oh noes

Chapter 5

My sight came back in a surge, creating a dull pain in the back of my eyes. I looked around in bewilderment. Marie was just as surprised as I was, rubbing her left eye with her right hand on her hip. The Captain had a pensive look on his face while he was staring out at the forest. The ship was slowly moving, slicing through the waves.
Birch and Turner had stopped fighting, the latter of which had a weeping cut on his forearm. “Tch! This isn’t over,” Turner growled. He walked away, shoving past me and stomping down the stairs.
Birch watched him go with a quiet expression on his face. “The orange stripes in the water are gone,” he remarked.
“It would seem,” the Captain replied, “that things have gone back to how they used to be.” Then, he walked down the stairs and called, “Lowell! Alicia! Are you two alright?”
“Yeah, why?” I heard Alicia ask.
“Did nothing happen to you?”
“No, not in particular. Nearly ran into Lowell but that’s it. Why do you ask?”
“Your vision didn’t go dark? Because ours did,” the Captain said.
Alicia was silent. “Maybe it was just those in view of the outside,” Lowell said.
“...Maybe.” No one else said a word. Breaking the momentary silence, the Captain said, “So, I guess that was an interesting start to our voyage.” He made his way to the middle of the deck, watching the waves.
Someone tapped me on the back. “Hey, mister. Mind giving me that rope?”
I turned around. The girl I had seen last night was behind me. She was still wearing her white bunny hoodie, and now that I could take a closer look, I could see that she was an albino - her skin and hair were ashen.
Her purple eyes stared at me from under her choppy bangs. I was entranced until she said, “The rope, please.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” I looked around behind me. Spotting a rope dangling from the railing above me, I pulled at it and handed it to the girl. She took it and then retreated down the stairs. So that was Lily, huh? Seemed pretty normal compared to everyone else.
Marie seemed to be thinking about something as she followed the girl. The Captain stretched and then gave me a little wave as he headed to the bowsprit.
“Her features do catch the eye, hmmm?” I jumped. Then, realizing that Birch was sneaking up on me again, I groaned.
“Can you not? I’m trying to live a long life here,” I snapped.
“I do not believe talking to others leads to death.”
“Ughhhh.” I rubbed my face. “Well, you are right about Lily - she does stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Mmmm. She is from The Hook, the southernmost continent in the world. People there tend to have white hair and bleached skin. They, the Pristinum, are known for their beauty, but at the same time, they are discriminated against the most.”
I looked at him, puzzled as to why. Seeing my confusion, he said, “We needed a large workforce after the gods died. I take it you understand what I’m saying?”
Oh. Oh. I started to feel uncomfortable. Birch must’ve noticed because he said, “Of course, the Enslaved and Minority Group Act restricts violence against living property and minority groups. The Council would not allow things to go so far that they would seem incompetent.”
“Do you really think anyone follows those rules?” I asked skeptically.
“Many do. However, the enforcement isn’t all that strict. If such actions come to light, the owner will be imprisoned or fined, but if they don’t…”
“No one cares,” I finished. “Well, that’s gloomy.”
“That is why Lily will not be joining us during our excursion. O’Haurel may have told you during your conversation last night that Kaivern might as well be a breeding ground for human traffickers.”
“But…isn’t that illegal?”
“Yes, it is. However, considering the fact that the pleas of the kidnapped aren’t listened to, it’s very easy to pretend that the victim is already property. Moreover, the situation is even worse in Falt - about seventy percent of the population is comprised of living property. The officials there are far more likely to believe that Lily escaped from an auction.”
I shifted. “Can you…um…not refer to them as…that? It makes them sound like nothing more than an object…”
“What would you prefer? Slave? Servant? Pet? Regardless of what words are used in this context, it will always make them sound like belongings. I apologize, but the connotation will never change.”
I sighed. “Well, you’re right about that…”
“Ah, right. I suppose you haven’t heard of the Council yet?”
Dang, I was trying so hard to pretend I knew. “You got me,” I said. “Mind telling me what this Council thing is?”
“I wonder why he has chosen to keep that knowledge away from you…” Birch mused.
“What?”
“Forget about that last statement. In any case, the Council is a group of thirteen people who manage the world’s affairs. They came into existence two months after you fell ill.”
“But how come everyone listens to - wait.”
I gaped at him, making sense of what he’d just said. “Is there a problem?” he asked.
“Is there a problem?” I mimicked. “Well, yeah, there’s a problem. How do you know I got sick? Did the Captain betray me?”
“O’Haurel is a man of his word. He would never betray you.”
“Then tell me how you know!” I demanded.
Birch crossed his arms. “I simply listened to the bug I planted in his office,” he replied.
Excuse me? What?
“Fear not. I have already destroyed the recording.”
“Why would you record that?” I fretted. Pacing along the edge of the ship, I thought to myself. What if he hadn’t thrown it out? What if he did, but someone took it? What if he had played the audio for the others already?
“To be fair, the bug automatically records everything. I do not intend on using said recording to harm you in any way-”
“AS IF I’LL BELIEVE THAT!” I snapped.
We stopped where we were. Birch sighed. “Please, little bird. Be reasonable. If I intended on doing something, I would have done it already.”
“Yeah, I’ll definitely trust the words of a stranger. Who are you, anyway? Why are you so interested in talking to me? Is this some sort of game to you?”
Birch looked at me with a tired expression. “At this point, you will be the one to sabotage yourself. If you are going to ask, at least be quieter.”
I inhaled deeply and then exhaled with a huff. “Fine,” I said. “But you gotta explain everything.”
Birch looked away. “Why don’t we head to the back of the stern?” he suggested. “They probably won’t hear us over there.”
Once we were there, Birch and I leaned against the railing. “So? What’s your problem?” I asked gruffly.
“Once upon a time-”
“Get to the damn point!” I growled.
“We will get there. You are not in a hurry.”
I glared at him.
“Once upon a time, there was a man who visited a foreign kingdom. He was there on a job - he had been hired to kill someone of high standing. And so, he brought his finest weapons and gadgets with him, prepared for any situation.”
“What’s this got to do with anything?”
Ignoring me, he said, “The job went well for him. He had been given all the information he needed, such as the passcodes he’d need to get in and out. The only thing he had to do now was leave the area, avoiding detection as he went.
“However, just as he reached the gates, he was caught - unbeknownst to him and his spy, the guards had changed the passcode for leaving. He was surely doomed - his arrogance had made him think he could dispose of the murder weapon after leaving.”
“And then?” I asked, still feeling impatient.
“When the guards checked him, they found that he was unarmed. The only thing in his pocket was a scroll with information about the servants’ initiation ceremony. Believing he was a new servant, they let the man go. Wondering how the weapon had disappeared, the man recounted his experience for the last hour.”
“How does this have anything to do with me?” I asked bitterly.
“Patience, please. The man realized that the only time that the weapon could’ve been stolen was when he bumped into a boy running through the corridor outside the noble’s bedroom. Curious as to why he had been saved, the man set out in search of the boy.
“He soon found the child in the nearby slum. The boy was talking to a girl younger than him while counting some coins. When the man approached, the boy took up a defensive position, snarling at the man. The man asked why the boy had saved him, to which the child replied, ‘I did no such thing.’
“Unsatisfied with the boy’s reply, the man pressed him for more details. Eventually, he learned that the boy had stolen the weapon, thinking it was something valuable. He had snuck into the noble’s home, looking for money. As for the scroll, the boy could barely read any of the words on it. The man had been saved by a stroke of luck.”
“I don’t suppose this boy is me?” I asked sarcastically.
“Yes. It was.”
“How am I supposed to believe that-”
“I will not ask you to. However, it is the only story you can believe at the moment.”
Birch was right, in a sense. I couldn’t deny or agree with his story because I didn’t remember anything. Setting my anger aside for a bit, I asked, “So did you talk with me any more than that?”
“You were rather hospitable. I could come to you whenever I needed a place to stay.”
“Okay, that’s a lot less reasonable.”
“Fair point. You would let me stay, but you guarded your belongings closely. As well as your sister. When I asked for nourishment, you would always check to make sure I truly had nothing before you gave me food.”
“What about the girl?”
“She was - supposedly - your sister. You two resembled each other enough to look like blood siblings, but for all I know, either of you could’ve been adopted.” Birch seemed to soften up a little.
I looked down at my toes for a bit. “Is that all you know?”
“No. I believe you made a friend during one of your…” He stopped to think for a moment.
“What?”
“...Borrowing sessions. According to your story, someone noticed you stealing from them, but he didn’t bother doing anything about it.”
“And you call that a friend?” I asked, skeptical.
“As far as you were concerned, that person was a friend so long as they provided you with a source of income.”
I sounded like a jerk. A really bad one. Hoping that there would be something that made me look better, I asked, “Did that ever change?”
“Hmmm. Maybe. It seemed like you warmed up to him after a while. Your sister liked him from the start.”
Oh. I still sounded like a jerk, but not as bad as before. “I wonder what he looked like. Did you ever see him?”
“No.”
Dang.
“However, I know two things for sure - he was about your age when you met him, and he had pale skin.”
I thought to myself for a moment. “Say, we were in Kaivern, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he’s still there?”
Birch was silent. After a while, he said, “I think it would be best for you to find out for yourself.”
What type of answer was that? “Great,” I muttered.
I looked at the helm, noting all of the things I hadn’t seen before. A few levers, a small control panel thing, the wheel, and a pink sticky note attached to the wheel.
“I can provide you with a place to start if you’re planning on finding your past,” Birch offered.
“That would be nice. Not now, though - I want to make sense of this stuff first.”
Birch nodded. “If you think of more questions, come find me. I will be conversing with the Captain.”
I watched him leave and then looked up at the sky. Overhead, a few birds circled around. Realizing that we had started sailing when the blackout happened, I spun around looking for Esper Coast.
It was just a small line now. The birds from before were already behind us. Mildly surprised, I stared for a while and then walked back down to the deck.
Well, since the Captain was probably too busy talking with Birch to give me that tour he’d been promising for a while, I’d just explore on my own. I checked around me to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, and then I descended the stairs leading below.
I decided to start by flipping open all the cabinets in the dining area. I hoped nothing fell on me while I was rummaging around. I’d start with…the right side? That way, I wouldn’t have to walk back around to get to the corridor that I was familiar with. I’d have to check the opposite one later…
Marching over to the first bottom cabinet on the right and crouching down, I pulled the door open with enthusiasm that even Nova would’ve been jealous of. And inside, there were…
Cobwebs and spiders. Who cleans this ship?!?!?!
Not wanting to touch the white strands, I swung the lid shut, stood up, and checked the top cabinet. Inside were a few bags of flour.
Checking the rest of the cabinets, I found nothing of interest. There was only food and other supplies. Moving on to the corridor, I opened the first door on the right.
It seemed to be a janitor’s closet. Who is the janitor, though? Inside was a janitor’s mop and bucket, a broom, a few jugs of cleaning chemicals, gloves, and other cleaning items.
I closed the door and opened the door to the next room. It swung open and then bumped into something behind it. “Owww…” said a voice coming from inside.
The area was dark, so I felt around the wall until I found something that resembled a light switch. I flipped it and quickly blinked so that my eyes wouldn’t hurt. Even with the light on, the room was still dimly light, anyway. I stepped inside and looked behind the door.
Daniel was behind the door, lying on his back. “Uh…you okay?” I asked.
“Nooooooo,” he moaned. “I was having such a nice dreeeeeam…”
Not wanting to stay for too long, I quickly scanned my surroundings. Several bookshelves went all the way to the ceiling, all of them filled with books and scrolls. There was a curved desk in front of the shelves.
On top of the desk was a rectangular…box? It was making some soft beeping noises and I could see that there was a blue glow coming from it. “Nnnngh…you’re that new kid, right?” Daniel mumbled, still half-asleep. He sat up, rubbing his head.
“Yeah, hi. Sorry for interrupting your nap, but why were you sleeping behind the door?”
“Natural alarm,” he responded sluggishly. “Makes it easier to wake up when someone opens the door and decides to scream my name.” He yawned.
“But what if they slam the door open?” I resisted the urge to yawn with him.
“That is…actually a good question. Oh, whatever - we’ll talk about that when we get to it.” He laid back down. “So what’re you here for, anyway?”
“Exploring. The Captain’s…probably busy right now.”
“Ahhh, a fellow procrastinator. Always welcome, in my opinion.” Daniel yawned again. “Well, have fun exploring. A couple tips - make sure you don’t piss off Lowell and Marie becomes a bear when it comes to her art supplies.”
“One last question - what’s that beeping box on your desk?”
“That’s a computer. The portable version, of course. Not many people have heard of it, really…It’s really efficient, but I just use it as a paperweight when I don’t need it.”
“Oh, that sounds cool.” At a loss of things to say, I said, “I hope you can get back to that dream of yours.” Daniel just gave a muffled “Mmmf. Bi.”
I shut the door quietly and then moved on to the next room. Opening the door, I saw…actually, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at first. Everything in the room was white, from the chairs on the side to the light at the top. I could just barely make out the edge of a counter.
“Hi,” someone said behind me. I jumped. No more scares! Please!
I turned, seeing…someone that was probably Lily. She was holding several crates that hid her head behind them. “Oh, hey. Sorry.” I stepped out of the way.
“No, it’s fine. Not that important, anyway.” She walked over to the counter and put the crates down. Then, rummaging around behind it, Lily pulled out…a giant stuffed bunny?
She seemed to be pulling at the rabbit’s neck. I was somewhat confused until the rabbit’s head popped off, revealing a crowbar and several stakes. I took a small step backward, slightly scared by this sudden change of events.
Taking the crowbar, Lily cracked the lid off one of the crates. In it were several papers, covered in calculations and some markings. She glanced over a few maps, eventually finding one that she wanted and studying it.
There was no particular reason to stay in Lily’s room, so I closed the door, careful not to disturb her. As I was about to leave, I bumped into someone.
“Sorry!” Then, I realized that I had bumped into Turner. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and snarled, “You pickin’ a fight with me, pipsqueak?”
“Errr…no. Can you…let go?”
“Tch!” He opened his hand and stomped away. Phew, crisis averted! On to the fourth room, I guess.
When I saw the door, I noticed a lot of differences between this door and the others. First of all, all of it looked shiny, almost as if it was covered in a layer of glass. Second of all, there wasn’t a single scratch on the knob - or anywhere else.
I resisted the urge to put my hand on the door and ran back to the dining area instead, remembering that I had seen a few napkins in one of the cabinets. Grabbing one, I made my way back to the door and turned the knob just as the door was pulled open from the other side.
Looking up, I saw Lowell staring at me in a polite but cold sort of way. “Child,” he said, with a growing sense of urgency, “tell me you didn’t-”
Upon seeing something about me, he stopped. Then, with a hmph, he said, “Move. You are in the way.” I took a step to the left. Lowell walked out, adjusting his glasses.
“I see you have the common sense to not dirty my spotless door with your filthy hands. However, I would ask you to refrain from entering my room. After all, you carry all sorts of germs with you.” Pulling gloves onto his hands, he closed the door and entered…the bathroom. I stifled a laugh. He seemed all high and mighty, but really, he was just going to relieve himself.
The fifth room was the dormitory, if I recalled correctly. Turning around, I checked the fifth room on the opposite side, only to be greeted by a blast of hot air.
I backed away from the doorway. This was probably the engine room - there was a machine inside connected to several pipes on the wall. Levers decorated the wall, along with a few buttons on the side. Every few seconds or so, the machine hissed. The fire inside the furnace covered the room in an orange glow.
“Helloooooo,” I heard Alicia say. I peeked inside the room. She was sitting at a desk in the corner of the room, working on some sort of project.
“Oh, hey, Alicia. I didn’t think you'd be in here,” I said.
She wiped some sweat off her brow. “Well, I’m actually being productive, unlike a certain someone I know. What are you doing, anyway?”
Ignoring her snarky comment, I said, “Exploring.”
“Mmmm. How many rooms have you been chased out of?”
“None, actually.”
“Yeah, yeah. You probably left before they could. Say, how did Lowell react?”
I smirked. Clearly, Alicia thought I was too stupid to notice the sanctity of Lowell’s door. “Well, actually, he approved of my using a tissue to turn the doorknob,” I bragged.
“Nice. I thought you were blind, but I guess not. Did you get them checked out like I told you to?” The smile slipped off my face. Leave it to Alicia to ruin my moment.
“Is there even a doctor on this ship?”
“Not anymore. We used to have one, but…” She sighed, lost in thought. Deciding to not bother her anymore, I left the room.
Moving on to the next room, I opened the door. It looked like…an art studio? It was probably Marie’s room. Just as I was about to step inside, Marie looked up. Her eyes widened.
“Taylor, watch out!” she cried. I jumped to the side just as a glob of paint soared past and landed with a splat…on Lowell’s door.
Neither of us said anything for a few moments. Eventually, I said, “Well…um…I guess I’ll leave you to it?” Marie just laughed nervously. I closed the door and walked to the second door, skipping the bathroom. What was Lowell doing in there, anyway?
The new area seemed to be an infirmary - there was a cot on the side and a cart filled with medical tools. A few cabinets lined the walls, most likely filled with all sorts of medicines. A first aid kit hung from a nail in the wall. Mostly everything was covered in a layer of dust.
Having found nothing of interest, I moved on to the final room. This door was different than the rest - it was a sliding door rather than a push-and-pull one. Shifting it to the left, I instinctively jumped backward.
Inside were several different types of clothing. Suits, dresses, sneakers, cloaks, leggings - anything you could name. I gawked for a few moments and then shut the door.
Lowell still hadn’t left the bathroom. Was he constipated or something? With a final glance at the green paint dripping down his laboratory door, I made my way to the section on the opposite side.
This area was a lot less exciting - there was the gun port (I noted the lack of ammunition for the cannons) and, after descending another staircase, I found the cargo hold. Having nothing else to do, I searched around.
Sadly, nothing caught my interest - I half expected a rat to pop out of nowhere and scare me, but I guess the ship was cleaner than I thought. I decided to give up finding things of interest after looking behind what seemed to be the fiftieth barrel.
Just as I was about to leave, I saw an old, faded book lying on the floor. Flipping through it, I found that the pages were blank. Couldn’t hurt to take it with me, right?
I strolled back up to the deck with another question for the Captain. Barely anyone was around. Lily was standing at the helm, and the Captain and Birch were standing at the bowsprit. They seemed to be…arguing?
As I got closer, I heard bits of their conversation. “Birch, you can’t just tell…you have to ask me first!” the Captain was saying.
“...see no wrong in what I did. Do you intend on leaving him in the dark?”
“I’m sheltering him. There’s a difference-”
“There is no difference between ‘sheltering’ someone and leaving them ignorant,” Birch snapped. “If he is to learn nothing about the world’s current state, then he might as well jump overboard and drown. It would have the same effect, anyway.”
Whoa. I didn’t think Birch was capable of anything other than calm. The Captain said nothing and just looked at Birch with an expression of annoyance and frustration. I ducked behind a barrel, staying out of the two’s sight.
“Do you want him to stay? To continue on this ship until he dies?”
“I’m not going to hold Taylor against his will-”
“Then help him! Teach him about the outside world so that he will be ready when he leaves.”
An unreadable expression came over the Captain’s face. He was silent.
“Or is it,” Birch hissed, “that you want him to fill the hole Cassidy left behind?”
The Captain stiffened, almost as if he had been slapped. Birch’s harsh look softened a little.
“O’Haurel,” Birch began, “I apologize, but no amount of-”
“Shut your mouth!” The Captain snarled. I flinched, but Birch stayed motionless. Turning on his heel, the Captain stalked away. I shifted so that the Captain wouldn’t see me as he passed.
Well, uh…that was something. Making sure the Captain was gone, I inched out of my hiding spot and stood up. “I take it you heard our entire conversation?” Birch said, having somehow gotten behind me.
I sighed. “Birch, please stop doing that. Also, I only heard the part where you two started arguing.” Birch gave me a slightly skeptical look. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask a few questions - if that’s alright with you.”
“Fire away.”
“Why is there a walk-in closet on this ship that’s filled with all sorts of clothes?”
“It belongs to Nova. She is excellent as disguising herself as someone else.”
So that was her job. Hmmm, sounded nice. “Who cleans this ship?” I asked.
“That used to be Lisabel’s job, but now the crew takes turns.” Ooooh, another new person.
“Who are Lisabel and Cassidy?”
“Lisabel was a refugee whom the crew picked up on one of their voyages. As for Cassidy, he was…virtually O’Haurel’s adopted son. He went missing during the Great Calamity, but they found each other on one of O’Haurel’s missions.”
Birch paused for a bit, and then said, “He was an Oblivian. He had forgotten O’Haurel, but pretended to remember just so he could get close to him. I’m not quite sure what changed him…”
“How…did he die?”
“He tried to send the crew off to the Silent Cold and escape with the ship. Lisabel found out and they fought, but just as Cassidy seemed to win, Lisabel fired her handheld cannon and caused an avalanche. Both were sent into the freezing ocean, and both bodies were found.”
“...Ah. Well, um…aren’t you worried that Lily might’ve heard our conversation?”
“The Pristinum have somewhat awful hearing.”
Oh. Well, that was new. “Birch?”
“I’m here.”
“Have the Pristinum been around for a while?”
“They were discovered after you fell ill.”
“One last question - is the Captain also a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
“I guess that’s everything, then?” I was probably forgetting something.
“Mmmm. Come find me if you have more questions.”
I gave him a little wave, but his eyes were already closed. Then, I ran over to Marie’s studio. The paint on Lowell’s door was gone, which was probably a good thing. I knocked three times, opened the door, and called, “Marieeeeee!”
No one was inside. Dang it. I scanned the room, looking for a writing utensil. There were several ink bottle-things and quills on the shelf on the right, so I borrowed one of each. Then, I went to the dormitory and hopped into my hammock (and nearly dropped everything because it started to swing violently.)
Flipping the empty notebook open, I popped the ink bottle open, dipped the quill in, and started writing. I’d probably take the next couple of days to finish this…