In Search Of the Celeste
Francis entered The Barnacle and scanned the room for his acquaintance Jayce. After a few moments of looking, he spied Jayce seated at a table in the corner. Francis shot a nod towards the barkeep as he made his way to the table.
“Jayce, how are you?” inquired Francis as he took a seat on the bench.
Jayce seemed to be rather inebriated; his dazed glance met Francis and he replied:
“Hey there! How have you been Francis!? I saw what you did in Vesper…” exclaimed Jayce as he slid a copy of the Town Crier across the table. Francis looked at the parchment, and glanced over the report on the attack on Vesper, by the Ghost Ship Celeste.
“Ah, ‘twas not much at all, Jayce. The people, they did the most. Remember, I’m not much of a fighter.” Replied Francis as he chuckled, and motioned for the barkeep to the table. Moments later, the barkeep came to the table where they both were seated, and approached Francis.
“Yes? How can I help thee?” inquired the barkeep.
“Pitcher of ale please, and some leg of lamb.” replied Francis.
The barkeep nodded, and returned to the kitchen to prepare the lamb for Francis.
“So Francis, were you able to gather anything useful from this little quest of yours?” inquired Jayce as he tapped the copy of the Crier that was on the table. Francis shook his head and replied:
“Nay. It was quite the battle, Jayce. I had little to no room to survey the Celeste, or anything for that matter. Was rather crowded with folk seeking to suppress the ghost ship.”
Jayce nodded, and inquired:
“Any clues to where she may have gone? I mean… a ship like that… it doesn’t just disappear like that… does it?”
“I am not sure Jayce. I don’t recall anything like this ever happening before. A ship to mysteriously disappear… one-hundred years to pass, and then she reappears? Then to vanish again? No, nothing of the sort. More importantly, the crew… the Captain… they were all undead! What happened to them?” replied Francis.
Jayce paused for a few moments, as he took a gulp of his ale, and mouthful of bread. He then inquired:
“Was anything found at the docks after the Celeste left?”
Francis shook his head and replied:
“I am not sure. After the first mate fell, the people made their way back from the docks. I suppose it might be a good idea to search around the area, and see if we can find some clues perhaps.”
The barkeep had returned to the table the two were seated at, and placed the pitcher of ale on the table, and the platter containing the leg of lamb in the middle of the table. Jayce and Francis nodded in approval to the barkeep, and proceeded to indulge themselves in the meal and drink at hand. After several minutes of a silent supper, the two were finished eating, and both shot an uncomfortable stare at each other. Jayce broke the silence, and stated:
“We need to get to that ship, Francis. Who knows what sorts of untold treasure may be within her hold.”
Francis pondered for a moment, and replied:
“Aye, it is a lucrative proposal Jayce but what of the risks? We don’t know what happened to her… We don’t know what she’s capable of!”
Jayce sat in silence for a moment and replied:
“This might be our chance, Francis. An opportunity this good does not come around that often.”
Francis shook his head, pondered for a few moments and replied:
“It’s always the big one with you isn’t it Jayce? Alright then, let’s go for it. I’ll talk with Mikhail, and see what information he was able to gather from the other night, perhaps he saw something I did not. We’ll take it from there then.”
Jayce paused for a few moments, and nodded his head in acceptance.
“I’ll be in touch with you.” Stated Francis, as he stood from the bench and made his way from The Barnacle.
“What have I gotten myself into this time?” Francis thought to himself…