Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 120 Discovery

Claude hasn't had much rest all night. First, standing on the mast for most of the night, and then being replaced by Velikro, because the Mirtini had sailed out of the sea, the wind was bigger than in Sharkmouth Bay, and the boat was bouncing and fluctuating on the waves, there was no way to lay on a small bed and close your eyes for a rest.

Claude couldn't bear that compared to Captain Marcello and the three sailors. Captain Marcello first took the helm until 2: 00 in the evening, then switched shifts with the sailor named Colin, stuffed some bread, drank two more rye glasses, laughed loudly and shouted at Claude shaking like a plague chicken on the mast, then went to bed in the cabin.

When Claude got off the mast, he went into the cabin and found Captain Marcello and another sailor named Verrick strapped themselves to the bed with rope, snoring. Claude also wanted to get into the nest and get some sleep, learning that they tied themselves to their beds, but the ups and downs of the boat kept Claude from sleeping because of bumps, and even because of the turbulence, he became disgusted, and finally Claude had to climb out of the cabin.

From time to time, the mast sounds a monotonous and shivering cry of Vericulo: "Barrier-free ahead, continue. Continue straight...”

Alas, science and technology in the world is really slow, and if there's a radar, you don't have to suffer it. However, during the night of the vessel's voyage, it must be observed as a watchman in order to avoid collisions between the vessel and unknown objects appearing on the course.

The two sailors on duty now are Colin and Angus. Colin is older, nearly thirty years old, and has been a sailor for seven or eight years. Angus, on the other hand, is more silent and is said to have eaten the bowl of sailors because of poor family conditions. In terms of qualifications, he is new and has been a sailor for less than two years and can be said to be an intern sailor.

Colin is easier, he just needs to keep the boat at the helm and not offset, anyway he can't see the lane ahead at night. That's why the mast stared at the front lane several minutes apart, and the helmsman adjusted the direction of the ship based on the report.

Angus also needs to stand at the bow of the boat and look into the forward lane from time to time to avoid inadvertent watching of the hands causing harm to the boat. Special caution is required when travelling at night, and accidents are not uncommon when a vessel accidentally hits a float at sea or when two vessels collide resulting in a wreck. Angus also has the task of adjusting the wind sails of the two masts to the helmsman's requirements, reducing or accelerating the speed of the ship.

Claude shivered out of the cabin and the late evening at sea made people feel particularly shady. Colin at the helm smiled and said to Claude, "Why don't you go to sleep? Are those two guys snoring too loud to sleep? ”

The helm was boring, and Colin had always wanted someone to chat with, and Angus was too far away, another boring gourd. Véricolo climbed too high again, and Colin would scream at them if he wanted to talk to them. Glad to see Claude doesn't sleep out, Colin.

Claude pushed the boat along and said, "Yeah, their snoring was so loud, I lay down for half a day and I couldn't sleep, so I stopped sleeping. ”

“Ha ha, that's why they're always on duty together. Me and Angus don't want to work with them, so we can't rest. But by the way, this is also a matter of habit. Sometimes if we are too tired, we can't heed their snoring and fall asleep..."

Colin is more like a chatter than a silent Angus, and Captain Marcelo and Velik's snoring alone will keep him talking for over half an hour. Finally, he said, "Claude, help me with the rudder. I'll smoke first. ”

Colin pulled a large, rough pipe out of his pocket, which he should have cut himself out of the wood of the boat, then flipped a flat fish skin bag out of his arms, took two small handfuls of tobacco wire out of it with two fingers, stuffed it in his pipe, and lit it with a flame rod. Take a deep breath and spit out a cigarette, his spirit stirred up suddenly.

“This is good stuff,” said Colin, shaking his fishskin bag proudly: "Cigarette wire from the Nubian mainland, many experienced captains and first mates at sea, the sailors love this. Taking a sip can make people feel tired, uplifted, and most importantly, it can cure these little problems that are cold...”

Claude frowned and the smoke Colin had just thrown up smelled a little spicy, unlike the thick smoke he smelled when his father smoked at home. Obviously, his fish leather bag contained the worst quality of tobacco.

“Why don't you take a sip?” Colin looked at the pipe in his hand.

Claude shook his head and thanked him for his insensitivity.

“I see someone wrapping up a piece of tobacco wire in paper and rolling it into a little root to smoke it, so you don't have to use a pipe...” Claude thought maybe he could open a cigarette factory in the future, which is also a very wealthy business.

“That must be the act of a loser!” Colin expressed his anger and contempt: "The tobacco wire is expensive and small, and there is competition every time it is sold. There are fewer and fewer ocean merchant ships from the Nubian mainland, the price of tobacco wire is high all the way, and many traitors sell leaf weeds that are sun-dried and blended into tobacco wire. It's the purest tobacco wire I've ever bought. It's very difficult. It would be a lot of waste to roll it up and smoke it. Doing so is not caring about tobacco wire. Only people with too much money would be so stupid...”

Claude was silent and could only shrug his shoulders, which was a direct conversation. I just wanted to explore which method of smoking is most convenient, and I didn't expect to get resentment from Colin.

Colin continued to complain about the waste of tobacco wire, and in his view, all smoking without a pipe was blasphemy. When an old sailor gave him his first cigarette, he fell in love with it, even though most of the money he earned was spent on it. Because he couldn't afford those expensive pipes, he made one himself, took him half a month...

Finally, the sky is slightly bright, and the sky and sea meet with a gloomy glow. Claude's heart is relieved and it still doesn't seem to snow today. Perhaps the sun will still be covered by thick clouds, but at least it won't be a cloudy day. If the sun doesn't come out, you need to be careful, there will probably be a big snowstorm during the day.

Verricolo climbed down from the mast with rigidity, put a thin frost on his fishskin hat, and then took off his lambskin gloves and handed them to Claude: “What time is it? How far is it from Kruefei Fish Island? ”

Fish hats and lambskin gloves are provided by sailors, and without Claude and Verricolo aboard, they will have to take turns climbing masts as watchmen. So when they saw two people without the equipment, they generously offered it, which is why they were willing to follow Claude's request to go to Kruefei Fish Island. After all, Claude and Verricolo did the most sinful work, and they were also a little embarrassed...

“It must be after 5: 00. You can go and rest. Colin says Kruefei Fish Island is more than an hour away.” Claude replied, wearing a fishskin hat and lambskin gloves, and now it's his turn to climb the mast.

In this era, ships in the sea rely on astronomers and pointers, which are also said to be legacies of navigational equipment from the era of magical civilization. The captain of each ship must have knowledge of the stars, and some first mates and sailors can calculate the area of the ship based on the stars above their heads. As for the pointer, it is used to guide the direction at night without the stars. Unlike Earth, the magnetic field is a bit confusing, as if there were magnetic mines in many places that could easily interfere with the pointer's orientation.

Claude stayed on the mast for more than an hour, and the sky was already bright, except that the clouds in the sky were getting thicker and thicker, and occasionally the sun's rays were coming out of the gaps in the clouds, as the ocean below shined a glimmer of golden light.

Claude also climbed down the mast as Captain Marcello stepped out of the cabin with a lazy waist. Now he is not needed to guide the way, and a thumb-sized contour of Kruefei Island has appeared in the distance, as long as it is straight towards the island.

Claude ate a sandwich, filled his stomach, and served a cup of freshly brewed black tea to warm his body. Captain Marcello similarly stood beside him with a cup of black tea, looking at the distant island of Krufei Fish.

“I've been to this place many times,” said Captain Marcello, "I would have liked to have opened a tavern on an island like this if it hadn't been for the storm flooding all the time. There are plenty of boats on the island supplying water, sitting in a tavern drinking rye, listening to past sailors talk about the strange things that happen at sea, it will be a very happy life...”

Claude glanced at him and didn't know how to answer, a hired captain who wanted to open a tavern, who could assure him that he didn't want to be a tavern owner in order to keep playing games in the tavern? He was reportedly denied entry by several pubs in the dock area because he was in debt and often fought with gambling opponents until he was thrown out or ejected.

Captain Marcello finished his exclamation and asked Claude positively: "How are you going to search? You don't want to go to the island, do you? My suggestion is to take a circle around Crewe Fish Island, which is not big enough for Ike to see clearly on the island. If we search the island, I'm afraid we're wasting a lot of time, and it's likely to start snowing tonight, so we'll have some difficulty getting back. ”

Claude nodded: "Okay, just like you said, for a week around the island, I was standing alone on the mast and alone on the bow of the boat, so Ike would come out if he saw us on the island. And even if he didn't see us, he'd know if he was here. ”

Captain Marcello laughed: "Claude, I hope your instincts are right, and I hope Ike is on this island. Besides, I know some news that Captain O'Trooney's merchant fleet isn't traveling to those kingdoms in the south to trade, is it? ”

Claude stunned: "Where did you get this information? ”

Captain Marcello just smiled and didn't answer. After drinking this cup of black tea in his hand, he went to the helmship.

The Mirtini is getting closer and closer to Kruefei Fish Island.

“Claude, look, it's not Ike's little fishing boat!” Verricolo on the mast shouted loudly at the sea ahead.

Everyone on board looked in the direction Villicro was pointing at, a wreck that had exposed its mast only about a metre above the surface of the water, and the hull had been submerged throughout the sea.

“I don't know! I can't see!” Claude shouted, “Captain, lean over to the wreck! ”

Captain Marcello turned the wheel and the bow turned to the wreck submerged in the sea. But not yet, there was another exciting cry from Verricolo on the mast: "Someone on the beach, that's Ike, I know his pants, his plaid blue trousers, that's him, he's lying on the beach! ”

Captain Marcelo took Claude, and Verricolo and Angus, the four of them, rowed a boat to the beach. As soon as the bottom of the boat touched the beach below, Velikro was the first to jump, soaking his boots and legs in the cold sea, falling and crashing towards Ericsson, who was lying on the beach. For such a long time, no matter what everyone calls it, Ericsson on the beach remains motionless...

“Ike, Ike...” The slower Verikero went closer to Eriksson, he finally stopped three steps away from Eriksson, he was afraid, Eriksson lay still on the ground, Verikero covered his face with his hands, knelt in despair on the beach, and he cried out.

Captain Marcello rushed over, crossed Villicro, turned his body over in front of Ericsson, pressed his fingers against his neck, and suddenly rejoiced: “He's alive and breathing, just fainted! ”

“What?” Verikero stopped crying and jumped over to grab Eriksson's hand, and now he's calmed down. He was freaked out just now, thinking that Eriksson had suffered.

“He seems to be having a fever…” Captain Marcello carefully checked Eriksson's body: “There's a mouth on his left thigh, as if it's been ripped off by something and he's lost too much blood, we have to get him back to the ship as soon as possible. ”