"Curious, is it not, that sometimes the best way to conceal one's identity
is to simply use a name that means essentially the same thing? Such was my
thinking, upon this irony, when I gave up the name of Paix for the name of
du Paix.
"So you wish to hear my story, oui? Then take a seat, have some wine--I
do believe they have a bit of Dore '65 in the cellar--and I shall relate to
you how a poor girl from a city of the rich became the most feared pirate
to sail the six seas.
"Paix is a town of no history and moderate size, as anyone in Theah well
knows. I was born to a poor dockworker, and showed a great longing for the
water from my earliest years. My father scrimped and saved so that he could
send his daughter to the Navy when she came of age, but his death in my fourteenth
year was a hard blow. Using the moneys he had saved up, I did indeed join
the Montaigne Navy, where I served for six years before I moved to an independent
vessel, the Soaring Wake. I served here for another two years, and made several
important acquaintances.
"During this time, while in Kirk, I saved the daughter of a Guild chair,
and was gifted with an exceptionally fine set of navigation equipment, despite
my simple explanation that anyone in my position would have done the same
thing.
"Following my time aboard the Wake, I bounced around for another year
or so, made contact with those well-to-dos I had met aboard the Wake, most
of whom agreed to assist in financing a new vessel, of which I would Captain.
I immediately set about seeking crew, and have been successful thus far in
hiring most of the officers and sailors. The most difficult has been my first
officer, but I have managed to come into contact with a childhood friend,
Jean-Pierre Paix du Paix, who has agreed to be my first officer.
"Recently, I have been invited to the chateau of the Chevalier Jean-Paul
Solei, where he has hired me to smuggle nobles out of a Montaigne in the grips
of the revolution. To the revolution, I say that it is about time; to the
wholesale slaughter of nobles, I say punish those who are truly guilty, and
only them. I may believe in the revolution, as Solei well knows, but I cannot
and will not condone the murder of innocents; as an Avalon acquaintance of
mine said to me recently:
"'Sink me, this whole revolution of yours is monstrous intolerable!'
"And I have become caught up in it. Solei's house has been attacked,
my comrades and myself have been tried and judged by a revolutionary tribunal,
and we have escaped to Wische after a brief pursuit and a great battle in
the depths of the Weissbergs. Now I must return incognito to retrieve my vessel,
la Port Sécure.
"My comrades are as I shall relate:
Jean-Pierre Paix du Paix: An old friend, Jean-Pierre has always been pleasant, skilled, and loyal. To my own poor judgment, I did not seek him out first for the position of First Officer, but asking him has proven to be a boon. I do after all need good officers, and a steady and skilled right hand is exactly what I have received in Jean-Pierre.
Dona Juanita de Castille: A Castillian skilled in the use of guns; her type I could use, and even her, were it not for two small problems. The first is that a noble within the crew would be out of place; her duty is to her people. The second is that Dona Juanita is one of the creditors on la Port Sécure.
Monsieur Nicklaus Einselmann: A musketeer and stout fighter. He seems remarkably serious, though I admit I have known him for little more than a few weeks. I am not sure of his skills beyond those of a soldier, which I have no doubt he is very skilled.
Mademoiselle Marlena Lucani: Thus far, I know little of Lady Lucani. She
seems the lover of Monsieur Einselmann, and seems friendly enough, though
it seems to me that she is only barely competent in the fields of activity
in which we shall in all likelihood be engaged. Beyond that, I know little
of her; more time with her should undoubtedly enlighten me as to her capabilities
and disposition.