The Bright Black Sea (56 page)

I crouched down and greeted them. They climbed aboard
and pressed close. I assured them it was just wyrm weather and that
it'd pass...(probably along with their friendship). It was nothing
to worry about. After a minute or two, I disengaged from the gaggle
of cats and rose to make a quick inspection of the hold despite the
protests of my new feline friends. I stepped into the large dim
space and turning to my left, noted a thin shaft of light on the
deck. I stepped further into the hold and turning, saw that the
sliver of light was shooting from a thin crack in the strongroom
doorway. The door should have been locked. Only Min, Illy and I had
the master key that opened it. Mine was in my pocket.

My first, and indeed, only thought was that Min had
decided not to retire, but to do some more “research” into her
inheritance. I stepped quietly over to it, cats about my feet, and
slowly pulled the heavy door open and stepped in.

The strongroom is a long, narrow space lined with
strong boxes set in the bulkhead with a large safe at the far end.
The bulk of the open space is piled to the ceiling with crates and
boxes secured tightly with cargo nets to keep them from shifting
about during maneuvers and free fall. In them, as far as I know,
are the abandoned possessions of former crew members. There's a
narrow twisting path between these moldering piles to reach the big
safe at the far end. The source of the light lay further in, beyond
the first turn in the piles.

I was about to call out, but paused and decided,
perhaps not, and even briefly debated whether I should look in at
all. But in the end, I very carefully and quietly, pushed ahead,
careful not to step on the cats who insisted on accompanying me. I
was surprised to find Dyn sitting on a low pile dimly lit by a
small lantern near the big safe at the far end. He looked up as I
stepped out of the shadowed passage.

'Wil.' he said quietly, 'I was waiting for you. I was
almost ready to signal you.'

'Evening Dyn,' I said carefully, adding 'Why are you
waiting for me here?' Never mind how you got in...

I was, however, greatly relieved when my feline
escorts leaped to surround and greet Dyn. I trusted them to know
what was right and what was wrong and what was a wyrm weather
phenomena and what was not.

'Oh, I know you make your nightly rounds, and well,
what I needed and what I need to do is best done here, and
now.'

He seemed just as quiet and sane as ever, but there
was wyrm weather to consider.

'How'd you get in. I though only Min, Illy and I had
the key?'

He smiled faintly and shook his head a little. 'I
know this ship very well, No one knows it better. And Fen, of
course, trusted me.'

I nodded. Of course.

'Why are you here ? And why are you waiting for me?'
I asked carefully, looking at him and the cats that were now
swirling around both of us, unconcerned.

'It's time for me to go, Wil. There's no longer
anything aboard this ship for me, and it has been that way for some
time now. Indeed, I really need to get away, and I intend to go
tonight, as strange as that may seem to you.'

'Go away? You don't mean die?' I asked quietly, with
growing alarm. 'I'm sure we can help, all of us...It's the wyrm
weather...'

'No, I don't mean going away like that. Indeed, I
intend to live a whole life, to take full breaths again. Something
I can't do here, aboard ship, any more.'

'I don't understand, Dyn. There is no other place for
you to go. At least until we reach Zilantre. But why leave? You're
amongst friends and shipmates of decades. I know we can't replace
Captain Miccall, but we're still family. Your family. If there is
anything you need, you need only ask.'

'Thank you, Wil, but I simply can't stay aboard any
longer. It's torture. This singularity is my only opportunity to
escape and I intend to take it.'

'Ah, you know about the singularity, the wyrm weather
. I've just found out about it. How did you know, and what does it
have to do with escaping? I'm not tracking you.'

He lifted up a small thick rectangle covered in what
appeared to be worn and stained red leather. 'Do you know what book
this is?'

'I haven't a clue,' I said, not even knowing it was a
book.

'It's Captain vey'Cline's
Travel Book of
Faylyen
.'

I stared hard at what he held up for me to see. 'It
actually exists?' I whispered. And , well, why not? Anything seems
to go these days.

'Yes, and like vey'Cline, I'm going to use it to
travel to Faylyen. We, Fen and I, always knew about it, but it
never worked, at least for travel. So we put it away and all but
forgot about it. But when I began to feel the first touch of the
wyrm weather, it occurred to me that perhaps there was an aspect of
the original story that has been lost in the telling of the yarn
over the years. Knowing well how things become insubstantial in
wyrm weather – in all our travels, Fen and I and the Shipmates,
occasionally encountered wyrm weather so I knew what was happening
– I got to wondering if vey'Cline had disappeared in wyrm weather
and that aspect of the story was lost in the retelling. We never
had time to think about it in the old days – we'd more pressing
concerns than the
Travel Book of Faylyen
.

'It's different now. I've had too much time to think.
So when I felt the touch of the wyrm several days ago it struck me
that the travel which the
Travel Book of Faylyen
seemed to
promise might be fully realized when wyrm weather had lowered the
barriers to the impossible. Perhaps, wyrm weather would make more
than just a dream-like visit possible, it might make actual travel
possible. And if so, it offered a promise of escape, so I brought
it out and began to explore it...' he paused to stare off into
space.

I was frightened. Dyn may have been a rather strange
recluse, but he was always grounded in reality. He was always sane.
I didn't know if I wanted him to be sane now or not...

'Wil, from the pages of this book I've visited the
most beautiful, the most wonderful world. Cities too beautiful to
be in the Nine Star Nebula. There are millions of stars in
Faylyen's sky. The deeper we've sailed into the wyrm weather, the
more intense I've been able to experience them. I've felt the
gentle sea breeze on my face looking out over the harbor of
Tsillot, I've felt the warmth of the sun walking along the broad
strand of Jaltortha Street while surrounded by the most beautiful
people... And I know I can reach them – now – while we're in the
singularity. And so, I'm going to Faylyen. I want warmth, I want
beauty, I want stars in the sky. I need to go away. I've seen my
ability to reach Faylyen grow as we approach the heart of the wyrm
and I know now all I have to do is to let go of here and now, and
I'll travel to Faylyen the way vey'Cline did and I'll be able to
stay there as well. We've in the heart of the wyrm and now's the
time to take my leave of the
Lost Star
and the Nine Star
Nebula.'

I watched him carefully. His grief was too powerful,
his personality too closed to find easy relief within our little
society. And yet, he never left the ship if he could help it. We
were all he had. The book couldn't take him away... 'You don't like
planets, Dyn,' I said with a faint smile to hide my alarm. 'I know
it's hard for you aboard, with all your memories. But all your
friends and everything you know is here. I'm sure you'll find
release from your grief in time. But it takes time – don't get
discouraged.'

He shook his head slowly. 'Thank you, but no. I can't
stay. I've found a way out. I'm bound for Faylyen. In a few minutes
I'll be gone, but I have a few things to take care of before I go.
That's why I was waiting for you to come around.'

I drew a careful breath, thinking. Fruitlessly
thinking.

'First Wil, when I'm gone, please replace the book in
the number 33 safe here for safe keeping. Here is the key to the
safe,' he said bringing out a gold ring.

I hesitated, but stepped forward, extending my hand.
He placed the heavy ring in my palm.

'Why this is Captain Miccall's ring!' I exclaimed,
recognizing the heavy gold band with a dull black jewel set deeply
into it. 'Surely you can't give me this?'

He shook his head. 'I'm leaving all behind. It is now
yours, Wil. Only this ring will open the safe. But it's more. It's
the key to the
Lost Star
as well. It will keep the
ship
safe from some of the dangers of the
human worlds. Turn it over... You see the little opening inside the
ring under the jewel? Look at the jewel from the inside of the
ring.'

I held up the ring and looked closely at the small
opening in the gold band under the jewel. Holding it up to my eye,
I gasped... It was almost like I was physically drawn into the
deepest, clearest well of dark light, intricate arrays of colors
against a black background too rich, too intense, to be real, and
yet not glaring. Felt more than seen. I tore my gaze from its
depths.

'What in the Neb is it, Dyn?'

'A darq gem.'

'A darq gem? Darq gems really exist?' I gasped. I'd
always thought that they were just another myth of the Nebula. An
object so rare that only the richest First Worlder could afford
one. Why if this is a real darq gem it could buy the
Lost
Star
a ten times over. Is this really? How? Why? I glanced
again at the little opening in the ring's inner surface and fell
into its depths again. So I ripped my gaze from it again. 'What is
going on, Dyn? This must be a trick of the singularity.'

He shook his head. 'It's no illusion. It's a darq
gem. They do exist, though how Fen came to have one is a secret I
can't share. The outer jewel is just a crystal carbon case to hide
the gem's true identity. It's not a big gem, but it's a true darq
gem and it's now yours. It was Fen's, mine and now it's yours. I
believe I know you well enough to be comfortable turning it over to
you. Fen always said that he kept it to protect the ship. It was
always Fen's star in his hand should he or his ship strike a reef
and credits could save it.'

'But it's yours now... I can't take this.'

'It's the
Lost Star
's really. I won't need it
where I'm going. I'm putting this life behind me. I hope you never
need to use it, but it will always on hand ready to save the
ship
and your shipmates if things ever
drifted too deep for any other measure. You're captain now, so
that's your job, Wil. So it's yours, no strings attached. My advice
is keep it very secret, secret the way Fen and the Shipmates did,
by telling no one at all. Should it become known, your life may not
be worth the gold in the ring. But, don't let its credit value be a
burden. It's nothing more than a stone. Really, it won't solve most
problems. It just gave Fen peace of mind. If you find yourself
worrying about it, toss it out the lock. Sometimes things like that
attract the worst in the Nebula. Don't risk that. But I think if
you just put it away, like the Travel Book, it will not be a
burden.'

'But I shouldn't have it. Min should. The ship is
hers after all,' I protested, frightened despite his
assurances.

He shook his head sadly. 'She has different
priorities, Wil. Someday, when the time is right, you can turn it
over to her. But for now, it's yours. Keep the ring and the
ship.'

'I've made other arrangements as well,' he continued.
'I've made a vid describing what I'm about to do, and I've given
Tallith and my shipmates access to my credit accounts. However,
they're in the Calissant credit bank, so it may take some time
before they can be accessed.

'I hate to leave you now, Wil. If there was any other
way, I'd stay and see things through to Zilantre. But I must go now
in the wyrm's heart. Within minutes, really. I'm certain you'll
find a way to survive our current problem without recourse to using
the ring. It should not be beyond yours and Talley's talents if you
work together.'

'I'm sure we will. But really, Dyn...'

'Right,' he said, breaking in. 'I've almost said
everything I needed to say and I'm not changing my mind. I've
divided my few personal possessions and placed the packages in my
cabin. And as I said, I've also prepared a short vid goodbye and
explanation of what I'm about to do,' he paused and added with a
faint shrug and a smile, 'Otherwise it might have been awkward if
it ever come to be known you have Fen's ring without some sort of
explanation of how it may have came to you and what became of me.
It should eliminate any hint of suspicion, and you'll never need to
mention this meeting.'

It took a moment. 'I'd hardly think...' But if Dyn
did, somehow, disappear without a trace and I ended up with a ring
he was known to have and cherish, it might indeed raise questions
in my shipmates minds.

He nodded. 'Just so. I'd best be going. Fair orbits,
Wil. Fair orbits to my shipmates. Replace the book. Perhaps it will
be useful to someone else some day...' and with that, he opened the
small battered book. The two pages glowed to life.

He gave me a fleeting smile, looked down for a
moment, smiled, and the book was just floating above the bare
packing case he'd been sitting on, twisting a little rush of air
that replaced Dyn. Or the image of Dyn. Or something.

'The bloody Black Neb,' I exclaimed softly, frozen in
place. I'd never expected this. Dyn had to be somehow sanely mad,
or I was... But he was gone.

The cats just stared at the empty space and up to me
with wide bright eyes and meowed.

I could only stare with them and try to capture my
racing thoughts. Wyrm weather, I told myself, but somehow this felt
too real. The shadows of the cats moved across the stacks and
piles, spooking me. I just wanted to get out away.