Chapter 63

Pelegostos

Riku, Donald and Goofy stood absolutely still, shifting their gaze between each of the tribesmen. The tribe did not move, studying the newcomers as well until they could figure out what to do about them. There was only a single torch behind Riku, Donald and Goofy, so the tribesmen could not make them out in the dim light at this time of night as the trio could them in the light of the blaze. However, the cannibals did not need to seek as many details as their quarry.

The villager in front started shouting to his companions, who started speaking back. Donald and Goofy looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand the language.

"Uh, did you get that?" Goofy asked.

"No," Donald answered curtly.

Riku tried to hide the worry that was welling up from showing in his eyes. "They're planning to capture us and hold us prisoner until their next convenient meal," he told Donald and Goofy, translating the grunts. "Then, they're going to kill us, cook us, spread some rich seasonings over our meat, and… eat us."

Donald and Goofy were taken aback. "How did you understand that when we didn't?" Donald asked.

"No idea," Riku replied.

"Maybe they're so disconnected from other human civilization that it's not so easy for the Keyblade to translate their language, so it's only putting the work in for the one wielding it," Goofy guessed. "Or just for the human of the group, or something."

"However it works, we need to get out of here before any of that happens," Riku cut him off.

"But how do we get away from them without any trouble?" Goofy asked, fear and worry clearly visible even in the darkness.

"We could go back to the Gummi Ship and go somewhere else," Donald suggested.

Riku nodded, and they started to slowly back away from the villagers. The tribesmen watched them go, seemingly not bothering to pursue. Riku kept eye contact with the man closest to him, deciding that he would only turn away once they were hidden in the trees again. He heard Goofy stumble and turned to see that he had bumped into one of two child villagers standing behind the adjacent hut. The one child fell while his friend helped him to his feet.

Riku heard the villagers' muscles tense. He breathed a curse. Goofy gasped. The tribesman in front shouted a war cry.

"So much for that idea," Riku groaned. He, Donald and Goofy broke into a sprint. The cannibals entered pursuit, screaming all the way. Riku led his companions onto the main path, figuring that it would be wiser to flee in a direction that they could see rather than attempt to escape through the trees and underbrush from an entire tribe of man-eating warriors who knew the terrain far better than them.

Fortunately, most of the tribesmen were dancing around the dinner flame, so there were only a few in any position to get the jump on them. They ran through the village, keeping at a great enough distance from their pursuers. The crowd ran into each other, so only the ones in front could run at their full speed freely while the rest had to avoid tripping over each other. On his own, Riku could easily lose them, but he had to keep pace with Donald and Goofy, who were not nearly as fast. Some of the tribesmen stepped to the side and fired blow darts at them, but Goofy brought his shield out to block it and Donald cast Reflect to bounce them away. One of the villagers was hit by the rebound and fell unconscious, and was trampled by his oblivious neighbors.

Riku, Donald and Goofy came upon a long, narrow rope bridge crossing over a ravine hovering over a river. It was only wide enough for one person to cross at a time, which might not have been the most prudent decision when the hungry cannibals might need to chase down a quarry to capture and roast. Riku decided to stop thinking about the consumption of human flesh and simply count his blessings. They would have to cross carefully, one after the other, but so would the tribesmen, who would be at a greater disadvantage because they could not all go at once, lest the added weight cause the ropes to break and everyone to fall to a likely end.

Riku and Goofy slowed down as they tread across cautiously, though Donald kept going without slowing down. The tribesmen did not reach the bridge until Donald was already halfway across and Donald and Goofy were a third of the way across. Most of the villagers came to a dead stop, watching the rope bridge sway and strain as three of their own started walking across. Three tribesmen pulled out their bows and nocked an arrow each, aiming at their quarry. Goofy turned to look back and yelped. Riku turned his head so that he could see one of the archers even in near-total darkness. On the plus side, it was unlikely that any of the arrows would come close, but they had to stay on their guard.

Goofy heard the whistle as the first arrow was launched. He watched it sail over his head and land in the rock wall ahead. The second one was launched, but it was not set to miss. He summoned his shield and blocked the arrow, which shattered against the metal. He threw the shield at the third archer before he could release the bow, breaking the weapon and knocking him down. He caught the shield and continued crossing the bridge.

By the time the three of them had stepped off of the bridge, eight villagers were walking across the bridge. Donald waited for Riku and Goofy to catch up before they all broke into a fierce sprint yet again. As they ran, they heard the tribesmen start hollering in frustration. Goofy started to slow his pace when he detected a change in their tone.

"Hey, uh, guys?" Goofy called. Riku slowed to a stop while Donald kept running for a few more seconds before stopping himself. They turned around and looked back at the tribesmen, though they would not expect to see much in the darkness. Unfortunately, the problem became apparent in that there was more light that they could make note of. Dozens of yellow dots floated around the throng on the opposite side of the ravine. The tribesmen started screaming in terror and shuffling around in a panic. The eight villagers who had crossed the bridge in pursuit stopped in confusion when they noticed their prey's expressions of worry. They slowly and uncertainly turned to see what they were looking at. Their eyes widened when they saw the pinpoints. They did not know what was going on, but they could tell that their people were in danger.

"We have to help them," Riku asserted.

"What? Are you crazy?" Donald asked in disbelief. "They want to eat us!"

"True, and I can't really condone how their society developed that idea, which is disturbing," Riku conceded, "but we can't let them get consumed by the Heartless. I'm not the kind of guy for that kind of irony, when they're flat-out terrified like this."

Goofy nodded and ran past the eight villagers and crossed the bridge without a word. Riku followed him while Donald stared after them, jaw agape. He sighed and summoned his staff, then followed them.

"Everyone back!" Riku shouted, addressing the tribesmen specifically, hoping that they would hear his words in their language. When the villagers had backed up enough to give him room, he summoned his Keyblade and spun around slashing through the Shadows on all sides. Goofy shoved a Neoshadow off of the cliff. When Donald caught up with them, he cast Thundaga, bringing bolts of lightning down on the remaining Heartless.

The tribesmen stood still, staring silently at the three strangers who had just slain the shadowy monsters. They had been fleeing from them and yet came back to destroy the fiends that were attacking them; they had saved all of their lives.

Riku, Donald and Goofy held their weapons warily, waiting for the cannibals to make the next move. Donald was skeptical, expecting the man-eaters to still come after them for a meal, but Goofy wondered if they would show a little more gratitude, and Riku was just not sure. They got their answer when the closest villager set his spear down and dropped to one knee. Half a dozen others followed suit, and soon the entire tribe was kneeling before them, even the eight that stood across the bridge. The trio looked around at all of them, surprised and amused.

"Well, it looks like we have some fans," Riku muttered.

The nearest villager said something in the tribe's language. Donald and Goofy raised their eyebrows in confusion, but Riku did the same with intrigue.

"He asked how they can serve us," Riku translated.

Donald gulped. "Tell them we're not interested in what they have to give," he said.

Goofy shook his head. "Maybe they can help us find a way off this island," he suggested.

"Good idea," Riku agreed. He turned back to the tribesmen and addressed them. "Take us to the sea, so we can hail for transport."

The villagers shot to their feet, taking Riku by surprise, but they did not reclaim their weapons. The nearest villager chattered something, then walked past Riku and across the bridge.

"Follow him," Riku translated. He and Goofy started following their guide. Donald groaned, but followed.

Riku began to develop question about the tribe. They were an organized community that held campfire feasts, but they did not seem to have a designated leader amongst their numbers. Recalling the scene at the fire, he noticed that there was a large chair fit for a chief, but no man sat upon it. Focusing on the image in his mind, he realized that there was a hairy bulk on the chair. Was that a dog?

The other question nagging at him was where they got their meat. They were certainly able to sustain themselves on cannibalism, but the tribe was rather large, with several dozen members. Did they actually decide who would be killed and cooked? Or did a portion of their meals come from unsuspecting visitors. Were there other tribes on the island that they did battle with?

He repressed a shudder. There was a good reason why he never contemplated even the topic of cannibalism, aside from the fact that it was intrinsically sick and wrong. As a result, he decided to stop thinking about it and direct his thoughts to other matters, such as what they would do once they reached the beach.

Perhaps they would gather wood to start a signal fire and hope that a ship would come by. Assuming that the island's population was not so notorious that all ships would cut as wide a berth around it as possible. Or, with extreme luck, they would find a Safe Point on the beach and they would go with their original plan to just return to the Gummi Ship and find another place to land. He was still getting used to taking Corridors of Darkness again, and he was not eager to try jumping to new locations on a world that he knew nothing about, particularly one that, from Sora's description, was in large parts covered in water.

As the trees opened up and a sandy beach came into view, Riku decided he just had to hope for the best.

Dawn started to break as they walked across the beach. The waves crashed roughly and receded quickly, as if even the sea itself was not happy to be anywhere near the island of cannibals. Riku scanned the area and saw some dying trees lining the jungle. He had a feeling that he could cut them down and they could pile them up so they could light a fire large enough to draw any ship near. Turning around, he saw that a number of villagers were already carrying logs and long pieces of straw. He had to admit, they were good at what they did.

They marched around the beach until they could no longer see where they came in. Riku noticed a rut in the sand where a ship appeared to have run aground some time ago, possibly by only a few days at the longest. Determining this to be a good place to set up, the tribesmen set the logs down and put them up together. Riku used his Keyblade to cut down a few dying trees, and he and Goofy carried them one at a time over to the site, shearing off the bark and clipping the leaves. Some of the villagers spread the straw around the base of the structure to make for good kindling, and Donald climbed the logs to set more straw around the height of the structure.

With the tower complete, Riku and Donald cast Fira around the base to ignite the straw and wood. Flames spread around the structure, burning the kindling and lighting parts of the dry wood. Within minutes, the whole structure was ablaze, creating a towering fire whose light and smoke could be seen from far away.

"So now what?" Donald asked.

Riku sat down and crossed his legs. "Now, we wait for a ship to come," he replied.

A few hours passed. Whenever the flames started to wear down and the burnt wood crumbled, Riku would cut down some more trees and add them to the fire to keep it blazing. Soon, it was nearing midday.

Riku and Goofy waited patiently, Donald less so. Goofy listened to the villagers' curious chattering, though he could not understand what they were saying. He heard their tone shift from curiosity to nervousness, until he could almost make out a sense of paranoia.

Finally, Riku spied a silhouette in the distance. After a few minutes, he saw that it was a large boat, and it was sailing in their direction.

"We've got incoming!" he announced.

Goofy peered over the horizon and smiled when he saw the ship. "Great!" he exclaimed. He glanced back over at the tribesmen. "Say, uh, Riku, these guys seem to be talking about something worriedly."

"Really?" Riku listened in on their conversation. While Goofy could only hear their unique language, Riku heard their words in English. His eyes widened in horror as he heard the full extent of their discussion.

"What did they say?" Donald asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Riku sighed. "Well, it seems as though they watched us use magic and, through some logic, have determined that we are dark spirits," he paraphrased. "So, it looks like they're thinking of killing us anyway."

"Oh. That's not good," Donald replied.

"Don't worry. We should have plenty of time for the ship to come in so we can climb aboard before they start doing anything rash," Riku assured him.

"Uh, the ship's turning away," Goofy said.

"Probably because they saw the entire tribe of cannibals here," Donald deadpanned.

"Oh." Riku closed his eyes and considered what he should do. In hindsight, he probably should have thought the matter of getting the tribe to help him build the signal fire and then stay with them through a bit more. He scanned the surface of the water, measuring the distance between the beach and the ship.

Hopefully, they will be a bit more understanding of what I will be doing, he thought to himself.

"I have an idea," he told his companions. "When I break the signal, run to the ship."

"Uh, okay," Donald replied.

"Wait, did you say 'make the signal', or 'break…'" Goofy began to ask.

Riku summoned his Keyblade and struck one of the logs forming the external frame. The burning log broke to pieces and fell, startling the nearest tribesmen, and the entire structure collapsed a few seconds later, lurching in their direction. The villagers backed away and ran as the flaming wood crashed to the ground.

After staring in shock for a few seconds, Donald and Goofy remembered Riku's instructions and started running toward the surf. Riku ran just behind them. He jumped high into the air and shouted "Blizzaga!" Cold magic shot toward the water and began to freeze an extended section on the surface. He landed alongside Donald and Goofy, who had jumped onto the newly-formed ice platform, and continued running. He and Donald took turns casting Blizzaga to extend the block of ice. Soon, they drew near to the ship, and were nearly able to make out the shapes of the crewmen who watched their dash from aboard.

They became worried when they saw the sailors shift around fearfully, until they heard a voice which Donald and Goofy recognized.

"Throw them a rope! Come on, men! Throw them a rope!"

After a moment of uncertainty, three members of the crew scrambled to retrieve a rope, then two of them threw one end over the side, reaching down to a foot above the water.

When the ice platform stopped twenty feet from the hull of the ship, Riku and Donald stopped casting Blizzaga and, along with Goofy, jumped off into the water. They swam the rest of the way. Donald grabbed onto the rope and started climbing first, followed by Riku and then Goofy. Far behind them, the ice platform started to melt and crack apart. Soon, it would be no more.

When the trio had climbed to the deck, they tumbled to the floor and took time to catch their breath. They noticed that the sailors were staring at them in bewilderment. Only one man had a different expression, one that mixed bemusement with relief. Donald and Goofy realized that he was exactly who they thought they had heard moments before.

The man had brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. He had a moustache and a goatee. He wore a white button-down shirt with an unbuttoned black jacket over it, black pants, and black boots. He wore a scabbard that wrapped over his right shoulder and under his left arm, in which sat a cutlass. A knife was sheathed and attached to his belt over his left leg.

"Donald, Goofy," the man greeted. He set his eyes on Riku, and his expression betrayed his surprise. "I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. Honestly, I saw these two first, and I expected that Sora would be with them."

"Well, sorry to disappoint," Riku quipped. "He went with our other group. I'm Riku."

The man smiled and nodded, then held his hand out. Riku took it, and the man helped him to his feet. "My name is Will Turner," he introduced himself.

"Pleased to meet you," Riku replied.

"So, you're friends with this man?" one of the sailors, who appeared to be the captain, asked.

"Uh-huh," Goofy answered.

The captain laughed. "Well, then. Welcome aboard the Edinburgh Trader," he greeted.

One of the nervous crewmen raised his hand. "Say, we didn't see no ship 'round here. How did ye end up on the island of the Pelegostos?" he asked.

Riku raised his eyebrow. "That's what the cannibal tribe is called?" he asked. The sailors nodded. He shrugged. "Bad luck, I guess. Donald picked the wrong spot for us to land."

Another sailor raised his hand fearfully. "Um, what was that you was doing? You turned the water to ice like that. Like magic."

Riku sighed. He was not going to get around this one. Then again, if they encountered Heartless, the cat was going to have to come out of the bag in front of the sailors regardless. "Yeah. That was magic," he answered, cutting off Donald's protests. The crewmen back away fearfully. "But we use it to help people and fight monsters." The crewmen started to relax.

"Well, this is indeed a strange turn of events," the captain groaned. "First, a haunted wedding dress leads us to making a stop at the pirate port of Tortuga, where a feminine-looking stowaway jumped ship, then this man comes aboard, claiming to have evaded the reaper, and now strangers throwing magic about seek escape from the Pelegostos aboard my ship."

This comment got Donald and Will's attention. "Haunted wedding dress?" Donald asked.

"Aye!" one of the crewmen said. He ran across the deck, then returned a moment later, carrying a gold-and-white lace dress.

Will's eyes widened. "That dress! Where did you get that?"

"It was found aboard the ship," the captain explained. "The crew thought it was a spirit bringing some omen of ill fate."

"Was that Elizabeth's?" Donald asked.

"Indeed," Will replied.

Goofy turned to face Will. "So, uh, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

Will sighed. "Elizabeth and I were arrested on our wedding day for helping Jack Sparrow escape custody," he explained. "Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company roped me into his schemes, offering freedom in exchange for retrieving Jack's compass. I'm not quite sure what he intends to use it for, but I had to do something. I found Jack and the Pearl on this very island, then I got pulled along in Jack's schemes to get out of his debt with Davy Jones."

The crew stopped dead. The wedding dress dropped out of the sailor's hands.

"I heard about him during my time aboard Hook's ship," Riku said bitterly. "What happened then?"

"Suffice to say, Jack set me up, and I was press-ganged aboard the Flying Dutchman," Will answered.