Morgan Roscrow (1701-) was an English pirate who was active in the Caribbean Sea as captain of the Merry Banshee during the Golden Age of Piracy. He turned to piracy in 1728 under the tutelage of the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow, and the details of his life were intermeshed with the supernatural legends surrounding Sparrow and his contemporaries, such as William Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Hector Barbossa.
Biography[]
Jack Sparrow helping Roscrow escape
Morgan Roscrow was born in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1701, the son of a merchant seafarer and a prostitute. Roscrow's father died of scurvy while Morgan was young, and an orphaned Morgan decided to stow away on a ship to the Caribbean. Roscrow became a common sailor and notorious drunkard in Port Royal, and, in 1728, he was imprisoned for public drunkenness and was sent to the jail on Rambleshack island. He was joined there by the famed pirate Jack Sparrow, but Sparrow helped him make his escape from the jail with the help of cannon fire from Bo Beck's ship. Sparrow then ran off and hired Beck to grant Roscrow safe passage to Port Royal, and Roscrow - after recovering his personal effects - exited the jail shortly after.
Morgan Roscrow meeting William Turner
Roscrow proceeded to dodge exploding cannonballs as he ran up the island to an abandoned warehouse, where he was ambushed by the sword-wielding William Turner. Turner was surprised to see that Roscrow was unarmed, and he then recognized him as Jack's friend. Turner said that Roscrow wasn't of much use unarmed while Jolly Roger's skeleton army was on the move, and Turner gave Roscrow a rusty blade for defense, although he acknowledged that it wasn't well-balanced. Turner then had Roscrow practice his swordsmanship on nearby dummies to refresh Roscow's fighting skills, but, as two of Jolly Roger's undead minions appeared in the warehouse, Turner told Roscrow that the skeletons were after him, and he told Roscrow to head for the docks.
Roscrow meeting Bo Beck
Roscrow found that the captain Bo Beck was waiting for him, and he revealed that he had risked his neck to fetch Jack Sparrow, who requested that he take Roscrow to Port Royal in his place. Beck also told Roscrow to grab a cannon and keep an eye peeled for trouble, so Roscrow took control of a cannon and used it to sink an undead pirate ship which had arrived to attack Beck's ship, the Grim Reaper.
Jolly Roger confronting Bo Beck
Shortly after, a terrified Beck announced Jolly Roger's arrival, and said that he had him and Roscrow "dead to rights". Roger and a few of his henchmen materialized aboard the Grim Reaper, and Roger asked Beck where Sparrow was, before angrily reminding Beck that they had a deal. Beck revealed that Sparrow had paid him double what Roger was paying, and he nervously claimed that he was preparing to reimburse Roger as soon as possible. He then tried to joke with an unamused Roger, saying that the price of loyalty had gone up, but Roger instead used his supernatural breath to suck the life out of Beck and transform him into one of his undead minions.
Jolly Roger forcing Roscrow to walk the plank
Roger then confronted a terrified Roscrow and told him that, as dead men told no tales, he was forced to let Roscrow live. Roger then told Roscrow to let Sparrow know that Jolly Roger was coming for him, and he had Roscrow walk the plank as he warned, "Said, I'll be lettin' you live. The sharks may not be so charitable..." As Roscrow swam away from the ship and towards land, Roger had his crew sink the Grim Reaper.
Roscrow meeting Tia Dalma
Roscrow woke up in Port Royal, where he had succeeded in swimming ashore. Roscrow decided to meet with the famed Obeah priestess Tia Dalma, and, along the way, he killed three of Jolly Roger's skeleton gravediggers. He also got into a fight with the aggressive Royal Marines Treave Stephens and Britail Bosustow, forcing him to cut them down with his rusty cutlass. Roscrow then made his way to the King's Run swamps to meet with Tia Dalma, who used crab-claw runes to deduce that destiny lay within Roscrow. Tia Dalma told Roscrow that the skeleton he had destroyed was just a drop in the ocean, and that Jolly Roger's servants were many and more were far more dangerous.
Tia Dalma telling Roscrow of his mission
Tia Dalma then conjured up visions in each of her hands, telling Roscrow that from the darkness came the light. She told Roscrow of Lord Cutler Beckett's deadly assassins, the Black Guard, and of Jolly Roger's skeleton army, warning Roscrow that Lord Beckett and Roger's powers were each growing, and that their rising power could be no more. Roscrow then exhorted Roscrow, "You must play your part, just as witty Jack will play his part!" She also gifted Roscrow with a compass to help him find the way, and she promised to teach him more of the dark arts when destiny whispered. Tia Dalma also said that, until then, Roscrow had to help Sparrow recover the Black Pearl, as, only then, could the pirates prevail over Beckett and Jolly Roger.
Roscrow meeting Elizabeth Swann
Roscrow then set out for the Governor's Mansion, where he figured he could find the Black Pearl's release papers. He killed a few Royal Marines in the mansion's courtyard, and he found the release papers on one of their corpses. Roscrow then entered the mansion and met Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, who recognized Roscrow as Jack's new protege. Swann warned Roscrow that Beckett had an army of assassins, and that there was no parleying with Jolly Roger, and she told Roscrow that Jack needed their help if he was to recover the Pearl, as it was heavily guarded. She was impressed that Roscrow had recovered the release papers, but she said that they would be no good without her father's seal, and her father was long overdue. Swann advised Roscrow to flee to the safety of Tortuga, as, if the Royal Navy caught Roscrow with the release papers, there would be no trial.
The Merry Banshee sinking her first British ship
Roscrow travelled to the docks to meet with Darby Drydock, who agreed to give Roscrow a ship under the condition that he rename it so that nobody could trace it back to him. Roscrow named the light sloop the Merry Banshee, and Darby told Roscrow that he would not find such a deal again. With his new ship, Roscrow sailed out of Port Royal and travelled to the Devil's Anvil to visit Hector Barbossa, who had recently been revived by Tia Dalma. While in the Windward Passage, Roscrow came across a Royal Navy ship, HMS Panther, so he proceeded to battle the warship and sink it after a minutes-long gunfire exchange, scoring his first ship kill.