Chapter Four

Amaris stumbled over her own feet as she made her way up the last set of stairs and opened the door to welcome a horizon that was slightly different from that which she’d been glaring at all the previous day. It wasn’t completely as blue. For, there, in the distance, she glimpsed a small dark ripple in the uniform clear line separating sky from sea. She rushed up to the quarterdeck to get a better look.

She almost hadn’t believed Slygrin when he came to tell her a few minutes earlier. He’d swung the engine room door open and stared at her with wide eyes filled with something she hadn’t seen in them all day; hope.

“We’ll be there by noon.” Mirage was at the helm as usual, though for the first time since they met, he wasn’t in perfect shape. His clothes were the same ones from the day before. His white shirt was ruffled and ripped in a few places and dried bloodstains from the battle still clung to the fabric. His orange eyes weren’t as bright as they always were.

“You think it’s deserted?” Amaris asked as she squinted at the landmass. It was almost as small as the island they stopped at to fix the ship but it didn’t book as green.

“I know it isn’t.” mirage said. “Nominis, it’s the smallest of the Miruina islands. Wind tuner spent all of last night hunched over some maps until he found it, then he calculated the new trajectory for the ship so we could make it before tomorrow.”

“He did?” no wonder he looked so exhausted when she and Ash bumped into him earlier. He was supposed to be on strict bed rest too. After the white circle and fleeing Peritia harbor in Paradelia, too. Amaris instinctively scanned the deck for his winged figure.

Mirage must have read her face because he shook his head and said, “He’s at the back.”

Amaris gave him a quizzical look. They were the only two on the quarterdeck and there was no ‘back’ after that. “You mean below deck?”

“No, I mean behind the ship.”

Amaris furrowed her brows before jogging to the far end of the ship to see. Sure enough, a small way from the ship, in a small wooden boat sat wind tuner with his grey wings spread wide as if to catch all the rays of the sun they could. But he wasn’t alone. Amaris had to blink to make sure it that it wasn’t a trick of the light. Shark was sitting facing him. In the boat. Weaving. He looked stiff as a board, his posture anything but comfortable. He was hunched over, his shoulders very close to his ears and had one arm over the side, dipped under the waves. Wind tuner appeared to be talking to him, a gentle smile on his lips. He was probably trying to get him to relax, or perhaps he was just keeping him company. From where Amaris was standing, it didn’t seem to be working.

But then again, he did get him on that boat and he did get him weaving which were both huge successes. She made a mental note to ask for wind’s help whenever she had trouble convincing someone in the future.

***

Nominis’ harbor was much smaller than any of the ones Amaris had set foot in during her time on the silver crescent. It was nothing more than a small stone pathway with a few wooden extensions on the water, most of which were occupied by fishing boats.

The crew had split up as soon as they docked the ship. Wind tuner was flying overhead trying to get to the far side of the island, others ha dispersed around the small village. Amaris was walking in front of Ash and hawk who both had one of Mecheye’s arms around their shoulders. He wasn’t looking much better than the last she saw him. His dark skin had a greyish hue to it. His chest rose and fell with every breath he pushed through his open mouth. At least he managed to recognize her this time. When she and Ash went to help him up, he gave her a weak smile and asked her about whether she fixed spark. Amaris had lied and told him that he was as good as new. In truth, she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to fix him. The damage was huge but she didn’t examine much of it. She had more important things to worry about. Like finding a healer.

Amaris spotted an old lady passing by and sprinted to her. “Excuse me, ma’am.”

The woman stopped in her trail and looked at her, immediately recognizing her as new to the island. “What can I do for you, dear?” she asked with a kind smile. Her eyes shifted to the three men behind Amaris and widened slightly, but she kept her smile pinned in place though it looked much more strained, now.

“My friend here is very ill.” Amaris said gesturing at Mecheye. “Do you know any healers nearby?”

The old lady’s smile vanished instantly. Her deep wrinkles shifted as she scowled and glared, backing away slowly and clutching at a necklace around her neck. “Don’t speak about Evil’s apprentice, girl. Dark weavers are not welcome here. And neither are people who go to them for aid.” Her fist tightened around the necklace and Amaris noticed the golden leaf tied to its end.

Before Amaris could say anything else, the woman scurried away, leaving her stunned and silent.

“Look what you did now.” Grumbled hawk behind her. “What did you think was going to happen when you go around spouting words like healer and dark weaver?”

“I didn’t-“she spluttered, “Well what was I supposed to say?”

Hawk scowled some more. “Come here, he ordered. Hold him. I’ll do the talking.” Amaris knew better than to object.

***

The sun was close to setting and yet they made no progress in their quest. Amaris’s legs ached from walking the length of the small village more than a dozen times. Mecheye was even worse. After a while, Ash and Amaris walked him to a small bench under a tree so he could rest better. Not long after that, both Ash and hawk split up going in different directions leaving Amaris alone with a half conscious boatswain.

“I have a confession to make.” Amaris almost jumped at the raspy voice beside her. Mecheye had his head resting against the tree trunk. He rolled it to the side, not having the energy to lift it properly.

“What?” asked Amaris.

“Remember that notebook I gave you two days ago?” Amaris nodded. He called it a last gift.

“It wasn’t mine.”

Amaris gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“It was the captain’s.” Amaris froze at the mention of him. “He wanted to give you something but knew that you wouldn’t accept it if it came from him. So he had me give it to you.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Well, I don’t know if he’ll ever get the chance to tell you himself and,” he let out a strained laugh, “things aren’t looking too good for me either. I just thought you deserved to know.”

Amaris didn’t know how to respond to that. The captain was… strange, to say the least. Wanting her close but pushing her away, angry at the thought of all she went through yet ready to throw her back to the wolves. She never understood him, but she found herself wanting a chance to try… if it wasn’t too late. “Thank you for telling me.” She finally said. “I really appreciate-”

“Excuse me,” a meek voice interrupted. Amaris turned to find a small girl, maybe six or seven years old standing in front of her shuffling uncomfortably on her feet and looking around the deserted street to make sure no one saw her.

“Yes?” Amaris asked gently.

“Are you really looking for a dark weaver?” Amaris hesitated. The words ‘dark weaver’ weren’t exactly positive and she had now learned the hard way that Miruina still considered them evil. Heavens, even hawk who had traveled out of Miruina and all around the grey sea considered them dark villainous beings, even though he used their potions regularly.

Taking her silence as answer, the girl pointed at a small street leading out of the village and into a dark thick cluster of foliage. “Take that road.” She whispered, “There’s a small cottage in the swamp. Mizuko will help you.” As soon as she finished speaking, the girl spun around on her heels and ran as fast as her short legs could take her.

Not a minute after she disappeared, Ash rounded a corner shaking his head. “Nothing.” Not exactly. Thought Amaris, Maybe there’s still some hope.

***

The trail was hard to walk through. The undergrowth had almost covered the whole path, which made it even harder to maneuver Mecheye’s half-conscious body through the whole way. When they finally made it to the end, the sky was painted in strokes of pink and orange.

The cottage the girl had mentioned was small and surrounded by a stone wall. It was built on a small raise of the ground where the soil wasn’t as wet and the sky wasn’t as covered.

Ash stepped to the small gate that was wrapped with ivy. He tried pushing it but it didn’t budge. It was locked. “Hello?” he called out. No answer. “Is anyone here?” he turned to Amaris with an exasperated sigh. “She tricked you. The girl probably wanted to play a joke and we fell right into it.”

Amaris shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She recalled the way the girl looked around nervously, how she ran away as soon as she gave her the directions. “She didn’t seem to be-”

“Look at this place.” He gestured to the gate. “It’s deserted.”

Amaris squinted to see through the leaves and iron bars. The cottage walls were hidden beneath a blanket crawling plants. The small space before it was covered of plants Amaris had never seen. No trail led from the house to the gate. At first glance, it did look abandoned. But something didn’t feel right. The windows of the cottage weren’t dusty or stained. No leaves from the overhead trees were on the ground and the plants had some sort of chaotic order to them. They weren’t growing randomly. Just as Amaris was about to point out all of this, a flurry of movement caught her eye from one of the windows.

Amaris readjusted Mecheye’s weight on her shoulder then stepped closer to the gate. “We can see you!” she called. “We know you’re in there.” No answer. “Please,” she tried again. “We need your help. Our friend is dying. He’s been poisoned. We don’t know what to do.” The door inched open and then- Ash jiggled the gate again, harsher than the first time. The sound cut through the evening silence and the door slammed shut once more. Amaris glared silently at Ash before directing her gaze back at the door. “You’re our only hope. He’s been like this for two days now. By the time we reach the next isle it will be too late.”

The door opened wider this time. “You came by sea?” A meek voice asked.

Although she was sure the stranger couldn’t see her, Amaris nodded vigorously. “Yes. We came from Oddelerie. We’re merchants,” she lied, “we can pay you as much as you want.”

A long moment passed before the door opened all the way this time and a petite woman walked out. She looked maybe five or six years older than Amaris. Her shiny black hair fell all the way to her lower back. It covered the left side of her face. “I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?” Ash asked.

She clutched her hands tightly before she spoke. “I want- I want you to take me with you.”

“What?” Amaris didn’t know what to say.

“I will help you in every way I can.” The words tumbled out of the woman’s mouth one after the other as if she couldn’t stop them. “But you will take me with you. I want to leave Nominis. You can drop me by in Paradelia or Linorva or Oddelerie. Even Sinsecria, if you must. I just- I just want to get out of Miruina.”

The silence that followed was palpable. Amaris only spoke once she saw the look on ash’s face as he opened his mouth.

“No.”

“We accept.” They both said at the same time. Ash looked at her incredulously and she glared right back. “We accept your deal.” She said again. “Just please,” she gestured towards Mecheye who by now had completely blacked out.

The woman rushed out and unlocked the gate.

***

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ash pulled Amaris to the side as soon as they’d laid Mecheye on a hastily cleared table.

“Saving his life.”

“We can’t promise her a trip to the continent! Hawk would be furious. You know how he is about having woman on the ship. She’s a dark weaver by the heavens.”

“She’s a healer.” Amaris countered.

“Not to hawk, she isn’t.”

“She can help. And I’ll deal with hawk later.”

She turned to watch the woman grind something until it was fine as flour. “Do you know what poison he injected?” she asked, not looking up from her work.

“No, we’re not sure. He did have a fever and hallucinations.”

“Many poisons have that effect. How did he inject it? Did he eat it?”

“No, we- we think it might be through a wound.”

“He was hit with a sword and the cut got infected almost immediately.” Ash added. He was watching the woman’s every move as he spoke. “Our first mate had to amputate his arm to keep the poison from spreading further.”

“Oleenda’ar” she murmured as she mixed the powder in a potion. “But no, that can’t-” suddenly she looked up at them. “Is he a fire weaver?”

“How did you-“

“That explains the fever. But-” she gently picked up Mecheye’s head and pressed the cup she’s been holding to his lips. She turned to ash. “How long after the injury did you amputate him?”

“Four or five hours.” He answered.

She shook her head scuffling around. “You’ve waited too long.”

“What do you mean?” dread pooled in Amaris’ stomach.

“This poison, it uses the weaving against the weaver. He is burning because he is fighting his own powers. I need to take them out of him.”

“You can do that?” Ash asked.

She shook her head. “Not without help.” She strode around the room quick and silent as a mouse picking up jars and bottles. “I’ll need a Blessed tool.”

“What?” Amaris knew exactly what that was but she still couldn’t believe what she heard.

“The only way to heal your friend is if I can mix my potion with a blessed tool. My weaving alone won’t suffice.” Blessed tools. A man made object touched or used by a blessed beast. The thought alone made Amaris shiver as she remembered the two monstrous serpents.

“Where the hell are we supposed to find a blessed tool in this tiny excuse of an island?” Ash exclaimed.

“We have a place.” The woman’s voice was low, almost a whisper, as she looked between them almost unsure if either one of them would go through with this. “In the heart of the swamp, there’s an abandoned Villa. A blessed beast, Sapienti, lives there. If it lets you in, you can get a tool. Bring anything. A plate or a cup, something I can mix this in.”

Ash and Amaris shared one look of trepidation. It was clear that Ash was remembering the same creatures too.

“Is there no other way?” he asked. “Can’t you use something else?”

She shook her head. “No. it’s the only chance he has.”

Ash’s knuckles were white from his tight fists as he looked at his dying friend. “I’ll go.” He offered before turning to Amaris. “You stay here with him.”

“No,” she objected. “I’m coming with you.”

“There’s no need for both of us to go.”

“You don’t know that. I might be able to help.”

“How would you-”

“You should know,” the woman interrupted, Sapienti is the earth Spirit’s child. It is a creature of tricks and wordplays. He lets very few into the Villa and even fewer out. You need to be careful.”

“Then it’s settled,” Amaris declared, “how many wordplays do you know?” Ash took a beat too long to answer and Amaris continued. “I’m coming with you and that’s final.”

“You need to hurry,” She brushed Mecheye’s bangs aside and checked his temperature again. “I’m preparing a brew to help him hold out but he won’t be able to fight much longer.”