Yeosang jumped down on the deck floor from the crow's nest, leaving his pistol above.
"Captain, there's a blockade." He said.
Hongjoong turned to him, squinting his eyes. "A blockade?"
"About eight ships are blocking the port. No seems to be able to enter or leave." Yeosang elaborated, glancing over at Seonghwa who was looking down at a map, making little black markings on the paper with a clump of charcoal that blackened his hands.
"Let's try an' enter." Hongjoong replied, turning the wheel.
As they approached, they noticed that the tiny town wasn't so tiny. It was a rather large city that was blocked off by a flock of large black naval vessels. Men in crisp white navy uniforms dotted the deck's of the ship, running back and forth. The men noticed the Aurora and Hongjoong could see the sailors racing for their guns to confront the foreign ship.
"Halt. You may not proceed any further." A man yelled out when they approached the nearest navy vessel. Their ships were dangerously close. Hongjoong walked to the side of the ship.
"We are here to purchase supplies from your city. We mean no harm." Hongjoong replied.
"You are not allowed to proceed." The man said.
"What?"
"You are not allowed to proceed." The man said louder.
Hongjoong frowned and leaned forward. "May I ask why?" Hongjoong called out.
"We are not allowing any foreign ships to enter our ports."
Hongjoong was beginning to get annoyed. This was the first time they had encountered a blockade. "Please, we are only here to purchase some goods from your merchants. That is all and we will leave. We just need supplies to fix our ship. We were caught in a storm and the wind damaged out sails, you see?" Hongjoong motioned towards the ripped sail. The man glanced up at the sail and murmured something to a taller, slightly younger man next to him.
"What is it that you need?" The tall man shouted.
Hongjoong stood straight and glanced back at his crew mates.
"Gunpowder and rum." Jongho said.
"Sailcloth." Seonghwa added, walking over to Hongjoong who nodded in confirmation. "Also, maybe some medicines."
"Cloth, for the guns, and some extra canvas." Yunho said, lifting up the polishing cloth that was stained from months of cleaning off dirt and charcoal from their weapons.
"And charcoal pencils. I'm sick of using this clump." Seonghwa said, holding up the charcoal chunk as Hongjoong turned back. Hongjoong sighed, only now realizing how much material they had went through and lost within the last month.
"Anything else?" Hongjoong asked sarcastically. Wooyoung opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it.
"Wooyoung?" Hongjoong noticed.
"Nothing, it's fine. We got everything."
Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" Wooyoung nodded. He saw San whisper something to Wooyoung before turning away to face the man on the other ship. He quickly repeated the list of their items to the man.
The sailor turned to yet another man and said something before relaying the message to a man on the other side of the ship. They stood there for a few moments before the man returned, catching his breath from running from one side of the ship to the other.
"We will allow you to enter the port, but only to retrieve your supplies. Should you or any of your crew try anything to put our citizen's in harm's way, you will be executed on the spot."
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Hongjoong nodded. "I understand, thank you." He replied with a smile.
It took a while for the boats to make a clear path to allow the Aurora into the port to dock. They earned some curious glances from fisherman who were loading their boats or returning to the city with fresh caught fish. Old women wrapped in brown shawls waddled over to the port merchants, picking up food and other necessities for the week. Small children helped their father's carry bundles of rope to the ships while sailors walked back and forth between the ship and land, calling out to each other and dodging the kids that weaved in and out under their feet.
The wood of the dock creaked loudly under Hongjoong's feet, but the chatter of the citizens and sailors drowned out the sound.
"Hey, Joong. Should we go with you or stay?" Seonghwa asked. Hongjoong turned to him. It had been a really long time since he heard Seonghwa call him that. It was a nickname Seonghwa gave him when they first met because Seonghwa claimed that Hongjoong's name was too long, even though his name was just as long. The nickname kind of faded and Hongjoong assumed it was because they had grown up, but hearing him call him that made him smile.
Seonghwa had noticed how stressed Hongjoong had been lately. Hongjoong tried to hide it, but after being best friends with him for so long, he knew something was up. Seonghwa had been trying to take over some of the responsibilities for Hongjoong so he could rest, which helped a little, but there was still something that was bothering Hongjoong. Even now, Hongjoong seemed tense.
"How about you come with me to get what we need." Hongjoong told Seonghwa. He looked over Seonghwa's shoulder at the rest of the members who stood, waiting for instructions quietly.
"Maybe half of us stay here and the other half get the supplies," Hongjoong replied. "Seonghwa, Yunho, and Jongho come withe me. The rest of you guys stay here. Don't get in trouble."
"Yes mom," Mingi said jokingly. Hongjoong smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Come on."
It took them almost half an hour to find a shop that sold the charcoal pencils that Seonghwa needed. They spent an additional ten minutes trying to bargain with the merchant to bring down the price, but it wasn't easy. They ended up paying a little more than they wanted for the pencils, and they would've continued trying to lower the price (they were really good at talking their way into getting things for a very low price), but they noticed a man carefully watching them from outside the shop. He was one of the men from the ship earlier who was sent to keep an eye on Hongjoong and his crew. While Seonghwa and Hongjoong negotiated the price of the charcoal, Yunho and Jongho went off to purchase polishing cloths and sailing cloths.
"Did you really need those?" Hongjoong said with smirk, looking at Seonghwa who was staring happily down at the sticks of charcoal in his hands. Seonghwa looked up at him and smiled softly.
"Yeah, look at my hands. I'm tired of them always looking dirty all the time." He held his hand out to Hongjoong. It was coated in a thin layer of black charcoal. It was a heavy contrast to his smooth white pale skin. Seonghwa had the best skin out of all the members. While all of the crew had rather good hygiene and always appeared clean, Seonghwa was by far the cleanest. He didn't look like a pirate. He looked like some kind of wealthy citizen from some distant capital of a royal city. He had beautiful striking features and shiny black silky hair that was always kept nice and neat. Even his clothes were rather luxurious for a sailor. He didn't talk like a pirate either. He sounded proper and educated. Hongjoong admired Seonghwa and always looked up to him, but he never mentioned it.
