Kingsport 1844: Setting Sail

Setting Sail
Kingsport, Massachusetts. November 1, 1844. Dawn.

A) Preparation
The Quiddity is scheduled to sail shortly after dawn on November 1, 1844. All hands are asked to stow their sea-chests by October 30, and if they haven’t signed the ship’s articles, to do so immediately. It is customary to send such notice to all the taverns and pubs along the wharves.

B) The Crew Gathers
The officers and crew assemble at the Tuttle docks before dawn, where the agents have prepared breakfast in an empty warehouse. An unusual event in the whale fishery, Sleet Baker & Blood are known for this tradition, and the entire firm is represented, even the sharkish Addison Sleet. Fresh eggs, crisp bacon, good strong coffee­—it’s a hearty spread produced at company expense. The Widow Asenath presents each sailor with a small Bible published by the American Seaman’s Friend Society, and a disposable basket containing two muffins, a piece of fresh fruit, and a small wedge of cheese. The only one missing is Captain Joab, who is “still feeling a bit under the weather,” and has already ensconced himself in the captain’s cabin.

The sailors are groggy and hung-over, but are glad to be so richly treated. Talk undoubtedly turns to the storm; indeed, the wharves are littered with debris, and there’s plenty of moaning and cursing as Kingsporters wake to assess the damage. Of course, the Quiddity seems untouched—a situation considered “remarkable.” There’s a 75% chance that someone will have heard about the green glow, and will relate the tale; Gideon Sleet passes it off as St. Elmo’s Fire. A Science (Meteorology) roll or a Seamanship roll suggests that such an occurrence rarely occurs in port during a storm. There’s a 60% chance that news arrives about the missing sailor, José Pinto, washed up against the Head. This may start a round of rumors regarding Innsmouth, the ghost ship Anna, and so on. Jacob Macy sensibly suggests that Pinto was drunk and got lost in the snow; and for once he’s not lying. As far as stranger events—stray Byakhees, walking dead, etc.—that depends on how the Keeper managed the Halloween Tempest Scenarios, and should be “debriefed” accordingly.

C) The Service
As has become his custom, the Preacher arrives after breakfast to lead a small dockside service. He’s accompanied by Mrs. Ruth Wakeman and Mute Charlie, who’s loaded Ruth’s pump-organ onto a wooden wheelbarrow. The service lasts fifteen minutes, and is mercifully free from invective directed at certain stubborn captains—somewhat muted by the Tempest, the Preacher seems content to deliver his usual casting-off service, with a reading of Psalm 104 and a prayer for divine protection. Mrs. Wakeman leads the worshippers through a pair of hymns, “In the Silent Midnight Watches” and “Go Labor On.” With the exception of the Widow Asenath, who joins the worshippers, the officers of Sleet, Baker & Blood ignore the dockside service and carry on loading the Quiddity.

D) The Voyage Begins!
After breakfast, Mr. Pynchon takes command, herding the sailors onboard and discharging the last of the riggers. By now, the docks are bustling with activity. Additional livestock is boarded, including Izzy the goat, a turkey named Henrietta, and a small passel of hogs. A cart arrives and unloads three wooden crates, each stamped with “Quiring Bros., Philadelphia.” Captain Sleet takes immediate charge of the boxes, which are directed to the captain’s cabin. (They contain the Mälzel metronomes required for the Black Hymn of Azathoth.) By 8:00 am all crew and officers are directed on board, along with Jacob Macy and the pilot, a nervous man named Archibald Mercer. (Perhaps he’s recalling the fate of his friend?) The dock is thronged with mothers, wives, sweethearts, and curious onlookers. As Mr. Pynchon begins casting-off procedures, a sudden stir ripples through the crowd.

E) The Prophet Elijah
The reason for the disturbance is the unexpected appearance of Elijah Watts, dressed in Wendell Crabbe’s soiled clothing and pushing his way through the throng. His face bleeding from self-imposed scratches, his hair tangled with stormdrift, and his hands seized into a talon-like rictus, he stands at the edge of the dock and begins shouting: “Avast! Ye are forgetting old Elijah, dearheart of the sea! Mr. Watts, second mate, reporting for duty! Avast and let me board, ye scurvy dogs!”

Obviously shocked, Mr. Pynchon orders two nearby sailors (Redburn and Beckett?) to quickly raise the gangplank. As they carry out this order, Elijah leaps onto the gangway, and must be physically repelled. Watts punches and kicks sailors until incapacitated or flung overboard. (See Encounter 4 for Watts’ statistics.) If Beckett and Redburn cannot stop him, Suresh Joshi and Henry Swain grapple him down the gangplank.

Unless incapacitated in the fray, Elijah begins haranguing the Quiddity from the dock. He repeatedly calls for Captain Joab, who refuses to emerge from his cabin. He curses the ship and her crew, especially Mr. Coffin, his replacement, upon whom he heaps much colorful invective. Finally he begins to howl in torment—“Please, Jerry, please come out an’ see your poor old friend. I’ve been cursed, man; bell, book and candle. But I’m all better now. Please, Skipper, please…Have mercy, have pity! Lamashtu! Pazuzu! Edin na zu!” But Captain Joab remains silent and unseen. Finally Gideon Sleet makes his way to Elijah, now broken (and possibly beaten), and escorts the tragic officer back to St. Erasmus.

F) Anchors Aweigh!
It’s not the most auspicious beginning; but shortly after the deranged mate is led away, the anchor must be weighed. (The ship is only moored using one anchor; the second is already catted to the larboard bulwark.) Mr. Whipple immediately orders Beckett, Redburn, and Quakaloo to the windlass—“Grab a handspike and spring, my hearties!” The work is quite difficult, with the men inserting the handspikes into the top of the barrel and pulling down with all their might, then removing the spikes and repeating the motion. Owen Love takes up a windlass shanty to help the men establish a rhythm, and soon sweat is pouring from every brow despite the autumnal chill. All player characters on the windlass make a Strength roll to gauge their effectiveness. There’s no reward for a success, but a failure earns Whipple’s boot to the arse—“I said spring you plaguy lubber, spring! I see ladies out on dock who could do better an’—, I say Ruth-fucking-Wakeman could do a better job than you, now break your back, boy-o!”

Stinking of muck, the anchor cables are winched up and given a quick hosing-off before vanishing down the chain pipes. The anchor is secured to the starboard cathead and lashed to the anchor board, and the Quiddity is hauled from the dock into open water, setting into the harbor under power of its main topsail. Archibald Mercer takes up his position at the bows, while Jacob Macy himself takes the helm. Soon the harbor is cleared, the shoals are navigated, and the open sea awaits. With a last admonition to “Make the v’yage profitable, lads! Bring back a hold full o’ sparm ile!” the burn-scarred agent joins the trembling pilot in the swift-sailed pilot’s boat, and the pair take their leave.

G) A Final Omen
Within moments of setting sail, Henry Swain cries from the tops’l yard, “Something afloat off the starboard bow­—looks like a man!” With a sickening, muted thump, the bloated, dead body of Lawson Court, the second lost fisherman, strikes the side of the ship and is dragged along before being pulled under, never more to be seen by the eyes of men.

Beyond is the wide, cold Atlantic.

White Leviathan > Chapter 1—Kingsport 1844
[Back to Encounter 43, North Point Lighthouse | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Chapter 2: The Atlantic]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 20 February 2022
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
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