Sypherkhode822

In Dark Seas We Sail

Hana had known the boy disliked bathing, but the look in his eyes nearly made her step back. What else in his childhood had he been subjected to, that he hated to bathe? Berlin's stern instructions to the boy, and the authorization of force did little to settle her concerns. When Rio turned away to drag water barrels, she fled to her cabin on the pretext of getting soaps. Inside the safety of her small cabin, she calmed down and took a bar of sweet smelling lavender soap and a satchel of salts from her chest. She'd purchased the soaps before she boarded the Borealis, and it's scent brought to mind memories of home. Pushing aside the unbidden thoughts, she marched out of her room to the top deck. There, she found Rio sitting in a barrel. The scowl on his face, the rumpled clothes laying on the deck, the barrel, it made Hana giggle. "Hehe, I- ahem. Well, I can tell you're -hehe- happy as you are. However, if you'd like," Hana's grin threatened to overwhelm her, and through force of will, kept it from erupting, "I could warm the water so you're not bathing in cold water." Dragging another rain barrel near Rio, she placed a hand on each barrel. Tapping a tempo on the empty barrel with one hand, she began a separate rhythm on Rio's barrel. Eyes fixed in concentration, she began to chant under her breath, the rhythm of her words syncopated to the two tempos of her hands. At first, it seemed that nothing happened. She began to move her hands up and down the barrels, keeping the two rhythms. In the part of Hana's mind that functioned independently of her actions, she wondered if it'd have been easier to start a fire to boil the water. Still, as she continued, the water in Rio's barrel began to subtly warm, and small bubbles rose and broke at the surface. Pausing briefly, she said, "Let me know when you're happy with the temperature," and resumed her chanting. The water continued to warm, and a single bead of sweat rolled down Hana's shoulder blades.

---

The sore behind Wheel's eye eased a degree at the thought of sparring. "Aye, let me get the knives, I'll meet you above." Strolling out, he said, "We've sunk galleons before, how hard could a lizard be?"

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter glanced meaningfully to Berlin during Hana's and Rio's exchange. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of giving the boy more access to exploding... objects, but he was glad that the mage and the boy were making progress. The boy certainly had justified trouble trusting others, but if they were going to be crew, they'd better trust one another. He raised an eyebrow at his comment about reading. Leave someone with an Elb, and they'll turn into a scholar. Still, knowing how to read was something everyone benefited from. He wasn't too sure how well Wheel could read, but the berserker didn't exactly live by the same rules as everyone else. Hana shook his hand, a small smile returning to her face. She said, "Deal's a deal." Giving a quick glance to the sun to make sure it was past breakfast, Pieter unstoppered a ceramic flask of rum, taking a swig. Hana continued, "I'd be more than happy to help with both. However, the liniment can't be used if you're covered in dirt. You'll have to take a bath."

Pieter gagged, spraying rum across the deck.

---

Despite the thrumming pain behind Wheel's right eye, the steaming kettle was held steady, and none of the tea scalded Uban. "Lightning grenadoes, huh? Now that's quite the trick." He set the kettle back on the stove, "I knew your party trick could do more than kill farmers." His tone was conversational, the idea that what he'd said could be offensive didn't cross his mind. "Huh, what I'd give for some turtle soup. Next time you see a drunk turtle, toss a grenadoe at it, we'll have some good eating, huh?" He clapped Uban on the shoulder, a wry grin on his face.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Hana tapped a nail against her teeth, playing along with the boy and Berlin, "Wellllllll, the telescope would be pretty easy to explode, since it's already sealed. I don't think the captain would be very happy with me if I did. It'd be harder to make boots explode, since they're not sealed. Setting them on fire, or making the person who wears them get blisters is a lot easier." Hana had a small smile on her face as she mentioned the blisters, remembering an old prank. "Blowing up a melon sounds messy, but it'd be pretty easy." Hana's smile faded as the conversation took a darker turn. It's a lot harder for me to kill you than for you to eat me. "I don't know why anyone would want to blow up a crab. Or you, for that matter." Glancing furtively at the captain for guidance, she straightened to her full height looking coolly at the ragged blond boy, she said, "I promise not to blow you up if you promise not to eat me." Oh virtues I hope that was the right thing to say.

---

Wheel heard Uban walk into the galley. His footsteps were heavy and slow, he must have exhausted himself. He couldn't stay polishing swords all day. With a grim certainty, he set aside the cutlass and the rag, and went to join Uban. Passing through the door to the galley, he saw Uban struggling to pour the hot water from the kettle into the mug while holding a plate piled high with pork and bread. "Here, I can pour the tea, hold the mug." Wheel said after he had crossed the room. Taking the kettle from him, Wheel steadily poured the tea, seemingly unaffected by the rocking motion. "How did Hana's experiment go?"

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter whistled when he saw the explosion. He'd used grenadoes before, and he'd known that it was possible to make a cannonball explode the same way. But since you couldn't know when the damn thing was set to go off, there hadn't been much interest in them. Hana had figured out how to make one work safely. It sure is something, he thought, glancing at Berlin to watch his reaction. The big man had a relaxed air. But if he was here without Wheel, something must have come up.

Rohaan was delighted with the explosion. When he wasn't spooked, he loved anything that could cause mass destruction. Stepping away from the cannon, he listened to Hana say to Rohaan, "Well, the first set of runes on the ball were the same as the medallion, and attracted the lightning. There were runes on the inside of the ball, which would bring the lightning inside to where the powder is. It turns out that if you just run lightning through a trail of powder, it doesn't ignite. It needs to be kept in the powder for a longer moment (Long being a relative term, for us, it's near instantaneous, but of course, from the perspective of the lightning it's a decently long moment), and at that point, the powder ignites, causing the explosion." She tapped a fingernail against her teeth, already working on the next problem in her mind. "I mean, I've heard of some armies launching grenadoes out of cannons, but it's not exactly safe. Since Uban is the one who sends out the lightning, it's less dangerous for us."

Glancing at the excited boy, she continued, "Well, define what you mean by 'explosion'. If something's sealed, all it takes to make it explode is to dramatically raise the pressure. This cannonball thing is a bit of a cheat, since I'm using the blackpowder and Uban's lightning to do all the heavy lifting. In school, we had to make wine bottles shatter by increasing it's internal pressure. It's a pain in the neck, though, and I wouldn't recommend it for fun."

Hana was surprised when the captain clasped her arm, smiling when he complimented her, "Well, it's not exactly a new idea, so I can't take credit, but yes, I thought of using Uban's lightning this way." Her hands twinged, and she grimaced in pain.

"I'm afraid that we're out of examples. It takes a while to carve everything."

In Dark Seas We Sail

Wheel scowled as he went below-decks to the armory. There was little need for maintenance, but with the curse swirling around him, he thought it best to separate himself from the rest of the ship. Closing the hatch to the small space, his scowl deepened when he saw that Hana had rummaged around. The fucking witch wasn't enough of a pacifist to stay out where she didn't belong. Taking the flask of rock oil that hung from a hook, he sat on a crate of munitions and began to clean his ship's weapons.

---

Hana kept herself from flinching at Rio's outburst. Frankly, she was frustrated with the boy, and wasn't keen on forcing interaction with him. If he wanted to keep his distance, that was fine with her. She had an experiment to finish.

Handing Uban the pistol, she said, "I'm not sure the captain would be pleased if we electrocuted his cannon. Instead, we'll fire the cannon, you will charge the pistol shot, and move the lightning to the cannon ball. This is, admittedly, a slightly more complex operation than what we've done before. I trust that you'll succeed. Any questions? No? Well, Pieter, whenever you are!"

Pieter stood over the cannon, smoldering matchlock at the ready. He eyed Uban, seeing how his apprentice was holding up. Hana hadn't slowed down at any point, and Hana's brown eyes were wide with excitement. "You ready, lad?"

In Dark Seas We Sail

There was a moment of silence as Uban stood on the deck, holding the misshapen sparkler over the water. Hana scratched an itch on her leg. Pieter blew his nose into a rag. There was a brief crackle of lightning, and the ball exploded. Hana wasn't much of an expert when it came to packing munitions, and she was relieved that instead of explosive shrapnel tearing everyone apart, a puff of white smoke wafted away.

Hana smiled and clapped her hands together, "Well, that was exciting. Shall we move on?"

---

The curse throbbed, and Wheel's vision blacked out. Grinding the heel of his hand against his eyes, the sight of Berlin's concerned face swam into focus.

"I'm fine." He snapped, "Don't touch me." Straightening up, he flicked the butt of the cigarette into the water.

"I'll attend to the ship, Captain." He said as he quickly walked away, his head aching.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Pieter stroked the cat and chuckled at the response. "Awh, you're a good lad." He thought that it'd be nice to get a ships cat. Not every ship carried them, but many folks liked having a mascot. And so long as Rohaan wouldn't eat it, he didn't see why they couldn't.

---

Hana sucked her teeth, thinking her way through the problem. Uban had already passed the first challenge, but he wasn't able to split lightning. Not yet, and not in the way she'd like. Inside, she felt a slight twang of disappointment, Oh, why couldn't this be perfect? She chastised herself for thinking like that. He was able to strike the balls, and that could be worked with. And if he could split at a few feet... She wasn't sure yet how she could use that. She'd find a way.
Well, onto the main event.
"Excuse me, Pieter. Could you prepare and fire the cannon, please?"

The sailor stood up, apologizing to the cat for having to end the scratches. "Just a moment." After he had swabbed and packed the cannon, Hana hefted a cannon ball into Pieter's arms. It was covered in carvings, strange symbols in looping curves and right angles. "Sorry, I went into the armory last night. I don't think I broke anything." Pieter merely grunted, and rammed the ball into place.

"Alright. Before we test the actual weapon, I thought it'd be a good idea to try a miniature. It took me uh," Hana wondered briefly if she should tell them that she'd spent two painstaking hours carving the cannon ball, decided against it, and said, "A while. To make this. So, let's see if it'll work at all." She gave a smile with such beaming intensity Pieter nearly dropped the pipe he'd just picked up.

Taking a cast iron ball with a long metal rod attached to it from her pocket, (How much room in her pockets did she have?) she handed it to Uban. "When you're ready, hold the rod as far away from everyone as possible and zap it." She was blisteringly unconcerned, and Pieter wondered if the woman who always ate with a fork and knife had been replaced in the night. She had deep bags under her eyes, but she didn't seem tired. Which meant she was most likely exhausted. Well, he was curious to see what tricks she had up her sleeve. Stepping back from Uban, he could tell that the ball had as many symbols on it as the cannonball, except scaled down. How had she worked so delicately? It might explain the bags under her eyes. Pieter lit his pipe and puffed, hiding his nerves.

---

Wheel took a long drag off the cigarette, a flash of inscrutable emotion passing over his face. "They're all dangerous. But I wouldn't set foot on the big ship until we're sinking it. I don't know what would happen if you went aboard. But it's... Don't try to sneak onto the big ship."

In Dark Seas We Sail

Wheel grinned slightly, and the edge of the curse sharpened so that the pain cut through him, leaving his eyes clear as he said, "Well, unless you intend to shout at them, we'll have to find a way to get you over to the ships. And we'll need to be mobile. Rohaan can't get caught in the fighting. Without him, you won't be able to leave the ships." He leaned against a barrel. His thoughts of rebellion had left, he was intent on tactics, trying to solve the problem with Berlin. "They're all galley ships. We could see about getting you on one ship, sweet talking the crew into killing each other, and leave enough oarsmen to ram the ship into the next." Catching the gleam of light in the corner of his eye, he watched Uban fling lightning around. "They're working on something- that's good. You're right, though. We're few and they're many. With chaos, we'll be able to reach our goals before they can figure out what we're doing." He rolled a cigarette, lit it, and offered it to Berlin.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Wheel looked at Berlin with lidded eyes. The captain silently dismissed the boy with a pointed look. He moved stiffly away, he'd need to recover before they continued their training. Of course, they'd be fighting the Barizians in a day or two. Berlin's feet were planted, and he looked steadily at Wheel. The man was confident. In himself, in his ability to handle the situation. Part of him wanted to push Berlin, see how he'd react. He needed the job, so he said, "How are we going to take out 9 galleys? You need three men to an oar. They board the Borealis, it's hard to imagine how we'd survive." They were tough, but the numbers meant a head to head fight would kill them.

---

Hana smiled tightly. The excitement that made her want to shout was instead channeled into reloading the pistol Uban had fired, as well as loading it's sibling. "Now, I want to see if you can chain the lightning from one ball to another."

---

Pieter lifted his hand up for the cat, then settled it behind his ears, scratching gently as he watched the lights show. "Not causing any trouble, are you lad?" He said to the purring cat.

In Dark Seas We Sail

Wheel went topdeck, finding Berlin and the boy. He was silent as they spoke. The curse wrapped itself around him so tightly he could barely see out of it. His throat was dry and he kept salivating. When he spat, the spittle burnt his lips. "Berlin."

---

"We gonna shoot someone?" Pieter called out, "Aye, lad. You'll be our target." Hana laughed, and answered, "I want to test an idea I have with your lightning." Pieter perched himself on a nearby barrel as he watched. He saw Hana's gaze catch on Uban's shirt before it returned to his face. Life first as a farmer and then a sailor had left Uban rather trim, and he wondered idly where Hana's thoughts led. Evidently, the tall mage was driven to professional matters. "I want to find out if we can use Uban's lightning with firearms." Gesturing as she spoke, she laid out her thinking to them, "We know it's possible for Uban to strike objects from a distance with his lightning, so long as the object is enchanted. If Uban can strike a ball shot from a pistol, we could shoot lightning." Her face fell and she chewed her lower lip as she worked through a problem that she'd agonized over, "If the ball is moving too fast, of course, something else would have to be tried. We could try electrifying the ball with touch, and then firing it. Since blackpowder can't be ignited from lightning," She left out that she'd tried that last night when everyone was asleep, "There's little danger of the pistol exploding when you try to shoot it." Her initial flush of excitement had given way to steady philosophy. She had no personal attachment to the outcomes; her only concern was accurate testing. Maybe, Pieter thought, she hoped that if she were calm outwardly, it'd become true within.
"Any questions?"