Well mates, sorry I haven't gotten you a chapter. Been extremely busy lately. But, here is the next one, and it may be my best one yet!
Chapter 9: Expedition of the Cove
Davy put together his team. He decided to choose Sam, Meg, Dog, Zolina, Dan, and Kate for the expedition. He had planned that it would be just them, but Sharktooth and Pirate Guy demanded that they tag along.
“Please Captain!” Sharktooth had pleaded. “If what destroyed our ship is hiding somewhere here on Raven’s Cove, then we must find out what it is! Please, Captain, please!”
Davy decided that he would let them come along, after all, the more the merrier! It was midmorning now, and Davy was finishing getting ready. He decided that he would wear dark colors, to blend in with the dark cliffs of Raven’s Cove. He put on a pair of black boots, black breeches, a sleeveless black tank, and a simple belt. To top it all off, he pulled out one of his favorite hats: a large black tricorne with a white skull and crossed swords on the front, and a grey feather sticking out the back. He went to his weapon chest and pulled out his best weapons. He chose a large dagger, forged for war, and his trusty Assassin’s Cutlass, which he had laid spells on so that it would poison any enemy that it slashed. He finished strapping his sword on, and left his cabin when he realized he had forgotten the most important thing.
What do I plan to do? Davy wondered to himself. He just knew that he needed to get to Raven’s Cove, but he didn’t know what to do now that he was there.
Well, Joanna wanted to tell me something, so perhaps I need to find her? he wondered.
Aye, I’ll see if I can find her, and then she can probably give us a good lead.
He met up with his team on the beach of Raven’s Cove. The
Shadow King had dropped anchor right next to the half sunken dock that was once part of the majestic harbor of Raven’s Cove. He had gotten off the ship and walked to the beach, where he now waited as the last of his team arrived. Right as the last person stepped foot on the beach, Davy heard a barking, and looked to see Smelly running towards them.
“Smelly?” Davy said, confused. “Hello there boy. Listen Smelly, I need you to go back to the ship, okay?”
Smelly barked at Davy, and sat, as if saying I’m not going anywhere except where you’re going.
Davy sighed. “Fine, ye can stay Smelly.”
Smelly barked happily and wagged his tail.
“Alright,” Dan said. “Now that you have been beaten into submission by this dog, what’s our plan?”
“Quite simple actually,” Davy said. “But first I must explain something to all of you. You see, before we left Tortuga for this expedition, I met with… an old friend. A ghost, named Joanna. I met her here ten years ago, when I was stranded here. I didn’t want to tell you all until now. She told me that I must come here. She told me that strange voodoo is at work, and that the dead are rising, and they have some strange patriarch that resides here. She told me to come here so she could answer all my questions… and that we would find something more than that too.”
“So,” Sam said, processing everything. “You want us to come to the most dangerous island in the Caribbean, and hunt for some ghost you met, so that we can find out about some insanely powerful ghost person, and try not to die along the way?”
“That’s the idea,” Davy said.
“Count me in,” Sam said, nodding. The others nodded in agreement, and then they began heading up the beach, and into the small little canyon that would take them to the ruined city of Raven’s Cove.
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They walked for ages, or so it seemed. Time always worked strangely on Raven’s Cove. You would walk for what seemed like ages, but night seemed to fall extremely fast and last for a longer period of time than what should be normal. The group of Sorcerors walked at a normal pace for most of the day, and stopped once to have lunch. Davy hoped that they would be able to find some shelter before night fell. He remembered when he had encountered Joanna as a Rage Ghost. He had been lucky to escape alive. There were probably even more Rage Ghosts out there now that all the dead were rising.
Night began to fall, earlier than it should, as it always did on the Cove. Davy’s hand was always on his sword now. He did not want to be caught by anything off guard. All of the sudden, Smelly started to growl.
“Easy boy,” Zolina said, patting his head. He didn’t stop. Soon he began to aggressively bark.
“Smelly!” Davy snapped. It was no use. Smelly started barking ferociously, and ran into a group of buildings.
“Damn that dog,” Kate muttered.
“Come on!” Davy said. “Let’s go after him! No pirate or dog left behind!”
The group ran after Smelly, who they saw disappear behind a building. They rounded the corner to see Smelly standing in attack stance, barking at Joanna the ghost. She stood with a small smile on her face, looking at the dog.
“Good thing you had him with you,” Joanna said. “You may have never found me otherwise.”
She examined Smelly, who had calmed down a little bit, but was still in his attack stance, growling and baring his teeth.
“He’s an old dog,” Joanna examined. “I’m surprised he is still so active.”
“I laid some spells on him so that he would age half as fast, so he’ll live longer,” Dan said. “Ha ha, perhaps I used him as a bit of a lab rat, but Davy here can’t live without ‘im!”
“Smelly, heel!” Davy commanded. Smelly gave one last growl to Joanna, before coming back to Davy and sitting at his side. “Joanna, we’re here. Now please explain everything.”
“You have come here, so I shall explain,” Joanna started. “You already know about the ghosts that are rising, but they are not independent. They have a leader. A leader, known as El Patron. El Patron was a Spanish Captain over a century ago, leading a mighty crew of Conquistadors through the Caribbean. He originally served Spain, but through a series of events, he found himself in the cave of a mysterious island far from here, where he discovered his first Cursed Blade.”
“Cursed Blade?” Meg asked.
“There are only a handful in the world,” Joanna said. “They are extremely powerful swords that contain great power, and are said to be the most deadly weapons in the world. Any who, El Patron found one of these blades when he was raiding a cave. It was hidden in the very center of it, guarded heavily. He took the blade, and charged the foes that were closing in on him and his crew. He destroyed everybody in the cave that wasn’t his crew on his way out. Since then, he began hunting for more Cursed Blades, equipping himself and his crew with a wide assortment of them over the next few years.
“Soon, his crew became more than just a crew of Conquistadors. They became a powerful crew that could use these cursed blades and could destroy anyone in their path. But these Cursed Blades had another side effect. They made the possessor hungry for power, more aggressive, and almost took control of the user. He started to sink every ship he came across, be it Navy, Spanish, French, Company, or pirate. Among one of the pirate ship’s he sank was a dear friend to a very powerful pirate of the time, named Tiberius Fireskull.”
“Wait a minute!” Davy said, holding up his hands. “Tiberius Fireskull? Did I hear you right?”
“Aye Davy, you did,” Joanna said. “Tiberius Fireskull was your great-great-grandfather, on your father’s side. He was one of the most well known pirates of his day. When news reached Tiberius of his friend’s death, he was enraged. He vowed vengeance on El Patron, but his crew made him realize that they could not fight him and win. He pondered this for a long while, and realized that the only way he could defeat El Patron was by using something equally as powerful as a Cursed Blade. He searched many islands for someone that could give him something like this, and he finally ran into a gypsy.
“The gypsy said that to overcome the dark powers of a Cursed Blade, he would need the powers of light to help him. The gypsy forged him a Divine Cutlass, one that had the powers to overcome El Patron and get his revenge. Tiberius then sought out El Patron, and after much searching, he found his ship docked here on Raven’s Cove, with the crew searching deep in the mines for more Cursed Blades. Tiberius ported his ship, the
Riptide Warrior, in the main dock of Raven’s Cove and took his crew to help in his raid. They headed into the mine, and soon encountered El Patron.
“After a long battle, Tiberius slew El Patron and much of his crew. Tiberius’s crew fled, and sealed the entrance to the mine they came from. They then sailed around the island and came to the area where El Patron’s ship was ported. They sealed off the entrance to the mine there, and then, using the power of Tiberius’s Divine Cutlass, closed off the little port that El Patron’s ship had sailed into, trapping El Patron and his crew’s souls forever.”
“Why would they trap them if they were already dead?” Pirate Guy asked.
“Because using Cursed Blades for extended periods of time will allow your soul to stay on this Earth,” Joanna responded. “By sealing the crew in the mine, they sealed their souls there as well, including El Patron’s. There they were trapped for over a century, until now. The crew has been stirring much lately, and some of the ghosts have escaped. Very soon, they will be able to fully escape from the mine, with El Patron. When he does, he will take revenge upon the world that threw him into his prison. He will be even more powerful than ever, too. In ghost form, he will be almost invincible.”
“And so what do you want us to do about this?” Davy asked.
“You must go into El Patron’s Mine, and see if you can strike him down once again,” Joanna said. “We haven’t much time. He is still weak right now, but very soon he will gain power and be able to fully rise and escape his prison. You must go into the mine and find where he lies, likely in a tomb somewhere deep inside of it, where his bones lie with his soul inside them. When you find him, you must slay him once again, keeping him dormant for a long time to come.”
“Hold up!” Sharktooth said. “So you want us to go into some hellish mine, filled with the ghost crew of El Patron, all of them extremely powerful and wanting to kill us, find what is left of El Patron, and destroy it, and then just walk out?”
“Yes,” Joanna said.
“How come you were unable to do this yourself?” Dog asked.
“I was not a part of El Patron’s crew. I dare not venture into the mines. I doubt that I even can.”
“Very well then,” Davy said. “I suppose that we have no choice. It’s either this or let this phantom rise and destroy us all. Chances are he’ll be after me in particular, considering I am the great-great-grandson of the person who slew him…”
“Good then,” Joanna said. “The entrance to the mine is on the upper level of Raven’s Cove. If you go to the opposite beach from here, there is an elevator that will take you up. Follow that path and you will find the cave entrance.”
In the distance, a howling was heard. Rage Ghosts.
“Go! Find shelter!” Joanna said. “Go for the mine tomorrow morning! I wish you good luck!”
With that, Joanna faded away, leaving the group of Sorcerors alone.
Smelly began to growl.
“Shush, Smelly!” Davy ordered.
Smelly became silent. The group slowly made their way out from behind the building back onto the path through the little town. They continued on their original path for a little while, trying to find a descent building to take refuge in. Eventually, they came to a building that looked like it had been a tavern. Davy thought he remembered seeing it when he was here ten years ago.
“Let’s head in here,” he whispered. The door wasn’t locked, but it was shut tightly, and the door was at an odd angle, so it was tough to open. After a bit of force, it was pushed open, and the group headed inside.
It looked quite like some of the smaller taverns on Tortuga. There was a bar at the far end, with several bottles lining the shelves, most empty and some broken. There was a dead fireplace on one wall, and throughout the interior were tables to sit at. It had probably been the main tavern on Raven’s Cove before it was destroyed.
The Sorcerors walked in, and shut the door tightly behind them, pushing a table against it to block anyone trying to get in from the outside. Just as they were about to get comfortable, Davy heard the sound of shifting boxes coming from a back room.
Everyone froze, and turned to Davy. Davy held his finger to his lips, and quietly took out his dagger from its leather sheath. He slowly moved towards the back room, and entered. There was a pile of boxes, forming a wall between Davy and the back shelves of the room. Davy stealthily moved in a little bit closer, and then sprung. He threw the boxes forward, onto whatever was hiding behind them. He let out a battle cry, and held out his dagger, but what he saw was the last thing he would have ever expected.
Davy turned pale, and his dagger cluttered to the floor, as he fell to his knees, gaping in disbelief at the figure before him.
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Next few chapters will be pretty action packed, with some real fighting and all that. The story will be getting pretty epic lol.