Chapter 233: Letter of Marque
[This port called Tortuga occupies a fairly large island. When you first arrived here, Joshamee Gibbs immediately warned you not to cause trouble on the island. Freeport has its own rules. They follow something called the Pirate Code — no one may draw weapons within the port, nor will they completely wipe out passing ships in the surrounding waters.]
[Upon entering Tortuga, you saw a large black ship docked in the harbor. Someone told you it was the vessel of Jocard, the Pirate King of the Atlantic, a notorious pirate with a bounty of 3,600 gold coins, skilled in black magic.]
[You couldn't help feeling surprised — the Pirate King of the Atlantic, Jocard? Black magic? This world seemed far more mysterious than you had imagined. You were certain that before long, you would uncover the truth about it.]
[In Tortuga, you found more than one shop dealing in black magic, selling all manner of voodoo dolls. Here, both pirates and natives could use black magic to create blood corpses and revive the dead — immensely powerful abilities.]
[The port's alchemy was also unusually advanced. Perhaps this was because a former Pirate King, Henry Morgan, had once been obsessed with it. Prices for alchemical materials such as saltpeter, deadly nightshade, green ore, and red ore were outrageously high, leaving a deep impression on you.]
[On June 19, 1716, you left Tortuga with a merchant fleet bound for Port Royal on the island of Jamaica. Near Nassau, you encountered a pirate raid. In this battle, you saw black magic, cannons, and flintlocks clashing for the first time. Broadside carronades mounted on both ships began exchanging fire, while black magic flared on either deck. But perhaps due to lack of combat experience, the merchant fleet — despite not being weak — gradually fell into a disadvantage. When boarding began, the merchant captain was unexpectedly killed by a grape shot — a type of cannon round in which multiple smaller projectiles were bound in a net, capable of instantly felling dozens of enemies at close range.]
[Seeing the merchant sailors in disarray, you took over command. As a born leader, you quickly stabilized the situation, led the sailors in a counterattack, and defeated the attacking pirates. When searching the enemy ship for loot, you were allowed to take quite a number of piastre coins (a European currency). (Family Background +5)]
[On June 24, 1716, your ship finally docked at Port Royal — currently the shipping hub of the Caribbean, a haven favored by plunderers and pirates alike, known as the most wicked and depraved city in human history. Its luxury far outstripped that of London and Paris at the time. In essence, Port Royal was a backroom where the British Crown and pirates colluded for power and wealth; a marketplace for smugglers to reap huge profits; a paradise for pirates to revel and grow stronger. The city had no industry whatsoever, yet enjoyed the finest material goods — Chinese silk, Indonesian spices, British manufactured products, and, most of all, gold bars, silver bars, and jewels.]
[Your merchant fleet carried carpets from Turkey and art from Athens. With the merchant captain dead and Jenny having no interest in taking over her father's business, this voyage would likely be the fleet's last. After some discussion, you borrowed money from both Jenny and Joshamee Gibbs, using it to lease the armed merchant vessel from Jenny herself. You planned to try forming your own fleet — at least the ship's firepower was decent.]
[Thanks to your exceptional charisma, Joshamee Gibbs agreed to join your crew — and at this point, you were almost certain you had crossed into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean. On June 27, 1716, your third day in Port Royal, Gibbs introduced you to his friend Jack Sparrow. At this time, Jack was probably about your age — roughly twenty-three or twenty-four — beardless, looking somewhat like Matt Damon, though still not as handsome as you.]
[After several days of drinking together, you and Jack Sparrow quickly became good friends. You learned that Jack was still a captain for the British East India Trading Company, commanding an armed merchant vessel called the Wicked Wench, and holding a letter of marque. He was preparing to sail for Boston in the British North American colonies to conduct "trade."]
[A letter of marque? You keenly realized this might be your way forward. Your strength in this world was not yet enough to stand out, and the privateer's creed — "No prey, no pay" — suited you well.]
[From what you knew of the story, the Wicked Wench was the precursor to the Black Pearl. Years later, Jack Sparrow would be ordered to transport a cargo from Africa, only to discover it was actually a shipment of enslaved Africans. Out of a sense of justice, Jack freed them all. For this, the East India Trading Company's leader, Beckett, personally branded him with the mark of a pirate — the letter P — and ordered the ship sunk.]
[To bring the vessel back from the depths, Jack Sparrow struck a deal with Davy Jones, the undead captain of the Flying Dutchman. In exchange for rescuing the Wicked Wench, Jack would serve one hundred years aboard the ghost ship after regaining her command. Jones agreed, salvaging the vessel and turning her into the fastest ship in the Caribbean — the Black Pearl.]
[On June 29, 1716, at your request, Jack Sparrow agreed to try helping you obtain a British letter of marque, as Britain had the lowest entry requirements and issued plenty each year. The condition was that you must become a British citizen and serve Britain exclusively in striking at other nations' fleets. This was no obstacle to you — you had no identity or sense of belonging in this world. Everything else was fine, and Jack Sparrow's unexpected loyalty was a pleasant surprise. If you didn't know for certain that his tastes were normal, you might have thought he had feelings for you.]
[On July 17, 1716, you received your letter of marque from the British governor, Weatherby Swann — father of Elizabeth Swann, the future female lead of Pirates of the Caribbean. Thus began your career as a merchant captain and part-time pirate. (You have received the world milestone: Pirate Captain.)]
[You have gained the title: Pirate Captain. This unique reward grants you a 50% increase in intimidation against ordinary pirates and sailors, and gives you above-average sailing skills.]
[On July 20, 1716, you appointed Joshamee Gibbs as your first mate and began recruiting sailors, preparing for your first voyage.]
[On July 27, 1716, you carried out your first act of plunder. Fortune favored you — the very first ship you encountered was the French armed merchant vessel Nantes. She mounted sixteen cannons and had a crew of seventy-five, with 516 captured Africans and a quantity of gold dust aboard. They had spent nearly eight weeks crossing the Atlantic, and the infamous Middle Passage had taken a heavy toll on both Africans and French crew. Upon reaching the Caribbean, scurvy and dysentery had caused heavy casualties.]
[By the grace of the goddess of fortune, the French ship had already lost sixteen crew to disease, and another thirty-six were suffering from severe scurvy and dysentery. When you struck, they had no strength to resist, and Captain Pierre Dorsett could only surrender the vessel. You sailed the Nantes to Bequia in the Grenadines, put the French crew ashore, and gained four of them — plus ten others — as new recruits. Among them were a navigator, three surgeons, two carpenters, two sailors, and a male witch skilled in black magic. Your fleet's strength rose sharply overnight.]