by M. J. Sewall
Kett stood now, his hand on his hilt. “So, you did help that madman build his army!” Nearly everyone got to their feet. No one drew a weapon, but even Asa could feel how dangerous the room had become.
Mantuan remain seated and put up his hands for calm. “No, just the opposite,” said Mantuan looking right at Kett and Lyrra, “I made sure that his dreams of conquest were set on fire.”
Asa said, “I knew it! I told Brenddel there was something strange about that day. You had other reasons for letting the forest burn.”
Mantuan said, “Yes. The main reason was to stop Cayne. I could have escaped Brenddel another way, perhaps without letting the forest go. But Cayne had to be stopped. At all costs. We will replant that forest. I saved the means to do it. Our ancestors will haunt that forest.”
“Well, it didn't work,” said Lyrra bitterly, “he's still coming.”
Mantuan nodded. “So it seems. I didn't expect that he would find a new ally. It appears that Extatumm and Cayne hate us so much that they would both risk an attack. I fear my actions forced them together.”
Asa asked, “You think this is all about you?”
Vance said, “Long distance revenge seems a stretch. He's risking a lot leaving Aspora after he just united it.”
“Maybe that's why. Perhaps he couldn't unite them all. He needs a bold act to become king,” Mantuan said, “I just don't know why Extatumm is risking so much. They are severely weakened after the battle of Artoth and Thure. Their fleet of Airships was almost totally destroyed. Why send their last airships to attack here? Are they that insane with hatred?”
“That would make them good partners for Cayne,” said Kett.
“Besides all that, you only came in at the end of the battle, Mantuan,” said Stathen, “It was Thure that destroyed most of their ships.”
Mantuan said, “Our airship was the one that killed their leader. Or they could be angry with Gordon. He's the one that ended TrTorrin.”
A guard came in and handed a report to Lozarian. “Cayne's fleet is moving, but not toward us.”
“Show us on the map,” said Stathen.
Lozarian went to the map table. “Our new report shows they turned here, headed around Silm's rock, away from us. But they weren't headed directly for any kingdom or known port.”
“Maybe some islands for hunting, feed their fleet?” offered Devver.
“Move the whole fleet before battle? I doubt it.” Mantuan drew a line on the map with his finger. With a heavy sigh, he said, “This map isn't right. We haven't updated all the players. By the gods, I hope I'm wrong.”
He took a wooden piece from below the table and placed it in Cayne's new path.
Silence fell over the room, as they looked at the new piece on the map, and what it meant washed over them.
Kett asked, “Do they have a chance?”
King Asa spoke up, “Excuse me, but I'm still mostly blind here. Can you tell me what you're thinking?”
Asa's brother Vance placed the king's hands on the pieces of the great map, “This is Cayne's fleet, headed this way,” he moved Asa's hand, firmly on the wooden ship piece representing Cayne's fleet, “directly to this.” He put Asa's hand on the new piece placed on the map. Asa's eyesight was getting better every day, so he could see the large piece as a dark object with what seemed like sails.
“A warship? Oh no,” Asa understood, “We fell for their trap. Cayne and his Extatumm airships are going to attack the fleet coming from Thure.”
Chapter 41: Rusty Webs
“Why can't we go through the trees to this tower?” asked Brenddel.
Brenddel and Ardrell sat in the saddle of the great Jhalgon, resting on the canopy of the trees above the forest.
“The tower and cliffs are through a dense part of the forest. Remember Danette said they have blocked the way with those acid vines by boat. My Jhalgon is sixty feet long. The caves they went through should lead to the top of the cliffs. That's fine for them, but there is only a small clearing of trees where the tower cliff sits. That is our way in. But I haven't scouted it for months. I always did it at night before, but I have been wary to go back.”
“Why?” asked Brenddel.
Ardrell said, “The last time I went at night, but they still spotted me. They sent up floating paper lanterns that nearly blew me from the sky.”
“I'm familiar with those. Over their own forest? That's either brave or very stupid.”
“This is a wet forest. You felt the rain all night. The forest never completely dries out.”
“I'm more worried about Tolan's airships,” said Brenddel, looking at the three objects, far in the distance, “they must have been scouting us for days. I wonder why they haven't come our way.”
“I don't know. But they would have easily spotted Ossmalan and the floating houses from above. Why are they not moving? What are they waiting for?”
Brenddel said, pointing to the dots in the sky, “Oh, you were saying?” As they spoke, the three airships started to move. They looked to be far out to sea. Now they started floating slowly away from them.
“It's not like Tolan to give up,” said Brenddel.
“Maybe he has another mission. If he betrayed you, who can say who he's really working for.”
“When we get to the bottom of the living god business,” Brenddel said, “and rescue the others, please tell me I can borrow your fish and go kill him.”
Ardrell said, “It's a she. And she would just as soon swallow you whole. You're lucky I don't kill you after what you did to my sister.”
“I think you have that backwards.”
“I doubt it. She told me how you betrayed her.”
“That's a lie.” said Brenddel, then his tone changed, “…Is that really what she thought?”
“What else? You went around for a year together, missions for the king. Side missions she led you on. Happy times, she said, until you came back from your holiday together. Where was it?”
Brenddel said, “A pleasure island off the coast of Thure.”
“Didn't sound all that pleasurable, the way she told it.”
Brenddel shot back, “Not when I found out we were really there to find that smuggler. We went there for a bounty.”
“She says it wasn't that,” said Ardrell, “yes she lied, and you were angry, but Sandrell said it was when you got back to your own kingdom. Everything was fine, then you changed. You shut her out. Then after that you killed your own king.”
“I don't want to talk about this. You looking exactly like her doesn't help.”
“No escape from your guilt, you mean?”
“I loved your sister, whatever you believe,” said Brenddel, “I found things out that she couldn't be part of.”
“Like killing your king.”
Brenddel said, “I'm not proud of that. But you couldn't understand.”
“When is there ever a time to forget your duties? Those whom you protect? Whose loyalty were you sworn to, if not your own king?” Ardrell grew angrier.
“Sandrell would have understood my actions if she'd known everything.”
“But you shut her out instead, like snuffing a flame,” said Ardrell, “She thought you'd gone mad.”
“I know. She tried to kill me like the mad dog she thought I was.”
“After you killed your king, she saw you as a monster. She said you tried to kill her,” said Ardrell.
“That's what she told you?”
“Yes.”
“We fought,” Brenddel said, “I gave her a scar, and she put me in the healing room for three days.” His tone softened, “And now she's dead. What does it matter?”
They kept to the canopy of trees, not saying anything to each other for a long time, watching the airships get smaller and smaller.
Finally, Ardrell asked, “Do you want to follow the airships, or should we get ready to rescue our friends?”
“Friends.” Brenddel had lots of questions he had been planning to ask Ardrell about how she
controlled the giant creature, but all his thoughts turned to Sandrell instead. He was silent for a long time.
They soared over the dense trees, until they saw the opening getting close. They kept their distance at first, not wanting to be spotted. They went higher until they were circling the clearing from a safe height. They tightened their swooping circle as they got closer.
“What is that?” asked Brenddel. “Are you sure this is it?”
“Yes,” said Ardrell, “but things have obviously changed.”
“Is it some sort of web? Please tell me spiders don't get that big out here,”
“I have no idea.”
They got closer and could just see the top of the tower, and the cliff it stood on. The darkness under the canopy hid much from them at their height. But the main problem was what looked like an enormous spider's web covering the opening in the canopy. But there was no natural pattern like a spider would make. These lines crossed at all angles, making jagged intersecting lines like an insane child might draw a web.
“By the gods,” Brenddel asked, “are those… chains?”
Chapter 42: No Escape
“Are those… chains?” asked Aline.
Aline, Gordon, and Ellice had been walking for hours with Danette and the men under Weldon's command. After they emerged from the narrow caves, they walked along a rough path through the trees. It rained at least a few moments each hour. The small houses and huts they passed all seemed deserted and in disrepair. There was evidence of small farms and broken pens for animals, all gone now.
They finally emerged into a vast clearing. Their eyes saw the tower first. It was more like a modest square palace of stone, surrounded by a wooded barrier, very well kept considering how much it rained. From the center rose the tower. It was a simple, round stone tower. No carvings, or extra details were added to the narrow tower, except for what looked like one window and two slender spires on top. It rose at least one hundred feet high. But their eyes were drawn to the enormous web hanging above the area.
“Yes, they are chains,” said Weldon, “Our god saw the finned sea creature flying overhead. Then after he sent his envoy to you, he had all the men stop their regular duties and started hanging these vast chains.”
“Where are all of the men?” Aline asked, “Those houses back there…”
“Abandoned. As our god's mind has gone, he grows more suspicious every day. He made all of the men live near the tower. He never lets us leave, except to scout for more men, food, or hang the chains. Of course, all this comes through his mother. No one talks to the boy God.”
Ellice asked, “Who grows the food, hunts to feed all of you?”
“We are allowed to go out less and less. Many crops have failed, even wild game fear the living god. He claims he doesn't eat anymore.”
One of the men grumbled, “He forgets we still have to.”
“There must be a hundred miles of chains,” said Ellice, staring at the enormous web.
“More than that. And many men have died putting them up.”
“All this to keep out the fin creature?” asked Aline.
“And airships,” said another man. “The living god had a dream of them, you see, fire and destruction.”
Gordon thought of his own dream when he saw the tower. He asked, “Mother, do you think that's why he sent the man to attack us?”
“I don't know Gordon,” said Ellice, “but I will find out.”
Aline patted her knives, “One way or another.”
They had almost arrived at the edge of the cliff, when Aline stopped and drew her long knife, “Someone's out there.”
They all stopped, the men looked around, “I don't hear any…”
“Shtt!” urged Aline and dashed into the forest. They were all surprised how fast she moved. Gordon drew his longknife and went after her.
She was already far ahead of him. He passed several ruined houses and came upon a structure that looked in better condition than the rest. He held his longknife in both hands, the curved blade sweeping back and forth as he scanned the area.
“Don't!” he heard from around the back of the house.
Gordon ran around to the back, just as the rest were catching up to him. As he rounded the house he saw Aline coming around, pulling a man by his ankle along the ground.
“Stop! You have no right!” screamed the man.
“I'll ask you again,” said Aline, pulling him along. The man tried to hold onto anything he could, but Aline kept dragging, “Who are you?”
“That's none of your… I don't…” the man said, still trying to grab at plants in the ground as he was dragged.
Gordon had put his knife away, seeing the small man was no threat, “What have you caught, Aline?”
“I'm not sure, he won't tell me.”
“That is Seefer,” said the head of the guard, “hello, Seefer. What are you doing out here?”
“You have no right. I am protected by Queen Crys!” said Seefer.
“Not out here, you're not. You were ordered to the tower days ago,” said the man. “Out here I'm in charge. What are you doing, Seefer, running away?”
The rain began again, slow at first, then a steady downfall.
“No, I… I'm simply on a…a mission for the queen.”
The man pulled Seefer up by his shirt. “Listen, you worm, your little toys are the reason we live in fear. How dare you cause all this, then even think about running away.”
Seefer was panicked. “I have to. They are both mad. I had no idea how bad…”
“Mad?” the man shouted in Seefer's face. “Why? Because they fling all our good men from the cliffs? Work us all to death building the stone tower? Make us fall from the high trees hanging those damn chains? Of course they're mad, and it's time you paid your debt to those men that died before you.”
The man drew his shortknife, while Seefer screamed for help. The man raised the knife over his head.
“Wait!” the man paused as Ellice interrupted. “Wait, maybe we can use him. You say this Queen is as mad as her child?”
Seefer cried, “Yes! yes, I didn't want to build all of those things. I had no idea what she really wanted.”
“We can use this man. She will be suspicious of strangers, obviously,” Ellice said, pointing all around at the chains, “but if we bring this man back with us, tell her he tried to escape, that may buy us some trust.”
The man still had his knife raised, “That might work.”
Seefer shouted, “No, please. Please! If they know I tried to escape, they will throw me over the cliff. I already delivered the rest of…”
“Enough!” Weldon said, putting his knife away. “you will help us, and we will try to convince them not to kill you. No guarantees. You are coming with us.”
Seefer looked at everyone around him. He saw from their faces he could not escape. The rain poured. His hands were bound with rope.
They all got to the edge of their side of the cliff. A vast space lay between the cliff that the tower was on, and their own. Below them, the river was wide and flowing. It looked almost like a small sea in the middle of the jungle. Everywhere around them was lush green. But the chains that filled the air hung over them and gave it a sinister air, a metallic tinge filled their noses. The chains gave no pattern for the eye to connect to, looking up was like looking into a mind of a mad spider. The chains glimmered with moister, rusty drops falling everywhere.
Ellice looked down. “Why couldn't the river folk come to this end of the river, to fish and hunt?”
The lead soldier said, “The two rivers are connected, but by only a narrow space in the cliffs, more like a tunnel. That was the first place they made us lay the chains, acid vines, and other traps. The river flows, but no one can get through by boat.”
“The men that attacked our kingdom, how did they get back?” asked Gordon.
Weldon sighed, “We snuck them through the caves, behind the acid vines. We didn't find out until later what really happen
ed.”
Aline looked at the great distance between the cliffs, and down to the wild river below, “How do we get across?”
“There is only one way across,” Weldon said, showing them to a chain that went all the way across from their cliff to the next. As they got closer, they saw that is was not a chain, but what looked more like a woven metal rope, pulled tight and running from an opening in the wall around the tower, to a pulley on their side of the cliff.
One of the guards pulled out a small horn and blew. A strange sound came out, maybe because of the way the sound worked in this odd space, maybe because it was raining. Ellice imagined the chains above vibrating along with the sound. Anyone would go mad living here, thought Ellice.
He watched as the carriage slid across the tight metal rope.
There were two pulleys attached to the top of the carriage and Gordon noticed a second rope pulling the car toward them. He followed the rope pulling it towards them, which went from the carriage, around a large pulley wheel on their side of the cliff and went back to whoever was pulling on the rope from the other side of the cliff.
The hanging carriage reached them. Gordon protected his supplies from the rain and was relieved to see there were benches inside the covered carriage. They all climbed into the carriage, making sure there were the same amount of people on each side, for balance, explained one of the soldiers.
The man blew the horn again, and the rope tugged them smoothly over the giant space. Gordon was on one side of the carriage with his mother and others, the other side had Aline tucked in the middle of guards. She stared straight ahead, while Gordon looked over the side, down at the moving waters below. When he looked back up, he saw all the blue plants. Covering the ground, the blue plants grew all around the tower grounds and even up the tower walls. Gordon remembered the poison the Ossmalan envoy had used back in their kingdom. Uncle Loren said it must have come from a blue plant.
The tower was surrounded by them.
The rain stopped. He realized he was thirsty; Gordon took out his testing machine. The guards didn't seem to even notice him as he took a cloth to wipe the machine dry from last drops of rain. He stuck his finger and put the dab of blood into the machine. The numbers clicked and read 217, explaining why he was thirsty. He barely noticed when he stuck the pin into his arm, filled with Loren's oil. It was getting easier.