Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 53: The Great Green Gamut

There is no escape, they will dance and sing."

This new curse would not be immediately noticeable, and therefore not prompt the pirates into action. In fact, if they were to not discover it for twenty-four hours, it would be impossible to cast a counter-curse. This curse would likely force them to sing and dance whenever something noteworthy occurs. What exactly qualifies for this distinction, they could not know, but time would reveal. Their adventure in The Great Green was about to get... musical.

Of course, the curse was only the beginning. The Great Green attracts many people, each coming for their own reasons. The new Gentleman Recruit, Roman Beluchs, had come to the island on a reconnaissance mission. Admiral Whistler had also landed on the island, believing it to be the current location of the Detective Pirates. Still, there were even others, what one might call 'locals', two individuals who somehow managed to live on the island for years without awakening the shadow.

Deep in the jungle, a gorilla lay in a hammock. It awoke, sensing the bizarre magical energy.

"Ooh, someone woke up the juju. Something isn't right here. Best get to my treehouse."

In a lake elsewhere in the jungle, a mermaid laid on a rock, humming to herself. She too felt the magical energy and as she did, she sung out.

"Oh what fun, the shadow wake. Newer prey is time to make."

On the West Side of the island, Admiral Whistler disembarked, attempting to report to her superiors.

"I am now on Gamut Island, investigating the possibility of pirate activity." She paused, anticipating a response, but got nothing except static. She then pulled out an allpurposometer. "These things have come a long way since their invention. Now let's see what's causing the interference."

She pressed a few buttons, so that the device would run basic atmospheric tests. After a few minutes, it discovered the issue.

"Ah, so the island is cursed. Well, many curses can be quite benign, and if those pirates could come back from Limbo, I can't just leave them to their own devices."

She begrudgingly accepted that she could not contact anyone to report her status, but still moved forward into the jungle.

Somewhere in the Eastern part of the jungle, the Gentleman Recruit Roman Beluchs sat on a rock, playing the lute.

"My musical inclination tells me a curse is at play. I wonder what will happen today." He wondered for a moment if it would be worth moving from his rock. Nah, I just got comfortable, he thought.

Patricia and Brandon, knowing that they could not leave the ship, decided to look around for something to communicate with the others. They found a walkie-talkie and remembered that James always carried one around, but after the usage on Notably Small Island, felt it might be safer not to use it. She had a feeling that this time, however, it would be fine. The curse was interfering with the transmission of frequencies, so that no sound could leave or enter the island. She would be able to radio a warning to the others, without the fear that any outside force could tap into their frequency.

Patricia held down the talk button and talked into the device. "James, are you there?"

A minute later, James responded. "Yes, I take it you're calling about the curse? Because Joneas just did a counter curse."

"It's good that you know, but what about the other group?"

"Karnilla and hers have probably experienced the effects to a degree, but should no longer be affected. They'll probably figure that something was up. Why are you using the walkie-talkie anyway?"