Post by Liechtenstein on Oct 15, 2010 20:25:48 GMT -8
In the depths of a smoky tavern, Captain Arthur Kirkland sat amongst patrons, fully into his cups. There had been a musician that evening, but he hadn't lasted long before being booed away by men and women too seasoned by life to want to listen to the woes and wails of a traveling bard. Muttering amongst themselves over the lack of entertainment, a young bar maid sidled her way towards the tipsy captain.
"Sir, if... if it wouldn't bother you too much... could you tell us another tale, like you did last night?" the earnest look in her eyes caught the attention of many of the men around the blond, who looked up blearily at the maid.
"A story?" Kirkland mused, some sense coming back into his voice as he pondered. "Well... I suppose I can pull another tale out of my repertoire." The girl let out a happy giggle, clapping her hands with delight as he straightened.
"Well then, ladies and gents - have any of you heard the full tale of the Legendary Treasure of Ernst?" he questioned the room and was rewarded with many a shaken head. No - none but pirates knew the true tale. "Sad, that. Then, perhaps I shall enlighten you," he cleared his throat and started his tale:
"Throughout history there have been pirates, both infamous and discreet. Most met their ends hanging by a thick rope or worse, freedom cut short, ship stolen, treasure missing. Famous pirates like Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, William Kid and Bartholomew Roberts were all known for great treasure, or so the gossips say. Whatever happened to that gold, those gems - the fortunes they risked their lives for?
Long after these famous pirates were deceased, a man came along quietly. No one had ever heard of him before, and if not for one great fact, none still would remember him. His name was Jamison Ernst and he was both a pirate and not a pirate. His ship, his crew, were collectors of a sort. They stole in the shadows, bringing together the fortunes of every famous pirate they could, amassing a vast treasure that was hidden away so only those few men and women knew its location.
Greed took over their souls, as it is wont to do when there was a large sum of profit - and then Jamison announced to his crew that whoever was the last man standing would receive all the loot, before he jumped off his ship and vanished into the deep. Instantly there was a riot on the ship that lasted for hours, and soon the number of dead began to outweigh the living. Finally, just before dawn, the last man stood amongst the remains of his former friends, sole survivor of the bloodbath.
As he stood there, a noise was heard - clapping. There was Jamison, alive on the deck, dripping from his foray in the ocean. Both men pulled guns on each other, daring the other to shoot. Both wanted the treasure to be theirs - both wanted to survive. The man shot first, wounding his captain. Without hesitation, Jamison killed the man and was the last one standing.
But... not for long as his wound was terrible and the healer lay amongst the dead. Dragging himself off the ship once more and into the depths of his massive treasure, he hunted down the largest, flattest gemstone he could find. For the captain had a Power - one that had passed down through his family for generations uncountable. The Power to manipulate gemstones. And so he did, changing it with his will into a map - a map to find his treasure. Then, with the last of his strength, he cast a spell and a curse on the map, before he tossed it to the ground and shattered it.
As the pieces broke apart, they began to glow and quickly darted off, out across the world as Jamison took his last breath. Each piece found its way to a captain of a pirate ship, bearing a message for each. It started with 'My name is Captain Jamison Ernst and if you wish to find my treasure, here is what you must do...'
To be able to find the treasure, one must be either the luckiest, the craftiest, the strongest or all three. When all the map pieces are placed together, they will show the way to the Legendary Treasure."
And with that, Captain Kirkland pulled a glowing green gem out from the folds of his shirt, the faint green light lighting up his eyes eerily as he smirked to the stunned crowd.
"Or at least... that is how the legend goes."
"Sir, if... if it wouldn't bother you too much... could you tell us another tale, like you did last night?" the earnest look in her eyes caught the attention of many of the men around the blond, who looked up blearily at the maid.
"A story?" Kirkland mused, some sense coming back into his voice as he pondered. "Well... I suppose I can pull another tale out of my repertoire." The girl let out a happy giggle, clapping her hands with delight as he straightened.
"Well then, ladies and gents - have any of you heard the full tale of the Legendary Treasure of Ernst?" he questioned the room and was rewarded with many a shaken head. No - none but pirates knew the true tale. "Sad, that. Then, perhaps I shall enlighten you," he cleared his throat and started his tale:
"Throughout history there have been pirates, both infamous and discreet. Most met their ends hanging by a thick rope or worse, freedom cut short, ship stolen, treasure missing. Famous pirates like Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, William Kid and Bartholomew Roberts were all known for great treasure, or so the gossips say. Whatever happened to that gold, those gems - the fortunes they risked their lives for?
Long after these famous pirates were deceased, a man came along quietly. No one had ever heard of him before, and if not for one great fact, none still would remember him. His name was Jamison Ernst and he was both a pirate and not a pirate. His ship, his crew, were collectors of a sort. They stole in the shadows, bringing together the fortunes of every famous pirate they could, amassing a vast treasure that was hidden away so only those few men and women knew its location.
Greed took over their souls, as it is wont to do when there was a large sum of profit - and then Jamison announced to his crew that whoever was the last man standing would receive all the loot, before he jumped off his ship and vanished into the deep. Instantly there was a riot on the ship that lasted for hours, and soon the number of dead began to outweigh the living. Finally, just before dawn, the last man stood amongst the remains of his former friends, sole survivor of the bloodbath.
As he stood there, a noise was heard - clapping. There was Jamison, alive on the deck, dripping from his foray in the ocean. Both men pulled guns on each other, daring the other to shoot. Both wanted the treasure to be theirs - both wanted to survive. The man shot first, wounding his captain. Without hesitation, Jamison killed the man and was the last one standing.
But... not for long as his wound was terrible and the healer lay amongst the dead. Dragging himself off the ship once more and into the depths of his massive treasure, he hunted down the largest, flattest gemstone he could find. For the captain had a Power - one that had passed down through his family for generations uncountable. The Power to manipulate gemstones. And so he did, changing it with his will into a map - a map to find his treasure. Then, with the last of his strength, he cast a spell and a curse on the map, before he tossed it to the ground and shattered it.
As the pieces broke apart, they began to glow and quickly darted off, out across the world as Jamison took his last breath. Each piece found its way to a captain of a pirate ship, bearing a message for each. It started with 'My name is Captain Jamison Ernst and if you wish to find my treasure, here is what you must do...'
To be able to find the treasure, one must be either the luckiest, the craftiest, the strongest or all three. When all the map pieces are placed together, they will show the way to the Legendary Treasure."
And with that, Captain Kirkland pulled a glowing green gem out from the folds of his shirt, the faint green light lighting up his eyes eerily as he smirked to the stunned crowd.
"Or at least... that is how the legend goes."
