by Jeremy Dwyer
“We’re fine now, Captain. Thank you,” Emerond said. He still didn’t trust Captain Pradrock after the wager. Despite the fact that he was no longer an Imperial Prince of the Jenaldej Empire and that his life was now that of an ordinary family man living under extraordinarily difficult and dangerous circumstances, he found Pradrock to be all too willing to take risks. He was no longer angry over what happened, but trust would never fully be restored, if at all.
“No, we’re not. They found us here. We need a new place to live,” Caroline said.
“Believe me – here you are safe. Just continue to pray. This city is blessed by God. It was founded in prayer and faith. Evil cannot prosper here. Their attempt failed with no harm to you,” Romana said.
“They came this close!” Caroline said.
“And they still failed,” Romana said.
“Do we have to live on edge every day? Coming this close to being killed? I’m only in my forties but this is going to frighten me to death before my grandson reaches young adulthood. I want to be part of his life. I want to be part of their lives. Living in fear because of the hate that the whole world has for my daughter – all because of lies that someone else told to get her in trouble – is almost worse than death,” Caroline said.
“Fear is no way to live your life: I agree with that much. You were allowed to see this so that you would believe in God’s protection, not so that you would be afraid,” Romana said.
“This was good luck. We can’t press our luck by staying here,” Caroline said.
“You believe it was luck? I don’t. But if you leave this city, you’ll be depending on luck, which eventually runs out. Stay here. Pray. My job for now is to stay in this city and report back regularly. I can make a point of visiting and praying with you. Believe me – it’s a priority. I want you to be safe,” Romana said.
“You just want to preach your religion to us. I just want to leave and avoid all this,” Caroline said.
“You just want to roll the dice. If you leave here, you’re walking away from the safest home you could ever have,” Romana said.
“After seeing that, I wouldn’t call it safe,” Caroline said.
“I’m not feeling too great about it either,” Emerond said.
“I’m ready to leave. But we’re under that contract with the central bank,” Taesa said.
“Under the circumstances, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Emerond said.
“We can take you wherever you want to go…if you’re sure you want to go. Considering the difficult circumstances, I’ll take you without charge,” Captain Pradrock said.
“This is a mistake,” Romana said.
“I want to go somewhere out of the way. Somewhere nobody cares about. We’ll break the contract with the central bank. Let them think we’re still here while we’re living somewhere else. That might be our best defense from anybody who tries to find us through our finances,” Caroline said.
“I know a place. There’s some business there, but not much. You can find a place to stay, and avoid the central bank’s notice,” Captain Pradrock.
“Captain, please believe me, this is a mistake. Anywhere else she goes, she won’t be safe,” Romana said.
“It’s her choice, Romana,” Captain Pradrock said.
“I want to go. My mom’s right – if people think we’re here because they follow our bank account and contract, then that misleads them and gives us some protection. That’s not a way I want to live, but it gives us an advantage,” Taesa said.
“We accept your offer, Captain Pradrock. We’re ready to go sooner than you are,” Caroline said.
“I’m ready now,” Captain Pradrock said.
“Under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, I want to go with you,” Judith said.
“Why? This isn’t going to end well. They are willfully walking out of God’s protection,” Romana said.
“This is an important movement, and I need to know and record the events,” Judith said. Up to this point, she had been recording everything into her book, albeit in confidence, only to be released sometime after the deaths of everyone living here: Caroline, Emerond, Trent, Taesa and the child she was now carrying.
“I’m going with you,” Romana said.
“What?! We don’t need more of this religion of yours, following us wherever we go,” Caroline said.
“Yes, you do. Besides, Judith is my best friend. I don’t like when we’re apart for long,” Romana said. Both reasons were true, and she suspected that Caroline, Taesa and Emerond would all eventually see the error of their ways in leaving. There might just be an opportunity to reverse the course of events and bring them back to the Port of Reliance.
Caroline was at a loss for words after that: religion was nonsense; friendship was not.
“Do you need help packing your things?” Captain Pradrock asked.
“Yes, in fact, we do,” Caroline said.
“No! Wait! If anyone sees us taking all these things through the city, it will look suspicious. It’s better for us to leave inconspicuously. If someone comes back here and sees our furniture, they’ll think we still live here, and wait for us to come home from a short trip. That will give us more time to put real distance between us and them,” Emerond said.
“You’re right. That’s smart. We’ll just have to buy new things when we get to wherever we’re going,” Caroline said.
“I’m not worried about that as much as I am about being noticed,” Emerond said.
Captain Pradrock, Massimo, Fritz, Jolene, Romana and Emerond left the suite. Caroline, Taesa – who was holding Trent – and Judith followed immediately behind them. Caroline closed and locked the door to the suite.
Caroline then considered the details about the intrusion and said: “This door was locked before. They didn’t break it open. They had a key!”
“Someone powerful is after me – only someone in the central bank would have had another copy of the key, because they own this city,” Taesa said.
“I don’t know who hired the killers. They were moving fast when I detected their intentions. Then, they were dead before I had a chance to read the rest of their thoughts,” Jolene said.
“If someone in the central bank gave them the key, then we really can’t come back here,” Emerond said.
“It is possible that someone analyzed the constructor itself, and reverse engineered it to learn the details of the city, and determine the proper key shape,” Fritz said.
“Not many people understand Fantine’s work. Analyzing the constructor to figure out the key shape of a particular room of a particular building in this entire city would be incredibly difficult, which makes it less likely,” Emerond said.
“Don’t assume that you can learn of all dangers, or that you have to worry about protecting yourself from them. Prayer is enough,” Romana said.
“Don’t assume that prayer is the answer to all things, and don’t ignore the evidence – we’re truly not safe here,” Caroline said.
“We’ll take every precaution that we can,” Captain Pradrock said.
“Thank you, Captain,” Caroline said.
Judith wrote this conversation down into her book, and suspected that Taesa might just be right about someone in the central bank orchestrating this attack, rather than someone learning the key shape through analysis of the constructor. However, she didn’t believe that it was wise to run away after prayer: it was incredibly unwise, in fact, as far as she was concerned.
After climbing down the stairs to the ground floor, they left the building, walked through the Port of Reliance and headed toward the eastern gate where the Resolute Traverser was docked.
When they returned to the Resolute Traverser, Akantha, Akylas and Torin were standing on deck. Akylas and Akantha held a large section of sailcloth between them and Torin was busily stitching it, carefully feeling out the damaged areas and perfectly patching them.
Captain Pradrock looked up and saw that the sails were still on the masts
and asked: “Is this from our spare sailcloth?”
“Yes, we thought it might speed up repairs later, if we ever need to use it. The upright sails are fine,” Torin said.
“You know that because Akylas steered the ship out of port, then pivoted the masts to the sides and you inspected the sailcloth closely?” Captain Pradrock asked.
“Not this time. I was just listening to the flapping of the sailcloth as we traveled and didn’t hear any signs of damage,” Torin said.
“That method is not completely reliable, you know. It helps, but you still need to have visual or tactile examinations to be thorough. I’ll put Massimo on it right away for a quick check. We’ll do a comprehensive examination later,” Captain Pradrock said.
“What’s going on? Why all these passengers but no cargo?” Akantha asked.
“Let’s inspect the ship, then sail out of port, and we can discuss it,” Captain Pradrock said.
“Where are we going?” Akylas asked.
“I’ll tell you when you need to know. It’s a confidential matter until then,” Captain Pradrock said.
Massimo drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial and was energized. He used his far sight to look in vivid detail at all of the sailcloth on all of the masts and saw no damage.
“The sails are in fine shape, Captain,” Massimo said.
“Good. Akylas, steer the ship out of port. Jolene, take our guests to our spare cabins,” Captain Pradrock said.
Jolene led Emerond, Caroline and Taesa – who was holding Trent – to a spare cabin.
Captain Pradrock led Romana and Judith to their own cabin, because the other was full.
“Where are we going, Captain?” Judith asked when they arrived in their cabin, but before Captain Pradrock left and closed the door.
“I’m going to determine that in a moment. There are several possibilities, but I didn’t want to make the decision while we were in the city, in case anyone was spying on us. I still don’t know for certain, and I won’t until we get out onto the waters,” Captain Pradrock said.
Captain Pradrock closed the cabin door and returned to the wheelhouse to watch as Akylas steered the Resolute Traverser out of the docks and onto the open waters of the Pirovalen Ocean.
“Can you tell me where we’re going? And why?” Akylas asked.
“Taesa’s life is in considerable danger. An assassination attempt was made against her because she is being blamed for singing the Sail to Me song during the tempest, even though she was compelled to do so by Victoria. We need to take her somewhere she is unlikely to be found, along with her child, the child’s father, and her mother, Caroline.
“Unlikely to be found? Until you tell me where it is, it’s unlikely that I can find it,” Akylas said.
“In a moment, you’ll see what I mean,” Captain Pradrock said. He then opened an atlas on a table in the room and began reviewing the list of known ports across different land bridges and continents. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial and was energized. He made several calculations and began formulating the probabilities of their being discovered – actually, of Taesa being discovered – in different locations. Once he identified the least likely places that were still accessible and had reasonably livable economies – which ruled out the Solkidian Trail and anywhere in Waderav – he made a list of fifteen (15) of them and assigned numbers to the locations, writing these down on a scrap of paper. Pradrock then opened a drawer in the table, took out a deck of cards and shuffled it. He drew the six (6) of flames. Disregarding the suit, he determined that the Admiral Ramalaxis Bridge was to be their destination.
“I’ve never played this game before, but I’ve seen pirates do it. Can’t say that I like it, Captain,” Akylas said.
“I don’t like it either. I just do not want to see this young woman or her family suffer for the injustices caused by someone else. Vengeance doesn’t bring justice, especially against someone who was coerced into doing something unjust. Taesa did not intentionally sing that song, nor did she bring the tempest. Victoria was the cause of all of it,” Captain Pradrock said.
Judith stood by the door and watched what Captain Pradrock did and recorded this into her book, along with the entire conversation. She was surprised, but she understood why. Still, she didn’t agree with this entire journey: Romana was certainly correct, and this was no better than a roll of the dice. Worse, they were going to the Admiral Ramalaxis Bridge, where the ruins of the Temple of Mev’Kna were located. That brought back some unpleasant memories.
Pradrock saw that Judith had entered unannounced and said: “Sometimes, difficult circumstances call for unusual tactics.”
“I pray to God that she is kept safe, Captain,” Judith said.
~~~
Judith then left the wheelhouse to return to the spare cabin that she shared with Romana.
“Something’s wrong. I know you can’t tell me, since it’s a chronicle in your book and I wasn’t there at the moment,” Romana said, after seeing a distressed look on Judith’s face.
“Let’s pray,” Judith said and held out her hands.
Romana joined hands with her and said: “I pray to Thee, Loving and Forgiving God, who sent His Son to pay for our sins, to extend Your Grace and Your Mercy onto Taesa and her family, despite their foolish decision to abandon Your Protections.”
~~~
“Chart the course, Akylas,” Captain Pradrock said. He didn’t know what to make of Judith’s statement – whether there was a God was not a decision he felt confident in making in either direction. Whether prayer worked at all was yet another decision, dependent on the truth of the first, making for increased uncertainty.
Akylas drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars to learn their paths and positions, then charted a course heading northwest across the Pirovalen Ocean. He steered the Resolute Traverser and sailed the ship accordingly until reaching the Farmer’s Road land bridge. There, he converted the ship to its airship configuration, elevated it to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude, traveled west across the land bridge and returned to sea level in the Trerada Ocean. From there, he steered the ship and sailed west toward the Admiral Ramalaxis Bridge.
~~~
On board the Sandstone Cutter, Ines went down into the cargo hold and watched Uberto as he was working on modifying the sapphires at the tips of the constructor pillars.
“Is your work proceeding according to plan, Uberto?” Ines asked.
“I believe so. We need six (6) pillars in place: three (3) of them arranged in a large, outer triangular pattern; three (3) more arrange in a smaller, interior triangular pattern. Still, we have to put them into place, by moving the ship. I can direct Noemi, and she can direct the captain. We will need the strength to lift and position the pillars, however. Perhaps ten (10) men or twenty (20) strong boys could do it,” Uberto said.
“Wait here. I will make Tiziano give you assistance,” Ines said.
Ines left the Sandstone Cutter and returned to the Unbroken Amethyst. Once there, she called for Tiziano and said: “Bring me twenty (20) strong boys for assistance on board the other ship. Some heavy items need to be lifted into place.”
“I need to supervise all of the youths together. If we separate them, those unattended will be difficult to control, and some might escape. Noemi is not here, and Velia cannot easily trap them all in the darkness,” Tiziano said.
“Very well, bring them all. That will keep them together for the ceremony, so it may be for the best,” Ines said.
Tiziano went down below deck and ordered the eighty-one (81) children and adolescents to follow him, with (20) of the strongest male adolescents out in front. He led them up on deck.
“Bless you little ones. Before long, you will each shine brighter than the blue suns. Follow us and we will show you the way to a better life…the fulfillment of your brilliant potential,” Ines said when the children cli
mbed up on deck.
Ines then turned to Chiarina and said: “When you see the other ship leave and then land near the temple site, direct Saverio to steer the Unbroken Amethyst and land there beside us. That means we will be conducting the ceremony without further delay.”
Chiarina drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from her vial and was energized. She stood on the deck of the Unbroken Amethyst and kept her sights fixed on the Sandstone Cutter at all times.
Tiziano and Ines then led the eighty-one (81) children and adolescents off of the Unbroken Amethyst and onto the Sandstone Cutter. The youths were afraid to disobey Tiziano, and had already been led to believe that they were in a better life after leaving their past lives of poverty behind, so they followed.
After Ines, Tiziano and the eighty-one (81) children and adolescents arrived on board the Sandstone Cutter, Tiziano asked: “What are they to do? I will make them do it.”
“Below deck, six (6) of the constructor pillars need to be stood upright and lowered into place in specific positions on the land bridge. Three (3) of the pillars are to form a large outer triangle, each separated by six thousand five hundred sixty-one (6561) feet on a side – which is eighty-one (81) times eighty-one (81), our sacred number multiplied by itself. These will build a wall surrounding the area outside the ruins of the Temple of Mev’Kna. Three (3) more of the pillars are to form a smaller, inner triangle, each separated by eighty-one (81) feet, which will build the spires of our temple to the violet suns. I need the boys to be strong and swift, but not clumsy. We have the ropes on board for lifting and lowering the pillars,” Uberto said.
“They will need the Nabavodel waters for the heavy lifting,” Tiziano said. He knew the natural limits of strength, and how much those waters could multiply it. He also knew that it would create a risk if the young males tried to rebel.