Now, where are we?

Cal groaned. He felt his face pressed up against something warm. And, hairy? He opened his eyes, and pushed himself off of the horse he was sprawled over the side of. The world suddenly seemed to fade in then, as he heard the screams of dying horses - and men - accompanied by a discordant symphony of gunfire ahead of him. He got up to his feet and instinctively drew his revolver - when did he get a revolver? Before moving on towards the melee. Behind him, he heard the sounds of more galloping horses as the ground shook again. He turned to urge the rest of the cavalry on, and quickly came to the realisation that it wasn't his, urged on by a Mexican lancer's stave coming screaming in towards his face. It was the last thing he saw.

The next thing he saw, as his eyes opened, was wood. He sat up in a sudden jolt, and let out a shaky exhale as he half-recognised the dank, dark room around him; the one.. they'd left him in?

Cal pulled himself up. He wondered how long he'd slept, as he really felt quite tired- he tried to recollect the events of the night in his head, but it wasn't of much use; the drink had taken that all from him. He called out an uneasy "Hello?", and only recieved his echo as a reply. Reckoning he wouldn't likely be heard, he circled around the desk he was sat at to walk over to the thick open door, and went to push it open, but found it rock-steady. Cal felt a lump form suddenly in his throat as he realised he was stuck. He brought a arm up and started hammering on it with his fist and hollering out, trying to get someone's, anyone's, attention. Ma was probably worried sick. And what about Al?

No answer. With a shaky exhale, Cal looked over behind him. The room was about empty, just a desk and a chair, and a.. pen. Cal walked over to the desk and picked the pen up, looking it over. It felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Not that he had the time to, as he heard the door groaning open. He spun to regard who'd come for him, and saw the negress from last night. She'd only opened it a sliver, quickly glancing off to the side and muttering something before stepping aside. The door came open fully, now, as she held it open for a man to walk in- a portly, white man with short, receding brown hair and a moon face. He was dressed in a fine suit that seemed tailored to his..dimensions. He held a sheet of paper, and he spoke.

"Evening, Cal." The man said, with a cool and easy tone. The two words hung in the air for a moment, before Cal replied, asking whom he was.

"Thaddeus Harrington! I reckon you've met my cousin before- he's sorry he couldn't come to see you, but he's quite busy himself, with the other volunteers."

Cal raised an eyebrow. "Volunteers?" He didn't..

The man held up the paper. "For the expedition, of course! You're a silly boy, Steimacher. How'd you forget the ship you just signed onto?"

"What!? I ain't sign on nothing!" Cal exclaimed. He hadn't a clue what the man was talking about, but.. his mind went back to the pen. Thaddeus stepped forwards, brandishing the document like a ward against a demon. "This is your signature, is it not?" He asked, in a tone decidedly less mirthful than it had been. Cal ran his eyes over the paper, and.. saw his signature at the bottom. When..?

Cal didn't know his letters as well as he should have done, but he knew enough to know what he was looking at. A ship's manifest. He felt his heart sink in his chest, and he tried to summon up something to say, but he just stood there, blinking.

"You look awful surprised, son. Let me clue you in- you're the newest sailor aboard the Empyrean. Headed off to the orient with my cousin on the 'morrow."

"But.." Cal stammered.

"Ain't no buts about it, boy! We got your signature and we got a witness to it's signing. What's done is done."

Cal felt lightheaded. He sat on the edge of the table behind him. He didn't remember signing, but.. he had to have. That was his signature. And the pen, and.. murky memories flashed through his mind. He held his head. Thaddeus was talking, but his words entered one ear and went out the other- at least for a moment, before Cal refocused a bit.

"-and in addition to the signing bonus, you'll recieve a salary of twenty-two dollars a month, which I imagine will be recieved by your family. So they'll be alright, you hear? Nothing to worry about." Thaddeus continued, putting his hand on Cal's shoulder. "I imagine you need a bit of time to process everything. Once you're sorted, head on home, get your affairs sorted, and report to the dockyard at dawn tomorrow."

"Now I got a few more of you poor saps to break the news to, so I'm off. Evening, Steimacher." Thaddeus turned and waddled off, Cal mumbling a goodbye. The door hammered shut, and Cal sat there for a moment, staring at the floor in a dead silence.