Journey to The Isle of Gold

Chapter 1: Short Alliances, Quick Betrayals

Tristan actually felt bad now. He wasn't the sympathetic type, but he could certainly empathize with her situation. His parents weren't model citizens either. On his journeys across the skyways, he's met some bad people looking for him because his parents had wronged them in some way. Tristan averted his gaze and took a deep breath. "Hey..." He said before trailing off. He could feel the young woman's gaze bore into the back of his head, staring at him with her amber eyes expectantly. His mouth felt dry. He regretted speaking up. He had nothing to say. He hated empty promises and hated when people apologized without meaning it. But something urged him to comfort her.

BOOOOM!

Suddenly their surroundings started to shake violently. The floor shook underneath them from the impact. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling. The girl screeched at the sound while Tristan braced himself on the iron bars. The Armada ship is under attack. He thought to himself. But who would be so reckless to confront the Armada directly?

He got his answer when the trap door leading to the main deck exploded, sending splinters of wood flying. Tristan coughed violently as dust filled his lungs. When he looked up he saw two figures rushing through the halls of their cells. "There, that one. She's the one!" The smallest of the two said with an urgent French accent. He was a monkey, most likely from Monquista. He wore a former navy blue pirate attire.

"Wha-?" The girl asked, clearly confused out of her mind.

"You're Helen Nichols, are you not?" The bigger pirate asked quickly. He looked more like the traditional pirate. He had a big white beard, an eye patch and wore a red and black matching attire. Tristan realized immediately who the overweight pirate was. The infamous Boochbeard.

The girl, apparently named Helen, yelped when the ship shook violently again. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "Yes, that's me!"

"Har har! I knew it!" The big pirate laughed, "Let's get you out of here lass. Your parents would haunt me from their grave if I let you rot here!"

"Wait, my parents... they're-"

"No time!" The monkey yelled as the ship shook again. "We must go now!" He handed the big pirate a keychain which he quickly fumbled with, picking a key and jamming it in the lock. He flung the cell door open.

"Wait-" Helen protested as she rushed out of the cell. She pointed towards Tristan. "We can't leave him here. He'll die in the wreckage."

"We are not running a charity! You're the reason we came, Ms. Nichols! Deacon cannot find El Dorado without you! We must get you as far away from the Armada as possible!" The monkey protested. Tristan's eyes widened at that. She was the key to finding El Dorado?

"I am not leaving without him!" Helen exclaimed, before rushing towards his cell. Tristan was taken aback by her actions. He watched her helplessly try to unlock his cell with no chance of getting it open. If he had to be honest with himself, he wouldn't have thought about helping her if he was in her shoes. He immediately felt guilty.

"Just go." He urged. "Deacon has a specific key to this cell. You can't pry it open." Helen looked back at him before she felt the pirate put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right lass." Boochbeard said. Tristan eyed the pirate wearily. He and the pirate had a complicated past. Seeing him here didn't get his hopes up for his chances of escaping. "We don't have the time or the resources to get him-"

BOOOM!

The wall behind Tristan suddenly exploded, causing him to fall over. He covered the back of his head protectively until the dust cleared. He looked back to see the wall now completely gone, leaving him an exit.