Chapter 9: Turning tides

A barrage of loud explosions shook the harbor of the port town Todoryre. The smell of sulfur, black powder and burnt oil permeated the air as three canons, manned by the sailors under the harbormaster's command, simultaneously let loose.

The solid cannonballs, made of cast iron, slammed into the water in front of the grimly crimson vessel approaching from afar creating three impressive water pillars. 

Warning shots, the harbormaster was threatening the unknown pirate ship to turn its sails and remove its presence from the mainland. 

He did not want to directly attack the vessel, for he knew the firepower currently present on the port was clearly inadequate for the possible battle with such a mighty ship. 

Obviously, the vessel alone was not a threat to Todoryre by any means possible, and the harbormaster had sent his most nimble man to notify the palace's captain. 

But he couldn't help but think of what the wretched pirates were scheming - why would a lone vessel approach one of the busiest port cities in the continent? 

He had heard tavern tales, told and retold by bards and drunk patrons, of pirates who sent an empty ship filled with diseased rats onto ports around the other side of the world. 

The rats would spread the incurable disease to the cities, tremendously weakening the military forces as well as killing inhabitants, cutting the supply of food and resources to the city in mere months after the attack. 

Then, the pirates would raid the city and take it for themselves, as easy as plucking a ripe apple from a tree.

Such a vile scheme could only be carried out by the lowest of the low, yet the harbormaster knew not if the tales were true, or fabricated only for fame and attention.

He did not want to take responsibility for his inability to stop the pirate ship, if the ship was indeed a threat, nor he wanted to open fire and needlessly cause a war against the pirates of the South Manch Sea, if the vessel was diplomatic in nature.

The harbormaster knew not what to do.

"Cease fire, captain." A dominating voice commanded the harbormaster. He turned to a man in black, burly and menacing, standing arm-pace away from him, yet why did the harbormaster not hear him approach?

"Look. They have raised white flag and furled their sails." The man said, producing a metal cylinder and offered the harbormaster. 

He grasped it, a telescope, so rare and expensive that even the harbormaster did not have one, and looked through it.

True as told by the man in black, it seemed that the pirate vessel had raised a white flag, and all of its sails tied up. 

Furthermore, the crew of the vessel was lining the starboard and raising their arms above their heads. 

There was no doubt that the pirates were surrendering, yet somewhere behind the harbormaster's head was still echoing with the possible threats the pirates carried with them. The harbormaster would not want his head to roll, definitely not for some pirates' shenanigans.

"Worry not, capt'. We are Prince Ericson and King Lionel's personnels. We will take full responsibility for the vessel, if something were to go wrong." The man nodded to the harbormaster, as if he could read the harbormaster's mind. A drop of cold sweat slipped down the old captain's back.

"We? Who do you mean…" The harbormaster stuttered before frantically turning to his left as a shadow appeared at the very edge of his vision. 

Another person in black outfit. This one was an elf, her hair was long and blonde, and the unmistakable long, pointy ears gave her away. Whoever these people were, they were skilled at moving under people's gaze.

But… They were exactly who the harbormaster needed. Whatever happened, he could usher the blame onto them two and walk off unscathed.

"There he is! Near the front bow! It is him!" The elf pointed towards the vessel, still looming forward to the port with the remaining inertia.

The man in black pried his telescope back from the harbormaster's sweaty hands and followed his partner's direction. Elves' vision was superior to any telescope at medium range, for the construction of their eyes allowed for a detailed observation, unlike the murky image produced by the telescope.

"You're right. I can not believe it. Eltaor Fenhana… What fate befell a kind man like him to push him to piracy?"

"Well… we shall ask him ourselves, dare I say."

===

As the Vermillion Vulture docked into one of the twenty wooden wharves of the Todoryre port, the crowd could then observe the vessel in all its glory. 

Not many ordinary men could see the legendary ship and survive to tell the story, so many people, guards, militias, sailors and even townsfolk themselves, crowded the port to stare at the pirate vessel.

Soldiers of the palace made a perimeter around the wharf where the ship had docked, keeping those without authority to approach the ship. 

Harrison and Elluin both stood in the front with the harbormaster, for they were currently those with the highest authority in the port. Harrison hid his hands under his cloak, cautiously grasping two of his throwing axes. Elluin, on the other hand, walked bare-handedly toward the plank just set out by the crew onboard. 

"We come in peace! Do not attack us! WE COME IN PEACE!"

A voice shouted out in common tongue. Then another, and another, until the whole crew of less than ten men of multiple species all spoke out unionly, begging not to be attacked by the city's authority. 

Then they walked single filed down onto the wharf, facing the elf archer whose eyes had already scanned through the nine crew members of the pirate ship. Leading them all, a male elf, dressed in basic (if not ragged) rough-sewn outfit, seemingly unfit to his slender yet strangely muscular body. 

He spoke with a wary voice, it seemed that he was carefully choosing his words so as not to upset the elf archer - who he had not recognized yet.

"Ma'am, I'm Fenhana, a resident of the town Serepike in Niliphy. I'm terribly sorry for intruding on the peaceful city of Todoryre, but this is an emergency, good men's lives are at risk. Please, ma'am, you have to let us see the guild taskmaster or… someone with authority."

Elluin kept silent and looked Eltaor in the eyes. It was not that she was hostile to him in any capacity, the elf archer was actually curious that the elf in front of her had actually forgotten what she looked like that he was speaking in such formal tongue to her. 

But her uncomfortably long silence made the elf anxious and fidgeted, both of his hands still raised above his head.

"Any of these…pirate's threatening you, Eltaor?" Elluin spoke in elvish "Nod and I'll take them out immediately."

"No, don't! They're not trying anything! They helped me and many other slaves of the pirate to escape." Eltaor pleaded. Then he realized, as his eyes widened and his ears pressed against his head. 

"Ma'am…" He murmured in common "How did you know I'm Eltaor? Unless.."

"You're silly, aren't you?" Elluin smiled kindly "You really do not remember us? Me and Harrison here? We used to be adventurers in Serepike! We met you on the daily when our party moved out on tasks."

"Elluin? Elluin Xilwynn?" Eltaor exclaimed, both of his hands covering his mouth in an act of disbelief "Xanthufar! Oh Xanthufar! You really are watching over me! This is faith, it must be!"

The male elf embraced Elluin, a gracious grin appeared on his face for but a second. 

Elluin noticed that the pirate crew behind Eltaor seemed to lax their body as they realized the male elf leading them had made a friendly gesture with who they thought were of high authority at the port. 

Such body language was very much so difficult to fake, and Elluin had no reason to believe that Eltaor was also lying to her. She deemed the pirates harmless, at least for now.

"So… we should sit down somewhere, and you and your… friends here must tell us the reasons why…" Elluin turned her back and started to walk away, but Eltaor immediately interjected, a surprisingly rude action according to elven culture, denying the hospitality offered by another elf. Elluin thought for a second that Eltaor was changed due to the pirates, but she would hear him out anyway.

"I'm sorry, Elluin. But we do not have such time! We need to set sail again, for sir Charlie is in much danger."

She did not expect such a revelation. 

It was as if a thunder had struck down a tree next to her. The elf archer and the human warrior both felt their body tensed. Their eyes met before all looked over to the male elf.

"We have to help Charlie. I beg for your mercy, we have to help him." Eltaor insisted once again, for he had mistakenly thought Harrison and Elluin's surprised expression was because Charlie was currently an infamous pirate. 

Eltaor had thought that Charlie's ex-party members were out to find and apprehend him, not knowing the effort they had made to locate their friend's location for years. 

Harrison mumbled under his breath a silent "Truly? Have we found him?" He was still in denial, he never thought that day would come. Yet it was understandable from his viewpoint: he and his wife had exploited every connection they had in order to find their friend. That yielded no result, almost as if the earth had swallowed Charlie and closed up. 

Elluin smiled "Xanthufar guides us all… Eltaor, please tell us everything, now!"

===

"Welp… that could not have gone any worse, don't you think?"

Charlie showed a weak smile to his lone companion at the moment, Ayen Averblossom the elven druid. 

Both of them were the only occupants of a two masts galleon, one of which was already broken in half by cannon balls, its sail torn to pieces by grapeshots.

To the naked eyes, the galleon had suffered a great amount of damage, its hull riddled with holes, its deck broken and littered with wood scraps.

The vessel was akin to a warship after a great naval battle, barely intact and sailing. But alas, it was still sailing true, even with only one capable crew, that is Charlie, or also known as the Vermillion Vulture, Fel'Kaira, in these waters.

Charlie was manning the helm, skillfully steering the vessel through an area called the Heaven's Pillars. 

True to its namesake, the water located between the Abingman Theocracy and the Kingdom of Mosia possessed a vast number of tall pillars, naturally occurring basalt from a ruptured high pressure lava chamber deep under the ocean. 

The pressure built up was so great that the pillars were even taller than the mast of Charlie's galleon at the moment.

"I don't see them any more, Charlie. Have we lost them?" Ayen the elf asked, she worriedly looked to the horizon behind their vessel, in search of sight of their pursuers.

"There is no doubt that that is not the case, Ayen. You know the code, I know the code, everyone on the Winchesia islands knows the code. Betrayal… must be met with retaliation, that is how they rule, that is how Vivani could exert his dominance over thousands of pirates. Escapees like us… must die."

Ayen brows furled even further, yet her eyes were no longer filled with the fear she once had years ago, they now were as tough and resilient as her savior's. The elf druid tighten her grip on her leatherback book.

"I believe we did the right thing. And I shall have no regrets, even if… something were to happen. We saved many good, unfortunate people, Charlie, you and I and your loyal crew."

The young pirate captain released the helm as the galleon sailed past the last of the pillars. He quickly climbed onto the remaining mast and unfurled the sail, allowing it to catch as much wind as possible. 

They need to move fast if they want to have a chance of reaching friendly land. 

Charlie knew that most ports would not welcome the pirate vessel he was at helm, even though most of the weaponry on the ship had been destroyed. In theory, he could dock his vessel at Vazdania, Mian or even Armiabia, but there was a high chance that his ship would be immediately sunk. 

Charlie must steer his ship to Todoryre - where his Vermillion Vulture vessel was headed before him. Even though the Todoryre port was one of the busiest ports in the western continent, its naval defense was surprisingly lacking.

But it's always easier said than done. His current galleon was in terrible shape, and the lack of masts and rowing slaves meant the ship would take incredibly longer to reach its destination. With the entire populace of pirates pursuing from behind, Charlie knew that they wouldn't get past the Mocenese Point without encountering his "ex-colleagues".

Even so, the young pirate captain still smiled confidently at his companion, his left hand rested on the hilt of his rapier.

"I know we did the right thing. My men… they deserve to live another life, away from pirating and plundering. And the slaves… I hope that they can find their home and family. The only regret I had was… you. Oh how I wished that you did not follow me when we changed vessels. You could be on the Vermillion Vulture with my trusty hands, Issiga and Von Bane, and of course, with Eltaor too. You could have reached Todoryre, in safety and you could… I don't know, plan out your travel, to continue your druidic duty."

"And leave you alone? Acting as a sacrificial mackerel for the hungry sharks that are the pirates? I refuse, sir, I refuse! After all you have done for me, I will despise myself if I were to leave you behind and run to safety. And… this is probably my fate, this is what Xanthufar had prepared me for, to aid you in your greater ambitions."

"No. That is not your fate, Ayen. And I'm nobody special. I'm just a… guy, no more no less." Charlie sighed, returning to the wheels. "And I swear, in the name of whatever gods are looking down onto us, I will do everything in my power to get you out of this mess."

Ayen Averblossom stuttered for a moment, her cheeks slightly flushed as blood rushed to her head. Both of her ears pressed tightly onto her silver hair. The druid smiled sadly.

"Please don't say that. I could never…"

But Ayen did not get to finish her sentence as a loud roar echoed from afar made both of them flinch. Thunder? Charlie thought. No…  That's not it…

"Get down!" He yelled frantically before pouncing over to the elf and pinned her down, just in time to avoid a cannonball slamming into the deck. And this time, it was not an ordinary solid cannonball, not anymore. 

The pirates wanted him dead, and they were using all of their reservoir. 

An iron shell containing explosive powder. As the cannonball punctured the upper deck, it exploded, sending planks and splinters of wood everywhere.

The helm was completely destroyed. No more steering for Charlie's vessel.

"Are you okay?" He asked, helping Ayen up "They're here."

Far to the North East, Charlie could see the golden vessel of the fearsome legendary pirate Vivani Dragonbreath cutting through waves with immense speed. 

The pirates have avoided the Heaven's Pillars by going around it and caught up to his ship. Charlie's mind raced to find a solution to save their souls, but it seemed to be an impossible equation. 

And as if to add salt to an open wound, Charlie and Ayen watched in horror as multiple giant tentacles revealed themselves from underneath the Dragon's Roar vessel. 

The water falling down off of the tentacles seemed like waterfalls suddenly appeared out of thin air, as the water below bubbled as if the ocean was boiling.

The creature, whatever it was, was gargantuan in size. 

Even from such a distance, Charlie knew one slam from it would immediately sink his galleon and probably kill both of them.

"It's… it's the same monster that sank the ship I was on years ago…" Ayen said, trembling with fear "So it was the pirates who controlled the monster… oh Xanthufar… How would this creature be native to this world… Such a mockery of nature itself."

Charlie unholstered his pistol, an old, single shot flintlock from the pirate's weapon cache. 

His special gun made by the artificer back at Serepike was already out of cartridges long ago.

"Well, we shall go down kicking, right Ayen? Hey… do you know any spell that would get you out of here? Teleportation or whatever? I'll buy time for you."

The druid simply shook her head. 

"There are no trees in the middle of the ocean, and I haven't been connecting to my druidic circle for too long… I could speed up our ship with wind, but I don't think we can get out of here unscathed… unless…"

Ayen revealed a pile of spell scrolls from her satchel as she identified them through the symbols carved onto the seals.

"There it is… The scroll of Banishment!" the elf exclaimed "I can banish the monster away with this! But…" She suddenly wilted.

"What?" Charlie asked, his head was now racing again

"The effective range of these scrolls are terrible, especially because I made them with limited resources and trial and error methods." Ayen replied, clutching the scroll in one hand and her blouse in the other.

A thunder of explosion roared through the air once again, this time much closer. Both of them hugged the deck and braced their bodies. Yet, they were never hit. There were not even water splashes near them, so it was not them who was fired upon. 

And Charlie suddenly perked up and looked forward to the left of his vessel: the sound of the cannons came from the west… A warship!

"A ship! A red ship! It's the Vermillion Vulture! What are they doing coming back here?" Charlie yelled out in frustration. He had accepted his death, for his sacrifice would bring freedom to many a man. Yet why was his ship here when it should have docked Todoryre hours ago? "Please! You are no match for Vivani!"

Another barrage of cannons as the Vermillion Vulture targeted the pirate vessel. Charlie could even see the mortar on his namesake vessel firing - the crew was going all out.

"Wait! Charlie sire! There are many strange people on the ship!" Ayen the elf called out, her superior eyesight allowed her to observe those on the deck of the crimson ship. "I could see the flag of Todoryre! Wait! Is this the reinforcement? Charlie! Your crew must have called for help! We are saved!"

As if to answer Ayen's outburst, multiple cannonballs slammed onto the galleon, albeit much more inaccurate thanks to the disturbance of the other vessel. Yet, Charlie could feel it, his ship was filling up with water already, they were sinking rather quickly. The pirates were going to take Charlie out by all means, even if it meant that they were to be attacked.

The Vermillion Vulture and the Dragon's Roar traded blows for the next few minutes, and surprisingly most of the red vessel's shots landed in critical parts. 

Charlie could see one of the masts of the pirate's vessel were broken in half as it slammed into the water. 

But it also somewhat enraged the creature underneath it as multiple of its tentacles slammed into the ocean, making unnaturally high waves.

Amidst the chaos, Charlie felt a cold blast of air behind him. As quick as a blink of an eye, he pulled out his rapier and pirouetted around, guarding his torso with the blade and pointed his flintlock ahead.

"Hello, Charlie. Long time no see, friend."

A rough, masculine voice. A burly, armored person, draped in black outfit. A familiar sideburn and eyes burning with passion. A confident, almost cocky smile.

"Harrison!"

Charlie yelled out. He couldn't believe his eyes. For a second he thought he had died and what he was seeing was his memory. But no, before his eyes was his friend, his companion, his party member: the human warrior Harrison Gondorbrand.

Charlie rushed over and embraced his friend. And Harrison also embraced him back with his muscular arms.

"Why are you here?" Charlie asked, still dazed of the surprise reunion.

"To save your ass, of course!" Harrison smiled "What the hell, you left us and became a pirate, huh? Hero of the sea?"

"It's not like that!"

"I know. Alright, let's get out of here, back to the other ship and get out." Harrison said as he raised a beautifully crafted dagger and pointed it at the Vermillion Vulture "I can teleport us there!"

The human warrior expected Charlie to immediately hold onto him, but the young pirate captain stared blankly at him.

"What?"

"You can't get all three of us there, right?"

"Three?"

Harrison, in the excitement of meeting his long lost friend, did not notice the elf girl sitting on the deck. 

And he panicked. He could not get all of them to safety, for he could only teleport once more, with one extra person. For a moment he wanted to grasp onto Charlie and get him out, but his morals stopped him from acting.

"Moreover… the Vermillion Vulture… my vessel… it cannot outsail that golden ship. Even if we could all get onboard, the pirates will hunt me down and pursue us. One of us must hold them back, so that the others could escape. That is the only chance."

Charlie kneeled down to the elven druid, who was expressing a hard to describe expression on her face, part surprised, part pained. 

For she thought he was going to force her to stay as bait. Why did she suddenly have such a thought, she couldn't answer herself. 

Ayen always knew how Charlie was, Ayen had lived in the same house as him for years, and Charlie had shown nothing but kindness to her. 

And of course, she was proven wrong immediately as he took two scrolls out of a hidden compartment in his trousers and pushed them into her hands.

"Let's trade!" He said as he cleanly pried Ayen's spell scrolls off of her "I'll give you these, for your Banishment spell."

"W…Why? What for?" She asked, somewhat shocked. She did not want to believe what he was about to do.

"Well, you'll see soon enough." Charlie simply smiled before turning to Harrison. He looked into the warrior's eyes and spoke with a serious tone "I know our meeting was short, but I'm looking forward to tonight's feast. For now… I still have some debt to pay off, so can I bother you with my friend here?"

A minute of silence.

And Harrison nodded. He trusted his friend, always. 

And now, he would trust Charlie once more, even if it meant believing in a lie. The time Harrison spent working as an investigator, he had absorbed much skills. And detecting lies was one of the most basic skills he must have learnt as a pawn of the Bureau. 

Charlie had no intention of surviving the encounter, and he lied as easily as he breathed.

The human warrior smiled.

"Well then, see you later then, friend."

In his line of work, Harrison never called out liars. He would pretend to believe them to pry more information out of them, even if it's mostly falsified tidbits. 

And this time, too, he chose to believe his friend's lie. 

"Of course. Oh and, when you get on board, point all the weapons at the middle hull of their vessel, dead center, and wait for my signal." -"Sure."

"Wait! No please! Don't do this, Charlie!"

Ayen cried. She finally saw through the facade he was wearing. She caught the sad but brave eyes, she saw the clenched fists and the way he inhaled slowly but deeply.

But Harrison did not allow her even a second to think of what to say next. He grasped her wrist and squeezed the hilt of the magic dagger as the ruby on the dagger guard flashed with light and, in an instance, both man and elf disappeared into a puff of cold fog.

Multiple cannonballs slammed into the galleon again as the ship leaned portside. No more than half an hour, Charlie estimated the remaining time the ship had before sinking. He had to act quickly.

A quick scan of his surroundings revealed that the Vermillion Vulture had already turned slightly to adjust the weapons at the pirates. His course of action was clear.

Charlie leapt down through the destroyed helm deck, carefully landed and looked through the mechanism of cogs, ropes and levers all around. He was looking for two particular rope systems that would control the ship's rudder. After trying out multiple ropes by pulling, he finally located his target and turned the galleon, with his bare hands, to face the pirates. 

"Ramming speed, then." Charlie smiled

The galleon was missing a mast and sinking, but by no means it was slow. The giant remaining sail was stretched out with wind, propelling the vessel forward through the barrage of punishment raining onto it. 

The hull creaked, similar to the dead cries of a hunted animal. Water finally went up to Charlie's ankle.

The ship suddenly quaked drastically, as a giant tentacle ripped out the mast and slammed it through the hull. But the inertia brought the ship forwards still, before the galleon rammed violently into the Dragon's Roar. Charlie was knocked off and hit his head into one of the beams, as both of the hulls exploded apart. 

That's close enough, I reckon.

Charlie gritted his teeth and pulled himself up as he immediately unsealed the scroll. The magic scripture inside glowed slightly a dimmed red, as he took in its content. The sigils and the runes, all unknown to him, yet, as a magic scroll, it allowed him to read them without knowing what part of arcane he was tapping into.

"Dil vararosa ilithane compri ezekiel aranorith."

As if sensed danger, the creature flailed violently as it broke the galleon, or what was left of it, apart. And Charlie could hear footsteps and muffled yelling aboard and in the breach of the other ship. 

But he must continue, for it was vital that the ritual of the scroll be commenced without interruption. 

The magical words appeared and disappeared as Charlie read them out loud, and the arcane sigils lit up even brighter the closer to the end he was. The corners of the scrolls suddenly caught on fire and slowly burnt the scroll up, the flame bit into his hands but he moved not. Charlie kept on chanting.

"Aenorox varanthine it il saesolor apol cumithaine. Begone creature, back where you came from. This world is not yours!"

In a blink of an eye, a bright light burst forth from the scroll as it was disintegrated to dust as Charlie was flung back with an immense force, and the whole creature, with every bit of its tentacles and body hidden below the depth, also was enveloped in a bright red light. 

And as everyone regained vision, the creature was gone, disappearing entirely without a trace left behind. The banishment spell was successful. Yet, such a giant mass gone made the ocean immediately rushed downwards to refill the displaced creature, pulling the Dragon's Roar down and making it unstable.

Multiple pirate vessels rammed into each other before sinking down with the water.

Screams of terror, creaking of broken ships, filled the ocean.

Before Charlie could regain his composure and be on his feet again, a hand grasped his neck tightly and pulled him out of the rubble, holding him aloft. The grip was tight, unnaturally tight, as Charlie's airway and blood vessels were crushed.

"What did you do?! You traitorous dog!"

A roar befitting a dragon. Vivani Dragonbreath threw the young pirate captain over to his vessel through the breach as the galleon was already filled halfway with water. It will soon sink.

"I took you in!"

Vivani backhanded Charlie, drawing blood and multiple teeth shot out of his mouth.

"I pitied you!"

A forceful kick to the stomach. Nothing was left in there to come out, except blood and bile. 

"I treated you like my own blood!"

Charlie's nose was kicked in. He could feel the bone snapping and blood filled the back of his throat and mouth.

"But you! You!"

Vivani picked up the ragged pirate by the neck once again. There was no fight left in the young captain. Not before the wrath of the legendary pirate Vivani.

"I should have listened to Mafrong, oh Mafrong dear… HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU, WRETCHED PIECE OF SHIT!"

Vivani slammed the poor, unresponsive man onto the wooden deck.

"And now… It will be done. You will die tonight, son."

The old pirate raised his leg and stomped violently down onto one of Charlie's legs, shattering the bone and breaking the leg entirely. Charlie screamed out in pain before drifting in unconsciousness.

"Take him on deck."

Vivani scoffed to the standby pirates, who immediately rushed in and pulled the slump body away. 

They did not want to risk stoking the flame of the old pirate, even if it meant to pull the unfortunate man whose broken leg dragged painfully on the floor.

"Oh master Vivani! Oh my father! The crimson ship, they ceased fire. Shall we leave them be and return home?" Mafrong walked to Vivani. The drow was covered in many layers of fabric, for he was unwilling to come into direct contact with sunlight.

"Leave them be? Nonsense!" Vivani roared, making Mafrong flinch "Execute the damn traitorous dog, and then sink his ship with him!"

"It will be done, my master! Men, hoist the pig up!"

Charlie was now tied to multiple ropes and pulled onto the mast, presenting to the old pirate sitting on his throne below, with Mafrong standing at the side.

"Any last words, foul human?" Mafrong said with a disdain and somewhat excitement in his voice. "Not that any of your lies shall be listened to, traitor."

Charlie slowly raised his gaze, to look at the crimson red vessel afar, majestically floating in the ocean. Night had finally fallen, as the last bit of the red setting sun disappeared behind the horizon, only letting a few rays come through.

"..."

"What was that, pig?" Mafrong scoffed "Speak up to your master Vivani!"

"...I…thank… you."

With the last few drops of strength he had, Charlie hoisted his body up to the ship bell and bit onto the string before pulling it. The bell rang three times before Vivani stood up, grasped the pistol out of Mafrong hand and shot Charlie through the head.

The young pirate captain was dead, no doubt.

Charleston Fogsorrow was alive no more.

So was Fel'Kaira.

So was Charlie, the human.