Arrgh, matey! Stumbled upon the long lost map to the treasure o' Cap'n Drew have ye! I swiped it out from under the ole salty seadog's nose after a night o' toastin' grog to the wenches. The Cap'n was a-snorin' somethin' fierce when I snuck into his bunk at the devil's hour. Ain't no way he could know it was his First Mate, Plunkett, who did the stealin'! 'Tis Plunkett who should be the Cap'n!
The problem is that Cap'n always was a crafty pirate and I can't make heads or tails o' this here map. If'n ye can solve the clues and find the treasure, Plunkett won't mind if ye nip a coin from the stash. Silver pieces o' eight await the first o' ye that's bloodthirsty enough to beat the rest, and golden doubloons fer the rabble! I would warn ye, though, that this search ain't fer those landlubbers a-lookin' fer a quick find as a fair bit must be covered 'ere the treasure can be found. Plunkett's sure that the ole Cap'n's haunts around the lake will be traveled in the search.
Ye should also know that the mermaids be a-huntin' fer the treasure, too. The Cap'n heard them a-singin' their sweet songs when the sun went down, so we dropped anchor in Mermaid's Lagoon and picked up one o' the pretty fishes. She and the Cap'n spent hours drinkin' and laughin' in his quarters. Plunkett's ears couldn't believe what he was hearin' when the saucy wench started askin' 'bout the Cap'n's treasure. He must've been full o' grog cause he talked up a fearsome storm about it. I should know cause I snuck around to listen at the keyhole.
"Are there any diamonds in your stash, cappy wappy?", the maid asked.
"Aye, me schweet. On the way to it, aye. Scheveral large diamonds. No more than eleven, though."
"Oooo! My! Really?" The sly fish giggled and gave the Cap'n a kiss on the cheek. "Such a smart pirate must've made it difficult to find!"
"Well, me girl, if ye have the brains *hic* of Cap'n Drew, ain't a thing to worry 'bout. I was schure to have each schtop along the way be at an object to help me decipher the map. And each has got a view o' the briny sea so's me good eye can keep a lookout fer scalawags!"
The mermaid filled up the Cap'n's mug with grog again. "Oh, cappy, that is SO smart! Even if I had a copy of the map, which I don't, I sure couldn't figure out why some of the little circles have short lines connecting them." The little hussy twirled the Cap'n's hair in her fingers.
"Ah, now, THAT was pure genius, me dear! They preserve a particular schequence in the information entered, schometimes it needs to go right to left instead of left to right. It was so's I don't get confused." Cap'n Drew took a big swig of his grog.
"No, not you, cappy. You couldn't get confused. You're the smartest pirate in the Seven Seas! I bet your treasure'll be buried there for years to come. Do you mind if I open the back window to get some fresh air in here?" She batted her eyes.
"Like to think so, missy, but the treasure's not even buried. Just a sittin' out on the *hic* ground where schweet schleep took me. Ain't never had so much grog in me life as the night I was hidin' me treasure. Didn't wake 'til the sun was high and then stumbled back to me ship to draw me map. Must have left a bottle of grog or two near the stash!"
There was a loud splash, so I snuck back to me bunk. That slippery mermaid had jumped out the Cap'n's window, off to steal the treasure! But she'd be lookin' in the wrong place, cause Plunkett had found a note scribbled in the Cap'n's scrawl with clues to foldin' the map and revealin' the secret to the treasure!
Now if'n ye have been thinkin' o' tryin' fer a coin or two, keep yer wits about ye. There's always the risk o' runnin' into the Cap'n himself, so this here hunt ain't fer the faint o' heart. The Cap'n has threatened to feed me to the fishes many times, and he'd do the same to ye. Davy Jones' Locker ain't need to be the end o' any o' ye. Now the Cap'n'll be clamorin' up and down the ship a-searchin' fer his map when he awakes, so time's a-wastin'. Keep yer good eye out to sea and let Plunkett know what ye plunders in the log, if ye knows what's good fer ye.
