Death and Bones (1 of 2)

            The Tradewind had departed from the shores of the autumn forest. The beautiful trees and cool, crisp air was as inviting as any of the Tradewind crew had seen. Unfortunately the new discovery was ruined by the sudden appearance of skeleton knights. The pirates turned traders walked into a town after it had been attacked, all the villagers had either run off or been dragged away and the Tradewind crew barely escaped with their lives.

            John Baines was checking the ship for damage and inspecting the crates of fruit they managed to salvage before the skeletons ran them off. His boots creaked on the wooden deck of the ship, the sound of waves was constant and soothing and even though they were no long on land, they still could smell the fresh air of the autumn forest as it mixed with the wind that came from the sea.

            After a few hours of inspection, John returned to the captain. Captain Mohardy sat on the upper deck by the help, peering out at the sea. “The ship is in good condition and we got a two crates of apples before our escape” John reported. Captain Mohardy smiled “Good work my boy, good work”

            The ship took almost no damage and the crew was able to salvage some of the delicious apples from the autumn forest. Mohardy was a tough sea captain, but he spent so much time with his crew and regarded them as family, so even though John delivered good news, the captain couldn’t hold his smile for too long. Before the crew escaped, the skeletons knights killed one of the sailors. John felt bad because he didn’t even know the guys name, but the captain was mourning as if he had lost a son. John left the captain in silence and went back to work.

            As the ship sailed through the water, the wood of the ship creaked and the waves splashed against the sides. Mr.Peeps shouted from the crows nest. The air had grown cold and brutal and a storm began to form. Mr. Peeps shouted again. “Something is headed straight for us!” He shouted

            The wind roared, the clouds grew dark and rain started to pour down on the ship. Mr. Peeps’ warnings were lost in the wind and the ship was hit by something big under the water. The Tradewind shook and some of the crew fell overboard. “All hands on deck!” Mohardy shouted. The crew tried to keep the Tradewind steady but they were all at the mercy of the storm. John held onto the rails as the ship was tossed around on the water. The storm was beating down all around them, then something in the water hit them again. The ship shook and the haul cracked open.

            Land could be seen up ahead. The grass was dead, the trees were black and leafless and the air was bone chilling and foul. With every guest of wind that blew the branches of the trees bent forward like the outward reaching arms of death. John had survived storms before, but he had never seen a land so dark and evil that it made him want to stay out in a storm. His will did not matter though, the will of nature took control and the ship continued to take a beating. Captain Mohardy was seen trying to fasten ropes around his crew. He could barely stand without being thrown, but still he tried to save as many people as he could. John let go of the railing and tried to help the captain. “Captain!” John shouted. But his voice was swallowed by the raging sound of the storm. John shambled across the deck and stabbed his sword into the deck to steady himself. Before he could reach the captain a giant monster rose up from the depths.

            The creature was a giant serpent, with black scales and glowing orange eyes. John was struck with fear, he had never seen a creature like this. Worse still was the serpents face. The scales and flesh was falling from its face and back. This sea snake was shedding its skin to reveal bone, not more skin. The undead sea snake reared back and then with lighting speed struck the side of the Tradewind. John was tossed overboard and before he hit the ice-cold water, he heard a loud cracking and snapping of wood and the screams of his crew as they plunged into the icy depths.

           

            John’s world was now that of silence and darkness. Then he could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore. How he loved the crisp blue water as it splashed against the golden sandy beach of his homeland. He remembered joining Captain Mohardy’s crew as a boy. Mohardy was a retired pirate, looking for a crew of upstanding sailors. He was trying to leave his old life behind and to do this he needed an honest crew. John was a boy of sixteen who dreamed of sailing. Crew came and went as the years went on. Every year or so the captain would say “Tired of the life at sea yet?” and John would always respond “Never”

            John opened his eyes and saw dark blue water splashing against a shore of dead grass and gravel. The trees swayed in the freezing cold wind and any grass under John’s feet would be long dead. John stood up. He ran to the cursed shore and looked out into the sea. He was horrified to see the remains of the Tradewind sticking out of the water and clinging to jagged rocks that jutted out from the ocean depths. Seaweed and moss grew on the ship and the wood looked ancient. The raging storm and sea serpent destroyed the ship, but only time could age and weather the ship to this degree.

            John looked down and he saw a skeleton stuck on a rock under a foot of water. The bones looked old and the ocean had washed away any traces of a face. He felt his heart sink and sadness engulfed him. He stumbled through the water and grabbed the skeleton. Captain Mohardy’s hat floated up from under the skeletons head. John recoiled in terror and fell into the water.

            He stood up and climbed onto the shore. That’s when he saw a reflection of his face. His eyes glowed bright orange. Like a great burning Jack o Lantern, or like the sea serpent who attacked the Tradewind. John also had scars all over his face. The scars came from the time he spent on the bottom of the ocean as his face was sliced and bashed against jagged rocks. “Why didn’t I die? How much time has passed?” John muttered as he clutched his hand over his face.

            “You reached the shore. You are the unlucky one. You reached the shore just before you died. While the Tradewind crew was able to depart for the afterlife, you were cursed by the darkness of this land” Said a voice.

            “Who is that?!” John shouted. He pulled his sword from his sheath and raised it. his sword was jagged and bent. It was still sharp and could kill someone, but the jagged shape now reflected John’s cursed body. “I am death, who are you?” Said Death, who didn’t reveal itself, but its voice echoed. “I’m John…no, just call me Bones” John Bones said with a sneer.

            Without a word, John Bones climbed the gravel shore and headed back into land. Something or someone was responsible for this curse and responsible for the attack on the Tradewind. Whoever was responsible was going to pay. John was no longer the honorable sailor he once was. He had become a ghost pirate, a spirit of vengeance and the bringer of death.

Tradewind Embarks

John Baines was a sailor on the ship “Tradewind”. This ship was a trade ship as the name implied and was very fast as well. The crew of the Tradewind was growing restless because they had not seen port in a month. Captain Mohardy stood by the helm and kept checking his spyglass as he looked for land. A lookout stood vigilant in the crows nest, but the captain was getting as restless as the crew.

“Land!” Shouted Mr.Peeks. On the horizon was a land that was full of red and orange trees. It looked like a forest on fire and with every breeze the leaves swayed and it resembled dancing flames on a candle. The captain and crew were awestruck by this sight. They had never been through these seas and each sight was new and exciting. John leaned over the railing to get a better look. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The whole ride into port the crew stared in amazement at the strange red trees. The captain understood their fascination, but they would crash if the crew didn’t all do their jobs as they docked. “Alright men, ye can gawk later. All hands on deck. Get ready fer port!” Shouted the captain.

  The crew of the Tradewind landed in the port of Honeyside. A small town by located at the edge of the Autumn Forest. In this land it was autumn all the time. Farmers almost always had wonderful harvests, apples, honey and maple syrup were always fresh and apple trees and maple made up most of the forest. The sailors looked at the place in wonderment, or rather hadn’t stopped. John grabbed an apple from a tree and ate it, it was the best apple he had ever eaten. “Captain, before we leave, I bet if we pick all the apples we see, we could sell them for a huge profit with no cost” John said. Captain Mohardy smiled and patted John on the back. “That my boy, is why you have always been my favorite” He said in a gruff voice. “Come on lads! Lets see what other bounties this place has to offer.

The Tradewind was docked in port, but no one came to see the new arrivals and there were no other boats in port either. After the excitement of the new sights died down a little John began to notice the little things like the lack of humans or animals in the immediate area. “there has to be houses around here. Wouldn’t just build a dock in the middle of nowhere.” The captain said as the crew left the port and began walking down a dirt path that they hoped would lead to town.

The shake of trees and the sound of loud stomping startled the crew. Everyone drew their swords. The captain had two pistols and John had a handcrafted longsword. Not something a sailor normally carries around.

The village of Honeside came into view. the streets were empty and no one could be seen in the houses. “I don’t like this” one of the men said. Then soldiers in black armor stepped into view. they were coming from the surrounding forest and there numbers kept growing. “Ok lads, I say we make a hasty retreat. Three of you lads, John and I will back out slowly and try to buy the rest of you time to get the boat ready and maybe fill a box or two of those apples if you can manage” The captain said as everyone slowly backed up. “What about the village?” John asked. “They be dead boy, we are but simple sailors, not the navy. So unless you want to join the poor sods in their graves, I suggest you follow my plan” Captain Mohardy said.

Most of the crew ran back to the boat as fast as they could. The armored soldiers had noticed the sailors and were advancing. “Are you ready for this?” Asked the captain, the remaining crew nodded and had their weapons ready. Captain Mohardy fired both off both of his pistols at the closest soldier. One of the sailors also took a shot, then everyone switched to their swords. The bullets hit the first soldier and made him stagger. Two bounced off and one got into the neck opening between the helmet and the chest piece, but the soldier didn’t fall over. The Captain and remaining crew kept backing up and the soldiers advanced. When the first wave of black armored figures were close enough John lunged forward with his sword and stabbed his sword right through the eye hole of one of the soldiers helmets. This made the soldier stumble but not fall. “what are these things?” John removed his blade and gave the creature a kick. The force rattled the soldier and made its helmet fall off. The soldier’s head was just a bare skull under the helmet. “Skeletons, w-walking dead?” one of the crew said. “stick to the plan!” The captain replied.

A cool breeze blew through the autumn forest, birds chirped and the sun was shining. On any other day this would have been a beautiful sight, but the sound of swords clashing and screams disrupted an otherwise nice day. “Try to knock off their heads” John shouted as he gave a skeleton a clean slice. He chopped its head off, sending the skull tumbling through the air. Without the head the rest of the body mysteriously puffed into purple smoke and the black armor clattered to the ground. “Ya know I might have made this place one of my regular trade routes if it didn’t have skeleton monsters in it” The captain said. John smiled “you are getting picky in your old age” John replied.

The sailors fought and continued to back up as the skeleton soldiers advanced. Every minute more of the creatures were jumping into battle. The skeletons were slow, but their blades were sharp and it wasn’t easy getting around their armor. One of the crew stabbed through the neck opening in the armor, the sword got stuck in the armor as it clattered to the ground. The sailor went to retrieve his sword but was stabbed in the back by a skeleton. John tried to go help his crew mate but the captain stopped him. “Can’t risk it. Too many mate” He said.

Finally they reached the shore. The ship was ready to go and the crew even managed to get a few apples into crates. Swarms of skeletons rushed the port, so the captain and crew decided to make a mad dash to the boat. A loud bang sounded out as a cannon from the Tradewind fired out. The cannonball struck the land and skeletons flew everywhere. The captain ran on board and started yelling orders. John helped the remaining crew on and then jumped on at the last minute just as the Tradewind was setting off. Skeletons tried to cling to the side of the ship but were quickly scrapped off by the crew. They slashed with their swords and fired shots from their guns until the last skeleton was left far behind.

“That was fun…where next captain?” John Baines asked. “Aye, somewhere a little more lively perhaps” The captain replied.