Deep Sea Embers

He looked at the dove, strolling on the nearby shelf, and found his wild thoughts getting more and more outrageous.

Duncan had always believed that this dove – full of “earth words” – had been born because he had the soul of an earthling that activated the brass compass during the spirit walk.

But what if… this was not the case?

What if, as the goat head said, the dove was just some kind of phantom coming out of a “deeper” place from the depths? That it’s a coincidence that Ai’s hanging around?

If going by that logic, wouldn’t the earth words coming off of that beak have nothing to do with “Zhou Ming” of Earth, but a projection of the history from this world itself?

The possibility behind this theory unsettled Duncan.

“Need me to wash the dishes?” Interrupting his train process was Alice, who had gotten up after breakfast. Scratching her hair in an embarrassed manner: “I think I should find something to do since I’m aboard the ship now; otherwise, I will feel like a freeloader….”

“But you don’t eat at all,” Duncan reminded her, “it’s good that you have that in mind though. Take the dishes to the water room and discuss it with the sink. If it doesn’t mind, you can go ahead and wash the dishes.”

After saying this, he stood up without waiting for Alice to answer. Then commenting before heading outside: “I will go and inspect the deck. If there is nothing else, do not disturb me.”

The dove strolling about on the shelves flew over to Duncan’s shoulders then and left the room as well, leaving Alice at the mapping table with the goat head staring back.

“Isn’t the captain in a good mood?” After a moment’s hesitation, Alice carefully asked the statue.

The goat head replied in a deep voice: “The captain’s mood is like the weather of the Boundless Sea, don’t speculate, just accept.”

Without waiting for the goat head to go on his run-on speech, Alice quickly continued, “By the way, just now, the captain said to discuss it with the sink… How do I ask?”

“Simple, you go wash things, and if you get splashed with water, it means that the sink doesn’t like you. Speaking of which, do you know how to wash dishes? If not, I have some theoretical experience…”

Before letting things get out of hand, Alice quickly packed up the tableware on the table and rushed out the door while shouting: “No need, I will learn on my own. Thank you, Mr. Goathead! Goodbye!”

Silence returned to the captain’s room, leaving only the black goat head on the table staring blankly in the direction of where everyone ran off to.

“How good it is to have legs….” The statue sighs at his own misfortune.

Then its gaze returned to the chart at hand, where the fog around the Vanished was still dispersing steadily. He’s been charged with the helm by the captain, and the goat head had every intention not to fail.

Under the precise control of the driver, the large and “living” ghost ship deftly adjusted the angle of each sail as it loafed along the waters. During this, the goat head never once stopped humming his pirate tune:

Raise the sails, raise the sails, our sailor ye be leaving home.

Wind, waves, from death we be only a plank awhey.

Toss those anglers, widen the masts, tie the ropes, ahoy thay ship! We be coming for yer treasure!

Stay away from the fish, farther away from thy fangs, us sailors want to live!

Stay away from ye mers, further away we sail! Peace to our souls!

Meanwhile, Duncan had circled around the supply room and kitchen again before finally coming up to the middle portion of the ship.

No matter how many times he rummaged through the storehouse, the ship didn’t offer anything more than the cheese and jerky.

The good news was that he didn’t have to eat maggot-infested biscuits like the sailors from those medieval era stories. The bad news was that there weren’t even maggots on this ghost ship to begin with.

Putting aside his previous wild thoughts for the time being, he took the quiet Ai to the edge of the deck and peered out at the Boundless Ocean.

“…… No matter what, I need to find a way to replenish the necessities on the Vanished… Although I can’t put too much attention to the quality of life on a ghost ship, I still can’t allow myself to devolve into the barbarism of a ghost….”

“Alice may also need to change her clothes at some point, and there is no suitable dress for that need aside from rags in the cabin.”

“And the Vanished has drifted on this water for far too long. Things could’ve advanced beyond what the goat head knows about the people on land. Like those revolver guns used by the cultists from the underground sewer, that alone is enough to tell the world is a developing and advanced one…”

“It may be true a century ago this ancient ship might’ve been invincible, but who knows what could’ve changed. Perhaps, the only advantage the Vanished has now was its reputation, and reputation doesn’t solve problems when in naval combat….”

Then glancing at the dove on his shoulder.

Maybe…… if I rest a little today, we can try another “spirit walk”.

“Googoo?” Ai tilted her head and finally came up with some noise that a normal dove should have.

Smiling at this behavior, Duncan suddenly noticed an afterglow from the corner of his eyes. Drawn by the movement, he subconsciously glanced downwards to see what was swimming below in the water.

After a moment of disbelief, the guy facepalmed his own face in realization.

“My god! How can I be so slow… this is the sea! There are fishes in the water!”

The sudden “possibilities” of what this implied sent Duncan’s mood up into the mountains. Establishing contact with land and resupplying the ship couldn’t be done in a single day, but fishing could!

He’s fed up with the jerky and cheese!

With enthusiasm at an all-time high, Duncan remembered the heavy fishing rod in the storage unit below deck. As for the bait… would the jerky and cheese work?

Just like that, everyone aboard had found a job they could do: the cursed doll was washing dishes, the blabbing-mouthed goat head concentrated on driving the ship, and the captain of the Vanished was busy running between the cabin and deck.

It didn’t take long for Duncan to return with three heavy-looking fishing rods and some “bait” from the food inventory. Amateurishly fixing the things to the side of the ship, he quickly tied the bait to the hook and tossed the line overboard. He also moved an empty bucket over to serve as a chair while waiting.

Truthfully, Duncan actually had no experience in fishing at sea – though he did have limited experience doing so at a pond in his hometown. But no matter, the guy’s got plenty of time to learn anyways. What if he succeeds, right?

It’s a good way to rest before the next spirit walk, and a chance to improve upon the ship’s food shortage, a win-win outcome.

Slowly but gradually, Duncan’s mood returned to normal as he waited for the fish to bite. It does get boring just waiting, especially when the weather shows no signs of a storm coming.

Before the guy knew it, he had fallen into a half-dreaming and half-awake state.

Inside his dream, Duncan was barefooted on the calm seawater with a burning warm sun hanging in the sky. Naturally, this familiar sun was the “normal” sun in his memories.

Then his attention was caught by the splashing sound of water nearby. It was a flock of little golden fishes about the size of his palm, each spitting bubbles into the air and wagging their tails as if they were swimming in the water despite not.

They had circled him to give Zhou Ming a perfect view: those big bulging eyes, fine scales reflecting a wavy pattern, and the opening and closing of their mouths. All he had to say was that they’re beautiful and…. very yummy.

Yes, they must be very, very yummy.