A Pirates Honor [mxm]

[5] A Green Snake

A married couple stood on the cliffs staring down at the port where a broken ship was anchored. The fisherman wife pulled back a strand of her muddy brown hair behind her small ear. She corrected her whitish petticoat under her yellow faded apron showing a glimpse of a flintlock pistol between the fabrics of her petticoat. Worried she stared at the broken ship, the sails were torn as if a large cat has dragged its claws across. "I'll send the pigeon." The woman's husband mumbled as he turned to walk down the dirt path leading up the cliffs. The woman nodded numbly and cast one last glance at the broken ship before following her husband down the path.

A small gathering of men sat in the living room of Green Island's only physician, staring begrudgingly at the wooden door leading to physicians' small operation chamber. The physicians' home was located in the quint town of Esorm, which was built on the low-rolling hills of Green Islands' eastern coast. It was the only town that held a port on Green Island and the only town that held a physician. The island itself was of a decent size and therefore luck behold had a physician practice in its largest town, including a medium-sized port that fit roughly ten decent sized ships.

Quintus turned to gaze outside the green-stained glass of the physicians' home, whilst the wife of the said physician scurried around as she attempted to offer the nobility of the Verdigan Kingdom refreshments existing of biscuits and tea. It was not often that her small house held guests of such importance and she desired to impress, despite everything her household was lacking. She even dressed in her best apron when her husband informed her of the noble heritage of their current guests. Edda would be so jealous when she would tell her of these noble guests that stayed in her house seeking her husband's medical expertise. She couldn't wait for the Sunday Market and rub it in the wench's face.

"Marilla! Come! Quickly! Bring hot water!" Her husband bellowed from inside his small operation chamber. Marilla quickly put down the serving tray with biscuits on the rooms only table and hastily made her way over to the stairs leading to their basement kitchen where she still had some hot left-over tea water. A scream tore through the silent house, it sounded like a scream of a dying man and everyone tensed in the room. "Perhaps we should enter and question him. He is not going to survive another night, we might as well get all the information we can get from him before he kicks the bucket. They say dead man are more willing to confess." Dorian argued as he broke of a corner of the dry biscuit he had been playing with for the past three hours. "He's delirious. He won't be capable of speaking." Quintus countered as he dusted of some invisible dust of his pristine white navy jacket.

"Bring our last bottle of Eastern Blue as well!" Henry, Marilla's husband bellowed once again. "Our last bottle of Eastern Blue?! Damn him! I spend a fortune on that bottle!" Marilla muttered angrily under her breath as she slammed the basement door behind her. Putting down the steaming bucket of water she ran over to a small storage chest that had been hidden out of sight behind a stack of firewood. She rummaged hastily through its contents as her husband once again called her name. Letting out a sound of triumph she pulled out a glass bottle with a bright azure blue liquid inside and then rushed towards the operation chamber hauling the bucket with hot water with her and finally slamming the door harshly behind her, before either men could catch a glimpse of the happenings inside.

A commotion sounded in the operation chamber and all heads in the room turned towards the creaky wooden door. Except for Dorian and Quintus, one local boy with a broken thumb was sitting listlessly at the table Quintus and Dorian were seated at. The boy had broken his thumb whilst unloading goods in the local port. Across from them the boy's father stood as he once again counted the amount of coins he held in his sunburned hand, he couldn't care less about the navy men across from him in the room. The boy had to heal fast, otherwise there would be less food on the table for the coming month. Their joined monthly income was crucial especially now when he and his wife soon had to feed another mouth. He knew he should have just come outside. But in the moment he couldn't fight his desires and had come deep inside, earning him a smack on the head and another little mouth to feed. They already had eight children, the oldest twelve summers. Now a ninth?! The man cursed himself once more.