by J P Nelson
Twice the ice gave way in portions, losing a total of three men to an icy death. Once, in the distance they saw a three-masted vessel frozen into the ice. Long did they view the ship to discern whether life may be aboard, but no conclusion could be drawn. Wishing to be sure, Jha’Ley himself declared he would take Waddles and pole the way across, were there any volunteers?
To know Jann Raul Jha’Ley was to know a man of great charisma, a man who seemed to inspire others by his presence alone. Kravieu’s log has many times reflected, “Damned if that man could not draw a legion of volunteers to stand forth the demons of darkness, my own self to be included.”
The stern of Waddles is straight backed, not curved, and the bow shapes forward into what is called a modified V-bow. She is seven feet wide, twenty-three feet overall, and is fitted with special metal runners to allow her to scoot across ice surfaces with a mast and sail.
On each side of Waddles are places where out-rigger supports can be attached, and Jha’Ley had such engaged on both sides. A good wind was up, so the sail was erected. With a bit of prodding, Waddles began scooting across the ice in good fashion. Joining Jha’Ley was the Avalon Team, along with the addition of Kravieu.
The political officer was adamant, “I shan’t be left behind in this case. The identity of the vessel has yet to be revealed and a flag is not displayed. There may be important documents, or survivors, to which my attention must be rendered.”
Fhascully’s opinion could not be deterred, “I think it is your vice to avoid physical labor which has come into play.”
“I did not observe your exuberance to return hand to pike.”
“Pick, it is a pick. Are blisters upon your palms admissible to discussion?”
Seedle suggested, “Oh come now, Mister Fhascully, Mister Kravieu has offered to pole for us all, should the wind fail.”
“Excuse me? I did not say---”
Dessi held up a pole, innocently he asked, “Is this the one he requested, Mister Seedle?”
“Yeah, I think that it is.”
Looking to Caroll, who was steering the quickly moving craft with a dragging tiller, Kravieu showed expression of alarm. Caroll shrugged his shoulders and casually remarked, “I would not stand defiance your wish to render us favor.”
Glancing to Jha’Ley, Kravieu said, “Commodore …”
Without taking eye from his glass, Jha’Ley remarked, “I think it is a wonderful thing, for you to make such an offer.”
Giving an evil eye to the smug-faced Fhascully, Kravieu remarked, “I fear I have fallen in with the wrong lot.”
Waddles made good time in crossing the ice. Sail was dropped as they came up to the ship, but before coming along side it was clear it had been trapped in the ice a good while. What caught everyone’s attention, however, was the raking damage along the sides.
The wind made it easy to draw up on the port-side while giving a good view of the stern. The name of the ship, LMS Sin’Cho, was clear, but even more so was the huge portion of the castle on the starboard-side which was broken off.
Dessi mouthed the words, all were thinking, “Poseidon’s Beard ... what could do such damage? And the rudder has been torn off, as well. Commodore, what do you make of it?”
“I … do not know …” Jha’Ley put down his glass and became lost in thought. “It is not weather related. It is as if …”
Seedle finished the thought, “… as if it were bitten off, sir.”
Dessi spoke in a harsh whisper, “Shite of the R’Kul!”
As one, they all turned and looked at him. He was staring at the stern when he realized their attention.
Seedle gave his friend an uncomfortable reply, “We should hope nothing of the sort is here. Please, do not jinx us.”
Kravieu looked to Fhascully, “Surely, such a creature does not indeed exist?”
Dessi asked, “What could be so big to have a mouth that size?”
Fhascully was quiet, then looked again to the marks on the ship as they drew closer.
Seedle shook his head as if to loose himself from a memory, an old tale he had heard, perhaps, “A creature feared even by dragons, a mouth so big as to bite a jum-beast whole, arms and legs like an ape, wings made of shadows … can swim … yeah, just what we need.”
Caroll offered, “My people speak of such a one as Ba’Ahzib, yet he is a demon, not given to this world.”
Dessi asked, “What are your thoughts, Mister Fhascully? You are being quiet.”
They were now at the port-side of the ship and coming to a stop.
“My thoughts …” His words were chosen with care, spoken in a cautious manner for which he was not known, “… my thoughts are that the tender boats are still hanging by their davits, yet the rope ladder is hanging here for our ease of entry.”
Fhascully glanced at his mates, then to the ladder frozen in place and crusted with snow, to the scars all along the hull, and then back to the ladder.
Seedle commented with wry sarcasm, “Well now, that cannot be a good thing.” Dessi and Jha’Ley both looked to him as he added, “Fhascully evading a scientific question?”
Fhascully was in a weird space of mind; holding the end of the tie-line he asked Jha’Ley, “With your permission?”
At a nod from the commodore, Fhascully stepped across the out-rigging and to the ladder. Testing the rungs with care, he broke through the crust and scaled half the length upward, then stopped to examine a deep gouge in the hull.
The others watched quietly, with only Seedle making hushed comment, “I always take pleasure in watching a man do what he is good at.”
Kravieu passed glance at the speaker.
Seedle shrugged and added, still speaking softly, “Hey-yo! The man is good at thinking, and he is thinking hard this moment.”
Dessi, also speaking quietly, agreed, “Aye … he is indeed.
Caroll was inspecting the whole of the Sin’Cho’s port-side, then touching Seedle on the arm, pointed to the tender boat hanging from its davits, “See how tarpaulin is removed, and aft is lower than fore? It is not slippage of wench. Attempt was made to lower this craft, yet effort was not made in concert.”
Jha’Ley heard the comment, as hushed as it was, and glanced at the suspended boat. Soundlessly, his gaze returned to Fhascully, the man had found something and was working in the scar with his knife.
Patiently, he waited for the expert to make a determination, or at least express his thoughts. The commodore knew the naturalist’s habits; he would not speak until he felt he had something to say.
For what seemed an eternity, Fhascully worked tenaciously at the scar, constantly looking over his frosty glasses for a better view, then finally retrieved what he was trying for. The team saw him pull out what looked to be a triangular piece of ice. It took Fhascully only a moment to look down, and with a strange expression of fascination said, “I know what this is.” He glanced back to the ship’s gunwale as Seedle opened his hands in exasperated anticipation as Fhascully then quickly scaled the ladder and onto the main-deck.
Jha’Ley glanced around to the rest of the team with a look of annoyance, slung his pack to shoulder and said, “Follow me,” then stepped upon the ladder and began up the hull of the frozen vessel.
Chapter 20
THE SIN’CHO WAS not a large vessel. She was a merchant caravel of eighty feet with tall sides, double-deck stern-castle, and a focsle with a broad deck above. The sails were gone, not rotted or torn away, but completely gone, along with their lashings, and the main-deck spoke of post tragic habitation. I mean, some really bad things had happened, but someone had survived and lived on this vessel for at least a good stretch of time afterward.
As the others made the top, their first observations were the two gaping holes on the starboard-side. The gunwale was completely gone along midships and the deck had been shorn away as much as eight feet in one place; eight feet and five marks, to be exact, as Fhascully was already at work with his measuring cord, taking notes as he w
ent along.
Dessi was third up, right behind Jha’Ley, and upon sight of the deck he let out a low whistle, “Damn!” He surveyed the ruin and said, “It is as if the vessel has been scuttled, but only up to a point. The heavy equipment is all to remain, as if left in place after finish of battle.”
As Seedle came up next, Dessi was still thinking out loud, “Something is not right …”
Seedle stepped upon deck and looked, then stared at Dessi with incredulity at his remark, “You think?”
Sarcastically, Dessi retorted, “Well, beyond the obvious.” Then realization shown upon his face as Caroll reached the top, “Anything metal has been left …” puzzled, he added, “… and what is gone is by small cumbersome nature.”
Once all were topside, Jha’Ley gave out his orders, “Mister Fhascully and I will examine the main; sergeant, if you would see to the stern-castle and find the captain’s cabin? It would be well to acquire any relevant documents and manifests, perhaps learn what goods and, or passengers were destined for where … Mister Kravieu, you know the drill.
“And if you gentlemen would check below, but take extra care, we do not know what may be aboard, species or otherwise.”
Fhascully was standing next to the hole closest to the stern. In his hands he was fidgeting with what must be the ice he pried from the hull. As Dessi started to the stern with Kravieu, the naturalist gestured to him with the article and suddenly began to speak as if casually continuing a conversation, “This is a tooth. See here?” He was tracing the outline with his finger, “This tooth is close to nine marks in length, and it is serrated. This,” he held up a piece of dark mass, “is seaweed.”
He surveyed deck and ice surrounding the ship, “What happened, happened away from this location.” Holding up the seaweed he added, “This doesn’t grow here.”
Seedle stared with a dead-pan expression, “You do not say?”
“No, you do not understand.” He walked up to Seedle with the plant matter as if displaying an exhibit, “This is a plancotos---, it is a type of seaweed which grows abundantly between four and twenty-two fathoms, but always in direct proximity of mountainous islands with rocky coastlines. As we can see, there are no mountainous coastlines within view.
“If we evaluate the scene, I believe it is a certainty the assault upon this vessel took place far from here.” He looked to Jha’Ley, “According to the reports, this area will continue to thaw up to a point, and be fundamentally passable for up to two months. When the specimen concluded its business---”
“Specimen,” Seedle interrupted, “concluded its business? You speak as if perhaps a school of minnows had a simple lunch. An incident of horror took place here, Mister Fhascully.”
Fhascully took a step back and held up his hands, “I do not mean to depreciate what took place, only---”
“You said specimen,” this time it was Dessi, “do you infer one creature did this?”
“Yes, I do. The damage is all consistent with one set of jaws, the same tooth patterns, and the teeth are very sharp. A positive point to this, if the specimen is about we will most likely have only one such to contend with.”
Seedle asked, “One … only one?” He rolled his eyes.
“It probably assumed the Sin’Cho was a whale.”
Dessi muttered, “A shiking R’Kul.”
Fhascully gently shook his head, “No, not R’Kul. Such is noted for attacking with upper appendages as a primary avenue, biting is secondary. Everything we have seen, thus far, is bite damage, from a specimen with enormous of jaws set with unequaled crush power, lined with razor sharp teeth.”
Walking to the port gunwale, Fhascully carefully held the tooth and easily shaved off a piece of the frozen wood. He looked at Dessi as if expecting him to understand. Then he inhaled deeply, held it a moment, and then exhaled. Striding to the other side of the deck, he offered one end of his measuring cord to his mate, “Now take your end to that point over there, no, that point. Yes.”
Kneeling, Fhascully put his end on his side of the hole as Dessi did likewise. He stared in wonder and fascination at the mark on his cord as Dessi asked, “And?”
Everyone was watching and listening as Fhascully remarked, “Nine feet and two marks.”
Seedle exclaimed, “Shiking damn!”
Speaking as if giving a lecture, Fhascully’s eyes kept ranging over the damage, “The last known reference of a supposed factual sighting of the R’Kul was over eight hundred years ago, east of Fn’Jaht. Though there are those who like to speculate, most sighting reports since have been proven to be masses of seaweed, a few giant squid, whales, and once a large walrus. Most credible sources believe if it indeed existed, the R’Kul is lost to the V’Pohra Tanzhi.”
Dessi asked, “What do you believe, Mister Fhascully?”
Pursing his mouth a bit and still holding the measuring cord, Fhascully stood up and began winding the cord around his hand as he thought carefully, “I am a scientist, I am open to anything. But as I have said, this is not the work of a R’Kul.”
He had their attention, “It is the work of a shark, a very, big, shark.”
Seedle whistled and looked around again, as if for the first time.
Jha’Ley commented, “If I remember correctly, sharks and rays are your specialty.”
“Not my specialty, per say, but definitely a point of specific interest.” Smiling, he added, “Do not forget dolphins.”
Dessi was even more interested, “I am not sure which is worse, R’Kul, or a shark big enough to do this.”
Seedle commented, “But I did not think a shark would be found in such frigid waters.”
“This one did, or has. We know very little about any creature beneath the sea. The warm current may be more prevalent than is obvious, and it may run deep. But my guess is, it could possibly be exploring.” He waved his hands about the deck, “This must be a year old. If it is following the current, and if the current continues north as we suspect, it could be far from here.”
Jha’Ley asked, “How big would you guess this specimen to be?”
Fhascully paused and looked at the tooth in his hand, then around to the damage. He knew what the commodore, shikes, the whole party must be thinking, ‘we may have to deal with this creature.’
He took a deep breath and held it, exhaling as he voiced the words, “If it is not sixty-five feet long, I would be surprised …”
Seedle widened his eyes, “Damn me!”
Even Caroll showed a touch of surprise.
“… I believe … I believe seventy feet would be more in order, even a bit more. It is my opinion we are dealing with a megladon. ”
Jha’Ley closed his eyes and shook his head. He was remembering the scorpion ray, so long ago. He thought that creature was big.
Dessi rubbed his eyes with the middle finger and thumb, then pmarkd together at the nose as if in prayer, or suffering a severe headache. It could be either under the circumstances. He said, “I will not even ask how you came up with that calculation.” Glancing to his task partner, he asked, “Mister Kravieu, are you ready? We have much to do before you get your leg bitten off as an appetizer.”
Kravieu was surprisingly stoic, “It is well. Should need arise, I am blessed with a third leg to walk upon.”
Startled, Dessi asked as Seedle turned sharply to hear the exchange, “What? What did you just say?”
With his hands up, Kravieu bowed his head with a suppressed chuckle, “Sorry, bad joke.”
Shaking his head and suppressing a grin, Seedle slapped the man’s shoulder and exclaimed, “Mister Kravieu … I thought I was bad.” Then he and Caroll headed for the companionway and descended to the second deck.
___________________________
Jha’Ley and Fhascully came to an agreement the naturalist’s original assessment, that the attack upon the Sin’Cho must have taken place within the last year, was likely. But what happened to the crew? Not dropping the secondary boats only made sense, what with a giant
eating machine just barely less long as the ship itself nearby.
Like the sails, all rigging lines were gone. At top of the focsel, center of the small deck was the remains of an ancient fire. It looked to have been a large one, and if Jha’Ley’s guess was good, it had been fed to burn continuously many times. Most of the main-deck was clear, except for the punt, which was askew and upside down.
Jha’Ley asked, “Mister Fhascully, would these be some sort of tooth marks along the underside?”
After kneeling into careful study and chipping into the frozen surface, he replied, “No sir,” he was the one now puzzled, “they are,” he looked up to Jha’Ley from over his glasses, “they appear to be hatchet marks.”
More than once Fhascully remarked, “It is remarkable the ship was not pulled down and under.” Jha’Ley passed him a glance from under the brow. “But really, think of it, sir. This vessel is barely eighty feet from taffrail to billet head, the mass of a seventy-foot shark would easily possess sufficient strength to pull …” both men looked to the stern-castle as Kravieu and Dessi emerged.
Kravieu was perplexed, “Commodore, we found some varied articles, but no ledger, log, manifest, clothing, or hammock.”
Dessi added, “There was a horn,” he looked to his mate, “what is called a French Horn, I think, some mugs, two very nice swords, a chest which rattles as if full of coin …”
Jha’Ley’s eyes narrowed, then he raised an eyebrow in deep thought, “But no bodies?”
Both men said in unison, “No, sir.”
With yet another slow, sweeping study of the main-deck, Jha’Ley asked, “You found nothing which could take flame and burn, did you?”
Kravieu’s own face reflected contemplation of the idea. Fhascully and Dessi glanced at each other, then the latter replied, “No sir, we did not; only metal, a few wine glasses and other wares. There were even some silver fixtures.”
It was then Seedle appeared at head of the companionway and called out in earnest, “Commodore, you need to see this. Stat sir, if you please.”