The Accursed Captain Lark

I felt a poke in my cheek. I kept my eyes closed. Judging by the size of the finger, it had to be Melody. I didn’t let on that I was awake until she poked my cheek again. The moment she did, I opened my eyes.

“Beep! Boop! Robot Lark activated! Must give head pats to good children.”

She squealed excitedly before asking, “Mister Pirate? What is a Ru-bot?”

How could I explain what a robot was to her?

“It’s a strange creature from back where I am from.”

“Is it scary?”

So many tough questions. Were all kids this draining?

“Some can be, but I won’t let any harm a good little girl like you.”

Her eyes sparkled.

“My big sis said we were joining your crew. Is that true?”

I nodded.

Her smile lingered for a moment before fading into a frown. She shifted her gaze to the ground.

“But I’m not particularly skilled at anything, will you get rid of me if I’m not good?”

I rested my hand on her head.

“Don’t worry, I’m not skilled at anything either. Even if you never find your talent, I won’t care.” I smiled at her, and her smile returned.

I glanced around, but the recreational hall was empty.

“Melody, do you know where anyone else is?”

“They are all up above.”

“I see, thank you. Shall we go up and see them?”

She nodded enthusiastically, and we went above deck into the clear sunny sky. Sure enough, the entire crew was present on the deck.

Viola was the first to notice our presence. She had strung up a makeshift hammock using her wires and was lounging on the deck reading a book.

“Well, look who is finally joining us?”

“I’m sorry, sis, I wasn’t feeling well,” Melody murmured, looking at the ground.

Viola sprang up faster than I’d ever seen her move. Her book hovered midair, held by her wires. As she powerwalked over to us, she gave Melody a big hug.

“I wasn’t talking about you, dear sister. I was talking about our foolish Captain.”

“Are you foolish, Mr. Pirate?” She asked innocently.

“Do I look foolish?” I asked, smiling at her.

“A little,” she responded without any hesitation.

Her brutal honesty dealt psychic damage I wasn’t prepared for. Viola glanced over to me and laughed.

“But this foolish pirate is a good man, isn’t he?”

“Aha!” She exclaimed, nodding her head before breaking out in another coughing fit. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Once we hit shore, we’ll get all the supplies to make you feel better.”

Viola took care of Melody whilst I looked around at my fellow crew members. Elora was busy carrying empty wooden crates so that it would be easy to load them with supplies once we made land. Meanwhile, Túta was hard at work helming the vessel.

Pippa was standing on the bow of the deck, looking out into the distance with a telescope. I decided to join her.

“What do you see, Vice Captain Pippa?”

“Land ahoy, Captain,” she replied, pointing in a direction.

I squinted in the direction she pointed. I could make out the faint outlines of Rummel Cove in the distance. Having secured our own ship, I was beginning to feel like a real pirate.

“Maybe I should get a parrot for my shoulder,” I mused to myself.

“No parrots!” Pippa screamed, hitting my chest softly. “Only I’m allowed to rest on your shoulder.”

I rested my hand on her head.

“Alright, I promise not to get a parrot. My shoulder is only for you.”

Her face turned red, and in a poof, she turned back into her fluffball form.

“Pwii!” she squeaked, flustered, before slowly landing back on my shoulder.

“Ahem! Lark, if you are done flirting, what should we do about making land?” Túta spoke up. I had realised she had stepped away from the helm to join us.

“What do you mean?” I replied as I started scratching Pippa’s fluffy chin.

“Do you not think it would cause a bit of a commotion rocking up to Rummel Cove in the Ravager?”

“Let it stir up the whole damn port. I couldn’t care less what they think.”

She shrugged.

“Aye, you’re the boss.”

The moment we pulled up to the dock, it became abundantly clear I had significantly underestimated the reaction the sudden appearance of the Ravager would cause.

In contrast to our first time docking at Rummel Cove, we had no help at all with the ropes. All those who were on the pier began to run further ashore. The stampede drew even more from nearby buildings, all gawking at the spectacle.

“It’s the Ravager!”

“What’s that doing here? It’s never made dock before?”

“You don’t think that damn demon Melifina brought it here?”

“We’re all going to die!”

That was a bit of an overreaction, right?

The former administrator toying with me as I almost died flashed in my mind.

Okay, maybe they had a point after all.

Well, now that it was docked, there was no reason to hang around any longer.

“Alright, crew, let’s go and see Reinhart. I believe he owes us a reward.”

We began our departure, and as we did so, the growing curiosity of the crowd grew.

“The crew is disembarking!” someone called out.

Curious onlookers quickly hurried over to take a look at us.

“Who do you think tamed the Ravager?” someone asked.

Countless other voices joined the chorus of discussion.

“It has to be someone famous.”

“Let me see, let me see.”

“I don’t recognise them!”

“I do, that’s Captain Lark, he was the one who picked a fight with Ivan the Merciless.”

“If he is alive, then what happened to Ivan?”

“Maybe they didn’t end up clashing.”

“Are you kidding me? He commands the Ravager. That’s all the proof I need.”

It went on and on. Honestly, it was getting a little embarrassing. I tried to avoid eye contact with anyone.

I felt a nudge in my gut and looked down to see Túta smirking.

“What did I tell you?”

“Fine, you were right,” I reluctantly snapped back.

We wandered further up the street towards the Flintlock Tavern. Even after putting some distance between the ship and us, the noise and looks didn’t ease. It seemed our notoriety had already spread this far.

“What skills do you suppose he has?”

“It’s got to be something twisted with an aura like that.”

“Hold on, I’ll…” the person suddenly vomited before fainting.

“Pete!” his companion shouted.

“What happened to him?” a concerned voice called out as a group came running up to the fallen man.

“They were just trying to observe his skills.” His companion commented.

“Whose skills?” one of them asked.

“His,” the companion replied, pointing at me. “Captain Lark… That god damned Accursed Captain Lark.”

“He caused them to faint just from that?”

“He does have a dangerous aura about him.”

One of the men who had come over took one glance and fell to their knees. Their face was ghostly pale.

“He’s cursed…” he trailed off, his whole body was shaking.

“What kind of curse?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it. Hundreds, if not thousands. That Captain Lark is dangerous. He’s the Accursed Captain Lark!”

“Pwii!” Pippa squeaked, puffing up proudly on my shoulder.

The pirates parted out of our way. No one dared even speak ill of us as we made our way to the Flintlock Tavern.

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 30