Kelvin, a curious and adventurous Maraquan Bori, always dreamed of adventure and treasures. He is a big fan of Garrin, Isca and Jacques, as well Hannah. So when he heard about these treasure rumours, he knew he had to find one.

He had his handy bag, and the company of his yellow Arkmite, Dubloon - named after the coins pirates use! Just to show off how much Kelvin is serious about the treasure thing. Their stop: a new cave the Maraquan guards found about recently, the entrances had cannonball explosion markings, hinting the cave was created by pirates during a fight. Which means there could be a treasure in here!

Kelvin and Dubloon arrived at the entrance of the cave. It was dark, but Kelvin had a flashlight (which looked like a lava lamp) and he wasn't afraid of the dark! Not wasting any time, he started to swim into the cave, being followed by Dubloon. It didn't take him long to find a big treasure chest, a bit dirty from cannonball powder. Luckily, the chest was unlocked!

Kelvin reached for the chest and carefully opened it. He moved his head to look inside, when a shocked and slightly disappointed look flashed upon his face. After all, inside the chest was........

"See something?" Kelvin asked as he held up his light and peered more closely into the chest. At the very bottom he thought he saw something glimmer faintly through the pile of broken bottles. Slowly, carefully, Kelvin started picking out the bottles, taking care not to cut himself on their sharp edges. But as he worked, he noticed that the glimmer seemed to move! Just when he thought he had uncovered it, it would suddenly be under another pile of bottles. As he uncovered this next spot, the glimmer would immediately be in another place.

After several minutes of painfully slow work trying to chase down this mysterious little glimmering light, Kelvin had cleared out nearly all the broken bottles in the chest, except for one small pile in the corner. The glimmer shone under this final layer of bottles. It seemed to be so close, and Kelvin was starting to get frustrated. He quickly shot his paw under the bottles and grabbed the spot where he saw the glimmer.

"OUCH!" He felt something cut into him, but he didn't dare open up his paw. After all that work he wasn't about to let this thing get away. After all, this might be some sort of treasure! Wincing, he brought out his paw from under the bottles and held it up to the light. "Let's see if you were worth all that trouble!" he said as he slowly opened up his paw. To his surprise, he saw.....

Kelvin crossed his arms over his head to no avail. All the Faerie's hits landed well. And they stung. Even Dubloon was no match for her speed and her size. "Ow!" Kelvin yelped in defeat. "I-I'm sorry, Faerie! I didn't mean to!"

His words stopped the Faerie in her tracks. Realizing her situation, she swiftly dusted off her dress and corrected her posture. "No worries, Young Bori," she said. "I'm Ylla, a Light Faerie. I apologize for attacking you. I thought you were one of them."

"I'm sorry, I nearly crushed you there!" Kelvin said. "My name's Kelvin, I've been looking for treasures with my petpet, Dubloon. What happened to you? And... who's 'them'?"

"Pirates," Ylla said. "They tried to bottle me and my sisters and put us in a ship of loot. Everyone else fled in an escape attempt, but I got left behind. Locked in that awful box."

Pirates? Ship of loot? Did Kelvin hear that right? It must be his lucky day. He did not only find a Faerie, he also got her lead on pirates and the existence of treasure. Surely, he must look for that ship!

As if reading his mind, Ylla added, "Don't worry, Kelvin, I know your heart yearns to know what's in that ship. I overheard the pirates talk. I will tell you where they're off to." She cleared her throat. "But first, I need you to take me ashore."

*** An hour after swimming across Maraqua, the trio ended up on a shore in Mystery Island. Ylla emerged from the water and started gliding across the air, savouring the ocean winds and the sky. "Finally, I'm free! I can find my way home now." she exclaimed.

She turned to Kelvin and Dubloon. "Thank you, you two. Now, I'll tell you the ship's next destination." Kelvin waited on her lead, his heart about to jump from his chest. "They're headed for..."

As she said it, Ylla gave Kelvin and Dubloon a grave look. Kelvin couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Lutari Island?" he repeated, incredulous. "But nobody's been able to find that island, let alone land on it, for years! I've heard that the storms there are worse than anywhere else in Neopia."

Ylla only nodded, understanding his disbelief. "I know it's shocking, but the pirates did really seem to think they had a good chance of finding the island. Who knows what they're planning to do if they succeed." Clearly worried, the Faerie stopped her pleasant gliding and sat thoughtfully on the sand.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be anything good," agreed Kelvin. Next to him, Dubloon splashed through the shallow waves.

What would those pirates want with Lutari Island? Kelvin didn't know much about the place, seeing as no Neopians could reach it, but he did know that its inhabitants didn't deserve to be messed with. And seeing as these pirates were cruel enough to capture kind Faeries like Ylla, Kelvin could only imagine what else they'd do to increase their supplies of loot.

"I see you're wondering what to do," Ylla said after another moment of silence. Kelvin nodded, absently petting Dubloon.

"I think I have to help," he said quietly, thinking of his heroes, the awesome adventurers Garin, Isca, Jacques, and Hannah.

They didn't just go on amazing adventures and find wonderful treasure, they were in dangerous situations where they had to make hard decisions and do the right thing. As sudden as this was, maybe it was Kelvin's turn to do the same.

The thought of finding treasure still loomed in his mind, but something more important had come up.

"No," he said more confidently. "I know I have to help."

"That's very noble of you."

"I have no idea how I'll find Lutari Island, but if those pirates think they can, there's no reason I can't. And I don't know what I'll do after that, but now that I know the pirates are heading there, I can't just do nothing," Kelvin went on, starting to ramble somewhat. Then he asked hopefully, "Could you come along to help, Ylla?"

With another grave look, Ylla shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kelvin, but I think my imprisonment has left me too weak to go searching for Lutari Island. I must go home."

"I completely understand," Kelvin told her. "Well, thank you anyway!"

"Wait!" the Faerie said, smiling. "I can still offer you and Dubloon help on your journey. This is a piece of advice passed down through generations of Faeries..."

How will this story end?

“The lights? Is that the secret to finding Lutari Island?” Kelvin asked incredulously.

“Perhaps. These words have been recorded in our histories, but none have quite deciphered them. It would make sense though, no? I can also tell you that we believe the island’s current location to be east of here.” She paused, before waving her hands to conjure a cloud of shimmering golden magic. “Take my blessing too. You did free me after all, it is the least I can do.”

The magic sunk into Kelvin’s skin, and he gasped in amazement. He felt stronger and faster than he ever had before. It would certainly make the journey easier. He stretched out, basking in the sensation.

“Now go, brave one. I wish you fortune and success in your quest.”

-------

It took days and days of travelling for Kelvin to reach Lutari Island, but he had finally found it.

“Well Dubloon...This will certainly be difficult,” he announced. He could just about make out the silhouette of an island covered in lush trees, but most of it was obscured by the terrible weather around it. Endless rainfall battered the island and surrounding ocean, whilst thunder roared through the area, accompanied by the occasional bolt of lightning. For someone who had spent most of his life underwater, it was frankly terrifying.

Even worse, the seas themselves were proving to be a formidable foe - he had narrowly avoided being pulled into several whirlpools as he had got closer. He had no idea how any ship could navigate these waters.

He scanned the area, looking for lights, barely managing to not be washed back out to the open sea by the treacherous waves. Luckily, he had arrived at night, and quickly spotted what he was searching for. A strip of strange blue light seemed to be floating in the water, lighting a path to the shores. He approached the lights, amazed - he had never seen anything like it before!

“Oh wow!” Kelvin whispered. The light was coming from a huge school of jellyfish, all of them floating serenely in the water. He grinned - the faerie’s advice made sense now! Of course the jellyfish would stay where they were safe from the storms, and their bioluminescence meant they could help travellers to navigate too.

He began to swim above them, following the path they had laid out. As he paddled, the jellyfish began to pulse, seemingly sensing his presence. It was a truly beautiful sight, and Kelvin felt revitalised by it. If nothing else, seeing this was a treasure in itself.

Finally, he reached the shallows, and gazed at the island in front of him. Torches were glimmering on the beach, and he could make out a row of small houses further back, nestled on the edges of the jungle. But where was the ship? He looked around and - oh! Oh dear. The ship was wrecked on the rocks, its proud black sails tattered and torn. As cruel as the pirates had been, he couldn’t help but feel they didn’t deserve such a fate.

“Hello stranger.” A voice interrupted his reverie, and he started, looking back to the beach ahead of him. A Lutari stood on the edges of the water, smiling.

“Hello!” he replied, paddling up to her. “Is everything okay? Did the pirates hurt you?”

“Oh no, don’t you fret, young one. Ships have no chance of landing on the island. You can only make it here by swimming - like you did. I must say, I’m impressed. Did you come all the way from Maraqua to warn us?” the Lutari asked.

“I did yes, my name’s Kelvin! Those pirates kidnapped some faeries, and I heard they were heading here! I wanted to stop them! But...What happened to the pirates? Are they all…?” Kelvin looked to the ruined ship and back to her, worried about the answer.

She laughed. “Oh those foolish pirates are fine. A little worse for wear, and certainly upset about their ship. But we rescued them when their ship crashed on the rocks; it’s not the first time this has happened. We keep a lookout for ships approaching. They’re over in the village recovering.” She gestured towards the houses behind her. “I’m Marina by the way.”

Kelvin wasn’t sure how he felt about this answer. He was glad the pirates were alive, but still concerned for the Lutaris on the island. “Are they threatening you? Or being generally evil?”

“I do believe they’ve somewhat seen the errors of their ways. They won’t be able to leave until they fix their ship, so they’re rather dependent on us for now. Some of them are even saying that perhaps pirating isn’t worth it,” Marina chuckled. “I think this whole experience has given them quite the scare. But regardless, I appreciate the time you took to come here, it was very brave. Please, rest a while. There’s a small rockpool over there for your Arkmite to stay in - are you able to come ashore?”

“Thank you. For a little while, yes.” He led Dubloon over to the rockpool, and he merrily jumped in to greet the other aquatic petpets swimming around. He then clambered ashore - he was certainly not graceful on land, but he could just about manage. He followed the Lutari to the houses. There was a campfire outside, surrounded by a group of rather embarrassed and bruised looking pirates, talking quietly amongst themselves.

One Krawk looked up as the pair approached. “Hey, you’re not a Lutari! How did ye get here?” he exclaimed, staring at Kelvin in shock.

“I swam here to tell the Lutaris about you!” Kelvin said, unable to keep the accusation out of his voice.

“Well that was very noble of ye and all, and I’m sure you feel very proud of yourself, but as ye can see there was no need. This journey was a complete and utter failure,” the Krawk grumbled, and his crew nodded glumly.

“Now, now, don’t be rude,” Marina said calmly. “He certainly had better intentions than all of you.”

The Krawk flushed, looking embarrassed. “Aye, that’s the truth. I can’t express how sorry we are for all of this, miss. We are all mighty grateful for the kindness ye have shown us, most would have left us to drown…” He sighed, rubbing a bandage on his arm, before addressing Kelvin. “Hey kid, ye want some treasure? It’s been occurring to us that we ain’t so good at this whole pirating malarkey. First, all those faeries escaped, then this…”

Kelvin scowled. “You shouldn’t have kidnapped the faeries in the first place!”

“Aye, we shouldn’t have. Gettin’ our ship wrecked like that has given us some...Well, perspective on the matter. Anyway, ye deserve our treasure more than we do, and can probably fish it out of the ship easily what with your gills and fins and all,” the Krawk waved towards the ship. “It’s all stashed below decks. Reckon some of it’s been washed out on to the seabed though.”

Kelvin sighed. He had no idea what to make of these pirates, except that they were clearly terrible at being pirates. He supposed bringing back some treasure wouldn’t be a bad thing.

And so, Kelvin spent the next few days on Lutari Island, helping to salvage the treasure from the shipwreck - with Dubloon's assistance, of course. He kept a few pieces for himself, but he also shared a lot of it with the Lutaris, who were incredibly gracious hosts. Oddly enough, the pirates genuinely wanted nothing to do with the loot, and they turned out to be really quite helpful, and even friendly. It seemed they were serious about changing their ways, with a few of the crew planning to stay on Lutari Island permanently.

When he finally left with Dubloon to make his way back to Maraqua, he promised to return to visit his new friends. All in all, his first adventure had been a great success.

The End,