Thank you to bunny-luver for reviewing my story!
I guess everyone's waiting for Jack to turn up, eh? If you are, then you'll be very pleased with this chapter ;)
Let's go.
----------
The Eagle's Nest was a very comfortable inn. The whole building gave an immediate impression of extreme tidiness and cleanliness. There wasn't a spot to be seen on any of the furniture, walls, floors, or even ceilings throughout the entire inn.
Aragorn was given a small room on the second floor. It was cozy enough; there was a one-person bed inside which was very soft and bliss to sleep in; a classical-style fireplace, a wardrobe to stow clothes and possessions in, and even a writing desk which came with its own supply of quills, ink, and parchment. Aragorn very much liked the room, though, he thought, it could use a bit of Elvish art.
The eventful afternoon had given Aragorn an unusual sense of tiredness, so he dropped onto his bed and went to sleep. It was four o'clock.
* * *
He awoke two hours later, feeling completely refreshed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around him. He was dismayed, and disappointed, to see that he was still in the Eagle's Nest. He quickly got out of his bed and went downstairs.
The main room was completely spick-and-span. Every birch table and chair reflected the sunlight pouring through the crystal clear window. At the main counter was Mr Cameron Munditieson, the owner of the inn. He was a stout, grizzled old man with a chest-length grey beard and flyaway grey hair. He had an exceptionally large and crooked nose. His least favourite things in the world were tardiness and untidiness, and every few minutes you would see him flatten his hair back down, merely to have it frizz up again within a minute.
The room was fairly crowded. Most of the people there were upper middle class, and Aragorn could not pass a table without being grimaced at, be it at his clothes or his hair. One man flashed him a particularly dirty look and began whispering in an audible whisper to a woman next to him.
"Look at his hair...what a boorish ruffian."
Aragorn said nothing, but discreetly lifted his cloak slightly to reveal to the man his curved knife. Needless to say, the man quickly shut up.
Aragorn walked up to the bar and sat down on a seat. He waited for a moment before Mr Munditieson came up to him. He scanned him up and down, looking disgusted, but said nothing but, "What can I get you, Mr...?"
"Turner," said Aragorn. "Ale please."
"Small or large?" said Munditieson. He had a very wheezy, Caribbean-accent.
"Large," said Aragorn.
Munditieson passed up a spotless wooden flagon from a shelf under the counter, uncorked a shining bottle of brown ale and filled the flagon with it.
Feeling suddenly dry, Aragorn and took a deep swig of the ale. It wasn't bad - nothing on the ale he got back home, though.
"So where you from Mr Turner?" wheezed Munditieson, now cleaning a glass.
"Erm - nearby," said Aragorn awkwardly.
"I see," said Munditieson, putting the glass down and beginning on another. "How are you enjoying Port Royal?"
"It's not bad," said Aragorn. He took another swig of his ale.
"Are you satisfied with my inn?" asked Munditieson.
"Yes, it's very nice," said Aragorn.
"Good," said Munditieson, relieved.
A few moments passed, in which Aragorn sat, drinking his ale quietly. Munditieson said nothing, but continued to wipe out glasses. Just then, the bell on the door tinkled as Will came in, accompanied by another man. Or perhaps it was a woman - most of their face was covered by a maroon scarf. They had another one on their head, covering their hair (if they had any). Only their eyes and nose were visible. From what Aragorn could see of the person's face, they were dark-skinned.
Will and the other person sat down on either side of Aragorn. Will's companion's swayed slightly as he walked, and his arms swung unnecessarily noticeably at his side. Aragorn took an immediate distaste to him.
"James, I've got someone to see you," said Will. It took Aragorn a moment to remember that James was supposed to be his name.
"Oh - sorry," said Aragorn. "What did you say?"
"This man has information for you," said Will, indicating to the dark- skinned man.
"Morning," said the man. He had a bit of a slur in his speech. He stretched out his hand and Aragorn shook it. It was very rough. "My name is Spack Jarrow." Aragorn got the impression that he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"As I was saying - erm, Spack - this man is James Turner, my second cousin," said Will.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr Evenstar," said Spack. Will had apparently told him beforehand of Aragorn's true identity.
"And you, Mr Jarrow," said Aragorn, though he wasn't pleased to meet him at all.
"What can I get you sir, and - madam?" said Munditieson, who had wandered over.
"Rum please," said Spack.
"Scotch please," said Will.
"Large or small?" said Munditieson.
"Large," replied Spack.
"Just a small," said Will.
Munditieson passed Spack a flagon like Aragorn's, and Will one of the glasses he had been cleaning as he spoke to Aragorn. He filled Will's with scotch, and Spack's with rum.
"Cheers," said Spack and drained the flagon in three seconds flat, to the great disgust of Mr Munditieson.
"Fill 'er up, will you?" said Spack. Munditieson refilled his mug. Spack took a swig of the rum, but left some this time.
"Right," he said finally to Aragorn. He lowered his voice to an undertone. "Now, young William here informs me you stumbled across a strange, eerie sort of gold coin which transported you here. Is that right?"
Aragorn nodded.
"Well, when I first heard this story I thought it was a little far- fetched," said Spack, "but that was before he described it to me."
He stopped, and look out of the corner of his eye at Munditieson, who had stopped cleaning out his glass to listen. He obviously sensed Spack's eyes on his back, because he quickly started cleaning again.
Spack lowered his voice still further.
"I am familiar with coins of this variety. They're Aztec coins, but I suppose you wouldn't be familiar with Aztecs?"
Aragorn shook his head.
"Ah, thought so. We don't need to go into the fine details of that, right now we are on the subject of, what was it - oh yes, Aztec gold.
"Years ago, a man named Cortez discovered a tribe of people called the Aztecs. He slaughtered them unreasonably until they payed up: many great treasures and hundreds of these identical gold coins.
"Two of these gold coins were -"
But he was interrupted by Mr Munditieson, who had let out a yell as he caught sight of a cobweb which had appeared in one of the top corners of the room. He burst out of the bar and hurried upstairs to get a broom.
"Well, now that no one's listening," said Spack, raising his voice back to normal.
"Two of these gold coins were different though. You found this coin, correct? And tell me, the grotesque skull in the middle, did it have a bottom jaw?"
Aragorn thought for a minute, then remembered: No, it didn't have a bottom jaw.
"No," said Aragorn.
"Of course it didn't," said Spack. "There was another of these coins, which did not have a bottom jaw either. All the other coins do. Some sort of magic connection has been forged between these two coins. If one should touch one of these coins, he will be transported to wherever the other is."
He paused again. Munditieson had returned. Apparently the cobweb had been removed.
"Oh, bloody hell," said Spack. "We're never going to get to talk about this in private here."
He emptied his flagon and passed it back. As did Aragorn, and Will.
"Three pounds ten shillings please," said Munditieson.
"Here, I'll pay," said Will, and handed over some odd-looking coins. Munditieson counted them up, and then, accepting that they were the proper amount of money, put them in his drawer and said, "Have a nice day."
"Follow me," said Spack.
Aragorn, Will, and Spack got up off their stools and headed for the door. Spack was up front, swinging his arms unnecessarily flamboyant way. Aragorn got the impression that he was chronically drunk.
They left the Eagle's Nest and went out into the town square, where people had resumed their normal activities, though people did speed up when Aragorn came near them, or else point at him and whisper to their friends. It was extremely irritating. Aragorn found himself unconsciously groping for Andúril's hilt in its empty scabbard.
They left the town square through an alleyway down to their right, and came out again in a small cove. There were several wharves leading out into the water, many of them with ships or boats tied up, and others with people fishing off.
"This way," said Spack, and led them across the beach and into the shade of a raised dock, where he looked around cautiously and then tore the scarf off his face. He had a bushy, unkempt moustache under his nose, which made him look more unkempt than ever.
"Aragorn, this man is Jack Sparrow," said Will.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Captain Jack Sparrow," he corrected, putting extra emphasis on the word 'Captain'. He bent over and extracted a small chest from behind one of the dock posts, opened it, and withdrew a cutlass, flintlock pistol, and a black pirate's hat. He put the hat on his head, and tucked the sword and pistol into his belt.
"Anyway, as I was saying," said Jack, "these two coins with a jawless skull are linked to each other. If you touch one of them, you will be transported near to where the other is. Make sense?"
"Yes," said Aragorn. "One thing puzzles me, though: How did one of these coins come to end up in Middle-earth?"
Will looked confused, but Jack looked to understand what he was talking about.
"Frankly, I have no idea," said Jack, shrugging. "Firstly I don't know what the hell you mean by 'Middle-earth' and thirdly I don't know how or why it got there. But if you really want to get back, you just have to find that other coin, and it will take you back to where that coin in said Middle- earth is. Savvy?"
"So all we've got to do is to find that coin?" said Will.
"Aye, and I just happen to know where it is," said Jack.
TBC...
Finally, I've been able to work Jack in! Yay! This is my longest chapter so far, 1626 words in 6 pages! Isn't that great? I'll get chapter 5 up soon!
I guess everyone's waiting for Jack to turn up, eh? If you are, then you'll be very pleased with this chapter ;)
Let's go.
----------
The Eagle's Nest was a very comfortable inn. The whole building gave an immediate impression of extreme tidiness and cleanliness. There wasn't a spot to be seen on any of the furniture, walls, floors, or even ceilings throughout the entire inn.
Aragorn was given a small room on the second floor. It was cozy enough; there was a one-person bed inside which was very soft and bliss to sleep in; a classical-style fireplace, a wardrobe to stow clothes and possessions in, and even a writing desk which came with its own supply of quills, ink, and parchment. Aragorn very much liked the room, though, he thought, it could use a bit of Elvish art.
The eventful afternoon had given Aragorn an unusual sense of tiredness, so he dropped onto his bed and went to sleep. It was four o'clock.
* * *
He awoke two hours later, feeling completely refreshed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around him. He was dismayed, and disappointed, to see that he was still in the Eagle's Nest. He quickly got out of his bed and went downstairs.
The main room was completely spick-and-span. Every birch table and chair reflected the sunlight pouring through the crystal clear window. At the main counter was Mr Cameron Munditieson, the owner of the inn. He was a stout, grizzled old man with a chest-length grey beard and flyaway grey hair. He had an exceptionally large and crooked nose. His least favourite things in the world were tardiness and untidiness, and every few minutes you would see him flatten his hair back down, merely to have it frizz up again within a minute.
The room was fairly crowded. Most of the people there were upper middle class, and Aragorn could not pass a table without being grimaced at, be it at his clothes or his hair. One man flashed him a particularly dirty look and began whispering in an audible whisper to a woman next to him.
"Look at his hair...what a boorish ruffian."
Aragorn said nothing, but discreetly lifted his cloak slightly to reveal to the man his curved knife. Needless to say, the man quickly shut up.
Aragorn walked up to the bar and sat down on a seat. He waited for a moment before Mr Munditieson came up to him. He scanned him up and down, looking disgusted, but said nothing but, "What can I get you, Mr...?"
"Turner," said Aragorn. "Ale please."
"Small or large?" said Munditieson. He had a very wheezy, Caribbean-accent.
"Large," said Aragorn.
Munditieson passed up a spotless wooden flagon from a shelf under the counter, uncorked a shining bottle of brown ale and filled the flagon with it.
Feeling suddenly dry, Aragorn and took a deep swig of the ale. It wasn't bad - nothing on the ale he got back home, though.
"So where you from Mr Turner?" wheezed Munditieson, now cleaning a glass.
"Erm - nearby," said Aragorn awkwardly.
"I see," said Munditieson, putting the glass down and beginning on another. "How are you enjoying Port Royal?"
"It's not bad," said Aragorn. He took another swig of his ale.
"Are you satisfied with my inn?" asked Munditieson.
"Yes, it's very nice," said Aragorn.
"Good," said Munditieson, relieved.
A few moments passed, in which Aragorn sat, drinking his ale quietly. Munditieson said nothing, but continued to wipe out glasses. Just then, the bell on the door tinkled as Will came in, accompanied by another man. Or perhaps it was a woman - most of their face was covered by a maroon scarf. They had another one on their head, covering their hair (if they had any). Only their eyes and nose were visible. From what Aragorn could see of the person's face, they were dark-skinned.
Will and the other person sat down on either side of Aragorn. Will's companion's swayed slightly as he walked, and his arms swung unnecessarily noticeably at his side. Aragorn took an immediate distaste to him.
"James, I've got someone to see you," said Will. It took Aragorn a moment to remember that James was supposed to be his name.
"Oh - sorry," said Aragorn. "What did you say?"
"This man has information for you," said Will, indicating to the dark- skinned man.
"Morning," said the man. He had a bit of a slur in his speech. He stretched out his hand and Aragorn shook it. It was very rough. "My name is Spack Jarrow." Aragorn got the impression that he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"As I was saying - erm, Spack - this man is James Turner, my second cousin," said Will.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr Evenstar," said Spack. Will had apparently told him beforehand of Aragorn's true identity.
"And you, Mr Jarrow," said Aragorn, though he wasn't pleased to meet him at all.
"What can I get you sir, and - madam?" said Munditieson, who had wandered over.
"Rum please," said Spack.
"Scotch please," said Will.
"Large or small?" said Munditieson.
"Large," replied Spack.
"Just a small," said Will.
Munditieson passed Spack a flagon like Aragorn's, and Will one of the glasses he had been cleaning as he spoke to Aragorn. He filled Will's with scotch, and Spack's with rum.
"Cheers," said Spack and drained the flagon in three seconds flat, to the great disgust of Mr Munditieson.
"Fill 'er up, will you?" said Spack. Munditieson refilled his mug. Spack took a swig of the rum, but left some this time.
"Right," he said finally to Aragorn. He lowered his voice to an undertone. "Now, young William here informs me you stumbled across a strange, eerie sort of gold coin which transported you here. Is that right?"
Aragorn nodded.
"Well, when I first heard this story I thought it was a little far- fetched," said Spack, "but that was before he described it to me."
He stopped, and look out of the corner of his eye at Munditieson, who had stopped cleaning out his glass to listen. He obviously sensed Spack's eyes on his back, because he quickly started cleaning again.
Spack lowered his voice still further.
"I am familiar with coins of this variety. They're Aztec coins, but I suppose you wouldn't be familiar with Aztecs?"
Aragorn shook his head.
"Ah, thought so. We don't need to go into the fine details of that, right now we are on the subject of, what was it - oh yes, Aztec gold.
"Years ago, a man named Cortez discovered a tribe of people called the Aztecs. He slaughtered them unreasonably until they payed up: many great treasures and hundreds of these identical gold coins.
"Two of these gold coins were -"
But he was interrupted by Mr Munditieson, who had let out a yell as he caught sight of a cobweb which had appeared in one of the top corners of the room. He burst out of the bar and hurried upstairs to get a broom.
"Well, now that no one's listening," said Spack, raising his voice back to normal.
"Two of these gold coins were different though. You found this coin, correct? And tell me, the grotesque skull in the middle, did it have a bottom jaw?"
Aragorn thought for a minute, then remembered: No, it didn't have a bottom jaw.
"No," said Aragorn.
"Of course it didn't," said Spack. "There was another of these coins, which did not have a bottom jaw either. All the other coins do. Some sort of magic connection has been forged between these two coins. If one should touch one of these coins, he will be transported to wherever the other is."
He paused again. Munditieson had returned. Apparently the cobweb had been removed.
"Oh, bloody hell," said Spack. "We're never going to get to talk about this in private here."
He emptied his flagon and passed it back. As did Aragorn, and Will.
"Three pounds ten shillings please," said Munditieson.
"Here, I'll pay," said Will, and handed over some odd-looking coins. Munditieson counted them up, and then, accepting that they were the proper amount of money, put them in his drawer and said, "Have a nice day."
"Follow me," said Spack.
Aragorn, Will, and Spack got up off their stools and headed for the door. Spack was up front, swinging his arms unnecessarily flamboyant way. Aragorn got the impression that he was chronically drunk.
They left the Eagle's Nest and went out into the town square, where people had resumed their normal activities, though people did speed up when Aragorn came near them, or else point at him and whisper to their friends. It was extremely irritating. Aragorn found himself unconsciously groping for Andúril's hilt in its empty scabbard.
They left the town square through an alleyway down to their right, and came out again in a small cove. There were several wharves leading out into the water, many of them with ships or boats tied up, and others with people fishing off.
"This way," said Spack, and led them across the beach and into the shade of a raised dock, where he looked around cautiously and then tore the scarf off his face. He had a bushy, unkempt moustache under his nose, which made him look more unkempt than ever.
"Aragorn, this man is Jack Sparrow," said Will.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Captain Jack Sparrow," he corrected, putting extra emphasis on the word 'Captain'. He bent over and extracted a small chest from behind one of the dock posts, opened it, and withdrew a cutlass, flintlock pistol, and a black pirate's hat. He put the hat on his head, and tucked the sword and pistol into his belt.
"Anyway, as I was saying," said Jack, "these two coins with a jawless skull are linked to each other. If you touch one of them, you will be transported near to where the other is. Make sense?"
"Yes," said Aragorn. "One thing puzzles me, though: How did one of these coins come to end up in Middle-earth?"
Will looked confused, but Jack looked to understand what he was talking about.
"Frankly, I have no idea," said Jack, shrugging. "Firstly I don't know what the hell you mean by 'Middle-earth' and thirdly I don't know how or why it got there. But if you really want to get back, you just have to find that other coin, and it will take you back to where that coin in said Middle- earth is. Savvy?"
"So all we've got to do is to find that coin?" said Will.
"Aye, and I just happen to know where it is," said Jack.
TBC...
Finally, I've been able to work Jack in! Yay! This is my longest chapter so far, 1626 words in 6 pages! Isn't that great? I'll get chapter 5 up soon!