The Logs of the TDFS Tindome

Chapter 81: Return to the Sky Islands

Eric and others are on the sky bridge. He notices that, twenty degrees to port, the stars are looking smeared. He tells Mannie, in the Engine Room, about this region. The region is pretty much circular. "Checkhov, there's a region off to port. Could it be an interface?"

Chekhov doesn't know. We decide to wake the captain; Eric is volunteered to do this. Finwë is civil about being awakened, dresses, and walks down to the Flying Bridge. He looks out the window at the anomaly, then picks up Chekhov, and aims the bust at the disturbance. It doesn't help. Is this a whirlpool? "Any drain would go into a real place, one with dimensions. Is that the case here?" Chekhov doesn't know; he warns that this is a very chaotic space, although not as chaotic as under the Starry Sea. We move closer. "Yes, Captain," says the bust. "It is being an interface to another continuum."

We head for it. The Captain announces that all crew members are to report to their stations. Teller hides in his traditional location. As we reach the space over the whirlpool, we can see the water quivering. Chekhov asks to be restored to his secure location; Finwë sticks him in his clamp. We lower ourselves into the whirlpool, until we end up in a different place entirely, with a different sea below us. This sea actually looks like water. We continue to descend, and feel a disturbance as we cross through the anomaly.

Finwë checks the direction of Eric's dowse, and turns the ship to the same direction. Eventually, we begin to see signs of land – in the air. Yes, there are islands in the sky. We head for the island we docked at before. There are ships sailing through the air. Once again, the Eagle is the ship coming towards us. The Eagle signals to us. We guess that the signal is "heave to." We come up to the port loading dock on it, and hail the ship. The Eagle puts out a boat with Captain Aristarn and a few of his men, and approaches us.

"Good day, Captain Aristarn. It is I, Captain Finwë Nuüru ho Fanyarë Ciryandil returned."

"Is the Ambassador with you?"

"No, but we have letters from her. There are other dispatches as well." He turns to Eric. "Mr. Wright, please bring the dispatches." He turns back to the other ship's captain. "We noticed a shore – at the level of the ocean – in that direction." He points.

"That is the direction of Darkholme."

"Ah, yes, you are on the same sea as Darkholme. By the way, how long have we been away." The captain pulls out a little book and flips through it. "One hundred and seventeen days." Oh. It only seemed a few weeks to us. We'll have to hustle to get back to Darkholme on time.

"Do you have any cargo this time?"

"Why, yes, we do. We have trade goods for you."

"Well, you should go to Port Carillon again. Um. Some of these dispatches are official dispatches, and they are not for me." He hands them back. "Perhaps you could not read the script." Finwë graciously takes the papers back. We turn for Port Carillon.