“Oiy watch out below!”

A loud crash echoed throughout the docks and Ephrym found himself racing from his captain’s cabin towards the rear decks of his vessel. A slight crowd of spectators had gathered around on the docks and Ephrym found himself letting out a breath of relief when he realized that it was not one of his own that had caused the ruckus. Someone else had crashed into another cart, some of the spilled goods now bobbing along the waters where they had spilled over the edge of the path that went between the docked ships, but no one was severely injured. If anything they were just peeved and a bunch of sailor’s curses started to echo throughout the crowd as today’s newest brawl began. Eventually Ephrym hoped to dock the MIsty Maiden in a finer area but until their first true successful venture they were forced to make due with the lower areas. Thankfully Ephrym played it safe and didn’t do much to irritate the other crews in the area (for the most part, nothing that couldn’t be solved over a good round of drinks) and so they were set to sail without hopefully too much trouble within the next couple of weeks. However, Ephrym couldn’t help but to be a bit more wary as their departure date approached. His deepest fears of not being able to sail and of somehow being responsible for someone’s severe injury were starting to surface as his nervousness grow. Could they actually do this? What if something happened while they were out at sea? What if he cost someone their life because they decided to follow him into the unknown? Just hearing the loud crash had sent his heart racing and Ephrym found himself turning away from the scene with a heavy sigh. “I really have got ta get a good drink or somethin’ before we leave.” He murmured quietly beneath his breath as he quietly climbed back up towards the front of the ship where his quarters were. Everyone else had smaller areas downstairs, but they were still nice for the merchant ship. Ephrym had heard horror stories of people being forced into quarters without much space and he had made certain to at least give some room to the crew rather than shoving the whole lot of them into one narrow sleeping area. His own quarters had been somewhat sacrificed as a result to give more room for upper deck storage but Ephrym didn’t mind. He enjoyed that he had enough room for a writing desk, a fairly large bed and a small study with a meeting table to share with members of his crew and patrons whenever they wanted to discuss more private matters. The glass windows that allowed him to overlook the front of the ship were a blessing and helped Ephrym to ease his spirits about keeping an eye on everything going on above deck. Just walking around the Misty Maiden and admiring all of her beauty always helped to calm his spirits whenever he got too worried about potential dangers. His family had wanted him to stay in Belrea to stay safe on either the farm or by going into the theater with his father, but Ephrym didn’t want that. He adored the feeling of the waves beneath his feet, the salty breeze that ruffled his curls, and the sight of the sun as it sparkled across the turquoise waters of the deep ocean. Out here he felt so much more free and any risks of danger were far worth the reward of freedom. It was just going to be strange to think that he would be taking care of more than just himself while sailing now. He was a captain and the safety of the crew was his responsibility. That was what worried him the most. Could he trust himself to keep them safe or would he be living through his greatest fear of losing someone in the end? Perhaps he had been a bit too sheltered and didn’t quite know how to handle the idea of death quite yet. But what else could he do? Ephrym refused to hide away from the world and one simply couldn’t sail without the help of others to keep the ship going strong. He just had to keep walking around his vessel and checking over everything to confirm that they were ready and to reassure himself that this was the life he so desperately had desired. “The ocean is callin’ us.” He whispered with a small smile as he patted the door of his cabin, his breathing more relaxed as he focused on the warm familiar feeling of home that the ocean gave him.

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