Chapter 9: Under the Weather

…

Early evening set in by the time Link decided to direct the shore party back to the ship. He appreciated that they had at least found a workshop to conduct repairs to the Island Symphony, and finding the library would help out Irleen (provided she could work quick enough with Cale being a surrogate arms and legs). However, they would need supplies soon, and, without access to the technoworks, Leynne already told Link that it would be two months if they continued on the single Sky Line back to the kingdom. Their stores had already been so heavy with just a single month's worth of fresh goods, rations, and fuel; two months' worth would weigh the ship down, and that would only prolong the journey back even more. It would be a long shot if they could not shorten the journey back or even go the opposite way on a returning Sky Line.

At the same time, knowing that there still might be people on this island had renewed Link's paranoia about breaking into buildings, so he discouraged Lwamm from kicking down any more doors. He had hoped that there would be some of these people around so that he could at least talk to them. Although, it was not until they were on their way back to the ship when Link realized there might be a problem with that. Hearing Dubbl, Biluf, and Lwamm talking in Geltoan reminded Link that they did not know if the people here spoke a language he knew.

As they were approaching the spot where the Island Symphony had docked, the Island Symphony was descending onto its previous position. Since they were already on the island, Link, Flower, and Lwamm tied off the mooring lines for the ship. The process of moving the ship into position looked to have been tricky business for the helmsman, and Link could partially understand why. Every island had a breeze that radiated out from the center, usually making it easy for ships to depart at will. The breeze on this island, sometime after Link had returned to the island with a larger shore party and before returning to the ship this time, had picked up enough strength that the breeze could be felt on the ground. As unusual as it was, there were occasions that this could happen, so Link was not so concerned about it. He just hoped that there was enough rope so the hull of the Island Symphony would not bash against the rocky edge of the island.

After the ship was tied off, a door in the bulwark opened, and someone lowered a gangplank from the main deck. Instead of the shore party boarding, however, Line hustled down the gangplank.

"That looked a little rough," Link called to Line.

"No kidding!" Line replied. He jumped the last couple paces down the gangplank and onto the ground. "Brandon was cussing the whole way down. I thought he was gonna rip the wheel from its post." He stepped aside and indicated the ship with a nod as he told the rest of the shore party, "Lilly's got dinner waiting, guys."

"Go on and get something to eat," Link told the crew. He asked Line as the crew filed up the gangplank, "See anything up there?"

"We might have something," Line replied, "buuuuut…" He bobbed his head from side to side for a moment. "It's… not exactly what we were expecting."

"What does that mean?" Irleen asked as she circled above Link.

"There isn't a river on the surface," Line said.

Link gave an exhausted sigh. "Oh, great…" he moaned.

"But there was a river," Line continued.

"There was?" Irleen asked.

"Are you sure?" Link asked.

Line nodded. "It's just like that tunnel we found; it's been buried underground and built over."

"Where at?" Link asked.

Line pointed toward the northeast away from the golden sky behind Link. "It's on the east side of the island. Kinda snakes its way around until it spills over the edge."

"How can you tell if it's buried?" Irleen asked.

"As soon as we realized the river was buried, we started looking for access on the surface. And then Leynne realized it. Wells. There're wells all over that area. Leynne thinks that, if we could just get access to one, we can send you down to get to the technoworks. What do you think?"

"It sounds brilliant," Irleen replied with an awed tone. "If the tunnel we found is any indication, the river should be just as accessible."

"Sounds good," Link agreed. "But how are our supplies doing?"

"Cale says everything should be good enough for a couple more days," Line replied. "Leynne suggested that we stretch out the rations and try to hold back on the cooking for a bit. Lilly… well, she kinda ignored him."

"Lilly doesn't have to make anything extravagant for us while we're here," Link told him. "We don't have enough supplies to treat ourselves. I'll have Leynne tell Lilly to tone it down for now."

"Crapped out on the supplies, huh?" Line asked.

Link started scratching the back of his head. "Yeah," he admitted, glancing back toward the city. "I was hoping we'd run into someone by now, but whoever's still around just won't come out. Who's on watch tonight? Do you know?"

"Should be… Airman Hunter. I think."

"Make sure he keeps an eye out over the island. If there's anyone here, I tend to think some of those lanterns we've seen just might light up."

"Captain!" Link, Line, and Irleen looked up to see Leynne standing at the top of the gangplank. "We won't be depahting fuhtheh tonight, will we?"

"No," Link called back. "We'll investigate those wells tomorrow morning. It's already been a long day."

"Right," Leynne replied. "I'll have the sails stowed foh now; they'h tossing the ship about."

Link held up a thumb for Leynne to see. "Go ahead."

"Link?" Irleen asked.

"Yeah?"

"Layna didn't go aboard."

Link sighed. "Layna, get aboard and get something to eat," he told the air with an irritated tone.

Line immediately spun around. "Ah-hah!" he cried out. "I saw you that time, Layna! You jumped aboard near the stern!"

Leynne, still watching the boys, stood up to look around. He looked astern, then he looked ahead. "Sohry, Line," he called down. "She jumped onto the forecastle."

"Dammit!" Line declared, throwing one fist through the air in frustration.

"Hey, guys?" Irleen spoke up. "Is it getting… windy?"

Link glanced toward the buildings, but he had to quickly look away. The wind was strong enough that his eyes had started to water. Line also looked into the wind and immediately covered his eyes with a hand.

Then a gust came, and both boys staggered to keep from being knocked over. Leynne, turning to issue an order, was hit from behind and had to stumble a bit before regaining his balance. The ship itself visibly rocked, its timbers creaking.

Leynne turned and latched his hands onto the bulwark. "What's going on!?" he called to the boys over the sudden wail of wind.

"What is going on!?" Line shouted to Link.

Link tried to look back toward the city with a hand blocking the wind from his eyes, his other hand holding his hat down. He could see dust rising from among the buildings.

"Link!" Irleen screamed. Link ripped his hat from his head and located Irleen fluttering frantically behind him. He used his hat to catch her and held the hat shut to keep from losing her.

Kkkkkh. Link glanced down near his feet. He almost did not see the end of the gangplank slowly pull back toward the ship.

"Back on the ship!" Link shouted at Line. "Now!"

Line spun and started up the gangplank, going slow now that the ship's rocking was making the plank unsteady. Leynne waved to him in encouragement while hollering over his shoulder; Link could not hear over the now deafening howl of the wind. Link did not dare move up the gangplank after Line, concerned that following might topple the both of them over the edge.

Another blast of wind nearly knocked Link over anyway. He took two steps away from the edge so that he was not at risk of falling over. Then he took two more just to be safer. He leaned into the wind, looking out over the city as if to find the source of this unnatural storm. He glanced over his shoulder to see if Line had cleared the gangplank yet.

He looked just in time for another heavy gust to hit. Link stood his ground.

The gangplank did not.

Leynne had pinned down one end of the gangplank with his foot, trying to hold it in place as Line stepped off. However, the fresh gust lifted the other end up from the ground. Both Line and Leynne had just a half-second to realize the gangplank was rising toward them. Leynne did not even have the time to form a surprised look; Line had his back toward it. The plank struck Line first, bashing him behind the head and knocking him to the deck. The impact caused the gangplank to spin, and Leynne took the edge of the plank across the face.

The new gust also rocked the ship hard; Link saw the mooring lines pull taut. He would have to jump the gap. So he moved further away from the ship. He would have to time the jump with the ship, or else he might simply smack into the hull.

He lost the chance before he could take it. The next gust enveloped him in dust. He was knocked off his feet and onto his stomach. After making sure he held his hat under his body without crushing Irleen, he looked up at the Island Symphony. Its rocking had turned to heavy jerking as the mooring lines did their best to hold the ship. Link could not help thinking that the ship itself was trying to rip free of the island to run away.

And it succeeded. Link watched as one, then two, then finally all four pylons snapped free of the surrounding rock. He heard the voices of his crew cry out over the sound of the wind. He did not see if the ship capsized; the wind shoved it further away until it was swallowed up by the dust surrounding them.

Thousands of thoughts flooded Link's mind. Before he could sort himself out, he found himself screaming into the wind, "NOOOOOO!" He raised one fist in preparation to hit the ground.

He stopped when he realized that he was still holding his hat in that hand. His thoughts cleared enough for him to clutch the hat to his chest. He turned on his belly with one goal in mind: find shelter. Facing into the wind was difficult, but Link squinted and bore it as he looked into the dust storm. Although he could not see the smaller buildings beyond, he knew the only direction he could find shelter in would be that way. He slowly stood, partially lifted by the wind. But he kept himself low and started walking forward. Then he managed to pick up speed for a quicker pace. Soon, he had a healthy jog as he realized that he could push harder against the wind.

He finally broke into a run after the wind and dust had rendered most of his exposed skin numb with cold. His speed picked up immediately, aided by the boots he wore. These same boots had saved him from death a number of times, and their enchantment was still strong enough to do it once more. Link had to look down to avoid having dust scratch his eyes. He could not tell how far away he was from the buildings. His first clue would have to be spotting the brick street before running headlong into a wall.

The dust subsided first, allowing Link to look up through teary eyes to see that he was close. He slowed to a hurried jog. He approached the door of the closest building and kicked near the doorknob. The door's metal frame bowed inward, and the door flopped loose into the building. Link then shoved his right shoulder into the door and forced his way inside. Something hooked the top of his left boot as he shuffled in, and he spun himself to keep from crushing his hat. He landed on his back, striking his head against what felt like stone floor. The wind rushed inside from the opening Link's feet created in the door, sending things Link could not see up in the air. So he jerked his feet out of the door, and the door closed a little more. He had to kick the door to force the latch back into the doorjamb.

Link allowed his occupied hand to settle on the floor. Then, in the darkness around him, Link broke down and sobbed for his crew.