Book Two - Chapter Seven: Ewould's Island
Just as Captain Darius had predicted, the Roving Maid had set sail in the morning to seek out Ewould's Island and the treasures that were rumoured to adorn it. Amelia had found herself able to recite the details that the lord of the Caspian Sea had given her. In fact, Amelia had found herself able to recite all the details of that night and she did so frequently. It seemed that all of her thoughts now rested solely on Captain Darius. She could turn any conversation into a subject concerning him. To say the least, the topic was wearing very thin on the crew. Even if someone was fortunate enough just to have heard the tale once, the distracted tone the girl used to tell it was enough to turn the man away. Amelia was now being specifically given duties up in the riggings just to spare the crew from the torture. In fact, she became Captain Jack Sparrow's new threat for disobedience or lollygagging.
"If that's not done in the next ten minutes you'll be cleaning cannons with Ms. Amelia for the rest of the day," Jack would bark at them.
No one was actually made an example of. The men were determined to be quite well behaved so long as the consequence was so severe.
It became the predicament for the captain. As much as he was opposed to Amelia's distracted nattering, he was pleased with the results it was creating. Sure there would be a nice peace aboard the ship once she would forget about other captain, but the disciplining would never be as easy as it was at this very moment. If only there was a way of turning on Amelia's nattering for the purpose and then turning it off for the sake of the captain's own sanity.
No one was more irritated by Amelia's obsession than her own father. Of course, Amelia was not foolish enough to go into the same detail with her father around as she would with the rest of the crew. Barbossa, nonetheless, heard the gist of it and vowed to have one of Darius's limbs removed before the year was out. It did not matter which limb, though there was a certain one that he had in mind.
The Roving Maid could not reach Ewould's Island fast enough. Even at a distance the crew was able to note how sad an island it looked. The land seemed all black, turned to char from the mass burning that must have taken place. It looked as though the crew of the Sirin were not being dishonest when they were telling the story of the Wandering Eel's experience here.
From up in the crow's nest it was possible to see the light glinting through the shadowy trees. There was no need to double check their bearings since it was obvious that this was the island they were searching for. As they did the last time, Jack was choosing members of the crew to bring ashore. Though it was with some reluctance this time, Amelia was elected to go, provided that she speak as little as possible while on this mission. With the selection made, three boats were lowered and sent to the island.
They beached the boats and followed the glinting light through the dead jungle. The smell of smoke was still in the air and it increased the further they ventured. Every now and then they would come across the burnt carcass of an animal left to rot amongst all the other dead things. As if that wasn't bad enough, Amelia had the unfortunate experience of having a human body, one that must have climbed a tree in hopes of preserving his life a little longer, fall from overhead. She screamed and flung it away from her. She then ran behind her captain as though he would actually offer some protection. At least she was not the only person who displayed signs of being disgusted and horrified by the sight.
"Think any of 'em lived?" Pintel asked his shipmates.
No one could give a definitive answer. It was possible that the tribe here had boats and were able to get away from the flames. It was also possible that they could have found a place untouched by the fire, such as along the beach. There was no knowing how much smoke would have billowed up and if it would have been lethal for anyone not directly exposed to the flame itself. As they approached the temple they found many more bodies along the ground. The local natives must have been seeking help from their gods or willing to die trying to save their temple - no one would ever know which.
The temple itself, though it seemed large and impressive, had been affected by the great fire. Parts that were once finely sculpted now had shown signs of melting. Smoke had tarnished the shine that would have otherwise been blinding. Nonetheless, it seemed that the temple was still entirely intact.
Some of the men became very excited by the sight and rushed forward to chisel off pieces of gold from the structure. Barbossa called them all to halt, telling them to save their strength and patience for what must be waiting inside. His statement would be short lived since it seemed that the gold of the two great doors of the temple had melted into the crevasses, thereby solidifying the doors as a wall. Barbossa revoked his earlier command and told the men to continue chiselling - at least until a door could be produced.
The men followed along the lines of where the breaks in the doors should be and chiselled until they could remove one whole side. One of the men laid claim to the door in its entirety for when the rest of the gold had been retrieved. No one paid any attention to his claim and simply stepped over the door and entered the temple.
All was dark. Nothing could be distinguished except the putrid smell that could only be caused from decaying flesh of some sort. The men all checked their pockets to see if perchance someone might have thought to bring a flint of some kind. Alas, not one of them proved to be so clever. This would be no good. They exited out of the temple and began to look for something of use. On man tried to rub sticks together to produce a spark. Unfortunately, everything in sight had already had its fair share of sparks and refused to burn again, only shedding off layers of char and soot. Another man used his dirk and a stone, hoping to catch a spark unto a torn piece of cloth from his shirt. This too was unsuccessful.
Amelia, along with many others, was growing restless and was determined to try her luck back in the temple. When she announced her intention, her father reprimanded her, but Captain Jack Sparrow supported her side of the argument. Half of the party was to go back in. The other half was to wait outside in case one should find a source of light, or be available for support should something foul be afoot.
The party entering the temple braced themselves for the stench that awaited them inside. Taking a few steps in, most of them stayed close to the light from the doorway. Amelia and the captain were the ones to brave the extra steps, closer to the smell, but the also closer to the objects that adorned the temple. They began to walk to the left side, hoping to find a wall they could feel around for and follow. While slowly stepping to the side, a loud clank was heard. Jack had walked into a statue of some kind. It tripped him up since part of the statue seemed to be on a hinge that provided movement, so as the captain tried to grab onto it for support, he ended up falling onto it, bending forward until the bottom half of what was turning hit him in the pelvic region. The captain let out a grunt and a groan. Slowly, he found something solid and sturdy, posts it seemed, that allowed for him to bring himself back to an upright position. Amelia found him, took his hand to ensure that she had not lost him nor would lose him.
"Are you alright?" she whispered to her captain.
Jack groaned, "I've been better."
Having hold of her hand, the captain felt for her shoulder as a way of orienting himself away from the structure he had run into.
Amelia was curious by the structure, having seen a glint of light when the captain had initially hit it. She followed the captain's arm and reached out for one of the posts. Having found a post, she felt for a circular ring that was in fact capable of moving. Amelia took hold of the ring and slowly pulled it forward. Doing so, she found that it was a type of golden mirror. Putting it to a certain angle, she was capable of capturing the light from the doorway. The light now in the temple itself was able to reflect upon the surrounding gold. The inside, just as the outer side of the building, was coated in gold. The walls were adorned with carved panels which were painted. Statues stood on guard as uniform as pillars along the sides of the walls, as well as along a distinguished walkway.
A little further up they found another mirror and titled that to capture more light which illuminated a greater portion of the temple. With this added source of light, both Amelia and Jack were able to see the source of the decaying flesh. It was a sort of boar placed in a cage and guarded by natives dressed in arms. It must have been a religious ritual - a sacrifice to be sent to which ever god reined over this temple. The other men who had been waiting near the doorway now felt themselves able to explore their surroundings.
"Should we start the salvagin', Captain?" one of the men asked, keeping a good eye on a golden idol that he figured would fit right into his own pocket.
"Aye, everything you can carry," the captain commanded. "Let them yellow-bellied landlubbers outside do the ferrying!"
The men laughed, but Amelia shot a look of distain at her captain. Captain Jack Sparrow did not fail to notice the menacing glare.
"What is it now?" he asked.
"That's my father, your first mate, who's out there, and don't think that I will fail to inform him of your opinion of him," she replied.
The captain would not acknowledge her comment, seeing as she had no humour, he would lay aside his own.
"You, woman," he addressed her, "start your salvaging."
Amelia gave a small huff, "I thought that I'd just bloody well steal it."
Jack laughed and handed her the nearest item his hand could reach - a sign to start packing things up.
Amelia followed her captain's orders and began to strip the temple of all that she could carry. Once her hands were full she would drop the load outside where the other men could lug it to the boats. Jack, however, did not pilfer anything. He was searching for something very specific that was not making itself very visible at this point in time. No one inquired as to his motives since hardly anyone could notice when all of this gold was so prominently in front of them - no one except Amelia who always noticed these things.
After dumping off her current load of plunder, she pursued her captain, walking carefully behind him. Jack realized that he was being stalked and was not entirely impressed by it. He tested her by starting to walk very slowly with large strides, seeing if she would follow. Then he took some quick steps backwards. As she moved backwards with him, though not in the same manner, the captain rushed forward again. Amelia did not follow, realizing this game to be quite stupid and having no desire to play it any longer, especially considering that Jack's attempts to throw the girl off of his direction was completely futile since he never moved more than a few feet in any direction. How immature this captain could be! Amelia did not hesitate in telling him so, either.
"Maturity has nothing to do with it!" Jack protested. "You're in my personal space," he said outlining the vastness of his personal space with his hands.
"Then tell me what your gawking around for," Amelia insisted.
"I'm not gawking. And besides, even if I were, I don't have to answer to you, I'm the captain here," Jack said trying to sound very authoritative.
"Fine, be that way." Under her breath she added, "And you call Captain Darius boorish."
Not looking at her, the captain shouted back at her, "I heard that!"
Amelia decided to ignore her captain for the time being. She occupied herself by looking around. She admired the murals, the large half pillar statues, even the deceased bodies in their sacred attire. She also found yet another mirror and tilted it to reveal the back of the temple which contained the altar and the gigantic figure of the native deity. The size of the figure was mind boggling. The idol was shown from the waist up with the torso of a man but which had a monstrous face. The hair on the deity was shaped to be long and wild, infested with what could have been crabs or spiders. It was a fierce image yet truly intriguing. The base was unusual for an altar since it sank down a step rather than lift the deity up. Amelia could not help but step closer to see every detail for herself.
Jack saw her trance like motion and called her name with a certain amount of concern. Amelia did not seem to hear her captain's call. Although it seemed that there was little reason to fear her situation, there was something unsettling that the captain found in the sight of that god. Pilfering its temple no longer seemed like such a good idea now that the angry face was revealed to have been watching them this whole time. He was not sure what would happen if Amelia came too close to the figure - though more probable than not that nothing would happen - the captain did not trust it. Jack slowly came behind the young woman and gently took hold of her arm before she was able to step down on the lowered altar.
"I think we best leave it be," the captain said quietly to her.
Amelia looked back at him and submitted to her captain. Jack put his arm around her shoulder and led her back.
They had forgotten how sweet fresh air smelt until they had a chance to lie about outside of the temple. Everything that was removable in the temple had been removed. The men were tired and in need of a rest to clear their lungs from the foul stale and putrid air that filled the temple. The last boat to ferry over the plunder brought back food and drink for the men that remained.
"We done here, Captain?" Barbossa asked.
"Are the men satisfied?" Jack asked his first mate.
"Aye, so long as Ketchum gets his half of the door, I think they'll be well appeased," Barbossa replied.
"Good, then I only have one last thing to do and then we may depart," the captain said.
"What more be ya needing?" Barbossa laughed.
Amelia, already being nearby, listened attentively for the captain's reply.
Jack did not disclose an answer. He simply went on a long tangent of explaining what insignificant trifle he was looking for as his own personal mark of achievement without mentioning what it was exactly. Barbossa stopped the captain in mid ramble and inquired if he was needed any longer or if he and some of the men could retire back to the ship. The captain agreed, so long as at least four bodies remained and one boat. Amelia volunteered herself to be one of those remaining bodies, much to her father's disproval. Jack tried to dissuade her as well but as usual Amelia proved to be too stubborn to be persuaded.
When Barbossa left with his men, leaving Amelia behind as one of the four, Jack turned to his somewhat irritating female crew member and said, "I thought that your being here was upon agreement of silence?"
"I have been relatively silent," Amelia protested.
"Ah, relatively, of course," the captain noted, "but relatively is still not completely."
"I didn't realize that I offended you so," Amelia accused, having taken his comment quite personally.
Jack threw his head into his hands and mumbled all frustrated like, "Why must you always do that?"
"What?"
"What? That! What you just did there," Jack exclaimed. "You've been in an unruly mood since Tortuga. I don't know what's worse, you when your chipper or you when you're offended by everything."
Amelia gave no response. She simply got up and went out on her own in quite the huff. When she was a fair distance away the captain felt a guilty pang get the better of him. With a huff of frustration he got up and ran after her. He found her in the woods standing strangely still. He imagined that she must have been crying and tried to quickly think of something comforting to say, or at least something that his brain would have time to construct carefully before blatantly saying the first thing that came to mind. He put his hand on her shoulder and was about to speak when she placed the back of her hand against his chest, to prevent him from coming further forward. The captain did not understand, but it was clear that she was not crying. She still stood still, her eyes continually fixed on a single spot. Jack followed her line of sight. He saw nothing but dead trees. Then, barely distinguishable between the trees were human figures. He could see unwelcoming eyes glaring back at them. The captain slowly reached for his pistol and cocked it. He squeezed Amelia's shoulder, bringing her back slowly. When she was beside him he put his arm around her waist and together they turned sideward. Jack led her gently back, keeping his eyes and pistol fixed on the surrounding natives that watched them. He did not let go of her until they reached the clearing in front of the temple where the remaining men were still lazing around. In order not to create any alarm amongst the others, the captain spoke about it only to Amelia.
"I think we've outstayed our welcome," he said in half a whisper to her. "We should head back."
Amelia instinctively agreed, nodding her head, but then recalled the reason why she had stayed in the first place. "But what of the last item?" she asked.
"What item?"
"The one that you said you needed to get as a sign of personal achievement on this expedition," Amelia recalled.
"I also said that it was an insignificant trifle."
"Is it really?" she asked looking for sincerity in his eyes.
The captain could see the longing the girl had and could not ignore it.
"It could be the greatest treasure ever found," Jack explained unwillingly. "That is, if it exists. My knowledge of it consists only from what those creeps of a Caspian crew could tell me. Who's to know if they were even telling the truth anyway?"
"Everything has proved true so far," Amelia said. "Though, the captain did not relate that detail to me."
"Aye, I wouldn't have expected him to. You already announced my interest in the island so he had no need to provide further motivation for the journey. The island isn't named just for the man who discovered it. He sold his soul to find it, and the secret of who he sold his soul to lies in a chest somewhere in that temple."
"But we've emptied it. There was never a sign of a chest. We would have seen it," Amelia thought aloud.
"Aye, so there's no point hanging around for something that isn't there."
"Unless…" Amelia said as though she was sorting out the thoughts of a sudden epiphany. The captain was afraid to ask the girl what she was thinking. "We still have yet to check the altar," she said.
"I'm not sure that it would be worth the risk. Them locals didn't seem too happy to see us."
"Jack, we've been here for hours. I don't think that we've gone the whole time completely unnoticed. Someone else would have encountered them by now if they were determined to be hostile."
Jack finally addressed the remaining members of his crew, "We're going back in the temple. You men stay out and keep watch until I tell you otherwise."
With that, he and Amelia re-entered the temple. They had forgotten about the smell until it hit them hard as they stepped inside. They walked forward still looking around them for anything that might look like a chest or like something that could contain one. The place seemed wholly barren now. Coming up to the altar, Amelia suggested that they see if perhaps anything could be behind the large golden figure. Stepping down with one foot, Amelia felt as though the lowered altar's floor was not composed of the same material as that which her other foot was still standing on. Certainly it was still gold, but it did have an oddly airy feel to it. Jack saw her pause and asked her what was wrong. She replied that nothing was wrong and proceeded to step down fully with her other foot. The ground did feel strangely different. Jack followed in behind her, but when his feet touched the lowered altar, the ground cracked and gave way. Amelia screamed and the captain hollered. Both the young woman and the captain fell into a dark pit with the gold flaked pieces of clay flooring. Somehow they managed not to fall on one another, but the soil beneath them did not make for the softest landing. Jack immediately concerned himself with Amelia.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I've been better," she moaned.
Jack helped her to her feet. They stood in darkness with only the light from above. It turned out that the golden deity was much larger than it originally appeared to be. Its legs continued beneath the temple floor. Here they were, on the same level as this giant's feet.
"Jack," Amelia called, pointing to the object resting on top of the figure's feet. There was no need to call the captain's attention to it since he already noticed it.
"Little buggers were telling the truth after all," he muttered.
It was a long way up from where they fell. Amelia tried to see if it was possible to climb up the gigantic statue but the smooth gold made it difficult to grip. They would need at least six men to create a large enough human ladder to the top. There was nothing around to be of any use, no ropes or cords of any kind. The captain shouted out for the other men to come help but his cry echoed in the wrong direction and none of the men heard the call.
"Wait," Amelia said with a sudden epiphany. "This place must go out quite a distance, your echo travelled."
"It's pitch black! You really want to go traipsing around down here? God only knows what could be down here," he said, then became suddenly conscious of what he said, looked up the giant idol at whose feet they were standing, and waved his hands while mouthing an apology to it.
"Have you a better idea?"
Jack thought a moment. He extended his index finger as though he was about to make a point, but then retracted it. Unwilling to be defeated he shouted out at the men once more. Amelia shook her head and moved out of the light.
"Amelia?" Jack called quietly when he saw that she was not in sight. "Amelia!"
Amelia reappeared.
"Don't do that!" the captain scolded.
Amelia did not reply more than a heavy sigh of frustration.
"We'll wait a few minutes. The men will get anxious and check the temple," Jack explained.
Amelia agreed to follow his instructions, so she plopped herself on one of the idol's feet and waited. Jack sat on the other foot. The silence was awkward to say the least.
"At least the smell isn't as bad down here," Jack said trying to make light of the situation. Amelia did not respond. "I wonder why they couldn't have just put his feet up there?" he muttered looking up the opening they had created.
"My guess is that they built the temple around it, that's why the floor gives way just in front of the statue. They couldn't form stone to it so they laid down the clay and covered that instead," Amelia thought aloud.
"I wonder how many times they've had to replace that floor…"
"Probably not that often, I would think."
"At least once, though," Jack continued in thought.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, Ewould came to the island looking for the golden temple, right? If what's in the chest is what led him here then it must have been placed down here after the temple was built."
Simultaneously, both Amelia and the captain looked up at the opening and then directly out into the dark space ahead, finally looking back at one another.
"Do you think there is?" Amelia began to ask.
"I couldn't say," the captain hesitated to reply. "Would have been nice for that mangy dog to have mentioned something about the chest being under the temple," he grumbled at the thought of that Caspian captain.
"At least he told you about it," Amelia mumbled. "He may be the greatest scoundrel I have ever met -"
The captain gave a weak chuckle of disbelief. "Well, at least we're in agreement about something."
"- But he is sincere," Amelia continued as though she had not heard her captain speak.
Jack covered his face with his hand and groaned.
" - At least, for a pirate. Actually, for a pirate he was really quite the gentleman," Amelia continued nattering.
Jack stood up and said, "Come on!" grabbing one of the chest's side handles and gesturing the young woman to take up the other, which she did, but it did not stop her from speaking as her thoughts trailed on.
"He spoke very eloquently. I must say that I've never been quite so taken by a man's speech before."
Jack led them into the darkness, the whole while he was shaking his head and trying to come up with a way to get her to shut up without rendering her unconscious.
"He did have very little sense of propriety, at least as far as personal space is concerned. I have put many a men back into place who have tried such rash approaches and have done so proudly too. I did no less with the captain, which is how I got the directions. It was his apology for being so forward."
The thought of unconsciousness seemed much more tempting. Surely Barbossa would understand. The only issue would be carrying both the girl and the chest out. The captain was incapable of doing both. He should take the chest. The men outside could come back for the girl.
"Though, he never really stopped being forward. I can't believe he kissed me. At least he wasn't brutish about it. It was actually quite sweet. One of the better kisses, I think. Or so I can assume, it being my first kiss and all. But I don't think that I shall ever forget it. And from a pirate lord, too. But really, he kissed as I imagine a real gentleman would kiss a woman."
Even though cracks of light could be seen ahead, they were both too distracted now to react to the finding.
"That's it!" Captain Jack Sparrow shouted.
His cry startled the girl out of her fantasy. She stopped, so did the captain. He took hold of her end of the chest. With it fully in his care he tossed it to the side and grabbed hold of the girl by her arms. Amelia feared that she was going to be stuck for her mindless chatter, but now she had no means to prevent the attack. Her trembling from fear soon changed to a different kind of trembling. Jack took hold of her and planted a kiss on her unsuspecting lips. It was not a sweet and lingering kiss. It was determined yet passionate. Amelia felt herself melt into the captain's strong arms that held her so tightly. When the kiss was over, the captain slowly released her to stand on her own strength again.
"There!" he said making a firm point, "That's how a real man does it!"
He then picked up the chest and continued walking. Amelia quickly scrambled to follow him. She took his arm to keep up with him in the dark, although the way was quite clear now.
When they reached the source of the light, it turned out that it was through a makeshift wall of old wood. The captain handed the chest to Amelia and then gave the wall three good kicks which broke open an exit. The way was covered with sand. They were back on the beach, but they must have been on a different side of it. There was not a single boat in sight. They decided to walk up to the shoreline to see if the Roving Maid would be visible enough to orientate themselves.
The further out they walked, the more astounded they were. The Roving Maid was clearly visible and it seemed to be in the same direction that they had left it in when they came to shore. Amelia looked down and saw numerous signs of feet and even of what must have been the last boat dragged up into the woods.
"Jack," Amelia said trying not to be afraid, "what do we do?"
They were both still looking out at the beach front, not too far from where they had just climbed out of. Had they looked behind them, they would have been in greater alarm. They took no notice until an arrow shot between them, hitting the chest they held. In a quick glace they saw numerous glinting eyes watching them from the woods.
"Run!" the captain cried charging forth with the chest and the girl.
A stream of arrows followed them but somehow they managed to run clear of them. They hit the water, and when they could not run any longer, they swam as best as they could towards the ship. When they hit the water the natives knew that they could not get their arrows to reach them from the safety of the woods and so they all charged forward, still shooting out at the sea.
The swarm of natives on the beach did not go unnoticed. Ragetti, who was up in the riggings, saw the attack from afar. He called down announcing that there was trouble ashore and quickly climbed down. The first mate having heard the cry took out his telescope and saw not only the frenzy ashore, but also the direction of the flying arrows, aimed at the captain and Barbossa's own daughter. Without the least bit of hesitation Barbossa called for ropes to be lowered and to ready the anchor to be raised. He watched helplessly as the two swam closer to the ship.
The swim was difficult but luckily the chest was not so heavy that it could not be pulled along. They reached the ship as the anchor was being brought back up. They each had time enough to grab hold of the lowered ropes as the ship began to move. Jack took hold of the chest himself as Amelia climbed her rope a little higher, at which point she took the chest to allow the captain to get up out of the waves on his rope. They both sighed in relief and took time to catch their breath before worrying about the rest of the climb up.
The men on deck looked down, asking if they were alright. They replied that they were. Amelia angled her body to be able to get her feet against the side of the ship. In doing so, the old strained rope let loose some of its cords causing the girl a sudden jolt. Jack saw this but was in a very poor position to help her, still being further down than her along side the ship.
"Amelia, just drop it," he said in complete seriousness about the chest.
Amelia looked down, knowing that if she dropped the chest that it would sink down into the bottom of the sea forever. She was not so far from the deck, more than half way.
"Amelia, don't do it," the captain cried out. "It's not worth it."
But the girl would not listen. Giving herself one good swing away from the ship, she threw the chest up at the men looking over. They caught it. As Amelia was swinging back, the rope snapped. The men aboard tried to grab the rope but they pulled up only a severed end. Amelia plummeted downwards.
Jack had already started a sideways swing that enabled him to grab hold of her hand at the last possible opportunity. The sudden challenge to the inertia caused a sudden jolt that pained both the rescued and the rescuer. On top of the pain of their arms wanting to come out of their sockets, the swinging had not stopped, only sent in a different direction which caused the young woman to hit the side of the ship with quite a bit of force. After the sudden thump, Amelia grabbed onto the captain's rope with her free hand, using it as a guide as Jack pulled her up. He hoisted her up until she faced him and her arms were around his neck.
"You alright?" he asked her.
She nodded her head but did not speak, trying still to catch her breath from all the involuntary screaming she had just done. Jack pressed her close to him. She leaned her head against his.
"It's alright. You're alright. I've got you," he said trying to reassure her.
He could not use his hands, since that was all that was holding them up on the rope, so, moving his head to tilt hers, he kissed her again, but this time with less determination and with greater lingering. She reciprocated, finally kissing back for the first time.
"Should we send down another rope?" a voice from above called.
The kiss came to a quick halt as they both looked up. They could not see a face, and luckily the face could not see what interaction had occurred.
"It should be fine," the captain called up to his crew, "a few hands to man the rope to be safe, but we can make it from here."
Saying this, Jack pushed his legs up against the side of the ship, spread apart to give Amelia some space to climb up. Once she was a few good steps ahead, the captain followed.
Four members of the crew stepped up to help Amelia over the deck rail and to a step where she could sit. Only one man helped the captain over the rail and then he was left to seat himself wherever he so saw fit without further assistance. Food and drink were rushed to Amelia along with a blanket to dry her. Barbossa went instantly to his daughter to comfort her. After seeing that she was well, he escorted her to her room where he told her to rest. Barbossa was not so concerned with the captain's wellbeing.
"What the blazes happened out there?" Barbossa questioned his captain.
The captain did not even know where to begin.
"I'm not even sure I know," he confessed. "One minute we were raiding the temple, the next we were in some dark pit, and then the next thing we know we're being chased along the beach."
"And the others? What of them, Jack?"
"Hell if I know. Probably dead or good as right now. There was no sign of them and the boat was taken up. They've fallen behind least ways," the captain said.
"So they'll stay behind," Barbossa said, finishing the lines from the pirate code with little remorse.
Captain Jack Sparrow picked up Ewould's chest and headed to his own cabin where he set it aside by the door. He took off his water filled boots and removed all of his wet clothing. He put on a few dry garments but did not bother fully dressing. He lay down on his bed and tried to sleep off some of his inner strife.