Quest for the White Wind

by Alan Black

  Gadon replied, “Me? What did I do? By my blind sister’s eyes, I’m truly mistreated. Tanden, sir, great captain, this area looks like the ground during a drought, full of big, flat, squarish stones with deep gaps between them. Most of the rocks looked to be the size of this one or bigger, maybe half again as long as you’re tall. It looked that way for as far as I could see and that wasn’t very far.”

  “Girl?” Tanden asked, “What did you see?”

  Gadon interrupted, “Why ask the harpy anything? Command her to be quiet or throw her to the snakes, I don’t care, but I truly don’t want to hear her voice again. Ever.”

  I-Sheera answered, “I don’t know what Gadon is so upset about, when I came up there were snakes all over the place. And they’re still here. Great big man afraid of skinny little legless crawlies!”

  Tanden could see snakes squirming in knots in the faint starlight. Long, fat ones and quick, darting, skinny ones slithering in an angry orgy, each fighting for a space on top of the rapidly cooling rocks. There were so many snakes it looked like the rocks were moving.

  Occasionally, he could hear the shrill cry of some small dragonette caught up in the turmoil.

  Tanden shook his head to clear his thoughts as he kicked at a shadow crawling up on the rock. He sent the snake flying back into the spaces around the rocks.

  “Girl, speak with a civil tongue, or I’ll do as Gadon suggests. I have other things to do than to umpire your verbal battles.”

  “Yes, sir. It’s as Gadon says, except before the light faded, I could see the edge of a forest that way.” Pointing inland, she continued in a calm and definitely non-whinny voice. “I don’t know how far away the trees are from here. A ten minute walk maybe, they were a ways away.”

  Tanden said, “We’re stuck here at least until Deering rises. By then these rocks should be cool enough that the snakes will return to their warmer holes. They only come up to catch the warmth of these stones. We should be able to keep this small area clear until then, but we also need to rest. Gadon, you and the girl find a clear space together in the middle of this stone and rest as best you can. Durrban, can you help me keep these vile creatures off our rock for a while?”

  Durrban answered, “Captain, I couldn’t rest knowing there’s a snake within a league of my bed. I’ll keep this rock clear, I swear to the green order I will.”

  Gadon said, “I couldn’t sleep either, Tanden.”

  “Gadon, you were on helm watch last night, plus it’s been a hard day. Yes I know, it’s been a hard day for a hard man, but you have to rest. We’ll need your strength later.”

  “Sir?” I-Sheera asked.

  “Yes, girl?”

  “I can help Durrban. I did nothing all morning but float in the sea. You did all the swimming for both of us. You should rest now, too.”

  Tanden thought to argue, but realized she was correct. “Durrban, wake me immediately if you or the girl tire. Otherwise, wake us at moonrise. Do you understand?” Unlike Durrban, Tanden was sure he could sleep even if the snakes were crawling all over him. He sank down onto the middle of the stone next to Gadon, who was already asleep.

  Tanden did not like snakes, but sleep was sleep. Over the years, he had learned to take sleep where and when he could. He had slept in worse conditions. During the war with the Hummdhars, he had been the only survivor of an ambush in a blind canyon. All around him were piles of dead men and sauruses. Carrion eaters and insects of all kinds came in swarms. When the Hummdhars gathered to capture and torture any Holdenite left alive, Tanden gutted a dead saurus, crawling inside to hide. Despite the heat, the stench, and the danger, he slept. This night, he dreamed of snakes crawling from a dead saurus to pluck at his paralyzed flesh.

  Tanden woke at Durrban’s touch to relieve him from snake duty. The first sight of Deering’s moonlight was visible. The older sailor and the girl sank down to rest on the middle of the stone. Tanden felt refreshed from the short rest and his memory of the nightmare faded fast in the reality of their situation. A light boot against Gadon’s backside woke him.

  Tanden noticed the night was getting colder and there were fewer snakes. The moon had risen to a full bright globe, lighting the night and deepening the shadows. The Rose was still in the sky, but her dim light only emphasized Deering’s glory. Many of the stones were almost completely clear of snakes. The shrill cry of a sea wyvern caused Tanden to search the night sky. This snake pit would be a hunting paradise for a small, hungry winged dragon.

  Movement at the corner of his eye brought Tanden’s eyes back to the cliff’s edge. He saw larger, darker, moving silhouettes against the sea’s backdrop. Uncertain of what he was seeing, he looked behind him. The angle and line of sight would not silhouette his group. Their shadows would blend into the rocks behind them. There in the distance was a forest edge, dark, and foreboding.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tanden asked, “Gadon?” He pointed questioningly in the direction of the shadows.

  “It’s a man.” Gadon yelled, “No! Two…I think.” He began waving his arms.

  “Gadon, they must have heard you shout. Call them.”

  Almost immediately, the smaller man began shouting.

  Durrban and I-Sheera got to their feet and looked toward the cliff’s edge. They began babbling, questioning whether it was Alton or Tuller—because of the size, they were sure one of the shapes was Seenger—and whether they had been there all night, and if there were snakes where they were. Tanden set their focus back to watching their own stone for any late coming slitherers.

  “Gadon, can you hear them?” Tanden asked.

  Gadon replied, “I might if you’d all be quiet. You three are loud enough to wake the snakes up again. We don’t want that, do we? No? Then let me listen, I’m getting older and my hearing is getting worse, you know.” He shouted into the distance, “Hello the rock.”

  A voice floated back, faint but clear, “Gadon? Is that you? I knew you wouldn’t drown while you still owed your favorite brother enough money to buy a fat pig.”

  Gadon danced a quick little jig at hearing his brother’s voice, hooting with glee. His belly jiggled with unrestrained relief and joy.

  Tanden let out a sigh of relief, “Gadon, we’re heading toward the forest. We’ll angle back toward them on a southerly heading. We must leave now. Have Tuller and Seenger angle toward us to meet us as soon as possible.”

  Gadon shouted the instructions to his brother and the ogre.

  Turning to Durrban and I-Sheera, Tanden said, “We could wait until it becomes colder and all the snakes are driven below ground, but I believe we must move now. We aren’t going to starve for days yet, but we’ll weaken quickly if we don’t locate drinking water. It’s well past time to leave this snake den behind us.”

  Without waiting for an agreement, he continued, “We’ll move from rock to rock, staying on top. Avoid any darker shadows and stay together as much as possible. Don’t lag behind or we may unknowingly lose you in the dark. We won’t head straight to the forest’s edge because we’ll be able to move farther and faster here than in the forest. By moving south, we’ll angle away from the sea towards the trees. We need to move as fast as possible so we can reach the forest’s edge before moonset.”

  Tanden noted that Tuller and Seenger were already moving along the rocks, jumping from one to the other. He wondered how Tuller felt about snakes. As for Seenger, in the time Tanden had known him, the ogre had never shown any fear. Tanden was exceedingly glad they were still alive and would shortly be back with him. They were excellent crewmen and Tanden would need them when the time came to retake the White Wind. First, they must get off these rocks before the warmth of the morning sun brought the snakes back. It saddened him that Alton was still lost, maybe alive and maybe dead.

  Tanden commanded, “Follow along. Gadon, you bring up the rear.”

  As Tanden leaped to the next stone to the south he heard Gadon start complaining, “Last again. Why me? I have such short legs I should
go first so everyone goes at my pace.”

  Tanden let him jabber on knowing from experience that he would soon tire. He had heard Gadon talk and complain for hours on end in many a tavern, but here, without water and exerting himself jumping from rock to rock, he would stop talking before too long.

  Normally, moving along the top of the stones would not be difficult. Well rested, in daylight, having eaten and having had plenty to drink, it might be a pleasant diversion. Running two steps in the dark, then leaping over a crack in the earth to land hard on another stone caused all of Tanden’s overused muscles to cry out in protest. Fortunately, the night air was cool on his scraped up back and his boots protected his bruised feet.

  Stone after stone, they jumped. Tanden heard the others following behind him, their feet slapping and pounding across the rocks. Their movement became repetitious: two running steps and jump. Two more running steps and jump. Two more running steps and Tanden froze. Coming to a sliding halt, he found himself barely inches away from a deep crevice too wide to jump across.

  He shouted. “Stop. Stop. Stop. Stand where you are.” His warning came too late. I-Sheera crashed into his back. He started careening into the open air and the jumbled rocks below. If Durrban had not been close on the girl’s heels, he would have fallen. The acolyte grabbed his trousers, yanking him upright.

  Tanden looked back at Gadon on the rock behind them. He was unable to read the man’s expression in the pale moonlight. Gadon shrugged and flung an arm out questioningly in a westerly direction.

  Tanden said, “Gadon, maybe you’re right. Maybe I should have let you lead the way.”

  Gadon grunted, sucking in air, and waited with his hands on his knees.

  Looking back across the crevice, Tanden saw Tuller and Seenger just twenty feet away. “I’m truly happy you didn’t drown. You’re well?”

  Tuller spoke for both. “We are well, but tired, like you, I’m sure.”

  “Good. I plan to head in a southerly direction as much as the terrain permits, but this crevice blocks the course.” To the left, the gash in the rocks angled toward the cliffs by the sea. To the right, the gash ran another forty or fifty feet before branching off in two directions. In the faint moonlight, Tanden could see both branches curving toward the west, one farther west than the other. It possibly circled back toward the north, though its full course wasn’t clear in the dim moonlight.

  Tanden continued, “It may take too long to go around. We need to find a way across. I have no desire to climb down into a snake pit at night.”

  Tuller’s voice had a puzzled tone, “Snakes? We haven’t seen any snakes. Seenger and I made the shore near the cut in the cliffs from a dry streambed. Apparently, rain in the forest causes flooding and this channels the run off out to the sea. We climbed up the cut last evening. Access to the top of the cliffs was easy, but we didn’t see any snakes. We moved to the edge of the cliff, watching for you while we rested from the swim. There’s no fresh water in the channel. We were just about to go looking for water when we heard Fat Boy shout to us.”

  Gadon snorted, “Fat Boy? You young pig turd, where’s your courage? You wait until there’s a great canyon between us before you insult me? I’ll get you for that, you slimy pile of maggot droppings.”

  Tuller laughed, “And what are you going to do, Old One? Tell Mother on me? Besides you lazy tub of goose fat, this “great canyon” is only a five or ten feet deep.” The moon had risen high enough to cast a glow into the streambed.

  Before Gadon could respond, Tanden said, “Then, even in this poor light, we should be able to cross here. Trying to go around this great canyon might take us too far off course. South is the way we must go, if possible. Changing course too far to the right or the left will take us farther away from our goal. We need to focus our attention on finding the White Wind.” He went on to explain to Tuller and Seenger his plan to retake the ship.

  “South, then,” Seenger grunted.

  Tuller agreed, “Without a doubt, south. You can cross here as easily as any place. This crevice is a jumble of rocks turned every which way, but I suggest you stay out of shadows if you can.”

  “Why?” Durrban asked. “You said you hadn’t seen any snakes.”

  Tuller said, “True, but Seenger and I spent the time between sundown and moonrise fighting off running hordes of dragonettes. Any snake near us would be dragonette supper by now.”

  Dragonettes along this area of the Black Sea were tiny, no larger than a man’s hand. The two-legged, wingless lizards seemed to be all neck and tail, except for the wickedly sharp teeth that filled their over-sized mouths. These were not the grazing dragons like the tame saurus, but meat eaters. As small as they were, running in packs they could easily swarm over an unwary man, bringing him down, and eating him while he yet breathed.

  Gadon wondered, out loud, “Dragonettes?! Hunh! We’re swarmed with snakes and you’re overrun with dragonettes.”

  Tanden said, “It may be this crevice presents a natural barrier or a buffer zone. Any creature foolish enough to wander over to the other side becomes a meal. Nonetheless, if we’re going to reach our goal we must overcome this obstacle and get moving.”

  Without further discussion or comment, Tanden chose a largish, flat-looking rock bathed in moonlight below him in the streambed. He jumped, landing squarely in the middle. The shadows tricked his eyes into thinking the rock was much farther below than it really was, resulting in his landing sooner and harder than expected. His breath whoofed out of his chest, his knees jarred, and his teeth rattled, but no harm was done. The rock teetered briefly, but remained in place and he kept his footing.

  “Watch my path across, then follow me,” he said to the three behind him.

  Choosing another rock, Tanden leaped. The rock skittered sideways as he landed. The last rush of water had undercut its base and it scooted out from under his feet sending him rolling into the shadows. He rolled across smoothed rocks adding to the bruises of his already aching body. He briefly rolled into a ball of scaled legs, tails, and necks that broke apart and scattered for deeper shadows. They chittered madly and rushed back to see how much they could grab of this large meal that had dropped into their hunting ground.

  Before he became a meal, Tanden jumped up and grabbed a nearby stick. He stomped his feet and swung the stick at every beady-eyed dragonette he could see. Stomping and turning about he spotted another rock and leapt up. He held his stick in front of him, ready to swing at any dragonette attempting to follow him into the moonlight. He looked down at his hands and realized in horror that he was holding a dried out piece of half-eaten dead snake. With a shiver, Tanden tossed it back into the shadows.

  From his angle in the streambed, Tanden could see bundles of snakes and piles of dragonettes in a free-for-all melee of eat or be eaten. Farther downstream, he spied a dragonette start to scurry across a large flat moonlit rock. In the blink of an eye, a sea wyvern snatched the dragonette airborne, its huge leathery wings snapping in the cold night air.

  Gadon called to Tanden, “Good guiding. I think I’ll try a different stone if you don’t mind. Mother always wondered why I let you lead me around and now I begin to wonder too. Dragonettes, snakes, and running around in the middle of the night. I’m probably going to break my neck before I get home. And it’ll be your fault, Tanden. Tuller, if I break my neck here tonight, tell Mother it was Tanden’s fault. And by the way, Tanden, I’m getting hungry. Water I can do without, but a man of my physical prowess and boundless energy needs food to survive.”

  While Gadon spoke, I-Sheera jumped down to the first rock Tanden had used. Watching her from below, it looked to Tanden like she floated. The moonlight fluttered through the flimsy, flowing garments and her wild hair flowed about her face. Her clothing did little to cover her body. The robe wrapped around her shoulders billowed around her like a mist. It was a pleasant vision, one Tanden knew he would be able to trade for a drink in any tavern in his old age. That is, if he ever entered another
tavern or if he even lived to old age.

  Durrban followed her quickly to the next rock and then the next. Tanden turned back to Gadon, who shrugged and leaped down to follow. All three teetered on unstable, uneven rocks, but continued to move across and up to the top of the crevice.

  Tanden moved in a different direction, quickly, but carefully. It would be easy to break any number of bones, just as Gadon had complained of breaking his neck. He had not broken anything yet, so he put it out of his mind.

  Moving forward had always been Tanden’s best method for not dwelling on the past. Once an incident was over and done with, he chose to forget it and move forward. Now he set his mind on retaking the ship. All else was of no long-term consequence unless he allowed it to cause him to deviate from his goal. This single-minded focus had stood him in good stead his whole life. Tanden didn’t have a one track mind as many men did. He was able to see the other tracks to follow, but once a valid course of action was set, he could and would follow it to its logical conclusion. For Tanden this often meant success and continued life. He had set his current goal on retaking the White Wind. He would succeed or die trying.

  Tanden reached the upward bank of the dry streambed. An overhanging ledge jutted out at eye level, so he placed both hands on the rock to pull his body to the top. The rock broke free from its weakened hold tipping back toward Tanden, sliding and rolling down the bank to crash within inches of his feet. The rock dislodged a shower of screeching dragonettes that rained down around Tanden. Many scurried off into the darkness, more swarmed over Tanden. They grabbed and bit at him from all directions. He felt them climbing all over him. Twisting and turning, flailing his arms, Tanden tried to free himself. There were more dragonettes than he could reach. Knocking dragonettes off in sweeping motions only cleared a spot for other dragonettes to clutch at him. He realized he only had seconds before he would be swept under and eaten alive.