But Malock, Vashnas, and Telka didn't know that. They looked sad at hearing the 'news,' which meant they bought the lie—hook, line, and sinker.
“I am sorry to hear that,” said Malock, sounding like he meant it. “Losing a family member is always difficult. I lost my own grandfather to the sea a few years ago, actually. One minute he was there and the next ...”
Malock looked down, breathed in and out rapidly, and then looked back up at Kinker. His face had regained its authoritative, detached look, but Kinker didn't think he'd ever look at it again without seeing the pain in Malock's eyes that was now far too obvious for him to ignore.
“But that has nothing to do with this,” said Malock. “The point is, I appreciate you telling us who you are and what you were doing out in the sea on that night. Love makes us do crazy things, whether it's familial, platonic, or romantic, so I won't fault you for doing something so stupid and dangerous.”
Vashnas smiled at that, like Malock had just made an in-joke that only she and the Captain understood. A glance at Telka told Kinker that it was indeed an in-joke because the ship doctor didn't react. He simply stood there looking concerned, as if he thought Kinker was going to drop dead if he kept talking like this.
“Now that I've told you my story, it's your turn,” said Kinker, pointing at Malock. “What is the Crown Prince of Carnag doing so far from his palace?”
Malock sat up straight and rubbed his hands together, like he couldn't wait to tell Kinker. “Oh, that's a long tale. I'm not sure I can relay the entire thing to you here, right now, but—”
“I have nothing better to do,” Kinker said, gesturing at the blanket covering his legs. “Shoot.”
“All right, then,” said Malock. “You see, Kinker, about two months ago, I was asleep in my royal bedchambers, after a hard day of practicing my fencing techniques and negotiating boot prices with the Shikan military. I was quite exhausted, so when my servants finished dressing me—”
“Your servants dressed you?” Kinker said. “Can't you dress yourself?”
Malock huffed and folded his arms across his chest. “As Crown Prince of Carnag, I don't have the time to dress myself. It is beneath me; hence why I have servants especially devoted to the task.”
Kinker had a hard time imagining that. What was so difficult about slapping on a shirt, a jacket, and pants that you had to hire people to do it for you? It seemed like something that any grown adult could do in less than a minute if necessary. Even a young child could accomplish the task in a short amount of time. When Kinker had been a very young kid, he'd compete with his brother to see who could get dressed for work in the shortest amount of time.
Perhaps royal clothes are more difficult to put on or something, Kinker thought. Or maybe Malock is just a spoiled brat.
That last thought seemed likely to Kinker, though of course he did not say it aloud.
“Now as I was saying,” Malock said, his tone more than a little miffed now. “When my servants finished dressing me, I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. But I did not get a restful, dreamless sleep. Instead, I was visited in my vision by a beautiful woman, a woman whose beauty exceeds that of nearly every mortal woman I've ever seen in my life.”
Vashnas made a face at that, like she was annoyed. At least, Kinker thought she was annoyed. He was not good at deciphering aquarian facial expressions, primarily because he had spent most of his life around humans. The few aquarians that had lived on Destan rarely mingled with the humans, so Kinker had never gotten to know them very well.
Malock didn't seem to notice because he was still talking. “The woman wore robes the color of the sea on a bright summer day, shining beautifully. Looking into her eyes was like staring into the deepest sea; mysterious, dark, yet inviting. And she carried with her a fishing net made entirely of water.”
Kinker sat up a little straighter at the description, which had sparked a memory in his head. “Fishing net ... did she have long hair that resembled the ocean waves?”
Malock looked stunned at Kinker's question. “Yes, yes she did. You sound like you've seen her before.”
“I think I have,” said Kinker. “But go on. I'm still listening.”
Malock scratched his chin and said, “Well, as you can probably guess, I was taken aback by her appearance. I was certain she was just a figment of my imagination, but she was far too ... real for that to be a possibility, if you understand what I mean.”
Malock looked at Kinker like the old fisherman should, but for the life of him Kinker could not understand. Glancing at Vashnas and Telka didn't help because Vashnas still looked annoyed and Telka looked embarrassed.
“Anyway,” Malock continued, “whether you get it or not is unimportant. She then spoke to me.”
Kinker tilted his head to the side. “What did she say?”
“I do not remember it all,” Malock admitted. “She spoke in an unfamiliar language. Nonetheless, I understood the gist of it: She was summoning me to the edge of the world, to the very last island in creation, an island known as World's End.”
“World's End?” said Kinker. “Isn't that just a legend?”
“It's real,” Malock said. “I saw it—saw it in my dreams. The woman showed me the most beautiful city imaginable, built on the edge of the world. The Throne of the Gods, as it is also known in the old stories. It was a brief glimpse, true, but somehow I know it was real.”
“How can you trust what the woman said, though?” said Kinker. “Maybe it was just a dream.”
Malock shook his head rapidly. “No, no, no. I know it was more than just a dream because of the woman's identity.”
“And who was the woman, exactly?”
Malock placed his hands on his lap and said, “Kano. Goddess of the Sea, Sand, and Art.”
Another memory sparked in Kinker's mind, of when he was a child, seeing the face of a beautiful woman in the ocean surf before it dissipated in the waves. “Kano? I didn't think anyone else worshiped her outside of Destan.”
“I do not actually worship her,” Malock said. “The Carnagian Royal Family is devoted almost entirely to Grinf, God of Justice, Metal, and Fire, due to the blessings he has bestowed upon us over the years. As a matter of fact, the last member of the Royal Family who tried to worship another god ... well, let's just say that it didn't work out and leave it at that.”
The tone in which he spoke made it clear that, if Kinker even asked about it, the old man would find himself back in the Crystal Sea again.
“Anyway,” said Malock, his tone brightening, “I didn't even know about Kano until she showed up in my dreams. I actually had to have some of my servants research her in the royal library. We have tons of books on the various gods. Turns out Kano has quite a following among the aquarians but for some reason has never been particularly popular among humans. Wonder why that is.”
“Not much of a mystery, if you ask me,” Vashnas said. “She controls the whole sea and we live in it. Would be kind of dumb if we didn't honor her.”
“Ah,” said Malock, “I see. So when I learned that she was an actual goddess, my next choice was not at all difficult to make. I decided I was going to round up a fleet of ships, find the best crew money can buy, and head on down to World's End, which, according to the dream, is at the very end of the southern seas. Simple, yes?”
Kinker scratched the back of his ears. “You mean your parents didn't try to stop you?”
“Oh, at first my parents were against it,” said Malock with a snort. “They were convinced I was acting on nothing more than a delusional fantasy. In particular, my mother seemed to treat the suggestion of me going on a voyage to the end of the world as though I had just suggested that I wanted to jump off the tip of Carnag Hall. My father simply thought it was irresponsible, argued that I had to stay here in order to learn more about my future kingly duties and that I couldn't be sure Kano had summoned me at all. Frankly, my parents can be a tad overprotective at times, if I do say so myself.”
“But despite all their faults, my parents are highly respectful of the gods and their wishes,” Malock said. “I summoned a dream reader, who confirmed that my dream had indeed been from Kano. When the dream reader confirmed it, my parents dropped all their protests and immediately began helping me put together a fleet and crew that would get me to World's End in one piece. That took about a month total.”
“Wow,” said Kinker. “So you have an entire fleet of sailing ships, each manned with a complete crew? Just to escort you to World's End?”
Kinker immediately knew that he had said something wrong because Telka shuffled his feet and looked away, Vashnas become interested in her jacket's right sleeve, and Malock's arms dropped to his sides and he suddenly looked as old as Kinker.
“Ah,” said Malock, a slight tremble in his voice, “wrong tense, Kinker. We had an entire fleet of sailing ships, all manned with a complete crew. Five ships, in fact. Now ... well we only have one. This one, actually.”
Kinker could hardly believe his ears. “How did you lose almost an entire fleet of ships?”
“A string of bizarre coincidences and disasters that I doubt even Tinkar, the God of Fate, could have seen coming,” Malock said, shaking his head. “I'll tell you about them later. All you need to know is that the current situation is very grim for everyone involved, including you.”
Those words seemed to resonate with Kinker in a way he couldn't at first explain. Then it hit him.
He looked around the quarters he was lying in and realized what it was about the place that had bothered him. The room smelled of fish and blood, the walls and floor were stained with bodily fluids he didn't care to identify, and there was a hole in the ceiling that looked to have been created by someone stabbing the ceiling with a sword.
When he looked more closely at Malock, Vashnas, and Telka, he noticed more signs of weariness and damage. Telka's hair was matted and encrusted with dirt, Vashnas stood with all of her weight on her right leg, like her left leg couldn't support her, and Malock himself had several small scratches across his face that messed up his otherwise handsome complexion. All of them shared the same weary, tired look that Kinker had always associated with retired soldiers. He had seen a lot of retired soldiers back on Destan during fishing season, when retirees from the various Northern armies came down south to fish.
Whatever had happened on this voyage, Kinker understood that it was far more serious than he had first thought. And to be honest, he wasn't really eager to find out exactly what had sunk four large sailing ships and killed their entire crews.
Malock shook his head and said, “But enough of that. We have enough sorrow on this ship as is. Let's try to think happy thoughts.”
“Happy thoughts?” Kinker said, looking at the Captain in disbelief. “Why haven't you headed back home to Carnag? I mean, you lost four ships and from what you've said this one isn't doing too well, either. Seems irresponsible to risk the lives of everyone on this ship like this.”
“I cannot ignore the summons of a goddess,” said Malock, as if the very suggestion was insane. “As a Kanonite yourself, surely you have heard stories of what Kano has done to people who ignore or disobey her direct summons?”
Kinker nodded. “Yes, but I'm sure she would understand if you had to go back to get another fleet. She is not an unreasonable goddess.”
“I can't risk that,” said Malock. “Angering gods is never a wise move, Kinker. Besides, you don't understand. I can't just go back. My very soul is drawn to World's End, like a magnet. I couldn't go back even if I wanted to.”
Kinker had to admit that Malock seemed to be genuinely driven. He didn't look away from Kinker as he said that, nor did he tremble or stumble over his words. The Captain of the Iron Wind seemed to believe in what he had just said and he wasn't going to apologize for it no matter what. Maybe he was less spoiled than Kinker had thought.
“Fine,” said Kinker. “I guess it is too later now to turn this ship around; although I find it strange that Kano didn't protect your fleet from destruction.”
“You should direct that inquiry to the other gods,” said Malock. “Most of the crews of my fleet were not Kanonites. Perhaps Kano didn't see any reason to protect them or perhaps they just weren't especially pious; either way, that is no reason for me to give up and go home.”
“I didn't say you should,” said Kinker. “In fact, I said the opposite. By the way, where are we now?”
Malock looked at Vashnas, who said, “We just entered the southern seas a day ago.”
Kinker shivered. “The southern seas? Please tell me you're joking.”
“Hardly,” said Malock. “In order to reach World's End, we have to go through the southern seas.”
“But the southern seas are full of danger,” Kinker said. “All the old legends say so. Gigantic sea monsters, unpredictable weather, and all kinds of other things are said to exist there. There's a reason Destan is the farthest known southern island, you know.”
“So what?” said Malock. “Those are just stories and legends, Kinker. We have so little precious fact to rely upon that I find it silly to be afraid. I mean, so far, the southern seas have been very kind to us, with favorable winds and bright sunshine. You're just worrying for no reason.”
“No,” Kinker said, shaking his head. “A friend of mine once told me about the giant sea snakes that live in these seas. They have mouths big enough to swallow entire islands whole.”
Vashnas laughed. “Giant sea snakes with mouths big enough to swallow whole islands? That's so ridiculous that I can't believe you even thought that was true.”
Being laughed at—by an aquarian, of all beings—made Kinker angry, but before he could answer, Malock said, “Fear not, elder. We have the best guide to the southern seas that anyone could ask for. We'll be prepared for whatever these seas have to throw at us, and then some.”
“And who is that guide?” said Kinker, looking at Malock.
“Me,” said Vashnas, pointing at herself.
Now Kinker shifted his attention to her. “What do you know about the southern seas, young lady? No one who has ever tried to explore them has ever returned alive.”
“Except for Vash here,” said Malock, reaching over and patting her right arm. “She's been to the southern seas, traveled all the way to World's End, in fact, and can tell us everything there is to know about it.”
“Really?” said Kinker. “How do you know that for sure? I would like some proof.”
This seemed like a reasonable request to Kinker, so he was shocked when Malock stood up, knocking over his chair, and grabbed Kinker by his beard. The Captain didn't raise his other hand or anything, but he was staring at Kinker with such intense loathing that Kinker felt like he was being held above a fire.
“Don't ... you ... dare ...” Malock said, every word emphasized for impact, “... imply ... that Vashnas is a liar ... or I'll ...”
“Captain, please,” said Telka, reaching out and grabbing Malock's arm. “Let go of Kinker right this instant. He's still weak, and any undue shock might harm his still-recovering system.”
Malock just shot Telka an even angrier look, but the doctor didn't let go or shift his gaze. That made Kinker respect Telka immensely because his chin was starting to hurt from Malock pulling on his beard.
“Didn't you hear what he said?” Malock said through gritted teeth. “He implied Vashnas is a liar. You think I'm going to stand here and let him get away with it?”
“I understand your anger, Captain, but it's the wrong response,” said Telka, his tone even and firm. “He didn't have any malicious intentions. He's understandably skeptical because he obviously believes no one has ever gone to the southern seas and come back alive. Now let go of him or I will be treating your injuries in a moment.”
For a moment, Malock didn't let go. If anything, his gri
p seemed to tighten because his knuckles turned whiter and his normally handsome face became contorted with anger.
Then, to Kinker's relief, Malock let go and stood back. Kinker let out his breath, which he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in, and moved as far away from Malock as he could on his bed. Vashnas put an arm around Malock's shoulders and began speaking to him in low, soothing tones, but that didn't seem to do much to make Malock calm down.
“I'm sorry for implying that Vashnas is a liar,” said Kinker. “I wasn't meaning to. You heard Telka. He got it right.”
Malock didn't respond. He just kept glaring at Kinker like he was hoping to kill him with his nasty looks alone.
Vashnas looked at Kinker and said, “It's okay. Most people are skeptical when I tell them I've been to the southern seas and survived. Honestly, I don't believe it myself at times, but it's true.”
“Could you tell me how?” said Kinker. “Just for curiosity's sake. That's all.”
“I received a dream from Kano proving it,” said Malock. He seemed calmer now, but Kinker keep up his guard up just the same. “The night before I met Vashnas, Kano sent me a dream in which I saw Vashnas swimming through the southern seas. She explicitly told me that I needed Vashnas if I was going to make it to World's End alive. And the very next day, as I was inspecting the crew of my fleet, I saw Vashnas and immediately summoned her to my court, where I told her about my dream.”
“Is that true?” said Kinker, looking at Vashnas.
Vashnas nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “When I first entered his court, Malock showed me a picture he'd drawn of me, a picture he'd drawn when he woke up. And I know for a fact that he has never seen me before, so there was no way he could have drawn it from memory. There is no other explanation for it. Kano must want me here.”
“I see,” said Kinker. “I guess that makes sense. The gods surely do work in mysterious ways, do they not?”
“Indeed they do,” said Malock, perhaps more harshly than was necessary. “Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my stateroom. Vashnas and I have to discuss what awaits us in the seas ahead. For now, Telka will take care of you until he deems you fit enough to work on the ship.”
The Mad Voyage of Prince Malock Page 2