A third chop of the Axe opened a large, gaping hole in the doorway. Two muskets poked through the hole, and Markus could see the eyes of them men, and he could hear the order of "fire!" The Captain leaped over a desk, feeling the air whip by him as the musket balls slammed into the wall a moment previously. The blademage felt a small pressure on his side. Had he been hit? He didn't have time to check. Instead, landing on the floor he saw the curtain drape across the window opening. 

Desperately and without hesitation, he rose and grabbed a hold of the curtain. He tugged on it to make sure the weight would hold, and then pulled himself up, sword sheathed and climbing. Behind him, more shouting and another blow of the axe. 

Calliope would see a callused hand grab the edge of the balcony railing, and Markus would crest and tumble onto the balcony floor, taking deep breaths. There was a cacophony of sounds in the courtyard below, but he didn't have time to check on his crew members. Hopefully they were not engaging too hard or they would be dead. Instead he gathered himself and took measure of the room. A wicked grin spread across his face when he saw Calliope holding what had to be the groaning Commander and chanting a spell. For a former tyrant, she knew how to take matters into her own hands. 

He passed her by, and rummaged through the room for a torch, or anything he could potentially burn. There were papers on the desk, and the painting of a heavily rogued mermaid behind the throne-like chair looked flammable. On the wall by the door that men were more than likely running up to in a matter of minutes, he saw a torch. His eye scanned the room further, and at the foot of the bed, there was a chest. Markus went back and fished for the keys in the man's pockets, producing two. He stepped away, leaving Calliope to her incantation. He felt slightly jealous and underwhelming. He only recognized two syllables of the magical language she was now spilling out as if it was her mother tongue. 

Unlocking the chest at the foot of the bed, he opened it to reveal personal items. Letters of Marque, a pocket watch with a woman in it, a crumpled hat of old, and a contrasting, fabulous captain's uniform. No gold. "Damn," he said, but caught himself. No, he knew. He made his way to the desk and pressed his foot below it, feeling the carpet give slightly. He felt an instant wave of relief, knowing that if they had no gold to show for this farce, his crew would shatter to the seven winds or mutiny. 

Taking the rondel dagger, he carved out bits of the carpet to find a small trap door. He opened it and hauled out another small chest, unlocking it to reveal what he guessed had to be a stone weight in gold and twice that in silver, and a necklace with a ruby pendant that caught the eye enchantingly. Markus immediately grabbed the necklace, not to keep, but to be quartered off to whomever deserved it the most. They would open the chest together on the ship and they would all want that first. He then lifted the small chest up and placed it on the desk. 

Calliope's spell was reaching a crescendo, and Markus knew there was little time. He vaulted the desk and did what Calliope did below, pushing a cabinet in front of the door. He grabbed the torch and lit in, moving over to the balcony and hauling up the curtain. He swiftly cut the curtain's rope to separate it from the cloth as a whole, and then burned the cloth itself, lighting a large fire that beckoned into the night as if a beacon. 

Moments later, as Markus collected the small bit of rope he cut off from the curtain, the gun batteries of the Weathered Witch opened fire. Cannon balls punched through the tavern and barrack, two shots for both buildings. Markus went to gather the loot from within the room. 
[@Penny]