Emerson's machete made a faint humming noise as he swung it time after time, cutting a path through the dense undergrowth. The sound of thwack, thwack, thwack was a steady drumbeat by which the crew of the Cutlass marched.The ground beneath the pirates was getting soggy, a sure sign that they were near some sort of water source, but it hadn't done anything to improve Iale's mood.

"Yechh," she said, pulling her boot up out of the mud with a wet schloock sound. "Me best boots."

"But yer boots is all the same," protested Harry Tibbs, who had somehow become tentative friends with the diminutive First Mate, despite his intellectual pool being a bit on the shallow side.

"S'a figure of speech, y' great dumb mountain of a man," said Iale crossly.

"No, I'm fairly sure it isn't," said Lucius, nose upturned and a distasteful look on his face as he pulled his best boots out of the muck. "But I concur with your implication. This is disgusting."

The thwacking stopped. "Quiet," announced Emerson from the front. "Lacey, I think we're here."

He drew back a curtain of vines to reveal open sky, and a vast valley spread out before them. The lagoon was flat, placid and enormous, surrounded by weeping trees, interrupted only by enormous rocks, and surrounded on both sides by jungle mountain ranges. It was misty, but the sky was clear; they could see a dark, star-lit sky above them, reflected in the crystal water below.

"It's byootiful," said Cryin' Jim Jaffordey, his mouth hanging open. The crew, tough as nails as they were, had to nod in agreement. Even Iale rubbed her eyes with tiny fists, amazed at the sight before her. "Cor," she said, "that's a sight, indeed."

"Wait a moment," said Slip Veriniece, the only person who seemed unimpressed by the lagoon. "Wasn't it morning?"

"Arrr, twas high noon an hour ago," said Noggin Defoe. "I think."

The crew turned to look at Double Sum Sam, whose brain was practically a glorified, squishy calculator. He blinked, trying to turn on the math machine that was his thought process, but after a moment he looked helplessly at the crew and shrugged.

Then, Winnie Loco nervously asked a question that chilled them all to the bone.

"Where's the moon?"

Lacey walked behind the rest of them, arm around the mugrobi cook, green eyes void of usual mischief. She practically supported the weak, shadow of a woman. Concern tainted her features, along with exhaustion and disgust. Her boots sank into the mud and she couldn't help but growl. They were not easy boots to find. Tailor made. Ugh.



Pulling up with the rest of them, she stopped, looking in awe. It was so..beautiful..in an eerie, unwelcoming way. Goosebumps rose unbidden on her skin and she frowned.



Lacey looked towards Double Sum Sam with the rest of them.



The blonde piratess thumbed her pistol. holding Noe tighter. Without looking at Emerson, she spoke.

"Whare now ye bastard? Was this in yer clockin' description? Did ye see it on the map?! What wraiths den have ye led us into?"

Noe's breath came a little harder as they waded through the strange land, and it had nothing to do with exertion. This place was cursed. Her bones screamed it, as they had for days. Her blood was thick with her own poisonous fear. Without Lacey, she wouldn't have taken another step. But with the older woman's green eyes promising protection, Noe couldn't say no.

Step haunted by the sound of her mother's voice, Noe listened to the conversation with growing terror. Leaning into Lacey, she closed her eyes as they exclaimed. There was no moon. It was only just noon. They were slowly feeling the utter despair their cook felt, she thought. But it was too late, all too late.

"We should never have come here." Opening her eyes, she tried to convey her fear to Emerson through her gaze. "I know nothing of this. This is strange and bad." She batted back tears. No one listened to her. This was a place abandoned by the gods themselves.

There is no moon.

Iale stepped forward from the forest, nose twitching and a hand on her pistol.

"Seems to me that there ain't a cloud in the sky to obscure't," she said, looking upward and sniffing disdainfully. "This is the wild and weird, right here. Any ideas, Emerson, me old paint? Or do I have to drown ye in this here lagoon for bein' fool enough to doom us all?"

Emerson coughed nervously.

"It's only a moon," he said, trying to sound undisturbed. "It's probably some sort of lunar eclipse or something. You're all being silly."

"The stars are all wonky," said Winnie, with his annoying knack for pointing out terrifying facts.

"Look, it's some sort of magic, I don't know," said Emerson, aggravated.

He immediately backed away towards Iale as the crowd of pirates began hissing and yelling. "Magic?" "Ye never said a word 'bout no voo, Emerson!" "Vodundun, is what it is! The world's gone awry!" "Cursed and weird, this island is!"

"Calm the clock down," snapped Slip Veriniece. "We ain't scared little babies, swaddled in our crib an' cryin'. We're warriors." She lifted her scimitar. "Aye?"

"Aye," came the hesitant, disgruntled reply.
"We came here to get us a worthy treasure, did we not?"
"Aye...."
"We're going to clockin' well get it, then, ain't we?"
"Aye, but..."
"No buts!" she cried, thwacking Jim with the side of her sword. He howled.

Noe stared at the assembled men, her limbs gaining the strength to disentangle her from Lacey and stand, aghast, at the other crewmembers. "Warriors? Warriors! Do you think the gods care for your blade or your gun? This is no mans land!" Livid with anger and frustration, it was apparent something in the small cook had snapped. She pointed to the sky, stepping forward herself to beseech her former associates. "The stars, no moon, only noon. You said it yourself. This place is not right!"
It was sad, too; if this had been any other place than the cursed isle, she would have loved the lagoon and the strangeness of it all.

She looked fully to Emerson then, her tribal heart being loudly in her ears as she turned her welling sea-colored eyes on the strange man. "You said nothing of curses or magic or moonless seas, Mr. Emerson. I know why you deceived us, but not what made it so worth the lies." She Stiffened, coming to a hypocritical resolution of steel from behind her soft pretty face.

"You betrayed trust, and though I was unsuccessful, to I rushed to save your life. I regret nothing, but..." Her lower lip quivered, and a rose color deepened on her chocolate cheeks. "But I wish you would remember these things when risking our lives, Mr. Emerson." Noe crumpled then, the fire of fear that had stoked her finally dying. Wrapping her arms about herself, she hung her head. I-- we are doomed. It was written in her stance, even as her shadowed eyes gazed on the water with sullen interest.

Emerson raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed with Noe's emotional reaction. Even the rest of the crew seemed a bit taken aback, not having the shared cultural knowledge of the island; they saw only a woman who was, very clearly and obvious, not a pirate.

"Well, cor, it ain't that scary," said Cryin' Jim.

The others nodded. Lucius stepped up to Noe, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, madam, you'll work yourself into hysterics," he said.

"Now hang on," said Emerson hotly. "I never deceived anyone. I don't believe in magic land or spirits or any of that nonsense. Land can't be cursed. Vroo are behind this, and they're only men, like us. They can be defeated with steel."

He drew his blade, which was...actually a little impressive, a large and battleworn thing that surprised most of the pirates, given that Emerson had shown no outward signs of toughness before.

"It's not gods we're dealing with here," he said, "but Drain trickery. They've done some magic and are trying to scare us away from our payload. We must be close. We've got to be on our guard in case of an ambush. You lot know your way around swords and pistols, I wager?"

This seemed to perk up a few of the Cutlass crew, who had been too long at sea without a proper fight. Slip in particular looked as though her day had just gotten an inch brighter. "Aye," they replied, still hesitant but not as angry as they had been a moment before.

Lacey stepped up behind Noe as she spoke, knowing full well the girls hysteria was founded in her own mind. And that made it founded in Laceys.



Stepping forward, between the man and the mugrobi, thumbing her sword, Lacey waved him off. Noe, she would deal with. The girl didn't need clocking pirates feeling pity for her.



Listening to the man peptalk to her crew, the blonde pirate wasn't quite so convinced. If it was vroo, how did Noe know about it from her history? How old were the 'men' keeping up the night-illusion? She waited till the 'aye's' had silenced.

"An' whare now? Through the water?" She gestured with her chin. A lot of other choice words swam through her head, but she didn't want to say them and return the fear to the crew. In her mind, she didn't believe Emersons excuses for a moment. But, a jittery crew would be useless.

Emerson, meanwhile, had approached the edge of the water and was leaning over, looking in. His eyebrows furrowed. He looked like he was on the verge of figuring something out.



The man's eyes grew wide.

"Believe it or not," he said, "I think that's partially right."

Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the edge and into the water. Well, almost into. His foot didn't sink in more than a few inches. At first the crew eyed him warily, wondering why he was wading into the shallow water, but he stepped forward a few more steps and managed to remain on the same level.

Emerson looked queasy. "Oh, clocks, this is not right," he said, looking down at his boots and swallowing. "Lacey, you've got to see this. It's like looking down on nothing. But it's solid." He looked like he didn't know where to look; looking up at the sky made him feel odd, but looking down at the nothingness below his feet made him feel worse.

Watching the man step out onto the water, Lacey frowned when he didn't sink, even as he walked further. She thumbed her weapons again, uneasy, shooting Iale a glance.



Walking towards him cautiously, she gently placed a foot on the water, testing it. Swallowing, she stepped again, slowly walking out to where the man stood. Exhaling a shuddery breath, she held her hands out like she was balancing on thin ice.

"Clocking hell. GodsbedamnedclockinghellonVita." She breathed, looking into the emptiness under her. Wide green eyes focusing on Emerson, she put on a brave grin.

"At least its better than sinking knee deep into mud."

Johanes, having been previously busying himself by running into things, was distracted by the solid water. He waked out onto it immediately, first tapping with his boots to see how far down he could get his feet. He then placed a hand down and pressed. He tried to get up again but all the walking and throwing about had taken its toll on the old man. He decided to lie down instead.

"Young Cook," Johanes said to Noe, "I think we're in purgatory, if there is such a place."

He sighed, world worn and weary. He seemed less batshit insane in this place than had seemed outside. The lines on his face rearranged into something much more personable.

"Emerson, Emerson, Emerson." He mused, sounding like an ordinary old man. "You take us to the strangest lands."

Emerson was looking a bit more nervous than before, but he steeled himself and set his jaw.

"Whatever's going on here," he said to no one in particular, "it's nothing that can't be explained by logical, rational science. Just remember that."

"Right," said Iale, who wasn't the type to go in for legends or superstition, but who was feeling downright queasy about the whole situation. Gingerly, she stepped onto the water, and shuddered when she saw nothing below her boots but more water. "Cap'n, I think we'd best be findin' that there treasure an' high-tailin' it out of here like our clockin' lives depend on it. Don't plan to spend a minute more than I has to in this hell-hole."

The rest of the crew shuffled onto the water. Staying in a group seemed to be the best option. Slip, who had become somewhat fond of Johanes over the last few days, put a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Ent no such place," she said quietly. "Don't go scarin' the crew. Or yerself."

"Let's press on towards the center," said Emerson, who seemed to have spotted something in the distance. He sheathed his telescope. "There's a cave on the rock face, on that island over there."

"Too old to be afraid, my love." Johanes said wearily. "Much too old for that."

Johanes propped himself up arthritically, not seeming as spry as he had outside. He tried to stand but found he couldn't. The material beneath his feet wasn't sturdy enough and he lacked sufficient leverage.

"Would you mind giving an old man a hand up?" He asked, looking towards the rock face Emerson had mentioned. "I'm entirely sure this is rational, I'm just not sure it's anythin' t'do with science."

Johanes patted his beard and looked at Slip conspiratorially, "it's golden, you know."

Lacey managed a grin, albeit a strained one, jumping on the chance to have a dig at the dwarf.

"Arr DuPont, I thought ye were a braver soul than that! Chin up mateys, an' I mean that. Just don't look down, its not so bad then."



The blonde nodded, gesturing the others on, looking back at Noe.

"Come on love, I aint leavin' ye here by yerself." She reached out an encouraging hand to the mugrobi girl, ready to carry her if it came to that.

The crew set off across the water, some members having more difficulty than others. Jim in particular seemed frightened out of his wits, but kept it together in a way that made it obvious he was straining every bravery muscle in his body. He kept glancing over at Lacey, almost as though he wanted her approval for being so brave.

Iale made a pact with herself not to look down at the water, and forged ahead, her tiny legs keeping pace with the others and sending up more splashes onto Emerson's pant legs than were strictly necessary. He ignored her, his eyes trained on the rock face.

It took almost twenty minutes to reach their destination. The cave was not immediately visible, but became more and more apparent as they drew closer. It was the most unnatural looking cave they had ever seen. Most caves were low and shallow, or cavernous and jagged, but this cave looked as though it had been carved with some sort of clawed machine at a conveniently human height.

Emerson peered into the blackness, hefting a lantern and squinting.

"I'll go first," he offered.

"Damn clockin' straight ye will," muttered Iale.

He placed his boot on the rock and lifted himself into the mouth. Inside, it was freezing cold, and the ceiling was dripping. In the light from his lantern, the others could see the gloomy, moss-slicked rock walls of an inhospitably craggy but still navigable cave. They could see Emerson shiver and pull his cloak over his head.

"This reminds me o' that time we was chasin' the Rat-tail Bandit across the mountains o' Hox," said Noggin, who never forgot anything and had once been an aeroship pilot. "He kipped in a cave just like this. This rock don't look native to the area, does it?"

"It's a bloody rock," said Slip sarcastically, not the intellectual type. "They're all the same, ain't they?"

Noe just looked down at the strange man, and with a sigh nodded. Things were looking bleaker and bleaker. The dark girl was reminded of her last nights in the city of Thul Ka, the despair and utter finality of life. Yet she had managed to get out there with some ingenuity and courage. In this… she would be no different.

After her many days of terror, Noe attempted to pull herself together. She was a useless piece of girlflesh if she didn’t at least try.


Struggling to stand, she clasped Lacey’s hand in a gesture that was as much reluctance as acceptance. Although still terrified, she would do her best, and her sea-like eyes shimmered with resolve. “Aye, cap’n. I can do this, so long as you are there to keep me.” It was very sweet and high, and Noe felt her weaknesses showing. Yet she didn’t care; Lacey was her protector, her lover, her captain. She would follow the green-eyed woman into hell, if only led by the hand.

The hidden cave made the girl start, and Noe clung quietly to Lacey’s side, trying to stem the cries that threatened. The crew already thought of her as a stupid, silly girl. Maybe she was. But the gods of her father, her mothers own secret tales, couldn’t leave her now. With a small mewl, she turned her head. Emerson was the leader now, and Noe could only pray he was right.

Lacey held Noe's hand tightly as they walked, unwilling to let the girl out of her immediate touching range. She saw Jim's little looks and with a sympathetic nod, she continued on. As they closed in on the cave, she frowned. Noggin was right. It didn't seem...right.



The blonde shook her head.

"Different rocks fer different regions ye git. Aint ye seen limestone from Mugroba? It certainly doesn't look like this." She kicked the rock soundly. Looking up at Emerson, she thumbed her pistol.

"Inside then? Is it a cave or does it go further back?"

"It...goes...down," he said, scratching his head and lifting his lamp. "There's an incline here, and I can't see to the bottom."

"Animal's lair, most like it," said Iale knowledgeably. "Though it ain't no beastie I've ever laid me eyes on what could carve rock. Pistols at the ready, cap'n?"

She glanced over at Lacey, noticing how tightly she was holding Noe's hand. She couldn't say she really approved of the way her new captain carried on with her crew; Briny Joe had made it a solid point to avoid fraternizing with anyone in his employ. In Iale's mind, personal relationships were like barnacles. They didn't make you move through the water any faster; they had to be scraped off, or they'd cut you deeply.

Lacey pulled her own in response, cocking it with a thumb and giving Iale a sort of manic grin.

"Aye matey. Pistols at th' ready. Lead on, Emerson, an' don't let that light die or I'll shoot ye in the back." Turning back to the crew, she motioned with her gun.

"Come on ye scurvy land lubbers! Ye aint scared of a little dark are ye!?"

Johanes touched the sides of the cave, humming appreciatively. He had an inkling of what might be waiting before them but he wasn't sure.

"Aye, don't let the light out..." He said quietly, shuffling about to follow the rest of the crew. "Not sure if we'll need the guns."

He wasn't. Mainly because he wasn't sure they were going to work.

((SFSP))

The cavern felt like a tomb, the breathless heaviness of the air feeling strange after the almost uncannily thin air of the island. The pirates went forward, swords and guns drawn, Emerson leading the way with the lantern. He showed no signs of outward fear, but the other pirates were starting to sweat as the tunnel grew narrower.

For a while they walked downwards, hunched over to avoid hitting the low ceiling.

"We're underwater," said Jim after a while.
"Yes, Jim," said Noggin patiently.
"How far down do you think we are, Noggin?"
"'Bout fifty feet," said Noggin, who had been keeping track. The crew nodded; it was safe to trust Noggin with things involving sums.

"Bound to be an end to this thing sooner or later," said Iale, who was probably the most comfortable, being able to walk normally. "Is it gettin' colder, or..."

"It is," said Daniel Adderson. The others jumped; they hadn't realized he was there. It was the only thing he had said for the past two days. They glanced over at him.

There was nothing to do but continue on. For almost half an hour they trudged through the tunnel in silence, half excited and half dreading what they might find.

Finally the tunnel widened, and they were able to stand upright again. They had come to an open cavern; the light from Emerson's lantern could only illuminate part of it, but they had the immediate feeling of a simply immense space, larger than any cave they had ever seen before.

"There be water here," said Iale. "I can feel it in me toes."

"Aye, a lake," agreed Emerson, who was peering down into the darkness.

"Arrr, well I c'n feel a big fat payoff, meself," said Double Sum Sam, eyes glinting with greed.

Lacey listened to the crew talk as they moved down, happy to let them talk through their nerves if it kept their wits about them. She held Noe's hand firmly in one hand, her cocked pistol in the other. It seemed like they were going to walk right down into the center of the world.



The blonde jumped, glancing back at Adder and cursing under her breath. She'd actually thought they'd some how lost him in the violent storm. Damn...

The tunnel opened up suddenly and she stretched up, feeling the unmistakable ache of a vast empty space they couldn't even begin to light up. The very idea caused a shudder in her. She didn't like that idea. What was out there? Iale's comment about water was more than correct, Lacey could see the glint of water off the lamp they'd brought. The cocky green-eyed woman had the sudden urge to run right back the way they'd come.



Taking some of his greed for bravado, Lacey chuckled and nodded.

"Aye Sammy...thats th' spirit matey. We gotta be close, I can taste it."

"We best find us a way down," said Iale, inching along the rock face and feeling outwards with her feet.

"Hang on a tick," said Winnie Loco, grinning and stepping past her. "This be somethin' I'm real accustomed to. Keep the light on the rocks, will ye, Emmy?"

The skinny young man crouched down on all fours, feeling around with his hands for a good hold. With a grunt he picked himself up onto his hands and did a backflip over the edge. Jim gasped as he disappeared from sight.

"Winnie was in the circus," explained Noggin, who apparently had talked with everyone even when they wouldn't talk to each other much. "He's an acrobat."

Sure enough, the little wraith of a man was bounding casually over the jagged rocks, exploring as easily as if they were a grassy knoll. In a few moments, he hopped back up to the platform and did a bow, to the surprise of the crew.

"Sorry, force o' habit," he said cheekily, tipping his hat, which had remained on his head contrary to all probability. "So, there's a steep but easy way down the side o' the cliff, an' a shallow but rocky way down the middle. Ain't too far to the water, whatever it is. Looks to me like a subterranean lake."

Lacey blinked at the rather amazing show of acrobatics. Without thinking, a sly chuckle escaped her.

"Ye should have shown me yer skills earlier Win, I'm sure ye can do some interesting things."




The blonde nodded, pondering the choices. Steep was worrisome, but if it was easy than they could do it. Climbing rigging was steep and hard.

"Steep it is then mateys. O'er ye go, an' don't go in that water yet. Wait till we're all thare." With that, she walked to the edge.

"Lead th' way Win."

Winnie seemed to have gained a cabin's worth of confidence due to his brief stint as Leader, and he puffed out his chest and saluted, snatching the light from a protesting Emerson with his free hand.

"Right, you 'eard the lady, chop-chop, gentlemen," he barked, adding "an' wimmen too," in a small murmur.

He struck out across the steep path, the crew following close behind. The ledge was narrow, and Iale was forced up against the wall by the mass of people. She gasped.

"Shift yerselves, ye bleedin' axe wounds," she snarled, pushing at Slip, who sneered at her.

The ledge led the crew down slowly and agonizingly, each step seeming like the last one on solid ground. Often someone would slip and fall, sliding a few feet before managing to grab hold of something. This happened to Jim more than three times. Winnie was the only one light on his feet; he had taken off his shoes, and was hopping along as though it was a pleasant spring road.

"This rock's volcanic," said Noggin after a while. "It's all black and charred. S'leavin' marks on me. Look."

Sure enough, his outstretched palm was marked with black soot.

"It ain't no natural cave," said Iale, spitting. "Someone carved this rotten bitch of a hell-hole."

"That ain't very nice," said Jim nervously. "Be nice to the cave. It might be listenin'..."

The dead air was grim with distant and faint subvocal tones; the hairs on their backs began to rise as they drew closer to the center of the cavern, where the still lake was a vast presence they felt rather than saw.

Lacey paid little attention to the crew as she picked her way down the incline, carefully helping Noe as she went. It wasn't as easy as Winnie had suggested, but slowly, they were getting there.



True enough, Lacey lifted her hand and rubbed together two sooty fingers. Whatever they had walked into, it wasn't natural.



The blonde nodded.

"Aye, this be somethin' made. Magic maybe. I heard of them Hoxian gollies, they carve whole mountains out."



The shudder up Lacey's spine made her wish Jim hadn't spoken. It wasn't a living thing. It was a stupid cave. Growling slightly, she gripped the pistol firmly.

"What now, Emerson? Ye got anymore clues fer me?" She gestured to the vast lake they could all sense.