The Tale Of William Sunshot

Shipwreck Cove was an interesting place.

Hundreds of wrecked craft lay strewn across the shores of the island, with sharp rocks jutting out from the foam at unpredictable intervals and spaces. It was a nightmare to navigate the bulk of the War Frigate through, but we made it. The town of Shipwreck was another thing entirely. For a pirate town, it was quiet, nothing like Tortuga. We dropped anchor and made for the town in a rowboat.

When we arrived, we met with a man who called himself Eoin. He was of a sturdy build, not too tall, not too short. His clothes were clean, and dark in color. His hair was the color of a flame, and there were a number of scars on his face. His bright green eyes shone of intelligence, and I quickly understood that this was a man who knew what he was doing.

"Good day mate, m'name's Eoin. Pronounced like 'Owen' if you must, but do the Irish in me a favor and get to saying it properly. 'Preciate it." he smiled and stuck out his hand. His toothy grin set me at ease, as this seemed like a guy I could get along with.

"G'day Eoin, my name's William. I'm here to see Captain Teague."

He looked worried.

"Now see, that's a problem right there. Normally, I'd be all for that, you being a notorious pirate and all, but theres a little snag in the way."

"What's that?"

"Well, the good captain set out about a month ago in the Troubadour and never came back. We don't know where he is exactly and haven't heard from him. Went off with a full crew of the best men around... not a word."

"Where was he going?"

"Well, he said he was going to check out an old shipwreck off the coast of Raven's Cove, but our ships found no sign of him or his ship. We sent a few men ashore, but they came back with nothing."

My mind began reeling. The Raven's Cove shipwreck... could that be where the chest was? What of that ship? Did El Patron really have what I was after? Was it even his ship? Was Teague going after it as well?

All of a sudden, something strange happened. More thoughts exploded into my mind. There was an image of a shipwreck, a burning, flaming shipwreck. A man crawled out, barely making it away in time. The man in question walked away, towards the moon hovering in the distance. The beach was quiet, the forest off to the side was thick. Something made a noise. The man wasn't alone...
 
Omg ... are we really close to get a connection with Chapter 2 here? I'm not alone ... he wasn't alone ...
I'm running out of words ... (of course, that's overrated when it comes to Jade ...
pirate.wink.gif
). After going around and around, finally you are going to answer my mind-boggling questions here, from the previous chapters. It's GENIUS how you plot everything; and finally the puzzle pieces start to click!
 
The thoughts came quickly, rushing into focus as they took over. As more and more of them came into view, I realized that I was sharing this Stranger's mind, and that I was being shown by him what he knew of the matter. I shuddered at the realization, but then looked up, ready to plan.

"Alright Eoin, I know where he is. And I know what he was searching for. How fast can you make ready to sail?"

"Fairly quickly, mate, but there's a small snag. I haven't got a crew." he said, slightly annoyed

"Why?" I asked

"I sent them out in one of me ships to go look for Captain Teague. I have another ship, mind you, but it's not going to survive to Raven's Cove..."

"That's fine." I said "We're not going to Raven's Cove."

"Well wasn't that where he was headed?"

"It was. But he got shipwrecked. Small island, jungle mostly, somewhere between Raven's Cove and the shipping lanes south of there. Long story, but I've been there before."

"I'll take your word for it mate, you seem to know what you're doing. Else you're crazy, but that's alright too, I reckon." His smile was returning.

"Good. We set sail in an hour. My ship is the Renegade Conqueror down there at the port. Hop aboard, tell the men what's going on, I'll be down in a minute."

"Sounds good. Meet you there." he said before running off

I, however, had no intentions of heading directly to my ship. I was going for something else. I was going to Teague's quarters to figure out exactly how he knew where this cursed chest was, and why he wanted it so bad...
 
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Excellent! Still can't guess where this story is heading to ... every chapter has a little secret to reveal ...
excited.gif


I know you're busy, but I can't wait ... I had to read over again to make sure the story in my mind still connects
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Teague's quarters were near the top of the pile of ships that made up the pirates' stronghold at Shipwreck Cove. I climbed them easily enough from the outside, passing a number of bars and small homes. I clambered over the Brethren Court's chambers, and finally made it to the tallest peak of the stack.

This is where the Pirate's Code was kept.

I dropped silently through the window, not making a sound as I landed. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and I looked around. There wasn't a whole lot of things, but the things that were there looked very old. In one corner was a four poster bed covered in exotic rugs. Another corner held a massive golden globe with several daggers sticking out from it. Along one wall was a massive and highly detailed map. I walked over to it to take a look.

It was a map of the Caribbean, in astounding detail. Every last island and sandbar was noted, every Navy base noted along with what flagship was stationed there, every coast was plotted down to the inch. It was perfect. I scanned up to where Raven's Cove was, noticing the large, craggy island. I looked around a little until I found what I wanted.

There was indeed an island where I though there was one. It would never be on any other maps, but oddly, I wasn't surprised to find it here. It's name was Aeterna, and it was very, very large. There was a note next to it:

"Legion?"
 
Great! Love it ... and I still had to re-read the last few posts in order to find the connection again. You are a master of thrill at the end of each post (not even chapter), but you are also the master of making us wait in suspense ... it's killing me! Have some mercy, please, and don't let us wait a month before we get another part of the story? Thank you ... :D
I would've been feeling so bloated from eating too much popcorn while waiting on your story ... :p
 
I made my way back to the Conqueror without any trouble. The crew had prepared her well, and they were standing ready for orders. Eoin stood near the helm, impatiently tapping his foot.

"'Bout time ye got here mate, we were 'bout to set off without you. Men here are patient, but I've got some things t' do. Shall we be going?"

I shot him a look and strode to the helm. I bellowed out the orders that sent us out to sea, and out towards that mysterious island that my alter ego had apparently been to. The ship responded perfectly, and we were out and away in no time.

"Pardon, but do you mind if I have a go at the sailing? You're taking us a bit slow, and as I said, I'm a touch impatient." said Eoin as he wandered over

I was annoyed, but didn't show it. I nodded as he took the wheel. He barked out some odd sounding orders that were somehow understood by the crew, and moments later, the warship leapt forward as though it had been shot out of a cannon.

Eoin turned and grinned out at me. "Good ship you've got here, nicely built and with a lot of sail. Trick is knowing how to use all that."

"Well, I've got a bit more on my mind than sail, but I appreciate it. Keep us going on this heading, we'll be to the island by nightfall."

"That a good thing?"

I didn't know. What I did know though was that the wind was picking up, and there was a storm on the horizon...
 
The storm was fierce. Rain lashed at the sails and beat at the deck. Nowhere was safe from its dousing. Thunder rolled with the sound of a thousand cannons, the wind shrieked through the rigging, and the lightening illuminated the sea for hundreds of leagues. Through all of this, Eoin stood calmly at the helm, shouting orders to my crew and keeping the ship sailing straight. The Conqueror was holding up beautifully.

Another ship showed up on the horizon, apparently having seen better days. Her sails were ripped which was most likely from poor choices in setting the rigging. Her hull seemed a bit beat up too, and she was listing a bit to port. Oddly though, she was making her way towards us with great speed. This could only mean one thing:

This ship was one of Jolly Roger's, most likely a Storm Reaper.

"Alright men, we kill that ship and the storm stops, lets run out the guns, and man the deck cannons. Prepare to receive boarders." I shouted, preparing the warship for battle

Eoin locked the ship in a course that would bring our massive broadside guns to bear, and held her steady.

The other ship continued on, heading right for us. Sure enough, the flag of that undead beast that killed me once was flying, but I had no intention of letting him get another shot at it.

The battle was about to begin.
 
Eoin kept the Conqueror rock steady in the gale, and I gave the order to open fire with all guns. The broadside cannons roared as their deadly fire blew massive holes in the Undead ship. Deck guns pounded away with grapeshot and chainshot to hamper the ship's progress. The War Frigate shook under our feet as she absorbed a few Fury rounds from the hostile ship, though her thick hull held beautifully.

"PREPARE FOR BOARDING!" I shouted as I drew my saber, its icy blade glowing blue in the light of the supernatural rounds flying about us.

The men got the hooks ready and drew their weapons. As soon as we got close enough, we swung out over the rail onto the enemy ship and fell on them with all the fury of the pounding rain beating both decks. Swords clashed against each other and shots rang out. Screams and groans were heard. One man oriented a deck gun at a skeleton quartermaster and blew it away, then got stabbed through the back by another. I passed through the undead tide effortlessly, my blade dancing about in a furious display of technique. My mind was occupied by Sunshot and the Stranger, his technique bolstered by my strength and experience. I was unstoppable.

I made it to the helm and dispatched the helmsman with a barrage of stabs and slashes, reducing him to a pile of bones in seconds. I sensed another coming from behind, twirled my blade back and stabbed it through the head without turning around. A swift back kick finished him off. I looked down at my crew and saw them beating the horde back towards the rails, defeating them quite easily. They stopped when they had the Undead at the rail, waiting for orders.

"Finish it." I said, not an ounce of mercy in my voice

They obliged, blasting them into pieces that fell overboard with hundreds of splashes. Their guns went silent after they were done, and we had the deck to ourselves. I nodded to a senior pirate of mine, a veteran by now, and he took the helm. The crew dropped the anchor, and I beckoned Eoin over. He came quickly, leaving my original first mate to run the ship.

"NICELY done mate, heck of a show, that was." He was grinning ear to ear, apparently never having seen a pirate crew as good as mine.

"Thank you. Well done with the wheel. Might be a job for you yet on that ship." I joked

We walked together towards the ramp that would lead us belowdecks. I was curious and wanted to see the cargo rooms, whereas Eoin mentioned he wanted to check out the gundecks. We split up and headed into the ship.

I kicked open the cargo bay door to a surprise. There were two undead guarding a gold clad chest. They hissed and drew their blades. I pulled my repeater before they could advance and shot them both into dust.

I walked up to the chest and looked at it. It was indeed a Skull Chest, the most durable and valuable in Jolly Roger's inventory. I noticed the skeleton I had killed had a key to it, so I took it and opened the chest. There was a single item in it. It was a blade seemingly made of gold, it's hilt a deep burnished bronze. I took in a sharp breath of air.

I knew what this blade was. I had found the legendary Lost Sword of El Patron.
 
Eoin crashed through the door, a pistol in each hand.

"I heard gunshots, are you all..... oh my lord..... is that.. what I think it is?" he asked, slightly out of breath

"I think so." I said, hefting the blade. It was perfectly balanced, not a hint of wear showed on its gleaming edge.

"Well, good for you mate. Can't say I don't envy you, but you found it fair and square." he sighed as he holstered his pistols

"Let's get abovedecks, grab what we can and head out. I don't want to be sitting here too long. We have an appointment with an island we have to meet."

The two of us strode abovedecks where we found the crew loading chests of ammunition onto the Conqueror. Several of the chests looked very burnt, almost completely charred.

"What is all that?" I asked

"Fury and Thunderbolt rounds. We're going to have a bit of a firepower boost the next time 'round. The lads know how to handle them, I just showed them. It'll be alright."

I was excited. A brand new sword, captured Undead ammunition, and a surprisingly loyal crewman all came to me in the same day. As the sun went down and I gave the order to scuttle the Undead ship, I was set with a feeling of hope. Thing were going my way once again.
 
As I lay in my bunk in the captain's quarters aboard the Conqueror, I stirred to a little nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I rolled off the bed and directly into my boots. Nothing stirred in the well-appointed cabin, and I could barely even hear the sound of the waves outside. I walked over to my chest, the massive steel thing that it was and opened it with a certain rhythm drummed into the lock. The contraption sprung open, acknowledging my hand only, and I looked at what was inside.

There lay a small wooden box, polished oak and cherry adorned with bronze and gold. It was inlaid with an ebony-enhanced relief of a sea battle, with the clasp being a large skull in the middle of the embattled deck. I clicked it open and looked at the six little silver pieces inside. They were all still there. I pulled one out, noticing how elegant the bullet was. It was itself etched with a small story, as were each of its brothers. None of them were the same, and there were no shots like them in the world. These were bullets made from the finest Spanish silver, silver taken from a dead king's crown.

I had no idea what would one day become of them.
 
Amazing! You're so good at playing with tempo and small and big surprises. Now another hidden secret to reveal ... Always never know where you are taking the story to ...:excited:
 
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