Silence falls on the crew as they watch their ship approach a wall of dark black in front of them. A storm, one that already made the sea rise, crash and tilt the sea vessel with a fury rare to see.
The Captain had already said to say your prayers, at the time that was a joke but at the wheel he could see some men hold a cross, cup their hands in prayer and shut their eyes, preparing for this to be their last voyage. Only a few people, lucky ones, had survived this storm as what lies beyond is a ship, long since sunk, back only by the will of its Captain.
Slowly, the ship enters the deep black wall of storm clouds. The winds already picking up heavily, the wood on the hull creeks and moans as if the very ship was uncertain of what they were doing. But it was too late now, as when they crossed that plain, the air pressure rose, the winds picked up to a roar, the sea rocked the ship violently, already threatening to tip the ship as crew members fought to keep their balance. The sea beyond them was as treacherous as the stories told and a graveyard of broken and sunken ships litter the sea, hazards that threaten to sink the ship just as much as the pointed rocks that had destroyed them.
The Captain at the wheel, his First Mate beside him, both held onto any piece of the hull they could as a voice yells from the top of the mast.
“Captain! Portside! Ship approaches!”
Out of the wall of clouds almost just beside them…. The Lucky Rosemary appears from nothingness. The clouds above darken, the waves roar and crash against the two ships stationed parallel next to one another and Lial’s eyes meet the Captain on the other ship.
The sea fearing man clings to a rope tied to the ships mast, with cold, green eyes he stares back at the crew expectantly, waiting…
It’s with a lightening bolt that and thunder that crashes in the sky above them that the sails drop fully from their positions and both the boats set off.
“Hoist the colors, Let 'em fly, Let the cannons rip the sky, Raise your cutlass, Lift a glass, Fight the current till we die.”
“Fortune's flame will never dim, Treasure stokes the fire within, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide.”
Radadada radada radada-a-a-a, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide!
The boat comes alive immediately at the voice of their Captain. Each deck hand moves swiftly, listening to each command given, pulling ropes, removing knots, pushing canons in their place at the bow of the ship as commanded earlier.
“There's a chill on the water, As the trail's getting hotter, There's no taming the fire, It's the burn that we crave.”
“The storms keep on coming, Let it rain, don't mean nothing, Through the peril we're drumming, As we shout the refrain.”
A loose rope flings from its seat causing the fore boom to swing violently Portside causing the boat to lurch and some men to stumble in their tracks. The Captain does his best to keep the wheel from spinning, all of his strength is used with teeth tight against his jaw. It takes four man to grab and pull the rope back into place, knotting it down with skillful hands.
“Hoist the colors, Let 'em fly, Let the cannons rip the sky, Raise your cutlass, Lift a glass, Fight the current till we die!”
“Fortune's flame will never dim, Treasure stokes the fire within, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide.”
“Radadada radada radada-a-a-a, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide!”
A look to the left and the crew can see the Rosemary sailing beside them, the Captain upon its ship stares out at the sea, manning the helm by himself. Such a dirty beard, covered in kelp and shells, shifts lightly in the high winds. The ship creaks unnaturally, almost as if laughing, not a taunt but something else. Something jovial. But… it is just a boat. Manned by a deadman. A deadman who, if seen now, was almost smiling himself as the wheel at the helm turns rapidly and the Rosemary begins to dip to the side, turning hard.
They’ve reached their next challenge. Surviving the sea was child’s play as they reach what no vessel survives. A massive graveyard of ships and rocks that threaten to sink them.
“Kings of the ocean, The sons of the broken, Every crew cries devotion.”
“As the wind screams our name!”
Once again, the crew below works tirelessly, forcing the sail to twist and turn to the captain’s call for direction, Portside! Starboard! Portside! Starboard! Hang on!!
When the ship tilts at its last turn, every man does what they can to keep it from capsizing as they hang onto the railing on the Portside of the ship and watch as the hull dips over, threatening to touch the crashing waves below. One man slips, causing an arm link of two sailors and the First Mate to catch the man before going overboard.
“Heave!”
“Ho!”
The ship finally levels out and once again they look over Portside and see the Rosemary, just barely ahead of them. The Captain of the ship beaming with determined delight as they continue onwards. The Rosemary creeks and moans once more, the aged, sunken wool crackling in a cackle that reaches the ears of the men on The King of Seas.
“Bow down on the water, Save your skin, make an offer, Pay your due to the coffer-”
No one but the captain on the Lucky Rosemary knows what comes next. The border of the storm was just up ahead and the next thing that’s heard on the The King of Seas is-
“Captain! Waters reseeding!!”
And they can see it now, as the bow of the ship dips lower and lower and lower. The crew has to look up to see what was coming for them as a massive wave begins to manifest in front of them. “Man the canons! On my mark!!”
Men from all over the deck of the ship make their way to the bow, to the Hold and they wait in silence, only Lial’s voice reaches them. Such a monstrous wave crawls towards the sky, towering over them until the sky itself is the rage of the sea as it’s determined to swallow this vessel like the rest!
“As we cut through the seas, Like a hurricane!”
The ship levels out once again as the wave is almost upon them, this was the plan all along as The Captain yells at the top of his lungs.
“NOW!!”
Twenty seven canons all fire off at once, ripping through the beast of a wave, puncturing a hole through its body, just enough for the ship to pass through. The sails pierce the edges of the hole in the water, bits of wood broken from such a force rain upon the crew on the main deck as The King of Seas breaks through the rouge wave and passing through the veil of cloudy black on the other side.
“Hoist the colors, Let 'em fly, Let the cannons rip the sky, Raise your cutlass, Lift a glass, Fight the current till we die!”
Immediately when breaching the other side, Lial turns around and sees the Rosemary, stuck at the edges of the storm, his blue eyes meet the glowing greens of the once Captain and watches as the storm begins to clear up, the large, joyous smile on the dead Captain is the last sight to leave as the storm, the Captain and the Lucky Rosemary are set at piece.
“Fortune's flame will never dim, Treasure stokes the fire within, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide.”
Raven makes her way up to Lial, watching as the crew dances and cheers among themselves to a victory notched under their belts, alive, happy and looking forward to one hell of a party in the next Tavern they find themselves in. She knows the look on Lial’s face, he knew this would happen. “How did you know?”
The Captain merely chuckles, his hands planted firmly on the wheel of the ship. “The Captain of the Rosemary and I used to be in a crew together. He said “before I die, I want one last amazing race.” And well… Here we are.” This only made Raven laugh, not able to believe this man had brought them out of such a storm only to set a man’s soul at rest with a mere race. Truly, Lial was either a stupid man or a genius.
There was only one direction now for the ship. Full speed ahead.
“Radadada radada radada-a-a-a, Bring on hell or waters high, We will sail against the tide!”
“Alright, your turns next when Mei’s done. Battle sims are standard ways of testing out your capabilities and-“
The power suddenly cuts out in the building leaving the place in total darkness. After a few minutes the lights come back on and a voice announces on the intercom
“Attention patrons, due to an unexpected short in our systems we will be closing for today, we apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Right…”
Boss watches as Mei is escorted back to the two of them. “What happened…?”
“I fear I broke it.” All of it. The whole damn system.
“Tsk… Let’s get home then.” No reason to stick around now. So much for Simulated training.
