Dead Men Tell No Tales

he wind was chilly in these northern forests. Snowflakes danced around the head of the pirate while he hid in the thicket. His horse snorted softly, knowing that it had to be silent. The pirate shivered, not being used to the northern climate. He cursed the weather and that he had to sit here in the cold, waiting for hours. But his mission was of utmost importance. The frigging Virtue Village had sent out a messenger to Britain to validate the authenticity of the Hose of Pike documents.
Suddenly the pirate froze in his saddle. He had heard the sound of hooves...

Through the dense branches of the trees he could see Urien U'Athach riding through the silent woods. He had bowed his head, sunken in thoughts. The moment of surprise was here! Silently the pirate sneaked up behind the messenger, having a purple potion ready in his fist. The cracking and the fireball of the explosion nearly knocked Urien out. His ears were ringing as the pirate hit him with his kryss. As of a sudden Urien felt sick and his vision blurred. The bandit had poisoned him! After a short desperate fight and attempt to fly, Urien was not able to move anymore. His arm was bleeding badly.

The pirate tied his arms together, ignoring the pain Urien felt. Then he came up beside him and eyed him with a wicked grin. "Ye gots somethin' I want, matey!" he explained. "I shall spare ye, if ye give it ta me voluntarily." With these words the pirate dragged Urien behind him to the nearby shore, where his ship anchored.

Quickly he tied Urien to the mast and commanded his tillerman to rise the anchor. Urien slowly recovered, the poison seemed to be wearing off. They sailed across the northern sea, the cold winds turning the sea into a churning pot of water and snow, mingling it with the cloudy sky on the invisible horizon. The chilly spray soon had soaked the two travellers, a fact which did not make the trip any more comfortable.

Hawkeye searched his backpack for the sea map he had drawn. Strange! It was not there. Maybe he had forgotten it at home. However, he would find the route to his destination without it.

An hour later, the water became more calm like it is in bays which are protected from the high waves of the open ocean. They reached a tiny isle where the pirate dropped anchor. Urien was pushed off the boat, together with his horse.
"What is it you want from me?" Urien asked.
"Think! Harhar. Wut would it be? Hand me out dis letter!" the pirate demanded.
With a hanging head Urien extracted a parchment from under his coat. The pirate grabbed it quickly, and threw some fish steaks on the ground. "When ye run out of fish steaks, eat yer horse!"
"That won't last long," Urien explained desperately.
"Well, dead men tell no tales."

"Ye will have a lot of time thinkin' 'bout da friggin' Virtues! And don't try ta swim! Shore is far and dere are many sea serpents around, just lookin' fer a gud dinner!" He laughed and entered his boat. After a minute all evidence about the pirate was but a small sail disappearing on the far horizon. And a sea map somewhere in the northern woods...

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