The two-masted ship slid calmly into the bay, banners of the eastern trading fleet flapping overhead as the crew checked and tied away ropes. Overhead, the sun beamed warmly down from a sky dotted with white clouds, and over a railing, a young man emptied the few remnants in his belly into the calm waters.
A strong tan hand clapped him on the back, "We be landin', boy. You can stop tryin'a paint the side o' me boat now."
"Thank you... Your pay..." he started, as he pulled a small bag of coins from his coat pocket, but the captain stayed his hand.
"Ye've done more than enough to pay yer passage. Ye go on wit' yer coin and spend it on a pretty lass.. Once ye clean up, a'course," the gruff man chuckled and turned, then began barking orders at the crew to prepare for the unloading of cargo in the trade city of New Thalos.
The purse went back into his coat pocket, and he went below-deck to gather his meager belongings from the cramped cabin that had been his home for the past weeks: a wide-brimmed hat for sun that he would definitely need, a cape for cold weather that he wouldn't, steel, flint, dried rations, and a dark leather-bound book sitting on his bed.
Lifting the flap of his pack, he loaded it all in, pausing last on his book. Flipping through all of its pages from front to back, he peered at its blank pages. Reaching the back cover, he flipped the book in his hands and traced his finger over its bindings and edges, then slowly turned it back to its front.
He closed his eyes, visualized the pages of notes he had written the night before, and opened its covers... the writing and diagrams slowly inked themselves onto the pages as he thumbed through them, admiring his drawings of the boat and its design.
"New Thalos docks! Tie it off! Gangplank down! Start unloading the cargo!"
He emptied his mind and the writing faded to blank pages again an he shut it tightly, sliding it into the pack as he threw it over his shoulder and stumbled towards the door-- growing dizzy as he realized the swaying had stopped.
