The Yarnsworld Collection: A fantasy boxset

by Benedict Patrick

  What scared Kaimana more, however, was what to do next. Part of her had expected her spark to return as soon as she had decided to travel with Rakau, but in the days that they had spent travelling together, there was still no sign of it.

  It’s the stress, Kaimana thought. Everyone knows the worst thing for sparking Knacks is stress, even the more mundane Knacks that spark more often. I’m all alone out here, I’ve nobody to speak to, and I know somewhere out there the war god is hunting us down. There’s no chance the sparking will start again while things are like this. I don’t even know where we’re going to. I’m just trusting Rakau does, and that he’s bringing me somewhere safe.

  Rakau did not seem to breathe, or if he did need to, he held his breath for hours at a time. After leaving Nakoa’s island, Kaimana paddled straight south for at least a day. She was unsure whether or not great alarm would be raised by her disappearance, but she was certain that Nakoa and his warriors would by now be hunting Rakau. Hopefully they did not know which direction the two of them had travelled in, but going by the efficient reputation of how those warriors operated it would only be a short amount of time before their trail was found. The Crescent Atoll was large, but not large enough for a giant monster and a young woman travelling by herself to go unnoticed.

  Only once on that first day did Kaimana spot any sign of life. On the horizon, two black dots signified two canoes. Upon spotting them, Kaimana became aware of the fact that the black shadow was no longer underneath her canoe. As soon as she realised Rakau was gone she stood up and yelled for him.

  “Rakau, come back. Come back here, now. You promised me no more killing.”

  After a short while, the black shadow returned. Mournful green eyes looked at her from below, but she could not tell if he was upset she had stopped him from taking any more interest in the distant canoes, or whether he was upset she did not trust him.

  The canoes appeared to follow them for a bit, probably curious themselves about Kaimana’s small boat travelling all alone. However, before evening came, they disappeared, telling Kaimana that the canoe owners had better things to do.

  That night they found an uninhabited island to sleep on. Kaimana lit a small fire and cooked some mahi-mahi that Rakau caught for them both. She curled up under his belly and fell into a deep sleep, more comfortable and content than she had been for a very long time.

  “We can’t just keep running,” Kaimana told Rakau in the morning, as she dug up the roots she had left to roast under the campfire during the night. Her arms ached mightily from the rowing of the previous day. “They’ll find us unless we get somewhere safe. Are we just running away from them, or do you know where we’re going?”

  Kaimana glanced at the monster for some kind of interaction, but he showed no response, other than his constant eye contact telling her he was still listening.

  “Where are you leading me?”

  Rakau immediately rose and shook his head. Kaimana stared as he made his way into the water and submerged. Realising this was her companion’s way of telling her that breakfast was over, Kaimana finished gathering her food from the makeshift oven and paddled out to her canoe.

  The taniwha was already moving, but Kaimana stopped paddling immediately when she realised where he was headed.

  “No,” she said.

  The black shadow continued to move, closer to the Inner Sea, and to the dark volcano that it held at its centre. However, when Rakau noticed he was no longer being followed, he turned back.

  His head peeked out from below the surface, raising above the water to give Kaimana an inquisitive look.

  Kaimana shook her head again. “No, not her.” Kaimana shuddered, daring to contemplate presenting herself before the goddess Leinani. “She doesn’t care for mortals and our concerns. I wouldn’t survive the trip to see her, let alone actually finding her.”

  Rakau’s face gave the impression that he did not agree, but instead of debating, he sniffed at the air. Kaimana watched intently as he circled the canoe, sniffing the sea breeze.

  Eventually, the taniwha gave a growl and dived back underwater. Travelling again, Kaimana was thankful to find he was now heading south, along the Atoll ring and no closer to the Inner Sea. She picked up her paddle and followed.

  After a few hours of travel, and the passing of a number of islands that did not seem of particular interest, Kaimana realised that Rakau was headed directly for a small island that had appeared on the horizon.

  From a distance, the landmass did not appear to be noteworthy, not being particularly hilly or mountainous. In fact, it was raised just high enough out of the water for the sandy beaches to turn green and brown with plant life and soil, but otherwise there were no features that Kaimana could spot on it, except for a dense coconut grove close to the western shore.

  Two things that Kaimana saw made her heart beat faster. First, a hut was on the northern side of the island, the side that she and Rakau were now closest to. It was a small building, but a thin plume of smoke coming from it told Kaimana it was occupied. The second thing that caused her heart to quicken was the sight of Rakau pulling himself up onto the beach beside the hut. He had swam ahead of her without her noticing.

  Kaimana panicked. She did not know why the taniwha had led them here, but she knew she could not risk him making contact with any more islanders. The best result would be that the islanders would run and hide, and then later inform Nakoa’s warriors when they inevitably came across this island on their taniwha hunt. However, Kaimana’s greater fear was that the islanders might do something stupid like attack Rakau, causing him to forget his promise.

  She paddled with all of her might, pitching forward in the canoe when it ran aground on the beach close to the hut. By this time, Rakau could no longer be seen. Kaimana knew she still had time to catch him because of the lack of screams, so she jumped out of the boat, not taking the time to pull it out of the tide, and ran.

  “Rakau! Come back!” She knew shouting would attract the attention of anyone else close by, but she would rather they focussed on her than on the monstrous moving log that was about to invade their home.

  Kaimana rounded the hut and stopped in her tracks at the sight before her.

  Rakau was there, sniffing the air inquisitively. Right in front of Rakau’s nose was a small man.

  The man was not particularly unusual looking. He was smaller than average, although compensated for this by the roundness of his belly. He wore a simple piupiu, a grass kilt, but nothing else, allowing the perfect sphere of his gut to hang over his waistband. He was bald and was carrying some kind of digging tool. What was most unusual about him was the complete absence of fear on his face at the sight of Rakau. In fact, the main emotion that Kaimana got from this little man’s body language was that of annoyance.

  “Now, I’ve told your kind before, you’re not welcome here. So stop sniffing me and scram.”

  Yes, definitely annoyance.

  The man sighted Kaimana and gave a deep sigh. “Oh great, now you’ve done it.” He stepped over to Kaimana, rolling his eyes, raising his hands high. “Okay, girl. Let’s ignore the fact that you’re trespassing for a moment. What I want you to do is to pay no attention to the terrifying monster standing right here, back away slowly, and please don’t scream. I’ve got a splitting headache from last night and really am not in the mood for loud noises.”

  Kaimana’s forehead creased. Why isn’t he scared of Rakau?

  The man rolled his eyes again and took another step towards Kaimana. This time he spoke very slowly, clearly thinking that Kaimana was an idiot. “I am going to be fine. This monster is not going to hurt me. Run away and get out of my face.”

  Kaimana’s confusion turned to annoyance. “Rakau,” she said.

  The taniwha looked over to her immediately. Kaimana smiled at the power she felt with that small movement. She was in control.

  “Why’ve you brought me to see this rude little man?” she asked.

  Rakau gave what K
aimana could have sworn was a chuckle and padded over to her. The taniwha stood just behind Kaimana, and she lifted a hand to lay it on the monster’s muzzle.

  “Now,” she addressed the little man, satisfied to see him looking at her in shock. “Tell me again to get out of your face.”

  The man looked at them both with his mouth wide open, then threw his hands into the air. “All right, I give up. Come inside, I’ll sort out lunch, and you can explain this bloody situation to me.”

  He walked up the steps to his hut and then turned round and shouted, “No!” He indicated towards Rakau with a finger. “The last time I had a taniwha in here, I had to rebuild my hut from the ground up on the opposite side of my island. New plan. You two wait here, I’ll bring food out.”

  Kaimana laughed as the small man spun on his heels and disappeared into his hut.

  Rakau sat down on the earth, and Kaimana joined him.

  “You know this man?” Kaimana questioned.

  Rakau just grunted in response.

  The small man brought back some plates with simple fare on them. Roasted yams, with some tuna to accompany. These were just for Kaimana and himself. For Rakau he had brought a sizable reef shark, uncooked, and Kaimana had the good sense to not ask where it had come from.

  The little man fretted and groaned as he moved his belongings, but eventually settled down to eat in front of Kaimana.

  “Now,” he grunted, with a mouthful of yam, “since you’ve already upset my day, do you mind telling me why you don’t have the good sense to be running a mile from that thing?”

  Kaimana hesitated. Given that they were being pursued, she knew secrecy was important, but she could not help but feel her host would know straight away if she was lying. Also, he appeared to be able to tolerate monsters more than most, so perhaps he could be trusted…

  Kaimana took a good amount of time explaining her entire tale, including her current quest - to find somewhere safe to hide from Nakoa.

  At the end of the account, the little man turned his gaze towards Rakau. He spat the remainder of his food out, showing the taniwha he was unimpressed. “So she wants to be safe. And you took her to see me. Shouldn’t your kind know better than that?” He picked up another yam from his plate and bit into it. The look on his face suggested the root had gone bad, but Kaimana suspected it was more due to his dislike of the current situation.

  “Why would Rakau take me to you?” she asked.

  The little man stood up and took a bow in front of her. “Guess I have to introduce myself, then. My name is Yam. The god of yams.”

  Kaimana was still for a moment. A god. This ugly man? Like many on the Atoll, Kaimana expected to be overcome with awe upon meeting a god for the first time. There was very little to inspire awe about the man in front of her.

  “Really?” That was all she could manage.

  Deflated, rolling his eyes yet again, Yam sat down to the earth with a thump. “Yeah, I didn’t see that reaction coming. I’ve never been treated like that before,” he said, sarcastically. “You know, you’d think that just once you mortals would be impressed with the fact that you in are presence of a god. The fact that I’m the god of yams shouldn’t be influencing your mood here. Hello? God, right in front of you, serving your dinner. You’re welcome, by the way.”

  Realising her reaction might be taken as an insult, Kaimana did her best to backtrack. “No, I mean, yes, it’s very impressive. Well done.”

  Yam looked at her, unimpressed. “Well done at being a god? Or for the dinner?”

  “Both?” Kaimana suggested, realising that neither was going to be a good answer. “I’m sorry, I’m really bad at this.” She sat down and put her head in her hands, but could not help the grin that wanted to spread over her face.

  “And now I’m funny. Fantastic. Excuse me while I take another drink.” And with that Yam took a swig from the earthen jug he had with him.

  Probably some kind of fermented yam beer, Kaimana reasoned.

  “No, you’re not funny,” she said. “Not at all. I’m not laughing at you, I’m… But, a god? A real, actual god?”

  Yam raised his bottle to her. “Sorry to be such a disappointment,” and took another swig.

  Kaimana shook her head. “No, don’t you see? This is amazing! A few weeks ago I thought I knew where my life was heading - a future filled with travelling and performances. But now, I’ve made friends with a taniwha, and now I’m eating with a god? Amazing!” She was genuine in her excitement.

  This appeared to puzzle Yam. He glanced at Rakau. “Is she for real?”

  The taniwha grunted one of his chuckles in reply.

  “You think you’re friends with a taniwha?” Yam said, moving his bottle between Kaimana and Rakau. “Girl, he doesn’t even know what that word means, ‘friend’.”

  Kaimana forgot her excitement for a moment and rushed to defend the taniwha. “Of course he does. Well, I mean, I think so. We’ve only started travelling together, and we’ve not called it that before…”

  Kaimana felt a soft push from behind her, and turned to look into Rakau’s eyes.

  Of course we are, they seemed to say.

  She smiled back and laid her hand on his nose, softly.

  Yam let out a breath of air as he took all of this in. “Touching. You’re making me emotional,” he said, his face indicating otherwise.

  Kaimana pursed her lips. God or no, he was starting to get on her nerves.

  “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say this, but that is new to me. Human girl and taniwha, best friends on the run. Exciting stuff.” He took another drink. “So, dare I ask: why d’you need a god?”

  Kaimana picked up her plate. “Rakau is being hunted by the war god, Nakoa. I guess he thought you might be able to help.”

  Yam nodded as she explained, continuing to eat and drink. He watched her expectantly after the short explanation, until he realised she was now finished. His mouth dropped open, and his face turned red. “Wait, what? Lady, I’ve got bad news for you. You’ve found a god, but not the god you’re looking for. Want to improve your harvest or find the best place to try out some new crops? I’m your guy. Anything other than that? Someone else’s problem. Sorry.”

  Kaimana was instantly deflated. “Oh. Well, can you make any suggestions, then? You’re all related, right? The gods? Can you think of any brothers or sisters who would know the answer to our problem? Where can Rakau go to be safe?”

  “Well, that’s easy. Stop messing around with the small fry and head straight for the big players.” Yam indicated to the west with his bottle. Kaimana followed his hand, but the gnawing doubt in her stomach told him exactly who he was talking about. “Leinani there knows everything about every island on the Atoll. She made them, after all. If she’s still doing her job properly, she’ll know where you can hide from our brother.”

  Kaimana was despondent. Why does everyone keep pushing me where I don’t want to go? Don’t they understand that people don’t sail on the Inner Sea? “Leinani? But, I was hoping for… Isn’t there anyone else a bit less dangerous?”

  “Less dangerous? Like me, you mean?” Yam’s eyebrows furrowed in anger. “So, instead of some dangerous fire and brimstone goddess, you’d rather have a safe and cuddly god of yams? Maybe you could try the god of potatoes next. Or maybe the god of snails. Heck, I don’t even know if there is a god of snails, but they exist so there’s probably someone out there somewhere taking responsibility for them.”

  Rakau chuckled behind her, but Kaimana was starting to lose her patience with this small god with a chip on his shoulder.

  Yam continued, either unaware or uncaring of his guest’s rising emotions. “No girl, you aren’t after a useless little god like me. A question like yours, a quest like yours, it’s a big one. Don’t you realise this is a real story you’re caught up in? I thought that would’ve been clear to someone in your line of work. A girl and a taniwha travelling the Atoll together - this isn’t something that’s go
ing to go away, this is not something people are going to forget about and dust under the rug at the end of the day. You can’t just chat to a little farming god and sort the whole problem out quietly. You need one of the big guys, and you need them quick. Because the other side already has their players, and you’re badly outnumbered, even with that taniwha.

  “Go and see my sister. She’ll sort you out.”

  Kaimana looked at the volcano again, darkness clouding her mind. “It’s safe?”

  Yam laughed. “No, of course not. Have you ever heard a good story that’s safe? What’d be the point?”

  Her gaze steeled. “Come with us, then. Introduce me to your sister, tell her not to hurt me.”

  Yam looked around himself wildly, expecting somebody else to jump out on him. After a second, he looked back at Kaimana and barked a laugh. “Me? Help you meet my sister?” Yam stood up and walked over to Kaimana and Rakau. “No,” he said, and his cold face told her he meant it. Then the god of yams turned and walked away. “Night’s coming. You can both sleep out here, but I want you gone in the morning.”

  Kaimana pursed her lips in anger. This was her first ever meeting with a god, not counting being threatened by Nakoa, and it had neither gone well nor lived up to any of her expectations. The rest of the troupe had spoken of their time with Laka with such reverence. Kaimana could not see how Yam could ever inspire those emotions.

  She turned her head to Leinani’s volcano in the distance. “Looks like we have no choice,” she whispered to Rakau.

  He gave a small whine in response.

  Kaimana curled up beside Rakau’s belly, running her hand over his hide as she sat there, smiling at the low contented rumble her friend made in response.

  My friend. I must be crazy, thinking of this taniwha as a friend. Still, when I said it to Yam, it felt right.