A door, located between the two scales leadind to the rear deck, gives way to the interior space of the Suzon through the rear castle. It is not locked but could be blocked by a bolt, placed on the inside. Entering there, one may see it – or not!

Moreover, this time towards the prow, two doors, which are not locked either, are located on each side of the hatch on the main desk and give access to a vast room, which is located below the forecastle and is the Quarter of the Sailors.

The Steerage

That door gives way to a vast dark (by night, obviously…) space and our Young Pirates should quickly find means to light up their way effectively in order to pursue the visit from there on… The room takes the whole width of the Ship, measures close to four meters in length and is thus almost a square. The foremast crosses it at the back, cutting the partition wall in the middle.

That room is, above all, interesting for it is the weaponed part of the Ship, with two guns (still there) on each side, each one of them maintained in its place by big blocks, fixed in the floor, and in front of a dedicated port, closed for the time being. The room is very dirty and a few kegs are there to be found – which prove to still contain little quantities of powder – and many other artifacts in more or less good condition: tow, ropes, wick and fuse, a carpenter's axe, a cutlass, flints, mattresses ( !? – partly damaged), etc. There is here largely enough to do oneself a makeshift torch, provided a Roll versus Dexterity + DIY of All Sorts meets Success.

Hooks are place in the ceiling, close to each gun and surely are there to hang a lamp in case of need. The guns are still ready for use (Roll versus Perception + Powder & Cannonballs to confirm that point). Note, however, that there's neither cannonball nor any other type of projectile at that place in the Ship.

A last point to mention for now regarding the Steerage: the mechanism of the Helm comes from the ceiling at the rear side of the room and has to « go around » the structure of the mast by the means of an ingenious system, which is not easy to understand at all, which in turn let one worry about its maintenance and one's ability to repair it…

A door is located at the back of the room, to port.

The Captain's Cabin

The door which opens at the rear of the weaponed Steerage can also be locked from the inside of the next room but it is not the case right now. It gives way to what seems to be the Captain's Cabin, completely at the rear of the Ship, having bulged tainted glass windows on three sides. The room measures three point five meters in the width of the Ship for two meters in the length. The Captain's bed is located against the wall at the rear left when entering (to starboard) while steep stairs sink in immediately on the left of the entrance, following the course of the mizzenmast to the depths of the Suzon.

A table occupies the center of the room and there are still some old faded papers laid on it, as well as a storm lamp – not forgetting to mention the ceiling lamp hanged above – which, luckily, still contains some oil and could give light for about one hour, provided one puts a wick back into it (which can simply be made of a twisted cloth dipped in oil for instance). Against the two free walls, astern and at port side, two locked chests are place on the floor. It is impossible to find the corresponding keys in the room… (Actually, those key might well be with the Governor, if not with Delgado, or let's say his Ghost!)

Assuming that you're starting to guess how to manage such situations, Friend Game Master, we'll let our Young Pirates attempt to pick or break the locks of those chests if they happen to want to do it… After all, this is rather a limited view of the issue and of the future for the case where they would actually succeed in stealing the Suzon for their use… Whatsoever, sooner or later, they'll know what's inside: apart from some dusty pieces of cloth, they contain nothing special for the Governor (or - again! - Pedro Delgado) emptied them a long time ago! Well, searching well, one can however discover the double back and the mechanism of the secret cabinet (just as it should be in such stories!) but, there too, the result is deceptive: all is empty and deprived of interest. That said, if the chests have not been damaged while trying to open them, they are perfectly functional and ready for use. (But, as it seems, not of maximum safety level…)

If one inspects the room very carefully, one can discover a hidden doorlet in wall astern, close to the bed, which gives way to the outside and a small rescue boat, hanged there, with its two oars in their fixations. Now, that's something of a courageous and dignified Pirate Captain, aye! That you meant, uh?! That said however, the option has obviously never been used up to now… At last, for those who would inspect the bed more closely, they'll find there an ornated dagger of very fine make, which was for sure forgotten here because it never needed to be used.

As soon as our Young Pirates will have had enough of roaming around in that room, they might certainly want to proceed to the stairs - well, let's say it has more to do with an improved scale, that's to say it's steep – and thus go down to the Hold of the Suzon. Unless they still lack a reliable source of light (The cabine still becomes some light from the moon while the Hold is certainly immerged in constant pitch darkness…) or they prefer to go to the Suzon's Bow… In any case, be sure that we'll forget no corner of that Ship!

The Seadogs' Quarters

Many hammocks are still hanged there and collect dust since many a year, as well as some straw mattresses laid directly on the floor. On the bowed walls of the room, that is to say of the hull as well, shelves have been installed, some even closed by a doorlet but none of those is locked. All shelves still contain a lot of old cloth and other useless and dusty things.

To complete the overview, before going into the details and the minutious inspection of the room, let us mention a dark mass at the center of the room and hiding a gun turned to the Prow where a closed port is to be found: it is the hunt gun, thinner and longer as those of the Steerage. The mass which partly hides the gun (and limits its kick) is actually a beam which strengthens the Ship's structure where the Bowsprit has its fulcrum. Just before that vertical beam, steep stairs go down towards the Stern and reach deeper in the Hold. There below it is practically as dark as in a mine!

One can search that room as carefully as one wants, it contains nothing of particular interest; thus it seems that the Ship was left calmly and without any hurry. One can, however, flea-market in the togs and clogs which lie here and there and find:

  • Bandanas to attach the hair, somewhat faded but of various colours or with skulls drawn everywhere on them, or again both combined in colourful skulls;
  • An old jabot, only one!
  • Stripped Corsair trousers, white stained of coloured undershirts;
  • An empty knife sheath, a leather pocket;
  • Two pairs of fingerless gloves, an impressive collection of mitten (!!), a wooly hat;
  • Sheets, canvas straw mattress covers, handkerchief and other pieces of cloth;
  • Broken chair legs, canework seat (rotten musty smell), nails;
  • And finally, under condition of a Critical Success to a Roll versus Perception + Nosing Around, under a board which can be removed from the floor, a sabre of regular make in a relatively good condition.

We said it, don't pretend to be surprised, almost nothing! The only next thing to do now would be to go down and explore the entrails of the Ship, without forgetting to take some light or to DIY some device oneself…

(In that regard, if the Players do not find themselves something… You can try them on a Roll versus Dextérity + DIY of All Sorts for their Character to make him- or herself one or two acceptable torches which can last about two hours each… Do you see yourself how to solve that stupid familiar puzzle? – Otherwise, it is still quite normal since: the asphalt which can be used for that is stored in the Hold… The solution is: first go to the Captain's Cabin and use the storm lantern with the oil of the ceiling lamp, etc.)

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