Here is Chapter one mates! Remember, if you have any ideas of what may happen or is happening, keep it to yourselves!
Chapter 1: Strange Rumors
Davy looked out at the sea. He never grew tired of looking at it, even though it was almost always the same. That bright, sparkling blue hue. So peaceful and calming. He turned to his crew, and watched them work. This was no ordinary crew, however. This was a crew full of sorcerers, or Sorcerors, as they spelled it. They were able to control voodoo energy, and use it for whatever they pleased. They could lift heavy objects with it, or send fireballs at their foes when they were in combat. They even were able to increase the speed of their ship by controlling wind or currents in the water. This made the crew who they were. It made them the crew of the Shadow King.
The Shadow King herself was a mighty ship. Her hull design was that of a Ship of the Line, one of the most powerful in the seas. The sails of the ship were made of a cloth that was black as pitch. The sails seemed to arouse fear in whatever foe they approached. Only one ship in the Caribbean flew sails of that style, and that was the Shadow King. Then there was her hull. Made of a black wood, the color of wood that had been burnt. The hull was extremely powerful. It would take many broadsides of even the most powerful naval warship before it would break significantly. It had served the crew well when they went to battle with Jolly Roger, the leader of the undead army, and his flagship, The Harkaway.
That was ten years ago, Davy thought to himself, hands gripping to the railing of the Shadow King.
So much has happened since then…
“Davy,” a man said, walking up to Davy. Davy turned to face him. It was his first mate, and his best friend, Sam Bladebeard. The two had met on Tortuga a few months before the Shadow King had sunk The Harkaway.
“What is it Sam?” Davy asked.
“Meg, our current lookout, has spotted Tortuga. We should be there in a few hours.”
“Good,” Davy replied. “When we make port, let’s make repair and restock on ammo and supplies. I think we should stay for a few days, to let the crew rest up before we set out again.”
“Aye, they’ve earned it.”
With that, Sam left, leaving Davy alone again. Davy remembered back, ten years ago, to that battle with Jolly Roger. Every time Davy was reminded of it, he shed a tear. He had lost the last of his blood family that day, when his brother gave his life to defeat Jolly and save the crew of the Shadow King. Davy had been separated from him when he was ten, and was reunited with him almost ten years later, when he was nineteen. Then, he was taken away from him once again. Now he was approaching the age of thirty, and he still missed his brother more than ever. Davy took his mind off of it, and walked down onto the deck to assist the crew with their duties.
Davy did this for the next few hours, until they began sailing into Tortuga Harbor. Once they landed, Davy gave each pirate their share of plunder, which he had divided up last night. It had been a good voyage, and they had brought in a good amount of plunder. It would be enough for the crew to give to their families, and they would have enough to feed themselves for at least the next six months, with enough left over to spend on luxuries.
Davy waited behind for some of his friends; Sam, Matt Scurvytimbers, Zolina Crestrage, Meg Mcbones, and Kate Gunhound. They quickly stopped by the shipwright, O’Malley, and made sure that he would keep watch over the Shadow King. As always, he agreed to. The group decided to take it easy for the rest of the night. Or as easy as things can go in Tortuga. They headed over to The Faithful Bride tavern, the best tavern on the island. They could get some drinks there, listen to some new gossip, and then head back to their shacks.
They chatted on the way to the tavern. Davy was mostly quiet, contempt with listening to the sound of his friends laughing, and the sounds of the rowdy town around them. After several more minutes of walking, they arrived at their favorite tavern. Davy opened the door, letting his friends through before following himself.
They walked down the flight of stairs which lead to the seating area. They walked through the crowd of crazy, pirates and found a table.
“You guys sit tight here,” Davy said as they sat down. “Zo and I will get the drinks.”
“Aye, aye Captain Fireskull,” Meg said in her Icelandic accent.
Davy and Zolina left the table to go get the drinks from Carver, the bartender. Davy had become good friends with him several years ago after he put out a fire that nearly burned down his bar. After that, Carver promised him drinks at half price every time he came. He ended up regretting that, because Davy always came with his crew, meaning Zolina as well, who was notorious for being able to beat anyone in a rum drinking contest.
“Ahoy there Davy!” Carver greeted. “Good seein’ you again mate! It’s been a while!”
“Indeed it has!” Davy said, clasping hands with him.
“What’ll it be for you today?” Carver asked.
“The usual please. Got me usual party with me tonight.”
Carver nodded before hurrying back to fetch the drinks.
“I think I need extra rum tonight,” Zolina muttered.
“Why?” Davy chuckled.
“Do I need a reason to drink more rum?” she responded.
“Well…”
Carver came back now, with the drinks on a tray.
“Here ye are Davy!” he said, placing the tray on the bar.
“Thanks mate,” Davy said, sliding down the gold to Carver before picking up his drink. “Zo, mind taking those back to the table? I’ll meet you in a second.”
“Sure, make me do all the work,” Zolina joked. She picked up the tray and walked back to the table with it.
“So Carver,” Davy started, taking a sip from his drink. He had ordered his favorite rum tonight. It was a little more expensive than the others, but he had the money to spare. It was a sweeter rum, aged about ten years, stolen from an East India Trading Company vessel. Davy continued. “Any recent rumors ye’ve heard?”
“None that would particularly interest you,” Carver said slowly. “Except for one.”
Davy raised an eyebrow, and pulled up a stool to sit on. “Do tell.”
“I hoped ye’d say that,” the bartender said with a grin. “There’ve been rumors lately of ships reappearing. Ships that were sunk long ago.”
“Oh dear God,” Davy said wide eyed. “Jolly Roger?”
“Thank the heavens no,” Carver said. “These aren’t the ships with tattered masts and rotten hulls. These ships look almost exactly like they did in life… except… there is something different about them. Nobody knows exactly what, but when they look at them… well, they just give you a strange feeling, you know what I mean?”
Davy nodded, “Aye.”
“The strangest things about these ships,” he continued. “Is that they are there, and then they vanish!”
“Vanish?” Davy said. “Just… poof?”
“Poof,” Carver said with a small smile. “Poof and they’re gone! The same thing has been happening with people all over the Caribbean. Dead people. Don’t worry, not rising as undead, but people claim to see people who died long ago walking around. Then, they just go ‘round a corner, or the person blinks, and they’re gone! Nobody can explain it! Some say that it is just a bunch of crazy people, but I’m not sure. If this many people on this many islands are reporting this, something’s up.”
“Very odd,” Davy said. “Very odd indeed.”
“Also, there are reportings of ships, Navy vessels especially, coming to port and acting, well, strange. The ship itself is intact, but the crew seems… possessed almost. They are different, less responsive, more aggressive, not themselves. I heard a rumor about some Navy sailor coming home like this. A neighbor reported seeing him murder his entire family before vanishing into the woods, never to be seen again!”
“Don’t know what to make of it…” Davy said, taking a sip from his rum.
“Neither do I,” Carver muttered, rubbing his finger across the bar. “We can only hope that it’s a bunch of drunken sailors rambling about things that don’t exist, or if it’s real, then we can only hope it will pass.”
Davy nodded and took everything in.
“Davy!” Matt called to him from the table. “Come on mate, you’re ignorin’ yer crew here!”
“Get over here!” Kate said, waving.
“Must be going,” Davy said. “Been good talking to you.”
The two clasped hands again, and Davy headed back to the table. Zolina passed him his way to the table, intent on getting seconds.
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