The sheets—ropes used to control the boom arm the bottom of the sail was attached to—creaked as El trimmed the sails of her new vessel to catch the wind and pull them out of port. The ocean around them was calm and the ship rocked slightly as they got up to speed. El steered them southward along the western coast of the island. Once they were well on their way, she tied down the sheets, locked down the winches, sat down, and grabbed the tiller to keep them on course.
“You did it El, you really did it.” Ki’s smile put one on El’s face as well.
She let the cool breeze on her face steal her focus for a bit as she savored the moment. “There were times when I didn’t think this day would ever come,” she said.
“I knew it would,” Ki said. “From that day when we were ten and you saw those trading ships docked at the port. You proclaimed you were going to start Baharkar’s first world-wide trading company, and I never once doubted you would do it.”
“Everyone else did.” A defiant emotion rose up in her at that statement, but she let it pass. She didn’t want to ruin the moment. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without your support, you know. How many times did you help me lug goods across the island as I tried to find someone who would buy them? How many times did you lend me money because I bought things no one wanted and was left with nothing?”
Ki shrugged. “I never felt like I could have a dream for myself as big as yours, but when I helped you I felt like your dream was mine too, if only for those short moments.”
El stood up and made some adjustments to the sails that started to slack, an indication she was coming off the wind. “Just know, this ship isn’t my success alone.” She looked at Ki with a smile. “It’s yours too.”
Ki smiled back. “What comes next, then?” she asked as El tightened up the sails. “Are you headed to the mainland?”
“Soon enough,” she said, then retook her spot in the cockpit and grabbed the tiller. The thought of embarking for the mainland—despite her desire to leave—sent quivers through her stomach. “I still have preparations to make, and honestly, I don’t even know where to start.”
“You should go to Shyal. There’s a lot of trade there, and it’s the closest major port, after all.”
El thought about it for a moment. “I have been working with one of the merchants from Wylsh in the last year. Maybe he’d give me some advice.”
“See, you’re closer than you think—” Ki went on, but El’s mind was at a sprint as it drove her toward a developed plan.
She’d need at least five days of food and water, which might cost about two silvers. At that price El could afford to buy extra supplies in case of an emergency and still have enough to acquire a profitable amount of Uklak carapace, even considering the port taxes. Adding it all together, if she could pull it off, El might double her money in one trip. Quivers returned to her stomach as every bad outcome rushed into her thoughts.
“El?” Ki’s voice finally cut through El’s focus.
“Huh?”
“You didn’t hear anything I said, did you?”
“Sorry, I got lost in thought.”
“I guess you did,” Ki said with a smirk.
Another thought came to El’s mind and the words came out before she could stop them. “You should come with me,” she said. “We could start the trading company together!” Before her friend answered, El knew what she would say. It was written all over the sad smile she gave in return.
“Like I was saying—”
“I know,” El said immediately. She didn’t want to hear the rejection out loud.
They reached the southern shore of the island which gave El an excuse to turn her attention to sailing again. An adjustment to the tiller and a few turns of the pulleys swung the ship eastward.
“I want to, it’s just—”
“It’s fine Ki. You’re courting Aja, and that’s been going well.”
“Well, yes, it has, but—”
“I wouldn’t want to ruin your chances at a family. Besides, you never wanted to galivant across the world.”
“El, it’s not—”
She turned away to look over the ocean and into the distance. “You always wanted to start a family, and you’re almost—” Hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.
“El!” Ki locked eyes with her. “I would go with you in a second, but Aja asked me to marry him, and I accepted. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Ki’s outburst gave El pause. She stared at her friend for a moment just trying to take it all in. “That’s…quick?” Good one El, your friend shared good news with you and all you can say is, that’s quick?
“I know,” Ki said as she sat down again, “but I do like him, and he comes from a good family.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” She put on her best apologetic smile. “At least he’s a farmer and not a hunter.”
“I don’t think I could marry a hunter,” Ki said, “not with my father still going on the hunts. I couldn’t handle worrying over two people.”
Just then loud cracking sounded from the wood on the port side of the boat, then was followed by a sharp snap. The head sail fell as the sound of rigging zipping through pulleys sent out a high-pitched whine.
Ki dove toward the stern fast enough to barely miss being covered by the heavy canvas of the sail. “What just happened?” she asked eyeing the sail on the deck.
El stood up and inspected the head sail halyard and found the port-side winch that connected to the halyard had torn from the hull. It had slammed into the pulley at the head of the mast, then tore it from its bolt and caused the sail to fall to the deck. Small slivers of wood sat mixed in with the fallen sail. El shook her head and said, “I missed a weakness in the hull when I inspected the winches, that’s what happened.” She looked up at the top of the mast. “I guess the pulley for the main sail is still connected. Somehow.”
“My father complains a lot about constant ship repairs,” Ki said as she absently looked away from El and toward the island. “It comes with the territory, he always said.”
“Mine said the same thing,” El said as she folded the head sail and stuffed it into the hold at the stern, “especially during my sailing lessons. I hoped to avoid major repairs until after my first expedition, though.”
“You can’t plan for everything,” Ki said as she stood up and leaned over the side. She stiffened suddenly and pointed into the distance. “What’s that?”
El stepped up next to her and looked out. The tip of the sun peaking over the eastern horizon barely lighted the island, which made it difficult to make out anything more than undefined shapes in the distance. Its light shone dimly off the tips of the small waves around them adding texture to the inky black of the waters below. The normally colorful lights of the plants around the island were usually enough to see its shores, but where El looked, she saw only a hint of island ground. In the distance beyond the dark terrain were the green and orange lights of the Fenten Forest. The forest spanned from the northeast of the island to its southern shores.
El recognized the dark features as the Jurjur blowholes. As far as anyone knew, there was no other place in the world where lava rock met with the tides of the ocean in just the right configuration so water blasted through the holes of the rocks and high up into the air. She knew that area well and easily recognized it, even if it was dark and everything was still at the moment.
All but a white light bobbing near the shore, that is. It rocked back and forth among the crags as a shadowed figure waved frantically at them.
“Who’d be hanging around the blowholes when it’s still dark?” Ki said.
El turned, made some adjustments to the main sail, and steered the ship toward the light. “I don’t know, but it looks like they’re in some trouble.” She looked up in the sky to find the location of the moon. “It’s almost midday, so they don’t have long before the tide comes in.”
The rocks of the Jurjur blowholes created mostly cliff-like structures for the waves to crash upon. El didn’t want to risk bringing her ship in close where a strong current might pull it against the rocks. Instead, she dropped anchor a safe distance away. “Time for a swim,” she said.
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Ki stood up and prepared for the cold water.
They slipped into the water together, and El was reminded how cold the ocean was at the end of a dark month. Without the sun to warm the water, it was left to cool to frigid temperatures. Sometimes a warm current would find its way to the island from the other side of Eleshar where the sun would be out. Those currents were painfully absent as they swam the cold water toward the rocks. Once they got closer, a spot near the distressed man where they could climb out of the ocean revealed itself.
He ran over a craggy ledge as they climbed out of the water, cold and wet. “Please, my master needs help!”
El rung the water from her pants and shirt. “Stay calm and tell me what happened.”
“He wanted to explore the blowholes before we returned home. We didn’t expect to find caves,” he pointed to the entrance of a cave behind him, “but when we did he didn’t hesitate to go inside. I begged him not to go, but he wouldn’t listen. He called me a coward and left.”
El had been told about the dangers of those caves her entire life. Of men, women, and children who didn’t respect those dangers and disappeared, never to return.
“About an hour ago I felt a rumble in the rocks. My master hasn’t returned since then, and I fear the worst.”
El nodded to the man and said, “wait here.” She stepped toward the cave.
Ki grabbed her arm and spun her around. “What are you doing?”
El pulled her arm out of Ki’s grip. “High tide is an hour away, and it’ll take at least that long to bring help from the village. If we don’t act now he could get trapped and drown.”
“You’ll drown with him if you go in that cave.”
“Look at the water, it’s as calm as it ever gets.”
Ki looked out at the ocean but didn’t seem convinced.
“I’m not going for fun, Ki. I’ll find the man and get us both out as fast as I can.”
“I can’t follow you into that cave, El. I—” Ki’s eyes drifted to the mouth of the cave. She hugged herself and shivered.
El grabbed her shoulders gently. “It’s fine, Ki. If I’m not back before high tide, go get help.”
Ki nodded and her shoulders dropped as she breathed out a sigh. “Don’t make me wait until then.”
“I won’t,” El said with a wink. She turned to the distressed man and inspected him.
He was taller than her, but somehow felt smaller. His burlap clothing hung loosely off his body. El got the distinct impression a strong breeze would carry him away. His features were gaunt, emphasized by a patchy beard that was thickest in the deep crevices of his face.
“Wait here with my friend,” she said as she snapped off a vine from his lantern and wrapped it around her hand. The light from the vine would last for a little over an hour after being snapped off, which should be plenty of time to rescue this man’s master. She faced the man and her friend. “I’ll be right back.”
With the section of vine for light, El navigated her way over the uneven path of the lava rock and to the mouth of the cave. She couldn’t fathom the man going into the cave without a lantern of his own, but when she looked into it for a light nothing but darkness looked back.
Giving a final glance at the nervous face of her friend, El stepped into the cave. The floor extended halfway across the opening and dropped off to ocean water on her left. The light of her vine created stark shadows that undulated with the waves. The rhythm created by the peaceful push and pull of the water into the rock ledge covered El like a thick blanket while the water that lapped at the top of it urged her forward with the threat of the rising tide.
Further in, the cave floor extended to meet the left wall, blocking off the ocean from the tunnels beyond. The sound of the ocean gave way to the drip of condensed humidity that fell from the ceiling. A knot built in El’s stomach and tightened with each twist and turn of the tunnel.
“Hello?” she called. “Sir, are you there?” She felt short of breath as the silence stretched on.
“Over here,” came a voice from deeper in the cave.
It made El jump as it crept out of the silence. She pushed on faster, though. Eager now to rescue this man and be out of the cave. “I’m coming!” she yelled into the darkness ahead of her. El navigated through a few more turns, forced to duck, then crouch as the ceiling lowered to an almost uncomfortable position.
Around a corner where the cave opened up El found the man, lying on the floor in front of a collapsed pile of lava rock, his leg trapped underneath. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit that matched his carefully coiffed, white-streaked hair. By the look of the man he was older yet barely past his prime.
El recognized his fashion as from the eastern continent, most likely Kloren. He had gold and silver rings adorned with jewels of every color piled onto the fingers of his hands and his left wrist sported a thick silver bracelet encircled with opalescent jewels along the edges.
“It’s about time that good for nothing slave sent someone down here,” the man said, trying but failing to feign indifference to her presence.
“You’re lucky he flagged us down or you might have died down here.”
“I don’t need your opinions, I need you to free my leg,” the man said.
The way he twisted his features while he spoke made El want to turn around and leave. She came at the slave’s request though, and she didn’t want to admit she left his master in the cave to die just because the man was rude to her.
“It wouldn’t kill you to be more grateful,” she said as she stepped up to the pile and removed stones from the top. She worked quickly and had him free in moments. In a panic the man pulled himself away, sliding across the cavern floor while looking back like the stones would animate and try to trap him again. Nausea overcame El suddenly when she noticed the man’s foot twisted at an unnatural angle and leaving a trail of blood behind him. She almost lost the contents of her stomach when he tried to stand up only to collapsed with a yelp.
El rushed over to help him. “Put your arm around my shoulders.”
The man shoved her away. “Don’t touch me!” His face twisted in disgust.
She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. “Okay then, make your own way out of this cave.”
“I shall, and without the help of some backwater fisherman’s daughter.” He tried to get up again but crumpled.
El shook her head and walked away. “My father is the head Uklak hunter, and if you see him, you should give him more respect than you gave me. He’ll be chief of Baharkar village someday.”
“Bah! A title worth nothing on an island no one cares about.”
She spun, prepared to give him a piece of her mind but stopped short. Intrigue pushed anger away as she watched the man struggle to get to his feet.
He slid his body up the cave wall and had to lean on it awkwardly to remain upright. “There,” he said to her, a look of triumph on his face. “I told you—” He hopped forward on his good leg but made little progress. “I didn’t need—” He hopped again and almost lost his balance that time. He paused to compose himself then looked at her with his nose in the air. “Your help.”
“I can’t believe I came in here to save you,” El said. She turned on her heels and walked away, determined to leave for good.
“No one asked you to!” the man called after her.
El huffed. Someone had asked her. Not to mention this man would be stuck under those rocks if she hadn’t found him. Her steps slowed as she turned a corner. A cry echoed through the tunnel, followed by a thud. El stopped and sighed in annoyance. As ungrateful as that man was, El couldn’t stop her father’s voice from echoing to her in her mind. Integrity is doing what you say you’re going to do. Always let your word be true.
Turning around with a groan, El returned to the man sitting on the ground as soft whimpers escaped his lips. “Ready for my help?” she asked.
He yelped at her voice, then tried to put on a hard expression. “No,” he said with a slight quiver to his voice, “I told you I can do this myself.”
“I know what you said. Your situation is saying something else.”
“Psh!” he scoffed. “I thought you were leaving.” He put his hand on the cave wall again and tried to lift himself back up. A single step was all it took and he fell again. The look of wounded pride he gave her now made El almost feel sorry for the man. The way he caught himself and stuck his nose in the air to hide it made those feelings go away. “I’ll allow you to help me, since it looks like you won’t leave me alone if I don’t.”
“You’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met,” El said as she put the man’s arm around her shoulder and pulled him to his feet. She almost dropped him when he went completely limp the moment she started lifting. With great effort she managed to stand him up and drag him toward the exit. It wasn’t long before a shallow wave of water began to push its way into the cave.
“What’s that?” the man exclaimed. He tried to pull away from El, but his injury didn’t let him get far.
Despite his jostling, she managed to keep from being pulled to the ground. “It’s just water. The tide is coming in, which means if we don’t hurry we’ll have to swim out of here.”
The man’s eyes widened and he lessened the weight he put on her. “What are we waiting for then?”
El shook her head then kept dragging him forward. With his help she carried him until the mouth of the cave came into view. The water lapped over the top of their feet as they arrived at the ledge where the ocean met the cave floor. She noticed the ledge where the floor dropped off was hidden below the surface of the water now. El leaned to her left to keep the man from walking off into the deeper water.
The light of the slave’s lantern appeared ahead of them. “You found him!” the slave said.
The man pushed El away. “I can’t believe you thought I needed—” he said but cut off as he lost his balance and fell into the deep water.
El reached out to grab him but missed, falling backward and deeper into the cave. Her fingers wrapped around something thin that snapped against her weight. She fell back on the cave floor, splashing against the few inches of water that had come in with the tide.
The man flailed his arms as he tried to stay above the surface. “Save me!” he yelled.
The slave dropped his lantern and hurried after his master. Behind him a wave built and blocked out the dim light outside.
The wave crashed into the slave and knocked him over. El tried to get to her feet, but the water crashed into her before she could brace herself. It lifted her off the floor then pulled her deeper into the cave.
She managed to keep above water, but there was little clearance between the surface and the cave ceiling which caused her face to scrape the sharp lava rock. Eventually she felt the wave slow, then stop, then start to pull back. Hope rose in her chest as she imagined the water carrying her back out into the ocean outside. Her hope was dashed as quickly as it came when she heard the rumble and splash of rocks ahead of her and she lurched to a halt. El was left to tread water, her feet inches above the cave floor. Trapped inside the flooded cave, she struggled for breath in the small gap of air between the cave ceiling and the surface of the water.