Stoneskin: Lost Tales from Esowon, #4

By Antoine Bandele

Long ago, before the end of the gods, a curse was set upon glass fragments strewn about the world. These objects were blessing and curse both. Within them held the power of the gods yet their core plagued the user with a heinous blight.

 

Faced against an empire helming warships against a village manning fishing boats, Jelani had no choice the day he decided to use the powerful yet vicious Gods' Glass. 

 

His reward for his heroism is paid in a disease that slowly consumes his body in welts of stone. To all who know it, brewmasters and scholars alike, it's a death sentence. It's only a matter of time before the stone takes his body whole, and with it, his mind and sanity, leaving him nothing more than a raging beast.

 

But there is rumor of a cure, a potion that can keep the plague at bay, though it comes with a price heavier than gold…

 

Delve into this prequel novella to By Sea & Sky, a pirate fantasy inspired by East African and Arabian myth and folklore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bandele Books
• Release date: Jun 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393483533

Book preview

Stoneskin

STONESKIN

Lost Tales from Esown

KAHRIQ SALIL

ANTOINE BANDELE

Edited by

FIONA MCLAREN

Bandele Books

Copyright © 2020 by Antoine Bandele

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in fair use context.

Interior Design: Vellum

Publisher: Bandele Books

Editor: Fiona McLaren

Cover Design: Mariah Sinclair

Cartographer: Maria Gandolfo | RenflowerGrapx

Character Art: Sarayu Ruangvesh

v.1.3 January 17, 2024

CONTENTS

What are The Lost Tales from Esowon?

Pronunciation Guide

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Jelani and Zala

Brewmaster

A Note From The Author

More to Read

About the Author

About the Author

Also by Antoine Bandele

Glossary

3D Book Promo

Stoneskin is a novella from the Lost Tales from Esowon, a series of standalone stories expanding on the world and story presented in

The Sky Pirate Chronicles: By Sea & Sky.

For suggested reading order, tap or click this link.

If you enjoy this story and are interested in the rest of its world, you can join the Esowon e-mail alerts list, where you’ll receive notifications for new book releases, exclusive updates, and behind-the-page content.

Just tap or click here to join.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Characters

Za·la - zah’lah

Je·lani - juh’lah’knee

Tafari - tah’fah’ree

Ganaji - gah’nah’gee

Djimon - gee’mon

Kujala - coo’jah’lah

Rashidi - rah’she’dee

Moti - mo’tee

Terms & Titles

A·ba·ra - ah’bah’rah

A·zi·za - ah’zee’zah

Cha·na - cha’nah

Di·ka·la - dee’kah’lah

Go·me·si - go’meh’see

I·ba·nu·je - ee’bah’new’jay

Kanzu - kan’zoo

Ki·ja·na - kee’jah’nah

Ku·ba·ha·ri - koo’bah’hah’ree

Pa·kka - pah’kah

Run·gu - roon’goo

To·ko·loshe - toe’koe’losh

Jo·ba·ra - jo’bah’rah

Locations

Al A·nim - al ah’kneem

I·ba·bi Isles - ee’bah’bee-eye’els

Ki·do·go - key’doe’go

Esowon EsterlandsKidogo & Al-Anim

There was only a brief silence before Zala admitted, "You almost died today. I know you mean well, but there has to be a better way to earn what we need. If we keep at it, it won’t be the stoneskin that will get you…" Jelani didn’t argue further, keeping his eyes locked on the line into the infirmary. 

What is it? she asked quietly and with earnest.

Maybe the tip of a blade ain’t so bad for me. Would be better for you. No need to worry ‘bout me no more, Jelani said grimly, almost to himself. 

EXCERPT FROM BY SEA & SKY

ONE

JELANI

Jelani shouted at his feet to move faster, but they wouldn’t listen. They couldn’t find proper purchase on the loose sands, and he stumbled for it. It didn’t matter, though. He had to get to the beach, get to the cove. Thick rain thumped down against his shoulders like a thousand tiny blows against his skin. He cursed and pushed on.

As he cleared the coastal tree line, he saw a half dozen Vaaji warships against an angry ocean of slate. Jelani barely even noticed the puny boats bobbing before the giant vessels. The little dhows looked like dragonflies before a group of beasts. Huge cannons and pointed bowsprits outfitted each hulking man-o-war. The people of the island were not prepared for this. 

Jelani was not prepared for this. 

Cannonballs ripped like thunder across the waves as they claimed the hull of yet another fishing boat.

By the Gods, no.

The break of white-capped waves swallowed the tiny vessel whole, and Jelani’s stomach dropped. The torrent of the storm did nothing to mask the screams of Jelani’s countrymen, men and women he knew by name, children who he had known since they were mere babes. They needed his help; they wouldn’t last without him. But his damned legs just wouldn’t go fast enough. 

Where there should have been soldiers, there were only common villagers, every one of them having dropped their normal routines. They were supposed to be setting their morning traps and nets in the low tide; now, instead, their corpses tumbled onto the sands, their clumped bodies looking like beached whales. 

The sight of one particular body stopped Jelani in his tracks. A boy lay crumpled on the beach, his lifeless eyes staring up at the heavens blankly. Those eyes were the same ones that had glinted in the firelight mere hours ago when Jelani paid the child extra for the grilled fish that still sat on the table back at his shanty. Ziggy was his nickname, the boy had told Jelani. 

Another corpse ripped his attention from the boy. This one was furred, however, an ash-brown and black pattern of a pakka—the cat-people who had come to call the island home in recent years. Jelani’s heart clogged in his throat, frightened to find the face that belonged to this pakka. But the streaks of black fur down the front of the cat’s face were not the markings he feared to recognize. His breath shot out in one long gasp. 

Staving off the latent fatigue threatening to claim him, he took off again toward the thick of the battle. It shouldn’t have turned out this way. It was the charge of the golden lord and his tide lords to protect the island, yet there was no aid, nor was there time to call for it. Jelani could only hope he could buy the survivors enough time. Maybe if they could hold out long enough… that’s all he could hope for.

A few paces from the first group of villagers along the beach, Jelani stopped, closed his eyes, and focused, his mind reaching into the sea. He could never quite explain it to a non-mystic—the sensation of melding with the spirit of a sea creature. But it was like nothing else.  

A ripple lurched through his chest, and he found a large octopus racing to the depths of the ocean in an attempt to flee the chaos of the surface. Jelani stretched out his hand, touching the creature’s mind with his own through a’bara. 

Forgive me, friend.

He banished its survival instincts and replaced them with rage. Reckless fury directed the octopus to halt then twist to the monstrous shapes above it. Jelani felt the creature speed toward a ship headed for the beach. It launched itself out of the water and attacked the Vaaji helmsman, pulling the sailor under the waves. 

Jelani squeezed his foe with the tentacles of the octopus, feeling the creature’s sinewy muscles ripple and flex as if they were his own. The helmsman clawed at the tentacles, desperately trying to free himself from the death grip. Then the painful sensation of a blade piercing rubbery flesh seized Jelani and he was jerked back into his own body. 

Jelani’s body went hollow as he felt the creature’s life fade away. He frowned, a short prayer of grief already leaving his lips when⁠—

A boom rocked his eardrums. Jelani spun. The foreign ship blasted a devastating hole into the cliffside above. The impact shook everything around him. Rocks larger than horses rushed straight for his head. A shadow flew at his side. It threw him bodily into the air and onto the sands.

"What took you so long, kijana? Above him stood Tafari, his friend—and now savior. Caught ya takin’ a shit?" 

The pakka stuck out his hand for Jelani to grab, his feline snout turned in a scowl that might have appeared terrifying to some, but Jelani knew was actually teasing. 

Jelani shook his head as he was lifted to his feet, amazed that the pakka could maintain his sense of humor even in dire straits like this. He lifted the spiral necklace resting against his collar bone. Its stone still glowed a faint forest green—a call for help from one oni’baro to another. 

I only now got the message. Came as soon as I saw the smoke, he said in his Southern Isle Pakwan dialect. He hunched over to rest his hands on his knees to catch his breath. 

A group of his fellow sea-speaking oni’baro fought fiercely by the water, impressing their will upon the creatures of the sea to aid them in their struggle against the enemy.

The right side of the beach is almost gone, Jelani said, sighing through labored breaths. If we don’t do something fast, everyone here—oni’baro or not—is gonna get slaughtered.

A huge bellow brought both of their attentions back to the beach. The roar came from Elder Djimon, who swung his hands in an outward spiral, the ocean’s waves mirroring his movement in a mystical hold. The break rotated forward and out to halt the enemy’s advance.  

Jelani’s heart skipped. The small man appeared even smaller without his signature cloak—which must have been shed at some point in the conflict. After loosing his latest wave, the elder turned to Jelani with a weary expression.

While slight of build, the elder had never come across as a frail man. He had always shone bright with a vitality that even younger men seemed to envy. But that morning, Djimon looked drawn and haggard. It was as if the battle had aged him fifteen years in just a few moments. Maybe it had. 

So many lost. Djimon sighed gravely. Why? Why do the Vaaji attack us? He stared at Jelani like he was expecting an answer, but Jelani had none.

They ain’t declare what they want? Jelani asked as he rubbed the back of his head free of sand.

Tafari dipped his head low. Long story short: we found them snooping in the cove, and mining our Gods’ Glass on top of it. That first ship there was our answer to the interlopers. He pointed along the beach to where Jelani had come across the only sunken ship to the Vaaji’s name. 

We have no choice, brothers and sisters! Kujala shouted over the first roar of thunder that rolled over the beach. Her mass of curly hair swayed in the wind, and her words were sharp as they always were. I don’t see any other way, she went on through staccato breaths. "We must summon the kubahari!" 

Using her a’bara to channel her own sea-speaking powers, she summoned a group of razorfish and guided them to leap onto the decks of the enemy ships to attack the invading soldiers. Jelani could feel Kujala’s a’bara flowing from her into the sea, just like he could feel that of every other oni’baro on the beach. Each of their efforts was more desperate than the last as they used their gifts to save their people, their island. But none of it was working. 

Kujala cried out as a cannonball slammed into the ground by her feet, sending rock and sharp debris flying around her body. She fell to her knees in the sand. Her breaths came jagged and harsh as she lost the connection and the razorfish dove back into the break of white-capped waves.   

Rashidi, watch that right flank! Elder Djimon shouted.

Another oni’baro, an elemental like the elder, reformed a wave to protect them at their side. Yes—I mean… I got it. Sorry, sorry. Won’t happen again, Elder.

Elder Djimon leaned on his staff and shook his bald head slowly, the gray hairs peppering his beard twisting as he scowled beneath it.

Jelani wished the elder’s stick was more than just baobab wood. Were it