Bramble leapt from the dwarf’s arms and landed in one of the hammocks, his tiny hands gripping the rope for balance as he swung.
Thrain chuckled, resting his hands on his belly. “The wee lad already loves it.”
Then he edged into the room sideways and slung his pack onto the lower hammock. “You don’t mind if I take the bottom, do you?” He eyed the higher hammock. “Don’t know if I can get myself into that one.”
The thought of the heavyset, snoring dwarf sleeping above her wasn’t the least appealing thing she could imagine, but it was close. “I don’t mind at all. I’ll take the top.”
Cali caught Bonnie grinning, and when the captain’s smile turned into a laugh, she couldn’t help but join in.
“If it becomes too crowded in here,” Bonnie said so only Cali could hear her, “I can always arrange alternate accommodations.”
Then she winked and was gone, leaving the pantheri to wonder what she’d meant by that wink.
Eleven
Cali navigatedthe painted stairs to the main deck, leaving Thrain and Bramble to solidify their claim on the bottom hammock. She’d slept rough plenty of times in her crewing days, so a small cabin was no hardship. That didn’t mean she wanted to spend any more time in close quarters with the dwarf and raccoon than absolutely necessary.
A briny mist hit her as she emerged from below stairs, and she was startled to see how quickly they’d left Eldu behind. The port town had become a shadow behind the fog that had rolled in and swaddled the ship, and even the boisterous sounds of the dock workers had been reduced to nothing more than a murmur, replaced by the jaunty tune of a sea shanty being sung by the crew.
There once was a ship went out to sea,
The name of the ship was the Fiddle Fi Fee,
The storms came up, the ship went down,
Lo, the Fiddle Fi Fee was gone.
Cali could have sworn she’d heard that song before, and she started humming it to herself as she watched the pirate crew at work.
“Cali, is it?”
The pantheri turned at the voice, backing up when she saw the quartermaster looming over her. Korl and his dads had altogether changed her opinion on orcs, but this one didn’t look nearly as friendly as her friends in Wayside. Her skin wasn’t as green as the Wayside orcs, but her tusks were no less pointed.
“That’s right,” she said.
The woman wore her long black hair in a sinewy braid with a few slippery curls at the temples. “Gert.” She didn’t hold out her hand, so Cali kept hers to herself. “You ever sailed before?”
There was no point in exaggerating her skills. “Not on a ship like this.”
Gert made a noise that landed somewhere between a grunt and a groan. “No passengers on a pirate ship. Everyone works.”
Cali squared herself to the orc. “I don’t mind work.”
The orc’s gaze rested on the quiver still on her back. “Not much call for those at sea, but you look like you’d be a good climber.”
Cali could climb and jump and had no fear of heights. “What do you need me to climb?”
Gert tipped back her head, and Cali followed her gaze to the top of the center mast where the purple-haired gnome stood on a platform caged by wooden slats.
“You can give Pinkie a break in the crow’s nest.”
Cali squinted, even though the gnome’s purple hair wasn’t hard to see. “Pinkie?”
The orc folded her hands across her chest and nodded. Cali guessed she’d ask someone else why the gnome with the purple hair was called Pinkie.
“Now?”
Before the quartermaster could order her up the mast, Bonnie appeared at the top of the stairs that led to the quarterdeck. “I’d like a word with our guest first, if you don’t mind.”
