Western Akali Coast

"What do you hear?" Rubi asked Indra as they sat in the crow's nest together.

The sun was bright above them, the sea air crisp and fresh. The moment she saw the hint of new colours on the horizon, she was eager to share the news.

"Hmm." Indra pondered, focusing. "Other than the waves and noise below... some birds?"

"Yes. Can you tell what kind of birds?"

"Gulls?"

"That's right! Do you know what that means?"

"We must be near land."

"Yep. Even better, we're near our destination!"

"Land, ahoy!" Indra shouted down from the nest, grinning from ear to ear. "It feels so good to say that at last!"

"I thought you'd like to share the news." Rubi smiled. "You're almost home. By morning you'll be on your own soil again."

Indra laughed, a few tears running down his face with joy.

"I can't believe it," he wept, rubbing his face. "I just can't believe we made it."

"Of course we made it." Rubi assured him, patting his shoulder. "The Disaster never fails her passengers!"

That night, as a frosty, northern-hemisphere, spring moon rose over them, the ship sailed smoothly and swiftly into port, side by side with the Wanderlust. The passengers cheered and celebrated, embracing each other and looking longingly at the city of Patitsar from the deck.

Some of the children had been born into slavery. They had never seen the land of their parents with their own eyes, tasted the delicacies with their own tongues, or heard the chatter of the native birds at sunrise. For some of the younger adults, there was only a faint memory of Akali. A home garden, the walk to school.

For others, it was the only thing that sustained them through the most brutal experiences of enslavement - the hope that one day they would return.

They all filed down the gangplanks in Patitsar's largest port, the passengers jittering and awash with joy. The crews tried to act natural, not like they were riding high on the thrill of a righteous crime reaching its conclusion. No need to draw attention to themselves. Keeping things looking professional was essential to passing off as merchants. Make it seem like this was just another port on the rounds, another drop off, another payment.

Kai was carrying Sama, who was fast asleep wrapped up in a blanket. Take'Ichi was bleary eyed and droopy. Candles and fireplaces lit up the streets off dock, inviting them all over with tantalising warmth away from the night air.

The smells of cardamom, clove, cumin and mustard wafted from the streets so thickly Rubu could practically see the clouds of coloured dust. Her mouth was watering as she signed the dock papers, a fake name as usual, with fake documentation designed and inked by Mimi with the precision and accuracy of a printing press. It was cheaper than a bribe for a dockmaster at every port they hit.

"Where is Zodwa?" Indra asked. "I have to tell them and Udi something."

"Right here." Zodwa replied, knapsack over their shoulder. They were bare-faced, sleeping bonnet tied around their head and ready to go straight back to bed. "I'll come to you."

Indra took their hands and squeezed them gently.

"You and Udi can be yourselves here." Indra said. "In my country, all love is sacred and beautiful. No one here, no true Akapashtin, will ever give you grief for who you are."

Zodwa smiled broadly, took off their bag and fished around in it for a few moments. They pulled out a narrow little container with a small, soft-bristled brush on its lid. Once opened, Zodwa ran the brush up and down its contents, then painted their lips a gorgeous plum purple with practiced hands in a few expert swipes.

They winked at Rubi.

"Never get a second chance at a first impression." Zodwa said, not even needing a mirror to check their work.

Take'Ichi, painted peachy pink again, appeared totally awestruck at their finesse, his finger running over his lip in an absentminded imitation. Udi definitely noticed how impressed everyone was, and he smiled to himself quietly.

Udi is so lucky to love such a kind and beautiful person, Rubi thought.

"My aunt Chandra," Indra said as they departed the dock. "She and her husband own an apothecary and inn right down the main street, just past the fountain. I'm sure it's all still there. What should I tell her about you all though?"

"As far as we're concerned," Rubi replied "We're merchants and occasionally transport passengers short distances. I put my name down as Captain Rubia Kita. And we're all human."

"I understand." Indra said nodding. He thought for a moment. "I couldn't confidently tell you if it's safe to identify yourselves as magical, so it's probably for the best to hide anything supernatural. It's well accepted that there are magical creatures in the mountains of the far north, but we don't have any kind of contact with them."

"Oddly enough," Rubi admitted "That makes me feel a little better. I think knowing that humanity hasn't gone on a witch hunt after those creatures is a good sign."

"What lives in the mountains?" Kagemaru asked. "Are we talking monsters?"

"According to legend, the Stone Nix and Ice Titans. Large humanoid creatures with twisting horns on their heads, black eyes and thick hair like apes. They mostly keep to themselves, out of sight of humans, but in the past they warred against each other and drew a bit of attention."

"Has anyone seen them since they were warring?" Rubi asked.

He shook his head.

"Not for a long time. But very old books, by prominent figures who wrote down previously oral legends, are considered pretty trustworthy. It supposedly happened around a thousand years ago."

"In the north." Mimi said in a dazed voice.

Rubi looked at her, confused by the strange, distant lilt of her voice. Mimi's eyes were glossed over and she looked lost in thought. The wind rustled her hair but her face and body were frozen in time, just like at the window in the tavern.

"Mimi?" Rubi said softly. "Mimi? You alright?"

Mimi snapped out of her trance with a quick jerk.

"Yes, Captain?"

"You zoned out again. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly. I thought I remembered something about the mountains."

"You thought you remembered?"

"Yes. I cannot decide if it is a memory or something I know. Perhaps something I read."

Rubi frowned in confusion. How could she, Mimi of all people, not know if something was a memory or not? If it was a memory, it could be a truly exciting revelation. If it was a memory, it could help finally identify where she came from and how she came to be.

The thought of her friend possibly being sick with some unknown condition came to her again, making her stomach somersault. Maybe if she was made in the mountains there might be someone there who could help mend her.

"When we find somewhere to sleep, we need to have a talk, alright Mimi?" she said firmly.

"Of course, Captain. Whatever you need."

"Thanks, Mimi."

Indra led them down the main street. Rubi gawked at the strange foreign architecture there in Akali. Bulbous tiled roofs shaped like onions, tapered round pillars with animal-shaped brackets, elegant and polished ivory marble walls stretching as far as she could see in the lamplight. The windows were covered with intricate lattice screens and flower embroidered curtains.

The doors facing the street were adorned with tall and rectangular porches decorated with gleaming teal and gold octagonal tiles. If it rained, it looked like a person could walk the length of the street under the cover of these porches before hitting an intersection.

"When you see a large tiger fountain, let me know." Indra said to Rubi. "It's circular, so we need to follow the path around it and my aunt's business is directly ahead and one door to the left. Shouldn't easily miss it."

"Alright. Are you excited, Indra?"

He hesitated.

"I am." he explained. "But I have no idea what I'm going to say. It's been years. So long they probably stopped looking for me, like I was dead."

"I'm sure you won't have to say anything at all." Rubi assured him. "They'll recognise you and all the waiting will have been worth it."

Indra heard the fountain before they saw it clearly in the dark. It was a three-tier stone monument, easily twice as tall as Rubi, and the first level was indeed circular. The second and third tiers were quatrefoils, like four circles pressed together symmetrically. The pointed meeting places were made to be lower than the rounded walls of the shape, letting the water overflow spill from the basin. On the topmost tier there were also four carved white tiger heads, streams of water draining from their eyes. It was beautifully carved and painstakingly maintained.

There, just where he had said, was the inn and apothecary. It also had an elaborate teal and gold porch with a pair of elegant, brass lanterns bolted to the walls, casting a warm glow on the glistening tiles. There were two signs hanging overhead from the porch ceiling; a weathered wooden sign with a picture of a pestle, mortar and some writing Rubi could not read, and a much newer one, picturing a heart-shaped perfume bottle.

Indra pushed open the door that led them into the building's foyer, warm with the smell of a wood fire and spices. There in the middle of the room was a chalkboard on an A-frame. Written in both Mainlander and Akapashtin were the words:

Please wait to be seen

Indra walked passed the sign and through where he knew the door to the bar and restaurant was. They, a gaggle of pirates disguised as merchants and their passengers, stood awkwardly in the entryway, peering through the doorway to watch as Indra used his improvised cane to guide himself through the inn.

A prim looking older woman in a pine green sari and olive short top was busy at a drinks station, her long black hair pinned back with little gold flowers and teardrop red gems. There was a large, filigree gold loop in her left nostril with a connecting gold chain to her ear.

If Rubi thought about it, she did bear a resemblance to Indra. Something to do with their shared bridge of the nose and the shape of their eyes. This had to be the aunt.

Glass broke. Rubi saw the poor young waitress who had dropped the goblet go pale and wide eyed at the sight of Indra as if she had seen a ghost.

The older woman at the bar looked up as if to scold her, but let out a noise that was somewhere between a scream of horror and a screech of delight. She flew around the bar as fast as her short, homely figure would let her, shrieking in Akapashtin. But Rubi could hear what mattered.

"Indra! INDRA!"

Whether it was the name or the sound of the proprietor screaming in the dining room, the room full of locals had gone quiet. Indra's aunt clutched his face, talking as fast as her choking sobs would let her. He hugged her, shushing her gently and speaking softly to comfort her.

Aunt Chandra noticed the crowd in the entryway and said something to him.

"Those are my friends." Indra replied in Mainlander. "They helped me get home to you."

Chandra kissed his forehead and hugged him again.

"Thank you." she said over and over, shaking their hands one after another and inviting them all in. She then urged them to sit at two tables she personally pushed together. "Who are these wonderful people, Indra?"

"They're merchants from Minami." Indra explained, surprisingly calm with this white lie.

"I'm Captain Rubia Kita." Rubi said, shaking her hand gently. Chandra squeezed her hand as if they had known one another for years.

"Captain Gaizka Oriol." Gaku followed, extending his hand.

Indra's aunt dabbed her face with her sari, her eyes puffy and red.

"You all must stay." she said thickly, sniffing back her runny nose. "We'll make up some nice rooms with what we have. A good meal or two alone cannot thank you enough for bringing my nephew back to us. His parents will be thrilled. I will send a messenger first thing tomorrow."

"Oh, auntie," Indra started to protest. "There are a lot of us. Do you have room?"

"Always more room, always more room!" she insisted, waving her hands. She looked to the waitress in a blush pink sari who was clearing up the glass she had broken. "Nisha! Run next door and ask Mrs and Mrs Sharma if they have spare rooms in the perfumery!"

The waitress put down her tray and hurried through a connecting passage to the building next door. Chandra looked back to Indra and his hoard of new friends. "The Sharma's rent the other half of the building from us. They've been wonderful tenants and friends to the family. And it always smells so wonderful! Now, what can I get you to eat? I can have hot coconut milk, rice and some tasting platters out to you within fifteen minutes!"

"That would be wonderful, auntie." Indra said pleasantly.

She then pinched his cheek and clinked her tongue in disgust.

"So thin!" she muttered, marching to the kitchen.

Indra rubbed his sore face.

"So that's my Aunt Chandra." he said plainly. "We're all going to get fat. It's just how things are when she's around."

"I am so ready." Kai said, his mouth practically watering as he eyed the plates of the people around them.

Sama seemed to have perked up and was excitedly taking in the room. Rubi could not imagine the financial loss Chandra might be making on feeding this sudden crowd, so she nudged Kagemaru and Take'Ichi to ask them to gather some coins for their meal. They had no Akapashtin money but something was better than nothing.

True to her word within fifteen minutes, three waitresses in blush pink carried arm loads of food to their table on huge copper platters.

Heaping bowls of bright saffron rice, fragrant goat curry, thick pea and lentil stew, crispy fried savoury pastries with a myriad of fillings, and flatbreads the size of dinner plates that were strongly perfumed with garlic.

A second round of plates came in another fifteen minutes. Garlic and spinach mushrooms, rolled vegetable pancakes, red spiced chicken, cheese curds, fish with sliced chillies, and an endless supply of spiced black tea with honey. Lastly, they brought out sliced bananas with cinnamon, mangos and shredded coconut, and basil dusted figs.

Rubi saw several of Gaku's crew looking adoringly at the waitresses, with their beautiful, long black tresses, curvy frames and gold jewellery. She could not blame them. She found herself staring at their swishing wavy locks as they walked back and forth between tables. The way the gold and jewelled accents they wore illuminated their warm bronze skin.

Rubi locked eyes with one of the young ladies as she passed by and felt her breath catch in her throat as she took in her deep mahogany irises. She was so beautiful. Rubi's face burned. Maybe the food was spicy enough to make her break into a sweat.

The children were served sweetened milk, which Rubi gratefully accepted when Sama offered her cup, to mute the burning. Word quietly spread around the tables and soon every crew member had donated some coin for their meal.

Nisha must have returned while they were eating, as Aunt Chandra disappeared upstairs with another lady around her age with pillows stuffed under their arms. One of the Mrs Sharmas most likely. The waft of sweet lily perfume she left behind her seemed to suggest so. When they returned the food was almost entirely gone and the locals were turning in for the night.

Rubi's belly was as tight as a drum, almost uncomfortably full. Almost. When finally hitting port her stomach demanded a change of food.

"Someone should go pay." Gaku said quietly. "She's going to say no though, so... not me."

"Not me." said Kagemaru and Kiramaru at the same time.

"Not me." Zodwa chirped.

"Fine, I'll do it." Rubi said, rolling her eyes.

Aunt Chandra accepted half the money they had gathered between them, though she tutted and huffed about it. She had her revenge when she sent out a round of drinks for the adults, a section of the inn's beers and fruit wines. Now they were fed and watered, Rubi asked Chandra to prioritise finding beds for the children and their families so that none of them were separated. The crews could be split up to take the remaining rooms once they were settled.

Kai carried Sama up the stairs, her eyelids drooping heavily over the sparkling blue-green she shared with him. The blue stripe on each cheek never seemed to smudge or fade. Rubi sipped her wine, rubbing her stomach, as she thought. Maybe those stripes were permanent. She wondered if Kai had been born with his or if he had been given them in some way, like a tattoo or some Tsuki ceremony. She then considered if the other Tsuki had stripes too. Perhaps Kai could tell her in the morning.

Since Chandra had refused more payment, Rubi divided the remaining money between the waitresses that had served them and handed it out wrapped in napkins. The ladies were very grateful, some of them only able to express their thanks in broken Mainlander, but they knew far more of it than she did Akapashtin.

A lot of the time, Rubi could take for granted that her first language was one of the most common in the world. She travelled so much she had never dedicated the time to master another language. Most of the Proper she had learned was forgotten by now, neglected and seldom practiced. No one spoke Proper anymore anyway.

She topped up her wine as Chandra made the rounds telling everyone that the bar was closing as the staff were finished for the night. She said they could take their drinks to the rooms to finish if they wished and she was happy to show them to their lodgings. They followed the swish of her sari down the halls, the rooms growing larger and fewer as they proceeded up the floors.

Zodwa and Udi were shown to a lovely private bedroom for couples, swathed in crimson and gold thread. The other crew members split off into twos, threes and fours to go to rooms with single beds and bunks.

Take'Ichi said goodnight and followed Mimi, Bradach and Artair for the night. Kiramaru volunteered to take the last bed in Kai and Sama's room, drunkenly tiptoeing into the door and closing the door more loudly than he intended.

"And this one is for you." Chandra said, opening the lock to the last room and turning on the lamps for them. There was only one four-poster bed in the suite, causing Rubi and Gaku to exchange glances.

"Is this the only room left?" Rubi asked.

"Yes, I tried to make sure couples could stay together." Chandra replied proudly.

"We aren't a couple." Rubi chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, my mistake." Chandra apologised, looking mortified. "I thought you were both married since you both have the same title. I'm so sorry."

Rubi recognised it as an easy mistake. They had both introduced themselves as Captain, an foreign word to Aunt Chandra. She assured her it was no problem and she would gladly share a room with Gaku, or Gaizka as he was calling himself, since they were good friends.

Chandra bid them goodnight and told them breakfast would be just as wonderful as their dinner. Rubi thanked her profusely for her hospitality and closed the door before sitting on the bed with her glass of wine.

It was a double bed slightly smaller in length compared to one from home, though Rubi had noticed that people here were quite a bit shorter than people from Migiue. Home was so diverse, partially because of the vast territory it covered.

Several kings ago, the Great Slave King Neri and his son, the War King Ootan, had expanded the borders of the kingdom further than any other time in history, from coast to coast, only skimming around inhospitable deserts and mountains. When her father usurped the five generations long dynasty, he had taken on a massive task in Migiue's diverse people and lands.

He was from the far east, a mixture of Mingam and Migiue cultures thanks to the shifting borders. Her mother was from the west, another diverse place, where people were fairer in skin tone and closer to the heart of the Mainland.

Rubi ran her hand over the patchwork of violets and embroidered terracotta threads. The pillows on the bed were mismatched but plentiful and a plush winter-weight blanket was still in use. A wooden bench sat on the far end of the room facing out of the wide, wall to wall window. Brass oil lamps sat on the dresser and bedside tables.

An array of sweets also sat on the dresser, mostly dried fruits and fried dumplings glistening with syrup.

Gaku was still hovering by the door, taking in the beautiful wood carvings and enamel details of peacocks and pheasants on the frame.

"You alright?" Rubi called over to him.

"Yeah." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Too full to sleep and too tired to do much else."

He sat on the bench looking out of the window, nursing his glass. Rubi wrapped a throw from the end of the bed around her shoulders and went to join him on the bench.

"Gaku, I need you to tell me about that Collector with the rats." Rubi said firmly. "You know him, don't you?"

Gaku finished his pint, tipping it up high to get the last drops.

"Yeah." he replied darkly. "Better than I'd like to."

He looked back at his glass as if regretting it was empty.

"His name is Dario Pangea, ex-Navy Petty Officer from my homeland, Miñacasa." he explained. "In the academy, he was one of my superiors. Later, I served under him in the war as an engineer. He exposed me as a Collector to our commanders. I still don't know why. Before I was sentenced to death, I was tortured."

He ran his index finger over the scar that ran from his hairline all the way down to the tip of his pointed nose.

"He personally did this. And much worse. That's why..."

He stopped for a moment, reconsidering what he might say.

Rubi's heart was in her throat, her pulse throbbing rapidly in her neck like a drum and a sour taste in the back of her mouth. She had never asked about the scar down his face. It had been there for as long as she had known him. It did not matter to her, there was no need to make him uncomfortable asking about it.

"I'm sorry." she said, her voice weaker than she intended it to be. "I didn't mean-"

"No, you should know." Gaku said quickly. He started to untuck his shirt and Rubi looked away, blood rushing to her cheeks.

"What are you-"

He turned around to show his back to her, his shirt pulled up around his shoulders. She gasped, hand flying to her face.

Gaku's back was criss crossed like a lattice fence engulfed in vines. Long, pale, ropey scars in every direction marred his olive skin from what must have been dozens of lashes. She had seen this kind of scar on her father. Risen dark welts on his weathered, deep umber skin. But nothing to the extent of this massacre.

"The Captain's Daughter." he said quietly.

"What? She did this to you?"

"No, it's what they call the nastiest whip they use for punishment. Or torture. Everyone on the Wanderlust knows I have this. It feels strange that we've known each other for years and I've hidden it from you."

"Did you think I would judge you cruelly?" Rubi asked softly.

"I suppose I worried you would find them ugly." Gaku confessed. "It's why I don't take my shirt off, even when it's hot."

"A true friend would never judge you for something awful like that." she assured him. "I judge the people who did it to you."

"I think the worst part was that it was legal." he said grimly. "Torture and death for being born different. Kind of like Minami, except you didn't get two chances in Miñacasa."

He pulled his shirt back down, but did not seem to have the heart to tuck it back in.

"We all knew being accused meant a bias trial and then death. When they were torturing me, it's not like they were trying to get any information out of me. It was just because I was there. No one would stop them. It makes me so mad that that kind of thing is still so widespread."

"But this Pangea," Rubi said. "He's a Collector too. Why would he betray another like that?"

Gaku shook his head.

"I don't know. I just don't know. Rank, money, reputation. It could be anything."

"And now he's a pirate?"

"He's a freelancer. He is hired by others to chase after stolen goods and raid foreign vessels. So yeah, basically a pirate with a patron."

"How did you escape from Miñacasa when they wanted to execute you?" Rubi asked, perhaps against her better judgement.

"They took me to the gallows." he replied.

He looked at his gloved hand. His drawing hand.

"I thought I was going to die. The noose was around my neck. And then my fingers started leaking ink. It was pouring out in a way it never has again. People in the crowd started to notice-"

"There was a crowd?" Rubi exclaimed in horror.

"It was a public execution. So they saw all this blackness coming out of my nails. It was pooling on the floor and I saw it had made a hole in the platform. I realised I might be able to cut through the rope if I drew on it, so I did and the rope severed. Then I just ran. Another sailor grabbed me and I hit him in the face to get him off me..."

He trailed off. Rubi waited with bated breath for him to continue.

"He died. The ink from my hand got on his face. It made a hole right through him. People ran from me. They were so afraid I'd hurt them that I ran right out of the barracks gates. I didn't know where to go, so I went home. I hitched a ride on a cart. I didn't know that by the time I got home it was already the festival. The Festival of the Famous Laughing Dead."

Rubi felt like she could barely breathe. She knew where this was going. She forced herself to breathe.

"My hometown, Coñezo, is the starting place of the precession. Since I'm from there, the Patchwork Girl would be looking for me. She will look for any citizen of my town who commits a violent crime, or anyone from the outside who commits a crime on its streets. I fell into the former category since that man died because of me. I found my mother at home and she tended to my wounds. I couldn't tell her why the Navy did this to me, or that I killed a man escaping my own death. I didn't mean to kill anyone. I was just trying to get away.

So when night fell, we locked the doors as usual, and I didn't know if the Patchwork Girl would be looking for me. If I somehow was spared because she took mercy on me, I knew I couldn't stay. Home would be the first place the Navy would look. So the precession started... I heard her pass the house. I heard the chains and shackles of the dead. And then the door was broken off its hinges."

He stopped again, this time looking at Rubi.

"From there, you know the story. How she dragged me out into the street. How she had no head but somehow she looked right through me. And how she left me there, alive. Innocent."