Roland watched with horror and fascination as the most massive creature he'd ever seen breached the water ahead of the boats. Its gaping maw boasted four enormous tusks, two on top and two below, bone-white and gleaming in the sun. Impaled on one was one of the black-and-white whales which so shortly before had been wreaking havoc on the ships.
The leviathan's eyes were yellow, with pupils like a cat's narrowing and seeming to look right into Roland's soul.
Which was impossible, even if the creature was indeed looking directly at him. Wasn't it?
Its face was sleek and streamlined, with a silver-green-blue iridescence that made it blend in with the sparkling water disturbed by its leap. Above its eyes were three great horns, curved upward in a sort of crown befitting this king of the sea. Smaller horns, but each still larger than Roland himself, stood as guarding sentries down the Leviathan's neck and back.
It was a truly terrifying sight to behold, but the crews of the ships kept their heads and remained at work. Just before the creature reentered the water, each of the ships in turn activated their giant rope-slingers.
Roland held his breath as time seemed to move in slow motion. The creature had clearly spotted the ropes. Its descent to the water seemed to all but freeze. How large was the Leviathan that it could do so?? How much of its body still hid beneath the surface of the water?
"Please," Haf pleaded, so softly Roland thought he might have imagined the word.
As if hearing him, the great monster tilted its head downward in what seemed like it could be a nod, but in effect it caught all three ropes, one around each of its greatest horns.
Roland was shocked and confused by the behavior. No wild animal he'd ever heard of would submit readily to being roped, nor possessed the intelligence to make such a decision.
His eyes remained glued to the creature as it turned its head in what must have been a gentle turn for the enormous monster, but yanked the ships so quickly forward that most of the men fell from their feet and hit the decks. Roland scrambled back to his feet and held on near where Haf was standing.
The two ships on either side slammed into the center one with the momentum of the sudden dash, but miraculously, the hulls held together.
Ahead of them, an enormous shimmering circle in the sky and sea appeared. Perfectly round, it looked like a large painting hovering in front of the Leviathan. His eyes widened. A painting of pink skies and green waters.
The speed of the ship as it surged after the Leviathan was like nothing Roland had known. It was hard to fully gauge without landmarks to judge the swiftness of their movement, but the wind in his face suddenly stung his eyes, causing involuntary tears to streak from them.
As they passed through the portal, he held his breath. All three ships passed together without problem; the Leviathan was larger in width than all together.
Almost an instant later, they were through to the other side. Roland marveled at the timing it must take to cut the ropes midway through the portal to get home as Haf had explained.
The ropes were loosed, and the Leviathan gave a melodic call, almost soothing but for its overwhelming volume. Turning over, it showed a sparkling pink-gold belly to the sky before it dove below the surface, leaving the boats in peace.
The air here was sweet, and tantalizing. Roland waited a moment in place, waiting for something to go wrong as he looked around this new world. The men were all busy at once, checking their assigned areas for damage.
The ship on the port side was shouting that they were slowly taking on water and would need to repair before moving onward.
The other ship seemed to have only minor, mostly cosmetic damage. Haf, Jimmy, and the helmsman had moved to the stern, gazing down to where a man was climbing down a rope secured to the ship. Roland joined them at the railing to watch the sailor's progress.
He shimmied down almost to the water line before he paused, examining the back of the ship carefully.
Roland admired the man's ability to dangle there just over unknown waters, with unknown creatures underneath it, and calmly analyze the damage to the boat. He was a man obviously so familiar with danger that it became a secondary consideration to his duty.
With a visible sigh, he ascended the rope and deftly climbed to where the Commodore stood waiting.
"Sir," The sailor doffed his hat. "The rudderstock's broken off at the root. Rudder's gone, in this world or t'other."
Haf sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, then waved the man away.
"Is there a replacement on board?" Roland was unfamiliar with what spare parts a ship like this might carry. Surely something so important would have a spare?
"Repairing a ruddershaft is no easy thing, Nephew," The Commodore said patiently. "We will need one of the other ships to tow us for a time." He nodded towards a man who was apparently in charge of communication with the other vessels.
"Navigator!" Haf turned towards the studious man who had been keeping track of their location in the other world. "Tell me you have some idea where we are?"
"Sir, as you can see it is daytime here, and even at night the stars wander…" The man nervously reminded his Commodore.
"I know that! My question is simple. If your answer is no, make it."
"No, Sir." The man bowed slightly.
Haf took a deep breath and looked upward. The barrowmen had all three managed to keep their posts during the ordeal, and were now looking in all directions. One by one they focused their attention off the port side, as if trying to discern whether something was really to be seen there.
"Anchor here until repairs are made to the Merry Carpe." Haf ordered. "The Moonless Sea will tow us once we are prepared, as best we can be, to trek onward."
Roland watched as the orders were relayed.
He breathed deeply, closing his eyes until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"You may take a rest, if you will, or take a turn at the bow as an extra pair of eyes for danger." Haf offered.
"I should make myself as useful as I can be," Roland smiled self-deprecatingly at his uncle, imitating the Cetoan salute as best he could before turning to go.
Pausing, he looked back to where Jimmy stood, still at the stern and looking contemplatively down towards the missing rudder.
"Any ideas?" He asked. The quarter-halfling did own a small fishing boat. Perhaps the principles were scalable to help the much larger vessel.
"Other than stealing one of them 'life-boats' and trying ta make my own way? Not a one." Jimmy spat down into the water, squinting at the green liquid. "But this strange color is a mite unnerving. I think I'll stay put for the time being."
"Well, you're welcome to join me unless Haf has other work for you, or unless you intend to disappear again." Roland offered.
"Why would I disappear when there's stuff to see? Gotta know what kinda fish and things live here. Birds too, if there are any." Jimmy glanced at the pink sky.
The prince wondered if the small man was secretly just as fascinated by this new world as he was. The Darkness held nothing but secrets in its silent, black forests. To have good visibility for the odd water and beautiful sky was something hard to pass up.
He shrugged and went to take his place at the bow, mildly surprised when the quarter halfling caught up with him, muttering about having few choices of company on board.
"We probably won't see much of anything," Roland felt the need to say.
"Maybe you won't," Jimmy gave him a look from the side of his eye. "Humans only see what they want to, or expect to, normally. I see what's there."
"You're mostly human," Roland pointed out.
"Mostly ain't all. Best you learn that. Even a little bit of something different makes a body special in ways you might not know."
"Do you sit around in your spare time thinking up cryptic comments to make, or are you just particularly prone to making them up on the spot?" The prince rolled his eyes.
"Conversation's better when I'm alone," Jimmy grumbled. "People always gettin' jealous of my wit and knowledge."
"I'm sure you're right," Roland agreed.
Perhaps the conversation would dry up once they reached the bow and commenced looking out. Why had he invited the little man along with him, anyway? Morbid curiosity? He did have a lot of things he wondered about the mysterious person.
"How's the whittling project going? Finish it yet?"