Osch and Akca whistled loudly and swam around in tight circles. Ben was afraid his harness was going to break with the strain. As he struggled to keep his balance, Ben tried to follow Brina with his eyes as the treg carried him off into the horizon. The orcas finally stopped circling and began to talk with one another in their language. They came to an agreement and turned and began to go back the way they had come.
“No,” Ben yelled. The orcas stopped. Ben tried to explain what he wanted. He wanted Akca and Osch to follow Brina, but he was not sure how much they understood. They listened attentively and then started to swim back the way they had come.
They had no sooner got started for the second time when a voice that was not Ben’s yelled out, “No!” It was Charla. Like Ben, she had a small pack with a short spear strapped to her back. Charla began to speak rapidly to the orcas in their language. They argued back and forth and then came to an understanding. Charla turned to Ben and said, “It is settled. Osch will go tell Lea Waterborn what happened. Akca will carry you to the human community and leave you where someone is sure to find you. I will follow Brina.”
“No. I want to go after Brina,” said Ben. “And besides, Lea Waterborn said to stay away from the humans.”
“That was before Brina was taken. The best place for you now is with other humans. A human alone on the sea with a war about to break out is not very safe. Someone better suited will be sent to help us get the crown back, and when things settle down you can be sent back to earth. If the Guardian does not send someone then Lea Waterborn will have to send some of our own people, which is what should have happened in the first place.”
“Lea Waterborn does not know you are here, does she?” Ben asked.
“That is not your concern.”
“You should go back to Fairwaters.”
“I’m not going back. Osch will tell Lea Waterborn what happened. I am going to rescue Brina.”
“I should go with you then,” Ben stated.
“There are two problems with that. First, I don’t want or need your help, and second, Akca wants to get rid of you as soon as possible. He was all for leaving you here, but I convinced him that Lea Waterborn would appreciate it if he took you to the human community.”
Ben looked around him. All he could see in every direction was water. The thought of being left here with nothing to keep him afloat was terrifying. Ben’s fear of water pushed every other thought from his mind. He made no further arguments.
Charla had not looked at him when she had said these last few words. She had told a lie. Akca had been willing to take Ben back to Lea Waterborn even though the Orca was tired of his burden; however, Charla had convinced him that the best thing to do was leave the boy in the care of humans. Charla had her own reasons for doing this. She had convinced Osch and Akca not to mention her presence and she did not want Ben to go back to the Watcher with tales of how Charla followed them. Charla wanted to find a way to prove herself to Lea Waterborn before she went back. Charla had asked to be the one to go with Ben, but the Watcher had said no. Thinking of the watcher’s words still brought angry tears to Charla’s eyes. The words still rang in her ears, “I am thinking of sending someone with Ben, but it will not be you. You are not ready now and I sometimes doubt whether you will ever be ready.”
What Charla did not know, is that Lea Waterborn guessed the missing mermaid had followed Ben and Brina. Lea Waterborn had thought of sending someone to bring the disobedient mermaid back, but decided against it. Lea Waterborn reasoned that sometimes it is a wild card that saves the day. And since the chance of success seemed slim, perhaps a wild card was a good idea. Lea Waterborn had a growing fear that she would not see Ben and Brina again.
Osch went one way, Charla another, and Akca and Ben traveled towards the human community. When it got dark Akca was to take Ben to a lily pad near the human settlement so that the humans could find him in the morning.
Akca swam quickly, too quickly. He wanted to be rid of the burden on his back as soon as possible. Akca and Ben arrived on the outskirts of the human community just as the sun was sinking out of sight. It was not dark enough.
Ben knew they were close when the enormous trees could be seen off if the distance. As they drew nearer there was other plant life: grasses, seaweed, and cork lily pads, all with roots deep in the sea. The trees were some of the biggest Ben had ever seen. Brina had told Ben that several families could live in the branches of the largest trees. He did not find it difficult to believe as they drew ever closer.
Akca headed for a lily pad on the other side of two small trees. He was just past the trees when disaster struck. Something heavy came down around the two of them. A voice somewhere above yelled, “Here! Come quick! Jared and I have something. I think we’ve caught a mer.”
Akca dove down into the water. He had to make his escape quickly. The humans had thrown a net over them. Weights on the outer edges made it sink down when it was thrown. As soon as the net was thrown a rope was pulled, closing the bottom of the net. Akca might have escaped, had Ben not been strapped to his back. The extra weight slowed him down.
Ben fumbled to find the release on the harness. When he finally found it, the harness came off Akca and fell through the ever shrinking hole at the bottom of the net. Ben bobbed up to the surface and grabbed one of the buoys that kept the net from sinking. Akca sought to escape through the closing net, but it was too late. The net had been drawn tight and there was no escape.
The first voice was joined by others. “Let’s see what you have there, Ratore.” Hand over hand three humans pulled the net towards them. Ben did not try to talk. He had enough trouble just holding onto the buoy and keeping his head above water as the net was dragged in. The part of the net Ben was tangled in reached the cork lily pad and the three humans pulled him onto it.
Harbo, an older man with a receding hairline said, “This ain’t no mer. It has legs.”
“I tell you, I saw a fish tail,” Ratore stated firmly.
“Jared, bring the lamp so we can see what we have here,” Harbo instructed.
Jared, a boy about Ben’s age, brought a lamp and held it up so that the three humans could get a good look at Ben. They saw a boy with dark hair and brilliant green eyes, eyes that had a mingled look of fear and relief in them.
Ratore, a young muscular man said, “I swear I saw a fish tail. Maybe we’ve caught ourselves a changeling.” With those words Ratore’s voice became very harsh and he appeared ready to strike Ben with an oar he picked up.
Ben choked out the words, “not…a…changeling.”
“There’s something else in the net,” Jared piped in.
“Pull it in,” said Harbo. “Let’s find out what it is.”
They left Ben tangled in the net as they dragged the rest of it up onto the lily pad. “See, what did I tell you?” Ratore said, as they dragged the struggling orca out of the water, “A mer fish friend. We have caught a changeling.” Ratore appeared ready to bash Ben’s brains out with the oar.
“I’m not a changeling!” Ben said strongly. Ben knew from the tone in Ratore’s voice that a changeling was not a good thing to be in the present company.
“That’s for the council to decide,” Harbo stated with finality.
Ben started to explain who he was. “I am…,” Ben began, but then hesitated. I am a chosen sent to this world from another. Yeah right. He wasn’t sure he believed that. I came through a door that links your world to mine. Definitely, not believable. The two men and the boy stared down at him. Their faces showed their growing suspicion.
Akca flopped about in the net and made a high pitched squealing sound. Ratore said, “Tell your fish friend to be quiet or we’ll cut his throat here and now. At least we’ll eat well tonight.” Akca either understood what was said or guessed by the note of threat in Ratore’s voice. He was quiet and stopped flopping.
Harbo grunted, “We have never eaten the mer fish friends before. It is part of the agreement between the mer and us.
However, tonight, the council might make an exception. Food is becoming scarce. There are some hungry people in our Treehold. All of us will soon be starving if that crown is not found and returned.”
Ratore tied Ben’s hands and feet none too gently while Harbo untangled him from the net. Ratore tied a rope around Akca’s snout, but left the fish in the net. Jared brought over a large canoe shaped boat. Ratore and Harbo dragged the net into the boat. It was not an easy task for the fish weighed at least three hundred pounds. As Jared held the boat steady, they dumped Akca into the bottom of it. Ratore and Harbo picked Ben up and threw him in on top of Akca.
They had not traveled far when the sound of humans living together was heard. There was talking and laugher, arguments and tears, children playing and people working. The same kind of sounds can be heard when you walk down an Earthen street on a hot summer day.
The boat bumped up against something solid and Jared jumped out. He tied the boat and steadied it as Harbo rolled Ben out of the boat onto a lily pad. Ratore and Harbo dragged Akca out of the boat and left the fish on the lily pad tangled in the net.
“Ratore, you and I will take the stranger to the council,” said Harbo. “Jared will stay here and guard the mer friend.”
“There’s no point in carrying the changeling when he has two good legs,” said Ratore. He used a knife to cut the rope around Ben’s legs. He was none too careful and a line of blood appeared on Ben’s left leg. Ben bit his lip and glared at Ratore.
Jared and Harbo stood Ben up. Ben had longed to have something solid under his feet, but now found that his legs would not hold him up. He’d been in the water a long time, with little to eat since breakfast. But to be honest it was fear that made Ben’s legs weak. What was he going to say to this council to convince them that he was not a changeling?”
As Harbo and Ratore led Ben away he looked over his shoulder at Akca. The fish was clearly in distress. Obviously he could not stay out of the water long. Ben said, “Akca needs to be in the water. He might die if you leave him there.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Ben knew they were a mistake. He had just convinced the three humans that he was a traitor or a changeling. He knew the Orca by name.
Ratore said, “Good! We’ll eat tonight then. In fact if the fish doesn’t die on its own, I might help it on its way. How do you like that Changeling?” Ratore punched Ben on the shoulder. Ben stumbled and fell. Tears came to Ben’s eyes as he gasped in pain. Harbo shook his head and helped Ben up.
“Ratore, run ahead and ring the bell to call the council to convene,” Harbo instructed. I can handle this boy alone.” Harbo gave Ratore a meaningful look that communicated that he did not approve of the muscular Ratore beating up on someone weaker. Ratore sprinted up the six steps that led up from the lily pad to a walkway made of wooden slats. Harbo led Ben along the swaying walkway. Harbo held on Ben’s arm, which helped Ben keep his balance. There was a rope available for that purpose, but Ben could not hold it as he hands were still tied.
By now the sun was gone. A large moon hung low in the sky. A second moon was rising out of the east. Together the two moons gave enough light to see the path. Ben could see that several paths intersected the one they were on. From the trees Ben could hear the murmur of voices. Occasionally a soft glow filtered down through the branches.
Harbo and Ben had just turned to the right when a bell rang. They made two more turns before they reached a path with an upward slope. Dark shapes moved ahead of them, behind them, and along the other paths that converged at the meeting hall. In front of them light shone through the branches of trees. They passed between two tall trees and arrived at a large platform that was covered by a roof. A wall went as far up as a grown man’s waist. From the top of the wall to the roof the meeting place was open. The roof was supported by trees, as was the platform on which they stood. There was a door on each of the four sides of the platform. People streamed through each door and were filling the benches that went around three sides of the meeting place. There was a row of nine chairs at the front, where people had gathered and were talking to Ratore. Harbo pushed Ben towards them. When they arrived, the nine community elders took their seats and Ben stood before them with Ratore on side of him and Harbo on the other side.
8 To Tell the Truth
“You have called the council together. What reason do you give?” a short plump man with a fringe of hair around his bald head intoned. All eyes were on Ben as these words were spoken. They were a formality. Everyone knew Ben was the reason the council had been called.
“Ratore, Jared and I were fishing on the outskirts of our village,” Harbo responded. “We fished all day and caught almost nothing. We decided to stay out longer than normal. Ratore and Jared heard something. They threw their net. In it we caught this boy. He was in the company of a mer companion fish.” At these words murmurs arose from those sitting in the benches.
“I think we caught a changeling spy,” Ratore stated firmly. “Why else would a fish bring him here as it grows dark?”
The murmurs grew louder. Words of affirmation could be heard in the crowd.
The man who had spoken earlier looked at Ben, “What is your name and what do you have to say for yourself?”
“My name is Benjamin Taylor and I am not a changeling spy. What I am is shipwrecked and lost. The fish decided to help me for some reason.”
“Why would a mer companion fish help a human on the eve of a war?” an elder asked.
“I have no idea,” Ben said.
Ratore interjected, “He knows the fish by name. How would he know the fish by name if he were not really a mer, who only appears human?”
The murmur from the benches grew louder. “A changeling!” Voices throughout the meeting hall began to call for Ben’s death.
For a moment the council leader said nothing. Then he said, “Let’s hear from the boy himself. How do you know the name of the fish?”
Ben groaned. Akca had not looked well when they left him. If something was not decided soon the fish would die. So Ben said, “I will tell you everything after you let Akca go. Akca needs to be back in the water soon or he will die.”
“The fish will not be going anywhere until we find out who you are and what you are doing here,” responded the man. “Then, we will see. You haven’t told us how you know this fish by name.”
Ben should have known that he’d have to answer questions, which meant he was in trouble as he’d never been a good liar. What could he possibly tell the council that they would believe? Finally, Ben settled on the truth, “I have come from another world. I was sent here to help you recover the crown so that a war with the mer can be averted.”
At that the whole group did exactly what Ben thought they would do. They laughed. A voice said, “I think we’ve caught a turtle with a cracked shell. Maybe he’s been out in the sun too long.”
One of the other council members said, “Maybe he was sent away from his own Treehold because he caused too much trouble with his wild stories and lies.” Other voices expressed their agreement.
The spokesperson said, “It could be that he is a criminal trying to escape punishment in his own Treehold. But I think it is more likely that he is a changeling come to spy on us. Otherwise, why would he arrive at night? Whatever this Benjamin Taylor is I intend to find out even if it takes all night.”
Ben thought of how he disappeared in Miss Templeton’s office and wished he could do that now. There was a collective gasp as his wish was granted. Then everyone started talking at once.
The council leader’s voice yelled, “Quiet everyone! Guard the exits! Quick!”
Ben stepped back from where he stood between Harbo and Ratore and then stepped sideways. He stepped forward through two council members and stood behind the now vacant row of chairs as people ran to each of the three doors. People milled around the meeting room, checking under benches and in corners and behind chairs. Ben stood close to the council leader’s chair and used his
teeth to loosen the knotted rope around his wrists. It would have been easier if he could see his wrists and the rope that held them tight. However, he was invisible not only to others, but also to himself. Twice he had to move to avoid a searcher.
“What kind of trick is this?” said a voice beside Ben. “He has disappeared. He is not here.” Ben sidled away and slipped between two chairs.
“Perhaps he’s gone to rescue his fish friend,” said the leader of the council. “Harbo will stay here to tell us everything that happened.” The leader pointed to two men, “You two go with Ratore. Guard the Orca in case the outsider tries to help his fish friend. The rest of you fan out and search the entire community. When the outsider is found we will ring the bell and gather back here.”
When Ratore left, Ben followed them. He knew that he would never find his own way back to where Akca was in the dark; maybe not even in daylight. The village was a warren of paths that led every which way. Ben gave up trying to get the rope off with his teeth. It was hard enough to keep his balance on the swaying walkway. He resumed working on the knot when they arrived at the cork pad where Akca was in clear distress. Ben stood on the walkway above the steps and watched the three Lushakan humans he had been following go down to the lily pad to talk to Jared.
“The outsider has escaped. Have you seen him?” Ratore asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone,” said Jared. “How did he get away?”
“He disappeared from the meeting place. One minute he was there and the next he was gone. We all had our eyes on him. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He’s not here,” Jared said, looking around. “At least, I don’t think he is.”
“He was real concerned about this fish and I think he might want to help it,” Ratore stated.
“He was right about the Orca,” Jared said. “It’s not doing so well. It needs to be in water. Did the council say anything about it? Can we release it now?” There was a note of hope in the last question.
Ben the Dragonborn Page 6
