Belliott thinks very little about right and wrong here
This must be proof, I'm a pirate. IM A PIRATE
He moves up to the (final?) remaining man by Kerruk and raises his axe
Tap’s method seems to work, as the mercenary seems visibly disturbed. His hands and legs seem to shake as he looks from one opponent to another, trying to determine his next course of action. His path is determined for him, as Jack preys upon his moment of weakness and plunges his cutlass into and through his open mouth. The blade comes out the back of the poor man’s skull, dripping blood…and a thicker fluid tinged with gray.
Kerruk jams his spear into his opponent’s other side, then gets sprayed with his victim’s blood as Belliott rushes forward from behind to cleave him nearly in two.
As the last enemy on the Sterncastle falls, three other enemy sailors approach from out of the fog. They don’t even glance your way as they rush to the boat on the starboard side and begin to loosen the knots holding it fast. They obviously look to be attempting escape.
Death! Death! None are innocent. Death!
Tap raises his crossbow fires into the nearest man.
Poor bastards, but the captain will kill me if I let you on that boat. Tap mutters to himself.
You sorry bastards. There is no hope for thee that way. Fight like good sailors.
Jack silently rushes down the steps with his sword drawn, and swings it forcefully at the nearest sailor. The sailor looks up, startled, as Jack comes out of the fog, but expertly sidesteps Jack's attack, yelling out a warning to his comrades. At that moment, a quarrel flies out past Jack's ear and into the sailor's shoulder.
Jack glances back. Hold the sterncastle! And fire at this lot with your crossbows.
Belliott rages on, bloodlust not yet slaked
All is destruction
Maybe Belliott is right. We are pirates now, one way or another.
The first man turns to engage Jack, and is emboldened as he's able to avoid the first blow, then thoroughly disheartened as Tap's quarrel slams into his shoulder.
Belliott rushes down and splits a sendond sailor nearly in two, from shoulder to hip. The last man tugs furiously at the knots holding the boat fast.
The sailor with a quarrel in his arm gestures frantically in an attemp to stave off any more attacks. No, please...we'll work! Join the crew! his Taldane, while good, bears a Rahadoumi accent.
You there, feebly attempting to unknot that rope. Cease, or you will get a quarrel in your gut.
Belliot, be a good man and tie these poor sailors up. Be firm, but not cruel. We bear these men no ill will, though we do not trust them. But neither do we seek the wrath of our captain. Better, we should ask them questions to gain useful information.
To where were you sailing? And what is your cargo?
Drop your weapons first, lay yourselves down on ykur bellies, with your hands behind your back. Tap pauses. We never wanted to be pirates, but life doesn't always give one a choice. Perhaps you will find yourself in our situation, if you are lucky
Kerruk - though continuing to give the frothing Belliott as wide a berth as possible - moves in with a spear held at the ready. As my friends say...drop your weapons, down on your bellies...or its a spear in the gut!
This is not who I am! Curse you, Barnabas Harrigan!
The man woking the knot drops it instantly, his wide eyes on Belliott. The more talkative fellow does just as asked and the knotman follows suit. Soon, both are laid out on the deck and tied.
This be the Man's Promise, a merchant ship bound to Port Peril...at least, before you came. Spices, mostly, with some medicines and beans.
Let's move these two back to the stern-castle, and man out post.
Jack laughs good naturedly. A little late for that, Tap. We've tied their feet. Unless anyone fancies carrying them? Belliot and I can stay here, and you and Kerruk can man the stern-castle.
A worrying thought comes to Jack.
Jack scans the ship, including looking over to the other boats, looking for anyone approaching or trying to escape.
This is a fine sailing ship, certainty worth near as much as its cargo. What will the captain do with it?
Belliott is quite dazed after helping to tie the men up (leaves rage with one turn left but a huge cooldown)
He sits down on the deck and contemplates his axe, holding it up in the sun. He glances around to see briefly if there is any remaining danger...
but doesn't really seem ready to do much of anything. He nods in agreement at Jack, and stays seated.
well I've done it, I have, but I didn't know it would be this exhausting. I guess I'm a pirate now?
Tap glances at Jack in disgust and remains on the forecastle with his crossbow armed.
The next few moments are chaotic, as the sounds of the last efforts of the defenders give way to the roars and curses of the pirates. At one point, the fog parts enough to reveal Captain Harrigan himself, clutching what appears to be a humam heart in his massive hand.
The prisoners tied at the feet of Jack are still as the deck planks, even as four figures step out of the fog, and head towards the boat on the other side of the ship from Jack.
One of them, a woman with sun darkened skin and black hair held back by a bandana points a boarding pike at Jack. We're leaving. There's no need for more blood to be spilled.
Her voice is cultured, but also shows a hint of Rahadoumi.
Jack motions to Belliot, and moves toward these four. Jack shouts, loud enough to be heard:
Where would you go in that tiny boat that these pirates could not hunt you down? On my life, don't be a fool.Would we here not gladly do the same were it sane?. We have no choice but to forbid your escape. Drop your weapons, and we will secure you like these poor sailors. We will not harm you, and the captain may yet show clemency, or find some use for you living. But do not think to escape, or you will find kinship with the birds before being fed to the fish.
While Jack says these things, he looks on these people trying to discern what kind of threat they may pose. Jack ponders who the speaker may be, but cannot recall anyone matching her description.
Kerruk looks at Jack with some disapproval and ignores his crossbow, although he does heft a spear with some menace (although for whom and why is unclear). So that brute Harrigan can sate his bloodlust further? I'm indifferent to the fate of these folk...we can say that they passed us by in the fog.
These accursed pirates may do their worst, but they will not taint my soul with their dreadful evils.
Perhaps we should take the boat?
Aiming his crossbow at the dark-skinned woman, Tap glances at Kerruk nearby. Unfortunately, it is a weak excuse, one that won't be forgiven by our brutish captain. Tap sighs. We were specifically told to not let anyone escape on the boats. We will not be believed.
Tap calls out to Jack Perhaps they carry something particularly valuable, something our Captain wants, something that will get us keel-hauled if we let it escape?
Kerruk shrugs.
Belliott does not feel compelled to act one way or another, and waits to see if another fight will begin, once again looking around for danger.
Jack suddenly feels awash in a warm fuzzy glow, and his stomach turns to butterflies. A silly grin creeps up his face, while everyone looks at him strangely.
The woman, an officer of some sort according to the deference shown to her by the others, grits her teeth as she eyes Jack. She spits out her words with venom. I know this man you follow…he’ll have some fun with us before we die, but clemency is not his way. We’d sooner die than be hog tied for this man!
She rushes at Jack, her boarding pike raised. Two men rush forward with her, while the fourth of her small band bends down to begin freeing their comrades from their bonds.
Kerruk squints at the putative officer and sighs...tracing the sign of a star in the air with one hand, he fixes her with a glare. So be it
Tap loads his crossbow beside Kerruk in the stern-castle, but does not fire. Instead he sings a sleepy tune at the woman with the pike and the two men charging with her.
Belliott! Get the man untying his companions!
Jack spits. Curse thee for a fool!. Reluctantly, Jack steps in and thrusts his blade toward the oncoming officer. She however, easily knocks his blade aside, and continues her attack.
The officer attempts to resist the arcane assault.
The two men with her attempt to fight the potent attack as well.
After Jack's miss, Taptap plies his magics, and the woman sailor and one of her men instantly fall to the deck, in a deep sleep. Another of the men with her dashes up the sterncastle towards Kerruk, and levels a swing with his short sword.
Belliott reluctantly heads towards the man untying the others, in a bit of a daze.
He is unable to muster up the wherewithal, but holds his axe up menacingly
The officer deflects Jack's thrust with her pike, and thrusts, only to suddently crumple to the ground along with her comrades. Jack, who only a few moments before was certain that his end had come, barely has time to breathe a sigh of relief before he notices that one of their prisoners is nearly free, while Big Belliot, has become distracted by a seagull that has landed on his mighty axe, white shat fouling its bloody sheen. Jack shouts. You there, cease! and surrender! The seagull turns, as if to ask Who me? and flies away.
Jack attacks the mercenary as he frantically tries to free his comrade.
Nodding in satisfaction at the falling opponents, tapTap aims his crossbow at the man untying the rope.
Both strikes miss the man untying the rope. The man slashes at Jack, only to have his attack turned aside by Jack's cutlass, which then slides forward along the blade and stabs into the sailor's shoulder. The man cries out in pain and staggers, blood beginning to pour from his torso.
Belliott stops contemplating his axe, and moves to attack the man untying his comrades.
There is sadness in my heart. If you die, who will sail this ship when we take her?
Belliott’s axe slams into the man’s torso after cutting neatly through one arm. A gout of blood sprays out at Jack and Belliott, painting them red with gore. The man goes down and begins to gasp out his last few breaths.
The men on the ground lay completely still, afraid to move lest they meet the same fate. Kerruk gestures at the mighty Belliott and the fallen sailor, and his opponent turns slightly to look. With a sigh and a look of resignation, the sailor drops his sword and leaps overboard, apparently thinking his chances with the sharks are better than with the pirates of the Wormwood.
From the sterncastle Tap motions to Jack and Belliott to tie the slumbering couple ... and drag them to the sterncastle with the others this time...and search them.
Tao murmurs a long low song of detect magic, looking towards the prisoners Jack and Belliot are tying up, and the others already bound.
Belliott ties and drags the sailors.
All of this violence. Is this what it takes?
The prisoners make no further moves to escape, even when the woman and her companion awake. Their gazes could cut a tether, though, and there’s no doubt that they hold the group standing above them personally responsible for the loss of their ship.
The fog dissipates in another few minutes, and the chaos on the ship is revealed in a final macabre scene of blood and gore. The pirates of the Wormwood – indeed, mostly Captain Harrigan and his officers themselves it seems, carved through their opposition like a maelstrom of spinning blades. Less than a half dozen of the opposing ship’s crew remains, plus those four at the feet of the sterncastle defenders. On a ship that may have had a crew of 30-40 sailors, the loss is tremendous.
The crew of the Wormwood, now mostly back on their own ship, parading their prisoners on board, lets out raucous cheers and roars of victory. The Captain, however, remains…and walks up to the Sterncastle to lay an appraising eye on the bound woman.
Ah, an officer…nice work. She’ll fetch a fine ransom to the Rahadoumi merchant who hired her. A fine job done by you all. Now, back to tha’ ship…or the rum barrel be drained before ya’ get there! He lets out a hearty laugh and slams Jack on the shoulder amiably, then turns to walk back down the steps, calling for his officers to grab the prisoners…indicating that they’re not to be harmed…too much.
Well leutinant Jack, I hope you remember you are a slave
Kerruk looks unimpressed by the Captain's bloodlusting bonhomie, but keeps his thoughts to himself and casts an eye skyward to check on his Osprey. I hope all this was worth it...I've no wish to die with this on my conscience. I'll find a way to make things right, if I live long enough.
Kerruk's companion keeps a watchful, avian eye overhead. Meanwhile, a small figure leaps out from among the various cargo racks and chests under the main deck and scampers across the deck to look up at Taptap, expectantly.
..what a fascinating little creature.
Tap sits down, and brings a bit of hard tack out from a dirty pocket, takes a bite, and crumbles off some onto the planks in front of him. Tap never takes his eyes off the strange brown creature. I think I've heard of such as these.
The small monkey, after briefly pausing to consider, scampers over to Tap to sit before him, but does not take the hard tack.
Go on little one.
The monkey chittles, and suddenly deciding, grabs the piece of hard tack, and before Tap could think or react, clambers upon Taptap's shoulder---whereupon as if this has been the most natural of occurrences, begins to eat upon the hard tack.
Tap looks over to Kerruk.
I believe I'm his now. Tap smiles. what shall I call you little one?
TackTack?
Kerruk offers up a grudging smile, which curdles when he looks at the carnage on the newly-taken ship. That's a good name, Tap he sighs.
Perhaps it would have been better to have killed these captives. Now we'll have to watch our backs should they ever gain their freedom aboard the ship.
Jack looks up, and sees a small monkey sitting on Tap's shoulder, and grimaces. Jack has always been a little afraid of monkeys, ever since one had jumped on his face as a child.
Well, ya scurvy dawgs, time ta get ta work. Jack winks. WE'RE PIRATES NOW.
Jack carefully cleans his sword, and swears at the blood stains on his garments.
are you kidding? when we got up close and personal this lot it was no sweat. That's right we're pirates!
TackTack screeches, hops on Jack's head, hisses baring his fangs at Jack, before hopping onto Taptap again.
I like this little TackTack more and more
Tap grins at Jack. Let us rest. The day has been long.
Aboard the Wormwood, a party begins as the pirates celebrate their victory with fine food and drink from the ship they’d taken…which they now found out to be called the “Man’s Promise.” Captain Harrigan has a meeting with his officers to divide up the plunder, as the pirates speculate. Bolstered by gold and good drink, the victory party lasts for a full day and a half, through one night and into the next.
Taptap wanders over to find Cut-throat Grok, the quartermaster, Tacktack on his shoulder.
Hi ya Grok. Glad to see you well.
Tap grimaces, but then smiles at Groks look to his shoulder.
This is TackTack. Found him Tap waves his hand in the general direction of the other ship he seems to have taken a liking to me. Nice little fellow.
Tap looks at Grok. I'd like to find myself a shortbow, and some straight arrows for it