He sat quietly in the large antechamber inside the Hall of Elders. Leaning against the wall he cocked his head back to look at the high, yet simple ceiling, its arches curving to a single point in it's centre. The room itself was not that large, its dusty red/brown walls, the most common Colour seen in Corsair decor, were decorated with pictures of famous Corsairs, ships and past Elders.
He looked at his watch, he had been waiting for about 40 minutes. Nothing here ever moves fast he mused to himself. He remembered once as a child, he had passed the hall of Elders with his father. He had seen the building and asked what it was, his father had called it a "storage yard of hot air". He smiled to himself, his father had been a full blood Corsair, unlike himself, and even he didn't seem to hold much stock in what went on in this place.
"But you are sworn to fight by them" he had told the young Ben Laowai. "Remember that, they are your kin and up there, his father had motioned to the sky, "is where you will need your kin the most, and where they will need you. Its not a place you want to be alone"
The irony of that wasn't lost on him, in a way, he was called here today because in Corsair society, he was alone. He had no house, no great family. He wasn't sure he could speak for any other Independent Corsair, who, like him, for the most part, were anonymous individuals or small families, trying to make their way.
A noise roused him from his thoughts. The aide who had met him earlier had entered the room. "Mr Laowai" he said, motioning to the door behind him. "They will see you now". Ben stood up and nodded. He followed the aide down a large hallway towards what looked like had once been a large door, which was quite missing.
"in there please" The aide said, stopping at the door and motioning for Laowai to enter, as he approached he could see from within the dancing reflection of a fire on the walls, the air from the room was warm, and there was a faint smell of alchohol.
He went inside. Seated around the large table before him, were assembled the Elder's of the Corsairs. He looked them over quickly, some, were looking at him, others, had not turned their gaze at all, waiting for him to make his appearance. He recognised Zavier Benitez, the Elder he had had the most dealings with, Gentle, the head of the OPG Corsairs, and Lucendez who looked at him calmly, no gun in his hand this time. He recognised some familiar faces from the bar, and others, he had never seen before.
He walked towards the table, clearing his throat he said "I am Captain Ben Laowai, and i believe you wished to speak with me"
