Bonus Chapter [1] - 160 Power Stones
--x--
Cuba at the beginning of the 18th century was still a Spanish colony. It was characterized by the production of tobacco, sugar, and rum, although tobacco was the most prominent product.
The period was also marked by the Vegueros' uprising years earlier, which began in 1716 when Spain instituted the Estanco Law, forcing the Vegueros (producers) to sell their produce only in the metropolis at low prices.
Of course, messing with the merchants' profits is even worse than murdering their parents, this led to a series of rebellions known as the Vegueros Insurrection, which lasted from 1717 to 1723.
(A/N: For those who want to know the current year, I won't make it exactly clear, but it's around 1728/29.)
However, the Vegueros lost, and it all ended with the hanging of the rebel leaders in 1723.
In the middle of the night, Rigel was in a boat with William, Elizabeth, Pintel, Ragetti, Salazar on his neck, and Jack on his shoulder.
The group was passing through the muddy waters of a swamp, Rigel had summoned a dozen anacondas, swimming slowly beneath the freshwater river in case of an emergency.
They were crossing the Pantano River in Cuba.
Rigel could already imagine where they were going when the ship approached the point where the river flowed into the sea, as the terrain grew increasingly gloomy, he knew his suspicions were correct.
He was heading straight for Calypso, or the name of her current human form, tia Dalma.
(A/N: Fun fact -> "tia" is Aunt in Portuguese, whereas in Spanish, it's "tía", with an acute accent.)
Rigel confirmed this by picking up the compass and trying to find the woman, perhaps because she was sealed in human form, the compass was able to point to her.
He had no idea why he was going there, but it was likely that she had something the mermaids might want.
Rigel considered turning back once he confirmed where he was going, but in the end he decided to keep moving forward. Calypso was as weak as a mortal at this point, and although she could probably cast some kind of Voodoo magic, he didn't think she would attack him without reason.
Shaking his head, while Ragetti and Pintel rowed and Elizabeth pestered William with her excitement, Rigel took a book with a black leather cover and yellowed paper from his bag and his wand, using 'lumos' to be able to read.
It was a book he'd taken from Blackbeard, it detailed Voodoo magic, whether it was zombification or the Voodoo doll, it was all here. He'd found it while rummaging through Blackbeard's books not long ago, the man didn't have many, but Rigel simply hadn't bothered to look before.
He was particularly interested in zombification.
The process didn't create true zombies, but something very similar, through magic, transforming the human into a creature that was half human, half zombie. This could solve the problem of the zombies' stench, so Rigel was curious about it.
However, the more he read, the more Rigel's brow furrowed, the process was truly macabre. You had to kill someone with pain, a profound torture that made the target forget who they were. When they finally became just an empty shell, you killed them and then followed the specific resurrection ritual.
The person performing the ritual used their own blood to bind the zombie to themselves, making them obey, when they "awakened" again, the process was complete.
The entire process wasn't very complicated, but it was difficult to complete, for someone to go mad to the point of forgetting themselves and not die in the process... how many people did Blackbeard torture before achieving his first success?
Rigel didn't know, but what he did know was that he didn't want to do something like that, unless he really hated the person, he couldn't even imagine himself doing something so wicked.
While she was thinking, the Adventure book suddenly opened.
[You can use the power of the Aztec Rune to complete the ritual, first, transform the target into a zombie using the Aztec rune, then use the resurrection ritual. You should be able to create 'living zombies' this way, but it's just a theory, you would have to experiment in practice.]
Rigel blinked thoughtfully, the Adventure Book rarely offered an opinion on anything, but Rigel appreciated it when it appeared at times like this.
He could try again later, after all, the resurrection ritual itself wasn't difficult.
"C-captain." Ragetti said, drawing Rigel's attention and pointing tremulously towards the trees. "T-there are people among the trees."
Rigel blinked, looked ahead and saw, indeed, he pointed his wand and saw several figures painted green with spears in their hands, they continued to stare at them, even when Rigel pointed the light at them.
Rigel narrowed his eyes, these guys didn't really seem 'alive'. Maybe, like Blackbeard, Tia Dalma had managed to get some zombie subordinates.
"Rigel! There's a hut ahead!" Elizabeth called to Rigel, making him look away from the strange natives.
Soon they saw a wooden hut that seemed to have been built haphazardly and could collapse at any moment, orange lights emanated from the house, clearly indicating people were inside. Rigel ignored the surrounding natives and put the book away, standing up, he was ready to meet a goddess.
//-//
The door wasn't locked, some of the windows were broken, Rigel, with his diminutive figure, could clearly see the woman inside. She was dancing with a snake, yes, a boa constrictor, perched on her shoulders as she lifted it with her arms and moved around the place with light steps, eyes closed and a smile on her face.
Rigel had to admit, the woman was beautiful, especially while she moved with the snake. Rigel wondered humorously if, due to his Slytherin lineage, he might be influenced by snake charms.
Rigel could almost feel his balls struggling to descend for a moment.
"Are you going in? Little witch?" the woman said, continuing to dance without opening her eyes.
Rigel froze for a moment before calmly opening the door and entering, facing the woman, who opened her eyes as soon as he stepped through the door, looking directly at him, the smile always on her face.
"It's Wizard." Rigel blurted out, already accustomed to the difficulty people here have in classifying any kind of magic practitioner as 'Witch'.
"Wizard... " Dalma tested the name on her tongue, her gaze vacant for a moment, as if searching for something, before turning back to Rigel. "In the end, the name doesn't make that much difference, does it, Rigel?"
Rigel blinked, curious. "Do you know my name?"
"Ah, I know much more than you think, but much less than I would like." The woman approached a wooden perch and carefully placed the snake on it. "My eyes cannot see it, but I can see it through the eyes of others."
Rigel frowned, confused, but he didn't know if what she was saying was actually true, in any case, he couldn't stop her, so he could only ignore it for now.
"In that case, you don't know why I came to you." Rigel said, looking around curiously. There were preserved animal parts and stuffed creatures scattered about. Rigel felt that Dalma didn't even need to say anything, her house was the very definition of a witch's house.
"No, I don't know, but I could feel it..." Dalma moved closer, her face just centimeters from his, using her hand to grasp his chin and turn his face towards her. Their eyes met, and he saw extreme curiosity and longing in them. "...a touch... of destiny."
Rigel felt strange being held by that woman, despite her black teeth, they weren't really rotten teeth, instead they looked more like charcoal that the woman had casually rubbed on. She didn't smell bad either, considering where she lived, instead, she had a scent that was difficult to discern, a bit of sea breeze, a bit of damp earth, a bit of wood, and a bit of floral, it was a mixture of smells that seemed to suit her.
Rigel swallowed hard. This woman... she truly is a nymph, even in human form and sealed away. Even with his testicles still hidden, Rigel could still feel attraction for the woman.