The Golden Tiki (continued)
Of the many storied legendary pirates and privateers of the Spanish Main & the Indian Ocean, few names have struck fear into the hearts of men as that of Captain William Tobias Faulkner. Never before or since has such a ruthless captain & his fierce cadre of seamen garnered such hushed reverence & nervous fear. Faulkner, his four vessels, and their full complement brought swift and unmerciful destruction to any vessel with the misfortune of being their prey.
Faulkner desired what all pirates desire: gold & riches, and by 1714 had acquired a crude map leading to an island most thought of as myth: Skull Island. Though the Dutch laid claim to it, no man could state that he had set foot there, save one Flemish sailor, found in 1658 adrift on a derelict raft, his haggard clothes stuffed with ornate gold & silver baubles, as well as a tattered map that he had fashioned.
Before succumbing to exposure & madness, he claimed that this map not only showed the location of Skull Island, but how to navigate its halos of deadly mists, coral atolls & heavy currents. His final hours were spent babbling almost incoherently about ancient giants, sirens, a kraken, riches heretofore unseen by man, and some manner of idol that he must return to the island for... It was on Skull Island that Faulkner would find these fabled riches... & his ruin. As soon as his boots touched the black rocks of the beach, it was as if he could hear the island’s plunder calling to him, beckoning him. This call drove him deeper into the jungle, & consumed his thoughts. The crewmen that had followed him ashore soon fell victim to cannibalistic pygmies, headhunters & the carnivorous flora & fauna of the jungle itself. Yet Faulkner pressed on.
In the heart of the jungle, beneath the fire spewing maw of the central volcano, Faulkner came upon a cove where mermaids sunned themselves. Waiting until nightfall, he slipped into the crystalline water and swam up into a grotto containing enough riches to satiate even the greediest of appetites. A particular item near the rear of the grotto stood out among all others. At the back of the cave, on a carved pedestal, stood a golden tiki. Upon laying eyes on it, all other desires & needs were replaced. Faulkner could feel its pull. Hear its call. He knew - he knew that somehow it wanted him too.
Eschewing all else, Faulkner rushed to the tiki, picked it up aloft & pivoted swiftly to return to his anchored ship with this, his greatest & most prized treasure. To this day, his flagship, The Seven Seas, remains at its lonely anchor off the coast of Skull Island - a rotting epitaph, & the last reminder of the greatest & most feared pirates in history. Neither Faulkner, nor his golden tiki prize have ever been seen again. There are rumors... There are always rumors.
Yet to this day sailors dare not speak the name William Tobias Faulkner and if they should find themselves at sea & sense a distant call on the ocean winds - visions of riches beyond their wildest dreams - they promptly set course in the opposite direction & flee, lest they fear the curse of the golden tiki fall upon them.