311. Occult Neath a Reedbed
No one steals in Apple
Island. It is not just that there is no need to. It is that no one there thinks
of doing this. And should someone do so, this someone will leave the island
before doing that, disgusted by the excessive goodness that abounds there. And
outside, it is much easier to steal. So the pirate in project Esmeraldo
Greengem knew he would have to leave the island to steal a ship, an action he
was determined to carry out to start off his criminal career. A fay child less than seven years old
is not allowed to leave the island on his own, but pirates break rules and it
is best to do that away from the blessed isle.
Esmeraldo transfomed
himself into a little sea horse and crossed the puddle swimming till he reached Minced Forest, specifically the part of it
that was known as Owlwood. There he turned himself back into the fay child he
was and stopped to read a sign that read:
PEREGRINUS,
CUM REVERENTIA INCEDE
NAM MOX INTRATURUS
ES
DOMUM
SILVA BUBORUM!
“Might there be something
in this wood that could serve my purposes?” Esmeraldo asked himslef. And something
told him there might be. Perhaps this was because he had spotted a body of
water. And that body was Lake Jittery, also known as Peevish Pond.
He walked to its banks and
once there he noticed a wooden object that was almost totally concealed in a
bed of reeds. He approached it, parting the reeds as he moved, and as he did,
he heard the penetrating, reedy sound of an oboe.
“Sweet and pleasant music
to delight the quiet passerby,” he thought. “I didn’t expect to hear such music
away from the island. It doesn’t seem to be the thing one would find here.”
Somewhat abstracted,
Esmeraldo breathed deeply and began to speak to the reeds.
“You smell like cake
dough,” he said to them as he stirred them. And it was true that they did smell
like cinnamon and ginger and something sugary.
“I’m sorry,” answered a
boy’s voice. “I can’t help that. I advise you not to eat me. I could prove
toxic, though some use me to make candies with. Perfectly safely edible ones.
Is that why you mean to uproot me?”
“Oh, sorry,” answered
Esmeraldo, “I meant no harm. No, I don’t want candy. I want to see what you are
hiding. It looks like a boat that is upside down.”
The spirit of the reed bed
showed himself. He looked about fifteen years old. His skin was a light green
and his hair a darker green. Little drops of water slid from his skin and
dropped from his hair.
“That is what it is,” said
the spirit of the reedbed.
“If we are going to have
to deal with each other, we had better introduce ourselves. My name is
Esmeraldo Greengem and I am the son of Demetrius Richearth. And since yesterday
afternoon I am a fearsome pirate. Well, not generally feared yet, but if
intentions count for anything, I shall be very much feared soon. I warn you
that I mean to make your boat mine. If you resist and try not to let me have
it…I’ll
uproot you at one tug!”
“Oh, gosh!” said the boy,
trying not to laugh. “That will be if you can. That ship has been lying there
for years and is probably partially rotten. It won’t be easy for you to extract
it and refloat it. Don’t try to uproot me to do that, because that ship isn’t
even mine. I will do what I can to release it peacefully. But it is…no, was. It
belonged to some kids who drowned here. Or something like that. Be careful if
you don’t want to drown too.”
“I’m a seahorse fairy.
Don’t you see that I am as green as you are? Nothing like what you are
suggesting will happen to me.”
“Ah. I am aware that you
are green like I am, but I thought you might be the spirit of some plant. Of
course, one plant does not pull out another…”
“But plants can push each
other. Push each other aside, out of their ways. Don’t deny that! You plants
aren’t as saintly as they say you are.”
And then another spirit
appeared, also very young in appearance. This youth came swimming up to the
reedbed.
“You! Are you Dionysus?”
Esmeraldo asked the newcomer. He asked because the boy had clusters of dark
grapes twined in his hair.
“Dionysos always wears
grapes, and sometimes serpents in his hair. I wear the fruit of the day. Today,
grapes. Tomorrow, figs. And it will be pears the day after tomorrow. My name is
Carpos, and it means fruit. Now you can tell us apart. Why is my best friend
speaking with a tiny fay child like you? You are practically a babe in
diapers.”
“Don’t fool yourself. I’m
a ferocious pirate. I’m telling your friend my plans for this boat.”
“A baby with plans. Look,
if you promise to get yourself out of here, I will help you draw that boat away
from the reeds. Because if you try to do it on your own, you will only give
poor Calamus a headache.”
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