by Dean Cadman
“I’ve made you all somewhere to sleep,” he said, beaming with pride. “Watch, I’ll show you.” He stood up and walked over to where the invisible magical hammock stretched across the room. He levitated one of the crates over to use as a step, then climbed up onto it, ready to demonstrate his new creation. “I think it should be quite comfortable,” he said, testing it with his hands. He climbed onto the invisible hammock, placed his hand behind his head, and with a huge grin of satisfaction, fell backwards onto his new invisible bed. It supported his weight easily, and was extremely comfortable, until he felt it give way under him. He hit the floor hard, knocking the wind right out of himself. A roar of laughter broke out from his three travelling companions.
“It doesn’t look that comfortable,” Neala managed to say, as she took a gulp of air in-between fits of laughter.
“Are you alright?” Durlan asked, at least trying to sound concerned for him.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking. It’s nice to see at least one of you is concerned about me,” Lusam replied rubbing his head, and giving Neala and Renn an accusatory glance. It didn’t help, they simply laughed louder.
Lusam didn’t think he had injured himself too badly, but checked himself over with his magic all the same. As he’d expected, it was only his head that had been bruised, that was, if he wasn’t counting his pride, too. He refused to give up, however, and began trying to work out why his magical hammock had failed to hold him. “The magic must have been used up, somehow,” he thought to himself, as he stood up from his crate, and walked over to the closest iron hook.
“Someone better get ready to catch him this time,” Neala jested, causing a fresh wave of laughter to break out. Lusam ignored them, and continued to examine the iron hooks with his mage-sight. They had all lost their reserves of magic. But how? The pine cones he’d imbued with magic had relayed that magic back and forth for hours, only stopping when something had passed between them, as they had been designed to do.
Ignoring the laughter and jibes coming from the others, he quickly recharged two of the hooks with magic, and linked them together to form a single line-of-power across the room. He studied it carefully using his mage-sight, but could see no sign of their power reserves diminishing. The two hooks were transmitting power between themselves, just as the pine cones had done before. He reached out and touched the line-of-power with his hand, and instantly noticed a small fluctuation in both hooks’ power reserves. It was only tiny, but it was definitely there.
Lusam reached out again to touch it, but this time he pulled against it. Gently at first, but increasing his force little by little. He could see the power being slowly used up, as it resisted the force of his pull. The more force he used on it, the faster the power reserves decreased. Until eventually it snapped, and all traces of magic vanished from the two iron hooks once more.
He immediately realised that all he needed to make his idea work, was a much larger power source. Something that could absorb and hold far more magic than the small iron hooks he had just tried. He looked around the hold for anything that he could use, and was delighted to find four barrels of iron nails stacked in the far corner of the room. He quickly levitated the four barrels towards the front of the hold. He positioned two on the starboard side, and two on the port side, creating a large rectangle in-between them, and began to infuse them with magic.
It took him far longer to infuse the four barrels of nails than it had the iron hooks, but eventually, he had four very potent power sources prepared. With a few minor modifications to his earlier enchantment, he soon had a magical net strung out between the four barrels, and a smile on his face, knowing that he would now get a comfortable night’s sleep. This time he didn’t need a crate to reach his magical hammock, and instead fell confidently backwards onto it for all to see.
“At least from that height you shouldn’t hurt yourself too much,” Neala teased him, chuckling to herself.
“Well, when you and the others get fed up of sleeping on the floor, you’re welcome to join me up here. Just don’t get too close to me, because you’re all bound to stink by then,” he retorted with a wide grin. He dimmed his light orb, and turned over as if intending to go to sleep. He heard Neala mutter something under her breath, but whatever it was, she never repeated it. A few minutes later, he felt her gingerly climb onto the magical hammock, and snuggle carefully up against his back. “She still smells good,” he thought to himself smiling, as he drifted off to sleep.
Lusam was startled awake by a loud thudding noise on the deck above his head, and opened his eyes to the almost pitch blackness of the ship’s hold. The only visible sign that daybreak had already come, was the small beam of weak light streaming in through the hole he’d made earlier in the ship’s hull. He listened intently as feet scurried around on the deck above him, and strange muffled voices called out to one another.
It had become very stuffy again inside the hold, and he wasted no time in exchanging the stale air, for some much fresher air from outside. Then he created a new light orb, and sat upright on the magical hammock to stretch out his arms. It had been a very comfortable night’s sleep—given their squalid surroundings—and he felt well rested from it. He was very curious to see how well his power sources had coped with a full night’s use, and slipped into his mage-sight to find out. They had used more power than he would have imagined, but judging by what he saw, he guessed they would have lasted another several hours at least.
Again, the thudding noise came from the ship’s deck above, and Lusam glanced up to see what it was using his mage-sight. He could see two of the Nauroe stowing things away in a large wooden box, and a third coiling a long length of heavy rope. It was then, that he noticed the floating city about a mile away in the distance.
He could tell even from that distance it was huge. Far bigger than he had ever expected it would be. He heard the others beginning to stir, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the approaching city. As he watched closely, it appeared to move, almost mimicking the action of the ocean’s waves around it. Instead of a wave crashing into the side of the city, it seemed to simply pass underneath it, causing the entire city to move up and down as it passed under.
As they got closer, Lusam began to see exactly how the city had been constructed. It was made up of thousands of individual floating rafts. Each one was exactly the same size as the next, but supporting varying constructions on its surface. Many were obviously dwellings, whilst others were most definitely shops or workshops. Just by the smoke coming from their chimneys, Lusam could count at least six blacksmiths, bakeries and other similar businesses.
“What is it, lad?” Renn asked curiously, when he noticed Lusam staring off into the distance.
“The Nauroe’s floating city,” Lusam replied, still transfixed on the incredible sight before him. It was no wonder that people referred to it as a ‘floating city’, because that’s exactly what it was. Maybe not as large Lamuria, but certainly approaching the size of Helveel or Stelgad, only this city could move if it wanted to.
Their small ship began to take a wide arc around the floating city, and headed directly towards the tallest building there. It was at least three times as tall as any other building in the city, and Lusam guessed that it must be some kind of lookout tower. What he couldn’t understand, however, was how it could possibly survive a storm at sea. Surely it would be far too unstable in the high winds and rough seas, and would pose a serious threat to at least the surrounding buildings, if not the entire city.
Once they had cleared the outer edge of the city, Lusam could see that his assumption had indeed been correct; it was a lookout tower. The tower was positioned at the mouth of a large harbour, and Lusam had no doubt that was where they were heading. It was then that he noticed something else strange about it. It hadn’t been constructed as one solid building. Instead it had been built using several large wooden cube-like rooms, all stacked inside each other. He smiled to himself, when his mage-sight revealed the mecha
nism which would allow the Nauroe to adjust the actual height of the building. No wonder it could survive a severe storm, all they had to do was crank a handle, and the building would lower to same height as any other in the city. “Ingenious,” he thought to himself, as he studied the mechanism in more detail.
As their ship entered the large harbour, Lusam finally dragged his attention away from the incredible lookout tower, and saw for the first time just how many ships and boats were there. Of course, he knew that the Nauroe were a sea faring people, and that they would have many ships and boats, but the sheer number that were harboured there, was staggering. There were ships and boats of every size and design, but one in particular grabbed his attention.
“Oh, no!” Lusam said, as his heart missed a beat in his chest.
“What? What’s up? What can you see, lad?” Renn asked desperately.
“An Empire ship. And it’s full of magi,” Lusam replied, staring at the docked vessel. He knew that a single Empire ship no longer posed any threat to him, but if trouble did break out there, and he was forced to destroy them, he wasn’t sure if the Nauroe would still agree to help him rescue his mother.
“What are we going to do?” Neala asked.
“Kill them, I hope,” Durlan muttered to himself.
“No, we’re not. I know you want revenge for your family and friends Durlan, and I promise, there’ll be plenty of time for that later,” Renn replied.
“So what are we going to do?” Neala asked.
“Nothing,” Renn replied.
“Nothing? How can we do nothing? They’re obviously waiting for us here, and will probably attack us as soon as we get off the ship. That’s if they even bother to wait that long,” Neala said sarcastically.
“We don’t know that for certain, lass. The Nauroe are traders by nature. They deal with a many people, including the Thule Empire. We simply can’t jump to the conclusion, that they’re only here because of us. For all we know, they could be here to trade with the Nauroe,” Renn said calmly.
“Then why would they send a ship full of magi, if all they were doing is trading?” Durlan asked, obviously disgruntled by Renn’s lack of enthusiasm to simply kill them.
“Exactly,” Neala agreed. “We all know they aren’t here to trade. Either they are waiting for us, or they are using the Nauroe to plant a spy in Afaraon. That’s what you said they did, right? They use the Nauroe to deliver spies to Afaraon? We should stop them, before their spies can do any more harm.”
“No. We can’t,” Lusam said in a resigned voice.
“Why not?” Neala asked, sounding a little angry.
Renn stepped forward and placed a hand gently on Neala’s shoulder. “Because, lass, it’s not only the Thule Empire who use the Nauroe to deliver their spies. We do too. And if we start killing those Empire magi, I’m quite sure that arrangement would be quickly rescinded, not to mention their agreement to help Lusam rescue his mother. Whatever their business is here, unless they attack us first, we’ll have to leave them be, I’m afraid.”
“He’s right, Neala,” Lusam said. “Besides, they aren’t here to kill us anyway, and us killing them to stop a single spy, would do far more harm than good to Afaraon in the longer term.”
“How can you possibly know they’re not here for us?” Neala replied angrily.
“I didn’t say they weren’t here for us. I said they weren’t here to kill us. Think about it. Do you really think that Lord Zelroth would send a single ship of magi to try and kill me, after I destroyed his entire army outside Lamuria? No… either they have no idea we’re coming, or they have a different agenda altogether. Either way, I suggest we watch our backs carefully, and try to stay together at all times while we’re here,” Lusam said, just as the ship bumped gently against the dockside. They could hear the shouts of the Nauroe sailors above, as they rushed to secure the ship to the dock. Lusam quickly scanned the Empire ship with his mage-sight, but saw no signs of them preparing to attack.
“If they do know we’re coming, they’re doing a good job of hiding it,” he thought to himself, as the hatch bolt above their heads was slid back with a loud click. A moment later the hatch opened and flooded the ship’s hold with strong sunlight. A ladder was lowered down by one of the sailors above, and a dark skinned, heavily tattooed hand beckoned them to climb up.
Lusam was the first to reach the base of the ladder, but before he could even start to climb up it, Neala spoke to him in a soft voice, “I hope you’re right, Lusam.” He turned to see a look of real concern etched on her face, and nodded.
“So do I,” he replied in a hushed voice, and began to climb the ladder. Halfway up, he remembered his hammock enchantment was still running, and with a single thought he brought it to an end.
As always, Lusam had shuttered the full strength of his aura down to that of a normal person, so if any of the magi aboard the Empire ship were looking in his direction, they should pay little attention to him. He didn’t erect a magical barrier around himself, or the others either, as that would have drawn almost as much attention as exposing his full aura. Instead, he kept a close eye on the Empire ship for any signs of aggression, and was ready to react in any way necessary to protect both himself, and his friends should they prove to be hostile.
Lusam pretended to stretch out his body on the dockside, while he waited for the others to climb out of the ship’s hold. It gave him a good opportunity to take in his new surroundings, and orientate himself to the strange new city and its sights. Renn was the last one to disembark the ship, along with his oversized bag. Although the Nauroe had not requested them to relinquish their weapons whilst aboard their ship, Renn had chosen to keep both his sword and shield hidden once he reached the floating city. The High Temple’s arrangement with the Nauroe was supposed to be a secret, and if he could avoid it, he didn’t want anyone knowing that a Paladin of Aysha had even been there.
Lusam had expected someone to meet them when they arrived, or at least for one of the Nauroe sailors to take them to meet with someone. Instead, the dockside was empty, and the sailors were busy preparing their ship to undock again.
“Now what?” Lusam asked.
“I guess we’ll soon find out, lad,” Renn replied, nodding towards a well dressed man heading their way along the docks. The man was no taller than a ten-year-old child, and probably weighed no more either. His dark skin contrasted sharply with the brilliant white shirt he was wearing, and his pale blue suit. And his bright red knee-high boots clashed wildly with the rest of his outfit.
Once he got closer, Lusam could see that his entire head was covered by tattoos, just like the sailors’ had been. He had a large golden hoop earring in each ear, and his short stubby fingers were positivity dripping in silver and gold rings. As he approached them, he smiled broadly, revealing the strangest teeth Lusam had ever seen. Every tooth in his head had been sharpened to a point, making him resemble some kind of predatory fish.
“Welcome to Chutra. My name Virion,” the man said in a thick broken accent. “Please, come, come. You follow me. I take you Gydren now.” The man bowed and gestured for them all to follow him. Although he had addressed everyone in their group, he had never taken his eyes off Lusam as he spoke. It was obvious that he knew exactly who he was, and that made Lusam slightly nervous to say the least. If Virion knew who Lusam was, how many other people in Chutra also knew?
As Virion started to walk away from their group, Renn slowly bent down and picked up his oversized bag. As he did so, he whispered, “Remember, stay close.” Everyone nodded their understanding, and as one they set off to follow Virion, to whoever, or whatever Gydren was.
Much to everyone’s relief, Virion turned left at the end of the dock, and headed directly away from the Empire ship. It was a strange sensation for everyone, walking along a street that moved under their feet. It was nothing like being on the deck of ship. There, the whole vessel would move up and down, and the horizon would rise and fall along with it. But here, only a re
latively small section of the ground would move, making you feel as if you had suddenly grown in height, or sunken into the ground underfoot.
At first they skirted the edge of the city, staying close to the water’s edge. They passed by many Nauroe going about their daily business, but few paid them much attention. There were dozens of men and women fixing countless broken fishing nets along the way, and Lusam noticed that both sexes seemed to share their love of tattoos. Not many of the Nauroe smiled as they passed by, but the few who were in the midst of conversation with each other, inadvertently revealed that they too shared a passion for sharpening their teeth.
In the distance, they could see a group of small children playing by the water’s edge. Lusam had no idea how old they were, but he guessed they could be no more than four or five years old at the most. He watched open-mouthed as one of the bigger boys suddenly pushed a much smaller child into the sea. He thought he would drown for sure, but a moment later he resurfaced giggling and laughing to himself, as he effortlessly swam in the choppy sea. Several more small children jumped in willingly after him, and splashed around next to their friend in the turbulent water.
As they grew closer to where the children were playing, Lusam noticed a strange construction next to the water’s edge. From a distance it looked a little like a tall open sided tent, but as he got closer, one of the children climbed up on top of it. The child then retrieved a small container of seawater attached to a rope, poured the seawater down the front of the contraption, and preceded to slide down after it. The child hit the surface of the sea with big splash, as his friends cheered him on. One after another they took turns in doing the same thing, laughing and giggling at each other’s expense, as each of them tried to outdo the other’s daring entry into the water below.