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    “Put some muscle into it, yeh swabs!” ordered Cutlass as Axl, Iggy, and Brutus strained under the force of pulling rope.

    “Man, why couldn’t you have stolen a nice cruise ship!” groaned Iggy.

    “Don’t kid yerself, mate!” scoffed Cutlass. “Ye does not want to go to war having only a cruise ship!”

    “I don’t know,” countered Axl. “It seems like a step up from a hamburger clown, kiddie boat.”

    “Aye, but manning this ship will only make ye strong!” explained Cutlass. Axl and Iggy exchanged glances rolling their eyes. Cutlass sighed. “Alright, alright. Beggars can’t be choosers...”

    After rigging the sail, Axl and Iggy climbed down to the side of the ship.

    “No time for rest, boys!” shouted Cutlass tossing Brutus and Iggy a mop. “Get to work!”

    “I’m a rock star, not a swabber!” grumbled Iggy tossing down his mop.

    Cutlass picked it up holding the end in his face. “There be no room for rock stars on this here ship, mate!” Iggy grumbled as he reluctantly accepted the mop. “Axl, you’re goin’ in the crow’s nest! Follow me!”

    Axl gulped as he looked down while climbing the rigging with Cutlass. The higher he climbed the more the intensity of the wind began to increase.

    “I’d hate to lose my footing up here,” said Axl.

    Cutlass smiled. “Ye will get used to it. Besides, lizards are supposed to be natural climbers, are they not?”

    “Some, not all,” Axl replied still nervously gazing down at the ocean below. Once Axl climbed into the bright red crow’s nest, he gazed at the endless ocean, which surrounded their ship. “So my job is to say ‘land ho’ when I spot land, right?”

    “Somethin’ like that,” replied Cutlass as he joined him leaning over the side. “Just alert us if yer eyes spot anything which may pose a threat to this galleon whether it be an approaching ship or jagged rocks.”

    Axl glanced down to see Iggy teasingly splashing water on Brutus only for him to dump an entire bucket of water on his head. He also had view of Captain Komodo who had resumed his position at the helm. Axl leaned forward to speak quietly to Cutlass.

    “Listen. The only reason we’re cooperating with you and your captain is because we have no choice. I still have no idea what kind of people you and Komodo are, apart from the fact that you’re pirates and you kidnaped us against our will.”

    “Still sore about that ain’t yah?” chuckled Cutlass. “Ye don’t have to like us, but we be yer best chance at saving yer lass whether ye like it or not.

    “That’s what scares me," Axl muttered.

    Cutlass sighed and motioned back towards Komodo. “Ye can think what you want of me. Yes, I was born sea scum and wish nothing less than to die as sea scum, but don’t ye be questionin’ the integrity of the captain. He’s not what yah think.”

      Axl snorted. “He’s a pirate! What else am I supposed to think?”

    “Ye be familiar with the common stereotype of pirates being greedy and bloodthirsty?”

    “Who isn’t?” scoffed Axl.

     “Aye, well, fer most pirates this be correct, but not Komodo. The captain, see, is a visionary! By all accounts he’s a smart, sophistercated gentleman.”

    “Who chose to be a pirate!” interjected Axl.

Cutlass shook his head. “That is where ye be wrong, land lizard! Komodo didn’t choose this life. This life chose him. Now sit back and let me tell ye a legend of tragedy and perseverance. A tale of death and rebirth! The legend of… Komodo!” Axl leaned back and reluctantly watched as Cutlass assumed the tone of a sailor storyteller.

“The captain, ye see, did not come from the likes of sea scum as the lot of us. Nay, Komodo was hatched from a wealthy aristocratic family in the Kingdom of Dragon Isles, his father being the royal admiral to the Kingdom’s navy.”

“That’s… quite a change of lifestyle,” Axl replied.

Cutlass nodded his head before continuing. “Aye, this was the life Komodo was bred fer, to follow in the footsteps of father in service to the dragon king.”

“Well, what the heck happened?” asked Axl. “Daddy problems?"
Cutlass sighed, shaking his head. “Pirates, lad! The worst pirate raid in history, befell the kingdom, one fateful night. Them scallywags pillaged and plundered shedding the blood of all those poor island inhabitants. All of Komodo’s family and friends are believed to have been slain and scattered, including his father who gave his life in defense of his country on the sinking flagship. Unlike most of the children, Komodo’s life was spared, left with only the ruins of the place which hardly bore any resemblance to the island he once knew as home. Knowing there was nothin’ left for him on that tomb of an island, Komodo built a wooden raft, and rowed himself far out to sea where he drifted fer days, prayin’ for the ocean to claim him. But let me tell ye, laddie, the ocean is a treacherous mistress! No man can predict, with certainty what her waves will bring! So in an unlikely turn of events, it was a ship full of pirates who found young Komodo adrift on that nearly sunken raft, close to death from dehydration. A pirate clan known as… the Crossbones!” announced Cutlass pointing at himself. “After nursing the boy back to health, they immediately put thee young dragon to work, bringing the lad up in the ways of the buccaneer. The young Komodo eventually came to see the Crossbones as his new family and quickly rose in ranks, but never shared the same lust for wealth as his sea salty partners. Once comin’ of age, the cap’n assumed command of his own ship under the Crossbone flag. With the onset of his new command, the differences of the cap’n became all the more apparent through his avoidance of bloodshed and selective targeting of ships, only belonging to oppressive governments and corporations. At the time, there be a ravenous faction of pirates known as the Sea Devils who did not share in the good morals of the captain. The scurvy dogs neither discriminated nor cared what unfortunate lives would be crushed in their quest fer profit! It neither bothered nor concerned them that their wealth often came at the expense of the weak. Aye, it came as no surprise to the young captain’s friends when he became the first one to advocate’ for the Crossbones to see to the demise of this fleet of ‘yella bellied pirates.’”
With the young captain’s charm, the lad succeeded in uniting the Crossbones to his crusade to bring a permanent end to pirate tyranny. Komodo himself, led the fleet of pirates to the island which served as the Sea Devil’s home port. There they fought more fiercely than any buccaneer had ever before, wiping out their ships and defeating the wicked marauders in brutal combat. After an intense duel of steel with their leader, Komodo made the ultimate claim to victory.” Cutlass chuckled. “And if it couldn’t get more interesting, it was from the Sea Devils’s Captain’s dying breath that he learned they were the one’s responsible for the destruction of his home.”

“Huh!” chortled Axl in amusement. “That’s quite ironic.”
“Poetic, mate!” corrected Cutlass.”

Axl nodded. “Yeah, poetic."

Cutlass cleared his throat before continuing. “So to conclude the story, after the Sea Devil’s defeat, Komodo was crowned the “King of the Crossbone Pirates" thus beginning his complete reformation of the Crossbones into a clan of buccaneers freedom fighters, pirating only government thieves and oppressors, giving the wealth to the exploited and needy.”

“Is that so...” said Axl suspiciously.
Cutlass shrugged. “After covering our own expenses and paying our men, of course.”

“Oh, sure!” scoffed Axl. “Of course!”

After the last statement had left his mouth, Axl felt a change in demeanor from Cutlass as he glared at him, appearing to have been offended.

“Think what ye will, mate, but it was these changes which brought the new golden age of piracy for the Crossbones. We exploded in numbers with young scaled men seeking adventure with a higher calling poured in from all parts of the world.”

There was a moment of silence after Cutlass had finished his story. Axl studied the face of Cutlass as he gazed out to sea, with the wind flapping the end of his red bandana’d cap.

“That’s... quite the story,” said Axl. Except for a shrug of his shoulder, Cutlass remained unresponsive, continuing to stare at the rolling waves.

Axl cleared his throat. “But Morals and pirates do mix. You’ll never convince me otherwise.”

Cutlass slapped him on the back as he prepared to climb down from the crow’s nest “Thinks what ye will, mate, but we’ll all be better off once Captain Komodo’s back on the throne.”

    “I’ll be a pirate for only as long as it takes to rescue Selena,” said Axl.

    “A pirate’s not a pirate without a treasure to hunt,” answered Cutlass giving a wink before sliding down one of the ropes.

    Now alone, Axl sighed as he turned his head to the horizon. “Oh, Selena. Will you ever forgive me…?”

Illustrations by Bluepisces97

Thanks for reading!

Nightriders: The Kidnappings Part 18

Nightriders: The Kidnappings Part 1

Description

    “Put some muscle into it, yeh swabs!” ordered Cutlass as Axl, Iggy, and Brutus strained under the force of pulling rope.

    “Man, why couldn’t you have stolen a nice cruise ship!” groaned Iggy.

    “Don’t kid yerself, mate!” scoffed Cutlass. “Ye does not want to go to war having only a cruise ship!”

    “I don’t know,” countered Axl. “It seems like a step up from a hamburger clown, kiddie boat.”

    “Aye, but manning this ship will only make ye strong!” explained Cutlass. Axl and Iggy exchanged glances rolling their eyes. Cutlass sighed. “Alright, alright. Beggars can’t be choosers...”

    After rigging the sail, Axl and Iggy climbed down to the side of the ship.

    “No time for rest, boys!” shouted Cutlass tossing Brutus and Iggy a mop. “Get to work!”

    “I’m a rock star, not a swabber!” grumbled Iggy tossing down his mop.

    Cutlass picked it up holding the end in his face. “There be no room for rock stars on this here ship, mate!” Iggy grumbled as he reluctantly accepted the mop. “Axl, you’re goin’ in the crow’s nest! Follow me!”

    Axl gulped as he looked down while climbing the rigging with Cutlass. The higher he climbed the more the intensity of the wind began to increase.

    “I’d hate to lose my footing up here,” said Axl.

    Cutlass smiled. “Ye will get used to it. Besides, lizards are supposed to be natural climbers, are they not?”

    “Some, not all,” Axl replied still nervously gazing down at the ocean below. Once Axl climbed into the bright red crow’s nest, he gazed at the endless ocean, which surrounded their ship. “So my job is to say ‘land ho’ when I spot land, right?”

    “Somethin’ like that,” replied Cutlass as he joined him leaning over the side. “Just alert us if yer eyes spot anything which may pose a threat to this galleon whether it be an approaching ship or jagged rocks.”

    Axl glanced down to see Iggy teasingly splashing water on Brutus only for him to dump an entire bucket of water on his head. He also had view of Captain Komodo who had resumed his position at the helm. Axl leaned forward to speak quietly to Cutlass.

    “Listen. The only reason we’re cooperating with you and your captain is because we have no choice. I still have no idea what kind of people you and Komodo are, apart from the fact that you’re pirates and you kidnaped us against our will.”

    “Still sore about that ain’t yah?” chuckled Cutlass. “Ye don’t have to like us, but we be yer best chance at saving yer lass whether ye like it or not.

    “That’s what scares me," Axl muttered.

    Cutlass sighed and motioned back towards Komodo. “Ye can think what you want of me. Yes, I was born sea scum and wish nothing less than to die as sea scum, but don’t ye be questionin’ the integrity of the captain. He’s not what yah think.”

      Axl snorted. “He’s a pirate! What else am I supposed to think?”

    “Ye be familiar with the common stereotype of pirates being greedy and bloodthirsty?”

    “Who isn’t?” scoffed Axl.

     “Aye, well, fer most pirates this be correct, but not Komodo. The captain, see, is a visionary! By all accounts he’s a smart, sophistercated gentleman.”

    “Who chose to be a pirate!” interjected Axl.

Cutlass shook his head. “That is where ye be wrong, land lizard! Komodo didn’t choose this life. This life chose him. Now sit back and let me tell ye a legend of tragedy and perseverance. A tale of death and rebirth! The legend of… Komodo!” Axl leaned back and reluctantly watched as Cutlass assumed the tone of a sailor storyteller.

“The captain, ye see, did not come from the likes of sea scum as the lot of us. Nay, Komodo was hatched from a wealthy aristocratic family in the Kingdom of Dragon Isles, his father being the royal admiral to the Kingdom’s navy.”

“That’s… quite a change of lifestyle,” Axl replied.

Cutlass nodded his head before continuing. “Aye, this was the life Komodo was bred fer, to follow in the footsteps of father in service to the dragon king.”

“Well, what the heck happened?” asked Axl. “Daddy problems?"
Cutlass sighed, shaking his head. “Pirates, lad! The worst pirate raid in history, befell the kingdom, one fateful night. Them scallywags pillaged and plundered shedding the blood of all those poor island inhabitants. All of Komodo’s family and friends are believed to have been slain and scattered, including his father who gave his life in defense of his country on the sinking flagship. Unlike most of the children, Komodo’s life was spared, left with only the ruins of the place which hardly bore any resemblance to the island he once knew as home. Knowing there was nothin’ left for him on that tomb of an island, Komodo built a wooden raft, and rowed himself far out to sea where he drifted fer days, prayin’ for the ocean to claim him. But let me tell ye, laddie, the ocean is a treacherous mistress! No man can predict, with certainty what her waves will bring! So in an unlikely turn of events, it was a ship full of pirates who found young Komodo adrift on that nearly sunken raft, close to death from dehydration. A pirate clan known as… the Crossbones!” announced Cutlass pointing at himself. “After nursing the boy back to health, they immediately put thee young dragon to work, bringing the lad up in the ways of the buccaneer. The young Komodo eventually came to see the Crossbones as his new family and quickly rose in ranks, but never shared the same lust for wealth as his sea salty partners. Once comin’ of age, the cap’n assumed command of his own ship under the Crossbone flag. With the onset of his new command, the differences of the cap’n became all the more apparent through his avoidance of bloodshed and selective targeting of ships, only belonging to oppressive governments and corporations. At the time, there be a ravenous faction of pirates known as the Sea Devils who did not share in the good morals of the captain. The scurvy dogs neither discriminated nor cared what unfortunate lives would be crushed in their quest fer profit! It neither bothered nor concerned them that their wealth often came at the expense of the weak. Aye, it came as no surprise to the young captain’s friends when he became the first one to advocate’ for the Crossbones to see to the demise of this fleet of ‘yella bellied pirates.’”
With the young captain’s charm, the lad succeeded in uniting the Crossbones to his crusade to bring a permanent end to pirate tyranny. Komodo himself, led the fleet of pirates to the island which served as the Sea Devil’s home port. There they fought more fiercely than any buccaneer had ever before, wiping out their ships and defeating the wicked marauders in brutal combat. After an intense duel of steel with their leader, Komodo made the ultimate claim to victory.” Cutlass chuckled. “And if it couldn’t get more interesting, it was from the Sea Devils’s Captain’s dying breath that he learned they were the one’s responsible for the destruction of his home.”

“Huh!” chortled Axl in amusement. “That’s quite ironic.”
“Poetic, mate!” corrected Cutlass.”

Axl nodded. “Yeah, poetic."

Cutlass cleared his throat before continuing. “So to conclude the story, after the Sea Devil’s defeat, Komodo was crowned the “King of the Crossbone Pirates" thus beginning his complete reformation of the Crossbones into a clan of buccaneers freedom fighters, pirating only government thieves and oppressors, giving the wealth to the exploited and needy.”

“Is that so...” said Axl suspiciously.
Cutlass shrugged. “After covering our own expenses and paying our men, of course.”

“Oh, sure!” scoffed Axl. “Of course!”

After the last statement had left his mouth, Axl felt a change in demeanor from Cutlass as he glared at him, appearing to have been offended.

“Think what ye will, mate, but it was these changes which brought the new golden age of piracy for the Crossbones. We exploded in numbers with young scaled men seeking adventure with a higher calling poured in from all parts of the world.”

There was a moment of silence after Cutlass had finished his story. Axl studied the face of Cutlass as he gazed out to sea, with the wind flapping the end of his red bandana’d cap.

“That’s... quite the story,” said Axl. Except for a shrug of his shoulder, Cutlass remained unresponsive, continuing to stare at the rolling waves.

Axl cleared his throat. “But Morals and pirates do mix. You’ll never convince me otherwise.”

Cutlass slapped him on the back as he prepared to climb down from the crow’s nest “Thinks what ye will, mate, but we’ll all be better off once Captain Komodo’s back on the throne.”

    “I’ll be a pirate for only as long as it takes to rescue Selena,” said Axl.

    “A pirate’s not a pirate without a treasure to hunt,” answered Cutlass giving a wink before sliding down one of the ropes.

    Now alone, Axl sighed as he turned his head to the horizon. “Oh, Selena. Will you ever forgive me…?”

Illustrations by Bluepisces97

Thanks for reading!

Nightriders: The Kidnappings Part 18

Nightriders: The Kidnappings Part 1