The Lost Phantom

[The Stealthy Pirate]

have to agree with shark tooth there, but can ye make some people ( like me ) into the story as well?

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Ah my goodness...

Okay guys, here's the deal. I have limited room for placing characters in my story. Chances are, most of you won't even end up being major characters either. There are a lot of people out there that probably want to be in it, but since I cannot do all of you, I am going to limit myself to people I know in game, mainly because I know them well, and I can use their personalities. I'm very sorry to any of you who want to be in, but I cannot take everyone.

As for my next chapter, which I know you are all waiting for, I have the next three or four chapters planned out in my head, its just a matter of putting it on paper... or rather in a Word Document. I can hopefully get one out this weekend.

[Captain Sharktooth]

Is it same characters as last time? 0_o

And... YAY I can't wait, this story is so good!

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Here we are my friends! Chapter three! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3: Sailing for the Cove

Davy didn’t tell his friends about his encounter with Joanna in the woods. Something held him back. He knew something was wrong, and he didn’t want to frighten his crew. Pirates are a superstitious bunch, and even simple ghost stories can cause even a loyal crew to become a group of mutineers. He didn’t want to tell them, but deep down he knew it would have to be revealed sooner or later. He just was trying to avoid it, but he knew it was inevitable that it would be found out.

The days after that were simple, consisting of Davy and his friends resting up, stocking up, and of course, drinking up. The officers of the Shadow King had filled it with all of the necessary supplies for a several month voyage the day before they left. All was ready by the time the crew started boarding again. As they walked up the ramp onto the deck, Davy greeted each one of his crewmates, and thanked them for joining him for yet another adventure. They had been his crew for ten years now. Most crews would have moved on to other captains, other ships, and other adventures by this time. Not Davy’s crew though. They were a loyal bunch, and they were all his brothers and sisters in all but blood.

Right before dawn, the Shadow King left the docks once again, on a brand new voyage. Davy was at the helm, steering the mighty ship out of Tortuga Harbor, like he had so many times before. Finally, the Shadow King was out of the harbor, and sailing into the open sea. Davy, like he always did, addressed his crew.

“Ahoy Sorcerors!” Davy yelled out to his crew.

The crew yelled back, cheering and throwing hats.

“Well my friends,” Davy said. “It is time for yet another adventure! Now, I am sure you have all gotten bored of raiding merchants, and challenging ourselves against the Navy, aye?”

“Aye!” the crew cried out. Davy couldn’t help but laugh. He continued on.

“Well my friends, we are going to be doing something… different this time around. I recently, erm, had a feeling. I’m sure many of you remember my stay at Raven’s Cove after one of our unsuccessful battles with The Harkaway? You do? Good. Well, I recently had a feeling, that something awaits us back at Raven’s Cove. I’m not sure exactly what it is yet. Perhaps an infinitely valuable treasure, or an exciting adventure! Either way, we have our heading! Set a course for Raven’s Cove!”

The crew cheered, throwing up hats. As always, they scattered after about a minute and went to their regular duties. Davy stood by the stairs, up near the wheel of the ship. Kate came up to join him.

“A feeling?” she asked.

Davy gulped, “Aye… you could say that…”

“What else could you say then?”

“Kate, now’s not the time… I’ll explain everything when the time is right.”

“And when is that time?” There was now a stern tone in her voice.

“When I see fit,” Davy replied firmly.

Kate raised an eyebrow, and walked off. She knew something was strange. Kate was not stupid. She could see that Davy was hiding something, and he knew that she would try hard to find it out.

Can’t worry about this now, Davy thought to himself. Right now, I need to worry about who this patriarch is that Joanna mentioned, and what is going on with all the dead rising…

The sun had risen now, illuminating the ship, and making the sea sparkle. The sky was a bright blue, with a few wispy clouds scattered across the sky. The sea was sparkling, glowing with beauty and light. Davy looked behind him, and saw the lush island of Tortuga. By now, the town would be just waking up, and starting its daily routine involving cursing, gunfire, and the consumption of enough rum to kill the average man.

“Amazing how the world can be so beautiful in such dark times,” a voice said.

Davy whirled around, and came face to face with the ship’s doctor. His true name was unknown, but he went by Witchdoctor Dan. He was not too tall, sort of short in fact, but his personality made up for his small size. He was extremely clever, able to figure out how to get out of almost any situation without any problems. He was also a powerful user of voodoo. He didn’t use it to fight as much as he used it to heal, see current events, and predict future ones. Most of all, he was a grump. Whenever the strange man smiled, it always meant he was up to no good. The first time Davy had seen that smile was after he had put a worm in Zolina’s rum (her reaction was priceless, but that was another story). His usual expression was either one of annoyance (he always had something to be annoyed at) or completely neutral. Davy had asked his crew secretly, and nobody had ever seen him happy or satisfied before.

Matt had found him one day on Tortuga, drunk in one of the smaller bars. He wouldn't have paid any attention to him, if it weren’t for the fact that his drink was floating three inches above the table. Matt immediately knew that he would make a good recruit for the Shadow King, and took him, much to Dan’s protesting, to Davy. After he was able to talk sense, Davy found out that he was a Witchdoctor, and asked him if he wanted to join the Shadow Sorcerors. He had accepted, for better or for worse.

“Oh, hello Doctor,” Davy said. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Of course you didn’t ,” the man said, not making eye contact with Davy. Normally Davy would find that disrespectful, but he knew that if he brought that up to Dan, he would be turned into a frog in a heartbeat.

“What was this that you were saying about dark times,” Davy asked nervously. He knew too well that Dan could read into the minds of people. It was something Davy found irritating.

“Please Captain Fireskull,” Dan stated, yawning. “I know what happened to you the day we arrived at port. I see all you know.”

Davy didn’t know what to say, but Dan didn’t wait for a response. He kept going.

“You met a ghost, Joey Anne was it? Strange name for a girl—”

“Joanna…” Davy said, but he didn’t notice.

“—She said something to you about some big bad person rising from the dead, with a bunch of his other dead friends. I have felt something too. Something has been stirring in the Caribbean lately. I’m not sure what it is, but something is just… wrong. You understand right?”

“Not really, but go on.”

“Captain Fireskull, dark works are going on right now in the Caribbean. You’ve been to that hell hole known as Raven’s Cove before, and you know what its like to an extent, aye? I’ve never been there, thank God, but I know that strange things happen on that island. That ghost you spoke to knows that, and now you are leading us into something, and you have no clue what this something is.”

“Do you?” Davy asked, trying to hide a small smile.

Dan paused for a moment, then spoke, “No, I do not. But anything that involves Raven’s Cove cannot be good. That island is not natural, and I would stay away from it if I were you. You could easily get us killed in horrible ways by doing this. I really should tell the crew exactly why you’re doing this.”

“But you won’t.”

“Exactly! For several reasons. First and foremost, I like watching people fail, and if you end up regretting this choice and we all die, at least I will be able to have a good laugh at you knowing that you have failed miserably in your quest. The second is that I too am quite curious as to what is going on in our lovely Caribbean, and with things like the dead rising, Raven’s Cove is a good place to start. The third, is that that ghost came all the way from Raven’s Cove to speak with you. Joey wouldn’t do that unless it was very important, so I think that we might as well do what she wishes for now.”

“Very well then,” Davy said, nodding. “Well Dan, you have succeeded in your mission.”

“What mission?” Dan said, puzzled.

“In making my head hurt. I assume that the crew can perform their duties without me for a while now, so I believe I shall head into my cabin and take all this in. If you need me, you know where to find me.”

“Unfortunately I do,” Dan mumbled. “I shall see you soon.”

Davy headed down the steps, into his cabin, wondering why in the world he hadn’t marooned Dan yet.

~~~~~~~~~~

Davy stayed in his cabin, writing in his log for a bit. After that, he pulled out some maps and took note of any reefs, trading routs, or islands that they would come in contact with on their voyage to Raven’s Cove. The trip to Raven’s Cove would be about a week, assuming there were no delays, such as storms, fights, or bad currents. He continued working in his cabin for a few hours on whatever needed to be done. Will Seaeagle knocked on the door once and asked about something on the ship, but it didn’t take very long.

By now it was early afternoon. Most of the crew had just eaten their lunches, and were chatting a bit, as their jobs were mostly done until evening. Davy had dozed off a bit on his bed, and had just gotten up. He was still stretching when he heard a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Davy said, rubbing his eyes.

The door flew open, and Meg looked in with wide eyes.

“Davy, you had better come on deck,” she said urgently. “Navy Ship of the Line approaching us with full colors!”

“A Navy ship?” Davy asked, puzzled. “Impossible! We’re nowhere near their patrol routes!”

Sam ran into the room. “It's there alright. Not just any Navy ship either. it’s the HMS Invincible, and you had better take a look at her.”

----------------------------------------------------

There you are mates, are you feeling the suspense yet? Questions, comments, concerns, praise, rum? Especially the rum.

[Captain Sharktooth]

Wow! I love the ending so much! Another great chapter Captain Fireskull...

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Rum is on me for this chapter mate. It is as good as ever

[SEAKING23]

Epic, and stealth can pay for the rum XD

[The Stealthy Pirate]

I might have to sink a few hundred ships for all the rum people are gonna drink...

[SEAKING23]

Thats not going to cover it... i'm going to get me guild!

[The Stealthy Pirate]

uh oh - sees angry horde of pirates approaching... -

[WitchdoctorDan]

I resent that summary of me, Cap'n Fireskull. Everyone knows I would not give you information unless you gave me quarters, food, and a barrel of rum.

[Captain Sharktooth]

^^^^^^^ Typical Dan, anyways, hurry up Davy! Please

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Oh Dan, everyone knows that you are just like that. We still love you though.

Aye, aye mates... not sure when I can get the next chapter out. It's half way done. I may try tonight if I have time.

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Here you guys go. I hope it is nice and suspenseful, because I like it when you pull out your hair in anticipation for my next chapter.

Chapter 4: The Invincible

“Good God,” Davy muttered. “It’s the HMS Invincible! It’s said to be the strongest ship in the Navy’s War Fleet!”

Davy couldn’t see it too clearly. It was still a good distance from the Shadow King. All Davy could see was the front of its massive hull, and its mighty masts, flying full colors. It looked majestic, but deadly. The Shadow King was a tough ship, but it looked like the Invincible could pack a punch.

“Davy, this isn’t all,” said one of the lookouts. She was one of the younger crewmates, probably in her twenties. Her name was Lizzy. She handed him a spyglass. “You may want to see it.”

Davy put the spyglass to his eye, and aimed it at the Invincible. What he saw almost made him stop breathing. The Invincible, crown of the Navy’s Armada, was a wreck. The masts seemed to be intact, but the hull was ripped apart. The sides were almost gone from what Davy could see. Flames and smoke poured out of spots everywhere across the hull. Davy couldn’t see much more, but he didn’t need to. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Invincible truly was not Invincible.

“It’s a… wreck,” Davy said slowly.

“Aye,” Lizzy said, nodding. “That leads me to two questions. The first, is what in the world could do something like this to the Invincible? No ship has ever defeated it before. The second is something I find stranger. If it is damaged so badly, why is it coming at full colors towards us? That is the stupidest thing a Navy captain can do.”

“Well I think we should worry about their motives later,” Sam said. “But we have a crippled Naval warship coming towards us. I think that we should ready the guns!”

“Aye,” Davy said, nodding. “TO THE CANNONS!!!”

Davy heard one of his crewmates ring the alarm bell, and all of the crew quickly started heading to their assigned battle stations, eager for battle. Davy looked back towards the Invincible. It was starting to get closer now. The fact that it was here, right now, badly damaged, but still sailing at full colors towards the Shadow King bothered Davy. It was too late to think about it though. For now, it was time for battle!

Davy grabbed the wheel of the Shadow King and turned her so that her course was directly parallel to the Invincible’s. Once the two ships were aligned, the Shadow King would fire everything she had. In the Invincible’s crippled state, it wouldn’t take more than just a few broadsides to sink her.

“Davy,” Matt said, walking up to him. “Gunners are ready for yer orders.”

“Good,” Davy said. “Tell them to load their cannons, and aim for the interior of the ship. With luck, we’ll hit their gunpowder stash and sink them in one or two broadsides.”

“Aye, aye Captain!” Matt saluted, before running back down.

“Just think Davy,” Sam said. “Very soon, the whole pirate world will know that the Shadow King has sunk the Invincible!”

Davy grinned. “Aye, but first we have to sink her! Prepare for battle!”

The two ships got closer and closer. In just a few minutes, the two ships were close enough that the Sorcerors could see the panicked crew of the Invincible. Some were running around, trying to figure out what to do. Others were on their knees, praying to their angels that good may come to them in the afterlife. Some just stared at the Shadow King in disbelief. But none of them were doing what Davy expected them to do.

“None of them are loading their broadside cannons…” Davy muttered.

“They have none left,” said a voice. Meg walked up beside him. “I saw from the crows nest. Looking through their hull, which is torn open so bad that you can see half of the lower decks, they have no cannons left, and any that are still there are too damaged to use.”

“They’re defenseless,” Davy breathed.

“Captain!” a voice called. “Broadsides lining up in less than twenty seconds!”

Davy thought for a moment. What could possibly do this to the crown of the Navy fleet? The once powerful and majestic hero was now a crippled old man, waiting for death to come.

“Captain!!!”

“OPEN FIRE!!!” Davy bellowed. He watched as the cannons from below fired. He heard screaming from the Navy ship. The cannonballs flew into the hull of the Invincible, tearing apart what was left of the Navy ship. The upper hull, with its once majestic staircases and masts was blown apart as well. A cannonball flew into a mast, knocking the massive pole down onto the deck. One more broadside was fired, destroying even more of the ship. This time Davy could see that it was beginning to sink. A cannonball had hit low enough that water was now pouring into the ship. It wouldn’t be long before it was at the bottom of the sea.

“FIRE ONE MORE!!!” Davy ordered. They had one more chance to fire a broadside before the Shadow King passed the Invincible’s crippled body. The last broadside fired, and a few cannonballs got the lucky shot. Right as the Shadow King cleared the Navy Ship of the Line, the Invincible exploded, its explosives hit. Davy watched from the deck of the King, the Invincible now an exploding fireball. The deck of the ship exploded upward, sending Naval Sailors flying in all directions, their searing bodies flying into the sea. Windows on the back of the ship shattered as the explosion tore throughout the rest of the ship. Masts fell, the hull ripped open, flaming sails hit the water, and finally, it stopped. All explosives on the ship ignited, the destroyed ship sank below the waves, into the depths, where it would rest for eternity. The unsinkable had been sunk.

The crew of the Shadow King cheered, slapping each other’s backs and complementing each other on their shooting. Davy felt one of his crewmates slap him on the back and said something. Davy nodded towards him and gave a small smile, but he didn’t join in the celebration. It wasn’t that he felt guilty about sinking a defenseless Navy vessel. He would do that any day, as he hated the Navy. It was the fact that they were able to do it. The Invincible was a tough ship. Davy thought it impossible that something like that could happen to such a powerful ship.

“Something is strange,” said a woman, walking up to Davy.

Davy turned to see Zolina. She had a strange look on her face. He couldn’t tell if it was her thinking face, concern, nervousness, or even anticipation.

“The Invincible was crippled,” Davy said to her. “Something like that… I thought would be nearly impossible.”

“Not just that,” Zolina said. “But it was sailing at full colors towards us. That’s asking for death. The captain must not have been in his right mind. It’s almost as if… as if it was not sailing towards something, but…”

Zolina trailed off, but Davy completed her sentence.

“But sailing away from something else…”

---------------------------------------------

Mmmhmmm. Feeling the suspense yet? Are you afraid? Of what is to come? I promise you, it will be very interesting. I have everything planned out already.

[Captain Sharktooth]

Oh gosh! I was wondering what all your commotion about the suspense was all about.... Then I read the last few sentences. You must hurry up and write the next chapter!!!!