Pirates & the Strange

[Cpt. Soup]

Carker stilled his restless feet and stiffened up as the captain worked his way towards him. Carker had considered trying to bend the captain with his eyes but quickly gave up the idea as to risky. If the captain abruptly became a slack jawed imbecile, those observing might connect it with him. Even if he escaped notice, when the captain came back to his senses, he may notice his composure in front of his crew. He then may take his anger out on the nearest person on hand to regain something of his position, that person may be Carker.

..And you? Are you willing to join my crew?

Carker looked through Scarlet Will as he spoke, he didn't want to risk meeting his eyes and upsetting the man's dignity. He responded loudly, not a shout but enough for the assembled to hear him clearly and, he hoped, for the captain not to demand he repeated himself.

Yes, I wish to join the crew.

Scarlet Will cocked his head to one side as if watching him in from this new angle would give him more insight into Carker. A smile played on his lips as he spoke.

One of my men says you killed two of my crew, why should I take you on or even let you live?

Carker dreaded this question, he doubted the pirates would have been blind to what he'd done. He thought of how to make himself appealing to the captain, he didn't think the man wanted intelligence from the prisoners, rather a quick restock of his depleted crew. If Carker stammered or showed cowardliness the captain would kill him right then, he wanted fodder for later battles and craven hands are of no use.

He shrugged stiffly and continued to concentrate on something that was directly behind Scarlet Will's head.

They try to kill me so I kill them.

Carker hoped his simple words were enough to satisfy the captain.

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

The captain steps up to Johnathan and examines him. His twin cutlasses still covered in blood, John makes for an imposing sight, but the captain of the pirate ship doesn't even notice. He looks closely at John's scars, especially the slash on his face, before speaking. "What about you? I saw you kill one of us myself." He says. Johnathan shrugs. "He was stupid." He responds. "Stupid and slow. I corrected his mistake." Johnathan says. He stands there, attentive but calm, tensed like a spring. If the captain tries to kill him, he's not going to lie back and take it.

[An Enemy Spy]

Before the monster can go for his neck, Desmond punches it in the face. The creature catches his fist in its mouth and starts gnawing on it. In horrible agony, but not so much that he is willing to die, Desmond gouges the monster in both eyes with his other hand. When the creature lets go, he tweists around it and grabbing its head in both hands, snaps its neck.
"Jen!" He yells, and waits for an answer.

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Spoiler

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Sorry I've been out for so long, my wireless connection has been fritzing. It looks stable now, so there shouldn't be many problems in the future. I've even come up with a nifty explanation for my character's absence.

Xan walks up from belowdecks, having taken a short nap after he left the slave ship with Will. He walks to Will and says over his shoulder "I can coordinate a stop at the nearest Empire port with you navigator, he says, thickening his accent and sneering at the prisoners, hoping to incite a reaction because of his race.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Jen glanced up at the sound of her name. Desmond! Help! She twisted her head to the monster holding her. And that makes two. I would really recommend letting go of me. Now.

[An Enemy Spy]

Hearing Jen's voice seemed to make the agony in Desmond's hand go away. Boarding the pirate ship had been his idea. Walking into the shadows had been his idea. If something happened to Jen, he would never forgive himself. Not after what had happened to Gwen. Desmond picked up his sword and charged forward towards Jen's voice.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Deck
"Are you willing to join my crew?"
"I'll join you. I've been a bos'n for ten years now. I do a damn good job of it, and I'll do it for half of what you're paying your current one."
Will smiled and slapped her on the ass.
"You're in. You might even get to stay on board if you're willing to work for half a share and pay your captain the occasional visit"
Will moved on to the next one in the row, Nose. The captain's face seemed to light up.
"You're a bit of a madman, aren't you? My men say you killed two of them by yourself and wounded some others, all with your bare hands"
There was blood dripping off of Nose's face, the pirates clearly hadn't been lying.
"They were staring, captain. At my nose"
A thick drop of blood hung from Nose's absurdly huge nose. The captain found himself looking at it, but soon diverted his stare as Nose growled.
"You're in. Keep your temper in check on my ship"
Next in line was the large man who had fought so valiantly for the guards.
"You're in" Will said, "I don't even need to hear what you have to say. We can use a man like you"
"Uh-huh"
The captain gave him a glare, and the big man shushed. He was quick at learning his place. Scarlet Will moved on to the smuggler, who had a sabre lodged in his hand and was whimpering. Will looked at him with loathing and unsheathed his blade.
"Wait!" the presumable smuggler said, "I've got a stash of goods left on a small island, a hide-out, there's some really good-"
He stopped talking, as the captain's blade had pierced his gut. The smuggler fell to the deck bleeding. He wasn't dead, but definitely dying. The fear in the next man's eyes alone and his stuttering was enough for the captain to cut him down as well. The next man was more promising. An Arabian, one that had handled himself well in combat.
"...And you? Are you willing to join my crew?"
"Yes, I wish to join the crew"
Scarlet Will cocked his head to one side as if watching him in from this new angle would give him more insight into Carker. A smile played on his lips as he spoke. The man was already in, but he wanted to see how he'd react to the next question.
"One of my men says you killed two of my crew, why should I take you on or even let you live?"
"They try to kill me so I kill them"
Good. Simple. Predictable, but not common all the same.
"You're in"
He moved past several others, of whom Old Bob, the three singing men with beards, a bald man, a nobleman and a beggar got to join, before reaching Jonathan.
"What about you? I saw you kill one of us myself"
"He was stupid" Jonathan responds, "Stupid and slow. I corrected his mistake"
The captain stared into his eyes, one hand on his bloodied sabre.
"You're arrogant. You think you know everything best, and you think you can take on the world"
The captain's arm swung rapidly, faster than Jonathan could anticipate, and his fist hit him straight in the nose. Jonathan could hear the bone snap as he fell to the deck. He was blinded by the blood, but he could feel the cold tip of the captain's sabre on his neck.
"That said, you're in. You're now part of my crew. Act like it"
The captain sheathed his blade again and was about to return to his ship when two men appeared from belowdecks. Xan and The Ghost, the wounded man. He raised his eyebrows. He remembered the eastern fellow from earlier, but he'd assumed he'd died in the battle.
"I can coordinate a stop at the nearest Empire port with your navigator" the easterner blurted out.
"We're in the centre of the Caribbean, far away from the Empire, and with no intention to go there any time soon. You're useless to me, unless you prove yourself in a fight such as the one you shyed away from with your buddy"
The wounded man blushed.
"I had other things to take care of. I am not a coward"
"So prove it!"
The captain tossed him his sabre, which the Ghost clumsily caught.
"Those two men at the back of the line I accepted into my crew without any questions, because I needed fifteen. Now there are two too many. Fight, the four of you, and the two that live get to join the crew of the Red Rooster"
The two other men already had weapons from the fight. They drew them. Assuming the two men who had run from the fight were no match for them, they seemed to have joined up. Only two needed to die.

Red Rooster
Scarlett Will returned to the deck of his beloved Red Rooster, with his men and his new crew, from where they could watch the fight on the prison galley, be shown their quarters by one of the original crew, or perhaps have a chat with some of the others on-board. The captain may have been watching the fight with his hand round Samantha's waist, but the steersman, the current boatswain and the carpenter were discussing plans over a map. They seemed to be deciding where the Red Rooster would be heading next. Meanwhile the bearded men were being shown the ropes by the Red Rooster's jolly deckswab and Old Bob, the nobleman and the Nose were being shown their quarters by the cook.

The Red Rooster was a ship propelled solely by sails, not by manpower like on the prison galley. It too had an upper deck like on the prison galley, but below it lay the captain's cabin, instead of just a flight of stairs. The stairs instead were accessible from a hatch in the middle of the deck, near the mast, leading to a large room with hammocks, where the crew were each assigned one that belonged to a now dead pirate. They may find some possessions there, such as some rum, dice, old clothes, some packs of cards, some saved up food and maybe a dagger or two. Those who chose their hammocks first would off course get the best stuff and the least lice. Below this room was a dining hall with two big tables, a passage to the kitchen and a huge grating in the middle of the floor from which ominous noises were rising. There seemed to be no way to get to the space beneath the grating besides opening it.

Spoiler

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I've negated Xan's going to the Red Rooster before joining the crew because Will would simply never allow him to walk away from a fight like that. Also, the Red Rooster's current boatswain didn't die during the fight, so Leigh seems to have some competition.

Red Rooster, way down belowdecks
Silme tosses the creature, and as soon as it dies some of the darkness seems to dissipate, allowing him to find Jen struggling with one of the beasts. She was finding that diplomacy didn't really work on the things.
"Mine" the creature hissed, plunging it's teeth into her neck. She felt queasy, faint, and she fell. Jen landed faceforward into the floor, which helped her regain her consciousness but messed up her face somewhat. She seemed to have a gash in her forehead now, caused by the piece of cutlery she'd landed on with her face. Desmond appeared out of the dark too, having killed the creature harassing him. The darkness seemed very faint now, and the creature was surrounded by Silme, Patrick and Desmond. It hissed, and threw itself desperately at Patrick.

Meanwhile, somewhere in what little darkness was left, Masik had found his way to beneath the grating in the ceiling. One of the horrible creatures lay dead beneath it, and upstairs he heard voices. Pity there was no way whatsoever to go up. At least the presence of the supernatural seemed to be fading.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond rushes over to Jen and rolls her over. Please don't be dead. This is all my fault. He wipes some of the blood off her face. "Can you hear me?"

[Dallas-Dakota]

Standing next to patrick, his swords still out, he points his right blade forward and takes a step forward with his right foot, thus stabbing the creature with his momentum and the creatures own move, stopping at the handle.
Not waiting to pull it out as the creature fell down onto the floor, he rushes to Jen.
How is she? Jen?
He asks to Desmond, who got there first, then looking at Jen.

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Xan rubs his wrists, feeling the blood return after having been in chains. He closes his eyes for a moment as a familiar flash of images shows before them. A woman, a dragon, a king, and a fire. He looks up, his eyes taking on a sinister, killer's glint. everything seemed to slow down, and he felt a great strength build in his muscles. He coiled like a spring, and like an arrow he was upon Ghost, grabbing the wounded man's clumsily held cutlass and ramming it into his side. With a grip on the body, he kicked it into one of the other fighters, then leaped at the remaining one. Surprised by the young man's speed, the prisoner, could not adequately block Xan's downward slash, and his blade fell far enough for Xan to impale him and kick him over the rail. He walks over to the downed inmate. Helping him stand he says Sorry about that, such a ghastly business. No hard feelings, right?

[An Enemy Spy]

"She looks concious, but she isn't answering me. I think that blow to the head did some damage up there." He picks Jen up with both arms. "We shouldn't leave her here. There might be more of those things."

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

Johnathan stood and watched Will from behind the black spots he was seeing. "Arrogance presumes caring, good Captain. There's no world to me, not anymore. Just one man. Or rather, two now. Just hope I never find him, Captain. Because if and when he leaves this world, you'll be the only one left." John says with a calm smile.

[Anitra]

It took every ounce of self control that Leigh possessed to keep herself from reacting to Scarlet Will's slap. If she wanted to survive the day, she couldn't risk angering the man, however repulsive his personality was. Despite being let on to the crew, she didn't breath easy again until Johnathan also passed inspection; he seemed trustworthy enough, and Leigh was going to need all the allies she could get.

As soon as the crew started heading over to the Red Rooster, Leigh went straight over to Johnathan to see if he was okay. From what she could see, there was a lot of blood coming from his nose, but given that nose injuries tended to bleed a lot, she couldn't really tell how bad it was. "Come on, we need to find a doctor for the both of us, so let's get moving" she told him, "Also, we can't just keep on referring to each other via pronouns, I think it's time we exchanged names. I'm Leigh" she introduced herself with a small smile. Before walking off the prison galley, she snatched a cutlass and sheath from one of the corpses and thrust it through her belt. While she was glad to be off the prison galley, she wasn't so trusting of her new captain to want to go around his ship unarmed

[Vespe Ratavo]

Whurh? Yeah, I hear you...whuz...what's this... Jen ran a hand across her neck, staring at the blood. ...ugh...stupid...monster...thing...gonna burn this ship...thanks. She fell unconscious.

[An Enemy Spy]

"Do any of you have a gun? I can't swordfight and carry her around."

[Cpt. Soup]

Carker leaned on the railing as he watched the remaining prisoners fight for their worth on the other ship. It was rather engrossing, watching a desperate fight to the death as an observer. With some reluctance Carker pulled away to follow the cook, the Nose and another prisoner he didn't recognize.

He listened silently as the cook went through the crew quarters pointing out hammocks that he believed belonged to some of the ex-crew members. Carker tested one of free ones with a hand, it wasn't too filthy which was something of a luxury for Carker after the wretched time spent shackled to the bench alongside the other dregs. Carker was intent to remain until he made his claim on this hammock apparent to the other former prisoners. He hefted himself into the hammock and allowed the rocking motion calm himself enough to think clearing on what he should do next.

In all honesty Carkers moments spent on ships were few, aside from a bit of island hopping his interest in seafaring until now had been minimal. He did learn a few knots to pass the time on those trips and had a rough idea of how ship life worked but he doubted that would mean little to anything on a ship run by this Captain scarlet Will. He was aware he wasn't picked for sailing prowess but he wasn't about to lay about like dead weight. Sooner or later he'd be tossed overboard if he didn't make himself useful.

Carker pushed those thoughts aside, he needed to rest, he needed to wash he needed to learn how to sail a bloody ship! But first he really needed to see what the former owner of this hammock called his own. He swung himself back upright and crouched down to examine the deadman's belongings. What was his was now Carker's and his time with nothing but the bite of iron and clothes on his back to call his own, Carker was eager to claim his prize for surviving.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Yeah this wet handgun...
Silme hands it over but then Jen starts talking.
Good, no, Jen, stay awake!
He urges her, to late, feeling dizzy himself, he warily stands swinging a little bit, the blood still oozing out of his neck.
He then rips of his sleeve and tries to use it as a bandage.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond slings Jen over his shoulder and uses his other hand to hold the gun. Then he rushes up on deck, ready for a fight.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Silme tries to follow, but he's really dizzy and hurting from his neck, now regretting his decision to let it bleed out for the case there was poison in there.
He tries to follow Desmond but the stairs are to much trouble for him.
Wai...Wait up.....
Seeing the shapes fly updecks he sighs.
Nevermin-mind, I'l gua-d the stai-airs thenn....

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

John walks with the woman, 'Leigh'. She seemed to know her way around a ship. With a slight catch in his breath, he reaches up and presses both palms flat against his nose, straightening it. The slight grinding sound followed by a small wave of pain. "Johnathan." His hand strays to his neck, but he remembers too late that he won't find anything there. His bare chest, lightly scarred, remind shim that he needs to find some clothes. He looks around for anyone dead who happens to have a coat they won't be needing anymore.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Deck of the prison galley
Xan jumped at The Ghost, surprising the prisoners who were joining up. They ran at the two of them, determined to kill both. Xan pushed the sabre to The Ghost's side, but then there was something he didn't expect: a gunshot. The Ghost was grinning. Bleeding too, all over, but definitely grinning as well. Xan felt his side, where the bullet had passed straight through.
"Captain's cabin..." the eerie man proclaimed, "I never go into a fight unprepared"
Then he stopped talking and looked at the blade stuck through his chest. One of the other two prisoners had stabbed him.
"Bugger" he said, and sagged down.
The two men now only had one more to kill, another wounded charge. Xan looked down at the gunshot wound to the side of his gut. The bullet had tore straight through, but it was pretty bad. He felt faint. The men circled around him, each taking one side. One of them seemed to be handling his blade more skillful than the other, trained almost. He was handling the blade with a single hand, wiping his long black hair out of his eyes with the other. The other prisoner held his sword with two hands, and seemed to rely on brawn more than skill. He was the one that had pierced The Ghost's chest with one blow. He had red hair, much like Scarlett Will, and Will had been cheering for him. Unlike Will though, he wore it much like a lion's manes, mostly at the neck, and with big sideburns. It was a strange haircut, but only made him look fiercer.

Red Rooster, Deck
Scarlet Will had been cheering for the fighters, but now he stopped. He looked up at the sky.
"The fog is fading... That's bad... Morrison, Belvedere, head down belowdecks and check on the beasts!"
Two pirates got up and ran down the stairs.
Will turned towards Jonathan.
"You're part of the crew now. Make yourself useful and go with them. Don't get yourself killed down there, eh?"

Leigh found that the closest thing resembling a doctor on the ship had died during the battle.

Red Rooster, Crew's Quarters
Carker inspected his new bunk, the best one that was available. It seemed to have belonged to the former ship's "doctor", who had been as much of a neatfreak as was possible on a ship full of mine without any showers. He'd also left some interesting items. A dusty suit, though it was too small for Carker, a small set of knives, needle and thread, various bottles with strange liquids and a syringe. There was also a pile of bandages, but they had all been used before and were filthy.

Red Rooster, way down belowdecks
The creature tore into Patrick desperately, slashing open the man's frail neck and chest. Silme quickly stabbed the thing, but it was too late. Patrick was deader than dead. Both he and the monster fell to the floor, joining Jen, who was slightly less dead. Desmond picks her up and tries to find his way out, discovering only the grate in the ceiling. Silme follows, but succumbs to his wounds as soon as they reach the grating. Both he and Jen were unconscious, leaving Masik and Desmond alone under the grating. The darkness had faded belowdecks, showing them a very empty room indeed. And then it got even lighter, as the grating above opened.

Red Rooster, Dining Hall
Two pirates ran in (possibly followed by Jonathan). The cook and the people he was giving a tour seemed surprised. Belvedere and Morrison, the pirates, opened the grating, and looked down at the two men and their unconscious friends. And the dead monster that was lying there with them.
"It's not dark anymore..." Morrison said, a man with a large black moustache.
"They're dead. They're all dead" Belvedere said, a man with an orange bandana and a surprisingly deep voice, even with his build.
"And they're to blame" Morrison said, twirling his moustache. "What do we do with stowaways again, Belvedere?"
"They get the plank, Morrison"
Somehow the plank sounded even worse when Belvedere said it.
"Unless they prove themselves useful, Bel"
Belvedere shrugged.
"I always forget about that part"
"You there" Morrison said, pointing at Old Bob, "Go get the captain, he has to decide what we'll do with these gentlemen. He won't be glad our cloaking device was killed off by a bunch of miscreants though. I expect a tougher fate than death for these men. Maybe an own little personal hell in my room for the woman"
He twirled his moustache again. Pirates really weren't such likable creatures, it appeared.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond reflexively tightens his hold on Jen.

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

Johnathan follows the men. Warily, he looks down the hole and studies the dead beast. With a familiar dread, he understands their purpose even before the one called Morrison mentions it. He examines the people, recognizing a couple of them, and hopes the captain takes it easy on them. They look like they've already been through hell. A familiar one. "How are you, down there? I'm afraid we don't have any doctors on board." He looks around the room for something to lower down for them. Even if they're going to be punished, it'd be best to get them out first.

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Spoiler

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That's a bit railroadish of you, don't you think. I mean, I attack the wrong character and you KILL me? Seriously, that's really out of whack.

Xan clutches his side in agony where the bullet had opened his intestines, spilling waste all throughout his abdomen and dooming a normal man to a quick death. However, Xan hadn't eaten in three days, and so had nearly nothing contained in his intestine. Furthermore, the breach was so minor that Xan's accelerated healing ability closed it before a major spillage.
Two months commission is in it for you if you kill the other.Xan manages to croak out before vomiting blood.

[Cpt. Soup]

Carker was absently examining one of the bottles, attempting to make sense of the crude label. Carker's grasp of western languages was somewhat base (Originally learned to decipher tavern menus, picking up other words here and there.) and soon gave up for the time being. He slotted the bottle back into its box and decided to find seawater to wash his sodden cloths. First of course he had to mark this area as his, he took up the thickest of the small knives he found and quickly scratched out several looped characters on a beam facing his hammock. If anyone disputed his claim even with his sign on it, he felt perfectly justified in pummeling the person. Replacing the knife Carker, headed up back onto the deck with hopes of finding a bucket. He became sidetracked though and ended up rejoining the pirates watching the fight on the other boat.

[Anitra]

Leigh nodded as Johnathan gave his name. Vaguely, she wondered what the guy had done to end up on the prison galley in the first place. He seemed nice enough, not like most of the rabble on Will's crew, if the looks they gave her and Samantha were any indication of character.

Leigh's good mood from getting off of the prison galley immediately evaporated upon discovering that the ship's closest thing to a doctor had just died. If she didn't get this bullet out of her shoulder, she had a slow, painful death from lead poisoning to look forward to. After pestering a few of the deckhands for information, she eventually found out where the old "doctor" had his hammock. Perhaps there was a chance at finding some basic supplies? All she needed was something to clean the wound, and some needle and thread to stitch it up.

Entering the room with all of the hammocks, Leigh blinked a couple of times to adjust her eyes to the relative darkness. Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed her old oarmate Carker claiming a bed by carving something into the post beside it. It wasn't until after he left that she realized that he had claimed the hammock belonging to the old doctor which she was looking for. For a moment, she was tempted to simply dig into the doctor's old things and take what she needed, despite them being claimed. However, her long experience at sea quickly dissuaded her from that line of thinking. Theft from a crewmate was considered such a cardinal sin aboard a ship that some crews would go as far as keelhauling to punish a thief. Perhaps if she was lucky, though, Carker might feel generous enough to share. At any rate, she needed somebody to help her out anyways, even if the wound weren't in a spot as awkward to reach as the back of her shoulder, she didn't have the pain tolerance necessary to stitch herself up after the bullet came out.

Before leaving the bunk area, she went to find herself the cleanest free bunk. She didn't need a dirty bunk adding to the chances of infection, after all. Using her cutlass, she carved her own name into the beam, following suit with Carker and many of the other pirates had above their bunks. She only carved her last name, Vang, into the bunk, feeling that it would be a bad idea to announce that this particular bunk belonged to a woman. After all, she would have an easier time keeping her claim on the bunk if people thought there was a chance that "Vang" was one of the tougher looking new crewmen.

Leaving the bunk area, she went back above deck and looked around for Carker. Spotting him, she made her way over to his side. "Hey, glad to see you made it out alive" she told him with a slight smile, "So, er.... I don't suppose you can help me out here, can you? You see, you got the bunk that belonged to the closest thing this crew had to a doctor, and I'm in need of some medical attention. There's a bullet stuck in my shoulder, and it needs to come out, and the wound needs to get stitched."

"Please help me out here. If you do, I'll... Well, I don't know what I can offer you in return, but I'll figure out something, I promise." she bargained, somewhat desperately. She didn't have a backup plan if this didn't work.

[Cpt. Soup]

Carker turned Leigh and listened while putting on the appearance that he was interested. He took a moment to finish thinking before answering. He really didn't care much at all, in fact he would be happy if this woman died, leaving one less person who witnessed his indignities. Of course this was the captain's woman now, or it seemed as such to Carker. She could crawl to the man and lay complaints about Carker, it may earn him a flogging at best. He was reluctant to miss the the end of the fight but it wouldn't do well for him to leave her wounded after he’d finished thinking. Carker smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

Yes.. that is bad looking… wound. I will help, you speak to captain and I bring what is needed. It should be done in clear air.

More importantly not alone and giving the appearance of intimacy, this was the captain’s woman.

His ship, he has say... But I help as much as can.

He started back toward the crew area and set his mind on the matter at hand, fixing Leigh, other worries like adapting to ship life and cleanliness can wait. He’d have to clean those bandages for a start.. seawater ought to do. He doubted he’d be sewing himself but he’d seen it done before, just a bit more delicate then mending clothing. He was almost happy that this menial task took his mind off bleak thoughts about the future.

[An Enemy Spy]

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you. She has Glosgaw's Disease." Desmond says, making up a disease on the fly.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Afternoon

Deck of the prison galley
Xan looked down at his wounds and wished he could somehow magically heal them.
"Two months commission is in it for you if you kill the other" Xan croaks deperately, knowing that he couldn't handle the two men in his current condition.
"You hear that, captain?" the man with the manes roared, "Two months of his wages if I-"
He was cut short. The second man had thrown his blade straight through the maned man's neck. He wiped his long dark hair out of his eyes as his former comrade dropped dead to the deck and then offered Xan a hand.
"Two months' commission, eh? I would have probably taken one"

Red Rooster, Deck
Scarlet Will seemed to be glad to see the fight was over, though he seemed less happy his favourite had died. What was his problem wasn't that the man was dead, but that he'd misjudged him. He should have been able to tell how the fight was going to go from the beginning. He was convinced the wounded man and the red-haired one would live, but now the two others were still standing. The captain shrugged. He had more important things to worry about now. He stroked Samantha across the back and left her standing alone at the side of the ship as he followed Old Bob belowdecks to check out what caused the calamity.

Red Rooster, Crew's Quarters
Carker helped out Leigh with her wounds. He wasn't exactly an expert at this, and it hurt a lot, but he did manage to get the bullet out. His sewing work wasn't very well done, as sewing flesh had been more difficult than he'd expected, but at least the wounds was more or less closed now, and bandaged with freshly washed bandages.

Red Rooster, Dining Hall
Jonathan helped haul up Desmond, who Belvedere knocked out as soon as he arrived upstairs with a well-aimed punch, Silme, Jen and Masik. Scarlet Will walked in just as the last conscious person, Masik, was being hauled up.
"Ah, the indigenous boy. I do believe I've heard rumours you're a doctor of sorts. I'd like you to set to work on my crew, both old crewmates and new ones. If anything happens to any of them, I'm going to hold you accountable. If their wounds so much as itch too much, you're getting the plank, kid"
He grinned.
"Welcome to my crew"

Spoiler

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If it's okay with everyone, I'm going to skip ahead to the evening. You can state what you have done during the remains of the day in your next post, as well as what you're going to do now

The Caribbean, open sea, the Red Rooster, Evening:
The day had passed relatively quickly. What remained of it had given the new crewmembers a chance to explore the ship completely, except for the captain's cabin, off course. Most of the old crewmembers had spent their day on the deck, cleaning the blood off of the sides of the ship. The captain had said that was necessary now that they'd lost their method of cloaking. He'd said times at sea would be much harder now for the Red Rooster. They were wanted, after all, and now they could be seen. They'd set sail for Neptune's Comb, a ridge of high rockcolumns sticking out of the sea in a double row. The ridge proved dangerous waters, claiming all of the steersman and boatswain's attention, and the area was barren with nowhere to go ashore, but that also made it the perfect place to hide from the Ernhart navy.

Masik had been in the crew's quarters all day, patching up wounds as best as he could with what little materials he was given. Crew had passed through there all day, to fix all the gashes and cuts they got during the fight. The worst wounds that had been presented to Masik were Jen and Silme's bites, which seemed to be infected and getting a dark-bluish colour, and Xan's gunshot wound.

The carpenter had spent his time in the area the monsters used to live, before they were all killed off, trying to close the hole in the hull. For this he'd been using the lumber that was in the hull of the prison galley. Now that they weren't transporting those strange creatures anymore, the captain had thought it a good idea to use the cargo hold for, well, cargo. They'd filled it up with the lumber, without even bothering to toss out the corpses in there first. They'd do that later, Will had said, when they'd figured out what to do next.

The plan was to figure out what to do next at dinner. The cook had been slaving away in the kitchen all day, and had finally come up with a sort of muckish gruel, which was served to the entire crew that night. It was dark outside, the only sound the waves crashing into Neptune's Comb. Candles had been set up on the tables in the dining hall and everyone had been seated, with captain Will at the head of one of the tables. Will had spent his day in his cabin with either Samantha or Leigh, whichever was willing, and if neither he'd spent it alone, sulking.

The captain raised his cup, a tin goblet shaped like a monkey's head.
"Crew" he said, taking a moment to look at each and every member of his crew, "I know we usually eat and drink in shifts, but today we need to be here, altogether, new and old, to discuss the future of the Rooster. It is my ship, aye, I know, and I have final say in all it's going-ons, but a good captain knows to hear the word of his crew. Only the steersman and the bosun aren't here, for clear reasons"

"Today, crew, today your battle for your captain's freedom had some unforeseen consequences. A hole was blown in our ship, and holes we can fix, but through that hole four men snuck inside the Rooster's belly and killed what has kept us alive for so long. Our infernal crewmates, the men we so loved and held dear in life for their heroism and in death for their usefulness. Twice died, they are not coming back. We have lost our edge over the navy, and all we have to replace it are some new recruits, most of them wetter behind the ears than a mackerel"
The crew laughed, or at least the older part of it did.
"So now we know not what to do, we could-"
"Follow the map!" the carpenter yelled, who'd been able to take a break as he was almost done downstairs. Scarlet Will nodded.
"Yes. Yes, of course we should follow the map, but the question is how! We'll be checked by Ernhart navy frequently, and most of us are wanted men. Hell, all of our new crew is wanted!"
"Perhaps we should take down the flag?" Morrison suggested. There were shouts of disapproval and a couple of empty bottles and mugs were tossed at Morrison.
"No, no. He's right"
Some of the crew gasped.
"Not the flag, captain!"
"They haven't been able to see the flag up until now, what with all the fog, so maybe we should just tuck it away. Get a trading license. A ship is much less suspicious when it's transporting say, lumber, then when it's just sailing around aimlessly on the ocean. With some luck it could be enough to take us where we want to go, as long as we do so peacefully. No more naval battles, no more looting, not until we have what we want. How does that sound, crew? It would just be for a while"

[Raz_Fox]

Samantha

Samantha used her injured knee as an excuse to stay out of Scarlet Will's bed for the day, claiming that it was still painful and that any "strenuous activity" might damage it permanently.

Instead, she had spent the day trying to find a good sword. A good broadsword was probably out of the question, but her cutlass was a poor sword and she needed something better. A scimitar or saber of some sort, perhaps.


That night, as she sat next to Will daintily eating the disgusting muck they called food, she listened to Scarlet Will's idea with interest. "Not that anyone's going to listen to me, but I think that's brilliant. It gives us protection as well as the element of surprise. Well thought, sir!"