Quest's End: The Broken Key #3

by Brian S. Pratt

  “Chyfe!” hollered Riyan. From the doorway to the boathouse, Riyan caught Chyfe’s attention. “Move aside!”

  “What?” he asked. Then he saw Kevik standing beside Riyan and understood. Diving to the side, he barely missed being caught in the goo spell Kevik used to seal the door closed. Chyfe hit the ground, rolled and was quickly back on his feet. As he raced for the boathouse door, an arrow sailed past. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nearest archer by the river moving toward him. Readying another arrow, he took aim as Chyfe rapidly closed the distance to the boathouse.

  Energy missiles flew from Kevik’s hand, striking the archer in the chest and face. Knocked backward, the archer hit the ground and didn’t get back up. Moving next to Riyan, Kevik motioned for Chyfe to hurry up.

  Along the riverbank to the right and left, the cry was going up that they had been found. Soldiers began emerging from alleys and streets. Riyan held the boathouse door open for Chyfe as he raced through. He and Kevik were now the only ones outside the boathouse.

  Inside there was a small, six seater rowboat tied to a small dock. The boathouse itself was barely wide enough to accommodate the rowboat. A locked door stood between the rowboat and the river. Bart was forced to stand on the prow of the rowboat in order to work on the lock with his picks. Seth and Soth held the sides of the boat to keep it stable for him.

  “We’ll hold them off,” Riyan hollered through the door. “Just get that door open!” Turning to Kevik, he removed his sling. “He needs a few seconds.”

  “I hope not much more than that,” he replied. Then he mouthed arcane words and a shimmering field appeared. A split second later, arrows deflected off its surface. As Kevik started casting goo spells and energy missiles, Riyan’s sling began to whine as he brought it to a quick twirl before sending its bullet on a deadly trajectory. Aiming for the archers, he began bringing them down while Kevik’s shield protected them.

  “Try to get the archers on the other side of the river,” urged Kevik. Energy missiles leapt from his fingers and raked the leading edge of the advancing soldiers to their right. “Downriver,” he added, when he saw Riyan’s slung bullet take out an archer upriver.

  Riyan quickly grasped what Kevik was getting at. Once they left the boathouse, the current would take them downriver. Changing his stance, he faced toward downriver and took aim at the nearest archer.

  “Okay!” hollered Seth. “He got it open, let’s go!”

  Kevik cast two goo spells before entering the boathouse, one to the left and one to the right. Inside, he saw that the others were already in the rowboat. The seat in the stern was vacant for him and Riyan.

  Bart, Chyfe, and Chad were crammed into the prow while the twins held oars in the middle seat. Riyan allowed Kevik in first then gave the boat a push to get it moving from the boathouse. Once it was on its way, he jumped in.

  Seth handed him a third oar and said, “You steer.” Once the rowboat cleared the boathouse, he and his brother began rowing for all they were worth.

  “Archers!” hollered Bart.

  A second later, Kevik cast a protective field between them and the archers on the shore. When an arrow embedded itself in the other side of the boat, he cast a second one to shield them from the archers on that side too.

  Rowing for all they were worth, the twins quickly had them skimming across the water. At the stern, Riyan held the oar in the water and maneuvered them toward the center of the river, then turned to follow the river south.

  On the banks of the river, arrows flew toward them. Kevik’s shields kept the deadly missiles from reaching their marks as they steadily pulled away. The soldiers ran in pursuit, but between the river’s current and the effort of the twins, they couldn’t keep up. Once they realized their quarry would escape, they gave up the chase and quick-timed it back into town.

  Kevik kept the protective shields up until the spells had run their course, just in case. Behind them, the town of Tryn slowly fell away. Ahead of them, the river began entering a canyon.

  “The Wrath of Hennon,” Chyfe stated as he gazed to the mouth of the canyon.

  “What?” asked Bart.

  Chyfe turned to him. “It’s what the locals call it,” he replied.

  From behind Bart, Soth added, “This is where The River Man got his name. He survived.”

  The mouth of the canyon drew ever closer as each thought about what that might mean. “It’s before the spring thaw,” Riyan said encouragingly. “The river would have to be at its lowest point right now, right? We should make it.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Chad replied. Then more quietly to himself he said, “Let’s hope so.”

  Bart clapped Chad on the back and gave him a grin.

  As the mouth of the canyon rose before them, the twins rowed on.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  __________________________

  If they had been expecting a wild ride, they were sorely disappointed. Having been in the canyon well over an hour, they encountered nothing but gently flowing water. Chad and Riyan were rowing hard, having taken over from the twins to give them a break. With the threat of pursuit likely to soon develop, they had to keep a fast pace.

  “This isn’t so bad,” commented Bart. In fact, for those not rowing, it was a quiet and peaceful ride. The canyon walls rose high on either side of them. In places they were almost vertical while in others there was more of a gentler incline.

  “No it isn’t,” agreed Riyan. “How far should we go?”

  From his position at the prow, Bart replied, “At least until dark. We’ll find a spot to make camp before the light completely fades.”

  “Won’t that afford those behind us a chance to catch up?” asked Seth.

  Bart glanced to the walls of the canyon rising above them. “Any pursuit likely to overtake us will come down the river,” he said. “And from what you’ve said of the conversation you had about this place, it sounded like they would be hesitant to follow.”

  “The average citizen, yes,” agreed Seth. “But these will be soldiers in pursuit.”

  “Look,” interjected Chad, “riding along an unknown river in the dark is dangerous. Especially one with a reputation of being deadly.”

  “I see your point,” agreed Seth.

  Another couple of hours found them even deeper into the canyon with no sign of it ending. None of them had ever heard of one so long before. Oh sure, in the mountains around Quillim there were many canyons, but none like this.

  The sides of the canyon were dotted with scrub brush and the occasional tree. In one area they came to it looked as if the canyon wall on the right had given way some time in the distant past. A great pile of rocks had been deposited in and around the river. Some of the rocks ranged from being the size of a small boulder to that of a large house. Passing through that area gave them a few anxious moments of white water turbulence, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle.

  For the rest of the morning and afternoon, they continued rowing. Every half hour they would rotate the rowers so as not to overtire anyone. When the sun reached the rim of the canyon and the light started to fade, they sought a place to camp. It only took them a short time before a suitable location was found.

  The canyon widened a bit as its walls grew less vertical. A beach of sorts opened up on their right side, large enough to afford them sufficient dry, level ground upon which to camp. Kevik, who had tiller duty, steered them over to it where they disembarked.

  “Gather what wood you can,” Bart said as he left the boat. “We’ll need a fire. It’s going to get cold tonight.” It was already nippy. With the wind whipping through the canyon as it was, it brought the wind chill down to well below freezing. When night came, it would be even worse.

  As it turned out, there was plenty of wood to be had. Dead limbs fallen from the trees high on the canyon walls, not to mention a large pile of driftwood that had washed ashore some time in the past, provided all they needed. While the others gathered wood, Chyfe
created a ring of stones for their fire pit. Within he placed some of the drier sticks and brush then stood back while Kevik shot sparks onto the wood. Twice he cast his sparks spell before they had the kindling smoldering. Then with a gentle breath, Chyfe encouraged the wood to catch. After that it was a simple matter of slowly adding wood as the fire grew.

  Soth, ever the creative one, arranged the boat on its side upwind from the fire. With help from his brother and Riyan, they used several good sized boulders to prop it into position as a wind break. Once it was in place, the affects of the wind diminished rapidly and the fire was better able to warm them.

  As the evening settled into twilight, they sat around the fire. Everyone that was but Seth, who had the current watch. Wrapped in two cloaks against the cold, he was some distance away keeping watch on the river. He couldn’t be any closer as the light from the fire would ruin his night vision. Without it, it would be unlikely for him to see anyone coming down the river before it was too late.

  Suddenly, a grumbling sound disturbed the quiet of the night. “Sorry,” apologized Chad. “I’m hungry.” It had been his stomach that made the noise.

  “Aren’t we all,” agreed Riyan with a grin. In fact, it had been a day or longer since anyone had anything to eat. Their provisions had been kept in the saddlebags that were on the horses they lost. They still had their water bottles, but that was a poor substitute.

  Remembering the map he had bought at the cartographer’s, Riyan pulled it out. “Now, where are we?” he asked. The others gathered around as he sought their location.

  Hylith was easy enough to locate, and by following the river southward, they came to where it entered the canyon. The town of Tryn they just escaped from was not depicted.

  According to the map, the river continued on a southeasterly heading until it was joined by another. At that point it turned southward where it was joined by yet another tributary. Riyan pointed to a spot a little before where the first river joined theirs. “I think we’re here,” he said.

  “Probably,” agreed Bart. He then pointed to where the river canyon passed through a mountain range south of the second tributary. “If we left the river here,” he said, “we could cut through the mountains.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” countered Chyfe.

  Bart looked up at him and asked, “Why not?”

  “I realize you’re a city boy and all,” Chyfe said, “so you might not realize the folly of what you’re suggesting.”

  “And what folly is that?” Bart asked. He was bristling over being called a ‘city boy’, even though that was exactly what he was.

  “First of all, we have no food,” he stated. “No blankets, no warm coats. Cutting through the mountains without sufficient gear would be a death sentence.” Beside him, Soth nodded agreement.

  “We’re barely making it here in the lowlands as it is,” offered Chad from where he was huddled as close to the fire as he could without the risk of his clothing catching fire.

  Bart gazed at Chad a moment then turned back to Chyfe. “And your other point?” he asked.

  “Actually that was it,” said Chyfe. “That we’d succumb to the elements should we attempt to cross the mountains ill prepared.”

  “So what do you propose we do then?” he asked.

  Chyfe drew closer to the map and indicated a spot in the hills this side of the mountains. “Either we try to make our way out of the canyon before here,” he explained, “or we continue down the river past the mountains. With any luck, there’ll be a town close where we can acquire provisions.”

  “That’s if we make it that far,” interjected Riyan. With all eyes turned to him, he added, “There’s still the matter of navigating the river. I can’t imagine it’s called the Wrath of Hennon for its scenic beauty.”

  “True,” agreed Bart. He could see the wisdom in what Chyfe said and had already discarded his idea of crossing the mountains. “Then we should do it after the second tributary. If we make our way through the hills along the northern slope of the mountains, we might be able to slip through.” He trailed his finger along the northern flank of the mountains to the west of the river.

  “Why go that way?” asked Soth.

  “We still have to get the last segment of the key,” replied Bart. “I don’t like it, but we have to return to Hylith and continue our search.” He glanced to Riyan. “It’s all we have to go on.”

  Riyan sighed and nodded. “You’re right,” he agreed.

  “It’ll be dangerous,” stated Soth. “We won’t be able to simply walk in through the gates like last time.”

  “True,” admitted Bart. “But what choice have we?”

  Riyan looked again to the map. “There’s a town not far from the canyon if we leave before the mountains,” he said, pointing to it. “Once we resupply, we could head north along this road and be back near Hylith in no time.”

  “Alright then, it’s settled” Bart said. “We make our way from the canyon after the second tributary.”

  Another hour was spent discussing their plan, arguing over the merits of making for Hylith or not. When it came time for Soth to relieve his brother at watch, he took his position while Seth rejoined the others. Shortly after that, they turned in. Despite the fear gnawing at each of them that pursuit might appear on the river, none developed.

  When dawn began brightening the morning sky, they made ready to return to the river. Tempers were a bit frayed as everyone was starving and tired. Between the bite of cold and the grumbling of their bellies, none had been able to sleep well.

  As they were about to return to the water, an argument developed over who was to row. Both Bart and Seth felt it was the other’s turn. It almost came to blows before Riyan and Chad stepped in and volunteered. By the time sunlight hit the western rim of the canyon, they were underway. Kevik sat in the back with Bart who was using the oar as a rudder. Chad and the twins were crammed into the front.

  “Still no sign of pursuit,” observed Kevik.

  Chyfe glanced back at him and nodded. “Thank goodness,” he replied.

  Soth had Riyan’s map open and was studying it. “We should reach where the first river comes in before too much longer,” he announced.

  As they continued along, the walls of the canyon began growing closer together. Areas of beaches at the base of the canyon slowly disappeared until all that was left were sheer walls rising high above them. Then came the roar. Softly at first, the sound quickly grew louder with every stroke of the oar. Then, they saw where the canyon walls narrowed still further.

  White foam shot into the air at the narrowest point as water crashed against the sides and over boulders in the water. The air past the bottleneck was filled with spray.

  “Oh my god,” breathed Soth when he saw what was coming.

  The water began to grow rough as the surface rippled with waves. Their boat rocked side to side as the waves grew more intense. They were being propelled by the river toward the bottleneck at an ever increasing speed. Chad and Riyan no longer needed to concern themselves with increasing their forward momentum. Rather, they began using their oars to steady their progress and keep from turning sideways.

  Just before they were sucked into the opening, Seth saw the drop on the other side. “Hang on!” he shouted and then they were in the bottleneck.

  Waves crashed into the sides of the boat, sending ice cold water and spray to drench its occupants. The boat started turning sideways and Bart yelled to Riyan and Chad, “Keep us straight!” Using his oar as well, he strove to keep them straight.

  Riyan and Chad worked furiously to prevent their boat from turning out of line. Before they were able to get it straight with the river again, it felt as if the river dropped out from under them. The prow tipped down as they went over the drop. Ten feet they fell before hitting the bottom.

  The jarring impact caused Kevik to lose his grip on the side of the boat and fell against the backs of Riyan and Chad. Bart grabbed him and pulled hi
m back to his seat, just as a massive wave washed over them. Thoroughly soaking them all, it left several inches of water in the bottom of the boat.

  Their boat was pushed one way then another as Riyan and Chad rowed with all their might to keep them in proper alignment with the river. A patchwork of hidden boulders beneath the waters created eddies and micro whirlpools of vicious power, all of which sought to drag their boat under.

  As they were pulled pell-mell through the turbulent water, wave after wave crashed over them. At times it seemed they would be swamped only to level out once more and continue on.

  Then, the canyon walls began to recede and the water calmed. “We made it!” exclaimed Chad with a whoop and cry.

  “Don’t get too excited yet,” Chyfe turned around and said.

  “Why?” Chad asked. Chyfe pointed to the river ahead of them where the first tributary joined with theirs. Chad’s face fell as he saw the churning water where the two rivers converged.

  “Once we get through this,” Seth said, “it’s a ways before the next river converges.”

  “Seth!” Bart hollered over the much reduced roar, “Relieve Riyan.” He then took the oar from Chad as he changed places with him. “You guys did well,” he told them as he took his seat and commenced paddling.

  “Thanks,” said Chad.

  “Keep an eye on Kevik,” Bart told him.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Kevik told Chad. Then all of a sudden, his lower half was covered in goo. “I’m not about to fall out this time. Anyone else want the same treatment?” The others shook their heads no.

  Seth swapped places with Riyan and soon, he and Bart were rowing gently toward the convergent zone of the two rivers. Where they met, the waters roiled and frothed making what they had just passed through seem a stroll in the woods. Before their river met the other, there was a double drop, each part equal to what they had just gone through. Then just after the turbulent convergence of the two rivers, there was one final drop. Beyond that, a lake of sorts was formed and the water once again calmed down dramatically.