Chapter 96 - Caius

After Theoric left, the bar broke into commotion wondering who that man was while the soldiers collected their fallen, intending to report to their superior when they got the chance.

Theoric meanwhile met back up with the girls who were done exploring, Sigyn happily telling him about everything until she got to the part about how they had to deal with a few would-be pursuers.

Anna and Io easily took care of them though, Io with her frosty attitude towards any man she doesn't know well and Anna who was strong and skilled enough to handle most if not all mortal men.

The shy Sigyn began to rely on them like Theoric, to handle the outside world for her.

Theoric opted to not tell them what happened considering the recent argument even though he thought they wouldn't mind considering the circ.u.mstances. Choosing to only tell them about how he found a possible boat to hire.

It wasn't hard to find the man they were looking for, just like the barkeep said, he was the only one loading tons of supply for a long voyage.

Theoric went up to a deckhand who was busy loading- "Hello there, can you point me towards Caius, I was told he may be open to some business."

The man gave him a once over, his eyes lingering on the women before resuming his task- "He should be in the captain's room going over the maps."

Theoric pointed as he made a step forward- "Do you mind?" asking if it was okay for him to go up.

"Go ahead." The man said not really caring one way or the other, it wasn't his job to stop people from going on board if they want.

The other workers also just kept to themselves and continued to do their own tasks.

Anna- "This man doesn't inspire much loyalty in his men."

Theoric- "The barkeep did say he's an untested fellow, someone new to the seafaring world, I wouldn't be surprised if he's a young man seeking adventure."

Io grunted- "Likely a young lord wishing to prove himself."

Theoric knocked on the door.

The double doors were flung open as a young man with a brown ponytail and a huge grin on his face greeted them enthusiastically- "Oh, hello there, I don't believe we've met, as you must know I am your captain Caius Potitius Ivmarus and I will be leading you on this great journey we are about to undertake... (Spotting the women)... Oh my who are you lovely ladies, I do believe in all my years I have never seen women as angelic as you three, please I must know your names." he said moving forward to try and take Anna's hand to give it a greeting kiss, who was grinning at the compliment thanks to his infectious happy attitude, only to have Theoric step in the way.

Caius thinking nothing of it quickly gathered himself as he reevaluated the situation- "I'm sorry, I think I got ahead of myself there, you see I'm quite excited about traveling for the first time, I believe I have made a mistake, yes? You aren't part of my crew, are you? What can I do for you this fine afternoon?"

Theoric- "We were wondering if we could hire you to take a detour and drop us off."

Caius sizing up the man who towered over him was beginning to feel intimidated as his early enthusiasm began to fade- "And who are you good sir? if you don't mind me asking."

"I am Theoric... Also a traveling man like yourself, this is my wife Sigyn, Anna and Io."

Anna blushed at being called his wife, and even Io didn't seem to object to the term as she stayed silent, you could no longer see her usual downcast demeanor. She still had issues but she was enjoying her time with everyone, the family vibes. It was arguably Sigyn who was having the biggest effect on her though with Theoric being the perfect guy for her to get over her lingering fear of men. Theoric wasn't pushy, he made sure she had her space and didn't force anything on her. He even listened to her when she got angry and agreed when he did something wrong. He never got angry at her or yelled or hit her, it was nice.

Caius now glared at the man enviously, cursing the gods for making him small and weak- "Theoric is it? So Theoric where is it you and your wives wish to go?"

Theoric grinned with understanding as Caius slightly lost his pose- "Would you mind if we talk inside?"

Caius getting over it, once again put on his happy face- "Certainly, right this way good sir... Ladies." he said while stepping to the side with a slight bow, showing the way with his hand.

His captain quarters were spacious with the front entrance designed for business with a good-sized table, nailed in seats, and maps spread out. The back was his living quarters with a small bed and reading area, filled with all sorts of knick-knacks.

Caius took a seat showing off his map- "Please sit, sit, this is my plan for travel, we plan on going all over stopping everywhere we possibly can, I hope to learn and absorb many different cultures and if were lucky experience an adventure or two, hopefully nothing too dangerous though."

"What?" asked a confused Caius.

Theoric- "Well, we were hoping you could drop us off at Medusa's island."

Caius's eyes went wide- "Did you just say Medusa's island?"

Theoric- "That's right."

Caius losing his cool- "Are you mad!? Do you wish to get yourselves turned to stone? I can't believe you would take your wives to somewhere so dangerous, what on earth are you thinking wanting to go there?"

Theoric- "We can pay you as much as you want."

Caius shook his head- "This isn't about money, you are literally committing suicide going there, why on earth do you want to go? if you think for one second I'll go there, your even madder than I first thought!"

Theoric- "It's extremely important that we go there, you don't even have to land, you can just drop us off nearby and we can swim if we have to."

Caius didn't budge- "Even the waters around such areas are extremely dangerous, there's no way I'm going to send someone to their deaths and possibly my own, not to mention the crew would never agree."

Theoric tried to appeal to his adventurous side- "This will be one of the greatest stories you'll ever tell, imagine speaking of this years later, how you went to the beasts island and showed no fear as you looked upon her evil work, the statues of the fallen."

Hearing 'the statues of the fallen' did strike a chord with him, but he remained silent.

Sigyn leaned over and whispered into Anna's ear who blushed before nodding.

Anna taking Sigyn's advice decided it was her turn to try and convince him as she placed a hand on Theoric indicating she wished to speak- "I know you don't wish to put yourself into anything dangerous, but it would mean the world to me if you could help us out." she said in a pouty s.e.xy voice while emphasizing her t.i.t.s, leaning over so he could get a better view of her cleavage.

Caius gulped- "Okay." he said without even realizing it only to curse a second later when he saw the happy faces of the three women across from him, knowing he was tricked.- "Alright, alright, I'll be willing to drop you off nearby, but that's the best you're getting, the men won't like this one bit when they find out, they may even wish to quit and then we won't' have anybody to sail us."

Theoric- "Just don't tell them where we're going."

Caius frowned- "And what happens when we're out to sea and they discover it, worst case is they mutiny throwing us overboard and we eventually succ.u.mb to the sea, the best case is they mutiny and kill us all."

Theoric- "Please trust me when I say we will protect you, I will personally guarantee your safety."

Sigyn chipped in- "Theoric is a great warrior, no one can beat him!"

Caius- "I don't know..."

Theoric- "Sailors love money right, we can always tell them we'll pay them as much as they want."

Caius sighed- "Okay, I'll make arrangements for you to stay on the ship, just be here early tomorrow morning."

Once they were gone Caius plopped down once again in the chair, putting his elbows on the table, resting his forehead on his hands as he looked down contemplating his life and what he was doing.