"First of all, I would like to welcome all of you to the Lady Narath. I am the Captain of this vessel, Darvin Amblecrown. I was appointed by Admiral Nym, who is currently off doing Admiraly things. While we are under sail I will be in command of the ship and any sailing decisions. Are we clear on that?" Darvin asked this last part and was greeted a resounding chorus of "Yes, Captain!" Darvin was very pleased with that response and his adrenaline started to pump. I was made for this, he thought to himself and then continued with his introduction.
"Quartermaster Beranhond has informed me that some of you are not the most veteran of seafarers, so we will be spending the next three days learning the ins and outs of sailing. Let's start with the basics. Everyone please face the bow." The sound of 20 pairs of boots on the deck as the crew turned filled the air. Pointing to his left Darvin said, "This is called port. The other side is starboard. The front is called fore and the back is called aft."
The first day of training continued along this path, with Darvin leading a tour of the ship and explaining what everything was called and what it was used for. He made a point to explain that the captain was awarded the largest cabin on the ship for two reasons. One, being that he is the captain and two, that the captain's cabin has a tendency to get blown to shit during battle. Some of the women looked slightly concerned. After explaining to the crew that the ropes to hoist the sails were called sheets and not ropes, they also on occasion could be called lines. He then explained what the bowsprit was and that the jib, which was a small sail, would be attached to allow the ship to go faster. While looking at the front of the vessel Darvin stopped and said, "Hey! Who painted a cat on the front of our ship?" The question was rhetorical because everyone knew it was Nym.
As the first day came to a close Darvin ventured out into the city and found Carla, the weapon master who had taught him how to use pistols. She was with her friend Meathook, who was a master of swords. Darvin invited them to come onboard the next day and teach the crew some things about combat. Meathook even volunteered to supply the crew with some serviceable swords that he was thinking of throwing out. "There's nothing wrong with 'em. They're just a tad old, but it'd me heart good for 'em to be out at sea wit your crew." Meathook said matter of factly.
The next day Darvin had the crew spend the morning repairing the various ailments that the ship was afflicted with. With 20 people the work went swiftly and was finished just as Meathook and Carla arrived. Meathook took one look around at the crew on deck and shouted, "The lot of you fight like dairy farmers!" And with that he commenced his training session on sword fighting. Carla showed Thjodolf and the 3 other crew members who had been selected as the gun crew, how to use the swivel guns with great efficiency. Darvin watched with pleasure as he witnessed the crew coming together nicely.
On the third day, Darvin assembled the crew on deck and started shouting orders, "Unfurl the mainsail! Prepare to come around!" The crew took off running in all directions but had no idea what to do. Darvin had a good long laugh and then slowly and carefully explained to each one of them what they were supposed to do when orders were shouted. They learned how to raise and lower the sails, raise the anchor, prepare the ship for a tack and how to scale the rigging in case they needed to fix a tangled line. At the end of the day, Darvin dismissed the crew and told them to get some rest because they would be shoving off soon. As the crew walked off, the half-elf captain shouted, "Raise the mainsail!" And everyone ran exactly to where they needed to be. Darvin was quite pleased. They were ready for the open water.
Only one small correction. It takes 4 days to do all that you have fit in, not 3. So there is one extra day in there that was a blur that you spent training the crew.
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