Part 25: Greg's Hut

- Greg's Hut



The next morning I gathered my things and wandered around the camp for a bit. I needed to figure out a way to get into Greg's hut, and apparently the only way to accomplish that was through Francis.



A surly, hungover pirate grunted at me. I walked closer.

"Looky there. A newbie", he said, "And a landlubber at that! You're a bit scrawny for a pirate."

He did have a point. I'd been neglecting to train. "Can you teach me something?"

"Teach you? You bet! I could teach you to become stronger and improve your dexterity. But why would I want to do that?"

"Because I'll buy you a drink?"

Brandon grinned. "Not bad, kiddo! Got it - first try, but don't even bother to bring me some cheap rotgut."

I shrugged. "I'll get you some grog-"

"Are you trying to poison me," The pirated interrupted "I'm NOT touching that much! You do you have any idea what's IN there? Old Samuel has some GOOD stuff as well. Go get some of THAT. Have you ever tried Samuel's special recipe?"

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"Then have a go at it. It's a MUST-try! How I LOVE this concoction."



I knew that Samuel's still was somewhere near Morgan's lean-to. I headed that way, taking a moment to examine the exterior of Greg's cabin as I passed.



The brewery was located right next to the lean-to and had nearly a dozen filled barrels of grog outside. I wasn't sure how I missed it before. I walked into the dimly lit cave and introduced myself to the brewer..

"Ah, a new face! What do you want - rum, or something stronger?" Samuel said, gesturing to his barrels.



Brandon had instructed me to get him the top shelf stuff. "What else have you got?" I asked.

Samuel showed me his supply, but nothing stood out. "I want something stronger." I told him.

He grinned. "Ah, a seeker! I'm always after new recipes myself. Decent booze should be clear and strong, and burn down your throat like liquid fire. You don't find that very often, but I'm talking too much: You want a drink!"Samuel picked up a nondescript brown jug and pushed it into my hands. "Here! My own recipe! How do you like it? I call it 'Hasty Herring'."

I took a sip and a sudden rush of energy surged through me. It was quite unlike any other booze I'd had. "Impressive!" I told him.

The brewer laughed. "You can say that again! You wouldn't happen to know a good recipe for booze yourself? If you do, you must tell me." Samuel saw that I'd drained my jug. "Want another?" I nodded. I'd still needed to get some for Brandon.

While Samuel was rummaging around for another jug of Hasty Herring, I decided it'd be a good time to get some information. "I want to talk to you about Francis." I said.

His mood soured. "Don't mention that wannabe Captain! He sits on his fat ass all day, acting important. We'd all like to know what the hell the Captain was thinking when he put HIM in command here! What do you want from that prig?"

"I must get into Greg's hut."

"Really? To do what?"

"I need a bandit's armor."

He laughed. "Francis will NEVER agree to let you into the hut so you can nab a few of Greg's things. Unless... "

"Yes?"

"You've got something he really wants. I know that Francis has hidden something in an abandoned mine in the canyon. Once, when we were on guard duty together and he dozed off as always, he went on about it in his sleep. I've no clue what he buried there, but maybe it's so important to him that he'll let you into the hut to get it back. When the captain comes back and finds some of his things missing, he'll have Francis' hide for it."

That was a sound plan, but I didn't relish the idea of going into the valley alone. I departed from the cave to return to Brandon.



I handed the jug of Hasty Herring to Brandon. "Here you go." I said.

"Ahh! Down the hatch like liquid fire!"

With his thirst quenched, Brandon finally agreed to train me. He and I went over a few strength building exercises. Once we finished, I gathered my things and made for the shoreline.



Last night, I heard about the compass buried on the southern shore. I decided to go dig it up. It was never a bad idea to be on the favorable side of vendors. I climbed to the top of a small cliff and saw the secluded shore. It seemed to be home to a small group of lizards. This was going to be a bit more dangerous than I'd thought.



I managed to avoid the fire lizards by walking through the shallow ocean waters. I only happened to draw the attention of one lizard. One lizard that thankfully did not breathe fire.



I continued skirting around the beasts until I saw the treasure's marker. Unfortunately, the fire lizards were still quite close and I couldn't risk angering them.

While I waited for them to wander off, I explored a nearby cave.



It turned out to contain several undead.

A few zombies shambled toward me. While slow, Zombies had unnatural power and an uncanny damage tolerance. To make matters worse, one of the zombies was clad in full, black plate mail. I backed out of the cave but the zombies did not let off. Using my bow, I took out the two unarmored zombies.



I led the third zombie into the water and lured it toward a cliff. With its mobility hampered even more, it was easy to pin it against the wall and wear it down.

I went back into the cave to see what they were guarding. I found the usual broken weapons as well as an amulet engraved with the language of the builders indicating that it was part of a jewelry set.



Outside, the lizards had wandered off enough that I was comfortable digging up the treasure. I took the golden compass and made my way back to camp, careful to avoid the red lizards.



Garett was quite thankful to have his compass back. As a reward, he gave me his enchanted belt. According to him, it would offer protection from both blades and arrows. I thanked Garett for the reward and walked toward Greg's hut. It was time to stop avoiding the issue. I needed that bandit armor.



Francis looked quite bored as he sat outside of the captain's hut. "I must get into Greg's hut." I told him.

"Forget it", he said, "Greg's not there. And I've locked the door and see to it that nobody sneaks around here to do a little looting. So make yourself scarce or I'll let you have it!"

"Greg's your boss?" I asked.

"Now don't try and tell me that you don't know him! Any sailor - even any cursed landlubber on this island - knows the terrible Cap'n Greg! And he left ME in command! I'm responsible for making those lazy bums do what he commanded. Some of the boys may think that they can do whatever they bloody well want now that the Captain's not here. Won't THEY be surprised when Greg comes back. I'll tell him everything that's been going on here, got it? Including who's been trying to get into his hut. So make yourself scarce, or you'll be in a lot of trouble!"

Francis looked awfully pleased with himself after that smug monologue. It was then I noticed that the key to Greg's hut had been dangling off of his belt this entire time. I snatched it and walked inside, ignoring Francis' empty threats.



I searched around Greg's hut for the armor, helping myself to a few goodies along the way. On his shelf was a bottle with a map inside.



Judging by the location of the X's, I guessed it was a map of where Greg buried his treasure. I tucked it away for future use.



There was also a journal of some sort. I skimmed through it hoping that it might tell me where he'd hid the bandit's armor. No luck. With no sign of the armor, I left the hut.



Outside the hut, I once again came face to face with the dreaded Captain Greg. "Hey, you!" He said. He didn't' appear at all happy. "What are you doing in my hut?"

I stammered. "I-I..."

Greg was seething. "I've just been gone for a couple of days and everyone thinks they can do what they damn well please! What the hell is going on here? The palisade isn't finished? The canyon is overrun with beasts and everybody is just hanging around, enjoying themselves." He turned to Francis. "So this is all you've accomplished, Francis? Get off of my bench at once! And YOU? What have YOU done?"

"Not much so far" I said meekly.

"Never mind. I'll find you something suitable, my friend. I'll teach you the true meaning of work."

"I need that bandits' armor."

"Prove yourself useful first. Then we can talk."

"What is there to do?"

"First of all we'll make things hum around here. Morgan, that lazy pig, gets to saw planks. YOU will take over Morgan's job and clear those beasts out of the damn canyon."

"What beasts?"

"The razors in the canyon and coming closer and closer to our camp. I won't wait until they eat one of my men who's had a few too many."

"Am I supposed to do that all by myself?"

"Just go ahead and grab some of my boys. Let them earn their pay instead of just gabbing all day."

"I guess I'll get going then." I said. I was relieved and amazed that Greg didn't search me.

"One more thing: You're one of us now. So get yourself a decent hunting outfit first. Here's some armor for you. I hope it fits. And don't' dawdle - get right to it!



Following Greg's orders, I spoke with Brandon, Matt, Skip, and a few others. They reluctantly agreed to aid me. We met just outside of the canyon to take stock of our supplies.