“Your friend’s a bit violent,” Trish said to Patrick.
“I’m NOT his friend,” Gwen said, then, waving her bow and arrow at the two, started walking off, backward. “Remember, no following. Never speak to me again.”
She turned and ran off, disappearing into the trees.
“So…you don’t have a ship,” Trish said. “Lucky for you I know where Carmine’s is. We can take it.”
Patrick assessed her, contemplatively, then gave her a friendly nod. “You may be more useful than you look.”
“Hey,” she said but was too busy beaming with pride to really be annoyed.
She smiled and began to lead the way. He wasn’t sure who this was or if she could really be trusted, but hey, you only live once, so he sighed and continued after her.
“So this person,” she said as they walked, “this Blade of the Sea…”
He scrunched his nose, debating how much to tell her, when a shout sounded nearby. Gwen.
“Come on,”
He ran off, only noticing with a heavy heart that Bonecrusher’s ship was disappearing on the horizon, but Captain’s Selna’s ship was now docked on land.
They came to a clearing and Patrick froze. Before him stood Captain Selna with five other pirates. One had a diamond sword pointed at Gwen’s throat, her bow and arrow half-way across the clearing. The others had swords out too, and all turned on Patrick when they saw him.
“You!” Selna said, turning her sword to point at him. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve put me in with Captain Blackheart?!”
“Can’t see how it’s my problem,” Patrick said.
Trish leaned in and whispered, “Who’s this?”
In spite of her whispering, Selna heard and her face grew red. “I’m your nightmares come to life, girl. I’m the scourge of the quajillion seas, you hear me? But right now I’m simply the pirate who’s going to kill you and your little dog too, then take this one in chains, and not let him outta my sight until Captain Blackheart’s agreed to let me live.”
Trish looked at Selna a moment, then leaned back to whisper to Patrick again. “I don’t think I like her…Too dramatic.”
Selna about lost it at that, throwing her head back and screaming. She ran at Trish, sword at the ready.
Chapter 14: Fortify
Patrick saw his chance to act. With two large steps, he was at the bow and arrow, which he kicked back to Gwen.
She snatched it and rolled away from the pirate’s sword, then came up into a kneeling position, where she shot an arrow into the tree above.
“What was that?” Patrick yelled as the arrow disappeared.
Gwen simply smiled, then said, “Duck,” as she threw herself to the floor. He didn’t get it at first, but then heard the creak of wood. He was flat on the floor before the massive log swung down, taking Selna and two of her pirates with it. They recovered just in time for Gwen to leap over to a pressure plate no one had noticed and slam her hand down on it.
The ground behind her gave out into a slide, and the other pirates fell with it.
“Genius!” Patrick said, pulling Trish to her feet.
Selna was recovering, but the wolf charged her and slammed into her so that she too fell over the edge.
“Way to go, Sharp!” Trish yelled, and the wolf turned to her, proud.
“That won’t hold them for long,” Gwen said, motioning them to follow. “I’m going to regret this, but come on.”
They followed and Patrick asked, “You have a plan?”
“I always do,” she said, and then led them back toward the spot where Patrick had knocked her down.
Trish and the Sharp looked at Patrick with eyes that asked if he was sure about this, and he said, “We used to sail together. I’d put my life in her hands.”
“That’s not saying much, considering your life is worthless,” Gwen called back, pulling aside a few blocks she’d placed there to cover the way back in.
“Aren’t there zombies down there?” he asked.
“I don’t care, and neither should you.” Gwen pointed to a nearby tree, an especially large one with branches and tree leaves that could make for quite the tree house. “Because I’m staying here and can hold my own, while you two—”
“Three,” Trish corrected with a pat on her wolf’s head.
“Fine, while you three distract them over there.”
“I don’t get it,” Patrick said.
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Just, get them over there, watch for when they step in the wrong places or stand in areas marked with an X.”
“Ooh, treasure?” Trish asked.
“No, better than that,” Gwen said as she moved the blocks back over her head so that the last words were muffled but still clear enough. “Booby traps.”
Shouting sounded from behind, and they knew the pirates had recovered and were coming in fast.
“Here goes!” Trish said, and the three of them ran over to the specified tree.
It was almost humorous watching Trish scramble to get up the tree, if it hadn’t been so pitiful. There was no way she’d ever make it on her own, so Patrick knelt and put his hands together to boost her up.
“Sharp too!” she said.
Patrick stared at her.
“The wolf!” she yelled, frantically looking back the way they’d come. “Hurry!”
“You can’t be serious,” he said.
“What, you’d leave him to die?”
Patrick was considering saying yes, when he turned to look at the wolf. Sharp sat on his hind legs, eyes wide and staring up at him as if the wolf would burst into tears at any minute.
“There!” Selna’s voice said from not far off.
“Uhg,” Patrick rolled his eyes and grabbed the wolf, holding it up for Trish.
“I think you’ll have to climb with him in your hands,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”
He gritted his teeth, put the wolf under one arm, and did his best to jump up, grab a hold of a branch, and swing himself and the wolf up.
“There, was that so hard?” Trish said, petting Sharp behind the ears.
Patrick stretched his shoulder. “Yeah, kinda.”
“So what do you suppose we do up here?” she asked.
He looked around, confused, while the sound of arguing below told him they pirates had arrived too.
Something caught his eye—a glimmer of a handle, sticking out of the leaves.
“They’re climbing,” Trish hissed.
Patrick swiped the leaves aside, then reached out, hesitant, and pulled the handle. A swoosh of arrows sounded below, followed by screams.
Trish backed up, hand to her mouth. She looked terrified, but then she said, “Do it again.”
He reached out for the lever but noticed an opening had formed in the leaves. He motioned for Trish and Sharp to follow, and ducked into the opening.
“Over here!” a pirate said.
Patrick looked down and saw an opening—the pirate was aiming at him with a bow and arrow, and had arrows sticking out of his armor, one in his leg.
“Watch out,” Trish yelled, diving in front of him to block the arrow.
But the arrow made a clunk sound and fell back.
“Huh?” Patrick and Trish shared a confused look, then stepped forward and saw a shimmer in the open air. “Glass.”
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Thanks.” He took a moment to look around, and was amazed. “Look at this place!”
It was like a small room built into the upper levels of the trees. A chest, a bed, a crafting table. A series of levers next to the glass.
“Your friend had the setup on this island,” Trish said, opening the chest and pulling out some leather and chain armor, some arrows, and a gold sword. “That’s for sure.”
“Nice!”
“You take the sword and chain armor,” she said, handing them over. “I’ll take the leather and arrows.”
“You sure?”
he asked.
“It’ll be easier to move around,” she said. “Besides, I’m horrible with swords.”
He took them and quickly put on the armor, then glanced back at the glass. Captain Selna and two more pirates had joined the first and they were looking up, angry and perplexed. All of them had at least one arrow sticking out of them.
“We better hurry,” Patrick said, starting to feel trapped, “before they find a way up here.”
“Maybe one of those levers opens a way out?”
He approached the levers, considering. One had a black square next to it. Black like emptiness, perhaps? Like a door? He pulled it, and heard Trish gasp.
“What?” he said, running back over to her.
She pointed down and, through the glass, he saw that the lever had dropped spiders on the pirates, and now they were fighting them off.
“Genius!” Trish said. “Let me try one!”
She ran over and pulled the next lever, one that had a blue square. Patrick watched with amusement as water traps formed all around the pirates, trapping them in a small area with the spiders.
“We could do this all day,” Trish said with a laugh. She pulled another and fire shot up in the middle of the square, barbecuing a spider. “Ah, I didn’t mean to help them!”
“Two left,” Patrick said. “Maybe we should just wait?”
“You see a way out of here?” she asked. “I mean, I doubt that will hold them long.”
Sure enough, the pirates were mostly in the clear now, keeping back from the fire as Captain Selna stabbed the last of the spiders with her sword and then kicked it into the water, where it died.
“I don’t like it,” Patrick said, realizing she was probably right. He joined her and they each took a lever. “On three?”
“Okay,” she said. “Three.”
They both pulled, and at the same time the glass block gave way to a ladder to let the pirates up from below, while a door opened up to the top of the trees to their right. They pulled frantically at the levers to try and close the ladder, but Selna had already grabbed hold—it was too late.
“RUN!” Trish and Patrick yelled together, and they scrambled to reach the door before the pirates got a hold of them.
Chapter 15: Endings
Patrick made it to the door first, and noticed it was starting to close on them! He pushed against it and yelled, “Hurry!”
Sharp barked and ran past him, then turned, tail wagging as he waited for Trish.
“This isn’t a game,” Patrick said to the wolf. “Trish what’s taking so—”
His mouth went dry. Selna had reached the top of the ladder and lunged, grabbing hold of the bottom of Trish’s pant leg, and was pulling her back.
“Patrick,” Trish said, “Don’t just stand there, help me!”
“If I move, the door will close and we’ll be stuck with them!”
Trish looked horrified, then whistled loudly. Sharp got the signal and charged past Patrick to leap at Selna.
It was enough for Trish to break free. She stood and ran for the door, placed a foot at its base so it couldn’t move, and fired an arrow back at Selna. The arrow fell short and almost hit Sharp. Patrick thought Trish had missed until Selna screamed in pain and he saw the arrow sticking up out of her foot.
“Now, Sharp!” Trish yelled, and the two darted past Patrick.
“All right!” he said as he stepped aside and let the door close.
One of the other pirates tried to reach for him, but the door slammed on the pirate’s hand with a crunch that sent a chill down Patrick’s spine.
“Thanks, boy,” Trish said, kneeling to rub the wolf’s ears.
“We better keep moving.” Patrick glanced back at the door and the hand that was struggling to pull back. “They’ll get that open soon enough.”
“Who will?” a voice said, causing Patrick to nearly jump out of his new armor. They turned to see Ebin the Flebin.
Trish pulled her bow and arrow on him, ready to shoot, but then lowered it when she recognized him.
“About time you showed up,” she said.
Patrick motioned to the door and said, “The pirates that were after me. We got them in there.”
“Yeah, about that…” Ebin said, and with two quick steps he was at the door and had it open. “I kinda struck a deal with them, sorry, pal.”
“You what?” Patrick said, but the door was open, and the pirates, all hurt and fuming mad, stepped out.
“He made a deal,” Selna said. “We let him go, if he helps us capture you.”
“You…You jerk!” Trish said to Ebin.
His cheeks turned red, but he remained silent.
“Now, the Blade of the Sea?” Selna said. “Where is it?”
“Shows how stupid you are,” Ebin said. “It isn’t a thing, it’s a perso—”
“Ebin the Flebin!” Patrick held a hand over Ebin’s mouth, which he promptly swatted away. It was too late anyway. The damage was done.
“A person, huh?” Selna hobbled forward, then circled Patrick, looking him up and down. “My money says you either know who it is, or it’s you. Either way, we have a use for you.” She paused and turned wild eyes on Trish. “But you, well you’re disposable.”
Patrick gulped, hating the look of fright that came into Trish’s eyes.
“Sorry to be the bringer of bad news,” he said as he pulled out his sword. “But you’re going to have to kill me before getting anywhere near her.”
Selna smiled, then pulled out two swords of her own. “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? I never said you’d need both legs to fulfill your need.”
The other pirates laughed, and they too drew swords.
Ebin looked around nervously and said, “I think this is my cue to be on my way.” He took a step back, seemingly forgetting that they were up in the trees—with a look of surprise he fell over the side, screaming the whole way down.”
The pirates were distracted by that, so Patrick lunged. He almost had Selna but, at the last minute, she saw him coming and dodged, then brought one of her swords down on his armor, hard enough to make a small crack.
“You really think you can take me in swordplay?” she said with a laugh. “Captain Blackheart promoted me to where I am for a reason, and it’s not because I’m a nice pirate.”
She struck again, but this time Patrick was able to deflect the blow—though the impact sent vibrations up his arms.
“He’s mine,” Selna said to the other pirates, and she and Patrick squared off, circling each other.
Patrick didn’t have any grand notions of defeating her, he just wanted to escape. So when he was opposite Trish, he gave a small signal. She nodded, and together with the wolf, charged.
“Ah, what’re you doing?” Selna cried as Sharp took out her legs and Trish did her best to hold the pirate’s arms down. Patrick had leaped too, and had her other arm. Together, they pried away her swords and tossed them from the tree.
“Why aren’t you helping?” Selna yelled at her pirates.
“You said you didn’t want us to, didn’t you?” the one with the hurt hand said.
“Idiots, now I—” she tried to say more, but Trish had taken some wool from her pocket and jammed it into the pirate’s mouth.
“Um, so…” The other pirate looked at the first and shrugged.
“Can you keep her down?” Patrick asked.
Selna struggled, making muffled sounds, but Trish nodded.
Patrick turned to the other two pirates, who were whispering among themselves and seemed about to attack. He charged, yelling louder than he’d ever yelled before in hopes that it would catch them off guard—it did! The first stumbled back and fell from the tree with a shout. The second pirate caught himself, but Patrick landed a punch that knocked the pirate off balance, then a kick that sent him over the side.
He turned back to Trish and Selna, where Sharp had taken a seat on Selna’s legs and Trish continued to hold down her hands.
“They’ll never stop coming after you,” Selna said. “You can throw me in that lava, do whatever you want. But it won’t stop Captain Blackheart.”
Patrick sighed, and said, “Then we’ll just have to keep out of her reach. Always one step ahead…Or defeat her.”
Selna laughed at that. “How could you possibly hope to stand against such forces?”
Patrick and Trish shared a look, a glimmer of hope there.
“By finding the Blade of the Sea first,” he said. “And using it against her.”
Selna looked at him, doubt crossing her face. The hatred and violence seemed to wash away, and she almost looked nice again.
“If that happens,” Selna said, “Maybe you’ll have a spot for me in this new pirate crew?”
“Sorry,” Patrick said. “When that happens, it will no longer be a pirate crew.”
He looked up at the vines in the trees and had an idea. Soon they had Selna tied up with the vines, and then shoved her through the door to the little room in the trees.
“When Gwen finds you’ve invaded her hideout,” Patrick said, closing the door, “she’ll have some strong words for you.”
The door closed with a clang.
“What now?” Trish said. “We can use Carmine’s ship, but to where?”
Patrick rubbed his chin, considering their options. It felt so overwhelming, helpless. But he couldn’t let the pirates win, not after this.
“If only Aziz had kept in contact, we wouldn’t have this problem,” he said.
“Wait, Aziz?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you, did I?” Patrick figured there was no going back now. They were committed to their partnership, and really he needed her help. “According to Gwen, my old friend Aziz is the Blade of the Sea. Problem is, I have no idea where he is.”
Trish was beaming.
“What?” he asked.
“Aziz. He has a bass guitar? Kind of a cocky guy?”
“Yes…?”
“I know where to find him.”
Blade of the Sea Book 2: A Children's Survival Unofficial Minecraft Book Page 6