“LOWERIN’ SAILS! Lower the goddamn’ sails, ya bunch of swabs! NOW!” The rumbling shouts challenged the raging winds and the howling thunders surrounding the lone frigate braving the vast open ocean. The name written on the starboard submerged and reappeared with each splash of the tall waves: Disowned Pleiades, painted in red gothic lettering, a pirate ship resisting the brutal rainstorm falling from a carpet of black clouds.
“Keep throwin’ the water away, ya bunch of snails! Like yer lives depend on it!”
The ginger-haired white woman crossed the deck with a proud resolve, as if her soul was waterproof under her soaked clothes. Her slender figure didn’t trip on the slippery wooden boards while pinning her captain’s hat firmly to her head.
“Because it depends, dammit!”
She shouted once more before leaping over the side stairs to reach the upper deck, her electric green eyes overseeing the chaotic scene of her crew making herculean efforts to survive the merciless weather.
“Now, where’s Luzia? Luzia! LUZIA!”
Somehow, her roaring screams overpowered the loud rolls of thunder and traveled the ship to ring like an unpleasant buzz in Luzia’s ears.
The tanned brunette scoffed, hidden on the other side of the third mast. She had no choice but to hold her position, gripping the tense rope keeping the huge sail from sweeping every crewmate off the ship, and hoping that a stronger slap of the wind wouldn’t come her way at any moment. Not even her athletic physique would save her from that.
“Where could I be, hm?! Peeing myself in the crow’s nest?!” Luzia screamed on top of her lungs, rolling her eyes and hoping the smug answer would bring her some very needed help.
After all, her palms were already bruised from gripping the thick rope and her knee was hurting from keeping her lifted foot pressed against the mast for balance. Not to mention she was shaking like a wet cat under the heavy rain—but everyone else was literally in the same boat.
“LUZIA!” The Captain practically spawned next to her, taking her wet curled hair out of her face before holding the rope with both hands. “You rabble-rouser eel, why didn’t ya call for help sooner?! Is yer big mouth jus’ for burping?”
“There she is to save the day!” Luzia’s voice and amused grin didn’t show any hint of gratitude, but her brown eyes sparkled with renewed life. “I knew you would arrive at the exact right moment, my dear Captain Betara—”
A fleeting light on the corner of her eye suddenly interrupted her ramblings, followed by a deafening thunder hurting her ears.
“LUZIA!”
A loud thump was the last thing Luzia heard–and felt–before everything became darkness.
“Fuck... you…”
Luzia started opening her eyes, still disoriented between reality, dream, and the hazy fog in between. She would have drifted a little longer if a coughing fit hadn’t pushed her weak body to sit up, nauseated with a burning throat reeking of salty water. Still, the pain meant she was still alive.
“Ugh…” She rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to get a grip on reality. “Where the hell am I?”
Luzia looked ahead, meeting the endless ocean under a cloudy morning sky and feeling the chilling wind hitting her bones. She hugged herself for a shred of warmth, but her clothes, which had dried upon her unconscious body, were cold as hell too and didn’t help her case.
Turning around, she noticed she was sitting on a steep rocky slope, not a regular beach. There were no sand or waves, only an imposing tall treeline rising beyond the steep. Definitely not a proper shore for docking, even for small ships, let alone their frigate.
“Ok… I hear birds at least. I won’t starve to death… and if there are nice green trees, there’s a river somewhere.”
Luzia stood up with a loud huff, stretching and mumbling curses under her breath. There was no sign of her ship anywhere on the horizon, but… there was no sign of a wreckage anywhere either, which was always a good thing.
“Time to warm up ~” Luzia grinned, tying up her long hair in a ponytail and starting to climb the steep towards the unknown forest.
Behind her, a lightning flashed amidst the heavy clouds, hinting the storm was still lurking in her shadows.
“… What in the name of the Burglar Bonnie’s grave?”
It didn’t take long for Luzia to assess this place wasn’t inviting for strangers in the slightest. The forest offered just two things besides the verdant, tall tropical trees: the chirping birds above… … and the endless snakes taking over the land.
Huge, small, thick, thin, colorful and camouflaged alike, lazily entangled on the tree branches and crawling slowly in the muddy soil, countless reptiles slithered in the open like they owned the house– and anyone with a chip of perception would understand they did.
“H-haha. Hell. Ok. Gina would hate this. I wish she was here.” Luzia scoffed, slowly drawing a dagger from her boot while thinking of her crewmate. Gina was their navigator and patron, a stinky rich, chubby Italian girl who wouldn’t ever tell why she became a pirate and assembled a crew to travel the seven seas. At least she was paying everyone properly and usually not stirring up drama.
Luzia carefully climbed a big rock, making sure it was free from snakes. The animals didn’t seem to care about her, so she would probably be fine as long as she didn’t make a fuss… or walked around like an easy target.
“… Not so different from every harbor across the Atlantic… I hope it’s entertaining, scalies.” She could feel the snakes following every movement with no fear in their little cold hearts. Imagination or not, she knew it wouldn’t be wise to lower her guard.
It proved to be a smart choice a moment later, when she stepped down from the rock just to barely dodge a hidden snake rattling out of a pile of leaves, aiming her bared little fangs at Luzia’s ankle.
“Shit! Not today!” Luzia hopped forward, using all the sharpness of her senses to avoid any other surprise attacks, slashing the dagger in the air on instinct. The brave little red snake didn’t try to chase her, just wriggled away and hid inside an old log.
“Huh. An opportunistic swab.”
However, as soon as Luzia turned her back to the log, she could feel the mood shifting around her.
It wasn’t lost on her that the birds stopped chirping and many snakes were following her shadow, camouflaged on the grass, trees, and rocks. Still, Luzia was able to parse their discreet hissing sounds mixed with the calm breeze.
Luzia took a few steps backwards, wielding her dagger and trying to stay focused. It sounded so dumb to be scared of a few animals, but somehow she felt she was safer on the ship bouncing left and right during a raging storm. Raindrops weren’t poisonous, at least.
Besides, the stiff and hot weather with heavy clouds above was starting to make her sweaty on top of her cold skin, to which she attributed the shivers running down her spine. There was no way a bunch of snakes doing nothing would make her knees tremble like that. Not when she had escaped angry pirates hunting her head like it was an average Tuesday so many times before.
“Betara would fucking laugh at me for ten lives. Holy hell of Black Beard. And yet…”
And yet, she felt bare naked without the captain there to be back-to-back with her when push came to shove.
“Think, Luzia, think… first, you gotta find water…”
To make things worse, her rumbling stomach joined the complaints of her dry throat. Instead of survival strategies, her mind traveled back to the Pleiades’ kitchen filled with the smell of grilled meat and roasted potatoes, the signature dish of their cook Atlas.
Thanks to her skills and unmatched seasoning, every meal was a feast fit for nobles–or even better, depending on the noble you compare it to.
“Damn, I would trade a leg for Atlas’ special chicken wings now… ughhhhhhh…” Luzia swallowed drool, trying to alleviate her throat with distant fantasies. “If I knew I’d end like this, I’d have enjoyed it more last night…”
A grim reminder that any meal can be your last one in this field of work.
But, almost like a reminder that, while there was life, there was hope, a small, round bird fluttered close to her, apparently curious about the unexpected new visitor. Luzia stared at it in disbelief, grinning widely and clutching the dagger behind her back.
“Hello, birdie… let’s be friends… don’t be shy…”
She moved carefully to not scare the innocent bird, holding her breath, and waiting for the best moment to unleash a critical attack.
It was so close that she could already smell Atlas’ spice on its soft flesh, but in the moment she lifted her arm…
One of the huge yellow snakes jumped from a tree, baring fangs and catching the bird right in front of Luzia. It was gone and swallowed fully before the snake reached the tree on the other side of the path.
“… huh.”
Luzia found herself frozen in the moment, speechless with her dagger lifted in the air as a few feathers fluttered to her shoulder–the only evidence she didn’t hallucinate that bird.
“Did that bastard just… FLY???”
She took a solid minute to even start to process what her eyes witnessed, looking ahead to confirm the snake was still in plain sight, calmly hanging on the tree with a bulging stomach in full digestion process.
“Ah, no… no, no, no, NOPE! I’m outta here! I don’t heckin’ care anymore!”
Flying snakes were far from the weirdest thing she had witnessed as a pirate, but it didn’t make it less weird, especially when they were stealing her lunch. But somehow, that humiliating loss annoyed her enough to move again, so she jumped off the rock and headed to the forest with no plan or goal on her mind.
Nothing except finding something to stab as fast as possible.
“Nothing better than stabbing stinky swabs in the morning! BWAHAHAHA!”
A scandalous laughter echoed through the trees, scaring a few birds enough to make them take off the tall branches. Hisses and rattling sounds reverberated from all sides, but the boots marching across the humid soil didn’t falter. “Snake Island? More like Worm Island, heh!”
A tall white woman swayed her long sword in the air, laughing and repeating curses at random. She walked with an open chest under the endless reptile eyes following her from the corners, smiling through the breeze ruffling her straight blond hair. The medium bob cut with bangs framed her round face nicely, and long twin tails followed her shadow like a conscious double tail.
“All hiss and no bite, aren’t ya? I’ve met more dangerous snakes in Lisbon’s red district!”
Her figure reflected not only pride but actual knowledge of the rough terrain, displayed in full pirate gear including water-resistant boots and gloves, baggy pants, a thick long-sleeved yellow-ish shirt, and a black scarf covering her neck.
"If only I knew it would be so easy ~” She poked rocks and logs with her blade, cheerfully humming on her way to the nearest glade in the woods, looking at the faint smoke in the air with a calm smile on her features. “The treasure is already…”
But the moment she arrived at the place where she had set up her camp hours ago, her joy instantly plummeted upon catching an invader in her camp.
Not snakes, spiders, nor birds, but a famished, exhausted pirate had attacked her food and water supply.
Luzia lifted her head, showing her puffed cheeks full of chicken while the other woman’s light blue eyes pierced her with pure hatred.
“… PUTA!” The blond growled, immediately wielding her sword and charging up to Luzia. “DID YOU COME TO HAUNT ME EVEN IN THIS FORGOTTEN LAND?”
“Heh…” Instead of freaking out, Luzia swallowed the food with a large smile and renewed bright eyes. “Hello, old friend! It’s such a pleasure to meet ya here! I should’ve recognized your luso seasoning, dear Maria!”
Luzia jumped backwards, still holding Maria’s canteen while dodging her fast slashing moves. She didn’t bother drawing her dagger, just hopping left and right to avoid becoming sliced potato.
“Fuck you, filthy Spaniard! Oh, you think you’re so smart...” Maria chased the other’s shadow fiercely, the fury turning her pale cheeks deep red. “You stole my food, but you won’t live to steal my treasure!” The word treasure traveled to Luzia’s ears like a divine whisper, lighting up the fire in her soul that the meal already had started to revive. She jumped onto a huge rock, crouching and looking down at Maria with a mischievous grin.
“Oh, well…” Luzia tilted her head, putting up her softest voice tone. “So you know about the treasure. That’s why you’re here.” “Of course I know! I’m always a step ahead of you. I already have the map, puta!” Maria pulled an old scroll from her waist bag, waving it at Luzia as if she wanted to bonk her head with it.
Maria was always so, so easy. It was even cute.
“I cannot deny that. You’re so smart it gives me chills. And it’s so hot I could kiss you right now.” Luzia sat on the rock and crossed her legs, amused to see the other gasping loud in response.
“I won’t fall for that! Again.” Maria took a couple steps back, as if scooting away from temptation. “Ugh! You really are a sneaky player, Luzia..!”
“We’re pirates, sweetie, it’s kind of our thing!”
“How many times do I gotta say? I’m an independent raider, not a stinky pirate like you!”
“Whatever title makes you happy, darling!” Luzia laughed out loud, looking up to the sky with a faint hope that things were getting better… just to find a new threat coming down her way.
“Shit.”
She jumped at the last second to escape lightning hitting a tree behind the rock, cracking its trunk in half and starting a small fire.
Thankfully, the heavy rain that immediately followed put it down fast, covering the forest with a torrential veil of water.
“That was close—TOO CLOSE!” Luzia had rolled on the floor for a safe landing, standing up covered in mud and immediately needing to dodge an opportunistic attack from Maria. She didn’t seem to care about the rain soaking them both, focused on Luzia with a delirious sparkle on her blown pupils. Quickly, Luzia hid behind another rock formation to disengage from the fight and disappear into the heavy rain.
“I’LL GET YOU SOONER OR LATER!” Maria growled to the thundering skies, taking a step forward out of instinct but halting, looking back to her camp and deciding to retreat with a hissed sigh.
She resigned herself to point the blade at Luzia’s direction like it could hit her with a curse. “THIS ISLAND IS NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR US BOTH!”
“So, we’re on an island… well damn, thanks, Maria. I owe you one. Two, actually.” Luzia muttered to herself while running without looking behind, holding the stolen canteen with the widest smile on her face. The screams from her old friend were nothing less than lovely amidst the hissing noise of the rain–and the bright slit pupils in the darkness didn’t scare her as much anymore.
After all, words can hold impressive power. The word treasure in particular.
The night found the island under the same endless heavy rain soaking every corner of the dense forest. Occasional thunder flashed the sky, revealing the landscape engulfed in darkness for a fleeting moment. The snakes and birds were nowhere to be seen, quietly sheltered in their familiar hideouts.
Even if she was an outsider, Luzia’s situation wasn’t too different.
She holed herself under a shallow grotto covered in limestone she found in an area with slightly less trees. It wasn’t enough to keep the cold out, but at least sheltered her from the torrent falling on the island as if a giant waterfall had replaced the whole sky.
And after almost passing out from thirst earlier, she didn’t dare curse the drinkable water filling her stolen canteen now. “Count your blessings, right, Captain?” She sighed, taking a deep swig and staring beyond the hazy surroundings. “Yea, you can laugh… just laugh...”
“Tsk!” Her deep thoughts were interrupted when she caught something twinkling in the corner of her eye, prompting her to turn around immediately. She looked closer, forcing her eyes to get used to the darkness until she was able to spot a huge cluster of tiny, jelly white eggs covering the walls of the cave like a fancy carpet.
“Maybe we’re gonna have omelet for dinner?” She smiled lightly, unbothered by the cobwebs wrapping the eggs like protective nets.
Tragically, her sharp hearing also caught a loud rustling sound coming from the grotto’s entrance, discernible even under the storm.
At this point, her ears were registering the rain like white noise, an ability extremely useful for survival… still, it was bringing her nothing but awful news right now.
If only she had her sword with her.
That was the only thought left in her mind when she turned to the entrance to face the endless rows of eyes staring at her cornered figure, belonging to big, hairy, and bulky spiders visibly agitated with her obvious invasion. Of course she had chosen the baby spider nursery cave to sit her butt on. Of course.
“This is Maria’s curse, damn… ah, I’ll get you!” She hissed through teeth, frozen in place and preparing for a suicidal escape attempt. She had a minimal chance to charge through the cluster slowly crawling towards her, and perhaps the wall of rain could work in her favor… But her messy strategy turned into nothing when a long blade swept the biggest spider away, confusing the others and making them vulnerable to the following kicks and stomps suddenly aimed at the cluster of adult spiders.
“Scatter, eighty-legs! This one’s stinky meat won’t do you any good!”
“No way in the seven seas…”
Luzia knew that insulting voice way too well, just like those shining boots and that longsword.
“Enough playing around, rotten eel.” In that moment, the hooded figure of Betara showed herself, leaning on the grotto’s entrance nonchalantly. “You look like shit, dammit.”
Betara was wearing a long-hooded mackintosh that kept her mostly dry, throwing one of the same type to her crewmate, along with her sword. Luzia could only laugh, donning the garment instantly and crawling out of her improvised shelter.
“I knew you would arrive at the exact right moment, Cap-” A rap right on her head was the first greeting Luzia got, shutting her up on sight.
“Don’t even dare to be funny, you rotten eel!!!” Betara growled, pulling Luzia by the cape to face her up close. “Do you have any idea of the trouble we had trying to find your ass?!”
“But you found me. And my fat ass.” Unbothered by the rough treatment, quite the opposite, she flashed the Captain a smile from ear to ear. “That’s my Captain! BWAHAHAHA!!”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, dumbass…” Betara rolled her eyes, but took her hands off Luzia with no anger left in her voice.
Still, she poked Luzia’s chest with determination. “That’s right, you have no permission to disappear or die. I would find you in hell and beat you up. You know that, right?”
“Loud and clear, Captain! First Mate Luzia reporting for duty!” “I want to see that… anyway, let’s get out before that army of spiders regroups. Gina and Atlas are waiting at the camp.” Betara turned away and walked ahead, ignoring her first mate’s enthusiastic celebration.
“Atlas! FOOD! Real, cooked food!” She pulled her hood up, following the captain under muttered thankful chants.
“She’s operating a miracle with nothing more than a few birds, so you better fall on your knees like she’s the Virgin Mary in the flesh!” “Ah, you don’t even have to tell me that!”
Luzia fulfilled the promise to the beat the moment they arrived at the camp, hugging Atlas’ legs and nuzzling her like a lost cat that found the way home after wandering all night. The cook just timidly patted her shoulder, smiling, a little embarrassed with the shameless attention typical of Luzia.
Atlas was a white bald woman, the tallest and bulkiest of the group, gentle and meticulous in the same proportion. Her attention to detail, sharp gray eyes and ability with the knife allowed her to manage excellent meals with the most random sort of ingredients a pirate ship could provide. She also could carry five sacks of flour as easily as she peeled potatoes with 0% flesh waste. In short, the most respected woman aboard.
“I’m happy to see you again,” Atlas signed to Luzia once Betara finally pushed the first mate off of the cook’s legs, bringing back the order to the small grotto sheltering the quartet.
“Same, girl, I missed you so bad!” Luzia signed and talked to Atlas at the same time, then clasped her hands together in a prayer. She didn’t let go of Atlas, sitting next to her while feasting on the shared bird soup. Gina was quiet in a corner, looking bored as always, and bundled in her raincoat.
“Now back to business… this is a detour, but since we’re here, we can make the best of it…”
“We sure can!” Luzia interrupted the Captain, looking up with a cheeky smile. “Heh… if I tell you there’s a treasure…” “We know.” Betara interrupted, keeping her eyes on her soup. “Do you think we came here just for you?”
“ Fufu…” Gina finally joined the conversation, as if Luzia’s face twisted in frustration lifted her mood.
“If you already know, even better. The fortune teller we kidnapped was worth it… they told us where to find you and about the treasure of the Snake Island.”
“Of course it’s called Snake Island. Creative.”
Luzia crossed arms and legs, frowning deeply.
“Well, whatever. I assume you have a map, since y’all know so damn much.”
“The fortune teller wasn’t worth that much. Good grief.” Gina rolled her eyes, the smile gone from her face again and voice seeping with cynicism. “Why, do you have a map?”
Luzia chuckled with an open chest, grinning widely as if she had been waiting for just that question.
“Not yet. But I know who to steal from.”
Buried in the rain the ancient gold lies Where hidden stars lead the way When a priest finish their prayers Las Guardas shall give you the key.
“Great. Charades. The thing that killed the Egyptians, or something like that.”
Maria grumbled to herself, examining the map sheltered from the heavy rain in a glass case. She was wearing a long rubber raincoat now, holding the case in one hand and a compass in the other, doing her best to match the coordinates written below the charade. The map illustrated the island, its tall trees and rock formations. The caricatures of a snake and a spider on top signalized the obvious threats an explorer would face during the treasure hunt.
“How can something be buried in the rain?” Maria huffed, looking up to the unforgiving sky. “And there’s no way to see stars if this damn storm doesn’t stop soon…”
She frowned, feeling chills running across her spine. The rain wasn’t giving any sign it would calm down soon, to the point she was starting to lose her sense of time, the same way she might during a long storm in the open sea.
“… it needs to stop at some point.” Maria could only throw words at the universe, trying to shake off her sudden uneasiness. “Eyes on the prize, hunter. The ancient gold awaits...”
She picked up her pace again, comforted by the taste of the word gold on her tongue, ignoring the endless slit eyes following her steps from the bushes.
After checking the compass once more, Maria confirmed she arrived at the right place—a glade full of boulders in different sizes and shapes.
The small victory encouraged her to take a quick break, placing the glass case on top of a rock, and shoving the compass in her pocket to cup her hands together and pool water in her palms.
“You’re gonna pay for it, puta…” She grumbled, thinking of the stolen canteen before drinking the cold rain. At least this harsh weather would spare her from becoming dehydrated.
However, the moment of distraction was everything a thick, tangled long snake needed to pounce at Maria, suddenly jumping from a tall branch, aiming for her neck with bared fangs.
“WHAT?!” Maria dodged the attack in the last second, hopping to the side as the snake landed on the ground and smoothly disappeared in the rain.
“YOU FUCK-” Maria didn’t have time to curse at that single snake when the corner of her eye caught another pair surrounding the rock from behind, sinking fangs into the glass case in an attempt to carry it away. She quickly drew her sword and swung the blade at the reptiles, making them give up on the case and wiggle away, leaving the map to drop to the ground.
“Lil’ sneaky swabs, I’ll slice y’all like heckin’ limes!” Fuming and cursing under her breath, Maria grabbed the glass case again… only to find an unexpected resistance as she tried to pick it up.
“Huh?” The map wasn’t stuck to anything, but it was suddenly pulled back, and almost slipped from Maria’s hand if her glove hadn’t given extra firmness to her grasp. Looking up, she met a hooded figure semi-hiding behind the big rock, with a familiar human hand holding tight the other side of the glass case.
“Hello again, amiga!” The chirping voice of Luzia revealed itself under the rain. “Let me pick it up for you, as a favor!”
“I don’t need your help!” Maria frowned and growled, dropping the sword to hold the case with both hands. “That’s MINE! STINKY THIEF! Return to the slums of Madrid where you should never should have left, puta!”
“How rude! I visited last winter, you know? And you, have you been to Lisbon’s red light district lately? I bet they miss you badly!!!”
They kept throwing insults and taunts at each other while disputing the glass case in a heated tug of war. The wet mud under their boots pulled their bodies back and forth in an unstable dance, and keeping their grip on the slippery case under the heavy rain wasn’t proving easy either. Consequently, the slight advantage of Maria’s waterproof gloves could decide the winner–but Luzia still had dirty tricks up her sleeve.
“Eat this!” Luzia kicked mud at Maria’s eyes, compromising her balance for a moment. It was more than enough for Luzia to pull the map at once, holding it with both hands, and lifting her arms in the air with a howl of victory.
The victory didn’t last long though, since Maria recovered fast and charged towards Luzia, hitting her stomach with a full-on headbutt. The impact made the glass case slip from Luzia’s hands and the two women collapsed to the ground with no intention to stop fighting.
Thankfully, the case landed safely in the hands of someone who had been just watching so far.
“Oh, a charade?” Gina smiled at the map behind the blurred wet glass, ignoring the two pirates rolling on the mud in front of her. “How nostalgic.”
“What the hell?” Betara and Atlas arrived at the messy scene, swords in hand, and whisking away more snakes that were approaching the area. “This is bad, all these slimy bitches are coming out of their damn holes!”
“The rain is getting worse too.” Atlas signed to the Captain, her expression growing tense looking at the merciless sky.
“Everything’s under control, Captain.” Gina couldn’t be in a better mood while reading the map and muttering to herself with a light smirk. “Ancient gold… whatever. Hidden stars… of course, it’s raining. A priest finishes a prayer… Las Guardas...”
Gina grabbed her compass, confirming the coordinates. A snake at her feet started to slowly twirl around her leg, but she didn’t care at all.
“Heh. Easy.” Gina hissed with a wide grin that made the snake unfurl from her leg instantly, disappearing amidst the rocks.
“Oho, I know this deranged look, Gina. Spill.” Betara poked her, taking a quick look at the map too.
“A childish charade. Las Guardas is another name for the Crux constellation. That’s also how a Catholic priest finishes their prayers.
In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti.” Gina made the sign of the Cross to illustrate her logic.
“Amen, I guess. So what? And the ancient gold?”
“Irrelevant bait. We’re at the right place, all we need is the Crux.” “So we need to wait for the rain to stop?!”
“… no, it can’t be. The ancient gold is buried in the rain. Hnm… so we must ask ourselves, how can we find stars on a stormy night?” “Captain, what about them?” Atlas signed and pointed at
Luzia and Maria still caught in a dramatic sword fight, ignoring the discussion.
“… let them fight. Luzia can’t help with puzzles anyway.” Betara shrugged, almost smiling in relief seeing her first mate distracted with a mindless game.
“That’s all you got? Did the rain rust your muscles, Maria?” Luzia taunted, dodging and swinging her blade in a feverish dance under the rain.
“Shut up and just die! Quit getting in my way!”
“And leave you behind? I could never, honey! Unless you come with me...”
They could barely see each other through the curtain of water falling on them, but their sharp senses guided every move trying to hit each other’s blurred figure. The coats were already soaked in mud and it was useless to keep them dry, too. At this point, treasure be damned, Maria’s eyes carried pure hatred and spite at each lunge of the blade towards her opponent and Luzia was fully living in the moment. No doubt, the first one to make a mistake would lose.
“O-ops!”
Luzia bumped on a rock behind her, almost sitting on it and giving Maria an extra opening to go for her throat… but the moment she swung the sword, Luzia fell down along with the rock suddenly sinking into the ground like it was button pressed by her butt.
“What?” Confused, Maria took a step back and found herself surrounded by snakes before she could charge another attack, being forced to switch the focus to the reptiles staring at her.
“What?” Gina witnessed everything and her eyes widened in surprise, seeing Luzia sitting on the buried rock. “STAY WHERE YOU ARE! LUZIA! DON’T YOU DARE STAND UP!”
“What the hell… any clue, Gina?” Betara watched the events unfolding carefully, waiting for her navigator to evaluate the situation.
Gina looked at her compass again, looking up to the sky, and back at Luzia’s position.
“Atlas… could you please sit on that rock right there?” Gina pointed a rock perpendicular to Luzia on the other side of the glade, and the cook nodded in agreement. The rock sank in the same way once she sat on it, disappearing in the ground.
“Are all the snakes in this damn place coming to the party?” Betara was growing concerned with the crawling reptiles of yellow, green, and blue hues approaching from every direction, like a torrent of its own. But Gina didn’t care about them, taking a few steps backwards, and stepping on a small rock that immediately sunk too.
“That’s it! Captain, please step on that rock at the border of the glade!” Gina confidently shouted at Betara.
“You better be onto something, Gina!” The Captain followed her instructions though, and the rock snk just like the others.
“What the hell…”
At this point, Maria and Luzia were watching Gina giving orders and laughing out loud like a witch of the storms.
“This ain’t a good sign…” Luzia didn’t move from her spot, still worried with the sea of snakes coming closer. “What now, Gina?”
“Hmhm… it should work… oh. Right. Maria, you too. Get your foot on that small rock inside the formation.” Gina ordered her without hesitation, getting a death stare in response.
“Didn’t you hear me? Do you want the ancient gold or not? Hurry up, before the rain or the snakes eat us alive, whatever happens first!”
“Shit! You owe me one!” Maria hopped to her designated rock, without taking her eyes off the many snakes rattling around. And the very same thing happened again.
“Bingo.”
Gina had the widest grin on her face when the sky started to open up.
Small holes opened in the heavy clouds, revealing the Crux stars and clearing the rain over each woman standing at their respective rocks. The Crux constellation was now perfectly mirroring the location of the rocks pushed down in the land, four stars forming a crux and a smaller one inside the formation.
“Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Epsilon.” Gina counted herself, Luzia, Atlas, Betara and Maria respectively, matching their positions with the stars above.
“The Crux and the hidden stars. Therefore…” Immediately, the snakes grew restless, their loud hisses matching the incessant rain noises. Getting entangled together in a wiggly formation, the reptiles started moving as one single entity across the wet soil.
“I-it’s like a scaly carpet, holy shit…” Luzia didn’t dare to move an inch while the coil slowly covered the area, just gripping her sword for a shred of perceived safety. The others weren’t any different, holding their breath under their dry spots. Thankfully, the moving den was ignoring them and spreading through the area as if following a quiet but irresistible call. And just like that, the earth started to rumble.
Every woman braced herself in place, escaping by a hair from falling directly in the sea of entangled snakes surrounding them.
The rumble turned into a quake, cracking the ground and opening a huge pit in the very shape of the Crux, reflecting the constellation peacefully watching from above, unbothered by the torments it was apparently bringing to the land. Now, the pressed rocks marked the corners of an abyss swallowing piles and piles of snakes.
“T-thats not gold?? Where’s the goddamn gold?!” Maria dared to shout, impatiently looking down and… catching a glimpse of glimmering yellow deep down in between the fallen snakes, which brought a grin to her face instantly.
“Now we’re talking!” However, the timid glow grew bigger and bigger, soon revealing to be huge golden scales coming up through the raindrops at a fast speed.
“Oh, shit.”
Finally, a giant golden serpent came out of the crux-shaped pit, throwing smaller snakes everywhere on its way up. It bared its huge sharp fangs to the stars, stretching its long, thick body as if waking up from a long, long slumber.
“And there it is. The ancient gold. Heh, I was completely right.” Gina crossed her arms in amusement, apparently seeing no issues with that outcome.
“Well, damn. That’s it for tonight. Pleiades, regroup!!!” Betara clapped her hands, calling the others to leave their positions and run away as fast as they were able to. It was hard enough to brave through the torrent of snakes piling up to follow their new leader, but the golden serpent surrounded the whole glade before they could reach the forest. Maria still tried to climb it, but its scales were too slippery and wet.
In a moment, all the snakes stopped moving and stared at the human group clumsily trapped between them and the golden serpent under the endless rain.
“All this circus to wake up an ancient god or something, Maria?” Luzia growled through teeth, finding the easiest target to blame.
“Thanks to your little smart ass friend. I would never have solved that dumb charade!”
“Heh. Of course not.” Gina was still nothing less than proud of herself. Atlas just sighed deeply.
“Can y’all behave, rotten ducks?” Betara stood firm on her feet, looking at the golden serpent in the eye. “She looks intelligent. If we’re lucky, we can negotiate.”
The serpent blinked its amber eyes, slowly tilting its head and staring at the quintet with attentive slit pupils. Its scales reflected the rain beautifully, creating glittering vibrant patterns across its golden thick body. Slithering close enough to puff warm breath on the group, its low hissing created notable vibration waves across the land.
They were past any differences now, all the group was able to do was to see their lives passing in front of their eyes for a moment suspended in time.
Abruptly, the serpent sprang forward and lifted the quintet off their feet onto its nose, forcing them to hold tight to escape a deadly fall. Faster than any reaction, it crossed the island unbothered by their screams, followed by the army of crawling snakes surrounding it.
Maria tried to stab its scales, but lost her balance and slipped through the giant body, rolling to the other side of the island like a lost rag doll. Luzia still tried to grab her hand, but failed and settled for just waving goodbye.
“Shit! Well, see you around, friend!”
There was no time for rescue efforts when her crew was taken on a frenetic ride to be dropped in the sea where the Pleiades was clumsily anchored. They quickly swam to the ship, climbing just in time to catch a huge wave created by the serpent splashing the water with the tip of her tail, expelling the invaders just like someone wipes their nose and throws away the tissue.
The Snake Island was left behind to the management of its inhabitants again.
The morning after brought a clear sky, a calm sea, and the smell of fresh sweet potato.
“It’s soooo good to be home!” Luzia feasted on the breakfast together with Atlas, both of them sharing an excellent mood. Betara was standing by the mast, chewing corn with a stern look.
“Next storm, I’ll lock you up in the basement, then you’ll learn how to take things seriously.”
“I doubt she ever will. Come on, it was entertaining.” Gina enjoyed her cup of tea, examining the Snake Island map encased in the glass.
“And you can’t even say we came out of the rain with empty hands.” “I guess... Maybe we did a good deed by releasing a giant golden serpent in the world. Well.. not our problem anymore.”
They smiled together at the huge golden scale stuck in the middle of the ship, understood as a silent courtesy gift.
“Yep, no doubt we did well. Now, who’s ready for a free-for-all week in Tortuga?” Betara clapped her hands under the immediate cheering of her companions.
“Yes, Captain!”
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Snake Island, Maria was enjoying a spider barbecue breakfast and talking to her new scaly audience.
“And that’s how I found the map that freed your mother. See? It was all thanks to me in the end. So, you know, not that I’m in a hurry, no, but… I hope she can show up again to give me a ride… since the storm busted my boat… ha ha… that would be stellar. Anyways… during my time in Madrid...”
Perhaps playing nice would guarantee her a golden scale too?