Captains of the Golden Age

Captains of the Golden Age is set in a fictional East-Indies, in the golden age of trading and piracy, a time when pepper was worth more than gold!

Four brightly coloured ships of different shapes and sizes lie anchored at Smuggler’s Cove.

Their sails are lowered and their crews are resting while they gently rock back and forth on the waves. An albatross circles the shipwreck that lies broken on the shore. The sun is setting and a warm light starts to shine from inside the gaping ship; it’s the Smuggler’s Cove inn.

Four Captains sit at a round table at the center of the inn; some of the other guests are staring at the brightly coloured clothes they are wearing. A parrot closely watches the whole scene from a chandelier above the table. The colourful captains don’t seem to mind; they talk, rest, laugh and enjoy their beers.

Suddenly a small boy runs in, holding a sealed letter for the innkeeper. After reading the letter, the innkeeper glances at the other guests before walking over to the four captains. In a low whisper he says “Friends, my contact from the Republic tells me that the price of pepper has just surpassed the price of gold”, and turns back to his bar.

The mood changes as a storm on a summer day and the captains reach for their weapons as if struck by lightning. Cautiously, they slowly stand up and back off from the table, but as their greed gets the better of them, they start running to their brightly coloured ships…