The trip back to Porthaven from Oake Island proves uneventful, but rather awkward, for Myra and the rest of the Red Wolf pirates. Most of the Wolves, still smarting from hornet stings look expectantly at Myra, hoping for her to break her long silence about the results of the expedition.
One of the pirates that the Darkstones had trussed up to the flagpole, however, is doing more than his share of work to break the silence.
“Oh, Captain,” the pirate cries, sobbing into his beloved Captain’s shoulder. “I just knew you’d come for us! I knew you’d save us.”
Myra isn’t entirely sure how to react to this.
Having one of her crew desperately clinging to her and bawling his eyes out feels like something that will really ruin her mystique as a stern, no-nonsense pirate captain.
On the other hand, he did spent most of the day tied up to flagpole, so she’s willing to cut him some slack.
Awkwardly trying to manoeuvre around the great sobs wracking his form, Myra slowly extends a hand to reassuringly pat his shoulder.
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it,” she mutters.
“Captain!” the pirate continues to sob. “It was awful! They kicked us! And tied us up! And this weird little girl with pink hair kept not looking at us!”
Myra sighs inwardly.
“Do you want to hear about the treasure?” she asks, desperate to change the subject.
“What happened, Captain?” the pirate asks, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
“Well, the good news is that I found William Newgate’s orichalcum,” Myra explains. “But the bad news is that I didn’t get to keep.”
“Why not?” the pirate asks.
“I decided to donate it to the University. It’s going to end up in a museum, or something,” Myra says.
“Isn’t that a bad thing, Captain? Didn’t we want the orichalcum for ourselves?”
Myra shrugs. “I guess I just wanted it to make sure no one else would steal it away from my family. But I never really thought about what I’d do with it once I actually got it.”
She shrugs again.
“It’ll be safer in a museum than it would be with us. Besides, I bet Professor Darkstone will make sure everyone knows how great a pirate William Newgate was — and that I’m the one who found his stash on Oake Island.”
She grins broadly as she reaches into her vest pocket.
“And the finder’s fee he gave me didn’t hurt.”
Myra,
I.O.U. One (1) Finder’s Fee
– Jonas
“Um, Captain,” the pirate ventures. “That’s not exactly a finder’s fee. That’s really more of a promissory note.”
“Well, yeah, but I know Professor Darkstone’s good for it,” Myra says. “But I realised this wasn’t about the money, or even the treasure. This was about protecting my family’s legacy. And make sure everyone knows the Red Wolves are the best pirates in Realmgard! I’d do that for free.”
She grins again.
“Besides, there’ll be other chances for us to make it rich.”
“Oh, Captain!” the pirate exclaims, tears welling back in his eyes. “You’re so noble and selfless! I’ve never been so honoured to be a Red Wolf! Three cheers for Captain Myra!”
Myra reaches to awkwardly pat his shoulder again.
“Yeah. That’s great. I love you too, man.”
The adventures of the Sisters Darkstone (and friends) continue in The Bandits of Goldharbour.
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