Chapter Sixteen
To the Rescue
T ybor inspected their job on the final deck and they were relieved that he approved. Perhaps now things would go back to normal. Although the definition of ‘normal’ at this point was hard to pinpoint. Tybor knew all of that would soon change. He’d finally gotten through to them and hoped they would remember this lesson.
The last meal of the day was about as appetizing as the first two meals, with some gelatinous looking mystery meat as the main course. It was a good thing none of them had much of an appetite, besides, they were much too tired to really eat anyway.
He sent them straight to his cabin when they were finished telling them they could spend the rest of the day resting, but they weren’t to talk. Reluctantly, he let Tat go and find Tok before declaring lights out, reminding her to hurry.
The next day turned out to be more of the same. This should have been the day they arrived at Breah Dorn but due to the setbacks and repairs they would be delayed by at least another day. The good news was that Marko had figured out how to make Aidan’s suggestion work, and before the day was out the ship would resume its journey to the intended destination.
Still, Tybor didn’t feel like they were ready yet so pushed them even harder. At least this time it wasn’t cleaning decks. This time he wanted to see how they did with following orders on their own. He gave them work detail again, sending Aidan with Marko down below to shovel opalite into the burners.
He sent two crewmen with Rowen with instructions to box up books in the library and to tidy up. The crewmen were given strict orders not to help him, but just to be there in case Annokai returned. And of course the men being there meant Rowen would have to do the job and not leave the area. Tybor figured both of those assignments were fitting for the boys considering it is where they wanted to be in the first place, just maybe not what they wanted to be doing there.
When it came to finding an assignment for Tat, Tybor had her accompany him to the cargo area on the bottom deck where the baby dragon had been relocated. She was asked, not told, if she would stay and help with tending to the wounded creature. Tat was so shocked he’d asked her; she couldn’t answer him.
“Tatyana, you’s wanna do dis or not?”
“Do I want to?” she repeated, then smiled. “Of course I want to! But I am curious Mister Tybor, why am I not having to work as hard as the boys? We are still a team, right?”
“Yup, but even in a team if one member excels more dan de rest den dat member shoul’ be rewarded separately. An’ dis is de reward. All’s I’s ask is don’t tell da boys righ’ now.”
Tat tried to maintain her smile, but even more questions surfaced. Was she being rewarded because she did as Tybor asked that first day and didn’t go anywhere, or because she’d had a breakthrough and was done blaming herself? Or was it because she was the first to get what he was trying to teach them? He hadn’t said, and she decided it really didn’t matter. Either way, she was thrilled about being able to help with the dragonling.
To Tybor’s satisfaction, the day went on without incident. Both Aidan and Rowen had done as told. They worked hard at the tasks they were given without complaint even though they were exhausted to the bone afterwards.
Tat enjoyed every minute of her ‘tasks’ and was delighted even more when Tok found her. She could barely contain her excitement watching Tok walk up the back of the greenish-yellow dragonling. It was a tiny thing for a dragon, not much bigger than Muk had been as a pup.
Watching them play a happy game of peek-a-boo as Tok would dart around the room hiding from the dragonling’s view; it made Tat happier than she’d been in a while.
During mealtimes it took all of her reserve to keep secret what she’d been up to for most of the day. She wished that Tybor would allow it but understood why it had been a stipulation to keep it quiet. Besides, he made sure they knew that talking wasn’t allowed during meals anyway just to make sure no questions were asked. That eased the temptation a little for Tat since she wasn’t allowed to speak either.
Tybor hadn’t given them any indication that he was happy with their performance from the day’s work. Had they not shown him they were willing to do as he asked and obey orders? Apparently not as much as Tybor wanted, or at least he wasn’t showing any sign that he was ready to ease up on them at all.
Complaining about it would only serve to prove him right, that they were still not doing as told, since complaining was one thing he was very explicit about being tired of hearing. So, they dealt with it fully expecting a third day of work detail as well.
The next morning Tybor woke them at dawn again, asking them to bring their packs to the lobby where Marko was waiting for them. Now what? They’d done everything asked of them. Maybe he was there to take Aidan back to the engine room to continue shoveling opalite, but why bring the packs?
Once they were assembled, Tybor explained they had one more full day and night aboard the ship and would be reaching Breah Dorn tomorrow. Because they had finally learned to listen and was doing as they were told he was rewarding them, allowing them to go back to their own cabins and have the day to do as they pleased – as long as they were careful about it and did whatever he asked of them.
They could explore the ship if they chose to, it was up to them, but they were to check in with him by meeting up in the lobby before each dining hour. If they could do that, then there would be no work detail, and no confinement. For the rest of the trip they could talk, read, eat, sleep and come and go as they pleased and pretty much do what they wanted. They also didn’t have to be escorted because he’d had the crew do another thorough sweep of the ship each day and no sign of the Annokai were reported to him.
The kids were ecstatic with the news. They promised they would be on time exactly when and where Tybor said to meet. Hopefully, this meant that he was beginning to trust them again, but it still didn’t explain why Marko was there.
“Oh an’ I believes Chief Engineer Marko has somethin’ ta say,” Tybor ended his announcement and motioned to Marko.
“Right. So I’m glad to hear you all have your freedom back, and on behalf of everyone on this ship I wanted to personally thank Aidan here for his brilliant suggestion of using the harpoon guns to fix the rigging. I’m putting in for a change in protocol just as soon as we reach Breah Dorn, and we’ll call it ‘Aidan’s Answer’. It may not sound like much, but it’s a high honor. And on that note, Aidan I wanted to tell you about the University of Magickal Engineering in greater Breah Dorn.
“Now I know you’re trying to get back to the Otherworld, but an inquisitive and sharp mind like yours is exactly what we could use. If you’d consider staying, I think you’d make a fine candidate for a pupil there. It is the best school this world has to offer for Magickal Engineering. I’ve written you a recommendation and I’d even put in a bid to have you apprentice with me. I know it’s a lot to think about, but I think you should consider it.” He handed the wax sealed envelope bearing Marko’s personal seal to Aidan.
“You want me to go to an Engineering University, here?” Aidan wasn’t sure what else to say. He looked at Tybor, was this some kind of suggestion that he was never going to make it back to his own world?
“Well, I’m just saying it is one option. I hope that you will give it some thought.”
“Yeah, uhmm, yes sir. I’ll give it some thought. Thank you.” That answer seemed to please Marko and he turned to casually salute Tybor, gave an awkward bow then stroked his beard while whistling a dwarven tune and walked toward the stairs.
After Marko left, Tybor announced he had things to do and that he would see all three of them sharply at the mid-day hour mark of 11. He suggested they go to the passenger dining hall and get breakfast but let them know it was only a suggestion.
Rowen was eager to do just that as soon as he’d gotten his pack back to his room. Aidan was more interested in taking one of the hot steam powered baths he’d heard so much about when he was shoveling
the opalite down in the engine room. The luke-warm showers in the crewman’s bathing area just hadn’t cut it.
Tat waited for both of them to head out, propped her pack against the wall and then ran after Tybor.
“Mister Tybor sir,” she called out to him just as he was going down the stairs to the mid-deck. “Is it alright if I go and tend to the dragon again today?”
“Like I says do watcha want, jus’ be back when yer suppose ta.” She was overjoyed with his answer. In her previous day with the dragon, she’d grown very fond of it, and it seemed equally fond of her, nuzzling her each time she got near enough.
She’d taken great care in feeding both Tok and it raw fish, honey melon and bits of pigeon meat wrapped in dough balls. She had helped the crewman change its bandages, and even sang to it trying to calm it when it winced in pain from flexing its broken wings. She was glad to have one more day to tend to it.
The three of them were exceedingly content in their final day on the Ceil’s zypher. Sure to be in their designated meeting spot and on time at every hour mark Tybor had requested, the day rolled by as if everything moved according to plan.
After Aidan had his bath, he’d wandered back up to the top deck and marveled at the repairs that were made, remembering that Marko said they’d used his idea to fix it.
Maybe he should stay on this world and go to that university. It was just as plausible as returning to the Otherworld and going to college there. And learning magickal engineering, what an opportunity that would be!
Would anyone understand if he wanted to stay since they had gone through great lengths to help him get to Breah Dorn? And what of his parents, would he get to see them again if he stayed? Then there was the fact that he was an Errata. The Annokai would still be looking for him, wouldn’t they? So much to think about.
Rowen surprisingly found himself back at the library most of the day. He’d seen plenty of the rest of the ship with having to scrub the decks and staying in the crew areas – he didn’t really care all that much for exploring any more of it.
Having boxed a lot of the library up, he really hadn’t been given time to really look at anything. His hope was finding something that could help him decrypt the grimoire he’d found. And about that. Should he return the books he found? Tybor would be furious if he didn’t, but the book on gates would come in handy, and the grimoire... there was just something about it that fascinated him.
More than likely all these books were just going to get boxed up anyway, then what? One of the crewmen yesterday said the Ceil had ordered them to be burned. Was it really stealing if he took them since they were designated to be burned anyway? Would she even know they were gone?
Rowen abandoned his search and shut the library up, hoping someone would choose to rescue all those books. Burning them just seemed like such a waste. He hadn’t decided if he should keep the magick books. Especially the grimoire, the damn thing seemed unreadable, so he spent the last few hours of the evening flipping through its pages even though it remained the same gibberish it had been.
The only thing he could decipher was that it had something to do with ‘time’ as that lone word was repeated throughout and the only thing he could really read. Was it a grimoire of a time wizard or witch?
After the last meal of the day Tybor had given them permission to continue doing whatever it was they were doing, but to meet him one last time at the 10th hour mark. After that he wanted them asleep in their beds getting a decent nights rest, because who knows what tomorrow would bring.
Aidan took one last look at the engine room and spoke with Marko about his prospects of going to the university in Breah Dorn, and possibly someday apprenticing under him. It presented quite the quandary. The thought of it would keep his mind busy for some time to come. Still, he knew he had to sleep because Tybor was right, who knew what the Fates had in store next.
Tat said her goodbyes to the baby dragon which she nicknamed Willa, after the yellow Willa flowers that she, Tok, and Muk liked running through in the fields near Briarden in the Spring. She inquired what would happen to it next and was relieved when told that the Crown’s science division would most likely tend to it until it was healthy and then return it back to its family.
By the time they were instructed to meet with Tybor in the lobby for the final hour that evening, they were all quite exhausted. They didn’t have to be told to get sleep; they were more than willing to do so. Perhaps it was the conditioning that Tybor had gotten them into the past few days.
When the morning came they did not have to be woken by Tybor. Each of them was already awake and packed as soon as he knocked on their doors. They were more than ready to be finally getting off the ship and were mostly restless through the night. It would be a few more hours before they could depart their transitory home, so Tybor had them all go to the dining hall and eat.
Secretly they wished he’d told them to go to the mess hall instead. Especially Aidan, he’d gotten rather used to the engine room crew, but in keeping with their new attitude they did what Tybor asked and didn’t complain or question.
When it was time to disembark, Tybor reminded them to have their cloaks on and hoods up as he was sure Annokai would be on the lookout for them. He also reminded Tat to be sure that Tok was securely in her pack. The three of them stood at the head of the line with Tybor near the port exit. The experience had been an interesting one, but not one they wanted to repeat anytime soon.
No sooner than stepping off the lift, Tybor spotted an Annokai. He quietly pointed him out, telling them to remain calm and just go with the flow of the crowd. This terminal was set up with stricter security than the boarding area back in Graymark, and even though it was the Ceil’s private airship, passengers still had to follow the same protocol as the other ships landing at the airfield.
There was absolutely no way in or out without passing through the crowded checkpoints, and every terminal had at least two pale faced black eyed Annokai stalking it.
Wasn’t de whole point of not huvelling an’ taking de zypher in de first place so we could avoid dis situation? Had someone tipped off de Annokai dat we would be coming’ here? And if so, who? Tybor wondered.
Perhaps this was just the new level of security all travel centers were now being subjected to due to the uprisings that had occurred lately. Tybor instructed them to stay calm until they knew for sure what was going on. Maybe it had nothing to do with them at all.
The wondering was put to rest when Tat spotted a wanted poster with renderings of her, Aidan, Rowen and Tybor clearly stamped across it. There was even a small rendering of Tok beside Tat’s image. The sketches were crude and barely resembled them. Their names were displayed under their supposed likenesses and Tat and Aidan were clearly marked as Errata stating the pooka cat would be accompanying Tat. It also stated that Tat and Aidan were subject to be eradicated and continued to explain that Tybor and Rowen were to be arrested by the Crown for aiding them.
What now? Everyone would know about them. Tat began to panic, shaking uncontrollably as her anxiety set her body in tremors. Aidan pulled her back next to the cool alabaster tiled wall putting his arms on either side of her.
“Tat,” Aidan whispered calmly. “It’s going to be ok, you just needed to calm herself. Just breathe,” he exhaled a long deep breath, then breathed in deeply himself to show her an example of what he meant.
Tybor assessed if she didn’t stop she was bound to attract attention. Perhaps the best thing to do was split up and meet outside the terminal. It was exactly what he didn’t want to have to do, but it might be the best alternative.
“Aidan get ‘er outside,” Tybor instructed, “an’ follow along de wall den slip out de first exit you’n fin’. Try de loadin’ area an’ be careful not ta attract no attention to yerselves.” Unhooking a sheathed dagger from his belt, he handed it to Aidan. Aidan nodded, showing that he understood; then hooked it to the drawstring waist on his leggings.
Tybor chose Rowen to follow
him knowing that since he personally trained the boy he would be able to keep up with him if needed. He whispered the plan to Rowen telling him to follow closely, then they were gone in a matter of seconds.
Aidan grabbed Tat by the wrist and asked her if she thought she could move. Inhaling deeply she bit back her tears. She nodded, intent on doing everything she could to try. He told her to hang on to him and do exactly as he did.
The fact that Tybor had left them to themselves only made Tat’s anxiety worse. She had faith that Tybor could protect them but now that he was gone, she didn’t like the current uncertainty that faced them.
Getting the shaking under control, she tried to move forward but her limbs felt too heavy. Aidan pulled her behind him anyway. In the past he’d wished she wouldn’t be so clingy, this time he wished she would be.
He spotted an Annokai patrolling the queues and yanked her into an alcove that displayed a map of the terminals, hoping the Annokai hadn’t spotted them. The map was written in several languages, but thankfully it also had the pictographic symbols like the signs did at the border of Graymark.
Tat cried; she couldn’t help herself. She knew any minute now all of this could be over. That both her and Aidan could be eradicated. She wiped her face. No, she couldn’t put them in further jeopardy. She had to get a hold of herself. She could do this. With everything they’d accomplished so far, with all the obstacles they’d faced, she knew she could do this too. They hadn’t come this far for her to let it all go now.
Aidan took a few seconds to get an idea of where things were located. All those years of playing dungeon crawlers on his gaming console and having to quickly memorize maps paid off. Once he saw out of the corner of his eye that the Annokai turned and headed back towards the main gate, he grabbed Tat by the wrist and set off again.
The Fateless: Errata Page 22