Tam-Tam is the culprit

Chapter 8

Tam-Tam is the culprit

Originally by: Jackie

Morgana was a light sleeper, and when she suddenly woke up during the middle of the night, she could have sworn she heard footsteps running down the hallway.

She lay in bed, listening intently for more odd noises, but heard nothing but the stairs creaking, and she concluded that it was probably one of her crew members that wanted to use the privy, or the the strange, sudden noises that a large, old house made.

She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep...but shot awake again when there was a mighty crash downstairs, so loud that it woke up the others as well!

"I knew it!" she cried, throwing away the covers and jumping out of bed, "Someone broke into our house!"

After grabbing her knife, she ran into Carious in the hallway, who looked alarmed, followed by a confused and sleepy Leeko.

"What's going on?" the captain asked.

"There's a burglar the house!" Morgana exclaimed, "We need to stop them before they get away!"

Leading the way, a candle in one hand and a cocked pistol in the other, Darious led the way, followed by Morgana holding her knife and Mila and Leeko equipped with frying pans.

When they arrived downstairs they found a mess! There belongings were scattered all over the floor, one of the towering stack of crates knocked over.

Stepping over the contents of the crates gingerly, the crew of the Pirate's Fate kept their eyes peeled for intruders, and sure enough, Morgana spotted one.

"There!" she cried, pointing, "They're hiding behind that large crate!"

Carious stepped bravely forward, pointing his pistol to where Morgana pointed, and said, "Whoever you are, get out from behind there, but do it slowly, with your hands raised."

The stranger did as he commanded, and when a green figure emerged, Darious lowered his pistol slightly in surprise.

"Tam Tam?" he said, confused.

Flicking her hair back and grinning, as if she was oblivious to her predicament, or simply not caring, she said, "Good job! You guys caught me red handed."

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Morgana stepped forward, saying, "You! You were the one making all that noise, weren't you?"

She stepped closer, brandishing her wicked knife.

"You probably stole some of our stuff too, hey?" she continued, her blood beginning to boil in anger.

Tam Tam looked at the fuming bat calmly and said, "I'll admit that I broke into your home and accidentally knocked over your belongings, but I have haven't stolen anything..."

"Lair!" Morgana shouted, "You figured that you couldn't join our crew, so you decided to rob us instead. I'll show you.."

But before she could lunge herself at Tam Tam, Darious quickly placed a firm hand on her shoulder, holding Morgana back.

"Listen, Tam Tam," Darious began, speaking softly and with concern, "if you're not stealing anything, then why are you here? Do you really want to join our crew so badly? Don't you have other work or a place to stay?"

Tam Tam looked sad and began to rub her arm. "To tell you the truth, no I do not," she said, "No one in the whole area wants my services. I even tried to do some honest work, but not even that is available. I have no money, no place to stay. You have money and a place to stay, albeit a little neglected, but it has a roof over your head. Joining you is my only hope."

Darious was taken aback. "Oh," he said in sympathy, "Well...in that case, I guess you can join us."

Morgana whirled around. "Darious, you aren't serious," she said, shocked.

"Why not?" the captain said, shrugging his shoulder, "She's homeless and ****. We can't leave her out in the cold. Besides, we always need more hands, especially if we want to renovate this place."

Morgana opened her mouth to argue further, but thought better. Darious had made up his mind, and he wasn't going to go back on his word. He had such a soft heart...

Approaching the beaming Tam Tam, he shook her hand and said, "Welcome aboard."

Choice 1: A few days go by, and the crew of the Pirate's Fate settles down into their new home. But Tam Tam suddenly begins behaving strangely, wandering around the house late in the night, and Morgana suspects that perhaps her reason for joining the crew wasn't so innocent afterall.

Choice 2: After settling down, the curse that rested on the house truly begins to take effect. Strangely enough, it mostly focused mainly on Morgana and Tam Tam.

Choice 3: That night something weird happens as all the pirates arrive at a dinner feast and yet no one seems to know who cooked it. The food just seemed to appear when no one was looking. And though concern worthy none of them can resist the delicious smells coming off a table loaded with good food.