To say that I was an explorer would be an understatement. Many in Bristol knew me as the Duke of Hamburg, the second knighted gentleman of Nottingham or as the bastard son of Saint Dizier and Saint Brihmat.
But most knew me as Agustine.
As a man of great courage, and an overly fed ego, I would often make regular trips to the great city of Stockholm. There I would go to masquerade balls, grand gatherings as such. But my visit to the Swedish city was for a different reason this time.
It was for adventure. Yes, the great quests that most children would dream of, it was to become my reality. A wonderful adventure, it would be, indeed. My heart would race every time I would speak to someone about it. Piles of treasure that I would discover, realms I would explore and claim with my own name, the fame I would have once I returned home to Bristol. I suppose it was a surprise that those dreams of grandeur became a nightmare.
It started with me arriving in the small town of Dalaro. I stayed, for a night, in my personal estate. An archaic, Victorian style castle, scarred with streaks of vines and years of roots working their way through the cracks. Beautifully detailed seahorse statues decorated the rooftops of the mansion. Their stone necks up in a haughty pride to reflect my own. The wood furnish inside made from the finest birch tree in Guernsey. The garden led from the open balcony from the back doors of the estate, down the marble staircase and through a vast field of roses. Bush sculptures lined the pathway down the center. Further down, a fountain was placed in the center of the garden. It sprouted pristine water that twinkled in the sunlight. Fallen rose pedals floated on the surface of the pool, oh so delicately. Cherry blossom trees lined the sides of the garden, shedding its shower of pedals. An enormous hedge surrounded the entire border of the garden. It was a beautiful estate, indeed, a symbol one could be proud of.
I had met up with my stepbrother's cousin's business partner, who was also my high school friend. His name was Aegelmaere Mac-Aesir, but I always called him Mac. He was a stern man, with a slender face, furrowed eyebrows and a haircut that, if you looked closely, resembled a mushroom hat. His skin was a deathly dark pale color and his eyes wore a strange gaze that, if you looked closely, you could see the hidden flame of a chaotic and deceitful personality.
Normally i wouldn't admit this, but he never has liked me. Not since i had taken his fancy. Elisa, a french woman with a body so stunning and face just as beautiful. I had taken her to my bedroom in my estate when i was younger and Mac had walked in on us, while we were making sweet love.
And he couldn't do anything for her or himself. He and Elisa were both mine to keep.
It had turned out that Elisa had stolen some of my gold, i had ordered Mac to dispatch her quietly. He never hesitated, though i never knew what happened before then.
Like i said, Mac was not the type of man who enjoyed small talk or conversations.
We had arrived at the shipyard at around 8 in the morning the next day. The ship that we were to take out on our expedition was quite old, with a red paint job and a nice wood furnish.
The island we were to visit was located on the coastal islands of Dalaro, known to many as Darwell Isle: 150 km of jungle and darkness. Some have said that this island was haunted; others say that an unknown race of hostile natives lives there and many more have said both. But Mac and I were going to explore and see if the myths were truth or not. It wasn't long before we set out on our journey into the mysterious unknown.
The island was close to the shore, about 20 or 30 minutes away. It wasn't long before we arrived at the shore of the isle. The very sight of the island made me shiver. Jungle trees surrounded the border; darkness hid whatever secrets were behind those trees. We lowered the dinghy from the ship and rowed our way to the beach of the grim trees.
I had stepped onto the stand and with an air of arrogance and pride; I strutted towards the darkness of the jungle that was uninviting and forbidding and with the grandeur all around me, I made my claim to the dark forest.
