It was a pleasant day on Tol Lochúl; the soft, golden rays of the sun bathed the entire island in comforting warmth as a gentle, cool ocean breeze kept everything in perfect balance. Carneryn had finished her work at the forge and had decided to move to a nice spot somewhere near the water where she could sit and enjoy the rest of her day. As she made her way across the lawn, whistling to herself as she walked, she spotted Addie sitting on top of the wall that overlooked the docks down below, and offered her a friendly wave and a smile.
Addie had been watching Rollo and Morn wander around in the grassy area at the bottom of the bluffs- the two had reconciled upon returning to the island from the circus, but only after a long night full of shrill kraas and very intense wing gesturing from the raven; and since then, Morn hadn’t let the bear out of her sight. Upon hearing the whistling, Addie glanced back and greeted Ryn’s wave with a bright smile.
Also walking toward her, several paces behind Ryn, was Ellsabeth- the woman had been curious of the whistling and wanted to see what was going on. Elsa smiled at both Addie and Ryn and offered them a cheerful, "Hi!"
Addie’s crystal blue eyes showed her concern as she glanced over the Rohir woman to see if she had recovered from her concussion. “How are you feeling, Miss Elsa?”
"Much better,” the woman wryly smiled, "at least ‘till the next time I use my head to block a club."
Ryn shuddered a bit at remembering what had happened at the circus, especially the spook house; but like Elsa, the lingering effects had subsided and she was also feeling better now. “Maybe I should make you a helmet Elsa.”
Elsa laughed for a moment. "That might come in handy if I need to keep using my head to block blows for you all."
Addie laughed at the jest and shook her head. "I do not think that is what people mean when they say to 'use your head', Miss Elsa."
Ryn chuckled softly and was about to say more when she noticed a small vessel sailing toward the island. Instead of making its way toward one of the piers, which the boat’s captain would have clearly been able to see, it seemed to have its path set for the small rock landing to the left of the docks. Ryn raised a brow "Were we expecting guests today?"
Elsa shook her head, “Not that I have heard about.”
Down below, Morn let out a caw to alert the others of the ship’s presence and Rollo snapped to attention- both animals were now looking in the direction of the vessel. Addie turned her gaze from the bear and bird and looked toward the water. "Who would be coming to this island, a messenger perhaps?"
Ryn pursed her lips as she studied the ship, "But then… Why would they not use the dock Addie?"
Addie’s brows furrowed in confusion as she pondered that, "That is strange, is it not?"
Ryn nodded in agreement, “I don't like it.”
Addie picked up her staff and stood as she whistled for Rollo and Morn to come by her side. “Should we go greet them?”
Ryn checked herself for her concealed dagger. “We probably should."
“Sounds like a good start,” Elsa said as she nodded in agreement; but as they started to make their way down the path and toward the boat, she sighed. "Why do I suddenly feel like I need a helmet?"
______________________________________________________________________
By the time the group made it to the rock landing, the ship was nearing the shore. It was a small-sized vessel which, upon first glance at the front, appeared to have seen better days- the bow of the boat had been patched several times and was also sporting numerous scrapes and gashes; however, the port and starboard sides of the hull looked pristine and even had the words “Seas The Day” painted in a bright white. The ship also had a crudely constructed “captain's cabin” near the stern and a single mast which proudly displayed a black flag.
Upon seeing the flag, Addie’s eyes widened and she whispered to the others, "Pirates..." Ryn nodded and readied her dagger, preparing for the worst as she tried to see how many people were on the boat. To the group’s surprise, there only appeared to be one person on the ship and he was standing on the bow with one leg propped up on the pulpit- he was a tall, sturdy looking man, dressed in all black, with a long black beard and long curly black hair which cascaded down his chest and back from underneath his plumed hat; and perched on his shoulder was a bright red bird with wings the color of flames.
"Ahoy there, ye fine people of Gondor!" the man's voice called out as the ship continued to approach the rocky shore at rapid speed. Seeing that there was no one at the wheel and that the boat didn’t seem to be slowing down any, Addie turned and ran from the water’s edge just in time to avoid being bowled over by the boat; it crashed into the island with a loud scraping sound, causing Elsa to perform a backflip to get out of the way, and nearly made it all the way to where Ryn was standing.
Ryn blinked a bit, her face now just inches from the grounded ship, "The hell?"
After landing on her feet, Elsa looked at the boat for a moment and then looked up to the man and laughed. "Well, that is one way to get yourself a new boat."
He wafted his hand at her, "Ah, she's fine, lassie; a right tough one she is." Now that the boat had stopped, the man grabbed a rope and swung himself down to greet them, offering the ladies his best pirate smile as his two peg legs landed on the rock with a slight thud. He removed his hat and his arms swept wide to his side as he bowed before them. "Allow me to introduce myself to ye, I am Winslow Derrington, but they call me ‘No knees’.”
Addie glanced down at his peg legs and muttered to herself, “Well that’s… accurate.”
He stood back up and put his hat back on his head. “I've come to yer fine island here to offer me wares.”
Elsa’s brows raised in interest. “What kind of wares do you specialize in?”
"Wares of all kinds, lassie; from all over the place, far and wide... exotic and rare…" He patted his legs and offered the woman a lopsided grin. "And acquired at a great cost to life and limb!" After laughing heartily for a moment at his own jest, he gestured back to the boat. "Would you like to come aboard and...” his left hand moved to stroke his beard as his face scrunched up in thought. “What's the word? Peruse? Browse?... Uh, take a look?"'
That was enough to pique Addie's and Elsa’s curiosity and the two followed the man onto the ship to see what items he had for sale. Ryn also followed, but she didn’t appear to be that interested in the man, his vessel or his wares, instead she had her eyes fixed on the bird on his shoulder.
______________________________________________________________________
The front deck of the ship had been arranged to look like a like a shop; there were three tables set-up in a horseshoe shape around what looked to be a crudely constructed counter- all of which had been bolted down to the deck. As No knees started to lift boxes that had been placed over his items to keep them safe and secure during travel, the bird flew from his shoulder and rested on the counter next to a ledger book.
The group waited patiently for the man to finish “unboxing” the items on the first table. Soon they were looking at all types of weapons, swords and daggers mainly- several that were very rusty- and a few other weapons that were more interesting such as spears, a chain with a sharp-angled blade attached to the end, a halberd, and a pair of three-pronged fork looking weapons that were akin to a smaller version of a trident.
"Anythin' take yer fancy yet, lassies?"
Elsa and Addie quietly looked at the items while Ryn glanced between the bird and the halberd. "Where did you get all this?" she asked.
The pirate gave Ryn a lopsided grin, "Pick an item and I'll tell ye its tale, lassie… for a copper piece that is."'
Ryn snorted softly and flicked the man a coin. "The halberd."
His eyes twinkled as he caught the piece and put it between his yellowed teeth to bite down on it; after nodding to himself, he tossed the coin to the bird which then put it into a medium-sized leather pouch. No knees picked up the halberd and held it up to show the three shallow gashes on the shaft which looked to be claw marks upon first glance.
"Ah, ye have a fine eye, lassie. I…acquired… this piece from the estate a knight of some renown. Tales have been told that he was the bravest and most feared knight of his lord, serving him faithfully no matter what foe or trouble threatened his house.” No knees leaned in toward the women and put a hand up to his mouth to whisper, “Rumor has it that the lady of the house took a likin' to the brave knight and the two... well, ye can use yer imagination." He laughed heartily and then continued, "It's said that this knight lost his life in some fierce battle with a dragon and that this was all that was found of him after that day.”
Elsa seemed to be fully intrigued by the tale, “Interesting.”
“These are the beasts' claw marks, right here."
As he pointed to the marks, Ryn could see that they looked to be scratched into the shaft with a dull knife. She shook her head and looked back to the bird, much more enamored by it. "Uh huh... I know a knife mark when I see one."
No knees stared at Ryn for a moment and then his hand slowly moved to cover the 'claw' marks from any further inspection. "What?! Nay, ye have it wrong, lassie. It... was a small dragon.”
Addie couldn’t help but laugh at seeing that Ryn was right about those knife scratches.
Elsa also chucked, “A smart dragon that can use a knife it appears.”
No knees nodded and he continued on, just as confident as before. “Aye, all dragons are smart, lassie, especially that one. He wielded a knife in each claw… and with his tail!”
Addie laughed even more at the image in her head of a dragon using a knife to fight. “That would have been some battle to witness… It is odd though, you would think that there would be some char markings on the halberd as well.” Her crystal blue eyes looked toward his face to catch his expression as a smirk formed on her lips.
The man stammered for a moment, “Oh… uh... This here be a special, magical halberd, lassie.”
Ryn snickered softly and looked to the bird again. "Now... This bird... He's something special."
No knees was somewhat relieved to have the focus off the weapon for the moment and slowly placed it back on the table as he glanced over his shoulder to the bird, "Him? Oh aye, that he is... He's me bookkeeper."
As they all looked to the bird, they could see that he was busy wiping his talon off on a cloth. Addie raised her brow in disbelief. "He... can write?"
Elsa was also skeptical of the pirate’s statement, “Interesting trick if it can.”
Ryn looked down at the ledger book next to the bird and noticed that there were tally marks in it, ones that definitely looked to be made by the bird's talons- there was also an open inkpot to the bird's left. Ryn blinked a few times in surprise, "It DOES write!... So he's the brains of the operation then?”
No knees slapped his hand against Ryn's shoulder and guffawed. "Aye, lassie, he’s quite the smart bird. I... acquired… him from one of my travels to Rhun."
Ryn lifted his hand from her shoulder with two of her fingers and then moved past him closer to the bird. From this new position, she could now hear a soft cawing sound from behind the door to the captain's cabin. "Huh... More birds?"
The man’s eyes twinkled when he sensed the possibility of a sale. "I see that you're interested in me menagerie, aren’t ye lassie? Ye like birds and sorts?"
Ryn nodded a little "I do, very much so."
“Well then step inside… step inside...” He hobbled over to the door, his peg legs clunking against the wooden planks of the ship, and unlocked it so that they could all enter. "I only collect the finest species, lassie."
Driven by their curiosity, and love for animals- though Ryn’s love for them stops with birds- Ryn and Addie entered the cabin with the man while Elsa stayed outside, thinking that this could be some kind of trap.
(Continued in Part 2)
