Read Online End Online: Volume 5 by D. Wolfin - Free Book Online Page B

after
all.
    “Ye searched for a capt’n down at the docks? Ye be searchin’ in
the wrong location. There be nothin’ but merchants there; cowards who never set
sail beyond the coast.”
    “But you’re different?”
    “Ships be meant for battle. That be why I took the life of a
pirate. The merchants fear the sea monsters, but not I.”
    “I think I get it now. There are two types of sailors; merchants
and pirates?”
    “Aye, that be correct. Merchants be those who make money by
carryin’ cargo and tradin’. Pirates be those who raid those merchants, or
sometimes act as mercenary guards. It all be involvin’ gold though!”
    “Are there any other types of sailors?”
    “There be a few odd ones. People who like to fish, or dive in
the deep ocean. They be rare, though.”
    Looking around the deck of the ship which only contains our
party and Mikhail’s, I can’t help but let curiosity get the better of me,
“CaptainGordon, why is it that you don’t have any crew?”
    “Hmph, what do you think I be doin’ in that town?” He replies
stubbornly.
    I can tell that the lack of crew is a touchy subject for
CaptainGordon and stop pestering him, letting him focus on navigating the
vessel through the river.
    The waterway is wide enough to fit three decent-sized vessels
side by side. The banks of the river are lined with rows of trees, preventing
any of us from seeing further than fifty meters to either side.
    On our way out, a ship twice the size of the ‘Bastion’ is
swiftly sailing back to the wide section of the river to return to the other
pirates. I note several holes on the side of the hull, a broken railing around
the deck and a splintered mast. Despite all the damage, the crew on the deck
are shouting loudly in celebration and drinking alcohol with abandon.
    We finally reach the ocean by mid afternoon, and all the players
are already lying in the shadows of the sails panting from the hot weather. I
find myself joining them as my cloak seems to be getting less effective as the
day gets hotter.
    Looking through the gaps in the handrails, I see a medium-sized
vessel not much larger than this one. From the lack of a black pirate sail, I
can assume that it is most likely a merchant ship. They continue on their way
without paying us any attention and we do likewise.
    By the time the sun sets, the main continent gradually begins to
vanish on the horizon. CaptainGordon enters one of the two doors leading to the
bow of the ship, returning a few minutes later with a large quantity of
mechanical lanterns on large hooks.
    Mason, Matrix, and I help him hang the lanterns around the ship;
we hang them off the railings, hanging ropes, masts, and anywhere else needed
to provide enough light to see by. As we set each lantern, we light it by
turning a copper valve and pressing a button to spark the gas.
    The pirate then moves up to the small deck on the front of the
ship and slides open a wooden trapdoor which I never even noticed was there. A
cast iron crank swings up on a well oiled hinge, making not the slightest squeak.
Furiously turning the crank, which is absolutely not silent, a strange
cone-shaped contraption slowly starts to rise up from beneath the floor.
    The entirety of both parties walk up to the captain out of
curiosity. We end up crowding the front quarterdeck, causing CaptainGordon to
shout at us in irritation. Before leaving, however, we each get a good view of
the device.
    The creation is rather simply designed. It consists of a copper
pipe running to a gas outlet, fitting at the narrow section of a cone-shaped
piece of highly polished steel. On the gas outlet I notice some kind of strange
muzzle, vaguely similar to the flash suppressor on a modern-day gun, only more
extravagant.
    Lighting it with a similar method to the lanterns, a bright
yellow flame soon gives birth inside the cone which acts as a mirror to focus
the light from the flame forward and into the ocean. The concept is the same as
the old