Carthaginian Empire--Episode 3--Shipwrights
It had been nearly three years since Elfdeer had seen her homeland. Hanno watched indulgently as his tiny junior wife climbed as high on the prow of his oaken galley as she possibly could in order to catch the first glimpse of land. Their sturdy little seven year old boy was desperate to climb to the same vantage point as his mother but he could not reach the necessary handholds. With the lively motion of the galley as it began to buck in the cross swell created by the mixture of tide and current the sailor assigned the duty of looking after him was not going to assist the would be little climber in his endeavour.
"Land, land, I see land!" Elfdeer squealed in excitement just as she had done on her last return.
Some of the crew frowned; it was considered bad luck to allow a woman to see land first. The more knowledgeable among them however looked up, there above them shackled to the mast the lookout had been silently pointing towards land for several minutes thereby averting the bad luck.
The galley although recognisable as being similar to the ones sailed here ten years earlier was in some ways different. It was also vastly superior. Framed entirely of oak and several metres longer it was much more stable on the open ocean. The mast was now mounted slightly aft of amidships and was twice as tall. The little ocean going ketch captured with Sagun had yielded improvements to the rigging and sail layout to the point that the vessel was much quicker too.
Bouncing with excitement, Elfdeer sprang down from her perch above the deck, the ten years and three children had not dulled her graceful movements and the crew watched with awe as the still beautiful woman danced and pirouetted around the enclosed foredeck with her young son in tow.
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