A Broken Pirate's Cursed Heart (A Bilge & Moon Romance by G_G)
# BITSY VERSION 3.5
! ROOM_FORMAT 1
PAL 0
0,0,192
255,255,0
255,255,255
PAL 1
0,0,0
255,0,0
255,255,0
PAL 2
255,255,0
0,192,0
192,0,192
PAL 3
0,0,255
192,192,192
192,0,0
PAL 4
192,192,192
0,0,0
192,0,0
PAL 5
192,0,192
0,255,0
0,255,255
ROOM 0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,19,19,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,j,0,19,0,j,0
19,0,0,0,j,j,0,19,j,0,0,0,0,0,19,0
0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,19
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,j,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0
19,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19
0,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,j,0
19,0,0,0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0
0,19,0,0,0,19,0,19,0,19,19,0,j,0,19,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0,j,0,0,19,0,j,0,0
0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19,0,0,0
WAL j,i,d,c,b,h,19
EXT 4,6 5 4,6
EXT 11,11 6 11,11
EXT 0,0 7 15,15
PAL 4
ROOM 2
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,18,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,0,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,0,i,i,i,i,i,0,i,i,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,0,0,i,i,i,0,0,i,i,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,i,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,i,i,0,i,0,i,i,i,i,0,0
0,0,i,0,i,i,i,i,i,0,0,i,i,0,0,0
0,i,i,0,0,i,i,i,i,i,0,0,0,0,i,0
0,0,i,i,0,i,0,i,0,i,0,i,0,i,i,i
0,0,0,0,0,i,i,0,i,0,i,i,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,i,i,0,i,i,i,i,i,0,0,i,0,0
0,i,i,i,i,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,i,i,i,i
0,0,i,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,i,0
WAL i,d,c,b,h,j,19
EXT 12,0 4 8,5
PAL 1
ROOM 3
q,h,12,13,18,12,11,13,11,13,12,11,12,13,13,n
z,h,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,b,0,14
y,h,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,h,0,0,c,d,0,15
10,h,0,0,0,0,c,d,c,0,0,0,b,c,d,16
z,0,h,b,h,c,0,b,d,0,d,0,d,0,0,15
y,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,d,0,0,0,0,14
y,0,0,0,0,0,0,d,b,0,0,0,0,h,0,16
k,0,b,c,0,d,0,c,0,0,0,h,0,0,0,15
z,0,0,b,0,0,0,0,0,c,0,0,0,c,0,14
y,0,0,0,0,0,c,0,b,d,c,0,0,b,d,15
k,0,0,0,d,0,b,0,c,0,0,0,b,d,c,16
y,0,d,c,b,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,d,15
10,0,b,b,d,c,0,0,h,0,h,0,0,0,0,15
z,c,d,0,c,b,d,0,0,0,0,0,c,0,h,15
k,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,b,d,b,d,0,14
k,p,w,x,p,o,l,n,p,w,x,x,w,w,m,w
WAL d,c,b,h,j,19
EXT 4,0 4 4,9
PAL 2
ROOM 4
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,r,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,l,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,j,j,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,0,0,0,0,n,m,m,o,s,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,o,u,k,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,m,o,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,l,n,s,0,0,0
0,0,r,m,p,o,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0
0,0,0,n,u,m,k,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,0,0,0,n,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,p,m,k,0,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,q,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
WAL d,c,b,h,j,19
EXT 4,9 3 4,0
EXT 8,5 2 12,0
EXT 15,15 0 0,0
PAL 0
ROOM 5
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,19,19,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,j,0,19,0,j,0
19,0,0,0,j,j,0,19,j,0,0,0,0,0,19,0
0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,19
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,j,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0
19,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19
0,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,j,0
19,0,0,0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0
0,19,0,0,0,19,0,19,0,19,19,0,j,0,19,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0,j,0,0,19,0,j,0,0
0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19,0,0,0
WAL j,i,d,c,b,h,19
EXT 0,0 7 15,15
PAL 4
ROOM 6
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,19,19,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,j,0,19,0,j,0
19,0,0,0,j,j,0,19,j,0,0,0,0,0,19,0
0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,19
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,19,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,j,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0
19,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19
0,0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,j,0,0,19,j,0,0,j,j,0,19,0,j,j,0
19,0,0,0,0,0,j,j,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0
0,19,0,0,0,19,0,19,0,19,19,0,j,0,19,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,19,0,0,19,0,j,0,0,19,0,j,0,0
0,0,19,0,0,0,0,0,19,0,0,0,19,0,0,0
WAL j,i,d,c,b,h,19
EXT 0,0 8 15,15
PAL 4
ROOM 7
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,r,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,l,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,j,j,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,0,0,0,0,n,m,m,o,s,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,o,1a,k,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,m,o,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,l,n,s,0,0,0
0,0,r,m,p,o,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0
0,0,0,n,17,m,k,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,0,0,0,n,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,p,m,k,0,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,q,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
WAL d,c,b,h,j,19
END undefined 4,9
PAL 4
ROOM 8
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,r,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,l,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,j,j,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,j,0,0,0,0,n,m,m,o,s,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,o,1a,k,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,m,o,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0,0,l,n,s,0,0,0
0,0,r,m,p,o,t,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0
0,0,0,n,17,m,k,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,j
0,0,0,0,n,k,0,0,0,0,0,0,t,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,r,p,m,k,0,0,0
0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,r,o,l,q,0,0,0
0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,j,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
WAL d,c,b,h,j,19
END undefinee 4,9
PAL 5
TIL 10
10000000
10000000
11000000
11000000
11100000
11110000
11100000
10000000
TIL 11
11111111
11001001
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
TIL 12
11111111
11111111
01111110
00011000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
TIL 13
11111111
01110110
00100000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
TIL 14
00000001
00000011
00000111
00000011
00000011
00000001
00000001
00000001
TIL 15
00000011
00000001
00000001
00000011
00000111
00000011
00000011
00000011
TIL 16
00000011
00000111
00001111
00000111
00000011
00000011
00000111
00000011
TIL 17
11110111
10111101
11011011
01100111
11100110
11011011
10111101
11101111
>
11110111
10111101
11011011
01100111
11100110
11011011
10111101
11101111
TIL 18
11111111
11000011
01111110
01000010
01111110
01000010
01111110
00000000
TIL 19
00000000
00000100
00000100
01001010
01001010
10101001
10010001
00000000
TIL a
10111010
01001100
11111010
10101010
10111110
01100100
10111010
00000000
TIL b
00111000
01001100
10111110
11010110
11101110
01010100
00111000
00000000
TIL c
00111000
01001100
10111010
11010110
11001110
01000100
00111000
00000000
TIL d
00111000
01010100
10111010
10100010
10111010
01010100
00111000
00000000
TIL e
01111100
11101110
11101110
10101010
11000110
11101110
01111100
00000000
>
01111100
11111110
11111110
11111110
11111110
11111110
01111100
00000000
TIL f
01111100
10000010
10000010
10000010
10000010
10000010
01111100
00000000
TIL g
01111100
11101110
11110110
10000010
11110110
11101110
01111100
00000000
>
01111100
11111110
11111110
11111110
11111110
11111110
01111100
00000000
TIL h
00110110
11011001
10110101
01010010
01011000
00011000
00011100
00001110
TIL i
00111000
01010100
01101100
00111000
11000110
00111000
11000110
00000000
TIL j
01000000
01000000
10100100
10101010
10101010
10010001
10000001
00000000
TIL k
01111000
01110000
11100000
11100000
11110000
11110000
11111000
11111000
TIL l
11111111
11111111
00111111
00111111
01111111
01111110
00110000
00000000
TIL m
00000000
10000000
11100000
11100000
11000001
11001111
11111111
11111111
TIL n
11111110
11111111
11111111
01111111
01111111
00011111
00000111
00000001
TIL o
11001111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111010
11110110
11100100
11100000
TIL p
00000011
00000011
01001111
01101111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
TIL q
11110000
10110000
11100000
11000000
10100000
00000000
00000000
00000000
TIL r
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000001
00000011
00000111
00000011
00000001
TIL s
00000000
10000000
11010000
11111000
11110000
11000000
00000000
00000000
TIL t
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00001000
00011100
00111100
TIL u
00001000
01000010
00100100
10011000
00011001
00100100
01000010
00010000
TIL v
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
TIL w
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000011
11100111
11111111
TIL x
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000001
00000001
10100011
11111111
TIL y
11000000
11000000
11100000
11110000
11110000
11100000
11000000
11000000
TIL z
10000000
10000000
11000000
11000000
11110000
11100000
10000000
10000000
TIL 1a
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
11111111
SPR A
01111100
11111110
01000010
01010100
01000000
10111011
10000000
00001000
>
00111110
01111111
01000010
00101010
00000010
11011101
00000001
00010000
POS 4 4,1
SPR b
00000000
01111010
11111101
00000000
11111101
11001101
11101101
11111101
POS 3 6,2
SPR c
00111100
01111110
00000000
00101010
00000010
00111100
00000100
00111000
>
00111100
01111110
00000000
00101010
00000010
00111100
00111100
00000000
POS 2 8,8
SPR f
00000000
00000000
00000000
10000001
11000011
01111110
00111100
00000000
>
00000000
00000000
00000000
11000001
01100011
00111111
00011110
00000000
POS 3 9,12
SPR h
00111000
00011100
00011100
00111000
10010011
11111111
10101010
01111100
>
00110000
00111000
00111000
00110000
10010011
11111111
10101010
01111100
POS 4 2,3
SPR i
11000011
10100101
01011010
00100100
00100100
01011010
10100101
11000011
POS 2 10,0
SPR j
00110000
00111000
00111000
10110000
10010011
11111111
10010010
01111100
>
00111000
00011100
00011100
10111000
10010011
11111111
10010010
01111100
POS 4 14,13
SPR k
11000011
10100101
01011010
00100100
00100100
01011010
10100101
11000011
POS 0 2,1
SPR l
11001011
01001010
01010010
01010001
00111110
01111111
10101010
10011100
>
00110010
01010100
01010100
10101010
10111110
01111111
00101010
00011100
POS 5 4,8
SPR m
01001000
10010001
00000010
00000000
01001001
10010010
00000000
00100100
>
00100000
01000100
00001000
00100101
01001010
00000000
00101000
01010000
POS 6 11,13
DLG a
Lately... [at night/in bed], I've been thinking about the person....
DLG c
Yellow Billie and I greet each other with the usual cliched range of piratey "Arrs!" "Yarrs!" and "Ayes!". Billie tells me of a merchant ship, Ocean Dreamer which is reportedly in the South-Eastern Sea transporting the fabled Golden Dionysian Goblet back to its Greek homeland. "It's been missing all these years - no harm in it being missing for a bit longer, hey?" suggests Billie with a rascally look in their eyes, "Especially if we can make a bit of money from it ourselves, hey?" I nod and smile a rascally smile back at their suggestion, but Billie can see I'm distracted. "What's on your mind buccaneer?" comes their question. I can't answer honestly and reply with "Aww! Nothing really, just feeling a bit down at the moment. You know, it's been a bit rainy recently and that always affects me. Think I can feel a bit of a cold coming on too," I sniff. Billie nods. "Arr! Summer colds and dour weather. I gets it! It's enough to put a permanent frown on the face of the laughing Gorgon of Old Madiz.... but this treasure I'm talking about is worth following up on, mate, isn't it! Isn't it?." I think for a moment and then, this time, agree in a way that convinces both myself and Billie that I'll go after it.
DLG f
Tonight, as I lay in my hammock, my mind can only focus on one thing... the abandoned Crimson Serpent. But it wasn't the abandoned ship itself that distracts me... just the dread of the loss of a single life. One life in particular. Not someone I'd known, but someone I'd noticed. The first time I'd seen them they were aboard The Crimson Serpent. The captain was retiring and wanted the vessel to go to another worthy of the role... so I'd been headhunted by a pirate recruitment agency for the job. I agreed to go to the interview on board the ship and meet the crew, even though I knew I'd probably turn down the post - I wasn't keen on the pay, terms and conditions and employment benefits..... As I boarded the ship a crew member caught my eye - I didn't get a clear view of them, but the first thing I saw was a pair of orange flip-flops on their feet. "Arr! That's a bold fashion statement for a pirate," I thought. I tried to get a better look at them, but I could not get a clear view. All I saw was the side of a face in shadow, the edge of their mouth, dark hair to the nape of their neck and in that moment I felt something odd PING! inside me. Why? I don't know. They should have blended into the background by rights, and a bright pair of flip-flops shouldn't have been enough to keep my attention, but there was something about them that did...... I never saw them again after that, but I thought about them often for a while after that meeting and wondered about them... Who they were? Man? Woman? I did not know their gender. ... and I so wanted our paths to cross again... but they never did, and eventually that unexpected feeling left me and I went on about my pirating business in the usual way... But now I had been reminded of them and it felt like a hole had appeared inside me, and our paths would never cross... even though I now longed for that to happen.
DLG g
X marks the spot - info point
DLG h
Boarding the pirate galleon, The Crimson Serpent, I don't find a single soul aboard. It has a strange aura about this abandoned vessel. There are no signs of anything untoward happening and it's as if the entire crew had suddenly evaporated into the atmosphere, leaving their posts, duties and loot behind. I was sure something terrible had happened to them all, and despite the coldness of my ruthless pirate soul I felt a piece of my heart crumble.... and then I proceeded to steal the loot off the ship, stowed it on my own marauder vessel and left The Crimson Serpent to its own fate.
DLG b
Back at my hideout I'd normally settle in for a night of enjoying the cliche of showering myself in the gold and loot I'd acquired after years of raids on merchant ships & children's piggy banks, but tonight it held no joy for me. My mind was distracted.
DLG i
I find myself on Dead Men's Island, the burial site of all pirates, and also the hideout of fellow pirate, Yellow Billie. Billie's a stay-at-home pirate these days, but can sniff treasure from one end of the ocean to the other. So Billie points me in the direction of treasure, I find it, bag it and we split the takings. I know Billie will have a treasure tip for me again, today.
DLG j
After a days sailing on a heading towards the South-Eastern Sea, I catch sight of the Ocean Dreamer and soon gain ground on it. I ready myself for a fierce battle as I approach - one that will end in my securing the fabled Dionysian Goblet as my reward. But again, even before I approach, I can see the vessel is abandoned. Climbing aboard, not a soul is to be found above or below decks. No signs of struggle and also no signs of the goblet either. This is all very curious. The voice in my head is telling me to go further south-easterly, and even though I have heard tales of sea-monsters, treacherous reefs, whirl-pools and angry sea-gods in those south-easterly open waters, I know the answer to this mystery lies in that direction.
DLG k
Sailing on I enter the cursed south-eastern open waters. Grey murk beneath me, pierced only by ominous shards of razor like rocks, and a blood red shadow cast from them.
DLG l
A deadly sea monster rises from the grey murk and boards my vessel! Though not so deadly as it thinks. I defeat it with strong thrusts, hacks and slashes of my sword. As I push my final deadly blow through it, its last meal vacates its quivering stomach - in a pool of ooze I see a glow of orange. My curiosity gets the better of me, and dipping my blade into the mess I hook and pull out what looks like the remains of a bright orange flip-flop. I feel a stab in my own heart. Staring at it I think that surely it couldn't belong to the object of my obsession, but deep inside I know it's true. I feel nothing, but an overwhelming desire to return home.
DLG m
A strange haze appears in front of my ship. I try to steer away from it, but it follows my shift in direction. It envelops me. I feel nothing except an overwhelming desire to return home.
END 0
END undefined
I am home. I am empty. I have been empty since I destroyed that monster... since I found that item that would have been inconsequential in other situations. It isn't inconsequential and I can do nothing to take this pain away... at this time. I know it will pass, but not just yet. I'll lie here looking at the stars in the night and clouds in the day waiting for the pain and emptiness to leave me.... To be continued... Maybe!
END undefinee
I am home, though it feels like a strange home to me now - as if the haze is still enveloping me. I wait. I don't know what I'm waiting for, but ever since I encountered that mist I felt as if I should be here and just wait... for something. I lie in my hammock staring at the stars at night and the clouds in the day... and yes, wait, though I'm not sure what for... To be continued... Maybe!