Far cry from home

[Roger Smith]

It had been a long, hard road...but maybe in the end it just might all be worth it. A gloved hand adjusted the angle of his hat, pulling the sharply-pointed brim back around to shade his eyes from the glare of the sun, riding high in the sky on the coat-tails of noon. He let the fingers of his right hand remain lightly on the edge of his hat's brim, keeping it steady in the face of a light breeze that sprang up, while the open palm of his left hand rested on the pommel of a saber sheathed at his hip.

"Aye...looks like I might've finally found jus' the place to settle down for a spell." A broad grin broke out onto his face, his angular features making the expression look positively monstrous, like a mad beast that had just spied easy prey. Dropping his hand from the brim of his hat, the black-clad man rolled his neck on his shoulders, eliciting a series of sharp pops and cracks that didn't sound at all pleasant, and indeed the grin on his features broke into a grimace. "Aaah....a good bit o' rest before gettin' back on the trail again might do these old bones some good."

He turned an accusing eye up toward the sky, the glare of the sun shining just shy of the bottom of his eyes. "....and gettin' outta the sky's glarin' great eye for a while might not hurt, either...." he grumbled. "'Go see what's in the other 'Verses 'round the place with yer own eyes, Cap'n, and bring us back some grea' honkin' advice on where to hit first'....I'm a blasted idiot, I am, fallin' for that..."

Mumbling and grumbling to himself at his folly, the so-called captain strode forward, down a hill and toward the humble-looking village in the distance. "Bah...be lucky if me crew hasn't up and scarpered with the ship and the supplies we'd already gotten firm hold of..." In stark contrast to his foul mood and dark musings and predictions, he seemed positively lighthearted and almost happy. "Bunch of filthy, thievin' dogs they are...should've never taken 'em on board anyway. Liable to get themselves caught sooner'n later without a level head around to keep 'em on track."

He threw back his head and laughed, a deep, hearty noise. "Aaaah....good riddance to the lot of 'em, I says...good riddance." His grin returned in earnest, and he adjusted the angle of his pointy-brimmed hat to a far more rakish angle, threw out the shoulder-cape flowing over his left arm with a flair, and redoubled his stride. "Right then....mayhap a cool drink while me mood's up, before a nice lie-down for some rest...then back to the sea when the sun rises on the morrow!"