Chapter 77: Free-Range Crew

…

~~10/29

~~Leynne explained to me that they had to rebuild the mechanisms for the Symphony from new plans. He admitted that he had misplaced the original blueprints he had saved from when the ship was first built, and he suspects that the Dreamweaver might have made him lose them since he recalled digging them out after we had reached Obeeta. It makes sense. If the Dreamweaver intended to use us like the other Hylian ships that reached Obeeta, keeping us from repairing the ship would be a priority. Leynne had to use the parts from the old mechanisms to draw up new plans, and he thinks he can have the masts fixed in the next few days. I talked to Ukhool about it, and Ukhool has agreed not only to speak to the local smiths about using their forges, but also to provide us some iron so we don't have to remelt the broken mechanisms. I offered compensation, but Ukhool just told me to let him speak to some people first.

~~I had to send out Leynne with a search party; Beech has been missing since yesterday. I have to admit that I neglected to set a report-in time, but the night shift began half an hour ago, and no one onboard has seen him for over a day. Things seemed to be getting back to normal (minus the pranks), and Beech almost seemed like he was ready for duty again. But I had talked to Nester about it, and he seems to be concerned that Beech may still have issues with having beaten Geordie into a coma. I've had to sen

…

~~Same day, 1930

~~Never mind. Beech is fine, he's been on the ship the whole time. Apparently, when we send Line to check someone's berth, we have to make sure he checks the right berth. Beech explained that he has still had lingering nightmares about the attack and that last night was the first night in a while he could actually sleep without it bothering him. I can't really blame him. It's like sleep is in short supply around here and we're all trying to borrow good dreams like a pack of cards. Just this morning, Leynne commented that he had a nightmare that Sello had thrown him into the engine and made him part of the ship while we were sailing into the Undying Storm. Personally, it seems like everyone on this ship should have had that one by now.

…

~~11/1

~~So. As it turns out, killing a hundred-year-old monster captain and his crew of insane creatures holds a little more weight than I thought. Both Ukhool and Captain Koroul used their connections to spread the word about who exactly we are and that we could use some help. Leynne had a line of workers waiting for him when he went down to Anlah Takeen this morning, and they've been helping him work on the new mechanisms for the mizzen-masts all day. They've also asked if we needed any supplies or tools. It makes me regret resupplying before we descended because they seemed so eager to help out, but the best I can ask for is a few fresh ingredients so that Lilly and Stan can start cooking for us again. I'm not sure how this'll turn out; some of the stuff they gave us don't look like normal vegetables or fruit. If that's what they were.

…

The following morning saw Link trying a bowl of stew Stan had made with the vegetables the Sorians had given them. Mixed with some of the canned meat provided by the company, the stew at least looked presentable. Link picked up a spoonful and sipped.

His eyes grew wide. He looked down at the bowl. He sniffed it. Then he asked Stan, who stood nearby, "It's delicious, but why does it taste so sweet?" Stan gave a grunt of frustration and threw the hand towel off his shoulder as he stormed back into the kitchen. "What?! I said it was good!"

Lilly, standing next to him, giggled. "He's tight cuz we can't figure out why it's sweet," she explained. "It's drivin' him nuts."

"What, it's not supposed to taste like that?" Link asked her.

"We don't know what's causin' it," Lilly said. "We tried the vegetables the Sorians gave us, but none of them taste sweet raw or cooked. It isn't the meat, either."

"But you put it all in the stew, and it comes out sweet?" Link asked.

Lilly shrugged. "Somethin' in the combination, I feel."

"Must be…"

"'Scuse me, Cap'n." Link, just about to take another sip, paused and turned to find that Harley had stepped up beside Lilly. This also confused Lilly, who had not heard him approach. Harley had a grim look on his face as he said, "We go' a prob'm."

Link and Lilly shared a glance before Link asked, "What is it?"

"The chief's gone."

Link quickly put the spoon in his mouth, and then he used it to point at the deckhead. "You check the head?"

"Line said 'e was there 'alf an 'our ago," Harley said. "I looked everywhere. I even checked the gen'rater room."

"Oh, crap…" Link said as he put the spoon down. "C'mon, let's go find Leynne and Irleen."

Link had been hoping that Sello would remain on the ship since many of his activities ashore tended to land people in a sickbed. He was especially concerned about Sello disembarking to Anlah Takeen since any incident (which, for Sello, tended to be accompanied by an explosion and/or a large fireball) might set the whole of Anlah Takeen aflame. He took Harley up to the main deck and ordered Leynne and Layna (since Irleen was nowhere to be seen) to follow him down the tree.

Once they were inside the tree, each member of the shore party kept looking over the side in the hope that Sello had not fallen to his doom; being incapable of walking a straight line was a considerable hazard on the thickest tree branch. They found no sign of Sello, although it seemed to be as favorable as it was unfortunate. The staircase inside the tree was easier to check, but, again, Sello had not had an accident there. This only deepened concerns since it meant that Sello was loose and unsupervised in the Sorians' home. They had to find him before he could locate and "modify" anything. Link was just moments away from giving the party directions as they exited the tree onto the terrace, certain they would be searching long into the day for Sello.

"An arc has dree branches." Link and the party froze at the sound of drunken rambling from the edge of the terrace in front of the entrance. "One for da shupper, one to da cave tooter, one for a bean, and dree fer a posey." Link and Leynne covered their faces in embarrassment while Harley put on a stupid grin and Layna gave the scene before her a confused stare.

Sello was sitting on one of the benches with a very calm and sober expression on his face. At his feet, jotting furiously on pieces of parchment while using the terrace as a desktop, were about two dozen Sorians. The Sorians appeared to vary in age from teenagers to adults well past their prime. As soon as Link recognized one Sorian who was standing outside the group, he developed a serious fear of who these other Sorians were.

The Sorian he recognized turned to him and decided to step closer. "I see we have underestimated your crew, Boy-Captain Link," Elder Lauhat said. "This orange fellow seems to have quite a bit to say about the Truth."

Link's glance passed between Sello, who was overlooking the Sorian Mystics in front of him with a curious face, and Lauhat. "What," was all Link could muster in response.

"Tickle doz fooders," Sello said to one closer Sorian in a level voice.

"What insight…" Lauhat said with an air of admiration. "I only hope my fellows' notes can properly convey his wisdom."

"What wisdom?" Link snapped. "He's drunk!" Harley snorted and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Ah, but with drunkenness, all inhibition is released," Lauhat pointed out. "And with that, one can only speak the Truth."

"Ah ken pump a toogle froock," Sello said, using both hands to make a pumping motion, "and a feckle spar be da eighth cheese turdle."

"Yes," Leynne said with a flat tone. "Sello is possibly the most truthful man we've eveh known."

"Pants are da milk of salvation and itchy beans," Sello told the group.

A teenager in the middle of the group raised a hand. "I-I'm sorry, how many toes?" he asked.

"Rock turnips," Sello answered. The Sorian just uttered something and returned to writing.

"I love 'ow 'e made tha' sound profound," Harley muttered with a chuckle before turning toward the entrance to hide the glee on his face.

Link pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really don't like where this is going…" he grumbled to himself. Then he leaned toward Leynne and asked in a low voice, "This place translates Sorian and Geltoan for us. Why won't it translate 'Rambling Drunk'?"

"I think the 'rambling' paht has something to do with that," Leynne whispered back. "But… that hahdly explains what the Sorians must be hearing."

"Ma peans!" Sello suddenly declared, one hand raised into the air. "To da tune of a wild joor, Ah make da five lick in a speckled cap. Call only to a brush and feather a boulder da size of a bean. Do not whistle ma veggies; I AM SELLOOOOO!"

Lauhat shook his head, his awe still apparent in his voice as he commented, "The Truth indeed lives…"

Leynne quickly slapped a hand over Link's mouth just as he was about to holler. "That last statement sounded quite poignant," he told Lauhat. "Pehhaps theh would be merit in exploring this line of thought."

"Yes, I believe you may be right, sir," Lauhat said. He took a step forward and delivered a single, powerful clap that attracted the other Mystics' attention. "My colleagues, the orange one has given us sufficient knowledge for the time being! Come! Let us find a blue beef and gaze upon its pistils!" Link and his shore party did not hide their confusion at hearing Lauhat say something that sounded much like Sello's usual speech in spite of the fact that what he said was in no conceivable way the same statement they had just heard Sello declare. And, for a moment, they were not the only ones; some of the Sorians sitting at the back of the group gave the elder brief glances of bewilderment. However, when the elder motioned at them, the group quickly gathered their writing implements and started dispersing into the sky, spreading out across the terrace so that they did not collide with one another on takeoff.

Link waited until Lauhat had taken flight before turning to Leynne and asking, "What was that all about?"

"I felt it would be best to get them away from Misteh Sello," Leynne explained. "As fascinated as they ah with ouh patron of incessant prattling, it might be best foh everyone if we retuhned Sello to his pen."

"Toofpeas!" Sello called to them.

When Link and Leynne looked at him in response, they realized that there was a pair of Sorians that had not left. "Irleen?" Link asked as the two Sorians stood. "Janni?"

"Have you two been heh this whole time?" Leynne asked.

"Um… actually," Irleen confessed, "we're the one's who brought him here."

"Explains 'ow 'e go' 'ere," Harley spoke up.

"You brought him here on purpose?" Link asked. "When even you know he shouldn't be down here?"

"Is this the part where we get chewed out?" Janni asked Irleen, grinning.

"He's not supposed to be unsupervised," Irleen pointed out. She used a hand to indicate herself and Janni as she added, "We've been watching him the whole time."

Link shook his head. "He still doesn't need to be down here."

"Take it easy, Boy-Captain," Janni said, drawing an annoyed glare from Link. "We're not just playing around; we wanted to test something."

"Test what?" Link asked.

Irleen pointed up and twirled her hand as she answered, "The translator magic."

"When that first Sorian landed," Janni said, "I heard him talking in an older dialect, same as I keep hearing from Irleen. But, when I'm here, I hear everyone talking like we're on Obeeta. You guys still sound like you because I can speak Hylian, too."

"So, we thought we'd bring Sello down here and see if the magic would translate him since neither of us understands him normally," Irleen continued. She paused to hand Janni the sheet of parchment in one hand. Janni took it and replaced it with her own parchment. "We wanted to see if the whole subconscious population of Anlah Takeen could make sense of what he's babbling."

"An intriguing experiment," Leynne commented. "Something which, in any otheh location, would be impossible."

"Did it work?" Link asked, finding himself equally as interested.

Irleen and Janni looked at each other's sheet. Then, they exchanged looks before Irleen sidled up to Janni so she could compare both pages. "Was the last thing he said 'Beet on a fairy cowlick to wobble on a cheese jump'?" she asked them.

Link glanced at Leynne before replying, "I… don't think he said anything like that," he replied.

"How about 'Be a little bee and be the bee of a bee being bee-bee on a cubby chip monk'?" Janni asked.

"Decidedly less so," Leynne answered. "Sello was hahdly so repetitive."

"Oh, boy…" Irleen uttered with a nervous look on her face.

Janni, however, was beaming. "So, if neither of us heard the same thing as them, what did all those Mystics hear?" she asked Irleen.

"The last words they will ever hear from Sello," Link said. "Layna, Harley, get him back to the ship and make sure he stays in the engine room."

"And, should the Mystics come to call upon his 'wisdom' again?" Leynne asked.

Link turned to find Leynne with a grin on his face. "Tell them he's passed out and needs to rest," he ordered. "Half the time, it's the truth anyway." He turned back to the girls and said, "Irleen, you and I are gonna talk to Ukhool. If anything, he might need to know why all the local Mystics are suddenly on a quest to find a left-handed mallet. Oh." He held up a hand to stop Irleen and Janni from moving. "From now on, if you're gonna borrow your crewmates, at least give someone some warning. I don't particularly mind, but I'd at least like to know when one of my more disaster-prone crew is wandering around."

"You think we can't handle him?" Janni asked, turning to indicate Sello. Sello, ignorant of the conversation, was scratching his scalp with the spiked head of an unfamiliar tool.

Link gave her a slow nod. "Have the crew tell you about Timbre Island," he told her as he gestured for Irleen to follow him. "That'll explain things better."

…

~~11/2

~~It's been a long time since I've had to set a new standing order for the crew. But the Sorian Mystics have been gone all day, and it's pretty clear that trying to translate anything Sello says can only lead to more trouble. As much as Elder Ukhool might find it hilarious that Sello accidentally sent the Mystics on a journey for the "Truth", I'm a little frightened of the idea of Sello developing a cult following simply because he won't shut up. There's also the fact that each Sorian seems to hear him say a completely different thing when the magic of Anlah Takeen translates for him. I don't really know what Sello sent them to find, and I really don't want them to find him when they come back.

~~Still. It actually is kinda funny knowing they're loony enough to take Sello seriously.