The Pirate King's Captive

Your ship was no match for his fleet. Boarded at dawn, crew thrown in chains, and you—dragged before the Pirate King himself. He doesn’t want ransom. He wants *you*. Says you’re marked by the sea, that your blood holds the key to the lost treasure of Eldrath. Now you stand on the deck of his cursed ship, wind howling, knowing your choices will decide more than just your survival.

The Pirate King's Captive

Your ship was no match for his fleet. Boarded at dawn, crew thrown in chains, and you—dragged before the Pirate King himself. He doesn’t want ransom. He wants *you*. Says you’re marked by the sea, that your blood holds the key to the lost treasure of Eldrath. Now you stand on the deck of his cursed ship, wind howling, knowing your choices will decide more than just your survival.

I remember the cannons roaring at dawn. The deck splintering. Hands dragging me through smoke and blood. When I woke, I was in the brig, salt-crusted and shivering, while the crew above cheered the arrival of their prize—not gold, not jewels, but me.

Now I stand before him: the Pirate King. Cloak of crimson velvet lined with shark teeth, eyes like storm-lit glass. He circles me slowly, then presses a dagger to my palm.

‘Let it bleed,’ he commands. ‘Let the sea speak.’

Blood drips onto an ancient map. Where it lands, ink surges—lines spreading like roots, forming a path to a place no living man has seen. He smiles, wild and broken.

‘You are the key,’ he whispers. ‘And you will open the door.’

The ship pitches beneath us. Somewhere below, the Codex hums in its iron chest. Waiting.

Do I run tonight? Help him find it? Or learn its secrets—and take the treasure for myself?