Claude didn't get much rest that night.
First, he had to stand on the mast for most of the night. When he was replaced by Welikro, Mildini was already out in the open and the waves were much stronger than they were in Sharkmouth Bay. The ship was rocking up and down on the waves and it wasn't possible for him to lie down on the narrow bed and rest.
Claude admitted that he couldn't compare to Captain Marcello and the other three sailors in that aspect.
Captain Marcello remained at the helm until two in the morning. Then, after changing shifts with the sailor called Corin, he stuffed himself with a bit of bread, drank two glasses of rye wine, and made some loud jeers at Claude, who was shivering like a sick chicken on the mast, before retiring to his cabin to sleep.
When Claude came down from the mast and entered the cabin, he found Captain Marcello and another sailor called Welikro tied to their beds with ropes and snoring loudly.
Claude really wanted to crawl into bed and have a good sleep too. He wanted to copy them and tie himself to the bed, but the constant rocking of the ship made him unable to fall asleep. He even felt nauseous from the turbulence. In the end, he had no choice but to crawl out of the cabin.
Welikro's monotonous voice could be heard from the mast from time to time. "There are no obstacles ahead. Keep going straight."
Sigh, technology is really slow in this world. If we had radar, we wouldn't have to suffer like this.
But when the ship sailed at night, someone had to be the lookout to keep an eye on the path ahead to prevent the ship from colliding with any unknown objects.
The two sailors on duty were Colin and Angus. Colin was the older one, nearing his thirties and had been a sailor for seven or eight years.
Angus, on the other hand, was more taciturn. It was said that he only made a living as a sailor because of his poor family background. In terms of qualifications, he was a newbie and had been a sailor for less than two years.
Colin was the more relaxed one. All he had to do was to keep the ship from drifting. He couldn't see the path ahead at night anyway.
That was why the lookout on the mast would report the situation of the path ahead every few minutes. The helmsman would adjust the direction of the ship according to the report.
Angus also had to stand at the bow of the ship, occasionally glancing at the situation in front of him to prevent any mistakes from the lookout from harming the ship.
Ships traveling at night needed to be especially careful. It was not uncommon for ships to accidentally collide with floating objects on the sea, or for two ships to collide and sink.
In addition, Angus had another task, which was to adjust the sails of the two masts according to the helmsman's request, to reduce or increase the speed of the ship.
Claude shuddered as he walked out of the cabin. The night at sea felt especially cold.
Colin, who was at the helm, smiled at Claude. "Why aren't you sleeping?
Is it because those two guys are snoring so loudly that you can't sleep? "
Colin had long wanted to find someone to chat with him, but Angus was too far away, and he was an enigma.
Welikro was too high up and Colin would have to shout at the top of his lungs if he wanted to talk to them.
Colin was delighted to see Claude come out without sleeping.
Their snoring was so loud that I couldn't sleep after lying down for so long, so I decided not to sleep. "" That's right.
"Haha, that's why they're always on duty together.
Angus and I don't want to be partners with them because we won't be able to rest that way.
But come to think of it, it's also a matter of habit. Sometimes, when we're too tired, we don't care about their snoring and fall asleep the moment we collapse. "
Compared to the silent Angus, Colin was more of a chatterbox. He could go on for more than half an hour just listening to Captain Marcelo and Welikro's snoring.
In the end, he said, "Claude, help me steer the ship. I'm going to smoke for a while."
Colin took out of his pocket a very large and crude pipe, which he had probably cut himself out of shipbuilding timbers. Then he rummaged through his bosom a flat fishskin pouch, from which he took two small pinches of tobacco between his two fingers, stuffed them into his pipe, and lit it with a tinder.
He took a deep puff and exhaled a mouthful of smoke. His spirits were lifted.
"This is good stuff," Colin waved the pouch in his hand proudly, "This is tobacco from Nubissia. Many experienced captains, mates and boatswains love it.
Just one puff and you won't feel tired. More importantly, it can cure minor ailments like colds. "
Claude furrowed his brow. The smoke Colin exhaled just now smelled a little acrid. It wasn't like the rich and mellow smell of his father's cigarette smoke at home. It was obvious that the tobacco in his fishskin pouch was of the lowest quality.
"Do you want a puff too?" Colin looked at the pipe in his hand, reluctant to part with it.
Claude shook his head and politely declined.
"I saw someone wrapping tobacco in paper and rolling it into a small stick. That way, they wouldn't need a pipe anymore." Claude thought that he could open a cigarette factory in the future. That would be quite a profitable business.
"That's definitely the behavior of a wastrel!"
Colin expressed his anger and disdain. "This tobacco is very expensive and there aren't many of them. Every time they're sold, there's always a fight over them.
Now that there are fewer and fewer merchant ships coming from Nubissia, the price of tobacco has skyrocketed. Many unscrupulous merchants even mix dried leaves and weeds with their tobacco to sell.
The shredded tobacco I bought is the purest. It's very difficult. Rolling the shredded tobacco to smoke will waste a lot of it. Doing that is not cherishing the shredded tobacco. Only people with too much money would be so stupid … "
Claude was speechless and could only shrug. That was the end of the conversation.
All he wanted to do was discuss the most convenient way to smoke. He didn't think Colin would complain so much.
Colin was still grumbling about the waste of tobacco. The way he saw it, smoking without a pipe was a blasphemy to tobacco.
He fell in love with the smell after an old sailor gave him his first puff, even though he spent most of his money on it.
As he couldn't afford those expensive pipes, he made his own and it took him half a month to make them.
Finally, the sky started to brighten. A hazy glow appeared at the intersection of the sky and sea. Claude breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that it wouldn't snow that day.
While the sun would still be covered by thick clouds, at least it wouldn't be a cloudy day.
If the sun didn't rise, they would have to be careful. There might be a huge snowstorm during the day.
Welikro climbed down the mast stiffly. His fishskin hat was covered in a thin layer of frost. He took off his gloves and handed them to Claude. "What time is it? How far are we from Krulu Flying Fish Island?"
The hats and gloves were provided by the sailors. If Claude and Welikro weren't on board, they would have to take turns climbing the mast as lookouts.
So, when they saw that the two of them didn't have such equipment, they generously provided it to them. That was also the reason they were willing to listen to Claude's request to search Krulu Flying Fish Island.
After all, Claude and Welikro were the ones doing the most painful work and they felt rather embarrassed.
"It should be around five. You can go get some rest.
Colin said that we'll be able to see Krulu Flying Fish Island in about an hour. "
Claude put on his fishskin hat and gloves. It was now his turn to climb the mast.
In this era, ships relied on astrolabes and compasses. It was said that they were navigational tools passed down from the magical era.
Every captain of a ship had to know about astrology. Some first mates and boatswains could also calculate the sea they were in based on the stars above them.
As for compasses, they were used to guide the way in the starless night. The difference between this world and Earth was that the magnetic field here was rather chaotic. It was as if there were many magnetic ores that could easily interfere with the compass' direction.
Claude stayed on the mast for more than an hour. The sky was already bright, but the clouds in the sky were getting thicker and thicker. Occasionally, the sun's rays would seep through the gaps in the clouds and illuminate the sea below with a golden glow.
Captain Marcello yawned and stretched his back as he walked out of the cabin. Claude happened to climb down from the mast at the same time.
There was no longer a need for him to guide the way. The silhouette of Krulu Flying Fish Island the size of a thumb could already be seen in the distance. All he had to do was head straight for the island.
Claude ate a sandwich to fill his stomach and drank a cup of freshly brewed black tea to warm his body.
Captain Marcello also stood beside him with a cup of tea in hand and looked at Krulu Flying Fish Island in the distance.
"I've been to this place many times," Marcello said, "If it wasn't for the fact that this island often gets flooded by storms, I would really want to open a tavern on an island like this.
There are many ships that go to the island to replenish their supplies. Sitting in the tavern and drinking rye wine while listening to the sailors talk about the strange things they encounter on the sea. That would be a very happy life. "
Claude glanced at him and didn't know how to respond. A mercenary captain who wanted to open a tavern … Who could guarantee that he didn't become a tavern owner just to fool around in taverns?
He heard that quite a few taverns in the docks refused to let him in. Putting aside the fact that he was in debt, he often got into fights with his gambling opponents and ended up being thrown out or chased out of the tavern.
Marcello sighed and asked Claude seriously, "How do you plan on searching?
You're not thinking of going to the island, are you?
My suggestion is to circle around Krulu Flying Fish Island. The island isn't big anyway and it'll be easy to see if Eyke is on it.
If we search the island, I'm worried that we'll waste a lot of time. It might start snowing tonight and it'll be difficult for us to return. "
Claude nodded. "Alright, we'll do as you say. We circle around the island. Welikro and I will go up the mast and stand at the bow. That way, if Eyke is on the island, he'll come out when he sees us.
Even if he doesn't see us, we'll know if he's here just by looking at his fishing boat. "
Marcello smiled. "Claude, I hope your intuition is correct. I also hope that Eyke is on the island.
Also, I heard that Captain Altroni's fleet isn't heading to the southern kingdoms to trade, is it? "
Claude was stunned. "Where did you hear that from?"
Captain Marcello only smiled and did not reply. After finishing the cup of black tea in his hand, he walked towards the steering platform.
Miltini was getting closer and closer to Krulu Flying Fish Island.
"Claude, look! Isn't that Eyke's fishing boat?" Welikro shouted as he pointed at the sea ahead.
Everyone on the ship looked in the direction Welikro was pointing at. It was a sunken ship that was only a meter above the surface of the water. The entire ship was submerged in the sea.
"I don't know!
I can't tell! "Claude yelled," Captain, get closer to the sunken ship! "
Captain Marcello turned the wheel and turned the bow towards the submerged wreck.
But before they could get close, Welikro's excited voice came from the mast again. "There's someone on the beach! It's Eyke! I recognize his pants! They're green pants with a checkered pattern! It's definitely him! He's lying on the beach!"
Marcello brought Claude, Welikro, and Angus to the beach in the small boat.
The moment the bottom of the boat touched the beach, Welikro was the first to jump off. Ignoring the cold seawater that soaked his boots and pants, he ran towards Eriksson, who was lying on the beach.
Even after such a long time, Eriksson remained motionless on the beach no matter how much they shouted at him …
"Eriksson, Eriksson …" Welikro slowed down the closer he got to Eriksson. In the end, he stopped three steps away from Eriksson and didn't dare to move forward. Eriksson just lay there motionlessly. Welikro covered his face with his hands and knelt on the beach in despair. He started crying loudly.
Marcelo rushed over and passed Welikro to get to Eriksson's side. He flipped him over and placed his finger on his neck. He exclaimed in joy, "He's still alive! He's still breathing! He just fainted!"
"What?!"
Welikro stopped crying and rushed over to grab Eriksson's hand. Now that he had calmed down, he was terrified and thought that Eriksson was dead.