Code of Honor

The old man sat back in his chair, sipping on his grog.  

So, ye wants to hear more about that poor wretch Maximo, eh?  Well then, this is interesting....

Tilting his chair back, he turns and looks into the smoldering embers of the fire, misty eyed for the briefest of seconds.

Right then, I better tell you about Cap'n Phunn.

Cap'n Phunn, the greatest fighter in the Far East.  Straight out a Cathay - or were it Nippon?  Bah, tis no matter.  The man had the strength of a whole regiment in his bare fists, and the constitution of a charging bull squig.  The man never tires it seems....  Which is why many people think 'e done sold his soul to the chaos gods....  Course the mutations don't 'elp disperse that rumor.  'E done lost 'is eyes to a mighty creature of the deep.  But that ain't the point, for ya see, the man 'as started to lose his left hand to the foul mutations of the warp.  Where there should be five fingers, there are three.  

But I digress.  The man is a mighty warrior - the best the East can sent - and he served well as the high king's personal high admiral.  Until he started to develop that there mutation.  He was exiled faster than you could 'ave blinked.  'owever, being a weasel like cur, the damnable man sailed right across to Nippon, hired himself a crew and a ship, and made sail for the west.  Not before sealing the entire navy of Cathay out to the Nipponese.  

So, the man sailed away from the war he had started between the two kingdoms, a cruel smile etched onto his face.  But alas, his troubles had yet to fully develop.  As he rounded the tip of the Southlands, he ran square into the greatest tidal wave 'e 'ad ever come across.  The great wave took his ship and dashed 'im upon the rocky coast of the grimmest part of the world.  He was subject to the burning heat of the day, and the frozen wastes at night.  His crew labored night and day to get his ship sea worthy again.  But it was not to be...  

The lot of them caught wind of a plague, and they began falling like wheat under the scythe.  They were truly doomed, until Phunn made his devilish pact...

Climbing to the top of the Blood Cliffs of the Southlands, Phunn threw his hands up and pleaded with whatever god would listen, pleading to bring his crew to safety and make them strong once more, to bring vengeance upon those that had stained his honor by exiling him to this god-forsaken wasteland.  There was one god who would take pity.  The Great Unclean One, upon his festering throne, looked down upon his new creation, and smiled a toothless, rotten smile.  Nurgle looked down and blessed Phunn with a curse:  he would allow his men to survive, and for them to be strong and wreck their vengeance - on the condition that Phunn's body would corrupt, and then his very soul would rot and wither away.  Phunn accepted these terms without hesitation, and his crew was saved at the cost of their captain's everlasting soul...

That, mate, is how to earn the unyielding and unmoving respect of your crew.  Phunn returned to them a damned man, doomed to an eternity in Nurgle's garden.  He had been given a gift from the Chaos god, as a binding seal of their contract:  The Great Sea Giant Adthoo, a daemon of Nurgle from the very abyss of the ocean.  He was both a boon, and a jailer - a constant companion and a constant reminder that their captain was a doomed man....

And with that - lad - the mighty Captain Phunn returned to the beach, and saw with great astonishment that his ship had been rebuilt....  But not by mortal hands.  Throughout the whole confrontation with Nurgle and then Adthoo, an incessant and all too familiar wailing had come from the ship.  The sounds of heartbroken and crushed widows....  The dead had risen in the mighty presence of Nurgle - commanded to aid in the quest of bringing Vengeance to those that had dishonored Phunn.  

The room was dead silent as the old man paused for another sip of grog.

You lot are a cheery bunch, eh?  'Tis nought but rampant rumor and embellishment I'm sure.  The tale of the Sea Maidens is an old one, but nevertheless still an important lesson - Hell hath no fury like a woman's soul scorned.  My weary bones grow tired of telling these tales.  Perhaps I should retire for the night.

Another man stood up and asked,

What's any of this dark tale of Eastern necromancy got to do with the Pirate Lord Maximo?

With a twinkle in his eye as he stood up, the old man responded,

Why, me matey, 'as got everything to do with the good Cap'n.  And the sorcerer lord Kavious.  Why even the standard bearer Hyakinthos and Marast of Estalia are present in the story of Maximo.  However, all good stories need a bit of background before they can actually begin.  Come back tomorrow and buy me another drink you cheap ninny, and I might be inclined to tell ye the rest of the tales.  'Til then, I wish you a very quiet and restful night, ye salty drunk pirate bastards.

With a roar of laughter, the old man quickly made his way to the stairs in the corner of the inn.  With a wave goodnight, he ascended the ladder to his abode.  He set his hat aside and pulled out an intricate pocket watch, checking the time before setting the Cathayan Brass instrument down, chuckling to himself and humming....

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.....