My Dear Ones at Home,
After a journey of several hours from the
seaport of Oaklandia, I have washed up on a desert isle, where as I sought to
get my bearings, I was apprehended by a thin and wiry man and taken overland to
the remote lair of his dread Pirate Queen, who claims the fearsome name of
Saucy Cutlip.
The
lair is well-appointed, and I have been given my choice of bunk, but it appears
they mean to keep me for some time, for what purpose I know not, and I fear
they have some certain mischief in mind. I am attempting to smuggle out this
note in an empty bottle I found laying by, but it is uncertain whether I will
succeed, whether I will be able to reach anyone in civilization, but I hope
some day someone will know of my fate and pass the message to my dear ones back
home that I love them and think of them at every moment.
Upon
arriving at Cutlip’s Lair, I was introduced to the she-Captain through the door
of her apartments, but as yet I have not seen her. What is this fearsome
Piratess hiding? Is her countenance too fierce for human eyes? Or is she not
human at all? Or not embodied? Perhaps a mere phantom or, as I fear, a devil
incarnate. She bade me with her gravelly voice to make myself welcome, and
indeed the place seemed prepared for visitors; the wiry one—who goes by the
moniker “Gentle Glen”—even arrived from a hunt with provisions for me to eat
over the next few days and immediately took me fishing to keep up my strength,
as I had nearly fainted from fear. There, I dined upon the rich sea life of the
region: scallops, octopus, squid and sea snail, dressed with some local
vegetation, including a piquant citrusy fruit, and accompanied by some sweet
water that emanates from a nearby stream.
Later
in the evening I was taken to meet the entire ragtag band of Cap’n Cutlip’s
crew, a motley lot, but full of good cheer. At their urging, I led them in some
sea chanteys and a night of story-telling around the fire before heading back
to the lair to bed me down.
By all
I can see, this appears a gentle and easy life. Though chilly at night, the sun
is warm by day, and I have been treated with kindness and bounty, but I fear
they only mean to lower my guard so they can slaughter and eat me later. One
particular curiosity: when Gentle Glen asked Cap’n Cutlip if she wanted anything
from the hunt, she spoke but the single word, “Crackers.” Is it possible she is
a parrot pirate?
More if
I am able, but I hope this message will reach you, my beloveds, so you know
that I survived the voyage, though I am not able to reach home. I reach across
time and space in the hope that you will know you are always in my heart. May I
live to see you again.
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