For Whom the Bell Tolls

[Vera Silvertooth]

Vera Silvertooth grabbed a basket on her way out the inn?s back door and stepped into the pre-dawn light. Hope the catch was good last night. I wonder if there will be anything new to try today?

The vixen had been in the port town for almost half a season. She?d found a cooking job at the Cracked Oyster Inn. Pay wasn?t great, but already the word of her cooking was spreading through town and the Oyster?s clientele had increased. Another season or two and she would have enough coin to put another town behind her.

She thought about the ruby amulet sitting in a hidden pocket on the underside of her apron. Perhaps it was finally time to head home? Wouldn?t Mother be surprised to see the old heirloom back in family paws? Of course, that would be if her mother still lived. One never knew about such things and Vera had been on the road, cooking her way from town to town, for seasons, with hardly a word sent back home.

Vera reached the fish market and began browsing the selection. She glared at anybeast who tried to shove something in her face, but engaged the less pushy ones in conversation. Ocean fish were new to her and the possibilities were endless. How would this flounder taste roasted, steamed, or poached? She?d heard fried fish was quite the treat. Perhaps she could stuff it with something?

?By the by,? the fish merchant said. ?There were a rat askin? for a vixen among the boats this mornin?.?

Vera frowned. ?Do tell??

?Aye, he described ye from snout t? tail, miss. Ye must have just missed him.?

Vera tapped a claw on the wood of the merchant?s table. ?This rat... what did he look like??

?Oh, soldier type wit? the armor and sword. No fur on his left hindquarter. Looked like he were burned there.?

She hissed softly through her teeth, then forced a grin. ?Thank you very much. Did he happen to say where he was going?? So I can go the opposite direction!

?Not that I heard. Want me t? wrap the flounder for ye??

?Um, yes.? She handed over the required coins and put the paper wrapped flounder in her basket. Her movements were calm and utterly opposite what her mind was doing. A rat. A soldier rat with burns. Possibly one of the soldiers from Fort Blackfur. She must not have covered her tracks nearly as completely as she thought if one survived and tailed her here.

I have to get out of this town now. Even if this rat isn?t from Blackfur, it?s too much of a coincidence to ignore. Her eyes drifted to the ships lying at anchor as she walked along the dock. That?s it! There was talk last night at one of the tables about no ship?s cook on the Silver... Silver Something-or-other.

When Vera got to the Cracked Oyster, she slipped in through the back as quietly as possible. None of the inn?s other workers were about, so she left the fish on the table, and scampered to her little room just off the kitchen. In only minutes, she returned carrying a packed bag and grabbed her personal cooking knife from the block. Leaving neither word nor note, she passed out the door like an orange ghost.

When the Silver Maiden sailed with the tide, she carried with her a new galley cook.

    ****

Vera Silvertooth closed the door to Captain Ciera?s quarters. Honestly, thinking I actually had anything to do with the poisoning! How stupid does she think I am? If poison is in the food, of course the cook would be the first to fall under suspicion. If I were going to poison anybeast, I wouldn?t be staying aboard this floating rain barrel waiting to get caught!

Besides, I?m the one who tipped her off in the first place.

The vixen hurried across the foggy deck. She avoided the few crewbeasts on deck. The mysterious island that everybeast said held Captain Blade?s infamous treasure had been spotted just before the rain earlier in the day. However, with the recess of the storm, the fog had rolled in with a slight breeze. Lanterns blazed from all sides of the Silver Maiden now, creating a bubble of light in the darkening twilight.

She shouldered open the door to the galley, slammed it, and returned to the soup she?d left simmering when Tooley had summoned her to the Captain.  Vera lifted the lid off of a large heavy pot that hung from the ceiling over the galley?s poor excuse for a cookfire. The fire itself was built in a brick box filled with sand to keep the fire from burning through the deck.  A simple thick stew of beans, reconstituted vegetables, and a few pieces of the leftover tuna from the night before simmered within and she sampled it with a long wooden spoon.

?Oh, for some fresh produce! A salad would go wonderfully with this! None of these sad, dried husks that pass as vegetables.? Vera sighed, ?I suppose it will have to do. Hmph, if I had my way, this wouldn?t even been considered fit for Chak?s slaves. At least I have been spared from that odious task. Chak?s precious Minstrel would sing a different tune if he wanted a meal at all.? She replaced the lid and rinsed the spoon in a small bucket of water that she kept nearby before hanging it on the nail she?d designated for it.

The Silver Maiden rolled and Vera staggered, catching herself against the table she used for preparing the meals. She attempted to curse. ?By my auntie?s silver longjohns!? Pirates did have such colorful swearing, though her attempts to fit in with the crew usually just earned her odd looks, and occasionally loud guffaws. ?Next time I need a quick getaway, I am not picking a pirate ship. Treasure or no treasure, I cannot work in these conditions!?

At least she didn?t fall near the fire this time. The first day at sea a fortnight ago had her tripping all over the galley and she?d fallen close to the open fire where she burned the fur from one side of her tail. She?d trimmed the blackened, curled bits away, but her poor tail wouldn?t be back to it?s fire-shaded glory for at least half a season.

The now dead Ginson had been the witness to that and he?d made certain to share her humiliating experience with the rest of the crew.

Oh, but he got his just desserts, and by his own paw as well. When she?d returned from a quick trip to the storeroom, she?d seen him tampering with the food intended for Captain Ciera. He never saw her, so she ducked away and quickly reported his suspicious behavior to the Captain.

If Ginson had been successful in poisoning Captain Ciera, Vera knew that she would easily be the prime suspect. Even after Captain Ciera managed to turn the tables, Vera had been half expecting to face more backlash from the attack.

She almost pitied Tooley, but as far as that went, it wasn?t her problem. The Captain could deal with the attempted assassination as she saw fit, as long as Vera wasn?t bothered by it.

Vera pushed away from the table and got acclimated to the Silver Maiden?s pitch and roll once more. She stepped over to the cupboard where the sorry excuses for dishes were kept. The only decent set seemed to be the ones reserved for Captain Ciera and the other officers. She piled them on the table near the pot. Next to that, she put out the fluffy biscuits that she?d baked this afternoon while the rain had poured.

?Maybe I can convince a few of the crew to forage for fresh supplies on the island tomorrow. Promise something special for the volunteers, perhaps?? She simpered at an imaginary crewbeast. ?What would you rather have? Rusty old treasure or a specially cooked treat?? She wrinkled her nose. ?Pirates. Of course they?d take the treasure.?

Satisfied that supper was as complete as it could get tonight, Vera left the galley once more. Time to feed the pirate horde. I?ll put out the fire after some of the crew has eaten, so the soup will stay hot for the last in line.

First thing, though, she needed to see if the Captain wished to be served before the rest of the crew. After the fiasco with Ginson, Captain Ciera had chosen a wiser course of serving herself from the same pot the rest of the crew supped from.

Back on deck, Vera looked towards the bow and out to sea. She saw a distant shadow in the fog just off the right of the bow.

That must be the island, she thought.

The vixen walked passed a group of pirates playing bone toss and various other forms of gambling. A few passed around bottles of foul smelling grog.

?They be saying that Cap?n Blade?s ghost guards the island, steering The Phantom around an? around just waiting for the likes o? us to venture too close. She appears out o? thin air an? if you attack, you?re sure to sink.?

?I heard,? another crewbeast said, ?that the last thing ye hear afore she attacks is the ship?s bell tollin?.?
The pirates all laughed, but their eyes glanced toward the sea.

What a load of superstitious pirate nonsense! Vera reached Captain Ciera?s door and raised her paw to knock. Somewhere out in the fog, a bell began ringing. Vera?s fur stood up all over her body and the Silver Maiden?s crew fell still.

Chak's laughter broke the silence. ?It jus? be Vera?s dinner bell. Grub be served, mates.? Amid nervous chortles, there was a mass exodus towards Vera?s galley.

?I didn?t ring the bell,? she said. Her voice, though not raised, drew enough attention. Pirates turned to stare at her. Some peered out into the foggy twilight.

All at once, there was a scramble on deck and someone rang the Silver Maiden?s bell five times in rapid succession. All around Vera, pirates scrambled hither and yon to their assigned battle stations.

Vera looked back toward the island. The shadow of the island had grown bigger. Much bigger.

?That?s... not...? Her breath caught for an instant, then she screamed. ?SHIP!?

A massive blue and gold vessel bore down on them.

With splintering crunching, the larger ship ground alongside the Silver Maiden. Oars snapped like toothpicks and the agonized screams of the slaves below mingled with the cries and roars of outrage from the pirates. Vera was flung to the deck as the ship lurched.

Slowly getting back to her feet, she stared at the passing stern end of the huge ship that had rammed them, and saw the most frightening sight ever she?d ever seen.

A badger.

She whirled around and shoved her way past pirates so she could get back to the safety of her galley. She had a knife in there! A little weapon would be better than nothing, even if it were a needle compared to that monster of a badger!

The door stuck worse this time, and she threw her weight against it to force it open.

Then Vera realized that the badger was not the worst thing.

The impact of the bigger vessel had wreaked havoc on her galley.  The pot swung on it?s chain, dribbling soup over the sides. Scattered among the wooden dishes and downed biscuits were chunks of burning charcoal from the fire. The dry wood of the galley floor had already caught.

?Fire!? she screamed, heading back out on deck. ?Fire in the galley!?