Tis the Pirate's Life for Me!

[Nyte]

The mixture of revolting smells of human filth and the sight of drunken men falling into the bosoms of the Ladies of Fortune, it was a place no civilized person would be caught ever being, but then again they were not civilized men. In fact Ryker was not a man at all, but in fact a woman who was cleverly dressed as a young man in the service of his captain Lance Terrain. The port they had pulled into only hours ago was the pirate haven Dead Man's Grove. Here people like Ryker and her captain could walk freely as branded pirates, as there were no royal soldiers or guards to question them about their intentions. It was best to assume that anyone in this port had ill intentions.


A drunken woman wearing nothing but her underskirt and a half-ripped open shirt stumbles over to Ryker and snaked her arm around her shoulders. "Looks like I've got a youngin one right 'er." She half whispered into Ryker's ear while managing to spit a bit on her cheek. Drawing a blade from her side she placed the cold steel against the woman's neck. "Aye, I may be young but not stupid. Now get your hand off my coin purse or you'll be finding it's your blood in that tankard rather than rum." The look in Ryker's eyes were of murderous intent and the woman, although obviously displeased, removed herself from Ryker's person and stomped away to a more willing man.


Shuttering Ryker slid the blade back into its place in her boot and looked to her captain. "I don't know how our men find comfort in the whores. They're revolting and smell of rotten eggs." She said and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

 

[Risani]

Lance loosened the grip on his sword hilt as Ryker dealt with the prostitute that was unfortunate enough to approach her. He didn't reply to her comment, but Lance also agreed with her. While his face was calm, inside he was suffering from a headache due to the stench. Indeed, the permeating odor of rotten meat, sewage, and vomit seemed to not only stem from the landscape but from the locals as well. Lance's nostrils stung him continuously.


They were walking through the tavern area where contracts were formed, fights were settled, and hook ups were made. It was noisy and crowded, but one of the safest places for those not under the protection of law. Lance's crew had dispersed among the locals to relax and unwind. While each member was loyal and competent, their crew was still on the smaller side. Ryker and Lance were looking to recruit more hands.


Turning his head to the right slightly, Lance spotted an open table in the corner of one of the taverns. The sign had long been destroyed and the front wall of the first floor was removed so that the building itself was like a diorama.


"Ryker, that table seems like a good place to observe potential recruits, we shall eat there."

 

[Nyte]

Ryker nodded and followed Lance to the table that he had pointed out. There was only one chair so she took another from a man who was about to sit down. He ended up spilling his tankard and yelling as his back side hit the floor with a loud thud. She pulled the chair up to the table and sat next to Lance to look out over the crowd. "I still think that we would be better off convincing some of the Spanish or English crewmen to join your service, but then again this is a lot easier." She commented.


After a good while of sitting in the taverns and picking out a few men she decided that a trip to the harbor master would be a good idea to restock some supplies while they were in port. Plus a run in with a gun ship had left some damage and they still needed to see about repairs. "Now that we have some extra men we should head back down to the harbor master captain, and perhaps in our travels we could procure the service of a shipwright and have damages to the vessel performed out at sea."