21 March 1718

Cap’ns log….or, well, not so much o’er cap’n without a ship. Arrr…

Made ‘er fire. Slept on the beach o’ Crooks Hollow. Aye, it were alright, cept I got a load of sand in me boots. Still no sign of ’em blasted mutineers either. Aye, I’ll be savin’ me bullets for ’em. Ne’evr trustin’ anyone for a crew again.

Some fishermen found me in the mornin’. Saw the fire, n said they’d get me back to Sanctuary if I shared me last drops o rum and played the accordion. Me dad were a fisherman, so I also said I could ‘elp ‘im with their catch.

Shame it were a rickety ol’ boat and ‘ard goin’ for three strappin’ lads such as o’erselves but we made it work.

It were on the way back when I were in the middle of yankin’ up a carp when I spotted me ship at The Sunken Grove. Aye, those fools had just abandoned it there and scurried off somewhere else.. Just needed a bit o’er loving care and patch work. Not perfect, but better than nuttin’. The Shelly Shore sails again and will strike fear into the ‘earts of all. Arrr

Yet, fer some reason, the fishermen didn’t seem keen in gettin’ on me Sloop. Ahhh, they prefer to spend time with ‘er sharks, I shuldna wonder.

Back at Sanctuary, I went straight fer the Order of the Souls, but instead o’er the women I saw there before, there were this creepy ol’ man. She musta known what she did to me, sendin’ me to the isle o’er the undead and scarpered. I dun’ blame ‘er. I holds me cutlass out at the man and tells him, if she e’er comes back, Cap’n Yar TTomlliw sends ‘is regards. Arrr. That’ll give her summin’ to really be scared about.

Weary from me journies, I take a lot off at the tavern and start tellin’ the locals o’er the maiden voyage. As much as I ‘ate to admit it, I’ll need a crew to really earn my way, but instead of recruitin’, e’eryone is laughin’. Callin’ me mad fer thinkin’ there be a Kraken. Aye, just they wait n’ see. I gets laughed outta the tavern and nearly gets into a brawl on the way out. Scurvy landlubbers…

With ‘er sigh, I ‘ead back to me Sloop. Time to chart the ocean for the next big voyage, but before I boards, this skitterish lookin’ fellow comes over to me from this group called the Gold Hoarders. I tells him the last time I fell in with a group and he says he could have told me not to trust them Order of the Souls lot. Name ‘is Horace and says if I really want to make some money, he knows a way.

Tells me of this legend at Smuggler’s Cove where I can pick up this seafarer’s chest. If I get it and bring it back to ‘im, I’ll get me share. Says he just passes treasure maps onto associates like me and if I come back with the chest, I get some of the spoils. Seems fair enough, I s’pose.

I give him a nod and a wink, take the map and away I go.

Them seas were choppy. Really hard going and violent. Threw me little ship about as I tried to follow the map. I’d often get veered off course and sent spirallin’ towards islands, havin’ near misses. It’s then I realised bein’ on me own is ‘ard.

Ma always told me I weren’t a team player. Says I were born a lone wolf. Mebbe she right, I never really ‘ad a good friend to rely on. Nobody to back me up or count on. E’en now, I’m thinkin’ of takin’ this chest and keepin’ it fer meself. I’m doin’ the ‘ard work, why shouldn’t I?

But then again, if I get these maps regular, I could make even more money and be notorious fer collectin’ all these mythical treasures. I’d be a legend and e’erybody would want to join me crew. Cept I’d have to share it with ’em and I ain’t sure thas’ summin’ I’m ‘appy wit.

I’ll go it alone. I’ll be the firs’ pirate tha’ does. Like tha’ legendary monkey who supposedly charted a ship on his ‘own. If a monkey can do it, so can I. Arrr! Who needs frien’s?

Not me, fer I foun’ the island as soon as the weather cleared up. Tho’ the place were a bit unsettlin’ with a cloud shaped like a skull with flashin’ eyes. Aye, legend schmegend, this’ll be the place and I’ll brin’ home the gold.

Divin’ in the water, I swim to shore, seeing debris, scattered doubloons, abandoned campfires all surrounded by luscious vegetation. This were a pretty spot, mebbe somewhere to house a secret stash. Still, no immediate clues as to where to find the gold, just an X marks on the spot on a small off shore island. Mebbe thinks I’ll ‘ave to dig.

Cept, the spot to which its pointin’ is leadin’ me to a bed of skulls and wild roamin’ boars. Aye, I’m startin’ to think someone else is ‘avin fun at me expense. I’ve been fooled again. There’s nothin ‘ere.

Angrily, I start slumpin’ around and tear the map to shreds. What a waste of me time this ‘as been. Lookin’ out at the settin’ sun, I start to wonder whether I shoulda just stuck to bein’ a fishermen. There were money in tha’. Aye, I stunk most days and ne’er saw a lassie come more than five feet away from me, but I weren’t bein’ mugged off. I knew what I were doin’. I had friends…

This were a stupid idea…

Least I can do is kill a boar and have summin’ to eat before I set out again. But as I chase the thing, it skitters and scutters away, running down into an old abandoned cave. Me brow furrows, I ‘adnt noticed this before.

Pullin’ out a lantern, I venture a little deeper. The place is stone cold, a weird feeling after comin’ off from the warm sea breeze. There be a windin’ path downward, mushrooms growin’ outta cave walls and a waterfall trickling intae flowin’ stream. Mebbe there be more to this place afterall.

There be a sudden rustlin’ to me left and the boar darts forward, running away from me again. I grit me teeth and chase after it, firing a warning shot into the air but missing it by miles. Arrr, blasted thing! I chase it deeper into the cave, keen to explore, but also desperate to fill me belly with some sustenance.

I hear ano’er rustlin’, but this one sounds different. More clattery, than chittery. This weren’ the sound o’er hooves. It’s a familiar sound, one I …

CLANG! I ‘ad a split second to react as a blade came down on top o me. A skeleton were about to cleave me head off. I’d be shocked to see the undead if I hadn’a just a day before, but instead I were able to fight back instantly and kill not one, but two of the fiends.

This is unusual. Somethin’ ain’t right about all this, where they comin’ from?

Not more important then the treasure, right now. I need to get it and leave. And sure enough, I find both the boar and the chest together. The beast had led me to the thing, how bout that? When I lifted me sword to strike, it just looked up at me with sad eyes. I couldna do that to it, not now. Not after it had givin’ me the biggest pay day of me life. I sheathed the blade, grabbed the chest and let the beast run off. A banana will have to do fer dinner.

It were a hot and sweaty job gettin’ back to the ship, but I got the chest on deck. After a moment’s deliberation about where to go and what to do next, I decided to take a chance on the Gold Hoarders and set course back for the Sanctuary. Horace were very pleased to see me.

He were good as ‘is word as well. I made me 181 gold pieces. Not bad fer a days work, and certainly left me in a healthier position than them Order of the Souls lot. We agreed to make this a regular thing, shakin’ on it and everythin’. Aye, Horace is an alright sort.

Drinks were on me that night. Suddenly, the tavern seemed a lot more interested in what I had to say. Mebbe I’ll even find a crew mate to join me on some other escapade. Fer now, tho, a hot meal, warm bed and a tankard o ale will serve me just fine….