Smooth Seas - STORY SUMMARY
As the child of a prominent pirate hunter, Eva Fisher had always been a strictly law abiding fox. So when she has no choice but to team up with a pirate in order to avenge her deceased father, her values are greatly compromised. Will the pair ever be able to see eye to eye? Or will a harrowing secret divide the two completely...?
With all that being said, I still like the story idea and would like to continue presenting it through drawings, mini comics, animations/videos, etc, and so this summary will act as a guide for anyone who wants to keep up to date with the plot!
SOME QUICK NOTES
- Although Eva is the main character of this story, I always imagined it to be told from Elliot’s perspective - the same kind of way that the Sherlock Holmes books are told from Dr. Watson’s perspective even though Holmes is the hero/main character of the narrative. Not that it’s too important here, as this summary is told in the 3rd person!
- The story has no set time period. Initially I aimed to outline a specific time period (I was thinking anywhere between the 1940s-1960s), but decided against it in the end. This is timeless story!
- This story is always up for criticism - seriously, if you feel there are any plot holes or anything that could be improved, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts! I do not consider writing to be my strong suit so I'm always willing to learn from more experienced writers.
STORY SUMMARY
Douglass Fisher was never an extraordinary dog. He worked as a fisherman in the coastal town of Salzborough and made little - but just enough - money to support his family consisting of his wife Daisy and his biological son Elliot. One day while working, Douglass caught the infamous pirate Nikolai in a spur of the moment chase. This landed him as a local hero in Salzborough and from then on, Douglass began to make a living as a pirate hunter. Nikolai was his main rival, and much of his career consisted of recapturing him every time he made a prison break. Whilst out on one of these chases, Douglass found an abandoned fox cub who he took in and raised as his own. This cub was Eva.
Eva was incredibly close to her father and dreamed of becoming an adventurer like him. Douglass revealed to Eva that although he frequently prevented Nikolai from stealing, he was yet to locate his hoard of treasure which he hoped to return to its previous owners - he then shows her a map of where he believes this treasure is located and asks her to fulfil this quest for him if he is unable to.
But when Douglass was finally killed at sea by Nikolai, Eva’s dreams were cut short - Daisy was always a weary mother, but she became especially protective of her children following her husband’s death. Given the nature of his death, she felt the particular need to protect them from the sea. Daisy also passed away of natural causes early in her children’s lives, leaving them both orphans by the time they were young adults.
⚓︎
Several years into the future, Eva discovers her father’s old map and feels compelled to fulfil that promise she made several years ago now that her mother was no longer around to prevent her from adventuring. She shows the map to Elliot and explains her plan. An argument ensues but eventually they both agree it’s what Douglass would have wanted - AND the right thing to do. They start traveling to Sailor’s Isles, where Douglass suspected the treasure was hidden near.
When they finally arrive at Sailor’s Isles, Eva and Elliot figure the best way to get information on Nikolai is from the locals. They enter a pub and ask the customers about the infamous pirate, but they all give clearly bogus, urban-legend-esque responses to their questions. Just when Eva is beginning to lose hope, a tiger and his parrot companion enter the pub - this tiger claims to know the truth about Nikolai. He tells Eva about how Nikolai was raised in poverty and how his family survived off petty crime, but because young Nikolai was the runt of the litter and also blind, he could do very little to support his family. He summoned a gang of ghostly pirates to aid him in his theft, and this worked in his favour...at first. Eventually his greed got the better of him, and Nikolai used his ghostly crew to fulfil his own selfish needs rather than to protect his family.
After the tiger has told his story and left the pub, Elliot notices the till is open...and all the money in it is missing! He hypothesises that while the tiger had the crowd enthralled with his story, his parrot companion must have stolen the money. Eva sees this as an opportunity to catch her first criminal and dashes onto the streets hoping to find the mysterious stranger.
Eventually Eva catches the tiger and learns that his name is Roger. The parrot, Xander. Eva threatens to inform the authorities on the theft, but the two come to an agreement - if Roger helps Eva find Nikolai, she’ll stay quiet about the theft and let it slide. Roger is reluctant to help her but does so anyway. He leads them to his ship - the Pegasus - and the team sets sail.*
⚓︎
While at sea, Roger attempts to train Eva in sailing, sword fighting and street smarts. At some point, they encounter a ship in the distance - the Whitewhisker Galleon. Roger tells Eva that he used to be part of the Whitewhisker Crew but eventually left because of Captain Wallace’s cruel nature. Ignoring his warnings, Eva sneaks off the Pegasus and onto the Whitewhisker Galleon, hoping to put her new skills to the test and catch her first criminal. She attempts to hide on the ship but is eventually discovered and a fight breaks out. Just when she’s beginning to lose hope, Roger, Elliot and Xander come to the rescue and fight off the Whitewhisker crew alongside her.
Following their success, Eva and Roger have a heart-to-heart talk back on the Pegasus. Roger reveals to Eva that the reason he knows so much about Nikolai is because he’s his adoptive father. He explains that while Nikolai had a bad reputation, he made a genuine attempt to improve himself once he became a father. He briefly stopped his life of crime, spent time with Roger and even gifted him Xander when he was a child. But his ghostly crew was not happy with this change - they tormented and haunted him every night until he snapped. He felt he had no choice but to return to his life of crime and encouraged his son to follow a similar path in life. Since then, Roger had not made contact with his father. Upon hearing this, Eva felt betrayed and explains that Nikolai killed her own father. She storms off the ship - without Elliot - and sets out to find Nikolai herself.**
Eventually she finds Nikolai’s ship - the Maelstrom - docked on a small island. She sneaks onto the ship and is taken aback when Nikolai confronts her. She explains that she has come to avenge her father and the two begin to fight. Once again, Roger, Elliot and Xander come to her aid just as she’s beginning to lose hope. Roger confronts Nikolai, angered that his own father would take another life. Nikolai continues to fight Eva but before he can make the fatal blow, Roger impales him with his own sword. He falls into the ocean, and the fight ends. The four animals make their respective apologies and reconcile.
⚓︎
Several years into the future, life has calmed down. The team redistributed the gold to its previous owners and they all became local heroes. Eva and Roger either marry or enter a long-term partnership and start a bed and breakfast business alongside Elliot named The Fisherman’s Inn. They even adopt a child of their own named Riley. While the animals generally live life at a gentler pace now, their love for the ocean remains and they still partake in the odd adventure together.
POSSIBLE SEQUEL?
I also had a mini sequel to Smooth Seas planned out featuring Riley and some of her peers as the main character, however this is still very much a work in progress and is far from fully developed. The story would feature Riley as the main character, and Dylan, Skipper and Alma as secondary characters. In this sequel, they all go on some kind of adventure and shenanigans ensue.
The Whitewhisker Crew also may also make a return!
Author's Notes
* - Eva's boat (the Mariana) is docked to the Pegasus when this happens! This is important to know because she does make some detours from the rest of the crew later in the story. She isn't just...swimming away from the others when she makes these detours, she is actually using her own smaller boat.
** - For anyone wondering how Roger was unaware of the murder; Douglass was a local hero, he was not known nationally. Also I can imagine Nikolai isn't the kind to brag about his murders, especially to his own son. This explains why Roger did not know of his death until Eva explicitly told him.