6) Between five devils and here’s another three.

I had just caught up with Kev and grabbed the back of his shirt when the boat leaned to one side as the ship took a sharp turn. Then the engines cut out. “That don’t sound good.”

Kev began to turn his head about in all directions. "The engines are fine. No one new is on board. I think Ryan just decided to stop the boat."

I turned to head back topside, heading past Erin as she turned sideways to let me by. From back to front in the chest area I wasn't quite able to clear by her without any contact. This did not upset me much.

Up top, I looked around wildly but didn't see anything. Sandra leaned over the top of the dashboard. "Ryan thought they might be tracking us by the sound of the motor. So he wanted to drift off at an angle for a bit and watch them."

That… wasn't a bad plan. We could have just kept going and put some more distance between us. But our fuel wasn't unlimited.

And we had a mission to take someone’s ship.

I made my way to the back to hear Sue in what sounded like an ongoing conversation with our captive Corsair.

Rob wandered over to start talking to me in a low tone.

"So all the Corsairs can do is sail off from Port Ransom and then they get a mission to capture slaves. If they win and take captives, they can sell them to slave traders back in their port for coins they can use to buy food and supplies. Taking slaves is the only way they get to eat. No sun, no plants. There isn't even anything to eat in the water."

"I'm guessing it's some variation of the same deal for the Pirates and the Reavers."

Apparently, his low tone wasn't low enough as the Corsair spoke out to the entire group. "I've been told from stories passed down that it wasn't always like this. Something like three hundred years ago there were people called Players here. They got all sorts of other missions. Even one to reignite the lighthouse which lit up the whole started area. Plants grew, and there were fish to catch."

“Then they all got too high of a level and left the starter area. The Reavers took out the lighthouse and we've been stuck in the dark ever since. And even with no more players, every time someone from one of the factions gets killed, they get replaced. This place always wants at least four hundred and thirty two of us. With more getting stolen from their homes until the numbers are met."

I gave it a long look as everyone mulled that over. Ryan finally spoke up. "How many races, how many worlds?"

The reptile snapped its head to the side. "Hundreds of races, even more worlds. And it's not just one race for each world. My people get dragged here from several dozen or more. Some of them even had other races on their worlds. Even soft skins like you."

It looked around at all of us. Or at least above our heads. "So, are you Players or not? Not much point in trying to keep it secret. Without shrouds on, anyone can tell that you're something other than a member of one of the three factions."

Erin went off on a tangent. "What color are we? Or our titles anyways. All you guys and the Makoans were red, but I thought that just meant you were hostile?"

Our prisoner tilted its head. "Makoan? What the Deep is a Makoan?"

The necromancer stepped to the side to reveal her animated skeleton and pointed at it. “Like that but with flesh and scales.”

The lizard person's eye went wide as it tried to push itself backwards through the railing behind it. "What the Deep! Rot scales!"

Sue looked down at it. “So, I guess you didn’t know what a necromancer is?”

I stepped in between it and the skeleton. "Stop panicking. As long as you're useful we won't let it dig out your organs and eat them. What do the potions do?"

Surprisingly Sue didn't say a word. So threats were okay, just not smacking people around. Noted.

The Corsair calmed down a bit. "Do you mean the Vials? You hold one for a minute and they glow if you can use them. If you can, then you drink them and you get the ability for an hour. But some of them you can only use a set number of times. We call that your magic score. Others just work for an hour."

It glanced at Erin. "She didn't drink a death caller, did she? She can just do that?"

I ignored it. "Kev, bring the vials out so we can test them out. I'm pretty sure me and Rob can use the animal forms ones."

The reptile nodded. "I and the others were the only ones on Captain Dice's ship that could. Now it's just Catrina. But the other ships may have flyers out looking for you."

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Ryan asked. “Why are you being so helpful?”

The lizard person sneered. "Catrina would never trust me not to stab her in the back and try to take command of Dice's ship." It jerked its head toward the front of the ship. "With him dead, she's in command now. And the other ships won't want competition on board either. Besides, I'm hoping you're recruiting. What faction I come from don't mean dropping working for players. And you need a lot more crew than the seven of you."

Kev reappeared with a hard plastic case in hand. "You guys dumped all the bodies? So I guess we aren't going to eat them?"

He got a wide array of dirty, grossed out, or exasperated looks. "What? It's only cannibalism if they're human."

The lizard person nodded in agreement. Ew. Not getting any point there for staying on the ship there Godzilla.

Sandra tapped her hand on the steering deck railing to get everyone's attention. "I don't think a starter corsair is going to do us much good after we level. What do you have to offer longer term?"

The prisoner shaped its head to one side again. I was starting to think that meant something for its race. "I've done enough missions to get advanced to basic corsair, a few more and I'll be a common corsair. If you take me out of the starter area with you I can get to Able and then Advanced, maybe even higher."

“And if I'm part of your crew, your treasure chests have a higher chance to get a chart to Port Ransom. You might want to go there for trade or a raid. Or even to buy someone who got taken captive before they get shipped off on a slave ship."

Rob brightened up at that, no doubt because of visions of a grateful slave girl dancing in his head. Me, I was wondering where the enslaved get shipped off to.

One by one we each held a few of the vials each. All of the ones with animals lit up in a dim green for me and Rob. The flame one lit up red for Ryan, even without a faction or a class. The healing ones surprise me when they lit up in white for both me and Erin.

She admitted she had gotten offered a healer class, "But I really, really wanted necromancer. I would rather let an animated corpse take a hit than heal up someone."

Me and rob had gotten offered shifter classes. Erin had been offered a healer class. I didn't but that may have only meant my other choices were better.

"The vials give class abilities." I announced. Rob nodded absentmindedly while Sandra rolled her eyes at me. If anyone else had figured it out before me they kept it to themselves.

"Sharing insights can only help. If anyone else has figured out something, speak up.”

Rob threw in. "I think whoever set this place up are the immortals and the players are their descendants. Except for us. We got grandfathered in because we had one on board. Briefly."

Erin contributed. “Obviously there’s some kind of translation magic, I mean I’m saying this in french right now and everyone seems to understand it.”

Sue began making hand gestures at Erin, who returned them. Sue nodded. "American sign language doesn't seem to get translated." She tapped the lizard person on top of its head. "You know anything about that?"

It nodded. "I've heard of things like that, but the people who know them keep how to do it to themselves and their closest crew. No one wants to give away an advantage."

Sandra then spoke up. "I think the three ships trying to sneak up on us must be Reavers"

Well, that was very informative to share. Up on the steering deck, the Princess was peering out into the darkness with a thermal scope. Not one mounted on anything, she was just holding it in her hands. "I can see three ships covered in blotches I'm guessing are people."

"I think we should light up the whole ship, get both sides rushing at us until one of them gets close. Then take off at an angle toward the farthest one. Lead them into each other and let them fight it out while we stay out of it. Worst case we just have two groups chasing us and we leave them both behind to do what's natural."

Then she glanced down to see everyone, including the Corsair staring up at her. "What?"

The prisoner looked around. “So, she’s your captain then?”

Kev threw up his hand. “Nope, I’m it. She the master chief.”

Sandra blushed down to her bikini bottoms.

Time to get back on track here. "Priorities. Sandra, your best guess on how much time we have. Rob take a look for a second opinion. Ryan, Rob, and Sandra grab one of the cutlasses we acquired. Kev, grab two and give the shotgun to someone who knows how to shoot. Anyone?"

Erin surprised me by throwing up an arm at the same time Ryan called dibs.

Erin looked up at him. "I used to go duck hunting with my grandpa, I can take out a bird on the wing. You?"

He shrugged. “I was the only one who was ever able to hit a skeet when Kev’s grandpa bought it. But you sound like the better choice. Can I get the brush cutter again Rob?”

Rob shook his head. "I'm going for a nail gun this time, but I might switch it out if I run out of nails. Besides, you got the fire vial. Don't hoard it. Use it whenever you get the chance or it will just end up being someone else's treasure."

I took another look around. "Girls, ladies. You might want to get dressed before you get sick. The air isn't that cold but it's colder than the Caribbean."

I waved in the general direction of the cabins below. "Any of my stuff in the yellow duffel is up for grabs. So is Stan's stuff in the blue sea bag But I doubt any of it will fit anyone else, let alone you three."

Rob finished taking his look through the scope and conferred with Sandra. "We think we got about fifteen minutes before they get close enough for anyone to fly over with any chance to hold us long enough for the rest of them close in."

I nodded, "Then let's light up the ship in ten. Then give them two more minutes before we start trawling away.

People scattered except for Ryan who was keeping close to the wheel, even asking Rob to get a blade for him. I took a moment to have a talk with him.

"I understand why you won't take a class. But even if you're right and I'm stuck in this place just for choosing one. It's also what I believe will keep me alive. Period. We're all hoping to escape this place by some means." I shook my head. "But I've never even heard of a single person ever in history talking about a place like this, let alone escaping from one."

He shot me a look of deep sadness.

"I don't want to kill your hope. But I want you to survive. And you taking your options can help do that. As well as help the rest of us."

Ryan sighed and leaned onto the dashboard of the boat. “Me and Amy. We were getting serious.”

I gave him time to get his words out.

"We were going to look for a ring when I got back."

The thought "Well it would have been worst if you did it before." stayed firmly in my head. I had matured over the years. Instead, I came up with. "As long as you live, there's a chance to get back. But I already pushed you, make your own choice. But even if you're right, I stand by mu choice as the best one I could make at the time."

The girls made their way up top with some interesting choices. Erin had one of Stan's work shirts knotted by the sleeves around her hips, leaving one pale leg exposed down to a set of black dockers. She also had a black denim jacket made to stop just below her ribs. And she still had the black bikini underneath it all.

The red guy's belt harness thing was wrapped twice around her waist along with his skull blade in its sheath opposite his green scaly storage bag that had held his Vials.

She saw me checking her out and lifted on side of the shirt skirt up while she twirled with one finger pressed up against her cheek.

Sandra had kept the windbreaker but now had a knit sleeveless shit with a plunging neckline underneath that showed off her assets. A silver locket on a chain. She also had slipped on a set of faded Capri jeans and a set of white dockers.

She had not taken a blade.

Sue had one of Stan's Hawaiian shirts tied off below her breasts for some support and one of his cargo shorts bundled up under his belt with a fresh looking notch cut into it. She remained barefoot.

She didn't have a cutlass either but she did have a sheathed knife Kev's grandpa had kept to gut fish.

The fist fighter shrugged when I pointed at it. "I can't cut a rope with my fist."

Rob called out “Time”

Then we got the party started.