[b]Jacob[/b]

Jacob slept briefly, but it was plagued by strange dreams filled with dark figures, and the undeniable laughter of a woman. He woke frequently, his forehead and palms sweaty and his heartbeat faster than usual. No amount of alcohol could lure him into a peaceful slumber, so instead his lay awake. Blood. He had seen blood in his dreams, but why? And the dark figures who seemed to stalk his unconscious mind, who were they? What was the laughter, and why did it belong to a woman? These were but a few questions that he asked himself again and again, repeatedly, until he felt exhausted - but not exhausted enough to sleep. No, Jacob was sure that sleep would not find him that night. 

The crew member who spoke to him of 'bad omens' was now asleep. The two of them had talked for a while longer, but despite his best efforts Jacob could not persuade him to reveal just what he meant by 'bad omens'. All he mentioned were sharp, piercing teeth and brutal strength. It sounded implausible. Maybe he was mad, he was certainly old enough for it. Perhaps he had been talking nonsense because he was delusional. Jacob could only hope that was the case, otherwise he feared that something terrible would happen. He didn't know what, but in the pit of his stomach there was a tight, anxious sensation that would not leave him. If this old man was right then surely no one was safe? 

He didn't dwell on that thought. He felt stupid for even considering the possibility that such a fragile woman could be of any threat. The things that the old man spoke of existed in stories, and stories alone. Out here, in the brutal open waters, the crew of the Lusty Pillager were in their element. They were rulers of the sea, just as kings were rulers of the land. They were pirates, fearing little if anything at all. What happened on-board The Lusty Pillager was decided by its crew, and no mere woman had the power to change that. 

With reassured thoughts on his mind Jacob finally managed to open the door into an uninterrupted slumber. He felt his body relax, and his heartbeat slow down to its regular rhythm. Soon he was flying high above the ocean, not in the real world, but in his dreams. The vast ocean reflected the vibrant blue sky, making it shimmer like a diamond by the curl of its waves. It was not just a stagnant body of water, but a flowing, moving mass that could have easily been alive. It was fierce and brutal to the unwary, but Jacob was not unwary. He flew safely above it, admiring it like a fine piece of art while his skin was kissed by the silk clouds around him. The air was fresh - and chilling had the sun not warmed the back of his neck and his outstretched arms. If it were possible Jacob would have fallen asleep as he soared through the sky in pure bliss, but that was not possible, he was already dreaming. So, he settled for an unmatched view and marvelled at its beauty.

[center]***[/center]

Jacobs’s eyes were thick with sleep when he woke. For a moment he let the gentle sway of the ship claim him, and he was sure that he would fall asleep once more. He didn't though. Much to his disappointment there were jobs that needed doing, and he would not be ranked very highly by his fellow crew members if he slept through the day. Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed Jacob sat up and wiped his eyes. Around him a few men wandered about, dressing themselves and preparing for the day, and through the ceiling a number of footsteps could be heard. At night the ship sailed slowly, and the captain would often leave it manned by another member of the crew, but during the day it sailed faster; and with speed came more work to be done on deck.

The Mess was still teeming with life as Jacob entered. It was early and most had just woken up. After grabbing a bowl of watered down gruel he sat down next to Smith and a few others, receiving a few firm claps on the back as he did so. Jacob ate as they talked, but listened to everything that was said. Through mouthfuls of food he would occasionally nod in agreement to a statement, or laugh at a joke that was made. However - not the surprise of Jacob - conversation soon turned to the latest arrival on-board the ship.

"Aye... she a beauty that one!" Smith said, much to the amusement of everyone else around him. 

"Yer, what would you know ya swab." Someone - Jacob didn't see who - said while he went for another mouthful of gruel. "She had a bag o'er 'er head!"

Everyone burst out laughing, Jacob included. He spat his mouthful of food back into his bowl as he laughed and elbowed Smith firmly in the side while he stood. He could have stayed and talked, but other more pressing issues troubled him. He grabbed another bowl of gruel and took it with him, leaving the Mess. The hallways of the ship were empty, but their wooden panels carried the faint sound of laughter with them so it didn't feel like it. Smith's voice is still present, and if Jacob hadn't lived on The Lustly Pillager for so long he would have thought the man was right next to him. For a second he became paranoid and turned around, just to check that he wasn't, and he wasn't.... Of course he wasn't. Jacob only worried that he would be caught visiting the prisoner.

He wasn't far from the room in which the woman was being kept when he passed an open door. Through it he saw a small group of people huddled around a bed; whoever lay on top of it obscured by their heads and bodies. All of them whispered to each other, some exchanging worried looks between them. Through a gap in the congregation he could see a man kneeling down by the bedside, frequently turning to face those behind him and giving them items to retrieve. A few approached him with jugs of water and clothes torn into thin strips. It looked as if an operation of some kind was being performed, but Jacob knew that no one on-board had those kind of expertise. Jacob moved into the room quietly, setting aside the bowl he carried on a nearby table. He didn't gain any attention as he stood by the edge of the group of men and peered over their heads to see what was going on. 

Samuel, a young man not much older than Jacob lay on the bed. His face was deathly pale and his veins were prominent through the opaque of his skin. He seemed to be on deaths door. Sweat rolled down his face and a jumble of slurred words poured from his mouth. His limbs flailed about uselessly, as if they were trying to grab at something with little success. The man who knelt by his side was the so-called doctor. In reality he was just another member of the crew with partial knowledge in the field of medicine. He pressed some damp cloth to Samuel's forehead, and wiped something on the man's neck. It looked like he had some kind of wound on his neck, but it was closed now, and the water must have simply been to clean it.

"What happened?" Jacob whispered to the man next to him. At first he received no reply, the man only continued to watch what was going on intently. However soon enough he was shaken from his daze and regarded Jacob with a frown. 

"Poor sod, woke up screamin' so he did." He said, casting a quick glance back to Samuel. "Don't look to good. The doc says he won't make it through the night."

[i]Won't make it through the night?[/i], Jacob didn't understand how such a lethal illness had made its way onto the ship. Crew members had been ill in the past, some had even died at sea; but never before had an illness struck a man down in just one day. Yet not one person seemed to worry about their proximity to Samuel. Surely if they stayed in such close contact with him they too would contract whatever it was that was making him so violently ill. So, grabbing the bowl of gruel and quietly thanking the man who had answered his question Jacob backed out of the room and into the desolate hallways; not fast enough to avoid hearing strained retches and the sound of Samuel paving the floor with the contents of his stomach.

The hallways stayed empty until Jacob reached the door to the woman's makeshift cell. He knew better than to unlock the door right away. She could be waiting for him on the other side, ready to pounce at any moment. Still, he glanced down at the keyhole, furrowing his brow as the key itself hung loosely from the lock. It seemed as if it had been moved and placed back into the keyhole in a rush, but Jacob assumed it to have been someone else on-board the ship who had simply been careless. 

He knocked on the door; not entirely sure why, possibly out of respect. He needed to see if the woman was awake or not, but became impatient and spoke regardless. She would be awake, Jacob was sure of it. Captives rarely saw much sleep, mostly due to the sheer terror of what could happen to them.

"I've got some food for you." He said, placing it on the floor and pressing his ear to the wood in an attempt to hear any noise she made. “Are you awake?”