As we stood there on the beach, we found that there was actually no trace of the shipwrecked we had spotted earlier, and the breeze seemed to carry a faint laughter. The others remarked that a remote island like this, while a bit of a cliché, would be a decent spot to bury a pirate's treasure, and to emphasise the point, the Captain just dug some inches into the sand with his hands, unearthing the lid of a chest filled with gold. This was definitely too much of a coincidence for me. The others didn't seem to mind much, though, except for the Captain, who was rather ecstatic with his find, and we decided to march further towards the island centre, dragging that chest behind us rather awkwardly.
The island appeared rather welcoming, at first, although in the distance we could spot rather peculiar wildlife, and as we went about our way, we eventually came across a cave entrance. We argued a bit how to go on from here, and when we had reached a consensus to explore that cave, we realised that we had been distracted, and the heavy treasure chest, which we had left only a dozen paces back, was no longer there. This was mysterious, as if the reality we perceived on this island was changing with our own thoughts and imaginations.
Carlton remarked, inanely, that the large cave was probably another dragon cave, and he was thrilled to meet dragons, especially friendly and courteous ones. Only a few moments later, we found a large, rather quaint door installed in the cave wall, and upon opening it, we spotted a kind of living room with cozy, oversized furniture, and an even quainter wyrm greeted us and introduced himself as Carpatolyx, the courteous and hospitable dragon of this island. This was the point that finally overtaxed my capacity for surreal nonsense, and while the others sat down and joined the dragon in friendly banter, I was convinced that this was all just a figment, and concentrated on examining my surroundings thoroughly, intent on finding a weak spot in this spectacle, to gaze behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, as I saw through the mirage, it saw through me as well, for when suddenly the veil lifted in front of my eyes, I found myself in a large holding cell, with no dragon or living room in sight, nor any of my companions. There was no obvious way out, so I decided to wait and see for now, if anything else would develop. Indeed, after several long minutes, Master Krastus appeared closeby, who told me that he had been invited into the dragon's library, but found the books there were all fakes, filled with pointless random symbols, and when he became suspicious, he ended up in a cell.
The others took a bit longer to see through the ruse, if at all, but in the end, they all found their way here, sort of. Serene appeared, followed by the Captain, then Carlton, and finally, rather disconcertingly, a restless, unusually aggressive rabbit dressed in a miniature replica of Sira's clothing and arms. Carlton proceeded to tell us about everything else we missed, which apparently included a large albatross, a large blue glowing humanoid "teleportation monster", another evil lich and whatever else Carlton's creative mind, or lack thereof, had envisioned.
After a while, something happened, though. A squad of armed fish people appeared in the prison corridor, and we were ordered to follow to see the regent of the island. We were led towards a large room that was not unlike an underground amphitheatre. There on a throne sat a female kraken, who informed us that she considered herself the ruler of this island, and she had been watching our exploits, which had mildly entertained her at first, but no longer. She demanded that we increase our efforts and amuse her. And only if we could make her laugh again, we would be set free. In a way, I could understand her boredom.. Being in a place where everything that happened derived from one's own mind, I figured, once the novelty had worn off, one would be desperate for an outside inspiration.
However, while we were still uncertain in what way to amuse her, she decided that watching a fight to the death may strike her fancy, and picked Carlton, whom she sent down into the arena, to fight, one on one, against a Cerberus-like beast. Initially, Carlton could hold his own, but with his efforts, the three-headed monster grew in size and strength, and eventually, when he was nearly overwhelmed by the thing, Master Krastus intervened and joined him in the pit. Immediately, a second one of those beasts was conjured up. Our Archmage fared worse than usual, and as we feared that our friends' defeat was imminent, the Captain decided to parlay and use his diplomatic skill to convince our host that there were more pleasant ways to amuse oneself.
The Captain then tried his skill as a jester, but his first few jokes failed to meet the kraken's fancy, who demonstrated her own sense of humour, as down in the pit, she had Master Krastus transformed into the likeness of Serene, which amused neither him, nor Carlton, nor our original Serene. The Captain, however, was undeterred and showered her with more jokes and tall tales, and I have to admit, that even in a situation as cruel and grotesque as the one we were in, with my friends fighting for their lives down below, I found myself giggling at his antics. And the kraken did as well, for at some point she couldn't hold back any longer and burst into a fit of unrestrained laughter.
In the end, she had kept true to her word, and we were released back onto our ship in but an instant, none the worse for wear, and left to wonder which of our experiences on this mysterious island had actually been real.
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