Ace's face was baking. He felt the fire on his skin. It felt as if he were slowly cooking in an oven. He lay there, feeling the warmth all over his body. Ace didn't want to open his eyes. He knew he'd be dead after his kiss from the mermaid. The warmth could only mean one thing, the thing Ace least wanted to accept. Having no other choice but to face what was on the other side, Ace took a deep breath and with brave resolve, opened his eyes.
Ace was blinded for a moment and couldn't see anything around him. His eyes adjusted, and he became even more startled by what he saw. Instead of the fires of hell, he found himself lying on a beach. As he sat up, a few crabs ran away from his body, and he noticed a small flock of birds near the water's edge. He looked out into the emerald-green water that spread to the horizon. Unlike the day before, the waters were calm. At first glance it appeared the sea was made of glass. Ace turned around and found that the beach was bordered by large white sand dunes. The sand on the beach was so white that it had temporarily blinded him. It reminded him a bit of the snow he'd encountered in Jayoria.
He was alone. There was no one else on the beach, no ships on the horizon, and no sign of the mermaid. The beach was pristine. There were no tracks, aside from the ripples in the sand that had been made by the wind. Ace couldn't figure out how he'd gotten where he was if no one had helped him get there. He knew that if the mermaid had rescued him from the sea, then there would have been tracks from dragging his body from the ocean. There were none. Maybe he'd imagined the mermaid and just washed upon the shore. Or maybe he'd died and was in the afterworld.
He turned to his right and saw a large cliff face that jutted above the sand dunes. It was the highest point Ace could see, and he decided that his best plan of action would be to climb to the top to better visualize his surroundings. Perhaps the knowledge of his surroundings could help him escape, or at least figure out where he was.
Ace looked down at himself. He seemed to be okay. Aside from some minor scratches he had along his chest, stomach, and hands from the barnacles on the catamaran, he was in top fighting shape. His blue sailor's shirt and yellow vest were torn from the barnacles, but the rest of his effects seemed to be intact. Ace was shocked when he realized that he still had his dive knife in his boot. It felt like it was so long ago that he'd used the knife. He emptied the water that had accumulated in his boots and set off toward the cliff.
The cliff was only a short walk away, but it was blistering in the heat and the sun. Ace was forced to walk with his eyes squinted, because the reflection off the white sand was so fierce. He stood at the base of the cliff and looked up. It was tall, but not impossible. There were plenty of handholds, and he knew he had the strength to climb it.
He touched the rock and immediately jerked his hand back. The sun had baked the rock of the cliff so that it was nearly untouchable. Ace knew he could never climb to the top if the cliff was that hot.
He removed his boots and dunked himself, fully clothed, in the ocean. His theory was that the wetness of the water would drip from his clothes onto his hands and body and keep him cool for his climb.
Ace's strategy worked, and shortly thereafter he emerged on top of the cliff. The waves were breaking more violently at the cliff than they were at the beach. The ocean had carved out a small cove in the rock, which the cliff dropped directly into. Ace didn't know much about currents of the ocean, but it looked like the small cove in the cliff was full of them. The water traveled quickly in strange directions it seemed. Strangely, however, the catamaran that had been there during the storm was still there, unmoved. It floated on the sea, unaffected by the rough surf and the currents.
Ace looked out at the surrounding land. The island was hilly; beaches surrounded a forested area of palms, and there appeared to be a lake in the center of the forest that eventually emptied into the ocean. The lake in the center was of good size, and Ace noted that there was a small fleet of ships docked. He scanned carefully over the lot of them, hoping to identify the F.S.M. Visp, but to no avail. The ships must belong to the pirates Captain Alphs mentioned. Even from his vantage point, Ace couldn't see any ships on the horizon. The Visp appeared to have fled without him.
He stood at the top of the cliff, uncertain of what to do. The Visp was nowhere in sight. Ace weighed his options. He knew the island was inhabited by pirates and natives, but he was uncertain about the nature of these people. Should he surrender himself to these people and hope that they won't kill him? Or should he hunt to stay alive, build a raft, and try to sail away from this island?
Ace pondered these thoughts and descended from the cliff. By the time he'd reached the bottom, he'd come to a decision. He had no food, no knowledge of the local flora, and the only possible fresh water he saw on the island was the lake the pirates had their ships anchored in. He didn't know whether or not the lake was drinkable, and he knew he couldn't visit it without the pirates noting his presence. Reality sank in, and Ace realized that he'd never be able to sail from this island all the way back to Menquin on a handcrafted raft. That left him only one option--to surrender to the pirates.
He thought that at the very least he'd survive long enough to attempt to journey back to Menquin. It was a desperate plan, but Ace realized that he had no chance if he were to attempt to sail back on his own.
He walked along the beach contemplating the best way to present himself to the pirates. He couldn't decide if he should go directly to the pirates, or if perhaps he should try to befriend the natives first? But what if he couldn't find the natives, or they shot him dead before he could meet the pirates?
He walked around the base of a large sand dune as he mentally debated with himself and froze. There was movement in the sea in front of him. There was a darkly tanned man with dark hair wading through the water with nothing more than some basic cloths around his waist to cover himself. Wading, wasn't the best word, Ace decided. This man was moving with the grace and presence of an egret, hunting for its prey beneath the water. He had a line of square tattoos running down the left side of his torso, down his leg, and another tattoo on his right deltoid. He had a coconut rattle in one hand.
The man stopped abruptly and lowered the coconut rattle into the ocean. He violently shook the rattle, singing in a strange language in a low voice. As abruptly as he'd started rattling, he stopped, leaving only ripples and foam from the sea. He was still and silent, only his head moving about.
The Oraonic Ocean was still and unmoving until a dark fin broke through the surface about fifty yards from the man. The man took no note of this. The creature approached the man from his blindside and quickly closed the distance to the man. The shark charged at the man with such force that Ace was certain that the man would be bitten and killed. Ace opened his mouth to shout a warning, but before the words left his throat, in one fluid movement the man turned and leapt onto the back of the shark.
Worry eased into Ace's mind as the man and the shark disappeared beneath the waves. Should he attempt to help the man? He started to move toward the water until the man emerged soaking wet, with the shark firmly in his grip.
Wriggling around, the shark struggled to release itself from the man's grasp, but to no avail. The man had a strange calm about him as he skillfully held the shark with its head directed away from his body. The man leaned his head down to the shark and, much to Ace's surprise, puckered his lips and kissed the shark on its head. He put the shark back into the water and, with a fond tug at its tail, released the shark from his grasp. The shark took off like a torpedo into the ocean's waves.
Ace stood near the base of a large sand dune, as still as a statue. He was uncertain about the nature of these tribal people, but he certainly didn't want to frighten the man, who clearly thought he was alone. Ace cleared his throat and moved slowly, hoping that his actions wouldn't alarm the man.
The man's head snapped in Ace's direction, and his eyes focused. His forehead furrowed in confusion, and he opened his mouth. "Debooki na na!" the man said sincerely, in Ace's direction.
Ace, uncertain of what to do, approached the man and made an attempt to repeat the man's words. "Debooki na na." Ace hoped the words were a greeting in whatever strange language the man spoke.
The man stared at him, and Ace stared back. The man nodded in the direction of the sea. Ace then nodded in the direction of the sea. The man snorted a laugh and walked over to Ace. Sensing no threat from the man, Ace didn't back away.
The man slapped Ace's chest and nodded. Taken aback by the gesture and uncertain of how to respond, Ace returned the greeting. The man smiled and beckoned Ace to follow.
As the two walked, they came upon a row of ten crosses fifty feet from shore, standing upright in the sea. Upon each of these crosses sat a man, similar in dress and body to the one whom Ace followed. The only difference was that these men all wore flat-topped straw hats, similar to those Ace had seen in Jayoria. Each of the men grasped a spear in a hand and hooked their arms around the post of the cross, for stability, Ace assumed. The men each smiled at Ace and his partner as they passed, but never uttered a word.
They walked in silence off the beach and into the dunes beyond it. They wove their way through the large dunes bordering the beach, following a set of footprints. The dunes soon gave way to the palm forest. The trees were tall and strong, and the forest was remarkably easy to walk through. In Menquin, when Ace used to play in the once-Great Forest as a child, it was difficult to move about because of the underbrush. There were occasional shrubs interspaced throughout the forest, but for the most part there was no undergrowth.
The few shrubs were unlike anything Ace had even laid eyes on. Some were about as tall as Ace. Their branches were sharp at the end, and they all pointed rigidly skyward. The plants looked intimidating. Ace took note of them; perhaps they could be used as a weapon if he needed one to escape.
The palms gave way to more dunes and a wide white beach. The beach surrounded the lake with the pirate ships that Ace had spotted from the cliff. The dunes on the beach were similar to those Ace and his new friend had traveled through on the other side of the island. Ace followed his friend over to a dune that had a large hole near its base. The man stopped and gave Ace a huge smile.
"Debooki na na!"
Ace turned and saw a woman emerge from the hole in the dune. Like the man, she was simply dressed. She wore a beige skirt, and a pair of coconuts covered her breasts. She had pretty face and looked slightly older than Ace's shark friend, but similar, with the same tanned skin and the dark hair.
The woman walked up to Ace's shark friend and slapped him on the chest. The shark man bowed slightly. They both turned their heads toward Ace.
Uncertain as to what to do, Ace attempted to greet them both. "Debooki na na."
They gazed at him.
Ace, knowing no more of their language, attempted to introduce himself. He pointed at his chest. "Ace."
The man who led Ace nodded. He pointed at his own chest. "Ka-me."
The woman turned and pointed at herself. "Ta-bril."
Silence ensued between them. Ka-me then turned to Ta-bril and spoke in the same strange language to her. "Wo ma ha scheider tun."
Ta-bril nodded. "Welcome, Ace. Follow me." Ta-bril turned and slid back into the hole at the base of the sand dune from which she had emerged. Ka-me followed her.
Ace dropped to his knees and, feeling slightly foolish, crawled on his hands through the opening in the dune. It was much cooler inside the dune and, for this, Ace was grateful. The interior of the sand dune was small, but Ace could tell it was loved. There was just enough room for the inhabitants to stand inside it. It would have been pitch black on the inside if there hadn't been a strange glowing bulb in the middle of the room that illuminated the small home. The bulb was similar in shape to an eggplant, yet it glowed a golden-yellow color that illuminated the room. There were two simple sleeping mats spread out and a few blankets on the ground.
"Welcome to our dune," Ka-me said, spreading his arms wide, smiling.
"You speak Menquin, too? That would have made everything a whole lot easier," Ace said. Ka-me turned to face him, and he noticed the tattoo on Ka-me's right deltoid in more detail. It looked like it was of two intertwined mermaids.
"Perhaps. We both speak the language, like most of the Farobi people. It's difficult not to when you have a fleet of pirates living in your back yard," Ta-bril said, gesturing for Ace to take a seat on one of the blankets spread out on the sandy floor before sitting down herself.
Ace complied with his hostess's request. "That explains it then. Do you all get along with the pirates?"
"We get along well enough, for the most part."
Ka-me was fiddling around in the corner with a clay jar. He turned around and, balancing three small wooden glasses in his hands, took a seat beside Ace on the floor. He gave a glass to Ace before giving another glass to Ta-bril. "It's Chabi. Drink up. It will help strengthen you after your ordeal."
"My ordeal?" Ace asked, surprised that they had known about him being stranded on the island. Then he looked down at himself. His clothes were ripped, his chest and shirt bloodied, and his skin was sunburned. He realized that anyone who saw him would assume that he'd been through an ordeal.
"So who are you, Ace?" Ta-bril asked.
Ace took a swig of the drink in his glass. It was a thick yellow substance. When he drank it, it was sharp and sweet with a fruity flavor. Ace liked it; it felt healthy to him.
"I'm Ace, from Menquin. My family was killed in the Great War. My father was killed in the navy, and my mother died of heartbreak when she learned of his fate. I was put in an orphanage in Haiglin until I was adopted a few months ago. I salvaged sunken ships for a bit, then I wound up on the F.S.M. Visp. I was onboard for a few months, until I was swept overboard the other day. Somehow I survived and made it to this island." Ace opened his mouth to tell of his incident with the mermaid, but thought better of it. His new friends would likely think him crazy if he were to tell such a story. It was more likely that Ace's mind had imagined such an event based on the trauma he'd experienced in the sea.
They both nodded and sipped their drinks.
"You said the Visp, huh?"
Ace nodded.
"We hate that ship!" Ta-bril said through gritted teeth. "It's caused us much pain." She took another sip of the fruity drink. "They came many years ago and attacked us. We all fought, pirates and tribe alike, but there were too many of them. We once lived in the great palms on the island, but it's taken long to rebuild. Those dastardly fellows killed our parents, leaving Ka-me and myself to live alone."
Ace knew the pain the siblings suffered from. There was a hint of awkwardness in the room because Ace had known the very people who had caused them so much pain. "I'm sorry to hear about that. How long ago did that happen?"
"A little while."
"If that ship comes back, I'll show them no mercy when they arrive. I'll kill their Captain with my bare hands and leave him to rot in the sun!" Ka-me declared.
Ace grew increasingly uneasy, but understood where they were coming from. He'd often wished he could have revenge on whoever killed his father, but he accepted a long time ago that he'd never get to act on his feelings. Part of Ace wanted to defend Captain Alphs, but he knew that if he wanted to be in good standings with the pirates or the tribe that he must keep his mouth shut.
"Oi!" someone shouted from the entrance of their dune.
Ta-bril crawled out and began speaking in the tribal language to whoever was out there.
Ka-me turned to Ace. "Forgive me if I offended you with my comment. However, I don't regret what I said. I'd kill their Captain, given the chance. How long were you in the Menquin Navy?"
Ace shook his head. "I'm not offended. I had similar feelings about my father's death." He took a sip of his drink. "I'm not in the Menquin Navy. I dove under a rowboat one stormy night and fell asleep. It turned out that the rowboat was on the Visp, and I woke up the next morning at sea. It was a bit of a nasty shock to me when I woke up. Since then, I've been wanting to get back to Haiglin to be with my new family. It seems pretty impossible now, though."
Ta-bril returned, looking uneasy. She turned to Ace. "Come with me. Don't run or you'll be killed. We're forced to take you to the council, who'll decide your fate."
"What? What are you talking about? I thought we were friends," Ace protested.
"We were becoming them, yes. And we still can be if the council finds you innocent," Ta-bril said.
"Innocent of what?" Ace exclaimed.
Ka-me uncoiled something from his left forearm. As he approached Ace with it, he realized it was a spear. Ace's arms were seized and brought behind his back. He turned and saw Ka-me stroke the base of the spear, and the spear went limp around Ace's wrists, locking them together.
"What is that?" Ace asked, enraged. He tried to pull his hands apart, but they were firmly held in place.
"Lilies," Ka-me answered. He grabbed Ace's wrists and steered him out of the siblings' home.
The sun blinded Ace as he emerged from Ka-me and Ta-bril's dune. The siblings accompanied him, Ka-me pushing him by the wrists, Ta-bril walking at his right, and an unknown man walked to Ace's left. He was led through the small village of dunes to a large dune near the edge of the palm forest. It looked to Ace as if this dune was at least three times as big as the siblings' home. There were shells and engravings on the outer walls of this dune. Ace assumed it meant this particular one was of some importance.
"Hai Ka Ra Hanna!" The shout emanated from within the sand dune as the shadows of the guards and their prisoner covered the entrance hole.
Ta-bril entered first. Ace was beginning to wonder how he was going to crawl into the dune with his hands bound. Ka-me instructed Ace to lie on his back, and he did as he was instructed. Ta-bril partly emerged from the entrance and grabbed Ace's shoulders, leading him into the dune head-first. Ace was dragged out of the sun on his back into the cool, dark dune to face his fate.