by V. M. Sang
The dragons watched with interest and soon Qizlish realised what was happening and she asked if she could put her treasures onto it ready for moving.
Pettic realised that if they tried to lift the mat as it stood, it would fall apart. Kinne noticed him looking puzzled and asked what the problem was. Pettic told him and after a few minutes, Kinne swam away.
_He's getting away,_ called Bramish, and he began to swim after the merman.
Qizlish swam in front of her mate. _I think he's had an idea and has gone to get something. Wait a few moments and if he doesn't come back, then go after him. You'll easily catch him. After all, you're a dragon and he's just a merman._
Soon Kinne reappeared carrying what to Pettic appeared to be several long bootlaces, but since the merfolk had no use for such things, they had to be something else.
_I thought these might help,_ he said, handing them to Pettic.
As soon as he touched them, Pettic realised they were another kind of seaweed.
He smiled at Kinne who said _We call them cableweed. They're useful for tying things together._
Pettic gathered the ends of the kelp on one side of the mat.
_Come and help me with this, Kinne,_ he said.
Kinne wrapped the cableweed around the ends that Pettic held and tied them securely. They did the same with the other sides. The mat was now held together so it would not break easily.
All four of them loaded Qizlish's treasures onto the mat. As they did this, Pettic realised that his earring was not warm so the sapphire was still in the cave. All they had to do now was to help the dragons to take the hoard to Bramish's cave and then escape back to here.
All! thought Pettic. Not an easy task, to escape from a dragon who's determined to eat us.
Carrying the mat with Qizlish's treasures made the return journey slow. It was heavy. As Bramish had pointed out, Qizlish seemed to have taken everything. Except for at least one thing. The article with the sapphire in it was still in the cave.
After three days they arrived at Bramish's cave and swam in with the treasures. The two young men were relieved to put it down on the floor.
Pettic looked around. He could see why Qizlish had decided to come here to Bramish's cave. For a start, it was much bigger than hers. Two large dragons would have been a bit of a squash in the other cave. Then he noticed there were other caves off this one. Qizlish swam around and into these other caves.
She indicated one on the left of the entrance.
_I think I'll use that one for my treasures,_ she said. _It might even be big enough for me to eventually bring some more._
Bramish gulped water in the way that Pettic had come to recognise as a sigh.
_Yes, dear. If that's what you wish. There's no rush though._
Qizlish was still inspecting the cave complex.
_This one will be excellent to hatch the eggs._ she called. _It seems to be a little warmer than the others. There's a hole in the roof and some of the sun's rays are filtering through._
_I knew that would be useful someday, but I didn't know how. I hadn't thought about hatching eggs._
He narrowed the band of his thoughts so that only Pettic and Kinne could hear him.
_In fact, I'd not thought of eggs at all. Still not really interested, but if I'm to keep Qizlish happy I suppose that's the way we must go._
The two dragons left the cave then to perform their mating swim once more. It was very much like a flying dance, Pettic was to say later, as the pair circled and came together, dived and soared. They looked so graceful and beautiful that Pettic had to remind him of how dangerous they were.
Eventually, the pair came down and lay in the entrance of the cave. Pettic and Kinne were inside and had no chance of passing the two sleeping giants. They spoke to each other on a narrow band of thought.
_How are we going to get out of this, Pettic? I have no desire to be eaten._
_I've no idea, Kinne. I've no more desire to be eaten than you. The only thing I can think of is to talk. Dragons are very susceptible to flattery. They're very selfish creatures with little or no empathy, but they're very fond of themselves and think they're superior creatures. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage._
Just then, Qizlish woke. She stretched then rubbed her head along Bramish's neck. This woke the male and he responded.
_They're just like a pair of newly-weds,_ Pettic said.
_That's just what they are, though,_ Kinne replied.
Just then, Qizlish said something to Bramish and he turned his great head to look at the young men behind him. A conversation went on between the dragons, then Bramish spoke to them.
_Qizlish is hungry,_ he told them.
Pettic's heart sank. Was this their time to die? He could hardly believe he had been through all he had in order to fail at the last hurdle.
Bramish interrupted his anxious thoughts.
_We're going out hunting. Qizlish thinks we should keep you for the hatchlings when they come. At the moment I'm humouring her. I still want to eat you, alien thing–human didn't you say you are? Don't leave the cave. I'll know where you are by your smell in the water and I'll come after you and boil you._
With that, the two dragons swam out of the cave. Kinne turned to Pettic.
_He's right, you know. Dragons have a tremendous sense of smell. We'd never get away._
Pettic began to sink into depression when the dragons returned with an extremely large shark and one slightly smaller. They ate them outside the cave. Bramish told them the smell would fill the place so that even they would be able to smell it, with their poor senses.
In fact, Pettic would have been unable to smell it at all, no matter how strongly its odour. His sense of smell required air to pass over the sensors in his nostrils. He could smell nothing down here under the water. Kinne, on the other hand, could smell as well as the dragons and fishes under water. He passed water through his nostrils and the sensors there could pick up the traces of chemicals.
The dragons ate their fill and then retired to one of the caverns further back in the cave system leaving the Pettic and Kinne alone again. Suddenly Kinne sprang up, pulling Pettic with him.
_I have an idea._ His voice sounded loud in Pettic's head as if his friend were shouting. Kinne continued as he pulled Pettic outside to where the remains of the sharks lay As they went, he explained his plan.
He picked up a piece of shark and began to rub it all over him, instructing Pettic to do the same.
_You see, the dragons can track us by our scent, but if we disguise it by rubbing shark all over us, then we'll smell like shark. This will, hopefully, prevent the dragons from tracking us, and, if we smell like predators, keep other things away._
Pettic remembered Cledo rolling in the dung of other animals. This disgusted him, but the kennel man at the palace told him that dogs do this to mask their scent so they can hunt more successfully. He therefore rubbed himself all over with the shark remains, thankful he could not smell it himself.
Chapter 13
It took them an extra day to get back to the sea hag Queen's cave. First they swam in the opposite direction for half a day, reasoning the dragons would search for them in the direction of the sea hag queen's cave.
Before they went to tell her that the dragon had gone, Pettic wanted to go to Qizlish's cave to find the artefact he had come to Aqua to get.
The pair entered the cave and Pettic followed the directions from his earring. Soon he found a pile of goods scattered around. Many items of pearl and coral, lay scattered around, as was to be expected in a sea dragon's hoard, but there were also other things made from different jewels as well as some of the raw gems themselves.
His earring led him towards the back of the cave where he saw a glint of blue. As he swam towards it he saw it was a buckler with a large sapphire in the centre. He picked it up and pushed his arm through the straps on the back then swam out to where Kinne waited.
_Let's go,_ he said, and started swimming towa
rds the sea hag queen's cave followed quickly by Kinne.
Kinne hovered outside the cave out of politeness and sent a mental call to the sea hag queen. She came out quickly.
_Has she gone then?_ she asked. _I thought you must have been eaten, but I'm pleased to see you've not. But why has it taken so long?_
_It's a long story, _ Pettic told her. _We had a task to perform for her. We had to go and find her a mate. Then it was touch and go as to whether she'd go to live with him, or he'd come here. Fortunately she decided his cave was better to raise hatchlings in._
Kinne interrupted. _We nearly got eaten though. Bramish, the male, wanted to eat us, especially Pettic._
_Well, you escaped and she's gone. Now if you come in I'll help you with your problem._
They followed the sea hag queen into her lair. Pettic noticed a bulge on her side as she swam in front of them and wondered if she had been injured in some way. The queen noticed the direction of his eyes and smiled.
_You know little of sea hags, I see. That's my newest daughter growing there. We don't need a male to reproduce. When a new sea hag is needed, the queen will produce one from her own body._
Pettic looked towards Kinne. The young merman's eyes opened wide at this information. It seemed even the merfolk had not known how the sea hags reproduced. And not to need a male? Well that was quite staggering.
The queen went towards a very shiny round stone at the back of her cave. She held it up and looked deeply into it. She muttered some words. Pettic could see she was muttering as her lips moved even though she was not broadcasting anything. Eventually she turned to them.
_Your trident is in a freshwater place, not in the sea. It's in a hidden cave in a pool of very still water. There's a cliff and a sandy beach. On the opposite side from the beach are rocks. It's not a very big island, but a stream runs from the pool out to the sea._
_The Still Pool._ Kinne said. _It's not far from the City so someone could easily have taken the trident there. We need to go there and find it. Thank you for helping us, Your Majesty._
Pettic added his thanks and the pair swam out of the cave towards the city. They would pass the Still Pool on the way back.
When they approached the island of the Still Pool, Pettic experienced once again, the reduction in buoyancy of the water so he recognised when they were near. As they emerged, the scents of the place once more hit him.
There was the smell of growing things. It seemed to him that his sense of smell had increased during his spell under water, but of course, when on land, he was so accustomed to the scents he did not notice them. Now, though, everything seemed to have its own scent. He could even smell the fresh water.
He breathed deeply, relishing being able to use his lungs again. He turned to Kinne and tried to speak aloud, but his voice did not seem to want to comply. He frowned and shook his head at the hoarse sounds that came from his throat.
Kinne laughed at his discomposure. `It's with not using your voice for so long,' the merman told him. `Don't worry, it'll soon come back.'
`Why isn't your voice hoarse?' Pettic asked.
`I'm a merman. We're made to live in and out of the water and are used to not using our voices for long periods of time while under the sea. I expect that's something to do with it.'
Gradually, as he spoke, the hoarseness did indeed leave his voice, although Pettic thought it still sounded a little rough.
The pair sat on the rocks for a few minutes. Pettic put the buckler down and leaned back to relish the sun. After a few minutes, though, a cloud covered it and splashes of rain began to fall. Although he had been wet for so long during his stay under the sea, Pettic did not enjoy the rain falling onto his now dry skin.
He dove into the water saying, `We should go and find this cave the sea hag queen saw in her crystal.'
Kinne dived in after him and they swam in opposite directions round the pool. After the first time around, they emerged onto the rocks at the side of the pool.
`We need to do another pass,' Kinne said. `This is the right place. There aren't any other islands that fit the description around here, and I don't think the thief would go very far from the city. He or she would be missed if they were gone for very long.'
They dived in once more and swam around, this time together. It was Kinne who spotted the depression behind a large boulder covered in weed. The weed grew over the entrance to a shallow cave. Kinne swam in.
Immediately, Pettic heard a mental shout and Kinne re-emerged wielding a six-foot-long trident. Its tines were made of sharpened stones that gleamed in the sun once again shining down through the water. They were set in a long wooden handle that was carved with intricate designs. The wood was black. Most probably ebony, Pettic thought.
Once they had the trident back on land, Pettic examined it more closely. The tines were not very long and as he looked, he realised this trident would be priceless in Fusionem. Each of the four-inch tines had a large gemstone embedded in it. One had an aquamarine, another a zircon and the third a carnelian. He handed it back to Kinne in silence, not wanting to be responsible for it any longer.
Kinne ran his hand over the tines in silence and then said, `Each of the gemstone has its own magic, not put on by the sea hag queen. The aquamarine is to promote a long life. The zircon promotes honour and wisdom while the carnelian boosts personal power.'
He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. 'These attributes have been boosted by the Queen. Pettic nodded. He knew gemstones had power and that they could be filled with magic. He would not have been able to fulfil his quests without this ability.
Kinne continued. `My father had been leader for many years and up until it was stolen, the trident has kept him young and strong. I hope we aren't too late. It seems the magic wears off quickly once the leader is out of the sphere of influence of the trident.'
`Then let's go and get it back as quickly as we can. We've been gone longer than we thought.'
They entered the city wielding the trident. People came to line the passages and wave their arms. Henye was a popular leader and everyone was glad the trident had returned. Except the thief, of course.
Soon they were met by Stannia.
_Father has felt the trident's return,_ she told them. _His strength is returning, although it will be long before he's his old self again. Come, he's anxious to see you, and of course, to hold the trident again._
The three entered Henye's bedroom. The old merman did indeed look much better than when they left. Pettic could almost imagine some colour had come back into his hair.
He raised himself up onto his elbow and held out a hand. Kinne placed the trident into it and a smile came over Henye's face.
_I feel better already,_ he told them. _Where did you find it? You've been gone a long time. I thought you wouldn't make it in time. You must tell me of your adventures._
_Not now, father._ Stannia came swimming between the two young men and her father. _You need to rest, and so do Kinne and Pettic. Tomorrow will be soon enough._
The next day, the whole family, and Pettic as well, assembled in Henye's room. It was a bit of a squash. with four of them as well as the bed, but Henye insisted they were all there to hear the story of how they found the trident.
There were gasps as Pettic regailed how he had been captured by the octopus, and Stannia gave a little scream when they told of the killing of the youngling girl by the shark. They were all amazed at how the pair had dealt with the dragons, although Kinne insisted that Pettic had done most of the talking, having met dragons before and knew how to handle them.
Jaws dropped when they told of how the sea hag queen had explained how they reproduce.
_So only the queen has the offspring?_ Henye asked.
_I think so,_ Pettic said. _That would explain why no one knows. The sea hags associated with the cities don't reproduce so you never see the budding of a new hag._
_We must reward this young man, Yossil,_ Henye said to his wife. _Can you think of an
ything we can give him?_
Yossil looked startled for a moment, as though coming out of a trance. _Oh…Yes…of course,_ she stammered. _I have a valuable necklace of black pearls. He shall have that._
_There's no need for a reward._ Pettic turned to Yossil who was passing her fingers around her eyes. _To see Henye recovering is reward enough for me. Anyway, I've got what I came for. Nothing more is needed._
He saw a brief look of relief pass over Yossil's face.
She didn't want to give me her pearls. I wonder if she's been crying and is wiping the tears away. Although how she could feel tears in the water I can't imagine.
_Well, if that's truly what you want, then I give you thanks and my blessing,_ Henye said. _Now leave me to rest. You too, Yossil._ His wife had made to sit down on the stone seat. _I need to think and to prepare myself for the enquiries into who stole the trident.'_Stannia looked concerned as he said this. _I hope he's not going to overdo things now he's getting better,_ she said. _He was always one to work too hard._
_The trident protects him, remember? It gives him strength as well as wisdom and youth,_ Yossil snapped, then she swam off in the opposite direction from the three young people.
Pettic looked after Yossil. Why was she angry? Was she angry, or was it something else? Perhaps she had reacted in this way because of relief at her husband's recovery, strange as that reaction was. Maybe she wanted to be alone to think about things or perhaps she was annoyed that Henye had dismissed her along with their children.
Pettic and his three merfolk friends went to the dining cave to get something to eat. Pettic was feeling rather hungry after all the talking they had done.
As soon as they entered, a number of other young merfolk swam up to them, all wanting to know about their adventures. There was a clamour of questions, and Stannia had to mentally shout to calm them all down.
When she had done so, she said, _We will be holding a meeting in the Assembly Cave tomorrow afternoon. Pettic and my brother, Kinne, will tell you about their adventures and how they found the trident. Until then, please have patience. They're both tired and hungry from their adventures._