Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers

by Philip Caveney

  'No need,' said Galt, producing a length of line and some hooks from his pack. 'Let's have a nice fish supper for a change!' He shambled down to the riverbank to find a good spot to cast his line.

  Sebastian started to massage his aching feet but suddenly became aware of a pair of eyes glaring at him. He glanced up to see Max's mournful face.

  'Comfortable, are we?' asked the buffalope.

  'Yeah, not bad,' said Sebastian.

  'Well, it's all right for some, isn't it?' Max twitched his flanks, making the various cooking utensils and tools rattle.

  'Oh, right.' Sebastian got up and went over to him. 'I suppose you'd like me to untie all this equipment.'

  'If it's not too much trouble,' muttered Max, then, as Sebastian approached, inclined his head to whisper, 'After you've done this, you can go and chat to Keera.'

  Sebastian shook his head. 'I'm not sure that's a good idea,' he said. 'Right now all I feel like is having a good soak in the river.'

  'You've plenty of time for that,' hissed Max. 'Look at her! Have you ever seen such a miserable face?'

  'Many times, but it usually has a big horn on either side of it.'

  'Oh, very droll!'

  Sebastian undid the last strap and lowered the jumble of equipment to the ground. Max gave a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders. 'Ah, that's better,' he said. 'I thought we'd never get to this blooming river.' He nudged Sebastian with his snout. 'Now go on – have a word with Keera.'

  'But—'

  'Just go!' Max lowered his head and gave Sebastian what was probably intended to be a gentle shove in the back, but Sebastian's lanky frame was catapulted forward across the clearing. He caught one foot in a discarded pack, tripped, performed an ungainly somersault, and came crashing down a short distance from a rather startled Keera.

  She gazed down at him for a minute and then did something she hadn't done all day. She laughed. 'You're so funny!' she cried.

  Sebastian sat up and directed a withering glare in Max's

  direction. 'Just trying to cheer you up,' he said. 'You know, I . . . I used to be a professional jester.'

  'What's that?' asked Keera.

  He shuffled round to sit beside her. 'I used to make people laugh for a living,' he said. He thought for a moment. 'Well, I used to try to, anyway. Didn't have all that much success, now that I think about it.'

  'You should have. You're good at making people laugh.'

  'Only when I'm not trying to,' Sebastian assured her. He glanced nervously across at Cal, who didn't seem to be at all amused by his antics. 'Look, Keera,' he said. 'About what I said last night . . . I understand that you were expecting me to fulfil the prophecy and everything, but as I said, there is somebody else . . .'

  'Yes, this sweetheart you spoke of – tell me about her.'

  'Umm . . . well, her name's Jenna and she's a sea captain . . . You remember – the boats I spoke of that travel on the wide stretch of water?'

  'Yes, like this water,' said Keera, pointing.

  'Oh no, that's nothing compared to the ocean. I mean, you can see the far side of a river, but on the ocean you could travel for many moons and never have sight of land.'

  Keera nodded. 'So where is this . . . Jenna?'

  Sebastian laughed. 'That's a good question. She's on a long voyage. Right now she'll be somewhere south of here.'

  'A dangerous voyage?'

  'Er . . . yes, I suppose all voyages can be dangerous.'

  'And you will marry this sweetheart one day?'

  Sebastian shrugged. 'I don't really know. I . . . expect so.

  But we're both still very young; there's plenty of time for that. But look, Keera, just because there's somebody else in my life, it doesn't mean we can't be mates . . . does it?'

  She seemed to brighten considerably. 'Really?' she cried. 'Oh, well, that's wonderful!'

  He was somewhat taken aback by her reaction. 'Is it?' he said.

  'Yes. I won't have to be sad any more. And I will try not to hate this . . . Jenna. But if one day we meet, perhaps we will fight each other.'

  Sebastian looked at her, startled. 'I don't think there's any need for that,' he protested.

  'Well, that's how we settle things in the jungle,' said Keera. 'Not with weapons; just our fists. Would she not be willing to fight for you?'

  'I really couldn't say.' He glanced around nervously. Across the clearing, Cal was gazing at him intently and sharpening a vicious-looking knife on a stone. 'You know what? I think I'm going to find a quiet spot in the river and have a good bath. Wash some of the sweat off.'

  'Great,' said Keera. 'I'll come with you.'

  'What?' He stared at her. 'Oh no, I don't think that's a good idea.'

  'But we're mates, aren't we? Mates wash together.'

  'Do they? Not where I come from, they don't.' Sebastian got hastily to his feet. 'No, you . . . you stay here and talk to Cal. I'm sure he'd like to sort things out with you.'

  'There's nothing to sort out,' said Keera irritably, shooting an indignant glare in the warrior's direction. 'Cal thinks he has some kind of claim over me, but he doesn't.'

  'Yes, but he's your mate too, right?'

  Now Keera looked positively horrified. 'No he is not!' she cried. 'What sort of girl do you think I am? You can't have more than one mate at a time!'

  'You can't? But . . . I have lots of mates.'

  She stared at him. 'Then the ways of your people are strange indeed,' she said.

  Sebastian was beginning to get the impression that something was very wrong. 'Umm . . . l-look,' he stammered. 'I . . . I'm going to go and get cleaned up.' Keera started to get up too but he waved her back down again. 'No, you stay here, I'll . . . see you later . . .' He walked quickly towards the river, giving Max another accusing glance as he went by.

  He came upon Galt, who was crouched by the bank, staring intently down at a float he had made out of a piece of twig. Sebastian saw that he already had a good-sized fish lying beside him on the riverbank.

  'How's the fishing?' he asked.

  'Great,' said Galt without looking up. 'These waters are teeming with fish.'

  'And those things are edible, are they?'

  'I told you before. This is the jungle – everything—'

  '. . . is edible. Yes. Er . . . sorry to interrupt. Can I ask you a question?'

  'Ask away,' said Galt, his gaze still fixed on the float.

  'Right. If I said to you that you were my mate, what would you think?'

  Galt glanced up in alarm. He stared at Sebastian for a moment and then burst out laughing.

  'What's so funny?' asked Sebastian.

  'If you said that, I'd be very worried,' Galt told him. 'You see, in the Jilith tribe, a man can take a wife but he can also have a mate.' He raised his eyebrows. 'That's somebody who is very close to him, almost like a second wife; but they don't have to actually get married.'

  'Oh,' said Sebastian. 'I see.'

  'It's an old custom. Not too many do it these days, because of the trouble it causes.'

  'Trouble?'

  'Between the wife and the mate, usually. There's been all kinds of ructions in the past. Some of 'em have even been known to fight to the death.' He pulled a face. 'They're supposed to just use their fists, but I've heard of them using clubs, knives, axes, all sorts.'

  Sebastian groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. His attempt to let Keera down gently had misfired horribly. And what had he just said to her? That he had lots of mates? 'Perfect,' he muttered.

  Galt grinned. 'So . . . still like to be my mate?' he asked mockingly.

  'Er . . . no, that's . . . OK. I'll, um . . . see you later.' Sebastian hurried away along the riverbank to find a secluded spot, then stripped off his clothes, gave them a good wash in the shallows and hung them from a branch to dry before wading out until he was chest-deep in the water. The shock of it against his bare flesh felt delicious and with a sigh of contentment he let himself sink right beneath the surface; he stayed under as
long as he could – at least down here, he thought, he was unlikely to get into any trouble.

  Which was when a large crab took his big toe in its pincers and squeezed hard; he rose up from the depths with a bellow of agony.

  'Do you mind?' yelled Galt from upstream. 'You're frightening the fish!'

  CHAPTER 14

  THE BIGGEST CUP

  At dawn the following day, Sebastian was shaken roughly awake by Cornelius.

  'Come on,' said the little warrior. 'You can't lie there all day – there's work to be done!'

  Sebastian cast a bleary eye around the camp and saw that everybody else was up and moving around. Salah already had a pot of chai bubbling over one fire while Cal and his team were cooking fish over another. The smell of them made Sebastian's stomach rumble but he was too exhausted to care.

  'Just a bit longer,' he pleaded, pulling the animal-hide blanket over himself. 'I was having a nice dream.'

  But Cornelius was not to be denied. 'Stir yourself – we have to get on with building the raft,' he growled. 'I've allotted tasks to everybody, including you.'

  Sebastian scowled. 'I think I preferred you when you weren't talking to anybody,' he said. He managed to get himself upright and, yawning and scratching, stumbled across to the fire. Before he even reached it, Keera was there, putting a big steaming cup of chai into his hands.

  'Good morning, mate,' she said, favouring him with a dazzling smile, and he had to resist the impulse to groan. 'I saved you the biggest cup.'

  'Er . . . thanks,' he said. 'Keera, this "mates" business . . . we really need to talk about it.'

  'There's nothing to say,' she assured him. 'You have made me very happy.' She moved off to help Salah with the fish. Sebastian couldn't help noticing that the younger girl was grinning in his direction. Evidently Keera had shared the news with her.

  'Oh, that's perfect,' he muttered under his breath.

  He turned away, aware that Cal was giving him the evil eye from across the clearing but unwilling to face an argument so early in the day. He sat down on a log at the edge of the clearing and sipped his chai, feeling its warm sweetness reviving him.

  There was a rustling in the bushes and Max's head appeared. He looked a little bashful and Sebastian surmised that the buffalope had been relieving himself.

  'Good morning, young master,' he said. 'I trust you slept well?'

  'I slept like a baby,' said Sebastian, recalling one of his father's old jokes. 'I woke up screaming every few moments.'

  Max looked at him blankly. 'I didn't hear anything,' he muttered, missing the point entirely. He looked over at Keera. 'She's in good spirits now. Whatever you said to her, master, it seems to have done the trick,'

  Sebastian sighed. 'It has not done the trick,' he said. 'It has dropped me right in the brown stuff. Now she thinks I want her as a mate.'

  Max was puzzled. 'What's wrong with that?' he asked.

  'Nothing, unless you happen to be a Jilith; and then it makes a big, big difference. She thinks I—'

  He broke off as Keera came towards him carrying a whole cooked fish laid out on a flat green leaf.

  'I picked the nicest one for you,' she said, placing it in his lap. 'Now be sure and eat up every scrap – you're going to need all your energy today.' She took the opportunity to stroke Sebastian's hair. 'You washed it,' she observed. 'It's all shiny.'

  Across the clearing there was a crash as Cal set a metal cauldron down with more force than was strictly necessary.

  Sebastian flinched. 'That's, er . . . just the river water,' he said. 'Good for your hair, they say.' He gestured at the fish. 'Thanks for this. Looks great. Now . . . why don't you, er . . . run along and get some breakfast for yourself?'

  Keera bowed her head obediently. 'If that's what you want,' she said; and she returned to the fire.

  'Young master,' murmured Max, 'she seems a bit too friendly, if you catch my drift.'

  'Oh, you noticed?' Sebastian tore off a mouthful of fish and started eating. 'It's all your fault – you're the one who made me go and speak to her.'

  'Yes, but I didn't think you were going to sweet-talk her.'

  'I didn't! The whole thing's a misunderstanding. You see, to the Jilith, a mate is—'

  The sound of Cornelius clearing his throat made everybody sit up and take notice. Sebastian saw that he had climbed onto a tree stump so that everybody could have a clear view of him.

  'All right, everybody, you need to finish up your breakfasts quickly,' he said. 'I want to have the raft ready to leave here by the day after tomorrow.' He gazed around at his companions. 'I know it's a tall order . . .'

  'From a short chief,' murmured Max, under his breath.

  '. . . but I feel sure we can do it. While you lot were resting yesterday afternoon, I went out and marked the trees we need to cut down with an X. I've chosen jibara trees. The wood's incredibly light, which means it will be easy to cut down and manoeuvre and it should float well. The wood also exudes a sticky sap which will stop the water from soaking into it.'

  'Oh, so now he's an expert on trees,' said Max. 'Is there anything that man doesn't know?'

  Cornelius glared at him. 'I was told about jibara trees when I was researching a source of wood to make the battle chariot,' he explained. 'The Jilith have made canoes out of jibaras for generations – isn't that so, Cal?'

  Cal nodded. 'It's good for canoes right enough, but I've never seen it used to make a raft before.'

  'There's a first time for everything,' said Cornelius. 'Now, you and Galt will be our logging team. You'll be cutting down the trees and removing all the branches. It's hard work but I know you're up to it.'

  'Lead us to it!' said Galt, lifting a stone axe, which in his huge hand looked like a child's plaything.

  'Max, you'll be dragging the stripped trunks back here one by one, then Sebastian and I will assemble the raft.'

  Max sighed. 'I knew I'd end up doing all the hard work,' he muttered.

  Cornelius ignored him. 'Keera, Salah, you'll have one of the most important jobs. You'll be collecting the vines and then plaiting strong ropes from them. That's a skilled task, but I can't think of anybody better to handle the job. What do you say?'

  Keera nodded and Salah gave an exuberant thumbs up.

  Cornelius looked around. 'Any questions?'

  'Yes,' said Max. 'Isn't there something more challenging I could do?'

  'Challenging?' Cornelius muttered.

  'Yes. I mean, I'm not being funny, but all I ever do is drag stuff around. Haven't you got something that requires a little more . . . brain power?'

  Cornelius studied him for a moment. 'There's nothing particularly brainy about making a raft,' he said. 'It's all common sense. Let me see now . . . could you cut down a tree with an axe?'

  'Well . . . no, but—'