Lemnia held Korrin's hand, which was quite a lot larger than hers despite his own slightly shorter stature, and followed him down below deck taking extra care on the steps.
"No tripping on the last one." She said to herself as she hopped to the floor from the final step.
Scanning the room, Lem caught sight of her mother's red/brown hair in the corner over by a hammock.
"Momma!" She said, pointing to Cretas.
The two walked over to her and stopped short when they saw she was rubbing Collen's shoulder as he slept. Lem put her free hand over her mouth and tip toed forward with Korrin before letting go of his hand and climbing up onto her mother's lap.
"Thanks Korrin." She whispered.
Lem looked at Collen and smiled.
"Lubber Boy's tired." She whispered.
Cretas smiled and poked Lem's stomach.
"Let's just call him Collen, okay love?"Lem nodded.
"Mkay."And with that, she leaned against her mother and quickly fell asleep.
The sun was high, and the wind was dead.
On deck, several crewmen fanned themselves with their shirts as sweat poured off their bodies.
"Desmiel above... Why's it so damn hot?!"
"Aye. Didn't take ya fer the religious type mister Hog."
"Nah. Just like sayin' it."
"Ah. I gotchye."
Nearby, several crewmen were casting rods while another in the crow's nest kept an eye out for anything in the waters around them as the rest of the crew below hit the oars to make up for the lack of wind.
Below deck, things weren't much better. Sweat pouring off the crew as the temperature inside the belly of the ship rose with the sun. No wind, no fresh flowing air. Several men's hands slipped, letting the oar fly wild and sometimes hitting the man in front of them in the back. This almost ended in a fight on one particular instance after a second offense.
On deck, Cretas was wearing loose, thin sleeveless top and had taken one of her pairs of pants and cut the legs mostly off to make a pair of short shorts. She knew that showing this much skin was probably not a wise idea on a ship full of men who knew they'd not see women again until/unless they landed somewhere that had a brothel. But it couldn't be helped. She was melting.
Lem sat beneath the stairs where it was shaded with her own sleeveless top and shorts while trying to fan herself with one of her skirts.
"By Desmiel..." Cretas whispered.
"What's with the wind today?"By far the worst day at sea they'd had yet. Storms be damned. Nothing was worse than a dry, hot, windless day on the ocean where there was practically no shade or anywhere to escape the scorching heat.
However, the crow's nest spied something on the horizon.
"BLACK FLAG SHIP AHOY!!" He shouted.
This could only mean one thing...
The Captain burst out of the Captain's Quarters, fully dressed with his large Captain's Hat on as he leaned on the balcony near the wheel.
"To yer battle stations ya field rats! We'll not be lettin' no rival Pirates be takin' our ship er supplies!" He bellowed.
He then pointed to Cretas.
""You be gettin' below deck, there missy! And yer brat too! Won't be riskin' the two o' ya's in this fight!"Cretas didn't need him to tell her that. But she appreciated the thought. She dashed to Lem beneath the stairs and picked her up to go below deck. On the way down, she passed Tora who was fully dressed himself and already had his sword primed with the thumb pushing it just so out of its scabbard.
Cretas grabbed his arm as they reached the same step.
"Be safe, Tora.""You as well, miss Estallamos. If you hear anyone banging on the door, don't hesitate to grab that spare rifle there and fire directly at the center." He said, gesturing to a rifle sitting just by the stairs.
She nodded, and Tora exited the belly of the ship and closed the doors.
The enemy ship drew nearer, black flag waving as the oars propelled her through the water on a collision course with the Silver Moon.
"Stand fast me mateys! We'll show 'em what REAL pirates be made of!"The crew roared in fury and anticipation. A far cry from the complaining, lazy maggots they'd been looking like but a minute ago.
Below deck, Lem huddled against Cretas.
"Momma, I'm scared."Cretas rubbed her back.
"It's okay, my love. Everything will be okay.""Are Hunty and Torrie gonna be okay?""Yes, my love. They're warriors. They'll be just fine. You'll see them when it's over. I promise.""Mm."She buried her face in her mother's chest, and Cretas held her close as she looked up listening to the sounds of the crew.
The ship grew closer and closer, turning at the last second as their own crew shouted a war cry and the first ropes were throw to try and get their men to board. Others grabbed their swords and bows and started preparing to battle as boards were prepared to be placed between the two ships so they could run across and engage in battle.
"SEND EM TA HELL BOYS!!" Lohran shouted, pointing his sword at the enemy ship.