Both plans going forward have their pros and cons, and nothing really can be decided about the coins until the count is finished, so eventually the captain dismisses his officers to their other duties. He does comment that he'd be happy to get out of the rain for a while so heading for Mediogalti has some appeal, but doesn't commit himself to that course of action.
Not wanting to spend days sailing in a circle in the waters south of Tempest Cay, Jerrell orders the ship to sail to the north coast of Widowmaker Isle, which is easily reached in a day's sail. Late in the afternoon the Salty Flagon drops anchor in a small cove, protected from the eternal hurricane going on only about 25 miles away. Sailors who have been unable to help with counting or building boxes can now go ashore in teams to gather fruit, find fresh water, and look for wood that could be cut and seasoned to replace the lumber being used for the boxes.
The counting has gone on all day, with several people taking one- or two-hour turns in the hold. Captain Jerrell himself takes another turn late, and then declares the counting over for the day as the ship nears Widowmaker Isle. The inventory has been going on 11 hours straight at that point, with Quicksilver having worked three shifts of three hours each, broken up by a little time on deck when her boss Migoran forced her to give up her seat to himself.
More than half the coins have been counted and packed into chests or boxes by the time a halt is called, so the captain declares that on the following day, counting is not going to start until an hour AFTER sunrise. The count for the day is 235,750 coins counted and packed into 41 boxes, which everyone agrees is an amazing start. (One pessimist who can do math in his head points out that is the equivalent of only 2,357 gold pieces, but he is booed down.) The crew is not as raucous as the previous evening but the mood is still celebratory.
The next day, Lilabeth inspects the ship's weapons after breakfast to insure that they have been cleaned properly. Depending on what she finds, the drills for the morning will be light or more strenuous. She will take her turn counting coins in between these two tasks.
At noon, Lilabeth calls a halt to drills and dismisses the crew for lunch. She returns to her cabin to clean up a bit before joining Pierce for the meal. A fresh shirt, combed hair, and little water, and she is ready to eat.
"Captain, I think we should stay in the area and find the underwater armor. I think it is a huge boon, especially if we decide to recover more copper, plus I have a certain seamstress I'd love to visit again. Uh for my shirts I bought of course and the uniforms we had made as a joke"
Probably the most ungarded emotion or sentiment hes ever shown and it seems to unnerve him a little as he continues
"Lilabeth bought some clothes too"
He them clams up and walks off to make teams of gatherers
he mutters something about maybe she'd make a good pirate as he stalks off
The weapons that morning were adequate; the crew knows better than to neglect their weapons and let the climate get to them. They didn't gleam, though, and they could have been a little sharper. The fighters seem resigned to their fate and practice with a will.
Pierce is glad to see Lilabeth at lunch. He's been going through all his charts searching for any information he has about the currents around Mediogalti and the north side of the Eye of Abendego, and he wishes he had more information. He's thinking of trying to see if he can get better charts in Drenchport before you eventually head that direction; it's the most common 'jumping off place' from the Shackles to Mediogalti and points north, so he figures someone there may have something you all can use.
The captain seems amenable to Gray Fergie's suggestion regarding the ship's next priority and raises his eyebrows but doesn't even crack a smile when Fergie mentions the seamstress.
"Uniforms?" the captain says, quirking one eyebrow a little.
"Lilabeth bought some clothes too," Fergie replies, thinking it's about time he left the conversation.
As he's turning away, he hears the captain say softly, "Rory Ferguson, if it isn't my luck that when one single woman finally catches your fancy, she lives on that soggy excuse for an island." Shaking his head, Pierce turns away also and may or may not have heard Fergie's final muttered remark.
The scavenging parties have a good day and are able to bring plenty of fruit and ripe nuts. (There are only a few minor injuries and Durgan Ostwell easily takes care of those.) One group spotted a huge flock of large waterfowl and were able to get another team into the area without spooking the birds. Using slings and arrows, between the lot of them they were able to bring down enough birds to feed the whole crew tonight with plenty leftover for another day. The cook has plenty of willing hands to pluck and prepare the birds and by late afternoon the fowl are all roasting on spits while the plucking teams clean off with a bit of a swim.
Before that time, Quartermaster Rodale Migoran and Quicksilver Kurlander, the quartermaster's mate (whose real name is Josseby though no one calls her that) appear before the captain. They seem to have made an attempt to wash up, even combing their hair before arriving to make a formal report on the coin counting. Fergie, Eldon, and Lilabeth also squeeze in to hear the report.
On the second day of counting, a total of 150,948 copper pieces were counted. Most of them were packed into boxes constructed by Durgan Ostwell and his helpers, resulting in another 26 boxes being filled. Counting the chests which were pulled out of the water intact, and the last bit of loose coinage, there are 168 chests (or boxes) in all and 4335 coppers left in a bag.
That means there is a grand total of 970,335 copper pieces. It no doubt weighs a bit over 10 tons, including all the chests, and is worth 9,703 gold pieces. Given the ship's crew of 41 (counting the cook), plus the 7 officers (who get larger shares), each person's share will be not quite 16,000 cp which equals 160 gp. It's not enough for anyone to retire on, but will make the sailors very happy.
That night around the cooking fires, when the crew hushes to hear the captain's announcement, all that can be heard are the soft sounds of insects and the cry of a hunting owl. Then, when the total is announced, a shout goes up that frightens away the birds and briefly startles the insects into silence. That evening's celebration is almost as raucous as the one aboard ship two nights before, and between the two the ship's stores of liquor are much depleted.
After Pierce's announcement, Lilabeth catches his eye and smiles broadly. When some of the crew break out some instruments and start playing, Lilabeth stands and moves to Pierce's side.
"Shall we dance a bit, my Captain?", she whispers in his ear, a bright light in her eyes.
Rory will take an ale, but will then relieve the night watch and take a stand himself, so others more suited to merriment can enjoy themselves.
Pierce notices Gray Fergie head over to the ship and nods approvingly. After a couple more dances, he whispers to Lilabeth, "Let's go back to the ship. I saw Fergie go over a bit ago so I'd bet he's gone to take part of the night watch. We can go up to the crow's nest and be the lookout for a while. The view of the stars from there is even better than from the deck." He winks, and then pulls her out of the crowd toward the ship.
"Why Pierce, that sounds lovely," Lilabeth says with a throaty laugh. "You know how I love looking at...stars." Her smile is almost innocent.
The evening's celebration goes as well as any celebration could reasonably expected to go. No one on watch gets drunk enough that Fergie needs to reprimand them, and the man in charge of the night watch is sober enough that Fergie feels he can actually go to bed. A few crew members do fall in the water, but they are duly fished out and mocked until they slink away somewhere to sleep off their inebriation. No serious fights take place; everyone is too happy about the mass of coins to get that offended tonight. The nearby hurricane means Pierce and Lilabeth don't really see very many stars, but neither of them seems dissatisfied with the time they spend in the crow's nest.
Morning dawns all too soon for many people, but at least the sky is severely overcast so those feeling a little... delicate don't have to deal with actual sunshine. The Captain seems invigorated after his evening of relaxation, because he is up fairly early rousing the crew and trying to put the ship to rights.