Contest Entry: Fire and Brimstone

Hannah the Brave was renowned around Neopia as an excellent treasure hunter and adventuress. Despite this, the pretty Usul also had the worst timing. She had been caught by Bloodhook of all creatures trying to sneak aboard the notorious Revenge for a worn treasure map leading to something called a fire ruby. Bloodhook clamped his feathery hands around the Usul's mouth to keep her from screaming as he dragged her up to the fearsome Lupe captain.

"Caught ourselves a little eavesdropper, Scarblade." The Eeyrie said with a wicked chuckle.

"Kill them. They're no use to us." Scarblade growled without turning around. Bloodhook raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to see who it is first?" Bloodhook asked almost idly. Scarblade's good eye twitched. Though he had forged a temporary alliance with the Eeyrie, it did not stop him from finding him irritating. The Lupe turned around and he blinked for a moment, staring down his long snout at the frightened Usul.

"Well I'll be damned," the Lupe said with the beginning of a dark smile. "It's Garin's little bar wench!" Bloodhook nodded.

"Aye. Caught her sneakin' aboard the Revenge for that liddle map o' ours." Scarblade laughed and drew his cutlass, placing the point under Hannah's chin.

"Did ya now? Well, findin' that gem's going to be a snap for certain now that we've got an expert on our hands." Bloodhook nodded.

"Up for a spot o' explorin' me pretty liddle niece?" Hannah wanted nothing more than to bite her uncle, but she knew if she did that, then Scarblade would run her through, useful or not. Bloodhook then had a thought, surprisingly enough. "Oi Scarface," he said to the Lupe. "What'll we do when Garin show up? You know 'e's bound to when she's involved." Scarblade scoffed.

"Ye think I 'aven't thought of that?! We set a trap for him. As I always have, only this time..." he grinned. "He ain't escaping."
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Speaking of the busy-tailed Devil, Garin the Foolish was actually not far behind from the devilish duo. Hannah had been clever enough to take someone along with her before heading for the Revenge on her own. Mint sat on a barrel as she watched Garin at the helm. She tilted her head as she stared at him. The Usul didn't resemble himself in the slightest. Normally, he was happy and very easy-going but now his face was dead serious and there wasn't a spark of mirth in his light blue eyes. He had been this way ever since Mint had come back alone and told the crew of Hannah's capture.

"Captain," the green Kacheek started to say. "I am sure Mlle Hannah weel be okay. She ees a clever lady." Garin turned the wheel sharply, nearly causing Mint to fall over.

"Clever my left foot. She's downright foolish, is what she is!" The Usul was muttering to himself. "Why didn't she TELL me about this? She knows how dangerous Ol' Cyclops is!" Mint managed to get back in place.

"Ees ze fire ruby," she said with a nod. "Eet 'as a powerful allure to eet, oui?" Garin nodded.

"Aye, it does. But she knows I would let her have it. I usually do." Mint raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I usually let her have the loot sometimes. But if it's taken from Scarblade..." he shook his head.

"Captain! I've spotted the Revenge!" Talek cried from the crow's nest.

"Where away?!" Garin called back.

"She's right ahead of us Captain! Should we call the men to arms?" Garin thought a moment and then his tail twitched.

"Uh-oh, the captain's about to suggest something daring," Jacques said, his eyes widening.

"We'll use the fog for cover. Hannah's aboard that ship, so we'll follow the Revenge until we reach wherever it is Ol' Cyclops and his bunch of idiots are headed." Garin answered, adjusting his headband. "In the meantime, keep a sharp eye for lookouts. I don't want to lose the ship in the fog so we'll have to get closer." The crew hurried about complying with their captain's orders. Sails were unfurled and though they were given a direct order not to fire, the crew stayed by their guns in case a fight did break out. One could never tell with the Revenge.
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Hannah sat in the brig of the Revenge with a map in front of her. She had charted the course straight to an island called Isla de Cenizas due to the ashy resdue that floated on the water from a volcanic explosion a long time ago. The volcano Lago de Fuego was dormant, and was hollowed out into a maze of tunnels. Scarblade and Bloodhook were above her, no doubt squabbling over who got to kill Garin first and who was going to keep the fire ruby once they acquired it. The pretty female Usul sighed and tried looking through one of the holes in the Revenge once more. She still saw no sign of Garin or the Black Pawkeet. Her ears drooped and she headed back to her table, waiting for the Revenge to dock.

"Aw, not to worry pretty one, he'll come for you." A blonde Kyrii mocked her. Hannah looked up to see Avenger smirking at her and toying with her blades. "And when he does, the Captain will throw him a welcoming party he won't soon forget!" She laughed and Hannah scoffed.

"Oh, I'm sure he'd try." She retorted. "But your captain never learns his lesson. Garin will always triumph. What can I say? He may be a fool, but he is a clever fool." Avenger rolled her eyes.

"Your faith in him is nauseating," she said with a sneer. "Be prepared, missy. We dock in a half hour." Hannah looked back down at the map again. Her ears twitched as she heard bootsteps coming down into the brig and her eyes widened.
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Garin waited until he was sure that every pirate was off the ship and scouting the large mountain taking up most of the space on the island. He drew his dagger and took a flying leap onto the deck of the Revenge. He wasted no time and headed below deck to the brig where Hannah sat tied up and gagged. He smiled at her and headed towards her, but Hannah's eyes widened and she frantically shook her head.

"Hannah, it's me. It's Garin. You'll be okay now. I'm here." He said gently as he removed the gag.

"Garin, look out!" The Usul barely had time to duck away when Bloodhook swung at him with his cutlass.

"So, we meet again, don't we brat? Ready to give up me ship?" Garin sat up, rubbing his head.

"When the Devil learns how to ice-skate than sure!" He retorted, clashing his dagger against the saber. Hannah tried wriggling out of her ropes while the two pirates dueled. Bloodhook dealt a nasty slash at Garin's tail, but the nimble Usul ducked just in time and stabbed Bloodhook's foot. The Eeyrie cried out in pain and swung a mean left hook into Garin's face.

"What are you doing aboard the Revenge, anyways?" Garin said, spitting blood onto the floor. The former master of the Black Pawkeet smiled nastily at him.

"Forged an alliance or summat like that. The Lupe's a means to an end. He had a map to a treasure I wanted. Once I'm finished with you and your liddle bar wench, he's next on my list!" Garin laughed.

"Yeah? Good luck with that plan. Between the two of you, I'd rather take my chances with you rather than him. At least he's a semi-decent fighter!" Bloodhook shrieked in rage.

"You insolent little whelp! I'll skin yer for that!"

"You'll have to catch me first, bird-brain!" Enraged, Bloodhook ran after the Usul and Garin leapt up onto a beam as the angry Eeyrie charged at him and found himself falling into the water. Garin climbed back down and gave Bloodhook a cheeky salute, then went to set Hannah free. The lady Usul had untied herself and was armed with a fire poker from Scarblade's quarters. Garin held up his paws. "Hannah, it's me! It's me!" Hannah lowered the fire poker.

"Where's Bloodhook?" Garin grinned at her.

"Having a pleasant conversation with the local fish," he answered. Hannah rolled her eyes and kissed him.

"Thanks for saving me. Again." Garin winked at her.

"I'll always come after you, no matter what." He said honestly, making her blush. He was about to kiss her again when he saw Scarblade and the rest of his men leaving the mountain caves. "Think we'd better embrace the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions," he muttered, lifting Hannah into his arms.

"But what about the fire ruby?" She protested. Garin grinned cheekily again.

"We'll have plenty of time to steal it from Ol' Cyclops after he maroons Bloodhook for letting us escape. Now, shall we?" And with that, he swung from the deck of the Revenge to the Black Pawkeet, hollering at his crew to make sail as quickly as possible.
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Naturally, when Scarblade saw the Pawkeet leaving he was more furious than he had ever been. He regretted not bringing Hannah into the caves and leaving her in her uncle's care. He had overestimated the Eeyrie and Bloodhook's usefulness had run short. Growling to himself, he headed to his fellow pirate menacingly....

Bloodhook would not be seen again for several months when a passing cargo ship found him on the banks of a nearby desert island, raving about the Lupe's betrayal and swearing revenge.