Week 2 Story: The Crew's Salvation

This is a story of the rescue of a captain and his crew. It begins on a day that was not going very well for the captain and his crew. They were out to sea on their ship and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The waves were crashing and the wind was screaming and the rain was pounding. The crew and her ship were fighting together against the storm until they could fight no more. Then, when there was land barely in sight, an excessively large wave tipped the ship sending her crew into the sea. The men all found themselves washed ashore on an island and soon they began to see figures approaching. It was a group of women coming near. These women offered dry clothes, warm beds and hot meals and the captain could not refuse such generosity. They were led to a beautiful city with houses of stone with thick thatch roofing with fires already lit for warmth. Once they were dry, warm and full, conversation started up.

 "My men and I are very thankful for the help you have given us," the captain began "but do you mind if I ask why there are no men around?"

The oldest of the women stepped forward to answer, "Because we are a coastal city all of our men were sailors like you, however, it has been many years since they last set sail and we have lost hope of them ever returning."

One of the younger women excitedly exclaimed "Oh! You could all stay here with us. We all would really love the company." This statement was accompanied by many nods from the women.

The captain looked around at his happy and relaxed crew before replying, "We would greatly appreciate being allowed to stay longer and it is the least we can do to repay your kindness." He paused for just a moment before adding, "Perhaps you would allow us the use of tools and supplies to build ourselves a new ship while we are here?"

All of the women looked around at each other and grinned before the oldest replied, "Of course. Such a project will be a long one and we would be glad for your company during that time."

That night the weather finally calmed and the crew slept very well, except for the captain. He was awake pondering the situation and the plan of building a ship from the ground up. Some time into his pondering, he heard a noise from outside. Thinking there must be an animal, he went to investigate but what he found was the frightening truth of the city. The women were outside and heading towards what looked like a prison. When arriving there, they tore apart and ate a very bloody meal. What was most frightening was that the meal they ate was human flesh. These lovely ladies were not ladies at all, they were she-goblins! The captain crept away slow and silent and eventually found himself walking along the shore with horrors in his mind. He knew that he and his crew needed to get away now or they would all be kept and eaten like livestock. Then, as if in answer to his prayer of saving his crew, he came across a bright hope. His ship had washed ashore and was mostly intact!

The next day he gathered his crew away from their hosts and told them of both his discoveries. Although there were some among the crew who did not believe the women to be man-eating monsters, his crew trusted him and so agreed to keep the ship a secret from the city's inhabitants. Throughout the day they gathered supplies to fix their ship and when night came they snuck out to the shore. There they worked long and hard the entire night and when the day was just barely brightening they finally set sail with all aboard. And thus, the crew rescued themselves to face the open seas once more.

A crew and their ship

The image can be found on Flickr here

Author's Note: The idea of this story came from "Goblin City" in which the she-goblins desire husbands and then eat them once they are bored of them. In the original, there is a fairy that sends a flying horse to save the crew members who believed the captains warning. I changed the ending big time because I wanted it to be a little more realistic.

Bibliography: "Goblin City" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source: Goblins