Captain Blackthorpe

Captain’s Log, Day 45 at Sea:

This storm has been raging for days. A bad omen, a storm sent straight from the anger of the gods. I fear we’ve been blown off course There’s no way to tell. Fifteen metre waves crash against the ship. The swells threaten us from all around like some smothering blanket. I tell the crew to remain steadfast and keep the promise of treasure beyond their wildest dreams in their black pirate hearts.

Day 47:

Five days of torture inflicted by Poseidon himself. Somehow we have survived. Are we cursed or blessed? It’s hard to say. We lost a few good sailors to the waves. Sacrifices to the sea. A price we knew we may have to pay when we embarked on this journey. We persist and should be back on course in two days. Onward to the Sea Witch’s treasure.

Day 52:

Sailing has been smooth – too smooth. I grow suspicious. Of what? My crew? The sea herself? Endless expanse of blue above and blue has been known to drive me of sounder hearts than mine completely insane. Some days I feel as if this little, black, leather-bound book is the only thing that saves me from becoming one of them.

Day 53:

I dream of a quiet life. That’s what this treasure means to me. A sturdy ship and a sturdier woman. The constant battles bore me. This devilish ship full of unwashed, stinking brutes, bores me. The dance with the sea is dead. A means to an end… my ending as Pirate King.

Day 57:

AT LONG LAST – LAND-HO! The isle, marked by cragged cliffs just as the Witch foretold. Half a day’s sail and we will be close enough to row ashore. The sea water in my veins will at last return to the warmth of human blood! My gull eyes will return to human sight! My hunger for land will finally be satiated!

Day 58:

Horror. Bloodshed. Devastation. These are the words that swill around my empty bottle of a heart. Ambushed as soon as we stepped out of the row boats. Only the gods know what lay wait for us. Terrifying teeth like rows of daggers. Webbed finger-like appendages ending in razor sharp claws. Blue skin. Gills. They attacked from behind, dragging men down by their ankles, fangs stuck securely in their flesh… Their ferocious screaming will forever ring in my ears.

Ten of twenty sailors remain. The creatures seem to prefer the watery depths, so we have found some kind of shelter amongst the trees. We are not turning back now, though this island is surely more cursed than Hell itself.

Day 60:

We moved through the jungle carefully, quietly. So far, no further demons or ghouls have befallen us. Living beasts of all sorts lurk in the shadows to be sure. I can feel we are being watched.

Finally, finally! We have found the cave. Within it, over 20,000 pounds of gold, promised by the witch with whom I struck my final trade. Booby-traps, ghostly guards, savages – nothing will stop me now from taking what is rightfully mine! I have no fear anymore, it is time to get what we came for.

And that is the last entry written by Captain Cannon Blackthorpe, Neither his body or the body of his men were ever found. Divers to this day travel to the island to search the waters for his ship. Many pirate legends were born from the disappearance of Captain Blackthorpe. Some say the Sea Witch lured him there to consume their souls. The creatures they encountered weren’t trying to attack them, but warn them of the dangers of the cave. Others say the cave itself trapped any human man who tried to steal its gold, turning them to stone. Or maybe, just maybe, Captain Blackthorpe got his wish and sailed away to a rich, quiet life.