Introduction

A soft thud could be heard every time the stamp hit the wax on the old parchment. A small seal was being pressed into the warm material. It had the shape of a Z with a lot of fancy curls, surrounded by what looked like bay leaves.

"There, that's another trading agreement sealed", mister Zippie sighed. "Was that all the paperwork for today or are there other flatterers I have to grant permission because it's oh-so-important? As governor of Banlao I really deserve a break now and then."

The other figure present stood nervously in the corner of the room. He opened his mouth as he was about to say something, but a deafening sound coming from downstairs interrupted him. Zippie got up, startled by the abrupt change of situation.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? MINEOS! Go find out whoever this imbecile might be, who is slamming MY doors, so I can teach him a lesson in respect!" Zippie slammed his fist on the old wooden desk, causing a picture frame to fall over. He picked it off the floor and placed it back on the exact same spot as it always was. As Mineos left the room, Zippie dug up a small mirror from one of the drawers and corrected a few wild hairs of his white wig.

The door opened wide again and Mineos hesitated to come in. He swallowed and took a deep breath, then entered Zippie's office.

"Excuse me sir, there is someone who would like to speak to you. He says it is quite urgent. Should I let him in?" he said carefully.

"You know you can call me Zippie, Mineos. You're a good friend of mine." Zippie frowned, sat down and stored the mirror in the drawer. "Who might this stranger be? You know I do not welcome nonsense, I have too much paperwork to handle and not enough time!"

"But do you have enough time to help out an old friend?" a tall character with a deep voice asked, as he was dragged into the room by two royal guards. Around his wrists he was wearing rusty cuffs that looked like they could fall apart any moment. A sizable hat flattened most of his long hairs but still added to the entire look he had going on. Hanging by his side was an empty scabbard, accompanied by an also empty holster, hanging on the same belt. Between his lips he was balancing a cigar.

"Say, you let your buddy over here handle the papercuts and wax burns, so we can have a little chat? How about that?" he said ever so nonchalantly. "I mean … you DO owe me one after all."

"Mineos", Zippie said very slowly. "Would you be so kind to close the door behind the guards? Thank you." He took off his wig and placed it on top of the head of a mannequin. The two guards went outside, leaving only Zippie, Mineos and the unexpected guest in the office. Zippie started to laugh very loudly, nearly to the point of crying of laughter. Mineos sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He never enjoyed lying in front of royal guards.

"So", Zippie got up and shook the man's hand firmly, followed by a smile. "What the hell did you do this time? It has been a long time since I've seen you."

"Well, you know me; I had some quarrel with a very charming lady. Wait no - not with a lady - with a guy that sat next to this lady. Yes, he was sitting right next to her as I was offering her something to drink, the gentleman I am. Apparently he turned out to be her husband, so he continued to hit me with any glass object he could find. We fought and the royal guard dragged me away and here we are! I can't remember much of it though."

Zippie grinned and took place behind his desk. "I know you claim to be a pirate, but really, drinking a lot and causing people to fight in a bar isn't-" He went quiet mid-sentence and stared at his desk for a few seconds.

"You've … helped me many times, Fluke. I know this. You nearly gave your life to save mine, I appreciate that. You're my oldest friend. And I do owe you a reward. … I might have what you desire." He opened up a scroll and showed it to Fluke. "As your friend, I want you to have your ship back. It is yours and it is still in the same condition as you left it last time. But you have to promise me that you won't stray off the right path. Alright?"

Fluke shrugged and mumbled: "Fine, so I can have my ship back now? After all those years?"

Zippie confirmed this by pressing his seal onto the document he held. He walked up to Fluke and handed it over. After a brief conversation with the guards, Fluke was released of the cuffs. He reached out to hug Zippie by surprise. Whilst doing so he looked at Mineos and said: "Take care of this guy, alright? He's a good guy." Mineos nodded and opened the immense front door.

Fluke ran off as soon as he got the documents from his friend. He was joined by a small group of people at the end of the street. Zippie turned around and closed the door behind him, following Mineos back to the office, ready to get some more paperwork done.

"That guy, Mineos, was an old friend of mine. I haven't seen him in seven years since the moment he lost his ship."

"But how did he lose his ship? You said he sold it?" Mineos was curious.

"Well, that's a long story, Mineos. I'll tell you some day. But not now, we've got paperwork to complete!" The door of the office slammed shut behind the two friends as they continued their everyday life on the beautiful island called Banlao.

"You got it?! For real?! Wow! I'm impressed dude!" Rage shouted optimistically.

"Guys, guys, he told me to 'stay on the right path' and as we have an agreement, I can't just throw that away. Not his trust, it's too valuable.

"What?" the shortest of the group complained. "You can't mean that! He can't, right guys?"

One of the guys rolled his eyes and jumped on his horse. "See you at the docks guys." As he rode off, his long black coat fluttered behind him in the wind.

"See you later, Hollow!" Rage shouted and waved.

Fluke, ignoring Rage's shouting, removed his hat and put it on Evanz's head. "You should know me by now, Evanz, of course I'm not going to listen to him! What do you think! We're back in business; I can't wait to be a pirate again! Captain Fluke steering his beloved ship called the Crewship! I can't wait to see what she looks like. How I missed her, that beauty."

Rage, Fluke and Evanz continued to walk in the direction of the docks, all awaiting the rediscovery of their long-lost ship where they experienced so many adventures on.

"Let's visit our friends at Ribeiro", Fluke suggested with a large grin on his face.

"They probably missed us."