Chapter 29. And So We Go

Will decided to mull over his notification for a while, he had no idea what it could mean. He had never had a message through the system before, it was concerning. All this was running through his head as he went back down below. When he had first encountered Elaith he was told they would never meet again, maybe that had changed. Taking his time he visited the galley and mess, to check lanterns and the stoves. Then to the lounge where he found Minnie curled up in her chair sleeping, and Naomi wrapped in a blanket in his bigger chair. Firstly he picked up Minnie and carried her to their cabin, sighing he realized he had forgotten the hot water bottles again. That message thing really had him scattered. It didn’t take long to fill the cold bottles with nice hot water from the stove jackets, and then tuck one to Minnie’s icy feet. Then quietly into the lounge again and gently woke Naomi, guided her stumbling form to her quarters and handed her a nice hot bottle too. “Night dad”, she mumbled into his shirt as she hugged him and closed the door behind. Minnie greeted him with a snuffling snore as he entered and prepared for bed. It didn’t take but a minute as he slid in the cool sheets, finding the warm part by his feet was a true pleasure. Laying his head on his pillow the message was still stuck in his head, I’ll check it in the morning he decided, with Minnie. That decided he reached for Mins hand, she held tight and he sunk into sleep.

Next thing he knew there was knocking on his cabin door, “Are you guys awake?”, Naomi called. “We are now!” griped Minnie who had been jarred awake, she scampered to the door and flung it open. Naomi tumbled in, “Did you get a message too, on your menu thing?”. Oops, Will thought. Minnie was quiet for a moment…”Me too.”. Will held up his hand “That’s makes three of us, but mine came in last night, you guys were sleeping so I just let it go.”. Naomi came in and sat on the bed beside Minnie “I didn’t read mine yet, and why is your bed softer and fluffier than mine?”. “Cause dads large and it gets tenderized, like a steak.” Minnie answered. Will picked up a pillow and chucked it at Minnie, knocking her sideways. “Gee, thanks, why don’t we go to the mess, have a cuppa and see what they say?”, he suggested. This sounded fine to Naomi who went to dress, Minnie agreed by firing a pillow at Will while he wasn’t looking and nearly launching him into the head. “Hah.”, she laughed. Then added “Are you worried, cause you look worried.”. Will shrugged, “I kind of like the saying ‘no news is good news’, I don’t like surprises much.”. They got dressed in work clothes and tidied the cabin. Realizing he was putting thing’s off for no good reason, Will finished up headed for the mess. Naomi had lit the stove and made coffee today, warmed juice and started ham and potatoes together for a breakfast hash. Minnie came in as Will sat with a coffee, very stylish in her work overalls. “Okay, let’s get to it, who wants to go first? he asked. Minnie and Naomi looked at each other and pointed, towards Will. “Fine.”, he sighed and clicked Menu in his mind, then More.

The usual screens came up, filled with the familiar blue light and information. However this time, the Message Waiting icon was flashing on the top of everything else. He mentally reached out and clicked the box, causing a new window to pop open, containing the message.

Greetings Captain Will Harris. This is an automated message from the system. Your many skills and abilities have become a long list. When you access Menu in the future these listings will have been condensed down into a more manageable form. Any changes, new abilities or gains to already learned skills or talents will be listed as (new), then incorporated into the new style.

Have a nice day and enjoy your coffee.

“Well?”, asked two impatient voices. He laughed in relief, “go ahead and check, nothing to fear.”. It was quiet for a moment or two. Then a burst of “How does it know I wanted toast today, with my ham even?”, from Minnie. And “It knows I like honey in my tea, that’s just creepy.”, from Naomi. The fact they were under constant surveillance or just sometimes, was another of those things he would just have to let go. “I think it reacts to us at the moments when we check it, if it’s watching us all the time that would be weird right?”.

After checking their messages it was a relieved crew that started on breakfast. “What were you thinking, that it could have been bad news?”: Naomi asked. “Like I told Minnie, I don’t like surprises much. It’s just the way I am. There’s so much I don’t know about the system that you never know.” he answered. “I thought it might be something like we can breathe underwater, or don’t feel cold, that would be fun.” Minnie added. “Yeah that would be nice, especially the cold part.”, Naomi laughed. “Not to sound old or anything but just getting something without working for it devalues what you get. Can’t be like bingo, you’re a wizard, takes work and time.” Will said. Minnie looked at him “Whats a bingo?”. “Just a slang word for when something happens fast, suddenly. Bingo the dishes are done, or bingo we’re at Laketown.”, he explained. The other two nodded, understanding a bit, “Or a fun game, used to play all the time before.” he added. The word game got the others interest right away. Not that their life was boring, it truly wasn’t. There was always lots of work to do aboard ship, they fished, had sing alongs, played cards, reading but a new game was always welcome. It took a while to explain the concept of bingo and how random it could be, what to play for. Just to win, or for treasure of some kind. Chores, or sleeping in time. There was lots to work out, prepare and to remember. Numbered balls, something to roll them in, cards to make and tokens to play with. It wouldn’t be done today, but soon. Another on Wills to-do list.

Their meal didn’t need to be hurried but it did end, there were miles to make today, to get back to the warm lands. Will took care of the boiler and loading coal into the feeders. Naomi squared away her galley and mess hall. It was Minnie’s turn to do a load or two of laundry and tidy the cabin. She was quite vocal about her dislike for this chore, but still did it. Her and Wills cabin was fairly large but sometimes the floor was covered with Minnie sized clothing, it was a mystery to her how it happened too. “Do you chuck my clothes around dad, dad…hey you, anyone hear me complaining? That’s no fun then, hey Naomi, Naomi…NAAAOOOMMMI!”. The young girl came flying into the room, “What, are you okay?”. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Minnie answered, “Just wanted to know if anyone heard me, dads gone deaf I think.”. Naomi laughed “He’s one deck down in the engine room, oiling stuff.”. “Oh right, can be pretty noisy, with the shaft disengaged from the propulsion unit, it’s easier to add lubricants to the needed fittings without the boat under weigh, and no load on the main drive.”, Minnie said. Naomi was just looking at her, “What’s the matter, I know stuff too.”, Min complained. With a shared giggle they got back to it.

Will had finished up his oilings and had reseated the propeller shaft. It only had to be done every few hundred miles, but was quite important and couldn't really be postponed. It would have been more difficult if he hadn’t been able to hold the three hundred pound shaft up with one hand, while using a grease gun in the other. The other thing he had to check was the stuffing box. Where the propeller shaft passes through the hull in the stern tube, to connect with the engine. The stuffing box was filled with oakum seals and wax, to prevent water from leaking into the boat and keeping the shaft cooled with water. A complex system and very important to keep an eye on. Periodically it needed to be tightened to keep a tight seal, but not too tight or the shaft would bind. At times like this Will wished someone would hurry up and invent vulcanized rubber. Life would be much easier. Then, remembering they were going to go as far south as they could go, realized they could maybe be the one to develop this much needed product. “We’ll see I guess,” he muttered, packing his tools away.

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His last stop was to crank the boiler to high and let it start building pressure. Minnie had finished the laundry, with Naomi’s help, and they were both dressing in the warm gear to brave the top deck. “There’s timing for you.”, Will laughed as they met at the stairs. He nearly went to fist bump, but realized that explanation could take a while, so he went for a high-five instead. “Why are you standing with your hand up?”, Minnie asked, “Haven’t we done this before?”, he asked. “Gotten dressed in our winter gear?” Naomi asked, with a very confused look. “No, I thought we have high fived before, you know, we slap hands up high, then down low, go team go… we did this, I’m sure of it.” Will answered, trailing off. “You’ll have to tell us all about it dad.”, Minnie encouraged. “Well,” he started but was interrupted by a boom from outside. Then another, even louder. Half dressed all three of them ran up the stairs, expecting anything. More monster sharps, sea serpents, logjams, you name it. Standing on the deck it was snowing hard, windy and felt like a cold front was on its way. Another boom rattled the windows of the wheelhouse, and Will realized what it was.

“Thunder snow”, he said “Instead of heavy rain it’s heavy snow, doesn’t happen too often.”. Minnie was unsettled by this, thunder supposed to be a summer thing, and said so “Well that’s just wrong, let’s pull anchor and get going.”. Will agreed, it was weird. He and Naomi went to the bow and started cranking in the anchors, again one was easy but the port was stuck tight. There was a bit of back and forth before it finally popped out of whatever crevice it had been stuck in. “Okay.” Will shouted, “Let’s get going.”. Minnie had heard him and the vibration of the engine started and they slowly headed back out to open water. Gaining speed in a wide turn on a southerly heading. The lake was beginning to get rougher, higher seas but the Rose handled them well. Naomi tugged on his arm and pointed to the wheelhouse “Tea time okay?”. He nodded and together they clambered up the stairs and clattered their way inside. The thunderstorm had worsened in the short time they had been moving but it was more to the north. “We’ll outrun it in a short time, I think it’s heading to land anyway.” Will said as he put the kettle on. “Later, maybe we’ll drop a line or two for fish for dinner. I feel like a fish.”, Naomi said. Well that was too easy for Minnie, who began to make fishy faces at her. Will had to join in with a joke “Hey Minnie, what do sea monsters eat?”. She shook her head “Fish and ships.” he went on. “Oh that’s a good one dad.”. “Any more?”, asked Naomi. Hmmm, that made him think. He knew lots of jokes, but most made references to things these two would never know. “I’ll work on it.”.

The day waned on, miles behind them, many more to go before they were in familiar waters. Food was not exactly short but they were low on most things. Actually out of bacon, which really made Minnie’s day. The last slab was lifted out of the fragrant but mostly empty larder, a sad event. There were a couple of hams left, smoked sausage strings hanging. A few big jars of salt pork and salt beef. That was the entirety of what had been stuffed to the top with Laketowns finest. “We’ll fill it again, and soon. Dropping anchor in Newton in a week or so , fresh milk and eggs. Steak, ribs, pork chops, ah can’t wait..” Will said as they stood in the larder doorway. “Fish for dinner though, unless it’s too stormy to cast, right dad.”, Minnie asked hopefully. She loved fishing. “Yeah, fish and ships for us, cause we’re sea monsters.” with that Naomi leaped at Minnie, tickling her ribs mercilessly. “Arrrggghhh, dad help me, not fair, I wasn’t ready, get off me, heeeellllppp.”, screamed Minnie. She soon was able to squirm away and leaped on Naomi’s back and messed the girls hair up, something she hated most of all. “You monster, I hate that, dad get her off, Minnie!” it was her turn to scream for help. They hadn’t noticed Will had quietly left when the battle started.

Their day had ended early as the thunder snow had lasted far longer than Will thought it would. Instead of steaming away from it they had hit the storm dead on, and had been in it for a few hours when they finally called it quits. Anchored in the lee of a small horseshoe shaped island, a few leagues off of the coast. A very snug harbourage indeed, the snow was coming down in sheets but that was the only effect they were feeling. No wind, calm water. “We’ll have to shovel like mad tomorrow, but tonight we’re safe and sound .”, Will said as Minnie had guided the Rose in. Dropping anchors in thirty feet of water took but a few minutes, then before they went below for the day it was time to see if they could catch dinner. Cold and shivery they lined up at the stern, and cast. And cast. And cast. Time passed as it does when fishing, reeling in, telling stories. There was a bucket and net optimistically waiting, filling with snow. It was cold, but not awful like it had been a few days ago. Their gear could easily keep them warm and dry, but the thick quilted material was beginning to get soaked through, where the leather cladding had a gap. “Clotheslines tonight for sure, maybe in the boiler room, warmest room on the boat .”, Will remarked as he started to reel in a mighty cast. Naomi and Minnie had given up casting and were bottom fishing and jigging, hoping for a bite. It seemed they had the right idea as both had a bite at the same time. Will pulled his line to the side and reeled in faster. They only needed a couple of fish for dinner anyways. Minnie was pulling her line in fast, Naomi a bit slower, Will readied the net and nabbed Minnie’s catch as soon as it surfaced. Dumping the fish into the bucket he repeated with Naomi’s. “Thank goodness.”, she shivered out, “I was about ready to quit and have jam toast for dinner .”. Minnie laughed “Me too.”.

Will carried the rods and Minnie brought the fish, Naomi came behind and closed the doors nice and tight behind them. It was sure a relief to get out of the heavy coveralls, and wet boots. Yup, Will thought, we need to find rubber trees. We need galoshes, life at sea is pretty hard on leather boots. But that was for another day. He stowed the rods in the store room, after drying, oiling and checking the lines wasn’t tangled. The reels might not be what he was used to, not as lightweight, but they worked well and were very durable. Minnie had brought the boots and wet gear down to the boiler room and he helped her hang the sodden gear to dry. Boots on a mat near the boiler so they would dry slowly as not to crack. Naomi had taken the fish to the galley and then repaired to her cabin to wash up and change.“I like my slippers you know, keeps my feet warm, and my long robe stops drafts, so nice and snuggly, maybe I should wear a warm hat too, a long woolly one, but that might mess up my hair, what do you think dad?”, Minnie had been nattering on while they worked, but Will was quite used to this and found it endearing. Listening to her squeaky voice going on about the most mundane subjects, sometimes for hours. Debating whether she liked shorts or skirts, onesies or robes, light or dark toast, you name it. “Lots of people used to wear nightcaps to keep their heads warm at night. Our home is pretty warm though, we don’t really need it, but it’s a good look.”, he answered, “Its up to you.”.

By this time they had made it to their cabin to change as well. Casual clothes for the rest of the day, but as usual Will had hung his spare winter overalls by the deck stairwell, just in case. Yuck winter, he thought, I miss the days when I could just go on deck in shorts and flip flops. “Me too.”, Minnie said beside him. “Did I say that aloud?”, he asked with a start. She laughed at him, “No, I just know that look, kind of disgusted and disappointed at the same time, and then the sigh as you look upwards.”. Naomi walked down the corridor behind them, looking much refreshed. “Dad complaining about wearing a jacket again?”, she asked. Minnie nodded happily. “So who’s gonna clean the fish tonight then?”, Will asked, full well knowing what the answer would be. “We caught it you know, only fair…”, Naomi started. He held up his hands with a laugh, “Yeah yeah, I know.” Will answered, “Can I at least make a cuppa while I work, please mom.”. Minnie laughed happily, “Yes, but no sugar, only people that catch fish get sugar.”.