Benedict Huntington

"I understand that this Benedict Huntington is a scourge that threatens all the pirates on this ocean."

- Sao Feng to Mistress Ching

Benedict Huntington was manager, lord and chief of all business pertaining to the East India Trading Company in [Hong Kong] and its surrounding seas, as well as captain of the HMS Peacock, during the time of the Shadow Lord's threat. Along with his young wife, [Barbara]], Benedict plotted to use the situation with the Shadow Lord as a means of ridding the Seven Seas of piracy forever and advancing their status.

Early Life
"I serve the Company, whatever they need me to do."

- Benedict Huntington to Marcella Magliore

In his youth, Benedict Huntington served as a sailor aboard a merchant ship. He would later join the East India Trading Company and take a beautiful young wife, Barbara, whom he dearly adored. Assisted by Barbara's charm and powers of manipulation, Benedict was able to use his sharp wit to climb the ranks of the EITC, ultimately becoming manager of the Company's Hong Kong branch.

Rising in the East
"I think you should be worried about me."

- Benedict Huntington to Mistress Ching

One morning in his Hong Kong estate, Huntington received a letter from a fellow EITC employee with whom he had once served on a merchant ship. The letter warned him that a new threat has arisen in the form of a man who called himself the Shadow Lord, a scourge worse than any pirate. Benedict brushed off his colleague's fears and was about to forget about the matter entirely, when the letter was discovered by his wife Barbara. After reading it for herself, Barbara came to the same conclusion as Benedict that the warning was nothing more than "ghost stories". As Benedict began to dismiss the matter entirely, Barbara suggested that they could use the situation to their advantage, stupilating that they coul use the information to expand Benedict's position to encompass the entire Pacific Ocean, or else make a deal with the Shadow Lord himself to rid the sea of pirates forever. As they discussed their mutual hatred of Mistress Ching, Benedict assured his wife that before long, Ching and every other pirate would be twitching at the end of the rope somewhere in the Seven Seas.

Some time later, Benedict and his wife were contacted by Liang Dao, who had just been overthrown as Pirate Lord of Singapore by his brother, Sao Feng. They set up a secret meeting so as to establish a deal in which Dao would give Benedict the location of Sao Feng and Mistress Ching's meeting and Benedict would help Dao reclaim his throne. As they attempted to stealithy make their way through the streets of Hong Kong to Dao, Benedict began bragging to his concerned wife that he has trained all of his agents to detect any pirate they may encounter on the streets, and ordered them to run through all pirates they may find on their patrol. Immediately after, he and Barbara came face to face with a troop of seven individuals dressed like EITC agents, whom unbeknownst to Benedict were really Jack Sparrow, Billy Turner, Jean Magliore, Diego de Leon, Carolina, Lian, and Park. Benedict was fooled by Jack into thinking that the reason his face was covered up was because he had leprosy, and allowed him and the rest of his "troop" to go on their way. When Barbara noticed that some of the agents seemed oddly feminine and asked Benedict whether he'd begun allowing women to join the EITC, Benedict brushed off his wife's concerns and urged her to hurry along so as to not to keep their "mystery informant" waiting.

During the Huntingtons' rondevous with Liang Dao, Benedict learned that Mistress Ching and Sao Feng's meeting would be held at the former's opium den in that very city. Gathering a large group of EITC agents, Benedict and Liang Dao headed into Ching's opium shack before she, Feng, Sparrow, Barbossa, and all their crewmates arrived there. After ordering his agents to act like they were smoking from the opium pipes, Benedict hid himself within a blanket on one of the couches in the front room. When the pirates showed up and began their meeting in the room adjacent to the smoking den, Benedict eavesdropped on their discussion, which revolved around himself and the Shadow Lord's threat. When he heard Mistress Ching tell Carolina that all she cared about at the present moment was Benedict Huntington, Benedict decided to make his presence known by loudly announcing that he thought this was very wise of Mistress Ching. When the pirates turned to the outer room to see who had spoken, Benedict got up from the couch and approached them, gleefully announcing his intention to destroy them. At this, Benedict's agents stood up and drew their swords and pistols, and Benedict offered a reward to the agent who killed the most pirates, wanting them all dead before the night was through. He then pointed his pistol at Sao Feng and fired, but Lian and Park threw themselves forward and managed to knock their master out of the bullet's path. As the brawl began, Huntington stood back and observed the fighting with smug satisfaction.

When Jack Sparrow unwittingly set the opium den on fire, Benedict was the first man out of the shanty during the stampede to the exit. Once the fighting between his agents and the pirates resumed in the square, Huntington found himself face-to-face with Sparrow across a water barrel, and recalled that there was a rather sizeable reward for Jack's capture, dead or alive. Benedict drew his whip-thin rapier and skillfully leapt over the barrel, but by the time he had thrusted his sword where Jack's heart had been, Sparrow had already managed to climb onto the roof above him.

Later, when Carolina thwarted Liang Dao's attempt to stab Mistress Ching in the back, Huntington stepped out of the alley behind Dao and nonchalantly skewered his ally in the back. When Dao gasped out with his dying breath about their deal, Benedict icily replied that he makes no deal with pirates before leaving the former Lord of Singapore for dead. When the pirates managed to drive the EITC agents back across the square, they assumed Huuntington had left the viscinity with them. Unbeknownst to them, Benedict hid in one of the shanties in the square, and after Jack managed to procure Mistress Ching's vial of Shadow Gold, Benedict followed them to a nearby shack and overheard their plans to sail to India. Blaming Jack for his defeat that day, Huntington resolved to meet them in India to extract his revenge.

The Turning Tide
"We'll be back! We will destroy Jack Sparrow! Nothing can stop us!"

- Benedict Huntington

Almost immediately after the failed raid on Mistress Ching's opium den, Huntington commenced a voyage to India aboard his ship, the HMS Peacock. Soon into the voyage he received a report from one of his men, a representative of the Indian branch of the EITC, that the location of Sri Sumbhajee's stronghold was still unknown, though his department believed it was on one of the islands off the coast, south of Bombay. When Benedict berated the representative for his branch's failure to locate Sumbhajee, the man foolishly pointed out that Huntington had yet to capture a Pirate Lord in his waters either. At this, Benedict swiftly pushed the man overboard and forced his first mate, Roland McTavish, to pretend it never happened. Soon after, Huntington felt a spark of warmth against his chest, and realizing that his wife was trying to contact him through her enchanted hand mirror, pulled out his own and activated its power by breathing on the surface. When his wife's face appeared in the glass, Benedict apologized for having to leave without saying goodbye, and she replied that she was about to say the same. At this, Benedict, taking a good look at the state of his wife's appearance and the background behind her, realized she was not at their estate and furiously demanded to know where she'd went. After she dropped a couple of hints about India, Huntington realized that Barbara has managed to stow aboard Jack Sparrow's ship.

Sometime after the Black Pearl had finally made it to India, Benedict was contacted again by his wife after she managed to sneak off the ship and made her way through Sri Sumbhajee's temple. With the information provided to him by his wife, Benedict was able to guide an entire fleet of EITC ships into the harbor of Sri Sumbhajee's palace. Rapier drawn, Benedict lead his agents in the charge onto land, and as Sri Sumbhajee and his men rushed down to meet them a massive battle ensued. During the fight, Benedict faced off against Carolina on the`dock and came close to killing her, but was thwarted when Jack loosed several stampeding wild elephants into the harbor and his terrified wife began yanking him toward one of the rowboats at the end of the dock. Though Benedict was loath to leave the battle, Barbara insisted they had to go, shoving the oars into Benedict's hands. Back on the Peacock, an enraged Benedict observed the defeat of his men, hopping up and down and shaking his fists in the process.

After the dust had settled and the couple were alone in his quarters, Benedict began furiously ranting at Barbara that because her, all of their plans were now ruined. His wife insisted that all hope was not lost, however, and having Benedict hand over his hand mirror, showed him that she left its twin in the possession of Marcella Magliore, enabling them to see and hear everything going on aboard the Black Pearl without the unsuspecting girl knowing. As Marcella began ranting about "the stupid Spanish princess" (meaning Carolina), Benedict was reminded by his wife that they had heard about a missing Spanish princess from a Portuguese trader. At this point, Benedict revealed a letter from the Shadow Lord that had mysteriously appeared on his desk, pointing out that his interests were clearly complementary to their own. When Barbara advised Benedict to take a good look at the watermark on the parchment of the letter, Benedict realized that it was in the shape of Lord Villanueva's crest, meaning there was more going on than met the eye. Turning back to the mirror, Benedict and Barbara overheard Jack asking Barbossa how long before they reached Madagascar, and after kissing his wife's hand for her brilliance, a jubilant Benedict headed for the deck to give his crew their new heading.

Wild Waters
"Ah, don't you worry about that. Jack Sparrow will be dead long before he reaches King Samuel. I want to be there waiting for him. I want to kill him myself."

- Benedict Huntingtonto Barbara Huntington

During the Peacock's journey to Africa, Benedict received a letter from the East India Trading Company ordering him back to his post in Hong Kong. Infuriated with their interference, Benedict crumpled the letter and decided to ignore the Company's order, asserting that his current mission was far more important than anything he had to do in Hong Kong. Benedict and his wife continued to spy on the Black Pearl through the hand mirror during the trip to Africa, but both found the task highly exasperating due to Marcella's many irritating habits. Through their eavesdroppings Benedict and Barbara managed to discover that Jack was traveling to Madagascar to find the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic Ocean, but that he didn't even know the Pirate Lord's name. Benedict was able to use this to his advantage by unearthing a large EITC file on King Samuel, and from the information he gleaned, he knew that he would receive a much better welcome from the Pirate Lord than Jack Sparrow. Benedict also learned that the Black Pearl happened to be the fastest ship in the entire ocean, inspiring him to want to claim it for himself once he captured Jack Sparrow.

Later on in the voyage, Benedict received another letter from the Shadow Lord, from which he learned that Sparrow intended to break into King Samuel's fortress. Immediately after he ordered McTavish to make sail for the fort, he was approached by his wife, who wanted to know asked what he planned to tell Samuel when they arrived. Benedict explained that he intended to fool Samuel into thinking the reason he was there was to discuss their mutual interests in the trade routes around the Indian Ocean. After a surprised Barbara questioned his decision to not tell Samuel about the impending attack, Benedict replied that he was not going to miss the opportunity to watch pirates tear each other apart. When Barbara reminded him that the Shadow Lord had requested that he keep the two Pirate Lords apart, Benedict insisted that Sparrow would be long dead before he reached King Samuel, as he intended to wait for him at the fortress and kill the pirate himself.

When Huntington and his wife finally arrived at his fortress, they were greeted warmly by the Pirate Lord as he had expected, but were forced to endure Samuel's constant tales of his "manliness and strength" as well as a menagerie of animals that regularly wandered through the fort. When Samuel began bragging about how all pirates foolish enough to attack his fort wound up dying, Benedict silently cued his wife to begin distracting Samuel with her flirting prowess. At some point, Samuel became so riveted by Barbara's charms, that Benedict was able to slink away in search of the landward entrance to Samuel's fort, intent on discovering how Jack Sparrow and his crew would sneak in.

After Sparrow and his crew arrived at the fortress, Benedict waited for Jack in the kitchens, and when he entered the room swiftly pointed his rapier into Sparrow's neck. When Benedict began taunting Jack that he was going to be his death, Jack humorously dismissed him, claiming that he had it on good authority (meaning one of Jean's prophecies) that someone's pet beast would ultimately be the death of him. As Benedict unfurled a scroll and began reading off a list of Jack's crimes, a horrified Jack noticed something massive moving behind him, but Benedict refused to believe him. As he continued with his recitation, Benedict was suddenly lifted off of his feet and thrown down the stone hallway by the creature behind him, which turned out to be a gorilla. As neither Benedict nor Jack had ever seen a gorilla before, however, it looked to them like some kind of horrifying, man-beast with black fur.

When Sparrow rushed through the nearest door and turned to close it behind him, Benedict quickly blocked the gap, bellowing for Jack to let him it and not let the beast eat him.. Benedict squished his skeletal frame through the gap, and when Jack reached for a chair to shove against the door handle so the beast couldn't get in, Benedict rushed over to grab the other end and together they braced it against the door. Once it was secure Benedict immediately turned on Jack again, however, and they continued their struggle until the gorilla finally managed to break through into the room and lunged for Huntington. Even though Benedict had just attempted to execute him, Jack couldn't stand to see the man get eaten, so he began attempting to draw the beast's attention onto himself, trying to convince the creature to come after him for food. Before going after Jack, the gorilla lifted one massive paw and backhanded Benedict across the face, knocking him unconscious.

At some point before Sparrow returned to the kitchens, Benedict came to and escaped from the fortress on the Peacock with Barbara. When his wife contacted Marcella via the hand mirror she left in her possession, Benedict learned that the Black Pearl and the Ranger would be journeying to France together. After Marcella spotted Benedict standing behind Barbara, she recognized him as the man Diego had warned her about and exclaimed to Barbara that he was "totally evil". When Benedict leaned over and told Marcella that he did whatever the Company required him to, a heartbroken Marcella realized that Barbara had been working with him the whole time. Benedict and Barbara then offered Marcella a deal: if she helped them with their efforts to capture Jack, she would be delivered from the piracy she hated so much and provided with such wealth she could live the life of luxury she always dreamed of. When Marcella inquired about Jean's safety, Benedict informed her that there would be no leniency for the other pirates, as he would see them all punished, especially Jack and the other Pirate Lords. Despite his wife's efforts to suade Marcella to take their deal, the girl ultimately responded to their offer by snapping the mirror shut and throwing it overboard.

Huntington's further fate is currently unknown.

Appearance and Traits
Benedict Huntingtin is described as a skeletal, fastidious man who often sported a monacle. His smooth blond hair was so pale it was almost white, and his blue eyes were so light they were nearly colorless. Benedict's complexion was so pale people who met him and his wife often wondered whether she had drained all of the color out of her husband upon marrying him. He was partial to wearing entirely white suits and a white woolen cloak, with white stockings and shoes and a wide-brimmed white hat to protect himself from the sun, which he loathed.

Huntington's wealth was so vast he was said to be the envy of every Englishman in Hong Kong. He often relied on his wife to assist him in his manipulation of fellow bureaucrats as a means of advancing career-wise. Where his wife was loud and vivacious, Benedict was typically quiet and calculating. This contrast in personality often served to work in the couple's favor, as many a diplomat would find themselves distracted by Barbara's striking charms, only to discover later that Benedict had taken advantage of the situation to weasel some vital secret out of them without their even noticing it. This cunning ferocity was said to have been what drew Benedict and his wife together despite their outward differences.

Benedict had an intense hatred of pirates, primarily due to the activities of the Asian Pirate Lords in his territory. He was known for having an extremely ruthless attitude in any dealings he had with pirates, such as when he captured one of Sao Feng's junks, and, without even waiting for a ransom to be offered, hanged every last crewman and even went as far as to shoot the parrot.

Equipment
Huntington was known for carrying around a whip-thin rapier as sinister looking as himself. He also had a pistol, which he used to shoot at Sao Feng during his surprise attack on Mistress Ching's opium den. Whilst aboard his vessel, the HMS Peacock, Benedict sported a riding crop he used to strike crewmen who didn't live up to his standards, such as when he used it to whip a sailor who didn't scurry out of his way fast enough across the face.

Benedict possessed one of two supernatural silver hand mirrors that allowed the users to see and/or communicate with each other through the enchanted glass, the other of which belonged to his wife. His mirror was activated by breathing on the surface.

"I serve the Company, whatever they need me to do."

- Benedict Huntington to Marcella Magliore