Part 4

Yar! The four Frenchman of the ship begged me to escort their governor, even though they had a price on me own head.



Unfortunatetly, the little ship was much faster than the whole of our fleet and the ship refused to fall back.



Very far ahead of us.



In the distance, we saw two ships sailing against the wind. They were sailing towards the transport ship.



No doubt about it! The signs on their sails said it all! Pirates off the bow, attacking the governor's ship!



Twin pirate brigs were the meal for that day as we readied the cannons to open fire and save the French sloop.



[Let me tell you this, guys. 10 crew is what makes this fight extremely hard. You can probably get on board a ship and only take minimal damage, by that point, one hit will cause an automatic surrender. It's bloody pain in the rear, I tell you.]

We began our rescue by sailing towards the enemy ships in De Terreur under Commander Thompson's lead.



We managed to fire our opening shots. Unfortunately, with such a small crew, reloading would take too long and we only had the attention of the pirates for so long. I ordered that we be sailed in.



Thompson stayed on board the ship to steer it to safety. I jumped with the rest of the crew to the pirate brig and began a fight with their captain.



He was quick on the defense, but his offense was lacking. I stabbed him before he could swipe at me.



We tussled on the ship, constantly clashing blades in an attempt to gain superiority.



That guy? He was nothing, I tell you. In the long run, he was just a pitiful little fool. If I had fought him now, he wouldn't have stood a chance.



Either way, just barely did I beat him. The flames enveloped him, triggering a sudden urge to swim.



[Cooks are a type of special crew member. Special crew members are those who serve some special function upon the ship. In the cook's case, he is skilled with food so he can get make food good enough to keep morale up.]



The most valuable thing on that ship was a cook! They barely had over 300 gold pieces on that ship, I tell ye! A pathetic amount!



We still had the lead pirate ship to go after though, so we engaged once more, this time with the Flying King.



Once more, we couldn't afford to get hit too heavily here. The plan was to get Thompson to sail us in quickly and immediately sail away. The rest of the crew readied themselves by the bow for the jump.



Despite the dwindling crew, we had taken over the last ship. The captain of this ship seemed to fear our arrival upon his Flying King.



Closer we drew, De Terreur showing its true colors by sailing around the cannon fire! A good ship, she was; Thompson loved that ship like it was his own child. Rarely had to repair the lass too!



The cannons blared once more as the crew jumped forth and landed upon the enemy decks!



An salty sea dog stood before me as the captain of the brig, brandishing a cutlass with intent to strike me down. My rapier was faster.



The old man was becoming steamed with anger! His blood boiling, he came at me with newly found strength with intent to send me over the other side!



He fell in my stead.



We had managed to take the second of the brigs. The Flying Horse was generally poorly fitted for combat and storage. We planned to sell it once we arrived in Tortuga. The Flying King, however?

I appointed the second of the two Englishmen, Peter Bruceski, to take the ship. He almost immediately renamed her to the Tipsy Wench. The Flying King is little more than a Tipsy Wench. It strangely fit, in my mind at least.

While the rest of the awaited the return of Commander Thompson, Commander Bruceski was approached by a number of pirates wishing to join our crew. Twelve to be exact. They were welcome aboard, as long as they helped unload the treasures upon the ship.



[Jesus Christ, these are the worst pirates ever.]

With our pitifully low loot from the brigs, we sailed towards Tortuga following the still-safe though smoking French sloop. It was a close call, but in the end, the sea dogs belong under the sea, not on ships.



We finally managed to dock in Tortuga shortly after the governor did. It was time to pay him a visit as well as grab some brews in honor of Commander Bruceski's promotion.



The governor was delighted to see us.



The governor was enraged over something which I honestly didn't understand.



The governor was delusional, likely from the smoking ship.



The governor seemed angry over matters which did not concern him.

The governor did not ask me to leave. I left on my own. He was obviously not in good shape to be speaking.

Journeying to the tavern, there was little of interest. 14 sailors joined my crew, however, and a merchant of some sort agreed to sell me a gun.



We barely had any money, but a pistol sounded absolutely delightful in the previous fights I've had problems with.



Furthermore, the barmaid told me of Rackham's location, though I still lacked his buried gold.



The bartender gave me some minor news on Baron Raymondo as well. He was very close by, just northwest of Tortuga.



I decided to go sell off much of the loot at the merchant.

[Man, these prices are just great. After the initial inquiries, I popped back in here two or three times to sell off everything, leading to more inquiries in the tavern.]



Selling off the Flying Horse was fine with me. The thing was worth more than the the money it carried anyway.



However, the Tipsy Wench was definitely going to remain in our fleet. Commander Bruceski seems to have taken a liking to it.



[Finally, our first real upgrade, copper plating. This allows ships to turn much quicker than usual. Of course, I upgraded every ship in the fleet with it. Expensive but worth it.]



Back at the tavern, the barmaid was being pestered by some strange captain of some sort. "It's never nice to pester a lady on the job," I told him.



Pointing to the door of the tavern, he took much offense and drew his blade.



That new gun came in handy as I opened up the fight with a shot to the man's shoulder.



Drewing my sword, I rushed at the man with the intent to run him through!



And it worked quite well. I knocked him straight through the banister and let the fall take its toll.



Still having not had enough, we fought some more upon the main floor of the bar.



Swords clashed, and in the end, neither won.



This wonderful lady did.



And how lovely an arm she did have. The annoying captain went out cold.



I gave my thanks to the barmaid before I dumped the body outside for when the man would eventually awaken.



And wouldn't you know it, after she said that, ten sailors requested to join my crew. My oddly unhappy crew. The crew wasn't doing very well at all, really. We needed money.



I kept spending it.



Those same ten men a six others left before we even set sail. Saddening, ain't it? The rest of the crew was barely hanging on. Even my own commanders were becoming doubtful. What we had to do was find a large amount of gold to instill my men with energy and excitement once again!

Captain's Log

February 1601: Recrruited a skilled cook. Captured a pirate brig near Tortuga. Captured a pirate brig near Tortuga. Immigrants are flocking to Tortuga. New governor in Tortuga. Visited the town of Tortuga. Acquired a one-shot pistol. Baron Raymondo seen in Havana.
March 1601: Acquired a 3-stringed fiddle.

The Choice

Today's choice brought to you by gold bullion. Without it, you'd may as well be using paper.

Ahoy you crazy landlubbers insane enough to stick around, it's ttime again for the choice!

How do I make more money?

1. Fight Jack Rackham
2. Go after Baron Raymondo
3. Dig up Rackham's treasure
4. Sell the entire fleet of ships