22-2-2-4012 DM, Melaku Timara Strait, Telama, Hilaraya
The Seabird continued its course southwards from Latyang Island, which was southeast of Arang, going towards the Melaku Timara Strait, which would lead them to the Gulf of Tayang where the harbour city of Kanay was located. The journey had been quite smooth, as far as Dari was concerned. The bronze bell hanging just below the crow's nest on the mainmast of the Seabird had just announced the coming of the tenth hour of darkness and the sky was already littered with shimmering stars, accompanied by the light of the waning moon. It had only been two nights since the full moon, so the lady of the night still glowed majestically on her flying throne in the Suraya. It was quite late in the evening and there was nobody on deck except for Dari and two sailors in the crow's nest above. A light breeze blew from the north and sea was relatively calm, giving the Seabird a graceful stride on the water. According to Latari Kunapu, the Seabird's captain, they were making good time and they might reach the capital before the first hour of light on the morrow.
Under the light of the moon overhead, Dari sat in a folding chair, which he propped near the ship's prow, making a few finishing touches to a sketch that he had been working on since after midday. He blew the last traces of loose charcoal dust on his drawing and held it at arm's length as he always did after finishing a sketch. His uncanny ability to see in the dark made him appreciate the fine lines and broad strokes that made up a monochromatic sketch of four dolphins jumping out of the water. He smiled as he remembered how excited he was to see blue dolphins for the first time while he was walking along the starboard side of the Seabird after midday luncheon that day. He giggled as he remembered how he almost fell twice when he ran to get his sketchbook from their cabin, and how frantic he was while trying to capture the dolphins' forms as they playfully followed the ship. Satisfied with his work, he carefully placed the drawing inside his sketchbook, laid it on his lap and closed his eyes to rest them for a bit. He felt the gentle rocking motion of the Seabird, together with the gentle sound of chimes in his ears, making him rather sleepy. He let out a mighty yawn, stretched his arms over his head, crossed them over his chest, and began to drift.
"What was that you were holding out earlier?" a lakadu's voice in front of Dari said, making him jump in surprise. He recognised a Hilari accent, but the consonants were more emphasised than he was used to hearing. He opened his eyes and blinked out the sudden blurriness so he could see who spoke.
The odd young lakadu whom Dari saw at the port stood in front of him. The young lakadu wore a light-coloured tunic and pale yellow trousers. He was still clutching his bag tightly in front of him as if afraid that someone might grab it from him. He had a curious but very shy expression on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you. Don't mind me. I'll just go on ahead," the young lakadu said, suddenly looking embarrassed. He was about to turn around and walk away when Dari acknowledged him.
"No, it's alright. You're not bothering me. I was just resting my eyes for a bit. I just finished a sketch of a group of dolphins I saw earlier. Would you like to see it?" Dari said and saw the young lakadu's eyes growing wide in surprise.
"Your eyes!" the young lakadu exclaimed. "They're silver grey, but you're of Hilari blood, aren't you?"
"I am," Dari said confidently. He had heard this remark a hundred times before and had a ready response for it.
"I was born with them. As far as my parents are concerned, both of them have pure Hilari blood, but they must be wrong. One of them might have a Timari ancestor from hundreds of cycles ago for all I know," Dari continued, smiling.
"That's curious. But they look good on you... I mean, they're quite unusual," the young lakadu said awkwardly. Dari's clear eyesight saw that the young lakadu's face turned a little red.
"By the way, I'm Dari Lamuan. You can call me Dari," Dari said as he extended his right hand towards the stranger.
"I, uh, I'm Jesi Sarang. Well met, Dari," Jesi said, taking Dari's hand and shaking it. After this momentary gesture, Jesi's arms went back to guarding his bag.
"Well met, Jesi. Are you travelling alone?" Dari asked curiously. He had not seen Jesi on deck since they boarded the ship.
"Yeah, I am. I'm running an errand for my Menaji," Jesi replied hesitantly.
"Menaji? You have a master? Then you must be an apprentice! What craft do you practice?" Dari asked excitedly. He rarely spoke with anyone in Arang, but, for some reason, he felt quite comfortable with Jesi.
"I'm an apprentice –ler," Jesi replied, his voice fading into a whisper, making his words indiscernible against the sound of chimes in Dari's ears.
"A what? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you," Dari said as he leaned forward towards Jesi, but as he did so, his sketchbook fell onto the deck by Jesi's feet.
Jesi immediately bent down and took the sketchbook before Dari could move. For a moment, he just stood there, holding Dari's sketchbook while leafing through the drawings. His eyes got bigger with each drawing he saw, clearly impressed by Dari's handiwork.
"These are really good. Your Menaji must be proud of you," Jesi said as he handed the sketchbook back to Dari with his right hand.
"Thank you, but I have no Menaji, at least not yet anyway," Dari said as he took the sketchbook back from Jesi. "By the way, I didn't hear what you said earlier. You're an apprentice traveller?"
"A traveller?" Jesi replied, laughing. "I wish that was a real job! Only the richest people can have a job like that without starving. Then again, I've done a fair amount of travelling myself, so perhaps I can be considered as one. But nah, I'm no traveller. I'm an apprentice jeweller. You know, someone who makes earrings, and necklaces, and some such."
"I know what a jeweller is!" Dari said, laughing himself. "There are lots of them in Arang. They make such pretty things and display them by the windows of their shops near the town centre. I wanted to buy a pair of earrings from them for Anya but I couldn't afford them."
"Couldn't afford them? How come? You're aboard this ship and as far as I remember, I paid dearly for passage on this one," Jesi said incredulously.
"Uhm... It's quite a story," Dari said reluctantly.
"We have a lot of time. We won't reach Kanay until the morrow, if I'm correct. Besides, I'm dying of boredom already. I stayed in my cabin all day yesterday, and I've almost gone crazy. I'm just glad that the cook actually knows how to cook. The food from the ship I took going to Arang tasted like tree bark. Come on, tell me. Please..."
Dari noticed that Jesi was no longer defending his bag and was moving to sit on the deck in front of him. When Jesi was finally seated he eagerly looked at Dari, waiting for his story. It seemed that this young lakadu had started to trust him, and it felt good to have someone about his age with whom to talk on the ship.
"Oh, alright," Dari said finally, scratching his head just above the marapi with his right hand.
At first, Dari was unsure where to start, but, after a moment, he decided to tell Jesi the entire story. He told him about the absence of the wind, the time he spoke with the hanginaradu, the reason for their journey, and the banquet on the night before they left Arang. Jesi's eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets in amazement as he listened to Dari's story.
"A bayaharadu, eh? I haven't met a haradu in the flesh before," Jesi said as he looked at Dari in awe.
"So, you're headed to Eranga after the capital then? I live in Gelang with my Menaji. You'll pass through it on the way to Eranga. Maybe I can travel with you, I mean, if you don't mind, that is. You won't be staying in Kanay for long, will you?" Jesi asked curiously.
"We'll probably stay in Kanay for a night. I need to visit my Lamayi in Kanay and the Periji said we'd need to buy some supplies for the journey south."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Travelling without supplies can be painful. Believe me, I learned that the hard way! The first time I travelled to Kanay alone, I didn't bring enough food, so I almost starved halfway in the middle of the Takyanan Forest. I didn't know which fruits were safe to eat, and I didn't know how to hunt nor fish. Good thing I had some silver on me, so I was able to buy some supplies and some food in a village that I stumbled upon in the middle of nowhere. I can't even remember the name of the village," Jesi said with a reminiscent expression on his face. He smiled, remembering the folly of his first journey alone.
"Anyway, do you know where you'll be staying while you're in Kanay?"
"Uh, I'm not sure. We might stay at an inn somewhere near the harbour. I'm not sure if my Lamayi would have room for three guests, but I'd like to stay somewhere close to his house if possible."
"Hmm... Alright," Jesi began, looking unsure how to continue. "If you need help looking for a place, I know some good inns by the harbour. The Hungry Sailor would suit your needs, I think."
"The Hungry Sailor?" Dari said, confused by what he heard.
"Yeah, that's the name of the inn. The Hungry Sailor. It's quite nice and the innkeeper, Jarami Tarang, is a fair and honest lakadu. I've stayed there a few times already."
"The Hungry Sailor..." Dari said, making a mental note. "Alright, that's easy to remember since I'm almost always hungry."
Suddenly, Dari's stomach made a low groaning sound. It was loud enough for Jesi to hear, making him look at Dari.
"What was that?" Jesi asked.
"It's my stomach. I've only had a piece of bread since after midday luncheon," Dari said, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh! We have a hungry sailor here! Hahaha!" Jesi guffawed, banging the deck with his right fist.
"Why didn't you eat anything since then? Surely your passage on this ship comes with food," Jesi continued laughing, amused at the thought.
"I was busy sketching. I remember my Amyi calling me for supper earlier, but I totally forgot all about it," Dari replied, scratching his head with his right hand.
"Do you have any food on you now?" Jesi asked, still shaking with his laughing fit.
"No, I d–," Dari began, but he suddenly noticed a small bundle wrapped in linen cloth beside his chair on the right side. He picked it up and unwrapped the linen to reveal folded banana leaves. He gingerly peeled the leaves and was delighted to see three rice cakes, the sweet round yellow ones with shredded coconut, of which he had eaten a lot during the banquet in Arang. They still smelled good. Amyi must have left those while he was busy sketching. He smiled and offered one to Jesi.
"Here, take one. They're really good."
"They do look good, but I've already had supper. Thank you though," Jesi said, gesturing with his right hand.
"Alright, more for me then," Dari said as he began attacking the rice cakes with his bare hands.
"Wow, I can see you're quite famished!" Jesi observed and laughed as he watched Dari eat the rice cakes in under two minutes.
"Mmm! That was good indeed!" Dari declared as he licked the last morsels of rice cake on his left palm.
"By the way, what brought you to Arang?" Dari asked as he folded the leaves into linen and placed it in his pocket. He would have to find a trash bin later.
"My Menaji. He asked me to buy those pink Arangi pearls. They are very famous at the capital, you know. He wanted to make some pieces with those so he could sell them to his rich patrons," Jesi replied as he unconsciously wrapped his arms around his bag.
"And you're keeping them in your bag?" Dari asked, raising his left eyebrow.
"Wait, how di–?"
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in those. I have my own gold, remember?" Dari said, laughing. Jesi visibly relaxed when he said this.
"Is it that obvious?" Jesi asked curiously.
"Yeah, your bag looks like it's bulging with pearls!" Dari said, making a serious face.
"It does?!" Jesi said in panic and pulled out the bag from its strap around his torso to examined it.
"I'm kidding! It doesn't!" Dari quickly replied and laughed loudly. "You should see your face! That was precious!"
"Why you almost gave me a stroke! My Menaji would skewer me alive if I lost this bag!" Jesi exclaimed, now looking rather furious. He fastened his bag securely around his torso again and glared at Dari.
"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you panic," Dari said apologetically, smiling a little.
"Sure, of course you didn't," Jesi said, shrugging. He looked at Dari, then, after a moment, they both started laughing together.
After a few minutes, their laughter finally subsided and they decided to walk along the portside of the Seabird. Dari tucked his sketchbook under his right arm while Jesi walked beside him to his left. After a few minutes, they decided to rest under the mainmast and stood there, silently admiring the evening sky, until Jesi broke the silence.
"What is that?" Jesi asked, pointing to a thin wisp of cloud that seemed to be flying from the east towards them against the southward wind.
Dari strained his eyes to see what Jesi was seeing. Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of a flute playing. The melody was not the soothing one that came out of her the last time. This melody was urgent, much like the one he heard in his dream but a little different.
Without thought, Dari said, "Ariari..."
"A what?" Jesi asked in a confused tone.
"Ariari, the hanginaradu I met at the beach. What is she doing here?" Dari asked, feeling confused. He was certain that he didn't call her this time.
"I think we'll find out soon. Here she comes," Jesi said as he pointed at the approaching wisp of cloud.
The cloud coalesced into the figure of Ariari, floating effortlessly before them, and filling the air with the sound of a flute playing an urgent tune. Her yellow eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness and her smoky robes gave off a dim shimmer under the light of the stars and the moon above.
"Oy! What's going on there?!" a voice from above shouted, probably one of the sailors on the crow's nest.
"We don't know yet! Just hang on, alright?!" Jesi shouted back.
A moment later, Dari heard hurried footsteps coming from the stairwell that led to the cabins. Moments later, the Periji and Amyi were standing behind him and Jesi. Sensing the arrival of others, Jesi looked nervously behind him, clutching his bag firmly, but when he saw Dari giving a nod of approval at the newcomers, he relaxed a bit. Then, Ariari started to sing.
"Oh, my dearest friend, I come with bad news.
Please hear me now, there is no time to lose!
A storm is brewing not too far from here,
It comes from the east and soon will be near.
"It will come with anger and so much hate,
Please tell everyone before it's too late!
And now I must go, I'm sorry my friend.
I'm not strong enough to fight nor defend."
As Ariari sang the last line of her song, her eyes flickered and then her smoky figure transformed into a formless mist. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind from the east blew her away towards the sky.
Dari looked straight to the east and saw a mass of dark clouds just above the horizon. He saw a flash of lightning from the dark clouds, and, after about fifteen seconds, he heard the distant rumble of thunder. He felt his heart sink to his stomach as the words of Ariari started to make sense in his mind.
"There's a storm coming," Dari said weakly as he turned to Jesi whose expression changed from curiosity to pure horror.