Concerning Smugglers: Part Five

It was dark, it was smelly, it was dank. The water seemed to stick to Kip as he made his way to the sea bed. The odd cloying sensation of a water current was like nothing he had felt before, like something was pushing him back, against his will. He shook himself. Superstitious nonsense, he thought. It was a good thing that Flotsam are naturally inclined to work well under water, whatever the depth, the lack of sight and the pressure were non-issues for the lovers of water.

     "Suppose I come across some sort of Chasm Beast." The cabin boy shuddered. "But no, surely the Maraquans have enough pirates to deal with to bother about some Smugglers of the Cove."

     The water seemed endless, even though he knew that it couldn't be more than thirty metres deep. Kip felt like he had been swimming for hours, struggling against the current to get close to The King's Sceptre. Then it appeared, blurring into his vision. At first, only a vague, deep shape, but as he crept closer to the figure separate parts came into view. A mast was the first identifiable feature, then the bow, even now seeming to be crashing through the waves.

     The ship was lying on its side in the deep water, beside the largest rock formation that Kip had ever seen. Treacherous it would be for any ship that was sucked into the allure of the possible safe land that was Three-Leaf Isle. Squinting into the black as he swum ever closer, he could just make out the figurehead of the ship, a hand, battered by the pressure, clutching a sceptre. This confirmed Kip's suspicions. This was The King's Sceptre. He felt excited, a warm growing within him as his heartbeat increased filling his ears.

     Kip felt a calming pulse come over him, as if this extraordinary event had just been made completely irrelevant and trivial. Rather than feeling overwhelmed with excitement and expectation he felt, well, normal. The feeling ended and fiery determination entered his heart again.

     "What do you see, Kip?" came a voice from behind the Flotsam. Kip turned around startled, but only the empty sea greeted him.

     "Who's there?" he quavered. "I- I don't believe in ghosts."

     There was a sigh.

     "The mirror, Kip," came the voice. "Look at the mirror."

     Feeling foolish, Kip unfastened the mirror from the rope around his fin, transferring it to his left hand. Placing his other over the mirror, he copied Bellamy from earlier, muttering Fenestra. The mirror seemed to momentarily blur, and his face was replaced by that of a peering face, peaked with a broad hat topped with a preposterously red feather.

     "Ah," said Bellamy, seemingly delighted. "You've solved how to perform the incantation necessary for mutual communication to be performed."

     "Yes, yes," came the rough voice of the Gelert Captain. "How successful has he been? Has he found the treasure yet?"

     "Not quite yet, Captain," replied Kip to this indirect question. "I've just reached the ship. The currents have been problematic, and the swim tiring."

     "Well, le' us no' be holdin' you any lon'er then, Kip," added Bert, joining the conversation. "We'll be keepin a' eye ou' for ye, though."

     Kip nodded. Holding the mirror in his mouth, he swam above the ship. It was similar to The Lost Sail in design. At one end, a high cabin where a door, split off its hinges, was hanging lopsidedly. On deck, there was a great trapdoor, presumably beneath which the holds were. There was also a second deck at the bow of the ship. Kip had a momentary pang for the galley of The Lost Sail, and the easy life that carving the potatoes had brought him. He could see Crag the Kacheek now, shuffling his way through the thin galley. The light down here was about as dim, even to the eyes of a Flotsam, as the dingy room he slept in. Kip shook himself out of the self-induced reverie and stared around him once more.

     The trapdoor was the obvious first choice for the cabin boy; down here would be the most likely hiding place for a kingdom's treasure. He approached with caution, and tapped the lock. It held fast. Kip inspected it. The lock looked heavy, years of age had not affected its ability to hinder a pirate's thirst for gold.

     "Captain," he said into the mirror, showing him the lock, "I don't think I can get into the hold without a key."

     "Hmm," Captain Ratner mused, "that looks rather like a custom Moltaran lock. I didn't even know Moltara performed commissioned devices back in the time of The King's Sceptre; perhaps the Altadorians hold some secrets still. You'll certainly need the key for these lock."

     "Aye, that's right," interjected Bellamy. "Perhaps the Captain's cabin would be the most sensible place to search for it, Kip. It's probably similar to the lock. Of course I could perhaps perform a cross analysis between known lock types and manufacturing specifications to obtain the exact..."

     "Jus' look for a big key," the First Mate Bert interrupted. "You'll fin' i' alrigh'."

     Kip shuffled his way towards the door to the cabin at the rear. If all ships were the same, then the Captain's cabin would be the door open on the second floor. Squeezing himself through the door, he entered. It was no darker in the room than outside it; what little light there was streamed through the ancient broken slats in the wood above. The ship creaked ominously, audible even at this depth. Dust scattered across the shattered furniture in the cabin, glimmers of red and purple showing the riches and prosperity that this ship once held. As he shifted his way further in, the dust flew up around, blurring his vision further. Squinting through the darkness, he spied a shimmer of light, like a star twinkling high above.

     With powerful strokes, Kip approached the light. There it was, in plain view, resting underneath an upturned desk. Kip marvelled at his luck. Perhaps the jostling, sinking ship had shifted it from an old hiding place. He reached for the key, placing one fin firmly around it. It seemed alluring, the beginning of riches. Lifting it seemed to be a strain on his arms and his mind. He rose from the floor carefully, examining the key in with both hands. It was very similar to the lock, albeit appearing slightly less rusty. He shivered with excitement. This was definitely the key; he knew it.

     He swam back to the ship's deck. Key in hand, he approached the lock. He slotted it in gently, the key fit the lock like a sword to a sheath. He turned, the lock jarred. Clearly the corroding effect of years gone by had clammed up the inner works. He withdrew his trusty kitchen knife, sliding it in the gap between the key and the lock. He struggled to fully twist the key, jogging the knife to clear the rust. With a final jerk, the lock gave and creaked open. Bubbles escaped from the metal as he unfastened it from the hatch with fumbling hands. They drifted lazily upwards, winding softly towards to the surface high above. Kip took a deep breath, lifting the hatch with both hands, hardly daring to look. He felt a warmth come over him, Kip creaked one eye open.

     "Wow."

     This one word sufficed to describe the contents of the hold. Kips eyes gleamed as he gazed upon the cargo of The King's Sceptre, taking in more items with each passing gaze. This was it, the treasure the Pirates of Smugglers Cove had been searching for all this time, and he, Kip, was the first one to see this since time immemorial. There was nothing many a Neopet would not have done to have even a spoonful of the contents.

     "Well, lad?" the Gelert Captain asked. "What do you see? Is it the treasure?"

     Even the seasoned Captain of The Lost Sail could hardly hold back a note of excitement in his voice as he spoke to the cabin boy. Kip removed the mirror from his mouth, turning it to face him.

     "You're hardly going to believe this, Captain," he said, watching as the three pirates on the ship squeezed closer together, each trying to be the first to glimpse the treasure through the mirror. "It's everything you could have ever wanted. And more."

     He turned the mirror to the hold. The three pirates let out an audible silence. A minute passed, as they gazed upon the wealth. Coins of gold, silver dubloons and ancient maractite coins were just but a few of the treasures held. From corner to corner, the hold was full of glittering gold, sparkling diamonds and bright red rubies. It was indeed a riches of a kingdom held in one unfortunate ship. The petty dubloons Kip had such a precious hold of were but drops in the ocean by comparison.

     "This is beyond words," said Bellamy in wonder. "I daren't think we need to ever pirate again. Just a handful of that bounty would allow a lifetime of luxury."

     "Aye," said Bert hoarsely. "It's hundre'-fol' more tha' I dare' to dream..."

     "Well done. Well done indeed, young Kip," murmured Captain Rather. "How much can you bring back?"

     "I'm not sure I'd ever be able to bring it all back, Sir... Cap'n," said Kip. "I mean, there are only so many days in a year."

     "Tha' there be," Bert said. "Crikey, we'll be 'ere for some time, Cap'n."

     "Yes, yes," said the Captain, before shaking himself out of the reverie. "Right, Kip, get a handful of that gold. We need something to show the crew their trust in us was well placed. We'll get the rest when..."

     Kip heard a crash coming from within the mirror. He turned it to face him again, glimpsing the panicking face of Bellamy as his hand filled the screen. 'Reddo', he heard the Lenny murmur. Kip knew then that he could not be seen from the other side. The Flotsam squinted into the mirror's depth, watching intently as the scene unfolded before him.

     "What's the meaning of this intrusion?" barked Captain Ratner angrily. "How dare you come into the Captain's quarters without due permission."

     "I'm afraid," came the weasely voice of Vinny the Techo as he walked into view, "that my crew don't consider you the Captain anymore, Mister Ratner."

     "This is mu'iny," said Bert with equal anger, unsheathing Sally his sword, "An' you know wha' we do to mu'ineers on this ship."

     "Ah, but you see," said Vinny, wagging a finger, "if I'm now the captain, by common assent, then surely you be the mutineers, and I a loyal shipmate?"

     "Mutiny is mutiny," growled Captain Ratner, "despite your clever words, Vinny."

     "Captain Vinny, I'm afraid Mister Ratner," said the green Techo, with a laugh in his voice.

     "You'll never be a Captain," replied Captain Ratner. "Not whilst my blade is still sharp!"

     With that Bert and Captain Ratner readied their swords and leapt out of the sight of the mirror. Kip could only stare open mouthed...

To be continued...