HoloPirates: A Tale of Adventure

Investigation

As I laid down in the cot, I heard the door to the Bay open, and when I looked, expecting to see Marine, I was surprised to see Noel walk in, her face sporting a deep shade of red.
"Whats wrong?" Amelia asked.
"Its just Jansen." She said, then leaned against the workstation that Amelia was using for brewing potions.
"Are you guys arguing again?" I asked, and that seemed to get her attention as she gave me a sheepish look.
"Yes we are." She said. "It was about nothing, really."
She gave Amelia a shameful look, then spoke in a hushed tone that was inaudible to me, then, after just a moment, she turned, and without another word, disappeared out of the door to the Galley.
"What was that all about?"
"Just her and Jansen." She said, rifling through some books on her shelves.
She stopped what she was doing, then turned to me just as the ship rocked from a wave, almost throwing one of the potion bottles off of the workstation as the ship slammed back down in the water. When I looked up at Amelia, she was giving me a thoughtful look, as if a storm of thoughts was brewing around in her head.
"Do you think, maybe, the reason that her and Jansen are always arguing is because they have a thing going on?" She asked.
"You mean, they like each other?" I said.
"It would make sense, wouldn't it?" She replied. "They fight constantly, and yet, they always go back to talking to each other. And on top of that, when I saw them, I saw that their personalities clicked."
"Okay wait, that doesn't make any sense." I said. "So, they fight constantly, and yet, they 'clicked'?"
"Yeah, I mean their personalities clicked." She said, interlacing her fingers as she said that.
I thought on that, and now that it came to my mind, Jansen had been spending quite a bit of time chatting with Noel. Still, the idea of them doing that together made me cringe.
"Ewww no." I said, just as the door to the bay opened up and Marine came inside.
"Amelia, did you fix Micheal?"
"Yeah I fixed him." She said. "He's a big baby too."
"Oh I'd imagine." Marine responded, giving me a funny look. "And what about the girl in the mask?"
"I repaired both her larynx and the trachea, since she was also seeming to have some problems with breathing, and I sent her to bed in the hold. She should be okay given enough rest."
"So she just needs to sleep?"
"Yeah, just let her sleep. She should be okay."
"Aye. Thank you Amelia." She said, then reached into the pocket in her skirt. "So, I need your help with something. Micheal and I found this in the shipwreck, and while we can't tell exactly what it is, I do know that its an artifact of some kind."
She held out the emerald shark tooth to her, and Amelia's expression grew into one of curiosity. She took the monocle off of her head, then hung it over her eye and took a look at the tooth.
"I've never seen markings like this before." She said, turning the tooth over in front of the monocle. "But it looks almost like a....beacon of some sort. I don't understand...."
Her voice trailed off as she looked it over, then she put the monocle back on her head and handed the emerald tooth back to Marine.
"There's machinery on the inside, only visible to the monocle, so its shrouded by magic. Perhaps when we go through the Rift it will activate, so keep it close at hand when we go through."
"Aye, good idea." She replied. "Micheal, when you're done up here, the Storyteller wants to meet you in the hold. I don't know what for, but he needs to talk to you."
"Alright, I'll go see him. Am I good to walk, Amelia?"
"Huh? Yeah, you can walk on the leg, just don't do anything stupid."
"Alright then."
I got up from the cot, testing my weight, and the bandage held well, keeping me from reopening the injury or causing even more damage. I walked up to the door to the Galley, then grabbed the door and forced it open, keeping my foot out of the way so that it didn't hit by accident. I got out of the Bay, then went down the second flight of stairs down to the hold below, and I weaved in and out of the bunks and around all of the barrels and boxes, looking for the Storyteller. Finally, at the very front of the hold, the closest to the bow, I found him sitting amidst a pile of cannonballs, staring at the floor blankly.
"Hey man, you wanted to talk to me?"
He looked up, and the blank expression that he wore softened up a bit, replaced by a look of relief.
"Ah, its just you." He said, then pointed to a beam that ran across the width of the hold. "Sit, please."
I sat down on the beam, then interlaced my fingers and looked up at him.
"Whats up man?"
"Its about what happened a few nights ago." He said. "I had my first dream in who knows how long."
I gave him a weird look.
"I mean, is that a bad thing?"
"No, not at all. It was really good actually."
"Well, uhh, what was the dream?" I asked, not truly knowing what to say.
"Well, I was riding on waves. Okay, I know this sounds dumb, but there is a point to this, trust me."
"Okay, so you were riding on waves?"
"Yeah, I didn't have a boat. I was just running on the water." He said, his eyes getting a dreamy look to them. "But the point of this, Micheal, is that I want to say thank you."
"I mean, you're welcome, but for what exactly?"
"Well, truthfully, when I became the Storyteller, I slowly forgot what it meant to be....human. I've been the Storyteller so long, I've completely forgotten that people have lives. People like Marine, Botan, Noel, and Jansen. And now the girl with the mask and Amelia. All of them have lives, and truthfully, I had completely forgotten how that feels. And you, Micheal. You've proven that the most to me. You're so much more human than I am, but slowly, I am remembering what that was like. Thank you very much, Micheal."
"No problem man." I said. "And I am really glad that you found that again. But what was it like before becoming the Storyteller? Do you remember anymore than you already told me?"
"Not really." He said. "Again, its all lost up here."
He gestured to his head, then put his hands back down.
"But, for moments, especially in danger, like the fortress, I feel alive. And I want to thank you for suggesting for me to come along with you."
"Sure thing man." I said, then got up from the frame. "Ready to go back on the deck yet?"
"Actually, Amelia told me to keep a watch over her." He said, pointing to one of the cots.
When I looked over, there lay the girl with the mask, still wearing it over her face as she slept peacefully.
"Just to make sure nothing horrible happens." He said.
"I get that." I said. "Alright, I'm heading up. See ya later man."
"See ya. Thanks for listening."
I shook his hand, then walked over to the stairs that led up to the decks above.