I tell the waiter it's alright - I'm not badly hurt, and I'm just glad nobody else is either.
I'll spend the time until the Watch arrives curled up with my wife, keeping an eye on the pirate. (If it seems like he's going to be down for a good bit of time, I'll pick up his knife and go get the gun, so that they're not lying around. If it looks like he's going to be a threat any time soon, I'll ask the waiter to fetch the gun from over there for me.)
He's largely incapacitated and probably isn't going to stand for a while, but he's not unconscious and he's certainly not quiet.
You easily retrieve the knife, but you don't see the gun.
--M. J. Young
It was just there a minute ago...
I'll have a look around, not letting Mr. Squishy there out of my sight.
When you move to the fallen man's right, you see that the gun slid under the table to his left--perhaps a foot or so beyond easy reach were he to stretch his arm. It would be awkward for you to crawl under the table for it, but would require more of your attention away from him to move the table.
--M. J. Young
I'll ask the waiter to help me out here. Usually it's pretty easy for a waiter to summon help to move a table, and that seems the best course of action.
The Watch sure are taking their sweet time. I'll have to have a word with their commander...
I don't know that you can blame the watch--it hasn't been three minutes since the fight ended, and I don't see where you blew your watchman's whistle or heard one blown, so it's been a matter of some citizen reaching the watch and bringing him to you.
The waiter signals a few others, and together they shift the table. The pirate's eyes dart between the pistol and you, more than once; he's clearly thinking about whether he can beat you to it.
--M. J. Young
I'll stand in between him and the pistol, still keeping him on point with his own knife (i.e. if he moves, he'll be moving into my immediate stab in the ribs).
Sounding a Watchman's whistle indoors would be mean to everyone else in here, who is disrupted enough already without leaving their ears ringing, especially since I've got this basically taken care of, and I'm just waiting for a mop-up.
Also, it feels longer.
The table is moved and the pistol is now in plain sight. You position yourself between the pirate and the pistol.
It is still a couple minutes, but the pirate seems to have surrendered any expectation of getting the gun. Then you hear a loud voice from the direction of the door.
"All right, all right, what seems to be the trouble?"
Several voices respond, making it apparent that this is someone from the local watch responding, probably in response to someone running up to him on the street and telling him of the trouble.
I would assume that you would carry your whistle and cord of office whenever you leave the house, given your experience so far, so I'll assume you have them but are not wearing them.
--M. J. Young
Once the people start giving the Watchman the too-many-cooks approach, I'll give a short tweet on my whistle to signal them to shut the hell up. Then I'll tell the responder what happened, and show my cord of office when I introduce myself.
This will all end with, "And now, seeing as I'm off duty, and as my lovely wife's evening has been interrupted long enough, I'll leave this ruffian to your tender mercy," and, to the pirate, "Give Captain Jack my best."
After all, Captain Jack should be in jail by now as well, if that trap I set up with my last Watch office worked while I wasn't looking.
"You was behind that, too? Shoulda figured. Yeah, I'll be sure to let him know. You've got a rep, you know. I won't be the last pirate who recognizes you, and whoever manages to get you will have braggin' rights for life."
The watchman is duly deferential. "Yes sir, commander. Sorry your dinner was disrupted so. Come along," he says to the pirate. "The only rep you're gonna have will be decided by my capp'n."
The waiters move to attempt to restore order.
"Our sincere apologies, sir," the headwaiter says. "Can I settle you and your lovely companion at another table and order fresh food for you both?"
Arabella nods approval in your direction, so I presume you accept the offer. After you are seated, she says, perhaps a bit flirtatiously, "I knew I'd married a promising hero of the watch, but I didn't realize he was already a known pirate fighter."
--M. J. Young
"Anyone who can take me down deserves 'em."
I give the Watchman a proper salute and tell him not to worry about it. Not like he's the one I had to slap with a fish, after all, right?
Since she wants to finish dinner, I'll pull out a seat for Arabella and see her seated, then join her. Her being flirtatious still makes me blush a bit even though she is my wife and all. "Well, yeah, there is that. It was my first case and... well, technically my second pirate ship..." If she really wants the story I'll tell it, otherwise I'll follow her in the direction of 'romantic banter' and show her just how romance-novel heroic I can be when I get her home.
Indeed, she mixes romantic banter with wheedling the details of your adventures out of you.
"So, how did you come to be a sailor anyway, and why did you leave to settle here in Durnmist? Funny, you know--I don't really know where you're from, originally."
--M. J. Young
"Where I'm from originally is kindof a long story, actually. As for how I became a sailor, you might say I dropped in on my Captain and he decided to let me work for him, and it's been high adventure ever since. I decided to settle here because I like Durnmist - it's not as restrictive as some towns, not as noisy as Sardic... and when I met you that just sealed the deal. I knew I had to stay."
"Well, I guess a girl has to be flattered to know that she's the main reason her husband decided to move to her home town. I do expect to get that long story out of you someday, Mr. Sevenwinds, man of mystery." She is teasing, but she is not therefore not serious.
My last recollection on your rental property is that you were seeking tenants but hadn't found one. Did I forget something, or should I be considering tenants for your property?
--M. J. Young
You should be considering tenants. I posted a "For Rent" sign months ago and my neighbors know to point anyone who comes calling to either Arabella or the station house.
"Some day, and some day soon, but not tonight..." Time to finish dinner. Maybe celebrate another victory with a bottle of nice wine. And then take my wife home. And hope she doesn't start to catch on to the whole 'can't have kids' thing...
Note to self: Consider researching life-creation magic if I ever reach a high-magic Verse. A sample of my blood, a sample of hers, and the right spells might be able to get around this...
Yeah, I wondered how long it would be before someone decided they could find an end-run around the no issue issue.
You return to work and find that word of your pirate capture has spread--you're something of a hero. There's already a commendation in your file, even the captain wants to hear your version of events, and there's talk of an award.
--M. J. Young
This never gets less embarrassing...
I'll tell him my version: I got attacked at dinner, hit the guy with a fish, scuffled, and won. And sent him off to jail with a snarky one-liner ringing in his ears. And he's one of Captain Jack's brethren, too.
Find a player it means enough to, and he'll figure out a way.
I have to interject at that: The no issue issue! *groans and rolls eyes at horrific pun*
Also: Shaken not stirred!
*continues groaning at horrific puns*
I'm glad you were entertained, Brock, and I like knowing when people laugh at my side jokes, and I personally don't mind extraneous posts in game threads; but some people do (I don't think Harry is one of them, but I don't know that it's been mentioned), and that's why Kyler started the Peanut Gallery thread. Besides, if you laugh there about a joke here, more people will hear it.
You are on your way out the door to work one morning a few days later when someone looking lost on the street calls to you. "Hey, Mister! There's supposed to be a place for rent around here somewhere. Can you point me to it?" He looks like a sailor, dressed in the familiarly tattered work clothes most of your deck hands wore most of the time.
--M. J. Young
"Yes. In fact I'm the landlord. It's right this way..."
Luckily for me I still wear my gun and swords to work, even though I haven't been in a fight on duty in a year.
He eyes you suspiciously, picking up your weapons.
"Aye, I just happen to have stumbled on the landlord, and he just happens to be armed for a fight. How do I know you're him?"
--M. J. Young
"You can ask my wife, if you like," I answer, nodding toward my own front door, just around the corner from his. "Commander John Sevenwind, at your service. As it happens I'm on my way to work at the moment, but if you care to walk with me we can talk, and I'll show you the place this afternoon when I get off duty."
While I'm talking with him, I'll put on my cord of office and my whistle, too, so he'll know I'm telling the truth.
"Oh--beggin' your pardon, officer, er, captain. I didn't mean--well, anyway, tell me about this place you've got."
--M. J. Young
"Sure. It's actually the other half of my house, a two-family place just here, so I'm right here if you need anything. I just finished fixing it up before I put it up for rent, so, everything is new, or refinished, and quite cozy..."
I have to get to work, but I'll offer him the grand tour if he wants to come back when I'm done.
He asks the price.
--M. J. Young
I tell him the price. Whatever the going rate for rent ought to be for such a place. Let's say, enough to cover half the property tax if there is one, plus bank a bit towards keeping the place in good repair.
There is no property tax. There are import and export taxes which find their ways into the prices of goods but support all the functions of government. Also, although you know the prices of inns and rooms you've not actually seen a rental property akin to yours to ask the price.
You name a price, he seems to think it fair (or if not, he doesn't indicate otherwise). He asks if he can get back to you in a few days, as there are some other options open to him.
--M. J. Young
That would be fine. I'll see him in a few days, and good luck with searching.
As you are approaching work, you hear a commotion--whistles blowing, voices shouting.
Then you smell the smoke.
There is a fire across the street from the firehouse, in a restaurant.
--M. J. Young
Well, at least it shouldn't take my team long to respond to this one. ... Wait a second, isn't this the place we eat lunch practically every day, seeing as it's right there? Oh no, not Louie's! Best Korgan food in town...
I'll run up and find who's got the lead on this one, and see where they're at and what they need.
Absolutely the place you always eat, and the fire is not under control.
Matt is scrambling. He was finished with his shift and just waiting for you to arrive when the alarm sounded. It seems that Louie came in to start breakfast and found his kitchen already ablaze, but by the time he gave up trying to put it out himself and got back outside it had spread forward to the dining room, and it was well established there before it broke outside for anyone to see it. Matt's shift was already out of the building and headed home; the whistle called most of them back. Your shift was just coming in and not fully awake, caught off guard walking into an emergency to which they had to organize the response. They're really just getting the equipment out into the street and starting to draw water from the pump behind the station.
Matt would be most grateful if you would help get this together. It would be his first fire in command, and he doesn't know your people so well.
--M. J. Young
I'll help him out as best I can. It's his command, but I'll tell him what orders to give if he doesn't see it. I feel this is fairly safe, seeing as no lives are at risk and Louie is going to have to rebuild anyway.
"Have you ordered them to wet and sandbag the outer walls yet? We don't want this spreading..."
"Right. The north side of the building has a clear alley, but the south side--there's only a couple feet between it and the feed store. I can't really get people in there and get water on the second story walls."
--M. J. Young
"Get the ladder wagon over there, and have a bucket brigade water the walls from the roof of the feed store. That doesn't have to be our people except a handful on the ladder - use the off-shift for that and the fresh people for the running-around parts..."
"That's a really good idea," Matt says. "Do you want to take command of that? The other thing seems to be that we've got to take water in through the front door and fight the fire back from the dining room toward the kitchen, but I'm hesitant to put too many people inside. What do you suggest for that?"
--M. J. Young
Do we have any of that hose Jacob sent over? It wasn't very good, but then, it doesn't have to go very far...
You've got about fifty feet of it, which if you run it through the station instead of around will get you pretty close to the front of burning restaurant. It's in a closet in the station.
--M. J. Young
I suggest we do that.
Matt sends someone to find the hose and get it set up.
"O.K., were you going to take over the roof crew, or tackle going in through the front? There's no pump in the back yard, but I think that's because the pump is actually in the restaurant kitchen, which they built over the well."
--M. J. Young
"I'll take the inside. You take the roof."
After all, I'm afraid of heights more.