After days of bitter, still monotony, something finally happen.
Belowdecks, a younger crewman checking the salted pork for spoilage discovers it full of small, smooth bored holes, as unlike the nibbling of rats and insects as a mine is from a hole in the ground. Cursing softly, he leans in to examine the damage, which includes a handful of holes in the barrel.
He loses a chunk of his cheek, and that that's all is only because he's fast enough and panicked enough to rip the small, squirming creature that did it from his flesh before it could bore too deep.
He stumbles up on deck as the worms pour from nooks and crannies and the minute holes they chewed in the ship's hull, scenting the blood on their comrade. They roll over him, gathering the scent on themselves, and begin to writhe.
It's not a lot of worms- barely enough to fill a smallish bucket. The young crewman curses viciously as he staunches the bleeding and is surrounded by a curious group of nearby sailors.
"Summat down there bit a fuckin' 'ole in me!"
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The day begins as every other day has- one of the things about the sailing life is the endless, dreary monotony. The same things are done as they would be any other day, and nothing at first seems to be amiss.
Their course leads them into territory the older sailors grumble about. Harlan is heard complaining at great length that the captain clearly wants them all killed and dragged off to the infernal pits, and the navigator is more nervous than usual. She had always been told to skirt this region before, but going straight through these less traveled waters is a faster way to the shipping lanes they mean to haunt.
The ocean gradually begins to change. At first, it's nothing terribly noticeable, but as the day wears on and no sign of life can be seen- no porpoises leaping at the bow, no gulls circling in the air, and even a complete lack of drifting seaweed...
It could be coincidence, of course, or simply that you happen to be missing things. Surely other people have spotted a few living things, as they do every day. Nothing to worry about.
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![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) loyalsister |
| 2007-09-04 15:46 |
| i have always been the tower [open] |
| Public |
Lilhy (Sister Lilhy, she must constantly remind everyone) is rather predictably not pleased. She was sick early on, and lost many valuable hours of translating time because she could not stand to read. The captain is an abominable nuisance of a man, and most of the crew is, in her judgment, both inept and without a sense of their place.
She is in a dark mood indeed when she comes up on deck to take in fresher air; her work is not going half so well as she would like, and she can feel the earliest edges of a headache behind her eyes.
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| agentofthesea |
| 2007-08-22 03:57 |
| conscience and birth [elizabeth] |
| Public |
It's good to be away from Road Town, however comparatively civilized it might be. Once away from the gentlemen in their fine coats and the officers' taverns and the perceived sneering scorn of the law-abiding, Captain Kaufman finds it a bit easier to maintain his sense of self-worth.
And aboard the Hellequin, at least, he's still more or less the most gentlemanly of the lot. Among the highest-born (even though he's not very, not at all, just a merchant's son), the highest-ranking (even if it was stripped from him a long time ago) the most law-respecting (even though his conscience barely twinges at all now when his crew loots and thieves and kidnaps.)
But he has passengers now, decent respectable ones at that. Truly highborn passengers, like the good Widow Sumner. That's going to make things a bit uneasier for him.
He stands on the quarterdeck, hands behind his back, looking out over the sea to ponder this.
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Today, finally, is the day that the noble Hellequin disembarks and goes out to make some type of dubious fortune. The ship is provisioned, repaired, and crewed by reasonable reliable men (and a few women, to the Captain's chagrin and general embarrassment to the ship's reputation).
Everyone is bustling around, making last minute preparations, and here's the last chance to get on (or off, but who'd want to?).
All aboard who's going aboard.
[This is it, the moment you've been waiting for! Feel free to tag in with your pups, minlge, and narrate various things going on aboard the ship. After this, your pups are on the high seas, with all that entails.]
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| sonofthenile |
| 2007-08-11 21:15 |
| someone who understands [jin yoon] |
| Public |
Malik has been avoiding Mr. Gray like the plague ever since that little assaulting-and-kidnapping incident a few days ago. He regrets the necessity of it; he'd liked showing off for Gray, before Mr. Hardaway had started beating on him, and while he is extremely keen to avoid the awkwardness of having to attempt to talk to someone you helped attack, in a language you don't really speak, he doesn't know of anyone else who is anywhere near as impressed by his mutation. Except Suresh, and Malik avoids him too, as conversations with him always seem to end with blood getting sucked out of his arm and put under a lens for study.
There is his akht tajdif, his sister in blasphemy. He doesn't mean to be insulting, thinking of her that way, but he doesn't know any other word for what they can both do. He calls it what the villagers called it. He doesn't have to believe it.
Yes. He'll talk to Jin Yoon. Even if they are blasphemers, at least they can blaspheme together. He raps on the door of her quarters with the flat of one webbed hand.
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| not_leaving |
| 2007-08-11 00:01 |
| [Open] Don't Quite Belong Here |
| Public |
Gray had slept on the ship the night before- the seasickness appeared to finally be fading. As such, he decided to head up to the deck and try to make himself somewhat useful. Unfortunately, he was no good at anything that required a great deal of physical effort, which knocked much of the necessary work out of the way.
Instead, he wanders around inspecting the ship for leaks, cracks, and various other broken things. He's found quite a few already! And set to fixing what he can with the sad things they called tools here.
Mostly, though, he watches the ocean drift by, a longing look at it. It really would be nice to get out of Road Town.
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Adam, despite their 'truce,' has been determinedly avoiding Lilhy's inn ever since he managed to wash most of the wine out of his shirt. As much as it pains him, he's found it necessary to stick to the less-reputable establishments if he wants a hot meal and a drink.
Still, the patronage of the nastier places around Road Town tends to be, on average, notably more intelligent, if also considerably more likely to stick a dagger through your eye. Adam relaxes enough after a few glasses of wine to make some conversation, becoming steadily less wary of his surroundings.
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Having retrieved her belongings -- such as they are, handed down from her rescuer's grown daughters -- Elizabeth is getting herself settled in her new situation. She's in quite a good mood, really; the way this has worked out so far is better than she'd anticipated. She has yet to meet the woman whose language the Captain hopes she'll understand, but given she's settling herself in aforementioned woman's quarters, it seems likely their paths will cross soon.
She hums a jaunty little tune while she goes through her clothes, having exchanged the "sari" that Jack provided her with for something more suitable.
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| loyalsister |
| 2007-08-08 18:43 |
| reduced circumstances [Adam] |
| Public |
Lilhy does not like this particular inn. It is filthy, stinking, cramped, and she has been picking fleas off of herself all day before finally going downstairs for some small repast.
The bread is hard as a rock, and she is glad she has her own watered down wine because what is available 'on the house' is more than slightly questionable. She is also...less than fond of the general clientèle. They are crude, lascivious men of little intellect and even lesser charm, and all her carefully cultivated coldness does little to repel them. She is also fairly sure some of these women are whores.
So, she has tucked herself into a corner and is attempting to dine in peace. She is not sure it will be possible.
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