Chapter Text
It wasn’t often that they got a hit on something quite as large as what Attie had overheard the last time they were on land. Apparently there was a cove nearby that held a mystical treasure. A dangerous treasure. And, well, that was not a combination Tommy could resist. They had been able to follow a few leads separately, no of course it hadn’t been a competition to see who could get the best and most information, and found out that the place was feared for holding a terrible evil yet was rumored to contain treasure that would secure any pirate’s career. It wasn’t clear if the evil was supposed to be guarding the treasure or not, though. With most information being passing rumors and stories it had taken only a quick argument to decide they were going for it.
Attie surveyed the heavy mist as she leaned against the top deck rail. “If we come out of this with somethign stupid,” she said, “you owe me three rounds of drinks. And a new book.”
Tommy waved his hand dismissively in her direction. “I’m telling you, this is going to be worth it.” He threw a smirk at her. “And when it is I expect you to buy me a new flask, complete with contents, of course.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, sure, a solid gold flask filled with whatever piss you want. This is a terrible plan.”
Tommy rushed forward to lean over the rail. The ship had navigated close enough to see a cave entrance sticking out of the water. “Get ready to eat your words!” he said with a grin just shy of genuine excitement.
The water wasn’t deep enough for the ship to get much closer, but some crew members had prepared a few of the smaller boats to move out. Attie and Tommy claimed the last empty one and the small group set out. The waves weren’t too bad once they got over the reef, but the splash of breaking waves was something neither of them would ever tire of anyway.
The mouth of the cave was smaller than it had looked. As the bottom of the boats scrapped against the sandy bottom of the ocean floor about a foot outside of the entrance, they realized it wasn’t quite as submerged as it had looked either. Tommy tied a rope on a hold on the boat as Attie secured the other end around a sturdy rock nearby. He jumped out of the boat with a splash. The water came halfway up his boots. Tommy hefted his gun in his hand, his eyes never straying from the mouth in front of him. “Well, what are we waiting for?” He surged forward, Attie grabbed an unlit torch and moved in right behind him so as to cause as little noise as possible while wading through the water. She motioned for the crew in the other boat to stay ready at the entrance in case they needed backup. The entire crew was used to Tommy rushing head first into an adventure by this point, and Attie had taken to picking up the slack in communication between the necessary crew and the two captains.
Darkness poured in between the pair. As the light was siphoned off behind them, the water around them grew black enough to obscure even their boots directly underneath them. Attie lit the torch they both started looking for traps along their way. As much as the opening had appeared natural, it was clear that the long, narrow tunnel they were now a good twenty five feet down had been made by something other than nature. The walls were a little too smooth underhand. They should have been stumbling on more rocks or pebbles along the way. There weren’t even any stalagmites or stalactites to watch out for. Surprisingly, no traps either. Despite the doubt tickling the back of the captains' minds, the two stayed as silent as the water allowed.
The reflection of the light in the water spread wide as the two stood in the entrance to a large room at the end of the tunnel. If the stories were to be believed, this was where either the great evil or the powerful treasure was kept. Or, judging by the singular raised platform of stone in the center of the cavern, potentially both.
Attie glanced at her partner out of the corner of her eye. “Things have been easy so far-“
“But that’s no reason to get lazy,” he finished. “I know. I know. We’re just so close. Imagine everything we could do with this. The treasure we could collect, the places we could go, the people we could-“
“I know, Tommy. But none of that will matter if we get caught. Even once.”
Tommy reached forward to run his hand over the scratches in the wall of the raised platform. “Guess that means we should read the instructions then. Help me translate these, will ya.?”
Together they worked through the carvings scattered around the stonework, with Atalanta mostly translating and Thomas dismissing the parts that were more warning than instruction. The treasure was bound by a mighty lock. Apparently there was more than one binding, though. One to control and the other to lock it in place. They would have to break the latter without harming the first. After all, they wanted to own this treasure, and the inscriptions suggested that the magical properties of the treasure would wreck the world if left to its own devices. Near the back, they found a carved staircase heading up.
Together, they mounted the steps, carful not to slip on the slick stone and weapons at the ready in case there were any dangers not forewarned. Together they creasted the top.
Attie stopped cold. There was a person, a boy, chained down to the rock. One long chain reached from where it was dug into the earth, wrapped in complicated patterns around the person’s arms, back, and even neck before disappearing back into the earth. The figure seemed almost limp, both restrained and held up only by the tension of the chains. A soft glow emu sting from the links showed off darkish skin and long, black hair that obstructed the face. There was also something carved in their skin, though Atalanta couldn’t tell what from this distance.
She felt more than saw Thommy frown beside her. “This can’t be right. Everything we heard, read, mentioned an object, not a person.
“Maybe, maybe they’re a guardian? One last test or trap?”
“No,” Thomas replied, “I’ve heard plenty about what slave chains look like.” He approached the figure, his fingers hovering above the distinctly heavier, metal collar around their neck. “I told myself that I would never let that happen to anyone else.
Attie approached on the other side. “I know.” Her sword had fallen from its ready stance, but still held tight in her grip. “Be that as it may, we still don’t have the entire story here. This-this could be an illusion or a disguise. Something meant to make us double guess ourselves.”
“It’s true that the way has been far too easy so far.”
She nodded, crouched by the chain. “The inscriptions said there was one binding to this place and another for control.”
“I think it’s pretty clear which is which.” His voice came out biting with sarcasm.
“Clearly.” She stood. “What I’m saying is if we break the one and not the other, like we planned, then we should have the time and control to figure out the rest once we get out of here.”
Tommy ran a hand over his face then neck. “I don’t like our lack of information, but I agree. It’s too dangerous to stick around here.”
“Right. The. It’s agreed.”
Attie brought the sword above her head and swung it directed down on the chain protruding from the rock. The sound that followed was much quieter than expected. A small clink, like a key turning in a lock. And suddenly the body collapsed forward, the chains breaking away from the figure and instead wrapping themselves around Tommy and Attie’s left arms. The following sound was more of surprise than pain, the chains warm to the touch as they sunk into their arms, fading into inky marks like old tattoos.
Thomas looked hesitant to touch the body, both pirates frozen as they tried to make sense of what had happened. Atalanta moves first, scooping the body into a fireman’s carry.
“We don’t have time for this. Whispers of this place have been spreading and our ship has no cover out there.”
“Right.” He rubbed his arm, where the ink was fully integrated with the skin.
He pushed to the front, lighting his partner’s way and leading their quick retreat as She dealt with the still limp body. Once on the ship, they were both too busy giving orders and addressing the crew’s concerns to notice the slumped body slowly coming to life in a corner of the deck.