Play Me a Melody [ONC 2022]

Chapter Two: Jeremiah

Things never seemed to go Jeremiah Bell's way. He was lamenting this for the fifth time that week as a crash of ocean waves woke him up. He had been hiding under the docks from a couple of men that he owed money to and had fallen asleep. He shook the wet sand out of his dark curls and groaned at the way his body ached.

Jeremiah knew that he could not run from his problems forever. Problem was that he did not have the funds to pay the numerous debts that he seemed to have accrued. How was he supposed to help the fact that he had clearly been born into the wrong lifestyle?

Grumbling to himself, the dark haired man tried moving out from under the docks. He ended up slipping on the slippery rocks.

"Give me a break." Muttering to himself even more, he accepted the fact that he was going to have to find some dry clothes. Going home was likely out of the question. Those men knew where he lived and he was not ready to face them once more. He had been lucky enough to get out of his latest scrape with his face unmarked.

All in all, this was not a good night.

Even the ambience seemed to feel the need to be gloomy with the moon covered by clouds. The only positive thing about Jeremiah Bell's night so far was that it was warm. Even so, his wet clothing was starting to ruin that fact as well.

Just as he was about to haul himself up onto the docks so that he could seek out the pub, a glint caught his eye. The clouds briefly allowed the moon room to peek through enough for Jeremiah to see that it was some sort of bottle. Settling his feet back down on the ground, he went to investigate. Maybe he would get lucky and there would be some rum left.

The bottle was corked up but empty of any liquid content. Instead, there seemed to be some parchment and a key of some sort. A message in a bottle that comes with a key? He took the parchment out and realized that there were a few sheets of it. Jeremiah could not make out any of the words so he put it back into the bottle and stuffed it into his pocket.

Hauling himself up onto the dock, he walked towards the dim glow of the gas lamps that served as street lights in Ishlora. The night was quiet and only the lamplighters seemed to be out on the streets.

First, some dry clothes. Second, some food and drink. Then he supposed that he should figure out a way to make some quick gold. The faster he paid off those debtors, the happier his life would be. The thought that he should sell his violin crossed his mind and he immediately dismissed it. That would be too great a sacrifice and it was his most valued possession. No. He would find another way to get money.

Somehow.

For the moment, the message in a bottle lay forgotten in his pocket as he ducked into the nearest pub. He took a seat at the counter and hoped that the owner of the place was in a generous mood.

"A bowl of stew, please." He smiled as charmingly as he could.

"What did you do? Go for a midnight swim?" The older man looked aghast.

"Something like that." Not that it had been intentional, of course.

"You have the worst luck of any man I have known, Jeremiah Bell."

"That's me. Jeremiah Bell, Unlucky Man since the year of 1825."

"After I give you this stew, get out of here. You're dripping all over my establishment."

"Your generosity would make the Gods cry."

Before the pub owner could change his mind, Jeremiah took what he was being offered and settled into a corner of the pub. After he had sat himself down, he felt something poking into his ribcage and remembered the bottle that he had found. Taking it out now, he took the parchment out of the bottle.

The dim glow of the pub was enough for him to make out some sort of letter. The second piece of parchment was a map. His stew forgotten, Jeremiah looked at the other parchment again and saw that it had some sort of riddle written down on it. The rest looked to be music sheets which he ignored for the moment.

World's greatest treasure comes to those who do not expect it. This map is a collection of my precious treasures that have been hidden throughout the kingdom. Find them and you shall discover that treasure I have always loved most. It is my deepest wish that my treasure be deeply loved. All my hopes and wishes have been put into the world for this bottle to find the one who will do so.

What the Hell did that all mean? Treasure? Were the Gods finally smiling down upon him? Whatever these things were, he could find them and then sell them. He peered at the parchment more intently and saw that there was more written. It seemed to be a hint of where to start the search.

Feeling giddy, Jeremiah scarfed down his stew.

His stomach content and with new hope, Jeremiah looked around the room. The other occupants seemed to be the usual bunch. A mix of late night workers and men who were avoiding going home.

An exquisite hat caught his eye, the blue feather in its cap appealing to him greatly. It looked like it would make a man stand out in a crowd. Moving casually past the man's table, he saw that the man had dozed off.

What a lucky day for Jeremiah Bell!

He smoothly picked up the hat and tucked it under his arm. That was when he saw that there was a coat with a matching little feather in its lapel. Now he had a new coat and hat to go with his possible new fortune. Making sure he was still not being watched, he took the coat as well.

Humming to himself, the clothes thief made his way out into the street and put the hat on. All that was left to do now was find himself some dry clothes and a place to rest his head. Then he could begin the search for his treasure.