Ok, I realize that it's been almost a year since the last chapter. I kind of fell hard out of Pirate101 after Book 15 was released, and I wound up in the Runescape fandom. There's so much good lore for it, I could read for months!

I won't lie. I was... disappointed with Book 15. But considering they compressed five books' worth of story plans into one, I suppose it could have been handled a lot worse (that final dungeon though, holy moly). I just wish Kane's arc hadn't ended so abruptly after all that buildup. :/

ANYWAY, on a lighter note, I finally gathered up enough motivation to finish this chapter! As for future plans for this fic series, should I still have enough motivation to continue I'm planning to toss chronological order out the window after the Waponi Wu chapter. It's one of the reasons updates have been slow as heck . I like working on later stuff when it gets really good, and I get badly stuck on certain parts of the storyline. I'll be jumping around the timeline a lot after Book 1 is done.

I'm considering posting smaller ficlets, too. Those are fun, and way easier to finish.

In the meantime, enjoy! :D

The Black Spot was mostly quiet that morning; the only sounds came from the ambient chatter of the tavern's regular customers and the occasional tankard or glass being laid on a table. Sunlight streamed into the window, the beams lighting up dust motes suspended in the air like a cloud of fireflies. The barkeep at the front, a white rabbit with an eyepatch wearing a brown apron, was cleaning out several tankards with an old rag.

The front door creaked open, admitting Kaitlyn, Subodai, and Bonnie Anne. Several customers at the tables glanced over at the new arrivals, making a brief ripple in the conversational chatter they could hear before things returned to normal. The group made their way through the maze of tables to the main bar.

"Hey. Uh, 'scuse me," said Kaitlyn, trying to get the barkeep's attention. The barkeep looked up from his chores at the little girl in front of him, the top of her head barely a foot and a half over the countertop. "Do you by any chance know a One-Eyed Jack? We need to talk to him," she explained.

"One-Eyed Jack? Sure, I know 'im!" the barkeep replied, putting the tankard in the sink. "He's me uncle, see, and he owns this place." He leaned over the counter, examining them more closely. "What's your business with Jack? Maybe I can help ye."

"We need to ask him where we can find Ratbeard."

"Ratbeard, ye say?" the barkeep asked, thinking. "I know nothing about that. Ya just missed Jack- he's gone to collect, uh… rent on the other establishments he owns here. You should head on over to the Flop House, down the ramp and to the right, and talk to Sally- Jack ought to have made it there by now," he explained to them, picking up a dish in the sink. "If I see Jack here, I'll tell him you're lookin' for 'im!"

"Alright. Thanks for the tip," said Kaitlyn. Without much word, they made their way back to the door and left.

As soon as the door closed, the barkeep put down his work. He untied his apron and hung it on one of the wall hooks as he made his way out the back door.

About twenty minutes later, the front door loudly slammed open. Several patrons looked up in alarm, seeing Subodai storming in with the rest of the crew in tow.

"Oí, over here," Jack called, waving them over. They saw that he was at a table over by the far windows rather than behind the bar this time.

"You better have a damn good reason for sending us on a wild goose chase," Kaitlyn told him, walking up to the table he was leaning on.

"Sorry about that, lass, but a rabbit can't be too careful. On to business; you said you were looking for Ratbeard, correct?"

"Yes. The Frogfather sent us to tell you that he handed your favor to him over to us," Gaspard explained to him.

"Really? That's wonderful news! Frogfather's favors can be, ah… difficult to repay," he said.

"Tell me about it," Kaitlyn huffed.

"Well, I do know where Ratbeard is. Or was, actually."

"What do you mean, was?" Subodai asked, a hard edge in his voice. Jack nervously took a small step away from him.

"Well, you see, I owed him a favor; he asked me to tell him if anyone came looking for him. So after you left, I went out and told him you three were here."

At this, Subodai yanked him up by the front of his shirt. "You dare make a mockery of us?"

"Subodai! Put him down!" Bonnie Anne said in horror.

"It was a favor! You have to understand!" Jack said frantically, trying to pull himself free. "Look, I only just got back, you might still be able to catch him! Honest!"

"Put! Him! Down!" Kaitlyn told him. She kept tugging on his arm, but to no avail.

"Where is he?" Subodai asked.

"In an old ship cabin! Take the lift down and go out the front path, first left and third right!"

After a brief pause, Subodai finally let go, saying nothing before promptly leaving. "We'd better make sure he doesn't get into more trouble," Sarah said to Bonnie before following him out.

"I am so sorry about that," Kaitlyn told Jack.

"Hey, it's not the first time someone's threatened me," he replied, looking a little shaken but otherwise fine. "Two favors paid in one day, and with nothing but talk! Not a bad day for old Jack."

"Come on, Captain! We're wasting time!" Bonnie reminded her.

"Oh! Right! Thanks Jack!"

"Anytime! Just… don't bring your friend back, alright?" he asked.

"I'll keep it in mind!" she said before running out the door.

Ratbeard was sitting at the makeshift table in the small, sparsely furnished cabin Jack lent him, poring over the Will. There were a few pages with riddles written on them, but one of them had the location written on it in messy cursive: a tiny, uninhabited island Gunn referred to in the Will as Bounty Island. After cross-referencing the coordinates of the place with his map, he could see it wasn't too far from Flotsam.

A loud rattling sound interrupted his work, coming from the door.

"Locked," he heard a familiar voice say. He recognized it as the mouse captain he'd double-crossed for the will he was holding. "Does anyone know how to pick locks?" Panicking, he grabbed the candle on the table and started burning the papers.

Without warning, the door crashed open, accompanied by the sound of rotten wood splintering. Ratbeard whirled around to see a gruff, angry Subodai standing there, with several chunks of the door scattered on the floor around him.

"...Or you could do that. Sure. Why not," Sarah commented flatly.

Ratbeard grabbed his stool and flung it towards Subodai with all the force he could muster, tripping up the charging horse barbarian and making him lose his balance with a crash. Rat took the opportunity to make a break for the window.

"Ye may be quick in the chase, but ye be too late!" He gloated before diving out the window.

Kaitlyn sprinted towards the window, just barely managing to grab him by his peg leg. The force of it almost pulled her out the window along with him, and she felt one of the others pulling on her skirt to keep her from falling out.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled back, straining from the effort. "You're not goin' anywhere, ya slimy backstabber!"

"Ey! Let go!" He started to kick at her hand, where she held on tight.

"Ow! Quit it! Ow!"

He continued to struggle for a moment before they heard a loud snap. Without his weight, Kaitlyn was flung backwards through the window and into Bonnie Anne, landing both of them in a heap on the floorboards.

"Woah! Are you alright? Where is he?" she asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, examining the peg she was still holding; there was a length of what looked like an old cloth strip attached to it, with the ends torn and frayed. Bonnie Anne examined it with a look of confusion.

"Is that..."

"Oh my god, I accidentally broke off his leg!" she added, hysterical with laughter.

"What happened? Where is he?" Sarah asked, running up to the window. "Argh, he's gone again!"

"Now what? We would have to search every nook and cranny of Flotsam to find where he's gone." Bonnie Anne paused. "Do you smell something burning?"

They turned to see Subodai trying to smother a small fire on the table.

"The Will!"

She got up and helped him finish smothering the flames. She picked up the old, yellowed papers, parts of them charred black and illegible, and examined them.

"It's the Will, alright. Or what's left of it, anyway."

"What's it say?" Sarah asked.

"I'm getting to that." She cleared her throat. "Whoever reads these words, congratulations! I, Captain Gunn, being of sound mind, hereby name you my sole heir, and bequeath you a king's ransom. To claim your treasure, walk the path I lay down here, and learn a few lessons a master pirate has to teach you. Learn these lessons, and my treasure is yours. Sail to my refuge in Corsair's Channel, and look in the cask: there you will find the first lesson."She paused, trying to make out the last portion. "I realize that, as a pirate, you may have no patience for an old man's riddles. If this is the case, you can find my treasure at…"

She stopped, trying to make out the rest. "The rest is ashes," Bonnie finished grimly. "Ratbeard's got a shortcut, then."

"Fantastic." said Kaitlyn.

"There's no way we can take the long way around and still catch up to him!" Sarah said, frustrated. Kaitlyn thought for a second.

"What if he's slowed down?" she asked, holding up the peg leg. "If he's missing this, he won't be getting there very quickly."

"Meaning we still have a chance," Sarah finished, realization dawning on her face.

"It's a step forward," Kaitlyn replied, earning herself several amused looks from the others and one mildly frustrated look from Sarah.

"There's no time to waste, then," said Bonnie. "We'd better get to Gunn's refuge, double-quick!"