Disclaimer: I don't own POTC. Chapter title is a passage by Walt Whitman.
Chapter 43: A Woman Waits for Me
She woke up underneath a tent. She could hear Will's voice right next to her, but it took her a few minutes to understand where they were. And when she tried to move, she noticed that she had been bound by ropes.
"Camille, are you all right? I believe those darts had some type of mild toxin in them. I can't remember a thing, I was out cold."
"As was I," she said, still looking around. "Where are we, do you know?"
"I think that we are in Aguadulce."
"What? Already? How long have we been out?"
"I don't know. The people here do not speak English, but Spanish, which I know very little of. The only word that I have been able to understand is 'Aguadulce', among a few others."
"Wynona did this. That clever little wench. Aye, she's a manipulative one, she is." She gasped. "My God, she has the crutch! We've got to get it back from her, Will!"
Will acknowledged her determination as the tent flap opened and Wynona came in, holding the burlap sack. "Well good morning," she said brightly. "What, are you not happy to see me?" she asked, reading their faces.
"You must give us that crutch, you've no idea what it is," Will warned her.
Wynona laughed. "I'm not stupid, Master Turner. I know that this is the Devil's Dowry, which somehow leads to the treasure that Captain Sparrow is after."
"Yes, yes, this has all been a plan to bait Captain Sparrow into coming here. But what about commandeering his ship, did you do that as well?" Camille asked with mild interest.
"No, that wasn't my idea. But it does work out to my advantage quite well," Wynona said, opening the sack and dumping the crutch on the ground. Camille and Will both cried out, protesting together as Wynona tapped it with her barefoot. When that produced no effect, she reached down and grabbed it.
They both stared at her, Camille more than Will, when nothing happened. Wynona simply held the crutch in her hand. "What? Is that it?" she asked. "It doesn't even have a mark on it. What kind of fool do you take me for!" she demanded angrily, throwing the crutch down on the ground.
"It's a pity you found out so soon. I was hoping to lead you on just a bit longer," Camille said.
Wynona huffed. "You'll lead me to Jack Sparrow indeed," she sulked. "Never trust a pirate."
"Well, at least you know that much." Camille was quickly loosening her ropes, and leapt up. Wynona cried out in surprise and blocked herself with the crutch, but she and Camille continued to wrestle a bit. Finally, Camille was able to get the rope around Wynona and tie her up and she untied Will.
"Now, will you please listen to me and stop fooling around, Wynona?" Camille asked as Will made sure to carefully wrap the crutch up again. "This is a matter of great importance. I would expect the daughter of the captain to understand that."
"What?" Will and Wynona cried at the same time. "How did you-" Wynona started.
"Well, you look just like him," she insisted warmly. "Plus, you've got that same knack for getting into trouble way over your head." She walked over to where Wynona sat. "Now, if I untie you you must cooperate with Will and me. I will take you to Captain Sparrow, I wasn't lying about that."
Wynona didn't have time to agree, because just then a cold gust of wind nearly blew the tent over. Camille cringed as her mark began burning on her skin.
"Camille, your mark!" Will pointed out. "I can see it through your shirt!"
She turned over her hand and looked at the map, which Wynona was just now noticing. The dot was gone.
"We're either in the right place, or Gretchen knows where we are," Camille explained, untying Wynona. "Either way, I think that it's best we get out of here."
Will nodded. "Follow me," he said, but as he turned he came face to face with a hideous being that looked like it had lived beneath a swamp its whole life. It made an angry hissing noise, and relying solely on his instincts was he able to avoid it long enough to locate his sword before slashing it.
"What is going on?" Wynona asked.
"I'm not exactly sure, but I'll bet that it has something to do with this," Camille said, indicating the sack. "I think that we are in the right place."
"Oh, thank God," Will said sarcastically, peeking outside of the tent. "There are about twenty more of those things outside wandering around. And they all have the symbol of the Devil's Dowry on them. I don't see any choice except to fight them, or run through them."
"Then let's fight," Camille said, searching the tent and finding her cutlass. "Wynona darling, have you ever fought?"
"Of course I have," she boasted. "Just not with immortal sea creatures," she added with less confidence.
"There is a first time for everything," Will said, opening the tent flap.
It turned out that the sea creatures were fairly difficult to fight. They didn't die easily, and the three of them ended up having to run away from them instead of being able to defeat any more than two of them. They were still in the middle of that jungle, and it was dark out now. They ran with even more difficulty, since there were insects and mudholes and branches or vines obstructing their paths. It felt like hours that they were running through the trees.
When Camille finally poked her head out in the fresh air, she nearly screamed with joy. "The Pearl! It's The Pearl just below us! Look!" she yelled.
Will and Wynona were just behind her, and they all made their way out. The problem was, they were on a very high bunch of cliffs that were overlooking the ship, and nowhere in approximation to simply being able to board The Black Pearl.