by C. Litka
01
Kaliza is the island where the islands end. Beyond, unseen in the distance of several rounds of sailing - floats the great island of Windvera. As a result, it is the major port and trade center of the Cataria Islands. We planned to book passage on one of the larger trading ships that plied the wide-sky between Kaliza and city of Devere on Windvera. We'd been told that there was a large Laezan Community outside of the city where we could make arrangements to travel on to Marsh Waters.
The market place of Kaliza sprawls across a wide field outside of the town - made up of anchored trading ships and boats selling, trading or buying all sorts of goods from the boats or a booth alongside them. Though extensive, it took up only a modest portion of the field, as the market needed to rotate around the field every few rounds to allow the tough moss carpet to recover after the heavy traffic of the market fair.
This city was large enough, and our fame thin enough, to allow us to lodge privately in one of the many rest houses. After settling in and resting, we went out to the marketplace for a meal and to scout out our prospects for the next phase of our journey.
I spent several hours wandering through the great market without seeing any sort of steam engine. All the large wide-sky trading ships were powered by sails and crew-cranked propellers. I did, however, manage to lose track of my companions in the noisy throng.
I was wandering down an alley between rows of small boats selling local produce, absently looking for my shipmates, when one of the proprietors of one such boat struck me, for some reason, as someone I knew. A very strange case of deja vu.
It was not immediately apparent why or where I knew her from. My first thought was that she was someone I'd met on our journey through the islands, but that line of thought met with no success.
I waited for a group of shoppers to pass, and stepped over to her boat. As I did so, she looked up, started, and stared me as well - which, was not unusual since fine-feathered barbarians were very rare in these islands, but her look was different. She seemed to recognize me as well. And like me, knew it shouldn't be possible.
As I stepped next to the hull of her boat, I put a name to her face. A ghost.
'Trin!' I exclaimed, staring at her wide-eyed. It had to be her - or her twin. 'Is that really you, Sub-captain?'
It wasn't her twin, since she stared back at me with recognition in her wide eyes. 'You!' she gasped, recovered and said, 'Captain Litang?'
'Sub-captain Trin! By the Infernal Island, this is amazing! What in the blazes are you doing here?'
She shook her head, as if to clear the vision of Captain Litang from it. 'What am I doing here? Why, what are you doing here?' she demanded. 'You should be beyond the shell?'
'And you should be?' In Cimmadar?
For a moment we just stared at each other, our questions unanswered.
'I came back,' I said, breaking the spell. 'The fleet had sailed and then the island blew up, stranding me here in the Pela,' I rapped out. 'And you?? I take it, it did not go well? The counter-revolution.'
She shook her head. 'No. We met the forces of the Empress as we left the Pela and withdrew back into the islands. My crew and I were then turned out of the Rift Raven to make way for the outsiders. I was given command of the supply ships and tenders, and ordered to take them deeper into the islands. What happened next, I cannot say with certainty. There were negotiations, a demand for surrender, and a battle. All I can say for certain is that my supply ships were attacked by small launches. We were forced to scatter and flee in a small boat, and abandon the supply ships. Eventually we ended up here.'
It seemed like we were talking about the distant past, though it was only a decade behind us. Her news left me strangely unmoved.
I shook my head sadly. 'It was doomed from the beginning. The Empress knew we were on our way a few rounds after we sailed. And received radio reports once we arrived?' I saw a cloud of sadness cross her face, so I hastily added, 'I'm sorry, Trin. Vinden waited too long to make his move. The Empress was no fool. She'd been ready for tens of thousands of rounds. Your chances of success had passed away while you slept.'
She shrugged. 'It is all in the past. Now.'
'And the fate of my friends? Do you know what happened to them?'
She shook her head, 'I believe they met the Empress's admiral under a banner of truce. Later, I assume after the meeting, Prince ImVoy ordered us to join the Empress' fleet. He claimed they had agreed to take up our cause. Captain Lil'dre refused to do so without orders from Admiral Dar'Que or our Empress. Then, as I said, a battle ensued, but I can say no more than that, since I was away with the supply ships.'
I stared at her for a moment, in thought. Had Prince ImVoy - Hawker Vinden - betrayed them to save his life? Knowing him, it was entirely possible. But then again, could he have been forced to give the orders? Equally likely. And - I discovered - equally unimportant to me now. I shook off the past and beamed at Trin. 'That is all astern for us, isn't it? It is wonderful to see you again, my dear Trin! It's so amazing, I still can't believe you're here,' I added, sweeping my arms to encompass the marketplace of Kaliza. 'Sometimes the Pela seems small!'
She gave me the briefest of smiles. Trin's a very serious person. 'If I had not been sampling my products, I would not have believed you are here either.'
I looked down at the casts and jars spread out under the netting that held them in place. I could not read the local characters, but they had the look of spirits. I thought for a moment. Ah-ha!
'Daffa brandy?'
She may've smiled again - you have to watch her closely to catch her smiles. 'Yes.'
'Ah ? What was his name? The daffa brandy fellow.'
'XinDi.'
'A member of your crew, was he?'
'Yes,' she admitted, but before she could add anything more, her eyes widened, and I felt the presence of Simla dragons over either shoulder. They must be hungry again.
'Ah, two of my traveling companions,' I laughed. The elegant one in scarves and bangles is Hissi, and this one here is Siss. You've met Siss before?'
Siss swam up to her - nose to nose as is her custom and stared at her.
'She was our guest aboard the Rift Raven during the talon-hawk attack. She used to be guarding you while you slept.'
'The sentry serpent at the cavern entrance?'
Siss barked a loud, dragon-breath laugh, gave her a kiss with her tongue and swirled around her.
'The very same one. She invited herself aboard my gig just before the island blew. She apparently knows how to look after herself.'
Siss barked again.
'So you've now become a dragon-talker?' she asked.
'I took to heart what you said about dragons. And see where it got me,' I admitted with a laugh, shared with my two feathered companions. 'I talk to them, for all the good it does.' More barks of laughter. 'I can tell you that they're both hungry again, and have found me only so they can demand a few coins for spiced char-buns or grilled lizard on a stick, even though Hissi has a pouch full of coins.'
They growled and bared more of their teeth. We ought to take our show on the road...
Whatever Trin was about to say, she held off, and rising, cupped her hands and bowed. I turned about to see Naylea and Py drifting through the crowd towards us.
'Ah, my other traveling companions.' I saw a look of recognition cross Trin's face. She gave me a brief, questioning look, so I added. 'Ah, just so. You have met Adept NyLi before. This is quite the reunion.'
When they had joined me, I said, 'I would like to introduce you to an old shipmate - Sub-captain Trin. Would you believe it? Sub-captain Trin was my first mate during my brief employment as Captain of the Rift Raven. Laezan Advocates LinPy and NyLi are my other friends and traveling companions.'
Trin bowed a greeting. 'I am no longer a sub-captain in either the Imperial Cimmadar Navy or the resistance, so I am now known simply by my given name, TrinNatta.'
'A pretty name,' I said, and added, 'Naylea, you've
crossed orbits with TrinNatta before.'
'Sister,' she nodded. 'Have I?'
'Very briefly - on the deck of the flagship. She was standing next to me, having just been appointed my first mate when you arrived. She then helped me stow you away in the pod.'
I could see that the implications of Trin's presence did not escape Naylea. 'I am delighted to find you here, looking so well,' she said rather cruelly, but added with a softer smile. 'I hope you fared as well as I have.'
'There are 11 of us here. Most of us who were looking after the supply ships. The rest I can not speak for.'
'I am sorry,' Naylea said. 'But we all had our duties. As you see, I am trying to follow a new Way. I hope we can put the past behind us.'
Trin nodded. 'The past is long behind us. I am glad to see you as you are. I know that Captain Litang was deeply troubled by your abduction. I am glad that he found you.'
'I am glad as well. I would've died on the island, had he not come back to warn you of Vinden's treachery. But we parted ways, soon afterward. My fault. I was still too entangled in my old life. But fate has recently brought us together again, as friends and traveling companions.'
Trin watched her closely. 'I believe we all have many stories to tell. You must come with me to our island and stay as our guests. You will be warmly welcomed. Captain Litang has old friends on the island, who, I know, will be delighted, and as amazed as I am, to see him here.'
'We have lodgings in the city.'
She shook her head no. 'My crew will be back shortly from their deliveries. You must collect your gear and come to stay with us for a while on our island. We have much to catch up on. And I will show you the finest daffa brandy distillery in the Catarias, and indeed, all of Windvera as well.'
I looked to my companions. Naylea, I knew, was anxious to return to her mission, if possible.
Naylea shrugged. 'I'll not stand in the way of old shipmates exchanging yarns.'
Py laughed. 'I must confess that I've come to enjoy the journey. It seems that I'm no longer in a hurry to see it come to an end. For the first time in my life, I am off the leash. No masters to suggest I do this or consider that. No duties or responsibilities. I am free to have the adventures I dreamed of as a boy. And traveling with Wilitang, we seem to find no shortage of adventures!'
I gave Py a hard look. 'You've had all the adventures I'm providing this voyage.'
He merely smiled. He didn't believe me. I'd just have to prove him wrong.
