Marcel was sitting on the edge of the dock where ships came and went endlessly. The smell of the salty water took him to a dreamy state and left himself taken by the sound of the waves. He was humming a pirate song he heard when he was younger. "There you are, again on this spot" a familiar voice woke him up. "How long has it been?" he asked the person behind him slowly raising his body. "Just a couple of hours, the tavern should be empty by now" the person continued, "This time we might find something new about that". He stood up and stretched his hands above his head, "When do you think we will set sail for the first time?" said Marcel with his voice full of excitement. "In a couple of days, perhaps weeks, maybe even months..." With a hint of disappointment Greg answered. "Even if it will take years, I will not give up on my dream" Marcel turned around and grabbed Greg's shoulder. "You and I against the world my friend, we will fight and grab it with our own hands" and they headed towards the tavern where the tavern master was waiting for them.
The door slowly opened and inside the others were waiting. "Aye captain," they said. "Aye," Marcel greeted them and sat at the table. "Why is Greg upset again?" Martha asked, "He got discouraged because we have not yet got a ship". The whole table started laughing, "And this you think will ever stop us?" Fred grabbed Greg and gave him a can of water and a piece of bread. Marcel stood up and went to the tavern master. The tavern master was tall and had a long beard, his left eye was made of glass and many people were scared about his menacing appearance, but he was more than fit to be a tavern master with all the pirates roaming the seas. "What news did they bring?", with a smirk the tavern master slammed a piece of paper and on it pointed a knife. "There young boy, you need to get there", "What is there?" Marcel asked without a hint of fear while the tavern master continued to play with the knife around the table. "That is the Black Lagoon, one of the main docks in all the Seven Seas". "And how do we get there?", "There is no how, it's when. You have to get there before the last blue moon this year". While they were talking the others gathered around, "You are not going to tell us why, are you?", the tavern master started laughing and slammed the knife in the map. "You need to find out for yourselves".
It was already late and they left the tavern with the map from the tavern master. The darkness was whispering throughout the dock, a gust of wind made Tim shiver. They went to their houses and waited for the morning. A couple of them including Marcel knew everything there is to know about the sea because of their vast experience with fishing. Fley Harbor was just another fishing town on the map where many pirate ships would stop by to resupply. The town was not big, but the people were very friendly with each other and they were helping anyone passing through their docks. Marcel and his friends on the other hand, even since their young days all swore to become pirates and sail the seas together. Gathering all kinds of information about what is out there, only made them more curious. They knew that supplies on a ship were essential, especially vegetables that had a long lifespan such as potatoes, carrots, and onions. But that was not all, water and in some cases wine were also part of the supplies on a ship, providing refuge on the hot days. Many mysteries remained unsolved on the sea, and stories kept flowing from them each one more different than the other. The blue blanket of water was something that everyone wanted to explore, but many would just give up halfway and remain on the land.
A couple more days passed by and Marcel with his friends were prepared enough to leave the Fley Harbor. They all gathered coins to be able to purchase the essentials of going to the Black Lagoon. All that was left was a ship. That was the hardest part of them all because in such a small town there were very few ships that could host six people, not to mention able to ride the wild waves of the sea. Marcel was very persuasive and convinced one of the elders who owned a ship to borrow it, not saying what he intended to do with it. The ship was old and there were a couple of holes in it, but Hulio's father helped them fix it in just a matter of days. No one knew when the last blue moon would be and they had to hurry up to Black Lagoon. On the last day of August, they took the old ship to the sea. "Marcel, Marcel" Rob was yelling, "What is it?", "Do you see what am I seeing?", "What?", "We are so far from the shore". "This is just the beginning my friend" Fred gently slapped Rob on the back, "We did it!" Greg exclaimed. "As Fred said, this is just the beginning, we have a long way to go". They gathered in the middle of the ship put their hands one above each other and exclaimed "To Black Lagoon".
They brought the ship back to the dock and started to load it with the supplies. "The day after tomorrow we set sail," Marcel told them and left towards the tavern. In the tavern there were a couple of people gathered one of them was Marcel's father. "What happened?", the people slowly turned around and gave Marcel the news. This year winter will be harder than the rest, because of the lack of fish. Most of the people in town were already too old to go on the sea and there were a couple of storms coming this way, or so the previous pirates said. "What can we do about it?" he asked with a trembling voice. The tavern master made his way towards Marcel. "I know what I have said about Black Lagoon, but the town needs you and your friends right now if you were to leave now, there would be a lot of uncertainties in the winter", the crowd agreed with the tavern master. Marcel left the tavern in tears. His father followed him and watched how he went to his friends who were preparing the ship. "Stop, stop with everything, we are not going anywhere," words said between tears. "What happened?" everyone got off the ship and gathered around Marcel. He could not stop his tears and was just mumbling words that no one was able to understand. His father came and explained the situation their town was this year. "Hey, chin up, we have the ship, we can gather more supplies next year and make it" Tim tried to reassure Marcel. "Is there nothing we can do other than stay here and fishing?" Greg asked Marcel's father. "There is something, but there will be a lot of people disagreeing with it," he said while leaving out some sighs. "You could go now and return with enough supplies for the town to make it through the winter, or you could stay and help, both choices are up to you, and we are well aware that we are fully depending on you" he continued. "For now, take your time, all of you, and think about it" he finished and left back to the tavern to propose this option to the other people.
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After they heard the bad news they started to take out the supplies from the ship and put them back in the storage. Marcel went home in tears that day, and kept thinking about it, about what his father proposed. It was something that allowed them to do both of the tasks without compromising anything. But he was not sure about the others and had to consider their feelings as well. After all, everyone in the town including their families depended on their help. The next day Marcel woke up around noon, he was still upset. He decided to go fishing to take his mind off it, even if just a little bit. On his way to the docks, he noticed that not many people were around. The empty streets and the cloudy sky made him even more upset. Marcel picked up the pace to the point where he was running toward the docks. Right before reaching the docks he slowed down and stopped, hearing people talking, and women sobbing. He approached the docks slowly and he could now believe what his eyes were seeing. His friends along with some other people were loading back the supplies into their ship. Hulio noticed Marcel and yelled, "Hurry up, or we are going to leave you here". "What is the meaning of this? What happened?", from behind him a warm hand grabbed his shoulder while another patted his head. "They agreed to my proposal yesterday, and you are going on your adventure for all of our sakes," his father said. His mother was in tears but at the same time, she supported him and his friends and was wishing the best on their journey. Marcel was speechless, his eyes were flooded and everyone around him was looking at him. "We are ready captain" a muffled voice went through his ears, it was Tim. The tavern master came to see them off as well and gifted Marcel a hat fit for a captain. It was made from black leather with pointy ends and an emerald green feather. "Follow the dirt path to the edge of the world, there you will find your place to stay" the tavern master whispered in Marcel's ear and left. "What did he say?" Greg asked while raising the anchor. "It was a riddle, I think it was related to the place we need to get to, that is Black Lagoon".
They were prepared to leave the dock of Fley Harbor and everyone from the town came to see them off. Their parents were in tears and so were their precious children. This was their first step in the unknown waters, guided only by an old torn map from the tavern master. Everyone was waving and cheering for them, as they were getting away from the shore. Everyone on the ship had conflicted thoughts about their goal, but Marcel gathered them together and encouraged them, telling them that everything would be fine and that they would make it back to the town with a ton of supplies for the winter. They had around two long months until the cold would set on the Fley Harbor. In this time they had to gather enough supplies to last a winter. Usually, autumns were filled with storms and wild waves on the sea, but this time, as they were leaving it was calm. The wind was blowing in their sails and in a couple of minutes, they could not see the shore anymore. "We need to head South-East," Hulio said slightly agitated. "Why are you so restless?" Fred asked while leaning on the mast. "The wind is blowing West, and there is no need for me to explain why this is not good". "Give me the map and lower the sails," said Marcel with a calm voice, "We will get to Black Lagoon in seven days, because of the wind". The reassuring words coming from Marcel made everyone relax just a bit and they returned to their posts. Each one was playing an important role on the ship, but they knew that going forward they would need more people. There were not enough people in Fley Harbor courageous and thirsty for adventure to join them, neither did they have to, because of the dire situation the town was in.