Byron, leading the charge, guided the party of nine Transcendents into the underground treasure cave.
The narrow staircase cut through the mountain, descending into the deep belly of Mount Zimery.
No sooner had everyone's feet touched the grey-white stone ground than a boisterous song echoed in the ears of all treasure hunters in the maze.
It seemed to be that of a pirate captain, sailing the high seas, carving through the waves while indulging in rum and hearty song:
"I am a carefree pirate;
With spices loaded at sunrise, I anchor at Turtle Island at sunset;
Sailors marvel at my mortars;
Moonlight, captivating and enchanting, paints omens in its glow..."
"I am a ruthless pirate;
Cannonballs punctuate screams, their thunder engulfing the mind;
Guards tear at my insignia;
My past pride scrutinized, the verdict is always the noose..."
Swords striking masts provided a unique accompaniment.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!...
"I am a powerful pirate;
Wine soaks my robe, beauties in my embrace;
Overlords fear my cutlass;
War songs echo through the archipelago, warships crush the waves.
With compass in hand, I seek treasure, my sword splitting locks; following the Big Dipper, I find the treasure's beacon;
I love gold and silver, the first mate only loves lambs; heedless of worldly turmoil, helpless are the lambs' cries..."
One could immediately guess that this crude ditty, rhymes aside, was the autobiography the Great Pirate Flint had penned for himself. Preserved on a recording stone, it played for every wave of treasure seekers who landed on the island. He hadn't forgotten to include his close comrades-in-arms either.
But as with any author writing about friends, it was highly likely no good deeds were mentioned.
Flint's song spanned his days managing merchant ships and trading spices, to raiding the high seas, defeating maritime Overlords, and finally, settling on Silvergold Island.
Byron and his party listened with relish, their emotions riding the epic highs and lows of a Fourth Order Great Pirate's life.
Moreover, the original name of Great Tayman Island, where the International Port was located, was Turtle Island, stemming from the giant turtles in the nearby waters as big as carriages. This gave the members of their party from the Tayman Archipelago a peculiar sense of personally participating in the writing of history.
Especially Byron and those treasure hunters in the midst of the "Pirate's Chest" Promotion Ceremony, all Second Order [Pirates], listened intently to every word sung by the Great Pirate. The ceremony required them to obtain the treasure that best represented the glory of the Great Pirate Flint's life in order to complete their advancement. Such a treasure was inevitably linked to the great deeds of a pirate.
Everyone felt that the treasure that most represented his life's glory must be the 882 Aztec Cursed Gold Coins he had plundered from the Treasure Fleet of the maritime Overlord Castilia. After all, what could be more boastworthy for a pirate of the Lighthouse Sequence than robbing the Treasure Fleet? The dream of many a pirate was to plunder it, but few succeeded.
As the song reached, "helpless are the lambs' cries," a hoarse voice suddenly cut in, grating on the ears of Byron and his party, "He's slandering me! He's slandering me! Did you hear that?"
First Mate Thomas, the macaw who had been forcibly brought along for the treasure hunt, was furiously hopping up and down on the tricorn hat of Andrew, the Skeleton Knight. He was so agitated that his tongue twisted, and he squawked like a crow, "Listen here, old mate! I swear by the Creator, you better hope I don't find your coffin, or I'll kick your backside so hard with this bird foot of mine... HISS! "Ouch, ouch, my back!" In any case, I, First Mate Thomas, pure and innocent, a model of avian integrity, will absolutely not let you off the hook!"
The sudden movement was too much; clutching his twisted back, he flopped back down onto the brim of Andrew's hat.
Everyone in the party shot the parrot a disdainful look.
So that's what kind of bird you are.
So, you claim you want to escape this jail-like place and explore the boundless world in pursuit of other macaws, yet secretly you pine for the ewes on this island.
You must have spent too much time with goat-fancying pirates in your youth. Not only did you turn... unconventional early on, but you might have even developed a corkscrew appendage like a duck.
Of course, if he hadn't twisted his back while frolicking with his island "paramours," Andrew wouldn't have caught him so easily and dragged him into the treasure cave.
This was the first time he'd heard this "slanderous" song about himself.
Although this autobiographical ballad played to its end, it offered no information about the "Faustian Contract," the Alchemy of Transmutation, or the island's true nature. But everyone who had made it here alive was exceptionally perceptive. Even without the insights from a [Nautical Logbook] or the intelligence divulged by the macaw, they had already sensed the island's hidden secrets. If there was even a one-in-ten-thousand chance, they wouldn't hesitate to tear this place apart to find it.
Just as everyone's anticipation was reaching a fever pitch, the boisterous voice, now speaking normally for the first time, jeered, "Islanders! Do you desire my treasure? If you want it, it's all yours! Enter the labyrinth; I've hidden all the treasures I plundered throughout my life there. Even... the grand technique for making money from life itself!"
HISS—!
Hearing this direct confirmation from Flint himself for the first time, everyone's heart leaped. The treasure hunters, who had entered from various points and found themselves in different parts of the labyrinth, were now galvanized, surging towards its deepest recesses.