Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 14 “Harmless Crew Member”

The Vanished was large, surprisingly large. As a sail-powered vessel, its size seemed to exceed the necessary limits of its purpose.

Nevertheless, such a large size did mean larger warehouses, more cannons, stronger structures, and a more stable posture in the face of wind and waves — all of which meant it was enough to face the most arduous challenges in a long voyage.

But at the moment, Duncan had no plans for the so-called voyage, and the surprisingly large ghost ship brought him only a sense of loneliness. All of which wouldn’t be so bad if there’s an extra crewmate to talk to.

Anyways, there are plenty of idle “guest rooms” for the doll to use as a result.

Footsteps broke the silence in the eerie corridor, and Duncan took the gothic doll down the wooden staircase to the lower cabin of the aft deck, which was located directly below the captain’s room. From the structural point of view, this should be regarded as the “upper living area” in this big ship, which was more or less bright and tidy than the dark and spooky areas of the lower deck.

Eventually, Duncan stopped in front of a crew cabin and casually pushed open the lightly closed wooden door.

There are several single cabins like this on board with simple furnishings, but they have been idle for so long that it’s hard to find any sign of people ever using them.

These were some of the first things Duncan discovered from his initial exploration of the upper area of the Vanished. He did not think much about it at the time, but now that he was personally in charge of the ghost ship and knew the secret of the ship’s ability to sail alone, a question arose: Since this ship did not need a crew at all… then who are these crew cabins on the ship for?

The single rooms in the upper cabins are obviously reserved for the higher ranked seafarers such as the first mate, the second mate, and lead deckhand, while in the lower areas there are bunk cabins for the general crew. In addition to the ship’s obvious multi-person dining quarter and recreation room, the existence of these facilities in itself were meant for “people”.

Duncan frowned slightly, realizing that this ghost ship must have some history prior to sailing the sea alone. At the very least, it did have a crew once upon a time.

So what happened in the past to make the ship what it is today? Where did the original crew of the ship go? Is the real “Captain Duncan” the owner of the ship from the start? What does that weird goat head know?

“Captain?” A questioning voice suddenly came from behind and interrupted his thoughts.

Duncan had forgotten for a moment that Alice was still there due to adapting to the solitude of being alone for so long.

“My name is Duncan. You can call me Captain Duncan—of course, it’s your freedom to address me as Captain.” Duncan quickly straightened his expression before turning to meet the lady’s gaze, “This empty room will be yours from now on, go inside and have a look.”

“Ah, okay!” Alice nodded. First poking her head over Duncan’s shoulder to see what was in the room, then turning around to grab her box floating behind herself, she finally strode inside on her own.

Seeing Alice’s “coffin” that has always been inseparable from the doll, Duncan couldn’t resist the urge to comment: “Do you always carry that box around with you at all times?”

“Yeah,” said Alice in a matter of course, “where else would I put it?”

“But this box was your seal. I thought you would be more wary of it.” Duncan frowned, “Now it seems you can’t do without it.”

“It’s the people who sealed me so it’s not the box’s fault.,” Alice said as she sat down on her coffin and patted the lid. “Are you going to come in and take a seat?”

Duncan shook his head, “No, how do you feel about this room?”

“Ah, it’s very good,” Alice looked pleased as she scanned the simple furnishings as if they were some splendid décors. “Is that a wardrobe? I don’t have any clothes to replace and shouldn’t be able to use it… But it’s nice to have a cupboard. Oh, and there’s a table on which I can put stuff on in the future, but I don’t seem to have anything to put… Maybe I can use it for my head when I need to comb my hair. It’s more convenient being able to reach all the angles…”

“It’s good that you’re satisfied.” It was strange to watch a gothic doll planning her future life plans in this manner, “You can rest for a while and adapt to the environment. I’m heading back upstairs first. Also, do not go downstairs to the lower deck. You can move freely on this floor and above. Look for me in my captain’s quarter if you need something. If I’m not there, talk to the goat head on the mapping table. He’s my first mate.”

Alice nodded as she listened, but when she heard the last two sentences, her eyes widened suddenly: “Goat head?! That pitch-black wooden carving?!”

“Looks like you’ve noticed it.”

“I noticed… But you say it can talk?! And is your first mate?” Alice looked amazed, “I thought it was just… It’s incredible!”

“…… You’re a doll who can talk and move,” Duncan expressionlessly stated as he eyed the doll, “and you still think a talking goat head is incredible?”

Alice appeared taken aback by that comment. Looking down at her own hands, she mutters as if she just realized this fact: “Ah, now that you mention it….”

Duncan shook his head and turned away: “That’s about it. You take your time here, and if you need something, come look for me.”

“Okay, Captain.”

After leaving, Duncan did not go anywhere else, but straight to his captain’s room and sat down in front of the mapping table.

The goat head: “Ah! It’s the captain! It looks like you’ve settled the lady in nicely. You see, like I said, a gentle and harmless lady who doesn’t do any harm to your journey and can chat with you to relieve boredom. I see you’ve decided to leave her aboard. Are you going to arrange something for her to do? The Vanished doesn’t need much people. The deck will clean itself and scrub the cannon. The water tank also maintains itself…. Perhaps she can manage the kitchen? You seem to have been less than happy with the food on board… Ah, speaking of food, it seems that we need to add some ingredients first. The jerky and hard cheese in the warehouse may be a little old. Although a rough seafarer would not be picky about the food at sea, the great Captain Duncan must…”

Duncan felt his brain juices boiling, and he was once again convinced of one thing: he really needed a “normal conversation partner” like Alice with this noisy goat head around!

“Shut up,” he glared at the goat head, and only after the latter had closed its mouth did he continue, “you were acting very honest when Alice was around. To think I had believed you were finally able to stay quiet.”

“One mustn’t interject when the captain is interviewing a new crew member. This is the rule of the sea. Even if I am your loyal first and second mate and lead deckhand….”

Duncan didn’t wait for the goat head to finish (in fact, if he didn’t interrupt, the goat head would never finish): “Pay attention to the movement of the doll during the next couple of days.”

“Ah… Yes? You want me to keep an eye on the lady? Are you still not at ease with her? I understand. Taking precautions is a necessary trait for a good captain….”

“She has a lot of secrets that haven’t been revealed yet. Maybe it’s because she didn’t know it herself yet, or perhaps… she deliberately concealed it from me. Anyways, she’s a cursed doll with a code name ‘Anomaly 099’, that much is certain.” Duncan said lightly, “Those people from the other ship did everything they could to stop Alice from roaming freely. Now that she’s a part of the crew, I need a little time to confirm her harmlessness. Even if it’s only to the Vanished.”