There Be Treasure Await'n

You Belong Among the Wildflowers

Jim and Silver hacked away at the leaves and branches ahead of them, sweat wetting their faces as they made their way through the dense forests of Irenia. The crew had been hiking through an overgrown valley for the majority of the morning and afternoon, and everyone was tired. "Hey, B.E.N., how close are we?" Jim asked, huffing. "Approximately four-point-seven leagues Captain Jimmy sir!" The robot replied, typing away at his navigation plate. "Maybe we should just camp out for the night," the brunette murmured, looking around at the (for once) semi-clear area around them. John looked up through the canopy at the sky where daylight was fading. "Aye Jimbo, if we want to stop, then now's the time," he said, lowering his blade.

Jim turned to face the line of crew-members trailing behind them with packs on their backs, cupping a hand around his mouth. "Halt, men! We set camp here!" He called, sheathing his sword. There were numerous sighs of relief as the aliens dropped their bags to the ground, moving to unroll blankets, unload food, and gather firewood. Within a half-hour, sleeping bags were set up, a fire was lit, and food had begun to cook, sending wonderful aromas out around them. When everyone was finishing their dinners, John moved next to Jim, closer to the fire. "Well, lads, who wants ta hear a story or two?" He asked with a smile. There were whoops around the circle in an affirmative and the cyborg began his tales.

When Silver ended his stories, another crew-mate would tell one of his own. So, an hour later, there they were listening to a bird-alien recount an experience he had traversing through a circus in a drunken stupor, bringing more than a few laughs from the audience. John leaned over to Jim, grinning as he watched the crew-mate act out his story. "This here is easily ta best crew I've ever traveled with Jimbo. Lucky lad ye are to have such fine men," he remarked. The boy smiled softly. "Yeah. Pretty lucky," he said quietly. 

Soon enough, the fire was put out and the company was all fast asleep until morning came creeping a few hours later. Jim awoke to Morph prodding his face and decided that it was time to leave after viewing the passing daylight. Breakfast was eaten, and the group was off again, climbing farther into the mountainsides of the planet. Within hours, B.E.N. was hollering in excitement and pointing at his navigation plate. "We're practically here, Captain, just over this hill!!" He shouted, jumping from foot to foot. Jim turned to the crew, who had all stopped behind him, catching their breath. "Mr. Norton, Mr. Hadley," he said, calling for their attention. A leopard alien and a large muscular reptilian raised their heads. "Come with us. We'll scout the area." 

The group hiked to the top of the hillside, finally out of the thick brush of the forests, and peered over it. "There," Jim said, pointing. At the bottom of the hill, laying in a bed of large flowers were four chests covered in glittering dust. They began sliding down the mountain before Norton stopped them, reaching a lithe arm out in front of Jim. "Captain, I recognize these plants. They are on my home planet and are very dangerous," he said in a thick accent, a worried look on his face. Jim looked at him. "What do they do?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing. The leopard grabbed a long stick next to them and slid down a little further and began prodding at one of the flowers. At the third poke, the petals of the plant opened wide and grasped the stick, cutting it almost cleanly in half as it consumed it. John gulped. 

"They are a species of venus fly-trap...responsible for many a death and injury to children where I'm from," Norton said quietly, scooting back up to the group. "So, how are we gonna get the treasure?" Hadley asked, looking at his Captain. Jim rested his chin in his hand for a moment and said nothing as he gazed down at the chests. He looked at his crew-mates, a thoughtful look on his face. "Go find some sticks. Long sturdy ones, like the ones for javelins." He said, pulling out his cutlass. Norton and Hadley saluted him, and with an "Aye Captain," they had disappeared back over the other side of the hill. "Whatcha plannin' Jimbo?" John asked, holding a chattering Morph in his flesh hand. "We need to make hooks. We can use them to grab the chest handles and lift them up. I think the flowers are only provoked by continuous movement," he said, grabbing a thick piece of log and whittling it. Silver nodded and extended out his carving tools on his cyborg arm and began making his own hook.