Once the interview with Anton was over, Jacob hurried out of the hotel. The oppressive intensity of the spirits increased little by little, stopping briefly at the hotel entrance where Rodolfo waited, sitting in what looked like a comfortable armchair.

  —I see you're leaving, young Jacob —said Rodolfo while drinking a Jassubiana tea.

  —That's right, Mr. Rodolfo. I'm on my way to find the survivor of O'Donnell's team —Jacob, cheerfully, waved goodbye to the donkeys through the window.

  Rodolfo thoughtfully looked at Jacob for a few moments, which made him a little uncomfortable. Nervously, he asked:

  —What's wrong? —Jacob asked honestly.

  —Hmm, I'll let you find out, Mr. Jacob! Don't worry, you'll soon receive help from an unexpected place —Rodolfo slapped both hands on his knees.

  —I hope so! I'm completely lost in this situation, I don't know how I'll solve it, hahaha! —Scratching his head, Jacob gave a final wave to Rodolfo and hurried out of the hotel. The oppressive aura of the ephemeral spirits in the place was strong and increasing, even with the dreamcatchers.

  —Aaah, a little rest. Hotels, hospitals, and transport stations are always very difficult; ephemeral spirits quickly notice an evocator and try to force themselves on me… —Jacob took out his rabbit skin notebook and looked down.

  —I don't know how to solve this situation. Mysterious cargo, a non-existent port, people! This is difficult —Jacob slumped onto a bench in a park away from the hotel; his social interactions of the day had exhausted him. This park had gardens with Jassubiana bushes around them that effectively expelled all spiritual entities from the place; those pots had salt containers at their base, which were necessary for the Jassubiana plants. The bush itself was sparse with leaves, but some, with a small bulb at the base, emitted a strong smell similar to freshly cut ginger. The clear, crystalline purple flowers radiated a calming aura; trees and various types of plants attracted small birds and insects of various kinds.

  Jacob finally relaxed a bit, watching life pass by around him, thinking about what Akir and Anton had told him. In the end, his thoughts drifted to white iron.

  —What will be its melting point? How malleable is it? Is it an alloy or not entirely iron? Its density? —Jacob for a moment let his imagination run wild, analyzing in a thousand ways the element he still didn't have in his hands.

  —I wonder what happened? Well, I can't solve anything here. I'd better go see the guy from Mr. O'Donnell's group —Jacob sadly resumed his walk, visibly upset about not having the amazing white iron with him. The afternoon sun, characteristic of Evookia's summer, beat down.

  At six in the afternoon, Jacob waited outside the hotel where the boy, whose name he still didn't know, was supposedly staying.

  —He's probably not coming —Jacob thought, sitting in the hotel lobby. The minutes passed and there was still no sign of the man.

  —Well, I give up —Jacob sighed aloud as he stood up, when suddenly the young lady at the counter turned and addressed Jacob.

  —Are you Jacob Mahogany? —the kind young lady asked him.

  —Huh?… Yes, that's right, I'm Jacob, can I help you? —Jacob, intrigued, looked at the young lady who was approaching him with her hand in her pocket as if looking for something.

  Jacob had a slight premonition, as if calamity was approaching in that hand, so he prepared himself a little just in case it was necessary to react.

  —Here! A boy left it a while ago… He told me to wait a couple of hours before giving it to you. I apologize, please, that boy seemed to be having a bad time… and… I felt sorry for him, he seemed very distressed since he arrived! I'm sorry, the boy you're looking for sneaked out through the kitchen a while ago. I let him out… —The young lady, crestfallen and sad, seemed genuinely upset about the situation. Jacob just sighed and took his hand out of the sheath where a defense Ofuda was located.

  —It's alright, it's alright, don't worry, I'll see what I can do —Jacob replied, taking the letter and reading:

  "Sir, forgive this man. The guilt and repentance in this letter are a sign that because of me, Davey Jones Lock, 90 souls were lost.

  My guilt is great and my repentance weighs on me like the entire ship and its crew combined. That horrible memory of the 18th of this month hangs over me like all the white iron we carried as contraband. Great Enrya knows how much regret I have in my mind.

  Captain Johan told me to leave the lifeboats and dinghies, so O'Donnell and I replaced them with more wine.

  We smuggled it, hidden in barrels of fermented fruit on the barracks corridors; this served to silence the other officers.

  Johan knew we couldn't put that metal in the cargo bay, so we put it inside ballast A.

  Oh, God, all the screams, the smell of salt and blood in my lungs. I barely made it out of the cabin at midnight and poor O'Donnell came back for the pay bags he and Johan received in advance. I remember very well how O'Donnell told me about his daughter and wife: 'Finally I can stop sailing, this is it, only this and never beyond the blue line.' Poor devil, I won't be carrying the hammocks to the families, No, it won't be me!

  Hear me, mother of salt,

  To your children I give to the sea.

  The blood and the mud,

  To the sea I give.

  Come, inhabitants of the tides,

  Take the flesh, blood, and sorrows!

  Take us, great marsh,

  Where we can sail forever.

  We await the day

  that all the souls of my companions rejoice knowing that I will join them today.

  As a complete crew we will set sail

  to the eternal valleys where the sun sets and the sea shines.

  To my dear family, with my crew I go to the endless seas,

  do not look for me, I go from the heart."

  Jacob felt Davey's pain and sorrow in the letter. A small ephemeral spirit of suffering emerged from behind the paper, clung to Jacob with cold, sad hands, and watched him as he read.

  —Oh… no! —Jacob, in a hurry, rushed out of the hotel.

  —I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier… —the young lady called out to Jacob, who was disappearing down the streets, guided by that ephemeral spirit.

  With an incredible sense of nervousness, Jacob ran through the streets of Evookia. He could barely keep pace; the pain and desperation of the letter permeated his mind, dragging him into an intense state of sadness.

  —I understand, you are taking me to Davey; this is his sadness... I must stand firm, and remember that what I feel is not my pain, or it will drag me down with it —Jacob struggled to maintain his pace and sanity, guided as if by an invisible hand. He knew exactly where to follow Davey. Circling around some parts of the town, Jacob eventually reached that emerald green beach he had walked the day before, this time heading in the opposite direction of his last visit.

  —That boy went to the worst place! —Jacob stopped a few steps away. He was at the entrance to Yelbitsin, the Black Forest. That place in front of Jacob stretched for kilometers of labyrinthine extensions of tall, hexagonal basaltic black stone formations with little light. Teeming with spiritual activity, the place was, for many reasons, respected in the area.

  As if opening an oven, the vitiated air of the place hit Jacob head-on, challenging him to enter. In complete fear, he could only clench his fists; his feet would not move. Sweat ran intensely down his forehead and a feeling of a horrible fate emanated from the depths.

  —Come on, Jacob, you've entered darker places! —he told himself, squeezing the letter in his hand. The spirit of sadness encouraged him to enter.

  —Guide me! Take me to the one who breathed life into you! —Jacob put the letter away and placed this small, purple, plump being on the ground. It looked at him for a couple of seconds before setting off into Yelbitsin. It turned to look at a hesitant Jacob, encouraging him with a gesture of its hand to enter.

  —I guess that’s a "follow me" —Jacob took a determined, firm step inside, following that creature. The hair on his skin bristled as he passed through the entrance of that place, and together with that creature, they quickly ventured into the labyrinthine site.

  —The stagnant feeling in the place is enormous, I can barely contain myself: so many sad ephemerals, so much fury, so much hatred —In every corner, small beings of all shapes peeked out, and some bolder ones began to follow him as if pursuing a delicious treat. Jacob could not put up barriers, as his guide spirit could disappear into the gloom, so he clung to himself as much as he could. Incredible whispers reached his ears, each one more out of control than the last. However, he had already had a similar experience, further from reason and light than this one, so it only brought back some memories that he tried with all his being not to bring to the surface at this moment.

  —I feel Davey's pain and sorrow, we must be close —Jacob once again felt the need to pick up that bronze cylinder. He took it, looked at it against the light; for some reason, it comforted him.

  For an instant, Jacob lost sight of that ephemeral guide spirit. His momentary distraction made him lose his way and, for a moment, silence. The air inside Yelbitsin was hot and oppressive.

  —Was it like this, or did I just not notice? —Jacob could not remember this sensation upon entering. Glancing to the sides and behind, he could see that he was in a wide clearing free of rocky formations. That clearing formed a circular area that allowed in a little light which, by that hour, was already disappearing, flooding with darkness.

  Perplexed, Jacob stopped for a few moments, watching how from the corners and places where the light almost fearfully avoided, spirits huddled: not just ephemerals, but people, objects, and plants. All watched him intently.

  All watched that fearful evocator, drawing a line around himself. With fear and intensity in the circle, Jacob felt abandoned. Little by little, the smallest and most dying ephemeral spirits walked towards him, bursting into iridiscent flames with each step they took within the barrier. A spectacle of multicolored embers began to surround him, advancing without fear of being consumed. Several spirits were exorcised around him.

  —Don't come, you'll burn! —Jacob said in a low voice. The more dying spirits withered before him and disappeared like smoke in the air.

  —DO NOT ADVANCE, YOU WILL NOT PASS THE BARRIER! —Jacob, fearful, took a handful of salt and threw it around himself.

  —Follow your path and I will follow mine, I am not here for you, I am just passing through... please... go away! —Several smoke plumes rose around Jacob while he held his head with both hands, in total panic.

  —The death of a spirit —he thought, scared and immobile. Just then, a second group of spirits moved from the shadows, running at the sight of an opportunity to force themselves into Jacob; for them, the situation was perfect. But this time, at the first step, the young evocator's mental limit weakened. With a sharp pain in his temple, a warm, red thread sprouted from his forehead. With the second step of those beings entering his mental limit, they began to speak closer and closer to him.

  —Limit and continuity, Massacrax's law…! FORGE A SWORD, BUILD A VEHICLE FROM SCRATCH, EAT DELICIOUS MEAT, GO ON ADVENTURES WITH ITHIL AND MINA, DISCOVER WHAT WHITE IRON IS! —Jacob, in pain and fear, concentrated on the things that made him who he was, on forging objects within himself, on his memories. Those beings suddenly stopped and, like small flakes emanating from the spirits, colorful embers rose again before him. Some of these spirits took a step back, returning to the shadows; others, more threatening and determined, kept walking. Little by little, those who walked towards Jacob began to shimmer in blue and white tones.

  —Get out of here, I have no intention of making a pact with any of you! —Jacob began to feel the threat of the spirits, who were trying to force themselves into him. Jacob set another boundary, this time stronger than the previous one: a barrier was drawn around him, creating a kind of pulsating hexagon.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  —Wandering spirits, ephemeral entities! Get out of this place, there is nothing for you here! —Still scared, Jacob, closing his eyes and firm, shouted with all his might. Several entities began to gather around him. Some were incinerated by the first barrier; others only took damage to stop at the reddish barrier of the Ofuda as if it were a glass wall. Even so, fear began to gnaw at Jacob's mental limits. With impossible faces and horrible visages, they slammed head-on into the barrier to mockingly ooze through it to the floor. With fantastic hands and limbs, Jacob's reddish barrier began to be strangled.

  —Get out of here! Go away, NANYYY! —Jacob shouted, remembering his lifelong caretaker. He called her Nana. He brought his hands back to both sides of his head and huddled, trying to calm down. That's when his vision blurred.

  —Clank, Clank, Clank —reached Jacob's ears. His hands laboriously tried to reach for a doorknob, taking small jumps with all his strength.

  —Dad, let me in! Dad, Mom, I want to come in! —A small 4-year-old Jacob knocked on the two enormous doors of the main workshops of the Mahogany house.

  —Nana, take Jacob away! —exclaimed his father's voice, hurried and with a touch of fear. From inside the workshop, where he and his mother had been secluded for 3 days, a tall, tree-like figure with tanned skin, short black hair, walked to the door where Jacob was crying.

  —Little master, what are you doing here? It's long past bedtime —Nana said with a crystal-clear voice, taking little Jacob under his arms and bringing him to her chest, where Jacob nestled, sobbing.

  —Dad and Mom won't come out, and there's a huge animal that sneaked into the workshop with them, I'm scared something will happen! —Jacob pointed to the room, where he watched something slither under the door while trembling uncontrollably.

  —Calm down, calm down, everything has a beginning, an end... and a continuous. I'm glad you can see them, little master… but that means you'll have to learn to deal with them —Jacob sobbed a little more and looked at Nana.

  —Are you sure? Will they not harm me? —Jacob asked. Nana just walked down the hallway, humming a soft and tender song.

  —Oh no, little master! They will hurt you if they can, do not trust them, betrayal and harm is their name. Now that they know you can see them, they will try to take you like a sweet bun pursued by a child. Relax, young master, you will find a lot of information about them in the library. I advise you that if you do not want to suffer a horrible fate, study them as much as you can, read, devour books; only there will be your salvation —Jacob stopped for an instant and his fear reached its peak. Suddenly, Nana's voice was not the one he knew; something deep resonated between the vowels and something ruinous between the consonants. Fearfully, he turned to look at Nana, but only saw darkness and thousands of hands and mouths approaching him with a selfish and merciless yearning.

  —Haaaaaaa! —With a shout, Jacob released an enormous wave of energy, expelling several spirits that were already entering him. Drawing strength from within, Jacob took with his hands 3 spirits that had several threads of darkness introduced into their mouths and ears, painfully tearing them out. The words and desires of those entities left his mind as if a crowd suddenly fell silent and turned to look at Jacob. With shining eyes and open mouths, they disappeared like ink in water, all but one, who remained without turning to look at Jacob.

  —Who are you? What do you need? —Fearfully, Jacob said, gathering his remaining strength. Many spirits around him were already moving away; only he and that spirit who refused to leave remained. That melody resonated again in the air, that song Nana continuously sang to him. He instinctively took that tubular object he found and simply began to follow that song Nana used to sing so many times in his childhood.

  Stumbling through the corridors of Yelbitsin, Jacob walked along a path of light to reach a clearing near the seashore. Green grains of sand glittered in the full moon that shone brightly in the firmament. The high tide covered a large part of the beach, creating a fine mirror of crystal-clear water that was only discernible by the steps that disturbed the surface, and further in, the silhouette of two people, one behind the other. In front, a guy no older than 25 was kneeling, crying in front of the sea, singing a song dryly and sadly:

  "All aboard, look at the sun,

  it's late for everyone, say goodbye to that love.

  Where are we going, master sailor?

  Where, to the green and fragrant land?

  Where I go, I cannot say,

  forgive me, love, I will not return.

  It's getting late, the moon is already here,

  Hoist the sails!

  All aboard!

  The sea trembles!

  Tell everyone the sailor does not falter!

  All together like a family,

  take me far away, ship, my beloved,

  where the land is green and benign,

  may they never say I was not a sailor!"

  That figure behind the boy seemed to hum the song, accompanying him with an inhuman and ethereal voice that almost sounded like a wind instrument. Jacob looked at that young woman who at first seemed to be sitting on a wooden bench and perceived that her legs vanished into mist. Jacob felt a perverse aura and looked behind him again and could see a myriad of entities and ephemeral spirits, who perhaps for another person were not so fearsome, but in front of Jacob, they revived past experiences and this turned them into horrible apparitions. All of them were inexplicably stopped by the water's edge that reached the mouth of Yelbitsin's corridors.

  The strange mirror created by the abnormal tide on the beach reflected a world very different from ours. Visions from the other side permeated and overflowed the place. That reality glowed in alien colors and in visions devoid of what we called reality. Davey, lost in his trance, kept repeating his song non-stop. Behind him, accompanying him, was that entity that simply hummed in a way no human voice ever could. That scene felt sad rather than frightening; with a fleeting glance, that sadness was forgotten for a moment, looking at Jacob.

  — Are you the one sent by the Navigation Union? Nice to meet you, my name is Davey — asked the boy, looking at the sea without turning around.

  — That's right, I'm Jacob Mahogany!… I've been looking for you! — Jacob took from his bag that letter the girl in the hotel gave him. The spirit jumped from his hand, gliding with the letter, and floated next to the boy to, moments later, sit sadly beside Davey. Jacob sighed and looked back once more. Several ephemeral spirits watched the scene attentively and intrigued, as if waiting for an opportunity.

  — Well, as you can see, here I am waiting for my punishment! — Davey replied.

  — Why punishment, Davey? I don't even know if it was you yet —. Little by little, the winds from the sea began to increase.

  — Mr. Jacob, as you already found out, it was our responsibility to verify everything that afternoon! Old O’Donnell told us that… that we could skip guard duty, that everything was fine, he himself verified everything so we could rest… He lied to us, Mr. Jacob… he lied! — Davey's anger resonated in every word, devoid of hatred and full of regret. The responsibilities he abandoned that day were undoubtedly the key, but not the reason for the sinking.

  — But… but it was our responsibility and now the Rosa María is sunk! And with it… my dear Organ is also at the bottom — Davey was visibly destroyed. Just then, Jacob felt a slight prick in his forehead accompanied by another warm, red thread of blood that joined the previous one.

  — DAVEY, you cannot change what happened, but you can help me see that the culprits are punished! You were following orders, it wasn't your fault! You acted under deception —. An unnatural wind raged on the beach. The waves thickened, arriving with more vigor than before. The circle around them filled with spirits of other types, some more dangerous than those already there, watched the situation with curiosity.

  — Davey, it wasn't your fault! Captain Johan and O’Donnell are the culprits! — Jacob insisted, trying to bring a light of reason to Davey.

  — No, Mr. Jacob… no! A ship depends on the entire crew to stay afloat. I can't blame anyone else. If I hadn't stayed playing my organ all afternoon instead of finishing my work, the ship would still be afloat and my companions… — Davey collapsed into tears just before finishing that sentence.

  The wind raged more and more on the shores of the sea.

  — Your Organ? — Jacob asked.

  — Yes… my companions used to tell me, in the midst of calm and storm… "Davey, play that thing, we can't sing without the organ," and they all together would begin…

  All aboard, look at the sun

  It's late for everyone, say goodbye to that love

  Where are we going, Mr. Navigator

  Where? To the land green and fragrant

  Where I'm going, I cannot say

  Forgive me, my love, I won't return

  It's getting late, the moon is already here

  Hoist the sails!!

  All aboard!!

  The sea trembles!!

  Tell everyone the sailor does not falter

  Nearby clouds turned black and began to gather around them as if the sky besieged them.

  Just as the woman behind him sang, her voice became more recognizable. Jacob took that cylindrical object from his bag and looked at it once more; on the left side, it had a engraved C, which should be the associated note. Undoubtedly, this was part of the Organ.

  Jacob hadn't noticed it before, but that young girl was trying with all her might to call Davey. Without success, the wind and the increasingly intense darkness turned the afternoon into a cold night.

  — Is she the Organ? Have I been listening to her all this time? — Jacob thought while the young girl, without moving from her spot, called to Davey with all her might. Jacob felt the weight of the Organ's sadness begin to settle around him.

  — It seems the Organ loved Davey very much; she's been trying to contact me since day one — Jacob thought, and containing all his fear, finally spoke to the Organ:

  — I can help you, but I need to know what you want to do! —

  Jacob looked at the Organ. That young woman turned her gaze, nodding. She began to move next to Jacob and pointed with her hand to that cylinder Jacob held. Jacob, fearfully, raised it and nodded.

  Just like on the day the Rosa María sank, waves and winds began out of nowhere.

  — I understand, Davey won't let you get close to him, he's very sad, his guilt is too great and he can't hear you. The ephemeral spirit of sadness is joining his guilt; they will devour him if we don't act fast — Jacob examined Davey more closely. A plump being was forcing its way in through his back, while the spirit of the Organ tried to pull it out without success.

  — If we don't do something soon, the ephemeral spirits will completely take Davey. He seems to be reacting a little to you… personally, I'm afraid of you… but please, help me rescue Davey — Jacob asked for help from the spirit of the Organ, the one Davey loved so much on the Rosa María. At last, he could see it clearly. Jacob took that cylinder and concentrated to enter into conversation with that spirit:

  — I am Jacob, blacksmith by profession and evocator by birth from the Valley of Brodovia! Under the authority of mediator of Sefte, I grant you a name, Lizva of Organ, lend me your services over the Apodexis of Cannu, be one of my voices! — That spirit accepted with a quick nod of its head. Jacob smiled a little to himself.

  — I, within me, 12 seats, 4 jurors, one wish, 3 words, 6 desires, 9 longings, 18 compassions, 36 eternals, carry me and guide me on my own path and assist my actions —. With a swirling whistle, that apparition entered Jacob. A feeling deepened in his body and he felt as if his heart sang. For an instant, he saw a world of notes and music he had never before perceived. That pact now seemed not so frightening, very different from his previous interactions with ephemeral spirits.

  — Davey, would you like to play a little more? — Jacob asked. With a movement of his hand, a beautiful Organ of silver and ivory appeared before them.

  — My Organ, it's really here! — Davey ran joyfully, moving away from the ephemeral spirits surrounding him and throwing them into the air as an incredible aura of joy filled Davey's soul. He played while singing animatedly. Jacob looked at the horizon where a pair of masts emerged from the sea.

  The Rosa María emerged from the waters, glowing in a brilliant blue, and moments later Jacob could hear the crew singing along with Davey. A ghostly chorus was heard on the seashore. The Rosa María was returning for Davey.

  — Davey, you're fine, your companions don't hold a grudge against you and it's not your fault, let's go back now — said Jacob, making way for Davey, but he did not return with Jacob.

  — No, Mr. Jacob, I've decided to join the crew once more! Here on land, I can't do anything right; with them, I'm better. I entrust my Organ to you, thank you very much! — That glow filled the place to dissolve again into the growing storm, leaving behind a trail of oil and broken timbers. Jacob huddled next to that figure of light; Lizva now protected him, and little by little, strength abandoned his small body, falling into a pleasant and deep sleep.

  Seagulls and waves sang together. The sun was at the highest point in the sky and a small boat sailed along the shore. In it, a worried Florence used several dog spirits; these scampered among the waves and stones, defying their previous limitations when they were alive. Soon, several ran, guided by their noses, to a pile of timbers and seaweed in a stone ditch.

  — Mr. Jacob? What are you doing here at this time? The Yelbitsin is completely flooded in storms — Florence, the harbor master, passed through the area in a motorboat. The sun shone brightly, burning with energy as if trying to wake him. That large sailor ran, getting out of the small rescue boat.

  — He's been lost for over 3 days, Mr. Jacob. I just found him. We've found a pile of debris from the Rosa María, as if it was expelled from the bottom; the fragments are all over the shore — Florence continued. Jacob just nodded and moved to get into the motorboat.

  — It's okay, Mr. Florence, I've finished my investigation. Tomorrow I'll bring the letter with my report — Jacob squeezed that tube that was now his first pact spirit.

  — Very well, Mr. Jacob, let's get out of here now — yelled Florence; the wind raged.

  — That's right, Mr. Florence, let's go. My work is done, the Rosa María now rests — Jacob and Florence left Yelbitsin behind, leaving Davey and the Rosa María, who now sailed freely across all seas.