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An Endless tide
CHAPTER 3: TORTUGA
(James's Point of View)
The nights were rough and so were the days. The storms brought me close to drowning on several occasions and the strange creatures that lurked below me kept me anything but giddy. I ran out of preserves early on the trip after a storm titled the boat under water, knocking out everything inside the boat. I was too busy at the time fixing the sails and drying the map to worry about the jars that were undoubtedly lying at the bottom of the sea.
After the storm, I sat gazing at the map, trying to remember the places mother had told me were safe to dock. I remember her specifically saying something about a place called Tortuga, so I only assumed it was a safe port. In a swift decision, I set course for Tortuga, heading north from where the storm at struck.
When I reached the harbor, I was on the verge of fainting from starvation. I didn't even notice how shady the port looked, how the streets were filled with criminals, and how dark clouds seemed to only hang over this strange place.
The man who took my docking fee had a long, dirty beard and patch over his left eye. When I handed him my fee, he lifted the patch, revealing a hole in his head where his eye should have been. But even that did not bother me; I was only focused on finding enough food to sustain myself.
I rushed forward through the narrow alley, moist with mold. Coming toward me was a man dressed in military attire, white and red. He was cursing effusively about the poor service at the local inn. I didn't notice that as we crossed paths, I accidentally bumped into him, causing him to curse again loudly in response.
At the end of the alley was the Inn which looked to me as welcoming as a golden palace.
Inside, there were men of all kinds, tall, short, big, small, sitting around gambling, stretching their graying beards in thought and singing drunken songs as the sound of a fettle played in the distance. A large woman in red, pranced around the room, serving rum to the already drunk sailors, who smacked her as she walked by.
It amazed me how many interesting characters dwelled in the Inn, and I had become one of them.
I walked over to the bar and sat on one of the uneven stools, still taking in everything around me. The inn's mistress approached me with a wink.
"What can I got you lad?" She asked. Her breath smelt of bitter apples.
"I'll take whatever is cooking in the kitchen." I said putting three gold coins in the palm of her hand.
She grinned brightly, revealing a huge gap in-between her front teeth. As she ran off into the kitchen, I heard her yell, "We have royalty in our little inn! Royalty!"
I turned to the side of the stool and saw a strange character sitting beside me. He was draped in a long black cloak that covered everything but his leather gloved hands, rested on top of the bar. After a while, he reached under the cloak and pulled out a packet knife. For a moment, I thought he was going to become violent but he only used it to chip away wood from the bar's surface.
"Here's your food sir! Anything else ya need?" The mistress asked but I shook my head in response.
I looked down at the food in front of me. Its smell was horrid and the look was close in comparison but I didn't care, my stomach didn't care what the food looked like as long as it was edible which… was debatable at that point. But I ate it anyway and was surprised that its foreign taste was actually quite good.
The woman came up again and again to refill my glass and ask if the food was alright. I couldn't understand why the man hadn't liked the place. Everyone seemed very nice.
After I had finished my meal, I sat in the numbed happiness that only a full stomach could bring. But that happiness ended quickly when bursting through the swinging doors, immerged a mad man, red with anger. As I looked closely, I realized it was the military man I'd ran into earlier.
"Which one of you God damned criminals stole my gold?" he shouted, and everything became deadly quiet. No one replied.
"I said… who was it that stole my gold?" he said louder as he marched through the room.
The mistress, who was shaking in the corner of the room, spoke up first.
"That... That boy! Over there! He paid with gold!"
My jaw nearly fell off my face. I hadn't stolen anything. That gold belonged to me, not this man.
"You! I remember you! You bumped into me earlier you little pickpocket!" he accused as he charged toward me.
"I swear, I haven't stolen a thing from you!" I replied defensively.
The military man chuckled and from his belt, pulled out a long sword. Swiftly he came at me, his sword nearly missing me as I jumped away from the bar. The people around us shouted and howled, encouraging the fight. But the stranger, sat still, unaffected.
Again and again, I ducked away from the sword, missing what could have been fatal attacks.
I had nothing to fight back with.
"Stop jumping around! Fight back or let me go ahead and kill you. That would be one less criminal to keep track of!"
His sword came forward and sliced my leg open. Blood gushed onto the floor. I stumbled and leaned against the wall to keep from falling.
The man placed his sword right at my throat.
"Last chance boy, give me my gold or face your maker." He threatened.
"But I told you before; I didn't take your gold!"
In anger, the man dug the tip of the sword into my flesh.
"Hey!" Someone shouted from behind the man, distracting him for the moment.
I seized that opportunity and ducked away from the sword.
The stranger stood up from the bar, swung the cloak to the side and revealed a belt armed with an assortment of weapons. He pulled out a long sword and tossed it forward. Surprisingly, I was able to grab the grip rather then the blade.
Now, more furious then ever, the man screamed as he rushed his sword at me. I was able to use defensive moves to block his attacks again and again. I moved with a swiftness that surprised even me, but that wouldn't help me for long. The pain in my leg kicked in again and I stumbled to my knees. The man rushed up behind me and right as he was about to strike, the stranger stopped him by breaking a bottle of rum over his head. Immediately he fell to the floor and in shock, I stood over him, frozen.
"Don't just stand there; let's get out of here before he wakes up!" The stranger barked in a voice that was higher than I'd expected it to be.
Quickly, we both ran out of the Inn, leaving behind the military man and the strange people who yelled and screamed unfathomable words at us.
The stranger was swift and I struggled to keep up with him at certain points, but when we reached the docks, the stranger came to a sudden stop.
"Thanks for your sword back there. I would be dead if not for you," I said, trying to catch my breath between each word.
The stranger stood silent for a moment, searching the docks back and forth.
"Did you forget where you docked your ship or something?" I asked, trying to follow his gaze.
"Those stupid boys! I tell them 'Come to the docks when the moon reaches the center of the sky." He paused and pointed up to the moon.
"Do you see that?" he continued.
"See what?" I asked.
"The moon! Its way past the center now. I give them one job and they can't even do that right." The stranger sighed and started to walk down the length of the docks.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked as I followed behind.
"To find my crew of course! They're probably just beyond the shore, at the inlet just south of here." His step suddenly became brisk, so in return, I sped up my own pace.
The stranger slightly turned his head and then walked faster. Again, I tried to keep up the pace.
"Would you quite following me? I have better things to do then worry about some boy who feels he has a debt to pay." The stranger said sharply as he turned around quickly, catching me off guard. The only chance I had of stopping myself was by putting my palms forward and leaning against his chest.
In response, his face blushed from underneath his dark hood and I realized what a huge mistake I'd been making.
"You're... You're a girl?" I stuttered as her arm came forward and stroke me across the cheek.
She pulled off her hood, revealing bouncy locks of dark brown hair.
"Of course I am! Are you blind? Well, I guess you must be to find it necessary to feel me up!" She shouted as she sprinted off, trying to get as far away from me as possible.
"Wait! It was a mistake! I honestly didn't know." I groaned and ran off after her.
We ran for quite awhile until we reached the inlet she'd mentioned earlier and of course, there in the middle of the water was a ship. It wasn't like my dinky little boat. This ship was huge with large cream colored sails that swayed in the moonlight. Its cherry colored wood glistened all over the ship's surface.
The nameless girl ran onto the ship, yelling something at the crew. Was she really their captain… a girl?
I reached the front of the ship where a ramp touched the edge of the shore, leading up into the deck. Just as I was about to board, the girl came back out, but this time she wasn't alone. Around her stood a band of tough looking kids, who were ready to beat the living hell out of me.