Night turned to morning and the day drifted slowly past as captain Rotter giddily shuffled about the ship, talking to his crew, barking orders and now and then running into his cabin, sniggering like a madman, all the while requiring constant updates on their position and how long until he was expected to see The Pervy Freedom.<br/><br/>Alone in his cabin, Rotter put the finishing touches on the presents to Queen Efer. The two captains were both legendary, and short of Tom Leumas, Efer was the only other pirate Rotter had met more than two times without resorting to murder. She was also, though few dared talk of it, the only pirate that had ever managed to make Rotter flee in fear of his life.<br/>Rotter giggled to himself as he wrapped up the first present and wrote the accompanying letter in a surprisingly beautiful handwriting that did not fit with his usually sluggish appearance. Granted, all of his pirate coats were beautiful, but it was not commonly thought as stylish to wear three at a time, and for the day's occasion, Rotter had dressed even nicer by wearing a fourth coat, identical to the other three.<br/><br/>It knocked on the cabin door and without asking to be let in a voice came from the other side of the door: "Thar Freedom's sight, cap'n. We'll be that in 'n odd fitty minutes."<br/>"Yarr," Rotter answered.<br/>"Yarr," The voice responded and Rotter heard the crewman leaving. He had sounded drunk.<br/><br/>Rotter hummed to himself as he gift-wrapped the second present. He could probably get what's-her-name to do it, but he really had nothing better to do. He could give pointless orders to the crew, of course, but this was a joyous day. They would kidnap a new doctor, frustrate the Queen and they would set sail to find Tom Leumas and next the largest piece of treasure in the world. Rotter was happy; he would get to meet both his rivals within the same week.<br/><br/>He closed the lit of the second present and realized the note with the introduction was inside the present he had already crudely wrapped. He thought about this for a moment, dipped his quill in ink and wrote on the lid:<br/>"This is the second gift. You should really, really open the other gift first. If there is no other gift the messenger has dropped it. Kill the messenger, then. If he had dropped this gift, kill him."<br/>Rotter realized as he wrote that this meant he would need a messenger. The Andalusian starling could not carry the gifts, and he could not just throw them overboard, as it would be indistinguishable from an attack. He also did not fancy getting the Rotsman too close to Efer's cannons; she was, after all, the only pirate alive today that had managed to hit him.<br/><br/>He kept humming as he strode out onto the deck. He needed a messenger. Yagos was the best there was at swinging down, but there was more madman than mailman about him. He shrugged, he had men enough. The guy with the injured foot was the most expendable, but somehow it seemed wrong to get rid of the patient just when they were about to acquire a doctor. Rotter looked up at the sky, which was really very close. It had been many years since he last tried to sail as far up as the Rotsman would go. Rotter wondered, suddenly, if he could reach the clouds if he jumped from the top of the highest mast. The Rotsman could not touch the clouds, but maybe it could get close enough for him to manually grab hold. Rotter sighed as he looked up.<br/><br/>The Rotsman would never reach Heaven.<br/><br/>It really was a beautiful day. The fresh wind blew against the sails and made his Jolly Rotger swing gentle. It was a terrible pun, but there was no getting rid of it.<br/>And then Rotter got an idea on how to deliver his presents to the pirate queen.<br/><br/><br/>The Andalusian starling landed on Pervy Freedom with grace. It placed itself on the helm and waited silently for a minute, as it was trained to before it suddenly and without warning spoke in perfect mimicry, not just relaying the words in the voice of Captain Rotter but also the background murmur of the crew with an underlying sound of the wind as it sounded far above the sea.<br/>"-asted feet down here, Crow! We have spotted her ship, so we don't need you to spot it anymore! You'll deliver the message, or you'll deliver, ehm, your dead corpse, is what you will! Knowing that sultry bitch, she'll probably like that, actually," the last bit was clearly murmured beneath the captain's breath, and the starling perfectly recounted it.<br/>"It a brand new invention! It's a sail, which I obviously did not invent, even if I am old, but I have reinvented its function. By holding unto the corners it will trap the air beneath it as you plummet 900 feet to your death, lifting you up and allowing you to fly to her ship, land relatively safely and deliver my peace offerings. It's the same principle that allows The Rotsman to fly, only without the djinn magic I grafted into the bow. There must be others that can do it, surely!" the Andalusian starling said, shifting its voice on the last sentence and making it sound as if coming from far away. Then it resumed in Captain Rotter's voice, "Plenty, but I am sure this will never work, and the only man with hopes of flying is surely a crow. Yes, your name is suddenly working against you, isn't it? Now you will fly, Crow, or you will fall. You're going over the railings today, it's only a matter how fast you'll fa-" The starling stopped abruptly and even managed to mimic the sound of four coat swooshing as the wearer turned around quickly and Rotter's frantic voice resounded: "Is the bird on!? What the hell! You didn't tell me you brought it. Well, you didn't tell me you tapped the beak! I didn't! I didn't tap it! Goddammit, when I find thar surlae piddon what done it, I'll... Hello, Efer, the pirate queen with the scarlet thighs. I am Captain Rotter of the Flying Rotsman, talking to you through a bird. This is a recording, I have not actually turned into a bird. I am sending this as a preliminary warning that I'll be sending a messenger with presents for you, and in the highly likely case that he dies, I - stop complaining, Crow, and get on with it! - I have attached buoys to the two gifts so you can fish them out of the water. Enclosed are my demands, my compensation and the standard insults, which I will not send through this bird, because I fear you might harm it and it is bloody difficult to replace an Andalusian starling, Iâ€™ll tell you. When this bird has finished talking it will tilt its head back and remember everything you say from then until you tap its beak. It will then fly back to me and we can thus communicate since the messenger will die. Hurting, or not returning, the bird will mean I will kill you. The Rotsman cannot be stopped, even if you once stopped it, and I will slaughter your hometown, your husband and/or your daughters once you get any or all of the three categories, as well as your immediate crew. Also don't hurt the messenger in case he does survive - get on with it! - since he will surely be broken and die on his own within a few days time, at most. Best wishes, and good screws, yours affectionately, Rotter."<br/>The bird made some few last swear words not seemingly directed at Efer, the sound of boots stomping away, then returning with more curse words about a "bloody bird", then it rolled its head back and opened its beak, awaiting Efer's response.