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Archives: Building an Empire at Sea

Chapter 10: Repairs & Malak’s Return

    Malak and the six new crew members, along with Red Ear, had reached the ship in good time. The captain left the rowboat first, leaving Red Ear and the others to help with repairs, Malak had other things to attend to. Making his way past the crew, Malak slipped below deck without a word to any of them. The only person he needed to talk to was Terelyn, but even she wasn’t needed for this idea.

    Kreoss, still holding onto his wife, watched the new crewmen come aboard. Five men, and surprisingly, another half-elven woman. That made four half-elves when he was usually the only one amongst humans—not to mention the large number of female crew mates they had not. Not that that was a bad thing, considering his wife wouldn’t be surrounded by amoral men.

    “Let’s go say hello, hmm?” he suggested to Tatia, then strode across deck to greet the new crewmates.

    Tatia looked up at Kreoss, blushing darkly. “We’ll have to see, because who knows what’s in store.....” she said.

    “Yo!” he said. “Welcome aboard. Name’s Kreoss, and this is my wife, Tatia.”

    One of the men, a salt with sandy blond hair, replied, “’ey,” in a rather sullen tone. “I’m Quint. My friends ’ere are Iar, Nalton, Ranild, Leron, and Ly—Lokei,” Quint explained, pointing out each of his crewmates. He made a slight stammer on the woman’s name, but Kreoss didn’t think of it as anything more than a twisted tongue.

    Tatia’s eyes widened as suddenly Kreoss ushered her to go greet the new crew members with him. As she nodded to each one, biting her lower lip and blushing, she stayed silent. She managed to mumble a “hello” to one of them, but she felt so shy. She could feel her face become flushed and she idly hoped her tanned skin would hide it well.

* * *

    Mudan led Anisa back to the crew quarters and started looking over the bunks for Terelyn’s form. He finally found her sleeping, surprisingly close to where he and Alina had been making out. That hadn’t woken her up, nor had Anisa’s loud comment. “Hey, T,” Mudan said, putting his hand on the first mate’s shoulder.

    Terelyn was sleeping heavily, but the hand of a man on her shoulder woke her up quick with extreme prejudice. Without even opening her eyes, her fist came around and nearly struck Mudan square in the chin. Her eyes opened wide, ready to swing again before she saw who it was.

    She froze before the return swing of her fist, her eyes still filled with fire. She looked paranoid for just an instant, before letting her arm fall. “Don’t ever do that again...” she growled with fatigue. She had barely gotten any rest since she got back from the ship. Her side still hurt, her fresh bruises were still tender, her muscles were sore, and now a man snuck up on a veteran female pirate who tended to look like good prey to big men. Too often had she shown dumb newbies the price they had to pay for feeling her up when they thought she was sleeping. “Is there something I can do for you, sailor?” she asked snidely.

    Mudan stepped back from the near-miss of Terelyn’s fist and stared with wide brown eyes at the first mate. He definitely would not do that again. In retrospective, he probably should have realized that it wasn’t a good idea in the first place, considering what females had to deal with at sea. “Err... The crew is back and ready to work. We need to know where you stashed the tools, and uhh... if you want to oversee the work,” Mudan replied.

    “The new tools are by the cabin door.” Terelyn pushed herself off of the hammock her eyes a bit bloodshot from lack of sleep. “Is the captain in?”

    “Not yet, T,” Mudan replied. “Thanks,” he added, then turned to find the tools. As he did, however, he saw Malak coming down the gangway. “Uh...never mind, he’s back,” Mudan said to Terelyn.

    Alina watched what was going at the entrance of the cabin and a light blush came to her face as she noticed that there was a woman sleeping there. As stayed by the doorway, she watched Mudan; she just couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

    Malak heard Terelyn ask if the captain was in, then Mudan’s reply as he walked down below deck. He had hoped to ignore all the crew members until his business with the old man concluded, but it seemed as though he’d have to deal with his crew first. Sharply turning he entered the crew quarters, and leaned against the door frame.

    “You need me for something?” he asked, staring in the general direction of Terelyn and the others. The other crew member he hired with Anisa was watching Mudan with a virgin’s blush about her cheeks. As long as Mudan and the other girl didn’t let it interfere with their duties, Malak would look the other way, however, once it did, they would feel the full enforcing wrath of the older seaman.

    Mudan gave a nod to the captain, then stepped around him. “We’ve got to get to work,” he said to the new women, then waved his hand for Alina and Anisa to follow and headed up to the top deck.

    Terelyn hopped out of the hammock. “Apparently, so do I,” Terelyn muttered. The repairs had to be overseen. She doubted any of them had the knowledge of structure to ensure everything was done properly. Even if they did, she wasn’t likely to trust the condition of her ship to anyone.

    She started to look around slowly. Running her hands through her red hair, she sighed. Looking back up to Malak showed the result of her most recent scuffles in town. The shiner that marred her slim face stood out. “They’re starting repairs. I’ll go see to them.” Terelyn was exhausted. All she wanted to do was rest. But everyone seemed so interested in keeping her awake. She started to gather up the jacket she had taken from the previous captain to go outside...

    Malak sighed. “Lay down,” he said softly. “You look exhausted, so sleep it off. Exhaustion is one of the enemies of all seafarers, male and female. Take some time to have that shiner of your looked at too. Let the crew tend to the repairs, and if any of them slack, I’ll whip them myself if I have to.”

    “Is there anyone up there who actually knows more than the nail goes into the board?” Terelyn asked, partly cynically, partly hopefully.

    Malak groaned. “Damned if I know. I assume that most of them have a brain, and while maybe less of them, few have some common sense in their heads. Most of the people I ‘hired’ seem like experienced seamen, and most experienced seamen know at least how to patch a ship up.” Malak grinned as he said the next part: “If not, we’ll cut off toes until they learn proper. They’ve got a good ten chances. Seems like a fair enough deal to me.”

    “Fine,” the first mate said, throwing herself back into her hammock. Rolling onto her side so as not to face Malak, she closed her eyes. “Wake me when you see fit.”

    “Sleep well then,” Malak said with a small smile.

* * *

    The captain left the crew quarters and went below deck to the hold where the slaves were being kept. This was going to be a sore subject to approach any of them with, but it meant an early release in exchange for marriage. Marriage to a complete stranger could be misconstrued as another type of slavery, however, Malak knew that the old man would treat his wife right. With a small sigh Malak entered the hold.

    “Is it dinner time already?” one of the slaves piped up.

    “Uh, no. Not exactly,” Malak replied. These people weren’t afraid. That was a good start. Lilly had been taking care of them, obviously. That made things like trust a little easier. Perhaps he should have made Lilly ask them for an unwed woman to marry the old man. “I actually came to ask if any of the women here are unwed?” A few hands raised at his question. “Alright. I have a favor to ask of the unwed women. I have this friend ashore who need a wife to help him through the day to day. Not a slave, but a wife...a life partner. He’s a little old, but he’s a kind old coot, and he’ll treat you right.” Remembering that some people cherished their family, Malak added in: “If you have family aboard they can also go ashore with you and live with him and yourself, if you so desire. The rest of you will be given asylum in Alecrast until my crew and I deal with the slavers that captured you. Then, if you so wish, we could arrange transport for the rest of you back to your homes on Lodoss.”

    One young woman stood up. “I’ll wed him,” she said unwaveringly. “On one condition. A few of the fellow ‘slaves’ are sick. We need some medicine for them.”

    Malak couldn’t help but smile. “Deal,” Malak grinned. “I’ll have an apothecary look at them before we set sail. You have my word as captain of this vessel.” The woman nodded in compliance at the accord. “I’ll be back shortly after you’ve all been fed to take you to your groom. Have your goodbyes done with by then.”

    With his peace said, Malak left the hold and made his way topside. It went smoothly, perhaps a little too smoothly for his tastes, but he was always one to see the bad in any situation. Hopefully the young woman wouldn’t betray his trust.

* * *

    Mudan emerged back on deck, hauling Terelyn’s tool kit. “Alright everyone! Let’s get to work,” the young man said, then pulled a hammer out of the box. Terelyn had brought back the wood they needed, mixed planks, spars, and other bits and pieces scavenged from other ships.

    Since no commanding officers were on deck, Mudan took the opportunity to get everyone organized. He was eager to get to work in order to ignore the tension left behind from his kiss with Alina below deck. “Alina, why don’t you and Tatia work on the railing?” he suggested. Since neither of them seemed to be especially strong, he gave them an easy job. For the rest of the more able-bodied crew, he figured they would work on hull. Looking over the six new additions—five men and a woman who looked probably as capable as T or Anisa. “Everyone else, let’s get some scaffolding put together so we can patch up that hole in the hull,” he said.

    He realized they were missing a few crewmen; Tornalin, Red Ear, and Ursula. He knew Red Ear had gone down to the galley, the last he knew of Ursula, she was on the island and Tornalin had stayed behind on the ship. Where could that dwarf be then? Looking up at the crow’s nest, he spotted the dwarf. With a sharp whistle, he tried to get Tornalin’s attention; “Hey Tornalin! Get down here! We’re starting repairs!”

    Alina nodded to Mudan. “Who is Tatia?” she asked softly. A little blush came to her face as she looked around for who could be this ‘Tatia’.

    “The half-elf with the red hair,” Mudan said, pointing her out near Kreoss.

    “Oh, thank you,” Alina said, then walked over to the girl he pointed out.

    Tornalin heard Mudan call and climbed down from the crow’s nest while everybody was greeting the new crew members. He deciding to head over and join in. “Greetings to ye, I be Tornalin. Welcome aboard. Who be ye?” he asked the group of new faces. He was trying to do his best, and working to get along with everyone else was part of that.

    “Greetin’s to ye mate!” Anisa said, then bent down to offer her hand to Tornalin. “Name’s Anisa Amri. Ain’t often ye see a dwarf at sea, eh? ’course, us ’alf-el’es ain’t supposed to be as common either, but we seem to ’ave an abundance of ’em, too ’ere. Anyway, me mate ’ere is Alina,” Anisa said to the dwarf, pointing out the blonde girl talking to Tatia. “Dunno ’bout the rest. They didn’ come with us.”

    Tornalin grasped Anisa’s hand and laughed. She was right about not many dwarves at sea and he rather enjoyed the water over land sometimes. He was actually stable for once in the last while, his demons hadn’t resurfaced and he was able to think clear. Still he knew they lurked around the corner, and that terrified him. “Most dwarves wouldn’t understand a thing about me Anisa, though to be honest I been livin’ like this fer years.”

    “Sometimes the sea takes in oddities like us, eh mate?” Anisa replied. “Meself, I was born on the sea. Di’n’t touch dry land ’til I was five.”

    “I actually be a weaponsmith by trade, the sea became me callin’ due to circumstances I be responsible for,” Tornalin replied with his head held high, what he had done was nothing he felt guilty for. Anisa was full of spirit. He hoped that he could find a way to keep his demons in check soon, for her sake, and all his crewmates.

    “Well, that be makin’ ye bloody useful then!” Anisa replied. It was good to have a weaponsmith on board, and a dwarven one at that. That alone could give them a strong advantage over other pirates and their marks. If only I knew how to smith elven steel... Maybe one day I’ll have to take some time aside to learn that.

    “I can only be forging while on land, but ye do have a point there. I learned me techniques from me father, and him from his father,” Tornalin replied to Anisa.

    Tornalin suddenly went silent as he heard the voices again, and his eyes with wide with panic as he stared around. Covering his ears he clenched his teeth, they were angry again. “Shut up, why can’t you all just shut up... I killed you, I should have been rid of you with that belt... Go away, you can’t make me!” he muttered as a fit of insanity overcame him, and he could swear they were coming up from the deck. Telling him he had to spill more blood, he had to kill to keep them satisfied. Calling him a traitor and murderer, over and over. “I did what I had to, go away!”

    What started as a friendly conversation suddenly took a turn for...well, something else. Suddenly, Tornalin was screaming, leaving Anisa to stare at him with a blank and utterly confused expression. For a moment, when he started, she thought he was telling her to shut up, but his ranting wasn’t directed towards anyone in particular. She didn’t know what to make of it. “What in the name o’ Falis?” she muttered, as he obviously wasn’t paying attention to her. It only seemed to get worse too. “Oi!” Leaning down to grab the dwarf by the shoulders, she slapped him across the face to snap him out of his fit. “Snap out o’ it!”

    Tornalin snapped back to reality as Anisa slapped and shook him, breathing heavily he looked to her and realizing she had seen a glimpse of his past. “They be tormenting me again, me demons be angry that I be neglectin’ them. Bloodthirsty lot they are...” He replied as he realized they were gone, thankful at having been pulled out of that encounter. “Thank ye, I try to keep them in check.”

    Anisa really didn’t want to inquire further into the dwarf’s problems, she would rather have washed her hands of the craziness, but it seemed she may have to keep her eye on him in the future. “Yeah...uh...We’d best be gettin’ te work, eh mate?” she said, releasing the dwarf and taking a step back from him.

* * *

    Lythia made herself and her men scarce, preoccupied with going about the fine and proper business of preparing a ship with a sizable, and apparently somewhat questionably sane, crew to sail high seas. As she went about her grunt tasks, assisting the rather extensive repairs to the damaged ship, while noting the similar damage, and type and makeup of the crew, the half-elven had watched the dwarf’s maniac episode discreetly out the corner of her eye.

    Well, if that weren’t more entertainin’ goblins a’juggling numbers, she mused to herself, shifting the nails between her lips as had done countless times before and prepared the hammer to drive in the next into the board braced against its twin by her knee, but otherwise had made no decisive move to put a swift end to it. She wasn’t captain of this ship, she was Lokei and so suppressed the urge to take it upon herself to resolve the strange matter; however, she’d made a quick note the lapse in this dwarf’s judgment in her memory for the future reference.

    For Lokei—for Lythia—it was just another day aboard a pirate ship.

* * *

    Alina approached the red-haired half-elf whom Mudan had pointed out to her. “Hello, my name is Alina and I will be helping you today,” she said to her.

    “Oh, um... Alright,” Tatia replied as the new girl came up to her. She gave a glance to Kreoss, wishing that they could have taken some time to themselves, but she had to earn her keep on the ship. “So, we’re working on fixing the railing then?” she asked.

    Kreoss brushed Tatia’s ears with his lips, obviously flirting with his wife, then spoke, “Have fun.” With a grin tossed over his shoulder at her, he went to join Mudan and other men who were getting to work.

    Tatia blushed as he walked away, then turned her attention back to Alina.

    Alina giggled as she watch the two. “Yeah,” she said to her. “Please, lead the way.”

    Tatia looked to Alina, smiling softly. “Alina...Hi. Sure...” She nodded to her and led Alina to the railing. Looking it over, she went to grab some tools and spare parts that they would need to start the repairs. Alina followed Tatia as she lead her to the railing. Taking one of the tools, she stared blankly at it.

    Tatia glanced at Alina and smiled softly. “I take it you do not know what to do?” she asked, trying to make herself as soft spoken as possible, she didn’t want Alina thinking she was teasing her, because she wasn’t.

    Alina giggled. “I have no clue, I never used to do repairs on my old ship,” she said as she walked over to the railing. “So, please show me how to do this, or I can follow what ever you do?” she asked with a smile.

    Tatia smiled softly as she nodded understandingly. “Alright....just watch...” Tatia said, as she proceeded to install a new post in place of a broken one. After finishing one small section, she looked up at Alina for confirmation; “Got it?”

    Alina followed what Tatia showed her and copied it down in her mind. After a few posts were replaced, Alina had learned the process. She nodded to Tatia then answered, “Yes,” then continued to work.

* * *

    Mudan, with the rest of the able crew, began to construct a scaffolding from some of the supplies Terelyn had brought aboard. Once it was finished, it was tossed over the side and secured so they could work on patching up some of the holes in the side of the ship. The sounds of hammering and creaking wood filled the decks as the crew went to work.

    Red Ear made his appearance above deck. Seeing the crew hard at work, he made his way over to Mudan who seem to be running things pretty tightly. “So, where we be wit’ ship fixin’s?” he asked him.

    Red Ear took note that everyone was busy and went about his business. He became sort of a pack mule, lugging materials back and forth for people. He would pick up a bucket of nails and drop off a load of lumber. Back and forth he went until they finished up the repairs, then he began clearing the deck of debris and swabbing it clean.

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