Other Fan Fiction ❯ The Treasure of Oritemp ❯ part I ( Chapter 1 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Search for the Treasure of Oritemp

It was an amazing sunrise. The sun's brilliance glistened off of the surface of the waves, casting a golden glow to the sky and clouds. It would be a beautiful day yet. The wind was pleasant, carrying a mist that brushed the side of the ship and dampened the deck. The sails held that breeze and pushed the ship along the calm waves toward its destination.

The captain walked the deck of his ship, inspecting the work of his crew from the night before they retired their hammocks. The captain was a young man of 20, with untidy black hair and an unshaven face. He was built a bit larger than the average man, but not much. His size, however, had enabled him to intimidate many a man in the past.

He had inherited this ship, The Crimson Maiden, from its previous captain before he had passed on. The Maiden had seen many years of sailing, and had endured many troublesome attacks, but she had always proved that she could carry on through the hardest times.

The crew had done a fair job at ensuring that the ship is in good health in this morning. The sails were at half canvas, causing the ship to go at a steady pace. The man at the helm had been there all night, ensuring that the ship had stayed on its course.

The captain walked up to the man, giving him a serious look. The man was rather old, but very able bodied. The man's long gray beard was tangled mess, as were his cloths; he had been in the brig the past night swabbing.

“All goes well, I hope,” the captain asked the tired old man. He kept his hands in his pockets as he spoke, as the breeze was cold this morning.

“Ay captain,” came him response. “We are still on course. By my reckoning, we should be there by this coming sundown.” The old man's eyes showed his age, as well as his experience and knowledge of the seas on which they sailed. He had traveled this route many times over his many years.

“Excellent. I want nothing to go wrong. We haven't had a good day of honest pirating in a long time,” the captain said, turning his gaze away from the old man and back to the sunrise.

“Ay captain.”

The captain walks over to the rail, leaning on his elbows and staring out at the shimmering sea. His eyes betrayed they calm happiness he felt. After so much planning, it was finally coming to pass. The treasure of Oritemp would finally be his.

“Sirius,” the old man said, now speaking more familiarly, “are you sure the treasure is there? I do not wish to doubt you, but I feel that the odds of it being in that town very unlikely.”

“It has to be… where else would it be? We've been all over these seas… It has to be there,” Sirius said, not taking his piercing stare off of the sunrise. “I mean… I've got this feeling! I feel that even if we don't find it there, we'll at least bring aboard something that will lead us to it. Today is the day we get at least one step closer to it!”

“I hope so, Captain…”

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The sun was getting higher up in the sky, causing the room to brighten. The tools all around the blacksmith sat on their shelves and racks, all ready and waiting for him to take them from their places and mold the fine metals and materials that also lay in waiting.

The room was cold this morning, but that would soon change when the fires were lit up. It would be another long day of work, the smithy suspected.

He knocked at the door of the small bedroom that was at the top of a small staircase. His young apprentice needed to be woken up to assist him in his duties.

“Hey, it's time to wake up now,” the blacksmith, Benson, said as he knocked.

There was some rustling heard on the other end before a female voice spoke up.

"I'll be out in a moment," it said.

There was a bit more rustling before a female, about the age of 17, came out of the room, her dark hair up in a braided pony tail.

"What will we be doing today?" she asked, her blue eyes trained on her Teacher's.

"We have a large order to fill. Many of the privateers brought us some of their bayonets to refinish and fix. It will take a good part of the day," her trainer says.

She nods and heads for the fires so she could start to heat them up some more and get them a bit larger.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," she says with a smile.

Though Blacksmithing wasn't considered 'woman's' work, she had decided to do it anyway, not much caring for the way women had to dress. She didn't get the point, why wear what was worn if you cannot breath?

Benson had gone to a fire as well and began hammering a small bayonet which had been blunted by many weeks and months of use. The soldiers were often out to sea, trying to control the pirate problem that had been becoming a problem as of late.

"Any news?" the girl asked, "I mean, I've heard around that we were at a threat for having a pirate attack. Is that true?"

"It is highly unlikely, but we can't rule out the possibility. I've been speaking with many of the privateers and they all tell me that they have it under control." her trainer responds, not looking up from his work.

Arianna, the apprentice, frowned and shook her head.

"I don't know Sir," she murmured, "There are some pretty tricky pirates out there."

"As I know, and they know as well. But there is no need to worry. I suspect that even if they did get here, we still have defenses here."

"Why here though? There is no treasure on this land."

"There are legends of a treasure on this land, but it is unlikely as well."

"I see," she murmured before working on a bayonet.

She was silent for some time as she worked, focusing solely on what she was doing. After awhile, she heard a loud noise and her head snapped up.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

"Probably a canon test," Benson, her trainer, says as he looks up from his work.

"It didn't sound like a test," she says, then the ground shook and some things fell of the tables.

Instinctively, she grabbed one of the many swords they had made and was about ready to head out the door, only for Benson to grab her arm.

"We're under attack Teacher!"

"You will stay here! I will go help the privateers," Benson says as he rushes out of the building.

"Benson!"

She sighed and leaned against a wall, waiting to see what would happen. When an hour passed and nothing came out of it, she took off her work clothes and changed into something a male would where before heading out. The streets were in utter chaos as people ran all about to get away from the pirates. Confused as hell as she walked around, she kept her hand close to the sword on her belt and tucked away her necklace, the only valuable thing to her name. She looked around and worked on avoiding pirates. She eventually runs into Benson as he was clashing with an older looking pirate.

She ran up to help, only to be grabbed from behind.

"Let go of me!" she snapped.

"A pretty one you are," the pirate says his face close to hers. "I think the captain will much like you."

She glared at the man and hit his head with her own, trying to make him let her go. The pirate let her go, holding his bleeding nose. She pulled out her sword and slid into a fighting stance.

"I may be a female but I'm not helpless like one!" she snapped.

Another pirate grabs her from behind and holds a pistol to her head.

"Don't do nothin' funny girlie," he says in a drunken raspy voice.

She froze, not out of fear, but out of knowing that he would pull the trigger.

"Freakin' pirates," she hissed.

Before the pirate could take her anywhere, he was stabbed from behind by Benson. She swiftly moved and killed the one with the bleeding nose.

"Thank you," she said

Benson grabs her by the wrist.

"I told you to wait at the armory!" he shouts.

"And leave you out here alone?! I think not!"

"You were almost killed! I'll not have that again! Go back!"

"Benson I can't!" she said, "It's either try to fight or be killed in the Smithy!"

Benson glares at her a moment before sighing. "Very well... But you stick by me, understand?" he says.

"I can't do that, what if you get distracted by trying to help me and someone runs you through?!"

As the two argued, a pirate came up behind Benson and knocked him out as a second grabbed Arianna from behind. She tried to fight against the pirate, only for him to put a gun to her head just as she was about ready to kick him in a not so happy place.

“Yes, the Captain will definitely like a prize such as yourself,” he murmured, his grip tightening on her arm.

“Let me go you dirty Pirate!” she snapped.

“A pirate I am, but dirty… I am not.”

Before she could stop him, he had her feet bound together and threw her over his shoulder. She tried to get out of his grip, only to be thrown into a cabin on the ship. Immediately, she knew that she was in the Captain's chambers and she didn't like it. She waited, bound and sitting on the bed as she leaned against the wall for what felt like hours until someone walked in. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she looked like she would have hit him if she could have. Arianna waited for him to say something about the fact that she dressed as a man, she was used to it and it would give her a chance to curse him out.

The man looks at her a long moment before walking up to her and untying her.

"My apologies miss. I told the men not to take on any captives, but guess they're just a rowdy bunch, eh?" he says, his unshaven face giving her a smile.

She glared at him and went to punch him in the face.

"Bring me back home this instant!" she snapped.

The man catches her arm and holds it behind her back before she could hit him. "What's the rush? We won't hurt you so long as you behave," he says.

"Like I want to stay on a ship full of males!" she growled, "I may be a female, but I'm not as stupid as the rest of them."

"I'm sorry to say that you don't have a choice, lass," the man says. "But if you cooperate, I promise that no harm will come to you... at least for now."

"At least for now... how the hell am I supposed to trust a scraggy pirate who obviously doesn't know what a razor is?"

By now she was furious and just wanted to punch him in the face; obviously she could not because he hadn't let her go.

 "Oh I know what a razor is. In fact, I'll use it to slit your throat if you don't cooperate," the captain says.

 She fell silent, though she still wanted to kick his ass and then beat him.

"Fine, just let me go... and I need a change of clothes."

       The captain lets her go and walks to his door. "I'll get you something, though we don't have any lady cloths."

      "Take a look at me and tell me if I care."

     The captain grins at her. "Perhaps you should go naked, lass. It may suit you better than a man's cloths," he says.

 Her eyes narrowed and she kicked him in the shin.

 "You are a vial and perverted man!" she snapped.

 The captain comforts his shin while he glares at her.

"I promise you that your stay will be very unpleasant just for that," he says.

  "I'm sure it's nothing I haven't dealt with before," she hissed.

 "Really? Than I assume that you have been with a man before? Cause I swear you'll be with quite a few by the end of the night."

  She blushed a bright red, because in truth, she hadn't been with any man before. She found she didn't like the thought of it either, though thanks to her blacksmith job, she was sure she could knock a few heads in if need be.

The captain smirks. "That's what I thought." He walks over to the door and slams the door shut.

   Arianna sits on a cot and puts her face in her hands, trying to figure out what she should do.

Maybe I can bargain with him... I don't like the thought of making weapons for these... pirates... but if it'll keep me untouched I guess I'll do it.

 After a few hours, shouting could be heard outside. The ship felt as though it had began to move.  She ran out of the room and ran for the edge of the deck, ready to jump off if she had to. Before she could do anything, the captain had her by the wrist.

   "Wouldn't recommend jumping, lass. These waters can be deadly," he says.

 She felt like screaming, but she held it back.

 "Well then, let me say this, if you don't want me to jump, you won't hand me to your men," she said, "And in return, I'll make your weapons."

The captain regarded her with a long look before nodding.

 "Very well, I will assure you that my men won't lay a hand on you," he says. "Now get back to my cabin. I suggest that you get some sleep. You will be hard at work tomorrow."

 She gave a short nod before wrenching out of his hold and going to his cabin. She didn't like the thought of sleeping in that man's bed, but she was tired, so she lies down and fell asleep. The captain came in late at night after his crew had gone to bed. He walks over to his bed to find her sleeping soundly. He lets out a snorting sound before going over to his desk and working on his maps. She shifted slightly when he came in, her hair draping over her face as she slept, only for her to wake up a moment later when he snorted. She watched as he walked over to his desk and watched him silently, wondering what he would look like if he wasn't so scraggly.

The captain was mumbling to himself. "It wasn't there... It was supposed to be there... We must have missed something... Something... A clue...." he says.

 She moved again and she silently cursed the moment her necklace made a noise, she didn't need him to know she was up. The captain looks over his shoulder at her, hearing her necklace.

"You awake lass?" he asks.

"Uh... yeah," she murmured in defeat, slowly sitting up and re-arranging her shirt, not caring that her necklace was hanging out.

She fiddled with it, using her finger to trace the pattern of the gold key and locket, the pattern so familiar yet always foreign to her.

"I'm a light sleeper," she admits, "What are you doing?"

"Working... Nothing a prisoner need concern herself with," the captain says.

 "Oh, so I'm nothing but a prisoner... Well then maybe I'll jump off the ship cause a prisoner has no value to a captain such as yourself.”

The captain sighs and looks over his shoulder at her.

"You are of great value to me. I need new weapons and you will make them. If I didn't think you were valuable, you wouldn't be using my bed. You'd be in the brig sleeping in a puddle," he says, his tone tired.

“Well then, since this is your bed I'm surprised you didn't just climb in. After all, you are the Captain and I'm sure you've had your fair share of women… probably in this bed too.”

She didn't know what possessed her to mouth off, though she had a sneaking suspicion it was because she hated being a captive to a pirate, let alone one who didn't shave or even try to keep up on his hygiene as far as she could tell. Arianna found herself wondering when the last time he bathed was. The captain snorts and turns back to his maps.

“If you knew how few women I've had in my bed these past few years, you'd laugh,” he says.

“Well there's a shocker,” she murmured to herself, turning on her side so her back was to him, “What are you looking for anyway?”

“It's none of your business.”

She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes.

“Fine… I figured… I could have helped even if it was only a bit,” she said.

And I was hoping I'd be able to get the hell out when you found it.

The captain gets to his feet and walks himself over to a small cabinet against the far wall, pulling out a bottle of brownish liquid and taking a long swig.

“So…I'll take a guess… it's the generic `looking for treasure' that you can't seem to find because you don't have the… key for lack of a better word,” she said, “And that's just going off of every other pirate around that's always been looking for treasure.”

The captain looks at her and takes another sip.

“There's a difference between me and other pirates. I know what I'm looking for; I just don't know where it is. Other pirates bumble around the seas, plundering any town or port that they can fit their puny little ships in,” he says, again taking a sip of the brownish liquid.

She turned and looked at him, her eyes glancing at the bottle before she sat up.

“So… you know what you are looking for, you just don't know where it is,” she said, “Do you know what you need to get to what you are looking for?”

By now, her eyes were trained on the bottle.

“I don't know what I need! I'm just looking for something, anything, to get me closer to it! I use every rumor and every word that gets spoken and I never get any closer!”

She just looked at him before getting up and approaching him slowly, taking the bottle from him and sitting down on his desk with it.

“What are you looking for?” she asked again.

The captain glares at her.

“Give that back to me,” he says.

She just looked at the bottle in her hands and frowned.

“Tell me what you are looking for,” she presses, curiosity getting the better of her as she sniffed the liquid before taking a small sip.

The captain takes the bottle from her as she was taking the sip.

“It's treasure, obviously,” he snaps. “But, it's much more than just a normal treasure. The stories say it is the treasure of God himself, never to be touched by mortal hands.”

Arianna wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and studies him.

“Alright… now… one more thing, what is your name?” she questions, “I think I have the right to know that.”

The captain doesn't look at her as he takes another long sip.

“Sirius,” he says, his words beginning to slur.

“Arianna... Aria for short,” she supplies before going back to the bed and lying down, “I'll start of your weapons tomorrow.”

She figured it safer to just go to bed if he was starting to get drunk, even in the slightest. Sirius falls into his chair and sits awake for the next hour, finishing the bottle before finally passing out. Aria woke up around dawn and stretched out, wondering if she could find any clothes she could borrow from him. He was asleep as she went into his closet, trying to find something that looked like it would fit her. As she was searching through his cloths that were scattered about, an old looking man came into the room and glares at her.

“What do you think you're doing?” he asks his tone a bit heated.

“What does it look like I'm doing?” she snaps, “I'm looking for clothes you dolt.”

The man grabs her by the wrist.

“The captain will have your throat slit if he caught you going through his belongings… If you need something, come with me,” the old man says, his tone losing its heat.

She glanced back at Sirius before nodding to the old man.

“Fine, but should one man lay a hand on me I'm going to break them,” she said.

The old man leads her to the deck and down to the crew's barracks. Most of the men were still asleep, but there were a few who were awake and cast lustful glances her way. She just glared at those men as she walked by them, her eyes portraying only a small level of pain that she promised they'd feel if they so much as breathed on her. After a bit of walking, they eventually made it to a separate room and the old man found her a pair of relatively new looking clothes.

“Thank you,” she says with a very small smile, though even that small gesture seemed to lighten up her features, “Once I am done changing, would you mind showing me to the smithy? Um… that is if you have an area that can be used as such.”

“We have no smithy. There is a small room in the brig that we have prepared for you, but no more,” the old man says. He walks over to his door and walks out, giving her privacy.

She changed and smiled at how well they fit her. After a minute or two, she left the room and looked around for the old man. Before she could find the old man, one of the other pirates, grabs her from behind and holds her to him.

“Hey there missy. Care te' have a little fun?” he says in a sort of grunt.

“How `bout ye let me go `fore I kick yer ass,” she hisses.

The man grunts again and grabs her hair, pulling back.

“Ya talk big fer such a little-” he was cut off when a loud bang came from behind him. The man fell to the floor, dead and Sirius was standing behind her with a smoking pistol.

Arianna looks at Sirius, a bit surprised at what he had done.

“Um… thank you,” she said, “I think…”

“I gave my word to keep them off of you, and that's what I'll do. Don't think I would have done it if I wasn't a man of my word,” Sirius says. The men in the barracks all stare at him, surprised.

“Well… you don't have to kill them… I'm capable of kicking their ass if need be.”

She offered a small bow of thanks before standing up and looking at him.

“So where am I to do my blacksmithing exactly?” she asked, “And do you have something I can tie my hair back with?”

“Grab a rag if you want to tie your hair. They're all over the place. Follow me to the brig. You will do your job down there,” he says walking off.

She sighed and settled for putting it in a quick braid without tying it off and followed him as she did so. She had to run to keep up with him when she fell behind. Sirius leads her down to the brig. The floors were soggy and covered in puddles and mold, as were the bars of the cells. She silently thanked God that she was wearing her boots as she stayed close behind him, not liking the smell.

“I don't think the dampness is ideal for the fires,” she said carefully, “Especially for how hot they need to get.”

“You could always make weapons in the barracks,” Sirius says, sounding a bit annoyed.

“That wouldn't bother me,” she said, “Seeing as they know what's going on and I can defend myself if need be. Well… as long as I have your permission.”

“Do what you will, but if you get yourself in a predicament, I won't always be there to baby sit you as you do your job.”

“I not only make my weapons, I train with them to,” she said, as if it explained everything, “But again, I thank you for offering and providing your protection.”

She gave him a shy smile. Sirius snorts and walks off, not saying a word.

“Men,” she mumbles to herself before going back to the barracks and starting to set up everything that she would need.

Many of the men were staring at her, but did not approach her due to what had happened to the last man who tried. The old man had come back to the barracks from the deck and began to give her help. She smiled at him and thanked him as he helped.

“Does Sirius not know how to react to people being nice to him?” she asks.

“The boy was born on this ship and hasn't lived among a real society. And us being pirates… it's hard to have real morals,” the old man says.

“Well… maybe… I guess I could be kinder to him. I don't… I'm uncomfortable around so many men and I don't know about the mother situation with him, but he looks like he could use a friend.”

“His mother is dead. Killed when we had an encounter with another ship, she was hit by the debris when a cannonball hit our hull.”

“Is that why he doesn't get close to anyone or is he just like that… and what exactly does he look like without… I don't know the scraggliness.”

“He's a young man of twenty… under it all, no matter how much he masks it, he wants to be away from all of this.”

She finally had the fire hot enough and started to heat some metal.

“He won't except help?” she asks.

“He feels he doesn't need it,” the old man says.

Arianna was silent as she watched the metal, then pulled it out and started to work with it, taking a hammer and working it into the shape she wanted.

“I think I'm starting to rethink my view on him,” she admitted, “And I also guess this shows why he actually offered his bed without climbing into it himself and trying anything. I… Is it bad that now I want to help him?”

“I would recommend that you don't waste your time. He seems beyond the reach of us. He's in his own little world, it seems.” The old man kindles the fire a bit to keep it going.

“Beyond your reach maybe, but I'm going to try and that's it. He doesn't spare me a glance as far as I know, but I want to… even if it is a waste of my time.”

The old man looks at her curiously.

“You are odd… perhaps he saw something in you… and that's why you're alive right now,” he states.

“Maybe…”

She fell silent once more and started to work even faster, the blade long and not to thick or thin. As she worked, she added a design into the blade before she finished, not stopping for any food. By then, she was on the hilt and was finally attaching the two.

Several hours passed and all the men had all filed out of the barracks and were working on the deck above, shouting orders to one another. Arianna was oblivious to what was going on above her until about an hour before dinner and she had finished the first sword. She took a peace of cloth and wrapped it around the sword after checking the balance. She went up to the deck and tried to find Sirius. He was up near the wheel, shouting his orders to a couple of men who were up on mast, tying off a sail that had come loose. She ran up to him, her face slightly darker from soot and sweat was shining on her brow.

“Excuse me Sirius,” she said, “This is for you.”

She extended the wrapped sword out to him, hoping for his approval. Sirius took the sword from her and looked it over for a brief moment before nodding.

“Impressive,” he says. “I expect more of these. I also expect you to melt the excess steel into additional shots for the pistols.”

“Understood… but… that specific sword I will not replicate… it's for you and you alone.”

She offered him a smile before running back down to the barracks, ignoring the loud grumble her stomach let out. Sirius looks a little confused as he holds the sword. What is she doing? He thinks to himself as he ties the sword to his belt. Arianna was hard at work as the men started to file in for the night, having lost track of time and she was in the middle of making her third sword. The old man was the last one to enter. He looked tired from the long day, as did the rest of the crew. Seeing her, he walks over to her.

“Everyone is turning in. You should as well,” he says tiredly.

She looked up, seemingly startled, but she nods her head and douses the fires after she made sure that her blade was done.

“Thank you,” she said before leaving the room and heading toward the deck.

The moment the cool air hit her, she felt dizzy and she gripped onto the side of the ship, trying not to faint. Before she fell over, Sirius caught her by the arm.

“Tired lass?” he asks, sounding surprisingly awake.

“No,” she replies, “Hungry I guess… My teacher always told me that if no one made sure I ate, I'd starve myself to death.”

Once she was done speaking, her stomach growled loudly. Sirius let out a loud sigh.

“Come on, I'll have the cook make you something,” he says, walking to the dinner hall.

She followed him, using the wall for support, only to collapse into a chair and rest her head on the table.

“Is there any place I can bathe?” she asks.

“Yeah, at the next port, which is days away,” Sirius says, taking a seat across from her, after telling the cook to heat up some of what was left from dinner.

She was looking at where he tied his sword and she smiled slightly.

“I'm glad you like your sword,” She murmured.

Sirius looks down to the sword and then back up to her.

“It's better than my old one,” he says. “But… tell me why you made a sword for just me.”

“Honestly? Because I wanted to… as a captain I thought you deserved something for just you that no one else would have.”

Sirius snorts a laugh.

“The only thing I want that no one else has is the treasure I'm after. A sword is a weapon. In the end, they all look the same covered in blood,” he says.

For some odd reason, Arianna felt hurt by that aspect and she looked away.

“Yeah… I guess you're right,” she said, her hands clutched together in her lap, “I guess it means nothing to have something you can call your own…. Not to you at least.”

She stood up and left the dinning hall, not really caring about the fact that she hadn't eaten yet. Sirius grumbles to himself as the cook sets the food down.

“She's a bold one, captain,” the cook says.

“She's annoying and stuck up!” Sirius nearly shouts. “I can't stand her. She does nothing but ask questions!”

“Maybe you should listen to her captain.”

Sirius glares at the man before turning to the food.

“Maybe I should…” he says mostly to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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