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Chapter 10: I Need a Ship!
Davy woke up the next morning, and found Billy, Sam, and Matt all sitting at the table eating breakfast. Davy got up and stretched his arms out.
“Mornin’ mates, what’s for breakfast?” Davy asked.
“Got some salted bacon and some eggs I stole from Big Phil’s chicken coop,” Matt said with a small chuckle.
Davy smiled and sat down with them all. Even though he had eaten a lot last night, he was still famished, and gobbled down everything he could. As he ate, he wondered how he would tell his friends about his powers. He decided he wouldn’t worry about it yet, all that mattered then was breakfast.
After a few more minutes, Davy had finished his breakfast. Then he thought to himself, I think I should just tell them… it seems like I can trust them, and it’s better if I tell them now instead of having them find out by accident.
“Sam, Billy, Matt, I have something to tell you guys,” Davy said. Everyone looked up at him, curiosity in their eyes. Davy took a deep breath, and told him the part of the story he had left out, the part where he had been stranded on the haunted island. He told them of his voodoo powers, and then to prove it, lifted Billy out of his seat, who was both laughing at the thought that he was flying, and crying that he was being held in the air against his will.
“Davy, that’s a big secret, but we will keep it, don’t worry,” Sam said sympathetically. “Now in the meantime, it seems like you plan on finding and defeating Jolly Roger. Ye can’t do any of that without a good ship and a loyal crew.”
Davy nodded, “Any ideas about where to get either? The crew would want to know where we are going, so they would have to know that they will be fighting Jolly Roger, and most people in their right minds wouldn’t dare do that. As for the ship, its going to have to be extremely powerful, able to withstand cursed cannonballs, and it must have at least fourteen guns a side.”
“I’m not too sure about the crew, but Sam knows a shipwright here on Tortuga, O’Malley is it? He can probably get you a good ship, and if Sam goes with you, a better price.”
“Aye, him and I go way back. He was a good friend of my father before Jolly Roger invaded Tortuga and killed him,” Sam said.
“Jolly Roger invaded Tortuga? When?” Davy asked. “I had no idea.”
“It was a few years back, Jolly invaded. We managed to fight him and his forces off, but there was a lot of damage, and casualties, including Sam’s family,” Matt said. “But that be a story for another day, for now, lets worry about the ship and crew.”
“You know, how about this. Davy and Sam can go visit O’Malley and see if he has a good ship. You two seem to know more about ships than us, and since Davy has battled Jolly Roger’s ship, he knows what ships would be able to have a chance. Me and Matt can go to the King’s Arm and see if we can recruit some people for the crew.”
“That sounds like a plan Billy. Here, let’s leave within the next hour,” Davy said.
~~~~~~~~~~
Davy and Sam walked through the town on Tortuga. It was earlier in the morning, about nine, so it was a little quieter on the streets. Several people walking around, or sitting down talking. The crazy gangs hadn’t come out yet, so there was no fighting going on. Sam was very friendly, as they walked, he showed Davy the places in the town. He pointed to the barber shop, the tailor, the tattoo artist, and more. Sam also told Davy about his past. His parents were pirates, good pirates at that. They were well known around Tortuga, and everyone was shocked when they were killed in Jolly Roger’s invasion. Sam, like Davy, had vowed revenge on Jolly, however never had the opportunity to avenge his parents. Sam was well known in Tortuga, likely due to his parents being well know.
After about a half hour, they reached the Tortuga Docks. The docks were quite large, harboring many, many ships of all hull classes. He followed Sam to a large structure that looked like a bow of a ship poking out of the ground. There was a little booth at the front, and a man stood there. He was skinny, and appeared to be in his 50s or 60s. He had a white beard, and wore a cap on his head.
The man grinned, showing off his yellowed teeth. Then he spoke in a loud voice that seemed too deep for his skinny body. “Sam! Long time no see matey! How ye been?”
Sam smiled back and said, “I be doing well O’Malley. I have someone here I want you to meet. This is Billy’s long lost brother, Davy Fireskull.”
O’Malley looked at Davy and gave him a warm smile. He shook his hand. O’Malley had a firm handshake, and his hands were rough from working with ships for so long.
“Pleased to meet ye,” Davy said nervously.
“Good to meet ye too mate,” O’Malley said with a smile. “Now Sam, I can tell ye didn’t come here just to introduce Davy to me. What can I help ye with?”
Sam looked at Davy, and give him a little nod. Davy took a deep breath. “We are looking to buy a ship. Not just any ship. We need a powerful ship, one that can take on Jolly Roger’s ship. You see, he is gaining power every day now, and soon, he will probably have enough power and troops to invade an island, be it Tortuga, Port Royal, or another. And if he invades it in the near future, we will likely not be able to resist, and he will take it. If we don’t stop him now, all could be lost. We need a ship that is strong enough to take on his fleet, and his flagship.”
O’Malley looked at Sam and Davy for a few moments, then said, “Jolly Roger’s ship, The Harkaway, is like a god ship. No ship has ever faced her and come back in one piece. I take it that you have fought her before?”
Davy nodded. “I was part of the crew of the Black Swan, and she attacked us. We were no match. The Harkaway’s cannons are incredibly powerful. Whatever ammo they are using, its deadly.”
“The ghostly cannonballs that The Harkaway, and some other ships under Jolly’s control, use are known as furies. Extremely powerful. Nobody knows exactly how they work, but they can tear through almost any hull with ease. As for The Harkaway’s hull, it is cursed so that it can withstand more hits than other ships from the undead fleet. Not to mention that the ship can teleport using that cursed, green mist.
“Anyway, if you are looking to confront the Undead Fleet, then you will need the strongest ship ye can get. I do have a ship that is currently for sale, made by the best ship maker I know. It currently does not have a name, so you can name it if you decide to purchase her.”
“Lets see it then,” Sam said. “Lead the way O’Malley.”
He got out of his station, and lead them across the docks. They passed many able looking ships, but O’Malley didn’t stop at any of them. After a few minutes of walking, O’Malley stopped next to a docked ship.
“Here you are, this is the strongest ship I’ve got. She’s what we call a Ship of the Line. Extremely powerful hull, and she has 20 broadside guns per side. On the top, she has about ten deck cannons that the crew can use. For her size, she is quite fast, able to go at about 15 knots with a fair wind. Here, come up and have a look at her.”
Davy looked at the ship as they climbed up a ladder onto it. The hull panels were a dark, dark brown, maybe even black. The sails were also made of a black cloth. She was massive, and could easily carry a large crew. The area with the steering wheel was elevated, so you could see the whole deck in front of you. The deck itself was very spacious, probably about 100 to 150 meters across, and 50 wide. There was a door in the bow area of the deck that lead below decks, and below the steering wheel was a door leading to the captain’s quarters.
There were tall masts, three of them spread out on the ship, with a smaller one poking out the front. As said before, the sails were a dark black.
“How’s the hull strength? As we said, it has to be very strong,” Sam said.
“Oh don’t worry, this ship could take a real pounding. The creator designed this ship to fight in wars, so it will be able to survive a battle with several undead ships. The wood that it is made out of is very strong, and its insulated with powerful steel beams on the inside. It can probably defeat undead ships, but fighting The Harkaway may be a challenge for you. However, this is probably the best ship to choose.”
Davy nodded a few times and said, “It seems like a good ship… what do you think Sam?”
“I think that no other ship is as strong as this one, and this gives us the best chance of beating The Harkaway,” Sam said. “Just one last question. What’s the price?”
O’Malley chuckled. “Well, this ship is probably the best ship I have ever owned, and probably one of the strongest ships ever created in our time. I can’t let her go cheap, you understand that right? Anyway, I’ll tell you what. Normally I would charge someone about 350 thousand gold coins for this, but…”
“Three hundred and fifty thousand! We can’t do that! Nobody has that kind of money!” Sam blurted out.
O’Malley laughed, and then said, “Sam my friend, I said normally. This is obviously not a normal situation. How about this deal. I will charge you half price for it, that’s a hundred and seventy-five gold coins, for the ship; however, you must confront Jolly Roger with it. If I see the ship again after it has faced the Harkaway and beaten her, then I won’t ask for anything else. But, if you come back to me and this ship has sunken, then you will have to give me an extra hundred thousand gold. And I expect you to be honest.”
Sam and Davy looked at each other. They held that glance for a few moments, and then turned to O’Malley, and both said at the same time, “It’s a deal.”
“Good then,” O’Malley said with a grin. “All that is left is for you to name her, and make it a good name. One that can strike fear into even the heart of Jolly Roger!”
“You decide Davy, its your ship, and you’re the captain,” Sam said.
Davy thought for a few minutes. She has black wood… he thought. I should count that for something. And something to do with my voodoo powers, and the sword I have… the sword of darkness. And Oberon, the king of darkness. Darkness, what’s another word for darkness!
Then Davy looked up, and said, “The Shadow King, I name this ship the Shadow King!”
O’Malley smiled, “A good name for a ship like this. Now come, lets go do that paperwork for the ship, and then she’s all yours.”
As they walked away from the Shadow King, Davy looked back once. He smiled to himself, as he realized that he was now the captain of his own ship.
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