The Treasure Hunter's Tale

Man vs. Nature. By the sea.

Year: 5170 (Aramac Calendar)

The Treasure Hunter’s Tale

The gun recoils as I pull hard twice on the trigger. The thump of the shots are so satisfying, but both shots miss. Only four rounds left now.

Yanni is scooting backward on his ass over the slick seaweed, blood oozing from his latest gash. The giant crustacean is bearing down on him with its massive claws flailing. Estey hurls a small boulder frantically down from his rocky ledge, but it just glances off the creature’s carapace.

I hop down to get a bit closer, the sun is beating hard on my bare shoulders.

Deep breath… aim… and haul hard on the trigger.

The underside of massive crab’s shell shatters under the exploding round, with two of its gigantic spindly legs dislodging, flung off onto the rocky ground. The fracture makes a sickening hollow sound. Pungent fluid pours out of the wound, soaking Yanni’s near-naked frame. The creature backs off in shock.

Yanni lunges at the rope that Estey has thrown down to him, and tugs himself upward. We are down to wearing our skivvies now, having jettisoned most of our gear further back at the base of this rocky massif.

Estey waves at me and yells something as I manage to climb toward them, staying out of reach of that enormous claw that gnash below.  I can barely hear his voice over the deafening crash of waves.

I get closer. “He got me good bossman”, grunts Yanni through gritted teeth. Estey pours some of the remaining water from his canteen on our comrade’s bleeding arm.

“We got to finish up fast and get back to the ship boss”, breaths Estey. “We’re getting beat up too badly. Plus the tide is coming in, and bringing in who knows what other vermin with it!”

He gestures out to sea, beyond the rocky ledges that we have been plodding over. Our ship is in the distance, bobbing in the waves, the rest of the crew waiting for our signal once the loot is in hand. It is barely visible in the misty spray, past the steep outcrops interspersed with massive tidal pools. Jagged rock faces that are either baked in the sun, yet slippery with sea water and algae. The rest of this angular landscape is covered in layers of soggy seaweed, each strand the length of a full-grown tree. The entire seaside hellscape seemed to twitch and jerk and writhe with hidden predators. Gigantic tidal creatures ready to tear us apart in this prehistoric equatorial world.

“We’re nearly there boys” I manage to rasp through cracked lips. I open up the soaked and salty map from my rucksack.

Estey squints through a spatter of ocean spray. “That red X don’t look much closer boss. Looks like we still got to climb another hundred feet or so, plus cover more ground heading east”.

The three of us stare at the faded blots on this crusty old parchment. Lumps, symbols, and curves that zigzag across the page, but the dotted line clearly takes us for another hundred feet eastward and upward. Estey and I look to Yanni, who is struggling to his feet.

“I ain’t come this far to give up now you jackasses” spits Yanni, rubbing a splash of fresh water over his wound. “How much ammo you got left bossman?”

“Three shots left.” I growl. “Exploding rounds though. Gonna make ‘em count before I ditch this damn gun too.”

“And like I said, we’re almost there” I spit back at Estey. “these massifs have eroded away since this-here map was made. The rocks get beaten down by them waves over the years.”

Estey coils up the rope, one of his last remaining possessions besides his underwear, canteen, empty rucksack, and dagger. “Well all I’m sayin’ is we still gotta ---”

TIKTIKTIKTIK

He is cut off by the cry of the wounded crab from below. We look down, then whip or heads to look behind us, as the layers of colossal seaweed on our plateau begin to writhe and wiggle.

TOKTOKTOKTOK

Enormous claws, legs, shells emerge from the briny cover. Five? No, ten, no… thirty crustaceans! Moss and barnacles pock their carapaces. We are caught between them and the cliff ahead of us.

“Time to go boys!” yells Yanni, with newfound vigor.

I point due east, toward a brilliant tidal pool shimmering in the relentless sun. “Let’s go for a swim fuckers!”

The crabs are descending on us. As my comrades scramble away, I turn and fire a warning shot at our new friends.

BANG

The leading crab is small-ish, about the size of a horse. Its right side blasts apart from my exploding shot, creating a shower of crab meat, legs, and innards. Buys us some time, but I have only two shots left now.

I plunge headfirst into the crystal clear waters of the tidal pool. The water is cooler than my body anticipates. Impossibly clear, I can see down at least a hundred feet, to the lively world of color below. Corals, brilliant waving seaweed, schools of tropical fish the size of bison.

“Catch up boss!” yells Yanni as I break surface. They are powering forward to the rocky face on the other side of the pool, as massive crabs plop into the water behind us, giving chase.

Estey is the first to reach the jagged face on the other side, and he climbs up quickly, using soccer ball sized barnacles as grips. I am close behind him, with Yanni limping after us.

“Boss look!” shouts Estey suddenly as I climb out.

I catch a glimpse of Yanni’s head just as he is pulled below the surface. The trail of blood he has left in the water is visible behind him.

“Throw down the rope, NOW” I order Estey.

“Boss, looks like a fucking seaworm” croaks Estey, pointing to the rippling water as he throws the rope.

Sure enough, Yanni resurfaces for a gasp of air, entangled in the serpentine grip of hundreds of legs. The whole worm isn’t visible, but its body is wide as a python, covered in countless spidery appendages, and thrashing Yanni around in sickening jerking motions.

“Gerrof him you fucker!” Estey leaps overhead from his perch above us, dagger swinging wildly through the air.

He plunges into the water directly next to the struggle, and almost immediately the churning water begins to turn a sandy color. Yanni shrieks and lashes as the worm’s movements become frantic.

“Shit, shit, shit” I curse as I climb out onto the cliff face, hoping to use one of my final rounds on this creature.

EEEEEOOOOOO, the eerie call of the worm echoes over the water.

I point my gun down toward them, but the water is a confusion of blood, opaque tan liquid, and gyrating bodies. Yanni and Estey are hacking at the brute. Segments of dismembered worm start to float away.

“Get out you idiots, the crabs are getting closer!” I holler as they frantically swim to the rope. I haul with all my might to help get them up to this small plateau

This resting spot is covered in a thick bed of seaweed. We pant and gasp. “Bossman, I lost my canteen and knife down there” Yanni manages between breaths. “Still got my bag though, for the loot!” he somehow manages a roguish smile. This motherfucker is relentless.

Estey shakes his head. “Fuck, I’m exhausted…” He flops down onto the seaweed mattress, upsetting a conclave of 20 or so sand hoppers. Each the size of a tiny dog, which leap and fling themselves into the air around us, scaring the shit out of me.

But what is that? About 200 more feet up the jagged slopes? Through the sea spray I can see a series of carvings around an opening. Distinct from the naturally forming caves that exist in this rock. It looks ornate, possibly carved by human hands.

“ACH! Look, you knuckleheads! Up there!”

The boys jaws are wide open.

“Well cut me open and feed me to the clams…” whispers Yanni. “Could it be?”

“Only one way to find out you dimwit, isn’t there!” I elbow him in the ribs with excitement. He winces in pain, but I feel a surge of thrill. THIS is why we came all this way!

We are nearly at the arched entrance when the shadow passes over us. I stop suddenly and look skyward… Nothing but blue sky and misty rainbows…

We keep climbing over spiny urchins and razor sharp mussels, but when we hear the high pitched screech, we all freeze.

SKREEEEEEE

“That’s not good!” hollers Estey as the massive bird of prey dives at us. It misses poor Yanni by mere feet, its talons gouging the rock just above him.

Sea hawks are small creatures where I come from, but this goliath is as the size of a small barn. Its feathers are sparse and its frame slender, more dinosaur than “bird”.

Its caw nearly bursts our eardrums as it dives again. “Not today you pierce of shit!” barks Yanni who manages to flail a large length of driftwood into the air. Estey wields his knife as I struggle to pull out my gun.

CAAAAW

Yanni’s driftwood clubs the raptor’s underbelly and it changes course. Lightning fast coming down from the sky, Estey is now in its path.

“COME AND TRY ME!” he bellows burying his dagger into the prehistoric creature’s flank. At the same moment its talons pierce his leg and chest. Blood spurts, but Estey doesn’t even cry out.

“Estey no!” wails Yanni, bludgeoning the pterodactyl hard.

I take aim and fire, but the creature is already in motion. My shot blows a nearby rock to pieces, spraying the creature in shrapnel, shredding its flesh in several places. But instead of dropping Estey, it takes to the air in a panic, massive wings nearly flooring us with wind.

“Bossman shoot it! What are you waiting for?” cries Yanni.

“ARGH! I can’t get a damn clear shot without hitting Estey!”

The bird is directly above us now, with Estey fighting aggressively, but shielding the bird’s underbelly. Within seconds it is out of range. Estey’s roars of combat fade into the distance.

Yanni and I gawk at each other for a moment, before rushing the final stretch toward carved cavern. I grab Estey’s loot bag as we go.

“Estey might just kill that thing, I’ve seen him survive worse!” gasps Yanni. His face then sets resolutely. “But until then, we’ve got some fucking loot to pillage.”

The archway in front of us is well worn, but still visible. Many years of tides, sun, and storms have left it decrepit, but clearly this was once a fucking splendid place. The remains of carved shapes and patterns cover the relief above. Stone columns still stand on either side of the entrance. Cracked and broken tiles are visible on the floor within the cavern… disappearing down into the cool darkness. The smell of rot wafts out to our cracked noses.

“One shot left bossman? We might need more than that.” says Yanni.

“Yer right young-un. Lookit these scrawlings on the rock over there, next to the archway. I can read just enough Frisk and Sumastran to tell those are warnings. That one says go no further,.”

Gun and loot bags at the ready. We plod into the darkness, I can make out the shape of what looks like a human skeleton up ahead in the gloom.