Chapter 11 - The Roc
"I've already seen the skiff, don't you have anything larger, y'know, with firepower?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Delasari, but you don't have enough money for anything larger than this skiff right here."
Leos looked over at his sister who shrugged her shoulders and look at Ryne who was standing at her side. He too shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry Leos, I wasn't exactly planning on needing a new ship, so I didn't bring any money."
Leos sighed and turned back to the dealer. "Alright, we'll think about it and get back to you." With that said, he turned and walked between Ryne and Jaycera, turning them around and pushing them the other direction back toward the Inn.
Ryne shook his head. Three days ago Vealik had dropped them off in Horteka, the new capitol of Ixa'Taka with just enough money for three nights at the Inn. This was their last night and still they'd had no luck finding anything that would be able to make any kind of long voyage with the amount of money that they had. Ry could tell that Leos was beginning to lose hope, but Ryne kept his spirits up.
Every chance he got he tested the depth of the water that flowed under the city by diving off progressively higher platforms. He was up to about twenty feet now and still hadn't found the bottom which never ceased to enthrall him. Jay sometimes tagged along swimming at the bottom in one of Leos' old t-shirts that was almost like a short dress on her, but never dove with him. She said she was scared of heights.
Celeste was rarely around. Other than sharing a room at night with her they never saw her. Ryne didn't complain. She gave him the creeps, though he wasn't' exactly sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Silvites were supposed to be all but extinct.
Leos had done nothing but look for a way out of Ixa'Taka and it was finally beginning to wear down on him. Ryne could see the dark circles around his eyes from lack of sleep and worry. He was starting to miss the laughing, joking, carefree man he'd first met aboard the Seventh Gigas. He hardly even smiled anymore.
Ryne stepped onto the moving platform alongside Jay and took hold of one of the support ropes as it started to move them toward the Inn. Leos sighed and stared out in the general direction of their destination. He felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. and from the tale that his sister had been telling him, it very well might be.
After what had seemed to him to be an eternity, the wooden platform hit the opposite edge, and they all stepped off and walked through the flap that covered the door of the Inn. The short, dark bookkeeper stood behind the desk, her bright green hair braided and ended with a square hairpiece that had been the Ixa'Takan style for ages.
"Welcome back, Delasari party." She said, her wizened face smiling brightly at them. "You will be staying another night, yes?"
Leos sighed and dug into the small leather purse that dangled from his belt, fishing out the last of Vealik's money. "Yeah, just one more." He said, handing over the gold. The old woman smiled and gestured toward their room.
"Your companion already came in several hours ago."
"Thanks." Leos said simply, walking toward the numbered flap they'd been staying in for the past three days.
There were only two beds, and Celeste currently occupied one of them. Her pale form was sprawled all over the bed still dressed in the Ixa'Takan outfit she'd modified a bit, making it just a matching green tube top and skirt. Leos glanced over at Ryne a hint of his old malice gleaming in his eye.
"Think we should wake her?" He asked mischievously.
"Oh, leave her alone you bully." Jay said rolling her eyes at her older brother. Leos simply shrugged and plopped down face first onto the free bed stretching himself, so that there was no free space. Jay growled in annoyance.
"Get off my bed you creep."
Leos' chuckle was muffled but audible. "Why don't you come and make me?"
Jay made a sound that could only be described as a cat-like screech and leapt at him with full force. The unprepared Leos was tackled onto the floor and pummeled him again and again with her small fists. Ryne couldn't help but fall to the floor in laughter, landing on his own bed-mat.
Sometime throughout all the ruckus Celeste awoke, groggily pushing herself from the mattress and wiping the small trail of drool that had escaped her mouth.
"What's goin on?..." She asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning. The she looked over at the spectacle occurring on the other side of the room and a small laugh escaped her lips, the first that Ryne had heard in his whole week of knowing her. It was refreshing to know that she did indeed have some sense of humor.
Finally, Ryne heard Leos' cries of defeat as Jay's head came up triumphantly. She got off her brother, straightened out her bunched up skirt, and fell over onto the bed herself. Leos' head came into view soon after, his forehead scrunched, his eyes staring ruefully at his younger sister.
"Hey, be a gentleman for once in your life, Leos." Jay said, rolling over on her side so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"I've been a gentleman for three nights! This floor ain't all it's cracked up to be y'know."
Jay sighed in exasperation and tossed a pillow down at him. "Sleep on this you big baby."
Leos tossed it back at her. "I already have one thank you," and with that, his head disappeared behind the bed and didn't come up again.
Ryne lay down and situated his own pillow. This was their last night at the Inn. They had to find some way to get out of here.
"You guys, what are we gonna do?" Ryne finally said, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room. "We have to get outta here."
"I'll bet you haven't even thought of where it is we need to go so badly have you."
Leos' words cut through him like a hot knife through butter. He didn't know where he could go. He knew he had to get to the silver moon, but he had no clue how to go about it. As far as he knew there was no civilization that possessed the technology to get to any moon, let alone the silver one. The closest thing he could think of was his mother's ship that his father had kept of Crescent Isle. and that had been leant to King Enrique for the Valuans to study.
"We're going to Valua." Celeste said, as if reading his mind.
"Why Valua?" Jay asked groggily as if she had been on the verge of sleep.
"Because I got us a job this afternoon on a ship that's headed to Valua."
********************************
Ryne winced when he saw the ship. It was huge and wooden; it's poorly patched sails billowing in the heavy wing that came off of South Ocean. The hull was in poor repair, and he could see places where the boards had rotted entirely, replaced by boards that looked like they'd been salvaged off of another boat, that had itself been rotting.
"What a perfect target for Black Pirates," Ryne said aloud, to no one in particular.
"Actually this ship has seen more combat than there are hours of your life, son, so show a little respect."
Ryne turned to see a short, bearded man, about six foot two in height and almost just as wide, limping their way, a sassy grin on his face.
"I take it you're the new galley crew." He said looking over at Celeste, who in turn nodded back to him.
"Yes sir," She said with cheer that was obviously false, "Let me introduce every one."
Celeste stepped in front of Leos. "This is Leos Delasari. He's not much good in the kitchen, but I'm sure you could use another strong arm on deck." She said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. It was the first time Ryne could remember her voluntarily touching him. She then walked over to Jaycera and draped her arm over her. "This is Jaycera Delasari. She's the cook. You should taste her stews. one word. amazing." Ryne fought off a grin, thinking back to the soup she'd made while they were in the jungle. he could still feel the aftertaste lingering in his mouth.
Last, she came to Ryne. "And finally, this is."
"Raiyne. Raiyne Vynce," Ryne interrupted, thrusting his hand out and shaking the captain's vigorously. Celeste flashed him a quizzical look, but otherwise never lost her stride.
"Raiyne isn't much good for anything but fighting, but he does most of the grunt-work of the galley, like moving supplies and peeling potatoes." Ryne put on a lavish smile. He was far too used to peeling potatoes. As a cabin boy on his father's ship it had been one of his main duties.
The captain looked at him full in the eyes, and Ryne noticed the log jagged scar that ran down from his forehead, through his eye, and ending at his chin. He tried to keep from staring at the white sightless eye, and finally averted his gaze entirely. The captain clasped his arms behind his back, pushing back the cloak that he wore, flashing a hint of silver that was soon gone.
"I am Jerusha Strong. I am the captain of the Roc, and currently your employer. I've been sailing these skies for thirty-seven years of my life, have seen all six moons, and aided in the final battle against Galcien and his armada. I'm old, stubborn, and set in my ways so if you question me or give me any lip I'll toss you overboard personally, am I clear on this?"
Ryne blinked hard. He was a little stunned and taken aback by the captain's introduction, but recovered quickly by chanting "Yes sir" with the others.
"Alright then. Let me introduce you to the Roc."
************************************
Ryne couldn't believe his eyes. The Roc was almost as impressive as his father's old ship the Delphius. The inside of the ship was amazingly clean, the decks almost sparkling and unlike the appearance of the outer hull, everything looked as if it were brand new.
Then he got to the galley. Ryne had never seen such an array of cooking utensils in his life. Hanging from a hug rack suspended from the ceiling was every pot, pan, kettle, and dish that had ever existed on the planet of Arcadia. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Celeste, who never showed any emotion anyway.
"Well, I trust ye know what to do with these." Captain Strong said from behind them, breaking the trance that had overtaken them.
"Uhh. Yeah, of coarse." Jay said weakly.
"Good. You'll find all the ingredients you'll ever need in the cupboards and in the ice box to the rear of the room. I expect a lunch to be ready by one o' clock, which would be in about three hours." Strong looked at each of them individually as if sizing them up, then looked to Leos, "You, come with me."
And with that, Jerusha Strong left them. Leos looked at his sister and shrugged, following swiftly after his new employer. Ryne looked from Jaycera to Celeste and back to Jay again.
"How the heck are we gonna pull this off?"
Jay smiled. "With grace, eloquence, and a streak of dumb luck, that's how."
***********************************
Leos followed Captain Strong back up to deck of the ship, where twenty or so sailors were crawling about the ship like a swarm of insects, preparing it for the voyage. Leos could see the skill with which they climbed about the ropes, checking each to assure that they would hold the massive sails in check. These were people who had spent most of their lives on this ship, and knew every small quirk and trick to this vessel that there was.
"I take it you know your way around a ship, Mr. Delasari."
"Yeah, I used to own one of my own." Leos said ruefully, images of his coveted Seventh Gigas popping through hid brain.
"Oh really? What was your trade?"
"I was a merchant, trader, weapons dealer, bounty hunter, anything that suited me at the time and anything that would help me support me and my sister."
"What? No parents?"
"No. My parents were killed by Black Pirates when I was sixteen."
Captain Strong was silent for a moment. Leos wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't voice it.
"So. What is it exactly that you do?" Leos finally said, breaking the awkward silence. Captain Strong looked back up at him, his face suddenly stony.
"Ice trade. We make shipments of pure ice from Glacia to Valua and Nasr. Very lucrative."
"I'd guess so, seeing as your ship is one of the most amazing under the sky."
Strong smiled, taking pride in the compliment of his ship.
"Indeed. I've put a lot of money into this ship, and into its disguise. You wouldn't believe how many pirates have attacked my ship; and in turn had theirs ransacked."
Leos mulled this over for a bit. It was genius. pure genius. There was more to this Captain Strong than met the eye.
"So. Where do you want me?" Leos asked. The Captain seemed to think for a moment then mouthed a silent "ah" is if pulling something out of his memory.
"You've any skill at the helm?"
Leos blinked hard. This man was already trusting him with the helm of his ship? Finally he managed to stutter, "Uhh..um.. yeah. I have a lot of experience at the wheel."
"I figured that, as you said you were a captain of your own once."
"Yeah but. I just got here.. Isn't there anyone you trust a little more than me to take to the wheel?"
"Lad let me explain something to you. On my ship you serve one function and you serve it until you die or quit. which is what has just happened to my last helmsman and kitchen crew. All they know is what they do, and nothing beyond that. So unless you'd like to spend the rest of your career on this ship as a deck swab, take the wheel."
"Uhh.. Yessir!"
Leos followed him to the upper deck, sighting the large wooden helm, its grips jutting out inviting him to take them into his hands. He curled his fingers around the ten o'clock two o'clock position. It felt so good to get his hands on at the helm of a ship again.
"You know how to get to Imperial City from here?"
"Yeah," Leos said glancing at the compass, which currently read south- southwest. "We need to do a complete one-eighty and head north-northeast until we reach the Giant's Seat and then go directly northeast until we reach the Great Gate."
"Good Lad. get us there."
Leos uttered a quick "Ay ay" and waited for the rest of the crew to finish their tasks. It took no longer than twenty or so minutes until they were in the skies once again.
****************************
Ryne was exhausted. There was more to cooking than he'd EVER given Polly and Urala credit for. especially when it was for fifty people. He'd sliced more onions, stacked more crates of crackers, rolled more barrels of loqua than he ever wanted to count ever again. The problem was there was still dinner left to do.
Ryne set a crate full of onions down on the counter next to where Jay was working over the stove. Closing his eyes, he let himself fall against it almost making his way into a sweet state of bliss... until the smell got to him. Something smelled absolutely wonderful. He opened his eyes to see what it was, and found Jay stirring a huge man-sized pot full of brown broth, Celeste making her way over to her every once in a while to drop some chopped meat into the pot.
"What is that?" He finally asked, still leaning lazily against the crate. Jay looked over at him and smiled.
"Grouper Stew. My mother used to make it all the time when I was little." She continued stirring the pot, while it began to simmer. "We always ate it with grilled cheese, or some other kind of sandwich." She said nodding toward a basket full of toasted sandwiches. Ryne shook his head.
"How did I miss all of this cooking going on?"
"Don't you remember? We were keeping you quite busy." Celeste said, breaking her usually taciturn nature. Ryne faced the onion crate again.
"Oh. yeah."
"We're going to need to you open that eventually you know." Jay said in a slightly mocking tone. Ryne nodded, not looking at her his forehead resting of the edge of the crate.
"Thanks for the reminder."
Ryne pushed himself off the crate and reached for the crowbar, something he'd become quite familiar with. With a grunt of effort, he pried off the wooded lid, releasing a pungent onion smell. He wrinkled up his nose and snuffed the smell out of his nostrils.
"You sure you want to use these?" Jay wiped her brow with her sleeve and leaned over to smell the crate.
"Yeah, they're fine. Toss about twenty of the big ones over to Celeste."
Ryne complied, rooting through the box for the biggest bulbs he could find and throwing them over Jaycera's head to Celeste, who waited with a knife. In a matter of minutes the room was filled with the smell of onions, Celeste's expressionless face showing a hint of tears. Ryne turned around and leaned against the countertop, his head resting on the cupboards. He couldn't sleep with the smell that permeated the room, but that didn't make him any less tired. He watched as Jay kept stirring the pot full of brown broth, little white chunks of onion, meat, (and other ingredients he didn't see her put in) floated to the top and sunk to the bottom. Every once in a while she looked over at him and shook her head in amusement, but for the most part she left him alone. The only work left to be done was the serving. Ryne finally pushed himself off of the cupboards and unlatched the service window, where a large group of sailors were waiting at tables, drinking loqua and chatting among themselves. Leos wasn't anywhere to be found. Ryne shrugged and put out the baskets of sandwich's and then went back into the kitchen to roll out the pot of stew.
***********************************
Ryne collapsed into his assigned bunk. He didn't imagine having any trouble sleeping tonight. He didn't even bother to take his boots off, just got himself horizontal in the least about of time possible. Dinner had been worse than lunch. Twice as much had to be cooked which meant that twice as much had to be carried. His back was killing him, and his arms felt like limp noodles at his sides. He was happy when the cleaning had been finished and he was allowed to say good night to Jaycera and Celeste and get the heck out of the kitchen.
"Rough night?" a voice said from direct above him. Ryne was too tired to jump, but was started nonetheless.
"Yeah. where have you been?"
"Ohh y'know, sneakin into the girl's room and stealing their undergarments." Leos said, and Ryne could just imagine the grin on his face.
"Good for you." Ryne muttered.
"So did you have fun with the ladies today?"
"Oh yeah, you know how wild women get after cooking all day."
"That bad huh?"
"Yup."
Ryne rolled over on his stomach. He didn't really feel like chatting at the moment. The only thing on him mind was getting some rest.
"Hey can we finish this conversation in the morning?" Ryne pleaded.
"Sure Ry. sleep up. Dream of pretty girls with ladles"
And he did.
***********************************************
Author's Note: Hmm, well I've never done one of these before, but everyone else seems to have them, so I figure what the heck, I'll pop up and say hello. Actually, just wanted to apologize for not getting this out sooner. I've been working on it for about three weeks now, devotedly for about one. Anyway, hope ya enjoy it. I don't even know fully where this is going, I just have a vague outline of the main events of the story and it's always evolving in my own mind, so anything could happen!
"I've already seen the skiff, don't you have anything larger, y'know, with firepower?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Delasari, but you don't have enough money for anything larger than this skiff right here."
Leos looked over at his sister who shrugged her shoulders and look at Ryne who was standing at her side. He too shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry Leos, I wasn't exactly planning on needing a new ship, so I didn't bring any money."
Leos sighed and turned back to the dealer. "Alright, we'll think about it and get back to you." With that said, he turned and walked between Ryne and Jaycera, turning them around and pushing them the other direction back toward the Inn.
Ryne shook his head. Three days ago Vealik had dropped them off in Horteka, the new capitol of Ixa'Taka with just enough money for three nights at the Inn. This was their last night and still they'd had no luck finding anything that would be able to make any kind of long voyage with the amount of money that they had. Ry could tell that Leos was beginning to lose hope, but Ryne kept his spirits up.
Every chance he got he tested the depth of the water that flowed under the city by diving off progressively higher platforms. He was up to about twenty feet now and still hadn't found the bottom which never ceased to enthrall him. Jay sometimes tagged along swimming at the bottom in one of Leos' old t-shirts that was almost like a short dress on her, but never dove with him. She said she was scared of heights.
Celeste was rarely around. Other than sharing a room at night with her they never saw her. Ryne didn't complain. She gave him the creeps, though he wasn't' exactly sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Silvites were supposed to be all but extinct.
Leos had done nothing but look for a way out of Ixa'Taka and it was finally beginning to wear down on him. Ryne could see the dark circles around his eyes from lack of sleep and worry. He was starting to miss the laughing, joking, carefree man he'd first met aboard the Seventh Gigas. He hardly even smiled anymore.
Ryne stepped onto the moving platform alongside Jay and took hold of one of the support ropes as it started to move them toward the Inn. Leos sighed and stared out in the general direction of their destination. He felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. and from the tale that his sister had been telling him, it very well might be.
After what had seemed to him to be an eternity, the wooden platform hit the opposite edge, and they all stepped off and walked through the flap that covered the door of the Inn. The short, dark bookkeeper stood behind the desk, her bright green hair braided and ended with a square hairpiece that had been the Ixa'Takan style for ages.
"Welcome back, Delasari party." She said, her wizened face smiling brightly at them. "You will be staying another night, yes?"
Leos sighed and dug into the small leather purse that dangled from his belt, fishing out the last of Vealik's money. "Yeah, just one more." He said, handing over the gold. The old woman smiled and gestured toward their room.
"Your companion already came in several hours ago."
"Thanks." Leos said simply, walking toward the numbered flap they'd been staying in for the past three days.
There were only two beds, and Celeste currently occupied one of them. Her pale form was sprawled all over the bed still dressed in the Ixa'Takan outfit she'd modified a bit, making it just a matching green tube top and skirt. Leos glanced over at Ryne a hint of his old malice gleaming in his eye.
"Think we should wake her?" He asked mischievously.
"Oh, leave her alone you bully." Jay said rolling her eyes at her older brother. Leos simply shrugged and plopped down face first onto the free bed stretching himself, so that there was no free space. Jay growled in annoyance.
"Get off my bed you creep."
Leos' chuckle was muffled but audible. "Why don't you come and make me?"
Jay made a sound that could only be described as a cat-like screech and leapt at him with full force. The unprepared Leos was tackled onto the floor and pummeled him again and again with her small fists. Ryne couldn't help but fall to the floor in laughter, landing on his own bed-mat.
Sometime throughout all the ruckus Celeste awoke, groggily pushing herself from the mattress and wiping the small trail of drool that had escaped her mouth.
"What's goin on?..." She asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning. The she looked over at the spectacle occurring on the other side of the room and a small laugh escaped her lips, the first that Ryne had heard in his whole week of knowing her. It was refreshing to know that she did indeed have some sense of humor.
Finally, Ryne heard Leos' cries of defeat as Jay's head came up triumphantly. She got off her brother, straightened out her bunched up skirt, and fell over onto the bed herself. Leos' head came into view soon after, his forehead scrunched, his eyes staring ruefully at his younger sister.
"Hey, be a gentleman for once in your life, Leos." Jay said, rolling over on her side so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"I've been a gentleman for three nights! This floor ain't all it's cracked up to be y'know."
Jay sighed in exasperation and tossed a pillow down at him. "Sleep on this you big baby."
Leos tossed it back at her. "I already have one thank you," and with that, his head disappeared behind the bed and didn't come up again.
Ryne lay down and situated his own pillow. This was their last night at the Inn. They had to find some way to get out of here.
"You guys, what are we gonna do?" Ryne finally said, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room. "We have to get outta here."
"I'll bet you haven't even thought of where it is we need to go so badly have you."
Leos' words cut through him like a hot knife through butter. He didn't know where he could go. He knew he had to get to the silver moon, but he had no clue how to go about it. As far as he knew there was no civilization that possessed the technology to get to any moon, let alone the silver one. The closest thing he could think of was his mother's ship that his father had kept of Crescent Isle. and that had been leant to King Enrique for the Valuans to study.
"We're going to Valua." Celeste said, as if reading his mind.
"Why Valua?" Jay asked groggily as if she had been on the verge of sleep.
"Because I got us a job this afternoon on a ship that's headed to Valua."
********************************
Ryne winced when he saw the ship. It was huge and wooden; it's poorly patched sails billowing in the heavy wing that came off of South Ocean. The hull was in poor repair, and he could see places where the boards had rotted entirely, replaced by boards that looked like they'd been salvaged off of another boat, that had itself been rotting.
"What a perfect target for Black Pirates," Ryne said aloud, to no one in particular.
"Actually this ship has seen more combat than there are hours of your life, son, so show a little respect."
Ryne turned to see a short, bearded man, about six foot two in height and almost just as wide, limping their way, a sassy grin on his face.
"I take it you're the new galley crew." He said looking over at Celeste, who in turn nodded back to him.
"Yes sir," She said with cheer that was obviously false, "Let me introduce every one."
Celeste stepped in front of Leos. "This is Leos Delasari. He's not much good in the kitchen, but I'm sure you could use another strong arm on deck." She said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. It was the first time Ryne could remember her voluntarily touching him. She then walked over to Jaycera and draped her arm over her. "This is Jaycera Delasari. She's the cook. You should taste her stews. one word. amazing." Ryne fought off a grin, thinking back to the soup she'd made while they were in the jungle. he could still feel the aftertaste lingering in his mouth.
Last, she came to Ryne. "And finally, this is."
"Raiyne. Raiyne Vynce," Ryne interrupted, thrusting his hand out and shaking the captain's vigorously. Celeste flashed him a quizzical look, but otherwise never lost her stride.
"Raiyne isn't much good for anything but fighting, but he does most of the grunt-work of the galley, like moving supplies and peeling potatoes." Ryne put on a lavish smile. He was far too used to peeling potatoes. As a cabin boy on his father's ship it had been one of his main duties.
The captain looked at him full in the eyes, and Ryne noticed the log jagged scar that ran down from his forehead, through his eye, and ending at his chin. He tried to keep from staring at the white sightless eye, and finally averted his gaze entirely. The captain clasped his arms behind his back, pushing back the cloak that he wore, flashing a hint of silver that was soon gone.
"I am Jerusha Strong. I am the captain of the Roc, and currently your employer. I've been sailing these skies for thirty-seven years of my life, have seen all six moons, and aided in the final battle against Galcien and his armada. I'm old, stubborn, and set in my ways so if you question me or give me any lip I'll toss you overboard personally, am I clear on this?"
Ryne blinked hard. He was a little stunned and taken aback by the captain's introduction, but recovered quickly by chanting "Yes sir" with the others.
"Alright then. Let me introduce you to the Roc."
************************************
Ryne couldn't believe his eyes. The Roc was almost as impressive as his father's old ship the Delphius. The inside of the ship was amazingly clean, the decks almost sparkling and unlike the appearance of the outer hull, everything looked as if it were brand new.
Then he got to the galley. Ryne had never seen such an array of cooking utensils in his life. Hanging from a hug rack suspended from the ceiling was every pot, pan, kettle, and dish that had ever existed on the planet of Arcadia. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Celeste, who never showed any emotion anyway.
"Well, I trust ye know what to do with these." Captain Strong said from behind them, breaking the trance that had overtaken them.
"Uhh. Yeah, of coarse." Jay said weakly.
"Good. You'll find all the ingredients you'll ever need in the cupboards and in the ice box to the rear of the room. I expect a lunch to be ready by one o' clock, which would be in about three hours." Strong looked at each of them individually as if sizing them up, then looked to Leos, "You, come with me."
And with that, Jerusha Strong left them. Leos looked at his sister and shrugged, following swiftly after his new employer. Ryne looked from Jaycera to Celeste and back to Jay again.
"How the heck are we gonna pull this off?"
Jay smiled. "With grace, eloquence, and a streak of dumb luck, that's how."
***********************************
Leos followed Captain Strong back up to deck of the ship, where twenty or so sailors were crawling about the ship like a swarm of insects, preparing it for the voyage. Leos could see the skill with which they climbed about the ropes, checking each to assure that they would hold the massive sails in check. These were people who had spent most of their lives on this ship, and knew every small quirk and trick to this vessel that there was.
"I take it you know your way around a ship, Mr. Delasari."
"Yeah, I used to own one of my own." Leos said ruefully, images of his coveted Seventh Gigas popping through hid brain.
"Oh really? What was your trade?"
"I was a merchant, trader, weapons dealer, bounty hunter, anything that suited me at the time and anything that would help me support me and my sister."
"What? No parents?"
"No. My parents were killed by Black Pirates when I was sixteen."
Captain Strong was silent for a moment. Leos wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't voice it.
"So. What is it exactly that you do?" Leos finally said, breaking the awkward silence. Captain Strong looked back up at him, his face suddenly stony.
"Ice trade. We make shipments of pure ice from Glacia to Valua and Nasr. Very lucrative."
"I'd guess so, seeing as your ship is one of the most amazing under the sky."
Strong smiled, taking pride in the compliment of his ship.
"Indeed. I've put a lot of money into this ship, and into its disguise. You wouldn't believe how many pirates have attacked my ship; and in turn had theirs ransacked."
Leos mulled this over for a bit. It was genius. pure genius. There was more to this Captain Strong than met the eye.
"So. Where do you want me?" Leos asked. The Captain seemed to think for a moment then mouthed a silent "ah" is if pulling something out of his memory.
"You've any skill at the helm?"
Leos blinked hard. This man was already trusting him with the helm of his ship? Finally he managed to stutter, "Uhh..um.. yeah. I have a lot of experience at the wheel."
"I figured that, as you said you were a captain of your own once."
"Yeah but. I just got here.. Isn't there anyone you trust a little more than me to take to the wheel?"
"Lad let me explain something to you. On my ship you serve one function and you serve it until you die or quit. which is what has just happened to my last helmsman and kitchen crew. All they know is what they do, and nothing beyond that. So unless you'd like to spend the rest of your career on this ship as a deck swab, take the wheel."
"Uhh.. Yessir!"
Leos followed him to the upper deck, sighting the large wooden helm, its grips jutting out inviting him to take them into his hands. He curled his fingers around the ten o'clock two o'clock position. It felt so good to get his hands on at the helm of a ship again.
"You know how to get to Imperial City from here?"
"Yeah," Leos said glancing at the compass, which currently read south- southwest. "We need to do a complete one-eighty and head north-northeast until we reach the Giant's Seat and then go directly northeast until we reach the Great Gate."
"Good Lad. get us there."
Leos uttered a quick "Ay ay" and waited for the rest of the crew to finish their tasks. It took no longer than twenty or so minutes until they were in the skies once again.
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Ryne was exhausted. There was more to cooking than he'd EVER given Polly and Urala credit for. especially when it was for fifty people. He'd sliced more onions, stacked more crates of crackers, rolled more barrels of loqua than he ever wanted to count ever again. The problem was there was still dinner left to do.
Ryne set a crate full of onions down on the counter next to where Jay was working over the stove. Closing his eyes, he let himself fall against it almost making his way into a sweet state of bliss... until the smell got to him. Something smelled absolutely wonderful. He opened his eyes to see what it was, and found Jay stirring a huge man-sized pot full of brown broth, Celeste making her way over to her every once in a while to drop some chopped meat into the pot.
"What is that?" He finally asked, still leaning lazily against the crate. Jay looked over at him and smiled.
"Grouper Stew. My mother used to make it all the time when I was little." She continued stirring the pot, while it began to simmer. "We always ate it with grilled cheese, or some other kind of sandwich." She said nodding toward a basket full of toasted sandwiches. Ryne shook his head.
"How did I miss all of this cooking going on?"
"Don't you remember? We were keeping you quite busy." Celeste said, breaking her usually taciturn nature. Ryne faced the onion crate again.
"Oh. yeah."
"We're going to need to you open that eventually you know." Jay said in a slightly mocking tone. Ryne nodded, not looking at her his forehead resting of the edge of the crate.
"Thanks for the reminder."
Ryne pushed himself off the crate and reached for the crowbar, something he'd become quite familiar with. With a grunt of effort, he pried off the wooded lid, releasing a pungent onion smell. He wrinkled up his nose and snuffed the smell out of his nostrils.
"You sure you want to use these?" Jay wiped her brow with her sleeve and leaned over to smell the crate.
"Yeah, they're fine. Toss about twenty of the big ones over to Celeste."
Ryne complied, rooting through the box for the biggest bulbs he could find and throwing them over Jaycera's head to Celeste, who waited with a knife. In a matter of minutes the room was filled with the smell of onions, Celeste's expressionless face showing a hint of tears. Ryne turned around and leaned against the countertop, his head resting on the cupboards. He couldn't sleep with the smell that permeated the room, but that didn't make him any less tired. He watched as Jay kept stirring the pot full of brown broth, little white chunks of onion, meat, (and other ingredients he didn't see her put in) floated to the top and sunk to the bottom. Every once in a while she looked over at him and shook her head in amusement, but for the most part she left him alone. The only work left to be done was the serving. Ryne finally pushed himself off of the cupboards and unlatched the service window, where a large group of sailors were waiting at tables, drinking loqua and chatting among themselves. Leos wasn't anywhere to be found. Ryne shrugged and put out the baskets of sandwich's and then went back into the kitchen to roll out the pot of stew.
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Ryne collapsed into his assigned bunk. He didn't imagine having any trouble sleeping tonight. He didn't even bother to take his boots off, just got himself horizontal in the least about of time possible. Dinner had been worse than lunch. Twice as much had to be cooked which meant that twice as much had to be carried. His back was killing him, and his arms felt like limp noodles at his sides. He was happy when the cleaning had been finished and he was allowed to say good night to Jaycera and Celeste and get the heck out of the kitchen.
"Rough night?" a voice said from direct above him. Ryne was too tired to jump, but was started nonetheless.
"Yeah. where have you been?"
"Ohh y'know, sneakin into the girl's room and stealing their undergarments." Leos said, and Ryne could just imagine the grin on his face.
"Good for you." Ryne muttered.
"So did you have fun with the ladies today?"
"Oh yeah, you know how wild women get after cooking all day."
"That bad huh?"
"Yup."
Ryne rolled over on his stomach. He didn't really feel like chatting at the moment. The only thing on him mind was getting some rest.
"Hey can we finish this conversation in the morning?" Ryne pleaded.
"Sure Ry. sleep up. Dream of pretty girls with ladles"
And he did.
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Author's Note: Hmm, well I've never done one of these before, but everyone else seems to have them, so I figure what the heck, I'll pop up and say hello. Actually, just wanted to apologize for not getting this out sooner. I've been working on it for about three weeks now, devotedly for about one. Anyway, hope ya enjoy it. I don't even know fully where this is going, I just have a vague outline of the main events of the story and it's always evolving in my own mind, so anything could happen!