It was a quiet night out at sea. The winds were calm tonight, no storm or cloud in sight for miles ahead in either direction. The boat bobbed on the waves as it drifted in the water. It was nights like these were it appreciated the nice things in life instead of sailing of in rough waters where dangers lurked and hidden monsters resided. Just the rare moments of silent calm nights where it could enjoy the soft tune of the sea without worry.
Its captain, Captain Brineybeard, was humming a soft tune on deck, for once relaxing and taking it easy and not drowning himself in drinks and singing aloud those old sailor songs. Especially that one song he always seemed to enjoy singing each time he was drunk. No, instead he on the deck, relaxing. The ship was slightly surprised by this rare calmness of its captain but appreciated greatly for.
Just the two of them out on sea with no worries or troubles, with nothing to do but enjoy the calm waters and the stars high above them.
"Aaaaahh. This be the life me friend." Captain Brineybeard sighed with contentment. "There's nothin' like enjoyin' a night more beautiful than this. The sea be calm, the sky be clear, me booty is all hidden n' safe. It be a fine night indeed."
The ship rumbled in agreement. It was indeed a fine night. Ever since all the soul contracts were burned and everyone was freed from the Devil, things have become normal if not quiet over the months. It hoped that with years to come, they could have more nights like this to enjoy.
But all would not stay quiet that night as they would come to find out.
It started with a tap on its side. A small contact that, though at first not concerning, gained the living ship's attention. Turning its head, it gazed to the right, looking to where it felt the foreign item had touched it. Bobbing in the sea's water was a plank of wood, floating up and down on the water surface and hitting up against its side.
At first, the ship thought of nothing important of this as it had come across many items floating in the ocean's waves and tides. Junk that careless people threw away. Like all mindless being were. Not Captain Brineybeard though. What other's threw away as trash, he found them as trinkets and treasures he could use later on in time.
It gazed at the plank for a few seconds more, then just shrugged it off and went back to enjoying the night sky. The plank kept hitting it against its side, in rhythm with the waves and bobbing with the tide. Up, clank, down, clunk. Up, clank, down, clunk. Up, clank clunk—
The ship blinked. That was different. It could still feel the plank hitting the same spot but… Turning its head again, it found another plank scrapping a different spot on its side. Another plank? That was new. Not anything it hasn't seen before, but certainly something it didn't know would happen tonight. But it didn't stop there.
No. Two more planks came drifting up, piling up against its side by the sea's soft current. Something about those planks set something off in the ship's mind. One plank of wood was easy to overlook. Nothing out of the ordinary or strange in anyway. Two planks did cause some concern, but nothing else. But this? This certainly was something that needed attention to.
"What the matter?" Captain Brineybeard asked, noticing there was a change in his ship. "There's somethin' out there?" He stood up, taking the telescope that hung off his belt and looking out to where the ship was casting its gaze. It took his eyes some time to adjust to the night's darkness before he could see anything. "Hrnn. Doesn't seemed to be anythin' out there. Jus' the ocean's vast land and… hang on a moment."
Brineybeard leaned against the rails, adjusting his telescope. Off in a far distance, there was an odd shape that he could just barely make out. It didn't look like land. He knew they were far from any islands that he knew of. It looked small, rugged, out of shaped to be identified. The ship rumbled as another plank washed up against it.
"Easy there Narval. No point to be worryin' jus' yet." Brineybeard gave the railing a pat, stuffing his scope away. "Best we see what it is before we start worryin'." The ship gave a low warble, its masts coming lose from their bindings and hoisted its anchor. Captain Brineybeard didn't need to tell the ship where to go as it steered towards the strange object in the distance. The ship always had better eyesight at night, always had so when Brineybeard first met them.
It proved to be quite useful in many cases such as tonight. It wasn't long before they reached the mysterious object and to their surprise found the remains of a wreaked ship. Bits and pieces floated in the waters, a large chunk broken off and only staying close to the wreckage due to the rope that wound around it. Barrels and crates were scattered about, the ships mast was in taters as far as Brineybeard could see sticking out of the water.
The poor ship never stood a chance, Brineybeard mused, scratching his beard as he overlooked the damage. The ship couldn't have been a big one. His own ship was large in comparison, but the wrecked ship must had been at least big enough to carry five people onboard comfortably. As far as he could see with his one eye, there was not a soul in sight save for him and his ship.
That was bad news of itself. Had someone been on that boat? Had they drowned? Was there anyone around that this ship had once belonged to? He hoped not. Drowning out at sea was both a mercy and unforgiving. Looking around, it didn't look like there were any survivors or anyone around.
"The poor soul." Brineybeard sighed, laying against the railing as he looked at the poor ship with pity. His own ship rumbled with agreement, looking at the ship like a fallen brethren of its kind. "Well, there be nothin' we can do now. Best we ship this haul back to shore. No point in lettin' it rot in the waters. Probably can still salvage it and turn it into a nice boat again."
The ship warbled, nodding its head in agreement. Carefully as it could gather, it took the rope into its mouth, tugging the wreckage along as it headed off towards the island they called home. Neither one knew that there was something else they were pulling along inside the wreckage, both unaware of the changes they would make once they reached Inkwell Island. Or the adventure they set into motion that one night.