You Best Be Believing In Ghost Stories (Open)

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:19 am

The Ghost had somehow attracted a crowd. The fact that no one in this crowd was over the age of 10 probably explained it somewhat, though a few adults obviously had one ear listening while they continued about their work.

"So there I was," the Ghost said, his ears twitching, "the Imperial galleon, she was listing badly, so I had to think fast. 'Bring us alongside,' I yelled. You could hear the timbers creaking as we pulled in alongside her. Then a great shudder," he raised his voice for emphasis, "as the two ships pressed against each other. Then the Wolf, she started going down too."

There was a gasp from a little girl in the crowd.

by **Byrna Cooper** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:34 pm

Off to the edge a brightly dressed serving wench with a flower in her hair was giggling, making mock gasping expressions along with the crowd.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:28 am

"'Lash her too us!' I yelled. So we tied the galleon to us, all the while fightin' off the Imperial scum that was trying to board my ship." He made sword swing motions for emphasis. "I ran up to the wheel. 'I'll take that!' I said. We were almost to the tipping point. Too much farther and both ships were going down."

He paused for dramatic emphasis.

"'Fire the engines!' And I spun the wheel hard to starboard as the engines roared. There was a load creaking groan like the crypts of the dead and for just a moment, I wasn't sure it was going to work." He laughed, "But it was on of my plans, so I should have known better."

Several of adults around who knew the Ghost laughed.

"The Imperial galleon slowly... slowly... started tipping upright. And then the Imperials turned pale, because they knew we had them and their treasure. So while my men were securing the Imperials, I checked out the hold. And what did I find?"

He performed a small sleight of hand, revealing two gold coins. "Gold and gems and more. All piled up taken from everywhere around the world."

"Did you make the Imperials walk the plank?" The question came from a young boy in the audience.

"Ah, no," the Ghost said with a smile. The boy looked somewhat disappointed. "I did something far meaner. I dropped them off outside an Imperial town... without their clothes!" The crowd laughed. "And now my men use their rags of uniforms to clean the windows on my ship."

He tossed the two coins to a sweets vendor he recognized, "Biscuits for all the children." The man blinked for a minute and then went to comply. The children squealed and the crowd broke up. "I take you think I'm full of hot air," he said to the serving wench, raising an eyebrow.

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:40 pm

"Never, good sir! you have a gift of the tongue, quite true. and you're not the first one with an entertaining story for the lads."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:08 pm

"So who else has been in here telling interesting stories and ordering drinks?" He asked, tossing her a coin.

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:30 pm

deftly catching the coin out of the air, she smiled.

"Oh, many. The rather large captain of The Juggernaut, a rather inebriated elf speaking the German tongue, Lord trask has a room on reserve when he is in port..."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:16 pm

"So no one interesting then," he said chuckling.

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:20 pm

"None as interesting as you." She replied, giggling.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:30 pm

"Good girl," he said, "Now how about some ale. Storytelling is thirsty business."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:34 pm

The wench complied, merrily drawing a pint and delivering it.

"Have any more stories to share, good sir?" she asked, eyeing him unobtrusively up and down.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:54 am

"I have quite a few. Anything in particular you'd like to hear?" He sipped at the ale.

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:53 pm

"Oh, I am not particular. Tales of daring, swashbuckling, one of a kind treasure, giving the Crown the finger, any or all of the above."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:43 pm

"Well, there is the time I snuck aboard one of the Crown's prison ships. The ship's holds were eerily empty though. Of course, the deck was crawling with the Crown's "finest", so I had my work cut out for me from the start."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:44 pm

the wench sat, enraptured with the tale.

"horribly outnumbered?" she asked.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:27 pm

"There weren't nearly enough of them for that to be the case, my dear," he said. "So there I am, amusing myself by removing belts, pulling triggers on guns, and just in general making life difficult for the chaps, when an opportunity presented itself to go below. That's when I found out about the hold."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:34 pm

"The hold... What was in the hold?" she asked, eagerly holding on to each word.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:37 pm

"Well, as I said, it was a prison ship, so the hold was full of cells." He seemed to really be getting into his story. "All empty, save one. And in that one..." He paused and his eyes stared off into space. "... was one of the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:40 pm

The serving wench brought her knuckles to her mouth, squeaking a little in anticipation.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:52 pm

"Her fur was the color of the blackest midnight, so that almost all you could see was her piercing yellow eyes, until the light from the guard's lamp fell on her. It was at that moment that I knew I had to get her off the ship."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:27 pm

THe wench went, and poured another pint of ale.

"On the house. Please, Continue."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:33 am

"Given how punctual the guards were about checking on her, I knew they would notice if she went missing and then things would become... well... more unsettled than I had already made them. So I sat down, right there next to her cell and had a good hard think. I finally decided if I couldn't steal the lady, I'd have to steal the ship the lady was in." He smiled and drank his free ale. "So I snuck back out on deck and began making mayhem that would even make the Devil himself stand up and take notice. Before long, the soldiers were thoroughly convinced that their ship had been haunted. The captain was just lucky they were in port, so all the crew did was run screaming off the ship. Had they been in the air, they might have turned to mutiny and shot him." He chuckled, "The look on his face when I appeared right in front of him was priceless."

by **Byrna Cooper** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:48 pm

The wench smiled and sighed, more impressed by the love story then the adventurous side.

She gave a quite dreamy look the shaggy captains way.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:22 pm

"I had him hand over his keys and marched him down to the hold," Ghost said. "We opened up the lady's cell and I proceeded to lock up the captain in it. Once she was out in the light, her fur wasn't nearly as dark as I'd originally taken it for and she was... well... have you ever seen any of the artifacts they carted out of Egypt?"

by **John Hino** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:11 pm

Jack entered with Bobby.

"Aha! I was right!"

by **Byrna Cooper** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:40 pm

bear looked the newcomers way, then stood to return to her duties.

"We'll talk later, she whispered.

by **Bobby Bowen** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:44 pm

Robert Bowen stood at attention, trying to put forward a professional look.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:52 pm

Nate audibly groaned when he saw Jack. He beckoned them with two fingers, frowning as he did so. "This had better be good. You interrupted one of my best stories."

by **John Hino** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:51 pm

Jack led Robert closer. "We need new crew, he needs a ship. Win win, yes?"

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:54 pm

"Did I have an entire lapse of judgment and make you first mate somewhere during the last outing?" He looked Robert over, though his question was obviously directed at Jack.

by **John Hino** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:02 pm

"I made no promises..."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:23 pm

"But just how did you arrive at the decision that we needed more crew?"

by **John Hino** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:38 pm

"Because Burton died..." he said sadly.

(some random crewman)

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:07 pm

Ghost rubbed his temple, "Very well, I'll talk to him. You on the other hand, would be wise to find somewhere else to be. Are we clear?"

by **John Hino** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:25 pm

"Aye aye captain," he sighed before exiting.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:47 pm

Ghost looked at Robert, "So what's your name?"

by **Bobby Bowen** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:47 pm

"Robert Bowen, Captain. Former quartermaster's mate of the Nathaniel Gray. He replied, sharply.

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:28 am

"The Nathaniel Gray, an impressive ship. So why are you looking for another one?"

by **Bobby Bowen** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 8:16 pm

"It sank, Captain. right on top of the Royal Bahaman Naval garrison."

by **Nathaniel Davis** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:26 pm

"That's a pity, about the ship, not the demise of the garrison. Here's how it works, two shares for me as captain, one share to the ship to keep her in the air. And then each man or woman on board gets a share. Can you live with that?"

by **Bobby Bowen** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:38 pm

"Depends, Captain. How often do you pull into port? I've no problem looting and sinking the crown's finest, provided I get a chance to spend my share."

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