“I do admit I am drawn to such a source of knowledge. You were chosen by the guardians to be gifted passage over the water, so my mind tells me only you could have received that power. But, indeed, my desire for it is strong and I daresay worth the risk. As I said earlier though, with every step we take in this cursed place we risk life and limb.”
“Perhaps we shall return to the widows one day so I may attempt to gain this knowledge as you have. Alas, there are other tasks that take priority. First of which is making it back to camp before nightfall.”
They arrived at the first pool shortly after the end of their conversation. Both men cautiously approached the edge, looking for any sign of disturbance. They saw no tracks or water displaced upon the dry rocks. They did this at each of the lower pools, coming up with the same results.
The sun hung low when they finally reached camp. James was relieved to see Kilani and Roger had made it back before them. From a distance, it looked as if Roger was retelling an exciting story. His hands were moving about as he spoke to William. Kilani stood beside Roger, turning immediately when she caught sight of the men making their way down the beach. She smiled and hurried to meet them. James couldn’t help but smile. He looked over at Luno, who was also smiling.
They gathered around the fire William had made and ate Gail fruit (aptly named after Gail Bisset, who discovered them shortly before being consumed by a croc monster) until they had their fill.
As the others finished up, James walked around the perimeter of the encampment and cast several protective incantations, which would prevent most things from crossing or at the very least, alert them if the perimeter was broken. James remembered casting similar incantations with his mother nearly every time they relocated. He wondered how she was fairing in his absence. James had been all she had thought about after his father died. His heart pained for her, to know that she was okay. He returned to the group disheartened.
The moon had risen in the sky, giving the night its typical twilight glow rather than the darkness that came in the presence of the blood-red moon of the previous night. Luno had considered returning the group to the Queen Mary to sleep but because they had encountered so little hostile wildlife and James was able to cast his protective incantations, he’d decided the group would bed down on solid ground.
“Now,” Luno said, “let us begin our formal debriefing. Roger and Kilani, please share with us your discoveries.”
Kilani nodded at Roger, who stood and began his recounting of their adventure.
“Made it t‘ the northern mos‘ point o‘ the island, findin‘ nothin‘. Terrain along t‘ coast were difficult a‘ best an‘ damn nigh impassable a‘ worse. Decided t‘ head inland t‘ avoid the sheer cliffs along the western side. That‘ when ’e happened upon a village.”
“Village?” Luno asked excitedly, jumping to his feet. “Were there people there? What did they say?”
“Afraid not, Cap‘in. She looked t‘ be abandoned though twas still en good repair. Built by a real craftsman. Looked completely out o‘ place setting there en a grassy field. Whoever lived there mus‘ a‘ been ’ere fer quite a while.
“Blimey,” said Luno. “How many buildings?”
“Five in all. Three houses, the pub an‘ a church.”
“Fascinating. You inspected them all?”
“Aye. Every one. Dust inside look as eff they been left fer ’bout a year is my guess,” Roger said. Kilani nodded in agreement.
“My god. All this time I’d thought nobody could cross the water. Did you see a vessel of any kind nearby?”
“No sign o‘ any. No tracks o‘ evidence o‘ anyone ’cept fer those buildings. Whoever they be, Cap‘in’, ere long gone.”
“Perhaps not as long as you think,” Luno replied, looking at James.
“You discovered something as well?” Kilani asked.
“Aye. We followed the stream to its source at the base of a hill, which is probably slightly southeast of the village, based on your description. Frankly, I’m surprised we couldn’t see it from the top of the hill. We could see clear across to South Harbor from there. Anyway, we came across a fire pit on the top of the hill. The coals were still warm.”
“Ten summon‘ ez ere,” William said.
“Perhaps they relocated for some reason,” suggested Roger. “Though I cannot reckon why one would abandon such fine quarters.”
“Speaking of the stream,” said Luno, “if we continue to stay here, I suggest we relocate to the eastern side tomorrow. The water is drinkable, and we shouldn’t rely on James every time one of us gets thirsty.”
“And what should we do about the people?” Kilani asked.
“We can’t find them because they don’t want to be found. If that changes during our stay here so be it. I don’t believe we should go out of our way to search for them. We’re here for a purpose, and that hasn’t changed. We still need to keep to our deadline. Unless Roger or Kilani have discovered the plant we seek,” said Luno, looking at each of them questioningly.
“No we haven’t. I’ve found several species that don’t, to my knowledge, grow on the other islands we’ve visited but none pass the first test,” Kilani said.
“It’s settled then. William, do you think you can relocate camp by the stream in a day’s time?”
“Tvice wit my eyes closed, Capitan,” he replied.
“Very good. At dawn we will continue our search. I think the pairings have worked out well and should remain the same tomorrow. Any objections?”
James wanted to object. He wanted to get Kilani alone and explain before Luno planted the seeds of dissent in her mind. He would not go against Luno’s orders despite his instincts and so remained silent.
“I shall take first watch. Kilani, second. Then William, Roger, and James. Now rest while you can.”
The second day of searching was far less eventful than the first. James was grateful that Luno had decided to run this day rather than keep the same slow pace as yesterday. They followed the coastline as they had originally intended to on the first day, making it all the way to the southwestern most point just after midday. They saw no sign of the island’s occupants, who Luno was sure were there somewhere. They ran a parallel course just north of the coast making even faster time on the return trip.
Roger and Kilani, had again come across grueling terrain along the northern coast. Despite being further inland, they didn’t arrive back at camp until just before the last rays of daylight fell behind the trees. Exhausted and famished, they reported finding nothing out of the ordinary. They did mention they’d caught sight of the hill.
William had reported seeing unusual tracks crossing over the stream not far from where he’d set up camp, but he had not been disturbed while relocating. That night was as uneventful as the last save a disturbance in the jungle while Roger was on watch. Strange sounds, like those of some small creature being attacked and eaten, broke the silence of the night. Before Roger could alert anyone, whatever was happening had ended and the silence resumed.
The following morning while the group was preparing for another day of exploration, William shouted in surprise.
“Ze dinghy!” he said in a panic standing in the place where it had been tied to a tree.
Everyone in the group stopped what they were doing and directed their attention to William and the missing boat. William looked out over the water at the Queen Mary, still anchored offshore. He saw no sign of the small boat.
“Tide come in and pull ’er out?” Roger asked.
“She was tied to the bloody tree. Not only that, but the tide line is back here,” Luno said pointing to a dark brown line in the sand several feet closer to the water from where the boat had sat.