Home Again

Skullduggery

I groaned as we flew over to Skullduggery Island.

"What's up?" Fierce Fox asked, her brow raised.

I sighed. "We just had this whole kerfuffle with Zeus, and now we're meeting another villain who'll probably want to kidnap and kill me. I just want a break!"

"Well, this next villain isn't a god, right?" Fierce Fox asked, shrugging. "Surely they won't be that bad."

I bit my lip. "No. He's not a god. But he's still a super villain." Our discussion was cut short when the blimp docked at Fort Ridley. The island has the appearance of probably a former happy and bright village; now there's just destruction and mess. Even the sign is trailing smoke. The dock itself has a gaping hole, and most of the roofs also have holes. This is the work of none other than a gang of pirates.

We crossed a bridge which stands over a small canyon, that's filled with rocks and water. Underneath it, someone threw a coin, so I grabbed it. I spent it at a run-down shop, which has also been damaged. I picked up a broken mirror, which the shopkeeper said I could have. I also bought a bag of chicken feed; I gave it to a man standing with some chickens. To thank me, he gave me a chicken, which went into my inventory. If this wasn't Poptropica, I'd be in serious trouble with the RSPCA.

Anyway, with Fierce Fox following me, I handed the chicken to a farmer, so it could eat all the bugs on the farmer's crop. In return, the farmer gave me a blue candle. Fierce Fox and I climbed up a rocky mountain to the governor's office, which is an old, brick building. The governor and his assistant were standing at the back, next to a faintly glowing candle and a letter. The assistant eyed me, in a rather disturbing way. I had a pretty bad feeling.

I swapped the candle with our blue candle, forming a gentle blue light. It revealed a hidden passage on the letter, which mentioned something about Skullduggery Island and a treasure. The governor told us to go and find this treasure, which Fierce Fox and I obliged to. We exited the building and headed to the dock. I climbed to the top of the lighthouse and peered through a telescope. Fierce Fox wagged the broken mirror, making it flash. We got a flash back from a raft, and it came towards the island.

The merchant on board explained that he'd been robbed by pirates, ship wrecked, and the raft was the only thing keeping him afloat. He offered his raft to us. We accepted it and climbed aboard the floating wooden planks. His remaining crew were there, ready for more adventures. They treated Fierce Fox like the captain, because well, the medallion would always go to her. But they were nice to me, too.

Our boat set sail across the sea, me directing where to go. The water rushed under our feet, and in the distance I saw puffy clouds. I touched my little necklace, which shimmered in the sunlight. I closed my eyes and prayed that Poseidon, since we were technically in his realm, was giving us a safe journey. I assumed he was watching us, which felt both creepy yet comforting.

The first stop on our journey was Golden Harbour, which has an Arabic feel to it. The dock is red and rocky, and most of the island is like a desert. I resisted the urge to sing Arabian Nights and rushed across the desert sand. Fierce Fox followed.

"Okay," I faced her, "Do me a favour and light up those lanterns: four, two and one." I pointed to the hanging, Arabic-style lanterns. Fierce Fox did such thing, and from under an arched doorway, a piece of paper fell down. I grabbed it, getting the first piece of the map. I thanked my partner for her assistance and returned to the boat.

While sailing over the sea, I spotted floating shipwreck. Our raft sailed towards it; cargo filled our deck. I grinned, as our ship docked the next island: Pirate Harbor. It's a dark island with skull signs; rocky cliffs; residential pirates. A large, rock skull is in the middle of the island, its head covered in grass. We went under it and climbed up a wooden platform, which is standing on rocky, smooth slopes.