In the midst of a dark and gloomy sea, the sickening waves caused a ship to sway gently. The sky above was equally dark, with a crescent moon, hanging in the air, that seemingly portrayed an evil smile.
The ship itself was a medium-sized vessel, with two cylindrical masts holding wide canvas sails that helped it to steadily cut through the thick fog.
Despite the ship's large wooden deck, there were only three individuals on board. One of them was a tall, well-built man named Theron, also known as the Bloody Thorn. He had obtained the title and the map to the location of Ruined Man's treasure after brutally impaling four men with a lance that resembled a large thorn.
His thick and muscular hand was holding a map.
"Our provisions are enough to keep us alive for one month," he said as he tapped the westernmost part of the map. "But if we stretch the food, we may be able to endure for two months," he added, his finger ticking the map. His plan was to take refuge in this gloomy sea till the matter regarding his theft calms down.
The only woman on the ship, dressed in a pirate's hat and wide-sleeved top, nodded her head in agreement. However, her eyes were filled with fear as she gazed at the part of the map where Theron's fingers were unconsciously tapping.
There were no islands marked on that part of the map, only three symbols: a shipwreck, a sea dragon, and a skull. But everyone onboard knew that only one of those symbols was true - the symbol of death.
The skull.
"We should try to catch any fish, if we can," the third person present on the ship said in a voice that trailed off towards the end. His name was Shrunk, Glass Eye Shrunk. He was a lean and bald 34 year old man with cunningly sharp eyes.
He was an up and coming pirate with a bounty of 4 pounds of gold, worth 22,000 Candi.
22,000 `C.
"Stuck between the devil and this bitter sea, aye? Try we will, but I reckon we won't find fish in this " Theron said as he folded the map and moved closer to the ship's end.
His eyes looked at the sea, the water looked dark as ink. The night was to blame and so be it, but the rumors of Endsea's water being darker than normal seawater were true.
"The trench to hell…," Theron murmured as he remembered about the rumors of a deep trench in this sea.
Then his eyes hovered over the front of the ship which had a wooden bowstrip. It was like a spear on which hung an oil lamp which revealed the area ahead.
The fog seemed to be running away from the lamp's light.
Theron looked at the path ahead, it was all water and fog. But suddenly his eyes widened. He saw the wooden bow(the front part) of what appeared to be a bigger ship. It was too close to avoid a direct clash.
In a matter of seconds this bigger ship would ram into them.
"Starboard !!" he roared.
Srunk wasted no time in jumping towards the helm. He rotated the large wheel wildly in the clockwise direction. However, it was not enough as the incoming ship's large bow brushed their ship's left side.
Their ship shook violently causing the girl to lose her footing. She fell towards the wooden railing of the deck. There was an extended creak as the big bow rubbed their ship's side. Theron immediately ran to inspect the part that was hit.
The wooden planks of their ship's left side looked a little bent. It was difficult to tell if the wall would burst open in the next moment, flooding their ship's body. He sighed in relief as their vessel didn't break like a toy.
Then he scanned the big ship. A strong smell of rotten wood entered his nose. It was a stranded vessel which was lost at sea for too long, he concluded immediately.
Far too long, he changed his mind on seeing the ghastly yellowish patches that ragged the wood of the big ship.
Old lost ships generally had treasures on them. Free gold and gems for the finders because the dead couldn't carry their wealth to the afterlife.
"On board," he commanded.
"Theron, wait." The girl named Elsa called out. "What if it's a ghost ship?" She said in a shivering voice.
She had heard many rumors about ghosts. The Half-Dead Prince, still sailing in the Drout Sea, was among the top 10 myths of all time.
"Ghosts only exit in fantasies," Srunk said.
Theron patted Elsa's shoulder. "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."
So, the decision was quick and final because the big ship might sail away in the next moment. The trio threw ropes with hooks connected at their top towards the giant ship's railing. They tied the other end to their own ship.
Each with a sharp, slightly curved broadsword (cutlass*), and a metal lantern attached to their belts, climbed the big ship.
It was a three masted ship. Theron paused beside the thick middle mast. He lifted the lamp to inspect, the wood was covered in tally marks - four straight lines crossed with a fifth diagonal line. It was a popular method to count, used especially to count days at seas and prisons.
The tally marks were all on the wooden mast and on the floor beneath it. The absurdity of it was to the point that the marks looked more like a design pattern. Suddenly, the big cloth sail above him fluttered. It sent a chill down his spine.
"Ghost's aren't real, this is a joke." He said in a low voice.
Srunk slowly nodded in approval, but his back seemed to have slightly bent. Elsa, on the other hand, moved closer to Theron.
A thick rope was tied around the mast, and the trio, with their lamps lighting up the dark space, walked around the deck to see where it led.
"Look!" Shrunk exclaimed, noticing that the rope was wrapped and knotted around the wooden railing. They moved to check and found that the rope was further extending into the water.
"Someone made sure that the rope wouldn't untie from the ship." Theron said. "It must be something precious."
"What if it is a trap?" Elsa pulled Theron's long coat.
"The most precious treasure often come from the strangest places," Srunk said. "The pressure of the sea can keep some things sealed."
Thus, Theron and Srunk began pulling the rope, hoping to retrieve whatever was at the other end. Soon they realized that it wasn't a single long rope but multiple ropes tied together. It raised their morale as they quickly pulled.
After a while, layers of the rope were piled up on the deck. Finally, it felt like the object on the end of the rope was nearing the surface.
Bubbles gurgled on the dark water, and suddenly a shadow jumped out. It climbed the ship like a monkey and leapt into the sky.
The skeleton thin silhouette, although barely visible in the light of their dim lamps, had narrow legs and pointy fingers.
"Ghost!" Elsa screamed as the shadowy figure fell towards her. She tried to run away but her scream was cut short as a hand chopped hard at the nape of her neck, and she fainted on the spot.
Theron rushed to attack the skeleton-thin shadow, he drew his weapon - the cutlass, only to find that the shadowy figure was a skeleton thin person who was half his size. He couldn't see his enemie's face as the lamp lying on the floor was suddenly kicked towards him.
The bright light flew towards him, blinding his vision. He swung his hand to redirect the lamp. In the next moment, the wind and the sound helped him feel that the person was running towards him.
As Theron swung his cutlass, his opponent darted past him, the blade only grazing his target. Drops of red blood strained the cutlass' sharp tip.
He turned to face his opponent but as his eyes adjusted he saw that the skeleton thin person defeated Srunk with a kick between the legs.
"Face me, you cowardly beast!" Theron shouted. He had spotted his opponent's figure. It wasn't a ghost but a starved 14 or 15 year old half-dead kid.
He had never seen half-dead people, but if they ever existed, staved and thin like a stick, deprived of all life would they be like according to his imagination.
The skeleton thin boy, whose name was Atlus, smiled, his back facing Theron. He was wearing a worn vest and baggy shorts. Instead of replying, he ran forward, hiding in the cover of the dark ship.
"I have trained a lot for this day, the likes of you cannot defeat me," Atlus said in a heavy voice, trying to sound intimidating. "Tell me the direction of the nearest island and."
"If you were strong, then you wouldn't have to harm my weakest members first," Theron retorted. A cold sweat bead rolled down his forehead but his grip on the cutlass' hilt was firm.
Atlus looked at Theron from a distance. "You fool, I was going by the book. It is easy to fight if you eliminate the weak first."
He had no weapon, his body was half the size of Theron, plus his head was spinning because he had not eaten anything except salt of the sea for the past week. On top of it, there was no place to run in the middle of the dark foggy sea.
Fighting was the only option.
A lamp was lying near Srunk's body. Atlus spotted a cutlass and a knife hidden in the Srunk's boot. He immediately ran towards it.
Theron who was slowly rotating around in one place with a lamp in hand - to avoid an ambush - heard footsteps. He immediately spotted Atlus.
Quickly, he stepped forward to swing his cutlass in a wide deadly arc.
Atlus easily dodged as he slid between Theron's leg. He rolled away and stabbed Theron's legs with the knife he found, making the latter's footing unstable.
"I will send you to the Davy Jones' Locker!**" Theron grunted.
The cutlass violently approached Atlus again. But instead of trying his luck at dodging, he ran in the opposite direction. Theron chased.
Atlus ran around the ship and climbed up the mast. He was quick like a monkey but Theron was also an experienced sailor. Both of them were on top of the horizontal log connected with the mast.
"There is nowhere to run, kid. Surrender or I will throw you below. It would break more than just bones." Theron threatened as they were on a considerable height now.
Atlus threw the knife and ran along with it. Just as Theron raised his cutlass to block the knife, Atlus's whole body was on him with a flying dropkick.
The impact was enough to make Theron's foot slip and he fell straight towards his own ship. He wanted to block the fall with his hands, but Atlus was falling alongside. For a brief moment, the two guys struggled midyear before Theron fell headfirst into the wooden deck.
BANG!
Theron's head darted inside the broken planks like a flag post in the sand. The impact made his ship shake wildly, followed by a loud creaking noise as the ship's left wall burst.
Water flooded inside the ship's body and the waves began to shake it violently.
Altlus huffed heavily while sitting on top of Theron's body. He checked Theron's coat. Pirates often kept the most valuable items close, very close.
He took out a white pearl necklace and a parchment. It was a map which Theron had stolen after impaling four men with a lance.
Acquiring the Ruined Man's treasure map was the turning point in the life of Atlus, something that would later push him on the path to become the first Pirate King.