All tagged Sea
Shots off the starboard bow at dusk, the captain rosy-red like the sunset sky. The sound of drums carried over the steady grumble of the engines, and lights flickered over the stark white paint of the ship’s sides. The crush of people swirled like the sapphire waves below. Sparkling wine flowed freely – everyone knew fresh water was limited on a ship, so alcohol was the responsible choice to preserve rations.
Four days out from Carakko, they passed the first floating outpost. Vemway, still paler than usual and with his perfume not quite hiding the faint aroma of bile, peered across the waves at the towering structure. Half-cut timber bulwarks rose high above the water, their lower sides crusted with salt and seaweed, a few barnacles hanging on for dear life.
The pirates appeared out of nowhere, interrupting Commodore Teddward St. Teddington’s luncheon with characteristic rudeness and a severe lack of consideration for his scones. Luckily, the delicate floral-patterned china teacup proved to be an adequate weapon in a pinch, and his first mate Raug Doll quickly moved to help him.
Cappin Hargraves was an old seadog saltier than the ocean he sailed and twice as furious. His parents, with an abundance of optimism and severe shortage of tact, had named him with all the pride that parents feel for their children and hope for his future. But despite his name, Cappin had never made more than coxswain on the trawling merchant barges that dredged the stonereef bay, and with grey about the temples and milk starting to swirl in his eyes it was unlikely he’d rise any higher before the sea closed cold iron teeth on him.
Schools of memories in whirling, gleaming whorls and twisting dances scattered at her advance, flashing into darkness with bursts of light that illuminated, for the briefest of moments, their attendant thoughts until the dusky river swallowed them whole.
