The Map
Chapter One
We stepped off the gangplank to Scrimshaw, birthplace of my best friend and first mate, Rena Raden. The leviathan's skeleton hung over the town as I and my trusted associates walked to the Hole in the Wall, a nearby tavern.
I sat down at the bar, where a Rat was wiping tankards. "I'm looking for One-Eyed Jack."
"Aye, I know that old rascal. He was here, not two days gone. Waiting for something, he looked to be. But he's not here now." The barkeep answered as he slid a tankard of Yum down the counter.
As I took a sip of my Yum, the barkeep continued. "Rats came for him. Wharf Rat thugs, mean ones, too. They took Jack into the city. Look for him there."
I nodded as I finished my Yum and left some money on the counter. We decided to split up into pairs and search the city, rendezvousing at the dock entrance. Rena and I walked through the sandy streets of Scrimshaw, and we soon came across a familiar building.
"Look, this is where my mother's bookshop used to be." Rena said as she pointed to the door of the building.
"Yeah, before I smuggled you across Skull Island to Port Regal." I said, smiling. "I still remember how angry Uncle Haytham was when he found you and your mother in the hold."
Rena laughed, and a familiar voice said, "We meet again, young Pirate. I take it you're looking for One-Eyed Jack?"
"Blind Mew, how the blazes did you get here and how do you know?" I said, nearly jumping out of my boots as I looked at the blind Cat.
"You doubt me? As I've said before, I may be blind, but I have long ears. Do you want to know where Jack is, or no?" Rena and I nodded, and Blind Mew continued: "Very well then."
"I distinctly heard the soft rustle of rabbit fur pass me, accompanied by the footfalls of hobnailed boots of the kind favored by Wharf Rats."
"A voice, definitely a Wharf Rat, spoke of getting paid for easy work, and specifically mentioned the name Nim."
"Nim and his gang lurk in the Warrens, under the town. I know the way." Rena said darkly, and I knew why. They'd been the source of most of the Radens' troubles until they moved to Port Regal.
We regrouped with the others, and Rena led us to a manhole, where we lifted the cover and climbed down the ladder to the Warrens.
We followed Rena to a spacious part of the sewer, where there were several tents pitched. Nim's gang was already gathered there, weapons drawn.
"Well, if it isn't little Rena, and I see she's brought some friends!" The lead Rat I recognized as Nim called out. "Let's trash these pirates, and then the map is ours!"
Bonnie, Emmett, and I fired an opening volley with our guns, and then we engaged in close quarters combat. Rena had gone straight after Nim, and I decided to cover her.
As one Wharf Rat brought his dagger down in a mighty cut, I concentrated and the dagger clanged off a Valor's Shield. As the Wharf Rat looked at me in surprise, I punched him in the stomach, and as he bent over, I slammed the hilt of my sword into his head.
I glanced briefly over my shoulder to see that Nim was on the defensive, and I turned my head just in time to deflect a Wharf Rat's dagger. I stuck out my foot to trip my attacker and slammed the flat of my blade into his head.
Rena had locked blades with Nim, and she was being overpowered. Bonnie Anne aimed her Scaramanga musket and pulled the trigger, and Nim let go of his cutlass, his arm stunned.
Rena seized the opportunity, and slammed the flat of her blade into Nim's head, knocking him out. The other members of his gang had been knocked out by the others, and we regrouped.
"Map, what map?" Ratbeard asked as he sheathed his cutlass.
"What the devil's this map everybody's talking about?" Bonnie asked as she reloaded her Scaramanga. We went deeper into Nim's lair, where we soon found One-Eyed Jack in a small cell.
"What kept you, Matt? I thought those rats would be the end of me!" One-Eyed Jack asked.
"You'd best watch yourself. Rumor has it the mother of all treasure maps has been found in Skull Island, and that you have it."
"Every cutthroat and corsair from here to Port Regal's hunting for that map. Captain Avery's been saying you have it."
"I take it you don't have the map? Too bad, you should sort this out with Avery. We're even – you don't owe me a favor for this after all."
One-Eyed Jack followed us out of the Warrens, and he assured us that he would be able to find safe passage back home when we reached the docks.
We sailed south back to Skull Island, and we set off at a brisk pace to Captain Avery's office, where the steward of Skull Island stood to greet us from his desk.
"My dear young captain, welcome home! I've just gotten word from Puerto Mico that the treaty has been signed. I knew you could do it! I think…"
"So what's this about the map?" Rena demanded.
"Map, what map? I don't know what you mean." Captain Avery said, chuckling nervously.
"You're not doing a very good job of covering it up. You know something about the map everyone's been talking about." Rena continued, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
"Oh. That map." Captain Avery said, in a weak attempt to feign ignorance.
"Yes, I admit, I have not been completely honest with you. You must understand, I thought you were dead or rotting in some Monquistan prison."
"So you're saying you have the map?" I asked.
"Of course I have the map, or a piece of it, anyway. It's time for you to learn why it's so important. That's a long tale…" Captain Avery said. We all sat down in wooden chairs as Captain Avery began his tale.
"Have you heard of El Dorado? It's a legend of the skyways: a lost island of solid gold!"
"But you can't just sail there. The Stormgate to El Dorado never appears in the same place twice, and doesn't stay open for long."
"Marco Pollo, greatest explorer the Spiral has ever known, made a Map that can guide a ship to El Dorado. That Map is the key to unimaginable wealth!"
"The problem is that that much wealth is dangerous – pirates will kill for it! So, to protect the secret, Marco Pollo tore his map into seven pieces, and hid them throughout the Spiral."
"I don't know how, but Captain Gunn got one of the pieces. You've seen it, you know."
"Huh? But I don't remember." I said doubtfully. Captain Avery shook his head in disbelief.
"You don't remember? You found it in Gunn's treasure – it was the piece of sailcloth the Monkey Chalice was wrapped in! Truth be told, that sailcloth was the reason I sent you after Gunn's treasure in the first place."
"I regret the deception, young captain, but I'll make it up to you."
"Proposition: I cut you in on my venture."
"There are six more pieces out there, waiting to be found. Help me acquire the rest of the map, and we'll split the loot, equal shares. Agreed?"
Though I serious doubted he'd actually give us our fair share, I shook his hand. "Very well then, I accept your offer."
"Good! Now, let's have a look at that map…" Captain Avery said as he began searching through the paperwork on his desk, growing more and more anxious. "Wait! Where is it? Curses! FIN! He's taken the map!"
"Fin Dorsal?" I asked, remembering the Shark he had hired Rena and me to catch in order to get our first ship (read: raft.)
"Why do I trust that blackguard? Fin was a member of the Cutthroats. I bet he's already set sail. Go attack a Cutthroat ship out in the Skyway, and see if you can find out where Fin's gone!"
We stood up to leave, and we ran back to the Aquila. We quickly set sail, where we soon found a Cutthroat ship, patrolling the waters for ships to plunder.
"Make ready, boys!" Our gunnery officers, the Clutterbuck brothers shouted as we drew closer. As our starboard side drew level with theirs, we traded broadsides.
We all ducked as sparks and splinters flew at us, and the Aquila turned to pursue the fleeing Cutthroat ship.
"Make ready, boys!" David Clutterbuck shouted. His men hurried to load the cannons with chain shots, and as we caught up with the Cutthroat ship, they fired the cannons.
The masts of the Cutthroat ship toppled like trees, and my men furled the sails so the Aquila drew to a stop next to it.
"Hook us in! Bring her close!" Rena shouted as she drew her saber and pointed it at the Cutthroat ship. Richard Clutterbuck handed each of his men a sparquebus, and they joined David's men.
"Man the swivels! Cover from the quarter deck!" David Clutterbuck shouted as he fired a pistol at the approaching Cutthroats.
"Secure the aft lines! Tie off the bow!" Rena shouted. I let go of the wheel and Rena took hold of it. "The ship is yours, Rena!"
I joined the boarding party gathered on the quarter deck, and I led the charge onto the deck of the Cutthroat's ship.
I landed onto the deck, where almost immediately, I had to parry an attack and then knock out the offending Cutthroat.
After most of the Cutthroats had been defeated, I seized hold of the captain's shirt and pushed him towards port side, where he leaned backwards over the railing, my hand the only thing keeping him from falling overboard.
"Where is Fin Dorsal?" I demanded.
"You want Fin? Look for him at Cutthroat Bay!" The Shark cried, and I pulled him back onto the ship. As I boarded the Aquila and retook the helm, we sailed north to Tradewinds Skyway, leaving the Cutthroats to repair their ship.
Cutthroat Bay was a large lagoon fed by four waterfalls, and it looked like a nice place to go swimming, but right now, we had to find Fin, and we soon came across a cave.
We all nodded and I led the others into the cave, where a whole crew of Sharks was sitting at a wooden table in the center of the cavern, and flags taken from defeated ships hung all around the cavern.
"It looks like we've got company, boys! Sharpen your cutlery, they're our dinner!" The lead shark with the golden trident push-dagger shouted as they stood and drew their cutlasses.
Bonnie, Emmett, and I fired our guns, stunning four of the Cutthroats, and we charged into battle. I deflected one Cutthroat's cutlass and then fired Gunnery into his head, knocking him out.
As two Cutthroats ran towards me, they were stunned by Emmett's pistols, and as Ratbeard kicked another in the stomach with his peg leg, I slammed the flat of my blade into the Shark's head.
I made eye-contact with Bonnie, and I quickly restrained one of the Cutthroats from behind, making him an easy target for Bonnie's Scaramanga.
Old Scratch waved his staff, and two giant glowing skeletal hands emerged from the ground, restraining a Shark so that Jack could finish him off by slamming the flat of his blade into the Shark's head.
As Rena knocked out the last Cutthroat, the leader backed away as we cornered him.
"Hold your fire, captain! If it's Fin you want, he isn't here. He's took that what he stole and gone to meet his buyer, in the vortex near the Presidio." The lead Shark said.
As thanks for the information, I decided to spare him, and we left the cave to board the Aquila.
"The vortex near the Presidio is called the Shipwreck Tempest." Rena said as she checked the atlas written by our friend and landlord, Nikolai Volkov. I nodded. "Set course for the Shipwreck Tempest!"