by Sam Ferguson
Ziegler huffed and looked to Deltys. “Not just us,” he said. “You’re coming too.”
Deltys balked. “No, Larkyn has more trolls with him, I’m sure of it.”
Ziegler smiled wide. “If there is one thing we are good at exterminating, it’s trolls.”
CHAPTER 13
The group was back on the raft and heading downriver just as quickly as they could forage for equipment and food. Deltys spent his time cutting small sticks into poles and gathering thin, long vines. Ziegler found him a sword and the mercenary grudgingly put it on and followed them out to the raft, though he didn’t look all that pleased about being part of the group.
They navigated the river as best they could with their raft, doing their best to steer clear of large rocks jutting out from the waters. Deltys made use of himself by fishing. He cut the poles he had brought along so that the front was a tri-pronged spear, complete with barbs carved out of the wood. On the back end of each pole, he cut through the wood just enough to slip the vine in and tie it around the pole.
Jonathan watched as Deltys walked to the back of the raft, one spear in his right hand and the rest he dropped by his feet. The mercenary tied the loose end of the vine to his right wrist, and then he lifted the spear and peered into the water for some time. Suddenly, he launched the spear into the water. The raft drifted downriver so fast that the slack in the vine was pulled tight in a couple of seconds. A fish came up to the surface, splashing and thrashing about.
“There’s one,” Deltys commented as he began to pull the vine in. He dragged the fish and spear out of the water and then turned to Jonathan. “Get me one of the backpacks,” he said.
“Not mine,” Jason commented wryly. “I am not about to carry fish around in my bag.”
“Here,” Ruben said as he emptied a leather bag of fruit. “We can redistribute the fruit to other bags and we can store the fish in here.”
“It’s only for a little while,” Deltys promised. “Just until we stop for the day. Then we can cook the fish and clean out the bag.”
Jonathan smirked, doubting very much that washing the bag in the river would rid it of the fishy smell that was sure to develop throughout the day. He took the bag once Ruben emptied it, and then went to work pulling the wriggling fish from the spear. He placed it into the bag and watched it gasp for breath while it twitched twice more.
There was another splash, and Deltys reeled in a second fish. This one was slightly larger than the first, nearly two feet long. It had a brown stripe along its otherwise silvery side with black spots over the spine and fins. Jonathan stayed near the bag, retrieving the fish from the spear and putting them into the bag. He and Deltys spent the entire first half of the day filling the bag with fish. It helped the time pass a lot faster than just sitting upon the raft, watching the forest pass by.
Around the middle of the afternoon, Ziegler steered the raft in to shore and they made camp for lunch.
“I’m hungry,” Ziegler had said just before locating a gentle eddy to pull into. “I could use more than bread and fruit, too.”
Ruben and Miranda set about gathering wood and building a proper fire. Jason went around cutting saplings to make roasting spits with so they wouldn’t have to use the spears Deltys had made. Jonathan drew the thankless job of cleaning the fish.
He didn’t mind it so much. It was just that afterward his hands would feel so slimy, and it would take a lot of effort to clean them off. He always hated that part about fishing. Catching and eating them was just fine, but he sometimes wished the fish could come up from the water already clean and ready to fry. He tossed the guts back into the river and then slipped a roasting stick through the mouth and into the tail of each clean fish. Jason would take each fish as soon as it was ready and carry it toward the already crackling fire, and soon the smell of cooking fish filled the little camp.
Once Jonathan had finished his task, he rubbed his hands vigorously in the river, and then turned to a large fern to scrape of the remaining grime and blood. It didn’t work as well as he had hoped. The fern leaves were fragile, and ended up breaking and sticking to his hands, along with their little brown seeds. Jonathan went back to the water and dunked his hands and forearms in again. He used his nails to scrape and pull the muck off of him. Trails of slimy fern leaves wriggled out into the current and were pulled away from him down the river as he continued to scrub and scrape.
Finally satisfied that he was clean, he pulled his hands out of the water and turned toward camp. However, as he walked and the air moved around his hands, he could feel that he had missed some spots. He looked down and saw a mess of slime and fish scales clinging to the underside of his right wrist. He sighed and went back to the river a third time.
This was exactly why he hated cleaning fish. The very phrase itself was an oxymoron.
After the third wash, he wiped his hands on his trousers, no longer caring to keep his clothes clean. After all, he would be wading out into the river again after lunch. Better to let the fish goop cling to the pant legs than his hands.
He walked back to the fire and Jason held out a slightly charred trout for him.
“Thanks,” Jonathan said with a nod.
“Better catch up,” Jason warned. “Most of us have already had two or three.”
Jonathan took the fish and ignored his brother’s baiting. He bit into the crisp skin and flaky meat and his stomach awoke with a hunger Jonathan had not even realized was there. He devoured the fish, barely tasting the thing before all that was left was a rather intact skeleton on a stick. Jonathan tossed that to the side and took a second fish. This time he slowed down enough to enjoy the food, smiling at it as he ate. The meat was thick and good. Had he been at home, Memaw would have prepared it with her spices and a hint of lemon rind, but it tasted just fine as it was.
After the meal, Jonathan and Jason laid back on the ground and stretched out. Had they not been in such a hurry, the two would have likely taken a nap, as they often did after lunches in the fields back home, but Ziegler was up and ready to break down camp the moment he finished his last bite.
“Douse the fire, gather the equipment,” he said.
Jonathan and Jason slowly rose up from their spots and started to gather their things when they heard a voice from the river.
It was an elf, and he was speaking in Taish.
The group went for their weapons, but Deltys was quick to put them at ease. “This is Ryrden, he is the river captain I was telling you about,” the mercenary said.
Jonathan turned to see a rather large barge coming up the river against the current. There were a few barrels on the deck, but otherwise the boat was empty. As the aft portion came into view, Jonathan saw a strange, very short, elf. Tufts of white hair stood straight out from the elf’s head around the ears and over the scalp, but it wasn’t long like all the other elves Jonathan had seen. Apparently, this elf had also traded in the slender facial features of most elves for a big, bulbous nose. He wore simple clothing of brown and green fabric, and was furiously working some sort of contraption with his feet while he steered the barge with a large wheel.
Deltys walked to the bank and waved at him.
Ryrden turned the barge around and brought the bow toward the shore. Jonathan watched Ziegler, waiting to see what he would decide about Ryrden before offering to help pull the barge in to shore. Deltys, on the other hand, jumped into the shallow water and used his hands to guide the barge up and onto the sandy bank.
Ryrden said something in Taish, and Deltys nodded and then pointed to the group.
“These are my friends,” Deltys said in Common Tongue.
Ryrden walked to the front of the barge and hopped off, landing upon dry ground and then moved up alongside Deltys. “Deltys, the last time we met, you were with a band of young Svetli’Tai.” The diminutive elf looked up at Deltys. “Where are they now? Did you all find the fortune you sought?”
Deltys’ eyes lost their sparkle and he frowned and shoo
k his head.
“Where was it you all were going?” Ryrden asked. “You went to Sohn, right? Did you fare well out there hiring on with the sea captains?”
“Jeryn died that winter fighting against the merfolk,” Deltys said. “Huryn died the following spring when the ship was overtaken by a terrible storm.”
“Oh, Deltys, I am sorry to hear that.” Ryrden reached up and patted Deltys’ arm.
Deltys nodded. “We quit the seafaring life then,” Deltys said.
Ryrden nodded thoughtfully. “Decided better to go home, did you?” Ryrden asked.
Deltys shook his head. “We went north. We hired on with a nobleman in Telward for some time. Then we moved on out toward Inghali, in search of greater fortune and fame.”
“No!” Ryrden gasped. “You hired out to those, those, degenerate Pes’Tai!” Ryrden wagged an accusing finger at Deltys.
Deltys smirked and nodded. “We spent many years fighting against the Kratii. We made good coin. Diryk retired and settled down back in Telward. Geori also retired and went to Tirnog.”
“And what about your cousin, Dorliit?”
Deltys frowned. “Killed just recently by a troll.”
“A troll?” Ryrden asked skeptically. “Where in Scale Valley did you come upon trolls?”
Deltys shook his head and recounted how they had been hired on with a larger group of mercenaries to help Larkyn. From the expression on Ryrden’s face, Jonathan could see that the river captain had heard of Larkyn, but had obviously never heard of his crimes. Ryrden’s eyes filled with tears by the time Deltys was done, and then the river captain bent down to kneel upon one knee to Ziegler.
“Kind sir, I am in your everlasting debt,” Ryrden said.
Ziegler glanced around and then bent down to lift Ryrden up.
Ryrden smiled and looked to Ziegler with big, blue eyes and smiled. “Deltys is like a nephew to me,” he said. “When he was younger, he used to work the river with me. I taught him how to spear fish, and he helped me fill my barrels with all the fish you could ever eat.”
Ziegler smiled back and looked to Deltys. “We are just happy we got to him in time, and sorry we couldn’t save the others from their terrible fate.”
“Deltys was only thirteen the first time I saw him on the banks of this river. He was orphaned, his mother having died in childbirth and his father abandoned him in the woods. He spent ten years with me on this river. I took him in as one of my own,” Ryrden said with tears in his eyes. “As he grew, he spent less and less time with me in Neez, and began making his own way in the larger cities.”
“But I would come back and visit every few summers,” Deltys said.
Ryrden nodded. “Until that summer more than five decades ago,” the river captain said. “Come, we shall feast in Neez tonight. The others will be excited to see you have returned.”
“I’m afraid that will have to wait until later,” Ziegler said. “We need to make our way to Sierryn as quickly as possible.” He gestured to the barge then and asked, “How fast can that go?”
Ryrden smiled wide. “That there is the finest ship to move upon these waters. I can have you to Trivilk in less than a day.”
“That’s several hundred miles from here,” Ruben said.
Ryrden nodded. “Come, I will help you hunt down the blackguard, and then we shall east in Neez together.”
Deltys put a hand on Ryrden’s shoulder. “This venture will be very dangerous, my old friend. Permit us to take the ship ourselves. I can drop you in Neez, and then come back for you once we are finished.”
“Nonsense,” Ryrden said with a shake of his head. “It’s about time I join you on an adventure. Besides, no one has the stamina I do to keep her going.” Ryrden winked at the group then and turned, waving them on after him. “Let’s all get on board. Sit down in a line in the middle of the deck, and I will take care of the rest.”
Jonathan and the others moved onto the barge. The wood creaked slightly underfoot as they all moved into position. Jonathan sat in the rear of the line, trying to get a better look at the strange contraption by the wheel.
“Give her a shove,” Ryrden instructed Deltys, who was standing ankle deep in the water and waiting for the signal.
Ryrden clambered up onto a leather seat and put his feet onto pedals attached to a wheel of sorts. Ryrden began pedaling backward and the wheel turned a gear which in turn caused a chain to loop around it. Jonathan followed the chain with his eyes, but it disappeared below deck.
“I’ll bet you have never seen one of these before,” Ryrden called out to Jonathan.
Jonathan shook his head and smiled as the barge lurched out into the river.
Deltys hopped up over the side and walked back to stand near Ryrden. “Please, reconsider coming with us. I can pilot your vessel safely enough. You taught me how, remember?”
Ryrden shook his head. “I’m going with you. Now take your seat so I can get up to speed and keep her balanced.”
Deltys shrugged and moved to sit behind Jonathan. Jonathan watched as Ryrden worked the wheel to point the vessel down river. The current started taking them along, but then the small elf smiled and bent forward.
“You might want to hold on to something,” he said. He then pulled a strange pair of goggles up and placed them over his eyes.
Jonathan saw Deltys take a breath and steady himself, bracing with his palms against the deck. Then, Ryrden began pedaling forward and the vessel lurched in the water. It was a short jerk followed by a slow, gradual acceleration at first, but the more the elf pumped his legs, the faster the barge began to move. Soon everyone on board was hunkering down and trying to hold on to each other as they careened down the waters while Ryrden laughed at the top of his lungs.
“I once raced an eagle down this river,” Ryrden called out. “I beat him so badly that he had to leave Tanglewood Forest! Ha ha ha!”
Jonathan could barely keep his eyes open for the wind was now rushing into his face so furiously it made his eyes water if he looked forward. The pace never let up. The little elf continued to pump his legs to maintain the speed while he worked the wheel to avoid the rocks and debris in the river. The party all hollered as they went down a steep grade and water splashed up around them, but Ryrden only continued to laugh and scream with delight as he pushed the barge faster and faster through the waters. Within two hours, they were coming upon Neez and Ryrden was forced to slow for a time.
“Have to make sure no one else is in the waterway around here,” he called out as he stopped pedaling and let the boat slow to match the river’s current.
Ruben took the opportunity to crawl to the side and vomit.
“Oh, don’t do that!” Ryrden chided. “It scares the fish away for hours.”
Ruben glanced up with a pale face and then turned back to retch again.
“Eesh,” Ryrden commented. Ziegler and the others got up to stretch their legs a bit.
Jonathan moved toward Ryrden and then tried to mentally trace the chains under the boat as he walked to the back of the barge and looked down into the water.
“Deltys, take the wheel for a moment,” Ryrden said. The little elf hopped off the seat and walked up to Jonathan. “You like it, eh?” he said with a proud grin.
Jonathan nodded. “Very much.”
“The pedals turn a set of pulleys that make the dual propellers move,” Ryrden said.
“The what?” Jonathan asked.
“Propellers boy, propellers! At least, that’s what I call them. Here, kneel down and have a look.”
Jonathan knelt down and leaned over to look where Ryrden was pointing. Several inches below the water he saw a strange contraption with three blades. It was just sitting in the water, doing nothing.
“It’s motionless now because I am not moving the pedals, see? But, when I move them, the propellers churn the water and either push the barge forward, or pull it backward. It helps me move against the current, or if I use the current to go downriver…”
“Then you can move faster than an eagle,” Jonathan said with a nod.
Ryrden smiled and then looked up and frowned. “Deltys, what are you doing? You’re steering her into the docks.” Ryrden jumped up and pushed Deltys away from the wheel. Jonathan watched as Deltys tried to convince Ryrden to go ashore, but the river captain would have none of it. Finally, Deltys shook his head and his face grew red as he walked away and turned his back on Ryrden.
Within a couple of minutes, the river captain was calling for everyone to move back into their line sitting upon the deck.
“And get that one a bucket,” Ryrden shouted as he pointed to Ruben.
They had barely passed by Neez, of which Jonathan had only seen the docks with a handful of smaller canoes and a couple of short elves, when Ryrden picked up the pace once more.
“If I work hard, we can make Trivilk in about four hours,” Ryrden said.
Jonathan heard Ruben shake his head just before he whined and pulled a bucket up to his face.
True to his word, they came up on Trivilk four blisteringly fast and wet hours later.
“Deltys, come hold the wheel,” Ryrden called out.
Jonathan turned to see Ryrden now slowing down so he could pedal backward. The young man stood up and looked around. The river was about a mile wide at this point, and off in the distance was a foamy, brown rapid that dropped off into what appeared to be the edge of the world. The forest on both banks stopped where the rapids began, seemingly disappearing as if into nothing.
Ruben pointed over to it in the few seconds he had his face out of the bucket and called out. “Trivilk is a giant waterfall that drops nearly three hundred feet into a great pool below, then the river splits into three smaller rivers.”
“Aye, and we need to make landfall before the current carries us too close to the edge!” Ryrden said. “Hold tight, Deltys will work the wheel and I’ll work the pedals. We’ve done this plenty of times.” Ryrden looked up and saw that Deltys was steering for a spot on the southern bank and shook his head. “Deltys, you dolt, Sierryn is that way,” Ryrden said, pointing to the north bank. “We need to land over there. We can’t cross the river by swimming it, and you can’t reach Sierryn from the southern side.”
