The Tale of a Captured Star-Seer

H

HeliumJack

Guest
Original poster
Paper crinkled and softly sighed as dark, thin fingers spread  the rolled map across the desk in the captains cabin, and white-blonde hair fell over taut, tense shoulders and neck as the navigator peered at the land masses excruciatingly drawn and finely detailed on the parchment before her. After a few moments, she sighed, fingers tracing the path that they should have been taking, and, after a moment of comparing star charts to what she had seen the night before, her finger traced a sharp forty-five degree path to the north of their western path. They were terribly off course after the storm they had encountered a couple of nights ago. 

Raelys hoped they weren't in taken territory. That had become a bit of a problem for them, being chased by rival pirates. It was a wonder that they hadn't been captured yet, they had had so many run-ins with other, bigger ships. "Better go tell Robert." She spoke to the empty room with her curiously different, titillating accent, rolling up the map into its previous cylinder, and heading outside. 

The sudden switch to daylight after Robert's dark quarters made her red eyes hurt momentarily, and after she slowed them to adjust, she made her way up to the captain. She had been with this ship for around a year, but had not made many friends so far. The foreigner wasn't much for friends. She preferred her maps and the stars and sun. They talked a lot less and said a lot more. 

Robert noticed her grim look as soon as she pulled herself up the last rung of the ladder, and frowned. "Is it that bad?" After a moment, after his navigator had the map unrolled and their current spot pointed at, he frowned more. "It is that bad. For once I wish you were wrong." He began spinning the wheel, shouting orders that Raelys would never understand. 

Unfortunately, they would never get a chance to get back on course. 

"Sails coming up from behind!" came the shout from the crows nest. Raelys cursed in her native tongue, and rolled the map up again, sticking it into her belt loop and looking along the horizon, looking for the ship that was approaching. It was approaching much too fast, and Robert knew that, too. 

More orders were yelled, guns were being assembled and cannons were being loaded. Raelys was more worried about her maps, and back to them she went. 
 
"Cap'n! There's a ship in distance! It looks t' be off-course!" The mate from the crow's nest called out.

"Cast down sails for full speed! Once we get close 'nough we fire...BUT! Don't overdo it...Surely a ship such as that has some treasure for the taking."

The Captain called out to all the men on deck. Noticing that they weren't moving fast enough.

"GET GOING YOU DOGS! OR I'LL LEAVE YE HANGING FROM TH YARDARM!"
Pointing up towards the top of the sails. Turning his head to the left to nod at his First Mate Schnarl

Everyone quickly scrambled around knowing that the Captain was not one to lie about such a thing. Some of the men were recalling the time when one of the pirate's disobeyed to take the fall for losing part of their treasure...So the Captain used him as a replacement for when the rudder broke. No one wanted to imagine a punishment worse than that. Returning their focus onto getting the sails down and battened. The main deck cannons were being loaded with lighter cannon balls that would not leave serious damage but break railings and hit the masts. Schnarl yelled out for the lower deck to begin loading the second row of cannons. These cannonballs would cause serious damage to the side of opposing ships.

The sails were dropped and the ship was at full speed catching up to the tail of the ship ahead of them. It was only a matter of time before they were in firing range. The Captain stood next to the wheel of the ship watching as they were closing rather fast. A satisfied grin formed along his face pulling out a strange object from his coat pocket. The item was a locket that was circular shaped with inscriptions on the outside. The Captain brought it up to his eye placing it in the direction of the ship as it began to glow lightly.

"That's the ship then..Whatever we be lookin fer...is on it."