Stranded - A Pirate's Tale - part 1

5. Nightcap

     O'Ma started when the door slammed closed. It had stopped an inch from Dune's nose, but the Haitian looked unimpressed. He frowned, blinked twice, took a step back, and pivoted.

     O'Ma turned around too and met Etienne's dark stare.

     "Don't fault him, Cap," he said, "you know how he is. You mandated the door to be kicked..."

     Etienne pinched the thin bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "So he kicked the Goddamn door. Of course." He shook his head. The long-winded exhalation he let out carried years of lassitude.

     Next to him, Tiago wore a delighted grin, traces of tears in his eyes. "Make him do it again!"

     Dune flashed his impeccable dentition back at the jolly buffoon, unable to grasp how ludicrous the situation was. His arched eyebrows made him look like an over brawny owl and Tiago's grin grew wider. But Dune's comical expression lasted only a few seconds. It flickered and crumbled to a sullen grimace when Stalker rumbled a screed of impatient profanities.

     O'Ma intervened before an umpteenth argument. He patted Dune's trunk-like forearm. "Would you please assist me with Flow?"

     Dune's smile returned. He nodded and opened his arms to collect the young man's long, feather-light body. He tossed him over his shoulder without any more consideration than with a bag of turnips. Flow's head had a brush with the door before crashing in Dune's spine. O'Ma winced, but the kid remained dead to the world.

     "Let me handle the door, will you?" he said.

     Dune took a step back to stand next to his captain, who was now tapping his foot like he was angry at the ground. O'Ma made a soothing gesture. He opened the door slowly, almost solemnly, and took one step inside the inn.

     He stood there, in all his short but imposing stature, at the top of the flight of stairs leading down to the common room. Like an actor on a stage, he was dominating a captivated—astounded, even—audience of three people, counting the sleeping fellow. Not much, but it would do.

     He hawked up phlegm, spat and took a deep breath.

     "Hear ye! Hear ye! Fair lady and gentlemen of various states of consciousness! Let me introduce you to Captain Etienne Desjours, master of the Lady Lesya; he who traveled the seven seas and the vast oceans; he who sailed to the end of the world, far beyond the horizon, and came back; the lost son of the mighty Poseidon; he who fought the deadly Kraken and lived; the lover of Sc—"

     A loud cough cut the monologue short and the lover of Scylla entered the tavern, jaw clenched behind his square beard. He barely opened his mouth to growl, "Do you really have to do that? All the time?"

     "I know you like it!" answered O'Ma with a satisfied, mocking smile.

     He moved aside to let his captain descend the stairs, quickly followed by Dune, still carrying a snoring Flow. Stalker was close behind, pushing and poking to make everyone move faster. Tiago entered last, stopping next to O'Ma on the improvised stage.

     "Nada for us humble folk?" he asked, scratching his perpetual three-day stubble.

     "Oh..." O'Ma cleared his throat again and almost shouted, "And here follows a handful of the most trustworthy of his seafarers!"

     Tiago snorted and pinched his lips in an unconvinced pout, but moved along without any more comment.

     O'Ma closed the door behind them all. He was about to join his mates downstairs when he froze, one foot in the air. He hesitated for a while, made up his mind, took a step back, and bowed dramatically.