Ritzy was currently resting in the captain's quarters. The room was on the top level of the boat. It had a large window on the back part of the ship which was currently opened. This allowed light to shine in the room and the sea wind cool ritzy off.
The reason Ritzy wasn't in his own quarters was because the below decks were warm. There were window hatches that allowed light and some wind to blow in but Ritzy didn't feel satisfied enough with them so he decided to use the captain quarters in the meantime.
Inside the room, Ritzy was laying on a blue camelback sofa. Enjoying some fruits and hearing small waves splash onto the ship. Right behind him was Lola laying her back on the wall and watching outside the window. It seemed she was interested in the sea. While Ritzy enjoyed his time, a crewman on the top deck was adjusting the sails to align with the wind, while doing this he noticed something in the distance.
Crew 1,
"Do you see that? There's a boat right behind us".
The person standing right next to the mate speaking stopped what he was doing and looked behind to see the boat.
Seeing only a lonely ship, he turned to his coworker and said,
"We're taking the direct route to the elven territory and we're not that far from Darya Port. Anyway, they're too far to do anything so there's nothing to worry about".
....
An hour passed and the ship they saw was now closer. Not only that but two ships could now be seen following closely behind.
Being on standby the people from before noticed the ships.
Crew 1,
"Are you sure we shouldn't advise the captain about them following?".
Crew 2,
"Don't be an idiot, the captain should've already noticed. The only thing you need to do is be ready for any orders... The person on the crow's nest will tell us if it's friendly or not".
On the crow's nest was a twenty-something sailor. Around his eyes were two bright red circles around his eyes. A small one practically touching his eye and another only an inch away.
-
The sailor was monitoring the situation and seeing if the boats following behind were friendly or not by using advanced fire magic, light. Even though light magic is considered advanced, bending light to magnify an object is considered one of the easiest spells for magic in general. Right next to creating a simple light to brighten the dark area. The reason light magic is considered advance even though it contains one of the easiest spells. Light magic is capable to cause realistic images with the right skilled users. Which has proven to create mass devastation under the right circumstances.
Also, even though telescopes do exist in this world. They require much preparation and handling to create the magnifying glass. This has caused many to learn the simple spell to get a job as a scout, while the rest of the telescopes are used only by rich people who don't want to learn the spell or don't have someone on hand that can use the spell.
-
Examining the boats, he noticed the boats flew the Deriver flag. A noble company that mostly deals in noble goods and some common goods. The person then sighed of relief that it was an ally and that no problems would arise. Even better, they could possibly travel with them.
Taking a second look and confirming it was the Deriver flag, the person climbed down from the crow's nest and headed to the captain to inform him of the situation.
Crew 3,
"Captain Shills, the boats behind us are from the Deriver family".
C Shills,
"Hmm, could you tell who's in charge of the group?".
Crew 3,
"I only noticed the side ships being led by their captain but the middle one was being led by I believe the second mate".
Captains were paid very well very their high status on the boat. At the same time, that status required them to dress differently from the crew. This was used as a sign of good crew members who only need their captain's orders to function. If the captain was seen with working clothes, people would believe he was an incompetent leader with even worse crewmates who needed their captain to get involved so the ship could function.
The second mate didn't need to dress accordingly so seeing no well-dressed person leading the boat meant it was being led most likely by the second mate.
C Shills,
"This isn't good".
Crew 3,
"Captain?".
C Shills,
"Typically captains that aren't taking charge means they're lazy bums who got the job by other means than hard sailing work. Since they didn't work to get to that position, they're typically arrogant and believe other captains are rivals. Unlike us who knows the sea is a cruel mistress and we need to work together".
Crew 3,
"So, what do we do?".
C Shills,
"Let's go a little more inland, that way when we see a port. We can take a small rest and let the ships pass by us with no trouble".
Crew 3,
"Understood sir".
C Shills,
"Before you go, tell the Lord we'll be taking a small stop at the closest village for a safety precaution".
Crew 3,
"Right away".
...
At the Deriver main ship, a tanned middle-aged fellow walked into the captain quarters. Inside the quarters was a middle-aged man with long black hair and a slightly graying beard being hand-fed grapes by a skinny woman whose chest bones were clearly outlined from how underfed she was. Right next to him was a young brown-haired man looking at a collection of wines.
First mate,
"Captain!".
The middle-aged man became annoyed but didn't say anything and simply turned to look at his first mate.
First mate,
"The ship the princess is in is going inland".
Hearing the word "princess", caused the young man to look at the first mate. As the young man got interested in their conversation, the captain took out a small glass ball that seemed to have smoke in it.
The young man came closer and noticed the ball's smoke started to move to the left. Hitting the glass wall.
Confirming the smoke's actions, the Captain spoke,
"Have our magic users speed the boat up. We want to attack them at sea and not on land".