"Darn cap'n makin' me crawl through other people's crap and what not." A dark squatted figure was cautiously making its way through the foul smelling sewers of the coastal fort of Charles fortress. "'Arvey me boy, bring me that leather mapholder I was talkin' about, you 'ear me? There should be at least two maps in there." Cap'n Redfeather had told him. "You sneak into the guv'nor's room and take that case. I'll make sure he 'as his hands busy by making him eat lead!" Vaguely in the distance, 'Arvey could hear the soft thud of one of the midship cannons of 'the Unforgiving' being fired, followed by a large rumbling noise that told him the cannonball had struck home on the thick walls of the fort. "At least the cap'n kept 'is word. Now where is that blasted iron ladder?" 'Arvey plodded further throught the pipes until he reached a set of rungs set into the side of a sewer pipe leading up. He looked upwards and saw a small grate which sealed off the the pipe at the top. "Now if me memory is not yet failin' me, this should put me right outside the guv'nor's building." 'Arvey assured himself. He drew a large knife, put it in between his teeth and started the ascend, while the rumbling in the distance intensified.

Meanwhile outside pandemonium was slowly unfolding. The Unforgiving was relentlessly pounding the walls of the fort, laying waste to its defenses. Numerous small patrols of state troops were running towards the main gate that had long been breached by the cannonfire. They saw increasing numbers of heavily armed pirates disembark from small sloops and charge towards the main gate screaming and cursing heavily. A large sloop carrying a grim banner of the jolly roger slowly emerged from the fog. Standing proud on its bow, Captain Redfeather looked at the carnage he and his crew were causing. He chuckled as he imagined what was probably going through the gouvernors mind at the moment. "Why is Redfeather attacking one of the worst outfitted forts in the area? He must know for sure that there are absolutely no valuables to find here?" Little could he know that the only reason this whole operation was carried out, was for the seemingly unimportant mapholder, that 'Arvey should be taking from his office right now! With surprising ease, Redfeather jumped from the sloop, landing smoothly on his one good leg. He drew his cutlass and slowly walked to the fort, flanked by his crewmen.

'Arvey's mood wasn't improving. Just as he was about to open the grate, a large bucket was emptied down it, covering him completely in unrecognisable but terrible reeking filth. He quickly covered the last few rungs and threw the grate aside. The suprise on the servant's face was forever frozen there when 'Arvey plunged his knife deep into the boy's throat. "Darn' stinkin' sewers. Darn' stinkin' map. What does the cap'n want wiff it anyways? What's so special 'bout this map that he risks the lives of his crew fer it?" Arvey cursed as he walked to the gouvenors building, unnoticed due to the pirate assault now reaching its peak. 'Arvey found the office empty. Even the guard was probably summoned to answer to the pirate threat outside. He rummaged through the gouvenors belongings and quickly found the leather cilinder the captain was looking for. "Now let us have a look shall we?" he told himself. Opening the mapholder, he drew out two large maps. One was a generic map of the Northern Caribean marked with the most important state forts and known pirate hideouts. "Hrm, not very special, this one." The other however contained a very detailed map of a small island that 'Arvey had never seen before. A large X was drawn at the end of a dotted line. 'Arvey's eyes grew large. "A treasure map this is or me name isn't Chumbucket!" An evil grin slowly started to form on his face. "Why should the cap'n have this map? Why shouldn't I take it and find its treasure?" 'Arvey put the first map back in the holder and tucked the second one down his trousers, which by now were even dirtier than normal.

He ran outside and if by sheer luck immediately found the captain, battling off a couple of soldiers. 'Arvey stabbed one in the back, while the captain gutted the other with his cutlass. "'Ere you go cap'n, this is what you were lookin' fer right?" 'Arvey told him. Looking 'Arvey suspiciously in the eye captain Redfeather took the mapcase from him, opened it and looked inside. Instantly 'Arvey took a belaying pin from his belt and hit the captain over the head with it, knocking him out cold." Looking around to make sure nobody had seen him, he surveyed the battle, which was drawing to an end. All of the defenders were either slain or had fled. The fort belonged to the buccaneers and a loud cheer rose among them. "The captain has fallen!!" 'Arvey exclaimed when the uproar had died down. "And I am the new captain of the Unforgiving!!" he added, grabbing the captain's hat, which was decorated with a large red feather. The crew looked at eachother questioningly, but none of them seemed to offer any objection. Being the first mate, 'Arvey was popular among most of the crew and being the big burly man he was, none of the other crewmen had the heart to question his statement.

Captain Redfeather woke up with a stinging headache, the smell of smoke filling his nostrils. He looked around and saw the bodies of the fort's soldiers strewn about. Through the opening of the blasted gate, he could just see the silhouet of the Unforgiving at the horizon. "Blast that 'Arvey. I know that one day he would betray me. He will pay, and pay dearly. But first things first." He looked around for the leather mapholder and found it lying nearby. Opening it he looked inside. "Ofcourse." he said, when he found the island's map missing, and a menacing smile formed on his face. "I wonder how long 'Arvey can keep the Unforgiven on a chase towards an islands that doesn't exist." he pondered. "I'd give him a month before the crew start to dislike him so bad he is thrown overboard." Taking the other map from the case and discarding it, he drew a small knife from his belt and cut the leather straps that held the case together. Unfolding it, an number of small lines was uncovered on the inside of the leather, forming a set of coordinates. "While 'Arvey is busy finding his island, I will uncover the real treasure" Redfeather pondered. And when I have, I will have all of eternity to get my vengeance...