by Adam Thomas
“I kept hoping for a calm section so we could steer to the bank, but it never came. I knew Cascade Falls was up ahead, but there was nothing we could do. The sound of the falls grew louder and louder. Astrid shouted something from the stern of the canoe, but it was too loud for us to hear. She must have yelled for us to jump out and swim against the current because when I looked back she was gone. But it was too late. Lorn and I shot over the falls and fell down, down, down.
“I was lucky. Just a few bumps and bruises.” Emric heaved a great shuddering sigh. “Lorn broke his back, and he hasn’t walked since. I carried him all the way back to Anvilcairn. Miles and miles and miles. That was after I looked for Astrid. There was no sign of her. None at all. She just disappeared.”
His story done, Emric deflated against Shonasir’s shoulder. They put their arm around him and held him gently. Emric quivered under their touch, his body racked by silent sobs.
Sorvek dabbed his own eyes with his handkerchief. Rhys gazed silently into the steel of his new sword. Alurel held up the ironwood seed and turned it so the light and shadow traded places across its slate gray surface. No one spoke for a long time.
Finally, Sorvek broke the spell when, under his breath, he said, “Places of great elemental power.”
“What?” Alurel asked.
“When I was a dragonborn, I was tasked with guarding the entrance to the Elemental Realm of Fire on Mount Ohengrave. The elemental power of the volcano is great enough to sustain a permanent portal to the Fire Realm. It’s channeled through a magical ruby that serves as the keystone to the portal’s arch.” He turned to Emric. “Am I thinking what you’re thinking?”
Emric nodded. “I think so.”
“If Cascade Falls is a strong enough source of elemental power, then it could open a rift. You’re thinking Astrid got pulled into the Plane of Water.”
“Hoping, more like,” Emric said. “Because then she might still be alive.”
Alurel clapped her hands together. “So we go to the falls, find the portal, go to the Water Realm, get some clean water for the seed, and find Emric’s friend.”
“Out of all those impossible steps, you’re forgetting one,” Emric said.
“What’s that?”
“Getting home again.”
“One impossible thing at a time,” Alurel said. “Let’s start with the easy one: getting to the falls. Can you make it?”
Emric bit his bottom lip and nodded. “With the help of my friends, yes.”
Rhys sheathed Tyrevane, stood up, and pulled Shonasir and Emric to their feet. Alurel struck out westward, and the rest of the party followed. In due course, they arrived at the base of Cascade Falls, where a long lake led to the appropriately named town of Lakeside on its southern bank. The party could just see the buildings in the distance, but their attention lay to the north where the falls exited the Raven’s Run Canyon in a violent rush.
“You fell down that?” Sorvek called over the noise of the water.
“Like I said, I was lucky,” Emric yelled back.
“If there is a rift here, I don’t fancy chucking myself over the falls on the off chance I hit it.”
“Nor do I!”
Shonasir lit their hand with crackling lightning. “Let me see what I can do.” They touched the ground, and the shock grew into their Awakened Storm. They sent it into the damp air in front of the never ending deluge.
“What are you looking for?” Sorvek asked.
“The Storm can sense magical energy,” Shonasir said. “If there is a rift to the Water Plane up there, the Storm will –”
The elf cocked their head to one side and watched their Storm. The swirling clouds that made up its cyclonic body had gone from gray to deep orange, like the color of a sunset on the beach. “There it is!” Shonasir shouted.
The Storm hovered two-thirds of the way down the falls. The spray from the water crashing into the lake just reached the elemental.
“I’d call that about fifty feet up,” Rhys judged, a mischievous grin on his face. “Anyone feel like diving from a waterfall with me?”
“I’ll fly up, thanks,” Shonasir said. “Let me get in position so you know where the portal is.”
“I’ll fly, too.” Alurel dropped to the ground and shaped into her crane form. The tall, slender bird flapped its wings and took off.
“I can get myself and one other person up there,” Emric said, his voice still shaky with anxiety.
Sorvek grabbed Emric’s hand and looked at Rhys. “Hey, you already offered to jump off the waterfall.”
“Just me then. All right.”
Rhys climbed to the top of the falls as the others watched. With the party spread out, no one spoke because of the thunderous noise of the waterfall. Rhys hiked upstream to give himself time to swim to the center of the rushing river. Making sure his gear and weapons were secure, the big swordsman slipped into the water and with powerful strokes reached the middle. The current whipped him south, and in no time at all he found himself staring into clear blue sky. Feet first, Rhys launched over Cascade Falls and plummeted. His arms windmilled as he fought to keep himself from spinning in midair. Shonasir’s Storm was directly below him.
Then Rhys was gone. A tiny crackle of energy rippling through the air was the only evidence of the portal through which he disappeared. Emric, his heart in his throat, made himself watch Rhys’s descent. The dwarf ignored the cold sweat that had broken out on his brow, squeezed Sorvek’s hand and magically ripped a dimensional gap in the air before him. He pulled Sorvek through. An instant later, they reappeared just above the rift and dropped through it. Alurel wheeled in the air and followed them down. Last of all, Shonasir rode their orange Storm into the invisible gateway to another realm.
The roar of the falls vanished. Disorientation gripped the elf as the space between planes ignored the force of gravity, which then immediately reasserted itself when the Elemental Realm of Water pulled them in. A vast ocean spread before them, an ocean with no horizon. The sky was frozen in perpetual twilight, and there was no visible sun. They rode the Storm until it hovered just above the water. Spinning slowly, they spied land off in the distance and a thick forest of underwater plant life beckoning them landward.
Alurel shot past them and corkscrewed in the air. The crane was in her element, and she voiced her joy with a series of loud bugle calls. The other three members of the B-Team were less happy. Sorvek, Rhys, and Emric were treading water and trying not to get tangled in the kelp forest.
And Emric was holding something. Shonasir flew over to him. “What’s that, Emric?”
The dwarf looked up, and a deep sadness had replaced the anxiety in his countenance. He held a broken shaft of wood adorned with a cunningly braided leather thong.
“It’s the end of Astrid’s axe haft. She was here. She must have drowned.”
twenty-six
The Realm of Water
We don’t know that,” Rhys said. He was weighed down by more gear than any of them but still managed to keep afloat. “I just survived the drop from the falls. I’m sure Astrid did too.”
“I saw land that way,” Shonasir said. “Follow the kelp.”
The three swimmers struck off after the Storm rider. Alurel trailed them at a leisurely pace still dancing in the air in her bird form. Emric was not a strong swimmer, and Rhys did everything he could to help his friend along. At last, when Emric was sure there was no strength left in any of his muscles, he felt ground beneath his feet. The swimmers waded ashore, while the fliers touched down.
Alurel reverted to her half-elven form and put her hands on her hips. “I thought this was the Water Realm. Why is there land here?”
“Same reason there’s air to breathe,” Shonasir said, and they adopted a scholarly tone. “The elements can’t be separated so easily. My Awakened Flame needs air to function, and water
is made up partly of oxygen. Deep in the ground fire lies, and closer to the surface there’s water soaked in the soil. I suppose it’s the same in the elemental planes. They must converge somehow.”
“It’s a good thing, too,” Sorvek said. “I couldn’t swim much more than that.”
“Me either,” Rhys admitted, massaging his shoulder. “These swords are heavy.”
“Then why do you carry so many?”
“I get excitable as to choice. Like to keep my options open.”
Sorvek grunted in a noncommittal way. Ever since they left the burial tomb, Rhys had not touched his old swords. And though they had been in no scrapes since then, the new blade was always in his hands.
Alurel drew the precious seed from her satchel. “We’re here to sprout the seed and to find Emric’s friend. There’s no point in assuming she drowned. Let’s proceed as if Astrid encountered the best possible scenario, and we might find her alive.”
“We’ve just done the first and second parts,” Shonasir said. “Survive the drop from the falls. We know she did that because of the axe haft. Second, the swim to shore.”
Emric brightened a bit. “If I could do it, then she definitely could. She was so much stronger than I.”
“That’s the spirit,” Alurel said. “Now what would she do?”
“Probably rest here on the beach following the swim.”
“Let’s do the same,” Sorvek said. “I’m wiped.”
The party set up camp on the beach. The sand was soft and fine. Coconut trees lined the beach, bowing towards the water. Gentle waves lapped the shore, driven only by the wind and current. Shonasir looked up into the sky. There was no moon, which meant no tide. There were no stars either. The sky was a watercolor wash of blues and purples, lit by a suffuse, sourceless light.
“It’s beautiful here,” Shonasir said.
“Good thing, too, because we’re stuck in this plane,” Emric said. “Who knows if there’s a portal home or where it could be.”
“We didn’t think that part through, did we,” Sorvek said with a laugh.
“We’ll find our way back.” Alurel’s voice was husky with emotion. “This is my path, I just know it. This seed...it feels like I’m holding my heart in my hand.” She looked at Emric and gave him half a smile. “And if my path helps you along yours, then I will rejoice.”
Emric nodded. “Thanks, Alurel.”
The druid passed out goodberries to everyone. The conjured fruit was sour, and they all puckered their faces while they chewed. The berries gave them energy enough for a day, but they did not satisfy the desire for a real meal. Rhys wandered back to the water and collected an armful of kelp, using his new sword to hack away at the stuff nearest the shore. He pan-fried it over the fire in coconut milk, wishing all along he had a dozen eggs for omelets. He resisted the urge to ask Alurel to wild shape into a chicken and lay some. While he cooked, a voice snaked its way into his mind.
How dare you use my blade to forage. I am meant for one purpose, and one purpose only. I crave blood.
The vein in Rhys’s temple pounded as a sudden headache replaced the voice. Rhys kept his eyes on his cooking, lest his friends see the struggle he was going through.
“Not bad,” Shonasir said upon trying the kelp. “A little rubbery.”
Rhys wiped the sweat from his brow and tried on a wan smile. “It’s my first time. If I had access to salt and eggs and–”
He stopped mid sentence as Shonasir gave a short hiss of warning. “There’s someone coming.”
The B-Team jumped to their feet, weapons and magic at the ready. Down the beach walked a pair of the strangest looking creatures they had ever seen. They had thick, stumpy legs and large, round torsos. Their skin was mottled green and brown, and their heads looked like those of turtles. The party peered closer at the approaching duo. Indeed, they had shells on their backs. These were tortoises walking upright and carrying wooden spears. Two more arrived through the coconut grove, and a final one came up out of the water.
Five of the tortoise people now surrounded them. The one who came from the water wore a headband and sash both beaded with shells. When she spoke, her voice was slow and strong.
“I invite you to state your business on this beach.”
The words were, indeed, inviting more than they were menacing.
Emric put up his hands. “We mean you no harm. We have been marooned here after falling through a portal from our world. Please, we beg your help.”
“Tell me, are you in league with the Azurennites?”
The way she said the last word, tight-jawed with a whiff of disdain, made Emric reflexively say, “No, we’ve never heard of them. Are they bad?”
“They raid our village. They steal what our labor has produced. They kidnap our people for their sacrifices. Yes, they are bad.”
“I assure you, we have no affiliation with them. We came to your realm just this day through a rift near a waterfall.”
The lead tortoise took a step towards Emric. “You speak like the other of your kind.”
“The other?” Emric sucked in a quick breath of comprehension. He held up the broken axe haft. “Astrid?”
“That is the name she gave.”
“Is she here? Please, take me to her.”
The tortoise’s voice grew graver. “Come, there is much to discuss. You shall be our guests. It is not safe alone here on the beach.”
The spear-wielding tortoises relaxed. Shonasir lowered their bow and Alurel her staff. Rhys kept Tyrevane in his hand, but he released his battle wariness. Sorvek kicked sand onto the fire, and the B-Team gathered their things. As they accompanied the tortoises up the beach, they introduced themselves.
The lead tortoise returned the favor. “I am Kelona, Chief of Aldabrach Village. We are a peaceful people. I am glad our meeting was as well.”
A mile or so up the beach, a village of huts came into view. The huts were made of every part of the coconut tree and arranged in a semicircle opening onto the water. A picket line of sharpened stakes pointed oceanward. A trio of the Aldabrachians stood sentry along the picket line, watching the water intently. A fourth sat atop a squat tower at the far end of the village.
This lookout blew a conch shell for the arrival of the chief. More Aldabrachians emerged from the huts: small children, who fell about the sand, playing and wrestling; parents, who gathered in groups to chat and watch the young ones; and elders, who crept along creakily to wide-bottomed chairs obviously designed to accommodate their shells.
Kelona spread an arm wide, presenting her whole village. “Welcome to Aldabrach. When the patrols are out, the rest of the village is encouraged to remain inside. They will be relieved we are back, especially the parents.”
“When I was a kid, I hated being indoors,” Alurel said.
“Me too,” Shonasir agreed. “The little ones sure do look like they’re enjoying themselves.”
“Our young are our pride and joy,” Kelona said. “That is why we remain vigilant.”
“You spoke of the Azurennites,” Emric said. “Do they have anything to do with Astrid?”
“Everything,” Kelona answered. “Come, sit with me in the council circle.”
A series of torches stuck in the sand ringed a meeting space in the center of the village. The B-Team sat down, well aware that the children had stopped their sand play and were now staring at them from outside the circle.
“Pardon our young ones,” Kelona said. “We rarely receive visitors from other realms.”
They could sense the humor behind Kelona’s words, but the words themselves were delivered at such a measured pace that they couldn’t tell if the chief was making a joke.
“Astrid came to us some time ago. How long I’m not sure, but it was around the time of our last hatching. She tried to embrace life here in Aldabrach, and for a time her
curious nature was satisfied by learning our ways. But each waking is very much like another here, and she grew restless.”
“That sounds like Astrid all right,” Emric said, hope creeping into his voice.
“In her time here, the Azurennites raided Aldabrach three times. Astrid led the defense of the village and drove off the enemy. Never had we met with so much success in our defense as when Astrid was here. A mighty warrior she was, but it was her ability to inspire others to great deeds of heroism that kept the Azurennites at bay.”
The B-Team listened raptly to Kelona’s story. Emric held his magical lute the whole time, and his left hand fingered silent chords, as if he were writing the chief’s tale into a song as she spoke.
“Then came the fourth raid. The Azurennites came in force out of the water. Astrid led our defense as before, but the enemies’ tactic had changed. They seemed to have one goal and one goal only. They surrounded Astrid – every one of them – beat her unconscious, and carried her off. We found her broken axe on the beach. There have been no raids since, but we fear they are preparing to make Astrid their next sacrifice...or have already done so.”
“When did this last raid happen?” Rhys asked.
“Just after our last coconut harvest.”
“Is that days, weeks, or months ago?”
Kelona nodded. “Ah, I see. Astrid had the same confusion. We do not count the passage of time as you do. I could not say for sure how long.”
Rhys thought for a moment. “But we picked a coconut down the beach, so at least as long as it takes for a new crop to grow.”
“Now you are thinking like one of my people. The coconut you picked was not fully ripe, so perhaps the time has not been so long.”