The Voyages of the Dawn Chaser Water of Life

by Peladon

What Jack Sparrow did now. Having found himself an ally with a ship Jack seeks Mr Gibbs and then goes in search of Aqua de Vida, with the Navy and others on his tail. Meanwhile Barbossa tried to find Jack, and his way back to himself with little success.

27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 - Making a start

The Black Pearl had sailed for some time as a ship with more than one captain, not an easy situation and certainly not when both captains are pirates, only uncertainly alive, and determined not to be reclaimed by death. But as the days after the sighting of the white ship added up to a week and more the Pearl became a ship without a captain at all.

They had run before the storm outpacing the Spaniard with ease, but the weather had not improved and the night sky had been as lightening shot as the daylight. Barbossa had tried to skirt the worst of it and resume the course that the white ship had taken, bellowing commands with increasing urgency, as the seas grew higher and the winds stronger. Below decks the fire was long since out and the hammocks swung and pitched with every roll, and what few lamps were risked rattled and danced sending shadows twisting and turning upon the timbers. More than one of them wondered what world it was they were sailing.

Keeping the ship on course had not been easy. They had done their best to do as their captain wished but many of the orders went to men who did not exist outside of Barbossa's mind, and at times it seemed as if he wasn't certain what ship, or even type of ship, he was commanding, By eight bells on the first watch the towering seas had taken on the look of mountains and valleys, the men were run ragged from trying to decide what orders to obey, and more than one of them wondered if they would see another sunrise.

But the storm seemed to be holding its hand, tossing them with anger and mischief but never delivering the killing blow, allowing them to survive the tumult with little damage. Yet even as they skirted the worst weather, and as the winds and seas eased, they knew they were far from safe. The day that replaced the night was dim beneath the heavy blanket of cloud and the wind was chill to the wet and miserable crew. For hour upon hour they shivered at their stations while Barbossa stood at the stern staring into the distance.

Then suddenly the winds fell light and the clouds broke, sunlight streaming across the gunmetal sea. As the day passed the air grew warmer and seas resumed their familiar blue hue. Barbossa disappeared below for a while to consult the charts then gave Cotton a new heading.

It was the last recognisable order he had given.

At first it had seemed that he was simply lost in thought, wondering how to get back on the trail of the white ship was what they all assumed. But as the silence lengthened through the watch, and he remained where he was, leaning on the rail, even as the sun dropped, they realised that he was no longer with them at all. His eyes looked to be fixed upon the sea yet it seemed like he didn't see it at all. When Marty took hold of his arm he followed him like a lamb giving so sign that he was even aware of moving.

Now Barbossa, still nominally the Black Pearl's master, lay in the great cabin in stately silence, breathing and with eyes open but seeing nothing, his mind somewhere other than this ship. Raggetti had helped to lay him there and as he looked at him he shivered, for the scene was little different to the one in the caves where Barbossa had been shot. All that was varied from it was the nature of the mound upon which he lay.

Even Jack seemed unknown to him now and the little monkey sat hunched and unhappy in the rat lines much of the time, only hunger bringing it down to within an arms reach, though only Cotton could manage that much. The tiny creature looked to be in danger of starving even so, its skinny arms more stick like than ever and its eyes dull and sunken. Occasionally it would venture into the cabin and sit close to the silent captain crooning distress but wary of getting within striking distance. The object of this grief seemed unaware of the brown eyes that watched him with such confusion and sadness.

As the days went by it was the parrot that would prove to be the monkey's saviour, flying up to sit beside it for long periods before returning to Cotton's shoulder. Eventually the monkey got the message and followed it down to where the silent sailor had scattered pieces of fruit and biscuit. It would stay and eat while Cotton was close, but would scurry back up the lines with a shriek if anyone else ventured near.

After a full day the crew had met to discuss what to do next.
"I tells you nought has gone right since we left Captain Jack behind." Pintel had stated the obvious as if he had been the only one to notice.
"But you've said that before and we know that we can't find Captain Jack. We don't know where to look!" Murtogg put in, apparently oblivious to the look on Pintel's face. "If we could we wouldn't have a problem, but we don't so we do." He looked around him with a slight puzzled smile, "Don't we?"
Pintel rolled his eyes,
"I think we are at one on that! Not unless we can pick up the course o' that white ship. Which we can't, not without Barbossa's help, unless you be a navigator unbeknown to the rest of us!"
He sneered at the quickly shaken head.
"Thought as much. Question is what do we do about it."
"Could elect a new captain." Raggetti chipped in.
"Ay we could," That was Pintel again, "but since we can't unelect the one we got, him being so lost that we can't tell him he be unelected, that might still be mutiny."

"Does it matter? " That was Mullroy. " Captain Barbossa is not going to do anything about it is he?"
"The Pearl might not like it." Raggetti put in with a sombre look, "Seen more than her fair share of mutiny's she has. Can't make her feel trust in those who crew her now can it?"
That same crew looked around the moonlit decks, two of them remembering those same timbers under other moons and shivering, for the ship seemed strangely silent, not a creaking timber or stretching sail to be heard, as if she was listening to them. Like the crab that had scuttled into the shadow of a rope but was apparently watching them with tiny glass ball eyes. Marty had no such memories, but he had others,
"Pearl might not want Barbossa, might be the Pearl tat's driven him out of his mind." He said slowly. "Pearl wants Jack Sparrow, we all know tat. Never sails as well as for Captain Jack, came back from t' dead for him."
Raggetti shot a fearful look towards the sea, dark silk in the moonlight.
"Mrs Fish might not want Barbossa captain either, she warned him it was her power that brought him back, told him something bad would happen if he crossed her. She'd want Captain Jack on the Pearl too."

"But we can't find him." Pintel snapped in open exasperation, "So what are we going to do until we do?"
"Caant go on tis way." Marty agreed, then he rose and crossed to the rail, leaning over to shout to the waters below,
"Whaat do we do lady Calypso? Is it yer intention to take the Pearl and us back to the depths? Without a captain we'll stand no chance if the navy find us. If only we had found Mr Gibbs, he could have held tings together until we found Captain Jack."
A glint of moonlight seemed to flash brighter and with it came an idea,
"Gibbs." He turned to face the others. "We can't find Captain Jack so we find Mr Gibbs, he was sort of captain afore we rescued captain Jack from the noose, and was quartermaster and first mate afore Barbossa abandoned him, so it would nat be mutiny to sail under him while we seek Captain Jack."
"Aye," Raggetti agreed eagerly, "and Captain Jack he'd not mind Mr Gibbs being in loco parentis so to speak,"
Pintel smiled a sly smile.
"And if Barbossa wakes up he'll not mind that we found Mr Gibbs neither."

"So we find Mr Gibbs then?" Marty asked looking around at the gathered men.
For a moment there was no movement and then Cotton inclined his head, as the parrot added its comment,
"Ready to sail."
Slowly each of the men looked around the circle before inclining their heads in agreement.
"But where will he be? And, as you pointed out we have no navigator, so how do we get there? " Murtogg asked.
Marty, Pintel and Raggetti exchanged a gleeful look,
"Tortuga." Marty grinned, "an we all know how ta get there!"

***

Jack had retired to his bunk as the moon rose, falling into sleep with the suddenness of one who had laboured long and hard. But he didn't stay there for his sleep was uneasy, the dreams of dark tunnels and strange creatures waking him at frequent intervals. He buried his head under the coverlet and blamed those little beasties, for he had not as much as thought of the locker since....... he didn't know when, not until she had forced them on him. Well that wasn't quite true, but he hadn't thought if it above once or twice a day, no more than he had done since that sea soaked sunrise of his return to the world of the living. Those memories had become commonplace, taking their turn with the other things he preferred not to think about if he could help it.

The dreams this night were different though, more real somehow. After his fifth awakening, just before midnight, he got up and returned to the decks hoping a stroll in the moonlight would help send them on their way.

For a while he stood at the rail and stared at the sea, then the ache in his head reminded him of how tired he was, and of the work that was ahead of him when the sun rose, and he went and sat by the mast, leaning his back against the solid reassurance of it. Above him Ariadne did her ghostly work just as she had that first time he sat here, but now he was not disturbed by it, 'funny old world' he thought to himself, 'would never have thought it but it's amazin' how quickly a ghost trimming the canvas gets to feel normal'.

He turned his eyes from the subtly shifting sail to the shadow of the island. Gibbs had been right, the locker had been on his mind and it had been those tunnels that put it there. While he had been with Elanor, knowing she was at his back and bickering with her, while he had stayed concentrated on what might be ahead of them, he had been fine. Only later, when they had returned, and he had been alone with nothing to do but wait, had the similarities had started to prey upon his mind. He stared up at the sky, he would put such worries aside tomorrow he promised himself, he would go back down there and find the fountain and never have to worry about the locker again.

But he needed to sleep. Elanor had been right about that. Blasted woman, just once he'd like to catch her out in being wrong, or just plain foolish! He smiled to himself as her thought about her reaction to that hidden world, not at a fatal moment though, during them she and her ghost could be as omnipotent as they liked! He had laboured under the strain of child watching long enough, even Barbossa had come as something of a relief after the long months of thinking for three. Their youthful belief in their own immortality had been useful at times but it had also been a heavy burden, at least Elanor knew enough of the world never to trust it. Having someone he was nearly confident to relyup on was an unexpected comfort.

He shifted slightly, his eyes straying to the below decks hatch and the smile became thoughtful as it occurred to him to wonder what she was dreaming about. Home maybe, that strange world she was so reluctant to talk about. A world of plenty it seemed, of fine food and fancy clothes from what he'd seen of it. Of beautiful women too, if she was anything to go by, with velvet skins unmarked by the pox, and hair as glossy as the sun on the wave caps, and white teeth and straight limbs and red lips. Oh aye and with wicked tongues too no doubt. Then he wondered if maybe it was the ocean she dreamed of, and of that door home opening, of escape. That thought made him frown, she might dream of leavin' all she liked just as long as she didn't do it before he'd got both the Fountain and the Pearl.

'Not that you'd hold her against her will,' a little voice whispered at him. He shuffled uncomfortably, glowering at himself nd his waywrd thoughts. Why shouldn't he wish for her help?Iit wasn't as if she were unhappy here now was it? She had her ship and its ghost, and she had the sea and himself and Gibbs. Why would she be unhappy?
'To be forced into a world she doesn't want perhaps,' that hated little voice whispered again, ' to be robbed of who she wants to be and to be forced to make straits being what she would rather not. To have to face her life as a bad dream that can only be endured and never wakened from. You of all people should understand that, or have you forgotten?'
Jack stirred uneasily and cursed, wondering where these thoughts were coming from. He was weary that was all it was, he reassurred himself sielntly, he needed to sleep and the rum had not done the job.

For a moment he was tempted to go below and bang on her door until she woke and opened it all tousled and dishevelled with sleep, as she would be, and to demand that she undid her beasties work and made him sleep as she was no doubts sleeping. Since rum had failed it would have to be brandy or whatever else she had to hand. Yes! He rather liked that idea! For a while he sat and smiled to himself as he though about it, how he could pull her from her bed with her perfection smudged and her hair awry. Maybe then he'd see behind that careful façade.

Or maybe....... if she hadn't locked the door, he could stand beside her bed and watch her sleep for a while before he woke her. That idea brought another smile; he rather liked to watch a woman sleep, the thrill of it never palled, seeing them all calm and relaxed like basking seals. The sight reminded him of other times and places, allowed him to pretend that he was waking from that bad dream and all was well.

Not often that he got to do it of course, such a luxury took a lot of gold, and all of it better spent on the Pearl. But he'd watched Ana Maria on occassions, though he'd paid for it those times she had woken unexpectedly and caught him at it. He'd watched Elizabeth sleep more than once too, before she had killed him that was; like a child she had been with her nut brown hair loose across her shoulders and her head pillowed on her hand, all care washed from her face as if she had no greater worry than which gown to chose when her maid awoke her.

That sight, if no other, had reminded him of the gulf that had stood between them. A chasm so wide that she , nor William come to that, could even begin to fathom the scale of it.

"Jack?" Elanor's voice came from the hatch cutting across his reverie, "What are you doing up here?"
"Could ask you the same question," he replied as she came across the deck towards him, suddenly uncomfortable at thoughts she had somehow caught him out in, even though she couldn't know them.
He went on the offensive just in case those clear eyes saw more than he would like,
"Shouldn't you be tucked up in your bunk dreaming pure and uplifting dreams?"
She smiled faintly, her eyes shadowed in the half light.
"Shouldn't you?"
He turned to grin up at her, finding her a pleasant if unexpected sight. She had changed her clothes of the day for a warmer shirt of the same soft fabric as the one she had given to both him and Gibbs, and her hair now hung in three plaits, one over each shoulder and one behind her. It appeared yet more silvered by the moonlight. Something he couldn't explain drove him to taunt her,
"Be tucked up in your bunk Elanor? Offerin' are you? I'd take you upon the offer of it if you intended to keep me company there." He winked at her with unmistakable devilry, "No pure and upliftin' dreams for you if I were to though."

Elanor looked down at him inscrutably for a moment then she lowered herself to sit at his side and turned her head to stare him full in the face with a considering look. His grin didn't falter.
"Were we ever to find ourselves in such an unlikely situation," she said calmly, " I can promise you that you wouldn't be fit for much the following morning." She stressed the 'you' very faintly. Her eyes turned towards the sea, "certainly not clambering down ropes to find a mythical fountain."
Jack seemed taken aback for a moment, then he head tilted back, his voice falling deep and soft,
"Hmmm, I wouldn't count on that luv."
She smiled into the darkness,
"Well as we are unlikely to ever find out which of us is right, there is little point in speculation."
Her smile faded,
"But you should be sleeping, why are you out here?"

He settled himself more comfortably, staring out to sea.
"Couldn't sleep, thought a breath of air would help. Why are you here? Thought you said we'd leave the watch to your ghost?"
"I did. I couldn't sleep either."
"Oh." He was silent for a moment then rolled his head to look at her,
"Why couldn't you sleep? Can't have much to disturb your conscience."
"Unlike you?"
He shrugged and smoothed his mustache with one fingers,
"Plenty of people would tell you I don't have one to be disturbed."
"I expect that they would." She eased her back against the mast and turned her eyes towards the horizon, "So why the restless night?"
Her words were light but the tone was not. Jack turned and looked at her in silence for a moment then shifted to allow her better room to sit,
"Not sure. Just.. Unsettled."
After a moment of silence she sighed,
"Me too. What about Mr Gibbs?"
Jack jerked his head towards the stern,
"Curled up in his favourite spot and dead to the world. No dreams disturbing him."
"Given the amount of rum he's put away, I wouldn't be surprised if he was comatose! Will he be alright for tomorrow's job?"
"Fine. I took the liberty of watering the second bottle." He smiled a sly smile, "Not an unusual occurrence. With Gibbs the belief that's he's drunk it is as good as the drinking of it, if you take my meaning." He shrugged and the smile widened, "Once he's had half a bottle he doesn't much notice the change."

Elanor nodded, her look suddenly far away,
"I sailed with someone like that once. Saw himself as real hard drinker; never settle for just one or two, always got to have twice the number that anyone else did. But he could get drunk on tonic water if you convinced him there was gin in it, and he often did." She gave a small chuckle. "Used to pride himself on the fact that he never got a hangover at sea and was always up for his watch. We none of us ever told him that the captain always made a point of watering his drink."
Elanor looked towards the stern,
"Still I envy him his sleep, I wish I could settle."
She stared out towards the sea again and wondered why the dreams had suddenly come back to plague her now and if something similar was haunting her companion. There was something about this island that made her uncertain, more than she had been in a long time.
"Dreams?" Jack asked.
"Yes, why?" she caught something in his face and got her answer, "You too? I wonder if it's important"
Jack stroked his beard,
"Dreams are not new to me luv. Was at war not long ago don't forget. Not that that means much to you I expect."
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes I was forgetting, and yes it does."
She sighed,
"Still we should both try and sleep, we've less than five hours before we need to be on our way."
Jack just settled himself more comfortably
"Well get you off to your bed then, as for me I'm stayin' here."

After a moment she got to her feet and strolled off across the decks towards the hatch. Jack watched her go for a moment then looked back to the sea and tried to relax, failing miserably, his eyes refusing to stay shut preferring instead to stray back to the sea and the waiting island.
"Here,"
A blanket landed on his knees, and he stared up at the returned Elanor with raised brows,
She just pointed at it emphatically,
"Use it, the wind's getting up and you'll get cold and stiff, and we can't afford any injuries before we even start."
Jack shrugged and draped the blanket across his midriff staring in surprise as she sank down beside him,
"You keeping me company then?"
"What does it look like?" She handed him a small white pill. "Take this too, don't usually like to use them but they will help us get at least a few hours of good quality sleep."
He stared at the pill for a moment before putting it in his mouth making a moue of disgust at the taste of it on his tongue, with a faint smile she passed him a small cup of something hot and pale.
"As will this,"
"What is it?" he asked frowning at the cup.
"Don't ask, just drink it."
He sniffed it, and smiled as he caught the undertone of brandy, he sat sipping it as she settled herself more comfortably at his side.

When she was settled he leaned towards her,
"Do I get to put me arm around you then? Just friendly like? Keep the pair of us warm."
"No." She pulled the blanket more closely around her.
"Thought not," he said calmly and sipped the drink again. He cast her a sideways glance, "at least not till you're asleep."
She refused to respond to the bait,
"What I don't know won't worry me. If you do just make sure you remove it before I catch you. And remember I'm only asleep not unconscious."
"What's that supposed to mean!" he felt like he should be angry but was far too warm and comfortable for such unfriendly feelings.
She gave a small laugh,
"Work it out. Good night Jack."
She put her cup down and turned her head away. Jack half remembered saying,
"Goodnight to you too Captain Cavendish."
Then there was nothing else.

***

At the prow of the Dawn Chaser Calypso and the Lady stood in silent contemplation, watching their captains as they talked and then sat, side by side against the mast.
Calypso shook her head setting her tangled locks churning as if they were alive.
"So it start already then. The price be set. Canna tink of one better placed to pay it than witty Jack, though it may go hard on him for a while. But waat of the lady? Does the same steel run in her veins? Canny she is I'll grant, but is she ice or fire?"

The Lady tipped her head, the fan flashing in the moonlight, the white ship and the black ship still visible but little else.
"Ya play your cards close Lady but we both know the fountain's price. Not even your canny captain can avoid it, nor her ghost neither. Sometings are as they must be. The old ones knew tat."
The Lady took a step closer to her companion and tipped her head again, Calypso seemed to read her silent intention easily enough for she frowned,
"I'm nat sure that this is entirely wise Lady. Jack Sparra is not a sinner but nor is he a saint. Is it wise to trust anything even nearly mortal to this course? The temptations are large. Of all I'd trust him most with it, for he sees much that many do not and does not covet that which lesser ones do, yet he is both thief and vagabond and his belief in this world was burned out long ago. Why then should he hold his hand if a prize of this nature is dropped into it? If he steps wrongly will your captain and her ghost halt him?"

The two figures moved closer to the two beside the mast, the Lady tilted her head towards them in silent enquiry before spreading a gold-sleeved arm above them. Her fan fluttered in the moonlight again as she did so and Calypso smiled as if hearing words on the gathering wind,
"Nat fully human any longer 'tis true, none who return from death are that however they return. He'll not share Barbossa's fate though, the locker has seen to that, if the nature of the man had nat. Of all he is most like to stay the course. I must trust that your captain will do no less. Yet I'd be easier if I could see the sum of ya purpose Lady."
The Lady's head dipped, the broad brim of her hat casting deeper shadow across her face.
Calypso sighed,
"Where they go I cannat help, I must trust their safety to you. I have other things to tend to if this venture is not to fail before it is begun. But there are few who better guard their beloveds than you do."
She looked own at the silent pair, the moon shone white, flickering silver sparks from Elanor's triple plaited hair and draining the gold from Jack's skin. At the stern Gibbs stirred in his sleep as if a shadow had passed over him.
"Let tem sleep sound. They venture dangerous places tomorrow."
The Lady inclined her head then faded into the moonlight.

Calypso turned and watched the island for a moment, feeling the call of what lay within it; for all that she could go there no longer.
"Dangerous indeed."
Then she faded into the wind.

***

They left Mr Gibbs on the surface as before with instructions to make sure that nothing, other than them, got to the surface and to be alert for any call for help. Somewhat to Elanor's surprise both she and Jack had checked the supplies to make sure that no rum had been smuggled aboard. She had reinforced the communications link to Ariadne and made sure that the tracers she and Jack were carrying were working properly; then they set off back into the darkness.

***

They studied the tunnels with more attention this time but learned little more than the first time. The strange crystals set the in the rocks certainly seemed to be in patterns of some form and she photographed them and sent to Ariadne for consideration, making sure that Jack was distracted while she did it; heaven alone knew what kinds of distraction Jack would arrange or demand if he discovered photography. Somehow she felt he would be the worst kind of tourist.

They made better time than the previous day and encountered none of the strange dragonflies, though on several occasions the shuffling in the darkness suggested that they, or something like them, were not far away. Finally they reached the opening to cavern, or whatever it was, and Elanor stood for a while studying what lay ahead of them, while Jack drove in the anchors for the ropes that would get them down the worst of the climb.

It was as she remembered it; the rocky sky above the tunnel entrance obscured by hazy cloud while the bright light seemed to permeate all below them yet had no obvious source. Below the point at which they stood the steep cliffs, black and glassy, shelved steeply down for seventy or more feet then eased into tumbled scree and rocky outcrops. Another thirty of more feet of that before a line of gentler slope disappeared into that canopy of green. The visor she had brought this time showed that it did appear to be made up of vegetation, with various greens and textures mixed into the whole. It was sufficiently dense that from here she could see little other than the flickering pattern of greens and yellows and that ever shifting silvery cloud, even with the technological help.

Jack had insisted on taking his turn with the visor.
"Has the look of a swamp from here, or the dense vegetation you see around parts of the coast of India or Africa," was all he said.
But she noticed that all affectation had been put aside and he was as cool and business like as she could ask. With a nod she returned the visor to its holder on her belt as he made a final check of the ropes. Once he was satisfied they helped each other to don the backpacks containing supplies to meet every kind of eventuality; well every kind that she and Ariadne had been able to imagine anyway.
"Ready?"
He was at her shoulder and his voice was low as if heeding her warning of yesterday,
"As I'll ever be." She replied.

Jack crossed to the edge testing the security of the rope before turning to face her smiling broadly,
"I'll go first shall I?"
Without waiting for a reply he swung himself over the edge and disappeared from her view.

***

The rock was glassy and smooth for the most part, though there was the odd edge or two that had the sharpness of a knife. They halted at the end of the first rope, she secured herself to the wall with a sucker pad while Jack drove in another support and connected the second rope; he had waved the offer of similar assistance away with a frown and a shake of his head. As she waited Elanor looked around her, more to take her mind off the drop below them than for any hope of discovering anything more important. The rock looked as if it had been melted then cooled quickly, too quickly in places causing the surface to fracture into those knife sharp edges. A volcano maybe, with the inflow of the sea following on before the rock had fully cooled.

A movement below her told her that Jack was descending and with a deep breath she released her grip on the rock and followed him.

Their descent was slow, the longer the it went on the harder it got, arms and shoulders burning with the strain, legs and hips cramping with the effort of bracing themselves against the rock. Half way down they paused to rest. The air was hot and sticky and the sweat was soaking their shirts before they were a quarter of the way down. Jack was glad he had allowed her to persuade him to wear clothes of her choosing, for his coat would have been a hindrance on such a climb being far less flexible than the shirt and breeches she had provided.

The rustling sound was becoming louder, sometimes it seemed as if it were speaking, the words undistinguishable on the far edge of hearing. The sensation of speech got louder as they rested, feet braced on the rope supports Jack had secured, at least so it seemed to Elanor, but their breathing was laboured and neither of them spoke. Below them the green canopy seemed to come into better focus but she was reluctant to make the effort of extracting and using the visor while the drop below them remained so great.

Three quarters of the way down they encountered the first living thing of this visit; a lizard, two feet or so nose to tail, came out of a fold in the rock and stared at them with eyes the colour of fire before scuttling up the sheer rock as if it were on the level to disappear into another fold to their left. Jack had stared at it for a moment with tilted head and Elanor had hoped they met nothing larger before they reached some form of ground.

In that she was lucky, nothing larger did appear, but several smaller things did, things that caused her to wish the climb was over. The first was some form of spider, well it had a central body and eight legs, in that it looked to be arachnid, but the armour plate on its hefty legs, the elongated and tail like abdomen, and the crown of tentacle mounted eyes looked to be something else entirely. At half a foot across it caused her a moment of panic for she could clearly see what looked to be a barbed sting curling round towards her. Moving slowly and carefully she pulled the machete from her belt struck the rock face hard with the heavy handle. This time she was lucky and the reverberation through the rock did what she had hoped, the creature seemed to shiver then it straightened out and scurried sideways and upwards quickly. She looked down to see Jack looking upwards, mouth in a tight line and eyes as wide as saucers as he watched it disappear. They exchanged a quick look of relief before resuming their slow descent.

Smaller version of the lizard popped out at intervals, some with the same red eyes others with blue ones, the were of every colour and some were so dark as to be almost black. Each time the climbers stopped to watch where the creatures went and to make sure they were alone before the resumed the climb down. No more spiders appeared, but a what looked to be a worm like snake stuck its head out of a hole and hissed as Jack passed, only to have the surprised pirate slap its nose with an outraged,
"Oi, fangs to yerself mate," before he hurried on.
The snake, if that's what it was withdrew quickly but Elanor was taking no chances and bracing her feet against the rock she swung herself out and away from the cliff wall as she passed, earning her an infuriated expletive from the man below her. She shrugged her shoulders in apology as he glared up at her, struggling to regain his balance,
"Sorry. But after that it might have been quicker to use those fangs second time around." she hissed.
Jack sighed and nodded,
"True enough," and resumed his descent.

An hour or more after they began their descent Jack's feet reached the lower slope and the first part of the descent was over.

Sitting down to catch his breath, massaging legs and shoulders, as he waited for Elanor to join him, he admitted to himself that he was more than a little impressed that she had done the climb so far without assistance. It confirmed what he had suspected for some time, that her very female body was wrapped by some very unfemale muscle; she might look like an angel but it seemed that she had a strength to equal his own. One day he was going to ask her about that, he promised himself, and test it too; in the nicest possible way of course, a little friendly wrestling match on a sunny deck had particular appeal. Purely in the interests of discovery of course! He grinnd zt the thought then out it aside, for now he'd just settle for being grateful for it. For the fact that she seemed no stranger to uncomfortable, not to say tight, spots too.

"Lichen, or some form of moss, " she said as she sat beside him running delicate fingers over the blue green surface. "But there's no sign of how it comes to be here. There's no weathering of the rock that I can see, no sign of water and no other vegetation to provide food or cover. Odd."
"I'll take your word on that," Jack mumbled as he pulled a flask from his backpack and drank deeply, he looked up to see her watching him, "it's only water," he huffed, then held the canister out to her. "Here try it yourself."
She smiled.
"I believe you."
"Then what are looking at me like that for?"
"I was just wondering."
"What?"
"Just how many men you are."
With that cryptic comment she got to her feet,
"Less time we spend here the better, it's too open for my taste. Lets move on, we don't even know if this light will hold up all the time, there might be darhness here and we don't know when it will come. Lets move before it decides to try night on us."

Jack shrugged and pushed the water flask away as he got to his feet. For a moment he looked back up the cliff they had just climbed, trying not to think about the climb back up, then he looked down at the green expanse below them and smiled brightly at her.
"It occurs to me that we might have only done the easy bit so far."
He met her resigned look with a one of innocence,
"Thanks for sharing that Jack." She said as she turned away and began to make her way downwards again.
With a flash of gold in his grin he followed her.

***

High above them the surface of the rock seemed to shift, the planes and angles taking on the shape of a woman's face, eyes shielded by her hat and her mouth covered by a lace topped fan. The face seemed to watch them for a moment before fading away as if it had never been.