Prompt: You're the newest addition to the crew of the most notorious pirate ship. Not long after, the crew mutinies, the captain is murdered, and crew members began to die mysteriously.

**

Ships. Goblins are not exactly seafaring creatures, yet I found myself on a mission that required me to deliver an essential message aboard the pirate ship Venom's Kiss.

Finally, a job that wasn't one Luther had passed on, and maybe that's why I was pleased about it—because they had asked me first. It was a small sign of recognition, or at least it felt that way.

As I mentioned, I had reservations about ships and everything related to the water. I had only observed Narig's harbor from a distance, finding it fascinating to watch the enormous ships arriving from distant places. But the water itself was not my friend. I was okay with small lakes or rivers where I knew I could touch the bottom. But the sea was different.

But it didn't matter; I had accepted the job and found myself on a vast ship. Since it was a secret mission, I had to blend in with the crew.

We're talking about a pirate ship, which wasn't anchored at the main port but further away at night. My contact arranged for me to be taken on as a crew member, and it didn't take long for me to disguise myself as a goblin boy.

So, there I stood in line with the strange crew, being scrutinized by the captain. Yes, he was the typical pirate captain, ominously tapping his peg leg on the wooden deck and wearing a black patch over one eye.

Next to the captain stood his first mate, or right-hand man, Matthew, who was also my target. I had to deliver the message to him; I just needed to find the right moment. If I could manage this before we set sail, I could get off the ship and avoid the pirate ordeal.

The captain cursed at us, called us all sorts of names, and threatened to throw us into the sea as shark bait if we didn't shape up. Well, this is off to a great start. I discovered that since I was so small, my job would be to watch the horizon from the mast. I'd be free from heavy physical labor, but how would I blend in with the others and find the right moment to pass the message?

I decided it was better to finish this as soon as possible and kept my eyes on Matthew. But then I forgot everything else and suddenly noticed the commotion and shoving among the crew. Before I knew it, Jiri, one of the grim-faced pirates, grabbed the captain and shouted, "Mutiny!" They started pushing the captain and Matthew down into the cabins while quickly setting the sails.

I was bewildered, and someone grabbed my shirt and shouted in my face from two inches away: "Get up there and tell us if you see any ships!" It was Jiri, undoubtedly the self-appointed new leader.

As a child, I was good at climbing trees, so that wasn't a problem. But from up high, when I saw all that water, I felt dizzy.

I heard Jiri's voice yelling at me to climb even higher. My whole body was shaking, and when I looked down, I felt dizzy. It was a different height; I usually handled that well. It was the swaying of the ship and the vast expanse of water surrounding it. I gathered my strength because I didn't want to become shark food, so I only threw up once or twice. That night, I was able to come down to rest, and that's when I noticed blisters on my hands and feet. The thick ropes I was gripping had rubbed my skin raw.

The crew wasn't as grumpy as they were at the start. They were drinking and eating merrily, and I had no idea where we were headed.

Because of my rumbling stomach, I could only eat an apple while listening to a bawdy song about a girl named Mary. I decided to find a way to deliver my message. I went down to the ship's hold, pretending to look for my bunk, hoping to see Matthew. I encountered a caged-off area, presumably for difficult crew members, but it was empty.

Disappointed, I returned to the deck, not having found the captain either. The crew was in a dreadful state. Some were vomiting over the side, others were sprawled out drunk on the deck. Jiri was standing, gesturing wildly, and I now noticed he was brandishing the former captain's peg leg. "You saw it, didn't you? How did they beg for their lives? Both him and that lackey!"

"Who is he talking about?" I asked the sailor leaning next to me, David, who was also new here.

"What? Where have you been?" he stared at me with bleary eyes.

"I don't feel too well. But what will happen to the captain? Will they let him go?"

"What?" he asked again. "The captain? They're already swimming, but probably not because it's hard with tied hands." He snorted with laughter and took a swig from his cup.

"Matthew, is shark bait too?" I winked at him.

"Yep," he replied, enjoying the joke and laughing.

I had never experienced anything like this before—my target died before I could deliver the message. Does this absolve me from the rest of the task? It's not going to look good for me. Luther will definitely bring it up, and everyone will laugh at me.

But there are other problems. I am still determining where we're headed and how I'll get home.

I woke up early in the morning, unable to sleep through the constant swaying. The crew wasn't quiet either; some complained of terrible stomach pains and screamed all night, with a few even dying by morning.

The cook nervously examined the dead bodies; we had lost five sailors overnight. "It can't be poison! I ate the same as you!" he explained to Jiri.

When I came down from my lookout post that evening, the situation had worsened. Ten sailors now lay on the floor, waiting for the others to wrap their corpses in canvas and toss them into the sea. It was strange how the crew members were dying one by one. The cook was moving around grimly, as everyone suspected him since he prepared the food.

Jiri had enough of it and grabbed the cook by the collar, throwing him overboard without any explanation.

"Who's going to cook?" a dissatisfied voice called out, but Jiri walked past us angrily.

For the first time, I started thinking about the message. It was forbidden to interpret it; it was just a text. But since I couldn't deliver it to anyone, could I consider it mine? And since the message was a warning, I felt guilty for waiting this long. What should I do, wait until everyone dies, including myself? But I couldn't break the rules; I had to deliver the message. Feeling like I was going mad, I went to the very end of the ship, where no one was, and the waves roared the loudest. I leaned out as far as I could and shouted the message into the waves:

"The enemy pirate crew of the Black Pearl has infiltrated and is trying to weaken you from within. Beware of the new members!"

The task was done; I had delivered it. Now, I felt I could do something. It was clear, and I had suspected all along that David, the new sailor, was the infiltrator. Somehow, I needed to expose him because, according to the message, he had orchestrated the mutiny, incited the crew, and was now slowly poisoning us.

I ate only raw vegetables and drank water, constantly watching David as he moved around, seemingly on important business.

I noticed him fiddling with a small pouch hidden behind his coat. While I suspected he was putting poison in the food, it seemed he was also sprinkling the powder under the noses of sleeping sailors.

I followed him, and when he moved on, I carefully examined the powder. It was brown and shiny, likely to be inhaled by the sailors. I wiped the powder from the noses of the sleeping sailors, followed David, and did the same for the others.

But that wouldn't be enough, always following him and wiping the poison from everyone's noses. I needed an ally, and although Jiri was intimidating, he was the first person I thought of.

He was standing at the captain's post, staring into the distance. When I touched his shoulder, he flinched.

"I'd like to tell you something. I noticed something strange," I began uncertainly.

He looked at me questioningly, with an expression that seemed to ask how I dared to interrupt his essential staring.

"Sailor David is sprinkling some powder under the sailors' noses. It might be poison that's killing them," I said.

"Are you sure? Are you certain?" he grabbed my arm.

"He has a small pouch in his coat. I saw him take it out," I whispered, wincing from his grip.

He let go and angrily searched for David, even shouting his name. The boy appeared and met Jiri's gaze. Jiri yanked the coat off him and, finding the pouch, held it up, demanding, "What is this?"

I saw David's desperate face. He stammered, and I couldn't understand his defense, only Jiri's clear shout: "Then taste it! Let's see! If it's for your headache, it surely isn't poison!"

David fell to his knees, begging, but Jiri was relentless about the tasting.

We were right; it was poison. David's body convulsed, and he died in agony.

I was glad I did something to stop the madness, only regretting that I hadn't acted sooner. I could have saved the unfortunate sailors as well...