88.

New chapter!  Yay!  I'm sure nobody was wondering when I'd release this ...

88.

Lawless Jack, the chortin pirate Captain who’d taken the Wind Runner and subsequently sent me to the bottom of the ocean, stumbled and fell like a newborn lamb. He flailed for only a moment before he composed himself, bringing his hand up in front of his face.

“This,” he hissed. “This is not my body …”

I didn’t explain the magic – I wasn’t too clear myself on how it worked besides silt and seawater with a dash of mana. Nor did I argue that he looked exactly the same now as he had back then. This rebirth was overwhelming enough, I let him rationalize what was happening.

After a moment to adjust to his body and a darting look around at his surroundings, his gaze once again rested on me, with glances over my shoulder at where the Internment waited.

“So,” he said with a rueful grin. “My efforts to avoid bringing a curse down on us well and truly failed. Is this retribution?”

“I’m no ghost to haunt you. My curse wasn’t born out of some hatred or vengeance. You sent me to the bottom, but there Davy Jones found me and offered me a bargain. I accepted – a decision I came to regret – and forced my way free. Jones and I now have split territory, and my curse is one willingly taken. It’s a curse I share with my crew.” I indicated Jack’s new body.

“What the ever-loving …”

Right, he’d been out of it for some time.

“What’s the last thing you remember, Jack?”

He looked me straight in the eye. “I remember dying. I remember a bolt nearly taking my leg off, the poison of it pouring into my blood. I cut my leg open with my own claws to get it out. I bled out on the deck of my ship as she listed, taking on water.”

“Captain Michaels – formerly of the Wind Runner – had a vendetta against you.”

“Ah, the risks of privateering.”

“He wasn’t just mad you took his ship. His nephew was on that ship. The boy didn’t make it off. Michaels thought you were to blame.”

Jack squinted, forcing himself to recall. “When I … ahem, no sense coating it with honey. When I was torturing you, you spoke of killing a lad with the detonation that foiled us. That was Lord Michaels relative?” I nodded. “The old Captain never learned that detail, did he?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I intend to find the wreck of the Wind Runner and raise the boy like I raised you just now.”

“Resurrection,” Jack murmured, looking over his body again. “Rare magic that belongs in the realm of legends.”

“It has its limitations,” I said. “You are actually the first I’ve raised from the dead. My ability has a few restrictions; I can’t raise someone who died under my curse. That brand of immortality is beyond my reach. As I understand it, raising you after you died means there’s no option for you to lose the curse like the others can. You can either remain in my service, or you can return to death. I cannot offer you an unfettered life.”

“To have life again at all … this is … incredible. My memories of what happened after death – if anything happened – are veiled. Yet … I feel the same tenacity to cling to this life as I did my first. Even if I feel your curse magic embedded in every fiber of my body.”

“I suppose that brings us to why I raised you,” I said. Jack still hadn’t stood up, probably unable to do so without wobbling, so I set myself adrift and crossed my legs, lightly settling on top of the silt. “You attacked the Wind Runner. You tortured me with fear effects. You made me walk a plank to my death. These major things condemn you, yet I surprised myself some time ago by realizing that I didn’t hold any animosity towards you. You were a mercenary, and while I would have happily allowed you to be my enemy and fought you on the seas, Michaels beat me to it and you wound up dead. When you’re dead, the living truly do move on without you.

“I’ve had struggles to one degree or another ever since the day of my curse. These days, I find myself looking for good hands to serve under me.”

“Ironic,” Jack hissed. “That I nearly recruited you.”

“The irony isn’t lost on me. The trouble is, Jack, that I already made one mistaken choice of first mate. That blunder led to a mutiny against me. I won’t repeat that mistake. If I can’t trust you, I will dismiss you to oblivion.”

Jack scratched his scaled chin with his short black talons. “What did you do to your mutineers?”

“Most of the crew is on my ship above us, completely loyal to me. One man I executed. My mate who organized it I cursed in the traditional sense. He is writhing on the sea floor as we speak, feeling all the agony he subjected his victims to. As my crewman still, his health dropped to zero 24 hours after leaving my ship, yet this other curse keeps him alive at 1 HP … continuously on the cusp of death.”

Jack’s scratching talons tightened into a fist. “I see much has changed since I captured you. You weren’t a fit for my crew because of your morals and naivety. You’ve grown. Is this where I am supposed to grovel to avoid the same fate?”

“I already told you: I don’t hold animosity towards you. I shared that as a warning that I won’t be taken lightly. I want you to work for me, Jack, but it will be a structured arrangement for both our sakes. I will require your complete loyalty, but you will find that I am fair.”

Jack hissed again, looking down. “A decade as the sole Captain of my ship, commander of even more and member of the hidden council of Tulisang … all to be a first mate to a hatchling still learning the sea.”

“Say your seamanship level, Jack.” I demanded, already having full awareness of his skills since he was one of mine as of now. His levels from life had carried over.

“16,” he declared.

“I am expecting to cross the boundary to level 20 any week now. Your assumption of nautical expertise is baseless.”

“Hmmm, knowledge of the sea is nothing if you cannot be a leader, an island of order in a sea of chaos! My tactician skill is 7 and my leadership level is 11, can you boast the …”

“My leadership level is 13,” I interrupted. I’d only surpassed Jack there after my confrontation with Jones, but he didn’t need to know that. “I don’t have the tactician skill which is why I rely on the two of my crew who do: a half-elf and an orc war-leader.”

Jack’s expression didn’t change as he looked at me, but I could tell he was surprised.

“I understand it is natural for you to place yourself at the top but there is no scenario where our arrangement goes that way. I am in command. I will listen to your advice as I do all my officers, but I will not be questioned in front of the crew and I will not be satisfied with anything less than your full effort.” I leaned forward. “Now, I’ve emphasized the repercussions of trying to upset me. Tell me instead what it is that you want that would make this position worth it to you? Clinging to life is a powerful motivator, but it won’t last when bitterness has had time to steep.”

Jack reflected for several moments. “When I died, there were war tensions. What became of those?”

“Oof,” I said, leaning back. “There’s a packed question. I will have Hali give you the details but here’s the gist I think you’re interested in: the whole seas went to war and the humans were winning. Makam took over Andros and domesticated Tulisang. Hang on,” I held up my hands to the distressed chortin.  “Let me finish. Andros rolled over and is an occupied territory now. Carr was lost from the first days. The Madu, elves, orcs and tarish all fought their battles but the upper hand was firmly on the human’s side.”

“Was?” Jack croaked.

“Then the sea changed,” I said, explaining the new high risk/high reward tradeoff for those sailing the ocean, and the many monsters surging into the waters.

“These changes impact all sides but the humans had the biggest naval presence. That might mean they are the only ones to pull through or it could mean they get wrecked and the sea turns into an un-traversable frontier.”

Jack was silent. I gave him room to think and we sat together for several minutes in the dark depths before he spoke again. Rather than tell me what he desired, he turned the tide and asked what my goals were.

“Me? I aim to keep the doorway open to this more dangerous frontier. I love the sea, and I want to nurture people along to be capable of riding her waves. Whether that be chortin, madu, orcs, humans … I don’t care. If they can manage some decency I’ll try to keep them alive to grow further.”

Jack chuckled-hissed. “Every race? I take it back, you’re just as naïve as you used to be.”

The sound of his voice cut off along with all movement from his body as I suspended his will. It was easier to do on him then any of my other crew – probably because I’d created his body myself. I shifted forward, my entire demeanor changed back to the stern, harsh manner I’d tried to move past moments ago. Jack and I were establishing roles, and I would not – could not – allow his insult to slide when it was so clearly intentional.

“Jack, every nation on the seas got a quest warning them about me. They’ve grown more afraid since then. I’ve personally sunk dozens of ships and claimed hundreds of lives. The name ‘Seaborn’ is common knowledge in every port, usually as a curse because the world thinks I come bringing death. A lot has happened while your body turned into fish food. Now I’ve been working hard to redeem myself and do some good in the world, and leading those under me to the same thing, so I won’t hear of your mockery about ‘naivety’ and ‘how the world really works’. Do I make myself clear?”

I returned Jack’s will in time for a mute nod. Seeing that wasn’t enough, he responded “Indubitably.”

I leaned back and let my tension ease. Jack had all of the fire and domineering will necessary in a first mate, the same attributes Rhistel currently lacked. With that, though, came a greater degree of conflict between us – at least until we had enough experience together.

Only once I was sure that we were charting the same course would I even consider giving him independent command of my second vessel. He was doubtlessly the most qualified person to do so, but if I were to do so too soon I would be giving command to Lawless Jack the privateer, not Jack – Seaborn’s lieutenant.

He needed a new handle; just plain ‘Jack’ was too boring.

“You can see that my goal touches close to my heart. The question to you remains, Jack: what do you want?”

After so long of having that question asked of me, now I was doing it to others.

“I tried to make Tulisang an independent city.” Jack said. “So many of us fought for that … it was our chance, our gateway to freedom anywhere in the world. With it taken, I need to know what else is being done. What else can be done.”

“I believe our visions might align there, and I can support those ideals.” I said honestly, recalling Donovan and his agenda in the pirate town. “Tulisang showed me different faces, but I learned that it was far from just a smuggler’s den.”

“It was,” Jack said wistfully. “But beyond that; is there … after my death, what happened to the Gull? She was outmatched and I told her to flee.”

“From what I’m told, the Gull escaped cleanly but were a well-known public enemy and they laid low afterwards. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about what became of them or where she might be.”

Jack nodded, seemingly relieved. “My brother Captained that ship. Now that I have this chance … I must speak with him. See that he lives, pass on the legacy … say goodbye. If you can give me that chance, Domenic, I’ll be you’re first mate.”

“I can give you a chance at it. There’s a few more things for us to discuss, but first there’s something to address: a potential problem that we’ll need to straighten out here and now.”

“What is that?”

I swam over to the broken hull and put my hand on it once more. “It’s your old ship that I’m going to be Captaining.”

Would you like to raise The Ravenas your ship?

There was a reason my ship in the mental realm was a brigantine like the Raven. When I considered the speed, handling, and firepower I desired she fit the bill. Other ships might be stronger in the same way the Internment was more durable, but they could not match her for sailing. The Wind Runner was a ship dear to my memories but my personal connection to the old galleon was its strongest tie; as my desired flagship the old girl just couldn’t compete. Not that I wouldn’t try to raise her too, but I needed the Raven first.

I activated my ability, my mana having had time to recover from raising Jack. My initial expenditure siphoned all the ambient mana in a wide area, everything sucking back into the ship and tying it to my awareness.

Dark Raven (Cursed)

Ship Class

Brigantine

Captain

Seaborn

Ship Durability

32,050/45,000

Ship level

2

Cursed Status:

Defiant

Burning Sea

Nightmare

Cursed Beginning

Ship alterations:

Speed

Maneuverability

Handling

Durability

Modifications

Repairs

Effects

At my command, the Raven lifted up from the sea floor, pulling free of the mud and silt. She naturally righted but still had a noticeable list and bore the scars of her last battle – not to mention my personal mark on the keel. She was … beautiful.

I looked back at Jack, who had stumbled to his feet. He snapped his open mouth shut with a snap. His fists tightened and relaxed before he nodded to me. We understood each other.

“Let’s examine the ship together, Mr. Jack.”

“Yes … Captain.”

“But before that,” I said, pulling my adventurer’s bag around and digging into it. “Here’s some pants for you to put on.”

I walked every compartment of the Raven, checked every fitting. She needed work, there was no doubt of that. Her rigging had been torn to shreds and Michaels had deliberately pressured the weak keel when he’d attacked. My ships were not concerned with sinking, but the structural integrity of the vessel was a major concern. She was missing roughly a third of her durability, and I had no doubt that it was because of this injury.  She was manageable, however.

I asked Jack many questions and he was a wealth of information, knowing the ship inside and out. I was also educating him on the nature of his curse and the capabilities of the ships I claimed with my profession. There was naturally some dissonance, but we both had a measure of give-and-take and worked through things.

“You don’t need a dry dock …” Jack murmured.

“I don’t even know how our curse would work if we tried!”

“You don’t get it … I despaired of finding a safe place with the supply capability and skilled shipwrights who could truly repair her. I was refusing to do what I knew I would need to: abandon her. But you … the distribution of weight when you’re submerged …”

“I’m counting on it,” I said. “I still need to find safe waters, but I intend to see that hole repaired.” I gave him a level look. “Fix what I broke, and all that.”

He shook his head and chuckled half-heartedly.

“One more thing before I take you to the Internment and introduce you; there are several crewmembers who were attached to the ship enough that I could still manage to raise them. I want to discuss that option with you in-depth. I know they’d be solid hands, but I can’t have any who’d resent me for my fight with you or who’d try to stick a knife in my back and make you Captain.”

Jack had stopped as soon as I mentioned his crew. “Would you tell me their names? Those who might still be saved?”

I didn’t comment on his word choice and activated my Raise Crew ability, reading off all the potential crew I could try to raise. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had a stiff backbone, but to him the loss of his crew was very fresh. Every name I didn’t list was someone permanently gone. Even worse; he’d have to impartially assess each person’s character and tell me if they shouldn’t be raised: because if he had me raise a traitor there’d be consequences for him and all those formerly of the Raven.

“This is not something to do now. I will introduce you to my other officers first, and I will show you the Internmentso you can have some time to process everything. Later I’ll have the crew transfer some supplies and we will raise whoever we decide upon then.”

He nodded sharply and followed me when I swam to the hulk.

I kept introductions contained to the other officers and advisors first, and they went as well as could be expected. Everyone knew the history Jack and I had but – excluding Hali – it wasn’t their history, and if I wasn’t making waves over it they saw no reason to. A larger element of distrust was simply because Jack was an outsider – he had never heard of the Death’s Consortand he hadn’t sailed with me aboard the Roc’s Eye. Even those who’d been rescued from the Internment had a greater stake in our story, yet he was the person I was making my first mate. They understood rationally, but rationality didn’t create trust.

Jack and Gnar eyed each other up, both giving toothy grins following their appraisal but the orc’s was far more confident. I wondered whether they’d establish their pecking order through a duel or strategic discussions.

Jack and Drese greeted each other warmly – I suppose Jack had been Nilfheim’s privateer and would naturally have a more favorable reputation with them than with the humans. Jack also seemed to have a lot of respect for healers in general.

The only one Jack seemed wary of was Hali. Either he didn’t know what kind of grudge she held for his impact on the Wind Runner or he knew of her reputation outside of that event. Her exposure and notoriety was the primary reason her value as a spy had gone down, after all. She didn’t let on if there was an animosity – either because she was that good at bluffing or because she enjoyed stringing him along.

I hoped there wouldn’t be any issues – she’d told me there wouldn’t be. Yet of all the possibilities, I had a hard time picturing Hali just forgiving Jack the way I had. Gerald on the other hand seemed the most impartial and willing to take Jack on whatever merits he showed while sailing with us. If I said he was worth the chance, Gerald would give him that chance.

Rhistel was downright hopeful that Jack coming onboard would mean he would be relieved of his role as acting commander of my second ship, but I had to disabuse both him and Jack of that notion. Rhistel would serve well enough for now, though I foresaw a day when he moved into a quartermaster role instead.

Jorgagu wanted to know about the armor-piercing bolts Jack was known for using – something I also wanted to know – and Sadeo just wanted the whole formalities to be over with so he could go evaluate the artillery on the Raven. He’d been getting antsy about not being able to have an impact lately.

I followed through on my promise to show Jack the hulk, but I could see by the end of it that he was getting overwhelmed. His resurrection, our deal, thinking of his former crew, meeting new crew – it was a lot to take in over a short time. Rather than return to the Raven immediately and raise some of his crew, I asked Drese to look him over in the medical quarters; check his overall health and whether there were any issues with his body since it was essentially a mana construct. I told them to take their time.

I think we all saw exactly what it was: a chance for Jack to process and think, maybe discuss with someone he was willing to trust.

My interactions with Jack would look different, but he was still one of my crew and I had to look out for him just like everyone else.

I moved the Internment alongside the Raven. I didn’t want to move the Raven too much yet on the off-chance it impacted my ability to raise someone from its crew. I set all hands to working on getting the ship in order; the list was caused by caked mud on the port side it had rested on, and that had to be removed. The holds were also cluttered with debris – a mix of junk and useful items that had to be sorted. The sails would never do on a normal sailing ship, but I could work with them for the time being. The rigging had to repaired or replaced, though.

It would take some time to get her into shape, but just getting her mobile could be done rather quickly. I wouldn’t settle for that, but I did want to get out of these depths that weren’t mine.

“Oh, these are a beaut!” Sadeo exclaimed, someone having brought him a locker filled with Jack’s double-enchanted armor-piercing bolts. “Not much use on my old battlefields, but the way your ships are used it’s just right!”

Enchanted Bolt of Armor Piercing

Ignores 35% armor

Bypasses 50% armor with -70% damage reduction

“It’s a deadly tool,” I said, flashing back to the night the Wind Runner had sunk, when I’d first rushed topside only to see all those in front of me cut down by these bolts that seemed to phase through the sides of the ship.

“That’s the idea, Dom.” Sadeo said. “Focused lethality.”

“I’ve just been on the receiving end,” I said. “Sometimes being helpless makes you wish you had a weapon, and other times it makes you wish there were no such thing as weapons.”

Sadeo shrugged. “I hear you; but if someone was going to have them, I’d rather it was me!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. When it came down to it, not being armed wasn’t something I was willing to consider either.

Jack and Drese swam to us, Jack easily cutting through the water like all Chortin could and Drese clinging to what looked like a giant carp. The life master still wasn’t part of my crew – I hadn’t broached the subject since upgrading my ability – but he had managed well enough. There were drawbacks – such as the fact he was right now taking constant damage from the crushing depths, but he simply endured it while healing his HP. Marcus had proved to more utilitarian, adaptable to most circumstances but lacking the higher-tiered spells of a specialist that would let him do as Drese did. He and Hali both remained in the atmosphere inside the Internment for now.

Jack nodded to me. “I’m ready.”

“Good. It will take some time for me to regain my mana between casting. The area’s pretty well depleted of ambient mana after raising my ship, so my mana siphon won’t work. I’ll need a potion with each member to be able to manage it. Between raisings we’ll have things to discuss, but Jack you take your crewmembers aside and explain things to them. I’ll speak with them all once we’re done. Let’s go to the Captain’s quarters before Drese runs out of mana and actually gets hurt.”

Drese nodded, unable to speak without a special water spell either.

We moved our assembly inside and I replaced the water with atmosphere. Drese’s summoned fish disappeared through a portal to wherever it had come from.

“Alright Jack, the first option to be raised goes by the name Barnock. What do you have to say?”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Do not raise him.” The weight he carried with those words was palpable. “Barnock is a berserker-class warrior and held a grudge against you for killing his friends. He would not adapt well to being raised under your command.”

“Thank you for your candor. It strengthens my trust to know that you are judging this with the full weight of the situation.”

He didn’t say anything to that. My trust would mean something in the coming days and years, but right now he was saying goodbye to old crewmates.

“The next is Mercer. What do you say?”

“A tarish who wished to fight against humans – possibly the best sharpshooter I ever saw. Loyal to the bone once I earned his trust and his vision of fighting humans waned somewhat – having fought alongside them on my crew. It will be your judgement call, I can tell you more about him.” Jack clearly wished to give his man the best chance with me even as he was honest about their potential issues.

This was exactly what I needed in Jack: a man who knew and cared about his men but understood what it meant to be in command. I wasn’t in a rush to get through this list and let Jack say all he would about Mercer. I gained a favorable impression of the tarish but it was still risky. I sought the input of the others, particularly Gnar who would be incorporating the fellow into his warband.

“Take him,” Gnar said. “If he just has some spite for humans I can work it out of him. Jack said himself that the guy fought alongside his fellows.”

I agreed. Ultimately if anyone was not a good fit, I could dismiss them, but that was something I wished to avoid if at all possible.

I prepped a mana potion and activated my ability. We could talk all night about whether to raise someone, but in the end it was still their choice whether they’d even respond to my attempt.

Mercer did, and my mana poured out into a construct, water being pulled up through the floorboards to fill it. At the end there was a tarish body lying in the midst of our group, looking up at all of us in shock. “What kind of cult did I just fall into …” he said in their flanging-toned way, his voice seeming younger than Gerald’s.

Jack hissed heartily and knelt by his side, slapping his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back among us lad. Let me help you sit up – I know just how you feel right now.”

“Gerald,” I said, getting his attention. “We seemed to have overlooked the clothing situation. Would you mind sourcing a bunch of pants for our incoming crew?”

Mercer was younger than I imagined, even though Jack had said he’d found him as a youth and taken him on for his talent. I suppose I only had a few years on him, but I hadn’t thought of myself as a youth since my seamanship first matched the graybeards’.

Jack took him aside so he wasn’t the center of attention, the tarish was embarrassed and tried to cover his dignity until Gerald returned with some clothes. Jack’s very presence seemed to be enough to convince him to roll with the waves and take the hits as they came, but Jack began enlightening him on the situation slowly.

While Jack had his sidebar conversation, I discussed with my officers a development they were all interested in: the effects of our new ship.

Cursed Status:

Defiant

Burning Sea

Nightmare

Cursed Beginning

“There are four effects that came with my raising of the ship; all of them generally positive.” There had definitely been a concern that my past experience with the Raven would create an effect that wasn’t worth it. “I’ll share each one at a time and we can discuss. I expect my mana will have recovered after we’re done with one.”

Defiant: Spit in the face of adversity – the Captain of this vessel did so against overwhelming odds yet still emerged. Do nothing less with all enemies.

Active ability: Captain can initiate a 35% damage reduction for 2 hours with a cooldown of 4 hours.

Gnar actually gave a cheer. “A third of the damage for a third of the time, without any withdrawal weakness. Now that’s an ability all warriors had!”

“I don’t think it’s immunity for your warriors, Gnar,” Drese cautioned. “I believe that it’s referring to damage taken by the ship, correct Captain?”

“I can’t swear to either, we’ll need to test it.”

“Is the activation instinctual, Captain?”

As we went on with the question and answer into a discussion on application, I noticed Jack looking at me with a new wariness. No, wariness didn’t describe it. He looked like he was reassessing me and discovering that I was more dangerous than he’d initially assumed. And no wonder; this was just the first of four abilities made possible with my powerful profession. He’d seen my ships underwater, but I don’t think the full import of their capability had sunk in yet either. I expected to receive this look again when he saw what Gnar was capable of doing to an unsuspecting vessel.

I signaled an end to the discussion when my mana had recovered – after the first minute it was simply speculation and theorizing anyway. I nodded to Jack. “Mana’s recovered.”

He glanced at Mercer. “Lad, I’m going to show you to a place where you can rest up for a while.”

We waited until Jack returned. He glared at me for a moment before his expression softened. “Hss. Yes, I’m not the Captain here. I … apologize for the delay. The thought of discussing which crew to save and which not to right in front of the lad … it was something I couldn’t do.”

I nodded. “Wise perhaps. And while I don’t intend to dally down here I am sympathetic to your position. We can spare some time as needed.”

“Much appreciated. Now, next up for consideration?”

I gave the name, and we discussed his recommendation. A few minutes later another chortin appeared, this one attempting to swing wildly until Gnar and Jack subdued him and explained. He was cooperative once his feet were settled, and Jack showed him to the same compartment as Mercer while we went over the next effect.

Burning Sea: Victory at all costs, against any odds – even if it means the destruction of vessel keeping you afloat.

+10% damage to all attacks on designated enemies. Once per hour, the Captain can increase damage taken by 30% for an additional 15% damage to attacks.

Once again we’d have to test how broad the effect was. I was less enthusiastic about the sacrificial part of it as I disliked accepting damage under any circumstance. Gnar, however, was once more enthusiastic about it. He claimed that armor or skills could negate damage taken to be inconsequential before the 30% modifier. When I argued the effectiveness of that, he simply said that even if it meant double damage taken, there were circumstances when a slightly more effective attack was worth it. I chose to trust him because I conscripted him in the first place for his expertise, though I privately wondered if orcish rage skills had desensitized him to the risks of taking damage.

My mana recovered, and we discussed more options. We passed on someone who was loyal to Jack. It hurt the chortin deeply, though he was the one who’d admitted that the person would ignore my command in favor of Jack’s.

Someone else was raised instead, by now we were prepared and Jack had two others recently raised to help the fellow adapt.

Nightmare: The Captain of this ethereal vessel has spent hours undergoing escalating fear effects. Now all who dare to face him must pass the same tribulation.

All enemies within the ship’s sphere of influence must make a Wisdom save or suffer an escalating fear debuff.

Drese was suitably impressed by this one, but ‘designated enemies’ wasn’t something I could change on a whim. I trusted him too implicitly to be able to mark him as an enemy for testing, so the effect would also have to wait for further testing.

A fourth crewmember added – thankfully an easy decision. Jack even helped me recall who they were and our interactions while I’d been a prisoner.

Cursed Beginning: This ship is where it began; the Captain’s own descent to the curse that forever holds him. The strength of curse magic is stronger here because of it.

All cursed beings within the ship’s sphere gain 8 distributable attribute points (effects lost upon leaving the area).

I’d looked all of these over in advance, of course, and had verified the additional points were there to spend, though I held off on it while I considered my build. My announcement of the effects had everyone else checking their stats to verify that they did indeed have the points, which brought a chorus of exclamations.

“Free levels!” Sadeo said.

“The adaptability,” Rhistel added, finding Drese already nodding along. “Loss upon exiting the ship’s influence is a shame, but it allows the crew to re-specify those points easily – something that’s near impossible otherwise!”

“They can reinvest them into Constitution before an engagement, then Intelligence when they’re developing skills,” Drese said.

The other ship effects had applicability considerations – this one turned into a happy ‘what we can do’ free-for-all.

That was all the ship effects I had to report, but hardly all the names for crew consideration. Jack’s full roster wasn’t available – not all of them having a strong enough tie to the ship for my ability – but there were just over 20.

Every denial was a weight upon Jack. When we denied two candidates in a row for good reason, he tried to sell us more on the next. I noticed and before making any determination, told him to go spend a few minutes with his resurrected crew; the crew that had amazingly cheated death, but who were also very limited in their future prospects. After a few minutes for him to re-center himself, I would summon him and those we’d resurrected to explain the full ramifications – no waiting for everyone first.

After he’d marched out, I turned to Drese. “Do you think I’m right? I learned how to release my earlier crew from the curse, could I find a way to release those I resurrect too?”

“Domenic, I can tell you as a master of life magic that I know of some rare ways to perform resurrections – always with great cost. No spell or ability exists that lets an exchange of mana return someone dead for this long without some tradeoff. I remain curious to see the full extent of these crewmember’s limitations. Do their bodies break down after time? With distance from you? Can they taste food? Develop their skills further?

“In my experience, given the relative low cost of your ability and their apparent return to perfect health, the curse is insurmountable. It is part of the framework that gives them their form. Were you to develop your understanding to the level required to unravel the curse, you would simply end their existence.”

I heaved a deep breath to clear my thoughts, the others watching closely. “I need input from each of you: am I doing the right thing raising these crew, and am I doing right not raising some?”

Each of them reaffirmed that what I was doing with my resurrections was useful and a blessing to those who did. Not resurrecting some seemed like cruelty, but the fit of the role was important. We weren’t discussing whether or not to do something good for a person, we were discussing whether a person would fit as a permanently cursed sailor under my command.

Their assurances were something I needed to hear, my denial of Jack’s men to his face having made me feel like I was slipping into the role of a villain once again.

We spent some more time having internal deliberations about the assimilation of crew into ranks while we gave Jack some time to calm down. Then I had Gerald go and fetch them. When they returned, Jack was leading them and stood in front of them like he was prepared to protect them from a scolding I intended to give.

I met his gaze for several moments before nodding to a chair next to me. “Have a seat Mr. Jack.”

He glanced at the seat, then back at me. It was tough for him, I could tell. I could only imagine trying to give up my protection of my officers and let someone else command. Still, he sat by my side.

Aside from that moment of awkwardness, the explanation went well. Jack had given each of them enough pieces and they’d naturally collaborated to have a decent picture already. I told them that after I dismissed them we would send any others to them and I expected them to give an outline of the situation and make them welcome. I would address them all once again when we were through.

“Who else can you bring back?” the chortin asked.

“That is determined by the limitation of my ability and our discussions.”

“Discussions?” Mercer queried.

Before I could reply, Jack butted in. “Not all of the lads from the Raven would want this, you know. The risks, the limitations …”

“Limitations? They’re dead now, sir.”

“What I mean is …”

“Mr. Jack,” I said, my voice firm. He stopped talking – stopped making things worse by trying to soften the blow. “Gentlemen, we are discussing whether the members who I can reach would be a good fit for the crew. If we determine that they are not, then bringing them on board is not a mercy. There are certain things I will not abide on my ship.”

“Can we participate?” Mercer asked. “These are our fellows!”

“No,” I said, ignoring Jack’s look. “Trust your old Captain to be their representative. I will not tell you who we can reach, you will not be told of who we reject. I discourage speculation on the matter. Whoever joins you is someone with a second chance on life: a miracle.”

It was clear they wanted everyone back that they lost. Who wouldn’t? They accepted my firm answer, however, and returned to the hold when I dismissed them. Mercer even stopped the chortin from trying to eavesdrop by the door.

Jack turned to me, his hands clenched together and his gaze conveying some of the harsh things I’m sure he wished to say to me. All that passed his lips was “You have indeed become a hard man.”

“I have,” I said. “However now, as opposed to my first attempt at Captaincy, I am neither senseless nor cruel.”

Author’s Note:

What do you all think of the name of the ship? My trend is to have a mutation of the old name, but the only alternatives to ‘dark raven’ I could think of were ‘black raven’ or ‘death’s raven’ and both of those had connotations I didn’t want. Suggestions? (Also give me any suggestions you have for the Wind Runner!)