The Search for the Golden Dice: Part Four

      "Where yar been eh? I've been worryin' me 'ead off tryin' ta figure out where you'd got off to."

      "Never mind that," said Dublin impatiently, "Listen to this..."

      He recounted what he had read on the paper. Aiibis's expression hardened.

      "Well," he said when a panting Dublin had finished, "this is nothing new to me."

      Dublin was astonished.

      "But-" he started. Aiibis cut him off.

      "Looky, it be a long story an' the rigging needs tendin' to." He waved a hand at the flailing ropes. They were now very far out to sea: the Woods were just a dark line on the horizon.

      Aiibis walked away toward the tiller.

      "And I'm off to set some sorta course. I'll tell yar the tale when we be in the warm cabin havin' a proper meal."

      He walked away. Dublin had no choice but to fly up into the rigging and start securing the sales. All the while, his mind buzzed excitedly. When he finally was done, he landed in front of the cabin and practically ran to the door. Aiibis sat at the table with a sandwich before him, drinking deeply out of a flask. He put this down when Dublin entered and gestured to the chair opposite him. Dublin slid into his seat. Aiibis cleared his throat and started:

      "I know all 'bout the Dice, and all 'bout Darkblood. I was in his crew at the time of the Mission, see." Noticing Dublin's flabbergasted look, he added, "I was not in his crew of mine own free will yar understand. I was kidnapped in a raid on my ship. I was very loyal to my old captain and Darkblood was a right nasty thug. I 'ated him and did summat about it too, but I'll get to that part later." Aiibis sighed and continued:

      "Thar very beginning was before I joined the crew. Darkblood had heard tell o' the Desert heirloom: pure gold dice that were said to possess the power of the sun. I'm sure 'e didn't believe the sun part, but the lure of their value and notability was like a magnet to 'em. That's the thing about Darkblood that sets him above other ruthless villains, was 'e liked unique things, things with a real history and meanin'. I'm not complimentin' 'em, 'e was a crook just the same, but 'twas his trademark. 'E also was peculiar in tha way that 'e din' speak like a pirate. More like a scholar or lord. I always wondered where 'e came from.

      "Anyway, 'e heard tell of the dice and immediately had ta have 'em. It didn't matter a rotten negg ta him that the palace was a stronghold, or that them guards there (the Protectors) were known all over Neopia fer their vigilance and wakefulness. 'e and his closest mates would sit in 'is cabin for days on end, pouring over complicated maps of the underground chambers in which the Dice were kept. It was a very risky raid, with little room for mistakes, but they were up for it. I was not part of the venture myself, but we all were gunna be convicted if they were caught.

      "That night that we stood, anchored a little ways from the harbor, waiting for Darkblood and the others to return, was probably one of the worst I've ever been through. But they did return. To this day, I 'ave no idea how they pulled it off, but they came back. Darkblood was clutchin' a small gold box and looking right elated. There was blood on all o' their swords. We started celebratin' when they arrived but that didn't last long: the guards 'ad somehow followed 'em and started chasing us. They had a faster ship and soon they were boardin' us. Darkblood's hand was still clamped around that box. As he saw his men fallin' all 'round him, he scampered across the deck and grabbed the dinghy, but I was right behind him. Now was the time to pay 'im back for his cruelty. I tackled 'im from behind, grabbed that there box and ran. I collided with another sailor, my ol' friend Deadscale. His face was wild with fear or rage I couldn't say. He grabbed my arm and wrestled the dice from my grip. I was so surprised that I 'ardly put up a fight. He ran away from me and, climbin' over the side rails, jumped onto the Protectors' schooner.

      "Right at that moment, that Darkblood tackled me. We fought for a moment and then he realized that I didn't have the dice. 'The dice!! Where are the dice??' he roared. But it was too late. The Protectors were sailin' away with the dice and Deadscale. Darkblood hesitated for a moment, and then seein' that the ship was leaking, grabbed the dinghy and jumped over the side. I heard him shouting, 'I will seek my revenge on you, traitor, never fear!!' Then 'e was gone. I jumped overboard too and swam to shore. After that I returned to my old ship, but the memory of Darkblood's oath and Deadscale's treachery have haunted me for many a year. Now I realize that the Dice are safe and Deadscale murdered. Now that 'e's gone and killed my mate, I'll gladly 'elp yar destroy that Darkblood."

      Aiibis ended his story and sat back with a relieved look as though he had been dying to get that out of him. Dublin could do nothing but gasp. Now he understood everything! The letter, the legend... and he wanted doubly to find Darkblood now, knowing how mean he had been to Aiibis.

      Their resolve strengthened tenfold, Dublin and Aiibis continued on their journey to the Smugglers. Aiibis said that he wanted to talk to a friend of his about the current whereabouts of Darkblood.

      It was a bright and sunny day when they spotted Krawk Island on the horizon. Dublin was nervous with excitement and fear. On one hand, he was going to Smuggler's Cove, the place he had dreamed about for so long. On the other, he really did not want to run into someone he knew (especially his mother) because they all probably thought he was a traitor or at least a rotten person for not telling them that Gourd was dead and then running away. Hopefully he would not have to go into town where everyone knew him.

      Around noon, they dropped anchor in a sheltered bay on the uninhabited side of the island. In front of them was a cliff face covered with matted vines. Dublin's stomach was knotted with anticipation. They boarded the lifeboat and paddled to shore. Aiibis stood and surveyed the scene.

      "This be it!" he said proudly.

      Dublin tried to conceal his disappointment.

      "Well!" he said, "This certainly is a cove, but I dunno... I was sort of expecting... a... er..."

      "More dramatic?" Aiibis asked.

      Dublin nodded.

      Aiibis chuckled and walked up to the cliff. He moved his hands up and down the vine-free part as though searching for something. With a pleased exclamation, he grasped something. He tugged and pulled at the rock. It moved aside, revealing a rusty iron ring embedded in the stone. Aiibis pulled.

      The vines, that Dublin had naturally assumed were attached to the rock face, lifted up in a curtain to reveal a cave opening, large enough for a large sailing ship to fit through. Dublin stood dumbstruck. Aiibis laughed.

      "If there be one thing worth knowin' 'bout pirates, boy, it be that they do things in style!"

      And he walked forward into the cave. Dublin followed.

      Dublin had always thought that the smuggler's cave would probably be impressive and full of gold. He thought that visiting the cave would be the kind of thing that he would remember in his declining years, and tell his grandchildren about. What he saw surpassed all of his wildest dreams.

      For one thing there was the ship. A regal five master with a real cannon hole through one sail. The deck rails were carved with elaborate twisting designes and the figurehead was the island faerie, Jhuidah, with wings spread wide. For another thing, there were the six real pirates with cutlasses and eye patches that were standing on a rock and talking to a swarthy-looking prince Acara accompanied by two servants holding a huge chest of gold coins. And, to top it all off, was what the largest pirate was holding: a real banana sword. Dublin nearly fainted. That was the item that no one had ever seen. It wasn't on trades or auctions or in shops. You couldn't even buy it in the hidden tower. But here...

      The pirates noticed Aiibis. They waved and hooted cheerily. Turning back to the prince, they accepted the chest and handed him the amazing sword. Dublin was disgusted to see the prince cast it a careless look, and then hand it to one of his servants so he could chase a butterfly. What an idiot! thought Dublin. Doesn't he realize that some would commit murder for that sword? He assumed that the pirates couldn't be picky about their customers. He turned back to Aiibis to find the pirates deep in conversation. He heard lots of 'arr's, 'thar's and many many 'yar's, however he was too distracted by the cave itself to pay much attention to the pirates.

      While he had been oohing over the ship and wares, he had not noticed the thing that gave the cove its character: gold! There were chests piled everywhere along the walls of the cave. Big ones, small ones, ones with silver locks, ones with gold, blue, red, and yellow paint. A few were even steel with great bolts across the locks. What was in the steel ones? Gold, dubloons, more priceless items? He was startled out of his reverie by someone placing a gnarled hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the eyes of an old pirate Krawk wearing a very serious expression.

      "This be the lad?" the pirate asked of Aiibis.

      "Aye."

      "Be it wise that he be goin' with yar? Stay here, more like it?"

      Dublin was confused.

      "What?" he asked. The pirates ignored him.

      "Nay, he be comin' wit me, Brune." Aiibis waved away the pirate's queries. "This concerns 'em after all's said and done."

      "What concerns me?" Dublin was getting frustrated. Why didn't they tell him?

      "Should we tell 'em?" asked another pirate doubtfully.

      "Yes," said Aiibis and Dublin in unison, the latter with more emphesis.

      "All righty then." Brune took a breath and then continued, "Yer mother's been kidnapped."

To be continued...