Ian Blackwing felt sand on his back and warm light on his face. He could hear the sound of waves and the calls of sea birds. He opened his eyes, and the light of day burned them, brilliant sun in brilliant blue sky.

  He sat up, fighting with a dull throb of pain in his head. His hat was lying nearby on the beach. He collected it, emptied it of sand, and returned it to his head. Standing unsteadily, he brushed the sand off of his robes and trying to get his bearings. He was alive. He was no longer in Blackwing Manor. It looked like the middle of the day, so he’d been out for a while. The beach was abandoned aside from a few crabs, a seagull or two, and a small chortlin. Looking out at the sea, he could see nothing but water and horizon. But if he looked to his right… there was more water that way, and in the distance a short. There was a town there. He recognized that clock tower, with its glimmering blue numbers. Port Sapphire.

  “Skull Island.” So called because, when viewed from above (or more commonly, on a map), the shape of it resembled a skull. People stayed away from it, partially because of superstition and partially because they believed it was a pirate stronghold. Which, apparently, had made it appealing to pirates, though Ian was fairly certain the rumor had come first. It wasn’t really a stronghold either way, though a pirate crew had a stockpile of supplies here and had hidden some treasure. It was also rumored to be haunted. That one was definitely true.

  Ian knew all about Skull Island because he’d been here once before. Since it was uninhabited and avoided by most people, it had seemed an ideal place to hide something. Which, he supposed, was the same reasoning the pirates were using.

  In the cavern where he’d found the chest containing gold and gems (which he left untouched, as he was no fool), he’d hidden something of his own. On the other side of the cavern, where the pirates, or anyone else finding their treasure, wouldn’t think to look. It was one of the Mystical Crystals that he’d enchanted to act as keys to the seal on the door of Blackwing Manor, hidden here to delay the Hero.

  There was no need to leave it here now, though also no pressing need to collect it. He needed to get off of this island and return to the manor. He looked into the distance at the mainland. It wasn’t even a straight shot to Port Sapphire from here. Directly across from the island was a much rockier landing. He wasn’t much of a climber. Or a swimmer. He really needed a boat. And, ideally, someone else to pilot it.

  He trudged inland. Skull Island really wasn’t very large, unfortunately, so there wasn’t much to explore, and it was unlikely he’d find anything helpful… but Ian didn’t see anything else to do. There was a tiny forested patch near the center, so that’s where he headed. He smelled the smoke before he saw it. A campfire. Therefore, a campsite. Therefore, a camper. Someone on the island, who probably had a way off.

  Spotting the tent, Ian slowed his approach and crouched among the rocky terrain. He wanted to see before he was seen. There was a single tent, with a single man in front of it. He was disheveled and looked like he hadn’t washed or seen water in quite some time, despite the proximity to the shore. His pants were tattered and he had no shoes, and his shirt was open. He had scars visible on his face, chest, and arms, and was missing several teeth.

  Really, every pirate Ian had ever seen was either rather fashionable or a complete disaster. Never an in-between. Ian noted a flag pinned to one of the trees, black with a white device, a skull over a bone crossed with a cutlass. That suggested a pirate crew. The large wooden crate standing open nearby, full of cookware and weapons, also suggested a crew. It was probably too heavy for the scrawny man to carry by himself.

  A pirate certainly, and a member of a crew. But for the moment alone, and poking at a coffee pot on the fire, paying no attention to his surroundings. Hardly someone who should scare him, master Villain that he was. Ian’s recent ignoble defeat—some might say trouncing—came to mind. Perhaps he shouldn’t be so arrogant.

  “D’you think you’re hiding over there?” Oh.

  Ian stood up. “Nay, fool!” With a bit of basic thaumaturgy, the shadows around him deepened and his eyes glowed with a dim purple light, “I am Ian Blackwing, and I have no reason to hide. For I am—”

  “This camp belongs to the crew of the Pearl’s Mistress and the Captain. An’ you don’t belong. Scram!”

  …very well! Ian saw little to be gained by fighting this pirate. He’d tell this Captain a thing or two. Pushing through the patch of trees, Ian was a little embarrassed to see that the ship anchored off the island’s north coast was clearly visible from this vantage point. It probably had been from the beach, as well. If he had looked properly.

  There was one small rowboat on shore. Sitting on a nearby rock was a woman whittling a block of wood. She was, indeed, quite fashionable. She had long, wavy blonde hair restrained with a ribbon, and gold hoop earrings. She wore a red vest over a white blouse, and an impressively frilly dark blue hat with gold trim. There was a jacket that matched the hat slung over the end of the boat. She had an eyepatch—Ian thought all important pirates were required to have an eyepatch or a wooden leg, but then it was quite a violent profession—which was black but decorated with a geometric pattern stitched with gold threat. She had a cutlass on one hip and a pistol on the other.

  Even if he hadn’t just utterly failed to sneak up on one crew member already, there wasn’t much cover here. Ian decided to approach the Captain openly.

  “Well now,” she said, looking up at him, “where’d you come from? I didn’t think anybody lived on this island, and I didn’t see any other boats. Shipwrecked? But that doesn’t look right, either. You’re too… clean.”

  “Magic,” Ian answered her separately.

  “Oh!” The Captain brightened. “Excellent!”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “It wasn’t my magic!” Ian snapped. He hadn’t meant to give that away so easily. Apparently, he was still a little testy about it.

  “Less excellent, then. Hilarious?”

  “Hey!”

  “Too bad. We could’ve used a magic man. We’ll get you off the island, but you’ll have to wait a while. And I’ll expect you to earn your keep!”

  “I choose to leave now,” Ian answered her as menacingly as he could, repeating the trick with the glowing eyes.

  She looked singularly unimpressed. Maybe he wasn’t doing it right? He’d have to practice that in a mirror, later. “I am certain that I am not being threatened by a smelly castaway to whom I have offered mercy,” she said sharply, “True?”

  “I—I mean… I didn’t come here under my own power, but I am a magic user. What’s the problem? I can help.”

  “Well now, that is another matter. There’s restless spirits here, and my crew can’t fight those very effectively. Help deal with the, and your passage aboard the Pearl’s Mistress will be otherwise free of charge.”

  “Piece of cake. You have a deal, Captain…?”

  “Montague. Captain Abigail Montague. Go tell my first mate Sammy that I sent you to help her, Mr… ?”

  “Blackwing. Ian.”

  “You’ll find her in the cave near the teeth. Oh, that’s… due south of here, on the other side of the island. You’ll pass by our camp, if you need supplies.”

  Wordlessly, Ian turned and drifted away from her. That kind of thing would help improve his image as a mysterious mystic after that… negotiation. He could probably take her (he pushed away the memory if his recent quick defeat), but he couldn’t defeat her entire crew. And even if he could, he couldn’t sail a ship. He didn’t know how for one thing, but even if he had he knew enough to know he couldn’t do it alone. He needed Montague, so he couldn’t attack her, and if he couldn’t intimidate her, he had no choice but to take the deal. Still. Embarrassing!

  He stopped by the camp and informed the scruffy pirate that he was now acting on Montague’s orders, news that got him a canteen of water and some jerky, before continuing south to the teeth. He only knew of one cavern there, but it turned out to be the right one. There was a woman outside the cave, leaning against the rocky wall and looking pensive. She was less scruffy than the camp guard (okay, maybe there was an in-between), her braided hair poking out from a red bandana.

  She didn’t seem to notice Ian at first, and he heard her talking softly to herself. “The Captain won’t want to give up and turn tail, but my weapon is useless against these ghoulies…” Looking up, she glared at Ian. “There somethin’ I can help you with, bud?”

  “As a matter of fact, there… uh, isn’t, actually.” Ian cleared his throat. “I’m here to help you. Sammy, right? Captain Montague asked me to help you with your ghost trouble.”

  “Well now, that does change things. I’m ready to head back in when you are. You can hurt them?”

  “Shades are invulnerable to physical weapons that pass right through them, but spells work just fine. I believe these caverns have some other dangerous beasties, though? Nasty bat-like things, mostly. You focus on those, I’ll handle the shades.”

  “A’right!” said Sammy, looking more enthusiastic, “Guess I’m with you, then!”

  SAMMY JOINED THE PARTY! For now…

  Sammy led the way into the cavern. “I think it’s right ahead.”

  “Let’s go this way first,” said Ian, pointing to the right, “I believe it loops around, and there’s something of mine I can collect while we’re here.”

  “You’ve been here?”

  “Once.”

  “You, uh—”

  “Yes, I found your crew’s treasure. No, I didn’t touch it. I didn’t know before today that your crew doesn’t have a mystic. I assumed it was cursed. I’m not foolish enough to touch pirate treasure. I did kind of use you as a decoy, though. I hid my own little treasure on the other side of the cave.”

  “…a’right.”

  As they moved, a shadow rose up from the ground. It let out a moan as it reached for them. Sammy brandished her sword, but Ian pointed at it and sent a spark of magical energy towards it. The spark passed through it, and it dissolved around it.

  “Oh, that’s effective. Uh… what happens to a ghost when you—”

  “That was just a shade,” said Ian with a shrug and a dismissive tone, “Leftovers. Haunted memories, sort of. They aren’t real ghosts.”

  They continued on until he found a crack in the cavern wall. He reached into the niche and pulled out several spiders and a small crystal. “Shiny,” said Sammy, “Valuable?”

  “The Ruby Stone—but no. It’s not really a ruby. I’ve enchanted it. It’s a key that will help break another spell… and also a bit of a magical battery. You can draw on the magic stored inside to cast spells without using as much of your own energy, though this one doesn’t hold very much. I shouldn’t need this to get back into Blackwing Manor, but every little bit will help when it comes time to fight that Hero. His beautiful eyes will be mine!”

  He was pleased to see that Sammy looked a little disconcerted by this remark. He still had it! “Dude,” she said “What the Hell?” He ignored her and drifted on, though the effect might have been ruined when one of the bat things flew at him, and he let out a panicked shriek while she came to his rescue. “You can fight the shades but you’re afraid of bats?” she asked as she casually sliced it in two.

  “…it just surprised me! I could fight them. But you were supposed to, so that I could focus on the shades. That was our deal!”

  “Hm. It was, yeah.”

  They continued on in silence for a while, Ian vanquishing a few more shades as Sammy slew the bats. They came to a dark entrance to a deeper room. It was fully dark. “You never made it that far before you had to run from the shades,” he observed, “So there’s no lights burning.”

  “Yeah. I’ll have to carry a torch from here.” Sammy lit a torch. Ian stopped her and put it out, then took a few moments to cast a spell on it. It burst into flames again, but this time the fire was purple.

  “That’s… worse than the normal flame. It doesn’t give off as much light.”

  “No,” Ian admitted, “but it also doesn’t burn. You can just stick that through your belt and leave the hand free.”

  “Oh! Okay, that’s useful.” She did so, and they entered the deeper cave. They came to a room with two wooden treasure chests. Sammy nodded at Ian, watching his back and keeping her sword at the ready. He opened the first chest, which contained a small amount of money.

  “Uh…”

  The pirate smirked. “You think you’re the only one who can use a decoy? Take it if you like. It ain’t cursed.”

  “A decoy right next to the real treasure?” Confused, Ian opened the other chest. At first, he thought this one was entirely empty. Then he drew the single gold coin out from the corner. It was a very old coin, and he didn’t recognize the design. It might be valuable, but even so… “Is… that’s really all your Captain wanted?”

  “Seems so.” Sammy didn’t look that surprised. “Everyone knows we left treasure here, so we didn’t leave much. Cap said there was just one thing here we needed.”

  “It’s a single coin. I have a pocket full of them.”

  “It is a very old coin,” said Sammy, her confidence fading a little, “Perhaps it’s valuable?” It was true enough. He didn’t recognize the design, and it was larger than the local coinage.

  “Are you sure that’s what we’re here to find?”

  “Sure enough. This’s where she said to collect it, and she said it was just the one item.”

  With an annoyed huff, Ian pocketed the coin and started to head back out. Well, at least his end of the deal was easy.

  Sammy hurried after him, but before they reached the exit into the outer part of the cave, something else rose up out of the ground to meet them.