a
gangplank. The old captain, standing atop a large wooden crate, was
a fiery man with a bushy black beard and a heavily lined face. He
was furiously shouting commands to all the sailors below. They
jumped and ran about, creating quite a chaotic scene.
‘ Come on ya naw good fish guts; work harda. We need da git
moven! I aint pain ya to run a social club,’ he shouted, his voice
was coarse and guttural.
‘ Captain Orstag,’ said Cassiel as he stepped up onto the deck
of the ship.
‘ Not naw,’ he blurted back, dismissively waving Cassiel away.
They stood on the deck as sailors ducked and weaved about
them.
‘ Git outda da way!’ shouted Captain Orstag down at
them.
‘ Where to?’ asked Cassiel, surprised at the tone Captain
Orstag was taking.
‘ Beelow da deck!’
They were a
little taken aback by his gruffness, and it looked like Cassiel was
going to say something. A moment later the fuming captain turned
his back to them and began shouting at the sailors on the other
side of the ship. Cassiel thought it better to hold his tongue. Red
led the way down below the deck and into a dimly lit and confined
area below. Barrels, wooden boxes, and many traded goods were
loaded everywhere in the stuffy and exceedingly dank space. A
stench of something putrid permeated the entire ship.
‘ What do we do now?’ asked Stella.
‘ Wait. I assume that the Captain will assign us a cabin soon,’
replied Cassiel. That was the deal I made with him yesterday.’ They
could hear voices toward the back of the ship.
‘ I’ll see if I can find our cabin,’ said Red. He walked off
toward the back and was lost from view behind large wooden
crates.
Eben sat down
on a barrel. ‘This is cosy,’ he said, trying to be positive.
Stella smiled
bleakly; she looked down at the floor as two rats scurried around
the edge of a crate and ran along an edge, jumping into a gap in
the floorboards. Her bleak smile quickly turned to a deep frown,
and she covered her mouth with her hand.
‘ Were there any other boats?’ she asked nervously.
‘ Don’t worry; they won’t hurt you, they’re only rats,’ replied
Cassiel. They could hear voices merrily shouting from the back of
the ship. A moment later Red appeared with a big smile.
‘ Hey, come on. A friend of mine is here,’ said Red
cheerfully.
They followed
him between the crates and made their way to the back of the ship
where there was a slightly cleared area. Seated on a small wooden
chair was a very overweight middle-aged man, with greasy hair, dark
circles under his eyes, and a big grin on his face. He was
surrounded by a group of five gangly men, all with swords at their
belts. Stella cautiously glanced at Eben.
‘ Stella, Cassiel, and Eben, I would like you to meet Falsig,’
said Red, indicating toward the overweight man.
‘ Pleased to meet you,’ said Falsig in a throaty voice, a
greasy smile crossing his face.
‘ Years ago we worked together on a ship called the Gale
Blazer,’ said Red, who seemed happy to have met up with his old
friend.
‘ Those were the days,’ said Falsig, grinning across at
Red.
‘ Remember when those crazy villagers thought we had stolen a
pig. We had to swim five hundred yards out to our anchored ship!’
said Red, laughing as he spoke.
‘ Sure do, Red. ’ said Falsig, who was also laughing. ‘So why
are you heading out to Zyran?’
‘ Business,’ replied Cassiel coolly.
‘ What kind of business are you in, Cassiel?’ asked Falsig,
paying close attention.
‘ Trading rare goods,’ said Cassiel quickly. ‘What about you,
Falsig; why are you going to Zyran?’ asked Cassiel, turning the
topic away from their mission.
‘ I work for the Zyranian Order,’ said Falsig casually. ‘I
bring the wizards some of the finest spices and delicacies in
Veredor. Whilst I’m not travelling I help govern the kitchen in the
Citadel of Zyran. I also help a little to manage the Citadel’s
guardsmen.’
‘ Do you think you can get us
gangplank. The old captain, standing atop a large wooden crate, was
a fiery man with a bushy black beard and a heavily lined face. He
was furiously shouting commands to all the sailors below. They
jumped and ran about, creating quite a chaotic scene.
‘ Come on ya naw good fish guts; work harda. We need da git
moven! I aint pain ya to run a social club,’ he shouted, his voice
was coarse and guttural.
‘ Captain Orstag,’ said Cassiel as he stepped up onto the deck
of the ship.
‘ Not naw,’ he blurted back, dismissively waving Cassiel away.
They stood on the deck as sailors ducked and weaved about
them.
‘ Git outda da way!’ shouted Captain Orstag down at
them.
‘ Where to?’ asked Cassiel, surprised at the tone Captain
Orstag was taking.
‘ Beelow da deck!’
They were a
little taken aback by his gruffness, and it looked like Cassiel was
going to say something. A moment later the fuming captain turned
his back to them and began shouting at the sailors on the other
side of the ship. Cassiel thought it better to hold his tongue. Red
led the way down below the deck and into a dimly lit and confined
area below. Barrels, wooden boxes, and many traded goods were
loaded everywhere in the stuffy and exceedingly dank space. A
stench of something putrid permeated the entire ship.
‘ What do we do now?’ asked Stella.
‘ Wait. I assume that the Captain will assign us a cabin soon,’
replied Cassiel. That was the deal I made with him yesterday.’ They
could hear voices toward the back of the ship.
‘ I’ll see if I can find our cabin,’ said Red. He walked off
toward the back and was lost from view behind large wooden
crates.
Eben sat down
on a barrel. ‘This is cosy,’ he said, trying to be positive.
Stella smiled
bleakly; she looked down at the floor as two rats scurried around
the edge of a crate and ran along an edge, jumping into a gap in
the floorboards. Her bleak smile quickly turned to a deep frown,
and she covered her mouth with her hand.
‘ Were there any other boats?’ she asked nervously.
‘ Don’t worry; they won’t hurt you, they’re only rats,’ replied
Cassiel. They could hear voices merrily shouting from the back of
the ship. A moment later Red appeared with a big smile.
‘ Hey, come on. A friend of mine is here,’ said Red
cheerfully.
They followed
him between the crates and made their way to the back of the ship
where there was a slightly cleared area. Seated on a small wooden
chair was a very overweight middle-aged man, with greasy hair, dark
circles under his eyes, and a big grin on his face. He was
surrounded by a group of five gangly men, all with swords at their
belts. Stella cautiously glanced at Eben.
‘ Stella, Cassiel, and Eben, I would like you to meet Falsig,’
said Red, indicating toward the overweight man.
‘ Pleased to meet you,’ said Falsig in a throaty voice, a
greasy smile crossing his face.
‘ Years ago we worked together on a ship called the Gale
Blazer,’ said Red, who seemed happy to have met up with his old
friend.
‘ Those were the days,’ said Falsig, grinning across at
Red.
‘ Remember when those crazy villagers thought we had stolen a
pig. We had to swim five hundred yards out to our anchored ship!’
said Red, laughing as he spoke.
‘ Sure do, Red. ’ said Falsig, who was also laughing. ‘So why
are you heading out to Zyran?’
‘ Business,’ replied Cassiel coolly.
‘ What kind of business are you in, Cassiel?’ asked Falsig,
paying close attention.
‘ Trading rare goods,’ said Cassiel quickly. ‘What about you,
Falsig; why are you going to Zyran?’ asked Cassiel, turning the
topic away from their mission.
‘ I work for the Zyranian Order,’ said Falsig casually. ‘I
bring the wizards some of the finest spices and delicacies in
Veredor. Whilst I’m not travelling I help govern the kitchen in the
Citadel of Zyran. I also help a little to manage the Citadel’s
guardsmen.’
‘ Do you think you can get us
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