They set sail in the morning, Bia hugged the old couple and promised to return with many more stories. The weather was nice and they had a good start towards the Black Lagoon. On their way, Tim saw much wood floating in the water. As they approached the spot they saw two ships destroyed, unable to sail. "Who would have done something like this?" said Bia while looking in the water. "On the sea, there are no rules, everyone can do as they please, which in this case they did," said Fred. "But this is too much don't you think?" said Bia. "This is what we also heard that not everyone is nice on the sea and we should be prepared," said Greg while looking sad. Anna hugged Bia and took her away from the deck. Hulio saw something moving in the water. Under all the rubbles he saw a hand. Hulio and Rob went down to the leader to take a closer look. It was a small boy under a plank. They took him on the ship and helped him regain consciousness. Greg and Fred grabbed the floating barrels and other things that could be useful for them from the destroyed ships and then they continued their way to Black Lagoon. A couple hours later the boy woke up panicked. "Where am I?" he started yelling. "Leave me alone!" he started running on the deck. Anna and Bia went to him and he calmed down. "You are safe now," said Anna. "What happened with your ship and the others?" asked Bia. He looked around and saw the others and then he decided to start talking. "We were attacked by a ship out of nowhere. Everyone from my crew was captured or thrown in the water". "We only saw you, do you have any idea where are the others that got thrown?" asked Hulio. "No. As soon as they threw me I hit my head and was barely conscious," the boy said while crying. Everyone felt sorry for him and tried to help, but everything they did was in vain. Bia went to Marcel and asked if they could make a detour. "Where to?" asked Marcel. "It should be somewhere around here" she pointed at the map. "Hmm... Why not?" he said and turned the helm. The night has come and they all gathered on the deck for dinner. The boy was still sad and shy, but Marcel and his crew were friendly and slowly but surely made him feel better.
They anchored the ship and everyone rested through the night. In the morning they continued sailing the ship to the island Bia asked for. This island was known for its thermal waters even during cold seasons. And many people were going there to recover from hard and long journeys. She thought that it would be a good idea to go there after their journey and also maybe it would help the boy in some way. As they were approaching the island a lot of ships were passing by. It felt like Black Lagoon in some way. The island did not have a specific name, but the shape of the island that changed over the years now resembled a harp. Marcel left the ship at the docks and paid for three days. The rest went into the town to look for a place to stay. Most of the taverns were already full or had reservations. The only places left were the expensive taverns, which also had a free pass for thermal water for the stay. Marcel and Greg decided to stay even if they would spend more. They needed this holiday after all that happened since they left Fley Harbor. As soon as they entered the tavern they were welcomed by the tavern master and the maids. Marcel asked for the rooms for three days, the tavern master gave them a huge discount considering the time they stayed and the amount of rooms they took. After they saw the rooms they went to the thermal waters. The tavern they stayed at had a private place for the thermal waters. It was split into two sections for males and females. Before they went into the changing rooms the small boy they saved went towards the female section. "This way," said Greg. "Ehm... I am not a boy" she said. Everyone was confused watching at each other. Then Anna and Bia came and confirmed that the person they saved was not a boy but a girl. Her short hair and flat chest made everyone think otherwise. They spent the rest of the day bathing in the thermal water and relaxing. When the night came they ate dinner at the tavern. This tavern offered them a menu and a lot of the food they saw on it was not the usual food they served before. When they finished ordering the food, they had to wait a couple of minutes until it was finished. The maids and the tavern master came with silver plates and served the food. Everyone felt like kings and queens that night.
"Ah... The price difference is noticeable" said Greg while lying in bed. "Yes, but we still need to save a lot for the supplies," said Marcel. Greg jumped out of the bed. "I almost forgot about that!" he yelled. "We still have plenty of treasure, but I am not sure it will be enough for the whole winter," said Marcel. "First thing when we get back to Balck Lagoon we should look into the next riddle. If we are successful once again it might be enough" Greg said and sat back down. "For now let us relax and have fun," said Marcel. The next morning they ate breakfast and then explored the rest of the island. The town was crowded and Duke got lost. When they realized that he got lost everyone started looking for him. He was nowhere to be found. "He knows where the tavern is, we will for sure meet him there," said Greg. And then everyone continued their holiday. Anna, Bia and the other girl went to clothing shops. Anna used her skill and stole a captain's wallet, allowing her to purchase a dress for each of them. Marcel and Greg went back to the tavern and remained there hearing other people talking about treasures and journeys. Tim and Rob went to the ship and ordered the remaining supplies as well as cleaned the deck. Fred was relaxing in the thermal water. When the night came they all met back at the tavern. Duke was still missing. "Where could he be?" Hulio asked. "I have no idea, let us go and search for him again. We can not let him leave like that" said Greg and got up from the table. As soon as they opened the door they saw Duke. "Where have you been?" asked Marcel. He was sad and did not say a word. He thought that he was getting scolded but it was the opposite. "You made us worry" continued Marcel. "Come here!" Greg grabbed him and took him to the tavern. Right before he stepped in, Duke stopped and said "I can not leave him alone". "Leave who?" Rob asked. From behind Duke's leg, a small dirty dog came. "I was looking for his owner the whole day, but no luck," Duke said and crouched petting the dog. The dog waved his tail. "Are we allowed with animals in the tavern?" Marcel asked the tavern master. "Of course!" he replied. "You heard him, until you find the owner you can keep him with you," said Marcel. "He needs a bath, he stinks," said Anna and went towards the dog. The dog started growling. "It is fine, they are my friends," said Duke, and the dog calmed down. After they cleaned up the dog he was unrecognizable. "Tomorrow is our last day here, what are you going to do with him if you do not find its owner?" asked Marcel. "I don't know" answered Duke looking sad. "Why not take him with us?" said Bia. "That would be a good idea, and you can leave it with Jose when we are going on adventures" continued Greg. Duke's eyes opened wide and could not thank them enough. The dog was happy as well.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
The next day everyone helped Duke find the owner of the dog, but no one on the whole island recognized the dog or lost it. "Well, he is part of our crew now," said Marcel while playing with the dog. "We should name him," said Anna. "Hmm... Duke, what name do you think we should give him?" Marcel looked at him and asked. "Joy!" Duke answered. "That is a perfect name," Greg said. They spent the rest of the day at the thermal water together with Joy. It was their last night at the tavern and they enjoyed something special as their last dinner there. After a good night's sleep, they went back to the docks and left the island. "It was nice," said Bia. "Yes, thank you for everything," said the girl. "Everything happened so fast, I didn't even introduce myself, did I?" she continued. "Now that you mention it, no you did not," said Greg. "My name is Cleo. And I know it is a difficult question but for the time being, can I be part of your crew?" she asked. "You are more than welcome," Marcel said while turning the helm. "I can not thank you enough," Cleo said and started crying. After two more days on the sea, they reached Black Lagoon. Jose was waiting for them at the port. "Oh..." he said while the others were parking the ship. "What a beauty you have here!" he continued admiring the ship. "Of course!" said Bia. "Looks like the ship is not the only new addition," said Jose while laughing. "What is that supposed to mean?" Bia said angry. "Nothing, nothing..." said Jose. "Yes, we have quite a few more crew members," said Marcel with a smile on his face. "And who might be this little fur ball?" Jose asked while petting the dog. "He is Joy," said Duke while tying up the knots. "Joy? Interesting name. My tavern will be even more busy now" Jose continued. They all went back to the tavern. As soon as they entered they saw a lot of food and drinks. "We need to celebrate for the new members, right?" said Jose. And they sat down and had fun for the rest of the day. When the night came Marcel and Greg were outside and Jose joined them. They were talking about Fley Harbor. "Are you heading back home?" asked Jose. "We wanted to go on the next adventure, but it might take us longer than we expect and we can not let everyone on the island down," said Marcel. "How much did the ship cost?" asked Jose. "The ship was not the problem, I think we only spent around five thousand coins this whole trip," said Greg. "And how much you have left?" said Jose. "Probably thirty thousand, or something around that," said Marcel. "That will be plenty until your next adventure, but I will lend you another fifteen thousand coins just in case, and you can pay it back whenever you have it," said Jose. "We can not do that," said Marcel and Greg at the same time. "I insist," said Jose grabbing their shoulders. "You brought back to life my tavern, and I can do at least this much for you" he continued and went back inside. The next morning they went and bought supplies with all the coins they had and they fit perfectly in their new ship. "This is a lot indeed!" Hulio and Rob were watching the amount of supplies on the ship. "Maybe it will last through the winter," said Fred. They raised the sails and went towards the Fley Harbor. After a long journey, they were headed back home.