The wind was blowing harshly on Jacob's face. He closed his eyes, embracing the cooling feeling it brought against the sun's harsh rays. His crew and him could not have asked for a better day to plunder. The sun was gorgeous and there was not a single cloud in the sky. The sea birds seemed to be enjoying the weather, too, for they spent many hours in flight above the crystal blue seas.
Jacob's eyes opened as he heard the voice of his first mate, Pierre.
"Captain Jackal, sir!" Pierre called to Jacob, the captain of the ship. As he ran up the stairs and to the ship's wheel, Pierre reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a finely rolled paper. The first mate skidded to a stop beside Jacob, and unrolled the map. It was a rather old map, for the wrinkles in the paper were very prominent. There were a few circles and marks in pen, but for the most part, it was rather neat.
"Captain Jackal, look," Pierre began, pointing to the map. "We'll be passing the kingdom of Solomon. You know what that means, don't you?" Pierre looked up, his bright blue eyes shining in the sun. "... Don't you?"
Jacob remained silent for a bit, but then nodded briefly. A small smirk rose onto his face before he turned to his close friend. "Yes, I do," Jacob replied, and let go of the wheel. "It means we're going to be rich." Jacob spun on his heels and swiftly went down the steps and to the main deck of the Black Tortuga, his personal ship. Jacob rubbed his hands together, and then examined the area. All 24 of his crew seemed to be out and enjoying the weather.
"Everyone please listen!" Jacob called out, his loud, strong voice catching the attention of everyone on deck. "It's time to change course a bit. We're stopping in Solomon." At his last words, the crew seemed pleased. They had never been there, and it seemed as if Solomon was some paradise waiting to be discovered. While the paradise part probably wasn't entirely true, it would be loads better than the poverty-stricken lands that Jacob and his crewmates grew up in. They had traveled many, many miles to get to this area of the world, and it was about time they enjoyed it.
"Feel free to take a day or two to rest before we head out again... but after we unload all of our goods and get the gold in our pockets. Understood?" Jacob looked around at his crew, who all nodded aggressively. They were dying to have a party in this new kingdom, no matter what it would take. If it meant spending half a day unloading, they were fine. Pierre would take care of the selling matter and Jacob... well, Jacob would most likely inspect the town, seeing where he could take advantage of it. Every penny counted to Jacob, and he would make sure he looted the city pretty good.
Jacob walked off of the deck, and back up to the wheel. He nodded to Pierre, who continued to stand by his side as Jacob took the wheel and set course for Solomon. The water was practically perfect for sailing, and the wind blew nice and strong for the Black Tortuga's sails. Within half a day, Jacob had gotten to the city, and was ready to dock. He pulled into one of the main docking areas, and at that point, the entire crew hustled as fast as they could to unload the goods. People in the town stopped and watched as one of the largest ships on the seas docked in the town. It was truly a marvel to see. Within the commotion, Jacob felt proud. He was well-known.
Jacob walked off of his boat and onto the dock for the first time. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that it was about midday, a little bit past two o' clock. He nodded to himself. Oh yes, he'd have time. Lots of time.
Jacob looked forwards, and tipped his cap to traders and officials in the area. He would be heading to the pub first, where many traders and goods dealers hung out while also getting a good drink. Jacob wasn't in the mood for alcohol, and he definitely wasn't in the mood for a fight. Through experience and general common sense, Jacob knew there wouldn't be many drunk people there, making him feel more comfortable. There wouldn't be any fights today.
Jacob, after asking an official where the pub was, made his way there and entered the building. It was nearly empty, except for a few shady figures in the corner. One of them seemed to know who he was, for when he walked in, the man in the left corner in the farthest table gave Jacob a questioning look. Jacob noted this quickly, and sat down across from the man.
"Good afternoon... Jackal." The man spat out his nickname as if it were something poisonous. "And what're you doing in Solomon? I take it there's something you want or something you need? I thought you were heading past here, and to a distant land. Don't you have that blackmailing trader to meet?" the other man took off the black hood from his head, revealing a tanned face with sharp figures. The shady man had nearly black hair, and flawed teeth. Jacob leaned back at the sight, and then nodded. He knew who this man was.
"I see you're in Solomon too, William." Jacob said, and tipped his hat to an old friend. They hadn't spoken in years. "I'm here for trading goods. I had an unexpected plunder off the coast of a small island. Ship wasn't supposed to be sailin' there, and I took it down. Turns out it was a cargo load, and I got a hold of a lot of sugar. That'll go for an extremely high price here." Jacob explained, and leaned forwards.
William nodded, and leaned back in his chair, too. "I'm not a pirate, but you know I manage big trades from the big guys around the seas. I know what it's like here. I think you're overestimating the sale prices here." William stated, and clasped his hands together. William leaned forwards, and hushed his voice into a whisper, as if trying not to let anybody overhear what he was about to say. "You want a good deal? I'll tell you the guys to go to. They're shady 'ol fellows, but they'll get you a decent price... plus more."
William took out a pen and some paper, and scratched down some names. Jacob put it in his large coat pocket, and shook William's hand. "Nice to meet you again." Jacob said, and patted William on the back. "Safe travels."
And with that, Jacob was out of the pub, and towards the back alleys of the city, a place where he could find these guys that William was talking about. When he reached the alleys, a tall man was standing there, conversing with his friend, who was much shorter. Jacob rounded the corner, and it was very apparent that they knew who he was. After all, Jacob was wearing his full captain uniform, and the symbol on his hat showed exactly who he belonged to.
"Ah, if it isn't the Jackal!" the tall man exclaimed, and hugged Jacob, patting him harshly on the back. As he pulled back from the manly embrace, Jacob nodded slightly. "Why, I think I know why you're here. You have goods, I am guessing? Metal? Wood? Sugar? All of them? I can give you triple of what the regular markets give you... plus a little gold bonus. You know the drill, right? I give you gold, you perform a little... task for me? All I need is some pirate killed. I'm not asking much for you, someone who kills dozens in a day. Right?"
Jacob sighed at the man's ramble, and then nodded. "I kill for a reason, but yes, I understand. I have sugar for you. My crew's at the dock. We'll be here for three days. We leave on that third day in the evening, so there's time. If we finish here early, we'll be off though, so I'd like it very much if you did what you need to do right now." Jacob explained, and straightened his elegant coat.
The tall man nodded, and he and the shorter man speed-walked past Jacob and towards the dock. Jacob smirked, knowing that he just made a huge profit. It was, indeed, a good idea to come to Solomon. Both the crew and Jacob were happy. But as Jacob walked out of the alley, he wondered what to do next. Could it be that a pirate, so full of adventure and risks in his life was... bored? Smirking to himself, Jacob decided to take the day off, and enjoy the rest of the good weather.
NIGHT TIME
As the sun rolled down over the horizon of the beautiful sea, Jacob stepped off of his ship and onto the dock. He ran his fingers through his thick, brown hair and placed his hat on top. Walking down the dock, he put his hands in his pockets, relaxing for a nice evening stroll. That day had been a great one, for Jacob got to relax for once in his life. As he made his way through the city, a large palace caught his eye. Was that where the king and queen lived?
Jacob took a detour, and walked to the entrance to the palace. It was barred out, of course. They couldn't risk anybody going in. Jacob sat down on a large rock across from it, and looked at it. It was so large, so majestic. He wondered to himself if he could afford such a large estate. Probably not, Jacob figured. But the more he watched, the more determined he was to make his dream a reality. Yes, one day he would own such an estate. He would be rich enough. Smirking once more, Jacob nodded. Whomever lived in that place was lucky.
Lucky was an interesting word for Jacob. When talking about himself, he never used it, for his childhood was harsh and poor. Many days he'd go thirsty or hungry as his family struggled to make ends meet. To make it worse, the government was always going after his dad, who seemed to have a... questionable reputation in the world. The government did everything they can to make sure their life was awful, and everyone suffered from it. In that sense, Jacob did not consider any part of that tragic childhood lucky, but even when talking about his current life, he thought none of it was due to luck. It was due to hard work. Jacob worked his skin to the bone trying to get money. Various times he paid the price of his labor; both physically and emotionally.
But it paid off, didn't it? Jacob wasn't sure just yet. But maybe, just maybe, one day he'd be able to settle down and be happy. Start a family, even. Not live in constant danger every day. However, the more Jacob thought about it, the less likely that reality seemed to be. He was the most wanted man to many, many people. Even if he did retire, what would happen to him? Would his bounties be gone? Surely not until his head was on a silver platter. Only then would he be able to rest in peace.