Poo! No treasure!
Inside the casket, you find old documents, half-eaten away by damp.
Nuts! You were hoping for buried treasure!
You stay in the cave for a bit. You feel a little bored, so you decide to try reading some of the documents.
"-ave heard rumors that this strange, unnamed isle possesses mystical qualities. I find that notion laughable at best! We must press on if we are to find that French privateer, and it would not hurt to try searching the island for food and fresh water. I have decided to drop anchor here, rumors or not!"
This seems intriguing. You read the next one.
"-s morning, at six o'clock, I sent Macleod and five others ashore to reconnoiter. They came back with some fruits and some native birds that they had shot for meat.
Macleod informed me that Hays claimed to have seen some strange hybrid between man and tiger in the thick jungle. Neither of us gave it any heed. Hays has a history of drink. Tomorrow, I inten-"
Then the next one:
"-m worried for my own sanity now. I had just finished a discussion with my top men and had gone on the deck for a breath of fresh air. I was looking over the water when I saw a fabled mermaid! But not quite a mermaid. This looked like some combination of woman and shark! She must have seen me, for she bolted like a frightened rabbit before I could bring anyone's attention to it.
Admittedly, I might have had a little too much to drink during the earlier discussion. I hope dearly that that shark-woman was some illusion created by a soggy brain! If not, then either I am going mad or this island holds much more secrets than it first appears, if I am to believe that drunkard Hays!
I will say nothing of this to my crew. I do not want them to think that they are under the command of a madman or a drunkard, And if I am going mad, then they will surely notice, for I know my crew, and they know me. In the meantime, I will retire to my quarters. A bit of rest may clear my hea-"
A shark-woman? Now that catches your eye!
"ecently taken to some sort of illness. Doctor Allan has already had a look at me. He speculates that it is some sort of tropical fever. Remembering my shark-woman sighting the other night, I asked him if such a fever would produce hallucinations. He said it was possible. I then confided to him what I had seen last night and he said it was indeed possible that the fever had confounded me.
This is welcome news. To have seen something you shouldn't because your body is unwell is one thing. To have seen such a thing because your mind is unwell is quite another! The good doctor has sworn to keep my sighting a secret for the time being. In the meantime, he has asked me to remain in bed. I have already asked Macleod to take command of the ship until I am well ag-"
The four documents you have just read were the only ones that can be considered legible. You turn over these facts in your head. If there were other half-animals on this island, then why haven't you seen them yet? This deserves further exploration!
What do you do? Head for the shore? See if the wrecked galleon holds anything more? Search the rest of the reef? What do you do?
Written by on 14 September 2014
The end (for now)