“Why is the crew looking at me all weird?” My‑re asked Vomarian over the banging and hammering on the Unsinkable III.
“I surely don’t know what you mean,” Vomarian replied.
“Like that,” My‑re exclaimed. She pointed to a Shagornan Elf watching her. He had a smirk on his face. Despite being stranded in the middle of the Rirorni plains for the past fortnight and working constantly on repairing the ship, they all seemed giddy in mirth. The elf quickly turned away.
“It’s like some inside joke is going on,” My‑re said, then looked around. “Where’s Havelock?”
“Below deck,” Vomarian said.
“Still? I’ve barely seen him. What’s he been doing down there the past two weeks?” My‑re asked.
“Who knows what these eccentric wizard types do with their time,” Vomarian replied, shrugging, but seemed to gaze toward her.
Sensing something amiss, My‑re turned and descended the ramp into the ship’s hull. She saw his two golems, Rock and Chip, standing guard next to a door leading to the back storage area. They weren’t going to move. “Out of the way, you piles of pebbles,” My‑re said, squeezing between them and opening the door.
Inside, lanterns lit the room. Boxes, barrels, and other supplies were pushed to the sides of the interior. In the middle, Havelock straddled a long, thick statue made of white wood. Various tools, knives, chisels, and hammers were nearby on a table. He worked on a detailed carving of a mythical creature with the bottom that of a large, scaled fish. It had a human head with long flowing hair and a human torso, like a centaur. It had a female’s bare chest. It looked like, wait a minute. It looked like her!
“In the nine hells Havelock. What are you carving?” My‑re exclaimed in horror and gestured to the statue.
“Ah, my muse is here. I’m commemorating what you did for the ship two weeks ago,” Havelock said, puffing out his chest.
My‑re could feel her face go red. She folded her arms defensively across her front. “It was a stupid gesture for a stupid sailor’s superstition. I don’t even know why I did it. Desperation, I guess.”
“No, not stupid. Sometimes, it’s the things done in desperation that matter the most. Maybe your display played a part in weakening the storm. Maybe it didn’t,” Havelock said, shrugging. “However, just in case the gods are watching, I carved this statue to defuse future storms. That way, you can keep your clothes on.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” My‑re said. Additional heat rushed to her face. She held herself tighter, looking at a nude form of herself. “You can stop carving anytime now.”
Havelock sighed, “Alright.”
“Really? Whew,” My‑re breathed out in relief.
“I agree, it’s finished. Perfect timing,” Havelock said, clapping his hands together.
“Wait, what?”
“Rock, Chip!” Come in and bring the mermaid up top,” Havelock called out. He blew and began brushing some wood shavings from and between the sculpture’s cleavage for longer than she felt necessary.
“That’s creepy,” My‑re told Havelock, who ignored her. She moved when the golems entered and picked up the statue. She followed them and Havelock up the ramp. Emerging, all the Shagornan Elves’ eyes turned toward them. A few gestured and snickered. Others turned around to suppress their laughter. It seemed everyone on the ship knew about Havelock’s nude carving of herself, except herself.
Spotting Vomarian, My‑re briskly approached him. Two elf companions talking with him quickly walked away in different directions. “You knew about this?”
Holding his hands up in supplication, Vomarian replied, “I protested, but you can’t talk Havelock into or out of anything.”
“You could have told me.”
“Yes, but I was hoping he’d just lose interest in the carving like he does other things nine out of ten times.
“Lucky for me. I guess this is the tenth time,” My‑re said sarcastically. Turning to the ship's bow, she continued, “Oh, that’s not right.”
The two golems were hoisting the statue into the air. One held the breasts, while the other pushed it up by the derriere. My‑re spotted a round opening in the statue’s back. Havelock, suspended over the bow, maneuvered it into place and onto a set of wooden dowels already fashioned.
As the mermaid statue moved into position, Havelock joined My‑re and Vomarian to admire his work.
“This is so embarrassing,” My‑re said, glanced at the elves enjoying the craftsmanship, and felt even more heat rush to her face. She covered her eyes.
“Why?” Havelock asked and, by the tone, didn’t seem to understand.
“That,” My‑re exclaimed, holding out her palm in a presentation-like manner. “It’s me.”
Havelock looked to My‑re, the statue, and then back to her. “What do you mean? You don’t have scales for legs or a flipper for feet. Your hair is short. Its hair is long. No one thinks it’s you.”
“Well, you missed two pieces, and important ones at that. The face and the…” My‑re stammered, then gestured to the chest area.
“Oh, that,” Havelock said as a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. He then continued, “I thought about using one of the elves. They are very pretty. I dare say the most beautiful things on this ship. All symmetric and all.”
My‑re glared daggers.
“Anyway, they’re all male…I think. I suspect the gods would know the difference. That left you. Plus, the bonus of being female. Your display sealed the deal. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen the anatomy of a woman, so I had to sear the image of your-”
“And I’m going to stop you there,” My‑re interrupted and held up her hands.
“I don’t see any flaws. The artistry is top-notch,” Havelock said and moved off offended.
Watching him leave, Vomarian commented, “I think he did a good job.”
My‑re eyed Vomarian, returned to the statue, and studied it for a few minutes. She did look good in long hair and something to remember. Havelock had smoothed out her face to make her seem younger and adjusted her front, something only a woman would notice, to make them perfect. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she smiled. Havelock did a good job.
Clap! Vomarian smacked his hands together. It startled her and the rest of the crew studying the sculpture. He ordered, “Fun time is over! Back to work! I need scouting parties to form up! There are three runaway mere dragons that need finding!”