Topic: Setting Sail

Abandon All Ships

Date: 2012-05-11 16:26 EST
The First Escorting Job

Everything was ready aboard the ship. This ship was painted black with red letters reading 'The Devil's Wake'. There were holes for the cannons to shoot on each side. It looked like a pirate ship, but it was not. Barthalomew was calling to his crew to man the sails and for one to go up in the crows nest. He just hoped that Catalina had gotten on board, because he would not be turning back. The docks were growing further and further away and there was one ship following them. A standard ship. Nothing special. Showing the flag of some business or other. He didn't know what business though, he just cared about getting the job. He yelled up to the crows nest. "Watch for pirate ships! I have no doubt that we will be attacked somewhere along the way." Of course they would, because they had to use the nexus to get where they were going. His last experience hadn't been so good. Luckily the people for the business knew what they were doing. Now that he had told his crew what to do he took over the wheel from another. "Go to my quarters and get my compass and map." It would be awhile before he would be leaving the wheel. Soon the man came back and Barthalomew took the compass and map. "Now go help the others." This crew knew what they were supposed to be doing, so there would be no issues there. The rocking of the ship was a beauty to him. It calmed the nerves as the ship sailed through the water. A couple of times he would check back on the ship they were escorting. He may have had the men in the crows nest checking, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't check himself. It was already close to the time that they would have to go through the nexus. At this point he would have to have the other ship take the lead. "Lower the sails!"

It took some time, but eventually the ship was side by side. "Raise the sails!" He had decided to go side by side. Then he prepared himself as the air ahead of them rippled, it made him think that perhaps they were not using the nexus. Then they were passing through that area and it shook the ship. Only years of experience as a captain kept his feet steady. They were through and the ship stopped shaking. It was a different world through this place. Nearly pitch black, yet on the ship went through the blackness. Then the shaking started again and he knew they were headed out the other side.

The sight of the other land beyond nearly took his breath away. It was quite beautiful. The water was a clear blue. The skies(as it was late) was traced with purple and orange. Two full blood-red moons were on the rise. The water here was calm so that the ship sailed smoothly through the water. The sails were barely needed. Though he noticed as the other ship slowed down so that they could take front. Nothing might happen tonight, but tomorrow was a different story. Now he called for Cat. "Cat! Get up here if you want to earn your pay!" He hadn't seen her yet. Of course up here meant up above his cabin. He was used to yelling loud enough for the whole ship to hear though. So it was not a problem that she was probably on the opposite side of the ship in her own cabin. He knew that soon she would be coming.

CatalinaBlack

Date: 2012-05-11 16:37 EST
She had been sitting in her cabin quietly since he had told her they were going to be leaving. Once she ship started to move she crossed her legs and sat on her bed. She let out a sigh of boredom, this was supposed to be exciting, so far it wasn't. Her head perked up when she heard her name, quickly she jumped up and ran to the deck. She took one look around the skipped up to her captain. "What do you need to me to Captain?"

Abandon All Ships

Date: 2012-05-12 00:43 EST
"You said you could do stuff out to sea. Now what can you do' And no steering is not an option." While he waits for her to answer he looks at his compass to make sure they're still on track.

"I can work in the crows nest." Of course he sighs at this.

"Then go do that!" He watches her run off and looks up to the crows nest to call to those already up there. "Come down! You're being relieved!" He could tell even from this distance(since he had good eyes) that the man up there was relieved. He got down and he didn't check to watch Cat go up. It was getting fairly dark now, but he would go on for longer. Later they would eat, but that didn't matter for now.

There wasn't much going on, but that was the way he liked it. A few checks back on the business mans ship. They seemed to be getting along fine. Then he turned from the wheel and called a crew mate over to man it. With that he turned and walked straight through a black portal to be on the mans ship. Straight below decks and to the mans special room.

He wasn't really much to look at. Short messy hair. A few pimples noting his youngness. A crooked nose from it being broken. "Is everything fine on this side of things?"

"Yes, we are making fair progress. I am glad to have hired you." Of course he was, when it came to escorts he was good.

"I expect sometime tomorrow we'll be attacked by pirates." A slight look of terror crossed his face.

"Ar-Are you sure?" I nodded. "B-but why would they attack us?" The simpleton didn't even know that.

"They'll attack because they'll want what you've got to make money. Now I'm heading off." With that and without waiting for a reply I walked through the black portal and back onto my ship. I relieved the man from the wheel. "Check the cannons. We'll need them tomorrow." He scurried off to leave me there. Soon we would have to throw the anchor, but not quite yet.

An hour or so later he called out. "Toss the anchor!" It was time for them to eat. He noticed that the other ship was already doing the same. "Below decks men!" And there they went and into a small dining hall. He didn't do any speaking during the meal. He ate and finished before the rest. Then he made his way up and into his cabin which was painted red. A sigh before he laid down to finally sleep.

CatalinaBlack

Date: 2012-05-12 00:54 EST
She smiled when he said that she could work the crows nest. It was her favorite job, and she had expected him to tell her no. Quickly she climbed the rope ladder and sat crossed legged at the top. To be completely honest she had never learned exactly what to do while she was up there. She just liked the feeling of being high up, as well as the way the wind felt blowing through her long hair.

She ran her fingers through her hair and hummed to herself while she looked over the ocean. While the job was her favorite, it still wasn't very exciting. After half an hour she found herself fighting to stay awake. Ten more minutes passed and she decided to watch the other crewman work. They all seemed to be so busy, she sighed and went back to watching the water.

Time passed slowly to the point where she couldn't figure out how much had passed. She just kept looking out at the water. After a while she began to wonder if she would get a chance to go swimming. Sh doubted it, the water didn't look very safe, and quite frankly she didn't believe the captain would let her.

More time passed and eventually she heard someone call out to lower the anchor. Smiled she stood up and leaned over the side of the crows nest. Seeing most of the men had stopped working she started to climb down the ladder. When she got to the bottom she skipped over to the rest of the drew who were getting ready to go eat.

She didn't talk much during dinner. Most of the crew were far older then her and weren't interested in talking with her. Most of the time she didn't look up from her plate. Once she finished eating she quickly left the room and ran back to the deck. She didn't like people enough to stay any longer. Walking slowly across the deck she went over the the railing and leaned over the side of the ship. It wasn't long before she heard a voice behind her.

"You might want to be careful. If you fall in you aren't coming back out" She jumped back startled, she hadn't expected anyone to be up on deck, let alone talk to her. Turning she found a boy that couldn't be more then a few years older then her.

"I'm always careful, I won't fall."

He smiled and introduced himself as Cole. They talked for a while, which Cat was grateful for. She didn't like not knowing anyone on the ship. When it started to get dark, she said a quick good night a hurried off to bed. She had had a long day and didn't know what time she would be woken up in the morning. As soon as she got into bed she fell asleep, wondering what tomorrow would bring for her.

Abandon All Ships

Date: 2012-05-13 23:08 EST
Barthalomew woke very early in the morning. At first he just went out of his cabin and watched. He was being nice for once. He wouldn't wake the crew just yet. For now he wanted to spend the time alone. It was good for the captain to have some alone time. It gave him time to think of his friend Kai, he wondered if she was still okay. He really hoped so because he had told her he would be back to visit her again. He'd really rather not break that vow of his. She was a good friend, even if he had been a bit mean to her at first.

He spent about an hour just thinking, but finally he sent out a magic boom to wake up everyone on the ship. It was one of the things you could not ignore even if you were asleep. The men hustled up and he ordered them to their tasks. Then he headed through a black portal.

This time he didn't go up top he went straight to the room where the man was still sleeping. He moved forward and got really close to the mans face and nearly hissed. "Get up." The man shot up, but Barthalomew was already backed away. "It's time to get up and start your ship." He sent out the magical boom on this ship before amplifying his voice. "Get your ruddy asses up!" Then he stepped back through the black portal and onto his ship. He was sure he had scared the man. A glance over showed the sails on the other ship going up. His sails were already up.

Most of the day was uneventful, then there was the book of the cannon and a splash near the ship. "We're under attack! To the cannons!" Lucky he had them ordered ready yesterday. Then he glanced at the other ship. It was definitely a pirate ship. "CAT! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" He didn't mind yelling at her. He needed her down here. He didn't pay much attention, but he went back to his wheel. "Fire!" The boom of cannons filled the air as several cannons fired. Most fell short of the pirate ship, but one or two went straight through the side.

One of the cannons from the pirate ship managed to shear through one of his sails and he cursed. "Reload! Reload!" The shout was out and he heard the cannons being reloaded. A quick step through a black portal and he was next to the business man. "Don't you have cannons on this damn ship?!"

The man stutters. "N-no. Th-that's why I-I n-needed this escort." Barthalomew nearly growled at the man.

"Foolish man!" He wanted to hit him so hard, instead he went back through the portal onto his ship. A look around trying to figure out where Cat was. For now he waited at the wheel for her to get to him. He was going to tell her his plan first so she didn't get scared. It wouldn't do to scare her. The others in his crew already knew of his abilities. They wouldn't be an issue, but once his plan was finished that pirate ship would either be scared or destroyed.

CatalinaBlack

Date: 2012-05-14 20:33 EST
Cat jumped out of bed when she heard the first boom, she quickly got up and looked around. After waiting a few minutes she found that the ship was quiet. Shrugging she went back to sleep.

She woke again hours later to cannon fire, and yelling. Her first reaction was to run out of her cabin, however she found herself unable to move. Keeping her eyes plastered on the door, she listened to the sounds outside. No matter how hard she listened she couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. She had sailed loads of time before, and never had she heard the sound of cannon fire before.

After about twenty minutes she had worked up enough courage to leave her cabin. The moment she stepped out she regretted that she had. Cannons were firing from both sides, from where she was standing she was almost looking straight into the cannon of the pirate ship.

She didn't move, instead she stood frozen in place staring into the enemy ship. Her breathing got faster and she could feel the blood leave her face. In the background she could hear her captain yelling for the guns to reload.

Abandon All Ships

Date: 2012-05-14 21:05 EST
He noticed Cat come out of her cabin and just stand there. Well that had him angry, but he couldn't wait He drew forth his power and there was a rumbling as of something huge coming up through the water. A growl comes from him. He was summoning one of his demon lackeys that he had before he had left. Before he had turned his back on his destroying days.

The water rippled as a scaled back burst from it. Nothing more was seen for a moment and then out of the water straight up came something nearly resembling a man, except he had black scales. This was his friend Exeltion. He still considered him a friend even if they did have different idea's now. The black scaled man picked up the pirate ship and crushed it between huge hands. There would be no survivors on that ship. Cruelty wasn't his norm these days, but he would use it now.

Soon the scaled man turned to look at Barthalomew. "I thought you'd never call on me my old friend."

"I'll have need of you other times as well! It seems I've got a new set of jobs." He just laughed as he watched the huge man drop the pieces of the boat.

"Goodbye for now! Until you need me again." With that the form slowly went back into the water.

The crew looked scared, but he had warned them before of what he might have to do if pirates attacked. The only problem was that Barthalomew could still hear the screams of dieing men in his head. Tonight he might not sleep right. A black portal took him to the business man. "You're safe now."

The man was trembling as he looked at Barthalomew. "What are you? And what was that?" He had kept the stutters out of his speech this time.

"I told you I was a demon, though I failed to mention I was an Arch Demon." A pause. "That was an old friend of mine. He goes by the name of Exeltion."

"I'll be sure to remember never to get on your bad side." He still sounded nervous though.

He did however gain a chuckle from me. "I'm gonna speed things up a bit." Then I left through the black portal without much mention. Back on the ship he went to the wheel. He wouldn't bother with Cat just yet."Cat! Up to the crows nest." That would be it.

Now he would call up winds to speed them on their way. It made the going so much faster. He was done with this escort job. The man had already annoyed him and he doubted that he would be taking any jobs from him again. Soon the port they were traveling to was in sight. Then it came closer and closer. Finally I called down the winds to a normal pace so that we could pull into port safely. It may have been nightfall by the time they had got here, but he would allow the crew to go out and eat and do whatever for the night. They wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow morning.

"Be off with ya! Go have fun tonight, for tomorrow we head back." He didn't tell them that he was gonna greatly speed the trip up with one of his black portals, but that didn't matter. He heard a round of cheering from the crew, they were just glad to be getting off the ship. Now he took a black portal back to the business man. "About my pay..."

"Right here." He pointed to a chest by the door of his room. I picked it up and shoved it through the portal.

"You have done well to choose me to escort you." The man nodded frantically, but didn't speak for a moment.

"Would you escort me back?" I shook my head.

"No I won't be escorting you back. I'll be leaving in the morning and I know you will be staying here longer." The mans mouth dropped open.

"I'll pay you double!" I just shook my head. "What's so important that you have to get back?"

"I told a friend I would be back soon." With that I stepped through my portal, he came through before it closed.

"No! You will escort me back." At this I threw off my hood and glared at him letting flames leap into my eyes.

"I told you no!" I opened a portal back to his room and lifted him up by his neck. "I will not!" His eyes were wide with fear. Then I threw him back through the portal and closed it. Now I probably wouldn't be getting another job from him, but I didn't care. I just moved back to my cabin and laid down. Soon I fell asleep.

CatalinaBlack

Date: 2012-05-14 21:46 EST
Cat tried to stop shaking as she climbed the ladder to the crows nest. It had begun when the captain had summoned the giant man from the water. She sat in the crows nest with her knees pulled up to her chest, she couldn't seem to stop shaking.

The longer she sat the more she thought about all the people that had been on the ship. She wasn't stupid, she knew they were dead. She also thought about her captain, he had so easily killed those pirates. How could he have done that?

Half an hour passed and she heard him tell the crew they could leave for the night, and that they would leave in the morning. She didn't budge from her spot while the rest of the crew left. All she wanted to do was run back to her cabin and sleep. However she didn't move, because she didn't know where the captain was. Whether she was willing to admit it or not she was scared right now, she knew he would be mad at her, and she wasn't willing to face him at that moment.

An hour passed and she still hadn't moved. She didn't hear him, but still didn't dare to move. As more time went on each of the crew members came stumbling back to the ship, all of them having had more then their fair share of alcohol.

It was now pitch dark and no one on the ship was moving, as far as she could tell. She took a deep breath and slowly climbed down the ladder. Taking a quick look around she found she could see nothing. Hoping no one was around, she ran to her cabin and fell asleep the moment her head hit her pillow.

Abandon All Ships

Date: 2012-05-14 22:19 EST
The morning came, though yet again he was up earlier than the rest of the crew, but this time he moved along the deck and into Cat's cabin. He stood there watching her. He would wait til she woke up. And when she did finally awake. "We'll talk when we get back to Rhy'Din." He dropped her pay right next to her on the bed and left. He hoped he'd scared her by doing just that. Now he sent out the magical boom to wake up the rest of the crew and began shouting the orders.

They pulled out of port and he kept the going slow for awhile. He wasn't ready to bring up the black portal yet. For now he just wanted to feel the air and think. He was glad to finally be heading back. It meant he could relax for awhile. He had gotten paid well for that job so he wouldn't have to go out again for awhile. He waited until he was out of sight of the port. Then he opened a huge black portal.

They sailed straight into it and for a moment everything went pitch black. He heard the gasps of surprise from his crew mates, maybe even something from Cat, he hadn't told them that they would be using this as a way back. They spent a full hour in the darkness before they came out the other side. Then it was smooth sailing into the port of Rhy'Din. Now he would wait on the ship while he paid the passing crew mates as they went to shore and did whatever they wished.

CatalinaBlack

Date: 2012-05-14 22:43 EST
She had been shaking slightly since he had dropped her money. Hoping he hadn't noticed she stood up and tried to shake the terrified feeling she had. She began to pace a few seconds later. After about two minutes of pacing the ship was plunged into darkness..

Cat heard a scream and realized a moment later it was her. She closed her mouth and stumbled back to her bed. Throwing herself on it she pulled her knees to her chest and tried to steady her breathing.

For the next hour all she could hear was the sound of her frantic heartbeat. When they came back into daylight she let out a sigh a relief. Hesitantly she walked out of her cabin and saw that they were back in Rhy'Din. She watched all of the other crew members get paid and walk off the deck.

When the last crew member left, she looked at the deck. She could feel her captains eyes on her, but she refused to look up. Then he would know sh was scared, she had a feeling he already knew though. Cat continued to stare at the deck and waited for him to start yelling.