Sounsyy moved when Ryanti did and set about searching the remaining doors on her side of the corridor. Several were derelict or impassible from debris, but she was able to duck beneath a fallen beam into a third door and found herself in a room much like the first they had explored. She flashed the torchlight across the floors, walls, and ceiling but found it devoid of all life. Her breath seemed to be the first disturbance the stale air had felt in epochs. She noted there was no window to the outside on the far wall like there had been in the first room. So this way was towards the inner ship?
She ducked back out in time to catch Ryanti's explanation on the division of bad and evil. Sounsyy's ears flicked back for a split second and turned her back, investigating the next door in sequence. “But there’s a difference between bad people and evil people,†Ryanti had said. Sounsyy's brow furrowed as she trailed her light down the crease in the once-sliding door. It did not open for her.
Not that great a difference, she thought to herself. They pressed on.
After a while they reached what seemed to be the end of the empty hallway. Sounsyy turned and swept her light around the area behind them, but it was still just as empty as it had been since seeing her specter. She turned back and moved closer to the broken window beside the large doorway. She hesitated before slowly shuffling her feet over to the empty window and peered out into the darkness.
"Not sure funny is 'ow I'd describe that time," she said, her back pressed up against the wall adjacent to the empty window, "Sterransa Syntkhrawyn were more savage than any pirate, Sahagin, or Reaver she ever killed. She would've made one hells of a pirate queen if she didn't hate them as much as she did. She hated most things though, 'cept coin and steel."
Sounsyy peeked around to get a better view of the open window. She slipped her rifle past the threshold and cast her torchlight up and down over the steep walls until the light faded into the impenetrable expanse of black below and above.
"Looks like a lift shaft?" she said, turning back to Ryanti, "Looks empty though, didn't see cable or anythin'. Think this door is the lift?"
She made her way over to the large door adjacent to it and tried to pry it open with her fingers unsuccessfully. So she drew her shortsword from its scabbard across her rear and slid one edge vertically up into the gap between the slots with some effort and grunting. She didn't want to plunge the sword straight in and pull, as that would've likely broken the sword. She hoped that using the sword's whole length and thickest side would provide better leverage, but she was unsuccessful still. She withdrew the blade and held it against the light, shaking free the dust that clung to its used edge.
"Hmph, she used to make me clean every blade and ring of chainmail thrice over until she were satisfied. Her cutlass could never be sharp enough. Every piece of pillaged loot taken from the purses of dead pirates couldn't be clean enough. It had to sparkle. Won't do to hand the Admiral unclean spoils, she'd say. I hated her, obviously. Think it were mutual. She were a strong captain though. Commanded loyalty, fear, presence - right up until the day she died. Anyway - thoughts on this door?"
Sounsyy motioned to the doorway behind her. She had turned to look Ryanti in the eye for much of the story, but now she seemed hesitant to continue, as if she really had nothing more to say casually on the subject of the person whom she so greatly loathed and seemingly had so much in common with. How could so fierce a woman just die? Sounsyy's eyes almost seemed to dare Ryanti to keep asking about her.
She ducked back out in time to catch Ryanti's explanation on the division of bad and evil. Sounsyy's ears flicked back for a split second and turned her back, investigating the next door in sequence. “But there’s a difference between bad people and evil people,†Ryanti had said. Sounsyy's brow furrowed as she trailed her light down the crease in the once-sliding door. It did not open for her.
Not that great a difference, she thought to herself. They pressed on.
After a while they reached what seemed to be the end of the empty hallway. Sounsyy turned and swept her light around the area behind them, but it was still just as empty as it had been since seeing her specter. She turned back and moved closer to the broken window beside the large doorway. She hesitated before slowly shuffling her feet over to the empty window and peered out into the darkness.
"Not sure funny is 'ow I'd describe that time," she said, her back pressed up against the wall adjacent to the empty window, "Sterransa Syntkhrawyn were more savage than any pirate, Sahagin, or Reaver she ever killed. She would've made one hells of a pirate queen if she didn't hate them as much as she did. She hated most things though, 'cept coin and steel."
Sounsyy peeked around to get a better view of the open window. She slipped her rifle past the threshold and cast her torchlight up and down over the steep walls until the light faded into the impenetrable expanse of black below and above.
"Looks like a lift shaft?" she said, turning back to Ryanti, "Looks empty though, didn't see cable or anythin'. Think this door is the lift?"
She made her way over to the large door adjacent to it and tried to pry it open with her fingers unsuccessfully. So she drew her shortsword from its scabbard across her rear and slid one edge vertically up into the gap between the slots with some effort and grunting. She didn't want to plunge the sword straight in and pull, as that would've likely broken the sword. She hoped that using the sword's whole length and thickest side would provide better leverage, but she was unsuccessful still. She withdrew the blade and held it against the light, shaking free the dust that clung to its used edge.
"Hmph, she used to make me clean every blade and ring of chainmail thrice over until she were satisfied. Her cutlass could never be sharp enough. Every piece of pillaged loot taken from the purses of dead pirates couldn't be clean enough. It had to sparkle. Won't do to hand the Admiral unclean spoils, she'd say. I hated her, obviously. Think it were mutual. She were a strong captain though. Commanded loyalty, fear, presence - right up until the day she died. Anyway - thoughts on this door?"
Sounsyy motioned to the doorway behind her. She had turned to look Ryanti in the eye for much of the story, but now she seemed hesitant to continue, as if she really had nothing more to say casually on the subject of the person whom she so greatly loathed and seemingly had so much in common with. How could so fierce a woman just die? Sounsyy's eyes almost seemed to dare Ryanti to keep asking about her.