The Return of the Fifth Stone

by Vincent Todarello

  We set out to do as we were instructed. Deius shot a resentful glare in my direction from the corner of his eye without looking at me. Lunaris approached me and took my hands into hers.

  “Never mind him. He’s just over-anxious to learn his sword fighting,” Lunaris explained.

  As we walked toward the kitchen to gather rations, I noticed Patreus speaking to Peitus. He spoke too quietly for me to hear, but from the gestures I understood that he was disciplining Peitus for shoving his brother.

  “I’m sorry father,” I heard Peitus say.

  They hugged and Peitus was off, headed toward the barn. It was awkward to see Patreus reprimand his children in my presence. I did not have siblings, so I only knew my own punishments.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Patreus said as he approached me. “I don’t want you to feel out of place. You are part of us here. One of the family now. Are you okay with taking a journey?”

  “Yes, excited actually. I’ve been longing to see the lands on the maps in the study.”

  “Excellent! I’ll tell you everything I can along the way,” he said.

  “I look forward to it,” I said as he exited the room in Deius’ direction.

  For most of the day we gathered food rations, packed clothing and travel gear, and readied a small boat that Patreus kept in his barn. When midday passed we convened in the kitchen for a quick meal of toasted bread and mashed carrots.

  “What is our plan?” asked Peitus.

  “We’ll set the boat down in Kypher Creek and paddle upstream to where it joins the Tillian River, and then we’ll ride the river current north, making camp on the riverside when needed. It is several days journey to Al’Adnim, barring any unforeseen problems, and we can restock our food supplies for the journey home at Kal’Adria, a nearby town.”

  I was enthralled with thoughts of adventure. I was finally going to explore the world!

  #

  We lugged the small boat down to the creek, boarded, and began paddling against the weak current, heading upstream. The riverbed was dotted with small pebbles that brushed gently against the bottom of the boat when we passed through shallow parts of the creek. It was familiar terrain for me so far. My father had taken me as far as the Kypher Creek in the south, where the pinestars begin to change to fanleaves.

  I had never seen the Tillian River, however, and as we paddled upstream a low and distant rumble gently grew louder as we neared it. We approached the junction and turned a hard left, coasting swiftly into the river flow. We pulled our oars aboard and began to glide, using just a steering rudder to guide the boat’s direction.

  I was awestruck at how large the Tillian was. I never expected it to be as wide as a farm. Across the river I could see a heavily wooded area, dense with bright green foliage, mostly fanleaves, but mixed with other, more exotic and unfamiliar plants.

  “That is the northwest edge of Tashik, a wild, untamed jungle," Patreus explained, noticing my eyes fixed upon it. "Few are said to have returned alive from within."

  “None but Tillius.” Peitus grinned.

  “Who was Tillius?” I asked, recalling the name.

  “Tillius was the only son of Gareth. He was a brave man. So brave that by your age he was said to have explored nearly every corner of Ahaareta. He created the first maps,” Patreus explained.

  “Is the river named after him?” I asked, noticing the similarity between Tillian and Tillius.

  “Yes, Valdren,” said Patreus. “The legend says that he tamed the wildest of beasts within Tashik, and used the swift ones for transportation. He was the first to tame the mares and ride them, taking them north along the river and into the valley. But he also rode atop the cheetahs, lions, tigers, and panthers as well. He was one with nature; a friend of the animals and a well-traveled navigator and ranger, capable of crossing any terrain, no matter how harsh,” Patreus continued.

  “I’ve heard you speak of Loula and Tillius; the four daughters of Loula and Tillius. Who is Loula?” I asked.

  “Loula was one of the first four Ahaareti. There was Gareth, Faldyn, Enasz and Loula,” Patreus began. “They were the first four Ahaareti on Haaret.”

  “Gareth, the warrior who united the four races of Haaret in the battle for the Junction of the Four Realms?” Lunaris asked.

  “Yes. He married Faldyn and they had two children; Tillius and a daughter, Gwendolyn. They lived a pure life, a truly pure life. When Tillius had grown, he came upon Loula one day while exploring the north. Loula had climbed to the top of the cliffs around the east side of the Gulf of Haaret, now called the Loulan Cliffs, named after her. When Tillius found her she was injured on a rocky ledge and bleeding. Tillius saved her from death and brought her to his home, where she was nursed back to health.

  “Soon after, she married Tillius and miraculously gave birth to four daughters within four cycles. They are the fabled four daughters of Loula and Tillius. When the four daughters grew older, they married the four men at the end of the pure lines.”

  The sun was beginning to fall in the sky, and the air held a brisk freshness that was truly invigorating. The river began to bend from east to north, and it narrowed to nearly half of its width. The speed of its flow was considerably slowed as well, and we began to paddle a bit with the oars.

  As the sun set in the west, the Tillian twinkled with glints of gold as the fading light of day swept across the topaz water and fell behind the trees along the riverside. We steered the boat to the eastern bank and ran it ashore. Patreus and Peitus pulled it across the rounded pebbles that lined the calm shore and set it beside a tree. Some of the stones seemed to glow and shimmer a faint sky blue color in the early evenfall. I picked one up and put it into my pocket for safe keeping. We used the remaining daylight to set up a few tents and build a small fire; a modest camp for the night.

  Fiama warmed some bread over the fire and mixed some diced tambo, onion, escali and carrots into a pot of fresh river water, which she cooked over the blaze, adding some herbs and spices she had packed. We sat around the cozy campfire under the moons in the clear night as we ate the hearty vegetable soup with bread. Afterwards Patreus puffed on his pipe. Seemingly mesmerized by the starry sky above, he discussed the next part of our journey.

  “Tomorrow morning at first light we will pack up our camp and continue north on the river until we reach the Chasm Pools. There we will secure the boat and cross the Locht Span bridge, continuing our journey northwest.” We nodded in agreement. “Once we cross the span,” he continued, “we will be on foot, and I will do my best to begin your training as we make our way.” Deius seemed excited by this. “Try to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow will be a long and tiresome day of rowing,” he warned. And sleep we did.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Look there.” I pointed. “Let’s go climb those rocks for a better view of the river ahead of us.” Lunaris agreed and we made our way.

  There was a wood lining the riverbank that continued north. Lunaris and I finished packing ahead of the others, so we took it upon ourselves to explore the area.

  “A cave!” Lunaris exclaimed, announcing her discovery when we reached the rocks. There was a small nook embedded in the rocky hill. “Almost as big as the Balitstone Caverns to the west of the farms,” she sarcastically observed with some disappointment.

  The Balitstone Caverns were a massive underground labyrinth of caves, home to many precious gems and minerals used in fashioning expensive adornments and jewelry. The caverns had become too dangerous to explore, as the tunnels grew unstable with the passing of time. I imagined this happened because they were cut by Ahaareti and not lifelong tunnel burrowers like the Uhaareti.

  “Someone’s been here, or something,” I said, noticing the grasses and hay straw that lined the floor of the nook, which was only large enough to provide shelter for a few people at most.

  I wondered if we were followed. Maybe Hadut had not left his scouting post after all. I panicked. Lunaris, unknowing of my worries, beg
an to frolic and laugh, rolling around in the hay straw. Then I heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind us.

  “Shh!” I commanded. Lunaris stopped what she was doing. “You hear that?” I whispered.

  “Hear what?” she replied.

  A deep growling roar erupted from behind us. Startled, we turned to see the gnarled face of a monstrous giant warbear near the entrance to the cave. It stood up on its hind legs and let out an even louder roar as it lifted its head to the sky. It was thrice as tall as us when fully stretched on its two back legs.

  The warbear crashed back down on all fours, shaking the dirt beneath its dusty paws. It began slowly moving into the cave toward us. Saliva dripped from its teeth and massive jaw, and its gums twitched and quivered. Lunaris let out a short panicked scream and I instinctively stepped in front of her to shield her from the tremendous beast. The warbear smelled the air wildly. We were in its home. I put my hand up, as if to visually tell it to stop moving toward us. But it kept coming; it was two strides from us.

  “Easy, friend.” I said with a soothing voice. The bear stopped and looked upon me. “Back,” I said calmly.

  In an instant the tremendous warbear leapt toward us and bellowed a monstrous roar once again, swiping its massive paw at us, as if to swat us like flies. We backed ourselves into the corner of the cave and trembled. Each of its claws were the length of my entire hand and could have easily shredded us to bits had one reached us with a swipe.

  “Back!” I sternly commanded, lifting my hand up at the beast again. “Back warbear! Back!” I yelled.

  “What are you doing?” Lunaris whispered.

  “I don’t exactly know,” I admitted quietly, “but it seems to be working.” After a moment of contemplation, the bear began to back out of the cave, confused, almost as if it were allowing us room to pass. “Easy,” I said to the beast.

  From the corner of my eye I saw Peitus behind a tree. He stood with his back arched in perfect posture, and his bow cocked with an arrow notched and ready to fly. I raised my other hand in his direction.

  “Don’t fire Peitus,” I announced.

  “Are you mad?” he questioned, shocked.

  “It’s not aggressive anymore,” I said. “Come,” I motioned to Lunaris as we neared the mouth of the cave. Slowly, we inched toward the warbear to pass, but it growled a low grunt and swiped at us again. We leapt forward to safely pass.

  Once clear of the cave, Lunaris trotted over to her brother and shielded herself behind a tree. I focused my attention on the beast, which glared an uneasy, defensive pair of yellow eyes at me. It seemed fearful of me, and the hair on its back stood up tall.

  “Let me take him down,” Peitus calmly and quietly urged, still standing at the ready to free his arrow.

  “No,” I said. “Let me try something first.”

  I approached it. I put my hand out slowly toward the beast’s head; I wanted to touch its fur and pet it to calm it down. When I touched the short, bristly, coarse hair, it let out a low irritated groan, gnashing its teeth with a speed that made me pull my hand back.

  Refusing to give up, I approached it once more, but with confidence. I felt unafraid and safe for some reason. I reached for its head again and I felt its skin tremble and twitch upon the touch of my hand. Then, in an instant, the warbear submitted, slouching to the ground before me as a dog would lie before its master.

  The beast huffed a warm, relaxed breath as I gently pet it. It started to lick my skin, and I began to giggle.

  “Do you see that?” Peitus laughed. “Lunaris,” he called for his sister. She was still cowering behind the tree. “Have a look at this. The warbear is licking Valdren!” She peeked and let out a nervous chuckle. After a moment I bid my new friend farewell. We walked back toward the camp.

  “We saw the warbear near camp just after you two walked off, so I went after you,” Peitus explained. “But with young Tillius here, it seems you were perfectly safe all along,” he joked.

  When we returned to camp, Patreus, Deius and Fiama were loading our gear onto the boat. Peitus told them what happened, and despite his amazement at what I had done with the warbear, Patreus issued a stern warning. “Do not wander off. I remind you there are many dangers in these lands far worse than wild animals." We heeded his warning.

  #

  We all boarded the boat and shoved off into the river, continuing our journey north for a few days. We paddled with the oars and the river moved us at a comfortable pace. We camped on the riverside as we had done on the first night, and at dawn Patreus updated us on our progress.

  “We should reach the Chasm Pools and cross the Locht Span Bridge sometime just after midday,” Patreus announced one morning with his eyes fixed forward on the current ahead of us.

  After some time the banks of the river escalated into rock walls. Our pace quickened again, and soon we found ourselves only using the oars to steer our craft about the frothing rapids. The boat careened upward at the bow and dove back down into the white water like a wingfish, splashing over and over in the tormented river.

  “Careful ahead,” Patreus yelled toward the front as he manned the rudder in the back of the boat. “A small falls on the left. We must steer clear of it and stay to the right.”

  I looked out across the foaming river. On the left there was a drop off; a waterfall. I could not see how big it was, but apparently Patreus knew it was dangerous and wanted us to steer clear of it and take the right fork. With all our might we steered away from the waterfall but it seemed to be pulling us toward it with more force the harder we tried.

  “Whirlpool! Whirlpool!” Patreus shouted above the roaring waters.

  The boat lurched to the right, throwing me from my seat. Before I knew it my body hung halfway out of our craft. Peitus pulled me back in and I caught a glimpse of the eddy blocking our path to the right fork in the river. It was twice the size of our boat in diameter. The white water whipped around and spiraled into a deepened and dark center. Sticks and branches broke in its current and leapt around, circling in toward its vortex and disappearing into the river beneath.

  “Steer left,” Patreus commanded. But the whirlpool was sucking us in, and we were caught in the middle of two disasters. “We must try to pass the whirlpool but avoid the falls.”

  He shoved the rudder hard to one side, trying to swing us out from the whirlpool’s grasp. We steered with him, our oars like twigs of brittle ashwood stirring in a thick soupy mudbog. The river was too powerful; it seemed we were at its mercy.

  Then there was a sudden jolt, this time to the left, and I was thrown about the boat again. My grip slipped and I lost my oar out in the rapids. I gathered myself while watching it drift away and smash into splinters against the rocks lining the riverbank. It seemed we had steered clear of the whirlpool and passed it, only to be drawn into the falls.

  “Now back to the right!” Patreus yelled. He slammed the rudder back the other way and began to steer us from the falls. As I helped the others with their oars, I heard a loud snap and a frustrated utterance from Patreus’ direction. “By the king!” The rudder had cracked and broken off in the rapids. “All oars!” he yelled. “Push hard!” But it was useless. The rear of the boat had swung out and we were quickly approaching the falls sideways. “Brace yourselves,” he said somberly, barely audible over the roar of the tumultuous river. “Try to stay with the boat.” There was no way to avoid it. We were going over the falls. We drew near the edge.

  “Hold your breath!” Peitus yelled.

  I gasped a deep breath of air as we spilled over. We gripped the sides of the boat with every grain of strength we had, our knuckles white with tension. I shut my eyes in fear. Like a flash of memory, everything I had ever done wrong or felt badly about rushed into my head. The time I swiped a trinket from my father's bedside cabinet to keep as my own. All the times I disappointed my mother or acted out. All the bad thoughts I ever had. My memories swarmed upon me like a wasp attack, and I felt guilty and sorry all at on
ce.

  My stomach dropped for an instant, there was a crash, and something woody hit my ribs. A blast of cold rushed over me, engulfed me, and water filled my ears, muffling all sound.

  I opened my eyes under the water to see sunlight beaming down in brilliant rays that seemed to warm me. But then I saw legs and arms flailing and scrambling toward the surface. Splinters of wood were all around me as I instinctively shot to the surface for air. My mind was clear; those thoughts had gone, washed away in the rapids. We were still being pushed north, only now with no craft. I turned back to see the falls. They were about as tall as four fully grown Ahaareti, and they had destroyed our boat on the rocks below. The others gasped for air and scrambled to stay afloat above the turbulent waters. I did not have as much trouble doing the same.

  I saw Patreus, then Deius, then Peitus and Fiama. I did not see Lunaris. I called out for her, but there was no answer. A look of panic and distress engulfed Patreus and Fiama when they realized she was missing. All color left their faces. Their eyes widened with fear and desperation. We all frantically looked around for her as we drifted north with gathering speed. Patreus struggled to swim against the current, ducking under the water to look for his daughter and leaping back up to look over the foamy chop that blocked our view. Only our heads were above water.

  Just then something strange happened. I realized I was not breathing. I hadn’t taken a breath since we toppled over the falls.

  “Lunaris!” Fiama screamed. Her eyes were red and saddened, her tears washed away with the current.

  I dove under the water and looked around for her. At first there was a stinging in my eyes but then I saw quite clearly. There was lots of debris in the violent rush, but back near the falls I caught a glimpse of Lunaris wedged between some large rocks near the bottom of the river. I popped back above the water.

  “Go to the shore,” I told everyone. “I see her. I can get her.”

  “Is she alright?” Patreus asked with hope in his voice.

  “She’s not moving,” I said after a pause.