Neriena Wordsmith V

Whether the crew slept at all that night was questionable but they didn’t dare talk either. The next day the watch was piped up like normal and while the entire crew was still uncomfortable and Neriena still walked the deck with a pistol in her hands at all times, the ship almost went back to normal. Habit was stronger then the shock of sudden events and while there was some awkward shifting when Neriena had some sailors go into her cabin to scrub the blood out of the floor boards with holy stones, even then no one said much. That wasn’t to say that Neriena trusted them, the key to the weapons locker was tucked firmly in her clothing and it was a small comfort to know that they would have to kill her before they got the weapons.

At midday she had spirits piped up and that caused much relaxation in the crew. She even ordered double ration which made some of the crew very brave and one of them finally stood up and asked her if she had been serious that they were becoming pirate. She told them very solemnly that she had been and that anyone who didn’t want to be a pirate she would drop off on the next land they came to. There wasn’t a single sailor that didn’t understand the implication, to be hung for piracy if they got caught was a gamble, and one that might pay off, to be marooned was almost certain death. Few people were ever found after they had been marooned. It was true that pirates had disappeared from the seas several decades before which would make them all alone against a sea of enemies but most of the sailors still liked their chances better on the ship.

The few sailors who had decided that they would rather not turn to a life of crime with a rope at the end were locked away by their former mates and as a crew they started to draw up the articles under which they would sail. Neriena understood well enough that if they were going to turn pirate she would have to follow the rules that had been tradition if they sailors were going to. That meant that she could no longer hold on to all of the power as captain. She had enjoyed her last moment of true power when she had allowed double rations and ordered the men to be locked up who wouldn’t follow her. From here on out if they men wanted to drink they could, if they wanted to eat they could, and they didn’t have to follow her orders unless they were attacking. Those were the conditions she had placed on herself by her decision the night before on what to do. They all signed the article they had drawn up, using the knowledge that most sailors had about the history of the sea as their guide of what the articles should contain. Everyone had heard the stories about pirates at one time or another. There was one article that everyone decided carefully toe around that had normally been in the pirate articles of old. That was the one saying that women weren’t allowed on board. No one was brave enough to mention such an article in front of Neriena who still had a loaded pistol in hand. While pirate ships were technically democracies the strongest had always had more say and more respect and Neriena intended to be numbered among the strong.

Few ships were armed like Neriena’s had been once you left the waters of Asia. No one expected there to be pirates anymore and there weren’t any wars going on at that time to cause people to be cautious. There were usually a few gentlemen with pistols, some sailors with knives, but unless the ship was going to less tamed waters they didn’t carry cutlasses like Neriena’s ship did. Neriena began throwing the valuable but traceable cargo she had picked up in Asia overboard, as much as it pained her to do so, and replacing it with far less traceable money, jewelry, watches, and uncertified bonds.

Neriena was ruthless in her new trade, she knew that she had to be and when the occasion called for it she was good at ruthless. She marooned the men that she had said she was going to maroon, shot anyone, pirate or prisoner, who dared to challenge her, and made herself so feared that ships began surrendering rather then even trying to fight. Once her crew was truly committed to the life and knew they had to escape they threw themselves into it with an equal will and not one of them didn’t admire her for the way that she controlled every situation with an iron grasp. Had you mentioned their attempted mutiny to them they would have laughed at the thought that they had believed a woman couldn’t handle a ship.

Within six months of the trade, and with the knowledge that the navy was now after them, everyone knew it was time for a change. These were no longer healthy times to be a pirate and it was a known fact that they would not escape justice forever if they kept it up. Within that scant six months they each had enough of the treasure as their share that they would never have to work again and no one dared ask how much their captain had. They also didn’t ask her what was in the chest in her cabin, the one that was never opened. In theory they had signed the articles that said that not a penny would be taken off of the ships without being fairly split between them but no one in the crew would challenge the captain. She was allowed to have her secrets.

To be continued...