Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 9 “Return and Return”

Duncan didn’t know how long he had been staring at the sky, but he eventually withdrew his eyes from the clouds after becoming unbearably sore. However, the image of the “sun” remained deeply imprinted in his retina despite closing them.

The sun wasn’t supposed to be like that, but now, he had to accept the facts.

He was in a foreign land, a place farther away than he could ever have imagined.

Subconsciously turning his head back towards the door to the captain’s quarter, Duncan knew he could go back, back to the apartment room where he’s lived for so many years. But there’s nothing there for him. Aside from the thick, murky grayish fog, what could he accomplish on that side from the thirty or so square feet of space?

In reality, the “home” that he deemed familiar was no more than another lonely boat—metaphorically speaking of course.

In the long silence, the voice of the goat head came again and broke his moping: “Captain, where are we going next? Do you have any sailing plans in mind?”

Sailing plans? How could Duncan have that kind of thing? Although he was eager to immediately formulate a perfect plan to explore the world and finalize the next voyage, he didn’t have the slightest clue nor the knowledge to charter a route on the map.

In fact, merely driving the Vanished had only come to him a few hours ago. Nevertheless, he still pondered the idea before replying: “Where did the ship that collided with us come from?”

“You mean those city-states? Which one do you wish to go?” The voice of the goat head was a little surprised and then wanted to dissuade him, “I suggest that you not go near the shipping lanes controlled by those city-states… At least not now. Despite you being the great Captain Duncan, the current state of the Vanished is…. not as good as before. The garrisons patrolling those waters will certainly resist your offensive….”

Duncan became speechless for a while. He wanted to know what the real “Captain Duncan” could’ve done to warrant such hatred.

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Also, the euphemism from the goat head revealed to Duncan that the ship was never as well maintained as he initially thought – perhaps the main reason the ghost ship was on a long voyage had been due to the fear of returning to port in the civilized world.

Duncan was a little distressed. He urgently needs to find a way to understand the world, and he must find a way to contact the “civilized society” out there. Whether it was for his own survival in the long term or the mystery of finding a way to return “home,” he must figure out a way to stop this endless wandering. The issue was that the civilized society didn’t seem to welcome him to the point that his very presence was enough to aggro a twenty-five-man raiding party to banish him to the abyss.

Sighing at his own misfortune, Duncan wished there was at least a book on the Vanished at this moment – he lacks information, and the only source was the goat head.

But then again… How come there is not even a book on this great ship?

Sailing a long journey can be a stressful environment out at sea, that’s why they always had some means to relieve themselves like reading or movies. Can the “real Duncan” be a…. illiterate?

Duncan casually asked this aloud since he couldn’t help himself. Unexpectedly, the goat answered without hesitation: “Books? Reading at sea is a dangerous thing. The shadows in the depths and the ones hiding in the subspace are all waiting for the mortal mind to show an opening. The ‘classics’ from the church are fine, but those are so boring that it’s better to wash the deck….. But Captain, haven’t you always been uninterested in the things from the church?”

Duncan immediately raised an eyebrow over the news.

How can reading a book at sea be life-threatening? Only the scriptures from the church are fine? What sort of sickness down this Boundless Sea have?

He got a little more knowledge about this world, but at the same time, he also got more questions about its makeup. Suppressing his desire to ask again, he came before the ship’s side and stared into the distant horizon.

If discounting the eerie appearance of the sun shining down on the rippling water surface, this glistening sparkle of the sea would indeed be considered beautiful.

“I’d like to hear your advice,” Duncan said cautiously to the goat head, “I’m a little tired of this aimless voyage, perhaps…”

Halfway through his words, a strange “feeling” suddenly swept up from the bottom of his heart, and this feeling came from the connection between him and the “Vanished”. It’s as if some “foreign object” suddenly touched the ship before he heard a “bang” noise in the direction of the stern.

Duncan frowned, then pulled out the flintlock handgun and one-handed pirate saber from his waist. He wasted no time and ran over to check where he saw something lying quietly on deck – it was the ornate wooden coffin with the weird doll again…..

A creepy feeling welled up in Duncan’s head. From what he saw, the box was still wet from floating in the seawater, but more importantly, the nails he used to make sure the lid was sealed had been pried off!

After several minutes of vigilant confrontation, Duncan finally made up his mind. Clutching the flintlock gun in one hand and the saber in the other, he used the blade tip to push the partially cracked lid aside with force.

The gothic doll comes into view with an audible creek – it’s still as lifeless and beautiful as before.

Duncan stared at the thing for several seconds, then spoke in a deep and serious voice (he believed to be commanding at the time): “If you are alive, then get up and talk to me.”

After saying it twice in a row, the doll still didn’t move.

Duncan made a deep frown before finally lightening up his voice: “Very well, that leaves me no choice but to toss you back overboard.”

After saying this, he did not hesitate to cover the lid again and then took the tools to nail the coffin up with even more vigor and nails. This time, he grabbed some iron chains he found in a corner to keep it secured firmly.

Clapping his hand in satisfaction once confirmed he’d done it properly, Duncan nods at the handiwork and circles the box several times: “I like to see you get out of it this time.”

Without hesitation, he kicked the box into the sea again.

Sighing a breath of relief as he watched the box float away. He was ready to move on after waiting a minute when he snapped around with his head.

“Maybe I should’ve strapped a cannonball to it or something…”

Duncan muttered and then turned away for real this time.

“You’re a little harsh on that lady.” The sound of the goat head came into his head.

“Shut up – how can you call a cursed doll ‘Lady’?”

“It does look like a cursed doll… But what curse on the vast sea can compare to the Vanished and its great Captain Duncan? Captain, that lady is quite gentle and harmless in fact…”

Duncan: “…”

Why is this goat head so proud when it comes to the curse and notoriety of the Vanished and Captain Duncan?

Perhaps sensing that Duncan was in a bad mood, the goat head immediately changed the subject: “Captain, you said you wanted to hear my advice before, specifically…”

“Let’s talk about it later. I need to take a break. I lost my energy by sailing the Vanished in the spirit world before, so you should be quiet.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Duncan returned to the captain’s quarters and sat in front of the mapping table where the chart remained.

The next second, his gaze suddenly froze.

The chart seemed to have undergone a subtle change—the grayish-white patches that had originally covered the entire drawing, as if they were constantly squirming, seemed to have dissipated a little, and the sea surface around the Vanished was becoming clearer!

Is this map updating the surrounding waters’ information in real-time as the Vanished sails?

This immediately got Duncan’s full attention. However, his concentration was soon interrupted.

In the depths of his soul, the Vanished once again sent a signal of “contact with a foreign object” before his ears heard the loud “bang” from the deck.