seen within the past weeks of our lives no man aboard ship had the spirit nor the heart to endeavour another death plagued encounter.
No man could have predicted what we were to come across in the following days of our voyage, ‘twas most abruptly that the stranger’s hidden isle came upon us, as surprised and stricken as we each were at its very existence. ‘Twas in the midst of the day that, almost identically to that which had occurred before we succeeded in plundering the Martona, and making the event somewhat more sinister and eerier than it had been before, mists began to line the ocean’s surface. This time the crew reacted not just with suspicion but with terror.
“Sailor sir, please, let us turn back before it be too late!”
“There be more fog ‘pon the ocean, first mate! This aint natural, sir! We should never ‘ave left the ports o’ Royal.”
Seeing the seas stir as they did was enough to put a man on edge, however being surrounded by a crew of men on edge speaking their mind is enough to generate mass paranoia.
“Sollertis,” I called over to the boatswain who was sat at his chessboard focused intently upon defeating his opponent. He looked once at me then once out towards the ocean, yet this time he did not become angered by the crew’s suspicions, he stood up and approached me.
“They have just began to rise, Harvey?” He asked running his hand over his unshaved chin.
“Aye, bos’n, the crew ‘ave just noticed.” Sollertis stared all about the ship and then up into the sky.
“I have not seen residue upon the ocean in such conditions, a peculiar anomaly indeed. Still, it is merely a fog, Harvey, I have no explanation for its source however nature can be quite surprising.” He turned to walk back to his chessboard board but I reached out my arm to grasp his sleeve.
“So there be nothing to fear?” He looked back at me and raising an eyebrow shook his head repeatedly. The commotion had caused Rike to come from his quarters and masses of pirates to come up from the orlop to look upon the mist which had within the brief instance become thick enough to block out the sun.
“Sailor, be sure the crew be lookin’ out for all signs o’ danger. Bastard fogs be an ‘assle in these seas. Sollertis, wadd’ye make o’ this.” Having just retaken his seat the boatswain stood up with a look of frustration upon his face.
“It is a fog upon the sea’s surface, Rike, there is little else to it.”
“These mists be cursed, cap’n! They be followin’ us ‘pon the sea!” Liner burst in yet was ignored by both men.
“You recon we should sale ‘er through? Or take another route?”
“Straight ahead, captain, we are in deep seas there is nothing we could possibly collide with unless another ship has happened to become lost in the very same fog.” As though the sea itself was waiting for Sollertis to finish speaking before it revealed its secrets, suddenly from the crow’s nest Fox’s voice rang out.
“Land ahoy! Sailor matey, if Samuels don’t drop anchor we’ll collide with the land!”
In an eruption of excitement and surprise the crew moved to the portside of the ship to look over in the direction Fox had pointed out land, with haste I had Samuels drop Roselyn’s anchor and in disbelief, through the fog we stared out at a scarcely distinguishable coast line. Though it was so close to us, the fog barely allowed your eyes to view it.
“Be she secure, Samuels?” The captain called out from the portside of his vessel.
“Aye, cap’n, she be goin’ nowhere!” With those words said the captain ordered us to lower all the paddle boats which rested upon Roselyn’s gangways.
“I cannot believe it, Rike, where does the map say we are supposed to be?”
“Somewhere in the midst of Jamaica and Honduras, Sollertis.” The captain began to mockingly laugh at Sollertis who shook his head as we hauled the boats towards his cables and pulleys.
“Should I inform Lupino, cap’n?” I asked quietly, and without saying a word the captain nodded at me. By the time I had returned to the upper deck with Lupino the boats were upon the ocean and half the crew was aboard.
“Sailor lad,” the captain called out, “you and Lupino be with me, Sollertis too. Come.” With excited minds we stepped down into the small vessels, and all at once we were on our way. Samuels and Fox stayed on vessel with a number of deckhands, yet the majority of us made our way with haste across the many feet of ocean that separated us from the stranger’s hidden isle.
The fogs did not reside the closer we got to the land, nor did the ability to see through it onto the shores of the island, it was with silence that my own boat reached the shoreline. As we jumped out of the vessel and into the shallow water ‘twas incredibly eerie, the fog became so thick the closer we got to the island that we could not see the other paddle ships carrying the crew, yet they were just feet behind us. ‘Twas with the greatest care we at last stepped out of the water that surrounded the land, and as though by some foul trickery, the very moment we stepped upon the land the fogs were no more. To look back out upon the ocean however, up to the point of the very shallowest sea water the impenetrable mist rose leagues up into the sky. ‘Twas too with an abrupt shock we saw lined all upon the golden beach of the place masses of huge black beasts of the ocean, some of them still attempting to gasp for air from the gaping holes upon their heads.
“What be this?” The captain exclaimed, yet even Sollertis had no answer for his captain, we were speechless. The land mass herself was a beauty to behold, just beyond the beautiful beach lay a dense jungle of bright green flora, the air was calm within the fog and the sun shone brightly, ‘twas truly unbelievable, and as tranquil as it was, its deathly calm made it incredibly unnatural.
As more and more of the crew washed up upon her shores in the paddle boats we began to gather up and each stare dumbfounded at what we saw about us.
“How can this be?” May whispered under his breath.
“What do you make o’ it, Lupino matey?” Rike turned his gaze upon the stray captain.
“I know not, Rike, I ‘ave only ‘eard stories o’ the treasure that lay within the ‘ighest o’ its caves. We could make way for ‘em immediately if you be keen to be gone, though everyone ‘ere know, that for all the stories I ‘ave ‘eard, it be said that silence be needed upon the isle if you do not wish to be taken by the fetid spirits that ‘ave gathered upon its shores.”
“This aint the time for your stories, matey.” I quickly silenced the man before the crew became further distressed than we already were at the very sight of the colossal animals that lined the coast.
“Shall we take some o’ ‘em back for food, cap’n?” A deckhand asked Rike yet Sollertis spoke before he could.
“These whales have likely thrown away their lives for a reason. Risking the crew’s health on eating potentially infected carcasses is not wise.”
“Maybe they got lost in the fog.” Liner whispered with a ridiculous grin on his face, a few of the crew laughed lightly as the captain nodded at Sollertis. As the entirety of the crew that had stepped into the vessels arrived upon the islands shore the captain stepped aside to make a decision. With little time spent thinking he addressed us, quietly, as Lupino had advised.
“We’ll be takin’ a small excursion into the jungle to see what the situation be, if there be anythin’ suspicious lookin’ within we’ll be waitin’ it out ‘til we find a decent solution. Now, quiet, as Lupino ‘ath said, and we tread slow.” Nodding at the crew we began a slow ascent towards the enticing tree line. ‘Twas an eerie silence as we marched across the sand, no winds seemed to stir within the fog, which expanded and withdrew from the land with the coming and going of the washing tide.
Just beyond the tree line lay incredibly dense vegetation, ‘twas near impossible to freely walk amongst the balk of the rising trees and thick bushes that lined the ground, nor had we long encroached far past the first trees when, hearing a sudden scream of fear, the entire crew froze.
“Rike!” We heard one of our men yell out from some distance
across the jungle. With a gaze of panic which I had rarely seen the captain exhibit he looked about erratically through his crew mates.
“Where be Liner and Lupino, ‘arvey?!” The entire crew began to move towards the sounds of the screaming and with a troubled step we made our way out of the jungle and along the beach that lined it. Suddenly, out from the foliage sprang Lupino dragging with him Adam Liner who I feared was dead.
“Back to the ship, cap’n! They’ll be stirred!” The stray captain yelled out.
“Draw your rapiers, men, and be back to where we beached.” All forty men ran with pace back towards the ships that were becoming engulfed by the tide, some had even disappeared into the deep fog. As Lupino reached the rest of the crew he dropped Liner who fell upon his knees breathing heavily in a fit of panic.
“It were a monster, Rike. There were somethin’, in the bushes, I swear it.” Rike looked up at Lupino.
“A trick o’ the mind I’m sure, cap’n.”
“It were no trick, you bastard!” Liner yelled out. “There were somethin’ ‘mongst those trees, it were ‘orrid!” With eyebrows raised Lupino looked back at the captain, as we stood in silence the tree line began to crack and the leaves which concealed its secrets began to pour with what appeared to be people. They walked with lumbering strides and their skin appeared fetid, there was no alertness about
Entry 8: 1670 Page 18
