Fiction | Fantasy
Leap of Faith: Sir Hopsalot’s Maritime Chronicles | Chapter 2 — The Talisman of Tranquil Tides
Charm of the Snake, Curse of the Bunny.
This is the second chapter of Leap of Faith: Sir Hopsalot’s Maritime Chronicles. Click here to read Chapter 1 — Thalassophobia.
In the last chapter, after receiving a distressing letter written in squid ink indicating that Princess Flufflea has been kidnapped, Knight Commander Sir Hopsalot wrestles with his fear of the ocean and contemplates seeking assistance from the snake witch.
“Ssssso… afraid of the ocean?” Morganna’s venomous voice sends shivers down my spine. What’s the word for the irrational fear of snake witches?
“Do you have something or not?” I blurt out, gripping at the hilt of my sheathed sword.
“You’re impatient, Hopsalot.”
She slithers to the back room, leaving me alone with the animal skulls hanging from the ceiling, the strange roots in jars, and the ancient books, their discolored pages flickering under candlelight. I wonder if Inkspire Isle will be as eerie.
Morganna returns with a sparkling object in her mouth. She places it before me.
“The Talisman of Tranquil Tides,” she hisses.
A navy gem encircled by a golden snake biting a thin white chain.
“It calms the ocean and protects from raging seas. Makes any vessel unsinkable.”
It’s beautiful.
“There’s a price, obviousssssly.”
“What do you want?” I ask, putting the talisman around my neck.
“The Silver Moonflower. It grows on the very island where you’re visiting your pirate friends. It only blooms once every one hundred years, under a full moon.” Morganna points to a date in a book. “Impeccable timing.”
I hate dealing with witches.
“You have one week to bring me the flower, or I won’t dispel the curse.”
“Curse? What curse?”
“The talisman. In a week, it’ll fill your throat with seawater. You’ll drown.”
The shiver on my spine comes back, this time shooting through it with an electric shock. I try to remove the talisman, but it’s too small now.
“You snake!”
“You bunny.” She smirks. “One lasssst thing,” Morganna whispers in my ear. “Don’t break it.”
This story is part of the Seedling Challenge (Stage 3: Microfiction. 101–300 words). I’m bending the rules on the challenge a bit, and writing a new, longer chapter for each stage.
Tagging people who said were curious about what would happen next Bradan Writes Stories, Jonathon Sawyer, SLSnow88.