Pacific Ocean II: Arrival at Katau Peidi
- At July 13, 2023
- By Great Quail
- In White Leviathan
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7) Arrival at Katau Peidi
Near Easter Island, October 22-31, 1845
A) Clear Sailing
The location of Katau Peidi/Kith Kohr is not fixed; Joab knows the island’s general whereabouts, but must rely on a combination of past experience and good fortune to locate it. The Quiddity will zigzag its way across the South Pacific, taking in a few whales and keeping a lookout for an uncharted island.
B) Dreams of the Wandering Island
During this desultory search for Katau Peidi, the demands of the Change press themselves ever more urgently upon Morgan. The blacksmith is taunted by feelings that something important is going to happen; that something important will soon be found. His dreams are haunted by whispers in the deep, voices inviting him to some wondrous revelation just beyond the next wave… In fact, this may be a good time for Morgan to wake up from some nocturnal swim!
Lowell’s Dreams
If Professor Lowell has accepted Communion with Sarah, the approaching presence of Kith Kohr brings an increasing awareness of another Elder Thing, another stranded alien trapped somewhere deep below the waves. This poor creature is Nang-Ludapa, the imprisoned Thing that enkindles the pocket Dreamworld of the Nangaï. Although “rescuing” the “Small Dreaming Octopus” is beyond the scope of this scenario, it’s certainly possible that Lowell may begin dreaming about Nang-Ludapa, a creature so mad and lonely it truly believes itself to be a sunken demigod.
C) Halloween Fog
The morning of October 31, 1845, couldn’t be more different than last year’s Halloween. The day is clear and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky as the men discuss their upcoming one-year anniversary of setting sail. It’s a standard workday, but no whales are sighted, so the men are free to skylark.
The evening is a different story. The temperature drops as the sun sets, and soon the weather can be officially called “chilly.” A strange fog rises from the placid ocean, sending cat-paws of mist padding around the masts and probing down the grating. There’s something uncanny about the fog, and men trade anxious stories about Kingsport’s Halloween Tempest. Soon Joab stomps on deck, but his face bears a look of excitement. A few experienced hands trade looks—they’ve experienced this strange fog before in these waters. Quentin Shaw mutters, “It’s going to be that island again, I think.” The wind dies to an imperceptible breeze, and the ship drifts through the eerie shroud. Pynchon instructs the watch, “Keep a sharp eye, men, and call me if you see anything…strange.”
D) The Sentinel Stone
The night remains fogbound, a damp chill glistening from the rigging and blanketing the interior of the ship. The moment the sun rises, the fog ignites with a golden glow, a cold inferno of tangerine light. The morning watch takes over at 8:00 am, but posting lookouts at the masthead is out of the question. Nevertheless, Joab scours the golden fog for something.
It appears without warning, a few dozen yards off the starboard bow. A spire of basalt like a solitary tower. Joab greets it with a triumphant cry, “Ha, a sentinel stone! This is it! Katau Peidi! We’ve found it!” Pynchon rushes to the quarterdeck to relieve the helmsman.
As the ship drifts past the monolith, its features emerge from the misty foreground. The pillar seems to be a stone totem-pole of sorts, its girth carved with images of leaping fish, fronds of kelp, and leering sea serpents. The top is crowned with a massive, three-faced head, its stony features recalling the moai of Easter Island. Each face bears a different visage. The face directed towards the Quiddity bears the flat features of a Polynesian native. As the ship glides past the solemn monolith, the adjacent face comes into focus; but this one more distorted, with goggling eyes and piscine lips. A Spot Hidden roll recognizes a resemblance to Morgan. The third face is directed away from the Quiddity, but a shift in currents brings it partially into view from the taffrail. To anyone who accompanied the Lowell Expedition, the likeness is unmistakable, even from an occulted angle: the third head bears the visage of the frog-men of Y’ha-n’thal.
White Leviathan, Chapter 5—Pacific Ocean II
[Back to Chapter 6: Gam with the Persephone | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Chapter 6, Katau Peidi]
Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 7 December 2024
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
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