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Chapter 10: The Treasure of Cortez
(Alastor and Vaggie sit in a rowboat in the mouth of the cave leading into the island. They stare at the Black Pearl anchored just outside. Alastor looks through a telescope and sees no movement except for a few pirates stationed on board to guard the ship.)
Vaggie: (concerned) Is she there?
Alastor: No.
Vaggie: Where is she?
(Alastor closes the telescope.)
Alastor: (somberly) It's begun.
(The Black Pearl crew reach the shore inside the cave and leave the boats. They move through a passage cheering and laughing as they carry loads of valuables with them. They take Charlie through the passage and reach a massive interior cavern with dim light coming through holes in the ceiling. Huge piles of gold, silver, jewels and other treasure lay everywhere between shallow streams of water throughout the cavern. They dump their cargo on the piles to add to the riches. Charlie sees Pentious walk up a lone pile of treasure under a ray of light where a stone chest with Aztec markings on it. She stares at it nervously for a moment until Travis gives her a shove.)
Travis: Move.
(She moves past Moxxie and Millie carrying a chest.)
Moxxie: (excited) Ten years of hoarding swag.
Millie: (excited) And now we finally get to spend it!
(They dump the chest and find nothing but dresses and umbrellas. They're confused for a second before Moxxie speaks again.)
Moxxie: (smiles) Once we're quit of the curse, we'll be rich men, and you can buy an eye what actually fits and's made of glass.
(Millie touches her fake wooden eye.)
Millie: (gloomily) This one does splinter something terrible...
Moxxie: (sympathetic) Stop rubbin' it!
(Vortex walks past them and sees them holding umbrellas. They stand alerted and at attention as he groans in annoyance before walking away. Moxxie sees Millie holding her umbrella up and hits her with his. Out in the dark watery cave, Alastor and Vaggie row down the water with a lit lantern. Vaggie looks around and spots a skeleton lying on the sand with a sword impaled in it. She feels uneasy.)
Vaggie: What code is Angel to keep to if the worst should happen?
Alastor: Pirates' code. Any man who falls behind is left behind.
Vaggie: No heroes amongst thieves, eh?
Alastor: You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga...
(They look down in the shallow water and see hundreds of coins glimmering in the light.)
Alastor: (grins) ...and you're completely obsessed with treasure.
(They reach the shore where the crew's boats are and hop out.)
Vaggie: (stubbornly) That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure.
(She follows him through the short passage and they find an opening in the cave wall. Alastor looks through and turns to her.)
Alastor: Not all treasure is silver and gold, dear.
(Vaggie stands next to him and looks through the opening. They see the crew of the Black Pearl with their backs turned to them all facing the treasure pile with the stone chest. Pentious stands on the pile next to the chest with Charlie.)
Pentious: (lively) The time has come! Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near an end!
(The crew cheers. Vaggie and Alastor gaze at the chest and the girl.)
Vaggie: (relieved) Charlie.
Pentious: For ten years, we've been tested and tried and each of you sinners here has proved his mettle a hundred times over, and a hundred times again!
Crew: AYE!
Millie: Suffered I have!
Pentious: Punished we were, the lot of us. Disproportionate to our crime!
Crew: AYE!
Pentious: Here it is!
(He kicks the lid off the stone chest. Charlie gasps at the sight of hundreds of gold coins inside identical to the medallion. A stone knife sits on them. Pentious runs his hand over them.)
Pentious: The cursed treasure of Cortez himself. Every last piece that went astray we have returned... save for this!
(He points the medallion around Charlie's neck. The crew cheers again. Vaggie starts to scramble through the opening but Alastor restrains her.)
Vaggie: (desperate) Alastor!
Alastor: (firmly) Not yet!
(He pulls her down as Pentious' monkey, sitting on another treasure pile, turns in their direction and sees nothing before turning back to the ceremony. Alastor moves away from the opening.)
Alastor: We wait for the opportune moment.
(Vaggie follows him back to the boats. She's suspicious that he's going to double cross her and sell her out to Pentious after overhearing him imply that he was going to use her as leverage.)
Vaggie: (accusingly) When's that? When it's of greatest profit to you?
(He giver her a hard look.)
Alastor: May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor, I know it's difficult for you but please, stay here… and try not to do anything... stupid.
(He goes back to opening. At the chest, Pentious takes the stone knife and raises it high.)
Pentious: And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?
Crew: AYE!
Pentious: And whose blood must yet be paid?
Crew: (points to Charlie) HERS!
(Charlie gets more frightened as Pentious leans close to her.)
Pentious: You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted? (grins) Eat a whole bushel of apples.
(The crew laughs as he pulls Charlie close to the chest with the knife ready. The crew starts chanting with anticipation.)
Crew: Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!
Pentious: Begun by blood, the blood undone!
(Charlie turns away and shuts her eyes. Alastor continues to watch from the opening. Vaggie quietly approaches him from behind and he turns and sees her just as she whacks him hard in the head with an oar. He slumps to the ground.)
Vaggie: (sternly) Sorry Alastor. I'm not going to be your leverage.
(She drops the oar and slips away to the side of the cavern. As the crew's chanting gets faster, Pentious pulls the medallion from Charlie's neck and grabs her wrist. He places the coin in her hand and cuts across her palm with the knife. She winces before getting confused.)
Charlie: That's it?
Pentious: (smirks) Waste not!
(He makes her hand into a fist and holds it over the chest. The crew stops chanting and Pentious opens Charlie's hand and the medallion falls into the chest with her blood on it. It lands on the other coins and the pirates all close their eyes and stand still tensely waiting to feel alive again. Vaggie stealthily moves along the side of the cavern to get closer to where they are. After a long moment, nothing happens and they open their eyes and look at each other confused.)
Travis: Did it work?
Millie: I don't feel no different.
Moxxie: How do we tell?
(Pentious realizes something's wrong. He rolls his eyes at how dumb his crew is and draws his pistol. He shoots Moxxie directly in the chest. He has no reaction to it and everyone becomes dumbfounded.)
Travis: You're not dead.
Moxxie: No. He shot me!
Millie: It didn't work!
Baxter: The curse is still upon us!
(They shout in irritation. Pentious analyzes the blood on the knife and turns to Charlie.)
Pentious: (angrily) You. Maid. Your father. What was his name?!
(She doesn't answer and he grabs her harshly.)
Pentious: Was your father William Turner?!
Charlie: (intimidatingly) No.
(He takes the medallion from the chest and holds it up.)
Pentious: Where's his child? The child that had this eight years ago, the child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner?! Where?!
(She bravely remains silent. Pentious loses his patience and slaps her hard while dropping the medallion. She falls down the back of the treasure pile and lands at the water's edge with the medallion next to her. Vortex turns to Moxxie and Millie.)
Vortex: (frustrated) You two! You brought us the wrong person!
(They all glare at them. The pair get anxious.)
Moxxie: No! We were sure it was her! She had the medallion! She's the proper age!
Millie: She said her name was Turner! You heard her! I think she lied to us!
(The crew starts arguing. Behind the treasure pile, Vaggie quietly wades through the water and approaches Charlie. She puts her hand on her mouth which startles her but keeps her from making a sound. Charlie immediately becomes relieved when she sees it's Vaggie who motions for her to follow. Charlie sees the medallion and grabs it before following Vaggie through the water and out of the cavern. Only the monkey sees them escape and starts screeching to get the crew's attention. But they all fail to notice him as they shift their animosity towards their captain.)
Baxter: You brought us here for nothin'!
Pentious: (irritated) I won't take questioning or second guesses, not from the likes of you, Mister Baxter.
Travis: Who's else to blame? Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse!
(Everyone shouts in agreement.)
Baxter: It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!
(Vortex draws his sword and steps forward.)
Vortex: And it's you who brought us here in the first place.
(The crew shouts in agreement again and steps forward. Pentious draws his own sword and holds it out at them.)
Pentious: (threateningly) Any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak! Hmm?
Travis: I say we cut her throat and spill all her blood, just in case.
Crew: Yeah!
(Pentious then finally notices the monkey making noise and pointing to the entrance to the cave. He then looks down behind the treasure pile he's on and sees that Charlie and medallion are gone. His eyes widen and he turns back to the crew.)
Pentious: (frantically) The medallion! She's taken it! Get after her, ya feckless pack of ingrates!
(The cursed pirates all race out of the main cavern to find their prisoner and the last piece of the cursed gold they need.)