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(TFT) SOLO III, 037
Solo III
Demon World
Part 037
Captain Split takes the wheel. He turns the ship away from the island.
As it comes around it leans hard to the port, picking up a strong wind.
It leaves a wake behind it, and ocean swells start slaping against the prow.
The astral dragons are flying along outside the front of the ship. There
is a school of flying fish leaping before the bow wave and skimming along
the surface of the water. The fish are tiny, with little wing like fins.
Physically Cookpot comes over to Gail and Ada, edging out some other
crewmen who are starting to gather around them. "Come with me, we'll get
you some Quarters, and cothes." He leads them to a door in the wall of the
aft deck. The aft deck is 2 meters higher than the rest of the ship. This
door is on the right side. Most of the crew are headed to the door on the
left side.
Cookpot leads Gail and Ada down a steep wooden stair with polished
round railings to a narrow hallway. It runs left and right and is very
narrow. To the left it turns to the right, or toward the back of the ship.
In the other direction it runs to the starboard side of the ship and ends at
a porthole. Along the corridor are three doors. He ignores them, goes to
the left and turns the corner.
Now the corridor goes to the back of the ship ending in a fancy door
with engravings of gargoyles on it. Six of them. Four at the corners and
two on either side of the middle. On the left side of the walkway are four
more normal doors. He Opens the second one.
Inside is a largish room with a slightly curved outter wall and two
portholes. The right wall is a little shorter than the left wall. There are
two sets of bunks in here, and a table fixed to the floor in the middle. On
either side of the door are vanities and stools. They are bare with round
mirrors fixed to the walls, but there is a basin with a large pitcher on
each one. The bunks are built into the center of the left and right walls.
Inboard and outboard of each pair of bunks is a trunk set on the floor.
Four in all. "Use the trunks for clothes, they are water tight." He says.
Under the portholes against the far wall, the curved wall, is a long
bench. The seat has seams separating four sections. Each one a little more
curved than the next to fit the ouside wall. He walks over to the bench and
lifts up a wooden section of the seat revealing a storage area. "Here is
some more storage, and some more practical clothing." He drops the seat
with a thunk. "You might find some working clothes in the other seats, not
sure."
He turns, faces them and smiles appologetically. "Everyone is going to
sleep on deck tonight, even the captain." The smile gets bigger and more
strained. "You don't have to, but you might want to. They're clearing out
the galley now. See, now that we have the stuff, it's time to start cookin
up some gunpowder, and well..." The smile fades to a frown. Then the smile
reappears. "It smells really bad. And it takes a week."
He walks over to some trunks at the foot of the bunk beads. "You can
stow your personal stuff in these. We'll be having our last hot meal on the
deck tonight. After that it'll be cold stew till the powder is finished."
He rubs his chin. "Oh, and if it rains, everyone usually crowds into the
Anchor room to sleep. Anyway..." He hesitates a moment then heads for the
door. "I'll be in the galley if you need me." And he leaves.
Ada and Gail start looking through the clothing. It's all female and
there is a wide variety of sizes and styles. But most is practical. A
silky red blouse with billowing sleves right up to the tight cuffs. A blue
sleeveless shirt that crosses over the front and ties off in the back. A
white leather vest that laces up the front. A large pile of scarves and
bandanas. There are paints and trousers. Bell bottom and straight legged,
canvas, linen, and leather that are varied in the basic colors. Leather's
are the only thing that is white though.
In another window seat Gail finds shoes. From the frivolous to the
practical. Extended toe that curls up to a pair of small bells. Kneehigh
calf skin boots, mocasins, slippers, shoes with raised heels, big and heavy
boots, elegant sandals, and such. There is even a chest of frilly see
through night clothes made of silks. The one missing color is green.
They start mixing and matching different peices. Looking for the right
combination of fit, freedom of movement, and color. While doing this
another part of their minds take the astral dragons for a look around.
All three dragons fly up to a great height. The chain of islands is
behind the boat. Radiating from an island crator just north of the dragon
island are the roads of fire. The crator island is the center of a
spiderweb that is made of flame and lays over the ocean. Long snaky trails
of burning oil lay on top of the water. These rivers of fire trail off over
the horizon. Mostly to the east, but some to the north, and one striking
out due west. The ship is sailing south and away from these hazards to
navagation.
Uncle's dragon speaks. "The mistress of the ship will visit you soon.
Don't let her touch you. She may be mildly insulted, but she will be more
inclined to trade us off the ship if she is. She will want to find out if
you know magic, so use any excuse to cast a minor spell. If she thinks you
don't know magic, she won't trade us, she'll have us sold like cattle. Yes.
And one more thing. The most important one. Agree with everything she
says. Dissagreeing with even one comment can get us thrown over board."
Uncle's dragon races off to the south. "I'm going to scout ahead and
see what may be waiting for us." Gail and Ada send their dragons into the
Captains chamber to spy on The mistress. But it is empty. She isn't there.
Back in the cabin Gail and Ada hear a knock at the door. They have
just finished getting dressed ang Gail moves to open it. The door swings
into the room before she gets there and the lady strides in. She is wearing
a green bikinni with frilly see throughs over it. Around her waist is a
heavy leather belt and it has eight small bottles hanging from it. They
each have a cork in them and bounce off her hips as she walks. "Girls, call
me Lisa, and welcome aboard." She moves straight to Gail as if to hug her.
David Michael Grouchy II
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