Rover of the Sands

“Seems to me, Hogan, that the little bitch has you under her spell. Maybe you need it good and beaten right out of you. What do you say?” To your horror, he pulls a real metal knife from his pocket. Instantly it begins to glow a bloody red, giving off heat like a torch. You see a flash of lightning in the sky.

“What’s the matter, Hogan? You waiting for your hag wife to come save you? Are you a man, little girl?”

McGirk appears quietly at your side, handing you one of the ship’s own slate cutting knives but refusing to look you in the eye. You have the disadvantage in every possible way.

Then a blood-curdling scream cuts the air. It’s Viola! Amidst the confusion, you see Malone running up from below decks. He is out of breath. His hands are stained.

“Come quickly, Hogan! It’s your wife. She’s having her baby!”

“Hogan isn’t going anywhere!” shouts Tracy. “He’s staying right here and fighting like a man to prove he isn’t one of them!” His men cheer raucously and begin to close in on you. You grip the makeshift knife tightly in your fist.

Another scream cuts the air and it’s all you can do not to grab the closest man and stab him again and again and again.

“We must go to her!” Malone pleads with you.

The distance between you and the men is closing quickly. Which is the more honorable path?