Erinna caught her foot against a jutting rock and stumbled. The stone assailant was barely concealed by weeds and grass. Erinna paused to examine the ground. Crumbling gravel from a once-stone path rested beneath her boot.
She peered through the bushes and trees, surprised to have missed it on her first round. Obscured in the forest’s shadow sat a small hut overgrown with weeds. No doubt the home of the original groundskeeper.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the dinner bell. It wouldn’t bode well to be late unless she craved burned porridge and vegetables. Her investigation would have to wait.
Like every night, dinner was boisterous and rowdy as the crew gathered around the largest makeshift hearth in the broken stone fountain. Barrels, chests, stumps and logs had been placed around the sizzling meats to create a communal dining area. Erinna looked around for an inconspicuous corner.
She searched for Inez, but the diviner was nowhere to be found.
Erinna had been so focused she failed to hear Brax’s shouts in the distance.
“Erinna Yarrow! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me!”
Erinna startled and nearly dropped her plate in the boiling stew. Over her shoulder she could see Brax waving her over. Lila and Asher sat in heated debate. She could hardly believe what was happening. They were asking her to join them.
“Umm…did you need more?” Rem cleared his throat and waited with another spoon of hearty barley stew.
“N...No, sorry, thank you, Rem.” She stammered and left the crowd of men and women waiting for more food. She made herway to the group. Two of them smiled as she approached; Lila frowned slightly, but the glint in her eyes was noted.
“Here.” Asher patted the space beside her and Lila, and although Erinna was not fond of sitting next to the master gunner, she didn’t want to be ungracious.
“Brax said you did a good job while he was away.” Asher nudged Erinna lightly on the shoulder and took another bite.
“Just did what needed to be done.”
Brax guffawed and swung a mug, spilling a small bit of frothy liquid. It was some sort of ale. He grabbed another mug and pushed it Erinna’s way.
“You did it better than any of these guys, excluding myself of course.” He took another sip, froth catching on his mustache.
“Hey, we each play our parts… I doubt you want any of this near your hard work.” Asher sent a gush of wind his way. Erinna dug into her food and listened as they descended back into the argument they were having before.
Before she knew it, she was laughing. Lila and Brax were at each other’s throats over whether or not she should have another cannon port.
Lila turned to her. “Tell him it’s possible.”
Erinna nearly choked on her food. All of their eyes were trained on her, like she was about to reveal some big secret. Lila’s emerald stare was pleading; Brax bounced his knee in anticipation.
One deep breath. Erinna grabbed the tankard in front of her and took a long gulp. “Sorry, Brax.” She rubbed the foam off her upper lip, savoring the burn as the ale went down. “But one extra cannon port should not be a problem.”
Brax howled, and Lila clasped Erinna’s shoulder with an approving squeeze, clinking her own mug of ale to Erinna’s in cheers.
She didn’t know when it happened, but she had started to feel more comfortable around them. Her distaste for pirates was fading to the background. She may have been too quick to judge.
“Where’d you learn all of that anyways?” asked Lila.
“My father and I, we build ships on Tarth.”
“Dammit!” Brax slammed the tankard down on the stone slab propped by a mixture of stone and wood. “Yarrow…you’re a real Yarrow.”
She smiled. “Yup, in the flesh.”
“What does that mean?” asked Asher, and even Lila scoffed.
“Her father’s the guy who created our ship.”
Erinna’s smile faded in an instant; she almost choked on that realization. How could she not have realized?
“Well, he didn’t build it, just came up with the design.”
