| | | 
| Captain Jack "Blackjack" Robinson (Retired Pirate Captain / Bar Owner):
Captain Jack Robinson started out as a privateer for the British Crown, but eventually became an independent buccaneer in reaction to the often hypocritical treatment afforded privateers.
His reputation was relatively sterling for his line of work - he did not massacre survivors of naval battles nor did his men molest civilian passengers. For what he lacked in bloodthirstiness, Blackjack made for it in sheer cunning and wit. No one could escape a trap quite like him; to sail under him was practically a guarantee of survival. He never suffered mutiny - his crews were loyal to a fault.
He quit the life rather suddenly in his mid-thirties - no one could understand why. His history was a record of success after success; no pirate could quite grasp the idea of quitting while one was ahead. Blackjack claimed that he judged that the golden age of piracy was coming to an end and like any good captain, made new plans when he sensed the way the winds were changing.
There was talk of him being affected by the death or disappearance of another pirate captain he had considered a mentor. There were also whispers of Blackjack having come across a treasure of singular value that virtually insured a comfortable retirement. A Spanish galleon had disappeared around the time of Blackjack's retirement - a ship rumored to be transporting a treasure of legendary value....
Blackjack opened Wicked Liquid, the best bar & inn on Tortuga with his dubious earnings (It was Tortuga or nowhere else - he had too many enemies in Port Royal, Jamaica, so settling down there was out of the question).
Now he finds himself facing a visit from a handful of old peers - some friendly, some indifferent, and one maliciously opposed, but all of them intent on two things.
Why did Blackjack quit the game at the peak of his power and perhaps even more importantly, where did he hide this rare treasure that (everyone thinks) he took with him into retirement?
Mad Willie Ferguson (Crazy Pirate):
Left addled-pated from overexposure to the sun while shipwrecked at sea, the previously mildly reckless Ferguson became insanely reckless. Few crews would follow a mad captain, but Mad Willie has managed to put together one almost as insane as himself.
It's hard to say who's in more danger from Mad Willie's fervered imagination - his crew or the people facing them on the high sea. Bagpiping during boarding raids, keelhauling contests in chum-filled waters, cannonballs at twenty paces, and worse await.
Mad Willie does everything for the hell of it and if accumulating gold and body counts allows him the ability to do what he wants, he figures "Well, why not? Should be fun!"
He has come to Tortuga to see why Blackjack quit the great game of piracy; when someone's motivations make less sense than his own, Mad Willie's curiosity is piqued!
Sally (Tavern Wench):
Sally is the one tavern employee we get to know by name, as she seems to be Jack's unofficial second-in-command. While Jack runs his domain with a smile and a laugh, Sally rules with a sharp word, a well-placed kick, and one mean mop. It has been rumored (though not in earshot of Sally) that she's Jack's doxy and would happily settle down with him should he ever quit his roving ways.
"Black Death" McGee (Evil Pirate):
There are rumors that McGee started out as a country squire (or else a preacher) who snapped one day and fomented a one-massacre before signing on as a privateer for the British crown before his misdeeds could catch up to him.
Whatever the truth of his past, McGee proved to be so viscous that he soon graduated from licensed buccaneer to full-fledged pirate, wanted for crimes against all flags.
He earned his nickname for poisoning wells and wiping out whole forts & towns (not the most respected way to do business, even among the darkest blackguards of the Spanish main).
Though universally feared by his piratical peers, McGee could never get the best of "Blackjack" Robinson.... though the reverse was often true. Blackjack's early retirement left McGee feeling robbed by fate of his revenge - a revenge he intends to exact, one way or another.
"Hellcat" Mary (Lady Pirate):
Mary inheirited the mantle of pirate captain from her late father, but don't think she depended upon a legacy to command several ships of bravados - whatever the old man had going for him, Mary has in spades.
Many were the men who tried to order her about, slap her posterior, or even sass her, and they often found themselves chained to a cannonball being shot high over deep blue sea! Few are the men who charmed their way into her life -- and left the relationship with all their sundry parts intact. Blackjack Robinson was one of those rare few and the only one she still thinks about fondly.
Her appearance at the door of Blackjack's bar, is more out of curiousity and nostalgia than greed... but that does not mean her former beau is in for any easier a time.
Old Man Jonas:
Jonas was a privateer of some renown who had decided to retire quietly to a small cottage on the edge of Tortuga. He spends most of his mornings working in his garden and whiles his afternoons in the Wicked Liquid tavern, often playing checkers or chess with Jack and the patrons.
In his day, Jonas was a fearsome (though just) buccaneer. Now in his twilight years, Jonas can still break a stout branch in his hands by twisting it as if it was a stick. He is the very picture of health; he still possesses all of his natural teeth, well into his seventies - a rarity for the time and place.
He is thought to have amassed a decent retirement fund as he is one of the only patrons frequenting Jack's tavern that never requires credit. No one has ever attempted to rob him of his treasure as he is too well liked and respected by the (comparatively) more respectable buccaneers ....and universally feared by the more contemptible pirates. Jack counts Jonas among his closest confidants and the two enjoy an almost filial repartee.
The only person brash enough to harass the old swashbuckler is Jamie, the serving lad (Jack's former cabin boy), who frequently earns a (mostly affectionate) cuff from Jonas when enough is enough.
Baptiste (Merchant):
Almost as soon as he was conscripted as a French merchant marine, Baptiste quickly discovered that he had little taste for a life of trade tinged with war - especially when he found himself taking all of the risks and but reaping none of the rewards. A successful gambler and flimflam man, he was quickly a one man racket on the ship.
When pirates overtook the ship, the smooth talker managed to talk himself and his fellow survivors out of a sticky end. His glib tongue soon had him and his fellows safely deposited at the nearest neutral port. The experience was enough to convince Baptiste that he was destined for great things ... and greater profits.
Baptiste had by this time developed a gift for gab that often has people on the receiving end in a mental stupor until the stout little Frenchman has long vacated the vicinity. This had him in good stead until he strolled into the Wicked Liquid tavern in Tortuga ... and met the only people to ever fail to be fooled by his golden touch. Stymied, he has remained a regular for the past couple years, seeing this as a challenge!
Captain Jack rather likes Baptiste and prizes his antics for the entertainment value they provide. The fact that the swindler's presence ascts as a lightning rod for Sally's frequent wrath also provides Jack with much needed relief helps not a little!
Sally the barmaid calls him "Le Polecat." Baptiste calls Sally any number of things as long as he thinks she is on the other side of the island (but he's rarely so lucky).
While Jack might well enjoy the slapstick violence, the frequent spats between salesman and serving wench are responsible for a certain amount of property damage at the bar. Accordingly, he has seen fit to keep cheap glasses handy at all times.
Scurvy Smith (Henchmen):
Despite being stupid, viscous, and clumsy, this pirate has somehow managed to remain Black Death McGee's top henchman. It has been said that it is this lout's near indestructibility that has resulted in McGee's favor.
No matter the disaster - from ships sinking into whirlpools, to being caught by sharks while being keelhauled (chalked up to being indigestible), and endless beatings by his captain, he manages to come out of it in one piece. It is good to know to that no matter the screw-up, one will be guaranteed to have at least one crewman left!
A former British sailor, he had developed a distaste for fresh fruit and contracted scurvy -- which has somehow resulted in a sickly green skin hue that refuses to go away (voodoo houngans have often mistaken him for a lost zombie).
|
Order Toll Free 888-732-9949 Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Mountain Time
WickedLiquid.com & Friends remind you to drink responsibly.
WickedLiquid.com © 2010. All rights reserved.
Click here to find out Order Status.
|
| | | | | |
