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Salt and Blood - Chapter 27
🕑 Added 2024-10-01 12:17:29 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 26 | Table of Contents | Chapter 28 >>
1.27 - Even the Best Laid Plans Go Awry
Never trust another man to do a job that you can get done better yourself
-Quoted from Elmer Saff, of Saff & Company
Skill up!
Athletics 2 > 3
Skill up!
Athletics 3 > 4
Rose lay panting on the deck of the ship, not caring about the loud thuds she’d made when slamming into the hull or clambered over the edge of the railings and slumped against them.
That was incredible! Even the mad battles and chaotic adventures in the convergence didn’t compare to the sheer thrill that had overtaken her mind and body in that moment.
Not knowing if she would make the leap, sailing across the waters of the harbour as she began to plummet—it was a simpler adventure, but exactly the kind of fun she’d imagined when dreaming of her life as a buccaneer.
When she managed to struggle back to her feet, she got such a bad fright she almost collapsed into a heap again—golden light bathed the deck from a nearby window.
Her eyes darted around, looking for cover. She heard muttering from behind the door and the thudding of approaching feet.
At the last moment, when the creaking of the iron handle reached her ears, Rose spotted three barrels stacked in a pyramid. She threw herself behind them and pulled her trailing leg in right as the door was flung open and light billowed across the deck, exposing everything hiding in the shadows.
Except for her, tucked away behind the barrels, hand clamped over her mouth to stop her breath from escaping into the night air and giving her position away.
She heard a voice from inside the cabin. “What was it, Jeff?”
Rose didn’t dare sneak a peek at the man—Jeff—lest he spot her.
Skill up!
Stealth 2 > 3
After a moment he shouted back to whoever was inside. “There’s nothing out here. Must’ve been a rat, or perhaps a bird.”
As the door creaked shut—those hinges really needed some oil—she heard laughter from within and a jab at the unfortunate sod who’d come to check on the noise. “Maybe you’re going senile, Jeff. I think I can see a grey hair or two on that balding head of yours.”
The door slammed shut and she heard muffled shouts behind it. Mist wafted into the cloudy sky as Rose finally let out the breath she’d been holding, panting as quietly as she could while clutching a hand to her chest.
It took a few seconds for her heart to stop pounding. That was far too close. She had almost ruined the entire plan with her carelessness.
Worse, she now had to make another leap without alerting the sailors inside the cabin. Again. Rose stole another glance at the window—it was the opaque kind, designed to let light through but not allow someone to peer inside.
Perfect. After waiting another few seconds, to be sure that the coast was clear, she darted across the deck to a shadowy patch on the other side, grasping hold of the railings and boring holes in the door with her gaze until she was sure no one had heard her.
Skill up!
Stealth 3 > 4
The gap between this ship and the next was about the same as the last. She’d only just made the leap however, and feared she wouldn’t be able to repeat the feat.
She didn’t have much of a choice. Her course of action demanded it—Trent’s distraction would be a bonus, rather than a pivotal piece of the puzzle.
Rose crept to the other side of the deck, then double checked to make sure no one was coming. Once she made this jump, there would be no more ships between her and her prize.
Halfway across the deck, one of the planks she stepped on bent under her weight and groaned. The sound wasn’t that loud, but to Rose it sounded like a blaring foghorn in her ears. However, she couldn’t stop.
Even if someone had heard it, there would be no second chances. She had to make the jump now, or the heist would be over.
As she soared between the two ships, all she could hear was the pounding of her heart; all she could feel was the goosebumps crawling across her skin. And then her hands slammed into the side of the hull, followed by her feet.
Skill up!
Athletics 4 > 5
Pain tore through her left arm, but she ignored it as she hauled herself onto the third deck that evening. Her first act was to look back over her shoulder—the door was still closed and no one had come to investigate the creaking planks.
It was difficult to ignore the sting radiating from her palm, but she had little choice. Rose struggled to her feet, making sure to check her surroundings this time.
Skill up!
Endurance 2 > 3
Like the first ship, this one was deathly quiet and wreathed in shadow. It made for a perfect place from which to launch the final step of her heist. Rose crept up onto the poop deck, keeping herself low to avoid detection.
From up there, if she laid herself flat against the deck with her ear to the railings, she could just about hear the conversation of the two men guarding The Crown of Salt.
“–Fifteen hundred gold. I know Saff & Company are the best of the best, but where do they get off on charging such outrageous prices for their ships,” growled the more vigilant of the two guards, waving his hands as he spoke. His eyes continued to glare out into the darkness though, never straying from their watch. “And it’s smaller than a bloody galleon! You can get one of those, perfectly suitable for a merchant, for a little over five hundred gold.”
Rose smirked. From how seriously the guard had been taking his duties, she had expected him to be utterly devoted to his master—it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Well, you know how devoted Lord Bradshawe is when it comes to his son. Especially after the accident. The young lord is a skilled merchant and who could have expected pirates so close to Highbream,” replied the other guard, still half asleep and leaning against his pike for support.
Her breath caught in her throat. It could have been a coincidence, but for there to have been two men with the same name—both caught in pirate attacks no less—would’ve been ridiculous.
“Fate is a cruel mistress,” she muttered, rolling onto her back to gaze at the stars, then quietly grunting in frustration when all she could see was the dark grey clouds that blanketed the night sky.
The Crown of Salt belonged to Captain Bradshawe, who by the sounds of things was just as highborn as she had expected.
Could she still steal the ship—knowing it belonged to her old crewmates? Despite the limited time she had spent on board the Unrequited Love, the crew had saved her life and given her purpose.
From the sounds of it, the captain’s father had spent an insane amount on this ship. Fifteen hundred gold coins was more than the combined wealth of every family in Fairwater Bay—a fisherman could expect around five silver from a week of work. It took one hundred silver coins to make a gold coin.
Rose knew ships were pricey, but the numbers made her thoughts go fuzzy. It was too much. Her main concern wasn’t really the value of the ship though—she was distracting herself from the real issue.
She didn’t know much about nobility—and she certainly didn’t know anything about Captain Bradshawe’s family. What she did know was that someone who could spend that much on a ship could probably afford to lose it, even if it would hurt their coffers.
No one would be stupid enough to spend their entire fortune on a ship for their son—especially not after he’d just lost the last one.
I promise I’ll pay you back, captain—even if it takes me twenty years. Rose hoped that her career as a pirate would be profitable, but fifteen hundred gold was a mind boggling sum.
She hadn’t even seen a gold coin, let alone earn one. Her debts to the man were piling up, but without this ship she would have little hope of achieving her dreams. There was no other option.
Before further doubts could cloud her mind, she raced down the steps to the main deck and leaned against the railings. Should I wait for Trent’s distraction… or should I try to steal it from right under their noses?
The temptation to leap across the harbour and steal away with the ship while the guards remained blissfully unaware tugged at her heartstrings—it was the kind of daring exploit she had always dreamed of. Logic prevailed.
Trent had made a promise and she trusted him to keep his word. So she crept back to the poop deck and laid down to listen to the guards’ idle chatter.
“At least the young lord managed to save some of the profits from his last venture on his person. Tucked the coin purse into his undergarments no less,” said the watchful guard.
“You should stop listening to the maids’ gossip, Harvey,” yawned the sleepy one.
A distant rumble shook the city, but the guards didn’t seem to notice—Rose ignored it. Hopefully Trent wouldn’t take too long.
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