The Black Seas Ch. 06

Antigua, 1702

Themonths at sea seemed like ages for Jack Rackham. Every day was like a lifetime away from Anne and every day he couldn't wait to return to her arms. The day came when his ship returned to port. Upon seeing the town from the distance he rushed below deck to pack his few belongings and rushed back up to finish up his tasks. Helping the rest of the crew the ship was docked and unloaded in record time.

Jack ran to the mercantile to collect his pay and ran all the way to their home. So filled with excitement, he burst through the door and called out for Anne, but there wasn't an answer. He figured she must be down at the market and was about to head that way when a small piece of paper on the table caught his attention.

It was now he really took a look around the room beginning to fear the worst. Dust was thick, covering everything from the table and note to the chairs and fireplace mantle and everything in between. He was hesitant to walk over to the note and read it. He was afraid Blackbeard had come to look for them and found Anne alone and helpless. Jack's world began to crumble around him. Had he failed her again?

Jack slowly walked over to the table and picked up the note. Instantly he recognized the handwriting as Anne's.

Dearest Jack,

Fer years I have fought against the evil part of meself and have been successful but only in time where ye were here at me side. I tried to hold out this last time waiting fer yer return. It is only now that I have the peace to write ye this letter.

I only hope that one day we can be together again, but I am afraid this evil has taken the control it needs and the trouble is I like it. I will always be forever yers and one day I hope to be in yer arms once more.

Yer dearest,

Anne

Jack crumpled the note and cursed. He had to find her before she got into trouble he decided. He gathered all his money together and what few items the two shared and went back to the mercantile.

Ahyoung Jack," Gilbert Jeffreys, owner of the Fast Route Mercantile, said upon Jack's entrance. "Back so soon? Have ye decided to buy a ship after all?"

"Let us just say plans have changed and yes I will be requiring a ship," Jack confirmed.

"Excellent," the fat man said. "I have just the ship fer ye. Come follow me."

Jack followed the man to the back of the mercantile to a private docking area. Sitting in the water were three ships. Jack was taken to the last ship in the line, a beautifully designed Galleon class ship. "Remarkable," Jack breathed upon seeing the ship.

"Yes, she is," Gilbert agreed. "And fer the price we agreed on, ye can have her."

"Where can I find a good and trustworthy crew?" Jack asked.

Gilbert laughed. "The only ones yer'll find like that are me crews and me young friend ye don't have the money to buy them.

"I'll tell ye what. Give me a couple hours and I'll get ye a decent crew. Work on a acquiring the supplies ye will need in the meantime."

"Very well," Jack said turning to leave.

"Wait a minute me young and impatient friend. Ye know not even yer destination." Jack turned back around with a bit of embarrassment stretched across his face. His mind had been so focused on the task of finding his sister that he clearly wasn't thinking straight. Not thinking straight was bound to get him killed. "Ye will need to head to Tortuga to find a crew," Gilbert informed him.

"Isn't Tortuga a pirate refuge?"

Gilbert laughed again. "Sure it is, but fer what ye are needing pirates will be yer best bet."

Jack was thrown off guard just a little. As far as he knew, Gilbert only knew of his plans to own a ship to carry merchandise and material. He decided to push fer an answer to his question.

"Why would ye say that?"

"It's in ye eyes young Jack. Ye have adventure set in them. I have seen it many times before in ye and others. Ye also have determination there. I saw Anne board theForgotten Wisha few months ago and I suspect you wish to find out why."

Jack suddenly found himself angry. "Why didn't ye say something when I came to collect?"

"It was not me place boy," Gilbert answered. "Now put away yer anger and get going."

Jack's anger turned to embarrassment. He turned away once more, took a few steps then stopped again. He spun around to see Gilbert smiling at him. "Clear yer head boy. Ye will soon find yer love again," he said.

"I've just never had to make plans like this," Jack said trying to sound convincing.

"Bah!" Gilbert said waving his hand at him. "Ye have to learn at some point young Jack. Get what ye need from me business and consider it a wedding gift fer ye two."

"Yer too kind a man Gilbert," Jack said complimenting the man.

"Ye have needed some looking out fer Jack and I was just more than happy to help ye. I was once like ye Jack. I had me a beautiful woman that I loved dearly."

"What happened to her?" He asked curious to learn more about the man. He already knew little like anyone in the town knew of him and Anne.

"Pirates of the most notorious attacked this here port some years ago. Me wife was killed in the attack." A bit of sadness came to the man as he explained.

"Did ye ever find who the pirate was?"

"Aye. It was that scourge Blackbeard and his band of scallywags," he said. His sadness quickly turned to anger.

"Ye should have sought revenge," Jack informed the man.

"I could never have gotten it young Jack. Revenge isn't always the answer to things in this life."

"I would not rest until I got my revenge," Jack commented.

"Ye have a good spirit Jack, but ye also have much to learn. Now be on ye way and return in a few hours."

Jacksorted through Gilbert's store making a list of goods he figured he'd need for his journey plus a little extra just to ensure he had enough. When he was done he gave the list to Gilbert's store keeper and then took his leave.

Having some time to kill, Jack headed to the blacksmith of the town. He had just enough money to maybe buy a sword and pistol. After all what was a captain of a ship without some form of protection?

He entered the blacksmith's shop and could feel a drastic change in temperature. Whereas the outside was warm with a cool breeze rolling through the streets, inside was an inferno. Fires off to the side were burning intensely. For an instant Jack imagined how good it would feel in the winter time to be in here.

"Can I help you boy?" a voice called from behind almost startling him. Jack turned to face the man and caught the man's expression changing from irritation to enthusiasm. "And what brings the young hopeful Jack here?" he asked holding out his arms.

The blacksmith grabbed Jack up into a bear hug and crushed the air from him before setting him back down. "I am no longer theHopeful Jack," he said smiling.

"Blimey! Ye finally have yer own ship?"

"Aye!"

The blacksmith slapped Jack on the back knocking him forward and nearly off his feet. He walked past Jack showing no concern like he didn't even notice Jack's attempts to steady himself. The blacksmith was a big burly and barrel-chested man with as some said the strength of an ox.

"What can I do fer the new captain?"

"I need a good sword and pistol, so me first stop is here," Jack said trying to suppress his eagerness.

"I think I can help ye with both then," the blacksmith said walking over to a bind of swords.

"I don't have much," Jack said before the man reached the bin.

"That's fine Jack," the man said. "I'll take what ye got." Jack waited patiently as the man dug through the bin and muttering to himself in the process. Finally he found what he was searching for. "Shiver me timbers!" he exclaimed. "I was beginning to think I wasn't going to find it." He produced a finely crafted cutlass with a golden handle and handed it over to Jack. "The handle is ingrained with gold, fitting fer a fine captain."

"I haven't even started my position of captain yet," Jack said to remind the man.

"Not yet," he said with a wink. Then he reached for the table and pulled off an odd looking pistol. "I came across this in Trinidad. I haven't a need fer it so ye can take it."

"What is it?" Jack asked accepting the pistol.

"It's a multi-barreled pistol. It's great fer when ye ain't got time to reload, ye pull that lever there and it rotates the barrel giving ye three shot in all."

"This is great," he remarked.

"Glad ye like it, now go I'm sure ye have much to do."

"Yeah," he said and threw a bag with the rest of what money he had at the man.

Jack left the blacksmith and with his tasks done he still had time before Gilbert would be ready so he headed to the shore to gather his thoughts. He spent the next hour staring blankly out at the ocean. After a while he walked back to Gilbert's mercantile and met with the waiting man.

"I was beginning to wonder if ye had already left without yer ship," he remarked upon seeing Jack.

"Sorry," he said. "Things took a little longer than I expected."

"No apology needed lad. Meet yer new crew."

Jack went through the process of being introduced to the crew as the captain of the ship, which Jack named theRadiant Discord. The crew went on to load all the goods Jack had selected earlier one while Gilbert conversed with him. Once the ship was loaded and the men were assigned their places onboard, theRadiant Discordset sail.

CaptainJack's first night as captain was a test of his skills at his newly acquired position. They had sailed with good winds throughout the remainder of the day and into the night. As the night progressed the winds picked up steadily and the seas became more and more rough.

Eventually the rough seas and winds turned into a storm. Giant rolling waves slammed against the hull throwing theRadiant Discordaround like a bath toy. To make matters worse the pour rain stung, carried harder by the forced winds and made seeing near impossible.

Jack stood at the helm barking orders as the crew tried to keep the ship somewhat under their control and from allowing the sea from swallowing them whole.

"Man that line!" he shouted pointing to a loose rope hanging from the foremast. "Bring that sail back in!"

Jack feared if the sail opened and the wind caught it the foremast would be ripped free from the deck. If that were to happen it would set them back several days.

A crewman responded to his command and grabbed hold of the rope. He struggled with it but didn't seem to be able to hold it for long. Jack scanned the deck looking for someone to help but every man was too busy holding together their own piece of the ship.

"Davis!" he yelled calling for his first mate. "Take the helm!"

Jack let go of the wheel and leapt over onto the deck. Howell Davis caught the wheel mid-spin. Jack crossed the deck fighting the torrent that threatened to cast him overboard. He fought against to pull of gravity as the ship shifted from side to side. He succeeded in reaching the man without being lost to the sea and took hold of the rope. "Pull!" he yelled. "Hold it steady!"

He jumped grabbing a higher spot then began to climb higher. He climbed to the top of the foremast and into the crow's nest. After taking a quick observation he slipped from the nest and out over the sails on the mast. A rope had slipped free and as he reached out for it, the ship bucked throwing the ship briefly from the water. When the ship reconnected with the sea, Jack was tossed from the mast. He extended his reach and grabbed the lose rope just at the last moment.

He swung freely as the wind hit him a swung him like a ragdoll. After being tossed back and forth a gust gave him good blast that sent him up and over the mast. The feat allowed him to regain some control and as gravity took him, he landed on his feet. He fought for just a moment to counter his balance before balancing himself, rope still in hand. Quickly he pulled the rope, bringing the sail back into place and tied it off. Then using the line he initially used to climb, jumped off grabbing the line and slide to the deck.

"Good work," he said to the crewman. "Tie that off."

He left the man to the task and made his way through the tricky storm back to the helm. He took over the wheel and said to his first mate, "Make a round and ensure the rigging is secured." Davis nodded and stared for the stairs to the lower deck. "And Davis?" The first mate turned to regard his captain. "Do be careful, ye are a good sailor and I care not to lose ye."

"Aye, aye."

The storm lasted for several more hours, almost into the morning. TheRadiant Discordonly suffered minor damage and none of the crew was thrown overboard. Jack took it as a good sign with a renewed sense of accomplishment as captain. Once calm settled over the seas, he withdrew to his personal quarters and sent for his first mate to join him. A knock rapped at the door and he bade the man to enter. Jack sat behind a desk that had a map of the Caribbean spread across the top along with a set of navigational plotting tools.

"Ye requested to see me Captain," Davis said upon entering.

"Aye," Jack said. "I called ye here because ye are a good sailor and I need good trustworthy men under me command."

"Aye."

"As ye are aware once we reach Tortuga I will pick up a new crew. I will need someone I can trust to watch me back and I would like ye to be that man."

Davis seemed to contemplate the offer then agreed. "It would be me honor Captain. Ye shall not have worries."

"Thank ye Howell. Me life is yers and in doing so yers is mine."

"Till the end then Captain!" Davis said with a cheer.

"Aye."