“Silver Adventures”- Captain Joshua Slane – 04JN19 – ‘At last! There is the open sea!’

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)

[Last time...]

Errislravenhill quickly undid his shackles and tossed them back into the longboat as Seaman- Carpenter's Crew Tokjockey and Seaman- Able Seaman Luesniper walked up, each carrying a small chest of coppers.

“Alright 'en, let's git tae th' heart ay thes village an' make contact wi' whoever th' warlord is who’s runnin' things aroond haur!" Galligan said as he turned and headed towards the dark and dusty outline of Sherubrub.

[In the narrow canal…north of the palace…]

The small sloop sailed silently north, passing through the inlets and coves of the narrow canal. Here and there, the outlying villages of Victoria sat sleepily on its banks. An occasional lone fisherman would wave, not know that his King had just passed by…

“At last! There is the open sea!” The King exclaimed with great relief.
“Yes my Lord! We will let out all our sail cloth now and set our course for Praslin Island.”
“Will you find it?!”
“Lord, look to the north-east carefully…” the soldier said as he cupped his hand over his eyes to block the sun, “Do you see that tiny speck on the horizon?”

King Radwan squinted as he gazed off to the north-east…

“I see it! You are right my good man! Let us make for Praslin in all haste!”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[In the village of Sherubrub…]

Commander Galligan led the crew through the narrow winding alleys and streets of Sherubrub at a stiff pace. There was no sign of a palace or a castle or any structure of any importance. One small building looked very much like another.

People poked their heads out of their doorways and windows as the crew passed by. Finally, coming upon two armed men, Galligan decided it time to try and communicate.

“Awrite mates! Woods ye min' helpin' a traveller?" He said in Sassenach.

The two armed men stopped and looked at them with suspicion. Fnally one of them spoke in ‘Socotri’ the most archaic and isolated of several isolated tongues spoken in Yemen and Oman. Not understanding a word of it, Galligan tried another tack. He pulled out his sword and held it flat in both hands, giving a slight bow.

The two men looked at each other and then seemed to understand that the stranger was coming in peace. After a few more words to each other, they waved to Galligan to follow…

The dark and dusty pathways that wound between the buildings were an ancient maze. They could have wandered for hours if it were not for the two men who guided them. Finally, coming to an even narrower alley, they stopped in front of an unassuming heavy planked door. The two men stopped and then called out to the occupants of the building.

The heavy wooden door was slowly unlatched and cracked open. More words were exchanged and finally one of the two men motioned to enter with an extended arm. Galligan cautiously stepped into the dark opening, followed by his crew.

“By th’ looks ay thes place, it pays ta’ hav some Japanese Akido skills!” Junior Petty Officer- Carpenter's Mate Errislravenhill whispered to Seaman- Quarter Gunner Tokjockey.

“Quarter Gunner at yer service Sairrr!” Tokjockey whispered back.

The small group entered a dimly lit chamber that was lined with animal fat candles on both sides. There, sitting at the center of the chamber sat a dark, well-weathered man of middle-age. He wore a robe and at his side a long sword dangled. Six warriors stood about him with arms crossed. A group of very young, scantily clad women scampered from the room as the strangers all entered. Galligan removed his hat and bowed slightly…

“Ahh come in peace. Ahh wish tae make a trade…” He said in a low but steady voice.
“What kind of trade?” The strange man in the faded robe replied in fairly good English.

Galligan was taken aback by the revelation.

“Yoo spick mah tongue?!”
“Yes, I learned it from an Englishman whom I held prisoner for twenty years!” The War Lord exclaimed with pride.

Errislravenhill glanced at Galligan with a bit of anxiety but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Ahh am Commander Galligan, ay th' Scottish Frigate- Silverton…”
“Silverton?! Under the Command of Joshua Slane?!” The War Lord said, jumping to his feet!
“One an' th' same…”

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵

"We havs a winner! Mickied cam thru wi' his correct answer ay fifteen hunnert an' thirty-seven an' a half coppers! Blye me, It took fife days tae figure 'att answer! (Sailors dornt likes math much. That's wa there's only one Keptin ur Commander per ship an sae forth! Haw! Haw!"

mickied (25)in steemsilvergold • 3 days ago
RE: “Silver Adventures”- Captain Joshua Slane – 25MY19 – ‘Fun Fact Bonus Contest!’
"Wouldn’t that be 1537 and 1/2 coppers, sir?"

(Tae be as truthful as Ahh can an' still hauld mah Commain, Ahh think th' 'Fun Fact Bonus Contest' was aboot as impressiff as a fart in a windstorm! Ahh think Ahh'll jobby-can it...)

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🗝 Vocabulary fur 'lain lovers':

Ahh (I), aw (all), ay (of), bark (news), brine (ocean), caller (fresh), cheil (man), clootie (cloth), dae (do), dunnae (do not), dug (dog), gang (go), gezz (gives), glaikit (stupid), heem (him), haur (here), mah (my), mair (more), min' (mind), mingin (filthy), moggie (cat), nae (no), onie (any), oot (out), poke (bag), radge (mad), Sassenach (Highland English), shair (shore), spick (speak), strang (strong), stoaner (hard, tough), thes (this), toon (town), ur (are, or), wa' (why), waesucks (horror, pity, or sorrow), wee jimmy (young boy), wooldnae (wouldn't), yak (eye)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Ye might hav bin tempted tae nibble 'Oot ay Cycle' lest weeks, an' if ye did, Ahh wooldnae hauld it against ye! It was th' hair ay a gnat's crease from breakin' th' Hauld Cycle! But it didnae quite git thaur. We're catchin' quite a soortherly win' noo thoogh mates! Cuttin' caller water tae th' north likes a bat oot ay heel!" ↩ 💦 - Keptin

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"Confused? Ascared? Seasick? Need a private chat with the Captain?" - [email protected]

References

Pictures from: A mukker an' neighbur ay Kerrislravenhill, www.freeimages.com, www.pexels.com, pixabay.com, steemit.com an’ www.google.com/maps. Data loosely interpretted froms: www.wikipedia.org an' sometimes reit from th' author's extensiff personal experience an' such