HOME | DD

Description
Chapter 2

It was sometime the next afternoon when Neshae was awoken again. Phoenix had been anchored off an island Neshae presumed was the one pointed to on the treasure map. The vampire wasted no time in getting to the shade of the trees and waited for his companions to catch up. Jomeiah was visiting another friend at the moment so the only ones that came ashore were Willie, Nathyn, and Nillie.

“So what's it like?” Willie inquired.

“Just some werewolves over there.” Neshae gestured toward nothing but sand and trees. “There's a colony of five-headed bees playing poker in that tree over there.”

“Safe. Got it.” Nillie cut him off. “Any clues as to where this treasure is?”

Neshae shrugged. “Dunno. Ya'll have the map. I didn't even look at it. I just grabbed and delivered.”

“Of course,” Nillie said under her breath.

“Well I did look at the map and I believe we go this way.” Willie pointed Westward and began moving. Nathyn nodded and followed him, followed by Nillie and Neshae.

It was not long before they came across a curious sight. A table sat in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Four legs made of wood peeked out from under a red and white checkered table cloth that was lightly disturbed by the gentle breeze. A shiny, red apple sat on a white dish in the middle. It was so unexpected that they all stopped in their tracks.

“Does someone live out here?” Nathyn wondered.

“Maybe. It's possible. But if so where are they?” Willie glanced around.

“I don't like this.” Nillie pulled out one of her guns. “Something doesn't feel right.”

“Maybe we should just keep going,” Willie suggested.

“What if it's a mark leading to the treasure?” Nathyn asked. “What else would it be?”

“A trap,” Nillie answered.

Neshae approached the table. He cocked his head and poked the apple. Immediately a long, purple tentacle with blue spots sprouted from the apple and wrapped around his wrist.

Shouts of alarm rang out as more tentacles sprouted from the table and the legs began crawling across the same. Another tentacle grabbed Neshae's leg and he was lifted off the ground. More tentacles swatted at the others, trying to claim as many victims as it could.

The four reacted simultaneously. In the same moment Neshae sliced at the tentacles holding onto him while Nillie shot at the ones closest to her, fire erupted from Willie's cane, and Nathyn pulled out the magic marbles Willie had let him use to give the monster a nasty blast of fire. In the next instant Nillie shot a missile at the table itself, causing it to explode into flying chunks of gore.

“Okay our new rule should be to touch absolutely nothing except hopefully the treasure,” Nathyn observed.

“Noted,” Neshae replied. The others nodded.

In moments they were on the right track again. Before long they came across a river cutting across the island.

“Where to?” Nillie asked.

“We'll have to cross somehow,” Willie answered.

“Looks like there's a log over there.” Nathyn pointed downstream where a large tree had fallen over the river, creating a bridge.

As they headed for the log, something shiny caught Neshae's eye. Against a rock in the water was a glass bottle. Inside, the vampire could clearly see a rolled up scrap of paper.

“Hey, check this out,” Neshae called as he picked up the bottle. He opened it and unrolled the message inside.

“What does it say?” Willie asked.

“It says the treasure's been moved.” Neshae handed him the paper.

“To the casino down the river?” Nillie read over Willie's shoulder. “Sounds fishy to me.”

“Yeah I figure we'd probably have seen more people if there were a casino,” Nathyn said. “Sounds like a trap.”

“What if some human found it and opened a casino with the money?” Neshae said.

“Think about what you just said and tell me why it's wrong,” Nillie told him.

Neshae shrugged. “Was just a thought. I've learned to never underestimate human stupidity. They do illogical things all the time.”

“Building a casino on an uncharted island out of treasure some pirate left here hundreds of years ago seems like a bit of a stretch.”

“I agree with Nillie on this one,” Willie said. “If we follow the map and it leads nowhere we'll come back and see how legitimate this is.”

“Or we could save some time and I'll go fly and see if the casino is real. I'll catch up after,” Neshae offered.

“I guess if you really want to...” Willie showed Neshae the map. They studied the route Willie was taking so Neshae would be able to find them again. Then the vampire took off down the river.

Fifteen minutes later a huge shadow swept over the remaining three. Looking up they saw a large, black dragon flying overhead. In one of it's claws was Neshae, struggling and swearing.

“Is that...?” Nillie pointed.

“Yeah,” Nathyn answered and they took off running after the dragon to offer Neshae assistance.

Description
Chapter 2

It was sometime the next afternoon when Neshae was awoken again. Phoenix had been anchored off an island Neshae presumed was the one pointed to on the treasure map. The vampire wasted no time in getting to the shade of the trees and waited for his companions to catch up. Jomeiah was visiting another friend at the moment so the only ones that came ashore were Willie, Nathyn, and Nillie.

“So what's it like?” Willie inquired.

“Just some werewolves over there.” Neshae gestured toward nothing but sand and trees. “There's a colony of five-headed bees playing poker in that tree over there.”

“Safe. Got it.” Nillie cut him off. “Any clues as to where this treasure is?”

Neshae shrugged. “Dunno. Ya'll have the map. I didn't even look at it. I just grabbed and delivered.”

“Of course,” Nillie said under her breath.

“Well I did look at the map and I believe we go this way.” Willie pointed Westward and began moving. Nathyn nodded and followed him, followed by Nillie and Neshae.

It was not long before they came across a curious sight. A table sat in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Four legs made of wood peeked out from under a red and white checkered table cloth that was lightly disturbed by the gentle breeze. A shiny, red apple sat on a white dish in the middle. It was so unexpected that they all stopped in their tracks.

“Does someone live out here?” Nathyn wondered.

“Maybe. It's possible. But if so where are they?” Willie glanced around.

“I don't like this.” Nillie pulled out one of her guns. “Something doesn't feel right.”

“Maybe we should just keep going,” Willie suggested.

“What if it's a mark leading to the treasure?” Nathyn asked. “What else would it be?”

“A trap,” Nillie answered.

Neshae approached the table. He cocked his head and poked the apple. Immediately a long, purple tentacle with blue spots sprouted from the apple and wrapped around his wrist.

Shouts of alarm rang out as more tentacles sprouted from the table and the legs began crawling across the same. Another tentacle grabbed Neshae's leg and he was lifted off the ground. More tentacles swatted at the others, trying to claim as many victims as it could.

The four reacted simultaneously. In the same moment Neshae sliced at the tentacles holding onto him while Nillie shot at the ones closest to her, fire erupted from Willie's cane, and Nathyn pulled out the magic marbles Willie had let him use to give the monster a nasty blast of fire. In the next instant Nillie shot a missile at the table itself, causing it to explode into flying chunks of gore.

“Okay our new rule should be to touch absolutely nothing except hopefully the treasure,” Nathyn observed.

“Noted,” Neshae replied. The others nodded.

In moments they were on the right track again. Before long they came across a river cutting across the island.

“Where to?” Nillie asked.

“We'll have to cross somehow,” Willie answered.

“Looks like there's a log over there.” Nathyn pointed downstream where a large tree had fallen over the river, creating a bridge.

As they headed for the log, something shiny caught Neshae's eye. Against a rock in the water was a glass bottle. Inside, the vampire could clearly see a rolled up scrap of paper.

“Hey, check this out,” Neshae called as he picked up the bottle. He opened it and unrolled the message inside.

“What does it say?” Willie asked.

“It says the treasure's been moved.” Neshae handed him the paper.

“To the casino down the river?” Nillie read over Willie's shoulder. “Sounds fishy to me.”

“Yeah I figure we'd probably have seen more people if there were a casino,” Nathyn said. “Sounds like a trap.”

“What if some human found it and opened a casino with the money?” Neshae said.

“Think about what you just said and tell me why it's wrong,” Nillie told him.

Neshae shrugged. “Was just a thought. I've learned to never underestimate human stupidity. They do illogical things all the time.”

“Building a casino on an uncharted island out of treasure some pirate left here hundreds of years ago seems like a bit of a stretch.”

“I agree with Nillie on this one,” Willie said. “If we follow the map and it leads nowhere we'll come back and see how legitimate this is.”

“Or we could save some time and I'll go fly and see if the casino is real. I'll catch up after,” Neshae offered.

“I guess if you really want to...” Willie showed Neshae the map. They studied the route Willie was taking so Neshae would be able to find them again. Then the vampire took off down the river.

Fifteen minutes later a huge shadow swept over the remaining three. Looking up they saw a large, black dragon flying overhead. In one of it's claws was Neshae, struggling and swearing.

“Is that...?” Nillie pointed.

“Yeah,” Nathyn answered and they took off running after the dragon to offer Neshae assistance.