The Black Deception

By Wilkem 18

The sea was calm as it could possibly be as I stood on the deck of the ship The Black Deception looking out at the setting sun. We had made it again; back to port before sunset.

“We made it, Captain Kierath,” Jess, my first mate, said as he walked up behind me. I could sense the pride in his voice at our success. I turned to face him.

As always, he cringed at the sight of the long curved scar that ran down my face from my right eye to the corner of my mouth. The smile on his face faded and he backed up a step.

“You haven’t seen the darkest creatures of the night,” I said, stepping forward again. “Creatures that won’t leave you live no matter what you do.”

“I’m sorry, captain. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Someday, Jess, you may see them attack a ship you’re on, and when that happens you will understand that there is no chance for survival.”

I turned away from him and left the dock, heading to my small hut on the other side of the village. I had lived here now for four years, ever since my previous ship, simply called Emblazon, had been attacked by the monstrous water demons that were now referred to as glawdes.

I had been merely a first mate on that ship when we were attacked not thirty miles from this port. I was the only survivor of that attack, as thirty other men all sank to their deaths.

“Excuse me, sir,” said a man as he came up behind me. “Are you by chance Captain Kierath of The Black Deception?”

I turned and looked at him. He was tall and well-muscled. A perfect ship-hand if I had needed one. He had the look about him of a man of high regard, and this thought came to mind because of the gold locket hanging around his neck.

“Who wants to know,” I asked, looking him in the eyes.

“My name is Felipe, and I need a ship that would be willing to take me somewhere.”

‘Interesting,’ I thought to myself. It had been awhile since I had simply been a ship for hire. “Depends on where you need to go friend.”

A smile lit his features. “Allow me to buy you a drink, and you can tell me what kind of a trip we are dealing with.”

“That will not be necessary, Felipe. I have other business to attend to, so you can tell me right now what it is you need of my ship, my crew and I.”

He seemed to become filled with panic. “I need a ship to take me to the isle of Pecaverch on the far side of the sea.”

I looked at him with a look of rejection. “You obviously don’t know me very well, Felipe, or you would know that I never make a trip that cannot be completed before sunset. After sunset, the glawdes rise out of the depths of the sea and destroy whatever is out there.”

“I know the creatures you speak of,” Felipe replied, his face serious now. “The creatures are searching for me and my friends and will only depart when they believe us all to be dead. If I can make it to Pecaverch, we will be able to destroy them.”

“Then you’d best search for another ship, because I will not traverse the seas after sunset. There is too much of a risk involved.”

He looked at me compassionately. “Captain Kierath, you of all people want to see these creatures gone forever. Help me get to where I need to be and I will make it happen.”

I stood and pondered the idea for a moment and then turned and continued towards my hut. “Be at the dock tomorrow morning at first light,” I called back to him. “We won’t wait for you.”

“You won’t regret this,” he called back, and with that he was gone.

Sunrise the next morning came quickly. I left the peace of my hut and started down towards the dock just as the sun was peeking over the hills. I didn’t know for sure if Felipe would be at the dock or not. If he was, then we would be off to Pecaverch. If he wasn’t, it was out to fish. Either way, we would be out on the sea today.

I was surprised to see that he was waiting for me. He simply smiled and asked, “When do we depart? Soon, I hope.”

“We will depart as soon as my crew gets here,” I said sternly, “And not a minute sooner.”

“Captain,” Jess said stepping forward. “We’re all here and ready to depart.”

I shook my head. “If we’re so ready to depart, why aren’t you guys up on the deck. Let’s go now. Get up there now.” They took off and started climbing up ladders into the ship.

“You have a good voice of command,” Felipe said, coming up behind me. “If they move that fast at sea,” he whispered, “Then we’ll have no trouble getting to Pecaverch before sundown.”

I confronted him now. “You have yet to even tell us where to go out there to get to this supposed island of yours. I am a well-known sea captain, and I have never heard of any island called Pecaverch.”

“That’s because it is not meant to be found by the simple-minded. It is a place of peace and a refuge for those who are seeking guidance.”

“Keep your purposes out of this. Just tell me how to get there.” I pointed to the ladder. “After you, passenger.”

He gave me a distasteful look and proceeded to the ladder and climbed upward to the deck. I right behind him.

A few hours later, when the sun was about halfway through its day cycle, we were well out to sea, water on all sides. The crew had already started to complain and it was all I could do to keep the crew in check.

“If they realize that we’re not heading back by mid-afternoon, they will mutiny,” I said to Felipe, pulling him aside. “It is that simple.”

“You need to tell your first mate that there will be no turning back,” Felipe said calmly, with a serious look on his face. “Leave him to keep the crew calm.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m the captain of this ship and it is my duty to keep the crew under control and to keep the ship running smoothly.”

“If you’re worried about bad things happening now, just wait until the sun starts to set,” he said. “Once that happens, there will be nothing you can do then. We need to start moving faster if we are to get to Pecaverch in time. We are still a good two hundred miles out.”

“We can’t travel at night, and with the time we have left we may only make it 150 miles.” I shook my head. “160 at most.”

“Then you’d best find a way to speed this ship up. If you can get me within twenty miles of the shore, all will be all right.”

“I can’t just command the sea to move us along faster. If I could, we’d have been there and back by now.” I didn’t want to be out here when the sun set, but if he could really destroy the glawdes I was willing to attempt anything. I called Jess over and explained everything.

“And he’s sure that he can destroy these things,” he asked me.

“Yes,” I replied, “but only if we continue sailing well after the sun sets. If we turn back now, he’ll never make it to Pecaverch.”

The sun was just beginning to disappear behind the horizon when the men really began to panic. I stood patiently, staring off into the distance for any sign of land. None met my eyes.

Felipe was standing behind me. “We’re getting close,” he said with a grin. “I can feel it.”

I glared at him. “There’s nothing out there. You drug us all out here to our deaths.”

“Do you believe that we will find land, Captain Kierath? If you believe that Pecaverch is there, you will see it.” He strode past me and looked off over the open sea. He pointed. “There, do you see that? There is Pecaverch.”

I strained to look and I saw it then. A small island, still a good twenty miles off. “I don’t know if we will get there before sunset.”

“We won’t, Captain Kierath. Only I will set foot on Pecaverch.” He turned to face me. “You’ve gotten me as close as is necessary. I can handle the rest of this voyage.”

He closed his eyes, and a mysterious thing happened. The locket around his neck shone a bright shade of red. His body burst forth in scales. He was transforming before my very eyes into a fish. His now small body flopped around on the deck of the ship before leaping off and diving into the water below. It was at that very moment that the sun disappeared.

The sea immediately rippled with tremors of epic proportions. The waves parted and from beneath them I saw the glawdes rise. Fearsome in size, and green in skin they immediately began their rampage of the ship.

I stood staring off into the distance as a lone figure emerged from the sea and stepped onto the island. Hope rose within me. Felipe, who could destroy these monsters, had made it safely to his destination.

The weight of the glawdes was too great for my ship and it soon was pulled beneath the seas, all of us with it. I had known it would most likely come to this, but I didn’t feel bad. After all, we had died so that others could live and sail the seas at night.