Hearing these voices, Kruxe took a gulp and with this, he was prepared for death and though the conversation of the two voices ended, he stayed still, the sound of his breath filling his ears, and then when he heard a shout.
'Group 3 fire."
With these words, Kruxe placed his hands on the edge of the ship's top, quickly looking through the railings, and then bringing his head back down.
"Just two pirates sitting around a candle flame and facing toward land,"
This was the little information Kruxe had gleamed from his sneak peek, and then after a few seconds of thought he reached out both his hands this time for the edge of the ship, and then rather than climb up the ship, he released his legs form around the anchor chain and let himself hang from the ship's edge.
Like this Kruxe now hung off the side of the ship, and then with just his hand to support him he began moving along the length of the ship.
Pirates were fighters, and no matter how Kruxe saw it, climbing on the deck while being so close to these two men was nothing but suicide, so he decided to first move to the other end of the ship and then ascend.
Knowing that his hands would tire were he to hang out there for long, Kruxe moved as fast as he could.
Minutes later, and the shouts of "fire" were now a bit faint, and gritting his teeth, Kruxe lifted himself, placing his hands on the railing of the ship, climbing over it, and then slowly lowering his feet down to the wooden deck.
Now on the ship, Kruxe's heart palpated, excitement, fright, and more excitement filling him, as he looked around.
On the front deck, Kruxe could barely make out the two figures sitting there, one having his back to him while the other's side faced him.
Thanks to the ship strangely being without lit lanterns, Kruxe still had the cherished cover of the night but he didn't let that soften his caution towards the occupants of this ship.
With the full realization that he was now on a pirate ship setting in, various emotions went through Kruxe's head, his heart beat rapidly, beating to the point, Kruxe felt as though he could hear it and he looked to the men at the front deck fearing they could also hear it.
"I need to get a grip on myself"
"This is scary, but if I mess up, I'm going to lose Mom"
"Though there is a chance she isn't here and Cletina was right, that chance is low"
"Mom needs me, I need to get her out of here."
With these thoughts in his mind, Kruxe took his first steps, careful not to make a sound with his wet feet.
"Wait wet feet," Kruxe thought and looked at his feet, just making the realization that he was barefoot.
This realization made Kruxe only pause for a moment, and then he was back to his movement.
Kruxe had boarded the ship from the back and was currently on the quarter deck, and now was currently moving to the stairs so he could descend to the main deck.
Using the common knowledge of ships and their build, Kruxe concluded that as a prisoner, his mother could only be below deck, specifically at the bottom deck.
The easiest and most accessible route to the lower deck of a ship was through a main hatch, an opening on the floor, and this opening could only be found on the floor of the main deck.
At first, Kruxe had been worried that he wouldn't be able to find the hatch due to the darkness, but other than the light which came from the candle on the front deck, there was a particular section on the floor of the main deck through which little light rays escaped from below.
Keeping in mind not to slip or make a sound with his feet, Kruxe walked towards the stairs, descended, and moved towards the lit parts of the floor.
"Damn it, they closed the hatch, who knows how much noise it will make if I try to open it,"
Just ahead of Kruxe on the front deck were two individuals whom he pegged as seekers, all it would take was one of them standing up and moving to look at the main deck and they would see Kruxe, he was currently in a difficult position.
Kruxe spent a few seconds in thought on a possible solution, he wanted a quick way to quickly get through the hatch but he found himself blank.
Recognizing his lack of time, Kruxe went on his knees and felt around, combining the small bits of light with his sense of touch to make out the various features on the ground, and before long he had his hand on a handle, and with a gulp waited.
"Group 2 fire" the voice sounded, and taking a deep breath, Kruxe prepared to pull on the handle he had had a hold on when the cannon was fired.
"Boom, boom," two canons sounded this time, but rather than try pulling open the shaft, Kruxe quickly lay flat on the ground and then rolled away.
After rolling three times, he stopped himself and silently lay on the floor with a raging heart, watching as a portion of the floor slid to one side, dim light flooding out of this opening and a person running out of it.
The person seemed to be in a hurry like he was going to deliver something. The man as Kruxe identified, paid no attention to his surroundings and quickly went up to the foredeck where the two pirates were.
"Good evening sirs" Kruxe heard the person say as he arrived beside the two men outside, but Kruxe paid their conversation no further mind as he once more rolled beside the hatch and then as silently as possible slipped down it.