39 All hands on deck

After things got out of hand, Zanir was no longer in the mood to continue sightseeing. It was starting to get late, and they had planned to return for a banquet at Lord Martin's estate. He'd hoped that the wealthy and powerful families were invited, if so, he'd be able to make even more money.

Dull throbbing pain in his hand occasionally flared up, he could have used the system to negate it, but at that rate he'd never toughen up. He knew that other's would have been shocked by the event, especially an eighteen year old kid. Even the men were looking at him with pity right now.

Sailing out of the bay, the galleon and sloop ships departed. Looking back from the deck, he saw his nemesis snipping his claws in the air, before slinking back into the cave he came from. They had been lucky that he didn't come out into the water, perhaps he was too heavy.

On the way back, a pirate ship tried to attack them. One of the smaller ships veered off, and then fired a bolt at them, quickly repulsing the attackers. They hadn't recognized the flag, and attacked, assuming it was an unknown merchant.

It was only a warning shot, but the large hole it left in the hull, showed that they meant business. From that day onward, people recognized the flag that was flying. He was quite happy with how the design turned out for the Dragons Den trading company flag.

A yellow flag, with a grand mountain painted in black. There was a large dragon monogram behind the mountain. Above that were several fierce looking dragons, in different styles and colors, soaring around the mountaintop.

During the trip back, he reviewed the jade, satisfied with the carvings and sculptures the system had made. They could all be considered priceless heirlooms. The system didn't have hands that would shake, and could carve at the molecular level.

Looking at the jade, he was struck with a bout of inspiration. He could really have some fun with this. Selecting a smaller piece of clear jade, he had the system carve it into a very unique design. Then he unwrapped his hand, at this point the bleeding had stopped.

Focusing on the damaged end of his arm, he directed his dimensional power, while simultaneously having the system utilize starfish DNA. The dimensional power used up twenty five points, and the end of his arm scabbed over, sloughing off to become a healed stump.

Next, he had the system attach the small jade piece to his hand. It was a small, twisting dragon figurine. The body of the dragon was extremely detailed, each individual scale had a tiny mystic symbol carved into it.

If one tried focusing on the symbols, they could see that they shimmered, back and forth, both into and out of existence. From the base of the wrist, the dragon extended forward, breathing a realistic looking fireball out of it's mouth, ending at a point that would have been just past the knuckles.

Mentally issuing a command, his new prosthetic 'hand' responded with a mysterious green glow. Slowly the glow expanded outward, into the shape of a phantom hand. It looked really profound and magical, but the glow was just from the algae he found earlier.

Testing it out, he found that it worked perfectly. Tactile sensation was picked up by the system, allowing him to feel the hand, at least partially. With some short practice on the way back, he found that he could adjust the opacity of the hand.

Leaving it at the original transparency, you could see the dragon figurine in the middle. On the other hand, turning it completely opaque made it look like he had a solid jade hand. He found that he could also change it into a flesh colored hand, mimicking the original.

For now, he could play with this, until he found a way to grow another hand, or reattach the original. Now that he had the system, he tried to make the best of unfavorable situations. Life was short, and getting mad or upset would just waste time.

Seeing their captain recovering so quickly, and even playing with his new ghost hand, the men were impressed. It was important for the leader to stay strong, in order to maintain morale. Knowing that he wasn't taken down by setbacks, the men were inspired by his bravery.

Sailing into the harbor, they once again attracted the attention of the citizens. The triple masted galleon was beautiful, and what's more there were several smaller ships, making it a fleet! Only the wealthiest merchants could afford fleets. Recognizing the flag, someone on the pier called out.

"That's the same flag as the carriage!"

Murmurs could be heard throughout, as the crowd discussed the ships' arrival. Pulling into the authorized warehouse, the pier guards assisted them with docking. As they tied off the mooring, the walkways were extended.

Exiting from the galleon, he rode his carriage directly off the ship, followed by a few carts. Leaving a few workers to keep an eye on the ships, they proceeded to Lord Martin's estate. Reaching the checkpoint, they saw several carriages queued up.

When the guards saw Zanir and his men queue up, captain Carter himself came over, waving them down.

"Brother Zanir, you're all clear to go through, no need for any inspection."

Hearing this, the other guest's interest was piqued. Who was this, that didn't have to go through inspection? They didn't recognize the flag, and knew it was better to be cautious, since they might be a foreign noble or royal.

"Thank you, thank you, it's probably for the best Brother Carter. I've got seafood in one of these carts, some fresh emerald crab, caught today for the banquet."

Several of the nearby guests started to laugh, while carter had a frown displayed on his countenance. He tried to break the news to Zanir gently, coughing to clear his throat.

"Brother Zanir, we appreciate the hospitality, but the emerald crabs are highly toxic. I'm afraid they simply cannot be eaten."

"Haha, Brother Carter, of course I know that! These have all been detoxified, I can assure you that they are safe to eat. I'll even have the first one, in front of everyone, to prove they are edible."

Hearing his explanation, everyone was stunned. No one had ever successfully cleaned them before, each attempt ending in diarrhea, at best, or death, at worst. To them it appeared that he was going to bet his life on his products, how daring!

Seeing the conviction in his eyes, captain Carter could only acquiesce.

"Alright, take it on in, Lord Martin is waiting inside for you, along with the other guests."

Escorted through a smaller side gate, they were able to enter directly into the estate. There were staff running around everywhere, behind the scenes, trying to keep things going smoothly. Making their way into the busy kitchen area, they were going to drop off the ingredients.

When the chefs saw the vegetables, they were ecstatic, upon receiving such high quality ingredients. However, when they saw the emerald crabs, their eyes went wide. They had no idea how to cook them, or what they even tasted like.

"What are we supposed to do with these?"

Seeing the confusion he created among the chefs, he could only chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, in addition to a merchant, I'm also a pretty decent cook. I'm sure I can whip something up."

Taken aback, the chefs thought he was insulting them.

"You think it's easy to create a dish, fine! Let me see what you can come up with, just don't get anyone killed with those crabs."

"Haha, just a simple crab dish. You will see how I do things, soon enough."

With that boast, he had his men bring the ingredients to the prep area. Setting up a thin wooden divider, they cordoned off a small section of the area, for privacy. Browsing the system, he chose three crab dishes that would work perfectly.