Hiking through the jungle where paths haven't been cleared is more difficult than I thought. Chris and Chloe are leading the way excitedly as the rest of us trip over branches and rocks. We had gone past the city and around the western base of the mountain, passing some of the caves Amy and Chris had explored when they first arrived. It must have taken Chloe years to memorize how to get around out here without getting lost. I wish we had a map so I could explore on my own later.
"How much further?" Victoria asks, sounding out of breath as we climb up mossy rocks.
"Just over this ridge," Chloe yells back. She and Chris help us over the steep edge at the top carefully, Amy and Brian freeze as they look out in the distance, just out of our view.
"It better be worth all this climbing, I'm sore and filthy." Victoria sighs irritatedly.
"It is..." Amy says, her eyes growing wider. I hoist myself up and climb to my feet, holding onto the wall for stability before seeing what they were staring at. There was a huge, rocky, crescent-shaped cove hidden away behind the mountain, but what was more intriguing was what was stuck on the rocks. An old worn down wooden ship lay broken apart on the jagged shoreline.
"Holy shit," I mutter as I stare in disbelief. Based on its structure, it had to be from the 1600s, maybe earlier.
"Didn't I tell ya?" Chloe smiles, "C'mon, I'll show you around." She sits down, starting to carefully descend over the sharp rocks. We all slowly follow behind and slide down to the shallow water at the bottom, it was only knee-deep here. As we make our way to the hull of the ship, we all take advantage of the water to wash away all the dirt from climbing. After that trek, it became more and more obvious that we were going to be needing more clothes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the wreck of the S.S. Lobelia." Chloe holds her arms up as she climbs up into a hole in the side of the ship "I found this after I was here for about six months, and I figured it was about time I showed it to you guys." she explains as she waves everyone in. As I climb between the rotting old boards, I feel a mix of excitement and curiosity, the same way I had when I first arrived at the city.
"How did this end up here?" Carmen asks, carefully sliding her fingers across an old crate.
"You've got me. As far as I can tell, this was a vessel used for piracy, but I'm not sure how they ended up shipwrecked here." Chloe states as she climbs up a ladder on the opposite end of the dark room, opening a hatch in the ceiling.
"Wait, pirates?" Brian asks, sounding intrigued. "Like, actual pirates?" Suddenly, Amy and Carmen can't stop laughing, and Brian seems confused and offended.
"Seriously?" Carmen giggles "We spent two hours yesterday talking about supernatural phenomenons and suddenly you're surprised by pirates?"
"Honey, this makes the most sense out of everything." Amy bursts out laughing even louder. Brian still seems confused, but it was now paired with embarrassment.
"You know what, this does make a lot of sense. Weren't Spanish pirates notorious for invading ancient empires and stealing their treasures?" I explain curiously "I remember reading about how a lot of the artifacts from the Incan Empire were taken and melted down." I say as I follow Chloe up the ladder to the next floor. As far as I can tell, it must have been the barracks.
"Whatever they came here for, they clearly never left with it. This place is a mess." Victoria states as she pokes around the old wooden storage chests. As we all walk around, I can hear the floor creak beneath our feet. The closer to the deck we got, the more impressive the architecture was. Beautiful carvings had been etched into the doorways, and the iron frames seemed more and more decorative. It was something to admire, I could almost feel the romance of the sea the crew must have felt living aboard this ship. Chloe leads us to the deck and we all carefully step out and stare up at the masts in awe. The sails were clearly long gone, but the ropes that once controlled them were surprisingly still intact. The structure was much more worn on the outside, the salty sea air had not been kind to it over the years.
"Up these stairs are the captain's quarters if you wanna see," Chloe states as she wanders up the stairs, followed by Carmen. Everyone else seems distracted, so I let them be and followed her. The door was falling apart but had somehow managed to stay on its hinges, Carefully, Chloe pushes it open and makes her way inside. This room seemed practically untouched. The sunlight that beamed in from the windows spotlighted the dust particles that floated around the air. There was a rotting old bed on the other end of the room in the corner, and pieces of old fifteenth-century flags had been meticulously cut up and hung on the walls. There were random odds and ends between coins and necklace chains scattered across the bureau, as well as a rusted dagger. I pick up and analyze a coin, rubbing my finger over the worn-out pattern. Carmen peers over my shoulder and seems excited, swiping one of the coins. Holding it up in the light, she flips it over as she tries to read the faded text on it.
"Holy crap, I think this is a Spanish merribee from the 1640s," Carmen explains, turning her attention to the rest of the little treasures. I wander around and looked at a filthy painting that hung crookedly on the wall. It looked like a landscape with mountains in the distance, but it was too faded to see clearly.
"A what?" Chloe asks, confused.
"It's an old coin commonly used by Spanish pirates, I saw a documentary about them once," Carmen explains, she always seemed to be a wealth of the most random knowledge.
"Did you take stuff from here or is this how you found it?" I ask curiously as Chloe leans on the windowsill, looking out at the deck.
"I didn't see any reason to disturb it. Although there were some interesting things in that dresser you might like," she explains, pointing back to the bureau. Carmen carefully slid open one of the drawers, peeking inside. Old paper scrolls were meticulously placed inside. Carmen reached in and pulled out the largest one, slowly unrolling it. It didn't take a genius to be able to tell that it was a crudely drawn map of an island.
"Well, that's pretty cool. Where do you think that is?" I ask, studying it. Chloe shrugs as she lifts another scroll out of the drawer.
"No clue, but it's definitely not here." she explains "This one on the other hand..." she begins to carefully unwrap the parchment and flip it towards us.
"That's the city, isn't it?" I ask, leaning in to study it closer. Chloe nods and points at a few clearly marked spots.
"These are entrances to the catacombs beneath the city. I'm not sure where they got this, but I think they were going to use it to pillage this place." Chloe explains nervously. Carmen continued to go through the other maps and charts; some were crudely drawn, and others seem like they had been professionally done.
"I think you're right about the pirate theory," I state, looking over Carmen's shoulder as she analyzes the old papers.
"If that was true, how did they even know anything was here to begin with?" Carmen asks, looking out the window. Chloe and I exchange glances curiously, and I sigh as I walk to the doorway.
"Questions, questions, and more questions. Can't we have a day of just answers for once?"