Pirates of the Caribbean
Legend of the Dragon's Claw
By Amos Whirly
Chapter Four: The Dragon's Claw
"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," Jack mumbled, staring at his reflection in Elizabeth's full-length mirror. "I'm not going outside in this—this—rubbish!"
"Well, you didn't want to be noticed, did you?" Elizabeth huffed.
"Noticed, Elizabeth, dear?" Jack glared at her. "The whole bloody town won't be able to stop noticing me!"
Will sat in the corner trying not to laugh.
Jack wore a pair of Will's nicest breeches and an ornate overcoat that had belonged to Elizabeth's father, the former governor of Port Royal. The overcoat was bright turquoise with gold trim all around the hem and cuffs. His shirt was billowy and lacy around the collar, spilling out of the neckline and the cuffs like a waterfall. A long blue cape fell off his shoulders and nearly dragged the ground, and, to top it all off, Jack wore one of Will's hats, the brown one with the bent brim and the large black and white feather.
"You didn't want to be mistaken for a pirate, Jack," Elizabeth insisted, "and in that outfit you won't be."
"I don't want to know what I'll be mistaken for in this getup," Jack griped, pulling at the hem of the coat.
"You know, Jack, she's right," Will commented, standing up. "You don't look like a pirate."
"Agreed," Jack snorted, glaring at his reflection again. "At least pirates have some sense of style. I think I've changed me mind. Let's just storm the place, steal the dagger, and forget all this costuming nonsense!"
"No," Will nodded firmly.
Jack glared at the mirror again and pouted.
"It's still missing something," Elizabeth murmured, tapping her chin. "Ah! That's it!"
"Oh, dear," Jack groaned as Elizabeth darted from the room. "What's she going to do to me now?"
The rustle of her skirts announced her return. She held out a long black cane with a golden handle.
"Perfect," she smiled.
"It's only for a day, Jack," Will was fighting the urge to smile.
"Only for a day," Jack nodded and flipped the cane over his arm.
A giggle sounded from the doorway, and Tori peeked inside.
"Ah, Miss Victoria," Jack bowed low, "how do I look, darling?"
"Silly."
* * *
"So much for not drawing attention," Jack mumbled as he and Will walked casually down the main street of Port Royal.
Merchants in every booth stopped their activity to watch the odd couple pass.
"Just ignore them, Jack," Will chuckled.
"This is ridiculous," Jack hissed, keeping pace with his taller friend. "I hate this hat."
"You told me you liked it."
"I lied."
"There it is," Will stopped and gestured to a large building at the end of the dirt street. "That's McClintock's house."
Will walked faster. They reached the doors quickly.
The house was enormous with three levels with a wraparound porch on the ground level and balconies on the third. The windows were huge and sparkled as if they had just been cleaned.
"Now, Jack," Will turned to him.
"Mm?"
"Let me do the talking, all right?"
"I'm the one who's after the dagger, Will."
"Yes, but McClintock doesn't like rude people."
"Are you saying I'm rude?"
"You're a pirate, aren't you?"
Jack thought for a moment.
"Good point," he tapped Will's chest. "You talk."
Will moved to knock on the door when a voice called out from the other side of the porch, "Mr. Turner! What a pleasant surprise!"
Will and Jack turned and stared.
"Oh, dear," Jack tried to hide his face.
"Admiral Norrington!" Will swallowed hard. "How good to see you, sir."
The tall, imposing admiral stepped close to Will and shook his hand.
"I trust all is well with you?"
"Of course, sir," Will answered nervously, surveying Norrington's official uniform with poorly concealed anxiety.
"And Elizabeth?"
"She's doing quite well, sir," Will nodded, praying that Norrington would ignore Jack.
"And Victoria?"
"Precocious as ever, sir."
"Excellent. Are you here for McClintock?"
"Yes, sir. Have you been to see him?"
"No, I was just in the area and was checking to see if he had accepted any visits from strangers recently."
"Strangers?" Will gulped.
"Aye," Norrington replied, the breeze tossing his white curls around beneath his three-cornered hat. "Word has gotten out, it seems, about McClintock and his vast collection of swords. Apparently, he was trying to keep the knowledge of his collection quiet, and one of his servants managed to leak the news at one of the local taverns."
"That's too bad, sir."
"Indeed," Norrington sighed regally. "I'm just certain that we'll some pirate activity as a result." Norrington's eyes suddenly narrowed. "And speaking of strangers, Turner, who is your friend?"
Jack stifled the urge to wince as he faced Norrington.
"Um," Will took a deep breath. "This is Smith. He's a—a—" he chuckled, "a distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed."
"Gutentach," Jack grunted.
"From France," Will continued.
"France?" Norrington looked askance at Jack.
"Ja," Jack clapped his hands together.
Norrington raised one eyebrow and stood straighter.
"Very well, Turner, Smith," he nodded to each in turn. "Carry on."
And he turned and walked away.
Jack and Will watched him go, neither daring to breathe until he had passed out of sight. The moment he walked around a corner, Jack whacked Will on the head with his cane.
"French?" he hissed. "That was German!"
"How was I supposed to know?" Will yanked the cane away from him. "At least I didn't say you were a eunuch."
"Heh-heh-heh," Jack snorted. "Distant cousin of your aunt's nephew twice removed. Wonder where you got that from? You're a terrible liar."
"I'm sorry, Jack. I don't make a habit of it."
"We'll have to hurry."
"Why?" Will knocked on the door. "Norrington fell for it."
"If Norrington fell for that act, I'll wear this outfit for a week."
The door opened, and a well-dressed butler answered.
"May I help you?" he asked.
"Yes," Will bowed in return. "William Turner to see Mr. McClintock."
"Please, come in, Master Turner," the butler gestured for them to enter.
He led them to an extravagant anteroom.
"Wait here, please."
"Nice, nice, very nice," Jack started wandering around the room.
"Don't touch anything," Will warned.
"Don't touch anything," Jack mocked and poked the face of a huge grandfather clock.
The clock chimed the moment Jack's finger touched its face, and Jack shouted, jumping back and crashing into the table at the center of the room! Will managed to catch the centerpiece before it tumbled off the edge of the table.
Jack offered a smile to Will, but Will did not return it. So Jack twined his fingers and stood patiently.
In a few moments, though, a booming voice echoed throughout the house.
"William Turner, lad!" the voice shouted as the side doors burst open, and a huge man bounced into the anteroom. "Fantastic!"
The enormous man caught Will in a bone-crushing bear hug and laughed loud enough to rattle the windows.
Jack stared blankly for a moment.
The man had to be at least six and a half feet tall. His hair was shoulder-length and carrot red, and his eyes were blue. The man also wore a kilt. Jack tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow.
"And who might this be?" the man guffawed, snatching Jack up in a bear hug too and squeezing until Jack thought his lungs would burst.
"Mr. McClintock, this is—uh—Smith," Will stumbled. "A distant relative of mine."
McClintock dropped them both on the tile and grabbed Jack's hand, pumping it up and down wildly.
"A pleasure to be meetin' ye, Mr. Smith," he babbled. "A true pleasure it is."
Jack laughed primly.
"Well, laddie, whot kin I be doin' for ye?" McClintock grabbed Will around the neck.
"Smith, here," Will gestured at Jack, who smiled innocently, "is interested in swords, and he wanted to look at one he heard rumor that you had in your collection."
"And which one might that be, laddie?" McClintock's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"The Dragon's Claw," Jack said before he could stop himself.
Will glared at him, but McClintock did not notice.
"Aye, the Dragon's Claw," McClintock nodded. "Quite a rare specimen, if I do say so meself. I've had pictures made of it just because it's so unique." McClintock eyed Will suspiciously and shrugged. "Why not? Come with me!"
He moved into another room, gesturing for Will and Jack to follow.
They passed case after case after case of beautiful antique swords, each polished to perfection and displayed elaborately. Finally, they reached a candlelit room draped in crimson satin. At the center of the room was a stand, upon which sat the most intricately carved weapon Will had ever seen in his life.
Indeed, the hilt was jade and ivory, but it was stained with red in all the carved crevices. Rubies blinked in the eyes of the dragon on the hilt, and emeralds sparkled in the tang. The blade curved and was made of gold and silver and encrusted with sapphires and diamonds.
"The Dragon's Claw," McClintock gestured to it.
Will peered closer at it, and his breath caught in his throat.
Engraved in the ivory, which made the dragon's belly, were strange symbols, dyed green.
"It's marvelous," Will tore his eyes away from it to look at McClintock, and he felt his heart stop.
Jack stood in front of the huge Scottish man with a sly grin on his clean face.
"Truly marvelous indeed," Jack was saying. "Do you happen to know what the little symbols on the little lizard's underbelly mean?"
Will felt his stomach falling as McClintock's face hardened.
"If ye're referring to the treasure it's supposed to lead to—"
"Treasure? What treasure?" Jack backpedaled quickly, immediately sensing the man's change of tone.
McClintock's eyes narrowed to slits.
Jack and Will smacked into the dusty street outside McClintock's mansion as the huge Scot himself threw them out. The doors slammed behind them.
Jack rolled over and began to dust himself off.
"Well, that went better than it could have."
Will grumbled something inaudible into the dirt and scrambled to his feet, stomping back toward his house.
"Hey!" Jack scurried after him. "Where do you think you're going? We have to get that dagger."
"Jack," Will stopped and glared at him. "I told you I would get you in to see McClintock. I told you I would get you in to see the dagger. I even told you I would try to get the dagger for you."
"And you did wonderful job, all but for the last part."
"I was working on it when you opened your mouth! I told you to let me do the talking!"
"Well, excuse me for trying to make your job a little easier!"
"Oh, for pity's sake," Will shook his head and looked at the sky. "Look, Jack. It's almost lunchtime. Let's go. We'll think better after eating. We'll try again, but we're not going to steal it."
"Oh, then how do you propose to get it?"
"I don't know," Will sighed, "but we'll think of something."
Jack stopped suddenly and glared at him.
"I'm not wearing a dress, mate. This getup is bad enough, but if your wife tries to put me in a dress next time to keep me from being noticed, I'll go bloody steal the thing on me own!"
As the two of them moved down the street together, a man in the shadows of an alleyway behind them watched their every move. Beneath his concealing cloak, he grasped a sheath carved of ivory and jade.