The Maelstrom Eye

'You no fear,' said a chirping, singsong voice behind them. They turned in surprise to see a tall rastipede approaching, its eight legs thumping softly through the undergrowth. Teldin couldn't tell if it was the leader he had spoken with earlier. They all looked so much alike.

'Sun is healthy,' said the insect-centaur. 'Sun have not much light now. World is dark soon. World you have no night? You fear dark?'

'You mean the sun is going out?' Teldin asked in amazement. His nose twitched, but he fought the urge to sneeze. 'We are not afraid of the night, but we thought there was no night here because the sun couldn't set.'

'I not listen you true,' said the rastipede, twisting its head slightly. 'You say 'set'? What is 'set'?'

Teldin started to explain what a sunset was, but the urge to sneeze overcame him too rapidly. He backed away, trying not to fall over, as he sneezed violently two dozen times in a row. Sylvie abruptly took over for him, quickly explaining to the rastipede the rudiments of day and night on spherical worlds. The rastipede appeared to be even more confused as she spoke, asking a stream of strange questions, until Sylvie finally gave up.

'It's no use,' she said. 'They've lived here for so many generations that they don't remember what it's like to live on a regular planet. They've never seen their sun set. The sun just goes out, and it gets dark. The sun goes back on again eventually, and that's dawn here.' She looked up at the rapidly darkening star. Teldin looked up, too, and found that he could now see the sun's broad, reddened disk clearly. It was featureless and smooth, seemingly perfect.

Aelfred dropped his gaze. 'I'm in serious need of a drink. If there's anything left of that little keg of ale we pulled off the ship, let's drain it and get some sleep. This place has been very entertaining, but I've almost lost all sense of time. And you,' he said, nudging Sylvie again, 'you need your beauty est. You've worked too hard. I'm your captain, and I'm ordering you to turn yourself in for a nap.'

'Will you tuck me in?' Sylvie asked straight-faced, then glanced at Teldin and colored, biting her lip.

Aelfred saw her expression and laughed, putting his arm around her. 'Sure, I'll tuck you in,' he said. 'Excuse us, Teldin. I've got some official duties to perform.'

Sylvie mumbled something in embarrassment as Aelfred led her away to the ship. Teldin managed to smile in spite of himself, then sneezed and sneezed until he felt he would never stop. When he finally finished, exhausted, he looked up and noticed that the rastipede was gone, too.

Grandfather, he thought to himself as the red sun went out overhead, the things you've missed. If I die from this wretched allergy and find you by Paladine's side, I'm going to tell you some tales that will lay you out all over again.

*****

Nightfall could not have come soon enough for the ship's tired crew. Dyffed and the other gnomes, once they had gotten used to the phenomenon, watched the sun go out until the gnomes were nearly incapacitated from stiff necks. During the sun's fade-out, the gnomes built a bonfire and talked with the rastipedes until exhaustion overcame the former and they fell asleep across the lakeshore in every possible spot. The insect folk stayed up, moving to and fro among the sleeping travelers and keeping guard over them.

Teldin watched it all, unable to sleep because of his allergy. The rastipedes were changing their guard in shifts, he noticed; a few would leave together just as other rastipedes would approach the informal encampment. He decided the new creatures were fresh from the underground home that Aelfred had spoken of. It was impossible to tell, really, but as a theory it wasn't a bad one. If they were communicating by smell, as Aelfred had suggested earlier, then they were 'talking' up a storm.

Teldin found Gaye asleep under a tree, wrapped in a light blanket that Teldin recognized in the firelight as having come from his cabin aboard the ship. The night air was warm enough that he didn't think she really needed it, but he wasn't in the mood to bother her about it. After making sure she was in good shape, he got up and continued his slow walk around the lakeshore, sniffing and sneezing and wishing, just a little bit, that he could cut off his nose.

His feet finally brought him to the numerous poles and ropes strung from the lakeshore to a hastily built framework about a hundred feet inland, on which the Perilous Halibut rested about a man's height off the ground. The ship's tail fin had been straightened, the oars and propeller drive had been repaired with the rastipedes astounding carpentry skills, and the two large mounds of active fur tied on long rope tethers to a nearby tree attested to the complete recovery of the giant hamsters. Teldin listened to the hamsters' rumbling reeep! reeep! sounds, then turned away, shaking his head and smiling despite his sinus agony.

It was then that Teldin heard a faint, deep voice from the other side of the ship. He stopped and listened, trying to make out the words, but the noise from the obviously nocturnal giant hamsters drowned it out. He hesitated for a moment, then walked toward the source of the talking as quietly as he could.

'We should leave in the morning, shortly after the sun lights up,' he heard the voice say. It sounded like Gomja. He must be talking with a rastipede leader, one that could cast a language-translating spell. He knew from talking with Sylvie and other wizards that such a spell was fairly minor, but the idea that insects could cast spells at all still surprised him, even when he felt nothing could surprise him anymore.

Still moving in silence, Teldin rounded the side of the ship. It was impossible to see anything clearly in the darkness. The bonfire was far on the other side of the ship, and Teldin had noticed earlier that the sky had no stars; it was pitch black above him, though he imagined he could see faint, distant lights near the horizon.

'No, they've been very friendly so far,' Gomja's voice said. 'Our situation is quite good. We shouldn't need any assistance unless… oh.' Teldin heard a rustling in the darkness. 'Sir? Is that you?'

'Who are you talking to?' Teldin asked. He wished his eyes would stop tearing up. He could barely see as it was. He walked forward slowly, one hand out to keep from walking into the wooden struts holding up the Perilous Halibut. 'I thought I heard you talking with someone.'

'Oh,' said Gomja. Teldin heard something big move right in front of him, and he stopped. He could hear the giff breathing hoarsely and rapidly, perhaps only ten feet away. 'I, um, was talking with myself, sir. Forgive me for that. I don't do it very often.'

'I don't mind,' said Teldin, puzzled. He looked around, seeing and hearing no other being. 'I just thought that… well, forget it. You should get some sleep, First Colonel-Commander. We could have a busy day tomorrow.'

'Yes, sir!' said Gomja, heartily and quickly. 'I'll turn in in a short while, not long at all. I was having trouble getting used to things here, I'm afraid. You must admit, sir, that this is a very queer place.' Teldin heard the giff yawn. It was still too dark to see more than Gomja's outline.

Teldin nodded, then turned to go. 'Well, good night to you. Let's hope we get off the ground without any trouble. We have a giant four-legged beast to find, Dyffed says. I don't want you to blink and miss it.'

'Oh, very good, sir!' Gomja said, laughing briefly. 'Good night to you, too!'

Teldin made his way back around the ship to the vicinity of the campfire. He wiped his face with his hands, feeling his thick moustache and realizing how long it had been since he'd shaved. He'd have to take care of that first thing in the morning. Was this antimagical lake water good to shave with? He'd know soon enough.

He found a spot at random and lay down, settling himself near a tree, and forced himself to relax and ignore his sinuses. It was difficult, but he managed to drift off after a long period and enter a realm full of strange and bothersome dreams.

He was in his room aboard the Perilous Halibut with Gaye. It was night, and she was leaning close to him. 'Teldin,' she said softly. He could smell her perfume as she started to reach for him. He knew they were doing wrong, and they were about to crash. The ship was falling straight down toward the other side of the darkened sphere, falling like a rock from an infinite tower. He tried to hold on to something and tried to protect Gaye, but he couldn't find a way to do it. They were falling toward the sea on the far side of the black sphere. In the sea were monstrous shapes greater than whales, their blackness darker than the night-lit waters in which they swam. 'Teldin' Gaye said, holding his face. A titanic shark leaped out of the sea, its white-fanged mouth wider than a world. It wasn't going to miss them.

'Teldin, wake up!' Gaye said, shaking his arm. He blinked, then involuntarily shielded his face against the brilliant sky. Gaye looked down at him, her black tangled hair littered with small sticks and bits of leaves and grass. 'Time to get up. The sun's on again! Boy, you slept like a rock!'