text: The stress of our discovery left us with a calling to be somewhere that felt safe. The blustery winds and thoughts on our minds kept us up and it wasn’t until mid-afternoon the following day that we met up with the Deer Drum boat. By the time we met up with the refugees, we had been without sleep for a day and a half. My eyes were bloodshot, and my skin was pale. I could feel my brain being slow, parched of energy, and every sentence took that little bit longer to process. “You look like shit,” Xander said, laying eyes on me. I smiled as soon as I understood the statement. Unable to come up with a better response. “You need sleep. You both do. Our boat’s comfier than yours.” “We need to discuss Tima Voreef,” I slurred. “Will what you need to discuss still be the same in four hours?” Kurbani retorted. I offered no response. “Sleep. We can discuss it later.” Kurbani took us down to the hull of their ship to a spare couple of cots. I fell asleep quickly, but it was a light sleep, constant guilt sweating from my pores. A whole island was living the same lie I once lived under, and I couldn’t shake it. When I awoke I found Alessia had already headed up top. I emerged onto the deck to find an evening sky. The sun was hovering on the horizon, and the dying embers of the sun’s heat clung to the air. Alessia and a few of the Deer Drum refugees were sitting round in a circle in the middle of the boat. Behind them, near the helm, I could see Lachlann teaching guitar to Novak again. Novak’s fingers were slowly gaining confidence with the frets and strings. Chords were beginning to sound more consonant with each day. Next to them I could see Mirai with a fishing rod dangled over the side of the boat. Her face was steely, patient, prepared. Alessia spotted me. She shifted slightly on the crate she was sitting on and indicated to the empty space beside her. I walked round the group and sat down. “Alessia was telling us about Ruthogrey Landfall,” Xander said. “Very useful information. Should be able to get whatever we want from them now,” Eir added. “I don’t know what to do,” I said. “How do we tell the people of Tima Voreef and Ruthogrey the truth? How do we make them believe us?” “What do you mean ‘tell them the truth’?” Alessia replied, scrunching her face. “How do we tell them that the leaders of the island are the same person faking a war? It’s a big thing to break.” “You want to try and tell everyone?” Alessia replied, leaning away from me. “We have to. It’s the right thing to do.” “It’s the stupid thing to do.” Alessia scoffed. I gave a nervous uncertain laugh. “What would you rather do?” “Use the information to get what we want from Runar. Bribe him with our silence.” “And leave the entire population of both islands in fear of a perpetual war that will never come.” I could feel my voice rising. “I’m not happy about it, but... yes.” “You can’t be serious,” I stood up, the anger forcing my legs to stand. “You’re going to just turn your back on two whole islands of people.” “What’s your plan? Start a revolution and then leave them to an *actual* war?” Alessia said, raising her hands. I paused, my head bowing slightly. “I don’t know. But it’s not right.” “What have I been telling you? You stick by your actions. You want to go free Tima Voreef, you go ahead, but you stay there. And you fight with them. And maybe, you die with them. You don’t get to start shit and then bolt with your conscience clear.” Alessia paused, waiting for me to respond. I offered nothing, and so she struck again. “And if you go, you’re already turning your back on what you have committed to. To everyone here. You can’t keep thinking you can solve every island’s problems in a day.” I turned my head away from Alessia. “What do you all think?” Kurbani grimaced. “The truth has consequences. Sometimes unforeseen ones.” Sirad let out a small huff. “You have to pick your battles. Decide which fights you can’t win. And I’m not sure that’s one you can.” I closed my eyes, fighting back the swelling guilt in my words. “So we leave them.” Alessia dipped her head. “I know you don’t want to. I don’t want to either. But we have to do what we came here to do. Focus. Lose sometimes so we win further down the line.” “I know. I just...” I paused, taking a deep inhale. “You ever know that something can be right and yet *feel* so wrong?” Alessia smiled. She stood up and placed a sympathetic arm on my shoulder. “More often than I would like. But what we’re doing is right. I promise you that.” I bowed my head. “We’ll head over in the morning, speak to Runar, find out the truth, and be on our way to find whatever bastard did what they did to Deer Drum, okay?” Xander leaned forward, inserting himself into the conversation. “I’m coming too.” “What?” Alessia replied. “For this one. I’m coming too. We, or at least one of us, needs to hear it.” I raised an eyebrow. “Xander. I’ve...” I hesitated, trying to frame the words delicately. “I’ve seen you when you lose your temper. Are you going to be able to hear this?” Xander raised both hands. “I promise. We’ve discussed it already and agreed I’d go when you found out.” I looked at Alessia. “Someone who looks intimidating might not be a bad thing,” she shrugged. “Runar looks like he’d respond well to a raised fist.” “I can be intimidating,” I muttered. Alessia looked at me and cocked her head. “Okay,” I replied. “We’ll set off in the morning.” \ The next day, Alessia, Xander and I set off in Alessia’s boat back to Tima Voreef. The sail was short, and it didn’t take long till the full scope of the harbour came into view. Xander’s eyes widened as he saw the large town stretched out before us, and the constant bustle of activity. Then he blinked and his eyes focused once more. He began scanning the sights until his gaze caught the massive ship I had seen when we first entered. “That the boat you were telling me about?” he asked. I nodded. “How many people do you reckon that could hold.” I shrugged. “Alessia?” She turned her head from the helm, sizing up the boat. “Comfortably. As in, two to a room. Maybe fourty or so. Pack it full, few hundred probably. Need a good fifteen or more people though just to sail it.” “Could go anywhere you wanted in that thing,” Xander smiled. “Except between rocks,” Alessia muttered under her beath.“It’d be fast though. Boat that size will be pretty much the fastest in The Archipelago.” Xander turned back from the view as we drew closer to the harbour walls. Eventually, we found a good mooring and climbed up onto the shore of Tima Voreef. As we walked down the promenade I couldn’t help but lower my head. Each time I caught the eye of one of the islanders, I could feel my stomach turn with the uneasy secret. I wanted to whisper the truth in a passer’s ear. Speak it out loud, at least once. But I knew I couldn’t. So instead I clamped my lips shut and walked as quickly as I could, biting down on my tongue till the physical pain matched the shame I felty. Around us though, the pressure on the island was still there. The tension and fear were tightly wound, propelling busy frightened feet to their next mission. It felt wrong to not be afraid too, to not fear that at any second ships from Ruthogrey Landfall would be firing bombs upon the island. I wanted to be afraid, I wanted to conjure up that fake trepidation just to not feel like a fraud. We turned through the streets until we reached the offices where Runar had agreed to meet us. Inside, we were greeted by a guard who led us up a series of stairs and into a wide, open hallway. The room was surrounded in deep, rich colored wood. Around us there were maybe a dozen desks, at each sat a worker with their eyes glued to a large ledger in front of them. The walls were lined with shelves filled with thick green spines. At the far end, next to a large table, was Runar. He smiled upon seeing us. He leaned against the table, his hands stretched out, perched like an eagle. “I assume your trip was a success.” Alessia led us to the front. “Runar, this is Xander. He is from Deer Drum. The island that was wiped out. We want to know who did it. We did your favour.” Runar gave a wide smile, colorless teeth showing. “We appreciate your efforts. I’ve reviewed the records. The seller was called Sannaz, they came from Stetguttot Heath. I’m sure you will understand we can’t give you any more information than that.” “Show us the record,” Alessia said, a pause between each word. Xander took a step forward. Runar looked the imposing figure up-and-down. There was the briefest flinch before his demeanour returned. “You did a favour for us. We did a favour for you. The trade is done.” “We know your secret,” I responded. “I’m sorry?” Runar replied, a soft chuckle hidden in the undertones of his slow and cautious voice. “Joan Moreno. Philomena Rubio. Same person. That’s who we transported for you. Just sending the president between islands. There’s no war coming. No one’s in danger. You’re just spinning a lie.” Runar’s grin grew even wider. He let out a small cough. “And let’s say, that this accusation, were even true. What would you do about it? You’d be arrested before you left the room.” Alessia turned around, looking at the busy workers behind her. “We could shout it out in here. Really loudly. Yeah, sure, won’t change things today, and we’ll still be arrested, killed, whatever.” She turned and leaned in closer to Runar, staring into his eyes. “But people will have heard. That little doubt will be lodged in their minds. And they will talk and tell people. And those people will have that same nagging doubt. And slowly it’ll spread throughout the island until you aren’t in control anymore.” “That seems an unlikely story,” Runar replied, holding his ground. “Probably,” Alessia responded. “But that’s a risk you’d have to take. One you could nullify for the smallest of costs of giving up one of your buyers. I know which one you’ll take.” “Do you really consider yourselves capable of taking down an island?” Runar smirked. Alessia thought for a moment, her eyes trying to overpower him through staring alone. However I sensed a moment to aid our negotiations. “I imagine you used to get some of your coal from the Kadear Coalfields. I know your supplies will have stopped lately. Presumably you heard of what happened there.” “What happened at Kadear was unfortunate,” Runar said, his lips pursed. “However, we make do, and I hear it will be recovering soon. But what relevance is that?” “I’m from Kadear. It ended because of me. So I don’t consider myself capable of ending an island, I know I am. I’ve done so. And come imprisonment or death, one loud sentence in here can cause you more trouble than you know hiding that record is worth.” Alessia turned to me with a warm smile, but converting it to a smirk and drilling her eyes upon Runar. “Give us the record.” Runar stared back at her, holding her gaze. Alessia furrowed her brow that little bit more. They stared in silence, until for the briefest moment, Runar looked away. Alessia seized the moment. She tilted her head to her left, but keeping the eye contact. “Go on. Get the book. We’ll wait.” Runar let out a mumbled groan as he pushed himself from the desk and walked over to one of the shelves. He pulled out a large green ledger and placed it on the table in front of us, before opening the pages and flicking through until he found the correct page. He scanned the names on the left-hand side until he found the entry. “Here we have it,” he said, the resentment in his voice unhidden. “Sannaz Lytta from Stetguttot Heath. Purchased seventy handheld weapons with ammo, eighty-five heavy arms and thirty-four mercenaries.” “Mercenaries?” I replied. “Yes,” Runar replied plainly, his voice going through the motions, knowing the questions to follow. “You sell mercenaries? You can buy soldiers?” “Yes. It is a more expensive offering, rarely bought, but some people are in need of more specialist forces which we can provide.” Alessia shook her head. “It wasn’t a team that attacked Deer Drum. It was one person. And a team of hired murderers. One man.” “You hire out people to commit murders on civilians?” I said, trying to contain the volume of my voice. Runar took a step back. “Our mercenaries are only for conflicts. They are soldiers. Not maniacs.” “Tell that to the thousand people I buried who were killed by them,” Xander said. I could see his fists tighten. “You killed us.” Runar took another small step back. “As I say, our mercenaries are trained soldiers who are there to help in situations of war. They are not there for casual slaughter-” “And yet that’s exactly what they did,” I interrupted. “A few, a small number of rogue people who followed orders that they were trained - albeit wrongly - to follow. Now, we will of course look at our training to ensure that this doesn’t occur again.” “Nearly two thousand dead. None of them armed.” Xander replied, his head tilting forwards like a cornered bull. Runar took a deep breath. “Look, this clearly isn’t what any of us wanted. I am aware that you have lost people. But nothing will be gained by further violence right here, right now. So, I ask you, what will we need to ensure you leave here peacefully.” “You can’t buy my mercy,” Xander hissed. “No. I do not expect it,” the grin slowly returned to Runar’s lips. “But perhaps we can find a way to achieve clemency. You can leave here with worthless blood on your hands, or you can leave with something that will help you.” Xander lifted his head. He looked to the left and walked to a window at the side of the room that overlooked the harbour and out to sea. “I might have something,” “Yes?” Runar said, walking next to him. “You know this doesn’t change things. I still want to see your whole horrible island burn to the ground. And I would gladly have revenge upon you.” Runar let the hate in Xander’s words dissipate before responding. “What do you want?” “We came here on a boat. Purchased by those good people,” he said, pointing to us. “You’re going to buy it back from them. For the same amount of money they spent on it.” “How big is this boat?” “Three masts. Eighty metres or so,” Alessia added. Runar responded without hesitation. “Done. No problem.” “We’ll still need to leave too,” Xander replied. “So you are going to give us a boat in return. That one, at the end of the harbour.” He pointed to the giant four-masted behemoth at the end of the promenade. Runar paused, his jaw clenched. He nodded for a few seconds, going over the cost. “We would happily offer you a boat more suitable to your level of sailing experience.” “You give us that one,” Xander replied, his shoulders tightening once again. “Okay,” Runar replied as softly as he could. “You will also make alterations to the interiors as we instruct. Make it fit for living, not for war,” Xander added. “Provided you pay for those alterations-” “We’re not paying for them. You are.” Runar bowed in concession. “We will of course need to come up with a convincing story for our workers. Fake payment receipts, a story of who you are and what you are buying.” “You’re not going to paint us out to be war mongers,” Xander said. “No. That won’t be necessary,” Runar smiled. “Perhaps you are merely building a ship fit for a very rich, unknown island. The details can be worked out later. But importantly, you would agree to keep quiet as to how you truthfully acquired the ship.” Xander rocked his head, contemplating. “That we can do.” “And in return for all this, you leave here, not happy, but... peacefully.” “We won’t spill your secret, and I won’t spill your blood,” Xander said. “And you are both happy with this too?” Runar returned to face us. “As long as Xander is, we are,” Alessia said. Runar ordered a clerk to get the relevant paperwork. While much of the deal rested upon a trust in each other, I suspected the cost that we had driven from him was, in the grand scheme of things, so small that he gave it little worry. We took a small scratch out of his pride and the revenue of Tima Voreef, but otherwise, it cost him nothing. The two islands would continue just as they had done before. We walked outside of the office building an hour or so later. As soon as we were outside, Xander turned to gaze upon his new ship. “Why do you want it?” I asked. “We decided we quite liked the sea. There’s nowhere we wanted to go,” he said, looking out across the blue horizon. “So, we’re going to copy you for a bit. Go off. Sail. Explore. Meet other people. Become a travelling island.” “You’ll make a great crew,” Alessia smiled. “Thank you,” Xander replied. “We owe you both a massive debt. You saved us. We’ve lost a lot. But we have a future now, thanks to you both.” “Are you planning to go to Stetguttot Heath too?” I asked. Xander shook his head. “I want revenge. But that isn’t what we want to make the lives of the kids about. We’re just going to...” he paused, and raised his hand, before pointing out to the great expanse of blue to the north. “Point the ship at the horizon, and see what’s on the other side.” He let out a small chuckle that hid a glassy tint to his eyes. “Sounds like an excellent plan,” Alessia grinned. “You find him though,” Xander replied. “Pass on my feelings when you do.” Alessia smirked. “That I can do.” Over the next week we helped the islanders of Deer Drum with the renovation of their new ship. For seven straight days carpenters and metalsmiths from Tima Voreef could be seen walking back and forth on the gangway as the ship’s interiors slowly transformed. There was still a hull for transport. But portholes meant for guns had been ripped out and replaced with communal areas and kitchens. Cramped and dingy rooms meant to be full of bunks were replaced with apartments and family units. By the time they were complete, they had built a town. One ready to sail. The last few islanders set foot on their new home on the eighth day. Novak immediately decided to see how long it would take him to run the full length of the gargantuan boat, and set off tearing as far as his legs would carry him. Sirad walked over and inspected the fine, new ropes, testing their tautness with a pleased expression. Eir walked over to us and hugged us. “Thank you both. I hope our paths cross again.” “I’m sure they will,” Alessia replied. She departed, and headed down to the decks below. Xander and his family were the last to say goodbye. Novak was still sprinting across the deck, but Mirai stood by her family’s side. She leaned against Xander, one of his long arms draped across her shoulder. “Take care out there,” I said. “We will,” Kurbani said. Mirai looked up at me. “Thanks for teaching me how to fish,” I leant down slightly to meet her eye. “You’re the best this boat’s got. Don’t let them tell you otherwise. It’s good to know you’ll all be well-fed as long as you’re here.” Mirai broke from her father’s grasp, ran over and embraced me, leaning against my chest. I paused for a second before I returned the kindness. “Safe travels,” Xander said, turning from us. Back on the promenade we watched as the boats ropes were untied and the floating town of the Deer Drum refugees drifted out into the waters. No sooner had the ship left than I could hear Lachlann playing the guitar, singing his old song. *My friends, come along. Don’t you hear the fond song?* *The sweet notes where the nightingale flows?* *For to hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale,* *As she sings in the valley below,* Then, as he reached the last line, I could hear another voice - Kurbani’s - sing it back in unison. *As she sings in the valley below.* I couldn’t hear the second verse as Lachlann’s voice became overpowered by the waters lapping up against the harbour. But then, just as I began to turn and head away, I heard a chorus of voices from the boat, the whole island singing the final lines of the verse. *As she sings in the valley below.* *As she sings in the valley below.* I let the sounds reverberate in my ears, soaking them up in my soul. I knew I would likely see the Deer Drum refugees again, but for now, they were gone, and I would miss those voices. I turned and began slowly heading back along the promenade. Alessia walked alongside me, her gaze staring at the paved surface of the harbour wall. Eventually, she looked up. “I have something on the boat. For you.” “Oh yeah?” I chortled, unsure of what to expect. “I’ll show you,” she said, picking up her pace. We walked to the boat and climbed down the ladder onto the deck. Alessia led me to the entrance to her cabin, and down the steps into the ship’s hull. As we descended the smell of sawdust and fresh paint hit me. We climbed down the tight staircase, until at the bottom she turned and pointed towards a door that had never been there before. “I figured since we’re going to be travelling together, if you’re going to be crew, you deserved somewhere to sleep that wasn’t in the cargo hold.” I pushed open the door. The otherside was a tiny, small room - no more than three metres deep and two metres wide. But to the side there was a small bed, at the back there were drawers, and the walls were lined with shelves. Alessia spoke from behind me. “I know it’s small, but I had to cut it out the cargo hold, and still need space to store goods.” “Thank you, Alessia,” I said, turning to her. “I guess this makes us officially shipmates now, so... congratulations?” she shrugged. I laughed. “Seriously, thank you.” She turned and started heading back up the stairs. “Don’t be too thankful. You did pay for it.” “Sorry.” “I spent some of the money Tima Voreef gave us. Not a lot. Just a bit. But I guess it was technically your money,” she paused. “Money you stole. But yours I guess.” I followed her up to the deck, chuckling the whole way. “You know Sannaz Lytta won’t be on Stetguttot Heath anymore, right?” she said, the smile turning flat for a second. “I know. But, it’s a start. One clue after the next, right?” “Exactly,” she said. “So let’s get sailing?” I nodded. “Untie the ropes *crewmate*,” she said, her tongue sticking out between her teeth. “We got weeks of sailing ahead of us.” &#x200B; \ Next chapter 9th September.