The sand not shielded by their bodies was hot to the touch, but moving quickly or having the luxury of shoes helped. One had to be careful, for debris and flotsam still protruded out of the sand. Blood mingled with the water, and some of it had reached land, staining the beach. Strange birds flocked at the trees, feathers and beaks bearing colors that encompassed the entire rainbow. They watched and cawed at them like an audience at a praelian coliseum.

Captain Cole Burnside roused from his position, having heard voices. He looked and felt like hell, and he lifted himself just long enough to cough out a mouthful of sand before collapsing again. He groaned, but stayed still. His hat was missing, it lay by Jacqueline as she approached. Lachlan made it there first, however. His shadow above the Captain drew his attention, and Burnside blinked, looking up at him. It seems Aldrich's question had been answered, if non-verbally.

From across the way, another figure made their entrance. It was Holfort, one of the crewmen. Blood soaked his scalp, and his body held scratches and burns like the rest of the survivors. In his callused hands was a boarding pike that he used like a tall walking stick to support his weight. He bumped into Kjetil, who so far had been unlucky in finding anything to bandage himself with. 

"The others are this way, we must get there. The Captain..." Holfort began, motioning for the Norgardian to follow. 

Once everyone had congregated to the Captain, who now sat up and rubbed his head, he was able to address them, albeit slowly. So far it looked like these six had been the only survivors. 

"Gods help me," The Captain cursed, his eyes moist. Not from crying, but the pain and exhaustion that took him. "That damned storm..."
Moving looked like it was a chore, but if they didn't go soon they would bake or be found by whatever beasts smelled the stench of carcasses cooking in the sun. Holfort asked if Captain Burnside was alright, but the Captain waved him off. "Don't worry about me. We should be...be two days sail to Darkwater. Damned we were so close! Maybe we could make it two days on foot if we cut through the jungle. If we follow the beach? I don't know. I don't...it's so hard to tell. Hells, we could be on an island, but I doubt it." 

If one were to look across the beach and thoroughly search, a few items could be found: 

[list]
[*]A broken boarding pike, half sized at close to 5 feet.
[*]A boarding axe embedded in a broken piece of hull.
[*]2 water flasks. One filled with fresh water, the other filled with salt water.
[*]A chest. The Captain's chest. Locked and with no key.
[*]A rusted cutlass with no sheath.
[*]A carving knife in a knapsack.
[*]A map under some flotsam, ripped in half and faded.
[*]A bottle of rum.
[/list]