Berlin's eyebrows raised up with a smile. "You AND Uban eh? Oh ho ho! Someone's moving up in the world, I see. Good. Good." He nodded to himself, obviously pleased by the new layer to Uban and Pieter's relationship. "I'm glad to see that you've found a suitable apprentice and I'm doubly glad you found it in him. Good! If you think you can get some information for me, I'd be in your debt. I'll leave it to your capable hands. Is there anything you need from me to help you along? A particular heading? A different speed? You just let me know." 

Berlin loved Pieter. Not only had they been great friends for what felt like ages now and had been through many adventures together, the younger man had to admit that he was just damn resourceful, among other things. And that was a trait he greatly admired out in the middle of the ocean with no sight of land. And it was good to be able to trust someone implicitly--both their skill and their character. 

---

Uban, meanwhile, was helping Rohaan manage the ropes aloft. He was a good topman and had the experience to boot. But he could not match young Rohaan's agility or fearlessness in the ropes. If his hold slipped, he could flutter away as a bird, unshaken. If Uban's failed, he'd end up injured or dead for certain, and that made him a little more cautious. But for all that, he was comfortable and confident in his own right. 

"Nah, see how the sail there has gone a bit slack?" Uban pointed.
Rohaan looked at it, studied it, then studied Uban with a perplexed gaze. "It ain't slack." 
"Aye, it is too. Look, see that bit there? It's got some tension, aye. But it's got more in it. Squeeze it out of it! You just gotta adjust it until it's at just the right spot. And to do that, you need...which line...?" He was quizzing him, watching his lean little face screw up for a second in thought before the boy became a monkey and swung effortlessly over towards a different lineset and, turning to an older version of himself, he hauled on his guessed line. Sure enough, the cloth responded and even he saw the tiny, subtle stiffening of the canvas at the corner.

"Like that?" the older Rohaan asked, scratching the beginnings of a blonde beard. 
"Aye, good!" 
Immediately he was a boy again, perched casually up in one of the shrouds like it was his own vertical hammock. "How do you know when to stop pulling, exactly? I mean, I thought I had it." 
"It comes with practice. And a careful eye. You gotta pay attention to the whole sail, including the little corners. That's how you start squeezing every little inch out of 'er." 

Rohaan nodded, filing this away for later thought and practice.