Children of The Angry Sea Part Six: Treason on The High Seas.

 

They made their exit from the Buzzards Breath and headed east back toward the pier where Oseric Pope was waiting with the Jolly, they never noticed the tall hooded figure that followed behind them from the tavern, he let out a sharp short whistle and Tristian stopped and turned abruptly to face the sharp piercing noise. The hooded figure nodded toward a dirt alleyway between two tall buildings, the three men followed with caution. The hooded man identified himself as Quintan Colby, just a simple pier rat who caught labor on the docks as it came to him. He told Tristian and the others that the man they were looking for came ashore from a boat called the Alba Rose, not more than five days ago, he met a man called Grimace who passed on information as to the whereabouts of one Captain Grayson Bonney. 

Quintan Colby, who was quite the capable spy at times, managed to almost get caught, but not before he overheard Grimace telling Benjamin Holm that Bonney was waiting in the village of Orchard Square and the Hellborn was anchored in the rocky coves of Aysgarth thirty miles to the west of there. Holm and the two men with him hadn't reboarded the Alba Rose at that time. The ship hoisted sails and cast off two full hours before Tristian and the Sea Witch arrived but to the best of Quintan Colby's knowledge Benjamin Holm never reboarded her, in fact, he and two of his accomplices followed the strangers to a seaside boarding house to where Holm paid the innkeeper ten gold pieces presumably for a room. Benjamin Holm was still on the island. Tristian passed him a small pouch of coins.

"Take us to him, we will have a word with this man." He said.

"He's not alone." Colby cautioned.

"And we'll deal with them, too."

He led them through and along the cobblestoned narrow backstreets of Blackswallow, until they came to rest beside a dark four-story stone building, Colby nodded to two men standing in the front and back corners of the alley, one approached with caution, nervously eying Tristian and his crew mates. He and Quintan Colby exchanged brief hushed whispers before he went to the back of the alley, while Colby walked to the front corner of the inn to talk to the second man, Tristian watched in curious silence when in the back of his mind odd questions began to tug at his thoughts. How did these men, while even overhearing part of the conversation, know to follow Benjamin Holm and his accomplices to the Inn? A question he posed to Quintan Colby on his return. Colby was to the point.

"You're not the first to come around asking questions about murderous cutthroats on Blackswallow Captain, I believe there is someone else looking for him, maybe they be thinking this Benjamin Holm of yours will lead them to ol Silver Tooth, he is a wanted man too after all, information of this sort is a valuable commodity on Blackswallow." 

Tristian turned to head toward the front of the building when Colby stopped him.

"By the way, my friend Corbett saw the man you're looking for lower his hood to talk to the innkeeper, He has dirty brown hair, and a very visible scar on his cheek below his right eye. No one has left the building since they entered." He said.

"What I paid you, is sufficient, yes?"

Colby opened the small pouch of coins and looked inside, his eyes lit up and he nodded quickly.

"Good lad, I will give you five more gold pieces in addition, tell your men to hold fast to their positions, no one leaves this building. Then, as quickly as you can, get back to the Buzzards Breath and fetch Captain Morgan Blackwood and you bring him here to me. aye lad?"

Quintan Colby ran down the alley in the direction of the Buzzards Breath, Tristian, Ainsley Barksdale and Farrel Hooker entered the inn, there was one older fellow wiping down tables in the dining room and an elderly woman sweeping the floor, Tristian approached the old man.

"A man came in here not more than two hours ago, brown hair and a scar down his right cheek. He gave you gold, What room is he in?"  Tristian asked.

  The old man nervously looked at the staircase to the left, and then back at Tristian.

"They're on the second floor all the way to the end of the hall, last door on the right. they have weapons."

Tristian and his crew mates made their way down the hall stopping quietly outside the last door, he leaned in to listen, he could hear three different male voices talking, he motioned to Farrel Hooker and Ainsley Barksdale to draw their loaded flintlocks, he stepped in front of the door and kicked it in, two men jumped to their feet, the first met with Tristian's right fist into his abdomen, sending him sprawling across a table head first into the wall, the second was being mercilessly beaten by Ainsley Barksdale. the third man lay frozen on the bed, Tristian's Flintlock cocked and trained on his skull. He lifted his face and the scar that ran down his right cheek told the story. Tristian cast him a cold stare.

"Benjamin Holm I presume? Or should I call you Colin Garreck?"

"What is the meaning this?" Holm yelled.

Tristian's eyes narrowed.

"Does the name Hiro Shamus mean anything to you?"

He lunged for a dagger on the table but Tristian back handed him hard across the bridge of the nose, drawing blood, causing Holm to let out a whimper.

Farrel Hooker returned to the dining room to wait for Morgan Blackwood, who arrived just fifteen minutes later with his first mate. Hooker led them upstairs to the end of the hall, Morgan Blackwood entered the room, a curious look on his face. 

"Tristian?" 

He turned to face Captain Morgan Blackwood and then returned his attention to Benjamin Holm.

"May I present you Captain Blackwood, Quartermaster, Benjamin Holm, cutthroat, thief, murderer of Captain Hiro Shamus. Turncoat of the Royal Fleet. Ally to the wanted pirate scoundrel Silver Tooth."

Tristian put his boot on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, staring into the eyes of Benjamin Holm.

"Oh me bucko, you needn't be worried about that whole treason thing, you see, I'm not turning you over to the Royal Navy, however, I'm sure Captain Blackwood here, might have a few questions for you, concerning the fate of his longtime friend Hiro Shamus."

Farrel Hooker appeared over his right shoulder and placed a small, thick leather-bound book in his hand. 

"Found it in the duffel bag over by the door, appears to be a Journal of some sort, goes back a few years from the looks of it." Hooker told him.

Tristian's eyes scanned through the book and then slowly rose to meet Benjamin Holms frightened look. He turned to Captain Blackwood.

" Well Morgan my friend," Tristian turned to face him, his lips pursed into a sly smile, he nodded over his shoulder. "So it would appear Lad, I've left you more than a piece, You'll be dining on the whole carcass then." 

Tristian turned to leave, Morgan briefly stopped him, his cold stare never leaving Benjamin Holm.

"Tristian- What will you be telling the Royal Navy then?"

He reappeared at Morgan's side.

"The sad truth, Morgan, that Benjamin Holm was just another poor soul lost at sea." 

Morgan raised his eye to look at Captain Crowley.

"Do close the door behind you, Tristian. Good luck with your hunt."

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Children Of The Angry Sea: Part Five... Blackswallow.

 

His sleep was interrupted several times during the night by troubled seas and periods of restlessness, and the very next morning as he stood at the helm of The Sea Witch, Captain Tristian felt the familiar sway of intuition tugging at his thoughts. He raised the spy glass to the horizon as the Penduline islands slowly came into view, the Sea Witch turned slowly to the east sailing around the cape of the largest island in the chain called Sharktooth, to a much smaller one along the southeast side to Grimrose, they pulled the Sea Witch to within a mile and one half of the shoreline until the towering buildings of Blackswallow came into view. They went another mile, maintaining their distance from the shore, before Tristian called the order to drop anchor. He looked through the spy glass carefully studying the shoreline along the docks until his eyes came to rest on a familiar sight, It was a ship nestled in along one of the deep slips off the piers of Blackswallow, a ship he more than recognized, it was the Bandy Swine. He knew Captain Morgan Blackwood all too well, and to say that they were not friendly was an understatement.

He returned to his cabin to gather a few papers, his eyes carefully scanning several times over them reading and remembering names, he then retrieved his cutlass and two loaded flintlocks and holstered both under his long coat. He returned to the gun deck where he sought out first mate Moses Finch, and instructed him to lower a Jolly where he, second mate Farrel Hooker, gunners mate Ainsley Barksdale, and deckhand Oseric Pope would be heading ashore. Tristian instructed them to each carry a loaded flintlock and a cutlass, but to keep them under wraps as they didn't want to appear to be looking for a fight, but in case trouble should at some point arise, they would be ready for it. He told Mr. Finch that he had the bridge. They deployed the jolly just before 9:00 AM, and rowed a mile and one half until they reached the shallows beneath Blackswallow, they lashed the small vessel to the dock posts, and Tristian, Farrel Hooker and Ainsley Barksdale would search the taverns for Captain Morgan Blackwood, while Oseric Pope would wait by the Jolly.

Blackswallow although strikingly beautiful in places, with its tall buildings, some boasting seven stories high, trade, and various vendors, and butcher shops, alongside taverns, lined the narrow coach ridden cobblestone streets, it was clean and sprawling, and its population soared into the thousands, reaching out in several directions for miles. In some places the buildings were backed up to towering sheer stone cliffs and forests that seemed to climb their way to the heavens. But for all its wealth and beauty, Blackswallow was long well known to be a safe haven for some of the most notorious pirates of the golden coast, some of which actually called it home. Along its tavern row, Captain Morgan Blackwood was amongst the usual suspects. They found them in a place called The Buzzards Breath. As they entered, they found themselves in the usual scene, a smoke filled room, amidst the scent of stale rum mixed with charred meat and the slightest stench of unwashed flesh, and there sat Morgan Blackwood at a table off in the corner with two other men, one Tristian recognized as his first mate, Marston Gruber, and a second man which he did not recognize. Captain Morgan Blackwood immediately recognized him. 

"Captain Tristian Crowley. What brings you to our little corner of the world?"

"It isn't a pleasure visit Captain Blackwood, of that I can assure you, May we sit for a moment?"

He touched a lit match to his long stemmed tobacco pipe, and puffed out two plumes of gray smoke, his menacing stare never leaving Tristian and his two companions, he nodded silently toward three empty chairs. They pulled them in close and sat.

"We crossed paths with a ship no more than eight days from here, anchored in a fog bank, she's a merchant, crew, quartermaster, all murdered, and we suspect their bodies thrown overboard. cargo left completely intact, The ship's name is the Queen Ann Swayne. we boarded her to offer assistance, we found her empty save the cargo, I gathered The captain's log and the quartermasters as well, and navigational charts. and returned to The Witch."  Tristian struck a match and lit his own pipe, his eyes carefully studying Blackwood.

"A merchant, you say? and what secrets did the log books reveal Tristian?"

"It is my belief that the Captain Hiro Shamus had smuggled more aboard than spices and sugarcane rum, I believe he and his officers arranged the sale of the ship and cargo beforehand, and murdered the crew and quartermaster Benjamin Holm, anchored and abandoned the ship with their real prize a cache of valuable gemstones, We found the captains body set adrift in a jolly, four days later, a hole in the center of his forehead, a small ruby clutched in his palm." Tristian told them.

Blackwood looked at him in stunned disbelief.

"I know these names Tristian, Hiro Shamus was no merchant captain nor Benjamin Holm a quartermaster, Hiro was what some would call a privateer or pirate, a capable seaman to be certain, but no merchant ship captain." Blackwood responded.

"So a competent fraud then?"  Tristian asked.

A look of sadness slowly grew in Blackwoods eyes.

"Hiro Shamus was a flawed man, Tristian." He said. "But he was also my friend."

"And what of Benjamin Holm?" Tristian inquired.

"Benjamin Holm isn't his real name, he was an officer of the Royal Navy, aboard the HMS Prince Henry. His real name is Colin Garrick, he went on shore leave three years ago and never returned. And he isn't dead Tristian, I know this to be true, because not more than a week ago he was sitting at this very table, swilling ale with five other men. Word has it they were looking for Silver Tooth." Blackwoods eyes narrowed.

"Grayson Bonney." Tristian muttered angrily. "We've met."

"Do tell."  Blackwood smiled.

"We chased them off a fishing boat two years ago, ran them into the fog near Norchester."

"The Hellborn hasn't been seen in these waters in six months time Tristian, Bonney has made enemies on both sides of the law, but take heed lad, The Hellborn will not fall easy prey twice, even to the Sea Witch. But you do have an edge in one regard, You're smarter than him. be careful with that one Tristian" Blackwood said.

Tristian cast him a puzzled look.

"You humiliated him once already, men tend to remember such things." He cautioned.

"Duly noted."

Tristian passed a small stack of coins across the table to Captain Morgan Blackwood.

"Buy yourself a bottle of rum Morgan."  He said, slowly standing.

"Tristian?"

He cast him a blank stare.

"I know you and I have had our differences in the past. But if you do happen to find the man or men who murdered Hiro Shamus?"

He offered no reply, but nodded.

"I do hope that you'll save a piece for me."

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Children of The Angry Sea... Part Four: The Ruse.

 

He had stayed at it, going over the entire log book, for several hours until Mr. Finch once again came knocking upon his chamber door. He bellowed for him to enter, which Mr. Finch did with a hesitancy, as if unsure of what to expect from his Captain. He entered the chambers at just before 7:00 PM with a tray of food, Morley Trimble the Sea Witches cook had prepared the last of the roast mutton with roasted potatoes with other root vegetables with a bottle of fine wine. Mr. Finch, when the Captain failed to show up for the officer's meal, grew slightly concerned and decided to take his dinner to chambers. When he entered, there stood Tristian over the walnut map table with papers strewn in an unorderly fashion about his feet, pining over the Queen Anne Swayne's nautical charts as if he were silently hoping to find some unknown secret of life. Mr. Finch sat the tray of food down on the desk before joining him at the map table. Calmly clasping both hands behind his back at the wrists, his own eyes now wandering across the nautical charts, trying to discover for himself what Tristian was seeing.

"What are we seeing then, Captain sir?" He asked.

Tristan shot him a sideways glance, and looked back down at the charts, calmly lying his pencil down. He produced a tall flat hard spined book that he had also retrieved from Captain Shamus's chambers. He gave Mr Finch a curious look.

"Quartermasters log, Mr. Finch, time measured and kept in meticulous fashion, look at the last entry when they were scheduled to leave port at Old Towne Lyptak at 0700 hours on a Monday morning, November 3rd heading due East, this chart here shows the original course, they should have taken to get to Whiteshire in Grimshim bay, Now setting that aside, This ships quartermaster had this trip calculated down to the exact hour."

He closed the book and then reopened it at the first page.

"Now then, take note Mr. Finch, the quartermasters name according to the signature in the upper left-hand corner of this first page, is Benjamin Holm. Now we go to the captain's log and look in the later entries, and we discover, that after members of the crew on the first nights watch on the half-deck came up missing, on the second night whose name is mentioned first to go on the next watch. Benjamin Holm, Now I ask you, there are missing men already, the captain does not know at this point in time if they washed or jumped overboard or were possibly murdered, so he appoints his ship's quartermaster to the very next watch? Curious decision is it not? now then we go back into the captains log on the 35th page where he notes in his own log that they left port in Old Towne Lyptak on Sunday night, November 2nd a full 12 hours earlier than what is registered in the quartermasters record?"

"So someone changed the course set by the quartermaster?"

"So, following on this line, they must have gone northeast rather than due east. And they left a week early to allow for the change in course. So they didn't go off course it was a planned alteration, the extra 12-hour time allowance as much as states it so."

"And the only one that could alter the course would be-"

"The Captain himself." Finch said.

"The captain and the officers sold the ship beforehand to privateers or pirates, left it in a predesignated place, killed the quartermaster and crew, dropped anchor and left the ship, and it's cargo for whoever paid for it and abandoned it on the jolly and took whatever else the captain had smuggled aboard to sell or deliver. The one thing they hadn't calculated was the storm, which created time for us to make the discovery."

"And left behind the log? Why?"

"Part of the Ruse, Mr. Finch. of that I am now certain. A ruse left behind in case someone made the discovery before the ship was taken."

"As we did."

"You wouldn't bother with searching for someone whom you already thought dead. hold our present course, Mr. Finch, we'll be placing our own four-man watch team tonight. assemble the crew below the half-deck, I will briefly address them."

They gathered below the half-deck to where Captain Tristian Crowley addressed his concerns as to the fate of the crew of the recently discovered Queen Anne Swayne. The Sea Witch would hold course making its way toward the eastern tip of the Penduline Islands, before sailing onto Pigrim The weather had calmed some and the wind though slowed it steadily kept them on their course. He addressed his crew with great concern over the fate of the crew of the doomed Queen Anne, He himself, along with Farrel Hooker, Seton Hitch and young Theodore Paine would stand watch while the rest of the crew rested, all would be armed with loaded Flintlocks and cutlasses one to port, one the starboard, one on the foredeck leaving Captain Tristian himself to keep a sharp eye on the aft. They would sail on through the night maintaining their course without incident, however at first light Seton Hitch would yell out to Tristian from the starboard the same time as the captain himself spied the small boat set adrift on the horizon. He stepped up behind Seton Hitch, softly patting him on the shoulder while whispering as if someone would hear.

"Sharp eye lad." 

He raised the spyglass to see the small boat gently bobbing and swaying in the current, surrounded by a soft blanket of fog. Mr. Finch now appeared on his right side. The rest of the crew had gathered on the top deck, now all looking on with growing curiosity. As the Sea Witch drew closer to the small craft, Captain Tristian could see someone lying in the bottom of the boat, they came alongside it, and he ordered the ship's doctor to come topside. Doctor Irwin Donaldson had been the most recent addition to the Sea Witch before Fiona Tidas, but he had many times over earned the respect of his Captain and crew. He and Tristian lowered themselves into the small craft to check the body for life, but when the doctor had turned the head of the older man, the hole in his forehead told them that his death had been swift.  He raised the sleeve cuff on his right wrist to see a tattoo of a human skull, beneath it the letters H.S. in his hand he was clutching something, and when Tristian unfurled it in his palm he found a small red ruby. 

"Ahhh, and we now know of the prize," Tristan said while holding the small precious stone up to the light. 

Irwin Donaldson gave him an odd look.

"Yes, but why leave it to him? he's already dead." He asked.

"Payment from a guilty conscience, for his part in the conspiracy, Doctor. Mr. Finch! if you please, send down a line we'll bring the body aboard, we'll wrap him in our old stitch sailing, at least we can give him a proper burial at sea. Leave the boat adrift." 

They returned to The Sea Witch raising the body of Captain Hiro Shamus whom they wrapped and stitched him closed in old sail canvas, and laid him at the port side while waiting for the captain to say a few words, for the fallen sailor. While in private the Captain and the doctor both knew of the stone, and Tristian, knowing his crew, would trust them to speak to them of the absolute truth on the matter. The Doctor however questioned whether anyone should be told about the small stone they found in Shamus's palm. Still Tristan stood fast on his decision, he would hold nothing back. He would not speak a lie to his crew.

"My mates, it has now been 4 days past since we found in the storm the vessel known as The Queen Anne Swayne, anchored and abandoned, with her crew freshly murdered. From the evidence I have read in the Queen Anne's log, written by this man's own hand speaks of this dire fate suffered by her crew, the evidence tells me that the man you see lay before you conspired with his officers to murder their quartermaster and shipmates, and to leave the ship, and it's cargo to privateers or pirates who bought the ship and arranged the deed. I believe this was carried out because the captain, perhaps with the aid of one or more of his officers, smuggled aboard a cache of valuable gemstones. He died at the hands of his officers, who boarded an unknown vessel and left him to die adrift in the jolly they used to abandon the Queen Anne. when we return to Norwich, I will turn all the evidence over to the Royal Navy. For now, we say a few words for Captain Hiro Shamus.

"O Father, grant his family today, and in the days hereafter, peace and comfort in the glory of his service to his fellow man, and flawed though he may have lived, Please forgive o' lord, his trespasses his sins and misdeeds, against his fellow man, cleanse his soul, and may he find peace and comfort in the knowledge that he now sails with you, O Lord, our maker and protector."

"All hands Sail away, Mr. Finch. Take us around the eastern Tip."

 

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Children of The Angry Sea.. Part Three: Behold! The Queen Ann Swayne.

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They were a full eight days out to sea to the northeast of Norwich, and still had a full seven days sailing before they would be within reach of the eastern tip of the Penduline islands. The sea grew rough in spots and swelled mightily in others, slowing the progress considerably, on the morning of the eighth day the rain lashed out at them bringing up even larger swells and the wind began to blow harder into their sails pushing them farther into a fog bank, the wind slowed and settled leaving only the fog and though the seas were growing more troubled the mighty Sea Witch stayed her course. And though he had suffered through a restless sleep, Captain Tristian had come above deck just in time to hear Mr. Finch sound the general alarm.

"Captain Crowley! We have a ship in the fog bank sir!"

Tristian raised his eyes to look at Mr. Finch. who began frantically pointing out through the thickening fog.

"To our port, sir." Mr. Finch added.

He joined Finch on the half-deck and looked through his spyglass, studying the ship carefully. it sat still, silently, almost ghostly, rising and falling with the waves directly to the Sea Witches broad side, Finch gave him a concerned look.

"Sails are torn, no markings, they're not flying colors. No light, no lanterns." 

"Royal Navy sir?" Finch asked.

"Not a frigate, definitely not Navy, Too small, she's adrift, that much is certain."

Tristian changed position to get a better look at the strange ship floating in the distance.

"Kill all Lanterns and noise, all hands move to half sails, reduce speed, and bring us alongside her slow, Mr. Finch." He turned to look down at second mate Farrel Hooker. "Go below Hr. Hooker, put all port guns on full standby."  

He lifted the glass back up to his eyes, returning his attention to the ship.

"No Markings, No Flag, What do you make of it sir? in distress perhaps?" Mr Finch yelled.

Tristian slowly lowered the glass. Before looking back at Mr. Finch.

"There's no one on deck. And I can't see from the fog but if she has gun ports, they are closed, it's a merchant, Bring us in, slowly, I want a closer look."

It slowly drifted, bobbed and swayed there with the rise and fall of the waves. there were indeed gun ports on the side, but they never opened. He carefully scanned the upper decks for sailors maning the sails, he saw nothing.

"Slowly, Mr. Finch, bring us broadside."

The Sea Witch slowly closed to within 50 yards of the smaller ship, Captain Tristian never lowering his glass scanned the entire top of the vessel searching for anything that moved. there was nothing.

"Lower us a jolly in the water Mr. Finch, Osric, Theodore and Seton, you three will be coming with Mr. Hooker and I to board her, Mr. Hooker we'll need loaded Flintlocks and cutlasses. Mr. Finch you have the bridge, all hands stand by, that's an order."

They lowered the smaller boat into the water with Osric Pope, Theodore Paine and Seton Hitch aboard as oarsmen, Captain Tristian and Farrel Hooker would climb the ratlines of the distressed ship that had torn away from the main mast and were hanging over the sides and board her with Osric Pope and Seton Hitch, leaving young Theodore Paine to wait in and watch the Jolly. They rowed 52 yards to the broadside and the Captain and his men tested the strength of the ratlines and then scaled them, when they pulled themselves over the rails and boarded the upper decks, as far as he could see it, it was as much as he had feared there was no sign of the crew. They cautiously made their way to the first cargo hatch and opened it to see light coming out. There were lanterns still lit illuminating the lower cargo bay but still no signs of life to be seen. Osric, Farrel Hooker and Captain Tristian each retrieved a lantern and returned to the upper deck. 

Now more puzzled than ever Tristian made his way to the Captains quarters, there on the captain's desk were charts and two closed log books, One he guessed, was the captains log the other belonging to the Quartermaster. he placed them in a leather bag and returned to the Jolly, before climbing back down the side of the ship he turned to look it over once again, he looked at Osric, Seton and Farrel Hooker, and motioned for them to lower back into the jolly, the entire ship was empty, no captain, no officers, no crew, cargo completely intact. one small boat was all that was missing. and then Tristian saw something under the edge of the rail that hadn't been washed away by the rain, he ran his fingers through it and raised them to the light to see human blood, he walked a twenty-foot length of the railing and found other traces of it, as well as a strange residue that he could not place. They reboarded the Jolly and returned to the Sea Witch with the log book and charts, hopefully there would be answers hidden somewhere in its pages. When they cleared the port railing of the Sea Witch, he turned to look back at the abandoned vessel, that was when he noticed the anchor chain had been deployed.  He was greeted by Mr. Finch.

"All eyes to the water Mr. Finch, There is treachery afoot here sir, get us away from this vessel immediately." He stared solemnly at the doomed ship as the Sea Witch pulled away from her. Moses Finch once again appeared at his side.

"They dropped anchor, before the weather turned foul."

"Captain? what did you see, sir?"

"Nothing Mr. Finch, absolutely nothing, no crew, no captain, no officers, cargo intact. there was however the small matter of human blood beneath the port railings. Something happened to those poor lads aboard that ship, Mr. Finch, something very bad, I retrieved the Captain's and Quartermaster's logs and charts I'll be in my cabin reading. Armand Keel! you and Theodore take a couple of spyglasses up to the nest, sharp eyes to the port and starboard lads, The fore and aft, anything that moves in that water besides whales and the fishes sound the general alarm. The Witch will not be had by pirates today, mates. That is all."

He went to his cabin and sat in front of his own desk and emptied the contents of the leather pouch, he unrolled the charts and gave them a quick inspection before opening the ship's Captain's log. The name of the vessel was the Queen Anne Swayne, and the captains name was Hiro Shamus, it was a refitted small merchant ship tasked and commissioned by the Frizzante Spice and Rum company to deliver a small load of spices with twenty-two barrels of sugarcane rum to Whiteshire in Grimshim Bay on Tamberth island, off of the Horn of Belegedde, which according to the charts that he had, put them at about 1ooo miles off course. if they were coursed for the Belegedde, how did the ship end up 800 miles to the southwest of the Penduline cape? and what was so special on that ship that the 34-person crew had to be killed for? According to the log, the captain began to suspect that something wasn't right aboard his own ship, he used the word saboteur several times, he began setting four man watch teams at night to keep the vessel safe and on course. Three nights in a row the crew were disappearing from watch never to be seen again, what remained of his crew were not fighters but merchant sailors. They fell easy prey.

After the third night of watch, Captain Shamus came to the upper deck to find the first signs of trouble, in addition to the missing crew members, He found blood along the railings of the port bow, the watch crews hadn't gone missing they were murdered, and their bodies had been more than likely disposed of over the sides of the Queen Anne. The last entry in the journal was written four days before the Sea Witch had discovered the Queen Anne Swayne anchored in her last known position, and the way it was written was like he had a suspect, but the page where he had written it had been torn from the log book. On the empty page, Captain Tristian took a lead pencil and laid it sideways on the blank space and gently rubbed the lead across the indentation to see a single word appear... "Officers." Mister Finch knocked at his chamber door.

"Sir, we resumed our course and have pulled away from the vessel." Mr. Finch eyed him curiously as he stared down at the closed log book.

"Someone aboard cut the throats of the crew, and threw their bodies over the side to be rid of them, I suspect the officers at least in part murdered the captain as well. there was something far more valuable aboard that ship other than rum and spices." Tristian's eyes narrowed.

"Yes but why would they then abandon ship if they had already successfully taken it over sir?"

"I suspect the ship was someone else's prize, and the officers were already paid to leave it to be taken by whomever planned the mutiny, but the captain already had something aboard of greater value than their cargo, something that only he had known about, and perhaps the officers had only later discovered. They dropped anchor four full days before the foul weather after the deed had already been committed, and the real treasure aboard found and loaded onto the missing Jolly to which the officers took supplies and headed toward I'm guessing Archipelago island, it's only 60 miles to the west of here, five solid days of hard rowing could have put them there ahead of any storm."

"And their original destination, sir?" Mr. Finch questioned.

"According to the log book, Whiteshire in Grimshim Bay." Tristian answered.

Moses Finch's eyes widened.

"They were way off course, then?" 

"According to my calculations about 1000 miles off course. I must look into this log book further. hold our present course, Mr. Finch, you have the bridge until further notice.

"Aye Captain."

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Children of The Angry Sea. Two: All Hands Sail Away.

ll.

The wind had already been blowing in from the east across the icy waters of Lockwood Bay when the three yawls made their way back to The Sea Witch with their supplies. He and Fiona Tidas boarded just before 2:00 PM, on a Tuesday afternoon, when they were greeted by a large, tall, barrel chested fellow with long thick black hair, and clear hazel eyes, and broad shoulders, it was the first time Fiona met first mate Moses Finch. The crew were all set about unloading the supplies when he would ask Captain Crowley about the new canvas, Tristian set them about unloading it first so they could get to repairing the torn sails, after a brief introduction he took Fiona to quarters so she could get settled in, five minutes later Moses Finch appeared in the doorway, giving a puzzled look to Fiona. At first his appearance gave her quite the start and filled her small body with a nervous trepidation until, much in the same way as Tristian had done earlier in Norwich, Mr. Finch bent down, extended his hand slowly to her and calmly introduced himself.

"What are your orders, Captain?" He asked.

"Set the crew about unloading the rest of the supplies, and get four riggers up those masts to lower those damaged sails Mr. Finch, and then get Miss Prim down here, I'll be needing her to help miss Fiona get cleaned up and bedded down. And make sure the riggers check the Fore And Aft masts for damage near the top as well, as they're lowering the sails, we won't be going to sea with a damaged ship Mr. Finch I want her seaworthy in Six days. Is that clear?" 

"Aye Captain, I'll set the men to task and send down Prim sir." Mr. Finch smiled at Fiona and returned to the upper deck.

 For her young life on the docks of Norwich, she had always heard the disgusted talk of those dirty, smelly old pirates, she would have thought life aboard such a ship to be one of filth, greed and death. But what she'd found aboard the Sea Witch was quite the opposite, the ship itself was kept clean and in orderly repair, and the crew was the same, clean and more often civilized than not, even though they'd spent time at sea they would take advantage of every opportunity to give themselves and the Sea Witch a good scrubbing. The Witch was their home, and after all, they being former pirates were no longer on the outer fringes of the law and could afford time to properly tend to such matters. Crews of other ships, she would later learn were vastly different, the crew of the Witch had been together for many a day, night and weeks, and years spent on the seas, made them more of a family and Captain Tristian Crowley being their father, was a man not to be tested by any other, though he could outwardly appear to be kind at heart, it was well known that the tip of his cutlass had stripped many a man's soul from their earthly bodies and sent them to their watery graves.

Fiona Tidas would soon learn that much to her relief she was not the only female aboard ship, there were in fact two others, and both were well seasoned sailors, and worth their salt. Prim who at first glance with her baggy clothing could have passed for a male had you cut off her golden long flowing locks, and then there was Elvira Penny, who even when in good spirits had every man and boy holding their breath when she walked by, but they weren't looks of lust given to Elvira and Prim they were looks of fear. Prim had also grown up on The Sea Witch, but both Moses Finch and Captain Tristian had long sought out Elvira Penny, Long before any letter of marque had been issued by any country or government, Elvira at the age of fourteen, had brutally cut her father to pieces along with their tenant lord for abusing her mother. There she was, but a young girl being fitted for a hangman's noose, when Tristian and Moses Finch came calling to snatch her from the jaws of death, and stole her young life away aboard the Sea Witch where she would devote her existence from that day forward to a life of piracy.

They were there because they were family, they were equals to all aboard the grandmother of the sea, they were blood, and they belonged, and together they welcomed young Fiona Tidas as their own. She would share a space with Prim and Elvira Penny, and the one shipmate that Elvira seemed to like more than any other, a large pot-bellied, gray and black striped tabby whom she named Elmo, he was one of three cats aboard The Sea Witch that all but eliminated the vermin population, he'd gotten the name when one night at sea they were hit by a violent storm, and St Elmo's fire came calling, and while several of the crew had backed away from the spectacle, the brave Tabby scurried up the main mast and snarled and hissed violently at the phenomenon until it seemed to relent. Since then the plump brave tabby would become their hero and mascot. By the third day the supplies were all counted and quartered away, the sails brought down and mended, the sea around them seemed to grow more and more impatient at their leisurely pace as if waiting for a new toy to be dispatched as her plaything. By the very next Monday all sails repaired and raised to their spars, with the sea growing more restless, in the early morning mists at seven bells Captain Tristian would have Moses Finch sound the all hands.

"All hands to the foredeck Mr. Finch. I will address our crew."

First Mate Moses Finch sounded the general assembly to where the 150-person crew assembled below the half-deck, young Fiona Tidas stood beside toward the front of the gathering mass of bodies, trying valiantly as not to appear fearful when she felt a hand gently wrap into hers, surprised she looked up into the smiling eyes of Elvira Penny who gave her a knowing wink, as the crew around them grew silent in anticipation of The Captain's address, First mate Moses Finch calmly stood off to the left of the helm while second mate, and ships gunsmith Farrel Hooker stood silently to the right all waiting for Captain Crowley.  He stood above them neither somber nor with reverence, he seemed very much like a man choosing his words carefully before addressing the very people who would without question entrust their very lives to him. To young Fiona, he seemed to tower over them like a holy giant about to deliver a sermon to his flock.

"My mates! For the first in over a years time, we will set sail, without assignment of general purpose other than that of our own regard, we will set our course, to the North, Northeast, we will sail 1500 nautical miles around the Eastern Tip of the Penduline islands and then another 1460 miles out into open sea to Pigrim. We will come about the western side of the island close in to the Village of Gale Town, we will be dropping anchor there while we tend to out our ships needs, we will once again fully restock our food supply and tend to our crew's personal needs. We will be close in to the shore, and we will all get a chance to set foot on land, until which time our repairs shall be completed in full. At which time we will once again set sail another two hundred miles to Ark Island, where Mr. Finch and I will be gathering important information and possible future employment for The Sea Witch. So my mates, from here, when we reach Pigrim outside of Gale Town, each crew member, will receive full wages regardless of our ship's current employment."

The crowd of seamen and women erupted into full on cheer, and the mood aboard the Witch, made the brooding seas seem more hopeful, and when the cheering subsided their great Captain of the proud Sea Witch once again raised his hands.

"My Mates! I usually reserve such a sermon for Sunday mornings, but alas, as is my usual form, I am once again a day late and one dollar short, Mates, Bring forth your bibles, may they bring you comfort, when your minds become troubled, but lest ye not forget, here, there be only one god. and lo, She rises and falls with the tide. She breathes her breath into our sails, to push us forth, further into the maelstrom, into the unknown, she, the sea beckons to us, with her bounty endless and her wrath savage as the night is long, she is our god, our mother, our only grace, and if only for her guidance on the coming voyage, we pray to her now, for her mercy, her grace, for her gentle hand to show us the way, and to give strength in our moments of doubt, and may her wisdom bring us once again safe home. All hands sail away, Mr. Finch."

There below the half-deck, young Fiona Tidas stared in awe up at the giant sails of the great Sea Witch, as the mother sea's mighty breath filled their bellies full and gently pushed them forward out into the beckoning waters that lye beyond the safety of Lockwood Bay.  It made her hold her breath for a time, as beneath her small feet she could feel the deck rise and slowly fall, it felt to here as if she were riding on the back of a great beast carrying her away to some unknown land to where great adventure would surely be waiting. she turned to look up in time to see her brave champion Captain Tristan Crowley, as he offered her a reassuring smile, and extended his hand to gently place a beautiful fully ripened fresh juicy apple in her palm.

"Steady as she goes, Mr. Finch, this grand old lady will ride these waves all the way to Brighton if she fancies it!"

~Scratch.. A.B.T. Copyright © 2023~

Children of The Angry Sea. Part one. The Golden Coast.

 

The first time he'd noticed her she was but a poorly kept child, dirty, scared, alone, crawling beneath the feet of the seafood and produce merchants plying their trade along the docks of pier 13 in old Norwich Village on the isle of Aysgarth. The bitter cold of early November would not be kind when the icy winds of winter would come blowing in from the east over Lockwood Bay, and as sure as there would be snow by Christmas, the freezing rain would come blowing in before it. It was there on Pier 13 cowering beneath the boots of a local seafood merchant named Chatz, that was when he first saw her there, A young fragile looking child, perhaps no more than 8 or 9 years of age, cowering at his feet in fear for her life, A brooding uncouth lout of a man he was to be certain, loud and boisterous, dirty, unkempt, who to Captain Tristian Crowley bore some resemblance to a pot-belly pig in trousers, a round, fat, whisker bristled face, jowls that hung past his jawbone on both sides, a fat face indeed with a belly to match. He might not have paid him any mind at all, until he took to kicking and loudly cursing at the child.

He drew back his plump fist, leather strap in hand ready to strike her with it, yelling at her, like an angry bear towering over her, until the much taller Captain Tristian would catch his hand mid-swing, twist his arm behind him and at the same time kicked the fat man's feet out from under him sending him sprawling across the wet docks, cursing under his breath as he bounced along. He stared down at the robust seafood merchant menacingly, one look up at the angry Tristian was enough to have him crawling backward in a hasty retreat. Now he was in fear for his own life, it was he who cowered at another man feet, For chatz when he looked up and saw the long white hair, the broad shoulders, and the steel in his eyes, he immediately recognized him, this was no ordinary man, this was Captain Tristian Crowley, the Thief of Souls.

"Not so easy when you have a go at someone who can fight back, aye? Shouldn't hit a child mate, much less a girl. "

Without looking down, he extended his hand to the young girl, helping her to her feet. never taking his eyes off of the frightened Chatz. who had already abandoned any thought of retaliation.

"You'd best be getting home to your mum, girl, she'll probably be wondering where you've gone off to by now." He said.

"I have no mum sir, she took sick when I was 4 years old and passed shortly after, my father was lost at sea before I was even born. I have no home." She meekly replied.

"An Orphan then?" 

She lowered her head and slowly nodded.

"Well, I suppose you'll be a guest aboard the Sea Witch, then." He smiled at her.

He helped her to her feet and made certain she was well, she followed along in silence beside him, puzzled as to why a complete stranger would stand up for her. when all at once, the confused youngster stopped and gave a gentle tug on Tristian's hand to get his attention. He stopped walking to give her a sideways glance.

"Sir not to complain, but most people wouldn't even give me half a thought, you do know that I'm black don't you sir?"

Tristian, fighting back a smile, stopped abruptly in mid-stride and spun on his heels slowly, deliberately bending down to face her.

"Oh, are you now? To tell you the truth, child, I hadn't even noticed." He gave her a wink and gently placed a plump, juicy red apple in her hand.

"My name is Captain Tristian Crowley, by the way." He told her.

 

She smiled up at him broadly.

"I am Fiona Tidas, Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."

They walked along, exchanging small talk back and forth, until they drew closer to the Sandy Bottom Tavern, when he saw several officers from the King's Navy motioning for him to join them inside. He looked down, concerned, at Fiona Tidas.

"Have you ever been in a tavern before, child?"

She shook her head no.

"Well hold onto my hand tightly miss Fiona, and don't let go, those men, it seems, would like a word with me inside the Sandy Bottom."

They walked in behind the officers, The room was loud and raucous, round wooden tables scattered about in every corner of the large room, it smelled of ale and charred meat, and it reminded her of how hungry she was, as she could feel her belly rumble. Tristian and Fiona Joined them at a table, to which the trio cast surprised looks and glances at the small child in his company. He sat down calmly across from them and placed a small stack of coins on the table-top and told the waitress that the child was under his protection.

"A bottle of your best wine for the gentlemen and I, and for the girl a tall glass of milk and a cut of your finest sweetbread, and perhaps some fresh fruit to go along" 

He moved the coins in her direction, his eyes never leaving the three officers, lieutenant Jonathon Burke, while not appearing to be a physically intimidating man, had the reputation of having a short fuse. While not tall in stature, he more than made up for his lack of height with ruthless aggression, Jonathon Burke was indeed a fierce swordsman. Burke removing his gloves carefully eyed Tristian.

"Captain Crowley, Let us cut right to the chase then, you and I have had our differences in the past, this I know, However, here lately you seem to have been shall we say straddling the fence between the legal and what is not. Your Sea Witch is one of the finest, fastest and most capable ships on the water right now, and any vessel sailing the seven seas would be foolish to test you or her, this we all know, So, pushing that aside, we have a more pressing matter that we would like to discuss with you." Burke studied his reaction.

The waitress brought the bottle of port wine and three glasses, along with Fiona's milk sweetbread and fresh fruit. Tristian uncorked the bottle and began filling the glasses.

"You have my undivided attention, Lieutenant, Proceed sir." Tristian said.

"Captain Crowley, his majesty King George ll has authorized me to seek council with you in particular in a matter, shall we say-of grave importance."

Tristian's eyes widened at the notion, but he offered no reply.

"Captain, When the governing bodies from around the world offered you the original pardon, us for your crimes against the crown, and in exchange you and five others accepted the offer, and while there is still rampant piracy it is not as prevalent as it once was, thanks to you and your friends aid, you provided armed escort for our merchants which opened up safe trade route across the oceans. For that, we are now once again safe to sail open waters without fear of attack.  However, things have changed once again, the Royal Navy has lost four heavily armed Frigates in the past 10 months on the Evermoor sea along the southern coasts of the Muir islands. we sent them out on their missions and never heard from or seen them again. And we were wondering, given your lengthy history with that vicinity, if perhaps you might offer us some valuable insight on the matter."

Tristian raised the glass to his lips, watching the Lieutenant.

"Burke, have you ever personally tested the waters of the Evermoor?" 

Burke shook his head.

"No, I can't say that I have."

He leaned back in his seat, his eyes giving curious study to all three faces of the men sitting across the table from him.

"Well then lad, let me enlighten you, The Evermoor sea is one of the most unpredictable bodies of water on the planet. The water there, is always as cold as ice, It's dark, cold lonely place, one minute it's calm as can be, and you're thinkin to yourself, well now this isn't so bad, now is it lads? the next minute? not more than five minutes later, you've got the icy winds lashing at your sails, twenty foot waves coming over your bow. every drop of water around you trying to drag you to the bottom of those murky depths, and that's in the summer and autumn, come winter and spring? Well, that's when it gets real dicey. Most times the god awful fog weighs you down, you can barely even see your hand in front of your own face, even the most hardened seafarers, and battle tested skippers to ever ride the waves shrink from it all. They would rather sail around the horn of the Belgedde and take the long way around, rather than risk saving a month of sailing by crossing the Evermoor in winter or spring. It's the devil's playground, and he makes the rules in the Evermoor."

Four ships, four Frigates all sailing from Glousbury across the Evermoor to St. Krits on the Muir islands, each voyage should have taken just over 72 days one way tops, yet all four vessels were never seen or heard from again. Captain Tristian would talk to them for over an hour, and the only conclusion that even he could reach is that the ships were all waylaid by pirates, outliers who disabled the vessels took them over and killed the captain and crew, and when they finished off loading whatever they could steal they sank the ships. but the question remained who could attack a fully armed ship of the Royal Navy, kill 150 trained mariners and then sink the vessel to cover their escape?

They were several names mentioned as the possible suspects most notably the name of Captain Barron Booth of the Blood Sea Rose came to mind, it almost fit into his methods, the ship was more than capable but captain Booth's tactics didn't add up, he would have definitely taken responsibility for the sinking of a single royal navy vessel, if he had sank 4 he would have ordained himself royalty. But thinking of Booth did bring to Tristian's mind an experience near the Achelas islands 3 months previous, they were 18 miles out from Poseidon bay, They saw a ship of unknown origin closing distance on the Sea Witch, a very large ship with unknown markings and heavy armament, he recalled it being larger than any vessel he'd ever seen, The Sea Witch proved to be too fast for it though, and at the edge of the first turn toward Poseidon it disappeared into a thick fog bank and they never saw it again. It would have been much too large for even The Witch to take on but given her speed the larger slower ship couldn't keep up with her. Lieutenant Burke ended the meeting with a handshake and both men stepped out into the street with the other officers and Fiona Tidas in tow. 

"So what business brings you to Norwich Captain Crowley?" Burke asked.

"We brought Three boats ashore for supplies, beef, Pork, lard, live chickens, we cooked the last of those a month ago, a bit of armament too, fresh canvas, last wind storm we hit 40 miles out into The Coral  our sails took quite the lashing, ripped a couple of them ragged. After some restocking and refitting, we'll be shoving off from here in about five or six days, depending on the damage done to our sails."

"Where to Tristian? if you don't be minding me asking." Burke inquired.

"Pigrim." He answered.

"I have never heard of such a place."  Burke answered.

"Well Burke it isn't charted, It's about 460 miles out into open sea on the other side of the Penduline islands, not much there but high cliffs and deep slips close to shore, We can get the Witch in real close to shore without bottoming out, we'll be dropping anchor there while we do the more lengthy repairs. It's in neutral waters so we won't have much to worry about in the ways of being attacked while we do the repairs, there are two villages, one small one a bit larger called Gale town, and there's a monestary right in the middle on the moutain top." Tristian nodded toward two hooded robed figures slowly walking across from them.

Burke gave them a puzzled look, and then returned his attention to Tristian.

"Been seeing a lot of them around here lately, never seen the like before, Monks perhaps?" Burke asked.

"They call them The Ageless Order, you see them on every island, every village, from here to the other side of the Golden coast, They don't have boat to their name but they always seem to find their way across the water." He turned to face Burke.

"After we stitch the sails, It'll take us three and a half weeks of steady sailing to reach Pigrim, after we do a proper refitting there, I do a bit of asking around, I'll see what I can find out about his majesty's ship problem, when we return,  we'll be droping anchor about two miles off of Hatteras point, we'll be back back here in two and a half months time, if your here Burke I'll be letting you know what I find out. Now lad's, my new cabin mate and I had best be seeing to those supplies."  

He gently took little Fiona's hand and turned toward the sea, he cordially shook Lieutenant Burkes hand and they parted ways, ten feet later Burke called to him one last time.

"Tristian!"

He stopped and turned to look back at them.

"I promise you Captain, I won't forget this."

~Scratch.. A.B.T. Copyright © 2023~

The Knight's Circle... Part Two.. The Book of the Darkspawn... (End of first storyline)

Singh loaded and mounted the stallion as all three turned and made their way toward Mission Station to meet up with Constantine, who was arriving with other members of the Circle who were aboard his personal train. They gathered at the tracks shortly before midnight as the sleek-silver & gold steam locomotive known as The Acropolis rolled to a stop into Mission Station. The steam clouds slowly dispersed as the door to the main passenger car was pulled open as Constantine appeared in the doorway. He looked down at them, motioning all three inside the Locomotive. Moments later-after introductions to Caleb Doolittle were made, he was being debriefed as to the activities of Isabella Dragomir and her cohorts. The new recruit-one Caleb Tristan Doolittle of Bristlecone Texas sat quietly to the side, listening carefully to the fast-paced conversation, trying desperately to make sense of it all. They sat gathered at a long table in the main dining car of the Acropolis, discussing theories, exchanging ideas and going over strategies of how they were going to deal with Isabella Dragomir. What would happen next would take them all by surprise, oddly enough it was Caleb Doolittle that was the first one present to hear the distant footsteps falling on the roof of the train. They all stopped talking at once. Doolittle had already drawn his gun and was moving toward the door.

“Someone is topside, I’m going to have a look.” He told them.

“Or some-thing!” Cassidy Blaise chimed in, drawing her own weapon.

Together they followed along under the footsteps into the next car, at one time, Doolittle had looked up to see a large hulking figure leaping from the top of one car to the next.  He dropped to the tracks outside the third rail car followed by Cassidy Blaise both had now focused their attention to the backdrop of the full moon to see the silhouette of a very large lycan moving along the top of the Acropolis.  Doolittle fired five shots at the dark figure, with Cassidy Blaise once again backing his play, until the large lycan disappeared from view. Now fully perplexed and puzzled-both Blaise and Doolittle instinctively went back to back, neither of them taking their eyes off of the top of the train. Inside, they could hear the distinct sounds of hurried footfalls of their companions running inside the Acropolis to catch up with them. One by one, they all came out of the train, each drawing their own weapons.  they all began to fan out, each searching the top of the train with their eyes. Aiden Clairemont appeared over the right shoulder of Caleb Doolittle.

“Did you see it?” He asked… “What the hell was it?”

Doolittle didn’t answer back at first, his eyes carefully studying everything that moved. He nodded his head to the affirmative, his eyes never seeing Aiden Clairemont.

“Lycan.” He said calmly.

They all began to fan out along the length of the Acropolis, when at the very end car-the situation took an unexpected turn, when a deep chilling voice in almost a growl, from the top of the train cut through the cold night air.

“Before you try to kill me, Aiden Clairemont- it may serve you more than you know to hear what I have to say.”

Aiden Clairemont immediately recognized it as the voice of the savage lycan called Kojo. He tried to train his weapon on the voice, his hand wavering slightly. for all the lycans that he had encountered over   the past five years, Kojo was the only one that he’d ever heard speak as a human, and his voice never failed to chill him to the bone. Caleb Doolittle studied the top of the train car, stopping on two blood-red spots peering through the darkness.

“I must speak with Constantine-  Immediately.” Kojo said.

Aiden Clairemont disappeared down along the tracks to find Constantine, leaving Caleb Doolittle and Cassidy Blaise alone with Kojo. moments later, he returned with Constantine.

“We have much to discuss, Abraham.”  Kojo growled.

Constantine’s eyes focused on the voice.

“And what do I have to discuss with the likes of you, Kojo?” Constantine asked.

“Isabella Dragomir.”

He cast a nervous glance at Aiden Clairemont and then at Cassidy Blaise.

“What about her Lycan?”

“I know why she is here Abraham, her and her pet- Koda Kahn, I know of what they seek.”

Constantine thought carefully for a moment before answering.

“And why would you help us in our struggle with Isabella Dragomir?”

He could hear the lycan inhale, making a slight gurgling sound as he did.

 

“Let us say-that it would serve both of our interests to have you find her.”

“And what is in this proposition for you, Kojo?”

He could almost feel the lycan smile through the cold darkness.

“Revenge, Constantine- sweet revenge.”  He was almost laughing then. “You get Isabella Dragomir- and I get the traitor Koda Kahn.”

Once he’d determined that he had their undivided attention, he cautiously moved closer, more so to Constantine than the others. He came to rest at the very edge of the top of the Acropolis. His blood-red eyes carefully studying their every move, especially those of Aiden Claremont, his head cocked to one side as they made eye contact for the first time. He could feel it to his core that there was no fear at all in Claremont’s heart.  Satisfied that there would be no confrontation, he returned his attention to Constantine, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of the lycan.

“So tell us a story, Kojo, what exactly is it that Isabella is after?” He prompted.

“It is a book Constantine, a very special- and very old book with a valuable gemstone embedded in the cover. It was stolen from the Darkspawn by a team of ten men over one year and a half ago, many on the elders' council have determined that it was brought here, somewhere in the United States. They sent Isabella and fifteen others, including me, to retrieve it. We almost had it in a place called Matlan, Koda Kahn was leading five of us into the encampment where the book was being kept. The humans were waiting for us, silver bullets and all, they killed two lycan, I was severely injured, and barely escaped, Koda Kahn and the remaining two darkspawn left me for dead in the woods, unknown to them, I survived and have been tracking their every movement for the past six months.”

Constantine gave it careful consideration before raising the obvious question to Kojo.

“And just what is precisely so special about this book aside from its age?” He asked.

Kojo inched his way closer.

“In its contents-lies the origins of the Darkspawn race, their whole belief system lives in its pages, it is for all intents and purposes their holy bible. but perhaps most importantly, to you? the exact location of the Darkspawn citadel.  You see, Constantine- if this book should fall into the hands of the Knight’s Circle, then you could locate the actual home of the Darkspawn. That, I would think-would be of great value to you. would it not?”

Aiden Clairemont stepped forward then.

“You would help betray your own kind Kojo and you expect up to trust you?” He asked.

“They-are NOT my kind! I was born like this, Aiden Clairemont! never knowing human form, because of the deeds of the darkspawn, I have lived my entire life- as little more than a slave to them. Kept at the end of a chain, only to be released when there was dirty work to be done. And as soon as it was convenient to them, their precious little soldier Koda Kahn left me to die alone. Now? My only allegiance lies with my own survival. Now-my sole purpose on the earth is to see the whole lot of them bathed in their own blood!”

Kojo's heightened sense of smell would be their compass, and as it turned out all he had to do was get close to them and he could lead them right to their exact location. Both Caleb Doolittle and Cassidy Blaise loaded their horses with supplies for the trip east to Stockton, with Abraham Constantine, Aiden Claremont and Mahavir Singh remaining in tow to keep a wary eye on Kojo. having left the Acropolis in the railyard, they rode east toward Stockton having picked up the trail from The Midnight Star with help from Kojo, Caleb Doolittle having remarkable tracking skills of his own, had taken the lead of the single file group of riders as they made their way across the Tungston gap and up into the Del Puerto hills where the trees grew thicker along both edges of the trail. Caleb pulled rein and raised his hand to motion for a full stop of the group. Kojo caustiously  moved up beside his horse, he raised his snout into the air and took in a deep slow breath.

"You feel it too don't you?" He asked Caleb Doolittle.

Constantine rode up beside them.

"What is happening Caleb?"

Caleb Doolittle got off of his horse and walked out in front of the column by twenty feet, he knelt down and studied the dirt for a time. He rose and turned to Kojo and Constantine. 

"Somebodies about an hour ahead of us in the trees, at least two riders on horseback with a pack animal in tow, probably a spotter off to the right of the trail."

Kojo's eyes narrowed, he reared his head back taking in the scents. He looked at Caleb Doolittle.

"Your instincts are impressive- Caleb Doolittle is it?" He asked.

Doolittle nodded,

"We should ride up along the rim of the gorge, keep the treeline below us, they are probably going to be watching for riders at their rear." 

Kojo nodded in agreement.

"Constantine, I will travel below you at the top of the treeline, Koda Kahn keeps watch for Isabella Dragomir.

They continued east be ever so careful to stick to the top of the rim of Goldpan gorge, Caleb Doolittle kept a watchful eye on the treeline below them until something new caught his eye, he raised his hand to stop the column, Kojo once again joined him at the top of the rim. He climbed down from the saddle tying the reins of his horse to the notch in a tree, Kojo carefully studied his every move. Caleb Doolittle climbed down the side of a washout and walked across short flat plane stopping at a small grove of trees, Kojo shadowed him stopping at his side, his study slowly growing into curiosity as he looked up at Caleb Doolittle. He knelt down in the sandy dirt and studied the fresh tracks, before turning to face Kojo, and then turning his eyes back to the trees.

"Human's?"

Kojo nodded silently as Caleb turned and headed back up the ravine to his horse.

"Well Kojo, if there's something I've learned about regular people, there are alot of us that can be bought for a price, You should go tell the others about this, I'm going to pick up their trail."

"I should go with you Mr. Doolittle, Koda Kahn is with them, and he will smell you coming before you can close distance, if he doubles back, he will attack you from the side. Wait for me here, we'll go together." Kojo answered. 

He complied with Kojo's request, and after several minutes  he reappeared at Caleb Doolittles side with Constantine and the others spreading out slightly behind them. they pressed on into the trees and heavy brush which made the going slow and gradual, they went a half a mile in before Kojo cut away from them and went wide to their left, within minutes Caleb Doolittle yelled for the group to spread out and take cover just as a smaller lycan attacked and took a surprised Cassidy Blaise off of her horse, and a much larger one on their right set it's sights on Caleb Doolittle who had gotten between the smaller one and Cassidy, it charged at him forgetting about her and before it could turn he was already off of his horse and on the ground with both short blade drawn it's first pass took it over the top of his head and he sliced open it's underbelly with a long quick stroke it screamed as he buried the second blade right through the top of it's skull. it went down instantly and lay still.

The larger Lycan made it's charge at Caleb Doolittle but before it got to within twenty feet a blurry black and gray figure caught it in mid leap and had it on the ground and began ripping savagely at it's flesh, and finally had his jaws firmly clamped around the neck of what he thought to be Koda Khan the body finally grew still before he relented, Kojo's attack was brutal, swift and final. The pure strains had taken notice of the attack and began firing on Constantine, Mahavir Singh and Aiden Claremont from the cover of the trees, they pulled Cassidy Back behind some rocks out of harms way as Caleb Doolittle and Kojo began attacking the enemy in concert forcing them into full retreat.  Soon Constantine had the Circle regrouped and readied them to the attack as well, Kojo concentrated on the third Darkspawn who was trying desperately to draw him away from the group. Mahavir Singh had rode through between the pure strains and cut them down leaving two remaining riders fleeing in two different directions. The moon had broken free from the clouds in time for Singh to see the figures clearly, he removed the Spencer Rifle and set it's sights on the back of one of the rider's and fired off a round knocking it from the animal.

He retrained the rifle on the second target aiming this time just above the animal, his shot was true and the horse stumbled and fell trapping the rider beneath it, Aiden Claremont and Constantine were already on the first rider Singh had shot, the bullit had found it's fatal mark and the body had already begun to decay but not before they could see that it was female but not Isabella Dragomir. Singh rejoined them after killing the second rider and informed Constantine that the body was that of a male and as with the first had turn to decay as soon as he shot it with a silver bullit through the heart. They returned to the trees to find Kojo, Caleb Doolittle and Cassidy Bliase unloading the two pack animals that the Darkspawns companions had brought with them, inside one of the saddlebags was what felt like a solid square object wrapped and bound in heavy cloth, when they unbound it Constantine was surprised to see a thick leather book with a gemstone embedded in the cover.  He looked to Kojo who watched as he opened the book to reveal it was written in a text he did not recognize, Kojo turned to face him.

"The Darkspawn have written the book in their own language, I do not recognize this Constantine, the book is real but the text will have to be decyphered, Isabella and Koda Khan were not a part this group or so it would appear, I believe they rode into a trap. They are not going to this place you call Stockton to feed again. They are trying to escape, I sense that Isabella Dragomir is seriously wounded and perhaps Koda Khan as well."

Aiden Claremont stepped forward and stood beside Kojo.

"I don't think I wounded her that badly. only one shot landed" He told him.

"You didn't wound her, I smelled her and koda's blood on the two Lycans that Caleb Doolittle and I killed, the human's that they were to meet, brought them and the Incubus that Mahavir Singh killed with them, it would appear as though the high council did not trust her to bring back the book after all, she is bleeding badly, and koda as well, they will be dead soon. Take the book back to the circle, the Darkspawn Elders will send others to try and retrieve it."

"We will have our language scholars try to translate it into English, but it will take time I suspect. and what will you do now Kojo?" Constantine asked.

"I will track down their bodies and make sure they are indeed deceased, and then I will follow your trail back to New Orleans and wait outside of the city Constantine, They will send others and I will be waiting for them." Kojo answered.

Then it was Caleb Doolittle who spoke up.

"I'm going to ride with Kojo until we find the bodies and dispose of them, If you want me to be a part of your team Constantine, go back to San Francisco and wait for us on the train, we will meet you there."

Constantine reluctantly agreed, and they took the book and placed in his saddlebags, the rest of the group and he watched curiously as Kojo and Caleb Doolittle disappeared over the hill and headed to the northeast to find the bodies of Isabella Dragomir and Koda Khan, An odd silince fell over the group as they watch them slowly disappear from view. Cassidy Blaise then on horseback appeared at his side.

"Do you think he can be trusted?"  

"Did you see how well they worked together Cassidy? I think in some strange way Kojo trusts Caleb Tristen Doolittle of Bristlecone Texas, and who knows?  We may have finally found our edge in the war with the Darkspawn. If we can fully gain his trust in some way maybe a fully functioning lycan will provide us with the upperhand."

The group turned and headed back to the San Francisco railyards, then they would return to New Orleans and wait for their two newest members to rejoin them in the Circle.

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