The Acquisition of the Skull

[Traveller 2130]

Spoiler

 

The Acquisition of the Skull

An artist's rendition of the events.

Captain Bucelt ordered another round of cannons - blast after blast. By now, the target ship was almost in pieces. The shouting to be had by both crews was unable to be heard under the constant rain of explosions and debris. Bucelt's crew prepared to board the vessel as their trusty sloop pulled up to the doomed ship.

 

Oswald Bucelt had heard of this ship from the barkeep at the local tavern. It was said to contain cultists of some sort. But that wasn't the part Bucelt was interested in. He was informed of a one-of-a-kind invaluable skull hidden on board in the Captain's Quarters. After learning of this, he immediately gathered his men and set out in search for the accursed ship. They spent weeks on end on the high seas, awaiting for the ship that was supposedly flying a murky grey flag. 

 

Bucelt would board the ship first, his men following. Wafting away the thick bellowing smoke attempting to consume his men, he gained vision of the crew of the damned ship - all wearing grey robes with glistening blue accents. He would spend a moment or two greeting the crew with his iconic flair, before demanding to see their captain. A hooded figure approached them from the crowd, pushing aside barrels, crates and fallen rigging to reach the crew. Bucelt grabbed the man by his robe and pulled his hood down, revealing an older man with ash-grey hair and a scar over his nose, with as many wrinkles as waves in the ocean below them.

 

Captain Bucelt shook the man, and forced him to the railing of the ship, leaning all his weight on the old man, as ashes would fall around the scene. He demanded to know where the skull was. The elderly leader said nothing, but one could see the fear within his sockets. "Any o' ye care t' tell me before yer Captain be sent t' the depths?" He gave a quick few glances, before reaffirming his statement. "Any o' ye?!" There was nothing as Bucelt looked around the ship once more. Silence. His crew and the grey-clad men stood there, speaking nothing.

 

After the forever-silence ended, a slice was heard. Flesh being separated. A stream of red would course down the elderly man's neck. Bucelt would give the dying man a slight push, sending him over the edge of the vessel straight into the water, the image of his body quickly dwindling into the briny deep as he sheathed his jewel-incrusted cutlass back into it's weathered scabbard.

 

Soon after, a frightened cabin boy originating from the gathering would approach the Captain - who seemed to be engulfed in flames from afar. He informed Bucelt he knew where the skull was and led him through the destruction and chaos into the serene setting of the Captain's Quarters. As he pushed the barnacle-covered door to one side, he saw it. The skull was glistening above a chair at the other end of the room. Infatuated by it's gaze, Bucelt sprang for it, pushing past furniture that had been moved due to the blasts. One of these pushes had knocked one of the candles over in the once-calm cabin, setting the corner of the room ablaze. The Captain would unhook the skull from it's holder on the wall, the weight of it surprising him and weighing his hands down.

 

As he exited the melting cabin, he ordered the boy to follow him. With the lustrous treasure in his grasp, he strode somewhat calmly through the raven-coloured smog, walking past multiple men jumping ship or their corpses lying on deck to find his crew to already be back on the sloop. He threw the skull to one of his men as he boarded, giving the lad following him a hand down, patting his shoulder as he descended past him.

 

The crew sailed off, leaving the smoke-covered ship behind them, watching the flames bouncing off the waves. They had no idea what was about to befall them.