The Obsidian Beach

     If it weren’t for the coordinates, I would never have been able to find the way. The route I’ve charted goes through tunnels that I’ve never sailed – tunnels that I doubt any captain has sailed. Except, apparently, for one.

     ***

     Larana did not want to admit it, but the novelty of sailing the magma rivers wore off pretty quickly. The first day, she and Koro had stood on the deck of the Steam Reliant and looked over the railing at the magma below. The magma was viscous and gloopy, almost more solid than liquid; Koro had asked Commodore Birkin how the boat stayed afloat. Neither he nor Larana understood the Kougra’s explanation, though.

      By the second day, though, Larana was starting to get bored. The thick gurgling of the magma was just background noise, and the ease and elegance with which the boat was able to navigate the tight tunnels was just par for the course. Larana spent most of her day on the bow of the ship, squinting ahead into the distant glow of the magma for any sign of where her grandfather’s map might be leading.

      On the third day, Commodore Birkin surprised her by asking her and Koro a question: “I’ve been sailing these tunnels for many years. Over such a time, you get to know the folks you share these tunnels with. Even if I’ve never personally sailed with them, I know the other captains and their vessels. I’ve never been down any of these tunnels, nor do any of my maps have them charted. And, I know you gave me your grandfather’s name, but I have never heard of him. Just who was your grandfather?”

      “He was Grandpa,” Koro said, nonplussed.

      “He worked as a teacher at one of Moltara’s Neoschools,” Larana said. “He taught math for a long time. He taught a lot of Moltara’s brightest, like Cog and Tangor. Like I said when we met, he never gave any indication that he did any sailing or adventuring.”

      “Well, if he taught the likes of Cog and Tangor, then I might never have had him as a teacher,” Birkin replied. Privately, Larana had felt that the Commodore and her grandfather seemed to be about the same age, so she was glad that he brought it up first. Birkin continued: “It’s curious that a Neopian with no history of sailing would go somewhere that no one else has ever gone, and only return with a set of coordinates and a partial map tucked away and never spoken of.”

      “I’m sure he had his reasons,” Larana said. She thought back to her reassurances to Koro when they had decided to hire Birkin to take them on this expedition, that their grandfather would not have left anything dangerous lying around. She still wanted to believe that was true; her grandfather had never allowed any harm to come to her or Koro, after all. But perhaps there was some other reason why he would not have wanted anyone to go to the place on this map?

      Well, it’s a bit late to worry about that now, Larana thought. She and Koro had already paid Commodore Birkin and his crew. They were already several days into the expedition. It was, by every definition of the term, too late to turn back now.

      “Captain! Movement in the magma on the port side!”

      Larana glanced up to the Crokabek’s nest to see the Eyrie lookout gazing intently at something off the left side of the ship through his telescope. From where she stood, she couldn’t see anything, but she trusted the lookout was better at his job than she was.

      “You two need to get below deck, now,” Birkin said tensely.

      Larana had already taken a step in the direction of the door to the lower decks. She paused, however, when she noticed that Koro was not at her side. Her brother had wandered over to the port side railing and was leaning out, trying to spot what the lookout had seen.

      “Koro!” Larana called. “Get over here!”

      “Brace!” one of the crew members called.

      Larana didn’t know what that meant. She lunged to catch her brother by the arm and yank him with her, but at that moment, a heavy blow struck the side of the ship. Koro stumbled backwards off-balance and fell into Larana. Together, Vandagyre and Acara fell into a tangled heap upon the deck of the ship. Larana’s head struck the hard, metallic deck. Lights danced in front of her eyes, and a loud gong filled the air. She squeezed her eyes shut against the searing pain. Somewhere above her, she could hear the crew of the ship calling out orders to one another.

      From beside her, Larana heard Koro yell, “What is that thing?”

      “Lava monster,” Birkin answered curtly. “They stalk these tunnels and attack anyone who gets too close. Very, very dangerous. You need to get below deck, now!” To the members of his crew, he shouted, “Man the harpoon launchers! In these tight quarters, it’s too risky to try the cannons.”

      “Larana!” Koro said. “Larana, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

      Larana hadn’t really registered that she had been lying on her back with her eyes shut tight that entire time. Her head continued to throb painfully. The thuds of boots against the deck were beating a painful rhythm against the inside of her head. “I’ll be fine,” she mumbled as she squinted her eyes open.

      Koro was already on his feet, and she saw his feathered hand reaching down to her. Reaching up, Larana allowed her brother to pull her to her feet. A wave of sickness swept over her at the sudden movement, but she knew this was no time to loiter. Still, once she was upright, she needed to stop and take a steadying breath.

      Glancing to the left side of the ship, Larana saw a large shape that looked to be a creature made of magma looming over the railing. It was raising one of its clawed hands to take a swipe across the deck, but a harpoon whizzed by through the air and caught it in the face. The lava monster let out a roar of mingled pain and anger from its enormous mouth and recoiled. Two more harpoons followed in quick succession, catching the monster in its arm and through its mouth. It roared again, but the sound was less menacing, and it was backing away.

      “Engines full speed ahead!” Birkin called.

      “That was so cool!” Koro said, awestruck.

      “Will it come back?” Larana asked, rubbing the aching back of her head.

      “It might, but we’ll be long gone,” Birkin answered. “The lava monsters are incredibly difficult to destroy entirely. The goal is to just hurt them enough so that they retreat. In some of the larger caverns, we can use our cannons to deal much more damage from a much longer range, but it’s far too risky in narrow tunnels like these. A miss – or even just the sonic boom – can potentially cause a cave-in.”

      The Kougra then began to peer at Larana, who could feel her legs trembling. “You need to get below deck and speak to the medic,” he told her.

      “Yeah,” she agreed. Her voice sounded far away.

      Leaning heavily on Koro, Larana felt herself being half-dragged down the stairs and toward the medic’s bay. The medic was a yellow Techo named Ayda. She helped Koro get Larana settled onto her examination table. She pried open Larana’s eyes to peer at her pupils and parted her hair to examine the bump from where Larana had struck the ship’s deck. Koro hovered over Ayda’s shoulder nervously, looking incredibly guilty.

      “Looks like a pretty standard case of Achy Head,” Ayda said decisively. “Looks like you took a bad tumble, but it’s nothing some Magic Goop won’t cure.” She reached for the tub of green paste. As she applied it to Larana’s head, she added briskly, “You aren’t the first person to hit your head on this boat, and you won’t be the last.”

      “There was a lava monster,” Larana said, wincing where she felt Ayda’s fingers lightly grazing the lump on her head. “We were trying to get below deck, but it hit the ship and sent it rocking.”

      “It was my fault!” Koro burst out miserably. “I’m so sorry, Larana! If I hadn’t wanted to take a better look, we would have been below deck when it attacked.”

      “Don’t you blame yourself,” Ayda said sternly. “I’ve been nursing an ache in my knee from falling over because I didn’t know the blow was coming. There is every chance you still would have fallen anyway.”

      Koro nodded, but Larana could see he still looked guilty.

      “Now, Larana, you need bed rest,” Ayda said, helping Larana from the table and into a cot set into the wall of the infirmary. “You’ll be staying here tonight, so I can keep an eye on you. Go ahead and get comfortable. And as for you, Koro, you and I are going to go and have a nice mug of tea.”

      As Ayda led Koro away, Larana leaned back against her pillows. The excitement of the fight against the lava monster had left her spent. Even in her wildest dreams, she couldn’t have imagined a creature like that attacking the ship. Was that why Grandpa didn’t want anyone to come this way? Because of the dangerous monsters? she wondered. But before she could properly examine the thought, her eyelids began to droop and sleep overtook her.

     ***

     Captain’s Log:

     07 Day of Eating Y28 0600 hours -

     I can see it from the bow. I know I should wake the kids, as this is their expedition, but I must permit myself to marvel at the sight. Nowhere in Moltara proper can you see shores such as these – actual beaches; long sweeping fields of obsidian that gently slope up to caves unknown. I do not know whether I am more excited to make this discovery or to share it.

To be continued…