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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