Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 26 - The Phoenix

The boats were already in the water by the time Keelin woke to find the first rays of daylight forcing themselves upon him. He’d personally sat two watches during the night – his and Smithe’s, for lack of trust in the man. Inadequate sleep, along with the anticipation of the day ahead, had the unfortunate effect of putting him in a mood which could only be described as grumpy. A boatload of folk were being shipped over from the Fortune and, just a few strokes behind them, another from The Phoenix. The Man of War floated in its anchorage, dwarfing both the other ships and making the bay look more than a little crowded. Keelin was still staring out towards the Sarth vessel, taking a much needed piss into the sea, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Lost a man durin’ the night,” one of Drake’s pirates said. “Nilly stepped out fer a piss, just like ya doin’ now, an’ didn’t come back.”

“Any sign of him?” Keelin finished up and tucked himself back into his britches.

“Blood on the sand a little bit that way.” The man pointed down the beach, and Keelin thought he could just about make out some discoloured sand. “Looks like his hat too, but no one wanted ta get close enough ta check. Whatever got him might still be there. ’Neath the sand.”

“Then we best find out,” Keelin said sternly. “Get a team together and comb the sand around the blood. Kill anything under the surface and try to find Nilly.”

The pirate looked uncomfortable, and on the verge of arguing. He evidently decided against it. “Aye, Cap’n,” he said with a grimace, and set off towards the fire where his crewmates were gathered.

By the time the boats arrived, Keelin had found the cook pot and was busy eating a cold bowl of last night’s left over stew. Kebble Salt had found him, and the two were busy eating in companionable silence when Princess jumped from the front of his skiff and made his way up the short stretch of beach to the makeshift camp.

“Drake didn’t show up then?” Princess sat down opposite Keelin, brushing a few lank, wet strands of hair away from his face.

Keelin shook his head and spooned another mouthful of stew. “You don’t sound concerned.”

Princess laughed. “Hear we lost a man during the dark. One of ours or yours?”

“Yours,” Keelin replied solemnly. “He wandered off to take a piss, didn’t come back.”

“Nilly, was it? Poor bugger never could piss with an audience. The Cap’n will be sad. He always liked Nilly.”

“I want you to send the boats back and get every able man and woman down on this beach.”

“That so?” Princess didn’t sound too certain about the order.

“We’re starting again. Combing the beach over.”

“What?” Princess snorted. “Took us most of yesterday to do as much as we did, and ya want us to start over?”

“Yes.”

“Mind sharing ya thinking?”

“Your man was killed close to the camp, an area we’d already combed. That makes me think the sand monsters move around during the dark. Can’t be certain those areas we checked yesterday are still safe. So we start again.”

Princess thought about it as Kebble handed him a bowl of underwhelming stew. “Aye, sounds solid reasoning.”

“I also want any man or woman with real carpentry experience reporting directly to me by the time this pot of food is empty. And I want preparations drawn up to beach the Man of War as soon as we’re confident we’ve killed most of the sand monsters.”

“Outfitting?”

“Repurposing. That ship burned down two towns. Now its bones are going to be the foundation of a new one.”