Night had fallen upon the deck of the Sayladar, shrouding its contemplative captain in its darkened folds. Morgan stroked his rough goatee, deep brown eyes half closed as he watched the moon's reflection as it crept higher into the darkening sky. Tinges of crimson lingered upon the horizon, and the Corsair allowed himself a faint smile, muttering an old sailor's rhyme. "Red sky at night, Sailor's delight. Red sky at morn, Sailor be warned.. Seems we will have fine seas, though I know not where they will lead us.." A gruff voice eminated from behind him, causing the mouse to smile further. "Why, wherever th' winds take us, cap'n! Why worry? The crew's drinkin' their toasts in yer name, Morgan. I say enjoy y'self in yer vict'ry, the ship is all in workin' order, so why get yer whiskers in a tangle?" Morgan was silent for a moment before responding calmly. "Perhaps you're right, Brutus old friend. I will worry when a problem rears its ugly head, and not waste my time beforehand. Come, I'm sure I have some good damson wine left over." Brutus' ruddy features lit up at the mention of the fine drink and nodded enthusiastically, following eagerly in his friend's wake as they headed for the Captain's cabin.
* * * * * *
In the belly of the Sayladar, the crewbeasts relaxed and enjoyed the bounties of their lifestyle. One of the larger portions of the ship's hold had been converted into a recreation deck, well lit by candle lamps and well furnished with tables. Groups of corsairs sat about playing dice and betting seashells, while others told stories over large tankards of seaweed ale and other stolen refreshments. Off to one side of the room was a door leading to the supplies hold, which was usually patrolled by a chosen crewbeast to make certain nobody took more than their share for the evening. On that particular night a tall, fairly tough-looking ferret named Ryler leaned against the doorframe, yawning faintly and picking at his claws. The job of 'Grub Sentry,' as it was dubbed, was often a dull one, as most of Morgan's crew had enough brains to realize that rationing was beneficial in the longrun. So the Grub Sentry's night was spent fighting off sleep instead of greedy vermin. Just as he found himself starting to doze off, Ryler was snapped back into wakefulness by a paw being waved in his face. Ryler blinked his dark eyes a moment before glowering at the intruder, rather playfully. Brilik the weasel had thrust his paw at his friend's snout to gain his attention, and poked the surly ferret in the shoulder once he had gained that attention. "Oy, no fallin' asleep on yer post there, mate. The dice gamers are actin' up for a drink, so I figured I'd ask ye if I could intrude your nap a moment ter get some water?" Brilik snickered slightly as Ryler shook himself fully awake. The ferret sentry gestured with a paw in the storage room, shrugging his shoulders at his shipmate with a mumbled "Help y'self." Brilik made a mock bow at his friend and had to nimbly sidestep a kick from Ryler. Still snickering, Brilik located the waterbarrels and a jug. However, once he had lifted the lids of several waterbarrels, he became perplexed. "Ryler, matey, there's 'ardly any water to be 'ad! Yew been drinkin like a fish in yer sleep or wot?" The Grub Sentry seemed equally astonished and inspected the barrels himself before shaking his head, puzzled. "I've seen everybeast thats gone past me t'night, and every night I'm on guard. I think its not a thief, but I think we're simply low on supplies. 'Tis been weeks since the last good rain, so we 'avent been able to collect any fresh water.. We'd best be tellin' Cap'n Morgan about this." Brilik nodded in agreement and exited, heading up to the captain's cabin to alert Morgan.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Corsair captain seemed very concerned indeed when Brilik passed on the news of the water shortage. A sinewy paw kneaded his goatee with faint aggravation, brow furrowed with thought. He offered a cup of damson wine to the messenger, before turning to Brutus to speak. "Now I really do wish I knew where we were going. If perhaps we can locate land nearby we can find a spring or river. Or even another ship.. Brilik, please go find our navigator, Thajus, and relate the situation to him. Find out if he can locate any sort of land. If he can, have him relate the direction to me. Make haste!" Brilik threw a quick salute and dashed out of the cabin, boots stomping quickly away, the sound gradually fading. Morgan breathed a heavy sigh, still pawing at his goatee. "So much for relaxing, Brutus.." (To be continued..)