Snippet #1245373

Calder looked at this…..Bitt for a long moment. It sounded like more like a scam to get free passage to Ulsttor then a serious offer on how to pay for a berth on his ship. Then again, he didn’t have much time to think about it. More new crew were coming aboard and soon the Aircore officers would be to and he could put out to sea once more. He could have one of his burly sailors shake the truth out of Bitt later, then either toss him to the serpents or put him to work in the rigging.

“Very well Bitt” said the captain, “I hope you don’t mind sleeping with the crew, as I have no cabins left to offer passengers.”

In a swift manner, ending his conversation with Mr. Bitt, Calder turned to the forth person that had come up to the quarterdeck. Shaking the offered hand, of the nephew of the main financer of the voyage. Now here was a man he could get along with, seeing as so far, there had been no comments about his mental capacity. If anything, this fellow would be invited to dine at his table, although he would be serving much humbler fare then what the youngster was surely used to.

“Welcome aboard Mr. Viteri” said Captain Mor, as one of the few woman he had hired appeared on deck. He normally didn’t sail with female crew. One or two made for problems and he could never collect enough to make it worth the headache the troubles woman shipmates caused. This voyage however, was different. He had woman passengers aboard and it was his belief that woman crew would put the mat ease while trap aboard a vessel full of sailors.

“I do remember you Nynette Rizuterri” he continued, “And I remember you signing the ship’s papers. Find yourself a hammock below decks and then get up into the rigging. We will be sailing shortly.”

Down on the docks, Major Griffith and Ensign Watkins helped a pair of plainly fearful sailors attach the cables to the leather harness of Eagle’s Cry, the Major’s gryphon. The great beast was calm and peaceful when compared with the screeching of wild gryphon’s had made as they were loaded aboard. Within a few minutes, the gryphon had been lifted board and lowered into the hold, with the airman clinging to the harness. He would have to be in the hold when the breast was unharnessed and lead into the stall that had been constructed for it. Several minutes later and Ensign Watkins and her gryphon, King, were aboard.

As the gryphon’s were getting settled, the mooring lines were being thrown off and the sails unfurled. The vast white sheets of canvas caught a northerly wind, as the Sea Breeze pulled away from the docks and sailed out of the harbor mouth. The hails from the Elmish frigates, offering protect, were ignored by captain and crew, save for one sailor who took it upon himself to wave his bare buttocks at them, much to the amusement of the mostly Ulsttorish crew.


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Eight days later
The northwestern coast of Crebel

“ANOTHER SAIL OFF THE STERN”

Captain Mor was torn, as he turned to look southward with his spyglass. He wish to do a number of things just then; strangle the lookout, curse his ill fortune, wished that he had turned about when the first sail had been spotted and curse his ill fortune again.

The sail the lookout had spotted joined a trio of other sails, all of whom where attached to different ships trailing along behind the Sea Breeze. It had started a day ago, with one ship following them. Calder was convinced they were pirates, whom he normally would have done battle with but at the time, he had believed that he could take any corsair that dared attack him and that he need to be careful with the cargo. Now there for four ships chasing him and despite the extra cannons and small arms he was carrying (there was a war on), he didn’t think he could win a fight with four pirate ships.

“God Damn Them” he muttered under his breath, glaring at the patched and dirty sails.