The Storm

Finn was standing on top of the rigging. This was Finn’s favourite spot on the ship when the weather was being generous, which it was today clear skies and a calming breeze. Calm was something they needed a lot of now on the ship. Their excursion to Tabbakust had led to Old Ken’s death, and Oliver had been taken hostage by the person who had been pursuing Captain Kent. Finn had signed up to the Fancy as a means of getting away. Finn had his reasons for needing to leave Stillwater but had put all of that behind them. Finn was just glad to be at sea. He had taken to life aboard ship really easily and had surprised everyone with how limber and flexible they were and willing to ascend the rigging.

He had been in the marketplace when Edward and those things had swept through it. He didn’t really understand what they were and was glad when they had passed him and Kitty by without incident. They had got back to the ship safely before Captain Kent reappeared with their new guest. Finn had not spoken with Abigail much, she had sequestered herself in a cabin and remained there for a few days. Finn had caught heated arguments between her and the Captain but had caught little of what was being discussed.

********

They had left Tabakkust and had gone ashore in a nearby inlet. The Wren had followed them. They had watched Ravenhill’s ship depart. They were holding a wake for Ken. Finn had kept his distance, he had liked the old sailor, but they had not talked much. Ken being killed and Oliver’s absence had wounded the ship more than they had cared to admit. Finn was sitting on a crate near a fire as he heard William and Jack arguing.

“How many more people will be lost to this mad quest, William?” Jack shouted at him.

“Edward will pursue us regardless. He might have the journals, but that is not the prize he is after.” William replied

“Ravenhill is dangerous. He killed Ken, and we lost three other men to the raiders he set against us. “

“Which makes it even more difficult that I want you to search for his vessel while we head north.”

“You want me to rescue Oliver?

“Track his vessel. Do not approach him unless you have to defend yourself. There’s a deserted island a few hundred leagues south of Still Water. We could rendezvous there.”

“And you are heading north to find an island which cannot be found. You realise how mad all of this sounds, William.”

“Aye. You’re sailing with a dead man and being chased by a man who wants a box filled with the voice of a god. I think sanity hasn’t been part of this quest for a few fucking weeks, Jack.”

Jack laughed. “It's not William we need right now, is it? We need Bloody Bill.”

“Aye, in pursuit of one box I may need to open another.”

********

The two ships parted ways the following day. The Wren set sail to pursue Ravenhill, and The Fancy headed north to try and find an island which did not want to be found. Finn sat in the crow’s nest watching the ship depart. Finn hoped he would see all the souls onboard again and wished them well in their hunt.

They had been sailing for a few hours when they hit the storm. The crew lashed everything down as best they could. Finn felt there was something strange in the air, a weird sense of energy in the atmosphere surrounding the ship. Finn saw Thorvenhold looking around cautiously while he was standing near to William.

“There’s something odd about this storm, William. It feels unnatural.” Thorvenhold commented.

“A void tempest. I’ve seen it before. This will not be pretty.” William told him.

They heard thunder rolling, and lightning crashed into the sea near the ship. This made everyone on the deck jump at the impact. Finn was the first to see it, the sky shimmering above them, strange lights and images imprinted upon the clouds. They saw a woman with red hair standing on a chair, she gripped a length of rope as she slipped the noose around her neck. The woman kicked the chair out from under her. Her feet danced in the air until she stopped moving.

“Catherine”, William said softly.

A wave crashed over the deck of the Fancy, bowling over many who were standing on it. Finn started climbing up some of the rigging, thinking it might be safer at the moment. They heard the clouds roiling, and the images began to dissipate and reform. The crew were watching and were confused at the sight of a young blonde girl in petticoats running down a corridor, screaming as she was chased by an older man in a stained tunic and breeches. Finn watched impassively but found himself unable to tear his eyes away from it.

The wind came at them from several different directions. The crew were scattered repeatedly, and there were constant calls to either tack or gybe. Finn began to feel quite nauseous with the constant changes in direction. He let out a small laugh when he considered Oliver was lucky right now that he was not here.

The third vision showed a figure more immediately recognisable they saw a younger Thorvenold. The young warrior wore an eyepatch and was involved in some kind of brawl. They watched as he struck another man, knocking him to the ground and stamping on the man’s skull until he stopped moving.

“An old shame”, they heard Thorvenhold muttering out loud.

William brought the ship about, attempting to outrun the storm. It seemed to follow them, dark clouds feeling like they were tracking the ship. The images continued they saw a ginger-haired man going through the pockets of what looked to be a dead man in an alley somewhere. Lightning struck the deck, and a fire started to spread. Finn and Thorvenhold scrambled to gather buckets of water. They contained it with minimal damage to the ship.

They were all relieved when they finally outran the storm. Finn was soaked to the bone and freezing. William dismissed him and told Finn to go below deck to get some rest. He would have stayed to help, but he was also exhausted.

*******

Finn woke in the night to the sensation they had dreaded. They knew it had been coming, and this was the first time it had happened while they had been onboard the Fancy. Finn stifled tears and grabbed for the cloth that they had torn up a few days earlier. Finn was stuffing it down their trousers when he felt hands grabbing them and covering his mouth.

“Be quiet, or this will hurt a lot more.” Kearnley hissed at Finn.

Finn bit one of Kearnley’s fingers. He roared in pain and smashed a fist into Finn’s side.

“This won’t take long, my little princess. I’ve not got my wick wet since Stillwater. Hold still.” Kearnley said darkly.

Kearnley turned Finn round and pinned them to the bunk.

“Don’t fucking scream.” Kearnley threatened and started pulling down his trousers.

Finn watched as big, meaty tattooed hands suddenly wrapped themselves around Kearnley’s shoulders.

“Make another move and I will fucking geld you. Have you known the smell of a heated metal applied to flesh, Kearnley?” Thorvenhold asked.

“Unhand me,” Kearnley shouted.

Thorvenhold grabbed Kearnley by the back of the head and rammed him face first into the wall of Finn’s bunk. The sound of Kearnley’s nose breaking was quite distinct. Thorvenhold let him drop to the floor.

“You broke my fugging nose” Kearnley said, turning over.

Thorvenhold slammed a foot into one of Kearnley’s hands, and the sound of fingers breaking filled the room. Kearnley looked up at him in terror, the smell was quite distinct it was clear that Kearnley had pissed his britches. The ginger-haired man said nothing further and ran off in fear.

Thorvenhold sat down on Finn’s bunk. The Ragnar wrapped a blanket around Finn.

“Thank you. I thought you might kill him.” Finn said.

“Kearnley’s a coward. As soon as he met someone who would challenge him, he was going to run away.”

“How long have you known?” Finn asked.

Thorvenhold tapped his green eye. “Since Lovenskoid.”

“My moonsblood came. I tried to hide it. I’m not sure how Kearnley knew.”

"I’ll not tell the others unless you want me to. Kent and Kitty would protect you and keep your secret if you told them. "

“You can call me Fionnuala if you want to.”

“Why did you come to see Finn?”

“My father used to beat me. As I got older and of age, I think he would do what Kearnley was going to do. I escaped, started dressing like this. William gave me a place on the ship at Stillwater.”

"Weak men. But even Kearnley might serve his purpose in the end. "

“But there was more to it. I didn’t just need to escape. I felt a yearning. A need to be at sea. Something in my blood feels like it is calling to me.”

Thorvenhold laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Fionnuala. You may have just saved us all. There are only a few ways to approach the Umthakathi. Either you are invited or you have a means of piercing the veil. The witches are calling to you.”

“I’m a witch?”

“A word given to them by those that are superstitious and failed to understand what they are. If you wish for them to train you. The potential is there.”

“That sounds frightening, but I want to help.”

“Come with me to see William.”

The pair of them ventured up to William’s cabin. Thorvenhold knocked on the door and heard a voice calling for them to enter. They both stepped inside, and William was surprised to see Finn in the company of Thorvenhold.

“Finn?”

“I want to apologise to you, Master Kent. I lied to you back on the dockside in Stillwater. My real name is Fionnuala .” Fionnuala apologised

“I suspected there was more to you than what you were telling me. If I hadn’t been distracted by this folly we are involved in, I might have noticed something more.” William told her.

“Thank you for your kindness, Master Kent,” Fionnuala replied.

“However, Thorvenhold would not be troubling me at this hour simply to tell me that one of my crew was really a girl. There’s more to this, I wager.”

“Very astute, William. Umthakathi called out to her. Finn can guide us to them.”

William stood up and grabbed Fionnuala by both hands and started to dance with her. "You might just have saved us all. "

Fionnuala was surprised at how gracefully William danced. Thorvenhold joined in, drumming a tattoo on William’s table to give them a rhythm to dance to.

“The two of you can guide us there in the morning,” William announced.