Chapter 13 (Ivan's Tale Part II)

Chapter 13

Chaos reigned over the school of Einri the Navigator. People ran everywhere and teachers and professors were trying in vain to direct the flow of students into the main building. In the thrashing maul of bodies there were eight heads, covered in dark seaman’s cloaks that walked in the shadows. Each carried a large burlap bag across his shoulder. They hurried out the side gate and down the stone steps. When they reached the layer of white columns a large wave slammed against the structure, washing through the columns as it passed through the hollow area. The figures all clung to pillars as the storm sucked the water back to the oceanic depths. They continued down to the docks.

“Where’s the ship Wick?”

“O’er there!” he called above the whistling wind in his rustic accent.

There, illuminated by the lighting in the clouds, was a small wooden craft only about 20 paces from bow to stern. It had a single, tall mast with a white sail that had been trimmed all the way. On the deck was a cabin that didn’t look too big. All eight members of the Cuttlefish Crew looked at one another, and then decided to place their lives in Wicks hands as they climbed aboard.

Ivan was the last on. He pulled the anchor up with Dare and Coniglio. Dale was at the helm already and Wick and Tal had mounted the mast to unfurl the sails. Jack and Edric had taken the supplies beneath the deck to the ship’s small larder, then had gone with charts and instruments in hand to the cabin. Before closing the door, Edric called.

“Mr. Dare, if you please, get us away from the school before we’re smashed to pieces!”

Ivan took his queue from Dare, who had so suddenly changed into a first mate that he acted as if he had done it all his life. Ivan summoned Boreas on his piccolo and called out to the wind to blow them west of the school. The wind blew and filed their sails, and everything looked good, then suddenly Boreas was gone, the sail swung around, knocking the wind out of Wick, and the boat came to a slow halt.

“What’s the matter Ivan?” Called Edric from the cabin.

‘There are other winds here. Boreas is being overtaken! We’ll have to wait till we’re clear of the ring of clouds before I can summon him again!”

Lightning flashed across the sky. The whole crew had grabbed oars and were trying to direct the ship away from the school. Dale was covered in icey water and sweat. His hands had gone numb and his body was shaking as he tried to direct the careening vessel. In the cabin, Edric sat with a swaying lantern, scanning a map closely, reading current charts, trying to figure out a way to escape the clutches of the storm.

As Ivan was pulling on an oar, Dare came up and gave him a gruff nod towards the cabin. Ivan walked over, trying hard to keep himself balanced as the ships surface rose and fell at steep angles. The little ship went up dark green mountains and fell into the chasming valleys of the sea. As Ivan walked his mind went back to earlier that night.

The tapestry. The room. The imp. The crash of glass. The sound of alarm as the school awoke. The crowds all assembling on the green as per the emergency drills. The impish figure grabbing the Seaking’s trident off the roof. Ivan’s arm was nearly ripped out of his socket by the fierce gust the blew the door open for him.

“Ivan. Good, here come help me.” Said Edric, shoving a map under Ivan’s nose, “You’re the cartographer. We need a current that will speed us out of the bay as fast as possible.”

“We want to go west, right?” Said Ivan knowing the answer.

“That’s where the trident was thrown, yes.” Edric said. “Ivan. Don’t blame yourself so. Anyone of us could have been tricked by the imp into releasing him. What matters now is to get that trident back, before Madam Tethys returns from her trip.”

“Right.” Ivan said as he pulled his goggles on and began searching the maps carefully.

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It took the crew of eight until noon to clear the storm surrounding the school. When they were finally out in the open turquoise water, the waves now gone and the sky cloudless, they all slumped down on the deck, exhausted. Tal came up from bellow deck with a bowl of yellow porridge for everyone. They ate the warm, bland food with ravenous hunger.

“Alright crew.” Said Edric as he walked down from the cabin to the deck. “We’re sailing west. Ivan got the wind up for us again, and we should reach the shore of Insular, the great western island, by sunset. If we’re lucky, the trident will be somewhere near there.”

For the rest of the day, the group of boys figured out how to sail. The going was slow especially since Ivan couldn’t summon Boreas. First they gave too much canvas, then too little, each time causing the sail to fly one way or the other, knocking someone overboard.

Ivan was in his cabin, listening as he peered over charts and maps with sexton and compass. He measured the angle of the sun and the horizon. As he was working his mind raced feverishly. He knew he had messed up big time. He needed to redeem himself. And hopefully not make a bigger mess in the process.

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As the sun dipped into the ocean, color dissolving into the waves, the shore of Insular was finally spotted by Tal up in the crow’s nest. They continued edging closer to the island as the day transformed into night with a vivid display of color. As they drifted up to the sandy beach, the bottom scrapping as it went along; they spotted a light on the beach. Sitting by the fire was a dark figure. Edric, Jack, and Dare went to ask him about the trident.

“So, what did he say?” Asked Ivan excitedly on their return.

“Well, the good news is, he saw it.” Everyone cheered and threw hats up in the air. “The bad news is, he saw it flying over the island. He says it may have landed on the other half of Insular.”

The cheer died into a groan. The ship lowered its anchor for the night, and the figures on board all gathered the burlap bags they had originally brought with them. After following Jack and Edric’s examples, they soon had transformed their bags into hammocks. The waxing moon illuminated the quiet scene as Coniglio’s twitching foot tapped the deck and Ivan’s snore echoed across the waves.

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The next morning Ivan awoke to the sound of splashing and laughing. Sitting up from where he had fallen out of his hammock the previous night before, he peered over the railing. Almost everyone was swimming in the cool, refreshing water. He found Dare to the side, looking down on the rest of the crew. Ivan decided to try and get him to speak.

“So, Dare is it?” Ivan asked as he stepped next to him and looked down at the figures bellow.

Dare said nothing.

“So, Edric told me you’re in Chief Office training. How’s that going for ya?”

Still no answer.

“Come on! You have to talk to me! Just one word! You can’t stay silent forever! I will get a word out of you yet!”

But Dare just stayed up there watching the other boys, or more specifically Edric. In fact, now that Ivan was really paying attention, he realized that Dare was only following one person with his frown. Did he have some sort of grudge against Edric, Ivan wondered.

“Well, maybe if you won’t talk to me, you’ll talk to…Edric.” He said the name, looking for a response, but received none.

“What’s wrong with you! Talk already!” and surprisingly Dare did, in a rough, gravely voice.

“Milord! Shark!” He said and leapt down into the water.

The other boys were out of the water right away, and the water boiled and churned as it began turning red. Edric looked wide eyed at the churning water, holding his breath. After a few moments, the fin came up, and beneath it was the dark head of hair. With a heave Dare threw the slain animal, five times any of their length, on the deck. Sticking out of its head was a large knife, or at least the handle of a very large knife.

“Dare, are you alright!”

“I’m fine, only a minor bite.” But Ivan saw the ring of evenly spaced holes running from his shoulder, across his chest, and back up his arm that were beginning to bleed.

“No, you’re not. We need to get you in the cabin.” Edric said.

“But milord. I promised the Duke I would not leave your side.”

“I don’t care what you promised my father. You’re going. If it means you’ll stay there, I’ll not leave your bedside until you can follow me around again.”

“Very well milord.” Dare said, trying to staunch the blood with his shirt he had torn off.

Soon the rest of the crew had carried Dare into the cabin, knocked aside all of the maps and charts and laid him on the table. Jack came in looking pale faced. He had with him the contents of his burlap bag. He brought out a pair of probes and began looking at the different holes. The rest of the crew was order to set sail around the island, following the coast.

“N-now. Let’s see.” Jack mumbled as Ivan dabbed sweat from his head. “It looks like everything is fine. No i-internal bleeding. No damaged o-organs. Um...”

“What?” Asked Dare in his gruff voice.

“There is a, um, tooth, that has gotten lodged in one of the, uh, wounds. I’ll have to take it out, b-before it gets infected.”

A few hours later, Edric emerged beaming, followed by a grumbling Dare with a shark tooth hanging around his neck over his bandaged shoulder. Ivan washed Jack’s equipment while Jack was leaning out of the porthole, saying goodbye to his lunch. Afterward he must have felt a bit better; he was back to his old, conceited self.

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“Ship’s Log
2nd Day after departure from Einri
Today the first mate Dare saved the crew from a shark attack. Tal is drying the meat as we speak. Says it will last for a long time and taste just like tuna. We sailed around the first half of the island of Insular, which is much larger than I thought. The island is actually split in half by a long narrow bay, so narrow you could build a bridge across it. We met some local fishing people. They weren’t very friendly, but when we explained we were searching for the golden flying star, they motioned over theirs heads and across the horizon. They seemed to be saying that the trident isn’t even on Insular. It looks like we’ll have to sail further on. Tonight though, we will anchor in the outlet of the narrow bay.”

Ivan closed the log book and looked out his window. He had been right. He quickly doused his candle and crawled back to the deck. There he crouched next to Dale and Wick and watched the small fishing coracles bob in the water as they neared the ship. Ivan looked up at the mast. He could just barely see the silhouettes of Tal and Dare up on the cross beam. He looked over and saw the nod from Edric.

Standing up he gave a sharp whistle on his piccolo and just as boarding hooks clamored on the side of the ship, the two on top jumped down, bringing the mast with them and trimming it quickly. Then the wind filled the sail so suddenly that the ship lurched away, the ropes being torn out of the hands of the people in the fishing boats. Still following the coast, Jack and Edric rolled up the rope and boarding hooks below. Then half of the crew went to bed, while the other half stayed up and sailed the ship. And so they traded throughout the night.

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“Ship’s Log
3rd Day after departure from Einri
Today has been horrible. We are stuck in the doldrums. I still have not been able to summon Boreas. He seems to dislike these strange waters. That or we have come out of the domain of the north wind and are now in the domain of the west wind. I might try calling this new wind. According to the maps we are looking for a small island known as Glassiere. At this rate we’ll reach it next fall. We need wind!”

Ivan sat outside, feeling the warm sun bake his pale chest. He and the crew were lying about, waiting for the wind to kick up. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten his music book at school. He flicked a crumb of bread into the water and waited. Then as if by magic a very small slight breeze caressed his face.

“A breeze!” he yelled as he jumped up.

“Oh, goody!” Jack called sarcastically, “Now all I need is a cool drink and some shade and I’ll be able to tan all day.”

Ivan ignored him and held up his piccolo. He listened and as the breeze blew across the openings a tune could barely be heard on the thick oppressive silence. Then Ivan waited and the breeze was gone. He placed the piccolo to his lips and played the tune he had just heard.

Nothing happened.

Then suddenly a fierce gust hit the side of the ship like a hurricane, tilting the ship precariously to the side. The vessel soon righted itself and rocked gently back and forth in the water. Everyone got up and looked around, then pointed at Ivan’s head calling out.

“You have another arrow on your forehead. This one is pointing to the left!”

Ivan called the breeze again and this time as it thrummed the ropes and billowed the sail it made a strange unearthly, breezey sound. Ivan listened again closely.

“Zephyr? Is that your name?”

It was like the wind was laughing and clapping and jumping up and down at Ivan’s cleverness as it spun and soared through the ropes and around people. Then it filled the sail as it pushed the boat towards the west. There was a chorus of cheers for Zephyr, which seemed to encourage the happy wind to blow even harder. It was past sunset when their ship finally spotted the island of Glassiere, and the bright city the map called Harborton.

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The city was bustling with merchants and traders and all sorts of people. From somewhere close to the docks a hornpipe and a fiddle were playing a lively sailing jig as the eight boys got off their ship. Edric paid an important looking man and signed a book. Then the group was free to walk from the docks into the city. The buildings were all two level, thatch, painted white with brown wood borders. The many chimneys sent the smell of firewood into the air, mixing with the fishy, salty smell of the docks.

“So, now what?” Asked Lio as he jumped off the ship, happy to finally stretch his legs on land.

“We need to find out if anyone has seen the trident.” Said Ivan as he tried organizing everyone. “Okay, you two go there, and you two can head that way. No Lio you go with Wick. Dare you can keep following Edric, wait, where did Tal and Dale go!”

“Hey! You two get back here!” Three angry store owners with large black mustaches, curled at the tips, came running out. Two were chefs and the third a butcher, all wielding their instruments of trade and chasing after Tal and Dale.

“Um, let’s make sure no one knows we came with them.” Jack said as he started edging away.

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A good chase and three pieces of silver later and the boys were in the middle of the city by a large fountain. They looked around as they drank greedily. By the pale morning light Ivan could see that the city rose from the docks up in the small houses. Next to each house was a larger one, obviously a store of some kind. Running between the rows and rows of store-houses were many brick streets.

“So, what are we going to do about the trident?” Asked Edric.

“Did any of you get a chance to ask anyone if they saw it?” They all shook their heads.

“Well, back to my original plan, we split up, each group of two taking a quadrant of the city and fanning out from there. Now, we’ll-”

But he was cut off by Tal, Dale, and Lio running up and yelling, “You guys have to come see this! It’s amazing!”

The group got up and followed them around the corner. There, in a small square next to a second fountain was a group of people. They edged forward until they were at the front of the ring. They had arrived just in time.

“Ladies and gentleman! From the dark forest of my homeland, the forested continent of Teaul, I, Nanook the Magnificent, have journey to bring you…magic!”

Out of nowhere, a cloud of purple and yellow smoke erupted and a man in a long purple and yellow diamond cape stood forward. As he turned to bow, all gasped. While he had looked like a normal person, he was caribou from the waist down. He was of the caribou tribe.

“Yes, yes. I am… as you say, one of the Caribou Men of Thule. And I have given my horns to bring you the great mysteries hidden in the dark forest!” he called in his clear resounding voice. “Now, for my first trick, I’ll need a volunteer.”

Here he made a move with his hand and a girl of about 13, with brow hair, pig tales and freckles, dressed in a clown outfit jumped forward. She did a few cartwheels and grabbed Jack’s hand pulling him forward. He went hesitantly.

“Now! The great disappearing knife trick!”

The crowd gasped at the large knife he held up, and Jack seemed to be shaking slightly. Nanook gave Jack a sly wink, and Jack saw him pull the knife behind his back and slip it beneath his cape. Then Nanook threw his hand forward and as he opened his palm, a string of colored kerchiefs flew out instead, landing on Jack.

“What a brave fellow! Give him a hand!”

The crowd clapped and cheered as Jack’s hand was raised by the girl, who then led him back and grabbed Ivan. Ivan did not see the wink that passed between the girl and the magician. The same speech later he pulled his arm back and again slipped the knife under his cape.

A sickening thud. Ivan felt the sticky wetness running down his face followed by the chunky goop that slid down from his forehead slowly. Everyone laughed as he tried to wipe the pineapple cream pie off his face.

“Well done chap! Now, for my next trick, I will make my assistant levitate!”

The crowd gasped again. The girl stepped forward and lay down on the ground. Nanook cautioned everyone to stand back. Then he raised his hands over her and uttered forth his magic words, which sounded an awful lot to Ivan like he was listing desserts with the letter “o” placed after their names.

Then the young girl began floating slowly upward from the ground. She lay like that for a few moments, then she began spinning, faster and faster. Eventually the group of people had gotten over their immediate shock began clapping and cheering.

Nanook stepped forward and bowed and as he did, Ivan saw him bring out a handful of something. He threw it on the ground and there was a loud bang, a flash, and a puff of smoke. Then he and the girl were gone. Everyone clapped and cheered. Then the crowd dispersed gradually. The boys hid close by and waited. After almost an hour, a nearby wall seemed to move, and a head peaked out from behind it. Satisfied that everyone was gone, Nanook dropped his cape, which had changed to the pattern of the wall, and was just an ordinary black one now.

The girl was with him and both walked away quietly. He was counting the money while she was dragged roughly behind him. They followed them to an inn and then got a room there for themselves as well. As they were following they heard Nanook call the girl May. It looked to Ivan as if Nanook was treating May none too gently. Edric saw it too and both had the same thought.

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It was late almost sunset when Nanook was finally asleep from the chamomile tea he had drunk. May sat at the table in the dining room of the inn, eating as she whistled a tune. Edric and Ivan came up from either side of her and sat down as well, each ordering something cool to drink. She was quiet after they sat down.

“Hi there. I’m Ivan. The guy you pied today.” He sad grinning.

“Oh, hello.” She said quickly looking back down at her food.

“You’re Nanook’s assistant?” Edric asked fishing for details.

“Yes. More like his slave though.”

“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.

“I really can’t talk about it. It’s complicated.” She said still not looking up.

“Listen, we’re here as friends. You can tell us if there’s something wrong. We can help you.”

“Thank you very much for the offer, but there is no way I could repay you.” She said.

“Well, actually you can! You can tell us if you saw a golden star fly through the heavens a few nights ago.” Edric said encouragingly.

“Yes! Yes, I did! It fell in the northern part of the island. Nanook didn’t believe me when I told him I saw a falling star. He said I was lying and then he be…, then he got very angry.”

“It’s May right?” Edric asked comfortingly.

She nodded.

“Well, May. My name’s Edric. I’m Captain of a ship and have a whole crew full of gentlemen who loved your magic show today. I know they would all more than want to help you and be your friend.”

“Thank you. You’re very kind. But, I can’t.” She said, then she got up and walked to her room. “It was nice meeting you both. Good luck finding your star.”

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“Oh, aye. You wish to travel to the city of Harold! Tis in the far North of Glassiere.” The elderly innkeeper was a short, stout, and rosy cheeked lady. She was more than glad to give them directions across the island to where the star fell. “Now, staring here in Therjar, or Harborton as you call it, walk west across the grazing lands for about two and a half hours. Den, when you come to Likkle Lake, head north across the farmlands. It should only tak about an hour or so. Dat’l tak you to the great city of Harold!”

Three and a half hours later the weary group had made it over the herd lands, farmlands, past the lake, and was facing the city. As they walked towards Harold, they spotted a dark line running along the farmlands and that led into the woods to the south. There, they saw many trees broken down and burn marks everywhere. Instead of heading to the city, they followed the trail, and after another hour, they found the trident.

It was right there, gleaming and golden, high up at the top of a large rock formation. To get there, they would need to climb up the tall tree next to it, shimmy across the thin ledge, and jump onto the structure. They knew none of them would be able to do it and so they walked dejectedly back towards Harold. They reached the city as the sun set.

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“May! Listen, you can’t do this!” Ivan yelled grabbing her by the shoulder and spinning her around.

“Why not! I lived my whole life in the circus! Nanook only bought me last year. I did much more dangerous things than that!”

“It’s still too dangerous! We’ll find another way!” Ivan regretted ever telling her about the trident.

Now she was marching off towards the woods, at night, to prove that she could do it. None of the others knew. They had all gone to bed, and Ivan had been the only one that was up when he had run into May. He had told her everything in hopes she would open up to him too. Instead, here he was chasing after her in the dark.

“May, please don’t do this!” He called ahead of him.

Up in the branches above him he heard a loud snap, followed by a scrapping sound and several small pebbles rained down on his head. Ivan tried hard to see but the darkness of the forest was so dense there was no way he could make out any shapes at all. He was holding his breath as he waited for a reply from her.

“Is it this big heavy thing?” She called out.

“Yes! You have it!?!” Ivan called excitedly.

“Um, yes, but I don’t know if I’ll…” the next moment there was a bright flash of light and suddenly Ivan saw May, floating over the forest, shining like a star. She had the trident in her hand, which had shrunk somehow to her size.

“This feels funny.” She giggled.

“Alright, you can tell me ‘I told you so’.” He said ruefully.

“Hehehe. I did tell you I could do it!” she said laughing.

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After the initial shock the next morning that Ivan had the trident and they were going home, the crew was divided. Half of them congratulated Ivan and May on getting the trident all by themselves. The other half being Edric, Dare, and Jack told Ivan reprovingly that he should have known better and acted as a team. They all laughed about it later though as the story came out over a hearty breakfast.

Then it was back to Therjar, or Harborton, and luckily this time the journey across Glassiere only took an hour with the help of the trident. Ivan felt bad because he had wanted May to come along, but again she had refused, saying the Nanook needed her more than she needed him and that with out her, he would not be able to survive. And so they parted ways.

The crew of the Cuttlefish set sail in the afternoon. The sky was beautifully clear, Zephyr filled their sails up nicely, and seagull calls wished them farewell as they slid out across the blue sea. Ivan plotted a course that would take them south of the unfriendly shores of Insular. The map had a thick line on it that simply read, “The Walls of Carolman”.

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“Ship’s Log
5th Day after departure from Einri
Today we spotted the great walls of Carolman. And they are indeed great. Jack explained to me that the Lands of Carolman are ruled by powerful magical kings who wished to protect their peoples from all outside evils, so they built a giant white wall all around their land’s borders, including the sea. He also said that they are rumored to have conjured sea dragons to protect their shores as well. I hope he was just trying to fool me. Either way, with our current speed we should reach the school by tomorrow.”

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“Ship’s Log
6th Day after departure from Einri
We saw it! The great sea dragons. They were magnificent beasts, covered in iridescent golden blue scales. They simply swam alongside our boats and one even leaped out of the water, spreading his large green wings and flew along the surface before diving again. Tal almost got his hand bitten of trying to catch one. He said that we were running low on shark meat. That’s probably because he burns the food so much that he’s almost used the shark up.

It is evening now and I feel cold. Not because of the temperature, but because of what I saw outside today. We are sailing along Alexandria’s coast, and may have overshot the school. I’m figuring it out right now. Really I’m trying to keep my mind off of the fact that just out of the porthole I can see the wasteland that was once so beautiful. I know somewhere out there the Princess is trying her hardest to rebuild and I also know that somewhere out there Bella is being chased after by Laburnum. I hope the others have found her.”

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As the boat neared Einri, they saw the massive destruction that had taken place. The new lighthouse had been snapped in half, and probably carried out to sea. The docks were now piles of drift wood that were tied to the grey base. The boats were all destroyed and the waves were still so high that they were reaching the walls of the school. As they neared the building, the clouds parted for them, and the sea around them was calm. It was like the sea knew they had the trident.

“Alright Ivan. You need to get the trident to Professor Prospero! I’ve seen Weatherers do a trick where they ride on the wind they summon. Call a wind and ride up quickly!” Edric instructed.

Ivan decided to call Boreas. The wind blew up behind him and he called above the storm as he held the trident up.

“Boreas! Take me up to the school!”

The next moment he was flying in the air. He caught his breath as he travel far and fast. Lightning flashed around him , but seemed to back away when it came near the trident. He pointed the glowing weapon forward and struck a triumphant pose as he did. Then Boreas disappeared again.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” Ivan yelled as he fell.

“Ivan!” Edric’s eyes went wide.

From the west a gust of wind struck Ivan and caused him to hover, just short of the jagged drift wood at the school’s base. The wind flung him up again and caught him and took him higher and higher. It seemed to laugh at its clever trick of saving Ivan.

“Zephyr? Thank you so much!” Ivan laughed as he flew higher and higher until he reached the very top of the broken tower. He jumped down and ran down the stairs of the tower. Bursting out of the door at the base, he saw no one. He sprinted across the flooded green and swung the massive door to the main building open. Inside he found everyone.

Including the Madam Tethys.

“I have the trident back!” Ivan called out as he ran in.

“Ivan? Where are the rest of the boys?” Madam Tethys asked.

“Their down below in our ship.” He spoke quickly, “Can you still the storm and capture the imp before they are smashed on the school!”

“With pleasure.” She said smiling and taking the trident.

Stepping outside, Tethys’ eyes narrowed as she scanned the sky. Lightning flashed and immediately she blocked it with the trident, and sent it back up. The imp materialized holding his stomach in pain.

“Now, foul wretch! Return to your prison!” And she sent a beam of pure, golden light straight at the imp.

There was an explosion, and the wind blew from it with such fierceness that all the clouds were pushed back. The imp was gone. And the sun shone down on the school. Students stepped out of the building, the sudden bright sunlight hurting their eyes. Then they all cheered and threw their caps in the air as they hoisted Ivan on their shoulders.

Zephyr came and picked Ivan up and he flew over them and disappeared over the edge. A few seconds later he flew back up, with seven others that were shakily clinging one to the other to stay afloat. They settled on the grass, and then Zephyr shot up, blowing several white puffy clouds as he went. The crowd cheered.

Then Tethys approached and all fell quiet.

“Well, you eight are a mystery. From the first day you arrived here, you have made trouble. And now it seems you have made an even bigger mess than before.”

“It was my fault Madam Tethys.” Ivan said stepping forward.

“No, it was me!” Said Jack.

Soon every crewman of the Cuttlefish had stepped forward to take the punishment of the rest. They all now stood bowing on one knee in front of Tethys. She tried to suppress a smile and spoke so all could hear.

“You eight, have done what no student has ever dared to do. You snuck into the forbidden tower, freed the imprisoned imp, lost the Seaking’s trident, and… have saved the school and all of us in it. You have sailed across the untamed seas and returned. Rise, able sailors. You have proved your worth and have made the school proud.”

As they stood, all the cadets and able sailors stood at attention and saluted the eight. Madam Tethys also saluted them, along with all of the teachers and professors. They all looked forward and proudly saluted back, as everyone broke out in spontaneous cheering and applause.

“All the food’s still alright!” Called the school cook stepping out of the kitchen. “I propose a feast!”

This was greeted by even greater cheers, that echoed and rebound all around the school. Then the crew was swept up by the crowd and carried to the main hall. That night the celebrations went long and hard. The eight had become celebrities and everyone wanted the hear the stories again and again. Of course Tal and Dale made them more fanciful each time. And so the evening went on with music, good food, and laughter.

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Chaos reigned over the school of Einri the Navigator. People were everywhere and teachers and professors were taking part of the festivities with the students in the main building. In the blur of celebration lights and feasting tables there was a single figure, covered in dark seaman’s cloak that walked in the shadows. He carried a large burlap bag across his shoulder. He hurried out the side gate and down the stone steps. When he reached the layer of white columns he heard a voice behind him.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“Edric! Go back to the party!”

“No, Ivan. We’re not going anywhere.” Edric replied with a smile.

“We?” He asked raising his eyebrow.

“Yip! All of us!” Called Coniglio as he swung down from the top layer.

“You can’t get rid of us...” Dale said coming out ahead of Ivan.

“…at least not that easily.” Tal finished smiling.

“I mean did you seriously believe you could even make it out there without us?” Jack asked arms crossed, leaning against a pillar.

Dare gave a nod of agreement, and then a smile.

“Thanks crew. You’re the best!” Ivan said.

Then they pushed him over the edge into the sea. Sputtering, he surfaced ext to Wick, who was in the ship and who threw him a line. “Sorry Iv! They said they had to get back at yer for that scary ride on yer wind pal.” He smiled.

And so they all set sail from the school, headed into the Bay of Bho and towards the Duchy of Giv. From high up on the school’s old tower, a figure with long blond hair stood next to the restored tapestry. She watched through the glass and smiled. They would be back once they finished their quest. She shook her head as she thought how much Ivan reminded her of the other boy. She smiled and said a quiet blessing before she walked down the stairs, locked the new door, and then transformed it into a regular wall. As she rejoined the feast, the small ship sailed on the wings of the wind, the red sunset behind them and the bright stars guiding their way.