Monday, August 27, 2018

Over the Waves Part 8 (Another Blind Captain)

Shoji ministered to Bayan and those sohei who were troubled by their contact with the box. As their condition improved, Bayan asked to see the contents of the box. Bangqiu claimed the most obviously valuable item, the mirror. But Bayan recognized that among the pieces of oddly-formed metal, there was a functioning astrolabe and time-measuring device. Bo Jing pocketed a set of intricately-cut keys, reasoning that they must fit the lock to a valuable treasure. The large jar of dark liquid was too strange to throw away or to keep; Shoji agreed to store it in his cabin. The great miscellany, comprising an assortment of oddly-formed metal shapes and stacks of mouldering books were turned over to Bangqiu with the thought that he alone might one day be able to make sense of them.

But they were still stuck at sea. Hyamsam noticed how hungry the crew was and shared his food with them. Captain Won asked Bangqiu if he could have some of the sohei’s rations for his sailors, confessing that he had not purchased an adequate amount. Bangqiu declared that everyone on board would ration their food to provide for the sailors.  

Meanwhile, Shoji noticed that jar of dark liquid was starting to fill with vapor or steam. This troubled him and he resolved to keep it with him at all times.

Bangqiu’s provision of better rations for the crew seemed to improve everyone’s mood, even as the sailors rowed southward with the long oars day and night, hoping to escape the doldrums. Captain Won resumed his sparring lessons with Bo Jing. In the middle of one bout, one of the sailors hurled a hammer at the Captain. It flew harmlessly past his ear, but the rest of the crew took this as a signal—about a dozen attacked their Captain with fists and clubs and tools. Dropping his wooden sparring sword, he drew his steel blade and cut his down 2 or 3 of his attackers. The others hesitated for a moment, and then Hyamsam shot two magic missiles at the Captain—the crew pressed their attack, knocking the Captain to the desk. Bangqiu suddenly appeared and commanded the crew to stop. They were visibly afraid of him and he learned that the Captain had told them he wanted to eat them. When Won stood up and killed another member of the mutinous crew, Bangqiu responded with a blast of blue-green missiles, blasting Won to the deck. He did not prevent the crew from finishing him off.  

The crew cheered and named Hyamsam their new Captain. Hyamsam promised that he woud bring them to the mythical “Party Island” that Captain Won had tempted them with in Heng-Shai.

Bangqiu, meanwhile, ransacked the Captain’s cabin and in reviewing the ship’s log and pages of angry calculations, was rewarded with the troubling knowledge that Won had given up hope of finding his way out of the doldrums.  

After a few minutes in his own cabin, listening to the sailors open a barrel of strong wine, Bangqiu took a deep breath of the stifling air and put on Sakatha’s ring. Twisting it, he imagined the places Rhialle had described to him. As the ring turned into lead and broke apart, the breeze picked up and turned the ship’s course once again to the north. A day of fine sailing brought them into a strong eastwards current. Combined with favourable winds, five more days of easy sailing brought the Binggongchang in sight of land. Not just an island, but a huge continent.

That evening, the sailors danced and sang, Bangqiu tried to sleep, and Shoji instructed Bo Jing and three sohei students on mindful meditation. The ascetics’ session was repeatedly interrupted by noises from the jar of dark liquid. As the liquid began to boil and the jar rattled so violently it seemed about to burst, Shoji grabbed it and hurled it out the window. The glass exploded and a man emerged. His skin was like a baby’s but in the flash of the explosion Shoji recognized his twisted visage as that of the skeletal captain of the ghost ship. He landed in the sea. Bayan heard the commotion and looked out the window of her own cabin. In the moonlight she saw the hand of a man clutch something to his chest as he went below the waves.

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