Everyone enjoyed their new freedom, though it wasn't what it used to be, but the half a dozen or so women were especially glad, as even though they weren't going to the island, they were being sold as wives…to the same buyer. Graden whiled away the time by wandering the ship. He stumbled upon the cargo hold, where he found his pack with everything by it, shield, bow, quiver, sword, and dagger sheathe. There was a fair supply of food, but unfortunately, rats had made their way aboard and had their way with it. The others were alerted as to where their things were, and the hold emptied very quickly.
Eventually, Graden made his way up to the bridge, where the one-legged captain sat at a desk studying a map mounted on the wall, and a compass in his hand. Bründ was slouched in an armchair with the sword in his right hand, and a half empty bottle of rum in his left. After a short while, the captain announced that they would make land fall in around ten minutes. Graden and Bründ made their way down to where most of the people were hanging out.
"EVERYONE, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!" Graden shouted above the noise of the crowd, who immediately quieted to hear what he had to say. "Can you all hear me? Great…within ten minutes, the ship will reach land, and the captain will leave. Then, we shall head up or down the coast for several leagues, and will land for hunting, anyone can leave the ship and get on with your lives. I however, am going to stay on the ship and try to figure out where the heck we are. Anyone is welcome to stay."
"Why can't we leave where the captain is leaving?" a voice questioned in the back.
"Because I don't trust the captain, but I guess you're more than welcome to leave with him." No one else asked any more questions, so Graden went back to wandering. After a short while, the captain came hobbling up to him telling them they were just near the coast. Graden went back to the main hold and announced what the captain told him, and several people walked up to him asking him to leave. Of course, he granted them this request and told them to meet him on the top deck of the ship. Graden and Bründ made their way to the top, and rendezvoused with the captain and the few who wanted to leave.
Graden was a good shot with his bow, and he brought it with him so if the captain looked back, he'd put an arrow in his neck. Four people plus the captain were there waiting for him when he made his way to the deck. They loaded everyone and Bründ in a rowboat and launched it from the port side. Bründ casually rowed the boat to the shore and let everyone off, then pushed the boat off and made his way back to the ship. The one-legged captain did not hesitate in turning around and flicking the ship off with both hands. Graden could not believe the old man, he gave him a chance to hop away with no harm done, where his buddies had been cut down like grass.
Infuriated, Graden strung his bow, and made his way to the stern of the ship for a clear shot. He slowly took an arrow out and strung it on the bow. He eyed the hobbling old man to measure the distance, 150 meters and growing. Bründ stopped rowing and turned around to watch, skeptical that Graden would hit the old captain. Graden pulled the arrow back as far as it would go, and elevated the bow at a high angle. There was not a breath of wind as the arrow was released. It whistled high into the air, came to a peak, arced down and raced to the ground. The old man never looked up as the tip of the arrow sank into the back of his neck, near where the vertebrae connected to the skull, and came out between his chest and Adam's apple. Immediately, the old man's hands went to the back of his neck to grasp the arrow. Doing this made him drop his crutch, and he started falling forward. The irregular weight distribution, caused his body to turn on the way down, and he landed hard on his side. Then, his body rolled onto his back, which pushed the arrow completely through. The blood flowed freely from his neck, and the old man slipped into an unconscious state from which would bring him to a permanent sleep.
Graden threw the ropes down to Bründ to hook up to the ends. Graden recruited someone from below to help him with the davit ropes.
"I owe you a drink for a shot like that friend," Bründ said, stepping out of the boat and giving him a hard slap on the back.
"Thanks," Graden replied, "I used to practice a lot."
"Right, so what's the plan now?"
"Hopefully the wind will pick up a little so we can sail along the coast and we'll hunt near a good forest, where anyone else who wants to leave can leave."
"Well thought out sir…oh, and by the way, plenty of people plan on staying and you've been made captain of this vessel."
"Oh…uh…that's…nice."
"Ya, well, I'll be seein' you below deck then yeah?" Bründ stated, giving a hearty punch on Graden's shoulder and headed below deck.
Graden tried to rub the pain out of his shoulder as he thought. Captain? Who the hell do they think they are naming me captain? I don't know the first thing in controlling this thing. What did I do to deserve this title? All I ever did was cut their bonds, but I have no leadership qualities. Millions of thoughts like these raced through his mind, but he decided to just stop thinking like this and count his blessings, though he couldn't help thinking of his curses.
