Chapter 4: 1741 - Pirate Lords

"Stow it! Both of you! That's an order! Understand?"

This outburst came all unexpected. Even more so as it came from someone no one aboard would have thought to explode like this: "Will you finally stop this farce! It's been like this ever since I hired on this goddamn vessel! Is there really nothing more important for you to discuss? And if so, if you absolutely can't decide who gets to play the captain here, why don't you just shoot each other? Eh? Then the rest of us can finally have our peace and quiet and do what we are on this ship for: Pirate business!"

It was Pintel who had roared so vociferously, completely bugged out by the constant bickering Jack and Barbossa indulged in since they were all back aboard the "Pearl".

And so all eyes suddenly turned to the otherwise rather reserved and submissive pirate.

Nothing and no one moved on board, and one could possibly even have heard a pin drop. At least for the fraction of a second it took for Pintel to realise that the horses had literally run away with him.

Both Jack and Barbossa stood rooted to the spot. They paused in the middle of their argument, exchanged a puzzled look, and then stared at Pintel:

None of them would ever have expected that the frustration of one of their men might ever get vented in a way like that.

It was Pintel himself who defused the ticking time bomb, he had ignited: "Sorry! Just with the Captain issue in doubt and all, I thought I'd throw my name in for consideration! Sorry. No offence meant! Won't happen again."

The door slammed shut as Jack burst into the chart room, Barbossa hot on his heels.

His mood hadn't visibly improved since Pintel practically read them the riot act. And, worse, he knew everything the man had figuratively thrown at them was nothing but the truth: Ever since they had returned aboard the "Pearl", neither of them had behaved exactly like grown men, let alone pirate captains, to be taken seriously!

The drama began when Barbossa asked him about the obvious damage in the captain's cabin the "Pearl" had suffered in her last battle: "I see you neglected to care for my ship."

His ship?

Barbossa's ship?

He had refrained from a cynical reply and once again put on the mask of the naïve captain Barbossa evidently still took him for: "What, this? Just ventilating. Clear out the stench of the previous owner, you know. Thinking of putting in French doors, actually. Feel the cross breeze?"

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Gibbs stuck his head in his quarters: "Heading, Captain?"

Well, that was when things got a little out of hand…

And, yep, there was no doubt Pintel was right: The "Black Pearl" had three captains aboard, and only one of them behaved like one – and it wasn't him or Barbossa. It was Gerrit van Dijk!

He had half expected Caith to carry out her threat and smack him hard in the face like Scarlett, Giselle, and Anamaria had done in Tortuga – but she was still a part of the "Pearl" yet, and at that moment he wasn't unhappy about it.

What she would do, though, once he had freed her, was written on another piece of paper.

He only knew what he would do once he had freed her, and he smiled at the thought until Barbossa jerked him out of it impatiently: "This is a ship, Jack Sparrow! Means even if you try, you can't avoid me forever!"

"I could throw you overboard, mate. Ever thought about that possibility? Then I would be rid of you once and for all. Maybe I should think about this a bit more intensively!"

Barbossa rolled his eyes!

If saving Jack Sparrow had been the only reason Tia Dalma would have brought him back to life for, he would probably have shot himself at the same moment.

Luckily, the strange voodoo-witch within her swamp-hut had foreseen some other reasons, which made it necessary to bring him and Jack back. And luckily, she didn't seem to know that he knew who she really was. Something that might give him an immense advantage with what was yet to come – if they should ever manage to escape this dreadful place again.

And he was no fool: He knew he needed Jack to make his own plans work.

So, therefore, he now threw the carefully rolled charts on the table, without which they would never have been able to find Jack in the first place, and his former captain took the bait. He glanced at the mysterious thing on the table in front of him, and his curiosity, once again, far outweighed the dislike he felt for his former first mate: "Willing to tell me what it is you brought with you?"

"Sea-charts," Barbossa replied, "Very special sea-charts, as you will soon find out!"

With that, he turned to his little monkey, who had made himself comfortable on his shoulder, and left Jack to glance at the strange chart, which seemed to be so much more than just that.

For the moment, Jack no longer paid Barbossa any attention. Instead, he carefully unrolled the map and spread it out on the table:

It was a work of art. A masterpiece in equal measure! And whoever made it must have been a master of his craft.

The chart consisted of individual thin strips of bamboo, having been linked together, and in the centre of them was a map in the form of a circle that consisted of several moveable rings.

At first glance, the chart showed nothing more than the usual sailing routes and coastlines.

Upon closer inspection, however, it became obvious that its moveable rings led to myriad other destinations.

If one moved the rings with and against each other, new patterns, pictures, and lettering became visible – and not all led to places known to every sailor.

Jack quickly realised that it was the routes to places not found on traditional maps that made this one so valuable. And the longer he studied the routes and destinations the map revealed to him, the more he became aware that he had seen it before – and not just the map!

There, where he first got to see this chart, he had also met this Tai Huang before, and within a wink, his anger at Barbossa gave way to deep thought: "Will you tell me how you accomplished getting hold of that chart, mate?"

Barbossa looked up in surprise at the question, but only replied, "Which version of the story do you want to hear?"

"Well, supposedly you're here to get me out of the locker and bring me back to the world of the living, eh?" Jack dropped into one of the chairs and placed his feet on the table as usual before continuing: "However, since I'm no fool and since Tia Dalma has something to do with the whole thing, I don't believe this is the only reason that brought you all to these otherworldly realms. And that's why I have an extraordinarily passionate interest in learning why you're really here! Savvy?"

Pointing to the chair across from him, he added: "Take a seat, Hector, and tell me a little more about this adventure you all threw yourselves into just to save me. I know there's more to it, and who knows, maybe I'll even choose to stay here in the end."

Barbossa accepted the invitation and sat down. Fixing his gaze on Jack, he no longer beat around the bush: "You know Tia Dalma better than me, lad. So I'm assuming you know she had more than one reason for bringing me back from where you so graciously sent me to two years ago!"

"You're welcome! I would render you the same service again at any time."

"Too kind!" Barbossa grinned, clearly annoyed: "But as you yourself have quite rightly recognized: Getting you back wasn't the only reason why I took it upon myself to seek and sail beyond the end of the world with your at that time rather disheartened crew."

"As you can imagine, I would have been immensely flattered if you guys had made all this fuss just to get me out of here. But," Jack grew unexpectedly stern as he continued, "I know there's more to it than that. If I'm right, I know the real reason that brought you here, and if I'm right, I guess that should trouble me deeply. Right?"

"Right! That special 'friend' of yours, that Lord Cutler Beckett, is trying to seize control of the world's seas, and from what I understand, you know better than all of us what the man is capable of."

"Imagine the worst you can imagine and add ambition, greed, and ruthlessness! Even worse: He is convinced of what he is doing, and he knows all the ways and means to achieve his goals!"

"It will no longer be difficult for him. Now that he holds the heart of Davy Jones within his hands! They say Jones is nothing more than a puppet now, and control of the 'Flying Dutchman' is no longer at him, but…"

"…at Beckett and the East India Trading Company…"

"Aye! And you know what that means, Jack! With the 'Dutchman' as their flagship and Beckett's fleet on her flanks, there is no escape. Not even for the best captains! You can't imagine what we saw and became witnesses to when we set out looking for you! Those who won't surrender will be sunk, and those who don't die at sea end up on the gallows – like anyone even suspected of knowing a pirate or helping one."

Jack grimaced in disgust as he thought of Beckett's pale, arrogant face: "And what part do you have in mind for me to play in this unpleasant spectacle?"

"Tia Dalma already told you: The song has been sung! The Council of the Brethren has been summoned, and the Nine Pirate Lords are awaited in the fortress of Shipwreck Cove!"

"Don't think that I will return to Shipwreck Island one more time or that I'll ever set foot in the fortress again, mate! I owe the council nothing! And even less, I owe the keeper of the code!"

"You are the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, Jack!"

"True! And you are the pirate lord of the Caspian Sea. So, what?"

Barbossa leaned across the table to look Jack straight in the eye. "Neither you nor I have been able to pass our Pieces of Eight on to a successor. You know what that means, and so does that voodoo-witch. She knows that it takes all nine pirate lords for the council to make decisions. For that reason, and only for that reason, she's bringing us back!"

"Nice try, Hector! Keep talking! I won't change me mind anyway! There's no way I'm going to sail to Shipwreck Island with you! And you can believe me on this one thing: As long as I can avoid it, I'll give this island a wide berth!"

"And you can believe this one thing, Jack Sparrow: Whatever should happen to us when we get through this, and if we should ever manage to leave this inhospitable place again, you and I will sail to Shipwreck Island. And there will be neither arguing nor discussing it, lad!"

Barbossa actually seemed hell-bent on attending this council meeting, as Jack was surprised to discover.

By his reckoning, there could only be one reason for this, and he wondered if the devious pirate would really be willing to take the risk of freeing Tia Dalma from her human form. Especially where no one could predict what would happen afterwards. Most likely, they would all be at the mercy of her rage and desire for revenge, but who could really say that?

However, Jack, for his part, had no intention of bowing to the council or accounting for anything he had done without the council's consent. And so he dared to contradict: "Oh, there will be discussing and arguing about that, mate! Should there actually be a meeting of the Pirate Lords, as you have just told me so urgently and emphatically, I'll be sailing in the other direction for sure!"

"Jack! It's not just about the Brethren Court or the Code! It's not about Shipwreck Island, either! It's about the pirates rallying to stand up to Beckett! If we don't fight, the matter with piracy will soon be over! Once and for all! You're a pirate, lad, and I know you've got a score to settle with Beckett! Surely you don't want to deny that!"

Jack turned his gaze away. He had no intention of denying that fact. And how could he?

Cutler Beckett was one of the few people he had met in his life whom he hated to the core.

Nothing Barbossa had done to him by starting the mutiny and marooning him would ever come close to what Beckett had done to him and Caithleen.

Nothing Barbossa had done to him had been as cruel and calculating as what Beckett had done to him and Caithleen.

And one day he would make the head of the East India Trading Company pay for it!

As Jack kept silent, Barbossa went on: "You can twist and turn it any way you want, but from whatever angle you look at it, this time you won't be able to shirk your duties. If we won't hold together this time, they'll wipe us out to the last ship – except for you, of course! And of course you will be the only one left, because you made your escape in time!"

"It doesn't sound that bad when you think about it. Or what would you say, mate: Jack Sparrow, the last pirate?"

He knew it was a stupid idea as soon as he voiced the thought, and if he was honest, he didn't believe in it himself, but to admit that Hector Barbossa was right was a rather annoying realisation.

"Might be that it sounds perfectly right and pretty alluring for the time being, but how about this, lad: What will you do when you're the last man standing and when one day you'll have to face Beckett and Jones all on your own? Doesn't sound too desirable any more, does it?"

Barbossa fought by all fair and unfair methods, and Jack knew neither his extraordinary ship nor his unrivalled skill when it came to navigation or negotiation would suffice, in the long run, to stand up to both Beckett and Jones.

All on his own, was also a clever pirate like him doomed to perish.

This was a bitter truth, but for the moment his defiance still prevailed: "Before we think about anything else, let's find a way out of here. After that, I'll start thinking about Beckett and Jones. But one thing is for sure: I will not return to this place again!"

Both kept silent for a while until Jack's gaze once again fell on the peculiar map, which was still spread out on the table in front of them, and once more driven by curiosity, he finally asked: "With everything we've discussed so far, one question still remains unanswered: How did you get to this chart?"

"Well, to find you here, in a place usually denied to the living, we needed a heading, but as you can imagine, there aren't many sea-charts that show you World's End."

"I know that, but how much sense does it make to find World's End when you don't know how to get out of there, eh?"

"That's exactly why we needed a map, which would lead to more places, but just the obvious. To find you, we needed a map that would also lead us there, where no one should ever set foot."

Jack frowned at this explanation, and suddenly all the pieces of this mosaic fell into place. He eyed Barbossa thoughtfully and asked straight out, "So you've been to Singapore?"

"How would you know?"

"Don't ask! Just answer my questions! You've been to Singapore and ventured into Sao Feng's gloomy and widely ramified fortress labyrinth to steal this map. And you did steal it, no doubt about that, mate, because one thing is dead certain: Sao Feng would never willingly give this map to any random pirate! Not even to another Pirate Lord! And certainly not if you'd have told him beforehand that you'd need it to get me out of Davy Jones' Locker!"

"Let's put it this way: we tried to steal the map. We got Will into the fortress first, but they caught the kid before he could make off with it."

"If it were as you so naively want to make me believe, none of you would be here, and you and I wouldn't discuss Brethren Court and Shipwreck Island! Savvy?"

"Well, we were about to cut each other's throats when good old friends of ours stormed the fortress. The English had spies in Singapore, and once again, opponents became forced allies. We didn't have time to kill each other. The English would have done that for us."

"And how did you escape?"

"We made it to the agreed meeting point, and eventually Will showed up – with the map, with Tai Huang and his men, and with the prospect of being able to disappear aboard a ship."

Jack sat up: "And you call yourself a pirate? Didn't you give it a single thought how the boy got to both the map and the ship? Just moments after Sao Feng wanted to send you all to hell?"

"Remember, the boy is Turner's son after all! And Sao Feng is also one of the nine pirate lords! Maybe there's nothing behind it."

"Could be! But I don't trust Sao Feng. To be honest, I trust him even less than I trust you! I've known him for quite a long time. Longer than I would like! We've had some unpleasant encounters in the past. And that's exactly why I doubt he gave Will the map and the ship for no good reason and with no strings attached!"

"Tell me, Jack, is there anyone out there whom you haven't betrayed yet?"

"What makes you think I betrayed Sao Feng?"

"What other reason could be there for him to hate you as much as he obviously does?"

Jack's eyes darkened for a moment, and an icy shimmer could be spotted within them when he answered: "It was all about a girl, mate, but that's a story to be told another time. Let's find out first if this map can really show us a way out of here."