Iguanatopia - ONC 2021 (Completed)

1:Turniptopia

A stray turnip flew through the air. Alba sighed. Not again.

"Oy!" she yelled to useless men below on the ship. "Don't waste the food! Throw something else at each other."

The men didn't listen. They never did. Peg-legged Pedro hurled an onion towards One-eyed Joe and almost hit his opponent's remaining eye, while Joe, in turn, aimed a peach at Pedro. The fight between the two dumb sailors was egged on by the equally dumb deckhands.

"I should be the captain of the Estrella," Joe yelled while brandishing his chosen weapon of plump fruit.

"No, the captain would have wanted it to be me," Pedro shouted back while reaching for a carrot.

This fight had gone on for weeks now, ever since their captain had fallen off the ship in a drunken stupor. Or if he had flown away. No one really knew. Captain Ignacio had just been gone one morning, after a very rum-soaked night. Rumors told that he was last been seen swaying precariously by the railing, which had led to the prevailing theory about his fate.

As the ship rocked from side to side a cascade of salty water washed over the deck. The wave drenched the squabbling men and almost toppled them over. The shower seemed to cool down the combatants and they lowered their weapons. At least for the moment.

"Let's have a vote instead," Pedro said with a sigh. "The men should decide who is their captain."

"And the women," Alba mumbled from her position in the crow's nest. No one seemed to hear her.

This was not the first time a vote was held, and just like every other time, it ended with a draw. Because no one ever changed their vote. It was an exercise in futility, but it still went on. Every day they voted, and every time there was a draw.

No one asked Alba to vote. Perhaps the dumb-dumbs didn't realize that she could have settled the draw. And Alba didn't volunteer her vote, because she wanted to vote for neither Pedro nor Joe. They weren't bad men, but they were stubborn and put lightly... not the sharpest swords ever swung.

But they were her family, just like the rest of the crew. A bunch of annoying brothers. The only family Alba had. Growing up an orphan on the bustling streets of the port town San Carlos she learned to support herself by picking pockets at an early age. Until the day she met Captain Ignacio. He had recognized that her keen eyes, which aided her in stealing wallets and coins, made her an excellent lookout and had recruited her to his ragtag crew on the schooner Estrella. They weren't pirates as much as looters, taking advantage of what treasure they could find on the waves and on the shores. A bunch of men, and women, who chose to exist at the fringes of society where life was hard but free.

"Guess we'll just have to take turns," Joe sighed. "I'll be the captain today and you the next day until the men can come to a decision."

"No, I should be captain today," Pedro retorted and once again grabbed a turnip. Why did they have so many turnips onboard anyway?

The war started all over again. Produce flew across the deck as the rest of the crew enthusiastically engaged in the battle as well. After all, food fights were more fun than ship duties.

"What have I told you about throwing food?" a stern voice bellowed over the ship.

The men all froze in place. Grace had arrived. Every man aboard feared the ship's cook. In hushed whispers, the boys told stories at night about her. It was rumored that she had been a princess in foreign lands before being captured and sold as a slave. But, the legend of Grace told, she had escaped slavery after killing her master with an ax.

Pedro and Joe looked down, suddenly turned from cocky men into scared boys. "Sorry, mam," Pedro muttered.

"We didn't mean to..." Joe mumbled.

"You better not have thrown any turnips overboard," Grace grumbled. "Now clean up here before any food gets lost! No one will get supper before the deck is spotless again."

With a sullen look, Pedro picked up a stray turnip right by his peg leg and handed it to Grace. Joe turned towards the deckhands behind them. "Why are you just standing there, boys?" he yelled. "You heard the lady, grab some brooms and clean up!"

By the railing, Oliviero, the ship's cat, pawed a rolling turnip. At least the fight had given the playful orange feline plenty of moving targets to chase.

Alba could hint a smile on Grace's lips as the men and boys eagerly went to work. The cook turned her head to the mast, where Alba still peered down at the scene.

"You can have the first turn on supper, girl," Grace said. "I know you weren't part of these shenanigans."

"I'll be right down, Grace," Alba replied and started to scale down the rope ladder. Her many braids, adorned with shells, beads, and feathers, rustled as she made her descent.

"Lucien!" she yelled out when she put her boots on the deck. "It's your shift in the mast!"

A blonde boy with freckles on his nose and arms appeared, probably pleased to escape the clean-up. "Will you get a bowl for me?" he asked, seemingly worried to miss out on supper.

"Of course," Alba replied and put her hand on his shoulder. Lucien was the kindest of the boys on the ship, and always looked out for her, so she looked out for him. His polite manners and polished looks spoke of a sheltered upbringing and sometimes he still looked a bit out of place. Alba had never asked her friend how he had ended up on the Estrella, it was an unspoken rule of pirate life to never ask, but he seemed happy with the freedom life at sea offered.

Before Lucien had time to scale the mast another of the boys on deck called out, "There's something in the water!"

All eyes were directed to the port side of the ship. Alba cursed her short stature as all the boys towered over her. She couldn't see what was going on, so she decided to climb to get a better view.

From a few feet up the mast ladder, she could see what everyone was looking at. A small raft, really just a piece of driftwood, floated among the waves, and on it, something stood. An animal.

Alba climbed higher and grabbed the binoculars up in the crow's nest. With them in front of her eyes, she directed her gaze towards the raft again. She could now see the passenger on the small raft.

It was a big lizard with coloring that shifted between green and orange, and a high spiky mane. An iguana. And next to it was a bottle with a piece of paper in it.

Any pirate knew what that piece of paper must be. The dream that kept them going. The lure of adventure. The promise of a tomorrow filled with gold and glory.

A treasure map.