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[RichGreen]

Saturday 22nd April


The next morning dawns and the weather is getting worse. Both Captain Scarlet and Merritt are still recovering from their wounds from the previous day.

While examining the treasures found on the volcanic island, the Captain notices a glowing light inside the crystal skull. As she looks closely, peering into it, she sees a moving image: the undead creature the crew released from its tomb on the previous day coalesces from a swirling cloud of tomb dust on the jetty of a Caribbean harbour. It kills a longshoreman with a single savage blow, as panic sweeps through the sailors, workers and merchants nearby. A couple of uniformed guards fire their muskets, but the bullets bounce off to no effect. The hideous figure then heads towards them and breaks both their necks before marching inland, killing everyone in his path and leaving a trail of bodies behind him. The Captain unfortunately freaks out, dropping the skull and running on deck, screaming!

Not long afterwards, the storm hits! Despite the best efforts of the crew, there is quite a bit of damage to the ship’s rigging, and two hands are washed overboard as the ship is blown 100 miles to the southwest.. Plucky Rob is knocked out, but is saved from trouble by the valiant efforts of Peregrine (although his fancy boots aren’t terribly practical on the slippery deck).


Sunday 23rd April

Bart the navigator plots an easterly course to bring the Fortune back on track, and sure enough, at the end of the day, the Scarborough is sighted, but with the Diablo de la Margarita alongside. The crew of the Diablo do not seem to have posted a lookout and the Fortune is able to come quite close before she is sighted. She unleashes a broadside at the Diablo, but the Spaniards are only able to fire back with half of their cannons. Captain Scarlet leads the boarding action, as the cowardly Gaspar Castillogrande retreats below decks. With the Diablo’s crew coming off badly in the fighting, the Spanish pirates surrender when William beheads one of their number with his cutlass. Gaspar also throws down his weapons and surrenders. Captain Scarlet offers the Diablo’s crew a chance to join hers, but shows no such mercy to Gaspar and orders him killed. 18 Spaniards join with the captain; the other six survivors are tied up and taken below decks.

An inventory is taken of the cargo of both of the captured ships.

In the hold of the Scarborough, the crew also find the ship’s logbook, an ornate key, and a female prisoner. She’s been tied up and is somewhat weak from dehydration. She gives her name as Julia Muere, and that says she is from Leogane on Hispaniola. Mrs Muere says that an English pirate named Willows took her prisoner a few weeks back and then traded her to a French pirate, who abandoned the Scarborough and left her here to die. She asks that the crew take her aboard their ship.

Peregrine translates the log book, which is in French and belongs to Albert de Montblanc.