HoloPirates: A Tale of Adventure

Ready to depart

Finally, we walked out to the docks and got around to browsing the ships. There was such a wide range of them, all from sloops to a massive man o war with 100 cannons sticking out of both sides of the ship. There was a dock master that we were talking to, and he kept telling us all about how each ship is different in its own way, how the man o war was a floating fortress and the sloop was built for speed, and how frigates were a combination of both. Brigantines were a combination of the frigate and a galleon, the galleon was a floating merchant ship, and frigates were the fastest of the big ships.
"But, there is one more ship." He said. "Its a single Drachema, and its more of an....experimental model."
"Can I see it?"
"Sure thing."
The dock master led us to the other side of the man o war, to this hidden ship. It was the size of a frigate, with 28 guns, but the thing that caught my eye was that there was a paddle engine on both sides of the hull. The paddles rested nicely in the water, and there was a crew working on the ship, polishing all of the engines and painting the ship a nice shade of red.
"I want that one." I said to Senchou. "Its a paddleboat steamer."
"What's so good about it?"
"Well, when the wind dies down, we can fire up that big ass engine and steam our way through anything. Even if the wind is against us."
"And it runs on Cursed Coal." He said. "That shit burns ten times as long as regular coal, with TWICE the heat. And y'all got a whole room on the ship full of it."
"Is that the crew aboard?"
"Aye. They're a fine crew, full of courageous and strong men and women, ready to put life and limb at the line for the ship to survive."
"I'll take it." I said, handing him the drachema.
"Sure thing boss." He replied, then turned to the crew and yelled at them. "NEW CAPTAIN COMING ABOARD!!"
"Aye!" They yelled back.
I looked at Senchou.
"Okay, uh, do your thing.'
"Aye that." She said.
She walked aboard the ship, the creaking hull cracking and popping under the weight of the engines, and the entire crew stood at attention, showing respect for Senchou. She walked past the entire lot of them, looking them over and inspecting them, as if trying to see if any of them had any faults. So far, none of them had any that either of us could see.
"So. Let's go and get the ship up and running, aye?"
"Aye captain!" They all said.
They snapped into motion, untying ropes and keeping the sails furled up in the booms. All of them worked endlessly, bringing the last little bits of cargo aboard the ship, being barrels of salted fish, boxes of meat, and racks upon racks of beer, rum and ale. Two men even led a few goats aboard the ship and stowed them in the hold below. Finally, two big, burly men grabbed the gang planks, lifted them, and threw them back onto the dock, letting the ship go from the dock.
One giant of a man grabbed a big long stick with a metal tip at the end, went up to the bow, reached over, and stuck it into the dock. He groaned and yelled, pushing with all of his might, and the boat started going backwards, pushed back by the man with his pole. We went back, foot by foot, and he gave it one last push, then retracted the pole as the ship slid backwards. Two ladies grabbed these gigantic, thick ropes, then threw them out to the ends of the docks, behind the ship. The ropes hooked onto the pegs of the docks, and they pulled with all of their might, backed up by the men with the big muscles. All of them pulled, and the ship lurched backwards, and just as the ship left the dock, the men and women lashed the ropes, causing them to fly off the dock pegs and back into their arms.
"They're amazing aren't they?"
I turned and looked at the person who spoke, and I saw that it was Jansen, dressed in the first mate uniform that I had seen hanging on his wall. However, in the time away, it looked like he had cleaned and ironed it, likely to put his best foot forward with us.
"Got here this morning." He said, holding his hand out to shake.
I went to go and shake his hand, but suddenly, the tentacle slithered out of his red jacket sleeve, and it freaked me out, causing me to recoil and refuse his hand.
"Ah, sorry about that." He said. "Pay it no mind, I'm half Siren, remember?"
"I remember you telling me that." I said. "Glad you decided to join us."
He paused.
"Aye, I'm glad as well. Honestly, I've missed the sea."
"Must be a memory trip for you?"
"Aye that. Lot of reminiscing."
"JANSEN!!!!" Senchou roared from the foredeck.
She snapped her fingers and pointed at the ground, with a mean expression on her face, the kind that means no business.
"I have to go. Hopefully we can talk again soon." He said.
"Sure thing man. See ya around."
I turned as Jansen left, and I looked at the Storyteller.
"So how is it so far?"
"I mean, I like the ship, but we are running a little behind the schedule. This guy CANNOT harness even a sliver of my power, and he's attempting to wield my full power like a sword and destroy this world and conquer many more."
"I get it dude, but we're gonna get him before he can do anything." I said. "We'll bring that little prick down, don't worry."
He gave me a smile.
"Yeah, he's going down." He said with a grin.
I gave him a high five, and then, I heard someone clear her throat behind me.
Senchou. With Jansen right next to her.
"We should head out, but where are we heading exactly?"
"To the Island of Death." The Storyteller said.
"Are you shitting me? Its called the Island of Death for a reason! No one has ever set foot there and lived to tell the tale."
"Then who lived to say no one has ever survived?"
It was a good question, and it stumped Senchou.
"It doesn't matter! I love adventure, but I'm not going to the Island of Death."
"Senchou, what if there's treasure?" I said. "Like, loads of shiny, glittery gold, jewels and diamonds? Treasure chests laden with silver goblets and pearls and rubies."
I tried to sprinkle in as much treasure into the sentence that I could, and I could see her gold colored iris gain a glittering sheen to it. The shine of greed. I had got her good.
"I want the treasure." She said. "It better be there."
I nodded to her.
"Every little bit of it, you can keep for yourself."
"Then what are you guys doing there? What's the business there?"
"We just need to kill a guy. Thats it. Get us there, help us kill him, and whatever treasure is there is all yours."
"Sounds good to me." She said, the shine in her eye shining the brightest I had seen it yet. It was really more of a gleam, but it still shone in her eyes that she loved treasure.
"Meet me in the captains quarters in a few minutes, aye?" She said. "Come with me Jansen. I'd like for you to sing for me. Its been a while."
The sails were let down, and suddenly, the ship surged forward, throwing us all on our faces and butts. The wind caught the sails with a crack, and all of them strained against the ropes. The only people who hadn't face or butt planted were Jansen and Senchou, who both caught themselves on the ship's wheel. The ship sped forward, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. We sped away from the harbor, and then, the helmsman grabbed the wheel and steered us going south, while other men grabbed the ropes and adjusted the sails to catch the wind better. The sails cracked yet again, and we started heading out, away from the island and the volcano that still spewed hot ash into the sky. The ship crested waves, flying into the air, then crashing back down into the water with large splashes.