Goblins & Humours

Part Two

At the bottom of a ladder Marcos sees a note, written in a calm steady hand.

Marcos picks up the note. "Now this IS a find!" he whispers.

At that moment a cry rises, "All hands on deck! Marcos! Step it up lad!"

"On my way!" he called back, "This warrants looking into…" Marcos quickly pocketed the note and went about his business.

"Ay there, Marcos! Don’t stay up too late, yer burnin’ through candles faster than we can buy them."

"Of course, Jamie. I will to bed soon." Marcos watched and waited until the deckmaster had left, fished the note from his pocket and began to read.

Upon finishing the note he let it fall to the ground. Sweat began to break on his head, his sides and all over. His knees began to shake from fear. "Goblins in the body? Why then we should all be driven mad!" Marcos rushed below decks to the brig. With a fury, he took a fresh piece of paper and began to write as fast as his pen would allow.

Marcos places the page in his pocket before lying down to sleep.

As the sun’s light slowly wanes to the west, Captain Lot stepped out of his cabin, stretching and admiring his beautiful ship. CRUNCH. Lot froze and picked up his boot.

"Paper?" he thinks, noticing the writing. "What in the world is this?"

He begins reading the Doctor’s note on possession and insanity, wondering who on the ship it could be for…

Mariam spent the day quite busy finding all kinds of interesting baubles to decorate her new, spacious, sweetly-scented rum wood cabinet. Captain Lot had a very shiny favor dangling from his belt that she quickly pocketed when he was occupied. Why, while baubling that very afternoon she’d noticed the other crew members leaving precious items just sitting on a table when they turned away!

She’d pocketed those as well.

Once the sun went down it was really quite hard to see what was shiny and beautiful and what was not, so Mariam retired to her closet for the night to begin finding places to keep her new baubles and toys.

She passed by Marcos in the brig, noting how very like a hunting dog he slept, all curled up against the door, one hand partially covering a slip of paper sticking out of his pocket.

"Hm," Mariam thought. "I didn’t know he could write. He must’ve stolen something."

She reached through the bars, grabbed the suspicious paper and paused to make sure Marcos was still sleeping soundly before continuing on her way.

The next morning, Captain Lot notices that Marcos is acting very oddly. Stammering, gesturing wildly, looking about warily, and jumping at shadows.

Marcos is standing in the middle of the deck, talking to himself when the Captain walks by. In mid-stride, he strikes Marcos in the forehead with the pommel of his sword. Marcos falls to the deck.

"Well, that's one..." mutters the Captain. He makes a sign of the cross above the pommel of his sword, replaces it in his scabbard and continues on.

"I am sure Marcos will wake in a little while," he tells Jamie.

Mina, standing nearby doing her morning exercises, notes to watching crew, "Indeed, a textbook case of demonic possession attended to neatly by the captain. The sword, with its hilt forming the shape of a cross, is a natural holy weapon for use in dealing with unclean spirits. Just throw a bucket or five of nice, cold seawater over the powder monkey, and he'll be good as new."

Once the Captain left his quarters, Mariam sauntered in and dropped the note found in Marcos' pocket in the pocket of the Captain's coat, picking up a very pretty RBG on her way out.

Later that day, Captain Lot called the crew together and issued a directive: