Ethan was not in a hurry to find Jack's whereabouts, even though he could easily locate him using the amulet Jack had left behind.
Since he had landed near Port Royal, he decided to visit Elizabeth first, curious about how the noble lady who had longed for the sea was doing now.
In the original story, when Jack Sparrow was finally captured and about to be executed, the young blacksmith Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann had teamed up to rescue Jack, letting him escape and preventing the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow from dying prematurely on the gallows in Port Royal.
However, this also gave Lord Beckett a reasonable excuse to act. He used it to gain authorization from the King, stripping Governor Weatherby Swann of his position and replacing him, becoming the most powerful figure in Port Royal.
At the same time, he also arrested Will Turner and his fiancée Elizabeth, threatening Will with Elizabeth's life to force him to capture Jack Sparrow.
If he failed to bring Jack back, both Elizabeth and Will would be hanged for colluding with pirates.
Of course, his real goal wasn't to eliminate pirates. He had even prepared a letter of marque ahead of time so that Jack Sparrow could become a legally recognized privateer captain if he wished.
That was quite a good bargaining chip. Lord Beckett's true target was the compass in Jack's hand.
Recalling the original plot, Ethan had already stepped into the city of Port Royal.
It was much the same as when he last visited. The port city was still dirty, chaotic, and reeked terribly. Ethan hadn't experienced such an environment in a while. Even in the seemingly less developed world of Azeroth, public sanitation hadn't been this bad.
He waved his hand, wanting to dispel the stench, but this action did little beyond providing some psychological comfort.
After walking through the city for a while, leaving the commoner district and entering the area where the upper class lived, the environment improved slightly.
But only slightly. It was roughly equivalent to going from inside a public restroom to being just outside one.
Perhaps the marginally "fresher" air helped Ethan regain his composure, reminding him that he was no longer the novice who couldn't cast complex magic. Spells like filtering harmful gases while allowing him to breathe normally were no longer difficult for him.
Waving his hand, he cast such a spell on himself, and instantly felt revived, his mind clearing.
"Logically, I've already completely disrupted the plot of the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, so the events that follow should have changed."
However, considering that Lord Beckett had been stirring up trouble and his goal was the compass in Jack Sparrow's hand, Ethan figured that even if Will and Elizabeth hadn't rescued Jack, Beckett would have still found an excuse to bring down Governor Swann.
He was right. When Ethan arrived at Governor Swann's mansion, he found the Governor, who had once been quite cordial with him, sitting there sighing in frustration.
He didn't just see Governor Swann. The young blacksmith Will Turner was also there.
"You are… Ethan?"
Ethan's appearance had changed quite a bit since his last visit, though his features were still recognizable. The main difference was his physique. Fortunately, he had only grown taller, which was still within the bounds of normal.
Governor Swann didn't seem too surprised. More importantly, he wasn't in the mood to wonder why Ethan had grown taller or become more handsome.
"It's been a long time, Governor."
After a brief greeting, Ethan got straight to the point and asked about Elizabeth.
At his question, the two men sighed again. Fortunately, Governor Swann didn't keep him guessing and explained the situation, allowing Ethan to understand why the two of them looked so distressed.
"Elizabeth was arrested?"
Just like in the original story, Lord Beckett had arrived in Port Royal, armed with royal authority to revoke Governor Swann's position and seize control of Port Royal.
At the same time, he arrested Elizabeth for colluding with the pirate Jack Sparrow. As for Will Turner, he wasn't arrested since he had never met Jack in this altered timeline.
Ethan glanced at the handsome young blacksmith. In this version of the Caribbean world, whose storyline had been drastically altered after Ethan's interference, Elizabeth still hadn't ended up with Commodore Norrington upon returning to Port Royal. Instead, her feelings for Will Turner had blossomed—their emotions had always been mutual, just unspoken.
Now, although they still hadn't confessed outright, their relationship had clearly grown more intimate. Had things gone normally, they would have become a couple soon.
But it was at that moment that Lord Cutler Beckett appeared.
As a proper villain, Beckett drew all the negative attention to himself. His schemes also pushed the young couple's emotions to the surface, forcing them to face their feelings.
In a way, Will and Elizabeth were now a real couple, but Elizabeth was sitting in prison, potentially awaiting the gallows.
And this was the moment Ethan returned to Port Royal.
Governor Swann hoped Ethan could help, as Ethan was also involved in this matter.
"My involvement?"
Back then, Governor Swann had truly believed that Ethan was a noble from the homeland. He wasn't sure whether Ethan was from the military or some other agency, but it was precisely because of this assumption that he had supported him, even helping Commodore Norrington send warships to aid Ethan in capturing the Black Pearl.
This time, when Lord Beckett arrived and laid out the charges against Governor Swann, one of them was "collusion with an unidentified individual closely associated with pirates."
That "unidentified individual," of course, referred to Ethan.
Because of Ethan, Governor Swann had deployed Port Royal's naval forces. Although the operation had succeeded in capturing a group of pirates, many details raised questions.
You say he's a noble? Where's the proof? Who can confirm it?
Bringing someone of unknown background aboard a warship, allowing him to lead an entire naval operation—no matter how you looked at it, it was a serious breach of protocol.
It even raised suspicions that Ethan might be a spy from an enemy country. And as the Governor of a British colony, if you couldn't identify a spy under your own command, then you had seriously failed in your duties.
Because of this, Governor Swann's situation was even worse than in the original plot. Not only was he stripped of his position, he was also placed under house arrest and was awaiting trial back home. If he couldn't clear his name...
"You mean you're under house arrest?"
"Yes."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. He hadn't paid close attention when he arrived. There were many soldiers stationed around the mansion, but Port Royal was a military port, so he hadn't thought much of it. He assumed they were stationed there for protection. Now it seemed they were probably there to keep an eye on Weatherby Swann.
That wasn't surprising, but what was interesting was that no one had stopped him when he came to visit the Governor.
Could it be that Lord Cutler Beckett had anticipated his return?
"No, I don't think so."
Ethan quickly came to a conclusion. Beckett's target was the compass in Jack Sparrow's hand. His arrest of Elizabeth wasn't out of a genuine desire to punish her for aiding a pirate; she was just a bargaining chip.
Will Turner was the real pawn. Beckett wanted to be the chess master, and everything he did was to force Will to act on his behalf.
He couldn't apply too much pressure. Governor Swann already had a list of charges against him, but killing him would push Will into rebellion, which wouldn't benefit Beckett's plan.
The current situation was ideal—just enough pressure, but still leaving a sliver of hope. That way, Beckett could manipulate the players on the board however he wished.
The soldiers guarding Governor Swann wouldn't act too aggressively. At most, they'd report any visitors to Beckett.
"I wonder what kind of reaction Beckett will have after hearing that I, this 'unidentified person,' have reappeared?"
Originally, Ethan had intended to go find Beckett to discuss Elizabeth's arrest.
Now it seemed he wouldn't need to go looking. Beckett would come to him.
"He won't care about my identity. He just wants to assert his authority in front of Weatherby Swann, to apply more pressure and force Will Turner to agree to go out to sea and capture Jack."
Thinking this, Ethan offered some words of comfort to the anxious and distraught Governor Swann, then turned to Will Turner, who had barely spoken, and asked, "Do you have any plans?"
At this point, Beckett had not yet presented his terms. The young and inexperienced Will was at a complete loss, unsure how to save the woman he loved.
He even felt a bit resentful toward Ethan, as it was Ethan who had indirectly involved Elizabeth and caused her strongest supporter, Governor Swann, to lose his position. When Beckett arrested Elizabeth, no one remained who could stop him, and Will truly didn't know what to do.
Looking at the bewildered young blacksmith, Ethan knew he was still too green. If things were left to him, by the time Will figured out a plan, Elizabeth would probably be reduced to a dried corpse—and Imhotep would have a new companion...
(To be continued.)