The Moon Idol of Crescent IslandA Story by Ian TitianTwo men with a thirst for adventure take up piracy but end up in all sorts of misadventures, encountering navy soldiers, undead pirates, and mermaids as they chase after a mystical treasure.
The Moon Idol of Crescent Island Prologue “You summoned
me, your majesty, the king?” Asked Admiral Blake Wood as he took a bow in front
of King George the 1st of Great Britain himself. He was a man
of average built, rather young and clean shaven, polite, and well spoken, yet
determined, wearing the full attire of the royal navy admiral complete with the
hat (which he took off the moment he bowed in front of the king) and the white
powdered wig. The king,
George I of Great Britain, was sitting merely a few feet in front of him, on
the throne which stood on a higher platform, separated from the landing on
which the admiral stood in a bowing position, by a few steps of stairs, at the
end of the red carpet leading all the way from the very entrance of the throne
room.
At the time,
the room was guarded by two royal guards, who escorted Admiral Blake into the
room, and two of the king’s own personal bodyguards, both dressed in grey
formal suits and powdered wigs. “Indeed I
did.” Replied the king as he whistled and immediately, one of his royal
servants who had stood beside him the whole time descended the few steps of
stairs from the platform on which the king’s throne stood and onto the landing
on which the admiral was bowing. With his left
hand tucked behind his back, the royal servant waved his right hand upwards and
immediately the good admiral stood up, putting his hat back on as he did. The royal
servant then proceeded to hand him an old looking piece of parchment in the
form of a scroll. Quite
puzzled, Admiral Blake took it and examined it for a few seconds. “That, my
boy, is a map that we have just recently acquired at sea. A map that appears to
show the location of a mysterious island called ‘Crescent Island’.” Explained
King George before Admiral Blake had to chance to ask. Opening the
scroll, Admiral Blake recognized that it was a map of the caribbean, with a
large red X marking a spot southwest of the Bermuda island. Below it was written
in very neat cursive, ‘Crescent Island’. “Crescent
Island, your majesty?” Asked Admiral Blake as he shifted his attention from the
map and back to the king. “Yes. Scholars
have informed me that according to legend, Crescent Island is a mysterious
island that supposedly holds a magnificent treasure called the golden moon
idol, said to hold mystical and magical powers beyond even the wildest
imaginations of man. It is said to be able to grant wealth, fame, fortune, and
success.” Said the King excitedly. “I see ...”
Replied Admiral Blake as he shifted his attention once again towards the map in
his hands. “I want you
to lead an expedition to that very spot on the map, and if you do find the
golden moon idol, I want you to bring it back to me. Is that clear, Admiral?”
Asked the king. “Yes indeed,
your majesty. I’ll make preparations for the journey right away.” Answered Admiral
Blake as a large smile spread across his face.
Chapter 1 The adventure begins
“Where are
you Ahmed?” Sighed Daniel Lock as he stood outside his small wooden shack,
which was located not very far from the port of Port Royal. The cold
night air made him shudder and he quickly wrapped his arms around his body. It
was so cold that night that he could actually see his breath form into mist
right under his nose. He wiped his
brown hair back as he looked up at the sky. It was nighttime, but he could
barely see any stars or the moon as the dull, grey clouds rolled over them,
covering most of them. Daniel Lock
used to be a travelling merchant, but his desire and thirst for freedom and
adventurous exploration drove him to finally quit his job after months of
contemplation, and his best friend as well as partner, Ahmed, followed suit.
Daniel was
young man, 26 years old as of 1720, about 6’2’’ in height and sported a rough
goatee and a thin moustache along with an unkempt brown hair. His usual
everyday attire consisted of a brown vest along with a white long sleeved baggy
shirt, unbuttoned all the way down to the stomach, as well as standard old
boots and brown pants. Danny looked
on with boredom at the palm trees not so distant from where he was standing
sway around peacefully in the cold night air. His eyes then darted over to the
stretching seas visible from his home, stretching on to the horizon, before a
voice suddenly called behind him, “Hey Dan!” Startled,
Danny quickly turned around and spotted Ahmed running towards him from the
distance, carrying a lantern in his right hand, as well as two sheathed
cutlasses in his left.
“Ahmed! Why
did you have to shout so loudly!? Can’t you notice from the darkness that we’re in the middle of the
night!?” Asked Danny in annoyance as his bumbling partner finally stopped in
front of him. “Sorry ...
sorry. I’m just so excited, that’s all.” Said Ahmed as he gasped for air in
front of Danny. “Woo! We’re
going to become pirates! Yeah!” He suddenly shouted with all his might,
prompting Danny to slap him hard in the head. “Agh! Ooh
noock!” Exclaimed Ahmed as he dropped the two cutlasses that he was holding
down to the ground. “What’d ya do
that for?” He protested. Danny shook
his head and raised both of his eyebrows before grabbing Ahmed by his forearms
and turning him around.
“You see
that?” Asked Danny as he pointed towards a large fort in the distance, looming
over everything in the darkness, visible even from the spot they were standing
on. “Fort
Charles?” Asked Ahmed cluelessly. “Guarded
tightly at all times by the royal navy.” Added Danny, still gripping Ahmed’s
shoulders hard. “So? I don’t
see your point in holding me in this position.” Protested Ahmed. “You just
shouted ‘we’re pirates!’ as loud as you could when we’re actually not that far
the most well guarded fort in all of Port Royal! There could be guards
patrolling around here.” Yelled Danny in frustration, though unfortunately for
both of them, royal navy guards were patrolling the area, and Danny’s shouts
just happened to actually be louder than
Ahmed’s moments earlier. “Who’s
there?” Asked a sudden, unfriendly voice. Surprised,
Danny turned Ahmed around again to face him and whispered loudly, “Run!” before
turning around and dashing off himself. “Wait for me,
Dan!” Yelled Ahmed as he grabbed the fallen cutlasses and immediately ran after
his partner. The two had
not even made the corner at the end of the long road heading towards the dock
not far from where they were standing when Ahmed accidentally knocked over a
crate of oranges. “Oh noock!”
He yelled as rolled over in the ground along with the oranges, once again
dropping the pair of cutlasses in process, this time along with the lantern. “Goddammit!”
Muttered Danny as he turned around and helped his partner back to his feet. Just then
however, the royal navy guard who had called out after them earlier caught up
with the two, followed by his partner. “Who the hell
are you two? Can’t you tell by the darkness
that this is the middle of the night?” Asked the royal guard harshly. “Oh, we’re
just ... idiots, sir, captain-sir.” Chuckled Ahmed as he dusted off his pants. “Y-yeah,
we’re j-just dr-drunk ... that’s all.” Added Danny as he forced a large smile
on his face. The two then looked at each other, while the pair of navy guards
still stood in front of them, examining them. “Well, you’re
causing a lot of ruckus, idiots! Keep it down. If wanna get wild this time of
the night, head on over to the tavern. You’re disturbing the peace around
here.” Said the royal guard after he finally decided the two were nothing more than just idiots. Him
and his partner then turned around and left. “Phew ... that
was stupid.” Muttered Danny as he bent down to grab the cutlasses along with an
orange. “Here, I got
you a flintlock too.” Said Ahmed as he handed him a flintlock he took from his
belt, while at the same time receiving his cutlass that Danny handed over to
him. “Well, the
lantern’s ruined. Thank god it didn’t start a fire though.” Commented Danny as
he held up his flintlock pistol while looking over at the smashed lantern on
the ground. “Yeah ... oh
well, let’s go to the port. Captain Dunhill must be waiting for us.” Said Ahmed
as he took a step forward and grabbed Danny on the shoulder. “Right ...
well, just don’t you dare slip on these oranges. Watch your step.” Warned Danny
before he began walking as well, with Ahmed following right behind him.
“You know,
you haven’t exactly told me what the
plan is. You just said you were gonna give us a lift to Tortuga and then we’ll
join a pirate crew there.” Asked Danny while peeling his orange as the two men
walked the paved, curving steps leading towards the port. “Yeah, and
well, I did, buddy. I got in a contact with a travelling merchant and hooked us
up a lift to Tortuga this afternoon. He’s heading towards the Bahamas and said
he wouldn’t mind giving us a lift. His name is Captain Dunhill.” Answered
Ahmed. Within
minutes, the two could already smell the distinctive, fishy, yet refreshing
smell of the sea so familiar to them. They had arrived at the port, and many
ships were docked there. One of them
had an active crew hauling crates onboard. “That must be our ship. I recognize
that man, he’s Captain Dunhill.” Said Ahmed as he pointed towards the a man
looking over the whole process. “Let’s go
then.” Said Danny simply as the two quickly ran over towards the large ship. Large though
the ship looked from afar, it looked even larger up close, and as they got
closer, Ahmed ran ahead to greet Captain Dunhill when Danny, captivated by the
size and sheer magnificence of the galleon, suddenly slipped. “Gah!” He
muttered as his body got propelled forward, and as he tried to recapture his
balance, he accidentally pushed Ahmed, who in turn lost control of his own
balance and slammed into one of the piles of crates that Captain Dunhill’s crew
had not yet hauled onboard. Since the
particular pile of crates that Ahmed had slammed into was placed so close to
the edge of the dock, one of the crates, along with Ahmed himself, toppled over
to the water. “Holy ...
what was that!?” Asked a surprised Captain Dunhill as he heard the sudden loud
SPLASH. “That’s one
of our goods!” He yelled as he pushed Danny aside and looked over the dock. “Jim!” He
then called out. “Yes
captain?” Asked his crewmember named Jim, who ran to his captain’s side
immediately. He was a tall, shirtless broad chested man wearing white capri
pants and two gold earings on each ear. “Go fetch
it!” Answered Captain Dunhill in panic. “The man or
the crate, captain?” Asked Jim with a puzzled look as Ahmed rose back to the
surface. “What do you think, you idiot!? Yelled a frustrated
Captain Dunhill. With merely a
nod and nay another word, Jim jumped into the water ... and quickly swam over
to Ahmed, reaching for his shoulders. “Ah no, I’m
fine! I’m fine!” Yelled Ahmed in panic as Jim grabbed him. “What!? No
you idiot, the crate! I told you to grab the crate!” Shouted Captain Dunhill frantically
from above them. “Oh ... si,
because my papa and mama always told me that life is more precious than any
...” Jim began to talk as he let go of Ahmed and turned around to face his
captain while still doggy-paddling in the water. “JUST GRAB
THE GODDAMN CRATE THAT FELL OVER!” Yelled Captain Dunhill, really beginning to
lose his patience. “Wow, you’ve
got a pretty incompetent crew, huh?” Chuckled Danny as he walked over and stood
next to the captain. Captain
Dunhill merely looked at him with an open mouth and wide, angry eyes, prompting
Danny to stop laughing instantly. The whole of
Captain Dunhill’s crew was watching when Jim finally resurfaced with the crate.
At the same time, Ahmed was struggling to get back up onto the dock. “Phew! Dan,
you b*****d!” He muttered as he finally managed to stand again, his whole body
drenched and shivering under the cold weather. “Good.” Said
Captain Dunhill as Jim finally managed to return the crate back onto the dock
and easily climbed up himself. “Yo ...” Said
Danny as he slapped his partner’s wet shoulder when he walked over to him.
Danny didn’t mind him though, he walked right past and greeted Captain Dunhill
instead.
“Um Captain
Dunhill, terribly sorry for all the ruckus, but uh ... you’d still give us a
lift right? It’s me by the way, Ahmed. From this morning.” Said Ahmed to the
captain. “Yes, I
recognize you. You have quite the funny face there. Lucky for you two, I’m used
to bumbling idiots in my crew. Just help out the rest of my men hauling these
crates onboard if you don’t mind, then we’ll set off.” Replied Captain Dunhill. “Okay. Thank
you very much Captain Dunhill.” Thanked Ahmed as he shoved Danny to the side. “Let’s go.”
He said as he grabbed one end of a large crate with Danny on the end. Together,
they hauled the large crate up into Captain Dunhill’s ship along with the other
crewmates, who had also resumed their work. Not long
after all the crates had been hauled onboard, Captain Dunhill himself climbed
onto the ship. “We set sail!
Full canvas towards the Bahamas!” Yelled Captain Dunhill. As the crew
began to work and the ship began to move, Ahmed and Danny walked up to Captain
Dunhill from the back. “Don’t forget
Tortuga.” Said Danny as he grabbed the captain’s left shoulder with his right
hand. “I know. Oh,
and just so you know, we’re not making port at Tortuga.” Answered Captain
Dunhill. “What?” Asked
both Danny and Ahmed in unison. “These are
rough times, they are! I’m not even comfortable just being off the coast of Tortuga, let alone docking there! I’ve had enough
bad experiences with pirates!” Answered Captain Dunhill strictly as he turned
around to face them both. “By the way,
why are you sea urchins looking forward to go there anyway? Don’t you know it’s
even dubbed the pirate port? I say, a
couple of clowns like you two won’t last long with the lot of ‘em. Mark my
words.” He added. Danny and
Ahmed looked at each other before Ahmed finally said,“Oh, we’re just ...
sightseeing.” “Yeah, and
don’t worry about us. We might look incompetent, but our skills with the
cutlass is unmatched.” Added Danny as he patted his still-sheathed cutlass. “Suit
yourselves ... Just don’t expect me to make port there, that’s all.” Replied
Captain Dunhill as he raised his shoulders and turned around. “W-wait!”
Called out Danny before the captain could get into his cabin. “What now?”
Asked Captain Dunhill as he turned around to face him and Ahmed once again. “How are
going to make it to Tortuga then, if you’re not going to make port?” Asked
Danny. “I hope you
two are good swimmers.” Answered Captain Dunhill simply as he put his arms on
his hips. Danny didn’t
reply. He raised his eyebrows and his eyes grew wide as he slowly turned to
look at his partner, whose clothes hadn’t even fully dried yet. “Shut up,
that was your fault!” Said Ahmed irritably before Danny could even say a word. Shaking his
head, Captain Dunhill finally replied, “Fine, I’ll lend you guys one of our longboats...” “Great! We’ll
return it next time we meet, okay?” Replied Danny excitedly as he held a thumbs
up. Captain
Dunhill just shook his head one more time before turning around and heading
towards the captain’s cabin. Suddenly, a
scrawny looking fellow came over to the them carrying two mops and a bucket. He
handed it over without saying a word. “What, we
gotta work here too?” Asked Danny as he grabbed the mop that was shoved his
way. “But we’re
guests!” Added Ahmed in protest. “But you’re
not paying us, and we’ll accept your labor as payment. Your welcome.” Replied
the scrawny cabin boy curtly before walking away from the pair.
Danny looked
around and saw that most of the crew had already gone down below the decks, and
the scrawny cabin boy was about to do so as well when Danny called out for him. “Hey, where
are you guys going? Aren’t you going to work as well?” He asked. “Na-ah. We
take shifts here, and most of ours are in the morning, and you won’t be here by
morning, will ya? Get to work!” Answered the cabin boy before disappearing
below deck. “Pfft! Who
does he think he is? Ordering us around like that? He’s not the captain.”
Commented Danny. “I know
right, he was just the cabin boy! I ain’t mopping!” Said Ahmed before slamming
his mop onto the deck. Suddenly, a
voice called out from above them, “You’re right, he actually doesn’t have the
authority to order you guys around...” Startled,
both Danny and Ahmed looked up, and saw that the voice actually came from Jim,
who turned out to be the quartermaster on the ship, and he was at the helm. “There you
go. You’re a good friend, Jim.” Said Ahmed with a broad smile as he flashed him
a thumbs up. “He doesn’t,
but I DO! GET TO WORK!” Added Jim suddenly with a raised voice that both
terrified and startled Danny and Ahmed. “Aye sir!”
Exclaimed Ahmed as he closed his eyes and gave a salute, before bending down to
pick up his mop, while Danny had already begun splashing his own mop into the
bucket of the water. The two spent
the next few hours mopping away as the ship moved closer and closer to Tortuga,
their ultimate destination.
“This is
really not exciting.” Muttered Danny as he laid back on rail of the ship, after
he had finally finished mopping the whole deck along with Ahmed. Looking up, he
saw that the sky was still dark and the weather was still really cold. “Oh you just
wait. Besides...” Before Ahmed could finish, a cry from above them startled
them once again. “Tortuga!”
Chapter 2 The first raid
The skies
were still dark when Danny and Ahmed arrived in Tortuga by the life boat were
lent, however the town itself was anything but quiet. It was bursting with
cries, cheers and even gunfire. It was very different from Port Royal. The
taverns were bright and lots of drunkards came and went. Some windows were
smashed and some barrels were thrown around. It was a complete riot, yet
absolutely no one was in panic. “Well, here’s
Tortuga.” Said Ahmed as he put his arms on his hips while observing the wild,
loud, and lively scenery before him. “Indeed it
is. Doesn’t look really ...” Danny was interrupted when three men from the
nearest tavern, only a few meters from where they were standing, suddenly
walked out carrying another man together, before flinging him into road and
cheering as the man hit it hard. “...safe around here...” He continued as he
watched the man struggle to get up. “Ooh wait,
before we go in, I’ve got something for us.” Said Ahmed as he pulled out
something black from his pocket. “Eyepatches?”
Commented Danny curiously as Ahmed handed it over to him. “Ha ... how
do I look?” Asked Ahmed cheerfully as he posed after putting on the eyepatch. “...That’s
brilliant.” Answered Danny simply as he eyed his friend, before putting on his
own eyepatch. “I think
we’ll need to act more like pirates so we could blend in and join a crew
easily.” Whispered Ahmed as they began walking towards the tavern. “Bah, how
hard could that be?” Said Danny confidently. A large sign with the words
‘Eleanoire’s Tavern’ was hanging above the door, which Danny and Ahmed both
kicked open when they entered. “Walk the
plank!” Shouted Danny loudly as the duo burst in. He also grabbed his flintlock
pistol from his belt and pointed it straight to the ceiling before pulling the
trigger. A loud click,
but nothing else happened. Everyone in the tavern fell silent immediately and
looked in his direction. “Shoot. I
forgot, this thing’s wet...” Muttered Danny as he patted his pistol on his left
palm repeatedly. “Check yours, Ahmed!” He whispered harshly, though it would
seem that the whole tavern heard him. Ahmed pulled
out his own flintlock and pointed it straight into the ceiling as well, before
pulling the trigger. “Wet.” He
commented flatly as the flintlock unsurprisingly failed to fire as well. The silence
in the tavern lasted a few more seconds until ... everyone burst out laughing. “Hahahah ...
look at those clowns!” Screamed one man as he dropped on the floor laughing,
clutching his stomach. “Hahahah ...
they must be tonight’s entertainment!” Screamed another man. “Somebody
give ‘em a drink!” Yet another voice screamed, followed by someone actually
hurling a bottle of rum in their direction. It missed Ahmed’s head by a few
inches and smashed into a wooden post next to him. Ahmed squinted as some drops
of the liquor splashed on his face. More cheers and shouts followed. “Well, we
certainly gained attention...” Whispered Danny. Ahmed wasn’t
listening, he was scanning the tavern for something before saying, “Look, over
there!” while pointing at a table in the corner. Two men were sitting facing
each other, and two other men stood in a neat line behind them, as if waiting
to be interviewed. “That guy
must be signing up members for a crew.” Said Ahmed. “How do you
know that for sure?” Asked Danny. “It sort of
... looks like it. Let’s ask.” Answered Ahmed before scurrying over to the
table. Danny followed closely behind. “Are you
signing up men for a crew mate?” Asked Ahmed to the man at the table who was
facing him. The man had a feather pen and paper along with a bottle of ink next
to it on the table in front of him. The man actually had a bright face with a
brown beard and equally brown hair combed neatly to the back. He was wearing a
brown coat and a white cotton shirt underneath stained in what looked like rum,
while the man he was talking to had a sleepy drunken look on his face and messy
black hair. “Stand in the
line.” Answered the man curtly and simply as he continued to talk to the man
facing him. Danny and
Ahmed did as the man said and stood in line with Danny in the back and Ahmed
standing in front of him. “Psst. Who or
what are we signing up for?” Asked Ahmed to the man standing in front of him. “Captain
Brownhack. Haven’t you heard of him? One of the most notorious pirates around
these waters. They say he never comes back from a voyage empty handed.” Replied
the man. He, much like the man who was currently being interviewed, had a
drunken and messy look on his face. His eyes were sunken, and some of his hair
drooped over his forehead. “Well, I’m
in.” Said Danny excitedly, having heard the man. “Yeah, me
too!” Replied Ahmed excitedly. As soon as
all the guys who were standing in front him had been interviewed, Ahmed immediately
jumped into the seat at the table. “Wait, aren’t
you guys the clowns from earlier?” Asked the interviewer. Neither Ahmed nor
Danny responded, they just looked at the man flat-faced. “I’m Mr.
Smith by the way. Nice to meet you both, what’s yours?” Continued the
interviewer, Mr. Smith, as he shook Ahmed’s hand. “I’m Ahmed.”
Answered Ahmed simply. “Well, state
your current occupation and position if you have one.” Said Mr. Smith as he
wrote down Ahmed’s name. “I’m
currently unemployed, and I’ve got nowhere to go, nothing better to do.” Stated
Ahmed as he raised both of shoulders. “Aha,
perfect! One final question though, what’s with the eyepatch?” Asked Mr. Smith. “What about
it?” Asked Ahmed back as he raised both an eyebrow and his shoulders. “Welcome
onboard. You’re now a part of Captain Brownhack’s crew.” Said Mr. Smith with a
large smile on his face as he once again shook Ahmed’s hand. A little
confused, Ahmed stood up and patted Danny on the shoulder as the latter sat
down. Before Mr.
Smith could even say anything, Danny raised both of his legs and casually
rested them down on the table. “My name’s Daniel, and I’m in for any and all
sorts of adventures and journeys. I just got bored of my old life and decided
to give piracy a shot.” He exclaimed. Mr. Smith
blinked a couple times with an open mouth before nodding and saying, “Hah, I
like your spirit. Welcome onboard, Mr. Daniel.” “Thank you
Mr. Smith.” Danny nodded and smiled back as he shook Mr. Smith’s hand. Standing
up, he noticed that more people had come and formed a new line behind him. “Well, that
was quick.” Commented Ahmed as Danny walked over to him. They both then walked
towards the counter of the tavern and sat down. “Doesn’t
really matter actually, the important thing is that now we’re both a part of a
pirate crew. Let’s have a toast to celebrate.” Replied Danny as the bartender
gave both of them a mug of rum. “You’re
right. To a life of piracy!” Said Ahmed as he raised his mug. “To a life of
freedom and adventure!” Replied Danny as he raised his mug and toasted with
Ahmed, before gulping the rum down. After about
an hour of drinking, Danny and Ahmed joined Mr. Smith and the rest of their new
crew hauling crates in the dock. “So, uh ...
where’s the captain?” Asked Danny to one of his new crewmembers, an old sailor
with graying hair and beard. Before the
old sailor had a chance to answer, a heavy voice suddenly boomed from the deck
of the large ship they were about to haul some crates into. A large
brown-bearded man of enormous height and terrifying presence stood wearing an
all black pirate attire.“So ... you rusty old landlubbers and inexperienced sea
urchins are the ones who will join me in me next voyage? Well I gotta warn the
lot of ye, you join me crew, you prepare for death! It ain’t gonna be easy ...
we’ll face hard waters and cannon fire and storms and other unimaginably deadly
obstacles both from nature and from our enemies, hurled at us. There’s
absolutely no guarantee you’ll make it to the next port alive! On my ship ye’ll
all do what I say, and whether or not ye survive, that’s all up to yourselves,
and whether or not ye’ve got enough guts, wits, courage, and strength needed
to. Now, for those of seadogs who are tough and ready to face the risks, say
AYE!” He beckoned. “AYE!”
Shouted everyone excitedly in unison, except for Danny who just stood quiet
with sparkly eyes, admiring the presence of the large pirate captain before
him. “You lad, with
the eyepatch, you got a problem?” Asked Captain Brownhack suddenly as he
sharply shifted his attention to Danny. “No sir, not
at all.” Answered a startled Danny immediately as he still kept his eyes on the
pirate captain. “Aye! There’s
a good lad. Speed up your work, we’ll be settin’ off soon.” Replied Captain
Brownhack before turning around and heading back towards his cabin. As soon as
the captain left, everyone resumed hauling the remaining crates into the deck
of the large frigate. “I figure
that was probably the captain.” Snapped the old sailor suddenly before hauling
his crate onboard along with his partner. After all the
crates had finally been hauled onboard, Captain Brownhack shouted, “Right then
ye seadogs, set sail! We head north towards Nassau, and we’ll rob any ship that
are unlucky enough to get in our way!” “Aye!”
Shouted everyone heartily as they began to work, opening the sails and manning
the capstan while some climbed the rigging on the sides of the ship. Danny was
handed a rope by a fellow crewmember and heaved along with the others, with
Ahmed behind him, setting full sail. The sun was already rising when the ship
began moving. Looking up,
Danny saw the captain standing on the deck above the captain’s cabin, in front
of the helm. To his left was Mr. Smith, while to his right was a beautiful
young lady with long brown hair. Danny’s eyes grew wide just looking at her. He wanted to
ask around and find out who she was, but he decided to hold it off. The next few
hours passed rather uneventfully for Danny and the crew. After they had
finished with the sails and the ship was already moving steadily, they were
handed mops and buckets of water. “Not this
again ...” Muttered Danny while looking over to Ahmed as the cabin boy of the
ship handed him a mop. Ahmed just
shrugged and they both began mopping. It wasn’t until the sun was already high
above them that something interesting finally happened. “Merchant
ship off the starboard bow!” Yelled someone suddenly from the crow’s nest. Immediately,
all the crewmembers, including Danny and Ahmed scurried over to the right side
of the ship and held on to the railing, leaning over to see the approaching
ship the man on the crow’s nest had just announced. It was only barely visible
from where they stood. Meanwhile,
Captain Brownhack took out a telescope and spied in the same direction. “What is it?
A merchant ship?” Asked Mr. Smith. “Aye ...”
Replied Captain Brownhack before descending down onto the main deck of the ship
and shouting, “Battle stations, that be our first target for the day! Man the
cannons, prepare yer’ weapons and hoist the colors!” “Aye!”
Everyone screamed in unison before scrambling all over the deck. “Get below
decks! Man the cannons!” Shouted a crewmember amidst the hustle. “Our first
raid, Ahmed.” Whispered Danny as both he and Ahmed joined some of the other
crewmembers go below the decks. “Ha, and they
say ...” Before Ahmed could finish, another crewmember handed him a cannon stick
and shoved both him and Danny towards the nearest cannon. Next to it
were some cannonballs, and seeing as everyone else were already busy managing
their own cannons, Ahmed just shoved one of the cannonballs inside without
another word. “Oh now
they’re putting on eyepatches ...” Muttered Danny to himself as he witnessed
some of the crewmembers were starting to put on eyepatches. Above them,
Mr. Smith was still at the helm and Captain Brownhack and the girl Danny saw
earlier were standing next to him. “They’re
trying to run away ...” Commented the girl as she observed the merchant ship
they were targetting trying to turn around. “They’re not
going to make it, Vanessa ... the wind’s on our side.” Replied Captain
Brownhack as a large smile spread on his face. “Besides, no ship’s faster than
my baby here, the Black Hurricane.” Vanessa
smiled back in return. “Tell the men
below decks we’re coming in close and steady. Make sure every cannon is already
manned.” Ordered Captain Brownhack. “Oh, and tell them to be cautious too
though, the enemy ship’s equipped.” “Aye,
captain.” Replied Vanessa before heading below decks. “Everyone,
we’ll be side by side with them any moment now, but be careful, their ship’s
also got cannons.” Said Vanessa as she stood on the stairs below decks. Her voice
immediately caught Danny’s attention. He quickly turned around from the cannon
and looked at her straight in the eyes. Vanessa
noticed him and was quite startled by his meaningful stare. Her eyes grew wide,
but she immediately shook her head and focused back on her surroundings. “Pistols and
cutlasses at the ready!” Captain Brownhack’s voice beckoned from above them,
and merely a few seconds later, he shouted, “Cannons ready ...” Danny’s
attention quickly shifted back to the cannon before him as a large shadow
suddenly blocked the light coming from opening in front of the cannon. The
large merchant ship had come side by side with their own ship and were ready on
the cannons as well. “FIRE! FIRE
ALL!” Captain Brownhack’s voice boomed from the decks above. “FIRE ALL!
NOW!” Vanessa repeated the orders. Danny lit the
fuse of the cannon while Ahmed covered his ears, and at the same time the
cannon fired, all the other cannons fired as well, and not only the cannons on
Captain Brownhack’s ship the Black Hurricane, but from the merchant ship as
well. Loud,
deafening blasts filled the air as the crewmembers above the deck roared and
cheered. The wall right next to where Danny was standing burst as a cannon
suddenly plowed through, as did the walls next to his fellow crewmembers. Danny
immediately ducked and took cover while Ahmed reloaded the cannon with a
worried look on his face. His eyes were wide open and sweat was dripping down
from his cheeks. Some of the
other crewmembers screamed and shouted as some more cannonballs plowed through
the ship, before firing back their own cannons. Amidst the smoke and debris,
Danny saw that Vanessa had returned up to the deck with a cutlass in hand as
another crewmember dropped down the stairs. It was the old sailor he talked to
earlier. Danny grabbed him by the arm and shoved his cannon stick at him.
“Cover for me.” He said before heading towards the stairs. “Yo, where
are you going!?” Screamed Ahmed in disbelief as yet another cannonball plowed
through the starboard, causing him to nearly lose his balance. Thankfully, the
old sailor was quick to grab his arm and prevent him from falling down into the
waters below. “Two seconds
mate.” Shouted Danny back before making his way up the stairs into the decks above. It was no
better up on the decks. There were two cannons, but they were both already
manned. Some of the other crewmembers had also boarded the merchant ship and
were battling ferociously on there with their cutlasses. Meanwhile, Captain
Brownhack had already taken over the helm as Mr. Smith was busy sniping down
the merchants on the merchant ship using a rifle. Some more cannonblasts
narrowly missed him but wrecked parts of the rigging. He scanned
around for Vanessa, and saw that she was heading towards the railing of the
ship carrying a rifle. Looking across at the merchant ship, Danny noticed that
a merchant was just ready to fire a cannon in her direction. “Duck!”
Screamed Danny as he quickly bolted towards her and grabbed her, forcing both
of them to fall flat onto the deck. Just then, a cannonball blasted through the
railing. Had Danny not made a move, it would’ve obliterated Vanessa. “Oh ...” Said
Vanessa, still in shock on the floor with the Danny above her. “Hi, I’m
Daniel.” Said Danny as a smile spread on his face while the light debris of
wood made by the cannonblast rained down on both of them. “Vanessa.”
Replied Vanessa simply as a smile too, spread across her face.
Chapter 3 Vanessa
The battle
continued as Danny helped Vanessa back to her feet. Danny opened
his mouth to talk, but Vanessa shut him up and said, “We’re in the middle of a
battle. Draw your weapons. Now.” Before making her way back to the rail and
crouching next to one of the cannons to begin firing her rifle at the merchants
on the other side. Danny was
about to pull out his own cutlass when Mr. Smith suddenly appeared next to him
and said, “Board that ship! We need more boarders!” while handing him an axe. “B-but...”
Danny stammered, but Mr. Smith quickly pushed him towards the edge of the
railing. Nearly losing
his balance and falling off the ship, Danny quickly grabbed one of the nearest
things he could grab, which coincidentally happened to be a rope. Before he
knew it, he was already swinging over to the merchant ship, screaming as
cannonblasts raged below his feet. “Whoa!” He
said as he made the landing on the merchant ship. One of the merchants who had
noticed him quickly came over and swung a poleax in his direction. Fortunately,
Danny managed to block the hit with his own axe. Still holding it in his left
hand, he grabbed his cutlass with his right hand and quickly made a cut at the
merchant’s stomach. “Aaarh...”
Screamed the merchant as he crumpled over to the deck. “Sorry ‘bout
that...” Muttered Danny before another merchant quickly plunged at him, but
using the same technique, Danny was able to dispatch him rather easily as well. The battle
around him still raged on as one of Danny’s crewmembers suddenly burst out of the captain’s cabin of
the merchant ship carrying a large wooden chest. A merchant tried to attack him with a sabre,
but he managed to block the attack using the wooden chest, before slamming the
chest back into the merchant, causing him to lose his balance and topple
overboard. The pirate then quickly grabbed one of the ropes hanging from the
mast above the railing and used it to swing back to the Black Hurricane,
carrying the wooden chest with him. “Look out!”
Screamed someone from behind Danny suddenly, followed by the sound of a sword
slashing. Startled, he turned around and saw that one of his crewmates, a
bearded indian man wearing a dark yellow coat and a pirate hat had dispatched a
merchant who had tried to attack Danny using a sabre. “You’re
welcome.” Said the indian pirate before turning around to face yet another
merchant.
Danny himself
then proceeded to dispatch two more merchants onboard the ship and looking
around, he saw that the pirates had mostly taken over. There were not that many
merchants left, and the ones manning the cannon on the deck had already been
killed. The ship had also stopped firing away cannonballs even though the Black
Hurricane continued to do so, further wrecking the merchant ship. Some more of
Danny’s crewmates suddenly burst out from below the decks, and they were
carrying barrels, bags, and crates. They successfully swung over back to the
Black Hurricane. Suddenly, a
bullet whizzed right past Danny. It missed his head only by a few inches.
Looking at the direction from whence the bullet was fired, he saw that a
merchant was aiming a rifle at him. Danny’s eyes grew wide instantly. He wanted
to draw his own flintlock, but he had forgotten to change the wet powder and
bullet from the previous day. Thinking for
a split second that his life might end right there, he was surprised when the
merchant who was aiming right at him suddenly dropped dead on the deck,
dropping his rifle. At first, he expected another eccentric crewmember would
say ‘you’re welcome’ to him, but as he looked over to the Black Hurricane, he
saw that it was actually Vanessa who had killed the merchant with her own
rifle. She winked as
Danny looked in her direction, and Danny only sighed and smiled in relief
seeing that. Before he
could do anything else, three more of his crewmates got out from below the
decks and shouted, “The gunpowder’s been ignited, come on!” before grabbing
some ropes left over from the rigging of the wrecked ship to swing back over to
the Black Hurricane. Some other
crewmembers joined them, and the indian pirate from earlier patted Danny on his
shoulder on his way. After looking
around the ship one more time for a split second, Danny quickly followed him
and the other crewmembers and swung over back to the Black Hurricane as well. Everyone was
already standing on the decks when Danny finally made his footing on the Black
Hurricane, although not before slipping and knocking Ahmed off his feet. As the two
struggled to get up, a deafening explosion was heard. It shook the whole ship,
causing both Danny and Ahmed to fall flat on their chests again. The explosion
was followed by celebratory cheers of the whole crew while debris of splinters
rained over the whole ship. After finally
getting back to his feet, Danny saw that the merchant ship he was just on
moments prior had already been obliterated into nothing more than chunks of
smoking, burning wood, floating in the sea. “Alright then ... now the lots of ye ...”
Muttered Captain Brownhack suddenly from behind Danny. Startled, he looked
around and noticed that the captain was walking in front of some of the
surviving merchants, whom he just realized, had been brought onboard the ship. “So there’s
survivors ...” Asked Danny. There were six of them. “Yeah, I
think they jumped overboard during the battle and some of them only after the
gunpowder had been lit.” Answered Ahmed. “Quiet you
two.” Snapped Captain Brownhack before turning back to the surviving merchants.
“Had you just hoisted the white flag and given us your loot earlier, this
battle wouldn’t even have happened.” The surviving
merchants just whimpered and shivered in fear. Danny actually felt sorry for
them, reminiscing the times he used to be a merchant himself. Much to his
relief, Captain Brownhack said, “Now, I’m not like the late Blackbeard, no ...
and I’m not Davy Jones either, and I won’t
force ye to go to his locker if you agree to join me crew. How about it?
Are ye willin’ to give up your boring merchant lives for the hearty life of a
pirate, robbin’ yer own kind later on, or at least, what used to be yer own
kind...” Completely
helpless and seeing no other choices other than that or walking the plank, the
six survivors all nodded in agreement. “Great.
Though ye’ll all still need some time in the brig though. Ajeet, Lantern,
escort them to the brig.” He ordered. “Aye, captain.”
Replied Ajeet, who was the indian man in the yellow coat that saved Danny
earlier. Him and his partner, Lantern, a moustached Jamaican native with dreadlocks
wearing a dark green coat then proceeded to lead the six merchants down into
the brigs below decks. As soon as
all of them had gone down, Captain Brownhack exclaimed heartily, “Now then sea
urchins and seadogs, let’s bust these crates open and see what awaits us ...” “Aye!”
Cheered all the crewmembers, including Ahmed heartily as they all began to
huddle around the crates and chests they had obtained from the merchant ship.
Danny was about to join them too when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder. “Oh,
Vanessa.” He said as he turned around to see whose hand it was. “Thank you
for saving me earlier.” Said Vanessa softly with a smile. “Well, you
saved mine too. I’ve noticed.” Replied Danny. “Look at all
this loot, Dan!” Yelled Ahmed from behind him, but Danny didn’t respond. His
focus was entirely placed on Vanessa. “Yo Dan!
Pearl necklaces!” Yelled Ahmed once again. Getting mildly annoyed, Danny turned
around and flashed his friend a thumbs up along with a forced smile. Ahmed smiled
back as he put on the pearl necklace. “Ha ... how do I look?” He asked as he
did his signature pose, bending his legs and raising both shoulders. Danny just
nodded, and before he turned around to continue talking to Vanessa, she was
already standing beside him. “It’s okay, go join your friend and the others in
the celebration, I just wanted to thank you, that’s all.” She said before
beginning to walk away. “Well ... in
the words of my friend, Ajeet ... you’re welcome?” Replied Danny as he raised
his shoulders. Vanessa chuckled before continuing to walk away. “Wait ...
aren’t you going to check out the loot along with the others?” Asked Danny
before she got too far. “No ... even
though I’m a girl, I’m not really interested in pearl necklaces, unlike your
friend there.” Answered Vanessa as she looked over to Ahmed, who was putting on
another layer of pearl necklace. He winked at her as she looked in his
direction, and Vanessa left for the captain’s cabin shortly, which seemed kind
of mysterious for Danny, especially since the captain of the ship himself was
still busy checking out the loot along with his crew. “Mr. Smith
...” Called Danny as he approached Mr. Smith, who was cracking open yet another
chest along with some of the other crewmembers. “Aye?”
Replied Mr. Smith as he turned around. “I need to
talk to you in private ...” Said Danny as he took a couple steps back. “Aye ... just
a second now ...” Replied Mr. Smith as he handed his crowbar to another pirate
next to him before following Danny. “What is it,
lad?” He asked. “You’ve been
on this ship for a long time haven’t you? As I understand it, you’re Captain
Brownhack’s first mate, are you not?” Asked Danny as he leaned close to Mr.
Smith’s ear, being careful so that the other pirates won’t hear their
conversation. “Aye, that is
true ...” Replied Mr. Smith. “Now, what
about that girl ... Vanessa? Who is she really? What’s her position on the
ship?” Whispered Danny. Mr. Smith
looked around before answering, Danny noticed that he seemed kind of hestitant
about it. “To tell you the truth ... I’m not sure myself lad ...” “What!?”
Asked Danny. “But you’re the first mate here!” “That girl
really is shrouded in mystery though. I’ll tell ye that much.” Replied Mr.
Smith. “Fine, how
about this then ... tell me everything you know about her...” Whispered Danny. Once again,
Mr. Smith seemed kind of hestitant about answering his question, but he did
anyway. “All I know is, she’s been on this ship longer than I have, and she
seems to have a personal bond with Captain Brownhack too. I don’t know what her
position is, but the captain seems to treat her like his own family even.” “Is she?”
Asked Danny curiously. “I don’t
know, lad. Once I tried asking Captain Brownhack about it, but he dismissed me
immediately. Who knows, she could even be his own daughter.” Answered Mr. Smith
as he sighed and raised his shoulders lightly. “Me and her, we’re already like
close friends since we’ve been through so many voyages together, yet I don’t
even fully understand who she is.
Weird isn’t it lad?” He added with a chuckle, before returning to the stash of
loot. “That so ...”
Muttered Danny to himself while rubbing his goatee, before finally joining the
other crewmembers as well. “What was
that all about?” Asked Ahmed curiously as Danny approached him. “Just some
digging into a private matter of curiosity regarding my mutual interest in a
person of the opposite sex, without much success other than the extended
knowledge of how mysterious said person is ...” Replied Danny as he eyed the stash
of cotton, pearl necklaces, and other loot laid out on the deck before him. “Huh?” Asked
Ahmed after a few seconds of wide-eyed bewilderement at the sudden complexity
of his partner’s vocabulary. “Never mind,
instead, check this out ...” Said Danny quickly as he grabbed a pair of golden
earrings, changing the topic. Ahmed just
shrugged in response. That night,
while everyone was fast asleep, Danny found himself unable to do the same. He
closed his eyes many times, hoping the darkness would drift him away, but it
just wouldn’t, and the cramped space in which all the crewmembers slept on
hammocks tied to the posts below the decks wasn’t exactly comfortable either,
especially with all the snoring of the other pirates filling the air. Feeling
restless, Danny jumped down from his hammock and headed towards the stairs to
get to the main deck above. At first, he was being careful by tiptoeing his way
amidst the sleeping pirates, trying not to wake them up, but after judging by
how loud they were snoring, he decided that normal steps wouldn’t even bother
anyone. After
climbing the stairs up onto the main deck, he headed towards the stairs leading
to the poop deck. He walked slowly by the rail and finally sat down on the
lowest staircase. After looking
out to the sea for a few minutes, enjoying the gentle night breeze and the view
of the moon casting its brilliant reflection in the water, he suddenly heard a
door to his left open, the door to the captain’s cabin. “Vanessa.” He
said as Vanessa walked out of the captain’s cabin. “Oh ...
you’re here too ...” She replied as she closed the door back. “Why aren’t you
sleeping?” She asked. “I don’t know
... I just can’t. Some deep thoughts were running in my mind, and the sound of
constant snoring didn’t help it calm down, so I thought I’d come here and get
some fresh air first ...” Answered Danny. “Deep
thoughts ... such as?” Asked Vanessa as she walked closer to Danny and sat down
next to him. “A lot, but
... well, you’re one of em.” Answered Danny as she looked the girl in the eyes.
“Me?” Asked
Vanessa with a half-puzzled, half amused expression on her face. “Why?” “Pardon me
for being so forward, but you’re so ... how do I say it ... well, mysterious
and intriguing to me.” Said Danny. Vanessa
didn’t reply immediately. She just raised her eyebrows and her pupils dilated.
“Are we women that intriguing to you sailors? Look, I know it’s not often...” “No no no,
that’s not what I meant.” Interrupted Danny as he shook his head. “Not women in
general, but you specifically.” He cleared out. “Oh ... well,
this just got more interesting. But still, why?” Asked Vanessa as she straightened
her wavy brown hair. “Let me just
put it this way ... and once again, pardon me for being so forward, but ... who
are you really?” Danny finally asked after a few moments of thinking. Vanessa’s
eyes widened and as she pulled her head back a little, she asked back, “What
... are you talking about my full name or ...” “Well ...
mostly your origins, and what your connection is with Captain Brownhack.”
Replied Danny. “Oh ... well,
that is a long story ...” Said Vanessa as she stood up and grabbed the rail behind
her. “It’s okay,
I’m staying up all night too.” Replied Danny. “Well to tell
you the truth, I’ve been asked this question before, but never this
enthusiastically, and so I never answered.” Said Vanessa as she looked over her
shoulder at the seas. “Well, maybe
it will be nice to open up to someone after all.” She whispered. “Go on ...”
Said Danny as he too, stood up and laid his back on the rail right next to
Vanessa. “Well, I was
born in 1696 in Spain where I lived the first five years of my life. My mother
died when I was only three, and In 1701 my father, during the prelude of the
War of the Spanish Succession, realizing that things were getting more and more
tense and controversial in Spain, sent me away to a small town in the Bahamas
called Port Veronica. I lived there all through my adolescence helping out at
the local tavern. It was a depressing life, and everyday I wished my father
would return from the war, but he never did. Even after the War of the Spanish
succession ended in 1714, I still hadn’t heard news of him. Depressed and
heartbroken, having nowhere else to go, I left the tavern I was working on and
decided to take up a life of piracy.” Explained Vanessa. “And your
connection with Captain Brownhack?” Asked Danny. “Well, at
first I just wanted to sail the seas, so I tried asking some of the merchants
who were around if I could be a part of their crew, but all of them declined,
claiming every single time it was bad luck to have a girl onboard during a
voyage. I had nearly given up on life, but one day, while I was drinking alone at
the tavern in the corner, a large man with a brown beard came up to me.
Surprisingly, he told me I was pretty and asked who I was. I noticed that he
wasn’t drunk, so, seeing no reason not to, I told him my whole story, nearly
breaking down and crying while doing so. I was so surprised that when I looked
up, I saw that he was genuinely listening to my story and that he wasn’t just
some random creepy pirate who approached me just because I was a woman in a
tavern. He then proceeded to offer me to join his crew, and even though he said
he was a pirate, I still accepted his offer nonetheless.” “That’s so,
huh ...” Muttered Danny. “I’ve been
with him ever since, and this is my fifth year on this very ship. Over the time,
our relationship just grew and grew, and now ... I think of him almost like a
father. Captain Brownhack also told me once, after I’ve spent like a year on
this ship, that I actually reminded him of a precious daughter of his whom he
had lost, and that was the actual reason why he recruited me.” Finished
Vanessa. “I didn’t mind and I still don’t, though now, thinking back ... I
haven’t been to Port Veronica in five years, and I kind of miss it there. I’ve
been to one port then the next, but I’ve never been home again since.” She
added. “Well, why
didn’t you just ask Captain Brownhack to take you there then?” Asked Danny. “I have, but
he wouldn’t let me. He even scolded me that one time I asked. Truth be told, I
don’t know why...” Replied Vanessa. “But you
really want it though? To go back to Port Veronica, that is?” Asked Danny. Vanessa just
nodded, and at that moment Danny patted her on the shoulder and said, “Well,
how about I take you there, then?” Vanessa
looked at him immediately with a puzzled look on her face. “You? How?” “Well ...
I’ll figure out a way, I always do. That’s my knack, actually. If you want, we
could jump ship at Nassau and then find another ship to board there, one that’s
heading to Port Veronica.” Explained Danny. “But there’s the thing ... we’ll
have to abandon this crew. But if you want to go to Port Veronica that badly,
that’s the price you gotta pay. I mean, it’s not forever, I’m sure we’ll meet
them again.” He added. Vanessa
seemed to be quite taken aback by Danny’s offer. She thought about for a few
moments before finally saying, “Okay, let’s do it.”
Chapter 4 Trip to port veronica
The Black
Hurricane arrived at Nassau two days later early in the morning. “Aye, let us
now party and drink our heads off, ye rumheads!” Beckoned Captain Brownhack as
soon as they dropped anchor, followed by the thundering cheers of the crew. “Let’s wait
behind ...” Whispered Danny as he tugged Vanessa by the arm while the rest of
the crew all shoved and pushed each other off the ship. “Yo, Dan!”
Shouted Ahmed from the docks below them while Danny and Vanessa still held on
to the rail of the ship. “Go ahead,
we’ll meet again later.” Replied Danny as he flashed Ahmed a thumbs up. “Suit
yourself, mate.” Said Ahmed as he raised his shoulders before following the lot
of the other crewmembers to the town. “Mr. Smith, I
trust you would organize the exchange of these crates of cotton for actual
gold?” Asked Captain Brownhack from behind them. A few crewmembers were still
left on the ship, they were preparing to haul the crates of material loot into
town. Among them were Mr. Smith, and the old pirate Danny had met during the
beginning of the voyage. “Aye,
captain.” Replied Mr. Smith. “You coming,
Vanessa?” Asked Captain Brownhack as he prepared to descend the plank to the
dock. “Go on ahead
captain, I would like to stay here for a while first.” Replied Vanessa. “Fine ...
suit yourselves lads.” Said Captain Brownhack as he flashed Danny a sharp
glance before descending to the docks below and going into town. “Let’s go,
now’s our chance.” Said Danny as soon as the captain was out of sight. “Pierre, grab
that one, we’re gonna haul that one to the market.” Muttered Mr. Smith to the
old man from behind them as Danny and Vanessa began descending the plank down to
the dock. “Lads, where are ye off te now?” He asked them. “We’re going
sightseeing.” Answered Danny simply as he turned around. “Oh, well
since I was wondering if you two could ... uh, maybe ... help me with ...” Said
Mr. Smith as he looked down, but by the time he raised his head again, both
Danny and Vanessa had already vanished from sight. “Barnacles ...” He muttered
before returning back to his work managing the crates of material loot that
were still onboard. “Phew ...
that was close.” Said Danny as he walked along the docks with Vanessa. He then
proceeded to finally take off his eyepatch that he had on since the very first
night he applied to become a pirate. “What?
There’s nothing wrong with your eye, and only now do you take that off?” Asked
Vanessa with a chuckle. “What,
something strange about it? I thought that’s what pirates do.” Said Danny as he
rubbed his eye that had been covered by the eyepatch for so long. “So that’s it
... you and your friend, you two are just very amateur pirates, that’s all,
huh? And I thought you two had eye problems.” Asked Vanessa. “H-how do you
know we’re amateurs?” Asked Danny back. “Haven’t you
been paying attention to the other crewmembers at all while we were on that
voyage? None of them wore eyepatches unless they were preparing to board a
ship. The very function of the eyepatch is so that one’s eyes would adjust to
the darkness so that one could see below decks when boarding a ship.” Explained
Vanessa. “Oh ... well,
to tell you the truth ... this was my first voyage as a pirate. Before I joined
Captain Brownhack’s crew, I was a merchant.” Confessed Danny. “What!? You
were a merchant? Why did you desert that position and become a pirate then?”
Asked Vanessa in disbelief. “Well, being
a merchant is not as easy or fun as you would think, trust me. It was boring,
and I felt no sense of freedom or adventure as a merchant. That’s why I chose
to desert it for the pirate life.” Answered Danny. “Oh ... and
now, you’re going to just throw it away, just to take me, a girl you had just
met to her home in Port Veronica? Hah, and you said I was mysterious and intriguing. You’re no different at all. What’s
your motive, really?” Asked Vanessa. At first,
Danny didn’t reply, but Vanessa pushed him into speaking. “Well? Out with it,
I’ve told you my story, so it’s only fair.” She said. “Well ... if
you want the truth, I might as well say it ...” Muttered Danny. “I’m all ears
...” Replied Vanessa. “Hold it!”
Said Danny suddenly as he held out his right hand in front of Vanessa. His eyes
had suddenly darted to a ship not so far from where they were, where some
crewmembers were, as it seemed, preparing to set sail. “What is it?”
Asked Vanessa impatiently. “I know that
ship ... let’s go!” Replied Danny as he suddenly bolted towards the direction
of the ship, while a confused Vanessa could only keep up. “What is
this!?” Asked Vanessa harshly as she ran beside Danny. “Hold it ...
wait, wait ...” Said Danny as he once again, to Vanessa’s surprise and
frustration, held out his right arm in front of her while stopping suddenly. “What!?” Asked Vanessa, growing more and
more impatient at Danny’s sudden and unexplained moves. “You’re a
girl!” Said Danny as he grabbed Vanessa by the arms. “Huh!?”
Replied a bewildered Vanessa, before Danny dragged him away to hide behind some
crates. “Look, I know
that ship ... I’ve been on it before ...” Explained Danny as soon as he made
sure that Vanessa was out of sight and hidden behind the large wooden crates.
Once again he darted his eyes from Vanessa back to the ship, only to make sure
what he thought earlier was correct, and he was relieved. The ship was Captain
Dunhill’s ship, the same ship he rode with Ahmed to get to Tortuga days prior.
“Jackpot ...” He whispered to himself. “Care to
explain further?” Whispered Vanessa harshly as she tugged at Danny’s shoulder. “You said
earlier that you never got accepted into a merchant crew because they were
superstitious about having a woman onboard, right?” Asked Danny. “Yes. Are you
saying ...” Before Vanessa could finish, Danny interrupted. “Change your
clothing! Right now! I don’t care how, but just change while I talk to the
captain of that ship. He’ll be our ride to Port Veronica, okay? Just trust me,
and change quickly, go!” He said before bolting towards Captain Dunhill’s ship. “B-but,
change!? Now!? How ...” Protested Vanessa, but Danny didn’t listen and kept
running. Just then, a sailor suddenly grabbed the crate Vanessa was hiding
under, and was rather surprised to see her there. “Who are you?
What are you doing?” Asked the sailor with a puzzled look on his face as he
lifted the crate. Vanessa,
seeing that it was the perfect opportunity, immediately stood up and smiled.
“Umm ... could you help me? I need your help with something ... over there ...”
She said in her most seductive tone while gently brushing her left index finger
across the sailor’s chin, while pointing towards a dark alley not far from the
docks with her right. The sailor’s
pupils instantly dilated as he dropped the crate he was lifting onto the
ground. “Y-yeah ... sure ...” He stammered. Meanwhile,
Danny called out to Captain Dunhill before the latter could get onto his ship.
“Captain Dunhill, wait! It’s me!” He shouted while waving both of his hands. “Y-you
again!? By god ...” Muttered the surprised merchant captain as Danny finally
caught up to him. “Remember me
sir?” Asked Danny while catching his breath. “Of course I
remember you! You’re the young fellow who asked for a ride to Tortuga just a
few days ago. How’d you get here so fast? And more importantly, where’s the longboat
I lent ya? Did you use it to get here?” Replied Captain Dunhill. “Nevermind
the stupid longboat, it’s still in Tortuga, probably stolen by this point. More
importantly though, I need to ask you, where are you heading off to now,
captain?” Asked Danny. “Towards San
Juan, Puerto Rico, why do you ask?” Asked Captain Dunhill back. “Perfect,
then you’ll be passing Port Veronica on your way, wouldn’t you?” Replied Danny. “Yeah, but
don’t tell me ...” Before Captain Dunhill could finish, Danny interrupted. “Excellent!
Because I need another ride.” He said simply. Captain
Dunhill just rolled his eyes along with his head. “Hey, let him join captain.”
Said Jim, who was already on the ship, suddenly from behind him. Danny snapped
his fingers and pointed at him with both hands while smiling. “My man ...” He
said. “Yeah
captain, he’s really good at mopping the deck!” Said the cabin of the ship, who
was standing next to Jim. “Yeah, that’s
the only reason though ...” Added Jim. Danny’s smile
faded instantly, but he quickly shook his head and said, “Fine, whatever, I’ll
mop the damn ship, what do you say?” “Alright,
fine ...” Said Captain Dunhill finally after a few moments of contemplation.
“Yes!”
Uttered Danny as he did a fist pump. “But, I’m not alone though, say ... do you
mind a woman going onboard your ship? Are you of the belief that having a woman
onboard a ship during a voyage is bad luck?” He then proceeded to ask. “Heck no! I
don’t believe in any of those silly superstitions!” Replied Captain Dunhill. “I am.” Said
Jim. “Shut up
Jim.” Snapped Captain Dunhill without even turning around to look at him. Just
then, Vanessa suddenly appeared and ran up to them, already clad in the full
attire of the male sailor she had tricked into the dark alley earlier,
consisting of a blue shirt with a brown jacket to cover her breasts, dark brown
baggy pants, and a large black hat, in which she hid her long hair. “My name is
Vergo, I am his partner.” She greeted in a poorly-imitated male voice. “Hahahah ...
she’s just playing around.” Said Danny as he knocked Vanessa’s hat off her
head, immediately revealing her long brown hair as it fell down to her
shoulders. “What!?”
Mouthed a confused and surprised Vanessa as she raised her shoulders. “He said he
didn’t mind women onboard, besides, your male voice is so horrible, it’d blow your cover immediately.” Whispered Danny,
though rather loudly. He forced a smile as he saw Captain Dunhill’s unamused
face. “Well, you’re
always fooling around, aren’t ya? Where’s that other partner of yours, the poor
swimmer ... what’s his name - Ahmed, was it?” Asked Captain Dunhill. “Yes, well,
uh ... he got dragged away to the bottom of the ocean by ... sea turtles.”
Answered Danny. “Just get
onboard, lad.” Replied a still unamused Captain Dunhill. After two
days being onboard Captain Dunhill’s ship just mopping, they finally arrived
off the coast of Port Veronica two days later, just after midnight, and once
again, Danny persuaded the good merchant captain into lending him another longboat,
albeit grudgefully. “If I ever
see you again, you will pay me the price of two longboats.” Said Captain
Dunhill as Danny lowered the longboat down into the water. “Yeah, gotcha
mate...” Replied Danny as he flashed Captain Dunhill a thumbs up before
climbing down into the boat, followed by Vanessa. “Oh, and lad,
one more thing ...” Said Captain Dunhill from above him as Danny was about to
begin rowing away. “Beware of sea turtles, you don’t want to get dragged down
into the bottom of the ocean like your friend.” The whole
crew burst into laughter as they returned to their positions while Danny began
rowing. He didn’t mind them and just forced a sarcastic smile. “Doesn’t it
just look beautiful under the moonlight? It’s been so long since I’ve been
here.” Commented Vanessa as she looked in awe at the relatively small port they
were rowing towards. “Yeah, it is
... truth be told, I’ve never been here before in all my life.” Said Danny. He
too, was rather captivated by the sight of the town. It was quaint, and the
streets, illuminated by the lighting of lanterns coming from the houses, were
decorated with potted flowers, put against the walls of the simple houses. As soon as
they reached the port, Vanessa immediately jumped off the longboat and ran
towards the quiet streets. She held her arms outstretched and did a little spin
while looking at the starry night above. “Enjoying
yourself much, young lady?” Asked Danny with a smile as he tied the longboat to
one of the wooden posts. “Hahaha ...
oh, very much so.” Replied Vanessa . She ran towards Danny, grabbed him by the
arm and dragged him to follow her. “Let’s walk around.” She said. “It’s awfully
quiet around here, isn’t it? Is it always like this?” Asked Danny. “It’s really
quaint and peaceful though, I like it ...” “Yeah, this
area of town is usually quiet, especially at night. Not that many ships come
here, since, as you might already know, Port Veronica is by no means the most
active port in the Caribbean. Also, this is no place for people to enjoy their
hard earned gold either, there’s only one tavern and one marketplace.”
Explained Vanessa as they walked the quiet streets under the moonlight, with
the cold wind brushing against their face. “So it’s no
place for business, nor vacation then ...” Commented Danny as he looked around. “Yeah ...I
guess that’s why pirates such as Captain Brownhack rarely come here and refused
when I asked him to. On the flipside, that makes things around here a lot more
peaceful and comfortable though. A good place to live, that’s why I miss it
so.” Said Vanessa. Danny just nodded and smiled in reply. “Wait ... you
haven’t gotten a chance to tell me the real reason you brought me here though.”
She suddenly stopped and reminded him. “I completely forgot to ask you these
past two days while we were on that merchant ship, perhaps because we were told
to mop so much.” She said. “Ah, yes ...
well, where was I? And what was your question again? Pardon me, but it’s been
two days, and I’ve forgotten.” Replied Danny. “You’ve told
me you deserted the merchant life and took up piracy because the former was so
boring, and yet when you finally got the pirate life, you deserted it just to
take me here, to Port Veronica. That is what I find curious, and would like you
to answer.” Said Vanessa as she looked Danny in the eyes. “Oh right,
well ... like I’ve said then, I deserted the merchant life because it was
boring. It lacked freedom. That’s the reason, and the reason I took up piracy
is that I felt I would be more free and could do more of what I wanted to do
that way.” Explained Danny. “And ... you
deserted that for me, why?” Asked Vanessa as her eyes glimmered under the
moonlight. “Because I
saw you, and you intrigued me, and so I wanted to know more about you, and when
I did, I decided to take you here because I just felt like it.” Answered Danny. “You felt
like it?” Asked a somewhat puzzled Vanessa. “Yes. Since
what I seeked was freedom and adventure, and since going with an intriguing
girl to a land I’ve never been to before is exactly that, I chose it, even if I
did have to abandon my position as mere crewmember on Captain Brownhack’s
ship.” Explained Danny. “Personally, I don’t really care about the loot, all I
wanted to do was do whatever I want to do. I don’t plan them ahead, I just do
something when that something seems like a good adventure. That’s basically it,
the summarized version of my motive.” “Oh ... well
...that’s new and interesting ...” Said Vanessa. She remained quiet for a while
thereafter, but stopped as they passed a tavern. “Oh, look! The tavern I used
to work for all those years ago!” She said before dashing towards the door,
tugging Danny by the wrist, though he resisted. “I’ll need to
go get some gunpowder and bullets first, you go on ahead.” He said as he broke
free of Vanessa’s grip and walked towards the gunsmith shop not so far from
where the tavern was. Even in the dead of the night, there were still lights
from inside the shop. “Meh, suit
yourself.” Muttered Vanessa before entering the tavern by herself. Inside, the
bartender, a large, balding, bearded man immediately noticed her and his eyes
lit up the second that he did. “V-Vanessa?
Is that you?” He stammered as he slammed the large glass he was wiping onto the
counter. “Jose! You’re
still the same as ever!” Replied a smiling Vanessa as she walked towards him.
The large bartender himself then quickly stepped out from behind the counter
and proceeded to hug her with all his might, while laughing all the while. “Umph!”
Squeaked Vanessa as she chuckled and struggled to free herself from the
enormous and heavy hug. “Hahaha! Ma!
Look who it is!” Called out Jose to the counter as he finally released Vanessa. “What ...”
Responded a middle-aged woman with red wavy hair as she stepped out from the
door behind the counter, leading to the back room. She didn’t get to finish her
sentence, and much like Jose, her eyes also lit up the moment they were laid on
Vanessa. “By God ... is that ... is that really you? Vanessa!?” She said as she
quickly walked towards her and Jose. “Nice to see
you again, Rose.” Said Vanessa. “Oh, how nice
indeed!” Replied Rose as she hugged her, albeit softly unlike Jose. “Come on,
head on over to the counter, I’ll get you a free drink and we can catch up.” Vanessa
glanced around the tavern before replying, “Yeah, sure ...” Everyone in the
tavern was looking at her, there weren’t that many people, but those that were there had their curious stares
fixed on her. “Yeah, you
haven’t even told us how or why or on what occasion, or with whom you got here,
in the middle of the night like this. Hah!” Said Jose as he directed Vanessa
towards the counter along with Rose. Before she could even sit down however,
the door to the tavern suddenly burst open and Danny stormed inside, with
pistol in hand. He had a worried look on his face. Instantly all the eyes
within tavern shifted from Vanessa to him instead. “Yo, Vanessa!
There’s a massive ship with torn sails surrounded in white glowing mist heading
towards this town!” He yelled. Vanessa opened her mouth to respond, but before
she, or anyone else for that matter could even say a word, a loud cannon fire
was heard, followed by a massive explosion that shook the grounds.
Chapter 5 Attack on port veronica
Everyone in
the tavern fell to their feet the moment the explosion was heard. Some of other
tavern customers gruntled and groaned as they struggled to get back to their
feet, and they hadn’t fully done so when yet another cannon fire was heard and
another explosion shook the grounds. Soon after, screams of terror were heard
from the streets outside. “What is
this!?” Asked Vanessa frantically. “Didn’t you
hear what I said? A large-” “It’s the
legendary ghost ship! Run! Take cover!” Screamed someone outside suddenly and
frantically. “Yeah, that.”
Finished Danny. “The ghost
ship ... this can’t be ...” Muttered Jose as he quickly dashed towards the
door, followed by Rose, Vanessa, Danny, and pretty soon everyone else inside
the tavern as well. As they all
scrambled outside, they saw the citizens all running wild in the streets,
screaming and yelling, and in the distance, with its magnificent size and
ghastly aura, the ghost ship was visibly approaching the town, about to make
port while continuing to fire away. “The ghost
ship ... I’ve heard about this before ...” Muttered Vanessa as she looked on in
horror. The port and the area around it, the very place she and Danny were on
less than an hour prior, had already been engulfed in flames. “I’ve heard
about it before too, but I always thought it was ... you know ... not real ...” Said Danny next to her. “Nooo! My
ship! My ship!” Wailed one of the sailors who were in the tavern suddenly from
behind them. He pushed Danny and Vanessa aside and stared in horror as the
ghost ship fired at one of the few ships that were docked in the port. He
dropped down to his knees as his sloop was blown apart. “We gotta
fight! Grab a weapon! Citizens, we’ve got no choice but to fight!” Screamed one
of citizens suddenly. Looking around, Danny saw that it was the gunsmith he had
just bought some gunpowder and bullets from minutes prior. He was giving away
free rifles and pistols, tossing them at the frantic citizens. “He’s right!
I’ll go grab my musket ...” Muttered Jose before returning back to the tavern,
followed by his wife, Rose. “You sailors
got weapons?” Asked the gunsmith as he reached the group of sailors who were in
the tavern with Danny and Vanessa. “Damn right!”
Replied one of the sailors as he pulled out his pistol. The other sailors also
pulled out their weapons, mainly flintlock pistols. “I know
you’ve got a pistol, lad.” Said the gunsmith as he got to Danny, but he seemed
surprised when he saw Vanessa. “Mr. Waltz
...” Greeted Vanessa as the old man stopped in front of her. “Vanessa ...
how ...” He was cut short when more loud screams were heard. Looking back at
the dock, they all saw that the ghost ship had already made port, and rows
after rows of ghastly skeleton pirates all scrambled to the docks and the area
around it, carrying torches and cutlasses, screaming inhuman screams while
doing so. “By god ... just survive Vanessa, here, take this clockwork pistol.”
He said as he gave Vanessa a fancy multi-barrel clockwork pistol before dashing
off to hand out more weapons to unarmed citizens he passed along the way. “This can’t
be real ...” Commented Danny as the ghastly skeleton pirates continued to
advance through the town. Navy soldiers on horses began to run past him while
he was still in a state of shock. “Defend the
town at all costs! Protect the unarmed citizens! Prioritize the unarmed
citizens!” Yelled one of the navy captains amidst the chaos. More and more
soldiers swarmed past them to head to the docks and fight the skeleton army, while
unarmed citizens, mostly women and children ran the exact opposite direction,
trying to get as far away from the battlefield as possible, all while screaming
and crying. “Pistols are
not enough! Grab the cutlasses to defend yourself!” Screamed a frantic man
among the running citizens as he himself ran in the direction opposite of the
docks whilst throwing cutlasses onto the ground. “We’re not
unarmed! Let’s go boys, let’s fight those skeleton b******s!” Yelled the sailor
in front of them suddenly after picking up a cutlass as he got back up to his
feet after kneeling down in terror for some time. “Aye!”
Screamed the group of sailors as they all whipped their pistols and newly
acquired cutlasses before running with the navy soldiers in the direction of the
docks, ready to join the battle. Not long after that, Jose and Rose returned to
the street and joined Vanessa and Danny. Jose was carrying a musket and Rose
was carrying a hand axe. “I’m armed,
let’s go!” Said Jose. “Wait ... cutlasses, these’ll be handy!” He added as he
spotted and picked up one of the cutlasses on the ground. “Rose, I really think
you should just join the unarmed citizens in running away from the docks...” He
said as he grabbed his wife by the shoulders. “Don’t say
that! You’ve seen me fight before!” Snapped Rose in protest. “Too late to
argue folks, here they come!” Added Danny suddenly as some of the skeleton
pirates finally reached where they were. “KILL THEM
ALL!” Shrieked one of the skeletons. Fortunately
for Danny and his group, a group of navy soldiers happened to still be in the
same area as them. “Shoot!” Shouted one of the navy soldiers, and thus the
battle began. Both Danny
and Vanessa quickly whipped out their cutlasses as two skeletons approached
them. “I’m still not believing this is real you know ...” Commented Danny as he
prepared his stance. “Shut up!”
Replied Vanessa as she swung her sword at one of the skeletons, though the
skeleton managed to parry her attack. “Hyeahh!”
Shrieked the other skeleton hoarsely as he made a cut for Danny. Fortunately,
he was also able to parry the attack, and while holding the skeleton at bay
with his sword on one hand, he used his other one to quickly fire his pistol at
the skeleton’s stomach. The skeleton
shrieked and got thrown back a couple feet, but it didn’t die. “Oh right ...
you don’t have a stomach ...” Muttered Danny before quickly lunging forward and
cutting the skeleton’s neck clean. It made another cry as the head bumped on
the paved ground beneath their feet. “Screw you!” Screamed Danny before pulling
his leg back, and with all his might, kicking the head as far away as he could.
The head smashed into another skeleton who was fighting a navy soldier. The
skeleton stumbled backwards and nearly fell, giving the navy soldier a chance
to run the blade of his bayonet through its rib cage. Meanwhile,
Vanessa continued to parry with another skeleton before she finally managed to
slash its skull. The skeleton made a high-pitched cry as it toppled back and
dropped its cutlass, prompting Vanessa to grab it. Now with two swords, Vanessa
cut the skeleton’s cranium and pushed its body back with her feet.
Behind them,
Jose was also parrying against another skeleton, but he also used his musket to
help him parry, giving him the advantage. As the skeleton tried to slash Jose’s
chest, he blocked the attack using his musket, thrusted its handle at the
skeleton’s chin, and then proceeded to thrust his cutlass into the skeleton’s
rib cage. Next to Jose, Rose also managed to dispatch a skeleton by burying her
hand axe in its skull. The navy also
managed to dispatch a lot of skeletons in the area, but some of them were also
harmed in the battle. “Arrgh!” Screamed one of the soldiers as a skeleton ran
him through. Another navy soldier immediately took his place and battled the
skeleton using his bayonet. “No!”
Screamed another navy soldier in plea. He had been thrown to the ground by a
skeleton, and had lost his weapon. He put his arms up to beg for the skeleton
not to finish him off, but it ignored his plea and stabbed him. Being
distracted by the horrible sight, Danny lost his guard for a second as a
skeleton lunged at him with a sword in hand. Fortunately, Vanessa noticed just
in time and ran the skeleton through from the back. Danny then quickly turned
around slashed the skeleton’s skull and cut his neck. “Whoa ... that was close
...” He muttered. “Don’t let
your guard down!” Said Vanessa as she pulled her sword from the skeleton’s
body. “Duck!”
Yelled Danny suddenly, and with widened eyes, Vanessa ducked down immediately
as another skeleton slashed at where her head was had she not ducked. Danny
quickly leapt forward and parried the skeleton’s sword, while Vanessa, still in
a crouching position, turned around and slashed its leg, cutting it clean off. “Whoa ...
that one was close!” She gasped as
the skeleton toppled to the ground. “Cut their
heads off! Blow and cut them off!” Shouted a navy soldier from behind them
amidst the clashing of weapons. Some more skeletons shrieked and cried as some
other navy soldiers dispatched them, doing as they were told by cutting off the
skeletons’ heads. Over at the
docks, the battle was also still raging, and the ghost ship was still firing
away at the houses, shops, and any other thing within its range. Danny saw that
more navy soldiers had arrived at the scene from different parts of town. “Shoot them!”
Yelled another navy soldier from behind Danny, only his voice was accompanied
by the sound of horses running. A whole new group of navy soldiers had arrived
from the capital of Port Veronica and were heading towards the docks. While
passing, they trampled and shot down a lot of the skeletons that were in the
area, greatly helping Danny and the others who were fighting them. Suddenly
however, the ghost ship turned towards their direction and fired. The cannon blast
knocked everyone in the area, including Danny, off their feet. It also destroyed
a house on the other side of the tavern, killing some of the navy soldiers who
just happened to be standing around that particular area, while also blasting
some skeletons to oblivion. Some of the navy soldiers who were riding on horses
heading towards the docks were also halted. A few of the soldiers fell off
their horses, while a few other horses collapsed. “Holy ... I
didn’t think their cannons would even reach this far.” Muttered Danny as he
struggled to get back to his feet. However, it didn’t end there, for before
Danny could even properly adjust his footing again, more and more cannons were
fired straight at the area, shaking the grounds and obliterating some of the
houses, making it somewhat impossible for anyone to fight there, even the
skeletons. “Oh no ...”
Whispered Jose as a cannonball whizzed past his head and destroyed his tavern
with a deafening explosion, only a few feet from where he himself and Rose were
standing. The explosion was strong enough to blow them back a few feet, and the
debris rained over everyone in the area. While Jose
and Rose groaned and squirmed on the ground in pain, one of the navy soldiers
shouted amidst the smoke, “Head out! For the docks!” Him and his subordinates
then proceeded to leave the area and head for the docks while Danny and Vanessa
rushed to aid Jose and Rose. “Are you two
okay?” Asked Vanessa as she helped Rose to her feet, while Danny helped Jose. “Not really
...” Groaned Jose. “We better
head out to the docks as well if we wish to continue fighting ... do you?”
Asked Danny to the group. “Of course!”
Yelled Vanessa. “Jose, Rose, can you two still fight?” She asked. “Yeah, yeah,
it’s no problem ... let’s go!” Replied Jose as he finally managed to properly
stand up again. “I’m fine
too, little wounds here and there are to be expected during a battle like this.
It’s nothing I can’t handle, let’s go.” Said Rose. With that, the group of four
then made their way through the smoke and debris to the docks. Along the
way, they dispatched some more skeletons who were burning some of the
residents’ houses and fighting some armed civilians and navy soldiers. “Whoa!”
Yelled Danny as a skeleton narrowly missed his head. He lost his footing and
fell down to the ground, but immediately used his feet to kick the sword that
was in the skeleton’s hand, before getting back to his feet and cutting the skeleton’s
spine. “When did I
get so good at this?” He muttered as he held up his cutlass in front of his
face and looked at it for a few seconds. “Hyaah!”
Yelled Vanessa next to him as she chopped off a skeleton’s jaw before pushing
it off the pavement and into the waters below. Meanwhile, one of the armed
citizens who were fighting in the same street was overwhelmed by one of the
skeletons and got slashed and smashed into one of the windows of the building
closest to him. He screamed as the skeleton tossed him inside. Jose then
quickly took over and easily dispatched the skeleton after a few parries. “Come on,
let’s go!” He yelled to Danny, Vanessa, and Rose. After dispatching a couple
more skeletons in the area, the four of them continued to make their way to the
docks. It didn’t take very long before they finally arrived, finding themselves
in the heart of the battle. The sound of gunfires, swords clashing, and people
yelling and screaming filled the air. Immediately
after they arrived at the scene, a horde of skeletons ran towards them while
brandishing their cutlasses. There were six of them, but Vanessa quickly
whipped out her clockwork pistol and shot down two right in their skulls,
knocking them down to the ground while the others prepared to attack. As one of the
skeletons charged at him while laughing maniacally, Danny quickly reached out
his left arm and grabbed the collar of the skeleton’s tattered pirate shirt,
pulled him closer, and smashed the heavy hilt of his cutlass onto its skull,
cracking it and breaking its neck before it even had a chance to swing its
sword. “Yeah, hahaha ...” He mocked
as he pushed the skeleton’s ‘body’ to ground. “Oh God ...”
Gasped Vanessa next to him right after she slashed another skeleton’s head off.
Danny saw that she was looking out to the sea, and turning his head, he immediately
saw what she had gasped at. Rowboats were
closing in on the docks, each one of them filled with more screeching skeleton
pirates, only this time they weren’t just carrying torches and cutlasses, but
also grappling hooks and some even pistols. Among them,
in one of the rowboats, was a large figure, towering over the other skeletons,
wearing a full pirate attire, complete with the tricorne hat and longcoat,
albeit all tattered. Hanging from his belt were two swords, one broadsword with
a magnificent glowing hilt, and the other one a silver cutlass shimmering under
the moonlight. His bony, skeletal face was half hidden under the shadow of his
hat, but his eyes were bright yellow and glowing, and illuminating parts of his
head, revealing that he still had white scraggly hair attached. “Dear lord
... could that be the dreaded ghost captain of the legends himself, Captain
Bonescar?” Muttered Jose in horror at the ominous sight. “That being
the ghost ship and a crew of the damned and all just off shore, I’m willing to
bet it is ...” Replied Danny weakly. Just then, the skeletons reached the port
and immediately ran wild, gunning down and killing all of those who stood in
their way with relative ease. “That’s it ... I give up.” “What ...
what did you say?” Stuttered Vanessa. “I mean it, let’s go! Look at them!”
Replied Danny as he grabbed Vanessa by the arm while running towards the rubble
of a nearby building while the newly arrived skeleton army continued to march
forward, completely overwhelming the navy soldiers. “The boy’s
right ... let’s go now or we’ll be killed!” Said Jose before he, along with
Rose, followed Danny and Vanessa. While the four them hid behind the rubble in
terror, the cries of the navy soldiers continued along with the maniacal
laughter of the skeletons. “Head right
for the capital! Burn everything you see!” Bellowed their huge captain, Captain
Bonescar as he too, finally stepped on the docks. The sounds of gunfire and
swords clashing continued to roar, followed by several sounds of explosions. Witnessing
everything, every moment from behind her hiding place as more and more
skeletons continued to kill more soldiers and armed citizens while at the same
time wrecking the town, Vanessa could only stare in shock. Her eyes were wide
with fear and terror, but her gaping mouth didn’t make a sound. “Why ...” She
finally squealed out after some time, and not long after that, a deafening
explosion was heard, one that was louder and more terrifying than the ones
before. Vanessa nearly fell over, but Danny quickly grabbed her, even though
his own legs were somewhat shaking. “Oh no ...
they’ve destroyed the capital.” Muttered Jose in horror as he peered into the
distance, in the direction of the capital. A large cloud
of smoke could be seen, rising high into the sky above the fiery area where the
capital building once was. The loud cries and screams of the horrified citizens
could be heard all the way from where they were. “Hahahaha ... We did it boys! Bid
farewell to this miserable place and let’s return to the ship!” Beckoned
Captain Bonescar before turning around and heading back to where his ship was. “Aye!” Cried
out all the remaining skeleton soldiers before following their captain. Soon after,
as the ghost ship began to sail away into the distance, Vanessa slowly walked
out of the ruined building in which she was hiding and into the wrecked and
smoky area which was once the quaint and quiet docks of Port Veronica. “Why ...
what were they ... why did they do this ...” She whispered miserably as tears
began filling up her eyes. Danny, who couldn’t say a word and was still
shocked himself, just went ahead and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, but
Vanessa immediately turned and sobbed into his chest. Both Jose and Rose were
also still shocked and speechless as they began walking around. Corpses and
bones littered the ground, along with the rubble. Some survivors, including the
sailors who were in the tavern earlier, soon also began walking out of their
hiding places and looked around. Everyone was
speechless and quiet, except for the sobbing Vanessa, but quite suddenly spoke
out, surprising everyone. “I know everything ...” Instantly, everyone who was
in the area turned to see where that voice came from, and was rather startled
to see it was a very old and short
voodoo priest with dreadlocks carrying a large wooden staff with a skeleton on
its top end. “Pardon me ?”
Asked Jose with a confused expression on his face. “I know
Bonescar’s story, his origins, powers, and even weaknesses. I will tell you all
about it later, but first I must tell you, he is pure evil, and really powerful
too. If you wish to exact revenge upon him, you will need a special artefact. I
can help you get it if you wish, but only if you all are willing to go out to
great lengths to do so.” Said the old voodoo priest. Everyone
remained silent for a while until one of the surviving sailors asked, “An
artefact? To defeat Bonescar?” “Yes. It is
called the golden moon idol, and it is located in an uncharted island called
‘Crescent Island’.” Explained the voodoo priest, prompting everyone else in the
area, including Danny and Vanessa, to look at each other in curiosity.
Chapter 6 The treasure map
“What’s the matter
lad?” Asked Pierre the old pirate as he approached Ahmed, who was leaning on
the rail of the Black Hurricane. “I still
can’t believe Dan would just leave like that, I mean ... who does that even? He
just left his partner behind without even leaving a note, just to run away with
a girl he just met!” Answered Ahmed bitterly. “Ah ... he’s
just smitten lad, young love that is. You’ll eventually find someone yerself,
someone who you just know is perfect for you the first time you see her.” Said
Pierre, trying to cheer Ahmed up as he patted him on the back. “What, I’m
not jealous about that! I just thought Dan would’ve at least left behind a note
for me, that’s all.” Replied Ahmed. “By the way, I haven’t seen Captain
Brownhack in a while, where is he?” He asked, quickly changing the topic.
“He’s been
down, just like you, since he found out that girl left with your partner there.
Mr. Smith is in his cabin right now, trying to cheer him up, just like I’m
doing with ye.” Replied Pierre as he lightly shook his head. “Oh ... who
is that girl, anyway? I mean, what’s her position on this ship? Is she like,
the captain’s daughter or something?” Asked Ahmed. “I don’t
know, lad. I don’t know.” Answered Pierre as he once again shook his head, this
time while rubbing his white beard. “Oh ...
speaking of which, you said I would eventually find love myself, a girl that I
would know is perfect for me the moment I see her. What about you, how’d you
meet your wife?” Asked Ahmed. Pierre seemed
kind of hestitant to answer. His pupils dashed from left to right and he gulped
before he finally said, “What’s wrong with your eye?” “Huh?” Said
Ahmed in confusion as he lightly touched his right eye with his hand. “No, I mean
the other one ...” Said Pierre as he motioned to his own left eye with his
index finger. “Oh, why?
There’s nothing wrong.” Replied Ahmed as he touched his eyepatch, which was
covering his left eye. He flipped it up and blinked a few times. “See?” “Oh, but then
why in blazes are you wearing that eyepatch all the time then, boy?” Asked
Pierre. Ahmed raised
both of his shoulders and squinted before asking, “... Why are you not?” He was
just as confused as Pierre was. Pierre sighed
and wrapped his arm around Ahmed’s shoulders. “You’re new in this business
aren’t you, lad? You were never a pirate before?” “Of course
not!” Snapped Ahmed in denial, and just then, a voice called out from way above
them. “Oi, you with
the eyepatch! It’s your turn to take the crow’s nest!” Shouted the pirate who
was in the crow’s nest. “Gotcha!”
Shouted Ahmed back as he flashed the pirate a thumbs up, before leaning close
to Pierre and whispering, “What does that mean?” Pierre sighed
one more time before he led Ahmed away from rail. “I think I better teach ye
the basics of bein’ a pirate first.” “No, I think
I’d rather have you tell me more about how I can eventually meet a girl who I
know will be right for me ...” Replied Ahmed. “Nay, I’m
doin’ the favor here lad.” Pierre insisted as they continued to walk. “Now,
first of all ...” Meanwhile,
while the two pirates were bickering, Mr. Smith was still trying to get his
captain back in his usual spirit again. “I’m sure
we’ll meet her again cap’n, I really am. I mean, she’s not gonna just die.” He
said. “I suppose
you’re right, but then again, what if that new lad’s got ill intents against my
daughter and actually did somethin’ bad to her?” Replied Captain Brownhack. He
was looking out to the sea through the rear window of the ship in his cabin. “Well if ... wait a minute, cap’n, did ye just call
Vanessa your daughter?” Asked Ahmed as his eyes widened. Captain
Brownhack’s own eyes also widened the moment he realized what he just said. “Ah
right, she’s not ... my own daughter was lost years ago ... but I think it’s
time you understand that I think of her like another daughter you know, Mr.
Smith.” “I see ...
but let me assure you captain, that new boy’s got nothing against her. He
wouldn’t do anything bad to her, I know it ...” Said Mr. Smith. “How do you
know?” Asked Captain Brownhack, who still hadn’t turned around. “Well, I’ve
talked to him before. He’s a good lad. A bit inexperienced perhaps, but good
nonetheless.” Answered Mr. Smith. “But suppose he did do something to her,
we’ll just hunt him down and take his head like we do all our enemies, won’t we
cap’n?” “Well ...
you’re absolutely right Mr. Smith.” Said Captain Brownhack finally, after a
period of silence. He finally turned around and flashed Mr. Smith a kind of
smile he had never personally seen from the captain before. “Heh, well
now ... if ye don’t mind me askin’ cap’n, where and how did you meet Vanessa if
she ain’t even your daughter but still that important to ye?” Asked Mr. Smith. Before
Captain Brownhack had a chance to reply, Ahmed’s voice was suddenly heard all
the way from the crow’s nest outside. “Ship off the port bow!” “Cap’n?”
Asked Mr. Smith. “To your
station, Mr. Smith.” Said Captain Brownhack as he nodded and smiled, this time
his signature pirate’s smile that Mr. Smith had always recognized. “Aye,
captain!” Replied Mr. Smith excitedly as he gave a salute, before storming out
of the captain’s cabin, followed by the captain himself. “Oi, what
ship is it?” Shouted Mr. Smith as soon as he was on the main deck. “I don’t
know!” Shouted Ahmed back. “What ship
again?” Asked Captain Brownhack suddenly from behind Mr. Smith. “He doesn’t
know captain.” Answered Mr. Smith. “What’s the
color?” Asked Captain Brownhack. Though he did not even shout, Ahmed could hear
his voice clearly all the way on the crow’s nest. “Brown!”
Replied Ahmed. “Brown!?”
Commented Mr. Smith in confusion. “And what
color be that?” Asked Captain Brownhack. “The boat of
course, what else?” Replied Ahmed. On the decks
below, Pierre slapped his palm on his own face and shook his head lightly while
Captain Brownhack commented, “Such a crew you’ve assembled here Mr. Smith.”
Before making his way to the poop deck, where he took out his telescope and
observed the ship in the distance himself. While most of
the other crewmembers were still leaning over the left railing of ship, trying
to see the approaching ship themselves, Mr. Smith followed his captain and
asked, “What is it, captain?” “...Bounty
hunters.” Answered Captain Brownhack shortly as he lowered his telescope and
tucked it back into his coat. “Bounty
hunters! To your stations men!” Shouted Mr. Smith immediately, and at once, the
crew stepped away from the railing and got hectic, scrambling all over the
place. “Pistols!
Cutlasses! Ye all know the drill, sea barnacles! Prepare for battle!” Beckoned
Captain Brownhack as he unsheathed his large broadsword and raised it high
above his head. “Aye!” Cheered
the crew in unison. “This will be
good...” Muttered Captain Brownhack quietly, a statement that Mr. Smith was
happy to hear. “Oi, what
about me?” Shouted Ahmed from way above. “Get down
too, man the cannons!” Replied one of the crewmembers amidst the crowd of
pirates getting ready to fight. “Aye!” Said
Ahmed before making his way back down onto the main deck and then down below. “Looks like
they’re preparin’ to fight as well, cap’n ...” Muttered Mr. Smith as Captain
Brownhack lended him the telescope. “What makes
you say that?” Asked Captain Brownhack. “Well, fer
one thing they’re headin’ full sails towards our direction. Makes sense I
suppose, they be bounty hunters and all.” Answered Mr. Smith as he put away the
telescope. He then proceeded to descend the steps down onto the main deck and
join some of the other pirates in handing out weapons. “Full canvas!”
Shouted Captain Brownhack suddenly, still standing on the poop deck, looming
over all of his crewmembers. “Aye!” They
replied. Immediately some of them moved for the capstan and climbed the rigging
of the ship to make full sails. The crew moved fast and the Black Hurricane was
moving faster and steadier towards the approaching bounty hunter ship. However,
as both ships got closer and closer, the bounty hunter ship suddenly lowered
huge oars from the sides of the massive galleon, propelling them even faster at
the Black Hurricane. Mr. Smith’s
eyes widened. The wind was on the Black Hurricane’s side, but with their
massive oars, the bounty hunter’s ship could very well take the advantage with
such swift mobility. Within moments they already had their guns run out and
prepared. “Captain?”
Asked Mr. Smith in panic as he turned towards his captain. Some of the
crewmembers also apparently noticed the opposing ship’s movements and sudden
advantage, and thus they froze where they stood with fearful expressions. “What are ye
all afraid of, you cowardly sea turtles!? That’s the kind of attitude that will
surely get you down to the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker a coward! Ye fight and
and either succeed or die in glory, or stand like a bunch of whimpering
weaklings and die a coward! Which do ye choose!? Now get off your feet, run out
the guns and wait fer my command! Brace yerselves and yer weapons, and I’ll
promise ye, ours is the ship that will prevail!” Boomed Captain Brownhack, and
at once, all of the crewmembers who had previously frozen in fear, now all
riled up and fearless, immediately returned to their battle positions. “Aye! Fight! Move, you cowards! Yeah!” They
all screamed and cheered at each other with weapons already in hand. The definite
reassurance of the return of his captain’s charismatic leadership, along with
the thunderous cheers of the enthusiastic, ever-ready-for-battle pirates put a
smile on Mr. Smith’s face. “Aye!” He shouted before making his way below decks. “Run out the
cannons and be at the ready boys, wait fer the captain’s signal!” He ordered to
all of the cannoneers, including Ahmed and Pierre, who were already crouching
behind their respective cannons. They all pushed the cannons out while cheering
upon hearing Mr. Smith’s command. “Here we go
again ...” Muttered Ahmed as he and Pierre pushed out their own cannon. The
breeze of the ocean brushed their face as they did, but Ahmed felt anything but
relaxed. Within only a
few seconds, the other ship was already visible in front of them, and the cheers
of their enemies filled their ears.
With their
view of the ocean in front of them blocked by the massive bounty hunter ship,
all the cannoneers of the Black Hurricane anxiously awaited orders as they
stared into the eyes of the enemy cannoneers. “FIREEEE!!!”
Shouted a voice suddenly from above, almost in unison with another voice
yelling the exact same word, coming from the direction of the enemy ship. “FIRE ALL!!!”
Mr. Smith repeated once again to all the cannoneers as they blasted away, at
the same time the enemy ship did too. The sound of
cannonblasts from either sides were accompanied by the sound of cracking wood
and screams. Ahmed only whimpered as once again, a cannonball from the opposing
ship smashed through the portside of the ship only inches from his own head. He
shielded his head as he fell backwards as splinters washed over him and Pierre. “Pull back
... reload, lad!” Said Pierre while pulling the cannon back so that they could
reload. While Ahmed inserted the next cannonball into the cannon, some more
cannons plowed through the side. “Barnacles!
They’re faster than us!” Screamed the cannoneer named Oliver right next to
them, a bearded young man wearing a dark blue coat. “AAAH! HELP!”
Screamed some of the pirates to their right as more cannonballs smashed through
and took out some of them. “Now! It’s
done! Fire, lad!” Screamed Pierre while squinting and plugging both of his ears
with his fingers right after he and Ahmed had their cannon reloaded. Ahmed
closed his eyes and did as his partner said, lighting the cannon and firing
away, followed by Oliver, and soon after the rest of the surviving cannoneers.
A lot of the
blasts hit the large galleon in front of them, and the screams of the enemy
cannoneers filled the air, while the cheers and shouts of the crewmembers both
right above them and on the enemy ship matched in volume. Meanwhile, on
the deck above them, some of the pirates had already begun boarding the bounty
hunter ship, but unlike their previous raid against the merchants, this time
around, their enemies also boarded their ship, the Black Hurricane. Both crew
wanted each others’ plunders bad. “Shoot them!
Kill those maggots!” Beckoned Captain Brownhack from the poop deck as he took
out his long multi-barreled pistol and fired shots at some of the bounty
hunters who had managed to board his ship. One of his bullets hit a bounty
hunter in the head, and another hit a bounty hunter in the arm. Both of them
toppled overboard, but the others moved on and fought. All of the
bounty hunters and pirates fought with burning spirits. Their cries and
merciless cheers reached high into sky accompanying the ringing of clashing
swords and the firing of guns. At first, Mr.
Smith kept his distance from the heat of the battle and hid under the shadow of
the large door to the captain’s cabin below the poop deck, sniping his enemies
from a distance using his musket, but he dropped it to the ground and
unsheathed his sword the moment a bounty hunter approached him. “Die, filthy
pirate!” Screamed the bounty hunter, to which Mr. Smith simply replied with his
battle cry before their swords clashed. The bounty hunter proved to be quite a
challenge for Mr. Smith, who did not expect it. The bounty hunter made a
roundhouse slash after the first parry, throwing Mr. Smith off guard, but right
as he was about to thrust his sword into Mr. Smith’s chest, the latter was able
to parry it and push him back a feet before striking. Meanwhile,
above him, Captain Brownhack himself was confronted by two bounty hunters at
once. “I know who you are ...” Said one of them, a scrawny looking man with a
face resembling a rat. “Pray tell!” Taunted
Captain Brownhack while keeping his stance as the other bounty hunter
approached him from the left. “Captain
Brownhack. You’re famous across the Caribbean for your ruthlessness and
cruelty, that the rumors say almost matches even the late Blackbeard himself.”
Replied the bounty hunter. “And I’ve
heard you’ve once worked for him too, am I right? Blackbeard, that is.” Added
the other one in a mocking tone. “Nay! That
was a one time partnership. Nothing more. But I’m curious, gentleman, you’ve
both obviously heard of me, no doubt you’ve heard of my skills as well have you
not?” Taunted Captain Brownhack once again. Both of the
bounty hunters nodded. “Yes.” Whispered the ratty-looking one while still
keeping his cutlass pointed at the large pirate captain’s chest. “Aye, then
brave men, ye both be, I’ll give ye that!” Said Captain Brownhack as he nodded
before in one quick motion, parried both of the bounty hunters’ swords with his
own. His strength was enough to nearly topple both of them off balance, and
while they struggled to get back on their feet, the pirate captain ran one of
them through, the rat faced one. The moment
his partner crumpled down, the other bounty hunter made a slash for Captain
Brownhack’s neck, but the latter was quick to turn around and parry. The two
then continued to clash their swords and parry some more, but it didn’t take
long before the bounty hunter was overwhelmed and once again nearly lost his
balance, giving Captain Brownhack the opportunity to serve him the same fate as
his partner. After
dispatching both of the bounty hunters who had challenged him, Captain
Brownhack proceeded to grab on to the rail of the poop deck, looming over the
battle that was still raging on his ship. It was evident that the bounty
hunters were a lot stronger than the merchants they faced days prior, for they
actually gave the pirates some struggle, but it was not something the
experienced captain never experienced before. On the other
ship, a lot of Captain Brownhack’s own men were fighting ferociously as well,
making good progress towards taking it over even. Among the pirates fighting on
the bounty hunters’ ship were Ajeet and Lantern, whose jobs were to blow the
enemy ship using barrels of gunpowder, lighting them after the ship’s been
looted and every surviving pirate has returned to the Black Hurricane. It didn’t
take long for that to happen, and though at first the bounty hunters seemed
like trouble, in the end, the pirates still prevailed. The explosion
of the massive galleon shook the tides. The rigging and the railing of the
Black Hurricane all creaked as the ship was nearly flipped on its side by the
massive wave created by the impact. “Aaaah!”
Screamed Ahmed below decks as he tumbled and rolled over on the floor as the
ship nearly toppled over. He was halted only when his head bumped onto one of
the wooden posts, making a loud thud sound. “Umph!” He muttered irritably,
before a barrel slammed onto his back, causing him to once again bump his head
on the wooden post. A lot of the
pirates on the decks lost their balance and had to hang on to the rigging to
not fall off. A couple pirates and a bounty hunter even fell overboard, while
Mr. Smith had to wrap his arms around the edge of the rail. Even Captain
Brownhack nearly toppled over, but he managed to quickly take hold of the helm,
pushing aside the helmsman, who immediately fell over and nearly overboard. “Two-a-too
many gunpowder barrels” Muttered Lantern as he rubbed his head while slowly
getting back to his feet. “It’s fine
... it’s fine ...” Said Captain Brownhack as he began descending down the
stairs onto the main deck, while the helmsman resumed his duty. There were
only four bounty hunters left on the ship. “I think he’s the captain, captain.”
Said Ajeet as he grabbed the shoulder of a bounty hunter wearing a brown long
coat. His wair was jet black and wet, and the man had a long pointy moustache
curved in the end, and was wearing a stoic expression on his face. “I’m going to
make this simple. Join my crew or die?” Asked Captain Brownhack as he
approached the bounty hunter captain while pointing his pistol at his head. “I think
you’re even more cruel than your reputation stands, captain. You’re no
different than Blackbeard at all.” Replied the captain. “Nay. And to
the likes of you, how does my reputation stand, I wonder? I lock up my
prisoners in the brig, and not kill them outright? Aye, but I do that to me
victims, the merchants I hunt, though just now, it seemed like you were the one
hunting me. Look what you’ve done to my ship and a lot of my crewmembers.” Said
Captain Brownhack while extending his arms and looking around at the badly
damaged Black Hurricane littered with the bodies of both pirates and bounty
hunters. The surviving crewmembers all huddled around. “Aye! Where
be the pirates!? Let’s whoop em!” Shouted a dazed Ahmed suddenly as he climbed
up the stairs onto the main deck. Oliver and Pierre were holding him by the
shoulders, while the other surviving cannoneers joined the rest of the crew. “Sorry, he
bumped his head. Don’t mind him, captain.” Excused Pierre with a guilty smile. Captain
Brownhack just rolled his eyes, but that’s when he realized there was something
in the bounty hunter captain’s pocket. His eyes widened as he yanked it out.
“What be this?” He asked. The bounty
hunter didn’t answer at first, but as Captain Brownhack was about to examine
it, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, “It’s a treasure map!” “A treasure
map? Is it now?” Asked a fascinated Captain Brownhack. “Aye. A map
leading to a really powerful treasure called the moon idol located in a
mysterious uncharted island called Crescent Island.” Explained the bounty
hunter captain. “I’ve changed my mind, let me go there with you.” He added. Though rather
suspicious at his sudden change in mannerism and gleaming eyes, Captain
Brownhack accepted his offer nonetheless. “Welcome to the crew then.”
Chapter 7 kraken cove
Meanwhile, on
the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Bermuda, the original
expedition fleet that was sent to Crescent Island by King George the 1st of
Great Britain, led by Admiral Blake, had just arrived to an area dubbed by many
as the ‘Kraken Cove’, due the many chilling legends surrounding it. Legends of
an ungodly leviathan sighted since the 13th century, a giant cephalopod that was
originally sighted off the coasts of Norway and Greenland, but has since
allegedly moved to the cove, as told by the Caribbean legends that had spread
since the 16th century. “So this is
the Kraken Cove ...” Muttered Admiral Blake as he stood proudly next to the
helm of the HMS Majestica, the flagship of the expedition, and a pride of the
British Royal Navy. Unhindered by the darkening skies above them and the roars
of thunder in the distance, the fleet, which consisted of the HMS Majestica and
four navy frigates, pressed on fearlessly.
Or so at
least thought the Admiral, even though some of the crewmembers were beginning
to show fear and doubt as they gazed upon the raging waters before them, splashing
around harshly on the rocky cove not so far from where they were. As they five
ships got closer and closer to the cove, the skies above them got darker as
well, with the roaring of thunders getting more frequent. “Are you sure there
are no other way, Commodore?” Asked Mr. Philly, the first mate above the HMS
Majestica as he stood on the stairs leading to the poop deck. Admiral Blake
stood silent for a few seconds while looking at the rigging and sails above his
head. They creaked, but barely shook. “She’ll survive, even if a storm comes.”
He muttered. “Keep away from the cove, make distance.” He added as he turned to
face the helmsman, who nodded in reply.
Mr. Philly
however, shook his head lightly instead. “No, I’m not talking about the storm,
admiral. I’m talking about ...” He stopped and turned around before continuing.
Most of the navy soldiers aboard the ship were huddled behind him on the main
deck with nervous expressions. “The Kraken ...” He continued in a whisper, and
just then, a large gust of wind shook the rigging above, startling himself
along with all the other crewmembers with its sound that somewhat resembled the
cry of a whale. Admiral Blake
blinked as he eyed the rigging above before he shifting his attention the
crewmembers below him. “The Kraken. Is that what all of you are afraid of?” The crew
stood in silence. Not a single man replied, prompting the Admiral to ask the
same question again, “Well?” as he paced back and forth. The same silence
filled the air. After a while, the admiral himself finally stopped walking back
and forth and looked straight into the eyes of his men. “Gentleman.
I, or should I say we, are not men of
superstition. We are men of the crown. We are men of order, and thus it is our
duty to brave these waters without worrying about some nonexistent sea monster.
You heard me right, I don’t believe in such a thing, and neither should you.”
He explained. Upon hearing his words, the navy soldiers began murmuring while
tossing still-worried looks at each other. “But ... so
many ships have disappeared around these very coves, admiral. The very area we
are in now!” Said Mr. Philly finally, to which all the crewmembers agreed and
nodded, before looking back at their leader above them. “So? Look around
gentleman, and you shall see the very reason behind that.” Said Admiral Blake
as he extended his arms and looked around at the waters around their ship. The
crewmembers all did the same thing, but with confused and fearful expressions.
The tides were getting more violent as they began to lightly sway the ship,
along with the wind. “That’s
right. This terrain, the rocks around the cove itself, the unpeaceful waves
around, the reef below us, and the constant clapping of thunder above.
Combined, even without a storm, they are enough to bring any weak ship down to
the bottom of they ocean. Weak ships crewed by weary men worrying about a
nonexistent leviathan, while ignoring the real dangers around them. Ours will not be one of those ships, and so
if you feel like you need to worry, worry about the terrain instead, or better
yet, stay calm, stay focused, listen to orders, and get back to your stations!
Now!” Ordered Admiral Blake. At once, all
the crewmembers scurried back to their positions, but not Mr. Philly. He was
still standing on the stairs looking unconvinced, holding the rail with his left
hand. “That
includes you too, Mr. Phil.” Said Admiral Blake as he tossed him look. Mr. Phil
nodded and turned around in response. “Aye. Man the capstan, tend to the sails!
Stay aware!” He shouted to the crew as he finally descended down the stairs,
though a hint of fear was still obvious in his voice. Not long after, rain
began dropping from the dark skies above, and it turned heavy within a few
minutes. “Heave! Heave
men! Heave!” Yelled the crew amidst the sound of the rain washing down on them
as they pulled the ropes of the rigging, while some others manned the capstan. “That’s it,
steady now.” Said Admiral Blake calmly, even though he was absolutely drenched. “Aye.”
Replied the helmsman as he spun the wheel, turning the ship further away from
the rocky cove, followed by the other four navy frigates. Right as they passed
the cove however, everyone onboard the HMS Majestica heard a really loud crack
from below the waters. At the same time, the tides rose a few feet high
and swayed even the large flagship, throwing everyone onboard off their feet.
The other ships were obviously impacted as well, but right as all the
crewmembers started to get back to their feet, they noticed that the waters had
suddenly gone calm. Really calm. Really suspiciously calm. The rain and
thunders were still raging, but not the waters, where the only movements and
waves created were the effects of the heavy raindrops. The large wave created
by whatever had made the loud cracking sound below them was the last. “What was
that?” Asked Barnaby, a fat navy soldier as he adjusted his wet hat, before
wiping his black moustache. Him and his partner were the only ones in the whole
navy who refused to shave their facial hair. “Probably a
reef.” Replied his partner, a skinny and short navy soldier named Barton as he
wiped his moustache too. “No, no, no
... a reef wouldn’t create a huge ripple on the surface like that.” Said Mr.
Philly. “Admiral?” He asked as he turned towards Blake, who was obviously
baffled. His lips twitched a couple times, but for the first time in his
career, he could not answer a question from one of his soldiers. His moment of
uncertainty and doubt was broken however, when a collosal shadow, even under
the heavy raindrops, was seen moving quickly right below the surface of the
water, creating another ripple, though not nearly as big as the first one.
“Oh!” Shouted Barnaby as he, followed by all the other crewmembers, quickly ran
over to the rail and leaned over, trying to spot what it was. Admiral Blake
too, saw the creeping shadow. “I was wrong ... I was wrong ...” He muttered
loudly as his eyes widened with fear. All of the navy soldiers quickly shifted
their attention to him, their faces also fear-stricken. They understood what he
meant. “Kraken.”
Whispered Barton and Barnaby as they looked at each other. “Battle
stations! Grab your combat weapons! Load and run out the cannons, all of them,
both sides! GO! GO!” Yelled the admiral at the top of his lung. Instantly,
every navy soldier onboard lost their cool. They bumped and shoved each other
while screaming in panic. A lot of the soldiers headed below decks, while some
still stood on the deck, whipping out their muskets as the Admiral went down to
join them himself. “Relay my
commands to the other ships! Now!” He ordered as he grabbed a navy soldier by
his shoulder and turned him around. Before the
navy soldier could finish his job however, a loud sound was heard over the
heavy rain. A sound like that of a whale, but louder and deeper. Barton and
Barnaby quickly ran over to the rail and leaned over, but all they said was,
“Uh oh ...” Both of them
were thrown off their feet and fell backwards as yet another really loud
cracking sound was heard, only this time, it was followed by the sound of
splashing water, and accompanied by screams of terror. Screams of terror so
loud they broke through the sound of the heavy rain. Admiral Blake
dashed as quickly as he could, nearly slipping twice on the way, before finally
grabbing the edge of the rail. He leaned over and saw that one of the four
frigates that accompanied the Black Hurricane was being torn apart by two very
large tentacles. The terrified screams of the navy soldiers persisted as one of
the tentacles smashed and destroyed one of the masts. “Turn her
about! TURN HER ABOUT!” Screamed the admiral frantically as he climbed the
stairs and dashed towards the helm. As he took over and pushed aside the
helmsman, four navy soldiers emerged from below the decks and began handing out
poleaxes and spears. The HMS
Majestica was a massive and heavy ship of the line, with two decks below the
main deck, all lined with cannons on both sides, all of which were already
loaded and ran out, with the cannoneers awaiting only orders as Admiral Blake
turned the wheel as hard as he could so that the broadside would be facing the
ship that was attacked. The other three frigates followed the gesture, and they
also turned so that their cannons would be facing the Kraken’s tentacles. As the
frigate closest to the one being attacked fired, Blake turned the wheel around
more so that the HMS Majestica could get closer as well. A lot of the navy
soldiers who were onboard the ship that was being wrecked were purposefully
tossing themselves overboard just to avoid the stray cannonballs from the other
frigate and the Kraken tentacles, with hopes of being able to swim to the HMS
Majestica or the other ships, even in the raging rain. “BROADSIDE
STARBOARD!” Ordered Admiral Blake as loudly as he could once he felt some of
the Kraken tentacles were close enough. As the HMS Majestica began firing its
starboard cannons, so did the two other frigates. Now, four ships were
surrounding the one being wrecked, and the cannonballs completely oblirated the
sides of the ship, wrecking it even further and causing more soldiers to
abandon ship, and rightfully so. Fortunately, a lot of the Kraken’s tentacles
were damaged as well, with one even completely detached. Quite unfortunately,
that made the Kraken angry. Really angry. It made
another loud noise as it retreated its two wounded tentacles. “Is it dead?”
Asked Barton. “Is the
battle over?” Added Barnaby, but before he even had a chance to close his
mouth, six massive tentacles emerged from the water and two of them smashed
into the deck of the Majestica, only a few feet away from him. “AAAAAHHHH!”
Screamed the navy soldiers who were standing on the deck. The impact of the
huge tentacle shattered the wooden floor and killed quite a number of navy
soldiers before falling into the first deck below. The loud, frantic screams of
terror weren’t only coming from the HMS Majestica either, since the three other
remaining ships also had tentacles to deal with. It was every ship for itself
by that point. “How big is
this thing?” Whispered Admiral Blake in horror as still held on to the wheel.
The tentacles began destroying the decks of the Majestica, wrapping itself
around the mast, while another was wrecking the rigging. A third one was
looking for prey as it wrapped the navy soldiers who stood close enough and
dragged them to bottom of the ocean. “Fire away! Fire!” Ordered Admiral Blake
amidst the chaos and the screams, and those below that could fire, fired. The blasts were only enough to obliterate one of
the tentacles. The wounded
tentacle retreated back while the other two continued wrecking the ship. “Shoot
at it, all of you!” Yelled Mr. Philly as he held out his musket and shot the
tentacle that was wrapped around the main mast of Majestica. Some navy soldiers
followed his command, only to find it futile and get dragged down to the bottom
of the sea, while others were busy trying to hide and protect their own lives,
Barnaby and Barton being of the latter group. Meanwhile,
one of the three other frigates got overwhelmed by the tentacles and went
crashing down to the bottom of the ocean, while the other two still continued
to fight. By that point, the Kraken had three ships to manage, but it still
proved to be a very difficult
opponent for all three. Back on the
Majestica, more and more soldiers were killed as one tentacle swiped across the
main deck. They screamed and slipped before getting dragged down. Eventually,
the tentacle that was wrapped around the main mast let go of its grasp and the
mast survived, thanks to the well timed firing of the cannons. It didn’t give up
however, and instead tried a different approach. It smashed into the first deck
below the main one and swept around, destroying the wooden posts, the stairs
leading to the main deck, and the cannons. The cannoneers screamed in terror as
some rolled around on the floor, desperately trying to avoid death by the massive
tentacle, though not many succeeded. A lot of them were either crushed by the
tentacle, hit by the debris of wood and flung cannon parts, or dragged down to
the bottom of the ocean. The tentacle obliterated the section, even reaching
all the way to the portside, killing even more navy soldiers, though
fortunately, some soldiers were quick enough to turn their cannons and fire it inside
the ship, hitting the squirming tentacle as it swept around. It took about four
cannonblasts before the tentacle finally retreated. The terror
didn’t end there however, for the HMS Majestica still had one massive tentacle
to deal with. With the other one badly wounded and forced to retreat, the one
that was originally wrecking the front deck ran wild. It swept and crashed
everything in its way, killing countless more navy soldiers, as well as
destroying the front mast, near the ship’s head. It cracked loudly and crushed
a navy soldier as it fell on the deck, messing up the rigging above as a lot of
the ropes were cut, left to dangle above the deck, causing some navy soldiers
to get tangled up, screaming before the tentacle grabbed the lot of them and
threw them to the bottom of the sea. “No!” Yelled
Barnaby in horror as he ducked down and pressed himself onto the floor of the
deck as the large tentacle swiped above him. He whimpered and cried while
covering his head, while his partner Barton hid behind the rear mast.
“Eaah!” He
screamed in terror as he jumped away right before the massive tentacle smashed
into the very mast he was hiding behind, crushing the capstan and completely
wrecking the mast. It creaked and swayed before falling to the right, hitting
the rigging, severing more ropes, and tearing the main sail before slamming
hard, blocking the stairs leading to the poop deck. Barton whimpered under the
mast while the tentacle still moved around frantically. At the same
time, yet another navy frigate was completely obliterated. Admiral Blake
watched in horror as the other Kraken tentacles slammed through the rear end of
the frigate, smashed through, and destroyed the main mast as well as the rear
one, before another one rose up high above it and slammed hard in the middle of
the ship. The force of two tentacles combined was enough to completely split
the navy frigate in half, leaving only two surviving ships. Fortunately,
the other one managed to destroy and cut off more tentacles, but now that the
Kraken only had two ships to manage, the frigate had to deal with more
tentacles. The ones that were previously attacking the frigate that just got destroyed immediately shifted
focus to the one remaining frigate, attacking from both the port and starboard,
while the cannons continued to fire at them. Even the tentacle that was
rampaging through the deck of the HMS Majestica decided to retreat and attack
the frigate first. Admiral Blake
decided to take the opportunity by once again, turning the wheel of the ship,
which fortunately still stood, as hard as he could so that the broadside
cannons would face the tentacles. Even in the still raging rain with only the
main mast remaining along with the small sail right above the poop deck, the
HMS Majestica was still able to move closer to help the frigate. “All
survivors below decks! Operate the cannons that could still work! MOVE!”
Commanded Admiral Blake over the sound of the raging rain and the firing of
cannons from the other ship. Mr. Philly,
who was previously hiding in the captain’s cabin, immediately got out and
forcefully dragged the terrified Barton and Barnaby below decks. They were
followed by the other navy soldiers who survived up to that point. The remaining
frigate put up more of a fight, even though all of its masts had been destroyed
and the sails torn. It managed to destroy even more tentacles, leaving only
three by the time the HMS Majestica got close enough. “FIRE ALL!”
Screamed Admiral Blake as loud as he could once the tentacles were within
range. “You heard
him!” Screamed Mr. Philly below decks. “No, we
didn’t!” Cried Barton while squinting as the rough rain washed over his face
through the large, stretching crack the Kraken had made on the broadside. “Yeah, what
did he say?” Cried Barnaby next to him. “FIRE ALL!
AIM FOR THE TENTACLES!” Yelled Mr. Philly, and at once, without another word,
all the surviving navy soldiers lit the remaining cannons and fired away at the
three tentacles, aiding the frigate. The blasts of
the remaining cannons from both rows of the HMS Majestica’s broadside
starboard, along with blasts from the frigate’s own remaining cannons proved to
be powerful enough to dispatch two more tentacles. The Kraken made another loud
cry before using its only remaining tentacle to smash the deck of the frigate
as a final attack. The frigate
finally went down with a loud crack and a loud splash, but fortunately, so did
the Kraken. It made one final cry before its shadow could been seen diving
deeper down into the bottom of the ocean using its final remaining tentacle.
Admiral Blake sighed a sigh of relief as he watched the beastly leviathan go. Strangely,
while Admiral Blake was still catching his breath on the poop deck, the rain
stopped and the skies cleared up soon after. The rain stopped within a minute
of the Kraken’s departure, and soon, the survivors of the attack climbed up
onto the wrecked main deck from below and looked around. “Well, at
least the main mast’s still standing.” Whispered Barnaby while pointing at the
towering, and only remaining mast stretching high above him and the other
crewmembers. Mr. Philly ignored him and walked up to his captain instead, using
the stairs on the left since the one on the right was still blocked by the
fallen rear mast. Some
survivors from the final frigate that was destroyed managed to abandon their
ship in time and climb onto the HMS Majestica. “Gentleman.”
Said Admiral Blake as he walked away from the helm, letting Mr. Philly take
over since the original helmsman had been killed in the attack. “I offer my
most sincere apologies for my mistake of saying that the Kraken was nonexistent
earlier. But look at the bright side, for now you may say that you were a part
of the crew that sent the Kraken back down to the depths, without being dragged
down with him.” He said reassuringly, accompanied by a nod at the end. “Whoo! ...”
Cheered Barnaby with a flat face as he raised his fist into air, while Barton
clapped loudly, but they both stopped awkwardly the moment they noticed no one
else was doing the same, and was instead looking at them with weird looks. Admiral Blake
then nodded a few times while looking down at his feet before turning around
and walking up to Mr. Philly on the helm. “If I’m not mistaken, we’re not that
far off from our destination, are we?” He asked. “No we’re
not, admiral. If the weather stays clear like this, we should be able to reach
Crescent Island pretty soon. Let’s just hope we don’t run into another storm,
or a sea monster at that. She won’t survive it.” Said Mr. Philly.
Chapter 8 Siren cove
“Augh!”
Yelled Ahmed in pain after he rolled off his hammock and fell onto the hard
wooden floor below the decks. He rubbed his aching forehead as he struggled to
get up, and when he did, he noticed that something was different. There was no
one below decks other than him. It was quiet. No snoring, no chattering or
chatting, nothing. He looked around and saw that his hammock was still swaying
behind him, but it was the only one that was. The others were completely still.
The area around him were still a little wrecked, with some wooden posts broken,
and he began to remember that he was involved in a fight against bounty hunters
that day. Still confused, he then proceeded to ascend the stairs to the deck
above, and much to his relief, that’s where everyone was. However,
again to his confusion, everyone was different than usual. They were all
standing before the front rails of the ship near the head, both left and right,
and not a single sound was heard from any of them. The damage to
the rails haven’t been completely repaired, and even though it was in the
middle of the night, the only source of light that illuminated the ship and the
waters around them was the moon hanging high above, which cast a radiant glow
on the surface of the ocean. All of the lanterns had been doused, and the only
sounds that were heard on the ship were the creaking of the rigging above, the
sound of the wind pushing the massive sails, and the sound of the helm turning. Before making
his way to join the other mysteriously silent pirates on the front side of the
ship, Ahmed turned around and saw that standing on the poop deck, holding on to
the rail, were Captain Brownhack, Mr. Smith, and the bounty hunter captain with
the pointy moustache Ahmed recognized from the battle earlier that day. Behind
them was the helmsman. Like all the other pirates, they were all silent, and
their eyes were fixated on the sea before them. The waters
they were sailing through were quiet and calm, yet there were many rocks, so
the helmsman had to navigate very carefully, yet another thing that caught
Ahmed’s curiosity was the fact that the ship seemed to prefer moving behind the
shadows of the rocks, far enough so that they wouldn’t crash, yet close enough
so that the ship would still be hidden under the shadows of the massive rocks. “Oy, what is
this?” Asked Ahmed as he approached Pierre and grabbed his shoulder. Pierre seemed
very startled as he turned around. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open,
before he realized that the man who had touched him was only Ahmed. “What is this?” Whispered Ahmed,
repeating his question, now in a whisper, albeit a very loud and hissing one.
Pierre didn’t
answer, he simply put his index finger up to his lips while the other one
touched the tip of his ear, prompting Ahmed to make a very confused expression
while raising both of his shoulders. The other pirates finally noticed him, and
as they turned around to face him, all of them put their own index fingers in
front of their lips, motioning for Ahmed to be quiet, only to startle and
confuse him even further. Up on the
poop deck, Captain Brownhack began to squint through the darkness that
stretched on before the ship as it passed behind yet another large rock, as if
looking for something. “We should be able to see them soon enough.” Whispered Charmon,
the bounty hunter captain next to him as he leaned very close to the captain’s
ear while keeping his eyes fixated on the terrain in front of them. Captain
Brownhack nodded before asking in a low and sinister tone, “What if ... their
singing pierces even our earplugs?” Mr. Smith
only gulped as Charmon replied in a whisper, “I have no idea ...” Before long,
as the ship once again sailed under the moonlight after passing behind the
large rock, the crew saw a magnificent sight not one of them have ever seen or
even dreamed of seeing their whole lives. In a cove not
so distant from where they were, sitting perched on the structure of rocks
against the splashing sea water, were creatures so beautiful that even the most
bitter and old sailors aboard the Black Hurricane couldn’t help but fall
entranced. The creatures
were of human size, resembling women, with long, golden hair shimmering under
the moonlight. Their pale skin, smoother than silk were bare, and their faces,
they were showing an expression of such peace and tranquility that even the
hearts of worn out sailors couldn’t help but absorb the feeling. The term
‘Angelic’ was an understatement of their heavenly figures, distinguished from
even the most beautiful of damsels by the large, silk-white feathery wings
stretching out from their bare backs, and the talons which grew out of their
lower torso, in place of legs. “Gods curse
me soul if I ever fall in love with another creature on this earth again ...”
Whispered Captain Brownhack, amazed and shocked at the warm feeling that has
surged through his whole body from his heart which he had not felt beat as fast
in nearly decades. No one responded to his whispery remarks however, for all
the other sailors had their eyes transfixed on the creatures, with their mouths
gaping open, including even Ahmed, who was previously baffled and confused out
of his mind. “So this is
what you meant when you once said to me I’d eventually find a girl whom I know
will be perfect for me the first time I see her?” Asked Ahmed in a whisper to
Pierre. “No.”
Answered Pierre simply, his eyes still fixed on the creatures. “These are Siren
lad, they’ll kill ye the moment you lean close fer even a peck on the cheek.
Beautiful, yet beastly they are.” “Oh, so these are Siren ...” Muttered Ahmed. “Really boy,
what did you think they were? Stranded women with talons instead of feet, who
just happened to grow wings out their damn backs, with nothing better to do
than to play the harp!?” Snapped Pierre, starting to get irritated. “Yo shut up man!
We are tryin’-to-bird-watch-some real pretty birdies here! Don’t ya all
remember we supposed to whisper when we talk-an’-that we not supposed to talk
at all here!?” Yelled Lantern the Jamaican pirate suddenly, causing all the
other crewmembers to look in his direction at once. “Shoosh!
You’re ruining it too!” Snapped his partner Ajeet as he slapped Lantern hard on
the back. “Yo what you
doin’, man!?” Protested Lantern as he attempted to slap his partner back,
before Oliver, who was standing behind him, restrained him and locked his arms
behind his back. Lantern struggled hard, and accidently knocked Oliver to the floor
with his elbow. “Oof!” Said
Oliver as he fell on his back. “Shuuut up!”
Bellowed Captain Brownhack from the poop deck above them in response, terribly
irritated at ruckus his crewmembers were creating. “Oh no ...”
Whispered Charmon next to him. “What?” Asked
Captain Brownhack. “They’re not
supposed to notice us this soon. This is bad.” Said Charmon in a terrified and
somewhat shaky voice. Turning back
to look at the cove which they were approaching, Captain Brownhack saw that the
sirens had stopped playing the harps which they were holding and were looking
straight at the direction of the Black Hurricane. For the first
time that they saw, the sirens had opened their eyes and revealed shiny silver
pupils, dilated and almost transparent. Their once peaceful expressions had
been turned into that of awareness and caution as the Black Hurricane continued
to get closer to the cove. Their silence was not for long though, for merely a
few seconds later, the closed their eyes once again and resumed playing their
harps, only this time accompanied by a song. The most beautiful song any of the
sailors onboard the Black Hurricane had ever heard, with voices so radiant and captivating
that even the most beautiful voices of the most beautiful women in their dreams
could not compare, silencing all the pirates at once, once again observing all
of their focus and attention. As the
pirates just stood there captivated with eyes and mouths wide open like before,
one of the sirens suddenly flapped her wings and jumped up, creating a small
ripple on the surface of the water. She flew over to the Black Hurricane, and
the others soon followed. To the surprise of the sailors, the sirens who were
perching on the cove were not the only ones either, since more began to come up
from the surface of the water and follow the others. The drops of water that
they left behind as they flew over to the ship sparkled under the moonlight,
even as clouds began to move in and cover the moon. Strangely, as more and
more sirens showed up from the surface
of the water, more clouds also appeared in the sky and began to cover the moon,
completely enveloping it in darkness before long. Pierre was
the first to notice, and it broke him from his trance. He quickly shoved and
pushed all the pirates around him and gestured at his ears with his index
fingers. All of the
pirates understood at once and they all shoved both of their index fingers in
their ears, with some closing their eyes and some looking down at the sea,
trying to ignore all the sirens around them. All except for Ahmed, who had not
even been broken out of his trance. Not one of
the sirens stopped singing in perfect harmony as they twirled around the pirate
ship. Some were perching on the rigging above, some were flying around in
circles above the mast, while some were even sitting on the rails, pretty close
to the pirates who tried their best to ignore them. Ahmed, being
the only one who didn’t have his ear plugged due to him sleeping through most
of the voyage, fell into the sirens’ spells almost as soon as they landed on
the ship. The sirens noticed this, and a lot of them took the advantage and
focused on him. One of the sirens motioned for Ahmed to come closer using her
index finger. “Lord save me
...”Whispered Ahmed weakly as he found himself inevitably drawn to the siren,
who flapped down from the rail she was sitting on and landed softly on the
deck, only a few feet from Ahmed, who continued to approach her as if in a
hypnotic state. The other sirens also slowly moved closer towards him, and even
the ones who were perching on the rigging above flew down to get closer. All
the other pirates, including Captain Brownhack, remained silent, and only
watched in horror as the sirens began to envelop the poor Ahmed. The siren
that had originally invited him to come closer finally wrapped her arms around
him when he was close enough. She smiled and gleamed her bright silvery eyes at
him as she began to purse her lips, as if about to kiss. Her hair fell softly
on her back while Ahmed closed his own mouth and pursed it as well, expecting
and hoping for nothing more than the most brilliant kiss that he’d ever
receive. Before he could know for sure however, a gun was fired. The siren,
whose face was only about an inch away from Ahmed’s at that point, screeched
loudly following the gunshot, revealing a set of teeth looking sharper than
that of sharks. Her eyes goggled open and her silver pupils rolled up as she immediately
staggered away from Ahmed, who also pushed her back the moment he saw her sharp
teeth. The other siren all scattered and screeched as well. They flapped their
wings and flew frantically around the ship. As he fell on
his back in terror, Ahmed realized that the siren who almost killed him had
been shot in the shoulder. She continued to screech and cry pain while tending
to her bleeding right shoulder with both of her arms. All beauty and sense of
radiance that previously shrouded the creature had completely disappeared.
Looking around, Ahmed saw that the one who fired the shot was Pierre, who was
breathing heavily with his smokey flintlock still in hand. “This is bad.” Gasped Charmon suddenly up on
the poop deck as he looked up at the sky. Captain Brownhack and Mr. Smith also
followed the direction he was looking at and saw that all of the sirens were
now circling the ship way above the mast, screeching and screaming, their
morbid sounds piercing even the earplugs of the sailors. Merely a few seconds
later, thunderous lightning began appearing in the dark night sky, followed
shortly by heavy raindrops that quickly washed over the Black Hurricane as the
water beneath it began to roil, swaying the ship, all whilst the screeching
sirens continued to fly in circles above the mast. They also completely
abandoned their harps by dropping them down into the raging sea. “This is what
I feared ...” Added Charmon, and before he could even close his mouth, all the
sirens above quickly dove down at the sailors while baring their sharp teeth, prepared
to strike and kill all of them.
The pirates
all scrambled at once. They screamed and ducked and ran frantically on the deck
with the rain washing over them as the sirens dove around like seagulls trying
to catch fish at sea. “Aaaah!”
Screamed one of the pirates as a siren plunged her sharp talons into his back,
before rising up and diving into the raging ocean, drowning the pirate. “Get your
guns! Fight back you cowards, don’t run away!” Screamed Captain Brownhack
amidst the chaos, and as a siren turned around and lunged towards him while
baring her sharp fangs, the pirate captain simply pulled out his broadsword and
slashed her right in the face. The once heavenly bird woman dropped down on the
deck at once. Oliver tried
to defend himself using his own sword, but a siren snatched it out of his hand
the moment he unsheathed it.
“Aaah! No!
Nooo!” Screamed another pirate while holding on to the ropes on the side of the
railing. His leg was being forcefully pulled by a siren, who was screeching in
frustration before another pirate shot her right in the forehead. The screams
of the pirates continued to persist just as the storm did, and even those who
took refuge below decks weren’t safe, for the sirens even began crashing
through the sides, proving themselves to be powerful enough to easily rip
through wood. “Die, you
foul barnacle faced devil!” Yelled Captain Brownhack as he struggled against
another siren, who managed to block his sword slash using her talons. “Aaagh!”
He then screamed as another siren slashed his back and planted her talons in. “Captain!”
Screamed Mr. Smith in panic. He had just gotten down onto the main deck to help
some of the other pirates. Meanwhile,
Charmon, whom Captain Brownhack thought was right next to him, had secretly
slipped into the captain’s cabin to seek refuge while the captain himself was
occupied. “Aaargh!
Devils! Blasted...” Yelled Captain Brownhack as he continued to struggle
against the two sirens, who were attacking him both from his front and back.
The helmsman tried to help him, but he himself was snatched away by another
siren and dragged down to sea, leaving the helm unoccupied. Mr. Smith
quickly climed the stairs leading to the poop deck to both help his captain and
take control of the helm, but a siren dove down at him. Fortunately, he was
able to turn around just in time and the siren failed to plant her talons into
his back, although he did fall flat on it on the stairs and had to fight in the
heavy rain using his sword while sprawled on his back. “No! Agh! Get off!” He
yelled as the siren continued to screech and scratch at him from the front. “Back off ye
savage beast!” Screamed Pierre as a siren lunged at him from the front. He
deflected her talons using his sword and parried against them for a while
before finally landing a slash on her stomach. The siren cried in pain and
rolled over on the deck, dead. Not so far
from where he stood, Ahmed was also
struggling against a siren himself. “Aaah, I thought you wanted kisses!” He
screamed frantically as he slashed around, trying to land a blow on the
creature in front of him. More and more
pirates continued to get snatched away, and the sirens continued to rip apart
the Black Hurricane both above and below the decks. Many of them screamed and
struggled, and many of them even had a chance to fight, but a lot of them were
no match against the angry sirens.
Up on the
poop deck, even Captain Brownhack was still having trouble, and his whole body
continued to get scratched and slashed by the vicious creatures. Nearly being
lifted off the ground, he then decided to instead transfer all of his weight
into his back. He kicked the rail in front of him hard and slammed himself onto
the wooden floor as hard as he could. The move surprised the siren who had her
talons plunged into his back, and she screamed as her talons got crushed under
the large pirate captain’s weight, leaving the other siren who was attacking
the captain from the front shocked. Captain Brownhack used the opportunity and
quickly struck her right in the chest, killing her before turning around and
doing the same to the one with the broken talons. Captain Brownhack groaned in
pain before kicking the dead siren in front of him hard and making his way
towards the helm that was spinning out of control, only a few feet from where
he was. Unfortunately, he was too late. The Black
Hurricane crashed hard into one of the large rocks due to the rough, roiling
waters and the sirens rocking the ship. The impact wrecked the starboard,
ripped one of the sails, and threw some pirates overboard. The large frigate
even nearly turned on its side, but on the bright side for the pirates, the
impact also crushed a few sirens, as well as scaring away the rest of them. “Grab your
muskets and pistols men! Scare ‘em off fer good now!” Yelled Mr. Smith as he
held on hard to the ropes of the starboard railing, the same ropes that
protected him from being crushed by the impact of the crash while his captain
was frantically turning the wheel to the left as hard as he could. “Here are the
muskets!” Screamed Ajeet as he and his partner emerged from below decks
carrying a whole bunch of muskets. They passed them around the remaining
pirates quickly. “FIRE AWAY,
CRETINS! BLAST THOSE FOUL DEVILS!” Yelled Captain Brownhack while still turning
the wheel so that the Black Hurricane would regain its balance. Upon the
order, all the pirates fired away in the direction of the sirens, who were
fluttering about in the sky not so far from where the ship was, waiting to make
their comeback attack. They didn’t get the chance however, for a lot of the
pirates made good aim. A few were shot down, and those who narrowly missed
death quickly decided to fly away and retreat back to their cove. “We did it!
Hooray!” Cheered Ajeet, followed by the other pirates, except for Mr. Smith,
who still had a worried and unconvinced look on his face. “Captain?” He
asked as he looked up towards the poop deck. “Fools! Don’t
celebrate yet!” Snapped Captain Brownhack. Within only a
minute after the sirens had left, the weather cleared up and the tides calmed
down as the full moon returned to sight, much to everyone’s relief. “Is it over?”
Asked Charmon suddenly as he opened the door from the captain’s cabin and
headed out to the main deck. “You there!”
Called Captain Brownhack suddenly, startling the man. “How much further is
Crescent Island?” He asked as Charmon turned around. All of the attention from
the other pirates quickly shifted to him the moment the question was asked.
Everyone was eager to hear his answer. “Not far.”
Answered Charmon simply.
Chapter 9 Crescent island
That
same night, on another part of the Atlantic Ocean, also heading towards
Crescent Island was Danny’s crew, consisting of himself, Vanessa, Jose, Rose,
and of course, the captain of the voyage, the voodoo priest from Port Veronica.
They were sailing in a large sloop, and were also accompanied by some of the
sailors and merchants who survived the attack on Port Veronica carried out by
the dreaded ghost ship of legend captained by the undead Captain Bonescar the
night prior. “We should be
able to arrive at Crescent Island by dawn.” Said the voodoo priest on the helm
as their sloop sailed ever so smoothly through the calm waters illuminated by
the gentle moonlight. “Umm ...
pardon me asking sir, but what’s your name again?” Asked Danny curiously. “Czutchxiaotl.”
Answered the voodoo priest simply. “Okay ... so
we’ll just call you Zutch then.” Replied Danny as he turned around and looked
back at the sea around them. He was leaning forward on the port rail next to
Vanessa as the cold evening ocean breeze brushed and cooled their faces. “Oh,
and about this Crescent Island ... you previously stated it was uncharted?” He
asked as he turned around once again to face Zutch. “It is. The
only ones who are able to find the island are the ones who have the map.”
Explained Zutch. “And ... of
course, you are the one who has the map, right?” Asked Danny as his voice
cracked a little. “I have a map.” Answered Zutch mysteriously. His
eyes were still fixated on the sea before them. Before long, they reached an
area covered by mist, obscuring the view around the ship.
Danny wanted
to ask another question, but he swallowed it instead. “This is really beginning
to creep me out you know. First of all, who is that guy anyway? Have you seen
him before in Port Veronica?” He whispered closely to Vanessa. “No ... not
really.” Answered Vanessa. “Then what
makes you think we can trust him!? Just look around us, these eerie fogs and
mist he’s leading us into, as well as his unclear, out-of-nowhere story about a
magical artefact in an uncharted island that can be used to destroy the ghost
ship and defeat the legendary Captain Bonescar. You’ve never seen him before,
and I don’t think anyone else onboard has
either, why are we doing this!?” Asked Danny in a harsh whisper. “Look, he
said he knows a way to defeat that damn ghost ship that destroyed my home town!
The chance for revenge alone is reason enough, I think!” Replied Vanessa. “But he just
popped out of nowhere! What are the odds of that!? I mean, what makes you think
he’s not just luring us into an island of cannibals or something? What if he
doesn’t actually know anything about the ghost ship, and just used the story he
told us as a bait so that we would fall into his trap!?” Asked Danny, getting
rather worried and frustrated. “So yeah he
just popped out of nowhere, but so did the ghost ship! I could make the
argument that he showed up there out of nowhere by fate, destined to help us!”
Replied an equally frustrated Vanessa. She was breathing heavily by the time
she finished her sentence. “Look ... even all the superstitious destiny and
fate thing aside, I trust him Dan, and even when deep down I don’t, I need to
trust him. I want my revenge against that damn ghost ship, and we know nothing
about it. He might be the only way we could even have a chance at fighting
Captain Bonescar.” She continued after catching her breath. Danny opened
his mouth to speak, but Vanessa interrupted before he could even say a word.
“Look, it was my town that got destroyed. You had no connection to it
whatsoever, the battle that I seek ... it’s got nothing to do with you at all.
If you’re so suspicious, why did you even come along in the first place?” She
said before turning around and walking away. The mist that
was enveloping the ship had gotten thicker by that point, and Danny couldn’t
even see the middle of the large sloop, where Zutch was holding the helm. Even
Vanessa vanished out of his sight after a few steps, leaving him still bitter
and speechless. He spent the rest of the voyage contemplating his feelings as
the mist around him continued to persist. He didn’t feel like sleeping at all,
yet it felt like hours before the mist finally cleared up, and when it did,
Danny was surprised to see that the was already visible on the eastern horizon. “There it be
... the dreaded isle of mystery ... Crescent Island.” Whispered Zutch all the
way from the helm in the middle of the deck. Danny quickly turned his head from
the rising and sun and saw that in the distance was already visible a
moderately large island. The beach stretched from east to west in a half
circular manner, making the island that stretched behind it look somewhat like
a crescent. From the distance, the island looked green due to the dense jungles
stretching on from the beach, reaching all the way back to a mountain in the
back distance. “The dreaded
island of ... mystery?” Asked Rose, who had emerged from below the decks along
with her husband Jose and some of the other sailors. They proceeded to head
over to the front of the ship. “Oh, did I
say mystery?” Asked Zutch. “I meant misery.” All the
sailors along with Jose and Rose immediately turned around to look at him the
moment he said it. “Hey boy,
where’s Vanessa?” Asked Jose as he turned to face Danny shortly after. Before Danny
could answer, Vanessa appeared from the area of the ship behind the captain’s
cabin and said, “I’m here and I’m ready. Let’s go.” Danny was
about to walk over to her but was interrupted when Zutch suddenly shouted,
“Roll up the sails, lower the anchors, get to the longboat! We’re making ...
land.” As the
sailors began climbing the railings to roll up the sails, Danny finally had his
chance to go up to Vanessa. “Hey, look ...” He began to speak, but Vanessa
interrupted. “What, you
want to apologize? Look, maybe I shouldn’t have blamed you for being too
suspicious either, I mean ...” “Suspicious?
What, I was never suspicious, hahahah ...” Cut Danny as he shuffled his hair
and forced a chuckle, before motioning to Vanessa with his pupils to look at
his left. “Oh right,
what? I meant when you were ... cons ... picuous ...” Said Vanessa immediately
as she too forced a chuckle, after noticing that Zutch himself was standing
right behind Danny carrying a rope on his shoulder and some unlit torches on
his left hand. Fortunately
for them, Zutch didn’t mind or care about what they were really talking about
and instead just handed Danny the rope and Vanessa the torches. “We’ll need these.”
He said, before walking back to the middle of the deck. He was still carrying
his large wooden staff with the skeleton head. “Anyways,
sorry for earlier. You were just worried for both of our sakes, weren’t you?”
Continued Vanessa as soon as Zutch left them. “Yeah, and
maybe I shouldn’t have worried to much either. I mean, we both still have
weapons right?” Replied Danny as he gave Vanessa a wink. “Hey, you
two, let’s go.” Called Jose from across the deck. The sails of the large sloop had
already been rolled up, and the sailors were already starting to get into the
longboats. Danny and Vanessa followed them shortly. “Hey, isn’t
anyone going to stay to guard the ship?” Asked Danny to Zutch before he climbed
into the longboat. “No. Zuzu’s
got it under control.” Replied Zutch simply. Danny was
about to ask who Zuzu was, until he glanced at the captain’s cabin and saw a
creature about the size of an imp, completely black in color with pointy ears
and gleaming red eyes peeking from the door. The creature closed the door the
moment his eyes met Danny’s. Danny gulped
a whole pint worth of spit along with his own question as he quickly jumped
into the longboat. He decided it was better not to know exactly what it was. Each
crewmember was then supplied a leather flask of rum and a musket by Zutch, and
merely a few moments later, they were already rowing towards the mysterious
Crescent Island. “Follow along
carefully, keep your eyes open, and be alert at all times. We should be able to
arrive at our destination by night.” Said Zutch as soon as the two longboats
reached the shore. After shoving the longboats to an area in the sand far
enough so that the tide won’t pull them back into the water, the crew headed
out for the jungle, following Zutch. Danny was
looking around at his surroundings when he accidentally tripped on something
and fell face first into the sand. “Gah!” He muttered before pulling himself
up. As he did however, his eyes widened as he saw what he had tripped on. “Gods, this
can’t be ...” He whispered slowly as he dug up the white protruding object that
had caught his feet. The other sailors stopped as he showed them the object.
“This is a human bone.” “Ah yes, I
forgot to mention. This is island is filled with cannibals. You’ll all meet
them later today if things go well.” Said Zutch. Vanessa immediately tossed
Danny a wide-eyed terrified glance as soon as she heard what the voodoo priest
had said. “Are you
mad!? You expect us to be excited to meet and greet some cannibals!?” Snapped
Jose angrily at Zutch. “No no, they
won’t eat us, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ll talk to them.” Replied Zutch
calmly. “Somehow I
doubt that’s going to work...” Said Jose suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes. “No, they’ll
listen to us. I know how to talk to them, and besides, we brought them
offerings.” Replied Zutch. “Offerings?”
Asked Rose. “What offerings?” “Those flasks
I gave you. They’re filled with human fat in liquid form. Mixed with rum. They
love it.” Answered Zutch, causing one of the sailors to burst out the liquid
that he had been drinking. “WHAT!?” He
asked angrily as he wiped his mouth. “Human ... fat!?” “I never told
you to drink them.” Said Zutch. “But you also
never told us not to! Besides, they
look and smell like rum, and you just gave it to us, in leather flasks that
sailors use to contain rum! What was I supposed to do!?” Protested the angry
sailor. “Yeah, well
... I forgot. My apologies.” Replied Zutch, though there was not a single hint
of regret in his voice. “Hold on ...
you said before that this island is supposed to be uncharted. Then why heck are
there people living here?” Asked Danny as he pointed the bone he was holding at
the old voodoo priest, before remembering what he was actually holding and
throwing it back onto the sand. “People?”
Asked Zutch back, looking somewhat baffled, before finally saying, “Oh, if
you’re talking about the cannibals I mentioned, they’re not people ... they’re
demons. Sort of like, the spiritual guardians of this uncharted island ... who
eat people ... and each other.” “Oh, cannibal demons! Well that’s just
perfect! We’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about here, gentleman!” Snapped
Danny sarcastically before Vanessa shoved her elbow into his stomach. “Anyway, we
better hurry. Follow along.” Said Zutch as he turned around and headed back
towards the path leading to the jungles. All of the
sailors around them, including Jose and Rose, looked kind of weary and unsure.
They seemed to be waiting for Danny and Vanessa to make the decision of whether
or not to press on. “So, you
still wanna continue?” Asked Danny as he leaned very close to Vanessa’s right
ear. Vanessa
seemed kind of hestitant at first, but she finally answered, “Let’s just press
on ... but let’s also stay close, keep ourselves alert and our weapons ready.” “Yeah, like
we weren’t already gonna do that even before the nutty voodoo priest mentioned
the demon cannibals.” Replied Danny
as he shook his head, but Vanessa didn’t mind him and continued to press on,
shortly followed by Danny himself and the others. The first few
hours of their journey through the dense jungles weren’t that dangerous, only
uncomfortable. Danny had to unsheath his cutlass along the way so it would help
him navigate through the thick tree branches and vines hanging above him. It
wasn’t uncommon for him, or some of the other crewmembers to mistake some
snakes that were hanging from the trees as snakes either. Fortunately for them,
no one really got injured and the whole crew managed to push through and arrive
at a clearing by the time the sun was high above them. A patch of flattened
dirt and leaves and some large rocks next to swift river flowing downstream. “I think we
could take a break here for a while.” Said Zutch as he settled down on the
ground and looked around. “Where are
the demon cannibals?” Asked Jose wearily as he too, looked around. “Oh, their
base is still located quite far away from here. We’ll probably only reach them
by night.” Answered Zutch. “Damn it ...”
Muttered Jose quietly. Meanwhile,
Danny took the opportunity and splashed some of the cold river water on his
dirt covered face. He felt refreshed the moment the cool water hit his skin. He
also proceeded to gurgle some of the water before leaning back on the large
rock. “Oh, right ... they’re human fat ...” He muttered disappointedly as he
was about to reach in for the leather flask that was flung from his shoulder. “So, you
brought no food or fresh water or anything here?” Asked Rose as she looked over
at Zutch. “No. Drink
the river water. It’s safe.” Answered Zutch, prompting the sailors to groan.
After all the
sailors were done resting and washing their faces and hands on the river, the
crew pushed on, and before long, they reached a cliff that was above the level
of the jungle after climbing a steep path. Danny was glad to feel the ocean
breeze sweep his face as he grabbed on to a near tree trunk. At first,
Zutch didn’t want to stop and was about to scale a narrow path to their left,
but Danny stopped him. “Hold on ... why the heck is there navy ship anchored
there?” He asked. He saw that below them in the ocean not so distant was a
large navy ship of the line. The HMS Majestica. The other sailors, along with
Vanessa, Jose, and Rose leaned over Danny to get a look for themselves. At first,
Zutch kept quiet and observed the massive ship below himself, until Vanessa
asked, “You said only those with the map can find this place.” “Exactly.”
Added Danny as he grabbed her shoulders. “...I said I
have a map.” Answered Zutch calmly as
he wrapped his arms around his wooden staff. “Oh, so there
are many maps then, let me guess, about one hundred?” Asked Danny
sarcastically. “What if someone, like
perhaps the navy, has already gotten the treasure before us?” “...That is
something I’m not prepared for. To tell you the truth, I also didn’t anticipate
they would be here. They must be tough ...” Replied Zutch as he observed the
damage to the HMS Majestica’s broadsides and masts, which there was only one
still standing. “How many
maps are there?” Asked Jose curiously.
“Three. Only
three.” Answered Zutch. “Come on, we better hurry if we still want that
treasure, for now we now we have another party to race against.” He said before
turning around and making his way through the narrow path. Everyone else looked
at each other with uncertain looks before following him. The crew
didn’t take another rest until dusk, and even then they only stopped to light
the torches. They then proceeded to walk for about four more hours through the
denser areas of the jungle until Zutch suddenly stopped dead on his track.
“It’s time. We’re gonna pass through their territory soon.” Everyone
behind the old voodoo priest fell silent at once. Instantly, Danny could feel
his nape hair rise the moment Zutch said that, and merely a few seconds later,
he could feel that he was being watch, that was until a few more short seconds
passed, and that’s when he could see
that he was being watched. Red, menacing
eyes with pitch black pupils started appearing around the crew behind the trees
and bushes, their whole bodies and faces obscured by the darkness. That’s when
Zutch began speaking an incantation of unknown language. He closed his eyes
before turning around and motioning for the crew to follow him using his hand.
The crew followed without question and stuck together, to the point that their
bodies were practically pressed to one another. They were afraid, yes, but they
had no choice other than to follow Zutch since staying where they were
surrounded by the menacing red eyes was not exactly comfortable either. More eyes
started appearing as they continued through the path, following Zutch. Danny,
who was unhappily walking in front of the others, could begin to see what the
faces that bared the red eyes looked like as the light from his torch brushed
them as the path got more narrow. Needless to
say, the faces weren’t pretty. They had skin as pitch black as their pupils,
white scraggly hair reaching down all the way to their bare, bony backs, and sharp
fangs reminiscent of walrus fangs, protruding from their mouths and reaching
all the way down below their chin. “Oh god ...”
Whispered Vanessa behind Danny. She was standing so close behind him that he
could feel her warm breath brush the back of his neck. Danny himself tried to
keep the lights from the torches as far away from the demonic humanoid
creatures around them so that the neither of them would have to look at their
faces. “Stay close
dear ...” Whispered Jose behind Vanessa. He was talking to his wife, Rose,
whose eyes were bulging open with fear. Though it felt like forever, their walk
didn’t actually last that long, and they eventually reached another clearing.
The horrors didn’t end there, though. In the middle
of the clearing was a large hut, and there were even more huts hidden amidst
the trees around the large, circular patch of dirt. Surrounding the hut were
even more of the demonic creatures, and even more alarmingly, they were sitting
next to a pile of bones. Human bones, easily distuingishable by the shape of
the skulls and rib cages. One of the demons immediately stood up the moment he
saw Zutch and the rest of the crew enter their clearing. He was different from
the rest, for he had a long beard, also as white and scraggly as his hair. Danny and the
rest stayed quiet as Zutch began speaking in an unknown language to demon
cannibal chief. After a while, Zutch suddenly turned towards the crew and
ordered, “The flasks. Now.” All of the sailors,
including Danny and Vanessa immediately took off their leather flasks and
handed them over to Zutch, who in turn handed them over to the demon chief. Following a
few more short lines of dialogue, Zutch motioned for the crew to follow him and
pressed on, moving past the demon chief and the other silent demons in the
clearing, followed closely by Danny and the others. Danny’s heart beated so
fast as he walked past the demons who were sitting on the ground, chewing on
his kin, and then past some more who were standing behind the trees and bushes
around the clearing, with some even dangling down from the trees like monkeys.
Their expressions were stoic, yet their eyes were gleaming like an animal who
spotted a prey. Danny was
trying to keep as straight of a face as possible, being really careful not to
attract the demons’ attention anymore than the crew already had. Much to his
own, and everyone else’s relief, no more demon cannibals were to be seen after
they passed through the clearing, and pretty soon they came before a large
cave. “See, I told
you we can count on him.” Whispered Vanessa to Danny in relief as the crew
stopped in front of the large cave. Just as Danny
opened his mouth to answer however, Zutch said, “We were lucky. We could’ve
been eaten.” “Huh?” Asked
Danny weakly. Somehow he was surprised to hear the voodoo priest say that. “They said
human fat wouldn’t have actually have been enough to quench their hunger. Only
their thirst. We’re lucky they managed to capture some navy soldiers that came
along before us.” Explained Zutch as he shook his head lightly. “So ... they
ate all of the navy soldiers from the ship that we saw earlier?” Asked Jose. “Not all of
them. In fact, quite a lot of the navy soldiers managed to escape. Which means,
we still gotta hurry.” Said Zutch.
Chapter 10 The battle for the moon idol
Danny ducked
as a large bat suddenly swooped down from above him. “How much further is it?”
He asked irritably as he nearly tripped on some rocks. They had been walking
through winding, narrow, and steep paths inside the cave for what felt like
hours, and their torches were beginning to die out, barely illuminating the
areas further than four feet in front of them. “Soon. Pretty
soon.” Answered Zutch. Fortunately, he was right, since not long after, the
crew spotted some bright glowing things in front of them, and an opening to
another area of the cave. “Could these
be ...” Muttered one of the sailors behind Danny suddenly as the sound of
clinking was heard. “My god, they
are ... treasure!” Said the sailor next to him. Zutch, Danny, Vanessa, Jose,
and Rose all stopped at once and turned around to see what the sailors had
found. Gold. Gold
and silver in form of coins, scattered beneath the sailors’ feet. “We are
really close indeed. Ignore those beneath your feet for soon you are all about
to see the true wonders of this island.” Zutch exclaimed with a smile as he
turned around and continued to walk towards the opening. The others soon
followed as well, but not before some of the sailors pocketed some gold coins. There was a
steep path leading yet to another opening right after the one they had just
passed through, but through the opening in the distance they could see light.
Shining, silvery moonlight passing down from above, but no visible ground.
Zutch scaled the steep path without another word and the others did too. Zutch
stopped the others as he stood on the edge of the second opening, and everyone
peered over his shoulder just to see what was below. All of their eyes gleamed
the moment that they did. “Lord ... this is ...” Muttered Jose quietly, though
he did not finish. No longer did
any of them need their torches, for other than the moonlight, the circular area
below them was also illuminated by the large piles of gold and silver coins
piled up to form mountains of shiny, shimmering treasure. Also scattered around
the place were busted wooden chests filled to the brim, overflowing even, with
even more gold coins and also gems of all kinds and sizes. Sapphires, rubies,
emeralds, jades, all of them. Treasure as far their eyes could see, all
littered the area about ten feet below them. The piles of treasure were stacked
on large rocks that made up the surface, and in the middle, was a small stone
hill, surrounded by shallow water, and on top stood a wooden chest, closed
unlike the other ones. “This is ...
this is every pirate’s dream isn’t it? This very area ... and even though I
took up piracy for the freedom and adventure, this is just ...” Muttered Danny,
though he had to swallow some spit before he could finish. “This is just
beautiful ...” Whispered Vanessa next to him. “Not even the biggest loot
Captain Brownhack has ever scored from even the most packed merchant ships that
we have ever raided have ever brought this same feeling to me.” “Exactly.”
Said Danny, though he didn’t really listen to what Vanessa was saying since all
of his focus was still being absorbed by the huge piles of treasure before him. “Well, who
wouldn’t be impressed?” Said Rose from behind them as she rested her arms on
her hips. “Wow ... just
makes you sort of want to dive right into those piles of treasure head-first,
doesn’t it?” Muttered one of the sailors suddenly as he peered over Danny’s
shoulder. “Yeah ...
I’ll race you to it!” Replied Danny as he turned and smiled at the sailor, but
just as the two were about to dash down, Zutch halted them with his short, bony
left arm. “Hush ... do
not forget the real reason we are here.” He reminded in a serious tone. “You’re right
... the idol that could defeat Bonescar ... where is it?” Asked Vanessa as she
shook her head and looked at the old voodoo priest, suddenly remembering her
goal after being captivated by the piles of shiny treasure. “It’s ...”
Before Zutch could finish his answer, other voices suddenly echoed through the
walls of the caves, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps. “Is that
where it is, then?” Asked one of the voices. “I think so.
Damn it took so long but we finally got here.” Answered yet another one. “Duck! And
stand back ...” Ordered Zutch as he suddenly ducked down and pressed his chest
against the rocky ground, before inching his way back little by little. The
others all followed at once, and waited anxiously. “It must be
the navy ...” Whispered Vanessa, and only a few seconds later did her guess was
proven to be correct when navy soldiers suddenly emerged through another
opening down below, directly leading to the circular, treasure filled area.
They were of course led by Admiral Blake, who was sweaty and dirty, looking exhausted,
as did all of his remaining crewmembers. “Holy god be
praised ...” Muttered Mr. Philly next to the Admiral as he made a cross gesture
on his chest. “Don’t just
look around, start searching about!” Yelled Admiral Blake to his awestruck
soldiers, visibly very frustrated. “Damn ... first the Kraken, then cannibals,
and now there’s so much treasure we don’t even know which one is the moon
idol.” “But captain,
isn’t all this treasure a good thing, why not grab them all?” Asked Mr. Philly. “And how do
you propose we do that, hmm? There are mountains of gold here, yet we’re only
looking for one piece of artefact, which could be buried in any of these
piles!” Snapped Admiral Blake. “Damn ... this expedition was too rushed, and
now we’re really low on manpower. Still, I can’t fail his majesty. I cannot
fail this mission ...” “We’ve got to
do something, we can’t let them have the moon idol, especially since we don’t
know their intentions ...” Whispered Zutch, and just then, another set of
voices and footsteps were heard approaching the treasure filled area, startling
both his group and Admiral Blake’s. “Captain, I
see light!” Echoed a voice, and one that both Danny and Vanessa recognized
immediately. “...Could
that be...” Whispered Danny as both he and Vanessa stared into each other’s
eyes. “I know
right, sounds a lot like Mr. Smith!” Replied Vanessa. “Ah, ye be
right! Steady boys, I think we’ve found the jackpot at last!” Said another
voice suddenly. “And that’s
Captain Brownhack! But how in the world!?” Snapped Vanessa as her eyes widened. “Well ...
Captain Brownhack does sound like a typical pirate captain, so maybe it’s some
other?” Proposed Danny, until a third voice echoed through the cave walls. “Ouch!” Said
the voice. “Again!?”
Asked another voice. “Did you see
that!? That bat flew right into my face!” Replied the one before. “Buuut ...
that’s definitely Ahmed’s voice, so yeah ... Captain Brownhack’s here.”
Muttered Danny. “What the ...
What now ...” Asked the exasperated Admiral Blake below as he took a step
forward, right before Captain Brownhack and his crew suddenly emerged into the
area as well, also from an opening down below, but on the opposite side of
where the navies entered. Captain
Brownhack’s eyes grew wide the moment he stepped into the treasure filled area,
but the light on his eyes immediately dimmed the moment he saw the Admiral.
“Navies!?” He asked in disbelief while most of his crewmembers were still
observing the gold around them in awe. Few of them even paid mind to the navies
at all, for most of the crewmembers had already begun stuffing as much gold
into their pants as possible instead. “Pirates ...
just great ...” Muttered Admiral Blake weakly. “How in
blazes did you people get here!? And what for!? ” Asked Captain Brownhack in a
loud, intimidating voice. “I don’t have
any reason to tell the likes of you, pirate.” Answered Admiral Blake simply. “Aye, it just
be curious that’s all, since treasure huntin’ isn’t somethin’ the navies are
famous for.” Mocked Captain Brownhack. “You! Ye said this island was
uncharted!” He said as he turned and shoved the map to Crescent Island onto
Charmon, who was standing next to him. At first,
Charmon didn’t know how to respond, but merely a second later, without even
saying a word, he grabbed the map from Captain Brownhack’s arm and dashed
towards Admiral Blake. “I’m no pirate! Hold your fire! I was just a mere bounty
hunter. Me vessel was captured by their merciless crew! Look, I even have his
bounty poster and a letter from the goverment of Nassau authorizing me to
capture-” Gunfire.
Charmon was just unwrapping a piece of paper that he took out from his jacket
when Captain Brownhack shot him in the back. The
traitorous bounty hunter died instantly. His body made a splashing sound as it
fell into the shallow pool of water next to where he was standing. “That fool
...” Muttered Mr. Smith as he shook his head lightly. The gunshot finally
attracted all the other pirates’ attention and they finally stopped rummaging
through the gold. They just stood quietly where they were, but their heads
turned towards the scene at once. Admiral
Blake’s eyes widened as the man died, but he did not seem to be too surprised
and instead bent down and grabbed the pieces of paper that Charmon had. “So
you’re the notorious Captain Brownhack. That’s why I felt like I’ve seen you
before.” He said after he examined the wet bounty poster that was one of the
papers that Charmon took out. “Wait a minute though ...” He added as another
one of the papers caught his attention. It was the map. “Mr. Phil,
this isn’t the same map as ours, is it?” Asked Admiral Blake as he showed Mr.
Philly the map. “No ... it’s
not captain, but they do look similar, and they do both lead to Crescent
Island.” Answered Mr. Philly as he examined both Charmon’s map and the one that
he had been keeping for the expedition. “Truly a
magnificent coincidence ... all three maps in one location.” Muttered Zutch
suddenly above the scene. Danny and Vanessa just looked at him, but neither
said a word. “How very
interesting indeed. I suppose you came here in search for the golden moon idol
as well?” Asked Admiral Blake below them as he folded both maps and tucked them
into his navy coat. “Aye.”
Answered Captain Brownhack simply. “And I
suppose you won’t have it our way then? That is, let us take the treasure in
the name of his majesty, King George I, and have you and your crewmembers
surrender yourselves into our custody?” Asked Admiral Blake as he raised his
head slightly and tucked his arms neatly behind his back. “Only to be
hanged later on? I think ye less of a navy admiral and more of a fool just fer
asking that.” Mocked Captain Brownhack in reply, triggering the laughter of all
his crewmembers, including Ahmed, who looked at his surroundings before forcing
a laughter himself. “Then I
suppose we have nothing more to talk about do we?” Asked Admiral Blake
retorically, before issuing to his men, “Gentleman, you know what to do ...” Captain
Brownhack smiled and chuckled once before unsheathing his broadsword and
issuing his own command, “KILL THEM ALL!” Upon hearing
the command, all of Captain Brownhack’s crewmembers burst into roars as they
took out their pistols and cutlasses before charging at the navies, who also
whipped out their own swords and muskets. The battle
ran wild. Smoke and the smell of gunpowder filled the air, as well the sounds
of screaming and roaring accompanying the the ringing of clashing cutlasses. “Heyaah!”
Screamed Ahmed as he threw a heavy golden statue at a navy soldier who
approached him, knocking him unconscious as it hit him in the head. “Just use
your sword lad!” Snapped Pierre right after he dispatched a navy soldier
himself. “We’ve got to
do something!” Yelled Vanessa. “I agree,
let’s just jump in and help the pirates guys!” Replied Danny as he turned to
face his comrades. “What!? We’re
gonna jump into the battle!?” Asked Rose in a tone of complaint and disbelief. “You don’t
have to, but me and Vanessa definitely will.” Said Danny as he stood up and
prepared to jump, along with Vanessa. Jose opened
his mouth to say something, but Rose just cut him short and said to him, “Oh
... fine, let’s just go. We can fight.” “You’re
right. Of course. Let’s go, both of us! Just be careful okay?” Said Jose,
putting a smile on Rose’s face. “We’re coming
too!” Shouted all the sailors behind them unanymously. “What about
you, Zutch?” Asked Danny as he turned to the old voodoo priest. “We are
helping the pirates, yes? I’ll help out from over here ...” Answered Zutch as
he got up into a cross-legged sitting position while holding his staff in front
of him. Danny and
Vanessa tossed each other a confused glance before Danny raised both his
shoulders and just jumped down the few feet distance into the heat of the
battle below without a second thought. He was quickly followed by Vanessa,
Jose, Rose, and the sailors. Danny quickly
charged at the navy soldier closest to him and parried his sword. The startled
navy soldier didn’t put up much of a fight, and Danny was able to put him down
rather easily. “We’re on your side!” He said to the pirate closest to where he
was, who happened to be Ajeet. Ajeet glanced
at him and his eyes grew wide the moment he recognized both Danny and Vanessa’s
faces. “Hey, aren’t you two ...” He was about to say, but was interrupted when
a navy soldier charged at him and attempted to land a blow, which he managed to
block and parry. Danny quickly
moved through the scene while Rose, Jose, and the sailors preferred to stick to
the corners and only attack the navy soldiers who came to them, which there
were only a few. Ready to fight though they were, they still felt somewhat bad
and guilty about having to fight off and perhaps kill some navy soldiers,
having never been pirates before and having always been accustomed to obey the
law prior. Meanwhile,
Vanessa was moving in the opposite direction of Danny. Her leather boots
splashed on the pools of water as she fought off the navy soldiers who crossed
her path. With her skill and experience, it was easy for her to fend off and
dispatch a lot of them with her glorious and elegant swordplay. One by one the
navy soldiers she encountered crumpled down in the shallow pools after meeting
the sharp end of her sword. “Vanessa!? Is
that ... but, how, what!?” Stammered a baffled Mr. Smith as he noticed her
fighting next to himself. “Hello Mr.
Smith, Sorry for running off back in Nassau.” Said the amused Vanessa as she
made a spin cut and slashed the navy soldier that tried to attack her from
behind. “Look out!” She then cried as she noticed another one sneak up on the
still baffled Mr. Smith. Fortunately,
her cry made him notice, and he managed to parry the attack that was directed
at him. All around them, the pirates continued to roar and shout as they
fought. “Hah, das wat you get, man!” Shouted Lantern after he managed to stab a
navy soldier, who cried and crumpled onto the ground. Not so far
from him, Oliver had climbed up one of the large piles of gold and was parrying
against a navy soldier who tried to do the same. The navy
soldier kept slipping when Oliver began kicking the coins from where he stood,
which was on the top. As the hard golden coins rained on the navy soldier’s
face, Oliver took the opportunity and slid back down before stabbing the
soldier through the stomach. The navy
soldiers proved to not be the only ones having trouble though, for some of them
proved to be quite skillful and managed to kill off some pirates as well,
clashing their swords before sending them down to fall into the pools of water
and stabbing them as they struggled to get up. On the other
side of the circular area surrounding the stone hill with chest in the middle
of the area, Danny was struggling to fight off two navy soldiers. In his
struggle, he accidentally slipped on some coins on the ground and his left
forearm was slashed by one of the soldiers as he fell down. “Aagh!” He cried in
pain as his sword fell from his other hand and the two soldiers closed in to
finish him off. Just when he
thought his life would end however, a large man suddenly rushed to him and
parried both of the soldiers, showing exceptional skill. It was Jose. He had
finally gathered the courage to really join in the fight. Danny was able to use
the opportunity to grab his sword again, stand up, and despite his wound, the
pair managed to stand up against the two navy soldiers. They clashed valiantly,
their swords ringing and their boots splashing on the shallow pools of water
below their feet, and in the end, they emerged victorious when the soldiers
were overwhelmed by Jose’s strength and Danny’s swift moves. “Dan!”
Suddenly someone called just as Danny opened his mouth to thank Jose. Quickly
he turned towards the direction of the voice and saw that Ahmed was running up
to him. “Is that ...” Before Ahmed
could finish, Danny pulled out his gun and fired it only inches away from
Ahmed’s head. Startled,
Ahmed nearly jumped, but when he turned around he saw that Danny had killed a
navy soldier who was aiming at him with a musket. He was lucky that Danny
noticed the soldier just in time. “You haven’t
changed a bit, have you?” Teased Danny before he chuckled along with his old
partner, finally reunited. “I still
can’t believe my eyes, you know... you literally left without a word and
appeared out of nowhere” Replied Ahmed, to which Danny laughed in response. “Come on, I
just knew we’d eventually meet again, and not before long, and in the end,
that’s how it is, isn’t it?” Said Danny as he patted his friend on the back. “Yeah, but
you still owe me the full story, you know!” Demanded Ahmed. “Later. We
sort of still got a battle to fight here.” Replied Danny as he raised an
eyebrow. They were
lucky there weren’t any navy soldiers around them at that particular moment,
since they were all being kept busy by not only the pirates, but now by Rose,
Jose, and the sailors as well, who all proved to be quite the skillful
fighters. The man who
was surprisingly having trouble against his opponent was Captain Brownhack, who
was clashing against the admiral himself at the foot of the large stone hill in
the middle. Not only did Admiral Blake prove to be a really skilled
swordfighter, but also the wounds that he received while facing off against the
sirens the night prior was holding him down more than he had anticipated. “Gah!”
Screamed Captain Brownhack as his broadsword slipped out of his hand right
after Admiral Blake did a tricky fighting maneuver that threw him off guard,
and in one more swift motion, the admiral managed to cut the pirate captain’s
right shoulder, causing him to fall on his back. “This is the
end of your life, captain.” Mocked Admiral Blake as he nodded slightly to the
left while pointing his sword right at Captain Brownhack’s head. “Captain
Brownhack!” Cried Vanessa in panic not so far from where he lied. “...Vanessa!
H-how...” Cried Captain Brownhack back in surprise, for he was so occupied with
his duel against the admiral that he did not even notice her prior. “Enough!”
Shouted the extremely exasperated navy admiral as he raised his sword and
prepared to strike the captain’s head, prompting Vanessa to close her eyes in
horror and wait .... yet when she opened them again, she felt relieved, and
confused, and surprised all at once, when she saw that the navy admiral was
standing still, with his sword still raised above his head and his teeth
clenched. He had frozen in his spot.
At first,
Vanessa was extremely baffled, but then she remembered something and looked up
at the opening above where Zutch still sat. His fingers were moving in a
strange manner and his mouth was muttering incantations inaudible from where
Vanessa was, but she knew immediately that it was his doing. Captain
Brownhack was also baffled and confused, but he wasn’t going to just waste his
chance, and so, he grabbed his large broadsword and with all of his might and
remaining strength, he pulled himself back to his feet, and thrusted the large
blade through the admiral’s chest without a single word or moment of
hestitation. “Ugh ...” Was
all that the admiral could utter as blood quickly poured out of his mouth,
before he finally crumpled down and fell into the shallow pool next to him as
Captain Brownhack pulled back his sword. His body made a splashing sound, and
did not move an inch after that. Admiral Blake was dead.
Chapter 11 The story of captain bonescar
“Noooo! You
b*****d!” Screamed Mr. Philly hysterically as he, who was standing not far from
where his former Admiral’s body fell, immediately whipped out his flintlock
pistol and pointed it straight at Captain Brownhack, who was still breathing
heavily. In response to his move however, all of the pirates who just happened
to be standing close to him at that moment also whipped out their own guns. The
one who was closest to him was Mr. Smith, who was previously duelling against
the navy first mate before the latter shifted his attention to Captain
Brownhack. The battle
was halted, and not a soul said a word as Mr. Philly looked around silently
while the pirates continued to point their sharp stares and guns at him. His
heavy breath was the only audible sound in the whole area of the cave for a few
suspenseful seconds until he took a loud gulp as he looked down at the body of
his former admiral and captain. “Damn this all ...” He whispered under his
breath. With a sweaty
face still seething with rage and despair, Mr. Philly finally forced his right
hand to let go of the flintlock he was holding. It made a splashing sound as it
fell into the shallow pool while its former owner threw his hat off and
bitterly raised his hands. After
witnessing what their current leader did, all the navy soldiers also did the
same thing with the same attitude. The ringing and clanking sounds of navy
cutlasses hitting the hard rocks below their feet was music to the pirates’
ears. Captain
Brownhack smiled triumphantly while still breathing loudly before he finally
threw both his arms upwards and bellowed, “Aye! We have won!” “Ayyyeee!!!”
The pirates and cheered and roared and celebrated. They raised their weapons
upwards and some even fired their pistols at the sky above them through the
cave opening high above their heads. Pierre just
smiled happily, Oliver grabbed a handful of gold and silver coins and threw
them upwards, making them rain down on the celebrating pirates, while Ajeet and
Lantern locked each other’s arms and danced merrily. Captain
Brownhack gave Mr. Smith a nod before he carefully made his way down the stone
hill on which he was standing to meet with Vanessa, who was also making her way
towards him. “Tie ‘em up!” Shouted Mr. Smith as Vanessa finally reached her
captain. “What the
hell happened to you? How did you end up here!?” Asked Captain Brownhack in a
half-angry, half-relieved tone. “I ... I ...
it’s really hard to explain ...” Vanessa stammered as she rubbed the back of
her head through her thick, long hair. “Actually, so
long as you’re willing to believe in the absurd and what you previously thought
was impossible ... it’s ... rather easy to explain.” Said Danny as he suddenly
joined in. “You ...
indeed, I am curious. Do tell, boy.” Replied Captain Brownhack. “Well ...
basically, I got closely acquainted with Vanessa onboard your ship, she told me
she wanted to go to her home town Port Veronica but you wouldn’t let her, so I
promised her to take her there, we jumped ship at Nassau, went there, the port
got attacked by some skeletons, she wanted revenge, a voodoo priest appeared,
he talked about a magic artefact that would enable her to do it, he led us
here, and then ... we met you guys again. That’s ... basically all of it.”
Explained Danny before he took a deep breath and sighed. Captain
Brownhack blinked a few times and eyed Danny curiously before asking, “What was
that part about the skeletons again? Or did I simply hear that wrong?” Before Danny
could answer, Zutch suddenly walked up to the group and joined in as well,
startling everyone as he did. “It’s the
legendary ghost ship. As a pirate I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” He said as his
large wooden staff clacked loudly on the rocks. “The ghost
ship? Aye, I’ve heard of it, but never before have I paid mind to it or believed
it.” Replied Captain Brownhack. “It’s
captained by the undead captain of the dead, Captain Bonescar, or so I’ve heard
when I was young meself.” Added Pierre suddenly, as he too joined in. Some
other pirates also huddled around the group to listen in, but most others,
including the sailors who were with Danny’s group, preferred to resume lining
their pockets with gold instead. “Yes. I
suppose now I might as well tell all of you people the whole story ...” Said
Zutch. “Go on then,
I’ve been waiting to hear it ever since we set sailed anyway.” Said Danny as he
sat down at the foot of the large stone hill. “Very well
... the legend tells, a very long time ago, lived a strong voodoo priest such
as myself in an unspecified island. One day, a
sailor met him and asked to learn his ways, and so, the voodoo priest,
seeing as the man had a good heart and an honest spirit, complied and taught
him all sorts of powerful magic. Unfortunately ... that was a mistake. Having
learned all the most powerful magic spells and vodun abilities, greed soon
consumed the sailor and for a while he became known across the seas as the most
evil man who ever roamed the Caribbeans. He would use his magical powers to
destroy and raid ships and towns, no matter who or what. He cared not for the
pirate’s code, nor for the lives of the innocent, and through his powers also,
he managed to succeed and evade capture every single time.” Explained Zutch. “Sounds a lot
like Blackbeard ...” Commented Rose, who had joined in as well along with Jose. “Nay. Even Blackbeard
would look a lot like a helpless mutt compared to the man he had become.”
Snapped Zutch. “The voodoo priest ... eventually realized he had created a
monster, and thus he set sailed and tried to subdue and defeat the man who was
once his pupil. He failed however, for the sailor had become so powerful that
even his master could not defeat him. He did however, manage to cast one last
powerful curse at the sailor. The most powerful spell that he never even taught
to anyone. A large, deafening, green thunder came down from the sky and struck
the sailor, his ship, and his whole crew. It turned them ageless and near
immortal, but since that day they were doomed to roam the seas forever as
undead skeletons until the day comes when a man powerful enough would be able
to end them and send them down to Davy Jones’ Locker once and for all. After
casting his curse, the voodoo priest managed to escape, and using the last bits
of his strength, he forged a magical voodoo artefact.” “The moon
idol ...” Muttered Vanessa softly. “Hmm.”
Replied Zutch. “The idol is said to contain all of the voodoo priest’s last
remaining powers, and was also imbued with a spell that could weaken the
dreaded captain that had become known as the undead Captain Bonescar.
Strategically, the voodoo priest set sailed to the island in which Captain
Bonescar had stored all of his stolen treasure and placed the moon idol there,
thus making the ghost captain unable to return to ever see his precious loot
again, as a final curse.” He continued. “Y-you mean
...” Stammered Jose as he found himself suddenly crawling with goosebumps as he
looked around. “Yes. These
are all Captain Bonescar’s treasure.” Said Zutch simply, before climbing up the
large stone hill as all those around him just stood quiet and watched. Upon reaching
the top, without much, if any struggle at all, he flipped open the lid of the
wooden chest that was right there in front of him. “This is it ...” He muttered
as he grabbed a glowing, shiny golden idol in the shape of a crescent moon
placed neatly on a small circular base, which Zutch was holding. “So the moon
idol ... it will help us defeat Bonescar, right?” Asked Vanessa. “Correct. My
ancestor alone could not defeat him, but his last powers contained in this idol
combined with the courage, will and strength of the person truly determined to
kill him will surely do the job.” Explained Zutch. “Yes ... in case you’re all
wondering, the voodoo priest of old who was Captain Bonescar’s former teacher is my ancestor. After placing the golden
idol here and thus banning Bonescar access from his own treasure base, my
ancestor forged three maps that leads to this very island, the uncharted Crescent
Island.” “But ... why
three?” Asked Mr. Smith, who had just got done tying up the remaining navy
soldiers along with some other pirates. “My ancestor
predicted legends surrounding the mysterious Crescent Island filled with the
treasures and the magical moon idol would spread around, especially with the
ghost ship still set on roaming the seas, and so, he created a map to give to
his own descendants, a map that would lead them through a secret passage of
safe waters to get to the island, and two other maps showing two different
routes to get to the island. One was to lead whoever is in possession of it
through a cove filled with dangerous sirens, and the other map was to lead
whoever is in possession of it through waters where the Kraken itself slumbers
beneath the waves, just waiting for foolish sailors to sail above it.”
Explained Zutch. “Damn those
sirens ...” Muttered Captain Brownhack as he shook his head lightly. “The K-Kraken
...” Whispered one of the tied up navy soldiers fearfully. “Both you navy
soldiers and pirates successfully passed through those waters. I’m both
impressed and surprised.” Exclaimed Zutch. “Those maps were destined to fall
into the hands of those motivated by greed, and even if they do get past either
the Kraken or sirens, the idol would not grant them any power but rather
misfortune even, since my ancestor had always desired for this idol to be used
to destroy Captain Bonescar once and for all, and not any other purpose
whatsoever. The legends saying that it would grant anyone who is in possession
of it absolute power and control is merely just a lie. For years my father,
grandfather, and great grandfathers searched the seas for one worthy of its
true power to able to use it to banish Bonescar, but few of them even saw the
ghost ship themselves, and none of them found anyone willing to exact revenge
and challenge it.” “I am. I
truly am ready and willing.” Said Vanessa. Her eyes were burning with
determination and they glimmered brilliantly under the beautiful moonlight. “Yes, I know
you are. I can sense it. Truly I am lucky to have found you. My previous
ancestors never really learned the art of ocean mastery, but only through it I
was able to predict where the ghost ship would strike next, and so only through
it was I able to get to Port Veronica just in time to witness the attack and
meet you people, and also, with this idol in hand now, combined with my powers
it would be so much easier to search for the ghost ship as well.” Replied
Zutch. “Wait just
one minute!” Snapped the tied up Mr. Philly suddenly. “You said the two maps
that shows the way through dangerous paths were only destined to fall into the
hands of those motivated by greed. I understand how one came to be with the
pirates, but just so you know, us navy soldiers were sent by the king!” “Shut up! A
king he may be, but who even says our king is not greedy or even evil, hmm? You
navy and precious views on what’s right and what’s not, claimin’ yer the
perfect image when ye yerselves press gang poor souls into your army and force
them to work under poor condition. I understand all about the corruption within
your so called clean and righteous system. Right or wrong, good or evil, those
are just matters of perspectives. In the end, every man is motivated by their
personal needs, and every man who acts upon it without showing much concern for
others is a greedy man. Yer no different from us pirates at all.” Snapped
Captain Brownhack, and his words were immediately supported by the loud cheers
from his crewmembers. “Captain
Brownhack!” Shouted Vanessa suddenly, prompting the pirate captain to turn his
head in her direction. “Will you help us then? Will you help us defeat Captain
Bonescar?” She asked, half-pleading. Captain
Brownhack didn’t reply and just stared at her in the eyes for a few seconds
before he finally said, “I don’t really care about the moon idol anymore, after
seein’ all this treasure ... and I’m still not through with you jumping my ship
without saying anything days past, but for the time bein’ ... fine, I’ll help
ye lot. But you will have to add details to that boy’s story later on.” Danny just
smiled weakly as the pirate captain darted a sharp glance at him, while Vanessa
replied in relief, “Thank you ... captain.” “Glad we’re
all on the same page then.” Exclaimed Zutch as he began making his way down the
large stone hill. “What about
these navy soldiers, cap’n?” Asked Mr. Smith as he motioned towards the tied up
Mr. Philly and the remaining navy soldiers behind him. Except for Mr. Philly,
they all tossed each other worried glances. Captain
Brownhack eyed the remaining frightened navy soldiers sharply for a few
seconds. “All of ye who wish to live and escape from this cave must be prepared
to pledge your alliances to, and
accompany us pirates to hunt for this ghost ship. Those who are willing, say
aye!” He then exclaimed. “Aye!!”
Shouted two navy soldiers immediately before Captain Brownhack even closed his
mouth. Those two of course, were Barton and Barnaby. “What!?” Whispered Mr. Philly harshly as
he turned to face the two behind him. “Sorry Mr.
Phil, we never really wished to join the navies in the first place anyways ...”
Replied Barton. “Aye, we were
press-ganged, just like the good pirate captain said, why else do you think we
keep these moustaches? They’re a form of rebellion!” Added Barnaby. Captain
Brownhack smiled in amusement. “I like ye two already. Men, cut their binds,
and let em join us!” He ordered, and two of his crewmembers quickly went over
to the pair of deserted, moustached navy soldiers and cut the ropes binding
their torso cleanly with their cutlasses. Upon being
freed, Barton quickly stood up and gave a salute before saying, “Thanks very
much, captain ... uh ...” “Brownhack.”
Reminded Mr. Smith. “Aye, that,
and thanks from me too.” Said Barnaby as he too, stood up and gave salute to
the pirate captain. “Aye. The
rest of them, bind their legs, stuff their mouths, and leave ‘em here!” Ordered
Captain Brownhack. “Oi, ain’t
that a bit too rough?” Asked Jose. “Nay. I gave
them a chance to join us, yet only two gentlemen were smart enough to accept.”
Answered Captain Brownhack. “Wait!”
Shouted Mr. Philly suddenly just as Captain Brownhack turned around, about to
head for the exit of the cave, the same path he came in through. The pirate
captain merely turned his head slightly before Mr. Philly continued, “Please
... don’t do that to my men. Do it to me, that’s fine, but ... hell, you may
even blow my head off if it means their freedom!” The desperate
navy soldier’s plea caught Captain Brownhack’s interest, and so he turned
around once more to face Mr. Philly, before unsheathing his pistol and walking
towards him. “Is that so?” He asked menacingly as the tip of the cold flintlock
touched the sweaty forehead of the navy. “Aye ...”
Replied Mr. Philly as he closed his eyes. Everyone had
their wide open eyes fixed on him, including Danny, Vanessa, Zutch, and even
the sailors and pirates who were previously too busy lining their own pockets
with treasure. Some of the terrified navy soldiers gasped, but none were brave
enough to say a word. Refusing to
see a head being shot, a terrified Rose quivered and shut her eyes, and Jose,
who was also as tense as she was, could do nothing but hug her. However, what
happened next threw them both, and everyone for that matter, off guard. Instead of
firing the gun, Captain Brownhack simply clicked the safety back on and
sheathed it back with a chuckle. “Don’t be a fool, I’m not like the late
Blackbeard ... blowin’ yer brains out will do me no good whatsoever. Ye want
yer men to be free, ye better pledge alliance to me. Now.” He whispered only
inches away from Mr. Philly’s face, so close he could feel the heat of the
pirate captain’s breath. “Fine ... I,
along with all of my men shall swear alliance to you” Said Mr. Philly finally
after a few seconds of hestitation. “Men, we’re going with them.” He added in a
desperate tone. “Heh ... now, we could really say I’m glad we’re
all on the same page.” Exclaimed Zutch gladly. “Ye got that
right. Heh.” Replied Captain Brownhack. “Men, untie all of them now. Then,
we’ll all head back to the ship and sort things out.” He ordered. As the other
pirates began freeing the navy soldiers, Danny rested his right arm on Ahmed’s
left shoulder and asked, “So, how did you get past the cannibals?” “Oh ... them
... don’t remind me too much ...” Answered Ahmed as he shivered and shook his
head.
“Oh come on,
man up, we’re gonna be facing a horde of undead skeletons not long from now
anyways.” Encouraged Danny as he slapped Ahmed hard on the back. “I’m still
not buyin’ that whole skeleton mumbo jumbo.” Said Ahmed as he frowned and shook
his head. “What!?”
Yelled Danny in disbelief. “You heard the old voodoo guy, the whole story, just
got told right in front of you.” “Yeah, I did.
Doesn’t mean I’ll have to believe it though. It could be a fake story. Besides,
I’ll believe it when I see it.” Replied Ahmed. “Wha- ... but
the artefact and all that ... plus this
very room ... and since when have you become a skeptic?? Ah, forget it ... I
promise you, you will see them soon.” Said Danny irritably as he rolled his
eyes, before repeating his question from earlier, “So ... about the demon cannibals
...” “Oh, right
... well, they caught us off guard, killed two of us, and the rest of us just
ran for our lives while they devoured the two.” Answered Ahmed as he gulped. “Oh ...”
Replied Danny awkwardly, feeling somewhat guilty. “Oh that
reminds me ... old man, what’re we gonna do about those cannibals out there? I
sure ain’t willin’ to let another crewmember of mine rot in their stinkin’
guts. I tried killin’ some of them but it won’t work. What are those creatures
anyway?” Asked Captain Brownhack as he turned to face Zutch. “Yeah ...
come to think of it, did you bring extra flasks of rum mixed with human fat
with you?” Added Danny, beginning to feel concerned. “No need.
This moon idol ... it will guide our way. Those demon cannibals are afraid of this
too.” Explained Zutch before leading the way out of the treasure filled area.
Chapter 12 The Final Battle
“Sweet lord
... how could this be!? Cap-cap’n!” Stammered Mr. Smith in disbelief after the
group reached the side of the beach in which the Black Hurricane was docked.
The perfectly unharmed ship just floating above the calm waters shimmering
under the moonlight. Captain
Brownhack didn’t let out a word. He just eyed his ship with gleaming and
curious eyes until two of his men who were guarding the ship came up to the
decks and spotted them. “Oi, captain! Are you impressed with what we did with
the ship? We repaired it pretty good, huh?” One of them shouted. Captain
Brownhack simply rolled his eyes as he turned around to face Zutch. “This was
your doing, yes?” He asked. “No. It was
the moon idol. Its magic would help us greatly in defeating Bonescar, starting
with the repair of your ship here captain.” Answered Zutch.
“What about
your ship, Zutch?” Asked Vanessa, but before the voodoo priest even answered, his
sloop suddenly appeared in the distance, making a turn around the other side of
the beach. “I just telepathically
told Zuzu to bring it here.” Answered Zutch with a smile. “So what do
we do now, do we split the crew in half or something?” Asked Jose. “No. Zuzu and
I will man my sloop. We will keep our distance and I ... hopefully I will be
able to use my magic to secretly take hold of a portion of the ghost ship’s
rigging, thus weighing down their helmsman and hopefully keep it within your
firing range.” Explained Zuzu. “And how do
we intend to locate this ghost ship, eh? You said earlier that with your powers
combined with the moon idol it would be so easy.” Asked Captain Brownhack. “Don’t worry.
Like I’ve said before, I’ve learned the arts of ocean mastery. I’ll lead us
there.” Answered Zutch. “Ocean
mastery eh, pray tell me more about this ... rather interesting skill of yours.” Said Captain Brownhack
as he took a step closer to Zutch. “It’s really
hard to explain, but it basically ... connects me to the seas. With this magic
I could search for any ship in the ocean, move my ship without the aid of the
wind, and to a certain extent, control other ships in the sea. Only to a
certain extent, however, this moon idol will not only weaken Captain Bonescar
and his ghost ship and crew, but it will also add to all of our powers and that
includes my magic.” Explained Zutch. “Well ...
that’s a relief, it sounds to me like we’re probably gonna be safe thanks to
that idol, huh?” Snapped Oliver. “No ... not
really.” Replied Zutch. “Wat de ...”
Muttered Lantern as he tossed Ajeet a worried glance. The others began tossing
worried and confused glances around too. “You see,
Captain Bonescar is powerful, and I mean powerful as in extremely strong, huge,
skilled, agile, and to top it all of, he also has a broad understanding of
vodun magic. What I’m saying is ... this moon idol will definitely boost our
chances if we want to defeat him ... but not from hard to easy, no, but rather
from impossible to extremely hard. We will still have to give the fight our all
if we want to defeat him, we will have to fight hard, and once we go in, we
won’t be able to return alive unless we win. So ... are all ready to take the
chance?” Asked Zutch in a voice somewhat deeper than his usual. Silence
followed for a few seconds, until Vanessa finally nodded and said, “Aye. I’m
ready.” A few more
seconds of silence, until Captain Brownhack finally said aloud in a booming
voice, “Aye! Come on ye scurvy ridden bilge rats, moments like these are what
us pirates live for!” “Aye!” Roared
all of his crewmembers at once, including even Barton and Barnaby, and Danny. “Well, that’s
what we came here for in the first place anyways.” Said Rose as she looked at
her husband, who nodded. “Aye!”
Shouted the couple in unison, followed by the sailors who accompanied them. The only ones
who still kept quiet by that point were the navy soldiers, until Mr. Smith
shoved Mr. Philly, who irritably responded, “Aye.” Followed by the rest of his
crew, who responded in pretty much the same fashion. “Aye ...
let’s do this then.” Said Zutch finally as a grin spread on his face. The whole
group then proceeded to board the repaired Black Hurricane while Zutch took
control of his own sloop and led the way, but not before giving the golden moon
idol to Vanessa. The voyage
lasted for hours, and while Danny and most of the crewmembers were swapping
stories about the skeleton crew, the sirens, and the Kraken (told mostly by
Barton and Barnaby), Vanessa was telling her story to Captain Brownhack up in
the captain’s cabin. “So ...
that’s why you would never let me come back to Port Veronica ...” Said Vanessa
softly as she titled her head down and looked at her lap, while Captain
Brownhack was walking back and forth a few feet from her, looking out the rear
glass window of the ship into the ocean. He kept quiet for a while and just
kept pacing back and forth, looking at sea and the sky, which was getting
progressively darker and cloudier. “Aye.” He
finally said. “I knew you were really attached to that place, and so I feared
if we were to come back there again, you would choose to stay there and never
accompany me on any of my voyages again. You’ve always been like a daughter to
me, Vanessa, and ... I admit I was wrong to do that, but you also could’ve said
something instead of just jumping ship with a guy you just knew like that. The
Caribbean is just full of b******s and tricksters. You’re lucky that kid
Danny’s not one of em.” “I guess
so...” Muttered Vanessa without lifting her head up. “It doesn’t really matter
now though ... Port Veronica ... it’s all destroyed now.” She added as she
clenched her fists on her lap. Her breathing was getting heavier, and she had
to really hold back her tears from falling just remembering the vision of the
attack. Suddenly
however, they were both startled when they heard Mr. Smith suddenly shout from
above them, “Ghost Ship off the starboard bow!” Vanessa and
Captain Brownhack looked at each other with wide eyes before they both dashed
out of the captain’s cabin. Vanessa quickly climbed onto the starboard rail and
held on to the railing as she leaned her body to the right to get a clearer
view while Captain Brownhack climbed up the stairs to the poop deck to join Mr.
Smith at the helm. “Aye ...
there she be” He muttered as he took out his telescope and examined through it
the large ship with tattered sails in the distance. The
crewmembers who were previously below decks all immediately climbed up to the
main deck as well and ran over to the right side and leaned over the rail to
get their first clear view of the ghost ship. “Do you
believe it now?” Asked Danny as he patted Ahmed on the back. “Dear lord
... you’re right.” Replied Ahmed simply as he took a loud gulp. Also off the
starboard bow, not far from the Black Hurricane, was Zutch’s sloop, and through
his telescope Captain Brownhack could see him turn his head in his direction
and nod. “Don’t just
stand there eye’n it ye powder monkeys, thought ye’d have learned that from the
encounter with the sirens! Grab your weapons and run out the guns! Full canvas!
We’re goin’ in!” Yelled Captain Brownhack loudly as drops of rain began falling
from the cloudy sky above them. “Aye! To your
stations! Pistols and cutlasses men!” Shouted various crewmembers as they
scrambled all over the deck. Some immediately made their way down below decks
and some others climbed up the rigging to make full sail. Others quickly ran
over to man the capstan. As the rain got heavier and heavier, the shouting and
footsteps of the pirates were drowned out, and the waves below them started to
roil and the railing began to shake as large waves began hitting the bow. Some of the
crewmembers slipped and fell as the harsh weather persisted, all as the Black
Hurricane was getting closer and closer to the ghost ship. “Oh this is going to
be good indeed.” Muttered Captain Brownhack. “I’ll take over! Join the others”
He ordered as pushed Mr. Smith out of the way and took over the helm. Below them,
some of the crewmembers had already begun handing out weapons, mainly to the
former navy soldiers whose weapons were abandoned. “Don’t get any funny ideas
...” Said the scrawny bearded crewmember who handed out a cutlass to Mr.
Philly, who said nothing in response. Meanwhile,
Barton, Barnaby, and some of the sailors who were with Jose and Rose were
assigned to the cannons by Mr. Smith and they hastily began making their way
below decks to run out and prepare the cannons, while Jose and Rose themselves
were among those who were manning the capstan. “Come on lad,
the cannons!” Ordered Pierre as he ran to Ahmed. “Oh ...
right!” Replied Ahmed simply as he rubbed his face with one hand. “What about
you, Dan?” He asked, half shouting, to his partner. “I’ll stay up
here.” Replied Danny, who was squinting and shielding his eyes from the heavy
raindrops, trying to locate the exact position of the ghost ship amidst the
mist, wind, and roiling waves. “Oh why must it be raining?” He complained. “Oh, ok ...
just be careful man!” Said Ahmed. “Sure, but
I’m sure it’ll be just as dangerous below decks also. We both know that.”
Replied Danny. “You take care too man.” He added with a friendly smile as he
lifted his right hand in a fist. Ahmed also smiled and after bumping fists his
partner, he immediately went down below decks with Pierre. After the
short conversation, Danny made his way over to Vanessa, who was standing on the
other side deck. He said nary a thing, and only looked at her through his
squinting eyes for a couple of seconds before she noticed him. Even amidst the
commotion of the crewmembers running back and forth all around them, all of
their focus were, for a short period of time, directed at each other. “Promise
me one thing will you ...” He finally said. “What?” Asked
Vanessa. “Just ...
survive.” Answered Danny. Vanessa
nodded in response as she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, before running
over to Danny to hug him, catching him off guard. “I will. What about you?” She
asked after a sob. “Same.”
Replied Danny, gently patting her back. Just then however, the roars of the
pirates all around them were finally loud enough to catch both of their
attention. They had
finally come side to side with the ghost ship. The massive ship had broad,
tattered sails, and the whole ship itself was comprised of all rotted pieces of
wood covered in moss. The ship looked so old and abandoned that Danny had to
wonder how such a ship could be so powerful and menacing. Riding on the decks,
leaning over the rails were the undead skeleton crewmembers, and in the middle
stood Captain Bonescar himself, his menacing stature and glowing yellow eyes
visibly striking fear into a lot of the crewmembers, who tossed each other
worried glances before their own captain boomed at the top of his lungs, “FIRE
ALL!” “FIRE ALL!”
Repeated Mr. Smith below on the main deck, and instantly after, the guns of
both ships were fired at each other. “Aaargh!”
Screamed one of the pirates in pain as one of the many cannonballs from the
ghost ship blasted through the starboard only inches from his face. Meanwhile, up
above, both Danny and Vanessa, alongside many other crewmembers fell flat on
the wooden deck as the impact caused the ship shake. They were lucky however,
for the cannons mounted on the deck of the ghost ship were also fired the
moment they fell, hitting only the rails, damaging the mast, and taking out one
pirate, who fell overboard as the cannonball whizzed past his body only inches
away. The crewmembers
then immediately began shooting with their muskets and pistols, and a lot of
the men also started throwing their grappling hooks to begin boarding the ghost
ship. The smell of gunpowder filled the air and the screams and shouts of the
pirates, along with the maniacal screams of the skeleton army pierced the sound
of the heavy rain, which had turned into a storm, as thunderous lightning
sounds began roaring in the sky above them. “Let’s go!”
Said Danny as he pulled himself back to his feet. “Right!”
Replied Vanessa as she got up herself. The two of them then made their way
through the hordes of crewmembers to try and get hold of the ropes from the
railing to board the ghost ship, for they did not get the grappling hooks. More cannons
were fired both across the deck and below at the starboard, and Danny and
Vanessa narrowly missed a couple. The ghost ship on the other hand, was also
damaged by the Black Hurricane’s cannon fire, surprising Captain Bonescar, who
turned away from the rail quickly. “What is this? How did they manage to hit
us!?” He asked in a booming voice as he picked up one of his skeleton
crewmembers by the collar and lifted him up as more cannonballs blasted the
area of the deck all around him. “I ... I
don’t know, captain, I ...” Stammered the skeleton pirate in panic before
Captain Bonescar slammed him down hard onto the floor of the deck. “I can’t
believe I have te do this! Board their damn ship!” Roared Captain Bonescar, and
upon hearing the order, the skeleton crewmembers began swinging over to the
Black Hurricane. “Hyahh!”
Yelled Vanessa as she cut down one of the skeletons who boarded the ship, yet
more and more kept coming. “Get off!”
Screamed Danny as he parried against a skeleton before kicking him overboard.
After cutting down a few more skeletons, the two finally managed to grab hold
of some ropes and they immediately swung over to the ghost ship, joining some
of the crewmembers who were already fighting skeletons there. After cutting
down a skeleton pirate, one of the crewmembers charged at Captain Bonescar, but
before he could even swing his sword,
Captain Bonescar unsheathed his own in a quick motion and sliced the pirate’s
chest. Another
crewmember was almost killed when he was overwhelmed fighting two skeletons,
but Danny came to his aid just in time and parried both skeleton’s swords when
they were about to strike the pirate, who quickly pulled himself back together
and fought alongside Danny. The two parried the skeletons for a few seconds
until Danny managed to cut down his opponent’s head off. “Take that you
bonebrain!” He shouted as he kicked the skull far away before helping the other
pirate take out the other skeleton by stabbing into his rib cage and then
slicing the skull. “Thanks
mate!” Said the pirate before moving on to fight another skeleton. Danny
himself also only walked a few steps before another skeleton charged at him,
fortunately for him, it was another one that he could defeat rather easily. A few feet
from him, Vanessa was also fighting some skeleton soldiers alongside three more
crewmembers. “Hyaah!”
Screamed Vanessa as she sliced her opponent’s cranium off, before grabbing him
by the collar and pushing him at another skeleton, one who was fighting one of
her crewmates. The two skeletons tumbled down to the floor and both Vanessa and
the other crewmate also moved on to fight the other skeletons who came their
way. Behind her, more crewmembers also arrived on the ghost ship. The skeletons
on the ship began taking out their flintlock pistols after a while, and so did
the pirates, even though some of them did get shot first. “Arrgh! Damn
b*****d!” Screamed one of the pirates as crumpled to the floor after being shot
in the stomach. One of the crewmembers aimed straight at Captain Bonescar, who
was on the other side of the deck, but the moment he fired his flintlock, the
undead captain simply waved his skeletal hand in front of him and the bullet
was stopped in mid-air, before being propelled back. “Gah!”
Screamed out the man as the very bullet he just fired whizzed right through his
own chest, killing him. Another crewmember who was fighting next to him was so
stunned by what just happened, he actually lost focus and was cut down by his
skeleton opponent. Meanwhile,
back on the Black Hurricane, the battle was also just as wild, and the crew
were beginning to have a hard time since half of the crewmembers had already
boarded the ghost ship. Among the crewmembers defending the Black Hurricane was
Mr. Smith. “Gah!” He shouted as he kicked a skeleton in the ribcage against the
wooden door leading to the captain’s cabin before turning around just in time
to parry another skeleton. A few feet
from him, Mr. Philly was also fighting two skeletons, and was barely holding on
as he swung his cutlass wildly before one of his former men came to his aid
after dispatching a skeleton himself. Some of the
skeletons had also breached into the area below decks, where the cannoneers
were. “Sweet Neptune ...” Gasped Pierre right before a skeleton lunged at him
with its sword, an attack he was fortunately able to parry in time . “Holy mother
of ...” Gasped Ahmed next to him as he parried the skeleton that came his way.
Ajeet and Lantern, who were a few cannons away also fought valiantly against
the skeletons along with the other crewmembers. They screamed and shouted as
their clashing swords rang and the heavy rain and wind washed over them through
the cracks in the starboard. Above them,
Captain Brownhack was starting to have a hard time with the ship’s helm as he
also had to take care of the skeletons who came his way. “Eat this you rottin’
hell dweller!” He mocked as he kicked a
skeleton who charged at him, sending it toppling a few feet back, before
cutting its skull. Back on the
ghost ship, the skeleton helmsman was even more trouble for he couldn’t even
turn the ship, leaving it completely vulnerable to the Black Hurricane’s fire. “Idiot!”
Yelled Captain Bonescar angrily as he pushed the undead helmsman away, before
taking the helm himself. “What sorcery is this ...” He muttered hoarsely as he
tried his hardest to turn the ship, but the only thing that turned and spun was
the wheel. Cannonballs were continually fired, and it destroyed the rear lamps
and mast of the ship. The blast was powerful enough to make even Captain
Bonescar himself fall flat on his ribcage. When he got up however, was when he
finally spotted Zutch’s sloop in the distance. “Damn you, old ...” He started
to mutter, but before he could finish, a cutlass was ran through the back of
his coat and out his ribcage, damaging his spine. The cutlass was Danny’s.
“Surprise
...” Uttered Danny between his heavy breathing while quickly pulling out his
cutlass out of the undead captain’s body. “Don’t make
me laugh ...” Said Captain Bonescar in his hoarse, menacing voice before
quickly turning around, doing a spin cut motion. Danny fortunately had good
enough reflexes to parry the attack, but the sheer strength of it was enough to
make him fall on his back. Captain Bonescar didn’t hestitate to continually
slash at him using his cutlass while Danny was still on his back, who had to
use both hands to parry each of the ghost captain’s slashes due to his sheer
strength. “Argh! Hey!
Gah!” He muttered and gasped as Captain Bonescar mercilessly delivered blows
after blows, one of which hit his left arm. The cut was so deep and painful
that Danny dropped his cutlass, and used his right hand to cup the bleeding
wound. “Nooo ...” He whimpered as he shook in pain. “Say your
prayers boy! Hahaha!” Said Captain
Bonescar as he raised his silver cutlass to finish Danny off. Before he could
deliver his final blow however, a loud cannonfire was heard, and the blast
completely obliterated the helm of the ghost ship, and Captain Bonescar, who
was standing only a few feet from it, was thrown right off the poop deck.
“Gyarrgh!” He screamed as his skull loudly hit the decks below. “Ah ... arrgh
...” Groaned Danny as some of the splinters sliced the left side of his face
and the blast was close enough to harm him also, albeit only slightly. As he
painstakingly forced himself to get back on his feet, he turned his head to
look at the Black Hurricane and saw that the one who fired the deck cannon and
saved his life was none other than Ahmed. His face was covered in blood,
dripping from his left forehead, and he flashed Danny a faint smile. Danny also
returned the weak smile and gave him a thumbs up. “Thanks partner ...” He
muttered. “Hhh ... hosh
.... hosh ...” Breathed Captain Bonescar heavily as he also struggled to pull
himself back to his feet. The cannonblast really did a number on him, for the
right side of his bony arm and skull were badly burnt, and his cutlass was left
broken. As he stood there, gathering back his energy, someone in front of him
suddenly called his name out loud. It was
Vanessa. “BONESCAR!” She screamed angrily, and as she approached the undead
captain, he began feeling a really uncomfortable chest pain and headache. He
began feeling a sensation as if something was pushing at his ribcage, and
draining away his power. “Grrr ....
ARRRGH!” Screamed the angry ghost captain as he combined all of his magical
powers and strength and reached his left arm out. An invisble force burst out
of his hand and pushed Vanessa up into the air about eleven feet high, slamming
her onto the mast, before letting her unconscious body fall to the deck. “NOOO! YOU
B*****D!!!” Screamed Danny angrily, but a skeleton who was out of his focus
suddenly shot him in the left forearm. “Arrgh!” He screamed as he fell back
down on his back. The skeleton approached him and drew out his cutlass to
finish him off. “I’ll finish
what my captain didn’t!” Said the skeleton in a screechy voice, but Danny still
had his own pistol, and so he whipped it out. “Finish
this!” He said before pulling the trigger, blasting a hole through the
skeleton’s skull, killing it instantly. The gunshot wound that he had received
however, made him unable to stand up right away. He just clenched his teeth and
let the rain wash over him as he laid there, blood gushing out of him in two
different places. “Damn it ...” He muttered in pain. Meanwhile,
back down on the main deck, Captain Bonescar had just spotted the golden moon
idol, which had fallen out of Vanessa’s jacket, gleaming amidst the battle in
the rain. His glowing
yellow pupils grew wide upon the sight, and he immediately ordered, “Someone
take that golden idol next to the girl, and toss out into the ocean! QUICKLY!” Some of the
skeletons tried to pick it up, by they were all intercepted by Captain
Brownhack’s crewmembers who were also aboard the ship. Captain Brownhack
himself, also finally swung his way over, accompanied by Ajeet and Lantern.
“Well well, here were are now ... I never thought I’d see the day where I’m
standing in front of the legendary Captain Bonescar himself!” He said as he
slowly walked over to the ghost captain while Ajeet picked up the golden moon
idol behind him. “Captain ...
Brownhack ... I presume?” Asked Captain Bonescar amidst his heavy breathing. “So even
creatures of myth and legend know of my name ... truly, I am honored.” Boasted
Captain Brownhack as he unsheathed. “The ... DAMN
IDOL ... just throw it out to sea ... and I’ll ... leave you in ... peace ...”
Said Captain Bonescar hoarsely while still breathing heavily. “Ar, what
makes ye think we can’t just slay ye right here bonehead? Hm? Ye look pretty
weak now to me. Besides, to escape from the ghost ship, I admit, will be a
feat, but sinking the ghost ship and slaying the deathly Captain Bonescar
meself would be the GREATEST feat any pirate, or sailor could pull.” Replied
Captain Brownhack confidently. “Aye ...
still ... don’t underestimate my power ... for it’s not ... completely drained
ye know ... you’ll be sorry ... I swear it.” Said Captain Bonescar, and with
that, his eyes suddenly changed from glowing yellow to bright glowing red as he
pulled out his second sword, the large broadsword which was also covered in an
ominous red glow. “Gyaarrrr!”
Roared both captains as they lunged at each other. Their broadswords not only
rang as they clashed, but both of it let out a thunderous roaring sound as
bolts of black thunder sparked out of Captain Bonescar’s. Captain
Brownhack was surprised at how much power Captain Bonescar still had, but he
managed to hold his position until Captain Bonescar suddenly raised his sword
and brought it back down again, only with twice as much force, creating the
black sparks again, and sending Captain Brownhack a few feet back. The ghost
captain continually delivered blows after blows in a very rapid motion, not
giving Captain Brownhack even single chance to deliver his own attacks, even
though he did manage to parry every single one of Captain Bonescar’s attacks,
although with much effort. The Black
Hurricane had come around the ghost ship by that point, and was firing at the
ghost ship’s left broadside. The ghost
ship rattled and shook in the heavy rain as the cannonfire continued on, while
the battle between men and skeleton still raged on above both ships. Ajeet and
Lantern valiantly fought and warded off any skeletons that came near Vanessa’s
unconscious body, while Mr. Smith had taken over the helm of the Black
Hurricane. Meanwhile,
Captain Bonescar, still having the upper hand, continued to deliver merciless
blows at Captain Brownhack, driving him all the way to the edge of the broken
rails of the right side of the ship. At the same time, Vanessa began to gain
consciousness. “Uurgh ...” She groaned as she rubbed her head while Lantern
helped her to her feet. Just then
however, Captain Brownhack’s scream was heard. “Hyeaaahhh!” He roared as he
used all of his might to finally swing his sword right after parrying one of
Bonescar’s attacks. His sharp broadsword smashed into the ghost captain’s burnt
right cheek bone. “Arrrgh!”
Moaned Captain Bonescar angrily as force of the blow was enough to destroy his
cheek bone and spread a long crack from above his right eye all the way across
his bony forehead. It didn’t take him long to recover and pull himself back
together though, and as Captain Brownhack pulled back his broadsword to deliver
another attack, he lunged all of his might and drove his own broadsword right
through the pirate captain’s chest. Right in the middle. “Ugh!” Spat
out Captain Bonescar along with some blood as his eyes grew wide from the
realization, while Captain Bonescar merely smiled. It wasn’t the
end for him yet though, for using the last of his strength he pulled out his
flintlock pistol and shot his undead enemy right in his bony forehead.
“Gah! Arrgh!”
Screamed Captain Bonescar in pain as he tumbled a feet back while pulling his
broadsword out of Captain Brownhack’s chest. “V-Vanessa
... I’m sorry ... and thank you.” Whispered Captain Brownhack as his vision
began to blur and he began to lose all feelings in his legs. In his final
breath he held on to the broken rail with his left hand as he dropped his
pistol and slowly reached for his hat. “Y-you ... were the closest thing to me
after I lost me own daughter ... maybe now I’ll be able to be with her ...
finally ... but ... Vanessa ... I will ... always ... have ... a place ... for
you ... in my heart ... goodbye now.” He thought as he finally closed his eyes
and let the cold breeze of the heavy rain wash over him, as he finally let go
of the rail, falling down to the ocean below. Vanessa, who
had woken up just in time to witness the whole thing, was shaking with anger.
She then reached inside her jacket for something, only to not find anything. “The idol!
Where is it!?” Asked Vanessa in panic as she grabbed Lantern by the collar, her
eyes already wild with anger and determination. “Hey man, don
look a’ me, tis was Ajeet who picked it up.” Explained Lantern as he raised
both of his hands up. “Here.” Said
Ajeet as he handed over the moon idol to Vanessa, who immediately tucked it
back inside her pocket and walked closer to Captain Bonescar, who was still
holding his forehead in pain. “Oh you are
going to die, you undead, rotting, bony, b*****d!” Said Vanessa as she stood
bravely before the hunched ghost captain. “Hhh ... what
relation do you have ... with the voodoo priest ... what is it that you ... are
brave enough to ... face ... me? Hmm?” Asked Captain Bonescar in between his
heavy breathing as he still cupped his forehead with his left skeletal palm. “Oh, trust me
... I’m all motivated by personal means now ... means for revenge.” Answered
Vanessa simply before she lunged at the ghost captain. The two
fought hard. Vanessa was able to hold her ground since she felt a surge of
power coming from the moon idol inside her inner coat pocket, while Captain
Bonescar had already been weakened not only by the cannonblast, as well as
Captain Brownhack’s slash and shot, but also to a really great extent, the moon
idol too. “Gah! Argh!”
Gasped the ghost captain who was finally at the disadvantage, only being able
to defend himself while Vanessa delivered one vengeful blow after another. She
managed to push all the way to the edge of the ship too, the very same location
Captain Brownhack last stood. “Gyaah! Gah!
Gyaah!” Screamed Vanessa as she continued to hack at the severely weakened
Captain Bonescar. “Arrgh!”
Screamed Captain Bonescar in pain as Vanessa finally got a clear chance and
hacked his right hand clean off. The bony hand dropped motionless on the deck
as the broadsword made a clanking sound. In the distance, as Vanessa was about
to deliver her final blow, she spotted Zutch’s ship, and to her surprise, she
heard Zutch’s voice inside her head. “After striking your final blow, drive the
moon idol into Bonescar’s ribcage. That will surely seal his death.” Said
Zutch’s voice inside Vanessa’s head. “This is the
end of you and your dreadful legend. No more will you ever terrorize the seas
again. This will serve as revenge to all the ports you destroyed and all the
souls you murdered all throughout the centuries.” Said Vanessa as she took out
the golden moon idol out of her pocket. “Heh ...
hehhehheh ...” Cackled Captain Bonescar weakly before Vanessa finally drove her
sword right through his gaping hole of a nose, spreading a deep vertical crack
across his skull. “Gyaaargh! Eaah ...”
Screeched the dying ghost captain as his skull began to split. “Adios ...”
Muttered Vanessa as she pulled back her sword, tearing Captain Bonescar’s skull
apart before finally driving the golden moon idol into the middle of his
ribcage. The golden
idol gleamed and glowed brilliantly, completely enveloping Captain Bonescar as
he screamed one last time before his body fell to the seas below. Instantly,
all the other skeletons who remained dropped dead at once. Their swords
clanking on the deck and their bones thudding on the wooden deck. “Excellent. Now, you and everyone else must
get off that ship, and hurry. The ocean will it up pretty soon.” Said Zutch
telepathically to Vanessa once again. “Aye!”
Screamed Vanessa, and after bending down to grab her late captain’s hat, she
ordered, “Men! Retreat to the ship! Hurry!” “Aye!”
shouted all of the remaining crewmembers who were still on the ghost ship,
including Ajeet and Lantern, before they all began swinging back to the Black
Hurricane. As Vanessa
was about to do the same, a voice suddenly called to her, “Vanessa!” “Danny!”
Called Vanessa back as she ran over to him. “You’re badly wounded!” “I know.”
Replied Danny simply. Just then the whole ship began to creak and shake
heavily. “Just leave me here ... you’ve got to save yourself ...” Said Danny as
he almost fell down, but Vanessa managed to catch him. “No way! Like
hell I will, we both promised to stay alive, right!? I’m not going to lose
anymore loved ones!” Replied Vanessa as she lifted the limp Danny off his feet. “Whoa ... oh
... arrgh ... no ... leave me ...” Muttered Danny as the creaking and shaking
got worse. Some planks on the deck were already falling apart and the masts cracked
and split on their own. “Just shut
up!” Scolded Vanessa as she ran over to the nearest rope, jumping over a
collapsing plank and narrowly dodging the collapsing mast before she finally
reached it. “Lean on my shoulder now, and you better hold on ...” She ordered
to Danny, who complied, seeing no other reason to complain. The two then
swung over to the Black Hurricane, and were cheered upon by the crewmembers
upon landing. The very next
second, a very loud splash was heard along with a very loud cracking noise.
Vanessa turned around just in time to see the ghost ship being swallowed by the
ocean, sinking down ... down to Davy Jones’ Locker. The deepest depths of the
ocean. “Hooray!”
Shouted and cheered the crewmembers as the rain stopped within mere seconds too.
Almost all of them who had hats on threw their hats way up into the air. Some
danced and some fired pistols into the sky, and some immediately went over to
the Vanessa and Danny. “T-thank you
all ...” Stammered Vanessa as she looked around. Wounded and bleeding faces all
around her, but they were all smiling. Pierre’s left shoulder and right forearm
were visibly slashed, Oliver was bleeding out of his mouth, left ear, and
shoulder, Mr. Smith, who had given to helm to Ajeet, was bleeding in the upper
right chest, near his shoulder, and Ahmed was bleeding out of his left
forehead. Also, Jose was bleeding out of the nose and left palm, while Rose was
bleeding out of her right ear and forehead. “We’re all
used to it. You should know ... captain.” Said Oliver with a smile. “Aye ...
about Captain Brownhack ... Vanessa, I’m ...” Said Mr. Smith, though he didn’t
manage to finish his sentence. “It’s ... it
hurts ... it hurts bad Mr. Smith. I’m sure you feel it too ... but, we’ll have
to get over it. We pirates are no strangers to death happening to our comrades,
are we?” Replied Vanessa. A teardrop formed on both of her eyes, but she wiped
them and forced a smile before they rolled down her cheeks. “Aye ... *sob*
.... excuse me ... miss ... I mean, cap’n ...” Said Mr. Smith as he covered his
mouth, turned, and walked away quickly. As he did, Mr. Philly approached
Vanessa, accompanied by some of his men. He was wounded in the right cheek, and
was also bleeding out of his lower lip. “Pardon me to
interrupt in such an ... emotional time miss, but may I ask, after this ...
what’ll become of me and my men now that your captain is ... dead?” He asked
politely. “We’ll drop
you off at the next port. You’ll be free after that.” Answered Vanessa simply. “Oh, gracious
... thank you, miss ...” Thanked Mr. Philly before turning away, along with his
companions. After only a few steps
however, he ran into Barton and Barnaby, who were both wounded lightly in
various areas. “So ... do you two still want to be pirates after all that?” He
asked. “Well ...
actually ... no, sir. May we come with you?” Said Barnaby in an embarassed
fashion. “Yeah ...
phew, that was the scariest experience I’ve had my whole life!” Added Barton. “I thought so
...” Said Mr. Philly as a broad grin spread on his face. Meanwhile,
Vanessa suddenly heard Zutch speak to her in her head once again, as his own
ship was getting further away. “My job here
is done. Words cannot even begin to express the gratitude that I feel towards
you. If I hadn’t met you ... my life would’ve been a complete waste Vanessa, so
farewell now. I can finally rest easy, and so can the world now that the ghost
ship and its dreaded captain is no more. All thanks to you.” Said Zutch in
Vanessa’s head for the last time as his ship appeared smaller and smaller in
the distance as it sailed off towards the eastern horizon, towards the
beautiful sun that was beginning to rise, casting its beautiful ray on the
ocean. “Thank you
too Zutch ... and goodbye.” Replied a smiling Vanessa as she casually leaned on
what’s left of the starboard rail and looked at the ship one last time before
it disappeared out of sight. On another
side of the deck, Ahmed was helping Rose tend to Danny’s wounds. “Well, what
are we gonna do after this, pal?” He asked his partner. Danny kept
silent for a few seconds until he finally answered simply, “Who knows?”
The end
© 2018 Ian Titian |
Stats
78 Views
Added on December 9, 2017 Last Updated on January 11, 2018 Tags: adventure, pirate, pirates, misadventure, comedy, ghosts, skeletons, mermaids, sea monster, sea monsters, ghost, mermaid, action, swashbuckler, caribbean, classic, undead AuthorIan TitianMalang, Jawa Timur, IndonesiaAboutArt is what enables our eyes to see beyond what is visible. It can captivate our souls and make us realize how beautiful and majestic the world around us is, for there is so much to be appreciated tha.. more..Writing
|