Black Sea

Two

With sea spray burning his eyes, Captain Roux kept them affixed on the crashing waves. His crew milled around him, some adjusting sails while others stood watch, yelling a possible sighting of their bounty. Unlike them, Roux knew better; the tantalizing creature they were searching for would not stay to one side of their ship, nor did they travel in groups. And for the amount of sightings his crew called out in those seconds that was the only way they could've all been true.

"Roux!" a voice carried out over the others and he followed it to look above. High in the crow's nest, holding his brass telescope in one hand, was his Quartermaster, Thackery. Catching his attention, the young man pointed just east of their direction.

At first look, he didn't understand what had caught his second's attention. Then, just through the ripple of a retreating wave, he spotted an iridescent ridge and a brief vision of descending fin.

A fast and hard ripple of the sea pushed past the opposing waves, its path leading directly towards his ship. It was at least a league away, but with the speed at which it traveled, the creature left them no time for them to clear its course.

"Ahoy, men, we've got incoming! List and brace for impact!"

Roux affixed himself to the inside of the stern edge beside him, bent at the knees to press back. He watched and listened to his crew as they passed along his directions. He was sure that within a minute the siren would have met its mark with no hesitation; he could only hope that it neither capsized his beloved vessel nor create a hole meant to condemn them all to an early, watery grave.

Yet, the minute passed with only the sway of the sea.

"Thax!" he yelled up to his right hand, full of confusion and wariness. "D'you see the bloody beast?"

Thackery raised his eye glass, searching the waters for below him with careful detail. The direction from which he'd spotted the creature before was clear of its existence; no movement of the water but the natural pull of current and wave away from the ship. It was as if the monster had ceased to exist.

"Nay Captain, no sign—" Just as he'd begun to report back, a massive jolt struck from the west side of the ship. Whether from the impact or natural forces, the crew knew not, but a wave larger than the rest crashed into them. Between the two unexpected powers, Thackery lost his grip, easily being torn from the nest and thrown to the ocean below.

Captain Roux watched from his station on deck as his Quartermaster disappeared with the spray. "Man overboard!"

His crew, growing more frantic with each moment, picked up the cry. Those not handling the ship, dispersed to search for their mate below.

"Captain! Captain Roux!" another, younger voice called out to him.

Rising to stand full length as the ship settled out more, Roux caught sight of his Cabin Boy, Jacques, running up from below deck. The boy was breathless and drenched from head to toe as he stopped at the deck stairs. "Captain, I bring news from Deacon below."

Roux sighed, annoyance filling his gut as he ran a hand through his damp, blond hair. If he was receiving a message from Deacon, his Carpenter, that meant they faced more troubles than just a mate overboard. "Aye, get on with it then boy."

Jacques nodded vehemently, taking a deep breath before blurting it all out. "Whatever hit us made a hole big 'nuff to sprout a fountain with the waves. Says he can patch 'er up 'nuff to keep us afloat couple more days, but it'd be best returnin' to port soon."

"Dammit," Roux grunted, looking out at the sea all around them. There was no land around them so far as the eye could see, but so long as the waves and chase hadn't turned them too off course, they should be a small journey from Anson Port.