Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, only my OCs; Jacob Karver, Stiles Karver, John Porter, Wilford Hampton, and the ship known as the HMS Lady Rose.
Chapter 12:
The Craving Caverns were dark. The light cast by the sun outside was all the small group could see with. Jack Sparrow led the way. He was followed by James Norrington, Jacob Karver, Elizabeth Swann, and Will Turner. Legend had it that those who survived the trials of the caverns would be able to get whatever they desired. That's what this group was trying to do.
But legend didn't say what the trials were.
The group had entered the caverns after sending the rest of the men back to the ships, a small group setting up camp outside the entrance just in case the way out was the way in- which was unlikely.
The entrance overlooked the cave from a high angle, the thick vines that hung from the walls had allowed them a route down to the stony floor. A single beam of sunlight crossed the width of the particular cavern they were in, but that was all the light they had access to, for the moment. The floor was damp, pools of water in the lower dips. Algae grew where it could- along the water, in cracks of the stone.
The aura of the cavern emitted strength and an unnatural amount of power.
It was a curious place, that was for sure.
Jack couldn't help feeling a touch of awe, the previously mentioned aura rooting itself in him. Despite his injuries, despite how rough things had been of recently, he felt like he could do anything.
After a long moment of silence and peace, he pulled himself back to reality. They were in the cavern for a reason. Seeing his companions still caught up in the beauty of the place, he set to work on making a torch. They'd have to see somehow, when they got further in.
He found a long stick, breaking it down to a reasonable size. Placing it aside, he tore a vine from one of the cave walls, squeezing the water from it and wrapping it around one end of the stick. He drew his sword and slashed it across the stone for a couple of minutes, trying to get a spark. Finally, he did get one. To his satisfaction, it effectively lit his makeshift torch. The fire burst to life, crackling.
The pirate captain sheathed his sword, holding the torch tightly. He made his way back to his companions, handing the torch off to Norrington as the naval man broke from his reverie.
"We needn't stand here all day." The man told the others as they came back to focus on what was at hand. He gave Jack a nod. "Lead the way, Sparrow."
The pirate nodded back, confidently pulling out his compass and flipping the lid. The arrow pointed to the left, deeper into the cavern. He turned, following it. He could hear the others following him.
The natural light began to fade, the light of the torch becoming their primary light source fast. The air grew cooler. The walls and ground grew drier, the moss and vines fading behind them. The footsteps began to echo as the cavern began to grow smaller around them. The aura of the entrance area grew weaker the farther they went from it, but he didn't let it deter him. They were so close, he couldn't let himself feel discouraged now.
"Is everyone doing alright?" Norrington asked after a while.
There were some "yes"es and even a "quite alright".
"Never better." Jack answered over his shoulder, the now normal slur of having a shortened tongue in his voice. It was true. He hadn't felt this good in weeks. I feel like I could take on Barbossa again if I wanted. Not that I would.
The echoing of their footsteps grew fainter, suggesting that the cavern had opened up again. A new sound came. It was a quiet whistling. Jack paused and held out a hand to make the others stop. The sound got louder as it neared. A moment later, something pierced his arm and he yelped in surprise.
"Jack?" Elizabeth asked, worried.
"'S fine." He responded, composing himself after the attack.
The silence overcame them again. His right arm throbbed painfully. He thought for a moment at what had happened. Something had shot him, but it clearly hadn't been a gun- it would've been much louder. He concluded that it was either an arrow or a dart.
Now, curious about what'd shot at him, he pocketed his compass and called back to Norrington. "Torch."
He heard the man pass it to Elizabeth, who then passed it to him. He lifted it in his left arm, letting the light cast over his right arm. Sure enough, his forearm had been speared with an arrow. The blood was flowing freely. He fisted his hand to make sure it still worked. Satisfied, he turned toward the right wall of the cavern, approaching it.
The wall appeared like all the rest he'd seen. Frowning in confusion, he switched hands with the torch and ran his left hand across the stone, underneath the vines. A sudden, sharp click reached his ears as something loaded. He looked for the source of the noise, spotting it. It was a small hole, showing just between two vines. He waved the others back a few paces, waving the torch in front of the hole to test it. An arrow shot out, just missing it. Motion triggered.
Jack vaguely wondered if it would be possible to go under it. He crouched down, scanning for other dispensers below the one he knew of. He didn't see any. He got up and passed by it, hearing it click as it reloaded afterwards. Holding the torch in front of him, he peered down the wall, trying to see how many dispensers- if any- were aligned with this one. He could make out a few, with gaps of about two feet between each. Under it is.
He plucked the feathers from the arrow in his arm, pulling it out in the direction it'd been going, as he knew he'd only further injure himself pulling it out through the entrance. He tossed the bloodied arrow aside. As more of the crimson liquid trailed down his arm, he tore a vine from the wall and tied it around his upper arm to slow the course of blood to his arm.
"Well?" Will asked impatiently, from the back of the group. "What do we do now?"
"We go under, of course." Jack rolled his eyes, unsurprised at the younger man's eagerness to push forward. It reminded him of chasing after Barbossa with the lad. "Jus' watch out for the first one."
The pirate captain knelt down, placing the unlit end of the torch in his teeth, facing away from the wall. On his hands and knees, he crawled along the wall. He heard his companions following, a couple of unhappy mutters coming from them. Every couple of minutes, he'd pause and wave the torch in the air to see if anything shot out at it. He had to pull a couple of arrows from it to lighten it up every now and then.
"They jus' keep goin'." He murmured to himself.
The group passed by a couple of skeletons from men who'd previously tried to get through the stretch of stone, arrows embedded into the bones. One skull had an arrow straight between the eyes.
"How much further, brother?" Jacob called up to him. "This form of travel is most uncomfortable."
Norrington grunted his agreement.
Jack sat back on his haunches, taking the torch from his teeth and holding it up, waving it to the left and right of his position against the wall. An arrow shot on the left, but not the right. He crept a couple of feet forward and waved it again. Nothing.
"Right 'bout 'ere." He finally answered, climbing to his feet and stretching his legs thankfully, moving out of the way so the others could move away from the danger of the arrows.
Once they'd all reached him and stretched their legs, the pirate handed the torch back to the Commodore, checked his compass to make sure they were still on course, and continued forwards. They followed him.
Jack, who'd expect the cavern to narrow into a tunnel again, was surprised when he sensed it opening up again. The air seemed to grow even cooler and he found himself wishing he hadn't given Norrington the torch. He swore he heard Elizabeth's teeth chattering behind him for a moment. Live in the Caribbean for so long and one can forget the feel of any temperature cooler.
Eventually, they reached a point where the torch's light didn't illuminate the cave floor. The pirate caused at the edge of the darkness, waving his hand where the ground should have been. He frowned for a moment, turning his head to glance around for any way across the abyss. He spotted a thin ledge off to the left of the chasm, walking over to it. It appeared to be steady enough. He tested the weight of one foot on it, satisfied to find it holding.
"We're crossing that?" Norrington asked skeptically.
"Do ye see another option, Commodore?" Jack retorted pointedly.
"No, but this way doesn't look like a good idea." Will pointed out.
"If this is the only way, we have to take it." Elizabeth told him. "We've come too far to go back now."
The pirate looked to his brother.
"She's right." Jacob finally voiced his thoughts. "We have to keep going."
"Very well." Norrington relented.
Facing the cave wall, Jack stepped fully onto the ledge. It held. Recalling he was still underweight, he hoped it'd hold the others. He began to skirt the edge, staying as close to the wall as he could. He heard the others begin to follow.
"I don't like this." The blacksmith's apprentice muttered, as he climbed onto the ledge at the back of the group.
As they pressed on, the ridge grew even thinner and more crumbly. Rocks fell from the edge as Jack moved along it. At one point, Norrington cursed loudly, the light of the torch vanishing down into the abyss. The others watched it fall, and were soon thrown into complete darkness. That was bound to happen eventually.
"Keep movin'." The pirate told the others, unaffected by the loss of their only light source. After all, why would one need a torch to light the way if their hope already was?
Judging by the lack of screams, no one had fallen off. The ledge rounded to the left, a dim light coming from that direction. They were too deep underground for it to be daylight, but it was a good sign.
Rounding the bend, the Jack found the light to be much brighter than he had expected. He blinked his good eye to adjust to it, pausing for only a moment. He could make out the form of a white crystal sitting atop a rock on solid land. Within a few moments, he found himself on said land, stepping away from any edges.
The others were right behind him. He heard Will let out a breath of relief.
Jack sat down against the rock with the crystal atop it, his body aching. His ribs hurt from being pressed up against the cave wall. His limbs hurt from the nonstop travel. His mouth was dry; for some odd reason, they hadn't considered bringing supplies with the down into the caverns. He felt drained of energy, as if it'd seeped out with the blood from the wound in his arm. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the cool air.
"Sparrow?" Norrington inquired.
"Jus' restin' for a minute." He assured him.
The pirate heard the others sit down too. He felt Elizabeth's hand in his and gently squeezed it. Can't be far now.
"Do you want someone else to lead?" Will asked him.
Jack opened his eyes, turning his good one towards him. "No. I've got it, mate."
"How far do you think we have left to travel?" Jacob asked him.
"It's not far now." He promised, releasing Elizabeth's hand and slowly getting back to his feet. "I can feel it. We're nearly there."
"Then let's go." The Commodore decided, getting up as well.
The others did the same, nodding in agreement.
Jack led them onwards, away from the light of the crystal. Before long, they came to a parting in the cavern. Five tunnels stood before them, just visible in the dim light that reached them from the crystal's position. Frowning, he drew his compass. It pointed to the tunnel on the far left. He had a sneaking suspicion that they'd have to split up, however.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, seeing his hesitation.
"Five tunnels. Five o' us." He explained. "I think we have to split up."
"It could just be coincidence." Norrington suggested.
The pirate lifted up Elizabeth's hand, placing the compass in it. It pointed to the middle tunnel.
"It's not coincidence." Jack told him. "Compass points to the far left for me, middle for her."
"What does that compass point to?" The naval man wondered.
"Ask me another time." He passed the other man the compass.
Norrington's tunnel ended up being the one on the far right, Will's next to it, Jacob's between Elizabeth's and Jack's.
The pirate pocketed his compass, approaching the entrance to his tunnel. "See ye lot topside."
He was about to go into it when he heard the Commodore speak up.
"Captain Sparrow." The man addressed him correctly for once, gaining his immediate attention. His voice softened to a kind tone. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
Jack couldn't help but to give a smile. "Won't stop 'til I do, mate."
And then the pirate vanished into his tunnel.
A/N: Norrington is after the heart of Davy Jones for Beckett, Jacob is trying to heal Stiles's leg, Elizabeth wants Jack to feel somewhat more peaceful, Will wants credit for his blacksmith work for now on, Jack obviously wants his tongue and eye restored. If anyone was wondering what each person was seeking in the Craving Caverns.