Chapter 46: Got the Message?

…

Using space in the Conductor's cabin and on the deck, Link's shore party had fit fifty-one crates on the launch. This had made the launch significantly heavy, forcing Link to pilot dangerously close to the ground almost within spitting distance of many rooftops. The afternoon was spent off-loading the crates of rations into the cargo hold. The night shift assisted the shore party so that it would keep them distracted, there being so little to do otherwise. Once Cale, Line, and Irleen had returned from the library, Link told Cale to mark the crates and add them to the ship's inventory manifest. While this also meant that the individual packages of rations would have to be counted, Cale was not bothered by the prospect since he would have Line (on Link's order) helping him through the night. Link hoped for a good haul to preclude the need to return for more.

Without a location for the next technoworks, Link decided to stay awake for the night. Unlike his crew, he had enough vitality that he was not simply dozing off where he stood. He busied himself with checking the rigging, partially to keep his mind off hearing his crew start every now and then and partially to give himself something easy to do. Naturally, the rigging was fine; the only real disappointment was that both mizzen-masts were still broken, the boom of the port mast still lying on the deck. Fortunately, someone had placed the boom so that anyone who stepped down from the quarterdeck would have to drift toward the middle of the deck to avoid tripping over it. After that, Link simply patrolled the deck, if only to nudge the crew awake every few minutes. He found that they were at least not trying to nap on the bulwark anymore, although he caught Gold dozing off against the railing on the edge of the forecastle and snapped at him before he had a chance to fall head-first onto the main deck.

A couple of hours after the Obeetans woke up, Link heard voices hollering back and forth. He glanced over the ship from his position on the forecastle. Leynne, having stepped partway up the stairs to the quarterdeck, was exchanging words with Hunter, who stood at the top of the poop deck. Hunter gestured at the island, and Link looked toward the settlement, wondering if something else had transpired. He saw a single Obeetan slowly walking in the direction of the ship, almost a quarter of the way across the open expanse. Link quickly delivered a light slap to Gold's arm so that he was awake (having been nodding off while resting his hands on the wheel) before walking down to the main deck. As Link crossed the deck, Leynne finished his exchange with Hunter and turned to descend back to the main deck. Once he saw Link approaching, he quickened his pace.

"Captain, we have company," Leynne said once Link was close enough to hear.

"Yeah, I saw you guys talking about it," Link replied.

They both stopped where they met just aft of the main-masts and turned to look out at the lone figure crossing the vast open between the ship and the settlement. "What do you think?" Leynne asked. "As fah as I know, none of the Obeetans have eveh come out of theh."

Link slowly shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. Then he gave a suspicious frown when he recalled the incident with Ray. "But we know The Night can manipulate people. And I don't think the Obeetans can even resist."

"You propose some soht of mental control?" Leynne asked.

"Think we should overlook the idea?" Link replied.

"I'll get my gun."

Link nodded, and Leynne jogged across the deck toward the starboard staircase. Due to events two years ago, Leynne had decided to put together a lock box inside the staircase at the landing between the main deck and the cargo hold. Leynne had one key; the second was stored in Link's deck in case someone else had to use it. Within a few minutes, Leynne had the rifle and a pouch of ammunition. He loaded the gun in front of Link while Link fired a blue flare into the air so that, if Leynne had to shoot, he could aim. The flare's reach was limited, but Leynne settled onto the bulwark and readied to fire. He kept the gun pointed at the ground a few paces in front of the Obeetan. Link, with his sword already on his back, moved to the top of the gangplank.

Although Link did not think their alert was unjustified, he had to admit to feeling stupid having to wait for the Obeetan to approach the ship. He considered running out to it to meet it halfway, but he could already hear Leynne's disapproval. In addition, should something happen, Link did not want Leynne shooting the gun in his direction in spite of Leynne's decent marksmanship. The best Link could tell was that the Obeetan was, well… a normal Obeetan. Tattered cloak and hood, virtually no features to speak about, let alone a body that was not on the verge of fading away.

The Obeetan hesitated at the base of the gangplank. Then it simply floated onto the gangplank. Link found himself taking a hesitant step back. He took another one so that the Obeetan could set foot (as it was) on the deck.

"You forgot to turn off the water, so I sent the third rabbit to the east."

Link was understandably confounded by the words spoken by the Obeetan's haunted voice. He started when the Obeetan's cloak rustled, causing Leynne to level the rifle on it. Link had to back one more step so he could see the Obeetan produce a bottle.

To Link's surprise, the bottle was wrapped with a long strip of cloth. The Obeetan held it out, and he carefully took the bottle. "If you look to the sun, you will find the last of the three-headed man," the Obeetan told him.

"Link?" Leynne spoke up with a warning tone.

Link fit a finger into the neck of the bottle and, with some trouble, pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. He had to tuck the bottle into one armpit so that he could unroll the parchment.

—To whomever finds this. Get off this island now.

Link sighed, allowing his arms to drop to his sides. Leynne waited for the Obeetan to turn and walk back down the gangplank before approaching him. "Link?" he asked.

Link shook his head and offered out the note. "Have a look."

Leynne's brow furrowed, and he took the note so that he could read it. "'—To whomeveh finds this,'" he read. "'Get off this island now. My name is… Link'…" He paused as he read the next few lines to himself. "You wrote this?"

Link nodded. "Yeah. I wrote that almost a week ago. With all the injuries and trouble getting into the mines, today was the only time I could take it out and put it somewhere."

"Ostensibly, should someone come to this island afteh us," Leynne reasoned.

"Janni pretty much laid it all out," Link said. "The Night has been pulling ships here for years. Whether we make it back to the kingdom or not, someone's eventually gonna come here after us. Even if we make it back to the kingdom, no matter what we do, there's always gonna be someone who wants to come find this new island."

"'Caution feeds curiosity'," Leynne recited.

"Huh?"

"The concept that even the smallest wahning causes an incredible rise in the need to know," Leynne explained.

Link nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like what Janni was describing."

"So, you left this note to deteh would-be thrill seekehs and explorehs that might find theih way heh?"

Link could only offer a helpless shrug. "I know; it wouldn't help much if they're already here."

"It might affohd the last chance to tuhn around," Leynne suggested. "Not that The Night should feel threatened, I would think."

Link glanced out at the Obeetan as it slowly ambled back to the settlement. "So why would it have an Obeetan return it to me?" he asked.

Leynne glanced over the note again. "Pehhaps an expression of the futility of this note," he suggested. Link gave him a cross look. "While we may consideh one last wahning ouh best effoht, The Night may simply see it as a nuisance." Link's gaze passed over the deck. "Link?"

"Maybe…" Link agreed with a soft voice. Then he handed Leynne the bottle. "I wonder if Janni saw any of this."

"Do you think she might have some insight?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I think I'm gonna go ask."

Link started walking away. He was out of hearing range when Leynne finally realized that he was still holding the note and bottle and hollered at him, "What do you want me to do with these!?"

Once Link was in the cargo bay, he removed his sword and his gun belt and set them on the foot of his cot. Then he laid down and shut his eyes. Unfortunately, his attempt to sleep was not nearly as instantaneous as he wanted. Between the lamp that had been mounted to the outside of the staircase near his cot and listening to some of his crew scream themselves awake, he opened his eyes nearly a dozen times thinking he was asleep only to raise an arm and not see the shade of his sleeping body underneath.

Link felt like it took him over an hour before he finally woke up in the dream. He sat up and found Janni sitting on the bench against the partition to the berthing deck. As he swung his legs off the cot to turn toward her, he asked, "Were you up on-deck?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Link," she droned. "I was up on-deck when the Obeetan brought you your note back." Then she leaned forward. "You know? I think you're only in this dream because you're stuck."

"Well, what's going on with The Night?" Link asked. "It didn't shake the island. In fact, the whole island rose."

"He's hurt, Link," Janni replied. "The library and the river, those areas hurt, too. This is different because what you've done is killed half of its body."

Link stared at her for a moment. Then he said, "So I was right. The Night had all those tunnels and the technoworks full."

"And when you killed it, you lightened the load on the island," Janni finished. "You'd be a lot lighter, too, if you'd lost your bottom half."

He blinked in surprise at her salty tone. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Oh, too many things to count," Janni replied, her voice taking a lighter, dismissive lilt. "So. You done asking questions?"

"Well, I wanted to know why the Obeetan brought my note back," Link said. "I… assume that The Night was responsible for that."

Janni shrugged. "It isn't unreasonable," she answered.

Link waited for her to elaborate. Then he asked, "And that's it? That's all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say? I don't know what it's thinking; I'm not in its head. Anything I have to say is just guesswork."

"I kinda have to rely on that guesswork," Link pointed out. "So, guess away."

"Would you believe me if I said it was treating the note as a love letter and it wanted you to come to a candle-lit dinner on top of its tower tonight?"

Link paused for a few moments to let her absorb the annoyed glare on his face, which she observed with glee. "No."

"Too bad, because your guys' relationship is, just… waaaay, way out there," Janni told him with a straight face, waving her arms for emphasis.

"You're not being funny."

She smirked at him. "Yeah, but I'll bet someone out there secretly watching over us found it funny."

Link pinched the bridge of his nose. "Janni…"

"Look, I really don't know, Link," Janni said. "You know I love to tell you horrible things just to make you sweat, but I'm not that sure myself. Either The Night wants you to know that the note is pointless, the note is useless, or he's just screwing with your head."

Link frowned at her. "What do you… why is there an option being 'pointless' and 'useless'? Isn't that the same thing?"

"Is it?" Janni asked, her face showing genuine confusion. "I just mean that either the note isn't going to help anything or the note is never gonna be seen."

"I'm… still not sure I get it."

"What I mean is that people may see it, or they may never see it. If they see it, it won't help them because The Night will just trap them on the island. Or. They'll never see it because The Night does something to it."

"Oh."

"But, again, Link, it could just be screwing with your head. That's kinda the standing theory on everything it does. This could mean something, or it could be meaningless."

"I guess it would be too easy for it to just come out and say what it's up to," Link groaned, scratching the back of his head.

"I imagine he would if it would be worth it. But this is The Night. If it wants to be understood, it'll do it through your nightmares."

"Something I can't experience for now," Link pointed out. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I don't suppose you feel like telling us where the last technoworks is, would you?"

"I can tell you it's under the Sorian part of town," Janni replied. "It doesn't do you any good because your crew can't fly through solid ground to find it. And, before you ask, no, I have no idea where the entrance is."

"Ah, well," Link groaned. "At least we're looking in the right place."

"I doubt it," Janni told him. "Your men need to move further north and outward from the island. They're skittish around the middle tower."

"They have a right to be; The Night itself is in there." He glanced over at the cot where Layna was sleeping. "I wish Layna was feeling better; she wouldn't have a problem getting that close."

"She hasn't said a thing to your doctor," Janni said. "She just… kinda glares at him. But, you know. Kinda blank?"

"She must still be in Kill Mode."

Janni turned a surprised look on Link. "Wha?" she asked, half a grin showing through.

"She's an assassin," Link said. "Whenever she's doing that job, she just… it's like she just switches off her emotions."

"Huh. And you tell me I'm weird."

Link shrugged. "I guess I'm used to it by now." He stood up. "But this is weird now. I'm staring at her, but she won't react."

Janni glanced back and forth between Link and Layna's back. "That's right, she does do that. Maybe you should step closer to her."

"You think that's it?" Link asked as he took a few steps closer to her cot. "She can usually notice someone looking at her from more than a ship's length away."

Janni lifted from the bench and floated behind Link so that she could look over his shoulder. "How do you even develop a sense like that?"

Link sighed. "I don—GAH!" Link jumped backwards when Layna rolled. However, he calmed down once he saw that she was just flipping onto her back. Her bandage had been replaced with something smaller, and it looked like it was still clean. Link patted his chest to get his heart to quit beating so hard. "Wow. For a moment there, I thought she was gonna get me."

"She's sleeping quite well tonight," Janni commented. "The Night must not have turned her dream yet."

"I just hope she hasn't done anything to permanently harm herself," Link said.

"You really care for her, don't you?" Janni asked, intrigue tinging her voice.

Link's voice came out confused as he uttered, "Huh?"

"Well, I can't say I've seen you standing at the bedside of your other crewmembers," Janni teased. "This one must be special. And after that confession, too."

"Whap, I'duh, ugh…" Link babbled at her, heat rising to his face.

"And after all the attention that other one showed you," Janni continued. "I thought Hylians appreciated a woman's attention. Or at least her big boobs."

"Ap—k!" Link finally slammed his jaw shut to control the noises he was making. Then he snapped at her, "I'm not getting in a discussion about my crew's boobs!"

Janni gave him a devilish smile. "I bet you would if you've touched one before," she remarked. "But you haven't, have you."

"That's-wah!" Link failed to argue.

"You know, I bet you would be embarrassed if this ever happened outside the dream," Janni said. "Maybe this would be a good opportunity to give it a try."

Link stared at her until it became clear what she was suggesting. His realization caused him to rapidly look back and forth between Janni and Layna for a moment. Then he declared while his face turned beet-red, "Ooooooh, no! Absolutely not! Are you nuts?!"

"It's been suggested," Janni answered. "What's the big deal, Link?"

"If she finds out I groped her while I was in the dream, she'll kill me!"

"She's not gonna feel it," Janni told him, her grin getting wider. "You, however, get to find out how much chest there really is there. Remember: everything that exists in the real world exists in the dream, too. Grab the smaller ones; it'll be like a beginner's challenge."

Link glanced down at Layna again. "What're the others gonna do if they find out?" he asked himself.

"They'd probably be glad to see that their captain has hormones, too. Honestly. How long has everyone been waiting for that?"

Link stared at Layna for a moment. Then he edged a little closer. He had not resolved whether or not he would do it. Everything in his head told him not to do it, from his own conscience and sense of decency down to his logic mentioning that he had seen entire taverns leveled anytime someone was inappropriate with one of the Gelto. Yet, there was still a nagging voice telling him that he might never have the opportunity again, and it was the idea that he might actually know what it was like to touch a woman's chest that made the decision so difficult. His entire body felt warm. His breathing became heavier. His hand shook as he raised it.

He only had a split second to see Layna's eyes snap open.

In the next moment, Link fell to the deck screaming, both hands over his right eye. His hollering alerted Layna, Nester, and Gillam (still recovering from food poisoning).

Nester, after stumbling out of the sick bay, rushed to Link's side. "Captain, what is it!?" he yelled over Link's anguished screams.

"MY EYE!" Link shouted, still curled on the deck with his face covered.

Kon-konk. Nester glanced up to see that Layna, sitting up in the cot, had dropped one of her circular throwing blades with a shocked look on her face.

"Doc," Gillam grunted as he stood up from his cot. "You need a hand?"

"You all right?" Nester asked him, still having to holler over Link.

"Yeah."

"Help me get him into the sick bay."

Gillam and Nester hooked their arms around Link's and carried him into the sick bay. Since the sick bay was still missing a bed, they set Link down in Nester's desk chair where the bed originally was. Link had stopped hollering, but his hands remained firmly on his right eye. Nester sent Gillam to the main deck to retrieve Leynne while he waited for Link to calm down. Leynne arrived and exchanged a quick word before Nester told him to let Link regain control.

When Link finally felt most of the pain subside, he removed his hands from his face. Nester chuckled to himself as he commented, "Well, at least you have a matching set now."

"What?" Link asked as Nester knelt to better look into Link's eye.

Leynne pointed to his own eye as he explained, "You've ruptuhed youh otheh eye. They'h both red."

Link sighed. "Oh, man…"

"Well, to be fair," Nester said, "that other eye is coming along just fine. The sclera is just about normal. A few more days."

"What happened?" Leynne asked. "I thought you weh just going to talk to Janni." Then he narrowed his eyes. "She didn't do this to you, did she?"

"N-no, it wasn't her," Link answered, flinching from Nester tugging on his bottom eyelid. "Ow…"

"The Night?" Leynne asked.

"No."

Gillam and Leynne exchanged glances. "Who did it?" Leynne asked.

"It was-it was… Layna."

"Layna!?" all three men hollered in surprise at the same time. Nester had even leaned away from him in shock.

"Why would Layna want… to…?" Leynne trailed off when something occurred to him. "She… you'h saying that she killed you while you weh in the dream?"

"That must've been why she had the blade in her hand," Nester reasoned. "But then… how did she even know where to aim?"

"We've seen this behavioh befoh, Doctoh," Leynne said. "We don't know how, but Layna is capable of sensing when someone is watching heh. We've already seen heh react to Link in the dream; Link's confihmed this." Link nodded for Nester's benefit. "She's neveh had this soht of reaction, though. Pehhaps she mistook Link's gaze foh a threat."

"Uuuuh…" Link droned.

This caused the men to give him confused looks. "Am I wrong, Captain?" Leynne asked.

"Well… kinda," Link confessed. "I… I-I might've been… trying to… touch her…"

"You wha?" Leynne asked while Gillam snorted and quickly covered his mouth. Nester, meanwhile, bowed his head to hide a grin.

"It was just this… stupid idea!" Link declared. Nester hissed at him to be quiet, which reminded Link that Geordie was still sleeping further into the bay. Link reigned in his voice as he continued, "Janni said that-that… uh, that no one can feel anything if I touch them in the dream," Link stammered. "So… I-I thought I'd try it."

"On Layna?" Leynne asked, his voice incredulous.

"She-she was the only one nearby," Link replied. He shrugged his embarrassment. "I-I didn't think…"

"How did it feel?" Gillam asked.

"Misteh Gillam," Leynne said, his voice punctuated with annoyance. Link, for his part, hunched his back as if preparing to roll into a ball.

"It's a fair question, isn't it?" Gillam asked with a defensive tone. "I'm just curious; I've never touched a woman in my dreams. I was just wondering if it was any different from the real world."

"I doubt if that is the case," Leynne replied. "Youh tone suggests the action to be salacious."

Gillam gave a smug grin and pointed at Link. "Maybe, but I'm not the only one with a dirty mind."

Leynne looked at Link. And then he placed a hand over his face. "Captain, please tell me it was an intellectual curiosity," he moaned.

"Um… kinda…" Link answered meekly.

"Well, at least we know he has hormones," Nester commented, his tone light but his face frowning. "I'm sure the women aboard will be delighted."

"I would much ratheh the women didn't know about this incident," Leynne told him in a hard voice. "The situation on-boahd is difficult enough. Knowing that ouh captain may be going through a late pubescent stage will only increase the tension." His words caused Link's face to turn red. "While it may cause amusement between you two, the Gelto in the very least have been known to treat such scandalous behavioh with violence."

"Yeah, but it would make good conversation starter," Nester replied in a dry voice. "'Greetings, Dholit. Tell me, did you know that the captain has started feeling up real women in his sleep? You must be so proud.'"

"Doctoh," Leynne said in a harsh tone, which caused Gillam to quickly slap a hand over his mouth. "Aside from how tehribly a convehsation could stem from that, Dholit would be the last pehson who needs to know about this." Link lifted his head and nodded vigorously. "This is not the time oh the place foh such antics. I thehfoh ask that you do not repeat news of this incident, foh the captain's sake."

"Whatever happened to that 'openness' you told us to use?" Gillam asked.

"The captain's pehsonal antics ah not to be a subject of rumohs on-boahd this ship," Leynne told him, his tone becoming harsh. "Is that cleah, Misteh Gillam?"

Gillam heaved a sigh. "Aye aye, sir."

"Doctoh?"

Nester raised his hands in surrender. "My lips are sealed," he quickly said.

"Very well," Leynne said. "Doctoh, I take it that this latest eye injury is about as damaging as the previous one?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Nester said as he rose to his full height. "He can get back to work."

"Captain?"

"Yeah, let's get up on-deck," Link said as he stood up. "Gillam, can you get back to work?"

"Aye, sir," Gillam said.

"Good," Leynne said. "The mohning shift is on-duty right now. You can join them."

"Aye aye," Gillam replied.

Link, Gillam, and Leynne left the sick bay together. As they walked through the hold on their way toward the stairs, Link and Leynne caught sight of Layna.

She had changed positions. She was seated with her legs folded underneath her thighs and her fists pressed to her lap. Her face was an angry glare trained on Link, an astounding sight considering she had never looked so livid in the past two years.

Link froze in place, which only seemed to turn up the intensity in the hold. In the back of his mind, he could feel all her hidden weapons aimed at him and ready to be unleashed if he so much as dared to think about touching her breasts again.

"Uh…" he droned for a moment. Then he offered a small handwave. "Hi… Layna?"

"Nadkilwuban 'inon nwiy 'oyfzhax naday 'imayn 'aydi'ayd na'ithab," she replied in a clear, crisp voice oozing with hate.

Leynne had stopped when Link spoke up. He backpedaled to Link and took in Layna's appearance for a moment. "Captain," he said in a low voice, "at the risk of stating the obvious, it might be that she knows what you weh doing."

"Yyyyyeah," Link groaned. "I think I'll just avoid her for the next month…"