Olaf's Cove Quest

"We don't have to do it," said Sven.

"Yes we do. It's our mission," replied Captain Olaf. "If not us, then who?"

The two men stood on deck of the ship, The Cold-Eyed Monkey, one of the newest additions to the pirate fleet. Sven was the second in command, and captain of the ship; he had been a close friend of the captain for some time. He was a quiet man, with dark hair that hung down over his eyes and a neatly trimmed beard. Sven spoke slowly, softly and deliberately. The captain, on the other hand, was an energetic fellow who loved adventure. He was tall and skinny with scruffy blonde hair and a big smile that hid his crooked teeth. His energy seemed endless as he paced back and forth on deck looking at the map of their destination tacked to the mast.

"I know," said Olaf "but once again we're doing it for no reward."

"That's just how it is," said Sven. "We're pirates after all."

"I know," said Olaf again "but it doesn't seem right."

"It's not right! That's why we're doing it!" said Sven as he turned to face his friend. "We've been sailing around these waters for years now." He pointed at a spot on the map where they were currently docked. "The last three months we've been anchored here at this little spit of land between Sweden and Denmark waiting for something to happen."

"Well there hasn't been anything worthwhile happening," replied Olaf as he continued pacing the deck "can't blame us for taking a break from time to time."

Sven rolled his eyes at his friend's lame excuse before continuing: "And now you want to finally go on this mission you spoke about for so long? We'll be lucky if we even make it back alive!"

"Of course we'll be back alive," replied Olaf with a grin "we're pirates! What are you worried about anyway?" He stopped in front of Sven and put his hands on his shoulders. "We've done crazy things together before! You know I'm good luck!"

"No you *are* good luck!" said Sven smiling back at him "that's what worries me!" They both chuckled before standing in silence for a moment looking out over the sea in front of them. After a while Sven spoke up: "You know I just realized I don't even know what this mission is."

"Of course you do!" replied Olaf happily: "We're going to find treasure hidden away in an abandoned pirate cove!"

They both laughed heartily as Olaf continued:

"But what if we don't find anything?" asked Sven

"Oh, sure we'll find something! There's bound to be something valuable still left behind somewhere. Besides, if not, we could always loot whatever is there ourselves after telling those old guys about it," replied Olaf excitedly staring off into the distance again. Which made Sven roll his eyes again, but soon enough he heard his friend say: "Well let's get moving already! We don't have all day!" And with that they both set about preparing for their voyage south towards Denmark where they would hopefully find treasure, or at least some information that could help them find it.

* * * * *

The Cold-Eyed Monkey had been travelling along this part of the coast for three days now, sailing past villages and farms dotted along the shoreline and making good time despite the frequent stops they were forced to make due to damage inflicted by their previous voyage under different leadership than their own. As they sailed through yet another fog bank that morning, they came upon an island unlike any other they had ever seen before. It was huge, much bigger than any other island or even small island in these parts, and there was something strange about its shape too.

Upon emerging from the fog bank, they realized that what they saw wasn't an island at all, but rather a peninsula connected to Sweden by a thin strip of land which looked like an arm reaching out towards Denmark across the water! No wonder they hadn't noticed it before. Normally they sailed further east, almost all the way around Sweden instead of sticking close to the shore, as they had been doing lately because they hadn't wanted to pay port fees. Yet now that they thought about it, there hadn't been any port fees since all the way back when they had left home in Norway. They must have gone far enough east by now!

As Olaf passed out drinks among his crew members eager for adventure once again after having been stuck in port for so long, Sven stood quietly next to him holding onto his jug refusing to accept any drink from his captain until he answered his question: "Why give us an entire week's supply of booze when this expedition should only last two weeks at most