Chapter 46
by 
uthervierdragon
There is work to be done
Crew
The {if The One-Eyed Captain’s Health > 0} One-Eyed {endif} Captain took care of hiring and paying the crew. With the Demeter lacking a paymaster, it was the captain’s task, not the first officer’s. And what a task it is.
She kept meticulous records, but the procedure is arcane. Most are hired for a complete trip; there and back again, with two-thirds of the payment withheld until return to Barenhaven. This does limit turnover and keeps desertions to a minimum. Yet even those who perish at Sea can expect a full payment, naming a beneficiary in elaborate last wills. They are stored in trust places; churches, lawyer’s offices, or just as often whorehouses, and presented to the captain by their surviving mates. Those who jump ship get the attention of the law and nothing else.
Furthermore, replacements for lost crew can be hired in foreign ports, though availability and prices vary.
You have spent a minuscule amount of time on your preparations.
{if The Passage of Time > 95} Your Time in Barenhaven is running out {elseif The Passage of Time > 80} Your Time in Barenhaven is coming to a close {elseif The Passage of Time > 60} You have some Time left in Barenhaven {elseif The Passage of Time > 50} Your Time in Barenhaven is half-way over {elseif The Passage of Time > 30} You have quite some Time left to spend in Barenhaven {elseif The Passage of Time > 15} You have a lot of Time left to spend in Barenhaven {elseif The Passage of Time > 5} Your Time in Barehaven has just begun {else} You are now spending Time in Barenhaven {endif}
Your leisurely inquiries and hasty calculations give you a dreadful price. You stand to pay out as much as 150 Taler to your future crew. And the dreary rabble available to you hardly even deserves the name. It is a cold comfort that you only need to pay them 50 now.
[Note: Hiring crew is not optional, and you will always hire up to full Crew capacity (4) while in Barenhaven. The cost varies by the length of the planned journey, and you will have to pay twice the hire cost again on your return. Hiring replacement crew in foreign ports is optional and may be hideously expensive or downright impossible depending on the circumstances. Having your Crew reduced to 0 while at Sea usually loses you the game.]