by B A Simmons
“Bunker?”
“That which you call the Duarve House is a survival bunker. It was one of the ways the Duarves survived this cataclysmic event. They built bunkers into the mountains and hid there while the water rained down from Kith-Mor and Awye, to quote Poulustus’s translation.”
“They were alive inside the house . . . er, bunker? For how long?”
“At least thirty years. The record isn’t exact on that. It rained continuously for thirty years, possibly longer.”
“How is that possible?”
“I’m not sure, but it tells us so much about this world, Rob. Aweth lived there, had two offspring, and then something happened. The bunker malfunctioned and sealed off their ventilation system. In an act of self-sacrifice, Aweth and its oldest offspring separated themselves into one chamber and channeled all the remaining air supply into a chamber with its younger offspring inside, along with their food and equipment.”
“The locked door. There was a door we couldn’t open.”
“Yes. Aweth’s last words were a message to that offspring, should it survive and be rescued. As you said, that door was still sealed. This means there could be much more behind that door than you found in your first search of the bunker.”
“We need to get back to Hellhound Isle then.”
“Yes, but we must get ourselves off this island without being eaten by rat hounds.”
“We can take the weapon, Yskiu’s weapon, to protect us,” Rob suggested.
“I don’t think Poulustus will approve of us taking anything from this place. Especially now that it is without a guardian.”
“That’s exactly why we should take some of these items,” Rob said. “The next group of humans to come along will have no reluctance in taking whatever they can remove and selling it for profit. We can guarantee that they’ll only be studied or used for survival.”
“I see your point . . . we’ll need to tread carefully.”
“You may take what you need,” the Duarve said from behind them. “Before it died, Yskiu accused me of betraying our people. It thought I had conspired with you to be thief.”
“Then why are you letting us take what we want?” Rob asked.
“Yskiu did not understand. The world has changed since time of ancients. My people and yours must learn to live together. Despite curse of my gods, hope that your god will return for you; we are together. Four generations of my people have come to pass since first humans came. Many Duarve still remember ancestors’ fear of you and betrayal of Kor. We have hated you for long time. I do not wish to hate anymore. You wish to learn of my people. You are teachers. You must learn of us, then teach other humans not to hate.”
“We are honored by your trust,” Doctor Morris said. “We pledge to only take what we need to survive and teach others to appreciate your people and its history.”
Poulustus said very little for the next two days. Rob finished documenting what he could not take with him, which was quite a lot. Doctor Morris completed his translation of Aweth’s diary.
While helping Rob sketch out the Duarve flying machine, which was still hovering above the floor, Doctor Morris rested an elbow on the wall near the door. The wall emitted an ear-piercing wail followed by the labored screeching of gears. Rock and soil fell from the ceiling, forcing both humans to duck under the airship for safety. This lasted but a few moments before all became quiet again.
As the dust settled and Rob looked up, he saw the blue sky where the vaulted ceiling had been.
“Well I’ll be a meecher,” he said.
“I knew the ceiling had to open up somehow!” Doctor Morris said. “I just had no idea where the control mechanism was.”
Poulustus appeared in the doorway, “What did you do?”
“We discovered how they got this contraption in here!” Morris replied.
“And how to get it out,” Rob said.
“Out?” Morris said.
“Don’t you see?” Rob said. “It’s our way off this island. We can’t safely travel back down to Kudham without Archie. And even if we did make it there alive, we’d not only have to wait for a ship, but find one that will take a Duarve. We can learn how this operates and fly wherever we need.”
“Do you think that would be safer?” Doctor Morris said.
Poulustus nodded its head, “Yes, I say this. Rob Engle-man is correct. We will learn to fly.”
The rest of that day and most of the next were spent with Rob and Poulustus inside the small cockpit of the airship. Indeed, Rob found it quite uncomfortable, but he did not let that stop him from learning the controls, which even for Poulustus, were difficult to figure out.
They learned how to control the altitude while still attached to the cables. Once they knew they could come down again, they released those and took the ship around the nearby mountains. No doubt, if any humans were nearby, the sight frightened them enough to keep them away for a few more years. It certainly had such an effect on the herdbeasts. Rob took notes from Poulustus’s instructions and discovered that, for the most part, the craft was easy to manage. However, the ancient Duarve did not seem to have compasses in their airships, at least none that he or Poulustus could recognize. Landing the airship proved the most difficult task. Twice Rob bumped into the sides of the open chamber before he was low enough for Doctor Morris to connect it to the cables again. Despite this, he leapt from the cockpit with a shout of pure joy. Poulustus, as ever, showed little emotion but said it was the greatest event of its one-hundred-year life thus far.
Doctor Morris packed lightly. While it seemed there was little weight limitation for the airship, he knew there wasn’t enough room for what he would like to take. Had it been possible, he would have dismounted the globe from the wall.
They brought along Yskiu’s lightning weapon, the vision-enhancing tube, and two other devices whose purpose they had not yet discovered. Doctor Morris kept the tablet from Hellhound Isle and five more tablets found among the assorted items of K’ork-eatop. Poulustus took nothing, but as they packed the airship with their supplies, he made a request.
“I wish you take me back to Ah-ruth.”
“Yes, we figured we would do that,” Rob said.
“After I am at my home, you must take vessel away from Ah-ruth. Away from any Duarve.”
“Why?”
“There are many Duarve who hate humans. This vessel only allow them to hurt and kill. There would be little your people could do about it.”
“We understand,” Morris said. “This airship could take us to our destination easily. The island where Rob found the tablet. There aren’t even other humans there who would use it. It will be safe there.”
“As it might be, so let it,” Poulustus said.
The airship lifted them out of the chamber and into the morning sunlight. They knew only that Aruth lay to the northwest of Kudo Isle, but as it happened to be a large island, they felt confident they could find it. They glided through the sky with the ease of a shallow-drafted ship over calm seas. Occasionally, Rob felt crosswinds that made for turbulent flying, but he quickly figured out how to compensate for them.
Poulustus told them they were just over six thousand kilveta above the sea, according to the display on the controls. Doctor Morris, having just learned the Duarve units of measurement from Yskiu, calculated that it meant they were somewhere between seven and eight thousand feet above sea level. It said the console also displayed their speed as forty-two kilveta per alka. However, Morris had no idea what this meant.
There were no windows that allowed them to look down to see the water far below, so Rob executed a banking maneuver that gave them a good view. Doctor Morris, while exuberant about flying, did not like the maneuvers.
“It makes me feel like we’re going to fall out,” he said, though he knew they were secure under the transparent canopy.
The island of Aruth appeared before long. The view from above made Rob realize the cartographers who had mapped it had made some mistakes
; though he could understand why. The view of an island from above was far better than from sea level.
Poulustus recognized the mountain area in the east where most of the Duarve lived and directed Rob to a clearing where they could land. Unlike in the chamber, Rob had to keep his hand on the lever that brought them down in altitude while Poulustus disembarked. As a result, the Duarve was forced to jump a few feet to the ground. It bid its farewells to Rob and Doctor Morris, touching fingertips with the old teacher before making the leap.
After a few moments, Rob let the airship rise again and banked over the clearing to make sure Poulustus had made it safely. They saw it walking northward toward the trees. It did not wave or acknowledge them as they lifted higher into the sky and turned south by southwest.
Rob took the airship even higher, somewhere around eight thousand kilveta, based on the readout that Poulustus had interpreted. The sky was less turbulent at that altitude, and Rob had a better view of the horizon and the sea below without having to bank as much. Banking was still necessary to help keep his bearings. He was relying on his study of the area’s geography to navigate back to Hellhound Isle. He knew it lay roughly west, southwest of Long Beard Isle. However, rather than risk getting lost over the vacant seas south of Claw Isle, he would follow the same route they took when traveling by ship. That meant flying from island to island, starting with Big Nose.
The oddly shaped island appeared only after a couple of hours of flight. Rob dropped in altitude to ensure it was Big Nose Isle and once he spotted the town of Cici, nestled into its cove, he was sure. Rising again, it wasn’t long before Claw Isle came into view and the Disappointment Isles could be seen to the east.
A few hours more and the familiar shape of Forgotten Isle appeared to the southeast. Rob made for that island, dropping again in altitude to ensure their position. This time, the airship refused to rise. Something was wrong.
Outside the cockpit, the four globes, which had glowed a brilliant blue, began to dim. Lights on the console faded and blinked on and off.
“What’s going on?” Rob said.
“We’re losing power,” Morris answered.
“Why? I didn’t do anything!”
“Just try to maintain our current altitude.”
No sooner had Doctor Morris said this then the airship lost all power. The console’s lights went out altogether and the ship began to descend.
Thankfully, Rob discovered he could still steer. “I can control our direction,” he said.
“Good. The directional controls must be completely mechanical. See if you can aim us for the water just off Forgotten Isle.”
“The water?! Shouldn’t we try for land?”
“This vehicle is designed for vertical takeoffs and landings. Coming in at a shallow angle, we’ll want a softer surface than land.”
Rob maneuvered them toward Forgotten Isle, but he realized that they were descending quickly. He tried to slow it down by angling the airfoils. It seemed to work, but he had to measure it carefully. Too much slowing and they’d fall straight into the sea. Rob was not anxious to test his swimming abilities and wasn’t sure if Doctor Morris even knew how.
Looking at the teacher, he saw him gathering their notes and stuffing them into his satchel. Rob thought of the other Duarvish items they’d brought along and realized that landing in the sea meant they’d lose them all.
Refocusing on controlling their descent, he saw the cliffs of the northern face dead ahead. Once again, he adjusted the airfoils in an attempt to keep them from crashing into the sheer face of the island. Rob performed his final bank, keeping the airship from overshooting the east coast. Doing so allowed him to see that they barely cleared the summit of the island. In fact, they skimmed down the slope and were aimed for the water east of the peak.
“Hold on!” Rob screamed, and he braced himself.
The impact came moments later. It was much harder than either of them could have imagined. They did not see it, but they felt the left airfoil rip away and the ship suddenly lurched right. Water washed over the cockpit and then subsided as they came to a halt among the waves.
For a moment, Rob thought they would remain afloat, but this thought was immediately replaced by a panic-stricken gasp as he saw the sea creep up the fuselage toward him. He released the lever that allowed the canopy to open and water began to pour into the cockpit. However, with the canopy pushed aside, the two men climbed out as their airship sank beneath them.
They were about two hundred yards from the island. A short enough swim for both of them to achieve, but long enough for some creature to snatch them before arriving. It was a risk they would have to take. As much as Rob wanted to sprint, he knew the safest bet was to remain relaxed and make a slow swim. The less movement they made, the less attention they attracted to themselves. Rob leaned onto his back and kept his strokes small. To his relief, Doctor Morris copied him and seemed an able swimmer.
The swim felt like it took forever. Rob was sure they had been in the water for hours before he checked their progress. The island seemed just as far away as when they landed. He controlled his breathing as much to conserve energy as to control his fear. A thought lingered in his mind—as pervasive as ale in a tavern—at any moment, teeth or a clawed tentacle was going to clamp down on him and drag him into the depths.
Yet, no such attack happened.
The waves began to break around them, and it frightened Rob at first, but then he realized why. The island grew in size behind them. Still, he did not dare turn over for the terror-induced sprint to shore. No, he kept swimming in measured strokes, on his back until he felt the sand under him.
Safely ashore, the two men sighed and looked at each other. Drenched and too exhausted to stand, they couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of each other.
“How long since we left Fallen Dome?” Rob finally asked Doctor Morris.
“Oh, let me see. I think it’s been near three weeks.”
“That was my figure as well, eighteen or nineteen days. Which means we’ve likely missed the convoy.”
“You mean the Entdecker and the Anna Louisa. Oh well, we’ll just have to hope another ship comes by soon.”
Rob scowled, “Even if that ship isn’t a pirate or Falcon ship, we can’t have them take us to Hellhound Isle.”
“At least we wouldn’t be marooned here, no food or equipment. Have you still got your knife?”
Rob checked his belt but found the sheath empty.
“We can survive a few days, even a week or more, as we’ve at least got fresh water,” Morris remarked.
“Yes, the odds are in our favor for a slow and miserable death of starvation.”
“Perhaps, but while we’re here, let’s make the most of it. Fancy a hike up the mountain?”
23 – Reunions
Eugene was on duty as helmsman of the Anna Louisa on their seventh day out from Southport. They had spent an extra day there, making plans with the Punishers and patching up the Entdecker’s sail. Now, it was a clear day with a bright sun and only a few wispy clouds high overhead. Pleasant, especially after the powerful storm they’d sailed through.
Most of the crew and mercenaries on board were below, hiding from the summer sun. Only Piers was on deck with him. He stood at the bow, keeping watch with the far-see. Every so often, Eugene noticed Piers looking down at the compass he carried in his pocket. He was quite surreptitious about it, and he twice called out to Piers asking if he was worried.
“No, I’m quite all right,” came the reply.
It reminded Eugene of his first few days aboard the ship he now called home. He and his brother James were nervous about their new employment with Edwin Johnson and his friends. Nervous and a bit suspicious. They all seemed rather secretive about their mission and apprehensive about their newly hired mercenaries. He remembered checking his own compass a time or two, wondering if they were headed in the right direction. Now Eugene and James felt like members of the family. It was a strange family,
but especially since the sudden death of their father a year previous, it was exactly what the Bell brothers needed.
Eugene looked again at Piers. The odd sailor was now staring up at the sky. What is he looking at?
“Do you see it?” Piers asked him.
“See what?”
“That! Right there, five points north of the sun?”
He was right, there was something up there. It shone a pale white against the light blue of the sky. Whatever it was, it was high; almost touching the sun. He wished that Doctor Morris were still aboard. Doubtlessly that old man would have some inkling as to what this oddity was. The sunlight forced Eugene to look away, but after a few moments, he looked again. Unable to relocate the object, he looked to Piers who was still following it.
“Where is it?”
“It’s just south of the sun now. Definitely headed south by southeast; almost on the same course as ourselves.”
Eugene looked over to the Entdecker where Tom, as usual, stood at the tiller. Once again, Tom’s obsession with being at the helm struck Eugene as strange, though he knew Tom was anything but meecher. At that moment, Tom was looking ahead of them, his eyes hidden under a wide-brimmed hat.
“Tom!” Eugene called over the soft voice of the sea.
The Entdecker’s captain shifted his gaze over and waved. Eugene pointed up at the object in the air, now visible again after its sojourn through the sun.
Tom searched the sky for a moment before his eyes located the odd flying oval-shaped object. He took up his far-see for a better view. By his estimate, the unidentified flying object was at least seven thousand feet up. Suddenly, the image changed and Tom saw two short wings on each side. The object was turning more to the east.
“What is it?” he heard Eugene call out.
Tom looked back at the Anna Louisa and shrugged. They followed it as it continued on its course across the sky. Tom determined that it must have been descending as his view through the far-see improved even though it was traveling away from them. Odd, he thought, it looks as though it were headed for Forgotten Isle.