Ben's NaNoWriMo Log

Chapter 39 added Sep 23, 2005
Captain Grayson's contact arrived a few days later aboard a nondescript carrack. They began transferring the cargo, inspecting each crate as it went over to estimate the value of its contents. Alliardo and Molly served as Sarah's agents, as she herself was expert on neither weapons nor haggling. In the meantime, Sarah was closeted with Carathix and Randall making plans for the upcoming raid. Their discussion of boarding tactics was interrupted by a knock at the cabin door. The door opened, and Molly poked her head in. Grinning, she beckoned to Sarah. "I've got something to show you." Curious, Sarah went out onto the main deck. Molly led her toward one of the smaller crates, which was sitting next to the rail near the gangplank. She lifted the top of the crate, revealing a series of long boxes made of dark, polished wood. Intrigued, Sarah opened one of the boxes. Lying on a velvet cushion within was an exquisitely wrought rapier. Its blade was hidden within a lacquered cherry scabbard, but the intricate swept hilt sparkled with gold and gems. The fluted pommel weight was a tiny treasure all by itself, with delicate engraving along each of its raised ridges. "It's beautiful," she breathed. She looked up at Molly. "Are they just decorative?" Molly flipped open another of the cases, revealing yet another dazzling rapier. She lifted it out and drew the blade out a few inches. She showed it to Sarah. The inlaid gold along the ricasso was fine to look at, but the wavy pattern on the steel of the blade itself showed that it was more than a piece of heavy jewelry. Molly had described such blades to Sarah before in wistful tones, but neither of them had ever seen one in person. The dark haired swordswoman pulled the sword all the way free, swinging it in a few whistling arcs. "A blade like this would eat one of ours for breakfast, with hardly a nick to show for it." She stabbed the needle point into the deck and pushed. The blade bent so far that Sarah was sure it would snap, but as Molly yanked it back it returned to its previous arrow-straight shape. "Strong yet flexible, like a good sword should be." Sarah opened the rest of the cases, finding a total of four rapiers and as many broadswords, each a marvel of Ironhold craftsmanship. "These must have been slated for nobles or officers. A rapier for each of us, a broadsword for Alec," she said, counting on her fingers. She tried to imagine Lars with one of these glittering confections on his hip. She shook her head and chuckled. "What about Alliardo?" Molly closed one eye, looking down along the razor edge of one of the other rapiers. "He carries a cutlass, but I doubt he's terribly particular about it. One of these fancy rapiers would make him a proud little peacock." "I'm almost afraid to imagine it." Sarah smiled. "But he certainly deserves it. I think he still misses the hat/" She looked over the collection of weapons. "The rest of them should fetch a good price. Good work, Molly." They went through the rapiers, each selecting one that had a balance that appealed to her. As she walked back across the deck, Sarah removed her old sword from the worn leather hanger at her hip. She buckled the new rapier in place; she made a mental note to start wearing more jewelry so it wouldn't look so conspicuous. As she opened the door to her cabin, she saw only Randall sitting at the table, poring over a sea chart. "Where's Carathix?" The pirate captain waved his hand vaguely. "He went to do something... arcane." He looked up as Sarah closed the door, his eyes drawn to the shining golden hilt at her hip. "That's a beautiful sword." He met her eyes with his own and smiled. "It suits you." Sarah mumbled her thanks as she looked for a place to stow her old weapon. During their recent planning sessions she had gotten to know Randall better. She had been put off at first by his brash manner, but the more she saw him away from the public eye, the less abrasive he became. He turned out to be quite charming without the braggadocio, and even his salty speech all but vanished when they were alone. She put the sword in a chest and returned to the table. Three small carvings of ships sat on the table, each representing one of the vessels that would be involved in the raid. They were arranged on a large wax tablet with lines scribed into its surface to represent their courses. "So, this is the plan?" Randall shrugged. "It's a plan. We won't know exactly what we'll do until the time comes." He toyed with a small chunk of biscuit that had portrayed an escort vessel earlier that morning. "We just need to coordinate our signals so we can alter our plans on the fly." Sarah leaned forward, drumming her fingers on the table. They had gone over a dozen different scenarios, coming up with a response to each. In the end, though, there was no way to know what would really happen. They could only hope that they had prepared for what actually came to pass. She shook her head. "So, assuming we survive this, what do you plan to do with your share of the take?" "The men have been grumbling about shore leave. I figure we may find a nice little Midlander town to amuse ourselves in for a while." He looked over at Sarah. "I thought that, perhaps--" Sarah yanked her hand back as she felt unexpected fingers on hers. She immediately felt badly as she saw the pained expression in Randall's eyes. Suddenly he looked even younger than the twenty-three years he claimed. "I'm sorry," she said, "I..." Randall nodded as he pulled his own hand back slowly. "I understand. The wizard?" "What?" Sarah hadn't ever mentioned her feelings about Syphar to anyone, not even Molly. Before she could get any more flustered about it, though, she saw Randall glance meaningfully at the empty chair where Carathix had been sitting. She laughed, shaking her head as she relaxed again. "No, there's nothing between me and Carathix. I just... I'm not ready..." "No need to explain yourself," said Randall, his pirate grin returning. He started rearranging the wooden ships, rubbing out the lines on the table. "Let's just worry about getting through this insane notion of ours first. I just thought of something they might do." Sarah couldn't help but smile as she watched him enact a nightmare scenario involving a fleet of Royal Navy grapes.
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