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Captain's Log: Day Forty-Seven
My crew and I have successfully ported in Argist and offloaded our goods from Asera. We've taken on a new job to transport additional goods and a special passenger back to Asera, which shouldn't be much of a problem at all, even if it means returning home earlier than expected.
For a maiden voyage, the ship is doing quite well. It's held up against the open ocean as best any good ship can and outrun a terrible storm with ease; my father and his money may be good for some things after all. And once this ship is in my name and not his, I can truthfully call myself a successful man. With the payment promised by my special passenger, I will be well on my way to covering the cost of the boat by the end of the season — our first, may I remind you! And the reputation it may earn me will be more than enough to keep myself and my crew well-fed and well-paid for the foreseeable future.
This special passenger… he and his entourage didn't give many details of their origins, but I suspect he's some sort of royalty. I have the decency not to peek into the trunks he had hauled onto my ship, but given their decoration, he's likely from a very wealthy desert clan at the very least. My current hypothesis is that these trunks contain a dowry. It's been well-known for a while now that the princess of Asera was meant to marry a foreign-born man, to my parents' disappointment and my relief. This may be one of her more successful suitors. But if that is at all the case, why he chose my vessel above the many other more successful ships, I have no idea. He seems to be a pleasant man, but he mostly keeps to himself, having a habit of sneaking up on conversations. If he is to become part of Aseran high society, I might want to make more trips home; his few contributions to conversations are more than thought-provoking. He brings an unencountered and highly intelligent perspective to any topic he sets his mind to. It's almost as if this man, who cannot be much older than myself, has lived two entire lifetimes and has the wisdom to prove it.
Of course, things aren't perfect here. I would have been foolish to believe that they would be. My sister has a habit of picking of strays, with that heart of gold of hers. I see that she sees the best in people, but I picked every member of our crew for a particular reason. We only have so much space, and we only have so much money to house, clothe, and feed everyone. Her latest acquisition seems to be a young witch who's running from something. Now, I have no qualms against witches —if it weren't for my education, then I would be one— but witches of this sort bring nothing but trouble. Whatever she's being chased by will soon learn of my ship and begin to come after all of us, and I just can't let that stand any longer than it should. My original plan was to send her off at the next port with a small fund to get her through a day or two so she could find work. Read again: my original plan. To Tess' sheer joy, she's proved to be a valuable sailor, so I can no longer justify getting rid of her. I especially can't after she's been making good relations with everyone on the ship, not just Tess. She's even been winning me over, as reluctant as I am to admit it. Perhaps my sister was right: a sea-faring family is a real family, and this one may have wormed her way into ours.
And now onto the many pleasures I have encountered during this great voyage-
Erin's pen gouged ink across the page as the ship lurched backwards. He grumbled, setting his journal aside as he left his cabin and came up to the top deck. The sun was high in the sky, and the crew were busy with their tasks about the ship as the ship slowly began to move through the harbor.
Tess swung down from the crow's nest, landing near Erin with a triumphant thunk. "There you are! I made the order to head out since everyone is accounted for and there is for-sure a storm coming in from the east."
"We want to be ahead of that," Erin mused, putting a finger to his chin. "Good call. But I would appreciate a warning next time."
"I was actually on my way down to let you know, but the crew is getting faster and faster at getting us ready to launch."
Erin smiled and looked around at all the busy people. They really had turned from a rag-tag group of hired hands to a thriving organism with Tess and Erin at its heart. That was something no money could buy.
Through all the hustle and bustle, Erin surveyed the ship and kept watch of his mental checklist of tasks. It was his job to make sure everything ran smoothly, so that meant checking over everyone's work at least once or twice. In the earlier days, he often needed to check, correct, recheck, recorrect, and then move on. But now, a simple look over and a few smiling faces were all he needed to be assured that everyone was doing their job perfectly. On top of that, he'd built up relations well enough that if something was wrong, he would simply be told so and would be given the opportunity to help. His well-oiled machine, his crew, they were his pride and joy; everything he had worked for.
His pride only dimmed slightly as a presence came sauntering in behind him, the tell-tale shrick, shrick of a tail across the deck narrowing down the choices as to who it could be.
"Where are we heading to this time? I hope it's a bit more exciting than Argist," said a gruff voice.
Erin turned and greeted the familiar siren with as best a smile as he could manage. Falst was a tough marksman, raised on ships and keen with blades and alchemy. He was a perfect addition to their crew skills-wise, but he and Erin always seemed to find a way to get onto each other's nerves. Erin had no idea if it was their vastly opposite upbringings or the cultural divide that created more tension, but with every conversation, there was a habit of it always being one or the other.
Through gritted teeth, Erin replied, "We're actually heading back to Asera. Didn't you hear about our passenger?" Erin gestured thoughtfully to the man who was taking a look around the ship, his entourage in tow, and was currently chatting with Alinua over one of the ship's many ropes that she was securing.
Falst rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, his barbels bending against his brown skin as he tilted his head to the side in annoyance. "Ya know, 'Captain,' I've paid quite a lot into this ship, labor-wise, and I think that deserves some consideration when I say this:" He got very close to Erin, wrapping his tail around Erin's legs as his slitted eyes stared daggers into Erin's, "I got on this boat to get away from Asera. With the way you talked about it, it sounded like you and I were on the same course."
Erin kicked back at Falst's tail, the siren immediately letting go and standing his ground as Erin put some distance between them. "Trust me, I don't want to be going back to Asera any more than you do. But this is necessary."
"How necessary?"
"Extremely."
There was no time to attempt to reason with him further. Someone had shouted something off from the quarterdeck and sent the crew into a frenzy. Falst ran off after the building crowd, but Erin grabbed Tess by the shoulder as she was running by.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Somebody's overboard," she replied, a seriousness in her eyes not usually seen with her typically chipper demeanor.
Both siblings rushed with the crowd, making their way through to the railing. Over the side, clear as day, was a man in the water, his long, vibrantly blond hair sticking out in bright strands against the dark waves.
"Somebody toss him a bouy!" Erin barked. "And Falst," Erin turned to face the siren, his face stern yet trusting, "I need you down in the dingy to pull him in."
Falst didn't hesitate. "Yes, Captain."
Their well-oiled machine continued as it always did, someone grabbing a bouy from below deck and tossing it to the man who waved up at the sailors in what Erin assumed was gratitude. Falst and a few others gathered near the dingy, two of them hopping in while two others lowered it into the calm seas below.
Erin watched on as Falst rowed over to the stranded man in the water. 'That doesn't look like anyone from my crew,' Erin though to himself. 'In fact, I've never seen hair quite that vibrant before…' The strands below the waves almost seemed to glitter like gold.
The man was pulled into the dingy with much effort, but, clear as day, everyone could see that he was completely nude. Erin turned to Tess with a worried look. She returned him an albeit hesitant smile. They were doing a good deed, after all, and she needed to remind him of that.
The boat was quick to return, the man looking at the ship with a wonder in his eyes that could be seen for miles.
Alinua was fast to make her way to the dingy with a spare nightgown in hand, helping the man into it as he got his footing on the ship.
Erin and Tess approached, hoping to get some answers as to where he came from. but before they could even take a breath to begin speaking, he made himself known.
"Hello! I'm Kendal!" he said, smile spanning from ear to ear, his hair still wet and sticking to his face.
Erin took a reflexive step back. No one who had just been saved from near-death at sea should have been that excited and energized.
"He must be in shock," Tess commented quietly, pushing Erin's back to make him regain his previous stance close to the man.
Erin quickly composed himself, offering a warm smile and a bit more tact. "It's nice to meet you, Kendal. What were you doing out there in the ocean?"
"I was swimming," he said, as if it was obvious.
"… Right. I meant, ah, how did you get here?-"
Tess scooped her arm around Kendal's leading him away from Erin as Kendal looked over his shoulder back at the young captain. "How about we feed you first and drill you with questions later? Sound good, Kendal?"
"Yeah! Food sounds great!" Finally, his attention turned away from Erin, and he and Tess continued a conversation presumably all the way down to the ship's kitchen.
The crew were abundant in questioning eyes and faltering smiles as the man was led away, all of them looking to Erin for answers.
Erin shrunk into himself for a moment before taking a steadying breath. "We'll make sure he's taken care of and get him on his way home safely. Don't worry, everyone."
A few turned away unsatisfied, but most seemed at least at peace with that answer. Erin himself, however, was the most discontented, so he went back to his study to attempt to journal his feelings away.
Before long, Erin was interrupted by the sound of his door opening. He closed his journal and put it aside, standing to greet the only person who would have barged into his room like that. "How is he, Tess?"
"You know," Tess started, closing the door behind her as she stood across from Erin, "I thought he was in shock —I said as much— but I think he's genuinely unphased by the whole being left at sea part of whatever happened to him. It's whatever came before where you can see the upset."
"Wait, you think he was left at sea?"
Tess nodded. "He wouldn't give me any details as to how he got there. He gets real quiet when you pry somewhere he doesn't want you looking."
Erin tapped the end of his pen on his chin before putting it down to sit on the bed. Tess quickly joined in next to him.
"Do you think he was… tossed overboard for some reason?"
"Likely."
Erin sighed and hung his head between his knees.
"I know what you're going to say."
Erin propped his chin up on his elbow perched onto his knee and gestured for his sister to continue.
In unison, they spoke, "We're not going to keep him."
Tess, to Erin's disappointment, continued, "But you have to listen to me about him, Erin."
"What's there to listen about?" Erin kept his tone calm and even, standing and crossing his arms as he faced away from his sister. "He's another stray."
"And strays like him are good for us."
"Good at costing us, Tess. We have so much to lose. Maybe he was tossed off his last ship for a good reason."
The silence behind him told him more than any words could.
He sighed. "That was very cruel of me to say."
"Now there is something you're right about." Tess came up behind Erin and spun him around through a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just give him a chance like you gave to Alinua."
Erin grumbled, he seethed, but eventually, he sighed and nodded, raising his head once more to speak.
A knock rapped at the door. All the air was stolen from Tess and Erin's conversation.
Erin went to the door, pushing his hair back and opening it wide. "Yes?" But he felt the air be taken from his lungs again as he saw Kendal standing just beyond the door, his hair tied back and wearing as full an outfit as all the rest of the sailors. He cleaned up well.
"Ah, Captain Erin," Kendal began, swaying from foot to foot as he stood, "I just wanted to come by and thank you for allowing me to stay with you."
Erin shot a look back at Tess. He so badly wanted to light the ends of her hair on fire with just his eyes.
Tess only grinned and got up from the bed, making her way out the door and squeezing past Kendal. "I think you two have a lot to talk about. I'll leave you to it."
Tess disappeared down the hallway, and Erin was left alone with the strangely beautiful stranger. Erin steadied himself and took in a deep breath.
"I didn't interrupt something, did I?" Kendal asked. When Erin met his eyes, he only saw a soft, hollow sorrow, something that hit him far deeper than the man cared to tell.
Erin released his breath and put on a smile. "Nothing important. Please, come in."
Kendal was so tall that he had to duck to get through the doorway, walking past Erin and looking around the room for a few moments.
Erin's eyes couldn't help but wander either, catching the curve of the man's waist through his shirt as he passed by the candles on the table. He didn't even noticed the man had partially turned to look back at him until Erin's eyes came up to meet his.
"I'm sorry," Erin began, averting his eyes, "Please, sit." Erin gestured to the bed.
Kendal nodded and sat, his weight sinking into the plush mattress and a smile overtaking his face. He rubbed the sheets with that same smile. Erin nearly lost his footing as he pulled his desk chair out to face Kendal and sat down.
It took him a moment, but Erin compiled some words. "Now, what is it you were saying earlier?"
"Right," Kendal's attention turned away from the sheets and back to Erin. "I wanted to thank you," he paused and leaned forward, "for allowing me to stay."
Erin nearly cringed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Clearly, my sister has made some big promises to you."
Kendal's smile faltered. It tore Erin apart. Why?
Erin grabbed his temples and sighed. "I'm not saying you can't stay. I'm sorry. You're more than welcome to say for as long as you need to."
"You're quite the confusing man, Captain Erin."
For once in Erin's life, he was speechless.
Kendal stood and worked his way past Erin toward the door. "I'll let you have some time to yourself. I think you've had a pretty busy day, if your sister to be believed."
Erin smiled, sitting back in his chair. "I have. I appreciate that. Do you need help getting back up to the top deck?"
"I remember the way there, don't worry. Will I see you for dinner, Captain?"
"Yes, you will."
With that the two parted ways, and Erin was left to his own devices. Finally, time to put the alluring stranger aside and consider his greater plans.
Erin pulled a map out of the drawer, its ink faded and its edges worn. He spread the paper across his desk and pinned it to the wood, pulling out his other mapping tools.
This would be the pinnacle of his career, the greatest find across all the seas. If the tales of the map maker were to be believed. And for the price Erin had to pay coupled with some preexisting knowledge of the site, he certainly believed them.
He mapped exactly how far they had traveled across the water and set a small model of their ship there, lowering his eyes to the table to see just how far away the destination was. It was supposed to be an easy shot from Asera, a happy coincidence among everything else that was going right for him.
This treasure… the seller of the map had said it grants a witch unfathomable power. Seeing as Erin was a magic user himself, he saw no flaws with his plan: claim the artifact and its power within. He could use that power to make his ship faster, more durable, make the food and water last longer, all things easily accomplished with the power of the g-ds at his fingertips. That's what the seller had said it was, anyway, an idol that granted power so great that not even a sea g-d could match him.
If he were to grab this idol now while he was still so early in his merchant career, there would be nothing to stop him. He could protect his crew, even those with monstrous threats at their backs. He could bend monarchs to his heel and make even royal navies turn back. Power he alone could wield. He could end the slave trade in Asera for good with a simple command.
He could finally overshadow his father and become the leading name among their family for generations to come. Hell, he could go down in the history books for being the greatest merchant Asera —no, the world— had ever seen.
As long as he could stick to the plan, nothing would go wrong, and that power would be rightfully his.