The pilgrim wore a hood to cover up his bearded face

　　the visage of the empire`s first hero all but erased

　　he took the money he had earned and found a place to stay

　　listening to rumours of the world along the way

　　After years of solitude beneath the castle grounds

　　he was almost overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds

　　but more so was he shocked to listen in on what was said

　　the many rumours of the war and of himself which spread

　　"They say that evil emperor is still hiding somewhere

　　and now the capital is rule ruled by his old one-armed heir"

　　"I heard the demon army sent another diplomat

　　suggesting they begin negotiating peace at that"

　　"Did they ever catch the one knight who took the prince`s hand

　　it seems like almost everything when how that demon planned"

　　"to think that he escaped somewhere despite what he has done

　　unleashing that ancient dragon`s fire on everyone"

　　He disregarded most of what he heard as idle talk

　　but one thing that he heard improved his mood while on a walk

　　"to think that drunken prince is running things all on his own

　　I just hope he manages to leave the wine alone"

　　In the end, it didn`t matter what rumours with true

　　if he was unwelcome, there was nothing he could do

　　the pilgrim`s only option was to travel far away

　　and hope he found a place that hadn`t heard of him one dayThe author`s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

　　He thought of finding work aboard a ship but realised

　　he`d likely be discovered even if he was disguised

　　and so he`d hide himself within a box aboard a ship

　　planning to be hidden the duration of the trip

　　He quickly climbed aboard the biggest ship he found at bay

　　and found himself a wooden crate where he could hide away

　　he overheard a crewman say the voyage would be long

　　and he was quite relieved to hear the hired men were strong

　　Soon the ship set sail and he was finally at sea

　　the wind was steady though the waves were gentle as could be

　　sometimes at night he stretched his legs and scavenged for some food

　　he only took the scraps he found and ate in gratitude

　　The stowaway enjoyed the rocking of the ship upon each wave

　　reminiscing how the sea had once become his grave

　　he passed a week or two in boredom glad he wasn`t found

　　but then he heard a terrible but too familiar sound

　　He listened as the merchant ship prepared itself to fight

　　he heard a crewman say a pirate`s ship had come in sight

　　the stowaway thought desperately of what he ought to do

　　should he help the merchants or stay safely out of view

　　He waited and he listened while the pirate ship drew near

　　the crew aboard the merchant ship all overcome with fear

　　but when the pirates caught them and the decks were overrun

　　the stowaway decided he would like to see the sun

　　He left the comfort of his box and found a sword nearby

　　and wrapped a scarf around his head, revealing just one eye

　　he walked up to the deck where pirates waved around their swords

　　risking life and limb to reach the lower decks` rewards

　　A pirate saw the stowaway and made to slash his neck

　　but soon the pirate`s bloody head was rolling on the deck

　　the hero hadn`t faced a pirate`s blade in many years

　　but memories of times like those no longer brought him tears

　　At first nobody noticed as he walked across the deck

　　while every time he swung his sword it cut a pirate`s neck

　　the man who wore a mask approached the pirate ship with ease

　　moving through the battle like the gentle ocean breeze

　　He jumped aboard the pirate ship where still the captain stood

　　intending to destroy the ship as quickly as he could

　　he looked around and sighed, for though the sea was wide and vast

　　he recognized a handful of the pirates from his past

　　He didn`t bother talking as he knew their type too well

　　he welcomed all who challenged him and all who did so fell

　　he didn`t need his magic now, his sword was sharp and fierce

　　there wasn`t any pirate`s heart his sword would fail to pierce

　　~