As the carved-out wreck of the ship sank into oblivion, the captain's laugh rang out through the sky. He jumped down from the rigging, pivoted wildly on his toes and turned to face his crew.

"Ladies, gentlemen and others of The Captain's Chaos," Virgil declared gleefully. He paused dramatically, grinning. "We just sank another ship!"

The roar from the crew was incredible. It seemed they were trying to cheer loud enough to split the sea bed and it seemed like they might. Virgil laughed over the top of it all.

"20 gallons of Redian rum, ready for the Lybarian market. And with it, we'll be able to buy the map to a treasure that's been lost for eons!" Virgil grinned manically. "The map to the Fountain of Youth!"

This time, the cheer shook the sky. Seagulls circling overhead squawked in alarm and fled. Virgil grinned at his crew - his family - and jumped up onto the rail.

"Let's get to work!" He yelled, although he didn't need to. The amount of respect (and fear) the crew held for him meant that at a single word, he could silence them over thousands of miles. "Janus, behind the wheel. Ax, in the crow's nest. I want to know the moment we reach Lybaria. Pat," he glanced around for the first mate and paused. "Where's Pat?"

The crew looked around as one body, shuffling and muttering. Virgil sighed and shook his hair away from his eyes.

"No matter, he'll turn up soon enough." He waved his hand. "I want Patton notified as soon as he's found and sent to my cabin. Everyone else, you know what to do." He clapped his hands. "Get to work!"

Stretching his arms out, Virgil balanced along the rail as the crew bustled about on deck. There was a confusing cacophony of shouts, yells, orders and snippets of excited chatter. It was like a beautiful, hideous mixing pot of Virgil's friends, family and fiends. They had all been looking for the Fountain of Youth for five years. Everyone was electric with excitement.

Dear God, Virgil loved this life.

He grabbed the banister and swung himself onto the stairs. Sending a two-fingered salute to Janus - already steering the ship in the correct direction - he hopped down the stairs and disappeared into his cabin.

"You called, Virge?"

Virgil didn't glance up from his desk. "Pat, great of you to make it."

"Sorry I missed your 'rousing speech', Kiddo." Patton closed the door and leaned against it. "I was... checking on the prisoners."

"Yes, well, as exciting as snogging a privateer must've been for you, we have work to do." Virgil glanced over at Patton. "So can we get to it?"

Patton looked like he was going to say something in offense but decided against it. He shrugged and shoved his hands in his waistcoat pockets.

"Sure. Whatcha got?"

"It's more like what've you got for me?" Virgil looked back at his plans. "Those prisoners, how many of them do we have?"

"Three."

"And what should we do with them?"

Patton let out a quiet laugh. "I've got a few ideas..."

"That you can put right down, I'm talking about whether we should kill them or not."

Patton blinked. "What?"

Virgil pulled another plan towards him. "Come on, Pat, it's not as if we haven't killed people before."

"It's not that I'm worried about, Kiddo," Patton said. "Couldn't we just let them go in Lybaria?"

"That's what I was wondering." Virgil gestured for Patton to come closer. "Pat, what do you think of this?"

"I think you're in your brooding mood and that we shouldn't talk about human lives when you're in your brooding mood," Patton said. "You get far too detached."

"Not about that, about the plans!" Virgil said, smiling. Patton walked over, leaning over the top of Virgil's chair.

"It's a map?"

"Of where the last recorded sighting of the Fountain of Youth was found," Virgil said. He let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"How much sleep have you been getting, Kiddo?" Patton asked, sounding concerned.

"Enough," Virgil lied. "Just tell me what you think. It'll take us two weeks to get here from Lybaria. Should we risk it?" He looked round at Patton.

Patton tilted his head to the side, studying the map. He had always been an open book ever since Virgil had known him and now was no different. His expression was a mix of worried, confused, thoughtful and analytical.

"How far out around the fountain does the map we're getting show?" He asked slowly.

"Land ho! Land ho!"

Virgil jumped out of his chair as if he'd been electrocuted. He folded his plans over and pulled a table cloth over them.

"Hold that thought." Virgil whipped his coat off the back of his chair and, with a flourish, pulled it on. He grinned at Patton, anticipation brightening his eyes and adding a slightly nervous bunch to his shoulders. "It's time!"

I don't know how to feel about this chapter. They're completely different characters to Spindle Wood, it's gonna take me a sec to get used to writing them
Bye,
Blaize