The Captain had decided against confronting the man who had talked him into that contract, and taking possession of the contract itself. So we had to find another solution. It has to be said, though, that regardless of how this whole story would turn out in the end, there were great metaphysical insights to be gained. If only the stakes weren't as high as they were.
The plan that had gained most traction was the usual one among non-academics: Stabbing the problem to death. While no one knew how to stab a shadow, or if that would even accomplish anything in the long run, it was suspected that a mundane weapon would not suffice. Two candidate weapons we knew of; One was the Conquistador's blade, suspected to be in a pirate cache on this very island. To this treasure we had owned a map once, but it had been taken from us by the pirate ladies, and without it, we doubted our chances to find that cache. The other was the magic sword from the sunken ruin we had recovered earlier, but were forced to give up to the captain of the Dawn Raider, as reparations for a murderous rampage Master Krastus had fallen into.
To recover that sword, we would have to go to Brigandy Bay, which was our destination anyway, since three of our holds were still occupied by these ominous wine casks. So the Captain gave order to leave port and stay anchored overnight, while we set up guards to watch his shadow closely, lest it slip away again into the night for another heinous deed.
Thus, in the light of several strategically placed lanterns, the Captain and his watch spent an exhausting night. The shadow, however, stayed where it belonged. Whether we were too far out at sea, or Shark Bay didn't provide a suitable victim for the phantom, we could not tell.
We sailed on, past Bluth's Crown, and after a short, uneventful voyage, stopped by in Azy Cay. Here we dropped off our tattoo artist and his dear daughter. We assumed that after the ordeal she had been through, Azy's offer of refuge would surely extend to her, and she wouldn't turn her elderly father away either. Also, while the settlement was small, it was idyllic, and some of the inhabitants certainly had a liking to artful tattoos.
Our next target was Brigandy Bay itself, which we approached after some days of travel. Just before reaching the island, our outlook spotted a pirate ship heading in the same direction, and we decided to keep our distance. Eventually, we reached the town and docked in the harbour. Some of us were still skeptical what to do with the wine, but the Captain intended to follow through with his agreement and instructed Sira and me to find a buyer. While we could possibly fetch a higher price, in a town with more demand than supply, I recalled that our client wanted the wine sold at a favourable price, so we did just that, selling the whole batch to a wholesaler and specifically emphasising where it came from.
In the meantime, the others had found out that the Dawn Raider was rumoured to be on her way here, and expected to arrive in a couple of days. However, they did not enquire from what direction she would come, so we had to resort to educated guesses. Carlton, in turn, had been on the lookout for mystical weapons, and a shady character had offered him to meet us after nightfall, in an alleyway, where he and his contacts would purportedly sell us a magical sword for ten thousand pieces of eight. This had all the hallmarks of a setup, and the less gullible among us concluded that we would not meet these persons, especially not on their terms.
Apart from piracy, Brigandy Bay was home to no industry worth mentioning, so we prepared to cast off with empty holds the next day, before noon. In the morning, Carlton and Sira wanted to gather more details about the Dawn Raider's itinerary, and went off to frequent the local taverns. Before they could come back however, misfortune came to visit. Our pier was apparently blockaded by local militiamen. We prepared for flight or combat while they occupied the dock, and after a while, a delegation approached our ship, led by the Sanguine himself, the infamous pirate, member of the local Council, Captain of the Nightmare Ascendant, and embarrassingly, also a fellow countryman of mine.
He stated that about a dozen pirates had perished over the course of the night, after partaking of a certain wine that had newly been delivered to town. I was mortified to hear that this had been a setup after all, and one that had cost lives, no less. We tried to explain that we were the unwilling victims of a diabolic scheme, but he was out for retribution regardless. Our Captain boldly offered to settle this dispute with a duel, to the death, and stalwartly walked down the gangplank.
And so we watched the dance of blades that presented itself on the pier. Early on, we were paralysed in shock as the Captain blundered and dropped his sword, which almost slid off the planks, into the water. His opponent relented and waited calmly for him to pick it up again; He wanted a proper challenge. The combat resumed, intense, and in the beginning, nobody had clearly the upper hand. Master Krastus whispered to me that I should be ready to intervene with my magic, in case fortune would turn against the Captain. I was unsure if it was the right thing to break the rules, but I didn't want to see our Captain die, who had been willing to sacrifice his life and his very soul for the well-being of his crew, and so I hoped that an intervention wasn't necessary.
Sadly, my hopes were not fulfilled, as it became increasingly evident that the Sanguine was the more capable, or more fortunate, swordsman. And when our Captain suffered a first, grazing hit that drew a trace of blood, I started weaving magic to subtly hinder and exhaust his opponent. This went well for a while, and the Captain could stand his ground again, but finally his opponent perceived that something was amiss. He blamed it on Master Krastus, however, who took this accusation as an opportunity to feign indignation, and as if by magic, darted from our ship and glid through the air towards the pier. This set the militiamen in motion, and as the Captain retreated on deck, we rushed to remove the gangplank before being boarded.
The duel was over.
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