Walk the Plank: Part Two

      Because the storm seemed to be getting worse, crew members started taking equipment below deck to avoid it being washed away. Diran excused himself and went to Darkwing's quarters. He was exhausted!

      Diran chuckled to himself as he flopped on the hard bed. He had spent the whole day wearing nothing but what Darkwing had worn to bed the previous night! As he rolled over, he felt a peculiar bump in the pillow he was lying on. Diran picked it up to fluff it and discovered a small, leatherbound book hidden where the pillow had been. In the dim light of his candle he started to read the first page, which wasn't an easy task. The handwriting in the book, which appeared to be a journal, was very sloppy and hard to read. Although the grammar and spelling were also horrible, Diran translated the first paragraph as saying something like:

      "4th day in the month of hunting, year 8. Today we left from Krawk Island promptly at sunrise. We aren't sure where we will go, but our plan is to find small inhabited islands and loot them, along with any other small ships that may come along..."

      The entry went on to describe the plans of attack and the greed for gold that the journal's author had. Diran would have read further, but the candle was burning low, and he was tired. He rolled over and blew out the candle, telling himself that he'd read the rest of the journal later.

     ***

      A shouted, "Land ho!" woke him the next morning. He randomly pulled some of the clothes from the pile and threw them on, along with the hat that was perched on the small table. The clothes certainly made him feel more like a pirate than he had felt the day before. Up the stairs he raced to reach the deck. Once on the deck he tried to race to the bow to see the sighted land. Unfortunately, the deck was still soaked from the night before and he nearly went sliding.

      Even from out at sea, Diran could tell that a shipping community resided on the island. Several cheap-looking ships sat in its harbor, and pets scurried between the island's many shops. Diran could hear Darkwing thinking. Darkwing was fascinated by the huge bank on the shore. Already he was plotting:

     1. Dock ship.

     2. Go into bank.

     3. Grab dubloons and neopoints.

     4. Run.

     5. Board ship and leave quickly.

      Would Darkwing force his body to go through with those plans? Diran couldn't imagine himself robbing a bank. As the ship neared the shore, he became more sure that the plans would be carried out.

      As soon as the ship docked, Darkwing was stalking off the ship. He went straight for the bank, ignoring Diran's resistance to do so. Diran kept fighting as the captain entered into the bank. Darkwing ran to the counter and jumped over it, providing a surprise to the teller standing there. Under the counter were several bags of dubloons, which Darkwing grabbed. He then tried to make a run for it, but a guard blocked his exit.

      Darkwing drew his sword. "If ye not be wantin' to feel my wrath, I suggest ye step out o' the way." The guard didn't budge. Darkwing pressed the tip of the sword against the chin of the guard. "Are ye changing yer mind yet?" The guard gulped loudly but still didn't move. Darkwing was starting to think that he'd have to do things the hard way! Suddenly, a brick was heaved through one of the bank's front windows, and the guard was distracted. Darkwing shoved him out of the way and bolted out the door. Several pets chased him down the beach, but they gave up as the Scorchio made it back onto his ship. Crew members scrambled back on after him.

      "Chalk up another victory for the captain o' the S.S. Gold Dubloon!" shouted Bluescale.

      "Aye," agreed Darkwing. "Who threw that brick through the window?"

      "That be me, Cap'n," said a crew member, stepping forward.

      "Arr, always good to see a loyal crew member," said the captain, nodding. Immediately he disregarded the recent looting. "Now, on to the next island." The crew members scattered and went back to work. Darkwing cradled his stolen bags of dubloons and went back down the stairs. He headed into a room that Diran hadn't seen on his exploration of the ship.

      Diran gasped as he entered the room. The floor was covered with golden dubloons! Stacked against the walls were bars of solid gold, and bags of neopoints were piled in the corners of the room. There had to be millions of neopoints stored in this single room! Darkwing gently laid the bags of dubloons on the floor and sighed in bliss. What a great life a pirate's life was!

      Darkwing went down to the galley and knocked on the doorframe. "Longtail!"

      "Aye, Darkwing!"

      "Get me some grog," Darkwing said. Longtail passed a frothy mug of grape grog down the counter.

      "Doing some celebrating, Cap'n?"

      "Aye. Just had a great looting!" Darkwing exclaimed, taking a long swig of the brew. Longtail grabbed a mug of his own, and they toasted. "To future lootings!"

     ***

      As Diran lay in bed that night, he reflected on the day. Well, on one hand, he had started to get the hang of more convincing pirate behavior. On the other hand, Darkwing had stolen from a bank. Even though it hadn't been his own action, Diran still felt responsible for the bags of stolen dubloons that were in the room down the hall. He had to find a way to prevent Darkwing from doing his evil deeds if he ever tried to do something dastardly again.

      Diran was about to fall asleep when he remembered the journal beneath his pillow. Lazily he reached under the pillow and pulled out the small book. Most of what was written in the book was ship logs and therefore not very interesting. One thing he did find interesting, however, was a paragraph in one of the later entries.

      "Today at me evenin' meal, me drink tasted slightly odd. I be thinkin' I drank that potion of that weird sorceress sittin' beside me. After the meal, I started feelin' very seasick, so I forced the sorceress to row off in a spare rowboat. Arr, I be hopin' nothing else happens as a side effect."

      A strange potion? Could this have anything to do with Diran showing up in Darkwing's body? He pondered the idea for a while but fell asleep quickly, still feeling guilty about the earlier robbery.

      Darkwing woke slowly the next morning. The ship was quiet-almost too quiet. Then, the noise of cannon shots rang through the air. Not caring much about looking very pirate-like, Diran jumped out of the lumpy bed and raced to the deck. Out on the deck everything was chaotic. Members of his own crew were scattered around the deck, engaged in grueling one-on-one sword fights. As he stood and gaped at the ongoing scene, a pair of opponents scuffled past him, nearly knocking him over in the process.

      "Captain!" yelled Bluescale, looking over his shoulder as he blocked his opponent's hits. "We're under attack!"

      "Well, I can see that," mumbled Darkwing. He rolled his eyes. Out of nowhere, he saw the blade of an enemy's sword glint in the bright sunlight, and he ducked right in time. The sword sliced the air where his head had been a split second ago. Darkwing growled and drew his sword, blocking another of the enemy Pteri's hits. The swords clashed and clanged, each blocking the other's hits. Darkwing wasn't sure how it happened, but the next time he took his eyes off the Pteri, they were up in the crow's nest! All of the crew members from both ships stared up at them in awe. Their own fights had momentarily been forgotten, and each held their swords loosely at their sides. When one of the enemy's crew members was distracted, he was pushed overboard. The member sputtered as he resurfaced, quickly thrashing to get back to the rowboat of his ship.

      The Pteri snarled and dove forward. His sword stuck into the wood of the mast, and he yanked at it desperately. Darkwing swung his sword in the pet's direction, but the Pteri yanked the sword free and ducked. He moved to swing yet again, but the force of the swing made the sword fly straight out of his hands and tumble to the deck. The Pteri cornered him against the mast. Darkwing was trapped without a weapon!

To be continued...