The Final Days of Springborough

The Dry Mermaid was the name of the Tavern where all the sailors hung out when they weren’t at sea. It was run by a man named Myron who had grown up in Fortis, but preferred the sea air to the fresh air provided by the trees. The Dry Mermaid owner was a man who loved to hear the stories of the sea, and therefore gave all men who told the stories a discount on whatever they wanted poured into their mugs. And the Dry Mermaid stored their cups for them, hanging them from pegs up along the ceiling so each man had his own cup, waiting for him. So, regardless of how hard the sea got, they knew they had something waiting for them when they got back in. At least, that’s how Myron would put it. The Dry Mermaid was home to anyone who’s home resided on currents and sunken treasures.

On this day, there sat a sailor at the bar named Bud, who was famous around town for his bluntness, talking of a boat filled with potatoes he had “found”. For no one in The Dry Mermaid was a pirate- they were all sailors. And they never stole ships, they merely found them. And they never stole the contents of the ships, they merely took them to their own ships for safe keeping. And they never earned a paycheck for their work, they were simply paid for goods they had taken in good faith.

In all actuality, The Dry Mermaid was filled with pirates who robbed ships blind, sold what they robbed, and kept the money to either give to their wives and girlfriends in Fortis, or gave to Myron for his libations in the tavern.

So, Bud was talking about the batch of potatoes he had taken while Juba was across the room talking about his wife, Freda, who was telling them they needed more money in order to get more blankets before the cold winds of winter fell on the village.

While Bud talked of potatoes and Juba talked of blankets-

Another sailor (pirate) named Beverly sat by the fire that would rage in the tavern, warming up his feet which he claimed had bad circulation, and Beverly was talking of the last time he had found a ship filled with coffee beans, and how rich and smooth his mornings would smell when he woke up.

The tavern was usually filled with conversation, laughter, and one sailor trying to out speak another, trying to top the last story told with their own exploits. Time-and-time again, the sailors would repeat stories that they had told one too many times before, and other sailors would finish the stories for them. Murray, an older pirate with white hair, bald on top, and glasses, was famous for commanding attention in the room, getting everyone to quiet down while a pirate, like Juba, would tell the same story for the twentieth time. Murray would allow it, until he gave the room a signal and they’d all jump in with the end of the story.

“-and then the boat capsized!” They would shout as Juba talked of the time he had to abandon ship, and was forced to take the Captain’s dog in his life boat which turned disastrous. The dog survived, Juba barely did, and the Captain showed no concern for the sailor.

The Dry Mermaid had heard this story before.

As Beverly, Juba, Bud, and Murray talked amongst themselves and with friends around the tavern, three other pirates sat on their stools solemnly. Larry, Donny and Kyle, three men from the same bloodline, although not immediate family, each shared the same light features. They sat at the same table, staring into their mugs watching the steam rise from them. They were just waiting for their beverages to cool down before taking a sip. As the room guffawed and hee-hawed at jokes around them, their tranquility and stillness seemed peculiar and off-setting.

Finally, Murray, surveying the room, called them into question.

“You boys; are we disturbing you with our good times?”

“Bugger off, will ya?” Donny said, his chin to his chest. “Let us stew.”

“Myron likes to hear sailor stories, what have you got for us?”

“Nothing I can think of,” came Larry’s reply.

“Nothing?” Myron questioned from behind the bar as he polished someone’s mug.

“Nothing!” Kyle shouted, arms crossed across his chest, his back slumped down in the chair and his legs stretched out in front of him, taking up as much room as he could. “Not a hoot nanny thing. Matter of fact, not too many new stories going on around here either. Just a bunch of history lessons.”

“What’re ya getting at?” Beverly shouted from the fire. The whole room had become silent as the aggression of the table seemed to spill out over everyone’s moods.

“Who has had a score this month?” Kyle asked the room.

Bunch of hands in a bunch of pockets as nobody could brag about a recent exploit.

“Who here is flush with money? Who here has no worries about the day after tomorrow or the one after that? Who here’s wife is liking him? She feels he’s doing well? Who here is too broke to have a wife?”

By now, nobody moved, everyone barely breathed. The slightest sound could be heard from across the room. Beverly’s fire spit and popped and hissed as air escaped pockets in the burning logs. The squeak of the dry rag to the wet mugs could be heard from the bar to the door, and Kyle simply sat, arms crossed, staring at the table. He knew everyone’s eyes were on him, but he didn’t care. He was not having a good month, and he wanted misery in his company.

“It’s been awhile for us, too, and we were sitting here, wondering, when the next break was going to come. The next score. Bunch of good sailors like us. We’re good people. Why don’t we deserve a piece of the good fortune we see other people get? We kill ourselves with bravery out there in the seas, and yet we’re barely surviving on land.”

“It’s a lost sailor who looks for the treasures of the sea on land,” Bud said, downing his drink. “You won’t find any loot in Fortis, boy. You need to go out to sea.”

“Aye, then what?” Larry responded? “Nothing is out there.”

“Something is out there,” a small voice sounded out from a small boy in the doorway. Myron had never seen the boy before, nor did he ever see a boy that size ever in The Dry Mermaid. But, Jonathon James did stand in the doorway and look every man in the eye.

“My family’s kingdom is out there,” J.J. said to the tavern full of pirates. “I promise gold and adventure when we find it for anybody willing to come along.”

All the pirates in the room looked at each other. Seven raised their hands.