Adventure

Part 1 – His Father’s son

“The oddest tail I have ever heard?”

The man was drunk. All the men sitting around the table were drunk. But he was certainly the drunkest.

“Let me tell you lads, I have friend you see, and this friend had a father. Or has, I can’t rightly remember, but that’s not important. What is important, is that this man’s father was a sailor, and he needed a job. He was about to lose his, he needed food and his youngest, my friend’s sister, was sick. Who would pay for the medicine?” The man lowered his voice, drawing in his audience. “Finally, he found a job, it was the last job he’d ever need, if you believe my friend. Although he always questioned if it was worth the pain and suffering.”

The other men around the table jeered and gesticulated, they wanted a real story, and this was not a real story. After a rambunctious five minutes, the drunk man had finally settled them down again. Like a maestro, he conducted his fellow drunkards back into their seats and a hush once again fell upon the table. Food was delivered and the time was ripe for the imagination to run wild.

“Okay, okay, you animals, here is what happened. Mind you, some of this is purely conjecture so just keep your damn mouths clamped and listen.”

********************

“Adventure! Aha! You sir, yes you! Riches and rewards beyond your wildest dreams, it could be you sir!” The man shouted at every able-bodied man that walked by. He needed three more on the crew before they could set sail and his time was running out. The ship sailed with the tide, and he still needed three more. What was worse, one of those men needed to be able to navigate.

“Damn Jarod and his shit for brains brother,” Carl Rengle said under his breath. Getting into a fight over a whore. One dead and the other rotting in a damp cell, somewhere below Agrantia. If the stories were true, the bottom two-levels of the jail filled with water at high tide. He wondered which level Jarod was now occupying.

Hours later and he had filled two of the three remaining posts. He sighed, as he expected, the position of navigator was the only spot left. Just at that moment, a man appeared in the street. Carl knew a man looking for work and he knew a sailor. “Fallen on tough times but he still has his pride,” thought Carl.

“You sir! Yes, you in the wool coat, I see you are looking for work.”

“Perhaps I am.” Sam Connels was genial man but did not like when people knew too much about him. And since he had never met this man before, Sam Connels was wary.

“Well, may I offer you the chance of a lifetime sir? Do you by chance, read maps? Can you chart a course? Read the stars and find your way home? What I am asking you sir, is this, can you navigate a ship?” Carl could not conclude this business fast enough.

“Yes, I can.”

“Well, then you are just the man I want aboard the glorious Marigold, one year of service and you will be a made man,” Carl announced with joyous finality.

“I didn’t say I would take on the position.”

Carl’s face fell, but he quickly bounced back.

“One golden eagle a day with a bonus of twenty silver grouse every month. And two extra shares of any profit the ship brings back. A bonus of two golden eagles, with one month advanced upon signing.” Carl folded his arms, confident and unwilling to negotiate.

Sam was struck dumb with the amount. This was far above the normal wages of any navigator working on any ship, which means there is a catch. Typical.

“And where is Marigold’s destination?” Sam had almost decided to walk away but the amount would set him up in a way he never dreamed of. So, he waited to hear the answer.

“We sail the Strait of Dreams…” Carl wanted to say more, he had rehearsed the pitch, dammit! But the man’s eyes investigated him with such intensity that Carl could not finish.

“I’ve heard that no ship that has sailed those waters has ever returned. Yet, there are stories of indescribable beauty and limitless wealth to be found beyond the Strait. Curious, is it not?”

“It is true, there is beauty and riches beyond what we know. Fruits so sweet and delicious that you will never want to stop eating them. Exotic furs to keep you warm in the coldest of northern winters. Wine that will take you to another world with just one sip. And it is true that no ship has ever returned from the Strait, as far as it goes. But what the stories leave out, and incidentally the most important part of the true story, is that three men have returned. The ship was called Blackbird and it a lifeboat carried the men out of the Strait of Dreams and back into charted waters.”

“And how have you come by this fascinating and unknown tail? How do you know the taste of these fruits?” Sam liked fruit, but this man had never tasted anything more exotic than an apple.

“That is not important. But I will tell you that the captain of Blackbird will be captaining Marigold. Any questions you wish to put to him is none of my business, but I would not recommend it. He is not one to share.”

As he finished the last sentence, Carl visibly shivered. It was worse than Sam imagined. This man was one of the three. There were plenty of dangerous places Sam had sailed to, often the journey was more dangerous than the destination. But, to willingly sail into certain doom is on a level of crazy that Sam could never abide. He was about to tell Carl this when Carl, seeing his navigator slipping away, threw down five gold eagles.

“That’s five gold eagles for just signing on my friend. How can you say no to that?”

“My family needs me; I will not leave them behind while I go on a fool’s journey to death!” But really, that was quite a considerable sum of money.

“The ship is still there, Blackbird.” Carl blurted it out without thinking. But he needed this man dammit. “It was a storm; it came on us like a banshee from beyond. We were racked by wind and rain, the waves threatening to break the ship apart. It was all we could to keep her from sinking. There was an island, and we were able to bring her ashore. That is where she sits, with what is left of the crew. That was a year ago. We left them with what little food we had, hoping there was something on the island to keep them going. It is unknown if they live. The rest of us traveled on the lifeboat, only three of us survived the journey out of the Strait of Dreams.”

Sam knew the truth before that man had admitted it, but it was still shocking to hear.

“You left them on the island? Did you force them to stay?”

“They volunteered, but they all knew it was their duty.”

“Why?”

“The treasure,” said Carl. “The ship was full of treasure.”

********************

Sam said goodbye to his wife and children, leaving them in the small hours of the morning to rush off down to the docks and the waiting Marigold. Then it was off to either certain doom or certain fortune.

“Now, Lucas, you take care of your little sister and listen to your mother. You know she always knows best.”

“Yes, father,” replied his son, hiding the tears that had been threatening to fall since he learned of his father’s departure.

Sam kissed his little girl on the forehead, feeling the unnatural warmth and hoping the medication would soon set her right again.

“Keep it in a safe place, Maggie,” said Sam as he handed his wife the gold.

“It will easily take care of you and the children, and any emergencies that may arise.”

“Yes, my love,” his wife looked at him somberly.

“It’s only a year, not long at all when you think about it.”

It was the most demanding thing he had ever done, and he never thought anything could be as hard as saying goodbye to his love. But his journey down the Strait of Dreams was still ahead, and Sam would soon learn that saying goodbye to his wife was the easiest part of his journey.

As Sam approached the Marigold, he saw the beautiful figurehead, a maiden holding a flower, and stopped in his tracks. It was a magnificent ship, made for swift travel with large loads. The white sails billowed in the wind and the flag with a bright yellow marigold flower in a field of green, was proudly displayed. The ship was crawling with men, they were running back and forth making last minute repairs, some were in the rigging, while others were loading the ship with provisions. And with the sun freshly risen, Marigold set sail on a grand adventure to bring home the soon to be famous Blackbird Treasure.

********************

Marigold set sail for the strait of dreams with the intentions of being back to port within a year. A year went by and yet, there was no sign of the ship. Month after month passed, soon it was believed that Marigold was lost with all hands. It went into the strait of dreams, this was confirmed, but no reports have reached them of any ship by that name or description ever calling at any other port. Marigold had simply disappeared.

It was three years later, and Lucas was fishing off the docks, when a strange ship laid anchor in the harbor. Word traveled fast throughout the city, as this ship had some remarkable features. The sails were faded black, stitched with red from where it had torn in many places. A crew made entirely of foreign looking sailors, grizzled, and slightly menacing. And a flag, still as bright as the day Lucas had seen it last, proudly displaying a bright yellow marigold flower on a field of green. Lucas stopped breathing; this was his father’s ship, this was Marigold.

One man, the only one who was different from all the others, came ashore. He stood there, slowly turning his head like a man who needed to take in every inch of his surroundings, like he needed to know that what he was seeing was real. His eyes passed over Lucas and then flew back. Lucas smiled and ran towards the man. His father had made it home.

********************

“What, is that it? What a load horse-apples!”

“Ah but wouldn’t you know Lee? You are an expert!

The men at the table roared with laughter, pounding on the table and sloshing beer onto the floor. That is when they were told that the tavern was closing, and they needed to get on home. The men broke out in a classic drinking song as they were ushered onto the dark street. Three of the men turned left while the remaining two turned right. The couple walked down the dark street, each thinking about the same thing, yet thinking something different too.

“So, what the hell happened to them?”

“Who, the crew?”

“No, our last round of beers. Yes, the damn crew, and all the pain and suffering they supposedly went through.”

“Oh, we don’t have time for that tale, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Bullshit! You don’t know! That’s it isn’t it? Lee was right. You probably made the whole thing up.”

“Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t.”

“Well, tomorrow I want that damn story.”

“Goodnight, Roger.”

“Goodnight, Luke, you asshole. See you tomorrow.”