Novels2Search
Black Ship
Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The sea was calm, the wind was blowing in the sail everything was perfect. This time it took them seven days straight on the sea, but they were together with their new friends and it did not feel that long. They were sitting around a fire every night sharing stories from their lives. On the seventh night, they arrived at the Fley Harbor. It was empty, a cold gust of wind made everyone shiver. Marcel and the others went to their houses and their families were pleased to see them back. But they were exhausted from the cold weather, and their resources were scarce. They stayed in the same room to not spend so much wood on fire. Marcel went with the others to the tavern and they were welcome to stay the night for free. The next morning everyone gathered at the docks and saw the ship. It was beautiful. "Where is your old ship?" Marcel's mother asked him while touching the wood. "We were told that the old one would not make it with the amount of resources, and we got a new one" he answered. While Greg was coordinating everyone to unload the supplies Marcel was asking the people what they needed and made a list. Of course, a lot of people were afraid to ask the young man for more than he already had, but he insisted. After they were done unloading the supplies everyone gathered at the tavern. The tavern master was waiting for them. "Hmm..." he breathed in his hands, "You found him after all, I am proud of you!" he continued. "Are you referring to Jose?" Marcel asked him while leaning against the door. "Of course, I almost forgot his name," the tavern master said and began laughing. "You two know each other?" Marcel said with a curious look on his face. "We were on the same crew" the tavern master whispered and patted Marcel's shoulder. Marcel was speechless as everyone else was entering the tavern. "Come on, you will let the cold out," the tavern master said and closed the door behind Marcel. "Now, now, what is your next move?" the tavern master asked. Greg signaled Marcel and he put the map on the table. "This!" Marcel pointed at the map. "But before this, we need this one" he continued and put the list of supplies needed. The majority of the list was manageable without a large amount of coins. "I see," said the tavern master. Marcel asked Greg to prepare the ship because they wanted to leave early in the evening. They wanted to solve the wood issue and they already marked the island where they will go. Anna, Joy, and Cleo remained in Fley Harbor while everyone else went with Marcel. They emptied the ship and made sure they had enough space to fit the wood. They sailed through the cold night towards the island where they would plunder the wood. After a long harsh night, they arrived at the island along with the sun lighting their way. Bia helped them pick the best wood for fire and loaded the ship to the point where it was too heavy. "Hmm... Should we unload some and come back later?" asked Rob. "If the sea is calm tonight we should not have any problems," said Bia. They left in the afternoon and the ship was slower. The sail along with the wind were trying their best to move the loaded ship. The sea was calm enough to not pose them any troubles on their way back. They reached the port of Fley Harbor past midnight. They left the ship on the docks and went to sleep. They were exhausted. The morning came and everyone saw the ship back, but there was no trace of Marcel or the others. They were still resting. While they were resting the people from the island unloaded the wood from the ship.

They have slept all day and woke up in the evening. Marcel was rubbing his eyes while he went out the door. His family along with his crew were waiting for him to wake up. It was his birthday. After all that happened he almost forgot. It was fourteen November already, the winter was closing in and the light outside grew weaker. They celebrated his birthday the whole night. Anna, Tim, and Hulio with a bit of help from Marcel's mother made a cake decorated with cacao powder. In the morning the town woke up and saw the snow blanket which bedded overnight. It was a thin layer, but it was also early in November, this was signaling a harsh winter to the old people. "Where to next?" a voice was heard by Marcel. He turned around and saw his crew ready. "We should look into the next riddle and start from there" Marcel straightened up and put the map on the table. "Water is wet, the sky is blue, sand is golden so is the treasure, red is the mark that the blackbird marked". Everyone was confused. "Everything in this riddle my head spin," said Greg. "Why?" asked Bia. "Because everything makes sense and does not make sense at the same time" he answered. "We do not have yet a starting point, but I am sure soon we will," said Marcel. "Should we remain here until we have some clue about the riddle?" asked Anna. "But that could take days, maybe months," said Rob. "We do not have that kind of time," said Marcel and got up from the table. "We are still not sure if the supplies will last, we need more and we need the treasure to get them" he continued. "We can spare a couple more days until we leave on the sea again," said Greg while grabbing Marcel's stiff shoulder. "I know you feel responsible for everyone, but we are also in this, do not forget about that" he continued and Marcel relaxed. A couple of hours later Marcel met with the tavern master. "What do you plan to do now?" the tavern master asked Marcel which was lost in his thoughts. "For now wait, I have no clue where to start with the new treasure map and neither does my crew" Marcel answered. "Give it three more days, enjoy your holidays here, who knows when you will come back next time?" the tavern master said. "What do you mean?" Marcel looked into his eyes and saw that he was serious about it. "Fine..." he sighed, "Three more days? No more, no less" he continued and left. They spent the rest of the days in Fley Harbor and with each day they felt that they would miss it when they set sail. The amount of resources was not moving, which was a good sign for now.

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The third day had finally come and Marcel was impatient. He was going from left to right in the tavern and everyone from his crew was watching him. "What happened with him?" Hulio whispered to Greg. "Beat me if I know, he has been like this since morning" Greg whispered back. "Then why not ask him?" Rob butted in. "Are you crazy? Read the room. He is going to explode if there is even one little noise" Hulio said. Right as they were speaking the door slowly opened and the tavern master entered. Marcel stopped and looked at him. "So?" Marcel said while walking towards the tavern master. "So what?" the tavern master was confused. "This is our third day, what now?" Marcel asked and sat down. "Yes it is indeed, looks like you still know how to count," the tavern master said with a grin on his face. "But did I not mention that those days have to be whole?" he continued. "No, you did not and neither I can see why a couple more hours can change anything," Marcel said. "Hmm... Why so impatient? Take a sit, take a sip, relax, enjoy. Here you are not with enemies at the table" the tavern master said and was preparing the drinks for everyone. "Do not worry, the drinks are on me tonight. After all, we will have a special guest" the tavern master said as the night was coming to Fley Harbor. "Special guest? What special guest?" everyone was looking at each other and only a few of them caught on as the mist in the tavern started pouring from beneath the door. Marcel rushed outside and heard the familiar pirate song from Black Lagoon. His eyes were wide open and looked up. It was indeed a blue moon. Suddenly his memories started flooding Marcel's brain and remembered the conditions that Captain Frown asked for his help. Marcel was a bit disappointed that he only had four more people on his crew, and not the six that were asked. He did not expect that the next blue moon would happen so soon. Marcel went back inside and waited. Captain Frown opened the door and his crew entered the tavern. They were welcomed by the tavern master and Captain Frown remained in the door. He signaled Marcel to bring his crew outside. The tavern filled in just a couple of minutes. "Hmm..." Captain Frown was looking at Marcel and his crew. "Hmm... You..." Marcel and everyone else were waiting for the words, as Captain Frown was adding more pressure on them. "Ah... Who am I kidding? Glad to see you again young one" he said and grabbed Marcel's shoulder. "We are glad to see you again as well," Marcel said. "I see that you have found just enough people for what I asked of you last time," Captain Frown said while rubbing his hands. "I knew you could do it" he continued. "What do you mean? We only have four more" Marcel said. "Eh... Do you think I am blind? My eyesight is not as great as it once was, but I can see five" Captain Frown said. "Five?" Marcel looked around. "Which five?" he asked again. Captain Frown got down to his knees and whistled. Joy came at him and started waving his tail. "See? Five... My eyesight is never wrong" Captain Frown said and got back up. "But you said at least six" Marcel continued with disappointment on his face. "Of course, I said that. But there is something that you would rarely find out there, although it is not impossible. I have a gift for you for achieving those five wonderful crewmates" said Captain Frown and turned around. He banged on the side of his ship anchored in front of the tavern. "Wake up Simon!" Captain Frown yelled as a tall man with pointy ears and fur on his hands got out of the ship. Everyone was frightened by his appearance. "He will be your map maker, reader, and so on," said Captain Frown. "I trust him with my life on those wild seas, and so should you" he continued. Everyone remained speechless. "Onto the other matters," Captain Frown said while going up the ladder. "Come!" he waved his hand and Marcel's crew got on board Captain Frown's ship. They followed the captain downstairs and they were shocked to see the amount of room and supplies that were down there. It was pitch dark outside, yet they could see as clear as day on Captain Frown's ship. "Those are my end of the bargain, and I will unload them in the morning before we go," Captain Frown said. "But..." Marcel said and got interrupted by the captain. "Don't worry about it" Captain Frown grabbed Marcel's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"May I ask something?" Bia said while admiring the wood. "Sure, go ahead," said Captain Frown. "Is this the ship that my grandparents worked on?" she asked. "Hmm... You are the niece of Laura and Florian?" Captain Frown asked. "Yes!" she said. "You were so small back then. I remember you" Captain Frown was looking at her. "Ah... To answer your question" he continued and got interrupted. "Already have my answer, thank you" She smiled and bowed before the captain. "Now... Shall we join my crew? They were thirsty before we arrived so I am worried that we will have nothing left to talk over" Captain Frown said and got off the ship. Everyone laughed and followed him inside. They all sat at the table and talked about their adventures. Captain Frown was pleased to hear everything that happened in the short amount of time he was gone. And he could not wait to hear more next time. The night passed and as promised the captain left all the supplies at Fley Harbor before he departed. There were so many supplies that they needed more storage. The tavern master helped them arrange them inside the tavern for the time being. When the people woke up and saw they were speechless. "He did this!" the tavern master pointed at Marcel. "Huh?" he looked confused at everyone while they were smiling. The tavern master approached Marcel and whispered to him. "Such gifts are only possible through hard work and you deserve it".