Back on this ship, Will and Jack sat in the captain's cabin, examining the compass and countless maps and charts. Jack was looking at the maps over a mug of rum, which he had picked up on the way back from Calypso's cabin. Will, palms pressed to his forehead, looked at the maps in desperation, trying to find where the compass was pointing. He picked up the compass again, flicked it open, and set it down on the table. The pointer kept spinning about lazily, changing direction every few seconds. Will slammed it shut again and kicked his desk in frustration. It had worked perfectly in the cabin; why wouldn't it work now?
Jack looked up at Will, giving him a surprised look. "You mean you haven't figured out what you're doing wrong yet?" Jack asked, shocked.
"No I haven't." Will replied, the exasperation evident in his voice. He then turned on Jack. "Having you around doing absolutely nothing to help me isn't the best thing in the world, Jack. Do you have any ideas?"
"In fact, I do." Jack said indignantly. He stood up and set his rum down on the desk. "Why don't you hold it, and then it will point you where to go? Right now it's trying to figure out what the desk wants, and the desk doesn't really want anything. It's a desk."
"The desk wants your nasty rum of its surface." Will said, snatching the wet glass off of his desk and handing it back to Jack. Jack took it gladly, and sunk back down into the squashy chair, downing the rest of the mug in one gulp.
Will walked over to the compass and flipped it open again. This time, he held it in his hand as it spun around, calculating what he wanted most. Finally it settled on a direction: southeast. Will dove for his maps and discovered what lay to the southeast. There was only one island in their direct path, Port Royal. He chuckled slightly, remembering when he was a little boy and played on the beach with his friend, Elizabeth. But when the pirates attacked, she hadn't told her servant to save me. She only saved herself. This realization made letting go of her easier. Maybe she'd get a big surprise when she sees me again. She'll see how strong I've become and how powerful I am. She'll regret ever letting me go, because I'm not on their side anymore. I'm a pirate.
"We're going to Port Royal. Now. Southeast."
Jack looked up. "Is that an order?" he asked, looking over the rim of his glass of rum. He raised an eyebrow quizzically, almost daring Will to yell at him.
"Yes, it's an order." Will said stiffly. "Now go out and tell everyone to get off of their lazy asses and prepare to launch. You are first mate, correct?"
Jack grunted, set his empty rum glass down on Will's desk (Will growled at Jack) and swaggered out of the room, while Will pulled a random book off of his shelf and began to read. The book was old, so it fell open easily in his hands. Sitting down at his desk chair, he began to read, tracing his finger along the lines of words. He skimmed through several chapters before he finally reached chapter seven. His eyes slowed down, reading slowly to absorb everything he saw.
Calypso, the daughter of Atlas, was the ruler of the seas, who fell in love with a mortal, Davy Jones. Because of his love, Jones was rewarded with the sacred task of collecting the souls of those who died at sea. However, he could only come to land again every ten years. If Calypso still loved him, and he Calypso, the duty could be passed on to someone else.
After ten years, though, Davy Jones came ashore and Calypso was nowhere to be found. Again and again this happened, and Jones soon became furious.
So, when the Pirate Brethren gathered together for a secret meeting, Davy Jones agreed to plot with them to tear away the rule of the seas from Calypso. The task was achieved with Davy Jones' help, and Calypso was forever trapped in human form.
"I was right." Will mumbled to himself, reading on. There were many rumors about what happened to Calypso, but the most popular one was that she had hidden somewhere in the jungles of Tortuga, helping those who needed it most – but with a price. "That's why she wanted my blood." Will muttered. "Wonder what on earth she could use that for."
Just then, Jack came stumbling in again. "Captain, there seems to be a storm ahead. What should we do?"
"Sail straight through it, like we always do." Will rolled his eyes. Was it really so hard for Jack to answer these questions on his own? Perhaps it was his drinking habit that impaired his brain.
"Right then. But, you see, this storm seems quite unusual. It's simply this black void ahead of us. Whenever we try to change directions, the void seems to follow. It's not exactly letting us go around."
"Let me see." Will said, pushing Jack out of the way to step out to the deck.
Sure enough, it was exactly as Jack had described it. This black, swirling void lay ahead of them with no way around. It certainly seemed closer now, and even more dangerous than Jack had made it out to be.
After staring at it in awe for a few moments, Will looked around and shouted, "All hands on deck! Hoist the sails!" Will ran up the steps to get to the ship's wheel, shoving the navigator out of the way. He spun the wheel left, and then grabbed once they had made a significant turn. He looked up at the void, and the void moved with the boat. Going into it seemed inevitable.
"Prepare for entry into… um… that thing there." Will gestured vaguely to the area in front of the boat.
A few of the sailors cried out. "What? Are you mad?"
"We can't go in there, we'll get killed!"
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," Will said. "That we need to get a move on if we're going to get anywhere today. This appears to be where we're going. Now, am I paying you or not? Step to it!"
Will pulled the compass out of his pocket and flicked it open. The arrow spun for just a few moments before finally settling on southeast once again. Will turned the wheel accordingly, and they were soon heading towards what he hoped was southeast into the void. Will beckoned the navigator back over to the wheel.
"Make sure we stay going southeast, okay? I don't know exactly where this will take us, but looks like there is no other way around it. Just keep going, okay?"
"Ay ay, Captain." The man said, and took over the wheel.
The void was so close now, that Will had to look to his left and right to see where it ended. Just a few more minutes and they would be inside it. Will paced the deck impatiently, noticing that they seemed to have come to a complete standstill. The other sailors noticed it too, and looked over the side of the ship to see what was happening. Suddenly, the wind picked up with the force of a hurricane, and just a few moments later, they had entered the swirling darkness of the void.
