The squalling of the newborn could be herd all the way out by the barn. Seamus was eager to go see his new child, but new better than to go intrude on an Irish midwives work. He didn't care much whether he had a new daughter or son. He was so happy to have brought new life to the Balior name, especially since his wife was so beautiful. He sure hoped the child would take its looks after its mother. He had finished feeding the animals and was lost in daydream when the ear-piercing scream came from the house. As soon as he managed to swallow his heart back where it should be, he bolted to the door.

"It's cursed, Maeve! You have to kill it."
"Nonsense woman!" Maeve clutched her newborn son as tightly as she could. She didn't have the strength to stand but was ready to defend him should she need to. Midwife looked crazed the knife she had used to sever the chord still bloodied in her hand. She took a step closer.

The door burst open and it didn't take him long to judge the scene. Seamus Balior was not a large man, but his presence filled every cranny in the room at that moment. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU DAMNABLE BANSHEE!" Two quick steps and he had wrenched the blade out of the midwive's hand and tossed her out.

"It's back! The curse of Balor has found its way through your blood, Seamus Balior. You must kill the boy, before..." A handful of coins pelted her in the face.

"Begone from here. No ill omen can spoil the innocence of a child. There's more than twice your normal fee there. Take it and leave, we no longer require your services." He stood in the door while she gathered up her pay mumbling, then road off. With a long low sigh, he turned and walked to his wife's bedside. "Now then, let's have a look at my son." The small child did seem to have the features of his father, which was a pity, but Seamus couldn't help but smile at his wife. "Well done love he's gor..." The young boy opened his eyes. One was emerald green like his mother's, the other was near pure white. He looked his father in the face and made a happy burbling noise. "geous. Maeve! His eye..."

"It's fine, love."
"But will he be able to see?"
"Aye, perhaps better than us, look he already recognizes his father." She smiled and held him up; Seamus took him and cradled him. Any concerns instantly melted while the man held his first son.
"Well he certainly is a charmer, what shall we call him?"
"I was thinking of naming him after that silk merchant's son that came to port a month ago."
"What Keichi? Sounds a bit girly, don't you think?"
"I think it's beautiful. Let's spell it properly though. Kaichee. That sounds a little better."
"Well after that harpy's done telling her tales I suppose he'd not be able to fit in well with a traditional name anyhow. Mayhap it will help him avoid whatever curse she believes in."
"That and our love, dear. That and our Love."

(( Awwww! ))

((This takes place as Kai and his brother are young boys))

Kaichee's head snapped up. "Some men are coming, father."

"What are you getting at, Kai?" The boy was pointing towards the hill, Seamus' eyes followed but could see nothing. Then a cloud of dust started to waft through the air above it. He didn't like the look of the men riding on horses towards his farm. "Kaichee take your brother inside."
Ariod complained, "Aw but Da, we wanna watch."
"Go!"
Kai grabbed his brother and drug him off, not to the house but the barn he put a finger to his lips.

"Afternoon, Seamus."
"O Conaill. What brings you to my farm? That's a lot of men for carrying cheese."
"You know it's not that. The English have come and their trying to push us out, tell us how to live."
"And?"
"We're going to fight them. You're going to help."
"No."
"We're not asking."
"I said no"
"Look Balior, we need your help. The English nobles breed faster than rabbits and they want land to rule. They'll be taking your farm soon. Possibly even your wife..." The men continued to discuss it for a long time but the outcome was inevitable.

Maeve had heard the horses ride up but when she saw what was going on she crept into the barn and was not surprised to see her two boys there. She silently laid a hand on each of there shoulders. They each jumped.
Ariod always eager spoke first, "Ma is Da gonna fight?" She silently nodded. "But then who's going to run the farm?"
Kai knew, "We'll have to."
Maeve nodded again, "He shouldn't be long, besides you boys are big enough to do man's work now. It's high time you stop slacking around here." She tried to smile, but couldn't bring the emotion to her face.

Seamus walked back towards the house, but stopped, shaking his head as he saw his family waiting in the barn. He walked over and embraced each of them. "Goodbye my loves. I'll be back as soon as this is cleared up."
"Bye Da! Give 'em hell! And don't worry, we'll take good care of the farm. And Ma!"
"Good boy Ariod." He tousled his youngest son's hair.
"Farewell father." Why did Kaichee have to make that sounds so final? If he had looked the tears in his "old eye" would have told him, but he daren't look. Not today.

((Came out a little too Braveheart for my liking, but it works I think. ^_^() ))

I like this Karg. Well done !!

Long after Seamus had been killed in battle, Maeve had died of a sickness. It was then that the Balior brothers left their farm. Ariod thought the quickest way to adventure and honor was to join the navy, but as Ireland had none to speak of he signed up to join the English. Kaichee wanted nothing to do with the dogs who killed his parents (to be fair they didn't kill his mother but he blamed them anyways) and thought his brother a fool for joining them. They did not part on good terms. He however could not stay home, so he shipped out on a merchant ship.

Months later in a port on England, some English lout was buying rounds. Kai thought the idea of making the English pay for his drink was a good one. The rum was the best he'd ever tasted until he got to the bottom. He nearly choked on the coin that had been slipped into it. Looking at it, he didn't notice the large man with the blackjack standing behind him. Kai would wake up with a hangover the next day but not from the drink.

"Hey! Good morning mate."
Kaichee's vision blurred into focus and there across from the hammock he had been thrown into sat the source of his annoyance. "What's so good about it?"
"Hah! Ya must be one of the boys they pressed last night. Well looks like we're gonna be bunk mates so might as well make the best of it. The name's Stash."
"Urnph," Kai held the back of his head, "Kaichee Balior."
"Ooh! Irish, eh? Hah! I bet you'll not like to find out who captains the ship you're on then."
"Then don't tell me, though I can probably guess," Kai closed his eyes, and tried to roll over so the sun was not in them. Not easy in a hammock, he fell to the floor. "Oof." He stayed there.
"Hey come on, I'll show you around a bit, you've a little time before the captain wants you on deck. I'll introduce you to me mates. That dour looking lad of there is Gabrielle, and the scrappy one be Lex." Stash leaned in and whispered just loud enough so Kai and the others could hear, "Look mate, there's this scheme I've got planned; it's going to take a few months of planning; and I could use some Irish wit. Join us and I can almost guarantee to get you off this tub."
Kaichee looked the three over. Lex was picking dirt out from under his fingernails with a dagger, and Gabrielle was eying him suspiciously. Stash just sat there beaming as if they had been old friends.
"This is an English ship."
"Guessed it in one, mate."
"And you can get me off?"
"Aye, if you'll follow my lead, and not cause too much trouble before its time."
"Then I'm you're man."
"Good lad!" A whistle sounded above deck, "Oi, time to go meet your new captain."

Those damnable Vanguardia minxes have been inspiring me.

In the days following the Algier's Caper, Kaichee had grown more and more sullen. Of course none of the Glastons had been a particularly cheery lot. The loss of Stash was too fresh. He was a good friend to all of them, but to Kaichee he was an anchor. A force to keep him from drifting off into the maelstrom of hate that threatened to consume him. There was no way he could go back to England, Kai knew that. Time to find himself.

The Abingdon had stopped off in Cadiz to drop off some other passengers. Kaichee decided then that was as close to England that he ever wanted to be again. He packed his things and made to walk down the gang plank. "Where do you think you're going sailor?" Kai turned and there was the dour face of Gabriel Arringale, in full naval uniform. Kai smirked.

"You know as well as I, I'm no sailor anymore. We practically deserted when Stash came calling for this, most of us didn't care, but at least you've got a way back."

"You're a sailor if I say you are. I can get you all back into the navy. We can serve our king and country proudly..."

"Whose King!? Whose Country!? I'm not serving that bastard, Gabe or John or whatever you want to be called today. He took MY country, my home, from me. I'm not going back to England."

Gabe's face grew stern, but then softened and he sighed, "I'm sorry Kai, I forgot. You've been so close, I keep forgetting you aren't from Glastonbury. Where will you go?"

"I dunno, I'm thinking east. Maybe the Orient. My ma said that's where my name came from. Maybe I can find its origin."

Gabe tried to swallow the lump that was rising in his throat and nodded. "Alright then. You take care of yourself lad. What should I tell the others?"

Kaichee just shrugged. "Tell 'em goodbye for me, mate. Tell 'em thanks, and tell them... Tell them they are the best bunch of British Pigs, I have ever had the chance to sail with."

"Hey! That's Boars, lad."

Kai grinned, "It is that. So long, Gabe."

He turned and limped down the plank. He surveyed the town. A nice place. A pair of redheaded girls giggled to each other as they walked down the street. One of them smiled at him, he smiled back. Just the thing Dismas would need to cheer up, he thought. He turned and walked down the docks. There had to be some merchant sailing east.

((oh your going to hate me Karg.......most of this contradicts what I have written for the Algiers Caper story.......Well, your first meeting with me and Gabe at least. By the way, the Algiers caper takes place in 1707, 13 years before the game. Stash is 14 and Gabe 15, both Midshipmen on a English Privateer during the War of Spanish Succession.))

Well craps I thought I had wrangled so I only had a bit part in there. I said you'd try to show them now quarter, you could have kicked Kai off earlier then planned. Sorry mate. We'll make it right.

(( This is why, when I bother to write, I'm always afraid to bring other peoples' characters into it. I'm still glad he's got the bug back, though. ))

((Oh no worries, I actually had both Karg and Dismas written into the Algiers Caper ending (Chapter 4), as well as Warden. Which I now have to change. The Caper story is turning into a rather intresting project, actually. being a armchair historian, I'm doing a ton of research on that specific time, and it's turning into more of historical fiction than a simple game story. By the way, all the charicters (except one), in all my stories are either players, or real historical figures (you can look them up))

((Hopefully in the near future I'll get around to writing up some of Kai's Oriental adventures and how he got to be the insightful level-headed pirate he is now. Of course a side effect of that is he doesn't blindly hate the British anymore, of course he bares them no love, but he doesn't hate them.))

(( those wenches got me with it too, been lettin my imagination do some weird stuff the last few days . . please let me know what my part is going to be, os I dont go doin something to make it all messed up ))

(( Yar. I'm itching, at least to start something, but I don't wanna until I can match up Mil's timeline with the rest of the crew's. WTB teh capers!))

((Revised! Now time to fill in the Oriental Adventures. ;P))