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It’s presence was overpowering.
The Firebrand sat on it’s pedestal near the edge of the cliff, radiating a power unlike much other. Long and blood-red in appearance, it was like a fresh scar on the horizon. Well, it looks like this is where their journey came to an end. They stepped towards the sword, the voices of their companions fading into the background. They reached out. They could feel the heat radiating off of i-
“Oi! Sharkbait!”
They turned around, stunned. Nothing. By the time they looked back at the sword, their path was blocked by that pirate and his first mate. Trotter pulled his flintlock, aiming it at their chest.
“WHAT DO YE THINK YE BE DOIN’? Did ye nay LISTEN not to touch that there THING?!”
His voice boomed throughout the cavern. The man himself wasn’t exactly intimidating, but they had to give it to him, he knew how to scold someone. Side effects of being a captain, they supposed. A smaller, calmer voice came out of Calypso.
“Cap’n?”
“’ave you not heeded the warnings o’ THE ANCIENTS?! That there BLADE be as CURSED as the red ensign! The glyphs, they speak o’ DEATH an’ SACRIFICE…”
Ah, those glyphs Calypso had decoded. Yeah, there definitely was something odd about them.
“N’ powers we meer mortals not DARE meddle in…! Why won’t ye LISTEN to me?! I want ye to STAND DOWN, SHARKBAIT. That BE an ORDER!”
An order, huh? Too bad they weren’t one of his. He didn’t tell them what to do, couldn’t tell them what to do.
“…Why? Why won’t ye LISTEN to me? It be almost as if… ye-“
“You two need to CALM DOWN.”
Frankly, they didn’t know what she meant. They were absolutely calm. Fear, hatred. They felt none of it.
“All we have to do is get out of here and…”
“CALYPSO!”
“w- What do you mean?”
“LOOK. AROUND. There ain’t be a SINGLE route lest where we came! This Sharkbait’s been lurin’ us to th’ PITS!”
…wait, what?
“This here SHARKBAIT be a TRAITOR!”
This wasn’t how it was meant to go.
“w- What?! n- No, after everything we’ve been through… that’s impossible…!”
At least Calypso was on their side. She’d probably be able to talk some sense into Trotter. But… she didn’t sound very confident.
“What REASON would they lure us alone ‘ere?! I can see it in they eyes… but ol’ seadog’s got his witts. They KNEW o’ the DANGERS… the SACRIFICE! An’ they want to KILL US as th’ SACRIFICE!”
What? Them? Sacrifice? For… The Ancients? Why would they want to do *that*?
“They want to kill us…? But… wait… if these two fight… and one of them perishes… that SWORD… and its SACRIFICE!!!”
Surely she doesn’t believe him… right?
“Got nothin’ to say, ey sharkbait? All TONGUE-TWISTED now they ye’ve been found out?! If one o’ us be fixin’ to die, then SO BE IT! Ye traitorous path ends ‘ERE! BRIN’ IT, SHARKBAIT!”
This *definitely* wasn’t meant to happen. They began to sweat, convincing themselves it was just the heat of the cavern.
“W- WAIT! Cap’n! Surely there’s another way! We could just-“
“GET BEHIND ME, FIRST MATE! THIS be a matter o’ LIFE n’ DEATH!”
Calypso took a step backwards. They locked eyes with her, but she looked away.
“We don’t have to do this…! This is exactly what the glyphs foretold! We have to deal with them another way, or else-“
“…After everythin’ we’ve been through. You be protecting the TRAITOR, ‘ey?”
“No, I’m not, but-!”
“Behind me, Calpypso!”
“…yes, Cap’n.”
Calypso stepped backwards again, drawing out her flintlocks. Trotter grabbed the hilt of the Firebrand… surely he wasn’t going to-
A crack echoed throughout the cavern as the Firebrand was torn from it’s pedestal, Trotter clutching it tightly as it sizzled in his hand.
“Remember when I lay this here CURSED BLADE on yer neck! For we be CAPTAIN TROTTER an’ CALYPSO, Scourges o’ the Seven Seas! WE WILL MAKE IT OUT O’ HERE ALIVE. WE WILL AVENGE OUR CREW. AND WE WILL NOT TOLERATE YER MUTINY! Ye be wantin’ a SACRIFICE fer yer quest?! Then I’ll send ye to Davey Jones’ Locker… Ye hornswagglin’ MUTINEER!!! HAVE AT ME!!!”
They drew their sword with a slash to the air. This wasn’t how the quest was meant to go. They didn’t expect to be betrayed, let alone be staring down the barrels of three flintlocks and the Firebrand.
They locked eyes with Calypso again. She had a sorry look in her eyes, but she knew what she believed, and she believed they were a traitor. Before they could react, two bullets were fired in their direction, barely scratching their arm, followed by a coin hitting them square on the head. God dammit.
“I TRUSTED ye, Sharkbait!”
“Please, just stand down…!”
They knew they couldn’t. They needed that sword. Readying their own, they rushed at Trotter, delivering a precise strike to him, followed up by a toss of their ball. One, two.
“Shiver me timbers!”
Their attacks were followed up by another two rounds of ammo being dumped in their direction, one of which struck their shoulder. Stumbling and recovering, they saw a barrel bouncing in their direction. They barely had enough time to block their face before it exploded in front of them.
In a quick moment, they closed their eyes focusing and readying their mental NRG. Having built up their fortitude, they drew the Venomshank, striking both foes and inflicting them with poison.
Calypso charged her shot, delivering a far more precise blow, but something worse was about to happen. They looked at Trotter as he raised the Firebrand, bringing it down and engulfing them in flames. For a mere few seconds, the world went white in pain as they nearly dropped their sword. Both sides winced in pain at the residual damage from each-other’s strikes.
They stood back up, preparing a stick of dynamite, but another barrel was already hurtling towards them.
BOOM!
Both the barrel and dynamite blew up in their faces, finally bringing them down to their knees.
“I knew ye would fall eventually.”
The captain stepped towards them, kneeling down.
“A word of advice fer ye… treachery doesn’t pay.”
All they could muster out was a cough.
“If they want a SACRIFICE… so be it.”
They felt themselves being dragged along the ground of the cliff, Calypso’s voice fading.
“Cap’n, we don’t have to do this! Why don’t we just take them back and-“
They were falling. The last thing they felt was the heat of the lava below them, and the last thing they heard was the rumbling of something awakening.