Ben the Dragonborn

by Dianne E Astle

  Charla ended their conversation when she said, “Thank you, Jared, for saving my life. Please consider your obligation cancelled,” Charla paused and then continued, “After all, a mer life is worth the life of at least three tree apes.”

  Jared said, “That’s not the way I see it. In fact if you look at it that way I would have to save your life a dozen more times before my obligation is paid in full.”

  The path brought them to a clearing. Before them was a waterfall that fell down the side of a sheer high cliff into a pond below. Charla ran towards the pond and dove in. She quickly disappeared from sight. Ben and Jared walked a bit further on and drank from the waterfall.

  Charla surfaced. Her tail slapped the water. The splash soaked Jared. Charla laughed before disappearing under the water again. When Charla reappeared, her face had lost some of the strained look it had taken on during their walk through the forest. Ben touched Jared’s wet arm and said, “Perhaps we can rest here for a little while before we continue on.”

  Jared quickly agreed. The battle with the spider had taken its toll and he was tired.

  “What’s up?” Charla said as she surfaced in front of Ben and Jared.

  “A rest,” Jared replied.

  Relief passed over Charla’s face, but all she said was, “Well, if you two are tired then I think it wise that we rest.” Charla tossed two fish at Jared and Ben and then disappeared back into the water.

  Ben took off his shoes, dropped his pack and walked into the pond fully clothed. When the water was waist deep, he dipped himself into the water several times to rid his hair and clothing of the spider guts that still clung to him. Jared had the fish filleted when Ben returned. This time he never stopped to think about the fact that he was eating raw fish; in fact he was rather looking forward to it.

  All the rest Charla needed was to be in her mer form, so she explored the pond and the waterfall. After Ben finished eating he walked along the stream where the water got shallower. Where the ground was soft he found two sets of human footprints. Overtop them were the footprints left by some very large animals. It was the same footprints that Ben had seen in the forest. Each animal foot had six toes with long sharp claws. Ben crossed over to the other side of the stream and searched for the place where the humans came out of the water. He did not find it. So he came back over to the side where Jared lay sleeping and searched that side. He found no human footprints leaving the water at all. Ben did find the footprints of several large six toed animals coming to the water and leaving it.

  When Charla returned Ben said, “It’s time for us to go. I’ll wake Jared.”

  “If you must,” Charla said, with a look of distaste on her face.

  Ben was crouching beside Jared to shake him awake when a treg screamed overhead. Jared was instantly awake and they both scrambled underneath some low-hanging branches. Charla pulled herself along the bottom of the stream towards deeper water. The treg had seen Charla. It dove towards her. The treg was almost on top of Charla when she reached water that was deep enough to hide in. Jared and Ben held their breath and watched as the treg missed his prey. It screeched, rose into the air and circled overhead.

  .

  13. THE UGLIES COMETH

  The three companions sat on the ground, under the thick branches of a tree. They looked anxiously at the sky as they discussed their options.

  “Did you see any sign that Gill was here?” asked Jared.

  “I don’t know if it was your brother, but there were two humans here,” Ben stated.

  “One is…gone..., Jared paused a long time, then said. “One of those footprints belongs to my brother. Gill’s the best there is.”

  “Which way did they go?” Charla asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ben stated flatly, unsure of whether to tell Jared about the vanishing footprints. Finally he said, “I lost their trail, but there is a path on the other side that runs alongside the cliff into the forest. It might take us to the top.” Ben pointed to the top of the cliff.

  “The trees should hide us from the tregs once we get across the river. But we will need to move quickly.” Jared stated.

  The three companions crossed to the other side of the stream and walked along the bank towards the trail that ran alongside the cliff. There were many obvious signs that the six-toed creatures came often to the pool in front of the waterfall. There were footprints everywhere that came out of the forest to the pool and then led back into the forest.

  “I think we should…,” Ben began. His sentence was cut off by the bellow of an animal in the forest behind them. Something was coming along the trail they had walked that morning.

  Emerging from the forest, were two large creatures that looked for all the world like something out of earth’s prehistoric past. They were large, hairless gray animals. Each had a tail tipped with two spikes. They were about the size of an elephant, but had an alligator shaped jaw from which several large teeth protruded. The only things small about them were their eyes, which is perhaps why they failed to see the three companions.

  The two creatures nosed the place where Jared had fallen asleep. They clawed at the ground. Rocks, grass and dirt flew through the air until there was a small mound behind each of them. When they found nothing one of them gave a mournful bellow. The bellow was answered by one in the forest in front of the companions, on the same side of the river they were now on. Something in the forest began to crash through the trees towards them. The ones across the stream looked up and saw the three companions for the first time.

  “They are coming from both sides,” Ben said, his voice hoarse. He looked around, desperate for some escape route. “Maybe we can climb the cliff.” The three took a few quick steps towards it. It was very shear, with few handholds. It would be no problem for Ben with his octopus ability, and perhaps he could help one other person up, but the one left on the ground would certainly be dead.

  Charla looked from the creatures to the cliff and lost her balance, because her legs began their transformation back into a fish tail. Ben did not see her transformation. His eyes were on the cliff he was anxious to climb. Jared, however, saw what was happening to Charla.

  “My turn,” Jared said, as he grabbed Charla around the waist, threw her over his shoulder and sprinted towards the pond. Jared jumped into the water carrying Charla, and the two of them disappeared momentarily from sight.

  When they surfaced, Charla called, “Come this way Ben. You’ll be safe under the waterfall.” Ben stood undecided. He looked at the water, the cliff and the animals. He considered leaving Charla and Jared to take their chances in the water while he climbed the cliff. He could climb the cliff in no time. Could he really leave them? He would be safe, but Jared and Charla might not be. The creatures might be good swimmers. Would they be safe in the water?

  Jared called, “Come on Ben.” Ben’s feet were moving towards the water even as his mind was telling him that the best escape for him was to climb the cliff. When he reached the edge of the water, he stopped. He stepped back and turned towards the cliff, just as a fourth creature came from the trail they had planned to take. It was closer to the cliff than Ben. It was no longer possible to escape that way even if he wanted to. Ben stepped back and then took a running jump into the water. He sank, but two hands reached down and pulled him to the surface.

  “Now what?” he gasped, his feet kicking frantically.

  “The waterfall,” said Charla. We’ll be safe from the uglies behind it.”

  “Uglies?” Jared asked.

  “Do you have a better name for them?” Charla moved behind Ben and slipped her arms around his chest. “Relax,” she said. “I will take you to the waterfall.”

  Relaxing is not something Ben was capable of doing in water, but he slowed his frantic kicking and let Charla drag him towards the waterfall. From his position Ben saw two of the creatures enter the water where he had just been standing. When the waterfall hit his face, Ben began to struggle, but Charla held him tight. From the
backside of the waterfall the three turned and looked through the water to see that the four large creatures had all entered the water and were swimming towards them.

  “What are we going to do?” Jared asked.

  “There’s a cave,” Charla replied.

  “Where?” Ben said, scanning the rock wall behind the waterfall.

  “Underwater,” Charla replied.

  “Wait a minute,” Jared said. “Ben and I don’t do underwater caves. We don’t come equipped with gills.” Ben struggled in Charla’s arms, a horrified look on his wet face.

  Charla tightened her grip and said, “The underwater passageway opens into a cave where you will be able to breathe air.” Then she added, “You can do what you like tree ape, but if you stay here I predict an untimely end to your miserable life. Ben and I are leaving here now. If you know what’s good for you, you will follow me. Breathe Ben,” Charla commanded.

  “No…wait…I,” Ben began. Charla ignored him. “Breathe,” she commanded again. Ben managed to fill his lungs just before Charla dragged him underwater.

  Charla dragged Ben down the rock wall behind the falls until they came to a narrow opening. Ben kicked his legs and did his best to move himself in the direction Charla was dragging him. Jared followed. As they entered the cave, Ben’s sense of panic grew. Not only was he underwater, but he was underwater in the dark. Being underwater in the dark was the very dream that haunted Ben. Wild thoughts raced through his mind. But the real question was whether Charla knew how long a human being could stay underwater before needing to breathe.

  In the darkness of the underwater cave it was impossible to tell whether they were going up or down, left or right. Ben and Jared were not able to see, but Charla, being mer was able to see her way in the almost total darkness. Ben was weak with fear and had come to the end of his ability to hold his breathe when they emerged into a small pond in the middle of a dark cave. Charla pushed Ben out of the water and up onto the rock and then watched anxiously for Jared to appear. On his hands and knees, Ben spit out water, gasping and coughing. He hardly heard Charla when she said, “I’ll go look for the tree ape.” Charla disappeared into the water and Ben was alone in the dark cave.

  Charla moved quickly through the underwater passage. She made her way back to the waterfall but did not see Jared. She popped her head out of the cave and saw that one of the uglies was behind the waterfall. She turned around and swam back along the passage, running her hands along the rock as she went. She came to a place where a passage led to the left, a passage she had missed earlier. It was here that she found Jared. He had breathed out the last of his air. Charla put her lips over Jared’s. She breathed in through the gills behind her ears and breathed out through her mouth. Jared clutched at her arms, terrified that she would take her life-giving lips away. Charla maneuvered Jared out of the dead-end passage and dragged him to where she had left Ben.

  Ben watched the pond anxiously. Relief flooded through Ben when he saw the water swirl and Jared’s head appear. Charla held Jared while his strength returned. Then she supported him as he feebly climbed out of the water.

  “In a little while I’ll go see if the uglies are still at the waterfall,” said Charla, her voice shaking slightly.

  Ben lay back and closed his eyes. He was horrified at the thought of going through the dark underwater passage again. When he opened his eyes, he looked at the ceiling and could clearly see a narrow opening from which a dim light shone.

  “That may not be necessary,” Ben said as he sat up. “I may be able to climb through that crevice and look over the cliff.”

  Ben took off his sneakers and stood up. He banged his head against the top of the cave and promptly sat down again. When the pain subsided, Ben stood up more carefully and walked hunched over to the crevice, where he stood up without banging his head. He firmly attached his hands to the rock, and pulled himself up until he could attach the suction cups on his feet.

  It was an easy climb, at least for someone with suction cups on his hands and feet. The crevice did not come straight down from the surface, but angled off to the right at a steep angle. Ben was about halfway up when he heard Charla sob, “Lea Waterborn is right. I’m not ready. I can’t maintain my transformation when I am afraid. I should never have come.”

  He could hear Jared voice murmur a response, but he did not catch the words.

  When Ben reached the top he was in a shallow cave that opened towards the forest. Ben walked out of the cave towards the stream that tumbled over the edge to become the waterfall they had seen from below. When he got close to the stream he dropped on his hands and knees and crawled until he could lay down with his head hanging over the edge of the cliff. He could see the pond below. One of the uglies was swimming back and forth in front of the waterfall. Another was just leaving the water. Another was on shore digging at the spot where the three companions had last stood. A fourth was looking up at him as he looked down at it. The creature’s gaze unnerved Ben and he pushed himself back. As he did so, Ben dislodged a rock. It caught other loose rocks on the way down. Ben moved forward again to see what was happening.

  The ugly came forward and sniffed the rock that Ben had knocked over the edge. It bellowed and charged towards the rock wall. Ben froze. His mind told him those things could not climb a sheer cliff, but he still held his breath in fear. He watched the ugly charge the cliff at full speed right where the rocks had come down. The ugly hit the rock wall hard and fell down. It thrashed about and then got back on its feet where it swayed back and forth. “Dumb as nails,” Ben muttered.

  The other three came and stood beside the one that had rammed the cliff. They nosed all over the area where the ugly had charged, particularly the rock that Ben’s hand had rested on. Then they looked up to the top of the cliff. Ben did not think they saw him for there was no bellow. Three of the uglies turned and lumbered off along the trail that the three companions had planned to take. The fourth ugly, still recovering from hitting solid rock followed at a slower and somewhat erratic pace.

  Ben rolled over in time to see a treg swooping down on him. Its claws stretched out to pick him off the cliff. If Ben had waited three seconds more before rolling over it would have had him. As it was, the treg was closing its claws on empty air a moment after Ben had rolled away. Ben lay still on the ground with his invisibility turned on. He could not remember if birds had good hearing or a good sense of smell. If it was a good sense of smell then Ben should move quickly, but if it was an acute sense of hearing then he should lay still and try to keep his breathing slow and quiet. Ben could have reached out his hand and touched the bird, but he did not move a muscle. He lay still and looked at the treg. The treg peered around intently, cocking its bald red head one way and then another, listening for a sound to tell it which way its prey had gone. Ben lay still and did not move. The treg was big. It was as tall as he was. The treg’s beak was curved and sharp. It was the beak of a predator.

  The treg must have heard a suspicious noise. It turned towards Ben and looked directly at him, cocking its head this way and that. Ben held his breath even when he saw something he never expected to see. The treg was wearing a collar.

  The treg turned away, walked towards the cliff edge and jumped off as it stretched its wings. It caught the air currents and rose high up into the air. Its shadow passed over Ben and it flew back towards the center of the island, where it landed on a rock outcropping. It turned in Ben’s direction and stood like a sentinel, watching for any movement on the mountain.

  14. ENEMY OR FRIEND

  The stream came from the center of the island. It came out of the heart of a volcanic cone. Over the years it had cut a deep, narrow ravine into the volcanic rock at the top of the mountain. Between the ravine and the waterfall was a rocky hillside on which only a few stunted trees grew. The distance between the ravine and the waterfall was approximately a quarter-mile. It was not far, but the tregs would see anything moving across the hillside.

  Ben took o
ut his knife and cut down four small leafy trees. He took them to the mouth of the cave and then went back down the crevice. When Ben returned to the underground cave he was surprised by what he saw. Charla and Jared were sitting by the pond. Jared’s arm was around Charla and her head was resting on his shoulder. As soon as Ben hit the ground with a thud they moved apart.

  There was an embarrassed silence. Then Charla said, “Are the uglies still there?”

  “No. They’ve gone.”

  “Then we can leave,” Charla said as she dropped into the dark water.

  Ben shuddered and said, “Not that way. The crevice leads to the top of the waterfall. The uglies have taken the path we were going to take. They can’t see well, but they have an acute sense of smell. They knew I was above them, and I think they are coming this way.”

  “We’re no match for one ugly, let alone four,” stated Jared. “And Charla is…”

  “Charla is what, tree ape?” the mermaid demanded.

  “It is clear,” said Jared, “that each hour we spend on land gets harder for you. How long will you be able to keep your transformation?”

  “Worry about yourself. I can go on as long as I need to,” Charla stated in a strong voice, then after a slight pause, she said quietly, “I hope.”

  Ben said, “Neither of you need to come. You two can head back to sea. I’m the one the Guardian chose; there is no need for the two of you to risk your lives.”

  “I’m coming with you,” said Jared. “My dream said that I would go to the top of the mountain. I need to get to Gill before it’s too late.”

  “Charla could stay here till we come back,” Ben said, “and if we don’t come back in a day try to make her way back to the sea.”

  “Forget it,” said Charla.

  “I agree with Charla,” Jared stated.

  “You do?” Charla said, clearly surprised. “At least we agree on something, tree…” Charla stopped speaking in mid-sentence. She then repeated herself, “At least we agree on something...Jared.”