by Dean Cadman
Returning to the firewood platform, she reached out for the second bucket, then froze with fear. Another of the creatures had entered the street from the direction of the docks, and was heading their way. Panic gripped her, as she pulled frantically at the bucket of vegetables, desperate to pull it inside and close the grate before the creature spotted her. As she pulled hard on the bucket, its bottom snagged on the lip of the grate, tipping the bucket towards her, and emptying its contents into the room below with a multitude of small thuds, as the vegetables struck the stacked wood beneath her. Very slowly, she lowered the—now almost empty—bucket towards Kayden without taking her eyes off the creature in the street. It took a moment, but he seemed to to understand what his big sister wanted, and took the bucket from her hand. Rebekah barely dared to breathe. Her heart was thundering so hard in her chest, she feared it would burst free at any moment. The creature was far too close to attempt replacing the grate lid, she would be discovered for sure. The moon had shifted its position, and the grate was now in the shadow of the temple building, but she had no idea if that would be enough to conceal their location until the creature passed them by.
Very slowly, Rebekah climbed down from the firewood platform, being especially careful not to make any sound. Kayden watched with terror in his eyes, too scared to move or say anything. Rebekah put a finger to her lips, indicating that he should remain silent, then crept towards him. She bent down so she was close to his ear.
“Be very quiet. There’s one right outside,” She whispered to him. He immediately started to hug his big sister, and she prayed he wouldn’t start to cry and draw attention to them. After a moment she pushed away from him a little and whispered in his ear, “I might need to go back outside and lure it away from here Kayden. I think it would follow anything that moved, just like that pig earlier.”
Kayden shook his head furiously and grabbed at his big sister again, hugging her tightly. Rebekah tried to free herself, but was surprised at the strength of her little brother’s grip on her.
“Kay, don’t fight me, please,” she whispered pleadingly. Kayden surprised her by releasing her almost immediately, but still stood there, with his hand held out towards her. It took her a moment to realise he was holding something in his hand. It was his wooden spinning top. He made a throwing motion with his hand, then a spinning motion with his finger above the wooden spinning top. Rebekah grasped what he wanted to do, but wasn’t sure she could throw it far enough away from the grate to make much difference, and even if she could, there was no guarantee the creature would see or hear it so far away.
“It’s a good idea Kayden, but I don’t think I can throw it far enough away from here, and the creature might not even see it anyway, it’s so small,” she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head again, then beckoned for her to come close so that he could whisper something to her.
“No Bekah, throw it close to the monster, I can make it spin away down the street.”
“I thought you could only make it spin in one spot. How long have you been able to move it as well?” she asked in a whisper.
“Ages and ages,” he replied in a whisper, grinning with pride. Rebekah shook her head to herself and narrowed her eyes at him.
“So, when you skinned my ankle the other day on the dockside, you were controlling it?” His eyes widened as he realised his big sister was on to him.
“Sorry Bekah,” he whispered, looking down at his own feet, with a guilty look on his face. Rebekah shook her head again, but didn’t say anything more about the subject.
“How far can you make it go?”
“Oh, a long way Bekah. I was chasing the seagulls with it. I got one too when it wasn’t looking, and…” he whispered, but seemed to stop what he was saying abruptly, half expecting his sister to berate him for his behaviour. He watched his sister for any signs of a reaction, then continued when she didn’t say anything more. “When I know it’s going too far away, I make it spin faster, and push it hard, so it goes much further by itself,” he added in a whisper.
“Okay, let’s try. But make sure your words are very quiet when you make it spin,” she whispered, holding out her hand for the wooden spinning top. He nodded and handed her his prize possession. Slowly she crept towards the opening and looked up through the hole, half expecting to see a monstrous face peering back at her, but all she saw were stars in the sky high above. Carefully, she climbed back onto the platform, and gingerly peered through the holes on the lip of the grate. Her blood turned to ice when she saw not one, but two of the creatures outside in the street. Both were less than twenty paces away from their hiding spot, and both shuffling slowly towards them. She quickly offered Kayden a hand, so he could climb up beside her. Whereas she had to crouch to stay hidden, Kayden had to stand on his tiptoes to see through the gaps. There was no time to spare, either they did this now, or not at all. Any closer, and the creatures would no doubt see her throw the spinning top from the hole.
“Ready?” she whispered. Kayden nodded, and waited for his sister to throw his spinning top. Rebekah took one last look through the gaps to judge the distance and direction of her throw, then let it fly. She held her breath as she watched it sail through the night air—barely visible in the darkness—then heard a dull thud, as it hit the packed earth of the street outside. It had landed only a few paces away from the closest creature, and it had stopped dead in its tracks to see what the sound was. The second creature had failed to notice it, and was continuing its slow shuffling towards them. Kayden had already begun his whispered chant to make the wooden spinning top move, and within a couple of heartbeats, it began to spin. The first creature attempted to pick it up, but Kayden moved the spinning top away from its grasp long before it had a chance to grab it. As soon as the wooden spinning top started moving towards the second creature, it changed its direction of travel to intercept it. It wasn’t long before Kayden had the two creatures walking in circles, much to his great delight, judging by the look on his face. It had been several days since Rebekah had seen him smile, and although she was reluctant to end his fun, she knew she had to.
“Kay, that’s enough now. Send them away from here before any more come, please,” she pleaded quietly into his ear. She knew he couldn’t answer her while he was controlling the spinning top, but also knew he had done as she asked when she saw the toy slowly moving away from them, with both creatures following close behind it. After one final check that there were no more creatures close by, Rebekah quickly located the grate cover and secured it into position, locking the bolts in place with an audible sigh of relief. Her legs finally gave out beneath her, and she found herself sitting down, hugging Kayden around his waist, and crying into his shirt.
“It’s okay Bekah, we did it,” he said, smoothing his hand over his big sister’s hair. All she could do was nod her head, as the tears fell freely at the utter relief she felt.
It wasn’t long before Rebekah regained control of herself, and resumed the role of big sister again. She noticed Kayden shivering with the cold, and quickly wrapped him in the heavy horse blanket to keep him warm, while she collected all the spilled vegetables back into the bucket. They had made themselves two sleeping platforms out of stacked firewood the first night they had spent there, and by the time Rebekah had finished collecting all the food from the floor in the dark, she noticed that Kayden was now lying down on his. She didn’t want him to go to sleep without eating something first, so she collected a couple of vegetables and went to sit with him.
“Kayden, eat some of this before you go to sleep, and have a drink too,” she said, sitting on the edge of his sleeping platform.
“I’m not hungry Bekah,” he said quietly, but didn’t sit up, or even turn in her direction. Rebekah began to worry he was unwell, and almost at the same instant he let out a chesty cough, as if to confirm her fears. She turned him over to face her and felt his forehead—it was hot and clammy.
“Oh, no, not now… please,” she said
, out loud to herself. The last thing they needed right now was for Kayden to become ill and start coughing, attracting the attention of the creatures outside. She forced him to sit up and drink some water, then made him eat something, before finally letting him go to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Early on the fifth day they finally came within sight of The Serpent Isles. The weather had been fair and the wind favourable, but the boredom aboard ship had been almost unbearable for Neala and Alexia. Lusam had read a large portion of the journal he had discovered in Helveel, and Renn had whiled away the hours in quiet meditation and prayer. Lusam also shared the information he’d found earlier in the journal with Renn, as well as all of the new information he had discovered that he thought would be of interest to him. Most of what Lusam had read in the journal after the entry regarding the arrival of the Guardian, had been far less interesting to him. It was mostly dealing with the day-to-day running of the monastery, with only one other brief entry regarding the writer’s old friend Isidro in Lohlaen, but nothing that suggested a possible location for it. Lusam had asked Renn if he had heard of Lohlaen, or even Pearl Isle where it was supposed to be situated, but disappointingly for Lusam, he said he had never heard of either place before. He suggested that Lusam might want to speak with one of the many historians at the High Temple, or search for information in the High Temple library once they arrived in Lamuria. That was, of course, if there was still a High Temple there by the time they arrived. Lusam promised himself that he would take Renn’s advice, but secretly hoped he would find the information he needed himself later in the journal.
Captain Waylon had surreptitiously spoken to Renn the day before, suggesting that he ask one of his crew for a meeting with him about an hour before they docked at The Serpent Isles. This would hopefully lend credence to his story that Renn and his party were only now requesting passage further south than The Serpent Isles, and had not already agreed it with the Captain before leaving Fairport, without the crew’s knowledge or acceptance.
Renn knew that Captain Waylon’s ruse stood a better chance of succeeding if more people noticed him entering the Captain’s cabin, and he knew just how to achieve that. First he loosened his shirt, exposing his sigil of Aysha for all to see. Then he located the large bundle with his sword and shield, and started rummaging through it. Lusam guessed what he was looking for in the bundle, even before he pulled them out, but had no idea why he would suddenly need his weapons. Neala and Alexia must have felt exactly the same way, because they both stopped what they were doing and began to look for potential danger. Renn noticed the sudden tension he had caused in the others, and made a hand signal to indicate there was no problem at present. Then he motioned with his head for Lusam to join him at the bundle of equipment. Lusam casually approached and knelt by his side, as if also looking for something in the large bundle.
“Problem?” Lusam asked quietly.
“No, lad. Not yet, anyway. I’m going to ask to see the Captain as he suggested. I figured the more of the crew that noticed me enter his cabin, the more credible his story will be later on. Or at least that’s what I hope. Sorry to ask you for it, but I need the rest of that gold too. Just in case Captain Waylon has to flash it around a little, to get the crew onboard with our little planned detour,” Renn said quietly.
“Of course,” Lusam replied, handing over a small coin pouch with the remaining thirty-five gold coins in it. Renn fastened the coin pouch to his belt, then strapped his shield across his back, before finally securing his sword at his waist.
“Thanks, lad,” Renn said, placing a hand on Lusam’s shoulder. “I need you all to wait here and act normally, as if nothing has changed. As far as you’re all concerned, I’m simply going for a chat with the Captain about a business proposition if anyone asks, the details of which you’re not privy to. I’ll no doubt be with the captain for while, but when I do re-emerge, be ready for any trouble that may arise, especially if the Captain chooses that moment to make his announcement to the crew.”
“Okay,” Lusam replied quietly. “I’ll let Neala and Alexia know what to expect. Good luck.”
“Thanks, I’m sure we’ll need it, lad,” Renn replied, giving Lusam one last pat on the shoulder before standing up in full view of the crew. Lusam walked over to Neala and Alexia and leant back against the ship’s rail, close enough to talk privately with them, but also with a good view of the main deck below. He watched as Renn descended the wooden stairs onto the main deck below.
“Excuse me,” Renn said to a crew member swabbing the deck. The man turned towards Renn’s voice, and his eyes went wide as he took in Renn’s new appearance.
“Er… yes, sir?” he stuttered, standing up a little straighter.
“I would like to request a meeting with Captain Waylon about a possible business proposal. Would you please inform him right away,” Renn said, pretending not to notice the reaction he had just evoked in the man.
“Yes… of course, sir, right away, sir,” the man replied dropping his mop and hurrying towards the Captain’s cabin, but glancing back over his shoulder several times on the way there. At first nobody else seemed to notice an armed paladin of Aysha among them, but that quickly changed, as one after another of the crew spotted him walking slowly to the port side of the ship. He casually stood there, looking out to sea, as if he were merely sight seeing. Lusam smiled to himself, as he witnessed men nudging their fellow crew members and pointing towards Renn at the ship’s rail. It was only a matter of seconds before every man on the ship had stopped what he was doing, and focused his attention on Renn.
A few moments later the man Renn had sent to speak with the Captain returned.
“Sir, the Cap’ain said he would see you in his cabin right away,” the man said, gesturing in the direction of Captain Waylon’s cabin.
“Thank you,” Renn replied, inclining his head slightly to the man. He crossed the deck with far more purpose towards Captain Waylon’s cabin, knocked once on the door, and entered at the Captain’s request. As soon as the door closed behind him, the crewmen outside went back to work, but not without far more chatter than usual between them. No doubt they were all curious as to what a paladin of Aysha was doing aboard their ship, and what he now wanted from their Captain. That theory was proven right a short time later, when the man who Renn had sent to speak with the Captain suddenly became a very popular figure amongst the other crew members.
Captain Waylon was sitting behind his desk studying a sea chart when Renn entered his cabin. It was far more luxurious on the inside than Renn would have expected for a ship of that type. The dark wood furniture was expertly crafted with decorative inlays made from exotic woods, and the small chandelier that hung from the ceiling was probably worth a month’s wages of any man aboard. He had several ornate cut glass decanters on his desk, as well as various quality wall hangings decorating the walls of the small cabin. Looking around, Renn suspected that Captain Waylon and the Pelorus had seen far more profitable times in the past than they were doing of late. ‘Something that was no doubt attributed to the Captain’s current gambling problem,’ Renn thought to himself.
“Good afternoon, Captain,” Renn said in greeting.
“I guess we’ll soon see,” the Captain replied coolly, taking in Renn’s new appearance, but not commenting on it. “Did you bring the balance of payment, as agreed?”
“I did,” Renn replied, placing the small bag of coins on the desk in front of him. Captain Waylon took the bag and emptied the coins onto the desk in front of him, counting them out in to two piles. Fifteen coins he took for himself to add to the original thirty-five—enough to clear his current gambling debts—the rest he returned to the coin pouch.
“May I ask what you plan on telling your men?” Renn enquired.
“I’m not planning on telling them anything, yet. After we dock at The Serpent Isles I will collect payment for our shipment. I will add the profits of that to what’s in this bag, and hopefully that will be
enough to convince them to risk their necks for you,” Captain Waylon replied, hefting the now much lighter coin pouch in his right hand.
“And if it’s not?” Renn asked.
“Then I would say we both have a big problem,” Captain Waylon replied flatly. Renn didn’t respond to the Captain’s remarks, he simply stared at him, letting him know that his answer was not going to be enough. Captain Waylon seemed to get the message loud and clear, licking his lips he added, “I know you are aware of my gambling debts, and unfortunately, so are most of my crew. They hear the rumours in the taverns too, you know. And they also know this may be our last voyage together. I doubt any of them have failed to notice the disappearance of many of the fleet who have ventured further south than here, but neither will they have failed to notice the lack of business opportunities available now that those routes are closed to us. It has already started a price war within the fleet. Each Captain undercutting the next for the fewer and fewer jobs that become available. Crews’ pay has been cut badly of late, on all ships, including the Pelorus. They know that soon there won’t be enough business to go around, and when that happens, Captains will go out of business, and their men lose their livelihoods.
“What little coin this pouch contains, added to the profits from this run, adds up to more than these men would earn in the next three months. Possibly even longer if the situation gets any worse. I’m hoping that will be enough. But like I said, if it isn’t, we both have a problem. You with your travel plans, and me with my ship and crew.”