RavensDagger

  Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty - Captain's Logs

  Squaring things away didn’t take long, not with the size of our rooms and the few things we brought. I don’t think anyone had pns to really get ged for what would be a day-long flight.

  “So, we’ll be reag the capital before night, right?” I asked.

  Amaryllis situated herself on a bench at the very front of the passenger quarters. There was a small porthole there, but because we were at dock, all there was to see were some metal struts a meter or so away from the window. “I think so, yes. It would depend on when we leave. They’re still unloading the ship.”

  “Really? How do you know?” I asked. The noises from the other side were all gs and bangs, nothing really telling.

  Amaryllis poio the window. “We’re rising, slowly, but it’s visible.”

  “Huh,” I said. “You’re su observant bird.”

  She huffed.

  “I wonder if I look around the ship ter,” Awen asked.

  The door leading into our partment opened and Captain Galebane slid into the room and clicked the door shut behind her. “I would be hoo show you around,” she replied. “We have a meic aboard, all ships do as a matter of protocol, but he’s an apprentice from Goldenalden. A little wet behind the ears, but well-meaning.”

  “Hello captain,” I said. “Your ship’s very .”

  “Why thank you,” she replied. “I came to ehat you were all settled in. My first mate is taking care of things above. He he experience as well.”

  “That’s two new people on your crew,” Amaryllis said.

  The captain nodded. “Indeed. I think over half the crew is green, or nearly so. Most of the better sailors have been dragged off to the navy. Promises of better pay and the like are robbing us of a lot of good experienced people.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” I said.

  The captain shrugged a shoulder. “It is what it is. I don’t bme them for accepting mainful employment, even if it might only be on the shorter term.”

  “Aren’t you worried? Such a green crew be troublesome,” Amaryllis said.

  “Oh, there’s no worry. Most of those green sailors are from the navy. Sylphfree allows panies in good standing to hire persoo train them further and give them a bit of applicable experie means that part of their wages are covered, and the navy gains more people who have a wider breadth of experience.”

  “That’s clever,” I said. “Our crew is pretty mixed, experience-wise.” The captain was being very forthing about things. I looked at her, and had the impression she hadn’t had the opportunity to rant about things in a good while.

  Captain Risa nodded. “Your ship is that... iing twin-hulled vessel? I saw it while ing in to dock.”

  “That’s the Beaver Cleaver, yeah,” I said. “He’s a good little ship. Though I guess he’s a little weird-looking.”

  “Certainly uhe captain agreed. “Have you been a captain for long, Captain Bunch?”

  “Nope!” I said. “It’s been... uh, about... a week?” How long ago did we leave the ing Kingdom? I know that I spent a few days sick, so that might have been throwing off my sense of time.

  “A week,” she repeated.

  “A very busy week,” I agreed. “We got off track over the Darkwoods, then we ended up stopping a smaller war between a big pany and some dryads, then we visited Needleford where Awen was kidnapped by pirates. We damaged their ship--wait, is it sinking a ship if the ship is an airship?”

  “It is,” she said.

  “Cool! I thought so, because ships kind of sink out of the air,” I said. “Not that we sank the pirate ship. We just did a number on their engines.”

  Awen looked like she was holding back a giggle, and Amaryllis just shook her head and pulled a book out from her bags and started to read it.

  “You took out a pirate vessel?” Captain Risa asked. “I’ll admit, I have ten years as a captain, but they were mostly safe. Other than a few run-ins with some nasty creatures, I’ve never had the misfortune of fighting a pirate aboard my vessel.”

  “Oh, we didn’t use the Beaver for that. We used a skiff. The pirate was called Golden Rogers, and he’s a nasty, mean guy.”

  “A skiff?”

  “Like, a really small boat that flies?”

  “I’m aware of what a skiff is. What sort of vessel did the pirates have?” she asked.

  “Uh,” I replied. I couldn’t recall the name of the ship. “It was quite big. Maybe half again the size of your ship? But more water-ship like. His crew was rather rge, I think. But we mao save Awen, even though she’d mostly mao save herself, really.”

  “It was called the Golden Grove’s Revenge,” Awen said. “And it couldn’t operate because I destroyed the engines and I think Broccoli lit the insides on fire.”

  “Just a little,” I said. “It was me, Amaryllis, and Bastion. It was very scary.”

  “Three of you took on a pirate ship?” Captain Risa didn’t souirely vinced.

  I crossed my arms. “I hold my own in a fight, you know. And Amaryllis is scary too. Not to mention Bastion. He’s a padin, so he’s great at butt-kig.”

  “Ah,” she said with a nod. I had the impression that everything just clicked for her. The people in Sylphfree seemed to think very highly of padins. “I suppose that it was quite the adventure.”

  “I know! And that was only in the first three days! The to Innsmouth, fought in two dungeons, then we ran into some very angry cry and had not one, but two battles in the air against them! They have rocket-powered pnes and airships, but it turned out okay because we have Awen and we made some cry friends. Did you know that sers are terrible for airships?”

  “I imagine?”

  “They really are. We ended up almost-crashing on the Lonely Isnd,” I said.

  “The penal y?” she asked.

  I nodded. “That’s the one.”

  “I imagihat must have been harrowing, nding in a pce so hostile,” Risa said. She smiled as if it was entirely self-evident.

  “Huh? No, not really? I mean, the airship fight we had over the isnd was scary but the people of the isnd were pretty niot super weling, and I wish we had more time to spend there so that I could make proper friends there, but they seemed about as nice as the people from Granite Springs, for example.”

  “Ah.”

  “Anyway, then we made it here after some repairs. And that’s about all the adventures we’ve had sing the Beaver Cleaver. It’s been a busy week and a bit.”

  “I... see,” the captain allowed.

  The door to the passenger quarters opened, and in walked Bastion, looking as fresh as ever with a bag by his side and some equipment in a sack slung over his shoulder. “Bastion!” I called out as I bouo my feet. “I was getting worried.”

  “Hello, Broccoli,” he said. “Amaryllis, Awen, and you must be Captain Galebane?”

  The captain stood taller. “Indeed. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said.

  “Likewise, captain. Your first mate gave me permission to board, but I had hoped to meet you at some point.”

  “O-oh?” Risa asked. Was she blushing?

  “It’s nothing very urgent,” he said. He tossed his bag into one of the rooms where it nded on the bed with a thump. “Were you eaining others?”

  “Broccoli was telling her of our adventures,” Amaryllis said off-hand. She turhe page in her book. “As it turns out, Broccoli has a gift for uating things in such a way that they sound grahan they were. It’s ht bizarre.”

  “I didn’t exaggerate anything,” I said.

  “You didn’t,” Amaryllis agreed. “If anything you did the opposite, but you also listed more wild advehan most sane people would experien a lifetime.”

  I wiggled my ears in thought. That made sense, I supposed, we had been through a lot together. “I kind of like having big advehough,” I said. “It’s fun. But... well, do you guys like that kind of thing?”

  Amaryllis snorted. “It’s harrowing and terrifying, but you have no idea hoid rowth is pared to most.”

  Awen shrugged. “Uncle’s stories were about as full of adventure, so I think it’s kind of normal.”

  “I’m not sure if using Abraham Bristlee as a measuring stick is entirely wise,” Bastion said. “But I suppose pared to the likes of him, this crew’s travels have been quite calm.”

  I grinned. For all that the passenger se on the Little Ats was a bit cramp and spare, it was still a lively, happy pce. Mostly because it was filled with so many nice people in it. “How did things go?” I asked. “With the general and the ander and all the soldiers?”

  “Retively well,” Bastion said. “The... event fell into disarray ohe main threat was eliminated. Fortunately, it was the better sort of disarray. Some of the miners had cooking equipment, and the mole people brought some barrels of mushroom ale and shared it around. There was something of a party, though I doubt the official reports will call it that.”

  I ughed. “That’s great. It’ll give everyone a ake friends.”

  “Indeed,” Bastion said. “There are some crates of salted meat ing with us, as well as some detly rge segments of amphiptere leather. A fine reward for a day’s work.”

  “I'll ehat everything is properly secured, sir padin,” Risa said with a small salute.

  “Thank you, Captain. But I’m certain that your crew will do a fine job. Now, if no one minds, I haven’t slept since yesterday, I’m quite overdue for some rest.”

  I raised my arms for a hug as Bastion moved by, and he allowed me to give him a quick squeeze. More experience! And more hugs too!

  “If anyone needs me, then feel free to wake me up,” he said before carefully closing the door to his quarters.

  Captain Risa pced her hands over her face. “I didn’t offer him my ,” she muttered.

  “I don’t think he minds,” I said. “Bastion seems like a simple sort of guy. Anyway! We have a long trip ahead of us, is there anything you do for fun? Usually on the Beaver I’m too busy doing captain things or training. I like both, but I don’t think we do either here.”

  “I’ll bring over a deck of cards,” Captain Risa said. “Maybe I teach you a few games ter. There are a few that are quite popur with the crew, and there are the more noble games, of course.”

  “Noble games?” I asked.

  Amaryllis lowered her book. “Some card games are sidered lowbrow, often depending exclusively on ce; more involved games are arily the purview of the nobility. They tend to be a little more plex and rely more oion and one’s ability to read people than on pure luck, though there’s usually some element of luck at py.”

  “Oh! Why didn’t we ever py any of those?” I asked.

  “Because you have about as much ce to deceive someone as a puppy has of hiding a misdeed,” Amaryllis said. “And at the same time, your ability to read people would make pying against you just pin irritating. You’d be at oerrible oppo and a terrible pyer.”

  “I bet I could beat you though,” I said with my smuggest grin on.

  Amaryllis carefully dog-eared the top er of the page she was on a her book down. “Captain, would you be so kind as to get that deck? I have to teach my dear friend here a lesson she’s uo ever fet.”

  ***

  RavensDagger

  So yeah! Go check all of that out! It's Phase Two of my Take Over The World And Drown It In Cute pn!

  Some of my stories are on TopWebFi!-amon Bun-Stray Cat Strut-Lever A-Dead Tired-Heart of DorknessVoting makes Broccoli smile!

  The following books are avaible as paperbacks (and as Ebooks) on Amazon. Oh, and there’s an awesome audiobook for amon Bun Volume One and Two, and also Love Crafted!

  (The images are links!)

  All proceeds go to funding my addi to buying art paying for food, rent, and other ies!

  Thank you so much for all your support everyone! And thank you extra hard for allowio do this for a living; I’ll do my best to keep you eained!