Tales of the Caravan

by J. Avarez

Mia shook her head at the pair of pirates and turned toward Blackbeard. "What happened to her?"

  "She was cursed by the Magi to serve a life sentence here," replied Blackbeard. He took a torch from the side of the cave, set it ablaze, and led the group into the darkness. "Javana's Secreto allows her to heal her own wounds. The Magi understood her power, and trapped her in a cell that constantly cuts into her flesh. The poor woman is unable to escape, or heal her wounds fast enough to ease her suffering."

  "That's why we need your power." Said Jayden.

  His silver eyes glowed, activating his Secreto to look further into the darkness.

  "Your red mist can heal with the power of a god," Blackbeard gave her a look of appreciation. "I need you to cast it on her, only then can I ask Javana the questions I need answered."

  "And what questions are those?" Asked Mia.

  "Javana was the first person to take the blue moon," replied Blackbeard. "She'll know what needs to be done to stop its curse."

  The captain reached a massive metal door that stretched toward the ceiling of the cave. The music had grown as loud as ever, and began to ring through Mia's ears. Blackbeard pushed the door opened and Mia quickly pushed in front of the other pirates. She had been eager to see what was inside. The room was small and square, the ground etched with the symbol of eight sabers in a circle.

  Javana was by far the most disturbing thing about the room. Her black hair was wild and unkempt, and her green eyes were riddled with red veins. Her body was chained inside of an oval shaped pod, made of emerald. Hundreds of knives pushed out of holes on the sides of the pod. The blades tore through her flesh just as Javana would heal her wounds…it was a never ending cycle of pain.

  "Unaqlus have mercy." Mia whispered.

  Blackbeard approached Javana and got a better look at her face. Even though knives continued to stab her body, her tearful eyes shifted from the ceiling and focused on his face.

  "She sees us," said Blackbeard. "That's good, the pain hasn't driven her mad. Step forward, young rose, quickly. Ease her suffering so that I may speak with her."

  Darlan unlocked the choker from Mia’s neck, and the Royal felt her power returning to her veins. Mia slowly approached Javana and raised her hands. She did her best to ignore the stabbings, but the sound of sliced flesh continued to make her sick. A deep breath activated her Secreto, and her hazel eyes glowed as the red mist shot out of her hands. The glittering red cloud covered her body like a red quilt. The sound of music suddenly stopped. Javana let out a croak and began to gasp for air.

  The cuts on Javana's body vanished, and the red mist protected her from the knives that continue to ram against her body. Javana looked down toward Mia, and a wide smile of relief stretched upon her face.

  "Thank you," said Javana, breathlessly. "You've given me relief from a lifetime of pain."

  "Why did the Magi do this to you?" Asked Mia, her eyes darted about and scanned Javana's tired face.

  "They were hired to do this, by the Royals," the thought of them made Javana's eyes twitch, and Mia's heart sink. "I was arranged to marry one of them from the capital. It was a horrible arrangement that left me scarred and broken," she turned her eyes toward Jayden and her face eased. His handsome face reminded her of the man she loved. "Then a pirate came from the sea and whisked me away. What started as a kidnapping soon became love, and my jealous fiancé chose to punish me for it. My love was murdered, and I was sentenced to live a life of suffering."

  Her story had nearly brought Mia to tears. She then sensed a great shadow sweep over her. Blackbeard has stepped face to face with Javana, his eyes intense and flickering from the torch in his hand.

  "I'm in need of your help, my lady." said Blackbeard, with a polite bow. "A terrible curse has fallen upon us now."

  "I sense it off of you," her eyes surveyed the captain's body. "The blue moon is dangerous, its power is unmistakable. The world knows my love and I to be the first to take it, but that's far from the truth. We were merely the first to find the pearl. My love learned of its true power and chose to leave it be. The murals written inside of the temple tell the tale. Most pass them in pursuit of the treasure, but my love was wise enough to read its warning."

  Blackbeard reached into his pocket, from it he pulled out a glowing blue sphere. The light was incredibly bright, just a slight gaze of it had strained Mia's eyes.

  "It's said that returning the relic will end the curse," Blackbeard's face was tinted blue from the light of the pearl. "But, the temple is no longer there. We've sailed back to the island to return the blue moon, and found nothing but open water."

  "The gods have taken the temple back," said Javana. "The blue moon is sacred to the gods. It's the first gift Unaqlus gave to his wife, Tyserra. If anyone should take the gift from its resting place, the temple will vanish."

  "Why take the temple back?" Asked Jayden.

  "The gods believe in sacrifice," replied Javana. "Each night the moon will take more people, turning them into stone under its moonlight. You and your men are protected by the treasure you hold, but soon even the pearl won't save you. If you want to end the curse, you'll need to sacrifice some of those who've been turned to stone. Through their stone bodies, you can build a new temple, and return the pearl to end this wretched curse."

  His thoughts went to his only daughter, the thought of her sacrifice had nearly brought the captain to weep. He had murdered men in hopes of saving her...was it all for nothing?

  "Those that must be sacrificed, will I have a choice of who to offer?" Asked Blackbeard, his rough voice was surprisingly wispy.

  "Yes, brave captain," Javana leaned forward and kissed Blackbeard's forehead. "You'll have the power to choose the sacrifice. You'll also need a map, by your eyes I can tell you know where to find it. The map is special, it cannot be read by average eyes. Those words have meaning to only a few, but will lead to a place guarded by godly children."

  "The water dragons." He watched as Javana nodded to his words.

  "Seek the girl, Blackbeard," her voice was cold and stern. "She's inside of your heart," her eyes turned to Mia and narrowed. "She's inside all of your hearts."

  Mia tried to find meaning in the words, but found none. Perhaps Javana's pain had truly driven her mad...

  "What about our height?" Asked Jayden. He walked by Mia, his shoulders towered high over her head. "Blackbeard and I, we've both grown in height and strength. Is this part of the curse too?"

  "No, young captain," replied Javana. "I'm afraid that's a different curse entirely. It seems the gods are displeased with you. This curse, it will claim your life one day...it's a curse that will affect all men sooner or later."

  "Why only men?" Asked Mia.

  "It's a man's world, my love," she leaned toward Mia, her mouth stretched into a wide smile. "In a man's world, greed is king...and in a man's world, death is certain."

  Mia wanted to speak with Javana more, but Blackbeard had forbid it. He thanked Javana and led the others out of the cave. Mia flinched at the sound of music. She knew her mist must have worn off and that Javana's torture continued again. It was strange to hear, almost haunting, that such a beautiful sound could come from a tortured soul.

  Mia eyes squinted as they left the mouth of the skull mountain. Afternoon had passed, and the blinding sun had begun to sink into the horizon. The group continued on and walked through the abandoned town, all of them pondering over the wisdom that Javana had left them.

  "It hurts that I couldn't do more for her," said Mia. "No one deserves a fate like that."

  "Are you actually sympathizing for the wife of a pirate?" Asked Blackbeard, through a gruff chuckle.

  "We're making progress with the Royal, boys." Said Boggy, cheerfully.

  "Whatever," said Jayden. "At least now we know what needs to be done."

  "Aye, but what was she on about?" Asked Darlan. "How could you two becoming stronger be part of a curse?"

  "I don't kno
w," Jayden stared blankly at the orange sky. "Maybe she didn't know what she was saying, Mia's healing was wearing off in the end."

  "She seemed pretty sure of it to me." Said Mia.

  "Aye, but now isn't the time to worry of that," said Blackbeard, his eyes turned to Jayden. "We need to focus on returning the blue moon, and fixing what your love started."

  "I'm confused though," said Mia. "You told me this Dreamstead woman was the one who took the blue moon, so why do you have it?"

  "My men found the pearl in her cabin and returned it to me," replied Blackbeard. "The battle she had on Crescent Island must've forced her to leave it behind."

  "So, all you need is her," Mia looked at Blackbeard with a hopeful face. "Does that mean I can return home?"

  "We did promise her, captain." Said Darlan, as he took a hearty swig from his flask of rum.

  "Aye, that's right," Blackbeard nodded. "We'll return you to Port Ruby as planned, but I ask for a bit of your patience. We must remain here for a few days and mine some coal for the journey back. I do want to thank you, young rose. You've helped save many lives today."

  "Not everyone though," said Mia, she looked down at her white shoes and sighed. "The church taught us that the gods were forgiving. I can't believe they'd want people to die to fix what that girl has done."

  "Sacrifice is cruel," said Blackbeard, stroking his beard with a scarred hand. "But if you make a mistake without a price, what lesson of value could you possibly learn?"

  The men returned Mia to the floating pirate ship and retreated to the hall for dinner. Mia politely asked to be excused, and Blackbeard obliged. The captain still showed a bit of distrust for the Royal. A pirate was called to reattach the blue diamond choker, and escort her back to the den. The pirate was a silent brute for the most part, more interested in his bottle of rum than he was in Mia. When they arrived at the den, the pirate shoved the Royal inside and locked the door.

  The pirate’s laugh echoed as it faded to nothing. Trapped again, she thought. Her hazel eyes shifted toward the captain's desk, and found a large tomb rested near a bottle of wine. She sat on Blackbeard's chair and pulled the tomb toward her. Her eyes surveyed the cover, Atlas was written in gold against the black leather binding.

  She thought of Sarah Dreamstead. The woman responsible for the curse, and the cause of her abduction. She brushed her blonde hair away from her face, and began to sift through the pages. She recalled Sarah was an applicant from Crescent Island, and quickly moved toward the C's of the Atlas.

  Though the book looked to hold about a thousand pages, it was enchanted to magically hold thousands more. Mia sifted through hundreds of pages worth of information on just Crescent Island alone. After a few moments, Mia found Sarah's page under People of Interest. To Mia's confusion, there was no information on her...only a strange poem.

  Safest with one

  Doomed with many

  Given to the selfish, never to be shared.

  I can't exist if no one cares.

  What am I?

  "Having some trouble there?" Said a voice.

  Mia's head shot up and looked around. For a second she thought she had gone mad. No one was in the room and the door was still closed. She had thought perhaps it was the wind, but then a black cat jumped onto the desk. The feline laid her yellow eyes upon Mia and smiled.

  "Who are you?" Asked the Royal, leaning back into her seat.

  "My name is Mira," said the black cat, her voice was seductively smooth. "I'm Jayden's oracle."

  "How did you get in here?" Mia checked the door again, to see if it was left slightly open.

  The cat chuckled and walked toward the bottle of wine. Her yellow eyes glowed brightly, and her body phased through the bottle as if it weren't there.

  "An oracle can still tap into their Secreto," Mira explained, she stood near the atlas and peeked down at the page. "Now, what do you have there? I hope it's interesting, the rest of this ship is such a bore to me."

  "Sarah Dreamstead," said Mia, her eyes darted back down to the page. "I wanted to learn more about her, but...all I see are these imp scratches."

  "These aren't imp scratches," said Mira. "These are Magi writings. Those clever ones write the atlas for the captains who pay for them. Each one is unique from the other, each with its own knowledge to give. What you see here is a safe, the true words are hidden beneath."

  With a rush of excitement, Mia's eyes darted back toward the page. The Magi were keepers of the most valuable information in the world. If they thought to seal Sarah's information, something about her was worth guarding.

  She read the poem aloud, hoping that hearing the words would give them more meaning. "Safest with one, doomed with many. Given to the selfish, never to be shared. I can't exist if no one cares. What am I?"

  She thought of the words, but could think of no answer. A soft purr tickled her ears and she watched a black paw move onto the page.

  "A secret." Said Mira.

  The words seemed to respond to the black cat, and glowed with bright white light. Soon the entire page shined, and forced Mia to shield her eyes with her hand. The white light slowly faded away, and new text had begun to appear on the page. Most of the information Mia had already seen, except for the identities of Sarah's parents. Veronica Dreamstead was her mother, and her father...

  Mia gasped, her eyes shot up and found Mira. The black cat grinned widely, her eyes practically gleaming with excitement.

  "My god," said Mira gleefully. "Now that is interesting."

  The grinding of a key against the lock forced Mia to action. She hastily shut the atlas and pushed it away. Mira hopped off the desk and disappeared through a bookcase. The door opened and Mia saw a pirate step inside. The man wore a black hood over his outfit. The top of his nose and eyes were hidden in shadow.

  "Dinner, my lady." Said the pirate, with a plate of chicken and potatoes in his hand.

  "Thank you," said Mia, her finger pointing toward the edge of the table. "You could just put it down there for me."

  The pirate set the plate down and walked around the desk. Mia's eyes followed the man, her chest tight from her anxiety. The pirate stood in front of her and knelt on one knee, his hand gently seizing one of her wrists.

  "I was worried that you'd be hurt," said the pirate, he kissed her hand and smiled. "But you look as beautiful as ever."

  "I'm sorry," she pulled her hand from his grip and leaned away. "I think you should leave. I'm not interested, not with you or any man on this ship."

  The pirate laughed softly and rose up to his feet.

  "What about a dragon?" He asked.

  The black hood was lifted, and a pair of red eyes stared back at her. She felt her heart pounding fast, her eyes almost as wide as her gaped mouth.

  "Calow?"

  Chapter 10 The Captain’s Right

  Julius stepped into his office. The room was dark and cold from the evening breeze. He followed the brightness from his window, grayish-blue from the rain clouds that gathered over Port Ruby. His purple eyes gazed out the window. Sarah and her friends were down below, walking happily down the street. A smile stretched across his face, the first time he had done so since Mia was taken.

  "You really think they'll save your daughter?" Asked Greymore.

  Julius turned and saw the judge by the door, with his arms folded over his blue silk robes.

  "That captain," said Julius, his purple eyes shifted back toward Sarah. "She reminds me so much of her. Stern, unapologetic, confidant. I trust she'll bring my little rose back to me."

  Greymore walked toward the window and stared at Sarah, his eyes narrowed a bit. "She's not a captain, yet."

  It was true enough. Caravans had to be approved by all judges on the council, Sarah had not received such approval. Julius gazed at Greymore with suspicion. The judge's attitude toward the ladies was strange indeed.

  "I'm curious, what do you have against her?" Asked Julius. "You seem
ed put off about her from the start." "Women shouldn't sail the seas," replied Greymore.

  "They should remain in the homes, cooking and cleaning. They shouldn't be out there, getting involved in the businesses of men."

  "You sound like the emperor," the Chancellor shook his head while he sat at his desk. "You don't have to believe everything that comes out of that man's mouth."

  "That's who we serve, Julius," replied Greymore. "The emperor's way is as good as law, you would do well to remember it."

  "The mainland is a world away," Julius’ purple eyes became dull and tired. "They don't have any idea what happens out here. Nine Seas and they're clueless about all of them. I'm not going to deny the help of a capable captain, especially for something as inconsequential as being a woman."