The New Eden

Thaddeus wiped his brow before he raised the spyglass to his eye. A tower of twisted metal jutted out of the ocean, rusted and ragged. A small metallic hut laid securely on the top of the tower, reflecting the sun triumphantly. The waves were calm and the wind was gentle, a much needed reprieve from the thrashing Thaddeus and his crew had received during the last week. His ship, The Sporting Merry, held together dutifully, weathering the tempest with an even keel. She seemed to be the only constant in Thaddeus’ life, handed down from his Uncle Joshua. She was one of the last working metal ships this side of the Atlantic, gliding across the water with beautifully made sails. Thaddeus grew up on the ship, hearing stories from Uncle Joshua that The Sporting Merry once was able to traverse the seas using the powers of Apollo himself. He would stand next to his uncle in the bridge, staring at the gutted room, imagining what tools would sit in their places. 

Thaddeus returned to the bridge as he was now, holding the wheel of The Sporting Merry a little tighter than usual as he stared at the tower. This would be the end. It needed to be. Seventeen years was much too long a time for a man to be searching. The gods had made him suffer for his quest, and Poseidon had claimed more than a fair share of his crew, his family. Thaddeus had a hard time believing that this lead would gain them anything, but he couldn’t afford to take the risk, not now. He whistled for Percy to grab the rope and tie them to the tower. “Perc, make it a slip, I want you to cut it if the waves get bad again. I don’t trust this wind.”

Percy nodded, and tied the knot carefully, as he always did. Thaddeus always appreciated how reliable Percy was. Thaddeus then locked eyes with the two youngest lads and spoke. “Zag, Ari, you’re with me. Make sure you have your climbing gloves. The metal rot is no joke and I’m not losing you boys to anything so foolish.”

Thaddeus reached out to the tower and grabbed the old metal with his gloves. He felt his shoulders protest at the force he submitted them as he climbed up, but his arms held firm, like always. He was getting weaker now, he could tell. “Never get old, my boy.” Uncle Joshua would always say.

What Thaddeus lacked in physicality, he made up for with experience. He had climbed a number of these towers, and could tell where the metal rot made for unsafe standing. Ladders and gangways often meant a man’s death if one didn’t look for the rot. He continued to pick his way up the leg of the tower, looking out for indicators of rot or instability. The boys below him followed him closely. Zag and Ari were good boys, earnest and hard working. He had been lucky to pick them up in that alley five years ago, not a pinch of fat between them. 

As they climbed the tower, the wind started to pick at the men. Thaddeus never got used to the way the tower would ebb and flow with the waves and wind. These towers always seemed to get more unpredictable as the years continued. Before long however, Thaddeus made it up to the first platform. He could see evidence of platforms below that one, but they had been long since claimed by Poseidon. Everything returned back to him, it seemed. Nonetheless, Thaddeus beckoned the boys on the platform and let them rest. The climb was rough, and The Sporting Merry had seemed to get just the tiny bit smaller. Thaddeus never liked that. They had one more platform above them, with a gaping hole just a few arms lengths away. The remains of stairs lay beneath that hole, twisted and stretched in an unnatural way. Rot had not done this. 

Thaddeus walked up to the stairs and looked at the shrapnel surrounding it. There had been some sort of explosion here. “Maybe Zeus is trying to tell me something, eh?” He grinned at the boys.

Zag and Ari grinned back, eager to see what was above. They hoisted Thaddeus up to the hole, and he pulled himself up with a groan. He quickly turned back down and reached his hand out to grab Ari. With a grunt, Thaddeus pulled Ari up until he could get another hand on the hole and pull himself up. They both reached down to Zag who jumped up and caught their hands, smiling briefly while they towed him up to the last platform. 

Once they had all managed to stand up on the final platform, Thaddeus scanned the floor for any obvious signs of rot. His eyes found a path to the four walls that made up the small hut. The hut could easily house the entirety of Thaddeus’ crew, but with the amount of rot surrounding the building, Thaddeus did not think it wise to test the foundation’s strength. He inched his way from the hole, now feeling the tower sway in the wind a bit more than he liked. Years of sea legs quickly overcame the challenge, and Thaddeus found himself at the hut’s entrance. He reached out for the handle of the door as he whispered a quick prayer to the gods, hoping that he would be able to end his cursed journey. A firm twist of the handle coerced a groan from the door, but it gave way quickly. Thaddeus leaned to push the door open, but it resisted him. Rot had seeped into the corners of the door, mocking him heartily. 

“Zag, hand me the pry.” Thaddeus grumbled.

Zag fished a solid metal bar with a small hook out of his pack and handed it to Thaddeus. Together they pressed into the door and resisted the rot while Ari kept the handle open. After a few minutes of grunting and a sore shoulder later, the door relented and Thaddeus, Zag and Ari stumbled into the hut. It was a simple lodging, with only a handful of small rooms. They were simple, durable, and had stood the test of time. The kitchen was impressive, boasting an ice box from the old times and a Cube of Daedalus. The Cube was said to be able to summon any food a man desired, but required the power of Zeus himself to operate. Such a tool would be able to buy Thaddeus multiple ships like The Sporting Merry, but he knew that the gods would not allow him to be greedy, considering what he was already looking for. After Thaddeus and the boys marveled at the tools of the old men, they searched the other rooms. 

Thaddeus and Ari discovered a small room with bunks for 8 people. While the space was small, it was luxurious in comparison to the room that The Sporting Merry crew slept in. They only had 6 members but the room they shared was easily half the size. Thaddeus felt dismay as he saw the disintegrating sheets and pillows. He had been looking for new goods and he tended to prefer the things made in the old times. 

The two exited the bedroom and found the common area, with a few well worn cushions strewn about on the floor and a cracked box with black glass shattered in the corner. Other bits of paper and dust hung around in the room, making it clear that man had not been here in some time. Three metal stools stood next to a table mounted to a wall, with dirty glasses partially filled with a dark liquid resting on top. For the most part, this small hut seemed like it has been stuck in time, a painting of what the old world was like. It captivated Thaddeus, seeing the tools of comfort built by man’s own hand. If the tower wasn’t so rotten, Thaddeus could see himself spending the rest of his days here.

Thaddeus’s daydreaming was cut short by a loud creak of a door and a gasp from Zag. Thaddeus’s body moved instantly, reaching for the knife by his belt. His hand stayed once he saw Zag. The smell invaded his nostrils greedily, assaulting him before he could fully comprehend what he was seeing. Thaddeus looked at the two skeletons that lay neatly in the last room. There was no flesh, and an outline around each skeleton suggested that these bodies had been here for quite some time. Bottles and broken glass from the old world covered the floor and a sturdy metal desk with tens of large metal boxes hung in the corner. Old world rope led from all the metal boxes towards one larger box, sturdy and stout. Thaddeus’s eyes opened wide as he realized what it was. It was the item he had spent seventeen years looking for. Right there, in this corner, was a Zeus Box. Uncle Joshua had passed down this story from his kin, saying that the Zeus Box was one of the most powerful tools that this world would ever find, and that if you were chosen, you could channel the power of Zeus himself. A tear welled up and broke from Thaddeus as he looked at that metal box. 

The platform below the hut swayed a little farther than usual as it reminded Thaddeus that he wasn’t free yet. The gods were still testing him. He recovered his wits and quickly motioned for Zag and Ari to grab the Zeus Box as he pulled the synthetic ropes out of the box. He prayed to the gods while he did this, hoping that it wouldn’t affect the box’s power. After he did that, he cleared a path for the boys so that they could step through the room safely, and before he knew it, they were at the entrance of the hut. While he wished he could stay longer and learn more about the old world, he felt Poseidon become impatient as the waves were starting to pick up again, causing the tower to sway a little too much for Thaddeus’s comfort. He swung the door open and quickly rushed them to the hole where the stairs once were. The platform began swaying further in each direction with the waves, making movement much more difficult. “Zag, get out that special rope I told you to bring. Ari, lift the side of the box. Zag, give me your best stopper knot.” Thaddeus’s voice boomed, commanding obedience.

The boys jumped to action, and the three of them used the rope to carefully lower the box onto the stairs. One by one, they lowered themselves down the hold and dropped onto the floor. Thaddeus was last, and right as his hands let go of the platform, the tower swayed yet again, causing Thaddeus to fall towards the pile of ruined stairs. His foot landed on a piece of debris and his ankle rolled violently, immediately shooting pain up his leg. Thaddeus couldn’t let this stop him, and immediately stood up, grabbing the side of the Box with the boys and moving to the edge of the last platform. “Ari, grab the pulley from your pack and set it up on that corner beam.” Thaddeus barked.

Ari looked concerningly at Zag, but obeyed Thaddeus promptly. They ran the rope through the pulley and began lowering the Box to The Sporting Merry. The ship was now bobbing much more violently in the water, and Thaddeus could barely see Percy’s very worried face looking back up at him. While the three men lowered the Box as quickly and safely as they could, the swaying of the platform made all of them very uneasy. Luckily, they felt a tug on the rope as Percy confirmed that they had received and untied the rope. They hurriedly pulled it back up, and secured Ari to the end. They lowered him carefully as well, making sure that he kicked off the beam to avoid any skin contact with the metal rot. It was this moment that made Thaddeus very grateful for the purchase of the pulley, a tool that had cost two months of supplies for his crew. A few minutes and a slack rope later, Zag and Thaddeus pulled the rope back up again. Zag cleared his throat and looked at Thaddeus. “Captain, you need to go.”

Thaddeus grunted and retorted, “Zag, you might be a wee bit wider than when I found you, but you’re still no match for a man with an appetite like myself. You’re going first. That’s my damned order.”

Zag opened his mouth but hesitated for a moment, thinking better of arguing with his Captain. The boy was learning at least. Thaddeus smiled fondly as he lowered Zag towards his ship. How had he become so blessed with this family, this crew? Men and women that had served him loyally, even when the jobs were nasty and cruel. The tower groaned disdainfully and swayed toward the ship, causing Thaddeus to lose his feet and swing off of the platform. His strength and the rope were all that held him from falling into the now dark waters. He looked down and saw that Zag was too far above the boat. Thaddeus was heavier, and was gradually being lowered down as Zag was being pulled back up. Thaddeus saw the terror in Zag’s eyes, looking just like he did when Thaddeus had first found him.

Thaddeus swung himself back to the tower and wrapped his legs around one of the rusted beams. His ankle made itself known again as he wrapped the rope around his torso to make himself secure. Thaddeus grabbed the beam and held fast as he used other hand to feed the rope and lower Zag again. The rope dug into his body, burning him as it passed around. Zag was lowered in little spurts, every jerk a result of Thaddeus releasing and catching the rope again. His gloves that protected him from rot quickly wore through as the rope began burning him wherever it was touching. Thaddeus groaned, numbness creeping up his hand as it threatened to give up completely. He willed himself to hold on for just a little longer, if he could at least save Zag then this expedition would be worth it, gods be damned. He let go of a short length, and to his relief the rope didn’t move. Thaddeus took that as Zag being safe; he had not the energy to turn towards his ship and check. His bloodied hand reached for the rotted beam, and Thaddeus tried to recover his breath. 

The gods challenged Thaddeus once more as a wave swelled and crashed into the legs of the tower, shaking the whole foundation. Thaddeus felt the vibration travel up the tower and into the beam where he hung. He heard the beam groan and scrape as the vibration shook free the beam from its bindings, and he plummeted to the dark waves. Thaddeus slammed into the water, knocking the breath from his lungs and causing his head to spin. The waves tossed him violently, and the rope became more tangled as he tried to swim up to the surface. Thaddeus cursed himself bitterly, furious that the gods would taunt him so openly. He knew he only had a few seconds of consciousness left, and used it well to pray for his crew’s protection.

A bright light pierced Thaddeus’s eyelids as he slowly opened them. Amara’s smiling face greeted him as Thaddeus came to, processing what had happened. The cook/doctor on his ship could not have been a better face to wake up to. She asked him a few questions and had him sit up slowly to make sure he was feeling ok. Before he could ask anything, Zag, Ari and Percy were already by his side with big grins on their faces, telling Thaddeus that the rope he wrapped around himself to save Zag ended up saving his own life too. Thaddeus muttered apologies to the gods for his ingratitude and asked Percy about the Zeus Box. “It’s ready to go Captain. We filled it up with the ambrosia and set it in your quarters.”

Despite Amara’s protests, Thaddeus rose out of the small bed he was in and began to limp towards his quarters. Percy approached by his side, helping him bear the weight and avoid Thaddeus’s swollen ankle. The rest of the crew followed Thaddeus eagerly to his quarters, and watched with curiosity as he carefully entered his safe’s combination and withdrew his most valuable possession. He pulled out a thin, black piece of metal and a small but well worn rope from the old world. He fiddled around with one end of it and connected it to the piece of metal, and then connected the other end into the Zeus Box. He nodded to Zag to pull the handle on the Zeus Box and Zag complied with youthful enthusiasm. He gave a gentle pull on the handle, and it slowly stretched out, being attached by a metal wire. Zag looked dismayed and gave an apologetic look to Thaddeus. Thaddeus chuckled lightly and told the boy that he must pull the handle hard and fast, multiple times. Zag obeyed, carefully and deliberately. The Zeus Box began to make a loud noise, roaring louder and longer for each and every pull from Zag until finally it sustained itself. 

The crew shouted with joy, listening to the box purr. They all turned to Thaddeus, who now had an uncharacteristic grin and tears streaming from his face. He lifted the thin metal brick up to his crew and showed it making its’ own light with the following words:

“The Pirate Bay is now Online. Hello Thaddeus. Welcome back.”