Pay the Pirate Ep. 4
Hello again, Slimeball here with some more of the story for you.
After the incident on Marshmallow Mountain, I was on the run. What happened at the slime containment facility made it clear that if I wanted answers, I would have to go higher up the chain, so I drove North to the capital, Diamond City.
What a piece of shit that place is! I am sure some Cooltopians must love it, but it’s not for me. It’s noisy, it’s crowded, and it’s crawling with cats. The only thing it has going for it is the port. I do love the water.
Upon my arrival, I detected the city was on edge. Some famous cat named Blue had gone missing, and the whole city was out looking for him and his little friend. The townsfolk were in a sombre and confused mood.
“Where is Blue?” posters littered the city.
Diamond City is vast, but it was easy to find my way through as I simply followed the weeping crowd as they gathered around the iconic library. There, in the heart of Diamond City, I noticed a Pirate giving out awards to the mourners who searched the hardest. He seemed to delight in their reactions, and his lack of worry for the missing cat instantly made him a person of interest.
This JARVIS cat was cool, too cool. The other cats eagerly listened to him and delighted in interacting with him, but to me, the pirate’s actions seemed a bit inappropriate considering the tragedy that had befallen the Blue cat.
I watched JARVIS and his team of cats for a few weeks as they delivered the news to the town folk like clockwork. Every couple of days, a new message, a new call to action, but we never seemed any closer to discovering what happened to Blue. There were always more questions than answers.
Then one rainy day, after one of their “announcements” this JARVIS approached me. He shouted at me through the crowd and rain.
“Ah, excuse me, ma’am ser pet.”
I pulled my hat down, hoping he wasn’t talking to me.
“Yeah, you, the weird looking one. In the very conspicuous hat.”
I looked up, “Wait, what’s wrong with my hat?” I asked.
“Oh, geez, you even have a magnifying glass and a fancy tie.” the pirate chuckled.
Maybe the pirate was right, and I had taken my quest for answers a little too seriously. And then, n’ah f that. I looked cool.
“I have seen you hanging around, watching.” JARVIS continued. “Are you helping us look for my friend Blue?”
“I never met this Blue everyone is talking about.” pretending to be uninterested.
“Yeah, no one really knows him that well…YET. But they will. It’s all just a bit of fun. Are you having fun?” He grinned proudly.
I was growing more confused by the second. He seemed delighted his friend was lost. Could he be responsible for the abduction of this Blue? I looked around at other resident pets and cats in the square, all sobbing over their beloved Blue and his companion Chugs who had gone missing.
“Yeah. It seems real fun.” I was sure he sensed my sarcasm.
“Well, it’s just getting started. You’ll see.” JARVIS said ominously. I stared at him in silence, trying to figure him out.
“I can see you are pet with suspicions. Walk with me. I’m happy to answer all your questions.”
I decided to follow my opportunity, and we turned down Tasty Avenue. The vendors’ canopies protected us from the rain as we walked. Immediately, the pirate began tempting me with treats: cookies, flaming donuts, green pinwheels.
“You hungry? Do you want anything? Here let me get you a taco?” He was obviously trying to buy my confidence. I wasn’t gonna fall for it.
“It looks good, but I’m not hungry.” It was the truth, I hadn’t felt hunger since my last slime meal weeks ago on Marshmallow Mountain, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Ah, well, I need something.” Then Jarvis ordered two tacos and paid the merchant ten times their worth. The look of gratitude from the vendor was sincere and softened my slimy heart.
“So, what do you want to know?” The pirate inquired.
We turned back towards the square as he took a big bite of taco. I decided there was no harm in telling him what knowledge I sought. Besides, any answer he could give would surely tell me something.
“I want to know who Blue and Chugs are. I want to know what happened to them. What the hell are fractures and why are people excited about them? But those questions aren’t what brought me to Diamond City. I came here ‘cause I want to know where pets came from and why were we hatched?”
“hmm” he chewed, “That’s a lot, my lil dude. Let’s see, well, you’ll just have to stay tuned-in to learn more about Blue and Chugs. Fractures will be revealed soon. Pets are still a mystery; only YOU can determine your purpose.”
I could tell he knew more than he was saying, but there was truth behind his words.
“Have you visited our library yet?” JARVIS pointed taco still in hand. “That’s the Royal Library. Maybe you will find some answers there?”
I nodded. He was right. I should have already visited the archive, but instead, I had been watching this cat.
“Also.” He said between bites. ”If you pay me 25K $MILK, I will tell you everything you want to know about fractures.”
And now I understood his game. This was a shakedown! While I admired his hustle, I couldn’t afford his information.
“I don’t have it,” I replied.
“Well, I’ll probably tell you what you want to know one day anyways. Maybe. Possibly. But hey, look at you! I’m sure you could earn some big $MILK money, buddy. One roll of the dice could make you a legend. Heck, you could even get a job in the Library. You know, two birds with one book, kind of thing.” Jarvis paused and waved across the crowd.
“Speaking of birds gotta go talk to my friend Jo. Good luck with getting some answers! Hope you find your purpose.”
I wasn’t sure if I would ever be willing or able to pay the pirate’s fee, but finding a way to make some $MILK was a good idea, and the library would turn out to be a lead that would change my life forever.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
If you want early answers to some of your fracture questions, buy a lunar pass and sneak peeks at the new PFP from Cool Cats.
https://twitter.com/coolcats/status/1641516771021561876?s=20
Lunar Passes cost 25K $MILK and can be bought through the meowpad, at coolcatsnft.com.
Special thanks to Yapster for drawing Detective Slimeball.
