The Tale of Davy Fireskull
 

Well, I was bored today, so I decided that I would write a story, about my pirate, Davy Fireskull. It is currently untitled, but for now I will call it The Tale of Davy Fireskull. I have only written the prologue so far, but I will write more, and I will post when I finish a significant piece.

Enjoy!


Prologue

On the island of Port Royal, there lived a wealthy family of merchants. The merchants were well known and respected throughout the island, even by the island’s governor, Governor Swann. They were a kind, and generous family. If they ever saw a beggar on the streets, they would help him, or when they saw sailors who’s cargo had been plundered by the Caribbean’s pirates, they would make sure that they would not go home with nothing to feed their families with.

One day, fate granted this family with a gift, a baby boy. The boy was named David, after the father’s father. How they loved him! They would always make sure that he was happy, and what was not to be happy about? He had the nicest toys, the best food, and the love of all the townsfolk. When David was three, another child was born into this family. He was named William, after a good friend of the family’s.

When David was only seven, his father took him to the shipyards. This sparked David’s love of the sea, and the people who sailed it. After that, David would, by himself, go to the shipyards, and talk to some of the sailors, and hear their tales of the open ocean. He adored hearing their yarns, and always wanted to learn more. The seamen liked him, and thought that he would be a sailor when he grew up.

Seeing as David loved the sea so much, his father, Henry, decided that he would take David and William on a sail to the island of Padres Del Fuego on a business trip. However, rumors of dark forces in the Caribbean were starting to get more common, especially after ships from Padres stopped arriving. Many people believed that Padres Del Fuego may have been attacked by the undead army of Jolly Roger.

Little was known about the infamous Jolly Roger. Most respectable people believed he was just something that drunken sailors spat on about when they saw strange things. It is said that he used to be a powerful pirate. Fate lead him to killing a witchdoctor, who in his dying breath, cursed him to walk the land as a skeleton. He soon discovered that he was able to bring the dead back to life in this new form of his, and he could manipulate them to do his bidding. Rumor had it that he raised an entire army of undead humans, as well as formerly sunken ships.

Henry didn’t believe in such rumors. He set sail to Padres Del Fuego on his mighty vessel, The Eagle, with two naval frigates to escort his ship for the two week long voyage. Eight days into the trip, bad weather struck them. It wasn’t horrible at first. Just a small amount of rain, and lots of fog, reducing visibility range greatly.

The next day, the weather got worse, and a thunderstorm rolled in. Henry didn’t care, The Eagle had been through worse storms. “She has gone through hurricanes strong enough to send the biggest ships to the depths! She can survive this drizzle!!!” He proclaimed. However, soon it became clear that this was no ordinary storm. Some of the sailors started claiming that they were seeing ships with torn sails, and rotted hulls, sailing through the storm with lightning and green fog all around them. Henry didn’t listen, calling them drunken animals, and then locking them in the brig. They said that they weren’t insane, and that they saw it with their own eyes, or in the case of One Eyed Will, eye.

On the third day after the storm struck, Henry was proven wrong. As he was looking out his ship’s window, he saw a concentration of thunder and lightning, and the mysterious green fog that the sailors had reported. As he got on the deck to take a better look in the pouring rain, he noticed three other areas like this. As he watched in awe, David came up to look.
“
Father, what’s that?” He asked in fear.

“N-nothing David, go back down, your going to get your nice coat wet.”

But David stood there in awe, watching the mysterious green fog as more of the crew came up. There was mumbling from the crew about bad fortune, and that the sea was mad at them for something, and that it was time for them to pay. All of the sudden, out of each of the fog clouds, a ship emerged. The ships were large, with rotted hulls and tattered sails. Each had twelve guns on each side, which slowly emerged from their slots in the hull of the ship. They all started towards The Eagle.

Sailors cried out in fear, and ran to the edges of the ship to get a better look. Some prayed, thinking that these were demons coming to make them pay for their sins. Others ran down under the deck, but Henry stood there, terrified.
Dear God, they were right! He thought.

The mysterious ships all surrounded The Eagle: One in the front, one at each side, and one in the rear. Each fired a broadside of a bright, ghostly cannonballs that tore through the hull of the ship. The mysterious ships got lucky, and hit a stash of gunpowder in The Eagle. The Eagle exploded, sending planks of wood flying everywhere. Then it started to sink. Sailors cried out in terror, and jumped off the ship in their fear. Henry looked around in fear, trying to find David and William. He cried out their names, tears in his eyes. Finally he spotted them, both of them sobbing in terror.

“Father, what’s happening?” William asked through choked sobs.

“What are we going to do?” David yelled.
“
Just follow me!” Henry cried, tears in his eyes. He lead them across the sinking vessel to the life rafts. There were two left, each with room for one. He placed William in one of them, telling him that he loved him, and giving him a kiss on his forehead. Then at the other lifeboat, he spotted his servant, Sven Johnson, in one of the life boats.

“Master!” Sven cried, “Please, get in this boat, and take your son with you! Better I die than you!”

“No!” Henry said through the howling wind and the screams of sailors, “I want you take David with you, I will stay. Just promise to take care of David for me, as my last request.”

“Master I…”

“Mr. Johnson! Please!”

“… yes master… I swear, I will make sure no harm comes to David.”

“Father! Wait!” David cried.

“I’m so sorry David, I love you so much, and I want you to know how proud I am to be your father. Now, go!”

The lines on the lifeboats were cut, sending David and William’s lifeboats down into the water, each drifting away from each other’s.

“No!!!!” David screamed, watching his brother’s lifeboat drift father from his. David looked back at The Eagle, and saw his father’s face. He was looking directly at him, with tears in his eyes. Then, the last of the ship’s gunpowder exploded, blowing the ship to pieces, and sending it down to the depths, with Henry on it.


~~~~~~~~~~



The storm had ended a few hours after The Eagle sank. It all felt like a dream to David. He kept telling himself it was just a dream, and that he would wake up soon, back on Port Royal, with his family, but deep down he knew that his father was dead, and he may never see William again.

After another few hours of drifting, a ship came into view. The 4 sailors on the lifeboat, plus Sven and David cried out to it, and soon it came to them. As they were dragged on board, David noticed a lowered flag. It was black, with a skull and two crossed swords beneath it.

Pirates. David was once again afraid, and started to sob once again.

“What have we ‘ere? Some shipwrecked sailors eh? Hehe, and a little boy,” said one of the pirates, grabbing at David. David didn’t move, his eyes wide in fear.

“Dan! Quit bothering the boy! Can’t ye see how scared he is! Go down under the deck or I’ll cut out yer tongue!” said a figure walking out of a door. “My apologies mates, he can be a bad one. James Hawk, at yer service, I am the captain of the Black Swan, the ship ye have the pleasure of sailing on now. Now, what happened to ye to make ye stuck at sea?”

Sven told him what happened, from the start of the voyage to abandoning The Eagle. Captain Hawk was quite polite for a pirate. He may steal and kill for a living, but he seemed to be sympathetic, and when Sven finished his story, he said, “Alright then, ye all seem to have some experience sailing, and I be needin’ a few new crewmates because of a nasty accident we had with some gunpowder the other day, what do ye say to joining my crew?”

The survivors of the shipwreck were not sure. He was a pirate, and pirates are wanted thieves. Most of them wanted to just get back home. But then Sven remembered his oath to Henry. I will make sure no harm comes to David.

Sven stood up and, with his head held high, said: “We accept your offer, Captain Hawk.”

Captain Hawk grinned, showing off his yellowed teeth. “Well then, welcome to the crew!”

And so began the adventure that would change David‘s (or Davy, as the crew soon started to call him) life, forever.

wow awesome mate :D great story!

This is only the prologue! :pirate2:

Alright! Here is Chapter One of my story!

Chapter 1: Ruins of a Former Life


Davy Fireskull stared at the island that the Black Swan was headed to. Since his arrival on the pirates ship, he had bonded with the crew, the captain, the ship, and the sea. At this point, it felt like he had always been on this ship. He rarely thought of the attack on The Eagle 10 years ago. It was all behind him now. He had a new life as a pirate, and a new name. (He became known as “Fireskull” after drinking a potion that the crew’s gypsy had whipped up one day, lighting his head on fire.)

However, this island was bringing back memories to Davy; memories of when he was just a boy, of his parents, and of his brother, William. The island that the Black Swan was headed to was Port Royal. He hadn’t seen the island since he was a child. He was both eager and nervous to return to the island of his childhood. Captain Hawk’s plan was to enter the island flying navy flags that they had stolen from a navy ship, then they could sell their stolen cargo, get the updates on everything going on in the Caribbean, buy some rum (actually, a lot of rum. Davy was the biggest rum lover of the crew).

For now, Davy was wondering if he would find his mother here, who remained on the island when The Eagle was sunken. Or maybe William would have found his way back here. They were desperate hopes, but he was still hopeful.
“Davy! Get down from there! We need ye to help prepare our cargo for unloading tomorrow!”
Davy peered down from the crows nest to see his good friend Gill standing at the bottom of the mast. Gill was 30 years old, give or take. Most pirates don’t know their exact ages. He was muscular, one of the strongest men in the Black Swan’s crew. Whenever they boarded a ship, he would be the one leading the broadswords in the beginning of the raid. However, as strong and fearless as he may have been, he was also a kind fellow. He was almost a second father to Davy. As soon as Davy arrived on the ship, he made sure that he was never harassed by the others. Davy loved him, and Gill loved him back.

“Comin’ Gill! Just wanted to get a glimpse of Port Royal… I haven’t been there since I was a boy ye know,” said Davy, climbing down from the mast.

“Yer eighteen years old Davy, ye still are are a boy!” laughed Gill

Davy chuckled to himself, and went under the deck to prepare the cargo for unloading.

~~~~~~~~~~


All was done. The ship was docked, the cargo was unloaded, and the crew was on Port Royal. Captain Hawk had given Davy permission to search for his family, or any remains of his childhood.

His first place to check was going to be his former house. He had dressed in slightly nicer clothes so that he wouldn’t be stared at too much in the town. He was wearing a long red “shop” vest, brown trousers, some simple boots, and a white puffy shirt. He was confident that townspeople wouldn’t recognize him, as he had changed much. His bright green eyes that he had when he was a child were darker now, and he had a small scar going across one eye from a nasty fight with the captain of a navy ship that he boarded. His dark brown hair was almost black now, and he had grown a small beard. Lastly, his muscles were much more developed now, from 10 years of work at the mast.

As he was walking down the town’s main street, he recognized several faces. Some were childhood friends of his that he grew up with, while others were townsfolk that his father had done business with. He desperately wanted to go up to some of them and say, “Its me! David! Remember me? I disappeared in a shipwreck ten years ago!” But he couldn’t. He had promised the Captain Hawk that he wouldn’t give his identity away, unless it was to his mother, who must not be able to tell anyone about him. If his identity got out, it could lead to too much questioning, and could endanger the Black Swan and her crew.

As he was walking, he noticed a lot of wreckage in the area near his house, on the east side of the island, about a mile from the beach. There were many damaged buildings, and wreckage strewn all over the road.

“Now what could be the cause of something like this…?” Davy asked himself.

Finally, after a long walk, he arrived at his house. Or what was left of it. The house was almost completely destroyed. The second story was virtually gone, and there were burn marks all over the house, as if the house was burned down.

But no… Davy thought, a fire couldn’t do all that to a house… it almost looks like it was blasted with cannons… but who would do that?

Davy walked into what remained of the house. The furniture was mostly destroyed, but a few pieces still remained intact. The dining room seemed mostly untouched. Just ashes and a bit of caved in ceiling, but not much damage compared to the other rooms. Davy visited his old bedroom, only to find it a mess. His bed was broken, the legs of it splintered apart, and the body of the bed snapped in two. A tear came into Davy’s eye as he looked at what was left of his former bedroom.

Then something caught his eye. On his dresser, which was untouched in a corner, held a small painting of his family, about a year before the shipwreck. Davy picked it up. There were his parents, smiling at the painter, with Davy and William between them. Davy smiled, then started to sob. What had become of his old life? What god or spirit could ruin such a happy family? Davy picked up the painting, and put it into his bag.

After one last sweep of the house, he left with the painting, a childhood toy of his (a little wooden ship), and his mother’s favorite ring (which for some reason she left here). He also left with something larger. His father had a cutlass custom made for him when Davy was only three years old. It was a beautiful creation; a golden hilt shaped like a dragon with its wings spread, and a blade with a vine design engraved into the metal. His father had never used it to fight with, and kept it on the wall instead, but it was one of his most prized possessions. Davy was confident that he could fight with it.

He soon arrived back into the town. His plan was to find someone his parents had known well back before the shipwreck, and to see if he could get information out of them. He soon stumbled across a family friend, Francis Truehound, purchasing food from a street vendor.

“Excuse me sir,” Davy said to him, tapping his shoulder. “I recently moved back to this island, after leaving ten years ago with my family from the Americas. I noticed that the east side of the island is a wreck. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Oh! Why of course, come sit down,” Francis said, beckoning to a bench. “Say, do I know you from somewhere? Your face seems familiar…”

“Why no, I don’t think that we have met,” Davy said.

Francis stared at him for about a minute, making Davy feel a little bit uneasy. Then Francis broke the silence and said: “When did you say you moved away from Port Royal again?”

“Oh, err… ten years ago, why?”

“Because that’s when David Phillips and his father Henry Phillips disappeared aboard The Eagle.”

Davy’s eyes widened, and he gulped in nervousness. Then he said, “Mr. Truehound, please, you can’t tell anyone that I’m still alive. I can’t explain right now, but I will later. Please…”

“Its okay David! I won’t tell anyone about you as long as you explain to me what has happened since you disappeared.” Francis said.

“First I want you to tell me what happened to Port Royal, my house, and my mother. And I go by Davy now, not David” Davy said.

“Alright then Davy, I guess I’ll start with what happened when news of your disappearance reached the island, but first, lets get to my house. My wife isn’t there right now, so we should have it all to ourselves.”




Tell me what you think of it.

awesome! great great story mate lol :D

Here is Chapter 2 mates! Lol and someone other than angel post xD no offense angel.

Chapter 2: Answers


Davy and Francis arrived at his house. They sat down at Francis’s table.

“Would you like anything to drink Davy?” Francis asked.

“Rum please,” Davy said instinctually.

“Erm… rum shipments haven’t arrived for over a month now… rumor has it that some pirates attacked the rum carrying vessel.”

Davy looked down, a small smile on his face. It was the Black Swan that had plundered that ship. Davy had a feeling it would come back to haunt him. “Nothing then.”

Francis nodded, then said, “Okay then Davy, I’ll tell you everything that happened since you “died” at sea.

“When word of you, your brother, and your father’s death reached the island, people were shocked. Some suspected that the ship ran into a reef, others thought that it was pirates. However there were those few who thought that it was the mysterious Jolly Roger who caused it. These people were ignored, although there were some who were persistent, and made their voices heard. They made riots, claiming that we would all be destroyed if we didn’t surrender to him, or join him. Eventually, when the riots and protests got worse, the navy had to get involved. Troops from Fort Charles -- Francis beckoned in the direction of the fort -- had to come down and capture the ‘crazed’ citizens. They were then hung at a public hanging. The leader’s last words were ‘We are not as mad as you think!’.

“Ah, and I almost forgot about your mother. When she found out about The Eagle sinking, she was obviously horrified. She went insane, so insane that the authorities thought of locking her away. She ended up staying in your house. She never left. I came to visit her a few weeks after the incident, to find her sitting in her room. Her face was pale. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair, normally combed nicely, was a rats nest. I remember her looking at me, just looking at me! Not saying a word! The look in her eyes was indescribable. I left immediately.

“Back to what happened to the island! For around two and a half years, things went relatively back to normal here, but what happened stuck in almost all of our heads. Then things started to become strange. It started when Gideon Grog’s grave was robbed. At first sight, it appeared to be a grave robbery, but the odd thing was, ol’ Gideon was poor, and was buried with nothing. The body was “robbed” although the most mysterious thing was that there were footprints leading away from the grave. None were found going to the grave, but a perfect pair going away from it, and the footprints were no ordinary prints. They looked like prints made by a skeletal foot.

“After that, this started to happen more frequently, until almost half of our graveyard was dug up! Then, one of the most disrupting things happened. In the course of one night, a huge amount of the navy soldiers in Fort Charles were murdered. Of course, they were buried. A few days later, all the graves were empty.

“By this time, almost all the townsfolk were convinced of witchcraft. Then the whole Jolly Roger debate happened again. It got bloody. Townsfolk attacked each other with whatever they had, be it a pitchfork or a blunderbuss.

“Then, about two weeks after the attack on the navy, it happened. We were weak from fighting each other, our ammo was lessened, and out gunpowder supply was quite low. That day, the unspeakable happened. Some people called it Judgment Day, others called it demons coming to take their souls. Skeletons walked out of the forests around the town. We didn’t see it coming, and we were weak. I remember the day… there were citizens running around the island screaming, mothers calling their children’s names. The navy tried to help, but they were already so devastated by their attack two weeks prior, that they were of little help. I remember the weather that day… there was a greenish fog, and lighting and thunder… but no rain. An undead ship was sent into our harbor, which deployed even more skeletons. We were massacred… we were sure that they would kill us all, but then… Tia Dalma, that strange witch that lived in the jungle, came out of Kings Run. She casted some sort of spell, and all the undead suddenly fell down, and were absorbed into the ground. Then she looked up, and we followed her gaze. We saw a larger skeleton, one with different features, wearing a hat, and had some sort of gun on his hand. Jolly Roger. Then, with a voice I shall never forget, he said this:

“‘CITIZENS OF PORT ROYAL!!! YE MAY HAVE BEATEN ME THIS TIME!!! BUT YOUR WITCH CAN’T SAVE YE AGAIN!!! I SHALL BE BACK!!!’

“Then, he disappeared in a cloud of green fog. The fog around us all cleared, and when we looked back, Tia Dalma was gone.

“You are probably wondering why only the east side of town wasn’t repaired. Its because people said they saw skeletons there after the invasion there. Nobody wanted to risk going back. Also, that area had some of the heaviest damage. Some skeletons came out of the jungle in that area with cannons being pulled along by skeletal horses. That caused some damage in the area, and your mother was killed when your house was hit by one. Or so we think… we haven’t seen her since the invasion. Perhaps she is still alive, living in the jungle, but she is probably dead…

“Ever since that invasion, the town has been rebuilt, except the east side, but we are much more watchful of our graveyards, and we have built walls around them, so nobody can escape them. And unless you wish for death, nobody goes into the jungle.”

Francis took a deep breath, then looked at Davy, who was still taking all of this in.

“Ok then Mr. Truehound, I must honor my side of the deal,” Davy said. Then he told him everything that happened, including about the skeleton ships attacking The Eagle.

“So Jolly Roger is coming to power,” Francis said. “Well, we are going to have to fight him. Or die… I don’t like pirates… but I have a soft spot for you, and if a pirate can defeat Jolly Roger, then that’s just as good as a naval officer doing it. I have a feeling that war is coming to the Caribbean…”

WOW Davy! You are VERY good at story telling! Your creativity in describing what had happened was great! Can't wait until you post the next chapter!

Thanks Del, I really appreciate the kind words. Ill try to post at least one chapter a day.

Chapter 3 mates Chapter 3!!!



Chapter 3: Ambush


As Davy stood up to leave, Francis halted him.

“Davy, wait…” He said nervously.

Davy looked at him. He needed to be back to ship or the crew would get worried. Or at least Sven Johnson, who had stayed with Davy for all those ten years. “What is it Mr. Truehound?”

Francis took a deep breath, then said, “If you came back, you could start a new life here. I could take you under my care. You have so much potential. Don’t waste your life becoming a pirate. Pirate’s lives only come to horrible ends.

Please, stay here. You don’t have to become a pirate!”

Davy looked at him for a long time. It was a good offer, and parts of him missed his old life. But was that other part of him that knew that he was destined to do what he was doing. He was shipwrecked for a reason. And if he stayed as a pirate, he could sail the seas forever, which is what he truly loved.

Then Davy spoke up, “Sorry Mr. Truehound, but I can’t leave my current life. There was a reason that The Eagle sank, and I wound up on the pirate ship. I appreciate your offer, but I cant accept it. I am a pirate, and nothing will change that.”

“Then I cannot let you leave the island!” Cried out Francis, punching Davy in the face. Davy fell down on the floor, his nose bloodied. Then Francis pulled out a butcher’s knife, and brought it down to Davy’s heart.

Davy waited for death, but it never came. He opened his eyes, to see the knife only a few millimeters away from his heart, which was now beating wildly. Then he looked up at Francis, who then said, “I can’t kill you… Your father, if he saw you today, he would be ashamed. Go, now. Before I change my mind about letting you go.”

Francis released his grip on Davy, and stood. Davy then got up, watching Francis.

“Perhaps he would be, but he’s gone now, and its my choice. Not his.” Davy walked out of the room. Stopping to grab a bottle of rum. “And I knew you lied about the rum being gone.”

As Davy walked out of the house, he looked one last time at Francis Truehound. Francis was watching him with a sad look, or maybe it was ashamed. Davy couldn’t tell. Then he left.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy arrived back on the Black Swan. He was greeted by Captain Hawk, Gill, and Sven.

“Where were you Davy? We were getting worried about you!” Sven said.

“Sorry, spent a little more time in the town than I thought, and I have lots to tell you all. And I think that we should leave Port Royal immediately, for reasons I shall explain in my story.”

“Very well Davy, lets all head to my cabin, so we can have maximum privacy,” stated Hawk.

After entering the cabin, Davy told everyone about everything that happened. There was a long silence while everyone took it in. Davy waited for a response. Finally, Gill broke the silence.

“Davy, I’m sorry about your mother, house, everything. Ye didn’t deserve this mate.”

“Thanks Gill… but as I told Francis Truehound, I think that all this happened for a reason. Nothing is random. This is somehow tied in to my destiny. What that is yet, I haven’t the slightest idea.”

There was another silence, then Hawk broke it. “All right mates, lets get to bed. We gotta wake up early tomorrow so we can cast off.”

Everyone nodded, and headed off to their bunks.

~~~~~~~~~~


They raised the sails at dawn, and Port Royal was far behind them at around noon. They sailed through all the day. Nothing significant happened, other than that Peg Leg Peter accidentally dropped his lit pipe onto a pile of gunpowder, which ended up blowing him to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Finally, with Port Royal out of sight, night fall arrived. It was a cloudy night, with a layer of fog on the water. It didn’t look like it would rain, however some of the crew said they thought they saw lightning.

That night, Davy couldn’t sleep. Something was bothering him, but he didn’t know what. Around midnight, he finally got out of his bunk, and walked out on deck. It was a peaceful night, the air was fresh, the sea was calm. Then Davy looked out to the side of the ship, and saw something he hoped to never see again. It was a ship with a rotted hull and tattered sails. One of Jolly Roger’s ships, or worse, Jolly Roger himself. The ship was coming straight towards the Black Swan. There was only one thing to do: sound the alarm.

Davy ran over to the alarm bell, passing the sleeping guard. I’ll worry about him later… Davy thought. He rang the bell and yelled out, “ENEMY SHIP OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!!! GET OUT OF BED LANDLUBBERS!!! OR I WILL HAVE THE CAPTAIN MAKE YE WALK THE PLANK!!!”

Soon, the whole crew was awake and up, looking at the incoming ship. It was much closer now, and was moving surprisingly fast for a ship with tattered sails. Then the captain spoke.
“BATTLE STATIONS MEN! LETS SINK THAT SHIP, AND PROVE THAT WE ARE STRONGER THAN OL’ JOLLY ROGER!!!”

You sure know how to write a good story. Keep writing mate, your very talanted.

*sneaks in* great story *sneaks out* haha

Chapter 4: Encounter
 

Chapter 4: Encounter


The battle began, and a storm with it. Storms seemed to always follow these ships. The two ships began to circle each other. The crew of the Black Swan could see skeleton crew. They were horrible sights: hardly any flesh left on their bodies, and any that was left was rotten and falling off. They yelled horrible battle cries in horrible unearthly voices. The crews of both ships prepared the cannons, and finally the first broadside was fired by the Black Swan. The sound off the cannons was almost muted out by the storm. The crew watched the cannons fly towards Jolly Roger’s ship, and collide. The side of the ship blasted open, revealing some of the interior.

The skeleton ship was next to fire, but instead of firing round shots like all natural ships do, it fired shots that were a bright blue that seemed to have a face on it. A face that should be dead. They almost seemed to scream as they flew towards the Black Swan. The crew stared at them, terrified of this strange new object. Then it hit. The ghostly cannon ammo seemed to tear apart the hull of the Black Swan far more than normal round shots. When it hit, it destroyed all the planks within about a 5 foot radius, also sending broadside cannons flying backwards, some crushing the crewmates.

As soon as Captain Hawk saw the damage that the enemy’s first broadside did, he knew it was over. But Hawk was a fighter, he would never give up.

“COME ONE CREW!!! KEEP ON FIRING!!! WE HAVEN’T LOST YET!!! LETS SHOW THESE BONEHEADS WHAT WE ARE MADE OF!!!” Hawk cried at the top of his lungs.

More rounds of shots were fired; the round shots of the Swan seemed to do little damage compared to the mighty cannons of the skeleton ship. After about a half hour of fighting, boarding began. The skeletons swung from their ship onto the Swan, catching the crew off guard. Most of the crew just stood in shock, staring into the empty eye sockets of the skeletons before getting ruthlessly slaughtered. After about a minute, the crew got their act together and started to fight off the skeletons, but it was still no use. They were incredibly powerful fighters, and had no mercy or fear.

Davy pulled out his sword, uttering a battle cry. Then he charged at a skeleton. He and the bonehead exchanged blow after blow at each other, none of them getting past the other’s blade. Davy finally head-butted the skeleton sailor, stunning him. Then he took his sword and brought it down on his head, shattering the skull. Davy was known amongst the crew to be one of the best swordsman; he could beat any one of the crewmates on board, but this was different. These skeletons had an unearthly strength. However, this wouldn’t stop Davy from cutting down every last one. He attacked another, and they battled for a few minutes, before Davy managed to give him a stab in the stomach. Davy left the battle with a rather large cut on his arm, going from his left shoulder down to his elbow.

Davy soon found himself back to back with Gill, each of them fighting off a skeleton.

“Well Davy ol’ buddy, this could be the end of us matey,” Gill said between sword strokes.

“Aye, it very well could be. It was nice knowin’ ye,” Davy said with his teeth together.

Davy did a roll and got behind is skeleton foe, then he brought his sword up and sliced the skeletons spine. As the skeleton dropped down, Davy saw a ghost cannon ball flying towards the deck.

“GILL!!! LOOK OUT!!!” Davy cried.

Gill and his skeleton foe looked up and saw it, but they were too slow, and the cannon ball exploded at their feet. The last Davy saw of Gill was of his lifeless body flying across the deck, and into the sea. Just then, Davy noticed Captain Hawk walking through the battlefield, holding his sword above his head, with a white cloth on top of it. It was over, Hawk had realized that it was no use letting his crew die. The skeletons stopped fighting, and grinned, showing off their rotten teeth.

One of the skeletons came up to Hawk and said, “Abandon this ship. Get onto ours and speak with our captain. If he is merciful, perhaps he will let you join his army!”

Hawk nodded sadly and said to the crew, “Very well crew, follow them. It was a pleasure serving with you all, and I’m sorry I let you down.”

~~~~~~~~~~


The crew of the Black Swan lined up on the skeleton ship, facing towards their sinking vessel. Captain Hawk, or perhaps just James Hawk now, as a captain needs a ship to be called a captain. The skeletons fired one last broadside of cannons, explosive cannon balls this time, meant to finish off the Black Swan. The crew watched sadly as the Swan exploded into pieces, sinking quickly. Soon, all that was left was several floating planks of wood, and a black flag with a skull and crossed swords. Some say that former Captain Hawk teared up at the sight of his ship sinking. The skeletons laughed as they watched the Black Swan sink into the depths. Then they all became silent, as a door opened on the ship. Then, out of the door, a terrifying figure walked out. He too was a skeleton, but much larger. He had a few dreadlocks that were underneath a large captain hat. He was wearing some tattered clothing, and he had a look of authority to him. In place of one of his legs, was a skeletal donkey’s hoof, and on one of his hands was a strange contraption that looked almost like a pistol with a blade attacked to the bottom.

Jolly Roger.

He looked at each of the survivors of the crew and spat. Then he spoke with a rasping voice that chilled the souls of all humans who heard it.

“Why have ye brought me these dogs? I told ye to show no mercy! I have no need for more pirates aboard this ship! Kill them all immed…” Then he looked at Davy. His empty eye sockets bored into Davy’s mind and soul. Davy felt like he was dying. His whole life flashed before his eyes in only a few seconds.

“I know ye…” Jolly Roger said to Davy. “Ye were on that ship that I attacked ten years ago! The one with that man… Henry Phillips… yer his son! David Phillips! AH HA HA HA!!! Now ye can join my ranks like yer father did!!!

Davy stood in fear, his eyes wide. What could he do against such a mighty foe? Jolly grabbed Davy by his neck, and thrust his strange appendage up near his throat. “Tell me Davy, how would ye like to join my ranks?” Jolly said laughing. Then a strange green fog came from the gun part of Jolly Roger’s gun on his arm, surrounding Davy.

He struggled, but Jolly’s grip was like steel, and he couldn’t move.
“GAAAAHHH!!!!” Davy cried out. He felt Jolly Roger’s skeletal hand on his throat; Davy had never known such fear. Then he looked down, and saw his body slowly transforming into a skeleton. He looked up into Jolly Roger’s empty eye sockets, and again had that feeling of pure fear.

Then Davy heard someone yell, and next thing he knew, Jolly Roger had let go of him and was on the deck with James Hawk on top of him. Hawk punched Roger’s face, causing Jolly to cry out in pain. The he looked up at Hawk and sent him flying back into one of the masts using some unseen force, knocking the wind out of him. Then Jolly lifted him again without touching him, and sent him flying onto the deck, and then back onto the mast. Finally, he drew his sword, brought Hawk right in front of him, and stabbed him through the heart.

Hawk looked at Davy one last time. His head had a big gash on it, and his nose seemed broken. Blood trickled out of his mouth. Then he uttered his final words.

“Davy… run…”

Davy didn’t hesitate, he dived off the ship while Jolly was distracted. Once he was in the water, he swam towards the wreck of the Black Swan. He didn’t turn around, and he grabbed onto a floating plank of wood as the storm propelled him away from Jolly Roger. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was Jolly Roger crying out in frustration, ordering his crew to kill the survivors.

Chapter 5 is done!




Chapter 5: Discovery


Davy awoke with his head throbbing. The storm had blown him to a nearby island. Unfortunately, the island wasn’t inhabited. Davy felt weak, weaker than he ever felt. After some struggle, he managed to lift himself, and get a look of his surroundings. It was a beach, like any ordinary beach on any ordinary wild island. There were several trees scattered, as well as a few boulders. Nothing out of the ordinary. Davy looked upward, and saw that there was a descent sized mountain in the center of the island. There was a jungle surrounding it. Davy walked a few steps, but then fell down onto the sand.

I’ve never felt so weak before… Jolly Roger’s spells must have taken a toll on me… Davy thought. He grabbed a fallen tree branch, and used it to move himself towards the jungle. Then he realized that something wasn’t right about the island. There were bones scattered around the beach, as well as suits of armor. Armor that looked like it once belonged to Spanish conquistadors. He limped over to one, and examined it. Judging by the amount of rust in it, it was very old. Something wasn’t right about this island, Davy could sense it.

Then he heard some rustling in the bushes. He turned but saw nothing. The hairs on his neck started to stand up, and Davy glanced around. Then he heard a battle cry, and something move from behind him. Without looking he whirled the branch in his hand around and slammed it into a skeleton that had jumped at him. The skeleton flew backwards a few feet, then got back up, only a bit dazed. It looked at him, and hissed. The skeleton was wearing conquistador armor, similar to the pile of it he saw only a few moments ago.

Curses! Now of all times! I have no sword, just a branch! How can I fight a fully armed skeleton wielding two swords?! Davy thought. The skeleton charged again, swiping its swords at him. Davy sidestepped them and rolled away from the skeleton, giving him a heavy feeling of nausea. When he turned back around to look at the skeleton, there were four more. Five on one, and the one was terribly weak. Then, out of the ground, came several more skeletons surrounding him. The skeletons laughed. And then they charged. Davy thought it was over.

Then something in his head, some instinct he never new existed, took a hold of him. Davy’s eyes seemed to glow a dark blue, then he thrusted his arms out to the sides. What happened seemed unexplainable. A wave of some sort of force blasted the skeletons away. It was so strong that some of the closer ones blew apart, but all of them went flying away. Davy had a few seconds to look around, and see what he had just done. Then he went unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~


When he woke again, he was in the same place that he had lost consciousness, except it was night. He forced himself up and grabbed his staff. He surveyed his surrounding again, and saw the skeletons, or what was left of them. Only about half of the ones that attacked were left. The other ones were gone, possibly blow too far to see. Davy walked up to one of the skeletons. Its arm was missing, and there was a big chunk taken out of its skull. Its armor was misshapen and dented.

How did I do that? Davy wondered.

Davy lifted his hands for himself to see, and then nearly cried out. His hands had a glow to them, and there was a small bit of blue glow on them. He stared at it for a while, and after a few minutes, it seemed to go away. He picked up his tree branch, and then walked along. He spotted a conquistador’s sword, and picked it up.

Its rusty… and I’m not used to the balance, but its better than nothing. Davy thought.

As Davy was walking, he started thinking about how he could have gotten these powers. Then it dawned on him. When Jolly Roger had tried to curse him, and he failed, the voodoo that he had used on him had stayed inside Davy’s body. This is what was allowing Davy to use those voodoo powers. Jolly Roger had unintentionally transferred voodoo into him. Since the transformation of Davy into a skeleton had failed, the voodoo didn’t go back to Jolly Roger.

Davy thought about it for a few minutes, then he grinned.

“If I can figure out how to effectively use these powers, I could become unstoppable…” Davy said to himself.

He looked up, and in front of him stood a small rock. Only about the size of the average cannon ball, but probably much lighter. Davy held out his staff, and concentrated as hard as he could on the rock. His forehead beaded with sweat, he stood like this for a few minutes, and then finally, the rock lifted up. It raised from the ground about a foot, and Davy watched in awe. Then he dropped it, and took a deep breath. He tried it again. And again, and again, and again. For hours, he practiced lifting things, ranging from little rocks, to boulders. He tried it without the staff, and found that it was much easier to channel the magic through his staff, rather than his body. Apparently the branch was now mystical due to the fact that it had been exposed to Davy’s voodoo earlier, when he blasted the skeletons that were attacking him. He also tried to do other things, such as push and pull objects.

Finally, dawn started to break. And he was exhausted. He found an area of shade beneath a boulder, and began to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy awoke to his stomach growling. He sat up, and his hunger was unbearable. He realized that he hadn’t eaten since right before the Black Swan was sunken, almost two days ago. He picked up his staff, and walked along the beach, looking for some food.

Finally, he spotted a good sized crab, with about a four foot leg span. Davy lifted up a small rock on the beach using his new voodoo powers, and hurled it at the crab. The rock penetrated the crab’s head area, killing it instantly. Davy picked it up, and walked back to where he fell asleep. He grabbed some wood and lit a fire. He gutted the crab with a small knife that he carried around, and had unfortunately completely forgot about when battling the skeletons.

Soon he had had a good meal, and repeated the process with two other crabs. His stomach was soon filled, and he lay back against a boulder. He started thinking to himself of what other feats he was capable of with his newly attained voodoo powers. Then he looked at his tree branch that he had been using to conduct his voodoo magic. He pulled out his knife and started whittling it. Within about an hour he had constructed a good looking staff. The staff itself was mostly straight. At the top of it he had been able to whittle a bit of a rounded part. Davy admired his work, then tried to lift a few things. It worked like normal, so he didn’t alter the staff’s voodoo conducting ability.

Davy again wondered what feats he could accomplish with his new staff, and decided he would try to experiment a little bit. That started his daily voodoo training. Every day he would get up, hunt some food, and then practice. He soon learned how to control the elements, lift heavier things, alter gravity, and more. He learned how to summon up fire, and burn his enemies, to summon the earth beneath them and drag them to the underworld, and he also learned how to recreate the same thing he did to all those skeletons when he first arrived at the island. He called the move repulse. He also learned how to control lightning, and to send blasts of electricity at targets. Lastly, he was able to conduct pure voodoo energy into his targets, although it was much harder to do and more exhausting.

Davy was soon able to do much of all that without getting to tired, however he knew not to push his limits too far. He also practiced his swordplay, to make sure that he didn’t forget it.

“As powerful as my new voodoo powers may be, they can never replace a good sword,” he told himself.

For a little over a month, Davy trained like this. He even trained on some of the undead conquistadors. Nothing had really changed his daily routine. He had explored most of the islands beach, as well as a good chunk of the jungle, however he had never attempted to get near the mountain. He sensed that something was not right about that mountain.

One day, Davy was taking a break from his training. He had just taken out over twenty skeletons, and was tired. He was leaning against a tree in the jungle. Then the ground started to shake. He looked around for what could be causing it, and then he looked up at the mountain. There were several boulder’s tumbling down it; it seemed to be the cause.

Davy stood up from the tree. He had to find out what was going on in that cave. He decided that he was going to go check out the cave. He picked up his staff, and made sure his sword and dagger were in his belt. Then he started to walk towards that mysterious mountain.

Just finished Chapter 6




Chapter 6: The Cave


After another hour of walking, Davy stood at the base of the island’s mountain. He looked up at it. The mountain was at least two and a half kilometers high. The mountain was mostly made of some sort of grey rock, probably granite. There were very few plants growing on the mountain, giving a much more menacing look. Davy could see no ways to get into it around the outside. It was just one large piece of rock.

If this mountain is so tall, shouldn’t it be visible to passing sailors? Davy wondered. Why is it that nobody has ever been to this island… other than all those Spanish conquistadors who now serve Jolly Roger. Something isn’t right…

Davy walked around the base of the mountain, searching for any sort of doorway, or cave entrance. After about a half hour of searching, he couldn’t find anything. Davy tried blasting the mountain with voodoo magic, but the mountain didn’t crack at all. Just as Davy was about to give up, he noticed something in the wall of the mountain. He went over for a closer look. It was a faded, but still visible if you looked closely, engraving into the mountain. It read:

If you are reading this, then that means that you have been stranded on this mysterious island. If you want to continue living, leave this island now! The island is cursed! At the very heart of this mountain lies a treasure that can make someone invincible, undefeatable, godly, but it is cursed. If you take it away from its resting place, you will lose your mortality, and walk the Earth as the undead. Do not, I repeat, do not, enter the mountain, for nobody who has been foolish or brave enough to enter has ever returned alive.

Davy read the engraving again several more times. Then he looked around him. The cave entrance would be around him somewhere. He was never one for following directions. He read the part about him becoming invincible, undefeatable, and godly again. If he could get this treasure, whatever it was, perhaps it could help him to defeat Jolly Roger, save the Caribbean from his evil reign, and avenge his loved ones who were killed by him. Davy searched for any hint of where the cave entrance was. After another half hour of searching, he gave up. He sat down, and leaned his back against the mountain. And then his body fell through the rock.

“Gahh!!! What in Davy Jones’ Locker?!” Davy cried out. He looked in front of him, facing out towards the jungle. There was no wall in front of him. He got up and walked towards the jungle. Then he turned around and faced the mountain. All he saw was solid rock. He walked towards it, and stuck his hand out towards the area where he fell through. Sure enough, his hand went straight through it. Davy raised his eyebrow. Then he walked through the wall, and into the mountain’s cave.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy looked around the tunnel he had just entered. It went straight forward off into the darkness. He looked around him. The walls were barren granite, almost identical to the outside, except for some moisture. Davy walked down the tunnel, then heard a grating sound, and then a loud boom. He turned around, and saw that the tunnel had closed behind him. There was no turning back now. Davy pulled out his staff, which had been whittled more over time to look like the end of it was a sort of a claw, with its fingers curved as if it were holding a sphere. Davy used his voodoo powers to summon a ball of light that followed him wherever he went. It lit the area around him, as well as about 30 meters ahead of him. Then he began his journey into the heart of this mysterious mountain.

Davy walked down for what seemed like hours, even though it was only about fifteen minutes. The tunnel didn’t change direction, or branch off. Even the walls stayed the same grey granite. Davy thought that the tunnel was cursed, and would never end, but just as he thought of that, he saw a small glimmer in the distance. He picked up his pace, and moved quickly toward it. He came to a fork in the road, and in the middle of the fork was a burning torch. The fire gave off much more light than it probably should have. Then again, a torch like that should have been burnt out long ago.

Which way do I choose…? Davy asked himself.

He looked down both ways. They both went in one direction, straight forward, before sloping downward. Davy pulled out a coin that he had found on the beach of the island.

“Heads I go right, tails I go left,” he said to himself.

It landed tails. Davy picked up his coin and walked to the left tunnel. Davy kept walking, and the tunnel sloped downward. It was lit by the same torches that he saw previously. Then the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. There were at least five other tunnels branching off from the cavern. Davy looked up. The roof of the cave was at least a kilometer above him. Stalactites dangled from the roof, and several stalagmites jutted out from the ground.

Davy walked out into the middle of the cave. Then he heard a laughing sound. He turned around, and spotted a pair of Undead Conquistadors at the entrance of one of the tunnels. One was equipped with a pair of rusty swords, and the other had a large belt of throwing knives. Davy looked around and saw more skeletons moving towards him. He pulled out his sword, and charged at the first pair of skeletons he saw.

The one with the knives started throwing several at him, but Davy deflected them using his sword. He reached the skeleton, and brought his sword down towards his head. The skeleton blocked with a dagger, and swung it towards his stomach. Davy dodged backwards, and then rolled behind the skeleton with the knives as another his sword at his back. Davy stabbed his rusty sword into a chink in the Conquistador’s armor, and then decapitated the other skeleton.

Then he turned and faced the other advancing skeletons. He charged at them. One of the undead swung a broadsword at him, and Davy parried it with his cutlass. He leaped backward, and looked at his sword. There was a large crack going down the blade; it wouldn’t be able to take another hit. Davy threw the useless blade to the side, and pulled out his staff. He shot a powerful ball of voodoo energy into one of the skeletons, blasting him and skeletons nearby off to the sides. Davy then lifted up another skeleton, and sent him flying through a stalagmite, shattering his armor, and breaking his bones. Then he lifted up a boulder, and sent it flying into another group of skeletons.

Davy looked around for more skeletons, and spotted one last one. This one was very heavily armored, and was armed with a spiked whip. The undead Conquistador grinned, showing off his rotten teeth. It ran towards him, and lashed out the whip. Davy dodged to the side. The skeleton whipped at him again, and latched onto his staff. It yanked it away from him, and he threw it off to the side. As Davy was distracted, the skeleton charged at him, his whip in one hand, and a battle dagger in the other. He whipped at Davy again, and Davy moved to the side. Then he swung his dagger down at Davy, and Davy blocked with his own knife. Davy repulsed him with voodoo energy (causing the skeleton to drop his weapons), dashed towards him, and grabbed him. Davy flew up with him towards the ceiling, and while he was in the air, slashed him across the face with his dagger. Then, while the skeleton was dazed, sent him flying with full force towards the ground. The skeleton shattered into pieces when he hit the ground.

Davy landed back on the ground safely. Where would I be without my new voodoo powers? he said to himself.

Then he looked around him. Another problem had arisen. Which tunnel should he take? Then, as if triggered by the death (for lack of a better word) of the undead leader, all of the tunnels entrances were closed by rock. Except for one. Davy picked up his staff, and walked towards it, and peered into the tunnel. It was also lit by torches, and extended for a long distance. He walked down it.

~~~~~~~~~~


About two hours later, Davy had traveled several kilometers down the tunnel. Along the way, he had come into a few smaller openings, fought several more skeletons, and had dodged falling stalactites. Finally, he neared the end of the tunnel. He exited the tunnel, and gasped.

He had entered a large, circular cavern, almost as large as the cavern where he had fought the skeleton with the whip. This one had torches lining the edges. There were carvings along the walls. Scenes of death, power, battles, and more. There were pillars going around the cave, also with carvings and torches.

But all this didn’t have Davy’s attention. What he was looking at was in the center of the cave. It was a large, marble coffin. The room he was in was a burial chamber, and this whole cave system, was a gigantic tomb.

And I now have a true name for my story! Davy Fireskull and the Sword of Darkness. The title doesn't make much sense yet, but it soon will.

Chapter 7: The Sword of Darkness


A chill went through Davy’s body, knowing that there had been someone, or something, buried here, and that it was so important to keep the burial chamber isolated that there were undead guarding it. And Davy got the feeling that these undead served someone other than Jolly Roger.

Jolly wouldn’t waste his forces on some island that nobody ever has been to. Besides, there isn’t anything worth guarding here on this island, other than this mysterious tomb… but if Jolly wanted this mysterious cursed treasure, he would have taken it for himself… right? Davy pondered this as he walked towards the sarcophagus in the center of the room. He looked at the sarcophagus, where someone, or something, was buried. He examined it, and found carvings all over it. Scenes of death, massacre, and other unspeakable horrors. Davy looked for something telling who or what was in this sarcophagus. He discovered that the area near the head of the sarcophagus was shaped like some sort of demon. The whole sarcophagus was of black marble, and the head was no different. The head portrayed snake-like eyes, wide open, with an opened mouth showing sets of fangs, and a forked tongue.

Finally, Davy found an inscription on one of the sides. It read:

Here lies the defeated god Oberon, king of darkness. Thousands of years ago, before man came about, Oberon decided to overthrow all the other gods that ruled the Earth, and take it for himself. He amassed a huge army of undead and other creatures of darkness, and led them on a conquest to defeat the other gods. Finally, all the gods had been defeated and imprisoned, except for one. Calypso, the sea goddess, would not give up, and she and Oberon had a battle that tore apart the land. Oberon thought he was undefeatable, having all the powers of darkness in his sword; however, Calypso was able to defeat him, using the last of all the gods’ power. She imprisoned him on the very island you are on, and cursed it so that it may never be found. However, Oberon’s followers, before they were all killed, placed a spell on it so that it was possible, however, very improbable, that people may find it.

What is left of Oberon after his battle with Calypso is left here, as well as his sword. His sword still has all the power it originally had, and can make its user undefeatable. But do not dare take it away from this tomb! Or you shall be cursed to stay on this island as an undead for all eternity.

Davy looked up after reading it, at the face carved into the head of the tomb. I can’t take his sword, even if it will let me defeat Jolly Roger. I am of no use if I stay on this island forever… but it may be the only way for me to kill him and avenge my friends and family… there has to be a way to take it without activating its curse…

Davy summoned his voodoo energy, and channeling it through his staff, lifted the top of the coffin up, and moved it to the side. It was much heavier than he thought, and took a toll on him. He rested for a moment. Then he looked into the open sarcophagus. What he saw seemed unearthly.

The body of Oberon looked like a demon from hell. It had horns on it, and looked like it had wings on its back. He was muscular. Other than that, there is no way to describe his frightfulness. Then, resting across his chest, lay his sword. Its hilt was made of some sort of silvery material, except not as lustrous. There was a black onyx in at the base of the hilt. The blade itself was double edged, making it unlike most blades Davy had ever used. The blade black. Not a dark grey, but black. Darkness seemed to spread from it to its nearby areas, causing them to grow darker as well. A small amount of black mist curled off of it. Davy looked directly at it, and regretted it instantly. He was filled with bloodcurdling frights and horrors. Looking into Jolly Roger’s eyes was nothing compared to this. Davy actually felt death when he looked at it. It was indescribable. Davy looked away instantly.

Now how can I remove this blade from here without being cursed… Davy thought. Then he got an idea. He had figured out ways to extract magic from objects, such as a plant, and take it into his own body. Maybe he could extract the curse out of this blade. Not into his body of course, no, Davy didn’t want to think of what would happen to him then. Perhaps he could extract it and channel it directly into something else. Perhaps that rock laying in the corner. Davy moved over to it and brought it near him. Then he looked at the sword. He didn’t get the same horrible feeling he did earlier; perhaps that was a one time thing.

Then he focused on the blade, harder than he had ever focused on anything before. He had only been concentrating on the sword for a few seconds when his mind got attacked by the blade’s dark powers. Davy cried out, but didn’t give up. His forehead beaded with sweat as he tried to resist the dark forces of the sword. He was losing the fight. If he didn’t fight off the blade’s powers soon, he would be consumed by it, and then Lord knows what would happen to him.

I can’t go like this… not now… Davy thought. He kept concentrating, but no matter how hard he tried to resist the sword’s brutal attack on him, it slowly kept crushing his mental defenses. Then, just as Davy was about to give up, a voice in his head spoke. Several actually. He could hear the voice of his mother, and James Hawk, and his brother William. Then he heard his father. His voice, unlike the others, was saying something other than indecipherable mutters.

Don’t give up yet son, keep fighting. His father said. All of the sudden, Davy got a huge surge of energy from within him. Then he forced outward with his mental powers, and before the sword’s brutal attack could close back in, he attacked the sword with his voodoo, and started extracting the curse from it. Slowly, but surely, he transferred it to the rock that lay about two meters away from him. Davy was now drenched in sweat. The whole process took about two minutes. Finally, it was done. Davy collapsed.

He lay on the ground for a few minutes, gasping for breath. Transferring the curse on the sword had taken much more energy than he expected, and he didn’t expect the sword to attack him. Finally, he got back up. He looked at the sword. It still looked the same, but Davy could sense in it that it was ok to pick up. He reached into the sarcophagus to get the sword. As soon as he touched his hilt, he cried out. He was swept away from the tomb, and then saw himself as he was right now, sailing. Then the scene changed, and he saw himself as a middle aged man, sitting inside a ship. Then he saw himself much older, sitting at the head of a table, surrounded by other people, they looked like pirates. Then he saw himself as a sick old man, laying in a bed, surrounded by other people. Then he saw a gravestone, with a coffin being lowered into it. All this happened in about two seconds.

Davy just saw his whole life flash before his eyes, in the course of a few seconds. Davy looked back at the sword. What other secrets can this blade hold? he wondered. It doesn’t matter. It can help me defeat Jolly Roger, and that’s all that matters.

Davy picked it up. I wonder if this thing can help me get off this godforsaken island…

Davy had figured out how to move objects across areas by teleportation, however he had never tried to do it with himself. Just teleporting a small rock would take a toll on his strength. But this sword had almost infinite power, maybe it could help him. Davy decided to try it. He concentrated hard on pulling energy from the sword, and then concentrating on where he wanted to appear. Then, he felt a tingling in his body, and next thing he knew, he was standing on the beach of this mysterious island.

He looked back at the mountain, and heard it rumble again.

Oh lord, it must have figured out that the sword is out of it! The whole mountain is going to cave in! Likely bringing the island down into the depths! I have to get out of here! Davy thought urgently. But where do I go?!

Then he thought again. When a pirate doesn’t know where to go, head to Tortuga, the pirate haven.

He had been there many times when he was a crew member of the Black Swan, and he knew that that was where he should go. He had to assemble a crew, and get a ship. He had to find Jolly Roger, and defeat him, before he started attacking more islands, and killing more people.

Isn’t it ironic that a bloodthirsty pirate such as myself actually cares about saving thousands of people from death… when I plunder ships and kill people myself… Davy wondered. No, this is different. This is not just threatening others, it threatens pirates too, and our freedom. If Jolly isn’t defeated, everyone will be affected, average people, Navy, and pirates alike.

Davy concentrated on an image of the Tortuga swamp, where he should be able to appear without frightening any local townsfolk. He concentrated on it for a little longer, as he felt the rumbling beneath him increase. The island wasn’t going to last much longer. Finally, he felt his body tingling. He opened his eyes right before he left the island. The last view he had of the island that had been his prison and home for the past month, was of it caving in on itself, and going down into the depths.



There is Chapter 7, please please please post your opinions after you read it, I want to know what you think, what I can improve upon, and how to make my writing better. Hopefully my next chapter will be done tomorrow!

Chapter 8: A Family Reunion


Davy opened his eyes. He was in the Tortuga swamp, just where he wanted to be. He checked to make sure that he had all of his belongings. Staff was still on his back, knife in his belt, and the Sword of Darkness on his belt. He figured that he might get some strange attention on the island if he was walking around with a staff and a strange looking sword. He ventured a little farther into the swamps, and found an area of tall grass. He placed his belongings there, with the exception of his knife, just in case he got into a bit of trouble. Then he laid a spell on his items to make them invisible.

Davy left his belongings, and headed into the town. As soon as he entered the first street (if they dare be called streets) he saw what would have scared people like his parents half to death: there were pirates running around trying to kill each other with rum bottles, drunken pirates off to the sides snoring or acting like loons, women gossiping with each other or slapping men, and of course, some pigs running around. Davy couldn’t help but smile. He was home, with his own kind. He had nothing to worry about here, except pick-pockets. All of the sudden he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whipped around only to see a woman with curly brown hair looking at him with interest. She was clearly drunk, and looked like she was in a flirtatious mood.

“Well, well, well… what have we here?” she said, slurring her words. “A boy as handsome as you shouldn’t be roamin’ Tortuga alone… you could get hurt by some of them nasty ladies. How about you come to my place, and we can have some fun, savvy?”

Davy couldn’t think of a quick response, but all that came out was, “Uhh…”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” she said.

“Laura! What are you doing?! Let the boy be!” a voice cried out.

Laura winked at Davy, then walked off. A man came up to Davy, and said, “Sorry mate, that’s just my sister. She gets that way when she drinks too much. Don’t mind her, or any of her friends. They are all the same… say, I haven’t seen you around here before, have I?

“Erm… no, probably not.” Davy stuttered. “I err, traveled on a ship called the Black Swan for a while. She was sunk by an EITC ship, and I was able to escape on a dingy. There are probably a few others from her crew around here too. Anyway, I would have crewed up with some other ship, but I need to make a crew myself, and get a good ship, for secretive reasons. However, please don’t make a big fuss of me being here, need to try to stay invisible, savvy?”

The man blinked. “Erm, alright then. If you are looking for a crew, I would try the King’s Arm tavern. Its down the road, impossible to miss. Unless your completely deaf. Lots of ruckus goes on in there, but it’s a good place to do some recruitin’. Good luck mate, your going to need it…”

Davy thanked him, then began walking to the Kings Arm. He passed more drunkards, and narrowly avoided a fight with a big drunk man. He watched as pirates fired guns at each other from balconies, and pigs running around tackling people. Ah Tortuga. What would we pirates be without ye? Davy thought.

After about ten minutes, Davy reached the Kings Arm tavern. From outside, he could hear yelling and breaking bottles. Davy grinned, then stepped inside.

~~~~~~~~~~


The noise was the first thing Davy noticed. It was deafening, worse than the sounds of any sea battles Davy had ever been in. He heard pirates roaring, yelling, laughing, and of course bottles of rum being thrown across the room. He walked down a flight of stairs, into the chaos. He figured that he should get permission from the bartender if he was going to recruit in his tavern.

Davy approached the bartender and said, “Ahoy there, I be needin’ to do some recruiting for my crew. Do you mind if I set up a little station here with a sign up sheet?”

The bartender looked at him with monotonous eyes. “Knock yer self out,” he mumbled.

Davy thanked him, and then began walking across the tavern over to a table. He had no idea how to do this. What was he supposed to do? Ask random people if they wanted to join his crew? Most people wouldn’t want to join a total stranger’s crew, and he didn’t even have a ship yet!

As Davy was walking, he noticed a large crowd of people around a small table. Davy went over to investigate. He had to thread through a load of pirates who were cheering, and seemed to be betting some gold. Finally, he got a view of what was going on in the center. Sitting at the table, were two people. The first one was wearing a hunting vest, which was stained with some sort of alcoholic drink, and torn from what looked like a few fights. He was wearing torn, brown pants. They went down to right below his knees before being torn. He had dark red hair, almost brown, hazel eyes, and a large nose. The face would probably be handsome, except that his eyes were reddened from lack of sleep, and from being twisted in a strange grin from drinking too much. Beside him lay a dog. The dog had blond, curly hair, and looked a lot like one of the jail dogs that the navy kept.

The other person was wearing an open vest, exposing his chest, which had some battle scars. He had long brown hair, and seemed even more drunk than the first man. He was a classic, drunken pirate in a tavern.

The two men appeared to be having a drinking contest, and there were people betting on it. The crowd around them silenced as the second man reached for a cup of the drink, which appeared to be brandy. With shaking hands, he raised it to his mouth, and let it trickle into his mouth. He reached forward with the cup to lay it back down, but collapsed onto the table.

The crowd roared, and exchanged more bets. The first man stood up raising his arms, with a twisted grin on his face. He was clearly more drunk than anyone Davy had every seen. The man, spotting some rum in a person’s hands, grabbed it and started drinking it down. He threw the rum bottle on the ground in front of him, before falling backwards, unconscious. The crowd laughed, and then walked away. Davy ran over to him. There was something about this pirate…

Davy examined his face more closely. He had normal sized lips, and a double goatee, and a normal looking moustache. His eyes were hazel, like he saw originally, and his hair had a bit of a wave to it, curving towards the back of his head. And there was a scar under his eye… just like what his brother William had when he cut his eye from the kitchen knife.

Davy gasped in shock at the drunken man that lay before him. This insane, drunken man was really his quiet, timid brother William. The brother that he had lost over ten years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy kept staring at the man that was his brother. Timid little William… becoming a pirate. It seemed impossible, but then again, it had happened to Davy too.

I can’t just leave him here! I have to get him out of here, and talk to him. He has to remember me… he has to… Davy thought desperately. Davy tried to lift William, but he had gained weight. I suppose that comes with drinking for a living…

Davy noticed two shadows appear from behind him. He looked up and saw two pirates standing behind him, watching him cautiously. One of them was wearing a long black coat, and a brown vest underneath it, with another brown shirt under that. He had skinny, black pants on, and black boots. On his head, he wore a feathered hat. He had black hair, and blue eyes. He had a beard, and a moustache as well.

The second man was clean shaven on his face, with a small ponytail, similar to Davy’s. He had black hair as well, and dark eyes. He was wearing a short blue coat, and a blue vest underneath it. He had a pair of white pants on, and black boots.

“Now what do you think yer doin’ with our friend mate? Get away from him before I need to shoot ye with my pistol!” the second man said. “We have been looking all day for him, and we ain’t letting some stranger take him away! Off with ye!”

“Calm down Matt! Let me handle this!” the first man said, the one with the long black coat. “Listen here mate, ye had better get out of here or I’m going to take my cutlass and stab ye where it hurts most!”

“Please, you don’t understand! This man, he is my brother, William!” Davy stuttered.

The two men were silent. The looked at Davy, then William, as if trying to find a resemblance. Then the second one, Matt, spoke. “Come with us.”

The two men helped Davy lift up William, and dragged him out of the tavern, into the night.



There is chapter 8. Just a little poll for those of you that know my brother. (Slouyx and Chimera, pretty sure you guys know him) How accurately did I describe him?

Chapter 9: Billy Fireskull


Matt latched the door shut behind Davy, William, and the other man. They had walked across Tortuga, and arrived at their shack. The shack was quite messy, and there was some sort of brown liquid in the far corner. Davy decided that some things are better left unknown. There were a trio of beds in the back of the shack, and some shelves next to them. Next to the entry door, there was a table, and off to the side, a stove. Oddly enough, there was no toilet.

The man in the long black coat spoke. “Alright, allow us to introduce ourselves. The man next to me in the ugly blue jacket is Matthew Scurvytimbers. Not too bright, but he is extremely powerful. (at this time Matthew was about to object, but the other man cut him off) My name is Sam Bladebeard, the strategist around here. And you are…?”

“Davy Fireskull, I’m William’s brother. We were separated over ten years ago, in a ship wreck. Jolly Roger attacked my father’s ship while we were sailing on it, to Padres del Fuego. Our ship, The Eagle, was sunk, our father killed, and me and William were separated. I thought he had been dead…” Davy choked up towards the end, but managed not to form tears.

Sam put his arm on Davy’s shoulder. “How old are ye mate? Billy is almost seventeen, and he always said that his brother was about three years older than him.”

Good, so he does remember me… or at least he did… Davy thought. Then Davy spoke. “I turned nineteen a few months ago I believe. I lost track of time a long time ago…”

“Maybe we should wake him up… he would be glad to see his brother,” Matt said. “Sam, you and I should let him and Davy be alone for a while. We need to go get some food anyway.”

“Aye, lets wake Billy up first. Oh, by the way Davy, he goes by Billy now, not William,” Sam said, nodding towards Davy. Then he nudged Billy, causing him to groan. “Billy, wake up mate. Billy, come on boy. I have some meat for you!”

Billy cried out and then woke up, looking around. Then he looked at Sam, and squinted as if he couldn’t see him properly. Then in a slurred voice, obviously from drinking too much, he said: “Meat? Where? Is there goat ribs? Cuz Billy-boy likes his goat ribs…”

Sam winked at Davy, then left with Matt. As soon as he opened the door, Billy’s dog came running in. It had been forgotten at the bar, and had found its way home. Sam laughed, then left.

Billy looked at the dog, and said. “Well hey there Smelly! I missed ya boy! Where ya been matey? How about you go eat some peanuts in the corner of there.”

Smelly wags his tail and looks at Billy, barks once, and then runs over to the corner and grabs a bag. Billy grins towards Smelly and then looks at Davy, with glassy eyes caused from being drunk. Billy squinted at Davy, examining this new person. He looked at him for several minutes, and then gave Davy a dorky grin.

“I know you from somewhere… did Doc Grog send me another therapist? Oh moldy grog bottles… if you’re a therapist, I is gonna… gonna…” Billy paused and let out a huge belch, and then laughed at Davy. Then he stopped for a moment. A chuckle broke through, and he started cracking up at Davy again. This went on for a few minutes. Then he smiled at Davy. “You know… your not half bad…” Billy said, before cracking up again.

Davy could only stare in shock at what had become of his brother. He watched his brother continue to laugh. Finally, he couldn’t take any more, and he shouted out, “Billy! Its me! David! Your brother! Remember, we were separated over ten years ago! What happened to you?”

Smelly whimpered, and then Billy stopped laughing. “David? David, is that you? Are you coming for me to repay that rum that you think I stole! Honestly! I didn’t do it! It was Joe!!! Joe, I tell you!” Billy must have been thinking of someone else, because Davy was quite sure that he and Billy had never drank rum before they were separated.

He is completely drunk… how can I get him to remember me? Davy thought. Then he got an idea. Billy may not be able to perceive people well because he was drunk. Thinks wouldn’t be getting to his mind correctly. Maybe if Davy just sent it directly to his mind.

Davy lunged out and grabbed Billy’s face. “Whoa there buddy! Lets not get ahead of ourselves…” Billy said. Davy started digging into his mind using his voodoo powers. He got into Billy’s mind, and then began to send images into his mind. He sent images of when they were separated, then of Davy’s life. He tried to get across to him who he was. Davy pulled back after about a minute. He looked back up at Billy.

Billy was looking at him in shock. What Davy had just done seemed to knock the drunkenness out of him, if that is possible. Billy stared at him, with a sad look in his eyes. Finally, he spoke. “Brother? David? Is that you?”

Davy, with tears in his eyes, looked at Billy and nodded. “Aye. Its me Billy. Its me. After all these years…”

“I thought I would never see you again David. I was so sure that you had died at sea.”

“I thought the same about you brother… I had given up hope of finding you after a year at sea, onboard a pirate ship. And I go by Davy now, like you go by Billy.”

Billy sniffled, then got up, and hugged Davy. “Times change brother… times change… to think that the last time we saw each other was ten years ago… I just can’t believe… Davy, I have so much to tell you.”

Davy nodded, and then Billy told his tale. “When I was drifting away from you, you don’t know how horrible it was for me… I was so young… I will never forget the feeling… after a few days of drifting, we finally washed up on Tortuga. I was found by the parents of Sam there. His family may be pirates, but they take in lost children. That’s how they found Matt. Anyway, they took me in, and raised me to be a pirate.

“I lived partially here on Tortuga and partially at sea. I pirated for a while, and well, I lived a pirates life… nothing that significant ever happened, except I’m a champion at drinking contests. Oh, and I found Smelly here -he pointed to the dog- when we were raiding a ship. He was the jail dog in the brig of a Navy ship. He was awful miserable where he was, so I decided to take him with me, and he has been my loyal companion ever since. If you are wondering about the name, the crew of the ship I was with at the time named him, so don’t blame me!”

Davy chuckled, then told his story. He left out the part about the mysterious island, and his voodoo powers. Billy didn’t seem to know what exactly happened when Davy showed him those images through his mind, and Davy wanted to keep it that way for now.

“Isn’t ironic how two brothers who were separated both became pirates? And both ended up here on Tortuga?” Billy asked.

“Aye, it sure is…” Davy said softly.

Just then, Sam and Matt came through the door. They had brought some fresh food, and Davy just then realized that he hadn’t eaten since he went into the mountain. Over a day ago. His stomach growled so loudly, that the others looked at him with a strange face, and Smelly started to bark. Davy gobbled down his food vigorously, and followed it down with a bottle of rum. Davy let out a belch, his stomach full. Then his eyelids started to feel heavy. He looked around, and his vision started to get fuzzy. Then he realized that he hadn’t slept in days. Davy tried to say that he was exhausted, and needed to sleep, but all that came out was: “-hausted… sleepy… need…”

Sam laughed, a booming sound that echoed around the shack. “Alright then Davy, you should get to sleep. You look like ye haven’t slept in days. Go to sleep, we can talk more in the morning.”

“You can sleep in my bed brother, I’ll sleep on a pile of those sacs. You need the rest more at this point.” Billy said. Then he helped Davy over to one of the beds. The mattress was a little torn and lumpy, and the pillow was old and stained, but to Davy, it felt like he was sleeping on a cloud. Almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, he was snoring.



There is chapter 9, please please post, Im getting sick of multiposting....

Chapter 10: I Need a Ship!


Davy woke up the next morning, and found Billy, Sam, and Matt all sitting at the table eating breakfast. Davy got up and stretched his arms out.

“Mornin’ mates, what’s for breakfast?” Davy asked.

“Got some salted bacon and some eggs I stole from Big Phil’s chicken coop,” Matt said with a small chuckle.

Davy smiled and sat down with them all. Even though he had eaten a lot last night, he was still famished, and gobbled down everything he could. As he ate, he wondered how he would tell his friends about his powers. He decided he wouldn’t worry about it yet, all that mattered then was breakfast.

After a few more minutes, Davy had finished his breakfast. Then he thought to himself, I think I should just tell them… it seems like I can trust them, and it’s better if I tell them now instead of having them find out by accident.

“Sam, Billy, Matt, I have something to tell you guys,” Davy said. Everyone looked up at him, curiosity in their eyes. Davy took a deep breath, and told him the part of the story he had left out, the part where he had been stranded on the haunted island. He told them of his voodoo powers, and then to prove it, lifted Billy out of his seat, who was both laughing at the thought that he was flying, and crying that he was being held in the air against his will.

“Davy, that’s a big secret, but we will keep it, don’t worry,” Sam said sympathetically. “Now in the meantime, it seems like you plan on finding and defeating Jolly Roger. Ye can’t do any of that without a good ship and a loyal crew.”

Davy nodded, “Any ideas about where to get either? The crew would want to know where we are going, so they would have to know that they will be fighting Jolly Roger, and most people in their right minds wouldn’t dare do that. As for the ship, its going to have to be extremely powerful, able to withstand cursed cannonballs, and it must have at least fourteen guns a side.”

“I’m not too sure about the crew, but Sam knows a shipwright here on Tortuga, O’Malley is it? He can probably get you a good ship, and if Sam goes with you, a better price.”

“Aye, him and I go way back. He was a good friend of my father before Jolly Roger invaded Tortuga and killed him,” Sam said.

“Jolly Roger invaded Tortuga? When?” Davy asked. “I had no idea.”

“It was a few years back, Jolly invaded. We managed to fight him and his forces off, but there was a lot of damage, and casualties, including Sam’s family,” Matt said. “But that be a story for another day, for now, lets worry about the ship and crew.”

“You know, how about this. Davy and Sam can go visit O’Malley and see if he has a good ship. You two seem to know more about ships than us, and since Davy has battled Jolly Roger’s ship, he knows what ships would be able to have a chance. Me and Matt can go to the King’s Arm and see if we can recruit some people for the crew.”

“That sounds like a plan Billy. Here, let’s leave within the next hour,” Davy said.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy and Sam walked through the town on Tortuga. It was earlier in the morning, about nine, so it was a little quieter on the streets. Several people walking around, or sitting down talking. The crazy gangs hadn’t come out yet, so there was no fighting going on. Sam was very friendly, as they walked, he showed Davy the places in the town. He pointed to the barber shop, the tailor, the tattoo artist, and more. Sam also told Davy about his past. His parents were pirates, good pirates at that. They were well known around Tortuga, and everyone was shocked when they were killed in Jolly Roger’s invasion. Sam, like Davy, had vowed revenge on Jolly, however never had the opportunity to avenge his parents. Sam was well known in Tortuga, likely due to his parents being well know.

After about a half hour, they reached the Tortuga Docks. The docks were quite large, harboring many, many ships of all hull classes. He followed Sam to a large structure that looked like a bow of a ship poking out of the ground. There was a little booth at the front, and a man stood there. He was skinny, and appeared to be in his 50s or 60s. He had a white beard, and wore a cap on his head.

The man grinned, showing off his yellowed teeth. Then he spoke in a loud voice that seemed too deep for his skinny body. “Sam! Long time no see matey! How ye been?”

Sam smiled back and said, “I be doing well O’Malley. I have someone here I want you to meet. This is Billy’s long lost brother, Davy Fireskull.”

O’Malley looked at Davy and gave him a warm smile. He shook his hand. O’Malley had a firm handshake, and his hands were rough from working with ships for so long.

“Pleased to meet ye,” Davy said nervously.

“Good to meet ye too mate,” O’Malley said with a smile. “Now Sam, I can tell ye didn’t come here just to introduce Davy to me. What can I help ye with?”

Sam looked at Davy, and give him a little nod. Davy took a deep breath. “We are looking to buy a ship. Not just any ship. We need a powerful ship, one that can take on Jolly Roger’s ship. You see, he is gaining power every day now, and soon, he will probably have enough power and troops to invade an island, be it Tortuga, Port Royal, or another. And if he invades it in the near future, we will likely not be able to resist, and he will take it. If we don’t stop him now, all could be lost. We need a ship that is strong enough to take on his fleet, and his flagship.”

O’Malley looked at Sam and Davy for a few moments, then said, “Jolly Roger’s ship, The Harkaway, is like a god ship. No ship has ever faced her and come back in one piece. I take it that you have fought her before?”

Davy nodded. “I was part of the crew of the Black Swan, and she attacked us. We were no match. The Harkaway’s cannons are incredibly powerful. Whatever ammo they are using, its deadly.”

“The ghostly cannonballs that The Harkaway, and some other ships under Jolly’s control, use are known as furies. Extremely powerful. Nobody knows exactly how they work, but they can tear through almost any hull with ease. As for The Harkaway’s hull, it is cursed so that it can withstand more hits than other ships from the undead fleet. Not to mention that the ship can teleport using that cursed, green mist.

“Anyway, if you are looking to confront the Undead Fleet, then you will need the strongest ship ye can get. I do have a ship that is currently for sale, made by the best ship maker I know. It currently does not have a name, so you can name it if you decide to purchase her.”

“Lets see it then,” Sam said. “Lead the way O’Malley.”

He got out of his station, and lead them across the docks. They passed many able looking ships, but O’Malley didn’t stop at any of them. After a few minutes of walking, O’Malley stopped next to a docked ship.

“Here you are, this is the strongest ship I’ve got. She’s what we call a Ship of the Line. Extremely powerful hull, and she has 20 broadside guns per side. On the top, she has about ten deck cannons that the crew can use. For her size, she is quite fast, able to go at about 15 knots with a fair wind. Here, come up and have a look at her.”

Davy looked at the ship as they climbed up a ladder onto it. The hull panels were a dark, dark brown, maybe even black. The sails were also made of a black cloth. She was massive, and could easily carry a large crew. The area with the steering wheel was elevated, so you could see the whole deck in front of you. The deck itself was very spacious, probably about 100 to 150 meters across, and 50 wide. There was a door in the bow area of the deck that lead below decks, and below the steering wheel was a door leading to the captain’s quarters.

There were tall masts, three of them spread out on the ship, with a smaller one poking out the front. As said before, the sails were a dark black.

“How’s the hull strength? As we said, it has to be very strong,” Sam said.

“Oh don’t worry, this ship could take a real pounding. The creator designed this ship to fight in wars, so it will be able to survive a battle with several undead ships. The wood that it is made out of is very strong, and its insulated with powerful steel beams on the inside. It can probably defeat undead ships, but fighting The Harkaway may be a challenge for you. However, this is probably the best ship to choose.”

Davy nodded a few times and said, “It seems like a good ship… what do you think Sam?”

“I think that no other ship is as strong as this one, and this gives us the best chance of beating The Harkaway,” Sam said. “Just one last question. What’s the price?”

O’Malley chuckled. “Well, this ship is probably the best ship I have ever owned, and probably one of the strongest ships ever created in our time. I can’t let her go cheap, you understand that right? Anyway, I’ll tell you what. Normally I would charge someone about 350 thousand gold coins for this, but…”

“Three hundred and fifty thousand! We can’t do that! Nobody has that kind of money!” Sam blurted out.

O’Malley laughed, and then said, “Sam my friend, I said normally. This is obviously not a normal situation. How about this deal. I will charge you half price for it, that’s a hundred and seventy-five gold coins, for the ship; however, you must confront Jolly Roger with it. If I see the ship again after it has faced the Harkaway and beaten her, then I won’t ask for anything else. But, if you come back to me and this ship has sunken, then you will have to give me an extra hundred thousand gold. And I expect you to be honest.”

Sam and Davy looked at each other. They held that glance for a few moments, and then turned to O’Malley, and both said at the same time, “It’s a deal.”

“Good then,” O’Malley said with a grin. “All that is left is for you to name her, and make it a good name. One that can strike fear into even the heart of Jolly Roger!”

“You decide Davy, its your ship, and you’re the captain,” Sam said.

Davy thought for a few minutes. She has black wood… he thought. I should count that for something. And something to do with my voodoo powers, and the sword I have… the sword of darkness. And Oberon, the king of darkness. Darkness, what’s another word for darkness!

Then Davy looked up, and said, “The Shadow King, I name this ship the Shadow King!”

O’Malley smiled, “A good name for a ship like this. Now come, lets go do that paperwork for the ship, and then she’s all yours.”

As they walked away from the Shadow King, Davy looked back once. He smiled to himself, as he realized that he was now the captain of his own ship.

So you all know, Sam Bladebeard and Matthew Scurvytimbers are actual players. Billy and Sam are my Co-Gms, and Matt is a senior officer.

Chapter 11: The Crew


After Davy and Sam left the docks, they headed into the town. They went into a tavern, and grabbed something to eat, and of course drank a bottle of rum each. Davy wasn’t really thinking about how good his rum was for once, but was wondering how the crewing was going with Billy and Matt. Not that he didn’t have faith in them, he just was eager to know what kind of a crew he would get.

Davy and Sam finished their meal, and then headed back to their shack. Matt and Billy were already there. Billy was sitting down on a pile of flour sacks in the back, drinking a bottle of rum. Matt was sitting at the table, reading what seemed to be a list of something. He had a quill pen and a bottle of ink next to him and was making markings on the sheet. Davy sat down next to him.

“What have ye there mate?” Davy asked Matt.

“Well, while you and Sam went looking for a ship, me and Billy set up a little booth in the King’s Arm tavern, recruitin’ for our crew. Looks like there are a lot of pirates lookin’ for a crew, because we got a lot of signups. We wrote down their names and what job they were looking for, lookout, cannons, chef, and so on. I’m going to go through the list tonight and choose the people, then announce it tomorrow. Hopefully we can leave in about five days.”

“Good work Matt and Billy. Now, let me tell you of our search for a ship,” Davy said. He went on to describe the Shadow King, and how they got it.

Billy belched, then said, “Looks like ye got yourselves a -hic- decent ship there. Sorry, been drinkin’ too much -hic- rum today.” He belched again, then went back to drinking.

“Need any help Matthew?” Sam asked.

“Nay, I’ll do fine,” Matt said, nodding his head toward Sam. “Ye did well, getting a ship as good as the Shadow King for a deal like that. Go help yourselves to some rum, and go get some shuteye. I’ll handle the crew. You can look it over in the morning if you want though.”

Davy yawned, “Sounds good. Now, I’m going to go help myself to some of that fine lookin’ rum over there. If you’ll excuse me…”

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy awoke the next morning after sleeping soundly. He looked out the window. It wasn’t even dawn yet, and the others weren’t awake yet. He decided he would go take a look at the Shadow King before the others awoke. He could probably take a quick look if he was quick.

He put on some clothes, and strapped on his favorite black boots. He started towards the door, and then heard mumbling behind him. He quickly turned, and saw Billy on his bed, sucking on the end of a rum bottle, mumbling something along the lines of, “…no no no…. don’t, don’t take my precious rum… not for you, you smelly little plank of wood…”

Davy couldn’t help but chuckle. He glanced over at Sam and Matt. They were both asleep, and then he looked at Smelly. He was awake, looking at Davy with eyes filled with curiosity. Davy smiled at the dog, and winked before heading out the door.

The cold morning air was crisp and refreshing, and instantly woke Davy up. He took a deep breath and began heading to the docks. He finally arrived at them as the sun began to rise. He followed the dock down the harbor until he found his ship.

The Shadow King looked so majestic in the faint light of dawn. Its black hull stood out against the bright blue of the sea and the green of the jungle on the other side of the harbor. Davy smiled, and started up the boards that attached to the ship. When he got onto the deck, he looked around. The Shadow King was the tallest ship in the harbor by far; both its masts and the hull itself dwarfed all the other ships.

Davy walked over to the helm of the ship, and put his hands on the steering will of the ship, his ship. He thought about how much this ship would go through, what battles it would fight, what other ships it would join up with, and who would walk onto this ship when it was time to cast off. Then all of the sudden, Davy realized something.

I have the ship, and the crew is finished being chosen. Once we cast off, where do we start? Davy wondered. Jolly Roger could be anywhere in the seas right now, and we have no leads. What do I do? Arg, I guess that the best thing to do is to just search the most likely places, and see if we can run into him.

Davy decided it was time to head back to the shack, the others would be waking up soon, and he didn’t want them to be worried. He got off the Shadow King, and gave her one last look before heading back.

~~~~~~~~~~


“Here they are Davy,” Matt said, gesturing towards a group of roughly three dozen people. They were mostly men, but there were six or so women as well. Originally, Davy had been taught that it was bad luck to have a woman on a ship, but he had grown up knowing several girls, and he could never imagine why there would be such a silly rumor. Also, he had seen a few women sneak onboard ships, and they were just as good as the men.

When Davy had got back, the others had been awake. He had told them he had just gone for a little walk in the morning air. They weren’t suspicious of anything, not that they would really care if they had known the truth. Matt had finished making the list in the night, after Davy had went to sleep. Before Davy left the house, he had changed into a more captain-like appearance. He was now wearing a long, silvery vest, with a black, sleeveless tank underneath. Over it, he wore a grey woolen coat. He was wearing his usual black boots, and black pants. Atop his head was a black tri-tipped hat, with a skull and cross swords on the front, and a white feather sticking out the back.

Matt had brought Davy, Sam, and Billy today to show them the soon to be crew of the Shadow King. All of the people who signed up were told to be outside the King’s Arm tavern early in the morning so Matt could tell everyone who is part of the crew. The people who weren’t going to be in the crew went into the tavern to get some rum, while the new crew stayed outside. They all looked at Davy, some looking as if they were awaiting their first order, others wondering why in the world their captain was so young.

Davy looked over toward Billy nervously, who was scratching Smelly’s head. He looked at Davy and gave him a little nod. Davy took another look at his crew. They all looked like able bodied, strong, daring, pirates that could be hard workers one minute, and then slitting the throats of enemies the next. Davy took a deep breath, then cleared his throat.

“A good morning to all you fine pirates,” Davy said, with his head held high. “First of all, let me congratulate you all on making it into my crew. All of the people who signed up were qualified, but well, you my friends are likely the most ferocious!”

The crowd gave out a hearty cheer, and then Davy continued on, “I am your Captain, Davy Fireskull. I used to serve aboard a ship known as the Black Swan, perhaps you have heard of her? Anyway, she was sunken not too long ago, but Jolly Roger! Jolly killed the captain of the ship, James Hawk, and all of her crew. The crew that I had spent ten years of my life with. Us pirates may be bloodthirsty mongrels, but we must still know compassion towards our crew, and our ship. Ten years before that, Jolly Roger’s ship sunk my father’s ship, The Eagle, while I was onboard it. My father perished, and me and Billy here were separated. It was by a miracle that we were reunited.

“Sorry to keep yammering on, you pirates probably have short attention spans, but my main two points are these: The first one is that the people around you are going to be your family for a long time, and you will all become close. You will get to know each other, and you will get to know me. Look out for each other, for you are all family to each other. My second point I would like to make is this. Part of the reason we are going after Jolly Roger is because of all the wrongs he has done to us. I told you what he did to me, and I vowed revenge. Perhaps if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here talking to you, but now it is done, and I swear on my fathers grave that he will be brought down! If he is not stopped, we will all perish, as will freedom, and happiness! So I want you, to be determined, courageous, and strong as we embark on our journey to find and defeat him!!!”

The crew gave out a mighty roar, so loud that the ground seemed to shake beneath them. A few heads even poked out of nearby windows, looking to see what all the commotion was about.

Davy couldn’t help but smile. Matt put an arm on his shoulder, and gave him a wink. Davy looked at his new crew, the people who he would be spending the next chapter of his life with, the people that would (hopefully) take care of him through good times and bad, and who he would take care of as well. Davy looked to his side, looking at his brother Billy, who he had lost so long ago, and who he had finally been reunited with. Then he looked back at the crew, and held up his hand in signal for silence. The crew slowly quieted down.

“Be at the docks at dawn three days from now,” Davy said. “Then, we will leave the island of Tortuga, and embark on our adventure to find Jolly Roger, and whatever may come at us in between.”

And with that, the crew started to walk back to their homes, or to a tavern to get something to drink. Davy and his mates headed back to their shack, to prepare for their departure.


There is chapter 11. By the way, if you want me to include you in my story go ahead and post it here and I'll try to incorporate you into it, whether you are part of my crew or a captain of another ship.

Whoof, finally was able to get another chapter out. Here ya go!


Chapter 12: Hoist the Colors!


Finally, the day of departure arrived. Davy, Billy, Smelly, Sam, and Matt got up extra early that day to get to the Shadow King before the crew. They were all very excited, but quite nervous as well, as they should be. It was still dark outside, as the sun wasn’t due to rise for another two or three hours. There was a light fog that rolled in from the sea, onto the island of Tortuga. It was cool, and the air was crisp and refreshing. As the group left the shack, they couldn’t help but look back. They had spent years of their lives living in there, and now they were leaving. Leaving their small, isolated lives, into the real world, the open sea. After a few minutes of watching, they finally turned their backs, not looking back once.

The group reached the docks after a short walk. Davy looked at his companions. Sam was quiet, as was Matt. There was a tear in Billy’s eye, likely from having to leave his home that he had lived in for so long. Smelly whimpered.

Billy… he is so young… Davy thought. Then he realized it. We all are… Look at me, I’m only nineteen, Sam and Matt are about the same age. I am captaining a ship of experienced pirates, and I have never so much as told a crew to open fire. I hope this all works out.

The group arrived at the Shadow King, and climbed on board. Her decks were deserted, as they should be. Sam went down to check the provisions they had. They would need a lot to feed a large crew for however long they would be gone. He came back up after a few minutes, reporting that everything was ship shape, with a small smile at his little joke.

After another hour, they had fully checked the ship for anything wrong. Everything was fine, but when Sam checked the food supply again, he found he was missing a steak. He found Billy in a corner eating it, mumbling something about how much he loved meat. He dragged him up onto the deck, the steak still in Billy’s mouth.

Davy looked at him and shook his head, a small grin on his face. He pulled the steak out of Billy’s mouth, much to his protest, and slapped him with it. Then he gave it back. Billy ran off into a corner and continued gnawing on it. Then Smelly came over to him and gave him a small whimper. Billy sighed and handed him the steak.

“Everything ready for the crew’s arrival then?” Davy asked the group.

“Sails, wheel, and other parts of the ship are intact Davy!” Billy said with his hand held to his head in salute.

“All tools, furniture, and livestock are present sir!” Matt exclaimed.

“All provisions are accounted for… minus one steak…” Sam said, mumbling the last part.

“Good then, lets prepare for the arrival of our crew,” Davy said.

~~~~~~~~~~


The crew arrived late, just as Davy and the others had expected.

Of course they did, Davy thought to himself with a small smile. They are pirates, I don’t expect better from them. I should be glad they remembered at all.

They started piling on board the ship about a half hour late, so about 5:30 in the morning. Davy watched from the poop-deck as the crew, his crew boarded the ship. Most of them had packed light. Just a small little bag that they carried over their shoulders. Probably a change of clothes, or a prized possession, maybe some gold in case they ever needed it at port.

They filed onto the ship and went below decks to stow their items. Davy made a point as they were coming up not to steal each other’s belongings. Any harassment towards members of the crew would result in hull scrubbing the first offense, being tied onto a mast for five hours the next as well as hull scrubbing after that, and finally being left at port.

After about an hour, the whole crew had arrived and set their belongings below deck. They all came up to the main deck for Davy’s opening speech. Davy stood next to the wheel of the ship, with his friends at his side. He looked at the crew in front of him, all looking at him eagerly, awaiting their first orders aboard this new ship. Davy cleared his throat, and began.

“Welcome aboard the Shadow King mateys! This is the ship that we will all be spending the next chapter of our lives on, where we will fight battles, laugh, cry, eat, sleep, and perform our every day duties upon! As I told you several days ago, ye will treat each other with respect, or face the consequences! You have been given your assignments as you entered our ship, so you should know your stations mates. Are there any questions?”

One person, a woman, called out. “Aye! Where is the rum!?”

The whole crew burst out laughing. Not the kind of laughter that makes fun of the person, but the kind that you make when you just realized something so obvious that you didn’t think of.

Davy smiled. “The rum you ask? Why would you want any rum?”

The crew started yelling, laughing, and throwing curses, each interpreting Davy differently. Davy put his hand up in the air, silencing them.

“Don’t worry lassie, we have a whole stash of rum, but remember, don’t drink too much now, or you won’t have any later! Now, any other questions?”

The crew was silent, except for the sound of someone belching, and the people around him slapping him on his back chuckling.

“No? Very well then. Are you ready for your first order? Hmm? ARE YOU?!”

The crew roared in reply, a sound that likely woke all of Tortuga. Hats flew into the air, pirates cheered, like the perfect moment… Then, through the deafening noise, Davy shouted three words.
“HOIST THE COLORS!!!”

Very nice job, Davy!

Davy, I must say, you are a fantastic writer. I'm sorry I haven't been following this story closer, because it is truly amazing. You have taken the world of POTCO and made it your own, making it seem like I'm not just reading the story of a player in the game, but of an actual pirate and his actual struggles, which just so happens to be in the same place as the game. You've taken Davy (well, you I suppose) and made him into a believable character, with flaws and strengths, along with all of the other characters you have here. I'll have to put this on alert now so I can keep up. :) Well done mate.

Thanks for the kind words Crest. Sorry I haven't been able to work on the story more... been extremely busy. I'll try to get another chapter out tomorrow, but no promises.

Wonderful... :) :D xD
 

Great work Davy. :) :bookishfj7: :piratewheelgo2: :rumgt7: :buds: :agapirateju3: :agapirateju3:

Wow, great story Davy, can't wait to read the next chapter! Very talented writer you are. :)

Ok guys, going to try to finish my next chapter tonight, but no promises. And thank you again for the kind words.

finally, I am able to roll out another chapter.... this one is slightly longer, so prepare for a long read.


Chapter 13: The First Battle


Several hours after the Shadow King had set sail from Tortuga, Tortuga was far behind them. The seas were that bright blue that only the Caribbean Seas have, and the reflecting light was dazzling to the eyes. The sea wasn’t the only thing that was bright; the crew was happy to be sailing again, and there is nothing better than a happy pirate.

Davy walked around the ship with the aid of his new first mate, Sam, and they helped to check up on the crew, and make sure everything was “ship-shape”. The crew seemed to know what they were doing, as Davy expected. Most of them had pirated before.

But this is a different kind of pirating… the average pirate doesn’t fight the undead, and use voodoo magic. Davy thought. He hoped that this would all work out in the end.

Several hours later, even though it seemed like a much shorter time to Davy, the crew stopped for the night. They had done well. They were in the middle of the sea, with no land to either of their sides. It was going to be a clear night, much to Davy’s relief. He was sick and tired of seeing fog, as he was starting to really connect that with Jolly Roger’s appearances. As Davy went below deck, he ran into a fight along the way.

“It’s my rum!!! And ye can’t have it ye scurvy dog!” A young woman was standing with a small knife in her hand, up against a larger man. “Get lost before I bring this knife through yer ribs!”

“Oi, if I be wantin’ the rum, then it be mine! So hand it ova!” the man said. Davy ran in.

“Excuse me, is there a problem here?” Davy asked.

The woman went up to Davy, sheathing her knife in a waste carrier. “Yes Captain Fireskull, there is a problem. This… man -the woman spat towards the man- thinks that he can just be takin’ me rum! With no reason at all!”

“What be so special about yer rum that ye can’t just get another?” Davy asked.

“This is not the ship’s rum, it be me infamous rum. Anyone who knows about it is after it! Including this bilge rat!”

Davy looked at the man, “Leave her alone sailor. If I see you picking on any crew mate again it will be hull scrubbing for a week.”

The man gulped and nodded, before rushing off to get some food. Davy turned towards the woman.

“What be yer name sailor?” Davy asked.

“Zolina Crestrage, but I go by Zolina.”

“Ye have quite an attitude for a woman such as yerself.”

Zolina looked at Davy. “Well, if you will excuse me, I will be going to have some dinner before all of the other crewmates get to it first. Thank you for helping sort that mess out.”

Davy thought for a second, wondering what in the world had just happened, before heading into the dining area himself to get some food. After his meal, he went into his quarters, wrote in his journal, and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~


In the morning, the whole process started over again. The crew went to their stations, and began work. There was a wind today, so the ship was able to make good distance, to wherever they were going. The ship was getting good speed, and stayed that way for several hours, until about noon. That’s when they spotted it.

It was a ship off in the distance. The ship had dark wood, and black and white sails. A lookout alerted Davy about it, and he climbed into the crow’s nest with a spyglass and took a look. What he saw was an EITC ship. It was a war ship, and it looked tough. Davy lowered the spyglass and climbed to the deck.

“ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!” Davy yelled out, ringing the alarm bell. It worked. In a few minutes, almost all of the crew was in front of him. Some were hung over from too much rum last night, some were confused, and some were looking at the ship in the distance. Davy spoke.

“There is an EITC three leagues in front of The Shadow King. Before I give my orders, I would like to consult my crew. Would you like to attack this ship, and show me your abilities? Or would you like to flee, and not take risks? The choice is up to you. All in favor, say aye!”

Not a single person didn’t yell out aye. Davy gave his orders, and the crew went to their battle stations. They charged the EITC ship. As they got closer, they saw that it was a frigate of some sort, probably a war class. If you used a spyglass, you could see the enemy’s crew frantically running around the deck, trying to load cannons.

They don’t stand a chance, or so I hope, Davy thought.

After several more minutes, the ships began to close in on each other. The two broadsides began to line up.

“FIRE!!!!!” Davy yelled at the top of his lungs. Matt Scurvytimbers and Billy repeated his order even louder, and then even louder than that, was the sound of the cannons being fired. The Shadow King had fired slightly before the EITC ship had expected, catching them by surprise. Several of the cannonballs hit the cannons of the enemy themselves, disabling them, and some of their crew.

However that didn’t stop the EITC ship from firing. They fired, but less shots were able to be fired due to the surprise timing on the part of The Shadow King. The cannons of the enemy rammed into the Shadow King’s hull; however, the tough hull that the ship had made many cannonballs do nothing but dents, and very few penetrated the hull.

Another round of broadsides was exchanged. The Shadow King hit a small gunpowder stash, blowing apart the deck with all the broadside cannons, and crippling the ship. Then the boarding began. Davy grabbed the Sword of Darkness, and unsheathed it. The blade seemed to glow with its eerie darkness. First in the boarding party went the broadswords-men, tear apart any rigging left in the way. In this party included Billy and Matt. Then, Davy and the rest of the boarding party swung on. Davy was immediately engaged in a swordfight with a crew member.

Both fought well, but an explosion from behind caused Davy’s opponent to stumble, and Davy ran him through his heart with his sword. Immediately, the crewmate seemed to be drained into the Sword of Darkness, until all that was left of him was a smooth skeleton lying on the floor. Davy stood in horror, looking at what he had done, but he didn’t have time to admire his handy work, as an explosion from behind forced him to move forward. He found himself face to face with the EITC captain. Davy readied his sword, and the battle began. The captain was an amazing swordsman, and he would have defeated Davy, but then he looked at his blade. He froze in shock, and Davy could see the fear in his eyes, as he had felt before. He took this opportunity to finish off his opponent, who’s essence drained into the sword, leaving a skeleton. Then, behind him he heard one of his crewmates yell out.

“Dear Lord! What was that!?”

Davy turned to see Sam staring at him, and the skeleton laying at his feet. Davy looked him in the eye, giving him a message that stated that he would explain later.

The battle raged on for another hour. Davy suffered few injuries, other than a bruise on his left arm from a piece of flying debris. Finally, the enemy crew was defeated. They were gathered up in the center of their ship, which was blown to smithereens. The sides of it were ripped off from the broadside fire, and the lucky gunpowder shots. Two of the three masts were down, and the third one’s sails were badly burnt. The deck was torn apart. The ship that they stood on was merely a skeleton of what it once was.

As the crew was rounded up, Davy told them exactly what he had planned to tell them. “We have defeated you, and therefore, we demand that you turn over your valuables to meself and me crew. If you deny us, you will be killed, and we will take it anyway. If you give it to us, you will be spared, only if you decide to join the crew of my ship, The Shadow King…”

“We’ll never join you!” shouted out a sailor, spitting in Davy’s direction.

Davy gave a little smile, “To the sharks with him then.” Some crew members grabbed him, and threw him overboard, much to his obvious protest.

In the end, they had to tie up all the enemy crew to their last standing mast. They looted the cargo, and then fired several explosive cannonballs at the ship. The last of the ship’s gunpowder exploded, sinking the ship. The crew gathered on the main deck, for Davy’s speech.

“A job well done mates. Very well done for our first go, and I am proud of each and every one of you. Now, I would like you all to get some shuteye, you have earned it. Sam, Matt, Billy, I would like to see you in my quarters please.”

As the crew headed off to their bunks, Davy and his friends moved inside his cabin. Davy shut the door behind them.

“Now, I have some explaining to do,” Davy started. When he knew he had all of his friend’s attention, he told them everything he knew about this sword that he possessed. He said it must just be a power of the sword to drain his opponent’s essence at a single cut.

“Strange blade there brother,” Billy said, and Smelly nodded beside him.

“Aye, strange indeed…” Sam mumbled.

“Now, there is something else I would like to address,” Davy said. “I believe that I should be teaching you all to use voodoo magic. Who knows, you may need it in the future some time. Not tonight of course, perhaps in a few nights we can start.”

The others agreed, and then Matt brought out something that caught Davy’s attention. He pulled out a small journal, one that had EITC printed on the front.

“I wanted to show this to ye Davy,” Matt said. “It was a journal I found in the captain’s quarters of the ship we plundered. I wanted to wait ’till we had some time alone with Billy and Sam to show it to you. There is a recent section that may catch your eye…”

Davy began reading it, starting at the most recent. Nothing was too interesting, until four days ago. The pages were stained with blood and water, so it was hard to read, but Davy was able to pick out that they had spotted a mysterious ship sailing nearby. A ship with a rotted hull, and tattered sails.

Ooh, a cliffhanger! As much as I dislike it, I also love it, haha. And who is that savvy pirate Crest? Sounds like an interesting young woman to say the least. ;)

You make the fight seem very real mate. It's like it's an actual sea battle that happened... minus the skellie sword, haha. I really like where you are taking this. Keep going mate!

Wow, great Davy! Love the ending, once again can't wait for the next chapter! :)

Nice job on it ;) Can't wait till the next chapter!

Yay! Chapter 14! Enjoy......


Chapter 14: The Hunt

Davy looked up at Matt. Matt’s face showed almost no expression. Davy passed the journal to Billy and Sam to look at. When Sam read it, a small smile appeared on his face.

“Looks like we have a lead mates. There be one of Jolly Roger’s ships near us!” Sam said beaming.

“True,” Davy said. “but we have no idea where it is now. If we go looking for it we could be going in the complete wrong direction. We know that there was a skeleton ship nearby, but knowing their speed, its probably too late to catch it. Not to mention their teleportation abilities. Chances are we are too late.”

“Not necessarily,” Matt stated. “We can easily assume that as soon as the EITC ship we just fought saw that ship they went in the opposite direction. Therefore we can safely say we are going in the right direction, unless the ship altered its course. Now, if they are not after something, they are probably going at a leisurely pace, and are not going to fast. If we show full colors we can possibly catch them in a week or so.”

Everyone stared at Matt in shock. Nobody would have guessed that he of all people could have figured that out.

“What?” He asked. “I can be smart sometimes!”

“Indeed you can,” Davy said, still in shock. “Tomorrow at dawn, full colors.”

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy didn’t get much sleep that night, he was too anxious for the next day. He wanted to find and defeat Jolly Roger as soon as possible. Finally morning came, and he got up. The first of the crew was starting to get on deck. Davy yelled out to them, ordering full colors. They obeyed. After another hour and a half the rest of the crew was up and working, and after another hour, The Shadow King was moving at over fifteen knots. Billy, with Smelly at his side, stood next to Davy, watching over the crew.

“If we are lucky, we should be able to catch up to that ship in a week or two,” stated Davy. He looked at Billy, and saw him nodding.

“Aye. At this rate we should catch up soon. Then we can avenge the death of our parents, our friends, and rid the Caribbean of that scoundrel Jolly Roger.”

Davy walked over to the side of the ship, and stared at the sea. It was getting cloudy, but it wasn’t surprising. Yesterday, Davy had, before battling the EITC ship, realized that it was hurricane season. He had hoped for descent weather, but he knew it couldn’t be perfect.

“Looks like a storm may be brewing up Billy boy. Lets hope for the best,” Davy mumbled.

Billy nodded, before going onto the deck to help the rest of the crew.

~~~~~~~~~~


More days passed, with nothing but a blue sea slowly turning grey due to the coming storm. The crew wasn’t tiring yet. Many, if not most, of them were used to going weeks, even maybe months on end without any action. However Davy was getting impatient. He was desperate to find and destroy Jolly Roger. If he didn’t find him soon he would likely go mad. However, he was trying his best to look good in front of the crew. He decided that in the monotone of the days, he would get to know some of the crew.

He met the ship’s cook, Kate. She was a good cook, and her specialty was waffles. She was also a deadly fighter. Her dagger abilities were as good as Davy’s swordsmanship. She always carried a battle dagger in her belt, as well as a set of throwing knives. Davy remembered seeing her in the battle against the EITC ship slicing through the enemy crew, and throwing knives everywhere.

Another crewmate that he got to know well was one of the broadsword users, Will Seaeagle, getting the name because of his eagle like abilities. He was clever, and extremely powerful. When it came to battling with his broadsword, he was almost unstoppable. He also had a mysterious craving for animal brain…

Davy met many other members of the crew, and he was glad to start getting to know people better. He felt that it boosted morale aboard the ship, and he hoped that it would encourage the crew to get to know each other. He figured it was working, as he saw more interaction between the crewmates aboard his ship.

More days passed, and more fog started to roll in, and the water was no longer a dull blue, but a deep grey. Waves lapped against the ship, and wind was starting to blow harder. The good news was that the ship was now moving faster than ever with this strong wind at her back; the bad news was that that was a sure sign of what a pirate feared most. A hurricane.

But Davy knew that The Shadow King could face anything. If she could survive a battle against an EITC warship without any serious damage, then a puny little hurricane couldn’t do anything to harm her.

The Shadow King kept going for even more days. Finally, almost a week and a half after the battle with the EITC warship, success. Far in the distance, there was a concentrated thunderstorm, with a tinge of green fog. Davy peered down from his spyglass, and looked at the lookout next to him.

“Good job matey, looks like we’ve found ‘em. Now, lets get down from here. Its time to do battle.”

“Yes Cap’n!” the lookout saluted. Davy and the lookout climbed to the ground, and the lookout began ringing the alarm bell.

“ALL HANDS ON DECK!!! PREPARE TO DO BATTLE MATES!!! WE HAVE FOUND HER!!!” Davy yelled out at the top of his lungs. Within minutes the crew was out on the deck. Davy gave them their orders, and they went to there duties; loading the cannons, preparing the sails, and of course, hoisting their Skull and Crossed Swords flag. The ship sailed towards the thunderstorm, and in just over half an hour, they were only a league away.

“COME ON MATES! TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS! LETS SHOW JOLLY ROGER WHAT WE’RE MADE OF! FOR FREEDOM!!!” Davy cried out.

Davy went to the front of the ship, and pulled out his spyglass. He looked through it, onto the ship. It was The Harkaway for sure. It was larger, and Davy remembered its image clearly. Then he saw a skeleton larger than the rest walk onto the deck. Jolly Roger. He looked around and barked out orders, before turning to look directly at Davy.

Even though Davy was still over two miles away, he could tell that Jolly was looking directly at him. His gaze bore into him, sparking fear inside Davy.

It doesn’t matter. Before the day ends, I will have defeated him once and for all, Davy thought. He put away his spyglass, and pulled out the Sword of Darkness. Then, holding it up into the air, yelled out, “TO THE CANNONS! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!”

Wow, loved it Davy, another great chapter! :)

Specialty is waffles? Haha ;)
Another great chapter, Davy

When is Chapter 15 coming out? :)

I'm going to see if I can get it done today... in fact, while I have some free time, lemme see what I can get done now. If not today, then definitely over the weekend, but I have a really awesome plan for the story and I don't want to lose it!

Nice Davy! Can't wait.:dancetl6:

Ye called for Chapter 15?


Chapter 15: The Battle in the Storm

Jolly Roger turned to his first mate. His first mate was a larger skeleton, but not as large as Jolly. He was wearing a torn bandanna, and an eye patch. He had a sword at his belt, and was dressed in pirate-like attire, torn as it was. He was chosen as first mate for his intelligence, and the fact that he had been a notorious pirate captain before Jolly got to him.

“He lives!” Jolly Roger shouted, slamming his hand against the railing of the ship in rage. “How can he live!? Its been two months since I sank the Black Swan! He jumped overboard! I saw it! He should have drowned!”

“Captain,” his first mate, whose name was John Darkhart in life, said. “Even if he lived before, that was the past. This is the present. For now, I see it fit to worry about taking him down now. I am confident that we can defeat that ship.”

“Ye be right. Go below and make sure the crew is prepared for battle. He will not be gettin’ away this time.”

“However there is always that one sly chance that the unthinkable will happen. We need a backup plan.”

“Arrr… pray we don’t be needin’ it. If that happens, we can take his brother, Billy. He is the last family that Fireskull has left. I have a plan in my head for what to do for that… now go! I want those cannons ready! They are almost upon us!”

“Aye, aye Captain!” Darkhart said, before running off.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright mates! They are almost here! Ready the cannons!” Davy shouted out. “Remember! After we do some major damage, I will give the order to board! And prepare for a nasty fight!”

There was a loud yelling of “Aye aye!” from the crowd. Right as the ship’s were within 500 meters of each other, the first drop fell. From then, the rain began to pour, and the winds kicked up. Davy could now see Jolly Roger staring at him from the helm of his ship without his spyglass. Roger did nothing, just stared into Davy, sending a chill down his spine; unless of course, that was just the icy rain.

The ships began to get closer together.

100 meters…

75 meters…

50 meters…

20 meters…

“OPEN FIRE!!!”

The cannons of both ships fired, sending the cannonballs flying directly towards their opponents. The Fury shots from The Harkaway didn’t bounce off the hull of The Shadow King as Davy had hoped, but they didn’t do much other than causing a few dents, which was still good. The cannons of The King slammed into the hull of The Harkaway, but did roughly the same amount of damage. The Harkaway had stronger cannons, but The Shadow King had a stronger hull.

The two ships began circling each other in a duel of death, and fired broadside after broadside. After the third of fourth broadside, the ships both began to take some real damage. The hulls on both ships began to splinter, slowly but surely. The ships exchanged broadsides after broadsides, and yet still, nobody made a critical hit. Davy moved to take the wheel from Sam, and when he grabbed it, he watched a cannonball from the enemy slam into the deck, sending crewmates flying.

“SAM!” Davy shouted through the storm and cannon fire. “GRAB MATT AND GET THE WOUNDED BELOWDECKS!”

“AYE, AYE SIR!” Sam replied.

Davy steered the ship in a circle, with The Harkaway directly across from The Shadow King. He watched as cannonballs flew from both ships, and slammed into both ships. It was a horrible sight to watch as his crew was killed, but he knew it couldn’t be helped, and at this slow rate, the battle would last forever.

Unless… Davy thought. Davy called upon the voodoo stored in his body, and then used it to harness the power of the storm, for a small enough amount of time to send a giant wave slamming against The Harkaway. He saw skeletons fly off the ship and into the sea, as well as several cannons. Davy also figured that it wet their gunpowder supply, so they wouldn’t be able to fire their guns.

“QUICK MATES! WHILE THEY’RE DOWN! FIRE AWAY!” Davy cried out.

The Shadow King’s cannons fired, and slammed into the weakened Harkaway. The Shadow King fired two more broadsides, each seeming to do more damage than the first. The enemy was losing strength. It was time to board.

Davy gave the boarding order, and the crew switched from round shots to grapple hooks. They hooks were fired at the enemy, and most of them succeeded in landing. From then, the boarding commenced.

Using their swords to zip line across the ropes, the broadsword, including Billy, went in. Using their broadswords, they tore apart the rigging of the ship, and then followed the rest of the crew, Davy leading them with the Sword of Darkness. With this sword and its almost unlimited power, he was confident that he could beat Jolly Roger.

Davy landed, and used the Sword’s power to become invisible. He snuck up behind several skeletons and killed them silently. Instead of becoming skeletons again, like living enemies did, they merely turned into a pile of ash. Davy ran around the deck, an invisible killer, slicing the crew of The Harkaway to bits, but soon, the invisibility wore off, and Davy got into the real fighting.

He defeated skeletons one by one, until you could easily find Davy by following the trail of ashes. Unfortunately, nobody did that, as they were too preoccupied fighting for their lives. Davy conducted voodoo through the Sword of Darkness, sending bolts of lightning into his enemies, or igniting them using cursed fire. He even was able to freeze them in place using cursed ice abilities.

Right as Davy sliced the head off of one of a skeleton foe, he felt a slice on his back, and he fell over, clutching his Sword. He cried out in pain.

“Not so tough now, are we Davy Fireskull?” a voice said.

Before Davy could react, his back began to tingle, and all of the sudden, he felt the wound close, leaving nothing but a small white scar. The Sword of Darkness healed the user!

Davy got up and turned around. In front of him stood John Darkhart, the first mate of Jolly Roger.

“That didn’t hurt much,” Davy said.

“Do ye want it to, mortal?” Darkhart taunted.

Davy grinned, “Lets dance.”

The two began to swordfight. Darkhart was a powerful swordsman, and even with the extra powers of the Sword of Darkness, Davy couldn’t beat him. He was too fast for Davy to cast anything. After a few minutes of back and forth fighting, Darkhart managed to get Davy to trip backwards over a plank of wood sticking up out of the floor. Darkhart grinned.

“Any last words…” Darkhart didn’t finish his sentence, because right then, he was tackled by a figure. Davy got up, and saw Will Seaeagle, part of his broadsword brigade, pulling out his sword to battle with Darkhart.

“I got him Davy!” he said, “Now go and get Jolly Roger. He is at the helm of the ship battling Sam, and it isn’t looking well for Sam either.”

“Thanks mate, I owe ye one!” Davy said before running up.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy climbed the stairs of the ship, battling his way through other skeletons. Half way up, he looked at The Shadow King. She had taken heavy damage, and a huge portion of the broadside cannons were exposed. Skeletons had boarded her in greater numbers than the Shadow King had sent to The Harkaway. Davy had to defeat Jolly Roger now or order a retreat, as it was not looking good for The King. He decided that his ship could hold for a little longer, and he raced up the stairs.

He found Jolly Roger and Sam Bladebeard battling. Sam was an amazing swordsman, but Jolly Roger was just too powerful. Roger knocked Sam onto the ground, and raised his sword to do a finishing blow.

Davy quickly aimed his sword at Jolly, and right before his sword began descending into Sam’s heart, Jolly was struck with a bolt of lightning sent from the Sword of Darkness. Jolly flew to the back of the ship, and slammed against the wall. He slumped over, dazed.

Davy ran to Sam, and said, “Sam, get back to The Shadow King, and take the crew with you. She can’t take much more damage, and our crew is outnumbered. It will be a massacre if we don’t retreat and help our crew. I can take Jolly Roger.

“I can’t just abandon you! You could die!” Sam cried out.

“Mate, ye have to. I can take Roger. If I die now, I bring Jolly with me, and if he dies with me, then I will die complete. The Shadow King needs you right now. Please.”

“Davy…”

He looked into Sam’s eyes, and a message passed between them.

Sam sighed. “Aye, aye captain…”

“Thank you Sam. And Sam, if I believe it is too dangerous, or if you believe it is too dangerous, retreat! If I am still on this ship, then I will send a ball of lightning into the air, and that will be my signal.”

Sam nodded. “And lets hope that you won’t have to do that.”

“Aye, lets hope. Now go!”

Sam ran off, his sword in hand, towards the ropes.

Davy turned towards Jolly Roger. He was getting up now, and picked up his fallen sword, a rusted cutlass, but Davy knew it was anything but weak. Jolly Roger walked towards him, sword in hand. Davy drew his sword, and held it out.

Jolly Roger grinned menacingly. “The Sword of Darkness? Ah hahaha! I am surprised ye found that mighty weapon! I have been hunting for it in fact, for the past several years now! Ye know why there have been so few of my lovely little invasions in recent years? No? It is because I have been using all my forces to find the very sword you hold. With it, I shall truly become invincible!!!”

Davy glared at Roger. “I don’t think so!”

Davy and Jolly charged at each other and slammed their blades together. The two sword locked, and the two opponents held them together, each trying to overpower the other. Davy sent a current of lightning up the blade, and it conducted onto Jolly Roger’s blade, and then onto him. He staggered backwards, and Davy swung his sword at Jolly’s belly.

Jolly Roger jumped backwards, then responded with an overheard cleave, which Davy blocked. The two fought together in a dance of death, neither gaining any advance on the other. Davy sent voodoo curses flying at Jolly Roger, and Jolly Roger sent others flying back. One minute, a bystander would have thought that Jolly was about to be killed, the next, that Davy was going to lose the fight. The two couldn’t gain any advantage over the other, and so the battle continued. Davy sent Jolly flying backward using an invisible force, and quickly turned to look at his ship.

The fight was not going well for The Shadow King. He could see that most of the skeletons were defeated; however, the hull had taken severe damage, and the entire broadside deck was exposed. One of The King’s masts was destroyed, and there was a large gash in one of the sails of another. Davy realized that The Shadow King would sink if it didn’t retreat.

With reluctance, Davy looked upward, and fired a ball of lightning into the air. When it was above the masts of The Harkaway, he detonated it, sending lightning bolts flying in all directions. Immediately, he saw grapple lines being cut, but he didn’t have time to see more than that, because just then, Jolly Roger lifted him up using voodoo magic, and slammed him against a helm mast. Davy looked up, dazed, to see Jolly grinning.

“Ye have been a worthy opponent,” Jolly Roger sneered, “but unfortunately, it is time for you to die. And it is time for me, to take what is now mine!” Jolly Roger picked up the Sword of Darkness, and held it up. He showed no signs of it attacking his mind like it had Davy’s. It began to glow with that strange black light.

Jolly Roger took the blade, and sheathed it in his belt. Then he turned to Davy, and lifted him up. He brought him close to his face.

“Any last words Davy Fireskull?” Jolly Roger asked in mock politeness. But then, he yelled out in pain, dropping Davy. He staggered to the side, with his hand on his left shoulder. Davy and Jolly both turned in confusion to the stairs of the ship.

“Get away from my brother!” Billy Fireskull said, holding out a musket. He threw it aside, and drew his broadsword. He yelled a battle cry, and charged towards Jolly Roger.

“This won’t be hard!” Jolly cried out.

Using his strange flintlock blade on his right hand, Jolly attacked Billy. The two clashed for about a minute, and Davy, still dazed, could do nothing but sit there helplessly. He turned and saw The Shadow King sailing away.

Good, at least they are getting away… but Billy, I can’t let him die… Davy thought groggily.

Davy turned to hear a cry of pain from Billy, and the sound of a sword clattering onto the ground. Roger had sliced Billy across the chest with his blade, and now lifted him into the air. He tossed Billy around like a rag doll, slamming him into the mast, and then the ground. Billy, slumped against some railing, and looked up. His face was covered with blood, and his nose may have been broken.

By now, Davy was on his feet, and was standing near the edge of the ship.

Billy looked up at Davy, “Brother… run…”

Billy drew a pistol, and fired it near Davy’s feet, Davy jumped backwards and, not realizing how near he was to the edge of the ship, fell backwards into the lifeboat. He got up and looked at Billy.

“BILLY! NO!”

“I’m sorry Davy…” he said. Then took his pistol, and fired it at the ropes holding the lifeboat up. The bullets hit the ropes, proving Billy’s perfect aim even in his weakened state. The ropes snapped, and the lifeboat began falling towards the water.

“NO!!!!!” Davy cried out at the top of his lungs.

The last thing he heard was of Jolly Roger cursing him that he got away. Then, the lifeboat hit the water, and Davy knocked his head, rendering him unconscious.

Wow, excellent Davy, but I'm a kinda sad, what's going to happen to Billy!:sadmh9: Okay, you can't leave me hanging like this for long!

Here is Chapter 16, hope you enjoy it, its a bit of a lengthy read.


Chapter 16: Ghost Town

Davy heard the cawing of crows.

No, not crows. Ravens.

Davy opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in gravely black sand, and it appeared to be midafternoon. He put his hand to his head. He felt dry blood on his head from when he hit it on the dingy. He slowly got up, but immediately regretted it. A wave of nausea and dizziness swept over him. He doubled over and threw up on the ground. He collapsed in the gravel and laid there for several minutes, breathing deeply.

That storm must have blown me and the dingy here, Davy thought groggily.

Finally, he got the energy to sit up. He still felt dizzy, and extremely weak. He looked to his left side and saw the dingy he had used to get off The Harkaway upside down, lying on the gravel. It was broken in several places. He looked to forward, and gasped. There were hundreds, if not thousands of ravens flying in flocks around this island. He could hear their cawing in the distance. He slowly stood.

He was now able to see his full surroundings. He was in a deep cove. Black rock formed the walls of it, giving Davy a feeling of dread. He felt trapped, even though he could easily sail right out if he could find a ship. He looked back at the ravens and noticed a rope bridge spanning the distance of the cove. Immediately Davy figured that it would be best to get up there, as he would be able to see anything coming to the island.

Davy took a wobbly step. He was still extremely weak from his fight. He grabbed a charred stick from beside him and used it to help him walk. He saw a sunken dock to his side that he hadn’t noticed before, and then he saw a path leading up into the heart of the island. He slowly but surely began to walk up the path.

What happened here…? Davy wondered. As he walked up the path, he saw what seemed to be blown apart barricades. He saw long dead skeletons strewn about the place, in unnatural positions. He moved over to one to examine it. Part of the skull was blown off, likely from a gunshot. Next to the skeleton’s limp hand was a cutlass, and Davy noticed a sheath on his belt.

Strange, it looks like there was a battle here, Davy thought as he tied the sheath to his belt, and put the sword into it. and not too long ago. These skeletons don’t look more than a few months old. Arg! What happened here!? And where am I!?

Davy continued up the path. He walked for about a quarter mile into the island, passing more areas like this along the way. He also saw homes that had been burnt down, reduced to the framing of it. He passed even more skeletons. The place was a wasteland. A ghost town. What must have once been a battlefield for a huge battle.

Davy kept walking, and soon found himself in what must have once been the courtyard of a little town. To one side was a building with a tavern sign on it, to the other was a little cluster of buildings. Davy walked cautiously to the buildings. He tried to picture the town as it was before whatever destruction happened, and what he imagined was a small town similar to one on the island of Padres Del Fuego or Port Royal. He moved over to the door of what may have once been a blacksmith, and opened it.

As soon as he pushed on the door, the whole door collapsed. He froze, waiting for something to come out and attack him, but nothing moved, save for several rats that had taken refuge in the building.

Davy stepped inside, and took in his surroundings. The place was ransacked. Where swords once hung proudly on walls now was merely an empty sword holder. The back wall and part of the surrounding roof was completely blown apart. Davy moved in, and found a desk with a skeleton slumped over it. He poked the skeleton, and it fell to the floor, losing its head in the process.

“Sorry mate,” Davy mumbled, with a small smile. He looked on the desk, and saw a journal, likely belonging to the blacksmith. Davy sat down on the chair and started to read the most recent entry, dated on the twelfth of February that year. It was sometime in June now. The journal read:


Davy reread the journal entry again. Then he put the journal down.

Raven’s Cove, so that’s where I am, Davy thought. And it looks like Jolly was here a while ago too. I have to get off this island, it gives me the creeps… and what are these Red Ghosts that Senior Fañtifico talks about?

Davy looked through the hole in the wall. It was getting dark. He had to try to get to that bridge soon. He didn’t want to meet any of the Red Ghosts.

Davy walked out of the blacksmith. He threw his walking stick to the side, as he felt that he didn’t need it anymore. He jogged and a steady pace towards a rock archway that lead to another beach of the island. As he walked along the stretch of gravely beach, he noticed that the ravens had stopped cawing. The sound had been replaced by something that brought a chill to his spine, and sparked the worst fear in his mind. In later years, he said that it was so scarring, that he could still hear the noise echoing in his mind whenever he walked along a beach in the dark.

The sound was an unearthly howling. Not howling like a wolf, but the howling of a soul calling out in despair and rage. Davy drew his sword, and looked around him, terrified. The noise continued, and it seemed to be getting closer. Davy couldn’t contain himself any longer.

“Show yourself!” he cried out, turning around in circles. Then, from where he came from, he spotted something strange. It was a red orb of light, hovering about a foot above the ground, and slowly drifting towards him. Davy realized that the howling was coming for it. Davy couldn’t help but watch the strange orb get closer to him.

Once it was several meters away from him, it stopped. Davy slowly saw the shape of a young woman take form from it. The howling stopped, and Davy lowered his sword. Davy met her eyes, and then all the sudden felt a mental attack on him. The young girl’s mind drove into his, and started inflicting horrible agony on Davy.

He screamed, but there was nobody there to hear it. He could do nothing but try to resist. For several minutes, the two stood there, minds battling each other. After a few more minutes, Davy was able to defeat the mind of the girl, who Davy now figured out was the dreaded Red Ghost.

The ghost stumbled backward, then looked at Davy, and her form changed from a pretty young girl to a twisted old hag. The Ghost screamed out in a voice that was so horribly indescribable, that Davy covered his ears and shut his eyes as tight as he could just to get away from it.

The Red Ghost, now flying towards Davy, had its fangs bared and its hands stretched out. Davy ran away from her as fast as he could, not wanting to get in contact with it again. Davy sprinted as fast as he could for about two minutes, racing across the beach.

Soon, what looked like a wooden elevator came into view. Davy spotted a lever on it, and he prayed it was working. But the ghost was gaining on him. He wouldn’t make it in time. Unless…

As he was sprinting, Davy grabbed a rock on the ground. He began backpedaling, and then, when he had a perfect shot, threw the rock as hard as he could at the ghost. It didn’t pass through the ghost, strangely enough, and hit her square in the head. No blood came out, but it stunned her, and she fell over. Davy ran onto the elevator, and looked for the key to start it.

Then he heard a shriek, and he looked next to him. The Red Ghost was right next to him. Before Davy could cry out, the ghost slashed her hands across Davy, and sent him flying backward onto the gravely beach. Davy’s vision went red, and he could hear the beating of his heart. His whole body burned with pain, and he couldn’t think straight.

“I ssssmell death…” Davy heard the ghost say. The voice was raspy and cold, and made the hairs on his next stand up. “Prepare to die Davy Fireskull!”

Davy made out the image of the ghost standing above him while he was lying on his back, and then felt another mental attack. He fought back with all his might, but he was weak now, and couldn’t fight back.

Is this the end? Davy thought miserably. Am I to die here, by the hands of this demon? Without being able to avenge the deaths of my parents, and of the crew of the Black Swan?

Davy was losing the fight, and he wasn’t going to last much longer. Then, something sparked. Perhaps it was his life flashing before his eyes, showing that he was about to die. Or perhaps the ghost had triggered some sort of memory. All of the sudden, he was sent into one of his memories.

He and Billy, or William at the time, were playing outside their house together. They had a pair of wooden swords, and were fake sword fighting, laughing jubilantly, without a care in the world. Their father was sitting and watching them, smiling, and happy with watching his children play. Their mother came outside with a pot of tea and sat down beside her husband. It was a happy family. And Jolly Roger had torn it apart. Davy couldn’t die now, not without bringing Jolly to justice.

Davy came back to reality, and got a sudden surge of energy. Using it, he blasted the ghost out of his mind, and drew his sword. He brought the sword back, and then thrusted it through the ghost. The ghost cried out as it was stabbed, and stumbled backward. Lightning struck the ghost three times, and then it dropped on the ground, motionless.

Davy felt the pain in his body go away, and his vision returned to normal. He took several deep breaths, and then moved over to the ghost. She was back as a young girl, and the red was fading, and being replaced by an aqua blue tone. Davy stood and watched the transformation for about a half minute, before the ghost opened her eyes. She stood up, and looked Davy in the eyes. This time, there was no invasion of his mind.

“Thank you for saving me Davy Fireskull,” the girl said. “My name is Joanna.”

“What happened to you?” Davy asked cautiously.

“When Jolly Roger invaded Raven’s Cove, he gave us the option of joining him to help fight Cutler Beckett, or to be killed, and forever walk this island as ghosts. We weren’t afraid of him, and we decided not to join him. Some of us even fought as a third faction, and battled Roger and Beckett, including me. Those of us that fought against him, Jolly Roger cursed specially so that we would walk the island at night, our minds filled with rage. We became known as Rage Ghosts, or Red Ghosts. We are almost invincible, but that is our one true weakness. Love. The power of love can defeat us. When you saw the vision of your loving family, it gave you the strength to defeat me.”

“I see now. I’m so sorry for what happened Joanna.”

“It is not your fault, but you have the power to make it right again. Bring Jolly Roger to justice. You will succeed. I can tell. Now, take this elevator key, and go to the cliffs of Raven’s Cove, so you may see your friends when they arrive.”

Joanna held out a rusted key, and Davy took it from her hand. Her hand was as cold as ice.

“And another thing,” the ghost said. “Us ghosts know all, and see all. However, we don’t share it with mortals unless they have done us something great in return. For saving me, I can tell you one piece of information, anything you want, but I warn you, the truth is not always what is the most pleasant thought.”

Davy thought for a moment. Then, he spoke, “I want to know where my brother is. Billy Fireskull. He saved me from Jolly Roger when my ship was fighting his. Its because of him I’m here. I need to find him and rescue him.”

The ghost closed her eyes, and then a minute later, opened them, and looked into Davy. Instantly, the word around him began to twist into strange forms, and colors warped. Soon, everything came back into focus. He was in a cave. There was a flow of lava several meters to his side, and it was very hot.

Davy looked in front of him, and tied by chains to a wall, was Billy. He had been badly beaten and tortured. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were torn to shreds. One of his arms was badly cut, and his chest was covered with cuts, likely from a blade. His head was hung down, and his long hair covered his face. Jolly Roger walked into the cavern, and looked at Billy.

Davy drew his sword, but then realized that Jolly couldn’t see him. Davy was only looking at what was happening, not actually there. He turned to his side, and noticed that Joanna was there beside him. She beckoned for him to watch and listen.

“You’re pathetic brother has escaped me, but he will come back for you. It is only a matter of time before he comes and finds you, and walks right into my trap,” Jolly said, with an evil grin on his face.

Billy looked up. His face was badly cut, and one of his eyes was bruised. He looked as if he had drank too much, then been knocked unconscious. Billy spoke.

“Davy will defeat you, you son of a bilge rat. You will be defeated, and your reign of terror will end.”
Jolly Roger cackled, “We shall see.”

The world around Davy warped again, and he found himself back on Raven’s Cove. He looked up and into Joanna’s eyes.

“Now go,” she said. “Wait on the cliffs. You shall be able to spot your friends from there, if they come.”

Davy thanked her, and then walked into the elevator. He looked back, but Joanna was gone. He sighed, then put the key into its slot. He turned it, and he felt a clattering of gears. He pulled the lever on the elevator, and it began to move up to the cliffs of Raven’s Cove.

Whoa, fantastic! I love the way you brought Ravens Cove into the story. Really enjoyed it. :)

Here we have chapter 17! :D


Chapter 17: Reunion

Davy watched as a rock fell down from the cliff he was on, into a deep cove beneath him. The rock tumbled down the rocks, and landed into the lake deep below. Next to it was a ship, about the size of a small galleon. From up above, Davy could hear ghostly whispers on it, and the occasional deep laugh. Davy wanted badly to find a way down onto that ship, but knew that he should stay up here, so he could see The Shadow King coming to the island. Assuming it ever did. The cliff was at least two hundred feet tall, and its walls were made of a dark black lava rock. Off to the side, was a cave. The entrance had burnt out torches on the edges, and the cave extended into the darkness.

I will save the rest of this island for another adventure, Davy thought. It was morning by now. The night had seemed to end right after he saved Joanna, even though Davy thought there were at least a few more hours left of night.

The day passed without any sign of The Shadow King. Davy headed back to the path that lead to this area. It was surrounded by steep walls, providing shelter. Davy found a secluded quiet area of the caves. He made sure to stay hidden, so that in the event of a Rage Ghost, it may not see him. He definitely didn’t want to encounter another one of those Ghosts. He was so tired now, that he definitely couldn’t face another.

Right as Davy was about to put his head down his rolled up shirt, he heard a noise. At first, he thought it was the howl of a Rage Ghost, but then he breathed a sigh of relief. It was only his stomach, grumbling so loud that any and every Rage Ghost in the area would have come to find him. Davy chuckled softly, and then got up. The sun was almost gone, so he would have to hunt by voodoo light.

He used voodoo to light a sphere of light that followed him around the little canyon. He readied his hands, and summoned voodoo power. He planned to use voodoo to kill his prey, and if he used his sword, there wouldn’t be much meat left. He rounded a few corners, and saw a group of bats. He shut off his light, so he wouldn’t startle them, and then moved near them, using voodoo to conceal himself. Finally, Davy got within ten or so meters of the bats, and then struck.

He used an instant killing voodoo trick he had learned to kill about ten bats instantly. The bats dropped lifeless to the floor, as the others flew away in fear. Davy smiled hungrily, and picked up the bats. He walked back to where he had left his belongings, and laid the bats on a rock. He gathered some wood, and lit a fire using voodoo. Then he gutted the bats, and laid them on a little platform he made out of wood, which he had cursed so that it wouldn’t burn.

Davy turned the bats for about ten minutes, ten long, hungry minutes. Finally, he decided that the bats were cooked well enough, and pulled them off. Davy ate as if he hadn’t eaten well in days, which was somewhat true, as the last time he ate was probably well before the battle against The Harkaway. He ate ravenously, and within a few minutes, there was nothing left of the bats.

Davy belched loudly. The burp echoed through the canyon, and through the quiet of the night. He was terrified that a Rage Ghost would hear him, and he moved back into a corner. He waited there for several minutes, to scared to move. Finally, after not hearing anything, he came out. The quiet was pure. There were no sounds on the island at all. The ravens had long since gone to their nests and gone to sleep. The island was dead silent. And dead, but that was different.

Davy set down his shirt, and laid his head on it. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since he woke up on the island. He closed his eyes, and drifted to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy could escape the real world by sleep, but not his dreams. He found himself standing back in the room where Jolly had kept Billy prisoner, in the cave. Billy hung by chains in the same spot as he was before, but he was worse off than before. His shirt was almost completely torn off, and his pants were torn, exposing huge cuts in his legs. A large gash ran across his chest, and various other cuts and bruises were across his body.

“Ye cannot last forever Billy Fireskull, eventually you will have to join me, or die,” Jolly Roger said, walking into Davy’s vision. “Ye had better hope that yer pathetic brother will come for ye soon. Then ye won’t have to die alone!”

“He’s not pathetic you swine!” Billy cried out, facing Jolly. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was covered with dirt and grime. “And I will never give in to you! I will join you the day I die!”

Jolly grinned, “I can arrange that… but until then, you will be tortured until you give in to joining me. Fireskull, I should not have to torture you. Use your common sense. You can see that I am on the winning side. I have the Sword of Darkness, making me even more powerful than before. Soon, I will launch a full attack on one of the Caribbean’s main islands. I will capture it, and from there, I will slowly conquer the rest of the Caribbean! And I will rule!”
Billy spat at Jolly. Jolly showed a disgusted face, then walked closer to Billy, breathing in his face, he said:

“Soon, ye will see the truth in my statements. Soon, ye shall see the error of yer ways.”

Davy watched the scene in horror. He could see Billy couldn’t stand much more of this torture. He had to get to him as soon as possible. He couldn’t just let him die! He was his brother!

I lost him once, I can’t lose him again, Davy thought to himself.

He saw Jolly walking away from Billy. He was coming directly towards Davy. Davy tried to move, but he couldn’t move in his dream form. Davy was frozen in horror as Jolly’s eyes bored into him.

“Didn’t yer mother ever tell ye it was rude to eavesdrop Davy Fireskull?” Jolly taunted, “Ah yes, she was dead.”

Jolly slashed through Davy with his flintlock blade on his right hand, and the dream went black.

~~~~~~~~~~


Davy awoke panting. His heart was beating extremely fast, and he was sweating in places he didn’t know could sweat. The sun was rising, and he could hear the ravens cawing. He got up, and put on his shirt. He strapped his sword to his belt, and walked down the path until he reached the area with the ship far below.

As he walked around the chasm, Davy looked out to sea. A face of joy filled his face. Sailing into the cove, with her damaged hull and black sails, was The Shadow King. Davy cried out in joy, and ran back the way he came. He passed through the canyon, and after jogging for about five minutes, he reached the elevator. He decided that his sword was too heavy to carry, and he wouldn’t need it, as he could get a better one on the ship. He dropped the sword, but took the dagger.

Something to keep from Raven’s Cove, Davy thought. I can never forget this place. I will come back. I swear on that!

Davy turned the key on the elevator, and it began its decent onto the beach of Raven’s Cove. After Davy stepped off, he jogged down this beach, and passed through the rock archway, into the ruins of the town square. Davy walked through the ruined town. He took one last look at the sad sight of crumbling buildings, and walked around a corner. He heard a gunshot, and jumped.

“Davy! There you are!” Davy heard a voice call. He turned to where the sound of the gun was fired, and saw Zolina standing with her gun pointed toward him. Behind her was Sam, Matt, Kate, Will, and another woman from the ship, who went by the name Luckie.

Zolina lowered her gun, and said, “Davy! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see it was you, I…”

Sam cut her off with a wave of his hand, “Davy! Thank goodness! We were so afraid you were dead! We sailed around the area after we fled the battle for any sign of you. I had seen your dingy leave The Harkaway after you told us to flee, and I had to go back for ye! We searched around for any land mass, and found this one. Thank the lord you’re here!”

Davy walked up to them, and gave each a hug. “Thank the lord you’re here. Lets get off this wretched island. I’ll tell you about everything later. For now, I need some food, water, some new clothes, and some bandages.”

“Aye, aye sir!” Will and Matt said at the same time.

As they were walking back, Luckie went up to Davy.

“You feeling alright Captain?” she asked, “Ye look like ye just saw a ghost.”

Davy turned to her and a smile appeared on his lips, “I think I probably just did.”

Before she had time to ask anything else, Davy walked up to Sam and nudged him. Sam turned to face him.

“Billy, did he get back?” Davy asked. He was desperately hoping that what Joanna showed him and his dream were somehow wrong. He knew the answer before Sam said it.

“I’m sorry Davy. I truly am. He never made it back to the ship.”

Davy sighed, “All right then. Well, for now lets worry about getting back to the ship.”

Sam nodded. After another few minutes of walking, they arrived back on the King. The crewmates smiled when they saw Davy was back, and gave him a few more than light slaps on the back. After exchanging some short dialogues with some of his crewmates, he locked himself in his Captain’s quarters with his rescue team, and began to tell them what happened to him on Raven’s Cove.

Another great Chapter Davy! :)

roger sword shot level 45 MASTERS IN SWORDS
 

Hey mate, an the third page you asked people if they wanted to be in your story. can i be in your story, plz? Its so awesome, i couldn't resit asking.
:shocked:

The epicness of this story cannot be explained.

Finally I have my next Chapter.



Chapter 18: To Padres Del Fuego!


The crew sat and took everything in that Davy had said. He went through his whole tale of what happened on Raven’s Cove. There were few questions that they asked, except for clarification purposes. When Sam heard the name Joanna, he raised his eyebrow a little bit, but made no comment. The name seemed to ring a bell in his head, but Davy didn’t ask him about it.

They all sat around Davy’s desk in his quarters, saying nothing. Zolina nervously sipped at her rum, and Will was rubbing his thumb against the hilt of his broadsword, which was sheathed in his belt. Sam was perfectly calm; his face showing no emotion. Matt finally broke the awkward silence.

“Davy, if I remember correctly, you told us that you would teach us to use voodoo powers like yours. It would be extremely handy to be able to do that in combat, especially fighting foes as nasty as the undead.”

“Aye,” Luckie said. “Teaching us to use the voodoo arts would be very beneficial to our strength in combat. In fact, I think it would be best to teach the entire crew, if possible. A whole crew of voodoo users would be so powerful, we could rule the seas!”

Davy nodded, “Aye, your right mates. I’ll start with teaching you six first though. After I teach you the basics, and see how it works out, I will do it with the whole crew. As you said Luckie, we could be a deadly enemy if we could all use voodoo. But for now, I must sleep. In the morning, lets set a course for Padres Del Fuego. I believe that the cave where Billy is being kept is there. After we have our course set, I’ll begin training you all. Until then, I bid you all a good night.”

The others filed out of the cabin. Sam stayed in the doorway for a moment, and looked at Davy with an expression that Davy couldn’t read. Before he could ask anything, Sam left. Davy locked his door, extinguished his lantern, and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~


The next morning was warm and sunny, peaceful even. Another ordinary day in the Caribbean. The course was set for Padres Del Fuego. They had a good wind at their backs, and in no time, the black shape of Raven’s Cove was far behind them. Davy told himself he would go back there one day. After all this was over. Around noon, Davy called Sam, Matt, Zolina, Will, Luckie, and Kate into his quarters. The training was about to begin.

“Alright now mates,” Davy said to his friends. “What I am about to teach you is extremely difficult. I discovered my powers after I had been almost turned into a skeleton by Jolly Roger. Probably the reason I was able to use voodoo so easily was because part of his powers were transferred to me. I’m not sure how it will work with you, or if it will work, but lets try anyway!”

His friends smiled nervously. They all put their weapons to the side, and sat down on the floor, awaiting Davy’s orders.

“Alright then. Lets start with figuring out how to use yours. I want you to meditate. Clear your mind of anything and everything. Once you have done that, I want you to search your mind for your powers. It is hidden in everyone, as far as I know. All you need to do is find it, and unlock it. It may take a while, so be patient.”

Davy sat in front of the six, and waited. They sat there. Beads of sweat trickled from some of their foreheads. Davy waited for five minutes. Then ten. Ten turned into fifteen, then, finally, Davy saw Sam open his eyes. They were glowing with purple for a brief moment, then they faded. Davy looked at the group, and saw them starting to do the same. After another minute, his friends were panting from the effort.

“Did it work? Did you find your inner voodoo supply?” Davy asked.

The six nodded.

“I found something…” Zolina said.

Davy chuckled. “Well, looks like you have all done it. You have unlocked your voodoo powers. That was the easy part. Now you need to know how to use them.”

Davy got up and walked to his desk. He picked up six empty bottles, and placed one in front of each of his friends.

“Now, this task is simple. I want you all to try to lift the bottle in front of you without touching it. Use your voodoo powers. Concentrate all your thoughts on the bottle, and will it to rise. It will take a lot of effort at first, but you should get the hang of it fast.”

And then came another period of waiting. The group tried for a half hour, and could not do it. The half hour turned into an hour, which turned into two. Davy could see the frustration building up in them. Kate had been biting her lip so hard that it bled. Will was drenched in sweat. Finally, Davy spoke up.

“Lets call it a day for now mates.”

“Call it a day?” Sam said in surprise. “It can’t be past three in the afternoon!”

“Your working very hard mates. Take the bottle with you, and every time you get a chance to practice it, try. Now go! Get yourselves some food and rum.”

The group left, and Davy followed them out. He walked up to the helm of the ship. He leaned against the side of the ship and looked out across the ship. The sea was calm, and the water was sparkling from the sun’s rays, which could shine unchallenged due to the lack of clouds. Davy saw a small group of flying fish jump out of the water and go back down.

Finally, Davy could be at peace for the next few weeks, until they reached Padres Del Fuego.

~~~~~~~~~~


The training continued for the next two weeks. On the third day, Sam finally was able to lift the bottle. During the same day and the next day, everyone else was able to lift it as well. Davy then began training them on how to use the elements to their advantage, such as casting balls of fire, or causing bolts of lighting to strike objects. Davy wanted to get each of them a staff, but there was no good wood aboard the ship that could be made into a staff. He decided that he could visit some gypsies when they reached Padres, and purchase some staffs from them.

After about two weeks, the group was very skilled in voodoo. They could lift objects and move them around, cast voodoo spells, and Zolina even learned invisibility. Davy was confident in the group’s abilities, and was sure that they could help him in the training of the rest of the crew, as Davy decided it was time to reveal the voodoo arts to them. On the sixteenth day of the voyage, Davy called the crew onto the deck.

“Ahoy there my crew!” Davy said to the crew. “First, let me say that you have all been doing a great job of sailing this ship. I couldn’t ask for a better crew, and I am very proud to be your captain. This ship has truly been ship-shape!”

Some of the crew chuckled at the little joke, then Davy continued.

“What I am about to show and teach to you may be somewhat disturbing to some of you, but I will tell you that it will be very beneficial to you when we fight the undead again.

“Some of you have heard of ‘voodoo’ before. Now, some of you would like to learn it, some perhaps already know a little, and some of you are probably horrified by the thought of it. Now, I have been hiding something from you all. I myself, am a voodoo user. It is probably what has kept me alive in all these fights against Jolly and other ships.”

The crew started mumbling to each other and glancing at Davy, some in curiosity, others in fear.

“Don’t worry my friends, I am not forcing you to learn it, nor am I going to punish it or use it in any wrongful way towards you. But I urge you to learn how to use voodoo arts. I and my six friends here; Sam, Matt, Will, Luckie, Zolina, and Kate, will help to teach it to you. When the time comes, you will not regret learning it. Now, is there anyone who does not wish to learn this?”

The crew was silent.

“Well then! Training of it will begin tomorrow in the morning! Meet right here, and you will be split into groups. Is that clear?”

The crew yelled in affirmative.

“Very good! Back to your duties!”

The crew dispersed, and Davy turned to his friends. They nodded at him, and then everyone went to their stations.

~~~~~~~~~~


The training of the crew went well. Each teacher had about the same amount of people to teach. Each of the crew took slightly longer than the original pirates Davy taught, but all went well in the end. After about two and a half weeks, the crew was able to use voodoo well.

There were few major mistakes that anyone did, except for one of the crewmates accidentally sending a cannon flying off the edge of his ship when he was trying to move it.

Soon, everything on the ship seemed easier. The crew was able to use voodoo to do some of their jobs, speeding up most of the duties significantly.

One day, Davy called his trusted group into his cabin again. They seated themselves, and each grabbed a bottle of rum.

“Well mates, we’ve done it. We’ve got the whole crew using voodoo powers. There is no other mortal crew in the world that can take us on, we are truly a unique crew, and a unique crew, calls for a unique name.”

“Are you implying that we start a guild?” Matt asked.

“Somewhat, yes. We all have a common trait, using voodoo powers. That means that we are the start of a guild. And every guild needs a name.”

Will nodded, “Do you have any ideas Davy?”

“Well, I was thinking that we should tie it to the name of our ship, The Shadow King. Perhaps something along the lines of ‘The Shadow’s Warlocks’?”

Sam shook his head. “That doesn’t sound right. We don’t belong to the ship, the ship belongs to us. And warlocks? No.”

“Sorcerers!” It was Zolina who spoke.

“That’s a good one!” Davy exclaimed. “Sorcerers! Sorcerors! Spelled differently, to imply that we are not only Sorcerers, but also swordsmen, sailors, et cetera. Sorcerer, or…”

“Shadow Sorcerors. Shadow would be connected to our ship, The Shadow King,” Kate said.

“Very well then. On this day, the Shadow Sorcerors are born! May we rule the seas for many years to come, and for the army of the undead to fear our name!”

“Huzzah!” The group yelled.

Davy smiled at the name of his new crew, Shadow Sorcerors. As they were leaving the cabin, one of the lookouts, Meg Mcbones, came up to Davy.

“Captain,” she said. “Padres Del Fuego spotted in the distance. If we keep sailing under full colors as we are now, we should reach in within two or so hours.”

Davy nodded. “Thank you Meg. Lets stop sailing for now. We can resume our sail a few hours before dawn. I have a plan in mind. You will drop off Sam, Matt, Will, Kate, Zolina, Luckie, and I on a deserted beach on Padres very early in the morning, before most people are up. You will then sail off and find yourselves a hidden cove in the island, where you will wait until we return from hunting for Billy.”

“Yes Captain,” Meg said before hurrying off.

Davy walked up to the front of The Shadow King. The volcano of Padres erupted, sending smoke out of the mountain and bits of lava, which cooled in the air and fell as dust and tiny pieces of rock.

Tomorrow morning, the hunt for Billy Fireskull would begin.


There you are!

@SEAKING. If you want to be in my story, please PM me, and I'll try to fit you in somewhere. Chances are that you will end up as a crewmate.

In my opinion, this is my most action packed, and dramatic chapter yet. Enjoy!

Chapter 19: Into the Catacombs

The group snuck off the ship just before dawn. Nobody saw them, and The Shadow King made it safely away from the harbor before the Navy fort could spot them. The group that left to land consisted of Davy, Sam, Will, Kate, Luckie, and Zolina; the Shadow Sorcerors Officers. Matt stayed behind to captain the ship in Davy’s absence. They would all be needed for this dangerous mission.

Davy knew that Billy was in the Catacombs somewhere. He also knew that the Catacombs were infested with skeletons. When Jolly had attempted an invasion of Padres and failed many years ago, the remaining skeletons fled into the Catacombs of Padres Del Fuego. With every death that occurred on the island, more undead would rise in the caves, slowly building up the forces of Jolly Roger on Padres Del Fuego. It was almost *******, attempting to go into one of Jolly Roger’s strongholds. Nobody had ever left the caves alive.

The Sorcerors snuck through town, not making a single sound. The entrance to the caves was towards the back of the town, near the graveyard. It would likely be quiet there, as nobody ventured near those parts. Sightings of skeletons were not uncommon there. After a half hour walk, the group reached the graveyard. Kate glanced around nervously.

“I feel it too,” Davy said, looking at Kate. “Something is not right about this place. Come on, lets get to the Catacombs. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Aye, I never liked Padres. It’s a skeleton infested wasteland if you ask me,” Sam said. “Ready your swords mates. Some of us may not come out of this place alive.”

The group walked towards the hole in the side of the mountain, surrounded by burnt out torches. They all stood at the opening of the tunnels that would take them to the Catacombs, and then headed inside the dark cave entrance.

The cave was dark, but not damp. If anything, it was dry and hot. Unfortunately, it would only get worse as they headed deeper into the cave system, closer to the core of the volcano. The walls were made of solid stone; a mixture of granite and other volcanic stone. Stalactites hung above the Sorcerors, fifty feet above them, and stalagmites towered next to them, like stone towers. As they walked through the cave, they passed by small trickles of magma, and soon it seemed like off to the sides were entire rivers of molten rock. The temperature continued to raise, and soon, the group was coated in sweat. After the first hour and a half or so of walking, it must have already been close to forty five degrees Celsius. After two hours, they met their first skeletons. The group all hid behind a large boulder, and Davy watched the group.

“It’s a fairly large group,” Davy whispered to his friends. “I would estimate, oh, twenty to twenty five of ‘em. Armed with swords and daggers. A few look like they are undead gypsies, so they will be using voodoo dolls. Assuming that they count about twenty five, that would mean us six would be against twenty five.”

“Normally that would be a problem,” Will said. “However the undead tend to not be as good of fighters as us. They rely on surprise and fear when fighting powerful foes such as ourselves. If we can jump them fast, while they have their guard down, we can take out at least half of them before they are ready to actually fight.”

“He’s right,” Luckie said. “They are also just sitting down and taking a rest. Guess boneheads have to take rests too. They are unprepared and we can take them. Unless we have underestimated their strength, which would be our downfall.”

The group prepared to draw their weapons, but Sam held up his hand quickly. “They will notice us if they hear swords being drawn,” He said. “That would be our downfall. I have a better idea.”

Sam gestured upward, above the group of skeletons. A large stalactite hung over them. “If we can bring that stalactite down on them, it can kill most of them. The rest will be knocked down or stunned. That’s when we attack.”

“How are we supposed to bring that giant piece of rock down?! Its gigantic!” Zolina said. It was Davy who answered.

“If we all focus on it, maybe we can bring it down. I want everyone to focus all their strength on dislodging it from the roof of the cave. Once its dislodged, allow it to fall, and while the boneheads are looking at the piece of rock in shock, draw your swords. Once it lands, attack.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kate said, as the others nodded in agreement.

“Alright, on my mark,” Davy said. “Now!”

The group shut their eyes, and concentrated on the piece of rock. At first nothing happened. Then, the roof started to rumble, and some small rocks began to fall. One small rock fell and hit a skeleton on the head. He muttered a cry of pain, then, rubbing his head, he looked up, along with his group. What they saw was a massive stalactite falling down on them. It hit, reducing a chunk of the group to dust. Then the Sorcerors charged.

With their weapons drawn, they attacked the confused skeleton group. Davy, with the sword he picked up from the Shadow King, sliced and diced through the boneheads. Sam was a sight to behold with his cutlass, slashing through skeletons as if they were made of butter. Zolina, using her dagger, snuck up behind the confused skeletons and stabbed them from behind. Luckie blasted away with her voodoo staff she purchased from a gypsy on the way to the caves. Will and Kate, with their broadswords, danced with the skeletons, slicing off their limbs, and reducing them to dust. After just a few minutes, all that was left of the group was dust, and a gigantic piece of stone sticking out of the ground.

“Well,” Kate said. “I must say, that I haven’t had that much fun in days! Good job everyone!”

“Aye, but lets not get too confident,” Davy said. “We still have a long way to go, if we are to rescue Billy.”

The group moved on. They walked for another few hours, passing through the caves with little interest. It was quite monotonous. Just more rock, stalagmites, stalactites, and lava rivers. One time they ended up walking over a stone bridge, above a lake of lava hundreds of feet below them.

“Don’t want to fall there…” Sam muttered.

They rounded more corners. The cave was lit by the fires that burned within it, as well as several torches within the tunnels. How they were still burning was a mystery to Davy. The group stopped for lunch and a short rest, and moved on quickly. There was no time to lose.

Soon, it began to cool down slightly. It was still hot, but it wasn’t like walking around in a campfire. They stopped passing lava rivers, and soon, was just like walking around in a regular cave, rather than the tunnels of a volcano. The tunnel became slightly more twisty, and was going straight forward rather than slowly going down.

They soon began to hear chattering. The chattering of skeleton teeth. The group drew their weapons nervously. Thank goodness they did, because as they turned another corner, they came face to face with another group of skeletons. This one was about the same size as the previous one, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the element of surprise.

“GO!!!” Davy yelled. The Sorcerors charged, as did the skeletons. These skeletons seemed stronger. Davy locked swords with one, and felt his foes broadsword pushing against him. Davy pushed him away using voodoo, and charged him, stabbing him through the stomach. The skeleton collapsed and turned to dust. Davy heard the blasts of Luckie’s staff, and decided that he would pull his out too. He sheathed his sword, and pulled out his staff out of the sling he kept it on, on his back. He casted a ball of fire, which hovered right above the tip of the staff, and launched it at a group of skeletons.

The fire burned straight through them, burning them alive, or dead, as they were skeletons. They disintegrated, leaving nothing but dust and burning rags from what were their tattered clothes. The battle raged on for several more minutes. Finally, all the skeletons were defeated. The group hadn’t suffered serious injuries; however, Will got a decent gash across his left arm.

“No big deal,” he said through gritted teeth. “I use my right hand anyway. Just bandage it up and I’ll be okay.”

After it was bandaged, they continued on. They had been walking for what they guessed was at least seven hours. They decided to find a spot to camp soon. After another hour of walking, they arrived at a solid wall with a rusted gate blocking a path. The path lead into another cave, which sloped uphill after going a few meters.

“Lets stop here,” Davy said. “We are all exhausted, and it will do us well to get some sleep. After that, we can continue on. That has to be the entrance to the Catacombs.”

Sam nodded. “Its going to get real tricky after we pass through that gate. Even more skeletons will be there. Some in large groups, some in small. We will always be fighting, chances are. We have to be ready for that.”

“Billy will likely be deep within them, so we have to be moving fast,” Davy said. “We can’t risk camping out in those caves, so we have to move in, and get out.”

“From what I know,” Zolina said. “The Catacombs are fairly small compared to what we just went through. It shouldn’t be too difficult, unless we can’t move three meters without being ambushed by skeletons.”

“Lets hope that’s not the case,” Davy said. “Now, lets get some rest. Good night all! Assuming it is night. You can never tell in these infernal caves…”

~~~~~~~~~~

The group woke. They were unsure of what time it was. For all they knew, they could have slept for six hours, or sixteen.

It doesn’t matter, Davy thought. All that matters is finding Billy, and getting him out of here.

The group got up, and stood at the gate. Luckie took out her staff, and charged up a spell. The released it, and the gates flew backward and slammed against the ground, making a loud, unnerving sound that probably just let every skeleton in the caves know that they were there. The whole group glared at Luckie.

“Hehe,” She said. “Oops?”

They walked through, stepping over the fallen rusty gates. They continued uphill, until they arrived into another tunnel, but it wasn’t any ordinary tunnel.

“It’s a tomb…” Will said

“Aye, that’s what Catacombs are. Burial places,” Kate said.

They moved through the tunnel. Soon they arrived in a large open room, with stalactites dangling above them. It was made of about the same stone as the Lava Gorge that they had previously went through, but it was less hot. The temperature hovered around thirty five degrees Celsius. The group walked to the center of the cave, but stopped suddenly. There was a sound of rocks tumbling down the cave. They turned, and saw something that chilled their bones. Clinging to the upper walls of the cave, were dozens of skeletons. They surrounded the cave, grinning without any sense of humor in their face.

A skeleton that appeared to be the lead skeleton made a chattering noise, and the skeletons began to drop to the ground. They landed, drew their weapons, and advanced.

“Davy…” Zolina said.

“Uhh… run?” Davy said.

The group needed no further orders. They ran like they never ran before. The skeletons continued dropping from the ceiling, and soon there were at least sixty chasing them.

“Sam!” Davy cried. He pointed toward a boulder lying on the ground. Sam knew what he meant. They lifted the boulder up using their voodoo powers, straining with the effort, and sent it flying towards the skeletons. It crushed a huge amount of them, but not enough to make it safe.

“That’ll slow ‘em down!” Sam said. “But come on! We have to keep moving!”

They continued running. Occasionally, one of them would cast a spell with their staff, taking down several skeletons. But more skeletons joined them, canceling out any that they defeated, and adding on to the enemy’s numbers. The group rounded a corner, leading them to a fork in the road.

“Which way Davy!?” Luckie cried out.

One side lead down a tunnel, similar to the one they were in before. The other, the one to the right, had a crumbling stone arch above the entry. Davy could sense that that was the right way to go.

Davy pointed toward it. “That way!”

They ran towards it, but were stopped by another group of skeletons dropping from the ceiling. About three dozen more skeletons dropped, blocking their way. Davy turned around, and saw the large group of skeletons that had been chasing them. They were getting close. He looked up, and saw several stalactites. He focused on a boulder nearby, and Sam saw what he was doing. He assisted him, and they lifted it up. Then, they sent it flying at the ceiling. It slammed against it, rattling the cave. Stalactites began to fall, crushing their pursuing skeletons, and blocking the path for the surviving ones.

“I think that you just blocked our exit,” Kate said in horror. “Now how do we get out?”

“That can be figured out later,” Davy said. “For now, there are dozens of skeletons surrounding us. Lets worry about them first. ATTACK!”

They charged the skeletons blocking the stone archway. They hacked and slashed. Luckie was forced to put away her staff and pull out her sword. The skeletons went down in large numbers, but they were tough. Davy got a gash on his leg that forced him to limp. A skeleton slashed Zolina across the face, from her upper jaw to her chin, leaving a cut that would likely scar.

“We can’t go on much longer!” Davy cried out as he dodged a skeleton’s sword, and then came back in, slicing him in half. “Run through that arch! I’ll collapse the cave on top of them!”

The group finished off the bonehead they were working on, and shoved past the crowd of skeletons. Slashing through any that dared to fight them, they finally made it through the arch. Davy and some other members of the group collapsed the ceiling, destroying the arch, and ceiling them into the tunnel.

“Billy is close. I remember this place from my vision,” Davy said.

They walked down the tunnel. It was fairly narrow, perhaps only four meters across. Small stalagmites crew out of the ground. The ground was more sandy than stony. It curved to the left slowly, and finally straightened out. After a few minutes of walking, they reached another fork. In one direction, the tunnel continued. In the other, it went into another passage that looked like it lead to a special chamber of some sort.

“We can exit via this tunnel, but for now, we have to go into this new fork. That’s where Billy is hidden. I know it. I feel it.”

The group drew their swords and followed him. It was quieter, almost deathly quiet. They were surrounded by the dead, who hadn’t been disturbed for many, many years. This tomb smelled dank and of mold and mildew. They followed the short passage, and arrived into a large burial chamber. Most likely, where the other buried people’s patron was buried.

“This is the place,” Davy said. “This is the place I saw in my dream. This is where Billy should be, where Jolly was torturing him…”

Davy walked forward, near the sarcophagus. Past it was the stone wall. There were broken chains hanging from it. The chains that had hung Billy in his vision.

“He should be here,” Davy muttered. Then in anger, he kicked a dented metal helmet on the floor, sending it skittering across the cave. “But where is he?!”

Click click. The group heard the sound of a gun being loaded. They all turned around simultaneously, to the source of the noise. Kate gasped, and the others stood in horror.

Standing just ten meters away from them, armed with a pistol, was Billy Fireskull. Davy’s own brother.

-----

DUN DUN DUN

I honestly can't wait to see your reactions to the ending of that chapter. Please post comments!

next chapter
 

can i be in the next chapter? plz?

Wow. This chapter was amazing Davy! I love the action and the imagery that went with it! Never a dull moment here mate! And yes, that was an incredible cliffhanger. Now, get to writing so I can know more! Hiyah!

:)

@SEAKING. I will put you in when the time comes. Please, if you keep asking, I won't consider it.

@Crestshot. Thank you very much! Aye, I wanted that to be a terrifying cliffhanger. It will only get better.

Can i be in the story?
 

Alright, sorry about that. i will not ask anymore. srry i'm sounding kinda like a jerk. just asking for stuff, and not appertaining how much effort you put into this. this story is just BEAST!

this is such an awesome story

Next Chapter is served!


Chapter 20: The Traitor


Billy sneered. He held his repeater pistol pointed directly between Davy’s eyes. It was a good gun. Three barrels. Probably could fire a long distance and still be extremely accurate. And Davy didn’t doubt his brother’s shooting skills. But there was one thing wrong. Billy shouldn’t be aiming his gun at Davy. Should he? Something was wrong.

“Did you miss me brother?” Billy taunted. His voice was far more confident sounding, and he spoke with a voice of authority. His body was surprisingly in good condition. He had a large scar on his face, like in Davy’s vision. He had several other scars on his arm, but they didn’t show a sign of beating and weakness anymore. They made him look like he was tough, and had won a good deal of fights in his time. He was wearing an orange long vest with a swirl design on it, flowing downward. He had black pants, and black boots. Under his vest was a brown tank. He had no hat, but instead had his long hair tied up in a pony tail which stuck up.

What is going on?! Davy thought frantically. What is going on with Billy?!

Billy smiled evilly, looking at Davy and his friends. “Wondering what happened to me?” he asked.

Davy heard the loading of a gun, and turned to see Will loading his scattergun he carried.

“PUT THAT GUN DOWN WILL! THAT’S AN ORDER!” Davy roared. Even if Billy was going to attempt to kill him, he just couldn’t bear to see a shot fired at him.

He turned back to Billy. “Billy. What happened? And put that gun down for God’s sake! Please! We’re here to help ye!”

Billy laughed. “Davy, you don’t understand what’s happening here. Jolly Roger has the Sword of Darkness now. The sword that was supposed to be locked away on that godforsaken island. You gave it to Jolly, and doomed us all! Or, you anyway. After Jolly captured me during that battle, he took me here, and chained me to that rock.” Billy gestured towards the wall where he had been chained. He rubbed his wrists, as if feeling where the shackles had dug into his skin. Then he continued.

“I was a fool to resist. Why do you even fight? With that sword, he has unlimited power. You already saw how many skeletons ambushed you here. That’s not even a puny fraction of what he can do! Within months, weeks even, Jolly will have a force so strong that he can wipe out every foe that resists him with ease! Resistance is futile! Just look at the logic, he will win in the end!”

“Billy! What’s he done to you?!” Zolina cried out, “You know that he is only trying to manipulate you! Please Billy! There is always hope! And Jolly Roger is evil! If he takes over, nobody will survive! Perhaps he will keep you for a while, but once he takes over, he will dispose of you like an old piece of clothing!”

Billy closed his eyes and smiled. “Zolina, you don’t see this do you. Jolly is the winning side. It is clear that he will win. Look at the logic! He has a massive army and armada at his disposal, and with this sword, he is even more powerful! He is unstoppable! He showed me all the possibilities himself! There is no flaw in his logic!”

Davy shook his head. “Billy. What has he done to you?”

“He has only told me the truth. It is inevitable that he will win out in the end. And, he promised me that he could bring back our parents…”

This caught Davy’s attention. If Jolly could bring his parents back from the dead, that could change Davy’s life. His parents, who he had lost at such a young age. His parents, who had always been there…

Then Davy snapped out of it.

Its not natural, Davy thought. Bringing people back from the dead. Even if it’s my parents. Knowing Jolly, he probably is just manipulating me through Billy. As much as I want to…

“Billy, please. Don’t. It isn’t natural!” Davy said. “Billy. Please come back with us. You don’t have to do this!”

Billy paused for a moment, then stood firmly. “I’m afraid I must Davy. And unfortunately, if you aren’t with me, then you are against me. Attack them! Now!”

From the ceiling, two or so dozen skeletons dropped. They drew their weapons, and slowly advanced. Billy put his gun away, and drew his long battle dagger that he carried around. He waited behind the skeletons as they advanced, and slowly began advancing behind them.

“Davy…” Sam said.

Davy took a breath. He never thought he would be fighting his own brother. But he couldn’t just let his friends die.

“Destroy the skeletons,” Davy said. “Show no mercy to them. If you have to fight Billy, injure him, but don’t kill.”

“Aye, aye sir…” Kate said.

The skeletons were almost on them now. The Sorcerors drew their blades, and charged. Their anger and rage fueled their strength, and they cut through the skeletons like straw dummies. More skeletons arrived. It seemed like for every skeleton defeated, another took its place.

“Mates! We have to move towards the exit! Go!” Luckie cried out.

The group slowly fought their way to the exit of the cavern. They finally arrived, many skeletons later, and slowly began filing out. Davy was last. He was about to go, when he heard a gunshot, and a bullet ricochet off the cave wall, not six inches from his head. He turned to see Billy holding a smoking pistol. With more skeletons building up behind him.

“Get them,” Billy said simply.

“Go!” Davy cried out.

The group didn’t need any further prompting. They dashed out. They ran into the continuation of the tunnel that had taken them there; the end that hadn’t caved in. They kept running, and rounded a corner. In front of them, stood Billy, with over fifty skeletons behind him.

“You can’t escape death,” Billy said. “Surrender, and perhaps Jolly Roger will make your deaths less painful.”

“Go! The other tunnel!” Zolina yelled.

The group ran into another side tunnel, leaving the enemy behind them. For safe measures, Kate and Luckie collapsed the entrance to the tunnel, so they couldn’t be pursued. They kept running, rounding corners, constantly in fear of being pursued. Davy couldn’t believe what was happening. His own brother was trying to kill him. Sam was no better. Having lived with Billy for just as long as Davy had, he was as good as Billy’s brother as well. It was heartbreaking.

The tunnel rounded another corner, and the group came into a gigantic cavern. It was massive, consisting of a cliff, which the Sorcerors stood on, that dropped off into a deep, dark abyss, of which there was no visible bottom. Off to the other side, there was a slightly higher cliff, with a strange green fire burning on it.

“Lets get out of here,” Zolina said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

The group started running across the Cliffside, when all of the sudden, they heard a loud bang, and the sound of something flying through the air. What they heard next, was a cry of pain from Sam, and his cutlass dropping to the stone floor.

Kate gasped in horror, and covered her mouth.

“My Lord God. What happened?” Will said shakily.

Davy stood in horror, as he saw Sam fallen on the floor, blood pouring from a bullet wound in his side. He was sweating feverishly, and was grunting softly. Davy looked up, and saw Billy armed with a musket, reloading it on the opposite cliff. Billy had shot Sam.

“Mates, we can’t linger! Will, can you hoist Sam onto your shoulders? We have to get out of here!” Davy said hurriedly. “Billy will shoot again!”

Will nodded, and gently picked Sam’s quivering body up. They ran back to the side of the cliff they came from, and back into the tunnels. Unfortunately, the worst happened. Billy and another group of skeletons stood in front of them, blocking the way to the rest of the tunnel.

“Billy! How could you?!” Davy screamed in rage. “You yellow-bellied swine! I’ll kill you!!!”

For a moment, Billy stood in shock, then he realized that Davy was pulling out his staff. “Get them!” Billy said.

The skeletons advanced once more, but they didn’t get far. Davy raised his staff, muttered an incantation, and let the spell loose. With a loud bang, a gigantic dust storm surrounded the Sorcerors, and vaporized the skeletons outside. While it was going on, the cave began to rumble, and rocks started to fall all around them. The last thing Davy saw before he blacked out was Billy turning around, and walking away.

Ahh!!! That was intense mate! Good god, that was brilliant! I absolutely loved it, but you left us with another cliffhanger, aye? :) I'll be waiting anxiously on the edge of my seat till the next one mate.

Thank you mates. Appreciate the support. Makes me want to keep writing :)

For some reason, I instinctively use a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter. Its like I don't need to try. xD

Wow, 2 great cliffhanger chapters! I loved it Davy, you are a great writer, can't wait for the next chapter! I'm on the edge of my seat!

Geez, I sat at my computer for two straight hours reading your entire story! Brilliant! Just brilliant! You are a very talented person Davy, don't let anyone tell you other wise ;)

sweet davy nice job 6 chapters (i dont have time to read) but u put a lot of work into that and i think u deserve an applause -claps hard-

Excelent Story, Davy. or may I call you Davy Fs??? Anyways its getting creepier by the chapter.....
BTW what happened to William???? What Island Are you On bc I though it was RC but the forest befuddled me.

~~Davy_~~

EDIT: Sorry I only read the 1stPage When I POsted

Lol, lots of questions eh?

Yes, you can call me Davy Fs.

William? You mean Will Seaeagle? What happened to him again? Didn't he just get a sword slash across his arm? If you mean Sam, he was shot. You will have to wait and see what happens to him. ;)

Not Raven's Cove anymore. Hes in the Catacombs of Padres Del Fuego.

Sorrry I was On Page 1 when I commented DavY!!! o_O

I Ment The Isle Where He Go the Darkness Sword.
By William I ment Billy But now I know. Sorry

~~Davy_~~

The island is just a mystery magic island. :P

Thats What I call Rumrunners!!!!! lol

Chapter 21: The Hidden Jungle

Davy hurt. Everywhere. But it was his head mainly. It ached as if someone had slammed a rum bottle against it. He groaned and sat up. They were still in the Catacombs, the same place where Davy had collapsed the ceiling. It was dimly lit by a fire that someone had started.

“Davy!” Will said. “You alright mate?”

“I’ve been better,” Davy grumbled. “How’s your arm healing up?”

Will chewed his lip. “Its alright. A little sore. I can’t fight with it, but it probably won’t have to be cut off. But its not my arm that you should be worried about.”

He pointed towards a knelt figure. It was Zolina. She was kneeling over the body of Sam. Davy felt wide awake. He had completely forgotten about Sam. He attempted to stand up, but couldn’t. He fell to the floor, and would have hit his head if Will hadn’t caught him.

“Easy there Davy,” Will said. “Your still weak.”

“This is my fault,” Davy muttered. “If I hadn’t been so stupid and used that staff spell, we wouldn’t be here.”

“Aye, but ye saved our lives.”

“Not like we’re gonna be livin’ much longer,” Davy said, gesturing to the sealed walls of their prison.

“There’s always a way out.”

Davy thought about that, then crawled over to where Zolina was, tending to Sam. Beside her was Kate. Luckie was sleeping off to the side. Zolina looked up from Sam and gave a concerned look to Davy. Davy looked back, as if asking how he was.

Zolina shook her head. “The shot was poisoned. I know some healing, but unfortunately, I haven’t seen this venom before. Even if I had, there are no medical ingredients around us, unless we can make medicine out of rocks.”

“Damn it!” Davy cried out. “Why did this have to happen now! We’re trapped in a cave, with no visible way out, and Sam has been shot! He’s dying! Gahh!”

Kate spoke, “Davy. Yelling won’t help. I agree, we need to get out of here. Go get some more sleep. When you wake up, you can go looking around the cave.”

Davy shook his head. “We don’t have long. Even voodoo fire needs something to burn on, and we can’t light a voodoo light. It will use too much of our energy, which we can’t afford to waste. We have to go now, before that fire dies out or we will be stuck in darkness.”

“He’s right,” Will said. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better.

“First, at least eat something from our rations,” Zolina said.

Davy nodded, and pulled out some dried meat from one of their pouches. After he ate, and had some water, he started to look around the cave. Using voodoo, he scanned the walls to see if there was any way that they could blast through it. After countless scanning, Davy couldn’t find anything. They were trapped on all sides.

Wait a minute, Davy said. On all sides. What about…

He looked up, at the roof of the little cave. It was about five feet above his head. He concentrated, and scanned it. Just as Davy had hoped, it was thing. The stone above them was only about three feet thick, and could easily be blasted through.

Davy told his friend about it, and they nodded. He had everyone move to the sides of the cave, and put up a little voodoo shield above them. As soon as Davy felt that he was ready, he took a deep breath, put his hands back, and then thrust them forward. The ceiling shook, and then blasted upward. Rock fell down into the cave as Davy ran for cover. After a minute or so, everything died down. Davy and his friends, with Will carrying the unconscious Sam, made their way under the gaping hole.

“Great, its open,” Luckie muttered. “Now how in the world do we get up?”

“Like this,” Davy picked up several rocks using voodoo, and made a floating staircase out of them. He walked up the little staircase, with the others following him.

“Great,” Will said. “I guess I’m the pack mule here eh?”

He climbed up nevertheless, and soon they were all standing in a new tunnel. This tunnel seemed to go straight forward for a while. It was dimly lit by torches that were hanging from the walls. How they still burned was a mystery. The tunnel looked just like any other tunnel in the Catacombs. Brownish rock all around, with a low and claustrophobic ceiling. However, there was one difference. Far, far down the tunnel, was a grayish light. It was dim, and looked a kilometer or so away, but it was there.

“Praise the Lord!” Kate said. “Finally! I think we are getting out of these accursed caves!”

She began to run forward, but Davy caught her arm.

“Wait, lets go slowly. We are all tired, and Will can’t run with Sam,” Davy said. Kate nodded, and they all walked forward. Finally, they arrived at the exit of the Catacombs. And what they saw made them gasp.

After having been traveling in a cave so long, surrounded by nothing but rock, it was quite shocking to come out, right into a wide, canyon. It was a jungle, with trees everywhere. In the distance, they could hear a waterfall, and probably a creek to refill their water supplies too.

“Whoa,” Zolina said. “This place is…”

“Beautiful,” Luckie said.

Davy nodded. “Lets keep moving mates. I hear a waterfall, and that means water. Our water supplies have been running low, so we need to get some fresh water. And where there is a jungle, there are animals, and where there are animals, there is meat.”

They walked through the jungle. The trees weren’t actually very densely packed. The group didn’t feel crowded at all. The jungle was beautiful. The sounds of birds singing was prominent, and they could hear insects buzzing around them. At one point, Zolina said that she thought she saw a walking tree, but everyone thought she was crazy.

After an hour or so, they came to the base of a small waterfall. It created a small little creek that ran down the width of the canyon, before disappearing under some rock, probably flowing out into the sea. The waterfall was surrounded by black rock. The area around the creek was lush. The grass was a bright green, and there were several shrubs that flourished from the pure water from the creek. Davy spoke.

“Alright. Kate, you find us a nice spot to set up camp. I think we should stay here a day or so. Even with Sam, it won’t do him any good if we collapse of exhaustion while carrying him.”

“What do you mean, ‘we’,” Will grumbled. Nobody heard him.

“Will, set Sam down somewhere and go find us some firewood. Zolina, while Kate sets up, change Sam’s bandages again. And Luckie, you fill up the canteens. I’ll see if I can find us some meat. ”

They nodded and got to work. Davy grabbed Kate’s musket, and walked away from the camp. He followed the creek downstream for a few minutes, and finally saw what he was looking for. Laying on the banks of the creek, was a group of alligators. Each was about six to eight feet in length, more than enough for all of them. Davy quietly loaded his musket, and aimed it at a gator.

He only had one shot to kill it. That one shot would startle the others, and they would swim away. However, if he didn’t kill his target in one shot, it would come and attack him, and maim him before he could reload. He held the musket up to his eye, and aimed at the gator’s head.

If only Billy were here, Davy thought. He’s an amazing shot.

Davy fired. Lucky for him, the bullet passed straight through the alligator’s skull, killing it instantly. As he predicted, the others ran into the water and swam away. Davy strapped the musket to his back, and walked over to the carcass. He slowly dragged it back to the campsite, on the banks of the river.

They cleaned the carcass out, and cut it into pieces. Then, they roasted each individual piece over the fire for a few minutes, and then began eating. They were ravenous, and the fresh meat almost tasted better than rum. Almost. Davy asked Zolina about Sam.

“He hasn’t gotten better,” She said. “But I don’t think he has gotten worse. When we get back to the ship, we should let Meg Mcbones tend to him. She used to be a healer back in Iceland.”

Davy nodded. After they ate, they all went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~


The next morning, they ate a quick breakfast of leftover gator meat, and then headed off quickly. They walked for several hours, passing through another creek, and then through more jungle.

After a little longer, the end of the canyon came into view. Straight in front of them was a little opening in the rock, which likely lead outside the canyon, hopefully, back onto the main part of the island. Beyond the canyon, they could see the volcano of Padres Del Fuego, which meant they were getting back to the main part of the island for sure. Lave flowed down its sides, give it a menacing look. It was ironic, how such a beautiful and lush jungle could be tucked away in such a fiery, molten wasteland.

The group made their way over to the little tunnel leading out of the jungle. They headed through the tunnel, not looking back.

WOOT! EPICTACULARNESS!! (yea i got skillz at making up words :P) Dude I don't EVER want this story to end man! Suspense. dun dun dun :O :O lol keep writing man! I'm hungry for some awesomeness :P

SUPEREPICMEGAAWESOMEBEASTLYBEAST!!!!!!!!!!! yea, my skills are better

That was awesome Davy, loved Zolina seeing the walking tree.lol Can't wait for the next chapter as always. :)

Chapter 22: The Hidden Village

The Sorcerors passed through the short tunnel in less than five minutes. In no time, they were on the outside of the canyon housing the hidden jungle. Davy had a strange feeling that he may go back there eventually, but he hoped he was wrong. He never wanted to go back into those places again. Especially those horrible, horrible Catacombs. The memories of those past few days were painful and frightening. More than several times he had come less than an inch from death, and the worst part was that it was at his own brother’s hands. Only then did Davy realize how long they had been gone from the ship.

“Good grief!” Davy exclaimed as they exited the tunnel. “Its got to have been at least three days since we landed on this island! The crew will be wondering where we are! We have to get back soon, or they may just decide to leave. After all, Matt won’t be able to keep them happy for too long.”

Zolina nodded. “Not to mention that Sam here is on death’s doorstep. If he isn’t back onto the ship in safe hands soon… well, lets not think of that.”

The group walked several meters more. In front of them was a small group of charred trees, and just a meter or so past them was a huge pool of lava, and on the other side of that was a steep wall of black rock that rose and joined into the volcano. A large flow of lava trickled into the molten lake at a steady pace. It was extremely warm, almost hot. Small mounds rose from the ground, and smoke shot out of them every once in a while.

As they continued walking on, the path took a bend, about at the charred trees. As they followed the path, they arrived in what looked like it was a group of shops. The little shacks were poorly built; some slanted to an angle, and others were completely burned down. However, it was clear that these buildings had been recently visited. When the Sorcerors examined the area more closely, they noticed that there were little footprints in the sand next to the shops and houses.

“This place is givin’ me the creeps,” Luckie said. “Can we please move on?”

“Aye,” Davy said. “Lets go.”

They turned around, and took a step back. Facing them was an old woman. They hadn’t heard her coming. It was as if she had appeared from thin air. She had white hair, and an aged face. Her grey eyes seemed ancient and all knowing. She wore a long black dress. Her skin was pale and thin looking, but that was not the strangest feature of her. Right below her collar, was an X shaped scar, colored a dull red. The woman watched the Sorcerors, showing no sign of emotion.

“We mean you no harm,” Davy said, holding up his arms.

“I did not assume that you did David Fireskull,” the woman said emotionlessly. “The people of this village call me Heartless Rosaline. I am the town’s gypsy, and I deal with anyone that comes to this village.”

“We just came through The Catacombs and the jungle on the other side of this cliff,” Kate said. “Please, we just need to get through.”

“I know where you came from,” Rosaline said. “However, I cannot let you leave.”

“But…” Davy stuttered.

“We live in secret. Anyone who leaves this place can ruin this secrecy for us.”

Zolina stepped forward, “Please madam, our friend is dying, and we cannot let him just die. Please, we swear on our graves that we will not say anything about this place.”

Rosaline looked at Sam, who was slumped over Will’s back. For a moment, her eyes seemed sad and depressed rather than cold. Then they snapped back. She simply stood and stared at the group for several moments. Then, she spoke.

“It is against my ways to let a man die,” the old woman said. “And unfortunately, the only way I can allow him to live in peace is to allow him to go with you away from here; however, I cannot let you leave just yet. I will make you a deal pirates.”

“Anything,” Davy pleaded.

A cruel smile appeared on her lips. “I had hoped you would say that. The quest I have for you is simple. Somewhere in our village, there is a large band of skeletons. Perhaps several dozen. They should not be a problem for you if you were able to come out of the Catacombs and El Sudoron, that jungle you just came out of, with only minor injuries. They have a leader too. He is a voodoo gypsy… an old friend of mine in fact, from many years ago. His name is Timothy Dartan. He is a powerful gypsy, don’t underestimate him.”

Davy looked at his friends. They all looked at him, giving him the same look. Lets do this, it said. Davy turned back to Heartless Rosaline.

“We’ll do it… but what about our dying friend?”

“I will take care of him while you are gone,” Rosaline said. “I will keep his state from deteriorating; however, I shall not cure him. That is for you to do.”

Davy and his friends nodded. Will set Sam down to where Rosaline had gestured to.

“Do you have any leads on where these boneheads may be?” Will asked.

Rosaline nodded, “They are probably camping out in our central plaza. From what our scouts have told me, they are all there, right next to our blacksmith and gunsmith. Just head deeper into our village and you can’t miss it.”

The group left quickly. The village was fairly small, and they moved through it efficiently. Occasionally, they would see a face peek out through an ajar door, or a cracked window. Other than that, though, the place was lifeless and desolate. The ground was a fine gravel, made of ash. It looked like it had once been a prosperous village, until something happened. Davy decided he would ask Rosaline about it when they were done taking down Dartan and his boneheads.

After a few more minutes of walking, they heard chattering. The chattering of skeletal mouths. A wooden fence with a large opening in the center opened up to a small little town square, and in it, was at least three dozen skeletons. Off to the side, was a much larger, more authoritative looking skeleton. He held no weapon, but he fingered with a strange, evil looking doll.

A voodoo doll. A deadly weapon when used correctly.

“What’s the plan?” Luckie whispered.

“Well, if I may state my opinion,” Will said. “I would say that it would be best to take down Timmy first. He’s probably the biggest threat. Unfortunately, getting to him will not be easy. He’s farthest from us, and he is facing us, so he will see us first. So, I guess that the best thing to do would be to do what we did to skellies in the Catacombs.”

“I would love to do that,” Davy said. “But sadly for us, we don’t have a roof to cave in on them.”

“I got it!” Zolina exclaimed.

“Spill it Zo!” Kate said, chuckling.

“Well, if one of us makes a little distraction, like throwing a rock onto something, that could get their attention, while we all cast some spells with our staffs. While they are distracted, we hit ‘em, and then we go in with our swords for the final kill.”

“I like it,” Will said. “Short, simple, easy to remember.”

“Sounds like a plan…” Davy muttered, picking up a rock. He glanced at his friends to get ready to cast a voodoo spell, and he climbed to the top of the fence. He barely stuck his head above it, so he wasn’t easily visible. He carefully aimed his rock at Timothy Dartan’s large skull. Then, he threw the rock. It soared through the air, but just before it hit, it stopped. Dartan looked directly at Davy, filling his body with fear, and then Dartan grinned.

“Go!!!” Davy yelled.

The group launched a blast of voodoo spells, but Timothy Dartan was able to block almost half of them using his own voodoo powers. The plan was failing, and it had barely started. Davy pulled out his sword, and sprinted towards the nearest skeleton. He cut through it before it knew what was going on. After a few seconds, the other skeletons got their act together, and were able to fight back.

Then, Davy did something very bold. He openly charged Timothy Dartan, an undead voodoo gypsy. Dartan, startled by the open attack, was completely open to attack. Davy was able to slash one of his legs and his chest each once, before Dartan attuned his voodoo doll to Davy. He thrust the doll forward, and Davy was sent hurtling backward. He rolled on the ground, and then got back up, dazed. Timmy pulled out a needle, and before Davy could do anything about it, he poked the doll. Davy cried out in excruciating pain. It wasn’t as bad as a sword stab, but it still felt agonizing nonetheless. Davy ran towards Dartan, but he cast him aside again. Davy slammed into the wall of a shack, and slumped to the floor. Dartan was too strong.

The undead gypsy grinned. Davy wondered if this was the end. But then, he got up. He was through with this.

“I’m not going to let some damn bag of bones kill me! Not yet!” Davy cried out at Timothy. “My friend is dying, and I will not let him down!!!”

With that, Davy ran at Timothy Dartan. The skeleton tried to use voodoo spells to attack him again, but to no avail. Right now, Davy was too powerful. He resisted every voodoo attack he sent at him. Davy was closing in on him. Once he was just a little over a meter away, he jumped up, sword raised above his head. In one last attempt to save his life, Dartan held his doll into the air, suspending Davy just out of reach of his head.

Davy struggled, but Dartan was strong. Davy then changed his tactic, and repulsed everything around him. Dartan stumbled back a step, and dropped Davy. Davy continued his decent downward, and brought down his sword on Timothy Dartan’s head. Dartan never got the chance to look up.

When Davy turned around, he saw the last of the skeletons being finished off by his friends. Davy picked up Dartan’s doll. It seemed to glow with an evil life. Davy shuddered. He decided to keep it. As frightening as it was, it could be handy. It was bluish in color, with a purple fuzz on its head, like hair.

Banshee Doll, something whispered in Davy’s head. He put the doll away, and walked to his friends.

“Come on mates, lets go,” he said. “I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

There was no arguing, and they walked back through the village back to where Heartless Rosaline waited with Sam. The whole quest was fairly short, far shorter than Rosaline had expected.

“Are they destroyed?” Rosaline asked emotionlessly.

“Aye, they are.” Davy said.

“Then I will let you leave in peace with your friend. But on your word, you must swear that you will never speak of this place. To anyone!”

“Very well,” Davy said nodding. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened here…?”

Heartless Rosaline was silent, but spoke anyway, “Over a year ago, Jolly Roger’s forces from the Catacombs escaped. A large group of them, a hundred at least, came out of the caves into El Sudoron. From there, they arrived into our village here. We used to be a prosperous little village. The main part of Padres would trade us goods, and we would give them ours. We made a living, and were proud of ourselves.

“However, when Jolly’s forces arrived, that all ended. As soon as Jolly realized his minions were free, he came to them, by that strange way of teleportation he does. He threatened us, telling us to join him and let this be one of his strongholds, or he would destroy us all. I, being the elected leader of our little village, declined him, and so he did the worst. He led his skeletons through our village, burning everything. He killed anyone in his path: men, women, even children. He was heartless and merciless. His raid only took a day or so. In the end he piled up all the bodies and burned them in our public square.

“He ruthlessly slaughtered dozens of innocent people, people who didn’t mean him any harm. Lucky for us, a few of us escaped the village while the massacre was going on. Just two or two and a half dozen of us survived. After several days of hiding, we came back, to find our village in ruins. There were several skeletons staying here, patrolling. We managed to sneak past them. No matter the danger, we will stay here, and continue to live in our homes. This is where we live, and always shall be.

“Because of the choice I made that doomed us all, I symbolically carved this gash on my chest, and became known as Heartless Rosaline to myself. The villagers say that it wasn’t my fault, but I blame myself for the dozens dead. And why we cannot be known to the world? If we are known, word will get out to Jolly that there are survivors, and he will come back with more forces, and kill any survivors. That is the story of the Hidden Village.”

The Sorcerors took that in. Davy, realizing that there was nothing more to be said, looked up.

“Thank you, Rosaline. Thank you for everything. I’m sorry for your losses. And madam, what you did for us, letting us through even though you didn’t want to, that was very kind. Perhaps you aren’t so heartless at all.”

A ghost of a smile twitched on the old woman’s lips. Davy blinked once, and when his eyes opened, she was gone.

“Am I the only one who saw that she just…” Luckie said.

“No, your not,” Will said. “Come on, lets go! I want to get Sam back to the ship quickly!”

The group walked down a different path, this one leading through another small canyon. It was a narrow path, but it soon opened up onto a large beach. The beach was covered with small crabs, and on the sand, near the water, was a dingy, just big enough to fit the six Sorcerors. And about a mile from shore was a large, black ship. The Shadow King.

Davy breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at his ship. Finally, he was done. Then he realized how wrong he was. He had just started. He had a long way to go before his ordeals were actually done.

“You comin’ Captain Fireskull?” Kate teased.

Davy smiled, and hopped into the dingy. “Lets get on board that ship mates!”

Another great chaper Davy! Well done! :)

Dude... Epicness....

( tho you could have added darkheart )

This chapter is a bit shorter, but here you go anyway

Chapter 23: To Save A Man

The group was greeted by Matt and a few other Sorcerors upon arrival.

“About time Davy!” Matt said. “Runnin’ a ship ain’t an easy task! Got to give you some credit there, your doing a mighty fine job. When your present that is.”

“Good to see you too Matt,” Davy said, clapping him on the back. “Matt, I need you to get Meg Mcbones, our lookout. I believe that she used to be a healer. Her skills are needed here.”

“You, go fetch Meg,” Matt said to one of his men around him. “What happened? Was someone hurt? And where’s Billy? Is he okay?”

“Sam,” Will said, with Sam still slung over his shoulder. “He was shot with a poisoned bullet somewhere in his side about two or so days ago when we were in the Catacombs.”

“Captain! I’m here!” said Meg, hurrying towards them. “Oh dear, Sam looks bad… Captain Fireskull, can we take him into your quarters? There’s open space there, and privacy.”

Davy nodded, and they hurried in. Meg laid Sam down on a spare bed, pulled off his shirt, and examined his wound.

“Gæfa mín, how is he still alive?” She muttered to herself. “Shot with a poisoned bullet in a spot like that? Two days ago you say? You’re lucky he’s still breathing! Most grown men would have died after the first few hours! Did you do anything to treat him?”

Zolina nodded, “A little. We cleaned the wound as best we could, and changed the bandages often. Made sure he was still drinking, and we kept him warm.”

“Can he be saved?” Davy asked hopefully.

“I think so…” Meg said slowly. “First I need you to tell me what his state was like after he was shot, so I can find out what poison it was. Depending on the poison, I will or will not be able to help him…”

“Well, he was out cold for the first two or so hours,” Luckie said. “After that, he started sweating madly, and made some grunting noises. The wound stopped bleeding, but it swelled badly and looked infected. After that incident, he slept more or less peacefully for a day or so. More recently, his breathing has become shallower and sounds like its taken more effort. He looks mighty pale as well.”

Meg examined the rest of his body, and then spoke. “A very deadly poison was used on this bullet… it’s a snake venom from a serpent in South America. Very deadly, very effective. Here is where the bad news comes in. There is a way that I can heal him, and perhaps prolong his life a little, but there is no known cure. None that I know of at least. I’m sorry.”

The group stood there, looking at Sam. His breaths were short and seemed to require effort. A bead of sweat trickled down his face. He was dying, and the Sorcerors knew that. They thought that he could be saved, but now they knew that he was done for. Unless…

“Wait a minute… Meg, you said there is no known cure correct?” Davy asked.

“Yes sir,” Meg said, raising an eyebrow.

“However, your healing is limited to herbal healings, if I am not mistaken?”

“No sir, you are correct. I am a master at herbal healings.”

“What about voodoo? I am not saying that we could heal him, I doubt that, but maybe there is someone who could. Someone who is a master at the voodoo arts, someone who can use it to heal?”

Will Seaeagle’s eye’s widened. “Oh no, you don’t mean her. Please don’t tell me we are going to visit her.”

“What?” Zolina said. “Who is this lady?”

“Tia Dalma,” Davy stated. “Voodoo master. If anyone can save Sam, she can.”

“Ah glory…” Will muttered.

“Davy! That’s genius!” Meg said. “But there is one problem… Tia lives in the Pantano River on Cuba. We are currently at Padres Del Fuego. It’s a long sail Davy, Sam may not make it. Even if I do some of my healing on him, he probably won’t make it.”

“That’s sailing normally!” Davy said. “Are we a normal ship? No! We are a ship of voodoo users! Now, with full colors, we could probably get to Cuba in just over a week. Now, if we use full colors and we use voodoo to accelerate our ship faster, we can probably reach Cuba in five days. Can we keep him alive for that long?”

Meg thought for a few moments, then she said, “If we get some good winds on our backs, a little bit of luck, and Sam holds out strong, then probably yes.”

“Then it’s a plan,” Davy announced. “Will, go outside and order full colors, and sail us in the direction of Cuba. I think that I should get to explaining what happened on Padres to Matt while Meg starts treating Sam.

“Yes Captain!” Will said before hurrying out.

After he left, Meg rushed off to her hammock in the crew’s quarters to get some supplies for Sam. The rest of the group left Davy’s cabin, leaving Davy, Matt, and the unconscious Sam Bladebeard. They sat in silence for a while, and after a few minutes, Meg came back. She began mixing together herbs and liquids, applying them to Sam one at a time while Davy told them what occurred during the past few days. All the while, Davy stared at Sam’s face, desperately watching him for any sort of sign that he would wake up.



Please comment after the beep...

BEEEEEEEP

the tale of davy
 

awesome story! why do you plunder when you could make just as much money making stories???

Well, think of this, not many people are into pairates just you, me us them.its the wwpwefsgfkchr fisbdkiahdmnvudfngjshdkfsdj....
Worl wide pirate web execpt for suan geoff oh forget it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cuba eh, hmm Why Not Tp To Cuba being the voodooo user u r??? U tp then u tp sam???? in the game is so EZ to tp to cuba.

Uhh, Davy_, can you please try to make less typos? Its hard to read your posts... and if I could just teleport, there would be no story would there?

And SEAKING, thanks for the words there... :D

the tale of davy
 

your welcome mate. cant wait to see what happens. hope my guild doesn't think your a navy, seeing as your in a ship of the line... lol XD.

Great chapter Davy! Hoping Tia can save Sam.

How can you possibly make another pirate teleport somewhere? :piratear:

Well, since I will be off for a few days, I decided I might as well pull out another chapter of Shadows Rising here... so viola!


Chapter 24: The Voodoo Witch

The next day, Davy woke up, had a quick breakfast, and went straight to where Sam lay in Davy’s cabin. Davy spent most of his time at Sam’s bed side that day. Occasionally, Meg came in to check up on him. His condition got a little bit better, but nothing significant. His skin got some color back, and he wasn’t sweating as bad, but his breathing was still requiring effort. Davy sat there for hours without moving. Sometime just past noon, Zolina came in and sat with Davy. When she came in, he glanced up at her, gave her a small smile, and then went back to looking at Sam. The two said nothing, but just sat together. After half an hour or so, Zolina left. An hour or so later, Matt came in with some lunch for Davy. He placed in on a desk next to him and left the room.

Davy moved over to it and picked at the food. He was hungry, but he was too worried to eat much. He ate about half of what was on his plate, and then crawled back to where Sam lay. He waited another half hour, and then, Sam stirred. Davy was half asleep at the time, but his little movement woke him up. His head tossed a bit, and he mumbled. Davy bit his lip in anticipation, so hard that it began to bleed, the red blood staining the light blue color of his vest that he had put on. Then, Sam’s eye’s slowly opened.

“Sam…” Davy gasped. “You’re… you’re…”

Sam groaned. “Davy…? What… happened? Where am I? I remember… the Catacombs, with Billy. He, he shot me and I went down… I remember… through the caves and some jungle… all if it is so dim… I wasn’t even half conscious… what happened?”

“Sam, we’re on The Shadow King,” Davy said, a tear sliding down his cheek. “You were shot with a poisoned bullet. You’ve been out cold for the last few days. The venom is deadly. Meg Mcbones gave you some medicine, but it won’t cure it. We’re headin’ to Cuba, to see if we can get help from Tia Dalma, the voodoo lady.”

“Davy…” Sam muttered. “Billy… he’s not… evil… he’s just young and —Sam had a short coughing fit, and then continued— confused… we can help him… I know we can…”

“Sam, I will do the right thing in the end,” Davy said. “Whichever choice that may end up to be. Sam, we’re going to save you. You’ll be fine.”

The truth was that Davy was not sure what would happen to Sam. The fact that he had woken up now, even though it is for just a short time, was an improvement. But would it stay? Meg had said that she couldn’t cure the poison, so this couldn’t be permanent.

No, Davy thought. If I think like this, Sam will never live. He’ll be fine… I know it…

“I know you will Davy… I trust you with my life…” Then with a small smile, Sam said. “Exactly why you’re the one saving it…”

Sam slipped off into sleep again. Davy began to weep. It just wasn’t fair. Sam had done nothing to deserve this fate. Even though Billy was his own brother, Davy was now feeling a rage towards him. The fact that he would do this to Sam, to his friend, made Davy enraged. Billy was confused, as Sam said, but Davy couldn’t just let him get away with something like this.

He sighed, and stood up. It was mid afternoon now. He decided that he had spent enough time in his cabin, so he opened the door and walked outside. As he walked out, he saw Smelly curled up in a corner. Davy had forgotten about the poor dog. When Davy came near him, he looked up with sad, sad eyes. He whimpered a bit, and then put his head next to Davy's hand. Davy scratched his head and said some quiet words to him. The dog was heartbroken. His master had left him, the master that he had known all his life. Davy gave one last sad look to Smelly, and then walked off. He walked up near the wheel of the ship, and looked out at the sea. He took a breath of the cool, fresh, sea air, and felt rejuvenated. Will walked by and stood next to him, looking at his captain.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Will said softly. “We are making good time. There is a good wind at our backs, and we have full colors. We took your advice on using voodoo. We have a couple pirates generating a little extra wind for the sails to catch, and some others that are bending the shape of the water to our will, so we move faster. At this rate, Cuba should be in sight within four or five days.”

“Thank you Will. For everything,” Davy said, and then with a smile, he added. “You were a good pack mule back on Padres, carrying Sam.”

Will chuckled. “And how is the lad doing?”

“Better,” Davy said. “But still very weak. Still… dying. He woke up for a moment when I was in there. He spoke a bit, but he was weak. Lets just hope he can hold off a few more days.”

Will nodded. “These will be a long few days indeed…”

~~~~~~~~~~


For the rest of those four days, Davy spent his early morning with Sam, left the cabin right before noon, and then reentered towards evening. Even though Davy cared about him, he couldn’t spend all his time at his bedside. He had duties. The four days were quite uneventful. Sam woke up two days after he had woken for the first time. He spoke. He asked how the ship was, and Davy replied. He told Sam they were almost at Cuba. Sam thanked Davy, and then he went off to sleep once more. However, on the fourth day, Sam’s condition deteriorated. No matter how much medicine Meg gave him, it didn’t improve Sam much. His breathing worsened slightly, and he was drenched in a cold sweat. His skin paled, and he tossed and turned and mumbled in his sleep. Davy clung to his bedside for that entire day. His condition only worsened.

Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, they came upon Cuba. Davy was relieved. He left Sam with Meg to go look at the island. It was a lush island of swamp and marsh. The Pantano river flowed out into the sea from an area inside of the island. That was where Tia Dalma was. The one person who may be able to save Sam. Once they came close, Davy ordered two boats to be prepared for them. Matt was to be in charge of the ship while they were gone again. Davy left with the group he had gone to Padres with: Luckie, Kate, Will, Zolina, the unconscious Sam, and they decided to bring Meg as well.

The two boats were boarded. In Davy’s boat was him, Sam, Meg, and Zolina. Him and Zolina paddled the boat into the mouth of the river. The current wasn’t strong, and was easy to row against with the strong muscles of pirates. The two boats paddled side by side into the dark river. Even though it was sunny out, as soon as they entered the river it got dark. The trees formed a roof above them, and strange birds and insects made their chirpings and buzzing. The hairs on Davy’s neck stood up, but he ignored it. He didn’t expect anything different from the realm of Tia Dalma.

After an hour or so of paddling upstream, they rounded a bend in the river, and up ahead a house was visible. It was small, and built on stilts to avoid rising tides. There were several lights on inside of it. Strange objects dangled from the roof. When they got closer, the Sorcerors realized that they were shrunken heads. Several times, a member of the group would spot natives peering at them through the brush. They ignored the tribal people, and kept going. Within minutes after spotting the house, they were standing on its doorstep.

Davy looked at his friends, and they beckoned for him to knock. They had all changed clothes into something more appropriate for a swamp. Zolina wore a beige long sleeved shirt with brown pants and tall, brown boots. Will was in a green sack vest with a pair of brown pants, and simple boots. Kate, Luckie, and Meg wore similar clothes to Zolina. Davy himself was wearing a green vest with a brown shirt underneath. He had a green bandanna tied around his head, and a pair of pants that were green and brown. Slowly, Davy raised his hand to knock.

Before he could even touch the door, it opened, revealing a strange looking woman.

She had dark skin, and reddish eyes. Her hair was brown, and tied into long locks. She wore a long, brown dress. She was studded with jewelry. Tia Dalma. The Voodoo Witch of Cuba. She raised an eyebrow at the strangers.

“Hmm… I do not normally get strangers in my river,” she said in a strange accent that Davy couldn’t recognize. “What brings you here?”

“Tia Dalma, my name is Davy Fireskull. I am a weak voodoo user. I beg your help,” Davy said, then beckoned to Sam. “My friend, Sam Bladebeard, has been injured with a poisoned bullet. We tried to help him as best we could, but it was to no avail. He grows weaker by the day. We have come to ask for your help. You’re a powerful voodoo user after all. Can you help him?”

Tia looked at Davy. Right in his eyes. They bore into him, driving deep into his mind. Davy felt something unearthly about her, but he didn’t do anything.

“You,” Tia said to Davy. “There is a touch of destiny in you… You are destined to be something great Davy Fireskull. I feel it… come inside. I will take a look at your friend.”

Davy was puzzled at first, but decided it was best to just go with it. He followed the Witch inside, and laid Sam onto a bed that Tia had set ready for him. She took a look at the wound. She examined it for a few moments, then looked up.

“Leave the room,” she said. “I call you to come back in a few minutes. Give me time to work on ‘im…”

Davy nodded, and his friends followed him outside. They sat on the porch for what seemed like hours, even though it was only fifteen or so minutes. The water below them was dark, and fog hovered right above it. Birds chirped eerie melodies, and insects buzzed about them. This place was not natural. Just as Davy was about to point something out, Tia called them back inside.

“Well?” Davy said.

“T’was not easy my friends… but it worked,” Tia Dalma said. The poison is gone. It took a lot of effort. It is a potent venom. It requires the best voodoo skills, as well as some very, very rare potions. He will likely be asleep for another day or so. When he wakes up, he will be tired and weak, but fear not about him dying. And he cannot stress that area of his body. The bullet still has damage done there.”

“Thank you Tia Dalma,” Kate said.

“Indeed. Thank you,” Davy said.

“Now about my payment,” Tia said.

“Payment?” Davy said surprised. “Arg, alright, how much gold?”

“I do not want gold,” the Witch said. “It is of no use to me. I need something valuable. Something that is usable for me.”

“We have nothing though!” Luckie said. “Just the clothes on our backs! And we surely are not giving those up.”

“Silly girl,” Tia Dalma said. “Everything has something of value… some’s are more valuable than most…”

Davy’s eyes widened. He understood now. Tia wanted a soul. But he couldn’t do that. There had to be a way around it… Then, Davy figured it out.

“Tia Dalma, I’ll make you a deal,” Davy said.

“Speak,” she stated plainly.

“In return for you saving Sam, I will defeat Jolly Roger,” Davy said boldly.

Tia smiled. “And if you fail, and he defeats you?”

Davy gulped. “Then my soul is yours.”

“Davy!” Will yelled.

“Don’t do something like that!” Kate cried out.

Davy ignored them. “Is it a deal?”

“Yes Davy Fireskull, it is. If you defeat Jolly Roger, then consider the payment made. Return to me if you finish. If I do not see you back here in six months, then your soul is mine. That gives you more than enough time.”

“Agreed.”

“Now take your friend,” Tia said, beckoning to Sam.

“Davy, you can’t do this…” Will said.

“Will, I know what I’m doing,” Davy said. “Now please, get Sam.”

Will obeyed. Within minutes, the group was rowing down the river, back to the sea.


__________________________________________________ _____________


What do you think? Comments sil vous plait.

i smell an epic battle coming. :piratetongueor4:

Little spoiler SEAKING, You sense correctly

remember Jolly's weak spot

his loopy circle thing on his forhead

By the way guys, I just edited the second paragraph of that last chapter. I forgot about Smelly the dog! So I threw in a few sentences about him. I will hopefully add another chapter today.

lol. :dancetl6:

Here we are mates, a fresh chapter, right out of the oven! This one is pretty action packed and dramatic, so prepare yourselves for it! Please note, if you do not like reading epic action scenes with mild blood, then you may not want to read this.

Chapter 25: Battle In The Swamp

By now, it was getting close to evening. The tide in the river had risen greatly, so the Sorcerors had no fear of running aground. The river was the same as before. The sun’s different angle changed the shadows of the trees, making them look even more menacing than before. Even though the group didn’t fear running aground, they still had a feeling of dread, caused by some unknown presence in the swamp. After rowing some more, they arrived at a fork in the river.

“That’s strange…” Zolina said. “I could have sworn that there was no fork in this river. Something isn’t right.”

“This is a bewitched swamp,” Kate called from the other boat. “I wouldn’t expect any less from it to play with our minds.”

“So which way do we go?” Will asked.

“I say we flip a coin,” Davy decided, pulling out a gold coin. “Heads is right, tails is left.”

He flipped the coin, and it landed heads.

“Right it is,” Davy muttered, and then he and Zolina started rowing towards the right waterway. Kate and Will followed in the other boat.

“I hope this is the right decision…” Kate muttered, laughing at her own joke. Luckie glared at her, but they kept paddling. They followed this river downstream for about fifteen minutes, before it opened up into a large, open area. The area was circular, about the size of the main deck of the Shadow King, perhaps a bit larger. The area as the Sorcerors soon found out, the area had very shallow water, and their boats soon ran aground onto soft, wet sand. In the center of the area was a raised area of drier sand. This area took up a good portion of the little part of the swamp. It reminded Davy of that little side area of the Tortuga Swamp, with the abandoned shack and some alligators.

The group got out of their boats, leaving them on the bank of the elevated sand. Sam was left in his boat, sleeping peacefully. Around the edges of the swamp were dirt cliffs several meters high, too high to climb. There was a layer of mist clinging to the ground, and the calls of strange birds could be heard in the trees around them. Then, they heard a splash.

The group whirled around, and Davy gasped. Standing before him, was Billy Fireskull, his brother. He stared plainly at the group. In his belt, he had a pair of sheathed sabers, and a strange looking pistol. Billy sneered.

“Hello Davy,” he said with a smile that was anything but friendly. “I see that you made it out of the Catacombs alive. Jolly was very upset about that.”

“Billy! You scum!” Davy roared. He was about to charge him, but Zolina stopped him.

“Billy, this is your last chance,” she said. “If you don’t decide to come back to us, we will have to kill you.”

When Zolina said the word kill, Davy thought about what he was doing. Would he really be able to kill his own brother? The brother that he had loved so much?

Billy laughed. “I’m sorry my friends, but I do not have time for this. Jolly wants you all dead. He doesn’t have time to deal with you all personally. He is using that nice Sword of Darkness that you got him to raise more dead than before. In fact, very soon he should be resuming his invasions of the islands! And he will win this time. Any who, I have other affairs to attend to, so lets make this fast, savvy?”

Billy drew his two sabers. They each had a black guard on them, with a black hilt and black blade. Just the look of them sent a chill down Davy’s spine.

“How do you like my blades?” Billy taunted. “Jolly Roger gave them to me. They’re called Grave Reapers. They’re the only blades that can do this.”

Billy slashed the blades through the swamp water, cutting the ground beneath them. The water rippled and glowed green. Then, hands came up from the water, and over a dozen skeletons pulled themselves out of the murky swamp. They grinned and then drew their own swords.

“Tear them to pieces!” Billy ordered.

The Sorcerors barely had time to draw their weapons before the skeletons were upon them. These ones must have been specialized for killing. Their swords moved so fast that one barely had time to block it before the next blow came. Unfortunately, they were still no match for the swordsmanship of Davy.

Davy hacked and slashed with his sword, ducking, rolling through the mud. Two skeletons were upon him. Then ran at him with their swords drawn. Davy ignited his sword with green fire, and sent a blast of cursed flame towards the first bonehead. The undead monstrosity went up in flames. The other one, temporarily distracted, was charged by Davy. After ten seconds of fighting, he was down too.

Davy quenched the flame on his blade, and then got an idea. Even skeletons were not immune to poison. Before Davy had left Tia Dalma’s house, he had noticed that she had a small batch of poisons. Davy had snatched one of them, thinking it may come in handy. Now he knew it would. Davy had read the label on it. It was not a deadly poison, but it caused excruciating pain and could stiffen muscles within a few minutes. Davy pulled it out of his pocked, and then pulled out his sword. The sword was simple, with a long, steel, slightly curved blade, and a black hilt with an embellished black guard on it.

Davy poured the poison on the blade, and muttered incantations. The poison boiled, and then seeped into the blade. The poison was now one with the blade. Every time he would give his foe a cut, the poison would seep into them. Davy grinned, but didn’t have time to celebrate, because just then, a bullet went whizzing by his head.

He whirled around, and saw Billy standing there, with a smoking gun. He was holding a Grave Reaper in his left hand, and a pistol in his right. He put the pistol away, and drew his other blade.

“Its just you and me brother,” Billy said.

“Your not my brother,” Davy said, spitting in Billy’s direction.

“Enough talk. Jolly wants you dead, and I will not fail in his orders this time.”

With that said, Billy ran at Davy, Grave Reapers held behind him, their blades cutting into the ground, raising more undead. Davy pulled up his cutlass, the cutlass of an assassin, and cleaved down on Billy. Billy blocked it, bringing his blades together in an X. The two jumped away from each other, before launching more attacks. Billy brought the two blades from the side, and Davy blocked it. He pushed the two blades away, knocking Billy off balance. Davy brought the sword down on Billy, but Billy did a back flip away from it.

Jolly must have given him some spell for extra endurance and strength, Davy thought. No matter. I’ll defeat him anyway.

The two brothers fought for minutes, neither gaining an advantage. The other Sorcerors were starting to gain the upper hand. Since Billy was no longer spawning skeletons, they were able to fight without having to worry about reinforcements. Will cut the boneheads apart with his broadsword, Luckie cast spells with her staff, and when they got too close gave them a few good smacks. Zolina and Kate fought back to back against two skeletons each. Their battles lasted for a while, but soon the skeletons went down.

Billy saw this, and immediately jumped backward. He gave a few good slashes to the ground, raising even more skeletons. The skeletons charged at the exhausted Sorcerors, and that was the end of their upper hand.

“Billy, please! You don’t have to do this!” Davy begged.

“I’ve told you, you’re fighting a losing war,” Billy said. “Jolly will win in the end, and when he does, he can bring our parents back.”

“So be it,” Davy said. “If you are going to be this foolish, then I will have to face it. If I die in the end, you will come with me!”

Davy ran at Billy, slashing furiously. Billy was tired from raising so many undead, and was slightly slower. Nevertheless, he was still a deadly foe. He attacked ferociously with his dual blades, spinning, making X cuts, doing double stabs. None of them got to Davy. Davy’s anger fueled his power. His Assassin’s Cutlass, as he was now calling it, was a mere blur. He slashed, cleaved, thrusted, rolled, ducked, head butted. Soon, Billy began to grow weaker. Davy noticed that his friends were finishing off the last of the skeletons. It wouldn’t be much longer before they were done. Finally, Billy’s defense collapsed. Davy disarmed Billy of his two blades using a technique that he had learned aboard the Black Swan from Captain Hawk. Billy’s two blades clattered to the floor. While he was still stunned, Davy smashed his brother’s head with the pommel of his sword. Billy stumbled back, dazed, before Davy gave him a shallow slash across his arm followed by one across his chest. Billy cried out in pain, and then Davy gave him a hard kick, sending him flying about a meter and a half.

Billy slammed into a tree a few feet in front of the mud wall that surrounded the Sorcerors and the undead. With his good arm, Billy covered the bloody mark that Davy had given him across his chest. Blood stained Billy’s long, orange vest, and trickled down his face from the wound that Davy had given him from hitting him with his sword. Billy looked up. He looked pitiful. Covered in red blood, dazed and weak. He was defenseless; his two swords laying far away from him in the swamp. The other Sorcerors walked up behind Davy. The last of the skeletons had been defeated.

Davy raised his sword to deal the final blow, that final blow that would end Billy’s life forever. But he hesitated.

“What are you waiting for,” Billy muttered. “Finish me!”

“Davy, just kill him and be done with it!” Kate cried out.

Davy thought, sword raised above his head. Billy was his brother. Even though he was now his enemy, he couldn’t just kill him… could he?

Davy’s grip on the sword grew tighter. He cried out in rage, and then brought his blade down. It stabbed into the ground, a foot away from Billy’s dazed body.

Davy took a few deep breaths, then said, “He’s beaten. Let’s go.”

Will protested, “But he’s—”

“That’s an order Will!” Davy yelled. He picked up his sword, sheathed it, and walked towards the boats.

The Sorcerors looked at each other, and then followed Davy.

“You will regret this brother,” Billy said. “You will regret this choice indeed.”

With that, Billy’s Grave Reapers flew back into his hands. A green mist surrounded him. There was a sound of thunder, and lightning struck around him. When the fog cleared, Billy was gone.

Zolina shuddered, but she got into the boat. Soon, the Sorcerors were rowing their way down the river. Davy didn’t row this time. Instead, he sat in the back of the boat, face turned away from everyone else, so no one could see him cry.

--------------------------------------------------------

Please post comments! :D

AWESOME! i was right!

Hmm... Crest, while you're lurking there, you may want to read this other chapter I wrote... I'll spare you a long chapter, so this one is pretty short, told from the perspective of Billy.

Chapter 26: Orders

Billy’s body fell down onto the deck of The Harkaway. Normally he could land fine after a teleport, but normal didn’t really describe his situation. The cuts that Davy had given him with his sword burned as if it were acid. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but it still hurt as if it was, and not to mention that one of his favorite shirts was now stained with blood. His head throbbed violently, aching horribly. The blood had become dry, and caked on his head. In other words, Billy looked more dead than alive.

He slowly got up, head still throbbing. He stood, leaning against a rotten mast, and looked around. A few skeleton crew members glanced at him, but then continued with their duties. Billy looked down at the ground, feeling sick. He took a few deep breaths of what would have been fresh sea air. Unfortunately the stench of the dead covered it up, causing Billy to vomit below him. After he was done, he looked up, straight into the eyes of Jolly Roger.

“Well then Billy,” Jolly said in his cruel voice, ignoring the various injuries on Billy. “If you came back alive, I’m assuming your mission was successful, and Davy Fireskull is dead?”

Billy chewed his lip. He new better than to lie to Jolly. He could see right through it. He said, “Captain, Davy beat me. He was too powerful for me. I failed in my mission.”

Jolly cried out, stomping his foot, “You failed?! You lost to your pathetic excuse of a brother?! I knew you were useless! I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

With that, Jolly lifted Billy up using his dark voodoo, and sent him flying across the deck. Billy cried out in surprise, and slammed onto the deck, rolling for a few feet before he stopped. Billy grunted, and got up, only to have Jolly kick him again, sending him flying into a wall. Billy got up again.

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a pirate,” Jolly said, lifting him up again with dark voodoo. He brought him close to him. “You’re weak, and you will die weak. I should have killed you when I killed your father.”

Jolly brought up his right hand, the one with the flintlock pistol and blade on it. He put the blade right at Billy’s throat. Billy closed his eyes tightly, waiting for death to come. It didn’t.

“But, I may have some use for you,” Jolly said. He dropped him, and Billy crumpled to the floor. His head was throbbing worse now, and the gash on his arm had started bleeding again. Billy was starting to worry if he would die of blood loss. Now he didn’t just look like death, but felt like it too. He dragged himself up. Part of him wondered if he should kill himself right now, and free himself of Jolly Roger. But he pushed that thought aside.

This will all work out in the end, he thought to himself. Then out load, he muttered, “What are your orders captain?”

“My power grows every day, as does my army,” Jolly said, drawing the Sword of Darkness from it’s sheath. His right hand had morphed back to normal now. He examined the black blade. “Thanks to this pretty little sword your brother got me, it has increased my power, and allowed me to raise more undead than ever!

“Many years ago, I launched an attack on Port Royal, one of the Caribbean’s main islands. I was able to deal a great deal of damage to it, but we were beaten back. That invasion took a lot of my power to use, and after that I had to go into hiding and recover. Slowly I built up my strength and forces, taking care of pesky Navy and East India Trading Company ships. My power grew. It was a very slow process, but with this sword that your brother got me, it has increased my power significantly. I now have raised countless undead, as well as fleets of ships! All of this at my fingertips! Soon, I must make a strike. Not just a puny little attack against a fleet of Navy vessels, no! A whole invasion of an island! And I plan to begin with Port Royal. I cannot risk getting defeated yet, so I want you to lead the assault against the island. If you can capture it, you will have proven yourself to me.”

“An invasion of Port Royal?” Billy asked. He thought about what he was doing. “That would be difficult. To get our troops in we would need to get close to the island, and the fort that the Navy has there will be a problem. If we spawn several of our strongest ships there, we can catch the fort by surprise, and while they are loading their cannons we can open fire. The fort will be in ruins, and they will sink few if any of our ships. Once the fort is down there won’t be too much resistance.”

“Yer correct Billy,” Jolly said grinning. “Once that fort is down, that will take care of the majority of their forces. The last of them will be confused and scared, and the townsfolk can barely fire a gun. And then we will burn the town!”

Billy nodded. “How will this work?”

“I plan to start the raid in three days. We can sail there, and take our time until then,” Jolly said. “I also want some of your wounds to heal a bit. A wounded soldier is as good as no soldier. We will attack in the middle of the night, when they are asleep. Once the fort is down, as you said, I will send several of our ships into their harbor. We will sink any ships there before we start the raid, so that there will be nobody escaping. After they are sunken, the troops will come into the town and capture it. By dawn, the town will be a ruin. You will get off the ship right after our troops begin their raid. You will give the orders and do some fighting as well.”

“Very well captain,” Billy said, bowing his head.

“Now, go and clean yourself up!” Jolly ordered. “You look awful, even for a pirate.”

Billy walked off to bandage his wounds and clean himself a bit. When he was gone, Jolly walked to the edge of the ship, and looked at the dark sea around him. He smiled cruelly, and then spoke.

“My conquest of the Caribbean has begun.”

Ooh, dramatic irony. I love it.

Haha, I know I never review mate, and I'm sorry for that, but to be honest, I never know what to say, and I like to say stuff that actually means something. This story truly is excellent. The depth you have to each of your characters astounds me. Davy's care for his brother and the rest of his crew, Billy's motives for joining Jolly, and your overall description of everything. Keep writing mate. I promise you, I'm reading. ;)

Well, mates, the tension keeps building up in my story! Trust me, I think the tension is hurting me more than you. The more I get closer to the climax of this story (which is only several chapters away, I assure you) the more I want to write so I can get to that climax. Anyway! Enough of my lecturing! Enjoy my next chapter! By the way, I will probably have one or two more chapters from Billy's perspective, to give you a heads up. On we go!


Chapter 27: The Shipwreck

Davy woke up late the next day. After the battle with his brother and the undead, the group had rowed their boats back to The Shadow King. It was late, and the group was exhausted from what happened. They got on board and retired almost immediately. It had been a long and tiring day, and Davy had slept in. Perhaps too much, but he didn’t care, as he was exhausted.

After putting on some clothes, he left his cabin onto the deck. He walked up to the wheel of the ship, and his eyes lit up. Standing at the wheel of the ship, was Sam. Sam turned to face Davy. The world seemed to slow down as the two friends ran toward each other and embraced. Tears streaked down their faces. Happy tears. The two stood apart from each other, and spoke.

“Sam!” Davy cried out. “Your alright!”

Sam chuckled, “Aye, I’m recovering. I still feel weak though. However, Tia Dalma’s antidote seemed to do me some good. I would say that I should be fully recovered by tomorrow. That’s a good thing too, because we should be trying to hunt down Jolly once and for all soon.”

“Aye, your right,” Davy said. “I want to have him on his knees soon. But there is one problem…”

“Billy?” Sam asked.

Davy shook his head, “No. I have made up my mind. If I have to fight Billy to the death to get to Jolly Roger, then I will. The old Billy is gone, and I have accepted that. If worse comes to worst, he will have to die so I can bring Jolly Roger to justice.”

“Then what is it?”

“The Sword of Darkness. Now that he has that sword, he has almost infinite power. He can raise an army of undead faster than ever, and going into battle with him is a death wish. I can’t just charge him and start swinging a sword! I need some sort of tactic.”

“Davy, listen to me when I say this. Just because he has some infernal sword, doesn’t mean he will beat you. Davy, you’re the best swordsman I have ever known, possibly one of the best of any pirate. You can beat that bag of bones. It’s not about your weapon Davy, its about the one who uses it.”

Davy bit his lip. He was still uncertain, but he nodded his head. “I guess your right… either way though, he will be a challenge. I may not survive, but if I do die, well, there’s no family to miss me…”

“That’s where your wrong,” Zolina said, walking up to the two men. “Davy, you may have lost your parents, and Billy is as good as gone, but don’t you dare say that if you die nobody will miss you. And you do have a family.”

Zolina beckoned to the crew, working on the deck. Matt was giving some orders. Kate walked up next to Zolina.

“Nobody will be dying against Jolly Roger,” Kate said. “Want to know why? Because we are fighting for something. Something more than just power. For friendship, for family, and for freedom.”

Davy took that in. Then he spoke. “You guys are right. Nobody will be dying other than Jolly Roger… then again, he’s already dead. Well, you know what I mean. He will be brought down, and I will have avenged my parents. Now, lets get back to work. Tomorrow, I want to get to Tortuga. We may be able to get a few leads from pirates there.”

~~~~~~~~~~


Sam had recovered by the next morning, just as he predicted. He was able to resume his full duties onboard the ship, whether it was tying knots in the rigging, or practicing his swordplay or voodoo with the crew. In fact, things seemed almost back to normal aboard The Shadow King. The ship had set a course for Tortuga, and they were making good speed. All was going quiet and smoothly. Until they saw the ship.

It was late afternoon, just a few hours before the crew would have dinner. The crew was finishing up their duties at the time; tying those last few ropes, scrubbing off those last few barnacles, making those last few adjustments to their course. Suddenly, came a shout from the lookout. She began ringing the alarm bell. The crew came aboard deck. Smelly the dog ran around frantically barking like he was rabid. Finally, Davy came up onto the deck, and pacified the dog. At the time, the lookout was a girl by the name of Lizzy. She was timid, but a loyal crew mate, and Davy was glad to have her.

“What did you see Lizzers?” Davy asked.

“Over there Captain!” Lizzy said, pointing starboard. “It’s a navy ship, I think. The sun was in my eyes, so I wasn’t able to get a good look at it. For some reason, though, it isn’t moving.”

Davy raised an eyebrow. “Alright crew! Looks like we have a vessel off the starboard side! Lets go check it out! If they live, we beat the dogs down, and raid their vessel! If they are all dead, we check out the scene… and then we take what’s left!”

The crew cheered, and then ran to their duties. After a half hour of sailing, The Shadow King pulled up next to the ship. Or what was left of it. The ship looked like it had once been a naval war galleon, a powerful ship, but it had been destroyed. The main mast lay on its side in splinters, with a shredded piece of cloth for a sail. The hull was torn apart, exposing the insides of the ship. It was slowly sinking, but it would take a few days before it fully submerged.

Matt whistled. “That’s one shredded ship. I wonder what got to her. No normal ship can do that to another ship, unless this ship here had tanks of gunpowder lying in the open, which no ship has.”

“Hmm…” Davy muttered. “I say we check it out. Matt, Zolina, Kate and I will check the wreck out. Sam, your in charge. Just sit tight for a bit. Tell the crew to do what they please, but to be ready to return to their stations at a moments notice.”

“Aye, aye, Davy,” Sam said. The three that Davy had called followed him onto the dingy that would take them to the shipwreck. They rowed the boat, and in no time they were climbing the torn hull of the naval ship. Unfortunately, they couldn’t climb all the way to the top deck of the ship, as there was too large of a hole in the hull blocking their way. Instead, they clambered into the opening. Davy turned around, examining the hole. It was massive. An entire section of the hull had been blown off, revealing at least a third of the inside of the ship.

The inside was no better. The place had been ruined. There were holes in the floor, walls were torn apart, and crates and barrels lay open, broken, or on their sides.

“Ooh la la…” Kate said. “Whatever happened here was not pretty…”

“I’m with you there Kate,” Zolina said.

“Mates!” Matt called from the other side of the room. “Look at this!”

Davy, Kate, and Zolina joined Matt, and looked at his find. It was a Navy sailor. He had been impaled through the chest with a sword. His eyes were open, glassy and unmoving. Blood stained his red shirt. So much blood that it was actually noticeable.

“He hasn’t been dead long,” Davy observed. “No more than two or three days I’d say.”

“Exactly,” Matt said. “That’s what I noticed. Also, look at this sword.”

Matt yanked the sword out of the sailor, sending blood flying everywhere. He muttered a quick apology to the dead navy soldier.

“Aye, thank the dead one,” Zolina muttered. “And not my nice skirt for staining it with blood…”

Matt took no notice. Instead, he held up the bloody sword, showing it to everyone. It was clear what was wrong with it. The sword was rusty and old.

“Now who do we know that uses rusty swords?” Matt asked the others.

“Skeletons…” Kate said. “This ship was raided by skeletons…”

“And here’s our proof,” Davy said. He had moved to another side of the room. Slumped against a wall was an inanimate skeleton, dressed in rags. Just like the ones that they had had to fight.

“Nobody can rot into a skeleton that fast,” Davy said. “This ship was obviously attacked by skeletons… but something still bothers me. Even one skeleton ship wouldn’t do this much damage to a ship and just let them live…”

The group stared at the skeleton for a little longer, and then moved on. The group walked up a flight of stairs that had been torn to shreds, barely climbable. They emerged on the main deck. The main deck looked exactly like what it looked like from The Shadow King. It looked even worse than the lower decks. There were massive holes in the floor, and the Shadow Sorcerors had to be careful not to fall.

“Lets check the captain’s quarters,” Davy said. “Maybe the captain wrote down exactly what happened in his log.”

The others followed him to the door. They tried it, but it was locked.

“Son of a gun...” Davy muttered. “I’ll break it down.”

Davy pulled out his staff that he kept strung to his back. He cast a quick spell, and then shattered the door to pieces. Then he raised an eyebrow.

“Did anyone hear someone scream?” Davy asked.

The others nodded.

“Unless my ears deceive me, then yes, I heard a scream,” Zolina answered.

The group cautiously walked in, swords drawn. The captain’s quarters was a wreck. The windows in the back were all shattered, and an evening breeze blew into the room. The Arabian carpet on the floor had been shredded to pieces, and the various bookshelves and cabinets had been tipped over or broken. Various holes were in the walls from cannonballs. The place was once lovely and lavish, but was now a wreck.

Davy walked over to the desk in the center of the room. It was intact, other than a splintered leg. Just then, Davy heard a bump from under the table, and a slight gasp. Davy, using his voodoo powers, lifted the desk and sent it flying into a corner of the room, smashing open the wall.

Cowering in fear was a Navy sailor. The poor man’s clothes were torn to shreds, and he had various cuts and wounds. His hands were cut up and covered with grime. Davy, being a pirate, had no mercy for Navy sailors, who wanted to kill all pirates. He grabbed the sailor by his torn shirt and made him stand.

The man looked pitiful, so pitiful that Davy almost felt sorry. His face was covered with grime, and he wore an eye patch. His lips were chapped so badly that they bled, and his hair was burnt on the edges. The grime on his face looked even worse due to the fact that he had been sobbing.

Davy pulled out his dagger and held it to the man’s throat, and spoke. “Speak sailor. I have no patience for Navy scum like you, so make it quick. What happened to your ship here? And tell the full story!”

The man eyed the blade cautiously, and said, “Why should I tell you pirate? I’m dead anyway.”

Davy chuckled. He had dealt with this before when he served on the Black Swan. “I can always make your death slow and painful, while I wait for you to tell…”

Davy slowly moved the blade down, and gave the man’s wrist a quick cut. Enough to make him hurt, but not enough to be fatal.

“Fine! Fine! I’ll tell you!” The sailor cried out. He licked his bleeding lips, and spoke. “Three days ago, our lookout raised the alarm. It was close to midnight. A storm had randomly spawned, out of nowhere! We all came on board, and the men cried out in terror! Around us, out of nowhere like the storm, were hundreds of ships! Ships that had already sunken! Ships with torn masts, and rotten hulls! We were so surprised that we didn’t see the first one come from behind us! The ship hit us with a full broadside of a dozen shots, shots of a strange, spectral cannonball! The fear that we had! We barely had time to fight back before the skeletons boarded us. The stuck us all, leaving none alive! They took all of our belongings, all of our supplies, and all of our lives!”

“Why didn’t they sink the ship?” Matt said. “And why are you still alive?”

“There was one of them that was not of bone,” the sailor continued. “He was muscular, and carried two black sabers of some sort. He told the men to leave the ship floating for now, and to leave me alive. To give someone a lead of some sort. Someone named Davy Flameskull I believe. He wanted this person to know where he was going, so he would know that it is too late to help.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that Davy Flameskull was really just Davy Fireskull. The sailor had obviously gotten the name mixed up while he had been drifting in the sun. Billy had been here. He had left this man alive to carry on a message to Davy. Billy wanted Davy to know where he was going, so that Davy would be able to see something. Chances were, that wasn’t good.

“Where were the ships headed?” Davy demanded.

“Due east if my memory serves,” the sailor responded.

“The closest island of any significance that is east from here is…” Davy faded off.

“Port Royal,” Kate said.

“You’ve been a help sailor. Now I will put you out of your misery,” Davy said. Before the man could respond, Davy slit his throat, and the man crumpled to the floor. Even though Davy could be sympathetic, he did have an inner barbarian to him. He continued:

“Billy is leading that fleet, I’m sure of it. If Jolly were in charge, he wouldn’t have allowed Billy to do this. And if they are heading to Port Royal, that has to mean that—”

“Port Royal is about to be invaded,” Zolina finished.

“And with this much power and forces, they will succeed,” Matt said.

“We have to get there as fast as possible. They have a few days start, but maybe we can make it there fast enough to help,” Davy said.

“It’s unlikely, but we can’t let Port Royal be destroyed,” Kate said.

The group climbed back down to their dingy, and rowed back to The Shadow King. Once they were back on board, Davy ordered the crew to sail a little farther from that Navy vessel, in case there were any other survivors on board. After that, the crew retired for the night, and Davy went into his room to write in his log. He soon went to sleep. At dawn, they sailed for Port Royal.


-----------------------

Yeees maybe I was a little mean to that Navy fella, but he deserved it... chances are my next chapter will come sometime over the weekend, but I may be able to squeeze one in sometime tomorrow or Thursday...

Hey Davy, i hate to rant, but around chapter 15 i asked if i could be in the story. now the climax is a couple chapters away, and i haven't gotten an answer. again, i hate to rant, but its an awesome story.. and i really want to be included.

I know SEAKING, and I understand. I'm really sorry I haven't included you. I will send you a PM regarding your role in it. Again, you will not be a main character, but you will make an appearance.

Alright, thanks mate.

WARNING: The following chapter is extremely intense and quite graphic, and gruesome. Read with caution. It may disturb some readers, and I don't want that to happen. If you do not wish to read it, PM me and I can summarize it for you. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! I am not responsible for any emotional harm that may come to you. Ye have been warned!

Its quite lengthy... enjoy!


Chapter 28: Shadows Rising

Port Royal was in view. It was close to midnight now. The island would not be expecting them. With the voodoo enhanced speed of the skeleton ships, Fort Charles, the Navy fort on Port Royal, was soon only a mile ahead of them. It was a perfect night for an invasion. It was foggy with a full overcast. It had even begun to rain, and once the skeleton ships came into port, chances are that it would become a full on thunderstorm.

Billy turned toward the skeleton sailor of the ship that he was on. In life, the ship was a naval vessel named The Conqueror. When it had been raised, it was renamed Death Omen. The ship was the most powerful ship in the undead fleet, second to The Harkaway.

“Turn the ship so that the starboard broadside is facing Fort Charles,” Billy said coolly. “The fog should cover us up. Chances are that they will think that our ship is just an incoming thunderstorm, with the lightning around our ship. By the time they realize who we are, the fort will already be under fire.”

“Yes Captain Fireskull,” the skeleton replied.

Billy thundered some orders, yelling to the skeletons to get to their battle stations. They obeyed, as Billy predicted. Never did a skeleton exist that disobeyed its master. After a few minutes, the Death Omen was in place, five other ships with their broadsides facing Fort Charles. The guns were loaded.

“Wait for the fog to clear,” Billy ordered. “I want them to see us before we fire. So that they will have that last moment of fear before they are destroyed.”

They waited a minute, and then they got what they wanted. A sea breeze blew in, blowing away the fog. The fort became plainly visible.

“FIRE!!!” Billy commanded, yelling it so loud that the whole ship could hear. A second passed, and then the cannons fired. Spectral fury cannonballs flew toward the fort at high speeds. They flew above the water, and finally hit their target. The cannonballs, being charged with the darkest voodoo, took out huge areas of the fort. Billy watched as more cannonballs slammed into the fort. Stone flew outward, as did the bodies of men. Soon, the walls of the fort were destroyed, and the ships open fired on the interior. Everything was going according to plan. Fort Charles was almost destroyed, and they had barely been able to fire a cannon in defense.

More cannonballs flew, smashing the fort apart. Billy watched as the fort, once so majestic, was torn to shreds. After just a few more minutes, the fort was reduced to nothing more than a few stone walls, an interior that was ruined, and burning training grounds.

“Good job,” Billy said. “Now lets move in for the attack on the island. There will be almost nobody left defending the island now. Port Royal will have been conquered by sunrise.”

The ship was sailed closer to the ruin of Fort Charles, and a plank was dropped. Skeletons crossed it into the fort. From there, they would exit it and enter the island, beginning the raid. A few Navy soldiers still lived, but they were killed quickly and mercilessly. The skeletons all waited in a group for their leader. Billy walked up to the front of them. He drew his two Grave Reapers, and spoke.

“Alright you boneheads! Let’s get this done fast! I want this island razed by sunrise! Follow me! Once we get into the town, disperse. Leave nobody alive. Kill Navy, pirates, and if a civilian gets in your way, murder them as well!”

The skeletons all gave a heart “Aye, aye!” and then they moved. Billy jogged with his two swords drawn, skeletons following him close behind. They soon reached the ruined gates of the fort. They had to climb over a pile of rubble to get over the once tall and majestic gates, but it was now destroyed.

Finally, they arrived on the outside of the fort. They were right next to the dock. Skeleton ships had anchored in the dock, and were open firing on the buildings. What was once a wharf had been reduced to splinters. Skeletons walked out of the sea, onto the beach. Several Navy soldiers stood guard, but they were outnumbered significantly. They were killed quickly.

“Find your own targets troops! Destroy them all!” Billy thundered. With that, he ran across from the ruins of the gates, and into the town.

The town was in complete chaos. Innocent people ran screaming, trying to hide, only to be slaughtered by skeletons. A building exploded from a cannonball impact. A group of Navy soldiers fought for their lives in a losing battle with skeletons. Men, women, and children were murdered ruthlessly by the undead. Children ran screaming for their mothers, but Billy took no notice. On the other side of the town’s plaza was a bridge that lead to the other side of the town. The bridge was being assaulted by skeletons, but they were being beaten back. Billy ran over to it, cutting down several Navy soldiers along the way. When he was able to get a good look, he saw that there was a group of five people, all wielding swords, that was holding off the skeletons. They were master sword fighters, and even though they were significantly outnumbered, they stood strong.

Billy couldn’t help but admire them for that, but they had to die anyway. He charged them, jumping over a group of skeletons. He spun in the air on his side, bringing his two Grave Reapers down onto one man. He man cried out in pan, and went down. Another man beside him gasped in shock, only to have Billy run him through the stomach.

Pirates, Billy thought to himself. Two of the remaining three men attacked Billy from two sides. Billy was able to block them both, one with each Grave Reaper. He grunted with the effort. The two were incredibly strong. Billy gave one last heave of effort, and pushed them both aside. One went flying into the group of skeletons. He screamed as the undead closed in upon him, and was silenced. The other went tumbling down the stairs on the bridge, and landed belly up at the base. Billy did a leap in the air, and brought both of his blades into the man on his way down.

“Four down, one to go…” Billy muttered. He ran back up the stairs, onto the main part of the bridge. By now, the thunderstorm had set in, and it was beginning to rain heavily. When Billy reached the top, he saw that the man had succeeded in beating off this wave of skeletons.

“You’re a powerful one,” Billy said to the man.

“My mates call me Roger Swordshot,” the man said. “I got that name, because me sword is as fast as a gun shot. As you will soon learn you scum!”

The two clashed swords. Billy held his two Grave Reapers parallel to each other, trying to overpower this foe. Roger was much stronger than his friends were. Roger gave a little more effort, and Billy went flying backward. He leaped back up, and then began hurling attacks at him, so fast that Roger barely had time to block them. Billy was able to get a lucky hit in, and gave the man a slash on his arm. He grunted in pain, but barely flinched.

Roger dashed to the side, and began hurtling attacks on Billy. It was Billy’s turn to go defensive now. Even though Roger was his enemy, Billy had to give the man some credit. He really knew how to use a sword.

Unfortunately, all battles have to end, Billy thought to himself with a small smile.

Roger was getting tired now, and Billy used that as an opportunity. After one of his cleaves, Billy ducked down and head butted the man hard in the ribs. Roger grunted in pain, and then, as he was stepping back, Billy gave him two slashes across the chest, forming an X. Roger cried out in pain, hands covering his wounded torso.

“You were a good opponent,” Billy said. “But all battles must end.”

Billy did a spinning kick in the air, and sent Roger stumbling backward. He flipped off the edge of the stone bridge, and into the murky water below.

Billy grinned, and watched as the next wave of skeletons approached the bridge. Billy ran back to where he had come from. He went around another bend, and saw another battle scene. He slowed down to a walk, and began walking. He walked past a stack of barrels, and froze. He could have sworn that he had heard someone crying.

He turned around and kicked a barrel aside, and froze. Behind the barrel, was a woman, somewhere in her twenties, clinging to her bawling baby. Her baby was wrapped in a dirt stained blanket, and she was in a torn dress. She screamed and began to sob as well.

“Please!” she cried. “Take me! Take me! Just don’t hurt my child! My only love!”

Billy hadn’t notice, but he had one of his blades pointed directly at her. He breathed and looked the woman in her eyes. Her eyes were stained red from tears, and her baby was screaming horribly now.

“Take me instead! Just let my child be!” she cried. “I beg of you!”

Billy thought about what he was doing. Is this what he had become? A merciless killer? Someone who could take a mother away from a young baby? Could he really be so inhumane and cruel? Billy thought he may have shed a tear, but couldn’t have been certain. It may have easily have been sweat.

He lowered his sword, and spoke. “Find a place to hide. These skeletons are ruthless, and will kill anyone they see. Get inside, lock yourself in a closet, just stay out of sight.”

“God bless you! Thank you so much!” the woman said, sobbing, and then ran off, into an alleyway.

Billy thought about what he had just done.

I was about to take an innocent mother’s life away, he thought to himself in horror. Is this what I have become? Will she even be safe? By the end of this invasion she could easily be dead…

Billy shook his head. He couldn’t think this way if he was going to do this. He lifted his swords, and went charging into the battle to assist the skeletons. Not that they needed it. They would win anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~


More fighting. Billy cut, slashed, stabbed, flipped, and ran for over an hour. Even though Fort Charles had been destroyed, along with most of the Navy soldiers in it, there were still a significant amount in other parts of the town. Billy watched as buildings were hit by cannonballs, toppling to the ground, on top of skeletons, Navy, and even civilians. Billy tried to ignore it as best he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about exactly what he was doing. And about the woman and her baby. Had she been killed? Had she fled? Was she trapped in a collapsed house?

Billy pushed the thought aside. What was happening to him? He was loyal to Jolly Roger.

Am I? he thought. No! Of course I am! Jolly will win in the end anyway. Fighting for him can bring back my parents. I will have a cause again! This will all work out in the end…

Billy ducked a Navy soldier’s sword slash, countering by stabbing the soldier with both of his swords. The soldier crumpled to the floor. Billy examined his surroundings once again. It was another large plaza. Around him were buildings, and ruins of buildings that had been destroyed by cannons. The standing ones were in bad shape, with bricks falling off, some of them even burning. Port Royal was going to be a ruin soon, and Jolly Roger would rule it. He would rebuild the island, and rule it with an iron fist. Or bone fist. Whichever it was. After that, he would conquer the rest of the islands in no time.

The plaza was a war scene. A few Navy soldiers still stood, but were being taken down fast. The plaza was almost secure. After that, they would move to the east side of the city, and assist the troops there. Billy charged into a group of Navy soldiers, who looked like mere cadets, and cut them down in a few slashes. He sheathed his swords, and picked up one of their bayonets. He stood on top of a box, aiming the gun toward another Navy soldier, one who looked like a captain. Then, Billy dropped the gun.

Standing in the middle of a group of skeletons, was the mother and her child. She must have been spotted while she tried to hide, and had been chased out here. Billy could see tears streaming down her face as she held her screaming baby close to her, watching helplessly as the undead closed in on her.

“No!!!” Billy screamed. He jumped off the boxes, drawing his two swords. He ran through the crowd, slashing Navy and undead alike. He didn’t care who he killed now, so long as he could save the mother. A Navy soldier locked swords with him, but he overpowered him and sliced his throat. Tears streamed down Billy’s face as he ran through the crowd, trying to save the woman. He got into a little opening in the crowd, and saw the woman on her knees, baby held to her chest. She had her head ducked down.

“No! Stop!” Billy cried out, but the sound of a cannon smashing into a building drowned his voice out. He began to run to her, but it was too late. The undead closed in on her, and Billy heard a scream of pain, which was silenced. Billy stopped, and stared in disbelief. The undead moved aside, leaving the woman’s body. Billy ran over to her. She had been stabbed through the stomach, and blood was pouring on her dress. Tears still clung to her stone cold face, and her eyes stared out endlessly. Billy knelt down, and closed the eyes, a tear streaming down his face. The baby was nowhere to be seen.

I’ve failed, Billy thought to himself, tears sliding down his face. I’ve let an innocent women and her child die, because I couldn’t save her…

“WHAT HAVE I BECOME?!” Billy screamed into the air. He grabbed his swords and ran. Ran to who knows where. He just had to get away from this horrible scene. The sound of her scream had forever been burned into his mind, and the look in her eyes when he had pointed his sword at her. Billy cried as he ran. He ran down a dirt path, through some trees, and then onto stone pavement. A few Navy soldiers tried to stop him, but Billy cut them down in a rage, leaving nobody, not even skeletons, alive after he crossed their paths. Billy ran up the path on a hill, to the ruins of a mansion, and sat with his back to a tree.

Billy sat for what seemed like hours, his face in his hands as he sobbed. Soon, he had no tears left to cry, and he sat shaking. In the background, he could hear the sound of the battle. Swords clashing, guns and cannons firing, buildings exploding. It was probably about two hours before sunrise by now. Soon, all this would be quiet, and the town would be left a ruin. Innocent lives would be taken away.

“What am I doing?” Billy asked himself out loud. “Who am I? What am I becoming?”

“Your William,” a voice said. “My son”

Billy looked up in alarm to where the voice came from. Billy stood, but left his swords. Something inside him told him he wouldn’t need them. He walked forward, toward the mansion. It was then that he recognized the place. It was his home. Where he had grown up. But it had been destroyed by something. Perhaps by one of Jolly’s invasions that he had done a long time ago. Billy walked into the house, and walked down a hall. Billy imagined it when he was young. The walls were covered with a lavish wall paper, with little candles hanging on the sides. Billy would have shed a tear, but he had already cried them out. He made a turn, and came into what was once his room as a baby. His crib had been wrecked, but it was still there. Inside of it, was a little stuffed animal that he had used to play with. His mother had made it for him when he was first born. It was a little dog, that looked a lot like Smelly.

I wonder what even happened to the poor dog, Billy thought. He held the dog for a little bit more, and put it down. He would leave it here. He would come back for it later. He turned around, and gave a little scream of fright. Standing in front of him where two bluish, misty figures. Ghosts. Billy examined them, and then his eyes widened.

“Mother…? Father…?” he asked.

His mother, nodded. “Yes William, it is us.”

“But…? How?” Billy wondered.

“When I died on The Eagle ten years ago, I stayed on this Earth. I didn’t want to leave yet,” his father said. “I had a feeling that it was the right choice. And it was. I was able to speak with you one last time. Before we move on.”

“I’m… I’m so confused,” Billy said, head down. “I… I don’t know what to do anymore. Can you help me? Please?”

“William,” his mother said. “I know that your having a hard time. But, I cannot guide your path. I know you will make the right choice in the end. I have faith in you.”

“Please!” Billy cried out. “I need guidance! You’re my parents! Help me for God’s sake!”

“William, this is your decision to make,” his father said. “I know that you will make the right one in the end. You’re a good person, and I am proud to be your father, no matter what happens.”

“No!” Billy yelled. “Don’t leave me!”

“We love you son!” his father said. “Never forget that!”

“You will make the right decision in the end. I know it,” his mother finished. Then, the two ghosts faded off into nothingness.

Billy dropped to his knees. He felt like a young child again. Lost, helpless, without a path. He sat on the floor for ten minutes, thinking everything through. He stood.

I… I don’t know the right choice, he thought. He knew that standing with Jolly Roger was the choice that would get him far, but was it the right one?

“Of course it is…” Billy muttered. “I will become powerful, strong, and mighty. Davy doesn’t care about me anymore. I’ll kill him. And sink The Shadow King. And then I will become the strongest pirate to sail the seas!”

Billy said that, but didn’t know if he meant it. He shook his head, knowing that what he was doing was right. He walked outside. The sun was beginning to rise, and the sound of battle had stopped. In the harbor, skeleton ships floated, and buildings were in ruin. The invasion was victorious.

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Intense chapter eh? By the way guys, Roger, AKA SEAKING, is not dead. He will likely appear briefly in one of my next chapters. Please! Comments. That was one of the hardest chapters to write...

Wow. That was... intense, to say the least. Just as it looked like Billy was going to change...

An excellent chapter.

:bookishfj7: :bookishfj7: :bookishfj7: :bookishfj7:

AWESOME!! if bill continues to be on jolly's side, and i meet him again...

I'd pray for him mates. thanks for adding me mate.