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Jack has found books!

OK, so the pirate probably looks a bit weird, leaning back in a chair, his boots crossed on a table as he soaks up Homer's Odyssey and muches on an apple.Bt there he is.

And he's reading the Greek and the English as the pages come up, all very interested in the fact the two languages exist.

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"My money's on that as a story and a half."

Jack smirks and sits forward.

"Trade that for the time we took the Iberian treasure fleet."

"Mmm, sounds impressive," Tom says skeptically.

"Righ', to catch you up - I'm a ratskin," certainly not a plague rat, that just sounds evil, don't it? "Got bit by accident when I was a lad," lie, it wasn't an accident, "tossed outta home once I survived my first change, an' was accepted by one of the best feckin' rat-gangs 'round - The Protectors of the Poor.

"Now any skin - we got a lotta 'em, some got demon powers, some're unlucky sods," lie, they all have demon powers, "- any skin got the Church after 'em. Church sees a skin, they see a demon, plain as that. Church's motherfeckers're the 'Sworn, an' they got ways of sensin' skins - an' killin' us, too. Call it Holy Fire - burns only flesh."

Tom shrugs off the threat of Godflame with a smirk and, "Stings like a bitch, I'd imagine."

Hey, lies just make a story interesting!

"The system hates a man can't be controlled," Jack observes. "Specially one with powers."

"Yeah," Tom agrees, "an' we Protectors weren't content to just sneak 'round tryin' to scrape by. We shat on the rich men's lawns often as we could.

"Righ', so it's comin' up to Man Day, big winter party on the longest night of the year. The Church is drawin' clink from a nearby bank like mad. We figure if we can get the head pastor's signature, we can have one of our boys dressed up as an acolyte and walk out with a sackfull of paper money. But to get the signature to forge it, we need into the bank.

"We payed some brat to run up to the bank an' shout 'Rat!' and lead the 'Sworn to a distraction - which was me. Ducked and weaved while he shot that white fire an' swung his sword. Feckin' 'Sworn took my tail off 'fore I got away." This is the only part that's a lie.

"But my mates did it. Got the signature, dressed Derrick Anyface up as in acolyte black, painted the flame on his head and sent him on in. Nicked at least two thousand pounds. Took the Church three weeks after the Man Day rites to notice."

Tom chuckles in fond remembrance.

Jack shouts wordlessly in approval.

"Chaotic and free, that showed them!" he declares.

"Feckin' right!" Tom agrees smugly.

"Then I'm guessing I owe you for that," Jack suggests.

"If you think your tale's quite as good as that," Tom smarms.

"Tough challenge."

Nevertheless, Jack sits back.

"The Iberian colonies 'round the Pelaggic deal mainly in theft and slaughter of them folks that have lived there for ever and more. Every few months they ship it all back to the King in a large well guarded.

"They're not just protected by powder and magic - Iberia has armies of Readers working for them to dictate the safest route and time to sail: they're protected by the unshakable power of Prophesy itself."

"Readers?" Pause. "An' Prophecy?"

"Readers is what I am," Jack explains. "We see with the truth like others see with the light. But not as clearly, less you're really gifted. Anyway, the great Empires like to train their girls up special, 'cause girls are the best at it. Train themup special until they can Read the truth long term. Predict the future. Prophecy.

"One problem with that, though."

There's some surprise followed by a swift look of wariness at the news of Jack's ability.

But, unlike he would with Inty or Toph, Tom's suckered into the story and doesn't immediately leave. There's a pause before he speaks, though.

"What's the problem?"

"It's a load of horse scrotum," Jack explains cheerfully.

"Predicting the future's impossible cause the future can be changed. Daft Ibers got so tied up in prophesying the best route and reinforcingthe protection with spells, they forgot even the simplest peasant's got free will and can change the shape of the truth if'n they know where to prod."

Tom accepts this with a neutral, "Righ' 'en."

It would've been a cheerful one, until he found out Jack can know when he's lying.

Tom's still fighting the urge to scowl at that one.

For Jack's part, he's caught up in telling the story, and doesn't show much inclination to talk about Tom's lies.

"So Cap'n Lefevre - he's my cap'n and the grandest that ever sailed - he gets it to thought that bringing in the treasure fleet'll not only make us rich men, but tell the Iber and all the Empires that free men are not to be underestimated. And he sets out with nothing beyond a crew of vicious liars, me the Reader who couldn't even get into school, and Mr. Sifu - my partner of crime and the sneakiest caster you'll ever meet.

"All we needed was a read of the prophesy the Ibers were guarding so dearly.Then we'd know exactly when to intercept. And what better way of getting that Read than through the prophets themselves?"

Tom gets more caught up, and his expression more interested as he nods.

Jack grins.

"The thing about prophets is, they're all very talented women. Most spent all their lives in the Academies themselves, hardly venture out. So coming out to the Pelaggic colonies is a bit of an adventure for them. And a rugged young pirate - that's just dangerous. And the right girl loves a bit of danger.

"Took a little help from Sifu though. Thing about men like us? You don't want to be around a powerful Reader when you're being sneaky, else she'll see right through. Had to keep secret and at the same time not let her know I was anything other than an honest - and devastatingly handsome - young man fallen into the wrong hands."

"So how'd you do it?"

Jack smirks.

"Secret."

Beat.

"Really. Little magic from Sifu, lot ofacting on my part, and by the time she was inviting me into her room she thought she had my darkest secret and all my motivs completely worked out. She hadn't the slightest idea I was a Reader, reading the whole prophesy.

"Mind, I had that long before the bedroom."

Tom looks impressed and then laughs.

"Prophets any good 'tween the sheets?" Naturall this is the most important part of the story to learn about.

Jack smirks and shakes his head.

"That would be ungentlemanly of me."

His eyes say yes.

The ellicits a lewd chuckle, a "Lucky bastard," and a manly clap on the shoulder.

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