Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Jolly Roger (OPEN)

Captain Striker hung onto the foremast of his ship as he looked out in the horizon. The sun was setting as his ship sailed forward. The Red Roman was his pride and joy. He stole it, with his own hands, from a British port. Not an easy task, mind . The ship had been designed to be crewed be fifty men, and he only had himself at the time of the theft. However, hat was years ago, and he now had a a sizable crew of scallywags to help him plunder any unfortunate vessels that crossed his path. Just recently, a small merchant ship had tried tried to escape, and her stupid crew attempted to fight back. Striker could still see the column of smoke from her. He smiled before jumping off the foremast and making his way to the poop deck, wondering about the next ship to cross his path.

Isabella sat on the deck of a nearby ship, looking out across the water. She had been on this ship for 2 months now and still hated the crashing of the wave against the side of the ship. Luckily she only had another couple days until they were at their destination, Britain. She had always wanted to visit Britain and now she was going to, or so she thought. Over the horizon a ship came into view, an average sized ship so her crew mate at the crows nest couldn't see it. She stood up and took charge, taking her small sword from her belt she alerted the rest of the crew. "We have company on the horizon!!" She yelled, taking out a telescope and trying to spot about how much of a crew the other ship could hold. They had a decent sized ship capable of holding forty crew members but they only had thirty because of how badly the last raid had been.

Isabella stood there as the ship advanced until she could read it's name, thanks to her improved sight. Red Roman. She announced the name to the rest of the crew and they hurriedly tried to prepare the ship for an attack. Many ships have gone missing over the past years because of the Red Roman and they hoped they would never encounter her. But thanks to their luck they did.

"Captain! A ship has been spotted to starboard!" A pirate on the crow's nest called down to Striker.

A broad grin spread across the pirate captain's face. He immediately leaped into action. In an almost joyous voice. he began calling out orders. "Rig the sails and run out the guns, mateys!" He then pointed to a small groups of his crew. "Get us to flank speed, now!"

"Aye, captain."

He then ordered another group to prepare to board the new ship. Striker then waited until the Red Roman was pulling alongside the ship before calling out. "Ahoy there! This is Captain James Striker of the Red Roman! Strike down your colors in surrender and prepare to be boarded and you will live! If not.." He chuckled."... we have our cannons ready to tear in to you! You have two minutes to decide. Choose wisely."

With thatt, he turned away and ordered his men to slow down to match the other ship's speed. "Won't be long now, mates." He laughed. "Soon we'll have enough treasure to live the rest of our lives as rich men!"

Isabella was surprised when the ship pulled up next to them that thats, but she quickly regained herself and listened to the captain of the other ship. Surrender or die? That is a hard choice. she thought with a wry smile, planning her course of action. Isabella leaned over to another crew mate and whispered her plan, knowing that the crew didn't like her much.

She waited until the two minutes were up then walked over to the railing, carefully trying to make no noise. The boards creaked little under her feet but promised her an easy getaway if nobody managed to see her. Quick as a panther, she dove off the side of the ship into he warm waters below, creating a small splash that went halfway up the ship. Her ship was preparing for surrender, or death, but she just wanted to get home.

"Your two minutes is up!" Captain Striker called. "You have not struck your colors or replied, therefore I can only assume you wish to die!"

He turned to his crew. "What are ya waiting for? FIRE!"

Only a few seconds later, the Red Roman's starboard guns erupted, pelting the target vessel with a full broadside. After this was said and done, Captain Striker unsheathed his sword and pulled out his flint-lock pistol. "Board her!"

His boarding party ran forth, spinning grappling hooks above their heads. They threw the hooks and Striker watched as majority got caught in the upper rigging. Using his sword, the Captain pointed at the ship. "Start swings aboard men! Leave no man alive! They had they're chance at mercy!"

Pirates began swinging unto the deck of the ship, all armed with knifes, swords, or pistols.. After the majority of the boarding party, about twenty men, had landed, Striker himself grabbed a returning rope and swung aboard, eager to see what sort of treasure was on this vessel.

Isabella surface again, hearing the cannons blast through the ship. Good, they haven't noticed me yet. She thought to herself as she started to swim towards the invading ship. Her plan was to grab onto the ladder that hung off the side and grab a free ride, but she was having doubts now. Sighing, she grabbed onto the bottom rung as she heard footsteps thundering above her from the pirates bording the ship and coming back with treasure. She closed her eyes and prayed nothing bad was going to happen to her.

The fighting was dying down when Captain Striker put a bullet through one of the unfortunate crew of the invaded vessel. Sighing, he reloaded his flint-lock. Below-deck, his gang could be heard, tearing the ship apart in their hunt for treasure. And treasure did they find. Pirate after pirate returned to the Red Roman with an armful of trinkets.

Striker waited until the last scallywag was back on the Roman before smashing every oil lamp onboard the ship. He then ordered his crew to toss him a jar of more flammable oil and spread it all over the top deck. Climbing the wooden railing of the ship, Striker grabbed hold of one of the ropes to swing back to the Roman. He only paused to light a match and toss it over his shoulder before swinging back to his ship. He turned around and almost grinned at the sight of the poor ship going up in flames before turning to his crew. "Alright, let's get underway! This should be enough treasure for now. We're going home!" The pirates cheered and one shouted, "I can't wait to see the coast of America again! So many slow ships to plundered!" The crew laughed and the Captain took the wheel and turned the ship on a heading back home.

Isabella hung onto the ladder for deer life and watched the ship go up in flames. The Roman had started moving away, leaving the ship to burn down in the warm waters. She didn't dare climb the latter in fear of what the pirates would do to her, so she ripped her sleeves off and tied them together to make a small harness that she tied to the ladder to keep her from falling away into the waves. She immediately started to get hungry because she hadn't eaten that morning, feeling sea sick yet again. Her stomach growled and rumbled, but she didn't give in. Just bobbed in the water, hoping for the best.

Up above, the pirate crew had broken out a bottle of rum and were singing "Yo ho ho with a bottle of rum, drinking the night away and waiting for the sun..." Indeed , the sun was dipping into the horizon until it was gone leaving the moon to arise on the opposite side.

Captain Striker was quietly sipping his flagon as he watched his crew celebrate the news of returning home. It had been nearly a year since he had last seen his homeland. Taking another sip, he walked over to his ship's railing and looked out at the moonlit sea.

Isabella saw the captain approach the railing above her and she struggled not to cough from the smell of the rum, her grip on the ladder getting weaker. Finally she succumbed to the itching of her throat and coughed a series of coughs to alert everybody to her presence. Please let the pirates be too loud for them to hear. She silently prayed as she watched the captain above her for signs that he saw her.

Striker cocked his head when he heard the suspicious sound of coughing. He looked back at his men and looked to see if any had made the sound. It didn't seem like anyone had, however the captain wasn't ready to dismiss it as a product of his imagination. He pulled out his pistol he looked around. Seeing nothing strange aboard, he turned his attention to the horizon, but it was empty. That left only one other place.

He looked down and saw something clinging to his ship. His eyes widen when he realized it was a woman.
"Ho there!" He called, pointing his pistol at her. "Come up here,and keep your hands where I can see em!"

Isabella sighed when she realized she had been found and untied herself quickly from the ladder, letting the cloth drop into the ocean below. "Alright." She mumbled, climbing the ladder slowly so he could keep track of her hands while her sword hit the ladder every couple of rungs. Once she reached the top, she climbed aboard and put her hands next to her head as a sign of surrender with her sword still at her side, untouched.

Striker reached over and unclasped her sheathed sword and throwing it overboard before turning to his crew. "Hey, you bunch of bilge rats! Look what I found clinging to the side of our ship! He turned back to her. "What's your name, missy? And where you from?"

Isabella watched as he threw her sword over the side of the ship into the endless ocean below and turned back to him. "Isabella and I'm from France." She mumbled, barely over a whisper. She was disappointed that her sword was thrown overboard since it was her favorite and had ruby gemstones in it but she kept her hands at her head and looked the captain in the eye.

[Gtg to bed, I'll reply in morning.]

((Alright.))

"Oh! A French woman! How delightful!" Striker grinned as the rest of his crew laughed and catcalled at her. The pirate captain continued the ridicule by bowing low in mock respect and saying, "Bonjour Mademoiselle! Welcome to my ship, the Red Roman!" he said this all in a patronizing, fake French accent.

"Now if you'll come with me." he held out a hand. "I'll be showing you to your quarters, namely, the brig!" The rest of the crew laughed and howled before returning to their celebrations as the pirate captain began shoving her towards a doorway that would lead to the lower decks.

Isabella's cheeks went red when he started mocking her and she tried to keep her cool while he continued to degrade her. She stumbled forward when he pushed her but didn't let herself fall in fear of what he would do if she did. Keeping her hands at her head, she walked numbly toward the door he pushed her in the direction of.

The pirate Captain led her down into the bilge of the ship. Seawater that leaked in was slopping around their ankles. On the far side of the deck, about a dozen rusty iron cages, made to imprison a person, were waiting. Striker continued to roughly pushed the woman towards the cages. "Hurry up and get inside. i want to go back topside." With a particularly strong push, the pirate captain threw her against one of the cages before producing a key and opening one up.

"Get inside." He ordered

(may i join and is it non magical??)