He hoped no one else was up on deck the moment they reached it. He began to see that he'd mistaken Finnian's reasons for wanting to get up here. Wincing at the crunch of wood as the boy's fist met the mast, Gaius couldn't help but stare for a moment.

     "...seriously kid? Not that I'm a ship expert, but that part seems kind of important for sailing," he muttered, though he wasn't going to let down his guard now that the boy had a weapon. It was huge and hopefully as unwieldy as it looked, so at least Gaius knew he had some chance of dodging any swings.

     Noise out on the beach beyond had caught his attention at that moment, and the thief stole a quick look out past the edge of the ship. Sounded like the girls had already started. They could handle themselves, right? On the other hand, if anyone had been aboard and drawn to the sound of the mast coming down, Gaius might find himself with a lot of unwanted company soon.

     He looked back at Finnian. Try to finish this one, but if not, well, he was better at playing support anyway. The girls might need a hand down there.

     "Round two, Finnian."

     Gaius hopped up on the railing and ran along it in the boy's direction, anticipating the swing of the massive post.