Jasper cursed under his breath, the foul stench of filth covering his once-pristine waistcoat, as he carried off as many jewels as he could hold. Blasted. What a wretched waste, he thought to himself spitefully, using the low tide’s waves to clean his treasure.
Had his first mate, Deek, been with him he would have advised leaving the island sooner. But alas, the wicked glint that had so earned him the infamous nickname had glazed over his eyes upon seeing the City of Jewels.
The crewless Captain set his plunder down into the feeble deck of his pitiful ship. Scowling, he imagined the much larger bounty he could hoard on his Ragged Crown. He threw his ruined coat beside it, leaving only his billowy shirt. Jasper turned back to face the towering spires that had shimmered to greet him. Covered in shite…We could have had these damned fancy fools begging while we robbed them blind.
Anger crashed through him like a roaring storm as he saw their golden masks laughing at the chaos they had sown. For a moment, he contemplated going back into the fecal fray to claim more jewels, but the risk was too great. Seagulls quietly cooed in the night sky as Jasper savored the fresh scent of the sea.
A faint glow from the corner of his eye beckoned him and he was enticed to stride towards it. Jasper approached the rocky opening, grasping the hilt of his cutlass, staying wary of the echoing clinks.
After venturing further inside, he peered his head into the cavern, hardly able to keep his wicked grin at bay. Now this is some proper loot. He watched men in tattered robes chip away at the iridescent walls gleaming with the purple, green, red and gold of Grandoria, as their sweat glistened underneath the torchlight.
Silence befell the chamber and tired, sunken faces from within stared back at him in astonishment. Old men and women crouched in the corners shaking in prayer as mothers clutched onto their sick children to keep them close. The elder among them drew near.
“You best turn away, traveler. Lest the Order find you in here.”
Jasper observed the haggard people, realizing he had entered the Cave of Invalids. Was this the reason for the Amethysts and Emeralds flinging animal dung at one another? This was how they built their great city? Guilt nearly stung him, recalling a time he also bore ragged clothes in squalor, until the pile of gems aroused his greed once more. Without second thought, he snatched the old man, pressing the cold steel of his blade against his wrinkled throat.
“Hand over the jewels,” he demanded, flicking his head at the full buckets of treasure, forcing the elder’s neck upward, “Now.”
The men scurried off to place the fruit of their labor at the pirate’s feet, as the women and children wailed in fear, huddling close together. It was clear to him that their spirits were broken. They had no will to fight back. Had they already tried to escape from the Gilded Order, only to be met with fatal punishment? He couldn’t help but wonder.
“And put them on my ship,” Jasper snarled in an attempt to hide his misgivings. The old man was strangely calm, making his stomach churn.
“It seems you suffer from the same disease as our masters,” the elder’s voice was hoarse.
Shame threatened to boil over as he caught a whiff of shite still on him, “Quiet, old man!”
Jasper’s skin rose into bumps when the old man’s calloused hand suddenly stroked at the scar on his inner wrist. “What’s this?” the elder’s voice trembled, causing the invalids from within to become perfectly still, “Don’t tell me…”
Jasper’s expression twisted with confusion as he studied his birthmark, a healed scar in the shape of an eye, only now…it was glowing.
The old man shifted his ragged sleeve to fall ever so slightly, revealing the same glinting eye which gazed back at him, “You…are the lost child.”
A clatter resounded throughout the cavern as he dropped his sword, freeing the elder who turned to face him, grabbing hold of his scarred wrist.
“You’ve returned to us.”
