Blogtober 2022 Day Three entry
“A magical force?” Eila echoed. “What kind? Another ship, with a magician casting a spell?”
“This force would require the spellcaster to be much closer,” Wynn said.
“Close enough that we could see another ship?” she asked.
“Certainly.”
“What else, then?”
“Nothing I’ve ever encountered, captain,” Wynn said. “Overcoming the Earth’s magnetic field is no trivial matter. It would require a force beyond our knowledge.”
“If it isn’t coming from another ship, then it must be coming from an island,” Eila said.
“Yes,” Wynn agreed. “One we’ve yet to discover.”
“Can we follow the compass to its source?” she asked.
“No, captain,” Wynn said. “That’s why I know the force is magic and not magnetic. The compass never settles; it spins in random directions.”
“We can do nothing about it now,” Eila said. “We’re still becalmed, and until the skies clear, we won’t be able to navigate by the stars.”
“Your orders?”
“My uncle told me when all else fails, you can always drink.”
“Which uncle is this?”
“Lachlan.”
“The Queen’s husband?”
“That’s the one.”
“That makes sense,” Wynn said. “He is Scottish, after all.”
“Have the men bring up two casks of the Syrian wine,” Eila said.
When the wine appeared, she invited her crew to help themselves. They were silent at first, and then low talking became punctuated with quiet laughter. A pipe and a flute were brought out to play a merry tune. The mood grew so happy no one noticed when the stars appeared above them.
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