42 The Dyscovera
Though Aldo stared through the crystalline cover of Aiden's Compass, the hovering golden needle did not twitch. Javian stood next to him, his face flushed. “I saw it move, I swear!”
The cabin boy had run up and down the deck, shouting. Both Captain Vora and Kjelnar hurried over to the station that held the three compasses, but neither man spotted anything.
“I did see it move!”
“I don't doubt you, Javian.” Captain Vora's smile was confident, but the boy didn't seem reassured.
As soon as he heard the young man's excited call, Aldo felt sure they had come close enough to Terravitae for the sympathetic magic to take hold. “Depending on the winds and the currents, and the orientation of our ship, it's possible we picked up a flicker of connection.”
Captain Vora saw the sailors eagerly awaiting news. “Back to your duties! We haven't found Holy Joron yet.”
Returning to his private cabin, Aldo set out papers and charts, leaving the door open to the daylight and fresh breeze. Before sailing from Calay, the captain had given him all available navigation records, but the Dyscovera had sailed far beyond the usefulness of those charts. Propped in front of him was the crudely sketched map on the old sea-turtle shell. Though mysterious and amazing, Aldo could not guess how accurate the scratched map drawing might be. Nevertheless, it provided clues to an undiscovered part of the world.
Captain Vora entered the chartsman's cabin carrying a battered and waterstained old volume. Aldo knew what it was. “Come to add to your sea-monster book?”
“I still think of it as Captain Shay's book.” He opened to a blank page. “This morning one of the men sighted a sea serpent of unusual size off the starboard bow. I wanted to make an annotation.”
The Luminara's captain had recorded detailed observations of the creatures he encountered on his voyages. It had been Captain Shay's intention to publish a practical guide to sea serpents, but he'd never gotten the chance.
The captain flipped the pages, revealing detailed sketches made by the old captain and newer ones done in his own hand. “This volume reminds me how much there is still to discover out in the world. It reminds me of my friends and fellow crewmen—all destroyed by the Leviathan.” Across two adjoining sheets, he had drawn a terrifying picture of the monster, based on his own experience. He stared at it now, transfixed, lost in his own memories.
He looked up, met Aldo's gaze. “This is a long voyage, and though we've had smooth sailing so far, we will encounter perils sooner or later. Aboard the Luminara, we lost our Saedran chartsman and all the knowledge he had. A wave swept him overboard, and we never saw him again.” Captain Vora leaned closer. “I know chartsmen don't draw maps or write down observations, but I have good reasons, and you'll need to accept that. If we should lose you, I must have the means to bring my crew back to Tierra. The Captain's Compass may not be enough.”
Aldo was torn between his responsibilities to his captain and to the Saedran elders, who insisted that he keep all geographical knowledge inside his head and never commit it to paper. However, Aldo could not deny the need for a written document. “Iunderstand, Captain.”
He bent over the naval charts and began making diligent notations; as soon as the Dyscovera returned to Calay, he would have to destroy the records, or Sen Leo would be very disappointed in him. Aldo realized how much he missed the old scholar… which led to a pang of homesickness for Lanni and their two children, as well as his parents. He had been voyaging for thirty days now. Thirty days… “Captain, perhaps I should write a summary of our voyage and dispatch one of our rea pigeons? It's been a month.”
“Send your note, Chartsman. Even though we've made no great discoveries, we did promise to stay in close contact.”
The cage containing the ten bonded pigeons sat surrounded by sturdy supply crates and dirt-filled pots where the cook grew herbs and vegetables. Inside the wire coop, the pigeons contentedly pecked at the squirming weevils that sailors picked out of their biscuits and fed to the birds.
Mia, who preferred to work alone away from the scorn of the other sailors, nonetheless enjoyed the company of Aldo and Javian. “Time to feed them, Chartsman?” She was barely sixteen, but spunky enough to hold her own against the grumbling sailors. Since it was a solitary job, Mia liked tending the pigeons. As the lone Saedran on a ship full of Aidenists, Aldo also understood how it felt to be different.
“I'm going to set one free, send a message home. You can help me attach the note.” He grabbed the closest pigeon and held the wings close to the soft feathery body while Mia tied the small scroll to its leg. She secured it with a second string.
He set the bird free, casting it into the air. The pigeon spread its wings and flew off into the open sky.
Mia said, “Sooner or later, we'll have something exciting totell.”
They still had nine more chances to send messages back home.