Compass' Uniqueness, Artifacts, and Jack's doubt
Kai, Acting as Murtogg the marine, rolled several times before banging his head into barrels.
Mullroy again pulled him up, finding nothing wrong with the situation. They neared Jack Sparrow and aimed their rifles at him.
However, it was the captain who spoke first. "You don't seem to have any luck, mate," he said, pointing at Murtogg. "If I were you, I would revisit that Voodoo Healer, savvy?"
"You…" Murtogg stammered, catching his breath, his hat hanging on his head at one side. "You don't have permission to be aboard there…"
"I'm sorry. It's just —," Jack Sparrow explained hurriedly, "It's such a pretty boat. Ship."
"What's your name?" Murtogg asked.
And then the plot progressed with no more deviation. But the Contestants were already feeling a bit out of place by now. It was more so the case with Moraine, who couldn't help but keep taking glances at Murtogg. She even believed that this Voodoo Healer was none other than Blood Demon.
At the same time, newly promoted Commodore Norrington had brought Elizabeth Swann to the ramparts. Because of the tight corset, the young lady had already been getting suffocated, the hot sun poking at her agitation.
So, just as Commodore proposed to her unexpectedly, it squeezed the last breath out of Elizabeth Swann.
And she fell off the cliff.
A loud splash echoed off in the surroundings as she fell into the sea, making Jack and the two marines look over at that side.
When Norrington noticed her gone and then saw foaming waves in the sea, he shouted, "Elizabeth!" He was about to jump, but the other officer held him back.
Over to Jack's side, he nudged his chin at Mullroy, and then asked, "Will you be saving her then?"
"I can't swim," said Mullroy.
Shocked, Jack Sparrow looked at Murtogg, who shook his head as well.
"Pride of the King's Navy, you are," Jack Sparrow spat, taking off his hat and giving it to Mullroy. "Do not lose these."
Then he slammed his sword into Murtogg's chest hurriedly. After that, he took off his coat and handed it over to Mullroy. It wasn't the end, though.
Murtogg's eyes had a dull gray in them.
Behind the Character's face, Kai was seeing a Notification, his heart racing in expectation.
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…
Artifact: Jack Sparrow's Hanger
]
The time he had been waiting for, longing for, had already come at last.
Jack took off his belt, then. This belt had not only contained his pistol but also a Compass that didn't point north.
This belt… Jack slammed into Murtogg's hands. [Image 1]
To other Contestants, it was just a normal progression. The music was high and loud in their minds when Jack Sparrow climbed up the hull and jumped down into the sea with a perfect dive.
To Kai, the entire world had gained color.
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…
Artifact: One Last Shot
]
This notification was regarding the pistol.
And then there was another one.
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…
Artifact: Jack Sparrow's Compass
]
Shocking.
If Jack Sparrow's Compass was an Artifact, then why wasn't there any sign of failure in Kai's eyes, but only elation?
It was like… like he had known this would be the case.
'Indeed,' Kai thought, his mind racing. 'Jack Sparrow's Compass is an Artifact. Item-M had told me true.'
Among an almost infinite number of Items scattered throughout the Multiverse, this Compass was one of the most unique Items.
There was a reason that Kai had not bought it from the Primordial Tower Trade Market. And that reason was… he just simply couldn't. No one… absolutely no one could or would sell Jack Sparrow's Compass Item to anyone.
There was a characteristic of this Item, inherited from the Original Random World, that it cursed tremendous Bad Luck on its owner if traded.
The Compass had a special supernatural connection with its owner, whom it would obey willingly and blindly for as long as the owner remained loyal to the Compass in return.
But, while the Compass was extremely loyal to its owner, if the owner dared to betray the Compass' loyalty by dishonorably trading it or giving it away without expecting it to return, the magical object would unleash the previous owner's greatest fear in retaliation. When it came to this punishment, the reach of the Compass' powers was so incredibly vast and powerful that it could release powerful specific forces anywhere in the world.
According to the storyline of the movie, The Trident, Jack Sparrow himself traded his Compass for rum. The Compass reacted to that action as a betrayal and loosened its hold on the Devil's Triangle, releasing from it every pirate's greatest fear - the notorious Spanish Captain Armando Salazar and his crew of pirate hunters, now turned into a terrifying army of ghosts.
The fear of this curse of Bad Luck wasn't the lone factor behind the Contestants' miseries, though.
The Compass would always conspire to help the owner's inner desires, even while in possession of other individuals.
Jack lost or loaned away the compass on nine different occasions. Six times it was taken from him when captured, one time he gave it to Elizabeth Swann to find the Dead Man's Chest, one time to Will Turner to lead Lord Cutler Beckett to Shipwreck Cove, and one time to Mr. Gibbs for him to find the Black Pearl.
On all these occasions, Jack fully expected to get the Compass back somehow, therefore never betraying it in the process.
That's why, Kai couldn't and wouldn't obtain the Compass from the Tower's Trade Market even as a limited-time borrowed Item, for no matter what he would do, or how, the Compass would have always worked in the favor of its original owner, if borrowed.
Unless Kai were to obtain Jack Sparrow's Compass as an Item from the Random World itself, he knew it would never belong to him.
It wasn't like Kai enjoyed wasting time by coming to the Pirates of the Caribbean World, but he had to.
And there was only one way to turn this Artifact into an Item — Make Jack Sparrow trade the Compass with the Contestant.
Kai already had plans regarding that, but for them to initiate, he must get his hands over the Artifact first.
Meanwhile, all Contestants were eying the location where Elizabeth had fallen. The golden medallion was still around her neck. And the moment it came in contact with the sea, a monstrously powerful shockwave coursed through the entire sea, vanishing into the distance.
This was the call; this was the key; this was the beginning.
None could stop Black Pearl's arrival, now. Pirate Captain Barbossa and his crew would come tonight to pillage, plunder, and kill, spreading terror into the Port Royal.
Suddenly, an icy wind picked up, and the entire sky gained a sinister gray color.
Mullroy lifted his head and gawked at the chilly gusts of wind, eying the flag on the Interceptor curling inward as if it was fearing something.
None had their eyes on the two Characters, now. Except for Moraine, their Protector.
"Oi!" Murtogg shouted. "Let me try the hat."
"You want to put on this filthy hat?!" Mullroy frowned, smelling the hat.
"Mr. Smith (-the self-given name of Jack Sparrow-) wouldn't mind," Murtogg commented. "Here, I will trade it with you for the pistol and sword in my hands."
Moraine's brows pressed together. Even she didn't know if something like this had happened in the original storyline or not, for the plot was following Jack Sparrow's actions of rescuing Elizabeth at this moment, not the two Side Characters.
"Alright!" Mullroy nodded.
Just as they were exchanging the objects, another compass, of almost the same size and appearance, slipped out of Murtogg's sleeves.
Kai was not unknown to the sleight of hand. He might not be the greatest thief, but he knew enough to fool a 6th-floor Contestant, who was standing some 100 meters behind his back.
By the time the marines had exchanged the objects, the compasses had already been exchanged.
Not only that, but Kai had also managed to get another Artifact.
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…
Artifact: Jack Sparrow's Hat
]
"Oi!" Mullroy shouted, pointing at the sea. "Let's go. He's bringing a person. It's a lady!"
Murtogg fumbled with the hat and the faulty compass and broke into a run with his fellow marine.
Jack Sparrow brought Elizabeth to the docks, and the marines laid her down on the wooden platform.
"She's not breathing!" Murtogg exclaimed.
"Move." Jack Sparrow crouched near her and ripped her corset into two before throwing it toward Murtogg, who had already put down the hat and compass on the platform. [Image 2]
Another notification appeared, then.
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…
Artifact: Elizabeth Swann's Corset
]
Just as Jack Sparrow found the golden medallion, leaving him astonished, Captain Norrington arrived at the scene with the other marines.
Not much changed in the plotline after that.
Governor Swann arrived next, and as he looked at Jack Sparrow, he ordered the marines to shoot him. But Elizabeth convinced him otherwise.
Later, Norrington discovered Jack's pirate identity via the tattoo on his right hand. There were two tattoos there, one common to the pirates, and the other of a sparrow.
"Well, well, Jack Sparrow, isn't it?" scorned Commodore Norrington.
Jack's reply was already fated to be phenomenal. "Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please."
Later, Mullroy picked up the hat and other Jack's items and handed them to Norrington. "These are his, sir." [Image 3]
Norrington first scrutinized the pistol. "No additional shots nor powder."
Then, under the trembling pupils of Murtogg, the Commodore held the compass and pried it open. "A compass that doesn't point north." [Image 4]
However, Jack's eyes were still planted on the compass, despite the mocking smile and words of the naval officer. He just couldn't take his eyes off the compass' cover.
Jack then looked at Mullroy and Murtogg, but ultimately said nothing.
It was then that Norrington pulled out the sword. "And I half-expected it to be made of wood. You are without doubt the worst pirate I've heard of."
Jack didn't let go of the well-presented opportunity and said, "But you have heard of me."
Under the recurrent protests from Elizabeth, Norrington ordered Lieutenant Gillet to put shackles on Jack's wrists.
And just as they all relaxed, Jack threw his hands over Elizabeth's head and took her captive. [Image 5]
"Commodore Norrington, my effects please," he shouted. "And my hat."
Norrington had to accede, and he handed the said items to Elizabeth, who put them all on Jack as he slyly grinned at the marines.
"Gentleman, my lady," Jack declared, pointing the pistol at Elizabeth's head, "you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow."
And then he threw Elizabeth at Norrington. He grabbed the nearby rope, kicked the mechanism, and flew up. At the same time, the cannon, hung by the rope's other end, came falling toward the wooden platform. [Image 6]
Coincidentally, and diverging from the plot line, the rope swayed a bit, making the cannon fall just ahead of Murtogg, who was backing up.
With a bang, Murtogg went down into the seawater below the wooden platform along with other marines.
Though unexpected, Kai used the ensuing chaos and slipped away underwater.
Even Moraine hadn't expected such a thing to happen. She was about to rush toward the broken platform when Jack Sparrow carried out a miraculous escape, and Norrington ordered the other marines to chase him.
Mullroy was among those marines, so she had to go along with him. What use was to save Murtogg, when she had already given up on him?
All Contestants around the scene had already dispersed as Jack Sparrow vanished into the town, heading toward William Turner's smithy as per the storyline.
But that had already nothing to do with Kai.
None noticed a blue-skinned lizard-like creature swimming away, strangely dressed in a marine uniform.
***************
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A Break Tomorrow.