The Engkanto Quartet: Voyage to the East

Merfolks sighted

Days passed by, and Mischief Island had seemed to become their home as the ship’s repair was still going on. Instead of making themselves appear miserable, being survivors of a shipwreck and getting stuck on an island, they made the most of what the island could offer. Rakly grew to be the team’s anchor, asserting his leadership with ingenuity. “While we’re still fixing the ship,” he said, “we need to gather and preserve food for the next phase of the journey. We don’t know what lies ahead, and neither can we be certain that the Whaler can bring us to our destination. Don’t wallow in misery. Let’s enjoy our stay on the island and have fun. It’s indeed gloomy out there, and doom is waiting, but let’s have a life first before thinking about darker things.”

The stoic and pessimistic Tikloi had bought the idea, so did Velmer and Isuk. Ito had always been in awe of Rakly, who he considered the future King of Sarimanok. To him, he was the perfect being who had the quality of the gods. Although, Isuk would temper such expectations by telling the rooster stories of Rakly’s weaknesses as a human being. And he was narrating them with colorful humor. How he defied the community elders by sailing alone farther toward west equivalent to the distance beyond the Isle of Safety, or how he seduced a young woman in a pub who happened to be the wife of a trader from another country. But none of these would sway Ito’s belief.

In one of those shipwrecked days, eyes were set on the island from a distance as Isuk bragged about the different dishes he could cook with the ingredients they had gathered. “Fish soup with mushroom, fish steak, grilled venison, pork with chili pepper cooked in coconut milk, you name it. They’re Ragua’s delicacy,” he said. “And always leave the fishing to me.”

“I can only distinguish edible grass and mushrooms from the poisonous ones,” Tikloi said. 

“Not with me. I’m the best cook on this island,” grinned Isuk. “I’m also good at roasting chicken.”

Ito, who had slowly become used to the brutality of Isuk’s humor, would only nod his head. “I remember there was a young cook in one of the towns in the Mainland,” he clucked, “one day, he became a soup.”

“There’s no punchline, Sarimanok,” chortled Isuk. 

Everyone’s laughing their hearts out until their stomachs were all in pain. The entire island heard their howling.

The scent of rain on the grass was still fresh, which was a balm to the senses. They had just taken a break from repair work. Tikloi and Velmer teamed up to collect mushrooms, wild berries, and edible grass on the island’s interior. The mushroom-loving Ito went with them, while Isuk and Rakly went fishing in the shallows. 

“I got a bite,” Isuk said as he pulled the line. “It’s quite heavy.” He slipped on a smooth-surfaced rock as the giant coral fish called the tang, about a meter and a half long, jumped out of the water. 

“I haven’t seen such a coral fish that big in Ragua,” Rakly said. 

“I didn’t expect this big a bounty for a first catch. The gods must have blessed me with this one,” Isuk replied. 

“We’ve been eating raw fish for many days, although sometimes grilled. Let’s try something new,” Rakly suggested.

“How about fish soup with wild mushrooms?”

“I can’t imagine what it would taste like.”

“Don’t forget I’m the island’s best cook,” barked Isuk.

Isuk had won the bragging rights. He was reminded of the relaxed life that he had back in Ragua when they would go on exchanging jokes. “Did you see it?” he asked.

“What?”

“The boiled eggs underneath.”

“She took them from me,” Rakly chortled. 

“She or he?”

They would roar wild at their oft-repeated joke that only the two of them understood. It had something to do with the carefree spirit of the young men and women of Ragua. 

As the two were having fun exchanging their distinctly Raguan humor, something was moving behind the rock off the shore. A silhouette of a man appeared, and then it disappeared only to reappear in another place. A moment later, a huge splash in the water reverberated in the raft, like a wave hitting a rock, only that the waves were not big enough to create such a loud sound. 

Rakly jumped off the raft and swam to the rock with a smooth surface where the shadow of a moving object was before it disappeared. He stood on the rock and looked around, but he did not spot anything suspicious. Their camp was about two hundred meters from where he was standing, and Isuk remained on the bamboo raft, which they used as a platform for fishing. Not far from the raft, a large fishtail came out of the water, splashing, and rustling before it disappeared again. It must be a giant fish — or, at least, heavier than the one that Isuk had caught. 

The current moved the raft slowly, which made Isuk jump off it into the water, and then he dove undersea. At the base of the rock where Rakly was standing, a strange creature was hiding behind it. It had the upper body of a man, and the lower body was that of a fish. Isuk remembered the stories of Konradus, and he concluded that it must be merfolk. The idea alone of seeing merfolk made him petrified. He was unable to move. But thankfully, the creature did not notice him. He kept still underwater as the fish-man plunged into the deep.

Isuk quietly surfaced and hurried back to the raft, and then he waded to the shore with the catch. Rakly met him halfway. “Did you see them?”

“Them? I saw one,” Isuk replied.

“There were three on the shore. They swam away as soon as I was near.”

“What are they? They’re merfolks, aren’t they?”

“They’re called siokoys, merfolks from the deep,” Rakly replied. “They fit the description Konradus told in his many stories.”

Isuk thought that he was right after all. “I thought siokoys are scary creatures found only in the tales of old.”

“They’re the male version of mermaids. I think they mean no harm. Us being here has caught their attention, and yes, they can be very dangerous. That’s how people would tell stories about them. That’s also because they know little. The less we know, the greater our prejudice. People are afraid of the unknown, yet they’re fascinated by it,” Rakly explained.

“But I’m not scared,” Isuk said.

The waves started to grow big by the minute. It was high tide, and it’s time to go back to the camp. 

Upon reaching the camp, Velmer and Tikloi were already preparing the wild berries, fruits, and mushrooms. “We’re going to have a feast tonight,” the dwarf said. “What are you going to do with your catch?”

“Fish soup with mushrooms. I also have the wine ready,” replied Isuk.

“Just give me dried mushrooms,” Ito butted in. 

“Did you happen to notice anything strange in the sea?” Tikloi asked.

“We did. I saw a half-fish and half-man creature,” Isuk said.

“Oh, the mermen from the undersea world of the Siokoy,” Velmer said.

“Do you mean, Siokoy is a place?” Isuk asked.

“Yes, it’s a place,” the dwarf revealed some truths about the world of the undersea. “But as time passes by, people under the sun call the mermen Siokoy and the mermaids, Serena. But Serena is another place in the undersea world. It’s a queendom of the mermaids.” 

Velmer also told of the alliance between the mermaids and Engkanto formed during the Battle of the Firetree Forest. The sighting of the mermen did not concern him at first since they’re allies. But the dwarf felt uneasy. “Merfolks are good creatures. But they would not swim away without leaving a message.”

“Maybe, that’s their message — that they’re watching us in the seas, too,” Rakly came up with a theory.

“I hope that’s the case. But they could be spying on us for unknown reasons. Let’s stay vigilant. The times are changing, and we can’t underestimate the power and influence of the enemy.”

“Merfolks are not fond of the people under the sun,” Tikloi joined. “Just like any other creatures on earth, many hate their kind.”

“I have some old friends from Siokoy and Serena,” the dwarf said. “Like us, they’re good people. We fought side by side against the forces of Lor Gorgo. They’re our allies during that bloody battle. There are books written about them by explorers that depict them as monsters. That’s because the authors don’t know much about them.”

While they were feasting on the day’s catch, Velmer told them about the history and origins of the mermaids and mermen. He narrated how the rift between factions had widened. For a complete reference of the dwarf’s account, he had written a book called The Battle of the Firetree Forest with copies widely available in Engkanto’s libraries. 

Isuk’s freshly made palm wine warmed their spirits through the night under a starry sky.