The closer one got to the rim of the world, the stronger and less predictable the air currents grew. This made the region particularly hazardous for ships with sails, but slightly more pleasant for the travelers aboard Horizon Chaser… the sun was hot, and an occasional strong breeze was not a thing to be despised.
The chain of islands proved to be much as Katryn had described… four little crescents of rock sticking out of the water like chipped and pointed nails. From a distance, Jace didn’t see how it would be possible to make port at one, and he also doubted that anyone could have been put to rest on any of them. Gulls crowded the tops, but without wings it would be hard to reach any place to stand.
“Land’s on the other side of the rock,” Katryn explained to him. “That’s what makes it a good shelter for us… any ship that wants to land is going to have to come closer to the edge than most captains like.”
“Why can’t we see the edge?” Jace asked.
“You can, a bit, from here… just a bit,” she said. “It’s just there’s not really much to see. Look beyond the islands. See the white foam where the waves are breaking like they’re hitting something? That’s them hitting nothing… the nothing at the edge of the world.”
“How far is it?” Jace asked.
“From here, it’s about three miles, maybe four,” she said. “You’ll have a good look from the islands. We’re making for the easternmost one.”
The edge did rapidly grow more apparent as they approached. Kat had been right that there wasn’t much to see… it was like the world was shrinking, the horizon getting closer. With nothing beyond it but empty sky, it was hard to get the sense that they were heading for a cliff, but there was something disquieting about the way the water just stopped, and Jace was glad when they rounded the rock and he had something else to look at.
The eastern island had the lowest and widest “nail”. The rock sheltered an atoll, with a clear blue lagoon taking up much of the island. The strip of beach that separated the stretch of water between land and void was very thin, especially at the point closest to the edge. Green plants grew on the other sides of the lagoon, especially the south end, in the shade of the great rock face.
“This is where the mutineers were most likely marooned,” Kat said, looking out across the island from the prow of the little ship. “Since it would have had the best chance of supporting them at all… the islands would have all been a bit bigger back then, but this one was always the biggest, and it has the lagoon.”
“Is that freshwater?”
“No, it’s not as salty as the sea, but you wouldn’t want to drink it,” Kat said. “There are ground springs in the back of the island, though. No, the lagoon’s important for food… fishing’s not good this near the edge, otherwise.”
“Why’s that?” Jace asked.
Katryn gestured off to the side.
“Would you want to live your life with that always visible out one of your eyes?” she asked.
“No,” Jace said.
“Neither do fish.”
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