Evil Haunts the Night.....

[Dog Firestack]

Prologue

The night was thundering with a heavy rain and there was an eerie, low cast fog circling around Port Royal. The clatter of guns and the jingling of swords of another weapons were the dull, monotonous sound that kept repeating, over and over and over. The commanders were pushing the soldiers to do the daily work to maintain the fort, but there was something out of place, something unusual. The sound was barely audible and it took a skilled auditor, but it was heard.

"Plop... plop... plop..."

A soldier heard the sound and was following it, creeping around the walls and avoiding being sighted by his commander. Being spotted by his commander would in no doubt result in a few slashes from a whip, something nobody takes pride in with their scars on their backs.

There! He heard it again coming from the weapons shack. He crawled in, slowly creeping into the room and saw what he was looking for. At the top of the shack there was a small leak due to the heavy downfall of rain. The soldier quickly patched up the leak by using some wood and nails.

A flash of light shimmered right before he exited, and he saw a magnificent sword. A sword that glittered and radiated sunlight even in the darkest of the night. The sword was valuable, obvious to the soldier but who's was it? Why was it laying around in a run down weapons shack. The soldier decided to take it, and would either use it for himself or sell it for a hefty price improvising that he took it off a Pirate.

But he failed to notice, that in the shadows of the corner, as he was exiting the shack, a hand reach out over his mouth and drag him back inside.

The next day, he was dead.

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It was short I know, but it was only the prologue. Please enjoy, the next ones will be longer.

[Dog Firestack]

Chapter 1

The Beginning

"Sir!"

"Yes soldier?"

"I have come to report that we have found a dead body inside the weapons shack last night. He was found holding a rusty cutlass, he was probably attempting to take the cutlass but that does not provide a motive as to why he would take a cutlass that is only worthy for Pirates."

"Dang it! We've lost almost a quarter of our men from these night attacks, but what the heck and who the heck is doing this to cause us so much trouble! Soldier, I want you to go back and tell them that each night we are appointing double the patrols, double the lookouts, double everything at night! I want to find who is causing us this much trouble. Go tell Lieutenant Wilson inside the fort and tell him that he will be watching the activities at night as well."

"Yes Commander!"

The two men saluted, and then each took their own paths.

As the soldier told Lieutenant Wilson what to do, he nodded and grunted as he was given the news that he would be on a patrol as well at night. And then, the lieutenant continued to do his own duties as well as the soldier.

The night was cold, the rain was heavy, and the winds were monstrous. It was the time of the year where the Summer Gales started to take effect and wreak havoc on anything that was not tied down to something stable. There was a howling noise from the wolves inside the forest all of them bloodthirsty for any poor soul to walk in there unarmed and weak. The waves were thrashing onto the shore, making sand and other debris spray into rocks and even buildings where people lived. All of this combined added to one thing - a horrible night for patrol.

Lieutenant Wilson was patrolling the shadows of the night, but since he was a Lieutenant he was allowed to patrol the areas where cover was available, to keep himself partly dry. The unavoidable factor was the wind howling and blowing rainwater into the Lieutenant's face. Lieutenant Wilson had a discussion with the Commander earlier today ranting on as to why he, a higher ranking had to do something a Marine or a Cadet was assigned to do. The Commander simply responded, "deal with it or you will be demoted. I could care less about what you think so get out of my sight."

Lieutenant Wilson was strolling around the darkness of the night and was just doing absolutely nothing, aside from a good workout. The night was boring and nothing was around except for the other soldiers around, also doing their miserable patrolling in the rain and winds. He was also thinking about what the impact would be on his work due to the lack of soldiers. For three months these night attacks would happen, never in a pattern and unpredictably hard to detect. The only thing they got was a message saying: "Beware the seas..." It had definitely been able to creep more soldiers out, as they had resigned from their duties and left the fort almost unmanageable. More patrols had to be set, more work had to be done and that left an exhausted man.

In the darkness of the night the Lieutenant did not see a ship coming towards the fort. The ship was lustrous and well designed. The shape was in no doubt a way to make sure that the ship could reach maximum speed without needing to do much work. The ship had the ship of almost a half moon, only a little promontory sticking out of the front of the ship with the wheel. A man stood there and there was a bustling crew down on the decks, each doing their respective jobs.

A soldier saw it and reported it to the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant called the Commander from his dwelling. The Lieutenant had a grim look on his face as he whispered three words into the Commander's ear:

"Queen Anne's Revenge..."

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Enjoy, I know it was a little short as I am still trying to set up the setting and mood. Please comment and rate.

[Slouyx]

Looks great so far Dog! Can't wait to see yet another development on this story

[SEAKING23]

I'll be following this story

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Nice story, definately one to follow.

[Dog Firestack]

Chapter 2

The One

The fog was dense and the night was dark and cold. The rain picked up and was now sending tiny pieces of hail into the soldiers faces. The morale of the soldiers - low. Their morale had been weakened by the constant push the Commander was giving as other soldiers were dying. The spirits of the soldiers were gloomy, and all of that combined to one thing - a weakened defense.

The Commander was shouting out into the distance:

"Light the torches, get your weapons and load the guns! This will be the deciding factor whether Port Royale is lost or kept!"

Port Royal's Fort has kept Port Royal protected for many years. The fort was the prize possession and the one that kept order and peace around the port. If the fort was to fall then the entire town would be doomed, with no Navy to assist the townsfolk, unless they formed a makeshift militia which would only end with one thing - death.

The other deciding factor was that this was the Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard and his crew were infamous for sailing the High Seas and pillaging any ship that dared to cross its path. The fact that it was coming to Port Royal only meant that they were after the Artillery Storage in the basement at the Governor's Mansion. The weapons were made from the finest jewels and minerals, and were crafted for the highest of the highest in the Royal Navy. The power was so immense with them that they were put under high security storage, to make sure nothing was stolen.

"The guns are ready Sir!"

"Stand by soldier, fire when I say."

"Yes Commander."

The guns of the fort were manned by three members each. One was the loader, another was the gunner, and the other was the shooter. Each had a specific role and provided in extreme accuracy at the most efficient way. The loader reloaded the gun, the gunner aimed and the shooter fired when the gunner says that he is ready. The process is very simple and also gives many jobs separated into one simple job for each soldier.

The Queen Anne's crew was now audible as you heard the bloodthirsty screams piercing the air. The crew was heaving the guns and there were people working the rigging to ensure the ship would not capsize under the massive waves.

"Ready..... Aim........... Fire!"

The cannons boomed and the cannonballs were sent flying into the air towards the Queen Anne's Revenge. Every cannonball hit, but at the same time every cannon bounced right off of the ship. There was no damage taken to the ship, except for the fact that it had a few minor scratches.

"Status report Soldier?"

"No penetration Commander, all shots bounced."

"What?! That is unbelievable! Ready the men for fighting. They will be attempting to commandeer the fort by storming it and defeating us all with their own blades!"

Grappling hooks were sent flying into the air. Each and everyone hit their mark and the ship was approaching the fort at an extremely high rate. The grappling hooks locked and the boarding planks were deployed. The crew of the Queen Anne's ran blindingly fast into the mob of Navy soldiers with bayonets ready to shoot anyone coming. The effect was disastrous for the Navy, the first person on the plank was shot down, but the following 10 crew members on the separate planks all jumped off and took out 5 soldiers with them.

"Ready! Aim! Fire!"

The Commander's voice ringed the air as he used a last ditch effort as he realized he would not win in this fight. He aimed his guns towards the promontory at the Fort, where the ship was grappled. His plan would be to knock out this peak and then kill all of their crew with it. The loss of soldiers may be drastic, but it would not matter as he had saved the fort. Soldiers were easy to fine, an entire new fort and to rid the port of Blackbeard's men? Impossible.

The guns were shooting out shots like a machine gun as the Commander kept driving them to shoot and shoot. The constant grinding of stone and stone when the made contact made a distinct sound, and finally one half of the peak fell. Only a tenth of Blackbeard's men was on that side, as a few fell to their death in the long, bottomless drop to the ocean. A cry was sent throughout the entire crew of Blackbeard's men. They all understood what the Commander was attempting to do, and then rushed into the inner area of the fort.

The second wave of Royal Navy was more experienced and had better weapons than the rusty swords that the first wave of soldiers had. The Gunners were meant to pick off anyone that could be a potential threat to our soldiers. The second wave died in vain, as each and every one of them died without taking out any of Blackbeard's crew. The Gunners also died from the crew as they rushed them and defeated them.

The Queen Anne's crew was now rushing up the steps as each of the soldiers fell in their path. The fate of the Fort was destined as the shadow of the Commander showed at the top of the tower, facing each soldier one by one as they went up the stairs. The Commander was starting to weaken, one by one. And then the fatal shot was dealt, a pistol straight into the temple.

As the Commander's sight was darkening, he saw one person fleeing from the fort.

The next morning, everyone in the fort was dead, except for the one man who escaped - John Dufaux.

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Please comment, rate and enjoy!

[Solomon O]

I like it :P

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Pretty epic mate!

[Dog Firestack]

I decided to throw out another chapter, rate and put some comments up on how you like it and I may continue.

Chapter 3

A Call To Arms

As the Sun rose for the next morning, John woke up, alert due to all of his years of military training. Engraved in his mind were the monotonous sounds of shuffling feet as the preliminary year of training in the Navy required everyone to be alert at all times, which meant even when asleep the officers would arbitrarily wake up the Navy Cadets and then wake them up repeatedly and come to attention and back to asleep to build good instincts and training. Also, years of training prepared me for these kind of situations, where I was stuck in the midst of a pirate territory. Even if it was Port Royal, it was common sense that Pirates always lurk around and even though some of the Navy soldiers believed it was extinct of Pirates, Pirates were everywhere and were dealt with every day. The idea that Pirates exist at Port Royal is haunting to some, but others it is a fact of every day life. Kind of like you can not have a coin with heads but no tails, just as you can not have Navy without pirates. It is a balance kind of way.

But enough of that nonsense, I shook my head and the first thing in his mind was how was I going to get through town with a Navy Soldier outfit in the morning? Pirates are in the shadows of alleys, waiting for some unsuspecting Navy soldier to walk by and then mug him, take all of his important documents, valuable weapons, doubloons, and then throw them into the forest, where all evil lurks.

The forest of Port Royal is an evil place, where all darkness haunts and devours anyone who dares step too far into the forest. Any man who has walked down the beaten down path has never been seen again. Some say it is an evil spirit looking for revenge, but others look at the forest as a bigger picture, Jolly Roger looking for spirits for his skeleton crew. Whichever one it is, being in the forest is a death sentence for any who walk inside there.

So step one: dress as a Pirate. There is no reason why John thought he should be going down the steps of Port Royal dressed in a big red coat, like a bulls eye target. While thinking of this, John spots a ragged pirate running arbitrarily around the streets, drunk and intoxicated. The drunken man was running around at a jogging pace, until he tripped onto a rock and face planted straight into the ground. Because of the weakened state of the drunken man, falling over did enough to knock him out completely, maybe for an hour or two. But ten minutes was all John needed. He pulled the man into the bushes, stole his coat and his hat, took the boots and put them all on. He took his switchblade and put some cuts into his pants, and then threw some dirt onto them. Finally he made the pants look more "piratey" by cutting the ends of them making them look ragged and shaggy.

"A true pirate," mutters John and then he walks out of the bushes, the same man but a different look. It just so happens that while he was getting ready to get to the docks for support ships a gang of pirates approached him. "Dang it!," curses John silently, as the gang of pirates approaches him. But there's something strange about the pirates. They were not rowdy, they were not loud, but they were stealthy and ridiculously hard to hear in the birds' chirping. The pirate gang stops, and one man steps out from the center. He had an officious air to him, like he was more important than the rest. He even looked nicer, he had a silver, clean coat, clean pants, a glamorous hat and boots that any pirate would die for.

"Who are you Pirate? I have not seen you around these parts before," said the "officious" pirate. John had to think of something quick to say, and be smart enough to say something that would not get his head chopped off horribly by these pirates and then looted. John replied, "I am a mere sailor. I came here from Tortuga hearing of better things and more Navy to loot. I arrived only to be attacked by two Navy Cadets, not the brightest bunch of people but they put up a fight against my rusty cutlass. I ended up slaying both of them and throwing them into the water, but now I have nowhere to stay during nights and I don't know my way around towns being new and all."

"Well, this be your lucky day pirate, as I feel happy today after our successful raid on some Navy Transporter ships! Me friends here and I will show you around and get you a better cutlass and pistol, but we best make haste, you see that smoke rising from Fort Charles?"

"I do."

"Well, that smoke there is from the Queen Anne's Revenge herself! We have a Call to Arms and we need to get prepared for the battle of our lives. Tonight be the night for cutting some people up! Don't worry though, since you are new you should be getting a musket just to snipe off people from a distance. Not good putting newbies into the front lines and getting themselves killed? Eh?

John nods.

"Well, I guess I forgot to mention about who I am. I am Sarvanueli – Pirate Commander of the forces in Port Royal and formerly an Officer in the Spanish Maine. You?”

“I am John Dufaux, from Tortuga.”

“Well John Dufaux, let’s get you a tour of Port Royal quickly before Blackbeard’s men come walking all over this place from Fort Charles. More than likely he strikes at night, where he gains more power and energy from the Moonlight. Here, I actually have a spare sword in my possession. I looted it off some Navy Lieutenant, nice sword I must say but mine is still the best," he said in an eerie tone.

“Thanks, where to then Commander?” John had a sense he was back in the Navy, with the positions of each person and their rankings. Maybe Pirates weren’t as disorganized as he originally thought.

“Here let’s get you a tour of Port Royal. Pirates, go sharpen your blades for the next fight, get ammunition, I don’t care what you do, as long as you are prepared to win.”

The Pirates shouted in a happy tone, “Aye Aye Commander!” Then the Pirates dispersed into their own businesses of preparing for a battle.

“Well John, get all your stuff and let’s go-“In the middle of Commander Sarvanueli’s sentence, a deafening bell sounds in the distance. Not once, not twice, but three times.

“God dang it! My apologies to you John, but it looks like that I must go. The Pirates need my help preparing for the battle tonight. It will be a bloody one.”

“What do you want me to do to prepare for the battle tonight?”

“I want you to go grab that musket over there, leaning against the wall and rush back up to that elevated platform near the Governor’s Mansion. The entire Navy is in disarray from the attack on the Fort, so we shouldn’t be seeing any Navy stragglers around during this fight. And now we have Pirates v. Pirates, a true battle to be fought to the end! Enough talk though, you must prepare for this fight, and I must prepare.”

John was curious – he just had to ask: “Commander, what are our chances of winning?”

“Depends, but our chance – infinitesimally small, don’t tell the other Pirates though, they might chop off me head.”

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Not a lot of action, but in the next few I have set some nice little action scenes you should enjoy. Not sure how it is now, but if it is definitely acceptable to everyone I may continue. Thanks!

[Robert Ironcastle]

I like the story.Keep on going.

[Captain Gas]

Good story, mate!

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Aye! Good story!

[Tobias Daggercrash]

Aye, no one defeats the Revenge... Not with Blackbeard at helm! Tobias be not sure what is the date this story is set in, but he does know that Barbossa is not de Captain of the Revenge. Tobias be lookin' forward to this story.

[Dog Firestack]

It's been a while since I worked on this story, but I am giong to try and push another chapter out if others want it out.

[Robert Ironcastle]

I personally like it,but your choice mate.