Chapter 2 intro:
Sorry for the long wait! I usually only have the time to write on Saturdays but I've been super busy for a couple months. I promise I'll write more chapters more often, so without further ado, here's chapter 2!
En route to Great Inagua, Captain Kenway made a stop in Nassau to sell the sugar and rum we've looted, allowing the crew to come onshore and take a break from the sea. Not surprisingly, nearly everyone, including me, headed straight for the tavern, to get drunk off of much better booze than can be found out on the water. As is the norm, we spent our night in the brothel. Early the next morning, we were to be back at the ship to prepare it for sea. We'd sail straight for Great Inagua without any other stops. Hours later, we were well on our way to the hideout.
"Give us a song, Jack," Kenway said. Usually, I'm in charge of choosing the shanties out on the water. I searched through my knowledge and decided on a favorite, Drunken Sailor. I launched into the song, the crew picking up and singing along. Once we were finished, we sailed along another few hours. I filled the space with a few more songs, my personal favorites being Randy-Dandy-Oh, Fish in the Sea and Leave Her Johnny. As the sun fell, the lookout spotted a ship's stern lamps. He shouted down what he could see to the captain.
"There's a ship out there, captain! Man-O-War, sir! Her colors look like pirate hunters, and she's all alone, sir." A Man-O-War, huh. It's not like we haven't taken any on before, but most were grueling battles causing insane damage to the Jackdaw and boarding often resulted in huge losses. Since the last battle, however, Kenway had made many changes, much of them upgrades to our firepower and hull. Still, this Man-O-War had more firepower and armor than I have ever seen. The lookout shouted some more facts about the ship down to Kenway as we approached from the rear.
"She's christened the Royal Phoenix, sir. More firepower than any ship we've faced. Bigger, too. Must be a lot of cargo space in there. And she's fast." Adéwalé asked the captain if it was really a good idea to try and take this ship. Ever headstrong, he replied with an affirmative. That ship was as good as ours.
"As much sail as you can!" He shouted to the crew. He was going to ram them from the rear to get an edge. The Jackdaw was lined straight up with the other ship's stern. A loud crunch shattered the air, as the wood shattered and any crew not holding on to something was thrown to the deck. Kenway turned the ship starboard fast as he could to attempt a broadside before the other ship got its anchor reeled up and the sails out. A broadside from a ship that large would be devastating. Kenway ordered a volley of heavy shot from the cannons, further destroying the rear. He then sailed out of the Royal Phoenix's broadside range, firing the Jackdaw's own mortars, unfortunately taking hits from the larger ship's mortar fire. He pulled the ship around, and sped towards the Man O' War for a ram, disabling the ship. The masts fell into the water, and fires had broken out over the ship. Kenway gave the order to board, and we pulled the ship in close and swung onto the deck of the larger ship. Kenway took the swivel gun, killing several men including the ship's captain. No time for that, however, as I have my own battle to attend to. Two privateers were attempting to flank me, a gunner and an axeman. I drew my sword and my pistol, nailing the gunman in the head just before parrying the axe. Holstering my pistol, I turned my attention to the brute.
"They sure are armored, and effortlessly can hold their defense against a sword," I thought to myself. He took another swing, and I had no choice but to roll out of the way, the shattered deck piercing my arm with a large splinter. Shite. I elected to pull it out, and finish the fight quickly before I bled too much. We faced each other, him holding his axe and my sword out ready to attack. I faked a swing at his right side, as he moved to block it I caught my sword in the groove of the blade, and using the leverage threw him to the ground. I took my chance and pierced him through the heart while he was down. Now I needed to jump back to the Jackdaw and wrap my wound. Running to the railing, another gunner saw a perfect chance to charge me with the bayonet. There was no way I could dodge it save for throwing myself off the rail and possibly right onto the side of the smaller brig, potentially killing me. Those hull splinters are no joke. I drew my sword once more to try and bock it, though there was no need. Kenway's twin swords sprouted right out of the man's chest.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"For now, but I need to stop the bleeding from this arm or I'll die from blood loss," I said, showing him my arm dripping with blood.
"Hop to the Jackdaw and tend to that wound. We'll not miss one person." I took the offer, and carefully jumped from the Man O' War to the smaller ship's deck. Quickly going below, I found a bandage roll and wrapped the arm. 5 bloody minutes later, the battle was still raging. Confident the bleeding stopped, I stood on the deck of the Jackdaw, drawing my musket rifle, and taking careful aim, shot another man through the forehead. Seeing this final man drop dead, the remainder of the crew surrendered. I holstered the rifle on my back, and seeing Kenway beckon me, I climbed back aboard, taking care not to open my wound. Once the privateers were all tied up, Kenway gathered his crew to tell us what he'd do with the ship.
"Today, we've taken a difficult prize," he started. "Many of our crew was lost, and others injured. But we were successful, and being such a powerful ship, I've elected to take it for the fleet." The crew cheered. "Now, who will be her captain? After a lot of thought, I decided the next captain is someone who has served with me for a long time.
His resolve is never broken, and his skills as a sailor great." Although that could be me, there's plenty of others who could qualify. My best friend, for instance, a sailor named John, another man he freed the night we stole the ship. We were shackled together on the same ship before Kenway came along. "This man has suffered many injuries on behalf of our quest, and yet still he is jovial and the most jubilant in song. So this ship will go to… Jack Richards, our leader in song!"
That's me! I never would have thought! Kenway took a hat (From his seemingly endless supply of captain's hats) and affixed it atop my head. I turned to John, and he congratulated me. Next was who would be part of the skeleton crew to sail it back to the hideout. Kenway chose a few men from the cannon crews, a few men that work the sails and a few other men, among them John. These men would permanently be part of my crew, as a bonus. What a privilege to sail alongside my best friend. We used spare parts from the Jackdaw to make my ship able to sail the remaining distance to Great Inagua, and as we set out I closely followed the brig. Once there I would need to use my earnings from various boardings to buy new masts, repair the hull damage and purchase new sails and cannons.
(Afterword: So there's chapter 2. Hopefully I can get chapter 3 out within a week, but I fear that marching band practice before the 4th of July will hinder my progress. On a story-related note, I always had thought that the docks for Kenway's fleet should have been added in the game on the opposite side of Great Inagua, and at any one time you could see ships in the docks or the dock empty if the ship is on a mission. With that in mind, I'll use a bit of creative license and make that a reality for the next chapter.)