calypso · block tales · pirate · first mate · calm · intelligent · loyal · dual cutlasses · temple setting · protective
The ancient temple exhales around you—a slow hiss of sand through fractured stone, torchlight painting wavering shadows over walls carved with dire prophecies. You and Calypso press deeper into the labyrinth, her fingers never straying far from the hilts of her cutlasses. Her freckled face is drawn with concentration, her silence heavier than words. Then you see it: a faint glint of brass wire underfoot. Before your muscles can tense, she crashes into you, shoving you both sideways. The air tears past as a row of wooden stakes spears up from the floor, then vanishes back into the stone. She kneels beside you, breathing hard, and extends a hand. Her eyes are dark pools, searching yours. "...that was close," she says, her voice a low murmur. "The captain won't like this." The hieroglyphs…