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Chp 2: PIRATES - Kleos Suncutter, November 4th, 1714
"KLEOS! Lemme see what you've got! Come on, you're my kid brother, why would I steal from you?" Jason Suncutter called after his brother. Kleos called back, "That's exactly why you'd steal from me! Remember Daisy, when we were in Preparatory School? You stole her too! You'll never stop!" At this point, Kleos had jumped onto a crate on the edge of the docks. In Tortuga, the docks were a long fall. There is an old rule in Tortuga to keep the corpses of the grass, so many are dumped here. A merchant's barque stood anchored near the docks. He could jump for it... Jason called through a crowd of drunks at Kleos, "She wasn't worth it anyway! She stabbed me! I've got the scar, see? She took Dad's pistol from my holster after that, too! Not a good first date if ya ask me. Remember all the deck swabbing I had to do to make it up to Dad? I did you a favor, now DO ME ONE!" Kleos knew that upon seeing Jason break through the crowd, it was his cue to jump.
He landed on the deck feet first, his knees then buckled and he fell to the deck. The special gold coin he was holding fell out of his hand and through the grates, into the cargo hold. Jason sprinted, but stopped when he recognized the ship. He warned his brother, "Kleos! Get offa there, that's Hermit Daniel's boat. Y'know, the Witchdoctor? He keeps some daaaaaark stuff in there. Probably heading to Cuba or New Orleans to sell 'em. Seriously, if he finds ya, he'll gut ya! Get off!" Kleos ignored his brother and dashed to the staircase leading down. He ran down it swiftly, and froze when he saw the crew asleep in their hammocks. He looked around apprehensively. He saw the coin glinting near a stack of cannonballs. He rushed to pick it up, but once he did, he tripped over his loose bootlace. He fell headlong into the cannonballs. They came crashing down with a horrible roar. One broke the support to a set of hammocks and they fell down, occupants first. His head hurt, too.
Groans were emitted from the crew. Kleos picked himself up and prepared to sprint. He took a step, but ran into Witchdoctor Dan himself. Dan grabbed Kleos by the nape of his shirt and pinned him against the wall. He pulled a dagger from his boot and held it to Kleos' neck. He shouted, "WHO ARE YOU? You work for the Admiralty, don't you? No one has access to the Death's Embrace. Or, have you learned of the Crow's Nest yet? She's out of harbor... But you'll never live to pass on your information, will you?..." Dan pulled his blade back. Kleos closed his eyes and flinched. "Wait..." Dan said, inspecting Kleos' face closer. "You're Admiral Suncutter's boy, aren't you? Any operative of the Tortugan Navy and his family is welcome on board my ship. If you're a Suncutter, you're a pirate. There's no denying that..." Dan released Kleos and put his blade back in his boot holster. Dan smiled, then had a quizzical expression. "What are you doing on my ship, boy?" Kleos opened his mouth. No words came out.
He tried again. "I dropped this on your ship, sir. It fell into the hold. I just came down to get it." He held up the coin. It was minted with a large "CDM-F". Dan squinted and looked at the coin. His eyes grew suddenly. "That's a French Cayo de Marquis battle token. It was issued to certain important ships in defense of the port as motivation. There would be a large supply, but they were only allowed on Cayo de Marquis under French control. They were to motivate and reward brave captains of large vessels for capturing a port. As far as I know, all of the ships that these were issued to went down, except for one. And that one is erm... unaccounted for. As you could imagine, these ships were large targets. They usually flew an important Admiral's flag on them, sometimes Royal Coats of Arms. The Brits love to sink these important ships. Anyways, the unaccounted ship was named 'La Mort L'étreinte'. The Brits are having a bit of a hissy fit over her. While they chase this ship down, us smugglers can flourish. Here, I am carrying many important goods. Ship deeds, construction writs, ship writs, deeds to homes and businesses, cured green wood for shipbuilding, and rum of course. These are to be delivered to a pirate force outside of Port Royal. The firmer a grasp on Britain's economy we have, the more they bend to us... Anyway, I won't ask you where you got that. In my line of business, that may be a fatal question."
Kleos was interested. He remembered his father talking about how devastated Port Royal had been in earthquakes. Kleos had an interest in geology. Plus, his father never taught him to sail. He was too busy pampering Jason, his eldest. Now would be a good time to learn the craft of a sailor... and a less than scrupulous one at that. While his brother and father leave widows and orphans in their wake, Kleos can amass a small fortune. Perhaps a smuggler's life would be more appealing than a life of running from the Navy? Kleos decided to ask Dan, "Would you mind if I came with you? I would like to learn to sail. Perhaps you could teach me?" Dan looked at Kleos. He never had children, had never married. He had a soft spot for tutoring and teaching, because he had to teach himself everything. Being the youngest orphan in the orphanarium is far less than glamorous, in fact, he had lived in squalor his entire life. He wouldn't wish his past on his most hated enemy. He told Kleos, "Of course. But don't expect to get a cut by bumming around." Kleos grinned. He had only been out on fishing trips, never across great distances. This would be exciting for him. Dan hopped onto a crate of cannon ammunition and shouted at his crew, "MEN! MAKE READY FOR SAIL!!!" Some cheered, others jeered, all of them ran up the staircase and onto the deck. Dan went along with them. He came out onto the decks in the beaming sun and looked east from the helm. He didn't like the looks of that cutter in the distance...
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