Chapter 13: The Definitely-Not-a-Trap Treasure Hunt

Henry stared at the wrecked fortress built into the cliffs of Dead Man's Cove, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

"This," he declared, "looks like the perfect place to find treasure!"

Scarlet groaned. "This looks like the perfect place to die."

The skeleton-painted pirates stood eerily still on the rocks, their grins too wide, their eyes too wrong. Their leader had just invited them to go ahead. That was already suspicious.

Lily, standing beside Henry, nudged him with her elbow. "So, Captain, what's the plan? Storm in and hope we don't get cursed?"

Henry crossed his arms. "Lily, please. Do I look like a man who hopes?"

"Yes," Scarlet, Boggart, and Shade answered at the same time.

Henry ignored them. "We charge in, grab the Azure Pearl, and leave before anything weird happens."

Shade narrowed his eyes. "Weird already happened."

Boggart muttered, "A lot of weird already happened."

Henry waved a hand. "Alright, alright. Let's move!"

...

The fortress was worse on the inside.

The walls were cracked, overgrown with eerie blue moss. The air smelled like salt and something rotting. Water dripped from somewhere unseen. The only light came from ghostly blue torches flickering on the walls.

Scarlet pointed at them. "Normal fire doesn't burn blue."

Henry rubbed his chin. "So it's magic fire?"

Lily, ever the optimist, grinned. "Or cursed fire!"

Scarlet threw her arms up. "Oh, fantastic! Even better!"

As they moved deeper, whispers echoed around them.

"Leave now… before the sea takes you too…"

Boggart paled. "I really don't like this."

Henry waved a hand. "Relax! These places always have spooky voices. It's just atmosphere!"

Then, ahead of them—a massive stone door, carved with ancient pirate symbols.

Lily whistled. "Ooooh. That just screams 'important'!"

Henry marched up to it and pushed. "Alright, let's open this bad boy!"

The moment he touched the door—

The entire fortress trembled.

The blue torches flared, the whispers grew louder, and the stone groaned as the door slowly slid open…

Revealing a chamber filled with gold.

...

Piles of gold, silver, and jeweled goblets sparkled in the eerie light. At the center of the room, on a stone pedestal, sat a brilliant blue pearl—the Azure Pearl.

Henry beamed. "Alright! Mission accomplished!"

Lily elbowed him. "Not yet. We grab the prize first."

Henry stepped forward—

And Scarlet grabbed his coat. "Wait!"

Henry froze. "What?"

Scarlet pointed at the floor. "See those?"

Lines—thin, nearly invisible—ran across the stone. Pressure plates.

Lily winced. "Oooooh. Classic trap."

Henry narrowed his eyes. "Okay. We just… don't step on them."

Shade nodded. "Or we trigger whatever horrors are waiting."

Henry cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Time for some precision pirate-ing."

Lily smirked. "Bet I can get there first."

Henry grinned. "Challenge accepted."

Marrow raised a hand. "What if we just… blow up the floor and walk through?"

Scarlet groaned. "Marrow, no."

Marrow pouted. "But explosions."

Ignoring the conversation, Henry and Lily moved—weaving between the pressure plates, stepping carefully, making their way toward the pedestal.

Lily reached out—

Henry lunged forward—

Both their hands grabbed the pearl at the same time.

The whispers stopped.

Silence.

Then—

The entire fortress rumbled.

Henry blinked. "Oh."

Lily laughed nervously. "Uh. Maybe we should—"

The stone floor collapsed beneath them.

Henry and Lily vanished into the darkness.

Scarlet facepalmed. "I hate everything."

Meanwhile, Somewhere Below…

Henry landed hard on a stone floor, groaning.

Lily landed beside him, laughing. "Oh wow. That was amazing!"

Henry sat up, rubbing his head. "How are you so happy about this?!"

Lily held up the Azure Pearl, grinning. "Because we got it! Look at this beauty!"

Henry's eyes lit up. "Oh. Right. We won!"

A deep growl echoed from the shadows.

Henry slowly turned his head. "…Did you hear that?"

Lily gulped. "Yep."

Something huge moved in the darkness.

Two massive, glowing blue eyes opened.

Henry exhaled. "Ah. So that's why the treasure was just sitting there."

Lily slowly tucked the pearl into her pocket. "Soooo… run?"

Henry nodded. "Run