image [https://i.imgur.com/2NCwpMJ.png]
Alcatran’s ship, the Trident, was a three-pronged vessel, and each point of its bow jutted out like a spear into the waves. The ship was taller and longer than their own, and it moved swiftly in the current. They would not be able to outrun it.
Picaro stood at the port rail, watching the enemy advance. He was surprised to hear no cannonfire, no sign of outward attack. It was not until the Trident pulled up alongside Ye ‘Ol Marigold that he understood why.
Alcatran stood at the rail of his ship, his long trench coat fanning in the breeze. His hair and features were dark, tinged with grey. A well kept mustache was the only hair on his face, and his hair was slick back upon his head. His dark eyes looked out as a raven's might, intelligent and calculating, yet full of malice. He supported some of his weight on a gilded cane.
Picaro studied him until the Admiral's dark coals rested upon him curiously. There was a baleful look in that gaze that unnerved the boy. He gulped, gripping the rail tighter, but he did not blink nor run. He refused to let the man see his fear. Valgur swept up beside him.
"A chance meeting, this," said Valgur. The dark coals flicked up to meet Valgur's own. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Admiral? Yer a far cry from home."
Alcatran showed no sign of emotion. No tell. "That Far Reaches are my home, boy. At any rate, I was told you might have found something o’ mine," said the Admiral. His voice was deathly calm, filled with self-assurance. The voice of a man used to getting his way.
"Well I don’t see how that might be. Something of yours, I think not," said Valgur, puffing out his chest.
Alcatran did not speak for a long moment. Behind him, his own crew began to mill at the rail. Two particularly shady characters framed him on either side. They looked like younger versions of himself, Picaro thought. Dark hair and eyes with hooked noses. Picaro found it hard to tell the two men apart. They looked like copies of each other. Alcatran looked to one of them and gave a small nod. In a flash, the man disappeared into a grey mist only to reappear on the lip of the rail of Ye ‘Ol Marigold, crouching like a waiting tiger.
“Amir will be able to confirm or deny your claim,” said Alcatran, indicating with his gaze the man crouched on the lip of the rail. Men aboard the Ye ‘Ol Marigold drew their weapons and advanced slowly on the man, Grit at their head.
Picaro eyed the rogue. Amir surveyed Valgur and the crew on deck with his own calculating gaze. Then he disappeared again. Picaro and some of the crew looked around wildly for the man, shifting nervously. For a moment, there was a tense stillness, and then Amir reappeared on the deck of the Trident, turning over a gold coin in his hands, clutching a bundle of pearls and gold chains. He handed the items to Alcatran. "His men left some things unawares,” said Amir beside his captain. “They should really be more careful with your treasure, father.”
"Your treasure?" Valgur spat. “If ye thought it yours, ye should have dug it up when ye had the chance.”
"So, you found the cache,” said Alcatran at length, one of his eyebrows raised. “I was told you held the key, but never would I have thought a common sea oaf would be able to find the cache itself. Long has it been hidden,” said Alcatran, and he leaned more heavily on his cane. “Tell you what. Hand over what you have and tell me where I can find the rest, and I will let you and your crew sail away from here freely."
Valgur snorted, leaning over the rail. "Ye can have it over me own dead body," he roared. The crew of Ye ‘Ol Marigol cheered behind him. Atrocius saddled up beside his captain in support.
"That can certainly be arranged," said Alcatran, and the first hint of a smile etched itself across his worn features. He curled his lip and motioned to his men, who began to grin wickedly. Cannons were quickly trained upon Ye ‘Ol Marigold. Alcatran surveyed his prey a final time, inspecting them for any potential change of heart.
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It was then the entirety of the island shook violently, and a wave leading from the beach crashed into the back of Ye ‘Ol Marigold, pushing the vessel directly into the path of the trident. The ships nearly collided, but Silvertime was able to man the helm and steer them clear just in time.
Believing themselves under attack, one of Alcatran's men loosed a cannon, which ripped into the hull of Ye ‘Ol Marigold. Valgur cried wildly to return fire. Atrocius obliged, leaning down upon the crank of his gatling, spewing molten lead into the hull of the Trident. But both crews suddenly halted as another rumble rippled over them, and an enormous sea monster rose up out of the water from beneath the cove where the treasure sat. It was an enormous crab with pincers nearly as large as each ship. Its shell was spiked in many places, and covered in barnacles. Seaweed dripped from its mandibles. Its eyes were yellow. When it noticed them it bore down upon its prey with jolting ferocity.
“What is this, some secret guardian?” Valgur asked the wind.
Cries aboard both ships encouraged them to change course. Men flew from the cannons to the rigging, and courses were charted. Ye ‘Ol Marigold was pinned down between two enemies, and there seemed little chance of escape. One of the crab's giant pincers bore down on the ship, threatening to bring them down to the briny depths. Atrocius roared and turned Jaws upon the monster, firing at the pincer. But the bullets merely ricocheted off the carapace.
"Aim for the face," Valgur yelled. Atrocius brought the muzzle higher and cranked out a fresh clip. The bullets were effective enough, and the crab let out a gurgling noise as the pincer just missed Ye ‘Ol Marigold, striking the water. A wave rocked the ship, then calmed.
They had a moment's respite. Yet it helped them little, for the current had been confused by the appearance of this new monster, and the water sloshed about them with no clear direction. For a moment, the ship stalled and Alcatran took this chance to bear down upon them again. He instructed a small firing crew to take up arms, and cannons let off in succession. Ye ‘Ol Marigold was being torn apart. Picaro fled from the rail to the safety of the main mast.
"Orders, captain," cried Silvertime above the throng.
Valgur searched the current desperately. The water seemed calmest beneath the belly of the crab. They had little choice. "Take us beneath the beast. I would rather sink with this treasure than give it to Alcatran."
Silvertime obliged, and Ye ‘Ol Marigold lurched in its turn, avoiding a fresh wave of cannonfire and surging forward with a fresh wind. Valgur strode to the prow to face the beast head on, harking back to their battle against the great catch in the crown of the tempest. Valgur used the memory to find the last vestiges of his courage. There was no other option. They had emerged victorious before, conquering a beast of the sea. They would do so again, or be doomed to the depths. "So be it," growled Valgur. "Come on then, ye slimy sea urchin. Let’s see what ye got," he bellowed above the waves as encroaching cannonfire marked their flank.
The giant crab swung on them again. “Fire,” Valgur roared again. Atrocius obliged with Jaws. Even still, the monster advanced. Valgur dug a hand into his pockets, searching for his pistol, something, anything to make his final stand. Some tool to signify his defiance in the face of such doom. What emerged was the golden amulet with its gleaming emerald.
Valgur gazed down at the beautiful piece, in somewhat of a daze, and wondered if it was all worth it. He looked back up to meet the encroaching claw. The treasure was his, but for a brief moment. Soon it would reside on the bottom of the sea. So be it, thought Valgur. Let Alcatran fish it out piece of piece. The thought gave the captain some satisfaction. And then another thought fluttered into his mind. Maybe the crab would miss. He could see their freedom laid before before, the open ocean visible beneath its scuttling legs. All they needed was that one chance. Perhaps then they could outrun it.
Then, as if the monster heard him, the claw suddenly slowed and slightly altered its course, plunging into the ocean directly behind Ye ‘Ol Marigold, shielding the vessel from fresh cannonfire. Cannonballs ricocheted off the carapace, settling down into the depths.
The giant crab sat there for a moment, its claw in the waves, watching Ye ‘Ol Marigold with unintelligent yellow eyes as it passed under its soft underbelly. "Should we attack while its vulnerable," Atrocius asked from the main deck, touting Jaws, which stood ready in his grasp.
"Belay that. Let it distract the Admiral for us," said Valgur at length. There was a wave of murmuring and then a chorus of cheers from the main deck as Ye ‘Ol Marigold cleared the beast’s underbelly. They watched the crab hone in on its new target, the Trident.
Valgur laughed audibly. He looked down at the golden amulet with its gleaming emerald, then stuffed it into his pocket. "We live to fight another day, lads. And better yet, we've treasure in tow." The crew erupted in celebration again, some flinging hats and others firing off pistols. Chants of “Valgur, Valgur,” drifted out across the waves.