Walk the Plank: Part Five

      Darkwing walked over to one of the pets standing on the dock. "Arr, what be this land?"

      The pet, a Kougra in a trench coat, laughed at his dialect. "Arr," he said, mocking Darkwing, "this 'be' Neopia Central."

      Ahh! So that was why Darkwing had recognized it! When he had been just a little lad, his father had taken him on a short trip to Neopia Central to buy him his first pirate sword. Young Darkwing had been instantly mesmerized by all the different pet colors and species, shops, foods, and everything else that surrounded him. He'd never seen anything like it.

      Diran, of course, had recognized the place immediately, since he had lived there. It seemed unlikely to him that he would ever live there again.

      "Well, would there happen t' be a way t' get from here t' Krawk Island, matey?"

      "Nope. Last ship to there for today left an hour ago, and there's not another one due here for several days." Darkwing stared in disbelief. "You'll just have to wait for a few days until it comes."

      Darkwing walked away from the dock to sulk. What would he do here for all that time? In his sulking, he walked underneath a tree. As a bag of neopoints was dropped on his head, he looked upward.

      "Something has happened! You have found 1000 neopoints on the floor!" came a mysterious voice. Darkwing was slightly confused, since he had never come across a random event before, but he shrugged and went off to decide what to do with his newly-acquired neopoints.

      As he walked into Neopia's marketplace, he saw several shops. There was a weapon shop, a food shop, an armor shop... He instantly wanted to go inside all of them. First he entered a food shop. The food stocked on the shelves was the most delicious, tantalizing food he had ever seen. He grabbed some off the shelf and went up to the counter.

      "Ah, good day, Sir! This item here is of very good quality. I won't take less than 750 neopoints for it!"

      "Arr, 250 neopoints."

      "700."

      "250!"

      "I won't take less than 690 neopoints for it!"

      "Arr, I say you'll be takin' 250." Darkwing glared and prepared to draw his sword, but he never got a chance. The shopkeeper was becoming quite annoyed with him by now and promptly had him thrown out of his shop.

      Out on the curb, his stomach rumbled. He wished he had just paid the shopkeeper what he had wanted. Now he couldn't even go inside to buy something!

      A dark Shoyru in a long coat walked by and handed him a piece of bread. "You look a little beat," he said. "If you need some food, try heading to the giant..." he lowered his voice, "...jelly in..." He looked around nervously. "Well, they don't speak the name of the place. But there's also a giant omelette in Tyrannia where you can grab some grub. Or the Soup Kitchen down a few blocks."

      Darkwing looked up gratefully. Quickly he scarfed down the piece of bread, starting to fully realize how ravenous he actually was. "Thanks fer the suggestions. Would ye happen t' know if there's a way t' get t' Krawk Island before the next ship gets here?"

      "Hmm... I don't follow the ferry schedules much, but if you go to the Soup Kitchen and ask the Soup Faerie, she may be able to help you out with that info. Faeries have been known to be generous to pets in bad predicaments."

      "Arr, thank ye." Following the Shoyru's advice, he got up from the curb and strolled off in the direction of the Soup Faerie.

     ***

      "Why, hello!" chirped the Soup Faerie, turning around at the sound of Darkwing entering the room. Darkwing had been positive that she would glare at him for his tough appearance, but she didn't. "You only have 1000 neopoints! Have some soup!" she invited, handing him a bowl full of warm broth. He drank the soup quickly, filling his almost empty stomach.

      Once he had downed two entire bowls of soup, he decided to ask the faerie about getting to Krawk Island. "Arr, would ye happen t'--"

      "I can't transport you to Krawk Island, no," she said, seeming to already know what he was going to ask. "I can, however, tell you that there is a ferry leaving for Mystery Island in half an hour, and there's a ferry from Mystery Island to Krawk Island fifteen minutes after you would arrive at the island."

      Darkwing took a deep breath. Getting there by ferry within a few hours would be okay, but instant transportation would be a lot better. "Why can't you transport me?"

      "For one thing, I don't have enough power to do that. I serve soup most days; I don't often have chances to go out and practice my magic. Secondly, there are certain laws prohibiting it. If you hurry, you can catch the ferries, though!"

      Darkwing sighed and ran out the door, headed toward the docks. Since the Soup Kitchen wasn't anywhere near where the ferry would be loading, he hoped he'd get there in time.

     ***

      Darkwing rolled over, trying to get comfortable on the ferry's hard seats. He was hoping to get some sleep on the trip, but he realized his wish would most likely not come true when a Ghost Yurble toddled over, sat next to him, and attempted to strike up a conversation. "Ah, so you're a pirate?" he said, staring Darkwing straight in the eye. "I was a pirate once, m'self. Took on hoards of other 'nes in m'day. Then my ship got stolen. So here I be now, ridin' this ferry for the rest o' m'life..."

      Darkwing couldn't help but stare. What a weird pet! In the back of his mind, however, he couldn't help but wonder if the same would become of him. What if he didn't get his ship back? What would he do? Somehow it seemed a better thing to wonder when he was completely awake and not trying to sleep, so he rolled over and slept, ignoring the constant chatter of the Yurble sitting next to him.

      When the ship docked at Mystery Island, the Yurble was kind enough to wake Darkwing. As he woke from his nap, he groaned but pulled himself off the seat and waddled onto the dock. Mystery Island was beautiful. Large, tropical palm trees were rooted in the sands of the beach. Straight ahead were small shops, all housed in little bamboo huts. He could have stood there all day, examining the island, but he had another ferry to catch!

      The ferry to Krawk Island was much different than the one to Mystery Island had been. Darkwing's first ferry of the day had been nearly packed, brightly colored, and full of happy and friendly people. The Krawk Island ferry, however, was dark, dirty, and empty with the exception of about five other passengers. All of them were old and scruffy and looked like they hadn't bathed in weeks, which they probably hadn't. In the corner was a Pteri that Darkwing recognized as the captain of the ship that had attacked his own boat.

      As he looked over at him, the Pteri grunted, "Me own crew threw me over. I be a shipless pirate now, arr." The Pteri looked away, obviously disgusted with his old crew. Darkwing wasn't asked about what happened to his crew, and he was relieved. There was nothing more embarrassing to a pirate than admitting that your prisoner overthrew you as captain and took over your ship. He'd never see the end of it if word got out! Darkwing was feared as a pirate, and he intended to keep it that way.

      Thankfully, the trip between Mystery Island and Krawk Island was much shorter than his first one had been. Even though he was a pirate himself, he wanted to spend the least amount of time possible with the creepy pirates on board. As the sketchy views of Krawk Island came into view, Darkwing felt his heart explode with happiness. He was nearly home! Darkwing would normally spend most of the year at sea with his crew, but he still always loved coming back to the island. There was so much action, so many people to trade with, and, for once, he wouldn't have to worry about manning a ship. He could go to the famous diner, The Golden Dubloon (which his own ship had been named after), to get a great meal any time. Now that he was here, he was one step closer to getting the S. S. Gold Dubloon back in his possession.

To be continued...