Femme Fatales of History
Volume 11: Seiren Song
The most notorious pirate vessel in all Atreia, the Jewel of the Waves, pitched and rolled on a storm-tossed sea. Captain Hinden gripped the rail tightly, shouting commands fore and aft. The crew, energized by the determination of their leader, swarmed to obey. Hinden was the beating heart of the ship, and the crew its blood.
Far off, on the wind, unheard to the crew, a voice sang:
"Cooooome to meeeee."
As if on command, the wind whirled and drove the Jewel of the Waves deeper into the storm. The captain faltered in his commands, just for a moment. And in that moment, a wave crashed over the rail and sucked the captain out to sea.
Six days prior, the Jewel set out on calm waters, driven before a brisk Nor'wester. Its destination: the Golden Trumpet Temple.
Of course, no living soul knew the location of the temple, but the captain had managed to get his hands on a precious Quartz Lens. When placed into a special socket in the lighthouse, a beam of light pointed the way to the Golden Trumpet, and, with luck, to the Seirens' fabled treasure.
And the captain was famed for his luck, both good and bad.
The morning after the storm, the Jewel drifted, its main mast broken and its sails in tatters.
The first mate, Linpielle, tried to rally the crew, but too many of them were missing overboard, and too many lay below decks wrapped in makeshift bandages. The absence of Captain Hinden was felt most painfully of all.
The fore-mast was still intact, and there was a backup sail stowed below, but it was late in the day before they were unable to get underway, and they had been driven far off course. The navigator was among those missing, so the first mate made his best estimate, and they set off in that direction, with little hope of seeing their captain again.
Several days went by, with no land in sight. Their stores were running low, and they didn't have food enough to make it back to port. Their only hope was to continue on and pray they found land.
One night, the lookout called down from the crow's nest, and they all soon saw a light bobbing off to port. To their astonishment, it was Captain Hinden they pulled from the strange little craft, which was of no design they had ever seen, and which melted away into the ocean before they could retrieve it.
No matter how they asked him, the captain could not explain where he had been, nor how he returned. His eyes were glassy and he could hardly say but two words together. This he attributed to lack of food, but he seemed no better in the morning.
One thing the captain seemed certain of, and it was that the Golden Trumpet Temple lay near at hand.
"Fear not, men!" he cried. "When we reach it, we will never want for food or drink again!"
He laid in a course and for several more days and nights they sailed. It seemed the captain stood constantly at the wheel, never leaving for food or rest. Each night, the wails of the wind sounded more and more like song.
One by one, the crew became glassy-eyed like their captain, standing at their posts staring at the sun-glare off the water for hours at a time.
Linpielle tried shaking them by the shoulders, but they just shrugged him off and went back to their staring. Some muttered or hummed under their breath, a haunting melody which the first mate had never heard.
What was it? What was that damned song?
He thought he heard snatches of singing on the wind, but when he shook his head, it was gone. He didn't hear so well, not since the battle that sank his old ship.
That night, the wind dropped, and a white mist surrounded them. It became impossible to see more than a ship's length off the bow, which would have spelled danger if they were moving at all.
Linpielle thought he saw lights glimmering around them, haloed by the fog.
He didn't realize what was happening until the sailors began to climb up onto the rail.
"No!" he lunged for the nearest, a gaunt fellow who might have once been the ship's doctor, but the man slipped through his fingers as if he were made of mist, and plunged into the black depths.
Finally, only the captain was left, still gripping the wheel. Ribbons of mist curled across the deck, making it seem a ghost ship.
"Captain! What is this madness?" Linpielle shouted.
"Had to see my crew safely off," said the captain calmly. "Just you and me left." He gestured, offering to let his first mate lead the way--to the rail, and to the water's icy grasp.
Linpielle gripped the captain's arm. "You're going to your death!"
"Let me go!" The captain struggled, but in his weakened state could not free himself. "Esnu! Esnu, deliver me from my mortal bonds!"
The first mate would not let his captain go that easily. They fought, brutally and desperately, and Linpielle would have got the better of his skipper but for the strange apparitions which rose above the water. Beautiful, they were, and haunting, and hypnotic. They opened their mouths and unleashed the most unearthly wails. The sounds echoed in Linpielle's head and threatened to burst it.
Slowly, unbelievably, the planks of the ship warped, and split, and water began to rush in. The Jewel sank down beneath the waves it was named for. Linpielle was thrown clear, and the last thing he saw before the sea took him was his captain being welcomed into the loving embrace of the seiren, Esnu.