Accept proposal

"I am Captain Hardwood, and I'm in charge of the Moaning Mermaid and her crew" he said proudly. "We suffered some losses after a raid and I can always use another able body for my crew."

The Captain looks at you from head to toe, as if he was assessing you. There's something weird about the way he smiles as he looks at you. But you disregard it as if it was a compliment of your promise.

You smile and scratch your patchy beard, then offer your hand to the Captain.

"I'm John, I just turned 19 and I think it's high time to set sail." you say as you shake the Captain's hand. "I was thinking that my opportunities to be a seadog were over, but I guess I was wrong....so...when do we set sail?"

"Excellent, matey! Well... the crew is out on the town spending their share of the last loot. They'll be busy with whores and wenches till morning...you see...part of being a pirate is bearing months on a ship with no women...so they make up for it every time we are on land" the captain said with a grin.

"Why aren't women allowed on the ship?" you asked.

"First of all there are not many female takers for this type of career, second of all... it's bad luck to have female crew members on a pirate ship." said the captain in a monotone way, as if he had explained that several times before." Anyways, see you tomorrow