Name: Off to Sea, You Land Lubber!
Difficulty: C
Location: Shippuugakure
Reward: 15,000 Ryo
Experience: 50 Experience
Objective: Protect the small shipping ship.
Description: You have been assigned to protect a small ship during a short trip towards a nearby island village and back. Make sure no pirates, sea animals, or anything of the sort attack or cause any harm to the ship, and help out wherever needed, like cleaning the deck. Can't have you laying around on a ship for the entire mission. The trip is over when the ship is docked at the harbor. Try not to drown.
Bright sun, high winds and fresh air, that was the ideal for sailing. Fortunately, today was such a day for the little shipping ship: it was making a small delivery to a neighboring village nearby and needed some insurance to make sure it was not bothered by any animals or pirates. Both animals big enough to cause damage to the ship or pirates to plunder the ship were very uncommon, but not unheard of. Ren hoped neither of those would be in the mission report when she finished the mission; with that being said, she was up to the challenge if things went south.
She shielded her eyes from the harsh sunlight as she exited a small storage building; she had just helped the crew load all the supplies on the ship and had taken a small break. Now they were ready to ship off, it wouldn't be a long travel, just a half day and back- so Ren would be back by the evening: hopefully. The captain of the ship was standing beside her just outside the doorway to the storage building, he locked the door and turned and planted his hands on his hips as he took a deep breath of fresh air. Ahhh! I love the smell of the air today! Gonna be some smooth pleasant sailing today, Ren-san!
He was a much older man, but he had addressed her with a level of respect higher than necessary; she was just his ship's bodyguard after all for the mission. To Captain Derkerd though, it was much more; this was the start of his small wealthy business and he thoroughly appreciated Ren's assistance, even though he had paid the village well for the help. So today, while we're out at sea- I want you to help on deck. There will be a few things needed to be done, mostly scrubbing the deck of the ship to ensure the sailors can have proper footing in treacherous sea weather. It's a trivial task, but it will keep your mind busy enough; afterwards, you can relax on the lookout point atop the main mast and watch for any danger.
She nodded to him and they both set out together towards the ship, it was a small ship compared to some of the other more lucrative ships; but it could still hold a good twenty sailors on deck and three times that much below deck. The sailors on board greeted their captain and Ren once they boarded and prepared to ship off. The dicking rope was unhooked and their sails were set at half mast to guide them slowly out of the port. Ren stood at the front of the ship until they had cleared open water, she wanted to ensure they didn't hit any reefs or sandbars. Far too many ships in Shippuugakure's waters had sunk because of careless captains who didn't know the waters well enough.
Captain Deckerd was not such a man though, he had spent his whole life out at sea, learning from his father who had given him this very ship: he was the best of the best at navigating Shippuugakures tricky waters. Soon they were out to open sea and their sails were set to full mast; sailors rushed all about her, securing ropes, untying ropes, moving supplies and otherwise doing trivial tasks to pass the time. Very few stood on the rails just enjoying the wind, they would be yelled at soon enough by the captain.
From what Ren had heard, he was an honest hearted man with quite to vocabulary; it especially showed when his temper was set off. That was something she didn't plan to be a part of, at least be the cause of his temper... she was kind of curious what his temper was like though. She busied herself with a scrub brush on the dirtiest section of the deck of the ship, three other sailors knelt down and began to help her: who could resist standing around when a busty girl was showing them up?
A few of the sailors paused in their duties to admire the view they were afforded, Ren was knelt on the deck, leaning forward and pushing her scrub brush back and forth. Quite a bit of her cleavage was showing as she was focused on her task, her boobs bounced often as she went back and forth with the scrub brush. Suddenly the captain appeared from atop the Quarter deck where he had been steering the ship. His First Mate was steering the ship in the direction he had guided the noob as he stomped down the wooden steps and glowered at the gathering of sailors enjoying the sea-side view of Ren.
They looked up from their lewd chat and jokes and saw the captain stomping his way towards them with his face slightly down and his eyes deadest on them. they began to disperse to their duties or pretending to be looking out at the open boring waters as he approached, but he had already caught them. He was a respectable man and held his guests in the highest regard; Ren was his glorified guest on this trip, even if she was a bodyguard. This was his first voyage out at sea in a few years with a wealthy profit on board. You lot better get to your tasks and leave our friend alone or I'll have you all cleaning the scruff off the bottom of the bilge when we reach port!
Cleaning the dirty bottomside of the ship while underwater was not a pleasant thing to imagine, especially while docked. Rogue waves and underwater currents were likely to bash you and knock you silly against the unforgiving thick wood of the ship. The men dispersed and began their duties with a renewed vigor; the ones left standing around were ordered to take Ren's place scrubbing the deck as she was instructed to go to the outlook and watch for danger.
They traversed the expanse of water without incident from animal or pirate, she helped them unload their goods and enjoyed a round of beers at a Kidleywink to commemorate the ship's first successful voyage. They began their sail back to Shippuugakure before the sun began to set and reached the port just as the sun was disappearing over the sea's horizon. Ren got off the boat and waved goodbye to the sailors as they headed their way back to their homes for the evening to spend the time with their families. Captain Deckerd thanked her for her work and handed her a report he had written up for her to return to her kage; he had signed it himself for validation. Good job out there, sailor. I hope I can count on you more in the future. I apologize for the men's behavior, their a lewd boisterous lot sometimes.
She laughed lightly and waved it off, it wasn't that big of a deal; none of those men were fighters so she could easily take them al down if they offended her. Don't worry too much about it, I'm sure their more afraid of the verbal lashing you'll give them in the morning to make sure they respect me in the future, so I'll look forwards to our next venture out to see!
A fine sailor you'd make someday, if ever you considered that career, I'd be happy to make you my First Mate even. It wasn't such a bad deal, but it wasn't what Ren desired for her life, she enjoyed the little trip out to sea... but her dreams were in Shippuugakure itself. She thanked himfor the offer, took the report from the captain and made her way to the kage's office. Saizo-sama would likely still be there, swimming in a sea of paperwork.
{end}
word count- 1,302