The Hollow

Shearwater

Nom and Qayid went back to ignoring each other, which made the second half of their time on the Pelican much the same as the first half, except for Nom's delight when they finally spotted some gigantic whales. They appeared like ghosts under the sea, unreal giants until they surfaced as the largest natural creatures he'd ever seen, larger than the river hippopotami south of his homeland, larger even than the elephants far in the southwest. Those animals were probably long gone, so he was heartened to see such wildlife still thriving.

Near the end of the week, the Pod began to parallel a stretch of the Berm which Tanaga informed them was like a dip in the border where they could get closest to land. Nom took his word for it, and suffered through a day of the crew shouting every word. Eventually the fleet halted its progress and the three ships came close together. Tanaga told Nom and his companions to gather their gear and put it on the ship's boats. Confused at first, they soon realized they were transferring from the Pelican to the Shearwater.

Tanaga explained Qayid couldn't risk his main cargo or crew on this venture. The Shearwater could sail in and out the fastest, and had even done so in the past. He also wouldn't make anyone take a risk on his behalf. So he and Tanaga accompanied them over in the rocking boats, and after a half hour conference, they sent the captain and mate from the Shearwater back with the boats.

Shearwater was a smaller craft, with almost as much sail as the Pelican. It housed some cargo, but mainly served a security role in the fleet. Nom and the young trio stowed their gear, then immediately began helping prepare for sail. The fleet split, with some distant shouted farewells between the ships.

The trip through the Berm was as tense as before, if less dramatic. There was no unexpected moving of the boundary, but the crew's lightheartedness slowly gave way to apprehension. Omega had to resume wearing her goggles as they approached the Hollow, and as they crossed, her mood fell farther than it had risen two weeks ago.

Once crossed, Shearwater rapidly made distance from the Berm, as if the Hollow were eager for their return, and Nom had to remind himself it was simply a faster ship. They followed the sun for the remainder of the day, aiming for a place called Alara, which Nom had not heard of. Tanaga mentioned it once had a different name, but could not recall it. Such was the way with lost places.

Omega sought conference with Qayid at sunset. Nom wasn't usually party to their conversations, but they ended up on the afterdeck with Qayid and the second mate both sighting the early stars with their hands, consulting an astrolabe, and arguing. Omega slipped away and Nom caught up with her.

"What's bothering them?" Nom asked.

"I told them the sun might be in the wrong place. They didn't believe me at first, and are now upset that they can't confirm our location."

"The sun is in the wrong place?" Nom asked, incredulous.

"Might be. I wasn't aware, until it started setting. Then for a moment I saw two suns. One was darklight, or maybe the real one was masked by darklight, I'm not sure which. But apparently the stars aren't helping either." Omega gestured to the sky.

"No, that would be too much to hope for," bemoaned Nom. "The sky we're seeing is not the same as last night. At least the water is calm, and hopefully we won't drift too far before Qayid figures out where we are. If nothing else, we can sail west."

The sun rose the next morning, pinkly diffused through a thick, muggy mist. Nom stared directly at it, wondering about everything he assumed to be true, if something so basically reliable as the sun was brought into question. Omega assured him it was in the proper place today. The water, smooth as a mirror, reflected nothing but a soft pink glow. Neither the sun nor a breeze stirred the hot damp air, which clung to skin and ran down in rivulets. With no wind, there was little to do, and Ahden joined Omega and Nom for a nervous game of cards on deck.