Seventeen Bells: [WRITTEN/ACTION]

[simplestgift]

On July the 4th, 1776, one Horatio Hornblower was born in Kent.  If you see him, bid him many happy returns.  He will most likely grump about it all day and act ungrateful, but don't allow it to discourage you.  He does appreciate it, he simply does not know it.

[For most of the day, Archie will be running around trying to furnish a bedroom in the house for a new housemate. He'll end up in the library, Good Spirits, the grocery store, then finally the Battle Dome, mostly staring in bewilderment at the controls before deciding this is too scary and leaving. At some point, he'll also take a walk in the woods, rain or no rain, in shirtsleeves and waistcoat but no coat. After a while, he'll get back on the journals.]

[Filtered away from Grell, 44%]

If you wanted to surprise someone dear to you, to cheer her up when she returned from being kidnapped, what would you do for her?

Comments

[action]

[simplestgift]

He climbed on a stool and ordered a Scotch. "Lieutenant William Bush. We served together aboard the Renown." Also, Bush saw the most of Kennedy those last few days of anyone, even Dr. Clive. That was kind of intense. "Set in his ways, but very decent."

[action]

[all7seas]

"So like any Navy man, in the end." Jack raised his glass. "To Lieutenant William Bush, late of the Renown! Long may his pennant flap!" He drained and refilled it before continuing.

"Now. What is it you'd like to hear about first, lad?"

[action]

[simplestgift]

Kennedy drained his glass, not to be outdone; he needed to catch up anyway. Another glass was brought. "Anything prominent. What stories would the famous Jack Sparrow have told about him?"

[all7seas]

"The infamous CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow has traveled to the Fountain of Youth and seen it with his own eyes, for starters."

[simplestgift]

"You exaggerate."

Which was really a friendly prompt for elaboration.

[all7seas]

And a prompt was hardly needed, really. Jack reached over the counter and procured two more bottles of rum, pouring himself another glass before embarking on the telling of this tale. "You've heard the legends, I expect? One Ponce de Leon, voyaging aboard the Santiago, stumbles upon said Fountain what has magical youth-granting properties?"

[simplestgift]

"I don't think I ever heard the full of it. Go on."

[all7seas]

"The Fountain was rumored to give years of life to those who drank from its unholy mystical waters. I'd thought to give it a swallow or two myself, but the loss of the Pearl meant I had no way to start an expedition of my own to said Fountain. I did have the chart that pointed the way. I...did not have any understanding of the Profane Ritual what would help one partake of the magic. And what do you know, Kennedy? King George himself politely requested that I serve the crown in the capacity of Fountain adventurer!

There were some...other complications. And then Angelica---she's somethin', mate, you should meet her one day---Angelica pressed me into service aboard the ship---"

He took a long sip of rum.

---"known as the Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard's ship."

[simplestgift]

"The Queen Anne's Revenge? I thought she sank!" Another glass. This was all going to hit him at once. "In the year...eighteen? Nineteen, was it? I remember reading it somewhere."

[all7seas]

"Recall, Kennedy: my time's nearly a century before yours. The Revenge was still haunting the oceans, then. A very fearsome ship, she was, and I a common deckhand. That is---until I led a mutiny."

Another sip of rum. Jack hated mutineers, when he was captain. They weren't so bad when you were a stolen deckhand.

[simplestgift]

"A mutiny. Those seem to crop up now and again, don't they?"

[all7seas]

"Problematically, Angelica was First Mate, and I didn't think she was telling the truth about----

Nevermind. The point is, Kennedy, that the mutiny failed: once Blackbeard appeared on deck, he used his special magical blackhearted voodoo to twist the ship into obedience. The rigging came to life! We were all hanged from the shrouds. Not by the neck---nah, he kept us alive. Needed a crew, did Blackbeard."

[simplestgift]

"This is why even the navy only hangs those who led the mutiny, you know. Not enough crew for anyone."

[all7seas]

"He kept me alive as well. Only murdered the man who stood watch."

It had been a grim ending. Jack stared at the glass bottle in front of him, running a finger around the mouth.

"He made me his slave, Kennedy. More than just a captive---a useful captive. Have you ever seen a mermaid?"

[simplestgift]

"They exist?"

[all7seas]

"They do indeed. Picture it, lad: thousands of mermaids overwhelming a cadre of men at the shoreline, dragging them down to the depths. Imagine the screams. It was strange and terrifying, and we only caught one in the end who'd been wounded and trapped. Her tear, you see, was important for use in the fountain's waters."

[simplestgift]

Jack had his rapt attention.

[all7seas]

"A young man--a missionary---kept her safe enough for us as we searched out the Santiago. We were racing your people in the attempt---your Navy---the Spanish as well. The Spanish took us captive, in fact, Hector Barbossa and I.

Angelica wanted it the most, though; she truly believed Blackbeard was her father. She wanted to save his soul by prolonging his life---give him an even chance at salvation or what have you."

[simplestgift]

"This Angelica--Spanish?"

[all7seas]

"Aye......from Seville. A girl from Seville." Jack took a very long pull of rum at that and was silent for probably longer than he needed to be.

[simplestgift]

That was further south than Archie had ever been in Spain. "Well, go on, then," he prompted, figuring he could ask questions about this mysterious Spanish daughter of Blackbeard later. Jack still needed to hear about the duel with Grell.

[all7seas]

There was no need to go into TREMENDOUS detail about that, really. Jack continued:

"Once we reached the Fountain, the profane ritual had to be performed. The mermaid's tear was to be mixed with the water and drunk by one who would have long life ahead. However, there was a catch---there always is. When is there not? Another had to drink from a special chalice, and his years would be given to the one who'd drunk the tear. Then he would die, while the other stole his life away."

[simplestgift]

"That does give eternal life less of an appeal."

[all7seas]

"Less of an appeal? It were sheer cruelty! Evil! Highly distasteful! Murderous! The bodies, Kennedy---strewn about everywhichwhere. It was a beautiful place, that temple, but the bodies..." He trailed off and took another drink, wiping his mouth before continuing.

"And then the British privateers showed up."

[simplestgift]

Archie had never heard Jack speak so adamantly against a crime. He paused. "What did they do?"