Chapter 14
The Last Supper
Nathan gasped as he looked at it all. There was a massive pile of bones that had been charred, blackened by fire. There were at least twenty gibbets, each with its own miserable skeleton inside. There were skeletons by the dozen that had spears sticking through them, weapons everywhere. It was the most death Nathan had ever seen in one place. "Well I guess that's one way to squash a rebellion," Nathan said. Elena shook her head, "I have to wonder if this was always the plan," she said. "What, to slaughter all the colonists?" Nathan asked. Elena shook her head, "No," she said, "To lure them here in hopes of finding a utopia only to rob them of everything that we have." Nathan shrugged, "Well we are dealing with a bunch of pirates here," he said. Staring over the immense scene of carnage Elena huffed, "Well that's pretty diabolical," she said, "Even for pirates…" Clearly the early victories of the colonists didn't last. The wind gently blew into the valley, causing the gibbets to creak. The clearing was swampy, with large puddles filled with green and stagnant water. He looked around, when he noticed a sign, It read, "We receive the due rewards of our deeds." Nathan's eyes widened. It was the same phrase that had been written on the Saint Dismas crosses. To make the sting of irony even worse, this entire swamp of genocide was right in front of an old, crumbling church. Nathan was disgusted. Etched above the door to the church were the words, "Today you shall join me in paradise." Nathan huffed. The words of Jesus to the Penitent Thief, and maybe even some of the words that the dead colonists heard. Nathan looked at the church. He walked up to the doors and tried to push them open, but they wouldn't budge. They were huge bronze gates, but they were so heavy and covered with debris that Nathan couldn't open them, even with Elena's help. Nathan looked around. He would have to climb up the church wall to get to the other side. Nathan rubbed his chin, then started climbing up the wall. Aside from a few crumbling bricks and mortar, Nathan and Elena were able to climb up the side of the structure without difficulty. Nathan got onto the top first, then he helped Elena up to the top. It was then that Nathan realized that this wasn't a church, it was the gate to…New Devon. The huge bronze doors and church-like look had merely been a façade. Behind the gate was New Devon, and it spread out in front of them. It was in much worse shape than Nathan had anticipated. While the city of Saint Maries had been overrun by the jungle, New Devon looked to be overrun by water. The city's main street was now a river, and the mansions were all leaning towards it. The lush, green and grey look of the jungle didn't leave, it stayed. The same plants all grew here, crawling up the sides of the mansions. At the end of the main street was the biggest and grandest mansion of all: Avery's mansion. "Welcome to Avery's neighborhood," said Nathan. Elena chuckled, "It's a nice place," she said, "as long as you don't mind some water damage or drainage issues. Could be a real fixer-upper opportunity." Nathan chuckled himself. Elena had a hard enough time keeping the décor and furniture arrangements of their house the same, let alone an entire mansion. Elena pulled out a pair of binoculars, "Well it looks like…" she said looking towards the top of the town, "Somebody must've blown a hole in that dam and flooded the whole place…" Nathan smiled and looked at Elena, a twinkle in his eye, "You know I forgot," he said. Elena looked at Nathan, "You're pretty good at this," he said. Elena smiled a bit and looked back into the binoculars, "Alright," she said, "So which one of these do you think is Avery's?" Nathan held the binoculars up to Elena's eyes and directed her gaze onto the biggest and most intact mansion, "My money's on that one," he said. Elena smiled, still looking through the binoculars, "Oh," she said, "You're not so bad at this either." Nathan cocked his head, "Well you know, I've had some practice, read a few books. You know, probably the best-" "Nathan! Nathan!" Elena said grabbing Nathan's arm. "What?" Nathan said, concerned, "What is it?" Elena handed him the binoculars, "Look," she said, "Front door." Nathan looked through the binoculars. He could just barely make out the faces of at least five people through the mist. There was Sam, Rafe, and a few Shoreline mercenaries. Rafe was shoving a pistol into Sam's back, forcing him to open the door. "Sam," Nathan whispered. "He's still alive," Elena said. "Yeah, for now," said Nathan getting up, "Come on," he took Elena by the hand and helped her up. "Alright, keep your eye open for Shoreline mercs," said Nathan. Elena nodded. He looked down. Below him was a large basin of water, about ten to fifteen feet deep. He shrugged. Elena smiled and they both jumped into the water. Warmer than Nathan expected, he surfaced. "This way," Nathan said. He swam over towards the shore. When he climbed up, he was beside a smaller wooden house, not a mansion by any stretch. Nathan entered its ruins and looked around. Everything was covered with moss. The walls, the floor, and the sofa sitting in one corner. Looking around the house and the surrounding mansions, Elena shook her head, "You know when Sully told me about this place," she said, "I was picturing wooden shacks and simple homes at the most." Nathan nodded, "Yeah," he replied. He left the small building and entered another adjacent house. He walked through the second house until he came to the bedroom. This house was far larger than the first house. He figured that the first house had been a sort of servant's quarters. There, lying on the bed was a skeleton. A cutlass in his chest. "Wow," Nathan said, "Somebody had it in for this guy…" Beside the dead body was another old note. Nathan picked it up. This one was shorter, and it read, "Founder Condent, I know it was on your orders that my home was ransacked and burned. Your brother denied your involvement in these deeds, but I know a liar's tongue when I hear one. Now I am short one sword, as I cannot seem to be able to pry it from his gut. You have until sundown to return what is rightfully mine. Signed, Founder Edward England." Nathan folded the note into his journal. He chuckled, he wondered how long it took these pirates to think of the most poetic way to threaten somebody when writing a letter. In any case, it looked like the founders were fighting amongst themselves, not just with the colonists. He looked around the house, which was painted with pink and yellow, and the walls were gilded. He walked up the staircase and there, in the middle of the wall was a sigil. It was a winding, winged serpent. Nathan looked at it, "That's Christopher Condent's sigil," he said, "We're in his house!" Elena walked up the stairs, and Nathan told her. Nothing left to see, he walked over out of the house. There, standing on a ruin just across a part of the river was a Shoreline patrol. The house they were on was almost an island sticking out of the river, which was very shallow, about five feet deep. "It's Shoreline!" Nathan said, "Elena, get down!" They both crouched in the leafy undergrowth. The shore of the stream was right in front of them. He heard a mercenary speak. "Patrol confirmed Drake's alive. He made it through," "So lock this place down!" Another replied, "We need to be prepared if he shows up!" Nathan smirked, "Too late pal," he said. Elena gave him a look, then she looked at the water. "Hey," she said, "We can hide underwater to avoid being seen. I don't feel like getting in another gunfight…" Nathan nodded, "Yeah, me neither." They both crept into the water and silently swam past, diving underwater when they were closest to the mercenaries. When the mercenaries' backs were turned, Nathan and Elena climbed out of the water, and hid in the tall grasses. They came right up to another founder's house, which was even larger than Christopher Condent's. There were quite a few Shoreline mercenaries inside. They still kept to the water, slowly swimming past, making as little sound as possible. Fortunately, there was a current, so the water bubbled along, not just silently flowing past. It made enough noise to drown out Nathan and Elena swimming through the water. Their speed was painfully slow, and suddenly a Shoreline mercenary jumped down off the building and walked over towards the water. Nathan and Elena dove down underwater. They hid in the thick waterweeds that grew on the streambed. Squinting his eyes to see above, Nathan saw the mercenary bend down and wash his face. He stood there for a few moments, the oxygen starting to deplete in Nathan's lungs. In the nick of time, the mercenary left, and Nathan and Elena gasped for breath before continuing along. Soon, they passed the unit, and they clambered onto shore. Elena and Nathan looked for a way forward. Nathan wanted to keep to the shadows as much as possible. He knew that there was probably more than one Shoreline unit in New Devon, after all, Rafe himself was here. Soon, he heard Elena call, "Nate, over here!" We'll cut through this cave!" Nathan walked over. He shrugged, "Worth a shot," he said. With that, they entered.
It didn't take long for them to emerge on the other side, which was almost directly in front of Avery's mansion. He looked at it, and noticed two huge armored Shoreline vehicles designed to carry troops. "Ah crap!" he said, "How many people did you bring here Nadine?" Elena shook her head, "Well she does have an entire army," she said, "You think they found the treasure?" "Well let's hope not," Nathan replied, "For Sam's sake." They continued towards the mansion when they came across yet another horror. It was a hangman's noose sitting inside of a stone covered arbor. Dangling from the rope was a skeleton, inside of a withered dress. Elena gasped, "Oh my…" she didn't finish. It was a woman. Throughout Libertalia they hadn't come across a single female skeleton as far as they could tell. This was the first. Poking out of the dress's pocket was a note. It was addressed to Richard Want, and was signed by Adam Baldrige. The note said, "Founder Want, I promised you swift retribution. As you have taken from me, so I take from you. Adam Baldrige." Nathan figured that the woman on the noose was Richard Want's wife. Elena looked at the note, "So, they were both Founders?" she asked. Nathan nodded, "Yeah," he replied, "It looks like they were turning on each other. But why?" Elena shrugged, "Greed. Paranoia. Money. Same stuff that's ruined every other fallen civilization." Nathan chuckled, "Well more money more problems," he said. There was a rusty iron gate that was so corroded that they couldn't open it. Having no other way to Avery's mansion, they saw a house next to the gate and climbed onto the roof. Nathan held out his hand, "After you," he said with a smile. Elena grinned, "Aww, how sweet," she said, "Do you want me to be your decoy?" Nathan scoffed, "No," he said, "I was being gentlemanly there," Elena laughed, "Ha, ha! Just busting your chops!" "Yeah well the chops are plenty busted already," Nathan replied. He shook his head and they both climbed the wall onto the roof. Elena stood there, "Well," she said, "If we cross this house we should be able to-" Suddenly there was a massive crack, and the roof caved in. The house was leaning in terribly, and Nathan and Elena couldn't get a good footing, and they both slid down the floorboards, before the floor they were on cracked. They fell to the first floor, before sliding out of the house and into the river. After spitting out the water in their mouths, Nathan chuckled, "Well that's one way to jump the gate," he said. "Whew!" Elena said, "Are you OK?" Nathan shook his head, "Well, wet again. Tired. Bruised. A little hungry. I could eat. Other than that I'm fine." Elena chuckled, "Yeah…whew…OK, let's keep going." They were right next to a mansion that was much larger than any of the houses they had been in. The basement level of the mansion was partially inside the stream, and the windows were broken. "Come on," said Nathan, "We'll cut through here." They both swam through the window and into the cellar. The floor of the home soon went up and the water disappeared. The floor of the level was covered in mold and mildew, and most of the boards were rotting away. They climbed up to the second floor. "You think the colonists flooded this place?" Elena asked. "Well they definitely had the motivation," Nathan replied. "But you don't think it's them?" Elena followed. "I just find it a bit odd that every single house here is underwater…except one." Elena nodded, "Avery's…" she said. Nathan nodded, "And if the colonists and the founders were both fighting, I don't know what Avery might've done." The room they were in was some sort of bedroom, though very large. There were flowing, pink curtains, and a large covered bed. The floor was covered in moss and flowers, and could've just as easily passed as the jungle floor outside. There were leafy vines hanging from the ceiling, and the place reeked of the smell of mold. There were many treasures in the house made of gold, silver, brass or other metals. Nathan figured each of them might've came from the Gunsway itself. While they were beautiful then, now they were covered in moss, and the scent of rotting wood covered them. He looked on a desk in the room to see yet another note laying there. He picked it up and read it, "To Founder Baldrige. I received word that you are mustering your soldiers to attack me. As a fellow pirate, and a friend prior to our years in Libertalia, I implore you to heed my words. I know not who sowed the seeds of our current discord, but of this I am certain: If the civil war continues, everything we spent our lives building will come to ruin. History will remember us not as pioneers, but as fools. We must put a stop to this conflict, together. Should we join forces, we shall have the strongest alliance on the island. The other founders will either join us, or fall to our superior might. If you agree, light a candle in your study this evening, and I shall take it as a sign that you have come to your senses. If not, remember both England and Want have made attempts on my life and failed. Where are they now? Signed, Founder Christopher Condent." Nathan shook his head and put the letter in his journal. He chuckled. The pirates didn't follow their code of honor after all, as Nathan suspected they didn't. After reading the note, they left the mansion, and continued towards Avery's palace.
They came to yet another mansion. Nathan wasn't quite sure whose house this was. It was in front of Avery's, and slightly smaller. The yard in front of the mansion had cannons that looked like they had ben retrofitted. Elena walked up to the cannon, "Hmm," she said, "Improvised defenses…I guess they weren't expecting to be fighting each other." Nathan looked at the cannon, the moss growing all over it, "Guess not," he replied. After a bit Nathan shook his head, "You know what, I think Avery is the one behind all this." Elena shrugged, "I have my theories but I think I agree with you," she said. Nathan walked towards the main doors, though they were too big to open. He saw a large broken window next to the doors, and he and Elena walked inside. The room looked like some sort of study. There was a large table in the middle of the room, and windows with red velvet curtains. The borders of the walls were gilded, and there were faded paintings on the walls. The room was small, but when Nathan left the room, he entered the main hall. The doors were behind him, but in front was a massive hall. However, the floor of the majority of the hall was caved in, and the river flowed through it. "Nice water feature," he said, "Time for another swim I guess…" He looked around first, still trying to figure out whose house that this was. He was putting his bet on Thomas Tew, after all, Tew seemed like he was second in command at Libertalia. He heard Elena call over, "Hey Nate! That looks like an exit." Nathan walked over and looked. There was an open window on the second floor. The only problem was that there was no staircase to the second floor on their side, and the walls were smooth, and couldn't be climbed. Elena looked at Nathan and shrugged. Nathan walked over and jumped into the water. The current carried him over to the right side of the building, though the exit window was on the left side. Fortunately, the hallway was fairly narrow, and there was a wooden beam that spanned the stream through the floor. He walked over, but the beam began to tip. "Here, I'll weigh it down for you," said Elena. She stood on the end and Nathan walked across. "Thanks!" Nathan called, "You make a great counterweight…I—I mean..." Elena shook her head, "I guess I'll take that as a complement," she said. Nathan shook his head. "You should know better than to talk about a girl's weight, dummy," he said to himself. Elena looked for something to weigh her down. There was a large crossbeam laying on the ground, and she hefted it over on top of the beam crossing the water. She walked across and joined Nathan. The wallpaper and wood in the wall in front of them had decayed, leaving the crossed studs for them to climb on. They both climbed up to the second floor. When they reached it, they saw the window, which unfortunately wasn't a window to the outside, though it looked like one from beneath. There was a bookshelf blocking their way, and Nathan and Elena both shoved it out of the way before entering the hallway behind it. The hallway was gilded with gold, and there were ornate pieces of furniture, paintings with solid gold frames, and other treasures, though Nathan didn't take any of them. One of the paintings was particularly interesting. It showed the busy central square of Saint Maries. There was the tall statue of Henry Avery, and beside it were rich looking people, with hats and fancy laced clothing. The buildings looked brand new, not the plant infested ruins they were now. He shook his head. How much he wished he could've seen Libertalia in its heyday. The next painting confirmed Nate's suspicions. The painting was small, and it was a picture of an arm holding a cutlass. "Hey look," Nathan said, "It's Thomas Tew's sigil." "So we're in his mansion," Elena said looking at the painting. "Second in command," Nathan replied, "Going up the pirate hierarchy." They continued down the narrow hallway before they saw a set of wooden double doors. Curious, Nathan pushed the doors open, Elena following close behind. What he saw took his breath away. "Whoa…" Nathan said, stunned. Elene entered. "Good Lord…" she said. The room was a large banquet hall. There was a large rectangular table, and the windows were covered with maroon curtains. Sitting in the tables were ten skeletons, each sitting in their red velvet covered chairs. "It looks like the last supper," said Elena. Indeed it did. "Looks like we found the party," said Nathan. "Looks like we're a little late," replied Elena. Nathan walked around and looked at the skeletons. Each of them were wearing rich clothing, and some were wearing huge curled wigs. The table was set magnificently with gold and silver platters and dishes. There was fine china, and ornately decorated pewter cutlery. "Hey Nate," Elena said, "Come take a look at this." Nathan walked over. He saw Elena pick up a small piece of wood that looked like a drink coaster. She blew on it, rubbed off the dust, and showed Nathan with wide eyes. It was a winged horse, Anne Bonney's sigil. Nathan looked in front of each of the skeletons at the table. In front of each one was a different sigil. "Oh my gosh…" he said, his eyed going wider than saucers, "What?" Elena asked. Nathan shook his head, "It's them!" he said. He took a step back and pointed to the skeletons, "Elena, these are the pirate captains that founded Libertalia!" He walked back to the table, "What happened here?" Elena looked at one of the skeletons, who was still holding his golden goblet. "Well I'm no forensics expert," she said picking up the goblet, the skeletal hand still holding it, "But I think it was bad drinks." Nathan nodded, "Apparently. You would think that pirate captains feuding with each other would suspect something as simple as poisoning…" Elena shrugged, "Well you never know," she said. They both circled the table, slowly, looking at everything. Nathan looked and saw a small golden coin in the hand of the impeccably wigged Edward England. Suddenly he heard Elena begin to read something. She was holding up a note, "On behalf of Lord Avery," she quoted, "I invite you to my manor at sundown tomorrow. The time has come for us to abandon our petty animosities, and reunite under the banner of God and Liberty. Signed Thomas Tew." Elena looked up, and Nathan looked at her, his eyes narrowed. It suddenly became blaringly obvious to Nathan the seating arrangements. Every single one of the chairs were occupied by a skeleton…except two. Nathan quickly walked over, "What do you bet…" he said. He picked up the two sigil cards of the two empty chairs. Sure enough, the cards had the sigils of Thomas Tew, and Henry Avery. He held up the cards for Elena to see, then he tossed them back on the table shaking his head. "Looks like our hosts didn't stick around to clean up their mess," he said. "Well that wasn't very gracious of them," Elena replied. Nathan folded his arms, thinking, then he pointed around the room, "OK, so," he began, "So these guys sparked a full-scale revolt when they claimed the treasure for themselves. They took care of the colonists, but then they had to deal with each other…And I'm guessing things got pretty messy." He rubbed his chin, Elena listening. "So," Nathan continued, "Avery and Tew invite them up here, to um…What did the letter say?" Elena looked down, "Abandon our animosities," she said, "Right," Nathan picked up Avery's goblet, "Avery makes a grand toast," he said in a pompous tone of voice, "For God and Liberty!" he waved the goblet around ceremoniously, "Argh, ahoy mateys, all that." Elena laughed and shook her head, "And they all took a swig." Nathan pointed to Avery and Tew's chair. "Except for these guys…And just like that…All the treasure of Libertalia became the sole possession of two men." Nathan chuckled and leaned forward, putting both his hands on the table. "These are some of history's greatest pirates," he said reverently, "And they all perished. In an instant. At this very table." he smiled and shook his head. During Nathan's speech, Elena hadn't said a word. She just stood there, looking at Nathan, her eyes looking into Nathan's. She didn't smile. Something had clicked inside her. Throughout all of their adventures, she had always wondered why Nathan couldn't let enough be enough. He would always have to go to the end, see everything through, even if it put himself in danger. It was only now, when Elena saw how truly passionate Nathan was about this history, that she began to accept Nathan for who he truly was. She had never really done it before. "It's incredible," she said softly. "Yeah," said Nathan smiling. When he saw Elena's face, his smile vanished and his head dropped, "It's…I'm sorry," he said, "I uh…" He looked into Elena's eyes deeper than he ever had before. He stood there a few moments, "I'm sorry." He repeated. Elena smiled, "It's OK." She said. In that small exchange, they both had said everything they needed to each other. Nathan had apologized for everything in his "Sorry," and Elena had forgiven him. They looked at each other a few more moments, before Elena sighed, "So, since our missing hosts aren't here in Tew's manor…" she leaned over the table next to Nathan. "We should head over to Avery's." Nathan replied. Elena nodded, "Yeah," she said, "let's go." Elena began walking out of the room, but Nathan walked over to the note and folded it into his journal, before making a quick sketch of the pirate's version of the last supper. As he walked out, he took one last look at it all. "Honor among thieves," he said to himself. Except this time, there was no honor to be had. As they left the mansion in a hole in the wall in another room, Elena looked at Nathan and said, "I don't think it's going to last." "What won't?" Nathan asked. "Avery and Tew," Elena replied, "I think at the end of the road, Avery is going to want to be rid of Tew as well." Nathan nodded, "Well it wouldn't surprise me at all," he said. With that, they walked over to a pathway, and after a short walk, they came to Avery's mansion. To Nathan, the word mansion hardly described the place. Palace was more like it. Avery's palace was definitely much more intact than any of the others. It was in the best condition, was the largest, and the most richly decorated. On the outside alone there was ornately carved marble, gilded walls and borders, it looked like it was fit for a king. Even so, it was still covered in vines and other plants creeping over it. "Nate," Elena said, "That Shoreline truck is still parked over there." Nathan nodded, "Yeah I see it. Keep your eyes peeled." Now that they were at Avery's palace, Nathan realized how high up it really was. The other flooded mansions below spread out in front of him like a vast sea. Nathan chuckled, he wondered if Avery ever went on morning walks to just stand there and admire his work. Avery's mansion towered over all of the others, even Tew's which was directly beneath them. There was a huge hole in the brickwork to the cellar floor, and Nathan and Elena entered. Hopefully Sam was still here. "And we are officially inside Henry Avery's house," Nathan said with reverence. Even so, the area they were in now was extremely underwhelming. Nathan guessed it was either a storage room, or the servant's quarters. There were huge barrels of wine, copper pans and pots, and a table in the middle of the uneven floor. There was a fireplace covered in moss, and it looked like some sort of robber's cave. There was a huge hole in the ceiling, which let Nathan up to the first floor. When he entered, he was taken back by it all. While the other mansions in New Devon were each fabulous, this one put them all to shame. Its remarkable intactness made it shine out even more. Ornate decorations, richly painted ceilings, and furniture so beautiful that even in their mossy, moldy states they could've sold for thousands. There was a harp made of solid gold, and curtains made of silk. Nathan couldn't believe his eyes, "Word of the day," he said, "Ostentatious." Once they both got over the incredibly beauty and ornateness of the place, Elena looked at Nathan and asked, "So why didn't Avery just kill Tew back there at that supper. Was he like Avery's right hand man or something?" Nathan nodded, "Yeah that was exactly what he was." He huffed, "Can you imagine taking orders from a paranoid psychopath?" Elena chuckled, "Sounds like my first job," she said. "What, you mean the producer on your TV show?" "No," Elena replied, "My manager from Macho Nacho." Nathan laughed out loud, "You worked at a Macho Nacho?" he asked incredulous, "It was a high school job!" Elena said. "Did you have to wear one of those hats?" Nathan asked remembering the cashiers wearing those ridiculous hats made of tissue paper. "My point is, my boss was a paranoid psychopath." Elena finished. "He was the manager at a Macho Nacho!" Nathan said. "Just watch it OK?" Elena said with a chuckle. The tables and desks inside the palace were filled with fantastic treasures, golden statues shaped like animals with jeweled eyes. There was even a piano forte. Nathan walked up to it and pressed on one of the keys. While he couldn't play a piano, he did know if one could work or not. Aside from a few of the keys being off tune, and the white keys more green than white, the piano was in near perfect condition. They walked down the hallway to the next room, which had a ceiling higher than Nathan had yet seen in any of the buildings of Libertalia. It was at least fifty feet high, and the walls were white as snow. The ceiling was painted with a gigantic scene of the Crucifixion, and Nathan looked for the entry to the next room, but it had been barricaded by Shoreline. Shoreline mercenaries had thrown furniture and other heavy objects in front of the door to block their path. Nathan saw a Shoreline supply crate sitting on in the room near the door. There was a pistol and ammo box laying on it, and Nathan took them, his own pistol being out of bullets. Looking nervously around, Elena looked at Nathan, "So, where are the Shoreline mercs?" "I know," Nathan replied, "I expected to see some by now. It's like they all up and vanished." They looked around for another door, and after a bit of searching, they found another door that didn't have anything blocking it. There were muddy footprints that walked through it. Nathan pushed, and shoved, but it wouldn't budge, "It's blocked from the other side!" Nathan said. Elena walked up, "Why bother barricading their path unless…" "They found something." Nathan finished. "Here, help me open this," Nathan asked. Elena and Nathan got on either side and they smashed their bodies into it, the objects on the other side clanging to the ground. Again they smashed into it, when suddenly several bullets stung the wall next to them. "Shoreline!" Elena yelled. They quickly ran over and hid behind a pillar supporting the ceiling. Nathan got his AK out and took aim at one of the mercenaries. He shot one of them down, but more starting to empty into the room. "Sniper!" Elena yelled. He could see the sniper's red laser sight cutting through the air like a knife. He aimed and shot, but the sniper got out of the way. There were three mercenaries all crouched and aiming for Nathan in the same spot. Nathan pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin. He tossed the grenade to them, and it exploded, sending them into the air. He saw the sniper dash to another spot and he shot, bringing him down. Suddenly an armored mercenary come in holding a Gatling gun with a bipod. He threw another grenade and made a dash up the staircase to the balcony. Nathan hid behind the railing, and Elena hid next to him. Nathan only had one grenade left, and he saved it in case new troops came in. Without any warning a mercenary came around the corner and attacked Elena, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her on the ground. The mercenary pulled out his pistol, but Nathan flew into action, throwing himself into the mercenary. He straddled the mercenary and punched him mercilessly in the face. "Don't! Touch! My! Wife!" he shouted with each punch. Soon the mercenary was knocked out. "Thanks," said Elena smiling. Suddenly a mercenary started shooting from the third balcony. Nathan pulled out his pistol and aimed at the mercenary's shoulder. He shot, and the mercenary fell. Elena crouched behind the railing wall beside Nathan, when he saw the heads of two mercenaries coming at them. He crouched to attack, Elena crouching as well. One came around the corner and Nathan shot him down, the second Elena took by the neck and slammed him into a pillar, before throwing him off of the balcony. "Nice moves," said Nathan, "I'm getting back in the groove!" Elena replied. There were only a few more mercenaries in the room by Nathan's count, and no more were coming through the doors. They moved to another area, bullets chipping the marble off the top of the railing. Elena shot down one of them, and Nathan threw his last grenade down to the bottom floor. It exploded, and four mercenaries flew into the air. No more came, and no more bullets fired. He peeked his head up, but there were no more. "Are you alright?" Nathan asked Elena. "Yeah," she replied, "They were just waiting to ambush us!" Nathan nodded, "Yeah, let's get that door open and see what they didn't want us to find." They walked back up to the doors and got into position. "Ready?" said Nathan, "On three. One. Two. Three!" They both smashed into the doors, and they almost opened. They both backed up, and ran at the doors, this time smashing them open. Nathan lost his balance and ran forward into a sofa. When he looked up, he stared right into the skull of a skeleton that was lying on it. "Oh." Nathan said, "Hello there." The room they had burst into was a hallway. The ceiling was arch shaped, and gilded, and there were golden candle-holders in the walls. While the floor had some water in it, the hall was sparkling clean. No plants on the floor or walls. In the body's skeletal hand was another letter. Elena picked it up. "What is it?" asked Nathan. "It's a letter," Elena replied, "Signed by…Avery." "Really?" Nathan said excitedly, "Read it!" As they walked down the hallway, Elena read the letter from the old captain's own hand, "My loyal subjects," Elena said as the letter began, "As the sun sets on our glorious paradise, we must endeavor to preserve its riches. The traitorous Tew knows our secrets, so we must act quickly. Destroy the dam, cleanse New Devon." Nathan shook his head, "Here we go…" he said. Elena nodded and continued reading, "And move my treasure through the passage to my ship." "Tew and Avery turned on each other," said Nathan. "Are you really surprised?" Elena asked. "Pirates will be pirates," Nathan replied. Elena held out her hand for Nathan to take the letter, "Here you go," she said. Nathan took the letter and folded it into his journal. At the bottom of the letter was the infamous sigil of Henry Avery. The sideways skull and crossbones. The letter was signed, "Lord Avery." Nathan huffed, "My loyal subjects," he said, "at this point who was left?" he asked Elena, "He must've killed almost everyone so I don't know who he thinks he's talking to…" At the end of the hallway was a large room. It looked like the library, or study, and it was filled with old books. The muddy footprints continued, until they faded out of sight. "The footprints end," Nathan said, "Where did they go?" "Pirate ghosts," Elena replied with a smirk, "Let's take a look around." They began looking around the study, when suddenly Nathan saw something glint in the sunlight on the floor. He picked it up. It was a small Zippo lighter, with a star and the number 76 on it. "It's Sam's lighter," Nathan said. "Did he drop it?" asked Elena. "Yeah on purpose," Nathan replied, "Whatever it is we're looking for is somewhere around here." He looked around. There had to be sort of hidden trapdoor, there was no other explanation. "Where's the switch," Nathan asked. He looked around for a switch, but he couldn't see one. There was no lever or button that he could see. He looked inside a suit of armor, "Nate!" he heard Elena call, "Yeah?" Nathan asked, "You find something?" he turned to see Elena in front of a globe. "I think so," Elena replied. She turned the globe a bit, before touching something. Suddenly a staircase dropped down. The staircase had been part of the floor beforehand. "It's a good thing they figured that out for us," said Elena. "How did you do that?" Nathan asked. "There was a bloody fingerprint where Libertalia should be and I…pushed it." Elena shrugged. "Nicely done," said Nathan. They both began descending the stairs, which lowered down into what looked like a dark, grey dungeon. As they went down, Elena asked, "So the letter said that Avery was moving his treasure to the ship." 'Yeah," Nathan replied. "So you think that the treasure is still on the island?" Nathan kept walking down the steps, which spiraled further and further down, "Uh I think…" he said, "I think it doesn't matter anymore." They made it to the bottom of the stairs, and there was a curved stone archway, above which was a brass shield with Henry Avery's sigil on it. He took a deep breath, then entered the dark passageway. If he would've known the horrors inside, he may not have even entered.