Pirates For The Mainland

"Captain Nog, please!" Grif called out.

And old man walked into the front doors and called attention with a low whistle.

"Some officer types are comin' this way," he said.

Not a minute later, three men in blue uniform coats walked into the door with an air of authority and rank about them. They had tricorn hats with fancy gold threading and swords just as overdone. Silly navy men from the Red Ocean.

When they entered the bar there was no sign of disorder. Everyone was at a seat, talking and drinking and minding their own business. The navy men didn't have their own law to back them up, but they acted as if they did. And no one wanted the navy to try and take over Grey View.

"Hello Grif," the tallest man greeted the bartender.

"Flennel," Grif replied simply.

"A ship came into port," Flennel said. "In very bad shape. I'd like to speak to those survivors. Do you know them?"

"I can't say I do," Grif answered, pouring a drink for Nog. "I can't know everyone."

This seemed to irritate one of the other men and he put a hand on his sword.

"Are you giving our captain trouble?" he said. "You best mind your manners, sc.u.m."

"Now, now," Flennel calmed his comrade. "This is a free town. No need to be pushy. I'm sure plenty of characters come and go all the time and Grif only sees a few of them. We'll just have to sit and wait for the crew to return to their ship then. Good day, Grif."

The three men left without another word and the bar became a little more at ease. With the officers gone, the giant man from before stood and went back to the crew of the Red Jewel but his manners were in check.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Captain," he told Nog. "I didn't know I was in the presence of the Emperor's Soldiers. I'm going to go see a doctor for my wound, but if you need hands for your ship, I would be honored to offer my help. And I'd love to help you do whatever you aim to do to the Cray."

Nog stared hard at the man and the others that were going to back him up looked on eagerly too. Then the captain gave a little chuckle.

"You keep your mouth shut about the Emperor and you and your boys can come," Nog said. "We go to the Mercidian Islands tomorrow and then soon after we're headed back out to the mainland. Savvy?"

"Yes, Captain," the man answered.

The giant and the other men left the bar, presumably to prepare their things for departure. With a heavy sigh, Nog turned back to her drink and sipped lightly.

"Well, that takes care of the crew problem," Dart said.

Nog scribbled her name, along with her two mates, into the inn registry. The sun had got down several hours ago and all three pirates were well passed the point of drunk. Regardless, Nog had flawless handwriting with fancy swirls and swishes to the lettering.

"It's good to see you three again," the old woman behind the inn counter said. "I wish all my guests were as polite and helpful as you."

"You flatter us, Shi-nah," Dart replied, the one who could speak the best while intoxicated. "We'll be off to bed right away. Please, ask us if you need any help with anything at all in the morning."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Shi-nah replied. "Just go sleep before you fall onto the floor."

The trio went up to their room on the second floor and fell into their three beds like limp dolls. The room was warm and cozy against the chilly ocean night. After falling over onto the bedding, Dart then pushed herself up to remove her gear, trying to keep a good head about herself.

"Don't fall asleep with your things on, Captain," Dart reminded her. "You don't want a repeat of last month."

Nog g.r.o.a.n.e.d and stood up to remove her jacket of many hidden things. They took enough care to lay their outer layers, hats, and boots in neat fashion before crawling into bed. Neko kicked off his boots without getting up.

"Neko, you were the last to move," Nog said. "Turn off that damn lamp."

With a tiny exhale of complaint, Neko stood and reached for the lamp on the dresser but held in place. He turned his gaze towards the door and waited. Not a moment later, the door was kicked in and a large man with a cloth over his face shot a crossbow at Neko. The bolt struck him in the c.h.e.s.t like a twig hitting concrete and fell to the floor harmlessly.

Retaliating immediately, Neko pulled out a drawer from the dresser and hurled it towards the man. The glued wood smashed and broke against the intruder as he tried to cover his head from injury and right after he was kicked into the hall by Neko. The masked man slammed into the wall of the hall and reached for a blade at his hip but was stopped by a sword tip in front of his face.

"You'd be a dead man if I'd cared to strip down to my u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r," Dart told him.

The ruckus was enough to call the attention of another guest. Emerging from his room down the hall in only trousers, Flennel came to investigate with his sword in hand. He was quite the impressive specimen without a shirt on, but he would find no one to push around in the hall.

"What's going on here?" Flennel questioned.

"This man came into our room and tried to kill us," Neko explained.

"What are you?" the man asked. "I shot you right in the c.h.e.s.t."

Flennel looked at Neko and Dart with curious eyes but didn't press the subject.

"I'll take care of this sc.u.m," he said. "I'm sure after some interrogation he'll have a lot of interesting information to tell us about clients and targets. You all head to bed."

Dart and Neko went back into their room and left the rest up to the navy men. The little swordsman put her sword back in its scabbard and fell back onto her bed without a word. Before Neko went back after his sleep, he pushed the dresser in front of the door, seeing as it had been kicked in.

"Someone from the bar wants our key," Neko said, laying down on his bed.

"Or our new crew is not that trustworthy," Dart pointed out.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep," Nog hushed them.