In A Faraway Land

The Amazing Atlas

Eddie dove behind a fallen table as bullets flew past him. The lively tavern had quickly become a war zone in the matter of seconds. After Eddie pulled out his sword many of the other pirates had egged the fight on enjoying the unexpected entertainment. The poor tavern owner had shouted at them desperately to take their dispute outside, but a fight for honor stopped for no one. But of course all thoughts of honor went out the window the second a shot was fired. The pirates who had been enjoying the fight quickly dove for cover and tried making their escape.

Eddie could have also ran away from the scene, but his crew was still fighting. Ian slid behind the table right after him with a livid look on his face. Eddie ignored him and peeked over the table. He only had a few shots left, so his gun remained in his hand idly. The door was only a few steps away, but if he made a move he would get shot. A non-fatal gunshot wound wasn't a big deal, but the recovery time would set his plans back.

"Captain," Ian said sternly.

Eddie sat back behind the table and faced his first mate.

"What?" He said unassumingly.

"Captain I warned you but, somehow, here we are."

"Did you warn me?"

"I told you to not anger them or else they'd become hostile."

"I didn't anger them. They're just sore losers."

"Calling them 'the biggest failures in all of Pirate Town history' really put them in the best mood didn't it?"

"They started it," he said before peeking over the table again. "It'll be fine. Besides Cameron is having fun!"

As if on cue Cameron also flew behind the table bullets flying through the tavern wall missing him by a hair. Excitement filled his eyes despite the fact that he was fighting for his life.

"That guy cheated. Pulling a gun out in the middle of a sword fight is dishonorable."

"The both of you are crazy," Ian snapped. "I suggest we get out of here while we still have the map."

"We can fight them off!" Cameron said enthusiastically.

"Captain," Ian said ignoring Cameron's eagerness. "What is your plan?"

"Plan? We just have to make it out the door."

His words were dismissive, but Eddie was already racking his brain for a solution. If he lost the map after winning that impossible Idle Dragons game he would light Pirate Town on fire. That bastard Captain Haven had cheated and it took every ounce of his brain power to win the game. Perhaps that's why he thoughtlessly insulted Haven.

"Atlas! Come out here and fight like a real man!"

Atlas was the striking moniker that the residents of Pirate Town had given Eddie. When he first became a pirate captain he created quite the ruckus in the Unconquered Lands, but nobody actually knew his name. He had surprised everyone with his outstanding wit by being able to find many lost treasures, thus the name Atlas. He hadn't been a pirate captain for too long before he had many achievements under his belt. Eddie didn't really care about the other pirate captains when he became one, and when he was finally bothered to introduce himself he was surpirsed to find he had been renamed Atlas.

"A real man wouldn't pull a gun during a sword fight!" He shouted back at him.

"Atlas I'll skin you alive!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. Haven could talk all he wanted, but that washed up old pirate wasn't able to hurt anyone. He tried to keep his power in Pirate Town by mercilessly bullying younger pirate captains who didn't know what they were doing. Despite his best efforts to avoid him, Eddie quickly realized Haven was like a stubborn stain that wouldn't disappear.