Session #7
Friday 5th May
The Fortune and the Diablo sail into heavy fog, flying French flags. Pass an English schooner, the Breeze, without incident.
Saturday 6th May
Arrive Gonaives, St Domingue, without incident. Merritt and Rodrigo accompany Mrs Muere to her estate to collect their reward while Captain Scarlettt takes care of business in the town, selling the Diablo and some of her cargo, and organising repairs for the Fortune.
At the Muere estate, the widow is horrified to find there has been a robbery, although Merritt and Rodrigo are convinced there is something untoward going on. Mrs Muere is relieved to find her secret cache of jewellery has not been touched so she is able to give the pirates the necklace she promised them. In her jewellery box, she also finds a note from her nephew Christophe (a bit of a black sheep), saying he has gone to Leogane. This worries her as Leogane is the home of a feared crime boss named Soliere. Christophe, she says, used to sail with Albert de Montblanc and knows more about the key found on the Scarborough and the iron chest full of doubloons it opens.
On their return to town, Rodrigo and Merritt meet up with the captain, and spend the evening trying to find out useful information about the Fox’s shipmates and Madame Laveau from the local sugar farmers. They fail. Captain Scarlett divides the plunder: each officer gets 58 doublooons; each crewman gets 29 doubloons.
Sunday 7th May
The Fortune repaired, with a full crew aboard, sets sail for Tortuga.
Tuesday 9th May
The Fortune arrives in Tortuga. Before leaving the ship, Captain Scarlett and Rodrigo decide to have another go at getting their six prisoners from the Diablo to join the Fortune’s crew. With some words from the captain, and some threatening behaviour from Rodrigo, all six sign on and are released on shore leave with the rest of the crew.
Rodrigo introduces the captain and Merritt to his fence contact, Willem Credo – a strangely accented Dutchman with a pet iguana sitting on his shoulder. Scarlett sells him the treasure found on the mysterious volcanic island for 700 doubloons. Meanwhile, Rodrigo gives in to his vice and blows lots of cash on three French prostitutes: Fifi, Gigi and Mimi.
Later, in the Blue Boar tavern, Scarlett and Merritt are confronted by a Spanish pirate (and friend of Gaspar Castillogrande) named Ricardo Montalbano, egged on by four of their former prisoners. A fight erupts, with Merritt making a daredevil dash forward and running the villainous Spaniard through. Unfortunately, Ricardo is not mortally wounded and manages to get in a couple of accurate strikes on the young lad with his rapier. Rodrigo who has been canoodling with his Gallic whores in the corner joins in the fray and the men of the Fortune win the day.
While the fight was in progress, an old man with an eyepatch and a peg-leg, sitting at a table near the door, had been laughing and cackling loudly to himself. This turns out to be Saucy Jack, a former shipmate of Henry “the Fox” Matthews. He gives Scarlett the pirate name “Bloody Mary Flint” and proceeds to ask for 1,000 doubloons for his piece of the treasure map leading to Black Bellamy’s hoard. Scarlett and Rodrigo try and negotiate, offering him a chance to sail on the Fortune in search of the treasure, and manage to beat the old man’s price down to 700 doubloons. Merritt is feeling a bit too faint to take much part in the discussions but tries to help as best he can. In the end, Captain Scarlett is unwilling to pay the asking price and Saucy Jack leaves the pub. The stealthy buccanneer Rodrigo follows him but isn’t stealthy enough: Jack spots him and shoots him twice, before hobbling up to him and taking a swipe with his cutlass. Badly wounded, Rodrigo gets the message and withdraws.
Realising that there is no other option, Scarlett and Merritt knock on Jack’s door. He invites them in to his shack and sells them the map for 650 doubloons, as well as telling them where they might track down the other two shipmates (and pieces of the map).