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[RichGreen]

Sunday 28th May to Tuesday 30th May

The Fortune sails to Hispaniola. Simon Belmont and Merritt work day and night to keep the disease ravaging Peregrine at bay. The captain spends her time contemplating how best to assertain whether Rodrigo handed over all of the treasure he found in the governor of Cartagena’s mansion or not.


Wednesday 31st May

Arrive off the coast of Saint Domingue. Captain Flint, William and Merritt and four crewmen row the ship’s boat into the bayou with the ailing Peregrine on board. As the mist closes in William is able to direct the rowers in the right direction but none of the pirates spots the two jaguar-sized green lizardlike monsters that leap out of the trees and into the boat! These creatures give off a poisonous gas as they attack that seeps into the blood of the men of the Fortune: enough to send Peregrine hurtling towards the very gates of Hell itself! [loses a life] There is a savage battle, and three sailors and Bloody Mary are next to fall victim to the jaws of the vicious reptiles [also loses a life]. Merritt manages to strike an effective blow on his assailant but it’s William who lands a killer blow on one of the monsters, sending its companion scurrying back into the branches of the cypresses.
Despite the casualties, William and Merritt have little choice but to press on towards Madame Laveau’s hut. Fortunately, the voodoo priestess is able to bring both Peregrine and the captain back from the brink. With William’s help, she performs a magic ritual and breaks the curse on Peregrine, allowing her to cure the rotting disease he is suffering from. She warns the pirates that they must make all haste in stopping Cuauhtemoc: each Tablet he finds grants him increased magical power.


Thursday 1st June

As the Fortune heads for the Yucatan and the pirate port of Hell’s Cove, the ship’s lookouts spy a Spanish merchantman and the captain gives the order to intercept. The Spanish ship, a brigantine named Nuestra Senora del Rosario attempts to outrun the Fortune but the pirates are too close. The Nuestra Senora fires first with its front cannons, inflicting quite a bit of damage to the Fortune. Bloody Mary is not deterred and unleashes a broadside. Unfortunately, this does not have the desired effect and the Nuestra Senora continues to maneuvre away from the pirate sloop. Captain Flint orders the Fortune to move alongside, aware that she is risking a broadside from the Spaniards by doing so. The Nuestra Senora fires all 10 of its broadside culverin, hitting the Fortune hard. Realising that her ship is about to sink, Bloody Mary orders her men to board the brigantine. Despite being outnumbered more than two to one, the men of the Fortune charge on to the Spanish ship. They are heartened by the presence of their captain and some flashy swordplay from Peregrine but this isn’t enough. Once ten of their number have fallen in battle with the enemy, the pirates surrender.

As Bloody Mary and her officers lower their weapons, a smartly dressed Spaniard approaches and introduces himself as Secretario General d’Oficina Finanza Senor Nicholas Chirino. Peregrine’s challenge to a duel is accepted: the secretario is lightning fast and the duel is over before it’s begun. Chirino offers the pirates a deal: if they accompany him to Santo Domingo and help him with a problem he has there, he will spare their lives and those of their crew. Bloody Mary has little choice but to accept. As much as possible is moved off the Fortune on to the Nuestra Senora before the ship sinks below the waves.


Saturday 3rd June

The Nuestra Senora arrives in Santo Domingo where, according to the secretario, many of the town’s slaves are fleeing into the jungles of the island’s interior and not returning. Armed parties sent to bring them back have disappeared. The secretario wants Bloody Mary and her men to look into this matter for him.

In the inn where the pirates have a drink when they first come ashore, an old black guy cleaning the tables is muttering “he is coming” under his breath. Meeting with the secretario, they talk about what happened in Cartagena and explain their theory that Cuauhtemoc might well be on his way to Santo Domingo. After a bit of investigation, the pirates next call on Father Jeremy, an aged hougan living in a hut at the edge of the town. Once they’ve told him their theories, Jeremy produces an obsidian tablet from under a cloth: one of the Tablets of the Smoking Mirror. He is happy to give it to the pirates, and also hands them a feathered stick which they can show to the slaves as a token of trust from Father Jeremy.