The Pirate Hunter's Smarter Brother!

[Ransom]

My butt hits the dirty floor as CrazyChole knocks me over in her enthusiasm. "Hey, ya wanna watch that." I say, as I try to brush the dust off my pants. Crouching on my knees, I watch her crawl across the floor, following a line carved into the wood. Facinated, I crawl after her.

[oderlesseye]

[Jacky Tar]

My mood improves, and I chuckle, as I watch Ransom follow CrazyChole; they both ar' crawlin' around on all fours, followin' cracks in the floor.

Just then the door o' the cabin swings open, an' a scorched belayin' pin tumbles in t' the room.

[Red Cat Jenny]

RedCat again sereptitiously loosens the knots she still had her hands on better in numbers she thinks t' herself.. I like me head whar 'tis..

She looks at the object rolling across the floor in what seems like slow motion.. the sound hollow and echoin off th walls..

RedCat looks wide eyed and steps back a pace reachin f' the back o her boot again....

[The Spider]

first one silken line... then another sticky one loop about the seated pirate... before any can prevent his exit... he is jerked from the room... chair and all...

[Red Cat Jenny]

Oi! That's me crew!

Red Cat scowls and grabs her cutlass in one hand and the dagger in th other runnin out th door in the direction Eyes went flyin. Interrupted treasure and shanghaid crew make her blood boil.

"Bloody Hell! " "I'm busy dammit!"

The deck is empty......dark..

Fog swirls above the planking to about knee height and the sound of water dripping can be heard from the distance....

The Cat whirls about her eyes wild and teeeth clenched... searchin for summin ta kill...

"Whar be ye ye overblown fruitfly?!" She yells.

As her voice echoes off unseen cavern walls she looks up at eight unfocused eyes. Oderless is stuck nearby chair n all to the mast. He looks down and squeaks "haaapl!"

Still holdin her weapons she takes in the creature "homina, homina, homina..."

"um....mates?...Jacky?..."

[The Spider]

the chair drops inches from where the angry pirate stands... i take the bound and helpless pirate... and leap into the abyss.... out of sight of the angry pirate...

[Red Cat Jenny]

"Ohhhh no ye don't! "Red Cat yells "Ye don't know who ye be dealin wi!" She leaps t' th rail and grabs the trailin silk wrappin it about th capstan. Calls f th others t help reel in the creature. Cat overhands one o the torches intp th abyss so's they can see the spider.

The three remaining pirates join in the pullin while Red Cat peers over and shouts "put yer backs into it!" "It's workin!" She grabs th bag o cookies from her coat and waves it o'er th rail chummin the air with the scent o sugary confection. The spider is makin sniffin noises and slows it's descent..as if helplessly tempted by the treats...and the extra pirates..

[Jacky Tar]

I'm still starin' at the belayin' pin an' where Eyes had been tied t' a chair, which is no longer there. My trance is broken when I see Red Cat charge from the room and scream!

I turn grab the lantern an' draw my pistol. Rushin' through the door, I see the broken chair and Eyes is gone.

By the railin' Red Cat is single handedly tryin' t' lift the spider by it's own web. I put down the lantern and tuck my pistol in t' me belt, and help her pull the silken rope up. Ransom and CrazyChole join in the liftin' of the spider, too.

[The Spider]

my hairs tingle... cookies?... no thank you... letting go of the thread and climbing down to a ledge and one of the many tunnels in the crevice... taking the smelly hominid with me...

[Red Cat Jenny]

The thread goes slack an thefalling light o th torch dims just in time t' reveal whar the stinkin creature crept to... Red Cat alights a piece o the broken chair leg which has soaked up some Rum from the deck. The wood erupts like a torch almost crispin th Cat. She tosses it over the side and the gather at th rail . The flickering wood casts shadow of spider legs just inside a crevice... "Look" someone shouts thar it be!

Red Cat's already lookin up into the rigging...hmmmmmm

[Jacky Tar]

With the spider releasin' the silken line, we find ourselves holdin' not but a sticky rope. I hav' t' restrain Red Cat, fer I'm afraid she'll leap t' her end t' pursue the creature.

[Red Cat Jenny]

"Arrrr!" The Red Cat is grumblin and glarin down at the cavern.

She's silently grateful for Jacky grabbin her protectively - stopped her from doin some impulsive crazy thing which she has the occasional penchant for. His arms do feel kinda nice..she's still grumblin and has naught put away dagger or cutlass.. but begins to come a bit more to her senses.

She's thinkin a trap may be the way to go.....

[Ransom]

I stand at the rail, peering over, trying to see where the spider has taken Eyes, but everything is too dark. All I hear is the nasty beastie humming from way down a tunnel. I have a horrid image of Eyes, sucked dry as a raisin, and turn to the others.

"What in blazes do we do now?"

[CrazyCholeBlack]

Jane steps back from staring down into the darkness. Her foot lands in a puddle, soaking her worn shoes. She bends down, tasting the strange liquid. It's an odd mix of rum, ale and soapy water. Blond head tips back, squinting to the floor of the tavern above them.

"Drink!" She exclaims grabbing Ransoms arm excitedly. "Mr. Tar, when ye tossed tha thing tha cookie wot'd it do? But then it didna want tha Red Cats cookies. Is not tha cookie, is tha drink! Think o ow much seeps down from tha pub. But it can't drink it wif out somthin ta soak it up. If we could get tha spider drunk, maybe?"

[oderlesseye]

[Jacky Tar]

'No, CrazyChole, I'm purty sure that spider likes cookies! Ye know spiders must drink their meals; so, I sez we crush up some cookies in rum, an' use the mix t' draw the beast away from Eyes. It'll take some work, an' the task won't be wit' out risk. What say ye?"

[Ransom]

"Never thought I'd find myself chumming for spiders!" I look back toward the tunnel. "Maybe all that sand Eyes carries around with him will turn the spider off." I shrug. "Too much grit in the meal?"

[Red Cat Jenny]

Th' Cat havin calmed down...a bit.. has been sittin on a bucket in th corner o' th deck a thinkin....hmmmmm..she repeately tosses her dagger inta th rail while mulling th best plan o action and listenin to th ideas o th others...

Finally she stands up takin a well needed stretch and leans back agin the rail she's been perforating. Diggin summin outta th sole of her boot with the dagger, not lookin up ,she declares "Well we need ta be doin summin! Let's fill this bucket wi rum and lower it over to the tunnel .. near th edge. Then we kin come from behind an jest kick the thing off th cliff once it be goode an drunk. It's a spider, it'll ketch itself sommere on th way down.. or mebbe it'll jes pass out n we kin fetch Eyes quietly.

She tucks th dagger back in her boot..and squints up at th others.."Wha'd ye say mates?"

[oderlesseye]

[Jacky Tar]

I can see that Red Cat is gettin' restless, an' I fear wot' will befall Eyes if'n we don't act soon.

I find a bucket an' attach the spider's own line t' it. I grab Red Cat's remainin' cookies, and toss 'em in the bucket. Takin' a belayin' pin t' smash the cookies, an' removin' my waistkit t' sop up some rum. I wrung wot rum I can gather in t' the bucket.

"Well mates I hav' the bait, an' now shall we draw the spider away from Mr. Eyes? We'll be needin' a second rope t' drop near Eyes current location, an' I volunteer t' go down an' fetch 'em."

"Should the spider decide it likes Eyes an' me, more than cookies an' rum, who'd like t' stand ready wit' some torches?"

[Red Cat Jenny]

The others ponder the idea and think it sounds goode. After all there is the map and hopefully treasure waitin.

Red Cat steps forward an empties th rest o Eyes flask inna th bucket which Jacky has managed to just about fill.

"Jacky, mayhap Chloe an Ransom should stand at th rail wi pistols an torches is case ye need backup an ye can swing down on the second rope which I has tied here t th mast. "

Testing the strength of the sticky thread Red Cat adds.. I'll take the ride 1/2 way wi th bucket and if there be trouble ..douse th thing wi rum an they kin toss a torch at it."

She pauses for te idea to sink in as Jacky rubs his chin in thought. .

..."Ye know..spider flambe.. kinda like th fruitcake..bet it'll smell right awful tho"

Ransom an Chloe exchange looks and snicker rememberin the fruity flaming scene in th pub earlier.

[Ransom]

I look from Red Cat to Jacky, thinking that the plan, although creative, might be just a tad unreliable. Unfortunately, I didn't have a better one.

"Okay, I'll stand at the ready with a torch, but if that thing grabs either one of you, and we toss torches on it, how are you NOT going to get burned at the same time? And concidering how soaked in rum everything is, this whole place could become a blazing inferno. I don't mind if the spider becomes a crispy critter, but I don't fancy the idea of becoming one myself."

[Red Cat Jenny]

"hmmm...Ransom ye has a point.." Red Cat thinks fer a second or two mumblin t herself an pacin about "ok plan B, if'n thar be a cargo net in th hold, we can fasten it t the ship, throw it over th beast when it's busy sippin and then swing it out over th cavern.."

[oderlesseye]