, looking down at her hands, half-awake and half expecting them to be covered in blood, like they were in the dream. It had been so vivid, so real... She got up and walked to the top deck, ignoring Isaac's stares. Surely she looked as haggard as she felt. It was the middle of the night, but it seemed that no one could sleep.

Up top, Zee was speaking with Rhylen and Corson. She ignored them and walked towards the nearest mast, grabbing the lower horizontal bit - she never bothered to learn what it was called - and began to do pull ups. After a few dozen, she noticed Zee had approached her, his head moving up and down watching her.

"Nightmares?" he asked. She had them often, and Zee slept in the same crew cabin, or in the same camp on land, as her for almost two months. It wasn't surprising that he'd picked up on it.

"Worse than usual," she said, not stopping her pull ups. If she could wear herself out enough, she'd have no issue falling back asleep. She just had to exhaust herself beyond the screams still echoing in her head.

Zee nodded and returned to the others. Everyone else in their group seemed to be up here now, chatting quietly. She was close to a hundred pull ups when Pya set, seemingly into the Maelstrom as it always did.

The sky flashed - suddenly bright blue, clear as day - then returned to the dark star-filled sky. She dropped down, still blinking when a comet seemed to come out of the Maelstrom flying east, away from them.

Everyone began discussing and debating, wondering if it was related to the nightmares Corson and Rhylen had. Nadezhda left them on the deck to try to go back to sleep. Those were their problems, not hers, and she intended to leave once they reached Aurelia. But none of them sleeping well, plus strange activity from the Maelstrom? It was an ill omen.

"All I'm good for is killing," Nadezhda said before she could stop herself.

"I don't know, I think you're alright with people," Zee said, motioning vaguely towards himself.

You don't count. She held her tongue this time. Don't get attached, keep the conversation on track. "I'm a known criminal in Aurelia. It's not a good idea."

That seemed to convince him. The rest of the group agreed, once they talked to them. Dorin worked on hiring additional crew while the ship repairs finished. Once everything was ready, Critter and Rhylen would handle the heist while everyone else prepared for a hot exit.