It took El five years to save enough money to buy a ship. She stepped out of her home on one of the upper terraces at the base of Mount Outu in the early morning, ready to do just that and take the next step toward her goal of starting her own trading company.
A chill breeze blew in from the cove on the west side of the island. The cold cut through her clothing and sent a shiver through her body. That day she wore leather boots, loose white pants, a white shirt, and a leather vest. It was a popular outfit among the Allakhanian traders on the eastern continent. El preferred it to the dresses worn by the other women on Kekkek Island. Being wrapped in a single piece of cloth, no matter how beautifully decorated, felt too restrictive. She did find the patterns of the island’s flowers and palms on those dresses appealing though, so she had the village’s dye merchant add them to her pants.
From her terrace, El had a clear view of Baharkar Village. Her eyes scanned across the land to the southern tip of the cove’s mouth and the port that made its home there. Farmland that provided food for the village sat between the port and the housing terraces. Those farms acted as a buffer between the homes and the noise of the port and its surrounding shops.
The darkness the month of Jor brought to their part of the world covered Kekkek Island. Luckily, the darkness also brought out the polychromatic bioluminescence of the island’s plants. During the dark months the leaves, vines, flowers, and tufts of the plants across Eleshar glowed softly. Their elegant beauty often captivated El, leaving her hypnotized and staring into the forest on more than one occasion.
Jor was ending though, which meant the sun just barely peeked over the eastern horizon, announcing the approach of the next light month. It would be another week before it crept into a position where it would cast its light on the village. Until then, bioluminescence would continue to be the only source of light they could rely on.
El touched the coin pouch sitting in her pocket, an unconscious gesture to ease the anxiety she felt at having five years of savings on her person. She headed to the nearest stairway and began working her way down. The terraces had many such stairways to provide passage from the highest level to the lowest. Tall poles stood on either side of the stairs with potted vine plants hanging from the top. Their vines reached over the edges of the pots and cast a bright white light around them. The white vine lanterns were an ancient invention of selective breeding, and a pivotal achievement for the peoples of Eleshar. The dark months would never again keep ships in their ports, or caravans from crossing the vast deserts at the center of the world.
A few terraces down, El saw her friend Ki kneeling with her mother in their family’s garden. The bucket next to them was full of at least an hour’s worth of harvested vegetables. When Ki noticed El she waved excitedly. “Morning, El!” she said as bits of dirt flung from her hand and into her mother’s face.
Her mother held up her hands as a shield against the onslaught, but was too slow. “Hey!” she said as she spat soil from her mouth.
“Oh!” Ki said. “Sorry mother.”
Her mother gave her a reproachful look.
El chuckled to herself as she came to a stop at Ki’s terrace. “Think you can get away in a bit?”
“Today’s the day?”
“Today’s the day.”
Ki stood and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t make me wait too long, then.”
“I can and I will,” El said. She began to walk away, making a show of moving at a snail’s pace. “I’llll beeee riiiiiight baaaaack.”
“If you’re going to be like, that then I don’t want to see it,” Ki said, a hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
“Yes you do!” El said, picking up her normal speed.
Ki huffed and went back to her gardening.
El took the steps two at a time until she was deposited on the dirt path that edged the cove’s southern beach. White vine lanterns lighted the dirt road as bright as they did the terrace stairways. The fact that this part of the road between the port and the terraces was made of dirt had always perplexed El. The explanation that they didn’t need to pave it didn’t make sense to her, either. If they didn’t need to pave that part, why pave any part at all? Everyone came to the island on boats anyway. The only carts or wagons travelling their roads were from the farmers who were just fine using dirt roads.
Ahead in the shallow waters of the cove was the empty husk of an Uklak. A huge creature, five times the height of a man and three times as wide as that. The animal had the general shape of the small crabs that often skittered across the beaches of Kekkek Island, and while it did have claws like those crabs, its claws could cut a man in two. In addition to that, the Uklak’s shell had spikes that protruded from it in all directions, and long membranous fins that stretched out along its side.
The people of her village were the only ones in all of Eleshar who knew where to find the Uklak, and how to hunt them. The hunt was still dangerous though, even for them. After generations they’d perfected the sport so it had been decades since anyone had died in the pursuit.
The Uklak in the cove was caught almost two months ago and practically picked clean since then. The bottom portion was all that was left as it sat in the cove like an enormous bowl filled with ocean water.
Tet Nadad, the island’s master smithy, stood knee-deep in the water and directed the work of his young apprentices. The men struggled to break off pieces of the dead animal’s carapace. It was one of the strongest substances on Eleshar, and while El didn’t know the exact method Tet and his workers used to break it apart, she suspected the lines of powder they poured on it played a part.
El waved at the man and called out to him. “Looks like there might be more of that one left, eh Tet?”
“Barely,” he said with the trademark stoicism everyone associated with the man. He was short but packed with the muscles of a master smith. He wore only a vest on top of his brown wool pants that let all the lines of his muscles show clearly. “I’m just glad your father convinced the other hunters to sail out early.”
While Tet was generally a humorless man, he was earnest and fair. El respected that about him. “So am I,” she said.
Usually there would be another Uklak in the cove by now. The hunts during the last light month hadn’t been successful though, and once darkness fell the hunts stopped. It was difficult enough to bring the animal down in the light of the sun. In the dark months it was close to suicide.
The village relied on selling the weapons and armor of the Uklak for most of their critical necessities. That fact created a fierce debate among the hunters about the timing of the next hunt. During their last meeting her father Hex—who was also the hunters’ captain—was able to keep the conversation civil and lead everyone to agree on a plan. They would sail when the first sliver of the sun peeked over the eastern horizon.
Leaving Tet and his men to their work, El continued down the road until it transitioned from dirt to cobblestone as she closed in on the port. It splintered off into a network of roads and buildings that formed what they called the Trade District. It was common for mainland traders to laugh at the name, but she’d learned to ignore them long ago. She was proud of what they’d built and she wouldn’t let outsiders make her feel otherwise.
Local businesses lined the roads selling everything from jewelry and trinkets to food and clothing. A line of shops that sold items crafted from the Uklak edged the main road, and an Inn sat across from the docks. Everything around the port facilitated the Uklak trade and encouraged tourism, bringing wealth that an island as small as theirs wouldn’t normally see.
El passed the port and walked south to the harbor. It was surrounded by a sturdy wooden fence that faced the road with natural rock barriers on either side. Together they restricted access to a single gated entrance. Inside consisted of a series of five docks that extended from the grass, over a thin beach, and onto the water. Those docks held the seven Uklak hunting ships—called Velels—currently in service, along with a myriad of others owned by both villagers and visitors.
A small building stood next to the harbor’s gate with a large window set in the side and facing the gate with its shutter latched open. This was the harbormaster’s cabin, where Wik Genon tended to the needs of the harbor and bought and sold ships. For a harbor the size of theirs, Wik was enough to handle its needs.
When El approached, the man was sitting on his stool inside the building. He was rail thin and stood taller than most men on the island. Balding on top, Wik shaved what little hair he had left. Instead, he allowed his snow-white beard to grow unrestrained to compensate. El steeled herself as she approached the building. Wik was known as a shrewd businessman who would take you for all you were worth and leave you to believe it was your idea.
Currently, he was hunched over a sheet of paper scribbling something. The man kept meticulous records on the ships in his harbor, a fact of which he was immensely proud. The man smiled when he saw El and stood up to lean over the window ledge. “Good morning young lady. How’s the boat savings coming?”
“Fantastic,” she said, not able to keep the smile off her face. “I’m here to buy a ship.”
“You are? Let’s look at what I’ve got then!” Wik reached out and unlatched the shutter then closed his window. A moment later he exited from a door on the other side of the building and walked around to the gate. “I’m a bit low on available inventory today,” Wik said as he unlocked the gate and swung it open. “I’m sure we’ll find you something, though.”
“I need one that can sail cargo to the mainland and back.”
Wik looked back at her as he led her through the docks, his beard flowing under his armpit and flapping in the wind behind him. “I think my records showed a few options that might suit you. They’re always accurate, you know.” He winked at her.
El absently touched the coin purse in her pocket. The archipelago she lived in was called the Yawdaw Islands, and like most of the world they used Kloren coins for trade. The nation of Kloren was the current economic power across Eleshar. It provided everything from precious metals and textiles to grains and medicines. Their currency was broken up into platinum, gold, silver, and copper coins. El had fifteen gold coins and five silver in her purse, plenty for an old ship.
Wik led her to a boat called an Unk. It was a small vessel used for fishing the waters around the island. “This one here has been well cared for,” Wik said. “She should get you anywhere you want to go and won’t need much maintenance, either.”
The Unk wouldn’t meet her needs, she knew it the moment she saw it. She played along anyway and went through the motions. While she’d never bought ships before, she’d been buying and selling things for years to save the money she had. It made this part familiar to her. There was a sort of dance to negotiating as a buyer, and El knew her steps.
There were some small problems with the Unk she brought to Wik’s attention. These opening steps were meant to show the harbormaster she understood what made a seaworthy ship. The next steps were the hardest and took her the most time to master, but the years of practice brought her confidence. El stepped back up to the dock putting the tiniest bit of interest into her expression, hoping he would think she was more interested that she actually was. “How much do you want for it?”
“For something like this?” he said as he stroked his beard. “Fifteen gold is fair, I think.”
“Fifteen?” El was in disbelief. She knew the man would try and overcharge her, but not outright rob her. “You know this ship isn’t worth more than eight.”
“Well,” Wik responded. The tiniest bit of a smirk flashed at the edges of his mouth. He’d immediately broken through El’s defenses and caused her to stumble. Worst of all, he knew the advantage he’d just created. “I do want to help you build your trading company, so I think I can knock the price down to—” He paused in mock thought again.
While Wik played his part in the dance, El tried to recover by looking out at the other ships. It didn’t take long before something caught her eye a few docks down.
He finished his thought, “thirteen gold.”
“Not good enough, Wik,” El said. “But I’m not interested in that one anymore.”
“Well, I’m not sure I have anything else in your price—”
“What about that one?” She pointed at a decommissioned Velel she’d spied a few docks over.
“I wouldn’t let a ship like that go for anything under twenty gold.”
El walked away as he spoke. The Velels were made for the Uklak hunt. They were strong, sleek, built for speed, and had a small hold in the aft for storage, but a single person could squeeze into it in an emergency. The ships had one triangular main sail and a thin head sail attached to a single mast. Both sails were rigged through an intricate system of winches and pulleys to allow a single person to trim them from the cockpit at the stern. Perfect for an enterprising woman who needed to sail alone across the ocean.
El boarded the ship and inspected it as Wik hurried to catch up with her. It seemed she could make him stumble too.
The aged Velel was seaworthy and had minimal damage. Though there was enough wear on the ship that El suspected it would need some repairs before she felt confident it could take her all the way to the mainland. As she did with the Unk, El loudly called out every problem she could identify. Nothing was too small to notice. Eventually Wik’s normally jovial expression began to waver.
That was the sign she needed. They were at the end of the dance now, she could sense it. Unable to stop herself, she let her eagerness rush the final steps. “Nine gold,” she said flatly.
“Eighteen.”
“I’m going to put at least ten gold worth of repairs into it.” She looked at the ship and pretended to think about her next offer. “Ten gold.”
“Fifteen.”
“Eleven and two months of mooring.”
“Twelve, no mooring.”
“Twelve and one month of mooring,” she said. A smile played across her face celebrating her victory before the dance even finished. It was a flaw in her technique that had cost her several times.
Wik shook his head, the jovial expression gone from his face. “You’ll be giving merchants on this island a run for their money once you get going. You’ve got yourself a deal. Follow me.” Wik brought El back to his cabin, then took care of the paperwork.
After her many years of carefully adding to her savings, it felt strange to hand over her gold. She managed it despite her reluctance, though. Then with a flourish, Wik signed her deed of ownership and handed it to her, along with an agreement to provide her with one month of mooring.
“Thanks,” she said, then hurried to find Ki. The excitement got to El adding a pep to her step that was difficult to hold back. By the time she found Ki and the two were headed back to the harbor El had practically been running. It left them catching their breath as they stood on the dock in front of El’s Velel.
“So this is your new ship?” Ki asked.
“It is!” El said while boarding the vessel. “Want to take her out?” “Go sailing with you, or do more work in the garden?” She pretended to struggle with her options. “I wonder what I should do.” A smile stretched across her face as she boarded the ship. “Where are we headed?”