CHAPTER XII
The next night they had loaded up two carts that had headed off towards the Forest where d’Gaz told Dylan they would be loaded onto forest wagons and taken through the trees to other towns. Suddenly there were shouts of men and lit torches rushing towards them.
“We are found,” shouted d’Gaz. “Scatter!”
The men dropped their crates, but instead of running pulled their swords. Lucas ran and grabbed Dylan.
“To the boat,” d’Gaz shouted at him and he found Dad and pulled him towards the boat.
Ruling Guards came rushing in with swords drawn and the pirates clashed with them. Torches lit up in the sea as more boats came rushing in.
“To the boats men,” d’Gaz commanded and the pirates fell back still fighting. Men fell here and there and Dylan didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t hide his face. Lucas picked him up and dropped him in the boat, pushing Dad in after them.
“Get them to the ship,” Lucas commanded the oarsman.
Everywhere Dylan could see men fighting by the light of dropped torches; some more pirates dropped into the boat they were in and one Ruling Guard jumped in after and Dylan watched horrified as a pirate put a sword right through him before pushing the body into the water.
Now more boats were pulling up and pirates were jumping in, Dylan’s boat started moving away from the harbour and Dylan could just make out Guards falling as if from behind. Then a man was struck by what looked like a bolt of lightning and in the light, who was that? Yes! It looked like the Shadow Ranger.
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“Well, well, d’Gaz, here we are again,” Mattaeus said as he joined the pirate.
“Never could stay away from a fight, could you?” d’Gaz replied.
“Where is the boy and his father?”
“Rowing towards the ship.”
“That is well,” Mattaeus said as they fought three Ruling Guards. A lightning bolt from the hands of Alura killed a Guard that tried to stab Mattaeus from behind and then Bell and Kaitlin came running past, Bell turning to fight off another Guard.
“To the ship?” Bell shouted.
“Aye,” returned d’Gaz.
“The boy and his father?” Kaitlin asked as they ran.
“Fine, fine,” returned d’Gaz. “Nice to see you too.”
Two Guards had managed to get between them and the boats, but Kaitlin lifted her hands and the Guards floated up and then dropped into the water.
Now many pirates were jumping into the boats and they were pulling away.
“Time to go,” Mattaeus shouted to d’Gaz.
“Aye, it is,” d’Gaz shouted back killing another Guard. “To the ship,” he shouted.
The men jumped to the boats, dragging wounded friends with them, fighting off Guards that tried to jump in and as they pulled away from the shore archers were arriving with flaming arrows.
“Tell your men to pull in the oars,” Alura commanded d’Gaz.
“Oars in,” he shouted. The ones who didn’t nearly had them ripped from their hands as Alura used her magic to whisk the boats across the water. Kaitlin in another boat stood and faced the shore. Suddenly a giant wave was rising up and then crashing down on the Ruling Guards standing on the harbor.
And then they were racing across the dark sea until the Pirate Ship Irredeemable came into view anchored in the open ocean. With Alura’s magic they were soon there and Bell could see Lucas’ form standing on the deck watching them.
In his heart he felt a great relief and a love for this friend with whom he had seen so much. They had made it through the first stage of their Quest, but he couldn’t believe that they could succeed. Perhaps they could change a little, but actually change the Balance? He looked into his past and he could not believe it as he could not believe in himself. At least they could go down in the annuals of history as doing their best to restore the Balance, maybe even inspire others to try again.
But for now he was just glad that the Foreshadow of Balance was together again; it had been a long time since he had done anything and he realised that he was happy to once again have a purpose.
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The ship sailed with most of the crew collapsed on the deck. In his dreams Dylan could hear men shouting and singing and when he awoke in the morning he thought it must have been real as he could hear the pirates were all up, singing and shouting as they worked. At some point someone had put him into a bed and he looked around for a door. Finding it, he walked through a short corridor and up some wooden stairs to another door. Opening it he was hit by bright sunlight and a deck busy with men. Lucas stood by the door and turned to see him.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” Dylan smiled. “Where’s my Dad?”
“Over there at the rail,” Dylan spotted him and they walked over. “Ever been on a boat?”
“Not like this,” Dylan replied, “Hi, Dad.”
“Oh, morning, Son, how was your sleep?”
“It was good, how about yours?”
“Fine, I was so tired,” his Dad smiled.
“Ahh, the young Guardian is awake,” d’Gaz said as he walked past. “Let’s meet in my cabin in five minutes.”
“I’ll round up the others,” Lucas said and walked off, but not before a reassuring nod from Dad.
“It was pretty scary last night, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Dylan agreed.
“Do you think you can carry on? There’ll be more times like that.”
“I guess so, Dad. I guess we can’t just go home now anyway.”
“No, I guess we can’t,” Dad said and gave Dylan a tight hug. “Let’s go and see what d’Gaz has to say.”
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The Irredeemable was a big ship, but it was sleek and fast. At the back, or stern, of the ship was a building that looked to Dylan a bit like a small house. Everyone was going in there and Dylan and his Dad followed.
Inside was a room with windows and a large table in the centre. All around the walls were bookcases or maps on the walls. Everyone took a chair, but Dylan walked over to look at the maps. They seemed to be countries, but none that Dylan recognised.
It fascinated him that he wasn’t just in a new country, but on a whole new world. There were all the same things happening here as on Earth. People from different countries probably looked different and had different cultures. Certainly the pirates were a mix of skin colours and faces.
“To get us all up to speed, the Ruling Guards gave chase last night, but we had good winds and they did not,” d’Gaz said and gestured to the Twin Magicians.
“Thank you,” Connor said.
“It is well, Guardian,” Kaitlin replied.
“So now we sail for the Port of Silas, but we have two problems,” d’Gaz said.
“No supplies,” Bell said.
“Very sharp, Forest Ranger,” d’Gaz agreed.
“And the second,” said the Shadow Ranger, “is treachery.”
“I shall retire then, shall I?” d’Gaz smirked.
“One of your crew plots against you, Captain?” Connor asked.
“How else did the Ruling Guards know of what we do?” d’Gaz asked him. “The question is whom?”
“That should be but a simple matter,” Alura said.
“No,” Kaitlin protested, “we cannot use our magic to pry men’s minds.”
“It must be so,” Mattaeus said.
“No, they will be aware of it, many fear Magicians, especially superstitious sailors.”
“What she says is true,” d’Gaz said. “You could risk a mutiny.”
“We cannot risk our Quest.”
“But are we all Quest?” Lucas asked looking at each one.
“Do we really have to go through such formalities, Man Mountain?”
“Yes,” replied Connor, “from all that I have seen so far, we do.”
“The Righteous has chosen well, Connor of the Shed,” Kaitlin said quietly and touched Connor’s hand.
d’Gaz laughed. “I don
’t know about any Righteous, but you are a wise Guardian, I’ll give you that.”
“Whom is it that I should follow?” Alura asked.
“Dylan, come here,” Mattaeus said and Dylan looked away from a map of a sea with many islands. In the sea were pictures of sea monsters. Dylan was a little worried by them, but then he had seen old maps of his Dad’s that had the same. Seas monsters didn’t really exist. Or at least not on Earth. He looked back at the map once more and then walked over to the Shadow Ranger who stood and put an arm around him.
“A boy?” d’Gaz asked incredulously.
“This is Dylan of the Shed, Guardian of the Portal of Which He Opened.”
“You opened the Portal?” d’Gaz asked much in the same way.
“I guess,” said Dylan.
“Those that are Pledged to this Quest stand,” the Shadow Ranger said and Bell, Lucas and his Dad stood.
“Really, the forehead and heart thing?” d’Gaz asked, but Kaitlin stood and placed her hands such.
“Kaitlin, we need to talk,” Alura hissed.
“I am ready to Pledge,” Kaitlin told the Shadow Ranger.
“Kaitlin, you know not what you Pledge.”
“I am aware, sister. They saved us from the dragon that we might honour our Pledge to the Balance.”
Alura, sighed, stood and put a hand to her heart and one to her forehead.
“Oh, very well,” said d’Gaz, “but this is madness, I tell you all now.”
“And when has a little madness stopped you, d’Gaz?” Mattaeus asked with a smirk.
“You’re a pirate,” Dylan said, “Isn’t this what you do? I’ve seen you help people.”
d’Gaz smiled and Dylan thought his whole face changed with it.
“Oh, young Guardian, I Pledge to follow you wherever you need me,” and Dylan felt a tingle go through his whole body.
“Do you give yourself Heart, Mind, Strength and Soul to this Quest?” asked Mattaeus.
“We do,” d’Gaz and the Twin Magicians replied.
And then something weird happened. Dylan tried to step back, but Mattaeus held him as Alura floated off of the ground. But it was her eyes that made Dylan want to back away, they had gone the colour of milk.
“Do all that stand, Pledge Allegiance to the Guardian and Creator of the Portal? Do you that stand here and those that are to come Pledge to the Balance?” Alura asked with a deep voice.
They all stood silently.
“I am Pledged to protect the Guardian and so I say aye,” Lucas said.
“I Pledge,” said his Dad.
“As do I,” Bell spoke up.
“Yes,” the Shadow Ranger simply said.
d’Gaz looked at them all. “Alright, I am in.”
“Alura,” Kaitlin asked.
“Do you?”
Kaitlin looked at Connor and then back to her sister. “Yes, I Pledge,” and each time they said they would, Dylan felt that tingle again and shivered slightly.
“Very well,” Alura said and then smiled. “We too Pledge,” and then she dropped to her feet and stood there for a second. d’Gaz went to her and caught her before she fainted.
“Be you OK?”
“What?”
“You had a touch of seasickness there, my dear.”
“Oh,” Alura looked around. “Well thank you, Pirate.”
d’Gaz beamed a smile. “Always a pleasure.”
“Let us sit,” Mattaeus said and they did. “Your two matters, d’Gaz?”
“What? Oh yes,” he said and pulled out a map from under the table. “We will have to stop at the Island of Onslow to buy supplies, but it is water that we need most and so we will have to stop here,” he pointed on the map, “to get fresh water first.”
“And your other problem?” Bell asked.
“We must do what we can,” Kaitlin said.
“The old fashioned way,” Connor smiled.
“We will find the man who betrayed you,” Alura agreed.
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“You wish to make our Quest harder, old friend?” Mattaeus asked once the rest had left.
“It is the only place for fresh water.”
“If any water is fresh there.”
“You are not the seaman, I am.”
“Have you ever been there?”
“Thankfully, no,” d’Gaz replied.
“I have and we will find more than sailor’s tales there.”
“Then we will have to be quick,” d’Gaz turned on the Shadow Ranger. “This Quest will be over before it is finished if we do not get fresh water on board.
“I pretend even not to understand what is happening, what happened with Alura back there, but I know the sea and I know my ship.”
Mattaeus nodded. “I apologise, friend, you are the Captain and you steer a good ship.”
d’Gaz laughed. “Always the Wise Ruler, Arturo.”
“Say it not,” Mattaeus warned.
“How long will you punish yourself? How long will you deny?”
“As long as has to be; do not push me, Pirate,” Mattaeus warned.
“You. You do not call me that,” d’Gaz shouted at the Shadow Ranger and suddenly the waves crashed and the ship rolled.
“Be at peace, old friend,” the Shadow Ranger said and left.
The Foreshadow of Balance Page 13
