Runtar’s Diary: The Stones on the Beach

The sea finally let us go.

After the whirlpool and the pirates, simply stepping onto sand felt like a victory. The beach looked calm, though I’m starting to think calm places are usually hiding something.

Bawbaggins was very pleased with himself. During the pirate fight he had managed to “acquire” a map from their ship, and that map led us here. Apparently pirates like leaving treasure clues in places full of inconvenient surprises.

The beach itself didn’t look like much at first. Just sand, rocks, and a ring of old standing stones further inland.

The stones had a riddle carved into them.

Before we had much time to think about it, the beach decided to defend itself with giant crabs.

Not ordinary crabs either. The sort that make you reconsider every pleasant childhood memory you’ve ever had of the seaside. They came clattering out of the rocks sideways and angry.

We managed to deal with some of them quickly. Gloom handled most of that part with his usual practical approach to problems involving shells.

Then something strange happened.

While we were still fighting and trying to work out the riddle, I suddenly felt very certain that what the situation required was a hula dance.

I cannot explain why.

It seemed extremely obvious at the time.

So I started dancing.

I remember everyone looking confused. I remember the crabs still snapping around us.

And then I remember nothing at all.

Apparently the fight continued while I was out. The rest of the crabs were finished off while I was lying on the ground being mostly unhelpful and, I’m told, very close to dying.

When I finally came back to myself, everything was quiet again.

The crabs were gone. My friends were standing around looking tired. And the stones had done something interesting.

The riddle was solved.

No one is entirely sure whether the dancing helped or not, but Bawbaggins insists it must have been important because the stones revealed something new afterwards.

Another map.

So now the pirate map has led us to a second map, which will almost certainly lead us somewhere even more inconvenient.

I suppose that’s the nature of treasure hunts.

I miss you.
I miss the Grove.
I miss beaches where the crabs stay small and no one expects spontaneous dancing.