Luminaries & Lies

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “Of course. He’ll bring us back. Don’t worry about that. These old captains are a lot of talk and ghost stories. They want to scare you, just to feel superior. Most of them have low self-esteem, because of the nearly destitute lives they lead. Being captain of an old ship like this is no reason to be proud, and the world reminds them of it with low pay. There are high quality vessels – of which this is not one – that command respect in the industry, along with better rates. The captain himself is a broken man. Don’t trouble yourself with his mannerisms,” Cassius said.

  Liora was taken aback at the description – she had watched Cassius outright murder people and it frightened her; yet, when he brutally demeaned a man, she found it disturbing. She couldn’t understand what it was that was going on with her emotionally, but it just bothered her more than she would have expected.

  “Does he know something we don’t? He’s sailed these waters a while, I would think,” Liora asked.

  “He knows if the ship is in port or at sea, and he knows east from west, but that’s about all you’ll learn from him. The rest is just the ramblings of an old man of low intellect. If he can even count the coins I gave him, I’d be surprised,” Cassius said.

  “You did pay him the agreed upon amount? You didn’t short him, did you?” Liora asked. She was feeling pity for the old man. He might not be smart, but that didn’t give Cassius the right to cheat the man.

  “Of course I paid him the full amount, and then some,” Cassius said. He had, in fact, overpaid, given the short trip they were taking.

  Liora looked at him intently and Cassius looked back.

  Cassius then asked: “You’re not feeling pity for a broken old man, are you?”

  “Even an old man has a little dignity. It doesn’t hurt us to show some kindness. It goes a long way, and you never know when you might need some kindness in return,” Liora said. She realized she was dealing with a murderer, but Cassius’ description of the old man actually made her sad.

  “So true, dear girl. A kind heart you have,” Cassius said, in a gentle tone.

  Then, his tone turned severe and he said: “Just watch that it doesn’t get ripped out by someone who plays on your pity.”

  Liora said nothing for a while, actually hurt that Cassius was speaking against her compassionate nature.

  They traveled for half (1/2) a day and then the ship came to a full stop.

  “I guess it’s time for us to see what’s on this Nalhayadin Island that you’re so convinced is a good opportunity for us,” Liora said.

  “No. We won’t know until we arrive,” Cassius said.

  “Is there some other stop along the way? Why did we stop now?” Liora asked.

  “Not a stop that he told us about,” Cassius said. He then stood up in the cabin and opened the door to look out. When he couldn’t immediately see the cause of the problem, he left the cabin and walked a brief distance out onto the deck. Then, he saw why the ship had stopped.

  Another ship was next to them and the pitiful old captain of this ship was hanging over the deck railing with a harpoon sticking out of his back.

  Cassius was now frightened and turned around and he saw a ghost standing before him – a thin ghost in the image of a man dressed as a pirate.

  “It seems you need a new captain, unless this is your destination, in the middle of the ocean,” the ghost said, laughing, holding out his arms in a gesture referring to the open ocean around them.

  Cassius was actually relieved that it was a ghost, however. He pulled out the blue stone on the chain and wore it openly. It now glowed blue – brighter than before – and the ghost stepped backward.

  “Who are you?” the ghost pirate asked, with a look of trepidation in his ghostly eyes.

  “That’s no concern of yours. Who are you? That is what I want to know?” Cassius asked, sternly, while approaching the ghost pirate.

  The ghost pirate then left the ship and went to his own vessel and began sailing away.

  Cassius went back to the cabin where Liora was and said to her: “Our captain is dead. Shed you tears for him later, dear girl. We need someone at the ship’s wheel, so you had better wake up the first mate. Use a little charm if you must.”

  It was too much for Liora to absorb all at once. She ran out of the cabin and saw the captain with the harpoon in his back and another ship sailing away.

  A young man – he was young relative to the captain, and probably about thirty-five (35) years old – had come out of his own cabin.

  “Are you the first mate, young man?” Cassius asked.

  The young man said: “Yes.” Then, he walked over to the dead captain and looked out at the other ship as it was sailing away.

  The first mate then bowed his head and pushed the dead captain overboard, saying: “May your soul find peace in these waters, unlike so many others,” as he did this.

  “Do you know who that spirit was?” Cassius asked.

  “Yes. We need to get out of here,” the first mate said.

  “No. We need to follow him, to wherever he goes,” Cassius said.

  “Are you out of your mind? That’s the ghost of Captain Tychon! We can’t face him – he kills for the fun of it. He’s insane! And he’s a ghost – we can’t hit him back!” the first mate said.

  “He boarded this ship, and we met face to face. He left because of me. Or you’d already have a harpoon in your back – or worse,” Cassius said.

  “What did you do? What did you say?” the first mate asked.

  “I did what you can’t do – I hit him back,” Cassius said, smiling arrogantly.

  “You want me to pursue him? Why?” the first mate asked.

  “He kills and leaves ships behind – ships that may have valuable cargo – and we can take it, for profit. Don’t worry – the crew is already dead, so you aren’t really stealing. It would be a shame to let the contents go to waste,” Cassius said.

  “This could get us killed!” the first mate said.

  “Look at me! I’m an old man, and I faced him and sent him away. There’s nothing to fear – not from him,” Cassius said.

  The first mate considered this – he wanted to tell this old man that he had a lot more ahead of him to lose, given his young age. He didn’t have a wife or children to support, but he had hoped to, eventually.

  “We’re safe now. Let’s get out of here. We paid to go to Nalhayadin Island. Can we just go there, and not look for a battle?” Liora asked.

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll take you there, and I’ll even wait. And we’ll all go back together. Picking a fight with the ghost of Captain Tychon is not a good idea, no matter what tricks you have. If you’ve got a way to get rid of him, use it when we need it, if she shows up again, but we can’t go looking for him, or waiting around for him to return. This is no battleship. And I’m no Admiral Ramalaxis,” the first mate said.

  “Clearly not, young man!” Cassius said, laughing.

  “What’s your name?” Liora asked the first mate. He was handsome enough and witty enough and she was lonely enough.

  “Ryan,” the first mate answered.

  “First mate Ryan – or is it Captain Ryan – please take us to the Nalhayadin Island as we have already paid more than enough,” Cassius then said.

  Liora just watched Ryan, and found herself a bit enamored of him. He was older than her and had a confident way about him, but not the arrogance of a daring man out to prove his strength.

  Ryan drank the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He concentrated to hear the sounds of the stars. Some of what he heard was that strange noise again – and it was a bit louder, this time. He opened up some maps that were on a table on the deck of the ship and started charting out a course by looking through a sextant. He kept making changes, adjusting and readjusting for the noise he heard from the stars, and Cassius and Liora both watched him.

  CHAPTER 32: Discovery of the Island of Crossings

  “Is something the matter, Capta
in Ryan?” Cassius asked, curious.

  “As a matter of fact, there is. It’s a little noisier up there than usual. I haven’t seen this before,” Ryan said.

  “What do you mean noisy? The suns emit a form of energy that can be detected by those who drink the Atrejan waters. Some call it a sound. Noise, however, means chaos, and a lack of clarity,” Cassius said.

  “That’s not a bad way to describe it. It’s just not all that clear. Like the stars aren’t shining as brightly but they’re still making a noise, and it’s hard to follow. I’m trying to do it just visually. That seems to work, but it requires a lot of course corrections as I go,” Ryan said.

  “Is your water impure? Perhaps Liora here can be of assistance,” Cassius asked.

  “I drink Kazofen waters. I can separate the water crystals from the salt crystals that dilute them,” Liora said.

  “Sure. Try that,” Ryan said, hoping for an improvement.

  Liora drank anew of the Kazofen Ocean waters in her vial and was energized. “May I?” she then asked, pointing to one of the vials that Ryan was carrying on the inside of his open coat.

  “Sure. Whatever works,” Ryan said.

  Liora reached in for the vial and made sure to rub the back of her hand across the shirt on his chest to feel the warmth and the musculature. It was a clear flirt, and she wanted him to notice, which he did.

  She then took the vial of Atrejan Ocean waters and poured its contents into a spare empty vial which she kept with a small limestone crystal in it. She exerted her powers by touching the Atrejan Ocean waters as they went by, so as to orient the crystals of water and salt away from each other. She then stirred the contents of the vial with the limestone crystal inside of it. After that, she poured the waters back into the first vial.

  “Try this,” she said, putting her left hand on his shoulder and holding the vial of purified Atrejan Ocean waters to him with her right hand.

  Ryan took the vial and drank from it and was further energized. He then concentrated and got a clearer sound. The noise was still there, but his ability to focus on the meaningful signals of the stars was improved. He started mapping out the way with much more certainty and set his course for Nalhayadin Island. “Nice work,” he said, smiling at Liora.

  Liora wanted to impress him in any way she could, and she had more ideas planned, once this voyage came to an end.

  After another half (1/2) day of travel, they arrived at an island, but Ryan was surprised and the look on his face gave it away. “This is where the stars guided me, but it’s not Nalhayadin Island,” he said.

  “It most certainly is not, young man. Check your bearings again,” Cassius said.

  Ryan went back to the maps and tried to calculate the course from the beginning, but that took time. “This is going to take a while. I need to make several calculations,” Ryan said.

  “Please do. This is highly irregular,” Cassius said.

  “It’s not his fault. Maybe the water wasn’t pure enough. Blame me,” Liora said.

  “Dear Liora, you know that I would spare you no criticism if I thought that the error was yours. However, neither of you is to blame for this. Something else is wrong, and I intend to find out what,” Cassius said.

  After an hour, Ryan finished his calculations and said: “I didn’t calculate wrong. There was too much noise – the signals of the stars didn’t come through clearly.”

  “What that noise is, and how to compensate for it, we need to know for our return trip. First, however, we need to know where we are,” Cassius said.

  “What do the calculations tell you?” Liora asked, looking to Ryan for reassurance.

  “We’re in the middle of the Zovvin Ocean, at the coast of an uncharted island,” Ryan said.

  “Uncharted territory is an opportunity. There’s no sense in sailing away from it,” Cassius said.

  “I suppose not,” Ryan said, and he lowered the boarding ramp.

  Cassius was the first to go down, concerned only with the discovery of wealth.

  Ryan took Liora by the arm and escorted her gently down the ramp, and she kept as close as she could.

  As they stepped onto the shores of the island, each of them could see its magnificent waterfalls – dozens upon dozens of them.

  Cassius walked closer and said: “Something else is wrong.”

  “Now what is it? What’s wrong?” Liora asked, nervously. Only, she wasn’t looking to Cassius for the answer. She turned her eyes to Ryan, and planned never to turn them away.

  “The water isn’t falling. Not like it should,” Cassius said, having gone ahead of them, and not even looking back.

  Ryan stepped up the pace, gently, so that Liora had no trouble keeping up with him. He looked closely at the waterfalls and saw that the water was falling unbelievably slowly.

  “Liora, look,” Ryan said, pointing.

  “The water is falling….falling slowly,” Liora said, surprised.

  “Yes. Let’s walk closer,” Ryan said. He and Liora approached the waterfalls.

  Cassius was closer already, but holding his hand out.

  “It’s falling slower still,” Liora said.

  “Do not take another step forward,” Cassius said.

  “What’s happening?” Liora asked.

  “Time is slow here. The waterfalls are trapped in a time dilation. It’s like what the Ursegan Ocean drinkers go through. It’s how the Chroniclers live so long, and see fast moving things proceed slowly. Only here, it’s affecting everything around,” Cassius said.

  “The closer we get, the slower everything’s going to be,” Ryan said, beginning to understand.

  “Correct. Get too close, and time will slow to a stop. Where I am, the water appears to be barely moving at all,” Cassius said.

  “How would that happen? And why is it so cold here?” Liora asked.

  “Turn around. Take ten (10) steps away from here. Then, we’ll discuss it,” Cassius said.

  Ryan and Liora turned around and saw what they didn’t want to see: a ghost. And it was the ghost of what they didn’t want to see: a pirate. And it was the ghost of the pirate they didn’t want to see: Captain Tychon.

  “Am I interrupting something?” the ghost of Captain Tychon asked, looking at Ryan and Liora, arm in arm, walking away from the waterfall. He could see that the girl was now practically crawling into the man’s coat, both terrified of him and hungry for the affections of the young man by her side.

  The ghost of Captain Tychon was filled with the same cruelty as ever and began calculating an awful end.

  Cassius turned around and saw the ghost of Captain Tychon, as well. He approached the ghost quickly, holding the glowing blue crystal close to his chest for protection. “You decided to join us, Captain Tychon,” Cassius said, as he marched directly up to the ghost pirate.

  The ghost of Captain Tychon then stepped backward, so as to keep his distance from the glowing blue stone. He knew what it was, and didn’t want the pain.

  “You’ve found what so few others could. Congratulations on your new home,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  “This place is hardly worthy of my achievements. But you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Cassius said.

  “I can come and go as I like, that is true enough. However, your entrails will grace this island. Don’t worry…you’ll die slowly, so you can hold onto your pitiful lives a while longer if death is what you fear,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  Behind him, another twenty (20) ghost pirates appeared.

  “You see, traveling these waters is generally ill-advised. Not by me, of course. I highly recommend traveling the Zovvin Ocean. But only because I want to kill you, and that makes it so much easier. For those who want to live, it is definitely ill-advised,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  Cassius drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from the vial he wore. He was energized and his mind became calm and calculated at a higher level. He reasoned about the situation, thin
king that the glowing blue stone may protect him from the ghosts, but that neither Ryan nor Liora – neither of whom he cared about, but who were useful tools – could be affected. The ghosts could inhabit them and use their bodies to attack him. Additionally, Cassius needed Ryan’s help to sail home, and he needed Liora to manipulate crystals.

  “Step backwards, ten (10) steps,” Cassius said to Ryan and Liora.

  “That would be back to the place you told us to leave. Wouldn’t it?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes. Yes it would,” Cassius said.

  “That option wasn’t preferred before,” Ryan said.

  “Things have changed, and priorities have been altered,” Cassius said.

  “That’s a fair statement,” Ryan said. He and Liora began walking backwards, carefully, keeping their eyes on the ghosts. Cassius did the same.

  “You want to go back there? You know that’s not the best option, don’t you? Oh wait. That depends on how you want to die, doesn’t it?” the ghost of Captain Tychon asked.

  After going back as far as they were told, Ryan looked at Cassius and asked: “You said ten (10) steps, right?”

  “Yes. Now, turn to your right, slowly keeping the corner of your eye on the spirits,” Cassius said.

  “What are we doing?” Liora asked, afraid.

  “I think I know what he’s up to,” Ryan said.

  “Now, walk another twenty five (25) steps forward,” Cassius said.

  Ryan and Liora did as directed, and Cassius did the same, a step behind them.

  The ghost of Captain Tychon and the ghost pirates with him all followed, slowly.

  “Do we really have the time for this?” the ghost of Captain Tychon asked.

  Cassius looked carefully around and said: “Turn right, one sixth (1/6) of a quarter turn from forward-facing,” Cassius then said. Cassius was masterful in geometry and trigonometry and could estimate angles accurately by eye. The Medathero Ocean waters amplified these skills within him. Cassius also did this for himself, but adjusted for his facing backwards towards the ghost of Captain Tychon and the other ghosts.

  Ryan could no longer depend on the waters of the Atrejan Ocean, but he had been trained in visual navigation. His trigonometric abilities were reasonable, he hoped. However, he looked behind him and watched Cassius, who kept staring back at the ghosts.