Chapter 13: Uh-oh…
Ivan rolled around on the floor, trying to grip the elusive clutches of consciousness. The ground was much too hard and uncomfortable for anybody to sleep properly in. However, as he struggled to lift his head up off the ground, he felt an stinging sensation rush through his head. “Ah! What’s going on?” He asked to the empty air around him. “I- my head.” He said, putting his hand on his forehead only to feel a slight bump that had just recently turned up. All he could feel now was the pulsing pain coming from his head. That, and the hard floor below him.
For some reason though, the floor felt different. Much different. He moved his head further from the floor. It was pretty murky but from what he could tell he was in a very dark room, with very dark floorboards, with very dark metal bars surrounding him.
“Great,” He said to himself. “I’m captured by possibly the most dangerous people in the entire Caribbean, and that’s not even counting my record with them.” He said, trying his best to get up onto his own two feet. Once his eyes were able to focus inside to dark, moldy brig, he tried his best to find any sign of Jack.
“Hello? Jack you there?” He asked with a scratchy voice.
“No, that’s not my name.” Came a familiar voice accompanied by nearing footsteps. “I’m surprised you still haven’t figured it out.” The voice said, coming closer.
“Who are you?” Ivan asked. “And what have you done to Jack?”
“Oh, the same thing we did to you.” The man said, finally reaching seeing distance between them. “Obscurely led him to our trap, knocked him out, dragged him out to our ship, and…”
“Just answer the first question.” Ivan said, recognizing the tricks frequently used to avoid answering certain questions.
“Ah, well I’m glad you asked… again.” The man said, walking into full light. “The name’s Stealthy, and before you make any foolish remarks, yes that is my name.” Stealthy said, introducing himself as if he were doing it at some sort of royal banquet. “And I’m pretty sure you’re none other than Ivan Hood, correct?” He asked with a smile.
Ivan reached and pulled his reserved energy and used it to properly stand up. The pain was still searing in his head but as long as he’d get some answers, he’d just have to fight through it. “Firstly,” He said, mustering up all his energy. “How could you possibly know so much, especially about me?” He asked. He had no idea how anyone could know him by name even though he’d only stepped foot on Port Royal only but a few days ago.
“How I’ve come to know you isn’t what’s important, is it?” Stealthy asked, pacing around while he was talking. “I believe the correct question is why.” He said, motioning his hands for Ivan to continue.
At first, Ivan was confused about what Stealthy was trying to get across, but once he realized it, he rolled his eyes and gave his predictable reply. “Ok then.
Why do you know about me?” He asked, feeling surprisingly comfortable about speaking civil with someone he’d last seen disappearing into a trail of smoke.
“Nice question.” Stealthy said, as if he was waiting to answer the question for quite a long time. “But the answer is found inside the name of someone else.” He said with a vague meaning.
“Can you please just tell me what’s going on?” Ivan demanded, trying to understand what he meant despite the searing pain inside his head.
“Fine, fine, I’ll just do it the easy way and give you the details upfront.” He said, walking closer to Ivan’s cell. “Not that I’d want to do it, but because you assumed that I should do so, and because any other choice I may have might not be as convenient as to…”
“Just, tell me!” Ivan yelled. “You’re really, really good at avoiding questions.” He said furiously.
Stealthy suddenly grew serious as he began to clear his throat and find a more… cinematic positioning. “Reynard,” He began. “He’s a man of many different… styles I should say. Now the reason he has different styles is far beyond my understanding, but that’s beside the point. Now the way in which his styles are a little corrupt in the eyes of his peers.”
Ivan laid his hand upon his head while comprehending what had just been said. With some effort, he was able to understand the basic inner workings of what was going on. “What do you mean exactly when you say “peers”?” He asked.
“By peers, I mean people in a similar structural placing.” Stealthy said, sneaking away from the questions real intention. He knew very well what he meant, but he also knew he needed to get Ivan to ask even more questions than he needed to.
“Instead of telling me something vague and letting me contemplate it for myself, perhaps I could ask questions and you can reassure them, since you seem to divert from the conversation as much as possible.” Ivan said, waiting for a total of two seconds before Stealthy replied with a shifting nod. “I presume when you say peers you’re actually referring to other pirates, correct?” He asked, initiating a glimmer in Stealthy’s eye.
“Yes, that’s right, now go on.” Stealthy said impatiently.
“But, what do you mean by him being corrupt?” Ivan asked, still grasping his head.
“I honestly think the whole corruption theory is just a bit of over thought hysteria over him not wanting to follow the standard that most proper pirates follow.” Stealthy said, waving his hand around in the air.
“Standard? They have a standard?” Ivan sarcastically remarked.
“Yes, they do.” Stealthy scoffed. “Are you familiar with the code?” He asked.
“The… code?”
“Yes, the code. It’s a set of rules on how any good pirate shall act. However Reynard isn’t very fond of the code, and decides to ditch almost all of it.” Stealthy said, looking towards the ground. “That’s where you come in.”
“Me? But I thought you were trying to get rid of me.” Ivan said, confused.
“Get rid of you?” Stealthy said, bursting into laughter. “Trust me, if we wanted to get rid of you, you’d be dead on arrival.” He said, smiling and shaking his head. “No, no, Reynard has much better plans with someone of your… potential.” He said, causally glancing to see if Ivan was interested. “You see, Reynard sees something in you that he’s only seen within a few people. And if I’m correct, he needs you. Not just because you’re possibly one of the most able people out there, but also since you’re on neutral ground.”
“Wait a second.” Ivan said. “Are you saying that Reynard doesn’t have the best standing with anyone, navy or pirate, so he wants me to join him so
I can resolve the issue?” He asked hoping for a strong reply from Stealthy.
“Pretty much.”
Ivan let his mind take a couple seconds so it could sink in.
’Well let’s see, on one hand I can reject his offer and most likely die, and on the other hand I can have one heck of a strange career being the friend of one of the most law destroying pirates in the Caribbean. Actually, that might not be that ba- WAIT WHAT AM I THINKING!’
“So?” Stealthy asked, bringing Ivan back into reality.
“So…”
A silence erupted over the two. None of them really knew what to say. Not just for the fact that the conditional enemies weren’t quarreling at the moment but also for the fact that they had almost nothing to say.
“Sorry about your head by the way, it was the least risky way to get you knocked out, since I don’t really know how strong you might be.” Stealthy said, walking over to the edge of the room. “I mean, don’t take it personal but it was my job to make sure you didn’t stay awake for the “transition” period.”
Ivan leaned back onto the metal bars of his 10x10 cage. “Oh, I didn’t really mind the nasty after-headache.”
“Good, because you wouldn’t believe what we had to do to your friend.”
“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing… just… back to Reynard” Stealthy said. “Now, when we get to the island, I’ll instruct you on what you’ll need to do before we really take you to Reynard.” He said, talking to Ivan as if he’d know him for much longer. “But before that, I’m afraid we’ll have to-“ before Stealthy could finish, the door leading down the stairs creaked open.
“Hey Stealth, we’re almost there.” A man said from the top of the stairs.
“I’ll be right there Thomas.” Stealthy yelled back. “Just as soon as I finish with the Guest of Honor.”
“Alright, but be quick about it.” Thomas said, closing the door.
“Now then.” Stealthy began. “Just remember, whatever you do, don’t pretend like you’re actually with the navy, savvy?” He said, walking away from the cell and up the stairs. “Try and think about it for a few minutes as you get ready to meet Reynard.”
’Great,’ Ivan thought.
Can’t wait to see how this turns out.
~~~~~~~~~~
Howard walked as far away from the hideout as he could. Now his job was to find more about Reynard’s ship, and once his ship was gone, he’d be completely stranded.
Now, as he walked aimlessly through the streets of Del Fuego, only his keen sense of direction could possibly lead him further into his investigation. He walked over to the real shipwright standing next to the dock and began asking him a few questions. “Excuse me, if I may. But would you possibly have any idea on when the next ship is coming?” He asked.
The shipwright looked at him as if he hadn’t seen a human being in months. “Most likely when they decide to find the right dock.” He answered.
“Decide to find the right do- what does that mean?” Howard questioned.
“Well, if you’re looking to meet up with some of your colleagues, I believe they’re taking the back way.” The shipwright said. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to find some way to reach the other side of the island, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.” The man said, looking deeply into the horizon. “May I ask what business you have here?”
“Oh, its just that I’ve waiting for an important shipment for days now and I’m afraid this is my last hope that they’ll arrive.” He lied, hoping the shipwright would unwittingly buy into what he was saying. “You see, the candles don’t work as well when you leave them out in the humidity for extended periods of time. They get all mushy and worthless and make writing with them a tedious and boring task.”
“So you’re a candle maker?” The shipwright asked.
“Why yes, in fact, I’m the most skilled candle maker in all of Scandinavia… well I was until I decided to bring my glorious candles further into the world by bringing them to far away places such as the Caribbean and beyond.” Howards said, motioning his hands to act out his words. “But that can only be achieved if swift journeys are taken to ensure the wax is properly vitrified. So that’s when the greatest of troubles occur, for candles shall be handled with the utmost care, instead of treated in such a way that is truly despicable.”
“That’s… beautiful.” The man said. “I… never knew candles were so important in the world.”
“That’s what most people think, but they choose to ignore the facts.” Howard said. “Now if only I could find some sort of shortcut that will lead me to the other side of the island. Let’s just say I’m not good with finding my way in caves.
“Shortcut? Oh yes.” The shipwright said, regaining his sense of direction. “Well, the fastest way I can think of is doing it by means of boat. Of course you’ll have to take the long way since the volcano’s decided to become especially active recently, so it’ll take you a few hours to get from here to there.” He said, leading Howard to a dock area with mostly small craft and a few larger frigates. “Just take one of these ferries, don’t worry, it won’t be
that expensive.”
“Why, thank you good sir, and now I’ll be on my way.” He said, tipping his hat to the shipwright.
“Oh, and one more thing.” The shipwright said, regaining Howard’s attention. “Good luck with the candles.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The door leading down to the brig creaked open once again, soon revealing a tall strong looking pirate accompanying Stealthy on his walk down the stairs towards Ivan. As they neared closer, an unmistakable sound of keys clinking each other was coming from the hands of the other pirate. Once they got close enough, the tall pirate nodded to Stealthy and began fiddling with the keys in order to unlock Ivan’s cell.
“What are you doing?” Ivan asked, confused on why they were letting him go so easily.
“What does it look like? We’re taking you straight to Reynard.” Stealthy said, noticing his friend just now finished messing with the keys. “So,” He said once the door swung open. “You coming?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Comments? Reviews? I’d really like to know how you think the story’s going and maybe if I’m doing something not quite right? Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, because the next one’s going to be… big.