It was only after Ganelon took a moment to stare at the woman in front of him that he realized he had been talking with the infamous Pirate Queen herself. He'd never met her personally, of course, being all at once new to the business, confined to a flying ship, and possessed of a functioning sense of self preservation, but he knew the stories well enough. Liable to strike a man down over the smallest of insults and do far worse to those who went further, it was something of a curiosity that so many survivors escaped to later recount their experiences. Still, exaggerated or even fabricated, the tales of drunken sailors rarely focused upon those who didn't earn their reputations. By their reckoning, she was a dangerous individual to be speaking to directly.<br/><br/>â€œHow can I know that I can trust you? What can you do to prove to me that all you say to me is true? Or, better yet, what are you willing to do to show me that I can trust you?â€<br/><br/>Queen Eferhilda demanded answers, but the Crow was unfazed. He could tell that she wanted to believe him, which meant he had chosen the right bait. The promise of useful information alone had the potential to buy his survival for weeks, and if he could prove that it was accurate, perhaps even indefinitely. All he had to do was become valued, build trust, avoid making concessions if possible... his bargaining position was poor, but he was sitting in familiar territory. His luck had won out yet again.<br/><br/>"Didn't bring anything but my words and yer gifts when Captain Rotter ordered me thrown off his<span style="font-style: italic">deck</span>, Queen. I s'pose ye could start by asking yer men if what I'm about to say is right. No doubt ye've got a tracker of some sort, if half th' stories I've heard are true."<br/><br/>The latter part was, unfortunately, something of a guess. Most stories about the Pirate Queen's feats of revenge tended to gloss over the details of how she found her targets, preferring instead to emphasize the violent and vulgar aspects that so often made for good tavern-talk. It was likely that she didn't need directions to Captain Rotter at all, but providing them was a small gesture of faith, easily verified, and not especially life-threatening. A good place to start.<br/><br/>"This ship ain't sinking and th' cannons've stopped, so the Flying Rotsman must be gone. 'Round here, they'd run to the Port o' Snakes. Captain's known there - he'll have no trouble finding supplies and men - but he won't stay long. Trying to find the Pearl of Atlantis, he is... and he has a lead at that."<br/><br/>That was where he would stop, however. The most important information that the Crow possessed was also quite possibly the only thing keeping him alive; he couldn't give it away without something else to take its place. Freedom was the first idea which came to mind, but there were other things he wanted as well. A hand in Rotter's death didn't seem like too much to ask, but he didn't know how much that meant to the Queen. Later, maybe, he'd find out.<br/><br/>"We can talk more 'bout that when ye reach the port, though. As fer what else I can do..."<br/><br/>He flashed her a sarcastic grin that belied how much pain he was experiencing at the moment.<br/><br/>"I could try 'an stand up, maybe."