“Is it much
farther, Cap’n?” their guest asked, his excitement palpable as he
leaned over the edge of the ship for a better look.
“Shouldn't be long
now”, the captain responded, “another twenty leagues at most”.
He wrapped his hand around one of the sail ropes and leant out over
the railing himself, the cool breeze and the feeling of the ocean
mist against his skin refreshing his body and mind.
Corsair couldn't remember
exactly how they had come upon the stranger in their midst, but he
was far less concerned about their guest's origins than the contents
of he map he had carried. “40 leagues northeast of Smuggler’s
Cove lies a secret island where the Lost Treasure of Blackbeard is
buried”. To think he had been willing to part with half the
treasure in exchange for passage to the island! Corsair could
scarcely believe his luck, and he found that he too was beginning to
grow restless, it had been entirely too long since he had been out
for a morning treasure hunt. He adjusted his hat and coat and fixed
his eyes on the horizon, eager to see what lay ahead.
They did not have to wait
long to reach their destination. The sun shone brightly, the waters
were calm, and the winds were fair, and soon the outline of the
island came into view. It was a peculiar shape, extremely tall and
narrow, but its position matched the map exactly, and with the fair
weather there was little chance they had gone off course. “We’ve
found it!”, the stranger cried in agreement, and he leaned so far
over the edge Corsair half-expected him to fall off. He gripped the
railing tightly as the ship drew closer to the mysterious island.
From closer up, it was
clear that it was barely an island at all. There was no beach at
which to land the boat, merely a tall spire of rock jutting out of
the ocean. No wonder other sailors had avoided it, to sail too close
would only lead to a watery grave. Corsair gave the order to drop
anchor, and the crew descended into the longboats. As they rowed to
the base of the spire, the remnants of what might once have been a
path came into view. It was well worn by time and parts of it had
crumbled away, but they had come too far to turn back now. Rowing as
close as they dared, Corsair stepped out onto the spire and tied the
boat to a rock. He then began the perilous ascent to the top,
followed closely by the stranger and the rest of his crew.
The climb was even more
treacherous than he had expected, twice the path gave way underneath
his feet, and it was only his quick reflexes that saved him from a
long fall to the rocks below, but he did not feel afraid. With every
step he took and every cliff he climbed he became more and more
excited. There had to be something amazing here, he could feel it in
air. He glanced back to check that the stranger was still following
closely behind. “Watch your step”, Corsair cautioned him. It
would be a peerless waste to come all this way and wind up
empty-handed if he fell.
Finally Corsair pulled
himself up over one more wall, and there was nowhere further to
climb. The spire leveled off, and all that lay ahead was a vast
clearing. The stranger came over the cliff next and let out a shout
of triumph at what he saw, followed by a similar cheer erupted from
the rest of the crew. Atop the spire lay a soft patch of earth, and
it was clear where they would have to dig. As the final members of
the crew reached the peak with the shovels strapped to their backs,
everyone crowded around to see what they would unearth.
Yet the moment their
shovels struck the ground a terrible rumbling erupted from the north!
“Great”, Corsair
thought to himself, striking his forehead with his hand. “This one
was going so well, too.”
The noise grew so loud
that it took Corsair a moment to get his bearings, but when he did he
saw the most fearsome sight in as long a he could recall. An octopus
of immeasurable size rose out of the ocean beside the spire, quickly
growing to such a height that it could look down upon them with its
single eye. Corsair knew it could only be the legendary Kraken,
guarding Blackbeard’s treasure against all who would claim it, and
suddenly he realized why the man had trouble finding transport.
He had his sword and his
gun, but to a creature of that size Corsair was no more than an
insect. The creature’s eye alone must have been at least twice the
size of their ship. “Retreat!” he cried, at the top of his
lungs, “Back to the ship!”, but before Corsair or his panicked
crew could even reach the top of the pathway, the ground beneath
their feet began to shake. The Kraken had wrapped one of its massive
tentacles around the spire, and everywhere around them the rock
itself started to crumble away. Corsair whipped his head around, and
he saw that his ship still floated in the waters to the south. “We
have to jump!”, he yelled, “Jump off the rock and swim to the
ship!”
Though they knew it was
crazy, his crew needed no further encouragement. In droves they
abandoned their shovels and weapons and dove off the rock for the
waters below. All except the man who had brought the map, who was
still frantically digging for the treasure.
“What are you
doing?!” Corsair yelled at him as he stood on the edge preparing
to jump, scarcely heard above the rumble of breaking rocks. “We
have to go right now!”
“I’ll catch up
with you!”, cried the stranger, “I think I've struck something!”
“It’s not
worth-“ he began, but the ledge he was standing on gave way.
Corsair felt himself falling, and above him the spire itself started
to give way. He couldn’t twist himself around, but he could hear
the screaming of his crew and the crashing of the rocks, and
everything began to grow dark. He never even felt himself hit the
water.
---
The next thing he knew,
Corsair was at the helm of his ship again. It was pitch dark now,
and the winds were still. There was no sign of the island or the
Kraken, only dark waters as far as the eye could see. “Did
everyone make it?” he called to his crew, and he received murmurs
and assorted affirmations in response. All except the stranger, he
knew immediately, wondering if he ever laid hands on the treasure.
Corsair took a deep breath to clear his head and took the ship's
wheel in his paws. He turned it clockwise, and even though there was
no wind the ship slowly began to pick up speed. Corsair called to
his navigator, Cross, and descended the stairs to his cabin.
Inside, he wet his paws in
a nearby basin and washed his eyes. Slightly groggy, he studied his
reflection in the basin as the ripples in the water stopped. The fur
on his face was damp and untidy, his whiskers drooped and were
greying at the tips, and red lines coursed through the whites of his
yellow eyes, but still they shined with an unyielding intensity.
“One of these days I'll get that treasure”, he thought, as he
dried his paws and sat upon his chair. Reaching for a quill, he
opened his journal and began to write all he could remember about the
island and the man with the map.
Some time later, Corsair
emerged from his cabin. It was still dark, and the ship was very
quiet, most of his crew having gone below deck, with those who
remained either having hushed conversations or staring out over the
ocean. He relieved Cross from the helm, and adjusted their course
slightly. The ship slowly adjusted to the new direction, but still
the waters were empty all around them. Corsair stared intently
towards the horizon as the Adventure sailed through the night.
Corsair was not the one to
spot the ship. It approached from the starboard bow, and so silently
that his crew did not notice until the ship was nearly upon them. “I
thought you were trying to outrun me”, said the other ship’s
captain, as she walked aboard the deck. Captain Lay swished her hips
and her tail as she walked, and she always puffed the fur on her
cheek when she stood still. She could scarcely have been more
different from Corsair, her white fur was immaculate, her whiskers
straight and dainty, and her green eyes were spotless and vibrant.
And Corsair was utterly sick of the sight of her.
“Goodness,” she
said, peering at him, “what have you done to yourself?”
“I’ve been
busy.” Corsair responded irritably. She had not been the person he
was hoping to see.
“I’ve been busy
too, but I always find time to look my best”. She puffed her cheek
again.
“Was there
something you wanted?” he asked of her, hoping to end this meeting
as quickly as possible.
“I just wanted to
check in on you, and my, it looks like you need it”.
Corsair was losing his
patience. “I’m fine, and it’s no concern of yours. If that's
all, I do have things to be doing...”
“Oh, you’re just
upset because your friend has gone missing,” she said, idly
brushing her fur with a paw. She leaned in close and whispered: “You
don’t suppose she's gotten lost, do you?”
“No.” Corsair
said, firmly. “Not her. She's probably just waiting out there,
somewhere.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Well then, why don't you just go and get her, Mister Hero? I'm
sure you don't need MY help.” Without giving him time to respond,
Lay turned on her heels and walked back to her own ship, tail
swishing as she went. As quietly as she had come, her ship sailed
back off into the night.
Without a word to anyone,
Corsair took the helm and swung the ship around, towards the
direction where they had last met. He sighed.
“Sister… where
are you?”
In the distance, the sun
was just starting to rise. Corsair’s thoughts returned again to
the man he had met earlier that day, and it dawned on him that the
location of the treasure on that map was the same place he was headed
now.
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