The Pirate Hunter's Smarter Brother!

[Jacky Tar]

"Red Cat, let's lower the bucket wit' out ye ridin' along, and try t' draw the spider out. If the creature hasn't hurt Eyes, I'm willin' t' leave it un-barbecued."

We lower the bucket a few feet from the spider's hidin' place. The creature's front legs start t' twitch, the smell of cookies an' rum, is drawin' the spider out.

[The Spider]

my hairs are twitching again... oooohhh.... coookieees... must be careful...

[Jacky Tar]

The spider is leavin' the burrow it's been hold up in, an' followin' the bucket. So far, so good.

I've convinced Red Cat t' walk the tethered bucket away from the cave, and lead our cautious creature away from Eyes.

I climb down the second rope and descend t' the burrow, I pick up a torch that had landed just outside the openin' and peer into the burrow.

"Well I'll be..." Eyes is just sittin' there, unharmed, an' sippin' rum! I hiss, "We were worried sick about ye. Wot are waitin' fer... Christmas?"

[Red Cat Jenny]

Red Cat slung over a yardarm above, manages t' trail th sweet sticky bucket quite a distance from where Eyes an Jacky be. The spider is followin it with a greedy look in it's eight eyes....or at leat th ones that not be wooden.. She brings th bucket t rest around a corner an the spider set's t swillin the cooky rum souffle.. makin happy hungry spider sounds.

Chloe an Ransom duck below th rail to hide their laughter at the comical sight of a swillin spider an Jacky swingin back towards the deck hangin on t' Eyes nearly by th scruff.. sommat like a pirate circus act. Eyes wears a wide drunken grin an is still clutchin a cup in one hand. Jacky looks between nervous and annoyed swingin about so. As he dropps Oderless t th deck all look over an the spidey be sount alseep wi it's chin in th bucket. Whew!

Red Cat climbs down an drops t th deck with Cat aplomb an gives both men a squeeze. Grinnin at each in turn."OK now mates.....ewww Eyes, ye be all sticky!..shall we head for the promise o riches now!? Me pockets need fillin!...and I'm witout drink fer too long!"

Eyes hold out th cup he's been totin.."um...no ofense lad, but I'll wait..that spider cup be a bit dusty n sticky fer me...un....thanks jst th same tho." Eyes just shrugs, throws down the last of it an chucks the cup to the deck with a smile. JAcky rolls his eyes and everyone heads back towards th door to below decks.

[Ransom]

I peer over the side at the sleeping spider, still not sure it's just faking those snores, which are kinda bubbly, since his face is in the bucket. I'm almost sure one of his good eyes is staring back up at us, but the light is so bad, I can't be positive. With a shrug, I follow Jacky and Red Cat, and a goofy-eye'd Eyes down into the hold, but there be a prickling at the base of me spine that tells me all is not well. Not yet.

[oderlesseye]

"Well I'll be..." Eyes is just sittin' there, unharmed, an' sippin' rum! I hiss, "We were worried sick about ye. Wot are waitin' fer... Christmas?"

Naw, Just more cookies mate. But Eyes not know ifen ye deserve one ye self ...after all ye wanted me killed, startin wit that chair act. Auuuauurrrrgggg!

Oderlesseye wipes his face and straightens out his eyes and gives Red Cat a big sticky hug . Eyes turns to all the lovely Lasses and thanx 'em for not blasten the beastie wit rail cannon, lest Eyes be no more... Eyes guess Jacky Tar jest lookin to get ye all favor wit me outta the way... none the less Eyes reflect back on the stuck up preist that prayed over thanxgivin

dinner and reminds me to be thankful to Jacky as well cause he did help to save me...now missin a patch of hair myself....Oderlesseye shakes Jacky Tars hand and says Thanx!

now that we below decks and reconciliation has taken place ( I hope wit False Ransom over me accedentally discharging me fire arm)...

We draw near the X So do we still have that surgens saw?

[Red Cat Jenny]

The door creaks slowly open as the ragged pirate crew walk back in nearly trippin over each other as they remember the treasure map and the marks on the floor..

[Jacky Tar]

Above the door hangs a sprig of mistletoe, tied by a silken thread. I catch Ransom in the doorway, point t' the festive twig, an' give her a quick peck on the cheek.

[CrazyCholeBlack]

Jane squeeze past Jacky & Ransom, careful to avoid the little bit of holiday decoration. She heads straight for the "X" in the floor, placing both feet on the mark while her green eyes search the dust beneath her. She turns, first left, then right, then in a complete circle, stopping as a bright gin fills her face.

"Wot? Ye all so gallied ye kent see it?" Jane's arms swing out, gesturing over the floor excitedly. She drops to her knees, filthy hands tracing the seemingly random cut in the floorboards.

"These 'ere are tha points wot Eye's read. See, X0 n' Y5.625" Thin arms trace two lines in the dust until the connect at a point along the curved line. The others are gaining interest, leaning over Jane's shoulder as she continues to explain

"but see, tis only part o tha graf. Dis keeps goin, all tha way round! N tha "X" is in tha middle. Jest gott ta find tha rose?" She looks up at the gathering of pirates around her with an expectant look as the realization of what they're standing on slowly begins to sink in.

[Ransom]

I bit distracted by Jacky's kiss, it takes me a minute to pull my mind back to what is going on. "Find the rose? Do you mean a compass rose, 'cause there sure aren't any prickly real ones growing down here."

[Midshipman Sickleback]

Sickleback sidled into the bar, avoiding the smooching decoration with practised ease.

"Welcome t'the two Spaniards! I no' a pirate...*cough*rather the opposite at times but that's a different kettle o'fish*ahem!*...but still! Pirate or no, I plunder.

Sick' then procedes to sit back and watch the commotion.

[Red Cat Jenny]

RedCat drops to her knees alongside Chloe raising a small cloud of the dust wot covers everythin. She leans in ta help brush away th debris and looks around fer the whole picture. "Chloe ye be a genious! " she shouts rather unexpectedly.. even for herself...

[oderlesseye]

Hey Jacky cans Eyes has me knife an flyntlock back before the Spider shows up again? .....

Oderlesseye gags a bit on all the dust from the 1st day of winters cleanin

goin on. Wots this? Oderlesseye notices a pull ring in the middle of the X .....

Eyes hears a bilge rat squeekin about as He leans over to pull on da ring. It won't budge. This must of been shut o'long tyme auhgg? Well I get the damn thing open now... Oderlesseye borrows Red Cats blade an wiggles it through the crevises and then pulls again.. still nothing.. Sos Eyes pulls harder and wit all me wieght behind it , the trap door opens and oderleseye falls of ballance wit the door now completly detached from the deck..and lands on Red Cat Jenny & CrazyCholeBlack. They push me off and Eyes rolls over to Jacky Tars feet.

False Ransome runs over and peers over CrazyCholeBlack & Red Cat Jennys Shoulders and exclaims there a set o'stairs and a "Golden Glow" eminatin from down there. Smiles erupt all about the room and troubles forgotten as the excitment builds , and we all head down the stair case....... This must be It Oderlessey yelps out to his Breatheren an Sisters!

Jest gott ta find tha rose

Eahg ... perhaps the rose be down there...? Oderlesseye takes the first step down the stairs....

...........................................................................

Hey no pushing!

[Red Cat Jenny]

Red Cat fishes in her pockets an pulls out 'nother stub o candle.

"Long as there be no powder magazine down ere I suppose a lil more light would reveal what be glowin so.. see ye any barrels?"

:angry:

She's squeezin up an arount th others crowded in the stair as she be a bit shorter than they..poppin out here an there like a mouse tryin to get a look at the cheese ahead.

[Jacky Tar]

Amused at the lengths CrazyChole will go t' avoid the mistletoe, I pull a sprig down and wave it at her. This does not amuse Ransom, but at least no swords were drawn. So, I quickly put the mistletoe in the front pocket, of my breeches.

Turnin' t' Eyes, "As sorry as I am that the spider ran off wit' ye, I'm not sorry enough t' give ye a loaded pistol, at least not yet."

I follow the others down the stair case, an' wonder wot we'll find next.

[Ransom]

With amusement, I watch Jacky tuck the mistletoe into his front breeches pocket. A number of interesting thoughts run through my head, but I push them aside, for possible use in another thread.

When Red Cat lights the candle, the glow from below gets even brighter, as the greed of happy pirates lights up our eyes. For the moment the spider is forgotten, as our curiousity over what lies below takes hold.

[Red Cat Jenny]

Wit eyes wide (0) (0) RedCat begins ta bounce agin... **~GAAASP~**

[oderlesseye]

As we get to the bottom of the Stairs we sees three Large chest literally buried with golden and silver gobbletts,plates and ingots, Candle holders

of appealling shapes and sizes ..... The glow of the candle light shimmers off the shinny treasure at hand.. Smiles a mile wide and eyes even bigger as we push on to touch the Cache of De Blance ..! All we has to do is get thru the iron cage that surrounds it.. The bars are 6" thick and criss~cross the same distance... above the lock is a Rose Engraved.... Now Who has the Key?

[Jacky Tar]

Wit' no key an' nothin' t' cut the bars, we can but stand an' look at the treasure. We notice in the cage another dried up skeleton, wit' long red hair; the dress implies it were a lady!

[Red Cat Jenny]

All sit upon the floor an crates to ponder this new developement. Unable to take her eyes from the mountain of shiny goodies, RedCat, deep in thot, absently pulls out some of th leftover cookies an passes em about wishin sorely for drink..then remembers False Ransome's magic bottomless flask!

"Oi girlie! give here! I can't think witout summat to um....wash these cookies down! yeah..that's it...just dry from th cookies.." she says with a silly grin. Oderless and Jacky chuckle and Chloe is still reachin thru the bars, the treasure juuuust a bit far outta reach.. wavin her arm about like she be swattin bugs.

[Ransom]

I pass the magic flask into Red Cat's eager hands, then look a bit closer at the skeleton. It may be my imagination, or the tricksy light, but it looks like her canine-teeth are a bit longer than normal. Which makes me think of the missing Elvira. Could the spider have trapped her down here, then sucked her dry? I try to remember what she was wearing at the Halloween party, which was the last time anyone saw her in the Pub.

I peer closer, trying to decide if that toothy grin looks familier, but the bones are too dried up, dusty, and covered in webs.

I turn to Jacky, nodding my head at the caged bones. "Who do you think that is?"

[Jacky Tar]

I look at the skeleton, an' it looks like she were guardin' the treasure. In one hand she has a sword, an' in the other an empty key ring.

I turn t' Ransom, "I've not heard any tales bout this one. The cobwebs an' spider webs on her, look like they were made by regular spiders, an' not our drunken one. She appears t' hav' been in there a long time!"

[Red Cat Jenny]

"Keys?" Red Cat passes the flask t Chloe.."Here stop yer fiddlin fer a second ye can't reach that way." She stands unsteadily and swagger over to the bars agin. Leaning in close she inspects th skeleton. "Hmmm... Jacky luv, mebbe th keys be t the cage here bouts?" Eyes wot ye think?"

[oderlesseye]

Oderlesseye begins to stirr and rolls over on the floor boards of the Pub...

oooohhhh my head.... What was in the Rum last night..... Eyes opens his eyes a bit and thru his blurred vision he can make out

Red Cat Jenny ,Jacky Tar, False Ransom and Crazycholeblack, are present and accounted for. They are all out cold, layin on the floor except Red Cat Jenny wit her head on the bar and snoring....wit her arms moving slowly and outsretched.

Oderlesseye attempts to gets up but falls over as his head be spinning a bit... at nother attempt Eyes Gets to his feet and hears Jacky Tar muttering somethin about a Spider... Then i remembered somthin about a trap door and so Eyes pan over the Pub floor and see that nothin is there...

Eyes looks up at the beautiful Christmas tree in he corner of the room... Man that was some party we had last night ...Oderlesseye thinks to em'self... Boy did I have a frightful dream or what.. Oderless remembers not being able to move, Like Eyes was tied to something....By a sexy Pirate Lass!

Oderlesseye looks at the calender and Realizes it's Christmas eve but need to take the edge off a bit and take a wee bit of a hit o'le Rum.

Feeling better but alone amongs a slumbering crew Oderlesseye decides to stir them up and hold revely on them. Eyes get a bucket of cold water and tosses some Jackys way to wake 'em. Jacky yells Spider louder and then his Eyes pop wide open.... Oderlesseye informs him that he must have been dreaming and hands him a fresh towel to wipe of his sleepies and wet-n- drouled face... Jacky looks up at Oderlesseye and Eyes says to 'em Merry Christmas! So lets wake up the others and Celebrate!

Edited December 24, 2006 by oderlesseye

[Red Cat Jenny]

ZZZZzzzzz Snooog! zzz mm.... treasure....mmmm eggnog.. zzzzzz....Saaanta ooh ^snore * rustle* sniff ZZzzzzzz