4. Secret Source

Paunet had expected these issues. His ship had only been in construction for a few weeks, and finally started to look like something, when the President refused to support him further. After the message that the war had ended, he didn’t find it all that necessary to build the biggest ship ever to defeat “the enemy”.

Paunet asked for a hundred wooden beams—he received fifty. He asked for enough white cloth to wrap around the entire building—he received barely enough for a gown.

He paced the harbor square with frustrated leaps.

“Ah, Paunet!” said the mongoose behind the stall, in the same place as always, selling the same wares as always.

“Monogo! Not the moment! Unless you have news for me?”

“Huh? No, course not. Have me stall. Same as always, nothing to complain ‘bout, nothing—”

“As I thought,” Paunet mumbled.

He finally found the President. Paunet’s patience for formal introductions and greetings had worn thin. His wing curled around the hare’s back and he nearly pushed his beak into his long ears.

“It’s a lie, President! Surely you’re smart enough to see that?”

“Pardon?”

“That fake message that the war is over.”

The hare hopped alongside him. “A lie? Signed by the king himself?”

Everything in the Caribean seemed to bathe in a yellow glow, and nature could be a green so bright that you had to avert your eyes. It was a lovely sunny place. Frankly, the only downsides were the war and the buccaneers. And coconuts that could hit you on the head at any time.

So why do I desperately want to leave? Paunet asked himself. He’d designed this plan for years. And now he wasn’t sure if he had to continue. But I really want to leave.

“A wax seal can be faked easily, say I. Centuries ago they even faked Companion Necklaces to great effect. And those things were far more rare than a stamp and some wax!”

The president chattered his teeth and looked skeptical. “Say you’re right. What’s the plan? Why pretend the war is over?”

“Simple, your honor. We stop building ships. We stop defending ourselves. In a few weeks, all our cannons have moved or been disassembled—and voila, the enemy takes our island easily.”

The hare shook his head. “I don’t see it. I am sorry, Paunet. I fear your ship—”

Paunet placed even more colorful feathers around the President, constricting him like a snake.

“I had hoped I didn’t need to do this,” he whispered, “but I know it is a trap.”

“Pardon?” The President hopped more vividly, until they rounded a corner and were alone.

“From a secret source. They also claim the enemy has a fleet of fifty ships, with one hundred cannons per ship.”

The President looked surly. “Of course. A secret source. Hundreds of cannons per ship.”

Paunet now placed his wings back on his heart and solemnly swore. “If someone asks me to keep a secret, then I am honorable enough to do so, say I! All I can say is that the information comes from somebody who worked for the enemy but has switched sides. You know how many powerful contacts my family has.”

The President did not walk away or make another sarcastic remark. He was lost in thought.

Paunet pushed some parchment against his belly. “My final request for more gold, I promise it. That ship will be our masterpiece. No, wait, I will name it in your honor! Come. Let me show you!”

“Fine,” he grunted.

Together they entered the large hall. The cracks in the beige stone walls had been fixed. He’d even asked a painter to provide a colorful and artistic wall painting that made the entire hall look as if you were inside a rainforest.

He’d also placed two purple doors in the gaping hole at the side. They had no door handles—another weird invention by the monkeys—but a plate you could headbutt. If you did, it unlocked and you could simply push open the doors by continuing to walk. A door that most animals could use, at least.

Upon entry, the President sniffed, moving the black tip of his snout up and down rapidly.

“I, erm,” whispered Paunet, “purchased some flowers to give the place a bit of a nicer small. Necessary, say I.”

“So that’s where the money goes?”

“A good smell is half the job.”

Fortunately, the President lost his skepticism when he saw the ship. It was only a skeleton now. Some loose wooden beams, half of an underside, a piece of cloth still looking for a lovely mast.

It was already impressive, though. It took a full minute to circle the entire length of the monstrous vehicle.

It rested on a row of round logs. Once the ship was done, they’d open the doors to the harbor, and simply roll the ship off of the logs and into the water. Paunet could already see it. He’d jump on the ship, wind in his feathers, and discover the wide world.

When he left the hall, he bumped into his wife again. He quickly closed the two purple doors and locked them.

“Ah dear, we meet again!”

She folded her wings. “And at the same location. With … the President?”

Paunet continued walking, his wing curled around the hare again. “Yes, yes, he helps me to find the next … empty space to inspect. Tough task! Little time!”

“We’re going to sing with magical unicorns on another planet, after dinner,” his wife said. “Fine with you?”

“Yes, yes, what an excellent idea, dear,” he mumbled in response.

Everyone had put out their flags to celebrate the “end of the war”. A wooden sign announced a large party using colorful letters: Peace in Barbala!

“You see,” Paunet whispered, “exactly what the enemy wants. What’s the best moment to strike?”

The President froze and mumbled. “At a large party. When everyone is in the same place, celebrating, caught off guard.”

He turned to Paunet now, his tall ears stiff and upright. “How long until the ship’s done.”

“A month or two.”

“I accede to your request. You’ll get your gold. Work fast.”

The hare visited the group of animals that had just placed the wooden sign. As Paunet walked away, he heard confused cries about why the party had to be “delayed two months”.

Smiling, he visited all the stalls to order extra materials. The President hadn’t even seen that he asked for much more than the original blueprint wanted.

He shopped until night fell. Rays of moonlight traveled through the stained glass windows of the church and created colorful figures on the cobblestones of the square. Some couples danced over them, accompanied by an ape playing some musical instrument. He had to smile.

Barbala was a beautiful island, so why did he want to leave?

His smile disappeared when he saw his building again.

The doors had been opened.

The burglar had shut them again, carefully and neatly, but that didn’t matter: the secret lock on the door lay in the grass, in two pieces.

“Hello?” Paunet squeaked softly. Dumb, so dumb. You shouldn’t have made a sound!

No reaction. His left wing pushed open the left door, with such care that only his beak fit through the crack. He took a deep breath and pushed further.

The space was dark and desolate. Moonlight only reached it through the smallest windows near the ceiling. The only sound was the wind rustling the palm trees and the clashing waves of the ocean.

The moonlight revealed a message.

The parchment was lodged between two beams to keep it upright and clearly visible. Was that … a skull?

Red letters, as if painted with blood. An icon of a dolphin with razor-sharp tridents—the commonly used icon to signal the Curse of the Dolphin Pass. He read the first few sentences and then lost his courage to read more.

Destroy this ship that violates sea law, or we destroy Barbala without remorse. The curse comes for those who forget the past or glorify the future.

“I said it!” Paunet yelled. He ran outside, half flying, half stumblin.

“Someone broke into my hall! The enemy is here! They’re coming for us! The war isn’t over at all! Aaaaaaah.”