by Unknown
"But Sire, how do you know this vessel will defeat the mages?”
A green glimmer caught Azrak’s eye. He turned and looked into a round mirror that hung on the wall. He hadn’t seen it before. A sickening feeling shot up his spine. Dread and uncertainty, he wondered why the human mages would care to involve themselves in their battle. Unless there was something the humans wanted from their world. It had been centuries. In fact Azrak didn’t believe they even existed, even when Helios swore that they did. “You are not well. I must stay with you to take care of you."
"No, Lahonti can do that. I need you to return with this vessel as soon as you can. You must hurry," the King said and closed his eyes.
"As you wish, sire. I will leave in the morning."
"No, you must leave now. Take your soldiers and make haste."
"Tonight? But we've just returned. The troops are tired and need rest."
"I know you will be able to succeed, now go."
The mirror seemed to glow a minute more, and Azrak’s heart thudded in his chest.
"Yes, sire." Azrak bowed, ruffling the feathers at the top of his head. Stood up tall and secured his helmet.
Groargoth stood at the back of the tent seething. How could my father cheat me out of my inheritance? It's just as Kronos said it would happen. He watched Azrak return to the weary warriors. Groargoth lifted the corner of his mouth in a sneer. A drop of drool fell from the corner as he wet his mouth with the taste of vengeance.
A soft growling gurgle came from the back of his throat. Groargoth summoned two soldiers.
“Gather a hoard, we must find out what the humans want in our land.” Groargoth said.
The soldiers bowed and left quickly. Maybe if I can find out what they want I can stop them and gain my father’s favor. Groargoth saw Lahonti over at the supply tent and wondered if he knew anything. Lahonti grabbed a basket of dried meat from the supply tent. But as he pulled open the tent and backed out, hot breath trickled down his back. He carefully turned around. Groargoth stood right in front of him. Lahonti fiddled with the basket to get a better grip.
"Yes, sire, is there something I can do for you?" Lahonti asked.
Groargoth stared at Lahonti, shifting from one eye to the other.
"You're useless and pathetic," Groargoth said and puffed air into Lahonti's face.
With a scowl he stormed off. Lahonti sighed deeply and continued back to the king's tent. He tended to the kings supper and helped him dress for the night. He sat on a bench in the corner of the room thinking.
"What is it, Lahonti?" the king asked.
"Sire, I think maybe you should write a declaration that you desire Azrak to become king." He paused to wait for the king's reaction, "So that there is no doubt in the future."
"Very well," the king said. "Bring me some parchment."
Lahonti pulled a piece of parchment from an old wooden box. The lid, worn at the sides by years of wear as ropes secured it to traveling wagons. The king felt as old as the box looked. It was the first gift he received from his father.
Lahonti placed the parchment on the kings lapboard, gave him a quill and an ink jar. The king barely picked up the quill, dipped it into the ink then made several marks on the parchment, resting every so often to gather his thoughts. Lahonti picked out the official stamp from the box and sat it on the board seeing the king was nearly finished.
"Perhaps you should make a duplicate, sire," Lahonti said.
"You make the duplicate and I will sign it, but I'm tired," the king replied.
"Yes, Sire."
Lahonti had scripted many documents for the king in the past and had become quite good at mimicking his marks. He took the parchment and blew on it, pulled another parchment from the box and scripted a copy. When the ink was dry on the second, Lahonti gave it to the king to sign. He rolled it up and tucked it into the inside pocket of his satchel. It was common for servants to carry thing for their masters and usually wore larger satchels than other gryphton's.
Lahonti returned the quill and ink, stood and stretched his back. He tucked the large blankets in around the sleeping gryphton king. It was late in the night and there was not much light coming from the left over camp fires. The stars had long been twinkling in the night sky, but seemed extra far away.
Lahonti needed to find a place to hide the copy of the declaration.
He knew that if Groargoth found out he would be killed for treason. Groargoth would search his satchel and tent. Night birds hooted in the distance while the soft clicks and chirps of the nocturnal insects softened the cool breeze coming in from the north.
Lahonti scaled a few branches. He leapt down and wove between large sticker bushes. He sniffed the breeze categorizing the scents. After an hour of searching for somewhere to hide the scroll Lahonti was about to return to camp when he spotted a hole in a tree several lengths away. He stretched his wings and with a flap lifted into the air. He landed on the branch in front of the hole. Lahonti sniffed the air for signs of life. Finding none, he reached his paw into the hole and found a small ledge inside. As he felt around he came across something cold.
He brought it level with his eyes and opened his paw. A gold ring reflected the little bit of star light. I wonder who put this here, and why? Lahonti turned it in his paw. He couldn't help wonder if he was going to get caught by its owner who somehow knew it was missing. It's very shiny, he thought. He tried it on one of his toes and admired it one more time. He quickly put the parchment into the hole, resting it on the same ledge. He leapt out of the tree and returned to his tent.
The cool night air seeped a faint tint of pitch from the many smoldering camp fires throughout the armada of gryphton warriors.
CHAPTER FIVE
Sea Creature
Several hours past, and late into the night the ship slowed its rocking and swaying. Ole Baggins dressed and washed the wound several more times, with a mixture of salt water and ale, from an unbroken cask. Riddick wondered if there were any men left on the ship. There hadn't been any noise from above in hours. Riddick laid the boy on a bench, stretched and went to Shaz.
"I am going up to check what’s happened. The winds are calm and the waves have settled," Riddick said to Shaz.
He knew he couldn’t hear but hoped he did. He traversed the broken beams and spikes of sheared wood, until he came to the hatch. He climbed out onto the deck. His heart sank deep into his stomach, as he avoided the body of a sailor, who was pinned under the aft mast. The sails had long been torn away and there was nothing left of the main or forward masts. He combed through the wreckage searching for anyone. The Mirabella, once a beautiful vessel, had been ripped to shreds and sat silent in the sea. He found Batovi near the ballast, bleeding from a head wound. Sebastian was opposite him, with a broken leg. The sound of large boots clunked across the deck. The captain, who was worn and haggard, carried a sailor over his shoulder. He set him down next to the others.
"How’s Shaz and William?" the Captain asked, choking back the lump forming in his throat.
"They’re with Ole'baggins," Riddick said.
"Is he alright?" Yerild asked.
"He has a major gash across his chest, but Ole Baggins stopped the bleeding and he has no more fever. William will be alright too, I think."
"William made it then?" Captain Yerild asked.
A small smile crested his lips.
"Yes, Shaz saved him from going overboard. That’s when the iron rod sliced his chest. It was tangled in the ropes,” Riddick said.
The wind had nearly stopped but rain still fell on the ship. The fresh water soothed their salty sun-beat skin. Riddick tasted the salt as it rushed from his hair and over his face.
"What are we going to do now that the sails are gone?" Riddick asked.
"I don't know. I guess we wait until another ship comes and maybe they'll find us."
"Does that happen?" Riddick asked.
"Not likely, but it's all we got."
Riddick and the captain help
ed the wounded men down into the galley, where Ole'baggins tended to their wounds. They needed to make the ship as light as possible. They cleared away as much debris as they could, and tossed it into the ocean. They went through the hull and moved wrecked pieces of the ship, out of passageways, and took inventory. Most of the cargo had been ruined.
"We have but a few days’ rations left I reckon," said the Captain.
"Do you know where we are?" Riddick asked.
"I can't tell yet. I figure a few more hours when there's a few stars, barring the clouds clear up,” Captain Yerild said.
"I am going to go check on Shaz," Riddick said.
He climbed up the stairs and passageways into the galley. Shaz wasn’t there when he came into the dimly lit room.
"Where’s Shaz?" he asked through a stifled yawn.
"I moved him to your cabin. He will be more comfortable there, along with William," replied Ole Baggins.
He combed back his greasy black hair. Riddick was taken back, when he saw that his eye socket was sunken into his skull. A long red jagged scar ran across his eye, from his cheek all the way into his hair line.
"Sure aint pretty is it?"
Riddick nodded with new respect, and went to the cabin. He found Shaz covered with blankets. Jagwynn lay on the floor under his bed and William in the upper bunk. He knelt down next to the bunk and sobbed tears of sadness and joy. Neither of them had perished. His body pulsed and swayed as the terrorizing events unfolded, yet again, in his mind. He feared he wouldn’t be able to get the images out of his mind. Jagwynn rested her head on his lap and whined.
Late into the night, the clouds parted. The derelict ship sat still in the wave-less sea. There was no wind, not even a breeze. The three moons staggered the night sky. Speckles of bright shiny stars gleamed through the spotty clouds, giving a soft purple hazy light to the
Mirrabella.
Riddick lay on the cabin floor and thought if he would ever make it home. What might happen to Shaz and even himself? What could he do? How could he make it back to the island? The better half of the night passed and Riddick decided he wasn’t sleeping. He climbed onto the deck and saw the captain standing at the helm. It seemed as though he were sleeping standing up.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"Aye, its' bad," the Captain said.
"How far off course are we? Do you think we could build a raft and get to the main land?"
Riddick searched the open sea for signs of land.
"About a hundred and ten leagues out to sea. There is nothing out here, not even a rogue ship would be out this far. They say it is haunted by sea serpents," the Captain said.
"How far back to the island then?"
"Much further than that, I'm afraid. There is nothing we can do."
"Hmm, well there’s got to be a way. There are some sails down below, will they work?"
"Aye, but there’s nothing to hoist them on."
"Well, we will see about that," Riddick said and returned to his bunk.
Early the next morning, Riddick searched for tools, ropes and any strong wood he could use to rig a sail. Batovi helped, and together they managed several large beams and the sails. Tying them together as tightly as they could, they set the pole in the leftover casing of the forward mast. The large pole sank into the crevasse and seated into place. The pole was much smaller than the original mast, so they shoved broken wood into the casing between the pole and the edges.
"See, fits just like a finger in the nose," Batovi said.
Riddick blurted a loud laugh. With a gleeful snicker Batovi was pleased, at least his wit and humor hadn’t been sucked out to sea.
"Aye, fits just like a finger in the nose it does," said the Captain coming around the helm.
The three men laughed so hard their faces turned red.
"What's all the ruckus about?" Shaz asked.
They turned toward Shaz, Jagwynn and William. Riddick ran over to them.
"Hey, you’re awake, I'm so glad," Riddick exclaimed.
"Yes, but I feel like a Nukpana rammed right into me," Shaz said gently rubbing his bandaged chest.
Riddick was about to ask how he would know what that felt like but left that for another day.
"I bet. Ole'baggins did some kind of magic on you. He said you will heal fine. And you William, you are lucky to be alive too,"
Riddick ruffled his hair.
"Yes, sir," William replied.
"Will she sail?" Shaz asked.
"Well, we have rigged a make shift sail, barring a good breeze we may be able to get some distance behind us. We are about a hundred and ten leagues east of where we need to be. There are no vessels this far out. They never return," Batovi said.
By late evening the sail picked up a slight wind, and gently moved the ship in a north westerly direction. The rudder had been severed, so it would be up to the position of the sail to guide the ship. After eating a meager dinner and checking on Sebastian, Riddick and Batovi manned the sail once more. It was hard work holding onto the rope and pulling the heavy poles back and forth. It soon became very taxing, but the breeze was constant. Considering they had one small sail, they made good time. Riddick and Batovi slept in times of little or no wind. Ole’baggins worked his magic on their blistered and raw hands. Shaz watched from a make shift chair, wishing he could help.
"We need to talk," Captain Yerild said.
"Alright,"
Shaz shifted in his chair so that he would be sitting up more.
"The storm has moved us into the barrier."
"We're in the barrier?"
"Aye, that's why the storm was so heavy. We crossed where the barrier is still strong. I didn't realize it at first, but now seeing the stars, we are sitting in the center. We need to get the ship further north and then we can go west through the portal.” Captain Yerild stroked his bearded chin. “The others don't know anything about the other worlds. I lost the few crew members that did. What do we tell them?"
Shaz forgot that the others were supposed to stay on the mainland. "I don't know," he said looking into the sky.
"We best figure out something. Plus, we might run into the sea beasts and then we’ll have to tell them."
The Captain stood, placed one hand on his knee and pushed himself up while pulling on a broken pole with the other.
For days the sun beat down on the cold ocean water which created dry air. Small clouds speckled the sky. The small crew tried in vain to get wind into the sail. Captain Yerild checked the compass and tinkered with the instruments on the helm. He hoped that they would somehow tell him something different. A tingle in the air caused everyone to stop and look around. The captain sensed the atmosphere shift. He stood stoically at the helm and began to whistle. The two sailors whistled with the captain in unison. It was as if they were trying to call up a breeze from the Dead Calm. Shaz never believed in the superstitious and foolish beliefs, like the sea creatures, that sailors did.
The ship jolted up about five feet. It smacked into the water throwing everyone about. They struggled to their feet and ran to the edges of the ship. An enormous silver and black tail, that resembled a snake, slithered just under the surface of the water, for a few leagues then dipped back into the deep.
"What in the world was that?" said Sebastian as he searched the ocean.
"I have never seen such a thing," replied Batovi. "Captain?"
"Aye, I’ve heard rumors of a great serpent in the sea."
Shaz bolted from his cabin and traversed the wreckage below deck, to the small ladder that took him topside. He rushed to the forward deck, and stopped abruptly just short of the captain. The ship bounced out of the water again and smacked back into the sea. Water splashed onto the deck. The serpent's tail whipped out of the water and crashed into the sea. A lightning shriek shook them as it slipped back under the surface.
"Make ready the cannon," shouted Captain Yerild, not realizing Shaz was standing there.
Shaz jumped with the pain and cover
ed his ears.
"Captain there are only three balls left," shouted Sebastian
"Aye, then we will have to be a good shot."
"Aye, aye sir,"
Sebastian hobbled on his makeshift crutch down to the lower deck.
"Riddick, you help too," Captain Yerild ordered.
"Aye, aye captain,"
Before he got to the ladder, the ship was again tossed back and forth. As he rose to catch himself, Riddick slipped and fell into a glass lantern. Bright red blood surged from his cut hands. He quickly tucked them under his armpits and held them tight. The stinging pain shot up his arms.
"Fire," commanded the Captain.
"Fire," yelled Riddick.
The cannon ignited before he had expected. The recoil slammed Sebastian into an empty crate. He slouched to the floor holding his chest. The ship rocked back and forth. His head spun from the blast and his face turned green. Sebastian threw himself forward as he vomited. He wiped his mouth and staggered back topside.
"What are you doing here?" a deep raspy voice echoed.
Shaz thought a moment, pulled the fang out from under his shirt and rubbed it between his fingers. The fang heated up and tingled his fingertips as he touched it.
"There it is. There's the blasted monster," cried Sebastian.
He pointed from the starboard side. Beginning to race back to the cannon he slipped on the sea soaked deck.
"No." called Shaz. He raced to the starboard side of the ship. “Wait, I don't think it wants to hurt us."
"What are you talking about? It's a blasted sea monster. Of course it wants to hurt us," Sabastian yelled.
"No, I don't think it does," Shaz said calmly. Sebastian struggled to his feet and stared wide eyed at Shaz, then looked out in the deep alongside him.
“Who are you?” Shaz asked.
“I asked you what you are doing here?” said the creature.
“The storm pushed us here. We need to pass through the barrier.”
The serpent rose from the deep blue sea. Water came crashing down from off its back and head. The beast rose several feet in the air. His enormous black eyes sat high on his head, underneath a sharp horn. A lower clear lid flicked up. Large flexing nostrils snorted sprays of water as it breathed the dry air. The beast was covered with a variegated array of different colors of blue scales and gills, creating a camouflage under the water. In full daylight, the coarse scales reflected the sunlight, making all the men on the ship squint and cover their eyes. Large sharp fangs crested under the pucker of its lips. Riddick, Sebastian, Captain and William all stood paralyzed.