Session #10
Monday 15th May [contd]
Meanwhile, Captain Scarlett and Rodrigo are also travelling through the swamp in the second boat. Their journey is less eventful than that of Peregrine and the others, but they do manage to ignite some explosive swamp gas, killing four of their crew and gravely injuring two more! Reunited with the first boat, Rodrigo belatedly ties both boats together. The survivors take up the oars in the first boat, towing their dead comrades behind them in the second.
After a short while, the pirates reach a hut on stilts: the home of Madame Laveau. Scarlett, William and Rodrigo venture cautiously inside. Madame Laveau is an old, fairly large black woman dressed in a colourful African dress; she squints a lot and walks with a limp and a stick. Unsurprisingly, her home is decorated with plenty of voodoo accoutrements: skulls, chickens etc. The hougan she knows the “big thing” the party have come about, but first will heal the injured. Scarlett gives her the crystal skull found on the volcanic island as payment. Making a potion of crushed herbs and rum, Madame Laveau pours the concoction down the throats of Rob and the two unconscious sailors. Miraculously, all three start to slowly come round.
Then, Madame Laveau says she is going to call on one of the Loa: Maitre Carrefour, who is the Lord of the Midnight Crossroads. She tells the pirates to sit on the floor in a circle in the back room while she lights several foul-smelling candles which give off plenty of purple smoke. Rodrigo is given a drum to bang. She puts some corn meal into a bowl, pours in some rum, then sacrifices a chicken, allowing its blood to drip into the bowl. She mixes the ingredients together, all the while chanting quietly to herself and swaying from side to side. The candles flare up for a second, and Madame Laveau says “he is here!”
William and Rodrigo look on in horror as Scarlett stands up, arms outstretched to form a cross. Her whole frame shivers as she grabs the bowl and downs the contents; then speaks in a loud, terrifying voice:
“Foolish mortals! You have called me here because in your ignorance you have freed Cuauhtemoc, Sorceror-King of Ixtzul, from his eternal tomb beneath the Pyramid of the Ancients. Cuauhtemoc will not rest until he has had his terrible revenge on the peoples of the Caribbean. He searches now for the Tablets of the Smoking Mirror, terrible writings said to be the words of Tezcatlipoca himself, and containing much forbidden and vile knowledge, including spells and incantations capable of destroying entire cities. Cuauhtemoc will slaughter any who stand in his way: White, black, Maya, Arawak, Carib – it does not matter. You have caused this thing, so you, and you alone, must put things right. Since you are pathetic mortals, you do not have the power needed to defeat him, you must find the holy weapon that vanquished him in ages past: this is the Feathered Staff of Quetzalcouatl. Once wielded by the High Priest of Quetzalcouatl, Lord 18 Rabbit, this staff was plundered from his tomb by pirates such as yourselves. Seek the lost treasure hoard of Black Bellamy --– there you will find the Staff. When you have it, return here!”
When Scarlett returns to normal, the pirates bid a hasty thanks to Madame Laveau and head back through the swamp to the Fortune.
Tuesday 16th May
Arrive back in Leogane. Hire 11 more sailors to replace the missing crew members, bringing the crew back to 58.
Wednesday 17th May
Leave Leogane for Cartagena, flying a Spanish flag.
Sunday 21st May
Nearing the coast of South America, the crew sight an English merchant ship, the Hanby Rose, which has obviously seen some action. With the men restless, Captain Scarlett decides to attack. The Fortune opens fire with four of its cannons when it gets into range, damaging the Hanby Rose further; the merchantman fires back, inflicting some considerable damage to the pirate’s ship. When the Fortune fires the rest of its cannons, the captain of the Hanby Rose surrenders and invites Scarlett and her men to board. As they do so, another ship is spotted – a Spanish privateer. Scarlett offloads a big chest of doubloons and a consignment of French bourbon from the English ship, then orders the Fortune to disengage and make all speed away from the Spaniards. A chase ensues, but thanks to some skillful sailing, the Fortune manages to lose her pursuers.
Tuesday 23rd May
The Fortune is beached along the coast from Cartagena. Rob directs the crew in repairing the ship using lumber from the jungles of New Grenada.
Wednesday 24th May
Arrive in Puerto Bello. Divide the plunder: each crewman gets 34 doubloons with the officers receiving 68 doubloons. The crew spend the night carousing. Captain Scarlett decides to start calling herself by the name given to her by Saucy Jack: she is now Bloody Mary Flint!
Saturday 27th May
Arrive in Cartagena. Bloody Mary dresses up in her finest lady’s clothes and visits the Papagallo Rojo (Scarlet Macaw) to learn more about the governor’s palace where Clever Dick Richards is being held in the jail. It turns out that the Governor of Cartagena is having a ball that evening to try and find a fiancee. Moreover, Clever Dick is due to be hanged tomorrow at midday in the town square. She decides she needs to get an invitation to the ball by using her womanly wiles and gets William to “attack” her. Two Spanish nobles dash to her rescue: one is knocked flying by William, but the other one is able to drive the ruffian off. Mary flirts outrageously (she has a particularly annoying giggle) and with some success: the nobleman, named Carlos del Diaz, invites her to the Governor’s Ball.