While the Captain tried to break the prisoner's chain, the rest of us were defending against the inhabitants' onslaught. From the different rooms, two young men, obviously just out of bed, rushed into the main hall with weapons in hand, but Master Krastus and the others quickly overcame them. From the far side of the room, however, a woman emerged and, keeping her distance, assaulted us with magics of wind and fire. Finally, just as the Captain had freed the girl and rejoined us, carrying her in both arms, an older man, presumably the landlord, joined the fray. This one was a very skilled combatant, as far as I could tell. We quickly retreated into one of the adjacent rooms, one with an unbarred window directly overlooking the outer wall.
The Captain set down his charge onto the bed and threw the grappling hook across the outer wall, pulling it taut and having me tie it to the furniture. Then we slid down onto the wall, one by one, with Carlton heroically covering our retreat. By now, half a dozen of the manor guards had ascended the wall and were closing on us from both sides, but they did not reach us in time, for when we were all safely out of the house and on the wall, we deftly jumped from the wall and slipped away into the tangle of alleyways, towards the ship.
On the way, in the light of the occasional lantern, we noticed that the Captain was still missing his shadow. Who knew what this evil phantom was perpetrating at this very instant?
As we reached the ship, there was a bit of happiness at last. Our elderly passenger was overjoyed to see his daughter safe and sound. We prepared to cast off before dawn, and quickly left the port unchallenged. We set a course for Shark Bay, where the Captain intended to confront the man that had talked him into this nefarious pact. Indeed, as the new day dawned, we observed that the Shadow was back; It had returned sometime during the early hours.
During the day, our passenger approached us and wanted to bestow the promised reward upon us. He had promised each of us a unique, mystical tattoo, and it was up to us to pick a design. This choice was difficult for most of my comrades, but not so much for me, as I preferred a floral motif. This, of course, meant that I went first, and I was feeling a bit uneasy at this perspective. I was assured, however, that Master Krastus had the winds well under control, and the ship was expected to be calm and stable for the time being, and our elderly artist went to work.
The process, however, was every bit as painful as I had envisioned it, and it took me considerable effort to keep still. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the work was done, and after ample rinsing with clear water, the pain subsided. The result was most pleasing to look at, an artfully crafted design of a lotus blossom adorning my ankle. I would probably not go through such an ordeal willingly again, though.
After three days of uneventful travel, and the occasional yelp from a tattooee below deck, we approached Shark Bay and the eponymous town. Going alongside, we found that the local harbourmaster/extortionist, who had recently replaced his late predecessor, was still in office, and we paid a moderate fee to be left undisturbed.
Now that we were in town, the Captain immediately sought out his former business contact. In the mean time, our crew went about their business on their ship or elsewhere, and I looked for a purchaser who would take our cargo of lumber. When we met again on board after some house, the Captain was dejected. He reported that his man was indeed still in town, and they had talked. Apparently, there was an additional clause in the contract he had signed, written in so small a type that it could easily be taken for a mere smudge. And by the words in this clause, the Captain had forfeited his very soul to the holder of the document.
As expected, the other party was unwilling to terminate the agreement outright. They demanded another soul as a replacement, that of the leader of the New Madrid church, which the Captain would have to abduct. This, of course, was totally out of the question, and we had to find another means of stopping the Phantom and saving our Captain from a fate worse than death.
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