Marbles & Jewels.

     “Come on in, sit yourself down” The rugged Captain Scarblade gazed towards the lone empty stool by his table, the candlelit back rooms of The Golden Dubloon are a lot easier to hold a conversation in than the ruckus of the tavern’s main bar.

     The worn boots of a Blumaroo made their way across the floorboards, the residual sand from outside crunching between the wood. Holding his hat between both hands the figure perched itself on the uncomfortable wooden seat.

     “Do you know why I've been asking for you, Buckles?” referring to the oversized belt buckle the floppy-eared seaman chose to routinely champion the act of holding up his tattered trousers with, “Hmm?” the Captain grumbled while staring into his goblet of Chokato Juice. The Blumaroo's head shook making his ears swing clumsily.

     “It seems the tide has brought in whispers” he sighed, breaking his sentence to take a swig “whispers of a Koi”.

     The Captain, not being one to summon an individual crew member in for a light chin wag suddenly seemed a lot more ominous beneath his hat.

     “The crew say you had an... encounter with the Koi that's been causin' all the campfire gossip as of late”.

     Meeting the eyes of the deckhand “The same Koi that's been swiping my loot”.

     A dry swallow from Charlie (the Purple Roo’s actual name though unsure whether the Captain knew that) introduced a flurry of words which made the Lupe wince as if in pain from the noise, he raised his ring-adorned hand that glistened in the candlelight then lowered it slowly. The Blumaroo understood that was the equivalent of “talk slower and clearer before I become angry”.

     Wiping a bead of sweat away from his brow he continued.

     “It was a clear day off the coast of Mystery Island” he said in a softer tone ”we'd just picked up one of the chests we'd buried in an off-shore alcove just west of the Rock Pools from last winter. The sea she was being kind to us and the tropical sun was bearin’ down, spirits were up so most of the crew were on deck singing shanties, not to mention it was Harry’s birthday and he’d brought that bloomin’ great big accordion…” realizing he was drifting off subject and clearing his throat, he course-corrected ”that was when I saw it, a ways starboard side of the sparkling reflection of the sea, somethin’ else glimmerin’ that disappeared for a second then reappeared nearer but this time I could see colours inside it, like a marble on the surface. I thought it could be more loot, I- I know how much you like shiny things, Cap’n.” Charlie paused briefly to register the faint offering of flattery but was met with the continued black hole of reciprocation ”I- I ran over to use one of the ‘nocs (the ships mounted binoculars). But nothin'. It was only after I rubbed me eyes and shrugged that I looked down at the sloshing water by the barnacles on the hull that I see two glossy eyes starin’ back at me from the water”

     “The Koi...” Scarblade mumbled, still staring daggers into the bottom of the mug.

     “Aye, Cap'n, only its body was so completely clear, I'd never seen nothin' like it, I could make out the sea floor through its face. Fixed on it's beauty I-… I didn't notice the ring of keys slip out of me jacket pocket as I leant over for a closer look…”

     The Captain leant back in his chair, clenching his jaw and silently looking into his crewmates pupils as if to find more patience in them but coming up short.

     “Continue” he calmly purred.

     Charlie now realizing the Captain already knew the ending to the story but was more concerned with the journey of it rather than the destination, as it were, shuffled in his seat.

     Glancing at his furled hat between his hands he continued. “I know I messed up royally Cap but-”

     “Continue with the story!” Scarblade barked, slamming his goblet onto the table between them and splashing chokato juice over the surface, the whiskers on his snout twitching in frustration as the muffled music from the main bar briefly slurred in fear before carrying on.

      “S-sorry Cap’n” Charlie choked through even wider eyes and a dry mouth, tripping over his words he raced “okay, that night, as we were anchored I remember waking up and having to use the privy somethin’ fierce so I stepped over some of the gents who’d fallen asleep on the floor and made my way over to it but as I passed the storeroom that’s when I glimpsed it again” the sweat now forming a bead at the tip of his nose.

     “That same Koi was leaning over the cannon from the gun port with one hand-… err fin, holding the chest open and the other holding the pink flowery bed sheet Frank the Tank’s old lady made for him slung over its shoulder with the entire contents of the chest inside it, I could see the jewels and the gold gleamin’ through the fabric. By the time I realized what was happening and shouted for the crew to wake up the thing had slipped back out the porthole into the night’s black water”.

     The Captain leaned forward and pulled the trembling, sweating creature towards him by his neckerchief.

     “Well, Buckles, let’s go fishing”.

     A couple of days later off the tropical coast of Mystery Island with Techo Mountain silhouetted against the clear blue afternoon horizon a crew scurried around a large open treasure chest on the deck of The Revenge as it rocked gently on the surface of the sea.

     “Are you sure about this Cap’n?” The First Mate approached, facing the back of the infamous red tailcoat.

     “You know what they say about making an omelette, Morris. Throw it in.”

     Reluctantly looking down at the gold pocket watch glistening in his palm, a pirate through-and-through, fighting back the thoughts of how many barrels of borovan that could buy him he flung it over the side.

     “Oof, I had my eye on that timepiece” a rough-looking cabin hand muttered to the one next to him, both watching the whole thing.

     “Friday night’s pot is going to be salt biscuits and scratch cards again” referring to the weekly poker game that’s held beneath deck, “we’ve been doing this every hundred feet or so and it’s not gettin’ any easier to watch.”

     “Just trust the Cap’n” The other replied “these breadcrumbs will lead that glorified goldfish right to us”

     The nameless deck hand scoffed dubiously in return “yeah, well that last breadcrumb could of bought me a well-needed dinner at Kelp. But I guess you’re right.”

     “Sight! Port side!” a voice shouted from the other side of the vessel, piercing through the mutterings of the crew.

     A rush of feet on the wood erupted from the deck, bullying the sound of the soft sea lapping at the hull and the handful of seagull cries on the wind where they collected at the port of the ship which creaked at the shift in weight. As quick as swiping his cutlass from its sheath, Captain Scarblade extended his spyglass and scanned the waterline. A few tense seconds later and a smirk broke out from his snout revealing a gold tooth thankful to see the sun. Something was indeed there, bright and glistening on the surface just as Charlie had told him that night in the tavern.

     “Martin. Inform the men below deck to ready the cannons with the net fletchers.” Scarblade snarled.

     The Zafara named Martin turned to face the Captain. “Right away, sir. I gather it’s not going to be a typical catch n’ release?”

     “No, this one needs to tell me where my loot is and unless you want to be paid in coconuts again I’d get the netting ready” the eyes of the Lupe keeping their position pointed at the glimmering beacon coming from the sea. Martin nodded then scurried away downstairs half slipping on the way down.

     Turning around to briskly pace back up to the helm and swing the ship around the Lupe froze in place after something caught his eye from the floor, a ray of colour across the dull planks of the deck, after taking a moment to realise it must be coming from something reflected up above him he craned his neck up to the crow’s nest and squinted at the top of the mast. There he could make out the unmistakable crystalline colour of the sunlight passing through the vibrant marble of this fish-out-of-water holding itself up by its arms and meeting his gaze, just waiting for the Captain to notice. Scarblade’s face sank and his snout twitched as he noticed behind the creature staring down at him from above was, dancing triumphantly in the wind, the pink floral bed sheet from the night of the theft in place of his beloved tattered skull and crossbones flag. With a silent salute and a wink, the Koi leapt from the crow’s nest forming an elegant dive into the bright blue sea below.

     Confused and with rage bubbling the Captain swung himself back to face port with the rest of the crew and once again extended his spyglass at the shining object he and his crewmates were certain was the surfacing fish, twisting the magnification forward the blurred glimmer began to focus further with each click and reveal itself bobbing along the surface as a barrel with all of the recognisable “breadcrumbs” the Captain had been throwing overboard tied around it gleaming bright gold and silver between the sun and the sea.

     Clenching his hands around the spyglass and retracting it back with a loud clap, he inhaled for what can only later be described by his crew as “an episode”.

     As the distant shouts, barks and sounds of crashing objects travelled under the somewhat shallow sea below in a coral overgrowth the aquatic caper couldn’t help but feel a sense of smug pride as it counted each dubloon and piece of jewellery on a rock and contemplated who the real “fish-out-of-water” was before turning in and getting ready to target the next plundering group of treasure hoarders..

      The End.