| Logs |
1999-12-05
| Starfall |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
Safe into Ettore Bay
- Saucy Mare
A lateen-rigged sloop, the Mare has a large triangular sail on the mainmast (slightly forward of the center) and standard square sails on the after mast. She is a sleek vessel, maneuverable and fast, although she has little cargo space.
The ship meets no further problems during the return from Lancer, and a week after departing from their makeshift workspace the Mare is nearly back to the Kossalu Straits. Bosun Greytail salutes Alex as she comes on deck for the nightwatch. "Should be into the bay by morning, ma'am. How are we going to do this? Take the Western Passage and hope we don't get spotted, or risk the Eastern Passage?"
Alex says, "Eastern, bosun. Horatio's done the calculations and will be on duty tonight to help the steersman as necessary. We'll need all hands aware that quiet and no lights is imperative as well, please."
Jared nods. "Thought that would be the way of it. With a little luck they'll never know we're in."
Alex says, "Horatio's calculations have us safely docked at Ettore by dawn."
Carroll has retired, letting Alex handle the night watch. Alex paces quietly on the quarterdeck and lets Horatio, the steersman, and the rest of the crew do their work. Dimitri maintains his post at the quarterdeck stairs. While all others watch the stars and the darker shadows of the coast, his are directed inwards. Eyes narrowed, ears sharp, he maintains a watch for noise, light or any other threat of their ship's clandestine cruise.
The plotted course has taken the Mare close in to a dangerous shore to avoid detection, but there have been no mishaps thanks to the skill of the steersmen. Misty and Bert, the night steersmen, are now on duty and Skeee is flitting around the ship in the darkness, making sure of her navigation.
Horatio is nervously plotting the course, obviously worried about messing up. "We need to make a couple of sharp turns at _exactly_ the right moments, or we'll run aground or even hit rocks. Make sure the crew is at their stations, please, Alex - I mean, ma'am."
Alex nods, "They will be, Horatio, don't worry. And you'll do fine too." She continues walking quietly nearby in case Horatio needs her. She's quietly amused at herself... who'd have ever thought she'd be reassuring her brothers, instead of the other way around?
Skeee flutters in and lands on the quarterdeck rail. "Coming up on the Sisters, furrs. Better get the leadsman started."
Alex nods to Skeee, "Thank you, Skeee." She turns and calls quietly, "Leadsman, you may start now." Still staying quiet, Dimitri keeps his sharp watch, moving silently to the side to make way for the deck crew.
Bubba twirls the weighted end of the lead and throws it ahead of the ship from his position in the bow. "No bottom." He hands the lead back to his helper and takes another to repeat the process.
Horatio paces nervously, glancing back to his charts every time he passes them. "We have to turn hard to starboard when the bottom reaches three fathoms."
Alex continues pacing quietly. Even though her tail and ears are held firmly calm, she's not noticed her tail is a bit fluffed up with tension and excitement... she nods to Horatio, "Got it." She calls out quietly, "Hard to starboard at 3 fathoms."
Bubba twirls the lead again, the splash clearly audible in the tensely quiet night. "Five fathoms! Bottom at five!"
Alex pauses at the railing, listening quietly to the soft noises of crew moving to position, then turns to study Horatio and his carefully laid out maps and charts. Horatio stops pacing, intent on his charts now. "It should come up quickly. Get ready to turn, sis."
Alex nods quietly, "We are, Horatio."
Another splash. The opossum calls, "Three and a half." The rocks loom out of the darkness ahead, the steady crash of waves and the glimmer of foam as the ocean breakers pass over the shallow sill of rock blocking the Eastern Passage obvious now even to the diurnal members of the crew. Letting his inward gaze slip outbound, Dimitri's eyes dart to the coast, to confirm that their passage does not arouse the interest of anyone on the shore.
Horatio jitters. "We're going to be past the mark before the next sounding. Get ready..." Alex stands straight and very still, watching the rocks... her tail is quite fluffed up, but she keeps her mouth shut, listening intently to her brother. Horatio shouts, "NOW!"
Alex calls out clearly, "Hard to starboard!" The sloop swings toward the wind, the sails luffing a bit and speed dropping off as she loses headway. Alex waits until the sails begin to flap, then calls out clearly again, "Tack to starboard!" The practice of the last few days pays off as she times it exactly right and the Mare settles down on her new course without a hitch. Alex grins happily to herself for a second, her eyes sparkling in the starlight... then turns to Horatio, "Navigator? Do you want the leadsman to continue?"
The opossum makes another cast. "Three fathoms."
Horatio looks up at the rigging, as the sails once again fill with the wind. He grins to himself. Alex had done a wonderful job, she was picking up being a ship's mate ver- erk? "Oh! Ah... yes, Al- er, si- er, sir! I mean ma'am! We're not out of the woods -- er, shoals yet, when the lead hits by the mark five- er, five fathoms, we'll make the second turn." He is, however, only nervous in voice.
Alex covers a grin, then checks, "Port or starboard?"
Horatio looks briefly at the chart in his paws to triple-check it. "We'll be tacking back to port, and coming around the last point in the mainland."
Alex nods, still grinning quietly to herself, then turns and calls, "Port at 5 fathoms!"
*splash* "Three fathoms!"
*splash* "Shoaling, Mark twain!"
Horatio's ears perk and he moves to the side quickly, peering intently into the water. "It shouldn't be that shallow... or should it?" he murrs to himself quietly. Alex glances at the maps a little worriedly, then at Horatio.
*splash* "Holding by the mark, twain!"
Horatio pulls out the map again, looks at it, then looks out over the side. "I guess it can get this shallow, at that..."
Alex's tail is quite fluffy now... but she keeps quiet still, splitting her bright-eyed gaze between watching Horatio and keeping an eye on the sails.
*splash* "Two and a half fathoms!"
Alex takes a slow breath, only then realizing she'd been holding it. Horatio still looks edgy as the lead-line starts to show deeper water. Shallows have a bad habit of suddenly becoming, well, even less shallow. He starts to think about 'a better way' of finding the depth beneath a ship... but manages to pull his mind away from that much more pleasantly academic train of thought, to concentrate at the task at hand. There'll be plenty of time for that later... hopefully.
*splash* "Three fathoms!"
*splash* "Four and a half fathoms!"
Alex glances at Horatio, "Are we going to have to tack before the next sounding?"
Horatio starts to breathe easier, then stiffens up again, and nods. "Almost there, right after he announces five fathoms..." Horatio erks! and looks at the map sharply. "Ah... maybe not before then. Now, Alex!"
Alex turns and calls out sharply, "Tack to port!" Alex doesn't spare a second to glare at Horatio -- she's carefully studying the sails.
The rat at the helm looks startled, but puts the wheel hard to port. The sailors up on the spars are momentarily confused. Jacko yells, "Wait for it, lads!" When the sails began to luff and the ship's bow has turned into the wind, the old squirrel shouts, "Now!" The sailors complete the turn and the Mare settles back to her first heading.
Alex's mane is bristled and her ears are back at the mistake, but she simply walks over to Horatio and says with carefully enunciated pleasantness, "What is next, Horatio?"
Horatio buries his nose in the map for a few moments, murmuring to himself; much of it sounds like, "West by northwest... three nautical miles at two knots... tides, hmmm." He looks up to Alex and shakes his head. "Nothing serious. A few shoals, but nothing requiring more than a few points' turning."
Dimitri glances over the side of the boat, watching the water dance for a bit. Then he stretches and settles back in to rest, looking forwards to the sheltered bay. Alex nods sharply to Horatio and stalks back to position. Horatio looks over to his sister, and bites his lip. Wearing is not the easiest thing in sailing, problems happen like that often enough. That's what the sailing master is for. He wonders if he should tell her of the time he read the sigil for 'salt' as 'vitriol' and nearly caused the entire evacuation of the Praxaeum...
The wind, which had been steady for days, dies down toward morning, slowing the Mare's progress. Dawn arrives with Ettore Island on the horizon but the family's settlement still a couple hours away. Horatio walks along the quarterdeck nervously. For once he didn't fall asleep into a book. As the wind died down his worry seemed to grow, keeping him awake. Standing at the rail Dimitri frowns. The tall dark fox scans the horizon, searching for sails, ears flat. Alex looks cranky and fluff-tailed, at dawn, leaning on the railing and glowering out at the calm seas, checking for anyone taking too much interest in their passage. Carroll emerges from his cabin not long after dawn, looking around the deck.
On the eastern side of the bay there is usually little shipping. At the moment, the Mare is alone on the glassy surface of an almost calm sea, making only a few knots of progress. Horatio sighs softly, and pads quietly to Alex's side, looking out at the becalmed seas. "I imagine we could use the launch to tow us somewhat.
Alex mutters to Horatio, "Would the launch be able to tow us any faster than the few knots we're making?"
Horatio bites his lip, glancing behind at the crew. "I don't think so. If we had a few strong-backed bears, mayhap..."
Carroll walks up to Alexandra and Horatio, and murrs, "Good morning, family. How was the passage?"
Alex stares at Horatio, then says carefully and slowly, "We DO have those, Horatio. Have you not looked at the crew? And before I'm going to ask them to do that... are you sure of this, this time?" She nods with sharp properness at Carroll, her ears still at an irritable angle, although she smoothes her tail down before saying, "Good morning captain. The passage was uneventful."
One of Carroll's ears flicks around, quizzically. He ahs, but doesn't ask. He murrs, "Horatio, at this speed, how long until we reach the harbor?"
Dimitri frowns quietly. "Would it be better to loop around Ettore to the bay? So that if we do get spotted, they don't see us headed straight for the cove?"
Horatio winces. "I'm sorry, Alex, I meant more than we have now." He turns to look at Carroll. "At this speed, Captain, it would be in about two hours."
Carroll nods. He murrs, "Thank you, Horatio, two hours is fine." He looks at his black brother and asks him, "Do you think it's likely? There's little traffic out here."
Horatio looks to Dimitri, ears drooped. "And we cannot go around the island, it's too late unless we come about and backtrack."
Dimitri shrugs, "Maybe we will get lucky. Get the topmen aloft, to watch for sails.
Jared nods. "They're already there, sir."
Alex reaches up and carefully grabs one of Horatio's ears, leaning to whisper to him, "Put your ears back up, Horatio. I'm more angry at myself than you. Don't look worried... you'll scare the crew!" She finishes whispering, then frowns at Horatio... then deliberately flicks her ears sharply up at him. Horatio gives a quiet 'erk,' blinking at the sudden grab. With the whisper he looks to Alex and nods quickly, trying to straighten himself up. His ears stop drooping as well. Carroll glances curiously at Alex, but doesn't ask. Alex nods firmly, then turns back to the others. "So the current plan is to maintain course, dock in about 2 hours, and hope no one comes near, yes?"
Carroll nods, and murrs, "I think that's the best idea. It's what we originally discussed, isn't it?" Horatio nods quietly.
Alex nods, "Yup. So... d'you have the con, captain?"
Carroll nods to his sister and murrs, "You're relieved, Alex." Before she can move off, he adds, "Good work on that passage. That strait is a pain."
Alex turns to go, then pauses at the compliment... then says carefully, "Thank you sir. You should thank Jacko too, sir, I think." She adds politely to Horatio, "Thank you also, Horatio." Horatio smiles quietly to Alex, bobbing his head. Alex turns to Dimitri, "Mitya... can we work out, please?"
Carroll ums. He murrs, "I will." He looks about for the squirrel. Jacko is lounging in the crow's nest, apparently taking a nap. Carroll looks up. He decides neither waking him, nor climbing the mast, nor having someone else get him is important at this moment. He makes a mental note to do it next time he sees Jacko... on the deck.
Dimitri slowly turns around, leaning back on the gunwales. "I don't think so, Mister Alexandra. It's been a long night, and we've got two hours of daylight before we make the cove. And if we pick up a pursuing ship, we might just end up crossing swords. I am going to rest between here and there... I strongly suggest you do too." Alex nods to Dimitri, although she doesn't look happy.
Carroll frowns at his brother's words and looks around to see if Skeee is still about, or if she's gone to sleep already. Alex trots quietly and swiftly off to the command cabin.
Skeee is actually still on patrol, although she's rather grumpy when she swings back by the ship. She flutters down to the quarterdeck rail. "Can't see anything close enough to spot us, Cap'n. Nothing but a few fishing boats in visual range even from the air."
Dimitri softly growls, "Captain, let me know immediately if we sight another sail..."
Carroll smiles and murrs, "You read my mind, Skeee. Thank you," to the bat. He looks back to Dimitri and murrs, "Of course, Dimitri." Dimitri quietly pads off to his berth, taking his time, an easy rolling stroll.
The bat nods. "I'm going to take a nap. If you want another patrol, wake me up in an hour. But -- to be honest, I'm more likely to be spotted than to spot anything if there are birds up and about by then."
Carroll looks back to the bat and nods to her. He murrs, "I hope we won't need to wake you. Sleep well."
Horatio lets out a breath, but remembers his sister's advice, and straightens. He sets his sword and satchel in a safe place before going up into the rigging to see if there is anything he could do to squeeze another knot or two out of the deathly still wind.
Dimitri has followed Alex in... hopefully in a manner that it didn't look like to the others he was following her. Alex is tightly curled up under her blanket when Dimitri comes in, nothing showing except her small mask and bright, unhappy eyes, watching silently. Dimitri sets his sword aside and just stretches out in his bunk, folding his paws behind his head. He closes his eyes and is just quiet for a long, long time. Finally, when he speaks, it is a strange little, single sentence. "No holes in the ship."
There's silence for a few heartbeats... then Alex's small voice comes drifting guiltily down from the bunk above Dimitri's, "No thanks to me."
Dimitri just half opens one eye. "Oh? I saw you on deck, working hard with everyone else. Or was that some other vixen?"
There's a small "hmf!" noise... then some rustling. Alex's face peeks over the berth's edge at Dimitri, upside down, looking worried and unhappy... and rather young, "Oh Mitya, didn't you see? Nobody could've missed it... I gave the wrong order! If it weren't for Jacko... I coulda wrecked us!" She adds miserably, "How can they possibly trust me as a first mate if I make stupid mistakes?"
"But we didn't." Dimitri shrugs quietly, rolling over and raising himself on one paw. "You are part of a crew, Alex. That's just like a family, but for work. The bottom line, no matter what happened, is that we got here safe. You were a part of that. Jacko looked out for you. The mistake cost us nothing and taught you to be more careful. So we all improved and got better. All of us. Nothing to hide under the covers for."
Alex's face disappears for a moment as she thinks... a moment later she leans over again, peering back down, and worriedly adds, "But Mitya... what if they can't trust me any more? What if I make more dumb mistakes?" Her face tightens for a moment as she adds, "What... what if I get people hurt?!"
Dimitri softly growls, "First, accept the fact that sometime you will make an order and folks will get hurt. Look at the worst that could happen, accept it. Simple as that. Then look at the ways of improving that outcome. As for mistake, it's everything in how you react. If the mistakes crush you, you will lose trust and become an ineffective bunny-fox. If you shake it off, get right back into work, and learn from it, that will earn you more respect than always making the right answers."
Alex's ears perk sharply, upside-down, and she opens her mouth to snap at her older brother... then sighs softly, realizing what he's doing... and nods. She stays there, upside-down, thinking for a bit, then softly murmurs, "I'm sorry, Mitya... I... I'm still scared of hurting people, I know I shouldn't but I..." she falls silent, then a few heartbeats later asks, "Can I um... would you mind if I curled up with you please?"
Dimitri nods quietly. "Come on, get some rest." He scooches over. "And Alex, once you figure out how you are going to deal with it, you'll find that the worry vanishes. And when it does happen, you'll already know what to do, and it will then work out significantly better than it might have."
Alex flips acrobatically down from the upper bunk, and is curled up next to him in a flash. She tucks her head under his chin and sighs softly, her body finally relaxing... a moment later she murmurs quietly, almost dreamily, "Does it go away, really? That would be nice... I'll have to do that then... I'd like to not worry any more..." as she drifts off to sleep.
Dimitri replies only when his sister is finally asleep. "No, it never goes away... you just know how to deal with it, that's all."
In spite of the worries of the ship's officers, the light wind
works against any searchers as well and the Mare reaches the entrance
to Ettore Cove without being spotted.
The ship slowly passes through an entrance which is difficult to spot from the seaward side, and enters Ettore Cove. It's a secluded cove, like scores of others along the rugged shore of the Eastern Rim, with ancient forest covering the hills where there is soil and granite outcrops where there isn't. As the Mare proceeds into the cove a small settlement hidden from the open bay comes into view. There is a small, rowboat-sized dock near a trail leading up to the village, but it's obvious that even the Mare is too large to use it.
Horatio sighs as he drops from the rigging, letting the sailing master and his topmen do their work. He retrieves his sword (awkwardly) and satchel (with some grace) and takes the time to look around the cove from the quarterdeck. He pads quietly to Carroll. "We'll need to anchor in the cove, Captain, and use the launch to go ashore. I think it's too shallow near the piers."
Carroll nods and murrs, "All right. Find us the spot you think best and we'll anchor there."
Horatio points out some floats in the cove. "Over there, Captain. I think we can anchor there."
Carroll nods, and gives the crew general directions, overseeing the final sailing, and the placement of the anchors, but letting them do what they know how to do without undue interference. Jared gives the order to strike the sails, and the ship drifts up to the anchorage. The anchors slip down to the bottom (surprisingly deep, the shoreline must be very steep underwater) and the Mare comes to a halt. Carroll nods, murring, "Good." He murrs, "Mister Greytail, can you see to preparing the launch, please?"
The muskrat nods. "Of course, sir."
Carroll smiles and nods, "Thank you." He then sets off to find his first mate. He goes to the officer's cabin and knocks quietly. Horatio rubs his hands together, smiling as the anchor hits bottom. He comes down from the quarterdeck, awaiting Carroll's return patiently. Jared rounds up a boat crew.
Carroll hears a soft, "Uh?" from within.
Carroll murrs, "It's Carroll. We've arrived."
Through the door he can hear, "Oh, good." then more softly, "Uhh... Mitya, you awake? We're docked at Ettore?"
Through the door Carroll hears a second slow, disgruntled mumble. "Just as I was getting some rest..."
Carroll murrs at the door, "We need to discuss who's going ashore. I'll be on the quarterdeck. Find me when you're ready, Alex."
Alex says, "Okay, cap'n."
Carroll returns to the quarterdeck. Horatio looks over to Carroll as he comes back up, smiling a little. Carroll asks Horatio, "What's on your mind, brother?"
Alex murmurs a little sleepily to Dimitri, "Mitya, you don't have to go ashore if you don't want to?"
Rubbing his eyes in the light, Dimitri returns to the real world, walking to the quarterdeck and the Captain. Alex patters along next to her sable brother, rubbing her eyes and trying not to yawn... her fur has that hastily-smoothed-down look to it. She looks around for a water barrel, and uses the ladle to splash her face with some. She looks more awake after that.
Horatio shakes his head, "Nothing at all, captain, just elated that we made it! I haven't been here very much..."
Carroll smiles and murrs, "We've arrived. Now what? My thoughts were to go ashore and warn the staff there of what's going on, while the crew unloads all of this cargo. We don't need to carry it around."
Horatio nods, "I'm sure we can get some longshoremen on shore to help offload.
Alex tilts her damp head, "Um... can we parse some of it out to anyone that could use it? Like, say, the clothing?"
Carroll looks at Alexandra and nods, murring, "I think that's a good idea, but I was going to think about that after the more pressing issue at hand. That way too we don't have to do it twice. In any event, getting it ashore and going over to make sure we have space for everyone to sleep and other important details is first. Then we have families to fetch."
Horatio nods quietly. Alex nods, quickly brushing her damp fur back with both hands, "Okay. So... let's get ashore then, yes? Should we take um... the bosun with us, since we're probably going to have to have crew and the villagers working together to be sure we've enough shelter for everyone?"
Carroll murrs, "Not a bad idea. Who is staying here, in charge of the ship?"
Alex covers a yawn, then adds, "You're the captain... you decide."
Horatio says, "I think that might be a good idea. We're going to need to coordinate with the townsfolk as to what we're going to do. The sailing master?"
Dimitri looks up, quiet. "I should go. In case something... happens. Besides, if something happened here, I'm not the sailor."
Carroll nods and murrs, "Good idea, Horatio." He adds, "So you'll stay here and oversee the unloading of the cargo. Hopefully we'll be back with information on where all of these people are going to sleep tonight."
Horatio blinks. "Ah... certainly, Captain." He doesn't look crestfallen, merely surprised.
Jared's crew lowers the launch over the side and then swarms down to take their places. "All set."
Carroll nods, "We'll be back soon, Horatio. Unload cargo to the beach. We'll find people to help take it from there." He turns to the others, "Shall we go?" He adds, "Please join us, Mister Greytail."
Horatio nods, "Aye, aye, sir!" He turns to the senior crewmembers aboard, and begins talking with them about offloading the cargo.
The muskrat nods. "Aye, sir. Shall I be taking the tiller?"
Carroll nods, "Please," to the bosun.
Ettore Cove
A secluded cove like scores of others along
the rugged shore of the Eastern Rim, with ancient forest covering the
hills where there is soil and granite outcrops where there isn't. As
you proceed into the cove you see a small settlement hidden from the
open bay.
Dimitri clambers up onto the dock, his pace echoing on the wooden pier. Carroll follows his brother, looking around curiously. He murrs, "I wonder if the village noticed our approach?" Alex steps from the launch to the dock carefully, then pauses a moment to neatly brush off her sleeves and breeches, and tidy herself up a bit. She puts a small paw on Dimitri's arm, carefully checking him over... straightens the lace at his throat a bit then smiles up at him and nods. Then she turns to Carroll and starts to repeat the process... then just grins quietly at the more decorative clothing Carroll's wearing, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she glances up at him and lightly *ting*!s one fingertip against his wrist chains.
The big fox just raises an furred eyebrow. "Everyone sees the sword, Alex. They tend to forget the lace." Dimitri lays the long blade across his shoulder and follows Carroll down the dock.
Alex murmurs softly to her darkling brother, "You are more than a sword, Mitya..." as she patters along with him.
Several villagers arrive shortly after the siblings reach the dock, led by a burly, grizzled beaver. "All right, what be you doin' here..." His voice trails off as he gets a good look at the arrivals. "Master Carroll? Is that you?"
The old beaver is short, stocky, and more gray than brown, but
he still has the muscles developed by a lifetime of lumbering. His upper
teeth protrude a bit even when his mouth is closed and look to be still in
fine shape. His dress is rough homespun tunic and pants, rugged clothing
that can handle both lumberjack work and immersion without a problem. His
webbed feet are bare in all but the coldest weather.
Alex grins at the beaver from slightly behind and to Carroll's right. Carroll smiles and steps forward, murring, "Yes, yes, it is me, Gunther. How is everything here?"
Gunther smiles. "No complaints, Master Carroll. Things are always pretty much the same here. And who's this? Not little Alexandra?" He chuckles. "Last time you were here, you were just 5 years old." Alex grins a little sheepishly at the comment about being small... Gunther quickly gets serious. "We'd heard some nasty rumors, sir. How are things back in the city?"
Carroll mms. He murrs, "Yes, Alexandra and Dimitri; and Horatio is aboard the ship overseeing some cargo coming ashore." Listening to the more seriousness, he murrs, "Things are probably like you've heard, or maybe worse. I expect things will get rather stirred up, now that we're here."
Gunther looks... uncomfortable. "And your father? He's really missing?"
Carroll nods, murring, "As far as I know, yes. As of now the family is in something of an exile as well, I fear." He shakes his head and murrs, "I wonder if we couldn't find a way to explain to everyone at once?"
Gunther shrugs. "Most of the folks are working, but they'll be back for the evening meal. Will that do?"
Alex nudges Carroll and stands on tiptoe to whisper softly to him. Carroll murrs, "That will work splendidly, yes." He pauses, listening to Alex whisper to him, "Maybe we could introduce the bosun and Gunther now, and see if either of them have any suggestions? Since they're both the experts in their respective fields here?"
Dimitri looks to Carroll, "Come the fall of dusk, do we need to begin the passage to Starfall?" Alex nods to Dimitri.
Carroll nods to Alexandra and looks back at Gunther, murring, "Alex makes a point; you don't know everyone here." He gestures to Jared, beckoning him forward. He murrs, "Gunther, this is Jared Greytail, the bosun aboard our ship, the Saucy Mare." Looking to Jared he murrs, "This is Gunther. You and he do very similar jobs, except his is here in the village." Talking to both of them he murrs, "I hope the two of you will be able to work together to get everything we need done taken care of." He adds, "The fishing boat will be out until then. Tomorrow will work. We'll have a chance to meet the locals and see if any will help." to Dimitri.
Jared offers a hand to Gunther, who takes it with a grin and adds just a little too loudly, "Glad ta meet you. What have the kids gone and gotten themselves into now?"
Alex raises a cool eyebrow at Gunther. Carroll smiles warmly at the beaver, amused. The big fox chuckles, his ears perking. "We've run away to the sea to become pirates. Just like Father was always afraid we would. Especially me."
The muskrat twitches his whiskers at that. "Trouble, I'm afraid, but it's not their fault. And we're all in it. Unless you'd like to have this place taken over by House Pravinchandra."
Carroll comments idly, "I didn't get to that yet, did I?"
Gunther snaps into alertness at that comment. "That old..." He chops off something with a glance at Alex. "He's involved in this mess?"
Carroll looks at the beaver, and says, carefully, "I'm relatively certain he tried to have us all killed, Gunther."
Alex raises a more amused eyebrow at the old beaver, "I'm first mate of the Saucy Mare, Gunther... I'm sure I've heard worse." She nods gravely at Carroll's words.
Gunther looks like he's blushing under the fur. "'Tisn't right, milady." Carroll's comment sinks in a little late. "He did WHAT?"
Alex suggests quietly, "Perhaps we could go indoors, so we could discuss this in relative privacy?"
Carroll nods and adds, "Also, we'll have cargo coming over soon. Is there a place it can be stored?"
Dimitri softly growls, "He did quite a bit more than that too, Mister Gunther. A lot more."
Gunther grins. "We store a year's worth of supplies in the warehouses back in the village. We could probably hide your whole ship up there if you wanted."
Carroll smiles and murrs, "Hiding here is something we'll be doing, yes." He asks, "Is there someone available to help move this up there or are they all out working now?"
Gunther says, "Well, if it's THAT urgent we could bring the folks down from the sawmill. Most of 'em are out in the woods. Not easy to recall them quickly, I'm afraid."
Carroll hmms. "It can wait until tomorrow. We'll just bring them up past the tide and they'll be safe enough until morning. As to what happened, it's quite a mess. Sabotage, piracy, and lies against us. We've decided we're not going to roll over and die like he wants us to, either."
Alex says, "Um... can we let the crew come ashore in shifts tonight, captain? I imagine they'd enjoy a home-cooked meal, and we could bring some food so the village isn't hit too hard? or go hunting?"
Carroll looks at Alex, nodding. He looks back to Gunther and murrs, "I'm going to need your help with the logistics of several things, yes. We've got crew and some of their families who will need someplace to live. They'll be willing to do what work they can, I'm sure, but I'm not sure what that will be."
Gunther grins. "I'm sure we can put up a few new houses, and we can always use a few new hands. Why don't you bring them ashore?"
Carroll chuckles and murrs, "We can use the help, too." He looks at Jared and asks, "Do you think it's best to skip the unloading for tonight, and bring the crew in to meet everyone?"
Dimitri looks back, "Leave a small crew on deck, bring the rest in for an evening's leave. There's no crew in the world that doesn't like even a night of leave."
Jared nods. "Aye, sir. Leave an anchor watch on board and bring the rest of the crew ashore."
Alex says, "Oh! And Gunther, some of the manor staff may well be arriving soon too." She sighs softly, then tilts an ear at Carroll, "Captain, I should be on board for nightwatch."
Gunther looks shocked. "What? You've given up the manor?"
"All right," murrs Carroll, "-we'll do that. When the first boat of crates arrives we'll give them word and have them bring the crew over." He looks at his sister, and nods to her, "Thank you, Alex."
Alex says, "Of course, captain." She glances at Gunther, and says dryly, "Wait 'til you hear what's been confiscated or sold off... the Pravin's been busy... the jerk."
Carroll sighs and murrs to Gunther, "Yes. This village, the sawmill, and that ship are all that remains of the St. Genevieve estates. And the ship is stolen." He leans over and murrs something to his sister, who tilts an attentive ear to him as he whispers, "If you're going to be up all night, you might want more than two hours of sleep. I know I'd never make it," so that only she can hear.
Gunther looks like he's been hit by a falling tree, and the other furrs with him don't look much better. "What happened?"
Dimitri looks down at the steadfast beaver. "Also if there's any of you whom you could spare who might be good with a cutlass, send them to me or the bosun. They might be needed real soon."
Carroll murrs, "We've been used by Pravinchandra. The last shipment that Father has gone missing with put the family into a great deal of debt. Pravinchandra bought all the loans."
Alex thinks a bit... then nods slowly to Carroll and whispers in reply, "I'd like to stay 'til I get tired at least, sir?"
Carroll continues, "He offered Alex, Horatio, and I work, with our ship and a crew, as a way to recover... the offer seemed too good to be true. As is so often the case, it was."
Alex coughs softly, "Captain! May I suggest we go inside? So we can sit down, have a drink, and talk about this in a civilized fashion? We have a lot of unpleasant news for our good people... let us make sure they are comfortable, yes?"
Carroll murrs, "A very good suggestion. I'd like to catch the first load of crates to change orders, though." He knows no way to do that other than to wait.
Jared says, "I'll wait here, sir. You go catch Gunther up on the situation."
Gunther nods. "This way, milords, milady." He leads the way up the trail to the village proper and into the main hall. "Not a grand place, but the best we have. No one here during the day, either." He waves the siblings to a table. Alex makes sure she sits next to Dimitri, with her back to a wall... so she can quietly fall asleep without falling over if necessary.
Ettore Village
The village meeting hall is impressive
in a rustic way. Rough-hewn planks panel the walls of the building,
and enormous stone fireplaces at each end provide heat during the
winter. Tables and benches fill the space, which is used for meetings
and community feasts.
Carroll nods and murrs, "It's grand, Gunther. It's good to see it and be back here, even if the situation is unpleasant." He sits, looking around the hall. He finally looks back at Gunther and resumes his story. "Once we'd taken on the job, we discovered some odd things. The crew seemed to be full of people who don't usually work for Pravinchandra -- which means don't work at all. The cargo was suspiciously light, as well, which worried us."
Alex taps a paw lightly on Carroll's arm, "Don't forget to mention our suspicions about the wrecking of daddy's ship either, Carroll. And the invoice... the invoice said that we were carrying fashionable clothing. Bound for Alburtis."
Carroll murrs, "We opened one of the crates to discover the contents were nothing like what was on the manifest. If we delivered it we'd be a laughingstock. As we left the Starfall straits we were followed by a highly suspicious ship. It couldn't have meant well with how it headed towards us. But we're faster. Happily before we went to full sails we noticed the sabotage, so we didn't destroy the rigging."
Circling the little table, Dimitri finally sets the long sword aside, finding a stool for himself so he can streeeetch out, lean against the wall, and listen. Alex realizes she's jumping around in the story and hushes up, just listening quietly and leaning a little tiredly against Dimitri.
Carroll murrs, "Dimitri caught the saboteur, and he told us the cargo was meant to be a payment for raiding us, and Pravinchandra had planted it through the thieves' guild."
Gunther shakes his head. "Sounds like your dad really upset him."
Carroll nods, "The pirates tried to burn the ship down as well, but we avoided that too. We decided that the bastard has pushed people around long enough and that it was time to do something about it. We've nothing much to lose anyway by trying to do so. Going back or going ahead was certainly foolish, so we're going to do something different."
Alex flattens her ears and snarls quietly, "Daddy didn't do anything to him -- he's just vile!"
Gunther looks puzzled all of a sudden. "How did he miss Ettore? Seems like he would have gotten this land too."
Carroll murrs, "No, Father did, Alex. Father was successful. He was a threat to Pravinchandra's empire of corruption and force."
Dimitri looks back to Alex and shakes his had. "Father did. He was too successful."
Alex snaps angrily, "That's not a good enough reason to try to kill someone!"
Carroll explains to Gunther, "Father's ship vanished. He's a better sailor than that. It's difficult to wonder if there wasn't another saboteur aboard. And Ettore isn't listed through Starfall; it's a grant from Jarrow itself to St. Genevieve. The mongoose couldn't get his greedy little paws on it. Hopefully he doesn't even know about it."
Alex covers a sudden huge yawn. Carroll hmms. He murrs, "We're going to have to extend the same offer to the people here that we did to the crew, too. I don't want anyone to stay if they're uncomfortable with what we're doing." Alex nods at Carroll's comment.
Carroll tells Gunther, "We decided, the four of us, which was another odd thing -- why was Dimitri suddenly let go from his duties and sent home? Anyway, we decided we were pinned in and Pravinchandra wanted us dead. We decided to try and stop him, to break his empire. The only way to do that, of course, is to cost him money, disrupt his business."
"Landing to repair the sabotage, we told the crew the whole story, and let those who didn't want to join us off, along with a couple we didn't want joining us, including our saboteur. We left them a couple of weeks out of Larris, with supplies to walk in to town to find new work," explains Carroll.
Alex is curled up neatly in the little alcove made by the huge, warm stone fireplace and the wall, next to Dimitri on his stool... the warmth is beginning to make her feel very relaxed. She leans back against the wall, listening quietly and watching peoples' reactions. Dimitri opens one eye. "After talking to some of the crew, I think it was because I cleaned Bhavnish Pravinchandra out one too many times on the gaming table." Alex grins quietly at Dimitri... then idly wonders if she did anything.
Jared has returned after passing on the new orders. "Maybe, or maybe you were already marked. Remember Ariel and Tina. They're brand new, but... both of them had family members who'd bucked House P before, too. The mongoose is a vindictive SOB."
Carroll nods to Jared, and murrs, "Could be. The mongoose isn't happy until the whole family's destroyed."
Dimitri's ears flicker. "Shows he's not infallible. Both are good furrs."
Carroll smiles and murrs, "Oh, he's not infallible. He's made several mistakes. Giving us a crew who hates him was definitely one of them." Alex smiles quietly at Dimitri's and Carroll's comments. Carroll glances to Jared and adds, "Good crew, too." He looks back to the beaver and murrs, "So, we arrive here, our final refuge. I expect we'll disrupt things quite a bit."
Carroll looks at Gunther and murrs, "I promised some of the crew of the ship we'd move their families here to keep them safe, and so they'd not be without income. We'll need a place for them, and for the crew while we're here. We'll need to discuss and find out how to provision the extra people with no budget. We'll need to see if anyone's willing to help us with our goal of upsetting Pravinchandra. We'll need to try and fortify the bay." He pauses only briefly and asks, grinning, "So, ready to run for the hills yet, or do you think we've a chance?"
Gunther grunts. "Dunno about that, sir. If you think it's worthwhile, we'll follow you." The old beaver straightens up. "You'll want to talk to everyone at dinner tonight?"
Carroll nods and murrs, "I'll explain to everyone then and answer any questions I can."
Alex listens to people quietly talking and planning... eventually she slowly dozes off, lulled by the fire's warmth and Dimitri's broad shoulder. Looking to his side, the darkling fox notices his sister's rest. He settles himself in, not going elsewhere for this morning, it seems.