Welcome to chapter two! This chapter was written by Egglette before she left for camp.

In this chapter: Gar meets up with Jinx as well as Raven and her crew.

"There's a ship trailing us."

There was no movement about the cabin, just a low creak of the floorboards with the sway of the ship. The first mate patiently folded her arms behind her back whilst waiting for the reply. Clothed in a pirate's garb, she was a slender woman with sleek, dark curls was separated into two parts by green beads. At her forehead was a jade-green bandana, matching the sash that was tied at her waist. Tall black boots rose to her knees, covering her pale red pants. Her features were slightly Asian, most predominately her eyes. After a few minutes and there was still no response from the Captain, she opened her mouth to speak again. But before she was given the opportunity to speak however, a voice from behind a table cut her off.

"Repeating yourself won't be necessary, Jade."

A feminine figure rose from her chair. Although her looks were almost entirely disclosed, one could tell from the silhouette that she wore a captain's three-rimmed hat, a cloak, and a pair of heavy boots. "And what flag does this ship fly?"

Jade paused, rocking back on her heels. Her voice was uncertain, almost caught off guard by the question. "A…ah…a green one."

Within the shadows, the Captain's eyes narrowed. "That bastard's come to speak to Jinx again," the Captain muttered under her breath. She stepped into the light, first revealing long, dark violet hair coming out from under the brim of her hat. Following that was a darker purple shirt under the black coat and a pair of deep indigo pants. At her attitude, Jade's eyebrow rose. One to usually be the calmest crew member, such a display of anger caused suspicion, as well as amusement, from the first mate.

"Who, Captain?" Jade questioned quietly in attempt to keep her smile down. As it would be, the Captain had been on her way of passing by Jade and caught the amused grin. She eyed Jade, whose smile immediately was wiped clean off her face, before continuing past. She paused in the doorway, looking back to her first mate.

"Garfield Logan," She said with a roll of the eyes and a heavy sigh. Jade's eyes widened with surprise. Straightening her back, she scurried after the Captain.

"The pirate?" She asked, still slightly shocked at her Captain's naming.

Eyes rolling again, the Captain turned to face Jade. A slightly amused tone in her voice, she said, "No, the Tortuga hooker. Of course the pirate, who do you think?" The Captain snapped. She turned again, this time continuing in her original direction. She did not wait for the first mate to follow; she was confident she would. She waved her hand nonchalantly at a crew member as she passed them. "Drop anchor," she told them, taking off her coat and handing it to the trailing Jade.

"C-Captain?" Jade was growing annoyed with the way her Captain kept catching her off guard with such statements. She caught the coat easy and within moments she was walking next to the Captain. "You're letting another pirate ship catch up with us deliberately?"

The two rested their elbows on the railing, watching as the approaching ship drew nearer. After a few moments, The Captain looked at Jade with a solemn expression on her face. "There is something you must understand about Garfield Logan." Jade's eyebrow once again rose. "He's a brilliant pirate, but he is a complete and utter idiot."

Jade laughed, cracking one her famous grins. "The man has no common sense," she continued. "I've met him only once or twice and my first impression was immediately that he'll get himself killed one day. Honestly, he's a complete and total buffoon. Crazy too. Always off with his wild goose chases. If he's trying to find our ship, he wants something. And, he'll do it peacefully—ah, speak of the devil." As they had been speaking, Logan's ship had caught up and was now dropping their gangplank.

Taking a risk, Jade leaned in towards her Captain, hand drawn to permit anyone who could read her lips. "You know, for a man you claim to hate so much, you sure do like to go on about him." Jade's remark was responded with a very sharp glare. The Captain snapped her head back as the gangplank hit their own deck, a very confident-looking young man striding across it.

His arms were spread out towards the Captain, as if moving in for a hug. "Ravie!" He exclaimed. Next to the Captain, Jade's hand rose to hide her smile.

"For starters, my name is Raven—Captain Raven to you—and secondly, what business do you have here?"

Garfield played a look of shock across his handsome features. He pressed both his hands to his chest as a gesture of shock. "Raven—I'm hurt. Is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

Ignoring his question, Raven folded her arms and readjusted her pose. Growing angered with having to repeat herself, her voice sharpened. "What business do you have on my ship Logan?"

His hands moving from his chest into the air, index fingers pointed up lazily, a smile graced his lips. "Ah, I had a feeling you'd ask such a question. I need to speak to Jinx."

Raven and Jade exchanged slow glances, ending with Raven's approving nod. A dangerous look in her eyes, the ends of Raven's lips twisted into a sarcastic smile. "I'll alert her of your presence then."

Garfield sniffed happily, digging his hands into his pockets and swaying around a bit. It was then that he noticed Jade, watching him with an eyebrow still arched. His body bobbed forward and his mouth opened but instead of words, a low "eh?" escaped. "And who might you be, lass?"

Jade's lips curled disgustedly. "Jade Nguyen, first mate of The Nevermore," she said with a slight bow.

"Are you Chinese?"

"Vietnamese," Jade responded nonchalantly. "I'm only half though. My father was French." Having no other reply, Garfield gave her an awkward thumbs up. Jade leaned against the railing again, resting her elbows and back against the steel. "How do you know the Captain?"

Garfield, who had resumed his swaying and bobbing, stumbled forward at the question. "Oh, ah…you know…we met at a place…where…people meet…" He waved his hands in a frenzy of circles, making little noises of discomfort, "…that such sort of things," He finished with a nervous grin and soft chuckle. Jade said nothing more, instead turning to face the ocean.

The next few minutes were spent with Garfield fiddling with a green ring and Jade staring contently out at the Caribbean's blue waters. Whilst Jade was comfortable, Garfield had never felt more nervous. Out of the corner of her eye, Jade couldn't help but notice the way he was fidgeting and constantly looking up at the darkening sky. "You don't think she'll be long, do you?"

Jade blinked a couple times, slowly turning her head to look at Garfield. At that moment, he was looking up at the sky with a dreaded look on his face. "She should be back with Jinx shortly. Any particular reason you're so nervous, Captain Logan?"

"Nervous? Me? Olive—err…ah, Jade, I do not get nervous. I am Captain Garfield Logan of The Verdant Chasasa. Nervous, is not in my dictionary. No, I am not nervous to the least bit."

She pursed her lips, feeling thankful for the approaching sound of Raven and Jinx's boots. "I'll take your word for it."

Garfield jerked his hand forward, a strange grin on his face. "I'm glad." From behind him a cough sounded, grabbing his attention. He turned to find another attractive, exotic woman standing with Raven. Her hair was such a pale red color it was practically pink, hiding under a black bandana. Her hair was pulled into pig-tails and, surprisingly for a pirate, she was wearing a dress. It was long-sleeved, with billowing black sleeves. Stopping roughly around her knees, a pair of gigantic blue boots rose past her knees. She wore the heaviest make up out of the three female pirates, although what really miffed Garfield were her eerily cat-like eyes.

"Garfield, you're back I see."

"I always knew you were one of the witty ones," Garfield added to the banter. "Nothing gets by you."

Jinx scrunched up her face. "Yes, unfortunately that can't go both ways."

Instead of laughing like she had expected, Garfield only flashed a quick smile. He clapped his hands together momentarily, then proceeded to usher Jinx back into the cabin she had exited from. "Yes well, let's not dilly-dally. Time is a precious thing…that whole…sort of…type thing…" He stopped for a moment, scrunching his face up looking distantly at something in the horizon. He appeared to be thinking, but the moment soon passed. He waved it away with a grunt and continued guiding Jinx.

Were you to glance at any crew member that happened to be a bystander, you would see a very surprised look on their faces. Jinx was not usually one to allow someone to treat her in such a manner, but she was so caught off by his behavior that she could only stutter and be pushed along.

As soon as they were below deck, the moon rose fully into the sky.

Raven eyed the full moon and scratched her chin. "He seemed spooked all while you were getting Jinx," Jade said, following her Captain's gaze. That seemed to catch Raven's attention, for she squinted in concentration.

"An idiot that man may be," Raven said slowly. "But he is too good of a pirate to be a coward. …Whatever it is that has him scared…he has a right to be scared of it."

Jade listened to the comment with narrowed eyes, subtly taking in the way Raven was glancing too and fro. She spared one more glare towards the sky and abruptly turned on her heel, heading back towards her cabin. "Captain, don't you want to know what he wishes to talk to Jinx about?"

An ominous tone in her voice, Raven glanced over her shoulder at Jade. "Not if it has even him spooked."

---

"Now Garfield, it must be serious if you want my services," Jinx said, pulling out a few dice.

"Can I tell you something that must remain secret in hopes that you'll never repeat it?" Garfield leaned in across the table, speaking over the creaks of the ship. Now Jinx was confused; she hadn't been expecting that. Catty eyes watching him warily, she began to play with the dice.

"I'm a pirate, Garfield Logan. For a price nothing is secret. However, for you, I'll make the bid high. Now," it was her turn to lean in, lacing her fingers together, "What is it that's made you so afraid of the moon?"

Garfield's eyes widened and he shot back, almost tumbling out of his chair. "I-I never said anything about the moon!"

"Did you really need to?"

He gulped at the way she was starting at him, albeit doing his best not to show it. He bowed his head, closing his eyes in anger and frustration. Keeping his head low, Garfield began to mumble in a raspy voice, almost as though he was trying to keep from tearing, "By the moonlights gaze, your form will show…"

"…The gem can only cure…" Taking deep breaths and biting his teeth together, Garfield got up from his chair and began to walk towards a gap in the flooring in which moonlight was flooding through. "The curse…" He stopped, taking a deep breath. His head darted up, green eyes sharply looking back at Jinx. "…The curse upon your undead soul…"

He paused before the gap and moonlight, brows furrowing in anger. "…The gold shall be your lure." With his statement finished, he thrust his arm into the moonlight. Gasps sounded from both Jade and Jinx, revealing Jade's position. Instead of a fleshy arm like the rest of his body, it was skeletal. He moved the skeleton arm around a bit before clenching his fist and pulling it out of the moonlight.

"My god," Jinx breathed. "You… You have the curse of Trigon the Terrible!"

---

"Now, Koriand'r, when we meet with—what is that around your neck?" Galfore leaned in slightly to get a better look at the golden chain hanging around Kory's slender neck. Immediately, Kory grasped the necklace to hide it from her step-father. At the strange look, she flashed him a nervous smile and pretended she was playing with it.

"Oh…ah…the necklace?" She asked absently. In reality, she was trying to give herself some time to think of a proper excuse. What could she say? 'Oh what, this old thing? It was only given to me by a shipload of pirates who killed your wife and my mother, that's all. It's also my most dear possession, but please don't take that the wrong way.' She laughed aloud at that thought, rolling her eyes. "It's something Koma gave to me before she left for England…yes, that's it. Lovely, isn't it?"

Unaware that she had laughed aloud, Kory rested her head on the carriage door. Galfore, however, had heard it, and now feared for his little Koriand'r's sanity. "That doesn't exactly sound like Koma… Are you feeling well today, Kory? You seem…what's the word you young people use these days… Ah, yes, 'out of it'."

Kory's eyes widened with alarm that she had actually laughed out loud, but she managed to calm herself before turning to look at Galfore. "Father, please, I am just nervous…about Captain Quinn's promotion, that's all."

Galfore eyed her suspiciously for a moment, but seemed to accept her excuse. "Well…that's good, because Captain—soon to be Commandant Quinn—and I have been talking, and he's told me that you've turned out to be a fine young lady."

Blinking at the comment, Kory nodded. Her red curls bounced around bright green eyes. "…Tell him my thanks…"

"So fine a lady, perhaps ready for marriage…" Galfore trailed off, waving his hand around in hopes to help explain it. Having had laid her head back against the carriage window, her step-father never saw Kory's eyes widen with alarm and surprise. She said nothing else for the rest of the ride, but found her hand kept slipping back up to her neck to fondle the medallion.

Neither of them, let alone anyone in Port Tamaran, would have any idea how much trouble one gold medallion would bring them…

---

"You know, you're a lucky one."

Victor looked up from his papers and set down his quill. The former-slave couldn't help but grimace slightly as a skeletal man opened up the door to the cabin. Red and black pirates' garb hung loosely on the bony figure and wiry strands of red hair popped out of the scalp. As he exited the deck and entered the cabin he became out of the moonlight's range. Within seconds the hair grew into a full head of hair and the dark red lightened to a shinier color. The flesh quickly grew over the skeleton, revealing a handsome but cocky-looking man. "And why do you say that Roy?"

Roy pulled out a chair. "Why you do think? It might have something to do with the fact that you're the only non-cursed being on a shipload of undead, cursed pirates!"

Victor chuckled softly, but it ended in a rather sad sigh. "Do you think it's a ball for me to watch my crew members turn into skeletons at sunset either?"

Roy seemed to consider the information, accepting it with a nod of the head and a change of the subject. "How long do you think Gar'll be?"

Victor resumed his works, pulling out a compass and drawing circles on a map. "Not long, I'd think. Though it's plainly obvious he'd love to spend more time on a ship full of women, I don't think he gives himself the option. If I know Jinx," Roy's eyes narrowed as he studied Victor's bowed head. Was that a blush? "And if I know Gar, he's probably shown her the whole 'arm in the moonlight with the poem' thing already."

Leaning back in his chair, Roy rubbed his chin. "Mm… Good point, Vic."

Raising his head for a quick smile, Victor changed the subject. "Although, you know it's really only you, Wally, and Garth who talk to me. I mean, occasionally Isaiah or someone will, but mostly, it's just you three. Angry that I wasn't cursed, you know. So I still don't know how lucky I am. Not nearly as unlucky as you were, but nevertheless…"

Roy cut him off with a wave of the hand. "Got it, got it. Being a slave, I assume, was no walk in the park either."

Victor let go of his compass and held out his hands to Roy so that his palms were facing the ceiling. They were calloused and rough; faint scars could still be seen on the skin. "Probably about as easy as staying away from rum at Tortuga," Victor said, gaining a grin from Roy. Roy opened his mouth to say something, but before he could was cut off by Garfield slamming the cabin doors wide open.

"We've got our cure!" He exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. A couple of pirates who had overheard rushed over, also smiling. Garfield brushed past them, Roy included, and walked straight up to Victor's desk. He slammed something down in front of Victor. Every pirate leaned in, but the smiles soon faded as they discovered what it was. Victor picked up the item, cradling it.

"A compass," He said, frowning. "A compass is going to cure the curse of Trigon the Terrible?"

Garfield's index finger rose sluggishly, smile slowly fading as his mouth opened. "Yeahh…no," he said. Absently his eyes rolled towards the ceiling, thinking. After a moment they darted back to Victor, a smile resuming. Both of Victor's eyebrows rose, as if to say 'then what's the point of the compass?'

"Then how is this compass our cure?"

"The compass," Garfield said, tossing the compass from hand to hand, "will take us to the cure." Grins of relief flooded across the crew. Victor, however, was still unconvinced. He grabbed the device from Garfield's hands and opened it up, giving it a full inspection.

"It doesn't point north," Victor pointed out, giving Garfield a strange look.

This time when Garfield smiled, it wasn't playful or silly. A genuine smile it was, showing off rare (on a pirate) pearly white teeth. He leaned both of his hands down on the table, letting his silence sink in with the crew and Victor, their curiosity rising. He cocked his head slightly. "It doesn't need to."

Immediately he pulled his arms off the table, strolling around the cabin with them tucked behind his back. "What is it you want most in this world, Victor?" He asked, looking Victor straight in the eye. When Victor said nothing, just narrowed his eyes curiously at Garfield and the compass, Garfield continued to walk about the cabin. He stopped when he came to Roy, poking him firmly in the chest. "What about you, Mr. Harper? What is it you want most in this world?"

Garfield grabbed Roy's palm and placed the compass in it. "Hmm?" Garfield hummed as he opened the compass. "You're about to find out," he whispered. He took a step back. Roy's eyes widened as the needle began to move, spinning in a circle a few times. As it began to slow, all eyes followed the direction it pointed. Their eyes were drawn to the window, where The Nevermore was sailing away. Garfield's eyebrows rose cockily. "Women, eh?"

"It's not supposed to point north, is it?" Victor asked, eyeing the compass. "It points to what you want most?"

Stopping, Garfield threw another smile at his best friend. "Precisely. And what is it we want most?"

"The cure!" A crew member spoke up. "The cure to the curse!"

Extending his hand towards Roy, Garfield twitched his fingers. "Well, not Roy here," Garfield chuckled, "The compass, Harper?" After Garfield had the compass in his hands, he opened it and continued walking in his circle. "What we need, fellows, is The Gem. The Gem is a mystical stone that Trigon himself brought into this world. It is said to have destructive powers—as well as healing. It's what he uses to cast his curses and can, in return, take them back."

"So we're looking for The Gem?" The same crew member who had spoken before asked.

Garfield stopped again, sucking in some air and using it to blow out his cheeks. "No," he said finally in an oddly cheery voice. The left side of Victor's face scrunched up.

"You're not making any sense, man. We have a compass that doesn't point north, we're not looking for what will cure you guys—"

"We have a compass that doesn't point north because its not supposed to point north, and are indeed looking for what will cure us of the curse," Garfield cut him off. "We will use the compass to show us which direction we need to go to find what we need most, and what we need most at this time, happens to be a certain gold medallion. Crew, hoist anchor; we're going to Port Tamaran."

There we go, chapter two. Sorry for no Richard action...he'll be in chappie three.

I hope you enjoyed Egglette's chapter, review if you can! By now, we hope you're as in love with this story as we are.

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-RJ-
okay, because i reposted this, we're not getting many reviews.. so i really hope that you're going to review.

-pouts- pleaasee?