Chapter 37: Epiales Sees Your Children

…

Link started awake and began moaning against the ringing in his ears, his arms folded over his face and scalp in a feeble attempt to cushion his head from the devastating headache he was experiencing. At the same time, his left foot felt as if it was ripping itself apart, and he could do nothing but press his right foot on top of it to try distracting from the pain. He wanted to holler for Nester, or even just holler at all, but for reasons he simply could not fathom, his mouth refused. Instead, he huddled next to the bulkhead. His focus lacked direction on anything but the pain in his head, but he found himself clear enough to start striking one elbow on the nearby timbers. He could not tell how hard he was hitting the wall nor if he was making enough noise since he still could not hear clearly. He lost track of time, unable to comprehend how long he had been awake.

Then a hand grabbed him and wrenched him away from the wall. "My Captain!" came a slightly muffled voice. "My Captain! Caynwothan 'inoy! Caynwothan!" Link could barely tell who was talking, never mind what they were saying. The best that he could distinguish was that it was a woman's voice. Another voice came from elsewhere in the sick bay, a voice that Link could not make out at all. "Talb! My Captain dhuhnwak! Zhi da'ixwak! Saylotan!"

Link missed the bark of a curse word that followed. "Captain, talk to me!" Nester demanded as another set of hands tried to wrench his arms away. His voice sounded strained as he growled, "C'mon, let me see you…"

"My Captain!"

"Would you stop screaming!" Nester snapped. "He's right here!" Link did not know what was happening, but he felt one hand lift from his arm. "What the hell're you—ow!" Another hand rose, leaving one hand which was barely restraining Link's squirming. "Did you just stab me!?"

"Waba nayx nadtaynolak," came a cool, collected voice. Link was not sure if it was the same Gelto. "Waba nad'idhijak 'addic zathkwiys."

"What did you drug me with!?" Nester demanded.

"Waba zanwayrt goybafit ba' nayx xilutak," the cool voice answered. "'Al waba thomax, waba nayx yaysozhak."

The last hand released from Link. "Whoa…" Nester muttered, a sound a little more distinct since Link's hearing was returning. "Did you just hit me with a tranquilizer?"

"Ay'a."

"Huh. I feel like I understood that."

"Talb, yisaylitak My Captain."

"Okay, 'captain', I get that," Nester said. "Hold his legs." Link felt someone pin his shins to the bed, although he did not feel as much pain in his foot as before. "Captain, I need you to talk to me. C'mon."

Nester carefully pried Link's elbows apart. Link tried to open his eyes, but even the low lantern light in the sick bay stung his eyes. "Okay, okay, doc," Link muttered.

"Talk to me, Captain," Nester said. "What's going on?"

"I've got a headache," Link said, his words mixed with a slight groan. "The back of my head and my neck hurt. And my foot, too."

"What kind of pain do you have?"

Link let out a breath of air as he quickly searched for the words he needed. "Stabbing. Like someone shoved a stake into me a few times."

"Any idea what happened to you?" Nester asked.

Link finally let his arms fall away, although he laid one forearm across his eyes. "I'm not too sure," he admitted. "It was too dark to see. I even had a lantern, and I couldn't tell what was going on."

"Can you sit up for a moment?" Link, with some help from Nester placing a hand on his back, slowly sat up. He opened his eyes to see that Layna, her eyes wide with fright, was holding his legs down. Nester moved his hand to the back of Link's neck and probed a bit. "Can yo—"

"Ow," Link hissed.

"Sorry." Nester glanced over at Layna. "Could you let his legs go?" Layna rose carefully, her hands slowly releasing him but still hovering just in case she needed to grab him again. "Can you twist your back toward me; I think I see something."

Link grabbed the bulkhead and pulled his feet toward it. "Like this?"

"Yeah." Nester examined him in a moment of silence. "Welp, this is a new one."

"What is it?" Link asked.

"It's just a little pinprick of a bruise," Nester said. "But the area around it feels tender." Link felt something prod around a sore spot on the back of his neck and grabbed the edge of the bed with his right hand as if to brace himself. "How'd that feel?"

"Well… I'm not sure," Link said. "It-it didn't hurt too much. It just… didn't feel good."

"A little sensitive?" Nester asked.

Link took a moment to remember the feeling. Then he gave a quick nod. "Yeah, something like that."

"How about here?"

"Yeow!" Link snapped.

"Okay, definitely tender there," Nester quickly said.

"How bad does it look?" Link said with a moan.

"By far, not the worst you've had," Nester said. Link felt him prodding around the back of his head. "Weird, I'll grant you, but not the worst."

"What do yo—ow!"

"Sorry. I think you have another of these right there."

"Feels like that's about where my headache is, too," Link groaned.

"Anything else you can tell me?"

Link sighed and thought back to his latest experience in The Night's realm. "Well, it started with my feet," he explained. "I wanna say I might've set off some kinda trap or something. Whatever it was, it went right through my boot."

"Through your boot?" Nester asked.

Link nodded. "Yeah." He turned as if to look at Nester over his shoulder. "Yeah, as I talk about it, I remember that I… I think something stabbed through my foot."

"How?" Nester asked.

"Well, there were these holes in the floor. And… I think I rested on a switch on the wall. The next thing I know, something stabs through my boot; I remember seeing a hole in my foot."

"Sooo… what, some kinda spike or pole?"

"Probably. When they stabbed my foot, I fell onto the floor. Then…" Link grimaced. "I think whatever they were stabbed me in the head."

"How's the head now?"

"Okay, I guess," Link said. "I've got the headache, but that's about it."

Link heard a loud rustle and a groan. "Good, because I think I'm useless to you right now," Nester said.

Link had to twist to see that Nester had collapsed in his chair. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Ooooh… probably not," Nester answered as his head rocked back and forth.

Link carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed as he asked, "What's wrong?"

One of Nester's fingers raised from the armrest and pointed at Layna. "She stuck me with something."

"What'd you do to him?" Link asked, giving her an irritated look to match his tone.

Layna recoiled and turned to hide her hands as if she was afraid Link would bite her. Then she produced a needle to show Link. "'Inu mibathifak, My Captain," she said. "Nway 'olwu athik 'afolwci. 'Ak talb goybaftya'ak, taf 'inu mibiylnya'ak tab 'al 'inu nadmilaxmya filwaf, 'ak talb dha' marix 'agiybofit nayx boytokw My Captain."

Link sighed and drooped his head into one hand. Nester tried to slide up in his chair as he asked, "What'd she say?"

"I can't tell," Link groaned. "The words are just blurring together. Whatever it was, though, was probably about as much explanation as we'll get. When Layna talks that much, she had her reasons." He glanced up at Layna. "Right?"

Layna gave Link a quick nod. "Ay'a, My Captain."

"Well," Nester said, "I'm so drowsy I know I'm gonna fall asleep. And, for some reason, I don't really care."

Link looked up at him. "Is there something we can get you?" he asked.

Nester let himself slouch in the chair again. "No no, I think I've had enough drugs for tonight," he said as he turned to his desk. "Just promise me something other than rations in the morning."

Link allowed himself a small grin. "We'll see what we can do." He waited for a moment to see if Nester would respond. Then he looked at Layna. "Well. Here we are."

Layna turned completely to him and bowed her head. "'Inu nadlwaymlayximak tho' mizabthoyf," she told him. "'Inu… 'Inu yamsaylutak…"

Link sighed. "Look, I know you're just trying to help," he told her. She looked up at him. "Really. It'll be all right. Let's just… try to remember not to drug the doctor anymore. Okay?" He smiled wider at her.

For a moment, Link thought he saw surprise on her face. Then she seemed to change to a melancholic look before glancing away. "My Captain… waba yassomathak 'oyfzhax dha' dhol naday rayn nwaki max? 'Inu… 'Inu sasomathak…"

Link leaned aside to look her in the face. "Layna?" Layna glanced at him. "It'll be all right."

Layna took in a deep breath and faced Link again. "'Al My Captain yiniguth nwaki, 'inu mi'adhicak!" she declared.

Link was taken aback by the fearsome look on her face, but he could only conclude that it was just Layna being Layna.

…

~~9/28, Expedition Day 45.

~~Killed by The Night again. Spikes through the head. Maybe. I think that's what happened. As it turns out, The Night kepthe mines dark. I probably triggered the frst trap. I think I'll just sleep it off this afternoon.

Or, at least, that was Link's plan. He only sat down to write that log entry half an hour ago, when his original plan had failed. He had spent three hours trying to sleep so that his headache would wear off. In addition to the time it took before The Night rested, he had spent seven hours awake since the recent encounter with the spike traps. The headache had only waned a small amount while he had lay on his own bed. Getting up again had aggravated it to about the same pain as when he had awoken from the dream. With his log finished, he pushed the book out of the way so that he could cross his arms and lay his head on the desk. He had completely lost track of the sleep he was getting. His best recollection was the two or three hours he had spent in the dream of Obeeta. Before that, he was not even sure if he had napped yesterday. His body ached as well, all of the bruising now turning into sore spots that made even lying down difficult. His neck and back especially hurt, and it made him feel as if he was losing his ability to move. His right leg twinged on occasion. For reasons unknown to him, the limb that had felt decapitation and crushing forces and massive blood loss, not to mention one that he had to stand on, hurt him the least. Maybe, he thought, that was the key to getting beyond all the suffering The Night had caused: just work through it.

Link felt himself slide ever closer to sleep. Maybe he eventually fell asleep. He could not remember. In the next moment, he rose to the sound of voices arguing just outside his cabin. The sounds were muffled; how he had heard them from his desk while he was drifting off, he could not be sure. One female, one male.

Conflicting. Link brushed his drowsiness aside and grabbed his tunic off his footlocker; it was the only thing he could slip on over his bodysuit before he rushed out the door.

"—that I'm going to let a madwoman like you make su—"

WHAP!

Leynne stumbled to one side of the deck and collapsed against the port capstan located just fore of the mizzen-masts. Link froze where he stood just coming out from under the overhanging portion of the quarterdeck, mind a complete blank. He looked up at the perpetrator.

Dubbl.

Dubbl and Leynne had an "unpredictable" relationship, as explained to Link by other observers. Its primary feature seemed to be hitting. And, as far as Link and his crew had seen, it was always Dubbl hitting Leynne. Link was certain that Leynne's nose had been broken by now. And he could not count the number of times she punched him in the arm or stomach, almost all of them without immediate reason. And yet, this was an aspect that Leynne did not mind most days. The general consensus around the Island Symphony was that Leynne appreciated the intimate moments that usually followed. Something about the way Gelto worked themselves up until they were either angry or amorous; Dholit had tried to explain the dynamics two years ago, and Link could not be sure that he completely understood the correlation between the two. All he really could comprehend was that when Dubbl was mad, she was ready to get touchy-feely with Leynne, and Link really did not want to think about the two of them any more than that.

This, though. This was different. Link felt the oppressive atmosphere crushing the deck. Ray and Dholit stood in shock behind Dubbl, both of them with their eyes so wide they could have popped out of their sockets. Brandon was frozen mid-step on the port staircase to the quarterdeck, his face showing deep regret for choosing this precise moment to go to the head. And Dubbl. Dressed in one of Leynne's sky-blue button-up shirts with the bottom hem tied at the waist to accommodate her thinner figure and white slacks rolled up to her knees, her black hair unbound and spilled down her shoulders, she stood with her right hand raised beside her head, palm facing Link with her fingers splayed open. Her eyes were wide and wild, her breathing heavy as she stood over Leynne. Every fiber of Link's being told him that he had just walked into one situation where mere kissing was not going to end it all.

"'Inu nadsabithak wammu zanak," Dubbl said, her voice eerily calm. "Dhujfa' 'usaydhji. Xili'anay 'axib. Waba 'imayn 'imbiyt 'oyfzhax dha' dhol naday max? Wabin sahaydhi ban'a."

Ray shot Dholit a surprised look. Dholit, however, leveled a glare on Dubbl. "Dubbl, 'iwa waniguthak," she said.

"'Inu nadgaholwak!" Dubbl snapped at her. "Waba idha lwaynayritak 'an soynwadh naday max!? Waba nayx taynolak binal na'ithab!" She pointed a finger at Leynne. "Taf 'inlaxomak salwubat nwiy 'ithalb dha' binal ga'na!" Dholit stood stricken by Dubbl's outburst, an astounding feat in Link's eyes. "'Inu nadxalokwak 'imbiyt! 'Inu nadxalokwak binal!"

Link had understood that last statement. Leynne must have also caught it, too, because he stood up. "Dubbl, you can't mean that!" he hollered. To Link's surprise, his voice was strained, as if it was full of grief. "This is what we wanted! You have to stop this! You could hahm the baby!"

"'Inu nadgaholwak, nadgaholwak, nadgaholwak!" Dubbl screamed at him. She collapsed to her knees and screamed in anguish at the deck, causing Ray and Leynne to back a step away from her. Link had stepped forward as if to catch her and now stood still with one foot forward.

Biluf, who must have been somewhere forward when the arguing started, ran toward the group to see what was going on. She stepped over to Dubbl and carefully placed her hands on Dubbl's shoulders from behind. "Dubbl, naygothan 'immu thib," she said in a soft voice.

"'Inu nadxalokwak nwik binal," Dubbl told her. "Marix 'abaynani binal dhikw zakulwb 'ak binal taynol konafak dhol?"

"Nwaki nayx nadthikwufak, Dubbl," Biluf told her as she started rubbing her back. "May Kyabtin nayx naygodhak 'inon. 'Ak binal ijd nayx goylwonak niygodhtya." She looked up at Link. "'Inax, May Kyabtin?"

Link jerked, suddenly realizing that he was being addressed. Leynne glanced over his shoulder at him, and Biluf gave him a determined look. He saw Ray slowly nodding her head at him. "A-ay'a," he quickly responded. "Of course!"

"Nadda ay'a," Biluf told Dubbl.

Dubbl sniffed and wiped her nose with her forearm. "Wamatikak zhi nadnagoth Gilto 'anik marix 'axiltin 'ithab," she said as she allowed Biluf to pick her up.

"Zhi canwthya'ak," Biluf told her. She turned Dubbl and hugged her. "Nwaki thasofak."

Link watched as Dubbl, confused at first, decided to return the hug. Whatever the conflict was, Link was amazed it was settled. It led him to a single conclusion: The Night was responsible. He took in a breath and said softly, "Layna? You here?"

A hand gently touched his shoulder. "Ay'a, My Captain," she responded in a lower voice.

"You and Biluf, take Dubbl to her cabin," he ordered beneath his breath. "Try to keep her calm."

"Ay'a, My Captain." Layna then strode past Link. She carefully laid a hand on Dubbl's back as Dubbl released Biluf from the hug and indicated the front of the ship.

Link waited a few minutes as the trio drifted away. Then, in an audible voice, he ordered, "Ray. Fizuban taris."

Ray started as if realizing where she was. "A-ay'a, May Kyabtin," she replied, knocking herself in the head with a salute. Then she quickly looked around as if trying to find something to do. When nothing immediately occurred to her, she carefully followed the trio, zigzagging as if inspecting the deck rather than acting like she was tailing them.

"Brandon," Link said. This jarred Brandon out of his own stupor as he stood still on the port staircase. "Scram."

"Aye aye," Brandon replied. He was hustling back up the stairs as he repeated, "Scramming, sir!"

"Leynne, Dholit," Link then said. "My cabin." Leynne gave the deck a shamed look and turned to walk to Link's cabin.

As he moved out of Link's line of sight, Link realized that Dholit was still standing in place, a faraway look aimed at the deck. It was an expression he had never seen on her. He had seen that some of Dubbl's words had hit her hard. He thought he might find out what she said, so he cleared his throat. "Dholit?" he asked.

Dholit started and looked up at him. "Yes?" she asked.

"My cabin?" he said, indicating the open door with a hand.

"Oh," she replied. "Yes, of couhse." Link followed her to the cabin, watching the way she just seemed to drift in that direction rather than willingly walk to it.

Inside, Link closed the door and turned to his crewmen. Leynne, per his usual routine, sat on his footlocker. Dholit decided to lean against the chart table, one hand idly playing with a pencil that had been left there. He gave the two of them a grim look before heaving a sigh. "I think we have another problem," he said.

Leynne opened his mouth to speak, but when Link looked at him, he faltered and looked down at the deck. "I-I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I… I can't believe this came to be so out of control."

"Have you seen anyone out there lately?" Link asked. "We're lucky anyone is in control."

Leynne gave him a confused look. "You… can't suggest that The Night had something to do with this," he said.

"I'm sure I just did," Link said. "If we were anywhere else right now, it might be something else. But here? Now? I don't think we can rule it out."

"I know foh a fact that Dubbl has been able to sleep fine," Leynne asserted.

"When The Night's out?" Link asked. "Are you watching her then?"

Leynne glared for a moment. Then he released a sigh and looked down at Link's boots. "Maybe not as much as I would like. But… I'd ratheh thought heh behavioh was the result of being pregnant."

"Dholit, does this sound like a typical pregnancy?" Link asked. However, when Link turned to her, Dholit was staring beyond the room. So, he snapped his fingers. "Dholit!"

"Ah!" Dholit cried out, jumping away from the table. "Wha-what?"

Link exchanged a look with Leynne. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

"Yes, of couhse," she answered. "Why?"

"You appeah to have taken some of Dubbl's tirade to heaht," Leynne commented.

"What did she tell you?" Link asked.

"Oh," Dholit replied, "just… disparaging commentary on my position on this ship. Typical… wohkah-yabbid diatribe. The usual remahks, nothing I haven't heahd befoah."

"You'h suh?" Leynne asked with a dubious tone.

Dholit grinned. "Have you evah known me to lie?" she asked, raising her hands as if to invite a response.

"Well… yeah," Link replied in a blunt tone.

Dholit heaved a sigh. "Oh, this game already has me tiahd," she told them. "You had asked a question?"

"Is this a typical Gelto pregnancy?" Leynne asked.

Dholit glanced down at the deck as if looking for answers. "It… is a mattah of the individual, I think," she told them. "Howevah, what we witnessed did not seem to me to be ouh beloved Dubbl at all. Pregnant oh not."

"I… can't believe that The Night is out to ruin my marriage," Leynne said.

"Well, to tell you the truth," Dholit said with a huff in her voice, "I think this is less about youh marriage and moah about Dubbl's own feahs of being pregnant on a hostile island."

"Whatever. The. Case," Link said, the staccato rhythm of his statement meant to draw them back to what he wanted to talk about. "This is, what, the third time? Fourth?"

"What?" Leynne asked, unable to follow Link's train of thought.

"This is the third time we've had an outburst on the ship," Link said. "Right?"

"I don't know that I'd call Gillam's panic at youh eye an 'outbuhst'," Leynne said. "Moh of a lapse in judgment."

"Okay, well…" Link groaned to himself. Then he continued, "Okay, the second outburst we've had on the ship, and that's in addition to the issues we're now having with Beech. The Night is only able to affect the crew in their dreams. We have got to remind everyone that these things we think, these things we fear? They're just The Night playing with us."

"Unfohtunately, the idea becomes hahdeh to accept as the days go on," Leynne said. "We have people falling asleep no matteh wheh they ah. Just last night, I found Gold sleeping on the railing behind the forecastle, and Line was cuhled up on one of the tables in the galley. And Botu was napping on Sello's couch."

Link gave him a confused look. "Where was Sello?"

"Sneaking a sandwich out of the galley, I think," Leynne replied in an aside voice. That was his usual response to Sello nosing through their foodstuff, something which Link generally ignored since Sello hardly ever seemed to eat. "Anyway, as much as we try, we can't get people to sleep during the day as much as they need, and no one seems to have anything rational to say when they wake up anymoh. The Night is using fohces we cannot counteh."

"Do you have any suggestions then?" Link asked.

"I wish I had even half of one," Leynne said. "We can't drug the crew to make them sleep because Nesteh would run out of the medicines he needs foh emehgencies. We might extend it with Layna's own concoctions, but we can't even tell how much longeh we'll be heh. And the alcohol solution is cleahly losing effect as well. What it comes down to is, well… we have to get off this island."

Link sighed. "That would be the best solution," he said to himself.

"The problem is any idea we have may only succeed with time," Leynne replied. "The Night is striking us with something new day afteh day. We need some type of relief soon befoh the whole ship goes mad."

"Well, how about the shore party?" Link asked.

Leynne grimaced and glanced aside. "I'm afraid I didn't get one off this mohning," he admitted. "I'd stolen away foh a nap eahlieh, and, when I woke up, Dubbl confronted me. Oh… maybe I confronted heh. It seems I can't remembeh how this ahgument stahted."

Link nodded. "With Dubbl pregnant, we have to keep her especially calm," he told them.

"It would be the prudent choice," Dholit said.

"We could take heh off-duty foh the duration," Leynne suggested.

"We'ah trying to keep haah calm, not provoke haah," Dholit said. "If you take haah away from haah duties, she may decide to kill someone."

"Besides," Link said, "with five men down, we can't afford to short-hand ourselves any more. Just… maybe tell the deck crew that if she's doing work, it's because they aren't doing it."

Dholit smiled at him. "And heah I was concehned that you didn't undahstand the Gilto at all."

"Leynne," Link said. "See if she'll talk to you now. Maybe you can…" He flipped his hands side to side for a moment as he tried to come up with the right words. "… work through all this."

"I'd like to believe we can," Leynne said as he stood up. "With luck, she might actually hit me with heh fist again."

Link stepped aside so that Leynne could leave the cabin. Then he told Dholit, "I never really thought there was a good way and a bad way to hit someone in a marriage."

"I think the implications go down fahthah than you think," Dholit said as she stepped away from the map table.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a general trend with Gilto women," Dholit explained. "When something has meaning to them, but it makes them mad, they punch. But when something insignificant bothahs them, they slap. A slap means that they ahn't wohth the effoht."

Link glanced at the door. "You mean… you think she's trying to push Leynne away?"

"I know she's trying to push Leynne away," Dholit said. "She screamed it to everyone. My undahstanding of the situation is that The Night has been feeding on haah feahs that she'll have to watch both Leynne and the baby perish on this island."

Yet again, Link was reminded of Logan. He took in a breath and remained silent for a moment to gather his thoughts back together. "Then we'd better get off this island."

…

~~Same day, 1300.

~~Dubbl broke out into histerics and smacked Leynne. We've been trying to calm her down for the rest of the morning. She's sleeping now. But, according to Dholit, she's afraid that the baby will be born on this island and that she's gonna watch both it and Leynne die. It just reminds me of Logan again, and I don't think she understands what might happen to a child here. And I really hope she doesn't find out. I've talked to both Cale and Line and told them to keep quiet about Logan, but I guess Line already told Flower and Brandon abou it. The bigmouth. At least those two won't go on talking about it to anyone else, at least not until we reach another port. Leynne is going to try harder to keep an eye on her.

~~Unfortunately, with this going on, we haven't been able to send anyone to shore. I might have to be sure to say something tomorrow morning. We've gotta find those mystics soon. And the last technoworks. And then I have to find a way to kill The Night so no more ships come here. Leynne pointed out that we have these long-term ideas and The Night throws something new at us every day. We need to get ahead of this thing somehow.

Link paused and pondered the last sentence. And then he added another line.

~~But you won't let us. Will you?

Link stared at the final words. He disliked the idea of his crew not escaping, but, as Janni had indicated last night, escape would have just as many consequences. He could not believe that The Night had such a plan. So, he considered another plan. It was really a trope he was familiar with, something he had noticed in common with the few fictions he had read. While his log was now tainted with the presence of madness, it just might serve to warn people away from Obeeta better than any kind of news or lack of news brought about by future events. Then he had a better idea and pulled open a drawer to retrieve a clean sheet of parchment. After all, a full explanation of what happened on Obeeta might be the best thing he could write. He shoved his logbook aside and set the parchment down.

~~To whom—

Kon kon kon.

Link was jarred out of his thoughts. He looked up, anger flared at being interrupted. "What!?" he snapped.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Captain," he heard through the door.

Link shook his head, aware that he was about to shout his head off at Flower. "No, it's all right," he called back. "Come in." Flower opened the door and leaned inside. "Did you need something?"

"I was just wondering if you'd seen Dholit anywhere, sir," Flower replied.

"Dholit?" Link asked, confused. He pointed the blunt end of his pen over the front of his desk and down at the floor. "Isn't she below with Dubbl?"

"No, Dubbl's in the galley with Lilly and Biluf," Flower said.

"Anyone check her berth?"

"Twali did, but she wasn't there, either."

Link shrugged. "Well, she's not supposed to be on-duty right now, so what's the problem?"

"Dubbl wanted to talk to her, that's all."

Link scrunched his face as he thought. He had dismissed Dholit from his cabin earlier and taken a nap. "That's… strange," he said as he stood up. He added as he moved over to his bed, "There are a few crewmembers I'd expect this from, but Dholit doesn't normally like being alone."

"Oh, you don't need to get dressed, sir," Flower said as he watched Link pull his clothing on over his body suit. "I just thought I'd save trouble if I came in and asked you; I wasn't done searching yet."

"It's all right," Link answered. "You check the boat deck and the Conductor. I'll look below."

"The only place I haven't tried is the orlop, but I didn't think anything of it."

After he pulled on his tunic, Link stepped over to the door. "I'll check there and the engine room. But let's just keep this between us for now; we should avoid the panic where we can."

Flower let out a frustrated sigh and opened the door for Link. "Aye aye, Captain."

As Link stepped through, he told Flower, "Double-check with whoever's on lookout, make sure she didn't go to the island."

"Aye aye, sir."

Link walked across the deck with only a mild concern for Dholit. While her normal antics had been doused by the grim nature of their situation, he felt that there was not any reason for her to have done something reckless. Annoying? Maybe, but nothing particularly dangerous. For as much trouble as she could be, Dholit was one of the more level-headed members of his crew. Two years ago, when Link was about to be captured by Captain North under orders from the fake Princess Zelda, Dholit had coordinated the other Gelto into disabling many of North's crew and recovering him and Leynne, Cale, and Lilly before North and his men had wised up to which parts of her plan had been bluffs. He could have made Dholit a chief of the deck, but she always had her ulterior motives (which, Link was sure, involved mostly himself) which she would cite when she passed up the offer.

He descended past the cargo hold and galley without bothering to look in on anyone (although he heard Gillam vomiting) and into the orlop. Link noticed an assortment of tools littering the compartment forward of the orlop, which housed their electric generator. He realized that he had not noticed them before, but he concluded that, when he was down here in the dream, Janni was usually distracting him so he never noticed before.

After his boots fell silent as he stood on the final step of the starboard staircase, he heard someone sobbing. He craned his neck around the side of the staircase, following the sound to the narrow area between the staircase and the hull. The deck was littered with sheets of paper, each one of them bearing a similar drawing.

Link carefully stepped around the staircase, avoiding the paper, to find Dholit huddled in the narrow space with her back against the staircase. "Dholit?" he asked.

Dholit lifted her face from her crossed arms to look at Link. He saw trails down her cheeks, her eyes squinting and obscured by tears. The sight was so unlike Dholit that Link stood in stunned silence questioning whether it was really her or not. Dholit, however, forced a small smile as she said, "Oh. My Captain."

Link lifted a hand up as if to reach her as he asked, "Are you all right?"

Dholit let a laugh escape her mouth. "By any evidence you see befoah you, you might conclude that I am not," she told the deckhead. "And yet you would rathah give me leave to lie to you." She looked back to Link, who now was beginning to feel spooked. "I cannot lie this time, My Captain. I huht. I feel like a wretch. My spirit is broken at long last."

"So it was Dubbl's words, then," Link said. "They got to you."

Dholit shook her head. "Dubbl is only the most recent emotional stab I've taken from this miserable land. I assuah you that The Night has had time to distuhb me as well."

"Nightmares?" Link asked.

Dholit nodded. "Of the most pahsonal kind, as is the way of The Night."

Link glanced down at the papers at his feet. Then he waved a hand to indicate them as he asked, "Is that where all this is coming from?"

Dholit nodded again and wiped her nose on her arm. "A misguided attempt to stave off the nightly attack of the foul monstah," she said.

"What are they?"

"The gravestones of my family." Link let his jaw droop open a bit. He looked down at them again. Dholit gave a short, dry laugh. "I know. Absuhd, isn't it? I stahted drawing those afteh the thihd night, afteh The Night's natuah was revealed to us. I thought that, if I drew theih graves, The Night might… well, I don't know anymoah, really. Maybe it would stop if I just admitted that they weh dead to me in some way."

"But it didn't stop. Did it."

"No. The Night is a heahtless, pitiless beast; I had failed to see that. Every night is anothah massacah, each steadily rising in brutality. I awake thinking that my very skin is stained with blood."

Link squat so that he was eye-level with her. "I wish you'd said something."

"Why should I? My insanity is contained. You cannot affohd to coddle me while the rest of youh crew finds ways of killing itself."

"Dholit, I need you," Link said with an urgent tone. "You're one of the coolest people I know, and I need that to help keep this crew from killing itself."

She grinned again. "Is that what it takes to get you to notice me?" she asked drily.

"My crew are the most important people to me. I wanna know when something is wrong. I wanna be able to help."

Dholit looked at her arms for a moment. Then she told Link, "Only on the condition that you do not tell the crew of this. I could not stand being treated as if my feelings can be huht."

Link finally allowed himself to smile. "I won't tell a soul."

Dholit stood up, and Link rose to his full height to follow. "Have you a need for my 'coolness' now, my beloved captain?"

"Dubbl. I think she wants to talk to you about what happened earlier. But, if you don't feel like it—"

"If Dubbl is having the same experience as me, I just might be able to make some reparations," she told him.

"Then please," Link said. "She's just in the galley."

"Yes, My Captain," she said with an exaggerated bow. She showed little concern for the papers at her feet as she moved to the stairs and began to climb.

Link, however, lingered as he looked down at one of the papers she had stepped on. He picked it up to examine it. It was an astoundingly ornate headstone drawn with charcoal. The level of detail was interesting; she had even included stray blades of grass at the foot of the stone. However, Link could not read much of it due to it being written in Geltoan. The only word written in Hylian was underneath what he took to be the name of the person in the fictional grave.

—Bayla