Here's this next chapter mates. It's got a pretty cliffhanger ending, so I think you'll all either love it or hate it haha.
By the way, most of this story has taken place on Raven's Cove, and I'm not sure if any of you are getting sick of that setting. In case you are, I'll inform you now that the setting is going to change very soon and the plot is going to speed up a lot in the next few chapters. There is probably going to be a lot more action in the next few chapters, with quite a few fight scenes. Anyway, here you are! Oh, and I made another minor edit. Tiberius's ship is no longer Riptide Warrior. It's Dark Phoenix.
Chapter 20: Moonlight
The tunnel wasn’t completely dark. It was dim, but Davy could still see a few meters in front of him. The torch that one of Foulberto’s crew members carried also provided a bit of extra light, so there was more visibility. Not that there was much to see anyway. There was only stone, rock, some cracked stone, and the occasional fungus clinging to the walls or living in corners. It was a perfectly drab and boring tunnel, and Davy thought about how maddening it must have been for Foulberto and his crew to be trapped in here for so long, isolated from any other people, living or not. The only sound was the drops of some source of water in the cave, and the soft thud of Davy’s feet and crutch which had been provided for him to lean on, due to his bad leg. Finally, Davy broke the maddening silence.
“How long does this tunnel go on for?” Davy asked to Foulberto.
He grunted in reply. “It’s not incredibly long, I’d guess. The problem was that when we were stuck in here, it was cursed so that we would end up going in circles, never to get to the exit area. But now, we can get out of here, hopefully. I’d imagine that we’ve got perhaps another eight hours, give or take. You can hold off that long, si?”
“With the occasional break, I’ll be fine.”
“Bueno!” Foulberto said, clasping his hands. “You have a way to get off this infernal island, si? A ship?”
“Assuming she hasn’t been hijacked or sunken, then yes. The
Shadow King is her name. She’s a strong ship.”
“A strong name as well,” the ghost said. There was a pause in speech, and sound returned to the rhythmic footsteps. Davy desperately looked for something semi-interesting to examine to prevent himself from going mad from the lack of scenery. He looked down at his clothes again. He was able to find some fresh clothing before him and the group left their primary cavern. He was able to find a pair of loose trousers with minimal wear. He also was able to scrounge up a blue striped shirt with short cut sleeves. He managed to find a short, red jacket to cover up most of the hideous shirt. He was also able to find a red sash belt, probably one of the few nice pieces of his outfit. He hated the clothes, being someone who was usually concerned about looking his best, and these threads didn’t flatter him at
all. He made a note to himself to never wear such baggy trousers if he could help it. Eventually, the silence became unbearable once again and Davy had to break the silence again.
“So how do you plan to take El Patron down, once we escape here,” Davy asked Smasho. He thought he noticed a glint of annoyance in the ghost’s eyes, but it quickly faded away as he answered the question.
“I’m not completely sure yet,” Smasho said, chewing his lip. “We’ll figure that out later, amigo. For now, we need to worry about getting out of this tunnel.”
Davy raised an eyebrow, sensing that the ghost was hiding something from him. He decided to ignore it for now, and said something else. “Did you ever meet Tiberius? Tiberius Fireskull?”
The question seemed to catch Foulberto off guard. He hid any sign of expression from his face, showing indifference that really did not exist. He thought for a moment about his response as they continued walking.
“
Tome treinta minutos. Except you two. Go scout ahead,” Foulberto ordered. The ghosts stopped and sat down, resting their muscles, assuming they had any. Davy figured these stops were only for him, as these ghosts probably could walk for days straight and never need rest. Foulberto beckoned for Davy to sit down across from him as he seated himself. Davy followed suit, and they sat in silence as Foulberto thought of his answer.
“I can’t say anything good about that scoundrel,” he said carefully. “After all, it’s the fault of that
desgraciado that I ended up being locked away in this Godforsaken place. If it weren’t for
him, I wouldn’t have suffered this horrible fate, and perhaps I could have lived my life in peace, and I would have actually
found… I suppose you want something a little less abusive about your ancestor.”
Davy nodded slowly. He could understand why this person would hate his Great-Great Grandfather, the pirate hero, but he did want to hear a few somewhat unbiased statements about him.
“What can I say?” Foulberto muttered. “I’ll say he was a powerful warrior, to be certain. Perhaps one of the best of his time. I cannot be certain, but I believe that he was born in England. When he was young, he crossed over to the Caribbean with his family. Somehow he got into piracy, and I think you know how he met us. But his sword fighting skills were amazing, as I said. He could wield just about any blade perfectly, be it a rapier, broadsword, or a simple cutlass. He cut down seven of our men in the course of about a minute, if I remember correctly. He was also very bold. His boldness was just as prominent as his sword skills. He knew he was taking a daring risk when he attacked our crew, but he did it anyway. Either he was bold, or extremely stupid. He was captain of a ship called the
Dark Phoenix, and had a mighty crew of sailors that were extraordinarily loyal to him. They were also extremely deadly with the weapons they had, be it sword, gun, knives, or hatchets. They were ferocious in battle, stronger than we were, obviously, which is why we were defeated.”
“And what of Tiberius’s sword?” Davy asked. “The Divine Cutlass?”
“Si, si,” Foulberto said through his teeth. “That blade. It was a strong sword. Many people believed that the blade was forged by a gypsy… no, it was not. The origins of the Divine Cutlass are unknown. What is known is that it is not of mortal make. It is believed to be an ancient blade, forged by the gods themselves. It has many powers, one of them being that it was able to counteract the darkness of our Cursed Blades. The Divine Cutlass was superior, and that is the main reason why he won. Using that blade’s divine powers finished us off.”
Davy took that all in. He knew that there was definitely more to know that Smasho didn’t know about, and most likely information that he wasn’t telling him, but he was content for now. The group of ghosts and Davy sat for a few more minutes, the ghosts quietly whispering amongst themselves and Davy remaining silent. He pulled out some food from a pack and nibbled on it, then drank some water. Once through with eating, he leaned back against the cave wall and yawned. He was just about to go to sleep when he heard yelling from down the tunnel. His eyes snapped open and his hand reached instinctively for his dagger, but he quickly realized it was just the two scout ghosts returning excitedly, which Davy thought as a strange emotion for someone who was dead. They started talking in fast Spanish to Foulberto, who eagerly stood up. He made nodding motions with his head as the two ghosts spoke and gestured down the tunnel. Foulberto dismissed them, and then spoke.
“Everyone, our two scouts report that the exit is not far from here,” he announced. “Let’s get a move on, amigos! We can make it to the exit very soon and feast our eyes on blue skies once again!”
The ghosts cheered in their raspy ghost voices, and followed the scouts as they lead the way to the exit. They walked for a good fifteen minutes or so in an excited silence before Foulberto nudged Davy. Davy turned to see what the ghost wanted, and he saw him pointing up. Davy looked upward to see that the roof had turned from sold stone to a more claylike substance, with roots poking out. Davy could faintly smell fresh air. The sweet smell of fresh air. The whole group picked up their pace without really noticing.
About five more minutes passed, and the tunnel slowly started getting larger until it formed an archway that lead into a room. The group examined the room in awe. It seemed strangely out of place in the midst of all the rock and earth around them. It looked similar to an underground cellar where food or alcohol was stored. There were barrels that lined the sides of the room, as well as some stacked up crates. The ceiling was quite low, likely only about two meters in height. On the other side of the room was a short staircase that led to a trapdoor. The exit.
“For two centuries we have been trapped in this Hell,” Foulberto said in awe. “Now we can finally leave.”
He strode to the staircase and climbed up a few steps until his back was pressed against the wooden door. He called some of his crewmates to come and help him out, and with a mighty heave, they pushed and the door moved upward, letting in the moonlight. It seemed to be storming outside, and rain poured into the room. Davy noticed a bright light flash and then moments later the loud boom of thunder. Foulberto took no notice and closed his black eyes, walking up the steps into the air.
~~~~~~~~~~
The rain soaked Davy as he weakly stepped out into the rain. They had emerged in between two cliff faces. To their left side was a dead end, but to the right side there was a path that lead to the Raven’s Cove beach. A flash of lightning illuminated the path, and Davy could make out the choppy waters of the sea. He turned to see Foulberto as he helped the last of his men out. He then stomped his foot and bellowed as loud as thunder.
“MEN, WE ARE FREE!”
There was a loud cheering from the crew. Davy looked in wonder at the ghosts as their glows slowly disappeared and the black ghostly substance they were made of slowly turned into flesh. He watched as the crew examined themselves in awe.
“Real flesh,” one said. “It has been too long.”
“Ghosts of Raven’s Cove turn to flesh during the day,” Foulberto reminded them. “It must be day time now, despite the blackness of this storm. And there can only be one cause for a storm such as this…”
Davy noticed Foulberto’s hand edge towards one of his throwing knives. With a movement faster than the lightning that struck moments later, Foulberto drew one of the knives and sent it flying to something behind him. There was a grunt of pain and a thud. Lightning flashed, revealing the figure of a human body laying on the floor, a knife protruding from his throat, blood pouring out from the wound. Foulberto approached the figure and brutally yanked out the knife. He spat on the face of the person, and looked around him.
“Too afraid to face me one on one, you dog?” he bellowed. “Come now El Patron, even you aren’t as low as that!”
He knelt down, rubbing the blood of his knife and putting it back in its leather holder. He drew a pair of long battle daggers, and bellowed. He heard the sound of laughing in reply. Foulberto’s crew turned to the source to see the outline of a figure walking towards them from the darkness, surrounded by several others. Lightning lit up the night once more, revealing El Patron and nine other crewmates of his. El Patron had a large, black blade drawn, which he swung casually as he approached Foulberto. He was dressed in full Spanish Armor, minus the helmet. His long black hair whipped in the wind of the storm, and his eyes, even when he flesh and blood, had the faintest glow of red. Davy backed up nervously, knowing he was in no condition to fight El Patron.
El Patron did not make any move to fight, nor did his crew. Instead he walked up to his former first mate and his crew and stared at him for a few moments. He glanced at Davy at one point, taking note that he was indeed alive. He finally spoke.
“Well then Foulberto, I see you have made it out alive as well,” El Patron sneered. “Has your punishment in your little hole helped you to gather your thoughts?”
Foulberto scowled at El Patron, holding up his knives. “Aye, I’d say that it has.”
And then Foulberto did what Davy had never expected him to do. Davy watched in horror as Foulberto sheathed his daggers, and shook hands with his former captain.
“Welcome back to the crew, Mr. Smasho.”
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There you have it mates! I should be rolling out chapters really fast now, perhaps even two a week if I'm lucky. School's out tomorrow, so I will have a LOT of free time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come!