Dead Man's Yarn - Tales from a New World

Tales that Echo

The Ember Rose rocked back and forth in the surf as it slowly grinded to a halt, the anchor had dug deep into the sandbanks beneath, and the ocean spray lapped against the Hull of this exploration ship.

The crew rushed about making ready to drop the long boats and prepared the rigging, two teams assembled ready to embark and head towards the island nearby.

This island was one of many within the Thousand Islands that was yet to be explored, charted and exploited, and the Ember rose was here to do that on behalf of the McTavish Trading Company, but what had made this island stand out was its imposing cliffs, and the cave bored into its side like a gapping maw.

The cave was wide enough to get the Ember Rose in, but the sheer darkness within made it unwise, and so the ship set about preparing the two longboats to send inside.

The captain had given command of the expedition to his Second, a young officer called Simmons, he was a closely shaven man with a matching haircut and sun-kissed skin, he tried his best to keep in the company uniform, but he struggled to keep his composure in this sun.

Simmons would lead one of the long boats with six sailors, and then a McTavish cartographer called Keytes would lead the other, with six more sailors accompanying him.

The two boats were slowly lowered into the water, the rigging creaked as they strained under the weight, filled with their compliments, Simmons stood to the fore, his right leg up on the prow leaning forward, he looked up to the ship to see if the captain was still watching, and when he knew he wasn't, he took off his jacket and dropped it into the boat while loosening his collar. "Right lads, shove off, time to do some exploring."

There was a groan of strain from the men in the boat, as they used the oars to push away, and then slip them into the water, there was a jolt as they set off as one, rowing in unison towards the mouth of the cave.

The longboat pulled away from the Ember Rose and cleared it on the way to the island, Simmons didn't dare look back as he could feel his captains glare, he always had a word to say if he caught Simmons, or anyone, out of uniform.

The second longboat followed close behind, and as the two approached the imposing cliff face, the roar of the waves crashing against it almost became deafening, but yet the calmer waters in the mouth of the cave almost beckoned like an oasis in the desert, Simmons stared into the darkness and zoned out, it was almost like staring into an abyss.

A jolt from a wave caught the longboat, and the rays of the sun slipped away, being obscured by the cliffs, Simmons snapped back to reality and shook of the haze that had overtaken him.

"Too much sun." he thought to himself.

He reached down into the boat and lifted up a metal pole with a cast iron lantern attached to it, he closed two shutters on the side and lit the light inside, Simmons then attached the pole to a slot at the prow of the boat and leant against it.

As the longboat crept into the darkness of the cave the light from the lantern stretched out further and further. Simmons felt a light behind him, he looked backed to see Keytes had attached a lantern to his longboat too, he offered up a wave of approval which was reciprocated.

"OK, easy boys, nice and slowly." Simmons heard his voice echo as he spoke to his men.

The two boats slowly edged further into the cave as the light of the sun and the entrance slipped further away. The cave was pitch black and Simmons couldn't see any sides or rocks to be careful of, he couldn't even see the caves roof, grabbing the lantern and tilting it upwards, the light seemed to struggle, but Simmons could just about make out the roof, it had to be nearly forty feet in the air, and turning the lantern to the sides, the light still couldn't reach anything.