The name's Icarus. John Icarus. Captain of the blue Lady, the prettiest ship that ever set sail. Dark spruce wood with a deep blue trim, deep blue sails and fifteen deep blue cannons. As for me, being Emborjian by birth, I had the signature black hair, black freckles and blue eyes. I had a crew of twenty-one, as was needed to maintain a ship of that size and keep it sparkly clean. We were merchants, heading south along the west coast of Classica. We were just pulling into Port Richard, a large, bustling seaside town with cobbled streets and tall orange chimneys, three story houses pressed up against each other with floral curtains and Victorian rooftops, tall masts of ships swaying slightly in the faint current, and rows of merchant tents lined up along the coast side street, shouting out haggles and barters and merchandise claims. We pulled up to the outstretching boardwalks and a few of the crew-members hopped out and tied up the ship. The crew scurried about, pulling down the sails and tying down ropes and doing various tasks. I went about surveying work and giving orders. Then we unloaded the cargo and opened up shop. We sold items from all around, pots, vases, relief sculptures, tapestries, silks, armor, fine dresses, spices, chocolates, incense, whatever foreign goods we could find at a decent price there and sell for a greater price here.

I rented out rooms for my crew at The Green Man Tavern, where we always bed down at Port Richard, and as the sun burrowed down beneath the horizon, me 'n' some o' the crew were downstairs playing a few rounds of quick-hand seven. Big Jim dealt out eight hands. One for me, another for Wild Kate, who was a red-headed, fierce woman (The only on the crew); one for Johnny, the twelve-year-old orphan with crazy blond hair and an overbite; one for old Ben, known as the grey haired old sea-dog who's seen everything; a few others; and himself of course: Big Jim the chocolate-skinned, large, fierce, logical man.

"Right," He said in his deep Quyncuit accent, "Now, no cheating this time, hands beneath the table, no rosin on the thumbs,"

"Rats!" Old Ben said, wiping his hands on his patched overalls.

"No pineapples, paper cuts, slip-ins, rubber gloves..." He continued.

"Honestly, we've already been over this," I said.

"And absolutely no," Jim finished, leaning in for effect, "Sore losers."

"Oh, you'll be breaking your own rule Jim!" Kate said. "You know you won't like it when you're beaten by a girl tonight."

"It's on!" He chuckled, "Now, are we doing it by pigments or blood type?"

"Blood type." Young Johnny said, "Pigments are only for the sitting room version. We're doing the real thing here."

"Right." Pinabel said, putting down his card.

As we played, the bartender came to our table. "Anything I can gecha?" He said with a grin.

"Three root beer floats and a Ganymede," I said, already knowing exactly what everyone wanted from so many nights' playing cards in this very tavern.

Jim put down a card. "Y'know, of all the ports and docks and coastal cities I've been to, this tavern is definitely on my top ten list."

"Right underneath the Blue Moon," Kate said.

"Oh, don't even start that." I said, "We had more than enough fun for a year."

"Wish sandy coulda' been there, though." Old Ben said as he put down another card.

"Wait, no, that's' a king. We're on the under-time rotation." Big Jim corrected.

"Oh, rats." Old Ben said.

The game was continued in silence until the bartender came back.

"Three root beer floats," He put the frothing mugs down with a unanimous clunk, "And a Ganymede." He set the small glass with a clink in front of the large Dublinian man at our table. "It sure is dark out there. And so still. Y'know, they say that Silverbeard is back, and roaming this very area."

"Oh, pish posh." Big Jim dismissed. "You know Silverbeard is only a legend."

"No, no, I've heard of this," Kate said, putting down a card, "Survivors were found. Wreckage of ships."

"They were hallucinating. The ships probably crashed on rocks, or sunk in storms." Jim reasoned. "You don't really think there's a magic, teleporting ship haunting these waters, do you?"

"Oh yes. He's probably out in the harbor right now. A big ship, with fifteen sails and a coating of silver on the hull for swiftness." Johnny said, taking his turn.

"Come on. That's impossible." Jim said, but he still went with everyone else to peer out the warped wavy windows.

The harbor was dark and still, with silhouettes of ships wavering slightly in the calm current. The moon was half full and very bright, with its twin staring at it from underneath the waves. As ominous as the night was, there was no creepy pirate ship lurking in the sea.

"Like I said, impossible." Jim said as they sat back down. "Now, whose turn is it?"

"Let's see... it went you, then Pinabel, then me... I think it's Kate's turn." Johnny said.

"Rosette!" she declared, pulling the pile towards her. She had just got a huge lead in the game, almost making her victory inevitable. "I have no idea how you guys didn't notice that whole time." She chuckled and glared at Jim, like, I told you so.

Big Jim narrowed his eyes and took a sip of his float.

"Silverbeard is real." Old Ben said, putting down a card, "I've seen 'im myself."

"Oh, not this again. I thought we had already established this." Jim groaned.

"Just because he is not in the harbor," Old Ben pointed out, "Does not mean he does not exist."

"It doesn't mean he does," I remarked. I'd seen pirates in my day, but no magic ones.

The game continued for a few hours, late into the night. Once Kate won the first one, we played it thrice more. Pinabel won the second, Kate again for the third, and Big Jim won the last. Finally we were too tired to hold our mugs, and we retired to our rooms for the night.

The next morning we set sail again, packing up what things we didn't sell and a few goods we bought for a cheap price in Port Richard. We all clambered up onto the deck, unfurled the Blue Lady's blue sails and headed out. The morning was damp, and a slight mist began to roll in. We sailed further out into the sea, and soon the shoreline was just a blur on the horizon. As the day progressed, the mist became thicker and thicker until we could scarcely see the rolling waves beneath our ship.

"Captain!" Big Jim called, "I can't see a thing!"

"Hold the course. There aren't any rocks in this area, so we'll just have to wait until this fog disperses." I replied. This turn of events was unsettling. There weren't usually fog banks this big at this time of year.

We had sailed for about a quarter of an hour longer when a cry was heard throughout the ship.

"Silverbeard! He has come back! We are all doomed!"

I rushed to the sound of the voice. The fog had become so thick I couldn't even see the other side of the deck. It was Old Ben. He was pointing in to the mist. Then I saw it. It was a silhouette at first, but then it came closer and took form. It was a large ship, with three masts and fifteen silver sails. Its hull was painted with real silver, and atop the crow's nest there was a skull and crossbones flag. Crowded on the deck were mangy, blade-wielding, ragged pirates, and at the front was a tall, evil looking man with long, shimmering silver hair and beard, thick shiny eyebrows, and glinting eyes the color of steel. It was Silverbeard himself.

"The legends really are true," Big Jim gasped in wonder.

The ship pulled up alongside ours. We stood in awe for a moment, and then Silverbeard let out a scratchy yell.

"Attack!"

His command was quickly followed by a roar from the pirates on the other ship as they swung over to our deck, the unsheathing of blades on our side, and my own command to man the cannons. I pulled out my sword just in time to connect it with an opposing blade. I had had most of my crew trained in the art of the sword in order to protect the ship from potential raids. We pushed against each other until we broke apart, swords swinging around to clash again for an instant. He aimed a jab straight at me, and I quickly blocked it and aimed for his leg. His sword followed mine and clashed again. He swept his blade in a decapitating motion, but I ducked and slipped my leg under him in an attempt to trip him. He was too fast, though. In a single motion he leapt over me and grabbed a rope swinging above and began to climb. I followed him up the rigging, trying to fight him at the same time. I slashed at his bare foot, making a cut. We had less practice, but they were in poor health. I scaled up to his level and he jabbed his sword at my face. I leaned backward, and then in again as his sword retreated. He jabbed again and I moved to one side, then the other side. He aimed one to the left of my face, hoping I would move into his swipe, but I saw it coming and moved the other direction. Finally I sliced the rope he was on and he fell into the sea.

I dropped back down to the main deck and made my way over to the hatch leading below deck. I had to fight off a few pirates along the way, though. I saw Wild Kate locked in battle, and I slid in and sliced the opposing pirate's leg. He fell down and Kate finished him off.

"Behind you!" she shouted.

I whirled around just in time to block a charging pirate. Kate swung her blade at him, but he whipped out another arm with another sword. We were locked in two on one combat, and having to concentrate on two people at once soon overwhelmed the dual-bladed attacker and we flipped his swords out of his hands and into the sea. I left him for Kate to deal with and ran down to the cannon deck. All the cannons on the port side were occupied but one, and I checked up on the gunpowder stores and the situation of the cannoneirs before loading the empty cannon and taking aim. Everyone was shooting at the silver hull, but it was hard as rock and the cannonballs just made dents. I shot at the hull only to get similar results. I loaded it again, and searched for a weak spot. Alas! On the very bottom, there was a large scratch the size of an anchor, revealing light, soft wood.

"Aim for the scratch at the bottom!" I yelled to the other cannons. I only hoped my command could be heard over the sounds of raging battle above.

I took aim and shot at the weak spot. I missed and hit the silver coating next to it, chipping some of it off. I readied the cannon and shot again, missing again. Either my crewmembers on the cannons saw what I was doing, or they heard my call, because they too started aiming for the scratch on the hull. Cannonball after cannonball flew at the spot, but it was a difficult aim because of the rolling waves and small target. Finally one cannonball's course flew true, and it smashed through the wood. The new hole was so low down that water immediately started pouring in, and the silver near it began chipping away and falling into the sea. More cannonballs flew at the area, and soon there was a gaping hole the size of a horse in the side of the enemy ship, and it began sagging a little.

At the same time, Silverbeard's cry of retreat sounded, and we rushed up to the deck. Bodies littered and stained the beautiful spruce wood, and weary crewmates slashed at the departing pirates as they swung back across. We all watched as the ship sailed off into the mist. As it faded from view, Silverbeard stood on the prow of the ship and said:

"I'll be back for you, John Icarus! I will be back and vanquish you once and for all! No one truly escapes the legendary Silverbeard!"

And with that, the ship faded into the fog. As soon as it was no longer visible, the fog thinned and settled and vanished as fast as it had appeared. Although Silverbeard's ship was only about fifty yards away when it faded from view, when the fog dispersed, all along the horizon in any direction on that now bright and clear day, there was not another ship to be found.