"The Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese relate each year with an animal, repeating every twelve years from rat to pig. The statues each relate to a person, a saint most likely due to the five I—"
Victor audibly coughed to Alexandre.
"The five we deduced. Depending on the birth year of the person, the statue relates to an animal from the Zodiac. Once we determiner what animal they are, we move the statue to these sections here." Alexandre pointed to a barely noticeable wooden square a small distance from each animal statue. The wooden square was coloured differently from the rest of the wood on the ship, but still smooth, with no noticeable indentation. "Placing the statues will be the easy part, the hard part is deciding where."
Edward nodded. "Thus why having more people is better. More knowledge to figure out who each person is and what year they were born. Each one is too obscure for one person, unless they are extremely well travelled and devout. Amongst a group of almost two hundred, it doesn't seem so farfetched." Edward considered the crew milling about, examining the ship and the statues and talking, and noticed several people, including Christina, Herbert, and Nassir, at the entrance to the strange area which took up the back portion of the ark. "Have Anne and William organise people to work on this, I will examine the rest of this ship."
"Oui, Capitaine," Alexandre replied.
Edward joined the group gathered at the back. The sectioned wall taking up the back fifth of the Ark was its own oddity. Edward didn't understand the purpose, but if the pedestal was any indication it would not provide a way out in its current state.
Two crewmen began entering the open section. "No, wait!" Edward yelled, stopping them. "It's too dangerous." He led the crewmen away. "We don't want to take any chances."
Edward took a gander into the entrance. Inside was a hallway leading deeper into the ark with a ten-foot clearance. The hallway itself was about a hundred feet long, then turned off to the right with stairs leading up. On the floor, Edward could see the same discoloured wood separating the hallway into ten-square-foot cubes. Each square was part of a larger cube which made up the final four-hundred-foot part of the ark.
"Well, I'm too curious, so I'm going in," Christina declared, walking to the entrance.
Edward grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "That was an order. If previous trials are any indication then there are probably life-threatening traps awaiting any who enter before the puzzle is complete."
"And what if that's not the case? What if there is something in there which could help in solving the puzzle out here?" Christina argued, waving her arms.
"What are you basing this off of? Your assumption is groundless," Edward argued back.
Christina contested everything Edward said and did not accept his answer. The conversation became rather heated until Herbert interjected.
"Stop, children. Stop!" he bellowed. Christina and Edward both glared at Herbert, but he was unfazed. "I feel it is worth exploring further. Perhaps all we need to do is have the courage to enter and the exit will be right around the corner. Perhaps Benjamin means for us to be afraid, while we waste time here. Is that not something he may do?"
Edward frowned, glancing back and forth between Christina and Herbert. "It sounds plausible," he said. Christina jumped and laughed in glee, grinning at her brother coming to her defence. "But, but," Edward repeated with emphasis, "you must take someone with you in case something dangerous lurks beyond those walls."
Christina instinctively turned to her older brother, and he immediately put his hands in the air. "You cannot be serious," he said with a straight face.
"No, of course not. I don't want to carry you around," Christina replied with loving bite only a sister could manage. "Nassir, would you be a gentleman and join me?" Christina linked her arm in Nassir's.
"Certainly. I will not allow any harm to befall you, Christina." Nassir turned to Edward and Herbert. "Is my protection acceptable to you both?"
Herbert and Edward both nodded in assent. Christina smiled from ear to ear and pulled the larger Nassir by the arm into the unknown. Edward glanced at Herbert and they both watched Christina and Nassir as they walked through the hallway.
"So far, so good," Edward said to Herbert as he leaned on the wooden wall.
As if the Devil was listening, a loud click drew Edward's attention to Christina. She was peering at her feet in the middle of the hallway. Edward's heart seized in his chest. He pushed away from the wall and as he was about to run into the entrance, the wall shifted before his eyes and the entrance moved away from him.
Edward backed away from the wall to see what was happening, partially out of fear and partially out of instinct. The entire back section of the ship began moving of its own accord. The entrance previously in the bottom left corner moved back and disappeared. Each ten-foot cube was moving and changing from its original position, and from the noises the cubes behind the wall were moving as well. After a few seconds the wall stopped, and the ship was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were on the back wall. Edward snapped out of his shock, ran to the wall, and pounded on the wood.
"Christina! Nassir!" he yelled as he beat his fist against the grain. "Can you hear me? Are you hurt?" Edward pressed his ear to the wall, but he could hear nothing.
Herbert glanced at the wall with a confused, panicked expression, and followed suit with Edward. He screamed his sister's name and savagely hit the wall. Edward moved to another spot on the wall and held his hand up for Herbert to stop his shouting and banging. "I hear her," Edward said softly. "I hear you, Christina!" he bellowed. "Are you and Nassir safe?"
"Yes, we aren't harmed," Christina replied. "The sections shifted after I stepped on a switch. I think a maze would be the only way to describe what we're seeing in here. There are so many different paths I don't know where to go next."
"Have you moved since the maze changed?"
"No, we thought it best to stay still."
"Try pressing the switch again," Edward yelled.
Herbert grabbed Edward's arm and pulled him away before he could hear anything else. "Are you insane? We don't know what that will do."
"In case you haven't noticed, it's a little late for objections, Herbert. I was against the idea from the beginning, and now she's lost with no way out. Pressing the switch may reverse what happened."
Herbert made no more objections, but still looked displeased. Edward believed he was lashing out because of his choice to let Christina go.
Edward pressed his ear to the wall to listen again. "…ward? I couldn't hear you. Are you sure you want me to press the switch again?" Christina asked.
"Yes, press the switch," Edward commanded.
"Aye, aye."
Edward backed away from the wall and watched as the ten foot cubes began shifting again. Edward wasn't able to follow the movement exactly, but it did seem to be moving opposite to what it had the first time. A few seconds passed with the crew all watching the spectacle. At the end, the entrance returned to the bottom left.
Christina ran out and searched through the gathered crew to find her brother. She rushed to Herbert and embraced him.
Herbert's hands shook as he pulled his sister close. "I feared the worst had happened."
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Herbert. I'm here. I'm safe."
Herbert pushed his sister back and stared her square in the eyes. "I forbid you from going into that maze again. Edward was right, it's too dangerous."
Even Herbert, the sailing master, could not have foreseen the storm unleashed inside Christina at those words. "You forbid me? I am not a child. Both of you do not realise that." Christina looked daggers at both Herbert and Edward. "I am going back in there, regardless of what you want!"
Herbert matched Christina's fury line for line on his face. "And what if you die, hmm? What then?"
"Then at least I would have had some choice in the matter!" Christina yelled. "I know of the arguments you had with Edward each time I have become injured, an
d I agree with him." Christina turned to Edward. "But you are equally as guilty as Herbert. Neither of you allow me my freedom despite how you venerate the word so. Ever since your accident, Herbert, you unwittingly shackled me with the chains of a child. I know you were hurt by Calico Jack, but when I am hurt it is not Edward's fault." Christina knelt down next to Herbert and the loving gaze of a sister returned to her eyes. "I am not a child who does not know the dangers of gunpowder. I am a grown woman who understands the risks. I will not shame Ochi by cowering in fear when facing our enemies, nor will I let fear of the unknown stop me."
Herbert's eyes welled up with tears. "I don't know what I will do if I lose you. You are all I have left in this world."
Christina shook her head as she touched her brother's leg. "If that is why you are so afraid, then you have nothing to worry about. How many times must you be told, brother? We are your family." Christina gestured to all the crewmen gathered around.
Herbert turned his gaze from the ark's floorboards and into the faces of those staring at him. Many smiled and nodded when they met his eyes. Herbert's gaze eventually landed on Edward, but then he turned away in shame.
"I am sorry, Edward." Herbert opened his mouth to say more, but the no words came out.
"There is nothing to apologise for." Edward lay his hand on Herbert's shoulder, and grinned. "Until you accept us as your family, we will be here. They say you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family, isn't that right, men?" The crew responded with a holler and some raised fists. Edward chuckled. "You're stuck with us."
Herbert laughed and wiped a tear away. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
After a moment of silence, Edward grabbed the crew's attention. "Alright, Christina, Nassir, be careful." Christina nodded and jogged back to the maze and entered. Soon after the maze shifted again before their eyes. Edward turned his attention back to the crew. "Where are we on the statues?" he asked no one in particular.
"We set the statues we know of, at Alexandre's direction," Jack told Edward, pointing to the five statues standing next to their respected animal companions. "We are about to move one suggested by myself." Jack smiled as he said that part.
"Which one?" Edward asked as he watched ten crewmates lift the heavy statue of a priest.
Jack grinned sheepishly. "Well, the name was inscribed on the statue already. Saint Francis. There are several saints with the same name, so we don't actually know which one it is."
Edward was shocked. "Isn't this dangerous? We can't afford to make mistakes. The engraving on the pedestal mentioned something about six sins and being engulfed in fire, I think you recall."
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, yes, we know. We have ideas for some of the other statues, but we must start somewhere. I believe this one to be Saint Francis Xavier, born in fifteen-oh-six, which, according to Anne's math, would be the year of the Tiger."
Edward focused on the crew, a few steps from setting the statue down. "I suppose," he agreed, stroking his beard.
The crew dropped the saint's statue next to the Tiger statue and a clicking sounded. At first Edward feared the worst, then his rational mind went through the steps. Each statue must have clicked before this. Edward calmed himself with this, but as he glanced at the crew, he could tell something was off. There was no noise before!
Another noise started, bringing Edward's attention to the front of the ark, where they had first entered. The wall which first lifted to allow the crew passage to the interior of the ark was now lowering inch by inch.
"Get away from the front of the ark!" Edward yelled, swiping his hand across the air.
The crewmen near the descending wall snapped out of their stupor of curiosity and ran. When the wall was halfway down, Edward could see two large unlit fire pits suspended in the air in the alcove where the wall used to be. When the wall was close to the bottom, Edward noticed the alcove was slanted and covered in a black, tar-like substance. The black liquid spilled over the falling wall and covered it completely, pooling on the floorboards and oozing out towards the middle of the ark and the crew.
When the wall fell flush with the rest of the ship, a mechanism struck flint to steel and created sparks, igniting the two fire pits. After the fire pits were set ablaze, they began descending slowly. Eventually, the fire would reach the bottom of the alcove and, presumably, ignite the black liquid, and in turn the ark.
Edward took charge of the situation before panic took over the crew. "Move the statue off!" he commanded. The men moved the Saint Francis Xavier statue away quickly. After they moved the statue, all eyes were on Edward, waiting for orders. Their survival hinged on Edward's next words, and Edward knew it. "I want all crewmates to split up among the statues. Senior officers will work at taking information on the possible origin of the person depicted by the statue. If you don't know who the person is, or are unsure, move to another group. I want everyone involved in this, no lollygagging. Seven statues, seven groups. Hop to it, men!"
Each crewmate ran to the nearest statue. Anne, William, Jack, Pukuh, Herbert, Alexandre, and Victor each moved to one of the statues, knowing their role without needing to question. They would guide the discussion as well as possible towards finding the solution of who these priests and nuns were and when they were born.
Edward paced back and forth, watching the crew working together, and the slowly falling fire pits some fifty feet away. When he noticed crewmates glancing at the impending doom, he admonished them to stay focused. Individual crewmates shuffled to other groups when they felt they knew nothing about the statue or had no further input to provide their group.
Edward gradually made his way to Alexandre, who simply observed the group discuss amongst themselves, no doubt analysing every word for something worthwhile.
"So, can you tell me what happened back there?" Edward whispered while Alexandre's group were discussing the exploits of female martyrs who were imprisoned.
"We did a test. We had one in seven chances. We were no farther ahead, so I made the call to use Jack's suggestion. Is that un problème?" Alexandre asked, brow raised.
"No, but I wish we were in a better position beforehand, maybe had a few more statues figured out before doing a test. Now we have a timer over our heads. How long do you figure we have left?"
Alexandre considered the fire pits, then his sullen eyes examined the angles and the relationship of the pits to the port and starboard walls. "Cinquante-six minutes, give or take."
Edward laughed. "Give or take. I enjoy your humble attitude. Always refreshing." Edward patted Alexandre on the back.
"If you ask me, this timer is, for lack of a better term, a godsend. I find that when under threat of death, humans can work more efficiently. Trust me, I've done tests," Alexandre said with a dark grin. "Also, this has brought those previously unhelpful into the fold as contributeurs."
Edward glanced at the teams working together. They had adopted frantic expressions, and argued vehemently that their assessment was correct, but all were involved.
"I believe you may be correct. Let us hope this is enough." Edward peered back to the maze behind him, the loud thumping of the shifting cubes telling him Christina was still alive.
Across the next thirty minutes, Edward and the senior crewmates collaborated on the consensus of their groups. The seven debated amongst themselves on whether their group was correct for their statue.
Four statues had riddles about the people they could be, and three had names on them. They were able to make a list of the possible priests and nuns each statue represented, and figured out which combinations would work, but a problem quickly presented itself.
"We're one statue short," Anne said flatly.
Alexandre concurred. "None of the combinaisons work with William's statue."
"So, what does it mean? We don't know who that is?" Edward pointed to the statue in question.
"Apparently so," William concluded.
"It matters not, just position the
idols," Pukuh chimed in.
Anne sighed. "Pukuh, there are four possible solutions for this. We have fifteen minutes. We may be able to determine this statue's origin by then. According to the text, if we are wrong it will undoubtedly speed the process of our doom."
"What of it?" Pukuh replied, indignant. "Time for talk is over. We must act, or we will die."
Anne glanced to the group, and all agreed with Pukuh's suggestion. "Alright, we'll try it your way."
Anne guided the crew in placing another statue. They believed the statue to be Saint Thomas Aquinas, born in the year of the Dog. As the crew moved the holy man's likeness, the fire pit inched ever closer to the pitch-covered wood, looming like the sword of Damocles. One mistake would that sword down, sealing the fate of the Freedom's crew.
Half the crew's eyes were focused on the statue, and the other half on the pits. The priest's statue was plopped down next to the figure of the dog. Those focusing on the pits and those on the statue swapped focus in the seconds after the statue lowered.
The pits kept lowering as normal, and the relief was visible on Edward's face, and the faces around him. Edward glanced at Anne and Pukuh; they both let out sighs.
Anne commanded the crew to move to the next statue. As the statue was set down next to the figure of the snake, Edward unconsciously held his breath, his eyes intent on the fire pit, and his ears listening for a sound he prayed never arrived.
Click
The noise caused Edward's gaze to shift back to the statue. The crewmates who set the statue down aped in shock. The sound of moving metal grinding and clanging echoed beneath the floorboards. Edward followed the noise with his eyes as it travelled all the way to the front of the ark.
The pits fell. Edward watched in horror as the pits sped to the bottom of the alcove. The noise of the iron chain locking filled the room. The pits stopped, swinging back and forth.
"Deux minutes," Alexandre counted blandly, filling the void of silence.
Panic gripped the crew of the Freedom. Hope was lost in those few seconds, as was order. Each man tried their own way of escape. Most ran to the sides, hacking and shooting at the wood, but none made a dent. Sweat poured from the faces of those men onto the floor of the Ark through their wasted effort.
Blackbeard's Revenge (Voyages Of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 2) Page 39
