1 Day Earlier
Something was already up that very morning.
As usual, Raphaëlle had woken up a little before the other sailors, eager to be the first one on the upper deck of the ship to start her watch. Stepping over the still snoring sailors who had fallen from their hammocks during the night, she put on her clothes and left the dormitory stretching out, her eyes still a bit sleepy. She crossed the long corridor leading to the center of the ship outside, accompanied by the noise of other sailors who were starting to wake up in their respective dormitories, just a few minutes before the morning bell rang.
Usually, when she reached the main mast, the first thing she saw was Captain Krag on the upper deck. One hand on the railing, the other on his spyglass, he scanned the sea and the horizon for signs that she could never identify but that the captain always seemed to translate into directions to follow and paths to avoid. She used to watch him from afar, quiet as a mouse, trying to be as discreet as possible while looking in the same direction as him.
The first time she had seen him there at dawn a few months ago, she had made the mistake of trying to sneak up her way behind him, trying to find out what he was doing without disturbing him. The stern look he gave her just after sensing her presence had taken away any desire to repeat the experience.
But this morning, the captain was absent, and the young woman was greeted only by a light sea spray that tickled her nostrils. Intrigued, Raphaëlle began to scan the rest of the deck with her eyes before turning her attention back to the captain's cabin. She could see that light was coming from under the door, a sign that he was still in his quarters. That was definitely unusual.
"So, you’re up first again, huh?" said a familiar voice behind her, making her jump.
Raphaëlle turned around, half amused, half embarrassed, and furrowed her brow, forgetting to hide her smile upon seeing Tolas, looking radiant and well-rested, accompanied by the other early risers of the crew who were waiting to hear the morning bell.
"Yup, maybe I should be the bosun!" she asserted with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smirk.
"You've got two months left to change the captain’s mind then!" Tolas replied.
"Give me ten years, and I'm sure I can do it." she quipped.
Tolas chuckled and gave her a playful punch on the shoulder, which she welcomed with exaggerated expressions of pain. Rolling his eyes, the young man headed toward the watch bell, with Raphaëlle following closely behind. As they walked, Tolas began to turn his head left and right, looking perplexed.
"Haven't seen the captain this morning?"
"No, and that’s weirding me out too! I think he's still in his cabin. Maybe he's still asleep?"
"Captain Krag having a lie-in?" Tolas declared incredulously. "Why not cannon-wielding pigs while we're at it?"
The imagery made Raphaëlle burst into laughter, quickly followed by Tolas who just couldn’t resist her laugh. He was the first to regain his composure.
"No, I guess something must have happened last night, and the captain must be dealing with it."
"Something serious?"
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"I don't think so, or we would have been woken up immediately."
"Hmm…" the pensive young woman responded.
Upon reaching their destination, the bosun grabbed the bell’s rope, and Raphaëlle covered her ears, ready to endure the impending blast. Tolas, noticing her reaction, playfully decided to ring the bell with all his might. Raphaëlle winced in pain as the rest of the crew, who were to take their watch, began to emerge from the center of the ship. Some night owls still stumbled around with sleep weighting down their footsteps, but the cheers of the sailors who had preceded them and were eager to get some shut-eye themselves finished waking them up. The older crew members quickly regained their composure and went about their tasks, while the younger sailors still roamed the deck, unsure of where they would be needed the most.
After Raphaëlle withdrew her fingers from her ears, slightly disoriented, Tolas gave her a small nod and headed toward the young recruits. He gathered them with a few whistle’s blows and sent them to different parts of the Altair, fulfilling his soon to be official position as bosun admirably.
The young woman was about to leave when the door of the captain's cabin opened abruptly, and Spirit and Captain Krag emerged, their faces a bit more drawn than usual. The young deckhand froze, a bit taken aback, but Spirit's gaze swept over her, landing on the back of his younger brother, who was still giving instructions at the center of the ship. The second mate cast a quick glance at his captain, who nodded almost imperceptibly, before inhaling sharply.
"Tolas!" he exclaimed in a calm yet powerful voice.
Like Raphaëlle before him, Tolas stood still for a moment, but the expression that crossed his face sent shivers through the fledgling sailors who caught a glimpse of it before it disappeared in a flash. He turned to his brother, who gestured for him to come closer. The young bosun complied without a word, climbing the stairs to the upper rear deck without noticing Raphaëlle, who had stepped aside. Captain Krag mimed entering his cabin before following him directly. Spirit, who stayed a bit behind, finally noticed the young woman who had almost unconsciously started to approach the stairs leading to the captain's cabin with a curious look.
"Raphaëlle, go clean the cannons instead of trying to eavesdrop," he said with an amused expression.
Regaining her composure, she greeted the Second and set off for her task vigorously, trying not to dwell on it any longer.
But an hour later, a bell started ringing, and Raphaëlle realized it wasn't the watch bell she was hearing. It was the emergency one. Dropping the old sponge blackened with soot that dirtied her hands, the young woman sprinted to the upper deck to see Tolas, with a serious face, forcefully ringing the bell. All the sailors who weren't essential to the ship's operation had already gathered in the middle of the deck, patiently waiting for their bosun to finish sounding the alarm. Once a certain calm returned, Captain Krag, standing near the main mast, spoke:
"I received a message from the navy’s headquarters during the night. Nesperides’ island, about ten leagues from here, was attacked by the Cormorant's fleet a few days ago, and since then, we’ve had no news about the condition of the population there. This is rather alarming, considering that one of the royal laboratories is located on the island."
Terrified murmurs crossed the crowd of sailors, leaving Raphaëlle perplexed. What was that Cormorant's fleet? And why did everyone look like they were about to soil their pants? She wanted to ask a sailor next to her but thought better of it at the last moment, deciding it might be better to listen to the captain until the end. He continued:
"A part of our fleet was deployed to check on the whole thing, but a tropical storm has stranded them in place for at least several weeks. Our ship being the closest to the island, Headquarters has asked us to go and take a look there for them."
The murmurs increased, growing louder and louder to the point that Tolas had to intervene. He ordered the crew to be quiet before the captain resumed his announcement, under the benevolent gaze of Spirit, who stood next to the main mast behind the captain.
"We can't enter Vyx’s bay, and the waters around the island are too shallow for the Altair to approach, so we'll need an expeditionary force to go ashore. The men who volunteer will be under our prospective bosun's responsibility, and they will receive a small reward once they have finished their report. You'll see the rest of the details with him and Spirit. Is that clear?"
"Yes, captain!" the entire crew responded at attention, the older ones with a hand over their hearts. "May the Queen's heart light our path!"
"Yeah, sure…” Captain Krag whispered under his breath, apparently pleased to have finished his speech.
He saluted his troops and withdrew promptly into his cabin.