Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1) (10 page)

I sat down and fixed my clothes, which not only amused the men of the crew, but also diminished the respect they had for me even further. They looked at me like everyone used to look at me, but I knew, that I had changed and I wasn’t afraid of these men at all.

“I will take your ship. I don’t care what you think you are or who you think you are, but I know that I will leave this city with your ship,” I said, but the captain drank his beer without even giving me a look.

Only when he had emptied his cup he rammed the knife into the table in front of me and looked me straight into my eyes.

“In this world there are two things that count. Reputation and Expectation. The one develops while a man lives, and the other is what he leaves behind for the ones he loves. In my world we believe in the Iron Ocean, an eternal foray, in which only the best pirates of the world participate. It is said that the legacy of an iron pirate lets his clan bloom, but I personally do not believe in this crap. I have no family, no wishes, no dreams and also no interest in the likes of you. I spent half of my life in a cell of the Fortress of Shadows and it took from me my unstoppable force that once made me immortal.

Do you know why it is called the Fortress of Shadows? They call it that way, because if you stay in there for a longer period of time, you start to talk with the shadows that surround you. And if you survive the phase in which you doubt your own existence, then you come to the conclusion that you are not alone. It is the only thing that helps you survive. Now I don’t need to search for treasures anymore, because they have taken away from me what made me. My body is dead and all that remains is my weak spirit. This spirit has everything it needs right here. A beautiful woman in one hand, and a mug of beer in the other” he said and ordered a further big pitcher.

I pulled the knife from the table and in one go all of the men jumped in front of their captain and drew their swords.

“What if I know a way to renew this body? A treasure, which can grant you the strength you lost. Would that be enough for you to give me your ship?” I asked, and the captain leaned forward and looked deep into my eyes.

“What have they done to you, bub? Your soul is cold, but I see the fear that you are hiding behind all this courage. There is more to you than the eye can see. From fear grows anger, but it can destroy what it seeks to protect. Do not mess around with me. For my anger grows out of the greatest fear of all.”

He took the knife from my hand and laughed whereupon his men joined in. I have had no success with my plan, and perhaps this captain would never sail again. My next goal was Lucia, and with her I would not fail.

I wandered through the streets of my home town and even if many faces were unknown to me, I was equally as an unknown to the people who lived here. No one greeted me, or saw me in the eyes and it was as if I had never been gone. I haven’t even met my father yet, but I was sure that he hadn’t cried himself to sleep over me. Outside the house I already saw Emmerich, who immediately recognized me and I almost felt like I had arrived at home, as his kind words were the first to welcome my return.

“You wastrel! I beat you to death if you ever come into our house again. Lucia does not want to see you and I don’t want to see you as well. You have brought us nothing but trouble. You have always been a freak of nature. Your father recognized this at an early stage, but unfortunately still not early enough. And now leave me be,” he cried out loudly while waving around with his walking stick in the air.

“I want to hear that from Lucia herself. There is no reason for us to argue. Please get her,” I said politely, while I tried to forget the words of this old and angry man, even if it was very difficult this time around.

These people were the only family that I had and to hear that they despise me made it impossible for me to continue onwards. This treasure was Lucia's task and still I took this responsibility away from her. My ego had revealed itself, and apparently I had always a lot less fear in my heart than I would have expected to be possible. After many minutes of protest and arguing Emmerich finally went back into the house and sent Lucia out a few moments later. She had cried, and tried to hide it now. I knew this face only too well, and I knew that this time I was the reason for her sorrow, and not her father.

“I'm sorry, Lucia,” I said and lowered my head.

She ran up to me, and each of her steps felt endless while my heart began to beat faster until she delivered me a blow that send my head spinning and my body to the ground.

“You are sorry? Then go away, and finally do what you always wanted to. Disappear and let the world forget who you are. I have already done so. Once there was a time in which I would have sacrificed everything for you; I saw you as my brother, and I knew that no matter what happens one man will always be with me. But now that I see who you really are, I see, that you know nothing but fear, and that is why you see this fear in every soul you meet. My father was a hero, and even though I would want to find this treasure so much, I also know that I alone can’t do it. I wanted to save my father, like he once wanted to save my mother. However you have abandoned and destroyed, what was my last hope. Just because your own dreams crumbled,” she said and took a step back.

“I did not want for this to happen. I have always been someone who saw no meaning in this world. But this treasure is a threat to us all and the knowledge behind it could bring endless destruction. Every good tool is also a weapon and as such its user can lose control. What if we destroy the world that we want to protect so much?” I said and got up from the cold ground.

“You have already destroyed my world. Now go and save what is left of yours, but I will never forgive you.”

Without another word she went back to the house and I understood what I had done. Aton had told me, and yet I had not listened to his warnings. The captain was right and from my greatest fear the most powerful anger I had ever felt was slowly born. It was just an idea, only for a second, but I wanted to ensure that the world ends. And this was what I feared. This power was too great for just a man. For the time being I managed to forget my pride and I accepted that Lucia saw what I did as a mistake.

I went back to meet with Isaac and saw, that he was already head over heels in danger. Several criminals had beaten him up and stolen some of his bottles with the elixir. Although he still had a small amount of it left, it was not enough for the journey ahead.

“It was a whole keg. I finally had prepared enough for the trip. Now I need to start again from the beginning. Have you achieved anything?” he said and looked at his torn clothing.

“Are you ok? From the looks of it, they really did you in. And what about the keg? What happens when these men drink from it?” I asked him and examined his wounds.

He healed faster than anything I had ever seen. And even if the scratches in his face cut deep into the flesh, they left nothing when they slowly dissolved, not even a scar.

“Do not worry about me, this body is virtually indestructible. And these men will die if they drink the elixir. I think that is more than fair, if you ask me. It would not make sense to track them down and save them,” he said and went back to town in order to obtain further ingredients.

“Where do you want to get the gold to pay for even more elixir?”

“Lucia has given me some money. I met her shortly after we walked into the village. Even if she doesn’t want to talk to you, she still wants me to succeed.”

I had little hope for our success at this point, but I wanted it to come true. If Isaac succeeded, my mistake could maybe one day be forgotten. But if these men planned what I suspected, we would soon no longer have a ship on which we’d be able to travel. A small keg full of alcohol was worth a small fortune at times like these and I was sure, that I knew just the place where one would try and sell it. I ran in the direction of the inn, but when I walked in, the owner was already handing out jars with the elixir in them. 

Even Dylan had a filled up jug in the hand, but luckily he seemed too busy to drink from it just yet. If I’d warn them they would suspect this scenario as some kind of regretted action. And if they believed, that it was me, who wanted to poison them, I would certainly be done for. I had to at least keep the captain busy until everyone else had emptied their cup. 

I made another hard choice and again people would die because of my actions, but all things considered it was only the captain we truly needed.

“Ah, who do we have here? If it isn’t our little bub. And have we finally lost our anger problem? Just take a look around and tell me what you see. Isn’t this all a man needs?” said the captain cheerfully and raised his cup to his men.

“I would like to join you,” I replied immediately and kept him from drinking.

I knew that men like him would never refuse another man a drink. The owner filled a cup for me, but now the captain expected a toast. It was clear to me that this would mean that all of these men die, and so I tried my best to keep the words long.

“In an unknown way we are all connected. Out there in the world, full of treasures and secrets, we are outcast. We are looking for something that changes who we are, that makes us more like the people we admire. But I have now understood that there is no such thing. If even the greatest pirate of this world is afraid and if his life is nothing more than a shadowy existence, then I also no longer want to be an adventurer. So let us drink, to the fear, and the simple life!”

Of course I awakened the anger of the crew and the attention of their master. He suspected that there was something wrong, but at this moment I could only hope that he couldn’t see through me completely.

“What a load of rubbish! Our captain is the greatest hero the world has ever seen. I shit on your simple life, bub! To captain Greybeard! To the Iron Ocean!” called one of the men and drank a sip of the elixir.

Many followed his example, but quick-thinking I grabbed the arm of the captain before he could take a sip as well. He looked me in the eyes and knew immediately what had happened. 

It did not take long for most to fall from their chairs. They tripped and vomited on the ground before their body began to tremble and all that was left for them to do was to scream and die. It only took a few minutes for silence to return and the captain and I were the only survivors.

“I warned you. An attack on a pirate, you must have truly given up on your life. Meet me in the morning in the harbour; we set the sails, as soon as the sun shows itself. If you come late, you shall die, like the rest of this village,” said the captain and left.

He went past the corpses of his men, and threw a last glance at the round, but it was still just the two of us who had survived.

“What do you mean by die?” I asked him and he spat on the ground and drew his sword.

“Do you see this? It was forged in the fiery cauldron of the volcano Ignis, as one of the seven hundred Iron Guards. It was the last time that the mountain spat fire and there probably only remain a few blades like this. Many brave men fell by this sword, and now that I am free again, many more will follow. The pirates of this world who are proud swear an oath to the tomb of Sir Abhay, the first person who travelled the world as a free man. If someone kills a member of my family, then I will repay him with his own coin.

This city will burn and the people who live here will suffer, just like these people suffered today. And only when their ash is scattered in the wind and the name of this place is forgotten, will I forget my anger against you. Together we will find this treasure, but only one of us will keep it in the end” he yelled and left the inn.

I breathed faster and felt the consequences of my pride. My fear had always protected me, but now I understood what happens when a person feels too safe.

Even if Dylan was nothing more than an old man with a ship and a sword, he soon found easy substitutes for his deceased crew because these two things were exactly what the lawless people of this country needed. I only had a few hours until the ship would leave the port, but the important thing to me was to warn Lucia. I could not even imagine how it would be to lose her. When I arrived at the house she sat outside and saw me coming from afar.

“You must leave!” I yelled at her, while I stopped running and tried to catch my breath.

“No, you are confusing the both of us. I live here and you have to leave,” it echoed back, but this time I was not ready to simply let her go.

“The pirates will burn down the village and they won’t spare anyone. We cannot stay here; you can still come with me, or flee.”

“What have you done? Why should they attack the town? We have never done anything.”

Even if I told her the truth, it would be of no help to her, which is why I decided to come up with a story.

“The captain is a man who likes to play it safe. He does not want anyone to know that he personally had been here. The kings of the world are on his trail, and the longer it takes until they find him, the better for him. But I have no other choice than to follow him. He has a ship and without it I can’t find the treasure. You yourself have said that this treasure is important. Come with me and we can find a solution together. We could perhaps even save your father.”

She looked at me, and I knew that I could never be the same man in her eyes again.

“And what happens to our friends? Our families? We leave them here to die? How can you be so cold?”

“The treasure will bring all of them back. Isaac said that with this treasure he can find the truth. We can undo what will happen soon. But if you stay here, then I do not know whether I can do it alone.”

My lies piled up and with every second, I deeply enmeshed myself in them, and I hoped that we would find a real answer. The number of victims grew, but no matter what happened there was only one person who meant something to me - Lucia. And even if she hated me, I just couldn’t hate her.