| Book Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seen In: | |||
| Up | Cap'n Dugal's Journal | ||
| Prev. | Part 2 | Next | Part 4 |
I ain't got much time left. Sure, we had plenty of food down here. It lasted for years, but all this time in the wet and the dark, I got somethin' nasty growin' in me. What a terrible way to die -- not on the end of an enemy's cutless [sic], but because of some damned sickness. No seafarin' man should die like this. At least I can still hear the water.
But I was tellin' the story of how I got mine, weren't I?
I curse the day that the Cameron Usurper died at that war ended, 'cause it was that day that Commodore Fasil Umbranox turned 'is attention to the Red Sabre. A couple of months after the war, that fat pompuss bastard decided to come down here to Anvil and take up port in my town, lookin' to break up the Red Sabre. The Emporer [sic] gave him whatev'r he asked for to campaign again' us, despite the coffers bein' empty from the war in High Rock.
When Umbranox couldn't get what he needed from my men in Anvil, he set out lookin' all over the Abecean Sea for the Black Flag. There are hundreds of islands In the Abecean, and he landed a crew on each one. He rooted out my men when he could find them, hung those who weren't willin' to go peacefully and jailed those who laid down arms.
No matter for many ships and men it cost him, he kept comin' with more and more. We couldn't never get ahead of him and we couldn't never mount a counter attack. It took him four years and a hell of a lot of ships, but that sea rat finally tracked me down.
It were me own fault, anyway. If I never made the mistake I made, he'dve died before he found me. But a man has to stand up for his mistakes, no matter if it cost him. Besides, ain't like I'll be foolin' ye, since yer likely starin' at me bones as yer readin' this.
Umbranox had his main force out of port followin' a lead that I planted. I set sail back to Anvil, hopin' to catch him off guard, capture the boats he left behind, and fight him with his own ships in Anvil Bay. Ha! Can you imagine the look on his pig's face if it'dve worked? I thought I'd finally get the whoreson to show his face in a proper fight. I shoulda known, but he had men waitin' there for me.
We fought like hell, but we were trapped in the bay. The Navy men set the town on fire to keep us from fleeing onto land. I'm sure that the fine citizens of Cyrodiil dinna weep for the torching of a town of thieves.
The main force of Imperial dogs held us until Umbranox showed up in his flagship. Umbranox fought me to the last ship and in the end, the Bay was filled with sunken and burning boats. If I weren't fightin' for me life, I'dve probably thought it were beautiful. So, the Black Flag and Umbranox's rickety tub were the only ones that were still floatin' and fightin' when dawn come. So, I did what any pirate with sense would do - I tried to run.
Now understand, I'm a right bastard in me own way. I'm a pirate, a murderer, a thief, and I certainly ain't never believed in a fair fight. But there's a line and an unspoken code between sailin' men and Umbranox went too far. He had mages on his ship. Mages ain't never been allowed on my boats. They're no good, bad luck, an' I don't trust 'em. Turns out, I was right.
I cut across the south side of the bay, along the huge cliff wall that used to be there. I had me helmsman stay as close as he could to the cursed cliff. I could hear those mages from the deck of Umbranox's ship, yellin' some nonsense into the wind. A few rocks fell onto my deck, a few more, and then the whole bloody cliff came crashin' down on top o' me.
Now, don't you worry, I didn't die just then. The cliff collapsed around the ship, makin' this damned cavern. Better the it just fell on us, but no. It sealed the Black Flag, her crew, and me under tons of rock.
We were buggered.