Raven

Chapter 8

The captain looked at her and sighed. "My name is Cosmaron. I am the Captain of this ship. Go, speak to Icarus, but be wary of what you say; there may be people listening. Go."

She looked at him and nodded. As Raven walked towards Cosmaron's ship, she realized how big it was. Upon closer inspection Raven realised that his ship was in fact a war ship. It was magnificent. The sails were blood red, and the carvings on the side of the ship were embedded in gold. At the very front of the warship was a golden eagle figurehead. It wings were the size of at least a small ships sail. It was huge. The figurehead stretched from the bottom of the warship right up till the deck. Raven couldn't even see the top of the ship's three masts. It seemed like they touched the sky and were never ending. The ship itself had a crew of 70 people – 40 oarsmen and 30 archers. There were two levels of the ship for each of the 70 crew to stay. The two levels beneath deck were for the oarsmen that drove the ship to its destination. Each level held 35 oarsmen so that it was evenly spread and there was enough space for each of them to row properly. On the deck the 30 archers would stay there during their journeys in case they were attacked. They were always ready for fight if it came their way.

Raven walked aboard the warship with Cosmaron behind her. He was a looming figure behind her. She looked around and just saw the ship amassed with people. She'd never seen so many people on a boat let alone a warship. After one foot onto the warship, Raven realised just how small she was on this gargantuan warship. She was just an ant in comparison.

"He's over there", Cosmaron pointed towards the far left of the warship. Raven walked towards the area that Cosmaron pointed at, she soon found herself at the stern of the ship which had a hatch in the deck that led below the deck to the first level of ship.

Raven looked around and then looked at the hatch. I wonder if I'm meant to go down here? Is Icarus down there? She lifted the hatch and climbed down the ladder to the first level. It was brighter than she expected it to be, lanterns lighting the whole hallway up. It was as if she was still outside. It didn't even smell either. Raven had always had this picture of how below the deck of a ship it was a dark and dingy place, smelling of sweat and raw fish. But this ship was not what she imagined at all. It smelled like flowers in the spring and was bright and much warmer than she expected. She stood and looked around again and wondered if she was in the right place. One of the crew was walking by and looked at her. He was wearing sandals on his feet made from leather which was wrapped around his ankles by some string. He only wore a few pieces of cloth around his waist which was tied together from a belt made from more leather. He looked up and down, and then frowned.

"You don't belong here... Who are you? Why are you here? Does the Captain know you are here?" the oarsman asked. Raven looked back at him with squinted eyes.

"For an oarsman, you sure do ask a lot of questions," she smirked and then rested her right hand on her sword sheath by her right hip. "You are right, I don't belong here. My name is Raven, and your Captain allowed me on this ship so I could find someone. I wonder if you would happen to know where that person is?"

He looked at back at he unconvinced. "I'm not sure I trust you when you say that. But if the Captain has allowed you on board, then you must be a pretty important person..."

"Wait, what do you mean? I'm not important at all, I'm just looking for someone who is on this ship, that's all." Raven replied looking confused. I'm not special, I just need to find Icarus and then I'll be on my way.

"Hmph. The Captain never allows anyone on this ship. Not even when the Royal family asks him for escorts. So yeah, you're pretty damn important if he let you on this ship but not the Royal family. He's never allowed anyone on this ship."

Raven was shocked. The Royal Family huh?... She wondered why he let her on the ship but not the Royal Family. After all they controlled the whole mainland, had the most wealth and had the biggest fleet of warships out of all of the kingdoms combined.

"Wow, I must be pretty important then huh? Well then answer me this. Where are Icarus' quarters? Take me to him" Raven demanded the oarsman. He looked almost worried about what she had asked. He hesitated for a few moments but then nodded and began to lead her to Icarus. As they began to weave their way through the first level of the ship, the smell of the flowers began to get more pungent as did the brightness of the lights within the lanterns. They finally stopped in front of a black door and the oarsmen gestured her to go in. She nodded and thanked the oarsmen for bringing her there.

I might finally get my answers. All I have to do is walk through that door. But I wonder if it'll be the answer I'm looking for...

She put her left hand on the door handle and took a deep breath. I hope he gives me clarity.