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12th Day in the 4th of Ründ’s Months, Dry Season, in the 29th Year of King Bornidin the Young’s Reign, 126th Reckoned Year
How high can the tower whale breach?
As high as the strength of his tail will take him.
How tall can the tower vine grow?
As tall as the deepest part of the sea.
How far can a good ship sail?
As far as the strong wind will blow her.
From ‘Musings of the Hollow Trees’, Composed by Ini-Mo-Kiri-Ko-Mini, Hollow Tree, in the 90th Reckoned Year
Petsune was led vaguely about the ship in a frenzied tour that he neither asked for nor remembers, then back into the captain's quarters to sleep. He was shown to the large chest along the wall, which was stuffed so full of fabrics that a lumpy pile of cloth spilled out over the sides. The lid to the chest laid open acutely on its hinges and some semblance of a pillow sat atop the pile, eagerly awaiting his head. He slept fitfully and is feeling far from rested as he finally opens his eyes. He can recall bits and pieces of a strange dream. Father Haltur was sitting on the edge of the Window to the Deep, and when Petsune looked around he saw every person he had ever known. When he looked back to Father Haltur, he was seated instead on the Throne of Seas, the glowing white throne of Saintstone and the place where King Bornidin the Younger ought to have been. And where the Church of the Deep ought to have been was now the Royal throne room. Then he became aware that everyone he knew was shouting, yelling out condemnations and insults and slanders. Father Haltur raised his hand and the room went silent, but that’s all he remembers. Petsune can feel the heat of shame and embarrassment again as he recalls the scene vividly. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and then feels a sudden impact on his stomach.
Petsune folds upward as though a deadweight was dropped in his gut, smacking his head against the chest lid. “Ow! What the depths?” He is suddenly getting aggressively licked by a long, wet tongue and based on his interactions with the strange crew of the ship, he’s not entirely sure that it’s an animal. Once he gets his hands on the thing, he finds the long, wet tongue belongs to a runt-sized billypug. The small dog-like creature has it’s front two paws on Petsune’s chest, and it’s back four paws in his gut and groin. The billypug continues investigating Petsune and seems to conclude that he tastes poorly, scampering off out the open cabin door. Petsune wipes the drool from his face and looks around in shock for anything else ready to assault him from the shadows. Convinced the area is secure, he gingerly begins unfurling himself from the blanket-type things he slept in. It suddenly strikes Petsune that he has no idea what ship this is. In all of the confusion and chaos, he neglected to ask what the name of this strange vessel was. He will have to ask Captain Chapel, if he can find him. Petsune grips the edge of the chest and heaves himself out, unceremoniously flopping to the decking like a lardfee. He moans and wishes he had a wake-me beetle, or at least some coffee, to lessen the grogginess.
Before he’s done groaning he hears a voice from inside the room somewhere, “Not very graceful, for a priest. You are not like those I’ve dealt with before.”
Petsune gazes around and realizes he has once again mistaken the huge man for a support beam or wall. Petsune attempts to recover some dignity and rises, dusting off his robe, “Well, ahem, I’m not royalty. None of the churches believe in grace or poise. Ahem.”
“Oh, aye? I should think poison would work just fine, believed in or not.”
Petsune blinks a few times, “That’s not what… um, nevermind. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced? I am Petsune - and you are?”
Petsune holds out his hand in hopes of receiving a friendly handshake and a name. The big man pauses, seeming to quickly size up Pet, then gives a smile. He speaks as he shakes Petsunes outstretched hand, “Yes, aye. Our very own Pet Priest —Hah!” The man is so huge that when he grasps Petsunes hand, a quarter of his arm ends up in the man’s shake too. This causes Petsunes entire body to be shaken in the greeting. The huge man continues to speak as he kindly shakes Petsune like a doll, “I am Benafield, but everybody calls me Big Man, on account of my size.”
“ReAlLy, iS tHaT wHy?” Petsune tries to say through clattering teeth.
“Oh, a funny priest as well as clumsy. I may actually come to like you, Pet. Much better than the other kinds of priests.” His low laughing only makes him shake with greater energy.
Petsune is led out of the cabin and into the searing daylight by the Big Man’s huge hand and his deep and mirthful laughter. He gets the feeling he likes the Big Man, despite almost having his arm torn off. As Petsune is led somewhere, he asks, “Why is there a billypug aboard the ship? I thought they couldn’t swim?”
“What? You mean Bungle? He is for good luck. Every whaling ship has a billypug, if they are worth their salt. Bungle cannot swim good, but he is a drowned good climber, so he does alright.”
At this point, Petsune realizes two things at the same time; the Big Man called this a whaling vessel, and the ship's sails are now red. He looks back toward the Big Man and asks, “Wait, I thought this was a merchant vessel? The sails were green, weren’t they?”
“Hmm? Oh, aye, they were. We fly many colors.” The Big Man responds distractedly, as he looks around for something. Fly many colors? What was that supposed to mean? And come to think of it, was the Big Man watching him sleep? That seems a bit strange… Then the thought struck him suddenly and it felt as though it fell into his stomach like Bungle, “what if this is a pirate vessel?” Didn't Mavis look more like a pirate than a merchant? Weren’t they a little too keen on him staying?
Petsunes glances worriedly back to the Big Man who still seems to be looking for something. As his thoughts travel down ever darker routes, the Big Man exclaims, “Ah, there he is! He is never where he is supposed to be, but always where you need him. Aye, you will have to climb up to him, little Pet.” Petsune sees the huge hand cast a shadow above him and looks up to where it’s pointing: the crow’s nest, more aptly named here than anywhere. The crow’s nest is made to look like an actual nest perched high in the branches that sprout off the main mast. Petsune is once again awestruck by how beautiful this ship is. The main mast perfectly replicates a tree trunk rising into the air, with numerous branches sprouting off at different places to hold different things. Underneath the beauty however, there are unanswered questions. Where did this beautiful ship come from, and more curiously, why hasn’t he been thrown off it?
Before Petsune has time to ask more questions, the Big Man is giving him a gentle shove toward the main mast’s rigging. Petsune follows the ropes with his eyes to the point where Captain Chapel is perched, and feels his palms begin to sweat. He finds himself gaping up at the height he is supposed to ascend to. He ambles forward, heedless of several dozen things going on around him that he either interrupts or narrowly misses being injured by; Cheese throwing knives at a hunk of wood, an unknown crew member who let a barrel slip loose and roll down past Pet, and a pitmite being chased around by Sprig wielding something large and blunt. Petsune reaches the rigging still gazing distractedly upwards, and he places a hand on the ropes still in a daze. Sprig finally vanquishes his rolling foe with a loud splat and crunch, which brings Petsune out of his stupor. He looks over at Sprig who prods the rotund crab, then looks up flashing a gap-toothed smile and says, “Don’t fall!” Petsune swallows hard as he looks back to the poor pitmite. He places both hands on the ropes, grips tightly, and begins hoisting himself upward toward the nest.
He gets his foot caught several times, and he slips frequently on the ropes, but he makes steady progress. About 20 feet up, Petsune looks around the ship below him. He sees a few crew members he doesn’t know the names of; an ambling boy attempting to stack barrels, an older man polishing the handrails of the quarterdeck, and a rough looking man cutting up bits of runnykit and lardfee, probably for a stew. Petsune’s thighs are beginning to ache and his hands are hurting too, so he finishes the climb with all haste. He passes by several branches, then finally mounts the one that leads to the crow’s nest. He climbs up through the small hole in the bottom and then out into the nest itself, finding it surprisingly spacious. Captain Chapel is sitting at the edge, looking at something on the horizon with his eyeglass. The telescoping device is evidently made of Saintstone as it shimmers in coruscant splendor in the suns light. He turns to Petsune with the shining white eyeglass still pressed against one eye. “Well, you certainly don’t pack a light kit, Pet. How was your climb?” Petsune can see a distorted version of the Captain's right eyeball blink in the lens of the eyeglass.
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