Art:The Scene Is Set

The Scene Is Set was a creative writing contest held in late 2006 by Ravine. It involved using the following drawn scene as a base for a fictional story of between 1250 and 1750 words, in any genre.



The artwork was drawn by Salmon specifically for the event.

Entrants had several weeks to complete their short stories. The winner received a pink and black parrot, the same colouring as the parrot in the contest image.

Winners
entry Prize: inscribed pink ribbon trinket and portrait easel entry Prize: inscribed pink ribbon trinket and portrait easel entry Prize: inscribed pink ribbon trinket and portrait easel entry Prize: inscribed pink ribbon trinket and portrait easel entry Prize: navy starfish trinket and portrait easel entry Prize: inscribed navy daisies trinket, Golden Ticket for Booty or No Booty, and portrait easel
 * 10th place- ardenlyn (Ooriki of Midnight)
 * 9th place- SeaFlame ([Starhunter of Viridian)
 * 8th place- proftracy (Francisgrace of Midnight)
 * 7th place- kmf (Kmf of Midnight)
 * 6th place- Gamerzkid (Marzo of Hunter)
 * 5th place- Tvotron (Madthorne of Midnight)

entry Prize: pink handkerchief trinket, Golden Ticket for Booty or no Booty, portrait easel
 * 4th place- cyl1999 (Adrastea of Cobalt)

entry Prize: inscribed pink roses trinket, Golden Ticket for Booty or no Booty, portrait easel
 * 3rd place- rbbarker (Baldo on Midnight)

entry Prize: pink roses trinket, Golden Ticket for Booty or no Booty, portrait easel
 * 2nd place- FallenTree (Bullettime on Hunter)

entry Prize: portrait easel and a pink and black parrot familiar
 * 1st place- TrowzersSays (Trowzers on Sage)

Winning Entries
Below are the stories that won first, second, and third place.

First Place: Trowzers of the Sage Ocean
From the desk of...

Maxwell Damage - Pirate Investigator

(Lost familiars found, stolen booty recovered, troublesome alts tracked)

It was early morning. I'd just made a cup of hot java. I was enjoying the pungent aroma when the door burst open violently.

There stood a dazzling gal, dressed in maroon and gold, a tan monkey on her shoulder. Her name, I later learned, was Caitiff.

I wondered how such a pretty dame could smash the door open so hard. She caught my eye and sobbed, "Max, I have to get my familiar back!"

I must have looked confused as I examined her simian shoulder-friend, because Caitiff shook her head and said "No, not him! I need my parrot back. I'd give anything... even this... this... Just look at it!"

She gestured at the little creature on her shoulder, which was smiling sweetly and playing with her bright orange hair. I was still bewildered. It was a swell familiar, and it was rare for anyone to swap a monkey for a parrot. I asked her to explain.

She told me that she had won the monkey in a drinking tournament. Thinking a monkey was better than a parrot, she sold off her old friend "Pretty Boy" to free up a perch for her new buddy. Bot soon she changed her mind, and now her pink and black-feathered mate was nowhere to be found.

"Pretty Boy and I have a special bond... And now I can't find him anywhere! Bwaaaaaahhhhhhh!" She began wailing piteously. I tried to comfort her. I had plenty of experience recovering familiars. I would get her Pretty Boy back.

After she left I look a swig of coffee to wash that last sentence out of my mouth. It was stone cold. I sighed and grabbed my coat. There was work to do.

Pretty Boy wasn't hard to find. His new owner was at the Bazaar, selling him at a loss. That was odd.

It was also strange that he hadn't been sold yet - a pink and black parrot, going for a song. But word had gone around that the parrot was trouble. He bit, cursed and destroyed everything in sight. Even the cat was terrified.

This case would be a cinch. By lunchtime I'd arranged to swap Pretty Boy and the monkey, and soon both familiars were with happy owners. I didn't know what Caitiff saw in that pesky parrot, but friendship can be a peculiar thing.

As I pocketed my fee, I couldn't help but think it had been an easy day's work.

I was barely at my desk when the door smashed open again. I considered installing a drive-through.

It was Chemical Dali, owner of "A Room with a Hue". He was not only an apothecary, but also a collector of fine art and curios. Right now he didn't look like either. Face red and sweating under his black bandana, he looked furious - ready to rig a sloop with someone's guts. That wasn't unusual. Dali was a brilliant chemist, but he was also very cranky. He'd had run-in's with the OM's, as he often took things into his own hands. I hoped he didn't want me to bump off some greenie who'd gotten on his nerves.

"It's gone!" he blustered (adding a few choice swears).

"Hey Dali, how's the apothecary business?" I asked, hoping to bring him down a notch.

"Never mind that," he grunted dismissively. "I've been robbed! One of my artefacts is gone. And the storeroom is still locked tight! You have to catch the rascal."

I hesitated. Rare artefacts disappeared quickly on the black market. If I couldn't solve his case, his temper could turn in my direction...

"I'll pay you ten times your normal commission."

I promised I'd have it back by Thursday.

He gave me more details as we walked to his apothecary. The stolen item was a special sword, in red and gold with a black scabbard. It was delivered to Dali's the day before, and he noticed it missed around lunchtime. The window to his storeroom was always open (all the chemicals in there made this vital) but he had installed metal bars, which were too close together for anyone to slip through. The bars were a Cash and Parry installation - extra strong and impossible to remove without leaving damage. So far there was little evidence to go on.

There was one thing though. A pink scarf was caught on the bars. Dali had noticed it earlier and left it for me to examine. It was from Bandana Republic, and from the perfume it belonged to a lady. The thief's?

A search of the shop revealed nothing else. I asked Dali to move his valuables until the culprit had been caught. I also asked him to leave the scarf where it was. No need to alert the thief that we knew the sword was gone. Dali was grumpy, but agreed.

I left him to contact my usual snitches. Cagey Cam didn't know anything. Neither did Shady Shane. Roguish Ron has heard of new thieves on the island, but didn't know who they were. Only Honest Jim had useful information. He's spotted a pirate in The Salty Dog carrying a similar sword. The suspect's name was Chiseler.

It was unlikely that a thief would carry his spoils around with him, but thieves aren't the sharpest swords in the rack. I had to check it out.

Some quick research told me Chiseler liked poker. When I reached The Salty Dog I checked the tables. It was now early evening, and the inn was still restful. I could see the whole room from a shadowy corner.

Soon I spotted him. Chiseler was playing poker, absorbed in his cards. As Jim had mentioned, he was dressed in black with a striking red bandana.

I soon noticed something unusual. Even though he had cards to hold, he kept his other hand firmly on his sword. He was expecting trouble. It wouldn't be smart to approach him without backup, so I decided to watch him.

He played poker for a few hours, but luck wasn't with him. Eventually he ran out of cash and left. I followed him carefully. He still had his sword at the ready, so I couldn't take him unawares. Soon, he entered a crowd of noisy docktarters and I lost him. I wasn't worried. He hadn't spotted me, and if he was silly enough the carry the stolen sword around with him, he was silly enough to get caught.

It was now nearly midnight. I headed for home. Tomorrow I would get some backup and jump Chiseler as he left The Salty Dog. I was sure to finish the job by Thursday.

As I was thinking this, Dali appeared out of thin air like an angry ghost. "Max! It's about time! That dirty scoundrel has been back. And this time he's stolen some boots!"

"Boots?" I queried.

"Yes, black boots! They don't look valuable, so I left them in the storeroom. But they're special boots. And when I looked in just now, they were gone. They must have struck in the last few hours."

Hmmm. A puzzle. I had been watching Chiseler for the last few hours. It couldn't have been him. Either Chiseler had bought the sword from the real thief, or he had an accomplice.

This case required a more risky solution. I explained my plan to Dali and he quickly agreed.

The next night, Dali and I hid in the palm trees near the storeroom window to watch - a few friends nearby as backup. The thief had been successful two nights in a row. He might try for a third. To encourage him, I had asked Dali to place something that looked valuable, but was actually worthless, in plain sight of the window. He had laid a necklace on the table in the middle of the room. It was a juicy target.

The night went quietly. Dali sat at the base of the tree, frowning. I watched the shadows for the first sign of the burglars. There was... nothing.

Finally, as dawn was breaking, two figures appeared. Chiseler was easy to recognise in the dark, as he still had his sword.

Both figures approached the window. Then the second pirate left the shadows. I recognised her.

It was Caitiff, with Pretty Boy. No wonder she wanted him back - Pretty Boy had been trained as a thief. Caitiff let Pretty Boy in through the bars. He quickly retrieved the necklace and flew back, perching on Caitiff's hat.

The two moved away from the window. I jumped out of the shadow. Time to call for backup... but Dali grabbed my arm.

"But your stuff - they'll get away!" I yelled at Dali.

Dali smiled at me in a way that made my boots want to crawl off my feet. He spoke to the thieves. "You can keep the items you have stolen with my pleasure."

We all stared at Dali, gobsmacked.

Dali continued - "You see, I don't really want them back - I just wanted to know who the thieves were. Keep my treasures, if you dare. The sword is the famous sword of Tenacious Terry the Cursed. As this gentleman has no doubt discovered, once the scabbard is grasped, it cannot be removed. His black boots were made by the witch Mophilda. Everywhere they go, stinky dead fish appear. And as for the necklace, the ruby is real, so it is valuable..."

Caitiff looked relieved.

"...But a Piromancer made it for a very vain woman to teach her a lesson. Any woman who owns it, her clothes will turn into rags."

Sure enough, before my eyes, Caitiff's skirt began to fray around the bottom. She looked at it goggle-eyed as Dali chuckled to himself.

"So what are we going to do then?" Chiseler asked in a panicky voice.

I wasn't listening. For me, there was only one question to be answered.

Dali smiled a smile that seemed to have too many teeth. "As promised, I'll pay you ten times your normal commission!"

My question was answered.

My case was finished.

I strolled happily home, the sun rising gold on the horizon.

Second Place: Bullettime of the Hunter Ocean
Some things are true.

Everyone agrees there was once an Azure ocean. Some graying pirates still remain from that primitive civilization. In every inn, it seems, some old salt can weave you tales of how it once was, how beautiful and pure. And some of these tales may even be true.

But it was not the truth that interested us. Tales of the simple glory of the "old islands" didn't hold our fancy. More importantly, they didn't stoke our greed.

No, Mortodin and I were intrigued by the legends of the final days of Azure. Told by their oracles of Azure's impending apocalypse, the great pirates of the ocean banded together to assure its fate would not be forgotten. Suspecting their primitive currency would not be accepted in their new homeland, they spent it on fantastic memorials.

But one truly rich merchant took a different course. Rather than waste his wealth on statues, he put his fortunes to a different cause - the creation of a pure diamond, more finely sculpted than any that could be found on the fingers of "poorer" men. Wherever such a diamond ended up, it would be incredibly valuable. In this way, its commissioner hoped to take his wealth with him.

The legends differ on the fate that befell the merchant, but they all agree on the fate of the diamond. If it exists at all, it made its way, appropriately, to the Diamond archipelago. There it sits, amid sand and shells, leagues below the water's surface.

We had decided not to let it sit any longer. Mort and I, after traveling and comparing notes and legends (and getting drunk at least eight times each in the process), had embarked on an expedition - one we believed would make us unthinkably wealthy.

We had planned for months, raising the funds necessary to do the job. We had pillaged, we had rumbled, and in one particularly odd instance, we had played spades for a hundred thousand pieces of eight. (We're still not sure how the wager got that high, but we're glad we won.)

Naturally, Alpha is the best place to begin anything, so that was the first target of our expedition. The plan was simple - the two of us would go out alone, offshore, and drop anchor. From there we'd tie ourselves to the rails and dive into the sea. After an hour or so, we'd bring our findings aboard.

We realized that leaving a ship unoccupied, with ropes hanging off the sides, was unwise. We needed an alarm to warn of approaching brigands, lest we be cut from the sloop and lost on the ocean floor. The only thing smart and loud enough to do the job, of course, was a parrot. After careful experimentation, we learned that black parrots with pink extremities had the loudest squawks. (We have no idea why.) So we had our alarm.

We already had a sloop that would do the job. We decided that the ship's grappling mechanism would work fine as lifelines for us. What we needed was diving gear, so we headed to the local tailoring shop, Bandana Republic.

"You know what?" Mortodin asked me. "We should get gold-tinted helmets, since they'll shine underwater. That way we'll be able to recognize each other."

"Mort, we'll be the only humans there. I think that should make recognition pretty easy."

"Yeah... but they're so sparkly."

"Yes, Mort, they're sparkly. And they'll completely burn up our budget. Let's just go for yellow ones."

"But... sparkly!"

"No, Mort."

Eventually, I was able to convince him that "sparkly-sparkly" wasn't enough reason to spend all our money. I went to speak to the shop owner.

"Excuse me - we'd like to buy these helmets, and two entire diving outfits. We'd like them in yellow, to match the helmets."

"A diving outfit? Those don't exist. All we have is helmets."

"So, wait. I have to wear this ridiculous, oversized, insanely heavy fishbowl, and my clothes will STILL get wet?"

"That's correct. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to find a large black bandana for the gentleman behind you."

What could we do? We bought the helmets, and hoped the sun would dry everything else out.

We each bought weapons - Mort a long sword and cane, myself a poniard and hammer - in case brigands interfered while we were at sea. Equipped with an alarm, weapons, and half-ton weights on our shoulders, we set off to find the legendary Azure Diamond.

We dropped anchor, hitched ourselves to the ship, put on our diving helmets, and dove overboard. Actually, Mort dove overboard. I wobbled a little bit, trying to balance my suddenly top-heavy self, and eventually tripped over the railing, landing with a splash in the water.

After about half an hour of random poking around, I spotted a glinting object partly buried under a couple of pebbles. I pulled it out - it appeared to be some sort of necklace. It had a shiny yellowish chain, with a red stone set into the middle of it. Figuring it was better than nothing, I kept it to bring aboard.

Eventually we returned to deck, changed into dry clothes, and set sail for Alpha again. I hadn't yet seen whatever Mort managed to dig up, and I hadn't shown him the amulet.

When we reached port, we brought the parrot off the crow's nest. He decided to roost on my head, which I'm sure was cute, but I didn't enjoy it. Mort brought out his findings - a bundle of something wrapped in a pink bandana.

"What is that?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I wanted it to be a surprise for both of us."

Mort opened it up - and inside were two disgusting, smelly fish skeletons. With an "eww," he dropped them on the ground, and tossed the bandana onto the window ledge of the nearest building.

I brought out the necklace to show it to him, but as I did, the owner of the building came storming out. "What? You two again?" At that point we noticed we'd returned to Bandana Republic absent-mindedly. "Don't leave your smelly stuff in my window. The customers are complaining!"

"Oh, hello again," I offered, trying to be polite. "We've actually come to sell you a few items."

"We have?" Mort asked, surprised.

"Absolutely. I've got some golden jewelry right here. I think that's a ruby set into it."

The tailor took a close look at it, then a closer look, then a look so close I was afraid he'd poke his eye out with the red stone. Finally, he returned it to me (although the parrot snatched it out of his hand). "Well, it looks nice enough, but it's definitely not gold, and that stone isn't ruby. Actually, I think whatever the red thing is, it's hollow. I don't recognize either of the materials as anything I've seen on this ocean, but I can tell you that thing isn't worth much. Plus, it's strangely heavy for such a small thing. It's just not worth buying. I can pay you twenty pieces for that stinky pink bandana in my window, though. If I wash it I'm sure it'll sell fast enough."

I sighed. "Yeah, that's fine, I guess. Thanks for the help."

He paid us, then wandered off into the horizon somewhere.

"Well, that was a lousy start to the expedition," I grumbled.

"Yeah. So, what are we going to do, then?"

"What else can we do? We've got to go back out there and try again tomorrow!"

The next day, we were back at sea - me, Mort, and the parrot (wearing the medallion because it looked pretty funny that way). Again, we tied ourselves up and jumped into the water. This time, however, we barely hit the sea floor before we heard a loud and angry squawking from above us. Mort was the first back to deck - I took a few extra minutes trying to pull myself up with the heavy helmet. When I came aboard, I saw a chaotic scene: a stowaway, masked by a black bandana, was fighting Mort hand-to-hand, clutching the necklace in his left hand, while being pecked at by our parrot. Actually, they were fighting hand-to-cane, since only Mort was armed, but whoever he was fighting was a far superior rumbler. Mort had already suffered bruises on one eye and one cheek, and had been cornered at the fore of the ship.

Now, I don't care how good a rumbler you are. If you're struck from behind with my hammer, you'll drop, and drop fast. Such was the fate of our stowaway. He dropped the necklace, which fell to the deck with a crash.

We quickly tied him up with the ropes that had bound us to the ship, and tossed some seawater on his face to wake him up. "Who are you, and what are you doing on our ship?" demanded Mort.

"Ugh. My head hurts. I'm an old Azure citizen."

"You don't look very old," countered Mort.

"I drink a protein shake every morning."

While Mort was awkwardly interrogating the stowaway, I walked to where the necklace had hit the deck. Red shards had scattered everywhere. Picking up the necklace, I saw a brilliant gem set where the red coating had been. "I've got it, Mort."

"What?"

I showed him what was left of the necklace. "This is it - the Azure Diamond. That guy was trying to steal it from us."

"Yeah," he admitted. "I heard you talking about diving off Alpha a couple of days ago, in Bandana Republic. I knew what you were after. And since I'd seen the diamond's owner, way back when, I knew how he'd hide it. When I saw you yesterday with that necklace, I thought I had my chance."

"You're lucky we've got the Diamond now," I said. "We won't have you arrested, but I don't ever want to see you again once we get to port."

He sighed. "I guess that's fair. Could you untie me now?"

"No."

Mort and I sold the Diamond, of course. And it was every bit as valuable as the legends claimed. We could easily sit around now, spending our money as we pleased. But we've decided to head toward the Ruby archipelago. We've heard a few legends of a potion with mystical properties, in a secret place in the woods. People tell us not to believe the legends, but we know better. After all, now WE are the legends.

Third Place: Baldo of the Midnight Ocean
"I'm gonna' raise a thousand," Big Tuna said as he pushed a pile of chips towards the pot.

They had been playing poker all night in the back room of The Salty Dog Inn and Duke was up 80,000. He'd never been in this particular game before, but a waitress he was dating was able to get him a seat. A regular rogues gallery of Alpha Island's most notorious gangsters sat around the table. Among them was their leader, Horace Flotsam, better known as Big Tuna.

Here was the true beauty of this game. Duke was holding ace-nine and the flop had come ace-four-nine giving him top two pair. Big Tuna, who was sitting behind what looked like several hundred thousand PoE in chips, had bet first so Duke had him right where he wanted him. Duke had to be careful though, as Tuna was one of the best poker players on the ocean.

"I call," Duke calmly replied.

The turn card was the nine of hearts giving Duke a full house, nines full of aces. This was his money card and Duke had already begun to visualize Tuna's face as he saw himself waling out with all of his PoE. He had put Tuna on a spade flush draw so he wanted to give a free card hoping Tuna would make the flush and in turn fulfill Duke's destiny.

"I check," Tuna said.

Duke casually replied, "check's good."

The river brought the seven of spades, the flush card. To Duke's absolute delight, Tuna shoved his massive pile of chips towards the pot. "I'm all-in, kid," he said.

"Ye know Tuna, that's a pretty strong play and if I'd been invited around here a little more often, then maybe I'd have more money to call ye with," Duke taunted.

"Oh yeah? Well we're playin' open stakes. I'd be willing to float ye a marker, so long as yer good for it...how does 100,000 sound?" Tuna offered.

Duke now began to get less excited and more angry. He felt as if Big Tuna would stop at nothing to try and throw him off his hand. He was shaking when he said it, but nonetheless, "Wanna give me more o' yer PoE? Fine. I take the marker AND I call. Full house!" Duke stated triumphantly.

Tuna's reaction was not what Duke expected. Tuna didn't even blink as he calmly turned over his cards, pocket aces. "Aces full, mate. My boat's better than yours. That's a shame," Tuna snickered.

Stunned. Sickened. There was really no word to fully describe what Duke was feeling. Not only was he now broke, but he also owed the island's biggest gangster 100,000 PoE.

"Now listen here kid," Tuna said as he draped an arm over Duke's shoulders. "I expect payment in full at sunrise tomorrow. Meet me near the crossroads behind the palace and, unless ye want a free swimming lesson, don't be late."

Those words echoed in Duke's ears as several of Tuna's hoods tossed him out the back door of the Inn. What was he going to do? He didn't have a job. He didn't have any savings. He didn't even have any mates that were good for anything. He decided his only option was to promote himself from casual thief to big-time burglar.

It was already after midnight and all of the island's shops were closed. Duke drifted into the shadows and made his way to Restless Spirits, an Alpha Island distillery, where he kicked open the back door and cleaned the place of all its PoE. He proceeded to do the same at other island shops such as What a Steel, the Apparel Barrel, and Cash and Parry. His pockets were stuffed with more than enough to pay off Big Tuna, but now he was just being greedy. He next paid a visit to Bandana Republic, a small tailor shop owned by one of the island's newest couples, Fernando and Vicki Voltaire. When Duke kicked in that door, he failed to notice that he awakened the parrot sleeping on a perch in the corner. Pinky the parrot, who belonged to Vicki's sister Contessa, saw Duke break open the lockbox at the front counter and promptly flew out the door and off to the bungalows for help.

Contessa had just walked in from a date with Lawful Richard, the island's smarmiest attorney, when Pinky flew in screeching. Once the parrot had Contessa's attention, she quickly led her back to the shop. When they got there, Contessa found Duke stuffing a satchel with PoE. He looked up at Contessa when she walked in, but rather than being riveted by her beauty as most men were, he focused on the jeweled pendant she wore around her neck.

"Good evening doll," Duke sneered as he reached for the pendant. Contessa, whose aerobics had given her not only confidence, but also a disguised strength, grabbed his arm and threw him towards the counter. Duke became enraged and turned to attack, but Contessa was already charging towards him. The two fell to the ground and a mighty struggle was on.

Contessa never noticed it, but Duke saw the light of an approaching lantern in the doorway. He disengaged from the fight, snatched the necklace from her neck, and ran out the back door with his satchel of stolen PoE. Contessa gave chase, leaving behind the pink scarf she had been wearing. As she ran out the back, a member of Governor Demeter's local police force walked in the front door. He picked up the scarf and called for help. Having just been made aware of the rash of burglaries in the area, he gave out the description of the woman he had seen running off as the prime suspect. He then took her scarf to the palace as evidence.

Meanwhile Duke was running from alley to alley hoping to lose Contessa as he made his way to the docks. The police dragnet was closing in, but Contessa had no way of knowing that she was the one being hunted by the authorities. Suddenly a group of policemen spotted her crossing a street and tackled her. They never saw Duke because, unfortunately for Contessa, he was more adept at using the shadows to his advantage. He made his way to the fishing pier where he waited for the coast to clear.

Pinky had seen the whole thing and followed as Contessa was led to the palace. Governor Demeter was awakened and quickly reviewed the evidence. "Guilty. Off with her hand at sunset tomorrow. Now begone and leave me to rest!" Demeter angrily announced. Hearing this, Contessa collapsed in disbelief. As she was carried off to a cell in the rear of the palace, Pinky flew off to get Vicki and Fernando for help.

Having hidden under the fishing pier all night, Duke smelled awful and had mud and fish bones all over his clothes. He had taken the time to hide most of the loot under the pier and was only bringing 100,000 of his stolen PoE to the meeting with Big Tuna. Just before dawn he made his way to the crossroads behind the palace. Big Tuna strolled up wearing his trendy blue overcoat and white trousers.

"I hope, for your sake, that you've got me money," Tuna warned.

"Aye. Here it is," Duke replied as he dug into his satchel for the PoE. He first came out with some of the fish bones that came from under the pier. Next he pulled out Contessa's necklace. Finally, he dug deep enough and handed over a pile of exactly 100,000 PoE.

"Take it and go. I'm done with...," Duke was saying just as he noticed Fernando and Vicki running towards the palace.

Recognizing them as the owners of the last shop he'd broken into, Duke ran off, dropping the fish bones and necklace, and hid behind a tree.

Tuna listened casually as Vicki and Fernando hatched their plan to rescue Contessa. Pinky was to fly into the jail and steal the evidence that caused Contessa to be found guilty. She would then have to be set free they thought. Pinky flew in as planned, snatched Contessa's pink scarf, and flew back out of the window. Unfortunately the scarf snagged on the cell bar and remained dangling outside.

"Oh noes. Well, withotu that scarf we're just going to have to find the thief and the loot ourselves," Vicki decided.

Just then, Pinky noticed the necklace on the ground. She swooped down, grabbed it, and perched atop Vicki's head to show them.

"What are we going to do then?" asked Fernando, who then noticed the necklace in Pinky's beak. "Wait a minute. That's Contessa's necklace! Where did that come from?"

Vicki looked at the necklace and then down where Pinky found it. That's when she saw the fish bones.

Seeing this, Duke knew they were on to him. He ran off back towards the pier. He needed to grab the rest of the loot and get off the island fast.

"The necklace. The thief was just here! ...and these fish bones...the fishing pier! He must be hiding at the fishing pier!" Fernando shouted.

Vicki and Fernando sprinted off towards the fishing pier with Pinky flying overhead. They arrived to find a filthy Duke stuffing piles of muddy PoE into his pockets.

"Stop you scallywag!" Fernando shouted as he jumped off the pier and tackled Duke. The two fought ferociously. When Duke began to get the best of Fernando, Vicki grabbed a plump, fresh fish off of the deck of a nearby sloop and walloped Duke over the head with it. He fell to the ground unconscious just as members of the governor's police approached. They recovered almost a million in stolen PoE and took Duke into custody.

A short while later at the palace, the group stood before Governor Demeter. "I free ye, Contessa, with the apologies of this government. Duke, ye are a scallywag and a scoundrel. I find ye guilty on all counts and sentence ye to a life of hard labor." The guards seized Duke and led him immediately to where he would spend the rest of his life, working at the OM doll factory hidden deep in the catacombs under Alpha.