Prologue: Terrified Sailors
The crew of the square-rigged ship looked over their shoulders in terror and frantically hauled on the lines to wring every bit of speed out of their vessel. The wooden hull and masts of the ship groaned under the strain, and the sails nearly burst as she shot forward. When the ship had gained as much speed as the captain thought she could stand, he swung the wheel hard. The ship heeled over, raising the guns to bear on their foe. The guns boomed, and cannon balls flew directly at their target, but the target moved deftly, and they did no damage.
As soon as their foe landed on the ship’s deck, the wind went out of the ship’s sails, and she stopped dead. He reached inside his jacket, took out a pen, and carried out his terrible revenge.
Two hundred years later…
