"What if ye asks 'em nicely?" Reijo retorts to the seafaring dwarf with a smirk.
"Aye," he agrees while putting on the nice mail shirt after wiping the bulk of blood off. "But there be more of our reward ta sort through first, eh?" he remarks on finding and jingling a sack of precious stones.
Rethinking the situation, especially how it would look if the captain broke through the hatch to find them taking their sweet time looting bodies instead of immediately rescuing the crew, he crinkles his brow. "Hmpf. Fine," he tosses the stones back onto the body, while wearing a new piece of armor. "But I'll be puttin' in me claim."
To Sunny's question, Reijo looks up and around before answering. "Well the bloody sails be down, so it don't matter much who be helmin' if we can't be goin' nowhere."
With the passing of the storm the ship is rolling and pitching slightly in the slow swells of the deep ocean; the spars have a bare scrap of sail and the sea anchor is still out. You're moving about a half knot at most.
You hear rhythmic thumping from below, with occasional shouts of "Heave!" as the sailors trapped below try to break through to the upper decks.
After padding down Marzack's body in search of remaining loot, Reijo strolls over to the hatch with all the commotion below. His slow gait evinces his fatigue from the battle.
"Becalm yerselves!" he hollars down at it. "I'm bloody coming!"
Kneeling down, he positions himself carefully as he works the hatch open. Carefully, as in ready to pounce out of the way... in case a battering ram comes up from below deck to knock him senseless, instead of knocking open the hatch, as he is opening it...
Levering the planks that had been nailed across the hatchway, Reijo stepped aside as Captain Veane and the rest of his crew surge up from below, wielding axehandles and belaying pins.
They stop as they see the blood awash on the deck and the dead bodies of the mutineers.
"Well done sir. Well done." Said Captain Veane.
Slotting the belaying pin back in its notch, he casually spit on the body of his former first mate.
"I knew the rat was ambitious, but this..." He waived his arms about. "Selling out our passenger to his political enemies for money. Well, I suppose it's not THAT unknown, but there is taking greed beyond the pale! People that hire such things don't want anyone left to testify either, the stupid fool.."
Thurden strides purposefully up to the captain, his face steeled. 'As we've handled both of your little crises, I think we're due more than a little reward. This lot and I were all paying customers you pressed into service, and if not for us your man here would be sleeping in your bunk.'
The Captain nodded.
"And so you shall sir. Not least of which is all of us keep our heads when the agents of the Mordent Spire come calling to find out what happened to their Ambassador...
"But first, we need to clean up. I need to do a little searching, because whats in his belt pouch cannot be all he was paid.
"At eight bells (after dusk), join me in my cabin."
With that he set the crew to work clearing the deck and hoisting sails up to the spars again.
At the Captain's cabin, the table is set for a feast. Much food that normally would be withheld for the Captain only is set for everyone. Rum flows like water and even several bottles of good wine are set out with glasses.
Captain Veane pulled out a heavy presentation box of fine mahogany.
"I found this the first place I looked; under a plank in his cabin.
I know a man like that would want something up front."
He opened it, and there, rack upon rack, there were one hundred gold coins. He picked one out and held it up to the light; and it glistened with that lovely yellow color.
"One hundred golden sovereigns. Chelaxian; and brand new to boot." He put it back and then slid the case over to you.
"I think you should have it. You did save the ship after all. And, I don't want to be holding it if whoever paid that thug come looking for it."
Sunny spends some time with Azuretta if she can and the crew person is able to do so. The tanned Elf both exuberantly recounting the tale against the bad peoples as well as doing her best to learn all about buttons. (^_^)
At the Captain's cabin, the table is set for a feast. Much food that normally would be withheld for the Captain only is set for everyone. Rum flows like water and even several bottles of good wine are set out with glasses.
Sunny tries the proffered wine, though a shake of her blond mop indicates she doesn't find the experiance to her liking. The rum on the other hand is quaffed with great gusto. (^_^)
Captain Veane pulled out a heavy presentation box of fine mahogany.
"I found this the first place I looked; under a plank in his cabin.
I know a man like that would want something up front."
He opened it, and there, rack upon rack, were one hundred gold coins. He picked one out and held it up to the light; and it glistened with that lovely yellow color."One hundred golden sovereigns. Chelaxian; and brand new to boot." He put it back and then slid the case over to you.
"I think you should have it. You did save the ship after all. And, I don't want to be holding it if whoever paid that thug come looking for it."
Sunny picks up one of the offered items and holds it in the candle light much like the good Captain had.
"Shiny..." Is her obviously 'Expert' opinion. She's attired in what ever Azuretta has wrapped and buttoned about her other wise tanned self.
(^_^)
Thurden avails himself of the spread laid before him, sampling a bit of everything before going in with gusto on the choicer bits. The dwarf sniffs at the wine before turning faithfully, to the rum.
As the chest is proffered chest of coins and leans in with a demeanor honed at many a merchant's stall. 'Now, you giving us our salvage is only right. But I don't quite know that THAT alone makes us square. At the very least a full refund for what we all paid for passage would be a step in the right direction.' Thurden leans back and waits for a response.
Shaedeen reluctantly attends the dinner. From her silence and brooding, it's clear she's yet to get over her near-death experience. She barely nibbles at her food and sips at her drink. The teen lets her new friends do the talking.
Reijo nods in agreement with Thurden's inclination for a reward as the captain thanks us.
He was ready to call dibs on all the looted gear. He holds his tongue instead, on realizing the implication of assuming that much and more.
...
Reijo spends the rest of the afternoon smoking, drinking rum, walking about on deck, observing the navigational progress by the sun's passage and the faintest glimmer of daytime stars, and generally keeping an eye over his shoulder at every turn for more trouble.
...
Later that night in the captain's quarters, the red sailor's eyes light up as the freshly minted gold coins glisten.
"Aye," is all he can muster in response to Sunny.
He suppresses the urge to laugh when Thurden asks for a refund on top of that. Giving the salty dwarf a sideways glance (with just a hint of mad glee), he marvels at his balls.
Then again, Reijo didn't exactly pay for his ticket in the first place, so...
He lets the dwarf keep talking. Sitting back, he enjoys his rum and his pipe.
"At the very least a full refund for what we all paid for passage would be a step in the right direction."
Captain Veane frowned.
"You astonish me sir! Have you forgotten you didn't just save our ship, but your own lives as well? Why should I have to pay for that? It was a public service!" He said, pounding the table for emphasis.
Things get a little hazy after that, as the party, and the drinking go on into the tropical night...