A Bad First Day

Your eyes are slow to adjust to the shadows below deck, but you can hear it immediately.

The floor is wet and your boots splash in puddles, with more water leaking through the hull. It is drips and drops for now, but the seep threatens to erode the boards and the patchwork repair performed by the previous Crew. And your new Crew is nowhere to be seen.

You light the cold lanterns and feed the hissing engine before descending further. They have found the hammocks deep inside the hold, even if they have not figured out how to work the lights. One complains that his feet are wet, his haggard face turned waxen by the glow of the Grease bubbling in his pipe. Another strokes his cock, casting obscene shadows on the far-side wall.

The threat of the whip makes them jump, and the understanding of the dangers posed by taking on water makes them wince.

And so you again explain. You show them how to patch a leak using boards, nails and tar. You explain how to light and fuel the lanterns in the hold and why light is needed, but unshielded fire is a danger. You go over the behaviours expected and needed to run a ship, including their duty to warn their captain if anything seems awry. You show them the buckets needed to bail water from the ship. And you again threaten common punishments.