The man raises a glass to the introductions. "Brewton Parker," is all he says for himself. "We get paid?" he asks, brusque.
"Normal sailors get paid after reaching port. Good captains pay what's expected, others find things to charge the crew for in order to drop the pay. For pirates I guess it could be the same, but it might change by ship's vote. Of course, pirates don't get wages. They get a share of the loot. No loot, no pay."
So we could be getting nothing, to proper wages on this shanghaiing.
Seadreamer curses slightly under his breath.
I did not ask to get pressed into this, but I guess I will put up with it for now.
"It's not like we have a choice in the matter right now," The woman replied, keeping her voice hushed at the moment. "Figured it would be similar to the pirates at Rippleport."
Conchobar grins.
"Fortune favors the bold my dear."
Sandara chimes in regarding the Bloody Hour and wages, and the rum ration.
"He's got it right." She nods towards Terry. "Very few captains in the Shackles rely on slaves entirely; While the officer shares are significantly more than the regular crew, it's still good practice to pay your crew, lest you draw Besmara's attention."
"The rum ration serves dual purpose. Numbs the senses, and keeps crew dependent on it; if they are dependent on it, they will work harder. Navies tend to tightly regulate its use; here in the Shackles its the norm."
The pleasant discussion is broken up upon a group of sailors half-carrying a bedraggled, sickly looking man from below deck. Andulian recognizes him immediately as Jake Magpie, the young man from the bilges earlier. His body is limp and weak, but his eyes are alert and panicked. He looks at Andulian pleadingly, but says nothing as he is dragged towards the rear upper deck.
Several other members of the crew are quickly securing a long rope from one end of the ship to the other cross-ways. A sailor on each side of the ship seems to be using a pole to fish out another chunk of rope from the water alongside the ship. Another sailor comes out from under deck with a chicken under his arm, squawking loudly. He steps up on the fore deck, driving a knife into the chicken and letting its insides drip into the sea slowly.
A few minutes pass as they complete their work, while the group carrying Jake stand at the ready by the rear deck as Mr. Plugg, Master Scourge, Cut-Throat Grok, Ambrose, and several other presumable officers assemble. Captain Harrigan emerges shortly after, a sadistic smile on his face.
"Uh oh....not good." Conchobar says as his face goes pale. "Heard about this; never thought I'd see one. A keelhauling." The last bits of color drain from his face as he realizes whats coming. Sandara, Rosie, and Cogs expressions immediately turn grim.
"Sounds like the bloody hour is about to begin." Rosie chimes in.
She maintained her smiled as she replied back. "That may be true, but some can also say foolhardy."
Those times of innocence was long gone when she realized what what kind of punishment was going to happen. It was more than enough to sober her up.
"They're seriously going to drag him against the boat like that. And attract sharks too?" Her already pale skin on her face has blanched white now. "I... I thought that was just a myth to keep sailors in check. What in gods' name did her do to deserve this?"
No idea what he did to deserve that, but lets hope that we are not next.
I wonder if this will be enough to get others to overthrow these sadistic bastards
"Reasonable captain only uses this for something that can actually kill other crew, like murderer, or someone stealing food and water when everyone's on restricted rations because they might run out before reaching port. People don't survive keel-hauling. It is a death sentence. Knowing why he's being put to death could teach us something about this ship . . .."
Aye, but a reasonable cap'n would not chum the waters first.
"The captain himself said they were short of people. And yet he looks like he's only doing this for show."
He probably is, just to scare us into line. All it does, is make me want to throw him overboard
Seadreamer settles in for a long uncomfortable wait.
Jake Magpie is dragged to the front of the Captains Quarters while Captain Harrigan goes to the upper deck by the wheel. His silhouette is a massive bronze image of muscle and brutality with his sword at his hip. His voice booms over the decks
"Crew of the Wormwood!!! It has come to my understanding that there has been an issue of discipline aboard my vessel. This sailor here was caught attempting to steal from Cut Throat Groks stores and our plunder, and therefore from me. Now I'm a fair man; stealing from me is like stealing from the crew! He stole from each and every single one of you; his attempted theft is him stealing coin, food, rum, and vice from each of you. And that is a crime I cannot abide."
"The punishment for such mass theft and selfishness is keelhauling." Captain Harrigan nods to the group, and they begin securing Jake to their lines over the ship.
Jakes limp body begins showing signs of life, but exhaustion, dehydration, and injury have taken their toll as he attempts to struggle from the group. His attempts to thrash are fruitless. His cries and screams are barely audible in his condition.
The group begins pulling the line, sending Jake Magpie over the deck when Harrigan starts speaking again. They began calling out "HEAVE" as they pull on the line.
"Take your time boys, and keep it down. Master Scourge, your whip please..." Captain Harrigan continues, extending his hand expectantly. Mr. Plugg looks confused as he unhooks his whip from his belt and quickly dashes up the stairs to hand it off to the Captain. The keelhaulers can still be heard, but it is much fainter, and their pace is visibly slower.
"Sir, yes sir" As he bounds the stairs. After handing it off, he remains by the captains side.
"We have other business to attend to. As I said, I'm a fair man. That includes holding all accountable for their failures of discipline or their taskings. Even my officers..."
Mr. Pluggs face goes pale. The keelhaulers "HEAVE fills the silence.
"Mr. Plugg. What are the duties of the first mate?" Captain Harrigan demands of Mr. Plugg. Plugg gulps visibly.
"Captain, the first mate is charged with the security of the ship, its day to day operation, and the performance, welfare, and the.......discipline of the crew..." Mr. Plugg stammers out. He visibly figured out where this was going.
The crew on decks attention is drawn to the water, as there is a barrage of thrashing from the sides; shark fins can be seen as the water begins to turn slight shades of red.
"As you have failed t' discipline your men, you have failed me..." Captain Harrigan seems to be examining the cat, then glances at Mr. Plugg.
Mr. Plugg undoes his jacket grimly. His lean muscles stand in contrast to the Captains massive bulk and broad shoulders. He turns his back to the Captain, and extends one arm out to the side. The other grabs his long ponytail, holding it into the air. Captain Harrigan nods to a few of the other officers, and they step to either side of Mr. Plugg, sliding their arms carefully through to restrain him or support him upright.
Captain Harrigan takes a single step, the crack of the whip like a small explosion as Mr. Plugg visibly tensioned at the impact. As he keeps swinging, the volume and the rate of the swings seems to quicken. Each snap sounds like a thunderbolt. Blood begins spraying, splattering over the other officers holding Mr. Plugg. After a few seconds, it is clear Mr. Plugg is barely even able to stand of his own volition. Captain Harrigan nods to the officers, and they begin half carrying Mr. Plugg down the stairs. His grip on his pony tail long lost at this juncture, now the ends of his ponytail a dark red stained in his gore.
When they reach the bottom, they turn Mr. Pluggs back to show the crew.
Long, deep cuts are hewn into his back. Blood begins dripping onto the deck. He can barely hold himself upright, but he manages.
"Mr. Plugg...I will not be disturbed by your failings in discipline further. Else I will loose my merciful nature." Harrigans voice goes deep with the implied threat.
As Mr. Plugg is released, the sound of something leaving the water catches everyones attention on the other side of the boat. The keelhauling is complete.
The halfling woman turns her head into the gnomes shoulder as the gnome seems to be turning away as well. The Varisian man just lowers his eyes and stares at the deck.
"I believe bloody hour is now formally underway." Captain Harrigan states, clearly pleased with his work. "Though get this cleaned up." he says, gesturing to the remains of Jake Magpie. He tosses Mr. Plugg back his whip, who nods to Master Scourge.
Master Scourge calls out each crew member whom had an offense throughout the day. Before striking, he would call out their failings that earned the lash. Most members of the crew got a lash, the gnome got two.
AFAIK, the party has avoided the lash to this point.
Once all the lashings are dealt out, Cut-Throat Grok distributes the rum rations, and Ambrose calls Destinie over to help serve the stew.
Shaking his head Seadreamer quietly mumbles to himself.
There was no call for that keelhauling, his reaction was sadistic
It was absolutely surreal. It was a horrifically gruesome affair. And yet it was one that she couldn't stop watching, possibly out of the sheer shock of it all. It was clear to her about one thing.
"Our captain's a sadist." she spoke softly. "He knew just how to hurt people in the most painful way, whip or torture."
She didn't even notice the tears in her eyes before she felt them on her chest. She quickly wiped them off before standing up. "I'm meeting up with Ambrose."
And with that she walked away without much of a word. Once she finished handing out the food, she whispered to the cook with bitterness. [smaller]"How can anyone put up with this?"
"That's backwards. Captain gets multiple shares, sure, but the Captain gets shares of the crew's loot. He doesn't understand a Captain's power comes from the crew, it isn't to be used against it."
"Any idea 'bout how to get a new election on this ship?"
You be talking mutiny, lets not be so hasty, but lets keep it in mind
"Maybe here it would be, but pirate Captains are supposed to be elected, and they keep the role by having the ship make enough money, not through fear."
Agreed, but I think this one rules by fear and tyranny. I wonder how the rest of the crew feels
Dotting.