A Trek of A Storyteller

Ch.11: The Pirate

He walked miles of highway, only stopping to wrap his broken and reformed blisters in more cloth. His feet ached and he was beginning to give up when he finally made it to a break in the road that did not lead to private property and took the turn. He came upon a gravel road and walked it for many miles. 'Woodshop on The Bluff' the sign read on a strange building off of the gravel road.

Skylos tilted his head curiously at the building and knocked on the door. A large man answered the door with hefty arms and a solid build, a large red beard accompanying his tangled mane of hair with an eyepatch over his eye with a long scar through the middle and down his cheek, disappearing into his beard and leaving the other eye, a shocking green, to stare the boy down. He looked nothing less than a pirate, or perhaps even a viking and Skylos shrunk before him, gripping his satchel strap nervously.

"Good afternoon, sir," he managed to say. This time it was the man's turn to tilt his head with confusion. "I do not mean to bother you, but I was hoping you would be able to offer me a job, or perhaps show me a recommendation for somewhere I may find one," he spoke quickly.

"Come inta te light, lad," was all the man said, and indeed his voice was as gruff as his exterior with a slight almost-Irish accent. He held a kind sort of feel though and the boy stepped back from the overhang of the shop into the sunlight. "Jesus," was all the man said, running a hand through his untamed hair. The man, without saying anything else, waved the boy inside and lumbered away from the doorway himself.

Skylos walked in to find a warm room with a fire going despite the already warm temperature outside. There were furs hanging from the walls and all the furniture was made out of fine wood. There was a table with two chairs in the middle, on the top of a bearskin rug. Skylos leaned his guitar against the wall.

"Sit," the man instructed. Skylos nodded silently and sat at one of the chairs, slipping off his muddy boots and hanging his satchel on the back of the chair before stepping on the rug. "I know t'ain't much, but I figured ye might need a meal," he said, placing a large plate of bread and meat and rice and beans in front of him. The boy watched the man carefully as he pulled up the chair across from him and sat, gesturing for Skylos to eat. Skylos nodded and picked up the fork, eating politely despite the taste of real food filling his mouth and empty stomach.

"Thank you, sir," Skylos said between mouthfuls. The man just nodded and clasped his hands before him, elbows leaning on the table to reveal strong forearms. He was wearing rough and dirty jeans, complete with a dusty and stained black t-shirt that looked to be a size too small and barely covered the muscles that riddled the man's torso. Rather uneventful, but still comforting to the boy.

"'Course," the man shrugged. "I don't think I properly introduced meself," the man said abruptly and Skylos noticed the odd way the man talked, as though he too were not quite familiar with modern dialect. "Me name's Jack," he stuck out a large, strong hand and the boy paused his meal to place his smaller, much softer hand in Jack's, careful to hide the curled, branded S upon his wrist. His hand still had the bloodstained cloth on his palm, though it was rather dirty from the days he had spent without washing it and Jack studied it for a moment. "An' ye are?" Jack asked. Skylos froze, afraid to speak.

"Nobody worth remembering, sir," he said with a strained smile, heart rate raising.

"Pleasure ta make yer acquaintance," Jack nodded. Skylos took a deep breath and quickly finished his meal. His stomach still begged for more but he ignored it and instead sat quietly, eyes wide with warning. "Would ye like another?" Jack asked, already picking up the plate.

"Oh," Skylos faltered, unsure of how to proceed. He'd never been a guest before. "Yes sir, that would be rather enjoyable, I think," he said quickly with a kind smile. Jack smiled peculiarly from beneath his beard.

"Sir," Jack repeated. "Not much of a sir, I am. Got quite te tongue on ye, eh?" he chuckled. Skylos smiled sheepishly. "Where ye be from, lad?" He sat down and placed the plate in front of Skylos once again, watching with a smile as the boy immediately picked up his fork.

"Nowhere, si- er... Jack," Skylos said. "I come from a land not worth remembering," he added. Jack nodded thoughtfully.

"I s'pose that Storyteller mark o' yers ain't worth askin' about," Jack said, his tone cautious. Skylos froze again. "Not like I would want ta hurt a feller te likes o' me," Jack revealed his own curled S with a turn of his wrist. The boy reached out carefully and traced the S that was nearly identical to his own. "I saw once ye stepped in te light," Jack chuckled. "How old be ye, lad?" he asked next.

"I don't know," the boy responded shamefully, avoiding Jack's eyes.

"Ye look ta be about fifteen. A small fifteen but ye talk smart an' ye sure are lean," Jack said thoughtfully, almost immediately after Skylos stopped talking, much to the boy's content.

"Fifteen," Skylos said, thinking it over. He nodded decidedly and looked up to Jack with a small smile decorating his lips. "I am fifteen then," he said. Jack grinned widely.

"'Twas about te age I was when I took ta te seas," he spoke wistfully. There was a short pause, a moment of silence.

"I do not mean to be rude, however I cannot help but wonder... Are you a pirate?" Skylos queried, breaking the silence, and the stone-faced, serious look on the boy's face made Jack laugh until his eyes shed tears and his face turned red, leaving the boy with a rueful look.

"No, not anymore, me lad. Me father was, 'twas on his boat I escaped 'ere many years ago. No one believes a story te likes o' that no more. I am older than I look, lad. 'Tis only this beard that covers me age," Jack chortled through his story. "Long journey, that. I took up residence with a strange man once me father died. Left me with scars inside and out, if ye know me meaning," Jack said sadly.

"Was he rather thin and gaunt with long hair, grey eyes that never smiled and large ruby rings?" Skylos asked immediately. Jack's brow furrowed as he thought. "Did he have a long cane with a snake's head?" he added. Jack's face lit up.

"Aye, that be te man! Yer familiar wit' 'im I take it," he gave a pitying look. Skylos nodded. "Barely escaped wi' me hide," Jack said, shaking his head bitterly.

"Yes," the boy agreed sadly. He could sense the poignant air and longed to change the subject, but lingered on it still for only a moment. "How did you escape, Jack?" he asked softly.

"Ah, well, 'tis a long story, that," Jack said, leaning back to rest his hands on his stomach comfortably. "'Ave ye got much time, lad?" he asked and Skylos nearly laughed at the question.

"All the time in the world, sir," he replied with a kind smile. Jack returned it and began his woven tale with words as smooth as honey, and indeed, the boy found himself immersed. He was not used to hearing stories himself, only telling them.