The Voyage (Thornapple/Redblood)

[redblood]

A young man with torn dirty clothing and no shoes ran through the crowded city, seemingly searching for something. Finally he arrived at the shore. Looking towards the ships, he was highly discouraged when all of them had guards or salesmen on them whom seemed to be keeping track of whom boarded the ship. He ran further down on the pier and finally came across a ship which seemed quite empty. He sneaked up on it and immediately noticed two sleeping men with empty bottles close by. He sneaked past them, opened a door carefully and went down a few stairs. So far he hadn't seen anyone else. Most of the crew probably had a free day in the mainland.

He opened a few doors until he finally found a good room he could hide in. It was a sleeping cabin, which meant he would be surrounded by the crew a lot, but even though that added a layer of danger it also meant he could hear conversations and figure out more easily if they were close to land or not and if they would be gone for long enough for him to sneak out. Before he hid though, he ran around to find the kitchen, it didn't take long. There he took a bit of food so he wouldn't have to risk getting out of his hideout for at least a few days, a week if he only ate the bare minimum.

Walking back to the cabin, he pushed the food under one of the beds, there was just enough room for a human to hide there and the room was poorly lit so as long as he didn't move, they would have a hard time notice him.

A few hours passed before he heard voices and footsteps. "The cap'n got ye good. Don't fall asleep on the job idiot." A deep voice laughed.

"shut up or I be goin' t' cut that beard o' yers off." Another man grunted. The first one kept laughing. What an unrefined way they spoke in. It didn't sound like any salesmen he had ever heard before.

"Oy, which bastard has stolen from the grub hold? Don't think I don't keep track o' the supplies!" Another voice could be heard shouting, most likely from the kitchen. Hopefully they would blame the theft on each other or on rats.

 

[Thornapple]

The sun crested the top of the ocean, igniting the waves in a vibrant shifting display of red and gold. The sound of shouting fish merchants trying to sell the last of their daily catch was slowly being drowned out by the steadily growing nightlife around the docks. The crew of The Maiden's Poison cast longing looks at the nearby taverns, but none dared to slip in. The captain meant to be gone by nightfall, and after the way the day's work went, nobody had a mind to disagree.

The task was a simple one... but the initial dangers would've turned many a pirate away. A local high-hat is paying a wholesome price for a forged document increasing his claim to flaunt his arse at his competitors. As much as the captain hates dabbling in official business, the mission was passed on to him from a close friend whose sails became a bit too notorious for a city like this. A deal was reached after a couple bottles of particularly potent liquor.

No pirate likes having their ship moored in a city full of enemies, but suspicion would quickly arise had they left their ship at sea and rowed to dock. A group of city guard inspected the ship and let them go about their business with a reminder and warning that another inspection will happen on the morrow. This would not do. Not with the change of plans.

The captain carried two burlap sacks on his shoulders, sweating with the rest of the crew juggling crates and barrels. They walked a quick pace, just on the brink of jogging. Any faster and their haste would be duly noted. Cursing under his breath, he spoke to his first mate, "When we reach the lass, have the crew load the crates in the hull. The bags go into my cabin". Unlike most pirates, the captain's words were well formed and clear. "Send Toby and Dick out on the docks to watch for pursuit".

Shrugging his burden off to the first mate, the captain disappeared into the crowd.

​

<><><>​

First Mate John Vague reached The Maiden's Poison in time to see the aftermath of the captain's fury. He had told the captain that leaving the Fat Brothers Lard and Gut to guard the ship was a bad idea, but having them walk around the city was by far a worse one. Gingerly stepping over a puddle of vomit and blood, he impatiently waited for Gut to finish picking shards of glass from the unconscious Lard's pudgy head before beginning the haul. The crates contained cloth, the barrels gunpowder and watery wine. Nothing particularly noteworthy or profitable. The real treasure was in the burlap bags.

Fearing that the agreed price of this document was a little "too high", the captain took precautionary measures to make sure this trip would be profitable. When the pompous idiot offered his "sincerest apologies" for the "unfortunate mishap that will delay full payment until the new season", the captain smiled and nodded, accepting the quartered earning graciously before making his leave. John estimated that they had about 10 minutes left before the high-hat realized half of his belongings are no longer present.

Personally delivering the bags to the captain's cabin himself, John was greeted by a throaty laugh as the captain stooped over a wooden table in the center of the room, half broken bottle in hand. "That rich shit is probably pissing his silk breeches about now," the captain said. "Once the last barrel gets secured we're raising anchor. Any crew member not on board can stay behind and find a new ship". He tapped his finger the parchment on the table, "There will be plenty time to celebrate once they hear about this!"​

 

[redblood]

From under the bed, the boy could hear more and more commotion. Men were laughing and cheering over something. Well, all but one whom was extremely annoyed over the stolen food. No voice stayed for long though, even the angry man left quite soon. New voices replaced the old ones as people walked in and out and past the cabin. He could hear the sound of bottles being clinked together as they were picked up and the men left with them in hand. The young man had definitely seen bottles as he entered, but wasn't sure what had been in them. His guess from their behavior. Alcohol. He took a small piece of the bread he had collected and silently ate it.

____

A big man, bearlike in size, walked towards the captain's cabin. He was probably the only one not happy at that moment. Roger Gilly was the cook of the ship and he always kept a close eye on the food. There were things they could take freely within reason and there were things they did not touch before he gave it to them. For as long as he was in charge of the kitchen he would not tolerate stealing. The only one who made him budge the rules was the captain of course, his orders were the absolute law.

He knocked, waiting for the captain to allow him to enter, knowing just what consequences there could be if he didn't. Once he was allowed in he did not hold back. "One day in land, 'n we're already loosin' food. Bin countin' th' bread 'n fruit five times, 'tis gone, three days worth. I swear it was those two drunk idiots. Always sailin' in as if they own th' mess hall. Or maybe they were so drunk some street rat ran aboard deck 'n stole some. Either way, 'tis disappeared. I shout let them be off famished fer th' week. 'tis just what they deserve. Ye keep ye eyes on th' ship if ye're lookout."

 

[Thornapple]

The captain sat in his cabin with First Mate John Vague, Cannoneer Briggs. The celebratory cheering and shanties pierced through their quiet conversation as the ship picked up speed. A bottle of aged whiskey sat almost untouched as the trio's conversation became more and more heated.

"We should sell it. The money will get us better equipment, maybe even a few upgrades for th' Maiden", John repeated for the third time. His angular facial muscles were locked in a scowl as he tugged at his salt and pepper mustache. Across from him Cannoneer Briggs sat a few inches short, with balding red hair and a face flushed from alcohol and frustration. These two men had been with the captain since The Maiden's Poison first set sail, and he trusted them as advisors and friends. However, as of late their opinions always seemed to clash and more often than not they were at each other's throats.

"I'm tellin' ye, John. No equipment kin spare this lil' lassie from gettin' blown up by the Devil's Syndicate. Our cap'n wants to head o'er to the high seas, and this ol' schooner won't make it two leagues in without safe passage. I say we's best off suckin' up to the big guys".

"Absolutely not! The Maiden's Poison isn't a fecking bottom feeding rowboat. I won't stand-"

A loud rap at the door broke the conversation. The captain granted entrance with a look of mild relief, surprised to see the cook, who usually stays below deck. Listening to his concerns, the captain sighed and tossed the bottle of whiskey to Roger. "Meat like what's on the Fat Brother's bones would be good shark bait, if we wanted some sport." He called the meeting to a close, saying that the rest of the night should be spent celebrating, not brooding like old women. Missing food was not a huge concern to the captain, but fruit was an expensive commodity and he would have crew members disrespect his authority like so.

He exited the cabin, inhaling the fumes of saltwater and alcohol. Not a bad combination, in his opinion. A few men stood on the deck, listening to a particularly vulgar story about a dockside whore who secretly boarded a ship and became the captain's wife. The captain's arrival sparked a wave of cheers that died down only when he jokingly threatened to throw a man topside. Discovering the whereabouts of Lard and Gut, he made for the cabin.

The Fat Brothers were sitting sullenly in their bunks when the captain arrived. Terror formed on their faces, staring at the captains own stoic face. "W-welcome, Cap'n. We been sittin' here jus' like ye ordered, see? No problems." Lard stammered, his forehead a mess of red, purple, and milky white.

"Our cap'n 's th' best, right brother?" Gut gave a hesitant smile, which quickly faded when the captain did not smile back. A silence filled the cabin, draining the blood further from the two troublemakers before the captain spoke.

"Roger says there's food missing".

The accusation caused Lard to flinch, while Gut's eyes opened wide, "We din't steal no food, Cap'n! We swears it! Jus' us brothers sittin' watch o'er the docks! We wasn't even hungry!" The captain proceeded to take a couple steps forward, which caused a massive explosion of movement. Gut yelped and attempted to back up, tripping on the bed at the far end of the cabin. Lard groaned painfully, covering his small head, expecting to receive a second round of punishment. A gasp was heard coming from a bed close to where Gut landed, then silence.

A single green apple rolled out from under the bed, stopping at the captain's boot.

 

[redblood]

Roger took a few clunks of the whiskey, pleased that the captain saw it his way even with the good mood going around after the successful day. A good mood could mean the difference between punishment and forgiveness, and forgiveness wasn't something that came easy for the cook. "That's me way cap'n, them a pair need to loose a few pounds." He laughed as the captain left.

Under the bed, the young man had nothing else to do than to listen in on what everyone was saying. It was quite entertaining how they went between being happy to suddenly getting into a fist fight over nothing and after having given each other a blue eye they suddenly laughed warmheartedly together again. What an odd bunch. Oh well, at least that meant he wouldn't be too bored in his hideout. There always seemed to be interesting things going on.

Someone walked in to the cabin and all the men in there got quiet. The boy thought there were around five of them when counting the new person, but considering how often people came in and left it was hard to tell. He stiffened as they started to speak about the stolen food. Oh well, it seems like they suspected some of the crew, so he was safe, for now at least.

Suddenly someone bumped into the bed. The boy couldn't help but let out a gasp as one of the apples got pushed by the bed leg and rolled out. It had been far too cramped for him to stop it in time. He stayed silent, hoping they would think the two crew members had hidden the food there. What he didn't think about was that even if they believed that, they would still check under the bed to make sure there wasn't more.

He could see a pair of boots walking towards the bed and he closed his eyes hard. "Seems like we've gotten a grub stealin' rat." A voice said as he pushed the bed away with a leg, revealing the boy and the food. The pirate grabbed and pulled him up to his feet, holding a threatening sword to the boy's throat. "What do ye wanna do wit' 'tis thin' cap'n? We haven't used th' plank in some time."

"Please sir, I didn't mean any harm, I just needed to find a friend of mine in the neighboring kingdom. I wasn't able to get there some other way. I.. I could pay you if you let me stay.. I don't have much on me right now, but take it as a deposit. I swear I have ways to get more once I get to my destination." Who would ever believe he would be able to get any money with those clothes? He looked as if he hadn't been off the streets since birth. The pirate checked his pocked, maybe to see if he told the truth, or maybe to see if he had weapons, either way, he found a small pouch.

"Oh, seems like we have a thief, these diamonds could be worth a bit." He mused as he threw the bag with four diamonds to the captain. Of course that didn't mean they would save his life. They could just as well throw him overboard and take those stolen objects.

 

[Thornapple]

The captain inspected the diamonds, his face a mask. He let the crew rattle the boy a bit more during this time. Swords were drawn and threats were made, but his crew wasn't as bloodthirsty as pirates were thought to be. The rapiers were more for show and entertainment during long voyages than for actual killing, but he wouldn't doubt a single man's skills. Just because they weren't serial killers didn't mean they've never held their own in a fight before.

Eventually the banter died down as the crew waited for the captains orders. "Take him to the deck".

A mixture of laughter and cheering arose, but the expressions on the crew were more curious than cruel. They didn't truly expect the captain to kill the child - their captain was known for his cunning, not murder. They paraded the boy in front of the captain as they walked to topside, letting him fall into an unceremonious heap a yard from a particularly menacing board hanging from the side of the boat. With all the commotion nearly the entire crew on the ship was gathered round, including the cook, First Mate, and the Cannoneer.

Plenty of suggestions were given to the captain, the one met with the most cheers being that they let the boy dangle from a rope on the surface of the water, and if he survives for 3 days they'll replace him with the food he stole. The idea was quite complex for the amount of liquor consumed, and the captain pretended to contemplate it for a moment before turning towards the terrified boy.

"It seems that my crew wants blood tonight, but that won't make up for the fact that you've stolen from us. Those diamonds we're stolen too. I think you should repay us pirates with a good story before we decide what to do with you. So tell me... where'd you come by these," he dangled the diamonds in front of the boy, "and where are you running off to"?​

 

[redblood]

The words and cheers from the crew was not very calming as the boy realized he came closer and closer to death for every second. Great, out of the ashes and into the fire. He had to make sure they would believe he could give them something without letting them know who he was, but if he made up a too big lie they would notice immediately. A master thief would be debunked immediately.

He tried to think about it the best he could while being forced around the ship until they finally stopped and seemed to calm down a bit. What would be worse? dangling from the ship for three days or just jump tied up into the water from the plank? At the very least he had one advantage. They didn't ask who he was.

"I got them sir. My father left them to me before he past away a few months back. Where he got them I do not know." It was the truth. Hopefully they would assume his father to be a thief and not question it. "I'm trying to find a friend to my father in Port-aux-Dames. He said that a certain man could help me there if anything ever happened to father." The boy explained. it was such a simplified version of the story, but true non the less. He knew exactly what would happen if anyone, especially lawless people got to know who he was.

"What a borin' story. Let's throw him off deck." Someone shouted laughingly.

"Please, I could work for my stay. Only to Port-aux-Dames, then I can get you money for the journey. Father's friend will be able to pay." He pleaded. It was probably hard for anyone to believe that a street rat would know someone with that much money, but then again, it could be a thief that had gotten a pretty good stack of gold hidden away somewhere.

 

[Thornapple]

The captain tsk'ed and pocketed the diamonds, no longer interested in the ordeal. "Ye got a long ways to go if you think you can make it on this ship with that type of storytelling," he took two steps to stand directly over the boy, "but the way you speak sounds more fitting of a high-hats pup, not a thief's son." The crew quieted down, riveted by the scene. The Cannoneer waddled over and prodded the boy on the shoulder with a sea stained boot, "Who are ye', kid? Lie 'n yer not like to see the sunrise".

For a short time all you could hear was the sound of crashing waves and the billow of sails. The Cannoneer spat, and lifted his stocky leg for a kick. The captain put his hand up with a dangerous smile and said calmly, "No Briggs, I don't think you want to do that". The man turned to the captain and scowled, "Has our cap'n gone softhearted?"

"I believe you wanted to buy us passage through the High Seas. Were you planning on trading aboard a Syndicate ship yourself?"

The Cannoneer only took a moment to understand. A nearly toothless grin sprouted on his face, "O course not, cap'n. That's what this here lads for!" The mention of sailing to the High Seas sent the crew into second wave of excitement and cheer, as the captains plan was explained to them. Swords were sheathed, replaced with cups and casks. Cannoneer Briggs hefted the boy up by his armpit and pushed him towards the captain.

"Welcome aboard the The Maiden's Poison. This ship used to transport whores, till a bout of sickness nearly took them all out with the crew. A fitting name, don't you think?" The captain led the boy to the kitchen, where the cook was waiting expectantly. "Here's your thief, Roger. Ready to atone for his sins". Giving one last look at the boy he stopped right outside the door and said, "Name's Captain Everett Brigham. You don't need to tell me yours. You'll have a nickname on the morrow... the crew has yet to disappoint".

 

[redblood]

The boy fell over from the first kick and was unable to get up again. Terrified, wondering how to hide his true identity, he was too shocked to speak. If he didn't come up with a good lie quickly they would probably throw him to the sharks, and if he came up with one too quickly it would have flaws which they would see through. What should he do now?

Then suddenly things seemed to turn. The captain was... Helping him? Or maybe he just wanted the money he was promised, but either way, as long as no one was thrown into the water, the boy would be content with the outcome. The talk about the high seas was more than confusing for a boy that hadn't even been on a sea before.

Everyone seemed excited and all talk about shedding his blood was suddenly gone. He was picked up by one of the pirates and then thrown towards the captain. At least he would consider it throwing. These people really didn't know how to do something gently, did they? No use in complaining though, he already knew that such behavior could lead to an even worse situation. Especially around such unpredictable people.

He did not answer the captains question when he explained where the name of the ship had come from. He doubted the captain even expected an answer. Getting taken to the cook was certainly not what he had expected, but it did make sense if they wanted him to make up for the stolen food. Everything had gone so fast that the boy had no idea what to think. At the very least, he wouldn't have to tell them his name. That would be a dead giveaway.

"So ye're th' thief that stole five 'o me apples?" The cook asked him, looking extremely threatening, both because of his deep voice and his body size.

"Yes sir." The boy nodded, looking as if he had been caught by his mother stealing cookies.

"'n th' water?" He asked.

"Yes sir." He nodded again.

"'n twelve biscuits?" Roger raised an eyebrow, wanting the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"Yes s... Twelve? I took seven.. Sir." The boy replied, quite confused over the big number gap. The cook kicked an empty barrel, making it fall over while cursing.

"So they did pillage from me storage again. I gunna let them hang from that pole fer a week." The cook yelled before calming down and glanced at the frightened boy. "But first I be givin' ye some work to do. I don't want to spy wit' me eye a sin'le piece 'o grub disappearin' while I be gone, ye hear me? 'n if someone comes in takin' somethin', ye be tellin' me, otherwise I'll beat ye both. Got it?"

The boy nodded as fast as he possibly could.

"Jolly. Be off peel them potatoes lyin' over thar. I be expectin' half 'o them done when I'm back." He said before leaving the the kitchen. It wouldn't be hard to find out if he had been slacking off, nor would it be hard to find and punish him for it. There was no time for slackers in his kitchen.

Once he found the captain again, he immediately told him about the missing biscuits. "That jim laddie was way too terrified to lie, I could tell. Them a pair useless brothers took th' biscuits. Leave them famished fer a week I be tellin' ye." He explained. Sure the boy could have lied about how many he took, but after having confessed to everything else, it seemed rather strange that he wouldn't just say yes instead of being so stuck on numbers. The first time, you work it off, the second time you get punished for it, the third time, could as well kick them off the ship immediately. They were probably up in the fifth time, at the very least now, but he knew the captain wouldn't want to throw some of his crew off, especially not if they couldn't be certain that they could find replacements for them soon. It could get dangerous if they just threw away crew members left and right for minor things.