A Fortunate Finding

11:35 Monday 14th of September 1718

So he ran, dotting through the crowd trying to lose the pirates that were chasing him. And that’s when he lost track of it all; a sudden burst of colour as the town fool shook his marotte inches from his face, an old lady tying a raggedy ribbon onto his hand “It has healing powers love it will do that nasty frown of yours some good” and a girl grabbing the very thing he’s been protecting for years. He landed on the floor, the world in front of him becoming blurry for a mere second, but even so, he knew that it was too late.

The girl dashed round the corner, a left, two right. “Good morning Mrs. Santos” the girl giggled coming to a sudden halt, her knuckles turning white under the pressure of her grip on the new object she acquired. The lady merely nodded, grumbling under her breath as she fixed her wonky hat and disappeared, a path of petals trailing behind her from the clearly stolen flowers she was going to pass as her own in the market. When she was out of sight, the girl climbed the wall beside the old barber shop, making her way up the stone, her dress tangling itself around her feet which made her fall down the other side of the wall, her dress splitting at the hem.

“Estelle! How many times do I need to remind you?” her father rushed out of the vacant shop, and picked the girl up with one swift motion, dragging her by the arm into the shop to dust her off “this is the second dress this month… you know money is hard to come by” he hissed, “just stay here, and stay quiet. I heard there’s meant to be a delivery from the merchants today, and that usually means some…” he paused “treasures finding their way here to be sold on, so if you could please just keep out of trouble for one day” the father pleaded, walking around the counter to continue observing an odd-looking coin under his magnifying glass. Estelle in the meantime took the liberty of flicking through her new ‘finding’ as she liked to call them, yet there were no pictures, just some maps and what looked like directions, followed by pages and pages of lists of seemingly random things “gold, silver, wine..” she read out, some words ,as she noted ,were crossed out “jewellery” she mumbled, perching on the side of her chair in interest. This too caught the attention of her father, “What’s that Elle?” he asked with a deep frown, walking back around and crouching down next to his daughter “may I?” he asked, reaching his hand out, into which Estelle reluctantly slid the book. This would probably get her in trouble, it always did when she bought her findings to the store, as her dad did not like her way of retrieving them.

“Estelle.” He looked up at the girl, his eyes glimmering with something she hasn’t seen in them in years... hope.

“Where did you get this from love?” he asked, his tone soft, as he flipped the black book around, examining its leather-bound cover.

“from a man..” she shrugged “he didn’t look very nice.” At that, the father stood up, turning the handwritten sign on the door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’ and looked at his daughter intently “Estelle… this… this is worth” he shook his head in disbelief, his eyes scanning the pages of the book “more than this” he pointed around his shop “more than all of this… probably around 20,000, we could move into the city..” he spoke airily, his eyes darting to the pigs, nibbling the hay outside of his shop “Estelle… pack your dresses, we are leaving on an adventure. “

09:20 Saturday 12th of September 1718

“Capn’” a man in tatty torn clothing yelled, “Capn’”

“What.. do you want Danny?” the much taller man in front of the party asked, twisting on his heel “If you don’t stop nattering on, we will never get of this island, understood? Do you want to be stuck in a jungle forever?” he hissed, sliding the old black book he was holding into one of the pockets of his jacket, before continuing on his walk, manoeuvring between the endless trees like there was something internally directing him.

“No Capn’… but I can’t help but wonder…” Danny spoke slowly, testing to see if this question would get him in trouble “How you know this place so well” he said “I mean it’s all…. trees” he mumbled, fixing up the sack that was hanging precariously on his right shoulder, the bottles clanging together loudly, which warranted him a sharp warning look from the Captain.

Captain Silver-tongue smirked to himself and looked at Danny seriously “I know my ways” he said, patting the pocket in which he previously concealed the book “ and those are the sorts of questions that will result in you walking the plank, so beat it” he snapped, and Danny scurried back to the rest of the crew, helping them carry the barrels of wine towards the shore.

It wasn’t long before the crew were loading the dinghies up with the barrels, tentatively as to not make any mistakes, under the careful scrutiny of the captain. Two at a time they would row the boats out towards the ship, the rest of the crew securing the barrels in the cargo holds until all the goods were neatly stored away.

“Oh Pernambuco, how you always deliver” Silver-tongue smirked as the land disappeared out of sight, taking them into the night as they set sail for the coast of Brazil.

As the sky above became littered with stars, the Captain nodded at his crew “I’m off to bed, do not disturb me now unless you’re dying, we have an important day ahead of us when we reach the port” the captain ordered, leaving his crew and disappearing into his cabin.

“Oi, Oi” one of the pirates muttered, trying to get everyone’s attention “Toothless Pete here has something to run past you.” He said, stepping aside for a man, who true to his name, grinned at the crew in front of him, the gaps in his teeth more numerous than the teeth themselves. “Some of us have been thinking… I know Danny agrees.. our Capn’ here takes too much of a cut aye?” he questioned “50 percent of all our sales, for all out work?” he grumbled, leaning against the mast ‘we know how he tracks his way through the jungle now.. the book in his pocket” he said in an undertone, “so I say … we mutiny.. when the sale takes place, we let him take his cut, and steal the book from him, leave him on land and take back what’s rightfully our aye?” his lips curled into an evil smile “aye!” the crew bellowed, and Pete shushed them “don’t let anything slip” he said, his eyes lingering a little longer on a young boy, who darted his eyes away from his gaze.

11:00 Monday 14th of September 1718

“Sir Goodwill” a short man bowed his head down at the captain, as they made port, “all the barrels of goods will indeed be transported right to where you want them, for a uhh… a small price” the man shuffled on his feet uncomfortably , yet when a small bag of money landed in his hand, he began helping the crew load up the cart with the cargo. Silver-tongue smirked at Danny, and beckoned him closer, away from the earshot of the crew.

“I can’t believe they still haven’t put the pieces together” Danny sniggered, “Sir Goodwill” he said to the captain mockingly, who laughed.

“it’s all about appearances, you have to learn this sooner or later” Silver-tongue lectured, before pulling Danny even closer, wrapping an arm around him, “Next week we are shifting the gold, to Columbia, just you watch how it’s all done over there” the captain joked, patting Danny on the back harshly before jumping onto the back of the cart, the crew following through the twisted paths that led into the city.

A mere 15 minutes later, they arrived at the destination. “Sir Oliviera” The captain said with a charming smile and a polite nod, as he approached the merchant “I believe this is exactly what we have agreed on, 15 barrels” he said, gesturing for his crew to start unloading the cart. “Ah, Sir Goodwill, never one for pleasantries , all about business, some things never change” Sir Oliviera noted, counting the barrels one by one as they came off the cart “Well of course, accurate as always, here’s your money” the man offered the captain a large bag of gold coins, which Silver-tongue weighed in his hand “just what we needed... we will be on our way… gents” he gestured for his crew to leave the building and he followed suit “Don’t worry Oliviera, the next shipment will be in precisely two weeks as planned” he muttered, making intense eye contact with the tradesman before letting the door close behind him. He sighed relived and turned the corner, where he came face to face with a sword, which quickly made its way to his neck “Now, Silver-tongue.. the book” Danny ordered, his voice hoarse. “Now now Danny, don’t play around” the captain joked, yet a quick scan of his crew quickly made the blood drain from his face, he saw numerous swords and knives pointing in his direction.

“How about a deal… you get all of these earnings,” he said, pulling out the large bag of coins “and I get nothing, hm?” he pleaded, trying his best to remain calm, yet was met with a few growls and laughs “the book, now” Danny ordered, and Silver-tongue shook his head “I’m afraid I cannot do that” he said slowly, and in a panic slammed the nearby window shutter it into Danny’s face, which caused enough of a diversion for him to start running.

So he ran, dotting through the crowd trying to lose the pirates that were chasing him. And that’s when he lost track of it all; a sudden burst of colour as the town fool shook his marotte inches from his face, an old lady tying a raggedy ribbon onto his hand “It has healing powers love it will do that nasty frown of yours some good” and a girl grabbing the very thing he’s been protecting for years. He landed on the floor, the world in front of him becoming blurry for a mere second, but even so, he knew that it was too late.