X: Xebec & xanthophyll
Xebec (noun): A small three-masted pirate ship
Xanthophyll (noun): Substance causing yellow colour of autumn leaves
”Last night, I went for a stroll with Sarah and Benjamin along the harbour as the weather was nice. Especially for drinking white wine and watching the ocean flow in as the sun set. Our spirits were high, since I had just sold a painting for more than expected, I had just met someone interesting and as their business was going well with the airships constantly coming in. My former lieutenant was especially giddily as his most disliked colleague had just quit to work a different place.
We passed the sprawling Fischer-Marinkår headquarters, which was rapidly taking over the rest of the street and the area around it with many signs saying “Workers needed for various tasks. No previous experience required. Come visit our office to ask questions or hand in applications.”
My sister pointed to the top of the building, where the lights were still on. A woman at the top office saw us from the window and smiled and waved at us. I recognized her as Eliza Fischer-Marinkår, named after her great-grandmother, one of the important members of the family. She was a regular costumer at my wine-shop and a bit quiet, but always very friendly.
After taking a slight detour because of all the construction work going on and getting pears and white wine from a street vendor, we finally got to the harbour. The sun was beginning to set and everything was dressed in lovely red colours. That was when we saw it. The Dancing Rebecca. It was exactly as I had heard it described.
The ship had three masts and almost crimson sails with a pattern of red, orange and yellow leaves. Her ropes had the same colours with the orange, red and yellow mixing together. It was clearly large with a with a long bowsprit, equipped with a massive amounts of cannons. It sailed the route that I had heard described so many times before. Across from the entrance to the bay, in a slight circular motion and then past the harbour before heading out again. For some reason, I wasn’t scared, though I saw both my sister and brother-in-law growing pale and holding each others’ hands. When it came close to the harbour, it seemed almost translucent in the setting sun. After that, it went out to it’s final destination. We stood there for a moment, before heading home. Both my sister and brother-in-law was visibly shaken, but calmed down along the way. We had known of the tales and that the ghost of Dancing Rebecca never harmed anyone.”
I have but two things to add to this strange tale. The source is the same person, who described her use of the chemical weapon COBRA, supposedly used to defend the Free City of Jubylon, when she was 17. This seems to have occurred roughly seven to eight years later. The Dancing Rebecca was a supposed pirate ship, supposedly sank at at an unknown year the middle of October.
The route described was the one it took on it’s final voyage, while the naval forces of Jubylon chased it around before they finally boarded it and killed every single crew member onboard. Afterwards, the Navy of the Free City of Jubylon sank it and let Davy Jones claim the Dancing Rebecca without any further ceremony.