{Messages From The Bottle}

To my dearest Martha: should you receive this, i fear that i will never see you again. Its been a few days since i was marooned on this island, my rum is almost gone and i have decided to put the all empty bottles to some use. Even if they never reach land. Ive got plenty of stories to tell, and nothing but time to tell them. I shall send as many as i can out into the world in the hopes that my story not be forgotten to time. As you know, i enlisted with a rag tag crew at the port of Carthul, and we set sail to seek out the rumored treasures of the Yehom Isles. The journey to the Isles went smoothly, we drank and sang and had a hearty time. After we landed is an all-together different tale. The air smelled of musty and rotten wood but there was no fog. No wind. No... Nothing. The sky was clear, and it was as silent as death. The Isles were beautiful regardless. We dropped anchor and went ashore the main Isle. The sand was wet, yet it remained as hard as stone. The trees grew straight up. Not a single limb deviated from the path towards the sky. The sun remained always over head, no matter how long we lingered and there were no shadows cast anywhere. There was but a single cave on the main Isle, and the remaining Isles were barren of everything. We made for the cave as the sun blistered our backs in a matter of seconds. When we reached the cave, the blisters were undone and the outside world suddenly looked... Normal. The shadows were back. Birds filled the air and we could feel a breeze rushing into the cave. The smell was also gone. We were awe struck, and walked outside.... Only to the same result as when we first arrived. The Isle went strange again. We decided to head into the cave in search of treasures.... What happened in that cave? Well I'm sobering up so its time to down another bottle of rum. Until the next bottle: I love you dearly, David.

That last bottle got to me, I'm excited! I have to send another bottle right away! I sure hope the currents deliver these bottles. Anyway, the cave... This cave seemed like it would be your typical "cave of fears" gimmmik, where you had to fight and overcome your fears. Been there done that! What it ended up being was much worse. It started out easy, with the fears and all. It was only one, and it happened to be mine! I've been doing this for ao long that mine was nothing more than an empty grog barrel! We got a real hoot out of that! But then... The cave seemed to... evolve? That's the best way I can put it. As we laughed at my grog barrel it began to change. It twisted and contorted.. and it changed into my dearest Martha.. I knew it wasn't real, but... She felt real... Sounded real. She knew my thoughts as my real Martha will. But what's worse is the cave began to draw from everyone else's fears and desires. Whatever emotion was the strongest was realized Infront of us all, and then would warp and change.... And then they began to combine! My sweet Martha began to combine with the other desires in the room into some kind of abomination. Maggots began to crawl from her eyes and her flesh started to decay. She would ignite into flames, water swirled around her head and she struggled for air... Bullet holes would appear in her body along with wooden shrapnel. The cave was taking everyone's fears and inflicting them on my dearest Martha.... I could handle the sight at first, it wasn't real! But her begging... That's what hit me the hardest. She was begging for me to stop my other crew members from doing this to her. They were hurting her... It was their fears and that were doing this to her. I could hear my crew members proclaiming they were not doing anything. I don't know what exactly was being said to them... We all saw the same thing... But what we heard was different. She reached for me, gasping in pain with tears rolling down her face... That's when I began to lose my reasoning on reality... And then she collapsed and turned into a bed of flowers. A sweet aroma filled the air. The flowers began to spill gold from them and barrels of grog formed around them.... Then sand overwhelmed these treasures... I noticed my crew members acting different.. it's as if they already forgot what just transpired.. they began to dig for the buried treasures, proclaiming "We found it!! The treasures of the Isles!!"... Thats when I noticed the headstone.. it was my Martha's grave they were desecrating! I lost it for a second, I began to flail wildly at then, yelling at them to get away from my Martha's grave! When I made contact with one of them, it was a solid hit. But when they fell to the ground, I realized I had struck my Martha Martha... She cried and pleaded with me. "Why did you strike me? Is our love gone?".. I began to try and apologize when she just disappeared. Thats when I noticed my crew just.... Staring at me from the mouth of the cave... They looked at me like I was crazy... Was it all a dream? No.. I refuse to believe that... It was to real to be a dream.. a nightmare.. whatever the hell it was, it was real.. it truly felt like it was her... All the subtle details were there... That was my Martha.. I'm not drunk enough to finish this story, and now I regret starting it... The emotions are still all to real... Perhaps I'll finish this story after a few more bottles... Until then, David.

I'm sorry that I had to stop... The feelings and emotions I felt in that cave that day were too real... It's hard for me to see my dear Martha sufferin like that.. I just had to take a break and compose myself. But I'm back, with more rum in my system. So where was I again... Ah yes, so I turned to my crew and saw this befuddled look on their faces. "Did you see any of that?" I asked them. "See ye acting like a shark had gotten ye? Aye we saw it alright. What the hell is going on with you?" Harkall asked. I realize how crazy It all sounded now, but back then I was just confused. "So you're telling me, you did not see a women sufferin? Annn... Annd the she turned into flowers and gold and grog?? Nothing?" I thought surely some one saw something like I did. "Laddie, I thinks you've had enough grog and sun for 10 men. That or ye cought some sort of plague. Ye need to lie down and rest for a tad. Ye be talkin no sense." Harkall said. "No... No i'm fine... The visions are gone. Jus....just forget about it... Lets just focus on not getting lost in this cave.." I proclaimed. The crew hesitantly agreed, and we began our trek deeper into the cave. I have to say... I was constantly questioning my reality the entire time we were in that cave. It almost seemed as if the cave was alive... And it was trying to hurt us...But I guess for some consolation, even in all of its mystery and.. Weirdness, this cave truly was a wonder. Stalagmites as big as ships!! And that ain't no exaggeration! They were huge! And they had this... Unnatural shimmer to them that was mesmerizing... Too mesmerizing.... Jacob, our chef, and a great lad God bless em'... He... Well he just walked to his death going towards one, mutterin somethin about "finally going home". He walked straight into a hole that had no bottom... We heard nothin.. No thud, no splash, just his screams... They echoed throughout the cave and then just stopped... The screams didn't fade... They... Stopped...Just an abrupt stop. Thats when the rest of the crew started to think something was wrong with this cave, and that I wasn't crazy earlier at the mouth of the cave. We continued deeper into the cave (we had gone to far to leave with nothing at this point) lookin at nothin but the back of the feet of they lad in front of us. Finally we stumbled into what I can literally say was the heart of the cave. The lup-dup of the heart that was suspended in the air was so loud, there was no way it could have been their when we entered the cave without hearing it... I don't know where it came from... It looked just like a human heart but it was... Beautiful... With every pulse, vivid colors of purples, blues, and silvers shimmered out from the heart and into the walls of the cave and into the stalagmites. As we stared at this heart, I heard her voice again... My Martha was back, and it was coming from the heart. She was telling me the crew was going to stab her heart and kill her. They were going to take her from me! I looked and saw my crew drawing their swords and smiling menacingly. I was overcome by rage. I wanted to kill! And for a second, I was going to, but then my intuition won and I was able to shake off the effects of the cave. Sure enough, my crew was not in fact going to stab the heart. In fact, I thought the heart was part of the vision... It wasn't... Im telling you, that heart was really there. We walked up to the heart, and noticed something, there was a little pile of coins under the heart. On a hunch, I took out my dagger and pricked the heart just a bit. Sure enough, blood came out like any ol' heart, but when it hit the pile of gold, it made more gold! But then I remembered my vision.. She had mentioned stabbing the heart.. The cave wanted us to stab the heart... And I had just did that....We had to go, immediately.. "Leave the gold!! We have to go, NOW!" I yelled. "Are ye mad?!? A heart that bleeds gold?? We be rich for the rest of our days!" Joseph countered and the rest of the crew agreed. "No...no... NO! Don't you see?!? Nothing in this cave is right!! It killed Jacob!! Use your heads! Do you really think we can just stab the heart and take the...". Joseph didn't let me finish my sentence before he plunged his cutlass hilt deep into the heart.... Well would you look at that? Im at the bottom of this bottle already! Looks like I'll need another one to finish this tale. Bottoms up, David.

Now look here, where are my manners? I have been rambling on about this journey to the Yehom Isles and I ain't even done my crew the justice of introducing them! Well... Former crew... Any how, the ships captain was a hardy fellow named Mc. Kellum. Strange name that lad, but a good heart. He was about 36 summers old and stood as tall as 2 and a half barrels of grog. And able to lift a full grog barrel under each arm! He was hard, but fair. Had a beard down to his collar bones and a scar over his left cheek from a past scourn lover. Our helmsman was a lad who went by the name Pete. Pete was an older, simple man, who did his job and did it damn well. He was 52 summers old, and short but stocky. No hair left on his head. Didn't speak much, but when he did he had a voice that commanded respect. When he barked orders, you could hear them no matter where you were on the ship. Speaking of ship, it was an old Schooner with some personal modifications of the captain. He called her the Rosalinda: after the same woman who scarred his cheek. He named it before the whole incident, and believes it's bad luck to rename a ship. Jacob, the aforementioned chef, was only about 25 summers old with a bumb leg. He got shot when he was 15 and it never quite healed properly. He had a great sense of humor and could cook up some mean grub.. at least the few meals I had from him were delicious. He kept his personal life to himself. He was about middle height and had an average beard. Joseph was head of the deck hands. Now, Joseph had a bit of a temper but he knew how to fight. Boy did that lad know how to fight. He even gave the captain a run for his money once. But Joseph was about 2 grog barrels tall himself and rather stout. He was missing teeth and could be slow to move around due to all the broken bones he'd suffered from the years of fighting. He was 30 summers old and had a goatee rather than a full beard. Less for people to grab he said. Our navigator was actually a lass named Patty. It's weird, with all the superstitions the captain had, women aboard a ship was not one of them. She was a small, tiny lass, but had the heart of lion. She was outgoing, and could read maps and the stars like second nature. She was under the full protection of the captain, so no one ever dared so much as look at her wrong. Even lads that were stumbling drunk knew better than to try anything with Patty. We had two more deck hands, Jack and Mitch. Not much to say about those two. They were average, hard workin fellas. Lastly, our arms-man was Hoi. He was average height, clean shaven. He was missing a few fingers from all his years handlin powder, but knew his way around cannons, guns, and swords pretty well. He also had the best eyes of the bunch, so he spent most of his time in the crows nest. But, that was my crew. Not the best in the world at what they did, but a solid crew. I'll have to drink a bottle in their memory. But I guess that leaves me out, doesn't it? Well, my role is a role best explained over another bottle. Keep your eyes peeled, David.

Back the story of the Yehom Isles: Blood spilt from the heart and turned to gold. "See?! Look at all that gold David! This is the treasure we've been searching for!" But as Joseph touched the gold, they morphed back into blood. The more he grabbed, the more blood covered his hands and arms. I yelled at him: "Joseph! Leave it be! I fear we have done enough already, let's leave while we still can!" He began to scream in pain as the blood covering him began to boil. The crew rushed to his side and began washing the blood off with water and grog. His arms were badly burned and scarred already from the blood. The heart began to pump wild as more blood began to spurt out of the wound. The light flashes began more sporatic and random. Pieces of rock began to fall off of the walls and ceiling. We could hear screams emanating from the heart, and faces and bodies began to press up against the walls of the heart. The heart stretched as these bodies extended out until they popped out of the heart and took human form. Some of them were old, some were young. Men, women, and children. What was most shocking is two of them were Joseph and Jacob! The heart had stolen their forms and was now using them. All the people we saw were people who had trifled with this cave and the heart. Were any of strangers still alive? Who knows, and at that point no one cared. We needed to leave. We began to sprint away from the heart, in the direction that we came from. The bodies of the heart didn't seem to chase after us at first, but but began to come out of the walls in front of us and around us. They could move around this cave at will! One of them grabbed our captain from the floor. He took his dagger and sliced both arms off in one swipe. The arms dissolved into blood and began burning the captain's legs. He tore off his shirt and soaked the blood off of his legs, tossed the shirt aside, continued running. The walls of the cave began to move, trying to trap us in and the forms of the heart continued to try and hold us down. The lights grew even more frantic and intense. We could feel a breeze on our faces and could see light from the outside up ahead. We rounded a corner and there was a bloody figure of the captain standing at the mouth of the cave. We froze, and soon the bloody bodies appeared behind us. We were trapped. The fake captain opened his mouth and there was a horrible gurgle before words actually came out. It even sounded just like the captain. "Give them to me. The ones who pierced my heart and let the cursed blood flow. They cannot leave this cave! The curse must not spread! I'm sorry, but I cannot allow those who pierced the heart to leave. The rest of you may go however." We were all terrified and my mind was racing.. did I count? I merely pricked the heart! Surely I did not spill enough to enact the curse! What is the crew gonna do to me? Are they really going to just hand me over?! The captain stepped forward and spoke. "Name them. The men of mine that you seek." The form gurgled again, and proclaimed "Joseph. David. These two have let cursed blood flow and must not leave." My heart sank.. I was going to die in this cave... Or worse. The captain spoke again. "What is this curse of which you speak? And why must it be contained to this cave." This time, a voice came from back down the cave. From where the heart was. "This curse is an ancient and powerful blood curse. If allowed to leave, whosever shares blood with these men will also contract the curse. Children, enemies, friends, anyone who comes in contact with their blood shall be cursed." "Is there nothing that can be done to cure the curse? I cannot abandon my men, you must understand that." The captain proclaimed. "No! The curse cannot be cured, only suppressed! They MUST NOT LEAVE!" The voice boomed with anger and ferocity. "There is no need to take all of your men, but if you will not surrender them I will be forced to take them from you." The captain spoke again: "Suppressed you say? As long as no one comes in contact with their blood, the curse will not spread. Is that correct?" "Yes, and that is why they must not leave this cave!" The voice again reiterated. "Can I make some kind of bargain or oath? Can I take the burden of the curse on myself in stead?" The captain asked. "And you still have not explained to me what it is this curse does." At this point, the voice was getting more agitated. "No, the curse cannot be spread by means other than blood and cannot be cured. As for what the curse does, it is not something your minds can comprehend! It will throw all of existence out of balance. The world is in balance of life and death. This curse threatens to upset that balance in the favor of one of those. But both at the same time. It also works in neithers favor as well. They. Must. Not. Leave! I cannot allow it!" The captain looked at me and Joseph, and the look on his face said it all. Don't worry. He turned back to the bloody visage of himself and said "In exchange for my crew, should I choose to leave them, will you explain to me in detail the effects of the curse so I may perhaps one day return to free them?" The voice went silent for a moment, and then spoke again....
And that's another bottle down. I'm starting to build up a tolerance I fear, I'm not near as drunk as I usually am. Any how, I'll toss this bottle out and work on the next one later. David.

"As I have stated earlier, it is a powerful blood curse. It is passed on through anyone who has or comes in contact with the cursed blood. The curse tears the fabric of life and death. Life becomes death, death becomes life. The person cannot survive with both, but cannot exist without having both. They must answer to the call of those of the living and the dead. They are forever bound to this fate." The captain had a puzzled look and his face. He contemplated for a bit, and then said "Well, I don't really see how that is bad for anyone but the cursed. You have failed to really elaborate on what makes this curse so terrible." The voice seemed insulted at first, but elaborated: "I mentioned that the curse tears the fabric of life and death. It is not just for the cursed. Because of this curse, as long as one individual survives, life and death are torn for all. No longer is death the end, men that die must now continue to suffer. Currently, no one exists with this curse, and I aim to keep it that way. Death must stay death, and life must stay life. We cannot allow the veil that seperates these two to be torn. If you step out of this cave with those men, the curse will take hold. All of humanity, nay, anything that lives will suffer because of it. We have talked long enough! Surrender the men or we will take you all. Your men will not become to any harm as long as they do not try to leave the cave. They will be taken care for the rest of their days." The captain gave us another look, and said "Fine. I will surrender my men. But I will return one day, with a cure. David. Jacob. Please turn yourselves over to the cave." I was hesitant, but Jacob trusted the captain's judgment and so did I. We began walking toward the figure at the mouth of the cave. "A nice sentiment, but there is no cure. And should you ever return, we will take you to." The voice echoed. Suddenly, and with all of his might, the captain rushed at us and gave both us a mighty shove. We barrelled right though the figure and spilled out into the open. The rest of the crew rushed out as well. The cave let out a terrible scream that seemed to shake the entire island. "YOU FOOL! DAMN YOU TO HELL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!? HOW COULD YOU BE SO FOOLISH FOR TWO MEN?!?! THE CURSE, I CAN FEEL IT TAKING HOLD!!" The voice ended abruptly, and the air grew still.... Well I have a headache, and that's all I feel like writing today. So, till later, David.

Lately it's been getting hard for me to focus... And harder to sleep... I have begun hearing whispers.. not all the time, but they are there... But enough about that. So when we broke the threshold of the cage entrance and spilled out into the open, the isle looked like a normal isle. There was no wind, but insects were buzzing and birds were singing. There were shadows, and the sun had a warm glow. Nothing like the scalding heat from the initial visit. "I'm sorry I had to scare you like that, but I thank you for trusting me. I never intended to leave you behind." The captain said to Jacob and I. "I never doubted you're judgement" Jacob said. I'm sure I looked terrified but I agreed with.... Jacob? No that's not right.... Joseph. Jacob died in the cave.... Or... Was it Joseph that died? Urghhh my head is spinning and these whispers are relentless. Joseph.... Joseph was the man with us. But anyway, as we made our way back to the ship, a thought crossed my mind. "Say, captain? The voice said I was one of the cursed individuals... Right?" "Aye, that's what it said" "Well, why was there not a bloody figure of, well, me but there was one of you? I mean stabbed the heart, as did Joseph, and he had a figure. And you didn't stab the heart and you had a figure, but you're not cursed." The captain thought for a bit. "Well, you didn't actually stab the heart bad enough for the blood to touch you, so the figures just be related to coming in contact with the blood." This seemed to make sense, but then I remembered Jacob has a figure. "What about Jacob? He fell down a hole!" "Well.. I.... I don't know about that one.... But come, I am ready to be rid of this accursed Isle. Everyone to the ship, we make for port!" Our pace quickened. We made it to the ship, and I noticed Joseph's skin was a little bit paler then normal. I wasn't the only one who noticed this. There where whispers among the crew, as people were sure it was a side effect of the curse. "I can hear all you whisperin about me, if ye got something to say, say it loud enough for all to hear!" Joseph blurted out. The captain spoke loudly: "It's your skin Joseph. It's gone pale, and the crew suspects it's a side effect of the curse. Now crew, he is still one of us so please treat him as so. If you continue to talk about him behind closed doors, there will be consequences." The whispers on the ship stopped and life returned to normal... for a bit. But it wasn't long that Joseph began to show more signs and symptoms. His hair and teeth began to rot and fall out, and he began to emitt a smell, not unlike a dead body. He began loose muscle and fat, and grew frailer... All in the matter of a few days! When we finally made port at Mortal, he was bed ridden. The captain had put him in his quarters, as to keep the possibility of the curse spreading to a minimum. We brought aboard countless doctor, but they all had the same diagnosis: dead. But... "How could a man be dead while he still lives? It has to do with that curse!" Patty said. "How long are we gonna haul him around? How long until his blood begins to seep from his decaying body and the curse spreads?? We endanger everyone by letting him remain on the ship! Captain..... If you don't do something about him right now, I'm not leaving port with you. I can't.... No I won't, fall victim to this curse just because you won't get rid of a dying man!" "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO PATTY?!? TELL ME! WHAT AM I TO DO?!?" Patty fell down backwards as the captain yelled and shook with anger... An anger the likes of which I had never seen from... Well any man.. "I GAVE MY WORD, AND I'D SOONER SUFFER FROM THE CURSE MYSELF THAN ABANDON MY MEN! AND IF YOU CANT HANDLE THAT, THEN GET YOU'RE A*S OFF OF MY SHIP!!" And sure enough, Patty packed her stuff up and left the crew... Dammnit, these god-forsaken whispers are driving me insane... I'll have to quit until they subside. David

The whispers have become constant swirl in my head. I even dream about the whispers. I cannot fathom what they say, but they speak to me. That much I know. They have become apart of my daily life... Apart of me. But as for my story: after Patty left, we were in need of a navigator... And a new head deckhand. Joseph was horribly bedridden and his condition was getting worse by the day. However, the captain refused to replace Joseph. Instead, he grabbed the first person he could find that said they could read charts, and plotted a course for the Harbest Island; and island that is said to have a healing spring somewhere on it. The island I am currently dying on....As we traveled, Joseph began to speak in a weird tounge.... And now that I think about it.... Yes... He was speaking In the language of the whispers.... He was talking about the curse... But.... How do I know that? How is that thought in my head as it is not my own?! I.... I never even saw Joseph the entire trip! D****t!! This makes no sense! How can I have thoughts and memories of another person? I can see it... Fell it.... His fear... His regrets... Everything.... But... My crew... What happened to them? Why can I not remember anymore? Where are my own memories in this fog of whispers? They are.. dead? No... They are still alive... But... They can't be! We.... They... I......I..... Don't remember anymore... Who even am I? Davi.....Dav.....Devo......Davi.......Da.... I don't know.... I don't even know my own name anymore. What is happening? Think.... I have to think.....But when I think, it's not my thoughts. Why did this island call us here? Why did the captain bring us here? Wait..... There they are.... I can feel my own memories... It wasn't the captain who lead us here.... He died in the cave..... After he pushed us out, the cave took him! Who brought us here then? Me? No... I wouldn't..... I....It... It was me.... But why?! And where is everyone else......... Ah, I remember now. Dead. They are dead.There bodies lie at the bottom of the spring. I Put them there, naturally. It was a shame I had to, they were decent people. But you must understand, there cannot be more than one. I think they understood, but regardless of their understanding, it had to be done. It must be done. It must continue to be done. There must always be one....... One what?! What is thi.... I... I wrote this? I killed them?! To whoever is still collecting these bottles, I know not what is going on but in this momentof clarity I must beg you, do not come for me. I am not safe, I am not sane... I am.... Dead. I am dead. But in death, I found new life. Death is inevitable. It comes for all, and it will come for you.... Please, stay away... And I fear any bottle from here on out will not be my own work... Remember me as I was, not what I am.. Dav.....Davi......D.

I don't know why, or to whom, I am writing this letter... I only remember it being familiar to me. I remember writing on paper, putting it in a bottle, and tossing it out to the sea. I cannot recall what was on the paper however... Stories... But of what? Perhaps they were the stories of my time at sea? But those stories are nothing but that.. stories... I have never left this island. I'm surrounded by the souls of those who know me, but I do not know them. They whisper to me, beg me for their release. Release from what? From me. They want release from me. I am keeping them here. But they are not the only ones.. more come by the day to this little island. They whisper to me and I ignore them. I know what they want, but not what I have to do. No. I do know what to do... But I won't do it. I can't do it. I don't know how. The whispers emminate from the lake on this island.. they are trapped in the lake, they cannot reach me on the land. The further I am from the lake, the quieter the whispers.. but I enjoy sitting by the lake... The whispers are calming to me.... I hear the stories of lifetimes from them. Generations of memories and experiences... All mine to enjoy.. the longer they stay, the softer they whisper.. the ones that know me have all but silenced. But I still remember.. I killed them. I don't know who they are, only that I knew them.. and then I killed them... I spilled their blood in the lake... Their bodies lie at the bottom of the lake.. without their bodies, the lake would have no power... If I remove the bodies, the whispers will be free.. no.. I know now, what is required of me. I... I will join them... My bodie will lie at the bottom of the lake with them... I will spill my own blood and join them. But I will not remain... I will be free.. and I will see you all eventually. Death waits for no one.

I'll be back later to read this, but when I saw this area, I thought to myself, I can't draw, but I do write on occasion, contribute to the WritingPrompts sub-reddit with occasional stories, I could perhaps do a story. Glad to see others doing the same. I was a bit worried it might be drawing/painting art only, not other fan crafts... I kind of would like them to expand the topic to be clear all fan crafts, artwork, stories, knitting/sewing (perhaps somebody makes a flag IRL)... all that...