Alkimiya - A Fantasy Mystery Series

THIRTY~SIX - Last Resort

For lunch, Nibbs cooked up as much of the spoiling meat as he could and salted the rest. Raoul stayed nearby, helping preserve what food they had by stripping the onions of their mold until they were as small as chicken eggs. The soft potatoes were boiled and mashed, while the dry foods—beans and rice—were saved for the trip back. Together, their little company ate an unintentionally large meal in relative peace.

Their peace didn't last long. Inspector Hatwig decided to hold a vote on whether or not to fly into the Ring of Rage. She was met with staunch resistance from James.

"We don't have time to debate how to bypass the wall, Mr. Clay."

James was hearing none of it. "It's reckless and stupid. That's morphed magic! We can find another way."

Carver sided with Inspector Hatwig. "This airship isn't designed to go as high as the top of that wall, Jim. We can't go over it. We can't go under it. And we certainly can't go around it. That leaves us with going through it."

"Just because some of us made it once doesn't mean we will a second time," snapped James.

There was drawn-out silence after that, a few wary glances between Raoul and Nibbs, a stiff upper lip from Carver, and a defiant glare from James to Inspector Hatwig. When Nibbs gave his opinion on the matter, however, the glare James wore evaporated off his face.

"We can't stay, Jim."

James grumbled to himself about "death wishes" and "chances," and buried his mouth behind his hand. They were taking a vote and he was less than happy that the final decision was out of his control. 

"And you Raoul?"

"I say we try." Raoul swallowed nervously. "I say we make Sunray as strong as we can and try for the other side."

"I'm fine either way," added Healer Pilluck from behind a magazine. "But I am getting sick of you all. If we choose to stay and starve, and it comes to cannibalism, I know who I'll eat first."

"Ha!" Onnan met that threat with his own. "Let's go for it! The sooner we return, the sooner I can file my complaints and strip this hag of her license."

Healer Pilluck flicked to another page with a bored, "I live in hope."

James massaged his beard. His energy had dropped. "Scarlett?"

Scarlett, habitually chewing on either her lips or her fingers, dropped her thumb from her teeth. "I always am ready for adventure."

That did not please James. He sighed wearily. "Zenetra?"

"The message from the scroll said the Islanders built their own ships, right?" At Inspector Hatwig's nod, Zenetra continued. "They saw ships sucked into the wall, but they could not have known if any survived. Maybe some did manage to make it to the other side and the people on them starved in the open waters before they could find land. We are in the middle of the Ghost Sea, after all. Carver is right. Crashing into it head-on is our only option. We have people looking for us."

James seemed to recognize his defeat and caved. "Fine! Let's get this airship ready for a tumble. The easternmost marker of the Triad will be the search zone if the reapers are out, so east is where we aim."

"We're leaving now?" Raoul gulped. "As in now, now?

Inspector Hatwig left the table. "Tomorrow morning," she said to Raoul. "I should batten down the hatches."

While Inspector Hatwig transmuted every porthole window from glass to steel and double-checked that their latches locked tight, Nibbs and Healer Pilluck prepared their workstations for the impending crash. They planned to leave the porthole in the door to the mess hall open for navigational purposes and would close it before striking the wall of water. It was an overall good plan, but Zenetra had one of her own.