They didn't have any time to digest this information, least of all Mariana, who seemed to sail from one bewildering event to another.
The island was soon on the horizon. It was not on any official maps, which was already enough to make the men wary of its form, piercing the oceanic currents like a thorn.
Its shores were not too inviting, but there were so many coconut palm trees that Marrow made a bet; if he didn't get knocked out by a coconut, he would have to pay Slimbers two hundred silver coins. This amused the listeners enough that the strange tension aboard the Good Wife started to dissolve, bit by bit, until they were all laughing and joking normally again.
"I don't think there will be anything too dangerous there," Marrow said, back in his boisterous ways again. Gods, he was annoyingly loud at times.
"I don't think we can let down our guard just yet," Mariana said, squinting at the forest rising above the palm trees. "I have been here once…but back then, there were no palm trees. None at all."
"Strange," Daniel said. "You are probably right, flora doesn't just change on its own. Much less in just a few years?"
"What's a flora, Cap'n?" someone asked.
Mariana rolled her eyes.
At times, she did feel like she had chosen the wrong profession as a woman of culture.
"It's vegetables," Marrow explained with all the helpfulness of a man who really didn't know what he was talking about.
Mariana was the first to step ashore.
Officially, it was about this women first nonsense. Unofficially, it was because all the rest were unsure whether she would die on impact and it was much better to worry about someone else doing it.
"It's just regular sand," she said, proving her point by throwing said sand around. "It is most definitely safe."
Daniel stepped ashore as well, followed by the rest of his men.
"You are right about the coconuts, Mariana," he said. "Technically, this island should not be able to sustain these trees."
Mariana frowned. "Has someone planted these trees, then?"
The pirate king shook his head. "I wish I knew. I don't even know if there is anyone on this island. We better investigate carefully."
They walked into the unsettlingly quiet forest. There were birds, but they didn't sing, they barely even seemed shocked by the arrival of a few crazy pirates.
Daniel was leading the way, holding Mariana's hand.
"I don't want to be left alone here," she said, shivering. "It feels like the forest itself could swallow us whole if it wanted to."
"Don't be stupid, I am not leaving you alone here," Daniel grunted.
"Good."
She could not resist the temptation to poke a funny mushroom that grew on an old tree.
It emitted a burst of some yellow, powdery substance, and she had to pull back so that she would not breathe it into her lungs.
"From now on, don't try to touch anything that is not the ground or me," the pirate king said.
They wandered around, using a rope to mark their route. The forest got wilder as they progressed towards the heart of the island, this murky darkness covering all rays of daylight with its leafy sleeves. The mushrooms got larger, and some of their colors were quite hostile to the eye, some were bright red, while others had an unnaturally blue hue that looked downright horrible in the middle of the yellowish green moss that grew everywhere.
"I don't much care for this forest," Marrow muttered. "Look. Cap'n, can we turn back and do this during the day?"
"It is daytime," Daniel said.
"Well, can we at least have a drink or two so that we won't care as much when a man-eating mushroom jumps up and swallows us whole, starting to digest us while we are still alive…?"
Mariana got tired of Marrow's groaning and stuck a bottle of rum into his hands.
"Here you go," she said sharply. "I don't want to hear a single word about man-eating mushrooms, you hear me? I really don't need another person making me nervous. This forest is doing a fine job on its own."
The pirate king did not say anything, although on his ship, drinking while working was strictly prohibited. It seemed like he, too, recognized the immense power of their surroundings and was perhaps even a little bit scared.
The path they were treading turned into nothing but moss, something that should definitely have been somewhere with no palm trees around. A little stream ran by, bubbling happily, but then one of the men tried to drink from it and Mariana stopped him.
"It could turn you into some monster," she explained. "I don't want anyone taking more risks than what is absolutely necessary."
Daniel patted her lower back with a hint of possessive pride. "Good call, Mariana. We really have no idea what we are up against."
"So, do we follow the stream?" she asked.
"Aye, I think it should lead us to the nearest house or whatever horrible lair the inhabitants of this place live in. Then we can, at least hopefully, find Roinar." Daniel frowned. "Is the rope still there?"
"The rope is intact, and it has not moved," Marrow said. "This is some good rum."
Mariana smirked. She was going to be the favorite captain of the crew, whatever it took.
"You are welcome, Marrow."
At that moment, a horrible scream echoed from the deepest and densest part of the forest. It was like the person - or monster - screaming did not have a throat at all anymore and had to use a wooden barrel to have something to make the scream echo louder.
Mariana grabbed the sleeve of the pirate king.
"And what…" Marrow shook himself, looking bewildered. "WHAT on EARTH was that?!"
"Be quiet!" Daniel hissed at him and hit him in the back of his head.
Mariana did not say anything. She listened to the echo as it bounced from the trees, one, two, three times.