[NR] FW: Adrift in the Mists

[Lord Pooky]

Posted by: "Lord Duncan MacNamara"

Awash in the salty fog and moonlit night, a cold wind stirred the
strips of tattered canvas mainsail. A creaking came from far below,
as though the vessel was groaning in labored breath, tired and weary
from far too many months wandering aimlessly through the mists. It
was quiet, far too quiet, like the eerie silence of a graveyard after
an autumn rain, with only the random patter of water dripping off the
spars and rigging. gloomy beams of moonlight faintly cut through the
haze to illuminate a haggard appearing figure clutching the helm, as
though he had gone mad from cabin fever. The figure muttered
incoherently to himself as he steered the vessel through the fog, for
all the good it would do... the endless fog seemed to him a living
beast who had swollowed up the HMS Iron Lotus, and was even now
slowly digesting the vessel. Hope turned to madness long ago... Now
it was the only way to pass the time, standing watch at the lonely
helm. One by one, crew members had seemingly vanished from the ship,
until the Captain found himself alone on the deck with the demons of
his mind plaguing him constantly. Was there any crew left belowdecks?
He thought he heard the muffled sounds of boots scraping belowdecks,
though that could have only been the creaking of the ship's bones...
he couldn't be sure. The mind played tricks when you're this long at
sea. Was that the voice of his first mate? It could have only been
the wind... the heartbeat of the ship's drums had mysteriously
vanished, he couldn't be sure how long ago now. Seconds trickled by,
seeming like hours... days. Or was it hours and days that were flying
by like seconds? The ship's bell hadn't tolled in so long he had lost
all sense of time. Confound this damned fog... no way to sight the
stars... not that the daylight was any more visible for sighting in
this infernal soup. The Captain continued to mutter, his hoarse voice
keeping pace with the wind... "Yo, ho... all together, hoist the
colors high..."



Re: Adrift in the Mists
Posted by: "Alexander Bailey"

It's completely dark below, yet still too bright. Not sure at first where on
the HMS Iron Lotus I succumbed to my drink last night; it seems I fell or
was laid in my own hammock. I try to shake off a vague memory of rat
hunting, belly rubs, and clawing the masts.

It's quiet. For a panicked moment, I'm not sure I am even on the Lotus. What
ship is this? The only sounds are the lap of the sea and the creaking of her
bones. Though the relative quiet is a blessing to my throbbing skull, it
fills me full of uncertainty. Where is the Heartbeat of the Iron Lotus?
Surely she isn't dead?

Holding my skull in place with one hand, for it threatened to fall off, I
grope through the dark with the other hand. I stop my fumbling for a moment
so I can hear something other than the clomping of my own feet. I hear the
voice of the Captain above. He sings a song...