FICTION | FANTASY

Leap of Faith: Sir Hopsalot’s Maritime Chronicles | Chapter 3 — Ripples of Fear

Navigating Nautical Nonsense

This is the third chapter of Leap of Faith: Sir Hopsalot’s Maritime Chronicles. Chapter 1 — Thalassophobia Chapter 2— The Talisman of Tranquil Tides

In the last chapter, Sir Hopsalot has a chilling encounter with the snake witch Morganna, who gives him the Talisman of Tranquil Tides. In exchange, she demands a rare Silver Moonflower from Inkspire Isle. If he doesn’t deliver the flower within a week, the talisman’s curse will activate and he will drown. She also warns him not to break the talisman.

The world bobs on the ocean as we sail towards Inkspire Isle. I’m hiding below deck, tucked away under Buccaneer Hee-Haw’s hammock, my eyes closed.

The Talisman of Tranquil Tides around my neck provides no solace — it’s useless against my thalassophobia.

Never trust a snake witch!

“Come up, cottontail.” Buccaneer Hee-Haw’s voice flows down from the deck. “Catch the clear, cloudless canopy!”

“No, thank you,” I say. “How long until we reach the isle?”

I wait for a response but there’s nothing, only the hypnotic song of the waves caressing the sloop’s hull.

“Hello?” I call, too scared to open my eyes.

Panic shoots through my heart, as cold and sharp as a harpoon. I’m marooned on this thought: A silent sea serpent swiftly swooping Buccaneer Hee-Haw off the sloop.

“Buccaneer?” I call again, barely a whisper.

I finally open one of my eyes and find Buccaneer Hee-Haw’s face upside-down and uncomfortably close. I jump back.

“Just call me Hee-Haw,” he says with a smile.

He drops down beside me in one practiced movement, filling the already cramped quarters.

Slinging an arm around my shoulders, he says, “I wanted to thank you again, Sir Hopsalot of Cottontalia. And I must mention my much-missed mate, Lady Clovergraze. Thanks to the talisman, I’m trotting to her today.”

“Your mate? Is she in Inkspire Isle?”

“Yes, brave bunny! I haven’t seen her in seven years because the Sylvan Sea has been sealed under a scary storm. Only the most audacious like the Squid Swashbucklers would voyage into the violent vortex. But now? Behold this beautiful blue sky!”

His finger points out the hatch to the skies. It’s indeed a beautiful day. The talisman works!

I puff my chest. “Well, you’re welcome, Buccaneer — ”

“Ha! Hee-Haw.”

“Right. Hee-Haw.”

He jumps and claps his hands. “And you’re fighting Captain Tentaculum? I’ve heard the Captain carries six cold cutlasses, constantly clashing!”

I smile weakly and nod.

“Kraken’s kinks!” His laugh fills the cramped cabin.

Six weapons at the same time? I didn’t know that!

He climbs back to the deck. “Are you sure you won’t waddle up here? It’s a wonderful world.”

“No, no!” The words jump out of my mouth before I decide to say them. “I need to… um… practice my swing.” I pull my rapier and accidentally knock over the pile of pots Hee-Haw calls a kitchen.

“There’s surely more space to swing your sword up here, no?”

“I… Captain Tentaculum won’t give me much space. I better prepare.”

“Gah! The gallantry and grit!” He turns and leaves me alone. “By the billowing brine, what a brave bunny!”

As the sound of his words blends with the crash of the waves, I remember I’m just a small rabbit floating on an ocean of fears. I take a deep breath. One leap at a time, Hopsalot.

This story is part of the Seedling Challenge (Stage 4: Postcard Fiction: 301–500 words). I’m bending the rules on the challenge a bit, and writing a new, longer chapter for each stage.