An Oath

Description

One. The ship decides the shares. Five for the captain. Three for the chief. Two for the navigator. One for everyone else. The landing party takes an extra half-share from the first chest only. Two. An arm is worth eighty Gold. A leg, one hundred. An eye, sixty. A life is worth nothing. Dead men are not counted. Three. Whoever lays hands on what belongs to a brother leaves a hand behind. Do it twice, and you are left ashore. Four. Settle your quarrels off the ship. Draw steel on deck, and both men go overboard. It matters not who was in the right. Five. Whoever deserts the ship is granted neither share nor name. Those who accept these terms shall leave their mark below. (Only three names are written in full. The rest are crosses, hooks, thumbprints, and a single mark scratched by a claw.)