After a week of sailing the open oceans, marvelling at their bounties, training and bonding more as a family and a crew, the Nightshade pirates finally realised one fatal mistake with their current decisions.
"Hey Captain," Elez called out, holding tightly onto the steering wheel while the harsh winds of the sea blew over them. "Where are we actually going?" He asked, looking out on the horizon in hopes of a town nearby. They were beginning to run low on food and supplies, and the ship itself was in need of a check up.
"Honestly," Madison giggled, laying down under the shade of the mast. "I have no idea!" She yelled back, turning to look at Pip while the young boy sat silently beside her, reading a book with Valen's comedically massive pirate hat providing shade for his eyes.
"I see land up ahead!" Zenith called out from the front of the ship. "Let's dock there and buy some maps." He suggested, looking back as Madison happily ran to his side, almost rushing straight into the safety rails and flipping over the front of the boat. Thankfully, Zenith was there to catch her shoulder.
"Hey! That island looks super pretty." Madison smiled, brushing off the fact that she had almost fallen overboard. "Elez! Set a course for that place!" She hummed, pointing out at the rich holiday destination which was well known by the surrounding islands.
Slowly, the crew began to prepare for a departure from the ship, stocking up on all of their gold and dressing up in clever disguises. They had plans to split up and gather resources, before meeting back up on the ship as soon as they were done. Madison was happily tasked with gathering treats and alcohol, Elez was once again going out to gather food, and Zenith was left to procure maps and information. Which also meant that Pip would be left alone to guard the ship.
"Are you sure you'll be ok here on your own?" Madison asked, crouching down to kiss his forehead and hug him softly, all while Elez and Zenith were docking the ship in a secluded beach nearby.
"Yes, I will be the best guard Fox ever." He smiled, looking up at her with a happy grin, just as his pirate hat fell adorably over his eyes. Madison giggled and corrected the item, before smiling at him sweetly and hugging him once more.
"I'll be back as soon as I get what we need." She said, letting him go as she walked off towards the plank which Zenith had lowered for them.
"If there's an emergency, then hit this button." Zenith said, tossing Pip a small signal stone which he had found in the captain's quarters. It was a simple item, but one which was rare to see and only ever used by military or high class criminals. Naturally, Pip was amazed by it, clicking the shallow button at the top, only for his ears to drop at the disappointing sound of nothing.
"It won't make any noise," Elez said, stepping up to Pip's side as both Zenith and himself held out two similar stones, but that curious thing about them was the fact that they were flashing red. "They are silent signals for safety reasons. It stops people from finding us if you were in danger while we were trying to be sneaky." He explained, referring to the fact that a beeping alarm could get them killed in any situation where they needed to be silent.
"I understand." Pip nodded, holding his signal stone close while Elez and Zenith smiled and put their own stones away.
"Red is your panic colour, Madison's will cause it to flash yellow if she's in trouble, Zenith is blue, and I'm green." Elez explained, writing the colours down on a shard of paper before handing it to Pip as well. "If the stone flashes with any of those colours, then stay hidden on the ship and don't come up until you hear one of our voices." He instructed, earning a quick nod from Pip as proof of his understanding.
"Alright, let's move out people." Zenith smiled, patting Pip's head before walking off and jumping down onto the beach nearby. He noticed immediately that Madison had already run off, leaving Elez and Zenith to once again chase after her in their usual competitive style. After many minutes of teasing and shouting up into the sky though, Zenith finally escaped the forest that surrounded the beach, and began walking into the town which was situated in the centre of the island.
Elez flew off overhead, leaving Zenith to explore and adventure on his own, all while secretly attempting to find Madison in order to spend some quality time alone with her. Dismal faces and shallow expressions began catching Zenith's eye though, as he looked around at the sorrowful features of every inhabitant on the island.
"Excuse me," he said, stepping up to a old hunched over lady at a market stand. "What's wrong here? Why is everyone so down?" He asked, confused by the entire town's mood.
"Pirates," she replied, her voice old and brittle. "They came and took our money and our food. Lady Haylee tried to negotiate with them, but we haven't seen her in days now." She mumbled solemnly, filling Zenith with a heavy dose of dread and uncertainty.
"Are the pirates still here?" He asked.
"Yes sir, they moved in a few days ago, and they haven't left since. I'm amazed you even made it to the island, they burn down every ship that gets close." She replied, striking fear and horror into Zenith's heart.
"I need to go," he said quickly, tossing her a silver coin for her information, before dashing off in search of the others. He ran through every street, and called out down every alley, but after far too long of finding nothing, Zenith began to worry for the safety of his crew. Quickly, he began clawing his signal stone out of his pocket, before checking for incoming flashes.
Nothing shone through the stone.
Zenith's heart dropped at the sight, unsure if it was good or bad to see the stone so lifelessly grey. He began slipping it back into the inside pocket of his shirt, but hesitated and pulled it back out, gripping it tightly in his hand while he continued to search the town, making sure that he would miss a single blink of light that might escape from it.
Half an hour passed in barely a moment, as Zenith finally stumbled upon the shop which he was looking for, one that was filled to the brim with maps and cartographic paper. As his hand brushed over the brass door handle of the entrance though, his eyes looked up through the hazy door window, allowing him to spot the steely figure of a full grown pirate. Immediately, he stepped back and pulled his hand away, hesitating to enter the shop which was rightfully taken over.
He took a shaky breath and reached for his sword. If he was going to defend the others and protect this town, he needed to know exactly who was in charge. But before his hand could even reach the hilt, a flashing red light caught his eye, sending a flurry of horrific shivers running down his back.
Within a moment Zenith had his left hand laid out flat, showing off the glowing signal stone and proving that Pip was most definitely in trouble. A heavy weight of dread became stuck in Zenith's throat, as his eyes turned up to look at the horizon on which the boat was docked.
Zenith's eyes went wide with fear, as he dropped his flashing red stone to the floor. Flickering orange flames and ashy smoke rose idly from the shore nearby.