[Episode] An Artistic Con

Episode:

Hyde Garland had found himself settling in well with the Black Dawn Pirates, since his rather unusual admission into the crew. Many of the crew, having seen what he could do, respected his abilities, while others wisely decided to steer clear. Keeves still sent him dirty looks, but Hyde merely shrugged them off. He had beaten the guy once, he could do it again.

However, Hyde wasn't simply going to sit around doing nothing. He actually made himself useful. In particular, he had taken it upon himself to keep stock of the various supplies on the ship. Medicine, food, drink, weaponry, etc. The man had effectively become the crew's quartermaster in short time. There were a few, particularly Keeves, who chaffed at him obtaining what was considered a high ranking position, to most, it just meant they didn't have to so the paperwork, so what was the harm?

Working as a quartermaster though came with its own challenges, and not just doing all the tedious stuff like keeping count and all the writing. The quartermaster became aware of potential problems before the rest of the crew caught on, which was why Hyde was now in Captain Bartos' cabin.

"Low on weaponry?" Hyde nodded as he sat across his desk, the small ledger he had open before him. "That's right. Cannonballs, bullets, replacement blades, we're running low on all this. And that's not even including the food and drink supply." Bartos nodded. "It shouldn't be that big of a deal. We'll be stopping in to resupply soon. We'll fill it all back up."

Hyde shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I've been keeping track of our booty as well. Sure, we made some successful hits, but all of them are coming up short. We're using too many resources on small fries. We're pretty much working at a loss right now." He sat back in his seat, "We gotta start hitting some bigger marks captain."

Bartos thought for a moment. The man had always been a little on the cautious side. An unsuccessful raid could be very damaging. It was why he tended to play safe. "Hmm, those powers of yours can make almost anything right? Why don't we-?" "No." Bartos blinked in surprise as Hyde gave him a flat look. "My last boss thought it was a good idea for me to arm the entire group too. You know how it ended? With all of them dead and me faking my death while running the hell out of Baterilla." He leaned forward on the desk, still looking him dead in the eyes, "I can provide temporary weaponry in a pinch, but we need some real stuff in our stores."

Bartos sighed and sat back in thought. Hyde was indeed right about this, but at the same time, old habits were hard to break. "I'll have to think about this. We'll be reaching Ilisia soon to resupply. We'll try to work something out." Hyde nodded as he stood up, collecting his ledger before leaving the room.


Post Word Count: 504
Total Word Count: 504

The arrival to Ilisia had gone by relatively smoothly. No immediate recognizations, no marines attempting to arrest them. Granted, the Black Dawn Pirates weren't exactly a high profile crew, but it still seemed a little strange. Especially since, from what he heard, there was a marine base on the island. Seemed like hostile territory.

"Corrupt marines huh?" said Hyde, as he, Bartos and Keeves sat at a table in one of the small cafes. The captain had opted to wear something a bit more casual for this little outing. Bartos nodded. "Aye. Bastards here let the power go to their head. They'll ignore or outright break the law whenever it's convenient for them." He gave a small snort as he took a drink of his coffee, "It's why I want to try and stock up on food and get out of here as fast as possible."

Hyde rose an eyebrow, "Can't we just bribe them?" Bartos gave a rueful chuckle, "Nah. Those bastards will extort everything out of us just to not arrest us. And even then, there's no guarantees." Ah, so that was how it was. Hyde remembered there were corrupt marines on Baterilla as well, but those men were firmly on the crime families payrolls. These guys on the other hand, were the sort to throw their weight around.

There was the sound of laughter from a nearby table that drew Hyde's attention. A small group of marines were sitting nearby, and some had taken it upon themselves to harass one of the waitresses. Hyde recognized the look of a woman really not wanting to be in this situation, yet feeling she had no choice but to take it.

Yep. These were those kinds of assholes.

As he watched, a thought started to form in his mind. "Tell me, who's the bastard that runs this place?" Keeves, who had been quietly enjoying his meal shrugged, "Last I checked, it was some captain. Hornbuckle or something. Some real peacock with his head firmly up his own ass." He took a swig of his drink, "Why?"

A peacock. Perfect. A sly smirk spread across Hyde's face. "I do believe I have an idea folks. I just need a frame and some canvas, if you don't mind me spending a little money." Both captain and officer looked at eachother, confused and a little curious.


Post Word Count: 393
Total Word Count: 897

To say that captain Hornbuckle was a peacock was a major understatement. The man made actual peacocks look at him and wonder if he was over doing it a bit. The long white coat with the marine insignia was possibly the only thing that really identified him as a marine. But everything else about him was so decked out with frills and other flamboyant additions that one couldn't help feel like he was trying excessively hard to be a fashion runway model. This was absolutely not helped in the slightest by the fact that Hornbuckle himself wasn't the most attractive individual. Long legs gave way to a pot belly and a wide face that no amount of makeup could hide. Not that he seemed to even notice. The way he carried himself, the man figured he must have been the most attractive man on the planet, and would no doubt punish anyone who said otherwise.

In a way, Hyde almost had to admire him. The man knew what he wanted and appreciated the finer things in life. And when one can extort money out of practically everyone around him, he certainly got what he wanted. At the same time, Hyde wanted to strangle the man. He was effectively living his dream life, and Hyde knew he would carry it way better than this overpuffed gull ever could. But, he had to restrain himself for now. There was a plan, and he had to stick to it.

As such, the captain was strolling down the street when a voice called out to him. "Captain Hornbuckle, sir!"

The captain paused. Someone straight up calling him out in the street like this wasn't exactly normal. He looked over, seeing Hyde standing by the side of the road, waving to him. Sitting beside him was something large and square, covered by a tarp. The captain rose an eyebrow curiously. "Yes?" Hyde quickly picked up the covered object and ran over to him, seemingly excited. "Captain, I only just arrived to this island recently, but I have to say, you've been doing an amazing job, keeping this island safe and running the marine base." The captain blinked and then grinned. Flattery would get everywhere with this man. "Why, thank you. It's nice to see somebody around her finally appreciating what I do around here. Everyone complains, but us marines serve a very important role after all."

"Oh indeed, indeed!" Hyde replied, looking almost like a sycophant, "That's why I did up this portrait for you. I felt it truly captured your heroic nature!" Hyde pulled the tarp away, revealing a painting. As he said, it showed Hornbuckle, standing on a mountaintop with many marines down below looking at him with reverence. Hyde had even made sure to try and make Hornbuckle look more many, more muscular than he actually was. Hornbuckle's eyes widened at the site, his wide face almost split in half by his grin. "Yes! Yes! Magnificent! You've captured my likeness perfectly! It's nice to find someone who truly understands a hero when they see them!"

Hyde nodded. "Yes, indeed. Um, if it's not too much to ask, this painting did take a good while to produce. I'd be happy to give this to you, but I do think a bit of payment is in order. Perhaps, say five thousand beli?" Hornbuckle paused, his smile fading as he eyed the painting. He liked it, certainly, but he was the sort of man who didn't really want to pay for it. "I think," the marine captain said, reaching out and taking the picture, "That I will accept this lovely donation of yours, as evidence of you supporting our goals. I'm sure your satisfaction in providing such wonderful artwork to us, no matter how amateur, will be payment enough, don't you agree?" There was an edge in his voice, a hidden threat if Hyde objected. Hyde took a step back. [color:8c73=ff3399]"Y-Yes, of course. All I need."

Hornbuckle's smile returned, "Excellent. Well then, carry on citizen!" With the painting in hand, he turned and began to stroll away. As soon as the marine was a good distance away, Hyde's sycophantic expression turned into a sneer of disgust. Amateur? Like hell! He was rather proud of the piece. And the bile he had to swallow down to suck up to him!

Bartos and Keeves stepped out from a nearby alleyway. "Nice plan" Keeves muttered sarcastically, "Total art salesman of the year." Hyde shot him a look before his sneer turned into a smirk. "Why thank you. That idiot did exactly what I wanted him to do." "You wanted him to have a painting?" Bartos asked. Hyde chuckled. "Exactly! Now, we just need to wait until nightfall. And when that happens, all I ask is that none of you disturb me."


Post Word Count: 803
Total Word Count: 1,700

The rest of the day had gone by surprisingly uneventful, though now there was a sense of anticipation in the air. At Hyde's recomendation, Bartos had focused on stocking up on food and drink for the crew. Now this made the captain very curious, since Hyde had been worried about the munitions supply. Whatever their quartermaster was planning, he simply wasn't saying. He just had a smile on his face all day, like he knew of some joke he wasn't sharing. This sentiment spread throughout the crew, curious just what the man was planning.

Eventually, night descended onto the island. The time that had been set. Naturally, everyone was eager to see just what Hyde was up to, so a small crowd had started to form outside of the man's room. Hyde was less than amused. "You know, when I said I wasn't to be disturbed, I did not secretly mean, 'everyone gather round for the show'!" Bartos, who had found himself amongst the curious crowd, rubbed the back of his head, almost sheepishly. "Well, we were just curious to see what this big plan of yours was. You hadn't said a word about it all day."

Hyde sighed. "Look, what I need to do requires a lot of concentration, and for that I need to be left alone. Just, go out and do what you guys regularly do. Trust me, if this plan works, you'll see it." The pirates looked at eachother, a little uncertain. But he did seem so sure of himself. As the crowd slowly dispersed, Hyde let out another sigh before stepping into his room, and locking the door behind him. No interuptions this time!

He took a seat at his desk and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had some skill with his powers, producing weaponry, attacks, and even some 'living' things. But this was the first time he was doing something this extensive, and from so far away. A part of him wasn't even sure if he could pull it off. Damn him for building himself up like this. He needed to pull through for the crew dammit. He tried to reach out with his mind, trying to locate that painting he had done earlier in the day. Surely that peacock had brought it to the base by now. Nice and deep in there, passed the outer security.

A small smile spread across his face when he felt it. There it was! Now, it was time to see if this worked.

Deep within the marine base, a painting began to stir.


Post Word Count: 429
Total Word Count: 2,129

Hyde Garland uses:
Get 'em Boy - MT at Marine Security
Swatch Blade - LT at Marine Security
Old Fashioned Violence- LT at Marine Security
UT at Marine Security

Marine Security usee:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 16, 16, 13, 14

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 20, 16, 14, 17

Hyde Garland uses:
Paint Bomb - HT at Marine Security
Painter's Arrow - LT at Marine Security
UT at Marine Security

Marine Security usee:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 16, 18, 14

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 19, 12, 9, 15

Hyde Garland uses:
Fog Armor - HT on self
There's the Door- LT on self
UT at Marine Security

Marine Security usee:
MT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 9

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 8, 1

Missed a roll for the boss' UT

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

'Reflex Check' : 6

Hyde Garland uses:
Incoming! - HT at Marine Security
Swatch Blade- LT at Marine Security
UT at Marine Security

Marine Security usee:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 6, 2, 19

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 19, 12, 7

Hyde Garland uses:
Artistic Cure - HT at Marine Security
Old Fashioned Violence - LT on Self
UT at Marine Security

Marine Security usee:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 19, 6, 3

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 9, 15, 11

Seaman Finley was, for a lack of a better term, annoyed as all hell. Patrols were one thing, at least you got to walk around to places. Guard duty was another, at least you interacted with people at times. But overnight guard duty was the worst. Everyone else was enjoying their sleep and that thought irritated him further. Who would even bother trying to attack this place during the night? This marine garrison had this entire island wrapped around its little finger. Nobody would dare trying to cross them. He couldn't help but feel he must have annoyed the captain somehow. The man took slight at the smallest things.

Another uneventful patrol through the building once again took him in front of the captain's office. The man insisted that the guards made sure they check it frequently, as if he suspected someone would try to swipe something from him. It was amazing how self assured, yet how paranoid the man could be at times.

Finley sighed and stepped inside. The office was just as gaudy as the captain himself, decked out in expensive looking baubles, pottery, and other fanciful pieces he could get his hands on. And behind that excessively large desk was that damn painting he had acquired earlier that day. Finley had flinched when he first saw it. Either the artist had been trying to kiss up to the captain (the most likely scenario), or had a very low grasp on reality (also a strong possibility).

But it wasn't the painting that drew his attention this time. This time, it was the marine standing in front of it. He had his back to him, dressed like a seaman, like himself, and was holding a rifle in his hands. This was certainly curious because as far as Finley knew, he was the only one assigned to this patrol tonight.

"Oi," he said, trying to get the man's attention. The mystery marine just stood there in silence, staring at the painting. Finley narrowed his eyes and walked around the desk to approach him. "Oi! Do you hear me?" The marine slowly turned to look at him and Finley froze.

At first it looked like the shadows of his cap were covering his eyes. But it took Finley only a second to realize he couldn't see any eyes because there weren't any! Just a patch of flat shadow where they should be. "W-What the he-!"

Crack!

The marine had moved like a machine, striking Finley in the side of his head with the butt of his rifle. Finley collapsed to the floor like a rag doll.

The marine 'looked' down at the unconscious man before turning back to the painting. Slowly, the image in the painting began to change. The many marines depicted started to turn, looking towards him. As the marine stepped to the side, one by one the painted figures began to climb out. Like the painting was actually a window frame.

Soon, there was a small squad of marines existing the captain's office.

Post Word Count: 505
Total Word Count: 2,634

If there was anything more boring than nightly guard duty, it was nightly guard duty of the base' armory. At least with regular guard duty you got to walk around. But when it came to the armory, you had to sit by the door. The place was deep within the base for crying out loud. If someone was trying to get there, they would need to go through the outer defenses first. At least the captain had enough sense to assign to people to this task.

Logan leaned back in his seat, rocking lightly as he looked up at the dark ceiling. "So, what are your plans when you get out of this place?" Paul, the other guard assigned to this, rose an eyebrow. "When I get out?" "Yeah. Got any assignments you'd been wanting?" Paul chuckled, "Why leave? We've got it pretty sweet here." Logan gave an unconvinced shrug. "Great for the captain maybe. The rest of us just get yelled at, assigned to stupid stuff like this. Remember that one time he sent Reggie out to get that stupid staue for hi-"

"On your damn feet!"

The two marines bolted upright at the familiar shout, saluting out of reflex. There, standing in the dark, glowering at them, was Captain Hornbuckle, with a small squad of marines standing behind him. Where had they come from? They didn't even hear them approach. "Captain! Sir! Nothing to report sir!"

The captain waved them off dismissively. "Yes, sure. Thank you. You two are dismissed. We're getting this stuff moved." Both marines paused, highly confused. "Moved sir?" Paul asked, "to where?" Hornbuckled glared. "To where you thieving layabbouts can't find them. Someone's been taking weapons and ammo without my permission! So now, nobody's getting anything without my approval!"

Logan and Paul blanched. Odds were it was someone misplacing their rifle and grabbing a spare. Trust the captain to react so strongly to something so minor. [color:1896=#6699fg]"Um, did you need some assistance sir?" Hornbuckle turned his glare onto Logan. "No. You're dismissed." "But sir-" "DISMISSED!"

Not wanting to anger the captain any further, the two marines turned and quickly walked down the hall. Behind them, the captain unlocked the door to the armory, the accompanying marines starting to file inside.

Once they were a good distance away and around the corner, Paul glanced over at his comrade. "Hey, Logan?" "Yeah?" "Was it just me, or did the captain look...different to you?" Logan shrugged, "I dunno. It is dark after all." Paul scratched his head. "Yeah, but, was the captain's chin always so, well, chisseled?"

The look Logan sent him caused the conversation to abruptly end, lest Paul embarrass himself more.


Post Word Count: 446
Total Word Count: 3,080

The atmosphere aboard the Sundowner was both filled with anticipation and tension. A few of the crew had decided to go to bed, but the rest, including Bartos, had remained awake. They were curious to see just what Hyde had been planning, and it already had been a couple of hours, with no visible results.

Bartos sat on deck, lost in thought. He knew Hyde's plan had involved that painting, but what exactly was he planning to do? He hadn't heard any commotion or anything coming from the marine base. Was it some sort of attack?

"Captain!"

Bartos, and everyone else on deck, looked up to the lookout, sitting in the crow's nest, "Yeah?" "We got a problem captain!" the lookout called out, "We got marines approaching!" "What!?"

Bartos snatched the nearest spyglass and looked towards the town. Low and behold, walking down the street approaching them was a small squad of marines, all of them carrying crates. And ahead of them was Captain Hornbuckle. "Shit!" Bartos muttered. Had Hyde's plan failed? "What do we do captain?" one of the pirates asked. Bartos was quiet for a moment. If they tried pulling away now, it would just encourage them to come after them in ships. "Let them come," Bartos muttered, "Let's try to sort this out without needing to fight."

As the marines arrived, Bartos lowered the gangplank for them. He was not going to try and cause any conflict if they could help it. Without missing a beat, Hornbuckle stepped up onto the ship, followed by his men, carrying the crates. Bartos approached him. "Evening. What do we owe the pleasure?"

Hornbuckle just stood there, silently. He seemed to be staring off into nothing as the marines started setting the crates down. Bartos blinked. "Um, sir?" Still no response. He waved a hand in front of the marine's face. No response at all.

Meanwhile, the other pirates watches in confusion. They just seemed to be bringing boxes on board. Not a word was spoken or anything. One finally plucked up enough courage to come at one of the boxes with a crowbar. The marines seemed to give them no mind. As he pried open the lid, his eyes widened. "Captain! There's guns and ammo in here!"

That exclamation caused everyone to snap into action. More of the crates were being opened, revealing more weaponry. The marines were bringing them weaponry! "What the hell is this abou-" Bartos turned and paused, as suddenly the marine captain seemed to melt away in front of him. In fact, all the marines present melted, some of them dropping crates. The rest of the crew looked on in confusion, as Bartos' eyes looked to the various ink drawings that now appeared on the ground.

Everything clicked into place. "Hyde..." he grinned, "That brilliant bastard actually did it! Someone! Go get Hyde up here, now!" As one of the crew ran inside, Bartos looked to the rest of the crew, who were now happily going through the various crates of weapons. "You lot! Let's get out of here! Now!" There was no doubt Hyde didn't pull these weapons out of nowhere, and Bartos didn't want to be around when the original owners found out.

The crewman ran back on deck in a panic. "Captain! It's Hyde! He's on the floor out cold in his room!" Bartos spun to face the man. "What? Get the doctor to him, now!"


Post Word Count: 573
Total Word Count: 3,653

As with every day, dawn soon rose upon the island of Ilisia. Though for the marines of the base, many were no doubt wishing it had simply stayed night for all eternity. Certainly if it meant avoiding this.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE GONE!?"

The unfortunate marine whom Hornbuckle had turned his attention to flinched under that furious stare. The captain was absolutely beside himself with rage, his wide face red and twisted in anger. They were standing inside the base's armory, which was now looking substantially emptier. A few other marines were looking through the room, trying to find any evidence left behind. Though all they could find was that several crates of weaponry were gone.

The marine stammered, "J-Just as I said sir. Several crates of weapons and ammunition have gone missing sir!" It was not a good morning for the captain. He was in the middle of a good breakfast when one of his men, burst in yelling about a theft. A theft, here, in this very marine base! "I can see that!" Hornbuckle yelled, "But where have they gone!? Who were the men on duty guarding the armory!?" The man gulped, "P-Paul and Logan sir. They're claiming that it was you who took them sir!"

Hornbuckle froze, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What? Why would I steal from my own armory!?" The marine flinched, "Th-They said you claimed there was theft and you were moving them to another location, and that there were others with you sir." "Well obviously I didn't, otherwise I wouldn't be here screaming at you right now!" He spun around, fuming, "Those damn idiots couldn't tell it was a fake!? It's obvious someone broke in here!"

The seamen hesitated, "Um, we thought about that sir and checked the perimeter guard sir. Th-They saw no sign of anybody coming in. Th-They just saw you and others leaving." He shivered as the captain turned his wrathful gaze back onto him, "W-We only realized something was wrong when nobody reported them coming back and...um..."

"And...what?" The captain's voice was ominously level right now, a calm before the proverbial storm.

"W-We found seamen Finley unconscious in your office sir. H-He's claiming he was attacked by a marine with no eyes sir." If stares could kill, there would be two holes through the marine's head right now. "I don't have time for one idiot's rantings," Hornbuckle snarled, "Someone had to have broken in, and has run off with most of our stock. And now I'm convinced that one of the men on guard duty was in on it. So I want EVERYONE on guard duty last night in a holding cell, in the hour. UNDERSTAND!" The marine flinched, hurriedly saluted, and ran from the room. Hornbuckle soon followed, Storming out in a fury.

This was an absolute disaster! Sure, there were some weapons left, but now the base was grossly understocked. And he couldn't tell anyone about it! Even if Hornbuckle felt justified, a small voice in his mind made him aware his running of the place wasn't exactly...proper. A report to high command of a theft like this would result in an investigation, one that might turn up things that the captain would rather keep hidden. And even without all that, he would look incompetent. His ego couldn't take that sort of damage.

No, all Hornbuckle could do, if he couldn't find the weapons himself, was to quietly take the loss and try to build back their stock without letting command know. The thought of this was just making him even more angry. How could he have such incompetents under his command?

He stepped into his office. Some tea might help calm him down and give him a clearer head to figure this out. He froze, however, when he saw a large, blank canvas behind his desk.

"AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY PAINTING!?"


Post Word Count: 649
Total Word Count: 4,302

"He's waking up! Someone grab the captain!"

That was the first muffled sentence Hyde made out as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. As his mind slowly started to wake up, it tried to catch up on what had happened up to this point. He had been in his room, trying to keep focused on controlling the faux marines. Then everything went blissfully dark, with the last thing he felt being him colliding with something hard. A definite contrast to the soft warm bed he found himself in.

As he slowly opened his eyes, taking I the sick bay he was laying in, the large form of his captain and a couple of others, including Keeves, came into the room. "Oh thank christ," Bartos murmured, "We were getting worried about you there." Hyde let out a soft sigh as he looked around. "How long...was I out?" he asked. Keeves gave a small shrug. "About a day or so." Hyde blinked. A day? Damn, he didn't think he had been unconscious for that long. An hour or two perhaps, but over a day? "Well damn," he grunted, slowly trying to sit himself up, "Guess that took a lot more out of me than I thought."

Bartos couldn't help but grin. "Hyde, that was absolutely amazing! I mean, I know you said you had a plan, but I never expected anything like that! You must have cleared out their whole damn stock!" Hyde shrugged, "Eh, most of it at least." Keeves looked like he was in thought. "If your powers allow you to pull stuff like that, imagine next time we pull a raid. We won't need to do anything. Just send in those paint people of yours."

Now that got Hyde's attention. "Are you nuts?" he replied, "Do you know how much that took out of me? There was no way I was fighting with those guys. It took everything I had just to get them to carry the stuff onto our ship!" Indeed, those fake marines were paper dolls at best. If the marines had decided to try fighting against them, the whole plan would have been ruined. It all banked on fooling them and letting them walk out with the goods. Keeves gave him a dubious look, "You didn't seem to have a dog try to maul me when we first met." "Yeah. ONE dog, as opposed to a small platoon of marines," Hyde bit back, "My powers have limits you know."

Bartos sensed the growing tension and gently waved it down, "OK boys, settle down. Hyde's right. We can't just rely on him and his powers all the time. After all, we've got a reputation to uphold. Won't look good if we simply let him do all the work now will it?" Keeves gave a conceding shrug. Bartos smirked, "Besides, we've got weapon ls to spare now. I think it's time we started hitting some larger targets. Really start making a name for ourselves, eh?" tithe collective pirates in the room smirked. Now that was something they all liked to hear.

Bartos looked back to Hyde, "In the meantime, you just take it easy and recover. We'll let you know when we need you." Hyde didn't need to be told twice. He lounged back in his bed. "Sure thing captain. Think you can get me some food? Being out for a day really leaves one hungry." "Sure thing." "And some beer too." "Got it." "And perhaps a nice woman too." "No ladies on the crew I'm afraid, though I can send you Yarick in a dress." Hyde blanched as Bartos and the others laughed. "Nevermind. Keep your sausage fest."

As the others left, Hyde laid back and made himself comfortable. Now he at least had a good idea of where his limits lied, at least for the time being. He wasn't going to try anything like that again any time soon, but who knows, maybe he could do more in the future, with some practice and such.. Right now, he just needed to focus on getting his strength back. Then he can figure out where to go from here.

End


Post Word Count: 700
Total Word Count: 5,002