The Lost Chapters: A Venables & Luther Adventure

London, 1742
It is a time of political unrest, the British Empire is at its greatest and a young Captain of the 74th Regiment of foot, Walks through the streets of London in the dead of night. a young street urchin watchs him with large eyes as he strides purposely through the empty street the urchin watches and then starts following him. The Captain walks to an old abandoned warehouse, when a gruff voice calls out "password?", The urchin watches as a smile appeared on the Officers face. "Revenge" The Officer replied, the great doors of the warehouse opened and the officer walked through the doors, the urchin ran to the door to see what was going on inside the warehouse, and then he saw in the dim light of a latern, the Officer standing there with two figures in dark cloaks, "well did you get the blades?" one of the figures asked, "what do you think?" the Officer replied grimly, "hahahaha Ricky Venables never did fail his friends!" the figure replied laughing. the urchin watched as Venables Produced from his dress coat a long pointed dagger. "here, its the real thing" Venables said, "and the tree?" the other figure asked, "oh yes its there, Lord Beckett will have his eternal life" Venables replied, The Street urchin looked on in bewilderment and fright. "Alright, Lord Beckett told me to give you this letter" the Figure said grimly, the Figure passed the letter to Venables, "oh Thank you, Mr. Mercer" Venables replied. then the three men separated, The two figures disappeared into the night and Venables walked out through the door, getting a shock as he tripped up over the young urchin. "well well well, what do we have here?" he said smiling. "please don' hurt me, I was nae doing notin'" the urchin replied, "oh relax boyo, ill not harm ya." Venables Replied as he lifted the boy to his feet, "listen heres a shilling, now dont tell anyone of what you saw here theres a good lad!" the urchin grinned and the took the coin and ran off. Venables Smiled grimly and walked off into the night. The Quest for the Tree of Life had begun.

Admiralty Offices, London 1745
Admiral Christopher Ironshot of the Hawaiian Navy stood in the office of Admiral Lord Matthew Blastshot, who sat there slouched in his chair brooding moodily, Lt. Colonal Johnathan F. Lawford and Major Richard Venables of the 21st Regiment of foot also stood in the room. "Well I personally Dont like these hush hush missions to the ends of the world!" Blastshot said in a huff, "Im not fond of them either my lord, but we are under the orders of the king." Venables Replied,

Lawford suddenly injected his personal opinion, "More likely to die on these missions then in a battle against a proper enemy!" he said, Venables wandered to the window and looked out at the HMS Monarch of India, a Brand new 44 gun Frigate of the line that would transport them to their destination, where ever that was! "Well you shall of course take the best of the 21st Light Company, Richard," Lawford replied, Venables nodded to Lawford, "Well I for one, Am quite happy to go on this expedition to the unknown!" said Ironshot, "Here Here, Said like a true englishman!" Venables replied,

"Well then Gentlemen thats settled the Monarch will set sail tomorrow on the tide" Blastshot said, Then bid them good day, Venables and Ironshot walked slowly out of the Offices together chatting about the harsh political times they were in.

And as the sun set on London, The Crew of HMS Monarch of India prepared to set sail to the Tree of Life.

London, 1745
Major Richard Venables and His faithful righthand man, Lance Coporal Nick Sharkhayes stood at the dock where the Monarch of India stood at anchor, the Naval Crew that had been placed under Admiral Ironshot were busy preparing the Monarch for sea, Venables stood with Sharkhayes who was quietly Smoking a pipe, "Well Sir, Im looking forward to some warmer weather like what youse been tellin us about." Sharkhayes said, "to be honest its not as great as it sounds Nick" Venables Replied, The Detachment of the 21st Regiments Light Company was standing by the quay side waiting to embark onto the Monarch, Colonal Lawford sat on a Horse watching the proceedings with a grim look on his young face.

Then a young naval Lieutenant by the name of Macdonald walked up to them, "Major Venables Sir?" he asked, "Thats Right, Lieutenant" Venables Replied smiling broadly, "Admiral Ironshot wishs to let you know that the Troops are ready to loaded onto the Monarch" MacDonald Said Nervously, The Lieutenant Saluted smartly then performed a perfect about turn then tripped up over a pile of fish traps, The men of the 21st roared with laughter wish was quelled immediatly by Sgt. Wallcroft who roared to them to be silent, they were all silent. Then Major Venables Shouted at them, "Company will fix bayonets!, FIX-BAYONETS!, ATTENSHUN! Left Turn! By the Left Quick March" He Yelled as the company marched up the large gangways to the well deck of the Monarch. "Jesus, This is a bleeding hellhole!" One Soldier Said Jokingly. "Reckon you'd Know Harry!" Replied another Soldier with a grin, "Pahhh you fancy Soldier boys are gonna suffer on this trip!" a sailor laughed, Major Venables Was Saying farewell to Lord Lawford as all this went on, "Goodluck Richard" Lawford Said with a smile shaking Venables hand warmly, "Thanks you Sir, Dont Worry we'll be fine" He Replied,

Suddenly there came a roar of laughter from the fore-castle, Venables and Ironshot walked up to the group of sailors and soldiers who were crowded around to strugling figures, one dressed in a ratty old Scarlett Jacket, The Other dressed in the Uniform of a Midshipman, "Ahmed!" Venables roared, Ahmed punched the Midshipman one more time on the nose which got a sound of approval from the soldiers and a grown from the young midshipman, Venables wallked up to the pair and dragged Ahmed by his collar, "What the Hell do you think your doing?" He Asked Angryly, "He Insulted Ahmeds Uniform, He Called me a Black Booger!" Ahmed replied frowning, Venables smiled wearily, "get below Ahmed and have my luggage taken to my cabin". Ahmed Saluted smartly, and ran to do what Venables had said, Venables Apologised to the young midshipman who looked at him through a swollen eye and said, "quite all right sir, its me own fault". Venables gave the boy a shilling and then walked over with Admiral Ironshot to the Quarter-deck of the Monarch, He Watched as the last of the Red Coats marched aboard and went bellow and then asked a young lieutenant to show him to his quarters.

France, 1745
Lord Admiral Pierre Voldimort' walked up the guild floors of Varsaille as the other high ranking officials of the French Government rushed to the throne room. The admiral hurried through the corridors of the royal palace and arrived in the throne room, Voldimort Walked in to the Throne Room and bowed to the King who sat there on the throne of france quitely eating a large apple from his personal garden. The king finished his apple then gave a shout of welcome to Voldimort, "Pierre!" he said, the smile on the kings face showed a fine set of teeth and a strong, noble jaw. The king lead him to the table where he slapped Voldimort on the Back "take a seat Pierre, your just in time for luncheon!" the king said, "merci Your Majesty" Voldimort Replied, Voldimort was attended to by a courtier who placed a fine silk napkin on his lap, and asked, "wine Sir?", "This is my latest wine from the gopel vines!" the king said happily as he toar a leg off a roast chicken, the King and Voldimort sat there taking luncheon until The King got up with a sigh of contentment. "Well Voldimort, I've got a job for you!" The King said happily after the luncheon, "Sir? I am retired from the sea" Voldimort replied, "yes yes I know that, but im restoring you to full duties, you are to sail to Portsmith on the south English Coast and join the HMS Monarch of India with our British allies." The King Said, "And what is the objective of this Mission?" Voldimort asked, "Keep to a low voice, Admiral" The King Said, "the British and France are joining forces to find the Tree of Life" the king said in a low voice, "The Tree of Life?" Voldimort queried, "yes, its from the Bible, the story says that in the Garden of Eden there were two trees the Tree of Life and The Tree of Knowledge, Now as you know Adam & Eve took the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, but it never said what happened to the Tree of Life, but The British Found a manuscript from 255bc which said the tree of life was in the great peaks where the birds of prey do fly, The British Believe it to be located in South America near Peru, which as you know is deep within spanish territory so thats why we are joining forces with the British!" The King finished this speech very out of breath and hardly able to speak until a servant brought him a glass of brandy, "Of course you will be escorted to England by a British Officer who is waiting for us in my office" he said as he walked to the door of his office and went through followed by Voldimort, "Pierre Voldimort meet Captain Richard Luther of the British Army" The King said, Voldimort looked at the British Officer who was tall, with piercing blue eyes and a scar going down his left cheek, "Im honoured to meet you monsieur" Luther said, "I will be sailing with you and my new Regiment to South America" Luther said as he shook hands with Voldimort who noticed that despite his rough appearence the British Officer was a lot younger then he first appeared. "I will make preparations immediatlly Sire" Voldimort said, "Well, Better take the Captain With you Pierre, Thank you for your time Captain Luther" The King said, "You are most welcome your excellency" he replied.

HMS Monarch of India, Portsmith
"Damnation man! why are we stopping in Portsmith?" Venables asked Ironshot who replied "Havent the Foggiest ol' chap" Venables paced the Quarterdeck of the Monarch looking out over Portsmith harbour at the small launch that was approaching, "Probably those French Diplomats," said Venables, "hardly diplomats Richard, i mean one of them is a high ranking admiral of the French navy and hes bring a party of French Soldiers with him according to Lord Crossbones" Ironshot said, the Launch arrived at the side of the monarch, The french troops crowded onto the deck of the Monarch as Lord Tyler Crossbones and a young Captain of the 21st climbed aboard, as the marines stamped to attention and the bosuns mates piped them aboard. "Good afternoon gentlemen" Venables said Politely, "Ah Richard How are you my friend?" Lord Crossbones asked happily, "Very well thank you Tyler" Venables Replied, "Richard Allow me to introduce Captain Richard Luther your New Officer and Admiral Pierre Le'Voldimort of the French Navy, Gentlemen this is Major Richard Venables, The Earl of Edrington" Crossbones said to them. Ironshot watched this mock show of politeness with a smirk on his face. He knew Venables well and he knew that he was not a man who liked new officers in his Battalion, never the less Lord Crossbones and the Prime Minister had spoken and they were much higher the Venables, Earl or not. Ironshot walked over to greet Lord Crossbones and this new officer, "ahhh Christopher! Good to see you old friend!" Crossbones said cheerfully, "And you Tyler, Im truely glad to see you" Replied Ironshot, "Well Mr. Luther, ill see your baggage is taken below to your Cabin" Lieutenant MacDonald said quietly, "Thank you, MacDonald, thatll be all" Ironshot said, "Well Mr, Luther Im not fond of taking on Officers I dont know but Lord Crossbones here seems to think your okay so ill ablige him by taking you on, you can take the no. 2 company" Venables said gruffly. ""Thank you Sir, ill do my duty, but i dont want any favours" Luther Said. Venables glared at Luther then spun on his heel and walked below. Ironshot and Crossbones had made their way to the Quarterdeck and stood there talking whilst the French had set them selves up smoking in the well. Luther walked up to a marine sentry and asked where the No. 2 Company was berthed, "down below near the loading hatch" the sentry replied roughly, 'and sod you too bastard" Luther thought, He made his way for the companionway where he went below to find the gundeck crowded with soldiers and sailors drinking, smoking and enjoying the pleasures of the local ladies. Luther made his way forward until he found the Loading Hatch then asked a sailor where the company was, the sailor spat tobacco at his feet, to which Luther swung out with his right fist sending the man flying back into a crowd of soldiers who helped the sailor up on his feet, and the sailor threw a fist at Luther giving him a blood nose, Luther swung back at the sailor who dodged and swung his fist up to catch Luthers jaw but Luther grabbed him and they came to the deck with a crash their they struggled for sometime wreathing and hitting each other. Suddenly Venables and an officer of the 21st came up to the Struggling pair, "ENOUGH!" Venables roared, "Get up both of you!", Luther and the sailor were both hauled up by a couple of marines who held them in front of Venables, "Mr Luther, I do not have respect for officers who brawl with common sailors, if i see this again ill will remove you from my battalion immediatly!" Venables said, "You, You struck an officer of the crown, thats a flogging offence!" Ironshot said angerly, Venables turned and walked up the companion way to the quarterdeck and so Luther was left to find his company, "you soldier, wheres the No. 2 Company?" He asked a Coporal walking by, "wha' the dirty half dozen? over there sir and i'd be watchin' the way i talk'd to him if i was you" The Coporal replied, Luther walked over to where a bunch of soldiers sat talking and smoking in the light of the sun shining through the loading hatch their imaculate uniforms shining in the sunshine. "You there, get up" Luther growled at them, "And who the bloody hell do ya think you are?" one soldier replied, "Im your new bloody Officer" Luther replied, "oh begging ya pardon sir, i wasnt aware we was given a new officer, names Collier Sir" the soldier replied, "Right Mr Collier, Im your new officer for this voyage" Luther replied as the Monarch of India lay at berth in Portsmith.

Setting Sail
It was a brisk summers morning when the HMS Monarch of India, prepared to set sail to Santo Dominigo and the French colony there, the Crew were up at 430 in the morning where as the troops of the 21st regiment of foot slept until the sounding of six bells which signalled six o clock according to a sailor Luther had spoken to at the Dinner table with the other Officers the night before, Venables had still been as blunt and unfriendly as before and probably with good reason as Luther wasnt a high born nobleman like Venables, he was a young man born into a middle class family, with a second rate education at a public school in london. where as Venables was an Earls son and hier, An acomplished Army Officer and a first rate student from Cambridge. With these thoughts in his head he got to work finding a place where he could shave and freshen himself up. he found this in the form of a bed side table complete with bowl, towel and razor. 'damnation hadnt these sailors heard of cream?' he thought, the sudden activity and shouts from above suprised him as he was very slowly shearing his face and so he cut his chin with his razor. Luther was suddenly suprised by Ironshot coming in with a small amount of coffee that he accepted gratefully Ironshot then said "well better getta move on lad Venables aint fond of officers late for the morning parade and inspection of the troops" which took place below decks as it couldnt be down uptop cause of the sailors at work. He finished his coffee and thanked Ironshot then rushed to the gun deck. Venables sat there watching the men parade as a coporal was shaving his chin, "Luther your late, Im not impressed but as its your first parade and you were hardly likely to known ill let you of this once" Venables said happily, "Thank you sir, My apologies for being late" Luther replied, and he took his place with his company.Meanwhile above decks Admiral Ironshot and Lord Crossbones stood on the quarterdeck of the Monarch of India, watching the crew make ready to set sail for Coral Seas.

"Damn Fine crew youve got Ironshot!" Crossbones said to Ironshot, "Aye there the best men in Hawaii" Ironshot replied, The Monarch was due to sail at the sound of the Forts Cannon sounding. which at 8:32am exactly it did so, the crew buzzed with excitement as Venables and the other officers climbed to the quarterdeck, and watched as the Monarchs sails unfurled and filled with the wind. as they sailed out of Portsmith harbour Venables smiled and slapped Luther on the back "well Luther i like your style, keep on time for parade and ill see you right" "thank you sir, ill try to do my duty" Luther replied as they sailed into the beginning of the greatest adventure either of them had ever seen.

The Voyage south.
Lord Crossbones walks down to the decks, "Venables, a fine regiment you've got here."Venables looks at his men, "Aye sir! They serve mighty well." Crossbones and Venables leave the men and go to the rails, "Ah there she comes, Mr. Venables. The Poseidon, pride of the African Fleet." They watch the Poseidon sail towards them, "A beauty sir, is it to accompany us?" "Nay, it is just heading back to Seirra Leone. It is the ship that brought me here." Crossbones replies. Suddenly sailors start rushing around and Venables and Crossbones head to Ironshot. "Admiral! Is there a problem?" Venables asks gruffly. "Aye, it seems we may be encountering a monster!" The Admiral replies sharply. All around them soldiers start getting picked up by what seems like snakes, then are pulled in to the water. Venables shouts to Crossbones "Get down Sir!" as a huge snake like creature snaps at him, Venables knocks Croosbones aside and slashes down with his sword. cutting a gash into the monsters head making it scream and wreath in agony, blood pouring on the deck boards of the ship. Crossbones draws his sword and together back to back Venables and Crossbones begin to fight off the heads but then one of the heads smashes a cannon sending it flying towards Venables who gets knocked back flying into the mizzen mast of the Monarch, as the beast head come down to strike a killing blow on Venables, Luther suddenly jumps in and puts an gunpowder barrel in the creatures mouth then kicks the creatures head, the creature recoils and Luther pulls out a pistol and shoots the mouth, the Beasts head explodes sending blood and gore everywhere on the deck the rest of the heads slither back into the sea which is red with the blood of the creature and the Soldiers it consumed. Venables gets up shakily and Looks around he sees the blood and very unsteadily walks up to Luther and pats him on the back, "well Luther, i owe you my life, you defenantly are a lucky bastard!". Luther looks around at the mess on the deck, a sailors body lies there twitching in the arms of Ironshot, It was MacDonald the faithful officer had protected his captain from the creatures and payed with his life for his bravery. Venables goes to remove his hat but finds he lost it. He then swings around violently and looks for Crossbones, there lying with his back against the rails of the ship lay Crossbones a stream of blood pouring down his cheek, "SHARKHAYES! AHMED! get Crossbones below immediatlly!" Venables shouted.

HMS Monarch of India, below the top decks
"Not me. I haven't done this since I was 20 years old!" Ironshot exclaimed when he was asked to operate on Crossbones. " Oh bloody hell, fine! I will do it! " Ironshot, who was at 91 years old, carefully got the surgeons medical kit. He cleaned it with a bottle of plain wine, before he worked the needle with the thread through the skin. " He might not be awake for a while. Keep him well guarded, in case that bloody devil comes back."

Ironshot walked back up to deck, and looked at all of the wounded. " This is going to be a long night ". Soon after Lord Crossbones and Major Venables stood getting ready to head to shore. "Sharkhayes, get your men ready!" barked Venables. "Yes sir," replied Sharkhayes, "Wallcroft! You heard the Major, get your squad ready to land." They had sailed to a lonesome island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, halfway to South America. "Ah, I remember this island. Are you sure you want to go ashore here Major?" asks Ironshot. "Aye, there is no worry, I have the best of the 21st with me." replies Venables before he and Crossbones embark to the island.

Killbane Island
"Alright you bastards! You's will stand up straight or I will personally kick every buttock that appears before me!" Sgt. Wallcroft shouted looking towards Ahmed and Harry who were chatting away. The men all stood up straight and begun to march. My lord, we have almost reached the fountain that Ironshot pointed out." Venables tells Crossbones. Meanwhile far away, Ironshot and Luther gaze at the landing party marching. "I do hope they get out ok," starts Luther, "Well there are many dangers upon that Island, I served there when I was just a lad. It is very scary place." Ironshot says as he turns to look at the setting sun.

"Present, Fire!" shouts Venables as his soldiers fire at the oncoming raptors. "Sharkhayes, lead the way. We will follow." yells Crossbones. All the troops save Ahmed and Venables clear out, "Sir go! I will hold off the rear!" grunts Ahmed. Venables looks at Ahmed then runs off to the rest of the party as a raptor tears off Ahmed's head. Harry runs to the Venables, "Sharkhayes is holding the front line sir, Crossbones is holding his men east of us." The party defeats the raptors and heads to help Crossbones party. Soon after they are all reunited, they find water and head back to the ship. "That was quite an adventure," Crossbones says to Venables as they board the Monarch. "Well, I've had enough adventure for a while." replies Venables.

A Quiet Evening
That evening, Crossbones, Venables, and Ironshot, were drinking wine on the quarter deck. "Remind me NEVER to get involved in this again, heh." Ironshot said quietly. "Bah. We might need to head due west due to the holes and the damage we took. Dutch Guyana or French Guinea?" Ironshot said with a little concern. "Maybe. The French there no nothing about us.They could be hostile" Replied Crossbones, who was reading the charts. "Bah! British Guyana it is! But, they knew nothing of the pirate fleet that was trying to capture them, and get to the prize also