Post by Kamenwati on Nov 12, 2011 8:50:53 GMT -6
On to Tamazgha
Read Shadow of Regret to know more about what Ealora has been through before this.
"Is that it then?"
The voice that greeted her when she returned to the ship held an air of emotion to it. Concern. Her walk back had been hollow. Turning her back on her breaking husband, she was full of hate, rage and sadness. He just didn't get it and he never would. The buildings had passed as if painted on a canvas. Void of life and the hum she had come to love in the years on Skye. When she turned her back, she knew she was turning her back on everything she had obtained, everything she had ever wanted. She was turning her back on her children and leaving her husband. To say that she did not doubt her actions was completely wrong. Each step she took away from the castle and closer to the docks rang with an echo of question to it.
Taylor had been waiting, sitting on the railing, one foot perched atop as he balanced between the deck and the water below. That concern in his voice brought her back to the realization of what she was doing.
Her lips curled into a sad and hesitant smile as her chin jerked upward and then slowly descended into a nod. "Take us out" she answered as she climbed the plank and moved across the deck as Taylor jumped from his perch and began giving out the orders to pull in the plank, pull the anchor and take them out. Ealora stood on the deck for a moment longer with her back to the docks watching the men move back and forth to do as they were told while Scarlett stayed at the helm to see the ship brought safely away from the docks. Turning from her position, her head swiveled to watch the docks as the ship sailed slowly away from them and into open waters. Her body turned and further and further the docks and the shipyard got further away until disappearing into the darkness. The wind swept the deck and pushed her hair into her face breaking her concentration of watching her old life slip away and she shook her head to relieve the hair from her hairs as now the men worked at relieving the sails from their restful sleep.
The deck was alive with activity and she felt her blood singing with the activity. Alive with an electric hum all of its own, it made her blood boil with pride. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in so long even with a slow runs between the trade routes. The crew didn't know where they were going, not yet but there was talk there wasn't a normal run and they would be right. Shutting the door to her chambers. She shut most of the sound out though she could still here the thud of boots as bodies moved this way and that on the deck outside while she leaned over her desk and poured over a map of the Moroccan coast making markings here and there on the map as she worked. All thoughts of what she had left behind were out of her mind. This was business.
It was hours later when light was filtering under the door that the knock came and the door swung inward as Taylor looked in with question. "They are waiting for you.." He rumbled in a low voice as if expecting her to be asleep.
Ealora had lifted her fingers posed on the map and she nodded as she rolled the map up and stepped around the desk while carrying the map with her. On deck fifty or so men were waiting for her. Scarlett had all ready settled someone at the helm and she grinned as Ealora appeared, as the only other woman aboard the ship, the woman more then enough held her own. A makeshift table had been set up and the men parted as Ealora moved towards it and rolled out the map. Despite the vast miles of blue ocean that lay on all sides of the ship she could tell they had left the course they normally took and by the men's face, they knew it too. Rolling out the map along the makeshift table, she leaned over it, her shoulders tense for a moment and then she sighed and lifted her head.
"All right" She began and paused rounding her gaze over each and every face waiting for their orders. "By now you know this isn't one of our normal runs. This isn't by the books, gentlemen. What we're doing isn't being funded by the isle of Skye. The King and Queen will not supporting this venture. What I do...what we do, is by our own admissions, our own. We've left the griffin flag behind and the trading route. Suffice to say gentlemen, as of today, we are once again, pirates" She paused again to let the weight of her words sink in. Around here men were looking at one another in surprise and confusion. Only Taylor and Scarlett who knew the truth stayed fixed on her.
After a moment when the murmurs died down and attention again returned to her, she spoke again. "We're not attacking stray ships, we have a specific target. One I have decidedly picked out. Berber ships, trade, military. It doesn't matter. We will be shadowing the Berber coast here..."And she paused to point at the map making a line against its jagged coastline. "Here their naval ships roam in protection of the trade ships they send out and the ones coming back in. All of them, are our target. In order for our goal to be reached, nothing should be spared. Not even the merchant sailors aboard their ships." Again she paused, her hand posed on the map to lift her eyes around and then back down they went. "Now we're going to sail towards the coast then make a wide birth, like that of a pregnant belly, away from the coast and a angle back towards the edge of it, from our position going towards we should catch a few of their trade ships heading out from their port to do their trade, those should be easy as they are not heavily armed. Along the coast is our biggest threat, their naval ships. Once we reach the end of our pass, we'll cut back and make the same path again to catch stragglers. We may need to do this once or twice." And as she spoke she used her fingers to etch out the route and stopping to attack the small ship indications she made on the map.
With the route set out she let go of the map and let it roll up again as she took a step back and rolled her shoulders. "For now each of you will go about your normal duties. Ravee, your in the crows nest for the duration of this journey. I want you only to come down to eat, sleep and relieve yourself except in the heat of battle. You have to pee in battle, you do it on the enemy" The men all began to laugh but Ealora barely cracked a grin. "Scarlett, I want you on the helm during battle. You maneuver the ship like a hot knife through butter. I don't trust anyone else but you there. Taylor, my right hand man. I need you on second deck during the battle, you know my mind all most as good as Sam did. I need your direction to come like you know me so our actions while not really synchronized are as close as they come."
With the direction given; Scarlett, Taylor and Ravee began to clear away the table and map to give Ealora and the men remaining room while Ealora gave direction to each of the men.
"Now comes the harder part. I am not playing favorites here so don't start cokeing an attitude. I need the best crew possible to pull this off and I am not guaranteeing anyone's safety nor lives. I count on each of you to do yours jobs and those who don't have commanding jobs, pity the ones who do. They will have it harder then you. Those with commanding jobs, you do your jobs, you see your men do their jobs or you answer to me and I will not be as kind as you think. Years of land life has not made me soft. With that being said, Falcon, you have top deck portside. Choose seven men to accompany you port side, in a minute though. Bailey, you have top deck starboard side. Again choose seven to accompany you in a minute. Alec you have second deck port side and Bane you have starboard side, both of you choose five men to accompany you. Dylan you have third deck fore and Bane you have third deck aft. Both of you choose four men to man your teams. An James, I want you as a runner between decks with a team of nine."
As she assigned a captain to each deck and side she met each mans name that she called directing them to a different side so they knew where they were going to take their teams. To James she lay her hand upon his shoulder but directed her attention around again. "For those of you on top deck and second deck. It's your jobs to man the cannons. I want a team of two on the four on either side of top deck and two men on the three cannons of second deck both port and starboard sides. Third deck has two teams of five. It is your job to divide up into handing out supplies to the top and second deck. James, you and your men are on reserve. When someone falls, it is your team that needs to see them to third deck and one of your men to take their place. Hopefully you will not run out of men."
She managed a smile and gave a pat to the mans arm and then stepped back. "Choose your teams."
The deck came alive again as men divided into teams with Captains at the head of them. Rather like a game of kickball or some similar sport there were favorites being called out but with Ealora watching their were quick to divide and before her legs could tire of standing still to long, the teams were made.
"Very good, for now you can go about your day. Right now there is nothing else to do. Commanders, I will be calling you and your men in the coming days to go over the plans of how to run each side. We are, gentleman...and lady" Her attention turned briefly to Scarlett with a wider grin and then went back to the men to continue "A militia all our own. We battle on the seas and it is not easy to do but each man has their job and most do it well if we are all to succeed. Let one fail and we all fail. Let this not be a curse or create tension and nervousness amongst you. This is my challenge to you..." Again she paused to gesture her hands out into the open air and again this time she smiled. "Be at your best, do your best as you have always done for me in the past." Her hands dropped to her sides and she gave a nod of her head. "Dismissed"
She did not wait to watch the men break to their jobs instead turning to return to her chambers followed closely by Taylor while Scarlett went back to the helm.
"Think this will work?" he hummed low at her ear and she paused in opening the door to turn a look at him. Confused and mystified all at the same time.
"At what point did you think this was a game?" She questioned and stepped into the doorway before turning to look at him again.
"Some of these men are going to die on this mission Taylor. God willing I can get many of them home but if they don't work as a team, then our hopes of any of us getting home will diminish" She gave a slight shake of her head and laughed "and its not like I have much to get home to anymore." Slowly she stepped back to close the door when she heard Taylor whisper
"Your still loved Ealora" Taylor spoke.
"It's not about being loved Taylor. It's about being accepted and understood, every single bit" Ealora retorted before closing the door in his face.
Days later, the Kamenwati's ship was out to sea… and headed south by west out of Turas Lan and around the isles of Skye… by nightfall they had reached open water of the Great Sea (Atlantic)
By then, Captain Ealora, had set sail too… She had her own set of orders from the King… but unbeknownst to Kam, this would aid greatly in his own efforts in Tamazgha. Not far behind Captain Ealora and the Shadow Storm, three first-rate ships-of the-line of the Griffin Navy would set sail for southern France…
They too had their own orders in the Desert campaign soon they would sail past Portugal and make itself known to Spain that the Griffin King did not enjoy having uninvited Spanish guests in England.
Elsewhere, two other first-rate ships-of the-line of the Griffin Navy and twelve frigates now secured England’s southern coast, from east to west… and five more frigates sailed along Scotland’s northern coast from west to east.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Middle Sea…
"Report?" Ealora's voice purred as she jumped from the rigging of rope weaving its way to the crow's nest down to the deck of the ship.
"Five wounded Captain, nothing serious. A minor crack on third deck but it’s all ready been sealed" Taylor answered as he joined Ealora on the deck.
The air was heavy with the acrid smell of smoke from cannons and the ship slowly and steadily sinking into the sea behind the Shadow Storm as it sailed away seemingly unscathed. The ship that was sinking into the sea was the five ship she had sunk this week. No quarter, no mercy. Adam had said he needed someone cold-hearted and ruthless. She had done that and more. The Shadow Storm and its crew had given rise that the sea was not a safe place to be, especially if you were a Berber ship. So far it had been small merchant ships, they had not seen hide or hair of any war ships and this, could only mean trouble down the preverbal road.
Ealora nodded her head to the report but said nothing as her hand lifted to send him on his way while she went aft. The wind was picking up sending the smoke signals higher in the sky. Normally she would stick close to land in case of trouble but being closer to land gave away their position and in the event of attack, she normally sent the ships burning into the sea, this also was a disadvantage as closer to shore, they were more likely to be discovered. Lifting a hand to brush her hair from her face, celadon eyes found the dead floating in the water, bobbing like wooden doll in their lifeless dance upon the lapping waves.
With a heavy sigh her arms crossed over her stomach and her head cokeed to the side as she regarded the ships’ sail which was poking out of the water, slowly and effortlessly sinking beneath the waves surface. Had it been worth it? Honestly, she could not answer the question resounding in her head. Had any of this been worth it? The call of the King had come and in her state of mind she had accepted without hesitation. She had accepted without knowing the situation, without knowing why she was blindly sending men to their death. Had they been innocent or were they guilty of some crime she was not aware of?
Maahes had been right. She killed for sport; she killed with the need for blood. Of this she had completely no doubt. Yet she was not so different as men who took up arms on land. All of them were heeding a call of their monarch and each felt their side was right, each fought for their country and killed the enemy who was infinitely innocent of crime besides believing in the cause of their country. So in essence, each was sought the need for blood and killed innocent men all for the sake of orders.
The crew were going about their business, Ealora quite unaware they were there while they were likewise trying to ignore their Captain who was standing with arms crossed, talking to herself. Ealora was quite unaware of the fact she had begun to talk to herself in such a mumbled state that it could not be told what exactly she was saying, but the crew could tell, Ealora's mind was not all there and it worried them.
"Ho' Captain, Ship on the horizon!" The call came from above, breaking Ealora from her thoughts and staring at the dead to lift her gaze skyward to the crowd nest to Ravee who pointed to the east.
"Report!" Ealora called.
"It's another merchant ship, Captain" Ravee voice called downward.
"Scarlett, bring her about." Ealora command rolled from her lips like a purr to a lover but called over the den of wind.
"It's going to be a long day" Taylor groaned as he passed Ealora's sword to her clean of the blood it had previous sown.
"All for the cause, my good man, all for the cause…" Ealora retorted with a grin as she sheathed the sword at her side and turned to her crew to call out.. "Ready the cannon's and prepare for battle!"
The Gaelic King, who now sat upon the courts in Struan, reviewing local cases of treason, consistently received reports of sea battles in the Middle Sea. A pirate ship was wreaking havoc upon the high seas… First, it was only small merchant ships, but when the Berber Navy tired of the pirate, they sent ships of battle… but even those were outgunned… and out classed tactically. In less than a week, the pirate had sunk double digit numbers of merchant craft, bringing the Berber trade to almost a halt… and its Navy, almost whittled down to nothing…
Then the reports started to come in on Spanish galleons being stopped, raided, and sunk. Now the Spanish Navy, in all her glory, now sought the pirate.
