2024 NanoWrimo Story

4th locket piece

Francis and James made their way into the city. They walked down the main street looking at the buildings and the people. No one seemed to pay any attention to them. They went to the port to see if there were any boats for rent. They found one that they could rent for the night at least and reserved it under false names.

The two friends continued to walk around the city. It covered a significant area. There was a lot of trade done here and the city had prospered even under the rulership of the current king. They went into the saloon. It was bustling with business. On the bar there was an almanac and some other newspapers. They read the information while they sipped on a drink and listened to the conversations in the room. The bar tender asked them if they had heard about the storm that was coming and pointed out the condition of the sky. He said if they have any business at sea, it may have to wait or they better get it done and back on shore before the storm came. They decided to get back to the others and get aboard the ship as soon as possible.

They hurried to where the others were waiting and told them all they had seen and heard. They again broke up into smaller groups. Francis and James went back in first and took possession of the ship. The others came and joined little by little until they had all boarded and was ready to set sail. Fortunately, Sam had some previous experience on a ship. So they had him do the steering.

After they got out away from shore, they began to notice the storm forming overhead. They all did what they could do to prepare. It began to rain. They all hoped it wouldn't be too severe. The anchor was dropped and the sales were taken down.

It stormed all night long, All on board the ship met on deck the next morning when it had stopped storming. They decided they would set sail again once everyone got a couple hours rest. Just as their meeting was about to end, there appeared an apparition. "I am Captain Hogan. Why are you on my ship?" It said,

Jacob answered him and told him his story. He finished, "So, we rented the ship to look for the locket piece."

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that? I've never heard such a story." Captain Hogan responded.

"Believe it or not, its the truth captain." Jacob said.

"We will see!" said Captain Hogan. Then he disappeared.

Everyone, got a little rest and set sail again. That evening as the sun was going down, they had another meeting on the deck before nightfall. As they were discussing matters of business, the apparition appeared again. "I talked it over with my crew. They don't believe your story either." Everyone felt a swoop of cold air and other apparitions appeared. "Can you prove it?' captain Hogan said.

Jacob said, "Allow me to get my saddle bags and I can show you what I have."

Captain Hogan said, "No one else had better move. Go get them."

Jacob went to get his saddle bags and no one else moved a muscle. Everyone else was afraid to even speak. Jacob came back with his proof. Pulled it out and showed the ghost captain. "Some of this was enough to get me arrested for treason and I had to break free to finish what I have set out to do. Would you be willing to help me?"

Captain Hogan looked at him for a moment and then looked at his crew. "What do you think men?" All his men shook their head in agreement. Then he looked back at Jacob. "I'll tell you what, if you will help us, we will help you."

Jacob inquired, "What do you need help with?"

Captain Hogan eyed him carefully. "Break the curse that is on us! Our souls are cursed to this ship unless someone destroys it. We can not rest until then."

Jacob said, "We just need to get to that next locket piece and then get back to shore. If you can help us do that, we can destroy the ship for you."

Captain Hogan replied, "If you try to double cross us, we will kill every one of you."

Jacob replied, "Understood. It's a deal then?"

"Yes" Captain Hogan said before he and his men disappeared again.

Mike questioned, "What the heck was that? Did you seriously just make a deal with the ghosts of this ship?"

Jacob asked, "You got any better ideas? Besides, why not set their souls free?"

Mike answered, "I guess you are right. They definitely don't train you for bargaining with ghosts in soldier's training."

All of them, went on to their own seperate sleeping sections of the ship. Sleeping on a haunted ship was not easy. They never knew when the ghosts would appear or not and if they were going to be friendly. I guess a ghost being stuck on a cursed ship makes them kind of grumpy.

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(alternative)

The next morning they had sailed close to the island. They sailed as close as they dared to safely without recking the ship and then took paddle boats to the shore. The ship had some paddle boats tied to the side of the ship for safety and scouting. They paddled up to the shore and pulled the boats up a ways on the sand to avoid the tide. Beyond the sandy beach, were palm trees and and bannana trees. It appeared to be a small jungle on a small island. The group made their way into the trees and cleared away the shrubs as they needed with their knives and swords being careful to avoid any snakes.

The bandits came to a clearing and was making their was across it when they heard some growls behind them. They turned to see what the noise was. There stood three gigantic wolves in the path behind them, More growls were heard, three more wolves had appeared in the front of the group. Even more growls were heard, there were even more gigantic wolves on all sides of them. Had they been stalking them from the beginning. They felt like children's toys in front of the wolves because they were so huge.

Jacob thought quickly. He knew wolves hated fire. He yelled orders. "Light your lanterns. Use them to set fire to sticks you can find on the ground. Archers use your arrows. Let's see if we can get them to back off!"

Everyone did as they were told. The wolves began to retreat at t he sight of the fire. Three arrows struck one wolf and he fell to the ground yelping. They continued yielding their fire and arrows until all the wolves were dead, wounded, or had retreated. None of the humans were hurt and they all gave a victory holler.

They continued making their way through he jungle until they came upon a statue of King Richard. King Richard appeared to be holding a very real chest. They managed to unlock it and get it open. Inside they found half the picture of King Richard shaped to fit the locket and the next clue.

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They made their way to a clearing. As they walked across it, they began to hear some growls behind them. When they turned to see where the growls were coming from, there stood 3 gigantic wolves. More growls were heard. There were 3 gigantic wolved in front of them too. Then more wolves appeared on all sides and surrounded to group of humans. Jacob yelled, "Light the lanterns and begin to set sticks on fire to throw at them. Archers, use your arrows." These must have been the guardians of the next locket piece which meant they were getting close.

The lanterns were lit and they were prepared to do battle. At the sight of the fire, the wolves took a couple steps back. They weren't used to so many targets all wielding fire. The archers set their arrows on fire and shot them at the wolves. Two of the wolves retreated as their fur caught on fire. Jacob yelled, "Keep it up. This is working!" They continued to fight the wolves with fire until they were either dead, ran away, or severely injured. No men were hurt this time.

The continues making their way through the jungle until finally they came upon a statue. The statue was of King Richard. King Richard was posed holding a chest. The chest seemed real. The men broke the lock. Inside the chest was a cocoanut shell. When they looked inside the shell, There was half of the picture of King Richard shaped to fit the locket. They also found the next clue.

Dig up your clue from a place that is old
It was abandoned a long time ago
Find some coal as dark as night
Avoid and trouble if you think you might.

Now they knew what they had to do to get to the next clue. Jacob was so tired of this clue hunt already. He wished it was over, but he still had a ways to go. Everyone made their way back through the jungle and to where they had parked their boats. The tide had risen and was almost to their boats. They knew they needed to get back to the ship before dark.

Once every one was back on board the ship, they discussed what their next moves would be. They all agreed they would use the ship to get back close to land. Then they would use dinamite to explode the ship and take the paddle boats back into shore. They would land just outside another port city to try to avoid detection. They needed to get to the next clue as soon as possible.

They sailed back towards the mainland. When they were near Starport City, they set up the dinomite and loaded themselves into the paddle boats with their supplies and belongings. They made their way to a safe distance from the boat and then exploded it. The ghosts gather in the air above them and voiced their appreciation before they left.

Once they made it into shore, they parked the paddle boats and headed on foot to the designated location Harold, Fred, and Judith were holding the horses. By then it was near nightfall. They remained camped there for the night. The next morning they would head towards the next locket piece.