Day 15 of Midwinter, Nightfall

At Sea, Straits of Segais

Annwn

Hullraiser set off at a clip. We hoped to put some distance between us and the other coastal cutters that were likely following. Before we could make much progress, a thick fog set in, and then nightfall further hindered visibility. After a while, I grew less concerned about someone following us and more concerned about slamming into one of the numerous shoals in the Straits of Segais.

We headed east- toward the homeland of Fern and her family- in the underwater Eastern Segais Reddeshorate. Selkies formed large protected enclaves under the waves from which to rule their section of the wells. Fern’s reddeshorate happened to be in the deepest part of the Ildatbach Bay.

The crew refused to meet my eyes, but I could feel them studying me when I passed. I was a sight, even in the darkness of the Crosswaters. It had been days since I had last rested or had a bath, and I could still feel the salt crystals on my skin from the swim at Hook Head. But I could have been confusing salt crystals for dried beithir blood. Either way, I was gross and I felt more gross than I looked, which was saying something.

The crew that I had seen consisted of a Commander, a Tide-Master (who doubled as the First Mate), a Boatswain, and six other crew members. I didn’t know any of them, but they clearly knew something about me. I’m not sure that ‘something’ was good. I normally got a clear birth in Gorias, but the cold shoulder onboard Hullraiser was even colder than the water of the Straits.

Normally, an Ellyllon in the service of a king or queen outranked all terrestrial or nautical military ranks. Back in my day, I would have been the highest-ranking officer on the ship, but now, having refused my former title, I was just a fairy in need of their service. I needed to talk to one of them, but it was important to exercise tact in this situation and not jeopardize my relationship with the crew.

“Hey! You in the fancy hat,” I said to the Commander in my most diplomatic voice. “I didn’t kill anyone… today… Why is everyone acting like I just strangled a cat?”

The man was at the helm, talking to the First Mate, who was the most stern-looking bald woman that I think I’ve ever seen. She wore a curved blade and had scars on nearly every part of her body. He broke away from her after my outburst and came to stand with me on the front of the ship.

“Yes, Captaen?” he asked, bowing slightly. “What is it I can do for you?”

“Fíadan,” I responded, pointing at myself like he was an idiot. “Not Captaen. What is your name… or should I continue calling you Fancy Hat?”

“Commander Maevin Scolt, my Cap… ma’am.”

“And her?” I asked, pointing to the First Mate.

“The crew just calls her Salka. But she is the finest Tide-Master in service to Gorias. She…”

He was going to elaborate on Salka’s deeds and virtues, but I didn’t care. I pointed to the short Boatswain. “And him?”

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“That’s Cé Gwalch.”

“Is he a Lubrican?” I asked, feeling my lip curl up in disgust.

“Yes, from Ildatbach.” I could tell by the tone of his voice that he didn’t understand my visceral reaction.

I sighed. “Of course he is.”

Most of his kind lived in or around Port Ildatbach, and many of the vessels in the Wells had at least one Lubrican crew member. Their kind was seen as good luck in turbulent seas. And I hated them all. The Lubrican’s unnatural affinity with the weave was a blight among all races in Annwn. But my view on the matter was not a widely held opinion.

“Is there something I can do for you, ma’am?” He asked, snapping me out of my unpleasant memories.

“Was it Badb that told you to be ready to sail?” I had been trying to process the whole turn of events from the previous afternoon. Badb had whispered the name of this ship in the courtyard of Gorias. Not only did I not understand why, but my own compliance confused me. I needed to know if she had also made ready the ships for my escape.

“Lady Badb from Findrias?” he asked. “No… To my knowledge, she has had no interaction with anyone outside of the keep since the siege.”

“Then how did you know to expect me?”

I could see the man gritting his teeth before answering. “I’m not at liberty to say, I’m afraid.” My eyebrows raised, and I could see beads of sweat on the man's brow. “But please know that we serve the Breo-Banríon, her kin, and those loyal to her.”

I could feel myself soften at his statement. “Badb told me to take this ship over the other in the harbor. Why would she have done that?”

“I’m afraid I cannot comprehend…”

“Cut the chet,” I said more loudly than I should have, cutting him off. “You aren’t stupid, so don’t act like it. Make an educated guess.”

He thought for a minute, then responded. “The Witchcurrent sits lower in the water. Hullraiser has a shallow draft, thanks to its wide hull.”

“Does that mean Hullraiser is slower than Witchcurrent?”

He nodded.

“So, she told me to take the slower ship,” I exclaimed, throwing up my hands. “I should have known…”

Commander Scolt appeared to take offense at my condescension of his vessel. “Hullraiser may be… ‘slower’ than the Witchcurrent, but she has taken more unmolested trips across the Straits than any other vessel in the navy.”

“She also has a few other unique properties.” This new voice grew in volume as Salka came to stand with us.

“Can you get me safely to the reddeshorate?” I asked the pair.

The woman looked at the Commander before answering, and he nodded. “Aye. But for the moment, we have had to slow our progress in this fog.”

“On the bright side, ma’am, there is not a soul that could follow us in the grey lady.” Commander Scolt looked up and appeared to be trying to peer through the mist.

“We cannot even see the lanterns of other vessels, at the moment,” Salka added.

At that, I left them to go about their tasks and went below deck to find some privacy. Stripping down, I cleaned myself the best I could with a bucket of fresh water and some towels that were waiting in my quarters. I also laid out all of the equipment I had collected since awakening in my old room back in Gorias. There was: Swish and Stick, the Heartbane Dial, Morias’ ring, which was aptly named Wavewalker, and Bren’s Rings of Identification.

I sat back against the wall and ran my fingers over Bren’s rings. He was out there somewhere, likely mucking things up. But I smiled to myself thinking about how far he had come since that night on Wolves Hill when Morias and I had changed his life forever. Chet went sideways when Bren was around, but then, Annwn needed more of Bren’s kind of chaos.

I hoped that if I found Fern, she could use her Shell of Promise to locate Bren. I had trusted Nemain enough to deliver the Shell to Bren, but not enough to lead me to him herself. I knew where her loyalties lay, and as much as I wanted to hate her for it, I understood what it meant to be wielded as a weapon. She had her place in the hierarchy of the Tuatha, just as I did.

Bren was on a magically protected island. It was as if Bren, too, were in a deep fog, and only Fern’s shell could cut through it. Once we found him, he would help us… What even was the answer to this broken world? But The Dagda had believed in him. He had sent me initially to find him. Morias believed in him, too. Maybe that was enough.

Closing my eyes, I let my body fall into a much-needed trance. I found the flow of the magical weave around me, and I bound myself to it. I would allow myself these few moments of rest. Things would be better in the morning. After all, it couldn’t get any worse.