Hey everyone!
We go inland again in today's story.
I had fun creating images of the tropical jungle + rivers for this. Some of them didn't make sense to include in the story itself but I think they're too cool to not share, so here you go!
Now without further ado, enjoy the story :)
As always, please let me know your thoughts and feedback!
Day 4
I was awoken early by Dirk's voice, telling me that we were going to explore some rivers today. He said he had been impressed by my performance so far and wanted to teach me a few of his own tricks.
After having a quick breakfast, we set off.
Dirk told me he'd always had good luck finding things in rivers but that there were a few tricks to it. Today he'd teach me how to use my tools to find treasures in the many rivers on the island.
We walked for a while in silence until we reached the first river. Dirk showed me how to use my spade and rake to search the river bed but we came up empty at our first stop.
We moved on to the next river. On the way, I asked Dirk what he knew about "La Sombra" since he didn't seem surprised by the mention of it on the note we found in the shack.
Dirk told me that La Sombra was a legend on the island. "Some say it's a demon that lives in the darkness, others say it's just a story to keep people from going into the dark places on the island." Dirk continued, "Myself, I don't know for sure. But whatever it is... the island has some sort of lingering darkness over it that has lost me good crew before."
I shivered, thinking about the events at that abandoned shack with Mara, the skeleton, the note, and those hellish spiders days before.
Dirk's voice interrupted my thoughts, "You ready to try your hand at this?" He motioned to the river in front of us.
I took a deep breath and nodded. I waded into the water, following Dirk's instructions. After a few minutes, I still hadn't had any luck. Dirk, on the other hand, had managed to find a few coins.
I was amazed at Dirk's luck and asked him how he knew where to look. Dirk smiled and said, "It's just a matter of experience and practice, but most importantly... luck."
By midday, we were both exhausted and decided to take a break. Dirk asked me to keep a lookout and continue practicing while he took a quick nap.
I did as I was told, but after a few minutes of searching, I found myself taking longer and longer breaks to look around and think about what Dirk said.
I started to feel like I was being watched and looked around but saw nothing, just trees and bushes. I couldn't help but feel that the shadows moved unnaturally out of my vision just as I focused on them.
I was about to go back to searching when I saw a spark of light on the banks of the river. I waded over to it and found a pearl.
I screamed in excitement, startling Dirk awake, but Dirk's emotions quickly turned to joy when he saw what I had found.
Dirk said it was a good end to their search for the day and we made our way back to camp.
When we got back, we found everyone enjoying a meal and sharing stories around the fire. I walked over to Mara and told her about finding the pearl. She was impressed how quickly I was learning the ropes.
I kept my experiences with the shadows to myself for now, not that I could even readily describe what I saw if I tried. But something tells me it would be best to keep these experiences to myself for now.
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