Chapter 5 TORTUGA OCTOBER 1675
Britannia sailed into Tortuga with Flying Dutchman right behind her.
Several ships paused to stare at the huge ship of the line and the three masted Dutch fluyt.
A few, probably former British sloops and brigs, actually saluted.
"As you were." Britannia rumbled gently.
She sailed in to the dock closest to the pub known as the Faithful Bride. Flying Dutchman joined her there.
"Now Vandecker can go ashore and find some crew. This is the best place to do it." Britannia said.
"And us?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"You're going to stay here out of trouble. I have to speak to the other Pirate Queens, well the ones who are here anyway." Britannia replied.
"Me, trouble?!" Flying Dutchman asked innocently.
Britannia's eyes narrowed. "Yes you." She retorted. "You're a magnet for it, whether you realize it or not."
Flying Dutchman sighed. "Yes Britannia." She agreed and the old sailing ship sailed off.
Flying Dutchman settled down to view the sights of Tortuga.
It most certainly wasn't that bad of a town. In fact, it was quite a nice little place.
Ships entered and exited the busy harbor and the streets were filled with drunken and drinking people.
The woman sat on barrels, a bottle of rum in each hand, chugging away and cooing enticingly at every male in sight.
The boys on the other hand, were rather enjoying themselves either in a drinking contest or if someone did something to piss them off and with a drunken pirate that didn't take much, they'd draw out their swords and start slicing away at each other.
Flying Dutchman found she didn't mind the intoxicated that much.
They stayed clear of her dock, keeping their jolly good time well away from her which was fine. She didn't mind. It wasn't like she could party like a pirate anyway.
Nearby a few ships were joining in on the fun. Flying Dutchman watched them curiously, eager to learn as much as she could.
One, a little sloop, noticed her. "Hey, miss. You wanna join in?" She asked.
"What are you playing?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"It's called dice. It's a human game but it's a fun one." She replied.
"What you do, is you have all the players make a bet on what the dice are gonna turn up as. The one who guesses the closest, wins. But we all have to make a wager."
"And what's the wager?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"Right now, we're wagering to see who's gonna go and pester Britannia." She replied.
"Are you really that scared of her?" Flying Dutchman giggled. "Aren't you?" She asked. "Wait, who are you?"
"Flying Dutchman." She replied. "I'm Carolina, I was a British sloop until about a month ago. Best change of flags I've ever had!" She laughed.
"Who'd you come here with?" "Britannia." Flying Dutchman replied, fighting a smirk.
"Wait, you... Are you her apprentice?" Carolina asked.
"Yep." Flying Dutchman replied proudly.
"Well it's about time!" Carolina exclaimed, her eyes gleaming.
"What do you mean?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"We've been pestering her for ages to find an apprentice. After all, she's certainly getting up there in years and these are dangerous times for Britain, who knows what could happen." Carolina said.
"But she's immortal." Flying Dutchman said.
"Not from battle she isn't. She can be killed just like any other ship." Carolina replied. "So can you."
Flying Dutchman shifted, finding this piece of news a bit unsettling.
"How old is she now?" She asked.
"She'll be 7500 next week. Didn't she tell you that?" Carolina answered.
"No, she didn't." Flying Dutchman replied, turning to look at her mentor across the harbor.
"Well, Britannia's got her own secrets. Every ship does and it's not my place to ask." Carolina replied.
"Then who's is it?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"Whoever loses this wager of course!" Carolina laughed. "Now pull up a seat and join us."
Flying Dutchman shrugged and decided, well why not.
The group ended up playing the game for hours.
Flying Dutchman lost a few times before she got the hang of it.
"6 2's." She said. Sure enough, she was spot on.
"Dang it!" Carolina grumbled. "How are you doing that?"
"I'm not doing anything." Flying Dutchman giggled.
"Except winning the pants off of us." Carolina muttered.
Flying Dutchman just laughed.
Vandecker returned just then, a full crew behind him.
The first thing Flying Dutchman noticed about her captain was he was swaggering much more than usual, his sailor walk more pronounced.
The men behind him were doing the same and they all smelled funny.
Flying Dutchman wrinkled her nose at the strong smell, even stronger than the one wafting off the Faithful Bride into the harbor.
"Ick! What is that?" She asked.
"Why, that's the rum of course!" Carolina laughed.
"The what?" Flying Dutchman asked.
The sloop looked shocked. "Now don't tell me you've never heard of rum!" She exclaimed.
"Sorry, no I haven't. I was launched just 6 months ago and haven't made a port since. Most of that time I had no crewman on board." Flying Dutchman replied.
"You poor, poor lass." Carolina tsked. "I know just what you need."
She grabbed a bottle off the dock and held it out to her. "Here you are." She said.
"Erm, is this a good idea?" Flying Dutchman asked.
"Come on! No ship in this port is going to be a teetotaler on my watch!" The sloop growled.
Sighing, the fluyt took the offered drink, using her teeth to pry the cork off.
Tipping the bottle back, she took a long swig.
The liquid was warm and made a firey trail down her throat but it was also sweet like honey and it made her mouth water for more.
She quickly took another swig.
"Not too fast now." Carolina chided. "The stuff can be pretty strong if you're not used to it."
"Says the rum soaked pirate ship." Flying Dutchman teased.
Carolina laughed. "Alright then Miss Dutchman, have at it." She replied.
Dutchman nodded her thanks and a third swig finished it off.
She looked around eagerly for more.
Fortunately, Vandecker had the cure for her thirst.
"Liking me drink are ye?" He asked.
"Here, all drinks on me boys!" He shouted and the crew whooped and cheered.
Thus begin a series of trips back and forth between the Faithful Bride and Flying Dutchman's dock.
Drinks were brought down and the crew partied on deck.
Flying Dutchman herself took part in the festivities and her berth mates took up the idea themselves.
Soon that entire section of the dock was host to a mob of drunken pirates and their ships.
"Yo, yo. Yo, yo a pirates life for me!" Carolina sang.
"Hey, think you can teach me that?" Flying Dutchman asked in her slurred English.
"You bet." The sloop grinned.
Soon enough, the fluyt and the sloop were singing away, lyrics of their song drifting across the harbor to where Britannia and a few of the more reserved ships in the Brethren fleet were berthed.
Britannia took one look at the festivities and sighed. "I should've known that despite my best efforts, that kid would find some way to start trouble."
She rolled her eyes, knowing what Flying Dutchman would have to discover the hard way.
If you're gonna get drunk on rum, be prepared to face the consequences.