The Pearl Diver

© Juriy Tashkinov, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0062-2861-0

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Chapter 1

The ship rested on the surface of the sea. The sun was sliding below the horizon, trying not to drown. Its rays clung to the clear sky, painting the world with wondrous colors, like an artist using a brush to transform a plain canvas into a work of art. Peace and quiet. The third day was coming to an end when the wind stopped moving the black flag with the image of a skull. Calm. The ship barely moved all this time.

The captain of the ship, notorious throughout the Erin Sea, gave orders dispassionately, although his soul was not at peace. They say that the inhabitants of distant Sartoll invented ships that can plow the seas and oceans, regardless of the wind. But for the Soul of the Corsair, calm was death.

Liton greedily inhaled the salty, humid air, hoping that it would become cooler. Touching the steering wheel, he expected at least a fleeting breeze.

– Why did you sit down? Do you think, like merchants, sitting at the market, you can get something useful? Will not work! Come on, quickly put some rags in your hands and scrub the deck!

The crew became despondent; the main thing was not to let people sit idle. Otherwise, if they completely lose heart, that will be the end. Life goes on as long as we don’t stand still. But stopping is worse than death. Worse than calm. The sailors respected the captain. Yes, sometimes he was too rude, but the sea is not for women, it loves such strong and fearless people.

A few more days and the provisions will come to an end. And there isn’t much fresh water. Who knew that the sea would bring such a surprise? But there was rum. A lot of rum – where would pirates be without it?

– Captain Liton, the deck shines like a cat’s eyes!

– Oh, well done, guys! – Liton beamed. – You can’t even say anything. They deserve it. You can take a flask each – there is no need for a burly pirate to work after sunset. Night is a time for fun.

A pirate never needs to be told twice when it comes to plunder or entertainment. Everyone uncorked a flask, and the intoxicating aroma of rum filled the deck. They drank straight from the throat without biting. This way you’ll fit in more, and you’ll get drunk faster, but what else do you need to be happy? Then someone started singing a familiar song, and the other guys immediately started singing along. Out of place, but not in a church choir after all?

Yo-ho-ho! We are not afraid of the dead

We love mermaids, we are bottomlessly drunk.

We will be hanged – we will be finished!

But while we are alive, you are doomed!

We drank and sang. For those who didn’t fall asleep right away, it’s time for stories.

– Rakon, you are the oldest! Tell us something about your daring hikes!

And the old man was just waiting for this. He spent his youth daringly, how many times did he escape right from under the noses of the guards, almost ending up on the gallows! He was missing one eye – instead he had a black bandage over his head. And on the entire tattooed body you can barely find one inch of skin that is not streaked with scars and cuts from endless battles. But youth passed, and with it the daring woman went away. Rarely did any of the pirates live to such an age – their life was cheerful, daring, but it could not be called long. And the old people were most often put on the island so that they would not eat other people’s meat and drink rum not earned by honest robbery. Don’t think that pirates are cruel – no worse than other people, they just don’t need to play nobility. But the sailors loved Racon, so he still delighted them with his fables.

– Oh, what have I not seen! – the old man began. – And I saw mermaids, I once spent the night with their sea mistress – wow, woman, unlike the young ones, she’s almost like a person. Well, at least without a tail!

The sailors laughed together.

«And the sea devil once almost grabbed him with his tentacles and claws,» Racon continued.

– Tell!

– Tell! – the listeners began.

– What can I tell you? We went to Tonden Island in search of treasure. The gold was never found in the place marked with a cross – apparently, the owner of the map, before handing me the piece of paper, dug out the chest himself. Cattle! Although, it’s not so offensive – I didn’t pay money for the card – the boatman himself gave it to me before I stabbed him. But I met her on the island. Well, I immediately lost my mind – you know how hard it is at sea without girls.

The sailors nodded understandingly. A particularly frail young man who often fell under the «hot hand» of pirates hungry for communication with the opposite sex. A woman on a ship means trouble. Any navigator knows this. But after a week or two, willy-nilly, I want to break this rule – these unshaven rude people do not have the affection that even the sternest men love.

– That means I’m lying on the queen of mermaids. Drunk, as always, but that never stopped me from loving. My comrades are standing around – waiting, after all, I was the captain, so I was always the first in everything. Then I hear some strange squelching sound. I look up and he’s standing there. He was probably the husband of the sea queen, but not as handsome as her. Long tentacles hung down instead of a beard and hair, and instead of hands there were huge claws. The mouth is filled with four rows of shark teeth. It’s like he’s going to grab my finger! Miraculously escaped!

The old man raised his hand, and everyone saw the stump of his ring finger.

– A lot of our people died then. And I myself miraculously escaped from the embrace of the sea devil. For a long time afterwards I dreamed of its tentacles and claws. Even now I often remember meeting him.

– Why are you lying, old man? Probably, I was stoned on hashish and it was a dream! – said the bully Liu.

– Will you ever shut up, asshole? Let the old man finish his story!

– How! What did you call me? Well, repeat it again?

– Shut up, you fucking asshole!

Liu’s eyes became bloodshot, he jumped up from the stool and threw Lanton to the floor. Then he took out a knife from his bosom and plunged it into the heart of the offender.

– You! – screamed Tart, the bosom friend of the murdered man. And he immediately rushed at the killer. If you drop by to visit the pirates, don’t expect a quiet evening, with poetry and courtly manners of sirs in pomaded wigs. Another minute passed, and it was no longer possible to recognize those sailors who had huddled around the old man and listened with reverence to his stories. They turned into a rabble, a bunch of animals who fight for a piece of meat. A musket shot rang out, and there was silence for a second. Everyone looked towards the sound.

Captain Liton clutched a weapon, smoking from a recent shot, aimed at the ceiling.

– The next shot will be in the heart of the one who moves now. Do you understand? Lew, I’m tired of you with your antics! I warned you, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on you. Well, so much the better. Grab him!

The guy fell to his knees.

– Ask. Captain, no need! Sorry! I… This is the last time, I promise. I won’t do it again! Exactly!

– I have already forgiven you once. And you just killed one of our best warriors. Are you deaf or something? I told you, grab him!

Liu jumped to his feet and ran towards Liton. But they grabbed him by the hands and took him out into the fresh air. The captain looked at all the sailors.

– For violation of discipline. For swinish behavior. For disrespect to the captain. And most importantly, for the murder of a comrade. Liu is sentenced to exile. Who can say anything in his defense?

– Captain, please! Excuse me! I don’t want to die! I want to live! Ask!

The others were silent.

– Well, unanimously. Throw him overboard.

Liu tried to fight back, but four pairs of hands held his arms and legs. When his body hit the sea surface with a splash, the captain said:

– What steel. Come on, let’s all go inside! Immediately! Let’s continue to have fun.

There was silence for some time. They didn’t like Lew, but it was not humane to throw a comrade out to certain death. Although he deserved it. A blow with a sword in a fair (or dishonest – what’s the difference) duel is a completely different matter.

Only two remained outside. Lew held on to the empty barrel that was dropped on him as the only way to avoid drowning. And Rakon stood on the deck, holding a pipe in his four-fingered hand.

– Old man, save me! Ask! I’m not out of malice, I believe your stories.

– I will gladly save us all. It’s not for nothing that you didn’t believe me – I didn’t tell my comrades the whole truth.

And then Rakon looked somewhere into the distance and began to whisper:

– Come, lord of the sea! I call to you! I need your help. Accept this sacrifice and fill our sails with wind! Let us get to dry land.

The sea surface suddenly opened up for a second. A huge tentacle emerged from it, which in an instant dragged poor Liu under the water. The old man did not reveal the secret to anyone. One day, while searching for treasure, his ship crashed on a reef, and he and his crew ended up on a desert island. The provisions quickly ran out, and the sailors began to attack each other and eat the weak like animals. But Rakon turned out to be the most insidious. At night, when the full moon rose, he cut off his ring finger and summoned the monkfish. He appeared, shrouded in a thousand tentacles. Racon offered him a deal – he gave his comrades to be devoured by the monster, and in return received life. The next day, a merchant ship sailed to the island. Over the years, Rakon has brought many victims to the sea evil, so this time too the monster appeared at the first call. And a few minutes later the wind filled the sails with air.

The sailors jumped onto the deck. They were ready to jump for joy, especially the captain. No one ever found out what the cost of their salvation was.

The sailors drank rum and bawled songs.

Yo-ho-ho, the bottomless expanse sleeps,

We know no peace, only rum and robbery,

We don’t want to die here

Have fun, friends, our motto is simple!

Only the guy who was picked up after the shipwreck was sitting in the corner. He was silent, just drank and sadly looked into nowhere.

– Why don’t you, Tram, have fun with everyone? – Liton approached him. – Are we not nice to you as interlocutors? Of course, I understand, we are not sirs, we do not have the same manners as land lords. But, you know, we are all from a noble family. I am the illegitimate son of King Silerin, Dukat the Second. My stepmother expelled me from the capital while my father went on a campaign. So I have been wandering all my life across the seas and oceans. My stepmother has long been dead, but the way to land is closed to me. So life has made me rude and cruel. And other guys have secrets too. It is not common for us to remember our past life, but we all have reasons for living such a life. Outlaw.

– What are you talking about, Liton? You are friends, that’s what we need. If it weren’t for you, I would have fed the fish at the bottom of the Erin Sea. Moreover, I myself have been an exile for many years. But I’m just not in the mood for fun right now.

– Understand. You are the only one left alive from the crew. Do you think that because I am a rude person, the feeling of loss is alien to me?

The captain lowered his head for a moment – he remembered the girl Lucita, the only one he had once loved. While I still knew how to love.

– That’s not the point. I didn’t even know those on the ship at all. They sailed together, but before that they met in the port of Suthering.

– You can trust me. I am the captain of the ship, I must know everything about everyone from the crew. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secrets. But there should be no secrets from me.

Tram looked at Liton for a few seconds, studying him. It seems like he can be trusted. He doesn’t look like a spy. He was tired of carrying all this burden on his soul alone. No one could be trusted! But sometimes I wanted to share the secret with someone else.

– Shamon is back again.

The captain retreated a few steps.

– They don’t joke with something like that, Creator forbid!

The ancient demon was put to sleep by the ancestors two hundred years ago. He then conquered half the world. Dark Lords cannot be killed. They can be deprived of their strength for a while, they can be put to sleep for many centuries. But there is never a complete guarantee that one day he will not return. There were others before Shamon, stronger than himself. Antimonik, or the same Dell, were much stronger than the last fiend of evil. Zaymond was used to scare naughty children. But Chamon was the last, and, unlike the others, he was not just a legend. After his death, he left behind many spies who served his ideas for many years. Evil is not so easy to root out.

– I saw him. With my own eyes. But I must get to Eldoras, my hometown, to warn the inhabitants of the danger. The main thing is to get there before Shamon gets there with his army.

– If this is true, why do you need to go where the war will soon begin?

– I am one of the Seven.

If Liton had been a believer, he would have fallen to his knees right now. He silently took a sip of rum. He was no longer looking at the guest from above. On the contrary, there was reverence in him. The pirates continued to sing:

Yo-ho-ho, I’m dreaming of the blue distance,

We’re burning bridges and our pockets are empty

But I don’t feel sorry for the past at all,

Gallows or bonfires await us!

– You know, Tram! I have never done anything unless it was beneficial. As long as I’m a captain, I have to do this. But I will help in some way – we will direct the ship to the port of Khenei, which is closest to Eldoras.

– Thank you, Captain Liton. I will not forget your kindness!

Here the ship tilted. The drunken pirates hit the wall.

– Captain Liton! Looks like we’ve hit a reef!

The sailors got out of the ship and swam to the island. Liton ordered a fire to be lit, and several people went deep into the forest to get dry branches. No one noticed how Rakon fell to his knees and began to whisper:

– I appeal to you, lord! Come! Come to me! Get this ship out, don’t let it die. And I will make a sacrifice for you – I give them all to you!

He suddenly emerged from the sea. The entire green body was covered with tentacles, and instead of hands there were huge crab claws.

– Take them, master! – the old man shouted. – Take them all, but save me, I pray!

– Oh, you’re a disgusting nit! – Liton fired, and Rakon fell to the ground. Several shots are fired into the monster’s chest, but it’s all useless. The monkfish easily scattered the sailors, taking their lives. Then Tram said:

– I am the keeper of the Ancient Secret! I order you, monster – perish!

A bright beam of light flashed from his hands. The monster writhed in pain. But it immediately roared and rushed at the Guardian. Tram pulled out a sword – his blade shimmered with a thousand small runes. A couple of blows from the claws almost knocked the monk off his feet, but he resisted. He thrust the shimmering blade into the monster’s chest with all his might. The monster roared and fell to the ground. Until the black spirit of the monkfish left, he decided to use its power. Alien, but was there any other choice? A flash of light around the ship that stood on the reef in sight – and again only the fire illuminates the night forest.

– I removed the reefs. At dawn we set off.

– You killed the monkfish! – Liton exclaimed. He fell to his knees. His example was followed by other pirates who had previously feared neither the devil, nor God, nor the king himself.

– Get up, friends. Monkfish is just the beginning!

Chapter 2

The clouds hugged the sky like a raven wing, and there was no beginning or end to them. A bright flash illuminated the horizon for a moment, as if the hand of a dead man was trying to remove the veil from the heavens. And then came the thunder. And then the first drops fell from above. With every second the rain became stronger, until under its spell it became impossible to distinguish anything two steps away.

– Are you snails or sailors! – Liton bawled. – Why so slow? Maybe I should stand next to you and start pouring water overboard? Just keep in mind that one of you will be dipping the water!

The captain turned the rudder left and right, doing everything possible to keep the ship afloat and cope with the storm. Others ran, some with a bucket, some with a rag, pouring water overboard. The strength was running out, but it was impossible to give up. Nobody promised the sailor a sweet life. Then the storm calmed down. After a while, the clouds melted, and an arch of a rainbow hung over the «Soul of the Corsair.»

– Phew, alive! – said the captain. – Although, what do we need a storm now, when the monkfish himself was killed? Let’s have fun now!

The pirates drank rum, someone played dice. The rules are simple – you roll a few dice. Whoever gets the fewest points will spend the whole day scrubbing the deck. The other loser washes the dishes. So with passion it is very easy to prevent dirt on the schooner.

– You cheated! I have seen! – Tart shouted.

– If you’re a loser, what does it have to do with me?

– Yes you are! How can you say that! I saw with my own eyes how you turned the bone over with your hand.

– If you don’t want to scrub the deck, there’s no point in accusing honest people of deception!

– Are you honest? Don’t make people laugh! My friend is wearing pants – even more honest! He always honestly gets up when he sees a woman. And you, star, are cheating!

Tart grabbed Jim by the collar. Jim took out a dagger. A shot rang out.

– Both! – said the captain. – Now throw the weapon on the floor. Now go out into the fresh air and decide there who is right and who is wrong.

Tart and Jim came out. And after a while the door opened again with a creak, and the two pirates, like bosom friends, sang in an embrace:

Yo-ho-ho! We are not afraid of the dead

We love mermaids, we are bottomlessly drunk.

We will be hanged – we will be finished!

But while we are alive, you are doomed!

– So at once! – Liton smiled.

The captain approached Tram.

– Why, my friend, aren’t you happy? I understand, it’s a burden and all that, but you need to relax at least sometimes. Come on, drink some rum!

– Drank. Does not help.

– Then hold the phone.

Tram put the oak pipe to his lips. And he coughed.

– What is this?

– Hashish, of course. What did you think? Don’t worry, good one. From the Cayman Islands. The guys and I traveled halfway around the world – I’ve never smoked better.

Not that Tram had never tried mixing shag with imp-grass, as the hallucination-inducing herbs were called. Anything happened during the hikes. The times when there were no states and people lived under the rule of Beelzuvik, the kingdom of magicians, are long gone. The last five or six generations have been fighting for their place in the sun. Morelia made constant raids on the northern outskirts of Eldoras, and the Ennians looked greedily at the southern ones. During frequent campaigns, it was necessary to somehow pacify the pain of the memory of fallen comrades. So the soldiers drank ale, and sometimes bought forbidden demon grass from merchants. It actually became easier for a while. Tram broke into an idiotic smile and began to sing along with the other pirates:

Yo-ho-ho, the bottomless expanse sleeps,

We know no peace, only rum and robbery,

We don’t want to die here

Have fun, friends, our motto is simple!

But then oblivion came. Not for long. And behind him – again visions and memories.

Then the governor Dust sent him to the west of Dragha. Officially, this island was an independent country. Although everyone understood that the savages had no power here. The King of Eldoras exiled here all those undesirable, exiles like Tram himself, whose path to the continent was henceforth barred. Tram rode west. The further he drove, the fewer trees he encountered along the way. Where, according to Dust, a rebellious tribe of savages lived, there was not a single tree at all – only some clearings. Tram didn’t have time to do anything when he was grabbed. The savages here were unusually disciplined. They were wearing armor and carrying swords and spears in their hands. It is completely unrecognizable to those naked-assed pagans who worshiped the spirits of the moon and thunderstorms and were not shy not only about nudity, but also about eating their fellow tribesmen. Now a real organized army appeared before the eyes of the Exile.

He was brought to the fortress – what a miracle, another fortress besides the governor’s castle! From here there was a view of the Sea of Erin. Tram now understood why the trees were cut down – a whole fleet of freshly built ships of unusual shape stood at anchor. He was put in a cell. He did not understand the foreign language, so for some time he did not even know why he was not killed. It would be logical if he were made a slave – but no, he sat behind a wooden lattice, they even fed him well. He didn’t even want to think about what kind of meat they were giving him, being in captivity of the cannibals. On the third day, if Tram has not lost count, the head of the Inquisition came into his cell.

– Holiness, you! You can’t imagine how glad I am to see you! Explain to me what’s going on here?

– You have no idea how glad I am to see you! The governor served me well when he sent you to me.

– Did Governor Dust know the secret of these places?

– Of course I knew.

– So what united the savages? Why do they gather an army and build ships?

– Shamon is back. He came to life right here, where the savages built a sanctuary for him. And now he is building ships to cross the Sea of Erin and destroy Dream at its roots.

– Your Holiness, you must help me escape from here! I must have time to do what is intended for me. I must get to Dream, the capital of Eldoras, before Shamon.

Once upon a time, his ancestor was unable to complete the ritual, and now Evil is on the loose again.

– Help me get out! You know I have to do this! I can stop Shamon before this plague spreads across the world again. I’m one of the Seven!

– That’s why you’re here! – The Inquisitor burst out laughing. «I didn’t lay out the nets just to let you go now, Exile!» I woke up Shamon on this godforsaken island, and I don’t want him to fall asleep again!

– But why? – exclaimed Tram. – Why do you need this? Rendell, you are the head of an organization that fights magic in all its forms! How can an anti-magician go over to the side of Darkness?

– What do you actually know about the Darkness? What did your mentors tell you? They are lying. Or they are wrong. People do evil and injustice, and the Darkness becomes stronger every day. But when the Dark Lord comes, he absorbs all this dirt, and people become cleaner. They even unite against the face of obvious evil, for a while they remember nobility. And then again – envy, murder, slander. Never mind, it’s time for a new therapeutic bleeding. And the Seven must not stop us. Morelia is already with us. When we attack from the south, they will come from the north. When Dream is finished, Shamon will no longer have to fear the power of the Seven. And then the world will fall at our feet!

Morelia has been on the side of the Dark Forces in previous times.

A few days later, Tram miraculously managed to escape. But if he doesn’t make it on time and doesn’t fulfill what was intended, what was the point in all this?

– Then it would have been better to rot behind those bars! – shouted Tram.

– You got hit! – Liton grinned. – It’s a good pipe, isn’t it?

Several days passed, and the crew of the Soul of the Corsair reached the port of Heney. Tram said goodbye to the pirates and headed towards Dream. So familiar, and so alien now.