Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Eight — Shore Leave
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Eight — Shore Leave The Beaver Cleaver soared high above a hilly landscape dotted with little patches of forest and a long winding road following a rushing river.To our right rose a mountain chain that Clive called the Seven Points on account of its seven peaks. To our left, the Darkwoods, with trees stretching out all the way to the horizon. It was the thing way out ahead of us that had me excited though.Needleford!From the distance, it seemed like a big, sprawling city, with homes and fields stretching out all around it and along the coast of the Empty Sea. Hundreds of ships were berthed in the port to the south of the city, and perhaps three dozen airships were sitting in the airship docks next to those.A small castle atop a hill overlooked the city, and even from as far away as we were, I could make out the flags fluttering away atop the keep’s towers.“We’re going to start slowing down, Captain,” Clive said.I hung onto the rail and gave the pilot a big thumbs-up. “Got it!”The engine stopped, the propeller started to spin slower, and the Beaver Cleaver started to slow down. Steve and Gordon pulled in some sail, and soon our rapid clip was brought down to a gentle coast across the skies.We had to fly around the city in order to hit the airship docks from the right angle, so Clive brought us around until we were hovering our way across the open seas.“Signal’s out!” Clive said.Steve ran to the fore of the ship, then up the rungs along the side of the ship with some flags tucked into the back of his pants. Once he was halfway up the rigging he pulled them out and started to wave them about in a repetitive pattern.“We’re seen!” he said. “Second lighthouse!”I moved to the rails near him and looked out towards the docks. There were, indeed, two towers with big lights on them and what looked like a mirror array around them. Above that was a tower with a bunch of colourful wooden planks mounted to a complex set of pulleys and ropes. The panels were moving up and down, kind of like Steven’s arms.“A signal tower?” I asked.“A semaphore tower,” Steven explained. “I asked for a berth, captain, and they’re directing us to... Clive! Topmost, Second berth!”“Topmost. Second!” Clive repeated. “With this tailwind... we'll need more sail. Get ready to pull them up! Port-side!”We spent a moment running around, deploying sails as Clive indicated as we approached the huge wooden structure of Needleford’s air docks.A group of humans, most of them young men, were waiting for us by our berth with ropes and hooks. When we came into the dock at last, they flung their ropes out and caught the metal stubs along the side of the Beaver and tied him up to the piers on either side.There were other ropes, big ones as thick around as my arm, under us that came up to cradle the underside of the ship in place. “Lowering gravity engine output to nil,” Clive said.We dipped a little, then settled in place onto some big wooden bracers below. It took a moment for everything to calm down and place itself, but the Beaver had successfully come to a safe landing. “Gangplank out!” I called as I moved to the port side.Steve was the one to push out the plank, bringing it to a rest by the feet of a pair of men in officious uniforms with little anchors on their lapels.“Ahoy Beaver Cleaver,” one of them said.“Hey there!” I called back before stepping down the plank and shaking their extended hands.“We weren’t expecting you here,” the older of the two said. “Pardon me ma’am, but is the captain available?”“You’re talking to her,” I said. “I’m Broccoli, Broccoli Bunch.”They looked at each other for a moment, then went on without a pause. “Well, as I was saying, your arrival was unexpected.”“We did a job for the Mattergrove East Company,” I said, my smile still in place. My dad always told me that bureaucrats were people too, even if sometimes it was hard to tell. “We didn’t expect to be coming here. But here we are. We’ll need refueling and such, and we have some documents to deliver too, I think.”The man nodded. “Of course, of course. Will the Mattergrove East Company be handling the docking fees then?”“No, that’s on us, I think,” I said. “Do you have the invoice for it?”“Ah, for the landing yes,” he said as he passed me a sheet. “And the first day ending at sunset. If you plan on staying for any amount of time, you’ll need to cover those fees as well. Payable before leaving. You’ll find our rates are very competitive with other ports.”“Oh, that’s nice,” I said as I took the sheet he gave me. The numbers were pretty big, but there were also a lot of people hanging around the Beaver. “I’ll give this to my first mate. Where do we go to pay you?”The man pointed to one of the towers overlooking the docks. “Port Authority headquarters are right there, captain.”“Thanks!” I waved to the two of them as they made their way back to their office, and then, with nothing better to do, climbed back aboard the Beaver. I was met by Clive who was smiling a very pleased sort of smile as he came over.“That was a nice smooth landing, if I say so myself. Not a scratch on the old boat.”“I certainly couldn’t have done it,” I said. “Top notch work, Clive. I’m not too sure what to do now.”“Ah, well, you young folk ought to get off the ship, maybe find yourselves a spot of trouble. I’m going to stay back here.”I looked over to Steve and Gordon who were both coiling up some ropes and looking quite pleased with themselves too. I supposed that the bulk of their work was done for now. “That sounds like a great idea,” I said. “Shore leave for everyone while the girls and I sort out the fuel thing and send out a message or two. Oh, and maybe we can shop around a bit.”This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.“Aye,” Clive agreed. “Might want to hire a guard or two for the Beaver. This city’s peaceful from what I’ve heard, but nothing keeps things peaceful like having a few mean looking boys standing around and giving anyone the stink eye.”I giggled. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” I left Clive to give the good news to the boys and started towards the back, intent on finding my friends. But once more I was beaten to it as Awen, Amaryllis, and Bastion all stepped out of the cabin. “Hey guys. Ready to head out?”“Certainly,” Amaryllis said. “I do like the idea of being a proper world traveller. I suppose that means putting a bit of effort into the act of exploring every city we encounter.”“Awa, I’ve never been to Needleford; but I had some fish from here before, and it was really nice.”“Maybe we can send some fish to my sister, she does so love that sort of thing,” Amaryllis said.Awen did a good imitation of a fish for a moment.“Clementine will order fish from quite a ways when we have a gathering that calls for something exotic.”“Oh, oh, you meant, awa, yes, okay,” Awen said.Amaryllis and I locked eyes. Our expressions didn’t change, but we were both communicating the same love of teasing Awen to each other, and a sisterly agreement not to ever-ever stop because it was too much fun.I sidled up next to Awen as we started towards the gangplank. “I’m sure we can find a nice gift for Rose,” I said. “Something nice and tasteful that doesn’t send any wrong messages.”“You can send wrong messages with a gift?” Awen asked.“Not with the two of us helping you. Uh.” I looked to Bastion. “Three of us? Bastion, do you know anything about wooing cute harpy princesses?”“My sister isn’t a princess,” Amaryllis said.“I’m afraid not,” Bastion said. “There are some rather formal systems in place for gift-giving in Slyphfree. I’m familiar with those, if that would help?”“So, if you wanted to tell someone, say hypothetically it’s a cute harpy princess, that you like her, and that you’re thinking of her even though you’re far away on some super important mission to save the world, what sort of gift would you give for that?”“Ah,” Bastion said. “I realize that I may have overestimated my own knowledge here.”“We’ll figure it out together!” I said. “Maybe that’ll reduce the pressure, right Awen?”“Oh, ah, like sending the gift, but it’s from all of us?” Awen asked. She nodded. “Yes, yes that’s much better.”I squeezed Awen’s shoulder and let her pass before me as we crossed the gangplank onto the docks proper. Most of the dockworkers that had come around when we took our berth were gone now, leaving the area surprisingly quiet.“So,” I said as I skipped ahead. “We need to go pay for the dock, and Clive suggested we find a few guards to keep the ship secure while we’re off having fun.”“That sounds reasonable,” Bastion said. “I don’t think it would be an issue in a Sylph port, but out here, I don’t trust the locals enough to leave valuable materials unattended.”I shrugged. “Sure. We also need to find fuel and food.”“Shouldn’t we be fine food-wise?” Amaryllis asked. “Unfortunate losses due to... culinary experimentation aside, we were topped up on leaving Fort Sylphrot.”“Ah, I meant more... you know, trying out local restaurants.”The docks ended at a long ramp that sloped down to street-level, one that was currently blocked by three young men. No, two young men and a girl. “Stop right there, travellers,” the young man in the lead said.I stopped, and heard my friends doing the same behind me. “Can I help you?”The boy, who was wearing a somewhat grungy shirt tucked into some patched pants and who had a neat scar across his nose and cheek, placed his hands onto his hips and tried to make himself look big and tough. “I’m the great pirate Two-Eyed Joe. This is No-Pegs Oda and the Fearsome Sally.”“Uh, hi,” I said. “Can we help you?” Were they trying to help us, or just saying hi? And did being a pirate here mean the same thing as back home? I wasn’t exactly getting piratical vibes from the three of them.“We’re going to take your ship. Give us everything you’ve got.”I look to my friends, then back to the three of them. They were teens, maybe a year or two younger than me. A bit old to be playing pretend. “Are you sure?”“Of course I’m sure. Give me everything you’ve got, idiot!”Bastion’s sword came out of its scabbard with a rasp of steel on steel, and the air around Amaryllis sparked and sizzled as it filled with electricity.“Okay,” Two-Eyed Joe said. “I’ll settle for half your stuff.”“Joe, I don’t think it’ll work this time,” the fearsome Sally said as she leaned in towards her friend. The girl was really short, but didn’t look to be any younger than her friends. Not that it was easy to tell. She was wearing a big mariner’s jacket with her hood up and I couldn’t see much of her face. She did look rather shy though.“Of course it’s a good idea,” No-Pegs Oda said. “We’ll never be proper pirates if we don’t steal stuff from people on a ship, and this crew looks small.”I felt myself frowning. “Hey guys. I know being a pirate is really, really cool and all, but taking other people’s things is wrong, so maybe we should talk about this first?”
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Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Nine — Rebels Without (Much of) a Cause
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Nine — Rebels Without (Much of) a Cause “So, are you really going to pirate us right here, out in the open?” I asked.There were still plenty of dock workers around. Less than when we’d come in to dock, but they were still there. A few of them were even setting things aside and looking our way, and I was pretty sure I saw money changing hands.Two-Eyed Joe, who seemed to be the leader of his little group, stepped up and puffed out his chest. “We’re real pirates. And we’re really going to take your ship.”“Just the three of you?” I asked. “You know, the Beaver’s a small ship, but even I’d hesitate to pilot it with only a crew of three.” Technically that’s how many experienced crewmembers we had, but there were others onboard too, to give the harpies a break and to help where we could.“We know what we’re doing,” Joe said.“I really, truly doubt that,” Amaryllis said. “You are, without any doubt, the dumbest excuse for a pirate I’ve ever seen.”“Amaryllis,” I soothed. “He’s just trying his best.”“He’s trying his best to pirate our ship. Why are you encouraging them?”“Well, mostly because they seem pretty harmless,” I admitted. All three of them looked younger than us. Not kids, but not adults either. So just three teens having some fun. “Say, do you guys know of a nice place to eat? We’re not going to be in the port for too long, but we’d like to try the local cuisine. I heard that the fish was great.”The three tensed up, then as one they sighed and their shoulders all drooped. “I guess this is normal,” Oda said.“Lame,” Sally agreed.Two-Eyed Joe shook his head. “Yeah, another bust.”“Aww, hey now,” I said. “It’s okay. I bet that with a bit of practice you could be great pirates.”“Are you really doing this?” Bastion asked.“Doing what?”“Encouraging these children to live a life of lawlessness? I’ve no authority over you or them, but I still feel as though I ought to point out that encouraging people to commit crimes is a terrible idea.”I shook my head. “No, no, there are different sorts of pirates out there. There’s the evil sort, that goes around plundering things, and there’s the good sort, who just want to live a life free from any laws and such, where they can be themselves and go on grand adventures with their friends. If I had to pick a kind of pirate to be, I’d be the second sort.”“That’s... not piracy,” Bastion said. “That’s just being irresponsible while onboard a ship.”I stepped up to the pirates before us and before they had time to act, looped my arms around Joe and Oda’s. “Alright boys and girl, lead us to the admin building and big sis Broccoli will listen to your dreams of sailing the seven seas!”“There are four seas,” Amaryllis chimed in.“What about the sky?”The harpy huffed. “The sky isn’t a sea, you dolt.”The pirates were a bit confused, but after a bit of stumbling about, we were all heading over to the administrative building, my friends forming a sort of pack behind the group. The day was too bright and cheery for fighting though, so I tried to enjoy the atmosphere while the two boys I had my arms linked with sweated up a storm.“You guys look nervous,” I said.“Ah,” Two-Eyed Joe said. “Well, you’re a little bit scary is all.”“Huh?” I asked.“How cowardly do you need to be in order for Broccoli to scare you?” Amaryllis asked. “She’s... her.”“Yeah, I’m me. And I’m not scary,” I said as I pulled my arms free from theirs. “Sorry. You must think I was trying to capture you or something?”“We get arrested. A lot,” Sally said.Bastion snorted. “I can’t imagine why.”I placed my arms over their shoulders. “Well, we’re not arresting you, or anything like that. We really do just need a local guide.” The boys shared a look, but they kept with us until we reached the administration building. Amaryllis was the only one to step in, claiming that it was her job as first mate-and only responsible crewmember-to get the paperwork done. And that she’d get us a good deal on docking fees. I didn’t envy the people working the front desk.“So, uh, you wanted to know about our dream?” Joe asked.Sally sighed. “Joe, they don’t care. No one does.”“I might not care yet, but that’s because I haven’t heard it. I won’t laugh, promise,” I said.Joe gestured to me while giving Sally a look. The three must have been good friends because they communicated a lot without speaking. “We want to become pirates so that we can leave this place and see the world. We want to visit the city states of the Endless Swells, and see the Grey Wall, and swim in the Willow Waters.”“Couldn’t you just join an existing crew?” Bastion asked. “You seem like hardy enough young people. Ships need sailors.”“They wouldn’t hire us, and we don’t want to be stuck doing runs back and forth for cargo and stuff. Anyhow, Sally couldn’t join. They don’t hire girls for that kind of thing here.”“The Exploration Guild might have a spot for you,” I said before tapping my badge. That reminded me, I could stop by the local guild and see if there was anything fun going on around the area. Also, the guild still owed me for that one flower-mapping job... I was really bad at managing things. “They accept girls. I’d know.”“That needs a bunch of money, and you need to do what you’re told all the time,” Joe said with a pout. It was really unfortunate for him that teenage boys with scraggly, patchy mustaches and lots of acne couldn’t pull off pouts.I didn’t want to judge my new somewhat-piratical friends so soon, but it felt as if they didn’t actually know what they wanted. And that if they had it, they still wouldn’t be all that happy. I suspected that there was more that they needed than just a life with more freedom.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Amaryllis returned, looking particularly smug. “We’re good for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow,” she said. “They’ll be sending someone to refuel the ship tomorrow morning. I’ll want to be there for that, to make sure they’re not just giving us any old junk, but otherwise it seems that we’re set to go.”“Good work,” I said. “We were just talking about our pirate friends here.”Amaryllis eyed the three teens, then shrugged. “Give them to the local guard, and let’s get on with our lives.”The three tensed. Bastion nodded, and Awen seemed preoccupied.“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” I said. “How about we let them off with a stern warning instead? Maybe they can be our local guides? I have a few cops to spare for their ‘become a pirate’ fund.”“You’d fund pirates?” Bastion asked.“As if the sylph haven’t funded a few privateers over the years,” Amaryllis said.“That’s an entirely different situation,” Bastion replied. He shook his head. “You know what, it’s fine. These three are too incompetent to be actual threats. I think any money you give them will likely be spent feeding them, so I can’t truly discourage you here.”I grinned. Bastion was a bit prickly, but he had a nice heart. I wondered if we should have been trying to include him in our group some more. A party of four was thirty-three percent more fun than a party of three, at least according to my friendship math. “Neat. So, wanna show us to the best place for local foods around here?” I asked Two-Eyed Joe.“Ah, sure, why not. There’s this place right on the edge of the docks. Owner used to run a stall, but he sold that and opened a little restaurant. It’s real popular with the dockworkers and some of the sailors. Cheap, but the food’s always been good.”“That sounds perfect. Any objections?" I asked my friends. Then I noticed that Awen was still looking away from us. “Awen?”The girl jumped. “Oh? Sorry I... Sorry, I think I noticed something.” She pointed off to the side.A bulletin board was set up against the wall of the administration building. It looked like it was mostly covered in requests for workers of one sort or another. Ships looking for crews, sailors looking for work, a few things for sale. And in the middle of it all, a sketch of Awen in a pretty dress.“Is that you?” I asked as I walked over.‘AWEN BRISTLECONE’ was the headline. And below that, the image of my friend, looking a bit more plump than she was now. I glanced at Awen. I hadn’t noticed her losing any weight, not that she needed to. I guess that all the adventuring counted as good exercise.“Are you reading this?” Amaryllis asked.‘Awen Bristlecone. Wanted Alive and Hale. Disappeared from Greenshade and last seen in Rosenbell in company of a young woman and a female harpy. Award 500 Gold, and the favour of the House of Bristlecone.’“That doesn’t look good,” I said.Awen’s face shifted from teary eyed sadness, to glaring determination. “They want me back,” she said. It didn’t sound all that nice. “After everything, they still want to take me back.”I pulled her into a hug from behind because she looked like she really needed one. “It’ll be okay,” I said.“I know,” she said. “Because I’m not going back.”I cut off a giggle. It was a bit mean to laugh right then. “Did you want to go back to the Beaver?”Awen shook her head, blonde hair brushing past my face. “No, no I want to stay with you and Amaryllis.”“Okay then,” I said before turning to the pirates. “So, that restaurant?”“Right,” Two-Eyed Joe said. He started down the street, and the rest of us filed after him. I gave Awen a last squeeze before following too. She tore her poster from the wall and stuffed it into a pocket before running after me.That probably counted as defacing public property, or maybe just theft, but it was her face on the poster, so I don’t think anyone would complain.As we moved away from the airship docks and closer to the normal-ship docks, the air changed. It started to smell a lot more like salt and brine and dead fish. “Is the water over there salty?” I asked.“The Empty Sea’s all salt all the way,” Two-Eyed Joe said. “It’s not very popular work, but collecting salt pays pretty well if you’re into that. They sell it to people all over Mattergrove since it’s cheaper than buying it from the Endless Swells or getting it from elsewhere.”“The only other sources are the cervid’s sea salt and the sylph’s pink mountain salt,” Amaryllis said. “And the Snowlanders, but their salt is strange, so no one uses it for eating.”We arrived at a busy little restaurant, with benches outside under colourful parasols. The tiny interior was little more than a counter, behind which a few burly cooks were frying all sorts of stuff on glowing, rune-carved grilles.The menu was pretty much just fish prepared in a dozen ways. I had to rely on Two-Eyed Joe and Sally to pick something tasty out. Sally, at least, seemed really enthused about the food.When the owner, a big guy with an apron that looked tiny over his tummy, called out for us, we paid and made our way back to our seats where we dug into our meals with the same gusto as the locals.At least, I did. My friends were all way too prudish to just dig in, even after I offered to Clean their hands and talons.As I ate, I let my mind wander over all sorts of things, from the value of piracy, to how, exactly, I had ended up with so many friends who were all raised to be just a smidge uptight.
