Haunt & Havoc

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “Where are these luminaries? What are they?” Netuno asked.

  “Why should we believe you? You won’t even tell us your name. Who are you?” Dagr asked.

  “I was known as the Prince of Stargazers, and I watched the skies in the ancient times. Some few will know, and believe you when you tell them,” the voice said.

  “Where are the luminaries? How do we find them?” Netuno asked.

  “They are black onyx, carved as candles. When each additional luminary is lit, its gives off a deeper darkness that spreads farther across the skies. More darkness is sure to come, and the suns will not live for long in this devouring night,” the voice said.

  “We don’t have a ship to sail away from here to find them,” Dagr said.

  “I will call for a ship, and you will sail away in it, and seek out the luminaries to douse their false flames and end the night,” the voice said.

  “How will you call for a ship? This is the island of shipwrecks! Ships crash when they come here!” Netuno said.

  “Return to the coast and wait,” the voice said.

  “I don’t know whether to believe or not,” Dagr said.

  “I should be frightened, but the darkness in the skies frightens me more. I almost want to believe the voice: it means that there is an opportunity to end this,” Netuno said.

  “If this promised ship arrives, I’ll start to believe,” Dagr said.

  “Fair enough,” Netuno said.

  ~~~

  Netuno and Dagr came down from the hill and rejoined with Murtagh, Giacomo and Quanda. Dagr eased his powers of darkness so that they could be seen by the others.

  “Did you see something…or someone? Are we not alone?” Murtagh asked when they appeared suddenly.

  “We heard someone. We’re hoping to see something, soon,” Dagr said.

  “Who did you hear? And what are you hoping to see?” Murtagh asked.

  “You’re not going to believe it,” Dagr said.

  “Tell me,” Murtagh said.

  “You both look scared,” Giacomo said.

  “A bit, but it might be a good thing,” Netuno said, still looking out to sea.

  “We’re listening,” Quanda said.

  “We heard a voice, couldn’t see a body,” Dagr said.

  “More ghosts,” Murtagh said.

  “That explains the scared,” Giacomo said.

  “Called himself the Prince of Stargazers, from long ago,” Netuno said.

  “He said there used to be many more stars, some bigger than the blue ones. But the darkness came, and many disappeared,” Dagr said.

  “He said these things called ‘the luminaries of old’ give off darkness instead of light, and each one makes the darkness of the sky spread farther when it’s lit,” Netuno said.

  “He said the luminaries are candles made of onyx, and we need to find them and put them out,” Dagr said.

  “This is way too much to believe,” Murtagh said.

  “We can’t even get off of this island. Our ship is sinking,” Giacomo said, pointing out to the Salamander, which was significantly lower in the water.

  “We told him. He said he would call for a ship,” Netuno said.

  “And?” Murtagh said.

  Netuno looked out to sea and saw a ship approaching.

  “I see it now. It’s approaching the shore. You believe him now?” Netuno said.

  “You can see farther than any of us. If you see it, I guess I do believe,” Dagr said.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t crash, like the Salamander,” Murtagh said.

  “We’re not in charge here. I don’t think that will happen,” Dagr said.

  “You sound like you trust that voice,” Murtagh said.

  “No, but we don’t have much choice. And maybe there’s a bit of hope,” Netuno said.

  “I hope to make a profit…and survive,” Murtagh said.

  “Then, let’s take some of this treasure with us before we get on that ship,” Giacomo said.

  “Take what you can hold in your hands and coat pockets. We need to get moving,” Dagr said.

  “Exactly where are we going in a hurry?” Murtagh asked.

  “I don’t know, but he said something else that scared me,” Dagr said.

  “What’s that?” Murtagh asked.

  “Something about the world growing cold and welcoming devourers from beyond,” Dagr said.

  “Prince of Stargazers, candles that make darkness, ancient suns that disappeared and devourers from beyond is nothing we have proof of. Look…I believe in ghosts, fair enough. We all do. But this is just too much. For all we know, this voice – this spirit or whatever it was – is on the wrong side and leading us to help make it darker. Maybe these candles make the light, and somebody’s been putting them out to cause the darkness. Did you stop to think he could be lying? If Lux has the power to put us in a tough spot, maybe this ghost prince does, too,” Murtagh said.

  “I’ll admit, that’s a fair theory. But there’s a test. If we find one (1) of these luminaries, we can light it, and see if the sky gets darker or lighter. If it gets darker, he was telling the truth. If it gets lighter, then we just do the opposite,” Dagr said.

  “Fair enough answer. So, how do we find these luminaries?” Murtagh asked.

  “Onyx is rare. Most of it has already been mined, and hidden away in bank vaults and treasuries,” Quanda said.

  “Great! Lux could have them all in the central bank,” Murtagh said, laughing in disgust.

  “That’s not much to go on. Where do we look?” Giacomo asked.

  “Our ship is coming in. Get ready,” Netuno said.

  A ship could be seen approaching rapidly: the ship was visible only to Netuno at first, but was now coming into view of all of them.

  “Slow down!” Murtagh yelled.

  As if following his orders, the ship slowed to a stop a half mile out.

  “Rowboat time, men,” Murtagh said.

  Giacomo and Quanda each grabbed a handful of rubies, diamonds and emeralds and put them into coat pockets. Murtagh did the same, but Dagr and Netuno did not bother: they were too distracted by what they saw and heard.

  The five (5) men got back in the rowboat and made their way out to the new ship – a one hundred twenty one (121) foot long schooner with three (3) double-masted pivoting sails.

  A rope ladder had been lowered down, and they all climbed on board

  “What is this ship? It’s an older design – but not too old. It’s got pivoting sails, so it can be an airship,” Murtagh said.

  Murtagh then walked along the deck and made his way to the wheelhouse and his crew followed him closely. Once inside, he looked for the captain’s log, which he found. He opened the log and began reading and was startled by what he read, falling backwards into the bench seat in the room, which kept him from hitting the floor.

  “What is it?” Dagr asked.

  “This ship…I can’t believe it!” Murtagh said.

  “What? What about it?” Netuno asked.

  “The name of the ship is My Soul to Sin!” Murtagh said.

  “Why do we care?” Dagr asked.

  “It’s a legend. It’s the ship of the damned!” Murtagh said.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Quanda said.

  “Should we still believe what he said?” Dagr asked.

  “It is a ship, and we are on it,” Netuno said.

  “Is this ship haunted, too?” Giacomo asked.

  Murtagh scanned several pages of the captain’s log and found case after case of hauntings, possessions and suicides.

  “It’s more than haunted. It’s cursed. There are no fewer than nine (9) different captains named in this log. Their families or crews all ended up dead, after being haunted, then possessed by spirits,” Murtagh said.

  Murtagh then paged through the captain’s log more and said: “This entry is dated just two hundred nineteen (219) years ago, by a Captain Rudiger. He bought this ship with money from a dowry so as to st
art a business and provide a home for a large family. He took his wife on the maiden voyage. A year after the voyage, she gave birth to twins, and at thirteen (13) years of age, they became possessed by demons, and murdered seventy-eight (78) people by burning down a fishing village on Matrivilix Island, then they killed their mother, and ate her. Then, they killed each other.”

  “That’s disgusting!” Giacomo said.

  “There’s more,” Murtagh said.

  “This isn’t going to help us,” Dagr said.

  “Save it for later. I think we need to set our course,” Netuno said.

  “To where? How do we even find these so-called luminaries?” Quanda asked.

  “Wait! The ship is moving, I can feel it,” Dagr said.

  “We’re more than drifting. The ship is moving fast,” Giacomo said.

  Murtagh was lost in reading the captain’s log and said: “Listen to this entry, dated nine hundred thirty-five (935) years ago by Captain Naira. She was on the Road of Kovoxotu land bridge, with her crew, searching through the catacombs, looking for some of the stashes hidden during the most recent tribal trade wars. They found large deposits of onyx in the cave walls, but she didn’t have a crystal bender at the time – he died from a fright at sea by the ghosts that haunted the waters – so they couldn’t extract the onyx. However, they did found one (1) already cut piece of onyx, and it was cold to the touch, and shaped like a candle, so they thought it might be valuable. There was a ghost, or somebody hiding in the dark – that chased them out of the passages, and they dropped the onyx candle in the dark.”

  “The luminary! That’s it!” Netuno said.

  “Possibly. That is the best information we have received so far,” Dagr said.

  “We can go to the catacombs, but it will be challenging to find anything. It’s a maze of passages – designed to hide stolen wealth – so we’ll need to be careful,” Quanda said.

  “That’s what light is for,” Netuno said.

  Murtagh kept reading, saying: “Naira and her crew came up out of the catacombs and back to the surface and found that their ship was gone. Instead, she found this ship, deserted and anchored off the western coast of the land bridge. They had planned to come back with a crystal bender, but then her crew became irate and confused, and starting to doubt and suspect each other of coming out of the catacombs with hidden treasure. Fights broke out and some of the crew killed each other, and the others blamed her for taking them there. Naira started hearing voices that told her to jump overboard, so this was her only entry before she jumped.”

  “Let’s not spend too much time on this ship,” Giacomo said.

  “He sent us this ship, and we don’t have any alternative yet. So, just whose side is this ‘Prince of Stargazers’ on?” Dagr asked.

  “Which way is the ship heading?” Murtagh asked.

  Netuno drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial. He was energized with the powers of light and looked out the wheelhouse door, gazing out into the distance for hundreds of miles. “We appear to be headed east, toward the Road of Kovoxotu,” he said.

  “Lux will be waiting for us. If we don’t get back to him, soon, we’re dead,” Giacomo said.

  “If we go back without bringing him a fortune, the outcome won’t be much better, and we missed our chance to get most of the shipwreck treasure. With any luck, there might just be something good in the catacombs,” Murtagh said.

  “That’s not why we’re going,” Netuno said.

  “I know. But we have to earn a living, eventually,” Murtagh said.

  “In the darkness, we’ll all be dead, if the voice of that spirit was correct,” Dagr said.

  “Sailing on this ship for long might not be too good, either,” Giacomo said.

  “The catacombs may be difficult, but I think some light could help,” Netuno said.

  “A lot of light. And a lot of searching,” Quanda said.

  CHAPTER 13: Reports of Darkness in the City of Truth

  In the City of Emeth, Verifier Alyona stood beside Verifier Adele outside the Library of Tedorik, preparing to receive the latest reports from arriving Chroniclers.

  “While many have brought accounts of the darkness and its effects, none has yet brought an account of its cause,” Adele said.

  “The darkness hides its cause, much as a strong box hides the key locked within it. It will prove challenging, and we will need to analyze the reports carefully,” Alyona said.

  “We need to be looking for indications not just in a single report, but in the information that can be deduced by the sum total of all the reports. I realize that,” Adele said.

  ~~~

  On board an unnamed and newly completed ship, Captain Karel arrived in Emeth. On board were the Chronicler Gisella, the crystal bender Przemek, the ship builder Laurentius and ten (10) members of Captain Karel’s crew.

  When they arrived at the docks, Gisella approached the Library of Tedorik and presented her book to the Verifier Adele.

  “Trustworthy Chronicler Gisella, I shall now verify the contents of your book,” Adele said, and she began to page through it before walking away from Gisella. She hoped to find some mention of the cause of the darkness, but found reports of lawn sports at a bank governor’s mansion, and a description of a massacre in the forests of Javanda by the Pilgrims of the Burning Road. The look of horror on her face was seen by Verifier Alyona.

  “A most distressingly eventful book of chronicles, then?” Alyona asked.

  “Trustworthy Gisella, please wait here while I assess your book and assign a level of confidence to this report. I want to be sure that there is enough detail,” Adele said while walking toward the Library of Tedorik, wherein she would perform a closer analysis of the book.

  Gisella waited, surprised, as she was as complete in her account as possible.

  “I shall wait as you request, Verifier Adele. However, the travelers who brought me here are engaged in further studies which I intend to follow when you give me leave,” Gisella said.

  ~~~

  While still on board the unnamed ship, Captain Karel asked: “I heard what was said about the cracked sailing crystals with some high pitch sound. Is that why the Chronicler was here?”

  “Yes, but there’s more. In Tultavik, a group of religious fanatics had a singer among them, who chanted that sound and used it to drive people into the Javanda forests, and then they crippled their captives on a tower of blades. She and I both saw it,” Laurentius said.

  “Tower of blades? What is that? And now there’s another song that can bring ruin! Haven’t we had enough of that?” Captain Karel asked, remembering the accounts of the infamous Sail to Me song that had murdered millions by driving them into the storm.

  “It’s a sign that we live in a dangerous world,” Laurentius said.

  “If a song can crack sailing crystals, I need to learn how to cut better ones. Still, I’ve never heard of it happening before – not to high quality crystals,” Przemek said.

  “I don’t suppose I’d like to lose a ship to that fate, either. Get your learning done quickly, though, because I have to get back to my ship and the rest of my crew,” Captain Karel said.

  “I’ll tell you what, captain. Hold this ship as collateral against our return. Give us five (5) days. If we need more time, we’ll come back and tell you,” Laurentius said.

  “Since it’s your ship, and it was her idea to come here, I suppose I can trust you on that offer,” Captain Karel said.

  “We’ll be in the Eleventh Hall,” Przemek said.

  ~~~

  Przemek and Laurentius left the unnamed ship and made their way to the vast building known as the Eleventh Hall, where knowledge of architecture, crystals and stones was recorded. Przemek scanned the writings on the many walls, and studied the various models of crystal geometry throughout the building which went on for miles and miles. Together, they looked for examples of sailing crystal designs of various levels of reliability and efficiency and they w
ere occupied for days.

  ~~~

  Lady Onora departed the continent of Waderav after having spent time teaching the message of the One True God to the many people there who had come to believe in the power of the sunfire creature known as Prince Kirdothet. She had told them that the True Love of God cannot be matched or exceeded by anyone, because it creates life, and His Mercy extends to all. Some listened, others did not. When she saw that the message was on the move, and that there was little more she could do by staying, she booked transport to return to Emeth, although the darkness in the skies slowed navigation and the voyage took many additional days.

  ~~~

  Romana and Portia, accompanied by the Chronicler Alonso, returned to Emeth after their pursuit of the luminary, which had unfortunately been taken from them.

  Once there, Alonso submitted his book to the Verifier Alyona who was waiting outside of the Library of Tedorik.

  While waiting there, Alonso, Romana and Portia also saw the Chronicler Gisella.

  “Alonso, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Gisella said.

  “Likewise, and the only pleasure,” Alonso said.

  “Gisella, I am glad to have you back,” Portia said.

  Gisella recognized Portia but did not acknowledge her, because of some harsh words that had been said in the past with no good reason. Gisella was not angry or given to holding grudges; rather, there was nothing positive to be said about a conversation with Portia, so Gisella felt that it was best not to invite the negative by speaking with her.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry, for every offense, for every harsh word I have ever spoken to you,” Portia said to Gisella. Tears were welling up in Portia’s eyes.

  “Or to you, Alonso,” Portia then said.

  Gisella looked at Portia, not knowing what to say. Portia had been gruff over the years to many Chroniclers, although they rarely saw her, for she was young compared to either of them.

  “Things have changed within me. A great weight has been lifted,” Portia said.

  Alonso, however, knew exactly what Portia was referring to as he had heard her explanation on their voyage. He simply said: “I hold no anger, and I do not judge you. The Oath forbids it.” He then submitted his book to the Verifier named Alyona.