With no soul in sight, the clash of mugs and the chatter of patrons from the pub in the distance deafened the broken down misty port city as the two men walked towards the building. One stood proud, his worn out black tri-corner hat resting perfectly on his head, a long jacket adorned in gold accessories, alongside a cutlass resting on his left hip and a flintlock pistol on his right. The other stood slightly hunched over, wearing a bandana and loose fitted clothing. He swung his cutlass around, ready for a fight.

“Something’s wrong here, Captain,” the cutlass swinging pirate said.

The captain swatted the pirate on the back of the head before resting his arm on the hilt of his cutlass. “Put that thing away, boy. Ye think that would save you here?” The port city had been long forgotten, but some buildings still stood nearly as strong as their heyday, while others were ruined beyond repair.

The man roughly sheathed his cutlass and rubbed the back of his head. “I don't like this place,” he said bluntly. “And how’s it so loud over there?”

The streets looked ghastly, and the mist caused a shiver down the Captain’s spine which was hidden masterly from his underling. Deep down he was just as worried, but he was too far now to back down and his crew would never let it down. “We keep moving,” the Captain said firmly.

The music and clashing of mugs grew louder and louder and while the underling brought his hand to the grip of his hilt, the Captain kept his calm outward appearance. Now standing in front of the door to the pub, the Captain slowly reached out, and as soon as he swung the door open, the sounds stopped and everything fell quiet within the city.

The floor creaked with each step as the Captain ran a finger against one of the dusty tables. “Dirty,” he said, brushing the dust off with his jacket.

The other pirate took careful steps from behind with his once again raised cutlass. “What we do?” 

Ignoring his underling’s question, the Captain walked around the creaking building, taking glances at the empty mugs and broken bottles. Only moments ago, the pub was bustling, yet now that he was inside inspecting the building, it seemed inactive. As if no one was there to begin with. From the tables in perfect condition to the instruments that rested at the back of the small stage, everything else was unscratched.

“Go upstairs and look for a leather-bound notebook,” the Captain demanded, and the pirate followed without hesitation.

The silence was deafening. With a deep breath, the captain rubbed the temple of his nose and exhaled. “Now then,” he reaffirmed himself, after calming his nerves. 

Avoiding the broken glass behind the counter, the Captain looked through the shelves behind the counter. Papers with tabs and names he didn’t recognize, a list of drinks available and how to make them, but no sign of a notebook. 

“It’s interesting,” he said while crossing his arms. “It’s like time froze.”

“I found it!” the man upstairs yelled out, followed by loud stomping and rushed footsteps down the stairs. “I found it!” He said one last time as he handed over the notebook.

“Good,” the Captain said, snatching it from his hands and looking it over. Unlike the tables and mugs, there wasn’t a speck of dust and, surprisingly, in excellent condition.

“It was sittin on a table in a room. The room was pretty beat up, but the notebook was weirdly fine.”

Undoing the leather bounds, the Captain opened up the notebook and flipped to the first page.

…..

I see someone has arrived to peek into my little notebook and find the treasure I’ve discovered. I’m sure the rumors have spread far and wide since I died, and I hope you’re ready for a trip down memory lane.

I’ve experienced a lot in my short yet eventful life, and I’m sure these tales will be told for years to come, but if you’re here, then that means you only want the thing I found.

The City of Gold

A mythical place where I’m sure everyone wishes to find.

I found it. 

I found it and I’m willing to tell you where it is, but it won’t be easy. 

In this notebook, I’ve commented on every single thing I’ve experienced while on my adventure, and I expect you to experience it all the same. I’ve left notes on where to travel to next at these destinations, and when you finally reach the last location, only then will you know where The City of Gold is located.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The location of my first tale is on the next page. I wish you luck and I hope you enjoy these bizarre tales of a dead man.

…..

“Anything else interesting in that old notebook of his, Capt?” A younger man’s voice suddenly cut through as the man closed the door behind him.

Closing the notebook, he stuffed it into the inner pocket of his jacket and turned his attention to the voice in question. “Just rereading what the old coot wrote.” 

“I heard the town was haunted?” The man asked, taking a seat across from the captain. He leaned back in the chair and planted his feet on top of the desk’s edge that separated the two.

“Feet off the desk, Cael,” The Captain shot daggers at the man.

“Alright, Alright,” removing his feet, Cael raised his arms. “Still a stickler even after all these years, ey, Captain Archer.” 

Ignoring Cael’s attempt at teasing, Archer brought his attention back to his initial question. “Haunted… Maybe.” Archer rubbed the scruff on his face. “The pub was noisy, but when we entered, everything went quiet. The place itself looked to be untouched for years. Then, when we left and closed the door, the sound picked up once again.”

“Sounds like ghosts to me,” Cael shrugged. “Otherworldly, at the very least, just like the stories in that notebook.”

“Sounds like you don’t trust what’s in here?” Archer patted his jacket where the notebook rested.

“If anything, it’s done a good job of stringing you along. Maybe the otherworldly thing is your obsession with that notebook you won’t let go of, and the city you’re desperately chasing.” Cael’s voice started off jokingly, but quickly became serious as his worries showed.

“You’re worried too much,” Archer reassured his friend.

Cael sighed. This wasn’t his first time trying to convince the man in front of him that just maybe his plan wasn’t realistic. They have known each other since birth and grew up far more fortunate than most of the populace, yet the unknown always intrigued Archer, and when he came across an old tale of a golden city when they were kids, he couldn’t help but look into it. Now, after all those years, they became pirates and created their own crew.

“How long has it been?” Cael suddenly asked.

“How long?” Arthur repeated, unsure of what Cael meant.

“Since we started this journey. Became pirates.”

“Ah,” Archer thought back. “We’re 28 now? My parents passed when we were 20, and after selling everything and getting a ship and a crew, we were about 21, so seven years?”

“Yet you still won’t tell me how you came across the intel for the location of the notebook?” Cael asked.

“Do you need to know?” Archer asked.

“I sure as hell hope I do. Not only as the First Mate, but as a friend who has been there with you through thick and thin,” Cael slammed a hand on the desk and quickly raised up from his chair. “Listen,” he sighed, calming himself down. “I get not telling everyone else. They only need to know the final destination. But it wouldn’t hurt if I knew the details, ya’know?”

Archer was silent. 

Cael couldn’t tell what was going through Archer's mind or if he even listened to his outburst, but as soon as he gave up on his inquiry, Archer responded.

“You’re right. That said, it’s not anything crazy.”

“That’s fine.” Cael smiled. “Go on.”

“I got very interested in the city after being told the story when we were younger, so I ended up finding books that went into more detail on the rise and disappearance of it, and there was a name that stuck out every time,” Archer said.

“Augusta?” Cael asked.

“Yeah,” Archer answered. “He ended up being the key to everything, but he died about 40 years ago, so no one could find any leads.”

“Until now,” Cael added.

“Exactly. I found a lead, and that lead brought me to two items. The map I showed you before, and….” Archer reached into his pocket and brought out a large decorative gold coin. A skull with two small rubies in each eye socket rested at the center of the coin, alongside an unknown language that wrapped around the rim of the coin. “This thing right here.” Archer gingerly placed the coin in front of Cael, who took it and inspected it.

“This… doesn’t seem like a normal coin?” Cael asked in a confused voice. “Is this from the city?”

“Augusta didn’t mention it, but I’m pretty confident it is, and I think there’s more to that coin than you may think,” standing up from his creaking chair, Archer grabbed a book from the corner of the room, then flipped through the page. “Here we go,” he said, handing over the book to Cael and taking the coin back.

“Is this real?” Cael asked after skimming through the page. “How do you even have this book to begin with?”

“Look at the author,” Archer said confidently.

“Augusta,” Cael whispered.

“For some reason, he wrote a book. It was never published, of course, but there were a few copies of it and I was lucky to find one of the few remaining ones.”

“So Augusta says these coins have… magic in them?” Cael asked.

“Ey. A locator of sorts.” Archer confirmed.

“How does that even work?” Cael asked.

“It’s a mystery,” Archer shrugged. “He never went into the details, but it’s not perfect, hence the map and from what I’ve gathered, there’s a bit more to it than originally thought, and I’m sure Augusta knew that.”

“And what’s that?” Cael raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you think no one ever found such a place?" Archer asked.

“Are you telling me…”

The crew's bustling outside grew louder and louder, cutting their conversation short as one of the crew members bursted through the door of the cabin.

“What is it?” Cael’s voice had a tint of anger at the interruption.

“We found something…” the crew member said, his face showing his fear.

Both Cael and Archer looked at each other before rushing out of the door. Pushing through the scattering crew, Archer grinned.

“I told you,” Archer commented to Cael.

In the distance, an island awaited their arrival, but what caused the most surprise was the ship in between them and the island. The ship was broken down, but somehow floating, and when they looked through the spyglass to see the boat clearer, they saw something otherworldly walking on its decks.

“Skeletons,” Archer said.

“God save us,” Cael said, repeating the line more than once.

“It looks like what that old fool Augusta said was right.” Archer’s laugh caused the crew to stop and look, but Archer ignored them. 

“Now, then. Shall we see what is in store for us, men?!”