Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles (20 page)

 
          
“The
four of us can handle the oars,” Ula said. “Just the boat and some provisions
will be fine.”

 
          
Benthor
Kell nodded and motioned his men to make the skiff ready. They had the small
boat provisioned and hanging over the side, ready to launch, in less than fifteen
minutes. Trip stood at the rail, looking forlorn.

 
          
Mik
kneeled down so he was face to face with his friend, and said in a low voice,
“We’ll pick you up as soon as we can.”

 
          
Trip
nodded and extended his hand for Mik to shake.

 
          
Mik
pressed the diamond artifact into the kender’s palm. “Keep it safe until we
come get you,” he said.

 
          
Trip’s
eyes lit up. “Thanks, Mik,” he said. “I won’t let you down.”

 
          
Mik
stood and clapped him on the shoulder. He slung his leg over the rail and
climbed into the boat with Ula. Shimmer followed him. Karista stood at the
rail, glancing nervously from the tiny boat to Lord Kell, then back again.

 
          
Jumping
forward, she drew her borrowed sword and, with one mighty swing, hacked through
the ropes supporting the skiff.

Strange Seas

 
          
The
boat tumbled over the side and into the ocean. It hit with a huge splash, and
the companions had to grab the skiffs gunwales to avoid being spilled over the
side.

 
          
Mik
and Ula both cursed.

 
          
Kingfisher’s
former captain stared up at
the rail and saw Karista Meinor gazing down on them.

 
          
“I’m
sorry, captain,” she said, “but this is where we part company.”

 
          
“What
in the names of the lost gods are you doing?” Mik asked angrily.

 
          
“You
know that my goals differ from yours,” Karista said. “Lord Kell’s justice will
serve my needs better to that end than the court of any sea elf.”

 
          
Ula
stood up in the bow of the skiff and addressed the master of the brass ship
directly. “Lord Kell,” she said. “I won the right to have this woman accompany
me.”

 
          
“That
was when I believed you spoke on behalf of all
 
involved,” Kell replied. “It seems,
perhaps, that you do not speak for
this
particular shipwrecked soul.”

 
          
“That
wasn’t our agreement,” Ula said.

 
          
“If
you wish to protest my interpretation of the law, come with me to a neutral
port and we will put the whole thing before a magistrate,” Lord Kell replied.
His gray eyes flashed. “Of course, if you care to make it a matter of honor
...” He raised the point of his coral lance.

 
          
“Let
her go,” Mik whispered to Ula. “We don’t need her.”

 
          
“But
she knows about the treasure,” Ula whispered back. “If she should tell him ...”

 
          
“It
won’t do him any good without the Prophecy and the diamond key.”

 
          
“It’s
not worth fighting Benthor Kell for,” Shimmer whispered. “Not now.”

 
          
Ula
glanced from Mik to the bronze knight and back again. “You’re right,” she
finally said. She remained standing as the skiff drifted away from the galley,

 
          
“Treat
Lady Meinor well, Lord Kell, or I shall hear of it,” she called back to the
galley.

 
          
“I’m
sure you will,” Kell replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “but have no
concern on that account.”

 
          
“And
Trip, too,” Mik added, as the kender waved at him. He tried to keep a straight
face as a soldier’s purse found its way into one of Trip’s pockets.

 
          
“The
kender will be treated with the respect he merits,” Kell said stiffly.

 
          
Mik
held the lord’s eye and nodded slowly. “We’ll meet again one day,” he said.

 
          
“I
look forward to it,” Kell replied.
“As I look forward to seeing
Ula Landwalker again as well.”

 
          
Ula spat into the ocean.

 
          
Kell
laughed and turned to his helmsmen and his drum- chanter. “Set oars, course
south by southwest.” The crew of the galley responded immediately, and the
trireme quickly pulled away from the skiff.

 
          
Trip
stood at the rail, cheerfully waving goodbye.

           
Ula sat down in the skiff. “I need a
rest.”

 
          
Mik
unshipped his oars and turned to Shimmer. “Well,” he said, “where are we
headed?”

 
          
Shimmer
unshipped his oars. “Darthalla may not be the best place to start...”

 
          
“For
a number of reasons,” Ula put in. She leaned back against the skiff’s small
gunwale, dipped a hand into the water and dribbled some over her face, then
closed her eyes. “Recite the parts of the Prophecy after reaching the isles.”

 
          
“I
assume we’re sharing the treasure with your friend,” Mik said, looking over at
Shimmer.

 
          
“Equal
shares,” Ula said, “to all those participating in the recovery.”

 
          
“Trip
as well, then,” Mik said.

 
          
Ula
nodded slowly.
“If you insist.
But remind me of the
Prophecy, sailor.”

 
          
Mik
shipped his oars, closed his eyes, and let the rhythm of the waves bring the
verses of the Prophecy back to him. Soon, he began to speak:

 
          
“Blessed
azure sea Cloudcapped mountainsides

           
Verdant forests free

         
  
Forestalled from evil tides

           
Four keys beyond the gate

           
Veiled batdements deep lie

           
Bold wards to islands’ fate

           
Span earth and sea and sky.”

 
          
He
recited more verses, ending with:

 
          
“ ’Neath
traversed azure wine

           
Converse with hoary fates

           
With tangled bones of vine

           
To root Green key awaits ...”

 
          
Mik
took a deep breath and opened his eyes once more. “I think the first two
stanzas are just singing the praises of the isles,” Mik said. “And the next
refer to the power of the Veil.” “Amply demonstrated,” said Shimmer.

 
          
“They
also mention the treasure and the four keys needed to find it,” Mik continued.
“Beyond that, though, I think you need to be a native or a scholar to make sense
of it. I profess to be neither—but I’d hoped to solve it once we reached the
isles.”

           
“Lucky you fell in with some
natives,” Ula said. “I think you’re right about the first four stanzas; island
fish oil and building up the treasure. Kell, or his master, would be the ‘lord
of brazen keep.’ The Order’s base on Berann is the home of brass dragons.”

 
          
“I
think that’s the key we already have,” Mik said, “the black diamond artifact.”

 
          
Ula
nodded.

 
          
“ ‘Wisdom’s
highest throne’ could be Aurialastican, on the
Misty Isle,” Shimmer said. “Golden dragons dwell there.” “And the ‘hoary fates’
stanza probably means Darthalla— the undersea home
of.
. . my people,” Ula added.

 
          
“Is
there more to the Prophecy?” Shimmer asked. “You mentioned four keys. The one
you have, the Dargonesti one, and the one on the Misty Isle makes three. That
leaves one missing.” “I think Captain Vardan is holding some secrets back,” Ula
said.

 
          
“Just
until I know you better,” Mik replied with a sly smile.
“Where
to first, the sea kingdom or the island of the golden dragons?
What
about Jaentarth? Could we hire a ship there?” Gazing south, he could just make
out the big island, hovering mirage-like on the horizon.

 
          
“Doubtful,”
Shimmer said. “They have no deep water port” “Besides, we don’t want to run
into Kell again if we can avoid him,” Ula said. “Chances are he’s stopping
there for medical supplies to help his sister.”

 
          
“Aurialastican
is almost straight north,” Shimmer said. “But Darthalla is just a little way
off course—and closer, too.” Ula sighed. “I’d rather put off my family reunion
a bit longer, if you don’t mind.”

 
          
“
What’s
a few more days of rowing between friends?” Mik said
jovially. “North to Aurialastican it is.”

 
          
They
steered due north but soon discovered that though Lord Kell might have vanished
from their sight, they had not vanished from his. Tanalish, Kell’s brass dragon
escort, kept an eye on them from high in the air.

 
          
Ula
swore. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Kell is plotting some revenge once he’s
spirited his sister to safety.” She wiped the sweat from her smooth, blue
forehead and slacked off her oars for a moment. The sun was just dipping behind
the clouds blanketing the western horizon, and all the placid sea looked gray
and gloomy.

 
          
Shimmer,
sitting and resting in the skiffs stern, rubbed his left shoulder. “All we can
do is keep rowing,” he said.

 
          
“All
right,” Ula said, with an edge of weariness. She
glanced
hack at Mik. “How’s that black diamond artifact, sailor? Keeping it safe?”

 
          
“Actually,
Trip’s holding onto it for us,” Mik said, pulling steadily on his oars.

 
          
“What?”
she asked angrily.

 
          
“I
gave it to him before we parted.”

 
          
“Why
in the deep blue seas did you do that?” Ula asked. “You know we need that key
to claim the treasure.”

 
          
Mik
smiled. “That’s exactly why I gave it to him.”

 
          
Ula
threw up her hands in frustration, and her oars almost slipped over the side.

 
          
Shimmer
chuckled. “He knows you well, Ula, for such a short acquaintance.”

 
          
Ula
sighed. “You’re right. I probably would have left the minnow behind. I’m fond
of
him,
hut taking a kender on a treasure-finding
voyage is crazy.”

 
          
“Actually,
he’s an expert treasure finder and a superb diver,” Mik said. “I trust Trip
with my life.”

 
          
“Let’s
hope it doesn’t come to that,” Ula replied.

 
          
She
and Shimmer switched places at the oars. “I’ll spell you in an hour,” she said
to Mik.

 
          
Kingfisher's
former captain nodded and
kept rowing.

 
          
Night
cast long, indigo fingers over the ocean. The wind picked up from the west, and
small whitecaps lapped at the skiffs sides. The rowing became progressively
more difficult. They switched rowers frequently, and took a cold supper during
their breaks. Kell had not given them die choicest of provisions, but no one
complained, given the circumstances.