Chapter #3Pirate Booty by: Unknown (This addition was co-written by myself and Redhurricane)
In the year 1714, on an island somewhere in the Caribbean, lay the town of Briston. It was an English settlement, with a population of some five hundred civilians, and protected by a fort, manned by three hundred troops. It was a pleasant little town, unless you happened to be named Rena. For Rena, Briston was the most miserable place on Earth. For you see, Rena's race, cat-people, were used as slave labor for centuries, and as such, she was treated like some ignorant beast by everyone in Briston, who viewed her as nothing more than the property of Josiah Blunt, the owner of the local tavern, The Sunken Brig.'For Rena, the tavern was aptly named, because that's what it felt like to her. The brig of a ship. A prison. Her prison.
Mr. Blunt had owned Rena since she was six years old, having been separated from her parents when they were sold at an auction in Havana. For fifteen long, miserable years, Rena dressed in nothing but rags, ate nothing but table scraps, and had been abused by Blunt, physically and verbally. If Rena's body had developed more in her teenage years, she had no doubt Blunt would have used her for more than just house work.
"RENA!" Came the voice of Blunt, loud as a trumpet. It seemed like whenever he spoke, it was always loudly, whether he was happy or angry, and he was usually the latter, especially to Rena. Rena immediately rose up from scrubbing the floor and stood at attention. "Y-y-yes, master?" Blunt stood before her, a scowl on his face. He was a big, beefy man, with a large and bushy mustache, making him look very much like a walrus.
"I want you to go clean out the chamber pots, and bring up a barrel of whiskey from the cellar. After that, clean this place from top to bottom. The governor himself is coming tonight, and I want this place in tip top shape! Make sure he knows this is the best tavern in Briston!"'
"But master, isn't this the only tavern in Briston?"'Rena was rewarded for her question with a backhand across her face. "Don't talk back to me, you wretched alley cat!" Thundered Blunt "Question me again, and you'll get an extra beating tonight, am I clear?" Rena nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Good. Now get to work!" Rena spent the entire day cleaning every nook and cranny of The Sunken Brig, after which there wasn't one part of her body that didn't ache like the devil.
She wished she could just retire to her pile of hay in the cellar and cry herself to sleep, as she usually did. But to make matters worse, Blunt had her serving as a bar wench that night for the governor's visit, serving drinks.' It was a packed house that night, with every table occupied by either sailors, drunkards, or both. All except one table, where the governor and his wife sat. "Mr. Blunt" Said the governor "These premises are hardly what you promised me when you said this was the best tavern in Briston, but I have heard a great deal about your famous brew."
"Trust me, my lord, when I say we have the best beer in the Caribbean. I shall fetch you a mug at once."' He poured two mugs full of drink, beer for the governor, wine for his wife. He handed the mugs to Rena. "Take these to the governor's table at once." Rena did so, but just as she approached the governor, she tripped on a loose floorboard, sending a wave of alcohol splashing onto the governor and his wife, drenching them. Needless to say, they were furious, especially the governor's wife, because Rena had just ruined her best dress. Without a word, the two of them simply left the tavern, never to return.'
"RENA!"
Rena braced herself, knowing what was coming. In front of the entire tavern, Blunt grabbed Rena by the hair, and dragged her upstairs. After giving Rena quite the beating with his belt, Blunt proceeded to reprimand Rena for ruining his big chance with the governor, as Rena cowered in the corner."This is the final straw, you miserable sack of dung! First thing tomorrow, I'm sending you to-"'
But Rena never found out where it was that Blunt would send her, because at that moment,there was an explosion in the distance, and a cannonball came flying through the wall, and took of Mr. Blunt's head. Rena could only sit there in horror, as she stared at the headless body of her former master. She heard screaming and more explosions coming from downstairs and outside. Rena fearfully peeked out a nearby window to see people screaming in the streets, running helter skelter in a mass hysteria as more cannonballs rained down onto the buildings of Briston. In the distance, Rena could see that the fort that protected the town was in flames, and she could make out just beyond that, a massive black man o'war, launching the deadly projectiles at the town. There was only one logical conclusion. Pirates. Panicking, and not thinking clearly, Rena ran downstairs and out of the now empty tavern, into the street. She knew she had to find a place to hide. The jungle! If she could just get to it, they'd never find her in there.
Then after that...she didn't know what she'd do then, but she'd figure it out when she got there. Now there was complete chaos in the streets. Citizens running in fear, pirates raiding houses and shops, carrying their ill-gotten goods back to their longboats to take back to their ship. Before Rena could decide which direction she should run, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and everything went black. Rena awoke with her hands tied behind her back, and a sack that reeked of dead fish over her head. She had a throbbing headache from whatever had hit her, and she felt herself kneeling on a hard surface. From outside the sack, she could hear voices.
"Did we get anyone worth ransoming?"'
"Aye, this island is full of some of the richest families in the West Indies. This lot is bound to fetch us a hefty sum."
"What about this one?" Rena felt whoever was speaking nudge her with their boot. "She don't look rich, probably a slave. She's of no worth to us." "Let the captain decide what to do with her. He'll probably just throw her overboard."
This last statement filled Rena with fear. She couldn't swim, and was sure to drown, or be eaten by sharks. Just then, she heard footsteps approaching, and two more voices spoke, one of them with a thick African accent.' "What's going on here?" "We captured this slave girl in town. Shall we toss her over the side, sir? Or maybe put her to work in the galley?"'
"Neither! You know how I feel about slaves! Get that bag off her head, let me see her face."'
"But sir-"'
"Don't argue with the captain! Just do it!"'
The sack lifted away, and Rena saw she was on the deck of a ship, in a row of prisoners, tied and sacked as she had been. She looked up at the four men standing over her. One of them was a leopard-man, dressed in a leather vest, pants and boots. It was he who spoke with the accent.'Then Rena looked up at the captain, a white furred lion man with a red eyepatch and a large scar running down his neck. The man wore a red jacket with a jolly roger printed on it resembling a cat's eye and crossbones. Rena looked in fear before the captain looked down on her and let out a slight growl."I see they're still keeping cats as slaves. This hornet's nest hasn't changed. Fire more cannonballs. I feel like giving those cowards a little more of what they deserve. As for our guest, we have a prisoner in the brig who'll swap clothes with her. Willing or not."'"Yes sir." said one crew member resembling a minotaur. Rena was escorted away by the bull man as the pirates released a final shot on Briston. She even closed her eyes in fear.
The leopard man walked up to the lion captain as both of them observed Rena. "You aren't actually going to induct that woman into the crew are you Captain Ritter?" The lion nodded his head. "She knows all too well how cruel the world can be. I saw it in her green eyes Ben." Ben lets out a slight laugh. "Are you sure you weren't looking in on her for another reason captain?"Captain Ritter glared at his first mate and Ben just gave a smug look. "Aye, aye Captain." With that Ben decided to follow Rena down into the brig. Rena saw several of the Briston elite locked up in jail cells. There was one lone woman in the pirates' holding cells, a mouse woman with long blonde hair who was wearing a bright red dress.The bull pirate walked towards the cell with the woman who just gave him a glare. "You bloody pirates," says the mouse woman. "My father is an officer in the royal navy. You'll all hang soon. Just the mongrels of society who'd take pity only on the worthless." "Shut it Lucinda," said the bull man. "You're still our prisoner. The captain says our new crew member needs a change of clothes and since you're the only other gal on board."
Rena watched as the bull got ready to strip Lucinda down. The mouse screamed as her dress was forcibly removed. In the process, it was torn slightly but Rena didn't mind. She even ripped off the bottom half of the skirt so as not to look too much like her oppressors. "There," said the bull man. "Now you look more like a pirate.... uh, what did you say your name was?""Rena," replies Rena. "And thank you. Nobody has..." Rena lowers her head before she hears footsteps. "I'll take it from here Nat." The bull man walked off as Ben came up to Rena. "Better get used to the sea Rena. You're part of our crew now." Lucinda let out a scoff. "Lot of good that does her since you're sailing to the lost ocean."Rena looked at Ben in confusion. "Lost ocean? What is she talking about?" Ben just let out a scoff. "You don't have to worry about that right now. We have our heading. Our next stop... You have the following choice:  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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