Vincent pushed open the doors of the Tavern and headed straight for the bar, as was the custom of visitors to such places. At the bar he caught the attention of the barman right away. When your skin is as pale as the walking death that you are, it's easy to attract attention. The barman scuttled over and gruffly asked what Vincent wanted.

"I'm looking for someone," replied Vincent.

"Don't care about that", said the barman. "And I'm not talkin' to ye anymore lest you by a drink."

"Fine, I'll have a bottle of your finest ale,", answered Vincent, thinking to himself that the barman was a tad childish. "And could you tell me if you've seen a female pirate round these parts."

As the words left Vincent's mouth the room fell silent. There was only one female pirate known well enough in this damn town and that was, of course, Miss Blimey.

"Why do you want to know where that harlot be?" asked the barman.

Vincent bristled at hearing his girl called a harlot, but he was smart enough to know that if he caused trouble here he would never find her. Very quietly Vincent answered the barman's question with a lie.

"She.... I need to find her so I can kill her."

"Ahhhh," smiled the barman. "In that case, she flies a ship called the Raven, doesn't come into this port often - she's not welcome here and has many enemies. Best way to find her is put out word you want her dead and she'll find ye soon enough."

"I don't want.... I mean I want to take her by surprise, so I need to find her first," explained Vincent.

"Well sir, best thing you can do then is get yourself a ship and go out looking for her," said the barman.

"Thanks for the tip," replied Vincent and went out to find himself a ship.

Back down at the dock Vincent surveyed the vessels moored there and tried to figure our which would be the best for him to steal. He had no money after all and didn't fancy his chances getting passage on another ship as friendly as Blade's had been. The only viable course of action appeared to be the thievery, and Vincent figured that as long as he was chasing a pirate he may as well become a pirate himself. Little did he know there is more to the pirate's life than the sheer plunder of it.

Creeping like a bat out of hell towards the last ship on the dock Vincent spied what in time would become his other love. His plans changed as soon as he saw her. She was beautiful and had curves in all the right places. I am of course speaking of a ship. Vincent had just caught sight of the Obscurity. A ship as black as night, and just as mysterious. Many had heard tales of the Obscurity and her captain Etype Jagwar. Etype was well known both for his violence and his love of jam fancies (little jam filled biscuits normally served with a cup'o'tea). This did not matter to Vincent though as he untied the ship and stalked up the gangway. All that he wanted now was to get this ship out onto the ocean as soon as he could and find Miss Blimey

What Vincent didn't know however was that Etype was watching this little act of thievery in disbelief from the shore and that soon after his ship left the harbour without him or his crew, Etype began swearing his revenge to anyone within listening distance.

The Obscurity sliced through the dark waters of the sea much like an apple cart doesn't. Vincent stood at the helm and felt the night winds caress his face gently. He inhaled the salty air and thought he might explode with happiness. So this was what steering your own ship felt like. Vincent had never experienced anything quite like it. The closest thing he could compare it to was a kiss from Miss Blimey herself (Vincent was really that mushy). Now he understood why his lover lived for this freedom, and why she would never return to her old life. Vincent couldn't go back now either. Instinctively he reached for the amulet that hung around his neck. Clutching it in his fist briefly to reassure himself. Worrying in the back of his mind what would happen should it come loose and fall from his neck. Effectively killing him again.

Vincent's distraction was short lived though as the moon drifted out from behind the clouds where it had been hiding. It's light casting a silvery glow over everything. Vincent returned his focus to the task at hand, and it soon dawned on him some decision would have to be made. Such as, where he was actually going. He had not sailed before and whilst his amateur skills and natural feel for the ship would keep him afloat on the open ocean, sooner or later he would have to pull into a harbour. Vincent wasn't sure he would be able to pull that off without breaking something. Navigation was not another one of his strong points at this stage either, and so for now he would have to be content with randomly sailing through the ocean.

Vincent was about to catch a break in a big way however when another ship appeared on the horizon an hour later. It was the Raven. Miss Blimey, it seemed, had found him first.

Continued in Part 5