Episode 21 - In to the Fire!
The afternoon of the 20th day of February, 1640.
"CHARRRRGE!" screamed Coggy as he leapt from his ship and onto the white sand as 400 murderous Cutthroats rushed towards the terrified defenders...
As the glint of cutlass metal shone brightly in the sun, hundreds of musket balls whizzed through the air - leaving the sweet smell of gunpowder to linger over the raging battle.
Coggy raced up the beach towards the first line of redcoats. A volley of musket fire pitted the sand all around him and cut down several bloodthirsty pirates. But the Cutthroats continued to charge at the Spanish redcoats.
Another round of musket balls ploughed into the waves of men, again causing groups of them to fall in mid-stride.
Coggy and the first line of pirates soon reached the defending soldiers who were desperately trying to re-load
"SLAUGHTER 'EM TO THA LAST," came Cogs rallying battle cry, "SHOW 'EM NO MERCY!" he bellowed, as the first soldier tasted the Captains blade.
Back aboard the Grim Reaper, Morgan, Quinn, and Davey Jones, quickly kitted up with muskets and swords, and joined the stragglers jumping down onto the beach.
"Look at that crazy bugger go!" called Morgan, as he pointed to the demented Coggy hacking a path through the fleeing defenders.
Within a few minutes, the Cutthroats swarmed into the outskirts of town and were met by eagerly surrendering peasants and gentry folk.
"IF'N ANY 'O YEW SWINES SHOWS AN OUNCE 'O PITY I'LL RUN YER FILTHY HIDE THROUGH!!!" screamed Cog, "KILL 'EM ALL - KILL EVERY LAST FRIGGIN' ONE 'O 'EM!" he barked, with the evilest of grins on his face.
And with his horrendous order, hundreds of poor townsfolk were brutally slaughtered where they stood by the rampaging pirates.
Back aboard the Baron Boat, Moose had finished giving the order to drop anchor.
The ships' surgeon was tending to his Captains wounds below deck.
Moose sat on his bed, listening to the raging battle in town.
"Friggin' splinters," he moaned, "I bet's that buggers 'avin all tha fun!" he said to himself, as the surgeon worked on his arm.
"TA 'ELL WIT DIS!" he screamed, as he shoved the poor surgeon aside, "I'S NOT COME ALL DIS WAY TA SIT IN ME CABIN!" he barked, as he stormed out of the room and headed for the deck.
Meanwhile, Admiral Tew quickly disembarked his remaining ship and headed for the blood-stained beach via a rowboat.
"Someone's gotta keep an eye on that psycho Cognito bastid," he said to an officer, "That silly bugger 'ill probably kill tha Ol'Man before getting tha bleedin' map off him first!" he added, as he rushed up the beach towards Morgan and the others.
Back in the battle, Coggy was in his element, butchering men women and children where they stood, "THOSE SILLY BUGGERS DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HIT 'EM!" he called with glee to his crewman pirate Jim.
The invading pirates continued to wade in to the panicking townsfolk, but another force of redcoats charged into them as an ensuing sword fight got underway.
Hand-to-hand fighting continued around the streets of Cartagena, and Coggy battled with a couple of Spanish corsairs - thrusting at them with his blood-stained longsword.
Moose had landed on the blood-red beach with a group of his MooseMen.
"Right yew bunch 'o bastards - lets introduce us selves to tha natives!" he barked, as his eager men quickly followed him up the beach and towards Cartagena's fort.
Meanwhile, Morgan, Quinn, and Davey Jones, followed by Admiral Tew, quickly sidestepped the littered bodies and headed into the thick of the action.
"THERE'S THA BUGGER!" screamed Quinn as he spotted Coggy, sticking his sword into the gut of another victim.
"GLAD YE DECIDED TA JOIN ME!" bellowed the wild-eyed Captain on seeing his mates, "I'S KILLED ME EIGHT 'O THESE SORRY GITS ALREADY, 'N I'S NOT EVEN STARTED YET!" he added, with pride.
"YE SURELY IS A SCRUVY BASTARD, COGGY," shouted the admiring Morgan, who quickly joined in the fun.
The pirates were soon fighting along-side each other, seemingly trying to out do each other's conquests.
"YEEEAHH," cried Davey Jones, as he blew the head off an onrushing Spanish Lieutenant with his pistol.
"DAM GOOD SHOT, THAR," replied Quinn as he looked on with glee, "I NEVER KNEW PIRATING WUS SO EXHILARATING... SCREW THA FLAG BUSINESS!" he screamed in delight, as another redcoat was cut down with his musket.
Tew and Morgan duelled with a group of corsairs, while Davey Jones continued to fire point-blank range shots into towns-folk and soldiers.
Over at the fort, Moose and his murderous marines had made easy work of storming the stockade. Hand-to-hand fighting broke out as the MooseMen drove the defenders back into the courtyard.
Moose found himself under attack from two corsairs. Quickly drawing both his cutlass and longsword, he proceeded to slice into the retreating guards.
With uneasy agility, he swung around and sliced the first swab in the gut, as the other sword embedded itself into the chest of the other Spaniard. Both guards were dead before they hit the ground.
Back in the town, Tew, Morgan, and Jones, continued picking off the enemy with their muskets and pistols as the body count grew.
"WHAT'S THA SCORE?" screamed Morgan with delight.
"DON'T KNOW 'BOUT YEW TWO, BUT I RECKON'S I'S UP TA TWELVE!" replied the gleeful Admiral as another poor swab bit the dust.
Meanwhile, large explosions rocked the fort as the MooseMen blew up kegs of gunpowder surrounding the armoury.
Moose had a Spanish Lieutenant pinned against the stone wall.
"Yew pox ridden onion eater!" called Moose to his terrified foe, "I's gonna enjoy watchin' yew bleed" he said, with the evilest look in his eye. His sword slowly ripped open the poor officers belly.
Gently pushing the dying man away, Moose watched as his victim slumped to his feet.
Showing no remorse or mercy, he wiped his bloodied sword across the jacket of the lifeless don and called out, "Right, who's next?" as he looked around the panicking redcoats - who by now, had had enough.
The white flag was soon evident as the MooseMen finally secured the Spanish fort. The exhausted corsairs threw down their weapons and Cartagena's last stronghold had fallen.
Back in the town the battle was far from over. But the pirates began to push the defenders back in to the town square where redcoats had hurriedly constructed make-shift barricades out of upturned wagons.
A hail of musket fire cut down yet more of the invaders, but Coggy and his mates managed to regroup and form their own skirmish line with hundreds of musketeers.
Another volley of musket balls slammed into the pirates.
"COGGY, WE'S GETTING CUT TA PIECES, 'ERE!" called the anxious Tew, as waves of marines fell all around.
But despite being under constant fire, Coggy quickly transformed the men from a ragged band of attackers - into an organised military formation.
The pirates began to return fire in co-ordinated volleys. Coggy stood at the end of the skirmish line with his cutlass raised and barked out orders to the lines of musketeers as musket balls whizzed past his head.
"FIRST LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD" he barked.
"SECOND LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD" he screamed, as the first line moved forward, discharged their weapons, knelt and reloaded, while the second line took up their position.
"FIRST LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD"
"SECOND LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD"
The pirates gradually gained ground with military precision, moving in organised lines - continuously re-loading, discharging, and advancing towards the enemy.
Within seconds they were no more than twenty yards from the wall of defending redcoats...
Coggy continued to scream his orders...
"FIRST LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD"
"SECOND LINE… ADVANCE… FIRE!… RELOAD"
The pirates where now at the barricade and Coggy finally gave the order the Cutthroats had been waiting for;
"CHAARRRRGE!" he screamed, as they drew their swords and immediately rushed the retreating soldiers.
The wave of bloodthirsty bastids quickly pushed the remaining redcoats back up the hill towards the barracks surrounding the treasury.
Within twenty minutes the place was saturated with dead and dying bodies - soldiers, pirates, gentry, and peasants, littered the blood filled streets.
Coggy and his mates remained in the town square where they finished putting wounded Spaniards out of their misery.
Within minutes, the Cutthroats began to secure the place before looting and burning surrounding buildings.
And groups of surviving soldiers and townsfolk surrendered in their droves as Moose's cannons finally made it to the scene - overlooked by Lieutenant La Foot.
"So yew finally got 'ere, then?" called the exhausted, blood-covered Cog, as he patted La Foot on the back.
"Aye Sir, better late than never," replied the Lieutenant, "The cannon's 'r in position, Sir." he added, as he pointed to the eager gunners preparing to fire.
Admiral Tew had finished introducing a few wounded gentry folk to his cutlass.
"Dat's it Cog, we's done enough killin'… Tis time to find tha Ol'Man before he disappears," he said, wiping the blood off his sword and the sweat from his forehead.
"Give us a minute 'o two, Admiral," replied Coggy, as he motioned for the gunners to begin pounding the Barracks.
The cannons duly opened up and blew the buildings apart, causing bedraggled, coughing, redcoats to come stumbling out of the ruined buildings where they were met with a hail of musket balls.
"Those buggers 'ave 'ad us pinned down fer a while," said Coggy, as the five men looked on, "Appen we can liberate tha treasury now," he finished.
With that, Morgan quickly made his way towards the smouldering barracks and gathered a bunch of exhausted Cutthroats together.
"Right, while Morgan's looting tha treasury, I wants La Foot 'n Davey to co-ordinate tha sealing off 'o tha town. No buggers leavin' dis 'ell hole less it's in a wooden casket," ordered Coggy.
La Foot and Jones left to carry out Cogs wishes, while Quinn and Tew sat on an up-turned wagon, taking a swig of well-earned rum.
"I wonder how Moose is doin'?" asked Coggy.
"Arrr, 'appen La Foot said tha poor swab took a hit, he's ok though," replied Quinn, "last I heard, tha crazy bugger wus storming tha bleedin' fort wit a bunch 'o 'is men!"
The pirates laughed.
"Aye dats Moose fer ye!" smiled Cog.
One hour later...
The sounds of battle were beginning to die down a little as murderous Cutthroats began to round up prisoners for execution.
Buildings were a blaze all across the once proud Cartagena, and droves of pirates eagerly plundered and pillaged their way through each and every house before setting them alight.
"I want all ill-gotten gains transported onto tha beach ready fer loading," ordered Coggy to his crewman, Pirate Jim.
"Aye Sir" replied the blood-stained pirate before heading off to carry out the order.
"Oh, and Jim lad," called Coggy back to the pirate, "See if'n ye can find something to eat fer Arfur, 'ere."
"Squawk-about-friggin'-time-squawk" squawked the frustrated bird.
Tew wiped the dirt from his face and cleaned the blood form his jacket.
"I reckons the Ol'Man 'ill be shacked up 'n hiding in one 'o the mansions - if'n 'es still 'ere" he said, as he surveyed the smouldering town.
"Aye, I wus tinking dat too, matey" replied Cog.
Quinn approached with another bottle of rum which he passed to his gathered mates, "I's told some 'o tha men to head over to the east docks, 'appen I's noticed a couple 'o ships riding anchor thar."
"Thoughts we sunk 'em all?" asked a puzzled Coggy.
"They're not Spanish, me tinks they must be traders," replied Quinn, as he took a swig from the bottle.
"Wonder why they didn't run fer it?" asked a curious Tew.
Just then, an exhausted Moose came ambling up the path to where the pirates were sat.
"You lucky, swines!" he called with a laugh, "Looks like yew lot 'ave 'ad yerselves a fine party!" he said, as he surveyed the carnage.
"Arrr, Moosey, mate," called the others in delight at seeing their mate.
Coggy's face lit up at seeing his mate still in one piece, "Heard yew tasted a bit 'o Davey Jones' Locker," he said, as he embraced his brethren.
"Nay lad, tis but a scratch," replied Moose, as he rubbed his bandaged arm, "but, if'n it weren't fer tha good Admiral's ship, Fear, I wouldn't be 'ere enjoying tha spoils 'o war wit ye" he added.
"Aye, she wus a good ship, that 'un" sighed the Admiral.
"Me lil' injury didn't stop me from takin' dat fort!" added Moose, with pride.
"We wondered what all dat commotion wus over thar!" replied the grinning Quinn, "'Ope yew added a bit 'o colour to tha place, mate!" he added, as the men began to laugh.
The four pirates sat and watched their eager swabs hoard all the riches of Cartagena and enjoy themselves with a bit of whoring with the panicking fair-maidens.
"We's actually done it, ye know," said Coggy with a look of pride on his face, "We took Cartagena!… we took it wit ney more 'n five bleedin' ships!" he said, with a tear in his eye.
"Aye Cog, we did. And I reckon's we'll soon be known all over tha Caribbean fer our exploits today," replied Tew, "We's surely is tha most notorious 'n infamous bastards ta sail tha seven seas," he added, also with the emotion welling inside of him.
"That we is, Admiral, that we is," agreed Moose, "but lest ye ferget - we's only 'ere fer one thing - the Ol'Man… and we's still yet ta find him." he said.