As the battle reached its apex, Alastair was forced to pause and turn at the sound of loud screeching. A mysterious woman stood upon the stern, her features hard to make out with the bright light emanating around her. “Uh oh-” Alastair gasped before jumping to the side, narrowly avoiding the devastating beam that was fired at the dark monstrosity. He curled up into a fetal position, shut his eyes and covered his ears as the energy tore apart the Harbinger that stood a mere few feet away. He was scared, and with more than a few good reasons. Whatever this magic was, it was powerful, and Alastair knew from various experiences that it was a bad idea to risk getting caught in such a spell. As the bubble exploded the force sent Alastair rolling a few metres and the ship rocked viciously against a wave, causing the wooden hull to let out a long drawn out creek. Alastair opened his eyes and was relieved to see that their foe had been vanquished. If there had been any doubts in his mind as to whether or not this voyage would prove interesting, they were now laid fully to rest. 

“Christ, that fucker can kick.” Came the nearby voice of the Captain. Alastair turned his head to see Emilio already standing over him, offering him a hand to get up. He gladly took the hand and pulled himself to his feet, his joints clicking as he rose. There was a brief moment as he came face to face with the Captain, a shared moment of understanding as they locked eyes and both were clearly thankful of the other. Alastair gave a small smile and a gentle nod before the Captain then made his way over to the others. 

“I really need to learn how to do that” Alastair mused out loud as he spotted the source of the light beam, “…whatever the hell that was.” Without stopping to stand about and celebrate, Alastair slowly made his way downstairs. Fresh bruises already seemed to be covering his body from the fight and the various falls he had taken that day, and he winced slightly with every other step. Once he made his way back to his bunk he began to apply some balms and lotions to himself, forgetting his earlier apprehension about people seeing that he had medicines. At this point in time he was well and truly exhausted, and no sooner had he finished rubbing in the moistures did he slip into a deep sleep. 

[hr]

It felt as if no time at all had passed when Alastairs eyes sluggishly dragged open. Epu’s strong hands were firmly grasped on his shoulders, a small shaking motion ensuring that he did not instantly drop back off. “Wake up Welshman, the Captain wants all non-vital personal on deck.” Ordered the Captain’s man, a hint of sympathy on his voice. 

“Eugh-ru-uhhhhh-blurrrr” Alastair incoherently babbled in response, but Epu had already moved on to wake others. Alastair struggled to keep his eyes open, and even when he succeeded they were slow to focus. The presence of sunlight seeping through the floorboards above suggested that he had managed to get some sleep, but it certainly did not feel enough. He tongue was painfully dry, as was his throat and skin. What little he could taste was the vile remnants of the alcohol the night before, it’s flavour now akin to mix of old badger piss and mud; the taste was so strong in fact that he could not work his nose. “I- hurrr- hate hu- hurr- hangovers” he grumbled to no-one in particular, feeling like he was about to puke with every word. For the second time in as many days Alastair found himself flopping out of his hammock, this time because he lacked the balance to even attempt a safe dismount. 

“[i]Humph[/i]. He obviously didn’t take part in the battle last night; he clearly hit the bottle instead.” Hissed a nearby woman holding her young child in her arms. 

“A drunken old man like that ought to be ashamed of himself! He’d be goin’ to Hell had anything happened to us last night.” Chimed in another, equally displeased woman. They had clearly taken shelter the night before and really had little grounds to have a go at him, especially given that he had in fact taken part. He wasn’t going to argue though, and instead simply ignored them and tried to make his way to the upper deck.