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Chapter Four: Below Deck

Each of the two companions had a fitful sleep, plagued by doubts and monsters, but Gimli was the worst. Every so often, he would wake and feel as though he was being watched, but in the complete darkness of the room he couldn't see his fingers in front of his face. Each and every time he woke up, he would lie, huddled under a blanket and try not to think about the little voices in his head that were filling it with doubts.

It was impossible to know what time it was when they were woken up, but from the noises they could hear, it sounded like early morning: the time when shifts changed and the sleeping came back to life. Gimli felt his stomach rumbling hungrily as a black clad man pushed the door open without a by your leave and announced that Kalias requested their presence in his room. After shouting out the words, he left as quickly as he had come, throwing a gust of air across the room as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Gimli heaved himself to his feet, stretching. Legolas rose quickly beside him as graceful as a cat, wide-awake within seconds. Gimli, however, took a few minutes to gain his bearings as he slowly pieced together the events of the night before. He felt uneasy as the residue of his dreams stung hung about him. But there was more to it than that. Even his conscious self was running alarm bells in his head, but he was at a loss to find a reason why. The only gratification he could get was noticing the uncertain expression in the elf's face, just visible in the dim light that filtered down from the world above.

"We should go." Legolas said slowly, looking around for his bow, quiver and knife.

As he spoke Gimli did the same, but saw no sign of the weapon. He turned to Legolas, frowning angrily.

"They took them." The dwarf stated, and the elf nodded.

"There is nothing else for us to do. We must go and see the Captain." Even as he spoke, Legolas's mind was alive with ideas, reasons and solutions to any of the possible scenarios that struck him as possible answers about why they were there.

Legolas strode confidently out of the room, with Gimli filing out behind, grumbling curses under his breath at the disappearance of his axe, and promising agonising vengeance on whomever took it upon its return. It made him feel a little happier about the whole situation.

They entered the captain's room feeling more than a little concerned about the direction their journey was taking. It wasn't meant to happen like this. It was all meant to go relatively smoothly, but now they were on a different ship entirely, practically held captive and in the distance they could hear the menacing rolls of thunder that signalled the arrival of the storm.

"Good morning," Kalias greeting the pair cheerfully, but the only reply he got was a bad tempered grunt from the disgruntled dwarf. His smiled faded.

"Please sit." He said, gesturing to the chairs that they had used the night before. The man looked much less hospitable now than he had before. There was no cheery smile crossing his dark face, which was now drawn and tired. His eyes were lifeless, dull.

Gimli stumbled slightly as a particularly large wave rocked the ship. It did nothing to improve his already fairly foul mood. Even Legolas, for al his poise and balance, wobbled slightly. Kalias and the other man in the room didn't seem to notice the movement, which infuriated the dwarf further.

"Where are our weapons?" Gimli asked, not having the patience to either beat around the bush or wait for Legolas to diplomatically bring the subject up in whatever conversation they would have been about to have.

For a moment, Kalias looked flustered, but he quickly composed himself. "They were put in a store room near your room, for safety, both theirs and yours. You see, friends, my crew are often starved for interesting company. However, when they finally find some new companions they are suspicious of them, especially if they carry weapons, such as you do. I had a trusted man put away to stop those suspicions taking root. "I am sorry for the misunderstanding, I should have told you." Kalias finished with little conviction.

Legolas stared at the strange man, weighing the words he had just heard, his pale eyes cold and calculating. Something didn't ring true. As much as he wanted to believe in the good will of men, there seemed to be some other motive at play, which he could not fathom. He knew that he and Gimli had to come to some kind of formalised agreement before Gimli's temper stopped bubbling over and spilled out in words and actions that both would probably come to regret.

"I can understand that." Legolas said, nodding his head in acceptance of the explanation, though he was still more doubtful than believing. The same nagging voice that was working away at Gimli was inside his own head. It was a voice he had learned to listen to over the many years that he had walked upon Middle Earth, and he saw no reason to abandon it now that he was out at sea.

"Friends I wo-" Kalias started, but was broken off by a sharp knock on the door, followed almost immediately by a person entering the room.

"Sir, the guests' boat has been lost." The words can quickly and identified the person as a woman.

"What happened?" Gimli demanded to know, turning to the tall figure.

The woman looked to Kalias to gestured to her to speak.

"It was tied to the ship by rope. A large wave struck the side and it took your ship down. The rope came loose. It was lost." The woman spoke quickly but at the same time made sure that each word was sharp and precise. Her accent was thicker than Kalias's and not the easiest to understand.

Gimli looked at the woman for a few minutes before nodding his head. He believed that that was what had happened. Though how a towrope could come loose even under that circumstance was beyond him. He didn't pursue it; he had more pressing things on his mind at that moment in time.

"When will I be able to walk around holding the axe without having to fear for my life, Captain?" Gimli asked, turning away from the subject of the ship. His voice was testy and held but the barest minimum of respect.

"As soon as the crew have come to trust you, friend Gimli." Kalias said, a placid smile crossing his face.

Gimli would have liked to put the smile somewhere where the sun didn't shine, but he held back his temper knowing that such things would get them nowhere. Until he and Legolas managed to get the truth out of the man before them, they would have to play whatever game they were now part of by his rules, not their own.

"May we explore the ship?" Legolas inquired, hoping that the answer would be yes. He wouldn't be able to cope if he couldn't get any fresh air.

"Of course you may. In fact, I was about to invite you to do so." Kalias smiled. "But first, I would like to introduce my second, Eadoin. If you have any needs or questions, and I am not to be found, you can go to him and he will see to it that your needs are met and your questions answered."

Kalias pointed to the man standing just behind him. He was dark, of middle height with broad shoulders. Even though they only managed a quick glance at his face, they could see that while one eye was a deep brown, the other was a pale blue.

"We would like to see your ship, sir, and then ask any questions." Legolas said once they had greeted Eadoin. "If that is fine by you."

"Go where you will. But would you please knock on any closed doors you find before passing through?" Kalias saw them nod. "Thank you. That said feel free to go now, friends. I am sure that you are bored of tarrying in this room when there is a whole ship to look around." Kalias said enthusiastically.

The pair bowed slightly at the waist, before turning around and leaving the room. After a moments discussion they decided that the would brave sea sickness and the storm and go up on deck to try and work out where they were, and to get a proper idea of the side of the ship.

They did not feel Kalias's dark eyes stare at the closing door, nor did they hear his aside to Eadoin.

"Watch them."