~~~~~
Secondmonth 28
I emerged, refreshed and renewed, from below deck this morning. Without as much as a “How are you?”, I was quickly sent to my usual post on the crow's nest by Soern, who seemed to be glad to get the opportunity to run off below deck. It is no matter. I suppose I was inadvertently neglecting my duties for the past week. At least I am back among real people again, in the real world. Ah, fresh and salty sea air, I love thee.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 1
I unfortunately have very little to report today. Captain Blank has predicted we will reach our destination by Thirdmonth 8. Since we don't know exactly where we are going, I don't know how he decided this. He said something about “Pirate Sense.” He was right about arrival time last time, however, so I decided to agree with him and make another little wager with Mark. I will win this time. If we arrive before sunset on Thirdmonth 8, I will win. If we haven't arrived by then, Mark will win. Simple enough.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 2
I was not on watch duty today. This pleased me. Instead, I was down on the deck. Mark was trying to show me how to throw a net into the sea to catch fish. Unfortunately, he's not the most understandable at times, and I didn't catch on that you had to tie part of the net to the boat before you threw it in.Mark said I should jump in after the net, but Blank said that a “missing net wasn't worth a missing crewman... or crewwoman... whatever.” Blank did say I'm not allowed to fish anymore, though.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 3
More deck duty. Today I got to “swab the decks”, which seems to just be a piratey way of saying “mop the floor.” I don't know what good it really did, as the deck was mostly dirty due to the seawater splashing over the sides of the boat, and Mark told me to “Use seawater.” to clean the decks. Or maybe he said “Use clean water.” Hmm... It matters not, since Blank didn't really seem to notice or care if the deck was actually any cleaner than it was when I started. After I finished “swabbing”, I practiced “being piratey” by climbing around on the ropes and making graceful, piratey jumps back to the deck from the crow's nest. It was most excellent, until I landed badly and turned my ankle. Soern and Blank found this most amusing. Later in the evening, I tried again. I was starting to get the hang of it when I made another jump and missed the deck completely and landed in the water. The only other person on deck at the time was Rellik, and when I called to him for help, he didn't hear me. Strange, that, because he was probably only twenty feet away, and seemed to be looking right at me. I called again, but he turned away. After I called him a third time, he grabbed a rope and tossed it to me, pulling me in. I wonder if he could hear me the whole time and was just deciding whether or not to get me out of the water. Nah. That couldn't be it... hmm...
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 4
I took inventory of our stores. Everything seems to be in order, except that our rum and ale supplies seemed to have depreciated much quicker than expected, especially since we had mainly been drinking Soern's magically summoned water. When I asked Blank about this, he said something about how there had been an emergency. When I questioned him further about what manner of emergency would require alcohol, he told me “All sorts of emergencies need booze, Sigrid!” He was very adamant about this. I am on nightwatch tonight, so I think I will take a nap now to refresh.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 5
Nightwatch was most exciting. I finally made a spectacularly successful jump from the crow's nest! Oh, and also, we got attacked by eels. But that's not nearly as exciting as my graceful leap.
There were some eel-people with spears trying to board the ship. I screamed and woke everyone up, and a most heroic battle ensued. There must have been twenty of them! A mighty swarm! They had us cornered and were about to kill us all, when with one mighty swing of my sword, I cut them all down and saved the crew! As a reward for my heroic defeat of the hundred giant carnivorous eels and their evil king, Captain Blank gave me a vintage bottle of “magical” rum. He was sort of chuckling when he gave it to me though, I almost remember him saying something like “Let's see what this stuff'll do to her.” I don't quite remember though. All I know is that I am AWESOME!
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 6
I woke up this morning with a headache the size of De-Shamod. I also woke up on the floor, fully armored, a sword in each hand. My hammock has been cut to shreds by some unknown party. What did I do all day yesterday? My journal seems to indicate a valiant battle with eels, but wasn't that the night before? I'm a little confused. Perhaps it would be best not to ask the crew about this one. I spent the remainder of the day knotting and looping another hammock out of rope. It's not quite as nice as the one I had before, but if I line it with a blanket, it will do quite nicely. Besides, I've spent many a night on bare floor or outdoor ground. I'm used to it by now.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 7
The weather is warmer today. Otherwise, there was nothing of interest to report. I sure hope we arrive today or tomorrow so I can win my bet with Mark.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 8
So, we didn't arrive today, and Mark won our little wager. I will beat him at something, sometime. I wonder if he knows how to play any parlour games...
Life at sea is getting monotonous and boring. I am beginning to yearn for solid ground beneath my feet once again. It would be nice to be on land again, perhaps with a horse in a batallion of Knights. Perhaps my paranoia that I am disliked among the Order is unfounded. They are my kin, and I have proven myself time and time again. I have also been told I am most pleasant to talk to, except when I rant or go on a tirade. I want to be among my Knight-Brothers and Knight-Sisters once more, if only for a little while.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 9
I had a conversation with Rellik today. More accurately, I talked to Rellik today. I coversation involves two participants. I was concerned, as he seems to be a little agitated. I suspect he wants to return to his “Guild” and didn't realize our trip would take as long as it has. I tried to sympathize with him by expressing my own desires to be among the Order once again, but he seemed... disinterested. He has this quality about him that makes him difficult to talk to. Almost like Mark, but Mark is much, much worse. Mark is unnerving to talk to, and very difficult to understand.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 10
A pirate I was meant to be, trim the sails and roam the sea...
We're a band of vicious pirates! A sailin´ out to sea. When you hear our gentle singing you'll be sure to turn and flee!
Oh, this is just ridiculous.
Yes, yes, it really is. It really, really is.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 11
I woke up this morning feeling lethargic and ill. Soern felt my forehead (though I had to bend down for him to be able to reach my face) and thought I had some sort of fever, but it may be from exhaustion and not an actual disease. He said it was minor enough to not get magic involved, and even if he did, if I was just exhausted, magic wouldn't help. It was a little shocking to hear that Soern didn't want to get magic involved in something. He suggested I spend the day resting. Extra sleep sounds good.
~~~~~
Thirdmonth 12
I feel much better today. Blank spent most of the morning in his cabin, and Soern and Rellik were nowhere in sight, so it was just Mark and I on the deck for a few bells. Mark had to duck below deck, so I got to steer the ship. Well, not steer actually. He put my hands on the wheel and told me to stand still, not move, and just hold the wheel straight. He slipped away, and a few moments later, Blank emerged from his cabin. When he saw me standing at the wheel, he very nearly tackled me. He told me I should never be at the wheel by myself ever. Something about “not knowing the first thing about ships.” I do, however, know the first thing about ships, and the second thing too. I can pilot a single-man vessel with a moderate success rate. When Mark came back on deck, Blank yelled at him for allowing me to take control of the ship. He called Soern up, and the three of them spent probably two bells looking at the sky trying to determine if I messed up our course any. They finally decided that I'd done no harm, but I should still not be allowed to be in charge of the boat.
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