“What do you mean?”
“Clearly you’re not yourself. We barely see you out on the deck anymore.”
He rubbed at his chin. “Just had a lot on my mind.”
Starlina looked upon the desk, where Fulgar’s anelace rested. “What do you intend to do with the novidian?”
He turned in his chair and picked up the weapon, looking it over. “In all honesty, I have no idea. Fulgar told me to seek out his Order.”
“Will you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I will.”
“Once he had me hold that dagger.” She stared at it in remembrance. “It wasn’t anything like when Fulgar held it, but it glowed for me. He seemed to think that meant something.”
Her father was watching her, expressionless.
“Then, in the cave, he had me touch that”—she shook her head—“cursed dome thing, and somehow he drew energy from me.”
He nodded. “You and I…we have something unique in our lineage, going back to when our ancestor Augustus Macpherson banished the Grimstone from Tuscawny and sealed it away in Gukhan to save the land. It’s that something in our lineage that gives us a connection with novidian.”
She leaned back, thoughtful. “Does it concern you at all? I mean, Macpherson removed the Grimstone from Tuscawny, and now Seadread is taking it back there. We would’ve taken it back there. Couldn’t that be dangerous?”
Her father blinked, seeming to consider that. “Fulgar wanted it to be back under the watchful eye of the Order. He seemed to think that Gukhan had become such a dark place that it was no longer safe there. I saw visions associated with that Grimstone there…and it is not to be trifled with.”
“Dark is right,” Starlina said. “Still, Seadread is taking it right to the person who wanted it. It just doesn’t quite feel right.”
“Yes, well, personally I think Seadread will find he’s bitten off more than he can chew.”
“And what kind of person actually seeks some dark object like that, anyway? Didn’t he tell you it would somehow help the Light of the Land? It seems awfully backwards.”
Her father smiled. “I say we keep an eye on these developments. You’ve a keen instinct about you, Starlina.”
“Well, I am a Murdoch after all.”
Her father’s eyes softened, and the look she got from them was one of great pride. “Ah, that you are, my dear…but not just a Murdoch. A Macpherson.”
Jensen looked out from the taffrail of the stern deck, watching the sun as it crept below the horizon. His ears took in the tranquil sound of the ship cutting through the water, chasing white waves from the hull and leaving a trail in its wake.
They were less than three days away from Warvonia. Nobody knew how long they would stay ashore before their next voyage. There were already whisperings among the crew that some would seek a transfer, following the epic failure of this trip. This, of course, came from those of lesser experience and, generally, lesser ability.
Jensen was not among them. As with the officers— Daubernoun, Kasper, Yancy, Rosh, Evette—he was a Murdoch’s Mate through and through. They all knew the outcome of this voyage wasn’t a failure of their captain’s. Rather, it was a sabotage of Seadread.
Jensen very much wondered what would transpire if and when their path crossed again with Garrick Rummy. Whether or not Captain Murdoch would ever condone any open acts of revenge, the crew of Murdoch had no small score to settle with that fiendish rogue.
Jensen felt absently for an object in his pocket. It was a thing that he had quite meant to be without before this voyage even began, if only he’d been able to get Starlina to accept it.
“I find it special, you know,” Starlina said from behind, “to be aboard my father’s ship as it returns from a daring voyage such as this.”
Beaming, Jensen turned around. Once again the pendant of lilac kuntupite hung below her neck. “You never know where we’ll sail to next. It’ll be somewhere away from Warvonia…”
“…and it’ll be somewhere grand, I’m sure,” she said.
She joined him beside the taffrail, standing right by him, so that their arms touched. Her makeshift shirt had no sleeves, and her skin was warm and soft against his. “Being surrounded by this view on all sides—the absolute perfect backdrop, isn’t it?”
“It is beautiful,” he said.
“It’s what every sailor dreams of,” she said. “These open waters, the horizon laid out before you. It’s like freedom.” She looked at him with an impish smile. “That’s what someone told me once.”
He chuckled. “The words of a wise man. A real keeper.”
His fingers were restless inside his pocket.
“I love the ocean,” he said. “I love this ship…and the adventure…and sailing under your father.”
He looked into her eyes, bright and wide and staring back into his.
“But I would give it all up for the greatest love of them all. You, Starlina.”
“But then you wouldn’t be you, would you? And we can’t have that.”
“I’m not me without you,” he said.
He took her hand, his heart pounding.
He took a deep breath. “I…I have a question for you….”
She placed a finger over his lips. “Sailors don’t ask questions,” she said, leaning in very close. “They take action.”
And with the water all around them, they kissed, longingly. He swam in her goodness, drinking her in, forgetting everything he’d ever been worried about. His hand cradled her cheek, and his nostrils filled with her scent. Long gone was the smell of rosewater. It had been washed away, replaced by something even more invigorating.
The sea.
It was about the fourth hour of the morning when Zale stood atop the stern of his ship, leaning against the aft ballista in thought. He was alone. Kasper had just relieved Jensen of helm’s duty on the quarterdeck below. When they reached Warvonia in about two days’ time, their rest would be well-deserved.
He and his officers would have their work cut out for them once back to shore. He already assumed several of the deckhands would attempt to transfer, hoping for captains who take jobs with less risk and danger. They would need to be replaced, but this was not entirely unfamiliar to Zale.
Then there was the far more unpleasant business of having to inform the guild of those crewmembers lost in action. That was a relatively sterile process—mostly paperwork, and no questions asked about the details. Any family and loved ones of those men, however, would demand…and deserve… more answers.
He couldn’t bring himself to even think about the mastery bar anymore. He figured the guilders would want to work him to the death. He had already decided that, if he wanted a month off with his wife and family, he would take it, and to Gheol with the guilders.
By now the choice of family over career was an easy one for him.
The harder choice—the one he’d wrestled with over their three-week voyage home—had to do with the object in his pocket.
He pulled it out, an object like a small, flat slab of shale in his hand—clearly the broken shard of something larger.
It was the Grimstone.
Either now or very soon, down in Miskunn, Seadread was about to present an empty canister to what would certainly be a most displeased Vidimir. It seemed that ol’ Puffypants would not reach the mastery bar this year after all. That afforded Zale a most satisfying chuckle.
He stared at the Grimstone. “So much evil in something so small,” he whispered, thinking of Fulgar.
“I know…you will do right,” he had said. “Your heart… is good.”
What, exactly, was right was what Zale had deliberated with himself over and over again all the way home. His crew had every right to the payoff this object could bring. It was for this object that Zale had turned away two easier charges. It was for this job that nine men had died.
But the lives of nine could pale in comparison to what Zale had seen in the visions. If true, the destruction this ob
ject was capable of might affect the entire kingdom, maybe even beyond. This concept of saving the land by replacing the Light with this…. There had to be a better way.
His daughter and his granddaughters would not grow up in a haunted, lightless world like that, not if he had anything to say about it.
To bring the object back to Tuscawny seemed to be what Fulgar had intended. It would be under the Order’s watch, supposedly safe.
But his own ancestor, Macpherson, had gone through great lengths to take it far from there…far from the Light.
And so he had a choice, perhaps the greatest choice of his life.
“What to do with you?” he spoke softly. Even in his hand, he somehow felt a sort of contempt from the object, as though it hated being within his grasp.
He closed his eyes in thought. He saw the gentle smile of his wife, Lola. He heard the joyous laughter of his young granddaughters. He saw Starlina and Jensen, his crew, the city of Warvonia that he loved.
Not even opening his eyes to see it again, he threw back his arm and launched it to the sea.
“You, Fulgar, are of the Order,” he said. “Now you keep it safe.”
Zale Murdoch had made his choice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wayne Kramer lives in the southern Indiana countryside. He loves the open spaces and fresh air. His family keeps a small greenhouse, usually a little garden, chickens, and an overweight cat. He has been married to his wife and best friend, Kaly, since 2004. They have four daughters with the nature-themed names of Dawn, Brooke, Holly, and Ivy.
Wayne wanted to be a published author for nearly 25 years before finally doing it. Life finally afforded enough flexibility that he is able to focus a lot more time developing the “Heroes of Time” series that he is very passionate about. Another major novel in the series has already been written.
From early on writing was one of Wayne’s favorite pastimes. He wrote short stories throughout middle school and high school for Young Authors contests and group projects. Before “Heroes of Time” dominated his mind, he worked extensively on creating an epic-fantasy novelization of a popular role-playing video game. Over the years Wayne received frequent feedback on many revisions of this novelization, making it one of the primary vessels through which he fine-tuned his writing.
He graduated from the University of Louisville in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Science degree. He worked for his parents’ company in the field of medical imaging equipment and parts for a total of fifteen years. Wayne also pursued business opportunities in licensed products, which included helping to run a traveling retail presence, ecommerce, and product design.
Wayne currently owns and runs his own business, W7 Global, which sells parts for medical imaging equipment all around the world. Throughout his professional and personal endeavors, Wayne has visited nearly 40 countries and about 25 states in the US. He especially loved visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand.
Wayne feels truly blessed by God to pursue his dream of writing and publishing stories. The world of Eliorin was inspired by Wayne’s love of stories of classic fantasy and time travel, and he is incredibly excited to share this rich world with you.
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