The Disposition of the Night

[The Stealthy Pirate]

What he said.

[Robert Ironcastle]

Also,what he said.

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Ulta fast ^D8 FTW!

Chapter 7: Madness Ensues

Ivan walked into the first tavern they saw, Jack following directly behind him. Once in, Ivan saw a sight he’d never seen before; what appeared to be a chorus of pirates in the corner was swerving around in place, rum in hand. On the other end was a spot reserved for those quiet ones that look around the building the whole time, there eyes being their greatest weapon. On the second floor balcony, he could see a line of women standing across, glaring at the passerby. And finally, in the center of the tavern, was a large table undoubtedly used for special occasions.

“What do you say we split up?” Jack said, edging closer to Ivan. “We may be able to get more information that way.”

Ivan bit his lip and tried to come up with his best response. He didn’t want to sound like he wasn’t ready, but at the same time he wanted to fit in. “No, we’re not splitting up… if anything you’ll watch me from afar.” He said. “How about you go over there and make sure I don’t get killed. And if things get out of hand, you’ll step in.”

“And how will I know if it goes too far?”

“Probably once they threaten to kill me.”

Jack sighed and looked towards a table positioned in what appeared to be a landmark spot. “How about those guys? They appear to be the talkative type.”

“Them? Well… ok, I’ll try.” Ivan said as he walked closer to the table.

The table had one spot open. The other spots were occupied by sailors who weren’t very fond of shirts by the looks of them. Ivan regained his focus and took a seat on the empty chair, making sure Jack kept an inconspicuous watch from afar.

“Aye, Thomas, do you see this fellow who decided to join us?” One of the men said as he noticed Ivan taking a seat. “Do you know him?”

The man Thomas, whom was undoubtedly the person the man was addressing, turned around to look towards Ivan. He had a scar cut across his right cheek, and many other imperfections to boot.

“No James, it’s not anybody we know of, beat him up if you’d like.” Thomas said, snapping his fingers.

Ivan was about to get up from his table in surprise as he saw the intent in the sailors eyes. ’What? Already?’ He thought, desperation overcoming him.

“Ahahaha!” Thomas laughed. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen all day! The look! The look in your eyes! It’s priceless. “He said, still laughing. “Ah, I can tell you’re not from around here, are you boy?”

“No, I’m straight from England in fact, but… I don’t like to talk about what happened.” Ivan said, trying to lead the sailors deeper into the conversation.

“It can’t hurt you if you share it boy,” Thomas said. “Trust me, everyone here has a past they’re not proud of.” He said, turning his attention towards one of the men at the table. “Take Daniel here, he’s come all the way from Spain to start a new life here. Recently he’s been hiding from the navy, so we’ve been keeping him safe here.”

“I’m sorry… safe from the navy?” Ivan asked.

“Yes, you see, Daniel’s pretty sloppy in his work,” Thomas said. “He hardly knows what it’s like to stay low.” He said, nudging Daniel. “Although I’m sure within another week or so, the navy will forget about him, and move onto the next bloke who decides piracy is a forthright job.”

Ivan began to show signs of uneasiness. He felt like breathing didn’t come natural, like his heart had just fallen asleep, like his mind wanted to black out right then and there. “Interesting, it’s not every day I see a fellow pirate.” He said, making Thomas laugh even harder, along with the others this time.

“You here that boys? It’s not every day he sees a pirate!” Thomas said, laughing hysterically. “Ah now I can tell you’re definitely new here.” He said. “I can tell you’ve got some potential kid, tell me, what’s your name?”

“Ivan, Ivan Hood.”

“Well then Ivan, how’d you be interested in assisting me against the navy oppression?” Howard asked, smiling.

‘Wow! I’m already asked to become a pirate! Should I be flattered or horrified?’ Ivan thought as he came up with a clever response he wouldn’t regret. “Actually, I came here in interest of finding a certain Marcus Reynard.” He said only to be met with complete silence.

“Did he just…” One of the men said, bordering either horror or amazement in his expression.

“Aye,” Thomas said as he got up from the table. “We’ll see if you can handle it.” He said walking towards the center table.

“W-What is he… what’s going on?” Ivan asked glancing all around, even at Jack who was completely clueless.

Thomas reached the center table, looked around, and then proceeded to leap up onto the table, making himself the center of attention. “Listen up everyone,” He said, drawing attention from almost everyone in the tavern. “This man here wishes to meet with none other than Marcus Reynard.” He said, sending an uproar of laughter throughout the populous. The laughter was so strong, even Jack was influenced by the state.

“Now as many of you know, meeting up with Reynard is serious business, however we’ve come to an agreement. If he can bring me a nice little naval officer uniform, we can further the thought of meeting Reynard.” He said, smiling at Ivan. “Preferably one covered in blood.”

With a quick thought about how the events might turn out, Ivan stepped up to the table. “Agreed Thomas. So long as I don’t have a strict time limit.” Ivan said, making everybody surrounding him wish they’d bought good seats for the play.

“Oh Ivan, you don’t have to worry about that. Anytime tomorrow would be acceptable.” Thomas said, only furthering the insanity. “I’ll be here almost all day tomorrow, but I can’t say the same about the next day.” He said, triggering the sweat in Ivan’s skin.

“Fine, I’ll bring you a nice coat tomorrow.” Ivan said walking towards the door. “Trust me; it’ll be red all over.” He said, motioning for Jack to follow him.

~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how much did you see?” Ivan asked Jack.

“Of what? The whole making a fool of yourself part? Or was it the impossibly quiet chatter going on with your little exchange?”
“I was hoping both.” Ivan said, yawning. “Anyways, I suggest we go get some rest for the night.” He said walking down the street.

“Where are you going?” Jack asked.

“Back to the navy outpost, what wrong with-

“Back to the outpost? Are you crazy?” Jack almost yelled, but remembered to keep his voice down. “What do you suggest pirates would think if they saw some new people walk into a navy outpost? Especially suspicious ones.”

“I… guess that wouldn’t work.” Ivan concluded. “So if not there, where may we go?”

“My best guess would be that place that Nathaniel suggested.” Jack said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a bloody idea where that may be, and we’re not going to the navy shipment house anytime soon to figure out.”

“So…”

“Eh, follow me.” Jack said, as he began searching for a good place to spend the night.

It wasn’t too difficult finding an inn, but the main problem was he wanted a place that he could trust, someplace that wasn’t a living deathhouse. Most of the options were along the lines of “The Undead Resting Place” or the “Spirit’s Slumber”, all of which sounded like a pretty weird place to sleep.

“Found any good ones yet?” Ivan asked, only to have Jack silently tell him no with his head. “Well the least we can do in the meantime is figure out how we’re going to get a navy ja-

“That is something you should have figured out the moment it crossed your mind.” Jack said. “The solution is so simple yet it eludes you.”

“The solution?” Ivan said confused. “What solution?”

“ME!” Jack said as loudly as he could be while still being inconspicuous. “I’m the solution! You’re going to have let me get a jacket, bloody it up, dry it out, rip it up a little, and then return it, so we can go find Reynard!” He said, creating a silence between them.

“Whatever, let’s go find an inn.” Ivan said, walking closer towards the edge of town.

~~~~~~~~~~

After about fifteen minutes of searching, (which if you’d ask Ivan he’d probably say was at least an hour) the two finally came to a stop.

“Nathaniel, I wasn’t expecting you to be here.” Jack said, coming to a stop near the Bootlegger’s Inn.

“Well that’s highly unlikely, since this was the Inn I told you about.” Nathaniel said, making the two feel a stroke of luck.

“Well that’s convenient,” Ivan said. “It was impossible to tell which one it is without having a name to rely on.”

“Yeah, sorry for that,” Nathaniel said, scratching his head. “I was in a bit of a rush at the time you see.”

“Well that’s enough, I’m either going to go in, or fall asleep right here.” Jack said, his signs of fatigue easily showing.

“Really? You wouldn’t want to accompany me back to the outpost?” Nathaniel asked, disappointed.

“No, that’s fine, I think we’ll rest here for the night. Let’s just say we don’t want any pirates getting suspicions.” Jack said, almost slumping over.

“Well, I guess that’s your decision. Meet me tomorrow if you’d like, I’ll be at the outpost as usual.” Nathaniel said, waving to them.

“Oh don’t worry, we’ll make sure to be there,” Ivan said, making sure Nathaniel heard him. “Alright now, let’s get you to bed.” He said, almost lifting Jack off the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~

Any comments from teh loverz?

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Comments yes. Great again mate! Im surprised that not alot of people are following this story!

[SEAKING23]

Great story! and what he said

[Robert Ironcastle]

I could,of course, say

Originally Posted by Robert Ironcastle

Also,what he said.

but it'd be repetitive.So,excellent chapter is what I'll say.

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Originally Posted by Robert Ironcastle

Sorry for double post,but explain pls.

Ultra fast update for the win!

Now go delete your double post.

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Chapter 8: The Stealthy Scout

“Ivan… Ivan… Wake up…. IVAN!”

Ivan almost exploded off his bed but some strange force seemed to hold him back. It was Jack, well his hand to be exact.

“Whoa, I didn’t mean to… are you all right?” Jack asked as he saw Ivan’s desperate look.

“What? Oh… yeah, I’m fine.” Ivan replied as he got up from his bed. “So, do we go get the supplies now or do we…”

“Already got it,” Jack said, pointing to a sack lying next to his feet. “All we have to do is bloody it up and make it look like we actually got into a struggle.”

“And how are we going to do that?” Ivan asked.

“I got some pig’s blood from one of the butchers, we’ll be able to give the coat a nice drenching in it.”

“And where will we do that?”

“Oh silly, follow me.” Jack said, motioning for Ivan to follow him. Ivan grabbed his stuff and headed off to follow wherever Jack may be leading him.

“Wait, where are we going? I haven’t even eaten yet.” Ivan said as Jack lead him past the breakfast area, much to his dismay. “Well at least the Bootlegger’s Inn sounds like a fun place to eat.”

Once they got outside, Jack lead him to an area in which Jack had left some supplies waiting for his return. “Wait what’s that… what are you doing?” Ivan asked once he saw Jack holding up a large jar.

“Meh, it still has some guts, but we’ll just leave them there, after all, it’s probably hard to distinguish between the two.” Jack said handing Ivan another bag.

“Please don’t tell me you have something’s organs in here.”

“What? No that’s the coat.” Jack said, almost unsure about Ivan’s tolerance.

With Jack leading, the two walked off into a swampy area where nobody would expect anything suspicious.

“Help me with this bucket will ya?” Jack asked setting everything down on a solid piece of land.

“What are we going to do with that?” Ivan asked.

“Why, we’re gonna use it to bloody the coat of course.” Jack said, a grin making its way onto his face. “Set the coat down here.”

Ivan set the coat down as instructed, and began to help Jack out with the rest of the supplies. Once they were done with taking everything out and setting it in its place, they were ready to begin.

“Disgusting!” Ivan said once Jack opened the jar. “I think I’ve just lost my appetite.”

“Oh give me a break, now if we’re going to make it look realistic, you have to splotch it over there.”

“Over here?”

“No over there.” Jack said pointing to the correct spot on the coat.

“Whatever…” Ivan said as he began work on the coat.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Are we almost done yet? I’m beginning to feel sick.” Ivan said after minutes of bloodying up the coat.

“Why yes actually,” Jack answered. “In fact, all that’s left is the knife wounds.”

“The knife wou- you’re kidding me.” Ivan said once he noticed that it was he whom had possession of the knife, meanwhile Jack held the gun. “I’d rather you do it.”

“Me? Why somebody’s acting all squeamish lately.”

“What? No it’s not that it’s just…” Ivan said but trailed off. “I… need to go wash my hands in the river.” He said, mentally hi-fiving himself. “I’m just going to be a moment.”

“Well… fine then, hand me the knife.” Jack said reluctantly. He handed Ivan his flintlock, as Ivan handed him the sharp knife. As Ivan took the flintlock from his hands, he noticed that it didn’t seem to be fully ****ed. Ivan knew this from some of his training with navy equipment, that this was purely for safety reasons.

“Ammo?” Ivan asked laying his hand out towards Jack. Jack rolled his eyes and handed Ivan a small sack holding individual items used for reloading the pistol.

“Don’t be too long.” Jack said. “We don’t want any pirates getting suspicions.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll only be a minute, if not, I suggest you cover that bucket and come look for me.” Ivan said, walking off into the distance.

~~~~~~~~~~

“What a mess I’ve gotten us into.” Ivan said as he walked closer towards the musty river. “Why on earth would I be given such a high-priority mission such as this? Aren’t there other people fit for the job?” He said to himself, walking closer to the river. “And to make matters worse, we’re following a lead that may or may not have any idea whatsoever where Reynard is.”

Ivan took out the flintlock, and lay next to the river, so it wouldn’t get wet. After that, he was ready to get all the blood off of his hands.

After about a minute of thorough washing, his bloodied hands were hardly recognizable. “Perfect, now let’s hope that Jack’s finished with his… work.” Ivan said as he turned around to pick up the pistol lying on the ground.

While handling the pistol and preparing to put it neatly inside his coat, he felt a strange sensation. He looked around, only to find nothing, except when his eyes reached a ridge on the opposite side of the river. “Hello? Is anyone there?” He asked, only to reveal sudden movement coming from the ridge. Somebody was definitely up there, and he was going to figure out who. ’No time to go get Jack, whoever it is over there will probably escape.’ He thought to himself. Finding a solid piece of land, he was able to leap over to the other side, where dry land was more abundant.

“Show yourself!” He yelled, running through the maze of trees. He saw a figure dash across the trees close by, and decided to sprint to where it was going. When he got to where he believed he saw the strange figure, he turned and started heading towards the direction in where he saw the figure disappear to. “Now where did you run off to?”

After a couple laps around the entire swamp, with nothing strange in sight, Ivan finally decided it was best to head back to where Jack was and keep him from waiting any longer. “There you are,” Jack said, running up towards Ivan. “I’ve been looking all over for you, what happened?”

“Oh, it was… nothing, I just thought I saw someone, that’s all.”

“You… saw somebody? Do you know how good this is?” Jack asked, a strange feeling of excitement made its way into his words.

“Good? I thought you’d be complimenting on what a tragedy this is…” Ivan replied.

“Tragedy? No, no nonononono, this is great, you know why?”

“Because we’re finally gonna get some action?”

“No, because now we know that we’re on the right track, and that somebody’s intent on stopping us.”

“Oh well, that makes sense and all, but… I’m not too sure I saw somebody in the first place, I just saw something one second, and the next… nothing.” Ivan said, turning his attention back to the now red bucket. “So, we’re done here I presume?”

“Oh yes, all that’s left is cleaning out this bucket.”

“So, you’ll go clean it out while I wait here?” Ivan asked.

Jack picked up the bucket and looked straight at Ivan. “No, I’ll need you to follow me, in the case of a mystery encounter; we’ll both go after whoever decides it’s best to spy on us.” He said, walking off towards the river. “Oh, and if you don’t mind, it’d be great if you carry the rest of the supplies with me.” He said as Ivan soon followed through with his request.

~~~~~~~~~~

“There, now we’re done. A masterpiece if I don’t say myself.” Jack said, looking proudly upon his work. “Now get the coat ready, we’re outta here.”

“Finally!” Ivan said, picking up the rest of the supplies. “Now which way do we- wait, what are you staring at?” He asked Jack whom apparently had just seen the last known unicorn on earth.

“Don’t… look…” Jack said, still staring at the same spot. “Just… act natural.”

“What’s going on?”

“Just stay still, I think we’ve got company.” Jack replied calmly.

Ivan almost got up and dashed to the first movement he saw, but some feeling in the back of his mind kept him from doing it. “W-Where?” He asked.

“To your left, behind that landmark tree.”

“Should we chase him?”

“No, best to wait here, and make ourselves look inconspicuous.” Jack said.

“I don’t think we look to normal with a bloodied up naval jacket.”

“Good point, you take the left side.” Jack said after a quick smile, initiating a chase to find whoever decided to watch them. “Remember to use the terrain to your advantage.” He said as they split off in different directions.

The chase was different this time around. This time, there were two people, not one, and they were coming from both sides, as if they were trying to cut whoever it was off once they reached a dead end, or if they caught up to him. But there they were, Jack on one side, Ivan on the other, both sprinting towards a fading sight in the distance. He, whoever it was they were chasing sure had some legs, because within a minute of chasing, Ivan and Jack couldn’t stay on track, and eventually they came to a dead end.

“A dusty old shack?” Ivan said once he reached the end. “Now why would he retreat inside such a small little place? Especially one so small?”

“Beats me, but there’s nowhere else he could’ve gone.” Jack said. “He’s in there, I know it. We came from different sides, so I doubt he could’ve snuck out in front of us, and I’ve already ruled out him hiding among the trees. He’s definitely here.”

“Alright, then I’m going in.” Ivan said, taking out the flintlock pistol, and setting it to its full ****ing position. “You right behind me?” He asked Jack who replied with a nod. “Alright, let’s see what we have here.” He said as he reached his hand for the door.
~~~~~~~~~~

O0o0OooO0oOh??! What lies behind the door? Wait and find out? >:P

Any comments?

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Is it...me?


Anyway, great chapter mate!!

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Originally Posted by Stealthy Cannoneer

Is it...me?


Anyway, great chapter mate!!

Did you know that the PM system is a useful way of extracting, sending, and changing information?

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Hey everyone! Now before I get started I must apologize for the short chapter, (at least it felt short to me) as you know, a ton of stuff has been going on recently with tests & other tedious work. Not that it’s hard or anything, so long as I study, I’ve got it in the bag. Anyways some serious stuff has been going on in my life recently, hence my short comings and goings through the forums.

Another thing I wanted to get by is the fact that in all honesty, I’ve only written a few stories in my entire life. In fact, writing is actually one of my weak points, as I often suffer from writers block or whatever you call it. So that’s enough of my ramblings, now onto the story.

P.S. This is about the time the story REALLY starts, you know when everything starts to fall into place. Just thought I should let you know.

Chapter 9: Absolutely Nothing

Ivan pushed the door open, Jack following directly behind him, knife in hand. He swung the flintlock to the left side of the building, and Jack did the same on the other side. After their eyes scanned the room completely, nobody was to be seen. In the center of the hut was completely open space, except for a few papers and such.

“He’s gotta be here somewhere.” Ivan said, searching the area. “There’s no way he can stay hidden now.”

Inside the little building, there were two tables, one on each side. On the opposite end of the shack laid a large cabinet, for some reason completely empty. In fact, almost everything was empty. The drawers, the buckets, and even the tables had nothing important on it other than empty rum bottles. Jack headed towards the last cabinet, in hope of finding the stealthy guest.

“Well, he’s not hiding in the drawers,” Jack said once he made sure all the compartments were thoroughly checked. “My best bet is there’s a trap door or something.” He said, causing both him and Ivan to look straight into the ground. Nothing strange, other than a few rotten floorboards. “No trap doors, no other methods of escape, he’s… vanished…”

“But… how? That’s not possible… I’m sure he escaped inside here, he’s… gone.” Ivan said, shocked. “Now what?”

“Now, we return to our former occupation.” Jack said, almost ignoring what had just happened.

“What? You’re really going to just… pretend this never happened?”

Jack walked out of the small house and closed the door behind him. “Listen, for all we know, the man that we just saw could’ve evaded us altogether, chances are he’s hiding somewhere close by.”

“But, where could he have gone?”

“This is not the time to go searching for someone who may or may not be hostile. Now stop waving a loaded gun around like it’s nobody’s business.” Jack said, prompting Ivan to put away the flintlock.

After a few minutes, the two returned to the spot in which they previously did their dirty work. But when they returned, they were met with a startling discovery.

“Are you sure you put it down in this spot?” Jack asked.

“I’m sure of it… look, you can even still see some blood on the ground.” Ivan answered, causing the two to become uncomfortably worried.

“This is not good, now we’ve lost our most important asset.” Jack said once he was sure the supplies were nowhere to be seen. “Alright, now what do we do?” He asked. “Some bloke’s run off with our stuff, and I still don’t know how they were able to take everything down to the last sponge. That means there’s only one solution.” He said with a grin on his face.

“And what’s that?”

“This is no longer a game of hide-and-seek. Now, it’s a hunt.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“I lead them away from the target successfully; Roald should be back any minute now.” A man said, trying to catch his breath while he let out his information. “By the looks of it, we’ll have them ready within a fortnight.”

“Good, I see we’re making progress,” Another mysterious man said. “You’ll receive your payment once Roald gets back with the objective.”

“But sir,” The first man said. “How’s he gonna return, I’m sure they’re looking for him right now, that is, if he’s succeeded.”

“If he’s succeeded? My my, you don’t seem to have much faith in the boy, after all, he is looking for much larger opportunities than playing second fiddle to someone who can barely keep his tracks covered.” The mysterious man said. “By the way, how did you do this time?”

“It’s completely inconspicuous; I doubt they’ll find it in time.”

“Good, now what about those EITC crates? What was the big deal about those in the first place?”

“Beats me, for all I know they could be what he’s looking fo- oh great, navy alert.” The second man said, ending their conversation in order to evade the navy’s ever watchful eye.

~~~~~~~~

Port Royal: Outer docks

“Now I’m sure you’ve all got the idea, but since the information we have is a bit old, we’ll have to deal with being a normal patrol run. So before you all forget, let me refresh you with the situation: Today would be the normal day for one of our merchant vessels to be taking a sweet little stroll through the waters on the way to Del Fuego to restock on the supplies. However, due to recent occurrences, we’ll instead be taking this vessel on that same route, in hopes of finding whoever’s responsible. You all know the orders, and for those that are on the landing party, you’ll each meet me in my office for your briefing, is that clear?” A high ranking official asked to a group of on looking naval and mixed EITC personnel.

After being met with the usual uproar of a response, the man quietly nodded and then retreated back into his room at the back of the ship, ready to receive the men for their briefing.

“Ah, this must be Mr. Hood.” He said, noticing the first person to enter the quarters.

“The one and on… yes it’s me, Howard McKenzie Hood.”

“Excellent, I’ve been expecting you Mr. Hood.”

“Oh, well I guess my reputation precedes me.” Howard said with a proud look on his face.

“Alright now, let’s get down to business.” The officer said, handing Howard a document. “You see this?” He asked. “This is a document stolen from us by Marcus Reynard, a highly dangerous pirate. We believe it contains the information we need in order to confront Reynard head on.”

“And, that’s a good thing?”

“Why of course.” The officer replied. “Even for a pirate vessel as dangerous as Reynard’s, we’ll be able to hold up on our own against them no matter how dangerous it may seem.”

“So you’re plan is to pretend to be a merchant vessel in order for Reynard to attack us, and then at the opportune moment, turn on them with our own guns?”

“Precisely Mr. Hood; I can tell you’re much more observant than you’re nephew.” The officer said, smiling at Howard in the weirdest way. “Now run along, you’re dismissed. Just make sure that if we arrive at Padres without any Reynard in sight, to look for him on land.”

Howard turned back and headed towards the door to the officer’s quarters. “Whatever you say, Commodore Bishop.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Where do you suggest we start?” Ivan asked, hoping for a solid answer.

“I suggest we go back to the shack, in order to look for some clues as to where they may have gone.” Jack replied, feeling over-confidant in himself.

“They? How come are you so sure it’s “they”? Ivan asked.

“Well think about it. We chased him away from the coat, meanwhile his buddy came from behind us and took the coat without us noticing. Once they man we were chasing bought him some time, he was able to make off with the supplies unnoticed.”

“You really thought this out did you?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Anyways, we’ll do nothing good standing around here,” Ivan said, getting up and walking towards the direction of the shack. “Best to get started before it gets too late, we don’t want to lose our chance to find Reynard.”

Jack looked at Ivan with an unsure face. “Ivan, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” He said, showing some of the first signs of insecurity Ivan had seen him make ever since he first saw him.

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that guy we saw, the one that was apparently by Marcus’s thugs…”

“Go on.”

“Well, I’d just like to remind you what we’re getting into, this isn’t a game, this is dangerous work, and I’m afraid if something goes wrong, we may not get out alive.” Jack said, nearing the old shack. “So we better be getting serious, and be on our best guard, even if it may seem like we’re doing nothing, I just need to make sure everything’s going as planned.”

Ivan stopped at the entrance to the small building. For some reason, he knew Jack was right, this mission was possibly the most dangerous thing he’d ever done, and for some reason, he was perfectly fine with it, like he was simply meant to do it. “I know what you mean Jack,” He said. “But… I’m sure if we stick together we can get through this.” He said, putting what little security the two had up a notch.

The two slowly opened the door, worried that someone may be ready to attack at just the right moment.

Nothing, it was expected.

But at the same time, it was hoped to be otherwise.

Maybe not.

“Anything strange?” Jack asked, shifting through the papers.


“Not much, although some of these people have the worst penmanship.” Ivan said with a smile, but somehow Jack didn’t seem pleased.

“Agh, that’s not what we need. We need information, and we need it now!” Jack said.

“Ok ok, you don’t have to be so lou…” Ivan said, but was cut off once he started looking straight towards the ground.

“What’s the matter with you? Have you suddenly become attracted to the floor in an unhealthy way?”

“No just… look.” Ivan said, a large grin making its way onto his face as he pointed towards some large muddy shoeprints on the floor. “That’s definitely not ours, since we didn’t get our shoes that muddy.”

“No, you’re right, it can’t be ours. That means that someone did retreat into this building!” Jack said, as he looked to where the footprints lead. “Looks like he took a small stroll to the shelf with all the rum and then…” He stopped once the footprints disappeared in front of the large empty cabinet at the back of the room. “That little-

“What? What’s wrong?” Ivan asked, almost completely clueless as to what Jack meant.

“Here, help me push this, will you?” Jack asked, with Ivan immediately answering in physical exertion.

Jack and Ivan pushed the cabinet to the side of the room, and behind it lay a large opening in the wall. Next to the opening was what appeared to be an unlit torch, just waiting for someone to use it.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Ivan said, staring down the endless black hole before him. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Ivan you coming?” Jack asked as he was about to leave the hut.

“Coming where? We just discovered how our culprit escaped. Why give up now?”

“Give up? No no no, I need you to help me get it to the fire.”

~~~~~~~~~~
Comments?

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Nice mate!!!

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Chapter 10: The Discovery

Ivan walked through the beginning of the narrow tunnel, torch in hand. Jack followed closely behind him, gun in hand. The tunnel eventually reached the point where it was only wide enough to fit one person from wall to wall, and it didn’t seem like somebody had taken the time to assure otherwise.

“Let’s keep moving,” Ivan said. “I think I see some light coming from over there.

“Where do you think this tunnel will lead?” Jack asked. “I mean it would be interesting if we found a pirate hideout around here or…” Jack trailed off into silence. “I just noticed something.” He said, an uneasy look on his face.

“Oh, and what’s that?” Ivan asked.

“Well, you know how the navy likes to keep a compact security at this place?”

“Yeah, where are you getting?”

“Well, I think we may be walking directly into the…” Jack stopped when he climbed up a small ledge at the end of the tunnel, revealing that the once distant light was now in their general area. “Stronghold.”

“You’re kidding me.” Ivan said. “There’s no way our suspect could’ve escaped into this place.” He said, looking all around him.

To their left was what appeared to be a building used primarily for storage, made of solid stone instead of flimsy wood. To their right were many different people, navy and civilian. The navy guards were doing what they normally did, (Stand around and do nothing) meanwhile the civilians, shovels in hand, were mindlessly digging, for what only they and a select few actually knew. Directly ahead of them the entrance (or exit) to the cave area, it appeared to be manned by the occasional guard, if anything. And finally, behind them stood the hole they had just came out of. It looked a lot smaller once they were fully outside of it. To the casual observer, it looked just like any other ordinary hole that the diggers made.

“Hey you!” A naval soldier called from afar, rushing to the scene. “Did you two just climb out of that hole?” He asked.

Ivan looked towards Jack with uncertainty, but what came next had no effect on relieving him.

“Why yes Sergeant, I just caught this hooligan skipping on his work… again.” Jack said with a smile. “You may address me as Captain Henson, Sergeant. It’s unbelievable somebody would rather sit around all day than… well you get the point.”

“So what do you want me to do sir? Ten lashes?” The Sergeant said.

“Oh no, that’s fine. In fact I’m feeling awfully generous today. Instead, I’ll just let him off with a warning.” Jack said, disappointing the Sergeant.

“Very well sir, I’ll be on my way then.” The Sergeant said as he walked off. “If you need me, I’ll probably be somewhere dealing punishment to anyone whom I see fit.” He said, walking deeper into the intricate cave system.

Ivan turned towards Jack. “WHAT WAS THAT!?!?!” He asked furiously.

“That was me giving you a direct opportunity to get information.” Jack said with a smile. “I’m sure now those guards won’t bother you, that is unless you decide to… I don’t know, slack off or something.”

“But, did you really need to do that?”

“Probably not, but hey, it works.” Jack said, turning towards the small building a dozen meters away. “Get all the info you can while talking with your new “workmates” while I check out the local documents.” He said, heading off with a content look. “Good luck!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Padres Del Fuego: Docks

Commodore Bishop stood atop the ship, overlooking the many naval soldiers that had gathered below. “Now I’m sure you’re all familiar with what you’re about to undertake. Team 1 will head to fort Dundee to receive further orders from our own Captain McHenry. Team 2 will begin an immediate scouting expedition through the wilds. And Team 3’s job is to make sure they stay out of any pirate’s reach while still receiving any new documents under pirate control, is that understood?”

“Aye aye sir.” Was the response.

“Good, let me see to it that everyone not assigned to a team be taken alongside for individual debriefing.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivan trudged up the steep slopes towards what he hoped was somehow going to be his next lead. He dutifully picked up the closest shovel and began digging in a completely random spot.

“Aye, what on earth do you think you’re doing lad?” One of the diggers asked.

“What me? Why I’m just minding my own business, is there anything wrong with that?” Ivan replied.

“Well, next time, don’t reveal anything to these navy blokes ok?” The man said, worried.

“Reveal anything? What are you talking about?”

“You know the…” The man stopped. “The…”

“The what? Spit it out.” Ivan said impatiently.

“One question, if I may ask. Have you… ever really been here before?” The man asked, still digging.

Ivan rolled his eyes and began to think of some sort of way to get out of this. Certainly he wouldn’t want to blow his cover, not when he may be so close. But at the same time he needed answers, and so far, seeking them only led to more questions. “No, I was just sent here by one of those stupid navy officers that thinks they know everything.”

“Oh I know about that, but… did you really just climb out of that hole?” The man asked. Now they were getting somewhere.

“Yes I did, but is there really anything wrong with that?”

“Well not really, I just…” The man’s words were interrupted by those of a man with dirtied clothes and a rough tri-corn hat rushing towards him.

“Hey Chester, Roald just decided to take the alternate entrance, he said that the main one was much too dangerous.” The man said, catching his breath. “He’ll be here soon, and with those… hey, whose your new friend?” He asked noticing Ivan. At first he sounded very welcoming, but it only took a few seconds for him to notice whom he was speaking to. “Wait a second, you’re the…” He wasn’t able to finish, much thanks to Ivan throwing down his shovel and nearly tackling him. Fortunately for him he was able to evade the desperate attempt.

“GAHHH! Chester get out of here!” He yelled, pushing shovels in the way of Ivan’s path. The man turned to face a smaller and less used part of the cave system, and once his bearings were set, he dashed off into the direction, Ivan following directly behind. He was fast, very fast. Unless There was some way to indefinitely slow him down, Ivan would have to settle for chasing him down directly.

The man in pursuit jumped over a large pile of rocks, following Ivan, doing the same. (A lot less gracefully.) After that, the escapee instead focused on running up the wooden scaffolding sitting next to a deep gorge. After he reached the top, it was clear that there was only one method of escape. He leaped up onto an overhead rope, hoping to reach the other side of the gorge. Once he got a solid grip on the rope, he began inching his way across the gorge.

Ivan started running up the steps to the top of scaffolding. There was almost no way he could reach him now, not at the rate he was going. Instead, Ivan had an idea. He took out his knife, and brought it up to the rope, which the escapee had not gotten nearly halfway across. And without even thinking, cut through will all his might. The rope, which was not nearly as strong as he’d expected it to be, cut with ease. Ivan was pleased only for a second as he saw the man swing from the one sided rope with ease, as he rolled onto it’s sandy cave floor.

’You’re kidding me…’ Ivan thought.

Now that directly chasing him was out of the question, Ivan figured there was only one way of reaching his suspect. He quickly leaped down from the scaffolding, and grabbed a musket close by. There was only one solution, he’d just have to go for the legs. He got the musket into a comfortable position and pulled the flint back to its full position. One deep breath, and the muzzle was aimed straight at the fleeing man.

*Click*

’Figures…’

Now that he knew the gun most certainly won’t shoot unless it was firstly loaded, he turned his attention back to his suspect. On the other side, he’d almost reached the point where you couldn’t see him from the other side. He was headed to… the entrance.

“That’s it!” Ivan exclaimed. Without pause, he rushed to the point in which he presumed was towards the entrance (That is, the place where most of the equipment was coming from). He pulled the flint back and headed towards a large sack which contained all that was needed to properly fire.

As Ivan unveiled the many different types of ammo, he took whatever he remembered back in his training. ’Now let’s see, open pan…’ He thought as he opened the pan and took out his paper cartridge. ’Draw ramrod.’ He took out the ramrod and shoved it down the barrel in order to make sure the ammo was all the way down. After that daunting task was accomplished, he began making his way further into the cave. All that was left was to put the flint in full position in preparation for firing.

Sprinting his way through the cave, he could tell it was getting more crowded. That was good, for the most part. The strange looks he was getting was only bested by the suspicions coming from afar.

Finally, he could see the entrance, now if only he didn’t get beaten by…

A rough tri-corned figure made its way through what was undoubtedly a harder path to maneuver. ’Perfect’ Ivan thought. He figured he had about ten seconds before his escapee was gone possibly forever.

’Make ready’ He brought up the musket. ’Present!’ He brought the musket up to aiming position, but instead of going for the risky shot that possibly wouldn’t make it, and he figured the area was now getting much less people oriented and much more focused on supplies and such. He instead brought the barrel of his musket towards another barrel, one a little more… explosive. He readied his aim, took a deep breath, and most importantly, knew what had to be done.

’Fire…

~~~~~~~~~~
Well, there’s another cliffhange… I mean chapter. The story’s getting into what I like to call: ACT 2. So be ready for even more nonsense as this goes along.

So, comments? Can you please tell me what you think of it? It’s called FEEDback for a reason.

Hope you liked it Stealthy!

[The Stealthy Pirate]

I liked it mate! Now... where am I?

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Props to Stealthy Cannoneer for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 11: A little encounter with the Stealth

The musket was aimed, it was loaded, and finally, it was ready. Ivan knew the consequences of the shot, and he had planned for it beforehand.

’Fire…’

With a quick squeeze of the trigger, the musket’s barrel practically exploded, sending the ball flying through the air at untold speeds.

BOOOOM!

The barrel exploded with much greater force than Ivan had expected, but it was still far away from the man he was trying to catch. However, when it exploded, it blocked the exit with a bunch of smoldering rock, making it impossible to cross.

The rough tri-corned scout almost went from a full sprint to stopping in his tracks. He then turned right around and headed in the direction in which he came.

’Perfect.’ Ivan thought. Now he’d eventually have nowhere to go.

Ivan threw the musket to the ground, (which since it wasn’t loaded only made it something heavy to carry) and dashed off towards his only knowledge of Reynard.

Aside from the many mine carts, musket piles, and random wood planks that were being pushed down, it was surprising that the scout hadn’t tried to attack him directly. Of course it’s difficult to face an enemy when they’re pointing a gun straight at you.

Ivan followed the scout down a long, winding pathway. No wonder Ivan was able to catch up to him, because if he’d been chasing him on the same path, there’d be no way he’d get to him. Even though it seemed that Ivan was lagging far behind, it wouldn’t matter once they reached a dead end.

And that was right ahead of them.

Finally they reached the dead end, now it was impossible for him to escape in the same way he did before.

“Nowhere to go?” Ivan said, walking smugly towards the scout. “Tell you what, how about you follow me and we can end this nicely.”

The scout turned around to face Ivan. “I see no way in which this can end nicely.” He said, reaching inside his coat.

Ivan reached into his coat as well and took out the knife he’d recently used for making it look like he got into a fight, but now he realized this wasn’t the case.

“Ah, another fine duelist I see.” The man said. “So, who sent you? There’s no way someone like you belongs in the navy.” He said, taking out a knife as well.

“I’ll be the one to ask questions here.” Ivan said, nearing closer and closer. “Firstly, who sent you?”

“The one you’re searching for.”

“Marcus?”

“No, Reynard.”

Ivan almost face palmed himself, but with a knife in his hand, he thought it would be best not to. “That’s, well, they’re the same person.”

The scout laughed and returned to his fighting stance. “Trust me, if he had any codenames, I’d know about ‘em.”

“That’s… not what I meant.”

“Are you going to fight me or not?”

“Whatever.” Ivan said as he lunged towards the scout with built up frustration.

His attack was dodged seemingly easily by the scout which sidestepped out of the way and pushed him onto the ground.

“Surely that wasn’t your best.” He said as he took out another knife from his coat.

Ivan turned around just in time to dodge a knife headed straight for his leg. He got up to his feet and neared closer to his target.

“Trust me, if I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now.” The man said, narrowly dodging another swipe from Ivan. “Where did you learn to fight? The butchery?” He said, dodging another one of Ivan’s wild attacks.

At this time, the man Ivan was fighting was growing a bit tired of the lack of finesse, so he decided to try attacking himself. He took out a bunch of small knives and threw them all at once; most of them missed Ivan, except for the one that caught the edge of his arm. Now that Ivan was stunned, the man continued to use a flurry of swipes, cuts and quick stabs. A few of them, much to Ivan’s dismay, were able to break through his sporadic dodging, and before long, Ivan saw a sight that he hated to see. His own blood.

Ivan looked up just in time to see another barrage of fury coming his way. This time he was much more careful in dodging the attacks.

“You honestly have no idea on how these things work do you?” The scout said. “Here’s a hint, you’re supposed to- WHOA!”

The man was cut off by Ivan’s similarly placed barrage of fury.

“That was a little better than I expected, but maybe you try a little bit harder.” The scout said as he grabbed Ivan’s hand and unexpectedly threw him down like he was some sort of ninja. “Now then, how about we ditch the knives, and fight hand to hand?” He said, throwing his knife into the ditch.

Ivan rolled his eyes and as the fair fighter he is, tossed his own knife into the gaping hole in which the scout had just recently roped past.

“You REALLY don’t know how to do this, do you.” The scout said as he pulled out another knife.

’Fine, if he decides he can do that, I guess I need my own advantage as well.’

This little fight had gone too far, now Ivan would go further than before. He ran towards the scout, kicked the knife out of his hand, and before he could react, threw one of the knives at his gut.

A searing pain shot through the scout as the knife grazed across his body. At least it didn’t get… stuck.

Ivan knew that now was the time to end this. He took out the flintlock that Jack had given him, and restrained the scout to the point where he was unable to reach for his own weapon. However the scout kicked Ivan off of him before he was completely secured.

Now on the ground, Ivan picked up the flintlock and headed towards his target.

“Now then, let’s see how you do no…” The man said before he was cut off by a gun pointed directly in front of him. “Hey, that’s cheating.” He said, putting his hands up.

“Now then, will you decide to follow me now?” Ivan asked.

“Do I still have to answer your questions?”

“What? Of course you do pirate!”

“Was that an insult?”

“Just walk towards the shipment house!” Ivan said, beginning his long walk back to Jack.

~~~~~~~~~~
Howard trudged onward through the rainy streets of Padres Del Fuego. His mission was clear: Find any sign of Reynard or his affiliates.

“I should start here.” He said, walking into a weapons shop.

“And what can I get for you?” Asked the old man at the counter.

“Ammo, and lots of it.”

“Ah, quite the adventurer I see.”

“Not really, just hunting someone down.”

The old man walked over to a small box at the edge of the store. “I keep these for the special customers.” He said as he opened the box, revealing some tightly packed stun shots.

“That’ll have to do.” Howards said, exchanging the desired amount of money for the shots. “Thank you, I’ll be off now.”

“And another thing.” The man said, keeping Howard from opening the door. “Could I interest you in some triple barreled pistols?”
~~~~~~~~~~

“Now where did you say you found him?” Jack asked.

“He ran up to me while I was… pretending to dig. I’m sure he has information. He knew about Reynard and everything.” Ivan answered.
“Good, that’s a start.” Jack said. “At least we know now where to begin.” He said, walking towards the interrogation rooms. “I’ll go in there and see what I can… extract.”

“You go in there? But what about me?” Ivan asked.

“You stay here, I’m an experienced interrogator.” He said walking towards the door.

“Well, good luck I guess. He’s a sly one.”

“I know.” Jack said as he opened the door. Inside the quiet empty room lied the stealthy scout sitting neatly on the table. Literally ON the table.

“Hey, get off there!” Jack yelled.

“Why?”

“Because… Ugh!” Jack screamed in frustration.

“That’s not really an answer.”

“How about this then: If you don’t sit on the chair right now I’m going to give you a nightmare to remember.” Jack said, already infuriated.

The man pushed himself off the table and onto the chair in front of him. “Alright Jack.”

“Wha- how do you know my name?”

“Or should I call you, Captain Jack Henson?” The man asked.

“I think please, no, mercy would be suitable.”

“Ok then please no mercy,” The man said folding his hands. “What will it be today? The usual?”

“Listen! Just answer my questions, and my name won’t have any significant meaning in this conversation.” He said, pounding on the table.

“Fine, fine. But I don’t think Jack Henson sounds very meaningful anyways.”

“SHUT UP!” Jack screamed, sending a silence throughout the room. “Now, what’s your name?”

“Stealthy.”

“I know you are, but what’s your name?”

“Stealthy. Just Stealthy’s fine.

“O…k… Stealthy. What business do you have with the man Marcus Reynard?”

“So that is his first name.”

“What? No! Yes, I mean…”

“Maybe?”

“Just… UH!!!!!” Jack yelled as he stormed out the door.

“What’s going on?” Ivan asked.

“You handle him, he’s impossible.” Jack said, running off presumably somewhere quiet so he could go cry.

’Alright, I guess that leaves it up to me.’ Ivan said as he headed towards the door.

The door creaked open slowly, and Ivan walked into the room. But to his surprise, there was nobody there. Panicking, he turned around only to find a nice foot to the face, sending him crashing into the table. Before he could leap forward however, a loud ‘PHHSST’ entered the room as an explosion of smoke covered the entire room.

“HEY!” Ivan yelled as he tried to find his way to the door. Eventually, once he reached it, he ran down the hall, only to find everyone acting completely normal.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Now that whoever he was trying to find had escaped, it seemed hopeless. That is, until his eyes reached a piece of paper lying on the floor.

‘Come to Ratskellar, on Padres Del Fuego. Come alone, and come prepared.
-M. R.
~~~~~~~~~~
Need Moar cawmentz.