Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *The crew of the Contentment had finished tossing all the ballast sandbags overboard. In the rough seas where all this freshwater from the three streams that feed our meets the incoming tide, Thassa can be rough enough. But with a brisk wind out of the west pushing the freshwater back, and a full-moon high-tide to boot, the surf was flowing past the south-facing beaches east of the cape like a river. The heavier saltwater was being pushed beneath the flow of fresh water from the rain-gorged streams, making for real rough seas, and our light galley is being tossed about pretty good. As the Tea-Merchant’s ship out of Bazi comes over the southern horizen, we look like we have lost control of the ship in these rough waters.*
(16:44:20 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *The Third-Mate is up in the crow’s nest, hunkered down, with a Builders’ Glass looking through a spy-hole. He tells me that we are under observation from the approaching heavy-merchant, and me and the Captain step up our dramatic presentation of “Don’t Ever Hire Your Ship to a FW”, me gesturing wildly, and stomping around and continually pointing to the northwest, while he stood with arms folded, occaisionally gesturing towards land, pointing at the rising full moon, waving his hand in the wind. I want to represent that I want to make time to the north, and he wants to lay up or lay anchor to wait for better conditions. In the meantime, because of our inattention, the ship has started to flounder in the rough seas off the cape. I am counting on the Bazi Merchant’s greed to tempt him to take advantage of two possible prizes, the smaller ship and the ransom of a beautiful and possibly rich FW.*
(16:55:49 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *The heavier galley, fully loaded as it is, bound for Ianda, has little trouble with the rough seas, and is bearing down on us at a good clip, when I seem to notice it approaching. The captain takes a big drink from a sul paga jug filled with water, and seems to stagger drunkenly towards the wheel on the poop deck, bellowing orders. Slowly, our ship comes around and starts making for shore, oars looking slightly out of time. Our one hope would be to get into water to shallow for the big ship. We aren’t more than a pasang offshore, but the math seems to indicate that we won’t quite get there before the big ship is in grappling range. Already I can see some men on their deck checking the knots securing grappling ropes to heavy stays bolted into the weather-deck.*
(18:00:54 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *We are about a ¼ pasang out from the breakers, and the large galley closing in, when I give the signal to the mate in the deck, and he sends a burning bolt in a high arc out over the jungle. Even over the surf, I can hear the war cries of Drax and Keenan’s tarns taking flight, then more shrieks and challenge calls as their men also take to the air on their birds. Six of the birds are high, out of bowrange, Talunas in the tarn basket dropping glass jars of lamp oil with lit fuses onto the deck of the larger ship. Drax and Keenan direct their birds in sweeping high speed dives, crewmen from the Contentment firing bolts from the tarn basket, taking out those enemy crewman who had been trying to throw grappling hooks to snare my ship.*
18:22:34 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *One grappling hook catches us, but that that’s good, it will make it easier for us to board the Merchant ship after their crew decides that swimming to shore looks like the best way to get away from the tarn attack. Me and Tasp fire arrows at anyone from the Merchant ship that tries to pull the grapple rope and reel us in. Already men from the other ship are in the water, despite the harsh orders being shouted around, as their officers try to get their ship turned around and away from land, or grapple us in, but it looks like men are going overboard at a pretty good clip now, and even the officers of the Merchant ship will be giving up soon, especially after Tasp clips one in the shoulder with a long arrow shot.*
(18:30:57 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *The prey-ship is ablaze all atopdecks, and the men the men are bailing like urts. Nobody is shooting at the men in the water, land forces from the Cove will pick them up for galley slaves when they get ashore, but for now; it seems that we are glad enough to get the ship, and the men escaping will actually get away. To add to their encouragement, I see Keenan’s tarn swoop down and take a bowman skyward in his talons, the man screaming in agony. When the ship is clear, crewmen from the Contentment will go aboard with axes, sacrificing the weather deck to save the hull, and with enough bailing power to hopefully save the mast.*
(19:00:10 )
Kimba the Storyteller_______
[PIC]
Kimba
PantherClaw Taluna Lair
~aboard the light galley "Exhausted Contentment"~
--on a ship at sea near the coastline--
to ALL
: *It’s not long before we have control of the prey-ship, and are putting up sails from the Contentment, and setting towlines to bring our ship back behind the bigger ship, which is heavily damaged, but still floats. I wouldn’t want to be aboard during a storm, but it should be seaworthy enough to ride the tide back towards the docks. A quick check of the storage areas shows that Keenan’s intelligence was correct. The ship is loaded with pint-size kegs of spices, and 20lb kegs stuffed with dried Bazi tea, at least a thousand of the spices, and 50 of the tea. That will pay for some charcoal!*
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