by Alan Black
Tanden’s feet scraped something in the water. Salt eels or sea wolves! Involuntarily, he jerked his legs up and away. The reflexive movement snapped his mind into focus. He looked around, surprised to see the cliffs looming over him. Gingerly, he set his feet down onto the rocky bottom. On dry land, his wobbly legs would have collapsed, but here the water helped support his weight.
“Girl, can you stand? Try now, we are close to land.”
As she complied, Tanden released his hold on her. He looked to the sky, not able to see the sun. He had been lulled into senselessness as he swam, having no idea how long they had been in the sea. His body ached from one end to the other.
The cliffs ended at the sea with a thin strip of rocky shore. The shoreline could not be called a beach. It was nothing more than big boulders gathering at the foot of the cliff face with smaller rocks between to keep them company. The largest of the boulders stood seven or eight feet tall. Most of the area was jagged and angular. Flat, dry surfaces were at a premium.
The accessible shore extended a hundred yards to the left. The cliffs touched the sea within a few feet to the right of where the two approached the shore. The rock wall shot almost straight up for two hundred and fifty feet. Tanden noted the cliff face was not as straight and unbroken as it appeared from the ship. A close look revealed gaps, gashes, and nooks where the weather brought down the boulders forming the shoreline.
From his angle so close to the cliff face, Tanden was unable to see beyond the crest of the cliff. No birds were here, not even the usual sea eagles or wyverns looping through the air. He put a hand on the small of the woman’s back, pushing her forward, propelling her toward the shore. He followed I-Sheera’s stumbling steps.
Standing in water up to his mid-thighs, he stopped and swung his arms painfully around his head, stretching back and forth. The movement caused shooting pains throughout all parts of his torso and down his legs. Stomping about as best he could with the footing available, he wanted to shout out in pain and anger, but clamped his jaw shut. He would not allow himself the luxury of such an outburst with a mere woman close by to witness his weakness. This woman, as obnoxious and irritating as she has been on this journey, was still his to protect. Showing weakness before her would be as unfruitful and damaging as showing weakness before a crewman. He was in command. He must remain in control of himself first to remain in control of others. If he could not do so, he did not deserve to be captain.
His aching, cramped muscles had begun to quickly loosen providing freer movement in all parts of his body, Tanden walked carefully out of the water to stand on the uneven rocks. He turned his back to the rock wall and faced the sea. The small strip of land was shaded by the cliffs. He saw no others on the rocky shore.
The woman collapsed on the rocks.
“Girl, are you all right?”
She nodded in reply, looking up at him wearily.
Tanden said, “You may answer me, but remember, I command here.”
“Yes, Captain. I’m as well as I can expect to be. Thank you for my life.”
The deep calm tone of her voice surprised Tanden, yet he was too tired to visibly react. She sounded like an entirely different woman than aboard ship.
He thought, “Almost dying can transform a person, but a contrary wind will return to its westerly ways as sure as a dog returns to its own vomit. She’ll return to being nasty as soon as she’s rested. I wonder if I can keep her exhausted until I find a place for her safekeeping.” He shook his head in disgust, “By my mother’s eyes, I must be tired myself. That was an unkind thought. Well deserved, it’s true, but unkind.”
He said, “Take your clothing off. Then—”
The look on the woman’s face turned to shock.
“What? Speak. I won’t toss you back to the fishes this one time.”
“You wish me to disrobe? Here? Now? I owe you my life. If you want me then, you may take me. I won’t resist.”
Tanden laughed until a short fit of coughing caused him to suck in gasps of cool air. “You eastern reds! Amazing! You cover up every possible part of your bodies, but your minds are always on sex. I think you’d have fewer problems if you uncovered yourselves.” He continued despite her shocked look. “Holdenites are unashamed of our bodies. Even ogres have a saying that it’s better to see what you can’t have, than to not see what’s yours to take. You don’t agree? Let me ask you, you know adultery exists in your culture, yes?”
“Not often among the women. But it does occur with some men.”
“Ha! Some eastern men pervert themselves with beardless boys, but adultery and fornication takes two. The red order teaches against it as it’s contrary to forming concentrated magic. It prevents a person from focusing their attention on harvesting magic. Among Holdenites, the Hummdhars, and even the uncivilized Huzzuzz ogres, adultery is rare in comparison to your country. We have no punishment for adultary, except for what passes between a husband and his wife. We aren’t ashamed of our bodies.”
He sat on a waist high rock. Pulling off his boots, he dumped water from them. “Girl, my intention isn’t to ogle your flesh or partake of your delights. I’m concerned for your comfort and health. You’re enough of a problem already. If you grow ill because you’re wearing wet clothing, I’ll be obligated to doctor you back to health.” Tanden put his boots on, speaking slowly and distinctly, “I don’t have time for such nonsense.”
“I’m ashamed in my ignorance. I didn’t understand. Forgive me, master.”
He liked this version of the woman much more than the previous. He spoke gently, “Unless I miss my guess, we have more to deal with than wet clothing. Get up, wring the water out of your robe and put it on. It’ll still be damp, but not as wet and cold as what you have on. Move down the shore behind a rock to change your clothing. Dry what you can as quickly as you can.” Tanden gestured around. “I can’t offer you any more privacy than that.”
I-Sheera stood and turned to move, but halted. Pointing at the sea toward the other end of the beach, she shouted excitedly. “Look. There’s something in the water.”
Tanden looked, but from where he sat, he saw nothing in the bright white light across the waves. “What? Where? Where?”
I-Sheera jabbed her finger in the direction she wanted Tanden to look. He still saw nothing where she was pointing. He clambered to the top of a large boulder, then leaped to a small ledge on the cliff where he was able to get a toehold on the cliff face. Scanning the sea from this higher vantage point, he saw a darker blotch in the water surrounded by dancing white waves. Was the shadow his crew reaching the coast or some giant sea beast hunting for an evening meal?
Tanden said, “Change as I have commanded. I’ll go down the shore for a closer look.”
He glanced down at I-Sheera to see if she was going to comply or give him another argument. If Tanden was a betting man, he would have wagered on hearing an argument. He was surprised to see the slave girl beginning to remove her clothing.
What he saw pleased him. I-Sheera was thin, but not skinny. Her flowing eastern-style robe hid her true form. Her breasts, smaller than most Tanden had seen, jutted strongly from her smooth chest. Her dark, hardened nipples thrust outward. Broad, straight shoulders, with a flat, well-muscled stomach and strong legs were proof of a life of hard work.
“Good,” Tanden thought to himself. “Very good. She’ll need strength in the times to come, and she’s much more comely than I’d have guessed.” His gaze traveled to the dark triangle between her legs and swept back up enjoying the overall proportions of the figure before him. “Ah, Tanden, you’re a fool to be thinking such ideas, today of all days. First things first. Certainly not so recently after a lecture on nudity. My good man, lust doesn’t allow a man to make good decisions.”
Shaking his head from side to side, he tore his eyes away from I-Sheera and looked down the shore. Carefully, he charted a route along the rocks that should put him near the object in the water. He could not afford to break a leg on th
e slippery rocks any more than he could afford to drag a sick woman across unknown and probably hostile territory. From his point of view, the large boulders appeared to be small cliffs in themselves, blocking his view of the shore ahead and I-Sheera behind.
Still weary from lack of sleep, hours of bondage, and the long swim to shore, he wound his way around and over rock after boulder after rock. He scanned the sea at every opportunity, but saw nothing more than water, sky, and stone. For every foot he moved forward, he moved two feet sideways and one up—or two feet down and one back.
“By my father’s ears, I don’t know if I have the strength to do all that’s laid before me.”
A voice spoke, “Quit whining about it and get your lazy butt over here. And next time you get us tossed off a ship, would you do it near a comfortable place to set down. These rocks are anything but comfortable.”
Tanden whooped when he recognized the complaining voice of his longtime friend, Gadon. With renewed vigor, he bounded around the rock. Gadon and Durrban were sitting on the rocky shore. I-Sheera had seen his crew.
Both men had collapsed on the rocks, dripping wet from having just come out of the sea. Alton, Tuller, and Seenger were nowhere in sight.
Noticing Tanden’s glances, Gadon said, “I think we have lost my brother and Seenger.”
Durrban silently nodded in agreement.
Tanden asked, “Did you see them go under? How do you know they’re lost? How did you two end up together?”
Gadon replied, “I’m tired, cold, and hungry. Don’t badger me. I don’t often lose my brother to the sea.”
To stop his complaining, Tanden interrupted, “Tell me exactly what happened. Both of you. Durrban?”
The man shrugged and said, “As the green power wills.”
“No!” Tanden said. “I’ll not hear that. None of the magical orders condemn good men to drown at a whim. It’s the dark demons who will the death of men; it’s their will and the will of those who serve them. Alton, Seenger, and Tuller may yet live, that is my will. Gadon, speak.”
Gadon spat back, “Oh yes, pick on the short guy. We almost drowned a few short yards from the shore, but the waves and tides must have lifted us from the nice soft water and set us upon these hard boulders. I’ve got water in my ears and every other opening of my body. I’m perched on a sharp rock that pokes at my delicate behind and you want me to tell you stories? Well, by mother’s beard, I will then.”
“Tell me first of Nommer. You killed him?” Tanden asked.
“I cut his gut from crotch to throat and sent him to sleep at the bottom of the Black Sea. The fool thought to attack me alone.”
Nommer was a lazy crewman and none too bright. Tanden doubted if anyone would be sad or troubled at his death. He was where he belonged if he was part of the mutiny.
Gadon continued, “After being tossed overboard, I no sooner splashed into the sea than Tuller came in after me. We both went over the port side near the stern. We began swimming around the ship to the starboard side.” Gadon looked up at Tanden. “That was your command, wasn’t it? Swim to the starboard shore?”
Tanden sat next to his friend. “Yes, Gadon, to the starboard shore. What happened?”
Gadon continued, “Tuller and I went over the side near the stern. Durrban and Seenger went over larboard amidships. The forward progress of the White Wind was so slow that when Tuller and I reached the starboard side, we found ourselves face-to-face with them.”
Durrban nodded in agreement.
“Did you see Alton go overboard?” Tanden asked.
Gadon replied, “No, nor later in the water. I heard you both go overboard, but I couldn’t see anything.”
Alton was a quiet man, but a good one.
Tanden said, “All right, go on, Gadon.”
Gadon continued, “Seenger was floating as best he could and Durrban was towing him along by his tunic. Seenger looked like he was trying to relax as much as any ogre in water could, so as not to hamper Durrban. We could hear yelling from the ship, but we couldn’t see anything. Not that it mattered, we couldn’t help you anyway. We decided to stay together and swim to shore taking turns towing Seenger. I really hate swimming and I like seawater less than Seenger, but even I took a turn at pulling him along.”
Tanden sympathized with his men. He would have gladly shared the task of towing I-Sheera. They didn’t have long to rest. Time was short in more than one way.
“Somewhere out there we lost them while Tuller was towing Seenger. He was the strongest swimmer and he took more of the burden. When Durrban and I next turned around, they were out of sight. We shouted and searched as best we could. Tanden, by my own hairy balls, if we’d searched one minute longer we wouldn’t have had the strength to reach these rocks. I’ll miss my brother. He always was a pain, even as a little one, remember Tanden? What will I tell Mother?” Gadon hung his head in his hands.
Tanden said, “Men, we’ve all had losses this day. Can you get up? We must be about our business.”
Startled, Durrban said, “What business? Please, Captain. We’re tired. Look at what we’ve already done this day. Look at what we’ve been put through. Let us rest, then I’ll try to gather what magic I can, though there be little green here on this rocky shore.”
Tanden said. “We must move now. It’s my intention to retake the White Wind.”
“What?” Both crewmen exclaimed in unison.
“It’s my father’s ship and I intend to retake her.”
Gadon looked at Tanden and shook his head. Again, Tanden knew Gadon would do as he asked. Where Tanden went, Gadon followed with gusto, not without complaint, but with zeal and zest.
Gadon had been with him as his friend for as long as he could remember. When Tanden went to the libraries and schools of Allexia, Gadon went with him, where he complained of being bored. Later in years, when Tanden fought the Hummdhars in the Western Wars, Gadon went with him, complaining about the lack of food and beds. When Tanden traveled to the Geldonite States on a trading mission, staying in taverns and brothels, Gadon went along. Even there he complained the women were too pretty for his tastes, the drink too strong for his head, and the food too rich for his stomach.
“Yes, Gadon. It’s my goal to retake the White Wind. Do you remember this coast from the charts?” Tanden continued without giving the man a chance to reply, “To the south of us is a large peninsula. If I’m correct, we’re near the isthmus. Heraclius is a poor sailor at best. He’ll have to hug the coast all the way back to Stantinstadt or face missing the city altogether. He’ll not want to sail out of sight of land, nor too close to the rocky shoreline. The winds are with him as he sails east, but the tides are contrary right now. His westward course will be very slow as he sails into the wind. It may take him three or four days to reach the south coast of the isthmus. We can cross the peninsula by land, gaining an advantage and retake the ship. We must not delay on this shore. We must be up and moving now.”
Durrban spoke, “I still follow you, Captain Tanden, but I beg you to let us rest awhile. I see no way off these rocks except straight up these cliffs or back into the sea.”
The men looked up at the rock walls around them. The cliffs looked imposing, but not impossible to climb.
Gadon said, “These rocks are uncomfortable, Tanden, but I was on helm watch as we sailed north last night and I was on helm all morning as we sailed west. We all swam for what? hours? When we’re rested is time enough.”
Tanden replied. “Time enough is the problem, my friends. We have little enough of it on these rocks. We must forget what’s past. We must move forward now and rest later. How is it we all reached the coast at the almost the same spot? Luck? I think not. Gadon, tell me, where is the watermark on these rocks for high tide?”
Glancing up at the watermarks on the boulders and cliffs, Gadon looked startled.
Tanden said, “That’s right. The tide pulled us to the same spot and now sets upon us. In a very short while, if we stay, we’ll be taking our
rest crouched upon the largest boulder here and we’ll still be in two or three feet of water.”
He shook his head, looking pointedly at Durrban, “I know you’re an acolyte to the green order and have been studying their magic, but can your green skills hold back the ocean?”
Durrban shook his head, “There’s little growing here to gather magic. I haven’t got the power nor the skills to harvest and store enough power to even aid our ascent up the cliff.”
Tanden said, “All four of us must be up and moving quickly.”
“Four?” Durrban asked.
Gadon said to Durrban, “The poor man has water leaking into his brains. Oh, woe to us! We’re led by a man who can’t count to three.”
Tanden said, “The lady’s servant, I-Sheera is with us.”
Durrban moaned, rolling his eyes to the heavens, “Oh my aching ears! What have I done to offend the six gods in such a manner? Let the green magic take me to the next life now.”
Gadon’s jaw clenched at the news, “If there be any power in the six moons, they have a sense of humor. I swear she’s the last woman in the world I want to be with. Leave her here, Tanden. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”
Tanden commanded, “Up now. Look for a way up. Do it quickly. I’ll fetch the woman.” He turned his back on the men and began making his way back to where he had left I-Sheera.
About halfway back, Tanden realized he had miscalculated the rate of the incoming tide. The sea now covered most of the lower rocks. Even though the waves of the bay were small, the tides were causing them to rise, spraying mist and foam across the rocks, making the already hazardous terrain more difficult to traverse. The six moons seemed to conspire against sailors and fishermen alike as their movement across the heavens often made the tides almost unpredictable.
Tanden stood facing a large, irregular boulder. He distinctly remembered going seaward around it. The cliffs and the rising sea now blocked Tanden’s path in every direction. Looking about him, he noticed handholds were plentiful on the boulders, so he climbed up.