Chapter 343 Arrival in Westport
Chapter 343 – Arrival at West Harbor
The Fortune was a cargo ship belonging to the Todd Boat Company, it was a brand new two-masted sailing ship with a “fat” hull that had two decks. It traveled between the port of Fulan and the western port, and in addition to carrying cargo, it usually carried some passengers. Compared to the crude facilities on the Hope and the South, the accommodation on the Fortune was relatively improved, and in addition to the captain’s room, there were also a few small compartments for passengers to rest in – ordinary sailors could not enjoy this kind of treatment. They still sleep in the cabin in a hanging bunk, and must be rotated to rest.
Like so much land, the average civilian can not afford to live in a compartment, they can only be crowded in the dark, damp, indescribable smell of the bottom of the warehouse, this part of the space is completely below the draft line of the ship, the conditions and the latter-day stowaway ships have a spell.
“What a horrible journey!” Leah rubbed her chest with one hand and held onto the side of the ship with the other, her delicate face a vegetable color. She had just thrown up again, and after eating slightly in the morning, her stomach was now empty again.
Erin gently pounded her back behind her, a look of heartache on her face, “Ugh, it’s really making you suffer after me.”
After boarding the Fortune ship and departing, the first day was fine, but on the second day her retainer, Leah, started to get seasick, fortunately, under the strict order of the Council of State, every merchant ship must be equipped with a doctor, and under the doctor’s care, Leah’s seasickness was alleviated, but it could only be said that it was good in times and bad in times.
Erin had an apologetic face: “I’m sorry for making you suffer so much following me.”
Leah frowned: “What are you talking about, miss?”
Since leaving Arda, she gradually reverted to the serious and archaic tone when she spoke that she had when she was serving as the princess’s guard at the royal palace.
“Serving your lord is the most basic duty of a knight, and facing adversity head on is also a necessary refinement on the path of a knight-well!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Leah covered her mouth.
“Really, you’d better be less preachy!”
Erin continued to gently pound his back.
“What a loyal and honorable subordinate!” An exclamation came from the deck.
Erin could tell from the voice that it was another guest on the Fortune, the merchant Velos.
Speaking of this Velos, he claimed to be from West Harbor, and had been based in Lake Town for business since last year, and this trip was to take the Fortune back to his hometown to deal with business matters.
However, Irene and Leah always felt that Velos and his subordinates always surrounded them intentionally or unintentionally.
Were they being paranoid? After all, the ship was only a small place, and it was normal to see each other without seeing each other, and they didn’t find any other unusual behavior on the way.
Even if Velos has bad intentions, the two women are not afraid, the captain of the Fortune ship, the first mate and others know Irene’s identity – Count Greiman’s subordinates, senior officials of the Council of State, in the mayor of Theodore’s instructions, the two of them naturally pay close attention to their safety, and after arriving at the West Harbor, they will also be sent to escort them to the city hall! –Of course they didn’t know what Irene was doing at City Hall.
A rich-looking, middle-aged man dressed as a merchant approached, and Ayrin turned to thank Velos, “Thank you, Mr. Velos, for your compliments, you’ve come to the stern of the ship to see the scenery again?”
“Haha, yes. Enjoying the vast ocean from a ship is something that those of us who have lived inland for so long don’t easily experience. That said, female knights are rare, and since your squire has the status of a knight, I assume you must be a noble?”
Erin frowned imperceptibly and nodded her head in acknowledgement, “Let’s just say I’m a noble.”
“Sort of? Haha, I didn’t expect someone as noble as you to speak so modestly.” Velos said in a very self-conscious manner.
As she was talking, Ayrin saw someone coming up behind Velos.
“Mr. Captain.”
“Ah, Ms. Diaz, so you are here.”
The captain of the Fortune waved this way, and the three of them, including Velos, gave him a slight nod of greeting.
The captain came to them and gently removed his hat. In front of Irene, the captain looked very formal, at that time, when he was informed by his boss Mr. Todd that the famous female head of the Council of State was going to take his ship south, the captain was filled with apprehension in his heart, fearing that something would go wrong on the way that would not be easy to explain.
Along the way he was careful, the Lord of Light blessed, in addition to the female attendant a little seasick, did not happen anything else.
“Is Miss Leah feeling better?” “Thanks to your care, it’s not as difficult as before.”
“That’s good, a few more boat rides and you’ll get used to it.”
The captain glanced at Velos who was standing next to him and secretly spat in his heart, why is this guy pestering Miss Diaz again? It couldn’t be a toad trying to eat swan meat, could it?
“I’m here specifically to inform you ladies that we’ll be arriving at Westport soon, so stand on the deck for a little while longer and you’ll be able to see this harbor on the horizon.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Erin and Leah glanced at each other, both seeing the excitement in the other’s eyes, finally setting foot on their long-lost homeland. Although sailing on the sea for the first time in their lives by boat was quite exciting at the beginning, but sailing for so many days in a row was also tedious, not to mention that Leah was seasick.
“Look! It’s West Harbor!”
From ahead came the shouts of the crew.
“We’re home!” The two women happily hugged each other before they ran towards the bow of the ship in a giddy manner.
Velos looked at the duo’s backs, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.
The Fortune gradually approached the harbor, the captain looked into the harbor with his hand on the pergola, “It’s very strange, there are no ships coming in and out, even though the Western Harbor isn’t that prosperous, but it’s unusual to be this quiet.”
The captain’s heart gradually rose a strange feeling. Years of maritime career forged his caution, the captain’s mind inexplicably recalled the large and small pirates that had crisscrossed the Northwest Bay two years ago.
“There won’t be any pirates in ambush in the harbor, right? But the pirates in this area of waters have disappeared for a long time.”
In the end, the captain decided that prudence was the better part of valor, and he ordered loudly, “Stop approaching the harbor!”
The subordinates around him quickly conveyed his order even though they found it strange.
Soon, the first mate, second mate and other important people on the ship came to the captain’s side, and the captain explained his worries to them.
The men had mixed reactions, some advocating continuing into the harbor, others advocating turning around and heading north.
“What’s the matter with them? Why don’t they keep traveling when they’re about to dock?”
Erin was wondering, sensing that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
“I’ll go ask them.”
Leah said and headed towards the Captain and the others, Erin quickly followed her.
“Two ladies, the situation in West Harbor seems to be a bit off ah, I suspect there are pirates ……”
“Pirates? Aren’t all the pirates on the west coast of the kingdom wiped out? At least the coast of the royal family’s direct territory hasn’t heard of pirates for a long time.”
“We are also hesitating ……”
In the middle of the discussion, a crew member shouted, “Captain, a ship came out of the west harbor and is heading towards us.”
The crowd looked towards the west harbor, only to see a small paddle boat slowly approaching them.
(End of chapter)