Golden Waters

Chapter 4

Written by: Toasy

Edited by : Fench

Chapter 4

~~(•°•)~~

Archer walked among his crew in the lower deck, nodding to them in greeting as he passed. It was early morning, the sun just shining over the horizon. He hadn't gotten much sleep, but that was per usual as the captain of such a large and busy ship. 

"Captain! Captain! Archer!" A frantic voice called behind him. He whipped around, his mismatched eyes searching frantically down the narrow halls. He saw Narina emerge behind a crewmember. Archer jogged up to the woman. 

"What is it? What's happening?" He questioned. She was breathing heavily, leaning against the wall. 

"A-a...ship...pirate...hostile." She got out between wheezes. Archer perked up immediately, going into captain mode. He turns, finding an innocent bystander nearby. 

"You! Run down into the cannon-levels and inform the Gunners to prepare for battle." He turns to another person standing near them as the one before sprints off to the stairs. 

"Inform Seàn and anyone you can find above deck to prepare for a fight!" He doesn't waste any time and begins running to the stairs as well, not waiting to see if the man follows him. 

Bursting up onto the deck, he doesn't miss a beat and begins sprinting towards the Captain's quarters, risking a glance at the steadily approaching ship on their starboard side. Sliding on the slick boards, he comes to a stop in front of his desk, frantically rummaging through his it. He finds what he was looking for, and starts making his way out. 

"Archer! What's going on? Why is everyone running around like chickens with no heads! A-archer?" Evera starts accusingly but falters when his tight face doesn't change he starts to push past her. He hesitates. 

"Get below deck, Evera. This isn't going to be pretty." He says sternly, before turning away. 

As he walks away from her, he looks down at his acquired object, taking a deep breath he pulls the mask over his head, the dark gray fabric covering practically his whole face. A hole was in the fabric, leaving his golden eye exposed, though the fabric was thin enough to let his other eye see out but no one could see into the mask. On the grey exterior intricate golden designs twirled around the surface. Though the mask was skin tight, it prevented any facial features from showing themselves. Archer had turned into Johnny Goldeye. 

"A...Archer?" Evera's shocked and scared voice sounded behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, watching as her face grew into more shock. He turned away, trying to clear his head. 

Focusing back on the task at hand, he sprints up the stairs to the helm. Taking the cold wood in his hands, he turns the wheel on its axis, the ship lurching. He positions it to come parallel with the opposing ship. 

"Get people manning the rigging¹!" He shouted over the people, his voice booming across the deck. "Hoist the mainmast²! Watch the mizzenmast³! Get the fore-and-aft sail⁴ up there! Move!" He took just enough time to sling his bow off his shoulders and set it near him, knowing he'll need to use it soon. 

Almost faster than the eye could see, a black blur flew from the opposing pirate ship, crashing into the water right in front of the ship, kicking a wave of water up, crashing down onto the deck. 

"Someone check the keel⁵ and the bilge⁶! The last thing we need is a hole in the orlop⁷!" Archer boomed. A sailor ran down the stairs to carry out the order. "Caleb!" He yelled to the boy standing aimlessly among the chaos. "Get into the crows nest! Keep track of what they're planning!" The boy nodded and ran to the rigging against the main mast, climbing up into the highest part of the ship.