A Hidden Treasure

W

While I was fighting pirates in the cove, I found three map fragments. After collecting my debt, I took the pieces out of my bag and put them together. I squinted my eyes and tried to read some messy faded words scribbled over a rough map of Tanaris.

South of Wheedle,
South of home,
Find a mast and a flag and bones.
Dig you there if you be bold,
Dig and claim Cuergo’s gold!
A key you’ll need and a key you’ll see
The men you face take blood as fee.

I could never pass up a treasure hunt. I thought about the rhyme for a while and determined that the only place it could be was at the southern coast. It would be unlikely that any pirate would stray too far from the sea, even to bury his treasure.

I rode directly south, keeping the map close to my side. I soon made it to the very end of the land and was met with a cluster of sharp mountains. I decided the only way around them would be to swim, so I continued on wading through the warm water. After a short swim, I saw smoke billowing from some object on the coast.

The coast was not quite as desolate as I was anticipating. There were hundreds of tortoises grazing through the sands. To my surprise the normally docile creatures slowly and ferociously moved towards me snapping their jaws fiercely. There’s really something odd about those tortoises. I defended myself from the strangely aggressive animals, and walking backwards was eventually stopped by a flag sticking out of the sand. Turning around i realized that I had found the fabled treasure!

I kneeled down to see if the key was nearby, when out of nowhere, pirates came running from the shore. I grabbed my weapons off the ground and fought the random seige. The map was right, these pirates demanded my blood. They swung their rusty swords, mindlessly protecting the treasure chest.

I saw a shiny glint of light coming from around the neck of one of the sailors. In a desperate move, I ran backwards and threw my axe at the object. Out of luck, the key fell softly to the ground. As soon as it landed, my attackers fell down dead. It appeared as though they were somehow bound to that key. I took a swig of water, feeling triumphant in my effort.

Feeling refreshed, I cautiously grabbed the key and opened the treasure chest. Along with a considerable amount of gold, the chest was filled with strange, unique items. I filled my bag with the treasures I found and left the area recollecting the events. The folks at the Salty Sailor Tavern would love to hear about this.