They found living areas, kitchens, dining areas and everything that would have been needed by a community that they guessed must have been several hundred people. Paul found the main doors easy to open. There were others that seemed more complex. Fearing that they might have traps he left these undisturbed until Lynella could help him.
When she was fit enough, Lynella wanted to see every detail of what they had found. Then, with Paul helping her, she tried to open one of the other doors which, she was sure, lead down to the machines and the ringships. Very quickly they discovered that it was like the doors in the tower, it could only be opened with certain specific jewels.
Paul quickly worked out their problem. ‘They would have set it so any of the mages could get through.’ He said. ‘But all but two of them went off in the ships. Tiana killed the last two, but nobody knows where their bodies are.’
‘We haven’t found any sign of human remains. Which means that the dragons probably ate them.’ Angus observed.
As a last resort, Paul and Lynella contacted Tiana.
‘Why do you want to find the ships?’ She asked. ‘I could show you how to get through the doors, but it is only a ship and I have shown you exactly what it looks like. You are not ready for the ships.’
They knew that Tiana was driven by her fear of renewed isolation so there was no point in trying to persuade her. They tried another approach. ‘Could we have an open ring ship, just to get back to the city so we can bring some more people.’ She was finally persuaded when they showed her some images of the dragons on the road.
She showed then where to find the right door and they found that the lock had been adjusted to suit their jewels.
The door opened onto a lift. They went down a long way and came out in a cavern which contained several ring ships. They were basically iron rings, but they had substantial wooden structures on them with seats for the mages who used them and even a cabin for passengers. In the ceiling of the cavern there was a wide inclined shaft for them to fly out.
Angus had to grab the side of his seat as the ring lurched sideways as it lifted, but it soon steadied and rose through the shaft. Emerging into the sunlight they saw the dragons gathered below them and in the distance the village and its surrounding farms looked peaceful. Near the mountain Lynella found it easy to control the ring and they flew slowly towards the city. Beneath them the shattered towers on each hilltop stood in a line along their path and ahead the walls of the city rose up massive and defiant. Nearing the city, the field grew weaker, but they knew that it lay close enough to the mountain for them to reach it.
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After having had to navigate the shaft at the mountain, they found it easy to land in an open square near the houses that had been re-occupied. The crowd rushed out and greeted them, but the welcome was subdued and quickly Captain Turner pushed through. ‘We have to go back.’ he said. ‘They are using the people from the kingdoms as forced labour. The conditions are terrible. We must get them out.’
The messenger was Adam’s brother. They looked so alike that until they stood together it was difficult to tell them apart. It also became apparent that they were similar in more ways that appearance. He greeted Adam with nothing more than a brief nod. The story he told of his journey clearly left out more than it described. He had avoided capture when a force of heavily armed men from the ship backed up by some of the Abbot’s soldiers had arrived. The village had been surrounded in the middle of the night and the attackers used Jeeps and shuttles to ensure that nobody got out. Precisely how he had got through was not clear but, when pressed, he confirmed that he had killed at least five men. He had also obtained a gun which he still had with him.
He had followed the convoy of prisoners back to the source and watched as they were taken into the camp. He had continued to watch for many days, hiding among the massive spoil heaps from the opencast mine which now extended past the camp for miles, almost all the way from the ship to the monastery at the Northern edge of the source. Each morning he had watched as everybody was forced out of the huts and herded towards the single ramshackle shaft head at the edge of the compound. All of them went down, men and women, old and young. The ore was taken out by an electric hoist which was operated by two of the guards and loaded directly into lorries that took it away. Well into the evening, they emerged. All were visibly totally exhausted and the able bodied had to help those who could not walk on their own and, as he had seen on two separate occasions, carry the dead.
Finally, he had managed to approach the fence without being seen by the guards. The people inside had quickly fetched the Steward. The old man had looked at him with a burning intensity and told him that he must go. He must not stop, and he must not try to help. He should go immediately and find Lynella, no matter how long it took, and tell her to come.
As the crowd listened to his story they could tell how much he had wanted to try to go in and rescue them, but he knew that he needed help and he knew that Lynella was the only person who could give it. The soldiers had wrecked all of the fishing boats back at the village, so he had to spend several days on the exposed beach rebuilding one from scavenged timbers from the whole fleet. Finally, he had set sail. He knew that Adam had gone North, so he sailed North West, so he could work East along the far coast and search for where they had landed. Fortunately, this kept him well clear of the pylons and the whirlpool.
It took just two days to prepare the King Solomon for the return journey across the sea to the kingdoms. Almost half the people in the city crowded back on and they set sail in the early evening. They sailed East along the coast, taking advantage of the current, which flowed strongly around the end of the vast bay. It swirled past the rocky outcrops at the headlands and drove them on across the sandy bays. Soon it was dark, and the starlight was too faint even to see across the ship. The people from earth longed for a moon to see by but Adam stood alone and apparently unconcerned at the wheel, confidently steering them onwards. At dawn he insisted that they moor under a tall headland rather than risk being seen in the open in daylight. By the time they emerged the following evening the wind was strengthening from the North. The sea was also rougher, but Adam insisted that his crew went up the masts to set the topsails and they sped forwards into the darkness, following the coast around as it turned back West, and the full force of the ever-increasing gale came at them broadside on.
Paul and Lynella could do nothing so they stood at the rail at the side of the raised stern deck, holding on and watching the foaming water speed past below them. In front of them the main deck was frequently awash as the boat heeled over and smashed into the waves. Still Adam insisted on keeping full sail and the crew swore and struggled to keep them trimmed.
Adam rarely spoke to his crew, his orders, when they were needed, were often given by abrupt hand signals but, just as first light of dawn came on the horizon he shouted a succession of commands. At this point, even the hardened crew looked visibly scared, but they only hesitated for a moment before running back to the masts to take the ropes.
Suddenly Adam turned the wheel hard and the ship swung round. The crew strained and one of the enormous mainsails swung across and with one sail set to each side and the gale behind them they flew forwards towards the coast.
Lynella looked ahead and saw white water boiling up in front of them. She shouted out to Adam.
‘Hold on’ he shouted back.
Even if he had wanted to say more he could not have. They shot forwards into a wall of water which broke so high that it came right across the main deck and up and across the stern deck. They held on, waiting for the crash as the ship hit the rocks, but it never came. They went through another wave and another and then the water became calmer. The light increased, and they could see land to either side. They were in the river.
‘It boils up when the current meets the wind over the bar.’ Adam explained calmly. ‘The current is strong just now’.
They could see now that the current was strong, bu
t no match for the ship as it sped forwards with the gale behind it. The crew were now continuously struggling with the sails as the river twisted and turned through the foothills of the Eastern mountains. They sailed on all day, keeping close to the forested banks to stay out of sight of shuttles.
‘Can we land at the tower?’ Lynella asked. ‘It would be a good place to set out from.’
Adam agreed with a slight nod of his head and before long it came into sight, the top levels high above the trees in the far distance.
With no moon, night came suddenly, but Adam showed no sign of wanting to stop. Lynella fetched a small supply of lighting globes that had been kept on the ship, but Paul warned her that, with shuttles in constant use, they would be seen from the mine. Even now they could see the distant orange glow of the arc lights far away at the edge of the source. Adam was achieving the near impossible, with only the feel of the current and a distant memory of having sailed down the river to go by, he was judging the bends and rushing on under full sail. Suddenly they heard noises from above them and looked up to see an overhanging tree brushing past the mast almost dislodging crew members who were setting the topsails. Lynella went up to Adam and asked him to stop. He obeyed as quickly as he could, giving orders for the sails to be lowered, but it was too late. The ship crashed hard into the next tree, heeling over to an alarming angle and jarring to a halt as the stays strained under the load.
Never losing his cool Adam immediately had the anchor lowered and, as soon as the current drove the ship out from under the tree, it was held in mid river. But many of the men who had been up the mast had been injured and others were in the water shouting to be rescued. In the darkness no help could be given so Lynella picked up one of the globes. Almost without hesitation she drove it high in the air and lit the whole area with its bright blue glow. It stayed up for almost a minute, long enough for lines to be thrown to the men in the water and rescuers to climb up the rigging.
The ship was quickly restored to order. Lines were taken to trees on the shore and teams on the windlass took the load on them, swinging the vessel in close to the bank where it would be less visible when daylight came. The injured were treated and a meal was prepared, only Paul remained on the raised stern deck watching for a shuttle. Below him he could hear the murmur of voices and the sound of the current swirling past the hull. All around him he could hear the night creatures in the forest. Over this he listened for the faint sound of a shuttle, not with its engines roaring for take-off but with them at a bare minimum for glide. He was sure that it would come in over the forest to try to see the masts in silhouette against the water in the starlight. It would come without lights so all he could look for was a small pattern of stars being obscured by its stubby wings. At one point he thought that he might have seen one, but he couldn’t be sure.
Lynella walked quietly to his side. ‘Have you seen one? Why would he risk another when we have destroyed three already?’
‘Never under-estimate the director, not with the abbot to help him.’ He replied, still looking intently at the night sky. ‘We must sleep up here tonight with our jewels ready. They may attack at first light.’
‘All right, we sleep here, but go down now and get something to eat.’
No attack came during the night or early morning but when he awoke Paul was sure that he could sense dragons in the forest. They were keeping out of sight, but he knew that if any of the crew tried to set out on land they would be waiting. Setting his jewel to one side he projected an image of the abbot and his monastery with a single word. ‘EVIL’.
All that came back was confusion but mixed in with it there were images of Christian, who was clearly their leader. He tried to ask where Christian was, but the only response was hatred of him as a mage. There was not even much fear, the dragons seemed to have complete confidence that Christian would defeat him and let them chase down any survivors.
While the crew repaired the rigging, and prepared to make sail, his companions joined him on deck. ‘What do we know about the people from the village?’ He asked Maria. ‘When we were there they never challenged us at all, and Christian may be more powerful than the ones we met.’
‘They cannot use jewels at all.’ Maria replied. ‘You will always win against them in open combat.’
‘What if they are using some of the monk’s machines?’
‘That may be what they are planning.’ Maria agreed. ‘It would be dangerous, but you should still win.’
‘What the abbot doesn’t know.’ Lynella added. ‘Is that we have different jewels now. He may have the message from the village that we are two mages now, but he will not know that my jewel is far, far more powerful.’
Captain Turner looked intently at the forest. ‘Would he risk ground troops with rifles this far out?’
‘Not unless they get on well with dragons.’ Paul replied. ‘But we had better stay inside just in case.’
As they went in they talked about the dragons. Nobody knew why the beasts seemed so confident.
The sails were set, and the ship got under way, moving neatly away from the bank just far enough to make progress upstream. Lookouts on the mastheads watched for shuttles overhead and any signs of activity in the forest below. The river turned slightly eastwards, and they sped along a wide reach with the snow-covered peaks of the mountains ahead of them. Then it turned and once again they saw the tower ahead of them, much closer now. Adam glanced at it and guessed that it would take them just a few more hours to reach it. He never noticed that a small port had opened just above the windows at the top level. The beam caught the ship broadside on as it went about, burning straight through the heavy planking, breaking it clean in half. The weight of the masts brought the two ends crashing over, throwing survivors into the water.
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Lynella and her companions were in the cabin high on the stern of the ship. The blast threw them forwards against the bulkhead, knocking their breath out and leaving them stunned with no idea what had happened. Before they had a chance to get clear the whole cabin was driven down into the water by the weight of the mast with such force that it broke straight through the planks. With the mass of the massive iron ring in the remaining part of the hull pulling it down, it quickly flooded. The rich furnishings had been torn loose and now floated up, jamming against people and walls. Angus struggled to his feet to find himself caught between the legs of a table. Looking around him, he could see others trapped by it as well and, on the far side, he could see the door. Using his enormous strength, he threw the table at the door and smashed it open. Pushing it out with a chair after it he turned to see Paul and Lynella just standing up. The water level was rising fast and he pushed them through the door, followed by Maria and the others. By the time they were all out the cabin had almost disappeared below the water.
Lynella emerged to see the devastation around her. The hull below the cabin had taken the full force of the blast and most of those who had been in it had been thrown out into the water. The mast had been driven outward towards the river bank and many of them were clinging to the shrouds and other bits of broken rigging. The topsail spars seemed to be embedded into the mud, holding the mast and the parts of the ship still fixed to it and preventing them from being swept down by the strong current.
As they watched, they saw those already in the water working their way along the mast to the bank. Lynella hesitated so Paul went first, jumping into the water and grabbing the ropes as he was swept past them. Maria followed but Angus waited until last, seeing all of the others safely away while he clung onto the ship’s rail as it slowly submerged. Moving in single file they struggled to pull themselves across to the bank where crew members reached out to help them up onto dry land.
Finally, there were no more signs of life in the river. The group on the bank were in a terrible state, many had broken bones, and some had had entire limbs torn off in the blast and were just clinging to life while their friends tried to staunch the bleeding. On the far side of
the river, on the mud bank on the inside of the bend, they could see others who had been near the front of the ship. They tried shouting to them but could not hear the replies, nobody had any radios with them. They could see that the others were in no better state. For an hour they tried to help the badly injured but there was little they could do for them. A few more people emerged through the undergrowth along the bank having managed to swim to the shore further down river. They reported having seen many bodies floating with them in the debris after the blast.
Adam was one of the last to appear. Having been at the helm on the rear deck he had taken the full force of the blast and been thrown well across the river, but once again he seemed indestructible. He arrived carrying an injured man who must have weighed far more than his own body weight. Having left his charge with Maria he took no time to rest and went out immediately to hunt for food. Minutes after he had gone he came rushing back and called to Paul to come up the valley side. From just a few yards up they could see movement in the trees above the survivors on the other side of the river. He could not see any detail without binoculars, but he could see a bulldozer which appeared to be clearing a route through the forest for a line of Jeeps behind it. Using the telescopic sight on his rifle he saw it more clearly. With only a moment’s hesitation he took aim and fired. He saw the driver of the bulldozer fall down as he was hit and the Jeeps disappeared rapidly over the brow of the hill. He shouted down to the riverbank and they ran just as the men from the Jeeps opened fire.
On their side of the river the cover was far thinner because they were on a steep slope which seemed to go right on up to the mountains behind. They climbed as fast as they could, resting for seconds behind bushes and low scrub. Soon they had the advantage of height and, even with just three rifles between them, they were able to keep the men on the far bank pinned down. The survivors on the far side had taken cover and were able to fire a few shots but they were too low to see their enemy.
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