"Ye'll hear far worse," P'welro said in a half laugh.
P'welro gave Ryanti a broad smirk and beckoned him through the door into the next room. Berasaem nodded as the Miqo'te male passed by, saying something to the effect of, "Ye be careful alone with P'welro now." She held a smile for a few moments while Ryanti passed into the next room and then Berasaem pulled the door to the private quarters closed and locked it with a key.
P'welro marched on ahead through the door and into what at first seemed like a wider hallway. Once Ryanti had caught up, he would see the hallway actually opened up into a rather large room with a high ceiling through which the base of the bowsprit stretched across the top of the room at a fifty degree angle above the door they had just passed through. To the right, a counter separated a set of cabinets, lockboxes, and drawers built into the upwards staircase from the rest of the armory. To the left, another staircase lead down into the bowels of the vessel. Ahead, towards the bow, lay row upon row of gleaming metal weapons. Long, cobalt pikes lined the interior wall like metal ribs. Muskets sat on steeply angled rows against the bottom of the wall. Bardiches, halberds, pikes, and shortswords adorned the space - all very well kept, polished, and sharpened.
Large coffers occupied many of the free spaces along the base of the walls. Within these lay suits of armor, clothing, cannons balls, bags of firesand, extra rope, spare sails, and anything else of immediate importance in an emergent situation. Every coffer organized and categorized by the woman behind the counter. The Keeper of the Moon was leaning heavily on the countertop with her elbows, watching Ryanti as he followed behind the First Mate. P'welro didn't address the Keeper immediately, choosing to gesture first to the high-ceilinged room.
"This is the armory," P'welro said, almost proudly, "Mos' secure quarter in tha whole ship an' where we keep 'quipment of all sorts. Weapons, armor, cannonballs. Fhruhsunn put yer lot's crate in 'ere somewheres. But all this lot's lorded over by our Quartermasser."
P'welro turned and indicated the bored-looking Keeper, who just smiled when addressed. "Yeh, know I love it when yeh speak all fancy Welro," she cooed, "That large crate Fhruhsunn brought me all 'is?"
The Keeper stood upright and regarded Ryanti with a casual up and down glance. In the Armory's dimly lit setting, the Quartermaster blended into the room almost too well. Her dark skin and short black hair was given away only by her cold blue eyes. Even her armor was dark, matching that of Marjanie's leather and scaled breast.
"It is Quartermasser," P'welro said flatly, seemingly ignoring the Keepers prior quip. "Where yeh fin' room fer hidin' that thin'?"
"Is up on the half. Fhruhsunn woulda been cursin' the Seven Hells if he were able, havin' to go up all them stairs." The Quartermaster shook her head at P'welro before addressing Ryanti directly. She held her left palm up in greeting, saying, "Name's Jada Moui. Everyone juss calls me Quartermaster though. I'm assumin' Welro brought yeh by so yeh can see yer gear's shipshape? Mussn't worry, everythin' 'ere's under my lock n' key. Crew needs somethin', I get it fer them. Y'need somethin', I'll get it fer yeh. Thas the arrangement."
P'welro looked at Ryanti, then to Jada, then back before laughing suddenly. "Not 'xactly what we came 'ere fer. They wanna dress like us," she said with a shrug. Jada looked at Ryanti for several moments before she made the connection that there were no other male Miqo'te aboard. "Oh. Ohhh. Hmm, I can russle up some o' Aric's old wares. Should fit 'im, even if he'll hav'ta snip the rear some."
"Good, make it happen," P'welro said cheerfully, "There's also a Seeker, 'bout Lohp's size. Lalafell. And a Midlander. Should be easy enough."
The Quartermaster nodded and turned around to face the cabinets behind her. She began opening drawers and withdrawing articles of clothing and setting them to one side. These cabinets and adjacent lockboxes seemed to be for the crew's personal affects. Spare clothing, intimates, things that would normally be stored in private quarters if private quarters were available for each crew member instead of the existing arrangement in the bunk bay. The lockboxes seemed to hold the more valuable trinkets, money, or keepsakes belonging to the crew.
P'welro was about to say something to Ryanti when her linkpearl activating directed her attention away. She placed a finger to her bejeweled ear and nodded once to the apparent question. She replaced the crimson pearl in a small pouch on her belt opposite her pistol and shrugged at Ryanti.
"Ye'll 'ave to wait to get acclimated with the rest of yer lot tomorrow. Cap'n wants yeh in her cabin. Quartermasser, if yeh could, get those articles over to Berasaem in the bay," P'welro said flatly, then motioned for Ryanti to follow her once again as she began to ascend the steps upward. The first flight moved about halfway up the room, to a sort of half deck in the armory, referred to as the 'Half.' Here rested an assortment of additional crates, coffers, and ammunition that could not fit below. The crate Fhruhsunn had relieved the black label group of earlier rested here with a few similar-looking crates.
P'welro continued past this to the next flight of stairs, which led up to the Main Deck. A crimson-dyed cotton cloth lay over the staircase like a small pavilion as the two Miqo'te reached the top of the stairs. Immediately behind them was the foremast, which was hollowed out just below deck to accommodate the passage of the stairway just below it. Once out from beneath the pavilion, Ryanti would be able to get a good view of the main deck of the Roehmerl.
The Roehmerl's two masts were at full sail, each mast sporting two large, square-rigged cotton sails dyed a deep crimson. Staysails between the masts rippled overhead. On the deck, three or four crew members were moving about, running lines and stays as the vessel made north for open waters. The deck from bow to aft ran 60 yalms, and about 10 yalms wide. The keel and forward hull were steel, while the bulwark and planks were a sturdy oak, treated and dyed a rich, dark brown. The planks and gunwale looked clean, recently mopped and polished.
P'welro led Ryanti abaft from the foremast across the main deck. There, on either side of the ship sat three fixed cannons, mounted upon a raised turret-like area in the gunwale. One was placed fore, middle, and aft of the main deck on port and starboard. Just as they passed the third of these cannons, a short set of stairs put them level with the main mast and a wide, ornately decorated door to the rear cabin. Two staircases flanked either side of the door, leading up to the poop deck and helm. Marjanie, the Elezen who had caught Ryanti's eye earlier, stood behind the helm with rifle strapped across her shoulder, both hands upon the massive wheel, guiding the vessel through the dangerous shallows near Vesper. The horizontal boom mast hovered only a fulm or two above her head, supporting the spanker sail, trailing out behind the main mast like a massive fish's tailfin. Marjanie's gaze did not drift upwards towards the rear mast or downwards towards Ryanti or P'welro as they drew near beneath her.
P'welro approached the cabin doors and knocked once before waiting.
--
Sounsyy did not smile as the reference was made to her death and the emotions such an event would cause Ryanti. She met the Midlander's eye and shook her head. After having placed the wine bottle on her vanity, she returned to her desk and took her seat in her armchair, crossing her legs one over the other.
"I do not know him - Seventy-seven - not truly. We met briefly some weeks ago. He recognized me from my time on the Bloodsands in Ul'dah, challenged me to a duel, and left in some amount of pain shortly thereafter. If the boy has grown fond of me, I can only assume as to the motives he took this assignment and suspect the duel were a test?"
She made a short hmph noise in her throat and looked away from the Midlander for a moment, regarding one of the tapestries on the wall while she attempted to fix her messy hair. The effort was largely wasted, her hair simply unwilling to comply at its current length. She finally gave up when the Midlander began to speak again.
"I am proud," she said after a moment, "But I am also a captain what understands loyalty is earned, paid fer, and maintenanced always - never freely given. I push my crew to their limit, and I sweat wit them. They know I'd never ask of them anything I wouldn't of mehself. Respect and equality go a long ways towards fostering that loyalty."
She paused, biting her lower lip absentmindedly as Sixteen began to speak of possible covers. From her desk she drew out a nautical map of the seas surrounding Vylbrand and laid it flat on her desk. She indicated the Straight of Merlthor on the map with her left middle finger. From this location, she traced a route northwest into open waters. On the map, purple ink had been used to draw an area along Eorzea's coasts and northern seas, and just below this area, a scarlet red ink had been used to draw a similar region in the middle of the Indigo Deep.
"Forgive me, Midlander, but yeh sound like yer expectin' a peaciful run-in with the Garleans," she almost laughed aloud at the thought. She didn't miss a moment to indicate the purple and red marked areas on the map with her finger.
"This here," she said indicating the purple, "Is Garlean controlled waters. They sometimes patrol lower, but risk attacks from the 4th Squadron and even the Sahagin." This time she indicated the scarlet marks representing Sahagin territory, which covered most of the Indigo Deep and western coast of Vylbrand. She then dragged her finger across the map to an area in the Indigo Deep several malms northwest of Vylbrand. She tapped the location three times before speaking.
"This is the location Maelstrom Command was given. As ye can see, it's right in the middle of the Sahagin and the Garleans. A Lominsan vessel in that region, we will be shown no quarter. Without other Maelstrom patrols in the area, spying another vessel on the horizon means we prepare fer a fight, cuz a fight's what's coming. As fer the Sahagin, we can only pray they leave us be. Their attacks come from the Deep without warning. Entire crews can be dragged beneath the brine in a matter of moments. Let us not also forget the Navigator and her wrath. Storms and Rogue waves could spell our death just as easily. That said, if there's trouble, I want one of yer people below deck. Safe. Which one is yer choice. If all of yer group perish in a skirmish, this mission will have all been fer naught. Perhaps... the keeper of the artifact? In any case, I shall call him anon so that yeh may retire. Yeh and yer crew have a short sleep and a long day tomorrow. I can only hope the accommodations are satisfactory."
Sounsyy leaned back in her armchair and rummaged in her pack for a small, crimson pearl. She placed this in her ear and tapped it to activate the call. A brief command was given to her First Mate, and she returned the pearl to its home. A few minutes later, P'welro's single knock sounded on her cabin door. Sounsyy moved to unlock the door and P'welro and Ryanti entered. Sounsyy gave P'welro a glance, and the latter nodded in understanding and bowed out of the cabin, closing the door behind her without a word. Seconds later, P'welro's muffled voice could be heard shouting orders to the crew on deck.
Sounsyy gave Ryanti a moment to absorb the details of her cabin without saying a word as she made her way back behind her desk, standing next to her armchair. When she reached it, she cleared her throat. "Under normal circumstances, I would insist on locking such an important item away within my desk. However, I'd rather be as far away from the Twelves-damned thing as possible. Our Quartermaster may have room fer it in the personnel locks. Otherwise, there are hidden compartments in the cargo hold below which yeh can use. So long as I and yer artifact-keeper know of the final location, I will be satisfied with wherever yeh see fit to store it."
P'welro gave Ryanti a broad smirk and beckoned him through the door into the next room. Berasaem nodded as the Miqo'te male passed by, saying something to the effect of, "Ye be careful alone with P'welro now." She held a smile for a few moments while Ryanti passed into the next room and then Berasaem pulled the door to the private quarters closed and locked it with a key.
P'welro marched on ahead through the door and into what at first seemed like a wider hallway. Once Ryanti had caught up, he would see the hallway actually opened up into a rather large room with a high ceiling through which the base of the bowsprit stretched across the top of the room at a fifty degree angle above the door they had just passed through. To the right, a counter separated a set of cabinets, lockboxes, and drawers built into the upwards staircase from the rest of the armory. To the left, another staircase lead down into the bowels of the vessel. Ahead, towards the bow, lay row upon row of gleaming metal weapons. Long, cobalt pikes lined the interior wall like metal ribs. Muskets sat on steeply angled rows against the bottom of the wall. Bardiches, halberds, pikes, and shortswords adorned the space - all very well kept, polished, and sharpened.
Large coffers occupied many of the free spaces along the base of the walls. Within these lay suits of armor, clothing, cannons balls, bags of firesand, extra rope, spare sails, and anything else of immediate importance in an emergent situation. Every coffer organized and categorized by the woman behind the counter. The Keeper of the Moon was leaning heavily on the countertop with her elbows, watching Ryanti as he followed behind the First Mate. P'welro didn't address the Keeper immediately, choosing to gesture first to the high-ceilinged room.
"This is the armory," P'welro said, almost proudly, "Mos' secure quarter in tha whole ship an' where we keep 'quipment of all sorts. Weapons, armor, cannonballs. Fhruhsunn put yer lot's crate in 'ere somewheres. But all this lot's lorded over by our Quartermasser."
P'welro turned and indicated the bored-looking Keeper, who just smiled when addressed. "Yeh, know I love it when yeh speak all fancy Welro," she cooed, "That large crate Fhruhsunn brought me all 'is?"
The Keeper stood upright and regarded Ryanti with a casual up and down glance. In the Armory's dimly lit setting, the Quartermaster blended into the room almost too well. Her dark skin and short black hair was given away only by her cold blue eyes. Even her armor was dark, matching that of Marjanie's leather and scaled breast.
"It is Quartermasser," P'welro said flatly, seemingly ignoring the Keepers prior quip. "Where yeh fin' room fer hidin' that thin'?"
"Is up on the half. Fhruhsunn woulda been cursin' the Seven Hells if he were able, havin' to go up all them stairs." The Quartermaster shook her head at P'welro before addressing Ryanti directly. She held her left palm up in greeting, saying, "Name's Jada Moui. Everyone juss calls me Quartermaster though. I'm assumin' Welro brought yeh by so yeh can see yer gear's shipshape? Mussn't worry, everythin' 'ere's under my lock n' key. Crew needs somethin', I get it fer them. Y'need somethin', I'll get it fer yeh. Thas the arrangement."
P'welro looked at Ryanti, then to Jada, then back before laughing suddenly. "Not 'xactly what we came 'ere fer. They wanna dress like us," she said with a shrug. Jada looked at Ryanti for several moments before she made the connection that there were no other male Miqo'te aboard. "Oh. Ohhh. Hmm, I can russle up some o' Aric's old wares. Should fit 'im, even if he'll hav'ta snip the rear some."
"Good, make it happen," P'welro said cheerfully, "There's also a Seeker, 'bout Lohp's size. Lalafell. And a Midlander. Should be easy enough."
The Quartermaster nodded and turned around to face the cabinets behind her. She began opening drawers and withdrawing articles of clothing and setting them to one side. These cabinets and adjacent lockboxes seemed to be for the crew's personal affects. Spare clothing, intimates, things that would normally be stored in private quarters if private quarters were available for each crew member instead of the existing arrangement in the bunk bay. The lockboxes seemed to hold the more valuable trinkets, money, or keepsakes belonging to the crew.
P'welro was about to say something to Ryanti when her linkpearl activating directed her attention away. She placed a finger to her bejeweled ear and nodded once to the apparent question. She replaced the crimson pearl in a small pouch on her belt opposite her pistol and shrugged at Ryanti.
"Ye'll 'ave to wait to get acclimated with the rest of yer lot tomorrow. Cap'n wants yeh in her cabin. Quartermasser, if yeh could, get those articles over to Berasaem in the bay," P'welro said flatly, then motioned for Ryanti to follow her once again as she began to ascend the steps upward. The first flight moved about halfway up the room, to a sort of half deck in the armory, referred to as the 'Half.' Here rested an assortment of additional crates, coffers, and ammunition that could not fit below. The crate Fhruhsunn had relieved the black label group of earlier rested here with a few similar-looking crates.
P'welro continued past this to the next flight of stairs, which led up to the Main Deck. A crimson-dyed cotton cloth lay over the staircase like a small pavilion as the two Miqo'te reached the top of the stairs. Immediately behind them was the foremast, which was hollowed out just below deck to accommodate the passage of the stairway just below it. Once out from beneath the pavilion, Ryanti would be able to get a good view of the main deck of the Roehmerl.
The Roehmerl's two masts were at full sail, each mast sporting two large, square-rigged cotton sails dyed a deep crimson. Staysails between the masts rippled overhead. On the deck, three or four crew members were moving about, running lines and stays as the vessel made north for open waters. The deck from bow to aft ran 60 yalms, and about 10 yalms wide. The keel and forward hull were steel, while the bulwark and planks were a sturdy oak, treated and dyed a rich, dark brown. The planks and gunwale looked clean, recently mopped and polished.
P'welro led Ryanti abaft from the foremast across the main deck. There, on either side of the ship sat three fixed cannons, mounted upon a raised turret-like area in the gunwale. One was placed fore, middle, and aft of the main deck on port and starboard. Just as they passed the third of these cannons, a short set of stairs put them level with the main mast and a wide, ornately decorated door to the rear cabin. Two staircases flanked either side of the door, leading up to the poop deck and helm. Marjanie, the Elezen who had caught Ryanti's eye earlier, stood behind the helm with rifle strapped across her shoulder, both hands upon the massive wheel, guiding the vessel through the dangerous shallows near Vesper. The horizontal boom mast hovered only a fulm or two above her head, supporting the spanker sail, trailing out behind the main mast like a massive fish's tailfin. Marjanie's gaze did not drift upwards towards the rear mast or downwards towards Ryanti or P'welro as they drew near beneath her.
P'welro approached the cabin doors and knocked once before waiting.
--
Sounsyy did not smile as the reference was made to her death and the emotions such an event would cause Ryanti. She met the Midlander's eye and shook her head. After having placed the wine bottle on her vanity, she returned to her desk and took her seat in her armchair, crossing her legs one over the other.
"I do not know him - Seventy-seven - not truly. We met briefly some weeks ago. He recognized me from my time on the Bloodsands in Ul'dah, challenged me to a duel, and left in some amount of pain shortly thereafter. If the boy has grown fond of me, I can only assume as to the motives he took this assignment and suspect the duel were a test?"
She made a short hmph noise in her throat and looked away from the Midlander for a moment, regarding one of the tapestries on the wall while she attempted to fix her messy hair. The effort was largely wasted, her hair simply unwilling to comply at its current length. She finally gave up when the Midlander began to speak again.
"I am proud," she said after a moment, "But I am also a captain what understands loyalty is earned, paid fer, and maintenanced always - never freely given. I push my crew to their limit, and I sweat wit them. They know I'd never ask of them anything I wouldn't of mehself. Respect and equality go a long ways towards fostering that loyalty."
She paused, biting her lower lip absentmindedly as Sixteen began to speak of possible covers. From her desk she drew out a nautical map of the seas surrounding Vylbrand and laid it flat on her desk. She indicated the Straight of Merlthor on the map with her left middle finger. From this location, she traced a route northwest into open waters. On the map, purple ink had been used to draw an area along Eorzea's coasts and northern seas, and just below this area, a scarlet red ink had been used to draw a similar region in the middle of the Indigo Deep.
"Forgive me, Midlander, but yeh sound like yer expectin' a peaciful run-in with the Garleans," she almost laughed aloud at the thought. She didn't miss a moment to indicate the purple and red marked areas on the map with her finger.
"This here," she said indicating the purple, "Is Garlean controlled waters. They sometimes patrol lower, but risk attacks from the 4th Squadron and even the Sahagin." This time she indicated the scarlet marks representing Sahagin territory, which covered most of the Indigo Deep and western coast of Vylbrand. She then dragged her finger across the map to an area in the Indigo Deep several malms northwest of Vylbrand. She tapped the location three times before speaking.
"This is the location Maelstrom Command was given. As ye can see, it's right in the middle of the Sahagin and the Garleans. A Lominsan vessel in that region, we will be shown no quarter. Without other Maelstrom patrols in the area, spying another vessel on the horizon means we prepare fer a fight, cuz a fight's what's coming. As fer the Sahagin, we can only pray they leave us be. Their attacks come from the Deep without warning. Entire crews can be dragged beneath the brine in a matter of moments. Let us not also forget the Navigator and her wrath. Storms and Rogue waves could spell our death just as easily. That said, if there's trouble, I want one of yer people below deck. Safe. Which one is yer choice. If all of yer group perish in a skirmish, this mission will have all been fer naught. Perhaps... the keeper of the artifact? In any case, I shall call him anon so that yeh may retire. Yeh and yer crew have a short sleep and a long day tomorrow. I can only hope the accommodations are satisfactory."
Sounsyy leaned back in her armchair and rummaged in her pack for a small, crimson pearl. She placed this in her ear and tapped it to activate the call. A brief command was given to her First Mate, and she returned the pearl to its home. A few minutes later, P'welro's single knock sounded on her cabin door. Sounsyy moved to unlock the door and P'welro and Ryanti entered. Sounsyy gave P'welro a glance, and the latter nodded in understanding and bowed out of the cabin, closing the door behind her without a word. Seconds later, P'welro's muffled voice could be heard shouting orders to the crew on deck.
Sounsyy gave Ryanti a moment to absorb the details of her cabin without saying a word as she made her way back behind her desk, standing next to her armchair. When she reached it, she cleared her throat. "Under normal circumstances, I would insist on locking such an important item away within my desk. However, I'd rather be as far away from the Twelves-damned thing as possible. Our Quartermaster may have room fer it in the personnel locks. Otherwise, there are hidden compartments in the cargo hold below which yeh can use. So long as I and yer artifact-keeper know of the final location, I will be satisfied with wherever yeh see fit to store it."