Chapter 15: Saving Sunlight
On the bridge of the ship, the captain gazed at the retreating silhouette of the bandit ship, his crew of sailors either heaving sighs of relief, or making numerous prayer gestures of their respective faiths.
The sailors broke into a lively discussion after watching the ship disappear into the horizon, some talking about how lucky they were to have avoided the confrontation, while others made mention of the beautiful ray of sunlight, expressing their amazement at its appearance.
The captain calmly continued to survey the horizon, not paying heed to, or participating in the conversations of his crew. He took a long glance at the beautiful stream of sunlight gradually fading out of the sky, a knowing look appearing on the face.
He continued to gaze at the sky until the stream completely faded away, the snowy white clouds slowly covered the gap, returning the sky to it's previous scene. The gentle rays of the morning sun cascaded across the ocean surface, adding a touch of subtle allure to the azure blue waters of the Naric Sea.
The captain then turned away from the bridge, walking to a door labelled as 'The Captains Cabin' amidst the insistent chatter of his crew. They were all so engrossed in their discussions that they didn't notice their captain turn into his cabin, only realizing his departure after hearing the sound of his cabin door opening and slamming shut.
"Is it just me or was the captain's reaction to what happened a bit too lackluster?" Commented a crewman with a rough looking face and gray colored hair. He was leisurely resting against the navigation table, enthusiastically dragging from a pipe as if to calm down his surging emotions.
"That's how the captain usually is. I've been with him for 7 years now and I can count the number of times I've seen him shaken up with one hand. He is a captain with decades of experience sailing across the Naric Sea, he should be used to this much."
The sailor that had responded was also standing close to the navigation table, twirling his sailor hat around his fingers playfully. The way he looked and talked was so carefree, as if the earlier tension has no effect on him whatsoever.
The rough looking sailor nodded, before taking a drag from his pipe with a look of curiosity. "That is indeed true. The captain is usually taciturn and not really affected by most tense situations. But I still feel like the captain was more nonchalant than usual today, like he actually expected the confrontation to boil over naturally"
The other sailor took a moment of brief silence, mentally running through all events that had happened since they noticed the bandit ship. He realized that his colleague was right, the captain indeed looked more indifferent than normal.
It had to be noted that any sign of the flag belonging to Grim Sea Revear Barak could instantly cause any merchant or transportation ship to fall into a state of tension and unrest. The notoriety of Barak's sea bandit group preceded them, causing the captain of any commercialised ship to be shaken when about to make contact with the group.
But not only did the captain fake the urgency in his voice when he made the announcement, he also told his crew to only set up the minimal assault prevention procedures. He didn't even try to contact sea officials patroling the area for help, which he could have done if he wanted to.
The gaze his captain used to look at the beam of sunlight also contained a bit of expectancy, like he was predicting its arrival. All these points further compelled the sailor to agree with his colleague, his captain indeed acted a bit too indifferent this time.
While staring at the door his captain walked through, he casually shrugged, placing his sailor cap back onto his head. "Well as long as nothing happened I don't think it's too important... When you've been on the ocean for as long as I have, you realise that there are some questions you shouldn't ask. What is important is that we survived, no matter how peculiar the consequences were."
The rough looking sailor took a long and deep drag from his pipe, staring into the sky where the brilliant beam of sunlight had previously pierced through.
"Indeed..."
...
While the sailors were engrossed in their various discourse, causing the bridge of the ship to be lively and full of chatter, the captain's cabin was occupied by an entirely different atmosphere.
The room was enveloped in a state of calming silence, with the light streaming through the windows partially obscured by the blinds, causing the cabin to be in a state of partial illumination. The cabin's present state seemed to support peace and quiet, which was what the captain was aiming for.
He sat at a table in the middle of the cabin, twirling around a glass of Dehne whiskey in his hands. The opened bottle of whiskey stood on the table, with another glass of the golden colored liquid beside it.
The minimal illumination from the cabin's window fell partially on the table, causing the scene to resemble a pasture painted by the glow of the setting sun.
The captain raised his glass of whiskey to his mouth, releshing it's potent taste with a look of satisfaction on his face. "Ah yes... When last have I had the opportunity to enjoy a glass of whiskey from Dehne. I truly missed this feeling."
An amused chuckle rang out of the room as a hand reached for the other glass on the table, twirling the liquid in the glass and similarly taking a sip. "Has it truly been that long for you? I'll leave this one behind for you to enjoy then."
For the first time, the captain's face lost its look of indifference, proudly showcasing his satisfaction and thanks. "You know I cannot afford such expensive alcohol with my little salary. I have a family now so I can't splurge on alcohol like I used to during my youth. If you truly do intend to leave the bottle Tyrell, I give you my honest thanks!"
The man referred to as Tyrell waved his hands dismissively, a polite smile quietly playing on his face. "No problem. It's the least I could do after you agreed to transport me to Estica. If I followed the usual sea route, I would have definitely drawn the attention of the officials. In a confrontation on the sea, I'm afraid I would have had no way of avoiding arrest."
The captain straightened up in his seat, taking another satisfied sip from the glass of the precious alcohol. "Well you've offered me a lot of help in the past, its only natural for me to come to your aid when I can. Plus you just helped us resolve the issue with the pirates, if it wasn't for you, my ship might have been the victim of severe looting by now."
Tyrell adjusted the position of his black colored vest, responding to the captain with a clear voice. "That much is nothing. If you were pillaged, they would have inevitably come across me and a fight would have ensued. Aside from not wanting to involve the lives of innocent civilians, a battle between me and those wretched pirates would have attracted the attention of the officials. That is exactly the situation I needed to avoid"
He then took the last sip of his whiskey, before calmly setting down his glass. Tyrell looked towards the cabin window, not hiding his curiosity at all. "I don't understand why they didn't leave immediately I gave them a 'warning' though. This is why I detest sea bandits, they are such an unreasonable bunch."
The captain laughed at Tyrell's last remark, obviously used to the prejudice he showed towards pirates and bandits. He didn't know why, but the young man always hated them, going to such extreme lengths of even becoming a bounty hunter, just to have an excuse to hunt them down.
The captain even felt that if it wasn't for his urgent need of getting to Estica covertly, the young man might have even instigated the attack with the bandits, luring them onboard and giving himself a justification to kill them.
As the captain finished the last sip of his drink, he looked at the bottle hesitantly, as if struggling with the decision of having another glass or keeping the rest for later. In the end, he decided on the latter, telling himself that he would keep it for future celebratory purposes.
Tyrell remained silent as he watched the captain tuck away the bottle of whiskey, showing no signs of wanting to stop him. The captain turned towards him after he finished with his chore, asking a question that has been on his mind the whole trip. "Why are you you even heading to Estica anyway? You usually try to avoid going there."
Tyrell showed no discomfort at the question, pushing the strands of hair falling across his face to the side. "Well yes I usually do, but I have a transaction to complete there. Plus there is a rumor going around these days of a major event set to happen in Estica within 6 to 8 months, so I plan to stick around for a bit to investigate. I advise you to stay away from the island within this period, it might be too much for regular people like you to handle."
The captain nodded solemnly, taking the warning from this his reliable companion seriously. He was only alive today because he listened to some of his previous warnings in the past. He planned to make this his last trip to Estica for the year, at least until the end of the 8 month period. Better safe than sorry!
Tyrell looked at the serious expression of the captain, before nooding in approval, "Good, good..." The young man then closed his eyes, his calm voice echoing out a final statement, "We can only hope that it is nothing but a rumor..."
...
Elias stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the scene of the bright blue sky adorned with numerous fluffy white clouds. The clear morning sun hung above the clouds, softly piercing through it to grace the clear ocean waters with its radiance.
The bow of the ship was similarly filled with chatter, with most of the passengers who saw the ray of sunlight discussing about its possible origin.
Some of the passengers felt that a Paladin was on the ship, helping them to avoid the danger by praying to their deity, to which they got a response. Most of these people were religious followers of the Ordinance Church, so it was normal for them to attribute it to religion, since in their defense, it did have all the attributes of a religious miracle.
The rest of the passengers were divided in their views; with some thinking the light was a beacon from an air ship of the sea officials hidden within the clouds, while others thought it was a mirage, and that the bandits left because they felt pillaging the ship wasn't worth the risk.
Elias felt like the explanation from the latter groups was quite silly, amused at how far followers of other religious faiths would go in order to refuse acknowledging the other churches, no matter the situation.
Elias partially agreed with the first group, not because they were totally right, but because their idea was the closest to the truth. He didn't think the beam of sunlight was as a result of prayer, but by the individual abilities of the person on the ship.
Having grown up in the Grace Church, Elias had been privid to a lot of things, which made him know more about the world than the regular person. He knew that people were capable of using supernatural abilities because he was a perfect example.
He had also seen Father Bernard perform some supernatural abilities before, further reinforcing this mindset.
He felt like the person on the ship was an Apostle, and might not even be an official one at that, since if they were, there would be no reason for them to resolve the situation from the shadows. They could have come out to take the praise, increasing their church's reputation while proselytizing in the process. They might even be able to gain a few more followers from the situation.
The beam of sunlight felt like a warning to Elias, as if the person was making their intention of not wanting an altercation known to the sea bandits. All of this made Elias assume that the person was a Rogue Apostle trying to travel covertly. An altercation would obviously make their presence known to the officials.
Elias sighed in defeat, he hadn't even reached Estica yet but he had already come into contact with a supernatural event. He wasn't the main character of some fantasy novel, why was fate treating him like this?
The young man ran his hands through his hair, before returning his gaze to the clear blue waters beneath the waves.
Beneath his jest of self depreciation, Elias felt anticipation for what was to come. He felt like he was embarking on an exciting journey. A journey that promised to offer him thrill and excitement all through the way.
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