Chapter Forty Eight
It took The Black Pearl a little less than a month to sail back to Tortuga. They encountered a few storms along the way, but nothing bad and nothing even close to what they had gone through several months prior. Jack was thrilled when the waters around them turned the turquoise green of the Caribbean and he felt as if they had finally, truly arrived back home.
He took no time making a heading for Tortuga and very soon he, Mr. Gibbs, and Elizabeth all sat in The Faithful Bride and drank rum from his favorite tankards while discussing their plans for the future. With Anamaria gone, Jack was keeping his fingers crossed as he thought of trying to bring up his idea of sailing to the Isla de Muerta again. However, his plans were quickly cut off by his fellow shipmates.
"Captain, we discussed this before and I thought we settled on the fact that going back to that island was," he was cut off by Elizabeth.
"Insane!" she finished loudly.
Mr. Gibbs gestured that she had filled in quite nicely.
"Jack, the Isla de Muerta is cursed, don't you remember anything?" she asked. "Have you gone completely mad?"
"That's not entirely true," he said, bringing his index fingers up to prove a point and asking for a moment of their time.
"What exactly is not true about that?" Elizabeth asked.
Mr. Gibbs rested his head on his palm, knowing already how Jack would respond to her question and also foreseeing that she would not be satisfied with his answer. He had already listened to Jack have almost this very same argument with his former fiery spirited first mate. Elizabeth's response would be no different.
"Only the Aztec gold was cursed," Jack stated. "There was plenty of treasure that Barbossa lugged back to that stupid island that he could, no should, have kept for his bloody self."
"I don't think so Jack," Elizabeth shook her head. "It's not safe."
"It's perfectly safe, I assure you," Jack stated calmly. "I brought plenty of it back for meself when we left. You remember, you saw it," he said to her as if his plan should now definitely be up for consideration. Then, holding his arms out, he added, "And I'm right as rain!"
Elizabeth shot Mr. Gibbs a side-glance.
Mr. Gibbs shrugged, shaking his head. He'd known Jack for a long time, but still couldn't explain most of his crazy schemes.
At that very moment, a strange little old man came limping over to their table. He was clothed in rags, leaned heavily on an intricately carved wooden cane, and looked as if he had not bathed in years. Jack didn't even attempt to hide his look of disgust, but the man paid him no heed and hobbled right up to the infamous pirate captain, resting his hand on the captain's shoulder.
"Did I hear someone mention the Isla de Muerta?" the man asked, his voice cracked and elderly.
Taking one finger and sliding the man's hand off his shoulder, Jack immediately grew suspicious, "What's it to you?"
"Rumor has it the island collapsed into the sea, the cursed treasure gone with it," the man explained.
"Oh really?" Jack asked. He didn't believe the man for one second, assuming that he was probably going to try and claim the treasure all for himself, maybe even the cursed gold too. Jack weighed the options. If he was that close to the grave, immortality at any price might seem worth it.
"Seems to me it'd be a mighty waste of your crew's time, as well as your own, to go chasin' after ghosts," the man offered.
"Yes, well, we appreciate your little tip," Jack stated, "but I'm the type of person who likes to find things out on me own."
"Very well," the old man said. "I just thought you might want to direct your efforts elsewhere, such as to the Treasures of the Sea," he paused.
"Ahhh yes," Jack agreed. "There are many treasures of the sea, aren't there?"
"I was speaking rather literally Captain," the man stated, "to those stones which control the wind and the water."
"And what stones might those be?" Jack asked, his curiosity peaked.
"You've not heard the stories of the stones Calypso provided with the power to control the winds of the sky and the waters of the sea?" the man asked, surprised.
"You know what he's talking about Jack," Mr. Gibbs cut in. "Every pirate has been told that story since he was a child. It's just a myth. Many an honest sailor has set out to search for those stones and come back with naught. It's an old wives tale, nothing more."
"Oh yes," Jack waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Those Treasures of the Sea."
"Fine then, waste your time looking for things that have already traveled out of your reach," the man said softly, stepping away from the table.
"And what's it to you anyway?" Jack raised his voice, turning to look at the man.
However, the man was gone. Jack rose from the table to look around the tavern, but he didn't catch a glimpse of the man anywhere. He shook his head, frustrated with the situation, and sat back down at the table.
"Strange little man spreading silly lies," Mr. Gibbs said, taking a long drink of rum. "We're definitely back in the Caribbean."
"It's not a lie," Elizabeth said softly.
"What luv?" Jack asked. "Can't hear you, speak up!"
"I don't think it's a lie. I heard the stories growing up as well," she said.
"But that's all they are…stories," Mr. Gibbs insisted. "Nothing more. Empty lies to waste pirates' time so that they don't spend as much time destroying cities and ships, probably created by the bloody governor of some port town that had been sacked too many times."
Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't think so. I've been told that story since I was a child in London. If it's simply an old wives tale to tell pirates to waste their time then why teach it in our history studies?"
"What did they teach you lass?" Mr. Gibbs asked, skeptical.
"Ch'iao K'uo Fu Jen was the first female pirate. She sailed the South China Sea around 600 BC. Calypso was so proud of the brave Chinese warrior that she wanted to honor her and so she created The Treasures of the Sea and presented them as a gift to her. The stones were set in two separate rings, which could be worn separately, but were much stronger when worn together. The ring that controlled the wind was set with a fire opal and the one that controlled the water contained a deep blue sapphire. The Chinese fully believe that those two rings helped Ch'iao K'uo Fu Jen become the legend she is known as today."
"How do you possibly remember all these stories Lizzie?" Jack asked, definitely impressed.
Elizabeth blushed, looking down, "I've always been fascinated with pirates."
"So what happened to the rings?" Mr. Gibbs asked, wanting Elizabeth to focus on the story rather than Jack's flirtations.
"Well, when Ch'iao K'uo Fu Jen was on her death bed, she decided to split up the rings between her two sons, who were also pirates and had taken over the dynasty she was leaving behind. She had hoped that having to share the power would help them learn to depend on one another, but they were power hungry and each wanted the other's ring for himself. They ended up in an epic sword fight, both wanting the other dead to claim their power. They agreed to fight to the death and whoever was left at the end would inherit the power of both rings. As fate," she paused, "or Calypso might have it, they stabbed one another in the heart at the exact same time and both died simultaneously," she finished.
"Where are the rings now?" Jack asked, his curiosity growing.
"No one is exactly sure," she replied. "Some say no one was aware of the rings' power and the men were buried wearing the jewelry. Although, that seems unlikely since that's what they were fighting over and their mother had built such a large and well-known dynasty with her powers. Others believe that men on their crew took their rings for themselves. Although," she hesitated, "that seems rather unlikely as well since surely there would be legends about the next man or woman who controlled the winds or the seas. What many believe, and I choose to believe as well, is that Calypso either removed the powers she had given the stones in the beginning or that she hid them so well that no one has yet found them again."
"I know how we can find them," Jack said, reaching into his lap.
"Jack, it's just a story," Mr. Gibbs insisted once again. "It isn't real."
Jack pulled out his compass, "If you don't want to come along then you can stay here."
"Jack listen to me," Mr. Gibbs started.
"So you don't believe my story?" Elizabeth asked.
"It's not that I think you made it up," he started.
Jack had already flipped the compass open and was watching the needle spin.
"I learned that in my studies," she insisted.
"We've all heard the story," Mr. Gibbs said.
"So you've heard that entire story, just like I told it?" she asked. "Then why did you sit through it so enthusiastically as if you'd never heard a word I said?"
Jack held up a hand. "If I may interrupt this little argument for only a moment," he began, pointing at his compass. "We have a heading."
Elizabeth stared over at the compass in confusion. Mr. Gibbs took a long drink of rum, finishing off his mug and asked a passing wench for another.
Jack smiled, "Works every time."
"Jack, we're not sailing to the Isla de Muerta," Elizabeth stated what she thought was a well-known fact.
"No, we're setting sail to find The Treasures of the Sea," Jack offered.
"Then what does your compass have to do with anything?" she asked.
" This was a gift from my own little goddess," Jack explained, smiling as he thought of Tia Dalma. "Although…I did have to provide her with a gift of her own in exchange, so I guess that's more like a barter than a gift," the smile turned into a slight frown as he thought about the situation. "No worries though," the smile returned, "this compass points to whatever you want most in this world and right now, what I want most is to find The Treasures of the Sea."
Elizabeth looked at the compass in amazement. "Wow," she marveled.
"Yep," Jack nodded. "It is unique."
"So you're really going to go after these rings, Captain?" Mr. Gibbs asked.
"I really am, Gibbs," the captain stated.
Gibbs shook his head, "But they're just stories! What if we're wasting our time?"
"Does the fact that you said we mean that you will be sailing with us after all?" Jack asked.
"You didn't answer the question," Gibbs replied.
"Neither did you," Jack said simply. "Maybe it is all just a story, but what if it's not?"
"How are you ever going to get the crew to go along with this?" Gibbs asked. "They're gonna want an equal share in our findings and I'm betting that you're not planning on sharing either of the rings."
Jack scoffed, "Not hardly. We'll just be looking for treasure. We won't tell them about the rings."
"And you think they're just gonna sail off with you following that bloody compass having no idea what we're really looking for?"
"Gibbs!" Jack was growing frustrated with the older man. "You're over thinking this. It's not that complicated. We've got a good month before storm season ends. When it's over we'll set sail just like every other pirate crew in this bloody town. We don't make a statement that we're looking for something specific. We did well last year just sailing the Spanish Main looking for ships and port towns. We have a good reputation as a prosperous crew."
"Had," Gibbs reminded him. "Before we followed Anamaria and went off sailing halfway around the world in the middle of storm season."
"No one here is gonna remember that except for the ones who sailed off with us. Everyone else is too drunk and too happy to notice we ever even left."
"I hope you're right Captain," Mr. Gibbs conceded.
"Of course I am," Jack said securely.
"Jack's doing the right thing," Elizabeth attempted to reassure Gibbs.
"Then why hasn't anyone heard of any sailor using those stones in over two thousand years?" he asked.
"Maybe Calypso has been waiting for the right person to find them," Jack smiled.
"And you really think that person is you?" Gibbs asked.
"I do have the compass," he replied, holding it up by its string as it swung back and forth in the air.
Gibbs shook his head, "Why I stay loyal to you and The Pearl is a mystery to me sometimes."
Jack stood, taking the last long sip of rum from his mug. "I think you're trying to be some sort of fatherly influence I managed to escape my entire life. Come on Elizabeth, I believe it's time we retire for the night."
"I am rather tired," she said, standing.
Jack shot her a quirked eyebrow. "Oh, you're not going to get to go to bed just yet luv."
Mr. Gibbs caught the attention of a passing wench. "I'll take another of these please," he requested, tapping his mug.
It was going to be a long month in Tortuga trying to pass the time until they set out on their next venture.