1642

The young boy looked up at his father, raising one hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Come 'ere, boy," the man said, and lifted his young 5-year-old son onto his shoulders.

"Where we go?" asked the child, his words a bit jumbled, speaking as a toddler does.

"Off to dinner at the Governor's mansion, my lad!" said the man, obvious pride in his voice. Beside the man was his wife, a young lass of 27, and their younger daughter, one year old. The sunset lengthened as they strode carefree towards the Governor's mansion, on the hills of Santa Domingo. There was a sharp intake of breath behind them, and the father turned with his son on his shoulders, to be confronted by three men, with sharp blades in their hands.

"Give us yer cash, and yer clothes, or I'll cut 'em from ye. By the order of Captain Vincent Vertugo!" said the lead thief, an old man by the looks of things.

"No I will not!" said the father, placing his son gently on the ground, and stood in front of him.

"Bloody rich fools. Get 'em, boys!" said the old man, and swiped with his knife.

"No! Get away!" the wife screamed, as one of the three thieves grabbed her. She was holding her daughter, and the thief wrenched her arm away, causing her to lose her grip. The baby fell to the cobbled street quickly, and hit the ground with a sickening thud, blood seeping out from her skull.

"NOOO!" The father screamed, clawing at his attackers faces, his arms covered in slash wounds. The mother could no longer speak, one of the attackers had already slit her throat, and she lay dying on the road.

"Run, boy! Get out of here!" The father yelled, as the boy looked on in shock. One of the thieves moving towards him broke his facade, and he turned and sprinted past one of the nearby shops. He wasn't looking in front of him and he ran straight into a palm tree, the force of the impact sent him crashing to the ground, beneath some long grass. Seconds later the thief came around the corner, as the child lay motionless under his cover.

"Arr..who cares, jist a li'l runt." The thief said, and turned to re-join his crewmates. The young boy sobbed in his hands, the realization of what had just happened had not fully hit him yet. He heard a crackle behind him and whipped his head around, to see a man of around 50, wearing a brown robe, a golden cross on his neck, with his finger in front of his lips.

"Shh..." The man waved to follow, and as he came near, the boy fainted, unable to deal with any more trauma. The priest picked the boy up, and carried him to the nearby mission..


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Yar Har! Pirate Time! Feel free to be any character that would reasonably be in this area. A privateer, Governer, Pirate, Navy Captain... Whatever you choose. The story begins in 1657, and is set on the Spanish Main, and the Carribean.

Include these things in your bio:

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Occupation: (Pirate, Privateer etc)
Ship: (if you own one)
Home Port:
Bio:


My Character

Name: Andre (He doesn't know his last name)
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Occupation: None, looking to join a ship's crew in any way he can.
Ship: None
Home Port: Santa Domingo
Bio: His parents were killed by Vincent Vertugo's Pirates, he seeks revenge in any way possible. He was raised in a Spanish Christian Mission after the death of his parents, but even a religious upbringing could not sate his thirst for revenge, and Andre (as he was named by the priests) has been causing trouble since he was a boy, fighting with the other boys in the mission and generally wreaking havoc. He is tall, around 6'2, short black hair, and a rapier that he was given as a leaving gift by the priests of the mission. He is generally a fun, cherry fellow, but at the talk of family he withdraws into himself and becomes angry.

Name: Mika Amins
Gender: Female
Age: 12
Occupation: Odd-jobs errand girl
Ship: None
Home Port: Santa Domingo
Bio: Orphaned at an early age, she has no recollections whatsoever of her parents. She had been taken care of by a Sister Agatha in the port's smal, humble church. She had been studying as an acolyte under the sisters' watchful eye, kept records at the church, and cleaned, as was the life led by most sisters. She is exactly 5', has long, flowing brown hair, and almond shaped eyes. She was to become baptized and sworn into the pious life of nuns, if it were not for the fact that a pirate raiding of her church had forced the sisters to flee to a nearby convent (which she has no direction of), and in the commotion, was separated from the rest of the sisters. Mysteriously, she had been given an assasin's short blade which was said to have been the only reminder of her birth parents, shortly before the raid. Because of her upbringing, she is generally hard working, meek, and humble, but very organized, learned, and reliable. At times she is ambitious, especially when it came to the well being of others she cares about, but also quite forgetful. Easily hurt, but won't show it for the sake of others' well being.

Name: Lila Mehranzadeh
Alias: The Scorpion
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Ethnicity: Persian/French
Appearance: Sensual, yes?
Occupation: Pirate
Ship: The Maria Narcisca
Home Port: Ocho Rios (Western Caribbean)
Biography: Lila was born into a family of gypsies and merchants, her mother and father traveling to the far ends of the European and Asian continent. Even with the said, constant travel, Lila was left in Istanbul with her merchant uncle who made and sold luxurious carpets. She took an interest in this profession and later proved extraordinary at a young age. Though, now, she never puts these old skills to use, they lay dormant and ready. It's not that she grew bored of making such beautiful things out of wool and thread, it's that she wanted more. Lila got more out of life when she decided to run away from Istanbul. At fifteen years old, she was a stowaway on a ship to the Caribbean. This ship was later captured and taken over by pirates of the sea when and there she was naturally spared. For the next few years, she was a meek errand girl, picking up trades and skills from her fellow shipmates which included: the use of navigation/directional skills, recognition of global landmarks, use of a map, and basic weapons skills. Lila is now a credited pirate with a alias all her own, The Scorpion. One for being assertive, merciless, and painful.

Name: Dr. Richard Jack
Gender: Male
Age: 53
Occupation: Medic/Doctor/Healer
Ship: N/A
Home Port: Santa Domingo
Bio: Richard was born and raised in Santa Domingo. At a young age he was submitted by his devout Catholic parents into training to become a Priest. However, his training was long to say the least due to his refusal of orders and his explanations of worldly phenomena that didn’t involve God. After about fifteen years of training he was finally excommunicated for not complying with the orders of a ranking official. After he left the training he traveled for years, learning all he could medicine to add to what he learned during his priesthood training. After returning to Santa Domingo, he practiced as a doctor in town and would serve on large ships- pirate or otherwise- as a medic.
Description: Dr. Richard Jack is an elderly man with receding grey hair. He is a shorter man, measuring out at a rather short 5 foot 6. He has penetrating blue-eyes, and a clean shaven face. However, despite this he is as strong as an ox, and has a strong constitution and great resiliency to hardship.

Andre walked slowly down the main road of Santa Domingo, heading for the local tavern a few hundred metres down the road. The street was baked in sunlight, inhabitants of the port wearing vests and rolled up pants. To his right was the port, where there were 6 or 7 vessels currently anchored. If the captains or first mates were at the tavern (where else would sailors go), then he could possibly get service aboard one of the ships. He sped up his pace, briskly walking down the street, his speed reflected his mood.

The tavern drew closer, and he halted in front of the door, holding his breath for a moment. Today he was exactly 20, and he was now his own man. He had left the mission where he was raised with nothing but his rapier and the clothes on his back. His future awaited him. He pushed open the swinging door, and walked inside.

The tavern was smoky, dark-coloured wood made up the walls and floor, it had a thatched roof like most buildings in the port. Andre walked over to the barman, to ask if any sailors had come in.

"Buenos Dias sir, may I ask if any sailors or seamen have come through today?" Andre spoke in English, with a heavy Spanish accent.

"Aye, boy, there's a Navy Captain and a Pirate Cap'n in here at the moment. Yer lucky day." The barman was english, and after this exchange he turned to serve a new customer.

Andre turned and looked around the bar. The Navy Captain was fairly obvious, an Englishman wearing a blue Royal Navy uniform, and a 3-pointed hat. The Pirate Captain sat at the back of the bar, also fairly obvious, he wore a faded ostrich feather hat, a ruffled silk shirt and had two pistols laid down on his table. Andre sat down on one of the stools while he thought about his options. Somehow it didn't seem like a Navy Captain would let him pursue a personal vendetta. And a Pirate.... well, if there was a profit for him he would do anything. So Andre would just 'make' a profit. Smiling, he walked over to the Captain's table.

"Cap'n, I want to join your crew."

Name: Shail McGuire
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Occupation: Pirate
Ship: The Scallop (pathetic excuse for a boat)
Home Port: England
Appearance: http://jadeling.deviantart.com/art/Shai ... e-70436656 (enjoy..)
Bio: Shail spent her young life running amok in the ports and pubs of England, being reared by no one and everyone. It was unknown who exactly her parents were, or if she ever had any real family. She eventually worked her way through the slums and onto a ship, where she put her by-now-polished thieving skills to good use...as a pirate. Aboard this ship, she learned swordsmanship to a respectable level, and sharpened her skills enough to be honored by the captain as a 'daughter,' taking on his last name. Eventually, however, she left her taken pirate 'family's' ship to make at stab at piracy in her own right. Armed with a sword, a small purse of dubloons, and a dingy boat, she rowed herself towards what she hoped was going to be the first day of her new life...

Mika clutched the packet tightly to her as she walked towards the tavern. She had been paid by a merchant to deliver a packet to a certain "Cap'n" whom the merchant had said would be at the town's tavern at this time. She trembled slightly as she pushed the open the tavern doors. This was her first time going into a tavern, it was filled with all sorts of strange men. Nervously, she walked around, trying to find the so-called "Cap'n". She supposed it would be pointless to ask around, but nonetheless, she had to try. She walked towards the barmen, and asked meekly, "Excuse me, sir. Would you know anyone here who might be a 'Cap'n'?" "Certainly, lassie. Right over there, yonder lad is standing, you see? That there he's talkin' to, he be a Cap'n." the bar man said, motioning quickly towards the table where a tall man with short, black hair stood before a man with a faded Ostrich feather hat and a ruffled shirt.

Mika gulped as she walked towards that table, clutching her delivery packet. Those men seemed very intimidating. She did her best not to look around, and instead, focused on the wet floor of the tavern. Just as she reached the table, her foot slipped, andshe fell foward. The package flew out of her hands and hit the tall, standing man in the back, she looked up nervously, and felt herself rooted to the spot. "I-I'm s-s-sorry....t-the package...delivery...." she stuttered.

Shail strolled nonchalantly into the tavern, blue eyes alight with excitement. Her long white hair had been settled into a single plait hanging down her back, and she had strapped what was left of it to her skull with a decently clean bandanna. Boots shined and shirt tucked in, Shail McGuire was out for employment. She had heard that there would be a captain in the tavern, today. Perhaps one needing crew members. And as her dear little Scallop had sprung a leak, it seemed as good a time as any to jump on board a new ship and merge into a new crew.
Elbowing her way into the room, Shail paused, allowing her eyes to adjust to the difference of light. She noted the Navy Captain (best to avoid), and the girl sprawled out on the floor in front of a young Spanish man and...Ahah. She strode towards the small group, pausing and offering her hand to the girl.
"Here, darlin'. Best not to play on the floor, y'never know where it's been."

Mika stared at the hand that had offered hep to her. "T-thank-you!" she squeaked, quite inaudibly, as she took the hand, and was hauled back onto her feet again. "Thankyou so much!" Mika bowed, and thanked the lean, white haired girl who had offered to help her. She bent down to pick up the packet she had originally been paid to deliver, and offered it out to the Cap'n, who was still sitting there, with an amused look on his face. "H-here you go, sir. Your delivery." Mika held out the parcel, with shaking hands. "And I'm sorry about knocking the parcel into you." she apologized to the tall man beside her.

Dr. Jack put his needle and thread in his leather bag, and examined the stitching on the man’s arm. “It was a nasty wound, but I think if you keep out of trouble and don’t hang around anywhere too dirty it should heal up with just a nasty scar,” said Richard his voice calm and reassuring.

The patient, a privateer who had a gotten into one hell of a bar fight, just nodded and clenched his teeth. Dr. Jack understood. Getting stitches wasn’t particularly pleasant, and this sailor looked like he was going to pass out. He got off the stool head been using while performing the procedure, and walked to the front door.

The privateers wife, who had been instructed to wait outside due to her constant gasping every time Richard had dipped the needle into her husbands arm, looked relieved at the sight of the doctor. “Here ya go doctor,” she said in a heavy accent, as she handed him some coins. “You hav’ a nice day, you ‘ear.”

Dr. Jack left the house at an amble. His work for the day was done, and he had nowhere else better to be. He had no wife, or children for that matter, so home seemed a dull option. He was getting into a rut he decided, and need some more excitement. He smiled as he remembered when he was younger and worked on ships.

As he walked down the road he reached the tavern and looked at it. He wasn’t a drinker, but the occasional drink wouldn’t hurt. He entered and looked around. Just as he thought; a mixture of pirates and sailors from the Navy coming together to enjoy a good drink.

He sat down on a stool, and plonked his bag on the bar. “I’ll have a glass of…rum I suppose thank you,” said Richard. When the drink came, he payed the barman and sipped it slowly. He had a particularly low tolerance to alcohol and rum could be particularly powerful.

I wonder if anyone’s looking for a medic he though as he watched the bar from his stool…

OOC: If nobody minds I'll control the Captain, seems somebody has to.

"Gimme that, girl," said the Captain, taking the package from the young girl. He opened the letter inside, scanned its contents quickly, and then a large grin broke out on his face.
"Hehehehe... perfect. Now, young lad, it just so happens that I have some space on my vessel for hard working seamen. Are you one of those?"

"Yes sir, I surely am, sir." Andre replied, keen to make a good impression.

"Alright, yer on. Anyone else want anything else? I've got some serious drinking to do here, hehe.." His voice trailed off into nothing, as he took another large swig from his rum bottle.

Richard shrugged. If he wanted some excitement he could probably find it now. He was a hard worker and a good medic. He got off his bar stool leaving his half-finished rum on the bench. It wasn’t a particularly nice drink, Dr. Jack thought.

He went to the Captain’s table and sat across from him. “Good day Cap’n might enquire if you’re looking for a medic aboard your ship? Because if you are, I’m your man,” Richard said, his voice strong and smart compared to that of other residents of the city. He crossed his legs an waited for the Captain’s response.

The Pirate raised his eyebrows.

"There ain't nothin wrong with my medicine man at the moment, tell me boy, why should I hire you?" The question was almost directed with agression, the medic better have a good answer.

Dr. Richard Jack wasn’t scared by anybody. He had travelled with the toughest roughest bunch scurvy ridden pirates in the Caribbean. Not many medics had as much experience as Richard had. However, this pirate seemed angry and the best way to get on his good side was to butter him up a little.

“Barman two cups of rum over here please!” the Doctor called. The drinks appeared and Richard placed one drink in front of the pirate. “Why should you hire me cap’n? Because I’ve probably got triple the experience your medicine boy has. I’ve travelled all ‘round these here parts, and served among pirates such as yourself. Despite me age, I’m hardy bloke who enjoys a good drink every now and then,” Richard silently hoped that this lie would be believable. “I’ve got no family an’ can leave whenever you’re ready.” Then as if to seal the deal, he sculled half his cup of rum. After her put the cup on the table, he stared the pirate in the eye, awaiting his answer…

Shail eyed the medic that had arrived...an elderly gentleman. An he claimed to have worked aboard a pirate ship or two before. Well, anyone that could live to earn gray hairs aboard a pirate ship must have had some kind of spine. She shook herself out of her silence, clearing her throat a bit.
"Beg'n pardon, Cap'n. If'n yer still lookin' fer seamen, I'm as seasoned as most any of the bar rats runnin' amok here. If'n you'll have me, I'm ready to ship whenever y'need."

The Captain sighed. Why, oh why, could nobody give him any peace?

"Medic, here's the deal. You come on board, you do everything I say, no questions. Me crew know that, and now you do too. If at any point I begin thinking that you're not as good as you say you are, you're gone, whether we are in port or in the middle of God's blue bathtub. Got it?" His english accent made the whole thing sound like he was joking.

"And as fer you girl..." He looked her up and down.

"Sure. Yeh can join. How the boys act isn't up to me, that's your problem. And you better be able to fight, cause with this new message of mine," He held up the letter from the package "we gonna be doin a hell of a lot of that."

He spoke louder, so that all could hear him.

"We leave on the dawn. Her name is The Bloody Damnation. You'll find her at the port. Good day to you." And with that the Captain left the tavern, presumably to gather supplies for this new 'mission'.

Andre

Andre could bearly hold his excitement in, he didn't listen to what the Captain said about the girl, or the medic, or the mission. It didn't matter. This was his way out, his first step on the way to revenge. He tuned his ears back in to the conversation

".... on the dawn. Her name is The Bloody Damnation. You'll find her at the port. Good day to you."

The Pirate Captain strutted out of the room, followed by the eyes of most of the inhabitants of the tavern. Andre walked out afterwards, seeing the Captain strutting down the street, hands in pockets. He wondered what he should do until the dawn. He checked his money-bag, embarrasingly empty, 3 gold dubloons. It wasn't much, but enough for a night at an inn. He walked down the main street, night had taken over from daylight, and many of the Ports undesirable's had been kicked out of taverns and inns already, they lay on the cobbled street, drunken and immobile. He saw many of them with swords in their belts, and 3-pointed hats, some with eyepatches.

"Hoho..." He grinned, and jumped in the air.

"A Pirate's life for me!"

Dr. Richard Jack wasn’t one to jump around and shout but by the way he walked back down to his small cottage to gather his things, he showed he was excited. His life would now be a bit more interesting he thought as he doffed his official doctor clothes and donned some more relaxed and casual non-descript clothes.

He decided he wouldn’t take much, with the exception of a change of clothes, and some more medical supplies. Racing around the one-room hovel he threw as much as he could into a bag. An assortment of chemicals and much thread and many needles. After he was happy with what he had packed, he dug his old sash out of a bed side chest.

He tightened the apparel around his waist and attached a number of pouches to it. In the first pouch were a few trinkets of gold; perfect for bartering. In the second pouch was needle and thread; just in case there needed to be an emergency stitching. The third pouch contained a vial of alcohol; this was to kill any bacteria in a wound and clean his instruments. In the final pouch there was a small bag of salt; Richard believe salt to be one of the best catalysts for healing cuts and minor wounds.

After making sure that pouches were tight, he pulled from under his bed a curved-scimitar. A pirate captain had given it to him a long time ago. He slid the sheathed weapon through his sash. And grabbed his gear and made his way down to the port…

Mika quickly hurried away, just in time to catch up witht he Captain. "E-excuse me, sir! Sir!" Mika yelled, as she ran down the street, and just about caught up with the Captain. "W-would you be in need of a records keeper and errands girl? I have worked in a church before, I"m used to sorting out and keeping information, and house keeping." Mika stared at the ground meekly, hoping there would be a positive answer. She had decided to join this ship, as there were no other jobs for her to do. The delivery was her last job, and none of the households in town seemed to need any more hired hands. She had to find a stable job.

Shail grinned, rubbing her hands together. "Sailin' at dawn, sounds grand!"
She then strolled, chin held high, out the door and back towards her own pathetic ship. She shuffled around for a bit, gathering what belongings she saw fit to keep on her person...enough to carry without strain on her back. This accomplished, she spoke with the port's master, and managed to milk a few gold coins out of the man for the Scallop. Coin belt jingling, and feeling quite pleased with herself, she made her way into town and purchased a room for the night.
Lock the door, knife under the pillow, wash the face and time for bed.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Captain Arameus

The Captain looked at the girl, thinking. She was a cute little thing, and he had already begun to take a shine to her.

Aye, what harm could it do?

"Yeh sure can, little lass. It'll be hard work, but I'll surely look after yeh. Come now, you can stay with me tonite." The Captain lifted up the small girl, and took her to his cottage in the port.

The dark of the night grew deeper, as the new members of Captain Arameus' crew got their rest, before beginning a voyage tomorrow.

OOC: Anyone can start the new day with their post if they want!