The Law of the Sea

[WitchdoctorDan]

Chp.1: THE TRIAL-Percy Fryatt, November 4th, 1714

"Your name, seaman?" asked the judge, staring down his bifocles at a man convicted of the navy's most heinous crime: treason. The man looked up from underneath his bicorne. He scowled. He knew that they had made up their mind. It didn't matter what he said, he was going to hang. It was worth a try, though. He responded, "Percy Fryatt, Acting Captain of the HMS Elixir. My Captain; Commandant Donato Capata, the famed Spanish defector, was killed at the Battle of Cayo de Marquis. He named me Acting Captain before he passed. I have been commanding the Elixir, a 64 gun Sixth Rate, for three months. Upon returning to St. John's, Antilles; I was apprenhended by a squadron of Royal Marines. The Elixir was seized by a Navy crew and my men and I were sailed to Port Royal as prisoners. I was taken to a jail seperate from my men and now face trial seperate from them. I have no attorney, no one to testify, and no proper papers served on me. Under the laws of the Crown, I am to be released. By God, I should have you all hanged after this!" The Bailiff smirked. He walked over and grabbed Fryatt by the chin, pulling his head back until their eyes locked. The Bailiff uttered "So the pauper thinks of himself as a prince? Did you have the same sense of airs when chartering the deal between Le Marine Francais and yourself?..." "ENOUGH, BAILIFF!," the judge shouted. "You may think of this man as a scourge of the Navy, but we have no definitive proof of his treason. YOU may have made your mind up, but I will not stand for you battering my defendant!" Percy could tell he was lying. Percy studied law at Cambridge before his father, Rear Admiral Claude Fryatt, was killed in the Bay of Biscay by a Spanish Privateer. Percy has been attempting to hunt down his father's killer since then, known by Navy brass as El Fantasma... Spanish for "The Phantom". The HMS Royal Pride, Fryatt's father's ship, was a stout frigate that was arguably the most manuverable in the Royal fleet and was not accounted for after the Privateers struck. The HMS Prince William, a 104-gun Third Rate that Claude's fleet was assigned to, was also severely damaged and was sailing with less than the minumum required crew of 25 and only 20 operable guns when she arrived in Liverpool. Percy has been looking for his father's ship... and also the crew of the Prince William for information. And this is how his quest ends? Hung in Port Royal while beggars hurl rotten fruit at him? Cruel irony strikes again. The judge spoke up. "Where were you during the events that transpired August the 24th? During this day, an anonymous tip places you onboard La Mort L'étreinte, a French flagship, chartering a deal for the information of the whereabouts of a merchant-militia squadron delivering emergency supplies and evacuating British refugees during the French counter-attack on Cayo de Marquis. Apparently, very large sums of gold, silver, various precious gems and a deed to a 60 gun pirate-built frigate, capable of fleeing any British warship, were given to you in return for your valuable information. Do you know anything of these accusations?" Percy looked up. He had heard of La Mort L'étreinte. It was spotted fleeing from a grotto near a township outside of Cayo the morning of the 24th. He had ordered battle sails, but Commandant Capata belayed Fryatt's order after he was woken by the footsteps of the scurrying men. Percy told the judge, "I know nothing of any meeting., sir. However, the French flagship was spotted leaving a grotto near Cayo on the 24th, the alleged day of the charter, day after the blockade, and day before my Commandant's death. Casualities from the previous day's battle had not been accounted for, and after the official count, 5 men were lost at sea. I believe you have the wrong man, sir. I believe one of those five men directed the charter. I believe we were set up. I have proof of my presence on board the ship before, during, and after the event in question. I have in my possesion, a log book for the month of August, written by Commandant Capata himself. It bears his seal, the seal of the Admiralty, and my seal for the last 6 days of the month. It contains a list of crewman onboard the Elixir each day, and casuality reports. The names of the 5 men lost at sea are in there. We should check their names and see if they have any history with the French. Here you go, sir." Percy produced the logbook from his overcoat. The Bailiff snatched it from his hand and handed it politely to the judge. The judge examined it. It seemed to take a long time. Percy's palms began to sweat. He was in a dichotomy. On one hand, he had been betrayed and needed to serve justice on who had masterminded this plan. On the other hand, the so-called "justice" system had just seized his command, crew, and weapons and thrown him in jail to stand trial whilst having NO evidence against him except for an anonymous tip. Why should he help them? The judge then spoke up. "Captain, I will let you be free on ONE condition. You must find and apprehend the conspirator. You have 45 days. You will also be accompanied by a garrison of Royal Marines. If you fail in your mission, try to escape the Caribbean, or perform any seriously suspicious acts, you will be brought back to Port Royal for trial. If you do succeed in escaping, a king's ransom will be placed on your head. to be brought back dead or alive. This trial has been adjourned." With the judge's bang of the gavel, Percy felt his life coming back. However, it wasn't over yet. He was still torn between fleeing and completing his mission. his brother Duncan has a place in Prussia, off of Great Britain's map; however, he would essentially be a dead man, and he would die poor. As a Marine sergeant removed his shackles and offered to show him the way back to the Elixir, he knew he had to make a choice soon...
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Let me know what you think. I have the storyline planned out, and if I get a good response, I'll make a series.

[WitchdoctorDan]

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...