Steward - Servant to an officer or higher-rated crew member, performing general duties for the comfort
of their employer.
27 - Zungi Sathi
Role: Ship's Steward
Origin: India
Appears in: 7 memories
Accepted fates: Shot with a gun by Charles Miner
Story Summary
Zungi Sathi is present for the execution of Hok-Seng Lau, seen standing alongside other stewards in the Justice at Sea sketch, though he does not appear in Murder Part 2 itself. Instead, he makes his debut appearance in Unholy Captives Part 2, holding a lantern as he watches the seamen down to the orlop deck. As the stretcher falls down the stairs in Part 3, he can be seen reaching his hand down seemingly out of reflex. In Part 4, he helps hold John Naples upright as he receives treatment from the surgeons for his grievously injured leg.
Sathi participates in the battle against the crab riders, first appearing in Soldiers of the Sea Part 4, where we only get to see the aftermath of his participation. He stood in the center of the deck along with the other sailors, seemingly holding a pistol, but was spiked in the abdomen. This caused him to drop the pistol and collapse to the floor. He crawled along the deck in an attempt to get away, leaving a trail of blood behind him. In Part 4, he has only travelled a few feet, and in Part 5 he is seen going past the purser's office, rounding the corner to enter the port walk. He stumbles down the port walk in Part 6, having pulled out the spike and attempting to get back onto his feet. He leans against the inner wall in Part 7, but in a terribly unlucky turn of events, Charles Miner fires a musket at a crab rider but misses and shoots Sathi instead, killing him. Sathi's body is seemingly never found as it remains on the ship long after the events of Soldiers of the Sea.
Interpretation
I think Sathi is interesting in that he doesn't really seem to have much of a personality or story at all unless you look really, really closely for it. As far as I know, I was the first person in the fandom that actually noticed that he was likely the person that owned the discarded pistol on the deck in Soldiers of the Sea Part 4, no one else really mentioned it before I pointed it out. It doesn't make his death any less shitty, but it is nice to see that at least he wasn't a completely helpless bystander in the situation. It also makes you wonder about why he had a gun in the first place, since I can't imagine that would have been acceptable for a steward to have in most situations. Did someone give it to him to use in the battle? If so, who?
Another really obscure detail about him I picked up on only very recently is that he's helping the surgeons in Unholy Captives, but at the same time Olus Wiater is stopping actual officers, Edward Spratt and Emil O'Farrell, from entering the cargo hold at all. Both this and the gun thing makes me think that, for whatever reason, Sathi has some sort of special status or relationship with the other crew that lets him do things that most other stewards or crew in general wouldn't typically get away with.
Headcanons
I mentioned this in the officers page as well, but a real life factoid about ship's stewards is that they typically answered to the purser, meaning that Sathi had some sort of working relationship with Duncan McKay. This could be his "in" in regards to getting special privileges, maybe they two of them (somehow) get along really well. I picture Sathi as getting along well with Evans too, considering his involvement in Unholy Captives Part 4. Fifty Seven Close Shaves also makes them friends and I've kind of adopted that idea.
Somehow Sathi's behavior in Unholy Captives gives me the impression that he's a very helpful and kind man, but someone that still somehow blends into the background when compared to others on board (probably easily attributable to his role and race). The crew at large like him and appreciate the ways he helps out, but they don't really think about him much when he's not around and don't bother to get to know him better, outside of just McKay and Evans. Perhaps that's why his body is so overlooked even though there was a blood trail that should've led the crew to him; he was missed but not enough for anyone to be searching for him more thoroughly.
28 - Fillip Dahl
Role: Captain's Steward
Origin: Sweden
Appears in: 4 memories
Accepted fates: Burned to death, poisoned, electrocuted
Story Summary
Fillip Dahl appears to be the only steward that doesn't attend the execution of Hok-Seng Lau, and makes his first appearance in The Calling Part 6. He peers over the gunwale down at Edward Nichols, remarking "they're back!". He appears again shortly after in Unholy Captives Part 2, now on the gun deck running towards the stern of the ship as the seamen bring the mermaids down to the lazarette. Considering what he does next, he's likely heading towards the gunner's store or other suitable location to get a sword in an attempt to stop them from completing their task. After the seamen eventually reach the cargo hold, Dahl attacks one of them, John Naples, and somehow manages to sever his lower right leg. He is apprehended for this atrocity by Charles Miner and in Part 4 his employer, Robert Witterel, appears to question what on earth he's thinking. He cites that the man has been his steward for twenty years and never had reason to doubt his sanity. Dahl explains that the mermaids are "cursed" and they should be returned back to the sea or else the crew will be doomed. Witterel tells Miner to lock him up in the lazarette, and Dahl mutters "you fools" in Swedish as he is dragged away.
Dahl is subsequently chained to the floor of the lazarette, on the opposite end of the Formosan chest. He stays locked up there for several days, receiving food as indicated by the plate and mug on the floor of the lazarette. At an unknown point in the timeline before the kraken's attack, Dahl manages to break his chain and crawls over to the chest. He opens the top compartment to find a strange liquid inside, which he believes to be "quicksilver" (liquid mercury). He reaches his hand inside and grabs the shell that still sits there, but quickly finds that the liquid has a corrosive, burning quality to it. He continues to clutch the shell in his hands as they burn down to the bone and he succumbs to the injuries.
Interpretation
The game seemingly puts a lot of emphasis on how out of character Dahl's attack on John Naples is. He's been working for Witterel for twenty(!) years and never showed signs of behavior like this, and he's also depicted as a very lively and friendly figure in the Under Way sketch, dancing, smiling, and clapping his hands to the music. It gives the impression that he was a very jovial person before the incident, despite his age. But then you have to ask yourself, what happened? What was it about the mermaids that drove Dahl to do such a drastic thing against an innocent man? You could just chalk it up to typical sailor superstition (which they were notorious for), but I don't know, if it were just that I feel like Witterel would've already seen signs of that on other voyages. Some people also like to attribute certain characters' unusual behavior to some sort of supernatural influence from the shells/mermaids, but I don't really like that rationale that much in general, as it takes away their agency and lessens the message that regular humans are capable of terrible things that I interpret the game as having. Plus, supposed "shell influence" seems to make people develop a desire to get their hands on the shells, while Dahl wants to do the exact opposite.
Headcanons
Regardless of his later actions, Dahl really does seem like such a fun, friendly grandpa/uncle figure among the crew. Very talkative, perhaps a little oblivious, and probably full of stories to retell. It makes the fact that he's been Witterel's steward for so long a bit funny, as it's hard to imagine such different men getting along (even more so when you add the serious-seeming Hoscut and Moss into the mix!). I can definitely see Dahl getting along well with Abigail though. Maybe that's why Witterel has kept him around so long. Or perhaps even a man like Witterel needs to balance his seriousness with an occasional bit of levity.
An interesting thing to speculate on is when exactly Dahl died, as there are no clear indications of where in the timeline Bargain Part 1 takes place. I personally like the idea that he died only very shortly before The Doom though. I've seen it suggested that the shell still being inside the liquid in the Formosan chest had a continuous dampening effect on their powers, and with their weakened powers, they were initially only able to summon two crab riders to rescue them. But after Dahl removes the shell, they regain enough power to call in the much more destructive kraken.
29 - Paul Moss
Role: 1st Mate's Steward
Origin: Wales
Appears in: 5 memories
Accepted fates: Killed with a sword by Leonid Volkov
Story Summary
Paul Moss is present for the execution of Hok-Seng Lau as indicated by his presence in the Justice at Sea sketch, near the aft stairs with several other stewards. He makes a late first appearance in the actual memories though, in The Doom Part 2. He stands in the galley, about to pick up three plates of food, but is distracted by the unusual sounds coming from the ship's head. After this he appears in Part 8, standing outside the passengers' quarters on the main deck protecting Emily Jackson and Miss Jane Bird while they all watch Abigail Hoscut Witterel get killed by the kraken.
Moss then appears alongside Martin Perrott and Davey James in Bargain Part 4, where they enter the lazarette to free the last surviving mermaid. After Perrott gets spiked and collapses on the deck, he commands Moss to give it the shell that rests in Fillip Dahl's burnt hands. Moss initially expresses confusion but complies after Perrott's urging. The third mate then tells him to toss it overboard on the main deck and lock the door to the lazarette. Moss begins dragging the mermaid out of the room and tells James to help him by grabbing her tail. He appears again in Part 5, evidently searching the ship for Henry Evans before finding him outside the lazarette. He tells Evans to grab his things, but Evans interrupts him to ask where the key to the lazarette is. Moss replies that it's gone, and Evans initiates a plan to find out what happened in there by tying a rope to his pet monkey and dropping it inside the lazarette. Moss asks what he's doing, to which Evans replies "nothing good" before shooting the monkey with a pistol. Evans subsequently severs the monkey's paw from its body and the two men eventually make their way up to the main deck to initiate their escape plan.
Moss makes his last appearance in Escape Part 2, where he is helping the last escapee, Emily Jackson, onto the launch boat. However, Leonid Volkov spots the group and becomes enraged at the notion that they are taking the last boat and attacks Moss with a sword. Moss has a sword of his own and the two briefly duel, but Volkov stabs him in the chest and he dies after uttering only one last word: "Damn".
Interpretation
Notice anything odd about the story summary I just wrote? I went that whole time without mentioning his employer, William Hoscut, even once. They're the only steward-employer pair (I guess besides Sathi and McKay) that get absolutely no interactions in the game, and I find that fact very unusual. I find a lot of things about Moss interesting and unusual, actually. I think the lack of a strong steward-employer connection could imply that Hoscut doesn't really care much for some of the more traditional aspects of sailing, but still has a steward for the sake of formality. Maybe instead of tending directly to Hoscut, Moss is tasked with other jobs that Hoscut likes to see being done, perhaps making sure his sister and the other passengers are properly looked after? This could explain why he was with the women in The Doom Part 8, and later helps them escape. It could also be why he's seen with three plates in Part 2; one for each of the remaining passengers. In the past I've also speculated that these plates could've been for Hoscut, Moss, and Dahl, as evidence that Dahl died only very shortly before the kraken attacked. I'm not really sure which idea I like more, both are good and interesting explanations in their own ways.
Moss seems like a pretty dependable guy, gets any job that's asked of him done without too much fuss. His face also looks quite intimidating in the Justice at Sea sketch haha, so I kind of get the impression that he can be serious and intimidating if he wants/needs to be. Underneath it all he still has a heart of gold though, as showcased by his actions in Escape. I don't think Moss himself was planning to join on the boat by the way, the way he speaks to Jackson feels more like he's simply facilitating their escape.
30 - Samuel Galligan
Role: 2nd Mate's Steward
Origin: Ireland
Appears in: 5 memories
Accepted fates: Knifed by It-Beng Sia
Story Summary
Samuel Galligan first appears in Murder Part 2, leaning over the shoulder of his employer Edward Nichols, whispering something into his ear. He then participates in Nichols's mutiny in Part 3, seen standing on the gunwale while the rest of the mutineers finish loading onto the boats. He urges them to go faster, and that they need to leave soon. They manage to escape, and Galligan takes on role of skipper in the boat that holds the Formosan chest and It-Beng Sia, while Nichols commands the other boat with Bun-Lan Lim. Li Hong and Alarcus Nikishin row Galligan's boat, while Aleksei Toporov and Patrick O'Hagan row Nichols's.
In The Calling Part 1, Nichols asks Galligan whether there are enough supplies for the crew to reach the Canary Islands in three days, to which the steward replies that he loaded them himself. Nichols, satisfied, tells the crew to be quiet and alert. Sia and Lim then begin shouting at each other, concerned about the impending threat of a mermaid attack. Galligan tells them to keep quiet, but Hong alerts them to the fact they're talking about monsters before getting speared in the chest. Chaos quickly unfolds, and Nichols briefly attempts to shoot at the mermaids with his pistols, and Galligan attempts to help by pointing out movement in the water. He misses though, and O'Hagan demands to be given a weapon. Nichols ignores this request and tells them to keep rowing, but O'Hagan is speared in the neck. Nichols begins to hide at the bottom of his boat, while Galligan asks O'Hagan if he's still able to row. He frustratedly urges Nichols to keep shooting, but is suddenly attacked himself. In the middle of the chaos, Sia managed to cut the ropes that bound his hands with the spear that killed Hong and picked up a knife that was left on deck after Nikishin was dragged into the water by a mermaid. He then stabs this knife into the side of Galligan's neck so he can access the chest.
Interpretation
It's interesting to see a officer-steward pair with such a large age disparity skewed in the steward's direction; all the other pairs are close in age or have stewards who are much younger than their officers. It makes you wonder how long they've been working together, and how Galligan feels about having to be subservient to someone so much younger than him. I think there is probably a bit of frustration and friction there, as we can see with him becoming impatient about Nichols not taking any action during The Calling. But for whatever reason, he sticks around and is even willing to commit mutiny for the man. Perhaps at his age, leaving Nichols and finding a new officer who'd be willing to take him on would've been too difficult? And perhaps he didn't really have any other (nautical) career options by that point?
Headcanons
Although I think their present-day relationship is rather strained, I like to believe there was once something positive that Galligan's relationship with Nichols brought to both men. Maybe they initially met when Nichols was much younger and not quite so contemptuous, perhaps as a midshipman, and Galligan took on a strange father-like role for the lad. But as Nichols turned into the rather unpleasant man that he now is, the relationship soured. But sunk cost fallacy and the difficult aspect of trying to find a new officer kept Galligan around. It's a rather indulgent headcanon but I even imagine Galligan having had a son that he lost not long before Nichols entered his life, and he was able to fill that void in Galligan's heart.
Nichols eventually came to lean on Galligan for lots of things, including cleaning up the literal and figurative messes he makes for himself. Nothing quite as drastic as him randomly deciding to murder Nunzio Pasqua, but still other similarly shortsighted decisions that would've fucked over Nichols if not for Galligan's intervention. Maybe Galligan was even the one to come up with the idea to pin the murder on Lau and make another attempt which involved kidnapping the Formosan "royalty". I imagine he probably recruited the other mutineers too, as it would have been beneath Nichols and a waste of his "precious" time. Through this recruiting I figure Galligan built a sense of camaraderie with fellow Irishman Patrick O'Hagan, explaining why he was so concerned with his wellbeing despite being on a different boat to him.
It's fun to think about whether Nichols and/or Galligan were planning to double-cross the other mutineers after reaching the Canaries. I definitely can imagine Nichols picking off some of the less important members, and maybe even Galligan himself. His steward couldn't have been that important to him if he was able to dispose of his body without much immediate benefit. But wouldn't it just be so juicy if Galligan weren't willing to do the same back to Nichols, despite how much he wanted to?
Galligan seems like a very proud and somewhat stubborn man, particularly in regards to sailing. He always like to taunt others with his many decades of experience, is very superstitious and likes to maintain sailing traditions, and is absolutely insistent on staying in the business until he croaks. I imagine he often gets quite mean towards Roderick Andersen and Davey James for not meeting his standards for stewards and sailors in general; they're kind of the only people on board that he holds any significant power over and they're too young to effectively advocate for themselves.
31 - Roderick Andersen
Role: 3rd Mate's Steward
Origin: England
Appears in: 4 memories
Accepted fates: Crushed by a loose cannon
Story Summary
Roderick Andersen (barely) appears in Murder Part 2, where he can be seen approaching the scene from the aft stairs, where he was standing with some of the other stewards. He seems to be specifically approaching his employer, third mate Martin Perrott, but is looking directly at Hok-Seng Lau as he gets shot. He then appears in Unholy Captives Part 2 alongside Davey James near the galley, with a towel draped over his forearm.
He then appears in The Doom Part 2, accompanied by Perrott. The pair are walking towards the ship's stern on the gun deck, presumably headed for either Perrott's quarters or the officer's mess, as Andersen is holding a plate of food in each hand. He seems to be concentrating on carrying them as he looks down at them as he walks, while Perrott looks down at him in a fatherly sort of way. Andersen and Perrott then disappear for a time as the battle against the kraken begins, but reappear in Part 5 after the gun deck has been deserted. Perrott asks what's going on, to which Andersen replies that the cannons are loose. The ship then begins to keel over thanks to the kraken, and Perrott urges him to find his footing and attempts to reach out to him to get him out of harms way. However, he is unable to act fast enough and one of the cannon flies through the air, crushing Andersen in the chest/throat. His body is pinned to the deck by the cannon after, and it remains there until the ship drifts back to Falmouth.
Interpretation
In my interpretation of Andersen, I often find myself comparing his actions to those of Davey James, as the two have similar roles on the ship and also appear to be close in age, likely being in their early-to-mid teens. While James's behavior seems to suggest he is very inexperienced and doesn't really like sailing that much, Andersen seems to be a bit more enthusiastic about the sitation, albeit still a bit inexperienced himself. He doesn't hide away from the execution like James does, even looking directly at the sentenced man when he gets shot. He diligently watches the plates he holds so he doesn't drop them, and also quickly reports the loose cannon situation to his employer. To me, this all suggests that he is someone who is eager to be there and serious about the duties that are expected of him.
Headcanons
As I mentioned before on the officers page, I really like the idea that Perrott specifically selected Andersen as his steward because he wanted someone who would want to learn a lot about sailing from his decades of expertise. If he had survived the Obra Dinn experience, or was perhaps a few years older, I can imagine him going on to become a midshipman and eventually an officer. As such, I imagine he comes from a fairly high class family who could afford to get him a spot as a midshipman. Also I think this is probably his second voyage or so, still pretty new to sailing in general but not as new as James.
I think Andersen is very Enthusiastic about his future career plans. Like he takes everything he does as a steward very seriously, acting like he's a fresh recruit in the Navy or something lol. Doesn't like to break the rules at all and always talking like he's reporting directly to the top brass of the East India Company. He pesters the midshipmen a lot for any advice they might have for him, what to expect when he ranks up to that position, etc.
In the real life time period that the game would've taken place, there was a picaresque novel titled The Adventures of Roderick Random, which would've been popular among boys like Andersen and the midshipmen. The titular character is a sailor who goes on lots of misadventures and goes by the nickname "Rory", and I think it would be cute if Andersen was called that by the other boys due to the surface level similarities.
32 - Davey James
Role: 4th Mate's Steward
Origin: England
Appears in: 7 memories
Accepted fates: Alive in Africa
Story Summary
Davey James debuts in Murder Part 2, witnessing the execution of Hok-Seng Lau along with his employer, John Davies. When the guns are fired, James can be seen turning his head away and covering his ears with his hands. He then appears alongside Roderick Andersen near the galley in Unholy Captives Part 2.
James and Davies appear in Soldiers of the Sea Part 3, again in the galley. When a crab rider enters the gun deck, James takes cover behind the mast in the galley while Davies draws his sword and tells the crew to beat to quarters. The steward does not appear in the chapter after this, but in Part 4 Davies can still be seen defending the galley from the crab riders. The pair make a brief appearance in The Doom Part 2, where they investigate the recently discovered body of Lars Linde. Davies crouches over the man with a hand on his back while James provides light with a lantern.
James is present in Bargain Part 4, where he enters the lazarette along with Martin Perrott and Paul Moss to free the last remaining mermaid. He remains silent throughout the interaction, witnessing Perrott get spiked and the last shell being given to the mermaid by Moss. Moss tells him to help with the mermaid's tail as he drags her out of the room, which he complies with. He glances over to Perrott as the man succumbs to his injuries. After the pair successfully release the mermaid on the main deck and Moss disposes of the lazarette key, they begin their preparations for escape. James can be seen near, but not quite inside the launch boat in Escape Part 2 as Moss helps Emily Jackson get in. When Leonid Volkov attacks the group and kills Moss in a blind rage, James attempts to climb back onto the Obra Dinn, perhaps intending to stop him or help Moss. Either way, the group quickly takes their leave after Volkov is killed by Jackson and they eventually make their way to Morocco. They decide to settle there, not interested in returning to their home country of England.
Interpretation
This poor poor boy. He clearly doesn't enjoy anything that's happening on this ship and is clearly pretty inexperienced too, of course the main source for this being his behavior in Murder Part 2. It's great to see that he was one of the very lucky few who managed to escape with his life, and out of everyone, I can understand why he didn't want to return back to England the most. Having such a traumatic experience as one of your first times at sea would probably make anyone hesitant to get on a ship again.
I've said this so many times now but I already went over my interpretation of James's relationship with Davies on the officer page, and my belief that despite being well-meaning, his attempts to protect the boy only served to stunt his growth. I don't think James was fully conscious of this dynamic, he probably really appreciated having someone looking out for him so intently and didn't think there was anything "wrong" with what was happening. But after being forced into a situation where no one is able to immediately put themselves between him and the danger, he realized he needed to be the one to take action. Perhaps he was inspired by Davies to step up, but never had the chance to do so before Davies himself swooped in. Perhaps he was inspired by Moss or Perrott. Maybe all three to different degrees.
Headcanons
In contrast to Andersen, I imagine James as someone who was not at all enthusiastic about sailing, and was moreso forced into the profession due to being low class and needing to earn money for his family. He also seems very timid and shy, especially around anyone who's an authority figure, probably terrified that he might get punished if he says the wrong thing. As fourth mate's steward though, he was essentially the lowest-ranking person on the ship, and earned even less money than the seamen did (only 10 pounds compared to their 15). Even Andersen has a leg up by being third mate's steward and, by my judgement, having slightly more experience. I can only hope he was able to come out of his shell a little bit during the short time he spent with Andersen and the midshipmen.
