Page 9 of Virelai's Hoard
A soft snore punctuated that statement. Calla could just about feel the beginnings of a headache pulsing at her temples. But before she even cleared her throat, the rat woman’s gaze darted in their direction, and she pushed off her crate to pinch her sleeping companion. The man stumbled out of the hammock and rubbed the sleep off his face as Calla stepped into the room, followed by her officers. The rest of the recruits snapped to attention as soon as they noticed, and they all gathered in a haphazard line.
“Welcome,” Calla greeted them, more warmly than this morning. “You’re aboard the Moonshadow, and many of your tasks will revolve around taking care of her. Treat her well and she’ll see you through whatever the sea has to throw at us. Neglect her and you’ll pay for it with your life.”
A gulp resounded in the silence she let hang, and Calla smiled.Good. Her ship might be a sailing legend, but, despite the stories, there was nothing magical keeping her afloat. It all came down to hard work, discipline, and the mercy of the sea.
“You already know who I am,” she continued, pacing in front of the recruits, who further straightened their backs as she passed them. “And you already got acquainted with Thorian, my quartermaster. I’m sure he isn’t holding a grudge against any of you right now.” An amused smile flashed on Calla’s lips as she glanced at the girl with the rat.
The woman tried to hide it, but ever since she’d noticed Thorian, she’d turned skittish. Fingers fiddling with the strap of her bag, eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape, body tense like a spring trap. It was a healthy degree of unease, considering she made an enemy before she even stepped foot on deck.
“That over there,” Calla jerked her chin toward Gadrielle, “is the boatswain, and your de facto boss.”
Gadrielle stepped forward. “Anything you need, you come to me. Unless you need food or supplies, in which case you go to Thorian. If you get caught stealing or slacking off or fighting with your mates, then Thorian comes to you, and I assure you that’s the last thing you want. So you behave and we’ll all get along swimmingly, yeah?” She gave the new recruits a friendly wink, which only seemed to unsettle them. The guy that had been sleeping didn’t even bother fighting the grimace off his face.
Calla coughed to cover up a laugh. “Then you have Sable, my first mate.”
“You heard the rules. I’ll give you one more. You only come to me if the ship’s on fire, and Gadrielle better be incapacitated if you do,” Sable said roughly. “I’m not here to hold your hand. Do not waste my time with nonsense.”
Gadrielle scoffed, and most of the recruits shifted uneasily.
Calla bit down on her tongue. So much for not leading with fear. Distantly, she wondered how long it would take for them to see right through her first mate’s rough edges. “Now that you know who we all are, it’s time for you to introduce yourselves, and we’ll see where we can best fit you into the crew.”
She nodded to the first man in line, one of the two who had tackled Thorian into the water with brute force alone.
The man snapped to attention. “Draven!”
“And Venn,” the guy next to him, his partner in the challenge, butted in.
At the quizzical raise of her eyebrow, Draven supplied, “We’re brothers.” He punched Venn in the shoulder, who made a show of wincing and rubbing his biceps. “Forgive him. He’s younger and doesn’t know to only talk when asked.”
“Youdon’t know to only talk when asked.” Venn glared, then ducked his head down as Calla set her sharp gaze on him. “Sorry, cap. I’ll shut it.”
Gadrielle was sure going to have fun with these two.
“We’ve both been on ships before, though never beyond the Quiet Sea.” Draven said. “Our pa’ was a fisherman. Tying knots, mending sails, scrubbing the decks, lifting the heavier cargo. You name it, we know how to do it, and we do it well. He eats a lot,” he smirked at his little brother, who only gave him a sullen look this time, “but we both work hard to make up for it. We won’t give you any trouble, ma’am.” He quickly corrected himself at the look on her face. “Captain.”
“Deckhands, then.” Calla nodded at the two of them. “Very well.”
She moved on to the third.
“Maren,” he supplied, taking his hands out of his pockets. His posture was relaxed, now that no one was throwing threats around anymore. Despite the sleeping, his role in the rat scheme showed he knew how to act when it mattered, and how to follow orders. “I worked on a merchant ship as a deckhand for a few years, ‘fore they went out of business. Just along the Varethian coasts, but I figured a ship’s a ship.”
Calla nodded. None of these new recruits had ever seen a storm, as the Quiet Sea didn’t get storms. But at least they wouldn’t be starting their training from scratch, which was better than she’d hoped for. “You’ll join the brothers,” she said, and took another step forward.
“The name’s Haddock, captain,” the old man said, bowing low in respect. “I used to lead crews such as these myself, and help others lead before that. Years and years ago, if I’m to be entirely honest. A different lifetime. But the creak of the ships still echoes in my bones, and my hands hold the memory of wood and rope and sails. I can serve you as a carpenter, if you’ll have me, or for the mending of bones, though I hope that won’t be needed as much.”
Nowthiswas surprising. “Pirate crews?” Calla asked.
“Aye, captain,” Haddock said, bowing once more. “I’ve sailed most of the charted seas and some of the uncharted.”
Calla nodded thoughtfully, noticing the startled looks of the other recruits. People sailing beyond the Quiet Sea weren’t as rare as most Varethians thought, despite the warnings and the stories and the dangers of sailing. When adventure-seeking was in your blood, there was nothing that could keep you away from it. Not even old age, apparently. Fixing things didn’t take particular strength, and this man’s teachings would prove valuable to some of the younger hands. His stories might prove valuable to her other new recruits, too. It always took a fewfortnights for new hires to realize they wouldn’t get struck by lightning just by virtue of being at sea. Having an old man who could attest to that might speed up that process.
“You speak wise words, old man. I’m sure you’ll earn your keep and more besides. You can start by checking up on the quartermaster.”
“I don’t need-”
She cut Thorian off with a look. “It’s his shoulder.”
“Aye, captain, I’ll see right to it.”
