William Brand

August 2, 1704 - Fort Royal William and Pascal arrived at the prison together between two bells of the Forenoon Watch, Samuel having gone with Miss Smith on her errands. William and Pascal were once more put through the agonizing process of showing their papers and making their wishes known to the prison authorities. William explained that he would be taking as many new recruits as the written documents allowed, just as he had done before. He would be adding these to those men already removed and that he wished to be quick about the selection, having other business ashore. Louis de Mallevaud, the Commandant of Marines at Fort Royal Prison, was an exacting man, and he read the documents entirely from beginning to end. William did not present any outward protest to this, but waited patiently until the matter had been settled entirely. Once the Commandant was satisfied to all the formal points of the matter, he instructed Lieutenant Bedeau to attend William while in the Prison. William and Bedeau exchanged renewed introductions through Pascal, having already met once before when the Maastricht and Heron prisoners had come ashore. Then William thanked the Commandant and presented him with one of the three bottles he had brought with him from the 'Dog. It went a long way to softening the rigid officer's countenance and he walked with them across one of the fort parade grounds until they reached the prison entrance. Once inside, William went immediately to stand before the cells he had visited on the previous day and he again announced his intentions to give those men place and pardon who would now join him aboard the 'Dog. Then he waited for the first of them to step forward. Two bells of the Forenoon Watch

August 2, 1704 - The docks of St. Louis Between one and two bells of the Forenoon Watch With Tudor, Pascal, Samuel and the Captain gone, Brenton, Teeke, Luigi and Drewes found themselves once again ashore with nothing to do but mind the longboat and wait for the Starboard Watches to make their way to port. It wasn't likely that any able seaman would return to the ship before six bells of their watch, so Brenton and Drewes were content to rest in the small boat while Luigi and Teeke passed the time by learning a little of the other's language. Teeke Ranst had been born on a farm nestled almost squarely between Arnhem & Nijmegen of the Netherlands. Nijmegen, Holland's oldest town, had offered Teeke many opportunities for education and apprenticeship, but sadly it had not offered him a second language. While Teeke had been educated in literature of his own nation, his understanding of the world at large had not been improved until he had put to sea. Still, he had been brought up as a straight forward fellow and trained as a gifted arkwright. This training had lead him to a comfortable position aboard two ships prior to the Maastricht, always serving in conjunction with the carpenters of those vessels. It took Luigi some time to decipher all of this through trial and error as the two men traded limited vocabulary back and forth. Brenton would occasionally offer his opinion from the bottom of the longboat on one word or another until Luigi was convinced that he understood Teeke's background well enough to appreciate the man and sailor. Much of this was accomplished by hand gestures and sounds as much as language, but it made the time slip quickly by. Luigi had just begun to explain the various parts of the longboat in English and Teeke had only begun echoing them in Dutch when the shadow of a woman fell over the boat. Maeve O'Treasaigh had arrived with questions about the Watch Dog. ~Larboard Watches on Duty~

The list is being fine tuned often of late. Please check the information for you and your shipmates at each encampment and let me know if there are any further changes to be made.

August 2, 1704 - On the Cul du Sac Royal William awoke early and made ready to visit the Fort Royal Prison by the start of the Forenoon Watch. His body was not in agreement about this arrangement and his feet and back protested a little as he dressed for the day. True to form, Miss Smith arrived with warm fare and a pleasant disposition, and her side of the conversation took up most of what passed between them that morning. After a time, William steered the conversation towards business. "I shall be at the prison today long enough to fetch out some forty men or more. Our dealings at Martinique are coming to a close, and I will not miss the opportunity to escort the Navarra if such a boon should be asked of us." "Aye, sah." she replied, and she smiled at something private. "You shall join me ashore to gather up merchants while I am at Fort Royal." "Sah?" she returned. "I mean to sell the bulk of the Maastricht goods left over in the hold, so we shall make them available at auction aboard the 'Dog. Please invite merchants from the larger collecting houses and perhaps a sugar baron or two. We'll have them assemble amidships at the close of the Afternoon Watch. I hope to have the new recruits stowed by then." "Very good, sah." she agreed. "I shall hand pick an even dozen." "Apostles of wealth." William mused aloud, though his thoughts were already on other matters. "Just so." she said as she departed with tray in hand. The preparations to go ashore continued. William called for Pascal and Samuel Standiford to join him in the boat for service ashore. While they gathered their muskets and pistols for the day's work, William took the last of the Ilex Fortune and placed it into two small bags to trade for specie with Monsieur Molyneaux. He also made a point of taking three of the finer bottles from the stern bench, that he might make gifts of them ashore. With all of this accomplished, Eric Franklin was given the quarterdeck and William went over and down into the longboat where Tudor and the others waited. The morning was a mix of light and dark clouds. The morning was cold for Martinique and an unlikely fog clung to the Eastern edge of the Cul du Sac Royal. Still it didn't last, for even this was burning off under the sun and the day promised to be pleasant enough for their business. As William had hoped, they were ashore and already bound for the prison when the ships on the bay began ringing the eight bells which ended the Morning Watch and heralded the beginning of the next. Eight bells of the Morning Watch. Forenoon Watch begins. ~Larboard Watches on Duty~

The family surrounded by the fall colors of Logan Canyon...

That enchroaches on a swivel gun.

This takes me back.

A fine outfit, Jon. We look forward to seeing you baptise it in blood at PIP.

All Baconfests should begin no later than 7:00 pm local time. I will post the times for each of the Baconfests once I have spoken with the various participants. For now...a gentle reminder...

August 2, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog Between two and three bells of the Mid Watch Eric dhad not seem inclined to make much conversation so William had obliged with casual silence. The time had passed with them watching the dark for nothing in particular and they eventually had parted one another's company. William retired later than he had expected and he found sleep easily. Those recruits who had come aboard from the prison went to their duties and their hammocks respectively as easily as one might return to eating after a long day's work. though many of them had been imprisoned for some time, the routine of sea was not forgotten. Even Ned, only a guest for the present, fell asleep on the galley floor near one of the cooling cook stoves, having eaten a fair share of cold biscuits and hot broth. Jenny too, was fast asleep, too weary from flight not to escape into slumber. Night aboard the frigate at anchor was quiet, and for the time being, uneventful.

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog The formalities of parting were both genuine and awkward as William saw them to the door. He was grateful to be alone then, for he was weary from the matters of that day, and he would have retired if not for another matter yet to be resolved. He considered fetching a clean glass, but grabbed up a used one along with his own and headed topside to the quarterdeck where he found Eric staring into the dark. Eric turned about when he arrived and William pressed a glass into his hand and filled it before the man could do little but acknowledge him. Then, raising his own glass William proposed a toast in the simplest of terms. "To the Master-at-Arms of the Watch Dog." he said, and drained it dry. Tudor Smith, who was standing hard by, smiled, though she only thought that she understood the toast.

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog William sipped his drink a moment and then set the glass aside. The idea that this woman should ask him to set the price, knowing who and what they all were, was a telling thing which spoke volumes. He smiled then and wondered who was the more dangerous passenger. The outspoken thief who seemed to confess all or this woman with her unspoken truths. And Murin's added information only gave William pause, for the idea of a 'man of means' sending payed men, even mercenaries looking for Miss Ashcombe did not advance her cause. Such men might beat any one of his men or women ashore in the pursuit of information leading to her return. What might they not do to get what they wanted if rewarded handsomely enough? He drained the last of his glass. "We have no place for passengers, but the surgery, Miss Ashcombe. Miss McDonough will see you comfortably stowed there for the night. I will consider on the matter. For now, you are a guest aboard the Watch Dog and you may consider yourself such."

William lifted the bottle and poured three drinks, but not before asking each if they would imbibe. When the glasses were filled a third full and passed to his guests, he leaned a little in his chair and waited while they sipped before he continued. "We are bound for colonies only after we have gone to Trinidad, which takes you further from them first. It is likely that we will be employed, and thereby contracted to that course, so our interests aside...we cannot go to the colonies first." William waited while this information settled upon Miss Ashcombe before continuing. "There are women in my employ, or rather, there are women aboard ship in their own employ, as it is with every able bodied man aboard ship, but we are not a merchant vessel. We are not a ship of war. We are a privateer filled with some men who were before now desperate, dangerous and sought by governments for their crimes. Myself included. You might purchase passage aboard the Watch Dog only to discover yourself hunted by navies of every nation in time. The courts are not kind, even to women."

William sat once again, but this time his expression was softer. Gentle. He smiled friendly enough, but his countenance was still little more than business and trade. "Miss Ashcombe, you will pardon my curiosity, but you have arrived in men's clothing with enough money to pay for passage to the colonies, so I must ask. Will I regret taking you aboard the 'Dog? Will some reprisal follow hard upon if I take you aboard?"

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog William listened to all of this with the flat expression of one who has seen ships afire, seas clogged with flotsam and jetsom and a prison or two. He had heard similar pleas, some more fervent and some less. "What's your name, lad?" "Edward O'Flaherty, sah." There it was. William had heard it. It was subtle, but it was there. Something in the response itself. Most liars would have paused a split second too long before answering, but Edward responded almost too fast. Even so, William wasn't sure what to make of it. "Bu' people call m', Ned." Edward added at once. "What people would there be to call you Ned I wonder, seeing that you are a scarecrow." William pondered aloud, and there followed a long pause. Long enough that everyone wondered what William might ask next, but before Murin, Jenny or even Ned could fill in the silence, William stood up and looked the young vagabond in the face. "Make yourself known to the cook." Six bells of First Watch

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog "You wish to come aboard as a passenger, Miss Ashcombe?" William asked, his tone removed. "Yes, sir." She returned, simply. He turned to her then and narrowed his eyes a little. Whatever distraction might have been there before was gone in a moment. He looked at her for a long time. Long enough to make her fidget. He let this same look fall on the scrawny sneak-thief that Murin had brought along with her. "I would like to believe that I fell asleep hours ago." he said aloud. No one seemed to know what to say to this, so Murin spoke up. "Sah?" William looked back and forth between Jenny and the stranger, his eyes stopping on the would be lad. "This one here is three weeks removed from a meal and two days removed from a grave..." he began again, then turned to Jenny. "...and yet...you seem well fed, healthy, clothed, but for a departure from the fashion, and you must have some specie about you to pay for passage aboard a privateer." He paused, and again no one seemed to know what to say to this. William took a seat and leaned in on one elbow. He fixed the two guests with a searching look and pressed on. "The men I hired today came from the prison, so there may very well be some thieves among the lot. I understood that it might be so when I took them aboard. Am I now being asked to take thieves which might be sailors?" he asked, looking at the younger guest.

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog Eric's entrance unbidden and departure without dismissal left William at a bit of a loss, not that such protocols had ever been gospel aboard the 'Dog. He shook his head slowly from side to side and perused the letter a fourth time, temporarily forgetting his present company. He folded the letter and looked at the closed door again before turning once more to his guests. "Miss Ashcombe." he prompted, though his thoughts were now elsewhere.

You heard him, men. Have Captain Lasseter cleared away! A mob of burly sailors carts of the cussing captain.

Thwarted.

August 1, 1704 - Ward room of the Watch Dog William could not remember anyone ever rushing into the ward room unbidden. Even Tudor, who shared the almost equal right of access to the place, had never entered in a rush. to counterpoint this, tudor arrived a second later. She looked irritated and William simply gave her a solitary nod and she closed the door. William took the letter and unfolded it, stepping to a lantern at the corner of the room. There he read the letter, not once, but twice. When he looked up from the folded paper he regarded Mister Franklin with a quiet look laced with questions. "Mister Franklin..." William began, but he stopped again to read the letter a third time. He passed his finger over it and began shaking his head. "Perhaps you can explain the urgency of this letter, for apart from your arrival, I can find none within it. Is there perhaps some message within that I am meant to decipher apart from the words themselves?" The room was very quiet.

Updated. The list does not reflect everyone who is considering joining us at PIP, so we may see a few additions very soon. We may of course see a few departures, but that is expected.

William regarded Jenny, but said nothing. Instead, he gestured with one hand to the waiting chairs not taken. He did not draw back his hand until this silent command was followed by all present. What followed was an awkward, unrehearsed dance. William moved only enough to draw out a chair for Miss Ashcombe before pacing once across the room to the stern bench. Here, he fetched out a bottle and three glasses. He placed all of these on the table. He did not fill them. "Miss Ashcombe. Perhaps you would be so kind to explain your business in its entirety." There was a knock at the door then and Miss Smith put her head in to ask if she was needed at present. Eric's voice was heard off the Watch Dog and William assured her that she was only needed above at present, and thanked her. "Please." he said, gesturing to Miss Ashcombe.

William was half way out of his oilskins when he turned to find his three guests crowed on the topmost step outside the Ward Room door. He paused and smiled, bemused. "Please do come in..." he said, pushing away his smile, but he only exceeded in hiding half of it. "Please." he insisted, gesturing to the chairs about the table as he dropped the wet coat over the back of his chair. When they still hesitated, his smile faded a bit and his expression altered to one of business. "Miss McDonough, would you be so kind as to introduce our guests."

August 1, 1704 - Aboard the Watch Dog William was surprised to hear that the longboat was on return. He had not expected to see it before noon the following day and he went down into the waist to receive Claude, Cobus or both. Instead he was greeted by the other four men who had gone ashore with the boat, the ship's tailor and two strangers. The first was a woman dressed in the working clothes of an able seaman. This was not surprising to William by itself, except that he had assured himself that he would never see a woman outside of the 'Dog's crew in such attire. The other stranger was either a lad or scrawny lass, and given the tendency of the light frigate to attract either sex, he chose not to care for the present. "What news, Luigi?" "Miss McDonough...and these two here have business with you, Captain. I thought it best to bring them all along," the able seaman explained. "Very good." Murin and the two passengers came up and over the rail, either of their own accord or by assistance. William stood at the rail as they came over, his hands behind his back. When the last of them was aboard, William leaned out and called the rest up. "You lads best come aboard for the present. See yourselves to the larder for cold biscuits and rum." "Thank you, cap'n." they chimed together as they tied off and made their way up. "Miss McDonough..." William said, gesturing aft to the Ward Room.

August 1, 1704 - On the Cul du Sac Royal After five bells of First Watch Murin explained as much as she thought she dared or should, while Luigi looked the lad up and down three or four times, the whole time popping the knuckles of his right hand. He even walked around the lad once before stopping again in front of him. "He's no meat on him." he said, as if the observation had escaped everyone else's attention. "He is too small to be a threat." Brenton offered, and Luigi nodded, and he was looking at Jenny now. He could see that she was nervous, even in the dark, to be out in the open. Finally he nodded and gestured to the boat and they piled aboard even as Brenton untied it from the docks. Luigi put Murin on an oar while he sat facing the lad. Luigi himself was armed with a pistol, but he never drew it out. Instead, he sat facing the prisoner for the duration of the trip, looking at almost nothing else, until the lad looked nervous enough to go swimming in the bay.