Blood of the Liberated

[Captain Del]

Ahoy there mates!

With the completion of "Those Condemned to Freedom," I have decided to turn my creative abilities towards a new project of mine, one of which I've been wanting to tackle for a while now.

For a long time now, you've read about the current events that have surrounded the hero of our story, Delmaria Darkskull. But not much is known about his past - even my oldest installments, which covered his uprisings, were short, less-than-detailed, and limited. So, I have taken on myself to detail to you the story of how Captain Delmaria Darkskull, became a pirate.

Unlike my previous stories, this story requires no prior knowledge. So, whether you've followed me from Day 1, or this is your first time with me, all of you can jump right in. So, without further adieu, I present to you all, the first chapter of "Blood of the Liberated."

In The Beginning

April 4th, 1702
St. Joseph's Cove, Britain
8:45 AM

"Someday, my son, this will all be yours." His father echoed to him as they walked atop the cobblestone path that ran along the edge of the hill. He reached out his hand, pointing out to the small yet bustling port below them, filled with the cobblestone streets and stone buildings that ran down in to the harbor, where the merchant ships small and large alike pulled in and out of port from the long, wooden docks. The air breezed on them lightly as the sun slowly rose to greet the morning. The sky was a clear, beautiful blue, sparkling alike the glistening bay.

"Yes, my son, you will inherit all of this not long after I'm gone. It is such a beautiful town, is it not?" The tall man smiled in approval.

"Yes, father, it truly is." John smiled, standing alongside his fathered as his loose linen shirt flapped in the wind. His short, golden blond hair whipped like fire in the wind, picking up off his brow. His blue eyes shimmered as he looked all throughout the town below them, fascinated by the livelihood that surrounded their everyday lives. It was magnificent to take a moment to see how the world looks like from above.

"This day marks one of your steps in to becoming a man, and you should be proud. You're entering a very profound bloodline, you know. All my achievements and my riches will fall in to your hands, and I can only entrust that you will keep them with the upmost enterprise. Do you understand?" His father said as he walked past John. The boy turned around and caught up to his father, as they walked slowly.

His father continued, "I'm going to be going out on another trading voyage soon, to a city along the coast of the Spain. I would enjoy your company, as perhaps I could teach you the ropes of how to be a real business man. You wouldn't have to worry about leeching from my fortune when you're older, now won't you?"

John was instantly ecstatic. "Really, father? A-are you sure I can join you?"

His father turned to him, stopping their walk once again. "You're fifteen now, my boy. I cannot afford to hesitate any longer in keeping you out of my wingspan. That mother of yours has sheltered you for too long, if you ask me. She's always so concerned that you'll perhaps be killed by pirates out on the open sea... ah, she should know better... If you ask me, this port is more vulnerable than anything."

John seemed to be confused by that remark. "Father, no means of rudeness intended, but could one honestly believe a town like this would be ransacked by pirates?"

John's father's eyes seemed to drift off for a moment, back towards the rolling hills that rose up on their left, behind the madness of the town. "Oh, surprised you would be, my son... but enough of this talk for now. Come, we must not keep your mother waiting home. Today is a day of celebration."

1

April 4th, 1702
Balnette Residence, St. Joseph's Cove
10:50 PM


"Adam, you surely can't be serious!" Amelia whispered sternly as she turned around to her husband, running her hands furiously through her apron. "He's much too young to be harbored around the world like a business associate of yours!"

Adam, who was sitting sloppily over the small wooden table in the middle of the room, slammed his mug down on top of it as he rubbed his hand over his forehead. His face was roughly unshaven, and his brown hair was messed. His ruffled shirt hung loose, as he slid his feet out of his heavy black boots. He turned to her, distraught. "And what do you expect me to do, let him stay here as a shut in? Sooner or later he's going to have to be brought in to the family bu-"

"Don't you dare call your dishonorable occupation anything a sort of a 'family business!' You'll be disgracing my name if you do!"

Adam stretched out his hand, frustrated, but trying to calm the situation. His wife looked as him as if he was crazy, but the feeling was mutual. "Look, all I'm trying to say is that if we don't tell him now, it will only be a bigger shock to him-"

"When WHAT?! When you're having a public hanging out in the fort a few towns down? By God, Adam, if you hadn't dragged me in to this, we wouldn't be here right-"

"DON'T, put the blame on me on this, Amelia. You knew as well as I did how I made a living, and you weren't in the least ashamed. I've gotten you everything you've ever wanted, by putting my neck on the line, so that better be good enough for you, damn it!" He bursted out, slamming his fist on the table.

At the top of the staircase that led to the second floor, John peaked down, out of sight from his mother and father. He knelt silently, trying to make sense of anything they were saying. He held his breath as the two before him sat silent, his father leaning back in his chair, and his mother leaning back on the counter in the kitchen. Finally, his father gathered to his feet, causing John to shift a step backward. As Adam put on the tricorne on the table, he turned to his wife. "I need to head down to the docks at once. There's a shipment coming in that I've been expecting, and I shant be late for such a deal." He turned about once more and walked over to the door, opening it up in to the crisp night, and shutting it behind him.

John slowly crept back silently, unsure of what had just transpired. He stood up and rubbed his chin, as he walked slowly back down the hallway. His eye caught the window that sat at the end of it, open just a tad to let in a nightly breeze. He looked back over his shoulder, and tip-toed silently over to it, preventing himself from making a sound.

Looking through the window, he saw one of the wider streets of the port that ran perpendicular to him, the right of it leading down the rest of the town, and to the bay. He peaked out his head, and was met with an easy, nightly breeze, that blew the bangs of his hair. He saw his father make a turn from the house, and walk down quickly in the direction of the bay, gripping on to his jacket to keep himself as warm as possible. As his father faded in the distance, John looked downward, right below the window. It was only a story down, leading straight in to a small dirt garden. He looked back over his shoulder once more, and very cautiously put himself over the sill of the window.

Unfortunately, he wasn't too skilled in the matter of sneaking out. He ended up toppling out over the window, slamming back-first down on to the harder-than-expected dirt. He struggled to keep himself from shrieking in pain, pounding his fists on to the ground to release some pressure. As his body untensed from the fall, he took a huff, made sure nobody was around, and rolled on to his chest, pushed himself up, and walked in a hunch down the cobblestone street.

Thoughts raced through his mind as he walked at a terrified pace down the dark street. It was his first time ever being out so late, and alone, and he was afraid of what lurked in the shadows around him. Even such a small port as this was bound to have a few robbers and thieves, waiting to plunge their knives in to the pocket of an unsuspecting victim. He also took in to account why his father of all people was going to make a trading deal at such a late hour, when he had the power to simply delay it for the morning, or even send somebody for him. An eerie presence on an eerie evening, indeed.

Finally, John slid down a narrow alleyway, which ended between two buildings at the base of the dock his father used. John always sat here as a child, playing an imaginary game of hide-and-seek as he watched his father go about daily routine - whenever he was around, of course. Being a merchant, he was hardly ever home - perhaps a few days every month or two. It was heart breaking, but John still loved to see him whenever possible.

He could make out on the base of the dock six figures, three with their back's to John facing the other three, who were walking back down the dock, off a very small galleon ship that parked itself right on the left side, it's back to the port. They each carried three large crates, which seemed heavy by the way they wobbled towards the group. They placed the boxes on top of a few others that were already waiting there in a pile, except for the largest one, which was popped down in front of the man in the middle. The crew from the ship stepped back, as the man bent down to take the lid off the small wooden box.

After a brief moment, the man grunted, and stood back up, holding what seemed to be a previously concealed miniature barrel. The man held it between his hands and privately examined it for a minute, twisting it around in his grip to make sure nothing seemed out of order. Then, pushing the container to cradle it in his left arm like a baby, he reached back with right and pulled out a small dagger. He brought the barrel back in front of his chest, and plucked off the top of it with the blade.

The man instantly thrusted his dagger down on to the dock, it clattering softly on the wood, and dug his free hand in to whatever was in the container. He seemed to shift his hand around in it for a moment, before slowly raising it up. John could barely see it, as the figures themselves were but mere silhouettes in his vision, but a dark substance poured slowly through his fingers, smoothly, back in to the barrel. As it finished running off his hand, he grabbed it firmly, shook it in rage, and threw it behind him, splashing up in to the waters.

The man standing opposite him looked over the side of the dock in outrage. "What is this?! I delivered your order precisely as you wanted it!"

"This isn't the cargo I asked for. It's much too rough to be of Spanish quality - all you're trying to do is con me, and my good sir, I am no fool." The man in the middle echoed. Although the voice was faint by distance, John knew without a doubt that the man who had spoken was indeed his father.

The three men who faced his father on the dock were silent, frozen in a stun. John's father huffed, and abruptly reached to his side. Much to everybody's surprise, he pulled out a small pistol, bringing it's barrel right before his opposition's forehead. "Now, am I going to be reimbursed, with extra, or not?"

The trader who had been talking shook his head. "You shouldn't be doing that, mate." The two men at his side then unisonally drew their own guns and pointed them at John's father. John's heart started racing in fear, not knowing what to do. He could vision himself running out to the dock and distracting them long enough for his father to escape, but that would simply kill him in the process. His legs quaked with fear, as he inched forward a little more against the barrel to see what was going on in a clearer line of view.

Unfortunately, he accidently tripped over, pounding his chest hard in to the keg, and toppling it downward. The heavy object crashed with a thud on to the cobblestone before him, alerting the two groups on the dock. John's eyes met his father's, whose widened in disbelief and concern. But before they could say anything, the man across from his father drew his own pistol, and aimed it straight at John. "Kill the street rat!" he shouted.

John didn't have any time to study the scene further. He turned about in a shake and sprinted back down the alley, his feet nearly slipping on the moist ground below his feet. He heard a shot ring out behind him, and threw his hands up over his head, as if it would do anything. But as he felt nothing pass by him, he threw them down and continued at his run as he broke out of the narrow path.

He made a quick left turn right out of the alley and sprinted down the street, whirling by the nearly identical stores and homes that whirled by him. He tried to shout for help, but his breathing was too heavy, and even the slightest of moments to stop for help may be his last. His legs started to slowly becoming aching and tired, and as much as he pushed them, they began to shut down on themselves, refusing to move any faster or further. He was becoming desperate and crazed with the thought of being captured, or even killed, but nothing could go beyond his body's limits. He had trapped himself.

As he paced towards an intersection of four streets somewhere in the farther side of town, he started to feel safe, as though he had finally outrun his aggressors. But as he trudged out in to the crossroads, his body was suddenly flung to the right, after a tremendous, sharp force had rammed him in the left. His body twisted through the air, until he landed down face first on to the stone, at least two meters from where he had stood. He could feel a warm trickle on blood run down his cheek, as he tried to push himself up with his arms.

Instead, his support was swooped out from under him, and he crashed to the floor again. He felt his legs being scooped off the ground, and then being carried backwards, dragging him along the ground. He had just enough time of realization to begin kicking wildly, trying to free himself. But as he fought, he heard a loud pounding sound of from his right. He turned, and had just enough time to see the bottom of a large, black boot bring itself down on his face.

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You can expect a new chapter from me... well, I'm going to keep that a secret. It adds to the surprise of a new chapter if you don't know when it's coming, aye?

Tell me what ya think, mates. Love it, hate it, DESPISE it? I'm waiting to hear.

Thanks for reading, and see you soon!