Dawn. The sun climbed in the sky, barely cresting the mountains in then faraway distance. Cold changed to warmth as the mist evaporated and night changed into day. It was a time of death and birth as the moon once again surrendered its place to the sun in the endless cycle known as life. Farmers rose to tend their fields and livestock, bakers began working shortly thereafter and eventually the world began the day as any other.

The city of Tortuga was no exception. As the sun rose, ships were already coming and going in the famous port, known for it's les than shining reputation and infamous black market exchanges all through the city. Few foreigners knew, however, of a small area no more than a mile away from the main city that was white to Tortuga's black. Pirates were far and few, small one story houses were clustered along the only road through the area. It was known as Eagle's View, and a more peaceful place was hard to come by. The houses all had excellent views of the harbour as well as the comings and goings of nearly every pirate ship in the world, from which originated the name of the area. The inhabitants consisted of middle class men, excluding both nobles and peasants. Blacksmiths, bakers, cartographers and other fairly respectable members of society could be found along the winding road and peace was kept between all.

Pedro Sanchez was a middle-aged man with greying hair and a full beard. He was the local carpenter and prided himself in his well-built houses. His daughter, Rainne, bore a strong resemblance to her father. Her black hair and dark blue eyes were a copy of her father's when he was still in his youth. Pedro was an immigrant from Spain, and he had different ideas about raising children then the inhabitants of Tortuga. For one, he didn't want his daughter to be uneducated and ignorant of the world as it was. He had allowed Rainne to work with him from her early teens, nearly ten years ago. As she grew older and wiser, he had recommended that she find herself a job in the city to learn more, and she had. She now worked at a barely respectable alehouse called the Cursed Paradise near the docks which was frequented by pirates, smugglers, whores and traders from all parts of the world.

Rainne woke with a start, shielding her eyes against the harsh light that filtered through her window. She lay in bed, listening to the noises in her house. The floor creaked as her father moved about in his workroom, wood was filed and chopped as he assembled his various commissions and prepared them for delivery. Rainne sighed and rose from her bed.

Shortly after, she left the house and made her way down the winding path from Eagle's View to Tortuga. As she made her way through the town, she had to sidestep to avoid the drunks lying about in the streets with whores entangled in their arms, as well as the chickens and citizens who weren't drunk and unconscious. When she neared the tavern of the Crossed Blades, a pirate who had been lurking in the shadows tried to grope her, and Rainne shuddered in revulsion. Pirates made her sick.

"Lass, where ye goin'? I were just lookin' for some fun!"

Rainne walked imperceptibly faster. She wished that her father had instructed her in the art of swordplay now more than ever. As she grew older, more of the pirates and filth of the city made similar remarks and Rainne was defenceless to protect herself. Carrying weapons in Tortuga was absolutely commonplace, even for some of the women. Rainne felt vulnerable and in a town like Tortuga, being able to protect ones self was vital to their survival. Rainne decided to ask her father about the subject the next day when she saw him.

As it neared an hour before midday, Rainne entered the Cursed Paradise. Her eyes struggled to see in the near darkness of the place as she fumbled over to the windows to pull back the curtains. It would take her hours to clean the place up in time to open that evening. Rainne sighed in resignation.

*****

The ale flowed freely that night as Rainne weaved her way between the tables and various fights that had broken out. As she worked her way through a particularly crowded corner a very drunk man pulled her arm and forced her to sit next to him. The smell of him was almost enough for Rainne to be sick, but she managed to refrain from being sick as she struggled to get away from the man.

"I am no whore." She spat as she tried to stand up.

"Aw, come on lass. Just a bit of fun!" His attempts became more violent and Rainne did the only thing she could think of; smashed a nearby bottle over the man's head. It was sad that no one even paused to look around for the sound of the struggle. Tortuga was such a violent city that breaking glass and people being raped didn't even draw attention anymore. Rainne fought down a sickness that plagued her every time this sort of thing happened and stood up, looking around for someone to help her. She spotted Nicholas, another worker at the alehouse, and motioned him over. He eventually made his way through the crowd.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

"This man his been hit over the head with a bottle and I need help to drag him into the street." Rainne answered disdainfully.

Nicholas sighed and picked up the man's feet, as Rainne grabbed hold of the shoulders of the man's jacket and together they heaved him into the street. Nicholas threw Rainne one of his roguish smiles and stopped her from brushing past him.

"Would you care to explain to me how that came to happen?" Rainne grimaced.

"You wouldn't want the details. Sufficed to say I knocked him out for good reason."

Well that makes one point for you and two for me." Nicholas said gleefully, referring to the competition the two always had while working. The person who had to knock more people out got complementary ale from the loser. It was the only way the two friends could think of to amuse themselves while working at such a horrid place. Rainne sighed and turned back to her job. She suddenly became very sad thinking about Nicholas. They had been friends since childhood and as they grew older, Rainne had grown to think of the boy as more than just a friend. He was the son of a blacksmith and a respectable man and Rainne knew they could never be together because he didn't care for her like she did him. She often had dreams that were haunted by his face, angular and clean-shaven and his expressive brown eyes the exact shade of his hair. One of the local wenches pushed past Rainne, startling her out of her reverie. Angry at herself for being so weak and unable to let him go, Rainne moved again to do her job.

Hours later, slightly after midnight, Rainne was exhausted. She found a relatively clean glass behind the counter and filled it with water. After manoeuvring through a very rowdy crowd, it was always worst around this time, Rainne found a fairly quiet place to sit and relax. She looked around and spotted two pirates sitting at a nearby table. They didn't look out of the ordinary, but they immediately attracted her attention. The reason for that was both of them were completely sober and looked rather serious. The Cursed Paradise was not the sort of place where anybody would come to do business or sit and have an idle chat. The taller of the two men was leaning over the table towards the other and whispering to him. Rainne's curiosity had been piqued, and she shifted her chair over so that she would better be able to hear what they were discussing so secretly. The men paused in their conversation and drank deeply from their mugs of ale. Then the pirate sitting closest to Rainne broke the silence.

"What did you really bring me here for, mate?"

"Ye wanna hear a story?" the other man asked, leaning forward once more.

"What kind of story?"

"It be a story of love, sorrow, death, a terrible curse and a treasure beyond your wildest dreams."