Chapter 208: 208

First thing in the morning, Jessop and the kids from the Orphanage come to show them their freshly renovated ship. They got all the work done last night and it's now had time to dry. They're especially proud of the nonslip paint on the deck, as it's the hardest bit to apply right, being a textured surface. 

Heading out to the docks, Cain finds the Sail Maker and his crew hanging the new sails, two Gray and one Mint Green mainsails, with two mint green and one gray headsail, plus a small collection of gold-colored square topsails. Gaff-rigged, the sailmaker calls it, indicating the four-sided shape of the mainsails. In all, there are a lot of sails to this ship, many more than Cain expected, having thought that there would be a total of four, with one for each Mast and one in front. 

Nila seems impressed by the new sails though and is checking the rigging carefully, as it was all replaced yesterday. It doesn't look like she's found any mistakes or damaged attachment points, and nods happily at some blocks and pulleys that have been replaced with new ones. Going by how impressed she looks this wasn't a cheap refit. 

It's not like they can't afford it so Cain heads below decks with Jessop and a few of the children to see what they managed and decided to do with the interior situation. 

The neon interior at the entrance has been muted to a collection of neutral tones, with only a stripe of neon blue left down the sidewalls of the main saloon as a homage to what it once was, and an accent color. They've done an amazing job of it, even washing the dust from every nook and cranny as well as washing the hammocks that serve as most of the beds. 

There are two small and one very large cabin at the aft of the ship, the Captain's, cook's and Mates quarters according to the kids, but there are quite a few hammocks hung towards the front, bunk bed style and away from the walls so they can swing freely. 

The very front also contains a chain locker for the anchors and four small cabins, two of which have been left neon blue with gold accents, and two that are neon pink and mint green. They've each got a small built in desk with an attached chair that can pivot front to back so you're sitting upright when the boat is heeled over under sail. Other than that these rooms are empty, though there are hooks on the wall to hang child or Dwarf sized hammocks. 

The kids point out the entrance to the storage deck under the cabin floor and how the central area can be cleared of seating and the floor lifted when you want to load the vessel with cargo from a large set of top hatches that take up most of the deck space between the fore and center masts. From the looks of it, cargo is loaded with slings and pulleys mounted to the mast, lifted from the dock, and lowered into the hold. Unless you have big, strong transfers to do the job that is. 

The cargo hold was made for Elves though, with a 170cm roof Cain can't stand upright in it. The living quarters are at least a little taller, enough he can walk through normally, though not by much. 

Being on board and moving around highlights just how large this ship is at 8 meters wide, clearly intended for more than simply ferrying a bored Guild Master around in search of adventure. Maybe he will have to take some cargo with him, or some passengers going the same way he is. 

The Wave Riders did everything with a crew of nine and thanks to the increased speed and strength of higher level transfers, for the most part at least two of them, maybe even four, were only necessary for moving cargo as far as Cain could tell. 

Once the vessel was away from the dock, most of the work was done by the two spell casters and the two agile Rogues who took care of the sails with the Captain directing them.

Then it occurs to him, they're not on board for the functional sailing, they're still learning that. They're on board for maintenance. Someone has to clean, maintain the equipment and cook the meals. 

That can be easily done with puppets, Cain decides, he'll only need to call Supporters for the four essential crew, replacing the Captain with Nila. Technically he doesn't need to Summon anyone. All his constructs have apprentice sailing skills, including the Companions, so he could still sail without magic, but he suspects it might be wiser not to sail while using the Companions in this way unless necessary.

The merchant vessels he saw with the tattered and patched rainbow of sails do it that way, and they looked like they had a much worse time of their crossings, as well as being an easier target for Pirates.

"It looks fantastic. Excellent job, you've earned every cent of your wages." Cain tells the kids, who high five in celebration. 

"All pay goes to the Matron, and then she holds it for us until we move out. She's already got the old sails laid out and inspected, ready to be worked into replacements for the fishing boats and new clothes." Jessop informs him with a smile. 

"You will be really easy to spot in the bay now with bright pink sails. And well dressed too." That makes the kids laugh ruefully at the thought of eternally pink outfits. 

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"We've made a good bit of coin today, it's not often we all find work, so we might even have enough for cloth dyes, then we're not all uniformly pink." Jessop laughs as they head back above deck. 

The top deck is mostly flat and open, except for functional fittings and some thick windowed hatches to let light in, but there's a wheelhouse at the back for the Captain and a large horseshoe-shaped seating area in front of that, the only thing he can see that indicates they tried to modify this to be more luxurious than the purely utilitarian cargo vessels.

Exploring the hatches and the wheelhouse he does find a bunch of folding chairs and tables, as well as cushions though, so the deck can be set up for entertaining guests. 

"Has everyone gotten paid?" Cain asks, seeing Vala over with the adults. 

"All paid in full, and the old bits are collected." The Orphanage Matron agrees, indicating a pile of lines and miscellaneous items cleaned from the vessel. 

"Perfect. It is time we got headed back to Assah, who knows what kind of trouble the others have gotten into while we were gone." Vala smirks at that while Evangeline looks sheepish, so their clones have been up to something. These clones get along decently though, so hopefully, they haven't been fighting back at the castle. 

With everyone else back on the dock, Cain calls for a nondescript Elven wind mage and Water Shaman, as well as two Rogues. They're all clones of various crew members from the other ships, should anyone happen to notice, and they've all got excellent skills. 

"Nila, you've got the helm, take us out to sea," Cain says happily and the Wave Rider steps into the Wheelhouse, locking all the windows open so she can more easily be heard before beginning to shout orders at the Summoned crew. 

They push away from the dock smoothly, and a gentle breeze catches the sails as they're raised. Only a few at first to get them away from the harbor, then a full complement that comes with increased wind and a following wave. The Mage and Shaman have both taken seats on the U-shaped bench, resting their feet against the central table for support. Sitting like that they can see their work and remain stable, but relatively comfortable. 

On the Wave Riders vessel, they did it standing up, balancing against the rocking of the ship. These two aren't quite as smooth, or maybe it's because of the difference in ships, but it's still not hard for any of them to walk around the deck, even with the expected lean they've got going on. The ship is moving steadily, but not with the extreme speed of the previous trip, so Cain goes over to ask Nila about the performance of this vessel. 

"We can go quite a bit faster, and totally overwhelm the natural conditions for a smooth ride, but with just one mana totem out, this is the intensity of channeled spell they can keep up constantly without running out of mana." The Dark Elf explains, helping Cain understand their choice of speed. 

They're still overtaking the other cargo vessels in the bay with relative ease though, as most don't have the luxury of two high-level casters to speed them along at the same time. 

"How long to Assah, following your chosen route?"

"About 6 hours at this rate. We're going to swing wide of an outcrop where the waters are shallow and the currents are harsh, so it adds a bit more time. But we will still make it there in half the time a regular bulky freighter takes or less."

Wind in their hair and the salty air makes for a pleasant change for the group, now all lounging about the deck, getting some sun. Except Vala and Evangeline, who have disappeared below decks, citing the need for an information exchange. They're down there half the trip, only finally coming up around lunchtime to see what sort of snacks have been prepared. 

Evangeline has a look on her face like she learned she made a mistake, but after nearly three hours, Vala certainly must have already chastised her and informed her of how things are usually done in the group, so Cain is willing to let it slide without asking too many questions. 

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