“Ah, a mage. It’s been a while since the last time I met one.” Captain Rose grinned at the sight of him being disgusted by the blood of his fellow men. “We didn’t had the time really, to get acquainted. You see, It would have lacked the surprise of their.. heroic ending.” Her voice was almost as sweet as honey, the words came out as if spoken by a lady. Not quite the pirate slang that would be expected. 

Hushed laughter could be heard from the maids, knowing all too well that this man was a cat’s toy to be played with. His charms didn’t make it any better. Though it seemed all fun and games, Runa was still on her guard. She didn’t know much about mages, but she could imagine that they probably kept a trick up their sleeve in cases like this. 

The captain raised her hand to her mouth as she thought on his proposition, tapping it lightly with the tips of her fingers. “Hmm.. escort us to the treasure and spare your life.. I feel like I’m granting you two wishes there..” She slowly walked along the edge of the pool, eyeing him every so often. At one point she stopped and bended down towards him. “Only on one condition. You’ll serve as our ship mage for as long as needed.” 

Runa was taken aback by this idea. She had been member of the ‘Dreadful Lady’ for a few years now, but never ever had a man be part of the crew. Other sounds of protest were to be heard as well. The boatswain frowned and mumbled something incomprehensible.  But all were hushed by a plain raise of the captain’s hand, which after that, summoned Runa and Trish to step forward as the captain stood up again. 

“These girls would be in need of.. escorting, if you’d agree to my condition. Food and lodging aboard included of course.” The captain gave only a faint smile as she placed her hands on the back of both girls, pinching them a bit which they both knew to be a sign to act accordingly. Runa sighted hardly noticeable, but her annoyance as she rolled her eyes was something different. She hated this part and had rather stayed behind. Trish on the other hand, was very obedient and loved to play along, as she showed by shyly blinking with her long eyelashes at the mage. Runa was less motivated to play along, but did what was expected of her and slowly started to unbutton her blouse. 

The captain awaited his reply. "So, what do you say, Mudskipper?"