Ra' van (Book Three of the Items Trilogy)

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  Alex shook his head while trying to clear his voice.

  “How did he do that?” Rakkian asked as Allahandra stepped out with wide eyes while also trying to clear her ringing ears out with a delicate finger.

  Lily looked in his exhilarating grey eyes and he nodded for her to explain. “General, you know Alex can increase his physical strength beyond that of any other man. A person’s voice isn’t any different, it is also a muscle, but a Furion can take his voice to that of an entire stadium of screaming people. You understand when your voice gets hoarse when yelling for hours and days and it makes you unable to speak.” She waited for him to nod. “Alex just did that, all at once and the strain is painful and taxing.”

  The woman reappeared and handed over the cold mug. “Thank you.” Lily said and handed the cup to Alex. “Drink slowly.”

  “Will he be…” Allahandra’s question was cut off as a violent, explosive sound erupted nearby.

  Everyone turned to see the lead Alluan battleship being launched upwards from the water. Wood, water and people were loosed high into the air as something obliterated the lead ship. A cool, misty spray of water kissed Alex’s cheek as the once powerful battleship had been rendered into nothing more than debris. Many went silent forevermore from the explosions. Men yelled to hurry and fold the mast while others were too shocked to be of any use.

  “We need to hurry!” Marlin yelled while grabbing Alex’s sleeve. He extended his cane and threw the hook and bobber over the largest mast and when it hooked onto the underside he handed it over. Alex returned the mug, knowing his strength was needed before he had time to cool his pain. If this ship doesn’t stop it too will be destroyed and a great many will perish.

  A forceful pull on the rod lifted the main sail high enough so that those already trying to pull only had to bind the cloth. He returned the item to Marlin so that the hook could come loose and before long he looped the hook around another sail and it too pulled up.

  Another, smaller ship was too slow in raising the sail and also exploded, sending another rain of debris and men down to the water.

  Eventually all remaining ships became still and did their best to pull in the few lucky survivors, both fiend and human. Niranene, Krum, other healers and Orggian were busy tending to the wounded. Luckily most that survived did so only since they were almost all on deck, trying to stop the ships when the explosions went off. It was impossible to drop anchor since the water’s depth was too deep so to stay somewhat together all of the fleet used long ropes to remain tethered. Each vessel stayed tied to another for safety.

  “Alright, now will someone care to give me an answer, ya?” Allahandra demanded while looking expectantly in Marlin’s direction.

  “While I was fishing earlier I sensed dozens of foreign objects under the water’s surface and knew they weren’t natural. Before we came in here I dropped my bobber again and found there are hundreds beneath us. We are surrounded.”

  A quick tapping sound came from Commander Yort as he took it upon himself to write everything on a large stone sheet to aid Alex since he was unable to translate the conversation to the fiend leaders easily. When he finished writing he turned it for the fiends to read and understand.

  “Can you describe them?” Alex asked, still sounding sick and his throat was scratchy.

  “Aye. They were round, like a ball on top, but the size of a person’s torso and had what looked to be a long, singular tail that they used to propel themselves under the water. We couldn’t see them because of the murky water. We can only see a few feet before it is impossible to tell what lays beneath. I don’t know much about that item, but I do know that if we stand still we won’t be attacked.”

  “Half right.” Alex said and took another drink, only to begin coughing again. Lily began patting his back as Ava looked up at him concerned. Shade and the other fiends shared a similar tense expression. Even Travis, Janken and Jakz seemed worried for many depended on him. When the fit eventually ended he explained what he meant. “Back home, before I knew who I was, I was fascinated by all known items. In the water, warrior class there was a documentation about what you saw. It is a level five explosive weapon which is used as an underwater mine. I’m glad you caught it before getting any further. It doesn’t attack live creatures or else we would have seen dead fish or the deaths of our men who were able to survive by swimming without being targeted. They follow the movement of non-living materials, but only if it goes against the current. It attacked our ships since we are using the wind to carry us across the water, not the currents. What troubles me most is the number you’ve mentioned. The rare few who have ever had that item only had one, but hundreds are waiting under us.”

  “I might be able to have an answer for the quantity.” Travis announced as he rubbed his hands together. “In Greeton, ten years ago, there was documentation of a child born with a unique level five specialty items. He is one of the rare few to be immediately put into the King’s Guard without being born in Ra’van. He had what looked like a thousand white seeds, but when he pressed them to another item they copied the person’s item flawlessly and even the particular item’s ability. That said, I would bet my item, that this is what we are dealing with. To account for such destructive numbers could only be from those copied items.”

  Takka then interjected “At least we know why the enemy cutters suddenly appeared… To stay out of Angie’s sight they didn’t know why they were most likely dumping those underwater mines and used someone to hide their ships until they were done. While it looked like they were simply keeping an eye from a distance and following our path, they led us here. The mines wouldn’t harm their ship because of whomever the initial wielder is can exert minimal control over them, otherwise the mines would have attacked their ships. I fear what would have happened if Marlin didn’t warn us.”

  “I’d wager everyone would agree, Brother.” Rakkian admitted.

  He pulled out his green book with metallic pages and whispered under his breath. Pages flashed with white light and disappeared for Takka to begin thumbing through the pages. “Ah, here is what I missed.” He admitted and met the queen’s level gaze. “Within a shipping manifest to one of the five admirals under Runkamon’s rule were orders to place the mines at a specific set of coordinates. It is an old tactic I haven’t seen deployed in nearly ten years.” The room remained silent as he continued reading through the letter. As he did so his expression became sullen. Ginger gently pressed her nose against his elbow and gave him a look he understood all too easily. He nodded to the old Pikro for pressing him to go forward and voice the concern and turned to the head seer. “Angie, do me a favor. Look forward two weeks from now, should we do nothing and continue drifting and tell everyone what you see.”

  Being an old friend, the young and beautiful seer looked within her crystal ball item and began peering into the future. What looked like a green pulsating mist began swirling within the object. It didn’t take long before gaining all the knowledge she needed. After a heavy sigh she looked at every individual in the room. “It seems as if this scheme is a two part tactic. The first is passive and should we somehow have survived the mines without being completely wiped out we would be stuck with nowhere to go. To end the tactic the Water Guard will deploy a long range explosive item and pick of our ships one by one since we have nowhere escape. Either by mine, long range or drowning should we abandon the ships, we are facing a serious situation.”

  “Now the main question is how do we reach the shore that is nearly a week away without having the mines chase after us or having my family destroyed while we sit here and wait for the end?” Allahandra asked evenly and all remained quiet except for Yort as he finished writing and turned the words to the fiends.

  Minutes of silenced passed before Breaker stepped forward and looked to Alex. “Do not bother speaking to me for I know your voice is still too raw to translate back and forth between us. Hear me out, you already explained how these destructive items beneath these
boats worked and I believe I have come up with a solution. Now we know they only attack nonliving objects, moving against the water’s forces…” And Alex listened in fascination while the humans looked between the tall raptor lord and the powerful Furion.

  When all had been said Alex took another drink to cool his aching throat that took time to recover. “Breaker has come up with an idea that just might work. His kind cannot fly things much more than they weigh for very long so ferrying a human is impossible. His idea is to tie a long rope to a board while his talons grasp the other end. He can fly the board away and drop it into the water and drag it by the rope. If it works he can lead the mines away and detonate them far away from the ships.”

  “That is better than anything I’ve come up with.” Allahandra admitted while patting Breaker’s wing appreciatively. “We can try it at least and see if it will work.” She looked up into her partner’s piercing brown eyes and yellow eyelids to smile. “Let us try and hope for the best.”

  Before long everyone stood hopefully outside in the late afternoon to see Breaker grab a rope and a tethered plank of wood. With a great beat of magnificent wings he took to the air and nearly everyone aboard every ship watched expectantly.

  Just as he cleared the last ship he dropped the plank and held tightly to the end of the rope. Alex focused more heat into his eyes when Breaker became too difficult to see in the distance. Some, like Allahandra had non-item spy glasses and were able to watch the board being dragged through the water, but were disappointed to find that it didn’t live up to expectations. After an hour’s worth of flying and nothing detonating he returned, dissatisfied.

  “What do you think went wrong?” Niranene asked while Marlin cast his bobber out and closed his eyes.

  Quinn murmured “Maybe size does matter…”

  Rakkian grabbed the cavalry commander’s shoulder and turned him in his direction. “Say that again.” And Quinn did hesitantly. The general then released his grasp and began rubbing his smooth jaw.

  Allahandra laid a gentle hand on his largely muscled arm. “What is it?”

  “Maybe what Quinn said has merit. Why did the mines attack the ships while leaving the plank alone? We are not using enough bait to draw out the quarry. What we need is a berry tree instead of a lone berry.” He met her eyes and explained “Back home you have your flower garden.” She nodded, wanting more information. “To draw all the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds you love so dearly would be impossible if all you used was a single rose.” He then pointed to one of the lifeboats. “Instead of a small plank of wood we use that to draw them away.”

  “Alright, how do we get them away from the ship quickly enough so that the mines don’t detonate so close to the ship?”

  “Leave that to me.” Alex said adamantly. “A four hundred pound lifeboat is nothing compared to two tons of stone. But just to be safe, allow me use one of the smaller transports and have everyone aboard transfer to another boat. Just incase something goes wrong and the bombs go off, we won’t be nearly as crippled if we lose a small one than one more of our primaries.”

  Allahandra nodded and watched him leave.

  Since all the boats were linked Alex simply had to grab a rope, flip upside down, cross his ankles and pull himself to the next transport. The captain wanted to know what the plan is, but was told to wait. After crossing two more ships did Alex eventually arrive at the smallest ship of the fleet as it also floated at the outer perimeter. Some quick talking with the captain ended with him dropping a plank with the nearest ship and the evacuation of everyone aboard. Once the ship finally vacated did he untie all ropes to the ship from the others. If anything went wrong and the ship sunk, it wouldn’t drag any others with it.

  Eventually Alex pulled a lifeboat aboard and dragged it to the aft of the ship. A few deep breaths calmed his mind as he fed the intangible fire within. Strength surged through his limbs as did the heat when his heart rate sped up and felt like it would erupt from his breast.

  The lifeboat weighed little more than a few pounds since the item within himself activated. His left hand cradled the underside while his right held the backside of the small vessel. Please let this work! He worried silently. The fleet is defenseless now and even if we somehow all went swimming for shore I know that I would make it, but everyone else would either die when the remaining Water Guard arrive or will drown trying to swim to shore. Even using large boards to remain afloat would be too risky since the mines could potentially follow. I hope this plan succeeds because everyone I love will certainly perish if it doesn’t.

  Please work! He yelled mentally when all came together.

  Alex ran a few yards and screamed as he heaved the solid wooden, three person lifeboat over a hundred and fifty feet before it crashed into the water. The line attached to the boat uncoiled angrily before reaching its limit and jerking the small craft to a complete stop.

  While reining his strength back to normal he clearly heard Marlin shout from the center mass of the fleet. “Alex! It’s working! Several nearby mines are moving towards the lifeboat!” Then as the small boat came to a halt Marlin said “They stopped again! What happened?!”

  By now everyone waited, eagerly anticipating what was going on and watching, hoping for a solution out of the crisis.

  “Be ready should this turn out badly!” Alex informed while grabbing the rope that linked the lifeboat and the small transport.

  Simply three pulls later the lifeboat vanished in a concussive sound and spray of water. As the water and debris settled a roaring cheer came from the fleet.

  A safe solution became available.

  Nearly two days passed as more and more mines detonated. Those with siege items were exceptionally helpful in throwing large, lifeless objects that floated since it became clear that using lifeboats for mine fodder wasn’t necessary or practical if another emergency arose. When a mine detonated the Fury would swoop down and use their talons to bring back the debris. The debris was nailed back together and launched again. Nearly every few minutes a mine went off harmlessly.

  By midday of the second day Marlin cast his line out again and before long a grin spread across his face. “That looks to be the last one. I’ll keep fishing throughout the day, but it is safe to assume we can get moving before the Water Guard return. Those three boats have been sitting there this whole time watching us work and it isn’t much of a leap to know they have informed their superiors about what we’ve done.”

  “I agree. Just to be safe I’ll also assign a few specialists to keep an eye below the water so that we don’t fall into another trap. Captain,” Allahandra commanded with a genuine smile. “begin procedures to get us out of here as quickly and safely as possible.”

  “Aye, Aye, your majesty!” and he began yelling to unfurl the sails to depart.

  A welcome sight greeted the fleet six days later. The southwestern bank had everyone cheering. The three ships remained watching at a distance and couldn’t be dealt with, but there weren’t any more surprises or traps. Once on land all the fiends jumped in the water and swam ashore. They missed solid ground more than any other and the ability to roam free is just what was needed. Both the packs and prides went out on a much needed run while camp quickly set up for the day to learn the terrain and see if there were any nearby enemies.

  Wood, a precious commodity with many uses and felling forests sickened Alex and Allahandra’s solution was perfect. Seeing as the fleet had served its purposes most of the Royal Guard’s captured battleships were stripped bare or disassembled for the much needed lumber the horde needed for cooking or repairing carts. The ships that remained were sent back with a skeleton crew since the trek was crossed successfully. Once all vital supplies were unloaded the military moved on.

  Chapter 5

  “And just how long do you plan on being gone?” Allahandra asked with a touch of concern as Alex just put forth a plan of his own before the council.

  “About a fortnight I’d imagine.”

&
nbsp; It has been near a month since they finally reached shore and began the direct march towards Central City. Still a month’s journey away, it was now or never to gain some much needed reinforcements. Already the mass of over a hundred and fifty thousand Royal Guard’s heading towards Alluan figured out they had been completely bypassed and did a sharp turn around, following Allahandra and the army, just as she planned. There have been several small skirmishes from small towns that were freed of Ra’van’s influence, but nothing too severe to cause much concern. The problem was, with angry sides from both the northern front and the approach of Central City gave many a great deal of apprehension. Little room had been left to maneuver, especially in enemy territory. By the time Freelan reaches Central City there would only allow a week’s time to lay siege, capture and fortify the city before the northern militia rejoins Central City’s defenses and make everyone’s problems three times harder.

  To make matters worse, Angie informed everyone yesterday that nearly the entire cavalry squadron that were with the main Royal Guard forces just spit off and were using all haste to reach the city before Alluan’s forces could return the city to its once former glory. By all calculations they will reach the city in a week at their current rate while Freelan currently sat two to three weeks away.

  If Central City’s walls cannot be breached and occupied in four weeks, Freelan will most likely be decimated and destroyed. It is this unfavorable outcome that has prompted Alex and his pack to go and see about getting some much needed reinforcements. To help smooth out matters he had already discussed this with the other fiend leaders and they too know that reinforcements are in great need for the coming battle since the approaching fight will be the second most fortified city before their path leads them to Ra’van’s Royal City.