The ship had dropped anchor and sailed on the open sea since dusk. But throughout the day, Richard had taken to the flute wheel, content to feel the wood beneath his feet. The movement of the deck was intense as the excited buccaneers pulled cables and the strong wind sank the sails. He had hoped for a smooth journey as the winds were still favourable with the autumn ends.
In any case, the voyage had no long-term forecast, as the vessel would be responsible for keeping Ravlen's waters safe from smugglers. Most sea voyages at that time were terrible. Richard was used to witnessing absurd situations of the ship's crews. unable to keep men on board. In general, travel was dangerous and uncomfortable.
It was very common for crews to die on voyages, not only from pirate attacks but also from disease. He had seen ships with lower ceilings, where people slept to become stuffy, damp, warm basements. Overall, the accommodations were horrible, and the food was even worse. Caravels, for example, never brought enough food. There was a bad smell on board due to a lack of hygiene.
It was an environment of the struggle for survival and the common riots were brutally suppressed by officers with swords, daggers and pistols. The lack of hygiene, health and food conditions brought dangerous diseases. Sometimes, a small indisposition can be fatal with applied bleeding. He had also seen many men die with rotten gums and fallen teeth. The amount of food was poor and limited.
Provisions include crackers, cod, lentils, sugar and flour, as well as often contaminated wine and water. They were ships typically used by witch hunters. Usually, when these teams arrived on land, it was the terror of a village. Men wasted money on women, games and drinks.
In Chabone there were brothels, bars, inns and craft houses where clocks, compasses or weapons were repaired. They were short-term stops, just enough to provide fresh water, make minor repairs, buy gunpowder, wood, and food. There were also outbreaks of the Black Death, as they always called it with the arrival of spring. The precarious living conditions on these ships sometimes posed greater dangers. The terrible disease of pustular blisters could kill a healthy man within three days.
There was no cure, anyone who came into contact with them was contaminated. The Plague hit Garonne indiscriminately in the countryside and towns for two years, poor and rich, men, women, adults and children alike afflicted with the onslaught of a disease so deadly and contagious it seemed to penetrate the bones. One person for three days vomited blood before finally dying. Mass graves were opened. It was such affliction and misery that the local authorities kept the ports that brought the ships under surveillance.
The newly arrived travellers carried such a virulent disease in their bones that anyone who had just spoken to them could be afflicted with similar symptoms and would soon succumb with no hope of avoiding death.
Rick gritted his teeth out of himself. There was a plague. Killed several people. And that unfortunate woman had decided to get in where? After having demanded money from the Council? Anger dominated him. For when he found her... She would regret it... It was enough to show her how much all the money demanded would cost her.
The dead numbers were left in mass graves as local cemeteries were unable to house as many individual graves. The edges of the Scarlet lands displayed sentries that prevented the approach of travellers who might bring disease. In any case, wolves didn't seem to be as vulnerable to diseases as human-bred ones.
Gaia began to pick up speed; Richard's satisfaction might have been complete without the eyes of indignant amethysts. The girl did not accept his answer willingly. Of course, I wouldn't take Faith on board on a trip. She would look for Kassuim once the ship reached Chabone, though she had decided not to tell anyone what had happened. Just the damned wounded pride. He had been abandoned for money. Revenge. He thought only of revenge for abandonment.
There was still the Blood Pirate. The Unicorn was a fast ship, but her captain, Jackie, was involved in piracy activities. Maybe Jackie would help him with the task of locating a small fugitive.
William's childhood friend to despair has devoted himself to piracy in the same way that he embraced life on the high seas. Richard remembered the orphan boy's arrival at the castle. Jackie grew up among wolves shortly after her parents died. inherit;"> He also knew about his friend's attachment to his supposed younger brother. Hell! Jackie had always kept up the unfortunate pretence that Kassuim was a little boy. He'd never imagined that in saving the boy from the fire...
This would bring further complications. Ah, he had left his mark on Cassie. Jackie wasn't a wolf, he had little tolerance for his traditions after the murder of his parents at the hands of warlocks. There was still a friendship between Jackie and him. Jackie has always accompanied Philip and Michael on disastrous adventures, forming an unsurpassed group with Faith to find trouble and confusion. He didn't want to think about Faith. She used to think of Faith as a spoiled, capricious girl. For now, she had the perfect revenge to punish Cassie for her betrayal.
Boys always ended up doing whatever they wanted. An unexpected fate placed him in front of a young woman of unusual and remarkable beauty. God! Why think of Faith? The Council of Elders' decision to marry her to Kaios surprised most who might have liked it. Richard would have loved to have taken the opportunity to teach Kaios good manners.
It had been the confusion in the castle when the lord had been driven out by an angry Will. This was not such a reprehensible family girl. The idea that Faith might soon marry Kaios was displeased. It was the perfect opportunity. She was going to show that traitor how she could be trusted.
Richard would never have expected the frustration and anger he felt upon realizing Lord Kaios's intentions. He wondered if he was still lucid. Philip had commented on Kaios' boldness. Was revenge worth the price to maintain pride after Cassie had simply left without a word? Just before leaving, a long conversation with William left him even more surprised. He simply unceremoniously demanded that his eldest daughter's unhappy marriage contract be cancelled if he wanted help trying to find Kassuim. William could find a trustworthy and worthy suitor. Anyway, Faith was still too young to worry about marriage and children.
The thought of it infuriated him even more. It was another damn temptation. Her life was Gaia. Why did Faith suddenly seem to plunge into her life like a raging hurricane? Slightly irritated, she hands the helmsman over. He needed to forget about a girl. Damn Cassie. Once he found Cassie, her life would return to normal. And when he got back to Scarlet, the unpleasant fascination Cassie seems to have awakened in him would just be a memory. Soon his life would return to its usual tranquillity.
Distracted, he walked in search of his cabin. The poop castle was carefully crafted with decorative windows and lanterns. He opened the door, smothering a foul mood at the thought of the girl. Her box was exactly as he had left it the night before. >On the table there were still maps, nautical charts, the astrolabe and the quadrant. The spyglass and logbook left on an armchair remained exactly as he had left them. Only a closer look was able to detect that someone had touched his belongings.
His weapons… The irritation was completely absorbed by the bad mood. He always stored his pistols carefully and spare ammunition. One of his pistols was missing. A second, longer look caught the lack of organization in the sword collection. The sword, sword and sabre were out of position. The possessive gaze went to a favourite sword, a scimitar. A single-edged curve was extremely sharp and agile, as well as being forged from the finest quality steel. His spring-loaded triple dagger wasn't there. The object had a spring mechanism that could open two more sharp, piercing surfaces.
Wasn't damn insomnia enough? He had managed to picture Cassie in every corner of the ship. The two of them in...
Another of his collectables was on the floor. It was a weapon composed of a solid metal sphere with spikes, hanging from a chain on a handle. His mail was on the bed. The musket, a tow chuck and a forked club were left unattended among his books. Like flintstones, the pieces of steel that made sparks when scraped with a sharp point were scattered in total disarray.
Someone had entered his cabin and tampered with his belongings. Richard bent down to pick up the flint when a low noise reached his ears behind the door that closed the closet. Probably a thief looking for valuables that can be sold. He dropped the stones and his hand went to his belt for the pistol.
The wretch spent two days in the swinging basket in the cold to learn not to touch what didn't belong to him. In silence and anger, Richard grabbed the doorknob and pulled the form unexpectedly. It was a profusion of hair and blankets and weapons that fell on him, his pale legs and boots. His surprise was followed by a torrent of curses in fluent French that made him roll his eyes in disbelief.
-Faith?
He closed his eyes, hurt. It wasn't quite her dream vision. She imagined red hair and lush green eyes...