It all started one evening when I met a boy who had escaped his family’s fate.  The evil Marquis de la Montalban had pressed his entire family into slavery on the eve before the ship bearing their livelihood and independence was due to arrive.  My friend was young then, and ran away into the night, vowing to rescue his family and get revenge on the Marquis whose eye patch indicated he was clearly also a pirate on the side.  Ten years later, that boy re-emerged as the dread pirate Yarrgyle.

That’s when I met him, was kidnapped, and went on a whirlwind adventure.

It’s difficult to call him a pirate, since he was one of those stinking honorable types.  While he toyed with the Spanish for a while and stole a few of their ships, it wasn’t long before he was making nice with all four of the nationalities present in the Spanish Main.  He turned on his fellow pirates, destroying those who sailed in hunt of easy prey, and won fame and fortune in a way the civilized nations deemed acceptable.

There were a few rough years at the beginning, since he wasn’t plundering or pillaging any tradesmen who sailed within cannon-shot, but adventure was never far away.  There were always criminals to be brought to justice, treasure to hunt, and, of course, ladies to woo.  Yarrgyle was the dashing sort, the type of gentleman I might call a “player,” and he romanced the many daughters of regional governors accordingly.  After a ball, one was so infatuated she even gave him a hint as to how he might locate his missing family: Baron Raymondo.

Raymondo.  I’ll never forget that name, or the years of hunting him that followed.  Yarrgyle was determined to free his family, and Raymondo knew where they were.  One by one, he followed the clues and freed them.  I’ve never seen such a persistent vagabond.  I can’t blame him.  I mean, he did disappear off the face of the earth for a decade while his family toiled in slavery.  He kind of owed it to them.

Yarrgyle was a force to fear by the time he rescued all his long-lost family members.  He had ascended to the highest military ranks of every nation present in the local seas, and he had vanquished every other pirate of note to be come the most famous of them all (and he had taken their buried treasures as well.  Let’s not forget how crafty my friend was).  And, of course, he was the most dashing ruffian around.  He had a string of beautiful women throwing themselves at him, pouting when he put off proposing marriage. 

Armed with a fleet of ships and an army of pirates, he finally assaulted the evil Marquis and brought him to justice with all the flair and panache he was known for.  The world was well again.

Thirty years Yarrgyle sailed the seas, attacking pirates, wooing maidens, dueling criminals, hunting lost cities and treasure.  I’m happy to say that he did finally settle down with a beautiful spanish girl from Puerto Cabello, and he took over the governorship of that prosperous city.

I was released, finally.  Except, having had a taste of adventure, I wanted more.  Sometimes I wake in the night and I could swear there’s sea salt in the air and a pirate frigate waiting for me in the bay.  I’ve decided to travel those waters again, and have made an appointment aboard a ship with the dread pirate Roberts.  Perhaps, with his razor smile and his determination to see the Spanish dominate the settlements, this will be a different adventure after all.  Who knows?  I might even set my eyes on a fabled Ship of the Line.

- Jinx

years go by and I’m here still waiting