OOC: so there we go just post along. We'll see where we'll end up.
IC: The sky was blue, even though grey or even lead would have been more appropriate to the season. The air held a slight chill in rememberance but the wind was eerily quiet. The sea was perfectly flat.
With a frustrated sigh first mate Henderson took down the spy glass. An officer came running up to tell him how few the knots where they were making. He didn't need to know. Too little.
"Call the cap'n, 'n tell 'm the lack 'o news " he grumbled "Handsomely now."
[i][b][color=orange][size=92]Smile and carry a big stick.[/color][/b][/i][/size]
Lucas Merdoc tore his eyes from the misshaped scrap of soggy wood in his hand to consider the sails high up on the upper yards. Limp and lifeless, the sheets just clung to the yardarms like rags on a skeleton, taunting the sailors below with their inactivity. Still nothin... thought the young pirate, as he turned back to his project in hand. Like any sailor, he abhorred a quiet, calm sea, for all they did all day long was stifle in the heat and watch the tar drip off the ropes above to sully the pristine decks with spots of inky, black residue. And also like most sailors, Lucas had already scratched at any number of backstays and whistled a luring, desperate series of notes, both of which were superstitious acts designed to call back the winds.
His project was a small chunk of wood knocked out of one of the many knackers below that held the ship together. Nicked from the wood itself, the "Nick Knack" might have been masterfully carved into any number of interesting shapes, from a graceful dolphin to a tiny galley to even a lovely lady with absurdly inappropriate proportions: anything might have been possible, if Lucas had some measure of skill at whittling wood. Sadly, he did not have such a skill to any degree, so with one last look at the abused piece of wood, he gave up on it and tossed it into the sea below where it dripped into the growing patch of floating debris and filth that collected around the ship while it wallowed around motionless in the flat, inactive ocean.
And it was no great drop to the sea from where Lucas reclined. As the ship's coxswain, he had no great responsibilities to which he must attend just now. The ship's launches were bowsed up tight on deck, and he had checked their caulkings not a mark before to be sure the dry air or the warm climate had not weakened them. Having done this, he had no further responsibilities, so he lounged casually on the larboard cathead. If the ship were sailing fast and leaning loose against the wind, the cathead could touch or even slip under the waters, but not today. Today the wind had failed them.
Glancing around him, Lucas took note of the watch officer sending word to the Captain. Or perhaps sending no word at all. With no sign of a change in weather and no break to the glassy water below him, it would be a long, boring day aboard the Ruby.
Una pushed her heavy braid off the back of her neck and sighed. The heat had been a pleasant change at first, after the chill of the past few days; but now it was simply stifling.
She had been splicing line on the fo'c'sl for the past few hours, and the repetitive motion had lulled her into a kind of trance as she sat there, fingers busy, thoughts wandering.
Ordinarily she would have disliked sitting so quietly; but there was something unsettling about the mirror-like smoothness of the sea, something that set a sailor's nerves on edge. The silence was just as eerie as the stillness -- for once the perpetual din of the wind was silent, for once the tarred curves of the ship were not creaking and groaning, the sails and lines were not snapping and clattering to each other. Nothing. They weren't moving -- they hadn't been moving -- and only Dominicus knew when they would start going again.
With a sigh of frustration, Una pushed the ropeyarns to one side and stood up. She was tempted to pray for wind, but, then, she had been told that Dominicus could be a vengeful god, and she certainly didn't want to upset him by asking for something like MORE wind when just a little while ago she had appealed to him on account of there being too MUCH wind. She was fairly certain that gods didn't like indecision on the part of their followers.
So she rubbed her cramped fingers and swung her arms about listlessly, then headed over to the larboard side to lean over and gaze at the stubbornly glassy water.
"Tis a curse I tells ya," grumbled the old hand sitting next to Una, still dutiful repairing the ropes "This quiet ain't natural in this season. The cap'n be damned. Everybody knows to leave da ships of da church alone. Twas a mistake to maroon that priest and take his gold." There were grunts of agreement among the crew on the deck.
"Belay that talk!" spit the redheaded woman in a fine silken shirt that probably once belonged to a nobleman, now torn at the seams. She was sitting on one of the drums, watching the calm water "The cap'n will take the cat to ya if he but hears this mutiny. Ye were all quick enough to take this priest's gold, and his information." She glared back at the men, giving them a fixing stare "We be catching da mothership of his fleet pretty soon. Then ye can all celebrate by gettin' roaring drunk."
As if talking about him had called him forth as surely as if they had called out his name, the captains cabin opened and a man stepped out. He wore a simple white linen shirt, with sleeves rolled up. His simple brown breeches were held together with a fancy red scarf. The large leather hat, with the fancy red feather gave him a touch of frivolity. He frowned as he stared in the distance, ignoring the murderous looks of his crew.
Just then a cry from the crow's nest "Ahoy, ship on the horizon." It was just a dark spot in the distance, but it was growing, not hindered by the lack of wind.
[i][b][color=orange][size=92]Smile and carry a big stick.[/color][/b][/i][/size]
At the sound of the conversation just over his head, Lucas rose and turned, resting his arms on the deck and looking up at his companions, his bare feet still perched upon the cathead. "You'd think 'ed bless us fer leavin' em alive, ya know? But nooo...and now we're eatin' out our hearts in the doldrums..."
He had cast his gaze aft to the redhead and the emerging captain, scowling at the curse they had brought upon them, when the lookout ended all doubts he might have had. Instantly in action, Luc pulled himself up on deck and turned his eyes towards the sighting. "A galley fer certain, mates. And rowin' hard, I bet..." he murmured, his eyes still focused on the distant horizon as he moved to the center of the deck where the boats were stowed.
He didn't know if the order would come to lower the boats or not, but he would be ready for it if it came. Swinging them out and lowering them down could be a risky business, and it often took ten burns or more to do properly. Lucas needed to be sure it was done well and with some speed if the order came, for if they botched the job and made all a-hoo in the process the Captain would start them all smartly.
Una nodded as the old sailor and the redhead spoke, fingering the sign of Dominicus around her neck. She hadn't wanted to take the ship -- well, more accurately, she <i>had</i> wanted to take it (gold was gold, after all) but had known that she oughtn't to want it. She was certain that Dominicus would understand. Business was business, after all, and it wasn't like they had <i>killed</i> the priest....
She shot Lucas a look as he said what she had been thinking. She tried to make it a somewhat dark look, however, because it wasn't the right thing to be thinking, at any rate.
But she was distracted from thoughts of propriety and piety by the lookout's call. Moving so fast in such still water? That meant sore arms for the galley's crew. Why would they be going so quickly unless they had something interesting in their cargo that needed to reach its destination with no delay? That sounded interesting to Una, indeed. Perhaps they could relieve their fellow ship of its burden, all charitable-like. Then she could leave something shiny for Dominicus the next time they were docked and they would be square.
She stood by the boats, peering out at the advancing speck and waiting for the captain's order.
The captain was joined by some of his officers, one sporting a spying glance and they softly conferred about what could be seen. The frown on the captains face deepened as the ship kept their fast pace of approach, full sails blazing, which slowly could be seen by the naked eye. Not the comforting white color that hailed a proud merchant ship, or even one of the kings naval vessels, but the purest black.
"Trickery.. a cursed ship," one of the sailors mumbled, "How come they have their sails ablaze?" He only echoed what the other crewmembers were thinking as they stared frozen at the quickly approaching ship. Through the silence the words of the old hand were picked up easily
"Tis no curse, but magery for sure. Call master Soddlebit!" the captain barked, and then walked away with angry strides to meet up at the poop deck with the mate at the wheel. Master Soddlebit came forth in scant burns from down below, looking haggard. Normally he served as the ships physician, councilor, scholar or what ever need a pirate ship would have beside that of mage. For truth be told most pirates didn't trust his shodden magery even if their life depended on it. This so called master had been thrown out of World's Mouths colleges long before he could ever dream of graduating.
Master Sooddlebit stood there catchign his breath, near Lucas and Una. "The captain has called for me?" he said between gasps, "what on Tazlure for?" He sure hoped he was not in trouble again for drinking.
[i][b][color=orange][size=92]Smile and carry a big stick.[/color][/b][/i][/size]
Reaching the boats, Lucas' eyes were locked upon the chase with renewed interest. He thought it would be a galley with banks of oars to be moving so, but he was very, very wrong. The regal sweep of canvas was becoming more and more evident as it moved, the full-bellied canvas of a ship that had wind plenty. Sorcery? What devilish trick is this?
Standing idly by the forgotten boats, the young pirate chewed upon his lip in nervous thought. He was drawn from his reverie by the approach of Master Soddlebit rising up from the hatch. Master Soddlebit, or "Old Sod" as Lucas called him called when the man couldn't hear, was always an easy target for a cruel joke. "Aye, mate, you best jump up to the quarterdeck pronto. Cap'n was breathin' fire an hollerin' yer name something fierce. Might be the cat for you, I figure..." he responded, amused at what anxiety he could cause the hapless, educated man.
Still, Lucas took none of the usual joy in his cruelty just now. The vision of an ensorceled ship was not something any sailor relished, and Lucas was no different from his mates. Once Old Sod was off to accept the lashing Lucas had all but promised him, the young pirate turned to Morgan. "I've the wrong of it. No galley is that. She's sailin' large, but where does she get her winds?" he muttered to her, his words thick with distaste. "Black magic for sure, there..."
Una could barely keep herself from gasping as the ship approached, its sails unnaturally full on the glassy seas. Reflexively she raised the sign of Dominicus to her lips and kissed it to ward off any evil magic. This was no good. This was no good at all.
She glowered at Soddlebit as he approached, as if she held him in some way personally accountable for any appearance of magery on the seas. She looked over at Lucas appreciatively as he tormented the poor nervous man, then held her eyes there for a moment longer, with a different kind of appreciation. My, if he wasn't a fine looking specimen of a man, she thought to herself. Why hadn't she noticed before? Sure, she had seen him aboutdecks, but never in this close a proximity, and now... But what sort of way was this to carry on? She scolded herself. Certainly this wasn't a professional way to think, and certainly it wasn't a godly way to think. What would Dominicus do? she asked herself. Certainly not lust after some pirate just because he was tall and broad-shouldered and Stop It, Una.
With an effort she brought her mind back to the matter at hand, namely the enchanted ship, though she couldn't keep herself from giving Lucas a look that was perhaps a little more smoldering than the situation required, nor from toying idly with one of the glossy curls that had escaped from their knot.
"Magic indeed," she muttered, shooting Lucas another sidelong glance. "Mayhap that priest called it upon us. Revenge, like." The only priests Una had encountered had been more than happy to suggest that their powers were well-nigh unlimited, and Una was gullible enough to believe that they could do everything short of bring down the moon -- certainly send a ship after them with no wind to be had. "What'll we do against an enchanted ship?" she asked, a note of bravado in her voice that was not echoed by the faint uncertainty in her face.
IC: Old Sod gulped, looking as if he was ready to pee his pants. "Ah.. right," he mumbled, taking out a large red handkerchief, dabbing his forehead "Best nog keep the Cap'n waiting eh?" He hurried off on his short legs, entering the poopdeck , and sure enough the Captain was yelling at him and gesturing towards the black ship. All that Soddlebit could offer was a weak shrug, before hurrying towards the railing and peering at the approaching menace.
The Captain turned and walked over to the quarterdeck, staring down at his crew "Put out a lauch. Master Soddlebit is going to approach the ship, and try a bit of parley and hopefully some of his magery will work better close up. You.. and You.. you are the volunteers to accompany him." Lucas and Una were too close by, and the uneering dark eyes of their ruthless leader had picked them out unfaillingly.
[i][b][color=orange][size=92]Smile and carry a big stick.[/color][/b][/i][/size]
Una grinned as the poor old Sod toddled off, but her grin was quick to fade as the Captain's eye fell on her. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to chase after some cursed ship! She bit off the several choice retorts that came to mind with an effort and adjusted her sash resignedly. "I do so love to volunteer," she muttered sullenly. But orders were orders, and so she headed off to the landing craft.
Pausing for only a moment to let the Captain's orders take affect upon him, Lucas turned and pointed out the smallest of the launches, a little gig that would do well enough. "Look alive, mates! Look alive! Swing out the jolly boat!" hollered the coxswain, as he cleared away the bowsings that held the little boat on deck.
Using only a single yardarm, Lucas carefully lowered the little yawl into the water after having inspected the craft to be sure it had oars and at least one sheet within it in case they might need to raise a sail. Once it had settled into the glassy water below, he turned and nodded to Una. "Boat's away, Morgon. SODDLEBIT! Boats away, there!"
Turning, he lept down into the small boat, settling upon one of the stretchers that ran the yawl's width to form it's seating. He quickly began untying the ropes to the yardarm as he awaited his comrades to join him. It'll be a steep row out there. And there may be no comin' back. Or at least no comin' back here to the Ruby... he thought, his eyes glancing around at the horizon with this last thought, determined to remember where the nearest land might lie if it should become necessary to make a run for it.
Una was staring out at the ship, eyes narrowed, fingers playing idly with the Dominicus charm around her neck, when Merdoc's shout jolted her into action.
"Coming, coming," Una bellowed back. "In such a bleedin' hurry to head to the cursed ship," she muttered under her breath as she jumped down into the little craft to join her shipmates.
Merdoc was certainly a bossy sort, she thought to herself sullenly. In general she didn't have much patience for being bossed around -- a trait which was quite to her detriment as a sailor -- but for some reason she didn't mind it so much when Lucas did it. Maybe it was because he was so tall and broad-shouldered, or maybe it was the way his eyes flashed when he gave orders, or maybe...
She realized she was giving him quite a speculative look, and scowled faintly to look out at the ship. She needed to behave herself, damn it. If she was going to survive this trip to the cursed ship, she'd need all the God's favor to see her through, and she knew he didn't like the kind of thoughts that she had been entertaining.
"Ahoy there, Soddlebit, we haven't got all day," she called up crossly, waiting for the third member of their party to join them, and hopefully provide some manner of distraction.
just post along. We'll see where we'll end up. 