Lore:The Pyrates of Antaloor - Volume IV
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A General History of the Most Notorious Pyrates of Antaloor and Their Exploits
Roger Stevens, alias "The Blood Beast" or, "The Clueless Pirate."
The unusual life of the hapless Roger Stevens marks a bizarre chapter in the history of Antaloorian piracy, and has long been considered a cautionary tale to those who romanticize the pirate's life, as was the case with Mr. Stevens.
By all accounts, Stevens was a mild-mannered store clerk who married a woman of good social standing, one Lady Rotyellas, who was twenty years his senior. Opinions differ as to why the good lady would marry one of such low station, but most sources claim that, having seen their daughter somewhat past her prime, the lady's parents were determined to take any prospective husband for her, and settled on the young Stevens - who, while not too high on a social ladder, was nevertheless a respectable enough young man, and vigorous.
Stevens and his new wife did not a happy marriage make. She allegedly ruled over the household like a tyrannical shrew and, being reportedly three times her husband's size, was able to make outrageous demands of her young husband that he had no choice but to follow. Stevens found his solace in the local tavern, where he would spend many a night listening to the tales of the old sea dogs who watered there, tales of adventure and buried treasure, most of which were likely drunken fabrications but which Stevens clung to regardless. At least, if his own diaries are to be believed.
Stevens deeply romanticized life raiding on the high seas. He became obsessed with the idea of escaping his fat, brooding wife and becoming a pirate.
Exactly a year after their marriage was consummated, Stevens set sail with some of the old sailors from the tavern. They made for port towns of ill repute. Stevens had his first "adventure" only two weeks after fleeing his life as a husband, when he was assaulted and robbed. Wisely, Stevens had deposited most of the gold he'd stolen from his wife at a local bank earlier in the evening for safekeeping. When he was healthy enough to retrieve the sum the majority of it went to paying his doctor's bills, but he had enough left over to purchase a ship, and a few rags and weapons for his new, makeshift crew.
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[The story of Captain Stevens should be continued here, but the book has been badly damaged by seawater and the remaining pages of the volume are missing. Perhaps the rest still exists somewhere...]