Chapter 60: Kakucha Island
…
~~Day 26.
…
~~Day 27.
~~We've been delayed a day due to our encounter with the Cloud Moon, an Airliner vessel the Goddess's Tides encountered on the way to Kakucha Island.
~~I've been down lately. It's one thing to have someone you actually know die far away from you. And then there was Airman Jared of the Cloud Moon. I didn't even know him, and yet it feels worse to hear a man's name before he dies right in front of you. I w—I never felt so hel—I don't kn—
~~I can't tell what I should have done, or even if I could've done anything. One moment, he was lying on the deck having a conversation with Seaman Gold, and, the next thing I know, he dies on the Goddess's Tides with all the quiet of a long sleep. It disturbed me so much that I couldn't do anything yesterday. I didn't even eat or sleep.
~~About as disturbing were Airman Jared's last words. He told us that "devils" had attacked the ship. If it hadn't been for us finding "Skyriders are devils" written on the stern of the ship, it would have at least been a stretch to conclude that any single company could have done this. Instead, it's so damning that it's as if I have no choice but to hate myself. To think my own company did this, it's so disgusting that I feel like I can throw up if I think too hard. Actually, I think I did last night. And that statement—No one defaces their ship like that just to make a statement. Something very wrong is going on in the sky, and, somehow, the Skyriders are in the middle of it. I don't think it's possible but… could this have something to do with Line's scribbling all over that map we found on the Horizon's Eye? Maybe to do with whomever Line was transporting out of the storm? It's all so insane right now.
~~It's so insane that I'm actually afraid to return.
…
When Seaman Gold had told them that they might understand why the S.E.S. Goddess's Tides could only reach certain islands in the next days at sea, Link, Irleen, Dholit, and Cale found themselves realizing that he had not been trying to be cryptic. What had happened to the Ocean Realm was beyond simple words. At first, it seemed as if everything was normal when Seaman Bently invited them onto the weather deck as the steamer approached the island. Irleen was the first to realize it due to her vantage point not being obscured by some of the steamer's geometry. To the north, the ocean simply rose up probably two stories higher than steamer. This shelf of water exerted all the calm of the ocean surrounding them as if it was a natural occurrence. Both Cale and Dholit expressed shock as they tried to explain the concept of "tides" to Link and Irleen (not realizing that islands in the sky were still subject to those same forces). Nothing seemed to indicate why the water was so high. It looked like the ocean simply rolled up and over something. At least, it appeared to Link that the water was moving up; the steamer maintained distance from the shelf as if fearing it would suddenly collapse on top of them. Of course, considering the madness to the situation, it seemed quite possible.
Kakucha Island appeared on the horizon about an hour later. It appeared as if a mountain had simply been planted in the middle of the ocean. But as the ship approached for docking on the southeast side of the island, Link could better see a grass plain surrounding a small town on the south side of the mountain. The port was a series of docks and a couple of wooden warehouses, surprisingly small as far as ports go, although Link had seen smaller. Only a few small ships and boats were docked, maybe five of them steamers like the Goddess's Tides. Most of the sailing vessels were ketches, although Link happened to notice a cutter and a sunfish, the latter being a rare vessel in the sky due to its primary, lanteen-rigged sail being a hassle to use around Sky Lines.
The steamer docked and moored, and the crew set to work offloading crates. Cale had to retrieve the new bag he bought for his supplies, so Link, Irleen, and Dholit lingered about the weather deck waiting for him, watching as the crew moved stuff from the hold.
"A'oy, mateys," Gold said as he approached them.
"Hello," Dholit replied with a smile while Link gave him a vague nod.
Gold caught the downcast look Link gave him and released a sigh. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anythin' fer that airman, Cap'n," he said.
"No one's holding you responsible for it," Irleen said.
Gold indicated Link with a nod. "Yer cap'n is."
Link shook his head. "No, I… I understand," he said, turning completely to Gold. "I've… I've just got so many things on my mind right now. What could be going on up there… stuff like that."
"Aye," Gold said with a nod.
"The Skyriders don't have a reason to shoot down any airships unless they're pirates. It wouldn't do anything to shoot down a passenger vessel."
"Well, you have been down heah foh almost a month," Dholit replied.
"Thin's change," Gold added. "Three weeks 'fore, we set out tae Kakucha Island fer our usual run. When we got back, the 'aze that's always over the Forest Realm disappeared. Yeh never know if thin's are gonna be the same when you go 'ome."
"Maybe," Link said, "but that's too much of a change for me. It doesn't feel right."
"Aye. Look, I don't know what good it'll be, but there's a bar just outside the dock. The Friendly Sailor. That's the best place tae find a ship tae some o' these smaller islands."
"Thank you," Link said with a nod.
"Sorry we couldn't tow that ship fer yeh."
Link just shook his head. "It would probably sink by the time we got back to Hovela. And even if it hadn't, the most important part of the ship, the ballast tank, was wrecked. That's what we're missing."
"Aye." He glanced over his shoulder. "Look, I go'a get back tae work. Good luck, Cap'n. An' if yeh need any more answers, yer scholar friend's got the logbook from that ship."
"Thank you," Link said.
Gold stepped over to the bridge for a moment and glanced up at the windows. Then he disappeared around the side. Link looked up at the windows and saw Captain Albel glaring down at him. He could feel the captain's disgust across the distance, but Albel was the first to break their staring contest to talk to the seaman addressing him from behind.
"I didn't know they found the logbook," Irleen said, breaking Link's focus.
"They found it afteh you two followed the aihman back to the Tides," Dholit explained. "Captain Albel thought it should go with us since Link was wohking on retahning to the sky."
"Link, that could be something," Irleen told him as she flew a circle around his head. "Maybe it explains why one of your ships shot this other one down."
Link nodded. "Maybe, but we'll deal with that when we have the time."
"Cale!" Irleen suddenly snapped. Dholit and Link looked over at the boarding plank, where Cale stood with a surprised look on his face. "Wait for us!"
…
Lunch preceded the bar, although they saw it as they passed by. Many food stalls lined the streets close to the port, so they spent half an hour trying a few local foods while discussing their plan. Since they could not be certain which island was the one they needed to go, they would have to ask around before finding a vessel to take them there. The simplest thought they had was to ask if some of the stall owners or grocers ever had regular customers which did not live on the island. This turned out to be harder than expected; even though the grocers gave names, none of them knew which islands these customers lived on. Two names which kept on appearing were Cole and Rosaline, and they both came up due to none of the grocers ever meeting them. The third grocer to mention one of them (Rosaline) explained that neither of them actually traveled from their homes. Instead, they sent hired help to island. Cole's help was usually a well-dressed man or woman while Rosaline always sent the same man who generally appeared to be a tired-looking bum. Unfortunately, none of the grocers could establish whether either was the offspring of the Architects they were looking for.
When it came time for them to try the bar, they were surprised to discover a board set up on the wall in adjacent to the door. On it was a hand-drawn map skewered with pins and decorated with colored thread and cards bearing ship names and contact information. While Dholit chatted with the few seamen having a drink behind them, Link, Irleen, and Cale examined the map. Well, Link and Cale discussed it; Irleen could not read it.
"I think I undehstand it," Cale said. He pointed out the lines of threat on the map. "So, each of these strings is colohed, and the sample string on each cahd indicates which string belongs with which."
"Which I get," Link said, "but why are they arranged like this? It's weird. It'd be easier opening an office or something."
"Well, they'h all pinned to the top cohneh heah, which is probably this poht," Cale said, forcing Link back as he circled a fingertip around the top-left corner of the map. Link could see the reasoning behind it; the location corresponded to the relative location of the island with the other islands Cale had shown him on a map of the Ocean Realm. "The threads show wheah these ships travel."
"And dot be dee idea, friends." Both Cale and Link turned around at the sound of a woman's voice behind them. Dholit stood there, and next to her was a woman of larger girth and shorter stature. Her skin was not as dark as Dholit's, and she sported a wart in one corner of her mouth. Her clothing was a simple, wool wrap covering her chest under her arms and continuing down to end in a skirt. Her hair was black dreadlocks tied behind her head. She held a tray under one arm, which told Link that she was a worker in the bar and not part of a ship's crew.
Link pointed a finger at the map. "Your customers leave this information for other customers wanting to travel to any of these islands?"
"Yes," the woman replied. "Dis place, it don't be Hovela. It don't have a company based here. Dee only way to get work, it be by findin' contact here."
"How long have you worked here?" Link asked. "Do you know most of these people?"
She nodded. "Dey like to work out deir arrangements while drinkin'. Good for dem, good for os."
"Have you heahd the names 'Cole' oh 'Rosaline', pehchance?" Cale asked.
"Cole, he be a man who likes privacy," she told them, her free hand waving as she talked. "He don't like to show his face. He send his slaves here to bring him bottles an' people who don't have a job. He be a wealfy man, but no one here, dey don't like him."
"And Rosaline?" Dholit asked.
The woman frowned at her. "Never heard dot name before."
"Hey, guys?" Irleen spoke up. She made a circle in the air around an island on the map. "There's no thread on this island, but why is there a pin?"
The woman first replied with an irritated sigh. "Oh, dot. Dot be a mistake."
"No one goes here?" Link asked.
"A waste of man, he go dere," the woman explained. "Seven years ago, he put his card an' route on da map. A week later, he take it down. I ask him why while he drink himself stupid. He say his employer, she don't want people to know she be dere. He make her mad, an' he drink himself out of business."
"Tough luck," Irleen said.
"Did you eveh heah the employeh's name?" Cale asked.
The woman shrugged. "He never say her name. But… she may be dot 'Rosaline' you ask about. I know her name, it begin with 'R'."
"What about him?" Link asked. "Do you still have his business card?"
"He take it off da wall," she answered. Then she frowned as she remembered something. "But I know his boat. It be a steamer. I don't dink of it before, but he name it 'Rosaline'."
"'Rosaline' is the name of his ship?" Dholit asked. "Everyone else around heah says it's a pehson."
"But no one else has met her," Irleen pointed out.
Cale held up a hand to silence everyone for a moment. "Have you heahd the names 'Ben' and 'Lorie' befoah?" he asked the woman.
She nodded. "After da problem wif dee ocean, dey helped build da port. Dem an' deir boy." She scrunched her face as she remembered. "Da boy, he moved to Salachia Island after his parents, dey die. Dot be a long time ago."
Cale hummed as he nodded, prompting Link to ask, "What do you think?"
Cale glanced back at the map. "All of these otheh islands have names," Cale said. Then he pointed to the island with just the pin on it. "Why not this one?"
"No one, dey don't know about the island until dot man, he come in here an' declare his business," the woman said.
"Why?" Dholit asked.
"The book Luggahd found," Cale explained. "It said that Ben and Lorie had moved to an outlying island, not Kakucha. So they didn't live heah, right?"
The woman frowned. "I don't dink so. No one, dey never say where dose two live."
"You think this island may be our answer?" Irleen asked.
"Well, ah most of the otheh islands inhabited?" Cale asked.
Link frowned and looked at the map. "I would guess so," Link said. "Only a few of them have a single ship willing to travel to them."
"You be right, friend," the woman said. "Da people of dee Ocean Realm, dey move to dose islands when da waters, dey rise."
"But no one, as far as you know, lives here," Link reasoned as he pointed to the unnamed island.
She nodded. "I suppose. Oferwise, people, dey would need a ship dot go dere." Then she frowned at them. "Why do you be searchin' for dese people?"
"We need help making an airship," Irleen said.
The woman, who had begun forming a suspicious look, immediately changed it to a confused stare. "What?"
"It's a long story," Link said. Then he asked Cale, "Are you sure it's this island?"
"I'm suah that, if it weh any otheh island, someone would give us a moah definite answeh," Cale said.
"Wheah can we find the man who travels to that island?" Dholit asked.
"He like to sleep on his boat," the woman said. "He be in da port if not here."
"Cale, youh wallet," Dholit said, holding out a hand. Cale, after giving her a confused glance, handed over a blue wallet. Dholit opened it and took out a red rupee. "Thank you," she told the woman as she handed it over. "You've been a great help."
"My pleasure," the woman replied with a grin as she took the rupee.
They stepped out of the bar a minute later.
And Link nearly tripped on the way out. "Ah, geez!" he shouted.
"Whoop," Dholit uttered as she slipped between Link and the doorway as he stopped to lean on it. "What's wrong?"
"Ugh. I tripped on the doorframe, and it tore my boot," Link replied as he looked at his right boot. The sole had been torn from the toe, and Link just now noticed that the edge of the boot was frayed until his socks were nearly visible above the stitching which held the sole to the leather upper. He looked at the other boot and saw that a hole had been worn on the inside of the ball of the boot. Link gave a frustrated growl. "I guess I'm going to need new boots soon."
…
Not that it was easy for Link to walk around with the toe of his sole dangling whenever he took a step, but he did his best to ignore it as they searched the port. Fortunately, the search did not take long; they found a small steamship hidden at the northern end of the docks. It had a white hull, which was revealed to be made from wood due to many scratches and holes in the side. A cross-shaped anchor made of black iron hung from the side of the bow, and a steel plate just above it read "S.S. Rosaline". The bow supported a raised deck, but the overall ship could not have been any higher than two decks. The prow was reinforced with steel and sported a railed platform. The metal railing continued down until the stern, which was taken up by a dome-shaped superstructure and a pair of wooden waterwheels. A single plank bridged the gap between the dock and the weather deck.
And, above the waves breaking against the nearby cliff, all four could hear someone snoring.
"Well, it's the right ship," Cale said. He asked Link, "What do you think?"
"I think the guy who put this boat together may have been a little cross-eyed," Link replied. "I don't see any support for emergency sail rigging, the superstructure looks like someone's house… and I think I smell alcohol."
"You'd expect being around Sello would desensitize you to that," Irleen said.
"The boat's hull integrity is questionable," Link said as he waved a hand to point out the holes in the side. "The stern is weighed down, probably with the ship's steam engine. The mooring lines aren't properly secured. To tell you the truth, I'd rather build a sloop and sail there myself."
"I wouldn't mind if we had that option," Cale said as he glanced behind them. "But, as it is, we might be betteh off."
"He does know the way," Dholit pointed out. "Remembeh, no one else would know about the island if it hadn't been foh his caahlessness."
"Unfortunately, it doesn't give much credit to his character," Irleen said. "On top of being a drunk, he's a blabbermouth. I'm beginning to question the people we've been getting involved with, Link."
"These Hylians can be very strange," Dholit said, giving an exaggerated shrug.
"You're not exactly sane yourself," Irleen told her, hovering in front of her face.
"We're losing daylight," Link told them. "So how do we want to approach this?"
Dholit held a finger to her lips. Again, above the sound of the nearby waves, someone was snoring quite loud. She curled a finger at Link. "Lend me youh swohd."
"Why?" Link asked, grabbing the handle.
"The best way to get a man to do something is to catch him off-guahd," she explained. "It's how I almost got you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Irleen asked as Link drew and handed the Lokomo Sword over.
He sighed as he followed Dholit up the plank. "I don't know anymore."
The weather deck only sported enough room for about a dozen people. The single man lying in the middle of the deck somehow made it look smaller, probably because of his height. He wore a blue jacket that reached as far as his knees. He had left it open, revealing a grey button-down shirt (which might have been white at some point in its life) and black slacks. Dangling from his neck was a red tie poorly positioned. He sported short, thick, black hair which looked more like a bird's nest. His long, narrow face wore a pencil moustache and a goatee, reminding Link of the men who ran some of the game shops on Timbre Island. His skin was a few shades darker than Link. He lay on the deck with one leg crossed over the other and his hands behind the back of his head for use as a pillow. If it was not for the dirt marring both his face and his clothes, he would actually look like a fairly decent man. As he was though, he fit the descriptions the grocers had given them of the man associated with "Rosaline".
Dholit flashed Link a playful smile. Then she twirled the sword in her hand, changing her grip, and thrust it into the slanted section of the deck in the space between the man's left arm and his head. The man's eyes opened, and he remained perfectly still as he followed the sword's glittering blade with his eye along its length, up across Dholit's arm until he met her face. His eyes widened with fright, and he remained motionless as if it would save his life. And, considering the first impression Dholit was giving, it was probably true.
"Hello there," Dholit said, the change in her accent prompting Link and Cale to exchange looks.
"Hi!" the man replied with a loud, reflexive voice. "I didn' do it!"
"Do what?" Dholit asked.
"Wha'ever!" the man said, remaining still despite the panic building on his face.
Dholit leaned backward to give Link a smug look. Then she turned back to the man. "Name?" she asked.
"Linebeck the Sixth!"
Dholit released the sword and placed her right foot on the guard. "Hi, Linebeck," she said in a casual tone. "I'm Dholit." She formed one hand into a gun shape and pointed it at him. "And you're the man I'm looking for."
"No I'm no'," Linebeck replied, sweat forming on his face.
"Oh, but you are," Dholit said. She leaned closer, a feat only feasible due to her flexibility. "Rosaline."
"I never me' the girl b'fore in my entire life!" Linebeck declared.
Dholit's brow furrowed in a fake show of confusion. "Funny. I was simply stating the name of your… your boat." Linebeck's jaw clapped shut. "Care to share more?"
"N-no' really," Linebeck told her, his tone relaxing.
"Are you sure?" Dholit said, standing back to her full height.
She stomped on the sword's guard, prompting a surprised jerk from Linebeck. "Look, I only bring her groceries anymore!" he shouted. "She dunni' like me tellin' people 'bou' her! Please! She already hates me enough, and I don' wan' her to hate me more!" He lifted his head so he could hold his hands up in surrender. "I'll give you anythin', I swear!"
"How about some answers, then?" Dholit said. "This 'Rosaline' girl, is she related to the same Ben and Lorie who put together this port?"
Linebeck glanced over at Link and Cale. "Y-yeah, she's their granddaughter."
Cale blinked at Dholit. "Wow," he commented. "I nevah expected it to be so… simple."
"Yeah, well, it probably has something to do with the implication of death," Irleen replied.
"Of couhse," Cale said with a nod. He indicated the plank with an awkward finger. "Sh-should I… go?"
"Maybe just look away for now."
Linebeck gulped audibly. "L-look, I-I don' wan' any trouble."
"Neither do we," Dholit told him. "So here's what we need. We have a project we can use some help on, and we would like to ask Rosaline if she would be interested."
"She's gonna say 'no'," Linebeck said.
"For someone who doesn't know a girl named Rosaline, you don't mind acting like her mouthpiece."
"Sh-sh-she values her privacy."
"So do I, but I don't mind meeting new people, either."
Linebeck took a moment to find the meaning in her words. Then he gave a silent stammer before saying, "Y-y-y-y-y-you can'!"
"It's not like we can't pay you," Dholit said with an indifferent shrug.
"Th-tha's why she dunni' like me in the firs' place!"
Dholit giggled. "Oh, my dear Linebeck the Sixth. I don't think many people like you in the first place." Linebeck groaned and placed his free hand over his face.
"Dholit, don't you think this is a little… overboard?" Link asked.
"Oh, yeah," she said. "But you were the one who said we were losing daylight. If we can hurry this up, we might make it back to Kakucha Island and spend the night here instead of his girlfriend's island."
"B-bu—" Linebeck started.
"Ah!" Dholit interrupted. "But you don't want to anger her, do you? Let me tell you something, Linebeck the Sixth." She leaned in closer again and whispered, "I'm worse."
Linebeck's slow nod sped up a bit. "Y-yes, ma'am." He made to stand, but he realized that his left sleeve was pinned to the deck. "Uh… d-do you mind?"
"Of course," Dholit said. She removed her foot from the sword and pulled it out with both hands. Linebeck rolled over and pushed open the hatch next to him. Then he crawled into it backwards.
After the hatch closed behind him, Link turned to Dholit. "What… what exactly was all that?" he asked.
"Like I said," Dholit answered as she offered the sword's handle to him. "The best way to get a man to do what you want is to catch him off-guahd."
"Ooookay," Link said. He took the sword back. "What about that accent? What was that all about?" Dholit's grin grew a little wider. Link turned to Cale, who pursed his lips and tried not to smile. Link then looked at Irleen, who just hovered near his head, silently watching him. "What?"
"It's considerably hahd to intimidate someone with a swohd and leahned accent," Dholit said. "If you would only act it, you would actually sound a little… gruff with that pirate accent of youhs, Link."
"What?" Link asked, head recoiling in confusion. "What accent? What are you talking about?"
"That," Dholit replied with a giggle.
Link turned back to Cale. "Do I sound like a pirate?"
Cale jerked as he suppressed the urge to laugh. "It's a very… distinctive accent, Link," he said.
"I don't have an accent," he told them. "I don't!"
"You do," Cale told him.
"Definitely," Dholit added.
"I've sounded like a pirate this whole time?" Irleen asked. "Wait, do I still sound like a pirate?"
"Yeah," Cale said.
"The truth huhts," Dholit chimed.
"Link, give Cale your gem," Irleen said.
"I don't have an accent!" Link shouted at her.