Long live to piracy

…

The gales came early that year. More than a few ships were lost because of it, but none more famous than that marvelous vessel The Elrond of Fitzebarrel. And why might you ask be this ship so famous? Why twas the only ship sunk that year that no one has since been able to find. And let me tell you, it is not from a lack of trying.

The Elrond of Fitzebarrel was a mighty ship, biggest of her kind for the time, her captain and crew all faithful hands before the mast and well-seasoned to boot. She sat low in the water as she sailed out of port, her belly full of that most precious cargo, Gold. No one's quite sure where it all came from or why it was all loaded onto that one ship but so it was and so it was lost, all of it.

There are some say the depths never give up their victims and as for the Elrond of Fitzebarrel, this is most certainly true.

…

Ron sat with those crowded around the bard as he spun his tale of the ill-fated gold ship. Like so many there his mind danced with the fantasy of finding it, and more importantly, what he'd do with what he found. The drink only added to the fancy as gold glittered in his eyes and infested his brain like putrid rot. He had to have it, it was just sitting there, his claim on it was as good as anyone else's, so why not.

…

At the back of the inn, concealed mostly in shadows, sat an odd pair, a man and a woman. The woman sat analyzing the contents of a scroll, several sheets of notes next to her. Her hair was cut short and black as pitch which was a contrast to simple white robes that marked her as a Cleric. The man was a bit harder to peg, his mottled gray hooded cloak common attire to a number of professions from rogues to rangers. He sat nursing a drink of some kind, though his focus seemed to be on the wall more than his mug.

"Find anything interesting Hermione?" he asked randomly.

"Lots of things I find interesting Harry" she replied, "She really was a genius."

"Kumbra you mean?" he clarified.

She nodded, "An amoral bitch, a bit short sighted but still, brilliant."

"Short sighted how?" he asked.

"Well, it was certainly a bit short sighted what she did to Mother Owl, look where that got her" said Hermione.

"To be fair, she seemed a bit distracted" said Harry, remembering the other woman he had seen just beforehand.

"Yes I suppose" said Hermione with a saccharine smile, "you do seem to have that effect on most women, don't you Harry?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean" he mumbled into his mug.

This was a lie of course which proved yet again that it was a skill he did not have. He ignored his friends chuckling and glanced at Ruby, sitting at the bar luring in her latest client with an enticing bit of leg. Much to his surprise Ruby had slipped into their little cohort without fanfare, making her place without ruffling anyone's feathers, well, mostly.

Ron found it annoying that the girl who would clearly put out for anyone had no interest in him though the fact she wasn't going strictly for Harry managed to stave of the Weasley jealousy. While it was true Ruby lured in men like a fisherman did trout, she always went back to him.

He was grateful at least that she had never out right assaulted him again like she had that first night. Though just as he'd feared she had brought Luna with her to bed on several occasions though she hadn't been the only one, there had also been that half goblin girl, who'd clearly gotten her good genes from her mother, and the Halfling girl Tina, a sweetheart on the surface but an absolute deviant beneath.

In between these various episodes of debauchery however she still tended to warm his bed in a non-sexual manner. The succubus liked to cuddle, who would have guessed. Early on he might have complained about her constant proximity but whenever he did she'd always pull out the watery eyes and his resistance would vanish, damnation but he was a sucker. Looking back now he realized she had done him a favor.

Leaving the wall in Celadon behind had been harder than he'd thought it would be, a piece of him had died in that place and he knew it was a piece he would never be getting back. Still, the warm and cuddly succubus had wormed her way into his heart and in her own way helped to put away the Black Slayer of Celadon. He was still there of course, hovering just beneath the surface, waiting to be called out again but for the time being Harry was content to be just Harry.

…

"You guys, I've got a great idea" said Ron excitedly.

"That would be a first" Hermione mumbled.

"You know that ship, the Elron something or other, the one with all the gold in it? Well, we're going to find it."

His friends looked at him for a moment before turning to each other.

"You want this one?" asked Hermione.

"No, I think I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear him" said Harry, returning his attention to the wall.

"Aw come on guys this is a good idea" Ron protested, seeing their lack of enthusiasm.

"Uh huh, let me tell you all the reasons this isn't a good idea" said Hermione, "firstly, it may be called a lake but Rizen is the size of a small sea, without knowing where to look you could spend a hundred lifetimes searching and still not find anything. Secondly, to even begin searching you would need a ship, a crew, and a captain preferably with some experience. Thirdly, for the sake of argument, let's assume you did somehow manage to locate this infamous treasure, it would still be at the bottom of the lake, what are you going to do, swim down there?"

"Ah hah" he declared triumphantly, "You think I hadn't thought of that? What we need is a big platform, then we put a bubble over it and then we send it down to the ship and load it up, then we just ride it back to the surface."

He smiled proudly at his plan, it had taken him all of five minutes to come up with it and it was probably one of his best. Hermione groaned.

"I'm not even going to point out all the problems with that little scheme, and anyway it still doesn't address the other two points, no ship, no location."

"I might actually be able to help you with that."

The three turned to look at the newest speaker, and while Ron smiled as the man spoke, Harry and Hermione were far less than pleased.

…

"I don't like it."

They were three days out when Hermione came to Harry with this declaration.

"What exactly don't you like?" he asked, having more than a few complaints himself at that point.

"This whole trip, it just feels wrong" she said.

"You mean how convenient it was that the only survivor of the Elrond of Fitzebarrel happened to be listening and happened to have a ship and a crew and happened to still need a way to retrieve the treasure which he just so happened to be going after."

"As it happens, yes" she said.

"Please tell me you're not just putting that all together now, I had this whole thing figured out before we ever stepped foot on the boat" he said, casually leaning against the side rail.

"It's a scam."

"Undoubtedly" he agreed.

"They don't really know where the treasure is."

"I'm not entirely sure of that actually" he disagreed.

She considered that for a moment, "They definitely know where something is that they couldn't get at on their own."

"Mm hmm."

"They don't plan to let us live to see shore again."

"Most definitely not" he agreed.

"You knew that before we ever left, then why did we get on this ship?"

"Realistically Hermione, we're in no real danger" he said.

She looked at him strangely, his words a clear contradiction to what they'd just been saying, "I don't understand" she was shamed to admit.

"Simply put, even on this rocking swaying bit of wood, I could out fight every one of them all together, bare handed. All of us together, it wouldn't even be a fight."

Hermione nodded, his logic suddenly becoming clear, "they obviously don't know who we are."

And why should they? Hermione and Harry had gone to great lengths to disguise themselves so people wouldn't recognize the Black Slayer and the Angel Singer. Harry's black cloak and armor were packed away safely at the bottom of Hermione's magic bag and with her hair dyed and cut short, Hermione looked like a completely different person. Harry had even put his dryad bow in the bag, such a weapon being much too rare and iconic as well as the former Sword of Darkness. He now carried a common looking long bow of good quality but had not bothered to replace his sword, satisfied with the small sax he still carried.

Even a year away from Celadon they were still cautious. They didn't need old trouble finding them, especially when Ron was all too happy to find them new trouble to deal with.

"Do you think they really do know where the ship is" she asked.

"Maybe" he said, "Either way, I can't deny I'm a bit curious at what we'll find."

…

"Drop the anchor."

Seven days out and they arrived at last. Ron was practically vibrating with giddy energy. Luna seemed more interested in finishing her last seashell necklace, a project she and Seraphina had been working on the entire trip. Ruby of course was flouncing around as she had the entire trip, wearing barely enough to preserve her modesty, that of course implying she possessed any.

Harry and Hermione watched as a large round slab of wood was hauled up onto the deck. This was their platform. Hermione had already done most of the preparations and began to put the finishing touches on it as soon as it was set down. She had to keep from grinding her teeth as Ron continued to buzz around like a bee on a sugar high giving what he considered encouragement and helpful advice.

It took two of the deckhands to keep her from throttling the obnoxious red-head and as Harry watched them restrain her Luna walked up to him and placed a seashell necklace around his neck.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"It's very nice Luna" he replied.

"I'm glad you like it" she said, "because you're not going to like this next bit at all."

Before he could fully process the statement Luna lunged forward and shoved him over the railing. He was so surprised he never even had time to call out before he hit the water. It was dark, even near the surface and for a time he just floated there, six or seven feet down, feeling mightily annoyed and a little cold.

As he hung there, considering whether he should swim back up to the surface, a slim pale form joined him, quickly followed by a tanned voluptuous one, and a small black haired one. He wasn't the least bit surprised to find Luna completely naked but for her own seashell necklace, nor was it a surprise to find Ruby in the same state. He was a little surprised to see Sera so but it faded quickly.

He had figured out the purpose of the necklace rather quickly which had done absolutely nothing to alleviate his annoyance with the pale girl. He made that very clear with his stony stare. Luna seemed completely oblivious to this and swam right on past him, the other two following close behind. Seeing there would be nothing for it he sighed, turned and followed them.

The depths grew dark the further down they went and without his wind lore Harry was swimming completely blind. Hesitantly he pulled his glasses from his pocket and put them on. He almost wished he hadn't. The night like vision made the place all the more eerie but at least he could see the girls ahead of him, and before long he saw something else.

The ship was massive, almost twice the size of their own, and broken down the center. It was hard to say exactly what had sunk the ship but one thing was clear, it had certainly taken a beating. As they floated there waiting for Ron and Hermione something in the depths moved. With his glasses Harry could make out a massive shape moving slowly through the water. He couldn't tell by its trajectory if it was coming for them but the point was rendered moot when Luna apparently spotted it and swam right for it.

He wanted to call after her but they were under water. Before he could think of anything else the platform appeared, a brilliant light shining from Hermione's staff as she and Ron stood protected under a massive bubble of air.

Harry sighed for the second time that trip. Luna could undoubtedly take care of herself so if she wanted to go chasing giant monsters, who was he to stop her.

…

"Well now ain't that a sight."

It had taken ten trips to do it but at last they'd manage to get every bit of gold they could find up and into the hold of the still floating ship. The ship sat dangerously low but it still sat above the water.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful" marveled Ron.

"Look well on it lad, you'll never see it's like again I assure you" said the captain with a hint of menace.

"Captain, I am sorry to report we have taken on too much treasure, we're too weighed down to make it back to shore" said the first mate.

"Hmm, well there's only one thing to do then, we need to lose some weight."

"Well how are we going to do that?" he wasn't a wise man that Ron Weasley.

"By throwing off some dead weight."

"Like what?" asked Ron, missing how his friends seemed to cringe at his density.

"Like you boyo."

The crew surrounded them and Ron scurried back from the blades brandished at him to join the others on the platform.

"Anyone who saw this coming please raise your hand" said Harry.

All hands went up save for Ron's.

"Honestly I thought it was obvious" said Ruby.

"It was obvious" said Luna.

"Well now I can't tell ye how grateful we are for your help here today in gathering up this treasure but now that we have it I fail to see what purpose ye serve upon my ship. And as we've just stated, we need to lose some dead weight."

"I'm afraid that really isn't going to help you much" said Luna, putting two fingers into her mouth and letting out a long piercing whistle.

The first strike came from the starboard side, knocking everyone off their feet. The second shook them from the port side, bringing the already low ship even lower into the water.

"Hermione" said Harry, easily seeing what was about to happen.

"On it" she said, sharing his foresight.

Men began to scream as two massive tentacles rose up out of the water and began wrapping themselves around the ship. Wood cracked and splintered under the pressure and it suddenly became clear to Harry what had happened to the Elrond of Fitzebarrel. As the ship split in two and sank beneath the water the platform floated free, the only thing not to be pulled down.

"Well, that was a bit of a surprise" said Ruby.

"Not really" said Harry, nothing Luna did surprised him anymore.

"Well this is terrible, what are we going to do?" cried Ruby.

"Relax" said Hermione, waving her staff, "I knew we'd need another way back to shore."

A group of ruins on the platform began to glow and a moment later the platform itself began to motivate.

"There should be enough power there to get us back to shore" she said confidently.

"Nice work Hermione" said Harry.

"Well, I did have seven days to work on it" she replied, blushing at the praise.

So, as the sun began its descent the little platform chugged along. And while five people looked forward, one still looked back, great tears of loss streaming down his face. The captain had been right after all, he would never see the like again.