by Jeremy Dwyer
“You must be Lux. You saved the chair for me. Nice,” Murtagh said to the elderly man, and then went over and sat in the chair that belonged to Governor Lux.
The four (4) other men stood inside the room, near the entrance. They closed the door for privacy, just in case they had to deal with the old man in a rough way, and because they didn’t want anyone outside the room to overhear the profits agreed to inside the room.
“Open the box. It’s not locked. Whatever you find inside is yours, as a consulting fee,” Governor Lux said.
Murtagh opened the box and began counting the platinum coins he found inside. “There are thousands of coins in here,” Murtagh said, smiling.
“Seventeen thousand five hundred seventy-six (17576) platinum coins,” Governor Lux said.
“You have my attention, old man. What is it you want?” Murtagh asked.
“Are you familiar with Nalhayadin Island?” Governor Lux asked.
“I know where it is – in the ‘ghost waters’. It’s dangerous, it’s got lots of shipwrecks…and haunts,” Murtagh said.
“Yes, it is in the Zovvin Ocean – or, as you say, the ‘ghost waters’. You are correct that there are many shipwrecks which have occurred near that island. That, of course, means that valuable cargo is waiting on its shores to be claimed. There is considerable wealth waiting for anyone who would go there and take it,” Governor Lux said.
“Sure, you can get rich – real rich – if you can get to the island, and then get out, without the spookies getting a hold of you,” Murtagh said.
“Are you overly concerned with the risks?” Governor Lux asked.
“The money’s no good to me if I’m not alive to spend it, or I go crazy from spookies,” Murtagh said.
“Your life is no good if you have no money,” Governor Lux said.
“But I’ve got this money…just for talking to you: my consulting fee, as you called it,” Murtagh said, running his hands through the money in the box.
Governor Lux then drank anew of the highly purified Zovvin Ocean waters from his vial. He was energized, and called upon the spirits by the powers that the waters gave him.
Suddenly, a spirit of crippling illness appeared and entered Murtagh and he fell to the floor. Spirits of blindness and weakness appeared and entered the other four (4) men, who also fell to the floor. Governor Lux then stood up and looked down on all five (5) men.
“Yes, indeed. And now that we’ve consulted, you must understand that there’s nothing to fear from any spirits on that island, for the spirits will answer to me. You will go to Nalhayadin Island and recover whatever wealth you can – diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire – and bring it to me, immediately,” Governor Lux said.
Governor Lux then drew five (5) small crystals from a pocket in his coat. He held up a crystal to each of the faces of the five (5) men, one by one, and their likenesses were captured into them by virtue of the light of the bright candles – ordinary candles that gave true light – that were in the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
“When you have followed all of my instructions, you will be paid ten (10) percent of the value of the gems, in addition to your consulting fee, which will be held in reserve for the moment. If you disobey, I will put bounties on each of your heads. These lightkeeper crystals now hold your images and you will be known to all and recognized everywhere. Be assured that you will be found and killed if you turn against or fail me. Do you understand?” Governor Lux said.
“Make the spirits leave us!” Murtagh said.
“Do it now! We can’t see!” the other four (4) men said.
Governor Lux then called the spirits to leave – so that strength and sight were restored to Murtagh and his men – and then he called other spirits to arrive in their place. These new ones were spirits of fear that frightened Murtagh and the other four (4) men so that they got up, opened the door and left in a hurry, leaving the metal box of coins behind. Lux looked at the box of coins and laughed, thinking it to be a positive motivation for Murtagh and his men to return.
~~~
Murtagh and the other four (4) men left the Trading Center Five building quickly, and returned to the seaport and went to their ship. The spirits of fear did not pursue them that far, but departed.
“Good to be back on the Salamander. It’s time to set sail again,” Murtagh said.
“Wait! We should go back and break the old man’s neck in his sleep,” one (1) of the four (4) men said. He was a twenty-five (25) year old man named Giacomo, who also drank of the Nabavodel Ocean waters. By the powers of these waters, he was swift, strong and not very experienced, so his scars were few, only because his encounters had been few. He hoped that the old man named Lux could be caught off guard, and planned on doing even more than breaking his neck.
“In the darkness, I can hide and slit his throat,” another one (1) of the four (4) men said. He was a thirty-eight (38) year old man named Dagr, who drank of the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters. Because of the powers of these waters, stealth was his forte, and he doubted that the old man could send any kind of spirits to attack people without knowing where they were, since Dagr could hide in the darkness.
“I will blind him with light and take all that he has,” another one (1) of the four (4) men said. He was a thirty-nine (39) year old man named Netuno, who drank of the Lujladia Ocean waters. By the powers in those waters, he knew how to light the way in the darkness – a skill that was especially useful now that the skies were as dark as twilight all over the world, which was a situation he had never seen before. He also knew how to burn with that light, and how to bend the light to see long distances and around corners. This made him an excellent lookout, and he could see some actions a brief moment before they occurred, all because of the light bending power. The light from the movement of an adversary was bendable and would reach his eyes before the movement was complete. The advantage was enough to act decisively, as long as he maintained his focus…and a pure enough potion of water flowed through him.
“We didn’t even get paid the consulting fee. The box of coins is still on his desk,” the last of the four (4) men said. He was a thirty-six (36) year old man named Quanda who drank of the Kazofen Ocean waters. By the power of these waters, he was a master of bending precious gems to improve their cut and clarity, and thus their value. Combat was not his forte, but he could bend stones, as well, to be used for sharpening blades. Profit was the motive for the entire group, so his contribution was ultimately quite valuable.
“We will be paid when we return,” Murtagh said.
“You trust him? Look what he did with his spooks!” Giacomo asked.
“I don’t trust him either,” Dagr said.
“Now is our chance to show him the light and see the error he has made in his mistreatment of us,” Netuno said.
“He could have killed us, but didn’t. So, we should trust him. He wants to make a profit, and so do we,” Murtagh said.
“We could go to work for him and then he could easily refuse to pay us. Then what shall we do?” Netuno asked.
“Kill him!” Giacomo said.
“Yes! I can cover you in the darkness, and we will both strike him down,” Dagr said.
“The bankers have protection – especially the governors. You don’t think he’s just going to sit there defenseless, do you?” Murtagh asked.
“We will find the protection: if they hide in the darkness, I will see them,” Netuno said.
“What if it’s mind readers? They’ll know you’re coming. This isn’t going to work,” Murtagh asked.
“How many does he have? We can kill them, too!” Giacomo said.
“They hide in the darkness. You won’t be able to see them,” Netuno said.
“We will hide in the darkness, as well,” Dagr said.
“They can read your minds, darkness or not,” Murtagh said.
“Even if we kill him, remember the bounty! He’s got our faces in those lightkeeper crystals. They can be copied, with more light
, to other crystals. Our faces will be everywhere,” Quanda said.
“And we can’t hide and make big money. We’ve got to do this,” Murtagh said.
“How can we be sure that he’ll pay?” Netuno asked.
“No banker is that stupid. Without money, we can’t pay our expenses. He’ll pay us something,” Murtagh said.
“He could pay us less than promised,” Netuno said.
“After what he did back there, he could have said one (1) percent. But he said ten (10). If he cheats us, Quanda will just have to break those crystals with our faces in them,” Murtagh said.
“And then we’ll break him,” Giacomo said.
“Maybe. Let’s go to work and get paid. That’s what it’s all about, not the fight,” Murtagh said.
“I’ll chart our course by the light, and your maps,” Netuno said and he drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial. He was energized and saw more clearly, over vast distances. This enabled him to steer a ship under the dark skies, and to correlate what he saw with the maps.
They sailed in the Salamander for six (6) days, slowly and carefully. Their voyage took them away from Haza’Kedro’Maral Island and northwest over the Pirovalen Ocean at sea level, then over the Farmer’s Road land bridge as an airship, then northwest over the Trerada Ocean at sea level again. Next, they returned to airship form to travel over the Glivoran Trail land bridge, and then they returned to the Kazofen Ocean at sea level and traveled northwest over those waters. After this, they returned again to airship form and traveled over the Road of Kovoxotu land bridge and returned to sea level in the Zovvin Ocean. From there, they sailed to Nalhayadin Island, working to avoid the sometimes rough currents.
“What would make so much darkness, Dagr? Is this the powers of the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters flowing through many people to put darkness in the sky?” Murtagh asked.
“No. This is not that sort of darkness, and not enough people in the world drink those waters to create this cloak of darkness to cover everything,” Dagr said.
“I can see through this darkness without difficulty, so it is like night, rather than the deep darkness, which takes more effort, though I can see through that also. But I’ve heard that navigators – who listen to the stars – suffer in pain from hearing the noises and screams of the suns. No darkness – not even the sort that Dagr makes – can do that. There’s something wrong in the skies, and it is not a matter of mere dark and light,” Netuno said.
“Darkness or light, these waters are known to be haunted, and rough. Watch them,” Giacomo said.
“Good! You paid attention to me, and remembered my warning,” Murtagh said.
Netuno drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial and was energized. He watched the surface of the ocean, hundreds of miles ahead, looking for ripples and waves that could indicate rough seas, but nothing stood out as dangerous. “The seas are calm ahead, looking out three hundred fifty (350) miles,” Netuno said.
The waters around them remained calm, but the spirits around them did not. Many different voices could be heard in the darkness, screaming.
“Turn back! The skies are dying! Your souls will be eaten like the stars!” one voice said.
“The king has risen yet again!” another voice said.
“The man in the north would be your god!” a third voice said.
“Demons swarm!” a fourth voice said.
“Who is speaking?!” Murtagh asked, calling out to the sky in every direction, not knowing where the voices came from.
Netuno used his powers of light to look into the darkness, but saw no one hiding in it. “No one is hiding in the darkness,” Netuno said.
Dagr drank anew of the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean and was energized. He looked to see if there was a false light – such as a person hiding behind illusions – that he could dispel with his darkness, but he found none. “No one is hiding behind a false light,” Dagr said.
“A telepath could be twisting our thoughts so that we cannot see him – or her – and speaking words of fear to us,” Quanda said.
“We would see this telepath in the darkness,” Netuno said.
“If your thoughts were not twisted,” Quanda said.
“Possibly. More likely, it’s the ghosts. Like I said, and Giacomo correctly remembered: these waters are known to be haunted,” Murtagh said.
“You wanted to take this deal,” Giacomo said.
“It is dangerous: we may have been set up to fail,” Dagr said.
“I don’t trust the bank governor, but why do that,” Netuno said.
“To not take his offer would be dangerous. We’re in a difficult position,” Quanda said.
“Not impossible, though,” Murtagh said.
“Turn back! The living should not sail these seas!” the first voice said, still screaming and still unseen.
“The king will conquer all!” the second voice said, still screaming and still unseen.
“Death of the soul awaits!” the third voice said, still screaming and still unseen.
“The Maelstrom is opened and it hungers for the condemned! Vengeance will be dealt!” the fourth voice said, still screaming and still unseen.
“The ghost voices are trying to warn us to get out of here. Maybe we should find another way,” Giacomo said.
“No. But we might need some reinforcements,” Murtagh said.
Suddenly, the Salamander swerved off of its course, with no visible change in the waters. Netuno, who was at the ship’s wheel, got knocked back onto the deck.
“Where are we going?” Murtagh yelled.
“Someone took the ship’s wheel!” Netuno yelled.
“Ghosts?” Giacomo asked.
“And the sails! Look!” Dagr yelled, pointing to the sails that were turned and fully opened.
The Salamander moved at full speed, on a new course.
“We’re heading toward an island! There are shipwrecks all over it,” Netuno yelled.
“Sounds like the right island!” was all that Murtagh could think to say.
Within minutes, the Salamander then slammed into a sandbar near an island, rupturing its hull and adding to the number of shipwrecks.
“The ship is sinking!” Murtagh said.
“This makes no sense to come here! I thought he wanted to make a profit!” Quanda said.
“We took all the risk,” Dagr said.
“The reward, if any, will go to Lux,” Netuno said.
“Our bodies will go to the ocean if we don’t get off this ship! Now!” Murtagh said. He then got onto a lifeboat and began to lower it. The others followed him, and they made their way to the island by rowing.
Once on the island, they walked around among the shipwrecks and saw a wall of thousands of crates, many damaged. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires could be seen seeping out of crates whose sides were partially broken open, and Murtagh and his crew momentarily forgot their difficult situation to enjoy the thought of the wealth.
“It’s true! We are rich!” Giacomo said.
“Ten (10) percent rich…if we can get out of here,” Murtagh said, pointing back to the sinking Salamander.
“We didn’t come here to die,” Dagr said.
“Not intentionally,” Murtagh said.
“But we did come to get rich. Look at all this!” Giacomo said.
“Since you’re dazzled by the diamonds, open theses crates all the way and see how much there is,” Murtagh said.
Giacomo then drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean from his vial and was energized. He was easily able to break the wooden crates open as if they were paper. Diamonds, emeralds and other precious gems spilled out, and the young man became lost in his thoughts of wealth.
“We are rich, rich, rich!” Giacomo said.
“Ten (10) percent!” Murtagh said.
Quanda drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his own vial and was energized. He then joined Giacomo, and began carefully inspecting the gems at
the lowest level of detail, and saw that many of them were rough, while others were finely cut, and all of various qualities. “It’s a mix: some rough, some cut, mixed quality,” Quanda said.
“Netuno: scout the island, look for any sign of approaching ships. Dagr: cloak him and yourself to avoid detection, just in case we’re not alone. Don’t just assume the worst of the ships you find, or be afraid to do business – we need a way to get off of this island, so you better think about a way to get a ship to come here,” Murtagh said.
Netuno then drank anew of the Lujladia Ocean waters from his vial and was energized with the powers of light. Dagr drank anew of the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters from his vial and was energized with the powers of darkness. He extended a cloak of darkness over himself and then over Netuno, so that they could not be easily seen. Together, they walked up a hill and looked out toward the sea. Netuno could see farther from the hilltop, and much farther still because of the powers of light.
Murtagh stayed close to Giacomo and Quanda. He drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean, giving him strength and swiftness like that of Giacomo. With these powers, he assisted in the breaking open of the crates, revealing more precious gems. Quanda continued to examine the gems for quality.
~~~
Atop the hill, both Dagr and Netuno heard a voice, but could not see where it was from.
“This island is death, but a greater death awaits, from the sky,” the voice said.
“Who are you? Where are you?” Netuno asked.
“What are you?” Dagr asked.
“My name is of no importance. Just know this: in the eons past, many more suns were in the sky, and suddenly the night devoured them. There were even suns greater than the blue stars, who became the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings only after the downfall of the greater ones,” voice said.
“I’ve never heard such a thing!” Netuno said.
“How does the night devour the suns? We have day and night as the suns move about,” Dagr asked.
“The devouring night has returned, and more stars will fall, unless the false lights are put out. The luminaries of old have been lit again, and their dark flames must be extinguished before the sky is emptied, and the world grows cold, welcoming the devourers from beyond,” the voice said.