Jenur held out a oval-shaped stone in her hand. It was colored bright red, almost like fire; in fact, unless Malock was mistaken, the stone radiated heat, although it wasn't very much. The stone was covered in markings, but they were in a language that Malock couldn't read.
“Wait,” said Malock, looking at Jenur. “So you climbed up the trees, slit this guy's throat, looted his corpse, and then pushed it down?”
“Yep,” said Jenur. “Why? Is there something wrong?”
“No,” said Malock, shaking his head quickly. “Nothing wrong. Just ... curious about how the sequence of events played out. That's all.”
“So then what's that?” said Kocas, pointing at the stone Jenur held. “Anyone seen anything like it before?”
“No,” said Aseth. “But if I had to compare it to something, I'd say it resembles the kind of stones that lithomancers carry around in order to channel their stone magic better. My sister is a lithomancer and she has one like that.”
“Too bad none of us are lithomancers,” said Malock. “We'll keep it anyway. It might be useful later.”
Malock took the stone from Jenur's hand and dropped it in his left pocket. He could feel its warmth against his thigh, even through his pants, but all that did was remind him of how cold the island was and how much he wanted to get off it.
“So ...” said Aseth. “Should we leave now? I mean, what if there are more guys like him hiding in the treetops?”
“Unlikely,” said Jenur. “I didn't see any in the trees. Most likely this guy was alone.”
“Still, Aseth has a point,” said Malock. “This ... whatever he is, probably didn't live alone, unless his ship happened to crash off the shore of this island and he's the only survivor. He probably had some friends and when they realize he's been gone for too long, I bet they'll send some people to go find him.”
“Are we going to run away, then?” said Kocas. “Just head back to the ship? Even though there's plenty more game to be caught and skinned?”
“Of course not,” said Malock. “We're going to go to the most likely place that these people are located on this island.”
“Why?” said Jenur. “I'm not afraid of 'em, per se, but it sounds like we're going to be causing a lot of trouble for no reason.”
“Because I want to know what secrets this island has to hide from us,” said Malock. “I'm tired of being afraid of the unknown. I would at least like to know what is going on here, if nowhere else.”
“You're the boss,” said Jenur, shrugging again. “But where would this guy's friends be, anyway? There don't seem to be any villages or towns on this island and I doubt, based on his coat and equipment, that the guy just lives in the wilderness like a wild man.”
Malock turned and pointed in the direction of the ice walls. “That way. If his friends are anywhere on this island, then they are probably behind those walls. Now let's go.”
***
Chapter Fourteen
The stillness of the Iron Wind had not done anything to make the ship warmer; if anything, Kinker thought the ship actually was colder, although that may have just been his imagination. Of course, he also spent a lot of time by the port, near the davit, where he could see Stalf. He had seen the hunters attack the walrus-like creatures and heard several gunshots go off in the forest, but he didn't know if they were okay now. He knew better than to worry about Jenur, as she could take care of herself, but he still found his thoughts straying to her every now and then.
A cold wind blew off the port just then, causing him to shiver and bring his jacket up more tightly around his body. Not much help. The wind from Stalf was so fiercely cold that Kinker thought he would become an icicle before a refreshing warm breeze fell over him, like the first day of summer. He closed his eyes and took in the heat, enjoying it as one might enjoy a fresh-cooked meal, before hearing something moving behind him.
Kinker opened his eyes and turned around to see Bifor standing above him. The mage was moving his wand back and forth, the heat shimmering in the air.
“Thanks, Bifor,” said Kinker, loosening his jacket a little. “I was wondering where the heat came from.”
“No problem,” said Bifor, his voice etched with tiredness. “Can I rest here for a bit? I've been working all day and got maybe only three hours of sleep that night, if that much.”
“Sure,” said Kinker, gesturing at his right. “Sit where you please. I don't mind the company.”
Bifor gave him a grateful smile and plopped down on Kinker's right, with his back against the bulwarks. The mage lowered his wand and closed his eyes, as though he were asleep. Nonetheless, the air remained warm and comfortable, even causing the icicles hanging off the bulwarks to drip.
“I thought you were a pagomancer,” said Kinker, looking at Bifor. “But you can also control heat.”
Bifor didn't open his eyes, but he replied, “Part of basic mage training. All mages have a basic grounding in the most important magical fields. So yes, I do know some pyromancy, but I'm hardly a master.”
“Ah,” said Kinker. “I see. Just like how you know repair magic and such?”
Bifor nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay,” said Kinker. “But if you're a pagomancer, why haven't you used your magic to get the ice off the ship? Surely you could do that?”
“That's the problem,” said Bifor. “This ice works very differently from ice back up north. I am not quite sure what the problem is, but for whatever reason, the coldness around Stalf does not feel like magic or nature. It feels artificial.”
“Artificial,” said Kinker. “What do you mean?”
“Like something is generating it,” said Bifor. “That may just be me, though.”
Kinker shrugged. “I don't know a thing about magic, to be honest, so I don't think I can help you here. At least your fire magic still works, though, eh?”
“True,” said Bifor. “And for that I am grateful. Why are you standing here, anyway, Kinker? Waiting for the hunters to come home?”
“Mostly,” said Kinker. “There's not much for me or the rest of the fishing crew to do until the ship starts moving again. Can't do any fishing or anything.”
“I see,” said Bifor. “Well, you got it lucky. Banika has been ordering me about all day. Only managed to get away from her because she finally decided to give me a break.”
Kinker glanced over his shoulder. Banika was standing near the mainmast, overseeing a group of sailors who were attempting to clear the ice and snow off the stays. Though she spoke in a low tone, the sailors appeared to have no trouble following or understanding her orders.
“I've never understood Banika,” said Kinker, returning his attention to Stalf. “Why is she Malock's first mate? Why does he trust her so much, perhaps only second to Vashnas?”
“I have no idea,” said Bifor. “Heard some rumors she was in the Carnagian Navy. Worked as a captain of the Grinf's Justice.”
“The Grinf's Justice?” said Kinker. “What's that?”
Bifor opened his eyes and looked at Kinker. “Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting you're from Destan. Well, the Grinf's Justice was the flagship of the Carnagian Navy, also doubling as a pleasure ship for the royal family. Biggest and best ship ever constructed in the Northern Isles, or so the announcement said when she was finished. Had a hundred guns and could hold a crew up to about five hundred, not counting the extra three hundred or so passengers she could hold. Was a beauty.”
“You're talking about it in the past tense,” said Kinker. “Do you mean to say that it's no longer around anymore?”
“More or less,” said Bifor with a shrug. “She sailed fine for five years, but sank off the coast of Carnag when on a return voyage. The exact cause of the sinking is still not known, but it is believed that a ship saboteur hired by some rival nation had sunk her in an attempt to kill the entire royal family of Carnag, who were aboard the ship at the time. No one found any proof, though, not even after a team of aquamancers hired by Carnag investigated the wre
ckage.”
“Did anyone die in the sinking?” Kinker asked.
“The entire royal family made it out alive,” said Bifor. “But a good chunk of the crew and passengers all died. Most of their bodies were recovered from the wreckage, but they were mostly unrecognizable, so they were all given a mass burial at sea, sort of like the ones we do here, in fact.”
“Hmm,” said Kinker, turning to face Bifor, leaning against the bulwarks with one elbow. “Sure seems like Carnagian ships have a habit of sinking, don't it?”
“If you are referring to the rest of the fleet on this voyage, then yes, it is a disturbing trend,” said Bifor. “But we've only lost so many ships thanks to freak accidents no one could have predicted, such as the mishandling of the gunpowder in the hold of Our Beloved Lady, or when a previously dormant volcano exploded and sunk the Cat's Hook—things no one expects to happen but do anyway.”
“Are you sure that those aren't the result of some ship saboteurs on board, trying to make this voyage a failure?” said Kinker.
Bifor sat up straighter and looked Kinker straight in the eye. “No, I do not believe so. Why?”
Kinker shrugged. “Admittedly, my understanding of international politics is very limited and probably incorrect, but it seems to me that Carnag must have some political rivals who for whatever reason would not want to see this voyage completed.”
Bifor snorted. “As if. It's true that Carnag has some enemies, but in recent years Carnag has been making peace with many of its former enemies in an attempt to prevent another war from breaking out. And so far, all of the peace negotiations have gone smoothly, even with such hated enemies as the Shikans.”
“But you said that Carnag still has some enemies,” said Kinker. “Who might these be?”
“Off the top of my head, I'd say that the Shikans are still our worst enemies,” said Bifor. “Despite the recent advances in peace negotiations we've made, they still have a rather negative opinion of us. And we, too, have a rather negative opinion of those boot-haters.”
“Why?” said Kinker. “What caused this hate between you Carnagians and the Shikans?”
Bifor sighed. “That's a rather long story I don't really want to get into right now.”
“I'm listening,” said Kinker. “Don't have anything else to do at the moment, anyway.”
“All right,” said Bifor. “It started back in—”
Bifor was interrupted when, without warning, a massive water spout burst out of Stalf Bay. The water shot high into the air, well above the highest mast of the Iron Wind, and fell back into the ocean with a loud splash.
Kinker and Bifor looked out into Stalf Bay, surprised.
“What was that?” said Kinker. “A giant whale or something?”
Bifor got to his feet and peered over the bulwarks into the part where the water spout had blown up. “No. The Bay is too shallow for a whale to get there.”
“Then what—”
A low rumbling in the Bay caused the entire ship to shake. Kinker and Bifor grabbed onto the railings to avoid falling over, while a few nearby sailors fell over onto their behinds as a result. The surface of the water was bubbling, huge bubbles that instantly popped in the air, and then a large, round black object began to arise from the bubbles. Water cascaded down its large shoulders as the creature rose to its full height.
The monster looked similar to the baba raga that had been lying on Stalf's shores a few hours ago, except as big as the ship. Not only that, but its huge eyes gleamed with intelligence ... intelligence, and hunger. Its large front tusks looked large enough to rip straight through the hull of the Iron Wind, while its snout sniffed the air as though trying to determine where it was.
“What in Kano's name is that?” said Kinker, pointing at the giant monster in fear.
The giant baba raga let out a low growl, prompting Kinker to take a step back. Bifor, however, didn't seem frightened by the noise.
“It's calling someone,” said Bifor. “Or multiple someones, perhaps.”
By now, the rest of the crew had gathered nearby to see the giant monster, but Kinker paid them no attention. “How do you know that it's calling others?”
“Because back in the North Academy, I had to take a course on the behavioral patterns of baba raga before I could graduate,” Bifor said, his eyes fixated on the giant before them. “When a baba raga is angry, it lets out a low growl that other baba raga nearby will immediately understand to be a cry for help.”
“A cry for help?” said Kinker. “What does that thing need help for? Looks strong enough to kill us on its own.”
“Maybe it's not a cry for help at all,” said Bifor, his voice full of dawning realization. “Maybe it's actually an order to attack.”
Without warning, the Iron Wind rocked again, not as badly as last time, but still enough to force Kinker's knuckles to turn white over the tops of the bulwarks. When it steadied again, Kinker looked overside and saw a dozen or so baba raga rapidly climbing the side of the ship, moving faster than their bulk should have let them, their flippers clinging to the sides thanks to the suction cups underneath them.
In fact, the baba raga moved so fast that Kinker had to step back, again almost slipping over the icy deck, just as the first beast stuck its head over the side and let out a terrifying roar. It was followed by eleven of its brothers, their flippers slapping against the frozen deck and their tusks slicing through the air. Forced to retreat, Kinker and Bifor found themselves at the mainmast, where the rest of the crew had backed up. Behind them, another dozen or so baba raga had climbed over the starboard, effectively trapping the crew between them.
The baba raga did not yet go in for the kill. They circled the sailors, making deep growling noises, baring their teeth and enormous tusks, and generally acting threatening. The sailors were mostly unarmed, but even if they had been armed, Kinker doubted they would have been able to do much against these beasts.
Then the giant baba raga's tongue—long, pink, and slimy—shot out of its mouth and wrapped tightly around the Iron Wind's mizzenmast. Like snapping a twig off a tree, the monster tore the mainmast, beam and all, off its foundations, sending bits of wood and metal flying through the air and causing the entire crew to duck to avoid being hit.
The giant baba raga rolled the mainmast up to its mouth and then threw it over the ship. The mainmast fell into the ocean with a loud splash, sending ice cold water splashing onto the second group of baba raga, which didn't seem to bother them at all.
“Now my subjects,” said the giant baba raga, its voice difficult to understand due to its snorts and grunts, “wreak vengeance on these pathetic mortals who dared to harm my people. For I, the Tusked God, the God of Baba Ragas, demand it.”
-
The gigantic ice walls radiated so much cold air that it was almost impossible to draw near to the walls. Malock and his party had to stay a certain distance away from the walls to prevent being frozen, which meant they couldn't investigate as closely as they would have liked.
As far as Malock could tell, the ice walls had no entrances or exits. They were completely solid, covered in a light layer of snow that made them look completely white. He considered the possibility that there could be an entrance on the other side; however, the walls were too wide for him and his crew to walk around without wasting a lot of time in the cold snow. Besides, he strongly suspected that the walls had no openings at all, not even a roughly carved one, which meant that he and the others were going to need to figure out how to make their own way in.
“I wish Bifor were here,” said Jenur, after the hunters spent the last half hour unsuccessfully trying to look for an entrance to let them in. “He could just use his magic, I bet, and make an opening for us.”
“I doubt even a pagomancer could make a hole in this thing,” said Kocas, shaking her head. “Look at it. It's gotta be at least a dozen feet thick, maybe two dozen. I bet Bifor would just get himself frozen.”
“Be that as it may, we cannot gi
ve up,” said Malock. “Not until we get our answers.”
Another half hour of attempts to find a door failed. So the party regrouped near the spot they had started at and began thinking again.
“Hey,” said Aseth. “What if that stone is the key?”
“Key?” said Jenur, glancing at the walls. “I don't see any keyholes.”
“Not a literal key,” said Aseth. “But like, maybe it has a secret that will help us get inside.”
Malock fished the stone out of his pocket and turned it over a couple of times. “What kind of secret, exactly?”
“I don't know,” said Aseth. “We're all out of ideas and I am sure that that assassin from earlier must have had a good reason for carrying that around. Maybe it's a signal to let someone on the other side know he's a friend or something.”
“It's the best idea I've heard all day,” said Malock. “Guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Let's see what we can do.”
Malock walked as close to the ice walls as he could without getting frozen, which was difficult to do because he did not know the exact distance to stand. When he saw frost forming around the edges of his jacket, however, that's when he knew he had reached it.
The red stone continued to burn warmly in his hand. Not knowing what else to do, Malock raised the stone until he was pointing it directly at the walls. He didn't expect anything to happen at first and indeed for a moment the stone just sat in his gloved hand, which was beginning to frost over due to the cold emitted from the walls.
Then the stone flew out of his hand, like it had been yanked out by a powerful sucking force, and slammed into the ice walls. As soon as it did, its temperature must have rose because it immediately began melting a large hole in the walls, a hole big enough for Malock and the other hunters to walk through.
In just a few seconds, the stone had melted through the walls completely, creating a tunnel that led to the other side. The stone itself hung in midair, as though suspended by an invisible string, its heat radiating so powerfully that Malock could feel it even from where he stood.
The Mad Voyage of Prince Malock Page 21