Hi VG, I wrote this story in 2007, in honor of another player in VG I was tryin to lure to the PvP server, Captain Jack. I mentioned it last week to our guild, Covenant of the Phoenix or Seradon, and someone (I can't remember who) wanted me to re-post it. Here it is The last part was added by Cpt. Jack btw. ________________________________________ The wind was blowing to the west. I was sailing my sloop West a quarter North about 90 nautical miles from Crynn's Cove. I used to live there when I was still alive. Nice place............ It was a good day for sailing. I chose some time ago to give up my life, for the power of the necromancer. It wasnt so long ago that I didn't remember the feel of the sun on my face, or the breeze in my hair. I longed for that feeling now, even more than the feel of a woman. who would have thought it? I could still see the ocean, and with a clarity not possible by a mortal. The waves rolled, irredecent even in the day with the life it contained. The spray kicked up from the bow. I remembered the feel of the salt on my face and in my mouth. It was enough to remember. The mast started to groan. The wind was picking up for some time now. The weather in Thestra can change so fast. I was preparing to tack in to the South, to hit land in the coastal graveyard. But with the wind picking up I was worried about my little ship, the Sloop of Charon. I was just learning about ship building, but even as a novice, I could see that she just wasnt made for the kind of work necessary to tack into shore if a storm hit. I was thinking about trimming the sail and carefully making my way South, when I saw it. If I still had breath, it would have stopped. A Qualian sail to the East. Actually he was East a quarter South. gosh darn! Could it be a trader long away from their home port? gosh darn! What would one of those Qualian Pirates be doing out here in Northern Thestra? With a strong West wind the ship, which was closer than the horizon, was making full sails! A Qualian Caravel, a favorite pirate ship. I had some gold on me too. gosh darn!!! If it was a pirate I was trapped! If I tacked South he would have me. If I stayed on course, he would overtake me. The wind picked up more. As the caravel came closer, dread filled my still heart. I could see the jolly roger blowing fore above the main mast sail. It looked to have the crossed swords of that damned pirate Cutlass Jack. Not being one to panic I considered my options. I had probably fifteen minutes if I stayed the course, before he had me in range of a crossbow or a caster. It was then I saw the rain. The irony of my clear dead eyes being the very thing that saves my "life" was not lost on me. I let out a laugh. Then a bigger one. I would not be Cutlass Jack's next victim today.... and he didn't yet know it. The rain was coming. A wall of rain moving in from the East with the wind veiling the horizon. It looked foreboding. Cutlass may not get me, but this storm might. I had already formulated a plan, and if my little sloop held out..... I could now see the faces of the pirates on the caravel. Come on rain, move it! Damn, I needed more time, so I called my pet. I had been told not to release him in polite company, but my abomination had become my best friend. Plus I wasn't planning to have a tea party with Cutlass Jack. Focusing hard I found the soul of the pilot of the pirate ship and sent my pet across the water. It seemed to take forever for him to get there. It had always struck me as strange that the perception of time differed, even for the dead. "Come on", I said aloud. Then I felt a blast of pain hit my abomination and I knew he was close. He made it to the deck, then what I was hoping for happened. The Caravel lurched starboard. I knew my pet would be dead soon, but then, that's what he's for! Finally with my pet dispatched, the vile craft of the pirates straightened their rudder and came again. But it was too late! I ruddered South full sail towards land. I could sense the glee of the pirates as they saw my obvious mistake. But then the wall of rain hit them. I continued South for another minute. The last I saw of the pirate he had adjusted his heading a eighth South. Yes!!! Finally a break! As he was being overtaken by the rain I adjusted West again, still under full sail. The mast groaned! It had to hold though! I moved the sail and and headed North out to sea. I knew I couldn't last in this storm, But I figured I could come in behind the caravel and make it to shore behind them in the storm. After what seemed a year, I made my way back South. I adjusted and the mast held. Now all I had to do was slip in to shore behind the pirate! I was feeling pretty good about myself when I saw it. The soaked, dingy sail of the caravel to the Southwest. He must have anticipated my maneuver. He was sliding North by North a quarter West. Had he seen me turn North in the storm? There was nothing else to do I thought. In retrospect I guess I panicked. I moved the rudder to face Southeast. The sail pressed against the mast. It was still full. How I wished I had trimmed it by a quarter in this storm! The mast groaned harshly, I jammed the rudder opposite, but it was too late. For eternity I will never forget the sound, the crack I heard. The mast first broke, sending wood shards flying back through my spectral right shoulder. Then the mast fell as it creaked. The crash of the mast broke the hull by the aft leeward deck. She began to list. Then I realized I had not missed the touch of a woman at all. The Sloop of Charon was my woman. Perfect though she was not, she was mine. Always faithful, and never critical. My dead face was soaked with mortal rain, but my eternal heart was full of tears and broken like her mast and her hull. As the salt water rushed into her belly, my broken heart filled with an ocean of sadness. "I love you and I will never forget you", I told her. She cried and lurched downward. I had not felt......... anything.... in so long! Not since I chose to be a wraith, an undead creature of power. As I sank to the bottom, my gut bleed the tears my eyes could not. It wasn't just for my ship, my only love left now gone. I laid on the bottom, not caring if the pirates had a way to find me. Had i made the right choice? Should I have kept my life? Is that what these...... "feelings" are about? I wished for death, but obviously that wouldn't help, or at least it didn't before. The sea is so calm at the bottom. A torrent was blowing on the surface, but down here it was peaceful. Like the grave. I rested in that grave of sorrow and sand for some time. It was a long walk back on the ocean floor to land, I thought. Well, I still had my purse. Although... it would have been cheaper to give my purse to Captain Jack. I got up and began to walk wondering, "Can you ever recover from some choices?", as I moved through my ocean of regret. ........................... On the surface "Sihari have mercy." Cutlass Jack grumbled from the deck of the 'Lady Leanora' as as he lost sight of his quarry beneath the waves. If his contacts were right, that small sloop may have been the one they were looking for. Even if true they'd be impossible to find it scattered about the ocean floor. A location his ship would soon be if he didnt get out of this growing storm. soon. "Mister Flint" He called out to the huge grey skinned figure at the helm. "Get us out of this mess. We've got a slow trip eastward to look forward to." "Aye Capt'n" Flintlocke said as he carried out the order, his muscles rippling as he turned the ship's wheel...
