~Di~

By day she slept, and night she awoke. It was her best bet to getting any sense of peace and contentment. It also allowed her plenty of space from the horrid dwarf, but that meant various sights of other people. The ship crew had its own schedule for night and day workers but her questing crew took random shots at who would also be awake to patrol the night with her. Usually, it was Matis or Quo, but they had to change it up sometimes to give them some rest.

Di was fine with that. She always understood that most humans were not able to change their schedules to hers. Humans were always creatures of the sun, like clockwork. It gave her respite from the same old conversations and inner knowledge about their crew. For some reason, humans loved to divulge themselves in the moonlight. Long Boar confessed his love for a married woman in Difavose and Po confessed his love for eating, amongst other things.

She also got to learn more about the ship. It seemed the other women mostly worked at night as well. None of them were allowed in the kitchen or armory, as it turned out the ship men were slightly superstitious. Thankfully, the other four women were open and even kind to her. As she'd suspected, one was a whore but she was the only lover to the captain. The other three were working maidens.

In four weeks, Di learned their names, and learned how to work around the ship. It didn't make her completely fine with the waters, but it definitely put her at ease to know she could work to fix the ship should problems arise. She knew how to latch the masts and turn the hulls. She also learned the secret path behind the kitchens that allow her to scurry past everyone else. The ship was huge. She learned it was the largest ship ever made. The only one to feature both rooms and a mess hall. The only one to have two rows of canons; one above the mess hall and one below it.

Week eight of being at sea and Di was walking around with one of the ladies, Lana, with Waterwell far and away. Lana was normally quiet as she and preferred working nights with Di. She was the only one just fine calling her Girl.

"I have a secret, " Lana murmured. Her eyes were cast down but her head was still facing forward. Of course, she has a secret. Di nearly expected another confession. It had been a week since Lioni, one of the other maidens, confessed her feelings for Waterwell. Di was due for another.

"What is it?" Di asked, looking at the girl. She was young, perhaps only nineteen and her face showed it. It was rounded and soft, with a small nose and a soft chin that made her seem very naive.

"Well," Lana turned her large brown eyes upwards and stopped mid-walk. "This isn't a cargo ship."

"I don't understand," Di replied. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. The very day she and her men came aboard there was plenty of cargo being loaded.

"I mean it has cargo!" Lana chuckled nervously. "These men, they're pirates."

Di turned her full self towards the girl, imposing her tall stature on her, "Pirates?"

Lana slightly cowed under her. She ducked and walked forward again, making Di catch up.

"They're not like the stories say! They mostly gamble and look for lost treasures. I've never seen them even use those canons!" Lana's voice was high-pitched but she sounded confident.

"How, in all-mother's name, is this a pirate ship?" Di looked around. The masts were white, the ship was clean, and the mates were very kindly. This was nothing like any pirate ship she'd ever encountered, although she'd only seen the one and it was from quite a distance.

"We wanted to tell you, before!" Lana pleaded. "But you were so frightening and towering! And always asleep. And the men seemed to get along just fine. Now that I know you, Girl, I thought you must know."

"It's so clean!" Di smiled. This was yet another unexpected turn in their journey, yet not entirely an unpleasant turn. Not like the dwarf.

"Not all pirates are dirty scoundrels," Lana laughed again, this time more sure of herself. With the moon high and clear, Di could keep her emotions better in check, thus allowing some sense into her speaking. She thought carefully before responding again.

"I've never met pirates such as you," Di said softly. Lana smiled. "Do you never steal from the poor or murder witches?"

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"No!" Lana replied with a horror-stricken face. "No, no! We're more of the treasure hunters! And we're quite good! We found the lost treasures of Queen Altisia's reign, only four weeks before docking at Coolot and finding you."

She smiled prettily at Di. This created another long silence for them, something they were both used to. With Lana's confession fresh in mind, Di took a closer look at her surroundings. There really wasn't much to decipher the differences between this ship and a regular cargo ship, she supposed. Although, having stayed as far from the sea as possible her entire life she couldn't be sure. Was it possible all ships have a giant carving of a woman's head with snakes at the front or just pirates'? How would she know if they dressed like working men or looters?

With the moon lowering, she started to grow less confident in her new knowledge.

"Does Ban or Riardon know?" Di asked.

"Oh yes," Lana nodded assuredly. "They came seeking for us, actually."

~Waterwell~

He watched the ladies from afar, taking measure to walk some distance from them. He honestly didn't care to be near them, he'd rather patrol alone, but the elf-maiden was a creature of the night and so she was part of their night watches.

He'd grown accustomed to her silence. It was refreshing after dealing with his friend Long Boar who chattered until the sun went down. And Po! That boy had more questions than a judge confronting his criminal. No, this was fine.

He was able to lounge around in the cool night air and stare down the waves. This was his first quest. Before this, he was mostly a knight in the King's personal guard. Leaving his majesty behind wasn't a great pain, as Difavose was a very safe country, it was simply strange. Over thirty years of his life devoted to service and not once was he chosen for quests. Instead, he often went hunting at the lodges and leaving on council trips with his king and sometimes the queen.

Matis chose him because he knew he was the best. With the wife along Matis would spare no one, even if it meant at the expense of his king.

So, Waterwell dutifully came. He learned the new names and tried his best to feel comfort in his cot. Open-air nights like this were the best part of his quest so far.

He could see the black and blue ocean for leagues. He could feel the cold air, the bite of the salty wind, and breath a little. His wife would miss him, but not by much. She was a talker, worse than Longboar! It pleased her to talk as a laundress, and even more so when he was home to hear her stories over and over.

This was nice.

Waterwell sensed this ship was unusual from the get-go, so hearing the confession from Girl's friend was affirming in his mind. They had too many canons, no uniforms, and the captain was always so secretive about their landing. It was so nearly aimless, the way they drove this ship about. They left the Coolot docks and went straight past the Isles of Hastos, to nowhere. The next piece of land this way wouldn't be but three months' trip.

He sighed and did his best to wait and walk. Wait and walk. Keep the distance. Look at the ocean, hear the crashing and constant howling of the wind. Wait. Howling.

Should the wind be howling?

The boat seemed to rock a little more. He turned his head up and looked to see if anyone else could sense it. Some of the men's heads turned and Girl's ears seemed to prick instantaneously. She whipped her head at him.

"Waterwell!" Her voice rang out high and clear against the winds. He ran to them, sensing the fear in her friend. "Something isn't right about this place."

"The middle of nowhere?!" He shouted. Of course, he sensed it too, but what in four heavens would that mean?

"Something very wrong is here. Take Lana down! Get the men!" She shoved the girl at him, not giving him a chance to argue. Waterwell recognized an order when he heard it and trusted her inhuman senses to know she was right.

The howling seemed to be louder, and the clouds covered the moon. He grabbed the girl's soft arm and yanked her away, possibly a bit too roughly. She yelped. The girl followed anyway, stumbling along as they tried to keep their footing. The ship was definitely rocking more. It took twenty paces before finally, they reached the landing, and he took the stairs before her, jumping at the end. Waterwell trusted Lana knew where to hide in safety and left her. He ran down more steps and finally half crashed into the hallway. No one else was up, except probably those drinking or working. No matter.

He yanked open the door to his room and gruffly swatted at Long Boar.

"Mate!" Long Boar crowed.

"Up! Something is coming!" He left before Long Boar could utter another word, letting the other two slowly rise as well. He then pounded on Matis's door.

"Sir! Sir!"

"What the fuck are you doing?!" The prince shouted from behind him. Matis opened his door with wide eyes. Both men stopped and seemed to feel the boat sway.

"Something isn't right. Girl sent me here for ya, bad magic it is!" Waterwell said, heaving a little. It just hit him that he ran down two flights of stairs and all the across the boat to meet them. His legs were a bit wobbly, straining to meet the wobble of the boat.

"Right," Matis ran a hand through his hair. Waterwell could see some calculations going behind those eyes. "Grab your swords, and let's go up. The dwarf and boy should stay behind. We have to find Did."

"I can lead, sir," Waterwell replied with a tap to his forehead. The sign of salute to his leader. He rushed back to his room to inform Long Boar.

"Po, Treth, stay here! Orders from the King's Guard!" The boy's face fell but the dwarf's didn't change. "Come on you. Grab your sword."

For once Long Boar had no words. They both took their bows as well and met Matis and Quo back in the hallway. No one was properly dressed but how does one quickly dress to fight water? Waterwell felt his blood pumping. His mind began to clear, and he could ignore the slight pains in his upper thighs. This would be the time of battle.

Their first battle at sea. Their first battle on a quest.