SK Hit 4: Fire down below

The vast ocean seemed too crowded these days and no place to be if you called yourself a pirate. The captain reflected ruefully that the recent plague amongst her kind was due at least as much from within as without. It was a dangerous life they had all chosen to lead but the rewards were usually worth it.

Was this one?

Dusk found them sailing towards yet another clue, just one more step towards the Reaper's gold; if such a thing even existed. Was there honour among thieves or was the treasure just a child's dream or a madman's lure?

She had a crew and a ship that she could trust but they had been difficult to obtain. It would be senseless to risk them on a fool's errand. There would be other treasures.

“Prepare to come abo...” The Captain's order was cut short as she caught sight of the other ship behind her. It was right on top of her and her small crew had been hard at work getting the ship under way. Unlike many of the larger vessels, her ship could ill afford even one man standing idle atop a mast. In the past, she'd sneer and call them wasteful brutes who used their size and canon number to strike fear into their victims but what she wouldn't give for the extra men and gunpowder right at this moment.

The boarding hooks jerked the two craft together and the Captain was nearly thrown off her feet; she grasped the railing firmly with one hand and pulled her sword with the other. No one would take her without a fight!

“Good Evening, by chance could I borrow a cup of sugar?” A voice yelled from the other ship.

“Che??" The captain stared in puzzled silence for a moment. "Wha...what?!?!”

“No?? Then I'm afraid we'll just have to take it.” The voice laughed and then the fight began in earnest.

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The last ringing clamor of battle faded and only the sound of the sea could be heard once more. A lone figure stood now on the deck of the Morte Bella. All mirth gone, the captain turned to the victorious crew and stepped back onto their own vessel before casting a backwards glance at the single masted schooner.

“Burn it.”