The Case of the Sea Bug (The Wolflock Cases Book 3) Read online

  Yifi sighed and dropped her voice, “I came to help and see if there was something I could do, but Nan Ji is one of those men... He won’t let me do a thing!”

  “Why not?” Wolflock asked incredulously, thinking that if Yifi could help than he could go and eat.

  “Because I’m a woman...”

  Wolflock was astounded. He didn’t think men anywhere in the world still clung to the horrific ideals of the evil king Stathan where women were inferior and magic was abolished. They made no sense to him and the vast majority men in Puinteyle treasured women, for it was by a woman that they were created. Everyone knew that even the very Earth was feminine for she birthed all life, so to denounce women was nearly to denounce life itself.

  “It is because she does not know what complex medicine needs!” Nan Ji retorted hotly and dropped Slavidus’ arm, “Women’s brains are not big enough to comprehend the complexities that are associated with healing!”

  His heated words seemed even more obnoxious and absurd as they came from the small man with his thick Eastern accent and red face. Wolflock just rolled his eyes.

  “Well I’ve just spent my morning hauling buckets for vomiting passengers. I’m fairly sure Yifi is just as apt at that as I am.”

  “Do not give me cheek, little boy!” said the short angry man, “Gege would have instructed you for all those buckets with good reason! One for the sick, one for their hydration. You’re to go about his orders as instructed without complaint!”

  “It wasn’t Gege. It was Nü who sent me. Gege only wanted buckets to catch the filth,” Wolflock blinked and felt his anger bubbling more.

  “Pfft!” the old man dismissed him, “The girl has no brains to rub together. Go and have food, little boy! Clearly you spoke with Gege and his brilliant mind confused you-”

  “Yifi....” Slavidus groaned and reached out an aching arm to the beautiful lady.

  She smiled and stepped forward before Wolflock could begin yelling at Nan Ji for being so frustrating.

  “If you’ve finished your treatment I’m happy to watch him,” she smiled and held his hand to her cheek.

  Nan Ji pursed his lips and glared at the two of them before storming out, swearing in his native tongue.

  “Don’t make him too mad, Master Felen,” Yifi warned gently, “He’s a wizard with herbs and can make you ill if you aren’t careful!”

  “Duly noted,” he sighed and left the room to head to breakfast.

  The sun was completely visible and was quite refreshing against the brisk chill of the morning air, but Wolflock’s mind was set on food. He was sorely disappointed when he smelt the sickly sweet smell of more Tuiti fruit being cooked in the ship’s oven. Geagle was singing happily as he cooked, not noticing that the company at the breakfast table was only ten of the eighteen.

  “Eat up, Master Felen!” he grinned wickedly and gave him a small wooden plate of sliced baked fruit.

  Wolflock scowled at Geagle and snatched up another hempseed loaf and took his meal out onto the deck to enjoy the sun.

  He knew he should sit and relax, but he had begun to worry about Mothy’s health again. His gut began to twist, partly from the smell of the Tuiti fruit and partly from worrying.

  He bit down on the thick heavy bread and sighed.

  “Pardon me?” came a soft voice from behind him.

  Wolflock turned with a mouth full of bread to see Nü with a two heavy buckets of sick.

  She dropped it over the edge with a rope and sighed heavily.

  “They aren’t throwing up food anymore, are they?” Wolflock asked as she let it drag and wash out, seeing no colour or solid matter in the bucket.

  “No...” she said worriedly, “But as long as they don’t start vomiting blood we can treat them.”

  “I hope your father doesn’t have any more problems with women though. I don’t think people will let him treat them if he acts so coarsely,” Wolflock knew he was out of line but he realised that part of his stomach was his anger lingering and he had to say something.

  “Mmm...” she hummed noncommittally and pulled up the first bucket.

  “What do you think is causing this?” he asked, seeing he’d upset her. “I think it’s this food!” he joked begrudgingly.

  “I’m not sure. It could be a river illness. I’m sure my father or brother will discover the cause. Gege is making up some herbs to help everyone recover. I think it is only a very temporary sickness though. Perhaps by this evening everyone will be fine...” Nü seemed to be talking to herself more than Wolflock, but as she dropped the second bucket into the water Wolflock tipped his plate so the Tuiti fruit slices dropped in too.

  “Whoops!” he chuckled and Nü smiled sweetly, watching the fruit float away and get eaten by some hungry fish. “Oh well! No Tuiti for me.”

  Nü giggled and then her eyes glazed over as if a distant memory had come to her mind. Wolflock stared at her as if he was examining a strange statue, but then she ran and left him to catch the rope on the bucket before they lost it.

  “Miss Nü!” he called after her, but she didn’t hear him. “Strange girl...” he groaned and pulled up the bucket with a lazy groan.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  For the rest of the day Wolflock learned about running the ship from the Captain and the other crew members in order to stay away from the sick as it seemed highly contagious. Captain Blutro was still able to run the ship effectively without Slavidus and two crew members, but he had to join in on the work with Wolflock instead of just giving orders. Although Wolflock couldn’t do much heavy lifting, he was a good lookout in the crows nest and was perfectly able to relay messages, as well as roll barrels with a great deal of effort. By the end of the day Wolflock was exhausted and habitually went into the dining hall to see it a lot fuller than it had been at breakfast. Nearly everyone was in the hall except for Froderyk, Tinna, Tinni and Mothy. Wolflock wasn’t even bothered by the smell of the stewing Tuiti fruit, he just grabbed a loaf of hempseed bread and automatically took a bowl from Geagle, who seemed too preoccupied to make fun of him serving more of the loathsomely sweet fruit. Wolflock saw that those who had been ill still looked pale and clammy, but they were up and smiling. There was a small gathering around Nan Ji and Gege, thanking them for their herbal assistance as they ate their usual rice and vegetable dish. Wolflock also saw that Nü had disappeared from the room since he’d entered.

  Without too much thought on the situation, Wolflock decided to see if Mothy had improved like the rest and eat downstairs.

  As he approached the room he heard Mothy laughing loudly, which instantly made him feel better.

  “And then he said, ‘you were supposed to treat my mother in law! Not my yak!’ and the doctor said, ‘I thought I did treat her!’ ”

  Wolflock chuckled at the joke, but was even more surprised when he heard Nü laughing too. He knocked politely and leaned on the doorframe, seeing Nü sitting delicately on the edge of Mothy’s bed and giggling sweetly. Mothy looked upon her dreamily and his face definitely looked like it had more colour in it, but that could have been that such a lovely girl was treating him.

  “Evening, cripple,” Wolflock chuckled smugly.

  “Evening, Lockie!” he smiled widely as if he’d been given the world, “Yum! Second dinner!”

  Wolflock handed him the bowel of fruit stew.

  “Come now!” Nü protested a little playfully, “Haven’t you eaten enough for tonight?”

  “You can never have enough food!” Mothy said through a mouthful of stew, attempting to make a joke, but Nü looked unimpressed. In fact, Wolflock noted, she nearly looked worried.

  As Mothy inhaled the stew Wolflock tried to get a conversation out of Nü about how everyone had recovered quickly, but she only gave her usual noncommittal hums.

  “I must go to sleep,” she sighed and touched Mothy’s shoulder tenderly. “If you need me I am only a few doors away.”

  Mothy looked up at her in amazement and his hand twitched as if he
wanted to reach out and stop her from leaving, but then he glanced at Wolflock to make sure he was still there and she slipped outside.

  “Well look at you!” Wolflock grinned smugly, “Perhaps all men should fall temporarily ill to get the woman of their dreams.”

  Mothy flushed red and passed his two bowls back to Wolflock.

  “She… she’s very nice. That’s all. I…”

  “Whatever you say. I’ll come back after I’ve taken up our dishes,” he shook his head and let Mothy wriggle down into his covers.

  When Wolflock entered the dining hall and placed the dishes in the soaking cauldron he saw small particles rise to the surface. They were odd as they only came from the bowl that Nü had given Mothy. Little light brown flecks of dirt and a few shreds of what appeared to be liquorice. He would have stared at them suspiciously for a bit longer, but he heard a cry, then a thud and turned to see Captain Blutro convulsing on the floor, frothing at the mouth and beginning to vomit blood. Suddenly a chilling voice came from the door and everyone turned to see Faleen holding her twin Bleen with blood dripping from both their mouths.

  “It’s the curse of Houl!”

  Chapter 4, The Mysterious Healer

  The company went so silent that even the waved stopped making noises and all that could be heard was the slight crackle of the oil lamps.

  “Don’ be a fool yah silly witches!” Hognut scowled, but Wolflock could see him shake as if he’d been startled.

  Nan Ji had rushed to the Captain’s side and Slavidus attempted to help him carry the twitching man away, but they only made it to the door passed the twins when Slavidus dropped the Captain’s feet and had to make a mad dash for the ship’s edge.

  “We’ve been cursed for travelling across Houl’s sacred waters!” Faleen sobbed as Bleen hung limply in her sister’s arms, “He’ll make us all pay for not paying tribute! The cards have spoken!”

  Wolflock stood dumbfounded at the washing cauldron and the other passengers shivered nervously.

  “But why? He didn’t ask for tribute! Why would he make us suffer?” Veluse asked and began to cry, shaking like a leaf.

  “Don’t indulge them yah daffy fool!” Hognut growled, “Alrigh’! All of ye! Ta bed-blergh!” and he proceeded to grab the nearest bucket and empty his stomach.

  Wolflock then watched in horrified astonishment as Haatji, Dlumi, Froderyk and Parihaan all began vomiting. The sight was disgusting, but then his gut twisted too. He felt like he was going to be sick. Surely the River god Houl had not sought to harm them. He’d kept the waters calm and clear for them for this long, why would he ravage them with such a horrific disease?

  Nan Ji had raced back upstairs at the sound of the commotion and looked bewildered at the scene.

  “Boy!” he shouted at Wolflock, “We must get them to their beds so we can tend to them! Make haste!”

  Wolflock took Dlumi’s arm (thankful that she was still conscious) and walked her downstairs first as Gege took Hognut and Didi got a mop and bucket to clean up the mess. Once they were all in their beds Wolflock checked on Mothy. He was sweating profusely and tossing his head back and forth, but Nü was at his side, stroking his forehead with a cool damp cloth and making him slowly drink a tea she had managed to brew in the commotion.

  With the Captain, first mate and three of the ship’s men down, Geagle saw fit to lower the anchor. But Wolflock was frightened that if they stopped for too long then he and Mothy would miss the starting date at Mystentine University. Due to this, he obeyed Nan Ji’s orders without question, wondering what had caused this terrible outbreak. Wolflock, Geagle and Groger cleaned the entire ship from top to bottom, scrubbing the floors, walls and every surface that people touched, even including the barrels. They did this while Gege, Nü and Didi turned the kitchen into a herbal dispensary, bringing up all the bags of herbs and boiling them up.

  “I know exactly what these people need!” Nan Ji had professed loudly and confidently, giving his children the task of making up a simply four herb remedy. But Wolflock had noticed that his subtle actions, the way he held his arm out like a dictator and the strained look on his face meant that he was pulling at strings. Nan Ji clearly had very little idea of what to do and he was pretending to know so as not to lose face. Wolflock worked sleeplessly through the night and by morning the herbal concoction was prepared and the ship had nearly stopped smelling of acidy vomit. It smelt mostly of cinnamon and liquorice with a few other herbs he couldn’t identify. But it filled the entire hall and seemed to permeate one’s clothing it was so strong.

  Wolflock went to check on Mothy and found Nü hanging small wreaths of rosemary and ginseng from each of the room entrances.

  “What are those for?” he asked when he saw Mothy was still asleep.

  “They ward off evil,” she answered flatly. He could tell she was lying straight away.

  “What are they really for?” he asked again.

  Nü smiled and got down off the stool she had been standing on to reach the top of the frames.

  “They’re nice to smell and fix your digestion. They also help to stop vomiting. Which is something I think everyone needs right now.”

  “Did your father say to do this?”

  Nü looked away as if she was ashamed, “My father is very busy. This is just something small I know how to do.”

  “What do you know about the river god Houl?” he asked conversationally.

  “Not very much. Our river gods in Xiayah are ancient dragons that keep the rivers flowing. They never bring illness,” she added pointedly to answer his question.

  “I lived in Plugh, which is just down the river, inland a little too, and I’ve never heard of Houl bringing illness either, which is strange. He has been known to capsize ships of murderers or those that would spill blood into his waters, but never cause anything like this.”

  Wolflock was going through all the options in his head. Had they picked up an epidemic from the marmuti? Had the god really cursed them? Or was there something he was missing? And more importantly, why were he, Geagle, Groger and Nü’s family the only ones not sick?

  “I’ll leave you with your thoughts,” Nü nodded and went back upstairs to tend to the herbal decoction.

  Wolflock hadn’t even noticed her leave and remained standing in the hallway staring out of Mothy’s window until the sun had begun to turn into a soft afternoon pink.

  His thoughts ran through his head like water although he stood as still as stone, but eventually he was disrupted by a tiny hand on his arm. The touch was light and tentative. Wolflock glanced down to see the black haired Didi not meeting his gaze.

  “Oh. Hello,” he said politely to the young boy. He couldn’t have been more than six.

  He didn’t say anything, but just pulled on Wolflock’s shirt gently, as if he was some guiding spectral creature. Curious as always, Wolflock allowed himself to be taken down under the deck, passed the coughing, vomiting, groaning company and to the Captain’s quarters.

  “Where are we going?” he asked with a furrowed brow, hoping this wasn’t a poorly timed practical joke.

  Didi stood with his head bowed by the Captain’s door, nervously fidgeting with his hands at his stomach. Wolflock placed his hand on the doorhandle of the room and Didi confirmed his actions with a nod. He opened the door with a long creak and saw Captain Blutro tossing his sweating face from side to side as if in a nightmare. Wolflock approached him and Didi came inside behind him, closing the door softly.

  “Captain?” Wolflock asked tentatively and approached the restless man. The room was covered in open books and loose papers that the Captain had taken from his chest before he’d fallen ill, most of them with dark images of black whirlpools or giant creatures crushing ships.

  As he drew nearer the Captain’s eyes flew open and stared unblinkingly at Wolflock, suddenly without moving.

  “Didi! Get your father or Nü!” Wolflock barked, fearing the Captain was dead. Didi rushed from the room with something i
n hand that looked like a rice paper scroll.

  He dropped to the Captain’s side and suddenly the aged man grabbed his arm with crushing force. Wolflock struggled but it was as if he was struggling against iron.

  “Houl... has cursed us...” the Captain wheezed in a strained voice, “As he did before... he has done again... Seeking vengeance for the lies of the ship... seeking revenge on the toxins within her hull... The poison... the poison of his wrath will cull our lives...”

  He then fainted back onto the bed, panting, returning to his state of tossing and turning delirium.

  Wolflock wrenched his arm free and fell back, staring in horror at the Captain. He had felt so powerless to help him and even more powerless to fight him. His bright blue eyes were wide and he felt as if he couldn’t breathe, but when he did breathe it felt sharp. His mind was flooded with the Captain’s delirious words. Had Houl really cursed them?

  If he had done this before then surely the Captain would have kept a log of it somewhere. Without hesitation Wolflock began digging through all the papers, scrolls, notes, maps and books that he could find in the room. He hadn’t seen any other books or papers around minus Slavidus’ roll of names and Geagle’s cookbook that he used as a chopping board, so if there was information he could use it would be here. As he went he sorted all the papers and by the time he made his way to Blutro’s chest he had tidied the entire room. Most of the maps were charts, some were treasure maps, others were artworks of the Captain and the ship as it travelled up and down the river. The scrolls were enchantments for safety (none for illness of this description), festival recipes, and random notes about the flora and fauna along the river. Wolflock stopped only once to pocket a note on the problems of Tuiti fruit to show Geagle later. The books varied hugely. From atlases to dictionaries, novels to diaries, but more importantly, ships logs. Finally he came across an old blue leather worn book with dark yellow pages and the smell of mildew. The first page was of an artwork of the Silver River from the Silver Lake to Shellinden, but the second page proved far more enlightening.