The Magical Age of Piracy: Chapter I

[Altito Asmoro]

Chapter 0
Prologue

The Royal Navy of Bahamas, one of the newly-established military division and strictly established to protecting Bahamas, the newest colony under the arms of the British Empire. During one of its late night, HMS Nassau, a third-rate ship, is patrolling the seas of Bahamas. Its strangely quiet these days around, words coming in and out of an appearance of mysterious ship, claiming lives. Of course, it's probably people trying to make Blackbeard a more dreaded pirate, even though he's already dreaded.

However, in the distance, one of the sailors look afar and saw a ship.

"Ship! Up ahead! Prepare cannons!" shouted the captain once he was told what is it.

The ship turned its way to the mysterious ship. Once they closed in, the ship fired its cannons. To their shock, it didn't do anything. No damages, no scraps, no nothing. Once it was close, though, it was madness. It was chaos.

In the morning, a fisherman's boat rescued the last survivor of the ship, and he was brought back to Nassau. Once back, he told the nearest British officer he could found, and stammered:

"I-I-It was him! He's return! He!...The Flying Dutchman!" before dropped down and died. HMS Nassau was found a hour later, the ship scattered into pieces, while there were only puddle of blood from the sailors, the bodies were missing.

The news spread quickly to the Bahamas.

Chapter I
The Return of the Flying Dutchman

[Plzen]

The commercial quarter of the prosperous port of Nassau was lively with news. Every shop, stall and tavern was bouncing knowledge, thoughts, or sometimes sheer speculation. It was always the Flying Dutchman this, the Flying Dutchman that...

Sven Rynsburger was not very convinced. How could the Flying Dutchman - even if it actually existed - come all the way here to the Caribbean, when it was said to be lost thousands of miles away in the Southern Seas? But what he thought, he kept to himself. Even managed to press a smile to an excited shopkeeper, once in a while.

Of course, just because he was not convinced...

"We should go looking for the Flying Dutchman, father!" Nathan cried, as soon as he returned to the Reiziger.

"Don't be stupid, Nathan," Johanna stated, "how are we - with no more than a plump merchantman under our control - to go hunting for a legend? Absurd! Cannot be done!"

Sven was very content to let those two argue. Since he didn't know a scrap of information about the whereabouts of the Flying Dutchman, or whether it even existed at all and had no idea who to ask, Nathan's argument and Johanna's counterargument was about as relevant as a debate on whether they should set sail to the moon.

"Children be children, eh?" Dean surprised him.

"Goodness, Peters. Don't jump out at me like that." Sven put up only a token presence. Dean had an uncanny ability to not be seen until he wanted to be. "In any case, stop thinking of them as children. The youngest is nineteen."

"Nineteen already?" Dean replied. "How time flies. He wasn't much more than a young lad when we left Rijnsburg."

Sven was deep in memory. "And Johanna no more than a girl. Oh, how she cried..."

"But back to business. Did you manage to find anything with the magical merchants?"

"Yes, actually," Dean, just like Sven, has been shopping all day. "some fruit juice, a dozen barrels of alcohols, and about half a tone of food. Corn, mostly, but a bit of wheat as well."

"That's pricey. How much did you pay for it?"

"Not much, actually. I did it entirely using my share of the ship's treasury. Which, as you know, is tiny."

"Well, in any case, that ought to be enough provisions to reach the Keys and back, twice. We set sail on..." Sven checked the log, "the day after tomorrow?"

Unfortunately, Nathan seemed to think that this was a great time to try and convince his illustrious father to go find the legendary ship again, and Dean's answer would have to wait until suppertime.

[Saint Morning]

The waters that surround the island of New Providence was busy as usually, ships constantly entering and leaving the port city of Nassau, bringing with them the most exotic objects the world had ever seen. But this constant bombardment of ships was the reason why these waters lack any mermaid activity, these were forbidden waters and most mermaids were wise to steer clear of New Providence and it's human. But Ana wasn't your typical mermaid, no she was far too adventurous and hot headed to abide by their simplistic, closed minded way of life.

She surfaced ,her dampened hair floating along the surface of the turquoise water, she grinned as she saw the silhouette of the island off in the distance. She was almost there, just a little bit further. She submerged herself into the warm waters and began to make her ways towards one of the beaches.

It didn't take her long to reach her destination and she was quick to slap the bracelet on her wrist ,after she had manage to drag herself high enough on the beach where the water wouldn't be able to reach her, she watched in amazement as her tail was transformed into a pair of legs. She ran her hand along them and couldn't help but squeal in delight at how smooth they felt.

She remained there for a few minutes, just analyzing every inch of her new body parts, but she was snapped out of her stupor by the smell of smoke. Turning her head, she saw a cloud of smoke slowly rising in the air, she got up and made her way towards the smoke clouds. Only to find an empty campsite, with clothing hanging on a line, it didn't look like anyone had been at the campsite for a few hours, even though the fire was still strong, so she doubt they would mind if she borrowed their clothing.

Human clothing felt so strange on her body and she felt contained, but if she wanted to blend into their society she would have to at least wear the clothing. Though she was clearly wearing clothing designed for a man, but of course, she didn't know that, she shrug off the uneasy feeling that was building inside her and began to make her way towards the city of Nassau.

[Asterdan]

Off the coast of what would be Florida, a trio of ships floated lazily in the Gulf. One look would show that they were Pirate Galleons, although the sails were a bit odd. The center ship's sails were bright red, the other two were blue and green respectively. Aboard the ships, the crew was busy drinking, having of fun and basically just enjoying recent bout of treasure they had obtained. Captain James Cahill, on the other hand, simply stood by the wheel, looking out over the sea.

"James," a younger Asian girl said, running up to him, "Come on and join us! You could use some R&R."
"I can't, Ahima," he said simply, "Not with the rumors spreading across the Caribbean. The Flying Dutchman has returned, or so they say."
"And?" she asked.
"Get Joe, Jake, Gia and Orion." James said, "We have plans to discuss."

A few minutes later the six were in the Captain's Quarters, speaking of the infamous ship. They talked about the legends, the myths and the recent sighting.

"Imagine if we added that ship to our fleet!" James exclaimed, "Then we'd have no problem locating the Dragon Gems and Energy Gems!"
"James, we already have Gokai Rings and Power Coins," Joe said calmly, "Do we really need these Dragon and Energy Gems?"
"Do we need them?" he asked, "No. Do we need three ships? No. Heck, do we even need the Rings and Coins? No. But we have them."

The group continued talking as they tried to decide what to do. Eventually it was decided that the Gokai would sail to Nassau in order to see what information they could gather, and the other two ships would stay put.

"Gokai Blue." Joe said, which caused his ring to glow.

After a few seconds, Joe began to glow blue, and was soon in his powered suit. He walked to the back of the ship and used his water magic push the ship forward.

"Gokai Green." Jake said, starting the sequence that put him in his own power suit. He used his sky magic to force the winds to be in their favor.

With the combined magic of the water and sky, the pirates knew that it wouldn't be long before they reached Nassau. James smirked as he steered the ship in the right direction.

[Saint Morning]

Ana walked down the streets of Nassau with a look of astonishment plastered on her face. The human city was better than she could have ever imagined it, she didn't mind the boisterous attitude many of the inhabitants possessed or how everyone always seemed in a rush to get somewhere, to the point where they were shoving pass her, she thought that these attributes added to the already enchanting experience. Most mermaids (and men) were quite secretive and quiet and rarely conflicted with each other, the only 'fun' thing to do was harass the humans or explore the seas, but most merfolk preferred to stay in familiar territory. Which is probably why you'd never hear about mermaids anywhere but the Caribbean and Northern South America.

Ana stopped at a particular stall ,the sight of human food catching her attention and mesmerizing her, she picked what most people knew as and apple up and examined it closely. It was quite funny looking and she wondered if it tasted as good as it looked, leaning forwards she was about to take a bite when the apple was ripped out of her grasp. She looked up and stepped back, eyes widened at the imposing male figure who seemed to be red in the face.

"Hey do you have money for that?" He questioned, eyes narrowed. Ana didn't know what he meant by that statement and simply shook her head. "Well then, why were you about to take a bite out of my apple then!" he pressed, arms folded.

"Oh my, I thought it was free to all" She stated, not really understanding what all the fuss was about. " I-it won't happen again" She quickly added, biting softly on her lower lips. The man seemed to eye her, the red in his face slowly dispatching and he sighed.

"You make sure it doesn't" He then turned away from her, not before tossing her the apple, and walked off. She looked at his retreating form, confusion written on her face. But she shrugged it off and grinned, humans were brilliant creatures.

She continued her trek through Nassau, not noticing the stares that she received from the human males and the looks of disgust she received from the women. Biting into the apple, she let the sweet sensation fill her taste buds. She could get use to living on land.

[Asterdan]

As James and his crew neared Nassau, they found themselves in a fog bank. It seemed to have appeared out of no where, but most of the crew wasn't worried, most paid it no attention. There were a few who spoke about "Captain Fang", but these were written off as paranoid, though the crew would soon wish they had listened.

A ship made of dark wood sailed close to the Gokai, it's sails so dark they almost seemed to suck in light, like little black holes. It sailed to close for the comfort of James, who called his five friends.

"Gokai," they said in unison, as well as their respective colors.

They watched the ship sail alongside them, the fog obscuring their view of land.

"Your other two ships were far too easy, James." came a young voice, which disguised centuries of experience.

The voice had come from behind the six pirates. They turned around to see what appeared to be a teenager holding a blood-soaked cutlass.

"How do you know my name?" James demanded of the lad.
"Everyone knows you, Captain," the boy replied, "The man with the magic rings and the colorful suits and sails. I heard you also had coins of some type of magic? Alas, humans are too dangerous to be allowed to keep these artifacts."
"Who are you?" Cahill yelled, "Why are you on my ship?!"
"I'm here for your rings and coins." the man said, "And you know who I am."

He smirked, two fangs revealing themselves.

"Captain Fang." Orion gasped.

Fang let out a battle cry and soon the deck of the Gokai was filled with pirates from his crew, each baring their fangs. A battle waged for hours, but eventually Fang's crew were victorious. Most of the crew was harvested for blood, but the six leaders were brought before Captain Fang. One by one, he cut off the hand that bared the ring and yanked the coins from the chains that held them around their necks. After this, they were taken to be harvested.

"You have unnatural speed and strength." James gasped, "What are you?"
"You know what I am." Fang replied, "I'm a child of the night."
"A vampire." James said, wide-eyed as a blade came down across his hand.
"Yes, and soon you'll be one as well." Fang answered, taking the ring from the severed hand, and the Power Coin from his neck.

The Coins and Rings were given to another Vampirate, as they were affectionately referred too, and taken to the Armory of the Mystic, deep within the bowels of the ship. A hook hand was brought up and attached to James' arm where his hand once was. Fang tilted Cahill's head, baring the human's neck and slowly sunk his fangs deep into his throat, searching for a vein. With the venom now coursing through James' body, he was taken too a place where he could turn in peace.

"Destroy this ship, just like the other two." he said simply, "Then we're docking at Nassau. I want to see if I can learn anything about the rumors of an old friend returning."

[Galnius]

Off the far western shore of Cuba, a merchant ship lay desolate, simultaneously sinking and burning. Not a sign of life was on board. Mind, there wasn't a sign of anything. Where the crew had gone was unknown to the general public, and most of the government. A flag was hung upsidedown, a Spanish one to be exact. It was clear that recently, this place was armaggedon for a few moments.
___________________

"Smart move o' the Captain gettin' them Spanish to think we were trustworthy enough to be a convoy for that ship, did ya know he could speak Spanish?" A lanky young man with a devilish grin leaned against the mast, hair and tattered coat blowing in a heavy breeze, though the water was still. He was speaking to a woman around his age, who was managing a torn mast that had been replaced.
"Of course I did. I know it too ya dimwit. Didja think we wouldn't pick anything in our time wiv da devils?"
"I guess ya have a point..."
A shout quickly silenced them. "Hey there mates, stop lollygaggin' and get the loot in the cargo hold. We can't have everyone knowin' what we done."
"Where we goin' Geoffry?" Asked the girl.
The winds died as the man, a privateer captain known as Tempest to many, jumped down from an elaborate staircase leading up to the steering wheel. He was dressed eccentricly, clearing wearing whatever he fancied off of the prisoners downstairs. "Well, we have an English ship meeting up with us to take these blokes off our hands, then to Nassau to sell the goods. Cuban sugar and tabacco sells pretty well there." The winds started up again, with Tempest going back to the wheel. He seemed to conduct the winds, and they sped to the meeting place.

[Esternial]

"Looks like another good haul, cap'n," Chris remarked as Edward walked up the wooden stairs to the quarter deck. With a firm grip, the helmsman of the Queen Anne's Revenge steered her past the treacherous sand banks near Providence.

Edward simply nodded, slowing climbing the stairs and taking his place next to his helmsman, looking out across the deck of his ship.

"Bring her to port, Mister Blackwood. the men are dying to set food on solid ground." He murmured, calmly but faintly demanding. He, too, was longing for a moment's respite. Chris nodded.

The port of Nassau was accommodating to any free soul in the Caribbean, which made it one of the most favoured by captain Teach and his crew, to such an extent that it had become their unofficial base of operations and that people regularly asked for his council on all sorts of affairs. He was no politician in name, but many considered him a figure of authority in Nassau, and Edward was no man to shrug of responsibility - doing so wouldn't have brought him where he was today.

While all his fellows rushed their way into town, Edward enjoyed the last stretch of wood under his feet as he walked the dock, savouring the moment he set foot on ground and felt a burden wash of his shoulders. Once again he managed to return his crew from the treacherous seas with no toll to pay. No man would ever see it on his face or even in his eyes, but Blackbeard was a man that took the lives of his men very serious. Only those that served under him knew what lurked below the face of their captain, and what hid within the deepest crevices of his soul.

"The regular place, cap'n?" Chris inquired.

"Aye. I could use a drink, Blackwood."

With a confident stride the two men marched into town, drawing the attention of several locals that knew the face of Edward Teach. Those that knew him would know to leave questions and pleasantries for later, after the captain had his drink; those that didn't know the man would avoid any contact altogether, as even when relaxed the captain of the Queen Anne's Revenged emanated an air of dominance and intimidation.

"Ah, Teach! I thought I saw your ship glide into port." The bartender said with a smile, holding two cups in his hands as the two men entered his establishment. It was a modest place, but Edward and Chris preferred it. As soon as they sat down, two mugs sat in front of them with a generous filling of rum. Chris smiled. Even Edward's cheek lifted a twinge as he reached for his drink and tapped it against his friend's. Life of a pirate needn't always be filled with riches. It was important to savour the simple things in life, and there would be plenty of those abound. Plenty of solid ground to stand on and plenty of rum.

"Heard something about the Dutchman" The bartender whispered as he brought two fresh cups to the table.

"Go on..."

"She's been sighted again. Took down a whole fleet, so I've been told, but I reckon the lad's been beefing up his story. Had half a barrel of rum in 'im."

Edward nodded quietly. The bartender knew what that meant and simply smiled, returning to deal with other patrons.

"Thinking of hunting a ghost ship, cap'n?"

"We'll see where the ocean breeze brings us, Blackwood."

[Galnius]

Geoffry led his flagships crew off his ship into the main port of Nassau, two of his other ships nearby. He himself quietly passed by onlookers as bags upon bags of sugar and tobacco were unloaded from his ship. He took one of the people who captained one of the other ships off to the side. "Good job with the mists today Truant. Send our location to the rest of the crew." After a silent nod, Truant Veil sent an Osprey off, alerting the pirate gang where to find their leader. In the meantime, the young boy from earlier struck up a conversation with a fisherman. "Yeah, we managed ta catch a lucky breeze bringing us most o' the way here. You could say it was in Gods plan or somefink."
"Do you KNOW how to be quiet?" Asked the girl with him.
"Why Shelby, I indeed do. I just find it boring is all." He turned to the fisherman." Welp, I've got to go to the market. Good luck with your wares!" When they reached the marketplace, Tempest had already sold 3 bags of cane sugar.
"So, while these gentlemen examine what we have left, how about we hit the town?"
The trio seperated, Geoffry going to a bar, Shelby to a resteraunt, and the third member, a Franklin Rose, went to follow a girl who stole an apple. (That would be Ana)

[Altito Asmoro]

It's a bright afternoon on the Nassau. While the citizens around are looking fine, at heart they find themselves worried of this rumors of Flying Dutchman. Some believe it, some don't, some thinks this is just a ruse, but no one knows for what this ruse is for.

Meanwhile, on the Nassau port, it's never not crowded, as it's a bustling port, the busiest in the Caribbean. Merchants unloading their shipments, civilians ships waiting for passengers, fishermen, hell, even the soldiers are around here. But it's not for long. In the distance, one of the British patrol ship was patrolling, when suddenly, the weather changed. It became grey, as if there's going to be a typhoon in Nassau. In the distance, it appears.

Rising from the deep underwater of the sea, a man-of-war, broken masts, but with dark aura. The Flying Dutchman, it rises. From the ship heard of the sound, sound of the captain of the ship...

"Give me back my treasure, or else death awaits for those who don't!" shouted the captain, and it was so deep and loud, that it reached Nassau.

[Plzen]

Aboard the Reiziger, Nassau Harbor
One lovely afternoon

"...death awaits those who don't!" finished the voice.

The crew and passengers were petrified.

Ten seconds... twenty seconds...

Eventually it became clear that the voice was no longer speaking. It was, quite clearly, finished.

"What the heck," Dean summarized, "was that?!?"

"I have no idea, Dean. I have no idea..." answered Sven, absentminded, "but I don't think that bodes well for any of us."

Below decks aboard the Reiziger, Nassau Harbor
Quarter hour later

"The Reiziger can't stay anymore. Not with the Flying Dutchman actually going around," concluded Sven, after ten minutes of arguments.

Nathan, of course, was displeased.

"But father, we must capture it! It could contain wonders..."

"It could," Johanna shrilled, "also get us all killed. You forgot to mention that part."

"So," Dean intervened, "we are decided. We set sail in the 'morrow, for... St. Martin."

"St. Martin? That's a bit far."

"It's also the closest major Dutch port."

So, it was to be.

[Esternial]

It's a bright afternoon on the Nassau. While the citizens around are looking fine, at heart they find themselves worried of this rumors of Flying Dutchman. Some believe it, some don't, some thinks this is just a ruse, but no one knows for what this ruse is for.

Meanwhile, on the Nassau port, it's never not crowded, as it's a bustling port, the busiest in the Caribbean. Merchants unloading their shipments, civilians ships waiting for passengers, fishermen, hell, even the soldiers are around here. But it's not for long. In the distance, one of the British patrol ship was patrolling, when suddenly, the weather changed. It became grey, as if there's going to be a typhoon in Nassau. In the distance, it appears.

Rising from the deep underwater of the sea, a man-of-war, broken masts, but with dark aura. The Flying Dutchman, it rises. From the ship heard of the sound, sound of the captain of the ship...

"Give me back my treasure, or else death awaits for those who don't!" shouted the captain, and it was so deep and loud, that it reached Nassau.

Both Edward and Christopher heard the voice loud and clear. Chris looked at Edward and smirked. Teach merely nodded, pensively.

"Looks like we've found ourselves some action, Mister Blackwood, though sooner than anticipated. Head to the ship and sound the horn."

With a curt aye, the quartermaster and part-time helmsman sped off while Edward stood up from his seat, calmly and composed. As he exited the tavern, Chris had already reached the ship. A loud wailing sound covered the port of Nassau as he sounded the horn, calling all crewmen of the Queen Anne's Revenge. From here and there, men hurried towards their posts, some even lightly buzzed while others had interrupted their session with a fair girl to answer the call of their captain; their loyalty ran very deep.

"Men, we're sailing out to fight a demon, so you'd have every right to be afraid." Edward Teach spoke as she set foot on deck, his voice booming across the ship and the port of Nassau. His men stopped dead in their tracks to listen to their captain, while bystanders looked on, most curious as to what was about to unfold.

"Fortunately, ye've got a demon on your side as well." He added as his quartermaster approached with his hat. With a grateful gesture, a slight bow, Edward grabbed it. Four lit fuses stuck out of it, crackling and fuming. With a smile he placed it on his head and took his place behind the rudder of the Queen Anne's Revenge. With one hand he gripped the wheel while he lit his pipe with the other, using one of the fuses. An abnormal amount of smoke seemed to pour forth from it, slowly gliding across the deck of the ship and spilling across the edges of the ship.

"Prepare to sail out of port, men!" Blackwood shouted. All crewmen of the Queen Anne's Revenge shot back into action, preparing to sail out to open sea and possible meet the mythical Flying Dutchman in combat. The dauntless crew of Blackbeard shied away from no man, legend or not.

[Galnius]

"...or else death awaits for those who don't!"
___________________________________________________

Geoffry looked on as panic seemed to ensue within the barn, with two men exiting calmly. He heard one of them call the other Blackwood. They looked....familiar somehow. Undisturbed himself, as he assumed it was a magic user using the Dutchmans name as a ruse, he ordered another pint from the bewildered bartender.


Shelby Bairnes cursed loudly when the threat went out. Apparently, regardless of the ominous ring, a severe looking woman could not resist telling her off. "First, you come in this fine restaurant with muddy shoes and man clothes, and then proceed to show the grace of a drunk, but then you think you can just swear up a storm whilst we hear an omen of doom? Well I won't have it. I won't I tolera-" She was quickly silenced when a sword was pointed directly at her nose.

"Look lady, I've been at sea for weeks. I came in here to have a nice dinner. I won't have some ghost ship fouling that up. Same goes for you."

Franklin Rose jumped nearly out of his skin when the booming voice was heard throughout Nassau. "Who does that bloddy corpse think he is!" He shouted loudly. Quieting himself, he mumbled "I nearly had to change me new clothes."

[Saint Morning]

"...or else death awaits for those who don't!"
___________________________________________________

Geoffry looked on as panic seemed to ensue within the barn, with two men exiting calmly. He heard one of them call the other Blackwood. They looked....familiar somehow. Undisturbed himself, as he assumed it was a magic user using the Dutchmans name as a ruse, he ordered another pint from the bewildered bartender.


Shelby Bairnes cursed loudly when the threat went out. Apparently, regardless of the ominous ring, a severe looking woman could not resist telling her off. "First, you come in this fine restaurant with muddy shoes and man clothes, and then proceed to show the grace of a drunk, but then you think you can just swear up a storm whilst we hear an omen of doom? Well I won't have it. I won't I tolera-" She was quickly silenced when a sword was pointed directly at her nose.

"Look lady, I've been at sea for weeks. I came in here to have a nice dinner. I won't have some ghost ship fouling that up. Same goes for you."

Franklin Rose jumped nearly out of his skin when the booming voice was heard throughout Nassau. "Who does that bloddy corpse think he is!" He shouted loudly. Quieting himself, he mumbled "I nearly had to change me new clothes."

The markets of Nassau was thrown into disarray at the sudden proclamation, mothers rushed to carry their children inside and sailors set off after the voice, Ana was being thrown around, as everyone attempted to quickly vacate the port, her only saving grace was when she was thrown into the body of another individual who was standing just out of reach the crowd. She blinked at said person, who she now identified as male, and took a few steps back, giving him some much space.

"Oh i'm really sorry" she said with an apologetic smile. "Everyone seems to be a little on edge" She motioned towards the small crowd. "Do you know what all the fuss is about?"

She was genuinely curious, the sudden shift in mood of these land dwellers was surprising to say the least, did this happen often? Or was it due to that voice she had heard earlier? She shrugged off such thought and waited for the man t give her an answer.

[Paketo]

Onboard the Valkyrie, port of Nassau

Julia sat in the captain's quarter drinking a pint of ale when she heard the loud booming voice proclaim "Give me back my treasure, or else death awaits for those who don't!". It came out of nowhere startling her enough that she fell backwards in her chair onto the floor losing her beer as well.

"The hell was that?" said Julia to herself as she slowly got up rubbing her elbow. She steadied herself before storming out of the cabin and finding her first mate Ryan Agada who was next to one of the starboard cannons petrified along with the rest of the crew.

"Ryan, Ryan!" spoke Julia snapping her fingers in his face bringing him out of his shock "what the heck was that voice? and why are you all frozen like stone?"

Ryan got back his bearing and began to speak but stuttered a bit at the start "Captain, its the the flying....Its the flying.......the Flying Dutchman is here! The ghost has returned and he just promised death to everyone if he doesn't get some treasure of his."

Julia stood frozen for a moment at this revelation for she had thought the rumors untrue. The Flying Dutchman was truly back and seemingly out for revenge, her small brig could never hold up against that ship. "We are safe in port for now" said Julia coming out of her thoughts "we stay in port for a bit and hopefully the ship will move on. If not, lets decide that when we get there."

[Archainia]

Caspiano Red Foot deftly steered the tiller an a straight course to Nassau. His eyes were glazed over in thought about his cargo and pirates.

"Captain," Jovus bellowed bringing Caspiano out of his thoughts.

Caspiano closed his eyes drew in a breath and responded, "What is it Jovus?"

"A ship heading straight for us!"

"Pirates?"

"No. Seems to be a merchant vessel."

"Then we wait to see what they do. RAISE THE SAILS AND BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES NOBODY MOVES UNTIL I SAT SO!"

Half an hour later the small vessel sailed up next to them and hailed them. Caspiano stared at the rag tag crew of the "Sunflower" as the small ship was named.

"What do you want?" He yelled at them. The stench of fear was a blanket covering the tiny ship and he could tell that it was about to infect his own ship as well.

"Don't go to Nassau!!" One of the sailors cried.

"And why not?"

"Fl.... Fly.... Flying.... Du... du.... FLYING DUTCHMAN!" The sailor gibbered and then fainted. The small ship started sailing away leaving a stinking trail of fear.

Caspiano's ship broke out in fear. "SHUT UP YOU LAND LUBBERS!" Jovus bellowed turning the crews dead silent, "Here what the captain has to say."

Caspiano slowly glanced over his shivering crew, "Any of you not want to keep going?" he asked quietly.

One man stepped out. Caspiano suddenly lunged out and grabbed the unfortunate man and dragged him over to the edge of the ship. There he slit the man's throat and shoved him into the turbulent waters.

"Anyone else want to turn back?" Nobody moved...

[Asterdan]

Nassau, the Nocturne

The mysterious ship had ported early in the morning, and none of the Vampirate crew had left the boat as of yet. They had barely shuffled about onto the deck. Romanus was one of the few who had went above deck, and was there when he heard the voice of from the Dutchman. He smirked as he looked out over the sea, staring at the ancient ship.

"So, someone's stolen your treasure, haven't they, Jones?" he asked, knowing the captain of the ship wouldn't be able to hear him.

Romanus Vennici looked about, seeing the Pirates of Nassau scurrying about. One ship, however, caught his eye.

It's a bright afternoon on the Nassau. While the citizens around are looking fine, at heart they find themselves worried of this rumors of Flying Dutchman. Some believe it, some don't, some thinks this is just a ruse, but no one knows for what this ruse is for.

Meanwhile, on the Nassau port, it's never not crowded, as it's a bustling port, the busiest in the Caribbean. Merchants unloading their shipments, civilians ships waiting for passengers, fishermen, hell, even the soldiers are around here. But it's not for long. In the distance, one of the British patrol ship was patrolling, when suddenly, the weather changed. It became grey, as if there's going to be a typhoon in Nassau. In the distance, it appears.

Rising from the deep underwater of the sea, a man-of-war, broken masts, but with dark aura. The Flying Dutchman, it rises. From the ship heard of the sound, sound of the captain of the ship...

"Give me back my treasure, or else death awaits for those who don't!" shouted the captain, and it was so deep and loud, that it reached Nassau.

Both Edward and Christopher heard the voice loud and clear. Chris looked at Edward and smirked. Teach merely nodded, pensively.

"Looks like we've found ourselves some action, Mister Blackwood, though sooner than anticipated. Head to the ship and sound the horn."

With a curt aye, the quartermaster and part-time helmsman sped off while Edward stood up from his seat, calmly and composed. As he exited the tavern, Chris had already reached the ship. A loud wailing sound covered the port of Nassau as he sounded the horn, calling all crewmen of the Queen Anne's Revenge. From here and there, men hurried towards their posts, some even lightly buzzed while others had interrupted their session with a fair girl to answer the call of their captain; their loyalty ran very deep.

"Men, we're sailing out to fight a demon, so you'd have every right to be afraid." Edward Teach spoke as she set foot on deck, his voice booming across the ship and the port of Nassau. His men stopped dead in their tracks to listen to their captain, while bystanders looked on, most curious as to what was about to unfold.

"Fortunately, ye've got a demon on your side as well." He added as his quartermaster approached with his hat. With a grateful gesture, a slight bow, Edward grabbed it. Four lit fuses stuck out of it, crackling and fuming. With a smile he placed it on his head and took his place behind the rudder of the Queen Anne's Revenge. With one hand he gripped the wheel while he lit his pipe with the other, using one of the fuses. An abnormal amount of smoke seemed to pour forth from it, slowly gliding across the deck of the ship and spilling across the edges of the ship.

"Prepare to sail out of port, men!" Blackwood shouted. All crewmen of the Queen Anne's Revenge shot back into action, preparing to sail out to open sea and possible meet the mythical Flying Dutchman in combat. The dauntless crew of Blackbeard shied away from no man, legend or not.

So someone was actually fool enough to attempt to fight the undead crew of the Flying Dutchman? The vampire moved at speeds that humans could only dream of and boarded the Queen Anne's Revenge, looking around and smirking. His first mate would see that he was gone and take over as temporary Captain until he returned, and the crew would remain loyal, as always.

[Timothia]

Samuel Anderson

---

THIS was no time for men who were anything less than bold. How many of the bravest souls had been claimed by pirates, mutinies, and storms? Surely, if the seas could claim the hardiest of men, there was no place on the waves for anyone but the most courageous and valiant.

Humid and salty, the ocean air was no new taste to Samuel. He had literally been born in a bathtub, and his parents had teased him when he was younger, saying that he'd turn into a fish if he spent any more time in the water. He'd been making rafts for a lake not far from his house since before he could swim, not the safest combo, as you would imagine. More than once, he had to be fetched out of the water, but he didn't ever drown because, it would seem, the boy was born with the ability to keep himself afloat.

Just thinking about home nearly brought a tear to Samuel's home. It felt like just yesterday that he was a lanky 17 year old apprentice, about to become a man. It felt like less than a week ago that he was a school-aged boy, learning catechisms and reciting Bible verses. He still swore he was a fourteen year old at heart, impulsive and emotional, and still certainly changing just as much as he had in the puberty he had just barely left behind. He was far too old to be feeling like a child, and he had far too many responsibilities to act like one.

Samuel's eyes snapped back onto the horizon, jerking his mind out of his thoughts and into reality. There, far into the distance, was a black speck. It was just barely a blip on the horizon, and only the most sharp-eyed men would have noticed it, for not even the boy in the crows nest had seen it yet.

"Quincy!" called Samuel, somewhat indignantly. If that was a pirate ship, the lazy kid would be at fault for not noticing it sooner.

"Yessir, Cap'n?" replied the 15 year old from his high perch. It was hard to sound respectful when you're shouting from a distance, but he certainly didn't want to come across as rude. He wasn't the most well-trained spotter on earth, but he supposedly had falcon-like eyesight. combined with a looking glass, he claimed to be able to see further than anyone else on earth across the open sea.

Everyone knew this was a whole load of lies, and that the boy just needed money and wanted adventure. Though he claimed to be the orphan of a wealthy merchant, he was fooling no one. It had been discovered that he was merely the son of a swindler and a prostitute, and that he had been sent away as soon as he was able to support himself. But, despite the boy's rougher qualities and lying tendencies, Samuel felt a Christian commitment to help the boy, and to at least allow him to maintain a scrap of dignity, he went along with the boy's fabrications.

"What in the blue blazes is that on the horizon and why am I the one who sees it first?" Samuel called.

After a pause, where Quincy presumably took a look across the waves, the reply came. "It's a ship coming in our direction, sir! British flag, all alone. Still quite a ways off."

Drawing in a breath, Samuel rolled his eyes. Of course it was still a ways off! But he refrained from scolding the boy too severely, wiped the sweat from his forehead and called "Alright, son. Come get me from my quarters in twenty minutes and let me know what's changed."

"Yessir!" croaked Quincy awkwardly.

Samuel turned on his heels, away from the upper deck of the ship and towards the stairway into the bowels of the ship. His private cabin was well decorated and well kept. Unlike the rest of the crew, Samuel slept in a room alone, and even had his own private washroom. The cabin was large compared to the other sailors quarters, but it was still far from luxurious. The ship wasn't designed to carry royalty or nobility, but it did what it was designed to do. It made the run across the Atlantic in a time that was unheard of. Given the choice, Samuel would chose function over appearance, every time.

He tossed himself on the bed and took another deep breath. The trip to Bermuda had been a pitiful failure, the post having already been taken long ago. The only redeeming value was the fact that the wife of the governor of Bermuda had a letter she wanted delivered to a family member living in Nassau. Of course, it was common knowledge that Nassau was a haven for lowlives of every kind, but the money offered for the delivery compensated him decently. The real motivation was Samuel's childhood love of the tales of Nassau pirates; he hadn't even thought about the island since he was a young boy, but now he remembered playing games with friends where they would storm the pirate fortress, guns in hand, to deliver justice. He wasn't coming as a conquerer or a liberator, but coming as a courier was good enough.

He had known the possible problems that could arise from trying to enter the lawlessness of the Caribbean, he just hadn't expected to come so soon. He was barely out of Bermuda and there was already a potential pirate.

The stress of being a Captain wasn't something Samuel would wish on anyone, but anything less than that wouldn't be enough for Hermóðr.

[Arvenia]

The HMS Red Shark was drifting in the Caribbean. Everyone were on the deck, while some still sleeps inside the ship. Jennifer Sharpville and Fa Ming slept in their exposing swimsuits and long socks, while Jennifer additionally had fingerless gloves while sleeping in her gut-exposing swimsuit. The ship had a new destination to reach, Jamaica.