Buying Rebel

14.

Captain Inias, as things turned out, was an able seaman. A talent which Castiel did not discover until the turning of the tide at the dark waters where a storm came upon the haphazard fleet of supply ships. Quickly the vessels scattered to the four winds and the swell churned like a vortex calling for the souls of the Roman legionnaires. The men resorted to tying themselves to the masts, while Inias, Castiel and Cain took turns manning the wheel. The captain had been hit by a runaway mast and was being nursed below decks through a concussion.

"Where did you learn to sail like this?" Inias asked Castiel incredulous.

"I have been through a fair few sea journeys, spent a few decades in the legions," Castiel said.

"I have never heard of you."

"You are probably too young."

"You cannot be more than a handful of years older than me, you look to be in your prime," Inias said with admiration. "How do you know which way is north in all this bluster?"

"I do not know where true north lies, not in the darkness anyway," Castiel said. "I am merely bending the sails with the winds so that we are not ripped apart."

"But then how will we get back on course?"

"By staying alive," Castiel said obliquely.

"Go below decks and give me my turn in peace," Cain bumped Castiel off the wheel. "Send the young captain up to me when it is dawn, he is half useful at plotting our course on a map."

"How do you know the waterways so well?" Castiel inquired of Inias. "You're infantry and a supply garrison at that."

"My father was a fisherman and I have to confess my mother's family were from these parts of Brittany," Inias stated honestly. "It has been difficult to find promotion with my background but at least I am familiar with the sea and terrain."

"How many battle have you seen?" Castiel asked curiously.

Inias hesitated. "Including this one?"

Castiel nodded encouragingly.

"And all the other before? Excluding the ones where I delivered the supplies just in time to watch the battle wind up. And not counting the military parades where I dress in silver and wave a shining staff?" Inias bowed his head in embarrassment. "A total of none."

Castiel laughed and Inias stared at his face in awe as if the moon had suddenly made an appearance in the velvet night.

"That is the right amount," Castiel clapped his hand over Inias' shoulder. "Now come below with me, Marcus likes his solitude when he is duelling with Poseidon."

They were both damp with sea spray when they entered the warm bows of the ship. The legionnaires lay in sickly piles, their armour cast aside, quite a few had never travelled by sea before and were finding the motion sickness debilitating. The whole garrison was made up of men not much older than Jack and Castiel's heart filled with pity as he looked at their trusting faces. The provisions which they were tasked with delivering were mostly wine and spirits, some dried meats and cheeses for the officers but the grain that was meant for the troops was of a poor quality and half spoiled. Inias was a strict and diligent captain and he bade the men not to touch the supplies and tried to stretch out their own meagre provisions as much as possible. They were already in low spirits and never had they even lain eyes on their foes. Though a little officious and unimaginative in his command, Inias was against all of Castiel's preconceived notions a good captain. He shared his own provisions with Castiel and Cain, there having been insufficient time to request more provisions in the haste of their boarding The Abaddon. There was only one bedroll on the floor, set a little apart from the other soldiers, with a fur trimmed blanket that looked handmade.