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[center][h3]Day of Fenros escape (Half a day ride from coast city to Capital)[/h3][/center]


Alexander pulled hard on the rope that held up the little dingy that hung on the side of his ship.  He and his crew had spent the better part of the morning loading the ship up for another voyage up the coast.  He was thinking they might head up and hunt in the forests up north.  It had been too long since he had been able to go sailing with his crew.  After his last little escapade his steward had almost imprisoned him inside his own office.  His steward had even given the guards double pay for keeping him locked in the room.  Only after catching up on all the paperwork had his steward finally let him leave.  Alexander couldn't stand all the boring and mundane paper work he had to put up with.  A majority of it was small things he thought really shouldn't have made it all the way up to the earl's office.  A few of them were even just disputes between farmers that had been given to him for no apparent reason. 

Alexander took a deep breath and looked out at the sea, no more paper work and no more disputes about goats.  He looked back towards the dingy he was holding and realized he had been letting it slip.  A few of his crew noticed the boat dropping and moved out of the way, but one poor sod didn't move fast enough and got knocked on the head.  It wasn't fast enough to do any real damage, but it still caused a scene.  Alexander ran over to apologize only to stop in his tracks when he saw it was the bosun.  He was the man tasked with keeping discipline among the crew and wasn't afraid to yell at Alexander.  The bosun's face nearly turned red with anger and immediately started his tirade.

Anna climbed into the rig and urged the horse forwards. She was heading to the dock this afternoon. Several of her casks of ale were empty and she needed to send them back to be refilled. Hopefully her refilled ones were on today's ship. Glancing at the street she took in the surrounding people on the road. Most were still running their daily errands or shopping for wares in the market. Chester always helped her load the casks into the cart so she waved as he went inside the tavern to await her return. 

It had been awhile since she had gone on her own. Since her father died she had sent someone in her stead to get them or she had just had them delivered. She missed the sea air so she was excited to go today. As she approached she saw a decent sized ship at the dock she was supposed to make her pick up at. Chester had told her that they had changed captains since she had gone. She brought the horse and wagon as close as she could without putting them in the way.

After jumping down she went round to unload the casks. Anna looked around for the captain and saw a man get hit by a falling dingy that had been hanging above him. Her eyes widened and she hurried over to the ship to see if he was alright. After things calmed down she asked the boy nearest her where the captain was and he skittered onto the ship without saying anything back to her.

She sighed a little irritated at the boy's manners or lack thereof. The sun was glaring in her eyes so she was shielding them with her hand. She could only see a figure coming towards her but not who it was. 

The bosun had been yelling at Alexander for a good minute before a cabin boy ran up and asked to speak with the captain.  The bosun walked away glaring at Alexander all the way until he turned a corner and was out of sight.  The boy told Alexander that a woman was in front of the ship asking to see him.  Alexander thanked the boy and sent him on his way, and began to walk around his ship towards the front.  As he rounded the corner he looked for whom the boy could be talking about and immediately saw her waiting.  Unlike the majority of women nearby she was wearing breeches instead of a dress, something that was fairly uncommon for a large town such as this.  She was also standing a bit away from a wagon that was undoubtedly hers.  He began to walk over curious who would be asking for him seeing as most of the people in town knew him by name seeing as he was their earl.  As he got closer to her he called out, [color=0072bc]"What can I do for you today Ma'am."[/color]

Anna still couldn't see the man in front of her for the sun's glare. [color=39b54a]"I have empty casks from the Ale House do you have the refills on board and can someone help me with them? They are nearly bigger than I am."[/color] She stepped to turn around and she caught a glimpse of him as shadows from the ship temporarily covered the sunlight from her eyes. Her interest was piqued.

Alexander nodded his head while he listened to her question and smirked at the comment about the casks.  [color=0072bc]"I have ale aboard my ship, but I don't believe it is for you.  You probably want to talk to the captain of the Sea Serpent.  He docks about two ships down."[/color]  He felt sorry she had gotten ready to unload the casks only to have to put it all back together and go even farther. [color=0072bc]"How about me and some of my crew head over there with you and help you out?  My name is Alexander by the way." [/color] After he said that he whistled over at his ship and called a few names and told the men to get over here.  Now that he was closer to her he could see that she was quite beautiful, but had a glint in her eye that said she wasn't a pushover.

Anna shook her head. [color=39b54a]"My order comes in on The Earl's Folly every time. You would be used to dealing with Chester though. I haven't been to the docks in a while. I'm Anna, the sole proprietor of the Ale House. The order is under A. M. Smith."[/color]

While Anna watched the men leaving the ship she was sharply aware that most of the men were tanned, shirtless and muscular. She cleared her throat and wondered again why she hadn't done more with the romantic side of her life. Then she pictured Chester in her mind and realized that none of the men she ever met looked like these men. She felt her cheeks flush and hoped it was thought to be the heat of the day.

Alexander rolled his eyes when he heard Chester's name and nodded when she finished her sentence. [color=0072bc]"Sorry about the confusion, I didn't know you were with Chester.  He has never told me who the deliveries are for, I just bring them as a favor to him.  He just enjoys the free deliveries, and even pays my crew to tell him when I am thinking of heading out, so he doesn't have to pay as much.  He just knows I am the only person in town who won't ask for money.  I'll have my crew start unloading from the hold and hopefully it won't take us too long." [/color] Alexander asked her to wait for a minute then started to jog back to his ship.  He told the men already walking out to get the empty casks out of the wagon.  He grabbed his first mate and a few others and climbed down into the hold to find the ale.  As he and his men started to pull the casks out of the hold Alexander was thinking he should tell Chester to at least tell him who the order is for next time.

By the time he was done Alexander had become extremely sweaty from the hard work.  He had taken off his shirt and was now using it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.  He walked back to Anna with a grin on his face gesturing towards the men loading the casks onto the wagons. [color=0072bc]"I hope we did a satisfactory job, and I was wondering just where exactly your Ale House would be, because me and my men are looking for a new place to spend some money and unwind."[/color]

Anna smiled, [color=39b54a]"It's right up the street across from the mercantile store. If you'd like you are welcome to come up with me."[/color] Anna handed him the money for her ale and she climbed up in the seat and waited for his answer.

[color=0072bc]"I'll make sure to stop by and get a drink, I believe I deserve it."[/color]  As she held out the money he shook his head and smiled some more. [color=0072bc]"No need for the money miss.  If I pay these men any more they might be able to buy their own ships, and I can't sail my ship alone.  They needed a good workout, and sad to say so did I. If only paperwork exercised more than just my hand."[/color]  Alexander sighed and looked towards the center of the town where his manor in the town was and muttered something about next time he will make the farmers share the goat.  He looked back up at Anna. [color=0072bc]"It was nice to meet you and I hope it won't be the last time either."[/color]  He was somewhat disappointed that the conversation had ended, but he became determined to visit her tavern, if only to get another chance to talk to her.  She intrigued him, because she didn't try to curry favor with him which was fairly unusual. It also didn't hurt that she was beautiful.

Anna glanced down at the earl and thought he was extremely different than she had thought he would be. [color=39b54a]"It was my pleasure. Have a good day sir and thank you for your help. It was appreciated." [/color] She hoped that he couldn't see her blush when she smiled. 

Urging the horses forward she turned and went up the street and turned once more to look at the sea. She would come back later and take a walk by the water when it was less busy, she thought to herself. Heading back to the Ale House she chanced another quick look at the captain and smiled.