Post by Aubs on Dec 20, 2014 22:53:06 GMT -5
Part 1: A Journey Begins
The light of his lamp was flickering as the ship moved. The beams were fairly steady, but the rocking of it all made the man wonder how he would ever focus long enough to write anything down. Regardless, he had committed to doing this at Justin’s suggestion. Having a record of your life was important to pirates. Where did we start, what drove us? The crew would appreciate knowing why their captain felt the way he did, even if he never showed it to them in paper. Either way, diving back into history would be a bit overwhelming for our friend here, he had tried to not think about a lot of what he was going to write. It hadn’t necessarily been a bad time in his life, on the contrary it had been defining. Still, how was he going to properly describe such an important year in his life?
A stack a paper in front of him, neatly piled atop the desk in his chambers. It was one of the things Justin hadn’t sold as soon as they left port in the East Blue. They had needed money to fit the vessel with cannons, fortunately the previous owner had been ludicrously wealthy so his own furnishings had been enough for a decent set of barrels and cannonballs. The powder had come from the silks wrapped tightly in the bay. Still, this specific room had been designed for a Noble on a ship of servants and workers, not a Captain and his crew. Part of him wanted to renovate it as well, make half of the thing a meeting room. But for another time, for now let him try and put words onto the page. This was supposed to be good for the soul, so why did it feel him with so much anxiety. What if he didn’t like what he wrote?
Closing his eyes solemnly the rookie pirate let his mind think back to the source of his story. Maybe the pen would move on its own accord…
The small ship left him there without a care in the world, taking his money to boot. How could he be so stupid? Now he was stuck on some stupid bridge with only what he could carry, and a wallet much lighter than it had been before. But at this point what was he going to do, fight the entire crew of the ship he had been boarding on and take it for himself; that was just stupid. Instead he stood here, on this strangely old section of bridge, on the legs if you would, the actual walkway was hundreds of feet over his head. So, with the water lapping only a few feet away from him, shivering cold and getting hungrier by the second our hero slowly curled up, unsure of what to do.
What a great start for Aubrey Meador’s story…
A few days before he had been sitting in his father home on Potts Village, the small industrial island in the south part of their Blue, which had been slowly decaying for decades. The people there were so, content to just waste away their lives working for the few people that made any real money on the island. Not Aubrey, he wanted to do something with his life, even at the expense of the easy way out. So, when he had enough money to rent a room on a ship heading west he took the earliest chance. Unlucky for him he had picked the wrong ship to get on, and now here he was probably going to die on this hunk of stone in the middle of nowhere. Well, at least there was a ladder built into the rock beside him leading up to the walkway. Guess when he stopped crying he would have to start climbing. That wouldn’t be anytime soon though.
In reality it was a few hours of sobbing and sleeping before the new 18 year old had enough fortitude to rise to his feet and move over to the lone means of survival before him, the long climb. He had always heard that mindless manual labor was good for the mind, but he wasn’t so sure he believe them. Every step higher he went, along with every touch of cold metal between his untried hands made him cringe. “Just how tall is this damn thing?” he asked aloud, not concerned with anyone hearing him anymore. It had been hard enough to keep his thoughts to himself during the boat ride over here with those tough looking men always staring at him like they wanted to do…things. As strong-willed and smart as our young friend was, he had never before been on his own like this. The only thing that would keep him alive would be his own instincts, and perhaps he had overestimated those already. And then, just as he was beginning to think he would never reach the end of his climb, Aubrey crested the veil of fog that had consumed his vision for so long and stepped gingerly away from the ladder and onto terra firma. Well, perhaps not earth this time but a very wide bridge that stretched endlessly to his left and right.
Standing there for a moment he looked from side to side, trying desperately to remember which direction he wanted to go. The sun was off to his left, meaning that it was most likely west if he hadn’t lost track of time. That would have to do for the time being, so with nothing to keep him there anymore Aubrey began walking. The fog was still floating below his feet on either side of the stone bridge, making the world seem white and hazing. The sky was mostly overcast save for the ball of light hiding behind the clouds now at his front. How far he would have to walk he didn’t know, but standing still hurt too much now. If he was serious about making something of himself then he would have to keep moving.
When he woke up he was still cold, despite the warm clothes he had on. Aubrey had been smart enough to pack for winter, knowing it would be cold on the open ocean at least some times. He had been providential then that as he was tossed from the vessel randomly he still had his warm clothes. Long pants and heavy boots made for a long trek were more than he could hope for trudging this bridge. He had more or less figured out by now that this must be Tequila Wolf, having heard about it for the last few years from Potts Village. Perhaps it was the evil in the air that made it cold here, and not just the weather. Good thing Aubrey had this big red jacket then, with black fur around the collar and as a liner. Finally, a dark grey beanie to keep his ears warm. It did help that he was carrying a large ruck bought from a surplus store to fit all of his things into it. The weight was a bit heavy but he hadn’t expected to be walking for more than a half day at a time. Boy had he been wrong.
So when he had given up for the night and dropped his ruck he was almost too tired to take out his sleeping bag. It turned out to be for the best however, but more on that later. In the meantime Aubrey was reading the small book he had been carrying with him. It was an old philosophy book that his father had given him. More or less the thesis was that as a society our social contract with each other was based on our mutual need for support, and that a sovereign must acknowledge that. Not terrible heavy stuff, but something worth thinking about he supposed. For the last year or so our friend here had been playing around with the thoughts of philosophy, they made his head hurt in some strangely happy way. Hopefully he would be able to use them to help the world, as was part of his deepest dream: Change the World Government.
But that would take years, he was just starting that journey, and honestly it was going worse than expected. With these dreary thoughts in mind he closed his eyes and tried to drift off. But the yelling below him made his eyes fly open…
Running unceremoniously to the low, stone railing Aubrey looked at the water below him, and to the large, flat-topped, heavily plated ship that floated on top of it. It was a bit tall, taller than he would have expected for what he knew it was. There was a large crane tucked away on the side, leading up to the bow of the ship. It had a superstructure in the rear of the ship that a full three stories taller than the deck, and was stout like it contained things. Sitting on the top deck of all things as an encased second vessel, which looked curiously low to the water and with its one mechanism on top. The young man here was by no means an expert of sea craft but he could tell that this thing was a dredge, it was meant to get stuff out of the water, it was no fighting ship. Even though he was a bit higher than the ship even Aubrey needed to get its attention, it could save him. Without a second thought he picked up the nearest piece of loose rock around him from the old, decay bridge and chucked it as far as he could. It was nowhere close to the ship.
“HELP! HELP ME!!!”
He yelled with all of his might, hoping beyond hope that someone on that ship would hear him. Who knew how far this god forsaken bridge would go, this was as good a chance as any to get out of this mess. Nothing seemed to be working though, as if he was imagining the ship entirely. The fog had lifted by now, and even though the sky was dark, the night was still early. Someone should have been on watch right, that’s how these things worked. Could he jump and swim to it? It didn’t look like it was moving after all. But how was he going to get all of his stuff there, wouldn’t his ruck sink when it hit the water? And what if he didn’t make it? “No, no please. Please just look here. Please!”
A large spot light powered on, flickering for a moment as it did. Most likely it was used to locate things in murky water, but could it help him now? Just as he thinking it the light swiveled post-haste towards Aubrey, blinding him with a torrent of brightness. Reflex made him put his hands up, waving them as he did, trying to save his eyesight. The yelling started next, calling to him and calling out commands. All Aubrey could do was smile and move back to collect his things, his rescuers would be here before long.
“Guess things are looking up.”
Minutes later a group of men, three was all he could remember came towards our young friend, all looking rather burly if memory serves, but you know how these things are. “Thank you!” Aubrey said desperately, he understood how fortunate he was to find them, but without saying a word one man walked around Aubrey and plucked his bag easily off his back. One of the men in front gave a nod and a wry smile and began walking away. “Let’s go kid, it’s getting cold out here.” Immediately things seemed strange, but then again Aubrey had never been rescued so perhaps that’s how these things went. He turned around to look at the man who had relieved him of his luggage, that man just motioned forward.
“Will you hurry up, we don’t have all day.”
A bit worried now Aubrey walked with the men, heading towards the nearest ladder and towards their ship. This was the dumbest dream he had ever had, definitely.
More or less his rescuers had taken Aubrey into the ship proper and lead him towards the galley. The man in front seemed to be the lead in this effort, and when he told the others to leave Aubrey in the mess hall and let him eat the others did, going as far as to lightly pat our friend on the back and point towards the food. Even though the young man was a bit worried still, he did spot his bag being dropped over in the corner, which set him a bit at ease. Mr. Meador still had his favorite book in hand as he took his tray of food and sat down, placing the small, bound book next to him on the table and beginning to eat. For what it was worth the food was good, a hot stew with some seafood in it, died a deep red color from either blood or spices, both were fine at this point. To wash it down was some severely watered down wine, making the stuff taste more like juice really. It was OK though, he was in from the fog and growing cold, with good food to eat and drink to imbibe. Maybe things were looking up.
And then a large fist slammed atop the tabletop in front of Aubrey, causing him to jump slightly and look up. Before him stood a large man with a meaty deposition. He had a bald head and an upper body covered in dark tattoos with presumably no real meaning. The cut off, white shirt he wore was tucked into his black cargo pants, the only adorning item on the outfit being a large knuckle-knife on his belt. All this considered he was most definitely not a talker. Aubrey had been dealing with people like this is whole life however, it was nothing new for a big guy to come talk down to the relatively small guy that our hero was. However Aubrey had developed…a way of dealing with these type of people. Looking quizzically at the man our friend tilted his head to the side and started.
“Yes?”
“Why you got a book guy? We know you can’t read.” The thug said, snorting to himself as he did, one or two of the lackeys in the mess hall did the same. Just what the man was getting at Aubrey didn’t know, but he couldn’t really back down in front of all these people, things wouldn’t stop if he did. “But it has these great pictures in it, you like pictures don’t ya?” A wry smirk started to creep its way over his face as the words escaped his thin lips, but the resulting look from his ape-like friend didn’t bode well. A plate-like hand leapt outward trying to grab the book away from the younger Mr. Meador, who reacted quickly by drawing the book away and stuffing it in the back of his pants and standing up, moving away from the table as he did so. Without thinking he took the mug in his hand and slammed it down on his new friend’s hand, sloshing liquid everywhere in the process.
“Ahhh! You little shit!”
The chanting began in earnest, the calls for a fight between Aubrey and the thugling. Slipping quickly to the side our hero made his way to the center of the hall between the many tables, and he would have gone all the way to his rucksack if he had not been cut off by his opponent. There was a severe disparity between the strength of these two men, the big guy was definitely strong, and Aubrey was not. In fact the only thing he had ever really been good at was dodging attacks, hopefully he could pull that off here as well. When the first punch came flying, a haymaker of sorts all Aubs could do was leap to the side and out of the way. The next series of fists came in similar ways, all high and wild. It took a few moments before the rookie could slip behind his enemy, but when he did his own series of punches, these aimed only at the kidneys of the larger man fell true. Then the lights went out.
A reckless swinging backhand hit Aubrey square in the head, knocking him to the ground with a flash of lights. Lying flat on his back now the wannabe adventurer looked up at the ne’er-do-well, who was now gripping his knife in hand and standing over him with that look, the one that meant he had lost it. But before Aubrey could even scream his pleas of mercy another voice chimed in. “That’s enough Brutte.” The almost nonchalant order came from a thin man in a long dark overcoat who was only now walking into view. He had greying hair that was close cropped on the sides but very long a top, combed over to the left side and covering his ear. He had sharp glasses and pale eyes, along with an air that he was in charge, and by the immediate silence that washed over the room that was probably the truth. That man Brutte didn’t seem to want to listen though, as he turned with hand still held upright and knife blade pointed down, even as he was staring at this arriving man.
“Please now, I wouldn’t want to discipline you.” Was all he said in response, which created a small gasp from the many spectators of the fight. And even as Brutte’s face gave the impression that he wanted nothing more than to punt the smaller man in his big coat, the fellow decided better and put his weapon away, stepping back from the scene and into the crowd. Taking a small step forward the old looking gentleman leaned over from the waist and looked down at Aubrey with a surveying eye. “I will take him in for treatment, please see that his things are brought to my office.” Then in a much more quiet tone he spoke to Aubrey only. “Get up child, or they will never stop staring. Come with me.”
Turning on his heel without another word the strange guy started walking away, leaving Aubrey to only rise on his own accord and follow him out the door and into the ship proper.
Most of the ship looked to be made out metal, the varnished wood from the mess hall no longer present. This huge dredge must have housed a great many people, and Aubrey hardly doubted he had seen even a piece of them from the crowd in the dining hall. Still musing in these peculiar thoughts he didn’t immediately notice that the man, his rescuer, spoke to him. “So can you read kid?” Not even turning around to ask that rather rude question.
“Of course I can.” Was all he could think to say in response to the older man’s query. It didn’t occur Aubrey, who had been fortunate enough in his life to have a very well educated father who taught him a great many things, that there might be others in the world who could not do the simple skill of read a book. That was a sad thought if you took time to ponder it. The conservation might have stopped there if not for a sharp turn into what must have been the infirmary. There were devices lining the walls, and a few beds between them for patience. Near the back of the rather long room was a separate room that the two men entered. It was an office of sorts, with a desk and a few chairs. Our friend Aubrey was directed to one of the chairs as the other man sat behind what must have been his desk. The tabletop was covered in papers and folders of some sort, and no attempt was made to clean them up.
“Oh, I am Doctor Ramus by the way, I am charged with the healthcare of the crew.”
“Excuse me, but where the hell am I, what is this crew?”
“Oh yes, how rude of me, this child is the treasure hunting crew the Royal Profiteers, and this is our flagship the Artifice. We serve under Captain Marx, our profession is to dig up the lost treasures of the world.”
So that was it huh? Treasure hunters. From what he knew of the profession however, which was less than he would have thought he was surprised to find out as he combed through the annals of his head, they were mostly unsanctioned scavengers that the World Government only tolerated when they could take the treasure back after being salvaged. If these people were unsanctioned treasure hunters then they might be considered criminals. That in and of itself didn’t bother Aubrey, but he was already here, did that make him an accomplice? Truth be told he didn’t really trust Marines, so he could believe them doing horrible things, like blowing up a ship. Then again, he had only ever dealt with small town Marines, perhaps the rest of the Blue had decent folk running it. The odds, meh.
“And you are?”
“Oh! My name is…Aubrey Meador, formerly of the Kingdom of Goa.”
“A pleasure. Tell me Aubrey, what were you doing on Tequila Wolf of all places? That is a very dangerous place.”
“I had hired a ship to take me to the nearest port, they decided they didn’t have enough room and left me stranded there. Well, I was a few hours away from where a saw your ship, I walked from where they tossed me.” In retrospect, he certainly had been gullible. But hey, there was no going back on it now.
“How sad.” Ramus said, pushing up his glasses, which caused a momentarily flash to glaze over his eyes.
“Well, there is room for you here, if you feel like staying.”
Stopping the rookie’s internal dialogue was Dr. Ramus again, who had decided he had let the last words linger long enough. “While you have a choice in the matter, I can assure you that you will not find as many lucrative job opportunities as this one. If you are willing to learn then you might find that this crew could be very beneficial to you.” An interesting proposition definitely, but not an altruistic one Aubrey was betting. The crew had already delivered Mr. Meador cold and hungry to this ship, they would not take kindly to him enjoying their hospitality and then leaving.
Aubrey had wanted to leave the backwater island his family was on to travel. He wanted to make something of himself, he knew that there was a calling for him somewhere, he just didn’t know where yet. This would be as good as chance as any to travel and make something out of himself. Sure of only one thing, that he wanted to do something, Aubrey knew he wasn’t going to get many chances like this.
“Alright then, but what would I do around here? I’ve never even dug up a coin, I’m not sure how I would be helpful.”
“Well I already have an idea for that. You see, occasionally we find people with potential, we try to train them as officers in the crew instead of the basic member. Honestly, the fact that you can read gives you a leg up on most recruits, so if you are able we will try as you as a candidate. Hopefully you can keep up with the studies. Ah Maxwell, please show our friend Aubrey to his room, he will be staying with you. His bag in in the corner. And please Mr. Meador, feel free to stop by at any time.”
Rising to his feet, apparently dismissed, Aubrey turned around to see a man his age, late teens and all, standing in the office doorway. The man, Maxwell, had light colored hair with mild features. For clothing he wore simple dark pants and a hoodie with buttons running diagonally across the chest. His boots were well worn as well. Max nodded curtly to the doctor and picked up Aubrey’s rucksack without hesitation before gesturing with his head out the door. Not one to waste words it seemed. This Maxwell lead Aubrey out of the infirmary and off towards a deeper part of the ship.
Though he tried to keep his eyes forward, occasionally Aubrey would see a group of people watching him from some offshoot hallway. What had he gotten himself into?
“So Aubrey right?”
“Yeah, Max?”
“Yup. Where you from man?”
“Goa, though I’ve been East of here the last few years.”
“Just left I take it, no offense but you have that look. Why did you leave?”
What a quick moving conversation, it was almost more comfortable to be speaking normally now, for all that Dr. Ramus was doing for him he had a way do drawing out things, this felt more natural. It was a piercing question, but perhaps Aubrey should have expected the more important question from someone his own age. Would Max understand however? “I couldn’t stay, I would never do anything important if I stayed on that little island and played their games forever.”
“I know that feeling.” Max responded, lifting his head in approval, as if he was consciously picturing the agony of wasting ones time. “Well things could be worse for you I guess, kind of random that you find the Artifice here.” With that remark Max turned around another sharp corner and towards a set of stairs, half heading down into the depth of the ship and the other upward towards the decks. Aubrey made to turn with him but his eyes caught on a braid of pink hair turning the other way. Our young friend actually stopped in his tracks as he noticed the body attached to that pink braid careen around another corner in this infernal maze of a ship. The way those hips swayed along with the clicking of heels was damn near memorizing to the wannabe, and had it not been for Max reaching back and yanking Aubrey down the hallway he might have been lost to the ship for lack of situation awareness.
“Don’t bother guy, not worth it, now come on we are almost there.”
And behold the pair walked into a small room with two beds built into the wall, each with a small porthole where one could rest and look outside. They had gone up a level from a few minutes before, meaning that they must be closer to the main deck, but just how close Aubrey didn’t know. That question aside the room was rather nice. It had a table built into a nook instead of one wall, and a closet on the other. Dropping his luggage by that closet Max gestured towards the beds. “I sleep on bottom, feel free to have the top one, there is a built-in screen you can pull over, the lights go off at 10 pm. Oh, heat is pumped up through the ship from the engine room, so even though we have windows it will be pretty warm in here. Let me know whatever you need."
“Oh Max, I never asked where you were from. East Blue?”
Having sat down by now on his own bunk, Max had to look up and over towards our friend Aubrey, who was still near the doorway. “Me? Yeah I’m from Lougetown, or one of the islands around it yeah.”
“Oh wow, I’ve heard that is a really nice place.”
“If you get a chance, you should go there, best place in East Blue.”
“So Max, what’s all this talk the doctor said about training and learning with the Inner Circle? I assume that is the officers yeah?”
“Hmm. Well it’s a bit more complicated than just studying, but yeah it’s working for the officers of the crew. The Inner circle is the Captain, the Doctor, the Navigator, the Quartermaster, and the First Mate.” Max replied, ticking off the people on his left hand. “Maybe a year ago the Captain decided that they needed to start teaching the new generations on the crew. You might have noticed the docs grey hair, the officers have been doing this for a long time and are getting old. I guess the doc decided that you might be a good choice to be one of those apprentices, if you can keep up.”
“I just got here, and not really by choice, so why would they offer me a job like that, the way it seems here most of the crew is for digging.”
“Well yeah, but most of the young people on this ship are recruited out of orphanages or on the road, most don’t have a lot going for them when they get here. Expansion of the Royal Profiteers has given us a lot of smaller ships, but has taken most of the trained sailors from the Artifice. Simply put, we must need to fill some seats.”
“What happens if I can’t meet these expectations I’ve yet to learn about?”
“Expect to be digging…a lot.” Max finished with a smile. It wasn’t a scary one, or even one that said good luck. Instead it looked like the young man was telling Aubrey that he had better live up to expectations. “Tomorrow get up with me. They probably won’t have you do anything crazy so fast, but you could use a look around the ship. It will help you get your bearings. Now, try and get some sleep.” Aubrey smiled back. He couldn’t help but appreciate the willingness of Max to assist him, even if he had been ordered to do so by Dr. Ramus. It was going to be an interesting time on this ship, and our friend wasn’t quite sure he would be enjoying it.
Even with the lights out and his canvas wall up to lock him in a little room of warmth, the small vent near him keeping him cozy despite what he knew was a cold evening, Aubrey didn’t sleep well. A few days ago he was with him family and friends, most happy for him to go and chase his dreams of making a difference in the world. Now, here he was possibly stranded on a ship of criminals, nice or not, who had all but forced him to work to eat. If he could convince this Inner Circle that he was worth spending time on, then perhaps our rookie adventurer could learn a few skills that might help him in his exploits. But for now he knew only one thing…
Aubrey missed his little backwoods island.
Early the next morning Aubrey found himself inside the ships library, a two story thing with walkways acting as hallways for the second floor. Not only books but maps and predominantly shipping logs filled much of the space. Our friend was sitting down on the ground level at one of the chairs left open by the ever moving patron, searching for that specific book to read. He had been given a simple collection of clothing to wear on the ship, the crew didn’t have much of a uniform but they did supply clothes for its members. Black pants and some slip on shoes went with a long sleeve grey shirt. The shirt was a bit heavy, but it was a still a bit cold at the time being so perhaps the crew’s quartermaster new better than old Aubrey. Our friend was happy at least for this chance to sit and read a book, he had already been the inquisitive type, or one for a good story. In fact he had found throughout his young life that when the world looked down on you for your size, or your ideas, or even you dreams, a respite into the safety of pages made everything just a little better. Aubrey had spent a long time practicing escapism to feel better about life. But here, where escapism surrounded him, well here he felt more connected to the real world. Maybe things were looking up.
Speaking of looking up, the hint of soft humming all but forced the new recruit to look up and notice that same pink ponytail from the previous day. With no one to stop him this time Aubrey got to his feet, book left open in his stead and began to move through the aisles toward where he had last seen the girl. Now was a good a time as any to strike up a conversation, at least he could assume they both had an interest in books. It wasn’t until Aubrey turned casually down a row of books and he saw her in near the end of the same channel that it occurred to him how strange he was being, and how very little he cared about that right now. Taking a moment to get a good look at this pink head of hair he had noticed fleeting he realized that it was not curiosity that drove him, it was poor, shameful lust.
She was about 5 feet tall, maybe a bit more with small heels on delicate feet. Long pink hair was braided tightly, clasped with a large green gem of some kind, clearly she was not a worker. Even from his position of few feet away, he could see that she had a very nice figure, black tights showing good legs before a one piece shirt and shorts combo, her braided belt and her knitted shawl covered her modesty. All these individual pieces did not add up to how pretty she actually was, even as she tried to inch up on her toes a bit more to look at a specific book on the shelf. Aubrey had seen his share of women, even for a young man. Stories aside he had success with them too, but there was something about this shining light in from of him. Perhaps it was the light reflecting down from the windows, or maybe it was just that she was the only damn girl he had seen on this ship. No matter what the reason was however, Aubrey was compelled to continue to walk towards her.
Leaning over her nonchalantly Aubrey plucked the book nearest her floating hand with a very small exclamation and turned to leave. As if on cue the woman gave an ‘hmph excuse me.’ To which our friend was that well-versed taken aback, causing him to turn around. “Oh I’m sorry, is this the book you were looking for?” He generously proffered her the title in the flat of his hand, palm up. “I’m new here, I don’ think we have met, I’m Aubrey.”
For a moment he thought she was going to strangle him, she had that look of contempt that usually preceded an angry woman. Then, as she took the book from Aubrey’s hand her face relaxed and she finally spoke to him. “No, no we haven’t. I’m Taylor.” Bringing the book closer to her, maybe like a coy shield of swords she continued, a smirk coming to her beautifully pale face. “You must be that guy who got punched out the yesterday in the mess hall. Welcome to the ship I guess.” With that Ms. Taylor turned around and walked away, leaving Aubrey there with the grim feeling he had just been one-upped by a pro.
“You don’t want to do that man, she isn’t worth the hassle.” Said Max from the end of the shelf. “Now will you just believe me this time and come on already, wouldn’t look good if you were late on your absolute first day of training.” From his vantage pointed leaning against the bookshelf, arms crossed like a bodyguard of sorts Max looked only slightly displeased with his new roommate. “Come on.”
Without further ado the pair walked in a different direction than Aubrey had gone before in this rather impressive library and moved up a metal frame staircase and onto the second floor. Thing framed walkways lead here and there to what must have been a different selection of books. But before he could explore all of those avenues Max opened a door and entered a small room with a few tables and some chairs. A board at one end of the room was meant to write on. Damn if it didn’t remind him of the schools he had attended in the past. “You sir have to take a test.”
“A test, what is this, grammar school? I thought you said I was going to do much today.”
“I don’t make the rules, relax, I’m sure you’ll pass.” With that Max shut the door, right before he did though the man looked back in and chuckled a bit. “Calm down guy, there is no test, knew you would fall for it.” Then he was gone.
Why was this place so fucking ominous?
Aubrey wasn’t in the room long before the door opened behind him and a single man entered. He was perhaps a bit taller than our friend Mr. Meador, though he was significantly older. He wore a simple black set of robes that looked much like one would imagine of a desert dweller. Somewhere between a wanderer and a warrior the man wore black armor, which must have been made of leather or some such material, consisting of a breastplate and faulds reaching down to perhaps his knee, which were unseen because of the long black robes. Around his waist a red sash held an ornamental dagger of sorts, along with an actually sheath for a blade and a few pouches of unknown intent. Finally, another ornate half jacket was around his shoulders, not big enough to clasp across his chest. The sleeves went down to elbows, and the small gold trinkets and red robe tassels on the garment made it look almost lavish.
This man, his hair was swept back, long and black but not so much like a woman’s. Perhaps he usually wore it in a man-ponytail or something. His beard and goatee were much the same color, and all as immaculately groomed. A small soul patched finishes his facial hair, making the small scars on his face almost unseen. A few piercings were in his ears, of all which added up to something like a nobleman of some desert country, or just a very strange old man clinging to youth. A smile on his face the man stepped in front of the younger Aubrey and spoke. His voice was groomed, he must have been an educated man, but it bespoke an inner harshness that came from something else, something one didn’t earn waiting somewhere for a throne to fall into his lap.
“You must be Aubrey, A pleasure to meet you. My name is Salim, I am the Navigator of the Royal Profiteers. They tell me you are to be my trainee, and as such I will refer to you by your proper name, Mr. Meador. I must admit, I am not sure how you will able to keep up.”
He didn’t seem condescending, but at the same time Salim clearly was not impressed by the site of Aubrey in his simple pants and shirt. Guess that wasn’t all that unexpected considering that he was just some random kid from the backwoods of the East Blue, nothing more. If this Salim was half as cultured as he appeared than I guess it all made sense. All that being said however Aubrey was not one to let his thoughts go unheard. Scooting back from the table he had been sitting at with its simple but efficient looking chairs the hero of our story tilted his head slight and gave his best attempt at conveying his mixed emotions to Salim.
“I can only hope I don’t disappoint then, I would hate to be left all alone on some island, away from here and such.”
“If only you were so lucky. Regardless of your desires however it is my duty to train you, and we will do just that. So I take it you can read a map?”
“I suppose. If I was so inclined.”
“Then let us see your inclination.” Salim said, lifting a small, rolled parchment from his left hand. With a flick he rolled the thing out on the table nearest our pair, revealing a map of the East Blue. “So tell me Mr. Meador, what is the most important part of a map?”
The question was meant to be probing of course, one that sought to discover what a person thought not only linearly but on multiple levels. This was at least the answer that Aubrey’s young, idealistic mind came to first. As the wannabe stood up and gave the map another stern look, like it would give him the answer if he intimidated the thing, it occurred to him that he should not withhold the tiered thoughts that where building inside of him. “Would you like the philosophical answer, or the practical one sir?”
A wry smile crept across his pale face. When Salim glared back at him, Aubrey decided he would give both. “Practically speaking, the scale and legend of the map are most important to us, it allows us to read the thing. But I’d argue that it is what the map is of that is really important to us. You asked what is the most important part of a map, I’d say there is nothing important on a map, except whatever the map is trying to tell us.”
And despite himself, Salim smiled back at the young man, thinking that perhaps he had found someone he could work with after all. With another deft movement the veteran sailor picked up his map and absently rolled it up, his focus trained on his new student. “On both accounts you are correct Mr. Meador. Now, I must attend a meeting with the Captain, would you please accompany me?”
Still standing and looking at this Salim, Aubrey was a bit unsure of whether or not he wanted to continue playing this game. And yet, the chance to meet the man that ran this large operation appealed to him. He must be a man who had made something of himself to have affected so many others like this. That in itself appealed to our young dreamer, hoping to do something with his life. Perhaps this was a chance worth taking.
“Of course sir. I’d be delighted.”
The pair of Navigators, one who was very skilled and one who had become one a few minutes before, walked into an opulent part of the ship reserved for the Captain of the Profiteers and his family. Without wasting time and using precious words, let us just describe the place as very appealing and well maintained. The metal piping effect that covered most of the crew quarters, minus a few choice spots that had a fake wooden veneer to add a homely feel. But here, here was a different level. It took only a minute or so after entering this segmented part of the ship to reach a single room with a large table and a series of chairs around it. The table had rolled out atop it an obscenely large map of the East Blue, with the rings to indicate the waterways and known spheres of influence. Here and there an icon was placed, most likely to indicate a ship or something important.
Aubrey’s eyes drifted upward until he saw the man of the hour, well the man in general I suppose as he did own the enterprise they were standing inside of. Captain Marx was a large man, and despite his apparent age he had more muscle than just about any man Aubrey had ever seen. Above the tabletop where our wannabe friend could see was the torso of the Captain, who was wearing a simple tank-top under a black jacket left open with white fur on the cuffs and neck. His general presence was still managing to sneak out, authority creeping from his deep blue eyes and his massive stature. He had a simple head of white hair, kept rather short on the sides and a bit longer on top, but the whole thing flowed into an equally as white and fully grown beard. It had been there a long time, reaching well up into his cheekbone’s domain. The mustache and soul patch were just as powerful. Placed almost precariously behind him was his weapon, a sword as tall as its master. It had a gold pommel and handguard, with a large emerald sphere of some kind in the hilt. A single edged blade with a rather large notch on the dulled side which most likely served no purpose other than decoration.
Sitting to the left of the Captain, who of course took the head of the table, was another large man. This one however was not built of muscle and power, but of fat and privilege. This one wore a large jacket, much like a marine or something, this one all buttoned up and some off color of green with gold tassels. He didn’t have much of a head of hair, but the fat man did sport a rather impressive mustache that made him look somewhat like a walrus. Unlike his captain the roly-poly carried no weapon, causing Aubrey to wonder what he did around the ship. Salim the Navigator answered it for him, making his way to his own seat on the right side of the table and a seat or two away from his liege. “This Mr. Meador is our Quartermaster Mr. Albeworth. I believe you have met the crew’s Doctor, Dr. Ramus.” The good doctor was sitting on the left side was well, a seat or so away from the Quartermaster and his girth. Now that was looking there Aubrey noticed another man there, Max to be precise. Max was sitting against the wall somewhat behind the good doctor, and he smiled and Aubrey kindly from his seat. Making a mental note to ask about all this later Aubrey was directed towards his own seat against the wall behind Salim.
“Sir, this is Mr. Meador, my newest apprentice.”
Aubrey nodded as politely as he could, unaware of how to address a ship’s Captain and took his seat. Whatever he did was not wrong it seemed, as the Captain only smiled politely and nodded at the younger man. Once everyone was seated the Captain began to address his people. His voice was strong, with some rasp to it that gave the impression of someone who was both confident and cautious. Part of him seemed like a grandfather, but in this case a grandfather who sired not a single ordinary man.
“Things at site number 3 are not proceeding forward. A trap of some kind has triggered, stopping the dig. I’ve decided to go and check things out personally. I called you all here to make the arrangements.”
“First concern will be your safety, I assume a guard has been selected?”
“Yes yes yes. We will bring provisions as well, the crew on site could use a lift, good food will help with that.”
“Of course sir.” Answered the walr…Quartermaster in his deep voice, though it had hints of a merchant in it, with interesting inflection.
“Should take ten days, give or take the wind.” Salim added in.
"Good. Also, I will be taking the apprentices with me. It will be good for them to see something outside of the ship.”
Aubrey perked up at that, not that he had been sleeping in the corner or something, but this was unexpected. Assuming he could be allowed off ship so soon this might be a good chance to leave once for all. But, what that what he really wanted? Even Aubrey didn’t know what he wanted at the moment. No matter how things played out though, going to a buried treasure of some kind would be an interesting experience. Honestly our wannabe friend didn’t pay much attention as the conversation moved onto other topics, all of which were less exciting. For whatever reason he was excited about what was coming now.
Oh how naïve of him…
“Ahhhhh” Aubrey sighed, the small boat rocking in the wake of the significantly larger dredge it was tied to. Today was the day he had been waiting for, a trip ashore to a dig site in some ruins on this rather deserted island. Despite the excitement of seeing treasure hunters doing some treasure hunting, and even if the prospect of finding fabulous wealth in an instant, Aubrey was more concerned with whether or not he would be getting back on the ship. Still, even after the constant mental dialogue over the last 10 days he was not sure if he was going to try and leave or not. Yes, this ship and crew had some appealing things about it, but he had not chosen it freely. No not really. That to him meant much more than wealth.
Max was sitting across from our friend Mr. Meador, the usual expression on his face, like he was both excited and bored at the same time. Salim was also present, apparently one of his duties included going ashore. Or perhaps he was there to inspect Aubrey some more. The last week had been very trying, with myriad maps and discussions littering the first drawer of Aubrey’s mind still. Some heavy-handed looking guys were there too, most likely the muscle or something. Still the Captain hadn’t arrived which was the reason for their late departure. With all the waiting around he had done it had occurred to the wannabe sitting amongst the others that he should have brought a book. Just as his eyes closed and a nice dream was about to take ahold a loud bang brought him back to reality. The Captain had arrived just in time to take his seat at the back of the vessel, but he was not alone. Eyes adjusting our hero saw one more person get on the boat with him. And of all people it was that girl…
Taylor.
Confusion aside Aubrey felt a twinge of nervousness as Taylor came up beside him and sat down, which coincidentally was the only open seat left. His face was a bit tight still as he looked up and saw Max sitting there, smiling at him with a very ‘see-I-told-you” look on his face. Things were starting to make sense, albeit slower than would serve Aubrey. Taylor, sitting very proper beside him, with her legs tucked and all, took a moment to move her luscious pink hair out of her face and speak softly to Aubrey. “So I guess you part of the crew now huh? My name is Taylor Marx.” she managed to say it all with a small smirk, only making our friend seethe on the inside.
“So they tell me.”
“Good, try and keep up then.” Was all she said in response, pulling her legs as far away as she could muster, clearly not excited about sitting the whole time next to him. With a simple flick of her head her mountainous hair flipped back to the left side and blocked Aubrey’s view of her face. This was going to be a long trip. More importantly than anything the girl herself might do annoy Aubrey was the almost obvious fact now that she was related to Captain Marx. How could have been so stupid?
A few hours later the party was passing the threshold of the underground entrance of the small ruin they were excavating. The island itself had turned out to be rather boring, save for this small forest and the supposed underground ruins from a long lost civilization buried under it. No one was quite sure what to find here, but the expectation when opening up something previously undiscovered was that something, anything of value was hidden there. If not though, this would have been a rather expensive trip.
It was much cooler under the shaded protection of the cave. Without the sun on them, trees or no trees for cover it was not nearly as bad. The Captain led the way through the small tunnel lined with torches. A crudely erected wall had been placed to avert wandering eyes, but had the added effect of canalizing the site. Aubrey wasn’t too sure what the other people were doing, so far ahead of him, but he was busy looking at the compacted walls. He was not expert, but these things looked like they had been made, not dug, so perhaps the people lived underground as well. Here and there he saw a marking of some kind, most were arrows painted by the crew, but others were intricate, carved into the walls by means unknown. Whatever this place was before it was special, at least he guessed.
Not particularly paying attention Aubrey stumbled into Max at the back of the queue. "Sorry Max.” he said politely, but no one noticed him. Slipping around the edge of the group Aubrey inched his way towards the front, where the Captain was standing with whoever was in charge of the site. It took Mr. Meador a moment to realize, but as things came to him it was clear that the group wasn’t half in and half out anymore. They were firmly underground in a passageway created by people lone again. Directly in front of them the torches stopped, and only the residual light they carried with them was able to show the trap ahead. The passageway opened up into a large cavern with a high ceiling, but contained only one large platform that looked almost like it was floating here in the darkness. To each side of it, including towards our group of hunters was no less than a three foot gap, giving more credence to the floating idea. Aubrey moved forward as far as he could and heard the Captain speaking.
“So, this is the problem?”
“Yes Captain, the platform will let no more than 1 set of feet on it at a time, anymore and it tilts.”
“Interesting, so we can’t move any groups across because they can only go at one a time, this doesn’t seem like a big problem.”
“But sir, we can’t get anything out of the cavern one person at a time…”
As the conversation went around in circles Aubrey couldn’t help but wonder just how he would get past this. It took a few minutes for him to grasp it all, but when he did it all seemed so simple. Back when he was a kid he played this game of riddles and tricks with his friends. The riddle had been about how a wolf, sheep and man would get across a river in one little boat where only two of them could fit. The short answer was that two had to go at the same time, and then you would have to go back a second time to finish the challenge. Eyes wandering through the shadows the inklings of a plan came to him. Without a word Aubrey walked back past the group and began tapping on the stone wall that formed at the meeting of the hallway they used to arrive here and the large cavern wall. Even though he had not been trying to draw any attention to himself, the tapping and pacing alerted the others around him that Aubrey was devising something.
“Do you have something to add Mr. Meador?”
Aubrey stopped his pacing and gulped in fright. That was the voice of the Captain. Well, no time to waste then. Steeling himself the young man prepared to attempt his theory without rehearsal. He tried to speak up, but it came out softly at first until the idea stuck in his head and the confidence grew in his gut.
“Sir, I uh…I uh…know what…we could do to…get across the platform.” His eyes crept up from the floor until they were looking at the Captain, his passion slowly willing itself over his newness. “If only one person can walk on it at a time why don’t we have a small person get on a big guys shoulders and walk across? That way, two people can go across at the same time.”
The Captain just smiled, the glint in his eye meaning that he either liked what he was hearing or that he was about to start breaking down this stupid plan point by point. When he spoke the Captain seemed more like a teacher than like a lord. “But how do we get the treasure out then son?”
That was a much easier thing to guess. “Send over a robe and a stake. Nail a robe above the platform so you can strap treasure onto it and walk it across. It doesn’t touch the platform at all. It might take a while but the stuff will get across."
That smile on the Captain’s face just got bigger. And then he started laughing. “Oh kid, I think you might be a natural!”
Sunlight was slipping in through the cracks in his blinds now, the night evaporating as the sun beat down and steamed it away. The stack of paper beside him and been moved piece by piece from one side of the table to the other as the words had covered their blank faces. It had taken all night, but he had been able to recall the beginnings of his journey and acceptance into the Royal Profiteers. Maybe Justin was right, this did seem therapeutic. Though Aubrey did feel rather sad now that all the people of his past were tumbling in and out of his mind. And yet, only two weeks of his time had been recorded of what he knew was a yearlong adventure.
Yes, in case you were wondering they did get the treasure out of that cavern, and yes they had used his suggestion to bring it across on a rope. Perhaps the Captain had never considered doing it this way, or perhaps he had wanted to see what his people could come up with. Either way they had been successful. That wasn’t the happiest moment of Aubrey’s trip by far, but it was a moment we wouldn’t forget. It was the reason that he decided to stay with the Artifice and not try and run on that island. Aubrey wouldn’t have gotten very far, and he knew that now, but at the time it had seemed like the most important decision that could be made. But success was a strange thing, and from that moment onward he had wanted more of it.
Oh the treasure, simple gold and gems stored by a small religion of some kind that was worshipped on the island. The peoples had decided that the church should hold all of their valuables when the invading force came, thinking that no respectfully man would attack servants of the lord. They had been wrong about that fact in particular, but the morons had never found the treasure held deep under the rubble of the church they had blown to bits from coastal bombardment. There it had sat for generations with only the rumor of the great wealth of the peoples. It was nothing monumental, but it did add a bit to the lore of a rather small island with an old history. In all honesty Aubrey would never remember the island, or its story in detail, but he would remember the treasure. Not very respectable right?
As per agreements that he didn’t remember making Aubrey’s cut of the treasure was kept to accrue interest with the Inner Circle. He wasn’t given a larger share of the overall stockpile because he was still an apprentice, even if he had been instrumental in the seizing of the treasure. And because the Profiteers did not have a permit to take that treasure he had no grounds to appeal for more. Just as quickly as the crew had come they were gone.
Casually the White-Wing Captain walked over to his own bed and flopped atop the covers. One night he had given to the remembrance of his old crew. Maybe tomorrow he would start on Part Two.
Maybe…
WC: 10,099
The light of his lamp was flickering as the ship moved. The beams were fairly steady, but the rocking of it all made the man wonder how he would ever focus long enough to write anything down. Regardless, he had committed to doing this at Justin’s suggestion. Having a record of your life was important to pirates. Where did we start, what drove us? The crew would appreciate knowing why their captain felt the way he did, even if he never showed it to them in paper. Either way, diving back into history would be a bit overwhelming for our friend here, he had tried to not think about a lot of what he was going to write. It hadn’t necessarily been a bad time in his life, on the contrary it had been defining. Still, how was he going to properly describe such an important year in his life?
A stack a paper in front of him, neatly piled atop the desk in his chambers. It was one of the things Justin hadn’t sold as soon as they left port in the East Blue. They had needed money to fit the vessel with cannons, fortunately the previous owner had been ludicrously wealthy so his own furnishings had been enough for a decent set of barrels and cannonballs. The powder had come from the silks wrapped tightly in the bay. Still, this specific room had been designed for a Noble on a ship of servants and workers, not a Captain and his crew. Part of him wanted to renovate it as well, make half of the thing a meeting room. But for another time, for now let him try and put words onto the page. This was supposed to be good for the soul, so why did it feel him with so much anxiety. What if he didn’t like what he wrote?
Closing his eyes solemnly the rookie pirate let his mind think back to the source of his story. Maybe the pen would move on its own accord…
The small ship left him there without a care in the world, taking his money to boot. How could he be so stupid? Now he was stuck on some stupid bridge with only what he could carry, and a wallet much lighter than it had been before. But at this point what was he going to do, fight the entire crew of the ship he had been boarding on and take it for himself; that was just stupid. Instead he stood here, on this strangely old section of bridge, on the legs if you would, the actual walkway was hundreds of feet over his head. So, with the water lapping only a few feet away from him, shivering cold and getting hungrier by the second our hero slowly curled up, unsure of what to do.
What a great start for Aubrey Meador’s story…
A few days before he had been sitting in his father home on Potts Village, the small industrial island in the south part of their Blue, which had been slowly decaying for decades. The people there were so, content to just waste away their lives working for the few people that made any real money on the island. Not Aubrey, he wanted to do something with his life, even at the expense of the easy way out. So, when he had enough money to rent a room on a ship heading west he took the earliest chance. Unlucky for him he had picked the wrong ship to get on, and now here he was probably going to die on this hunk of stone in the middle of nowhere. Well, at least there was a ladder built into the rock beside him leading up to the walkway. Guess when he stopped crying he would have to start climbing. That wouldn’t be anytime soon though.
In reality it was a few hours of sobbing and sleeping before the new 18 year old had enough fortitude to rise to his feet and move over to the lone means of survival before him, the long climb. He had always heard that mindless manual labor was good for the mind, but he wasn’t so sure he believe them. Every step higher he went, along with every touch of cold metal between his untried hands made him cringe. “Just how tall is this damn thing?” he asked aloud, not concerned with anyone hearing him anymore. It had been hard enough to keep his thoughts to himself during the boat ride over here with those tough looking men always staring at him like they wanted to do…things. As strong-willed and smart as our young friend was, he had never before been on his own like this. The only thing that would keep him alive would be his own instincts, and perhaps he had overestimated those already. And then, just as he was beginning to think he would never reach the end of his climb, Aubrey crested the veil of fog that had consumed his vision for so long and stepped gingerly away from the ladder and onto terra firma. Well, perhaps not earth this time but a very wide bridge that stretched endlessly to his left and right.
Standing there for a moment he looked from side to side, trying desperately to remember which direction he wanted to go. The sun was off to his left, meaning that it was most likely west if he hadn’t lost track of time. That would have to do for the time being, so with nothing to keep him there anymore Aubrey began walking. The fog was still floating below his feet on either side of the stone bridge, making the world seem white and hazing. The sky was mostly overcast save for the ball of light hiding behind the clouds now at his front. How far he would have to walk he didn’t know, but standing still hurt too much now. If he was serious about making something of himself then he would have to keep moving.
When he woke up he was still cold, despite the warm clothes he had on. Aubrey had been smart enough to pack for winter, knowing it would be cold on the open ocean at least some times. He had been providential then that as he was tossed from the vessel randomly he still had his warm clothes. Long pants and heavy boots made for a long trek were more than he could hope for trudging this bridge. He had more or less figured out by now that this must be Tequila Wolf, having heard about it for the last few years from Potts Village. Perhaps it was the evil in the air that made it cold here, and not just the weather. Good thing Aubrey had this big red jacket then, with black fur around the collar and as a liner. Finally, a dark grey beanie to keep his ears warm. It did help that he was carrying a large ruck bought from a surplus store to fit all of his things into it. The weight was a bit heavy but he hadn’t expected to be walking for more than a half day at a time. Boy had he been wrong.
So when he had given up for the night and dropped his ruck he was almost too tired to take out his sleeping bag. It turned out to be for the best however, but more on that later. In the meantime Aubrey was reading the small book he had been carrying with him. It was an old philosophy book that his father had given him. More or less the thesis was that as a society our social contract with each other was based on our mutual need for support, and that a sovereign must acknowledge that. Not terrible heavy stuff, but something worth thinking about he supposed. For the last year or so our friend here had been playing around with the thoughts of philosophy, they made his head hurt in some strangely happy way. Hopefully he would be able to use them to help the world, as was part of his deepest dream: Change the World Government.
But that would take years, he was just starting that journey, and honestly it was going worse than expected. With these dreary thoughts in mind he closed his eyes and tried to drift off. But the yelling below him made his eyes fly open…
Running unceremoniously to the low, stone railing Aubrey looked at the water below him, and to the large, flat-topped, heavily plated ship that floated on top of it. It was a bit tall, taller than he would have expected for what he knew it was. There was a large crane tucked away on the side, leading up to the bow of the ship. It had a superstructure in the rear of the ship that a full three stories taller than the deck, and was stout like it contained things. Sitting on the top deck of all things as an encased second vessel, which looked curiously low to the water and with its one mechanism on top. The young man here was by no means an expert of sea craft but he could tell that this thing was a dredge, it was meant to get stuff out of the water, it was no fighting ship. Even though he was a bit higher than the ship even Aubrey needed to get its attention, it could save him. Without a second thought he picked up the nearest piece of loose rock around him from the old, decay bridge and chucked it as far as he could. It was nowhere close to the ship.
“HELP! HELP ME!!!”
He yelled with all of his might, hoping beyond hope that someone on that ship would hear him. Who knew how far this god forsaken bridge would go, this was as good a chance as any to get out of this mess. Nothing seemed to be working though, as if he was imagining the ship entirely. The fog had lifted by now, and even though the sky was dark, the night was still early. Someone should have been on watch right, that’s how these things worked. Could he jump and swim to it? It didn’t look like it was moving after all. But how was he going to get all of his stuff there, wouldn’t his ruck sink when it hit the water? And what if he didn’t make it? “No, no please. Please just look here. Please!”
A large spot light powered on, flickering for a moment as it did. Most likely it was used to locate things in murky water, but could it help him now? Just as he thinking it the light swiveled post-haste towards Aubrey, blinding him with a torrent of brightness. Reflex made him put his hands up, waving them as he did, trying to save his eyesight. The yelling started next, calling to him and calling out commands. All Aubrey could do was smile and move back to collect his things, his rescuers would be here before long.
“Guess things are looking up.”
Minutes later a group of men, three was all he could remember came towards our young friend, all looking rather burly if memory serves, but you know how these things are. “Thank you!” Aubrey said desperately, he understood how fortunate he was to find them, but without saying a word one man walked around Aubrey and plucked his bag easily off his back. One of the men in front gave a nod and a wry smile and began walking away. “Let’s go kid, it’s getting cold out here.” Immediately things seemed strange, but then again Aubrey had never been rescued so perhaps that’s how these things went. He turned around to look at the man who had relieved him of his luggage, that man just motioned forward.
“Will you hurry up, we don’t have all day.”
A bit worried now Aubrey walked with the men, heading towards the nearest ladder and towards their ship. This was the dumbest dream he had ever had, definitely.
More or less his rescuers had taken Aubrey into the ship proper and lead him towards the galley. The man in front seemed to be the lead in this effort, and when he told the others to leave Aubrey in the mess hall and let him eat the others did, going as far as to lightly pat our friend on the back and point towards the food. Even though the young man was a bit worried still, he did spot his bag being dropped over in the corner, which set him a bit at ease. Mr. Meador still had his favorite book in hand as he took his tray of food and sat down, placing the small, bound book next to him on the table and beginning to eat. For what it was worth the food was good, a hot stew with some seafood in it, died a deep red color from either blood or spices, both were fine at this point. To wash it down was some severely watered down wine, making the stuff taste more like juice really. It was OK though, he was in from the fog and growing cold, with good food to eat and drink to imbibe. Maybe things were looking up.
And then a large fist slammed atop the tabletop in front of Aubrey, causing him to jump slightly and look up. Before him stood a large man with a meaty deposition. He had a bald head and an upper body covered in dark tattoos with presumably no real meaning. The cut off, white shirt he wore was tucked into his black cargo pants, the only adorning item on the outfit being a large knuckle-knife on his belt. All this considered he was most definitely not a talker. Aubrey had been dealing with people like this is whole life however, it was nothing new for a big guy to come talk down to the relatively small guy that our hero was. However Aubrey had developed…a way of dealing with these type of people. Looking quizzically at the man our friend tilted his head to the side and started.
“Yes?”
“Why you got a book guy? We know you can’t read.” The thug said, snorting to himself as he did, one or two of the lackeys in the mess hall did the same. Just what the man was getting at Aubrey didn’t know, but he couldn’t really back down in front of all these people, things wouldn’t stop if he did. “But it has these great pictures in it, you like pictures don’t ya?” A wry smirk started to creep its way over his face as the words escaped his thin lips, but the resulting look from his ape-like friend didn’t bode well. A plate-like hand leapt outward trying to grab the book away from the younger Mr. Meador, who reacted quickly by drawing the book away and stuffing it in the back of his pants and standing up, moving away from the table as he did so. Without thinking he took the mug in his hand and slammed it down on his new friend’s hand, sloshing liquid everywhere in the process.
“Ahhh! You little shit!”
The chanting began in earnest, the calls for a fight between Aubrey and the thugling. Slipping quickly to the side our hero made his way to the center of the hall between the many tables, and he would have gone all the way to his rucksack if he had not been cut off by his opponent. There was a severe disparity between the strength of these two men, the big guy was definitely strong, and Aubrey was not. In fact the only thing he had ever really been good at was dodging attacks, hopefully he could pull that off here as well. When the first punch came flying, a haymaker of sorts all Aubs could do was leap to the side and out of the way. The next series of fists came in similar ways, all high and wild. It took a few moments before the rookie could slip behind his enemy, but when he did his own series of punches, these aimed only at the kidneys of the larger man fell true. Then the lights went out.
A reckless swinging backhand hit Aubrey square in the head, knocking him to the ground with a flash of lights. Lying flat on his back now the wannabe adventurer looked up at the ne’er-do-well, who was now gripping his knife in hand and standing over him with that look, the one that meant he had lost it. But before Aubrey could even scream his pleas of mercy another voice chimed in. “That’s enough Brutte.” The almost nonchalant order came from a thin man in a long dark overcoat who was only now walking into view. He had greying hair that was close cropped on the sides but very long a top, combed over to the left side and covering his ear. He had sharp glasses and pale eyes, along with an air that he was in charge, and by the immediate silence that washed over the room that was probably the truth. That man Brutte didn’t seem to want to listen though, as he turned with hand still held upright and knife blade pointed down, even as he was staring at this arriving man.
“Please now, I wouldn’t want to discipline you.” Was all he said in response, which created a small gasp from the many spectators of the fight. And even as Brutte’s face gave the impression that he wanted nothing more than to punt the smaller man in his big coat, the fellow decided better and put his weapon away, stepping back from the scene and into the crowd. Taking a small step forward the old looking gentleman leaned over from the waist and looked down at Aubrey with a surveying eye. “I will take him in for treatment, please see that his things are brought to my office.” Then in a much more quiet tone he spoke to Aubrey only. “Get up child, or they will never stop staring. Come with me.”
Turning on his heel without another word the strange guy started walking away, leaving Aubrey to only rise on his own accord and follow him out the door and into the ship proper.
Most of the ship looked to be made out metal, the varnished wood from the mess hall no longer present. This huge dredge must have housed a great many people, and Aubrey hardly doubted he had seen even a piece of them from the crowd in the dining hall. Still musing in these peculiar thoughts he didn’t immediately notice that the man, his rescuer, spoke to him. “So can you read kid?” Not even turning around to ask that rather rude question.
“Of course I can.” Was all he could think to say in response to the older man’s query. It didn’t occur Aubrey, who had been fortunate enough in his life to have a very well educated father who taught him a great many things, that there might be others in the world who could not do the simple skill of read a book. That was a sad thought if you took time to ponder it. The conservation might have stopped there if not for a sharp turn into what must have been the infirmary. There were devices lining the walls, and a few beds between them for patience. Near the back of the rather long room was a separate room that the two men entered. It was an office of sorts, with a desk and a few chairs. Our friend Aubrey was directed to one of the chairs as the other man sat behind what must have been his desk. The tabletop was covered in papers and folders of some sort, and no attempt was made to clean them up.
“Oh, I am Doctor Ramus by the way, I am charged with the healthcare of the crew.”
“Excuse me, but where the hell am I, what is this crew?”
“Oh yes, how rude of me, this child is the treasure hunting crew the Royal Profiteers, and this is our flagship the Artifice. We serve under Captain Marx, our profession is to dig up the lost treasures of the world.”
So that was it huh? Treasure hunters. From what he knew of the profession however, which was less than he would have thought he was surprised to find out as he combed through the annals of his head, they were mostly unsanctioned scavengers that the World Government only tolerated when they could take the treasure back after being salvaged. If these people were unsanctioned treasure hunters then they might be considered criminals. That in and of itself didn’t bother Aubrey, but he was already here, did that make him an accomplice? Truth be told he didn’t really trust Marines, so he could believe them doing horrible things, like blowing up a ship. Then again, he had only ever dealt with small town Marines, perhaps the rest of the Blue had decent folk running it. The odds, meh.
“And you are?”
“Oh! My name is…Aubrey Meador, formerly of the Kingdom of Goa.”
“A pleasure. Tell me Aubrey, what were you doing on Tequila Wolf of all places? That is a very dangerous place.”
“I had hired a ship to take me to the nearest port, they decided they didn’t have enough room and left me stranded there. Well, I was a few hours away from where a saw your ship, I walked from where they tossed me.” In retrospect, he certainly had been gullible. But hey, there was no going back on it now.
“How sad.” Ramus said, pushing up his glasses, which caused a momentarily flash to glaze over his eyes.
“Well, there is room for you here, if you feel like staying.”
Stopping the rookie’s internal dialogue was Dr. Ramus again, who had decided he had let the last words linger long enough. “While you have a choice in the matter, I can assure you that you will not find as many lucrative job opportunities as this one. If you are willing to learn then you might find that this crew could be very beneficial to you.” An interesting proposition definitely, but not an altruistic one Aubrey was betting. The crew had already delivered Mr. Meador cold and hungry to this ship, they would not take kindly to him enjoying their hospitality and then leaving.
Aubrey had wanted to leave the backwater island his family was on to travel. He wanted to make something of himself, he knew that there was a calling for him somewhere, he just didn’t know where yet. This would be as good as chance as any to travel and make something out of himself. Sure of only one thing, that he wanted to do something, Aubrey knew he wasn’t going to get many chances like this.
“Alright then, but what would I do around here? I’ve never even dug up a coin, I’m not sure how I would be helpful.”
“Well I already have an idea for that. You see, occasionally we find people with potential, we try to train them as officers in the crew instead of the basic member. Honestly, the fact that you can read gives you a leg up on most recruits, so if you are able we will try as you as a candidate. Hopefully you can keep up with the studies. Ah Maxwell, please show our friend Aubrey to his room, he will be staying with you. His bag in in the corner. And please Mr. Meador, feel free to stop by at any time.”
Rising to his feet, apparently dismissed, Aubrey turned around to see a man his age, late teens and all, standing in the office doorway. The man, Maxwell, had light colored hair with mild features. For clothing he wore simple dark pants and a hoodie with buttons running diagonally across the chest. His boots were well worn as well. Max nodded curtly to the doctor and picked up Aubrey’s rucksack without hesitation before gesturing with his head out the door. Not one to waste words it seemed. This Maxwell lead Aubrey out of the infirmary and off towards a deeper part of the ship.
Though he tried to keep his eyes forward, occasionally Aubrey would see a group of people watching him from some offshoot hallway. What had he gotten himself into?
“So Aubrey right?”
“Yeah, Max?”
“Yup. Where you from man?”
“Goa, though I’ve been East of here the last few years.”
“Just left I take it, no offense but you have that look. Why did you leave?”
What a quick moving conversation, it was almost more comfortable to be speaking normally now, for all that Dr. Ramus was doing for him he had a way do drawing out things, this felt more natural. It was a piercing question, but perhaps Aubrey should have expected the more important question from someone his own age. Would Max understand however? “I couldn’t stay, I would never do anything important if I stayed on that little island and played their games forever.”
“I know that feeling.” Max responded, lifting his head in approval, as if he was consciously picturing the agony of wasting ones time. “Well things could be worse for you I guess, kind of random that you find the Artifice here.” With that remark Max turned around another sharp corner and towards a set of stairs, half heading down into the depth of the ship and the other upward towards the decks. Aubrey made to turn with him but his eyes caught on a braid of pink hair turning the other way. Our young friend actually stopped in his tracks as he noticed the body attached to that pink braid careen around another corner in this infernal maze of a ship. The way those hips swayed along with the clicking of heels was damn near memorizing to the wannabe, and had it not been for Max reaching back and yanking Aubrey down the hallway he might have been lost to the ship for lack of situation awareness.
“Don’t bother guy, not worth it, now come on we are almost there.”
And behold the pair walked into a small room with two beds built into the wall, each with a small porthole where one could rest and look outside. They had gone up a level from a few minutes before, meaning that they must be closer to the main deck, but just how close Aubrey didn’t know. That question aside the room was rather nice. It had a table built into a nook instead of one wall, and a closet on the other. Dropping his luggage by that closet Max gestured towards the beds. “I sleep on bottom, feel free to have the top one, there is a built-in screen you can pull over, the lights go off at 10 pm. Oh, heat is pumped up through the ship from the engine room, so even though we have windows it will be pretty warm in here. Let me know whatever you need."
“Oh Max, I never asked where you were from. East Blue?”
Having sat down by now on his own bunk, Max had to look up and over towards our friend Aubrey, who was still near the doorway. “Me? Yeah I’m from Lougetown, or one of the islands around it yeah.”
“Oh wow, I’ve heard that is a really nice place.”
“If you get a chance, you should go there, best place in East Blue.”
“So Max, what’s all this talk the doctor said about training and learning with the Inner Circle? I assume that is the officers yeah?”
“Hmm. Well it’s a bit more complicated than just studying, but yeah it’s working for the officers of the crew. The Inner circle is the Captain, the Doctor, the Navigator, the Quartermaster, and the First Mate.” Max replied, ticking off the people on his left hand. “Maybe a year ago the Captain decided that they needed to start teaching the new generations on the crew. You might have noticed the docs grey hair, the officers have been doing this for a long time and are getting old. I guess the doc decided that you might be a good choice to be one of those apprentices, if you can keep up.”
“I just got here, and not really by choice, so why would they offer me a job like that, the way it seems here most of the crew is for digging.”
“Well yeah, but most of the young people on this ship are recruited out of orphanages or on the road, most don’t have a lot going for them when they get here. Expansion of the Royal Profiteers has given us a lot of smaller ships, but has taken most of the trained sailors from the Artifice. Simply put, we must need to fill some seats.”
“What happens if I can’t meet these expectations I’ve yet to learn about?”
“Expect to be digging…a lot.” Max finished with a smile. It wasn’t a scary one, or even one that said good luck. Instead it looked like the young man was telling Aubrey that he had better live up to expectations. “Tomorrow get up with me. They probably won’t have you do anything crazy so fast, but you could use a look around the ship. It will help you get your bearings. Now, try and get some sleep.” Aubrey smiled back. He couldn’t help but appreciate the willingness of Max to assist him, even if he had been ordered to do so by Dr. Ramus. It was going to be an interesting time on this ship, and our friend wasn’t quite sure he would be enjoying it.
Even with the lights out and his canvas wall up to lock him in a little room of warmth, the small vent near him keeping him cozy despite what he knew was a cold evening, Aubrey didn’t sleep well. A few days ago he was with him family and friends, most happy for him to go and chase his dreams of making a difference in the world. Now, here he was possibly stranded on a ship of criminals, nice or not, who had all but forced him to work to eat. If he could convince this Inner Circle that he was worth spending time on, then perhaps our rookie adventurer could learn a few skills that might help him in his exploits. But for now he knew only one thing…
Aubrey missed his little backwoods island.
Early the next morning Aubrey found himself inside the ships library, a two story thing with walkways acting as hallways for the second floor. Not only books but maps and predominantly shipping logs filled much of the space. Our friend was sitting down on the ground level at one of the chairs left open by the ever moving patron, searching for that specific book to read. He had been given a simple collection of clothing to wear on the ship, the crew didn’t have much of a uniform but they did supply clothes for its members. Black pants and some slip on shoes went with a long sleeve grey shirt. The shirt was a bit heavy, but it was a still a bit cold at the time being so perhaps the crew’s quartermaster new better than old Aubrey. Our friend was happy at least for this chance to sit and read a book, he had already been the inquisitive type, or one for a good story. In fact he had found throughout his young life that when the world looked down on you for your size, or your ideas, or even you dreams, a respite into the safety of pages made everything just a little better. Aubrey had spent a long time practicing escapism to feel better about life. But here, where escapism surrounded him, well here he felt more connected to the real world. Maybe things were looking up.
Speaking of looking up, the hint of soft humming all but forced the new recruit to look up and notice that same pink ponytail from the previous day. With no one to stop him this time Aubrey got to his feet, book left open in his stead and began to move through the aisles toward where he had last seen the girl. Now was a good a time as any to strike up a conversation, at least he could assume they both had an interest in books. It wasn’t until Aubrey turned casually down a row of books and he saw her in near the end of the same channel that it occurred to him how strange he was being, and how very little he cared about that right now. Taking a moment to get a good look at this pink head of hair he had noticed fleeting he realized that it was not curiosity that drove him, it was poor, shameful lust.
She was about 5 feet tall, maybe a bit more with small heels on delicate feet. Long pink hair was braided tightly, clasped with a large green gem of some kind, clearly she was not a worker. Even from his position of few feet away, he could see that she had a very nice figure, black tights showing good legs before a one piece shirt and shorts combo, her braided belt and her knitted shawl covered her modesty. All these individual pieces did not add up to how pretty she actually was, even as she tried to inch up on her toes a bit more to look at a specific book on the shelf. Aubrey had seen his share of women, even for a young man. Stories aside he had success with them too, but there was something about this shining light in from of him. Perhaps it was the light reflecting down from the windows, or maybe it was just that she was the only damn girl he had seen on this ship. No matter what the reason was however, Aubrey was compelled to continue to walk towards her.
Leaning over her nonchalantly Aubrey plucked the book nearest her floating hand with a very small exclamation and turned to leave. As if on cue the woman gave an ‘hmph excuse me.’ To which our friend was that well-versed taken aback, causing him to turn around. “Oh I’m sorry, is this the book you were looking for?” He generously proffered her the title in the flat of his hand, palm up. “I’m new here, I don’ think we have met, I’m Aubrey.”
For a moment he thought she was going to strangle him, she had that look of contempt that usually preceded an angry woman. Then, as she took the book from Aubrey’s hand her face relaxed and she finally spoke to him. “No, no we haven’t. I’m Taylor.” Bringing the book closer to her, maybe like a coy shield of swords she continued, a smirk coming to her beautifully pale face. “You must be that guy who got punched out the yesterday in the mess hall. Welcome to the ship I guess.” With that Ms. Taylor turned around and walked away, leaving Aubrey there with the grim feeling he had just been one-upped by a pro.
“You don’t want to do that man, she isn’t worth the hassle.” Said Max from the end of the shelf. “Now will you just believe me this time and come on already, wouldn’t look good if you were late on your absolute first day of training.” From his vantage pointed leaning against the bookshelf, arms crossed like a bodyguard of sorts Max looked only slightly displeased with his new roommate. “Come on.”
Without further ado the pair walked in a different direction than Aubrey had gone before in this rather impressive library and moved up a metal frame staircase and onto the second floor. Thing framed walkways lead here and there to what must have been a different selection of books. But before he could explore all of those avenues Max opened a door and entered a small room with a few tables and some chairs. A board at one end of the room was meant to write on. Damn if it didn’t remind him of the schools he had attended in the past. “You sir have to take a test.”
“A test, what is this, grammar school? I thought you said I was going to do much today.”
“I don’t make the rules, relax, I’m sure you’ll pass.” With that Max shut the door, right before he did though the man looked back in and chuckled a bit. “Calm down guy, there is no test, knew you would fall for it.” Then he was gone.
Why was this place so fucking ominous?
Aubrey wasn’t in the room long before the door opened behind him and a single man entered. He was perhaps a bit taller than our friend Mr. Meador, though he was significantly older. He wore a simple black set of robes that looked much like one would imagine of a desert dweller. Somewhere between a wanderer and a warrior the man wore black armor, which must have been made of leather or some such material, consisting of a breastplate and faulds reaching down to perhaps his knee, which were unseen because of the long black robes. Around his waist a red sash held an ornamental dagger of sorts, along with an actually sheath for a blade and a few pouches of unknown intent. Finally, another ornate half jacket was around his shoulders, not big enough to clasp across his chest. The sleeves went down to elbows, and the small gold trinkets and red robe tassels on the garment made it look almost lavish.
This man, his hair was swept back, long and black but not so much like a woman’s. Perhaps he usually wore it in a man-ponytail or something. His beard and goatee were much the same color, and all as immaculately groomed. A small soul patched finishes his facial hair, making the small scars on his face almost unseen. A few piercings were in his ears, of all which added up to something like a nobleman of some desert country, or just a very strange old man clinging to youth. A smile on his face the man stepped in front of the younger Aubrey and spoke. His voice was groomed, he must have been an educated man, but it bespoke an inner harshness that came from something else, something one didn’t earn waiting somewhere for a throne to fall into his lap.
“You must be Aubrey, A pleasure to meet you. My name is Salim, I am the Navigator of the Royal Profiteers. They tell me you are to be my trainee, and as such I will refer to you by your proper name, Mr. Meador. I must admit, I am not sure how you will able to keep up.”
He didn’t seem condescending, but at the same time Salim clearly was not impressed by the site of Aubrey in his simple pants and shirt. Guess that wasn’t all that unexpected considering that he was just some random kid from the backwoods of the East Blue, nothing more. If this Salim was half as cultured as he appeared than I guess it all made sense. All that being said however Aubrey was not one to let his thoughts go unheard. Scooting back from the table he had been sitting at with its simple but efficient looking chairs the hero of our story tilted his head slight and gave his best attempt at conveying his mixed emotions to Salim.
“I can only hope I don’t disappoint then, I would hate to be left all alone on some island, away from here and such.”
“If only you were so lucky. Regardless of your desires however it is my duty to train you, and we will do just that. So I take it you can read a map?”
“I suppose. If I was so inclined.”
“Then let us see your inclination.” Salim said, lifting a small, rolled parchment from his left hand. With a flick he rolled the thing out on the table nearest our pair, revealing a map of the East Blue. “So tell me Mr. Meador, what is the most important part of a map?”
The question was meant to be probing of course, one that sought to discover what a person thought not only linearly but on multiple levels. This was at least the answer that Aubrey’s young, idealistic mind came to first. As the wannabe stood up and gave the map another stern look, like it would give him the answer if he intimidated the thing, it occurred to him that he should not withhold the tiered thoughts that where building inside of him. “Would you like the philosophical answer, or the practical one sir?”
A wry smile crept across his pale face. When Salim glared back at him, Aubrey decided he would give both. “Practically speaking, the scale and legend of the map are most important to us, it allows us to read the thing. But I’d argue that it is what the map is of that is really important to us. You asked what is the most important part of a map, I’d say there is nothing important on a map, except whatever the map is trying to tell us.”
And despite himself, Salim smiled back at the young man, thinking that perhaps he had found someone he could work with after all. With another deft movement the veteran sailor picked up his map and absently rolled it up, his focus trained on his new student. “On both accounts you are correct Mr. Meador. Now, I must attend a meeting with the Captain, would you please accompany me?”
Still standing and looking at this Salim, Aubrey was a bit unsure of whether or not he wanted to continue playing this game. And yet, the chance to meet the man that ran this large operation appealed to him. He must be a man who had made something of himself to have affected so many others like this. That in itself appealed to our young dreamer, hoping to do something with his life. Perhaps this was a chance worth taking.
“Of course sir. I’d be delighted.”
The pair of Navigators, one who was very skilled and one who had become one a few minutes before, walked into an opulent part of the ship reserved for the Captain of the Profiteers and his family. Without wasting time and using precious words, let us just describe the place as very appealing and well maintained. The metal piping effect that covered most of the crew quarters, minus a few choice spots that had a fake wooden veneer to add a homely feel. But here, here was a different level. It took only a minute or so after entering this segmented part of the ship to reach a single room with a large table and a series of chairs around it. The table had rolled out atop it an obscenely large map of the East Blue, with the rings to indicate the waterways and known spheres of influence. Here and there an icon was placed, most likely to indicate a ship or something important.
Aubrey’s eyes drifted upward until he saw the man of the hour, well the man in general I suppose as he did own the enterprise they were standing inside of. Captain Marx was a large man, and despite his apparent age he had more muscle than just about any man Aubrey had ever seen. Above the tabletop where our wannabe friend could see was the torso of the Captain, who was wearing a simple tank-top under a black jacket left open with white fur on the cuffs and neck. His general presence was still managing to sneak out, authority creeping from his deep blue eyes and his massive stature. He had a simple head of white hair, kept rather short on the sides and a bit longer on top, but the whole thing flowed into an equally as white and fully grown beard. It had been there a long time, reaching well up into his cheekbone’s domain. The mustache and soul patch were just as powerful. Placed almost precariously behind him was his weapon, a sword as tall as its master. It had a gold pommel and handguard, with a large emerald sphere of some kind in the hilt. A single edged blade with a rather large notch on the dulled side which most likely served no purpose other than decoration.
Sitting to the left of the Captain, who of course took the head of the table, was another large man. This one however was not built of muscle and power, but of fat and privilege. This one wore a large jacket, much like a marine or something, this one all buttoned up and some off color of green with gold tassels. He didn’t have much of a head of hair, but the fat man did sport a rather impressive mustache that made him look somewhat like a walrus. Unlike his captain the roly-poly carried no weapon, causing Aubrey to wonder what he did around the ship. Salim the Navigator answered it for him, making his way to his own seat on the right side of the table and a seat or two away from his liege. “This Mr. Meador is our Quartermaster Mr. Albeworth. I believe you have met the crew’s Doctor, Dr. Ramus.” The good doctor was sitting on the left side was well, a seat or so away from the Quartermaster and his girth. Now that was looking there Aubrey noticed another man there, Max to be precise. Max was sitting against the wall somewhat behind the good doctor, and he smiled and Aubrey kindly from his seat. Making a mental note to ask about all this later Aubrey was directed towards his own seat against the wall behind Salim.
“Sir, this is Mr. Meador, my newest apprentice.”
Aubrey nodded as politely as he could, unaware of how to address a ship’s Captain and took his seat. Whatever he did was not wrong it seemed, as the Captain only smiled politely and nodded at the younger man. Once everyone was seated the Captain began to address his people. His voice was strong, with some rasp to it that gave the impression of someone who was both confident and cautious. Part of him seemed like a grandfather, but in this case a grandfather who sired not a single ordinary man.
“Things at site number 3 are not proceeding forward. A trap of some kind has triggered, stopping the dig. I’ve decided to go and check things out personally. I called you all here to make the arrangements.”
“First concern will be your safety, I assume a guard has been selected?”
“Yes yes yes. We will bring provisions as well, the crew on site could use a lift, good food will help with that.”
“Of course sir.” Answered the walr…Quartermaster in his deep voice, though it had hints of a merchant in it, with interesting inflection.
“Should take ten days, give or take the wind.” Salim added in.
"Good. Also, I will be taking the apprentices with me. It will be good for them to see something outside of the ship.”
Aubrey perked up at that, not that he had been sleeping in the corner or something, but this was unexpected. Assuming he could be allowed off ship so soon this might be a good chance to leave once for all. But, what that what he really wanted? Even Aubrey didn’t know what he wanted at the moment. No matter how things played out though, going to a buried treasure of some kind would be an interesting experience. Honestly our wannabe friend didn’t pay much attention as the conversation moved onto other topics, all of which were less exciting. For whatever reason he was excited about what was coming now.
Oh how naïve of him…
“Ahhhhh” Aubrey sighed, the small boat rocking in the wake of the significantly larger dredge it was tied to. Today was the day he had been waiting for, a trip ashore to a dig site in some ruins on this rather deserted island. Despite the excitement of seeing treasure hunters doing some treasure hunting, and even if the prospect of finding fabulous wealth in an instant, Aubrey was more concerned with whether or not he would be getting back on the ship. Still, even after the constant mental dialogue over the last 10 days he was not sure if he was going to try and leave or not. Yes, this ship and crew had some appealing things about it, but he had not chosen it freely. No not really. That to him meant much more than wealth.
Max was sitting across from our friend Mr. Meador, the usual expression on his face, like he was both excited and bored at the same time. Salim was also present, apparently one of his duties included going ashore. Or perhaps he was there to inspect Aubrey some more. The last week had been very trying, with myriad maps and discussions littering the first drawer of Aubrey’s mind still. Some heavy-handed looking guys were there too, most likely the muscle or something. Still the Captain hadn’t arrived which was the reason for their late departure. With all the waiting around he had done it had occurred to the wannabe sitting amongst the others that he should have brought a book. Just as his eyes closed and a nice dream was about to take ahold a loud bang brought him back to reality. The Captain had arrived just in time to take his seat at the back of the vessel, but he was not alone. Eyes adjusting our hero saw one more person get on the boat with him. And of all people it was that girl…
Taylor.
Confusion aside Aubrey felt a twinge of nervousness as Taylor came up beside him and sat down, which coincidentally was the only open seat left. His face was a bit tight still as he looked up and saw Max sitting there, smiling at him with a very ‘see-I-told-you” look on his face. Things were starting to make sense, albeit slower than would serve Aubrey. Taylor, sitting very proper beside him, with her legs tucked and all, took a moment to move her luscious pink hair out of her face and speak softly to Aubrey. “So I guess you part of the crew now huh? My name is Taylor Marx.” she managed to say it all with a small smirk, only making our friend seethe on the inside.
“So they tell me.”
“Good, try and keep up then.” Was all she said in response, pulling her legs as far away as she could muster, clearly not excited about sitting the whole time next to him. With a simple flick of her head her mountainous hair flipped back to the left side and blocked Aubrey’s view of her face. This was going to be a long trip. More importantly than anything the girl herself might do annoy Aubrey was the almost obvious fact now that she was related to Captain Marx. How could have been so stupid?
A few hours later the party was passing the threshold of the underground entrance of the small ruin they were excavating. The island itself had turned out to be rather boring, save for this small forest and the supposed underground ruins from a long lost civilization buried under it. No one was quite sure what to find here, but the expectation when opening up something previously undiscovered was that something, anything of value was hidden there. If not though, this would have been a rather expensive trip.
It was much cooler under the shaded protection of the cave. Without the sun on them, trees or no trees for cover it was not nearly as bad. The Captain led the way through the small tunnel lined with torches. A crudely erected wall had been placed to avert wandering eyes, but had the added effect of canalizing the site. Aubrey wasn’t too sure what the other people were doing, so far ahead of him, but he was busy looking at the compacted walls. He was not expert, but these things looked like they had been made, not dug, so perhaps the people lived underground as well. Here and there he saw a marking of some kind, most were arrows painted by the crew, but others were intricate, carved into the walls by means unknown. Whatever this place was before it was special, at least he guessed.
Not particularly paying attention Aubrey stumbled into Max at the back of the queue. "Sorry Max.” he said politely, but no one noticed him. Slipping around the edge of the group Aubrey inched his way towards the front, where the Captain was standing with whoever was in charge of the site. It took Mr. Meador a moment to realize, but as things came to him it was clear that the group wasn’t half in and half out anymore. They were firmly underground in a passageway created by people lone again. Directly in front of them the torches stopped, and only the residual light they carried with them was able to show the trap ahead. The passageway opened up into a large cavern with a high ceiling, but contained only one large platform that looked almost like it was floating here in the darkness. To each side of it, including towards our group of hunters was no less than a three foot gap, giving more credence to the floating idea. Aubrey moved forward as far as he could and heard the Captain speaking.
“So, this is the problem?”
“Yes Captain, the platform will let no more than 1 set of feet on it at a time, anymore and it tilts.”
“Interesting, so we can’t move any groups across because they can only go at one a time, this doesn’t seem like a big problem.”
“But sir, we can’t get anything out of the cavern one person at a time…”
As the conversation went around in circles Aubrey couldn’t help but wonder just how he would get past this. It took a few minutes for him to grasp it all, but when he did it all seemed so simple. Back when he was a kid he played this game of riddles and tricks with his friends. The riddle had been about how a wolf, sheep and man would get across a river in one little boat where only two of them could fit. The short answer was that two had to go at the same time, and then you would have to go back a second time to finish the challenge. Eyes wandering through the shadows the inklings of a plan came to him. Without a word Aubrey walked back past the group and began tapping on the stone wall that formed at the meeting of the hallway they used to arrive here and the large cavern wall. Even though he had not been trying to draw any attention to himself, the tapping and pacing alerted the others around him that Aubrey was devising something.
“Do you have something to add Mr. Meador?”
Aubrey stopped his pacing and gulped in fright. That was the voice of the Captain. Well, no time to waste then. Steeling himself the young man prepared to attempt his theory without rehearsal. He tried to speak up, but it came out softly at first until the idea stuck in his head and the confidence grew in his gut.
“Sir, I uh…I uh…know what…we could do to…get across the platform.” His eyes crept up from the floor until they were looking at the Captain, his passion slowly willing itself over his newness. “If only one person can walk on it at a time why don’t we have a small person get on a big guys shoulders and walk across? That way, two people can go across at the same time.”
The Captain just smiled, the glint in his eye meaning that he either liked what he was hearing or that he was about to start breaking down this stupid plan point by point. When he spoke the Captain seemed more like a teacher than like a lord. “But how do we get the treasure out then son?”
That was a much easier thing to guess. “Send over a robe and a stake. Nail a robe above the platform so you can strap treasure onto it and walk it across. It doesn’t touch the platform at all. It might take a while but the stuff will get across."
That smile on the Captain’s face just got bigger. And then he started laughing. “Oh kid, I think you might be a natural!”
Sunlight was slipping in through the cracks in his blinds now, the night evaporating as the sun beat down and steamed it away. The stack of paper beside him and been moved piece by piece from one side of the table to the other as the words had covered their blank faces. It had taken all night, but he had been able to recall the beginnings of his journey and acceptance into the Royal Profiteers. Maybe Justin was right, this did seem therapeutic. Though Aubrey did feel rather sad now that all the people of his past were tumbling in and out of his mind. And yet, only two weeks of his time had been recorded of what he knew was a yearlong adventure.
Yes, in case you were wondering they did get the treasure out of that cavern, and yes they had used his suggestion to bring it across on a rope. Perhaps the Captain had never considered doing it this way, or perhaps he had wanted to see what his people could come up with. Either way they had been successful. That wasn’t the happiest moment of Aubrey’s trip by far, but it was a moment we wouldn’t forget. It was the reason that he decided to stay with the Artifice and not try and run on that island. Aubrey wouldn’t have gotten very far, and he knew that now, but at the time it had seemed like the most important decision that could be made. But success was a strange thing, and from that moment onward he had wanted more of it.
Oh the treasure, simple gold and gems stored by a small religion of some kind that was worshipped on the island. The peoples had decided that the church should hold all of their valuables when the invading force came, thinking that no respectfully man would attack servants of the lord. They had been wrong about that fact in particular, but the morons had never found the treasure held deep under the rubble of the church they had blown to bits from coastal bombardment. There it had sat for generations with only the rumor of the great wealth of the peoples. It was nothing monumental, but it did add a bit to the lore of a rather small island with an old history. In all honesty Aubrey would never remember the island, or its story in detail, but he would remember the treasure. Not very respectable right?
As per agreements that he didn’t remember making Aubrey’s cut of the treasure was kept to accrue interest with the Inner Circle. He wasn’t given a larger share of the overall stockpile because he was still an apprentice, even if he had been instrumental in the seizing of the treasure. And because the Profiteers did not have a permit to take that treasure he had no grounds to appeal for more. Just as quickly as the crew had come they were gone.
Casually the White-Wing Captain walked over to his own bed and flopped atop the covers. One night he had given to the remembrance of his old crew. Maybe tomorrow he would start on Part Two.
Maybe…
Fin.