Children of The Angry Sea. Two: All Hands Sail Away.

ll.

The wind had already been blowing in from the east across the icy waters of Lockwood Bay when the three yawls made their way back to The Sea Witch with their supplies. He and Fiona Tidas boarded just before 2:00 PM, on a Tuesday afternoon, when they were greeted by a large, tall, barrel chested fellow with long thick black hair, and clear hazel eyes, and broad shoulders, it was the first time Fiona met first mate Moses Finch. The crew were all set about unloading the supplies when he would ask Captain Crowley about the new canvas, Tristian set them about unloading it first so they could get to repairing the torn sails, after a brief introduction he took Fiona to quarters so she could get settled in, five minutes later Moses Finch appeared in the doorway, giving a puzzled look to Fiona. At first his appearance gave her quite the start and filled her small body with a nervous trepidation until, much in the same way as Tristian had done earlier in Norwich, Mr. Finch bent down, extended his hand slowly to her and calmly introduced himself.

"What are your orders, Captain?" He asked.

"Set the crew about unloading the rest of the supplies, and get four riggers up those masts to lower those damaged sails Mr. Finch, and then get Miss Prim down here, I'll be needing her to help miss Fiona get cleaned up and bedded down. And make sure the riggers check the Fore And Aft masts for damage near the top as well, as they're lowering the sails, we won't be going to sea with a damaged ship Mr. Finch I want her seaworthy in Six days. Is that clear?" 

"Aye Captain, I'll set the men to task and send down Prim sir." Mr. Finch smiled at Fiona and returned to the upper deck.

 For her young life on the docks of Norwich, she had always heard the disgusted talk of those dirty, smelly old pirates, she would have thought life aboard such a ship to be one of filth, greed and death. But what she'd found aboard the Sea Witch was quite the opposite, the ship itself was kept clean and in orderly repair, and the crew was the same, clean and more often civilized than not, even though they'd spent time at sea they would take advantage of every opportunity to give themselves and the Sea Witch a good scrubbing. The Witch was their home, and after all, they being former pirates were no longer on the outer fringes of the law and could afford time to properly tend to such matters. Crews of other ships, she would later learn were vastly different, the crew of the Witch had been together for many a day, night and weeks, and years spent on the seas, made them more of a family and Captain Tristian Crowley being their father, was a man not to be tested by any other, though he could outwardly appear to be kind at heart, it was well known that the tip of his cutlass had stripped many a man's soul from their earthly bodies and sent them to their watery graves.

Fiona Tidas would soon learn that much to her relief she was not the only female aboard ship, there were in fact two others, and both were well seasoned sailors, and worth their salt. Prim who at first glance with her baggy clothing could have passed for a male had you cut off her golden long flowing locks, and then there was Elvira Penny, who even when in good spirits had every man and boy holding their breath when she walked by, but they weren't looks of lust given to Elvira and Prim they were looks of fear. Prim had also grown up on The Sea Witch, but both Moses Finch and Captain Tristian had long sought out Elvira Penny, Long before any letter of marque had been issued by any country or government, Elvira at the age of fourteen, had brutally cut her father to pieces along with their tenant lord for abusing her mother. There she was, but a young girl being fitted for a hangman's noose, when Tristian and Moses Finch came calling to snatch her from the jaws of death, and stole her young life away aboard the Sea Witch where she would devote her existence from that day forward to a life of piracy.

They were there because they were family, they were equals to all aboard the grandmother of the sea, they were blood, and they belonged, and together they welcomed young Fiona Tidas as their own. She would share a space with Prim and Elvira Penny, and the one shipmate that Elvira seemed to like more than any other, a large pot-bellied, gray and black striped tabby whom she named Elmo, he was one of three cats aboard The Sea Witch that all but eliminated the vermin population, he'd gotten the name when one night at sea they were hit by a violent storm, and St Elmo's fire came calling, and while several of the crew had backed away from the spectacle, the brave Tabby scurried up the main mast and snarled and hissed violently at the phenomenon until it seemed to relent. Since then the plump brave tabby would become their hero and mascot. By the third day the supplies were all counted and quartered away, the sails brought down and mended, the sea around them seemed to grow more and more impatient at their leisurely pace as if waiting for a new toy to be dispatched as her plaything. By the very next Monday all sails repaired and raised to their spars, with the sea growing more restless, in the early morning mists at seven bells Captain Tristian would have Moses Finch sound the all hands.

"All hands to the foredeck Mr. Finch. I will address our crew."

First Mate Moses Finch sounded the general assembly to where the 150-person crew assembled below the half-deck, young Fiona Tidas stood beside toward the front of the gathering mass of bodies, trying valiantly as not to appear fearful when she felt a hand gently wrap into hers, surprised she looked up into the smiling eyes of Elvira Penny who gave her a knowing wink, as the crew around them grew silent in anticipation of The Captain's address, First mate Moses Finch calmly stood off to the left of the helm while second mate, and ships gunsmith Farrel Hooker stood silently to the right all waiting for Captain Crowley.  He stood above them neither somber nor with reverence, he seemed very much like a man choosing his words carefully before addressing the very people who would without question entrust their very lives to him. To young Fiona, he seemed to tower over them like a holy giant about to deliver a sermon to his flock.

"My mates! For the first in over a years time, we will set sail, without assignment of general purpose other than that of our own regard, we will set our course, to the North, Northeast, we will sail 1500 nautical miles around the Eastern Tip of the Penduline islands and then another 1460 miles out into open sea to Pigrim. We will come about the western side of the island close in to the Village of Gale Town, we will be dropping anchor there while we tend to out our ships needs, we will once again fully restock our food supply and tend to our crew's personal needs. We will be close in to the shore, and we will all get a chance to set foot on land, until which time our repairs shall be completed in full. At which time we will once again set sail another two hundred miles to Ark Island, where Mr. Finch and I will be gathering important information and possible future employment for The Sea Witch. So my mates, from here, when we reach Pigrim outside of Gale Town, each crew member, will receive full wages regardless of our ship's current employment."

The crowd of seamen and women erupted into full on cheer, and the mood aboard the Witch, made the brooding seas seem more hopeful, and when the cheering subsided their great Captain of the proud Sea Witch once again raised his hands.

"My Mates! I usually reserve such a sermon for Sunday mornings, but alas, as is my usual form, I am once again a day late and one dollar short, Mates, Bring forth your bibles, may they bring you comfort, when your minds become troubled, but lest ye not forget, here, there be only one god. and lo, She rises and falls with the tide. She breathes her breath into our sails, to push us forth, further into the maelstrom, into the unknown, she, the sea beckons to us, with her bounty endless and her wrath savage as the night is long, she is our god, our mother, our only grace, and if only for her guidance on the coming voyage, we pray to her now, for her mercy, her grace, for her gentle hand to show us the way, and to give strength in our moments of doubt, and may her wisdom bring us once again safe home. All hands sail away, Mr. Finch."

There below the half-deck, young Fiona Tidas stared in awe up at the giant sails of the great Sea Witch, as the mother sea's mighty breath filled their bellies full and gently pushed them forward out into the beckoning waters that lye beyond the safety of Lockwood Bay.  It made her hold her breath for a time, as beneath her small feet she could feel the deck rise and slowly fall, it felt to here as if she were riding on the back of a great beast carrying her away to some unknown land to where great adventure would surely be waiting. she turned to look up in time to see her brave champion Captain Tristan Crowley, as he offered her a reassuring smile, and extended his hand to gently place a beautiful fully ripened fresh juicy apple in her palm.

"Steady as she goes, Mr. Finch, this grand old lady will ride these waves all the way to Brighton if she fancies it!"

~Scratch.. A.B.T. Copyright © 2023~