- Pronouns
- They/Them
tomtomgags
Villager
“You’ve heard of the Island of Ran.” A sailor said to me. “But have you heard of the Archipelago of Secrets?”
And so I drew a blank, indeed I had never heard of this place. So I listened to this sailor, one evening at the Kraken’s Den. He told me a story of this place he had heard from a fellow sailor, who supposedly served with the elusive Captain Noth. Noth in turn captained the beautiful vessel called the Siren’s Glory.
Captain Noth, I am told, was a tall moor elf. Or rather, would be tall if not for his slouch. He was a hearty man and well liked by his crew, though maintained discipline on his ships well. The Siren’s Glory under the guiding hand of Captain Noth was bound like any other ship, to the Sorrows in the south.
Along their voyage, far out at sea, a dense sea fog came over the ship. It confounded navigation, as the compass began to spin wildly. They navigated then by the sun through the fog, as best they could. It was difficult to tell, but they did. It wasn’t until the sun set that they became truly lost.
“Monroe!” Called the Captain to his navigator. “Do you have any idea where we are?”
“No Sir. It’s entirely unnatural, we are lost until this forsaken fog lifts. Not even the compass works.” Said Monroe, a short and portly man who was better known for his brains.
“This is the work of Visage, I know it.” Said Noth.
They continued to sail onward with little wind. Eventually, a mound appeared, dark and foreboding, from the fog. It was a ways off, just a silhouette. But it was certainly land. The Captain called out to the crew, “Drop anchor!” And so they did, locking the Siren’s Glory in place. The First Mate, who went by the name Clara, came up to the deck.
“Why are we stopping, Sir?” Clara called out as she approached the helm.
“We are lost, and there is an island here where none should be. We’re still a ways off from the Sorrows, I am sure. We are going ashore.” Said Noth.
“Ashore!?” Declared the First Mate. “We can’t even see the island, we don’t know what’s out there.”
“The island is calling to us, we must go. You’re coming with me. As are the other officers. We’ll need the doctor, Clement. Where is he?”
“Here, Sir!” Clement called from below as he came up from the lower deck.
“Good, get the dinghy. We are going. Men! Keep lanterns lit, so we can find the ship and return.” Said Noth.
And so the officers embarked, leaving the Siren’s Glory behind. They delved into the fog, and in the space between the island and the ship there was nothing but fog and shadows all around. Monroe looked over the side of the ship as they rowed.
“I- I see something moving below us!” Monroe cried.
“Don’t look, it’s just a fish.” The Captain tried to ease the large man.
The looming island grew closer, and soon a shore appeared. There were clearly mountains on this island, from how tall the shadows went. But as their dinghy arrived at shore, and they beached it so it would not float away, they still could not make out the mountains. The fog was so dense.
“We’re here, now what?” Clara asked, uncertain about this decision.
“We go inland. Don’t you hear it?” Said Noth, but there was nothing to hear. Then, wait! There was a call, a bird call. It was unlike anything the officers had ever heard. It must have been nocturnal, giving ambience to this desolate and dark place.
Clara lifted up a lantern and followed the Captain as he turned inland. They wandered forward. A jungle met them as the beach faded. Great fronds of leaves from the brush hemmed them in. Tall trees with long vines surrounded them. They went forward. The Captain and Monroe drew their cutlasses and hacked at the brush as they went.
Clara turned and twisted, there was movement around her. Only she seemed to notice, as she was focused on the edge of her vision. She turned toward another movement and there it was. A strange frilled lizard with pink streaks clung to a tree. Its tongue shot out from its mouth like a snake’s. Snakes. Clara shuddered at the thought of snakes, which must be out here with them. Snakes were everywhere.
They continued forward, Clara left the thought behind. They made their way out into a clearing. A cliff shot up above them, and before that was a pond surrounded by mossy stone. A path went up around and up toward the cliff, where just on the edge of the fog there was a cave. Vines hung down from trees at the top of the cliff, obscuring the mouth of the cave. But within the cave there was a light, strange and foreboding.
“Up there, see that?” Called Clement, spotting the light first.
“I do, let’s go.” Noth said.
“Are you mad, if there’s light there must be people. What if it’s pirates? They could be out here, too.” Clara argued.
“You’re not afraid to argue, that’s why I like you, Clara. But ease your mind, we’re no danger to them so they should be no danger to us. Sailor’s honor. A pirate will usually only attack if they’ve something to gain. They’ll probably appreciate the company.” Noth laughed.
“Usually, he says.” Clara scoffed.
They went up the path around the pond, up toward the cave. Clara held the lantern out as they went, and illuminated the cave. Inside they could see the light. There was a fire, and a shabby man sat against the wall beside it. He had a bottle of rum at his side which he drank from occasionally. The man turned his head at the sight of the light coming in from the mouth and stared.
“Ho there, Sir.” Called Noth to the man.
“You… who’re you who comes here?” The man spoke with a voice that seemed unused to speaking.
“I’m Captain Noth, these are my officers. And you?”
“I lost my name long ago.” Replied the man.
“Alright, are you stranded here, Friend?” Noth came closer, feeling no danger from the shabby man.
“No, I am at home here. This is my home. I heard the calling, so I came, and I heard no calling to leave, so I stayed. So I’m here.” The man answered.
“You felt a calling, too?” Asked the Captain.
“You’re the same? Welcome, you are a friend. What a day. I haven’t seen anyone out here, well, ever. Not up close. Just the smugglers who stay at the shore, when they come around.”
“What is this place?”
“The Archipelago of Secrets. Just one island of many. I sail between them on my dinghy. I call this island… Tine. I don’t normally name them, but this one's special.”
“What makes it special, Sir?” Said Noth, ever respectful.
“There’s a ruin at its heart. An old place, I don’t think was ever touched by man. It must be what’s calling you, if you came to this island specifically.”
“It must be. How can I find it?” Noth asked.
“You want to go there?” Clara asked in disbelief.
“Of course, now let the man speak.” Noth silenced the First Mate.
“You just go through the valley. Follow the path out from this cave, go right- further inland. But beware. That place is guarded by angels.” The old man warned.
“Angels?” Monroe wondered.
“Yes, it is a place where no mortal has gone. It was not built by man. It is the place of god!”
“I really don’t like the sound of this.” Clara worried.
“Quiet.” Noth hissed. “We’ll go there. Thank you for your words, Sir. We’ll leave you be.”
“Wait!” The man began, and held up his bottle of rum. “Have a drink before you go, Friend.”
“Where did you even get that?” Monroe asked.
“From the sea. The sea provides. Drink.”
The Captain did drink and laughed, it was good rum. White rum, it was sweet from sugarcane. Noth knew it well. He held it out for his crew to drink, but Clara declined, she didn’t trust it. They left the remainder of the rum with the old shabby man, and departed from the cave.
They followed the path that the old man told them of, and indeed found a path through the jungle of the forest. The path opened up before them as they went. It was as though the leaves of the brush pulled away at their passage. They carried on, but Clara swore she could see something moving just out of sight. She was seeing ghosts. Soon the other officers were gasping at shadows as well. Each time, the fog faded to reveal nothing. Were they alone?
The looming shadows of the mountains came to either side of them as they passed through a valley. The ground became wet, muddy, it was a wetland of some sort. Noth felt at home here, as though he belonged. They came across a bridge, which spanned over some water that would have impeded their path. The bridge was made of stones, and looked rather primitive. They went over it carefully, and found more such bridges aiding in their passage.
As they went, structures came up from the water around them. They were large mounds of stones, cyclopean in appearance. Strange carvings covered them, but they were almost impossible to make out.
Something splashed in the water.
The sound unnerved the officers, but not their brave captain who kept a hard face. They carried on, and soon a vast ruin opened up before them. Tall stone walls came up from the mud and water. Stone huts appeared beside the walls. The sight was fascinating to all of them. Monroe took drawings of everything. But the structures seemed to circle around something in the center of it all. And that thing glowed slightly.
They approached the center, where there was a black obelisk across a round pond. Strange runes adorned the face of the obelisk, glowing. They were unlike anything they had ever seen. The air trembled in its presence. Monroe took drawings of that, too. But it's said he couldn’t do the runes justice, they were vastly complex and he didn’t have long to draw them.
The sketch was left unfinished, because suddenly there came a crashing from the water before them. A bizarre beast, unlike anything on Altera, sprung from the water. It had great black claws. Eyes on stalks. Chitinous armor. It had black, thick whiskers that felt out the air before it. It moved on many legs. That is all the officers could make out.
It’s said Monroe’s sketch of the obelisk was not only unfinished, but stained with blood. For the creature reached out in that moment and snipped with its great, sharp claws, and severed Monroe’s hand. The portly man screamed, filling the quiet air. The other claw wrapped around Monroe’s side and gripped him hard, digging into his body.
The captain swung out with his cutlass and dug it into the beast’s arm. There was more movement in the water. More eye stalks lifted up from the murky depths. Noth tried to sever the arm but it was too dense. Instead, the beast released its grip on Monroe who fell back, still gasping and screaming in pain.
Clement and Clara grabbed Monroe and dragged him to his feet. They all ran. They ran fast. They flew through the jungle and left that place behind. They huffed and huffed as they reached their dinghy on the beach again. They could see the lanterns of their ship, through the fog. Clara and Noth paddled hard to return to their ship, while the ship’s doctor, Clement, covered Monroe’s wound.
They sailed away from that place- Tine. And come morning they sailed until they broke the dense fog and carried on with their journey. They left the Archipelago of Secrets behind, though parts of them would always remain.
And so I drew a blank, indeed I had never heard of this place. So I listened to this sailor, one evening at the Kraken’s Den. He told me a story of this place he had heard from a fellow sailor, who supposedly served with the elusive Captain Noth. Noth in turn captained the beautiful vessel called the Siren’s Glory.
Captain Noth, I am told, was a tall moor elf. Or rather, would be tall if not for his slouch. He was a hearty man and well liked by his crew, though maintained discipline on his ships well. The Siren’s Glory under the guiding hand of Captain Noth was bound like any other ship, to the Sorrows in the south.
Along their voyage, far out at sea, a dense sea fog came over the ship. It confounded navigation, as the compass began to spin wildly. They navigated then by the sun through the fog, as best they could. It was difficult to tell, but they did. It wasn’t until the sun set that they became truly lost.
“Monroe!” Called the Captain to his navigator. “Do you have any idea where we are?”
“No Sir. It’s entirely unnatural, we are lost until this forsaken fog lifts. Not even the compass works.” Said Monroe, a short and portly man who was better known for his brains.
“This is the work of Visage, I know it.” Said Noth.
They continued to sail onward with little wind. Eventually, a mound appeared, dark and foreboding, from the fog. It was a ways off, just a silhouette. But it was certainly land. The Captain called out to the crew, “Drop anchor!” And so they did, locking the Siren’s Glory in place. The First Mate, who went by the name Clara, came up to the deck.
“Why are we stopping, Sir?” Clara called out as she approached the helm.
“We are lost, and there is an island here where none should be. We’re still a ways off from the Sorrows, I am sure. We are going ashore.” Said Noth.
“Ashore!?” Declared the First Mate. “We can’t even see the island, we don’t know what’s out there.”
“The island is calling to us, we must go. You’re coming with me. As are the other officers. We’ll need the doctor, Clement. Where is he?”
“Here, Sir!” Clement called from below as he came up from the lower deck.
“Good, get the dinghy. We are going. Men! Keep lanterns lit, so we can find the ship and return.” Said Noth.
And so the officers embarked, leaving the Siren’s Glory behind. They delved into the fog, and in the space between the island and the ship there was nothing but fog and shadows all around. Monroe looked over the side of the ship as they rowed.
“I- I see something moving below us!” Monroe cried.
“Don’t look, it’s just a fish.” The Captain tried to ease the large man.
The looming island grew closer, and soon a shore appeared. There were clearly mountains on this island, from how tall the shadows went. But as their dinghy arrived at shore, and they beached it so it would not float away, they still could not make out the mountains. The fog was so dense.
“We’re here, now what?” Clara asked, uncertain about this decision.
“We go inland. Don’t you hear it?” Said Noth, but there was nothing to hear. Then, wait! There was a call, a bird call. It was unlike anything the officers had ever heard. It must have been nocturnal, giving ambience to this desolate and dark place.
Clara lifted up a lantern and followed the Captain as he turned inland. They wandered forward. A jungle met them as the beach faded. Great fronds of leaves from the brush hemmed them in. Tall trees with long vines surrounded them. They went forward. The Captain and Monroe drew their cutlasses and hacked at the brush as they went.
Clara turned and twisted, there was movement around her. Only she seemed to notice, as she was focused on the edge of her vision. She turned toward another movement and there it was. A strange frilled lizard with pink streaks clung to a tree. Its tongue shot out from its mouth like a snake’s. Snakes. Clara shuddered at the thought of snakes, which must be out here with them. Snakes were everywhere.
They continued forward, Clara left the thought behind. They made their way out into a clearing. A cliff shot up above them, and before that was a pond surrounded by mossy stone. A path went up around and up toward the cliff, where just on the edge of the fog there was a cave. Vines hung down from trees at the top of the cliff, obscuring the mouth of the cave. But within the cave there was a light, strange and foreboding.
“Up there, see that?” Called Clement, spotting the light first.
“I do, let’s go.” Noth said.
“Are you mad, if there’s light there must be people. What if it’s pirates? They could be out here, too.” Clara argued.
“You’re not afraid to argue, that’s why I like you, Clara. But ease your mind, we’re no danger to them so they should be no danger to us. Sailor’s honor. A pirate will usually only attack if they’ve something to gain. They’ll probably appreciate the company.” Noth laughed.
“Usually, he says.” Clara scoffed.
They went up the path around the pond, up toward the cave. Clara held the lantern out as they went, and illuminated the cave. Inside they could see the light. There was a fire, and a shabby man sat against the wall beside it. He had a bottle of rum at his side which he drank from occasionally. The man turned his head at the sight of the light coming in from the mouth and stared.
“Ho there, Sir.” Called Noth to the man.
“You… who’re you who comes here?” The man spoke with a voice that seemed unused to speaking.
“I’m Captain Noth, these are my officers. And you?”
“I lost my name long ago.” Replied the man.
“Alright, are you stranded here, Friend?” Noth came closer, feeling no danger from the shabby man.
“No, I am at home here. This is my home. I heard the calling, so I came, and I heard no calling to leave, so I stayed. So I’m here.” The man answered.
“You felt a calling, too?” Asked the Captain.
“You’re the same? Welcome, you are a friend. What a day. I haven’t seen anyone out here, well, ever. Not up close. Just the smugglers who stay at the shore, when they come around.”
“What is this place?”
“The Archipelago of Secrets. Just one island of many. I sail between them on my dinghy. I call this island… Tine. I don’t normally name them, but this one's special.”
“What makes it special, Sir?” Said Noth, ever respectful.
“There’s a ruin at its heart. An old place, I don’t think was ever touched by man. It must be what’s calling you, if you came to this island specifically.”
“It must be. How can I find it?” Noth asked.
“You want to go there?” Clara asked in disbelief.
“Of course, now let the man speak.” Noth silenced the First Mate.
“You just go through the valley. Follow the path out from this cave, go right- further inland. But beware. That place is guarded by angels.” The old man warned.
“Angels?” Monroe wondered.
“Yes, it is a place where no mortal has gone. It was not built by man. It is the place of god!”
“I really don’t like the sound of this.” Clara worried.
“Quiet.” Noth hissed. “We’ll go there. Thank you for your words, Sir. We’ll leave you be.”
“Wait!” The man began, and held up his bottle of rum. “Have a drink before you go, Friend.”
“Where did you even get that?” Monroe asked.
“From the sea. The sea provides. Drink.”
The Captain did drink and laughed, it was good rum. White rum, it was sweet from sugarcane. Noth knew it well. He held it out for his crew to drink, but Clara declined, she didn’t trust it. They left the remainder of the rum with the old shabby man, and departed from the cave.
They followed the path that the old man told them of, and indeed found a path through the jungle of the forest. The path opened up before them as they went. It was as though the leaves of the brush pulled away at their passage. They carried on, but Clara swore she could see something moving just out of sight. She was seeing ghosts. Soon the other officers were gasping at shadows as well. Each time, the fog faded to reveal nothing. Were they alone?
The looming shadows of the mountains came to either side of them as they passed through a valley. The ground became wet, muddy, it was a wetland of some sort. Noth felt at home here, as though he belonged. They came across a bridge, which spanned over some water that would have impeded their path. The bridge was made of stones, and looked rather primitive. They went over it carefully, and found more such bridges aiding in their passage.
As they went, structures came up from the water around them. They were large mounds of stones, cyclopean in appearance. Strange carvings covered them, but they were almost impossible to make out.
Something splashed in the water.
The sound unnerved the officers, but not their brave captain who kept a hard face. They carried on, and soon a vast ruin opened up before them. Tall stone walls came up from the mud and water. Stone huts appeared beside the walls. The sight was fascinating to all of them. Monroe took drawings of everything. But the structures seemed to circle around something in the center of it all. And that thing glowed slightly.
They approached the center, where there was a black obelisk across a round pond. Strange runes adorned the face of the obelisk, glowing. They were unlike anything they had ever seen. The air trembled in its presence. Monroe took drawings of that, too. But it's said he couldn’t do the runes justice, they were vastly complex and he didn’t have long to draw them.
The sketch was left unfinished, because suddenly there came a crashing from the water before them. A bizarre beast, unlike anything on Altera, sprung from the water. It had great black claws. Eyes on stalks. Chitinous armor. It had black, thick whiskers that felt out the air before it. It moved on many legs. That is all the officers could make out.
It’s said Monroe’s sketch of the obelisk was not only unfinished, but stained with blood. For the creature reached out in that moment and snipped with its great, sharp claws, and severed Monroe’s hand. The portly man screamed, filling the quiet air. The other claw wrapped around Monroe’s side and gripped him hard, digging into his body.
The captain swung out with his cutlass and dug it into the beast’s arm. There was more movement in the water. More eye stalks lifted up from the murky depths. Noth tried to sever the arm but it was too dense. Instead, the beast released its grip on Monroe who fell back, still gasping and screaming in pain.
Clement and Clara grabbed Monroe and dragged him to his feet. They all ran. They ran fast. They flew through the jungle and left that place behind. They huffed and huffed as they reached their dinghy on the beach again. They could see the lanterns of their ship, through the fog. Clara and Noth paddled hard to return to their ship, while the ship’s doctor, Clement, covered Monroe’s wound.
They sailed away from that place- Tine. And come morning they sailed until they broke the dense fog and carried on with their journey. They left the Archipelago of Secrets behind, though parts of them would always remain.