I put my thumb between the rope and my waist, tugging on it slightly. It was tight, but I could still breathe easily, which was good I guessed. It wasn't the most comfortable situation, but the logic of using the rope soothed me as we walked, or should I say fought, our way up the stairs above deck.
Keeping my eyes narrowed to keep the howling wind from drying them out, I could barely see the deckhands running from side to side battening down the hatches. Everything which had been loose was gone. I wasn't sure if it was because they'd put it away, or if it had been sent overboard. Either way, this was as good a time as any.
Praying no unexpected projectiles hit me, I allowed Will to go first. I followed in his wake, thankful his larger frame blocked some of the wind, although I was still able to feel its cold bite. I caught glimpses of desert between the jagged mountains, and knew we were just on the other side. It wasn't a warm desert like I'd thought, at least, the mountainside wasn't.
Spotting Captain Baeley at the stern, he struggled to reach her.
I followed as closely as possible, occasionally getting blown back and fighting the wind to catch up.
When she saw us approaching, she shook her head. She looked furious.
I imagined I’d be irritated too if I oversaw everyone aboard a ship and some silly travelers thought it was a good idea to get in the way of nature.
"Where are we?" His question was instantly stolen by the wind.
Her words were faint but audible against the din as she called back. "The last mountain range. We're going to head straight down the side and try to land before the ship breaks apart. Get below deck now! That's an order!"
I peeked from behind his back, grimacing. "I just wanted to know where we were. I need to know which direction to head when we land."
"You'll do what I tell you. This is non-negotiable. Below deck now. We can deal with directions if we don't die."
I nodded meekly, giving her my best salute, and tugged on Will’s shoulder before doing exactly as ordered and heading below deck. The ominous sound of wood creaking, and possibly even breaking off, supported her words and I saw no reason to argue.
We were hardly through the doors when Gwen launched herself at me.
"Hey," I said softly, returning her hug, "everything's fine." I’d used my most reassuring voice, but I could tell she didn't believe me.
She pulled back, her eyes large and worried. "What's it like up there?"
A faint tremble in her voice made her sound younger. It was odd seeing her afraid, so I smiled, trying to sound confident. I kept her hand in mine as I moved into the room, pulling her down to sit with me on a bunk. The sound of the wood groaning and wind battering at the side of the ship made it necessary to speak louder.
"Pretty much what it sounds like. The winds are extremely fierce. Captain Baeley and the crew are working hard to land. We’re at our destination, I guess." I gave her a tight smile, patting her hand. "She's going to try and land at the base of the mountain. This is where we get off. Nothing she can do about it. The winds are too strong for any ship to survive the other side so it’s as far as we can travel with her."
She took a few deep breaths. "So, we should be ready to leave?"
"We may as well be. Make sure all your stuff is packed so when we land, we can go."
Will and I exchanged a look as they went to their bunks to pack their belongings. We both knew I’d downplayed the severity of what was going on above-deck, but it wouldn't do them any good to worry. At least packing kept us busy for a while, with the additional bonus of Will tossing me Jarid’s copy of the two-way book, which I added to my satchel for easy access.
It was almost an hour later when a louder, more violent thump almost threw us across the room. My heart skipped, then I realized we weren't moving. I looked at my friends with a faint smile.
"I think that means we've landed." I turned to Will. "Do you think it's safe to go up and look around?"
Will cocked his head, listening. An eerie silence had replaced the wind which had been howling only a moment earlier and I hoped the change meant we were out of danger.
"Sure. We may as well all go."
I watched him bite the inside of his cheek. I'd never seen him look uncertain before now. He was probably remembering how she’d told us to get below and stay there.
I considered staying where we were until she came to get us, looking toward the door uncertainly.
No one moved.
When I decided to act, though, Will strode to the door a moment before I got up.
He was halfway there when it flew open.
Captain Baeley stood in the doorway, looking tired but pleased. "We did it. We landed and should be in good enough shape to take off again safely. If you come up, I’ll show you which direction you need to travel to get to your coordinates.
Gwen’s faced relaxed with relief, and she leaned over to communicate with the wolves. The guys followed the captain out the door, but I waited for Gwen to pick her items up.
We walked up the stairs, hand in hand, and I had the feeling we’d waged and won a war against nature itself.
Once above deck, I could see there had been some damage to the ship, but the way the crew were attending to it made me hopeful it was minor, and they’d be able to repair it and take off shortly. I hated knowing I’d put her into this situation. I'd had no idea about the severity of the winds.
When we reached the gangplank, I turned and looked awkwardly at my feet, then at her. She appeared smooth and unruffled again, but I knew it had been a hard trip, and all because of me.
"I wanted to say thank you. You've done so much for us, for me, I just don't have the words to tell you how much I appreciate everything."
She waved her hand, brushing my gratitude aside. "It was nothing. Just keep me in mind for your next adventure, Princess. I always love traveling with a Librarian. You never know what's gonna happen next."
The others added their thanks, and as we turned to leave, I caught Sel casting regretful, longing looks back at the ship. I had a feeling once our adventures were over, if we survived them of course, I’d offer him his freedom and nudge him toward considering the life of an air captain. It seemed like something he’d be good at.
We reached the bottom and turned as the airship lifted off. Exhaling in relief the ship was able to fly, I waved one last goodbye.
Captain Baeley waved back then suddenly, her face drained of color and her eyes widened. When a few nearby crew members assumed similar expressions, I knew our next adventure had begun, whether I wanted it to or not.
I turned to see what they had seen and looked straight at the terrifying shapes of the Oubliee.
I'd read about them, of course, but never expected or hoped to see them. The pictures hadn't done them justice. Although they were apparently human beneath their attire, they seemed somehow more terrifying than any I'd ever seen. They were desert nomads, the only group known to still live in the deserts of the Northwestern Lands.
Their faces were completely obscured by the brown, shapeless swaths of fabric they wore, but they were clearly not happy we were there. Every figure held a vicious looking weapon, which they pointed toward us menacingly.
Based on the gestures the one in the front was making with a long-pointed spear, they appeared to be inviting us to go with them.
Chapter 12
Rough hands gripped my wrists, binding them with a thick, uncomfortable rope like the one Will had tied around my waist earlier. Had it only been a few hours ago? They weren’t as careful as he’d been, and my wrists already burned from the restriction. Once we were bound together, they’d firmly led us out of the mountain pass.
So far, they hadn’t been abusive, which I was grateful for. We didn’t put up a fight, because even with the wolves we were overwhelmingly outnumbered. To my surprise, they’d seemed almost excited when they’d seen the animals.
The Oubliee didn’t speak a language I could understand, but their quick gestures and the way th
ey’d looked at the wolves and at each other, allowing them to walk unrestrained alongside Gwen indicated to me they held them in higher esteem than us.
I realized then I hadn't seen any of our abductors speak. In fact, I wasn't even sure they had mouths. Each of them wore huge swathes of fabric and were wrapped head to toe everywhere but a narrow slit allowing their uniformly dark eyes to see.
I wasn't sure how many of the nomads there were. Some walked behind us, to ensure we didn’t escape, I assumed, but I estimated there were at least fifty of them. After several silent minutes where we hadn’t been hit or otherwise injured or spoken to, I tried to speak to the captor I assumed was the leader.
“Please, we are looking for something. We were only passing through, but our ship had to land here unexpectedly. We didn’t mean to trespass and if you set us free, we’ll leave, I promise.”
Either they didn't speak our language, or they were under instructions to take us regardless. Either way, he didn’t reply. During the entire abduction, not a single one of the group spoke to us as they led us down a path from the mountain side into the heart of the desert itself.
"Please," I begged, looking at the captor in front of me. "If you take us to your leader, I can explain. We mean no harm. We aren't dangerous."
I may as well have been speaking old Elvish for the reaction I got. Other than a slight narrowing of his dark brown eyes, the Oubliee pushing me along didn’t respond at all. Maybe they didn't understand me?
If it hadn’t been for what I’d read about them, I would question their humanity more than I already was. It didn’t take long until I understood why they were covered the way they were as we walked into the desert.
The force of the wind had diminished at our landing, but it became stronger as we left the relative shelter of the mountains and replaced it with the sand of the desert. While individually each grain was tiny, when whipped up by the winds we were walking through, the sand cut and hurt.
I found myself trying in vain to cover more of my face with my hair and clothing but hampered as I was by the ropes on my wrists, nothing I did seemed to help. It still found its way in through the cracks between my tunic and neck, stinging my face as the wind blew my hair into my eyes.
I struggled to keep up, knowing if I faltered, my captors would surely drag me instead. Glimpses of my friends told me they were being subjected to the same treatment. Not abused, exactly, but neither were any of us shown any consideration. Except the wolves, who were occasionally slipped treats, which I found unusual.
To my surprise, even though Gwen had been tied up the same way I’d been, the wolves hadn't attacked our captors. They looked worried, but also resigned, as if they knew something we didn't.
Perhaps the fact the Oubliee weren't speaking to us meant they could communicate another way.
All I knew was the wolves were following without being tied or maltreated. Perhaps the Oubliee weren't completely bad, although I may have been fooling myself.
My body was exhausted by the time I finally caught a glimpse of civilization. It seemed to be trading town surrounded by a large earthen wall. The wall appeared to be several stories high, and as I squinted against the wind still whipping the painful sand around, I could see Oubliee on the walls.
They nodded at our captors, relaxing their hold on the spears they held prominently in front of them. A loud grating sound rumbled, and a large wooden door slammed onto the ground, giving passage through the wall into the town.
The moment we were inside, a thump made me start. I looked over my shoulder to see the door had closed behind me. One improvement I immediately appreciated was the moment the door shut, sand stopped biting my face. To my surprise, my captor removed a layer of the material from his face. Once the covering was gone, I was relieved to see a normal, dark-skinned human had been beneath the material all along.
During our forced march, I'd almost begun to believe they had no mouths or other human features except for eyes. I had started to create disturbing images of smooth faced demons to fill in the mystery, so I was relieved to find it was just a figment of my imagination.
They may have been human, but our captors still pushed and dragged us through town toward an undisclosed location like they thought we were property. It was hard to examine my surroundings in detail due to the speed they shoved us along, but the houses I could see as we passed were made of a smooth, sand-colored material.
Most appeared barely large enough for one room except for a few taller buildings, which looked like several of the smaller ones stuck together into what I assumed were multifamily dwellings. Fabric hung on lines between the taller buildings and in the alleys between the smaller ones, but little in the way of vegetation broke up the sandy colors of the town.
My captor abruptly stopped, and I stumbled and fell. I quickly righted myself on shaky legs as my captor glared at me. Once I was standing again, he turned to the front. I followed his gaze.
We had stopped in front of one of the larger buildings, but this was different than the ones on the outskirts. It was lighter colored and thicker, more solidly built. Perhaps it was the bars on the windows of the lower level which gave me the impression of sturdiness.
I swallowed hard, noticing they were speaking to each other. I glanced at the bars, certain of what they meant for us.
Almost immediately, we were manhandled into a small extension of the main building. It jutted off the side and didn’t require entrance through the main door. Instead, it appeared to be an animal pen. It was open to the air on the sides but fenced in with metal and shared its roof with the main building.
I hoped it was a temporary holding place, otherwise our captors weren’t concerned with keeping hostages alive for more than a few days. I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn’t last long under these conditions, even if it was warm enough not to freeze to death.
The comforting weight of my bag bouncing lightly against my side brought me back. We’d been searched before they’d tied us up, but after they’d removed my knife, they’d taken one look at the books and dirty clothes and roughly shoved it back at me.
Apparently, they weren’t impressed. But it did give me options I wouldn’t have otherwise had. While it wasn’t a weapon, I still had the book to communicate with Jarid.
I didn't know what he’d be able to do for us here though, as he could hardly send help. I didn’t know where we were, and even if I did, help wouldn’t arrive in time if the Oubliee planned to harm us.
Our kidnappers dispersed once we were safely installed in the outdoor cage, leaving only one of the younger men to stand guard at the door. It was just the four of us in this prison, and I looked at them. Gwen’s face was stormy, anger nearly radiating from her face.
The guys, on the other hand, looked more scuffed up. Will had a bruise on one cheek and his face was dirty, while Sel had a small cut above his lip. I hadn’t noticed a difference when we’d been tied up, but now suspected they’d treated us more gently because we were women.
Gwen's eyes met mine and saw relief fill her face as she looked me over and saw I was unharmed as well. Once satisfied all my friends were relatively intact, I narrowed my gaze, turning in toward our prison to assess the situation.
I stayed silent, unsure if our guard spoke our language. If he did, it was possible any conversation we had could be used against us. I was still holding out hope we’d have a chance to speak to an authority of some sort. Maybe they’d let us continue our search but based on their taciturn and brusque attitude so far, my naïve hope was quickly fading.
"Hey, over here."
A soft female voice seemed to float to me from somewhere near the back of the cage. I turned my head swiftly, squinting at the corner beside the thick stone wall which made up the back of our cage and the metal cage at the side where the voice had sounded from. At first, it looked like an empty space with wooden barrels leaning haphazardly on top of each other.
Then I saw her.
She was crouc
hed behind the barrels, with only her head peeking between the wall and the top of one of the bars. She appeared human but wasn’t anyone I’d seen before. My eyebrows went up and I looked to see if the others had seen her. I found them as startled by the unexpected presence of the woman as I’d been, watching her with matching silent, wide-eyed expressions.
Once the initial surprise wore off, Will inclined his head, flashing a cocky smile which made me feel strangely better under the circumstances. If he could still try to be annoying, somehow, it made me feel things weren't all too bad.
He sidled over to the section of the wall where the woman was hiding, making sure to move slow enough for his movements to seem unplanned. When he reached the far corner, he stretched, sat on the floor, and leaned back on the barrels, bringing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, as though he’d found a place to have a nap.
I marveled at how subtle he could be. With his head resting on his knees and turned slightly toward the corner where the woman hid, he almost did appear to be sleeping. It was only when you looked directly at him from closer was it possible to see his eyes fixed firmly on an object to his right.
I shifted closer to Gwen, keeping an eye on the guard as I arranged myself next to her to form a barrier. It wasn’t much, but he’d have to look past, or over us, to see what Will was doing. Sel, string bean he was, moved closer to the guard to keep an eye and serve as a lookout. All of this was completed silently in seconds.
The woman spoke again. "My name is Nyalla." Her voice was so low it was barely audible, even though I was only a few feet away. "I want to help you escape. If you trust me, I will get you out of here."
"What are they planning to do with us? Why did they take us?"
He asked exactly what I wanted to know, and I strained my ears to hear her reply.
"They are scavengers. I'm guessing you were in the wrong place, but it is how they work. Most likely they've already stripped everything of value from wherever you came from. The men who left you here are going to find out their orders. They work for someone else of course and will go on long trips for supplies. Sometimes they find objects, sometimes they bring home slaves. Once they get their orders, they'll come back for you. They'll probably take you to the temple, so be ready. I'll try to break you out."
Heart Stone Page 9