A Krawk Tale

      By candlelight at night, she would sit and read through her various books about the different lands, dreaming of the day when she could go and explore them. Her most favorite of all places was Shenkuu. It was a very newly discovered place, not many on Krawk Island even knew what it was, but Ana did. She couldn't wait to learn a about the culture, and spend days in deserts and jungles instead of on a sandy beach shore. She would not be stuck on this tiny island for the rest of her life, she vowed to herself every night silently before she went to sleep.

      One day while cleaning a particularly messy table, she overheard a conversation that could lead to all her dreams coming true.

      "I'm tellin' yer Mont, tis gold!" a pirate Yurble at a table away was whispering urgently to his companion, who was another pirate.

      "There be no way to know! And I for one be not about to go nosin' around that little island, the rumors about that place is enough to scare me," Mont told the Yurble.

      "What rumors?"

      "That Scarblade has been hidin' out thar, that the Krawken is over thar gettin' bigger and stronger, and what about those pirates that go over thar to explore and never come back? I'm not goin'!"

      The Yurble sat back with a grunt and took a long gulp of his ale.

      "But I have heard that is where Gavril be keepin' all his dubloons and treasure from when he was a pirate! Why else would he have led that island over thar when he was puttin' all the rest together?"

      Mont shook his head stubbornly. "No."

      "Mont, it could be worth fortunes, and I don't want to go alone."

      Mont drained the last of his mug and got up from the table.

      "I said no, Garet."

      The Yurble scowled, and sipped from his drink. He sat and pondered for a while and then finally got up and walked out slowly, mumbling the whole way out the door.

      Ana could barely breathe at the thought of all of her dreams being mere miles away on that small island to the north. She knew that if treasure could even possibly be on that island anywhere she would find it. The dangers didn't even concern her, she would just avoid them to the best of her ability. Maybe one day after exploring the island and discovering its secrets, they would name it after her! The first thing she would need was a boat, she thought.

      Ana saved for two weeks, forgetting all other bills and putting all into a savings jar for a boat. She stayed late at work, and she worked harder and faster than ever to get some nice tips from those pirates that forever filled the restaurant. Using her savings and the dubloons she earned, she went down to the Warf Wharf and found a small boat anchored in the water with a sign saying 'For Sale'.

      "How much do you want for this little boat?" Ana asked a green Gelert who was standing against a pillar looking out over the bay, munching on a bag of fishy smelling chips.

      He rubbed his chin and looked over at the boat.

      "I'm quite fond of the little thing actually. I won't take less than fifty dubloons."

      She gasped inwardly; she only had forty dubloons saved. That was a bigger price tag than she could even imagine. So she needed to haggle a bit.

      "FIFTY? That thing is barely worth ten!"

      The Gelert gave her a smile and put another chip in his mouth, the fishy smell getting stronger.

      "Ten is way too little. I may take forty-five for it."

      "I could get a full sized ship for that much, sir! I will take the tiny thing from you for twenty dubloons! And that is a good deal!"

      He chuckled.

      "You are a bargainer, aren't you. Very well, twenty-five and it's yours to row home in."

      Ana smiled brightly and wanted to jump up and down.

      "Deal."

      They shook hands and she counted out dubloons to him. He grabbed the rope for the boat and pulled it over to the dock so she could get in.

      "Thanks a lot!" she yelled as she rowed out of the harbor and towards the beach where her small shack on the sand was. Ana spent the rest of the day getting ready to leave for the small island the next morning. Food, a jug of water, a lantern, a change of clothes, shovel, rope, a blanket and other odds and ends filled the boat. She glued a small statue of the water faerie to the front, hoping it would give her good favor with the deep water that surrounded Krawk Island.

      The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, and Ana's heartbeat began to pound in her chest. She first had to get her little rowboat around Krawk Island, which would be a little difficult with the jagged shoreline where she lived on the beach. She lived right next to the Buried Treasure beach and would have to travel a ways to get to the little island.

      Her first thought when she left her house and got in the boat, was what kind of treasure was waiting on the island ahead, and what she would buy first. The waters were cold and treacherous, and every now and then she swore she saw a tentacle or two lurking just below her boat. But she kept rowing, ignoring the sun beating down and just focusing on the rhythmic movements.

      She made it past Krawk Island and took a break to eat a sandwich and gulp down some water. Her whole body was tired and sweaty from the effort it took to row the boat, but she turned and the sight of the small island in the distance gave her a renewed energy and she began to row again. All of a sudden a huge mass of fog came through and Krawk Island was no longer visible. A pulse of fear shot through her at not being able to see her only home. She took a calming breath and looked towards the smaller island now, putting Krawk Island behind her. Signs came into view, warnings to stay out, and turn back now, but Ana barely glanced at them, ignoring every one.

      Suddenly her boat met solid land. Ana was never seen on Krawk Island again.

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      "Gran!" Alex the young JubJub whined. "That can't be all! What happened to her?"

      "Yeah, what happened?" his little sister, a baby Acara named Caira, piped up.

      Gran looked at the children from where she sat in her rocking chair her wise old Krawk eyes wrinkled.

      "She might have found treasure, or she may have not."

      Alex groaned loudly.

      "Off to bed now, you two, it's getting a little late," Gran told the two children, her hand rubbing a small statue in her pocket, and her memories swirling around in her head.

The End