"The world was young, the mountains green!" Oros belted over the cacophony of the crew assembling last minute supplies. The White Raider swayed gently in her sheltered docking with the comings and goings. Oros patted her railing comfortingly. The little brig was dwarfed next to the massive frigates and fully-rigged barques, but she was a worthy and faithful ship more than capable of handling anything the ocean threw at her.

"No stain yet on the Moon- Oi! Be careful!" Oros shouted at Morien who had dropped a large box onto the newly polished deck. "You'll be polishin' the deck if ya keep tha' up. Git movin'," he ordered. "Day's a'wastin'."

Morien grumbled unintelligibly and hoisted the box up, making sure to drag it along the deck a little first. He disappeared below deck just as Caston stumbled up. He tripped over the top stair in his haste. He was followed by a red-faced, livid, Livian. Calen followed close behind with a grin.

Oros grabbed Caston's arm as he ran past. Caston nearly flipped over when his momentum was abrupty stopped.

"What's the problem here?"

"You foul rat!" Livian screeched at Caston. "Give it back."

Oros looked at Caston questioningly. Inside his hand was a small sack.

"Boy, you best give that back," Oros warned. Caston glared at him.

"I'm no boy," he spat.

"Then stop behaving like one. Give the lady her things back before I throw you in the harbor."

Caston scowled and roughly tossed the sack at Livian. Oros let go of his painfully tight grip on Caston's arm. The Gondorian started to sulk off.

"Caston," Oros began. Caston stopped mid stride. "Start bringing the water on deck and put it by the fresh foods." Caston turned around and heading to the dock where the barrels of water waited.

He suddenly sprang back with a curse just as Fendwall came bounding up the boardwalk with a cheerful grin. The ship swayed.

"Yer cheerful," Oros noted dully. The Lossoth had been rather bitter the last three days over his failed attempts to find more crew members.

"Found something to cheer me up," Fendwall replied. He saw Caston sulking and frowned. Another person stepped lightly onto the ship and stood just behind Fendwall. One look at their face and Oros was immediately reminded of a corpse.

"Is that an Elf?" Livian asked.

"No. That's a Fendwall," Calen piped up. Livian rolled her eyes.

"Not the big brute," Livian sighed, "the other one."

"I know." Calen cackled madly, earning a light swat on her arm from Livian.

"Are you two done?" Fendwall asked, annoyance creeping into his voice. Calen clasped her hands behind her back and smiled sweetly at him, rocking back and forth on her heels. Livian nodded with a smirk. "Thank you kindly. To answer your question, Livian; yes. Dahari is an elf."

Caston suddenly spat on Dahari's hand. The Elf's eyes hardened as he deliberately flicked the gob of spit off his fingers. He stepped toward Caston who pulled himself to his full stature, which wasn't much in comparison.

"Caston," Oros warned, "back down."

Fendwall watched, curious to see what would happen. Neither of them seemed to be one to kill in cold blood, but then again, he didn't know either of them well enough to judge that.

"Who are you?" Dahari asked. The poorly hidden malice in his voice sent a cold chill down Caston's spine. Caston, however, wasn't easily intimidated.

"I'm not telling you," he retorted. "You Elves think you're so high and mighty."

"Grand words from one whose stature," Dahari looked Caston up and down, "is sadly lacking."

"I don't trust sorcery. You're manipulators you are. Bending the will and mind of people to suit yourself."

Dahari took a menacing step forward, towering over the Gondorian, murder written across his pale face. Caston took a step back.

"Manipulator, sorcerer, liar, freak, demon, spawn of The Dark Lord, Sauron reincarnated, murderer." Dahari smiled bitterly. "I've heard it all and more. But know this; the only thing I'll be manipulating is where your blood flows and how much pain you'll feel as it runs over your ruined and tattered flesh if you dare insult me again."

A heavy silence followed the grim words. Caston swallowed hard and looked away from those dreadfully cold eyes. Deep down he knew the Elf meant every word and would not hesitate to spill his guts if he so desired. Anger flared red-hot in Caston's chest. With as much defiance and dignity he could muster he looked Dahari straight in the eyes.

"You don't scare me," he spat. Dahari crossed his arms.

"No, I don't. I terrify you. If you can't control your fear, what's out there," Dahari nodded to the vast expanse of ocean, "will stop you dead." Dahari turned away. "Where do I sign?" he asked almost cheerfully.

"This way," Fendwall said tightly. Livian and Calen watched them go, eyes wide and mouths agape. Oros whistled softly and patted Caston's arm.

"Come on, boy, forget the water. I've got something else in mind for you. Livian, Calen, you get the water on deck."

"Aye, sir!"

Stomach clawing and rolling uneasily, Caston followed Oros to Brandt and Adrahil. Calen glanced back, but Fendwall and Dahari had disappeared. She shook her head.

"Cheerful that one is."

"Downright chipper," Livian agreed. "Freak," she whispered under her breath, glancing in the direction the elf had disappeared.

Across the ship Oros called for Brandt. The hardy black-haired man jumped up and jokingly saluted Oros.

"Here, Captain. What do you need?"

"Show this land walker the ropes."

Brandt gave a little half bow. "Right, Captain. I'm teaching Addy some basic knots. Caston can join us over there." He gestured vaguely toward Adrahil who was frowning over a series of complicated looking knots. Caston thumped sullenly over to Adrahil and plopped himself down.

Oros grabbed Brandt's arm before he could walk away. "Try to keep him away from the Elf. The boy's got a special kind of hatred for them."

"The fellow who just came on with Fendwall?"

Oros nodded.

"I will, Captain. I was thinking about staying away from him myself. Don't know what Fendwall was thinking bringing him on here. I ain't seen a meaner looking person in years."

"Fendwall has his reasons and I trust his judgement. He has a way of seeing through people unlike any I've seen before," Oros said confidently.

"Let us hope that is true."

...

"Fly the sheets!" Fendwall bellowed. The White Raider shuddered as the sails rippled down. The halyards creaked. Suddenly they were moving out of the harbor with the tide. Es watched in fascination from where she stood by Oros at the wheel.

The sheer strength and power of the Big Folk never ceased to amaze her. They easily carried alone what two or more Hobbits struggled with. The ship gained speed quickly, water slapped the hull creating a constant rhythm.

Watching the crew work was like watching the mining machines of dwarves. Every part oiled and perfectly maintained. Even though most of the crew had never met before, each knew his or her part and played it perfectly. Everone that is, except for Caston and Adrahil, who stood off to the side and out of the way.

Even Drida had a purpose. She ran around tying off adrift ropes to their respective places as the crew handed them to her. She was remarkably quick and perhaps the most efficient at knotting.

In under a quarter of an hour they had left the harbor behind and sailed northwest into the vast Belfalas Bay. Their hope was to make it to the island of Tolfalas in two days. With the right prevailing winds and favorable weather they would perhaps be there before.

The crew relaxed some as they sailed further away from land, but always it remained a distant blue-grey mass. Only Dahari could still see the shapes and colors of the land. Caston leaned over the railing, face paler than usual and features twisted into a painful grimace. Es herself felt slightly queasy, her stomach seemed to rise and fall as much as, if not more than the larger waves they crested.

Oros lashed the wheel in place and walked down among his new crew. Es followed him cautiously, then more boldly. All the Big Folk made her quiver, but she put on a brave face and marched behind Oros. Drida smiled kindly at her. There were a few chuckles. but mostly everyone remained silent.

"Listen up!" Oros ordered. The crew turned their attention to him. "Now, I know we ain't the prettiest lot, in fact some of you are downrigh' ugly."

Morien scowled. Qrow and Livian stifled their laughter. There were more than a few halfhearted smirks of acknowledgement.

"An' I know we ain't all goody goody."

This time there was not a sound, only awkward glances.

"But none of tha' matters. Yer a crew now, an' a crew works together. We keep each other safe. We teach each other," Oros looked directly at the Elf. "And we put aside grievances. Meaning, if you hold a grudge against someone here," he glared at Caston, "you lay it aside or you get off the ship now." Oros waited a few seconds. When no one seemed disposed to leap into the sea he continued.

"If any of you have not figured out this is a pirate ship and want no part," Oros grinned wickedly, "it's too late. Yer stuck here. Tha' being said, there are a few simple rules I like to keep. The first is you obey mine and Fendwall's orders. The second; you will always refer to me as Captain Oros, Captain, or Sir. Am I understood?"

A chorus of 'aye, sir' and 'aye, captain' followed his statement.

"Thirdly; no fraternizing. You gents will stay away from the ladies' sleepin' quarters. And likewise fer the ladies. Finally; no stealing from anyone aboard this ship. That includes stealing rations. If I or anyone else catches you stealin' rations Fendwall here will tie you to the mast or throw you overboard. Have I made myself clear?"

"Aye, Captain."

"Right. We'll break fer a while here while the wind is at our backs." Oros started walking away.

"Capatin."

"Fendwall," Oros replied, turning around.

"You forgot something," Fendwall said with a knowing smile.

"Right. You've all been told we're searchin' fer treasure, but I haven't told you exactly which treasure." Oros paused dramatically. "We're going to find the lost treasure of the last King of Arnor; Arvedui."

...

***********************
Look what I got done! Yay! I'm so proud of myself. Hopefully I can get part two up next week.

Forenote; I have no idea what I'm doing. Seriously. I've never been on a ship before. I'm totally surrounded by land. If have to drive at least an hour to find a lake or a river that is big enough for a boat or kayak. So I apologize if I fail miserably in getting the correct terms for things, because research is often contradicting and there are so many things on a ship!

So I'm sorry in advance for that, if you are familiar with ships, especially brigs, let me know if something is wrong.

And yes, I did have at least ten tabs open throughout the duration of this part. And I also gave up and cheated by using Es' POV so I wouldn't have to explain a bunch of stuff I know nothing about.

There, that's my rant.

Music credited to BrunuhVille
Pirate Fantasy Music - Rising Sun - BrunuhVille
July 22nd, 2017
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