As I pitched forward out of the cargo hatch, the fingers that had clamped quite firmly on my throat abruptly released me. Apparently the hand’s owner had grabbed me as an afterthought while climbing back into the airship, or else he thought me already disposed of. The fortunes must have been smiling on me for I had not quite tumbled completely over in the air when my flailing hand managed to catch the still dangling rope and arrest my plummet into the night.
My salvation was at the cost of some skin from my right hand. I slid for several feet before managing to grasp the rope with my other hand and bring myself to a halt. I ignored the burning sensation in my palm as I pulled myself up hand over hand, wrapping my feet around the rope and using them to push as well. Above me, the feet of my attacker disappeared into the square opening. That he made it completely into the airship unaccosted could only mean that Threm was otherwise engaged, perhaps with crewmen entering via the interior door.
Once again I was faced with having to make a rapid decision based on but little information. I knew that Threm had been quite handy at dispatching the initial crewmen who had hauled him into the airship, and I hoped he would continue to be as capable. The crewman climbing through the hatch disturbed me somewhat, causing me to wonder if he might flank my friend, but I assumed that Threm had seen me pulled through the hole. I hoped Threm would be on the lookout for a threat from that direction. In any case he was probably not expecting my return, believing I had fallen to my death.
With any luck the others within would also think the same of me. When I drew close enough to the underside of the vessel, I saw a potential means of reaching another part of it. Small metal rings spaced at regular intervals protruded from the hull. They would allow tethered crewmen to maneuver around in relative safety on the outside and bottom of the hull in order to inspect and repair it while underway. My aim was to use the rings myself in order to maneuver far enough away from the cargo hatch as to belay any lingering suspicion that I might still be alive, and to gain ingress to the ship at another location.
A screaming figure cart-wheeled out of the cargo hatch and into the night below. Threm was using the same tactic that had served him well in his first engagement. Seeing his success emboldened me to continue with my plan. Instead of pulling myself through the hatch, I grasped one of the metal loops closest to me and suspended myself from it.
I had no doubt that the loops would support me, but I must admit to some apprehension concerning my ability to climb from one to another as a fly on a wall. Having grasped the first loop, the necessity of letting go of the rope with my feet in order to secure my other hand to a different loop was a sore test of my determination.
The climb was far from easy, especially with one hand injured slightly. More than once I misjudged the distance to the next of the loops as I made my way towards the topside deck, causing me to dangle briefly by one hand as I re-secured my grip and tried again. When I was far enough up the side of the airship, I was able to use my feet as well, and I paused to take a welcome rest at that point. During my respite, I looked upward to choose a path over the rail that would be hopefully unoccupied.
I heard the fight within go on for some time while I climbed, placing my ear against the planking during each of several brief pauses in my ascent. I even heard a snippet of dialogue after the fighting had died off. Apparently, Threm had done no slight damage, before being overcome. “That one had better be worth it. He overcame five crewmen and managed to kill a mercenary. The crewmen will be difficult enough to do without, but now I have to pay a death-price as well, and for a sergeant.”
I heard the dull smack of flesh being kicked, presumably poor Threm. My hunch was seemingly right that Threm was worth more alive than dead, but I was sorry nonetheless for his predicament. The next part of the conversation heartened me somewhat. My ruse had worked. “What of the other one?” A female voice, yet one with the tone of command, asked. The first voice answered, “He took flying lessons, and I fear he did no better at it than my men.” I heard the female voice laugh then, but had no stomach to listen further.
My hands were growing tired and I knew I had to gain the deck soon or risk becoming fatigued enough to make a costly error while climbing. Pulling myself upwards, I drew as close to the rim of the deck as I dared before pausing once again. I listened, but heard no movement above me, and as no light shone either, I risked climbing the remaining distance.
Once to the wooden rail, it was a simple matter to pull myself over the top and onto the smooth planking beyond. Looking around, and listening intently I risked kneeling for several seconds in the open before scouting for better shelter. I wanted to rescue Threm immediately, but prudence told me that at the very least I would have to regain a significant amount of the vitality I had spent on my sojourn up the side of the ship.
After I recovered enough to at least crouch and move quietly, I began to more carefully examine my surroundings. Blackened ropes extended upwards from various reinforced points along the deck towards the gas bags above. I guessed that there would be at least one ladder extending to some sort of watch platform as well, but did not encounter it on this end of the ship.
Overall, the deck was quite clear. I noticed that the rings by which I had made my way along the sides of the airship were present along topside as well. Perhaps they served some purpose other than that which I had initially surmised, or perhaps the designers had envisioned the possibility that the deck might not always remain level.
At several locations, usually near the points where the rigging attached from the supports floating above, raised boxes broke the otherwise level area. That they were used for storage was clear, but I did not pause to investigate them further. Once, I came upon a person wandering the deck. The faint odor of his pipe reached me before any noise or light and forewarned me. On the alert, I was nevertheless barely able to dart behind one of the raised boxes before the glow from his pipe flared a mere several yards in front of me.
The only thing that saved me was that he seemed more intent on watching the star field as it drifted above, that and the slowness of his traverse across the deck. I skirted around the barrier until he was on the far side of it from me, but after that near encounter, I became even more cautious. Wanting to find a place both to rest and to cogitate on my strategy for not only freeing Threm but also the pilot, I redoubled my efforts at locating an out of the way place that I might be more at ease.
Strangely enough, that place presented itself when I glanced over the side of the airship upon one of my approaches in that direction. A small platform protruded from the side of the airship almost two yards below the level of the main deck. It was sheltered from above by a portion of the planking which at this location overhung the edge of the hull by two or three yards.
The platform was not totally enclosed, and I thought briefly that it might be used as a firing location in the event of a boarding activity. A small hatch in the deck revealed a ladder leading down to the seemingly secure area. I lowered myself through the hole and pulled the hatch shut on top of me.
The ladder was a short, easy climb, and I quickly found that the place was currently used for storage, coils of rope and small rough sacks, the contents of which I did not endeavor to determine. It seemed secure enough for my purposes, temporarily at least. I felt confident that nothing stored here would need to be retrieved in a pressing enough a manner as to require it be done by darkness.
I propped myself up in such a manner that I might rest my muscles from the climb and to prepare for what lie ahead, but was uncomfortable enough to keep me from falling asleep. No matter how tired I was, I was resolute in my determination not to leave Threm and the other prisoner any longer than necessary before affecting our escape.
In retrospect the plan which came to me was simple in the extreme, but one I hoped was just flexible enough to allow it to succeed. I did not think this vessel large enough to be a true slaver, being scarcely eight paces wide, and fr
om what I could tell perhaps thirty paces in length. My plan hinged on the assumption that the below decks portions of the airship that I had not seen were filled with something other than men at arms. I was also hoping that Threm and the pilot were being kept in the same cage that I had been secured in briefly.
Both assumptions proved to be correct, although things did not turn out in the way I had foreseen. Seated in the dark I had no way of telling how much time had passed before I felt energetic enough to proceed. Twice while I waited on that platform I heard footsteps approach on the deck above, but in neither case was the hatch above me opened. Perhaps the crew of the ship were organized enough to set a roving patrol on the decks at night, or perhaps it was merely the pipe smoker or another of his kind that had come out for some night air. In any event I was not disturbed other than the apprehension which came upon me with the possibility of discovery.
Waiting until the sound of receding footsteps faded away I searched the platform quickly for a weapon of some sort. In truth I did not expect to find anything so elaborate as a blade, but would have been satisfied with even a length of wood that could have served as an improvised club. Unfortunately, nothing even remotely functional in that aspect presented itself. Until I could equip myself better, I made do with one of the lumpy sacks small enough to carry in one hand. It was heavy and probably capable of rendering someone unconscious if wielded with sufficient force.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and carefully returned to the deck above. On this instance I traversed the entire deck to a hatch near the after section without encountering anyone. I noticed disconcertingly that the sky had begun to lighten slightly in the pre-dawn, and hurried somewhat, realizing my time was becoming limited.
Thankfully the hatch was not secured from the inside. It pulled open quietly at my tugging, revealing a narrow steep ladder leading down to the interior. I entered slowly, closing the hatch behind me. A dimly glowing globe revealed only minimal details of my surroundings, but was enough to allow me to navigate the ladder quietly and without noisy incident.
Once at the bottom I realized that I was in the middle of a passage somewhat narrower than three feet. Two persons going in opposite directions would find it a tight squeeze, even when turned sideways. Continuing towards the rear of the ship I encountered a closed door and was reaching for the handle when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the other side. A second later, a voice seemingly in the middle of a conversation came through the door although I could not make out the words.
Making it to the ladder behind me and onto the deck above before I was discovered by those approaching seemed a remote possibility. Perhaps I could have attempted to distort my movement through time, but that option did not occur to me. I was, however flanked by two interior doors, presumably leading to a cabin on either side of the passageway. The one nearest me was locked from within, and I felt a degree of anxiety as I stepped towards the opposite door.
The second door proved to be unsecured and I wasted no time in entering the room and closing the door behind me. The room was dimmer even than the passageway, only the faintest of light entered through a small portal in the pre-dawn hour.
I fumbled in the dark and located a simple slide bar lock on the door which I wasted no time in using. The door secure, I turned to the interior of the room, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dimness. After several seconds, I heard a rustling noise from deeper within the room. The rustling was followed by the unexpected sound of a soft female voice in the darkness, “Come, let me warm you.”
It was the last thing I had expected to hear, and as the footsteps passed by the doorway outside I knew my situation was precarious. I had no desire to give away my identity as a stranger by speaking, but I also had to prevent the woman in the room from setting the alarm.
I didn’t know a thing about who she was expecting, and to be found out as an impostor in bed I surmised would risk a much more dangerous response from the woman. The thought also came to me that such an action would be out of character, a violation of some sort of moral code which I could not define fully, and indeed had not been aware of possessing, but one that impinged at the edges of my awareness.
In any event any attempt at deception was removed in an instant as the woman in the bed became suddenly visible to me holding a reddish light globe similar to the ones I had seen in other places on the airship. She had leaned up on one elbow, the other hand holding the globe aloft. She lay with linens covering her torso, but from the bareness of skin shown by her shoulders and arms she was in all likelihood unclothed beneath.
I had but a brief second to study her features, and I admit that to my embarrassment I did so instead of formulating a plan of action. In the reddish light, it was hard to distinguish anything about her skin, other than it looked smooth and supple. Her face was narrow and topped with a head of short hair of a light color. Our eyes met briefly and while her mouth had initially possessed a slight grin, that quickly changed to a frown.
I regained my wits and prepared myself to dart across the room in order to cover her mouth should she start to scream. That she kept her voice low surprised me greatly. “So, already he tires of me and sends another in his place?” Her inflection turned her utterance from a question into a resigned statement. She lowered her head briefly then shook it slowly back and forth.
Reminding myself that I was not as yet being searched for, or that at the very least I could assume as much with a reasonable degree of accuracy, I held my tongue. While I would have to correct this woman’s opinion of me at some point, I chose to bide my time at least until the footsteps had faded away outside.
Quite abruptly she swung her legs from the edge of the bed to the deck and stood, her bedding discarded in a rumple on the mattress behind. I was thankful out of modesty that she was not naked as I had suspected, although the garments she wore left little to the imagination. They consisted of two separate pieces, both loose fitting yet brief. One covered her from her hips to the upper part of her thighs, barely, while the other wrapped scantily around her upper torso, concealing only slightly the symmetrical curves of her feminine anatomy.
I must have gawked in quite a doltish manner because she laughed quietly, “Come now, we both know why you are here. At least you are more pleasant to look at, and not as smelly.” She walked over to me and ran a finger along the rough stitching along the neckline of the hide garment Threm had lent me. “But you really do need to do better than these.”
I noticed briefly that she smelled faintly like some sort of flower, although one I could not name. It was quite a pleasant scent, and combined with the dim lighting of the room, the soft tickling of her finger on my chest, and the warmth of her closeness, I found myself becoming uncomfortable. This degree of closeness and intimacy as not something I did casually, not with a stranger.
As I rapidly considered ways to decline her advances, something she clearly would not expect of me, and something that would surely cause her to be alarmed. For why else then would I be in her room, except for some nefarious purpose? I was on the verge of grabbing her in a most ungentlemanly fashion to keep her silent when the latch on the door turned without warning and the door rattled rapidly in a staccato manner against the locking bar. The voice that carried from outside was low and guttural, and made little attempt at speaking in muted tones “Open the door, now!”
The instant and dramatic change in demeanor the sound of that voice brought about in my unwitting host took me quite off guard. In the blink of an eye she dashed the light globe towards the far wall. I managed to catch only the briefest glint of a blade darting towards me before the globe shattered against the wooden bulkhead, leaving the room in darkness.
I have no idea how close the blade came to me, for I wasted no time in throwing myself over backwards and tumbling out of the way. The only clue I had that time had slowed down around me was that the rattling of the door latch changed from its rapid tempo
to a much deeper and slower banging.
My thoughts began racing as I considered the puzzlement I experienced at the sudden appearance of the slender blade in the hand of a nearly naked girl, where there seemed to be little enough place to hide anything even approaching its size. Before I had even tumbled over my shoulder to my feet again, luckily without hitting anything large enough to stop me, I had also decided upon an immediate plan of action.
I backed to the wall behind me and felt along it in the direction of the door, based on the periodic banging resonating through the wood. As long as the banging kept its slow, steady rhythm I felt little concern for the girl with the knife. It would take her some time to reach me, even if she knew exactly where I was.
My hand closed reassuringly on the wooden latch and I pulled it open without hesitating. Without allowing the man outside to react, I pulled the door open suddenly. A picture played through my mind of what it must have looked like from his perspective, the door going from closed and locked tight to standing wide open in front of him in half the blink of an eye.
What must have proven even more surprising to him was the hand that reached out of the darkness and pulled him into the room, quite suddenly. As he stumbled, off balance, in slow motion into the room, I darted around him and into the passageway, pulling the door shut behind me.
The narrow corridor was empty of other crewmen, and I hurried through it towards the rear of the airship. I intended to take as much advantage of my increased speed as I could, and also to put as much distance between myself and the sure-to-ensue drama I had left behind. The next room I entered must have been the ship’s mess area, several small tables sat anchored to the deck, and a cooling cauldron of some kind of stew sat at one end of the room.
Of all the things I noticed when moving through altered time, my reaction to this this proved mildly amusing. As I strode quickly through the room, breaking into a run in the clear area, I caught a whiff of the concoction. It had a rich meaty smell, but also that of various herbs and vegetables. My stomach actually groaned in hunger as I passed. How long had it been since I had eaten?
Another narrow corridor, flanked by cabins as had been the one forward, lay aft of the mess area. My fortune held and I still encountered no one as I proceeded. The corridor met another at right angles, but a stairway also led downward in the direction I wanted to go. Still moving in my accelerated manner, or so I hoped, I swung into the space below by a handle suspended above the stairs, presumably there for that purpose.
As I lit upon the lower deck, I immediately realized I had entered a sleeping area. Hammocks hung two high from a series of floor to ceiling beams that stood at intervals around the room. Not all the hammocks were full, but enough of them were occupied to give me pause. As I snuck slowly through the room, carefully avoiding any of the men therein, I realized that time had resumed its normal rate by the sound of snoring in the room approaching its normal pitch.
I navigated the room without mishap, until I was next to the last set of hammocks. The bottom one was occupied, and as I passed it a hand shot out and grabbed me by one ankle. I nearly punched the man in the face, and was lining myself up to stoop over and do just that when he mumbled something incoherent and released my leg.
Relieved I took the two steps required to get to rear of this berthing and started to open a door leading aft when an alarm bell sounded, clearly but disconcertingly from somewhere forward, from the direction I had come. Men started to stir, but not before I was through the door and into a much shorter passage on the other side of it. This passage had a ladder leading from above, but also another door set into the wall aft. This door had a clearly painted set of bars on it; I hoped indicating the presence of the cage I had seen before.
The bell continued to sound, and even as I opened the final door, I was beginning to become concerned over being discovered. If the alarm was due to my prior intrusion into the occupied cabin, it must have been a more serious infraction than I had imagined.
The room beyond was indeed the caged one containing not only the mysterious man with the gravelly voice, but now Threm and the pilot who was seated, leaning against the wall. As I entered, Threm looked up, smiling broadly as he recognized me. “Jahn! I saw you pulled out of the hatch?”
I nodded, “It’s a longer story than I think we have time for with that bell ringing.” I moved to the cage door but found it, not surprisingly, secured. Threm guessed my intention and pointed towards the door through which we had both entered the ship not long ago. “When the bell started ringing, the guard from here went through that door,” Threm noted in a helpful tone.
I nodded and moved toward the door, intent on opening it and stepping through. As my hand reached for the latch it lifted seemingly of its own accord and the door began swinging inward. Initially I was taken aback that someone would open a door with such slowness, but I quickly surmised that the flow of time had altered around me once again. The transition was so smooth as to be nearly imperceptible, and I resolved to remain vigilant to its arrival in the future so as not to be taken off guard and waste valuable time.
Although I was beginning to be able to control this time skewing, it still manifested itself more often than not during a period of crisis, especially when quick and deliberate action on my part would swing the odds of an otherwise untenable situation in my favor. This instance was no different, and as the door swing slowly inward I grasped it and pulled it towards me with as much vigor as I could muster, then satisfying myself that the crewman on the other side was off balanced and being pulled through the opening, I slammed it shut again.
The low pitched thud as the door struck the unfortunate man and flung him backwards into the room beyond completed the initial stage of my entry to retrieve the key which unlocked the cell containing my companions. I opened the door, fully this time, and darted into the room beyond. Such was my acceleration that the crewman I had struck with the door was still in the process of falling backwards through the air. The door had apparently impacted him with enough force to carry him completely off of his feet.
I dodged around his nearly horizontal form, finding it mildly amusing that had I wished I could have passed completely underneath the man as he floated through the air. Two steps took me to his shoulders when I noticed in retrospect that he was the very man I was looking for. A ring of keys dangled from his belt. I stopped myself short and snatched the keys.
With a detached interest I noticed that even the mild pull generated as I tugged at the keys had started him spinning away from me. He was in for a significantly more awkward landing than his backwards arc had previously indicated, but I did not trouble myself with it other than to kick a small crate out of the way from where I guessed he would land. Why I took even that small action I must attribute to the fact that although I held no compunction against any action I must take to free myself and my companions, I nonetheless held no overt malice towards the hapless airshipman.
Glancing around after I secured the keys in my hand I surveyed the remainder of the room. Two other crewmen stood over the now open hatch, which revealed further the beginnings of daylight beyond. One of them had turned his head towards the commotion I caused and his face was slowly forming a look of surprise. His hand rose, ever gradually towards the shoulder of the other crewman, this one apparently so intent on looking at something outside of the ship that he had not noticed my entrance.
I thought little of either until their movement began to speed perceptibly. The crewman looking in my direction stopped trying to gain the attention of his fellow and instead stood and stepped towards the interior wall. In an instant, before I could react fully, the falling crewman thudded to the deck and I heard the only slightly distorted sound of the alarm bell ring twice more in a normal tone before stopping.
Time was at its normal rate and my advantage deteriorated. I tried once to re-trigger my temporal acceleration, but was unable to do so. I noticed what must be th
e destination of the moving crewman. He was headed towards tube of some kind which ran from a rounded mouthpiece at shoulder level upward and through the overhead.
In an instant I realized that I could not allow him to reach the device. To make matters worse, the other crewman, the one still kneeling at the open hatch, became obviously aware of my presence, drew a short but curved knife from his belt and stood, stepping towards me.
Chapter Eleven
John Smith, World Jumper Book One: Portal to Adventure Page 11