Pearlof the Sea

Chapter Four:TallTalls about TinyPeople

As the water sparkled and gleamed in the early morning sun, the Black Pearl weighed anchor just off shore of one of the many sandy beaches that stretched across the Venezuelan coast line. Her crisp white sails snapped and lazily flapped in the wind as she rested and her crew stood in a line awaiting orders from their Captain.

Lazily, her captain paced back and forth up and down the line of his crew. His mood seemed to be a cheery yet delusional one, although the crew suspected he was just suffering from a lack of sleep more than the exciting nature of finally docking. The poor man had been able to get about two hours of shut eye before it was time to drag himself back up on deck to dock his dark beauty. His hat sat askew on his head and his kohl was smudged more than usual as he paced, splitting his crew into five groups.

"Crimp yer with the Wednesday group."

"Aye sir!" The call echoed across the silent deck and Jack continued down the line.

"Tearlach, join the Thursdays." As he lifted his boot to continue, Jack stumbled mid-step by the look on his boson's face. It was a combination of frustration and annoyance and Jack could figure out for the life of him what was wrong with the man. "Aye or nay? Answer man!"

"Cap'n I would rather be a Monday."

Caught off guard by the man's request Jack suddenly stood up a little straighter.

"A Monday? What the bloody hell for? Are yeh questionin' my ability to place yeh in the proper group Mr. Tearlach?" Jack raised a questioning eyebrow and Tearlach squirmed uncomfortably.

"No sir!" The boson replied quickly. "I just like Mondays better." It was apparent that Tearlach was like a huge dog. He looked ferocious, but in all actually, he probably didn't have the heart to hurt a fly. Although, Jack knew for a fact that if duty called said big dog could do a lot of damage with a sword. Jack waved his hand at him before he continued down the line.

"Fine, fine, be a Monday. Kursar, that makes yeh a Thursday." He continued, pointing a ring clad finger at each crew member and assigning them a day until he reached the last one. "And finally, Ana yer a Wednesday." He slowly made his way back to the front center of the crew after an approving, "Aye!" from his first mate.

"Boys, and Ana," He said pointedly and he received an approving nod from Ana. "We're here 'till Friday. 'Tis Monday today and the days yeh was each assigned are the days yer arse is to be aboard this ship. Yer job is to check her from crows nest to brig for any damage or things outta place. I want my lady to sparkle like the day before that nasty Barbossa got a hold of 'er." The crew let out a hiss at the mutinous name Barbossa. Jack grinned before holding up a dirty, ring clad finger. "One last thing, I don't want any non-crew members aboard, 'specially no whores. Savvy?"

"Aye Aye sir!" The answer echoed across the deck and the sleepy ocean before Jack grinned and waved his hands.

"All but the Monday's, to the long boats!"

Excitement buzzed through the crew as they slowly rowed to shore, their pockets jingling with gold and things to bargain and trade with. Five whole days off the ship, it sounded like heaven to all of them but one. Jack's mood seemed to be going from a happy delusional to sulky, faster than the men could row. This stop was all business for him and it meant nothing more than five days away from the Pearl. By the time the bottom of the long boat scrapped against the beach sand and the splash of boots hitting the water reached Jack's ears, he was staring longingly back at his ship.

"Oh come on Jack! Look 'appy! Wine and women lad, all awaitin' yeh." Gibbs said, giving the man a slap on the back and offering a hand to pull him out of the boat; a hand which Jack promptly ignored.

"Aye, the booze and women sound allurin' but I have to stop by ole Chester's house first." His boots sloshed and his hair jingled as Jack trudged his way up the beach.

"Chester?" Gibbs said, his own boots sloshing as he plodded his own way up the beach. "Tha' ole red headed midget?"

"Aye, that's the one." Jack hands waved about as spoke, the sun catching on his many trinkets. "He's always got information on the latest treasure, rumor-"

"Prophecy?" Gibbs asked cutting his captain off mid sentence.

Jack just glared at the quartermaster. "I told yeh I don't want to hear anythin' more about that bloody thing. Now, go off and have yerself some fun. Go on, get!"

Jack waved the man away with a mock frown before turning to his first mate. "Ana," He took a few wavering steps down the beach to her, his hands waving nonchalantly. "I'm gonna go talk business fer a bit and then I'm gonna wanna run a few things by yeh, so, as first mate of that fine vessel," His hands gestured toward the Pearl and he felt another prang of sadness that he wasn't aboard her. "Y'er to have her arse in the Empty Socket tavern in 'bout two hours, savvy?"

AnaMaria nodded before spotting Crimp struggling with one of the long boats. "Aye Cap'n I'll be there. Oi!" Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when she shouted. "Someone help the bloody man! 'S'not like he's bloody tall 'nough to do it himself!"

"Yes I am!" Crimp shouted back the long boat nearly pulling him over as he tried to drag it ashore. "I'll decide what I'm too short to do! It's me own bloody business not yers!"

Jack slowly slunk away from the war that was about to begin between his first mate and the dwarf pirate. He had his own battles to fight and as amusing as this one would be to watch, the sooner he left Chester's the sooner the fun part of this stop began.

Chester Monty was four feet tall, exactly. His hair was the color of fire, so red that some people often accused him of dealing with the devil. His temper was so fitting to the color of his hair that sometimes Jack wondered if Chester didn't deal with the devil, but actually was the devil himself. It always figured that the most malicious and cynical people in the world were the ones with all the information.

Jack's ring clad fingers knocked against the wood door as his dark eyes scanned the sign hanging above the door; "The Wailing Wench" it read and Jack chuckled. Chester resided below a whore-house (that is actually how Jack Sparrow came to know of Chester, but that is another story entirely) and it always seemed to have a different name each time Jack stopped by. Two years ago it had been "The Giggling Whore" and the year before that, "The Red Dress", but for reasons unbeknownst to Jack, it was always different and the new name was always more amusing than the last.

The old hinges creaked as the wood door opened and Chester's small head appeared. His beady eyes found Jack's kohl rimmed ones and a smile cracked his lips. "Ahh, Captain Sparrow, I was wondering when you'd arrive at my doorstep, but I wasn't expecting you to take so long in getting here."

Jack grinned, his golden teeth sparkling. "Yeh know me, always expected, but still surprisin'. Now, yeh gonna let me in or do I 'ave the stand here all day?"

The short man grinned and pulled open the door allowing Jack to enter the small musty room. The walls were the color of a ripe peach, but in the dark room they looked more tan than anything else. The smell of burning incense filled the room and Jack inhaled deeply and his ears were attentive to the soft music echoing from upstairs.

"This place gets more and more like a gypsy's house each time I come through here." Jack said in wonder as his eyes scanned the many treasures Chester had lining his walls. Chester smiled and looked up at his ceiling.

"Well, the music adds a bit to the mystic mood doesn't it?" He looked back at Jack, his grin gone from his small fat face and a look of complete seriousness replaced it. "Now listen Sparrow, I notice a damned thing missing and I'm hunting you down and killing you. It's taken me many years to build up my collection and not even a scallywag like you is going to steal it right out from under my nose." Chester shot Jack a look as if to say "understand?" and Jack parried right back with a suspicious smile.

"Chester ole pal," Jack said following the squat man into a small room filled with maps and locked chests. "I wouldn't dream of takin' a thing from yeh."

"Good, now, I've got quite the story for you Master Sparrow."

"Captain." Jack correctly quickly before taking a seat in front of a large desk.

"Oh, no need to call me captain, I've been out of the navy for quite some time." Chester said with a smile and Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"So what is it that yeh've got for me this time Chester? A map, bottle, just a glass of rum and yeh'll send me on me way after a story or two?" Jack questioned as he watched Chester practically disappear as he searched through a large cabinet.

"Actually," Chester's voice was muffled due to the fact that his head was submerged in a very deep drawer. "I've got a trinket and half a story."

Jack sat up a bit as Chester re-appeared, a map and box in hand. He slowly waddled over to the desk and sat across from Jack, his head barely visible over the stacks of papers and books. Jack's curiosity was starting to get the better of him. Never before had Chester had an actually trinket he was willing to hand over to Jack, usually it was some hogwash story about giant piles of gold in Barbados. So when Chester slowly unlocked the box with his pudgy sausage fingers and then gradually pulled out what looked to be a tiny bottle filled with red sand, Jack was sitting straight up.

"This, Captain Sparrow," he said holding it slightly out of arms reach from Jack. "Is what started a very ancient war. Now, yeh won't read about this in any book, because the only book it is recorded in happens to be in my possession." Chester slowly lowered it back into the box and latched the box shut. His small beady eyes returning to Jack's face before he continued.

"The British and the Irish have never gotten along; apparently neither did the people who, shall I say, inhabitited the land before humans, if that makes sense."

"Not exactly, but continue."

"Right, well, the war of which I speak was between the fairies of England and the Leprechauns of Ireland."

Jack let out a snort of laughter. "Yeh can stop there. Thanks very much Chester, but seriously now, yer not sendin' me out on some wild chase across the Atlantic for some fairy gold. Thanks very much." Jack stood up to go but Chester's hand shot across the table and latched onto Jack's wrist.

"Wait now, hear me though good Captain. This is a good story, a very likely one if you ask me, and if you will just sit and listen you will understand."

Jack's kohl rimmed eyes stared down at the poor man. In an odd way he reminded Jack of the leprechauns of the old tales, so maybe he did know what he was talking about. "Fine," Jack said before sitting back down, "But yeh owe me a strong drink after this."

"Thank you," Chester said before releasing Jack's wrist and sitting back in his excessively large chair. "Now, as I was saying, there were two charms involved in this war, a bottle containing sand from where the fairies left their treasure and a heavy locket containing everything a man would need to find the end of a rainbow and the promise of becoming king of everything the leprechauns owned. Now, the fairies wanted the land the leprechauns were living on and the leprechauns wanted the fairies' gold, so they fought an epic war that lasted five-hundred years. Each hid their charm as far away from the others as they possibly could so that neither would be successful and eventually each and every fairy and leprechaun was killed."

"Yer right," Jack said, his eyes narrowed and his head resting lazily in his palm. "This isn't completely idiotic."

Chester glared at the pirate before continuing. "Last month I had an associate bring this," he gestured toward the box and the necklace inside. "And the book containing the fable to me. Now, the man couldn't read so he didn't know what it was about, luckily, so I saved it for my most deserving client. I'm leaving it up to you to find the other trinket and both treasures and make yourself a very rich man."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sounds fine and dandy Monty ole pal, but what's in it fer you?"

Chester smiled, his features brightening as he opened the box once again and handed it over to Jack. "The same thing that always is Captain, a small cut of whatever you find."

Jack leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed and his eyes still narrowed into small slits. "Fairies?"

"Aye."

Jack's brown eyes flickered from Chester's face to the box containing the necklace and back again. What an odd predicament he was placed in. The way Jack saw it he had two choices: laugh at Chester and never receive any more information again, or be laughed at by his own crew.

"Jack," Sensing the Captain's dilemma, Chester leaned forward to try his hand at convincing him. "What've you to got to lose?"

Will Jack go for this story of epic wars between tiny creatures or will he run away as fast as he can? And what is that Blackbeard up to at this time anyway? Tune in next week for the answer!

A/N: Yes, I know. I'm a week behind. I could give you a million excuses as to why this chapter wasn't up last weekend, but I bet you've heard them all before. So, I'll just say, "My dog at my muse and thanks for the reviews!"