The Krawk Island Adventure

     Howling winds, crackling thunder, sheets of rain, crashing waves, and lightning speckled skies. All the usual suspects in the making of a torrential storm were blending together to wreak havoc on the high seas.

     This type of raging tempest was common, but threatening all the same; certainly dangerous enough to pause a ship’s journey and keep Krawk Island sailors and pirates at bay alike. In fact, all island natives knew to steer clear of such storms and move inland.

     Only one pirate was arrogant enough to test fate and brave this particular tempest.

     Captain Nelson “Evil Beard” Plank: Daring Plunderer of the Seas: Pirate Krawk.

     Evil Beard tightly gripped the helm of the Golden Dubloon and steered. He knew it was useless, but his instincts were telling him to fight. There was simply too much at stake and the mission was far too important.

     Contrary to popular belief, Evil Beard did not make a habit of sailing in perilous weather. He was not accustomed to this evening’s unforgiving ocean and he was losing control faster than he was comfortable with.

     As Evil attempted to steer his huge ship, a sudden flash of lightning blinded him for a moment and he almost lost his grip on the small, dark chest he had clutched in his right hand.

     Normally, he would never have the chest out in the open for his crew to see, but Evil Beard could spot a threat a mile away and this storm was proving to be a danger he may not be able to avoid.

      If I go down, it goes with me, he mused.

     Suddenly, a clash of thunder rocked the ship and Evil found himself submerged in a frenzy of wood planks, cannons, and icy cold water. Frantically, he scoured the underwater rubble for his chest, until his vision slowly gave way to darkness.

     ~

     Litana stood at the edge of the pier and breathed in the smell of the salty sea, letting her eyes rest on the cresting waves in the distance. Excitedly, the island Jubjub headed back to the inn she and Tristan were staying at: The Wayfarer’s Cove. It stood at the northeastern end of the windswept coast of Krawk Island. For two hundred years it had battered the elements and housed hundreds of travellers, from Taryn the Brave to King Hagan, and Litana was looking forward to staying in the historic inn that doubled as a notable Krawk Island landmark.

     On this uneventful morning, two friends began their month-long vacation on the mysterious Krawk Island. Litana climbed up the steps to Tristan's room and banged on the door, to the grumbling of Mr. Tavish, the innkeeper. As she began offering a flurry of apologies, the door swung open and two yellow eyes peered out from the darkness. The pirate Lupe yanked her in the room and shut the door. Litana stood, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness, as Tristan returned to his plush bed and promptly covered his head with a pillow.

     "Five more minutes, Ana, please," he groaned.

     "Tris, we did not travel thousands of miles for you to sleep in! We have so many places to visit! Wake up!" she cried, lobbing an anchor-shaped pillow at his head. Spotting the window behind the bed, Litana snuck over and pulled opened the curtains, illuminating the room in warm, golden light.

     "Intolerable," Tristan sighed, rubbing his weary eyes with the back of his large paws.

     "Maybe you can get to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight, instead of staying up all night playing Krawps with Mr. Tavish," Litana suggested. At this, a subtle grin played across the Lupe’s face, clearly pleased with himself.

     "I'm surprised you managed to sleep through the storm last night at all. Those winds were deafening. The Old Man Innkeeper mentioned it has been one of the worst storms of the year,” Tristan noted. “In any case,” he continued, “you'll be pleased to note that due to my success last night, I'll be buying lunch today."

     Tristan strode across the room and placed a few essentials in his pockets, including a map, a compass, and a small bag of Neopoints.

     As they began their long walk down the road, Litana excitedly told Tristan about all the activities she had planned for the day. Tristan groaned when he heard her mention shopping, but perked up when he heard of exploring old ports and beaches.

     "I met an old woman at the inn last night as I was on my way to bed. She mentioned something about a Forgotten Shore. Have you ever heard of it?" Litana asked.

     "Nope, did she say where we could find it?"

     "She said it would be along the north coast, somewhere..."

     Tristan walked to the side of the road and pulled out the map of the island. Their eyes poured over the winding roads and noted shop locations, but found nothing labelled as the Forgotten Shore. Tristan furrowed his brows and sighed, disappointed.

     Suddenly, Litana pointed to a small inlet just past the infamous Smuggler's Cove. It was quite small, but could potentially be the shore the old woman referred to. It was located about an hour away from the inn.

     Tristan excitedly began to walk in the direction of the shore but Litana interrupted him: "We're already halfway to town, why don't we check it out on our way back?"

     "Fine, but if we go shopping, I'm buying you some pirate clothes. You don't fit in at all," Tristan teased.

     "I'm looking forward to seeing how you'll fit in when we go to Mystery Island after this, pirate boy," Litana challenged. Tristan bulged out his eyes and puckered his lips like a fish, flapping his paws at her. Giggling, she pushed him into a sand dune and ran off down the wooden path into town.

     After they had done a bit of shopping, Litana spotted the cutest Pawkeet sitting on a wooden post by the port. As she reached out to touch it, it ran a few feet away and playfully looked back at her. She and Tristan chased it for a few blocks until it eventually led them to Little Nippers, the local Petpet shop.

     The little Pawkeet fluttered in through a hole in the roof and Litana peeked into the dusty old windows. The inside of the store was dark yet alive with dozens of seemingly happy Petpets. Tristan opened the solid oak door and found the shopkeeper, a blue Kyrii, doubled over on the floor in laughter as a Quadrapus tickled his chin and a Weewoo pecked at his toes.

     Litana suppressed her laughter while Tristan cleared his throat to get the shopkeeper's attention. The Kyrii quickly jumped up, alert, and promptly squeaked that the store was closed and that they should leave and come back another time during store hours.

     Litana and Tristan shrugged and left the shop, stepping outside to survey the remainder of Warf Wharf. Many of the locals were cleaning up the mess left behind after the storm last night. Tristan noticed that the port seemed somewhat empty, with many of the docks broken or submerged. The largest dock was guarded by two ominous Grarrls, who both peered out at the sea with a hint of worry in their eyes. From a nearby alley, a hooded figure approached the guards and whispered something to them.

     Tristan nudged Litana to watch as the guards shook their heads and the figure paused, looking out at the sea. The hooded figure then gestured to the small fishing boat next to the guards and quickly turned to the shadows. The guards begrudgingly hopped into the rowboat that was barely large enough for one of them and rode off towards the sea.

     "That looked suspicious," noted Tristan, eyes sparkling with fascination.

     "It's probably nothing. Let's stay out of it before we get ourselves into trouble," Litana cautioned. She looked at the large clock hanging in the town square and noted that it was getting late. Tristan sprang up, excited to finally search for the forgotten shore.

     As they approached the trail leading to the shore, Litana noticed how overgrown it was. A mess of plants, seaweed, and driftwood covered the path. They trudged on for half a mile through the dense palm trees and cattails that swayed in the breeze. As they rounded a small cliff, the brush broke out into a view of the majestic sea.

     The island Jubjub squealed with joy as she bolted for the water. Tristan surveyed the shore, noting that it was completely devoid of life, save for a few seagulls, driftwood, a broken ship’s mast, a treasure chest…

     “Wait, Ana, is that a treasure chest?” Tristan cried as he ran to the chest, half-covered by sand and seaweed. He heaved it out of the sand and nearly fell over - it was much smaller than he had anticipated, not much larger than a jewellery box. Litana swam over and gazed at the box, fascinated with his new find.

     “Open it up, Tris. Finders keepers!” she said.

     Tristan tried to open the chest, but it was firmly locked. He held it over to Ana who took it and nearly gasped when she laid her eyes on it.

     It was beautiful. The symbols were old and dated but the colours shone as bright as if the chest had been made yesterday. From her historical studies, Litana could tell it was an old, valuable chest. It had to be worth half a fortune, she mused. With this revelation, Litana realized just how alone they were at the beach, and noticed the sun slowly begin its descent below the shoreline.

     “Tris,” Litana urged, “we should get out of here. It’s getting late and this chest looks extremely valuable. Maybe we should leave it here… we don’t know who could be looking for it.”

     Tristan peered around the shore and, in one smooth motion, slipped the chest into his bag and winked at Litana.

     “Ana, you know I don’t give in that easily,” Tristan laughed. “You’re the one who said it - finders, keepers!”

     Litana frowned. Of the two friends, she was the more cautious one - her earlier words had been nothing more than a joke tinged with mild false bravado. “I was kidding, Tristan,” she murmured. “Leave it alone. Come on, let’s go.”

     As they argued, dusk had fallen across the beach, and the largely abandoned shore was quickly becoming shrouded in darkness.

     Tristan stubbornly shook his head. “We’re taking it with us,” he insisted. “But you’re right. We shouldn’t stay here. We can examine it back at the inn.”

     On the trek back, Litana and Tristan traded theories regarding the content of the treasure chest.

     “I bet it’s ancient jewels,” Litana predicted. “Like the kind I’ve studied!”

     “Pff, you’re such a bookworm,” Tristan scoffed in response. “I bet it’s just gold! Endless amounts of gold.”

     “The chest isn’t that big though…”

     Bickering erupted amongst the pair of friends and the two continued to debate, lowering their voices to hushed whispers as they grew closer to the inn. Upon their arrival, Tristan and Litana headed for Tristan’s room.

     Litana locked the door, much to Tristan’s amusement. “No one knows we have this chest, Ana,” he soothed. “Don’t worry.” She shot him a scathing look and proceeded to close the blinds as well.

     Tristan laughed and turned his attention to the chest. He attempted to lift the clasp once more but still it would not budge. Letting out a soft growl of frustration, he shook the chest and tried to jimmy it open some more. “It’s definitely locked. There’s no way around it. We’ll need a key to open it,” he muttered grimly.

     “Guess we should have seen that coming back on the shore.” Litana let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding. Though still nervous, she felt wildly curious too. “Now what?”

     Tristan let out a thoughtful sigh before grinning. “I’ve got a plan. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

     To be continued…