Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

 

Professor Franc’s eyes sprung open to the sound of crew running around above him on deck. His head throbbed with each boot step as he looked at the sun light shine through the wooden boards above him. He had been on the ship for a number of days at this point and was beginning to feel restless. Whenever he asked members of the crew how far they were from Cleave they told him to just keep waiting. The professor was starting to feel more and more like a reluctant prisoner the longer he stayed. His roommate, Vincent, was as quiet as ever, he mostly spoke in only single words and the occasional full sentence. The Captain mostly stayed locked away in his quarters seemingly because he needed rest for his wounded arm. Salina attempted to make small conversation every now and then but it was mostly in vain. The more the professor asked her about the magic she could do the more she would seemingly be annoyed. Only Mozi was willing to speak to him because he had a trait no one else on the crew had, patience.

After getting dressed and walking up onto the deck of the ship the professor found Mozi and asked him what was with all the noise.

“We are approaching Cleave,” Mozi said as he scanned the ocean line with his mechanical eye.

“So that’s why the thunderous sound of footsteps awoke me”

“The men are just excited to finally be returning him.”

“My friend, excitement is an understatement” The professor looked out in front of the ship and could see an island in view. It was still several miles away but they would be at it soon enough.

“How long until we reach the island?”

“An hour at the most, the island should be in view soon.” Mozi said with a hardy smile on his face.

“You are in for a treat when you meet Malick,”

“The captain has painted a lovely picture. Menacing, violent, greedy. Truly the type of man to run an empire of pirates.”

“I actually think he is funny,”

“How so?”

“You will see what I mean, trust me”

Franc looked at Mozi and studied him for a while. He carried himself in a very serious manner. He almost seemed soldierish in his walk about the ship. It was quiet easy to miss if focused most of your time looking at his arm. It glowed a dim green with beautifully written script going up and down its metal casing. His eye was another piece to be impressed by. Never had the professor seen a creation like it. Replacing an eye with metal and glass infused with ether was truly ingenious.

“Might I ask you a question Mozi,” the professor asked with curiosity on the top of his tongue.

“Even if I said no you would ask it anyway professor”

“True,” the professor said the both smiled at one another.

“Who created your arm and eye Mozi?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,”

“I am a man that is open to believe anything my friend. That is one of the most exciting things of being alive. Accepting the impossible.”

“That is a very positive outlook on life,” Mozi paused looked out to the sea and watched it for a couple of seconds. He raised his arm and rain his fingers through the engravings with his flesh hand. He felt the curve of each letter, the indention each one made then he looked at the professor.

“It was made by the Captain’s mother,” he said as he began walking away.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait… The Captain’s mother?” followed the professor trying to catch up.

“Yes, I have to go take care of something before we get to Cleave. The island should be coming into view soon. We can talk about this later professor.” Mozi walked off under deck, the professor walked to the front of the ship and looked out over the seas horizon. He could see the island coming into view however still far away. It looked like a tiny dot that bounced on the surface of the water from this far away. He watched it for a while longer as the men walked and ran across the deck behind him.

An hour had past and the dot had grown and formed the full shape of the island. From the point of view from the ship the island was shaped like a crescent moon. The beach ran along the curve creating the tips of the crescent. From these tips a collection of hills shoot up, getting higher until the converged in the middle making a tall hilltop. In the middle of this hilltop sat what appeared to be a large home that had a spiraling staircase coming down from it. This long line of stairs eventually led to the town that was built along the beach of cleave. It was a small town, only a few buildings that weren’t taller than ten feet high. They were made mostly of cheaply put together wood that shifted slightly when the wind blew. The only two buildings that stood out were the tavern that was made of solid wood boards. And the building on the hilltop, which looked to be made of brick and mortar. It was a tall white building that had windows that shimmered in the distances. The roof was constructed of shingles of solid stone that were brown in color.

“What a strange building compared to the rest” Thought the professor as the ship pulled into dock. The men began jumping off the ship and began tying it down. The anchor dropped into the water and the chain links clanked together in a thunderous roar. Everyone stated to get off the ship as the professor felt a hand land on his shoulder.

“Let’s go Professor, it’s time to meet someone special,” it was the captain standing behind the professor. It was the first time Franc had seen him in days, he had been closed off in his quarters ever sense his first night there. His arm was still in the sling though it looked better now than it did days earlier. They began walking towards the ramp.

“After I meet Malick, will I see you again Captain?” asked the professor as he walked off the ramp onto the dock.

“I don’t even know if you are going to remain on this island until the end of the day mate. Forget about seeing each other again. That probably won’t happen,” Wade patted the professor on the back as they began walking toward town.

“I’d just worry about what Malick wants from you if I was in your shoes,”

“He is someone that has become more myth than man from what I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know how to compose myself around him to begin with. Personally Captain, I’d just like to know if I will see the only friendly faces I’ve come to know on this little adventure again,”

“Professor, concern yourself with the certainty in front of you. Not with the maybes of the future,”

“To be quiet frank Captain, I’m worried about both.”

They two men walked through the town as their boots pressed into the soft sand of the beach. The professor looked around him at the buildings before him. He saw people standing in the doorways. They all ranged from the extremely old to what appeared to be new born babes in their mother’s arms. But the professor saw something shocking about these people. They were a collection of different races. Candentian, Dusk, Miran, and races that the professor wasn’t even sure he could name were all living among one another. He had never seen anything like this.

“We don’t have the strict rules of Candent here professor,” said Wade as he turned around and looked back at him. “Here all races are free to live and love who they wish. Hope that isn’t a problem for you mate,”

“Oh goodness no, I actually detest the strict laws in Candent about the different races. Why they don’t allow people to marry who they love is beyond me, or share the same universities, or put an end to the whole servitude system all together. Complete waste of life,”

“No wonder you get along with Mozi professor. He was in servitude himself once upon a time,”

“Really?! I swear captain your crew grows more intriguing by the moment. How did our Mozi escape from his forced service?”

“Sorry brotha, don’t wish to speak of my crew mate’s pasts while they aren’t around. If you want to know more, speak with Mozi about it.”

The professor looked at the islanders as they continued to walk through the village. The young ones stared at him, the fire of curiosity in their eyes. The adults looked at him with almost a near hatred, perhaps they saw in him a symbol of the society they wished to escape from. One free judgement, free from forced servitude, free to live.

 

The pair of men began their long hike up the spirally staircase to the house that state on the hilltop in the middle of the island. The professor hadn’t asked if this was where Malick lived however he was confident it was at the house on the hilltop. The sun beams danced on the backs of the professor and Wade, their steps clapped against the stone footholds as the climbed ever higher. Insects sang out in the heat of the afternoon. Tree leafs ebbed and flowed in the wind coming off the ocean beneath them. A half an hour passed and they were finally at the top. The professor didn’t ask Wade anything while they walked from fear of awkwardness and being consumed by his own thoughts of their surroundings. But as they walked onto the top of the hill and he gazed on the house before him he spoke out.

“This is Malick’s home?”

“That it is mate,”

The professor looked up at a tall white building with orange stone shingles covering the roof. The windows were clear and clean, they looked as though had just been cleaned. The door was a bright red that looked as though it had just recently been painted. The whole building gave off a crisp and clean feeling. It was in stark contrast to the small village below.

“It gives you whiplash doesn’t it?” Wade asked while the professor gawked at the building.

“Yes it is certainly does Captain, Malick does not appear to be a modest man does he?”

“Bout as modest as the ocean is shallow,” said Wade as he began walking toward the house. The professor followed behind him quickly.

Wade placed his hand on the door and pushed it open and both me walked in. The inside was a well cleaned and out together living area. A fireplace sat in the back but wasn’t light. The floor was made of hard would and had been waxed down to near perfection. A table sat in the middle of the room. Four wooden chairs sat around the table and a bigger fabric chair sat in the far right corner. The walls were bare lacking any paintings. It made the room feel empty and unlived in. Wade and Franc walked into the room and past the table. The professor rubbed his hands on the hard wood as they walked by. It was table was masterfully crafted with amazingly detailed carvings. A layer of dust came flew free from the table.

“The man doesn’t have to many people visiting does he?” asked the professor.

“Not unless its business,”

“Not one for company I take it?”

“Oh no he loves company, just doesn’t get a lot of it.”

 They continued walking out of the room into a long hallway. Their footsteps echoed as they stepped down the hall until Wade stopped at a door.

“This is Malick’s office. I’ll wait outside,” said Wade as pointed to the door.

“You aren’t coming in also?”

“Me and Malick, we don’t really get along,”

“Should I be worried about something?”

“Ha, only if you and I share fathers. Go talk I’ll be out here. I don’t want to see him anyway.”

The professor opened the door and in the room stood a tall and slender man. His hair was black and slick back, with seemingly endless amounts of some greasy substance. His skin was tan and on his upper lip sat a small wisp of a mustache. He wore a dark blue coat, high white soaks, and held a cane in his hand. The professor was taken aback at how well dressed Malick was. He look as if he had just left from the lecture halls of the university itself. A wide smile ran across his face as the professor walked in.

“Sit professor! Your journey must have you exhausted! Please take the chair right infront of you!” Said Malick with a surprisingly loud and deep voice.

“Um I fine standing if it is all the same to you,”

“Nonsense! On my Island no guest sits,” Malick walked over to the professor probing his cane against the wall as he walked. He placed his arm around the professor’s shoulder.

“This is a place where men become lifelong friends! That is what you and I can have professor. A friendship! Wouldn’t you think that would be grand? After all I am a learned man myself,”

“Oh, did you study at a university?”

“No! But I have been taught harsh lessons of the world good professor. I have been shown that there are only a few truths. And you want to know what one of those truths is?”

“What?”

Malick pushed the professor into the chair that sat across from his desk. The chair was hard and wooden, the professor felt small splinters in the seat. Malick picked up his cane and pressed it against the professor’s chest as he looked at him. Never in his life had the professor seen eyes with such intensity and resolve. What were only mere seconds felt like an echo into eternity. The tip of Malick’s cane was a creature that resembled a dragon. The frilled ears pierced into the Professor’s chest as he sat and looked up at him.

“Money,” Malick paused before continuing. “Money is one of the greatest truths, if not the greatest truth in this world Professor Franc. And I am a man about making money,”

“How do I fit into this money making?”

“Not a man for foreplay are you Professor?”

“I just want to know where I am going. Or if I’ll even leave this island ever again,”

“Oh you will leave this island again professor,” Malick removed his cane from the professor’s chest and walked behind his desk to sit down. “Because we were paid an extremely pretty sum to break you out of prison. And the man who paid us was Lord Robert Blunt,”

The professor was sure he was making a ridiculous face but he did not care at the moment.

“Lord Blunt?” the Professor said “The man that rose to nobility from the life of a peasant?”

“The very same,”

The professor stared at Malick for a while.

“Your silence is starting to become awkward professor,” said Malick.

“I don’t know what to say, what does the nobility want with me?”

“From what I’ve been told they found what you have been looking for your whole life,”

“They found The Core?!” the professor jumped to his feet and stared at Malick with excited eyes.

“Well I don’t know if they found it but they definitely have a good clue professor. Our job here at Cleave was to bring you back and have you wait for Blunt. He will be the one to explain everything to you,”

“So when will Blunt get here?” the professor said sitting back down into his chair.

“Two months,”

“TWO MONTHS!” The professor stood again to his feet in anger, looking down upon Malick. “You expect me to wait here for two months?”

“You’ll have to understand Professor, Lord Blunt is a busy man. Until then you can live wherever you wish on my island. The people of Cleave will treat you like royalty,”

The professor sat down and stared off into the wall for a minute or two then looked back at Malick.

“Did they really find the Core?”

“Like I said Professor you are going to have to ask Lord Blunt that in two months,” a smile shot across Malick’s face as the two men stared each other down.

“Besides, it’s not like you have any place to go,” remarked Malick with hardened resolve.

“Now, I’ve got something else I need to that care of. Isn’t that right Wade?”

Wade walked into the room with his head hanging slightly low. It was the first time the professor had seen him lacking his unmatched charisma or joyous smirk. The look on his face was that of a man defeated, his eyes hung low and his feet slightly dragged on the floor. The professor would have been convinced Wade was in a state of pure melancholy if it wasn’t for one fact. His fist was clenched harder than any man’s he had ever seen.

“Yeah Malick?” Wade with his eyes focused on Malick. His voice seemed almost that of a different man. It was like it had been turned to stone. Emotionless and hollow sounding.

“I’ve got another job for you Wade, set sail for Mira in the morning,” Malick said as he walked over to Wade. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a letter. Wade reached up and took the letter as he stared Malick down. Malick stared back with a smile beaming on his face. 

“It will take a four months to get to and from Mira. Also no one on my crew speaks their language. What are we supposed to do if we run into trouble on the sea?”

Malick turned around and sat back behind his desk. He picked up a cup of tea that he had be neglecting the whole time and took a long deep sip. He exhaled a small puff of steam and looked up at Wade.

“I suggest you figure that out,”