The Gravity of Greed

Captain Jolly put away his looking glass - he saw enough.

"Prepare to land!" He shouted.

His crew enthusiastically began the preparations. Ten months at sea with no hope of treasure had made them agitated. Even... mutinous. The good captain thought his days of sailing for fortune had come to an end. Until one faithful night.

"The island is where I said it would be, good captain." A'mik, robed and hooded, stood beside Captain Jolly.

The captain smiled, his gold tooth glinting in the afternoon sun. "So far, so good, sorcerer. However, if this turns out to be a trap or ruse of any kind. I'm afraid no magic will save you from my wrath."

The sorcerer merely shrugged at the threat. "We both know that isn't true. And also, I was the one to approach you. What use have you, a second-rate captain with a second-rate crew, to someone such as I?"

Jolly took a step forward. "My question exactly."

"Sail to those shores." A'mik turned away from the captain. "And find out."

The night was crisp and the air salty when A'mik suddenly appeared in Jolly's cabin. The good captain was rifling over old maps, trying and failing to find a suitable bounty for him and his crew. Then suddenly, when he was at his most desperate, a self-proclaimed sorcerer appeared, promising treasure if Jolly could only get him to a specific island.

Since then, A'mik has been traveling with the crew. Where did he come from? How did he magically spawn on the ship? These were all answered the same - sorcery. Jolly wondered what game the man was playing. There were many warnings to steer clear of such offers. Nothing in life came easy. And if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.

A'mik needed Jolly and his crew for something. What that something was exactly eluded Jolly. Yet, what choice did he have except to trust A'mik?

The captain, his crew, and the sorcerer embarked on the island. Its beaches and lush vegetation were unremarkable. Jolly feared the sorcerer would tell them to traverse the thick jungle. Instead, A'mik pointed to a nearby cave.

Captain Jolly had told his first mates to keep a careful eye on the robed man. He gave them Bronze Medallions, meant to ward off sorcery. If they suspected anything, they were to lunge their daggers in his flesh.

The cave was spacious. Its position meant that many seafaring vessels found their grave here. Jolly noted several that looked oddly similar to his own ship. Just how many lost their lives trying to dock on this island? And why did they have no problem doing so? He asked as much of the sorcerer.

"Because this time, the pirates had a sorcerer accompanying them."

"A sorcerer requiring human sacrifices," Jolly said.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." A'mik's eyes were playful through his hood. "What are you going to do about it?"

Jolly hated it, but he had to trust this man. He also felt that this justification was faulty somehow. That his mind was being played with. Like a puppet on a string. Was that even possible? Could this man's sorcery extend that far?

The crew was alert as they traversed the cave. They found valuables here and there, baubles and trinkets from would-be thieves. Thieves of what? Apparently, this cave held a long cursed treasure that many pirates over the centuries tried to claim for themselves. None had survived.

A large iron gate barred their passage. After trying to pry it open A'mik told the crew to stand back. With a single word, he blasted the gate open. This clear display of panic was both encouraging and disheartening. Jolly and his first mates remained resolute in their suspicion, however.

The iron gates made way for a spacious cavern, in its center - a mountain of gold. Heaps upon heaps, glittering in the dim cavern. And all around it skeletons, grasping for the chest which lay at the top.

"Everyone halt!" Captain Jolly yelled. He could see the greed in his men's eyes. The lust. But he knew. He knew that it was too good to be true.

"Do not threat men!" A'mik's voice boomed, loud and imposing. "There is no trick here! What lies before you is what you have earned with your blood, sweat, and tears! Claim it!"

Captain Jolly's first mates jumped the sorcerer, daggers in hand. As they plunged them, the robe resolved. The two collided with each other, befuddled. A'mik then appeared at the base of the mountain of gold, his hands spread wide.

"Claim it!" His voice echoed, demanding, inviting.

The crew looked at each other at the captain, then slowly one by one they approached. Jolly tried to warn them, but his words fell on deaf ears. It was futile against the sorcerer's bewitching.

"Why us?" He turned to A'mik. "A second-rate crew you said! What good are we to you?"

A grin through the hood. "Claim your prize, captain."

It was too late. Futile. Captain Jolly bent over, picking up one of the gold pieces. It had markings on it he had never seen or heard of. In a language lost to time. He pocketed the coin.

He then felt... stronger. Lighter. He grabbed a rock off the ground and crushed it with ease. Like it was nothing. He looked at A'mik. The sorcerer's grin widened.

"There is of course a price, captain!" A'mik's voice was everywhere. Including inside Jolly's head. "You will from this day forward be mine. Body and soul. My army! To do as I wish! You will no longer wont for food, or drink, or purpose! Your lives will be precious to me! As such I will not let any harm befell you! Is that such a bad deal, good captain?"

Captain Jolly picked up another coin. He saw his reflection in its gold surface. He looked... younger? But how could this be?

"Have your fill, my warriors!" A'mik rose above them all. "For we are about to conquer the world!"

This was A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words contest entry.

The prompt image:

Describe what you see: A cursed treasure.
Describe what you feel: I feel adventurous.

Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

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Cover image source.

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