Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles

by Sullivan, Stephen D (v1. 1)

  Morning slipped into afternoon under the steady rhythm of the oars. The crew tirelessly pulled the mighty trireme through the placid ocean. Mik and his friends spent much of their time leaning on the gunwales watching the scenery.

  The sea around the Dragon Isles shone brilliant blue. The clear water allowed the travelers to peer into the depths below. Mik marveled at the varieties of colorful fish and strange sea plants. Turbidus dolphins and gray- striped porpoises, sleek “sea tigers,” gamboled in the trireme’s wake.

  Small green atolls surrounded the larger islands, like schools of fish attending to monstrous turtles. The isles had a pristine quality, as if human beings had never actually lived here—though, occasionally, Mik saw small fishing boats plying the shorelines. Two kinds of waterfronts predominated: white sand, or forbidding rocks. Many game animals roamed the shores, but only a few people.

  The clear morning sky gave way to puffy clouds, darkening toward a storm in the west. Blue and purple sea birds filled the air near the shores, diving for fish or hunting for prey along the beaches. Sometimes an albatross, a pelican, or some other sea-fishing bird would fly over the trireme.

  Less frequently, they spotted the glint of sunshine off metallic wings high above the isles. Mostly the dragons were far away, and seemed to be tending their own business. Several times, though, a large brass dragon swooped near the galley.

  “Tanalish,” Shimmer said.

  “Keeping an eye on us for Thrakdar and the Order,” Ula added. She tightened her grip on her spear. “They’re probably wondering why we’re not headed for Berann.”

  “Let them wonder,” Shimmer replied. His face remained hidden behind his bronze helmet, but they all got the impression he was smiling.

  Mik leaned on the rail and sighed. “I wish that Poul were here to see this,” he said. “He would have liked the dragons.”

  “Aye,” Trip replied. Karista merely nodded.

  Just before nightfall, the healer came and sterilized Trip’s wound with alcohol. She put a few stitches in, then wound an new bandage around the kender’s leg. She chanted a spell for quick healing, but no one seemed to believe this would do any good.

  Lord Kell stayed away from the group. Mostly he kept to the triarch’s chair, though he went below regularly to check on his sister. From the vague murmurings of the crew, Mik gathered that Misa wasn’t doing very well. All of Kell’s crew avoided Ula.

  As the sun sank behind the clouds in the west, they passed into the vast channel between Berann and Jaen- tarth. Berann, the western isle, housed the headquarters of the Order of Brass. The galley’s crew gazed at it longingly when they weren’t working their shifts at the oars.

  To the east lay Jaentarth, whose cloud-capped peaks were home to many silver dragons. Lush jungles tumbled down to the isle’s rocky shores. As the trireme swung northeast, skirting Jaentarth’s western cliffs, Ula stood in the bow and gazed east. A thin line of concern between her slender eyebrows marred her perfect face.

  “I get the impression,” Mik said quietly to Shimmer, “that she’s not looking forward to going home.”

  The bronze knight didn’t reply.

  Night passed under a tapestry of stars. Mik and the others slept on the deck near the bow. The blankets given them were thin, but the night was warm. At dawn, the former captain found himself wedged between Ula and Karista. He gently extricated himself, rose, and went to the rail.

  The morning wasn’t so bright or clear as it had been the previous day. Thunder clouds still threatened in the west. However, by rowing through the night, the ship had stayed well ahead of the stormfront.

  Mik admired the discipline of Kell’s crew. They pulled at the oars tirelessly, working in shifts, never stopping. When not rowing or servicing the ship, the brass warriors frequently fished with lines or tridents.

  Sometimes they even stripped off their armor and swam in the stern wash for a while—as Ula had done on Kingfisher, what now seemed so long ago. Kell's warriors always held a rope line when swimming, otherwise the trireme's relentless pace would have quickly left them behind.

  Mist surrounded the galley during the early morning horn's. Mik wondered if this was some kind of natural effect, peculiar to the area of the ocean and the boat’s brass-coated construction, or if it was magic. Certainly the boat covered great distances in a very short time. Whether this was due to enchantment or to the dedication and training of the crew, Kingfisher's former captain could not fathom.

  Lord Kell treated his “guests” cordially that day, all save for Ula, whose gaze he avoided. Whispers among the galley's crew told the fugitives that Lady Kell's health remained in dire straits. Both Kell and the crew blamed Ula for this. “Unnecessarily brutal,” the crew whispered, but only when they thought the sea elf wasn't listening. Mik suspected that the warriors applied different standards to “outsiders” than they did to the Order of Brass.

  The dragon overflights continued during the second day. Most of the time the brass dragon watching them was Tanal- ish, Kell’s dragon escort. Once, though, Shimmer identified their “guardian” as Thrakdar—sponsor of the Order.

  “Probably wondering what's taking Kell so long,” Mik commented.

  “I'm sure he wants his pet warriors back,” Ula said slyly. She glanced toward Kell, sitting in the triarch's chair.

  A quick-moving squall blew through that night. It tossed the galley about and smashed lightning into the sea far too close to the brass-scaled ship. Lord Kell watched the storm carefully, and the crew on deck worked without their usual brass armor.

  The soaking annoyed Mik and his friends. Shimmer and Ula appeared not to notice or, at least, not to care.

  “I expect they’re used to being drenched, living underwater,” Trip said.

  Mik, Trip, and Karista huddled close together for warmth under their thin blankets that night.

  A spectacular golden sunrise quickly dried them the next morning. They rowed for several more hours, until Lord Kell finally had the crew back oars, bringing the trireme to a halt.

  “This isn’t Darthalla,” Ula said, scanning the ocean to the east.

  “Darthalla would take us too far off our course,” Kell replied. “My sister is failing, and needs better attention than we can give her aboard ship. I will loan you a ship’s boat, and you and your companions may continue on your own. Darthalla is not far, and you should be able to row there by day’s end.”

  “That wasn’t our agreement,” Ula said.

  “It will serve for honor’s sake,” Kell said. “My sister’s welfare is of more concern to me, at this moment, than you are.”

  “Will you be going to Jaentarth, then?” Shimmer asked.

  “Our course beyond this point is not your concern.”

  “Send Trip with us, then,” Mik said. “We’ll make sure that he gets to Alarl, if that’s your custom.”

  Lord Kell gazed carefully at Mik’s bearded face, then shook his head. “I do not think that will serve,” he said. “I will take him to Perch on Alarl, as soon as my sister is tended to.” He turned to Ula once more. “If you like, I will send rowers with you, to ferry you to Darthalla.”

  “The four of us can handle the oars,” Ula said. “Just the boat and some provisions will be fine.”

  Benthor Kell nodded and motioned his men to make the skiff ready. They had the small boat provisioned and hanging over the side, ready to launch, in less than fifteen minutes. Trip stood at the rail, looking forlorn.

  Mik kneeled down so he was face to face with his friend, and said in a low voice, “We’ll pick you up as soon as we can.”

  Trip nodded and extended his hand for Mik to shake.

  Mik pressed the diamond artifact into the kender’s palm. “Keep it safe until we come get you,” he said.

  Trip’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, Mik,” he said. “I won’t let you down.”

  Mik stood and clapped him on the shoulder. He slung his leg over the rail and climbed into the boat with Ula. Shimmer followed him.
Karista stood at the rail, glancing nervously from the tiny boat to Lord Kell, then back again.

  Jumping forward, she drew her borrowed sword and, with one mighty swing, hacked through the ropes supporting the skiff.

  Twenty

  Strange Seas

  The boat tumbled over the side and into the ocean. It hit with a huge splash, and the companions had to grab the skiffs gunwales to avoid being spilled over the side.

  Mik and Ula both cursed.

  Kingfisher’s former captain stared up at the rail and saw Karista Meinor gazing down on them.

  “I’m sorry, captain,” she said, “but this is where we part company.”

  “What in the names of the lost gods are you doing?” Mik asked angrily.

  “You know that my goals differ from yours,” Karista said. “Lord Kell’s justice will serve my needs better to that end than the court of any sea elf.”

  Ula stood up in the bow of the skiff and addressed the master of the brass ship directly. “Lord Kell,” she said. “I won the right to have this woman accompany me.”

  “That was when I believed you spoke on behalf of all

  involved,” Kell replied. “It seems, perhaps, that you do not speak for this particular shipwrecked soul.”

  “That wasn’t our agreement,” Ula said.

  “If you wish to protest my interpretation of the law, come with me to a neutral port and we will put the whole thing before a magistrate,” Lord Kell replied. His gray eyes flashed. “Of course, if you care to make it a matter of honor ...” He raised the point of his coral lance.

  “Let her go,” Mik whispered to Ula. “We don’t need her.”

  “But she knows about the treasure,” Ula whispered back. “If she should tell him ...”

  “It won’t do him any good without the Prophecy and the diamond key.”

  “It’s not worth fighting Benthor Kell for,” Shimmer whispered. “Not now.”

  Ula glanced from Mik to the bronze knight and back again. “You’re right,” she finally said. She remained standing as the skiff drifted away from the galley,

  “Treat Lady Meinor well, Lord Kell, or I shall hear of it,” she called back to the galley.

  “I’m sure you will,” Kell replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “but have no concern on that account.”

  “And Trip, too,” Mik added, as the kender waved at him. He tried to keep a straight face as a soldier’s purse found its way into one of Trip’s pockets.

  “The kender will be treated with the respect he merits,” Kell said stiffly.

  Mik held the lord’s eye and nodded slowly. “We’ll meet again one day,” he said.

  “I look forward to it,” Kell replied. “As I look forward to seeing Ula Landwalker again as well.”

  Ula spat into the ocean.

  Kell laughed and turned to his helmsmen and his drum- chanter. “Set oars, course south by southwest.” The crew of the galley responded immediately, and the trireme quickly pulled away from the skiff.

  Trip stood at the rail, cheerfully waving goodbye.

  Ula sat down in the skiff. “I need a rest.”

  Mik unshipped his oars and turned to Shimmer. “Well,” he said, “where are we headed?”

  Shimmer unshipped his oars. “Darthalla may not be the best place to start...”

  “For a number of reasons,” Ula put in. She leaned back against the skiff’s small gunwale, dipped a hand into the water and dribbled some over her face, then closed her eyes. “Recite the parts of the Prophecy after reaching the isles.”

  “I assume we’re sharing the treasure with your friend,” Mik said, looking over at Shimmer.

  “Equal shares,” Ula said, “to all those participating in the recovery.”

  “Trip as well, then,” Mik said.

  Ula nodded slowly. “If you insist. But remind me of the Prophecy, sailor.”

  Mik shipped his oars, closed his eyes, and let the rhythm of the waves bring the verses of the Prophecy back to him. Soon, he began to speak:

  “Blessed azure sea Cloudcapped mountainsides

  Verdant forests free

  Forestalled from evil tides

  Four keys beyond the gate

  Veiled batdements deep lie

  Bold wards to islands’ fate

  Span earth and sea and sky.”

  He recited more verses, ending with:

  “ ’Neath traversed azure wine

  Converse with hoary fates

  With tangled bones of vine

  To root Green key awaits ...”

  Mik took a deep breath and opened his eyes once more. “I think the first two stanzas are just singing the praises of the isles,” Mik said. “And the next refer to the power of the Veil.” “Amply demonstrated,” said Shimmer.

  “They also mention the treasure and the four keys needed to find it,” Mik continued. “Beyond that, though, I think you need to be a native or a scholar to make sense of it. I profess to be neither—but I’d hoped to solve it once we reached the isles.”

  “Lucky you fell in with some natives,” Ula said. “I think you’re right about the first four stanzas; island fish oil and building up the treasure. Kell, or his master, would be the ‘lord of brazen keep.’ The Order’s base on Berann is the home of brass dragons.”

  “I think that’s the key we already have,” Mik said, “the black diamond artifact.”

  Ula nodded.

  “ ‘Wisdom’s highest throne’ could be Aurialastican, on the Misty Isle,” Shimmer said. “Golden dragons dwell there.” “And the ‘hoary fates’ stanza probably means Darthalla— the undersea home of. . . my people,” Ula added.

  “Is there more to the Prophecy?” Shimmer asked. “You mentioned four keys. The one you have, the Dargonesti one, and the one on the Misty Isle makes three. That leaves one missing.” “I think Captain Vardan is holding some secrets back,” Ula said.

  “Just until I know you better,” Mik replied with a sly smile. “Where to first, the sea kingdom or the island of the golden dragons? What about Jaentarth? Could we hire a ship there?” Gazing south, he could just make out the big island, hovering mirage-like on the horizon.

  “Doubtful,” Shimmer said. “They have no deep water port” “Besides, we don’t want to run into Kell again if we can avoid him,” Ula said. “Chances are he’s stopping there for medical supplies to help his sister.”

  “Aurialastican is almost straight north,” Shimmer said. “But Darthalla is just a little way off course—and closer, too.” Ula sighed. “I’d rather put off my family reunion a bit longer, if you don’t mind.”

  “What’s a few more days of rowing between friends?” Mik said jovially. “North to Aurialastican it is.”

  They steered due north but soon discovered that though Lord Kell might have vanished from their sight, they had not vanished from his. Tanalish, Kell’s brass dragon escort, kept an eye on them from high in the air.

  Ula swore. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Kell is plotting some revenge once he’s spirited his sister to safety.” She wiped the sweat from her smooth, blue forehead and slacked off her oars for a moment. The sun was just dipping behind the clouds blanketing the western horizon, and all the placid sea looked gray and gloomy.

  Shimmer, sitting and resting in the skiffs stern, rubbed his left shoulder. “All we can do is keep rowing,” he said.

  “All right,” Ula said, with an edge of weariness. She glanced hack at Mik. “How’s that black diamond artifact, sailor? Keeping it safe?”

  “Actually, Trip’s holding onto it for us,” Mik said, pulling steadily on his oars.

  “What?” she asked angrily.

  “I gave it to him before we parted.”

  “Why in the deep blue seas did you do that?” Ula asked. “You know we need that key to claim the treasure.”

  Mik smiled. “That’s exactly why I gave it to him.”

  Ula threw up her hands in frustration, and her oars almost slipped over the side.

  Shim
mer chuckled. “He knows you well, Ula, for such a short acquaintance.”

  Ula sighed. “You’re right. I probably would have left the minnow behind. I’m fond of him, hut taking a kender on a treasure-finding voyage is crazy.”

  “Actually, he’s an expert treasure finder and a superb diver,” Mik said. “I trust Trip with my life.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Ula replied.

  She and Shimmer switched places at the oars. “I’ll spell you in an hour,” she said to Mik.

  Kingfisher's former captain nodded and kept rowing.

  Night cast long, indigo fingers over the ocean. The wind picked up from the west, and small whitecaps lapped at the skiffs sides. The rowing became progressively more difficult. They switched rowers frequently, and took a cold supper during their breaks. Kell had not given them die choicest of provisions, but no one complained, given the circumstances.

  “Another storm’s coming,” Shimmer said, gazing west.

  “Maybe it will pass us by,” said Ula.

  “I doubt it,” Mik replied. “Let’s keep rowing. We can always abandon the skiff if the seas get too rough.”

  Ula smiled. “Most humans fear the deep,” she said, “but not you.”

  “The sea’s been my life for a long time,” Mik said. “I’m comfortable above or below—with a little help.” He patted the enchanted fish amulet at his neck.

  The coming storm blotted out the stars, making the night black and chilly. Dismal fog swirled over the waves, dancing before the wind like wraiths anticipating a funeral.

  Ula peered into the darkness. “Which way to Aurialastican, Shimmer?” she asked.

  Shimmer turned his bronze-helmeted head from stem to stem. “We’re headed in the right direction, more or less. We’ve a long way to go, though.”

  Ula cursed. “I’d turn back for Jaentarth if I didn’t think we’d find Kell waiting for us.”

  “With peril ahead and astern,” Mik said, “perhaps we should take the shortest route.”