CW SHORT STORY TRANSCRIPT
There once was a lad named Eli Lark. Clever, eager and hardworking, if not a bit bratty at times... and poor as dirt.
Eli was working at the Dancing Monkey tavern, serving root beer to wandering sailors, when a mysterious bearded stranger with a particularly terrifying parrot tipped him off that a certain pirate captain was looking for some crew.
It would be a prosperous venture for the poor-as-dirt Eli.
Twas good timing, as Eli's soulless old boss fired him that very same day in order to hire an ultimately more talented resident mouse ( literally... boss man was a little crazy. )
On his way home from work, Eli realized that he didn't know where to find the pirate captain that the bearded stranger mentioned.
In that same moment, he encountered a small cottage he had never seen before.
He felt a strong urge to enter the cottage, so he did.
An old woman greeted him inside. She was a fortune teller, with voodoo and all that. Eli sat down to have his fortune told... mostly because the old lady wouldn't let him leave.
The old lady sat down, and a few moments of silence passed...
Finally, she spoke.
...
"Who are you? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE??" the scary old lady screeched, picking up a nearby stick with the intention to beat Eli with it.
"AAAAHHHH!!" Eli yelled. "I'm Eli! I'm here to get my fortune told!!"
"Oh, sorry..." the old lady apologized. "I am very forgetful. Now let's get started."
"I see in your future, there is a treasure. An evil man, and a woman! ...
And it will all take place on the island of Xixi. Great, GREAT evil rests on that island.
But you have to go, so have fun!" she said whimsically, handing Eli a small treasure chest as she shoved him out the door and slammed it behind him.
Eli stood dumbfounded... but at least he knew where to find the pirate captain now. The scary old lady had handed him a tacky brochure that pointed him in the right direction.
The young lad took a longboat, rowing out to an old ship with a squid emblem on the sails. He politely knocked on the side of the ship, and then scratched his head as a few barnacles fell atop his noggin.
"Who's there??" a voice... a FEMALE voice... shouted in response.
Eli felt nervous... he had heard of girls in the old legends, and know what they sounded like, but never in his life had he spoken to one.
"My name is Eli Lark!" Eli shouted back. "I've come to join your crew!"
"Well, come on up, Eli!" said the girl / woman thing. "I've been waiting for you."
Once Eli was aboard, the blue bandana wearing girl / woman thing shook his hand.
"I'm Elise Blackship." said the mysterious female. "Captain of the Squid."
Eli spoke several languages before finally landing on English.
"Nice to meet you." He finally said. "So... where are we going? Will we get treasure?? I'm so hungry lol."
"Get this man a biscuit, Dert." Elise gestured towards a pirate with striped pants and a dirty face.
"And to answer your question... we're seeking the treasure of James Vladimir. A cursed treasure it is, but among it resides the Stone of Xixi, a treasure that breaks all curses."
"Xixi? That scary old lady was right! This is my destiny!!" exclaimed Eli, dancing a jig in excitement.
Elise grabbed the rowboat oar and tripped Eli with it. "No funny business. What scary old lady? Who told you about Xixi??"
Eli relayed the info to Elise, and showed her the map. Elise lit up.
"You have the map??" she exclaimed. "Can we use it to find Xixi??"
"Not unless I get that biscuit you promised." Eli replied playfully.
Elise grumbled and gestured towards Dirt, who tossed Eli a biscuit. Eli wolfed it down immediately. Elise ignored his bad manners and asked more about the map, and together they went over the landmarks.
Eli was particularly interested in the duck statue on the map, by Xixi's shore. It made him giggle.
…
Time passed on their voyage, and Eli became friends with Rusty, the navigator; they bonded over their love of root beer and their dislike of intelligent mice who steal the tavern jobs of hardworking landlubbers.
Dert, the first mate, became like a brother to Eli. Many hours of card games and catching chickens felt like years of bonding.
On their way to Xixi, they were attacked by a ghost ship! These ghosts were also seeking the long lost treasure of Xixi Island and they would not tolerate competition.
After a long battle, they captured Elise's crew, including Eli.
"Where's your captain??" demanded the ghost ship's first mate, a rather crazed looking fellow who was petting his poorly made sock puppet.
Eli looked around. Captain Blackship was gone!
"I... I don't know." said Eli. He looked at Rusty and Dert, hoping they knew where Elise had gone. They merely shrugged.
"Well, this is no good." said the ghostly first mate. "Let's maroon them! We'll find the captain later."
They made Eli and his new friends walk the plank, and they fell into the ocean with a *SPLASH!!*. Eli would have considered it a fun ride, had he not been in danger.
"Stay calm, lads." said Rusty. "Swim slowly and save your energy. There's the island up ahead."
When they reached the shore, they collapsed from exhaustion. But at least they were safe. Eli felt somewhat anxious, but glad that his friends were with him.
Eli propped himself up enough to look at the island.
"Guys... this place looks familiar." he said, his eyes fixed on something straight ahead of him.
There on the beach was a duck statue. They made it to Xixi Island.