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[RichGreen]

Tuesday 9th May [contd]

Merritt and Rodrigo ask around the taverns of Tortuga, trying to find out where Hell’s Cove is. In the end, they give up and ask Bart who tells them it’s marked on his sea charts.


Wednesday 10th May

After much debate among the crew, the Fortune sets sail for Leogane.


Friday 12th May

Arrive in Leogane. Merritt and Rodrigo head for the raucous Gens Plaisants d’Orleans tavern where they try to find out more about Christophe Muere, Soliere and Madame Laveau, and Rodrigo is yet again tempted by the gorgeous French prostitutes. The two pirates manage to find out roughly where Madame Laveau lives (in a hut on stilts in a swamp that no one has ever returned from) and where to find Soliere (in the hotel Ville du Sucre Bienfaisant). After a while, a couple of men approach, saying they work for Soliere and that the crime boss would like to meet them at a nearby naval supply shop called the Marchand de Gruyere.

Merritt and Rodrigo decide to take Peregrine, Rob and three more of the crew along with them to the meeting. Inside the waterfront store, the pirates are confronted by Grodin (Soliere’s assistant) and a dozen men with muskets who accuse them of working for Albert de Montblanc. Peregrine produces a note from Mrs Muere and another from Christophe – enough to convince Grodin that the men of the Fortune are on the level. He agrees to take the party to Soliere without chaining them up.

Grodin escorts the crew to the Ville du Sucre Bienfaisant. Leaving their weapons outside with their men, Merritt, Rodrigo, Peregrine and Rob are shown into a ballroom where a party is in progress. The bearded Soliere approaches, challenging the pirates to prove they are not with Soliere by “eliminating” six captives who work for Montblanc. He instructs his men to issue both sides with cutlasse and rapiers.

Rodrigo is quickest off the mark, lunging for one of Montblanc’s men before Soliere has finished speaking. Peregrine swishes his sword around in a dazzling display of swordsmanship which serves to demoralise the party’s opponents as battle is joined. Merritt makes one of his trademark reckless charges while Rob leaps up to take refuge in a chandelier, before swinging over to the next one and cutting the rope to drop into the melee. Rodrigo, meanwhile, is fighting his opponents while straddling a French whore. Deciding the battle is too simple as things stand, he complicates the situation by stabbing one of the pirate spectators.

As the fight wears on, the men of the Fortune start to get the better of Montblanc’s lackeys: Peregrine manages to disarm one of them (twice) and Rodrigo takes down four opponents. While this is going on, Rob, who has tried and failed to start a fire, hides behind the curtains and picks a couple of pockets. Unfortunately, Merritt is not so lucky and is run through by a French pirate when his hiding place under a table is discovered. The young lad collapses unconscious.

With all of the French pirates defeated, Soliere applauds the party, giving them a bag of 500 doubloons for the “entertainment”. He also allows them to speak with Christophe Muere who had been watching the battle with interest. Christophe tells them about “Bullhead”, Montblanc, the Governor of Jamaica, the chest and the key.