All Aboard!

Chapter 2

Commandant di Angelo had seen many things: savage islands run by wild guinea pigs; ocean creatures with large, translucent heads and too many tentacles to count; and all manner of disgusting one-pot stews that were all the same shade of brown, but nothing could prepare him for the sight headed for the shore that morning.
The ship was huge and white, with a wooden mermaid chained to the front and all manner of lanterns criss-crossing the, was that some kind of hammered metal?, railings.

He ran into the nearest tavern in search of his Commander, Lord Hades of County Styx, who he found spinning a yarn about some seabeast to the beautiful barmaid. "Commander! I would hate to pull you away from your scintillating story but alas something has just docked in the harbor that needs your immediate attention!"
'Of course, Commandant, I will be right there!'
'It is with much sorrow I must bid thee adieu fair Persephone, keep my bar stool warm while I am away?' Hades winked at the barmaid as he walked backwards out of the pub. "It will be my pleasure, Commander", Persephone replied with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
Nico di Angelo shook his head at their inappropriate display of affection while he followed Hades out the door.

"Well I'll be hog-wallered! What on this fine earth do you supposed that is supposed to be!?" Hades exclaimed upon seeing the great, white ship in front of him.
'It looks like some type of foreign, pirate sailing vessel sir. Note the Jolly Roger atop the mast!' Nico replied with slight awe. He had always longed to join a pirate crew and hunt for buried treasure but that was no profession for a young man of his upstanding upbringing. He had settled for joining the royal navy and risen through the ranks so that he could one day have command of his own ship and sail to the edges of the world to see the great waterfalls that plunged into nothingness.

"Don't just stand there Commandant! Find out what these pirates are doing in our shores!" And with that command Nico rushed off to the pier as the huge ship dropped anchor.