Libertyville was first founded nearly 200 years ago by
Jacque Francisco, son of the
Sea Lord Francisco, whom the first Drac betrayed. The entire place was burned to the ground within six months, and young Francisco disappeared in the conflagration. His body was never found, and the perpetrators of the arson were never caught. It seems clear Drac himself was behind the destruction of what was then known as Libertyville, but since he pretty much had
Freeport under his thumb at the time, there was no one to investigate the incident or to avenge Francisco’s death.
In later years, others tried to found their own ports on the ashes of Libertyville, but each time the settlement failed. Some of them met with the same fate as the original. Others were destroyed by sea monsters, wiped out by pirates, torn apart by internal bickering, or simply failed to attract enough settlers to thrive. Libertyville became a sad joke, a dead end, proof that Drac was right to sell Francisco out centuries ago. Few ventured over to Leeward, except perhaps to hunt or to get some distance between themselves and
Freeport.
Funded by Freeport
Seven years ago, in the turmoil following the death of
Milton Drac, some of
Freeport’s merchants started to think it might be good for
Freeport to have a commercial rival in the area.
Petra Fricke, leader of the Guild of Craftsmen and critic of the
Captains' Council, was one of them. A staunch defender of the people of
Freeport, she was disgusted with the way the council had been manipulated by
Milton Drac for over a decade and was now damaging the city through political infighting over who would be named
Sea Lord.
Fricke decided that the only way to break the stranglehold the corrupt council had over the city was to start up a separate operation, ideally a new settlement. Faced with a significant local commercial rival, the council would have to focus on improving commerce in
Freeport, to keep traders coming back and to retain skilled laborers. She was idealistic, yet her plans were pragmatic—even if she failed in the end, the competition would cause enough uproar in
Freeport to ease the costs of doing business there, improving profits within her guild.
Before the Succession Crisis burned its hottest, Fricke gained the support of the Guild of Craftsmen and several wealthy backers, who were drawn in by the promise of a good return on their investment. She convinced them that they should rebuild Libertyville. Plans were drawn up for a small town while members of the Guild of Craftsmen spent time out on Leeward, cleaning up the island and preparing the site for the new buildings to come.
New Partners
One of Fricke’s most important allies (eventually her lover and later, husband) came to be
Buster Wallace. He was a wealthy merchant whose father, Brock, was a member of the
Captains' Council who had made a fortune as a successful buccaneer; now, he owned a few ships that shuttled goods between
Freeport and the continent. After Drac murdered Brock Wallace, Buster was favored to inherit his father’s seat on the
Captains' Council. He decided it was better to quit while he was ahead. When Fricke approached him with her plan, he relocated his considerable interests to Libertyville without hesitation. While his father had been happy to immerse himself in political struggles, Buster preferred to focus on business and keep out of the power games.
In the chaos following the Succession Crisis, Buster and Petra fell in love and got married. A short time later, they unveiled Libertyville, a small, independent port offering competitive services to
Freeport, with a far less dangerous environment. The response from other traders was adequate—not fantastic, but adequate. Still, supported in large part by the activity of Wallace’s ships, Libertyville looked like it could develop into a small but viable port.
But the Great Green Fire of
Freeport changed everything. Suddenly,
Freeport had a greater demand for imports from the continent to replace food stocks and building materials destroyed by the fire; trading ships from
Freeport could demand higher prices and better services. Wallace did well personally, ferrying goods from the mainland to A’Val, but traffic to Libertyville dried up. Most of its inhabitants relocated to
Freeport or the continent. Soon only Buster and a few diehards were left in the deserted town, and Wallace was about to admit defeat and return to
Freeport, facing possible financial ruin. And then a small fleet of pirate ships dropped anchor in Libertyville’s bay—not to buy supplies, but to lay claim to the town as their pirate utopia.
And just as they had been two centuries earlier, they were led by Captain Francisco.
Liberty Movement
Whether
Masson Francisco is truly a descendant of the original Captain Francisco is uncertain. What is certain is that he’s a capable, charismatic leader with a captivating ideology—one of freedom, personal responsibility, and an obstinate rejection of the social order found in
Freeport and throughout the known world. This ideology has taken root and come to be called the Liberty Movement.
Dozens of lesser pirate captains have flocked to his banner, buying into the dream of a “pirate utopia,” even if they don’t understand the philosophies that inform the dream. Libertyville has become a place where people may live as they choose by their own code, owing no obedience to any other and holding no one as their superior. Rather than the old pirate colors, they fly a white flag, symbolizing not surrender, but a blank canvas. Their motto is “For Life and Liberty!” Part social experiment, part freebooter army, the Movement is Masson’s dream of freedom, and also his means of achieving it.
Ultimatum
When Masson and his fleet took Libertyville, they gave the inhabitants a choice: fight, and probably die; depart for
Freeport, leaving their valuables behind; or join the Liberty Movement. While many of Libertyville’s old guard fled for
Freeport, others stayed behind. Wallace stayed, intrigued by Masson’s personal magnetism and by his radical notions of freedom and responsibility. The pirates held a week-long party to celebrate the “plundering” of Libertyville, but then the clean-up began—and that’s when Libertyville, the real port of real pirates (not those “tame city dogs,” as Masson has come to call them), was here to stay.
Now, four years after Francisco took power, Libertyville remains under pirate control, led by the principles of the Liberty Movement. It draws only a fraction of
Freeport’s trade, but it only needs a small proportion to stay viable. Should the pirates of Libertyville need more money, food, or goods, they simply take to the seas and plunder what they want from
Freeport’s fat merchant vessels. They occasionally have to run or fight if the Admiralty shows up, but that’s the pirate’s life, mate! While the wealthy merchants of
Freeport fume about the Liberty Movement, the Pirate’s Code is still potent enough a force that the council can do little but wring its hands and admit that all’s fair on the open sea. Unless the maritime powers of the continent decide Libertyville is a threat, the pirate utopia is here to stay.
The arrival of T’Giri’s shipyard several years ago greatly increased Libertyville’s popularity with traders and sailors alike. And of course, in keeping with the ideals of freedom, the port town levies no taxes or restrictions upon any goods bought, held, or sold there. But getting in or out in one piece can be tricky.
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