by Don P. Bick
Chapter 25
They slipped out of the inn under cover of darkness. There were still several hours left until daylight. The guards had been paid to stand watch for the remainder of the night and following day making it appear as though nothing had changed and the group was still inside the inn. Bran was counting on the possibility that whoever would be watching wouldn't pay that much attention to the comings and goings of the inn until there was a noticeable change in the status of the guards.
They made their way out of town toward the north. Just before daybreak they changed direction to the east. Well into the morning they reached and stopped at a large river, named the Amazon by the people from Earth. Here the river was wide and slow. It was not navigable by ships from the sea, due to the shallow mud flats at its mouth, as well as in several other places up river. The seven considered it perfect for their needs.
They intended to construct a rough raft and pole up river as far as possible. Although ships were unable to navigate the shallow water, small boats were able to negotiate upstream for many miles.
Camran could see why this river had been named the Amazon, although there really was no comparison to the one on Earth, it did have some similarities. It was very wide in places, as was the Amazon, but it smelled of river mud and rotten vegetation. Looking at all the trees and brush lining the river one was also reminded of the jungle vegetation along the Amazon River in South America.
They rested on the river bank while Bran and Twil scouted the area and established the best place for them to work and watch for unwanted visitors. They located what they believed to be an ideal spot about a half mile up river. A jetty of land extended out into the river about one hundred yards. The piece of land was covered with small young trees. From the way it looked the peninsula was probably a newly formed creation of the river. On the north side of the jetty was another stream, deep at that point and wide enough to present an obstacle to anyone wishing to make a fast crossing. It presented as safe a place as they were going to find out in the wilderness.
They set up camp and began the arduous task of constructing a raft large enough to carry them all and their provisions. Experience on the small boat between Val and Statmer had taught them how valuable it was to have a place of shelter when on the water. As a result of that experience they also planned a small covered portion in the center of the raft, large enough for all of them to squeeze into, should that become necessary.
Bran and Druc began cutting down trees with the stone ax they had brought along for that purpose, while Uri used his will power to blast off the branches. It gave him practice while accomplishing something useful for them all. His power was growing in strength with each passing week. Twil and Ve-Nah stood guard, as Camran and Gena dragged the fallen and clean logs down to the river's edge for assembly into a raft. By the end of the day they had gathered enough logs to complete the raft and decided to stop until the next morning. Then they would begin assembly.
Bran went fishing with Druc while the others went about readying the camp for the night. It didn't take long for Bran to catch a sizable fish. When he got it on shore, with Druc's help, they looked in disgust at what they had caught. The fish was deformed and had tumor like growths on its head. Near the tail it appeared as though the thing was rotting. The skin was covered with a pus like substance. It also smelled. Bran and Druc killed it and buried it in the sand, both having lost their appetite for fish that evening. Bran swore he would never fish again in this river if that was what lived in it. Druc said it was probably because of all the mud and unclean water at that particular spot along the river.
The next morning they rose early, ate a cold breakfast of fruit and nuts and then began strapping the raft together. They used an assortment of rope and vine from some of the local plants to lash it together. In the center they constructed a shelter out of poles in the form of a pup tent. On two sides they constructed low benches. By mid day they were through. The raft was sturdy and already hung slightly out over the water. Even so it still took all of their efforts to move the awkward thing into the river from where it sat and get it tied down.
After a brief rest they loaded all their things and climbed aboard. They had opted for the raft instead of walking for a couple of reasons. One, the animals where starting to become more of a problem all over the lower elevations. There was no doubt they would run into some if they had decided to walk. Eventually they would have to face them anyway once they left the raft, but for the time being the raft would provide some protection from the growing unrest among the animals. The other main reason was to save their energy for the long hike and climb that confronted them once they left their newly constructed craft. They were going to have to go up into the mountains in a few days time. It was there strength would be needed. Also, they didn't think there would be any loss of time by using the raft. Some of the brush in this area was so thick it required a lot of work to get through or go around it. With the raft they would have fairly easy going for at least the first couple of days.
Two of them at a time took turns poling up river. The water was so still it was more like a very shallow lake than a river. Uri and Druc pushed off from the bank and found the poling was actually fairly easy. The raft was surprisingly sturdy for the quick and crude construction. In no time they figured out the easiest and quickest way to work the raft up stream. Gradually they poled their way toward the looming mountains in the distance.
Along the river the vegetation varied from a sparse brush to a thick jungle growth. They were glad they didn't have to force their way through some of those areas, and began to dread the time when they would have to abandon the raft and start walking. By that time they hoped the terrain had changed for the better.
That night they poled over to the opposite shore from the one they had departed. There they found a small island some thirty or so yards away from the river bank. A camp was set up and Bran and Gena went about fixing a hot meal. Their overall mood was the best it had been in days. Camran was feeling better and it didn't go unnoticed by him that Ve-Nah was pulling her load. She worked exceptionally hard, trying to do her part to fill the gap left by Ve-Kim’s sudden death. They felt fairly secure on this small piece of land sitting up in the river; nevertheless, they kept a sharp lookout for anything suspicious.
That night after dinner Camran and the others took time to explain to Ve-Nah what their intentions were, since she had not been present when they were discussing the Oracle at the Ruler's estate. She also hadn't asked any questions. They read to her the part about the mountain peak and the eagle, where the first key was supposed to be located. Again, they spent time reflecting on possible meanings of that passage. Each of them, in turn, offered their thoughts on the interpretation and implication of that section. Camran explained they would keep traveling toward the mountains and then would turn southeast, until they were north of the winds coming out of the Sea of Turmoil. Even though the Sea of Turmoil lay more to the east, the wind generated in that area actually started more west of the sea and blew from south to north.
Bran went on to explain that they decided not to take a ship any farther than Pacific so they would be able to keep some way of maintaining a little secrecy from the Guardians. He and Gena thought this route, even though it was more inconvenient in some ways, was better than being under the constant threat of an ambush. They also thought they would be able to locate the mountain peak, referred to in the Oracle, from some point along this trek, north of the Sea of Turmoil.
Morning came and at first light they were off in the crude raft. Twil and Gena poled first while Ve-Nah manned the tiller. The weather had been visibly cooler the past few days. For the most part it had gone unnoticed, engaged as they had been in their heavy work of constructing the raft. The chill in the morning air was very noticeable now, causing them to dress warmer.
The going was slow, but steady, as they made their way up the river. Along about midday they stopped at another small island to relax for a short ti
me, and to fix a bite to eat. The wind had come up and the going was more difficult than the previous day.
An hour or so after they departed the wind slowed to a strong breeze and once more their speed and ease of travel picked up. They hadn't gone very far when Twil called out to Bran, who was poling, that there were several logs drifting down river toward them and to be careful. Bran saw what Twil was pointing toward and called to Camran, who was at the till, to take them farther out into the river. They had been staying close to shore, remembering the hard rainstorm they had been caught in near Val. Camran complied, and the raft gradually worked its way farther out into the slow moving water.
"That's funny," said Twil, still looking up river. "Those logs are still drifting toward us. They have also moved farther out into the river."
That last statement caught Uri's attention. He stood up and looked where Twil pointed. Sure enough the logs where continuing to head directly toward them.
"Turn the raft back toward the shore," called out Uri.
Camran immediately pulled hard on the till. The logs changed course also. They were coming closer by the minute.
"It has to be something alive," stated Gena, as she stood looking up river with the rest of her companions. All were on their feet trying to determine what floated down the river toward them.
It didn't take long to find out. The river started to boil with movement as six to ten snakelike creatures converged on the raft. They were some twelve to fifteen feet long, approximately twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, and had an alligator type snout, although not quite as long. As the creatures drew closer they were able to see they looked more like worms than snakes. They also had numerous small webbed feet that enabled them to maneuver with ease in the water, as well as walk on land.
Twil had his crossbow out. He fired an arrow into the side of one of the worm like things. It sank in deep, but nothing happened. The creature didn't even slow down or change its course. It reached the raft and began to climb on board, using its small webbed feet to gain purchase. Bran severed its head with one powerful stroke of his sword.
During the same instant Bran completed his swing, one of the creature's heads exploded from the concentrated focused will of Uri. All of the members of the group took notice that the only way to kill these things was by severing their heads. Ve-Nah got off a shot with her crossbow, barely missing one of the worm's heads, the arrow lodged in the neck region instead. It kept on coming. As she reloaded her crossbow, Druc killed it with his sword.
While the others were defending the raft, Camran maintained the till and steadily held a course for the east bank of the river.
Another one of the worms exploded. Apparently it took a lot of will power to accomplish the feat of killing one of these things. There was quite a bit of time in between each explosion, as Uri refocused and redirected his will. Twil shot an arrow into the open mouth of one of the worms. The point pierced through the roof of its mouth and entered the brain. It shivered for several seconds and then stopped its forward movement.
Bran yelled out in pain as one of the creatures grabbed his leg with its powerful jaws. Druc fell on the creature's head with a long dagger and began to repeatedly stab it through the top of the head. Finally, it released Bran from its grip. A small chunk of muscle was missing from his calf, where the creature's powerful jaws had taken hold. Bright red blood streamed down Bran's leg and onto the raft deck.
Meanwhile, Uri and Twil were dispatching the remaining worms, with an occasional direct hit from either Gena or Ve-Nah's crossbow. The last one Bran himself eliminated with a forceful swing of his two edged sword, twice for good measure.
The raft reached the bank and Ve-Nah and Druc jumped out to anchor it down. Gena was tending to Bran's wound with Twil's aid. The Mercurians excelled in medical training since they created most of the medications used in this world.
The wound wasn't as bad as first thought. A small portion of the muscle had been bitten out of his calf, but Twil expected it would heal cleanly.
"Did you see that thing spit your leg out when he got a taste of you?" asked Twil of Bran, as he wrapped his leg to stop the bleeding. While Bran glared at Twil, Twil continued. "Of course he may not have spit it out; it was probably what killed him!" With that comment Bran's face broke out in a huge grin. The others joined in laughing and soon the tension began to ease.
It was still early afternoon, after a rest and quick bite to eat they started up river once more, this time all eyes were watching out for more of the worms. But they had no more trouble the rest of that day or for the following two days as they gradually made their way north toward the mountains.
But the going was becoming more difficult. The slow meandering river picked up speed as they entered the more rolling terrain. It had also cleared up considerably. The waters were now clear and the air smelled fresh. They could see the bottom of the river in most places now.
Finally, they gave up fighting the swift current and decided they were as far north as the raft would be able to take them. They were no longer gaining much headway, so decided to stop for the night and head out to the southeast by foot the following morning. They needed to locate the inlet to their east and skirt around it.
The day after the worm attack, Bran's leg was swollen to nearly twice its size. There was a lot of unvoiced concern as to whether or not he would be able to travel when they began to walk. But by the time they stopped their upriver trek with the raft four days later, the swelling had almost disappeared and Bran stated he was well enough to begin hiking with the rest of them.
Each night they had been stopping on the east bank of the river and setting up a continuous two person guard the entire time they were ashore. That last night was no different. They set up camp and retired early, looking forward to walking instead of poling for a change. They were not looking forward to whatever animals might be ahead of them, waiting in the woods and hills to the southeast.