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Chapter 17

Ship’s Lantern

“So ye was the double-crosser all along?” Hi-bis yelled. “What of our pact, eh? The pact we made that night, when the winds blew still yet the fog was ever-clear?!”

“Spruce looked back at the one whose heart he had broken with a look like frost covered stone, stoic and plain,” the narrator said.

Spruce sighed, “How can I betray a pact I never signed?”

“Backstabber!” Hi-bis yelled, the sound of hastened footsteps across a wooden bow followed.

“That is false, in the end, we both got what we wanted, and nothing was taken from you. Be happy with that.”

“Doesn’t matter, ice-breath! The book of the eyeless sage is as worthless as driftwood to me!”

“Then what was it you wanted, pup? Tell me—and it will be yours, as long as I may leave.”

Hi-is’ hastened breath slowed, fading out, now only his heartbeat audible.

“What did he want?” the narrator spoke. “He didn’t endure the cold north, battle with golems of silver, and confronted an undead fleet alone just for nothing.” The background music intensified, “He couldn’t think of an answer—but with his former ally ready to jump overboard and disappear into the depths, where he could never follow—he said the first thing that came to mind.”

“I wanted to voyage with you!”

“He extended his hand out to Spruce, lowering his golden scabbard,” the narrator said.

Spruce chuckled, “You have become soft and idle if that was why.”

“The one-eyed lord bent his knee, lunging forward, looking down from the bow at the gilded king,” the narrator said.

“But… I suppose I have as well.”

“Spruce smiled.”

“If that is what you wish, then I extend my rope to you. You need only to take it and forsake your crew in favor of mine.”

“I…” Hi-bis hesitated.

The music intensified further into a roaring symphony as the narrator spoke, “To forsake one’s crew is the highest dishonor, Hi-bis knew this—Spruce knew this. Perhaps that was the point, for it would leave Hi-bis no choice but to deny… Or it was a test of loyalty, dedication—does Hi-bis care more for his crew, the family he made with driftwood and screws, or Spruce, the—”

The front door chimed, drowning out the narrator’s words.

“Hey sis, I’m home!” Sal said, putting her shoes up and placing her work bags on the kitchen counter.

Lav groaned at her sister’s arrival, getting up to pause and rewind the tape.

Foxx and Lav were in Lav’s room, which was at the other end of the house, but the house’s thin walls made it so any noise in the house could be heard clearly, even the light jingle of keys.

Her room was small, the two bookshelves, chunky half-working media player, and bean bag chairs along with her bed making it even smaller—yet Lav still found ways to fill the room to the brim with trinkets and knick knacks.

Posters of pirate shows and plays decades older than she was, shiny “treasures” and action figures displayed wherever they could be, and the bookshelves bursting with adventure novels of all sorts—probably even older than the posters. Not a single ounce of space was wasted.

Although Foxx didn’t know why, Lav hid her jacket behind the shelves before Sal arrived.

With the tape rewound, Lav pressed play.

“Does Hi-bis care more for his crew, the family he made with driftwood and screws, or Spruce, the only one—”

Sal popped her head into Lav’s room, “You two want anything from the kitchen?”

Foxx, who was burrowed deep in a pile of pillows and bean bag chairs, answered with simply, “Water.”

Meanwhile Lav got up, letting out a quiet, annoyed groan as she rewound the tape again, answering with “Nothing.”

“Are you surrrrre?”

Lav scoffed, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Sal sighed and dramatically leaned behind the door frame, “How sad, I’ll just have to throw away all this soda I brought home, just for you—and your favorite flavor too! How sad, how this house has fallen!”

Lav blushed, “Fine—fine, I’ll have soda.”

Sal leaned to the side, back into view, “Want any snacks to go with it?”

“…Seaweed chips,” Lav tried to keep their cool demeanor in front of Foxx.

“It shall be done,” Sal gave a thumbs up, then left, keeping her theatrical pose as she walked off to the kitchen.

Lav rewound the tape again, “Sorry you had to see that, she’s embarrassing…”

Foxx tilted his head, “Why?”

Lav didn’t press play yet, her finger hovering over the button, “Because… Well, I don’t know—but she just is.” She sighed, “You wouldn’t get it.”

Foxx tiled his head to the other side as Lav pressed play.

“Or it was a test of loyalty, dedication—does Hi-bis care more for his crew, the family he made with driftwood and screws, or Spruce, the only one who could make him more than what he was.”

The narrator tone sifted, each word pronounced as dramatically as it could, “More than just the golden king of a ramshackle crew—venturing into lands unknown beyond the three seas, that none of his ilk could hope to see—piles of gold being a pittance in the shadow of cursed relics and ancient magics!”

“Or… the most valuable,” The narrator now sounded like they were on the verge of crying, “A way to keep the adventures going without the fear of death—the fear that it will all end in either a bullet to the heart or a knife to the back.”

“All he needed to do was to… Extend. His. Hand.”

As the music faded out, with Foxx and Lav at the edge of their seats…

The normal narration did not continue, instead the narrator along with the rest of the voice cast advertised the release of the next series, which would conclude this tale—coming soon in three months’ time.

“Come on!” Lav yelled.

“What’s going on?” Sal entered the room with snacks and drinks on a tray.

“It left on a freaking cliffhanger!”

“I thought this was a one-off series?”

“Yeah, I guess not!”

Sal gave Foxx his water, “Part one being only two hours is odd too, don’t they usually go on for four to six?”

“Yeah—but not here, cheapskates.”

“Probably just ran out of budget and had to split it, be nice to the creators. Audio dramas don’t print gold you know, not like uh…” Sal snapped her taloned fingers, “…Lost treasure of the Deep Reef, right?”

“No, that one controls sea monsters—It’s the Gilded Keg of Hi-bis that makes gold,” Lav corrected.

Sal gave Lav her snacks and drink, and giggled, “Oh how could I have forgotten?” Sal turned to Foxx, “By the way, Foxx, how long till you need to head back?”

All the water in Foxx’s cup was completely gone by the time Sal looked over, even the ice—as if it just vanished.

“Before the moon moves a quarter to its apex,” Foxx quoted Frost.

Sal chuckled, “Do they mean 7:30?”

“Yes.”

“So, you two still have some time, what are you two planning on doing now?

“Don’t know,” Lav said.

Sal lit up, “You know, actually, I have a fun idea.”

“Don’t rope us into more work,” Lav groaned.

“Oh no no no, that can wait for tomorrow,” Sal sarcastically said. “Do you still have any of those pirate gamebooks lying around?”

“Yeah, don’t see why I wouldn’t?”

Sal looked around in Lav’s bookshelves.

“Bottom row, far left.”

Sal picked one up titled “The Mystery of the Onyx Scabbard,” and sat down on a bean bag chair too small for her.

“I was thinking it would be fun for you two to play through one, with me as the narrator,” Sal said.

“Gamebook?” Foxx asked.

“You’ve never read one before?”

Foxx shook his head.

“It’s like a book, but you get to make choices and see what happens. Lav used to go through hundreds of these, begging mom or dad to narrate since it makes them a lot more fun.”

“Woah,” Foxx scooted his burrow over, sitting in front of Sal.

Sal looked at Lav, “What do you say? I don’t think I’m as good of a narrator as mom or dad was, but I can give it a shot.”

Lav scoffed at the proposal, but scooted in front of Sal as well, “Not like there’s anything better to do.”

Sal was in fact, not that “good” of a narrator—her voices goofy and delivery exaggerated… But, she was perfect for Foxx and Lav. Two kids who were set on finding the mystery behind the Onyx Scabbard, failing in many horrifying ways along the way but still having fun despite it. Each choice and new path or development met quickly by intense and engaged decision of what to do next.

The book was surprisingly tricky and cruel, even when Sal looked a little ahead to help guide them to victory, the book quickly showed them that would only take them so far—its traps and tribulations as unpredictable as they were abundant.

However, after many failed attempts—they made it through to the end, the mystery of the Onyx Scabbard revealed to be…

That there was no mystery, it was just in a cave that was hard to get into, which someone accidently dropped it in—ending on the line, “After all you’ve conquered, the real treasure wasn’t the Onyx Scabbard, rather the adventure ye had along the way.”

To put it lightly and briefly, Sal and Lav were mutually unamused.

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