The Idol of Ruku
“The finest riches in this life can’t be held in your hand or locked in a chest.”
Captain Scoop Magilla leaned back in his rickety chair, propping his muddy size-5 boots on the table, as he took a long swig of apple juice.
The Salty Seadog Tavern was rowdy as ever tonight. Clouds of pipe smoke hung thick in the air, stinging Scoop’s eyes and blurring the lamp light. Boisterous laughter echoed off the walls as scoundrels and cutthroats alike collided in drunken camaraderie.
From beneath the shadow of his newspaper tricorne hat, Scoop scanned the crowded room. Pirates swaggered between cluttered tables, some singing vulgar limericks about some girl from Venus, others shouting for more grog.
Scoop followed their slurred speech and stumbling steps; he never tolerated missing a lucrative opportunity.
Percival, green feathers gleaming in the grungy atmosphere, sat hunched on Scoop’s shoulder. The parakeet leaned in, once again, to whisper, “No good will come of this, I tell you! Mark my words. These cutthroats would slit their own mother’s gizzards for a few doubloons. We best be on our way.”
Scoop dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “You worry too much, Percy. Just keep a weather eye out, and we’ll be fine.”
Percival sighed and gripped his talons harder into Scoop’s jacket, but continued surveying the seedy tavern patrons with a practiced eye.
Scoop’s ears perked up as the conversation of two grizzled pirates in the far corner caught his attention. They spoke in low, rum-soaked tones, but Scoop had an advantage: his youthful ears, not yet deadened by musket fire, could pick up a mouse fart from across the room. He gleaned enough to realize they spoke of something dear to every pirate’s heart: treasure.
Standing up, Scoop meandered through chairs and tables. He kept his gaze fixed on the pair as he drew near enough to catch more fragments of their conversation.
“…Sharpbeak’s treasure…aye, Moe, the idol…a king’s ransom they say it’s worth,” muttered the balding red-haired pirate.
“Aye, but cursed treasure, to be sure, Larry,” said Moe in a gravelly voice. “Hidden away on some uncharted isle only Sharpbeak knew. I dunna see it anywheres.” He traced a gnarled finger along a faded map spread before them.
Scoop perked up at the name.
People only spoke of Sharpbeak in hushed tones. He was a ruthless pirate whose villainy and greed remained unmatched.
And the idol — could they be referring to the mythical Idol of Ruku?
Scoop knew, according to legend, Captain Sharpbeak had sailed for a remote island generations ago, rumored to possess untamed and unknown magics.
Sharpbeak found the island and forced the islanders to carve the jade Ruku idol in the form of a parrot, which was then imbued with the essence of the island’s power. Possessing the Ruku idol thus gave Sharpbeak the power over the minds of others and even life itself.
In his greed, Sharpbeak abused the idol’s power.
The enraged island spirits retaliated and turned the idol’s magic against Sharpbeak. They also destroyed the island's inhabitants as a punishment for creating the forbidden idol. Primal magic caused the island to open up and engulfed Sharpbeak, his ship and crew, and the inhabitants.
Scoop had to bite his cheek to contain his excitement. If only half the rumors were true…
Thinking quickly, Scoop sidled up beside a wide wooden beam and pretended to fumble drunkenly with his mug of apple juice.
“Blast it all!” Scoop cursed, stumbling against their table.
The two pirates scowled at the disruption; one lay a hand on the hilt of his dagger.
“Apologies, mates.” Scoop leaned in close enough to get a glimpse of the map’s details. It showed an X marking a cove on a small island. He also noticed that the right edge of the map had a familiar pattern, as if talons had ripped it.
Scoop’s hand went to the inner pocket of his coat, where he kept folded a piece of map recovered long ago. The edges bore the same familiar talon-like pattern of damage. Could it fit together with this one?
Scoop could barely contain his swelling excitement.
“Say, I couldn’t help overhearing — Sharpbeak’s treasure, you say?”
Moe, the black-haired pirate with a bowl-cut, shook his head. “Nothing that concerns you, wee lad. This talk is not for you. Best forget what you heard. Run home to mummy, now.”
Scoop persisted, plopping himself down in an empty chair. “Now hold just a moment! I am an expert on Sharpbeak. That map you have there is obviously incomplete.”
The pirates stiffened. Scoop continued, “As it so happens, I have gained a fragment of map that may just match up. What say we have a friendly wager? A game of cards. Your piece versus mine. Winner takes both as the prize.”
After a moment’s consideration, they agreed.
“Let’s keep it simple: five-card draw,” proposed Scoop.
Moe grinned. “Arr, you’re on, whelp; but we won’t be going easy on ye.”
His balding, red-haired, and red-bearded mate, Larry, shuffled the cards. Scoop’s own hands weren’t idle either. With a subtle sleight of hand, he slipped an ace from his wrist band into his billowy sleeve.
Percival caught the move and whispered in a panic in Scoop’s ear, “What are you doing?! These two look ready to keelhaul any blackguard who tries pulling wool over their eyes.”
Scoop smirked. “What’s life without a little risk?”
A short while later, their faces soured as Scoop spread a winning full house, boosted by his illegal ace.
In a rage, Larry lunged across the table and brought down his knife. It swooshed toward Scoop’s head. At the last second, Scoop ducked sideways as the blade lodged deep in the wooden table.
Chaos erupted.
Scoop grabbed the map. “Run, Percy!” The parakeet dove at the pirates’ faces in an annoying blur of talons and wings, allowing Scoop time to dash towards the tavern door.
They burst into the moonlit streets, the sound of overturned chairs and angry shouts erupting behind them. Scoop laughed as they sprinted towards the docks.
“Have I got a gift for theatrics or what?” Scoop laughed as he puffed his chest.
Percival, wings flapping furiously to keep pace, called out, “This is no laughing matter! You’ve really stepped in it now! Mark my words, those two will come for blood.”
Scoop waved a hand. “So, they’ll hunt us for a few leagues. Nothing our wits can’t handle!”
Percival just shook his feathered head in exasperation. “One of these days, that cocksure attitude is going to land you at the wrong end of a sword. Not to mention the cheating! We’re honorable pirates, not devious cardsharps.”
Scoop whipped around, eyes blazing. “Honor? What has honor ever gotten us? Honor doesn’t fill my belly. Look at us, Percival! I’m tired of just getting by. I’m tired of pretending with these cast-off pieces of junk!
“I want a real hat, not newspaper and paraffin. I want—no! deserve—a proper ship, not bottle caps and toothpicks. I deserve a proper sword, not some old spork some bloke threw away after he finished his curry!
“This treasure could change everything for m — for us. We could finally have the life of true pirates. Fine ships, finer food, and respect — no more laughingstocks!”
“Scoop, we are true pirates! Our poor circumstances don’t change that.” Percival poked a wing at Scoop. “You have the soul of a pirate, Cap’n; but this greed will only lead us to ruin.”
“What do you know about being a pirate? You’re just a bird — a worthless pet shop parakeet! You belong in a cage in some old lady’s sitting room being stuffed with crackers, not on a pirate ship eating hardtack.”
Tears brimmed in Percival’s eyes.
Scoop’s face flashed with shame, but his pride kept him from apologizing. “That treasure will be mine. And when I’m living like a king, we’ll see who was right. Just stay out of my way! I’m through with you! You’re off the ship!” He stormed off, leaving Percival shaken, alone, and crying.
The argument signaled a dark turn in their relationship. Percival feared this obsession with wealth would twist Scoop into someone unrecognizable, and lose the sweet lad he knew forever. It pained him more than any insult to see Scoop’s friendly spirit corrupted. He could only hope it was not too late to turn him on this destructive path, though the road ahead looked bleak.
Scoop stood at the helm of the Bottlecap. He unfurled the ragged scrap of newspaper he called a sail with a twinge of unease. For the first time since they’d refitted the tiny vessel, Percival was not perched on his shoulder.
The silence was jarring. Over the creaking of the ship and lapping of waves, Scoop’s ears strained for the familiar flutter of wings, the soft squawks and whispers of advice he relied on. No feathered friend waited to scout the skies ahead for him on this journey.
Scoop swallowed his discomfort. This treasure was too important to turn back now. He’d made his intentions clear to Percival: He would do this on his own—or die trying.
As the ship slid away from the docks, Scoop pulled out the two halves of Captain Sharpbeak’s map. Fitting the torn edges together, a complete chart revealed itself. He squinted at the faded ink, once again making out the X marking a cove on a small island.
He grinned. The infamous treasure was almost within his grasp. No more padding his boots with newspaper or wielding a measly spork. If the legends held true, the riches could set him up as a proper pirate prince with a real galleon, a gleaming cutlass, and all the finer things.
He imagined the envy in every pirate’s eyes when he strode through the tavern wearing brocade coats adorned in jewels, pockets overflowing with Spanish doubloons…
A chill ran down his spine that interrupted his reverie. He felt exposed, as if unseen eyes watched his every move. He scanned the empty horizon. Without Percival patrolling from overhead, anyone could lurk just out of sight. His ears strained, but heard nothing beyond the usual cadence of wind and sea.
“Just my imagination.” He adjusted his hat against the rising sun’s glare and focused on holding the course for Sharpbeak’s Island. Still, the uneasy prickle between his shoulders never abated.
Over the next few days, Scoop’s anxiety only grew. Clouds gathered, plunging his journey into gloomy fog. Each shadow held phantom stalkers; every ripple of water, some ocean beast waiting to devour him. Scoop started at every errant creak and groan of the ship.
By the time the island’s green shores emerged through the mist, Scoop sagged with relief. As he guided the Bottlecap into a sandy cove, his breath caught.
Bobbing nearby was a ship — a real miniature galleon with billowing white sails and ornately carved woodwork. Scoop’s hands clenched at the helm.
Someone else was here. How?
Leaping ashore, Scoop scanned the beach. No one was in sight, but the sand held an obvious trail of footprints leading into the dense jungle. Heart pounding, Scoop raced to follow them.
The tracks matched the winding path showed on Sharpbeak’s treasure map. With dread congealing in his gut, Scoop pushed through vines and undergrowth until the prints ended at a rocky outcropping. Thick creepers obscured a dark crevice — the mouth of a cave.
Creeping forward, Scoop heard a voice from within — a girl’s voice. He inched closer to make out the words.
“Hurry, Percival! Keep watch while I get this loaded.”
Percival!? Scoop stopped dead. Rage boiled within him at the name. That traitor!
Peering into the gloom, he spotted them — a young red-haired girl dressed in pirate garb was searching for something amongst an immense treasure trove. And perched on her shoulder was the unmistakable green plumage of his former first mate.
With a roar, Scoop charged into the cave.
“You backstabbing, two-timing bird! I’ll roast you on a spit for this!”
The parrot and girl whirled in surprise.
Percival squawked, “Scoop, wait!” but Scoop was already swiping at the bird. The girl grabbed Percival out of reach.
“Keep your grubby mitts off of my first mate!” she yelled, green eyes blazing.
Scoop turned his fury on her. “Your first mate? That’s my bird! But, you know what? You can have him! He’s nothing but a lying, thieving turncoat.” Scoop made another lunge towards Percival, but the girl’s cutlass stopped him short.
“Come any closer and you’ll get worse than a poke,” she warned. Scoop glared, but kept his distance from the razor-sharp steel.
The girl’s stance relaxed, but only a little.
“Name’s Penny. And I’ll thank you for not besmirching my friend’s good name. Percival told me all about you, Captain Scoop Magilla. How your greed drove him away. Well, he’s with me now.” She smiled, rewarding Percival with a scratch on the top of his head.
Scoop scowled, outrage and indignation simmering in his chest. “Oh, so he told you all about me, did he? Conveniently left out the part where he betrayed me to swipe my treasure, I see!”
Percival ruffled his feathers. “I did no such thing! I only came here to stop you from destroying yourself and chasing this cursed hoard. You weren’t yourself. I wanted to protect you from yourself.”
Scoop clenched his fists, anger warring with fresh doubt. Could Percival be telling the truth? But his bitterness won out. “Spare me your noble excuses. You just wanted the glory and the idol for yourself!”
Penny stepped forward, sword still raised. “Percival speaks true. We both came for the treasure, but for a good cause, not selfish ones.” She gestured to the treasure trove. “My father is cut from the same cloth as Captain Sharpbeak. If he got hold of the idol, he’d wreak havoc across the seas. I aim to keep it out of his hands.”
Scoop’s eyes narrowed. “So, how did you beat me here? Percival did not know where this was. Or did you?” He stared at the quivering parakeet.
Penny smirked. “No deceit needed. Your bird friend knew your fragment of Sharpbeak’s map well. I already had knowledge of this island from Moe and Larry at the pub. Together, we pieced together the route. And while you limped along on your cute little dinghy, we sailed ahead in my real pirate ship.”
Scoop felt his face grow hotter. His own sloppy, incomplete knowledge had doomed him, not Percival’s duplicity. Perhaps some truth lay in their words…but Scoop hardened his heart. They still intended to steal what was rightfully his.
“I don’t care about your motives. I found the first piece of that map, fair and square. The treasure will be mine.” Scoop raised his makeshift spork blade.
Penny’s eyes narrowed at the pathetic utensil, but she raised her cutlass higher in return. “Looks like we have ourselves a good old-fashioned duel,” she said. “May the best swashbuckler win.”
With a cry, Scoop launched himself at Penny, spork humming through the air. Penny parried, riposting to flick the spork from Scoop’s grip. Scoop scrambled away and ducked behind piles of treasure.
Penny laughed. “Some pirate you are! Can’t even swing a decent blade. No wonder you play make-believe with nothing but cheap cutlery.”
Scoop burned with humiliation. He snatched up a thigh bone from a skeleton adorned in tattered pirate garb — likely from the long gone Sharpbeak himself.
“I’ll show you a real pirate!” Scoop charged with the bone held high. Penny slit the bone in half lengthwise with one clean stroke.
“The only thing you’ve shown is what a scurvy buffoon you are,” she taunted.
With a final clever twist, she sent the bone flying, then smacked Scoop on the backside with the flat of her blade. Scoop yelped, then collapsed, defeated among the treasure.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some searching to do,” Penny said as she moved deeper into the cave.
A green glow caught Scoop’s eyes — a jaded statue of a parrot.
As Penny’s back was turned, Scoop made a desperate grab. His hands almost touched it…but quicker than thought, Penny’s blade whistled to rest against his throat.
“Nice try. But this pretty’s what I came for, and it’s coming with me.” Keeping her cutlass on Scoop, Penny grabbed the idol with a gloved hand and stashed it in her sack. “Pleasure dueling with you, Master Magilla, but I must be off now. Do take care walking the plank on your way out.”
With a mocking salute, she backed out of the cave, leather bag in one hand and still brandishing steel in the other.
Scoop slammed his fist against the stony floor until his knuckles bled. All that pursuit for nothing! He didn’t even have his loyal parrot to comfort him anymore. He collapsed among coins and jewels, alone.
A soft fluttering broke the silence. Scoop looked up to see Percival perched nearby.
“Scoop…are you alright?”
“Get away from me, traitor.”
Percival flinched, but stood his ground. “I know you’re upset. One day you’ll see this was all for the b — ”
“I said get out!” Scoop hurled a golden chalice at him. The parrot dodged it and flew off, leaving Scoop alone among the treasure piles.
As Percival vanished from sight, the red haze over Scoop’s mind cleared. His fury melted away, replaced by a cold, hollow feeling in his belly.
What have I done?
He allowed the tears to fall. He wept for his loyal friend, who had only tried to protect him from his own darkness. And he wept for himself — for the greed and anger that had twisted him so far from the honorable person he wanted to be. In his obsession with wealth, he had destroyed the most precious treasure of all: his bond with Percival.
Wiping his eyes, Scoop swore an oath. Never again would he let petty desires eclipse what mattered most. No pile of gold could ever replace true friendship.
From this day forward, he would temper his thirst for adventure with wisdom and value loyalty above any prize. Percival had seen the good in Scoop, even when Scoop lost sight of it. He resolved to prove worthy of that faith.
Jaw set, Scoop rose, collected his spork, and strode from the cave. If he had any hope of redeeming himself, the first step was to make things right with Percival.
When Scoop emerged from the cave’s mouth, a swell of loud voices met his ears — not just one or two, but dozens, even scores of men.
He crept towards the tree line.
Peering through the branches, Scoop’s eyes widened. The cove swarmed with pirates, at least fifty strong, milling about in groups. And there, anchored offshore, was a full-sized galleon, sails billowing, flag emblazoned with Bonesaw’s own symbol flapping in the breeze.
Scoop’s gaze snapped back to shore. Where was Penny? He saw a flash of brilliant red. Penny stood surrounded by leering buccaneers, gripped tight by the scrawny arms of Moe and Larry from the tavern.
Before Scoop could react, the mob parted for one figure who stomped towards Penny — Bonesaw himself.
Penny seized the distraction. With a mighty effort, she wrenched free of the two pirates’ grasp. In a blur, she drew her cutlass; it flashed as she leapt at Bonesaw with a battle cry.
Steel rang on steel as Penny dueled the soaring captain. For a moment she looked his equal, dodging and parrying Bonesaw’s powerful, lumbering swings.
But her early ferocity soon flagged against his onslaught. With an almost casual sweep, Bonesaw knocked her blade away. It flew, spinning into the sand as Penny fell back.
In an instant, Bonesaw’s claw-like hook was around her slender throat. “The idol!” he bellowed, face crimson with rage. “Where?”
“Far from your vile grasp, father!” Penny choked.
As Scoop watched Bonesaw throttle Penny, a faint “Psst!” drew his attention. Perched atop a rocky mound was Percival, gesturing.
Scoop crept over. “Percy! What happened? Where’s the idol?”
The parrot explained how Penny had spotted Bonesaw’s ship and tossed away the sack, hoping to draw the pirates from the cave. But Moe and Larry had captured her first.
“I don’t know what to do! It’s over here,” Percival whispered, feathers ruffled in agitation as he fluttered down to the hidden sack.
“Scoop, I’m so sorry for every — ” he began.
Scoop cut him off with a wave of his hand, attention fixed on the sack. There was no time for apologies now.
Scoop picked up the sack and dumped the contents onto the sand. The idol shone with a green glow. He bent over and closed his fingers around it.
A fierce energy jolted up his arm, making the fine hairs on his neck stand on end. The carved jade vibrated in his grasp. Scoop’s heart quickened. This was no mere stone; some primal power pulsed within it, resonating with the rhythm of his racing blood. Strange whispers teased the edge of his mind; promise and temptation intertwined.
Just then, a cannon blast resounded from offshore. Scoop looked up to see a naval frigate anchoring just off the beach. Reinforcements poured from the warship.
Distracted by their arrival, Bonesaw released Penny. She staggered back, gasping.
Scoop rushed down to the beach to support her. “Penny! Are you alright?”
“I’ll live,” she croaked, rubbing her neck. “But I won’t be singing any shanties for a while… We’ve got to stop my father from getting that idol!”
Their attention snapped to Larry and Moe shoving through the chaos towards them.
“It’s that wee cheat from the tavern!” Larry bellowed. “He’s the one who stole our map piece!”
Moe nodded at the green glow in Scoop’s hand. “Aye, so he’s the one with the idol now!”
The two pirates charged, weapons drawn. “Hand it over, boy!”
Scoop grabbed Penny’s hand, and they fled into the jungle foliage, with Larry and Moe in hot pursuit. Branches lashed their faces as they crashed through the underbrush. Percival flew overhead to help with directions.
In the distance, the sounds of clashing steel and cannon fire echoed as the Royal Navy battled Bonesaw’s pirates. But Scoop had threats closer at hand.
With a bellow, Larry and Moe exploded from the undergrowth, blades raised high. Scoop twisted aside as the Moe’s cutlass sliced the air where his neck had been a heartbeat before.
Penny crossed steel with Larry, her sword a blur as she drove him back. Moe pressed Scoop, forcing him to give ground across the jungle floor.
Scoop scrambled over mossy rocks and gnarled roots, struggling for footing. Moe stalked after him, a feral grin stretched across his scarred face. Scoop’s boots slipped on the damp earth as he scrambled up a rocky outcropping. No escape that way.
With his back pressed against a towering banyan tree, Scoop faced his pursuer. The pirate circled like a shark, relishing the moment. As he raised his notched blade for the finishing blow, Scoop gripped the idol tight. Its carved ridges dug into his palms.
A blinding flash lit the jungle. Moe froze as if turned to stone, cutlass still raised to deliver the fatal blow. Larry also seized up mid-step.
Penny touched Scoop’s shoulder, gaze fixed on the immobilized pirates. “Scoop! The idol responded to your urge to defend.”
Seeing Scoop’s confusion, she continued, “The idol channels nature’s forces. It promises power, but no one can completely control it.”
Penny’s words kindled an uneasy memory of the idol’s seductive whispers in Scoop’s mind. He shuddered, loosening his white-knuckled grip on the carved jade.
Penny nodded. “Its sorcery springs from nature’s heart, not human schemes. We must guide the magic, not command it.”
Her wisdom broke the idol’s hold on Scoop’s fear and anger. Drawing a deep breath, he imagined seeing faint sparks of goodness buried deep in the pirates’ hearts. He could feel the magic flowing to those very spots.
Larry and Moe’s eyes cleared of malice’s haze, like shutters thrown open to light. The men lowered their weapons. They blinked their eyes as if awakening from a nightmare.
Scoop hesitated only a moment. Perhaps even these blackguards might turn from villainy, given the chance.
“Leave this place,” Scoop commanded. “I free you to seek your own fates.”
Larry and Moe blinked at him and smiled. As they vanished into the foliage, Scoop turned to Penny. “Why does Captain Bonesaw want the idol? What evil does he plan to unleash with it?”
Percival fluttered down to join them. “Aye, his villainy runs deep as the ocean itself. But what new monstrousness is he planning?”
Penny’s face was grim. “My father would twist the idol’s power to serve his insatiable greed and malice. The magic within nurtures life, but in his hands, it would only destroy.”
She gripped her sword tighter. “He must never possess it, or all that is good in this world would be at risk.”
Scoop’s chest swelled with outrage at the thought of that tyrant corrupting the idol’s power of evil ends. Bonesaw had to be stopped here and now.
Percival nodded. “Then we shall see his foul plans thwarted this day by my oath!”
A roar split the air as the volcano exploded, raining fire and ash over the jungle. The ground heaved beneath their feet.
Penny steadied herself against a tree. “Oh no! The island spirits! They’ve awakened. We haven’t much time before this island destroys itself and us along with it!”
With the volcano continuing to rumble, the comrades hurried onward with newfound urgency. The three emerged from the jungle onto a scene of apocalyptic chaos.
Through the din, Bonesaw’s crazed roar cut through: “The idol! Bring it to me!”
Scoop tightened his grip as Bonesaw’s men closed in from all sides. However dangerous, he could not relinquish it now and let these villains abuse its power.
Doubt gripped him. Could he resist the idol’s temptations? It was a force beyond any mortal’s control, as Penny had warned.
Percival alighted on his shoulder, rallying Scoop’s courage. “Stay true, my friend! Together we shall overcome!”
Heartened, Scoop focused on the light within him, determined to wield the idol only for good. He would not become a monster like Bonesaw.
Joining Penny, they faced down the bloodthirsty mob. But uncertainty lingered — how could two prevail against so many? As Bonesaw charged and his crew fired their muskets, Scoop raised the idol. A blinding flash halted the pirates’ bullets mid-air.
Temptation whispered in his head: Crush them! Scoop trembled, then rejected that darker path. With great effort, he turned the power once again to finding the goodness buried in each of the pirates’ hearts.
The pirates froze, weapons dropping from their raised hands. As the idol’s light pierced their souls, their eyes cleared. The men blinked in confusion, and looked around.
One by one, they lowered their heads in shame and turned to Royal Navymen, arms raised not in malice, but in surrender. Scoop watched them go with surprise and hope.
But Bonesaw would not relent, having no goodness left in him to illuminate.
Bellowing at his crew’s disobedience, he charged Scoop himself, hook gleaming. Scoop dodged Bonesaw’s wild swing. The captain struck again and again, hatred lending him uncanny force. Scoop slowly gave ground beneath the brutality.
With a roar, Bonesaw sent Scoop’s feeble spork spinning to the ground. He raised his cutlass high for the kill.
In that frozen moment, Scoop saw death in the captain’s savage eyes.
Just then, Percival let out a defiant squawk and flung himself into the blade’s deadly arc.
“No!” Scoop cried out, but too late. The sword sliced into Percival’s breast. The brave parrot tumbled lifelessly to the ground in a splash of crimson and feathers.
Tears and shock blurred his vision, Scoop rushed to cradle his friend. Bonesaw ripped the idol from his grasp. The volcano’s fury intensified. Fresh lava oozed down the mountainside as an ethereal howl filled the air.
“At last, the power is mine!” Bonesaw bellowed. “Now none can stop me!”
Rage and grief warred within Scoop. Percival had given his life for this cause. Scoop would not fail him now. He snatched up his spork and turned with Penny to face the villain who had taken so much, determined to redeem his friend’s sacrifice.
“Not yet, it ain’t!” screamed Penny.
With a savage roar, Bonesaw charged, his sword a gleaming arc of death. Scoop deflected the blow as Penny rolled aside and came up slashing. Bonesaw spun, parrying her flurry of strikes.
“Is that the best you can muster, whelps?” he taunted.
Scoop and Penny attacked from both sides. Their weapons wove a shining web, seeking any gap in Bonesaw’s defense. But the pirate captain matched them blow for blow, his sword ringing as the island continued to rumble around them.
Scoop felt his arms growing leaden. Beside him, he could see Penny was also tiring. Bonesaw’s frenzied attacks seemed powered by the idol.
With a mighty swing, Bonesaw smashed the spork from Scoop’s grasp once again and sent him sprawling. He rounded on Penny, his scarred face twisted in a gruesome grin. He invoked words of magic, holding the idol high, which glowed a sickly green.
Penny struck like a viper. Her sword flashed, slicing clean through Bonesaw’s wrist. With a howl of pain, the captain staggered back, clutching the bleeding stump against his chest.
The idol tumbled to the ground, still clutched in the grasp of Bonesaw’s severed hand. Scoop dove for it, prising the captain’s stiff, twisted fingers off the carved jade. The hand was already sickly white, veins throbbing as dark blood pumped from the stump of the wrist. Scoop grimaced as he peeled back each rigid digit, sticky with gore, until finally wresting the cursed prize free.
He rushed over to Percival’s lifeless body. As he raised the idol to Percival’s mangled breast to heal his friend, sinister whispers filled his mind.
Let the traitor die, the idol hissed. He betrayed you once and he will again.
Scoop faltered, Percival’s earlier betrayal still ringing bitterly. But thoughts of their years together flooded in — joyful memories of adventure and laughter. Scoop realized how much he would miss his dear friend’s companionship.
The idol’s whispers faded as Scoop’s heart swelled with love. Percival had always seen the good in him, even when Scoop lost sight of it himself. He focused on that light now, determined to prove worthy of Percival’s faith.
Golden warmth spread from Scoop’s palms into Percival’s wounds, knitting the gashes closed.
With a sputter, Percival’s eyes blinked open. “Scoop!… Why am I on the ground in this undignified manner?”
As he hugged his dear friend tight, the light of love kindled anew within Scoop, burning away the shadows of grief that had chilled his heart only moments before. Scoop’s tears transformed from the bitter anguish of regret into the cleansing release of redemption.
Around them, Penny and the navy men had Bonesaw’s crew under control. Penny pinned Bonesaw’s arms behind his back and marched him over to the commodore.
“I believe this belongs to you,” she declared, shoving the disarmed and bleeding captain forward. Bonesaw spat and growled like a rabid cur.
As the navy men wrenched Bonesaw away, his wild eyes found Scoop. “Curse you, boy! I won’t forget this!”
Scoop met that frenzied glare. Only yesterday, such venom would have chilled his marrow. Today, facing down the dread Captain Bonesaw himself, Scoop felt only pity for this diminished bully.
“Your reign of terror ends here,” Scoop said. “There’s no place in these waters for villains like you.”
Bonesaw thrashed and howled with empty threats. Scoop watched the defeated tyrant go with quiet stoicism. The days of cowering before pirates like Bonesaw were over.
Scoop, Penny, and Percival stood gazing at the jaded parrot idol as it glowed a fresh green hue in the dying light of the day.
Penny broke the silence. “We can’t let this fall into evil hands again; but neither can we leave it unguarded.”
Percival nodded. “Back to the cave is too risky. Another greedy soul would find it.”
Scoop traced the intricate carvings as options raced through his mind. The idol possessed power beyond reckoning, yet he sensed the island’s spirit slumbering within it.
“The people who once lived on this island were forced to create this and paid dearly for it,” he said. “I think the power yearns to return to whence it came.”
Penny’s eyes gazed at the smoldering mountain top above them. Though it still rumbled ominously, the tremors had lessened in fury, as if the island itself now held its breath.
“Then the island shall have it back,” she said.
The mountain seemed to wait, its power temporarily abated while anticipating the idol’s return. Scoop felt the forces watching them, raging but patient, ready to unleash full fury again if they made the wrong choice.
With the volcano continuing to grumble a low warning, the trio made their way up the rocky slopes. Step by step, they climbed. The island allowed them this chance, but they had to succeed. The fate of all now balanced on the razor’s edge of the smoking crater above.
Scoop clutched the idol close, feeling its carved ridges digging into his chest. His legs burned from the arduous climb, but he pushed onward step by step.
At last, they crested the rim of the steaming crater. Scoop’s eyes watered from billowing clouds of sulfur as he peered over the edge into the bubbling caldera below. Rivers of molten rock glowed amber, coursing along the crater’s walls before plunging into the churning lava lake far beneath.
Scoop extended his arm to suspend the heavy idol over the abyss. He could feel its energy thrumming in resonance with the forces simmering below.
His fingers trembled. After everything, letting go felt impossible. Sensing his hesitation, Penny clutched Scoop’s shoulder while Percival alighted on his wrist, a gentle reminder he did not stand alone.
Drawing a deep breath, Scoop opened his palm. The idol tumbled end over end, emerald shining in the hellish glow before vanishing into plumes of steam.
A deep rumble echoed through the mountain. The crater trembled, dislodging a rain of stones. Then all the quaking subsided.
It was done.
Scoop stood transfixed as reality sank in. The burden had passed; the island’s tortured spirit could at last find peace. He looked at his friends and saw his own awe mirrored on their faces.
As darkness claimed the sky and the stars twinkled into their nightly ritual, an emerald glow lit the crater. Scoop gasped as wisps of light rose from the lava and coalesced overhead.
First, the wispy image of a parrot formed, rotating serenely among the stars. Then more wisps swirled around it, taking on human shapes with arms uplifted in joyful release. Ethereal voices echoed in a wordless chorus as the spirits of the island inhabitants joined with the parrot idol.
The bound souls of the people and the idol that had led to their destruction were finally unfettered. Their chorus resonated with bittersweet reconciliation before fading into the starry sky above.
Scoop watched the spirits dissipate with a mix of awe and somber understanding. Their redemption was complete, freed by the very power that had once been corrupted.
As the last sliver of sun slipped below the waves, Penny put a hand on Scoop’s shoulder.
“Quite a day, eh, Magilla?”
Scoop rubbed his neck. “Aye, I’m fair cleaved in two. But we weathered it well together.”
He offered his hand, and Penny grasped it in friendship. Scoop marveled at how, just this morning, they had been bitter rivals. Now, he felt he’d known brave Penny for a lifetime.
He gazed out at the darkening sea. “I was a fool to let greed poison me; it nearly cost me all that mattered.” Scoop stroked Percival’s feathers gently.
“From now on, I’ll keep friendship first in my heart. As long as we stand together, that’s the greatest treasure of all.”
Penny nodded. “Well said, Captain. The finest riches in this life can’t be held in your hand or locked in a chest. They’re the bonds between true friends can weather any storm.”
Scoop glanced over at Penny’s sturdy galleon rocking offshore. “That’s a fine ship.” He smiled. “What say we combine crews as equals? We’d be unstoppable!”
Penny’s eyes lit up at the prospect. “A fine idea! Together, we’ll give those scurvy villains a drubbing to remember. Our adventures will become legend!”
Scoop glanced back at where his modest raft bobbed in the cove beside Penny’s imposing galleon.
He chuckled. “The noble Bottlecap has weathered many voyages, though I doubt she’d withstand the open sea now.”
Penny followed his gaze and nodded. “We’ll find a place for her aboard the Scourge. I know she holds sentimental value.”
Scoop’s eyes misted over. “Aye, we had some fine adventures on that scrappy little boat. She deserves an honorable retirement.”
He pictured the Bottlecap mounted on the Scourge’s bulkhead, preserved as a reminder of lessons learned and far horizons reached. Though their vessels now joined forces, each ship would keep her storied history alive.
Penny clapped Scoop on the back. “Spoken like a true captain.”
As the stars emerged, the two new partners gazed out at their combined fleet. Trust and loyalty now anchored their bond fast.
Despite the day’s dangers, Scoop felt only peace. There were treasures greater than gold: trust, courage, friendship. From this day forth, he would seek those highest prizes above all else.
