by Jeremy Dwyer
“No, we’re not fine. The rudder’s broken and won’t turn all the way. I’m adjusting the sails to compensate, but we’re going to have to fix it when we get to the island,” Nina said.
“I’m impressed, Nina. You’re remarkably calm even when things aren’t going according to plan. What changed?” Tomiko asked.
“I didn’t want us to get into another mess. But now that we are, I just have to handle it,” Nina said.
“We can fix the rudder. We’re all skilled in how to make repairs to ships,” Tomiko said.
“We’re just about there. Look,” Nina said. She pointed toward an island in the distance and steered the Escapade toward it by adjusting the sail positions using the lever and nudging the rudder using the ship’s wheel.
“You’re focused, Nina. That’s good. You know what you’re doing. Just stay focused,” Yared said.
“When we dock, I’ll stay on the ship and help fix the rudder,” Gabrielle Ramalaxis said.
“Let’s make that the first thing we do. Then, after we get the rubies out of the mine, we can leave right away and collect our profits,” Tomiko said.
Nina made more adjustments to the wheel and the sail position lever to maneuver the Escapade close to the shore. She then pulled a lever to drop the anchor and extend the boarding ramp onto the shore.
“This is Endarinik Island. Let’s get to work on the repairs,” Nina said.
“Yared and Stephan: you should stay on board with Nina. She can test the controls for the rudder while we go out and fix it,” Tomiko said.
Yared probed Nina’s mind and found it to be alert rather than truly calm. He also learned her true focus. Yared then looked out onto the island and said: “I don’t see any lava flows, either.”
“Flowing lava on the surface and magma underground would make a noise, and it’s different from the sound of flowing water. There would be a bubbling sound as it moves. There might even be the sound of steam as anything was venting to the surface. Stephan could hear it if there is any,” Tomiko said.
Stephan drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and was energized with the powers of music and sound. He focused his power and listened to the sounds in the distance. After a minute he said: “All I hear is the ocean water flowing around us.”
“Good. Keep listening, Stephan. All of you, keep alert. Nina, keep testing the rudder. Yared, let us know when she thinks it’s fixed properly,” Tomiko said.
~~~
Tomiko, Carter, Tristan, Genevieve and Gabrielle Ramalaxis exited the wheelhouse and went out on deck. The Chronicler Silvius went out and watched while the others lowered ropes to the sides of the ship in order to make the repairs.
Tomiko, Tristan and Gabrielle Ramalaxis began climbing down the rope and descending into the water, to inspect the damaged rudder.
Genevieve and Carter lowered more ropes which had toolboxes at the ends for the others to use.
The Chronicler Silvius watched the work and recorded all of this into his book.
~~~
On board the Staunch Carriage Five, Razmig and Kobus stood inside the wheelhouse.
“I can see them, Razmig, so they must be less than ten (10) miles away,” Kobus said.
“Make your approach at full speed, Kobus. I will prepare the ritual,” Razmig said.
Kobus steered the ship southwest at full speed.
Razmig drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power to connect to the spirit world. “The ritual is ready, Kobus. Now, you must send forth the spirits already in the staff to weaken the enemy and have them destroy each other. At the crucial moment, I will capture their spirits to be added to the swarm, so that more can be summoned and sent out, increasing our attack strength,” he said.
~~~
On board the Plenteous, Consolata remained kneeling on deck and watched the approaching ship. Grand Duke Braden stood beside her, still looking through his crystal.
“They are almost here, Consolata. They are only nine (9) miles away,” Grand Duke Braden said.
“I can still strike them first, even if only to confuse them. That could prevent us from taking losses. Only with your permission, of course, Grand Duke Braden,” Consolata said.
“Not yet, Consolata. Remember, you must be calm and not let fear become aggression. We will not strike first. Let the central bank bear the blame for any losses,” Grand Duke Braden said.
~~~
From under the cover of darkness, Agent Leilah approached the castle north of Port Number Five Hundred Seventeen. Cloaked by that same power, Agents Claudia, Cheveyo, Glyn and Gavriela all follower her to its main gates.
While standing outside the castle, Agent Claudia telepathically probed the thoughts of those inside the castle, but all she found was confusion. She telepathically transmitted this to her colleagues and they agreed that some sort of barrier was in place, so they would have to force their way into the castle.
~~~
On board the Staunch Carriage Five, Kobus exited the wheelhouse and stood alone on the deck. He held the staff with the lapis lazuli at its tip, said “Go forth!” and then tapped the staff on the deck boards. The lapis lazuli at its tip changed from dull blue to many glowing colors. A swarm of spirits poured forth from the lapis lazuli and moved toward the vessels in the frigates surrounding the galleon.
CHAPTER 32: Collection of Souls and Gems
While standing inside of her crystal fortress, Polyxene formed an aperture in the diamond armor around her mouth. Through that aperture, she drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from her vial. Once those waters energized her with the powers to manipulate crystal and stone, she closed the aperture to fully protect herself from the passage of time.
Polyxene gazed yet again into the newly acquired lightkeeper crystal and read the knowledge emblazoned within its facets. She parsed the words carefully in her efforts to comprehend the deepest secrets of how to manipulate the yellow-green gems. Her mind puzzled over the complexities, which were baffling, despite her deep understanding of crystal structure. Many things could go wrong, she realized, but her desire to have the powers of all waters – by splitting the Dead Waters using these gems – motivated her to solve the riddle.
She glided across the crystal fortress floor and returned to the basin in which she kept the remaining one hundred seven (107) yellow-green gems. She removed nine (9) of the gems and made slight alterations to their low-level structures to make them more permeable. Polyxene then glided across the floor toward the second quartz dome. She placed the nine (9) altered yellow-green gems equally spaced around the base of the quartz dome, altering the quartz in those key locations to make it more permeable just before affixing each gem.
The three (3) quartz domes were identical and each contained a single violet stellar core. Those cores exuded their energy at all times. The quartz domes contained much of this solar power, allowing only minimal energy to escape in the form of visible light.
Polyxene watched as the yellow-green gems transformed in front of her and begin to glow brightly. She removed the nine (9) glowing gems and modified the structure of the second quartz dome to restore its thickness in those key points to properly contain the violet stellar energy. She glided across the crystal fortress floor and placed the gems into an empty circular depression, five hundred (500) feet in diameter and three (3) feet deep. This depression was located two thousand seven hundred seventy-two (2772) feet or more away from the ruby spires and the quartz domes, so as to better protect them from any explosive reactions.
She then glided across the crystal fortress floor, manipulating its low-level structure along the way, to create a narrow half-pipe, two (2) feet in diameter, one thousand eighty (1080) feet in length. The half-pipe sloped gently downward toward the depression and connected it with a large cylindrical container, which measured eight hundred ten (810) feet in diameter and sixty-three (63) feet in height and was made of an especially resilient gemstone composite. She altered
the base of the large container to create an aperture near the half-pipe, and a stream of Dead Waters flowed out of it, along the half-pipe and toward the depression. She waited a moment, at what she hoped was a safe distance, to learn what would happen when the Dead Waters met the nine (9) glowing yellow-green gems.
~~~
From under the cover of darkness provided by Agent Leilah, Agent Glyn walked toward the outside castle wall and began to manipulate its low-level structure. He thinned the stone, layer by layer, until there was a narrow passageway leading through it. Agents Leilah, Cheveyo, Claudia and Gavriela all followed closely behind him and entered the castle armory.
Within the armory, an entire brigade of soldiers stood guard.
Staying close to Agent Leilah to maintain his dark cover, Agent Glyn inspected the nearby walls and soon found what he suspected.
Agent Claudia probed Glyn’s thoughts and learned that telepathic obstruction crystals were embedded into the stone blocks in the portion of the castle wall he inspected and that these crystals prevented telepaths outside the castle from interrogating those on the inside. Claudia drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from her vial to refresh her telepathic and empathic powers and hoped that no more of those obstruction crystals stood between her and her intended targets: the commanding officers. She exercised her powers to find the targets, but they were still out of reach, and she needed Agent Glyn to identify and remove any obstructions, so she telepathically signaled to him.
Agent Glyn walked slowly around the perimeter of the castle armory, keeping Agent Leilah and their colleagues close so that the darkness continued to cloak them all. Glyn drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial to refresh his powers over crystal and stone and then inspected the low-level structure of the walls. He found telepathic obstruction crystals embedded in every other block, so he methodically altered each of them to allow Claudia to properly interrogate.
Agent Claudia repeatedly exerted her telepathic and empathic powers until she located the commanding officers in a different room. With the obstruction crystals disabled, there was no interference, so she was able to probe their thoughts. She transmitted to her colleagues what she gathered: “General Aerona and Brigadier General Nazar are in command. Aerona communicates with spirits to make secret deals with the central bank. She intends to bankrupt the Jenaldej Empire by circulating the bank’s counterfeit gems that expand the supply. Aerona wants revenge for her disability suffered during the waterbinding trials and the mandatory Zovvin waterbinding she received that won’t let her heal. She sees us all as her enemies, and the economy is already on the brink because of what she’s been doing. Nazar is just hungry for power, so he sides with her to make a profit. There’s even more to this. We have to get back and give a report to Admiral Tiede.”
Agent Leilah continued providing her cover of darkness and she escorted Agents Claudia, Glyn, Cheveyo and Gavriela as they exited the castle armory, walked back to the port and returned to the Incisive.
~~~
On board the Escapade, Nina continued turning the ship’s wheel to test the rudder. She felt the slight motions change and improve, but the repairs took over five (5) hours.
“It seems they figured it out and fixed it,” Nina said.
“It’s going to be a smooth sailing after this. Calm, smooth sailing,” Stephan said.
Yared telepathically transmitted Nina’s message to Tomiko and then said: “Let’s go out and get some work done.”
Nina, Yared and Stephan exited the wheelhouse and went out on deck. There, they met Tomiko, Tristan, Carter, Gabrielle Ramalaxis and Genevieve. The Chronicler Silvius was waiting with them.
“I think we should sail around the island to test the rudder repairs. At the same time, we can survey the perimeter to find the safest location for mining,” Gabrielle Ramalaxis said.
“I agree,” Tomiko said.
“I’m ready,” Nina said. She returned to the wheelhouse and everyone else followed.
Nina drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from her vial to be energized with the power to listen to the sounds of the stars. She concentrated to learn their paths and positions. “What is that? There’s some kind of unusual sound. It’s the pain sound again – the sound that’s not from the blue, yellow or red suns, and it’s not from up in the sky,” she said.
“Can you still tell where we are? Is navigation unclear or dangerous?” Tomiko asked.
Nina concentrated some more and said: “I know where we are. There doesn’t seem to be any danger to us.” She gained the information she needed about the paths and positions of the seventy (70) known suns and used it to chart a course around Endarinik Island. She pulled levers to raise the anchor and retract the boarding ramp. Nina then steered the Escapade around the island according to her course, slowly but surely.
“Stephan, listen for any peculiar sounds as we circumnavigate the island. Yared, let us know if you detect anyone by telepathy. Carter, just in case this island does have a spiritual presence, let us know,” Tomiko said.
Stephan drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial to be energized with the powers of music and sound. He listened for indication of anyone – or anything – on the island.
Yared drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial to be energized with the powers of telepathy and empathy. He probed for thoughts of anyone who might be on the island.
Carter drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power to connect to the spirit world. He concentrated to detect any sign of spirits that might be present.
The Chronicler Silvius recorded all of this into his book, including the view of the island’s perimeter – over two hundred sixty-seven (267) miles – over the next fourteen (14) hours.
“That was a long day. We should drop anchor here. Then, let’s go back to our cabins, get some rest and go on to the island in the morning,” Tomiko said.
Nina pulled a lever to drop the anchor near the shore of Endarinik Island. She then followed Tomiko as they all exited the wheelhouse and returned to their cabins for rest.
~~~
A swarm of spirits descended on the eight hundred fifty-eight (858) frigates surrounding the Plenteous. Ship after ship found its soldiers and sailors possessed, with the haunts turning them against each other, and commanding them to kill their fellow crew members. Some of the vessels had as few as two hundred twenty (220) personnel while some had as many as six hundred fifty (650).
~~~
On board the Stanch Carriage Five, Razmig performed the ritual to capture the spirits of the fallen sailors by invoking the power of Besattoken. Razmig drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial as needed in order to refresh his powers. While most of the spirits escaped the ritual’s power by virtue of their sheer numbers and Razmig’s inability to keep pace, he ensnared as many of the spirits as he could.
Kobus continued tapping the staff and commanding “Go forth!” such that more of the spirits were dispatched against the crew on board the frigates.
~~~
The seventeen thousand one hundred sixty-six (17166) captured souls found themselves confined in a strange realm that was a deep shade of blue. They were weak and restful, having none of their former strength, speed, beauty, emotion or passion. Their energy nearly completely left them, and they did not have any understanding of what this meant.
~~~
On board the Plenteous, Consolata continued kneeling on deck and watched, via her far sight powers, as the soldiers and sailors on board the eight hundred fifty-eight (858) surrounding frigates were systematically slaughtered. “They’re dying, my lord. I can’t see why, but the crew of the ships are all killing each other,” she said.
Grand Duke Braden looked through his crystal and said: “Be calm, Consolata. You must not let the conflict upset you. I, your lord, teacher and protector, can see why the soldiers and sailors are striking each other. They are being at
tacked and controlled, by a swarm of hostile spirits, that is growing larger and larger.” He walked along the length of the ship’s deck and touched the crystals along its railings. Braden altered their low-level structures and then returned to Consolata’s side.
“What are we going to do, my lord? Should we not have distracted them sooner, before they attacked us?” Consolata asked.
“Never mind them, Consolata. There is still work to do, so we will have to adjust our plans accordingly. The cargo on board this ship has great value. The enemy can no longer see this vessel, so they will not be able to take our property or interfere with our journey,” Grand Duke Braden said.
“The soldiers and sailors on board those ships were hired to defend us, weren’t they?” Consolata asked.
“And they did defend us, Consolata, by distracting the enemy. Their lives were not wasted. Rise from the kneeling position and come with me, so we can complete this project,” Grand Duke Braden said. Consolata stood up and followed Braden as he walked across the deck and entered the wheelhouse.
A woman – appearing to be about fifty-five (55) years of age – was kneeling at the ship’s wheel and kept watching through the window, monitoring the ships and waters around the Plenteous.
A younger nobleman – appearing to be thirty (30) years of age, dressed in a doublet matching that of Grand Duke Braden, but wearing a gem-studded sash that was only silver – stood behind the woman who was kneeling before the ship’s wheel. He was stroking her hair and massaging her shoulders.
Consolata knelt down before the younger nobleman, smiled at him and said: “The ships around us have come under attack. Yet, I am calmed and comforted to see you, my lord, Duke Rowan.”
“Are matters urgent, father? Are we in danger?” the younger nobleman – Duke Rowan – asked after glancing only momentarily at Consolata. He continued massaging the shoulders and stroking the hair of the woman who was kneeling before the ship’s wheel.
“We are cloaked by the light wrapping crystals, so the enemy cannot see us. Thus, we are in no danger, my son,” Grand Duke Braden said.