Disclaimer: see chapter 1
----
Jack stood on the quarterdeck and looked down at his assembled crew, who were clearly itching to be off the ship and getting drunk in Tortuga.
"Well, me lubbers," he said, by way of preamble, "here we are again, back in old Tortuga. Saying goodbye to at least one of us." He indicated Anamaria. "Sending the lovely Ana off in style this evening at the 'Faithful Bride', should anyone wish to join me. I hope we won't be bidding anyone else farewell, but it's your choice as usual. Those who do join me when the Pearl sets sail once more will have the chance of a share in the largest treasure the Caribbean has ever - ever - seen."
A whisper of excitement ran through the men. Jack grinned at them.
"On the Isla de Muerte," he said, "is a ransom of gold pieces, Aztec gold. I'm going after it. Any man who joins me gets an equal share."
The crew shuffled their feet and exchanged glances. Finally, one of the topmen spoke up.
"Cap'n ... d'you know how many men have hunted that there treasure?"
"Not that I recall, Jim," Jack said. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Hundreds," said Jim. "And there's barely a handful of 'em come back. The island can't be found." His voice held a tremor. "They do say that the treasure be cursed."
"Two things," Jack said, holding up two fingers. "One. Curses don't mean a bleedin' thing. Even if the treasure was cursed, which it isn't, it was placed on the crew of Cortés, and we're not them. Two. I know where the Isla de Muerte is to be found. We will find it, and we will come back - rich. Richer than your wildest dreams, gentlemen." He swept his gaze across the crew. "If you don't want to join me, there's the shore. But me and the old lady and anyone who fancies it are picking up that gold." Nobody said anything. Jack adjusted his hat. "I'll be in me cabin, should there be any questions."
He walked briskly down the steps leading to the main deck, and the crew parted to let him pass.
That afternoon, it seemed that there was a constant stream of pirates wishing to leave the Black Pearl. None of them mentioned the Aztec treasure directly, but Jack understood that they did not believe it could be found, and did not want to embark on what they saw as a risky venture to look for it. He paid them off and crossed their names out of the ship's articles philosophically enough, but he was sorry to see them go.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, and the captain's cabin filled with a sultry golden light, Anamaria arrived to receive her pay. She had told Jack of her wish to go ashore for a while several weeks earlier, and he had reluctantly agreed. Anamaria, despite being a woman, pulled as much weight aboard the Black Pearl as any man, and the friendship that had begun fifteen years before endured still.
Jack had set aside Anamaria's earnings earlier, and now gave them to her in a small pouch. "There you go."
"Thanks, captain," she said.
He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I wish you were coming to get this treasure."
"I hope you come back from finding it," she returned. "Jack, I have heard these tales - a curse is not something to be taken lightly."
"Do you believe that havin' a woman aboard a ship curses the ship?" he said. "Course you don't. There's no curse, love. And even if there was - I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"
She smiled, and shook her head. "Savvy. Allez, Jack: coming for this drink or not?"
He jumped up from his seat. "Rum calls. Me lady?" He offered her his arm, and Anamaria left the Black Pearl escorted in style by her captain.
The "Faithful Bride" was that night full of noise and laughter and the raucous singing of sea shanties, as Jack's crew gave Anamaria a proper pirate's farewell. In fact, the night might better have been described as a send off for all the men leaving the ship, as they turned out in force. The rum flowed, coins changed hands, and the mood was buoyant. Those who were staying aboard the Pearl spoke optimistically (and drunkenly) about the prospect of treasure and what they would do with new wealth should they find it. Those who were leaving mocked their former crewmates light-heartedly. Jack was called upon to tell his tales of adventure on the high seas, and he did so more than willingly.
Anamaria slipped away after midnight, but the men stayed in the tavern getting steadily more drunk. Eventually, Bootstrap fell asleep with his head on the table, and Jack staggered away with a girl who had been sitting on his lap for the past hour, playing seductively with one of his braids.
The next morning did not happen. Jack awoke in the arms of his girl from the previous night towards mid-afternoon, suffering from an appalling headache. For a while he lay with his head comfortably resting on the girl's soft chest, but eventually decided he should try getting up. It proved to be a slow process, and one that necessitated many pauses, some groans, and one tense moment over the basin in the corner of the room.
The girl watched him dress, leaning on her elbow. As he carefully pulled on his coat, she slid out of bed and came to tie his headscarf for him, letting her hand trail down a braid.
He turned and took the hand. "Got a thing about me hair, haven't you, love?"
"It's nice," the girl said.
"Ta." Jack felt in a pocket and pressed a coin into her hand. "Here you go. Had fun last night."
"You don't remember," she said, taking the coin and turning it in her fingers. "None of you ever remember."
Leaning down to the girl, Jack kissed her. "I remember, love. Thanks." He flourished his hat, bowed, and made for the door, walking carefully. The girl watched him go.
"Liar," she said, as the door closed.
Back aboard the Black Pearl, Jack took stock of the crew who had left him the day before, and calculated that he needed at least fifteen more hands to sail to the Isla de Muerte. Twelve would suffice. Twenty would be wonderful. He sighed, and rubbed his brow.
Some more rum helped the headache, and once Jack had splashed some water on his face and reapplied the kohl around his eyes, he felt more himself. It was with his usual swagger and sway that he headed once more for Tortuga town, in search of men who would accompany him on his treasure hunt.
Nobody in the first two taverns he visited was looking for a ship, it seemed. At any rate, those men who heard that Jack was looking for a crew to sail to the Isla de Muerte said that they were happy where they were, for the moment. Jack shrugged, and moved on.
The third tavern, the "Cracked Cauldron" was dim inside and cool, out of the blistering sun. Jack took off his hat and let his eyes adjust to the light before moving further in. There seemed to be a fairly large group of men, perhaps ten of them, seated around a large table in the corner of the tavern, and Jack set off towards them.
"Gentlemen!" he said, as he got close. "Might you be looking for a vessel?"
"A vessel?" The man speaking was wearing a large, flamboyant hat with a feather, and he had his back turned to Jack. "Why, yes, we might be indeed." He looked around. "If it ain't Jack Sparrow!"
"Barbossa!" said Jack. "Fancy seein' you here."
"Ah, well," said Barbossa, "you get all sorts in Tortuga, as I'm sure you know well. Looking for a crew, are you, Captain Sparrow?" He indicated a spare seat at the table. "Lads, make room for the captain."
Jack sat down, and a tankard of ale was pushed across to him. "Thanks," he said, and drank.
"So, Captain Sparrow," Barbossa prompted, "why the sudden need for crew?"
"Going after a big prize," Jack said.
"And what prize would that be?" asked Barbossa, his expression curious.
"The gold of the Isla de Muerte," said Jack, and gave them the tale. "I'm prepared to offer equal shares of the treasure, should we find it - and we will find it."
Barbossa's eyes were glinting. "The fabled Aztec gold!" he said. "How about that, lads?"
The other men around the table exchanged glances. One of them, a chunky fellow with straggly, greasy hair, said: "But isn't it cursed?"
Everyone looked at Jack, who put down his tankard. "So they say. Depends on whether you believe that, don't it? Try your luck with me and find out, Mr ..."
"Pintel," the chunky one said.
"Maybe we will," Barbossa said. "Equal shares, you say, captain?"
"Equal shares," said Jack.
"And how many men are you looking for, Captain Sparrow?" asked Barbossa.
"How many men could you bring me, Mr Barbossa?" Jack returned.
"Maybe twenty," Barbossa said. "These fine fellows here, and there's a few more good 'uns in Tortuga at the moment."
Jack looked around at the group. He recognised some of the men as having sailed under him before, when the Black Pearl had rescued Barbossa and his fellows following their shipwreck. There was the tall, tattooed man whose name Jack had never caught; a shorter pirate with cannon fuses tied in his beard; and a number of others.
"Twenty?" he said.
"Maybe," Barbossa nodded. He reached for an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table, and bit into it. "If the offer's a good 'un," he added, through a mouthful.
"Like I said, equal shares," Jack repeated.
"And me as your first mate," Barbossa said.
That brought Jack up short. He had been thinking that he had successfully recruited all the rest of the men he needed - but he did not need a mate. When Dick Welsh left the Pearl six months earlier, Jack promoted Bobbie MacPherson to first mate and Bill Turner to second. MacPherson, in his turn, had expressed his doubts about the sense of the Isla de Muerte voyage, and had gone the night before. Jack was planning to make Bootstrap first mate, thus elevating him back to the position he had been in the day Jack first took command of the ship.
"I've got one," he said.
"That's the deal, Captain Sparrow," Barbossa replied. "My lads, and me as your first mate, or you can go and search for crew elsewhere."
Jack held the other man's crooked gaze, and considered. He still did not entirely trust Barbossa's men, but he remembered that Barbossa himself had been a good, able crewmember for several weeks. He had not yet given Bill Turner the post of first mate; had not even mentioned that he planned to. He would not be going back on his word, any word - and he needed the hands that Barbossa could bring.
He pushed back his chair. "We have an accord," he said, and held out a hand.
Barbossa stood too, and shook. "An accord." Turning to the men around the table, he said: "Your next ship's the Black Pearl, gents."
"Come aboard later today or tomorrow," said Jack. "We sail in three days for the Isla de Muerte."
Barbossa raised his tankard. "To Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, "and the treasure he'll bring us."
There was a responding, resounding chorus of "treasure!" Jack grinned, gave his new crew a bow, and headed out into the Caribbean sunshine.
----
Jack stood on the quarterdeck and looked down at his assembled crew, who were clearly itching to be off the ship and getting drunk in Tortuga.
"Well, me lubbers," he said, by way of preamble, "here we are again, back in old Tortuga. Saying goodbye to at least one of us." He indicated Anamaria. "Sending the lovely Ana off in style this evening at the 'Faithful Bride', should anyone wish to join me. I hope we won't be bidding anyone else farewell, but it's your choice as usual. Those who do join me when the Pearl sets sail once more will have the chance of a share in the largest treasure the Caribbean has ever - ever - seen."
A whisper of excitement ran through the men. Jack grinned at them.
"On the Isla de Muerte," he said, "is a ransom of gold pieces, Aztec gold. I'm going after it. Any man who joins me gets an equal share."
The crew shuffled their feet and exchanged glances. Finally, one of the topmen spoke up.
"Cap'n ... d'you know how many men have hunted that there treasure?"
"Not that I recall, Jim," Jack said. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Hundreds," said Jim. "And there's barely a handful of 'em come back. The island can't be found." His voice held a tremor. "They do say that the treasure be cursed."
"Two things," Jack said, holding up two fingers. "One. Curses don't mean a bleedin' thing. Even if the treasure was cursed, which it isn't, it was placed on the crew of Cortés, and we're not them. Two. I know where the Isla de Muerte is to be found. We will find it, and we will come back - rich. Richer than your wildest dreams, gentlemen." He swept his gaze across the crew. "If you don't want to join me, there's the shore. But me and the old lady and anyone who fancies it are picking up that gold." Nobody said anything. Jack adjusted his hat. "I'll be in me cabin, should there be any questions."
He walked briskly down the steps leading to the main deck, and the crew parted to let him pass.
That afternoon, it seemed that there was a constant stream of pirates wishing to leave the Black Pearl. None of them mentioned the Aztec treasure directly, but Jack understood that they did not believe it could be found, and did not want to embark on what they saw as a risky venture to look for it. He paid them off and crossed their names out of the ship's articles philosophically enough, but he was sorry to see them go.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, and the captain's cabin filled with a sultry golden light, Anamaria arrived to receive her pay. She had told Jack of her wish to go ashore for a while several weeks earlier, and he had reluctantly agreed. Anamaria, despite being a woman, pulled as much weight aboard the Black Pearl as any man, and the friendship that had begun fifteen years before endured still.
Jack had set aside Anamaria's earnings earlier, and now gave them to her in a small pouch. "There you go."
"Thanks, captain," she said.
He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I wish you were coming to get this treasure."
"I hope you come back from finding it," she returned. "Jack, I have heard these tales - a curse is not something to be taken lightly."
"Do you believe that havin' a woman aboard a ship curses the ship?" he said. "Course you don't. There's no curse, love. And even if there was - I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"
She smiled, and shook her head. "Savvy. Allez, Jack: coming for this drink or not?"
He jumped up from his seat. "Rum calls. Me lady?" He offered her his arm, and Anamaria left the Black Pearl escorted in style by her captain.
The "Faithful Bride" was that night full of noise and laughter and the raucous singing of sea shanties, as Jack's crew gave Anamaria a proper pirate's farewell. In fact, the night might better have been described as a send off for all the men leaving the ship, as they turned out in force. The rum flowed, coins changed hands, and the mood was buoyant. Those who were staying aboard the Pearl spoke optimistically (and drunkenly) about the prospect of treasure and what they would do with new wealth should they find it. Those who were leaving mocked their former crewmates light-heartedly. Jack was called upon to tell his tales of adventure on the high seas, and he did so more than willingly.
Anamaria slipped away after midnight, but the men stayed in the tavern getting steadily more drunk. Eventually, Bootstrap fell asleep with his head on the table, and Jack staggered away with a girl who had been sitting on his lap for the past hour, playing seductively with one of his braids.
The next morning did not happen. Jack awoke in the arms of his girl from the previous night towards mid-afternoon, suffering from an appalling headache. For a while he lay with his head comfortably resting on the girl's soft chest, but eventually decided he should try getting up. It proved to be a slow process, and one that necessitated many pauses, some groans, and one tense moment over the basin in the corner of the room.
The girl watched him dress, leaning on her elbow. As he carefully pulled on his coat, she slid out of bed and came to tie his headscarf for him, letting her hand trail down a braid.
He turned and took the hand. "Got a thing about me hair, haven't you, love?"
"It's nice," the girl said.
"Ta." Jack felt in a pocket and pressed a coin into her hand. "Here you go. Had fun last night."
"You don't remember," she said, taking the coin and turning it in her fingers. "None of you ever remember."
Leaning down to the girl, Jack kissed her. "I remember, love. Thanks." He flourished his hat, bowed, and made for the door, walking carefully. The girl watched him go.
"Liar," she said, as the door closed.
Back aboard the Black Pearl, Jack took stock of the crew who had left him the day before, and calculated that he needed at least fifteen more hands to sail to the Isla de Muerte. Twelve would suffice. Twenty would be wonderful. He sighed, and rubbed his brow.
Some more rum helped the headache, and once Jack had splashed some water on his face and reapplied the kohl around his eyes, he felt more himself. It was with his usual swagger and sway that he headed once more for Tortuga town, in search of men who would accompany him on his treasure hunt.
Nobody in the first two taverns he visited was looking for a ship, it seemed. At any rate, those men who heard that Jack was looking for a crew to sail to the Isla de Muerte said that they were happy where they were, for the moment. Jack shrugged, and moved on.
The third tavern, the "Cracked Cauldron" was dim inside and cool, out of the blistering sun. Jack took off his hat and let his eyes adjust to the light before moving further in. There seemed to be a fairly large group of men, perhaps ten of them, seated around a large table in the corner of the tavern, and Jack set off towards them.
"Gentlemen!" he said, as he got close. "Might you be looking for a vessel?"
"A vessel?" The man speaking was wearing a large, flamboyant hat with a feather, and he had his back turned to Jack. "Why, yes, we might be indeed." He looked around. "If it ain't Jack Sparrow!"
"Barbossa!" said Jack. "Fancy seein' you here."
"Ah, well," said Barbossa, "you get all sorts in Tortuga, as I'm sure you know well. Looking for a crew, are you, Captain Sparrow?" He indicated a spare seat at the table. "Lads, make room for the captain."
Jack sat down, and a tankard of ale was pushed across to him. "Thanks," he said, and drank.
"So, Captain Sparrow," Barbossa prompted, "why the sudden need for crew?"
"Going after a big prize," Jack said.
"And what prize would that be?" asked Barbossa, his expression curious.
"The gold of the Isla de Muerte," said Jack, and gave them the tale. "I'm prepared to offer equal shares of the treasure, should we find it - and we will find it."
Barbossa's eyes were glinting. "The fabled Aztec gold!" he said. "How about that, lads?"
The other men around the table exchanged glances. One of them, a chunky fellow with straggly, greasy hair, said: "But isn't it cursed?"
Everyone looked at Jack, who put down his tankard. "So they say. Depends on whether you believe that, don't it? Try your luck with me and find out, Mr ..."
"Pintel," the chunky one said.
"Maybe we will," Barbossa said. "Equal shares, you say, captain?"
"Equal shares," said Jack.
"And how many men are you looking for, Captain Sparrow?" asked Barbossa.
"How many men could you bring me, Mr Barbossa?" Jack returned.
"Maybe twenty," Barbossa said. "These fine fellows here, and there's a few more good 'uns in Tortuga at the moment."
Jack looked around at the group. He recognised some of the men as having sailed under him before, when the Black Pearl had rescued Barbossa and his fellows following their shipwreck. There was the tall, tattooed man whose name Jack had never caught; a shorter pirate with cannon fuses tied in his beard; and a number of others.
"Twenty?" he said.
"Maybe," Barbossa nodded. He reached for an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table, and bit into it. "If the offer's a good 'un," he added, through a mouthful.
"Like I said, equal shares," Jack repeated.
"And me as your first mate," Barbossa said.
That brought Jack up short. He had been thinking that he had successfully recruited all the rest of the men he needed - but he did not need a mate. When Dick Welsh left the Pearl six months earlier, Jack promoted Bobbie MacPherson to first mate and Bill Turner to second. MacPherson, in his turn, had expressed his doubts about the sense of the Isla de Muerte voyage, and had gone the night before. Jack was planning to make Bootstrap first mate, thus elevating him back to the position he had been in the day Jack first took command of the ship.
"I've got one," he said.
"That's the deal, Captain Sparrow," Barbossa replied. "My lads, and me as your first mate, or you can go and search for crew elsewhere."
Jack held the other man's crooked gaze, and considered. He still did not entirely trust Barbossa's men, but he remembered that Barbossa himself had been a good, able crewmember for several weeks. He had not yet given Bill Turner the post of first mate; had not even mentioned that he planned to. He would not be going back on his word, any word - and he needed the hands that Barbossa could bring.
He pushed back his chair. "We have an accord," he said, and held out a hand.
Barbossa stood too, and shook. "An accord." Turning to the men around the table, he said: "Your next ship's the Black Pearl, gents."
"Come aboard later today or tomorrow," said Jack. "We sail in three days for the Isla de Muerte."
Barbossa raised his tankard. "To Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, "and the treasure he'll bring us."
There was a responding, resounding chorus of "treasure!" Jack grinned, gave his new crew a bow, and headed out into the Caribbean sunshine.