Chapter 3 Considering Allegiances
In which the crew discuss the nature of Jack and Jack faces another monster
"Skulking, there be no other word for it. We be skulking." Pintel sounded disgusted.
"Aye," Raggetti agreed, "Captain Barbossa seems powerfully disinclined to go anywhere else."
"But why?" Marty asked, "We've seen na sign of Captain Jack, nor any ship he might be on. So why wait here? Why is t' Captain so sure that he will pass us by."
"Perhaps he's not, perhaps he can't think of anywhere else to go."
Pintel stared closely at the man who'd spoken, one of those two daft buggers who'd appeared after the Dutchman went down, Murtogg and Mullroy or some such he thought their names to be, but he could never quite remember which was which. As they spent most of their time squabbling between theirselves it never mattered much.
"Might be true, might not," he replied, "but skulking it be either way. I ask you is that a proper occupation for a pirate ship?"
Raggetti shook his head solemnly,
"Tis not. Captain Jack now, he never skulked; hid sometimes, ran away too, but never skulked."
"Well hiding and running away they be piratey things to do, particularly when the Navy be chasing you, and there be more than one of them. But skulking! That be different." Pintel responded.
"Well the Navy did chase us, and we ran away, so Captain Barbossa was being piratey then." That was the other one of the daft pair.
"Yes," Pintel sounded exasperated, "but the Navy's not chasing us now, leastways not that I can see. So why are we anchored here? We be skulking I tell you!"
Marty squinted up at Pintel,
"Might be right though, Captain got as far as he can and don't know where to go now. Without tat chart we are never going ta find the Fountain. Never mind what Barbossa say. We need Captain Jack, and now we've lost the fountain. Should never have left Captain Jack behind."
Pintel turned on him in fury,
"Well maybe you should have said something about it sooner, like afore we left him in Tortuga"
Raggetti shrugged,
"Barbossa said he had the chart, said Captain Jack wouldn't share it." He squinted at Pintel, "Might be that he wasn't telling the truth about that mind."
Pintel rolled his eyes,
"So now ye say it! Anyways we didn't fall over the edge of the world leaving Captain Jack, we fell over the edge because we was looking for him. Not the same at all."
"But of we hadn't left him we wouldn't have had to go looking for him." Raggetti insisted,
"That's true," Murtogg, or was it Mullroy, said.
Pintel glared at the man to no apparent effect,
"We didn't leave him, the Kracken ate him, there wasn't anything to leave!"
"Missus Turner left him." Raggetti chipped in, "see. She caused it." He looked down his nose and pursed his lips, "leaving Captain Jack behind is a bad thing. Brings bad luck."
There was a moment of silence while they all thought about that, then the darker of the daft pair frowned at Raggetti,
"You mean he's like one of those charm things they use to keep Old Hob at bay?"
"Talisman." Raggetti supplied the word as he nodded seriously, "That's what he is, a talisman. When Captain Jack is around things work out, when he isn't then they don't and bad things happen."
Pintel shook his head,
"Don't know about that, some pretty bad things happened when he was around. Pearl went down for one."
"But Captain Jack got her back, brought the Pearl and hisself back."
"Back from where?" the darker of the duo asked,
"The Locker." Pintel told him in a portentous tone,
"Back from the seas of eternity." Raggetti added as he nodded his agreement.
"You mean this ship has been on the other side? With dead people?" the dark one demanded.
"Aye" Marty looked suddenly uncomfortable.
"Now it's back, from the dead?" that was the fairer one.
"Aye," Marty now looked distinctly uneasy. "Captain Jack got us back." He shot an uneasy glance towards the great cabin,
"Not Captain Barbossa?" that was the dark one again.
"Nay, he didn't see the way, couldn't navigate us even wit ta chart." Marty suddenly felt that he didn't want to remember that.
"So we are on a ghost ship then?" the fair one, "if it's come back from the dead it must be."
"On a ghost ship and without its talisman." The dark one sounded unhappy about the idea.
Suddenly none of the others were happy about it either.
"Don't sound too healthy when you put it that way." Pintel muttered.
Raggetti nodded,
"Tempting providence you might say."
Marty looked from one to the other then shrugged,
"So what do we do? We could abandon Barbossa but tat whut nat change anything and at least he has some notion of where we need ta be."
"We wait to find Captain Jack, that's what we do." Pintel declared, "then when we see this ship that Captain Barbossa is sure he's on then we roll out the canons, board her and steal him back, and we don't let him go ashore again until we've found this fountain."
"Captain Jack is tricky, and he won't like being kept from going ashore." Raggetti objected.
Pintel scowled,
"If we bring him rum and wenches he'll be happy enough."
"Not sure about that." Raggetti argued. "He misrepresents hisself does Captain Jack, misleads people, he's not drunk as often as he pretends to be, at least he wasn't until he had Jones on his back. Come to that he hasn't been drunk since." He shook his head, "Rum and wenches or no, he won't like being locked up."
"That be true." Pintel granted, "but there be more of us, and if we take his sword and pistol there won't be anything he can do about it now will there?"
"Not sure we should upset him if he's the talisman." Murtogg or Mullroy said.
Pintel scowled
"Just cos he's one of these talis things don't mean that we can't keep him locked in his cabin now do it? Just that we can't hurt him and leave him behind! Anyway's once we've got to this fountain we can let him out."
"And Barbossa?" Marty asked.
Pintel grinned unpleasantly,
"If Captain Jacks this talis thing then it's only right that he should decide what to do with Captain Barbossa."
Raggetti nodded his agreement,
"Only right it should be his responsibility. Nobeless oblige so to speak."
Pintel grinned around
" No call for anyone to be mad at us then. Eh?"
"So we wait for Captain Jack to arrive?" that was the fair one, who was looking confused again.
"Aye we wait. Just as Captain Barbossa wanted." Pintel said.
Marty looked towards the great cabin and spoke for them all,
"Let hope he isn't too long in coming."
***
The dead black eye reflected back an image of himself, just as the corpse of the Kracken had. Whether the living beasts eyes had been so soulless he couldn't remember; but then he had had other things on his mind at the time, mainly not having anything on his mind. Dying in the hot rush had been easier than dying in cold blood. But he did remember the gaping mouth and the serried ranks of teeth; this ones mouth was far smaller, 'in keeping with it's overall size, its human size,' some part of his brain was trying to shout at him, and he couldn't see any teeth as yet. Not a Kracken then, not even an infant one, but Jones might have other servants in whatever watery hell Calypso had consigned him too. Somehow he didn't think that Jones had forgiven him, nor forgotten him, wherever he was. Who else would have sent such a thing?
The tentacles surrounding the creatures head glowed translucent in the sun and the sound of its breathing, harsh and heavy, seemed to be all that he could hear. The silvered skin shone like a thousand pearls in the hot light as the front limbs reached up and grasped the rail with webbed and suckered hands. For a moment he was frozen by memory and by fear, but as the horror got closer the hot rush pushed the weakness of illness away and he found his strength.
He backed away from the rail searching the deck closest with frantic eyes, but still there was no sign of a possible weapon. With a curse he ran for the helm shouting as he went,
"Oi ghost, there's an intruder aboard, and Elanor's gone missing. I need a weapon!"
As before he got no answer.
Beneath the wheel there was a drawer, perhaps there was something he could use there, even one of those strange writing implements of hers would do, if he could bring himself to allow the creature close enough then it would be long enough to breach the eye if not the heart. It would take all his determination but if that was all there was to hand then that was what he would have to do.
He reached for the handle but by reflex his hand pulled back as he suddenly recalled what had happened the last time he had touched the wheel. A wave of despair ran through him, if this ghost laid him out again then there would be no one to stop this creature, unless by some miracle Elanor was below and not already dead or devoured. But if she came on deck as unprepared as he was then what chance would she have? He looked around him in desperation, then took a deep breath, all he could do was hope, so he raised his voice to address the air,
"Ghost, I need a weapon. Don't kill me if I touch something I shouldn't."
Then it came to him in a flash, the ghost! She had said that this ghost would defend the ship, so if he could inveigle this creature into touching the wheel then the ghost would do to it what it had done to him! Then he might have a chance of overpowering it. Yes! In fact if he could push it back against the wheel as it recoiled the first time the ghost might even strike hard enough to kill it! If he could warn the ghost, make it understand, it might even do it the first time!
"Ghost." He hissed more quietly lest he warn the approaching thing, "I don't know where the captain is, or if she is safe, but I have no weapon so you must stop this creature. I will try to manoeuvre it against the wheel, and then it is up to you. Kill or stun it, that's your choice but do something. If you won't do that then provide me with a weapon!"
Nothing happened.
The creature was on deck now, not so large looked at straight on, but powerful and with a humped back and long webbed feet. Something was clasped in one of its forelimbs and as it came forward across the deck it let it fall with a bang. Jack swallowed hard and tried not to look at the fallen object, a flash of gold as the sun hit it suddenly persuading him that if he did look he would see it be a human head, one swathed with silvered golden hair, and that there would be two more dead eyes looking at him, eyes that were neither blue nor green, yet both.
The creature was moving closer and Jack spun around seeking the best place to position himself to lead the creature into the ghost's painful embrace. He edged around to the side of the wheel, it was uncomfortably close, but for it to work he had to skim it by less than inches; he gritted his teeth preparing himself to withstand the shock of pain that he knew would come if he touched it. Now the creature would have to pass the wheel to get to him, and, whatever it was, he would surely have strength enough to push it across the short distance to make contact.
The creature was moving strangely as it came, slowly and clawing at its head as if being out of the water bothered it. The sound of its breathing got louder and harsher and Jack steeled himself for the feel of it, for the smell of it, knowing that every nerve was stretched to snapping point, yet knowing too that he had to do this because there was no one else who would. His whole life was encapsulated in this moment.
The creatures misshapen shadow fell across the wheel and he cast a last desperate look around, still seeking a weapon that might help him as. He barely noticed that the laboured breathing had stopped, deprived of both avenue of escape or weapon he drew a deep breath and prepared, one again, to do battle for his life.
"Jack. What the hell are you doing out of bed! "
***
Calypso had watched the Lady's captain, for that was how she thought of her, just as she thought of Jack as her captain, descend into the water with interest.
The manner of her dress had been strange, like a silver mermaid with fins instead of tail and her face replaced by that strange protruding mouth and the single black eye. She had frowned realising that this woman intended to dive down to the sea bed in pursuit of Witty Jack's lost treasure, for it had taken days of wearying work to put it out of his reach and she was not sure that she was willing to let it be placed back into his hands. True she no longer needed him a pirate, but he was her captain and he had thwarted her and, while she had no desire to see him dead, nor was she inclined to surrender him to a life of ease.
For a moment too she worried for this woman, for the water was deep, too deep for her purpose, and she did not think twas in the Lady's mind to have her perish here. Calypso sighed and prepared to save the woman from her folly, but first she would watch and see what more she might learn of her, for that might tell her more of the Lady's intentions.
The woman seemed quite unafraid as she slid backwards off the raft into the water and Calypso thinned her lips at the carelessness so readily displayed, then the expression eased and she stared in surprise as the woman pushed herself down towards the sea bed with little trouble and consummate grace. Her eyes widened as she saw the trail of bubbles begin to stir around her head, then smiled as she realised what was happening. Not a fish then, but a dolphin or a whale, carrying huge lungs of air down with her to allow her to breathe. What would witty Jack make of that when he knew of it!
The woman was deep now but was apparently unperturbed by the growing pressure of the water above her; she had clearly done this before. The light was fading but still she swam downwards towards even darker waters. Calypso watched as she reached the seabed and began to search, with unerring skill too, it was as if she knew where the items she sought were secreted. Some she left where they were, others, smaller and lighter she collected and pushed into a bag that had appeared at her waist. As she ranged across the seabed ropes of pearls, scattered gemstones and golden trinkets were scooped up, inspected by that single unblinking eye then stuffed into the bag. A small fortune was collected and Calypso debated with herself whether to allow this pillaging or if she should summon some other occupant of these waters, a ray or a shark maybe, to take them back and force the Lady's captain back to the surface and the world she belonged to.
At her thought several very large fish changed their course and headed in her direction.
She was still undecided about her course of action when another figure appeared in the gloom, The Lady herself, standing on the seabed, fan spread and jewelled smile flashing in the movement of the current.
"Ah, sa that be the wayt of it. You would have me let her take her prize?"
The Lady merely moved closer to her captain and dipped her head. Several miles away a large shoal of fish suddenly felt the urge to move into the path of the approaching predators.
Calypso saw and smiled, inclining her own head in acceptance,
"Very well Lady, so be it. I will let ya have ya way." Her voice sharpened, "but know that I could stop ya if I wished."
The Lady merely inclined her head again though whether in agreement of dissent Calypso couldn't tell. She would take it as agreement and thanks on this occasion.
Side by side they watched the woman start towards the surface, moving confidently as if she were tethered to her ship. They watched as she clambered slowly onto her raft then looked up and started to move more swiftly. With a silent look they moved aboard the ship anchored above.
Jack was looking pale and thin and frightened, Calypso didn't think she had ever seen him look so afraid before. She turned and looked at the woman in her strange garb, seeing now though Jack's eyes, and exchanged another look with the Lady. One of these two captains was not going to come out of this well, how would their accord survive that?
Then Jack was at the wheel, calling to the ghost, demanding a weapon, and Elanor had dropped the bag onto the deck and was pulling at the covering on her head in frantic haste. Jack was easing himself behind the wheel and the woman was moving across the decks as quickly as her strange garb allowed. Now Calypso could see what Jack was about and knew that this ghost at least would know it too; she threw back her head and laughed as the Lady's smile flashed brighter,
"Ah Lady you be a crafty one tis true. They get their prize and a little lesson too."
She looked at where Jack was standing braced for the onslaught he so obviously expected,
"Witty Jack," she cooed, though she knew he could not hear her, "the better part of you will win when the need is greatest, maybe she will trust you a little more now."
The woman was free of her head covering now and staring at Jack in astonished concern,
"Jack. What the hell are you doing out of bed!" her voice was sharp with concern.
Calypso exchanged another amused look with the Lady and then they left their captains to their argument.