H.M.S. Heartrender

Captain Darren closed the spyglass: No use going through the inlet if nobody was watching him do it. Even if they somehow saw the ship, there was no guarantee they would open fire. No, he needed something else to gain their attention. He looked to the east, the sun was about to rise. It was now or never.

He lit his pipe then dropped the match to the wooden deck hoping something would spark, but the oak on the old ship had been worn too well, and besides that, the wind was ripping its way off the coastline and right across the quarterdeck. Instead he stamped it out with his boot.

He looked into the darkness again. They had her. They had her somewhere inside that inky night, he knew it. He just had to get them to expose their passageway and he would drive the H.M.S. Heartrender through their hidden passages and park it on their doorstep.

He could still hear her song calling to him through the night sky and even though he knew it was a siren song that called him to his death, he did not care. He felt obliged to get her back since he was the one who found her. Besides, these days, nobody believed in mermaidens any more. Aye, except for he. 

He lit another match and this time instead of dropping it to the deck. He held it to the canvas sail, which took its flame easily and spread it across the Heartrender, fire reflecting off the water as the sun rose over Isla Nebula.