After his bath, Charles acquainted himself with the crew. Tashina introduced him to Byron, and he became surprised to learn weresharks existed. He thought they were a myth from scary sea stories, Byron laughed and said many tales about his kind were silly. One night, Byron might show Charles his shark form.

After Charles met Kiki, Lucy gave him the map to Ghost Island. The wolf immediately ordered her friends to the navigation room. However, there was a problem. Nobody listened to him.

"Sorry, but I am the captain now," Lucy explained.

Charles twitched in confession on the main deck. "Excuse me?"

"They will only listen to my orders."

"She is right," said Byron. "She is the one who freed my tribe members from the slavers. We are all in her debt."

"I also became a pirate captain after I took over Captain Flipper’s ship," Lucy explained.

Charles pointed his finger at Lucy. "But this is my ship."

Lucy bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry, Charles. The game chose me to take charge somehow. I didn't know it would happen."

Charles placed his hands on his hips. "Of course… Whoever takes a ship will become her new captain. Since I wasn't aboard here, Lucy became the new owner."

Lucy grimaced at the floor. If she wanted to become a pirate captain, she would get her own ship.

Charles shrugged. "Oh well. A ship can have two captains."

"How?" Ivy asked.

Charles pointed his finger at Lucy. “She can command the landing party while I command the ship.”

“Wah eff dat nuh wuk either?” Tashina asked with her arms crossed.

Charles rubbed his eyelids. “Let’s just head to the navigation room. We need to check the map.”

Ivy saluted him. “Aye, captain!”

Lucy glared at the cat girl. “But I’m the captain!”

Ivy shrugged. “So. If the ship can have two captains, I’m down for it.”

Lucy rolled her eyes.

*****

Lucy stood next to Charles as he spread the map across the table inside the navigation room. Only her friends attended the meeting while the crew mates focused on their chores outside. Not everyone could fit inside the room.

The map shows all the seas and the charted islands across Nassau. A few small continents and nameless broken land masses in the ocean.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"See this?" Charles pointed his finger at a black skull image in the middle of the map. "That is Ghost Island."

Tashina narrowed her eyes at it. "It a skull."

"The skull represents death. Ghost Island is the island of death."

Ivy shivered her body. "May I ask why we are sailing there?"

Lucy glanced at Charles, pursing her lips. Everyone followed her gesture to the wolf as if they begged for food.

Charles sucked in his breath and blew out a sigh. “Okay….. I’ll tell you my reason.”

Lucy smiled. She opened her floppy ears to listen clearly.

“My little sister is on that island,” Charles explained.

“Your little sister? Squawk!” Kiki asked.

Charles rubbed behind his head. “She and I been together as pirates for a while with Walton. After we split, she found the island and sailed there with her own crew. When I found out, I tried to reach her, but the island vanished before my eyes. I almost lost hope until I learned the island doesn’t stay in one place. It moves to random spots to tease players. Trekking the island is tough unless you can get the map to find it.” He gazed at the map. “I spend a year searching for this map so I can rescue my sister. She is the only family I have left.”

Byron frowned. “I am sorry for your lost.”

“Ow yuh cya be sure shi alive?” Tashina asked.

Charles pointed his thumb at his chest. “Call it love or basic instincts. But I will not give up until I see if she survived. Whatever else is on that island, it will make us rich than all the other islands.”

Lucy crossed her arms as she bit her lip. “I have a confession too.”

All eyes gazed toward her.

She took a deep breath. “Before I have slain Captain Flipper, he said my real father is Daddy Jones.”

Ivy widened her feline eyes. “Daddy Jones? The legendary pirate who haunted the seas before he discovered Ghost Island?”

Byron grinned. “Now that is interesting.”

Lucy frowned. “I cannot be sure….. But my feelings tell me I must know for sure. If Charles has a reason to go to the island, then so do I.”

Charles rubbed his chin with one finger. “I don’t know much about Daddy Jones’s history. An infamous pirate like him wouldn’t dare have offspring. Even his lover would face the consequences of his actions.”

“Do you know your mother?” Ivy asked.

Lucy shook her head. “I never met my mother. My other father said she died after she birthed me.”

Ivy lowered her ears. “Sorry about that.”

“You know that penguin could be lying to you,” said Kiki.

“I thought so too, but he said he read the lore about the Ghost Island dungeon. And game lore never lies.”

Charles smiled wry. “Well then. Now that we have an understanding, onward to Ghost Island!”

“Hold on! Squawk!” Kiki pointed her wing at the map. “The skull moved!”

Lucy glanced at the map. She remembered the skull mark was near the center of the map. Now it was toward the bottom. “She’s right.”

“As I said, the island moves to random places in the open sea,” Charles explained. “It never appears close to another island.” He sighed. “Of course, it will take time to reach it.”

“So how can we reach it without sailing forever?” Ivy asked.

Charles crossed his arms and tapped his feet. His foot claws scratched the floorboards quietly. Soon, he clicked his tongue with an idea. “I know a way! There is a secret medallion taken from the island. It looks like a golden compass with a green gem on top of the spinning arrow. Rumors said whoever can get the medallion can control the island.”

“You mean we can keep the island in one spot after we find this medallion?” Lucy asked.

Charles smirked. “Correct, lass. With the map and the medallion, our time will never be wasted.”

"So where is the medallion? Squawk!" Kiki asked.

Charles pinched the bridge between his closed eyes. "A place where I almost forgot about."